M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1861-08-15
From the Crisis.l
Liberty.
CINcINNATh IulY lS, l86l

be Very easily defined, but as a prac.
tica condition, in the full sense which
the FERN lmparts, it has no existence
amdpg' men. 1t implies unlimited
powbt which no man possesses; con.
sequent absolute liberty belongs only
to linn who rules the universe with
absolute sway.
But there is snch a condition as
aatRbas ls6ers,s which Is liberty re-
strained By Tie laws Of nature. Fhis
condition Is possible with man, but
can exist only in solitude, as with a
single man alone in a wilderness or
desert. There he may do whatever
he pleases to do within the restric
tiOns imposed by the laws of nature.
But the moment he enters society
then an additional restriction becomes
necessary. He must then respect
the rights of his neighbors, in order
that his in turn may be respected
This restrain reduced to form, insti-
tutes q new condition which is called
oi0it liberty. 1t is restrained liberty,
additionally restrained.
Sir William Blackstone, with his
usual accuracy and precision, defines
civil liberty to the "natural liberty so
far restrained, and no further than is
essential for the public good" No
clearer definition, we apprehend
could be given, and yet, with all this
perspicuity, no practical condition is
so hard to dertermine.
The restraint noticed by the learned
commentator must, it will be seen, be
itself restrained, for if it be not, and
the general restraint be extended be-
yond what is essential for the public
lgood, then the restraint becomes ty-
ranlly. Here then is an adjustment
to be made Of the incest possible char
acter, aud, as every case must be de-
terminad by its own peculiarities, no
general formula ever has been given,
for determining this essential amount
of restraint.
AS nations, races, and even coun
tries differ, so must their government
priyiledges aud restrictions differ, ,anC
as q consequence the point Of essen
ltial restraint must move With tie pc
culiarities which determine its loca
ton.
Nations of the same race may bC
very similar in native character, anC
yet the the government Of one natioI
could be not suitable to the people o
another. The Germans in the Alps
and the Germans on the Plains, mus
, have different institutions.
= But whatever may be the dissimi
a laritier of natures Of the same stock
: the different races Of men differ inf
r nitely more materially; in fact, ar
0 scarcely, if at all, similar in any on
q of the elements which enter into th
+. composition OF governments. Nc
O only their wants and tuitions, bu
$ their mentslities, differ in almost eve
Y ry conceivable point. That which i
r wisdom to one is folly to another
q The Indian finds music in monOton.
k the white man in the variation Q
9 sounds. "That which is one man
v meat is another's poison;" and by
corresponding analogy, that which
@ one mans liberty is another mans or
e preston. The people of Euglan,
q could not endure the government c
e Ashantee; nor could those of Asian
tee endure England's. How then ar
! we to determine the limitation of tha
i restraint which is to mark the bour
4 dairy OF civil libertyl AS no two re-
!. ces, nor even nations, are alike, Il
v two can have their precise boundaric
: of liberty alike. Here then the learI
!. ed commentators definition leaves |
"a lust where it found us-without an
I rule by which to determine the pra
If teal bounds of civil liberty.
as Were we then to limit our inqui
II les to the knowledge of the books, ,ol
IS subiect might end here, and like IL
A writers of the past, we might be col
/, tented to revolye with them in tt
if same circle. But in this as in q
" other speculations which end in a
I stract ideality, we may find reliet
sc dropping back from theoretical di
QUESTIONS, to practical nature as '
N find it exhibited in the works Of me
of We cannot look into the minds Of
at people; nor measure bya dhect c
IS, lservation, either their mentalities
n. their instincts. Mind and impulse /
1d long to the spiritual, and not to t
ar material order Of things; and as
se consequence, are not the object Of v
il ion. But then we may by indirt
os ton, discover that which is not dire
e, ly disernible. We may tell the fl
S. tility of the soil by the richness Of
eli production; or, in Bible diction,
may Judge a tree by its fruits. In
Sc. application OF this rule, let it then
his remembered that governments do
cal make their people, but, on the cont