The daily press. (Cincinnati [Ohio) 1859-1859, 1859-04-22
THE PRE- IS.
"Fallacies Of Freemen.O


We were almost-but not quite--in-
clined to acquit DR.. Bellows of the charge |
which we insinuated against him the
other day, of belonging to the clerical
order Of philosophers. His lecture at the
Opera-House on Wednesday evening in
dicates emancipation, in degree, from
the traditionary corollaries of his profes-
sion, but not, by any means, entire. The
idea that civil liberty can be taught
communicated by one people toanother-
and that it is the duty of peoples that are
free, to aid, not only by example, but by
precept, and peradventure by direct in
reference, in the disinthrallment of such
as are not savors so essentially of the pull
pit and its besetting dogmatism, that there
is no denying the source from which it
originated A rigid adherence to princi-
Piles which, in other connections, he did
not hesitate to admit would have kept
him clear of this error; though, in so do
ing, it would have wrought pretty exten-
siye changes in the character and moral
of his address. He whose notions of in
dividual education and personal indepen
dence are so just-who discriminates so
closely and fairly between the effects Of
the dogmatic and the actual in the pro-
motion of human progress-who, in gene,
raj, attaches SO much Importance to in
terror, and SO little to exterior influences
upon the man, should not have made this
mistake in respect to the community.
To him who attempts to reason upon
human freedom, its rights, character and
development, an American standpoint is
as perilous as any other. We talk of our
institutions, and of the freedom which we
enjoy under them, as if the only thing by
which we are saved from state Of utter
despotism is certain provisions in a writ
ten code of organic law. Now-to Dor,
row the favorite antithetical form of the
lecturer-it is not the Constitution which
made the freedom, but the freedom which
made the Constitution. The form Of
government defines, not secures, the lib
erty because the latter is the popular
character itself-the former being simply
its expression. A popular character can
not be dogmatically taught, any more than
blood, color or physiognomy. The free
dom Of one nation can not be adopted by
another; to attempt to do SO is merely an
act of servile and barren imitation The
French for nearly two-thirds of a century
have been attempting to take on free
dom not their own: they have failed, as
imitators ever fail, and will continue to do
so forever As in the individual, so in
the race, independence comes from
within-it is evolved, not inculcated. 1t
may be aided in its development by cir
cumstances; but when it is, the circum-
stances hold to it the relation of acci-
dents-the effects Of Providential not Of
human design.
We have some superficial conception
Of what civil freedom is in our own case
it is doubtful whether we are able to con
ceive what it is in another race of men
If we attempted to judge of it upon it
external manifestations, and by our owl
rules, we should be perpetually misleG
and deceived Except pretty consider
able catalogue of defects in matters ol
detail, we, the people of the United States
find the embodiment of our ideal in oul
own civil condition. we seek no organic
changes; and our notions of reform sell
dom extend beyond the administration
We do not know that there is singl,
people in the whole wide world who arr
not as well content with their polity, O.
we are with ours. The exceptions to tht
rule are in cases of the mixture of races
or where people of one blood are colon
tally subject to nation of another w
define freedom as our condition; othe
peoples define it as theirs; and who i
to decide and settle the question whic
nation is to be the teacher, and While
the taught? 1t is true that every cour
try has its men who are ready to testif
against the existing order of things as '
olations of some real or imaginary right, |
denounce the governing class as tyral
nical or proaigate, to predict national d
cadence, or to court popular revolution
Our own JAMES BUCHANAN, in a publ
letter, informs the world that the expe
iment of free institutions in the Unite
States of America is failure, as the di
lecticians Of the VICTOR HUGO and Mo
TALsMBERr class cry out against the on
rule that, SO far as appears, is capable
save the people of France from cuttir
each others throats but these are Il
few, whose clamor overbears, only wit
the superficial, the silent but weigh,