Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1869-07-03
. Government;

I.ADIEs AM q 6ENELENEN;-l viii
now address YOU for Tow minutes
on tho subject Of government !
have chosen this theme as one Wor-
thy of tho attention II nn enl'shlr
ened audienCe,, baI not without a
feeling OF my own lncapaclly 10 b
il justice, But not 10 delain YOU
with preliminary remarks | will leg
your Kind attention aad proceed nj
once. The poet has said
MaA ia saslsiy is like a dover
Blowa ia his native bed lis there alons
Ills faculties, expanded ia fall bieea
shine cut there eaiy reach their hsoper
use, ..as r
This is a philOsophie truth, Sus'
tanned no less by commop obserVa'
ton than By history. As FAR back
as We can obtain any knowledge,
either by tradition or manuscripts,
we iind that men lived under come
kind Of government, that society
existed under some regulations.
Aud indeed il cannot DO Otherwise
for every rational mind must per.
eeivo ut once, that 10 abolish all
earthly tribunals would bo 10 insii-
tute reign OF anarchy and crime,
followed by exerutiating pain TO
tho physical man, and chaotic dark
ness TO the intellect, tho terminus
Of which would 10 tho extinction
OF the human race. II follows then
that any kind of government is bet
ter than anarchy. But the best
kind of Government, the wisest and
most equitable regulations under
which society can exist must for
ever DO n subject Of profound inter
est to philoscphic minds and philan-
thropic hearts, and indeed it cannot
fail to awaken some degree of in
terost in any ono, who will give this
all important subject even q pass
ing thought. ..
The forms CT government which
have the most advocates are mon
archy, which is literally tho rule of
one, and democracy, tho will Of the
people. Some persons, considering
that whatever Is, is right, and see.
ing that monarchy 10 the form of
government, under which most Of
the primitive nations lived, have
Jumped at tho conclusion that it
was the natural, and consequently
the best form of government. But
ifthcy would not be so hasty in their
inferonccs, mcthinks they might
find room to doubt as to the correct
ness of their theory, from the very
fact that it did exist among those
barbarous nations. ave do not
gather figs of the bramble," and
we need not be surprised if wo find
that form of government very i'm
perfect, which is the offspring of
ignorance and superstition. The
throne is founded in violence and
bloodshed; it is built upon the
bowed backs Of vassals, creaicd In
the image of God, but reduced to
mcnial slaves; it is protected by the
sword, the royal purple and glitter
ing cnsigns, that dazzle the eyes of
tho ignorant populace. So far from
being natural it is highly artificial,
retarding the prosperity of the hu-
man family, and nothing but habit
prevents it from being repugnant to
the minds of civilized men. Trace,
if you please, the rise of monarchy
and see if it is the nati,ral !ofn that
an enlightened society would. as
sHme. Go back to the early stages
of society, and you will see a few
influential men, who, as n profound
writer has remarked, "appear> like
gaudy flowers upon a putrid marsh"
they soon collect all the prosperity
into their hands, thus rendering the
population dependent upon them
for u subsistence; each proprietor
becomes a feudal lord; d conten-
ton arises for the chief power,
which sooner or later, the sword
will decide in ft.Hor of some ambi-
tious chieftait.. And this decision
must for the nost part, be consid-
cred final, for to the great majority,
the overthrow of the present ruler
would only be the gaining of a new
master. The maintnance of their
present position is the most that
can be accomplished; the interest
of the so-called mobiles binds them
together, and honceforth their days
are spent in claiming down the
people.
There was once q theory. .afoht
that a king could not err; that he
ucing the great head of jurispru-.
denco, what he was and did was
legal and could not be wrong. But
II is notorious fact that theory is
uersus practice, and that this one in
particular has forever been practi-
cally designed. The people may
be crushed beneath the iron heel of
debotism, and bound with The chains
of slaveryj the fire of patriotism
may be smothered; the stream Of
liberty stopped, yea rolled back
ward in its course; but it cannot al
ways be thus. That divine Pfinci-
pie in the breast Of man will rise
and cry to heaven for its inherent
rights. Man, indignant of wrongs,
apd conscious of right, will gffd on
the armor of freedom, grasp the
sword, defy the power of oppre5-
sive potentates, and speak in a voice
that will make tyrants tremble.
TIE people Of England said in un-
mistakable tones, that king could
err, when they forced king John TO
sign the magma Charta;" when
they said unto him, "this thou shalt
do. and this thou shaft leave un-
done; Hitherto, shalt thou come and
-. l.o..1 -laIt al, o,r.or