The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1865-04-22
The Character Of Mr.. Li.coln.

n0mOof lof MofCn 70, An elaborate appre.
ciation Of the public character Of Mr.. Lin
colin. It does not scruple to compare him
to Warrington In some respects, or to pro.
nounce that, with . moro difficult task, he
has reached no less honorable success.
Here 10 the substance Of what it says:
1--WE all remember the animated eulogi-
nm on General Washington which Lord
Macaulay passed parentheticaly in his es-
say on Hampden. ''lt was when to the
sullen tyranny of Laud and Charles had
succeeded the fierce conflict of sects aud
factions ambitious of ascendency or burn
ing for revenge, it was when the vices and
ignorance which the old tyranny had en-
gendered threatened the new freedom with
destruction, that England missedhthe So
briefly, tnat self-command, the perfect
soundness OF Judgment, the perfect reciti-
tude Of Intention to which the history of
revolutions furnishes no parallels, or fur
nishes parallel in Washington alone.''-
If that high eulogium Gvas fully earned. as
1t WAS by the first great President Of the
United States, We doubt if it has not been
as we'll earned by the Illinois peasant pro-
prietor and Village lawyer whom, by
some divine inspiration or providence, the
Republican caucus of 1850 substituted for
Mr.. Seward as their nominee for the Pres
ident's chair. No doubt he has in many
ways had lighter task than Washington.
for he had not at least to produce a govern.
ment out Of chaos, but only to express and
execute the purposes OF the people far more
highly organized for political life than tha,
with which Washington had to deal. But
without the advantages OF WashingtoD,k s
education or training, Mr.. Lincoln Vas
called from humble station At the open
ing of y mighty civil war to form govern
ment out Of . party In which the habits
Finding himself the object of southern
abuse % fierce and 20 foul that in any man
lees passlonless it would long ago have
stirred up an implacable animOsity. mock
ID at for his Official awkwardness, aud de-
nouhoed for his steadfast policy by all the
democratic section of the loyal States, tried
BY years Of failure before that policy
achieved single great success, further
tried by series of successes 90 rapid and
brilliant that they would have pufied up a
smaller mind and 0verset its balance. EN-.
barrassed by the boastfulness of his people
and Of his subOrdinates no Less than by his
own inex perience in his relations with for
eign states, beset by fanatics Of principle
on one side who would pay no attention to
and by fanatics Of caste on the other
who were not only deaf to the claims OF
justice, but would hear OF no policy large
enough for q revolutionary emergency.-
Mr.. Lincoln has persevercd through all
without ever giving way to anger, or des-
pondency, or'exultation, or popular arrog-
ance, or sectarian fanaticism, or caste pre-
judice, visibly growing in force of charac-
ter, in self-possession, and in magnanitn.-
II, till in his last short message t0Congress
on the Ath Of March We can detect no lon
ger the rude and illiterxte mould of q viii
lage lawyers thought, but find it replaced
by grasp of principle, dignity OF man
would have been unworthy neither OF
6ampden nor Of Cromwell, while his gen
ueness and generosity Of feeling towards
his foes are almost greater than We should
expect from either Of them."
HIS ANrl-sLAvERY GROWTH.
Az to the growth Of his mind on the sub
ject Of slavery, from the time of his debate
With Mr. Douglas to the breaking out Of
The war, the writer says:
HE could not, Mr.. Lincoln said, look on
Slavery 40 Mr.. Douglas did, - = local
matter Of no more importance than sthe
oyster laws OF Virginia or the cranberry
laws Of Indiana He thought the slave
laws had more Of aggressiveness and ma
tural prosely tism about them than either
oyster laws or cranberry, still that Was
only his opinion as political weather
prophet. All he insisted on was the duty
u resisting the advance and growth OF y
torce whose power he feared as malign tor
the whole Union. In its then dimensions
he would protect and sanction 1t. and &C.
cord 1t every constitutional guaranty, but
he did not believe It would be content to
keep within it's then dimensions. He look
Cd ut It ~ an Arctic navigator would look
upon pack.ice, not az an English politician
looks at the principles Of the opposite pars
y. Two years later, when sO uhex pected-
NVvNre 10 tk.S,p r,f
the United States, he reasons with the Se-
cessionists in the same tone, appealing to
the great verdict of political experiment.
not asking them to give up slavery, but, j!
they hsd real confidence in 1t, to show that
confidence by leaving it to its natura! per
euas!veness over the mind OF the people,
% the natural strength which it would de-
why should there not be patient conf
dencs in the ultimate Justice OF the peo
pier Is there any better or eqnal hope in
tne worldly In our present differences is
eiu1er party without faith of being III the
I1gnt1 II the Almighty Ruler OF the ma
tons, with his eiernal truth aud justice, te,
on yo.r side Of the North, or on yours Of
tne south, that truth and that justice will
surely prevail by the Judgment Of this
Gres1 tribunal, the American peopleT T:le
pea "as 10 unreal pretence OF argument
Mr.. 14!ncoln way speaking from faith 30
deep IN hi'nsel!, that had he been III the
Mlnoli'y las ne was two years before) he
would have accepted the test. Ii this.
Thing pc not Of God it wiilcon,s 70 naught,
ne had sAld with profound sincerity in ex-
plainlng ms own dsapprobation of slave
~ ana No! ne thought his opponents might
n: Asve iaitn enough to say it too. And for
hamself, though he had now accepted the
post OF pilot to the State. he wae almost
sndicrous!y willing to abide by his own
slow, patient, naturalistio habit a waiting
1oc . solution. All he could make mn his
1iaa to do was 70 cay. Tne pewsr conf
ca % me- whl b used % hold, ossupy and