lllib
w.
HI . irff Ml Jf .
1 I 1 . N 1 : 1' 1 1 Mi 1 &
if ra il if m m w&
. 4 BlRKER, Editor anil Proiirictor.
jl TO if 39 iiirtlHXSO.V, Iublisler.
I WOULD RATHER BE RIGHT THAN PRESIDENT- Henry Clay.
Tnnf?.S-- PER AIVNUM.
A fc I 1.5 O I X AO VANCE.
VOLUME 3.
EBENSBURG, PA., THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 1801.
NUMBER 12.
DIRECTORY.
?jpARt-o EXPRESSLY FOR "THE ALLEG HAS IA.V.
LIST OF POST OFFICES.
To,' O Jiecs.
Post Masters.
Joseph Graham,
Joseph S JIardis,
William .M. Jones,
Danl. Litzinger,
John J. Troxell,
John Thompson,
Isaac Thompson,
J. M. Christy,
Wm. M'Gough,
I. E, Chandler,
? bhields
E. V.'issinger,
A. Durbin,
Francis Clement,
Andrew J. Ferral
G. W. Rowman,
Wm. Ryan, Sr.,
Georae Conrad,
C. M'Colgan,
Wm. Murray,
Districts.
Yoder.
Blackiick.
Carroll.
Chest.
Sena's Creek,
j.-thel Station
r erolitown,
Chess Springs,
Sbensbarg.
Fallen Timber,
Gi'.litz'u,
Hemlock,
Johnstown,
Loretto,
Mineral Point,
iluuster,
Pershing,
ruttsville,
RjselanJ,
S;. Augnstine,
S:i-t Level,
Soaaian,
Samraerhill,
Sianiit,
Wamore,
"Washiut'u.
Ebensburg.
White.
Gallitzin.
Washt'n.
Johnst'wn.
Loretto.
Concur gh.
Munster.
Conem'gh.
Susq nan.
White.
Clearfield.
Richland.
Washt'n.
Croyle.
Washt'n.
S'mmerhill.
Miss M. Gillespie
Jlorris Keil,
iCUL'RCIIES, MINISTERS, &C.
Presbyterian Rev. D. Harbison, pastor.
Preaching every Sabbath morning at 10 J
o'clock, and in the evening at 3 o'clock. Sab
bath School at 1 o'clock, A. M. Prayer meet
ial every Thursday evening at G o'clock.
Methodist Episcopal Church Rsv.S.T. Srow,
Preacher in charge. Rev. J. G. Gogley, As
sistant. Preaching every Sabbath, alternately
it 10 o'clock in the morning, or 7 in the
sain-". Sabbath School s.t 9 o'clock, A. M.
Prarer meeting every Thursday evening, fit 7
o'r'.ock.
n'i'ch Independent Rev Li.. R. Poweit.,
Pisior. Preaching every Sabbath morning at
10 o'clock, and in the evening at 6 o'clock.
Sibbath School at 1 o'clock, P. M. Prayer
netting- on the 6rst Monday evening of c.tch
laontb , and on every Tuesday, Thursday and
Frid.n evening, excepaug the first week in
eaca month.
Cahinindc Mfihod-'st Rev. John Williams,
Pastor. Preaching every Sabbath evening at
:aud 6 o'clock. Sabbath School fit 10 c'jlcck,
A. '.I. Prayer meeting every Friday evening,
at 7 o'clock. Society every Tuesday evening
?.t 7 o'clock.
Li .;. Ic Re v . W. Llot:, Pastor. Preach
ing every fcaooatn morning at io o cioc.
l'articu-iir Dcpiists Rev. David Jeseixs,
r AMor. Prea'-'iTg every i;Vuu '.j evening at
Jo'riock. Sabbath School at at 1 o'clock, P. 11.
Catholic Rev. M. J. Mitchell, Pastor.
Services every Sabbath morning at 1 G 1 o'clock
ail Vespers at 4 o'clock in the evening.
EBK.TSRIT.G 3IAX&.S.
MAILS ARRIVE.
Ev-'rn. daily, at 12 o'clock, roon.
V.'eit-ern, " nt 12 o'clock, noon.
MAILS CLOSE.
JiaJtc-rn. daily, at 3 o'clock. P. M
Vc;t.ra '' at S o'clock, P. M
tTh mails from Rutlcrjiidianc. St ropg?-
tj- r., arrive oa Ihursdar of each week,
: o'clock, PVM.
Leave Eiasburg on Fridav of each vei,
t c A. V.
?fJi,Tne mails from Newman's Mills, Car-
."-.lto-.va. sc., arrive on Monday, Wcdncsday
srti Fr'.dav of each week, at 3 o'clock, P. M.
Leive E'oensourg on Tuesdays, TLursdavs
1 S iturday-, at 7 o'clock, A. M.
fsSTPost OiFice oica cn Soada;. s from 0
to 10 o'clock. A. M. .
HAXr.RO A I) SCX2EDX2.E.
V.'ir.MORE STATION.
est Express Train leaves at 9.44 A. M.
" Fast Line " 10.00 P. M.
: Train " 4.01 P. M.
iiit Lxpress Trair " 8.23 P.M.
' l ast Line " 2.28 T. M.
,: Mail Ti;iin " C.23 A. M.
CRESSON STATION.
" Mail Train " 3.31 P. M.
East Express Train " 8.53 P. M.
' Mail Train " 6.30 A. M.
The Fast Lines do not stop. 3
COl'XTY OFFICERS.
Jwlyzs of the Courts President, Hon. Geo.
vlor. Huntingdon ; Associates, George W.
"lev, Richard Jones, Jr.
J'fol'tonotary Joseph M'Donald.
k'j'fter and Recorder Ed.vard F. Lytic.
S'lfrijf. Robert P. Linton.
D'Hrict Attorney. Philip S. Noon.
Cjunfj Coiiiiuijfsiomrs. Abel Lloyd, D. T.
'irra, James Cooper.
Treasurer. John A. Blair.
l or House Director. David O'llarro.
-"hacl M'Guire, Jacob Horner
t oor Il tust Treasurer. George C. K. Zahru.
Poor JIous? Steward. James J. Kaylor.
Mercantile Appraiser. H. C. Devine.
Auditors. Henry Hawk, John F. Stuli.
'oar. S. Rhcv.
('..(:,! I iSurvrycr: E. A. Yickroy.
Coroner. James S. Todd.
S'wrinlcndcnt of Common School Jumps
tnc.szsi;ita ixou. officers.
Juttict, of the Peace. David II. Roberts
"Prison Kiiikead.
David J. Evan?.
nTowa Council Evan Griffith, John J. Evans,
''dliataD. Davis, Thomas B. Moore, Daniel
- Evans
jrou.h Treasurer George Gurley.
S-rhoil Directors William Davis, Reese S.
t,-0, Mortia J. Evans, Thomas J. Davis,
Saooues, David J. Jones.
- -fr ol Hcuool Board L.vaa Morgan.
'r.ircri?eGeorge W. Brovrn.
n Collector Giovzz Gurley.
Ju7e of nirttion Meshac Thonaf.
'"Vecow Robert Evans, Wm. Williaaa
-aM43r Richard T. Davis.
Liberty: Its Use and Abuse.
A discourse preached ox tiiaxksgivixg day,
XCY. 1.'3, 18G1, I.N THE PRESBYTEHIAX CUCRCH
OJ" EBEXSSUEG, PA., BY ItEV. D. UAIIEI30X
PASTOR.
CORRESPONDENCE.
Ebensbuig. Nov. 30, I8G1.
Rev. David IIakbisox Dear Sir: Having
had the pleasure of listening to the able and
eloquent discourse delivered by you in the
Presbyterian Church, at this place, cn the
morning of Thanksgiving Day, we would most
respectfully solicit a copy of the same for
publication.
In a crisis like the present, when Treason
stalks boldly through our beloved country,
and an unnatural and unholy Rebellion is be
ing waged agaiust the best government on
ea:th, the dissemination of the patriotic nd
L'uion-loving sentiments enunciated by yeu
cannot fail to accomplish much good.
Trusting, therefore, that you will find ft
convenient to comply with our request at an
early day, we are,
With high respect,
Your obedient servants,
JOHN THOMPSON, A. C. MULLIN,
E. ROBERTS, H. C. DEVINE,
W. K. PIPER, G. A. KIN HEAD,
E. HUGHES, J. MOORE,
JOHN P. JONES, RICH'D. JONES, Jr.
nienshurg, Dec. 2, 18GI.
Missus. Johx Thompson, i. P. Jones, A. ('.
Mcllix, and others Dear Sirs: Your compli
mentary letter of the 30th ult., in which you
c-spress your approbation, of the sentiments
annunciated in the discourse delivered here
on Thanksgiving Day, and request ft copy. of
the same for publication, was duly received.
t and wou'd have been answered sooner but
that important official duties occupied my
time till the present.
Your estimate of the worth of the discourse
is, I assure you, far above mine: but. I yield
to your request, and place a copy at your dis
posal. If .it shall, to any extent, serve the
gocd cause which we all so dearly love, I will
feci a satisfaction .that words cannot express.
Most respectfully,"
Your Friend and Pastor,
D. HARBISON.
DISCOURSE.
Text As free, an 1 not using your lilerti' for
a cloak r.f rnc!;c:cu3ness, but as the servants rf
God. I Peter, II, xvi.
This inspired letter was designed to
htnean extensive and general application.
While its counsels and consolations were
primarily intended 'or the benefit ot the
l'hri?tiai:s dispersed throughout Pontus,
Galatia, Caj.-padocia, Asia and ythinia,
vet its promises :.nd its precepts are adap
ted to tLc varying circumstances of tc
lievcr.s in every country and in every age.
TLc disciples addre.s-cd in the text,
though all retiding within the limits of
the Human Umpire, yet were in different
provinces, under different iroveruois. and
were ruled through different ius-tituti'M.s,
and uag-cs, and laws, administered by va
rious dt vces of wisdom. That is to sav,
the v".t empire which cxcrci.sed a fjnurul
(ovrmmthl over all the provinces was sub
divided into districts or states, each ot
which had its local institutions and ru
lers ; but all so united as to form one
grand and powerful nation bound to
gether by geiieral Jaws, and subject to the
control of those national statutes vrhich
gave the lloman citizen a name that was
honored and an influence that was felt,
throughout the world. Now, in the con
text, the Spirit of God, by the Apostle,
gives these disciples the rule and measure
of iheir obedienoe to the government un
der which they lived "submit yourselves
to every ordinance of man." While the
duty here inculcated is of general applica
tion, it was particularly suited to the spe
cial circumstances of these early Chris
tians. They lived amouga people avowedly
heathens and bitterly hostile to the gospel,
and who looked with piejudice and hatred
on all who had embraced it. Hence the
urgency of the Apostle in calling upon
them to be meek and harmless, to be ex
emplary and obedient to those who had
the rule over thorn. The Roman govern
ment was likely to be obnoxious to the
feelings and principles of men,hose spir
it had no fellowship with many ol the acts
it performed and many of the designs it
pursued. Was there not, then, dauger
lest these Christians should fall into the
sin of despising a government which was
so corrupt in its principles and so cruel in
its practices ixs that under which " they
lived ? Might they not, under these cir
cumstances, be tempted to suppose that
they were not only at liberty, but required
by a sense of duty, to disobey men who
held their authority upon fjuestionable
grounds, and who often exercised it in the
worst possible way ? The Apostle adapts
his instructions to persons so peculiarly
situated ; he lays down and explains the
true principles of 'Christian obedience to
government, and provides an antidote
against that spirit of factious oppositiou
and rebellion which is so ready to rise in
circumstances where men think that their
rights arc invaded, their principles insul
ted, cr their liberties endangered.
But YIiile the inspired direction of sub
mission tothe ordinance of government
was adapted to the case of the pcrsous
here addressed, it is highly valuable to
Christian people everywhere, and under
whatever circumstances they niay be pla-
with respect to ctvil "ovemmcnt for
rrrr nvt. lltnil t is ! tumlltirr in titufiti iit1iw.1i
has hitherto existed, and must continue to
exist, in one form or another, in every
place and among all nations. Although
it is not the design of divine reveTation to
treat systematically of government, any
more than of any other branch of science,
it is nevertheless a most essential and
necessary part of Christian morality to
elucidate and enforce the duties which we
owe to such a valuable ordinance.
And litre hit it be noted, that there is
an important distinction between govern
ment in its principle and in its applica
tion. In its principle it comprehends
what is essential and immutable : in its
application it relates to what is accidental
and variable. Hence, l'eter in the con
text call civil government an ordinance
or appointment of man, and L'aul (Horn.
i i, 2) calls it an ordinance of Go!.
There is no discrepancy between the two
inspired statements. That there shall i e
government is the ordinance of God.
"Whosoever therelore rcsisteth the power,
resisteth the ordinance ot God, and they
that resist shall receive to themselves
damnation." Uut of what particular form
the civil government thall be is the ordi
nance of man. In other words, God or
dains that we shall live under government;
man ordains whether it snail be monar
chic, aristocratic or democratic in its form.
It is altogether a matter of human pru
dence and arrangement whether we shaii
be ruled by one, by a few, or by the ma
jority in the nation. The LVible docs not
prescribe any particular form, aud as a
consecpencc .sanctions them all. and teach
es the Christian citizen to yield a ready
and cheerful submission to constituted
authority to be warm in his allegiance,
decided in his support, and loyal in his
heart, "to every ordiuanceof man, for the
Lord's sake." Not only the supreme or
general government of the nation, but also'
the subordinate branches of power, the
governors who rule under the national
head, are to be respected and obeyed, as
the ministers of God, "sent for the pun
ishment of evil doers, and for the praise
of them that do well."
This exhortation to obedience is en
forced by several eon.-idcrations mentioned
in the context. Uut the chief reason ad
duced why we should be dutiful, exem
plary and loyal citizens, yielding not a
tardy or rcluctaut, but a prompt and
cheeiful obedience to civil rulers, is the
I Unity mjotjul r the exemption from an
obligation to obey a command t:ot founded
on law, or a commaud which though in
accordance with the supreme law of the
land, is nevertheless directly opposed to
the law or commandment of God. A lib-ert-,
or exemption from obedience, in
such cases is not to be made an excuse
for indulging a wayward and milicious
temper of heart, or fr throwing off the
gentle yoke of just and due allegiance to
lawful authority. Christian liberty ex
empts no man from the binding duty ot
yielding a ready and cheerful obedience to
civil rulers, in everything not inconsistent
with the clear requirements of God's holy
word. "As free, and not using your lib
erty for a cloak ot maliciousness, but as
the servants of God."
It is required in stewards that a man
be found faithful. The minister of God
must rightly divide the word of truth,
aud give the household of Christ their
portion of meat in due season.
The blood-red cloud of an unnatural and
terrible civil war now sweeping-over our
beloved land with its appalling desolations;
thc strange and conflicting views enter
tatned by many of our citizens as to the
"allegiance due the government under
which we live ; the nature and extent of
liberty ; the right to rebel, and east off the
authority of law; the duty to resist, ana
subvert, and dismember, and change the
lenient, and generous, and glorious gov
ernment under which we have hng lived
and prospered 1 say the diversity of sen
timent on points so solemnly important
and so intimately interwoven with our
national life and prosperity has led me to
annunciate the teaching of the Bible on
these subjects, and the duty of all chris
tian people, whether in the North or the
South, the East or the West of our Amer
ican Union.
Our widely extended nation, like the
Roman Empire, embraces in its limits
several separate commonwealths, each of
which is independent in'its proper sphere,
having its own local institutions, and laws,
and rulers; but all so united and knit to
gether as to form a nation of vat propor
tions, unlimited in resources, mighty in
Dower, fostering in influence, and gener
ously paternal in the exercise of its 1
authority. And if christians under the I
Komao yoke were solemnly enjoined to '
render obedience to their rulers, to respect j
their government, and use their liberty,
without so abuing and perverting it as to
in alee it a cloak, oir maliciousness, oh, how
much more is it a religious duty for us, in
this highly favored land, to strengthen
the government, in vho?e stability, and
honor, and efficiency centre all our hopes
for freedom, and tranquility and happiness!
Inheriting:! liberty the mo.-t untrauimeled;
enjoying privileges unequalled in any na
tion under heaven ; feeling a security in
person and property the most complete
let us devoutly hear the divine warning,
and obey the voice of God "As free, and
not using your liberty for a cloak of
maliciousness, but as the servants of God."
In fhe liberties we enjoy God has given
us a precious boon, the lull value of which
no arithmetic can ever reckon. It i much
talked of by many who seem not to com
prehend its nature. The word Liberty
may be on the lips, while its iaiport is not
in the mind ; aud by pursuing a false kind
of liberty, men may rush recklessly intft
the veriest slavery. The liberty pleaded
for by many in our dar, is the liberty of
trampling upon law and despihing govern
ment. They contend for the liberty of
depriving their fellow-beings of their lib
erty. They fight for the liberty of demol
ishing the temple of liberty. They would
pluck up by the roots the trre of Ubrrti,
and plant in its stead the deadly Upas,
whose pestilential influence would enslave
and barbarize a nation of freemen. 'Mux
is the Utterly of thn thvil. Satan would
have man cast off allegiance, subvert gov
ernment and live after the flesh, and let
anarchy run riot throughout the land.
Let infidels and rebels and revolutionists
say what they will, we assert liberty to
consist in : cheerful and ready submission
to those just and wise and wholesome laws
which guarantee our freedom, under pen
alties Severe, and rigiulv and :u: urtial! v
enforced. We could have no liberty if it j
were not seeurly guarded under constitu- I
tional law. Man's inhumanity to ni.i:i is
natural and proverbial ; the depraved and j
wicked heart inclines to injustice and fraud
and oppression ; aud if men were not re
strained by law, our country would soon
be a very picture of hcli : murder, robbery
and perjury would break all the relations
which bind men together, and upturn ths
foundations of society and deluge the earth
with human blood. I'or the protection
and defence of mankind God has ordained
government ; mid he makes those who ex
ercise it bis ministers to execute wrath
upon them that do evil. Without this
there eould be no civil liberty. The near
er, therefore, that the laws of a country
come to the moral law of eternal justice,
and the more strictly they are eulbrced,
the greater is the liberty 'enjoj-ed.
This inestimable blessing, that compre
hends all that is precious and dear to man
on earth, is to be rightly used. We must
not so undervalue this incalculable legaey
of patriotic sires, as to barter away our
birthright for base and dishonorable con
siderations. We are to love warmly and
hold fast an! use well a privilege so noble
and a freedom sc unrestricted as we enjoy
in this favored land. Liberty is the patri
ot's watch-word, and the soldier's battle
cry. To purchase liberty men have freely
poured nut their blood and their treasure,
it is cheap even at such a pi ice, and
the same costlv sacrifices ought to be free
ly made for its preservation. Liberty dis
tinguishes the freeman from the slave; j
and the angel in heaven from the devil in j
hell- Uut liberty is holy and pure. It is ;
connected with everything that is noble j
and elevating and great, and yet the very j
name of liberty has been prostituted to
shelter aud sanction that vile abomination
of human slavery. The worst crimes that j
have ever desecrated the earth have been j
perpetrated in the sacred name of dishon-
ored and outraged liberty. Now -we are j
taught to guard against abusing or pervert
ing our liberty, and so turning it into a
cloak or covering or pretense for malicious
ness, either by word or act, by conversation!
or conduct.
Alas! how much of human passion and
party spirit and disappointed ambition and
rasninir avarice aud desire fo" power and
position, arc at the root of the present un
happy strife that nges in our nation.
Under the cry of liberty (bruised, bleeding
and trampled on by despots) the hosts of
our misguided and deceived couurrymen
are mar.-halled to the battle, the very ob
ject of whic-Ji is to bury in a dishonored
grave the mangled form of the goddess of
liber ty. "Using their liberty for a cloak
of maliciousness," they rally around their
standard thousands and tens of thousmds
who unwittingly aim a deadly blow at that
glorious constitution, which is the jnly
sure and immovable palladium of 'our Na
tional liberties. The leaders in this un
holy cruade will not any longer submit to j
a government in which they do not hold
the place to which, in their vanity, tey
suppose themselves entitled and, rather
than be ruled by the will of the majority
of a nation of freemen, they hazard the
experiment of breaking to pieces a govern
ment strong in the affections of the people,
powerful for their protection, aud justly
revered by the enlightened and the true
in every civilized nation. When these
disappointed aspirants canuot rule in our
national counsels, they would bring ruin
on the land and pull to pieces the whole
social edifice aud leve! to the ground with
unsparing vengeance the bulwarks of our
liberty. In this melancholy spectacle we
have an affecting instance of men so given
over to judicial blindness and so far under
the wicked devices of their own deceitful
hearts, as to "u-e their liberty for a cioak
cf maliciousness." Under the false pn tenxt
of contending for constitutional rights,
which were never invaded nor infringed
even in the least, re-pect, they are perpe
trating the most grievous wrongs on the
very foundation and frame-work of Our so
cial institutions. The principles of such
meu are worse thin erroneous; theyare
sinful and wicked to the last degree, and
if perchance they should succeed in this
unjustifiable attempted revolution, they
would only build up their own aggrandise
ment upon the prostrate liberties of a beg
gared and ruined nation. When they
speak lightly of an ordinance of God and
of the obedience due such a valuable in
stitution, when they teach others to
despise aud di-card the powers that be,
they are letting in a flood of moral and
political c ils, which, in turn, may, with
fearful violence, sweep off the face of the
earth those who have aided, abetted and
inaugurated this sad drama of blood and
fire aud desolation. No men could commit
greater crimes upon society than those
who have plunged whole communities into
rebellion, and conspired to set all law at
defiance, and to ovcrtlrow our free con
stitution. In this favored Ian ! we enjoy a liberty
of speech such as is not kn -wn under any
government on caith. We may freely
discuss measures of general usefulness, and
give expression to opiid ms on all topics
pertaining to the public good. lut this
is a liberty secured within prescribed and
reasonable limits. We may not, therefore,
indulge in blasphemy, or slander, or evil
communications that would sap the foun
dations of virtue and patriotism. And yet
with some this liberty his degenerated
into licentiousness. They have so perver
ted and abused this liberty of speech as to
make it a cloak Ibr maliciousness, beneath
which they have insidiously assailed and
traduced government itself. Under tli t
false pretense of liberty of speech, bad
men h ive diffused the most dangerous and
revolutionary sentiments; and when, as a
measure of self-defence and self-preservation,
government has wisely restrained
thee treason mongers, the affected cry ot
!".' l"'v l!as been raised, by those who,
bent on mischief, were trampling upon the
common law of the nation.
We here enjoy a liberty of 'the press
greater than that which is known in the
most fjvored land-;. But this privilege is
also granted within-those provisions nec
essary for the public good. It is not that
unlawful and licentious liberty nt printing
and circulating sentiments that would of
fend modesty and break down the barriers
that protect the virtue and chastity of our
people. It is not that liberty which would
warrant the publishing of the atheistical
dogma that for slight cause, or without
cause, men may; rebel against lawful au
thority, aud pull up and break down with
paracidious hands the fair temple where
liberty, pure aud beautiful, has made her
favirite residence. And when men will
not, out of respect to the divine warning,
and for the upholding ot a divine ordinance
use their liberties as the servants of God,
but abuse and pervert them, by making
them a cloak for malicious words and acts,
we have no sympathy for them, when,
under the strong ai m of the law, they are
placed where they arc powerless and una
ble to use their liberty for a cloak of
maliciousness.
As a Christian people in name, and
above all, as the servants of God, let u-
appreciate our liberty and souse it that it
may be fruitful in blessings to ourselves
and to otliers. And while many of Cur
misled and infatuated fellow citizens
wantonly cast it away, and rudely strike
at an ordinance of God, let us the more
fondly cling around the hallowed shrine
of freedom, aud more warmly love that
beautiful banner sweet emblem of liber
ty which has so long waved in triumph
over the land of the free. Let us show
the loyalty of our hearts, and the patriot
ism ot our ie!igion,by cheerfully yielding
a moral, and, if in the providence of God
it should be ueeded, the physical support
of our own strong arm for sustaining
that now endangered government which
has so lovingly protected us, and under
whose fostering care wc have so rapidly ad
vanced in power, prosperity, and influence.
We mourn the. sad havoc- oi this awful
and unnatural war. Wc grieve over its
desolations, its wounded and its slain ; the
thousands of families by it bereaved of
their beloved ; the forests, fields and -towns
reduced to ruin by its ravages. We
pray for its speedy tcrminat'on, and long;
for the dawn of that happy diy when the
glad tid:ngs of a rightcou? and honorable
peace shall be proclaimed throughout our
entire and unbroken Union.
And yet in the midst of this judgment
we have mercy. While we mourn we give
thanks, and feel that we have abundant
reason for offering up this day to Almighty
God the tribute f grateful hearts for his
bountiful goodness to us in this highly
favored portion of our afflicted country.
Although grim war, on a giant -scale, is
ravaging and Tuining some commonwealths
of our Union, our ovn free and happy
State enjoys uninterrupted peace and won- -ted
harmony and prosperity. The sceno
of strife, and war, and blood is far re
moved from us. We have not witnessed, 4
we have only heard of its appalling deso- '
lations. We know, as it were, nothing of
this terrible judgment which has spread .
sufferings so intense and diversified and
wide-spread in a faithless border State.-
No unfriendly soldier has encamped upon
our soil ; no mustering squadrons have
terrified cur women ind "children ; no hos- '
tile columns have invaded the privacy of
a solitary Pennsylvania homestead. Uovr
mercifully is our lot made to differ from
that of neighboring commonwealths.
There, in dread of armed hosts rushing
furiously to the battle, multitudes have
fled fi oni ancestral homes, leaving their
earthly all at the mercy of an unprincipled
and implacable enemy, glad to escape with
life itself, to wander the world in want
ard misery, perchance, 3ll their days.
Here, wc repose beneath the family roof,
in security and peace; we worship under
our vine and fig-tree, and our devotions
arc not interrupted by the din of war ; we
enjoy our wonted pleasures, and in every
respect feel the effects of this internal
strife as little as if the conflict was with a
foreign foe and" on foreign soil. We may
honestly and kindly differ in opinions of
governmental policy, yet I trust we all
truly love our nation, and are interested in
its honors and receiving common mer
cies, many and great, let us unite our
hearts in giving thanks to our Heavenly
Father who Hhs made us to differ from
other.
We have reason to express our gratitude
to God not only for this happy exemption
from trouhif, and tfemlai'an, and bbxuhhed
within our borders, but also because in his
kind providence he has called torth such
a va-t array of youiuj, ennyttic and loyal
vnlunh-rr to defend our liberties to battle
for our nationality, and help the many
thousands whose rights are iuvaded and
whose liberties are suppressed by the
unscrupulous usurpation of designing
demagogues. Our patriotic soldiers win
our admiration, and well deserve our
warmest and most active sympathies. Our
military forces on the laud and on the sea
ought to have, yea, and ever it ill hace, our
fervent prayer for their preservation, and
the brilliant success of their arms in a
cause so holy, so righteous, and so good as
that w'uch has called them forth from
their peaceful homes to sceues of danger,
and perchance to death. Let u. ?eel
thankful to God that he have these hun
dreds of thousands of strong, determined
and willing warriors, the bulwarks of a na
tion's strength in the time of our nation's
need. Let us not cease, till the conflict
ii over, to implore the divine blessing to
crown all their efforts to preserve our na
tionality, our constitution, and our price
less liberties.
This judgment is awfully severe, and
yet it is righteous. We have sinned
against God, aud therefore this evil has:
come upon us Bui divine mercy appears
in not sending famine and pestilence in
addition to the sword. -God has given us
another year of great plenty, and a year
of general good health. But few of our
family circles have been broken by the
rude visits of death. Our days are pro
longed ; our wants are supplied, the year
is crowned vith the goodness of the Lord ;
and these merciful dispensations of provi
dence have placed us under renewed
obligations to honor and glorify God with
our bodies and our spirits which are his.
Let us then receive these gifts with grat
itude, and seek to enjoy the divine blessing
with all our mercies. Let us study to be
useful in serving our day and generation
"As free, and not using our liberty fur
a loak ofmnliciouiuess, but a the ser
vants of God."
CPA. The War Department, it is report
ed, is convinced that Gen. Scott was right
in rejeetingthe offer of cavalry regiments
for the war. It is found that raw mount
ed troop trc cf wry httle uo for aciiv
service.