The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1852-03-18
PARIS CORRESPONDENCE.

PARIS CORRESPONDENCE.
p es4oruary &c 'ss"
To tGs. 2 . oFtbe Notso,,oi Era, ..
Mr. Henry Clay for whom profess and feel
an inexpressible admiration as one of the
greatest masters of magnificent commonplace
that the world ever saw, in his speech to Kos
suth discoursed complacently of the needless
ness of active American intervention in Euro
pean affairs which he thought was amply sub
stituted by the silent influences of our great
republican example Well, | am believer
too. in good examples, and have a great re-
spect for those influences which are not bolster
Gus and violent But, at the same time, it oc
ours to me, that there are many things which
never have been, and never will be, propagated
by silent influences for the old adage of the
Germans, so much harped on by the garrulous
Carlyle that speech is sivcrn while silence is
golden. is not of universal application.
Mr. Clays opinion is shared by great
many Americans who comfortable enough in
their various snug little schemes for making
money, do not care to disturb the general
peace by the suggestion of anything like a de.
| cded or unreceived opinion. An original
| thought is to them of the nature of bomb
shell, and positive, unrcserved sympathy for
their fellows, a most dangerous insanity and
fanaticism No; they say let every man take
care of himself; and whatever good we do, let
us do it by no impertinent interference, but by
the silent influence of our most self-satisted
and glorious example.
Now. example is good tbing-a commend
able thing-and, in its way, a most potent and
almost irresistible thing. At the same time it
is not the only thing and good commend
able, and potent rs it is, it has no force unless
it is SEEN A mans example in his closet or
his cellar, though never so good, is rather a
| private thing His example, not borne out by
his words and deeds. is an inconsistent thing
while his example, in some few instances con
tradicted by his example in all other instances
is quite contemplate and worthless thing
Example, therefore, is only valuable so ia
rs it indicates deep and unal;erable interio
convctions-sO far as it is a sign of pro
found and permanent characterize far as i
shows to the world what a man really is an,
what he means to abide by in death, even n
in life. But what is thus true of "A man i
equally true of nation, especially of a natior
which glories in the fact that it is free to ute
and to do what it will.
| What, then-and here is the point of al
| THESE renaTkS-Wnat ~ the l1l0uPHCt Oh Oul
| American example in Europe Admit all thai
is claimed for us by the most boastful patriot
and surely no one can go beyond the present
writer in Just admiration of his country-ad
NIT her political precedence, her physical
prosperity, her moral advancement, the gen
eral content and happiness of her people-thc
question is, what influence these attainment.
have on the opinion and policy of the nations
If EurnpaI | Of mo pnrI tbau
scarcely know anything about US! They
scarcely know the A b c of our political sys.
tenn They have heard only in distant way
of the actual results of that system, while their
minds have been piled and debauched for half
century with the most absurd and extrava-
CANT accounts of what we are and mean to be
Remember that the press--that only vehicle
of general informaton-s in Europe univer-
sally in the hands of those who despise and
hate republicanism the pulpit is in the hands
of those who hate it still more and the pro-
fessOrs chair, and the post-ofice itself are with
few exceptions under the same control What
chance then, is there that our example or
that our teachings Of any sort, may become
knownl Every fact in favor Of the Republic,
its statistics, its discussions, its imposing dem
onstrations of the capacity of the people for
selfgoyernment. are carefully excluded from
general circulation. and the only nkling that
the great body of Europeans get is from chance
conversations and letters
More strictly speaking, ] ought to say that
only certain classes Of the people get an ap-
proach to what may he called accurate and
adequate information Of our example, They
are firstly the working men, and the working
classes OF the towns generally. These get it
from the letters Of friends who have emigrated
to America, and by experience learned the
blessings Of free institutions. ] remember that
on board of the vessel in which ! crossed
the Atlantic, there was poor-looking German
who had been 80 i'll in the front cabin that his
appearance excited somewhat of commisera-
ton entered into talk with him, and found
after n while that six years ago he had settled
in the West and was now going back to his
native town, with n property OF ten thousand
dollars. to take home with him his father and
brothers and sisters " But why will you not
remain in the fatherland ~ ] asked Be
cause said he I" would not live under one of
these rotten old monarchies again for all the
money in the worldn Now, that man was
missionary Of republicanism. and in the little
village whence he came will prove on his re-
turn an active apostle Of our faith. There are
doubtless thousands Of the same sort, and
through their means the knowledge Of repub-
lcanism is spread widely in Europe.
The philosophical thinkers. and rejecting
literary men, with a few statesmen, secondly,
men who read such books as DE Tocqueville's,
William Poussin Tell, and, equal to any Mr..
Russell's "America and England Compared"
have some notion Of the Developments OF De-
mocracy in the United States. But these men
are a small class not the most influential in
politics and social intercourse, and confining
for the most part, the results of their studies to
circles Of men similar in tastes and pursuits to
themselves They appreciate perfectly the
great American experiment; they know the
effects of our institutions, and they are tho
roughly convinced Of our principles; but all
the while, what they know and think only
reaches the public in ponderous volumes which
are never read by the active and efficient classes
of society. For all that the latter know, they
get from English and French newspapers and
from that most ndcscribably mean and one
sided panderer to aristocratic prejudices, the
great continental organ Of English opinion,