Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1860-04-02

accordingly.
Marriages. Notices Of Funerals, and announcements
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NIacaulay's Opinion OF the United
States Government.
The following letter was written in the
year 1857 by the late Lord Macaul"y to
Henry S. Randall, Esq. of New York, the
author of the Life of Jefferson:
"You are surprised to learn that have
not high opinion of Mr.. Jefferson-and
am little surprised at your surprise.
am certain that never wrote line, and
that never, in Parliament, in Conversa-
| ton, or even on the hustings-a place
where it is the fashion to court the pcpu-
lace-nttered word indicating an opinion
that the supreme authority in a State
ought to be entrusted to the majority OF
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, soon
or or later, destroy liberty, or civilization,
or both
In Europe, where the population is dense,
the effect of such institutions would be
almost instantaneous. What happened
lately in France is an example. In l94S,
a pure democracy was established there.
During n short time there was reason to
expect II general spoliation, national
bankruptcy, new partition of the soil, a
maximum of prices, a ruinous load of tax
alton luiA on the rich for the purpose OF
supporting the poor in idleness. Such a
system would, in twenty years. have made
France as poor and barbarous rs the France
of the Callovingians. Happily the danger
was averted; and now there is a despotism,
| a silent tribune, an cnslnycd press. Llbcr-
ty is gone; but civilization has been saved.
! / have not the smallest doubt that, if we
| had purely democratic government here,
the effect would be the same. Either the
poor would plumber the rich, and civiliza-
ton would perish, or order and property
would be saved by strong military gov
crnment, and liberty would perish.
You may think that your country enjoys
IN exemption from these evils l will
frankly own to you that l am of very
different opinion. Your fate believe to
he certain, though ii is deferred by q
physical cause. As long os you have II
boundless extent of fertile and unoccupicd
land, your laboring population will be far
more at ease than the laboring population
of the old world; and, while that is the
case, the Jeffersonian policy may continue
to exist without causing any fatal calami-
ty. But the time will come when New
England will be as thickly Peopled as OLD
England. Wages will be as low, and will
fluctunte as much with you as with us
You will have your Manchestcrs and Bir-
minchnms; and, in these Manchesters and
Birminghams, hundreds of thousands of
artisans will assurcdly be sometimes out OF
work. Then your institutions will be
fairly brought TO the test. Distress
everywhere makes the laborCr mutin-
Gus and discontcnted, and incline him
to listen with eagerncss to agitators
VINO tell him that it is monstrous lnl-
ouity that one man should have a million
while another cannot get full meal
In bad years there is plenty of grumbling
here, and sometimes little rioting. But
it matters little. For here the sufferers
are not the rulers. The supreme power is
in the hands of a class, numerous indeed,
but select, of an educated class which is,
and knows itself to be, deeply interested
in the security of property and mainten-
ance of order. Accordingly the malcon-
tents are firmly, yet gently, restrained
The bad time is got over without robbing
tue 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 cheerfulness.
have seen England pass three or four
times through such critical seasons as
have described. Through such seasons
the United States will have to pass i'll the
course of the next century, if not of this
How will you pass through them? hear
tilv wish you good delivcrauce. But my
reason and my wishes are at war; and
cannot help forebOding the worst. 1t is
quite plain that your government will uev-
CIR be able TO restrain distressed and dis
contcnted majority. For with you the
majority is the government, and has the
rich, who are always n minority, entirely
at its mercy. The day will come when,
in the State of New York, multitude OF
people, none of whom has had more than
half breakfast, or expects to have more
than half dinner, will choose legisln-
ture. Is it possible to doubt what sort OF
a legislature will he chosen? On one side
is statesman practiciug patience, respect
for vested rights, strict observance pub
lie faith On the other is demagogue rant
ing about the tyranny of capitalists and
usurers, and asking why anybody should
be permitted to drink champagne and to
ride in a carriage, while thousands of hon
est folks are in want of necessaries
Which of the two candidates is likely to
be preferred uy the working man who hears
his children cry for more bread? seri-
ously apprehend shat you will, in some
such season of adversely as / have de-
scribed. do things which will prevent pros
perity from returning; that You will nct
like people who should, in a year OF
scarcity. devour all the seed corn, and
thus make the next year year, not oi
scarcity, but absolute famine. There will
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