The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1858-01-14
AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP.


public, it was the pride Of the humblest Of
her freeman to say-civis sum- am ci-
tizcn with much more pride, not Of a false
and ignorant, but Of an honest and COM
mcndablo kind, may all American boast of
his citizenship. We are not inclined to
pride,in general way. Boosting does not
suit us. OF the weakness of the one, and
vanity Of the other, years have not passed
over our head without m attempt to check
and fully restrain their natural tendencies.
But, if anything Oh earth gives us pride, II
dignilied and conscious sense Of the ina.
lienable right that no man can deprive us
of; and il feeling this, and sensible of its
clcva!!ng charactc-., wo- givc u,terancc to
the sentiments Of justice it inspires, and are
led to magnify and boast OF it, then we say,
not Cicero himself cxultcd more in the
name Of Roman, than we Of American, ci-
tizcn. There is more in this than ntcrs
the dreams of most peoples philosophy
More than the fanatic dreams of when he
scattcrs the iirebrands. More than the
blood thirsty thinks Of when the pulpit
bristlcs with the weapons Of warfarc.-
More than the vile wretch conccives while
he Scatters the dust in air, to blind the weak
eyes of his fellows, or, like another Cy-
clops, inhumany puts them out, more easi
~ n InSfvn ,,i
How comprehensive 1t includes the bat.
ties Of heroes, and the glories of the brave;
it proclaims Liberty and Independence,
civil and religious liberty. Hereditary no.
blIity and high sounding titles, vassalage
and feudal rights, baronical halls and Iordly
towers, the insolcnce Of arstocracy and ty-
ranny Of kings. cannot enter within its
magic circle. But all the rights Of an en-
lightencd jurisprudence, all the privileges
of perfect equality, all the advantages of
an universal suffrage, and MI the gu rds
that free constitution can throw round The
peoples rights at home and abroad, are in
cluded in the appelative. All that tells Of
domestic peace that none dare invade, OF
security of person and property, and all the
heart holds dear, is included in citizenship
Justice holds an equal balance Judgment
gives an equitable decision. A man in his
own home is a king. The nations Of the
world pay him tribute The treasures oi
the East and West wait on his industry
An invisible army, or powerful Armada,
protects his freedom, and his voice is not
raised i'll vain. If foreign nations say an
| American boasts, has he not right to do
it? lie feels his strength, he enjoys his
freedom, and while he exults in these, lie
will never be rendered unworthy Of either
Contrast the condition Of a citizen with
that of the subjects of any other nation.
In France, and in most European States, a
man must act and speak by prescription.
Despotism, or some other ism nearly as bad,
prevails. In England, the freest of any
country but our own, Caste and family in
terest stand in the way of promotion, that
would fill the posts Of honor and response
bility from the ranks Of middle life, with
more advantage to the nation. Tile war in
the Crimea is notable instance Of this. In
the American nation, every man has a
chance; any citizen, if meritorious, may
rise to place in the public councils, and
provided qualification give just title, no
adventitious circumstance Of birth or for
tune will stand in the way that leads to
cmolunent.
DIR. S. G. Morton gives the folowing e
as among the results of the internal measure
ments Of 623 human crania, made with a
view to ascertain the relative size Of the brain
in various races and families of man:-Thc
Teutonic or German race, embracing as it
does the Anglo Saxon, Anglo American,
Anglo Irish, &c, possesses the largest brain
of any people. The nations having the
smallest heads are the ancient Pcruvians
and Australians. The barbarous tribes OF
America possess much larger brain than the
semi-civiized Peruvians or Mexicans. The
ancient Egyptians, whose civilization ante
dates that ofall other people, have the least
sized brain Of any Caucasian nation ex-
cepting the Hindoos,-the small number of
Semitic heads hardly permitting them to be
admitted into the comparison. The negro
brain is nine cubic inches less than the
Teutonic, and three cubic inches larger than
the ancient Egyptians. The largest brain
in the series is that Of a Dutch gentleman,
aud gives ia cubic inches; the smallest
head is an old Peruvian of SO cubic inches.
The brain of the Australian and Hottentot
falls far below the negro, and measures
precisely the same as the ancient Peruvian.
This extended series Of measurements fully
confirms the facts stated in the "Crania
Americana" that the various. artificial
modes of distorting the Uranium occasions
no diminution of it's internal capacity; and
Il "a. Al. 80