The southern aegis, and Harford County intelligencer., 1863-01-30
Fsom The Selinsgrore Pa Times.
TRUE AND FALSE VIEWS OF GOV
ERNMENT.

"Thc Romans advanced far beyond the
Greeks in political knowledge, but with
them also the State was everything and
the individual nothing. DR.. Van Ev-
| re.
The policy of all arbitrary or monarchi-
cal governments assumes the individual to
be but an instrument for the benefit of the
State; but in a republic the policy must
be that the State was instituted for the
benefit of the individual Republican
government was Instituted to promote the
interests aud secure the personal liberty
Of the citizen. This was douo by the con.
sent Of the citizen, in whom is still vested
the right and power to alter, amend or
abolish the fabric of his own construction.
Without this right and power, he is not a
freeman; and he who attempts to deprive
him of this great Fundamental right, what
ever bis name or title, is n tyrant. Free
governments are instituted among men,
! by men, and for men absolute despot-
sms, on The contrary, are not instituted
among men, but are forced upon them by
the sword, against their consent. The
one is made hy all for the benefit Of all; but
the other is made by the few, for the benefit
of the few, at the expense of all. The latter
is wrong and needs no proof; the former is
right, and is sef.eviIent Without cor
responding benefits to each individual that
will outweigh the labor and expense of
maintaining its organization and cxercis-
ing its functions, Il government at best is
but IA necessary evil 70 be truly lagi
innate government, each individual ought
! to be Il citizen and rot subject, for eve
ry man, by the laws Of nature, is entitled
to be freeman and any government
that does not recognize this great right is
but an organized system of robbery and
oppression, and deserves to be altered,
amended or abolished. by the sword p
No; but by the consent of the sovereigns,
the individuals, the citizens, who, by the
laws Of nature, are entitled to be their
own masters. Free government was made
for man, and not man for government.
Many of the false notions of the old
world and Of former times, though entire
ly repudiated in the formation of this gov
ernment, still find plenty Of advocates
even at this day. The history Of the last
two years proves that there are thousands
Of men who are proud of the title of
American citizen, yet who have the mar
row and contracted views of the Greeks
and Romans upon the fundamental prin-
Piles of government. They are behind the
age. They think and feel as we would
expect meu to think and feel who were
suddenly transferred to our shores from
other lands and other days, They look
upon the government as subjects do upon
monarch as if to its merciful iorbear-
ance they owed the enjoyment of light,
life and liberty, forgetting really that they
themselves are the sovercigns, and that
the government exists by virtue of their
own good will and pleasure. These false
notions are prevalent among members of
the Republican party, that Of late the
great political issue seemed to be whether
man was made for the government or the
government for man; the Republicans,
both by word and decd, advocating the
former, whilst true Democrats stouty
stood up for the latter.
| Everything was to be yielded to the
State, whilst the individual and his rights
were to be submerged by an omnipoteut
State sovereignty. 1t was not enough
that every means should be yielded to the
exorbitant demands lf the State, but
the dearest rights of the individual and
his personal liberty were to be sacrificed
to the demands of this omnipotent Mo-
loeb, and would have been, had it not been
for the daring and unyielding opposition
! by the leading spirits OF the uulerrited
Democracy. Every principle aud every
object, 10 secure which the government
was established, was in danger, aud tot
tered on the briuk of ruin; but immortal
truth, for a season blanched beneath the
black frown of an ephcmeral despotism,
again camc forth to claim its legitimate
dominion in the REALMS OF justice and
human rights.
There seems to be an insuperable diff
Guilty in the minds of many persons in
| reference to tic difference Of governments
They fail to draw correct line of distinc-
ton between the monarchical and Rcpub-
lican IDEAS CT government. They cannot
fully separate them; they always con-
found them. There may be some cause
for this, other than mental inability to
grasp first principles. Being surrounded
by every grade of despotic government, in
which the State is regarded omnipotent
and the individual but an instrument,
many false notions are still retained, as