Union County star and Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1859-1864, 1864-05-03
Pres. Lincoln's Address at Baltimore.

President explaius some PORTIONS Of hi'
policy in q way that will be very satisfac
tory to our readers. lie SAID
= LADIES AND GENTLEMEN Calling tt
MUD that VIZ are Iu BallIlDUre, we cat
not fail to note that the world moves
Looking upon these many people Assem-
bled hero, TO serve, as they best may, the
soldiers Of the Uuioa, 1t occurs at once
that three years ago the same soldier;
could not as much as pass through Balu
more. The change, from then till now,
is both great aud grauiJius. B!es'iHg'
on the brave men who have wrought the
change, and the fair women who strive tG
reward them for II
But Baltimore suggests more than
could happen within Baltimore. The
change within Baltimore, Is part oniy OF
q far wider change. When the wal
began, three years ago, neither party, mol
any msD, expected II would last TIL now
Each looked for the eud, III some way,
long ere to-day. Neither did anticipate
thar domestic slavery would be affected
by the war But here We are; the war
has no, been ended, aud slavery has been
much stfected-hUw much, needs not
now TO be recounted. go true Is it that
man proposes aud God dIsposes.
! But We eau see tue past, though we
may not claim to have directed 1t; and
seeing it, in this case, We feel more hope
full aud coufdent for the future.
The world has never had a good defui-
tion Of the word liberty, aud the American
people just now are much in wan. of one
We all declare for liberty; but in using
the saue ,oord We do not all mean the
same thing. With some, the word liberty
may mean for each man to do as he
pleases with himself aud the product of
his labor, and with others the same word
may mean for sUme men to do as they
please with other men and tie product
ot other mems labor. Here are two, not
only different, but Incompatible things,
called by the same name, liberty. Aud
it follows that each of the things is, by
the respective parties, called BY two diff
erent aud incompatible names-liberty,
aud tyranny.
The shepherd drives the wolf from the
Sleeps throat, for which reason the sheep
thanks the shepherd as iiJerator while
the wolf denouDces him, for the same act,
as the destroyer Of liberty, especially as
the sheep was black one. Plainly, the
sheep and the wolf are no. agreed upon
defoition of the word liberty; aud pre-
cisely the same difference prevails to-day
among US human creatures, even in the
North, and all protesting to love liberty.
Hence, We behold the processes daily
passing from under the yoke Of bondage,
hailed by some as the advance of liberty,
aud bewailed BY others as the destruction
of all liberty. Recently, as it seems, the
people Of Maryland have been doing
some'hiug to defue liberty; and thanks
to them that, in what they have done, the
VOLTS dictionary has been repudiated.
1t is not Sery.becoming for one of my
position to make speeches of great length
but there is another subject upon which
l feel that l ought to say word A
painful rumor, true, fear, has reached
US OF the massacre, by the Rebel forces at
Fort Pillow, in the west end of Tennessee,
on the Mississippi river, of some three
hundred colored soldiers and their white
officers, who bad just been overpowered
BY their assailants.
There seems to be some anxiety in
the public mind whether the Government
is doing its duty to the colored soldier,
and to the service at this point. At the
beginning of the war, and for some time,
the use of colored troops was not contem.
plated and how the change of purpose
was wrought will not now take time to
explain. Upon a clear conviction Of
duty l resolved to turn that element of
strength to account and am responsible
for it to the American people, to the
Christian world, to history, and on my
fual account to God. Having determined
to use the negro as a soldier, there is no
way but to give him all the protection
given to any other soldier. The difficulty
is not in stating the principle, bu. in
practically applying it. 1t is a mistake
to suppose the Government is Indifferent
to this matter, or is not doing the best it
can in regard to it. We do not to day
know that q colored soldier, or white
officer commanding colored soldiers, has
been massacred by the Rebels when made
a prisoner. We fear it, believe it, may
say, but we do not know To take the
life of one of their prisoners on the
assumption that they murder ours, when
it is short of certainty that they do mur.
der ours, might be too serious, too cruel
mistake. We are having the Fort Pillow
affair thoroughly investigated; and such
Investigation will probably show conclus- |
lively how the truth is. If, after all has
been said, it shall turn out that there has
been no massacre at Fort Pillow, it will be !
almost safe to say there has been none,
and will be none elsewhere. Ii there
has been the massacre of three hundred |
here, or even the tenth part of three /
hundred, it will be conclusively proven
md, being SO proven, the retribution shall /
Is surely come. 1t will be matter Of
,rave consideration, in what exact course
o apply the retribusion; but, in the
imposed case, it must come.
The Rebels acknowledge loss Of I, 200
TILED in the storming Of Plymouth, N.
200 more than than the whole Union
,arrison which they we're fighting