Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1864-12-03

| TO foreign nations, but to 0urSelres Its
heavy interest is paid to our orn citizens,
and goos for the enriching and beneiting of
the country.
And the fact that the government is
de6tor to our citizens, will rally them around
1t to support it, For in SO doing they are
advancing their own interests--they are
supporting their families-they are securing
the property they already possess--and adj.
ding to their wealth and security.
Our crops and fruits--the products of
thrifty husbandry--have been abundant in
quantity, and etcolIeh in quality.
| Our trade and commerce have been un-
usually active: the advance Of art and iaUen-
ton has been very marked The cause of
educdtion and learning has suffered but little,
while .he spirit of JeaeuoLence and philan.
thropy has breathed upon our whole peo-
pie.
The land itself-tilled by free and willing
labor-is fertile and cultivated as gardea
while Southern soil lies a aeaste and ruined
wilderness, saturated with human blood
and peopled by beggard population of
women and children. And lastly, our armies
are composed of men in their prime and vi
gor, while theirs ",oJ the cradle md the
grace" to sustain them: and now in the con-
vulsive effort of desperate cause, their
\
of all class and age in the conscription, and
| the terrible alternative-the arming of their
negro sldreS.
From dispassionate view therefore, of
| the whole subject we believe that our pros
poets are fright while the enemy's are GO
ing out in darkness. We believe that the
forces of the Union are winding their iron
coils around the throat of the Rebellion
with resistless power, and that already the
pressure is so great, that the very life is
oozing from .hc fanged jaws of the monster.
And is it not an event devoutly to be de-
sired and prayed for by all parties Z by every
man in the North this day, achatcrer be his
yiewsi
What good can rebellion and its success
do usl Is not the nations, life our bread
| and butter-our safety and sustinence Is
not the success of the North, the only condi-
ton of peace, and the only hope for either
| North or South
Our success Is only matter of time, and
we may rs well hasten it. The waves of
civilization and conquest have always flow
ed from the North, and so must they now
| Not because of the precedents of history
but because we are fighting for the right,
| tor free government, and the dignHy0 labor
and because too, where two opponents are
equally determined, the stronger and more
enduring must prevail. The true patriot
and lover of his fellow men, then, is he who
discerning the signs Of the times, aids and
hastens this inevitable result which alone
can bring peace and happiness to MS ALL
| But the end is not yet There is much
yet to be done-much to suffer and lose, and
much TO gain. There are large armies yet
to defeat, perhaps to annihiate Millions
of exasperated people to DC reconcilec to
reconstruction waste lands to be re-culti-
waited, cities TO be re-populated, dwellings
to be rebuilt, and public confidence 10 be
restored.
! There will be multitudes of widows and
orphans, and cripples to be provided for;
disbanded armies spoiled for quiet industry,
and ripe for wild adventure, to be redomes-
ticatcd. There is, perhaps, new national
constitution to be framed, anG above all, the
! great question of the day to be settled-the
subject of "human slavery"-that shall de-
termine the exact status of the colored
race whether they be persons or chattels,
men or things.
| The war is not ended. There remains
much to be done by both the sword and the
pen, by the hard and the head, by general
| ship and craftsmanship, ere peaceful plen-
| ty prevail. When the war of steel and bull
gin. 1t may be but transfer to another
scene of operations. From the field to the
congress, from the headquarters to the cabi-
net.
And who is sufficient for these things
who shall lead us to certain victory who
shall extract the poison from sectional and
party emnity who shall give W equitable
laws that shall be binding on all and who
shall repair, and steer the shattered ship of
state
1t is here at the limit of human ability
that the divine element comes in. There is
no prospect so bright but God can darken
no success so great but He can turn to a re-
verse.
The ship may weather the tempest of the
ocean, and be wrecked at the entrance of
her harbor. The soldier may escape the
storm of death in hundred battles, and
die by an accident, within sight of home.
And so our present eXaltation, may be but
the precursor, and harbinger of our degrdda-
tion. Our eminence may be so lofty, that
our fall, may be so deep.
To Jehovah nation is little thing. He
can protect it in the hollow of his hand, or
Whit it away by his breath. "All the in
habitun!s of the earth are reputed ss no.
thing, and lie doeth according to his will
IN tie army OF heaven, anu dulOES tue ln-
habitants of the earth, and none can stay
his hand, or say unto him, what doest
! thou ~
For national corruption, no doubt, has
the scourge been applied. For continued
! impenitence, has it beeh continued and for
our bind self-confidence, our destruction
may be imminent.
What then, is the pressing duty of the
hour if it be not the subduing Of these cor
ruptious, which are knaSing at the risals
of the nation and the forsaking OF this im-
penitence, which prohibits cure
And above all, while our thankful hearts,
recount, this day, the mercies OF our God,
and our tongues give voice to them in lofty
praise While we bend every energy, and
strain every never, to maintain the majesty
of the Law, and the honor of the country:
While we ''let slip the dogs of war and
'tempt their three attendants, Lean famine,
quartering steel. and climbing fire." to qaell
this Goddess rebellion, and snatch tjTs from
the laws of death, our trust should not be
in an arm of flesh, or in sinews of steel, but
"on the name of the Lord of Hosts" Then
our success will be certain, however, hope
less il may appear to the most aespondent
or long it be delayed. And as individuals
and u nation we shall be able to sxclaim
with tho psalmist-NSOma trnSt in chnrints