Cortland County Express, Thursday, November 14, 1850.
PROCLAMATION
By Hamilton Fish, Governor of the State of New York.
The mercies of an all-kind Providence call for an acknowledgment of gratitude and of dependence from the creatures of his bounties.
The year which is about to close has been marked by innumerable blessings to us as a nation. An abundant harvest and profitable labor have brought rich rewards to honest industry. Peace and tranquility are established at home; and no discord disturbs our relations abroad.
Health, prosperity and abundance, have been freely vouchsafed to us. Civil and religious liberty prevail throughout the length and breadth of the land. And to all is secured the free exercise of the worship of their Creator according to their own faith. And on this occasion we should not forget, that while an inscrutable Providence has seen fit to remove during the past year the chief Magistrate of our Union [Pres. Zachary Taylor], that same Providence has preserved us under the trial a free and an united people, has saved us from anarchy or civil commotion, and has continued to us the mild operation of a Government of our own adoption and rules of our own choice.
I do, therefore, designate and recommend THURSDAY, THE TWELFTH DAY OF DECEMBER NEXT, to be observed by the good People of this State as a day of Public Thanksgiving to Almighty God.
In witness thereof, I have hereto subscribed my name, and affixed the Privy Seal of the State, at the City of Albany, this 31st day of October, one thousand eight hundred and fifty.
HAMILTON FISH.
By the Governor: ROBERT H. MORRIS, Private Secretary.
EDITORIALS.
Things to Attend to.
There are two subjects that demand the action of every lover of his country, the present, Fall and Winter.
The first is Intemperance. That intemperance is gaining ground rapidly at the present time, notwithstanding all that has been done by the friends of temperance, is plainly to be seen by every observer. The friends of the cause seem to be sleeping at their post, while the arch destroyer is busy, and is making rapid strides upon our young men in the destruction of every moral principle. The rum drinker cannot be considered a moral man, any more than the rum-seller. Like begets like in this case as well as in all others. If then we delight in virtue and happiness, and delight to see our fellow men virtuous and happy, we shall labor to do away those things that tend to the destruction of virtue and happiness. The man that is given to drinking to excess, cannot be said to be a good citizen, and if we who do not drink remain dormant and see this evil spreading to the destruction of thousands of our youth, and do not put forth our efforts to remove the temptation from before the inexperienced, [we] are not doing our duty to our fellow man, and are not disregarding the duty we owe to our country and our God.
However much has been done in the temperance cause in years gone by, and however efficient men have labored to do away the evil, and however much evil has been prevented, all this does not suffice for the present day. So long as the evil remains among us, so long we must continue our labors. We should never consent for a moment to lay off our harness, so long as intoxicating liquors are sold, or drank as a beverage. If one remedy fails to accomplish the desired object, apply another. If the disease resists mild treatment, employ the more powerful.
Time was when men sold and drank alcoholic drinks, because custom and fashion, and universal approbation prompted them to do so. But the evil became so alarming that the farsighted engaged in its overturn. Moral suasion was applied, and it was not applied in vain. A great reformation has been effected, and thousands who were in the constant habit of using intoxicating drinks, have become teetotalers and, multitudes who were engaged in the traffic, have left it, and are now strong advocates for temperance.
But a new era has arrived. Men are not countenanced or upheld in its sale or use by universal consent. A new generation is springing up, inexperienced in the evil, and they should be saved if possible. A new motive power pushes men into the traffic. The love of money seems to be the motive power. The friends of temperance should in their wisdom seek out and put in operation remedies sufficient to reach this emergency, and should not rest until it is accomplished. Conventions and meetings should be held, measures should be adopted, and friends of the cause should work understandingly to prepare and apply a remedy of sufficient strength to effect a permanent cure.
Now is the time for action, and let the county convention be the commencement of a series of gatherings, throughout not only the county but the State, that shall deal death and extermination upon this destructive business. Our youth are too precious to be lost in this vortex of misery, and our country needs their services, and they will have duties to perform as citizens that will demand clear heads and honest hearts to meet.
Look at the closing scenes of the last Congress, and say if we wish to see these scenes re-acted, or if we wish to raise up a generation of men that will disgrace our Legislative halls with their drunken revelry—and as a natural consequence will SPUE out laws that are not only at variance with every dictate of humanity, but that have not the shadow of a foundation in the revered will of God.
The second thing that demands our attention, is of no less consequence to us as a nation, and if accomplished will add to our happiness and well being. We allude to the Fugitive Slave Law. We would not speak evil of the ruler of our people, but we must confess we are perfectly at a loss to determine how a man of as profound wisdom as we have always considered our chief magistrate to possess, could for a moment consider it his duty to place his signature to an act of Congress, that was so widely at variance with every principle of liberty and humanity, and has no foundation in the word of God. We advocate its early repeal. Petitions should be circulated throughout the length and breadth of the land, and have them in readiness to send in, that they may be the first business that shall be presented before the national legislation after its organization. We may be compelled to submit to such a law; but we never can consent that its requirements are right or just. It is time to commence the business of circulating petitions. We shall have none too much time between this and the sitting of the next Congress to accomplish this work.
In the second Election District in Cortlandville, there have been, and are to be appointed in every school district, a Committee to circulate a petition for this object. We think this should be done in every school district in the northern States, and the people should not rest until this Law shall be erased from the archives of our nation.
◘ The [Free] School Law is sustained [at the recent election], the Tribune thinks, by a majority of from thirty thousand to one hundred thousand.
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