Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1849-09-12
FOR TIE ADVERTISERS.
No. XIII.
THE same subject Continued.

TIC SuHt ouUJeIt Oohter'|"'
We have given some historical exam-
plies of the evil,endencies of innovation.
How are we, now, as a nalion acting up 10
these warning lessons of The past /! II is
greatly 10 he feared, that we, like many
nations that have preceded US, are guiug
in The broad way to ruin. The spirit. oi
change is already rife in ourland, though
The existence Of our government, dates
lilIle more than half century. The
States are fas, rece,ling from The admira-
bic Republics founded by our ancestors,
aud falling into The shackling Democracies
of old Greece and Rome, which neither
secured individual liberty, nor contained
The elements Of se!f-preservation. See
what has occurred in New~York, under
The boased name of reform! All that was
venerable and tme.lesled in the political
! fabric has been rulhessly torn down, and
new whimsical additions made. to suit the
viliated tastes of modern progressive Re-
formers. Nothing has beenaleft in The old
family maasion to fix in the Imagination
of The young patriot. feelings of respect
and veneraliou. The orderly spirit of
Hamilton and Jay, so infused into all the
early state economy, is departed, aud in
its stead, The mobUcralic genius Of Tam
many Hall, rules the Commonwealth in
Iyranric sway!
This Infection, indigenous 10 New York,
is fast er.sprcading our whole country.
Mississippi is seized with it: SO is Ohio
SO Kentucky and Georgia, and other States,
and the evil, we solemnly regret. is grow
ing every day iu our own midst to an
alarming extent. What! Shall we too
fnIlow tic mad career Of Greece, and
Rome, of France and New York !? Shall
we destroy our Liberties by gradually (rit-
tering away our noble Constitution, till
no Charter lights are left US? When that
great document is gone (and when man
gIed as The Constitution of New York, its
epoch is marked) there will be -litIe hope
left for Ms. We will 90 the way of all
dsorganizing, lawless nations. Our gov
ernment will soon degenerate into the
worst form of consolidation. The will Of
The numerical majority will control our
deslinies and of all species of Tyranny,
ihe world has ever known, that o. an un-
restrained majority is The worst. One ly.
rant may be dethroned or assassinalea !;
but this many headed monster Of oppres~
siou can never be removed. Il possesses
The power Of perpetuiIy and uhiquiy. II
is sempiternal, omnipresent and omnipo-
tent. II uniIns physical furce. anu moral
power-Ibe sword and the purse; and no
alternative is left 10 the minority but 10
submit or 10 dissolve the bonds of society.
II is with them tyranny or Revolution.
This would, indeed, be gloomy pros
pecl fur naIion's liberties
TO guard, therefore. against his reck-
less spirit Of change, which 50 well tends
TO do away with our very Constitutions
and to destroy all established order and
usages, is The FIRST duty Of The statesman and
patriot. There is. we soIcmmly believe
no evil in our pnllica affairs, which re-
quires more powerful resistance. Ii is the
bane of our land. 1t might do well to
place upon il, in some way, strong legal
checks. Demnshenes informs Us, that
among The ancient Locrians, in order 10
check innovation, it was enactet.-" If
qny one proposed lao and that ia,c ,cas
rejected. The indiriduaL suffered death. +"
There is more wisdom in this law, than
would seem on first blush.
Let US LOOK more specially 10 some Of
the incidents OF this dangerous spirit. In
the first place, it has most fatal tendency,
from the fact, that it always comes firth
under The hume and prelext of Reform.
:" Reform," is word that pleases The COM
mon ear; for it conveys the idea of some
thing good and ennobing. In its proper ac-
ceptation, il signifies improvement. When
applied to political matters it Is generally
used to mean, the getting rid Of abuses By
just and equitable amendments. This is
worthy OF The highest regard Of the States
mau. But unfortunately, nowadays, by
sort Of melonydny. people take The sisu
for the Thing sigufied-lhe name Reform
fur the ideas il embraces: while often the
only mark of reform present in measure,
is the name alone. Let US, FellowCiti-
zens, reflect, that every change is not
reform, though it MAY assume that style.
The name is often given BY designing ,nen,
The bcler 10 inhamo popular prejudice aud
to court popularity. As maxim of gene
raj caution, it may he aflirmed-That IN
nomtors-lhose who constantly desire
change. in our political institutions. are
anti. Reformcrs for they often impede the
progress of nalional advancement by ia.
lerrupting lle operation of salulary laws
and ins,ilulions Beware of those, then,
who perpelually cry, change! change!
Another erievous evil arising from this
spirit. is, that change has tendency TO
Legct change. No propensity of our ma
lure is mnfe active and powerful than
desire for novelty. And like :he iudul-
gencc of any other strong passion, the
moro it is exercised, the greater will be its
desire for qualification, and the more diff
cult will it be TO restrain it within proper
limits. Give undue indulgence to This
graspiug spirit, aud you destroy all The ele'
mems of conservatism in community.
The work of destruction will follow as
surely as the order of time. And once
fairly begun, there is no reasonable check
to lis progress. Every thing must give
way to crafty viliaIed public lase, or
to suit popular errors. Nothing will be
venerable enough 10 escape the hands Yf