The Sun.
London, England, 1824-04-09 00:00:00

HOLY ALLIANCE.

MR. EDITOR,—Man having been endowed by
his Maker with mental faculties susceptible of
improvement, and having received an irresistible
and inherent desire of perfectibility, must, of ne-
cessity, steadily pursue the path of knowledge,
and become more enlightened. That this has
ever been the case, is proved abundantly, by
comparing the present condition of the human
mind with what it was in the ages that have
long since passed away. It is somewhat remark-
able, that among the nations of antiquity we
ever find the arts and sciences most flourishing in
those countries that enjoyed the greatest share of
political freedom ; whence it may be fairly in-
ferred, that the soil of liberty is the most con-
genial to the full growth of the intellectual fa-
culties. If the Egyptians in ancient times, and
the Chinese at the present day, present examples
of nations early initiated into the mysteries of
science, mild and paternal as tlie form of govern-
ment of both the former and the latter monarchy
may have been, and is still, no improvement
however could be discerned in Egypt, and the
Chinese of the present day are not more en-
lightened than their forefathers. It was in free
and independent Greece that human reason and
human genius and ingenuity assumed a bold
flight, and brought some of the fine arts to a
state of perfection that has not yet been surpass-
ed, nor even equalled. In Rome, the case was
precisely similar. For although the brightest
period of Roman literature has been denominated
the Augustine age, yet did the greater portion
of the men by whom it was illustrated belong
to the commonwealth.
if the improved condition of the human intel-
lect, and the more general dissemination of
knowledge, tend materially to give men a more
correct notion of their rights as men, it must tend
also eminently to procure the tranquillity of So-
ciety, by giving them a better idea of their du-
ties as subjects, and removing the dangerous
doctrine of perfect equality. That all men are
born equal and free is an absurd proposition,
calculated only to seduce the unwary, and to
mislead the ignorant and unreflecting. It is,
however, a most pernicious weapon in the hands
of the mischievous demagogue. The ignorant
portion of mankind, which is unfortunately the
most numerous, is easily caught by mere words,
the precise meaning of which they neither know
nor seek to understand. To assure this class df
society that all men have an equal right to possess
wealth, and to enjoy the luxuries of life, is a
certain way to gain its attention, and too fre-
quently to enflame its passions. Yet the fallacy
of this dangerous doctrine must be evident to any
one that takes the trouble of reflecting one mo-
ment upon the principles it would inculcate. All
men have, no doubt, the same right to possess
wealth, and to enjoy the conveniences of life,
but only if they employ the means of obtaining
and acquiring both the one and the other.—
Although the industrious mechanic may think
he leas a right to share the wealth of his
opulent neighbour, he would not admit the claim
of the idle beggar to a portion of his own
scanty pittance. Yet if the principle be a just
one, its application must extend generally, for if
it be confined to one particular class, equality ne-
cessarily ceases to exist. This reasoning appears
so simple, that it must be evident to men of even
the least capacity. A disproportion in wealth
and in rank is a necessary consequence of the
various dispositions of men, and of the organiza-
tion of society. Hence do we find their exist-
ence coeval with that of social order, or, indeed,
with that of man himself. As long as the abili-
ties, the industry, or the force of some men are
superior to those of others, some will be richer
and more powerful than others. The weak must

naturally seek protection of the strong, and will
I thus as naturally become dependant upon them.
What these have accomplished by superior power,
others will perform by superior abilities, so much
so, that the protector of the weak may become
the dependent of the more enlightened. The in-
dustry of some men will procure for them
riches, which must ever remain beyond the
reach of the more indolent of their fellow-sub-
jects. It evidently follows from all that has
been said, that if it were possible for all the in-
habitants of any one spot to be placed at once
in precisely the same condition i❑ respect to for.
tune, this equality could not endure for any
considerable time, and one portion must sooner
or later become, of necessity, dependent upon
the other. Ignorance alone cats be blind to such
self-evident truths ; and every man whose mind
has been enlightened will not easy listen to the
doctrine which I have combatted. Why, then,
do the members of the Holy Alliance seem bent
upon impeding the progress of general know-
ledge ?—Because a state of ignorance and of com-
parative barbarism is that which they conceive
to be best calculated to preserve the arbitrary
power which they are desirous of retaining. In
this respect they are certainly right ; hut will
they eventually succeed in keeping down the
spirit of their subjects, and in nipping in the bud
the liberal principles that are now shooting
forth ?

If a more general dissemination of knowledge,
by engendering a spirit of inquiry and a habit of
reflection, tend to make men better subjects, it
tends no less to give them a more correct idea of
their rights as men. As soon as the pages of
history are laid open before -their eyes, they
perceive that tyranny on the part of the gover-
nor, and the slavery and Oppression of the go-
verned, have always existed under their most
hideous and distressing forms, when nations were

plunged in ignorance and barbarism.

Iu all

cases, and in every country, the progress of social
liberty has kept pace with that of intellectual
improvement. 13y ascending to the source of the

royal authority, they find that it was originally
very limited in its nature, and that Kings were
little more than military commanders, and civil
magistrates, but always more or !Jess dependent
upon the nation, which ever kept a check upon
their conduct. In those early times they met
with no Divine rights of Kings ; tyrants oc-
casionally appear, but they are deposed by
their subjects. Arbitrary laws are sometimei

enacted and enforced by some MonarchS,•.:
_but
the Diets of Germany, the States General of
France, the Wittenagemotte of the Saxonll4o-
- the Cortes of Spain, the Diets of Sweden,
&c. &c. prove that the authority- of the Sovereign
was not then independent, of the controul of his
people. In short, they will discover, that. if
Kings become absolute, it was because the im-
mense power which the command of the army
placed in their hands enabled them gradually
to undermine the independence of the nation,
and, on the ruins of national liberty, rear the
frowning fabric of arbitrary power, but they will
see likewise that it was only amongst the less en-
lightened nations of Europe that this power at-
tained its most oppressive extent.
During a long series oryears this fabric was often-
times attacked. There arose occasionally men of
strong minds and of undaunted spirit, who scrupled
not, forcibly and boldly, to advocate the cause
of national liberty. The successful struggle!"
of several nations to assert their political inde-
pendence, and to new-model the previously ex-
isting forms of Government, attracted the atten-
tion of enlightened men. As education became
more general, the histories of Greece and of
Rome were more- universally known, and the
the noble examples of patriotism which they ex-
hibit were better appreciated, and awakened si-
milar sentiments in the minds of a larger por-
tion of the community. The civil wars under
Charles 1., and the tragical end of this un-
fortunate Monarch, offered a most dangerous
precedent of a King arraigned and condemned
to suffer death by his subjects, but this political
crime was not committed in vain. By the high
rank which England attained among European
Powers after the Revolution of 1688, the ad-
vantages which a country can derive frorda Con-
stitutional Government were clearly demon-
strated. In Great Britain, many works were
written and published, in which the abuses rf
kingly authority, and the rights of man, were no
less ably than boldly exposed and advocated ;
and these works, translated into the continental
languages, were read with no less avidity than
profit. Such was the situatio❑ of the human
mind when tl►e successful attempt of the Ame-
ricans to assert their independence gave, an im-
pulse to public opinion in favour of liberal prin-
ciples, which no power could possibly controul,
and which within a few years overturned the
most powerful Monarchy in Europe. Many
were the crimes that followed this important
event ; and truly dreadful has been the effusion
of blood which it has occasioned ; hut, as- far as
it regards France, this blood has not been shed
to no purpose, for none but the most blind or
illiberal of Ultras can deny that France has
gained much by her revolution. This must be
perceived by every impartial observer; and it
has indeed been noticed by almost every class
of society. Eminent men 'nave not been want-
ii►g to advocate the cause of liberal prine
ciples, and to depreciate the system of arbitrary
pow_er ; and it is against such men, no less
than against every nation attempting to bet-
ter its form of Government, that the venge-
ance of the Holy Allies has been direct-
ed. In all ages we see Sovereigns unite to
subdue their weaker neighbours, and to divide
the spoils of conquered nations. But it was re-
served for an enlightened age to exhibit the novel
sight of powerful Monarchs, united for the ex-
press purpose of preventing the introduction of
institutions favourable to mankind, and of im-
peding the progress of society towards
zation ! In furtherance of this object the Holy
Allies scruple not to trample under foot
prin-
ciples hitherto held as sacred among civilized
nations, and to violate the independence of the
States over which they imagine they may domi-
neer with impunity. And when it is remember-
ed that this Alliance is composed of the most
powerful Sovereigns in Europe, what nation 15
capable of effectually resisting their imperious
and arbitrary mandates ? In many instances have
the members of the Holy Alliance proved that
they respect, or rather acknowledge, the inde-
pendence of their own Allies only as long as the
conduct of these Allies is conformable to the sys-
tem of arbitrary power, which they make it a
paramount duty to uphold. The line of policy
they have adopted is so much at variance with
the prevailing notions of the present day, it is so
repugnant to the best feelings of patriotism, it
must be supported by such flagitious breaches of
justice, by such unjustifiable violation of national
independence, that its dow nfal may fairly
be anticipated as an event distant, perhaps, but
certainly highly probable.

A. P.

EXECUTION.—On Saturday last Richard Smith
underwent the sentence of the law, over the front of our County
Gaol.. One of Smith's sisters had been to visit him in the morn—
ing ; he that day completed his twenty-third year, and has left
a father, mother, and nine brothers and sisters. Haling a'knowledged his offences and the equity of his sentence, he pre-
pared to go through the last trying moments. He had, how-
ever, buoyed himself up with the hopes of a reprieve.--4 Salo-
pian Journal.)

BIRTH.
On the 7th instant, the wife of the Reverend C. T. Smith,
Crawley, Sussex, of twin sons.

MARRIED.

At Tynemouth Church, on the 30th ult., Edward Jackson..
Esq., of Gateshead, Durham, to Ann, third daughter of 'Wil-
liam Mitcalfe, Esq., of Tynemouth House, Northumberland.
On the Bth instant, at St. James's Church, Jesse Cole, Esq,
to Letitia Charlotte, youngest daughter of the late De Courey
Ireland, Esq., and niece to the Hon. Sir Edmond Stanley,.
Chief Justice, Sec. at Madras.
On the Bth instant, Mr. William Thompson, so Jane-
Maynard, cnly daughter of Henry Seally, Esq., of the-East,
India House.