Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1828-1831, 1831-05-06
Ntrt,tas ottO 98atttQ,
Friday Morning, .Yay q.


want OF room prevents us from transferring entire
INTO our Columns We should say tina, it's spiri, was
"tHs too radcal-that 1t repcses rather too much
confidence IN the glorious. and beneficial but lluso.
ry theory. of the infinite perfec,ibhty of man-but
" impossible to withhold from it the credit Of pro-
found political observation great depth and
ton of thought. and vigor of language.
The author sets out with the fullowng proposition
to the accuracy of which we fully subscribe, Mr..
'eherson's d'ctun, that "grea, cities were great
sores on the body polite, being contradcted by the
en''re experience of modern Europe In the towns
the sp'Iii OF liberty first revived after the long
echps winch followed the overthrow of the Roman
smpro In the towns, the feudal system was first
resisted London has always been democr atic, and
paris the head spring from which democracy has
Vowed into the departments These are historical
truths. and Philosophy might have forekuown them
anteccdent to experience. Solitary mun Is timid and
ignorant; associations Of men communicate know
ledge from each to nl and learn TO RELY upon their
aggregate strength for defence ana Resistance
hondon was the cradle of the Revolution of Is4e-
Boston Of that Of l776-Paris of that of 1889 and
1880. In cities men 6rst learn their rights, and
6rst, from tho moral influence OF numbers, acquire
the courage to defend them. we always esteemed
that opinion Of Mr. Jefferson unjust and unphiloso
phical. ("The wren has the right to survey the
eagles eight"
POLITICAL PARTIES.
The forms OF Government, and the changes tina,
take place in them, depend on the actual state of
public information and the consequent progress of
public opinion.-The effect of this power but lately
noted, is irresistible. More or less time NAV be re-
CURED, to produce Its necessary results These will
depend, partly on the physical force at the command
of the actual rulers of the country, and partly upon
tho quan,um OF knowledge, and the facility of prop
agatlng IT, throughout q community. II will be
I'und' by the examination of istorica facts, re-
terence, to this last observation, that, tor nation to
be scientific learned, wise, and viruous IN the
highest degree large cities, of less than 500 900
inhabitants are absolutely necessary.-There Is no
demand for science or learning as for the result
produced by men of science and learniug-there are
no facilities of communicating knowledge-no accu-
rate observation of political evpnts-or wise deduc
tons OF the consequences that flow from them but
in large cities where intellectual pursuits OF eyerv
kind, belong to classes of men, who attend ,o Thorn
as business, and where the numbers OF the people
furnish an adequate demand for the inventions dis
coveres useful truths and literary publications. that
now from these classes Of men. who thus make of
thes Objects anoccupation Of regular and nce
pursuit; and who receive, IN consequence an ade
quaie reward either in solid cmolument or in repu.
totion and consider among the members of socie
~. with whom they live
France has Paris. Bordeaux. Lyons, Marseilles.
and some other large towns.-EnglonG ha s London.
Manchester, birmingham, Liverpool, Sheffield. OK
ford, Cambridge. and some others pbe Cam,aI. ~
Paris and London, lead public opinion and rive the
tone to It gradually throughout the nation The |
tmr required for the propagation Of useful knowl. |
edge and the march ofinteect, is longer or shorter
IN proportion to the number and population of the
large towns, scattered through a rational community
They are the grand conductors of the electrical ina
chine. In this country, wa shall for a century Ia
come be in tho rear Of Europe, and behind European
energy and information, owing the great difficulty
OF creating literary and scientific class of men and
OF propagating literary and scientific information in
sparse community. Never shall We have a really
national and popular system Of education, open to
every citiZen-never shall we get rid of the iono-
rance, the blgotry. the rancorous intolerance the
political intermeddlIng, the never dying expectation
OF an union between church and state. and the aya-
ricious ambition, that, IN every country, has often
characterized the prlesthood-never shall VIC recur
to the PLAIN, honest system Of DIRECT TAxArtoS
instead OF the fraudulent cOocealmcnt Of public bur
thens, by custom house duties-never shalI we he
aoe TO PROSTATE the selfish, uDprncipled plumber
ings OF protecting duiies leave to every man the
eaeonab!e liberty of spending his money at the
market where he cun get the most for it--neyer
shall we get rid OF the nuisance of governing too
much mat annually periodical itch for in,ermeddlng
and law making so prevalent among us, because an .
ignorant man suddenly raj ed up into q legislator
thinks he has nothing else to do but to make laws
never shnll we learn wisdom enough to reject all
banks, banking, money dealing corporations and
other forms of swndIing The poor, which people who
i've oy head work speculation fond of--never
shall we cease to create corporations and monopoes
Those parasite plants upon the public tree
shall VIC be Wise IN these or twenty other cases.
where wa must by and by inevitably rctracc ur stops
as common sense finds resting place among us-It
I'll we have half dozen cities, in the United States.
OF hall million OF inhabitants each. All these i'm.
pTovemens will come with TIME: they are oil in sure
and certain progLoss but truth is a snail n slotL
mere terrapin IN its motions: its steps are not by
years but by generations: and q scattered population
WI rsqure two centuries for truth to 90 bis round
n nurtfy IT, /
might leave his cards Of compliment, in n fourth Of
the time
Fhe author thon proceeds to trace the frst French
Revolution, its causes and consequences It was not
brought about no says. by Voltaire, Montcsquieu,
Tugot Condorcc', Freret, Hoibach, Grimm, Du.
marsos, or Rousseau, but "tbe liberal truths propa
gated with so much assduity, in the writings Of these
fearless searchcrs after truth and very able men, set
tied forever the general train OF thinking in the