Gazette and sentinel., 1860-04-21
Opinion of the United
States Government.

York, the author of the Life of Jeflcr-
son
You are surprised To learn that ! have
not a high opinion of Mr.. Jefferson
and ! am a little surprised at your sur
prise. am certain that never wrote
a line, and that | never, i'll Parliament,
in conversation OF even iii the huStmgs
i place where it is the fashion 10 court
the pupuIacc-uttercd Il word Indicating
an opinion that the supreme authority
in n State ought to be entrusted to Il
majority of the citizens told by the head
in other words, To the poorest and
most ignorant part of society. | have
long been convinced that Institutions
purely democratic must, sooner OF later,
destroy liberty, or civilization, or both.
In Europe, where tine population is
dense, the effect of such institutions
would bc almost instantaneous. What
happened lately in France is an exam
pie. In 1913, u pure Democracy was
established there. During "A short time
there was reason To expect Il general
Spoliation, a national bankruptcy, "a new
partition of the soil, Il maximum of pri-
CcS, a ruinOus load of taxation laid ON
the rich for the purpose of supporting
the poor in idlcncss. Such a system
would, in twenty years, have made
France rs poor and barbarouS AS the
Carlovingians. Happily the danger was
avcrtcd; and now there is a dcspotism.
Il silent tribune, an enslavcd press.
have not the smallest doubt that, if we
had a purely democratic government
here, the effect would he the same
Either the poor would plumber the rich,
and civilization would perish. or order
and property wouldbe saved by a strong
military government, and liberty would
perish.
You may think that your country en-
Joys an exemption from these evils. |
will frankly W to you that | am of Il
very different opinion. Your fate | be-
Iievc to he certain, though it is deferred
10y a physical cause. As long as yuu
have Il boundlcsS extent Of fertile and
u%noccupied land. your laboring popula-
ton will he far more at ease than the
laborinG population of the old world:
and, while that is the case. the JclfcrSo-
nian poIity may continue to exist with
out causing any fatal calamity. But
the time will come when New England
will toe as thicklv pcorlcd as Old En-
gland. Wages will be - low, and viii
iluctuatc as much with You as with us.
You will have our Manchcstcrs and Bir-
mingllams, hundreds and thousands of
artisans will aSSurcdly be sometimes
out of work. Then Your institutions
will be fairly brought to the test. Dis
trcss everywhere makes the laborcr mu-
tinous and disconnected, and inclines
him to listen with eagerncss to agita-
tors who tell him hat it is "A monstrous
iniquity that one man should have a
million while another cannot get IA full
meal.
In bad years there is plenty Of grum-
bling here, and sometimes a little riot
ing. But it matters little. For here
the sufferers are not the rulers. The l.
supreme power is in the hands of a class.
indeed, but select; of an edu-
Gated class, of a class which is, and
knows itself to be, deeply Interested in
the security of property and the main
tainance of order. Accordingly the
~malcOntents are firmly, yet gently, re-
strained. The bad time is got ovcr
without robbing the wealthy to relieve
the INDECENT. The springs of national
prosperity soon begin to flow again
work is plentiful; wages rise: and all is
tranquility and cheerfulncss. ] have
e England pass three or four times
through such critical seasons as | have
described. Through such seasons the
United States will have to pass in the
course of the next century. if not of
this. How will you pass through them q?
] heartily wish you a good dcliverancc.
But my reason and my wishes are at
war; and | cannot help forcboding the
worst
1t is quite plain that your government
will never be able to restrain a distress
ed and discontinued minority; for with
you the majority is the government, and
has the rich, who are always a majority,
absolutely at its mercy. The day will
come when, in the State of New York.
a multitude of people, none of whom
has had more than half a breakfast, or
expects to have more than half a din ,
ner, will choose a Legislature. 1t is
possible to doubt what sort of lcgisla-
ture will be chosen? On one side is a I
statesman preaching patience, respect
for vested rights, strict observance of
faith. On the other is a dema-
r%anting about the tyranny of
capitalists and Insurers, and asking why