Daily national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1854, 1854-01-28
For the National Era.
GERMANY AND ENGLAND--N0. !.


We Germans are patient people; and this
patience has been most signally exhibited,
through the almost unbroken silence with
which we have stood the lfglori6cations
which have characterized nearly every histori-
cal article on England, which has appeared
with reference to the primitive institutions OF
the United States.
England Mother Country "Anglo-
Saxonism,n and g English Liberty" have been
the themes and the phrases upon which rcams
of foolscap have been written over, until it
looks like desperate undertaking to remind
American readers that to full one-third of the
,ch,te population Of this country, there Is
Germany y and Fatherland" Still more
daring must il be to assert, as | now do, that
in the words of one Of my old professors Anglo
Ssxonism and English liberty very often are
@More phrases -" verba suntn
In your paper Of the 10th January, gentle
man from London has these words occurring
in his article:
"True it is, that Germany had its Diets,
Spain and Portugal their Cortes, France its
States General but the existence of all Of them
was ephemeral The Parliament Of England
has never ceased to exist, except during the
transient interregnum Of Cromwell and il may
fairly claim the credit Of having sustained the
political spirit Of Europe, and contributed to
the more democratic institutions of the United
Statesn
In your paper Of the lth instant, he again
says:
@In the United States great experiment is
being tried in the science of Government, and
Europe anxiously looks at every movement ON
It's various platforms. But how can the true
Democrat, however gifted and sincere, perfect
n 4 I'll
traced the errors Of monarchies and aristocra-
cesi And where will he find more instruction
than IN the history of the race from f1hich his
forefathsrs sprung?p
II the latter clause means as il undoubtedly
does, that English history, in particular, is to
be the text book Of our studies, Join issue,
unless indeed il be with view to avoiding
nearly every shade of their Government; for
then ! agree Might not some one in reply to
Anglicanism, assert that in every case, except
ing few only, in which we have followed Eng
land, we have gone wrong while the most sue
cessful steps of reform we have ever mado in
this country were those in which we abolish
ed something Euglishs Nay, might he not
go further, and assert that every American
statesman in the United States, TO whom Eng
lish institutions have been model has gone,
or will GO to his grave doomed man? And,
again, might he not point to the history Of the
United States, and affirm that the statesmen
whose names 1.-Two and viii live brightest in
the memory of our people, are those which
never lost their Americanism in reading Black
stone, and for whom the continent of Europe
had opened its fountains Of wisdoml And if
called upon to give instances for the foregoing
affirmations he might name the English or
ganization Of our regular army. Ditto, navy, in
GLIDING ocean steamships and TO English COM
mon law, or chaneery procedure, in courts.
Need he remind you that the few germs of the
English Colonial System, which have creptint
our Territorial System, are especially the send
ing amongst them Of politicians for Governors
and Judges, &c, we all call the worst part Of
their organization
Where are the English notions Of protec. i've
tariffs, navigation laws, national banks Of
game laws, &c.a Where are, In public estima-
ton, Hamilton or Webster Has any man
left deeper impress upon our institutions than
Jefferson, and at what fountains did he get bis
knowledge? Our political axis lie our Federal
system, and what can we learn about ID ia
England Ia il not the great vice Of our
Supreme Court, that, in all It's decisions. il has
looked TO English precedents and to Euglish
courts Those decisions were made, as appli.
cable to an English system Of Government;
but Is IL unconrteous TO our judges TO suppose
that having learned their law at English com
mon law schools, they have not been careful,
nor perhaps wiling enough 20 scan very closely
whether they really apply to Government
such AZ oursg IL such a scrutiny not too great
task under the circumstances What, ask,