Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1858-03-09
THE RICHMOND ENQUIRER.
TURsDAY moRNING, MARCH o, 1858.
MONARCHICAL PROCLIvITlES.

TUESDAY MORNING, MARCH o, 1858
MONARCHICAL PROCLlvITlES.
From the inception of our Government up to the
present day. there has existed small eoterie of
teur politicians who have not ceased to carp at Demo
cratic institutions and to svow hankerDg after the
false gods of mouarchics and oligarchicsl felton,
While the truest and bravest spirits of Europe have
not hestated to proclaim the divine truths upon
which our system Of Government is founded, and to
sssa unsparingly, the mammoth shams and lies upon
which rest the corrupt governmental establishments
Of the Old World, certain of our own citizens have
been found to shock the sense of right and to insult
the sovereignty of American freemen by persisentiy
DENYING that the God who made them has cspactated
them for the e1srose of self government. few of
these malcoutents, it may be presumed, are mlsed
by the blasphemous dogma of the divine right Of
Kings and rulers. SuperstItution may constitute an
element of this movement for dictionary revolution.
But more dangerous element is to be found in those
sentiments which asssil equally the ground works of
religious and political faith Religious skeptcism, if
not absolute atheism. is the demon at war with the
fundamental doctrines Of popular government.
The American people have built their government
al System upon the rock Of faith in the existence Of an
Allwise God, who. through the laws Of their exist
ence, has dictated the right and duty of the people to
reserve to themselves the ultimate peaceful control Of
governments established for their own benefit. But
the atheists and skepcs Of the land have turned away
from the moral law of nature aud seek to establish
on some system Of fancied expediency to
be found in their own maginings. The attempts to
impress these vicious systems on the minds Of any
considerable portion Of our citizens have proved udi.
crously inefficient 90 far the main object intended
s concerned. But il is difficult to medde with pitch
without being de6ed, and We feel 1t our duty to pro.
test against all oouotenance given by any influential
press In our own country to these reasonable enor
mites.
Some few weeks since, our attention was called to
an article in the February number of De Bow "Re'
view" entitled Progress of Federal Disorganizs.
tion." A few extracts will suffice to inform our read
era of the nature and tendency of this production.
"The nature of our Government is such as to rem
der it shortlived. Our Government is representa-
tive democracy"
"That the aggregate virtue of the citizens is not
more pure than the virtue Of the prince and that
this high standard Of capacity is reached and main
tanned, with more difficulty on the part of whole
people, than on the part of representative of line
of soveregns that the wisdom of the King is more
reasonably to be expected than that Of the mob need
only be asserted"
"Again, our form Of Government invests no indi.
vdual or line, with permanent responsibility. Our
political platforms are destined for one campaign
Our political candidates are selected TO suit the emer
gencies of their term of office alone. The remote
~ oh ha
object of soliotuds with statesmen. are heedlessly
left to be disposed Of by far of administrations, when
their authors shall have disappeared from the stage
Of politics, and possibly, from that Of life. We have
no hereditary monarchy in which the fidelity Of the
ruler is guaranteed by bis regard for his chidren'
throne-no landed aristocracy, whose wide estates
must bear the burden, spri.gug from iisdvised
aotion and hence are both pledge and incentive We
know that Ia monarchy the ruler is forced tor the
of his life and power tor the respect and
tranquility of his court we'll as for the best Inter
eats of bis hes to select the purest and wsest coun
cilors, uOnindfu of all petty distinctions Of class
"Our political organization in it's operation s cum
bersome and unweldy; and therefore calculated to
weary its constituents with it's useles machinery"
"Nor do our boassd written Constitutions cure the
ipfrmities Of our form Of government-they have
this advantages; they define and locate the various
governmental powers But definition and location
are ever easy"
ut is vital structural strength which gives per.
manenos-s strength that shall renew and continue
government, and shall and control subjects. Pa.
per Consultations practically Of no avail save as
they represent, upon active principles, which
are forces working among the masses. Of what avail
Is schedule Of prerogatives which rulers have the
power to enlarge restrict and which, resting upon
no basis, save voluntary acquiescence, the ruled can
at any time set at defiance with mpunity1 They
are like the rules of conduct which a man draws up
for himself They neither command nor restrain
because backed by no power. Hence, With refer
ence to the question under consideration, we stand
just where We should have stood without written
Constitutions; they stand as the wa1eu figures OF
government; Whist we need is pulsaton, circulation
and fund of life"
"The growth of the magnificent pines of our West.
ern forests has been scarcely less affected by po.
litical institutions than have been people in their
rapidly developed material success. We have thus
far been passing through period Of physical develop
sent which no government could retard. The sub
ordaaton Of our citizens to any sovereign-King or
Democrscy-would have been the same"
"The bstser portion Of the citizens of New York
city would gladly exchange their present corrupt and
debssed city government, for wisely adjusted con-
stitutonal monarchy"
We can conceive Of no grosser insult which can be
offered to Democratic people. than the publication
of such poisonous cant as is embodied in this servile
imitation of the numerous productions which English
tories, French legtimists and German re aconists
have foisted on the columns of prostituted press-
We cannot believe that the able and accomplished
editor of De Bows Review is himself responsible for
the authorship. And as We cannot, at present, COM
mand time enough to point ont the frequent negaons
Of principle and alsfcatious OF history with which
this article sbounds, we trust that Mr.. De Bow will
himself take future occasion to remove the blot
cast on the dessrvedy high reputation Of bis period
cal by the publication In question.
.