Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1869-07-23

relatives ana IF4enu5 OF tN0@c peIDVe1 deaus
and hy many thousands Of our people who
Feieice il The preservation, peace, and pros
perity OF our country. That we have uni
ted country that we have national govern
ment, that we have peace in all our borders,
that there Is liberty and protection for all,
that we have bright and glorious prospects
of individual happiness, AMI national growth
and power, We owe to the brave men who
fell upon this and other fields The glori-
Gus circumstance and bright auspices over
and around Us to day, were purchased by
their blood. We arc 10 the full enjoyment
Of the price foF which it was shed. Let Us
increase the gratitude of our hearts BY con-
sideriug, for a moment what would be our
condition, if the Rebellion had triumphed.
We would have no solemn but sweet occa-
sions ike this, Ne would have no com
mon country, no common name, 10 national
flag, no giori5as prospects for the futzre.
Had the bond Of union been broken, the
various parts would have crumbled to
pieces We should have slave holding
coufedeTacy in the South, republic on the
Pacific, another in the North west, and
another in the East With the example of
one successful secession. dismemberment of
the balance would have speedily followed,
and our country, once the hope Of the world,
the pride Of our hearts, broken into hostile
/ fragments, would have been blotted from
the map. and become a by-wori among the
nations. let US thank Almighty God to-
day that We have escaped this horrible fate.
We feel as one who awakes from terrible
dream, and reioices that he is alive. We
feel as did the Children Of Israel when,
standing upon the shores Of the Red Sea,
they looked back upon the destruction from
which they had been delivered
/ Mr. Lines q, standing 10 this place few
months after the battle, and while set the
ooaf.c, was raging, dedicated himself to his
coun,fy, and to the cause Of liberty and
union The demon of rebellion afterwaTd
exacted his lie. but the inspiration of the
words be spoke Is resting upon US to-day
The great pr0phesg he uttered when he said
the nation shall under God have new
birth of Freedom, and that the Govern
ment Of the people by the people, and for
the people, shall not perish from the earth, .
| is being fulfilled He sealed his devotion
with lis blood, and sacred be his memery.
/ The eloquent Everett, who spoke here on
the same occasion, and who has since pass
cd from earth, said, God bless the Union;
it Is dearer to US from the blood of brave
men which has been shed in its defense. Z"
y l stood BY them and listened to their in
epired words, my faith was renewed in the
triumph OF liberty: but imagination failed to
stretch forward to this auspicious day. The
march Of events has been faster than our
thoughts, aud the fruits Of victory have al
ready exceeded our most sanguine expeeta-
tions.
! While we pay this tribute Of love and
gratitude 10 the dead, let US not forget the
surviving heroes Of the battle. They, too,
offered their lives, but the sacrifice was not
required, The admiration, love, and graft
tude of the nation viii attend them as they
pass down the decliviiy Of time to honored
graves. In the evening of their lives they
viii tell tue story Of Gettysburg to wonder
ins y0ath, who will listen as did we, when
ouF graudiathers told of Bunker Hill, Sara
toga, and Yorktown. Many Of them are
here to-day 10 review the scene Of their
Struggle and triumph How powerful the
contrast between now and then. The dark
cloud which 0yerspread the horizon Of the
nation is gone, and all is brightness. The
sulphurous cloud of battle, too, IS gone, and
there is nothing to obscure our vision of the
field Tie dead have returned to dust.
The fields once cumbered with bodies and
I slippery vita blood are clothed with YER
dure aud harvest, and to day all is peace,
/ beauty and reDose.
We seek not to commemorate a triumph
over misguided countrymer. It is the
cause we celebrate. Our triumph is theirs,
and their children 5 children, unto the latest
generation. The great disturbing element
has been removed. Vicious political here
sizes have been extirpated. The trial by
wager Of battle has been decided in favor OF
liberty and union, and all will submit. The
people Of the North and South have met
each other face to face on many a field, have
tried, each other courage, have found that
/ they are much alike in most things, have
increased their mutual respect, and are now
preparing to live together more fraternally
than before.
The southern States are rapidly recover
/ Ing from the prostranon of the war, and
wilh their deliverance from the incubus Of
Slavery, with free labor, with free schools,
with emigration from ii G North and from
Europe will soon attain prosperity and
power Of which they scarcely dreamed in
former days. Their advancing prosperity is
solid, just, and enduring. We rejoice in it.
and shall participate in it. The bonds Of
Union are made indissoluble by the commu-
nifty cfpolitical principles, BY the complete
identity Of domestic and commercial inter
ests, and by uniform systems Of labor, Of
edUcation, and Of habits Of thought and ac
ton. HENCEF0RTH DISUNION Is
/ IMPOSSIBLE.
-.
j. S N A,