The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1865-06-09
peace and good will, and fraternal feelings,
such as shall enable all to live as o household

peace and good will, and fraternal feelings,
such as shall enable all to live as household
OF brothers. Whatever We may think of the
wicke'l7ess of the late rebellion, (aud on this, I
think u ere but one mind among us) 1t is
best THAI as little be said to call up the past as
possible. 1t is aiways generous to tonch light.
~ on the faults of q vanquished foe; and victors
can afford to be generous. With our object
galned.-the preservation of our Union,-we
may afford to cay little of the personal vices
in the earth, and have long borne heavily upon
US. 1t Is time that we had all learned right
eousness, and prudence, and moderation, and
forbearance. Less than the Government has
done, in maintaining its existence and integri-
ty, 1t could not have done; more than this were
unnecessary, and of evil tendency. Once in q
time, the undutiful Absalom rebelled against
fathers heart was rent with anguish; but his
duty must be performed. hbsalom was slain,
and his rebellion crushed. The King rejOiced
that his country was safe; but the warnings of
fathers heart found utterance in the exclam-
alton: 20, my son, AbsalOm! My son. my
son, Absalom Would God had died for
thee! D, AbsalOm, my son my sOn!" So
may we we'll exclaim, in reference to our err
ing sons and brothers; and the Christian heart
may well melt in sympathy, and pray, Father,
forgive them! they know not what they DO"
A word of apology for our national sins may
be admissible. 1t is, perhaps, unavoidable
that nations destined to be great. or having
the elements Of wealth and power. would pass
through sore trials and bitter experiences. The
young man of large intellect, and generous
impulses, and high aspirations, and unbounded
ambition. is not likely to gain his ends without
many heavy collisions and some sore reverses.
The very energy which is essential to great
ness and the celebrity of his movements, must
at sometimes involve him in conflicts. It is
hardly possible that he should reach the goal
of his ambition, or accomplish his destiny
without committing errors and as some one
has said, "Some errors are worse than crimes
This is equally true of nations. A people full
of ardor and enterprise as our Anglo-Saxons
have ever been, especially on this continent,
cannot be content with an humble destiny.
And situated as we are, on great continent,
washed by great oceans, and intersecied by
lordly rivers-with q fertile soil and genial
sky-with all the elements of wealth and of
power at their hands. so that fortunes spring
out of the earth at their bidding-with the fall
consciousness of capability and of power, and
q contempt for whatever is tame and common
place, their enterprises necessarily assume
gigantic proportions. and move with rapidity
that is dangerous. In such q race conflicts are
almost inevitable; and bitter though valuable,
will be the experience gained by those conflicts.
In the early periods of an active life, before
large experience has been gained, there will be
many miscarriages. and bitter memories of
them will serve to prevent worse mistakes in
later life. These experiences may form o
large part OF the capital stock of our future
greatness. To err, is human. To suffer for
those errors, is natural and necessary. To
profit by corrections. is wise; and to turn
great errors to good account, is philosophical
The noblest natures, and the greatest nations,
have committed the greatest errors,-suffered
| the sorest Affections and reverses, and after
wards accomplished the greatest destinies.
This, our fearful war, has sprung out of the
very bOldness of our movements, and the
grandeur of our enterprises. Our prosperity
has seemed to know no bounds. All the ma
tons of the earth have seemed likely to be
tribulatory to US. Like Jeshurun, we have
grown fat, and kicked. Our prosperity has
spoiled US. We have forgotten our God. We
were fast becoming lawless; and hence, we
turned our strength against each other. In
our wild carnival of liberty we have invoked,
and turned loose the worst elements of human
nature, and permitted the worst of men to
seek their amusement and advantage at the
expense of the public peace. The consequence
But our mourning will prove salutary.-
Henceforth, we live, and walk, among
the honored graves of our brothers, our
fathers. and our sons, whose lives
were necessary to allay the storm that we
had permitted to be raised in our midst Those
graves will solemaly admonish us, for the fu-
ture. to rule our spirits, and see that the rens
OF power are kept in honest and skillful hands.
II mistake not, there will be a general up.
rising, in the next four years, to depose all
professional, and reckless, and IRRESPONSIBLE
leaders, and bid them stand aside for honest
worth, with little respect to parties. Our po
litical and moral atmosphere will be cleared
up; and purer life, and higher tone will be
given to our nation. The swagger of the cav
aler, and the cant of the fanatic. alike, will
pass unheeded, or be needed only to be re-
buked by healthy public sentiment, We
shall have learned what it is to bear the iude
ments of our God and with a deeper reyeI.
ence, and hOlier purpose, we shall en-.
circle the affairs of religion, and observe the
ordinances of man" for the Lords sake. and
with reference to eternity
The logic of events in four wears, has
| carried US far beyond anything that we
| were prepared for, or that most of us bae
thought Of as coming within the present
century. But of this we need not complain,
Revolutionary movements are always fraugbt
with great consequences. No change is too
great to be wrought by war of such magnj
tude as that through which we ha e passed
Upon the whole, believe the war has been
philosophical, and perhaps a moral, necessity
With the clements that have been at work
among US. l know not how it could well have
been avoided. Part of these are natural: but
no small part are the result of vicious habit
and unbridled RIGHTEOUSNESS Our power and
our producing and commercial importance
have increased beyond our experience, or our
wisdom. Like Phaton. who madly snatcbed
the reins, and aspired to drive the Chariot of
the sun, we have set the world on fire. and
narrowly escaped perishing in the coDfiagra.
ton. Let us humble ourselves before God =
confess our sins, in sack cloth and ashes.-re
turn to more devout and sober habit of ma
tional life, and put on, and cherish, character
of deeper, and firmer. and graver. and Iofter
manliness. "Ephraim shall not envy Judah.
and Judah shall not vex Ephram, any more
Let all our people resolve to live as brothers
and the God of our fathers shall be our God
Order from tho War Department,