Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1861-01-09

progress viii, within time which may be
caItuiated, bring us to a period wheu sub
sistence viii be insufficient for the porula-
ton. That is inevitable. The time may be
rrotracitd or hastened by various incidental
circuu stances, but the progress is as certain. !.
os fate. A margin of thousand yoars or so
does not change fate nor principle. The
smartest people on the earth, therefore, are
not selfsustaining. They are incapable Of
perpetuating their species. That is the test
Of superiority Of race in all creation. Thus
il will be seen, that the development of the
human race from its ancestors, the monkeys
has had the same effect as the improvement
in the breed of domestic animals: ineness
has been produced at the expense Of stamina
and the power Of gelfpreservation.
At time as certain as fate, the human
race will be unable to preserve its existence
without feeding on its own species. This
feature Of human economy we propose to
consider briefly, in connection with the
Governors message, although it is not
directly treated of in that document which
would be strange, if it were not that the Gov
ernor felt in official duty bound to present
only the bright side Of State affairs, and
therefore could not be expected to allow that
the glorious progress of the State over
which he presided tended inevitably to can
nibalism. Philosophy knows nothing of
sentiment. Cannibalism seems repulsive to
our artificial notions; but South Sea Is
land father of a family carves human joint
before his hopeful sons and tender daugh.
ters, without thought that he is not train
ing them UP in the way they should 60 and
after a slice of baked missionary he believes
himself better man. How shall we prove
which is the higher civilizatiou2 Propriety
is merely conventional. When a naked
Egyptian woman meets European, she
covers her face with her hands. That is her
idea of mUdesty. In this country modesty
covers every thing else, and exposes the face.
So, artificial modesty exposes the bosom, and
regards the legs as not even to be mem
toned.
Manners, morals and religion, like politics,
adapt themselves TO circumstances. Self
preservation is natures first law. All the
rest must conform to it. Human flesh is no
more Tepulsive TO us than swine's flesh is to
Oriental nations and when we use that, we
have passed the squeamish point. AS a COM
fort for this prospective recourse ofthe human
race we have the fact that devouring its
own species seems no hindrance to the great
object Of creation-to increase and multiply.
This is one of the most wonderful works OF
Providence. But we see it in the fishes,
which live on each other, and yet excel all
other races IN number. So we doubt not the
wind will be tempered to the shorn lamb,
when humanity resorts to the same economy.
1t may be that this will bring that develop
ment to higher sphere to which man in
stinctively aspires; and that he is tied down
to his present gross nature by the base
humors which enter his system from the flesh
of inferior animals This, also, will remove
that repugnance to the increase of children,
which seems to result from high state of
civilization.
Nor need our civilization be shocked by
csnpibalism. What is it? Briefly, it is one
part of society living on the rest. That is
the supreme end of our civilization. What
calling, professions and positions do we most
honor? Those which live by the labor Of
others. How does that differ from cannibal-
ism? Are not mans sinews and toll his
life? The chief cad of man is to live on
otbere. W. arc oanribals ufi.
We commenced to notice some of the
points in the Message, but stuck al the first
one. Tie Message fills ten columns of the
Ohio State Journal. Although the Governor
may be a very good Governor, he will Gee
by this expansion Of a single item in his
Message, that when it comes to writing for
quantity, there is no use in any Governor
trying to compete. Having found it neces-
sary to fix the ultimate destiny Of the human
race before fairly entering this Message,
just to show what the scope and comprehen-
siveness Of Governors Message should be,
we shall have to examine some of its pro-
visions at another time.