The New York herald., 1868-04-07
The Progress Of Republican Government
whittier Are We Tending

Whither Are We Tendings
From one end of the land to the other the
people are the prey of political harpies. Pro-
perty, order, personal rights are mere names,
and in all things in which government should
secure the governed, the people are at the mercy
of an INSCRIPTIONS class, who, in virtue of
universal suffrage, hold the Offices and make
the laws. Aggrieved at the injustice, the
tyranny and the corruption of the government
that ruled them under the British monarchy,
our forefathers cast away that yoke and estab-
lshed new system, in the interests of purity
ence of the people on their rulers. Eighty
years have gone by and we find that our expe-
rience only results in showing the world how
to secure the worst government the sun can
shine on, how to organize the system most GER
tain to defeat all the good objects of govern
ment, and how to tie the people hand and foot
and hand them over to the rogues and wretches
of the community. We have made the way to
distinction in the State so free that they who
in other countries stumble into the prisons mid
u
inevitably to the legislative halls. II is an
honor-not shame-to lie, to swindle, to
know and to practise all the arts of knavery.
The legislative halls become market places,
and there is not one of them in which laws are
not bought and sold as freely as old clothes
in Chatham street. In Washington, in
Albany, in our own City Hall, whoever desires
to have law authorizing his encroachment on
another mans rights or giving him authority
to seize another mans property simply goes to
the lawmakers with the money, and the law is
made. Bribery carries with it no shame,
though practised in view of all, defeating
justice and laughing at her very name.
Nay, if man raises his voice for honesty,
as Mr.. Glenn has just done, he is laughed
down-hooted out of hearing by party men Of
all stripes and by the party press, so that it
has come to be that honesty is so much out of
fashion that that is the thing of which men
must be ashamed. Both the parties that divide
the political notions of the nation are in the
hands of men in whom the sense Of social
decency is rotted away. What are these men
Lawyers without briefs. Such is the material
of the State in our system. Briefess lawyers
grown tired of waiting for clients, they turn to
politics and make it trade. They have
studied enough law to know how to be free of
its restraints, yet never incur its penalties.
Having their fortunes to make and extravagant
tastes to crafty, they take to this career as
formerly reckless fellows of the same
stamp took to the road. They 60 in
the same spirit, and our institutions
afford dangerous facility for this class of men
to rise He who promises most rises best on
the popular breath; and these fellows promise
without limit, counting on the spoils of Office
and the price of law to make their promises
good. AT whose expense they pay may be seen
by the dreadful condition of the national
finances, the terrible state of corruption that
prevails in the Revenue Department, the fear
full necessity for more Offices that drives the
Congress of the United States to remove the
President, in defiance of law, and to fix the
point that the President shall hold Office only
during the pleasure of Congress- so that they
may control through fear the incoming function
airy. Another point in the illustration is seen
in the fact that the Legislature at Albany is
now practically proposing to confscate all the
property on Broadway.
In all this the fact is seen that the whole
wealth of the State and the property of the citi
zens are by our system simply set up as the
reward of the winner in race for ofice-i
being certain, from our whole experience, thai
the winner will four times in five be q mar
who seeks position not for honor, bu. to make
money out of it-a man with no good interest
in the welfare of the community, but glorying ir
the utterly selfish and destructive use of dan
gerous power. This is universal suffrage. Uni
versal suffrage was not contemplated by the mel
who made the national constitution. We have
driftcd into it. Originally the intelligence o
the community controlled its action, and M
man could even aspire to Office who was no
possessed of some moral worth or high charac
ter but the degradation from that standard
has been constant toward the worst form o
democracy-the mere rule Of the many, sur,
always to be the rule of the worst. Not con
tent with the position to which this has brough
us, our fanatical politicians are only eager t.
push the principle further-to still more adul
terate and degrade the national life BY
giving the suffrage to the barbarous mil
lions Of just emancipated slaves. Stranges
of all the pictures of the age, just as w
have shown the inevitable result of this so
called government Of popular will, just as W,
have shown that government by the people 1
merely the government Of swindling oligarch,
that accepts trust from the people only Il
betray il, England is making ready 70 follow
In our footsteps. Compelled TO relinquish tb
ancient exclusiveness Of her system, she adopt
the visionary liberality Of ours, and will carr
IL further; for the Jew, Disraeli, and th
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