Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1870-07-02
"rHE DAY WE CELEBRATE

NC Y va 1850 1-y
"THE DAY WE CELEBRATE"
On Monday next, July 4th, the 9th
Anniversary Of American Independ-
ence, will be celebrated by the Amer
lean people. This is the anniversary
of the Inauguration Of the reign of
&c the throneless king" The Chinese
legends say that the birth Of their great
was heralded by a pro-
phecY that he that is to say the mind
and intelligence, Of which the Orient
ais claim that Confucius is the repre-
should reign without the
of power. "The dignified
title Of the throneless king" says an
able reviewer, "is the earliest declara-
ton Of the royalty of intellect, an idea
which has appeared in subsequent ages
In languages Of which Confucius never
dreamed" Not only in language and
the theories of philosophers, but in
practice, in the work Of the fathers of
the republic Is the throneless king rec
ognized. More than one thinker had
amused himself with an "Ideal Re-
public before the practical men of
20 commenced putting into exact form
what had before been seen In dim
visions. The royalty of intellect P"
was distinctly affirmed in the Declare
ton Of Independence, now nearly a
hundred years ago. The lapse Of time
has established the work Of the found
ers Of the Republic and we may now
safely say that u Institutions are as
firm as anything human can be. The
political fabric Of this Union has passed
through trials out Of which no royal or
personal dynasty could have come I'M
broken, and it is not boasting to say
that the United States Government
this day is among the strongest yet
least felt Of all upon the earth. The
American king is throneless. The
power Of the Government is vested in
the virtue, the intelligence and the
patriotism of the people. The royalty
Of intellect resides in whatever mental
characteristics distinguish man from
the brutes, and it rests on the knowl-
edge andsconvictions Of the people, not
ON hereditary usage and mere tradi-
ton. We have no privileged class
claiming precedence by birth. The
republic Is theoretically ruled by the
best men, selected not by blue blood,
but by the suffrage Of their fellows. Of
course mistakes sometimes happen,
and the wrong man gets into the wrong
place. But mind asserts its sway, and
the errors Of to-day are corrected to-
morrow. Experience teaches, and as
q nation we are yet in our youth, and,
that this youth has not been bar
rem Is shown in the rank we hold to-
day toward nations without, and the
protection we are able to accord to cit
liens within. Perfection is not
preachd; but that we do not look for.
Whatever progress is obtained must
be by the preponderance Of virtue
and patriotism over vice and self
ishness, and in this form of "uni-
versal suffrage" every man,
woman and child is called to par
ticipate. 1t is a serious thought, fit for
the National Anniversary, that all the
citizens of the republic, all who share
in its benefits, share also in its respon-
sibilities. Fit for this day-we should
rather say the thought is fit for all
days-tor on the National Holiday we
rather enjoy what the daily life of the
nation procures for US. We rejoice in
what our work obtains for us, and
while on other secular days there is
dignity etM labor, on this We are en-
titled to ease, without the oppressive
thought of our political responsible
ties. Such is q rational view Of the
privileges Of the National Holiday.
Political subjects must be banished
from conversation, for they are apt to
engender strife; and for IL day At
least we must be all Americans and
fellow-citizens honoring u political
fathers, courteous to our contemporaries,
thankful to the Great Ruler by whose
protection the country has prospered,
and in whose bounty we severally re-
joice. 1t is q day on which to be "a
tionally happy with IL families and
friends; and an occasion when we
should conscientiously avoid all that
may degrade our manhood. Too many
persons so conduct themselves as to
cause thoughtful men to regret-not
that we have too few holidays-but
that we have any at all. If no worse
occurs, the bills of mortality are
swelled by excuses which are danger
Gus enough at any time, but are
doubly so In the summer heat. If, in
deed, there is rejoicing at the reign of
The Throneless King, and the sway Of
the higher attributes of humanity, it
should be on the anniversary Of the
day on which the Fathers Of the Re
public pledged their lives, fortunes
ard sacred honors, to build and per-
petuate the political ediice under
whose shelter we live. Let us all, then.
be sovereigns-feeling complacent In
our royalty; laying aside the cares
and anxieties Of our positions, and CIV
Ing free scope to whatever proper de-
sires we have for enjoyment. Let each
be cheerful in his own way, tolerant to
and master over himself. To
all We wish 4 joyful day; many re-
turns Of the anniversary ; a due appre-
citation Of the significance Of the hell
day, and a stout resistance against the
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