, 1840-11-07
One Democratic Quaker.
From the New York Evening Post.
To THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS IN THE UNITED

From the New York Evening Post.
To THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS IN THE UNITED
STATES.
1t is the object Of a State. or political So
ciety where liberty prevails. 10 make the
people s will the ruling principle Of govern
meni. 1t is the purpose of Il sect or religious
society to secure or promote obedience TO
the will of God. And it is the aim of class
es of people, connected by similarity of CIR
cumstances. tn aim at the temporal aggran-
disement Of their own order.
In every country, the principles ri the
state. the sect and the rlass-or the politics,
religion, and vocation of men, exert an IN
f1ence on one another. and determine the
general course of opinion. At all times
some of these elements are in ccntlI :. and
it is generally when two of ;h"Sr became
paramouat over the rest. and contend for
mastery, one over the other. that revolutions
result.
Perhaps the most prominent classes which
have been arrayrd against each other IN
modern or in anv times. have been those II
capital and labor. Of persons and properly.
In all the civilized Governments of En-
rope. and Of old. no political power was CON
coded to persons without property. And
il was. rs | remarked in my last paper. the
peculiar ari pre-en,i l"n' -i"rv "i William
Penn AL his followers. 4 Ia the first o! n
the world IL recognize tn r'-ht OF the per
son without; property /" ie a citizen or 4
voter. In all the other colonial charters nud
State constitutions up Ia the Adoption II our
nresent Constitution Of the United STATES.
n property qualification WAS required Ter
electors and officers. Since then many o:
The states lrrvc abolished it.. hur S"vrral still
retain TIN; faa.urp. II WIS frnn tie State
and cnlnov cf PENNSYLVANIA iI,rt T." 'trmcr>
Of Inc Federal C"n~,iru'i"n borrowed the
prccep, and practice ri universal surface:
and its mi nri,e establishment in Prnn<yivi-
nj? WIS the effect not only of he p"culrar
,ane.<. but The very genius at the Quaker
religion.
Tire evil of riches. and the love of money.
have long been topics of discourse with NOR
alists and ministers. Bnt the "FrIendS.. re-
duced theory to practice. and cut OIL oy
their discipline the very objects ot avaric".
They expressly prohibit snperilnIty OF APP
parel, OF diet. of furniture. and "t habItHtIpn;
and by thus rendering snPrrfluous wealth
useless. DESTROYED all motive fox lis acumu'
Iation. But Wili,m Penn and his brother
colonists very naturally considered that n
nronerty were made indispensable for poll
teal privileres and honor. Il very strong
s,i,nulanto of ~avarice would still remain. They
therefore wisely and religiously cut the con,
nection between avarice and ambitI"n.-
They Invested mammon of the dignity OF
his robes of office, and left to remain among
men. as well as among the fallen angels
the last erect of all the spirits that fell
How well have the conclusions OF philoso'
DIV and the history of twenty centuries YER
flied the holy oracle, I" that the love oil
money is the root Of all evil" Mammon
has been the ~favorite idol of the world. AND
has been bloodier than Moloch, viler than
Belial, prouder than Lucifer; nay, all The
other vices seem at least to be rendering
homage to a~varice. Ambition, vanity anC
appetite, have all become its parasites
william Penn and his associates drove ih'
money char gers out of the temple OF liberty
as their great exempllr did out of the tenn
ple of religion. And by the Constitution o
the Union and most of the States, avaric'
is no longer recognised as n constituent
much less the supreme principle of Gov
eminent.
But although excluded from constitution
the money power has been received into tn
Legislature Of the country. Money holder
have been associated by law, endowed witt
protracted continuity Of existence, and SUI
rounded with privileges and immunities.-
They have been authorized to contract debts
without being bound to the extent Of thei
property to pay them. or subject to i~mPrison
ment foi refusing. And they have the ex
elusive privilege of supplying the paper Gil
%culation of the Union. amounting conmonl,
to about one hundred and forty million:
which is a standing loan from the people t
them Of that amount without interest, an