Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1839-06-20

when successful, in which they chiefly
share, while its losses, If disastrous, fal
on their subiects-all conspire to make
this their iavorite pursuit. The very
necessity Of maintaining a standing army
| for their own security al home, leads e
war; for il provides the great instrument
Of war, the possession Of which always
furnishes a temptation to use il. Even
when poor and exhausted by former con
| Hicts, sovereigns Will, like the father o.
Frederick II, pass their lives IN collect
ing treasures and troops, in order thai
! their sons, like him, whom thoughtless
men have, for his crimes, called Great
may squander the one and use tho other
in ravaging peaceful, u~nsuspecting pro.
| %vinces, to increase the number OF their
v~assals. So, too, the league OF Absolute
Princes for the spoliation OF their weaker
neighbors is an easy operations. How
liule difficulty did the Governments OF
Austria, Russia, and Prussia find in Sc
cretly plotting the division OF Poland, and
concealing that deed Of darkness until It
was too late TO prevent It's preparation !!
How few words did it cost Louis XIV. to
pc petrate tho inhuman devastation with
which despotism, more unsparlng than
the tempest, ravaged the Paiatinate'--
But, unless in the most barbarous times,
no such atrocious outragcs could be suffer-
ed in any state where the public voice Is
heard, and the measures OF Government
are subjected to free and popular discus
sion. Indeed, we may lay It down as a
certain truth, that, in proportion ms The
people in any country become cnlighten.
ed and we'll informed Of their interests
and their duties, the love OF peace VIII
prevail among them; and the chances OF
their regarding war with any feelings but
those of adherence will diminish. But
no hope whatever can DO entertained OF
eny education ~eradicaiing from tie minds
of Absolute Princes the love OF military
glory, the thirst Cor extended dominion,
the disposition to embark in the horrid
pursuits of war and all princes would be
absolute ! fthey could. Beside $, the risks
Of war being undertaken are further mul-
tiplied, in an Absolute Monarchy, BY the
ease with which il can at once be decla-
red, when a single voice alone decides
for it. L'eiati c'est Moi !-were LOUIS
| XlV.'s memorable words. A match bro
ken off. or refused--a family quarrel to
be cspouscd-the desire to extend some
cousins territory-an offence TO the md.
| yidual prince, or his dependents, or his re-
| lations-noy, an insult, wholly unin'en-
! tionai, md which he had bronght upon
| himself; as when Charles All. took m
brape that he was not treated like a king
| when he was travelling in disguise, and
went TO war for il ;--such are the causes
of war. where princes can determine with
a word upon the misery of mankind and
the people, who can by no possibility
have the least interest IN such matters,
or in the contests they create, are punish.
ed, according to the Roman poets saying
for the frenzy Of their rulers.
Il is an undeniabie fact, that, In n pop
ular Government, much less is always
loft TO chance and uncertainty, than ~ a
Government where the Will OF one man
forms tho rule and where caprice, ana
p~ersonnl influences, and ascendency must
generally prevail; and this maxim APP
plies to The foreign as much as 70 'he 40
nestle concerns of the State. The grea-
ter The number of persons who must De
consulted before any measure, wheiner
Of treaty or Of war, IS resolved upon, INC
less will the deIiberation that leads to the
decision, and the motives that regulate
the execution cf the plan, be subject 10
accident or to error. Great bodies OF
men discuss the whole ofeach matter pro-
pounded !; nothing escapes them from ne,
elect or oversight no access IS aiiofoeo
| 10 haste or caprice ;--above all, there Is
but one object in view--thc general IN
%terest, the common good {; and TINS con,
trolls all private feelings, neutralIzes az
Sudden impulses, and counteracts all indi-
vidual peculiarities. So, too' a course
once adopted for the public benefit IS not
hastily departed from 1t is persevefed
in until experience shows 1t to be errone-
ous. or a change circumstances requires
a change ofpolicy. Nothing IS taken up
on the whim of the moment, or the fash
ion of a day !; nor is any thing once "a,
ken in hand, upon mature reflection, d
nGer full! discussion, laid down without
inst, and solid cause. What mlsleads men
in arguing on this subject, is the conioun-
ding of the proceedings OF the mob win
those Of popular bodies regularly cons.'-
tuted, and acting by fixed rules. Inc
former may easily 60 astray OF i'seii' or
be misled by demagogues to form hasty
conclusions, and enter into preclpi'a'e
courses of action,-but the latter never
can. if il be not most viciously construc-
ted. If its constitution be such as give
| the reins to mob influence, or enables
leading men to carry away the ruling
assembly by sudden impulses, the fauit Is
not in popular Governments generally,
but in the defective structure OF the one