The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1865-04-13
(For the Register.l
Peace and Amnesty.

Peace and Amnesty.
In the words of another, we say GOD
grant that the course of recent events,
may lead to speedy peace, and that
when the people rejoice, we may rejoice
with them, over thousands of lives saved
to the country, and mankind" And we
rejoice also, and call upon our friends to
rejoice with us, over the fact, that many
of the leading Republican newspapers,
recommend toward the South, a liberal
and generous conduct Oh the part OF our
rulers, and our Northern people. But
the question occurs, will the generosity
of true Christian, and Of a wise and
enlightened Statesman, be extended to
these unfortunate people at this time.
| We are inclined to think not, but will
rejoice, should we be disappointed. We
think the war is substantially at an end,
and that organized bodies of troops, in
hostile array to the government at Wash
|ington, will soon (if not already disap-
pear. But we greatly fear that the con-
duct of the people of the North will be
harsh, and that the liberality the gov
ernment may exhibit on this Occas-
| ion, will be of na,ro,c, stinted and stHnt-
ed growth. Were the President left to
himself l would be more hopeful Mr..
Seward, though bon vivant, scrupled
not for twenty years steadily to fan the
flame of religious fanaticism, which is
| the cause of this war, and Stanton was
never known, i'll private, or In pubic
| life, to perpetrate an act of generosity
But there are other and stronger reasons
| for the belief that the South will on this
occasion find little .tdUor or mogndnimity
on the part of the government OF people,
and the first and most convincing one Is
that this war is essentially u religious ,rar
| 1t had its source there, and there found
| it's greatest support. | wish here to adj
| mOnish the reader to be careful not to
| confound Religion with Christianity
| Christianity is very different thing from
mere religion. MOrmOnism is religion,
| but it is not Christianity. Paganism and
Mahomedism rereligiOnso are the Spir-
| itualisIn. Unitarianism and other isms of
New England, but they are not Christi
anity All this is very plain, hut there
\ are other isms, more nearly resembling
| Christianity, but which are different from
| it,-such as Pharisaism, which rules at
! present our larger and more orthodox de
| nominations. Some of these, North and
South, if not all of them, rushed into the
/ war with the rampancy of old Mars him.
| self, and since its commencement have
/ made it the occasion of establishing, di-
Il lx,- r.,f
i Christian communion, on the part of in
dividuals, and of setting up the conf
mandments of men for the command
ments of God. For example, the Old
| School Presbyterian Church, which here
/ tofOre not only tolerated and practiced
slavery and denounced abolitionists as a
pestilent set of bad men, now in turn
denounces slavery rs absolutely and per sc
sinful and wicked, and through its Gen
eral Assembly, and other church iudca-
| tories, call upon its members to immedi-
ately and earnestly address themselves to
| the work of eXterminating this same
| African slavery. Of course, if it is abso.
| lutely sinful, the church will soon deny
| Chri stan communion with those who
practice or Justify it; and the Methodists
have, if we understand them, gone "A
javelin's throw beyond this--to Christ
ian union they have added a new cOndi-
tion-namely, political and governmental
union. And what shall we say of the re-
| igion of New England. 1t is war and
war only, with devastation of the coun-
? try and destruction to men, women and
children, and this only.
Little, therefore, that is generous or
magnanimous can be expected from the
religion Of the country. Let us turn to
| the government and see what it prom
ises, Judging from the past, and regret
| to say it also promises little 1t is true
| that the avowed worshippers of Mammon
and disciples of the world, boast that
they have been more humane and showed
less cruelty in the progress of this un-
necessary savage and inhuman war,
than the church has. Whether this claim
OF tho men of the world is we'll founded
or not, shall not stop to inquire,
though, l confess it has more PLAUSIBLE
| ity in it than is to the credit of those
who compass sea and land to make one
proselyte.
But from this quarter or from the gov
eminent little fear will be realized
From men who would allow no contra
diction, nor suffer the glorious cause of
peace to be advocated except at the
peril of Imprisonment and Punishment
from men who, in the face of the Consti-
tuition, they swore to support, abolished
freedom )of the press and of speech;
who hailed men and women, and i'm
INJURED them for long years, without cause
and without warrant; from men who
have robbed and punished the innocent
for departing from the Federal Constitu.
ton, and yet have themselves broken
over every constitutional restraint and
guaranty, In place Of their own solemn
oaths, under the pretense Of necessity
from men who deny the sovereignty of
the States, and avow their determine
ton to reduce them to the condition of
mere municipalities and county corpora
tions, and make State Rights" the song
of the druukard and the foot ball of the
pets of power; from men who. by Con-
gressional enactment, make the people
swear they never. will oppose OF take up
arms against the Federal government,
and 80 lay deep the foundations of tyran-
ny, and deny the right of revolution
the very corner stone on which stands the
whole fabric of American nationality and
independence. From such men as these,
we fear we can look for little in the way
Of magnanimity or statesmsnshipaS4
New England has controlled the gov.