The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1860-05-10

Earl GREY delivered speech in the House of
Lords Il few weeks ago, in which he criticised our
institutions very freely, and took most despond-
ing view Of our future. In reply to these stric-
lures, Earl GRANVILLE expressed his regret that
they had heen made and his feero that they would
produce much irritation in the minds of the peo-
'ple of the UNITED STATES We hope these lat
ter apprehensions may prove to be unfoundcd, for
we have been rendered sufficiently ridiculous
already, in the eyes Of the world, by the extreme
seusitiveness we have often manifested when COM
mented upon unftvorably by foreigners. There
is no reason why we, of all the nations of the
earth, should be exempted from the censures
which contemporaneous critics may pronounce
upon us, and the sooner we learn to profit by
them the better. 1t can never be otherwise than
advantageous for individuals or natl ons to be
made aware of the estimation in which they are
held by intelligent and fair-mnded men, Earl
GREY unquestionably belongs TO this class, and is
moreover one of the most liberal statesmen of
Great Britain, and though he has, we believe ut
tery failed to comprehend the precise condition of
affairs here, his opinions are mainly deduced from
established facts, and are, therefore, worthy of
grave consideration. But no one can understand
the practical working of any political system who
merely watches it from distance and takes espe-
clal note Of the eccentric movements that disturb
its usually harmonious motions. Earl GREY has,
like many others similarly situated, mistaken ex-
cepional cases for the ordinary occurrences of our
social life and has thus been led to msjudge us.
Our faults serious though they are, we have dis
position to palliat or deny. 1t is only by drag
glng them honestly before the public, and by re-
buklng them sharply, whenever occasion offers
that they are likely TO be corrected: and whoever
holds up to general execration or contempt the law
less acts or vulgar exhibitions that so frequently dis
grace us at some point other of our extended and
thinly settled territory, deserves, whether he be
native of this or of some distant land, our thanks
rather than our abuse. The only objection
then, which we urge against Earl GREY's criti-
clsms, is that his method of induction has been
over hasty. His premises are insufficient TO war
rant his conclusions. Ii is undenably true, that
through popular suffrage the demagogue here
often obtains place and power, while modest
worth might vainly struggle for either-that unfit
judges are sometimes elected to the bench-that
scenes of actual violence are now and then
that most improper appointments are made by
"oVerhorS ana Presidents-that our tone towards
other nations has more than once been overbear-
ing, and we have gone so far as to capture the
little fleet of foreign power without a Unsuitable
preteXt-that the Wisconsin Legislature. and per
maps those of some other States are known TO
have been bribed-and that there has been a vast
deal of corruption practised when Government
contracts have been awarded to the bidders All
these things we are compelled sorrowfully to adj
nit. But Notwithstanding this, we are happy TO
think, as we unequivocally do that we have not
reached the point of degeneracy and weakness at
which it is said we have arrived All our statce
men are not dOlts, nor are all our public oficcrs
knaves. The "whole legislative and executive
"power' is not Exclusively in the hands Of
mob-leaders, has the Supreme Court G,lIe,
into absolute contempt. There is certainly much
that is blameable in the administration of public
affairs, as well in the conduct and beoripg of
our countrymeD; but if we take a more comnre
hensive view than Earl GREY has done Of tbe Ro-
public and its people, we shall perhaps find couse
to rejoice rather than despair. Our country is
at peace, and is prosperous. The land is eemino
with inexhaustible stores of mineral aud apricnl-
tural wealth. Our population is active and in
dustrious, aud its physical wants are bounGfny
supplied. The laws are, in the main, promptly
enforced; and though neither peace officers nor
troops are swarming along the highways or sta
toned in every hamlet, scarcely one man in half
a million feels a sense of insecurity. Education
and art, and science, are making progress
among us, and we have triumphed over dan
gers of greater magnitude than those that
now threaten us. We trust that it is
nremature to remind us of the downfall of free
institutions in ancient times. If it was worth
while to discuss this subject at length we
might retort upon the people of England with
some of Earl GREY s arguments, and show that
they too are falling fast from their former estate If
the appointment of inefficient officials and the cor
ruption of legislative bodies are conclusive signs
of the degeneracy of nation, we could demon
strate, by overwhelming proofs, the approaching
ruin of England. In no other country have SO
many incapable men been placed in office, and in
none has money been more unscrupulously used
from mnemorial time. The days of WALPoLE,
NEwoAELE and the younger PITT have, it is true,
passed away, but the late cases of contested cleo