Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1855-06-08
The Administrative Example of the United

!
States, will be found specially interesting t.
the American reader Comparing the admin
istrative system of England with that of th,
United States, the writer declares boldly tha,
England can learn a great deal from thi
country. That admission is no small one fol
an Englishman to make. lie says
lenceforward, it is no longer England
but the North American Republic, that has
become the pole star to which, from all sides
the eye of struggling nations turns. One
great curse indeed pollutes the American
union-savery-which not merely dooms
thee million persons to degradation. injury,
and ignorance, but keeps the freemen OF
those States don, uneducated, proud, and
idle Joins their interest to tyranny and at
the samo time corrupts and deteriorates the
moral tone of the central legislature and
supreme executive. But all see that this
bane of America is in no respect derived from
or essential tot is on the contrary neon
sistent with and destructive of--repub blican
liberty. Hence, dreadful as is the mischief
to America herself, it forms no reason why
foreigners should the less initiate her char
acteristic institutions And however we
may carp at the weakness and vices of the
American democracy. certain great facts in
it are open to the day. In the Free States,
the boy who is born of the poorest and low
est parents may rise into the highest polti-
cal post. This is no freak of solitary acci-
dent, but is a natural result of the iustltu-
tions. Without special patronage. the inIl-
gent boy receives good primary education,
and, II diligent and clever, invariably rises
above want is received into the best soce-
ty the moment he deserves it morally and
intellectually and finds no cold shade of
| ariatpcrarv' "a, nd ~,
township is the earliest school Of political
action after this the State Legislature or
| its Governorship; next the lower house of
| Congress afterwards the Senate . finally,
the posts of the Supreme Executive Govern
ment. Where every industrious man is
above the anxieties Of wants, where every
intelligent man may become educated and
refined, and every man of high powers may
rise into high ofice-in such community
tho &C. io,otniIiett be Chinese but.
where to the above is added the fullest de-
mocratic liberty, there personal selfreliance
and freeman S pride are superadded to con-
tent and prosperity. England on the whole.
ie little aware how very far she is behind the
United States in solving the great problem
of the day"
1t is often boasted by Englishmen that no
ministry can stand an hour after it has been
defeated on vote, but in the United States
ministry can hold its place for four years
though defeated every day. The reviewer
argues that the English rule is of very little
practical good. For instance, Peel is forced out
of Office, and he advises the crown to take up
Russell. Russell is voted down in turn and
recommends Derby. Derby is upset and
| Ab.r1oan Ahur1aan tria lu,
with no better success and proposes to the
| Queen to try Derby again, and the run
! round is kept up through few families who
by birth and rank are somehow supposed to
possess all the administrative power which
| the nation can avail itself Of Parliament
| sees the treasure wasted and the armies sacri-
feed, groans and sits helpless. Why 1t
can destroy but canEot reconstruct, and has
almost no power to control or reguiate.-
Every minister is turned out ON one question
| only, and its successor comes in upon that
| one and that is all the Parliament can effect
Nothing Of this sort can happen in Amer
lea, and for the simplest of all reasons
it is NOT within the province of Congress to
| destroy ministries after they have been accept
| ed, but it is an ordinary and stated duty to
control every ministry. We can destr"y
but cannot control they can CONTROL but
cannot destroy All turns on the following
point their Committees are standing aud
ordinary, our Committees are occasional and
exceptional. We have seen that an English
ministry resigned. barely because parlia-
ment resolved to have Committee of lnqui-
ry but in America permanent Committees
Of Inquiry are essential and fundamental
part Of the public administration as ii per-
manent cabinet. The moment this statement
is made, the vast results are visible at a
glance, and the great superiority Of the
American system.
In many quarters one meets the attempt
to " improve" the recent breakdown Of our
administration into an argument for despotc
Capitalization, yeid under admiration for the
success of French management, In regard to
warlike affairs, the argument is plausible to
thoughtless persons because undoubtedly,
in the conduct of IA war, centralized power is
essential but to show the fallacy Of the ar
gument, it suffces to remark, that the Amcri-
can Union has betrayed no lack Of central
energy in Warlike matters n fact, the more