J. GERRITSON, Publisher. }
For the Montrose Democrat.
The Great Conflict between. Democ
racy and AbolitiOnism—Or be
tween Liberty and Despotism.
44 Centralization of power was the great
evil against which the American patriots
en deavored to guard the country, by se
curing legislative authority to the several
States. It is this feature of our Constitu
tion that has' preserved the Republic so
long. France has no conception of a
State in which different provinces shall be
self-goierning, enacting and executing
their'own laws. England has just begun
to discover that this is the true principle
of government; ignorance of this law
co st her the brightest jewel in her crown.
Mier the American colonies had achieved
their independence, they were jealous of
their right of self-government, as inde
peolent States. Any attempt to rob
thdin of their sovereignty would have sig
nally failed. The fathers of the revolu
tion understood what the genius of free
dom required. They knew that the sur
est foundation for permanent, harmonious
men, was the recognition of independent
State sovereignty. The powers of Con
gress were defined, and the field of legis
lation restricted. Instead of governing
the States bya central, paramount author
ity, each State is guarantied supreme con
trol within its own limits. All history
shows that for any great extent of terri
tory, a consolidated republic is an imprac
ticable form of government. It must be
ephemeral. It contains within itself the
seeds of dissolution. It will either be
broken into fragments by jarring inter-
ests, or pass over into the bands of a Dic
tator. The fugitive slave law thus inter
feres with the sovereignty of the States,
and if the claim over the States is persis
ted in, collision is inevitable--revolution
is begun."
The above theory of our government
was given by a religious organ of the an
ti-slavery Society in 1857—the American
Baptist—and although the return of fu
gitive slaves to their masters was a com
pact between the States, and one of the
compromises of the Constitution when
the Union was formed, these Abolition
ists were so tenacious of the sovereignty
of the States, and the right of each State
to self-government, that they declared
civil war, if the laws in regard to fugitive
slaves should be carried out ; and said
that resistance to those laws was as justi
fiable as the resistance of their fathers to
the stamp act of the British government.
Yet, although they declared that cen
tralization of power was the great evil
it bid] the American patriots endeavored
to guard their country against, they form
ed a conspiracy to centralize all power in
their own hands, and take away the right
of self-government from eleven American
States. They declared to the world that
it was this very feature in our Constitu
tion that had preserved our Republic so
long; yett,they have proposed an amend
ment to the Constitution which destroys
that feature, and thus destroys the whole
structure of our government, and consoli
dates it into an empire.
They owned that " our fathers were
jealous. of the right of self-government, as
independent States, and any attempt to
rob them of their sovereignty would have
signally failed."
Yet they admit that they have waded
through four years of bloody war to com
pel the South to be robbed of the rights
which our fathers would have yielded but
with their breath.
They admitted that "the powers of
Congress were defined by the framers of
our government, and the field of its legis
lation restricted.
Yet this abolition Congress claims un
limited power over eleven unrepresented
States, and an unrestricted field of legis
lation.
They admitted that "instead of States I
being governed by a central, paramount
authority, each State is guarantied by the
Constitution supreme control within its
own limits." Yet they now claim the
right to govern the Southern States them
selves, and usurp supreme control over
the domestic affairs of six millions of pea.
ple, whom oar fathers forbade their inter
meddling with under the penalty of law.
They asserted the fact that "all histo
ry shows that for any great extent of ter
ritory, a consolidated republic is an im
practicable, form of government ; that it
will be broken into fragments, or pass
over into the hands of a Dictator." Yet
with the ink still bright upon the pages
which recorded„tbese declarations, this
very Abolition party resolved, for the
sake of power, and under the pretext of
giving liberty and equality to the negro
race, to overthrow the government of
their fathers, and destroy the liberties of
the white people of Atnerica. They con
spired ag,tunst the liberties of their own
race, and resolved to pass them'over into
the hands of a Dictator. What, aggra
vates their crimes, and makes their treas
on more odious is, that they waded Oro'
oceans of blood, bearing aloft: the -banner
of the Union, to win soldiers to the strife,
while a consolidated empire Was written
beneath its folds. • ' .
And now for the proof that President
Johnson was right in declarixigthat 'Con
gress was but a nest of traitors, trying to
destroy the Union, and establish a mon
archy. 'We'give this same paper as an
tbority. As it is what is called an ortho
dox Abolition organ, it should be entitled
to more credit in its assertions and dec
larations of the principles of that party
than the organs of the infidel Abolition
ists, although they all act in concert and
harmony together in the great conspira-
cy for the overthrow of the government.
After laboring assiduously for thirty years
to drive the Southern States from the Un
ion so as to bring on a civil war, the .Ab
olitionists succeeded at last. War began
and their hour for the consummation of
their conspiracy arrived. The President
of the United States called out troops to
put down rebellion and "maintain the in
tegrity of the National Union ;" and the
Abolitionists joined in the patriotic upris
ing of the people to suppress the insur
rection, but with what motives will be
seen in the following records of their in
tentions and designs. The Abolition pa
pers quoted above says, in June, 1881 :
"Slavery must go down. Human laws
and Constitutions that rest not on natu
ral rights are as cobwebs. Temporizing
statesmen and legislators, who have no
higher ideas of government than are de
rived from the Constitution and statute
books, are not the melt for these times.—
We must have magistrates of the Crom
wellian stamp, who, in the absence of law
for punishing the guilty, be they mon
archs or subjects, will not hesitate to
make one. We do not want leaders who
will prate of Union, the Constitution and
the Flag. The men who are in earnest
value Constitutions and laws only as
means to an end—instruments through
which they can secure human rights ; and
when they no longer accomplish the ob
ject
for which they were designed, they
are trampled under foot as nullities.
" In 1787 the Constitution was formed
and we became a nation. By this instru
ment the powers of Congress were en
larged, bat still no distinct authority was
conferred to legislate upon the internal
affairs of the States. On the contrary,
several provisions were inserted, though
avoiding the . obnoxious word slave, and
so: worded as' to snit the slaveholder's pur
pose, and to admit of that construction in
his favor which bas prevailed from the
day of its adoption till now. Congress
could declare war, but its authority to
legislate for the States, or to right do
mestic wrongs, was not admitted. But
the tramp of armed legions echoes atone
the Potomac, and it is for Congress now
to make its watchword universal freedom
to the slave,"
Finding the Constitution still in their
way, in September they all conspired to
gether to trample it under their feet as a
nullity. They slid :
" Whatever the estimation in which
the Constitution has heretofore been held,
and we know it, has been worshipped
with a reverence nearly amounting to idol
otry, it is perfectly plain that it is rapidly
losing he importance in the minds of the
people. The popular rallying cry is sim
ply 'Union.' The Constitution is of sec
ondary importance. Another change will
be the further consolidation of our gov
ernment. The separate States, which
have heretofore been allowed almost the
entire control of their own affairs, can
never again enjoy the same freedom from
Congressional control. The Southern
States have so abused the independence
they have been left to enjoy, so violated
all their federal obligations, that a strong
centralized government becomes an abso
lute necessity. The doctrine that Con
gress cannot interfere with ' social and
.domestic institutions,' is not, never was,
and now, as we believe, never can be, a
part of our Constitution. The theory
that every State can make whatever ab
surd law it pleases, without interference
' from Congress, cannot be to'erated."
In July, 1812, the same Abolition or
gan continues thus :
"By assuming the perpetuity of the
Republic, it is easy to see that it must un
dergo, considerable change of form and
structure. The broken Union can never
be restored.. The crisis through which
we are passing is not a mere insurrection
—it is a revolution. The result, should
the nation survive, will be the more com
plete solidification of the Republic. We
may desire or deprecate, but no human
ingenuity Can prevent it. The success of
the national arms ensures a consolidated
empire. We may change our Constitu
tion,'or retain it as it is; but its practical
working will be centralization. The pow
er of the separate - State governments will
be reduced to the smallest' proportions.—
Henceforth we are a United. State rather
than States; a consolidated Republic ;
or it may be,an ImperialDespotisin. t We
protect and defend the , rights of univer
sal man' will be the motto of the age now
coming. Johu Brown caught a glimpse
of that glorious idea when he told hie cap
tors that the Golden -Rule was his war
rant for delivering the captives froze their
bonds. The soul of the -gallant old hero
is marching on; and is giving shape and
substance to the Republic that is to be."
Au imperial despot, protecting and de
fending the rights of universal man! Such
is the government:the Christian Aboli-
Oculists of ournountry - have been prepar
ing for us, under the leadership of the
MONTROSE, PA., TUESDAY, JULY 31, 1866.
spirit of old John Brown. Carlyle, in his
history of the French revolution, says :
" Very frightful it is when a Nation,
rending asunder its Constitutions, seeks
its wild way through the New Chaotic."
Such a frightful vision bas been before
the minds of the thinking people of the
North for five long years. It was asked
by Conthon of one of the Jacobins is the
French revolution, of which the late war
is almost au exact repetition—history re
peating itself—" What haat thou done to
be hanged, if counter revolution should
come 2"
The Sacobins of America may welt ask
this question of eat h other ; for, as they
have often said, " revolutions never go
backward." They should remember that
in France it devoured its own authors.—
Are the followers of John Brown who
are trying to establish the same kind of
government in America that Robespierre
tried to establish in France, (as we shall
prove,) any better than the followers of
Robespierre ?
Andrew Johnson said in 1859: " I
want all these'modern fanatics, who have
adopted John Brown and his gallows as
their Christ and their Cross, to see who
their Christ is He stands before the
country as a highway robber, and a mur
derer. He whose bands were red, crim
son with the blood of a father and his two
sons, fell at Harper's Ferry with his two
sons. It seems that Divine Providence
intended it as an illustration that ven
geance will not only overtake its victim,
but mete out justice in a similar manner!"
Justice having overtaken the leader of
those blood-thirsty fanatics, it is reasona
ble to believe that it will yet overtake his
followers. Their war records are not all
yet brought out. The next number will
exhibit more fully their high-handed trea
son.
My Mother's Voice.
There's music in the Autumn wind,
Around the dripping eaves,
And where its pinions stop to play
Among the fallen leaves.
There's music in the river's flow .
Along the pebbly shore,
When all the winds have gone to sleep,
And boughs are swayed no more.
There's music in the cricket's song
hoar through avaninfea
And in the low of distant herds
Returning from the glade.
There's music in the household tones
That greet the sad or gay,
And in the laugh of innocence
Rejoicing in its play,
But there's music sweeter far
In memory than this—
The music of my mother's voice,
Now in the land of bliss.
A music time may Dever still ;
I hear it in my dreams,
When all the fondness of her face
Once more upon me beams.
I know not what the angels bear
In mansions in the skies,
But there is not a sound on earth
Like mother's gentle voice.
The tears are in my cicuded eye,
And sadness in my brain,
As Nature whispers in my heart,
She will not come again.
A mother ! oh, when she departs
Her like is never known •
The records of affection sp eak
Of only, only one I
And brighter will that record grow,
Through all the changing years,
The oftener to the lip is pressed
The cup of Sorrow's tears.
ilgr'General Sherman in a recent
speech at New Haven talked very plain
ly. He told the crowd gathered to re
ceive him, that the people of New Eng
land had been too hard on the South, and
were too strong in their prejudices, but
perhaps they were not responsible for it,
as they have been so educated. He was
for the whole country, North and South
alike, and he was willing to forget and
forgive all past. differences.
His sentiments are those of nine-tenths
of the gallant men who did the fighting
during the war. The radicals, who staid
at home, are the men in favor of exterm
ination.
THAD'S FLOCK.--A southern paper says
that 127 negro babies have been born in
a neighboring county since the meeting
of Congress. Of this number more 'than
fifty were named Thad. Stevens. The as
sessor asked the mothers the reason for
naming their babies that name, and they
universally replied that they had been
told that there was d great man in Con
gress by that name whose wife is a negro
woman.
—The N. Y. Independent. says : "The
name that nerved our volunteers and gave
us victory at last over rebellion, was the
saintly one of old John Brown." This
may be true as regards such soldiers as
Gen. Geary. It was Stonewall Jackson's
name, however.that , nerved the Gener•
'al's legs when be put . Snichersville so far
I:iebind him.
HIS WITS ABOUT RIM.
I certainly thought he was " out of his
head"' Be had such peculiar ways; said
peculiar things; and he went about as it he
was in a somnamhulio state almost; that
is, I don't quite mean that; but he never
seemed to take the same notice of what
happened about him that other men do.
And, as to his ever being surprised at any
thing, 1, never knew him to show surprise
on but one occasion in his life. What
that occasion was, I shall naturally men
tion before I am done.
His name was Joseph Harrison, and he
was a student at the academy at Sandford,
one of the style of academies that seem to
have nearly gone out of date now, where
both sexes were taught under the same
roof. I attended the Sandford school.
The principal's house was on the corner
across the way from the academy, and he
boarded a dozen or so of the students. I
was one of these boarders.
I shall never forget the day Mr. Harri
son came to the house to board. I was
sitting on the floor piazza, studying. It
was late in a summer's afternoon. As he
entered the gate I leaned over to look at
him, and when he was just underneath, I
chanced to drop my book. It struck him
on the shoulder, and fell thence to the
ground. He turned and looked at it qui
etly, and then poked it aside with his big
cane.
What does he carry that big cane for ?
thought I; and why don't he pick up my
book, or look up at me, or do any other
thing that a rational being would
He rung the bell, and I saw no more
of him till tea time. He sat directly op
posite me at the table. Would you be
lieve it he never looked at me once—nor,
indeed, at any one else, it sseemed—which
was the reason, perhaps, why I looked at
him more than I ever did at any other
young man in my life—in the same length
of time.
After tea, we gathered in the parlor, as
we were in the habit of doing, and be
was introduced to me. He bowed, and
then, for the first time, looked at me—or
rather, he looked through me—as if be
saw something behind me, and my head
were as transparent as glass. Then he
smiled and turned away.
I confess I was provoked at the pecu
liar manner of the young man. What
amused him, I should like to know. When
Belle, Harrison asked me, afterward, how
I likeiraer ceetne, x
at all. She only laughed, and sam sue
believed nobody ever did like him at first.
Somebody asked me to sing. I seated
myself at the piano, and gave a song in
my best manner—which I bad been
taught to believe was not an inferior man
ner, by any means. My voice is good,
and I had received the best musical cul
ture. What mysterious influence was at
work upon me I did not know; for, if ever
I thoroughly disliked a person in my life,
I certainly disliked this Mr. Harrison; but
it is true, notwithstanding that I sung
for him; and when I turned away from
the piano, it was with some special curi
osity I anticipated his comments, if he
chose to make any, or his manner and its
meaning, if he chose to hold his tongue.
If you w ill believe it, the man was look
ing at a painting on the wall—looking at
it standing up, with his bands clasped
behind him, and his back to the company.
Was there ever such a clown ?
' " What was the name of that beautiful
song ?" asked 'Orville Red way, a young
mau from the village, who had been invi
ted to tea, and now sat with us in the
parlor.
I told him.
" I must have it," said he; "it is ex
quisite." And be took out his lead pen
cil to write on a card the name of the
I ) •
iece He broke his pencil lead. " Will
some one lend me a knife ?" he asked.
" I have left mine."
Mr. Harrison heard the question, tho'
he was still looking at the painting, and
produced a. large pocket knife, which be
handed to Mr. Red way.
"It's very sharp," said he; " be care-
ful."
The first thing Redway did was to cut
his hand. The blood spurted out in jets.
He turned pretty white, but just gather
ed his band in his handkerchief, and said it
was " a mere scratch, of no consequence."
" Reg your pardon, sir," Mr. Harrison
spoke; "it's of some consequence. You'll
lose your life, if you don't look out. ril
fix you."
He took his own handkerchief and tied
it loosely around Redway's arm. Then
he took his knife. Shut it carefully, put it
under the handkerchief next to the arm,
and began to twist it about. As the
handkerchief tightened on the arm, the
blood ceased to flow.
" Send for a doctor," said Mr. Harri-
son.
" A doctor !" uttered Red way. " Isn't
this a good' deal of fuss over a little cut?"
"A little cut," said Mr; Harrison, "when
you cut an artery, it is a big cut."
Dr. Miner was three doors off, and he
came in a few minutes. He expressed
great approbation of you Harrisons s con
duct.
Young Harrison as unconcerned as a
post, bad.returned
,to his inspection. of
the, painting be seemed to admire so
much. Ur. Itiftwar soon went on' with
the doctor.
The knife lay on the table. Out of
pure impudence, or some similar feeling,
I took up this terrible knife, and acciden-
tally cut the end of one of my fingers
nearly off. I screamed loudly, for it was
a horrid wound, and the blood flowed co
piongly.
" Well, upon my word I" remarked Mr.
Harrison. " Here's another !"
Another! How contemptuous the word
sounded me ! I, Margaret Baily Monroe,
confessedly a belle, a beauty, and a lady
of rare accomplishments, besides being
heiress to a hundred thousand dollars—l
was just " another !" Why didn't he call
me a person, and done with it ?
" Well, what would he do with my
frightful wound ?"
"Mix a little flour and salt and put on
it," said he; that will stop the bleeding.
It is a mere trifle."
It may have been a trifle, but it was en
ough to make me swoon. Or perhaps I
swooned out of downright vexation at
the man.
When I recovered, he was gone. By
and by when Belle and I were alone—we
roomed together—l asked her what Mr.
Harrison said and did when I fainted.
"He said," Belle answered, " lay her
on her back, and leave her alone ?"
"Is that all be said P"
"No; not quite. Some one brought
the flour and salt, and be put it on your
finger, and said, " There tie a rag around
it."
A rag!
I should certainly hate this young man.
After that be became such an object of
interest to me that I could scarcely keep
my mind off him an hour at a time.
I was not long in learning something
of his history. It seems that a love of ad
venture bad sent him on a cruise round
the world, when he was a boy of about
sixteen, both his parents being dead. He
bad been absent from his native country
four years without interruption, and on
his return bad decided to go to the acad
emy a short time to correct certain lacks
in his education. This explained why a
man of his advanced age should be at
tending school—for he was twenty one if
he was a day, Belle assured me. I my
self was about seventeen. I was the on
ly female student of German at the acad
emy, and it was on that account that Mr.
Harrison manifested some degree of inter
est in me, I suppose, for he was almost
enthusiastic in his admiration of that scho
lastic tongue. So I saw a good deal of
b W i ler
0 tow ing ,
Sand's, in Sandford, one bitter cold night,
I chanced to be alone with Nellie Wells
one moment in an upper chamber which
was used as a cloak room for the lady
guests. There was a furious fire in the
stove, and its sides were red hot. Nellie
was a pretty girl, but rather dull. She
wore a dress of some gauzy fabric, and
going too near the stove, it took fire. I
ran out of the room, screaming at the top
of of my voice :
"Mr. Harrison ! Mr. Harrison ! Oh,
Mr. Harrison !"
He came quickly into the hall; saw me;
was up the stairway with a bound; and as
I was running back into the room, he
went past me, pushing me aside rather
rudely, and took in all with a quick cool
glance. Nellie had hauled a quilt from a
bed that was in the room, and was trying
to stifle the flames. He threw her on the
floor, rolled her over and over in the quilt,
like a mummy; and extinguished the
flames at once—bugged her, too. She
was very badly burned, after all; but her
rice was not touched by the flames; so
that she was just as pretty as ever.
" Remarkably sensible girl," said Mr.
Harrison afterward, to a group that taus
tared about him in the parlor. "Most
girls would have rushed headlong into
the hall, screaming like"—be looked at
me—" like mad," he added, with a quiet
smile. "If I ever marry," said he, "which
I probably never shall, 1 shall marry a
sensible woman—a woman who would not
set up a scream if our youngest should
fall into a tub of hot water, but would
pull the child out as quickly as possible,
and send for a doctor.'
Somehow, I was vain enough to think
this sarcastic speech was intended solely
to rebuke me. I knew I should certainly
scream in such case. It was my nature
to scream, and how could I help my na
ture P
As for that poor little. Nellie Wells, I
hated her and almost wished it had been
my own dress that had caught fire—only
I should certainly have burned to death
before Mr. Harrison would have come
and wrapped me in a 4uilt and hugged
me.
From that day forward, some power
ful influence was at work upon me. I
struggled hard after that cool manner in
danger which Mr. Harrison possessed in
so eminent a degree. I even ventured in
the pursuit of perfection, to ask him how
he could do it.
" I suppose," said he, "it is because I
naturally have such an extreme terror of
danger in every shape—such a lively spil
-1 pathy with those in peril—that I feel very
strangely the necessity - for being calm
when the others are excited. I -Think
that whatever excuse a lady may have for
llosing her. wits—and that, is, at the best,
very little—a man has UQ. excuse whatev
er. I always try to keep my wits about me.
{VOLUME XXIII, NUMBER 31.
"To be calm, then," said I, with the
withering irony common to girls of from
fourteen to eighteen, " one only ngeds to
have his wits about him."
" Exactly," said he ; "or change the
sex, her wits about ber."
" Just as," I added, " the secret of
wealth is to get money."
" And to keep it said be.
On one thing I was fully determined—
he never should bear me scream again.
However, he left school soon after; and
I did likewise in about six months.
I had effected a great change in myself
when we met again.
It was in the summer of the year
which saw me pass my twentieth birth
day, that we met at Niagara Falls. lie
was there with his cousin, my dear friend
Belle Harrison, and I with my mother
and sister.
On a certain day, we were all taking a
walk on Goat Island, when mother dropp
ed her parasol, and it slid down the bank
some fifteen or twenty feet, and out of
reach. Mr. Harrison descended the bank
after it, but though he used proper can-
Lion, his foot slipped on the treacherous
soil, as he was returning, and he slid rap
idly down, to the very verge of the pre
cipice. I expected nothing else than to
see him go over, and be dashed to pieces
on the rocks a hundred feet below; but
though the three other ladies screamed
loudly, I did not. You see, I was pretty
thoroughly drilled by this time. How
ever, as Mr. Harrison neared the edge of
the precipice, he threw out his right hand
—still holding the parasol in his left—and
seized the upturned roots of a tree which
leaned out over the chasm
shook violently under the sudden shock,
and the roots began to tear themselves
out of the •thin soil slowly and steadily,
under the influence of this superadded
weight. In a few minutes more it would
give way, and then Mr. Harrison would
be killed. I knew my face was pale, and
I was terribly frightened; but I leaned
forward and spoke to him :
" Tell me what to do." •
"Take all the ladies' shawls, skirts, and
any other articles of dress . that you can
spare, and which are strong; cut them in,
wide, strong strips; tie them firmly to-
gether and make a rope."
I obeyed as calmly as I knew be would
have done, bat none the less expeditious
ly on that: account, be, very sure. He
A Li:inter*
while I was doing his bidding, a -
spoke as deliberately as if he stood in
safety by my side.
" Your calmness is quite charming,
Miss M9nroe," said he. "Be sure and
make the knots tight. I judge that this
tree may be relied on with perfect con
fidence for ten or fifteen minutes yet.
Your rope is long enough, now, I think.
Tie a stone to the end, and let that end
down to me. That's it. All right now.
Do nothing but hold fast and stand still,
ladies, and I will home up to you."
He drew himself up, hand over hand,
with extreme caution, and was saved.
My mother's parasol was restored to her
with a courtly bow; and he brushed the
dust from his clothes and walked away
with us. I walked by his side; but he
made no reference to the peril just passed.
That evening however, as we sat on
the piazza of our hotel, where it overlooks
the river—how well I remember the rush
ing sound of the waters down below !
he said :
" We are alone now, Miss Monroe, and
I can thank you for saving my life, with
out offence to the other ladies." .
It was too dark, out there, fur him to
see the blush of delight that went over
my face at these words. How much they
meant to me
" I knew I was as good as saved," said
be, " when I saw you standing with tight
ly clasped hands and your under lip sup
pressed by your shining teeth, while Belle
and the other ladies were trying to drown
the roar of old Niagara with their shrieks.
I never saw one of your sex before'who
had the control over herself which you
manifested to day. If I had seen snob an
exhibition anywhere it would naturally '
have awakened my admiration; bat when
it happened to be an exhibition in which
my own life or death was concerned, you
may, imagine my feelings."
The tone in which he uttered' these
words was so tender and true !-- r it said
so plainly that he would gladly devote all
his future life to me ! But; though tone
and manner said this, his words' did not
say it; and I knew the . . reason.. Hein
lieved me already betrothed.
William Willis was the'son 'of a New
York merchant who had been a. school
mate with my father. It was my father's
wish that we should be married. .
I loved my father, and was anxious to
be' pleased with his friend's, son. Young
Willis had been a frequent guest
and many considered us already betroth
ed. He was an agreeable companionin
the parlor—a good dancer, and all that;
but oared I more for one look of ,Toseph
Harrison's earnest, honest grayeyt) . s than
I did for William whole
,
According
_to a previous appointment,
Mr. Willis came to the Falls urine our
stay. He arrived on the evening of the
The tree