Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1851-07-14
81 - LYNCIIBURG, MONDAY MORNING. JULY a. 1851

Can government tnan any Douy u iheH IN
Germany or Italy, because they have learn
ed this one great lesson-that there is no
security without law, and that, under the
circumstances in which they are placed,
where there is no military authority to cut
their throafs, there is no sovereign will but
the will of the majority; that, therefore if
they remain, they must submit to that will" ,"
And this | believe to bestrictly true. Now,
tellow-citizens, if your patience will hold
out, | will venture, before proceeding to
the more appropriate duties of the day, to
state, in few words, what | take these
American political principles in substance
to be. They consist us think, in the first
place, in the establishment Of popular gov
ernments by an equal representation, for it
is plain that pure democracy, like that
which existed in some of the States Of
Greece, in which every individual had a
direct vote in the enactment Of all laws,
cannot possibly exist in country of wide
extent. This principle Of popular repre-
sentation, prevailing either in allthe branch
es of governments, or in some of them, has
existed in these States almost from the days
Of the settlement at Yorktown and Ply
mouth, borrowed, no doubt, from the ex-
ample of the popular branch of the British
Legislature. The representation Of the
people in the British House of Commons
was originally very unequal. Indeed, it
may be doubted whether the appearance
of knights and burgesses assembling on
the summons of the crown, was not rather
intended at first as an assistance and sup
port to the royal prerogative, in matters of
revenuean and taxation, rather than as mode
of ascertaining popular opinion. Never
theless, representation had a popular origin
and it savored more and more of the char
acter of that origin, as it acquired, by slow
degrees, greater and greater strength in
the actual government of the country. 1t
was, in fact, form of representation, how
ever, unequal; numbers were counted, and
majorities prevailed; and when our ances-
tors, acting upon this example, introduced
more equality of representation. the idea
assumed more rational and distinct shape.
At any rate. this manner ofexercising pop
ulsr power was familiar to our fathers when
lUeN sctlleu Oh ilIlS COiltlHclll.
They adopted it, and generation has
risen up after generation, all acknowledge
ing it, and becoming acquainted with its
practice and its forms. And the next fun
damental principle in our system is, that
the Will Of the majority, fairly expressed
through the means of representation, shall
have the force of law; and it is quite evil
dent that in a country withou, thrones, or
aristocracies, orprivileged castles or classes,
there can be no other foundation for law to
stand upon; and as the necessary result of
this, the third element is, that the law is the
supreme rule for the government Of all
The great sentiment of Alcaeus, SO beauti-
fully presented to us by Sir William Jones,
is absolutely indispensable to the construc-
ton and maintenance of our political sys.
tems:-
''N hat constitutes a state?
Not high ras'd battlements or labor i mound,
Thick wall moated gate;
Not cities proud with spire. and turets crown'd
Not bays and broad urm d ports,
Where, laughing at the Storm rich navies ride;
Not starr'd and spangled courts
Where low brow'd baseness watts perfume
pride,
No-men, high minded men,
With powers us far above dull bru,es endued,
In forest, brake, or den,
As beasts excel cold rocks and brambles rude;
Men who their duties know
But know their rights, and knowing, dare main
tain;
Prevent the long aim'd blow,
And crush the tyrant while they rend the chain.
These constitute state;
And Sovereign Law, that states collected will,
Der thrones and globes elate
Sits empress, GROWING good-rcpressing ILL.,
And, finally, another mostimportant part
of the great fabric of American liberty is,
that there shall be written constitutions,
founded on the immediate authority Of the
people themselves, and regulating and re-
straining all powers conferred upon gov
ernment, whether legislative, executive, or
judiciary. This, fellow citizens, | suppose
to be u just summary of our American prin-
ciples; and have, on this occasin, sought
to express them in the plainest and in the
fewest words. The summary may not be
entirely exact, but l hope it may be suf
fciently SO to make manifest to the rising
generation among ourselves, and to those
elsewhere, who may choose to inquire into
the nature Of our political institutions, and
the general theory upon which they are
founded. And | now proceed to add, that
the strong and deep-settled conviction of
all intelligent persons amongst us Is, that IN
order to support a useful and wise govern
ment upon these popular principles, the
general education Of the people, and the
wide diffusion ofpure morality and true re-
ligion are indispensable. Individual vir
tue is part of public virtue. 1t is difficult
to conceive how there can remain morali-
ty in the government when it shall cease
to exist among the people, or how the ag-
gregate Of the political Institutions, all the
organs of which consist only of men, should
be wise and benifcent, and competent to
inspire confidence, if the opposite qualities
bclong to those individuals who constitute
those organs and make up the aggregate.
And now, fellow-citizens, | take leave of
this part of the duty which ! proposed to
perform; and once more felicitating you
and myself that our eyes haveseen the light
of this blessed morning, and that our ears
have heard the shouts with which joyous
thousands welcome its return; and joining
with you in the hope that every revolving
year shall renew these rejoicings, to the
end of time, proceed to address you,
shortly, upon the particular occasion OF our
assembling here to-day.
FellowCitizens BY the act of Con
gress of30lh September, 1850, provision
was made for the extension Of the capitol,
according TO such plan as might be approx
ed by the President of the United States,
and the necessary sums be expended un-
der his direction, by such architect as he
might appoint. This measure was imper-
atively demanded for the use ofthe Legis-
lative and Judiciary departments, public
libraries, and the occasional accommoda-
ton ofthe Chief Executive Magistrate,and