PAP!,P
teeected the demonstrable fact that
the fret and (until attended to) the
only assailable thing with them Was
their complicity in it. The only sin
of these is • e enotired percelption.—
But thereis •invt4or elassof
re l,criroi
aale. Alia they %yi, see Slnyery to be
renal; and vtiai how' they participate
; in it, and might free tliem'solves from
it, -tint - Stiff - et theinselves . ta be over
came by its allurements. l have been
neliarned to hear, in BAsion, the da
edetiFilts'ef the Puritans' apologizing
for Sluvery.' They thriught a South
ern man would like .that. But no
.6elitheric wan would like that ! The
.Seitltherners; thank God, aro not so
.14,i1:; they . say, Slavery is rig it; if not
Wage it no apology y for it. John Ran
4i4lplispoke their sentiment, when,
phinting his finger at one such man
'Ccrtigress, he said, '!l envy not xhe
heit4nor the head of a man who can
conic here from the North and defend
'Sliti-ery." Southern politicians are
.•
walung to make use of such, whilst
they laugh in their sleeves; but the
nobler men and women of -the South
grliwe to see men failing tiy.; meanly . ,
'ffere at Washington it has been as
stie fly•in wheat—one noble head af;
'telrAnother - laid low ; falling into in
fi'llelity, as the Slavery Power has cast
slims web of interest aronad them.
kid those who believe, with- Christi
anity, that it profits not a man to gain
,the whole world and lose his soul,
turn Pale and say, " Who falls next 1"
Na matter if the concession is for
"Peace." So did the army on the
silos desire atithing so much as peace,
he'clown anywhere and sleep; and
those who 'slept never woke more !
Nothing is deadlier, at times, than
peace ; and invariably when, as in
thie't:ase, the word Peace is but a
rev'er of your desire that your person
al and business should be un
disturbed—a, disguise of that wily
Satan, selfishness.
yo American men ! too soon
3ivie you inscribed on your banner.
peaciqUe. More successful had it
')icon, if the word had been in the or
der in which the ancient Christian
'places it—fill pure, then peaceable.
Never was there but one path given
Egon to walk in :it is that of a pure
fonscience. Whether . the light be
dim or bright, it is in the right direc
tion ; guilt id in veering from that.
There may Iro innumerable crooked
lines between twos points, but one
etisight: What is the right lige be
tween us and that peace we all crave?
\V• can all imagine two men of en
;ire candor and courtesy—the one
! Southern, and believing Slavery right
in itself ; the other Northern, and be
lieving it wrong-- 7 comiug to an under,
standing on the subject; the common
postulate being only that neither must
himself du what he believes essenti
ally wrung.
Southerner.—l. believe the institu,
;ion is best fur the white e r ucl colored
EMI
Nurtrierner.—l make no doubt of
your sincerity, but would like to dis-
t!.
• • Sou.—We may do that
,Bresently.—
put will you not allow that, so tong
tt . s I hold that Opinion, you have' no
right of any kind illegally to interfere
d! what I hold legally as property?
Ner.—l do ace that. The wrong is ,
ri.it in my detestation of Silvery, nor
rpy
. etideavor to inspire you with a
like feeling, but in my attempting a o
Tight thing in a wrong way,
* $9,e.--:Which is always an unsuc-
sossful way,
• Ner.—Now let us define the other
sidl. believe . that Slavery is the
' and wicked fantasy" that
. 111 . 04 4 ghttin called it, or the " sum of
ill rillanies” . which Wesley pronouced
It 7 You are connected with it sin
crroly, and, therefore, Unless you hare
iefiiied possible light, innocently; but
if I am connected with it, I sin:
If ydu and I have partnership
.in your innocence does not
•
•
exculpate nig:
SOU:=—Catiainly not.
Nor.--If you seek 'to make me a
paiity to anything which I hold wrong
you Tare guilty, even though you be
right, unless you can first pet--
au - 414i me also that iris right. •
Sou.--It is so. •
Nor..i—And if our firm cannot re
triain without 'involving the in this
wrong, my one path is out of it. The
firm must be dissolved. • ' •
• See.—Asau rod Iy.
. . - .
Novf, my friends, let us approach, No; this scab of Acquiescence,
our national agitatiOns .thus simply which yetmvould 'bring over the ' - imie,
The of the Uni-and is not a cure, even if you'bouldlget it.;
• quietly.deepe
ted States are a firm. Whereverthe fester would only the treacheroUsly. . Agitation is n more
not the
firm deals with Slavery,:all deal with otseaSe,., but.. the friendly simptern
Slavery ; and the General Govern- which admonishes of disease: Ernp
menthes dealt, and dues now deal tion and fever are the health of a dis
with that local institution. appeal
ease; a wise physican . will never - wish
I
them to cease, but by the eradication
to you, Southern . men, is it not the of the undying cause.
only light thing fOr those who believei How; thou, is Peace, which all love,
Slavery to be sinful, whether it be and which is fur the inteteat of all, to
really so or tiot, - firmly to declare them- come ?
Let St. James answer : By the
selves flee from - all share in it, if not
wisdom which, comethfronz above, which
by your concession, then, by what- is first pure, then yeacetible. Let every
'ever means they can, but certainly . to man in the Union only feel assured
do it? . that he'stands beneath the- sheltering
....
But, it is said, your fal.hprs .pQnped.-
e d this and that, and will you not stand
by their compact ?
if there be any compact, and it
pledges me to what I feel wrong, shall
1 be judged by my father's light ?
But if, in obed.ence to your con
science. you should injure this Union,
you would cause great evil —evils
greater than Slavery,"
Evils are not as bad as Bias. We
du not wish to rid ourselves of our
share in National Slaveholding, as
from an evil disease, bu s t as a moral
defection, as falsehood er theft would
be. Evil is a part of God's Law, for
he says by every prophet, "I create
evil." He is responsible for whatever
evils ensue ; we °ply * for doing His
will. - Is not my soul his voice? And
when I reject
,that voice, which as :
sures me it is wrong to do this, is it
nut a sad lack of faith in Moll • As
one who should . Bay, " Thou, Infinite
Being ! didst bid me thus, but didst
not foresee, as I do, that this and that
evil would follow !" • •.
tVill you imperil the interest of
tuirty millions of whites, for three or
four of Africans?"
The adages, reply the others, aro
very gOod Honesty, even in the old
Roman sense, embracing all that is
just and true to God and man, i$ the
best policy. Right never wronged any
n;an: The interests of the three or
four millions of negroes are not so
near to its as the interests of the whites
who hold them. Those we would but
redeem from physical slavery ; but
thee we would redeem from what by
onr creel is far worse, the crime of en
slaving them. If I rob you, you
know lam the far worse off of the
two.
Then if you think thus, we must
separate. We .think you in error,
that you cannot think our institution
right; or that even to say it is inex
pedient, or an evil, dues not 'define
your view : that you, must count it
immoral. Certainly, nothing,. how
ever valuable, should induce us to do
wrong; and the South admires, as
much as any people, the brave words
of Phociun, 'Let justice be dens,
'though the heavens firll 1'" .
lint, it is replied, it does not erid
here. You say we must secede. Blit
this proceeds from the assumption that
the Union is inextricably involved in
the policy which makes all held slaves
We du nut believe that; we think the
Union is essentially involved in Free
dom, and that all its Pro-Slavery pro
clivities are usurpations. We believe
indeed, that it does lot interfere with
you in your Slaveholding, nor the
English in their Aristocracy, nor the
Arabs in their Mahomedanism ; but
at the same time we believe our Con
stitution protects us from compulsory
sanction of these, and protects us in
our freedom, Thus, we, cannot enlist
against it, but only to redeem it from
tiro distractions, resulting from a mis
interpretation of our compact. If
there is secession, it cannot bo on our
side.
On this assertion, new made by a
large portion of this nation in terrible
earnest, hangs all the excitement, and
-Iwill hang hang more and More. Crimina
oion and violence serve no purpose
I hero. Both are equally sincere. Li
-1 diViduals may be insincere, but no
large mass of men can hold together
with means • and influence for any
length of time on an affected or fanati
cal basis. Hypocrisy would forbid
the enthusiaSm manifested on both
sides; and the outlay necessary for a
cause cools all fanaticism.
How, then, shall these be reconciled
with each other, preserving self-truth
fuleess ?
We must set aside here those VT h n
cry " Peace," when there is none. I,
for one, have lest forever my faith
those 'self-styled conservatives, who
would rely upon . " putting.. down ilgi
tation." That cry has been sounded,
for a score of years, and with
success any one may see by going no
farther than the House of Represen
tatives. Stop agitation! So Xerxes
forbade the sea to advance; so the
Phoenicians shot arrows into the clouds
when a storm arose ; so an English
gentleman wrote an elaborate treatise,
showing conclusively - that the Atlantic
could never be crossed by steam,
which went out to America in the first
steamer. . Stop agitation ! Judging
by late events in Kansas, one would
say it would take much more agitation
than. the country has yet known,' to
pu!.dorfn agitation. . . •
wing of his, country, a pure man. Lei
men cease to see the National Flag
discolored by what they believe -dis
honorable and wrong, and then be
told they have nothing to do with it
when each stands with his sharp in the
eye of God and man ! Then shall
that unrest, which is the sign of the
strong lash of Conscience, cease. Then
shall the word. Slavery, that dirge of
our woos, never more disorganiie
Congress, for it will be beyond Con . -
gross. I pity the Northern man who
finds repose whilst his - hand is binding
slaves ; still more the Southern man.
who would desire to have him find
peace in impurity. , •
I know how large a number of good
meat in the North this position will
offend. But lam .ready -to reiterate
that, when their personal responsibilk
ty for the bondage of a ma.i iwywnere
is past,. Slavery only addresses them
•.other evils. A man cannot, of
course, cease his testimony against
whatever is to him wrung, except by
being so far forth implicated in it. It
.may, however, he emphatically an
nounced, to this class, that if all they
had ever thought, said, or written, on
this topic 7 -abStractlygood, it would
be to the act.which would have freed
them, or any one of them; from Lem
plicity in the thing, a child's play to
the great'Lisbon -- Earthquake. 'fatly
of them thinks that. thei preservation
of the Union involves such complicity,
let him not turn phrase-monger, but
hirriseffsecede, and rot in prison, ore
he pays.taxes or accepts advantages in
his State through which hois inevitably
involved. No "eloquence would per
suade like this. 4 great action is by
its divine nature irtesistihle ; great
word: are gOd only when difficulties
make them great actions. In some way
or other, natiocs are at the . mercy-of
strong men, and ten thousand . fiee be
fore. one. Ti uly, says the Brahmin
Devoutly speak, and men
DeVon,ly li;en to thee;
Devoutly act, and then
Tho strength of God acts through thee.
How G6dlike is it to be braVe and,
true ! There never was a soul con;
ceived in God's mind, ur projected in
to the North orSouth, or East or West,
who in itself honored dapperness or
cowardice; and respected not an honest,
unflinching stand on any side. lam a
Southern man, and I fear not contradic
tion from any one born there when I
say that they Pall respect a man from
the Nor th who will not bend from his
principles ; and that not ono of theni
thinks a douglace worthy to be valued
as more than a catspaw. A heroic
action, which is such only because
imperilling large interests, is a new
star lit in the 'Heavens. - Men see it,
and feel tl e presence of the unseen
higher PoWer ; they know with joy
that the earth is more than a moving
ant-hill.• This joy cannot be moved
by any danger or loss. If the Union
were sundered by such stand, does it
not pay in that •it props the whole
Earth ? For were the Union divided
on a principle of right, a voice like'
the angel-hymn of a Second Advent
would go forth, proclaiming the law
by which thrones tremble, and all -op
pressions and evils fall as leaves in
I October : First pure, then peaceable.
Before all, ther m let us dismiss Fear.
Let us, with Montaigne, fear nothing
so much as 'fear. Southern men !
Northern men ! be one in being brave
-fcq: your light and your right.! If it
should be found ever necessary to
separate-- ; as L pray 1 may never be
lieve more than 1 do now—still would
mutual honor survive; and by no
event can any obstruction befall the
vast destiny .for which these superb
American hills and plains were plan
ned. By - their great strength, these
national throes proclaim the grandeur
of a Nation's new birth. Hark ! there
is now as of old - a voice on the angry
Maters, "Itisl : be not afraid." Se
rene and unharmed above our small
' cares and storms is enthroned
.the
Genius in whose mind once, as in an
I egg, lay' the Western hemisphere,
; Golutribus, and-Washington, and
'.tu our tearful prayer replies, Oh man,
think you that I have created these in
vain ? ' Know that until God is de
throned, the :Right must prevail:
he dies, nothing good can die I
The telegraph announces the elec
tionto the Senate of the United States
of Jefferson Davis, at present Secreta
ry of WaP.
"Better is a dinner of herbs where
love is, than a stalled oz and hatred
therewith."
THE PEOPLE'S JOURNAL•
JOHN S. MANN, EDITOR.
- •••*Stl
CCUDERSPORT, PA.
TIIURSBAY MORNING, FEB. '2B, 1855
THE ACADEMY
The second term of the Academy
tinder the -cat e of Mr. Hendrick, open
ed on Monday, with seventy-five schol
ars. Team after team came loaded:
with housekeeping apparatus; and the.
call for rooms, and tke numbers crowd
ing into small apartments, remind one
of the potatoes crying to each other in
the hills to " lay orer." ' They are
bra've students, willing to p . m up with
difficulties and inconveniencs for the
sake of the henfits they receive, and
we hope our people will feel sufficient
confidence in the success and prosperi
ty of the Academy, to induce them to
build a forge, boarding house before
another winter.
rarThe friends of Rev. W. H. Shaw
are invited to make a donation visit at
his residence, on Wednesday evening,
March 12th, •
RAILROAD DISASTER
As the mail train going west on the
N. X. & E. I. R., on Thursday last, a
little after three o'clock, P. M., neared
Belvidere depot, the passenger car
coritainifig a-bout 60 passengers, was
thrown from the track by the speed - of
the train passing a curvy. The. Car
turned ore' down an embankment of
about tel) feet, and was thrown onto
the forward end, precipitating all the
passengers into a heap.. The Hon. S.
Ross of this village, was in the car, and
among those most-seriously injured..
He received a very bad cut on his
head, laying bare a portion .qf his skull
four inches in length and two in width.
Doctor - Charles of Angelica, fortunate
ly was present_ at the depot when the.
accident occurred; and gave prompt
relief to all the sufferers,. fife dressed
Mr. Ross' wounds so effectually that
he was able to ride home pr! Saturday,
.and he is now (Monday morning) look
ing as cheerful as ever, and promises
to get well as fast as a man with a bro
ken head could expect. •
From what we learn ot this accident,
we think there is little doubt that it
was caused by the recklessness of those
having 6liarge of the train. The car
was thrown from the track by no break
of any description, but freer* excess i ve
speed while rounding a curve. For
tunately no lives were lost, though
nearly every passenger was injured.
The car was broken all to pieces, and
it is a great mercy that none were
killed. Must these terrible slaughters
continue I Will not those in authori
ty act at once to prevent them
THE TRUE MEN OF THE SOUTH.
We have been charged, time and
again, and in every style of epithet;
with being unable to see even the good .
qualities of Suuthe!n men. We deny
the charge, We have admired Col.
Benton, F. P. Blair, C. M. Clay, and
many other slaveholders. We. have
now to add another name to the list of
brave and trne men in the South, who
challenge „ur admiration. We publish
,On the- first page a sermon by a Vir
ginian, the Rev. M. D. CONWAY, which
is among the. best we have ever read,
and we ask all our patrons to give this
sermon .a candid and attentive peru
sal. We like it all the better for its
plain t.nd direct manner of pointing
out the sins of the North- 7 our sins.
We take many parts of this discourse
home to our own condemnation ; but
we find much in it to strengthen and
encourage us. Then its elevated tone
and sublime faith in the eternity of
Right and Good, is applicable to all
classes, ages, and Sexes.
The reader will see that this Vir
ginian has answered tliti • puerile cry
against.agitation, so effectually that, no
.doughface can read it without feeling
his 'cheeks burn with shame. These
are glorious words :
" Those who deny that the full SUO
- should play abore,-and henoath,
and aroun any subject, can never con
vince any: disinteresi person that
they are id the right'""
But eir.chief delight iri this setmon,
is derived from its cairn and Christian
method- of -securing- peace.- A- large
number of timid men in every commu
nity, are crying "Peace, peace 1" when
there is no peace,.and can be pone,
for the reason given by-Mr. Conway
in these prophetic wards i
[ "Nothing is deadlier, at times, than
[ peace; and invariably when,' as in
this ease, the word Peace is but a
cover of your desire that your person
al interest and business should be un
disturbed—a disguise of that only
Satan, selfishness.
' "Ab, ye- American men ! too soon
have you inscribed on your banner
Peaceable. Maze suoceasful had it
been, if the word-had been in the or
der in which the ancient Christian
places it—first pure, the* peaceable.
Never wasthere but one path given
men to welkin : it .is that of a pure
conscience. Whether the light be
dim or bright, it is in the right diree
tion ; guilt is.in veering from that.
There may be innumerable crooked
lines. bet Ween two points, but one
straight. What is the right line be
tween us: and that peace we all crave V
Those persons who think there can
be peace- on the Slavery question be
fore the Slave Power is. overthrovin,
and the Government restored to its
original . purity, may learn from the.
above that all such hopes are enter
tained without reason, and can only
lead to disappointment.
40N, J. J. PEARCE AND THE PREVAILING
SENTIMENT IN THIS DISTRICT.
The Muncy Luminary has produced
an abundance of proof that at the time
of his nomination, the extension of
slavery was a prominent . question in
the District. It was so prominent
that Mr. Pearce first felt constrained
to say in his address t;) the electors :
" Cherishing an abi-ling respect for
the , compromise of the past, I cannot
approve the late abrogatioa of the
Missouri Compromise, a compact,
dictated by patriotism and sanctioned
by "wisdom 'and experience. As a
fiend of man I could never counten
ance or encourage the extension of
Slavery, or its introduction into terri
tory consecrated to freedorit."
Will any body pretend that )Ir.
Pearce could have voted for IL M.
Fuller after his Southern bid became
known, without forfeiting his word as
declared in the above 1
As a further proof of the prominence
of this question at that time, the Whig
convention of Lydorning county which
assembled on the p.72th of Sept., ISSI,
unanimously adopted - the following
resolution :
"Rrsolred, That the repeal of the
Missouri Compromise Act--,an act
sanctioned and acquiesced in, by the
wiible country, for more than a quar
ter ofa century—was effected by dem
agogues- in reckless disregard of the
wishes ofthe people of the Free States
—is a- wanton violation of plighted
faith, , • and a measure fatal to the in
terests of Freedom everywhere ; and
that the present National Administra
tion, being justly held responsible for
said repeal, is only worthy 'the dis
approbation, contempt, and repudia
tion of all good and true men of what
ever creed or party."
This, in connection with the fact
that Mr. Gamble. the then member,
opposed the repeal of the Missouii
Compromise, is conclusive evidence,
we think, of the fact that the anti-Ne-
hraska question was a prominent one
in the election .of Mr. Pearce. Mr.
P. was elected to rebuke the authors
of theliansas fraud ; and nobly has ho
fulfilled his mission.• • Those papers
that charge him with having mistaken .
the " prevailing sentiment," can give
no proof of their assertion; for all the
facts are against them: The members
of Assembly from his District, have
unanimously endorsed his course,
and a majority of the voters at the
last election declared at the ballot-box
that the "prevailing sentiment" in this,
Congreisional District, is against the
repeal- . of the Missouri Compromise,
and against the further extension of
Sin 7erv.
. Tho • Fusion candidate for Canal
Commissioner in this State last fall,
was quite as strong an anti-slavery
man as N. P. Banks, and he was nom
inated on that account. His vote in
this Congressional District, is there
fore a fair test of the prevailing- senti
ment. It - was as follows
Nicholson.
2033
996
2034
1332
634
292
Center
Clinton
Ly_eoming
Mifflin
Potter
Sullivan
7371 - - 7144
Majority for Nicholson 227. So Mr
I - Pearce has not only reflected the wish.
es of . the party that elected him, nt
he has represented a majority of the
voters in the District. We hop., there
fore, to hear no more of his mistaking
thi sentiment of .his District. Let
those papers that persist in opposing
him, do it on true grounds. If we are
to have a 12th Section Trdy Nothing
party in this-District, the &cmer it is
known the better. If not, then there
is no shadow of excuse for opposing
the course of Mr.. Pearce.
It has been suggested that a distin
guished citizen of Mifflin county will
be the next candidate for Congress,
As at present advised, we shall be
happy to support him ; but we would
inquire of the Lewistown papers if
they expect a candidate who will vote
to Please the slaveholders. If so, we
think he had better save the expense
of the campaign. We shall support
no man who will not be as true to
Freedom. as Mr. Pearce has been ; anti
we believe a Majority in the District
will be equally firm in their opposition
to. Slavery Extension.,
PLEASANT WORDS
There are a few.disappointed men
in our Y Maga, comparatively - new
corners, who, manifest their chagrin
at their ill success in efforts to rule the•
comity, hy asserting that it has a bad
reputation abroad. This slander has
no foundation except in the poisoned
minds of those- who utter-it, Our rep
utation has greatly improved within
the last ten years, and is constantly
improving. Our people have only to.
keep in the even,tenor of their way,
pursuing their temperate and indus
trious habits and their enterprising
spirit, to secure 'reputation that will
satisfy the highst aspirations. The
evidence of this may be seen on every
hand. Take the following paragraph
from the last Harrisburg Telegraph, as
a sample.of the many similar ones that
might he published : •
" Tisa contested election case in the•
House ofßepresentativeslbetween Mr..
?kit:Gime, sitting member, and Mr..
BELK, contestant, brought a largo del,
option of the citizens of Potter county
here as witnesses, as the alleged
irregularities are located in that coon,.
ty. V We had the pleasure of mooting :
the entire delegation—aarmg thorn,
the Sheriff of the county. A more
straight-forward, intelligent, self-re
lying sot of men have rarely viSiteds
the Capitol, and they boast that thers•
has not been a licensed hotel in - the
county for three years, and that they.
would starve the Sheriff out entirely
did not stragglois from other sections
come in once in a while to violate the.
laws. They claim; that they take
more newspapers 'in proportion to
their population—Aave the hest neck
of woods and the hest population in
..tlerthern Pennsylvania, :and their lir- -
ing illustrations go far to sustain the
latter assumption."
The men who made this impression'
on the writer of the abdve, are simply
fair specimen; of the mass of our citi•
wens. A friend in Jiarrisburg writing
to us on business, adds to his letter the
following, on the same subject : ,
I am highly gratified at the im
pression the Potter county friends
Made here. I have hoard gentlemen
ipeaking about them several times:in
the highest terms, for intelligence and
deportment." •
That will do for the present, and
until some proof is furnished to sus
tain the impudent falsehoods soindus
triously published, that our reputation
abroad is bad. . _
Tun election of Gen. Cullom
.as
Clerk of the House is regarded every
where as a significant event. Gen. C.
voted against the• Kansas Nebraska
bill at the last session, and running
again was defeated, on the score
principally of his apposition to the
Nebraska measure. Although a Ten
nesseean and a Representative of a
slaveholding constituency, no member.
opposed more effectively the repeal
of the Missouri 'Compromise, and the
usurpation of the Nebraska Bill, them
he. At that crisis he boldly maintain
ed, what all privately admitted, that
the honor of the South was . pledgid
to the maintenance of that compact.
His firm stand emboldened other
Southern men, .previously wavering,
to take the same position. -He failed
of a re-election last - August, but by
less than a hundred votes. His vin
dication by the House is alike honor
able to itself and to him.
The charge of " sectionalism"- the
favorite cry against the Republican
party, needs no better refutation than
is given by the fact that, over -looking
the local prejudices which confessiiill
guide its rivals, it is as ready to honer
worth and character in Tennessee, so
im Maesachusette.—PiUsburg Gaut's:
Plumer.
Idol
.934
266
1310
436
347