The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-05-01
Moral i Cowardice."

Agentleman has handed TO us sne ioiio"ii
paragraph, which is said to be an extract
from a sermon preached many years ago by
the Rev. DIR. DEwET:
Bnt we in this country have our own l
donoers. And the greatest Of all dangers
hsre as I conceive, is that of general pusll-s
ion;mity. of moral cowardice, of losing q
nroner and manly independence of charac-'
ter. | think that ! see something OF TINS IN
our very manners, in, the hesitation, the
;nd;rectness, the cautious and clrcultou us
modes of speech, the eye asking assent be-
fore the tongue can finish its sentence. 1
think that in other countries you ottener
meat with men who stand manfully and
holdlv mn, and deliver their opinions with
ont asking or caring what you or others
think about it. 1t may sometimes borough
and hard, but at any rate it is independent.
Observe. too, in how many relatlons-pohtl-
cal religious, and social man is liable to
find bondage instead of freedom. .lf he
wants Office. he must attach himself to a
nartv. and then his eyes must be sealed In
blindness, and his lips in silence, towards
all the faults of his party He may nave
his eyes open, and he may see much TO con-
denim, but he must say nothing.
There is little reason to doubt that DIR.
DEWEY spoke the truth. Shall we have
the blessings of universal suffrage and not
the evils thereof? People. who decide all
questions by counting noses must 1nfaiilDly
come to consider that as q test Of what Is
right. If a man will not agree with ma
jority of his fellow citizens upon political
questions, he shall not be constable, nor
overseer of the poor, nor hog-reeye. Ihat
much is settled; and it is but o single step
further to decide that he shall not hold any
position in the chambers OF. business, OF
even in the church. We all know thai
there is such o tendency in the community
And such being the case, how natural tna'
man should learn to be cautious IN IN.
expression of his opinions even upon 1neli
ferent questions. We are all Ike the .peo
ple Of the town in which o man was WOE
ried out of his senses because ne carrieo
red umbrella. Would we elbow any man :
indulge such fancy ? Not we. II ne uaf
walk with a stick six feet long, OF carr,
red umbrella, or wear q Wm'e ha
two inches higher Than is fashionable
or give token Of any unpopular sentiments me-
he NAV hang up his fiddle. lie can get n
nos;tion in state, or church, or on change
This is a free country, and we don't a !El''7
neonle to have opinions of their own, OF pc
culiarities Of any sort, except " at the ris
of the owner. Would any Republican. \ j
the land dare to say that ABRAHAM LINcoIs
was man of third-rate abilities or eve
to intimate that he was not a pious Chris
tan, although everybody knows that h
qoas the former, and was not the latter
Would any man in the South dare to So
that RoBEar E. LEE is not q greater genera
than was the first NAPoLEoNg If any sue
there be, North or South, let him not aspir
to public position. Even the man with tn
red umbrella could defeat him for any posi-
ton in the gift of "the people" or Of tn
women. In fact, public opinion is is. q d LEI
potic tyrant in all free countries. A 4 Ill
TIDEswas banished by public opinion. W
do not know but q better day may come
when man may even aspire to ofic
whose hat is no larger than the hat no,
fashionable among the ladies. But, judg
ing from the present state Of things, tina
day must be very distant. ~