Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1836-09-09
DEMOCRACY.

Its energy is derived from the viii OF the
people; its object is the welfare OF the peo-
ple; its strength is in the affections OF the peo-
pie. 1t is the most powerful element OF mod
ern civilization; it is the greatest discovery
ever made in political science
call it n discovery; and dcsignedly 1t
wns discovery and not creation Bad
laws may be the mere conceptions OF the hui
man mind good laws never can be; for
rood DAVIS depend on existing relations,
which the wise lawgiver observes and en-
bodies in his code. Our fathers proclaimed
the principles OF democracy; but did not Gre
ate them. They were coeval with the first
conventions of order in the divine mind and
are as pervading and as extensive as moral
existence Like Christianity, and like all
moral principles, they are eternal in their
truth aud in their obligation.
The principles of democracy embodied IN
the Declaration of Independence, were but
the manifesto of system which, in the d.
vine mind, was as old as creation That
manifesto spread through the world with
the rapidly Of light; in Europe, in South
America, it was the dawn of new day. the
Mexican walked from his apathy; the Span
lard emerged from the bigotry of the lnqul-
sition France prepared to escape from the
coils of absolutism The principles of de-
mocracv contained in the Declaration OF In
dependence possess vigor TO revive the de-
caying energies of ancient states; TO eniran-
chise the world to renew the youth of the
nations.
know that the enemies Of democracy al
tempt 10 shield themselves from reproach, by
exciting terror against the unprecedented tyr
amy of the people. But tyranny IN pop
ular government is an impossiblity; for to
popular government tyranny would be SELF
destruction. Democracy governs by means
of truth discovered by means of the activity
OF the public mind and applied by the delib-
crate exercise of the public will but tyran-
nv checks discussion; it holds back the
light; it intercepts truth. A government Of
the people is government conducted by The
mind Of the country, free y enlightened and
freely exerted. Tyranny cannot reach the
public mind and tyranny in democracy is
therefore an impossbility
Such are the great systems which have
divided the political world. To the tory,
law is an expression of absolute will; to the
wing it is the protection Of privilege to de-
mocracy it is declaration of right In the
tory system, the executive and sovereign are
one; in the whig system, the executive is.
the sovereign, except where expressly limit.
ed in the system of democracy, the execu-
tive is not the sovereign but the servant Of
the people. The tory cings to past abuses;
the wing dolizes present possessions; de-
inoeraoy is the party of progress and re-
form. The tory, disappearing God, pleads
tho will Of heaven as a sanction for gov
ernment Of force; the wing, forgetting that
God is not the God Of the dead, appeals to
prescription democracy lives in the con.
sciences of the living The tory demands
an exclusive established church the whig
tolerates dissent on conditions; democracy
enfranchises the human mind. The tory
idolizes power; the whig worships his in
terests; democracy struggles for equal rights
The tory pleads for absolute monarchy; the
wing for wealthy aristocracy democracy
for the power of the people. The tory re-
CARDS liberty as boon; the wing as for
tunate privilege; democracy claims freedom
as an inalenable right The tory loves to
see slave at the plough the wing prefers
tenant or mortgaged farm; democracy
puts the plough in the hands of the owner.
The tory tolerates no elective franchise the
whig gives vote to none but men of prop
erty; democracy respects humanity, and
struggles for universal education and uni
versal suffrage. The tory bids the suffering
poor gather the crumbs that fall from his Ia
BILE; the wing says, BE we clothed, be We
fed but allows no obligation; democracy
holds it duty to sooth the mourner, and to
redeem the wretched. The tory looks out
for himself the whg for his clan democra-
cy takes thought for the many. The tory
adheres to the party of Moloch the whig
still worships at the shrine of Mammon; de.
mocracy is practical Christianity.
Thus have endeavored to trace the prin-
ciples Of democracy, embodied by Jefferson
in the Declaration Of Independence, to their
origin in human nature and society Il is
not difficult to establish, that they have from
the first been the principles of New Eng.
land; that they are interviewer with her ear
Hest existence that they formed the vital ell
ement Of all her Institutions that they con,
stituted the germ of political life in every
New England State
The principles of democracy were brought
to our shores by the breezes that waited the
May Flower across the Atlantic The pill
grlms did not come for wealth, but for liber.
ty; they describe themselves as alike reno
we'd from gentry and beggary' In our ma
tive land say they, I'VE were accustomed to
no more than plain country life and the
innocent trade Of husbandry' We hole
ourselves they continue, strongly tied tc
all care of each others good and of the
whole And when amid the storms of win
ter, the precious bark anchored within the
waters of orr bav all The emioronts asson,'