The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1872-01-23


inertia, with which the Oriental is to
this day accustomed by his social and
religious condition, to meet the stroke OF
the hand of fate Its cities, which once
witnessed the barbaric splendor OF mill
tary and royal displays, grotesque in the
motley variety of races, costumes, and
arms of the soldiers, and in their squad
rons of cames and elephants, bearing
spearmen and bowmen upon their backs
have disappeared and upon their sites
the hyena and the jackal disturb the SOL
itude with their cries.
On the other hand, the Greek Repub.
lies we're saved to show to the world the
principle and the practicabiIity of self
government by people, to promote ed
ucaton, to found philosophy, to recog-
nize the rights of individual belief and
opinion in matters both secular and reli-
gious, and to form that history without
which we should have now little or no
knowledge of those great events, or of
their effect upon the progress Of man.
kind.
But the story of these little States, the
morning stars OF liberty, cleaning in the
far-off east of time and space, need not
be told at length 1t is familiar to US
all. The lofty spirit and tenacious cour-
age which had enabled free people to
defend their independence against the
tremendous assaults Of a great Empire
attacking them from without, turned a
gainst each other, destroyed them all
The steadying and regulating power of
our adequate national government, to ad.
just difficulties and repress disorders a.
mong the States, was wanting; and peo-
pie who had covered themselves with i'm
mortal renown 10 defending their liber-
ties by united action, became at last the
selt-made victims Of internal jealousy and
collision.
Let US turn now to the war in our own
republic, in which you gentlemen all
bore leading parts, and to that one event
in it, which, think, was its supreme cri-
sis. The vital principle Of the Grecian
republic, as well as the story Of their
growth and fall. had travelled with the
ever constant morning, and the evening
shades over continent and ocean to our
fathers in this Western land. 1t needs
not now to trace their meandering streams
Out of the principles and that story and
their consequent European examples, was
built the frame work of our own govern
ment, improved by the accumulating ex.
perience of twenty centuries, and by sup
plying that unity and strength of nationa
power, consistent still with local separa
+ tion and independence of rule, the wan
of which was the fatal weakness OF it.
ancient types But yielding to the diff
iculties of the anomalous and inconsist
+ ent state of things produced by the ex
istence of slavery in some of the States
the Constitution did not assert the ma
tional duty of upholding individual lib
erty and the universalty of equal rights
/ 1t was only by its letter to guaranty
the form" Of Republican government
/ not the substance to each State. Th'
continued existence Of the institution o
, slavery in those States which supposed
themselves unable, or which wcrc, unwil
ling to get rid of it as others did, neccs
sarily made labor n species of dcgr ada
tion, and the general diffusion of educa
ton an impossibility. The two creates
pillars, therefore, of a true Republic, th'
dignity Of labor, and the spread Of knowl
edge, were cast away, and in their place
grew up the slave-holding States, an aris
g tocracy as dangerous and arbitrary a
! any tyranny. 1t held almost all th
e landed property in these States. 1t com
: posed almost exclusively the educated
E class. 1t set up for itself an exclusiv
social superiority, and tabocd every MAJ
$ who did not believe in the principle 0
its foundation, or yield ready ohedienc
to its bidding. Having all the landa
D property the wealth, tho education an
|, the social power it was enabled to con
/. troll il its own selfish interests, the cleo
. tions and appointments, so that, althoug
: small in numbers, it was absolutely tn
0 ruler of the destnies Of tho whole pee
C pie. Like other forms of tyranny,
= could not by the law Of its existence b
a other than it was. We're labor respecta
). bio for all, the slave and tho poor whit
d would both have at least one dangerou
It ti,le to honor. Were education given t
them, they would demonstrate tia
A., knowledge is power" aud that lioert
aud equality Of rights must be its fruit,
, Its growth therefore, could not but b
II ,n "irrepressibe conflict" with the lei
:. Republicanism OF the other States wher
universal freedom, general education an
the nobility Of honest work made all me
equals in the homogeneous dignity of a
}. pursuits. In such u state Of things,
ir ;risis fatal to one or the other of the.
!, modes of progress was inevitable. Wheti
.r in 1882, or 1856, or l860,-wheth,
/, IN ten years, or ono hundred, it mu
}, come.
1t came, aud the eyes OF the worl
II turned to gaze with awe upon the magn
\, tude of the strife, and with anxious soil
4 tude upon the mighticr magnitude of II
!, interest involved.
il The enemies OF liberty and the iren(
1f kings and aristocracies fed the rebe
!, lou with sympathy and supplies, viii
i those who believed in the equality
10 manhood, and looked to the dovelopme
I'd Of republican principles among the II
st tions, and hoped for the amelioraton
t, all races and peoples, gave their praye
u. Tor the success OF the national COVER
IA ment.
IS. need not detail to you who were a
d. tors in the great tragedy, the openil
D. scenes OF the contest, nor point out he
nd he great body of tho people Of the fir
AZ States, without regard to previous ass
he Citations or politics,gave browning eviden
al that they fully understood the meaning
o. tho issue, and comprehended that no sa
ri6ce was too great to secure from d
,st struction that government which, impe
ID feet as it wac in the one respect ha'
| .,,antianal bal 10 a.. "A