The national Republican. [volume] (Washington City [D.C.]) 1866-1870, 1869-04-17

by a kind Of moral gaivanlsm to lnstil
spasmodic energy Into the llfeless carcass.
Their excuse for all this Is that they are con-
servatiye. r...H iloT
Now, there is no doubt that the feeling Of
conservatism Is deeply seated In the nature
OF man, aud that within proper limitations
u exerts salutary influence upon his destiny.
But IL Is also true that whom not thus lin
tied Il may be productive OF resuisr fatal to
his welfare; like the. Casaaya tree OF the
Indies, conservatism contains q principle,
which becomee,uuder one condition, health
full nutrirnept, under anosher, d deadly
poison. y may injudiciously prompt us 10
cling to the things Of the past merely
because they are Of the past; II may
rightly teach us to treasure them as rich
helrlooms because they have been tried by
OUR reason and found 70 be good.
/ Now. II cannot be questioned that there Is
a law Of progress apparent In every depart
ment OF nature the planet, revolving CEN
tury amer century IN lts ever-varylng orbit;
the comet, seeking Its turning.polut In the
depths OF intermediate space, our own world,
at ono time only the uuslmpcn germ Of a
lifc-teeming sphere, forever presenting a
series OF SUPERINTENDENT IphAnomena,
declares that the spiAt which, apimates all
nature isa progressive spirit; tho order which
attends the march Of these bodies around
their crown-centre--an order so perfect rs to
| prompt the poetic Imagination Of Pythagoras
to deem thai he could hear nccordant strnins
Of melody produced by the blended harmo-
niles Of their various movements--bcarsw wit
ness that, SO far from progress being the
cause OF confusion, 1t can be coexistcnt with
the highest degree OF regularity, that, In
stead OF II being productive Of arrangement,
Il Is the balance established by an all-wise
Providence to preserve the equilibrium Of an
lnfnitely-extended dominion. Yet man, too
/ an 80 tkaa. a lac
would foollshly enthrone conservatism in
undivided supremacy, and thus entail upon
his own powers paralysis neutralizlng their
own recuperutiye force, while proof against
every external remedy. -
Still, Conservatism has Its uses. Let Il be
consistent with elements OF right, and Ii be-
comes palladium, under the protection Of
which mans most sacred interests may find
security. Thus inspired by such conserya-
tism did the English people Of the 18th cen
tury, In opposition to the attempted encroach-
| lncnts of the throne, declare their unwilling
ness that the laws OF England should be
changed, aud thereby was the Magma Charta,
the great record OF their liberties, enforced
from the tyrant John.
In the same spirit did the patriots of l776
cling to the privileges contained In that In
strument, and to the other rights which from
time to time had been asserted and acknowl-
| edged as the Just inheritance Of every subject
OF the British crown. And still wherever the
Anglo-Saxon race has extended Its dominion,
whether II be on the Eastern or Western hem
lsphere, upon the burning plains Of India or
the frozen shores Of Hudson's Bay, under
the broad standard Of the British lion or
beneath the folds of our own national ensign,
In every quarter of the world, aud In every
position OF life do We still hear the individual
Of that race asserting his claim to his right
OF trial by jury Of his peers, his right to
bear arms In his own defence, his right to
the peaceful occupancy of his home, how
ever humble, and to oil the other rights
which he has inherited from his fathers, and
which tend to render him secure In the pos
session OF life, liberty, and property.
Now, are We concerned as Americans In
reference to the appropriate objects OF our
conservatism Let us glance for moment
at our country's origin, and we shall speedily
determine what they ought TO be. or that
origin, differing rs 1t did In so many partlc-
ulars from that Of other nations, the Amerl-
can people have reason to be proud. Mirac-
ulous interpretations OF superior powers may
have heralded the advent Of some Of this
earth's nominations; the sowing Of dragon s
teeth may have been succeeded by harvest
Of warriors; the thunder peal and the mete or
streaming through the air may have pointed
out the sight of future greatness; the fierce
wolf may have forgotten her nature and
founders of an empire, but n greater glory
was yet In reserve for the United States OF
America.
Although other nations at the outset Of
their respective careers may have been COM
pclled, like the infant Hercules, to battle
with threatening dangers, and thus portend
their success In more than mortal labors.
still 1t was reserved for her to burst forth a
Pallas at her very birth, armed ut every
point, and eirulgent In every feature with the
beams of the lly-developed dlvlnity-and
what was the occasion of her glory What,
other than n practical realization Of the
grand Idea of the natural equality OF man !
Until then that idea had CLEANED upon the
world only in weak and iltful flashes. Oc-
casionally, indeed, 1t had served to give q
glow of originality TO some phlosoph-
cal essay, or Of interest to some romance,
but In the actual arrangements OF society II
had found no place. Nobly was the an-
nouncement OF her purpose made In the Dec.
laration of Independence; "All men were
created equal, and equally endowed by their
Creator with the inallenablo rights Of life,
liberty and pursuit Of happiness"
No wonder, then, an announcement SO
radical In Its terms should have carried ter
r0r TO the hearts Of princes and caused their
knees to tremble, BelshaZzar-llkc, as they In
fancy beheld the "Mene Tekel upharsln"
inscribed upon their palace walls. No won
der that the gallant sons OF France, PRUSSIA
and Poland should have hastened to offer
their swords In behalf of conflict which
promised the battle of the world, and nobly,
too, with the same stern assertion of the
| rights OF man, was that conflict carried on.
The pledge of life, of fortune, and of sa-
cred honor, made by John Hancock and his
daring compeers, found fitting response In
the dying cheer of the citizen soldier, or In the
groan which every determined mahhoodco
not suppress as he traced his march with
bloody footprints In the December snow, and
In the national political organizations found
at that period in the articles of confederation,
and in the Constitution, under which the
Union still continues. No inyidlous distinc-
ton, with reference to the various branches
were suffered to mar the bright and glorious
picture which America presented to the world,
and which secured to every American the
character of being an advocate for the liberty
and equality of every one whom Just and
impartial God had created in his own image.
| what glorious treasures are now offered us
| ut objects for our conservatism In those prn-
| ciples by which our fathers secured their
own disinthralment, and compelled the ad-
mlratlon Of the world.
| II Is pleasant to reflect that our beloved
land has at length aroused herself from that
clrcean spell which induced her for years to
give the lie to those principles; that she gave
the nrst proof OF returning reason In decree
Ing the emancipation Of the bondmen Of this
District, and that after he whose salnted
spirit may now be lowering In qualification
over yonder pedestal graCed by his counter
felt presentment, had proclaimed the fiat of
| freedom In behalf of more than three mil
| lion slaves, she endorsed the act by declaring
| through the fourteenth amendment to her
Constitution, that slavery, for aught save
crime Is henceforth and forever an impossl-
blllty throughout her wide domains.
II Is pleasant to reflect that those freed
men of the republic have since made good
their pretensions to manhood and equal cltl-
zenshlp by emulatng the loyal courage of
their fathers at Chalmette plains in the last
British war, and of their grandfathers at
Red bank during the revolutionary struggle,
and that they have continued their own his
tory with that OF their country by their gal
liant deeds at Fort Wagner and Olustee, at
Port Hudson aud before Petersburg and II
Is gratifying to know that the illustrlous
chieftan who has in the providence Of God