The Leavenworth weekly times. [volume] (Leavenworth, Kan.) 1870-1880, 1870-08-04


e.aae 10 be @fAsEy aAssslAined, and when it
sestsfSse apfsessteiat inat their measures were
Hs1eIy 10 prevail in the hearts AID through
the votes of the mass.e. If the people, federal
legislation, and the federal courts were in.
voked in behalf Of slavery. The fugitive
slave law Of 1850, opened the entire North
- Z hunting ground for SHAREHOLDERS and
punished with felon' doom every one who.
in obedience to the dictates Of humanity or
the commands of God, should succor the
fleeing victims of oppression Under this
law numerous prosecutions were had, and
the best of citizens were thrown into dun
geons. Some Of these whom I see here to-day
were among those who thus suffered
for righteo1sues' sake, and whose names
sand upon the judicial records of the coun-
Try a. champions in the great cause, and rs
innocent victims of an act Of pro-slayery
Congress in aid Of highwaymen. The army
and navy of the country were invoked to-
hunt the fugitive from Southern oppression.
The courts esPoused the unrighteous cause,
and the erowning Disgrace Of the country was
reached when the supreme tribunal Of the
|
persons Of the African race had no rights
that white men were bound to respect. But
the hand of heroic aboliti0nists faltered not.
Through contumely and rcproach, in the
face of dangers, violence and death, they
mand justice for the whole country. II is
easy now to be loyal to the right. Ii is easy
to accept the doctrine Of political equality
81 - -. r. a. l..
But when to advocate these doctrines was to
invite disaster in business, to be scoiSed at in
public assemblies, to be excluded from the
social circle, TO he covered with OprObrium,
and subjected to personal violence, then TO
he an abolfionist requirefthc highest order
Of .coumge and the sternes moral qualities.
To the pioneers and labOrers in that great
cause.-The Garrisons, the Bufiums, the Eos
tiers, the Phillips, the Chases, the TaPpans, the
Baileys, the Hale, the Loveioys, the Birpeys,
the Frederick DOuglasses, the Gerrit Smiths,
nd theirnsble comferr and cosdjutors, the
world owes continued acclaim. They
braved every danger, they endured every re.
preach, they encountered every peril until
they revOlutiOnized the sentiment and pub
lie opinion of the non-slavelsOldiIg States;
carried their doctrines into the politics OF the
country and rcaped the fruits of their labor
in behOltiing the reins of government trans
ferred 10 the hands Of the friends of freedom
and equal rights. Let their names he in
scribed high ON the roll Of apostles and phil
anthropists. Let the gratitude and reverence
faith, their patience, and their unselfish toll;
monuments more enduring than the pyra-
mids; monuments which the waves OF the
ages shall never overflow.
When ut length, in 1861, the friends OF
equal laws and equal rights for all assumed
the conduct of affairs, then rebellion and civil
war was organized in behalf of deSpotism
and slavery. A government Of confederate
traitors was set up whose corner stone was
slavery, and whose sword was drawn to dis
solve society and carry mankind back to lar
barism and chaos. How the shock of the
embattled hosts in the great conflict that en-
sued, made the earth to tremble; how the lost
stars fell away from the political armament;
how the foundations Of society were shaken;
how the hearts of all men stood waiting,
in terror and in awe, for the result
of contest which was to deter
mine not only the destiny of nation
and a race, but was to decide the hopes of
free government and civil liberty throughout
the world; all this and more is the familiar
history of the recent past. When the battle
was the dcadliest, when the night was the
darkest, when the hearts of men grew faint,
the hostile banners, the President, rs COM
the Republic, by his proclamation of JAN
uary lst, 1863, abolished Slavery, and sum-
moned the slave to freedom and liberty.
hat e IL. 81
Lincoln, that manifesto of justice, that new
n,agaa cha,ta to an entire race deserves to
stand as one of the landmarks of the ages.
Profoundly reverent in the conscious great
ness of the act he was performing, he ''in-
voked in its behalf the cOnsiderate judgment
of mankind and the gracious favor Of Al
mighty God" 4 grea, grief is to us this
day that this beloved Of mankind, this great
commoner of humanity did not live to see
and rejoice in the full fruition of his work.
down in the hour of victory by the
hand of the assassin, he filed his full meas
ure Of more than earthly glory in final mar
tyrdom for the country and the people he
loved so well. Supreme in patriotism and
cons,lmmate in craftsmanship, he was devoid
of all the small abilities of the mere poll
ticiaa, and thoroughly devoted to the cal,Se
of constitutional liberty and the equal rights
of all. He approved himself the chief
of no faction, the minister of no
mean ambition, but rising far
above all considerations OF personal safety
and Individual .aggrandizement; Of local
prejudice and Of party trammels, with
charity to all and malice to none,'' he adj
miniStered the government with Il Christian
determination to preserve the Constitution
and the Union, and to extend and perpetuate
the blessings of liberty to all the people and
to coming generations. Supported and sus-
tanned by the loyal masses of all races, he led
the nation safely through the Red Sea Of
revolution and died upon its entrance into
the promised land. His memory is the
treasure of every liberty-loving heart. lis
name is, the household word OF Europe and
America. Let that great name so down to
posterity side by side with that of the Father
Of his country, and in more Respondent light
than that of any Of those upon whose brows
have sparkled the royal lustre of hereditary
diamonds.
The war being concluded and the right Of
the people of the United States to bca nation
being established, it remained to the country
to readjust the status of citizens and States
and conform the policy and practice of the
government to the doctrine ofthe equality Of
all citizens before the law, and the subordi-
nation of the States to the supreme power of
tie federal government. ! y 20 III
The war had practically put an end 10
slavery, but to settle the question forever the
Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution
was adopted whereby involuntary servitude
otherwise than as a punishment for crime is
forever prohibited. But the status which
the col0red population should occupy in
their relation to the government could not
escape attention. They were native born
inhabitants and citizens Of the United States.
They had been the faithful and loyal allies and
supporters of the government. Whenever
our armies advanced into the country Of the
insurgents, they. were welcomed and greeted
and aided by these people, and every one
was ready to enlist under the banner and
keep step to the music of the Union.
. Should not they who had been the allies OF
the government in its time of danger he en-
titled to its privileges and immunities when
the danger was passed? They who had worn
the livery Of the nation in war, should they
not have its franchises in peace? They who
largely contributed to lis victory, should they
not enjoy the fruits of the triumph? They
who could carry muskets to the battle field,
could they not he trusted to carry ballots 10
the bai3ut box? Those who could use the
sword to drfeutt the Constitution; could they
not Use the suffrage to aid in It's administr,-
tion? To the candid and homes; mind the
consideration of this subject led 10 the con-
clus;6n olat humanity nOIicy RELIGION and