Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1864-11-24

! a. iOPooi1iOLA 10 al encouragement tn
seeitlon." There is no truth palmer thar
this. There can be no security for Iaw u .iiaL
| Tue law breaker may reasonably expect To ba.
eegotiated with or pacifed. The only RIGHT.
| lul peace which can exist between him and
| soc.ety Is SUCH as is built on his subsection ~
society VIII, and he is not to be consulted
| an lota about 1t. For one. thArafora r ~
| glad that neither party dodoed tho iss,,a
We might as well determine fiPst aS 1as+ 49,.
for all, whether the national peace 70 ,I;ob
we aspire IS to involve surrender ON onn,
promise, or any form of Decentralization II a.
seeded States will lay down their arms anS
| peaceably accept ana obey the supreme an.
| thOrity of the land, then we NAV if mo -
admit them to our councils, and mutuaIIv nor,
suit on the matters of difference: but 50 Innr
as they stand out in armed antagopism tbs
must be coereed. The presidential eIectio3
declares, the nation belieUeS ips coercion. RIM
1t out over all the land where the fac Of
treason floats: the only peace which Won
can have is conquered peace. Only one nar-
ty shall dictate its terms, and that party is
! on the side of constitution and law. Tho
people have passed Judgment upon the theo.
| ry OF armlstice and the convention of tho
States as the remedy for the time. It sur.
renders the principle in the interest of re.
bellion, and they say "wenhave none of it,n
1t creates dangerous precedent, and thew
say I'VE dare not try it, 1t confesses we
are beaten in this struggle-the government
has done much, but it cannot complete the
work which it has undertaken-and they say.
I'VE know better" Il would put the nation
a suppliant at the feet of traitors, begging
Tor peace, and they say, ave will not consent
to this infamy"
The speaker next eloquently enforced the
vital Importance of peaceful acduiescence in
the popular will as expressed at the ballot
boX. The South had again and again elected
PRESIDENTS favorable to their peculiar views;
! the North acquiesced, trusting for its ultimate
victory to the diffusion of intelligence and
the increase of popular morality At length
we elected Northern man with Northern
views. If the South felt she was right, she
ought to have proceeded to re.enlighten and
persuade the popular Judgment. But instead
of that she revolted. She attempted to assas-
| sinate the President elect, and she organized
armed rebellion. She declared she would not
| abide the decision. 1t was the shameless
declaration OF arrogant conceit and pampered
pride: We were made to rule this country
we, the Southern lords and aristoerats-
| and if we cannot rule we will ruin. Let ma
jorities remain with US and we believe in ma
jorities, bit let them slip from our power and
we say, There is no despotism like the des.
potism of majorities.'"
The London Times had declared that 'Dem-
ooracy is on trial in America" But 1t was
not so. The question we were trying was
whether Democracy and aristocracy can
abide together in the same political fold"
The speaker then discussed the heresy of
State Sovereignty at some length, declaring
that the peace which the American people
have demanded must establish the General
Government to the State. The theory of
State Sovereignty would be destructive to
any nation. -- .-
Once more, the only peace the people would
| accept must eradicate the cause of the re-
bellion. Slavery was in deadly antagonism
| to the Nations life, aud must die.
III. The Nations verdict of,peace imposed
certain duties on US as Christian citizens.
In the first place it was our duty to accept
it as the deliberate and fixed determination
| OF the American people, and as such to abide
by it whatever cur choice might have been
before the election If the people had de-
cided for negotiation and compromise, he
would have stood here tonight and said that
as Christian people, acknowledging the Gov
ernment as of God, we must stand by the
people. Our Union must be our strength.
We must not present a divided front
to the common foe. We should heal
| all differences, and where the majority
| lead the minority must not fail to follow.
| Vague mutterings are floating in the air,
| which pOrtend an outbreak. 1t is said thai
| the party which were defeated last week will
rise up in awful retaliation, and demand their
| terms. [ don't believe it. There are ONLY
few leaders in that party who are as cor
rupt as that; and happily they are silenced
forever, for didn't you hear the last dying
wall of Horatio Seymour in that base plea Of
| hypocrite for the purity of elections? That's
| the last you'll ever hear from him
Oh tcllOw-cilizenS-citiz of the great
republic represented before God by such
translated heroes as Lyon, and Kealney, and
| Baker, and Sedgwick and Wadsworth-whose
| army treads with iron foot million miles of
| soil redeemed-whose navy is a terror to the
globe-whose flag still floats untarnshed, the
banner of the free, and whose bosoms, bea
| the hope Of the worlds civilization, the
| cradle of christianity's life! Come one, come
| all-rally in solid phalanx around a common
| standard; press on, and in unconquerable
union, reach up to where victory CLEANS for
US. Oh we shall conquer if we do not de-
stroy ourselves.
The I'd duty imposed upon US as Christian
citizens was the spirit of watchfulness The
|
| earnestly enjoining the people to beware of
| politicians who might try to cheat them by
some dishonorable compromise. No nation
had suffered SO much from compromise as this
one.
The Sd duty imposed upon US in view of
| the recent verdict Of the nation was to brace
ourselves to a Heroic endurance We en-
tered on a new stage Of cur civil conflict with
bright auguries. Let US, however, beware of
disappointments. Success might not come at
once. We should grid ourselves with 3ati-
ence and courage. 1t was not suficie;-t tn
declare the kind Of peace we would have
We must labor to secure it. While vitality
remained the rebellion would struggle on
We might yet have higher prices, more bur
densome taxation than we have yet expert
enced. The war might reach us more close
ly than ever. But, OH what then? Was
not our Government worth SUSTAINING.
And so, continued the speaker, | come tn
the 4th and last duty which is pre-emineDtIv
the Christians in this crisis of our nations
history-1rasst IN God. 1t is one of our
greatest encourageTnents that the cause which
we Vindicated last Tuesday at the poIIs. we
can repose in Gods keeping. There is a coin
just struck from the q. S. mint with this
motto: eve trust in God" and here il
circulating from hand to hand-a banner @
promise to the Nation. The American peo-
pie recognize their independence upon God,
ana they are relying upon him in this hour Of
theif trial And SO my friends, whatever
uod may nave IN store for you, whether
iohg war or short one, whether universities
ana continued trial, or swift deliVerance from
impending peril, Oh let not go your conf
dence III him. Let Gods people be instant in
prayer. Let the closet and the hearthstone