The Xenia sentinel. [volume] (Xenia [Ohio]) 1863-186?, 1865-05-26
Ghe Xtnia Sentinel
SETH W. BROWN, EDITOR.
The question Of To-Day.

-NyCf A<A'AIoDAAy - -'11oS'J AA7 '1o''o Va 80
present dangerof our country and the duty
of her loyal people, from which we quote
as follows:
'In spite of all revelations of the utterly
barbarous character Of Slavery and Its
direful effect upon all connected with it,
We were on the very point of trusting tC
its most criminal defenders tie task Of re-
establishing the State governments of the
South, leaving the real Union men, white
as well as black, at the mercy Of those
who have made hatred religion aud mur-
I der a sacrament. The nation needed one
more terrible lesson. 1t has it in the
murder Of It's beloved Chief Magistrate
and the attempted assassination of It's hon
ored prime minister, the two men Of all
others prepared to 60 farthest to smooth
the way of defeated Rebellion back to al
legiance.
Even now, the lesson of these terrible
events seems but half learned. In the
public utterances Ihear much of punish.
ing and hanging leading traitors, fierce de-
malds for vengeance, and threats of the
summary chastisement of domestic symDa-
thizers with treason, but comparatively
little is said of the accursed cause.-The
prolific mother of denominations, Slavery
The Government is eZhOrted to remember
that it does not bear the sword in vain =
the Old Testament IS ransacke6 for texts
Of Oriental hatred, and examples Of the
reveuges of a semi-barblrous uation-but.
as respects the 4, 200, 900 of unmistakably
loyal people of the South, the. patient,
! long suffering, kind hearted victims Of
opp Iession-only here and there voice
pleads for their endowment with the same
rights ofcitizenship which are to be accord
ed to the rank and file of disbanded Rebels.
| The Golden Rule of the sermon on the
Mount is not applied to them. Much is
said Of executing justice to loyal black
men. Hanging a few ringleaders Of trea-
SOD, it seems to be supposed, Is all that is
needed to restore and re establish the re-
volted States. The negro is to be left
/ pOWerless in the hands Of the "White
trash, who hate him with bitter hatred,
exceeding that of the large shareholders.
"Iu short, four years of terrible chas-
tisement of Gods unmistakable Judge
meuts- have not taught us, as people,
| their lesson, which could scarcely be plain
or if 1t had been written in letters of fire
on the sky. Why Is it that we are so
slow to learn, 50 unwilling to confess that
SLAVERY is the accursed thing which
whets the knife Of murder aud transforms
men, with the exterior of gentlemen and
Christians, into 6cnls? How pjtiful is
our exul alton over the cap 'ure of the
wretche1 Booth and his associates ! The
great criminal Of whom he and they were
but paltry instruments, still stakes abroad
in the pine woods of Jersey, where the
State bas thrown around him her legisla-
tive sanction and protection. He is in
Pennsy lvania tarusting the black man
from public eonveyances. Wherever
Gods children are despised, insultcd and
abused on account of their color, there is
the real assassin of the President still at
large. do not wonder at the indignation
which. has been awakened by the late
outrage, for I have painfully shared it.
But let US see. to it that it is rightly di-
rected. The hanging of a score of South
ern traitors viii not restore Abraham
Lincoln nor atone for the mighty loss. In
wreaking revenge. upon these miserable
men, we must see to it that We do not de-
grade ourselves and do dishouor to the
sacred memory of the dead. We do well
to be angry, and, if need be, let our wrath |
wax seven times hotter, until that which |
"Ras a murder from the beginning is
consumed from the face of the earth. As
the people stand by the grave of Lincoln !
let them lift their right hands to Heaven
and take solemn vow upon their souls, to /
give no sleep to their eyes nor slumber to
their eyelids, until Slavery is hunted from
its last shelter, and every man, black and |
white, stands equal before the law.
"In dealing with the guilty leaders and |
instigators of the Rebellion, we should be,
ware how we take counsel of passion. Ha- |
tired has no place beside the calm and aW
full dignity Of fjustice. Human life is still |
avery sacred thing Christian fOrbesrance /
and patience are still virtues. For my .
own part, should be satisfied to see the /
chiefs of the great treason go out from
5mong US homeless, exiIed forever, with |
the brand Of Cain on their foreheads, car
rying with them wherever they 90, the
a7enging Nemesis of conscience. Wee
not take lessons, at this late day, in their
school of barbarism we caunot starve and
torture them as they have starved and
tormented our soldiers. Let them live
Perhaps that is, after all, the most terrible
par atty. For wherever they hide them
selves the story Of thrir guilt will pursue
them--they can have no rest nor peace
save in that deep repentance, which,
through the mercy Of God, is possible even
for them.
81 have no disposition to stand between
these men and justice. If arrested they
can have no claim to exemption from the
liabilities of criminals But it is not sims
ply a question of their deserts that is to be
considered we are to take into account
our own reputation as a Christian people,
the wishes Of our best friends abroad, and
the humane instincts of the age, which
forbid all unnecessary severity, Happily
We are not called upon to take counsel of
our fears. Rabbinieal writers tell US that
evil spirits who are once bafied in a con-
test with human beings lose from thence-
forth all power Of further mischief The
defeated Rebels are in the precise condition
of these jewish demons. Deprived of
Slavery, they are wasps who have lost
their stings.