Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1869-12-03

/ "oJ iSouihS thC hutioh. bet us Olttl
degout thanksgiving. 1t seems to a,
though God created and preserved
this land for civil and religious free
dom. And i'm considering God.
| dealings with men we are apt tn see
things clearly sometimes, IL they
are not to large, and so in his provi
dence as he gives bounds to theil
habitations.
Now, what country Ia ours, lie,
us look at il. We possess every vari.
ETY. of climate from that bordering on
the frigid to that of the torrid zone,
thus bearing the production of every
cline, with shore line of over a.
600 miles, and upward Of 10000 miles
of navigable rivers, with $3.50, ,0o0
square miles (besides our recent &C.
cession of Russian America). terri
tory nearly ten times as large as
France and Great Britain combined,
and three times as large as France,
Great Britain, Austria, Prussia,
Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Holland,
and Denmark, all together, and only
one-sixth less than the area covered
by the SO Empires, States and Re.
publics of Europe, standing In the
centre of the world-with q broad
coast line-5inviting all Europe from
the east, and from the west all Asia.
The internal resources of the country
are proportionate to her magnitude.
Her gold and silves mines excelling
I'm wealth those of Ancient Ophir
and Golconda. Her copper mines
are the richest In the world. Her
iron and coal is proportionate to her
greatness. These resources are
abundant for the ages to come. The
coal mines of England are source
of great profit to that nation and are
of worldwide reputation. But pick
up those mines and bring them and
set them down on the coal mines of
Pennsylvania and the coal of that
State would crop out all of them, and
yet Pennsylvania is only one of the
States bearing that precious material.
The richness of our soil is unsur-
passed, and her forests challenge the
admiration Of the world. have not
time to dwell upon her beauty, but
look where you will, whether upon
the rugged hills of New England. +.
upon the prairies of the West, the
plains Of the South, or the forests of
the North, everywhere, you are filled
with wonder and admiration at the
wisdom and goodness of its Creator.
Such Is our country! and how
strangely God has saved ID from the
crown and curse Of despotism.. In
looking over the history of the past,
In the years which formed the cen.
turies gone by, 1t seems, that, when
humanity was being crushed to earth,
aud kings delighted in the oppression
of their subjects. that God veiled this
fair land from the eyes of the nations
until the fullness of time should
come in which II should he revealed,
to which the oppressed of the world
might flee for refuge. And when
that time approached, what inspira-
ton Or may call il SUCH moved
the heart of Columbus in its discov-
cry, what barriers he surmounted,
what obstacles he overcome, how
God directed the winds that filed
the sails that brought him tn these
shores; and when discovered, and
specimens of the richness of its
mines, together with those of its in.
habitants, I'm the form of Indians
taken from their hunting grounds,
were presented in the courts of the
old world, how the eyes of the ma
tions were turned upon 1t. Each and
all OF them sought to make IL part
OF their own dominions. can refer
to but few. Cartier, the galalnt nav
igator of France, sought IL In behalf
of his country's crown, but failed.
Columbus himself could not make IL
Spanish province, thus placing IL
under the dominion Of Papacy. The
Pope demanded its division between
Portugal and Spain, but God refused,
Ponce de Leon struggled for eight
years upon the coast of Florida, but
an Indian arrow sent him back to
Cuba 10 die. have not time to refer
you TO DeSoto and others who sought
itand failed. But Providence seemed
to say to colony after colony who
sought it In behalf of their country,s
crown, II have not chosen you.' 1t
reminds us of a scene, anciently In
the house Of Jesse, when the prophet
of God was there TO anoint king
over Israel, when one after another
OF the sons of the Bethlemite passed
by, but the chosen Of God was not
there, when from the Shepherds
field come the ruddy boy, and he was
snointed Monarch Of Israel; so with
the nations, they all passed by, when
from an humber position come the
Pilgrims, not i'm the name of any
earthly crown or kingdom, but in the
name Of the King of Heaven they
sought place to worship God.
The time honored vessel which
brought them, as It's keel plowed the
waters Of the new world 1t might
have been looked upon as the Ark Of
God bearing the sires OF nation to
Gods chosen land. They landed up
on bleak coast, In cold December,
and their first act was to erect the
standard of Him In whose name they
had taken possession, that was the
standard OF the cross, and they meek
iy bowed and offered Thanksgiving to
God. l must pass the early history
of the colony though full of interest.
The Puritans were strenuously rclig-
ious, and their religious zeal, some.
times seemed to border ON religious
oppression, but their motives were
good, their hearts were pure, and
God blessed, and prospered them.
Time passed on, and the country i'm
creased. when II seemed the old
world was not satisfied with the ar
rangements of Providence, aud now
a mighty effort was again made to
subjugate the country to = Kingly
Crown. The sons Of the Pilgrims re-
membered In whose name their
fathers had possessed the land, and
fhat al the ,attr... - sa.I