The union Democrat., 1866-11-17
" Higher Law

miserable expedients to which those who
lead on the columns and direct the course
aud shape the policy of the present dominant
political party of the country resort, in order
u hide their own deformity and to screen
themselves from the distrust of those who are
the government. That portion of the leaders.
at least. who ''snort' religion and politics
from the church pulpit for livelihood, and
who have been quite as instrumental as
any other class, if not more 50, in bring
il 9 war and desolation into the land, charge
tuae the terrible conflict from which the
country is just now emeraiug was inflicted
upon the nation by the will and the wisdom
+ the great Jehovah. That God himself, Ia
view Of our wide departure from the ways ei
righteousness had opened the people 'seyes and
particularly the wickedness ot holding mig
gers in bondage in the South. elevated thei,
moral ideas to Il fighting point J, and bad'
them take off their jackets, roll up THEN
sleeves and pitch into the shareholders
pagais ct caIci6us, have a regular knock
iown and dragout fight, whip the coufoundeu
Soatherners" all over the plantations, and
let the darkies go free. That, they tell us,
s what God did. That the war was of divine
origin, and consequently beyond the power OF
mortal man to have prevented it. All of tht
| a. nr
property and the consequent misery and
woe inflicted upon the survivors of the contest
was, as We are told, decreed by beneicenl
and all.wis G That He, in his infinite
geo lness, saw fit to lead the minds of the
people up the scale Of morality to the fighting
temper, and then rub their ears and tell them
10 "go it!n What an idea What mon
strous doctrines to promulgate anywhere ana
at any time, and particularly among tn,
(supposed to be- free and enlightened people
Of North America, inthe evening years of the
uinenteeth century But such are the doc
trnes now maintained and held out before
the people of this country, by those who are
welding the government and seeking to rol
the masses of political power, and to take
from them their substance, to be appropriated
for their own aggrandizement.
Now, starting from the year of our Lord.
1860. all of our troubles and difficulties III
governmental affairs are but the legitimate
results of the infractions or the partial if no
total ignoring OF our earthly political chart.
| the Federal Constitution, and an effort Oh the
part of the powers that be" to use in it,
stead that " Higher Law" about which
Greeley, Seward and others of their kind
nave preached so long and so much, for the
government of the country. These higher,
aerial lands do not appear to be we'll fitted
to our condition and government down here
on the earth, or else those who have tried
they did, wilfuly made wrong application
of them. / was myself never in favor OF
going up after them for political purposes
down here, considering it a somewhat haz
ardous experiment, as we had very good and
wholesome laws of our own manufacture.
upon their acression to politicel rule the
aboltionists had stayed at home, minded
their own business and administered the gov
ernment in strict accordance with the Con-
s;ituti"n, and not gone away up INTO the SKY
| af er moonshne statutes with which to rule
our people down here upon the earth, tn,
probability is that we would have had no
war, and peace and prosperity would have
blessed our whole land. Our whole troubles
| in government affairs have arisen from err
roneous teachings. We have for more than
thirty years been educating and raising up
party to under estimate and ultimately 20
disrupt our good and glorious COVER .
ment and mould it into another and more
arbitrary form. We have now placed the
governmental reins in the hands of those we
| have been raising up to destroy it, and the
work of destruction goes bravely on. a
disregard of our Federal Compact and much
| preaching about " higher" and better law,
| is doing the work now, and has been for
| years past, of the disintegration and ultimate
decay of that ever glorious legacy bequeath
ed to us by the great and good Washington
and his compatriots, to wit: the free, just
and equitable system of government contain
| ed in the " Constitution for the United States
of America" All republics, believe l am
safe in saying, that have ever tallen, have
| committed suicide, died Of their own in
,ernal disorders, and it is greatly to be fea:
ed that our own is bound to go in the same
way. To say that it is not now terribly sick,
would be wide departure from truth; and
whether it can or cannot be restored to its
once healthy and happy existence, is the now
great and all-important question to be con-
sdered. The abolition doctors have admins
tered SO many nauseous and poisoning doses
internally, and externally daubed ON SO
many filthy cataplasms, that the Republic
cannot long survive, unless something Is
speedy done to counteract the effect of abol
,oAo of