The Buchanan County guardian. (Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1858-1864, 1859-05-19

ever high treason against tyranny. Meth
er the titles or the deeds of tyrants will
bear examination and therefore their
power is used 10 crush and destroy the
very faculties Of reason and thought
Nor can reason travel far when force and
dread are in the way and where men
dare not see, their eyes will soon grow
useless. In France, at this time, for in.
stance, the press is completely muzzled,
lest by its means common sense might
get the better of violence, and be too
hard for the imperial butcher. There.
certain and capital punishment follows a
free reasoning upon the acts of govern
ment. This is sure sign of impos-
ture, but as the imposture is sustain
ed by stupidity and force, the French
people have been forced into the condi-
ton of slaves. Nor is printing, in other
arbitrary countries, of much service, but
to rivet chains upon the people. 1t is
permitted to exhibit only one side, and
that one the most favorable to tyranny.
Under arbitrary princes the people are,
for the most part, ignorant and implaca-
BILE bigots. They are so because of their
ignorance, for bigotry is the slavery of
the understanding.
The least cramp or restraint upon rea-
soning and enquiry of any kind, must
necessarily prove great bar to learning.
1t is very true that all sorts of sublime
and important knowledge are so compli-
Gated and interviewer together that it is
impossible to search into any part OF it,
and to trace the same with freedom to its
first principles, without borrowing, and
taking in the help of most, if not all the
other parts. Religion and Government,
particularly. are at the beginning and the
end of everything, and are the sciences
in the world the most necessary and i'm
portant to be known and, as these are
more or less known, other knowledge will
be greater or smaller but where these
cannot be freely examined, their excel
lencies or deficiencies investigated and
understood, all other wisdom will be
manned and ineffectual-indeed scarce
worth having. Now in arbitrary gov
ernments, where any religion is main
tanned by the State, nothing must be
true in philosophy which thwarts the re-
ceived scheme and the uppermost opin-
ion. The most evident mathematical
demonstrations must not disprove the
prevalent sacerdotal dogmas and estab-
lished ideas. The finest poetical flights
must be restrained when they would fly
over the narrow enclosure and prison
walls of monks and friars. The best,
the strongest and the most beautiful
reasoning, dare not break through popu-
lar prejudices, or attempt to contend
with powerful and lucrative usurpa,ion.
1t is not very long since CALLED was
put into the dismal prison of the inquis-
ition for maintaining the motion of the
earth around the sun, and was forced to
recant his demonstrated proposition in
order to save his life and satisfy clerical
ignorance and bigolry.
Where religion and government are
most deformed-as religion ever is where
it is supported by craft and force, and
government ever is where maintained by
whips, prisons and cha;ns-there all ex-
animation into either, and all reasoning
about them, is most strictly forbidden
and discouraged and as one sort Of
knowledge and enquiry begets another,
and as, when the intellect of men is al
lowed to extend itself freely. nobody
knows where its pursuits may end. SO no
tyranny is safe where general. impartial
and useful knowledge is pursued. In
human violence and stupid ignorance are
the usual and necessary stays oftyrants );
but everything that is good or valuable in
the world is against them.
The administration of government is
nothing else but the attendance of the
trustees Of the people upon the interests
and the affairs Of the people and as it is
the part and business of the people, for
whose sake alone all public matters are,
or ought to be. transacted, to see whether
they are well or i'll accomplished. SO il
is the interest, and ought to be the am
btion, of all honest magistrates, to have
their deeds openly examined and pub
licly scanned. 1t is only a dishonest
and corrupt magistrate who breads pub
lie criticism. That men ought to speak
al