Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-03-11 00:00:00

THE NORTHERN TIMES, FRIDAY, IVIARCH 11, 1859

CIVILISED AMERICA,

CIVILISED AMERICA t is the title of the last
English work on the United States ; and it is one
that possesses strong claims to the attention of those
who take an interest in the material and social
progress of that great country, and in the results of
that peculiar political system which is in course
of trial there upon so magnificent a scale. The
author had opportunities of no ordinary kind,
for acquiring a knowledge of his subject. A
residence in the country for many years, in a public
capacity, and with the personal advantage of moving
in an extensixe social circle, and one in which he has
constantly brought into familiar intercourse with
the native notabilities of the day, afforded him means
of forming his opinions of men and things, the most
intelligent and the most instructive which could well
be enjoyed. The work is designed, the author
states, to be " a practical essay on a great nation"—
" a record of events, a gallery of portraits, and
a miscellany of opinion ;" and in all this it
is most valuable, because it is so reliable.
It is further described to us as "the result of several
years' acquaintanceship with the people of whom it
treats, a people easy of access, but difficult to un-
derstand, offering to the observer a mass of incongrui-
ties, and swayed by agitations which defy a steady
description." Such is the character of the work--
such, too, was the way of acquiring the qualification

for describing the peocle and their institutions, of
which it treats. It incidentally inculcates an impor-
tant moral; and this it is whic.h induces us thus
prominently to notice it.
The moral of such a work would at any time be
instructive,—a work telling so much truth respect-
ing the New World and in a way to be understood by
the Old. But at the present conjuncture of our own
country it has a seasonable importance. There is a
popular yearning among us, if not after republican
institutions, yet after that which, republican in
principle, and in spirit, would in no long time
lead to the adoption of such institutions. And
here, in these interesting volumes, we have it
clearly demonstrated to us that " the
democratic forms of America are widely inconsistent
with the interests, traditions, and capabilities of
European nations,"—and that " to force those forms
upon the people of the Old World would be almost
impossible, and could be effected only at the cost of
a struggle more terrible than the object is worth ."
So that the work is eminently calculated to en-
lighten the public mind of England regarding a
country to which many are looking with interest
and much hope, and to show it how the case really
stands with various matters and things, political
and social, which it is sought to introduce among
our own people.
The political institutions of the American Republic,
in their operations, and in their effects, as seen and
felt in every day experience, are such as must not
only be most distasteful to the English mind, but
most injurious to the English character. " Subser-
viency to party," it is shewn, " is the general disgrace
of American statesmen, scarcely one of whom takes
up for conscience sake a position opposed to the
faction to which he has pledged himself." Again,
it is described, how " the men who seek
public distinction, do so more for the love
of place than the love of truth. Their
ambition is for gain rather than for glory."
And see what is the :natural consequence,
" scarcely an individual of independent fortune
enters the political ranks. Almost all public men
are adventurers in America. Politics are with them
a speculation, not a sentiment. They consequently
bend to the prevailing opinion of the party
they espouse, and they espouse that party from
interest, not principle. Faction has absorbed
the public morals of the State
is a mockery. Every question, to excite a
general sympathy, must become a question of profit
and loss; and it is in proportion as it resolves itself into
a consideration of money, that it attracts attention."
Now no one here in England, we are sure—no one,
at any rate, whose opinion is worthy of any attention
—will say that this is a desirable state of things, but
very far otherwise. But it is an unavoidable result,
it would seem, of the preponderance of the demo-
cratic element which so thoroughly pervades their
whole political system.

Patriotism

In a social point of view the irresistible influences
of such a system are anything but inviting. " There
is no where," it is frankly conceded, " a class of
people having truer elements of happiness than the
rich inhabitants of American cities. No real good of
life, suited to their condition, is beyond their reach.
They may have education, accomplishments, luxuries,
and refinement. They may relieve distress, foster
talent, encourage the arts, ornament their native
places, and perform enduring acts of beneficence.
But these nobler paths of ambition are too wide for
them to walk in. They require the narrower ways
of a niggard ostentation, in which they may meet
no obstruction from the vulgar herd. They must
stand aloof or move apart." And such being his
convictions derived from his own knowledge of
a people with whom he lived so long on
friendly and familiar terms, he is constrained
to declare, " for his own sake, and for that of all
who have the means of enjoying even the moderate
refinements of Europe, that he should be sorry to
exist for ever under such a system as that of which
he has related his experience,"—a declaration which
he accompanies with a disclaimer of any desire to
treat his subject flippantly, or to speak with
asperity of those in whose society he for so many
years lived and moved.

The end of the wkole matter, as regards the
Americans themselves, is the entreaty of them to
ponder well the following laconic truths, which
involve a few of those practical lessons which
Englishmen may learn from the study of republican
institutions,—to wit, that " Aristocracies are built
on the indestructible rights of property. Demo-
cracies on the indefeasible rights of liberty. And as
wealth, tending to corruption, is the basis of
misrule ; so freedom, while fostering virtue, is
that of good government. The few must
always be the rich ; the poor the many. Then
if property become practically more sacred and
stronger than liberty, the few will assuredly become
oppressors, and the many be enslaved."