Carroll free press. [volume] (Carrollton [Ohio]) 1834-1861, 1856-11-20
MlisrcIIoncous lacoOilm.
WHERE DO sUCHPaINCIPLEs LEAD

Itis one thing to stand upon given theory
and another thing to follow out such theory is
practice, to all its natural and logical conse-
quences, A man might be an enthusiastic dis.
ciple of the Bsrkleah hypothesis touching the
non-exlstence of matter and yet, as much as
auy other man, he would be apt to shrink from
what his hypothesis taught him was an illus
ory cane laid sounjly over his illusory head.
It is therefore unphiIOsoph c, to impute 10 men
all the const quenees that naturally follow OF
that may be logically inferred from the genera
principles which they MAINTAIN in words W her
Hamlet is soliloquizing his chaolic thoughts
on the question of"to be, or not to be?' be
makes out but one objection to suicide. name
". that the sleep of death may be disturbed by
fearful dreams, worse than the waking ills oI
existence. He asserts that this is the considera.
ton "which makes calamity Of so long life,
for he asks
"Who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressors wrong, the proud nan's con-
tumely.
The pains Of iepised love-" etc
''But for the dread of something after death'
His view Of the case is not however confirmed
by the facts. There are numbers who believe
that death is the transit of the soul TO immedi'
ate and perfect bliss. And yet as class they
are not suicides. Jlst like men of a .differen
belief. they wait deaths hour, and in the NEAR
while contrive to bear the whips and scorns o
time, the oppressor's wrong, the pangs of de-
spised love, and all the thousand ills that flesh
is heir to. And if we impute suicide to them
because we may readily infer it from theil
theory,we do what is unphilosoPhical in prin
ciple and wrong in point Of fact Men do no
necessarily go the whole length of either thei
GOOD or bad theories. We take this settled fac
along with us. when we Judge of the doctrines
that individuals Of parties advance in politics
NO less than in religion and morals, Not ever
bad principles are sure of being carried out in
to practice for they may originate in certain
party contingencies or other accidental causes
and haye no place in the natural or educated
convictions Of the men who profess to entertain
them. In the early part of James The Second'
reign, there were multitudes who held to tht
divine right ofkings, and maintained that un
der no conceivable circumstances could the CT
tizen refuse allegiance or obedience to the her
editary sovereign. But when they felt tn,
crushing weight of that monarch's tyranny, th
great majority Of them were among the fore
most to dethrone him and choose another kin!
in his place. The theory melted like thin ic
in spring sun; and away went the spointe,
king to the bottom.
Charity would lead us to look with tina
philosophical allowance or deduction which
are here contending fOr,upon some of the polil
ical theories that have been lately broached i
our country--theoreG which, If carried ouI
must be fatal to our liberties, and destructive
all that has value in our Christian civilization
i- must lay this mighty government athwart tb
stream Of human pro gress, to roll back, whe
It ought to do more than was ever done BY an
nation to deepen and accelerate its flow. The
tell Us now an-after-thought, never suggeste
in the better days Of the republic-that th
Constitution cOufers the power Of hoidin
slaves in our territories, inasmuch as (accol