The Grand Haven news. [volume] (Grand Haven, Mich.) 1858-18??, 1860-04-11

faith to believe that in Gods good time,
by steady advances, it would attain a de-
cisive and final triumph. He was prac-
teal man, and would not make fool of
himself by running after "glittering gen.
eralties" or absurd and impossible theo-
ries. He saw that England then with all
these abuses existing in her government,
was the trucst type of progress and civil
ization--he saw her emerging from the
darkness of ignorance and the customs of
feudalism and entering upon a career of
greatness unparalleled in history--he re-
Elected upon the arbitrary sway of former
kings and the insecurity of citizens and
laws until the accession of William and
Mary-he remembered the horrors Of the
civil war under Charles /, the inso-
lence of the army under the protectorship
of the Puritan and his son, the intoler-
ance and bigotry of James Ii, and
the repose aud security which England
had enjoyed under the declaration of
rights drawn by Somers. He knew that
the most essential rights of freemen were
guarded by the English constitution, the
freedom of speech and the press, the right
of the people peaceably TO assemble and
petition for a redress of grievances, the
writ of habeas corpus, the safeguards
thrown round the citizen by common law
and tho enactments of the statute, and
moro than all, and above all, the enor-
nous powers lodged in the popular branch
of the English Parliament He saw man
ufacturing interests springing up all over
his country, and the wealth of all chimes
being poured into her lap-he saw that
the waters of every ocean were ploughed
by the keels and Swallowed by the can
vass of England, and knew she was en-
joying all the wealth and advantage that
commerce could yield-he saw litera-
ture adorned with some of the brightest
and noblest names that ever graced the
annals of nation, carrying the fame OF
England wherever intelligence and civil
cation extended, and he dared not risk
all these blessings in civil war-he dar-
ed not to place them in peril by attempt
ing to reform minor abuses. Here again
Notwithstanding the progress England
had made in the last hundred years
Notwithstanding all the reforms in
troduced, and abuses corrected, in add
ton to Somers bill of rights; notwith
standing the liberties of the people hac
been gradually enlarged and the priv
leges Of the nobility restricted-herc
again came the old custom confirmed by
law. England, proud, intelligent, mighty
England, only eighty years ago, submit
ted rs she does now, to the absurd ide;
Of being ruled by particular family, nc
matter how mbecile and debased The
monarch might be. Yielding TO the Gus
tom which had become a necessity she
submitted to the evil in order TO pro
serve the overwhelming amount Of good
/ think Martin Lambert's apology to him
self when we consider the circumstance,
in which he was placed was valid, anC
that he was exonerated from throwing
off his allegiance to George III be
cause from motives of patriotism, polio,
and right, he was bound, firmly bound, By
custom and by law, And as he walked
with his wife and daughters upon tn,
promenade grounds at Bath and though
of the evils in the government, to which
l have alluded, Of the criminaHly of hi.
king, and tho debasing meanness of tn,
Bishop and the Peer, the old man wep
bitter tears of humiliation and shame
But said he inseparably mixed will
these evils are tho liberties and welfare
of eleven millions of British subjects, ant
l will be faithful TO the king, the consti
tuition and laws of my country" Anc
there went not forth on England's soil
nor breathed in Englands air, that day
more true and loyal subject.
Is there no lesson taught here9 Are
there evils in our country protected by
constitutional guarantees and based upor
custom extending SO far back into the
centuries that the memory of man "run
meth not to the contraryg' Let us tax,
care that in attempting TO destroy tn,
evil, we do not annihilate the good, anC
divest ourselves forever of those glori