Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1809-07-14

still greater innovation on all received ide
as of statesmen and iawgivers. Nor has
any theorist in political science, any among
those powerless potentates of reason. the
philosophers who have taught US so many
valuable things, ever framed a system or
conceived combination of principles pro-
duciug such a result.
Circumstances beyond our control had
thrown in our way the materials for this
wonderful institution. Oar first merit lay
in not rejecting them. But when our sa-
yes began to discern the use that might be
made of materials then so unpromising,
they discovered great talents aud pstrio-
tism in combining them into Me sys EN- we
now find in operation. IL is indeed a stu
pendous frabic the greatest political phe..
nomenon, and probably will be considered
as the greatest advancement in the science
of govern nent that all modern ages have
produced.
THIS is not the moment TO go into dis.
sertatipn on the peculiar character of our
political constitutions. The subject being
we'll understood by so respectable portion
of this assembly, and the time allotted to
this part of the exercises of the day being
necessarily short, should hardly expect TO
obtain your indulgence it [ were even Ca
pable Of doing justice to so great a theme
flirs does nor admit of Il more profitable
inquiry. Every citizen should make it his
| favorte study, and consider it as an indis.
pensable part of the education of his chill
dren.
| But nations are educated like individual
infants. They are what they are taught to
be. They become whatever their tutors
desire and invite and prepare and force
them to become. They may be taught to
reason correctly they may be taught to
reason perversely: they may be taughtnot
TO reason at all. rhe last is the case of
despotism the second, where they reason
iperversely, is the case Of a nation with ain
unsettled and unprincipled government, by
whatever technical name it m ay be dissin-
guished-for a democracy without con-
sttution, though generally aud jus ly called
the school of disorder and perversity, is
no more liable to these caiamties than
] monarchy i'll defined and without known
principle of action, and where the arm of
power has not that steady tension which
would render it completely despotics the
! first, the case in which they reason COR
rectly If it ever existed Or ever is 70 exist,
must be ours. Our nation must, it can, its
| legislators ought 10 say 1t shat, be taught
to reason correctly, to act justly, to pur-
sue its own interest upon SO large hcale as
not to interfere with the interest or at
least with the rights of other nations. For
the moment it should Interfere with theirs,
il could no longer be said to be pursuing its
| own.
! What then are the interests of this nation
which it becomes US as private citizens
! (without any mission but the autocratical
| right of Individually to recommend To The
great body of the American people on this
| suspicious occasion! The most obvious and
l believe the most important are comprised
| in two words and to them shall confine
my observations /: tN5lic imhroUen,e,tss and
hu6Ac instruction. These two objects,
though distinct in the organization which
!, they will require, are SO similar in their ef
fects, that most of the arguments that will
apply to one, will apply equally to both.
! Ihey are both necessary to the preServati-
on of our principles of government; they are
both necessary to the support OF the system
into which those principle are wrought, the
system we now enjoy /; they are each of them
essential, perhaps in an equal degree, to the
| perfecting of that syste m, to our perceving
| and preparing the ameliorations of VIII CHI it
Is susceptible. shall dwell exclusively on
] these two objects, not because they are the
only ones that might be pointed out, but be-.
| cause their Importance, their immediate &
pressing Importance, seems to have been less
attended 10 r. probably less understood than
it ought to have been among the general
concerns of the Union.
Public improvements, such as roads, Bird.
ges and canals, are usually considered only
in commercial and economical point OF
light they ought likewise to be regarded in
a morai and political light. Cast your eyes
over the surface of our dominion, with a
view to its vast extent with view to its
present and approach state of populate.
on With view 20 the different habits, man
ners, languages, origin, morals, maxims Of
the people with view to the nature Of
those ties, those political, artificial ties
winch hold them together as one people, s
which are to be relied upon, to continue tc
hold them together as one people when theil
lumber shall rise TO hundreds of millionl
OF freemen possessing the spirit of indepen
dence that becomes their station. What
anxiety, what solicItude, what painful ap,
prehensiOns must naturally croud upon tht
mind for the continuance of such govern
ment, stretching its thin texture over suct
a country, and in the hands of such peo
pie the prospect is awful the object, /
attainable, is magnificent beyond compari
son but the difficulty of attaining il ant
the danger Of losing IL, are sufficient e