The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1866-12-01

deed, is the temporal life OF man
A few years of hope and fear, of toll
and acquisition, of infinite yearnings
and small attainments, and Death,
the CONSIDER" lays his hand upon his
pulses and they are stilled; his eye
closes, his ear is heavy, he sinks back
to lump of offensive clay, and his
earthly career is ended. But the life
of nation is infinitely more. Itsvol-
ume IS the aggregation of all its mil.
lions OF individual lives, extended
through all the generations that fill
the cycle of its existence And as
the memories Of our ancestors, and
the hopes we cherish for those that
shall come after us, are dearer to us
than our own personal comforts, SO
ought the contemplation of those
blessings that extend through our en-
tire history as a nation, to call forth
our most devout gratitude to Him
who best0ws them all. We present
then for your consideration, some of
the problems, which we believe are to
be wrought out, under God, in our
American Republic. ge@ gai9rs
That God has purposes to accom-
plish through the nations of the earth.
we can not doubt. That he has great
and benetlcent. ends in view connected
with the history of our own Republic.
we fully believe What means It. that
this continent lay undiscovered till
the close of the fifteenth century,
That after the visits of the Mortimer.
nearly a thousand wears ago III
our Atlantic coast, the secret
of the discovery should be for
gotten? That during the dark
ages of ignorance and oppression this
land was preserved from their knowl1
edge and the impress of their institu-
tions? That the three great events of
modern times should be grouped into
one eentury?-the invention of the
printing press, the Protestant Reform.
alton, and the discovery of America.
To me, it seems that God has reserved
this glorious land to be peopled and
by the spirit of learning,
piety, and enterprise of these latter
times. 4G9l Hq9fs % Vagfa sd3
We eonsider,l first, the problems of
the social relations among men. These
are they that pertain to the feelings
and conduct of man towards his fell
low, independent of legislative re-
quirements. One of these is respect
for the manhood of man. That" God
had made of one blood all nations of
men, was truth practically denied
by all the nations of the old world.
To the Jew all other races were Gen
tile dogs. The Greeks knew among
all men only of Greek and Barbarian.
The Romans regarded the rest of
mankind as especially fitted to be
their slaves. And the later govern
ments of the Eastern world have al
ways made the accident of birth the
test of privileges, honors and Offices.
The first born son inherited the land
ed estate Of the father. The crown
could not depart from the royal fami-
ly. 1t was for American society to
accept the truth, that cir
of birth neither gave nor
withheld the rights of humanity. But
it is one thing. to, recognize these
rights in theory, or even in legislative
enactments, and quite another to in
corporate them into public sentiment,
and act upon them in our social in
tercourse. The1right of every huBldn
being to !" go where he pleases, and do
what he pleases with that which is his
own, so long as he does not modest the
life, property, and reputation of
another, . is yet to grow into such
general recognition and such hearty
acceptance, that overbearance, injus
tice, and oppression Of every sort shall
be frownedaupon by an enlightened
and yirtuous public sentimenGsa ~
3 Kindness, for the aoants of men. till
charity shall be without respect of
persons; till sympathy shall read all
human suffering, and manhood be ac-
knowledged and regarded in all classes
andiraces, is another social problem to
be wrought out by this American peo-
pie. That these results are not yet
reached is matter of painful knowl-
edge to us all. But that we are adj
vancing towards them is unquestion-
able. The forces by which they are
to be brought about are already at
work. The thorough intermingling
of all races in business is a powerful
agency in promoting social rights. Of
the five great divisions of the human
race, four-the Caucasian, American,
and Mongolian--are thronging
together the great marts of trade; side
by side they till the soil; the sound
of their hammers as they ring upon
the artisans anvil mingle together,
and, in the eager race for wealth and
position, they are teaching the world
that they are men. Whoever will read
the history Of our people cannot fail
to see the growing sentiment of re-
gard for men as men.
There are two civil problems we
shall name to- day. The first is,
The recognition and protection, by
lao, of equal ciUz rights to all men.
In the Old World, birth and wealth
give titles and distinction; in ours,
force of character alone Three types