The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1864-12-17
PACIFIC
Commercial Advertiser.
Principle and Policies.
lFrJm the New York Independently

ioritv easily succumb 10 the suggestions Of their
lower natures, while the few walk steadiastly on
In LOYALTY to truth. 1t is sad u think that most
men will do escort 10 truth only when she goes
In = cUach-and-fOur (and then they want the
back sat well upholstered y and only here and
there IN history there is found \ soul Of such
mJral stalwartuess, that IL asks only 10 keep com
Iany with truth, and not much matter whether
IN a REAL retiuue OF 1t a stake of burning.
In tue particular Of personal moral nObleness,
"a man has not discovered the true philosophy of
living till he has ascertained that principle i the
only safe pilot in all weitEeTs, and policy an un-
certain guide beneath all skies, bat never less
Trustworthy than in delicious calms, which not
seldom are the wOmbs of temIests.
! know the old hoIry. mOss-grown, orthodox
adlge cues that - Honesty Is the best policy -
but IL i pretty clear to my mind that most men
are infdels upon this tenet for most men have Il
rharp eye 70 policy, but few men embark on the
ship of honesty o. reach that Elysian harbOr. No
thought have 1 Of denying that the man of un-
swerving integrity viii come cut best IN the long
run. even a. respects temporal interests but this
doctrine belongs To the creed of faith, and not Of
sight. Truth jealous Of her own celestial beauty.
often hides her earthly rScOmpenses, IN order that
the soul may be cnamOrsd Of herself alone, or II
not alone, then in supreme adherence Never
mind that she - conducting every one Of her dis
ciplcs TO thrones and municipalities, they shall
not always see the issue of the adventurous pill
grimagc, but be,imes shall behold her clad as it
IN beCGary, az, scOrned anu spit upon and scOuTg-
Gu. = II nc WSEt u CullEAl CODuclLIiel dlu gwen
over ~ EctOrs. 1t Is - very Suggestive piece OF
psychological study 10 match the career Of two
leaders OF public opinion n the pending issue Of
q great moral question, one Of whom - Il man Of
principles, and the other OF whom is a. man of
politics. Suppose u preacher, an editor, a pOiItI-
elan, mot "a politician IN the degraded sense Of
Millions satire, a synonym of moral r1ttenness,
but 4 knight in the tournament Of opinion in the
civil nrena); suppose any one OF these representa-
tives among the guides of popular sentiment
and observe what a pitiable whittier policy makes
of the man who chooses it for his guiding star,
and see what II granite tower of consistency and
strength principle makes of the man who chooses
her a. the ultimate umpire OF appeal.
In nothing Il this contrast more startlingly
paIpable than in the contest between the ideas of
freedom and slavery, which for half a century
has agitated this nation In pulpits, in halls of
congressional debate, in editorial leaders, how
wide apart have walked the men Of principles
and the men of policies What noted examples
of backsliding in the orthodoxy of freedom will
the chronicles of the American pulpit hand down
tO the generations of the future What wrig-
glings and twistings and adroii eyasions have
saliently marked and memorialized the charac-
tiers of some distinguished leaders Of public opin-
ion in the arena of politics and the press,
And above the ~surgings of this civil strife for
freedom in our land, like granite cliffs towering
IL the sky above ocean pillows, who does not
recur to a few names bespattered with the odium
and wreathed with the laurels of martyrdOm,
names of men who, from the beginning, have
loved and adhered to liberty. not for policv's
sake but for Gods sake and humanity's. His
tory hath already written 1t, and will write it yet
in more indelible lines, that the men of this land
who espoused liberty as u policy were timid, in
congruous, and hence impotent and the men Ca
select group In their fewness and nobility who
espoused liberty as a principle, were both consist
ent and persistent, and swayed the moral powers
of public opinion with IA power scarcely less than
omnipotent. / need not mention any of these
pioneer and MARTYR names. The children of ten
generations to come (shOuld the race survive so
lOng) will lisp these names in their nursery dia-
lect. And since God. IN these war-thunders
Seyerberating through all the sky, has begun to
declare for freedom, even in the ears of the deaf
and dead, l nave said TO myself II full thousand
times. that | had rather go 10 my grave with the
record of pioneer of freedom, than TO possess the
wealth of argosies or WELD the scep;re of king
dOms.
just now i danger impends over the cause Of
ultimate and permanent freedom in this land, in
the very circumstances which seem auxiliary To it.
Never, till now. has liberty become a policy in
the accepted faith of the people. At last such is
the case, and the decree of emancipation issued
by the Executive, with the affirmative response
which 1t has met in field and by fireside, in eau
Gus and IN camp. has seized upon liberty by mill
tary CONSUMPTION, and dragged her from her quiet
home in the bOsoms OF Philanthropists. to be used
as n b-dttering-ram against the baStiOns of civil
rebellion. What a pentecOstal season have the
past two years been Tor the conversion of Obsti-
nate heTeticS 10 tue creed OF IUeTtN Ana now
men are hIttering themselves that policy has set
tied the contested issues of freedom and slavery
without further interference of conscience in the
matter. Never. never No great moral problem
Of truth and right WAS ever settled past all un-
settling, till God and humanity. IN lieu of peace
and policy, were chosen rs the supreme arbittrs
thereof. And however hopeful others may be. 1
utterly despair of 4 permanent triumph Of free
dom ON this soil until the popular heart of the
nation Is educated 20 love freedom for Gods sake
aud humauity's beyond and above any or all
others.
On 4 like speeious pre;ext, some of the timil
selves, and have the world carried 70 the millen-
Nal morn, in - hOwery beds of ease" exh0rt to
silence On the theme Of freedom, urging that
Gods prgviiential interference IN the matter has
superseded the ~propriety and the need of human
discussion. No, my tacit friend, Gods thunder
s-llablss ara the very arguments for our speak
ing, and the Combinations OF our reticence.
Because God has ceased preaching in a peaceful
sanctuary, and has taken storn-browed Sinai for
his pulpit, and j. shaking the world with the
artillery of his sentences. therefore every man
:hat hath = tongue and skill 10 handle il, must
open his mouth and testify aloud.
Arbitration of battles never settled q great
moral principle for ever without a responsive
affirmation In the cOnsciences of men. If men
have come 70 spouse liberty Is a policy. this Is
something 70 he thankful for but that God may
not in retributiye severity snatch the boon from
Us because We are not worthy Of It. let Us pray
that we and all who dweil in our national Dor
ters, may come M out of the lOwlands of policy
on 10 the IabOr-summit Of principle, and love,
not less for the sake of peace and unity. but
more for God and his dear suffering children
Rsr. II. ". Beechc-.