and America Our adverse influences. § 19. Britain founded on the unlimited sovereignty of force-the absolute monarchy of France was to be friendly. crumbling into ruin; a wild and ferocious anarchy, under the banners of unbridled Democracy, was taking its place, and between the furies of this frantic multitude, and the agonies of immemorial despotism, a war of desolation and destruction was sweeping over the whole continent of Europe. In this war all the sympathies of the American people were on the side of France and of freedom, but the freedom of France was not of the genuine breed. A phantom of more than gigantic form had assumed the mask and the garb of freedom, and substituted for the principles of the Declaration of IndeFrench phan pendence, anarchy within and conquest without. The revolution of the whole world was her war-cry, and the overthrow of all established governments her avowed purpose. Our sympathy with France. toms and wrongs. The French wars. Under the impulses of this fiend, France had plunged into war with all Europe, and murdered her king, his queen, his sister, and numberless of his subjects and revolution and partisans, with or without the forms of law, by the butchery of mock tribunals, or the daggers of a bloodthirsty rabble. In this death-struggle between inveterate abuse and hurly-burly innovation, it is perhaps impossible even now to say which party had been the first aggressor; but France had been first invaded by the combined forces of Austria and Prussia, and under banners of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, had become American par- an armed nation to expel them from her borders. The partialities of the American tiality towards people still sympathized with France. They saw that her cause was the cause of national independence. They believed her professions of liberty, equality, and fraternity; and when the same Convention which had declared France a republic, and deposed and put to death her king, declared war against the kings of Great Britain and Spain, shocked as they were at the merciless extermination of their ancient great and good ally, they still favoured at heart the cause of France, especially when in conflict under the three-coloured banners of liberty, equality, fraternity, with their ancient common enemy of the Revolutionary war, the British king, and with their more recent, but scarcely less obnoxious foe, the king of Spain. France. We have too much taught revolution, -but not in our authori ments. ment a People. To our disgrace, our political speeches and writings contain too much of these revolutionizing, anarchical teachings; but they are not to be found in our Declaration of Independence, nor our Constitutions, as we shall endeavor to show, nor in any authoritative exposition of governtative docu- mental principles. We do believe and so declare, that a Government failing to accomplish the purposes of its institution, usurping authority, A bad Govern- violating compacts, resulting in tyranny, whether of one, the few, or the may destroy. many, may be altered or destroyed at the will of the People. Till then, Rom. xiii, 1. no man nor set of men have any right of resistance. "The powers that be are ordained of GOD," and till perverted from the objects of ordination by man's imperfections, equally attaching to rulers as to ruled, the subjects must submit to the authority placed over them, occasionally with Usually with their consent, but most usually without it. Do women, or infants in law, minors, give their consent? Can they give consent? Yet here are three fourths of every State made subjects; and no man, native or alien, can give his consent and become a Citizen, till he is first made subject by coming within the boundaries of that State, and being brought under its Sovereignty, Government ordained of God. out consent of subjects. We have not ---taught the equality of man. Man not now adapted to equality. Neither have we taught the equality of man, except in a state of nature. Man may have lived in that state up to the time of Noah, which bred pollution and corruption that only the waters of the flood could wash away. We in America do not care to repeat that experiment, and expect never more to see a state of natural equality among our and America race, till succeeding generations, well into the millennial period, shall have $ 19. Britain had predominant selfishness uprooted from their hearts. Till that state of to be friendly. nature again returns, when, by the controlling power of love, civil insti tutions will be no longer required, we are for maintaining Government Hope in this to equal Britain, of the most effective kind, and expressly to preserve the inequality that our object to exists most perfectly in the best form of civil State. Equality would be preserve inequality. the aim in the natural state, could one be found, inequality is the aim in the civil State; and though Britain has given the best example of a means to preserve that inequality, we hope these daughters will in time be found to have brought another form for its maintenance, to quite as great perfection. All the equality we desire in this land of liberty, is an what kind of equal right and ability in the poor man to defend his rights, that an equality we Astor or a Rothschild enjoys. We hope, with a little more practice, to become the equal of our mother in this noble achievement, perfection in which makes a perfect Government. seek. We have not opposed he reditary rights in other States. require them. Nor have we taught that the system of hereditary rights and superiority, was wrong per se. In our Bills of Rights, we refer solely to our selves. It is not compatible with the genius of Republican Democracy, at least we have so regarded it, to perpetuate the rights of a few by primogeniture and entail. For other nations it may be best and necessary, Some nations and especially in Britain, appears indispensable to the permanence of the Nobility, which is a needful check in a Monarchy, both upon Crown and People. Should it be deemed necessary to put a limit to the accumulation of estates by entail, some of which are becoming enormous, they have wise men to decide, and make the requisite changes in the laws. The Nobility, composed mostly of gentlemen of leisure and fine mental The superioriculture, with wealth usually sufficient, often superfluous, having well of British stored libraries and ample means of information, and political science receiving special attention, they know quite well what is for the best good of their State; and conceding the usual quantum of selfishness to Their interests weigh in their balance of judgment, their interests as a class are too Crown and closely indentified with the general public good, to allow the adoption of measures greatly injurious to the Crown and People. If occasionally they err, wilfully or ignorantly, the counter-balances of Monarch and Commons are ample checks. The study of English and British history will convince any unprejudiced reader, that their hereditary Aristocracy has been and is indispensable, and richly worth its cost. Nobility. identified with People. prejudice Nobility. Yet it is not deniable, that in America a strong prejudice exists American against that branch of English Aristocracy, known as the Nobility, for against British which, as we believe, a reasonable cause exists. And it is not because they are true Aristocrats. Many American Democrats are thorough what is not its Aristocrats in their feelings, and are becoming more and more so. Com- cause. mon sense teaches, that to attain a high order of civil society, such as we We are not en Anglo-Saxons hope to have, we must cultivate an Aristocracy. Family tocracy. and blood, and culture of manners, mind and heart, all indispensable to a genuine Aristocracy, are coming to be regarded according to their true emies of Aris § 19. Britain worth; and we should go to destruction if they were not. and America Without to be friendly. entail, or the rights of primogeniture, we shall have an Aristocracy here We shall have within a century or two, that will compare favorably with even our a high one, -more numerous than in Britain. Blood will tell. Still Britain's to: ours. An Aristocracy wanted ment. ties makes no difference. mother-land. We have a possible advantage of her, in that the blood of younger sons and of side-families will continually crop out, giving here to all an equal chance for elevation in society, while in England the many are overshadowed by titles and entail bestowed on the few. Blood will tell in American generations as in British, whether in man or horse, and titles and primogeniture have precious little to do with results. Notwithstanding this seeming advantage in America as to multiplysuperior as yet ing Aristocrats, the workings in practice, and in particular the effect upon the State, the most important of all considerations, have not thus far demonstrated our superiority. The chief good of an Aristocracy is to for Govern- supply well qualified persons to administer the authority of the State, whether proceeding from a Sovereign, who has received from his People, or inherited, the Right of Command, or from a People which has kept to Benefits of this itself its Sovereignty. In England the Aristocracy has for centuries furin England. nished a class, the superior of which to conduct affairs of State, and continuing for an equal length of time, can scarcely be found. The Change of par administration may be changed, Whigs put in and Tories out, but men, who for many years have devoted themselves to the science of Government, have gained intimate acquaintance with public affairs home and foreign, and know every spar and sail and line and all the workings of the Ship of State ship, are brought to the helm and to other official positions; and though well managed. the course of the ship of State may be more or less veered, she sails splendidly under the command of officers ever qualified for their high calling. Skill required No ship can make a long and successful voyage except under such conduct. The storms of passion, the tornadoes of popular fury, must be encountered; sometimes driven on a lee-shore of clashing interests with rival nations, only the most skilful pilotage will save her from wreck and destruction; the crooked, intricate channels of diplomacy must be well known, or great injury results if not ruin, when the ship's company think they are about to reach a haven of peace and prosperity. UnquestionBritain mis- ably is it owing, in large measure, to Britain's Aristocracy, and particularly that part called the Nobility, that her voyage has been so prosperous as to entitle her to the proud appellation of the Mistress of the Ocean. to conduct these ships. Skill has made tress of the Ocean. Americans undervalue skill. requires skill. We Americans are very liable to misjudge as to this important topic. Crazy with our success, not perceiving that it has been owing mainly to our natural advantages, and our isolation, we think our ships can sail themselves; at least we often require very little nautical skill in our Government officers. When one studies into the mysteries of governmental science, as little even as has the writer, he will see what preeminent knowledge and ability are requisite to conduct affairs of State. Have we generally regarded this? In choosing our rulers have we inquired, Is he honest, is he capable, is he a true Aristocrat? Or have we supported our candidate because of the advantage to our party, and to secure to ourselves or We have not taken Aristo crats to sail our ships. friends the spoils of office? Has the good of the State been our lofty $ 19. Britain aim? or mean, selfish, filthy lucre ? and America to be friendly not occasioned fortuitous cir than old. change or we It must be admitted that thus far the British system, granting ex- The superiority of British clusive privileges to a few of their Aristocracy, has produced superior Aristocracy. results to our American free system; for it will be evident in the sequel, that we have not prospered because of good management, but from peculiar circumstances attending the settlement of a new country of immense area, and with unequalled advantages. One needs only to look into our Our success unwieldy, confused, contradictory mass of statutes that every State and by skill, but every lawyer, even from Philadelphia, is perplexed with, and scrutinize cumstances. the views of our leading statesmen as presented by Professor Fowler, in his Sectional Controversy, and glance at the mistakes and wrongs of our present Administration, to discover that our success is not to be attributed to Aristocratic skill employed in sailing our ships of State. New ships New ships will bear a deal of maltreatment and abuse, that would founder bear more an old ono; and were we old States like Britain, with such management We must continued, as has been ours, we should soon be in the deep ocean buried. shall founder. We must have a more perfect Aristocracy, and make of it a better More Aristoeuse. A pure Democracy is our special abhorrence. We are Republican- sary. Democrats, having a much more perfect Republican basis, than any Democracy of which we have knowledge. We shall adhere to Republicanism if we are to prosper and preserve our liberties; and in choosing our Aristocrats Executives, Legislators, Judges and other officials, our aim is to be, must be, rulers. more and more to put forward into public life our best men, our Aristocrats. Our chief difficulty has been, that hitherto proper regard has not been This has been paid to this important point. Yet had we done pretty well in the main, till that pernicious principle came into vogue, "to the victors belong the "To the vicspoils;" since which, the strife has been both by electors and elected, spoils," perless with reference to qualifications for office, less to the plans of Government, State or Federal, less to the protection of faithful subjects, and the advancement of the glory of these Sovereignties; than to the profits to be made out of the office by the recipient, and the patronage to be bestowed on his followers. We must discover and apply an effective Must be remeremedy to this evil, or we go to destruction. racy neces must be our neglected. tors belong the nicious. died. of Federalism escape from And here again may it be observed in passing, we see the beneficial The excellence influence of Federalism over a wide country. These evils have been felt proved in our much more in the North than in the South. Had we in the North been these evils. by ourselves, the consequences would doubtless have been more injurious; but the South have continued in the main to give to the Federal service The South their best men, their Aristocrats, as from the beginning, and there is no more Arismeasuring the value of Southern influence in directing our Federal concerns. The North will in time reciprocate these benefits, if they have not Checks of already. We cannot dispense with the checks and balances of North South indisand South, East and West. have given us tocrats. North and pensable. We shall make rapid progress in building up an Aristocracy as we We shall build come to understand the nature of our Government, the study of which tocracy. up an Aris and America system favors it. § 19. Britain this war has forced upon us. A mixture of it is quite as essential to our to be friendly. Democracies as to Britain's Monarchy. We have laid a proper groundwork for its development, particularly in the North, in our system of Our free school free schools, which enables a poor man's son to look forward with equal probability of becoming an Aristocrat, as if his father were a millionaire. Some of the best bloods of England, as of America, fall into reduced circumstances; but it is far more difficult to recover there than here. Great wealth is not requisite to a proper Aristocracy, but a competency is, which may easily be acquired in this country, with a small portion of a man's time properly bestowed on business, leaving the larger portion to be We shall have employed in qualifying himself to be an Aristocrat. Space must not here equal to Brit be taken to discuss this interesting topic; but we shall endeavor hereafter to prove, that we shall surely establish an Aristocracy in these Democratic States, equal if possible, perhaps even superior, to that of Britain. an Aristocracy ain. Strife between America as to racy. An interesting feature in the friendly struggle for supremacy in Aristocracy is to be, the ascertaining whether the hereditary system of Britain, securing privileges to a part, is equal or superior to the free system of America. Of paramount importance is the subject to us, for the whole problem of maintaining popular Governments, rests upon this one quesA high Aris- tion. If we cannot have and perpetuate a high grade of Aristocracy, from which our rulers shall be almost uniformly elected, we can never sustain free Governments. Revolutions and anarchy must be our fate, till we find relief in Despotism; and then, fortunate shall we be, if by establishing an hereditary Aristocracy, with all its burdens, we shall reach as free a condition as Britons enjoy. tocracy necessary to us. We shall earnestly maintain it. Citizens tocracy. Our inhabitants, too, of every grade will earnestly maintain Aristocracy. We live and labor for our children, are more regardful of the interests of posterity than of this generation; and the more cultivated we are, the more strongly this sentiment will possess and actuate us. Even Our humble in the humbler walks of life, among those making no pretension to Arisfriends to Aristocracy, though often better entitled to rank among Aristocrats than many who look down upon them with contempt; among the sons of poverty and toil, do men understand that their little boys may rise to eminence and power, and become the leading Aristocrats of the land. They have stronger inducements, even, than the rich man, to preserve the present order of the State, which, more than any other, gives to true merit a liberal chance for promotion. In these States emphatically, "Worth makes the man, want of it the fellow.” Aristocracy not under stood by us. These things have not been well understood; and we in middle life and on the decline, may never fully comprehend them; yet with the Soon will be. practical good sense of Americans, most will soon discover that they are no patrons of the pernicious doctrines of equality so much in vogue, to help greedy politicians to places of power, that they might plunder the public coffers. The plain People want our institutions perpetuated, which can only be done by changing our system, and electing true Aristocrats to office. Most of our Citizens. thank GOD, are farmers, and know that Our farmers understand this thing of blood. |