Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1865-05-05
GLIMPsES AT THE PAST, THE
PRESENT, AND THE FUTURE.

mgnL OF terror, defdStatAuh tlln DtVousHcu WI
have not, indeed, seen the invader within
our own immediate vicinity, but we have
seen our own brave soldiers march through
our streets to meet him on the border; We
have also seen the scattered fragments oi
Milroy's gallant little army, foot-sore and dis.
heartened, enter cur streets and claim oul
sympathy and assistance And most gladly
was it given the old. the middle aged and
the young We'd with each other in providing
for the wants of our brave defenders Our
lady friends have labored continually since
the war began for the comfort of our gallant
soldiers in field, camp and hospital. Thou
sands at their country $ call have gone forth
from our midst to do battle for the preserva-
ton of our national integrity. Disaster af-
ter disaster befel our armies and at one time
the army of the rebellion even threatened
our State Capital, but it was soon followed
by the ever memorable victory of Gettys-
burg. When the tide Of war set in our ia
vor, victory followed victory as our conquer
ing hosts advanced, and now we rejoice
over the capture of the last rebel army. To
day when the white winged angel of Peace
is lowering over our land, and about to take
up her abode with us once more, the over
flowing gratitude Of our hearts may be ex-
cused if it find expression in highly eolored,
or even extravagant language But why
talk Of extravaganza at a time when words
cannot express the feelings of true and pa
triotic heart. 1t is eminently BETTING such
an occasion, that we should rejoice over the
near approach of Peace, the restoration OF
our national integrity, the disenthralment of
race and the consummation of the
great idea, first promulgated the 4th of Ju-
ly, rs, that all men are, and of right ought
to be, free and equal Yes, to-day we may
look all the world in the face and declare
that the clanking Of the chains of sla-
very is not heard within the limits of our
wide domain, that we are in deed and In
truth free people. No apology viii be ne
cessary if in our exultation we give way to a
lively fancy and glowing imagination, in
descanting upon our future prospects. The
past has been dark and bloody page in our
country history, upon which none of us
can look with any but feelings of deepest
sorTow-sorrow for the national honor, that
those, our country so fondly cherished should
turn upon her with parracidal hands and use
all the advantages she had so generously be-
slowed upon them, for her own destruction
sorrow that freedoms soil should -aaYtare
to life and strength such perfdious traitors
and last but not least, sorrow for the loved
and lost, for those dear ones who have gone
forth never to return, who have sacrificed
their lives upon the altar of our liberties
who have fallen in the bloody fray mid the
roar Of cannon. Or have languished and
starved amid the gloom and filth of South
ern prisons Aye, who has not lost father,
a son, q husband, brother or friend in
this fratricidal war, and for these cur tears
are mingled with the smiles ofrejoicing, but
they have fallen in glorious, sacred cause,
their memories shall be green through all
coming time, and we may truly say
''When Spring, with dewy fingers cold
Returns to deck their hallowed mold,
She then shall dress sWeeter sod,
Than fancy's feet have ever trod."
But from such sorrowful memories let us
turn to the contemplation of brighter scenes
and happier prospects. 1t is true that in
the beginning we aimed not at abolition, but
there's divinity that shapes our end. The
madness of the South drove us to arms, and
the stern necessity of an unavoidable war,
forced upon US the abolition of Slavery.
How striking the similarity between ourfrst
and second wars for liberty. The one, be-
ginning with an effort to preserve colonial
rights and privileges, ended in the establish
ment ofa free andindependent nation. The
other, beginning in the defence Of our ma
tional integrity, an overruhng and all-wise
Providence has led us by a way we knew not
until to-day we stand an enfranchised people.
England has been in both our chief enemy.
Surely, perdde Albion must, to-day, feel
doubly humbled, while the nation she has
thrice essayed to destroy, stands forth, vic
torioas, triumphant over all her enemies,
without peer among the nations of the
earth. Before us spreads in the dim vista
ofthe future such prospect Of wealth, pow
er, granduer and prosperity, as the imagi-
nation of man never conceived this side of
the fabled Elysium. When Alexander
wept for another world to conquer, his i'm
imagination had not pictured so fair heri-
tage as we this day enjoy.
There are those among us nc doubt who
win, now that they can no longer frighten
timid ones with the gloomy side of war, en-
deavor to prove that what did not come of
war viii come of peace, that ruin, financial,
ifnot national, is now imminently threatning
us. But let US listen not to such Ito use no
harsher terml unwise counsels. They are
born of the gloom of defeated and disap-
pointed political ambition. With the re-
turn Of our strong-armed warriors to the
peaceful pursuits of life and the opening up
of the wholecountry toforeign immigration,
over the fair fields Of the sunny South viii
soon be heard the whistle Of the iron horse,
the hum Of busy manufactures, the clatter
of furnaces, foundries and workshops, while
the industry, born Of labor well rewarded,
win cause the hitherto sterile fields and bar
rem wastes to bud and bloom as the rose.
TIE national debt viii necessitate the pro-
lection required for the development of our