Houma Ceres. [volume] (Houma, Parish of Terrebonne, La.) 1855-18??, 1855-10-18


but kindling eye, should tell the story Of
his country's early wrongs to his children,
that the sturdy yeoman. with swelling
breast, should proudly repeat tho histor,
to his listening neighbors, and lisping in.
fancy rehearse the wondrous tale in learn
ing its vernacular.
Tbs Revolution is clothed in sucn 9
dazzling halo Of glory. that in contempla
ting it we forget other equally, if not more.
important periods Of our history. We
are so blinded by the brilliancy of the
military exploits that we have no eye fo1
the machinery Of the civil government
Hence we can easily account for the east
silly account for the culpable ignorance O
the civil and constitutional history of ou1
country. No man who lays any claims
to intelligence or scholarship ought to con.
slider his education as begun until he has
perused tho chronicles of our municipal
administration, and carefully followed the
restigia imperii GIRLS that lead to our pres.
ent form of government.
There can be no more useful and ia.
teres' ing study than the history of the con.
stitution of the United States, which, fol
the reasons we have hereinbefore endeav.
ored briefly to indicate, has been very
much neglected by all classes Of citizens.
We do not speak of the meaning and in.
depreciation Of its particular provisions, but
we allude to its ofigin-the circumstances
and straits which first gave rise to the
conception of such an instrument in the
minds Of its framers-the collateral and
contemporaneous events-tbe res geste-
influencing, directing, governing the char
acter Of the unrivalled code, .and the ne.
cessity of the times which led to its adop.
ton. This branch Of our national histo.
~, it seems to us, has been most wo6llly
neglected.
How many even of our so.called politi.
clans could give correct, intelligent, phi.
losophical history Of the constitution Of bis
country 1t is true that every we'll in
formed citizen is acquainted with the pc.
litical history Of the United States, he
knows the story Of her birth and her strug.
giles through her heroic age, he has read
the narrative of her wars, the Iliad of her
woes, but his curiosity and patriotism lead
him 10 investigate no further. What would
you think ofthe traveller going to Great Bri
tain to spy out the beauty and resources Of
the land. who should simply explore her
stern and rock.bound coast! Or the wan.
derer in the east, who had come many
weary parasangs to feast his eyes upon the
gorgeous wealth and architectural beauty
Of Diana's Temple. and then stop in the
vestibule ! But be would not have shown
less wisdom than do the greater part of the
American people in refusing to study the
constitution Of their country. When the
student has gone through the history Of the
Revolution, he has but entered the porch to
the great temple Of liberty. The liberal
and enlightened patriot will burn with a
generous desire to discover its interior
construction, to survey its grand and beau.
tiful proportions, to penetrate ite hidden
mysteries, 10 lift the veil of the holy Of
holies, aud lay the offerings Of his patriot
ic devotion upon the very altar Of the hea-
ven-born goddess.
But we insult your instructive love Of
truth-we do violence to your thirst for
knowledge. by appealing to your sense Of
duty, and your national pride, to incite you
to careful review Of the constitutional
history Of your country. The subject is
Interesting and seductive, in
itself to invite the Investigation and meet
the attention Of inquisitive mind. Ger
tainly there never was moro memorable
epoch in the history Of our own, or Of any
other nation than the period which pre-
ceded the adoption Of our present form Of