The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1852-08-12

may desire, oy ieatta& tneit ofeess - 1ynst =
cash for the lime specided.N
We have received from Messrs. Mash I
Woodhouse, the agents for this city. the Jul.
Ne. OF The Westminster Review, whies ha
been reprinted with great promptness ~ On
Americas publishers. The appearance OF CAT
number affords us an opportunity Of subm"
ting some remarks of tho present character
and literary tendency of this Journal, "hich
we have long designed to lay before orr read
ers.
Pew works of the character of the Westmin'
sfer Review are conducted with greater ability
And the literary tone of its articles has greatly
improved within few years past. II ls NOT
difficult to see that The papers which It gives
TO the world on the manifold subjects that
come under its observation, are written by
men who think and feel, wrongly, il is true,
INT strongly. Such intellectual labor is no
triaing. # is not rose-water literature, 1t 10
not the afieciation of diUettaateism. 1t is not
the mere stringing together ofpreity sentences
for the purpose of beguiipg the leisure
hours of the fashionable reader. 1t is down.
rig bit, vigorous, earnest effort at working upon
the convictions Of men, and moulding their
opinions TO the shape Of the writer's own.
But highly as we estimate the talent, and
greatly as we admire the steadiness ofpurpose
displayed in the Westminster Review, we are
yet sorry to believe that these excellent quail
ties are sadly misdrected. In pIliucsi has
-always leaned to the side Of freedom, but with a
fatal tendency to a false and perlous extreme.
This immoderate advocacy of the equality
of mankind has been pushed SO far as to sane
ton the wild visions of Louis Blanc and the
distempered rawlings of Lamennais. 1t has
driven the Review to the fartheet point of Rad
icalism. In close affinity with such doctrines
are all those dangerous isms of modern philos.
ophy, falsely so cailed,) the systems OF the
Socialists and the faith of the phaiansterians.
Truth, il has been well sad is an unit, while
error is uu!siform, and accordingly the shapes
in which this radicalism manifests itself are
almost Protean. The new tangled idea ofthe
Political Rights of Women, by which the
gentler sex is to be admitted into the admins
the oul-of-docr business Of life-by which pes>
itcoat politicians and diarer diplomatsts are to
manage our domestic and foreign relations
this idea commends itself, in high degree, to
the patronage of works like the Westminster.
and is but another form Of the radcalsm of
which we speak. 1t was but twelve months
ago that this very Review devoted large
space to the consideration and approval OF the
New York 1ribune's notions on the "E.fran-
chisement Of Women" And so with the doc.
erine of Ant Slavery, which Is yet another
head of the 'sanie hydra. No wcsk is more
thorou ghly anti slavery in its teachings than
the Westminster Review. Awe this, it only
acts after its kind. The whole tendency of the
doctrines Of the Radical sct5ol is BAD. They
mean license when they cry liberty, and seek
10 submit all moral on9er under the sedacing
plea of perfecting the race. Not such is thu
design of enlightened Freedom as she is de
scribed in the fine language of tie Englis
Laureate
"Herope eyes desire the truth,
THE wisdom of thousand years
Is in them. May perpesuate youth
Keep dry their light from tears
That her fair form may stand and shine,
Make bright our Days and light our dreams,
Turning to seorn EithIips diUiae
Ihs falSeho0d efteztremes."
But mischiey0us as we think the polite
tendencies of the Westminster Review, "
confess we aegard its religious or rath,
its rreligieris tendencies as infinitely wors
r, = Of, l,a{,..
the Dispatch to enter upon cOntrove-si
theology, and it would seem, therefore, IT
Their ths province of the religious press
take u stand for the Church of Christ again
the daring assaults of the Westminster. w
wonder that they have not done so with a ret
dy zeal, and an undivided front, for surely th
Review has openly called in question III
truth Of our whole system of religion, Cath,
lie and Evangelical, and sought to estal
lish human reason as the only guide to The 'trt
faith. We repeat, that it will not b. expects
OF US to enter into an argumen! upon the su
ject Of christianity, and that such task is n
portion of our business, but surely no ms
can desire to see christianity 'overthrown, wi
does not, at the same time, see (unless he be
IDIOT that its fall would bring down the fair
brio of our liberties as QUE of the earliest al
least dreadful Of its consequences.
With such views, we confess, we cannot b
regard the large circulation of the Westmi
ster among the people Of this country as en-
nently dangerous, and we are therefore unab
to commend it. sr 1883.
STATE TEMPERANCE C0NvENTIoN.-Tt
State Temperance Convention at SIaunte
adjourned after a session of two days, TO me
again in August 1853, at point to be designa
ed hereafter. The Convention, with gre
unanimity, came to the conclusion to ask e
some special legislation on ardent spirits, al
repeal Of the License law, subject to Il
decision of the people.