Show THE YEAR or GOOD WILL tins year of 1876 the cen con centennial tennial year states in bishop sarn apson ii prayer and by other persons in other ways is lauded as 16 to 13 be preeminently pre eminently the yew of or peace on arth earth and good will to men accordingly the actions a alons of cItIzens citizen and particularly c cot coi qt the nation c collectively hould should all be in direction so that thab anew a new and better era andy commence with the second century of the nations exI exl existence promising and performing more for the welfare wel wei tare iare comfort corn fort and tand happiness of humanity than thau the century which ia is passed away fo fora Peer ever over 1 strange as it may appear we dc find that in this very year of a hundred ears that are past and a i y ears t to 0 c come me there are persons SQ go inconsistent so lost to nil adl appreciation of the proper spirit of the time its to bo be anxious to have enact enacted edby by tha congress of this mighty union of laws of a most unjust proscriptive prescriptive and oppressive nat nature tire fire and directed against a portion of the citizens on account of their religious faith and practice a matter la in which too tho the constitution guarantees perfect immunity it strikes us that such legislation would be strikingly out of harmony with the action that is appropriate to this year of grace for a it year of grace should also be a year of justice justlee j ustice rather than of injustice of liberality rather ather thau than of illiberality of enlarged rather than of restricted liberty of a broad and generous acknowledgment of equal rights and privileges rather than of a narrow bigoted malignant partisan contraction of the scope of rights rind find privileges to a portion of the tho citizens invidiously discriminated discriminate against because of their superior morality and their staunch inte integ c rity to the convictions of the their ir co consciences a instead of this invidious and very jend of legislative 1 action ac belofi it seems to us that it would bo be in far better taste far more I 1 perfect harmony with the fraternal spirit of the time to encourage and to consummate legislative action ofa comprehensively liberal anagene rous character such as would tend to destroy unequal and invidious distinctions amon smon among the various citizens zens zeni of our common country and lead them all to feel that they were in deed and in truth not in windy spread eagle profession merely citizens with equal rights and privileges of the greatest free est most liberal and happiest nation under the tho sun in this view 3 choso of the tho territories which d desire e it might very appropriately be admitted into the union into the great sisterhood of states that the inhabitants thereof might realize more fully than itis it is possible for them to tb do as territories that they are one and equal with the people of the stat s not in bearing public burtrens bur only but also in a enjoying common rights and privileges JF orthe people of those ter ri tories which might not wish to becom eStates it appears to us that this year would be the very identical melvear year yean of all others to proclaim liberty libity to the them m that is to extend to them the privilege of electing their own officers instead of them being appoint edby the federal government varn vern ment to our mind it would be lie exceed emceed exceedingly ingy appropriate in this acceptable X jear ear car this centenary of 1 and t triumph r to tie tle cord cored to the people of the territories similar rights of popular self government to those enjoyed from fro m the beginning by the people of the various states that as 1776 was a sig by the proclamation of or political liberty to the people of the states thiu thlu this present year of 1876 may be sign signalized signalizes sigu all ail zed ked by the procia procla maefon of similar political liberty to the tho people of the terri Territories tori torl esir espy frao so that throughout all nil the bro broad addo uio ulo lio minions of the union over which so proudly the star spangled banner of the republic in the territories ri as in the states political civil and religious serfdom in in any and every degree may bo be wholly and entirely unknown and become became than an unpleasant and discreditable thing of the past as i t |