Idaho semi-weekly world. (Idaho City, Boise County, Idaho Territory) 1867-1868, 1867-11-16
NEW ENGLAND CIVILIZATION.


fit to regard as deficiency in the true Radi-
cal spirit in New England. It labors under
the hallucinati0n that that section of the Union
is conservative, adherent to Constitutions and
laws, and governed by traditions Of obedience
to law in Che past. EndeavOring to account
for the conservatism Of certain New England
Senators, it sayss
The maturer civilization Of New England, the So
berer temperament the haowed traditions Of peace
ballot and the general intelligence in certain de-
gree, incapacitate It's sedate Senator'S from vivid
conception Of the actual situation.
This is as good as burlesque-"in certain
degree.n New England "civilizati0n" is UNI
questionably peculiar, aud it is exceedingly
fmature" and perverse In It's peculiarities. But
there is something exceedingly unphilOsOphical
and ludicrOus in talking about the comparative
maturity of the civilization of different sec
-tiOns of the country One would imagine that
the New York philosopher supposed the sew
ilization' of New England was about q thousand
years old and quite model for the youngster
of New York, and Pennsylvania, which are
only about a quarter as old. New England
sscivilivation' is no more to becalled ''mature"
than that of the grand Empire State. tits
the most obstinately provincial and narrow
minded civilization that ever cursed America.
and in this respect is inveterate and "mature."
There is not a cosmopolitan element In it. 1t
is selfsufficient and cOnceited, arbitrary and
tyrannical, crotchety and absurd. When asked
for the evidences of the mature civilization
of that northeastern prcmontory of the grand
Republic, weare pointed to innumerable wood
en- schO0lhOuses, to seminaries of learning, col
leges and universities. But all the world has
discovered that school and university learning
do not constitute civilization. 1t does not even
a
sense Such schools and universities may be
the mere nurseries of prejudice, of egOtism
and insolent vanity and self-assertiveness New
England culture and civilization is hide-bound.
There is no breadth to it. 1t is not till the men
of New England go out fr0miG and supplement
their home training by outside influences, and
breathe the free air of an outside world, that
they attain the full stature of cultivated and
truly civilized manhood There is no greater
mistake than to suppose that the general IN
tellgence" of England people is in excess or
even equal to general intelligence elsewhere.
What these euleeizers of New England mean
by general intelligence" is general capacity
to "read, write and cipher" Granted that
that is attained in greater proportion in New
England than elsewhere it is not entitled to be
dignifed with the name of general intelli-
gence." You may travel from New York to
Missouri, and every where, in all cities and
rural towns and agricultural neighbOrhoods,
you will find more men than you can find in
any New England town who have a general
knowledge of men and things, broad ideas,
acute perceptions and shreWd judgments.
These arc the real evidences of advanced civ
ilization and of substantial personal culture.
When it is remembered that the maturer
civilization" of New England has given birth
to every form of insane Radicalism and every
other crazy ism that ever turned a community
into Bedlam, the whole country feels that
such civilization grows out of an insane root,
and merits no encomiums and no inyidious
eulogies. AS little is New England to be glOri-
fed for its "hall0wed traditions of obedience
to law" Its people have been the most insub-
ordinate and lawless of all communities The
spirit of rebellion is an essential element of its
civilization. Their whole history is protest
against all law, and denial of all right to gov
ern them by any rule which their own individ-
ual consciences and cr0tchets do not approve.
They were Graded in an hour of resistance TO
law. They peOpled New England IN a spirit
of defiance to established government. They
inaugurated the revolution in spirit of def
ance to law They proved themselves rebels
in 1872 and menaced the Government with Sc
cession. They nullifed the fugitive slave law
and provoked the Burns riot. They placed
laws Oh Gne1F SLdCuC0 DOCKS making IL q penal
offence for an attorney-at-law to appear as
counsel for a claimant, under the Constitution,
of his property. Their 500 Abolition societies,
established from 1928 to 1885, were an aggres-
sive onslaught upon constitutional rights, de-
flying the SUP RENE law of the land, and super
seding that law by ''higher law" which they
proclaimed as the only one they would obey.
''Traditions of obedience to law" in speaking
of New England, is most fer0ciOuG satire up
on that lawless community.
They have been engaged in an everlasting,
impertinent, meddlesome and ong-headed
warfare upon law-the supreme law of the
land, and upon the rights of others. Opposi-
ton to the Constitution and the Central Gov
eminent was born among them. They are the
chief supporters now of system of legisla-
ton acknowledged to be aoutside of the Con-
stitutiOn,' and in the very teeth of its princi-
pies and provisions. No :. traditions " of the
glory of that instrument or of it's grand au-
thors inspires them with reverence, or incites
them to loyalty to it as the fundamental law
At this very moment the people of Massa-
chusettS are in insurrection against established
law, resisting the officers with clubs and pis-
tolls, when they come to enforce the constabu-
larry statutes concerning Intoxicating drinks.
Such resistance may be laudable, for the pro-
hibitOry law is a mOnstr0sity and should be
swept out of existence. But let no one pre-
tend that New England people have any more
respect for law than any other people. They
are the most laWless, insubordinate and rebel
lious people in America, when laws do not suit
THAR ufhinc