Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1863-08-10
For the Sentinel.
Mr.. Beecher i'm England-One of his

The London Daily views OF the lUtn nit. gives
an account of Mr.. Beecher's interview with some
prominent Englishmen. He declines public
speaking, his purpose abroad being to restore his
health; but he answers freely all questions as to
the status OF the parties and the public opinion of
the North. After telling the company of the
general sentiment of the North-after explaining
in his own way the apathy of Pennsylvania-he
goes on to say that, he knows Indiana well. hay
ing lived there, and states that the misconduct is
limited to a part known as the "Pocket," in
hGDited chiefly By a degraded population derived
chiefly from the neighboring slave States. so ig
norant that not one in ftcepfy can read.
IL is this declaration of Mr.. Beecher which we
desire 10 correct. That he has a full right to 90
Europe to aid in setting Alright the strangely false
views which prevail there in regard to American
affairs, none can dispute. Indeed the potent elo-
quence Of Mr.. Beecher gives him nearly an uni
versal right to be a national autocrat wher-
ever he be No man knows better
than the writer that Mr.. B. will never read these
words. 1t is not for him, but for those who may
believe him to be the in!allible expounder of
American sentiment and American conditions
that we write. In the highest splendor of his fame
and eloquence | suppose he IS only human, there
fore we continue: If he went to Europe TO re-
store health and correct false impressions, il is to
be regretted that he did not carry with him a
knowledge Of facts sufficient to the occasion;
and, further, il is to be regretted that be should
attempt to explain away impressions that are
false BY doing wrong to n large, loyal and in
t~elligent community. He knows Indiana well.
He has lived there. He can speak as a
prophet He can speak as no man ever spoke
before. Therefore he can be reckless as to the
feelings and the fame of men or communities.
/ have no doubt when Mr.. Beecher made this
declaration TO those prominent Englishmen. he
thought he had done his country much service.
or course he must not reflect on his answers; he
must be ready with explanation even at the cost
o. truth. He knew Indiana well he had lived there.
To have preached at the capital. was of course
enough for Mr.. b. to enable him to pronounce on
the moral, mental. social and political standing
of every portion of the State. The census" l
suppose. he could not condescend to read. 1t
would be simply searching for vulgar facts. Be
sides. he knows that the people of the %"pocket"
cannot have improved, for two infallible reasons.
First, they have never experienced the unspcaka-
bic blessings of his potent ministratiOns. and
secondly, il is inhabited chiefly by n degraded
poDulatian from the neighb0ring slave States"
These magnificent reasons are enough TO con
vince him that progress is doubtful. if possible
An uncertain knowledge of any subject | believe
is understood to add power To the fancy and
smoothness to the words Of the rhetorician-be
cause he is untrammelled bv those stubborn little
fellows called facts and figures.
The full census of the border counties we have
not seen, nut enough mas DeeD seen 10 KNOW LnaJ
what Mr. B.. utters is not only not so, but the
very reverse of so. Vanderburg county. which
we take as a representative, and which is the
metropolitan county of the pocket" had in
1850 only 81 persons who could not read or
write, out of a population Of III 500. In 1860
the same county had a population Of over % 900,
and he number of those who could not read or
write were proportionablv less than in 1850.
Now the counties Of Perry. Spencer. Warwick
D.. n.k,o. onI tho othorc If tho Ghnrdor -
as far as we have xamined, come into respecta
bic competition with Vanderburg in this regard.
And, in point Of loyalty. a comparison of each
and all of those counties named, and every
county on the border and IN the pocket. with
any portion Of the North will rebound only to
their honor and good name Not a single in
stance of open resistance to any OF the war meas
ures OF the Government has occurred throughout
that whole region of the State which Mr.. Beecher
has seen fit to malign so cavalierly. in his con
versation with CHOSE prominent Englishmen. !"
The grounds on which Mr.. Beecher justifes him
self in making such announcements are not easily
conceived. 1t is strange indeed that a
man who goes forth as a messenger of truth,
before all the world. as an expounder
of orthodox principles, should speak as an auto
crat on "A subject of which he is entirely ignorant.
He has been more used to receive the applaud
ings of American audiences than any man of his
time, perhaps. He has denounced the institution
of slavery without fear of assault. and the Ad-
minIstration without fear of arrest, and, possibly
after all this. to belle an American community
to a parcel Of Englistmen was only a small affair
to our orthodox pulpit Achilles.
He seems Ia be one of those who can not be.
lieve any good can come out of Nazareth. And
because a large element of the border people
came from the slave States, Of course he can not
believe that either LOYALTY or intelligence can
exist among them; and AZ this is his notion, he
delivers it with all the emphasis OF a prophet. 1t
would be p~resumptious to ask the humorous, the
eloquent. the profound, the almost omnipotent
diUiRe of the Plymouth Church to illustrate by
figures the truth of his statements. That would
he TO rob those awful gestures and pointed
figures with which he controls his admirers of
more than half their magic-and that would be,
we suppose. nothing short uT robbery.
Our Savior once said: Renter unto Caesar
that which il Ce sar's. and unto God that which
is Gods Were such an expression made in the
present. Mr.. Beecher, his followers and admirers,
would call il a palliation and a defense of that
which is unjust. IL would be construed as an ad
mission that slave States have some rights; that
conserv atives nave some rights; that Democrats
have some rights; and il would be denounced,
and ridiculed, and spit upon; and the modern
Pontius Plate, that might try the anthor, would
be accused of weakness. imbecility and disloyalty
if he even dared to "wash his hands of the con-
~viction, or do aught than tn advance "crucifx
ion" or the decision of the court.
Truth is valuable, no matter how other mar
ketable stuff may vary. If Mr.. Beecher deemed
it vie and proper 20 e~llighten those prominent
Englishmen on the troubles in the loyal States.
il is indeed To be mOurned that he had not seen
proper to proceed in his statements no further
than truth and knowledge would sustain him. 1t
is TO be regretted that. as a representative of the
American pulpit, he should talk of any people in
a manner so wildly az variance with the truth
thus adding the weight of his name to an unjust
thing-to a Islander.
Such is his hereditary bigotry against slavery,
and slave States, and slave owners, that the mere
fact that - portion of the people of the Pocket
are natives OF slave States, is enough to convince
him that neither loyalty. intelligence or truth can
exist among them 1t may, indeed. be only a
trifing thing for him to add the weight of his
fame tn a sltnlerous accusation whel he can
evahe the responsibility so easily by saying, II
am Mr.. Beecher, AVID this was the extent of my
information; and my liberty of speech shall not
be hemmed IN even by facts, when speaking to
prominent Enelishmen Of a conservative com
munity. for which / have neither respect nor
sympathy
But no brilliancy of speech. now power of elo-
quence-not even his gorgeous metaphors and
fierce gesiuring. combined with all the fantastic
figures lie may cut before the world can furnish
an excuse ar palliatiou for cutting himself loose
from the figures of truth. whether he wears the
mantle of sn emhs>Sa'ior of Christ or not.
T. J. ID.
TELECRAPHic.