The Portage County Democrat. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1863-08-26
5. RAVENNA @, WEDNE DAY, AUGUsr26, 1868.
sEH VPpH' x Ne. % WHorLB Lu Ne. 1911.

lH 4i1 - SERs " W.
- - Ii IL
f by him and most of the leading statesmen
f his time, of the foundation of the Constitu
ton was, thatthe enslavement of the Afri
j can was in violation of the laws of nature
r hat 1t was wrong in principle, morally, po
r iltically. 1t was an evil they knewznot. wei
| how to deslnwith, but the opinion of the m e
of that day was that, some how or other, il
order of Providence the institution would be
come eyanescent, and pass away. y
Those ideas tre baUe Joavad to be essentiaM
'oro'ag. They rest upon the assumption Of til
equality of races. This ,oas an error 1t wa
a sandy foundation, and the idea of govern
1 ment built upon it; when the storm cam,
and the wind blew, it fell Our ae,o GoUe,n
naent is founded entirely upoa the opposite idea
its foundation is laid, the corner. soa,e rests ,po,
the great truth that the negro is not equal to TIL
t0hite man; that slavery, The saordindtio,, of tn.
negro race, Is has natural Oh. moral conditions
Thus our Government is the first in the his
tory of the world based upon this great ply.
sical, philosophical, and moral truth" 10 fa.
Here then, after all that has been said and
done, is the reason for the rebellion, and the
cause of the war in progress. All other al
legged causes of complaint were mere preten-
ces. They were determined to break down
the old Constitution, and build up a social fa-
orlc upon human slavery. Their object was
to establish new Government; they were
not satisfied with the freedom and eaualitv of
the old one. That was the whole Of # -
And to prevent this, is just what our brave
soldiers are fighting for. The question is,
whether you will surrender the old Constitu.
ton, the old Government and the old hao
and allow these Shareholders to establish na-
ton IN our midst whose corner stone is human
slavery I?
SLAVERY ABsTRA CITY CONSIDERED. 10 2
l Allow me to stop here moment and give
my ideas in regard to slavery, independent of
its connection with the war. No man was
ever more honest than myself in his determi-
nation and desire to not to interfere with the
Al
ready existed. All desired, in common with
those who associated with me politically, or
wit them, was to enjoy the privileges of our
Tree government unmolestcd by slavery, and
to preserve the same for our posterity after
us. But since they of the outh were not
satisfied with their part in the Government
and have sought to break it up and establish
another, based upon slavery as the corner
stone, the question arises whether, in resisting
the establishment of such Government. we
shall strike at that cornerstone, or allow it to
stand an impedinlent in our way. |. for one
have no desire to interfere with it, for believe
a higher power is now controlling the order
of eyents-a power higher than any mere hu-
man agents.
/ do not believe that any man, with high
religious feelings, can look at events as they
are transpiring, without seeing in them the
hand of Almighty God, in the light of these
events l believe the time will never come
when we can have permanent peace until this
great evil shall be entirely uprooted and re-
moved. Slavery OF the human race is SO OBJ
noxious to the natural sentiment of man. that
DO not see how any man can reason himselfl
into the belief that it can long continue to
exist in an enlightened and civilized nation
Do they say that the negroes are weak in in |
tellect, and not as good as we +? Grant it,
Shall we, therefore, deprive them of their
liberty and the fruits of their industry The |
deaf, and the dumb, and blind are feeble and
almost helpless shall we, therefore, kill them |
and pat them out of sight, or make slaves of |
them p? No; the humanity and bounty of
our people build asylums for them, and see
that they do not suffer for the necessities of I
life. We prefer to be their guardians rather
than their masters and oppressors 1t is radi- I
'ally wrong to contend for any other conduct
toward them The men who laid the corner
stone Of our glorious Republic, never thoneLt
Of putting slavery in as a permanent institu- +
ion. They found it existing to limited exL-
5ent among portion of the people and left it
here, as temporary thing, to be turned out,
IS they supposed, by the operations of nature.
They regarded it as an exeresence upon socie-I
", but these men of the South propose to
AXE this excresence and lay it down as their
foundation upon which to build government.
But tell you, my friends, that it WON'T work.
Ny opinion is that Almighty God is no re-
pecter of persons. He looks at this thing as
affects the negro himself, while they of the
South have been looking. at it as slavery
would promote their power and aggrandize-
nent. How the institution of slavery will
'e removed in this country, do not know,
rat / know that all history teaches that any
nslavement of the human race is temporary,
lever permanent, and therefore, that it is not
afe to build upon it. The Israelites served
heir masters four hundred years, but were
hen led out of their bondage by miracle
low the African race will shake off their +
ondage, is not exactly clear yet, but, perhaps,
his war, in the developments of Providence, +
5 one of the means for teaching them the
lights of nature and preparing them for the
reedom that awaits them. But would have
cen willing to have left this question, and
aid nothing about it, in the faith that the
Ime would come when slavery would cease
q this country without direet human effort.
E THE PROCLAMATION OF EMANCIPATION. t
AS to the Presidents Proclamation- of |
1 believe that the proclamation J
f God is stronger thar the proclamation of
lincoln. think if had been in the Presi- a
ent's placeI should not have issued the pro- t
that he did in regard to slaves. 1 i