Alexandria daily advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1803-1808, 1805-10-11
'p,o,,TlT,,,IrIcAIII... ESSAYS

ence 10 the Constitution Of the United
States.
From THE BALTaMoRf REpuBLIcAN, OR
ANTI. DEMOCRAT.
ESSAY XXX
the Confitnto on Of the United States DeHiocra-
cy !-Exa nine t thoroughly. "-s We have examined i
thoroughly ana We and be, IN every ienie oil the
word, Democracy.
AURORA, 4xgaR 18th, 1909.
EsissozU 10 be shercr, That tdehigh-
est antieat au.aorities prove he position thar
Republics haze tendency to degenerate into
Democraciss.
Aristotle observes il is an easy:n,dtfer to
estsbl,sha Democracy, bat the dI6fcultylies
in.renoe,qpg it permqae'at llll1. Plato says
that cxeesSiUe G6srfy IS notiikelvsto change
into any thing else but ewcessive slavery.
Tyranny, therefore, this celebrated man
= continues, more hatararally results from
Demccracv than from any other form of
government; the highest liberty, being con.
verted into the can, psetest and crRe!est sia0s-
ri (ti21. Polybias, observes that, as rust
isthe Inbred bane Of iron, and worms OF
wood, even though they should escape IN.
iuries from external violence. they will at
last fall prey to the evils that are, as It
were, congenial with them; in the same
manner, every simple form OF govern.
ment breeds within itselfscme certain vice,
which is attached byAnature to itsvery form
and which SOON causesits destruction -
Thus royalty degenerates into tyranny, a.
ristocracy into oligarchy, and democracy ln'
10 savage violence. And doctor franklin,
that when people get a republic it is with
difficulty they can keep It.
This difficulty, in all the different trials
heretofore made, has never yet been sur
mounted.
The ancient democrscies, without an ex-
ception, after undergoing the countless G.
wills Rowing from that $ complex tyrans, /"
the multitude, have-sunk int the mostter-
rlble despotisms, or disappeared In the ~
Yanny of an individual.
The uniform and invariable course OF de-
rnocracies, in ali ages of the world, has
been from bad 10 worse.
The Italianrepublics, as they are called,
of the middle age, those faint and rude re-
semblapces of the governments OF Greece,
What scenes, what tumultnary transactions,
what sanguinary revolutions do they Eotex
hibit, for near century proceeding what IS
termed the extinction of their liberty. q1S)
e These republics were all of them ex-
posed 10 almost daily revolutions and sell
dom did the system Of administration con.
,tinae a whole year the same. ,lfi4j
Do we wish to recall 10 our minds, the
arts by which republics and democraeies
, - ., Il aeYrcvSH
Let us turn cur eyes for few moments
on France.
Here demagogues, those pests of rePub-
lies, thought they could never too much
strengthen the popular party, OF. to use too
great diligence in.destroyiug every thing
that bore the least trace ofroyalty oFaristo-
cracy. !;
Ancient distractions were done away.
= Ancient ASSOCIATIONS, civil or sacred, We're
abolished.
Strangers from all ua,ions, all kinds OF
materials. however impure and eorrnPt,
were converted into citizens, and consider.
ed as proper means TO the attainment OF
their object.
New tribeswere created: and every ex-
pedient employed that had tendency to
stamp the people with one uniform charac.
ter.
Conformably to- the nature and principles
= ofdemocracies audtyraunies, unbridled IL
cence W as allowed tothe women, boys and
slaves. Fundamental laws were surerced-
ed BY the caprice of soccasionai DEGREES.
And, as otten}as some ambitious project
required, the people were taught to disre-
gard the authority of precedent, and TO
trampIe under foot every:law of the constr.
tuition. The mplrisude, thus. Rattered,
listened with delight to those who seemed
to have nothing at heart but te. promote