The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1842-02-22

tell them was none of their business They
believe, aud sometimes honestly, are prone
10 think, that virtue and honesty, and honor
and temperance, are the odsprings of statutes
and resolutions and ordinances; and that all the good
which comes without governmental interference is
ILLUS nuius-a sort of bastard good-that does not
come into the world with the odor of nationality, of
decency or of regularity. Ask them what has diff
fused modern light and cultivation, and what is ga-
dually freeing mankind from the dominion of force
and ignorance, and they will complacen,ly bow and
answer-"Our Legislation" Ask them the of
vice, and they will tell you-''the absence of law
Suggest to them the possibility that there may be too
much law, and they at you If you said there
might be too much light or too much happiness Our
modern legislator is very apt to be political Uzzah
who must needs be stretching out his hands to steady
the ark ofpubc safety and if they shared the fate
OF the son of Abnadab for their gratuitous ofcous-
ness, the ark would get on quite well, to say the
least without them
A very learned writer used to say shat it was
doubt with him whether the benefit which the world
receives from government sufficient to make
amends Tor the calamtes which it suffers from the fol-
lies, mistakes, and NAL administration of those who
manage it," No one, however will doubt the neces-
slty OF laws Happy and fortunate would it be if
there were no necessity, and the time may come
when none, perchance, may be required, unless
it be the law within the breast. But it should
not be lost sight of, that law, like med-
cine, if a necessary evil, is evil still-a
thing undesirable in ITSELF and to be dispensed with
whenever it safely be- To be everlastingly dose
ing patient with quack medicines, nation with
statutes, Is most certainly to undermine every thing
like sound constitution in either. 1t should be
borne in mind that the object OF an enlightened
physician is to make his patients independent of the
apothecarys shop, should the intelligent staesmans
object be to render the nation independent of all law
manufactures. When are educated in error they
have mole to unearn than to learn. The people, in
the great reforms which called for have more to
expunge that to enact We want the broom of COM
mon sense to sweep away unconstitutional informed
dllngs, rather than the lawyers pen and parchment,
to add to he heap. The chief end of Government is
to protect eectuay the lives and property of the cit
liens from violence; and when it has done this it has
performed almost all that Government can do with
advantage to the people.
These remarks have been dictated mainly from the
fact, that we had presented to for signature
Saturday, petition praying the legislature to pass
special law, authorizing the establishment of nsu-
rance company. The design of the petitioners may
be very commendable one, but why not pass gene
raj law on such matters Why increase our already
monsrous law tones by thousands upon thousands of
such enactments If the business authorized by such
charters be legitimate beneficial in fits
dency-why privilege FEW only to embark in 1t and
exclude the many