The constitutional union., 1860-12-07
LECTURE OF GEORGE D. PRENTICE LN
 PHIL4 DELPHI4.

Inc nliductp pllId IcSS fCS lIO lolAohAiS sketch of lecture delivered in that city on the night of the 20th instant, by George D. Prentice, the accomplished editor of The Lou isyiIle Journal, on the subject of Politics and Politicians of the United States,"
 The applause which the lecturers appear ance at the stand elicited was protracted and enthusiastic When quiet was restored, Mir. Prentice commenced, having neither note nor manuscript and for about an hour and quarter enchained the audience with hls elo- quence. His language, though strong, and at times bitter, was withal constructed with rare grace, and many parts ot hl8 lecture were more a satirical poem in blank verse than all extempore exposition of very prosy subiect-the comuptness and lncapaclty ot l cur public men One noticeable feature in the ] lecture was. that while at short intervals the ] house was convulsed with laughter, there was not ill a single instance the least approXl- nation to smile upon the speakers own face.
 If those who lay the foundations of a commonwealth, said the lecturer in opening, were entitled to praise, surely the building of the superstructure and its subsequent preservation was matter of equally high | consideration States were founded but once :; they were governed always so that if the statesman was strict in his fidelity to duty, the speaker did not know but that he was en- titled to even higher consideration than he. who laid the foundation of d State. It was ! the province of a statesman to lniuse new life and vigor into the fundamental laws which the founders of government had but ! conceived. The mission of the latter was to bring forth; the former reared and perfected. Statc-making was political parturtion; states mamship Was the art of guarding a State when formed. Holding these views of the vocation of statesmcn-which he admitted ! had fallen somewhat into disrepute-he hoped to treat his subject calmly, though he con fes.ed that to do 50 under all the circum- stances required much philosophical self ! possession,
 The following requisites of true states man were here stated as kind of text for ! the discourse Patriotism. integrity, moral courage, fmmness of soul, persuasyeneas, comprehensive and enlightened sagacty, can 1 dor, fertility of resource, judgment, and q 1 thorough knowledge of politics in its widest ] sense. Other qualities might be useful; these were essential. In this. as in all things ] else harmony was the highest element of ] perfection. Let Us see, said he how these l qualities are mingled in our current states manship if, sIdccd, they mngle in it at all. 1 Patriotism was the first essential treated. l This. he held was the handspring of states manship that was worthy of the name. Yet ] he must confess that this element cut but a l sorry figure in the statesman of our country to-day. They loved office better than they ] did country. Place, rather than the good of ! their country. was their aim. and so true was l this that to deny 1t would be ridiculous ] ~eli-iuterest. in its ta>est ami narrowe>t shape. was the loadstone of their action. ] The art of getting and retaining office was l their view of state-manship; and taking this l view, if was but fair to say shat the statesmen of the present day were certainly as dcvotoI as could be desired Laughter. How have We fallen he exclaimed with much pathos The pleasures of government" in the lan- ouage of Noltairc, must certainly be eXquis- ite, if we may judge from the number and scramble of those who are eager to take part in it. The conluct of ourpublic rulers naw. with scarcely an exception, did but set the public good at defiance. It had happened in most countries that. where patriotism had eX- 1 pired. ii had at least been to some extent cOun- tertctcl; but public men had actually sunk so low in this country that they did not even assume the virtue they have not. Never had th, virtue been reduced to so mean all estate as here Hypocrisy, it was said, was the tribute which vice paid to virtue; but here we had so Gctcriorated. that even this poor tribute was denied to virtue under cosidcra- ton. Nor Was this the worst We had a school Of treason in our midst We had alas too many who made no secret of their hatred 10 their country. Not satisfel with themselves dencuncing the Union. they de- nounced everybody that did not join them in their unhoy zeal. They exhibited an ut ter rcpuguance to every thing that was na- tionaI. Sir James Mcintosh. with all his an tipathy to music had once been induced to attend an Italian opera. from which he haI retired so mortified that Richard Sharp subsc- qaently suggested, as a question for public debale what was the effect of music upon the scusorium or Sir James Mcintosh The question might, with as much propricty be asked, sad the speaker, what of late years has been the effect of the utterancc of patri- otic sentiments il our national halls of legis- lation. either upon the spleen of the disunion- ists of the South, or on the liver of fanatical Northern abolitionists? Laughter
 The next consideration to which he invited attention was the integrity of our statesmen ]; and he would ask if our statesmen are not patriotic, are they honest? This he admitted, was very nice question Prolonged laugh ter file extent to which our statesmen nuckIed to popular prcjudces was, he said, positively alarming. Their sycophancy was of the hardest description. The aduIation of the rab5Ie Was better to them far than the quiet approval of an unofended conscience Their idea was, that nothing that cxcitcs the applause of the people could be amiss. Hy- pocrisy, Burke had once said, made the most sublime speculation, for it never attempted to go beyond speculation, and it could therefore afford to have it magnificent. So, said he our public men were accustomed to fattcr the people, for the purpose of yictimizing them afterward. However tightly official instruc- tions and oaths might fit our public men when they left their constituents for the seat of government, they were sure to be seen in