New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-12-20
NETWORK DAILY TRIBUNE THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20 1865

lved-s result to which. Is it is easy to trace, the
existence Of domestic Slavery among them did not
little contribute, -, indeed, is there any In
stance in history Of social Institutions, founded On
the bsss Of caste, In which, for the maintenance CT
it's ascendancy over the subject class even the
dominating rscs cid not find itself obliged to sub
nit to despotie aud irresponsible authority-s
necessity to which the ancient lscedsmonisns
Welded, though under some republican forms, not
less than DO the Turks and Russians of to day.
But while the prospects of democracy are thus
obscured at the South, a social change Ia sso going
on at the North which cannot but react powerfully
on our politics and which will require new visi'
lance and rev safeguards for the sustensation OF
democratic liberty. Til within quite recent
period the population even of the Northern
States has been essentially rural and 1t Is TO
meet the wants Of q rural population thai
NEST OF our political arrangements have been
pl.pned But 10 this respect very marked change
bas already taken place, and ia still going on with
increasing rapidly. Our population is concentrat
ing in cities At the period of the Revolution the
cities of Nev-York, Boston and Philadelphia
formed but the extremities, as it were, the hands
and feet of the bodies polite to which they respect
lively belonged, highly useful no doubt, but which
might be paraly zed BY the occupancy of an enemy,
or even amputated and still leave their respective
bodies polite in full life and vigor. This can
hardly be said to be any longer the case. These
great cities have now become to their respective
States, and even to neighboring States not merely
hands and feet, but head and heart--the principal
seats of socia ard political life, to which the rural
districts are fast becoming, as in the republics OF
antiquity and ia medieval Italy, only an appur'
tel ance. and what New-York, Boston and Phils-
6elpba are in the Fast, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Gin
cinrati and Chicago are rapidly becoming to the
West while all over the Free States multitude
of smaller cities are sprnging up, each the center
and animatipg point of larger or smaller circuit
This concentration of our population in Cities if Is
adds greatly TO our power for improvement and tr
good, exposes us also, it must be confessed, 70
new evils and new dangers. II will urgently te-
mand new methods of governmental procedure,
new checks, new balances, new powers and new
securities against the abuse of those powers he
eeyelopm. nts at this moment going on among rs,
the light thrown into dark places by the testihOny
given in Bakers trial and before the Legislative
Police Committee, to say nothing Of ghet lately
came out on the trial of Judge Stuart, goes very
far to show bow exceedingly our laws are behind
our necessities and how exceedingly executive en-
erpy and honesty are behind the law The same
thing is taught by our vast and growing city eK-
pen.es demanding an unusual taxation, which viii
perhaps yet over balance that of all the State gov.
ernments put together; and opening go many aver.
ues to fraud peculstion, and all sorts of abuses.
Of democratic institutions as applied to rursl
population, our model is perhaps as perfect as can
be expected. In the application Of democratic
institutions to city population, and especially 70
city population so vast and heterogeneous as ours
we are yet comparatively but novices; and much,
very much still remains to be done before tsis
application of the democratic principle can be Get
down as having been established, and exhibited IN
full and satisfactory operation.