The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1865-05-04

@ ing. Its tendencies toWaIus ulssoiuuoh ny
already In force. and there Is notning 70 noi6
the centre of all good, all righteous law-te
Him whose throne is In the heavens, whose
n kingdom ruleth over all. sIlisgmaH wsN COOS
4 Passing from general to particular consider
atoms the speaker dealt faithfully with the
wants and necessities Of our own country
/ and exhibited inla strong light the grand pre-
i requisites of its true glory. From this par
Of the discourse we extract as follows: ,.I's4a &
Our laws andform Of government as ORR
4 ginally framed and adopted, are In the main
4 all tnat we could desire. Our constitution i.
: srnost marvellous instrument. Having Z
bearing in SO many directions, looking aftel
90 may Interests, making provision for 30 ma
| ny contingencies, and guarding against &C
i many possible evils, that We never study II
/ without sympathizing with the great states
man who said there ie more wisdom In the
! constitution Of the United States, than Its
| trainers ever dreamed Off But still, under
/ that constitution opinions have sprung up and
laws have been adopted which need not only
l TO be modified but obliterated In order to pro-
| mote our national glory. These laws have
/ made distinctions without regard to manhood.
| We have declared to the world that we held
| It to be self-evident that all mankind were
DuIu lrce Auu Gqu&i, tuu yet lWo uhNe ~ 4k<,r
cally denied it. We have % . nalon MOI only
ss;ahed slavery in many OF the States, but
tolerated It on national territory. And this
Inconsistency, aad injustice, and wrong has
| from the commencement furnished our nation
| al glory. This must be removed, and we must
| In all our laws put manhood before complex
| lon, and make these laws shield of protec-
| tion to- every creature In our borders, made
in the divine image. And our govefnfnent,
too, 60 excellent, so republican In form, m,spring-
| ing from the people and made for the people,
having wonderfully answered the purpose of
peace, and proved itself adequate to the most
terrible strain and pressure of war, Ia never
theless, capable of being made yet more glori-
GUS. Though taken as . whole, II may, as has
often been said, ,.be the best under heaven, still
i Is not perfeets Its general1p provisions and
safeguards are most excellent, its legislative
It's executive, its Judicial departments, serve
admirably to- check and balance each other.
and yet 1t does not give the sane right Of suf-
frage, the same protection to all who have a
similar manhood, similar degree of intelli-
gence, and similar characters. Men who
stand side by side and fight for their country.
and fall and die side by side In defense of It,
cannot have the right OF citizenship on the
same terms. We do not now say what those
terms should be, but we do say, If We would
have our national glory bright and full In this
respect, we must make them the same for all
men OF similar attainments and character,
without regard to complexion. We. can see
many and strong reasons why one who can
neither read or write should be excluded from
the rights Of suffrage and citizenship until he
can. Such persons cannot form an intelligent
opinion of their own upon matters Of public
interest, and will inevitably be at the control
Of political and ambitious demagogues. What
ever the terms fixed upon for citizenship, we
fhaaas farnne ehos1ld H.,
men of allcolor and all nations. q iias doida b
In regard TO the glory Of nation4as con-
nected with the administration of the govern
Anent, need say but little here.l Our country
cannot long suffer at any one time from that
cause except it. be our own fault. We may
3 have imbecile or unprincipled men elected to
office and placed in authority. But they are
not eRtailed upon us, and the time for change
and relief soon comes. We need however, to
! guard agsinstl a sickly sentimentalism, which
has been developing itself in some quarters,
exciting sympathy for the yilest offenders, az
though they were martyrs to the holiest prin-
ciples, and demanding mercy at the expense
OF all justice. We have much to apprehend
from this source. II has been truly said, "A
God all mercy, Is q God nnjust.n So it may
be said. .sof government The good Of the
whole . TO be consulted, the innocent protect
ed, crime treated as crime, offenders against
government. law and the rights Of Others, ~
offenders; authority must have Its power, law
its penalty, guilt its appropriate punishment; !;
Justice must be meted out, with 4 regard TO
the security of the whole, so that the law, as
it was originally designed, shall be Q terror to
evil deere, and a praise to them that do we'll
land. = s'sA'sa go ~
The necessity of general education is prop-
erly enforced, and then the speaker closes as
follows:ia oEsd snoI1s bs1ataeooas pniged .loana
One subject more claims our attention. 1t
Is that of the more general diffusion or virtue,
morality and piety, in all the, communities
throughout our land. There must be an open
Bible as well as the ability to read it This IL
the great safeguard Of our nation. It 10 by
this book, the principles which it contains,
the Christianity which ii reveals, that the pas
sions. of men are to be restrained, y the rights
OF others to be respected, and there be that
general diffasion of virtue, which 10 ever the
glory Of . nation. It's By means OF this that
that the truest democracy il established, the
loftiest patriotism inspired, the snblimest VIC
| tories achieved, and the industry and pros
| perity OF nation advanced. Men must learn
through this, the great art OF self lEgovernment
and then they will reflect glory upon civil
1 government. It's vain 10 suppose that the
citizens Of any country can govern themselves
| individually. And this they will never do,
] without the ail pervading power Of Christiani-
ty. A republican government cannot stand
/ of itself, cannot be upheld by ambitious parti-
| sans, unprincipled politicians, or even infidel
statesmen. 1t must be sustained BY an intel
| ligent, patriotic,E and Fyirtuous people. God
| must be acknowledged nal. the providences
that bless, and in the providences that scourge
I and afilet. by him kings rule, y and without
/ him people will come to desolation and ruin.
1 The Psalmist seemed to rest every thing upon
i this. HSurely,p he says, shis salvation is nigh
them that fear him. that glory may dwell ID
our land" He had no conception Of national
4 glory aside from the fear ofJthe Lord, and his
! salvation. Here is our safety and our hope.
/ Morality, virtue, religion must be diffused
and have the supremacy An the emeans and
i appliances in our hands and at our control
must be brought into use, and with new and
increased vigors Our children. must be I'M
bued with the sentiment Of pietyn and with
the principles Of religion. g The community
mnstbe made to feel that national glory conei
through the fear of the Lord. yefgg1nsH :asl
Such it seems to me are some Of the impors
tant lessons ofthe hour. We are as nation
ina transition state passing through sea ol
Diood and OF fire to new, and weo hope q
better order of things. We have suffered, o
how terribly, during the last four yearsl Our
young men, our fathers, our sons, our brother.
have gone forth to return NO more iThej,
blood has moistened the soil ofevery dislova
state, they have been insultad, abused. starved
murdered In every Southern prison. A,
A length as the crowning act of treason and
barbarity, our President, beloved, honest
faithful, has been stricken down by the COW
ardly hand ei an assassin. sliyo1q fsnrs eT.l'ss,
These are all fruits from the same tree, con
clusions from the same premises, events from
the same pernicious logic, and the same wronl
principles. They call loudly, II not foryen
( gence, for reform in the frame work Of socie
ty. They enforce the lessons of this darl
hour. And We may well ask as does the spos
tie, Have ye suffered so many things In vain ?
And our nature, our humanity, our religion
answers they shall not be in vain. Even 81