Baton-Rouge gazette. [volume] (Baton-Rouge, La.) 1819-1856, 1841-01-16
III GEE " 4.
From The Kuicketbocker.
REPUBLICAN, DISTINCTIONS ~ sOCTEa

hat tbhibAS b1sIls3 IONS IN t5DLILa
JY.
Our political a4t0tn, that 'htt haan arc born ftce
and equal 10 helJ up befote tbs eyes ei
The world ms our national motto. W. ate
Proud Of eerIng !, Inscribed, In characters n I,p,,
upon tbs hanhei under which We arc marching 10
tho highest rEhttH 81 risef aud Of glory, Tor we
know thai tbs gaze Of ether nations h hscd upon
uH In gnvy aud adplifat,an. II IS our boast, TINT
under our Goseiptpett, tho accidents of birth
All! station give II, man supremacy over another
III his claims 10 distinction, and that liz Etghegl
office In as ttfoly opened ~ indisiluals If The mos,
lovely rarent4ge as III The son of President. In
contrasting psr republic With Other eoun.siea. We
beeau,f elesated by tbs thought Of or greatness
in the tank of nations; and viewing Ourselves ~
patts o. This mighty whale, We glory in the name
Of American, and wish for no ptIiot title. Thus
d~lsniiied ARE tho feelings, aud shus noble are tho
sentiments, that wo cherish 40 patriots: bat what
becomes Of our self respect for the rights Of others
when we look Il: o~ufscives as individuals. and
strive 10 ascertain our own place among our fell
iowsl Apply our hoasted motto to society, and
we boot il with scorn. SO far from ackuowIedr.
ipg that we stand upon the same level with those
around tvs, out Whole lives ae spent in endoat.
| orius 10 Feaeh those whom VIC imagine are above
US, mud 10 thrust back those we think bcnenti,
liz.
Whit Il tegsar's sarh of raga aud patches, /,
our attempted code Of Distinctions in aociely!~~
In Europe, there il At least order aud symmetry
In tho arrangement; however unjust mud upren.
sonable they may appear. There, theg nrc con-
sidefed Of 50 much Importance, a8 to DO laid
down with Nil due s%oletnniiy in the pages Of The
learned commentator of English law; ard aitho'
by these regulations, the tripping danael in her
teens il allowed to take precedence ola venerable
and silver haifod grandsirc, If her lille should
chance to be higher than his. yet such things are
in accordance with their Government, and With
the customs banded down from tho feudal ages
But with Us it ia different. The spirit and the
letter Of our institutions pronuigatc tho glorious
doctrine Ct liberty and equality. The law Of
ptimogenitore has no place among lis; VIC arc a
brotherhood Of free men, and the right and title
ofone is as full and as high a. that Of he other.-
And it il evident that this doctrine also eventual
" organizes our society, in despite Of the puny
and contemplate efforts made 10 counteract il,
and the cowardlv denial which refuses TO ac-
knowledge it. The mechanics apprentice throws
down his tools, enters into the race for wealth or
political preferment, and takes his place beside
the son OF the judge or the wealthy merchant
The most aristoc.atic and manoeuvering mother
is hroughsto bestow her jealousy guarded daugh-
ter's hand upon the man whose former occbpa-
ton she bushes TO own, but whose present sta
ton renders his alliance an object OF her pride
and highest ambition.
The wealthy vulgar, conscious of their pos
sessing no inherent claims of superiority to the
mass around them, entrench themselves behind
the gorgeous out-wo-ks Of display; but they can
not exclude those whom Hey effect 10 deapise,for
rapidly accumulated fortunes soon enable those
whom they contemn 10 occupy the same heights
and throw up contiguous breast works. We
see these things taking place around us, and yet
we talk Of our distinction in society, our sep.
arate circles-which we would feign make others
believe are as far assurder Az the orbits of Mer-
curry and Of Herschei. There are so many scy-
c'ss upon e~picycles. orhs on orbs,' in our con-
fused divisions ofrank, that no one can tell
whose circle is entitled TO The highest station in
the empyrean. or which individual can show an
uhdisputed claim to a place in any one of them.
Look at The ground on which these distinctions
are said to rest, and examine The ns'ensihle title
tina. is necessary 10 gain a passport into the de-
batahle land of good society and we find the
one az haseEezs as The f4bfic of a vision. and the
other so difficult to fix upon a rightful claimant,
that we're our would be exclusives legally strict
in their Investigations, they would soon be
{ reed.