Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1863-10-19


wife had great difficulty in following him. Take
the case of Andrew Jackson Hamilton. He was
a member Of The last Congress but one, that which
preceded the Administration of Lincoln. and a
thorough pro slavery man, yet be was driven from
bis home because he was not in favor of the de-
struction of the Union as a means of perpetuating
slavery. So it was with Andrew Johnson, of
Tennessee. and With the other loyal men of the
South who have been compelled to hy from their
homes and take refuge in the mountains. They
all feel that this war is caused by slavery, and
that until slavery is destroyed there can be no
peace. In every one of the border States there
is an emancipation party. All this has been
brought about by the providence of God
About this proclamation. The war was upon
us and the President was obliged to strike down
whatever stood in the way of the successful pro-
secntion of it. Slavery stood in the way, and the
President struck it down. Is there a man here
to-day who wants it to live again? Is there one
who would have the President shrink from carry
ing out that p~roclamationf Is there a man who
does not wish prosperity to those men who are
trying to uphold the cause of the Union in the
slave Statesf Do not your prayers go up con-
tinualiyf | know you wish them success.
Now what | wish to draw fromthis, is that
this nation, had to be born again; that those of US
who never desired to touch the institution of
slavery in the slave States. but only TO prevent
its extension into free territory were not moving
in the path of Gods providence and this war
came upon us in order that this people might be
born over again." and that the whole nation
might be firmly established upon the basis of free
labor. Aud whv3 Ii is presumption To attempt
to penetrate the counsels of Providence, but it
seems to me as evident as any proposition in his
tory that this nation has a great work before it,
which it cannot fulfil as long as il continues a
slave holding nation. You all know perfectly
well that when population had increased to such
an extent that turnpikes were necessary, Nc
Adam was born and invented turnpikes,
that when we needed a steam engine. and rail
ways, AMI steamboats,, a Fulton and q Stevenson
came upon the stage of action, and one man in
England and another in this country projected and
established railways. When civilization had still
further advanced, and we needed means by which
intelligence could be transmitte from ocean to
ocean in a second of time, the IN magnetic telegraph
was invented; and now il is no less necessary that
there should be a great nation in the world, gov
erning itself and respecting the rights of every
human being of whatever shade of complexion
he may be, and that nation is being born-this
war is giving birth to that nation-and it will be
continued until we are prepared for the great
duties Providence has assigned US. If we are not
prepared to-day the war will not come to an end to-
day. but it will end whenever we are prepared for
our work. Washington believe as | do. that
God was in the American Revolution, bringingto
birth this mighty nation. and so he il in this war,
bringing to a second birth this sam mighty
nation
When | came to Cincinnati to vote the Union
ticket, some one handed me a copy of the Gin
cinnati Enquirer. Some of you may have seen
it. IL is very meek to day, but it said: "Chase
has come TO Ohio to vote. The man that carries
a hod can kill Chase's vote" That, nv fellow
citizens, is the browning glory of our institutions.
| am proud and glad to know that there is a
country in which no man. however high ir office,
no man of wealth or distinction, or of talent, can
give a vote which cannot be balanced bv The vote
of the humblest man in the nation.
Well, what is this war producing2 II is pro-
ducing, in the first place, a determination in the
hearts of the people all over the country to pre-.
pare for any future exigency. The States are
all arming aud being placed on a m litary footing.
Your own Governor, with That wisdom and patri-
otism which have so greatly distinguished him has
organized the Indiana Legion, of whom | saw a
regiment to-day. | am told there are twenty
thousand or these men organized, armed and
equipped, for the defense of your State. Who
are theyI Are they serfs driven to an unwilling
servicef Not one of them. They are freemen,
all; your own sons-noble Young men. who have
voluntarily come forward TO be drilled in the
military art in order that they may be better
able to defend their country and their homes.
Suppose you multiply this force by the number
Oh Suites III the OUiOO, what a IOrfniu1Dlef force
with which to repelsinvasion and uphold the su
premacy of the laws
Look at another thing. At the outset of this
war we were not provided with the means of re-
lieving the sufteriDgs ofthe army in the field. In
any other country The government would have
bad tn provide for it. But here we have a body
OF men s~pringing mt once into existence under the
name of the Sanitary Commission. going out into
every portion of the feld and scattering blessings
l mud lpfpphfl IN tho CnlnInrs ~ MN n IN, - aud Ill
of this is v~olunteer work. You could not find a
parallelin any other country. In England, to be
sure, YOU may linda Florence Nightingale. God
bless her, } leaving her home and going, under
the patronage of the government. to care for the
sick and wounded soldiers in the hospitals and on
the battle fields of the Crimea: but nowhere will
you find a body of men like this, relieving want
and distress all over the country wherever a soil
tary soldier is to be founu.
Here is auother striking feature of this war.
Those young men who 20 TO the war are. many
of them. sons of piOus parents. Thew go away
from the blessings and restraints of home and
from the influences OF the sanctuary, and then all
at once the government goes to work getting
Chaplains to 20 and preach to them, who are Of
ten worse than the soldiers themselves; aud to
supply the defects in the arrangements made by
the government, there suddenly springs up a
Christian Commission 1t goes abroad through
out the camps aul hospitals. to visit the sick, to
omio the dying AMI to elevate the morals and
restrain passion. This is done in our country,
and here alone.
This war il setting many poor blacks free.
Well, what ~harpensl TIE government can work
only clumsily in such matters, and to meet this
aspect OF the ease. here is the great society of
friends of the freedmen. and gentlemen of all
professions and creeds, of all opinions, come to-
gether and say: 'The-e people must be cared for
and educated EVERYWHERE somebody il .aborinp
for the welfare of these poor freedmen. Tins
could not have happened in any other country.
] believe that When we shall have succeeded in
crushing out this rebellion, and all of these great
agencies shall have done their work, we will all
stand together loving one another and helping
one another. aud mlghtier and stronger than ever.
bound L,geIher hv common interests, and ready
for any work shat nv be allotted Us TO do among
the nations Ol the e.rth.
This il nv faith + have caiiei your attention
to these things in order that you may see that
what We did on Yesterday is a great event in the
history of the world H. pledges YOU and it
pledges the country to the accomplishment of
these great results, and no more can indulge a
reasonable doubt of what the result will be. I
did not expect TO say all this: but | have been
drawn on from point to point until | have made
more of a speech than | intended. | think you
are prepared TO do your part in this great struggle.
Allow me to saw. | am grateful forsthis greeting.
| have no language to express the deep gratitude
| feel to the people for the kindness with which
they met and with which they have sustained me.
All | can do in return is to promise you that, as
in the past i have attempted to serve the people
faithfully, so in the future / will give to you
whatever energy, faculty and labor God shall
enable me to give.
T BUCHANAN READ.