The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1867-11-01
THE BASIS OF GOVERNMENT.
Read and Reflect Before you Vote

From the Lawrence Journal, a femal
suffrage COpperhesd Johnson paper. "
clip the following communication siene
by N. G.:
Il il frequently asserted by The friend
OF the enfrauchisement OF women, tina
no argument has ever been addncet
against the measure. Without sayin,
how this is, hstier M self that it is no
difficult TO adduce an argument that i
conclusive and unanswerabIe.
Let us consider for a moment what !
is that makes government efficient Wba
IS government? VIVA, are laws but th,
expression Of the will OF Tie governing
power. made IN a certain prescribed man
ner? Laws are the rules made by thai
power which expresses the VIII OF suci
ETY.. Now VIVA, reliance can any gov
eFning power have that ns will expressed
Ia The appointed manner shall be opela a,
i've? What guarantee can it have thai
it, enac'mFnts shalt be 0beyed?
We think it plain that it's only con
slant aud uniaIiing reliance is force
Said Hamilton, Government must have
force and Influence. By force, L mean
the coercion 0 law and the coercion oil
arms. By influence, mean the regular
weight and support it Will receive from
those who 6nd il their interest," To upport
government intended 10 preserve the
peace and happiness of The community
on the whole"
The coercion Of law is a matter of
daily observation No government is so
foolish as TO make laws without provfdlDy
an agency for their execution. and back
iugI up by all the power needed to make
its will good.
Without such an agency W can have
40 government. Is very essence is
power. Last Tuesday evening Mr.. S ar,
reIt remarked that ali of The CHURCHES an
Iicipated The time when their orgau,za
ton should embrace the whole land; and
inasmuch as they allowed female suffrage,
the idea of it's application to government
was not so novel after all. But do any o,
our church organizations resembls a gov
erument? Certainly not. They can pre-
cribe rules, and enforce them by cerlain
moral sanctions. They have the coercion
OF Influence; but the most powerful Of
them are lmpOtent against the resOu civ
refractory, because they have not got tina;
which makes the laws of government
binding on all, ramely, force or physical
power. No one will pretend that any
church organization could take the place
ot government. And why? Simply be
cause they all rest upon the consent OF
their members. Their laws have the
sanction of Iuhueuoe only; bat the State
rests upon power as we'll. It's degrees have
The sanction of Iorce, aud Weld the co
IciOn OF law and arms. Without pre-
tending 10 say what might be practicable
II any OF our churches should succeed 10
suddenly bringing about the millennium,
We venture to say that the practice OF tie
CHURCH cannot safely be embraced by the
Sale, In the present condIuon OF human
society. Society assumes two different
forms OF organization. Socie ia church
aims TO holu mer to the perform ance OF
duty by the sanctions and Influences OF
religion. Society in Stale aims to hull
men TO the pertO nance OF duty by meaUs
OF the sanctions OF force and coercion.
The State is necessary becsu e tie church
methods, Ia The present Uondiuon of hu
man nature. They both aim al the same
preservation OF soc.ery-buL
by different methods. When We can
dispense with force, aud all can be gov
erued by moral uhuence, then The Sat,
az now constituted, will eoon boone ob
sulete.
Rasidas tho c.srSion n L. -
the cOeI c,OD OF arms. The statesman
Formerly quoted. once remarked that
every society would AZ times be com
PEELED TO call into requIsitiou all of i;s
power for defense or redress" The t.uth
vi this is obvious. Twice in our histo-
~ as nsticn, our physical power has
been taxed to the ulIermOst, aud we have
no assurance that it will not, a: some
time, be laXed agaiu. Il Is beyond deni
al that. as society is now constituted. the
constable, the snerlf, the polIcs, the pos
se comltaIus, the mIlItIa aud the army are
indispensable. Take IEem ava, aud YOU
abolish government Aud now what has
this TO do With tue Auffrage uurs,iou?
usL this. II ls proposed to DOUBLE The
number OF the governing class, and OF
sll those who ale 10 be admIIted To the
franchise, not one can be OF any coerclve
service IN any Crisis when society must
appeal to IIs final aud ultimate reliance OF
iorce; aOd not one of them can be of any
service IN The daily coercion ut Law. By
tue daily coercion OF Law, We mean that
power which resides 10 every community,
behind every law. dormant, but ready TO
be Invoked. It necessary, to give il viIsh-
~ We mean that Consciousness on the
part OF every individual. that the whole
force OF Tue State Can be called upon TO
enforce compliance with it's DEGREES.
Without this CONSEQUENCES. the smallest
village IN The land could NOT give validity
to an ordinance.
Now We maintain that so long as the
basis OF society is force, il is not con
s'sient nor sale 10 have go large a class OF
voters Who cannot be of any weight in
giving effect TO It's DEGREES. Il is not lust
that one halt Of the State should make
laws for The other halt to execute. Il +
not just TO give TO class tue rlphIto vut-
ON questions Of peace aud war: th, riyb,
equally with Others to inaugurste suv
measures which they may deem proper,
while the responsibilities aud hardshIos of
executing them fail exciustvaly No. ~