The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1842-02-19
THE DIVINE RIGHT OF sQUIRES.

This is the conclusion of Mr.. Carlyle's
article in the last Westminster Review:
"Such is the drama OF life, seen in Bal
lie OF kilwin.ing; IA thing of muliiIarious
tragic and epic meanings, then as now
many voice tragedy a"d epos, yet with
broad based comic and grotesque accom-
panIhlent done by actors not in buskins;
even replete with elements of guilt and
remorse, or pity, instruction, and fear! 1t
is now two hundred years and odd
months since these Commons members,
shouting. "Withdrawr" took away the
life of Thomas entworth, Earl of Stat
ford; and introduced, driven by necessity
they knew little whittier, horrid rebellion,
as the phrase went, and suicidal wars into
The bowels of this country. On our hor-
lion too, there loom now inevitabiilies
no less stern. Ole knows not sometimes
whether not very near at hand They
had the Divine Right Of Kings to settle,
those unfortunate ancestors of ours: Shall
Charles Stewart and William Laud alone
have soul and conscience in this nation,
under exrant circumstances; or shall 9TH
ers too have it? That had come now to
require settlement, that same "diyine
light;' and they, our brave ancestors,
like true stalwart hearts, did on hest of
necessity manage to settle t-by cutting
off its head if no otherwise.
"Alas. we, their children, have got per-
haps still harder things to settle: the Dl-
vine Right Of Squres. Did God make
this land of Britain, and give it 10 us all,
that we nigh. live there by honest labor;
or did the Squire make it, and-but To
the voice olany God, open only to a De-
Wis voice in this matter-decide on giving
it to ~themselves alone? This is now the
sad question and ''divine right" we, in
this unfortunate century, have got to set
| tie! For there is no end to settlements;
there will never be an end; the best settle
ment is but temporary partial one
Truly, all manner of rights, and adjust
ments of work and wages, here below,
do verge gradually into error, into I'M
bearable error, as the tine-1ood bears us
onward; and many righi, which used to
be duty done, and divine enough, turns
out, in a new latitude of the Tlme-voy-
age, to have grown now altogether undi-
vine! Turns out-when the fatal hour
and necessity for overhaulng it arrives
to have been, for some considerable while
past, an inanity, conven'ionality, hol-
low simulacrum of use-and-wont: which
lift will still assert i,st lfos .divne right
having now no divine duty to do, becomes
a diab"lic wrong; and, by soft means or
by sharp has to be sent travelling out Of
this world!-Alas, '.intolerablilesn do
now again in this new century 'cry to
Heaven,"-or worse, do not cry, but in
low widespread moan, lie as perishing,
as if in Heaven there was no ear for them
and in the earth no ear. "EIevenpence
half penny week" in this world in the
next world zero! And "sllding scales"
and endless wrigglings and wrestling over
mere 'corn laws" governing class,
hired Git appears 1T the rate of some fifty
millions a year, which no, only makes no
attempt at governing, but will not, by any
consideration, passionate entreatv, or even
menace as yet, be persuaded to eat its
vfctuals, shoot its cartridges, and not
strangle out the general life by mis-. gov
erning! II cannot and it will not come
TO good"