Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1891-06-05
A MEMORIAL DAY SERMON.
DELIVERED BY REV. s. II. BARNuM IN THE
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, CORNWALL,
AND PUBLISHED BY REQUEST OF THE
@, A. r. POST OF MlDDlEBURY,

@. A. r. POST OF MlDDLEBURY.
Remember the days OF old, consider
slider the years OF many generations; ask thy
father and he will show thee; thy elders and
they will tell thee" DeW.-XXXii7 4.
In prophecy of the future ingratl-
tude and forgetfulness of God which
were to characterize the people of Israel,
Moses calls upon these coming trans
gressors to remember the days of old.
From nothing God had brought them to
be a strong nation. Instead of being en-
shaved they had been set free by that
ever-memorable interposition, when they
were led out of Egypt and their pursuers
overwhelmed in the sea. Instead of suf-
fering ignorance and moral degradation,
they had received the law of God and had
been trained, as no other nation had
been, in the knowledge of Him. Canaan
had been set apart as their inheritance,
aud its conquest would soon be part of
the history If Gods favor to them. Is
rael had abundant reason to remember
| the days of old, and, in consequence of
what He had done for them, to render Il
loyal service.
When | think that God reserved Il vast
territory on this Western continent for
! the nation to which we are proud to
belong-when | recall the landing of
| VIM. Brewster and the little company of
one hundred colonists on the bleak shore
of Massachusetts on IA December day,
and their subsequent struggles and hard
ships; the gradual settlement of this
Eastern wilderness, the Indian wars, the
Revolution so filled with uncertainty
whether we should ever become indepen-
dent, the surrender of the British at
\ Yorktown, the organization of nation
after long delay, the development since
then of the wonderful natural resources
of the country, the agitation of various
political problems, the terrible war of
the Rebellion and its favorable results
when recall the history of our nation,
| feel that we, too, have cause reverently
to acknowledge the hand of God. The
present occasion summons us to remem-
Der days, not the Oldest in our history,
but days which are ancient history to
every child. and for their elders are re-
ceding with the passing years farther in
to the past. 1t is five years since young
men born after Lee surrendered to Grant
began to become voters. There is gem
GRAFTON now whose memory does not go
back to war times, and to whom it must
be said, ASK thy father and he will
show thee; thy elders and they will tell
thee" They ought to learn about those
days, and as long as veteran soldiers
survive and they gather on Decoration
day to pay tribute to departed comrades,
the young will be reminded of the strug-
gle of '6l-'65' And when the veterans
shall all be sleeping in the dust, may
children's children bring flowers to honor
their memory! If Israel should remem-
Der the days of old, shame be to this
nation if it remember not the war days.
the principles and lessons of the contest
a N ~ thprp-
with. There is perhaps little danger
that some will forget, but many must
yet be taught.
If ask you, my soldier friends, for
what you fought, you answer me. For
the preservation of the Union. Not to
put down slavery, although slavery was
put down, and we have reason to thank
God that it became necessary to set the
bondmen free. The people of the North
did not enter upon IA crusade against
slavery in 1851. The flag of the Union
was fired upon. 1t was the purpose of
those who rebelled to divide the nation
since they could not rule it, and form the
Southern States into confederacy which
should care for the institution of slavery
There was no interference while they
} were forming and maturing their plans
but the bombardment of Fort Sumter anC
in Baltimore aroused such Indignation
, and determination that the call for 10,
600 volunteers found instant response
and could have been supplied three OIL
four times over. You know many be
lieyed at first that the war would no
, last long. But it was to be a protracteC
: contest. Lincoln's desire was at al
events to preserve the union, either witt
slavery or without it. But on January
|, 1868, he issued the emancipation
proclamation. which had been lying il
his desk awaiting the time when it shOulC
l seem most eXpedient. And as the line:
of our troops advanced into the enemy:
4 territory, the slaves within those line:
actually became free. The object fol
which the war was fought was alst
: gained and the divided nation became
| one again. That grand wish of Web
3 ster's was not at that time to be disap
, pointed: Liberty aud union. now ant
forever. one and inseparable."
Union having been preserved at Sc
i great a cost, the people of this lane
! should see TO it that liberty should b'
maintained and that the spirit of uniol
in following the best moral principle
should develop. There is not yet tina
freedom of suffrage in the Southern
States W ulCl sHoulti nave Dttl Itsul
of the war, and, in the North and per
I, chance in the South also, there is to-
often resort to shameful bribery on tn,
part of aspirants to Office and manager
of campaigns. Men may sometimes wei
SIX themselves, is nation worthy to b,
l. preserved in which such evils are com
mon: Should brave men die by thous
ands upon the field of battle for
J, country whose voters in so large number
. care so little for the principles at stalk
! that they are ready to sell their votes t.
the highest bidder: 1t is a cheerin!
, sign that the public conscience is so ia
1 aroused to this evil that these practice
are frequently condemned, and that TIN
= purity of the ballot is sought to be pre-
served by new safeguards.
. The immense immigration pouring in
i to this country of people who cannot b
: expected for IA number of years TO car
= for our institutions or to know much o
: our history, presents serious problem
4 If they come here, we wish them to b
;, Americans, we wish them to obtain in
. ] t.I iIooc Of lihartx- nd of