New-York daily tribune., 1856-05-24

nature Whlcb OlFb PripicA'e o"N 'N'~
,vdarnen. In ts estimate Of dis,ins uen' Ii"
,~pse III feeling, impeiious IN will, always sc'iDe
Ia reference u distinct ends, the simple i"s rn"""'
sf HI. power was an acute, rspid and oglcai in"'-
k~t-pot 40 logical al~ays a. To be able todS'o''
its own fallaces yet logical enous" !"
strong and weak points Of every c"'o' '"1 -.
,ose On others with gre't sho" VI
Accordingly. at the hight Of his Posl'io"' MI var
Ann wa. neser apythDg more than Po'i''c" 'o-
.;.;s, Napcle on said OF Laplace, "hen NE WAS IN
- TIN, he carried into th@ discharge OF h's do-
.;.. ,be spirit of nfnitesimal quantities. and-no
r.. t,ue Of Mr. CalhOun-that he never forgot the
,e6nemcnts Of his peculiar metaphysics. As an
administrator of bureau, and as the leader of a
marty he displayed considerable powers Of combi-
nation. but he never attained the lofest rank of
state smsnship. He would never have made con-
summate general, some OF his friends claim; the
spirit Of the logcian always constrained him, and
his speeches his letters his dissertations, though
extending 10 six large Volumes are but repeti-
tions, in different forms, of the same few primary
ideas put through the same logical mill. There is
no variety in them, juicness, no richness of
color but level uniformity OF premises and infer
ence. In Henry Clay there was always gentle
play of the faculties coruscaons Of wit and flashes
sfeloquence; and iu Webster, aside from the Doric
pr.priety Of bis dictioD, there a ponderOus
ring Of music in his wegh'y senNnccs, as they fell
ike hammers upon the casques of his opponents
but Calhoun is ever dry drec', intense and ratio
sinstive-moving forward like Babbage's calcu-
hating engine from one Dumeral to another till the
net quotient, or the sum total, is evolved
A, Lamb said of the Quakers, that il they could
they would paint the universe in drab, so it may
be raid Of Mr.. Calhoun that the ideal of his life
was ~ gather statistics Of the United States aud
work them into his theories of Safe hts and the
concurrent msjority 1t is astonishing to turn these
volumes page after page, and see how his mind ran
In this single rut-tO find how little historical Illus
tration there ia in them-how little Of the
life Of the times, beyond its mere superficial
pOltics-how little quotation from ancient or CO.
Temporary authcrs-how little of the literature,
scien ce art of the day. of any day-and how little
Of the real aspiration and impulse of the country.
The mind of bis reader is constantly panied by the
directness and narrOwness of the view-by the
tension and strDgeDcy of the argument, and above
all, by the absence of all relieving accomplishments
of all episodes, illusions, figures, sentiment wit,
other devices by which the better class of minds
are accustomed to charm while they convince their
readers. You are set upon the back of hard |
trottiDg camel (Which may be called the dalcctic, |
In opposition to the imaginative or sympathetic |
reason); your guide springs on befre, and then
with goad in hand and spur On his heel, drives the
poor beast forward at the top of his speed, through
desert sands and beneath burning suns.
"a - - &C. ha1 rI
such structure of intellect, that while it was
possible for ii to attain important single truths, it
would not be likely to reach profound and compre-
Aepsive truths. Broad views are the result OF
broad sympathies He who touches life at the
most points, who cherishes the widest community
Of interests with it, sees the most of its underlying
principles. But the confined intellect, which
moves right on in straight line, seldom picks up
more than thread at time. Thus it was the
misfortune of Mr.. Calhoun to cultivate only re-
stricted sphere. Shutting himself oat very much
from the minds of others he lost many of the best
inspirations. His political system dwindled into
mere mechanical cOntriyance for the control OF
msiorities. His aims were narrowed to a section
Of his country, and almost single State; and be
saw no immortality, no meanness, in the subection
of one race of men by another, because of Its
assumed inferiority.
All this we shall see abundantly illustrated in
brief review of bis most distinctive theories. In
the disquisition on Government, for instance, he
traces the origin Of it to the predomnance of ind-
yidual and selfish general objects in the human
constitution, and hence deduces the necessity of
such an arrangement of society will give to each
part or interest check upon the action fall other
parts or interests. His highest conception of po-
ltical order therefore, is that of mutual counter
Poise between conflicting elements. All the gene
rous impulses of humanity are left out of the ac-
count-ts benevolent tendencies, its love of JUS
tice, its increase in knowledge aud virtue 60 for
nothing, and society becomes a vast machine oPe-
rated through the government, without life or
principle of growth-a dead organism and not
living process. Now, this We say is low view of
the subject; il may be correct one, but il is not
an elevated or generous one; il is derogatory to
human nature, and places man. as an active agent,
almost below the level Of the brute, who can be
controlled by other motives than those of force.
Ii represents him rs mere destructive power,
which is 10 be restrained BY complex and strin-
gent arrangement of pullies and wheels. How
can IT, then, be a correct view Man, we Know,
il something more than a selfish animal. He is
rational and loving soul. He is prone TO evil, but
he IL also prone to good and ii is ss such COM
pound that he is to be treated BY society and Soy'
eminent. This aspect of the question, however
has been so fully treated bya late ewrter In P@"a"