The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1858-04-08
Essays cn Human Rights aud
their Political GUARANTEES.
BIT r. p HrRLBERT, COUNSELLOR AT LAW, NEW CRY
REVIEWED BY II $50
NO. /.

THIS work is Just sue n an one as all mankind
should delight TO meet. II is bold in its spirit.
fearless in the promugation Of It's sentiments,
original in thought, progressive in doctrine.
and forcible in diction. The author did not
throw il ont in an hour for il bears evidence
Of mature deliberatien and careful ANALYSIS.
1t is one OF the most profitable books OF The
aee-and thorgh il may not be appreciated at
present, vet the time is not distant when it
will he duly respected.
II is bitter complaint against the Ameri-
can people. that while they enjoy the theory
Of government most consistent with the largest
liberty of the governed, vet thev have not pro-
duced its true and scientific expounder We
are taunted with the Gisreputa BILE sarcasm.
that We have not been able 70 give the world
arespectab etext-book Of our political theory,
but have depended on the genius of foreigners
who have visited US, for an exposition of our
principles. This rebuke is, in part. merited :
for though government founded in nature is
simple ard readily understood in all its details
by every true thinker, vet we are bIameable
because we have not impressed the world with
the simplicity Of political truth, and stripped
away the draperv thrown about the dry skele-
tonof error. The fact is, we have ourselves
grored in the dark, and been 10th to believe in
the simplicity of political truth. We have
looked npon government as colossus, and
stood with awe before its tremendous propo. :
tions. Let us relieve ourselves from this per-
plexity.. and begin to regard ourselves as we
truly area free people, obedient to free
government,-for though we are not as free
In fact as we should be, yet we have within
our power all the means Of becoming SO when
ever we shall speak the word.
The founders of our Constitution brought a
mass Of philosophy to bear upon their enter
prise. They accomplished surprising amount
in remarkably short space of time. They
ovetthrew the temple Of political error, as it
were, in day, and constructed fabric wor-
thy of the most skillful ingenuity of centuries.
They astonished the world. and those for
whom they thou ,ht and acted; and our re-
proach is, that instead of advancing and i'm
proving thei. philosophy, we have not even
logically prosecuted their reasoning to its prop
er results.
But we hope for better things. This author
commences the too long neglected work in a
noble manner, ana, in part, supplies the desid-
eratum. ltcommences at the beginning. ard.
step by step, defines the rights of man aud the
nature of government. There are some things
to which we must except; bu, the work ap-
proaches much more nearly our own views OF
liberty and law than any other work We know
o. It is more than HALFWAY between the
common philosophy and orr own.
Counsellor Hurlbert onens his subject by
noticing the little or no p.oeress we have made
since l776 in the princi,.es of legislation, and
the unstable and vari1ble character OF our
governmental proceedings. Each session de-
nolishes the hsndiwork Of its predecessor, and
the whole people are embarrassed by thu
change Al The threshold of this inquiry. an
impertant truth 10 announced, viz I. The duty