American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1864-09-07

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heart moge than the wrath of Caesar could
have done. 4
" The most terrible Of. foes is a ricti,s ?
And better far is the condition of a slave
than of his tyrannieal master. Slavery
has generally, perhaps always, endangered
and reyolutionizcd the nations where it
has existed. 1t destroyed Pharoah and
his host.
The Chians were the first Greeks who
engaged in the slave trade And they
placed Il Calling yoke on their slaves, "In
process Of time the Chians themselves
were compelled to drain the bitter cup of
seryitude This Athenaeus the Roman
orator considered "the just punishment Of
their wiekedness,"
The Helotsof Sparta often rose against
their masters, thus brin ging on civil war,
The oppression exercised toward them
kindled those bloody seryile wars which
Sparta could not quench without foreign
aid.
In Rome the slaves often arose against
their oppressors. Inone servile insurrec-
tion it is said by some that a million of
lives we're lost. Four times were the
Roman armies defeated. Roman soldiers
became the captives OF their bondwen.-
The army Of the slaves increased to 200,
600. Slavery was the moving cause of
more than one revolution in Rome. Thus
slavery has always been dangerous ele-
ment in society; and if the slaves have
not risen against their masters, God has
in some other way rebukedthe oppressors
Our present troubes have been dreaded for
"a long time by wise and good men.
Even Jefferson who was far from being
pous man, said with reference to sa-
very, II nemble for my country when /
remember that God is Just"
Patrick Henry, though stakeholder
said {: ~ cannot justify it. | believe
time viii come when an opportunity will
be offered to abolish this lamentable evil"
Washington said that it was among his
first wishes to see some plan adopted by
which slavery may be abolished by law
We all hoped it would come without
blood and we feared to move a hand in
the matter lest we should 4zndlo a blaze
that would burn down the fair fabricz OF
our government But we believed that
the time woul3 come when God would
take vengence. We remembered that it
was written Of Jesus. (Ps 72;4) "He
shall judge the poor Of the people, he
shall save the children of the needy, and
shGH 6rcoh IN pieces he opprs5or" In
the mean time the cries Of the oppressed
were going up to God Il has been BOZ
yers since John Hawkins first landed
negro slaves, brought from Africa. on
American shores at jamestown Va. This
is nearly hundred years longer that God
has borne with slavery in our country
than he did with the enslayement of the
Hebrews by the Egyptians. God said to
Abraham, (Gen l5:i3, H. "Know of a
surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in
a strange land that is not theirs, and shall
serve them and they shall aillict them
400 years; and also that nation whom
they shall serve, viii judge: and after
ward shall they come out with great sub
stance" This 100 years was reconed
from the time that God spake to Abra-
ham till Israel came out Of Egypt But
the real bondage was not much more than
half 80 long. Or. Scott says, "the con
tinuance Of Israel in Egypt is calculated
to have been 2l5 years" Accordingly
God has spared Us in cur oppression lon
ger by nearly century than he did the
Egyptians. Let us not, ike Pharoah,
harden our hearts and still disobey.
OF course there is not perfect parallel
between the two people enslayed and the
two people enslaving. The negroes are
not Gods peculiar people as the lsraelito3
were. But many Of them are his beloy-
cd people, and he hears their prayers
On the other hand wear not the heath
On and besotted people that Egypt was
But we are q christian people And this
makes our guilt hegreater God said to
his people, Amos 3:2) : You only have
| known of all the families Of the earth
therefore will punish you for all your
iniquities' The more we are onlighten-
ed and blest Of God, the greater ourpun-
ishment if we sin.
In conclusion, / would say, there are
other great sins of which we are guilty,
and of which we ought heartily to repent.
You who have heard me preach for years
can testify that | have never made the
subject Of this days discussion hobby
| have indeed, never so fully discussed it
before. Perhaps havee erred. Nor have
| any partiality for the negro. But he is
a man, and as such he ought to be treated
But there are other great sins, of which
/ have often spoken, sins that thought
claimed our attention more than this Our
pride as nation, our profanity and for
getfulness of God,-our iutemperance,-
our Sabbath breaking,--our frauds, our
recklessness of human life all these
and Others, call for deep penitenco this
day.
o, who viii stand in the breach, and by
prayer, and penitence, and reformation,
aud good instruction, make up the hedge.
that Gods Indignation may cease, and his
compassion spare our guilty land
Let Us return to the Lord and he viii
bind Us up. Amen.
OUTRAGEOUS SUPPRESSION OF Free
SPEEcH.-The following notices were