, 1869-06-27

The FOURTH or JULY.
Wills cur people are preparing. more
fror haL:t ltan from nny present motive,
to 90 through the usual celebration Of the
Fourth Of July, it may not be amiss to rs-
fcct that the particular event eommcuo-
rated in this celebration, though ono Of tho
laost important IN our history, has bean
in :he re.l regard attached to it
',y the still more important events Of our
lAst md noru complete war Of revolution
II is not that the American people are less
patriotic, hut their patriotism does
not nstnu1ly take the form IT
iubilatiups over the fact TINT We
arr nov IN independent nation,
md no longer colonies Of Gseat Britain.
Tue spirit Of international nnimosity which
eavc force in tho olden times to this cele-
bratiuu has died ont, or rests on other and
recent grounds Of complaint Wherever
attempts ar. made, therefore, to celebrate
thc Fourth o{ July By oratlous or other pat-
rotic demonstrations, it Ii found that the
s,ra.or of the dsy nutt either discuss tho
political issues of tho great rebe!hon, for
which the Fourth Of July is one ot the loast
appropriate Of all days, Or he must revert to
the events cf the War Of Independence
against Great Britain, a sutj jeot upon which,
ou swelte1ing July day, no orator in
America can, ar would attempt to, hold m
audience. It is truc that in this dilamma
the o.1tor usua,ly prefers being irrelevant
to being dull, and, instead Of putting his
heascrs to sleep With the old-fashioned gus
cx,nade about tho battles Of Btaudgwina
and tho Cowpens, and tho tai On ten, viii
addresa himself to the vital questions al
The day. But this always lays him open,
and IN considerable degres Justly,
to the charge Of speaking on
topics ~hich a1e no more connected With
The associations Of the dry than they are
with the landing Of tho Pilgrims or Of Will
ian the Couqueroz.
Two new national festivals have
arisen out al the painful events Of
the recent war for the Union and
for social freedom, aud the manifestations
throughout the land ehow that they appeal to
The heart Of the country with force rs
touching and III -peradiog aa the festival OF
Independence Day did to cur grandtathc1a
in tue reatB from 1888 to lS2o-3o. OF
these modern patriotic festivals, one is
the decoration Of the graves Of the soldiers
Of tho VIII md Of the rebellion, by the peo-
,le generally, On the 30th of May, or some
other appropriate dsy in the Aeason Of
t,oy r1s,-a festival common to whites and
b!acks, Unionists md rebels, Democrats
md Republicans, and, therefore. e1ninently
proper ind likely to prove enduring md to
beooz,e universal. Though at the outset
soue diAinclina.ion viii, of COURSE, be
shown by unionists to the docora-
tion Of the graves Of rebels, and
by Confearsa:os to tho rendering Of
Ekp tribute to Yankees"
this will fndc IS the PASSIONS Of the war
disappear, tsad Oh tho loysrs Of the cause
1AAt wuu And Of tho oauso thnt lost will
very generally render the same tribute to
1Le fallen dead Of both orulics, in syr,pa-
thy for their sufcrings, if not for their
standard There is something more appro-
priate in festival Of Badnrss than in one
of triumph in com1ncmoratiou Of civil
Sar, Loweve- great or benign may have
been its results. Though only ons side WIS
right, both ~ero unfortunate in being pittcd
against each other and the same principle
# p..tri ,tislu Vlit!1 lua tbs Romans to ro-
lu.<. the honors Of Il triumph Or public ova-
lion to one who conquered in civil war
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