The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-05-11

TOO small Tor the work tneY nave 10 90; they
can neither protect the people nor themselves.
The mineral wealth OF Arizona is very great,
but it can never be developed until these muir
dering savages are subdued or exterminated.
Positive Value Of Republ lean Principles.
IT is somewhat remarkable that, in country
whose Government is so mislakably
founded as ours is upon the most radical
principles OF popular rights, there should be
so much reluctance and hesitation at giving
those principles a full and fair application.
The underlying principle of a republican
form of government is that the people are
competent to govern themselves. The open
ing sentences OF cur Declaration of Indepen-
dence contain the most radical enunciation
of republican principles ever put forth by
any nation. And yet the great central ques-
ton of our politics during the whole of our
past history, and especially for the last twenty
five years, has been, and still continues to be-
whether those principles shall be carried out
i'm the actual workings of our Government.
We sometimes SPEAK as though the question
OF popular rights was one for foreign cOun-
tries, not for us. Not so, however; there is
no country on the face of the earth where
this question is more Of practical one at
the present moment than with us. England
is agitated over her Reform bill. What is
that? Simply proposal to extend the
suffrage. And what is the vital question OF
American politics but the same? Our con-
servatves and radicals might change shoes
tomorrow with the English tories and libe
rails. CHARLES SUMNER is merely the Ame
rican j. S. MILL, The arguments OF our
conservatives-under the false name Of Demo
crats-against popular rights are precisely
those of the English tories. The contest here,
as there, is one of true democracy against
privilege. The only differences are, that we
have in some respects made vastly greater
advances towards realizing popular rights
than Great Britain has, and so have fewer
steps to take 20 reach the ultimate goal; and
that in establishing popular rights we are
but naturally developing the essential and
avowed principles OF our Government
merely realizing our long-accepted and de-
clared ideal; while in Great Britain the
triumph of popular rights involves a COM
plete revolution in the fundamental ideas Of
her society and Government. Hence it is,
that an American conservative is politically
vastly meaner man than a British tory. The
tory is but a natural product Of his country;
the conservative is an anomaly--a mon
strosity.
The reluctance on the part of Americans to
realize our ideal in government is very
strange. If our experience of the actual
workings of republican principles had been
disastrous. there might be some excuse for
this; but such is not the case. The republi-
can experiment here has been eminently, Won
derfuIly successful, and the most signally so
when the most thoroughly tried. Take Mas.
sachusetts, for instance, a State which has
gone further in realizing the true republican
idea than almost any other-and what do we
see? Where, on the face Of the globe, shall
we find better governed, more prosperous,
intelligent, or happy community? Where
shall we find the true functions of civil
society more fully met? II there is such dan
ger in the extending of the suffrage, if popular
rights are so full of peril, why do we not see
the evil results in Massachusetts? Here is a
fact worth more than all the theories of all
the conservatives, from the chiefs Of the Eng
lish tories in Parliament, down to our SAULs-
BURYs and JACK RoGERsEs in Congress.
But we may take wider view, and with
our whole country under our eye, may DEFY
the enemies of republican principles to point
out their evil effects. Here, too, popular
rights have proved safe and benefcent. In
deed, there is not an element in the growth
and prosperity OF the country which we may
not trace directly to the fountain-head Of free
dom, Why then should we shudder at max
ing still wider application of principles that
have hitherto proved themselves so full of
blessing? We have already several millions
OF voters, and yet our conservatives prophesy
universal wreck and ruin if a few thousands
more shall be added to the number! What
cowardice and want Of faith in republican
institutions!
If we scan the future, where do our dangers
! lie? In the direction of increasing popular
rights? Let us judge OF the future by the
! past. What brought upon us our recent ter
Iible struggle? Was it freedom or slavery {?
Was it desire to increase popular rights and
ertend republican institutions? The philoso-
phc Mr.. STEPHENS, Vice-Presdent OF the
Rebel Confederacy, explicitly and elaborately
informed us that the new Government was
to be founded, not upon equal, but unequal
rights; not upon republican, but aristocratic