Columbus Democrat. [volume] (Columbus, Miss.) 18??-18??, 1838-07-21


/ with It's srength the desire oitreedom.
u Is trE that in I76j eleven years prior To the
Dee!arailca OF Independence The British Parliament
| passed the stamp act, aud made an experiment to-
wards American taxation. In 1850 the British Par
/ lament repealed all the duties which had been inn
| posed upon Colonial Trade except three pence per
/ pound on tea which small as il was, continued 10
nouriSh the flames Of discomfort. II was not the
amount OF dsty but the principle on which il was
founded that incurred the dSapprobaon Of the Col
onteS. detail Of the minute particulars would be
unnecessary and tedlous-suihce 10 say that since
the year l165, the of the stamp act public opn-
ION IN America was aHenatej from the parent coun-
Try. And from tie first commencement Of the riots
IN Boston no. systematic plan seems 10 have
been formed for exciting general spirit Of revolt in
aa H SP2f 5Sie Hf rRngB ' American Colonies to
cease. The Colonies had grown sufficiently wise to
make laws Tor themselves, and sufficiently strong to
protect them
The laws OF every country must be adapted -
the condition Of those who are to be governed by
them. Laws made under the direct appreciation OF
crowned head, and sanctioned and approved by a
corrupt arstocracy can never be enforced in a land
oil liberty Is It reasonable that one age or genera
tion should make laws and NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. which
should have binding authority over succeeding
age or succeeding generation: Is it reasonable
to suppose that the small Island of Great Britain
scarcely eqHalhng in extent Of territory one of the
larger States OF tins contdeacy situated three thou
sand miles distant across trackess ocean, differing
from us in great degree N national character, in
son, climate and in the productions of the earth,
should govern North America and continue 10 make
laws binding and regulating the large extent of ter
rltory stretching from HudSon's bay To the Gulf of
Mexico, and from the Atlantic 10 the Pacific Oceant
Is It reasonable that men who have grown gray I'M
der the principles OF deSp0tlSm should make laws to
guide the footsteps ofy young and growing liberty
We grant that every people and every age Should
lod IN the deepest reverence the institutions OF Their
fathers But they Should reverence liberty and prin-
cpIe more. They should remember that Their an
cestofs made these laws and built up these nStitu-
tons for themselves, in conformity with their own
principles, and in direct reference to ler own han
pneSs and convenience. Laws are the convention
al agreements which men have made among them
selves for the regulatio ct their civil conduct The
efficacy of law must be measured by their adaptation
to the ends for which Apey were originally instituted
The true law by whicKevery country should be GOV
erned is the condensation Of public opinion express
ed IN legal nd lnlelhgable terms Hence il must be
apparent to every rational mind that in the lormn-
ton oflaws, public opinion should be fully and free
" expressed and represented. This is not only nc
cesSary Tor the enjoyment Of civil liberty but it is
absolutely necessary for the safety of all political in
stltlnons Our fathers Of the revolution understood
thiS They knew that the manaces of despotjs,n
were bound and ryeted upon them, when even thew
couh be taxed without representation and bound by
laws which they had no voice in enactinr Hence
the poinpttude and aacrity with which they resist
cd laws imposed upon them without receiving the
sanction OF public opinion in America through their
immediate representation in the British Parliament
All history shows that it is impossible for laws to be
a liz nh ,ntr
IS the creator othe law, and as The creator is more
powerful than the creature so public opinion more
powerful than the law. In times Of revolution pub
lc opinion is the law. 1t runs ahead Of all law f.
ven IN times Of peace public opinion must at times
usurp the reignsol Government from the hands of
the law, more especially in furnishing those bcartIc>,
scoundrcls who have cunning enough 10 evade the
law, but not moral principle enough to regard its
authority. When speak of public opinion do not
mean that isetl0us restless and DISCONTINUED spirit
dashed into being by the vexaous voice Of the dema-
goguc. mean that solemn conviction brought up
on the public mind by a calm and sober reflection
OF what is Iight aud what is wrong. Its foundation
is thought, deep, MORAL and rational thought Ii is
an absnrdty IN terms to say that public opinion can
exist IN state ofignorance and mental degradation.
Among tie AFFECT and degraded serls who inhabit
the novels scattered over the vast domnions Of the
Autocrat OF Russia, such thing as public opinion
does not and cannot exist Thought, the medium
of communicating thought, the Just principles ofcor-
rect reasoning, the basis of public opinion are all
wanting; otherwise il is irrational to suppose that
millions Of men by nature equal to their rulers and
holding all physical power in their own hands should
submit to be scourged through ages by the iron rod,
oil the despot and
Crawl from the cradle to the grave
Slaves nay the bondsmen OF a slave,
And callous save to crime"
II IS fact deducibe from experience Of tie past
as well as from correct knowledge of human ma
ture, that in order that laws should conform 10 puh-
lie opinion, and to the various changes wrought bv
the hand Of time upon the condition of society that
wars and revolutions are necessary, under old and
long established laws and civic regulations originate
ing tar back IN Tie dark ages of ignorance and SUI
persttion, certain dynastIes had assumed 10 them.
selves privileges and immunities which they pos
sessed to hold by direct presentation from divine au-
thority. Neither will they in compliance with the
Announcements Of civilization and liberal principles
yield up an toto oltheir long exerted prerogatipes
The heart OF the tyrant was never known TO grow
lenient and melt under the cries and entreaties of
the suffering and the oppressed. IL is for the eagle
OF revolution TO strip from these pretended viceger-
ents Of the Almighty, their heaven clad authority,
and expose them lean, lank, and lantern jawed,'
TO the contemptuous gaze Of nSulted humanity.
The Declaration Of Independence was not the
commencement Of our revolutionary contest Tie
war had commenced long before this; the 9Th Of
March ITO was the day on which the first blood
which cemented our independence was split in the
city Of Boston. Goaded and exasperated by the
British soldiers who were there stationed for the
purpose Of awing them into unconstitutional sub
mission to despotc authority, the citizens Of Boston
with patriotic Indignation resented the insults Of
iered to them by this lawIess rabbe. The result Of
their resentment was that several Of their numbers
were coldly and lnhumany murdered by these min
ions ottyranny. This created brescli between the
colonies and the mother country, that efforts Of
Cancellation on the part Of the mother country could
ever finally have healed. John Hancock who was
the president Of the convention when The Decara-