The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1805-06-14
GDs Guqa!rec.
RICHMOND, Il!b JUNE, 1895.
POLITICAL REFLECTIONS.

lhe outcner turbines fool Tor our enjoy
ment: the phy6cian admihiaers his medicine
TO remove our pains. Every labourer of fociety
performs either poiitive or a negative charac-
ter. He either iupplies u with pleafures or re-
moves our pains.
What phyfcians are to the human body, 60
vernment is to fociety at. large. Each of them
fupplies us with antidotes for exiting evils
The ore cures the diforders of the human body
the other thoie of the body polite.
The lat arife out of the natural pailions of
men and their mutual relations to external OBJ
jees. The life of government may be eaiily
deduccd from thefe four obvious facts:
LIST: Our wants are more abundant than the
spontaneous objects which InppIy them. Food,
clothing and lodging, require painful labour to
obtain them, aid fome men Of courfe are anxi-
Gus to appropriate the fruits of other mems la
bour to their own fubEaence. Hence a CONT
nual ftrugg!e of interers between individuals
and hence continual food for the malevolent
and vindetive paiiions.
end: Thefe differences dinurb the happinefs
of focety. Every man becomes expoied to
rapine and aaai!ination. Hence the necefiity
of fome force which may punilE thofe gricvan-
ces rs they occur ard may thus prevent their
occurrence.
srd. This force can only be exerted in two
different ways; either BY the injured party him
felf or by fome impartial tribunal. The srt
will be productive of injurious consequences !;
for the weak would in every cafe become the
victim of the ftrong, and if in any cafe he CAL
led in the aiftance of his friends and retainers,
party would be arrdyed againft party and To-
ciety would become the continual victim of CT
vii war
4th. Some refourcc is therefore to be found
aganit all thoie evils. This is government !:
which is an impartial rihuna., partaking of the
paiiions of neither party, calmly punilhins
| the wrongs and protecting the right of all.
This view of the origin of government aries
out of the relation, which prevails between DIFF
fcrent members of the fame iociety. But it NAV
alto be extended to the relation which prevails
between different iocieties. The differences
| which it prevents in the frt cafe is confined to
| one individual; in the other 1t extends to col
lection of individuals. But i'm mott cafes the
! caufes of the differences are the fame. There is
the fame fcarcity of the conveniencies of life ;
| the fame competition of interets; the fame
malevolent and indicative pallions; the fame
inducements to war and nvalion. The mott
| important point of difimilitude between the
two cafes is, that two contendng individuals
have fomc third tribunal to refort to for the fet
! Element Of their differences, but nations feldom
make their appeal to any other tribunal than to
heaven.
Whether then we conlider fociety in its in
| ternal or external relations, government appears
to be no more than great phyfcian. Its eff
cacy coniifts in healing up thofe humours, and
Topping off thofe diforders, which would diff
turb the family of the political body. In one
point of view indeed it exceeds the powers of
| the phylician and ailumes more poiitive cha
racter. When it digs canals, clears the beds of
rivers, opens roads or executes any work of
great public Importance, it then appears to us
i under the form Of r,rpiucfiye l,In
In every other cafe, it brings together the whole
force of the focicty for removing fome evil or
diforder: but in this cafe it concentrates its
force for the production of fome great benefit,
which an individual would want the power or
the inclination to effect.
| From fuch view of the fubjeet it was, that
| Mr.. Paine was led to draw his ingenious diff
tinetion betweenfociety and government. They
are difereEt in themfelyes, and have different
origins. Society is produced by our wants, and
government by our wickednefS. Society is in
every fate blefling /; government, even in its
ben fate, but neceflary vil."-Com,aon Senjc,
part l Il.
| If we defire food we muft expeGl it from the
labours of the farmer or the fiherman. IF we
demand philosophical difcovery, we mutt ex-
pect II not from the genius of government but
| from fuch men as Newton or Lavoifer When
government curbs the licentious paiIions of men
or repre1es the injurious deGgDs of other coun.
tries, little elie remains for it to do 1t is from
the labour and genius ofwdividnal5 that we ex.
pect our greatef blefiLgs. This is the fource
of that gratifes the wants of life, that fwells
the catalogue of oGr luxuries, and exalts the IA
cUIties OF the mind.
| We may thus perceive that every fociety con-
tains WITHIN itielf two different fpecies of DOW
er, the power ofgovernment and of individuals
Like two different forces in nature, thew are
not always harmonious but often contrary 70
each other. What is given to the one, is f,b-
, Quoted from the other. II government appoints
a new officer, he mut befupported bytheiabour
ofindividuals. IF it leves tax, thew n1uf nav
IT. IT 1t grants \ commercial privilege to fon1e,
1t mult lay feftri6tion upon Others. If it
makes one religious feet the favorite of the
rate, il breaks in upon the private judgement
OF others. 1t cannot even make a public eta
blIihment, that is obvionly dehgned for the
public good, fuch as erecting fchool or dig
ging canal, without every moment incnrrinp
the reproachcs Of individuals, that it is offici.
Gully doing whatthey thenieyes had better have
attempted 10 perform. In fad we cannot make
a Jingle 'tep into he practice of government
wlhoutperceiving, how difficult it isto giyeit all
the energy which its Functions demand, and q,
the fame time referve every rightyto which each
| individual is entitled.
Here then we have the definition of free