away out of sight; rebellion would throw down its arms, and a power would rise up to restore peace and order throughout the seceding States; would place the government of those States in loyal hands, and bring them back, happy to be restored to their place in the Union. 5. We have much to hope from the great moral forces which are on our side. The plan of God is always progressive. The wheels of his providence always move forward, and never backward. We live in the nineteenth century of the Christian era, and the forces to which I refer have, during that long period, been gradually but surely developing themselves, gaining strength and extending their influence in the world. Do you ask what these forces are? They are science, literature, religion, and civilization taken in its broadest Christian sense. Now, to what do these forces tend? On what great interests do they most directly bear? Is there one of them that acts in favor of the position taken by the South-that of establishing a confederacy, and building up an aristocratical government based on slavery as its corner-stone, and for the purpose of extending and perpetuating the domain of slavery? Are the science, the literature, the religion, the civilization of our day in favor of a plan like this? Are they not rather directly opposed to it, branding slavery as a relic of barbarism, and utterly inconsistent with free institutions and all true progress of society? This appears to me just as certain as any problem in mathematics; and a government based on slavery, or in any way dependent upon it, or aiming to extend and perpetuate it as a leading object of its policy, has an element of rottenness in its very heart, and must sooner or later fall into decay and ruin. But look at the forces I have referred to, in their bearing on the cause we are engaged to support; and how plain is it that their combined influence is in favor of that cause; science in favor of it, literature in favor of it, religion in favor of it, all true civilization in favor of it! That cause, what is it? It is the cause of freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of the elective franchise, the diffusion of general education, the support of free institutions and of true republican government. This is the cause, so comprehensive and so various, which the South, by its rebellion, is bringing into peril, and we of the North have risen up to defend. And shall we fail in what we have undertaken? Is there not hope, strong hope of success; seeing all the great forces now at work in advancing society and hastening on the great plan of God to its final consummation, are throwing their combined influence in our favor, and working for our victory? That victory may not be to-day nor to-morrow; it may even be long delayed, nor come without much cost of blood and treasure in contending with our maddened foe; but come it will, as sure as truth and righteousness, and knowledge, and civilization, and freedom, shall prevail over ignorance, barbarism, tyranny and crime. We can wait for the issue, if need be; wait in patience, good courage and hope, seeing we are moving on in the line of causes, fixed as the throne of God, and sure of triumph as his own eternal kingdom of truth and righteousness. 6. We have much to hope from our past history. God has often appeared for us in times past, and delivered us from great and threatening evils. And we may be sure that he did not preserve this land of ours till so late a period in the world's history, and then plant here the tree of liberty, of knowledge and religion, finally to be overrun with despotism, with slavery, with ignorance and barbarism. No; the tree he planted here, he will defend; the institutions established here by our pious forefathers, under his fostering care, will be preserved; and the Constitution and government, which were secured for us by the great and good men who fought the battles of the revolution, and which have blessed this land, as no other land ever was blessed, for more than three fourths of a century, will continue, we may confidenly hope, to bless those who are to live after us, for long generations to come. 7. We may hope that the conflict in which we are engaged will not be long. This seems to be the opinion of those who have the best means to judge. And we may better adopt it than the opposite. It can not be, that so insane a war, and for so insane an object, shall last year after year, spreading its horrors and its carnage over this fair land. The madness of the hour will, I trust, ere long, spend itself, and wiser counsels prevail. But whether the contest be long or short, let it be fought through, till an honorable peace can be had, based on principles of right, not soon to be shaken again. Let there be no peace by separation; that is impossible without the utter overthrow of our government, and plunging the whole country into a state of anarchy, perpetual strife and war. And let there be no peace by compromise, by concession, by yielding to the unreasonable demands of the South; but peace when they have laid down their arms; peace on and under the Constitution; peace on the great and only sure principles of peace, righteousness, truth and equal protection to the persons and rights of all. Then, out of the conflict, and as a consequence of it, we may hope that our institutions and government will come forth stronger, healthier, better, and more established than ever. This, I anticipate, will be one result of the war. shall have a stronger and more efficient government, and adminis tered more according to the principles of justice, equity and right. 8. Finally, we may hope, as another result of this war, that slavery will receive its death-blow, and at no distant day, disap We from our land. How this is to be done, I do not pretend to know. The overthrow of slavery was not, as I have before said, the original object of the war; nor is it now its proposed or avowed object. Nor should I desire to have this object held forth now as a thing directly to be aimed at. This it seems to me would. be unwise and impolitic in the present state of the controversy, would create division among those who are now united in defending the Union, and tend to complicate the whole subject of emancipation in new and insuperable difficulties. Still I have a strong conviction, and certainly a most earnest hope, that emancipation will come as a consequence of this war. I do not exactly know how; God has the whole matter in his hands, and he, I think I see plainly, is in his wise and good providence, setting various causes in motion which will in the end, we may be sure, and at no distant day, root out slavery from our land, break every yoke, and let every one held in bondage go free. I fully believe with Count de Gasparin, an eminent French author and statesman, who has recently published a most interesting volume on the present state of our country-I fully believe with him, that the abolition of slavery will be one principal conquest of the nineteenth century. So may it be. And I will just add that the course pursued by the South, within the last few months, in exciting and carrying on this miserable rebellion, has done more to hasten the end of slavery, her nursling and her pride, than has been done by all the agitation and denunciatory counsels of ultra abolitionists for many years. I here close what I have to say, though much more might be said, as to what we have to hope, and hasten to add a few words in regard to what we have to fear. After what has been said, you will readily infer that I see no serious cause for apprehension. True, we see not the future, and know not what course affairs may take in our country. The phrase, chances of war, is full of meaning. The race is not always to the swift nor the battle to the strong. It sometimes happens in national conflicts that the best cause suffers defeat and the strongest arm fails of victory. It may be so for a time with us. But if true to ourselves, there can be no reasonable ground of doubt that we shall come out of this war triumphant and our country be saved from dismemberment, established on a firmer foundation than ever. Many have had fears lest Great Britain or France, especially Great Britain, might interfere to aid the South by weakening the blockade and otherwise affording her support. But whatever causes there may have been for apprehensions of this kind, they seem very much to have passed away. England will not enter into this quarrel; certainly not at present. It may be admitted that the nobility, the aristocracy of the kingdom, entertain no cordial love for us or our form of government. They would willingly, at least many of their ruling ones, see our power broken, our growth checked, and our Union dashed on the rocks. The South have counted much on this, and have hoped long before this to be recognized as an established government, and to be received into relations of amity, and of trade and commerce. But hitherto she has been disappointed; she has gotten no countenance in her rebellion, and no encouragement from either France or England. And so it will be, we may hope, in the future. Whatever may be said of a portion of the English community, the great mass of the people, there can be no doubt, are true in their feelings of friend. ship toward us, and the motives must be very much stronger than they now are, before the rulers of the people will run so great a risk as that of provoking a war with us by interfering to afford aid and comfort to the South in its present posture of rebellion. Our greatest cause of fear is, probably, the danger of becoming divided among ourselves. At present we are to a great extent united. The feeling is very general, and the determination is very firm, that the government must be maintained, and the rebellion must be put down at all hazards. This is as it should be, and God grant that both the feeling and the determination may continue in unabated strength and constant increase, till the consummation so devoutly to be desired be fully attained. But should the war be prolonged and the taxes become heavy, and disasters multiply, as possibly they may, it would not be strange if the cry peace, peace, which we now occasionally hear, whispering from hidden conclaves and secret retreats, should wax louder and become more bold and urgent, till at length a party should rise up sufficiently strong to make itself felt; and then the demand would be, let us have peace, peace at any rate, even by submission to the South, acceding to her demands, and giving her the scepter, if need be, to rule over us. This is our danger. Here lies our principal ground of fear. And yet I do not anticipate any great trouble from this quarter. I can not believe that the number will ever become large or formidable of such as would be willing to ask peace from the South while in armed rebellion against our government, or on conditions that would prostrate our free institutions and aid her in building up an empire whose foundations rest on slavery, as Vice-President Stephens says, as its chief corner-stone. I would commend to such, if any such are present, and to all others like them, throughout the land, could my voice reach them, the words of Mr Douglas in his last speech, before referred to: "Whoever is not prepared to sacrifice party organizations and platforms on the altar of his country, does not deserve the support of honest people." I conclude with the remark that the greatest fear of all is, that we shall not, as a people, feel, in any measure as we ought, our dependence on God; shall not truly repent of our sins against him, nor seek his favor with that sincere humility and earnestness in prayer which are necessary to obtain his interposition in our behalf to deliver us from the evils we already feel, and avert from us the still greater which threaten to come upon us. This points us to the duty to which we are especially called to-day. And surely there is just cause for it. We are a sinful people; a people laden with iniquity; guilty before God, I am ready to think, beyond any other people on earth, and that because we have sin ned against greater light and have abused greater privileges. On the score of justice we have nothing to hope, but every thing to fear from the almighty and righteous Ruler of the world. And whether the present is not the beginning of judgments which shall consume the land, until the people shall know and acknowledge that there is a God who ruleth in the earth, is a question. which only he can determine. Our duty is plain. It is to search and try our ways; to humble ourselves before God for our individual personal sins, and the sins of our nation; penitently to implore his mercy to pardon, and his grace to interpose and save us. God alone is able to bring the deliverance we need in this time of our country's peril. His favor is absolutely essential to carry us through the terrible conflict which is now raging in our land, and restore peace and harmony to our distracted and suffering nation. To him, then, let us go with all humility and godly sorrow, and offer to him such fervent, believing supplication, both for ourselves and our dear country, as will come up with acceptance before the throne of the great Ruler and Judge of the world, and engage him to remember us and his ancient mercy to our fathers, and turn again and save us. It is in this way only that we can perform aright the duties of this occasion, or be prepared to meet, in any proper manner, the unfoldings of that dark, mysterious drama that is now being acted in our country. Rev. J. HAWES, D.D. HARTFORD, Sept. 28th, 1861. DEAR SIR: We, the subscribers, having heard the discourse delivered by you on the day of the National Fast, are desirous to see it in print, for our own benefit as well as for the interest of those who were not present at its delivery. We therefore request a copy for publication. Yours very respectfully, W. W. ELLSWORTH, S. S. CHAMBERLIN, H. A. PERKINS, JAS. G. BATTERSON, A. M. SMITH, WARREN G. JONES, Rev. S. B. PAGE, Cleveland, O. H. BLANCHARD, HON. W. W. ELLSWORTH, AND OTHERS: disposal, in the hope that it may do good. HARTFORD, Sep. 30th, 1861. GENTLEMEN: The discourse you request for publication, I readily commit to your |