Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1896-06-08

r FeSA W I" opo0cu 10 accompany VIC
| petition, but was not allowed to de-
liver it. A large majority of the SEN
ate was opposed to it; and, though,
he narrowly watched every oppor-
tun1ty, it was three months before he
was allowed to deliver that speech.
The rules of the Senate then gave him
the floor, and he held it for four
hours in the face of much opposition.
They were hours Of torture to the
slave holders but of maddened an
guish to every Northern senator with
| Southern principles. But I must
forbear, though I like to recall the
noble words and grand acts of this,
one Of Americas greatest Statesmen,
and one of the grandest examples of
devotion to the right, that history
gives us any record of. "He dared to
be a Daniel, he dared to stand alone,
he dared to have purpose true and
| dared to make it known" He did not
stand entirely alone, but there were
him, these were Salmon P. Chase of
| Ohio, and John P. Hale of New
| Hampshire. One writer has said,
"Three martyrs to the cause of hu-
| man liberty in America will stand
! forth single cluster in the future
ges,-John Brown, Abraham Lin
| coin, and Charles Sumner" OF Brown
I have no time to speak, of Lincoln
you are too well informed for me to
| attempt to add to your present
knowledge, I only desire to quote his
speech at the dedication of the GENE
terry at Gettysburg, which I will do
later on. At the time Sumner enter
ed Congress, the South was united,
the North divided. AS the struggle
deepened, new and holder spirits
arose to leadership in the North. The
North cried, "No more slave terri
tory,n the South answered, "More or
disunion." The compromises of 1850
fred the whole North. 1t became
one vast debating ground, it was rent
with discussion everywhere. Family
ties were severed, churches rent, po-
litical parties fell to pieces, and new
ones were formed. Mobs ruled our
cities, the press burned with the pas
sion of the hour. Pulpits cringed, or
Numbered their invectives, and the
pew answered with applause or frowns
In the awful tempest the Wing party
was swept away and another arose
that would brook no more com
h0 of ha
ssirrepressible conflict were heard on
the threshold. Kansas had become
the bloody skirmish- ground Of the
impending conflict. The country
stood with bated breath. Suddenly
the crack of John Browns rifles
among the hills of Virginia gave
warning of the impending conflict.
The Republican party met in conven-
ton ito nominate Seward, and God
led Lincoln to the door, The South
understood what this meant and an
swered by secession" Then the
North fell on it's knees and offered
the South anything everything if
she would return. Congress hasten
ed to propose to amend the Constitu-
ton forever forbidding the abolition
of slavery. This was the South's OPP
portunity, but she refused to listen.
God was hardening Pharaoh's heart;
He was driving him to the Red Sea.
Then it was that the South made her
supreme blunder. Had she gone no
farther a peaceable settlement would
have taken place and a new nation
would have been formed, with slavery
as it's chief cornerstone. But pushed
on by an unseen hand, little suspect
ing it's effect on the North, and hop
ing thereby to secure the secession of
the border states she fred on the flag
at Sumpter. That flag that embodied
the most precious hopes of humanity.
Then was witnessed the grandest
scene of history. The hostile parties
of the North flowed together, and up
sprang the volunteer soldiers of
America offering to die for their
country. Then it was the world saw
the very pathos of patriotism; saw
women giving their bravest and their
best to flying bullets and flashing
steel, and men offering to die without
a murmur for their country. Many of
these men had never seen company
of armed men, but from them came
heroism and courage never excelled.
And it was not courage against cow
ardice, intelligence against ignor-
ance, strength against weakness. No,
it was courage against courage, en-
durance against endurance. When
Sherman and Johnson met; when
Sheridan and Stonewall Jackson rode