The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-01-28
rhe sonthern Aid Meetinr.

The Southern Aid Meetipe
IRON the WoTd
The meeting at the Cooper Institute last Friday
evening was less successful as a mere meeting
than we had hoped but il will answer the oniy
purpose which such a meeting can serve. that
of calling general attention to the magnitude
and urgency OF Southern destituuon. The great
famine Ia Ireland, which caused the charity of
New York and other American cities to gush
forth in such abundant streams near twenty
years ago, had less in it to touch commisera-
tion-to say nothing of the fact that the present
sufferers are our countrymen. There are large
areas in the States of Mississippi, Alabama and
Georgia, where the supply Of food is INSULT
cient to last through the month of March,
and cases were reCited at the meeting of
families who have already passed successive
days without food. Besides the States
mentioned, there Is widespread dearth in the
two Carohnas, and the whole area OF destiJutiun
comprises hundreds OF thousands of square
miles. Unless there is early relief, on large
scale. tens of thousands of people must, before
the spring blossoms appear, dle weekly OF star
walton, and OF the diseases which follow in the
train of famine. The almost total failure of the
com crop in several OF the states, and the
sCantness Of the other crops, have brought to
the doors of the South a spectre more hldeOus
than the carnage of war; Respectable clergy
men are fleeing from their parishes on missions
son of his old age INTO Egypt. We call attention
tos he pictures OF distress presented TO the meet
ing in the remarks OF Rev. Mr. Bright and of
Mr.. Greeley.
of the evening, and we trust we may never again
listen to a crack speaker on a topic which ap-
peals so touChingly 10 humane sympathes. We
have heard Mr.. Beecher on many occasions,
often with amusemenK sometimes with admira-
ton; but we never heard him make a speech so
misplaced as that of Friday night. 1t seemed
to be his ann to use this opportunity to atone to
the Plymouth congregation for the Cleveland
letter which raised about his ears such fr6nzed
bowl last autumn. We Could pardon his rant and
his touches OF low COMEDY, If the spirit of his
remarks had not Jared on all the proprieties Of
the occasion. He began by sneermg alluslon to
the great "UniOn-saYingh meeting at Castle Gar
den some sixteen years ago land proceeded to rake
into the entIails of the defunCt Fugitive Slave
law, and tear open and expose all the old poll
tical wounds mutually given and inflicted,
between the North aud the South, from that
day to this. We noticed that Mayor Hoffman
and some other gentlemen on the stage very
soon left, probably not percelVing the COnneC-
tion between such a harangue and the objects
OF the meeting, Those who sat 1t through had
an opportunity to discover that Mr.. BeeCher's
Cbiet argument for relieving starvation in the
South was that il was "a refined method of in
flicting revenge! He seemed rather TO re-
ioice, on the whole, and glOrify God that
famine had overtaken the South, partly
because It afforded an opportunity to
tian vengeance" and partly because famine
is a necessary means, in the Providence OF
God, OF compelling the lazy Southerners to
learn habits OF industry! He Drofessed that he
could not exactly see the reason of this wise
CrdiL anCe; but some other divine mysteries, he
said, are equally beyond his depth, which he
eXemplihed by string OF illustrations. lie did
not know, tor instance, why every apple-blos-
| som does not grow to be ripe apple; he did not
know why all babies "snce they take the
trouble to be born" do not grow TO be men ;
~ ,4g1 l,tY
philosophy, a scrap Of tombstone literature, to
the effect that wOnder-struck father, in com
posing eptaph, did not see what his dead
child was begun ior,n SINCE he was so soon
done tor" But such silly 0utIooneries were the
least Objectionable part Of Alr. Beecher's re-
marks.
His Plymouth flock must be a cross between
the wolf and the tiger, if they needed laOored
argument to prove TO them that it is consistent
with their Abolition principles to feed the starry
ing eX-Rebels. So far as Mr.. Beecher's speech
was argumentatve at all, this was the sole drift
of his argument
Mr.. Greeey's remarks deserve more COM
incubation. In following Mr.. Beecher, he
began by administering quiet and very neat
Iebuke, saying that there were so many topics
which it was wise not to touch on such an
occasion, that he felt embarrassed lest he
should say something which had better be
omitted; and he spoke for the first two or three
minutes in amplihcation OF this thought. He
sand nothing which would not have been appro
pirate ii it had preceded MIR. Beeeher instead
OF following him; but the garment was so per-
feet dit that MIR. BeeCher'S quick eye did not
fail 10 catch his own image in the smooth
mirror. His whole face was sutfused by pro-
longed blush. He relieved himself by tre-
quently whispering something iocose to
General Anderson, who sat on the platform at
his side; but whether he was making fun OF
Mr.. GTeelcy's manner, or amusing himself with
other topics the audience could not know.
Mr.. Greeley g remarks we're full of genuine
charity and practical good sense. His shamb-
ling appearance, and fiat uncOuth delivery, were
redeemed by an air Of artess sincerity which
secured the close attention of the meeting, and
was more impressive on such a subject than
oratorical accomplishments could have BEEN
had Mr.. Greeley possessed them. The idea on
which his speech was framed-1 an efusiOn SO
inartihcial can oe sand 10 be framed az all-was
that the generous city of New York needs nc
I other persuasion to charity than to be made
fully acquainted with the distress that require:
relief
Putting out of view all the political questions
on which men differ, and every topic or remCm
brance which has any bner of irritation in 1t
he gave clear ana pertinent explanation o
the present distressing condiuOn OF the SOuti
and OF its causes, and pointed oHt the means o
relief which have the best chance to be etiec
tive. Nothing could be more COnsiderate
human and judiCiOus than his kind an(
, clumsy remarks, which can crate on no man
sensibilties, either in the North or the South
and which assume that minds of ordinary gene
1osity need no other incentive to relieve thel
? perishing countrymen than d faithful descrlp
hOn of the facts.
We trust the committee appointed last Frida
2 night Will be prompt and digent and tnat Ne'
York will set a noble example, which othe
, Northern cities will nobly emulate.