The Morality of our Times.
If God brought a whole family of his chosen people into Egyptian bondage for many generations, till they numbered 600,000 men besides women and children, for the sale of one brother, what reward is adequate to a wholesale traffic in human flesh and blood of both black and white? Not only has southern slavery been tolerated, encouraged and defended with all its cruelties, by Church and State, but many of our white brothers and sons have been thrust into the market, bought and sold, not for the cultivation of cotton! but for the slaughter and hardships of war! at prices ranging far above that paid for Joseph or Christ! Joseph was sold into bondage for "twenty pieces of silver!" but our Saviour to the slaughter for "thirty!" But speculation stops not here. Men's principles are sold to the highest bidder, and scarcely does an aspirant for office gain his desired position, but money, fraud and rum put him there! With such a state of affairs before us, is it to be wondered at, that gambling, intemperance and wantonness are not only winked at as "necessary evils," but are ACTUALLY LICENSED INSTITUTIONS! ENCOURAGED AND DEFENDED! These filthy, national reservoirs, like so many lowland mud pools, have a thousand inlets, which are daily drawing the rising generation within their unhallowed embrace, to send them forth reeling with intoxication! poisoned with vice! scattering licentiousness and crime in every direction! Each of these sink-holes of sin must have a sewer or outlet through which to pour its revenues into the laps of our civil, religious and martial officers, to meet their enormous salaries. What! though widows and orphans go mourning up and down our streets, filling our ears with their heart-rending cries? What! though speculators hold the staff of life above the reach of God's suffering poor? What! though intemperance is making wretched, thousands of once peaceful, happy homes? What! though licentiousness is setting on fire the course of nature, and blasting forever the characters and hopes of the rising generation? What of all this if our leading men can still boast of prosperity? We are called a Christian people with liberal views! We can find every thing in the Church that can be found in the world! Never were Church and State officials under better pay! There is a wonderful charity that calls black, white; and puts darkness for light. While God says "He that saith to the wicked, thou art righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him.">—Earnest Christian.