The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1860-04-06

rich for the pupose of supporting the poor
in idleness. Such a system would; in TWEEN
ty years, have made France as poor and
barbarous as the France of the Carlovins
gians. Happily the danger was averted;
and now there is despotism, silent tribune,
an enslaved press. Liberty 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
plunder the rich, and civilization would
perish; or order and property would be
saved by strong military government, and
liberty would perish.
You may think that your country enjoys an
exemption from these evils. will frankly
own to you that l am of very different
opinion. Your fate believe to be certain,
though it is deferred by physical cause.
As long as you have boundless extent of
fertile and unoccupied 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 Jefersonian poll.
ty may continue to exist without causing
any fatal calamity. But the time will come
when New England will be as densely pop
ulated as Old England. Wages will be as
low, and will huctuate as much, with you
as with us. You will have your Manches-
ters, and Birminghams; and, in those Man.
chesters and Birminghams, hundreds of
thousands of artisans will assuredly be
sometimes out of work. Then your institu-
tions will be fairly brought to the test.
Distress everywhere makes the laborer mu-
tinous and discontented, and inclines him to
listen with eagerness to agitators who tell
him that it is a monstrous inquity that one
man should have a million while another
cannot get full meal. In bad times there
is plenty of grumbling here, and sometimes
q little rioting. But it matters little. For
here the sufferers are not the rulers. The
supreme power is in the hands of q class,
numerous indeed, bat select, of an educated
class, of class which is, and knows itself
to be, deeply interested in the security Of
property and the maintenance of order.
Accordingly, the malcontents are firmly, yet
gently, restrained. The bad time is got
over 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 tram
guilty and cheerfulnes. I have seen Eng
land pass three or four times through such
critical seasons as havedescribed. 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
heartily wish you q good deliverance'
But my reason and my wishes. are at war,
and I cannot help foreboding the worst
1t is quite plain that your government will
never be able to restrain distressed and
discontented majority. For with. you the
majority is the government, and has the
rich, who are always minority. absolutely
at its mercy.
The day will come when, in the State o.
New York, multitude of people, none ol
whom has had more than half breakfast
or expects to have more than half q dinner,
will choose legislature. Is it possible tc
doubt what sort Of Legislature will be cho,
sen? On one side is statesman preaching
patience, respect for vested rights, stric1
observance Of public faith. On the Other
is demagogue ranting about the tyranny
| of capitalists and usurers, and asking why
any body should be permitted to drink
champagne and to ride in carriage, while
thousands of honest folks are in want ol
necessaries. Which of the two candidates
is likely to be preferred by working mar
who hears his children cry for more bread
seriously apprehend that you will, in some
such season of adversely asI have described
do things which will prevent prosperity from
returning that you will act like people wht
should in year of scarcity, devour all thu
seed.corn, and thus make the next year {
year not of scarcity, but of absolute famine
There will be, I fear, spoliation. The spo
liation will increase the distress. The dis
tress will produce fresh spoliation. TIER
is nothing to stop you. Your constitution
is all sail and no achor. As I said before
when society has entered on this down.
ward progress, either civilization or lib
| erty must perish. Either some Caesar o.
Napoleon will seize the reins of government
| with strong hand; or your republic viii
be as fearfully plundered and laid waste BY
barbarians in the twentieth century as tht
Roman Empire was in the fifth with thi
difference, that the Huns and Vandals wh'
ravaged the Roman Empire came from
without, and that your Huns and Vandal
will have been eDgendered with your owl
country by your own institutions.
Thinking thus, Of course I cannot recko
Jefferson among the benefactors of mankind
Ireadily admit that his intentions were goo
and his abilities considerable. Odious sto
ries have been circulated about his priyat
life; but do. not know on what evideuc
those stories rest, and think it probabl
that they are false, or monstrously exagger
ated. have no doubt that shall deriv
both pleasure and information from you
account of him. a
/ Ihave the honor TO be,
dear sir, your faithful servant,
ss'-e-e $780, T. B. MACAULAY.