be called by the hated name.

But a change vastly more rapid in its movement is now taking place
in an opposite direction, the significance of which we have but just
begun to measure. The mind of the whole nation has been directed
now for one year, with great steadiness to the contemplation of
slavery from an entirely new stand-point, and divested of the cloud
of prejudice which has for nearly a century, been thrown over it.
The word abolitionist has lost its secret potency.

In this line of thought the present attitude of our government is
of immeasurable importance. We are as likely to undervalue as to
over estimate events which occur just beneath our eye. A few weeks
since President Lincoln sent quietly into the houses of Congress
a message of strangely straightforward character, clothed in very
plain and homely garb, but of meaning not to be misunderstood,
and admitting of no misconstruction. It asked that Congress should
simply resolve that the government was willing to lend its aid to
any State of the Union which should desire to bring slavery to an
end. That was all. But that simple message marked an era in the
history of the world, and will be looked upon in all future time
as one of the grand events of this century. It was unlooked for,
sudden, so that the country stood confounded for the moment, but
the next was ready to adopt it. It quickly became the policy of the
government and of the people, without, so far as we know, a single
voice of moment raised against it. The people have not yet begun
to understand all its great meaning. What is it? It is that the
government of these United States deems slavery an evil, wishes it
to cease , and will do what it can to help it to an end. It is the
first time in all our history that this was true. The government has