Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1860-07-21

Everett's admirable oration on the Fourth
Of July at Boston, in vindication Of Anne
rica and its Tnstitntions from o recent ad-
verse judgment in the British Parliament.
The frst striking passage is this in ilustra-
of the idea that the failure Of our institu-
tons would be almost as much q matter Of
regret aud shame to Englishmen as to
Americans
The suggestion which propose to com.
bat, viz that the experiment OF sclfgov-
ernment on the basis of an electoral fran
chse is substantially failure in the Uni
ted States, and that the country has enter
ed upon q course Of rapid degeneracy since
the days of Washington, is not only one Of
great antecedent improbability, but it is
one which, it might be expected, our breth.
rem in England would be slow to admit.
The mass Of the population was originally
Of British origin, and the additional ele.
ments, of which it is made up, are from
the other most intelligent and improbable
races Of Europe. The settlers Of this con.
tnent have been provdentially conducted
to it, or grown up upon it, within com.
paratively recent and highly enlightened
period, viz:-the last two hundred and Gf.
ty years Much of it they found lying in
state of nature, with no .time-honored abu.
ses to eradicate, Astounding in most of the
physical conditions Of prosperous existence,
with no drawbacks but those necessarily
incident to new. countries, or inseparablc
from human imperfection. Even the hard
ships they encountered, severe as they were,
were we'll calculated to promote the growth
of the manly virtues. In this great and
promising field of social progress, they
have planted, in the main, those political
institutions, which have approved them.
selves in the experience Of modern Europe
and especially of England, as most favor
able to the prosperity of State free
representative governments written con-
stitntions and laws, greatly modelled upon
hers, especially the trial by jury "a free
and cheap, and consequently all-pervading
press responsibility of the ruler to the
people liberal provision for popular edu
cation, and very general voluntary and
bountiful expenditure for the support Of re-
ligion.
If, under these circumstances, the peo
pie of America, springing from such Q
school, have failed tv work out satisfacto
ry and hopeful result and especially i
within the last sixty years (for that is the
distinct allegation, aud consequently, since
from the increase of numbers, wealth and
national power, all the social forces of tht
country have, for good or evil been in high
er action than ever before there has beef
such marked degeneracy that we are nov
ft to be held up, not as a model to be imi
tated, but as an example to be Stunned, -
not for the credit, but for the discredit O
popular institutions, then indeed the cas-
must be admitted to be strange phenome
non in human affairs, -disgraceiul, it
true, in the highest degree to us,-not re
hectmg credit on the race from which W
are descended, nor holding ont encourage
menr anywhere for the adoption of libera
principles OF government. If there is an
feeling in England that can welcome tn
thought, that Americans have degenerateG
the further reflection that it is the sons {
Engishmen who have degenerated, mus
chasten the sentiment. If their is an
country, or any place, where this suppose
state Of things can be readily Believed t
exist, surely it cannot be the parcn: couI
try it cannot be in that House of Con
mons where Burke uttered those golde
words, my hold of the colonies is in III
close affection which grows from commo
names, from kindred blood, from simia
privileges and equal protection" 1t cal
not be in that House of Peers, where Cha
ham, conscious that the colonies were fgh
ing the battle not only of American bl
English liberty, exclaimed, 81 rejoice tbs
America has resisted" 1t must be in VeI
ice it must be in Naples, or wherever ell
on the face of the earth liberal principl
are scoiTed at, aod constitutional freedo
is known to exist only as her crushed al
mangled form is seen to twitch and quiv
under the dark pail of arbitrary power