The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1865-06-09
the NATIONAL HUMILIATION.
A DISCOURSE
Delivered in Christ Church, Saint
Paul, June l, 1866.

BY REV. 8. Y. MONSTERS, D. ID
PRINTED BY REQUEST
Isaiah, xvi 9-Wben thy judgments! ss are ripht
eOuenesA"
Aagain, beloved, we are called upon oy 'no
Executive of the nation, to humble ourselves
uuder the mighty hand of God. lrue' VIC
have cause for Thanksgiving, as wen Do III
sorrow. To all human appearance, our iUns
and sanguinary war has reached its emo. iho
standard of treason is lowered, ana INC uuS'o
cal, of rebellion is heard no more. Inc riVerS
of blood which have deluged the land 1or LUG
last four years, have ceased to HOW. LII" nas
reasserted itself, and order has sprung ou' VI
chaos. A million of happy faces are 'ufneo
toward happy homes and there is every pros
meet that the mantle of agriculture will soon
be spread over fields now desolated by the
ravases of war, and f1ocks and herds Craze
over hills and valleys which have long echoed
the heavy notes of artillery. We are all glad
and ioyous at the cessation of the heaviest
scourge that has ever fallen upon nation, and
proud tuat our government, hitherto suspected
of weakness, is proved capable of righting
herself, ard asserting her position among the
nations of the earth. We feel more proud Of
our nationality, and more confidence in her
perpetuity, than we have ever done before.
The long threatened, and long apprehended
storm has burst upon US. Its fury is spent;
and we can now lie down in our graves, and
commit the destinies of our children to the fu-
ture with more of confidence and assurance
than we could have done ct any former Pc
.riod.
But the light of our joy is like sunbeams
that pierce the clouds and the showers. 1t is
shaded with sorrow. Our triumphant banners
are wreathed, equally, with the laurels of vic
tory, and the cypress of mourning; and our
cup of thanksgiving is mingled with penitent
tears. Like the patient that has borne sue
cessful operation in surgery we rejoice that
the great agony is over, and the immediate
danger past; but there is q painful throbbing
and sad memories of the amputated members,
which are lost to US forever. Upon the whole
1t Is quite as fit that we should be called tOge-
ther to humble ourselves before God, Ito be-
wall our sins, and to testify our cOntritiOn, as
that we should assemble for rejoicing and pat
riOtic exultatiOn. To-day there are suppose,
little short of million of soldiers graves in the
land, over which the green sod has scarcely yet
formed. To-day, there are more than hum
dred Thousand Of cur noble sons of freedom
pining in military hospitals-many of whom
will never again embrace their loved ones at
home. To-day, there are more than hundred
%ho,, of hair ma
dismembered, or physically broken down and
hencelOrth disqualified for the useful pursuits
of life, while thousands have. in the army, suf-
tered such deterioration of morals as to render
them, hencefOrth. of little service to society.
The destitute widows, and helpless orphans,
and bereaved parents, can hardly be numbered
for multitude. Almost half the families of the
nation are in mourning. In many parts OF the
country, agriculture is broken up; estates are
in ruins;-once happy homes are in ashes;-
commerce is broken down;-churches and
schools are closed; and canals, and railroads
and bridges are destroyed; and there is not mo-
ney to repair them. All this speak of as be-
ing in our country; for, thank God! we have
Still the same extent OF country which we had
four years agO:-nOt star is dimmed, nor q
stripe erased from our banners. Hence, all the
devastations of war in the southern part of the
country are-ourS. More than ever before, we
have dropped the idea of State lines and State
sONcItlSuCy, dLu COuc W ICstllZIc tiidG VIC di
one people, and that we hold all things in COM
mon. Hence, as one people, we must all feel
that every stroke of war has fallen upon us all,
and that every life destroyed, and every dol
lars worth of property wasted, is lost, not to
this State or to that, but to our common country.
When Northern people boast that they have
destroyed lives or property in the South, or
Southern people, that they have wasted the
lives or property of the North, they overlook
the great idea Of unity and community, and
fail to realize that every man in the whole
land from the st. Lawrence to the Mexican
Gulf, and from ocean to Ocean,-is loser.
But beside this general and wide spread de-
VISITATION of life and property, and the general
calamities of war, we have to deplOre, espe-
cialy, as the GROWING act of treason, the assas-
sination of our honOred and large helrted chief
magistrate-the President Of the United States
At the very moment when the arm of the re-
belliOn was paralyzed, and its military power
forever broken. this fatal stroke, like the Par
THAN arrow, which was always shot with most
deadly effect when in full retreat, struck down
the hOnored lead of the nation. No event in
history has called forth such deep and universal
feeling of horror and indignation-nOt only at
home but throughout the civilized world.
Political prejudices and International preju-
dices and predictions have sunk into moth
ingness, and one long and bitter wall of sorrow
and lamentation has filled all lands. This it is,
especially, that has called US together to-day !;
but for this we might have been called to chant
the grand lie deum of victory and of peace.
But some one may ask, What has this to
do with national hun,ilidtion7 We may la
ment it and 90 into mourning, but why be
humbled or bowed down in contritien?' All.
there is better reason than may, at first sight,
appear. This one single act of the assassin
bloody and fearful as il may be, and deeply as
it has penetrated all generous hearts-isa small
matter compared with the depths Of wicked
ness which it reveals In our midst. It has
been sagely said that 'straws tell how the
wind blows" An act like this, taking peace At
the very doors of the national capitol, and at
the very moment when danger seemed to be
departing, tells with uneIring certainty, a
hlanches all cheeks, and causes all hearts to
grow chill For we all feel that no one man
could rise to such giddy heights OF wickedness
, without at least the cUuntenance and support
OF many Others very nearly as wicked as him
self-without general, deep, and widespread
depravity. 1t has always been observed that
the actors in such desperate tragedies are but
the induces of q yitiated public sentiment,