Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1856-11-11
for ihe Iatelligencer.l
TILE POPULAR MIND.

often our best friends, is no less true than para
doxical. five have an honest and candid mind,
those who hold up to view our faults confer
upon US favor they little dream Of, by ava
kening our attention to them, that thereby they
may be remedied.
This, however, is not the exclusive province
of an enemy. He who performs. that duty in a
candid and kindly manner, is our ruest friend
The proper method of acting under these cir.
cumstances is to enquire what is the evil,
whence does it arise, and what is the proper
remedy.
Communities being composed of men, are, of
course, subject to the imperfcctions and frailtes
incident to the human family. The whole pop
ulation form one body, which has a common en-
crgy, common heart, common mind, and COM
mon delusion. Eachindiyidual forms particle
in the hugh construction, and adds to it his
strength and weakness, virtue and vice, purity
and corruption. As the qualities of strength,
virtue ndipurity predeminatc in thcindiyidnal,
so will they predominant in the great popular
construction. AS the qualities of weakness,
vice and corruption predominate in the particle,
so win the popular construction be deprayed. -
This popular being is all powerful in America.
por popatli, eos del is the universally received
sentiment. fhepecple, in their aggregate ca
pacity, speak out the feelings of the nation. =
The learned and ignorant, yirtuous and yicions,
good and bad, all flow together to form one con.
glomerate, universal feeling and expression BY
this feeling and expression the nation exists. Ii
is the nation.
This being the case, the duty which deyolycs
upon each member Of the community is very
plain. . make the feeling of the community
fresh and vigorous, to make the popular mind
strong, pure and noble, we must improve the
particles-heighten the natures of those who
compose the community, and influence, in a
greater orless degree, thepopular action.
That this great power is not raised to the de-
gree of perfection, of which 1t is capable, is a
universally acknowledged fact; that the popn-
lar mind has not gained that stable, calm and
reasoning point, which is its legitimate standard
andS at which standard alone it is fully fitted to
act so as to insure stability to free institutions, is
proven daily by its own actions. Popular ac-
ton is prompted more byprejudice than reason;
more by feeling, than mind. The truth of this
is more glaringly exemplifed by the acts of
this popular power in the political world thanin
any other. We see a principle, the elements of
"i,cn are UNIVERSAL auyoea'eu AT tue son,f,
and combated at the North; measure, the
component parts of which are not sectional
supported Mt the East and deprecated in the
vest. were these propositions looked at by
Einnaoitahts IN oo1n sectiehs OF inc country ny
the lisnt oil reason ana the real merits oil the
measure discussed uhuerstanaingiy, truiy ana
honestly, an over tne country, the universal acs
'lon OF one section WOMB NOT pe artayed against
tue ottef--out tue ailIerehce Which arises, nat
uralis among men, Wouiu exist equaiiy over slle
na.lon' ana 'ne a,nerens construction Oh lnal-
siuuhi minus wousu us.sriniie 'he iate Oh tlie
question: ~ escn o. lhcse sesslons eiiefe woula
oe an enligh'enea ailiesence between heignoor
any anu stretching RON sne iafehest
oi one secsloi' 10 .'le lrlnest extreme oil
ss'e o s wouia DC a woven network OF opin-
ION OF diherentHhues formed by reason OF diff
iereti. rnct'eal construction. instead. OIL secnon
against sse5loti' we woa'a nave ara.neat against
argument
iippesuous ac'iol Oh Tue Puo'ls ninu rs 'aetri-
mental 70 the pnonc welfare. II INDUCED m
the velocity with winch nc. It WI sweep from
ieoiuni 70 an extreme may aasn II 70 rum.
hsoric Oh our loeftles IS founded IN wlsdom-it
Is the olisprlng OF deep ane anxious thought
1t must be supported in the same spirit. and
those only who can sreaI;za tho fae,;nas az tho
'le
oou anu great VINO lorinea our institutions, can
best maintain them. The right to a voice in
pushing forward public measures is universal in
the limited Statas.a tharae,, ,,,,,,,,,, H.,
taa ). a. . ~,
~ sne ss'.''s'a'a y. z is,s 'silsor. Inc means
whereby TINS standard may be attained, and a
discreet and reasoning spirit infused into the