The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-07-11
DEMOCRACY RUN WILD.

YAH mon are born troc anu cquai,' ls
the keynote TO every social and political re-
volution of the past century. The French
revolution Of bloody memory carried tho
principle ad a6sun1an', and in the reaction
consequent upon it, retarded the real and
rational progress Of liberty in Europe near
ly halfa century. In 184S we entered upon
new revolutionary cycle, which is still
in progress, and in its course has IsweT; its
fahd was exempt much longer than any of
her neighbors. The British Constitution,
with its many well-consdercd checks and
balances, has hold more OF less strong
upon all the subjects Of Her Majesty; the
feeling ofloyalty is innate and potent in
the heart Of every Briton. He is, as rule,
a quiet, peaceable and law-abidiug man
through all tho spheres of society. Rcvo-
luton, therefore, in England is the result
only of great and long continued proyoca-
ton. Reform progresses more slowly in
that eminently conservative land than in
any other we know of among the countries
infected with "modern ideas."
But Notwithstanding all this caution and
the great balance wheel of that same old
Constitution, her time appears to hnve
come. Agitation has been the order of
tho day, with scarcely weeks interval
during tho past two or three years; aud
this is not confined to the pro7etdriat, as
many of us have long affected to believe
The most respectable journals of the realm
now speak of the Queen in tone which
would have outraged the United Kingdom
ton years ago. The House of Peers is
sncered ut, and called an assembly of imbc-
Giles by newspapers liLc the Times What
wonder, therefore, that the rabble should
become more lax every day in veneration
and in loyalty.
We are the friends Of liberty, religious,
civil and political; liberty Of conscience,
liberty Of the press and of speech; of pro-
! gress, material, mental aud moral; but We
are panied to see thc turn a fairs are taking
i'll the mother country. We have so long
been accustomed to look upon England ms
the worlds great examplar Of constitu-
tional government, great and strong for
every national purpose, combined with the
largest amount Of individual liberty, uniting
sll that is best in tho monarchy and the
republic, that We are 10th to surrender our
ideal. But the facts are against us. The
masses in the three Kingdoms are moving
in steady downward course; aud there
appears to be no pilot at the helm strong
enough to steer the ship safely through the
storm.
The church is agitated about ritunlism,
and is being rapidly brought to a vital
struggle for the very existence of the Irish
establishment. The nation is battling with
the Reform League and Trades Unions, and
thus far very unsuccessfully The Red
Republican doctrine of equality appears to
have dcthroncd sound statcsmanship; SEN
timent and philanthropy have taken the
place of healthy political philosophy. The
interests of society, and the very being of
the State are threatened in the deafcning
and ever increasing clamor for the rights Of
the individual. The working man is at
last recognized power in the realm, and,
not satisfied with this concession, he aspircs
TO supreme power. What he cannot effect
by petition, he endeavors to accomplish by
menace, and mobs aud riots have not been of
unfrequent occurrence of late. The victims
Of intolerance, as they are pleased to bo
called, are yet the most intolerant of men.
This might surprise US, did We not know
that man is consistent only in inconsisten-
as notable instances PlssPi 81 shPs iSsi % ever serve
even find later examples of this doctrine in
American history, we're it possible to speak
dispassionately Of cotempornry events. The
oppressed usually seem TO find no difficulty
in making the transition, and becoming the
oppressors in their turn. What painful
satire was that recently in Birmingham,
where terrible and bloody riot was delibe-
rately provoked by Protestant fanatic de-
claiming against the Roman Catholic
Church, one Of the chief counts in the in
dictment being her intolerance and perse-
cutting spirit. Would that it we're in our
power to say, such riot could not occur in
this country. With our peace, missionary,
church extension, benevolent and humane
societies, and all our various and complicate
machinery Of education and civilization, we
fear we still are not beyond the possibility
Of political or religious riots. The fact is
humiliating. With all its boosted progress
tho world goes backward. .,t.. - ~.
:" One of the most recent illustrations Of
this intolerance was exhibited at st. James
Hall, june II. The Working Mems Con.
servative Association had meeting on that
evening,,"to express thoir attachment to
the Monarchical and Parliamentary Consti.
tuition Of the country, to protest against re-
Solutionary agitation, and to vipdicate the
privileges accorded 10 the people by, tho
Crown, in the peaceable enjoyment of the
Royal Parks for the purposes of recreation."
One of the two leading iourno1s of Tho