Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1871-03-29


t pect tomorrow. And thus It wi
o continue until human liberties an
!, human. progress he secured 20 tn
coming age in the healthful sOveI
g eighty Of the people--a proper com
e mOnwealth which enltiyates God n
5 the hearts Of the millions and &C
: knOWledges the tCiU Of God IN tn
will and intellects Of the people.
2 Alfred the Great, after his restorR
ton, was deeply aRd sOlemnly i'm
I pressed with views kindred will
these, for they abound in sH hi
writings, reflections, and in the act
OF his reign. He, travelled tOwarC
= Anglo-SaxOn uIlity, but, after ages o
: progress, his race and genius brought
forth a grand declaration Of human
rights and liberties, not q French
: reVOlutiOn,-a George Washington
not aNapOleoni-as the ultimate tyDe
OF nations supreme man. Not les
even than the republican fathers OF
America did Alfred seek to secure n
mankind their inalisuable rights and
privileges by q regular constitutional
government He,saW his race which
until his day had been divided into
small kingdoms, growing into one ma
ton, not only from the necessities for
governmental unity as well as q
geographical oneness, out also from
the inevitable blending Of q kindred
people with the same language, on q
seagirt isle formed by Nature herself
for 3 grand national unity. The
growth Of civilization, the increase OF
the means Of travel. the exchange Of
thought, the extension Of commerce
between the different cities and cOun-
I ties, the enlargement Of meas intel
leets, and the general humaniziRg
and Christianizing Of the Saxon peo-
pie would. in time, certainly bring
about a national oneness. But the
| circumstances of Alfred, and the cir
eumstanoes Of his country, threw him
into a more rapid development In
! that direction. The Danish invasion
and the necessities for common de-
fense, and potent government
! throughout the land, under one head,
I produced in his reign what otherwise
/ il might have taken cen turies to bring
about; and the same necessities and
causes, 10 his grandsOn's reign, uni
ted the Danes and SsxOns into one
common people.
The intellectual Alfred saw these
necessities and causes working rapid
". It was to all intents ard purposes
new era, which before his dethrOne-
ment existed not. England, with his
restoration. had a new birth. Alfred
was doubtless the first Of his age 10
realize this and immediately after his
victory over the NoFthnnen he sought
TO incorporate them into England as
as Englishmen. His prompt, sagaei-
Gus policy was to firSt ChristiaBize the
pagan seakings and their warlike
forces, and by settling them on land
in various counties as tiilerS Of the
sOil, and thus imbuing them with the
spirit OF civilization and peace, be was
consolidating andaugmenting q king
dom, not distraetiBg 1t or dividing
with the invaders his power. The
SaxOns hsd the start in civilization,
and therefore they would absorb the
Danes, and not be absorbed by them
they were the teachers Of Christianity,
and therefore the pagans would be-
come their converts and adopted
brethren. It was = thousand times
easier thus to incorporate them into
the nation and civilize them than to
drive themas invaders from hisshOres.
Alfred, like an enlightened statesman,
sought 70 found a greater England
than that of the past. and by COM
mOnwealth to bring forth a united
kingdom, formed Of kindred races,
Phe first step in the design which
Alfred took was, like that Of Charlie
mango before him, to create q power
ful navy, and thoroughly 10 organize
the national forces on the land. With
his navy and armies he defended the
country against more inyasiOns and
kept his Danish allies faithful, 50 that
he was enabled for many yea 10 con-
tend with the terrible Hastings, and
&C last to break his. power and throw
his broken forces into France. ..#ar
-. His next WORK Z wrought eOnjOiatly
with the defense OF the- country, was
TO create the Saxon commonwealth,
which has not only been brought
down to the present day, but which
absorbed, tempered, and held incheck
.he imperial Normans after the Con
quest. And in this work Of our great
Saxon lawgivar, religion and civiliza-
ton were laid down as the proper ba-
sis Of the national supeStrueture.
H
This wise king goes 50 far as to state
It TO be a religious duty to cOmmuni-
cate the knowledge which we possess. /
He lsmented; in his Instructions to |
his bishop, the ignOranee which had
Overspread his native land; and to
remedy il be desired all the youths, |
who possessed the means, to learn to |
read English, and gently but very
-s-.N.g
dents who had not put their knoWl-
edge into popular form. To this /
end he devoted his own leisure, and |
called upon his clergy 70 devote theirs /.
10 the translafing of the books which /
they possessed into English. He set |
an example himself, worthy Of first |
class author and teacher, in b 5 his |
tOrical, philosophical, and theOI ogieal |
writings; fnr he seemed % plaes his /
glory in the intellectual advance
nent of his rude cOuntTymen.- He /
schools, and provided mas
ters for high and low. Te his court |
heinvited learned Foreigners and skill |
ful artisans; he searched around his |
dominion for men Of literary attain
ments, and was 3 munifieeut patron /
Of all men Of talent. His own writ /
ings afford the very best OF the earli- 4!
est specimens Of Saxon literature.
Next 70 his efforts for the education /
and Characterization OF his people. |
Alfred evolved civil Institution and l
framed wise laws. With the concur /
reucs Of his Bitena-gemot,. or parlia- I
ment, he introduced into the Anglo
Saxon legislature, not only the deca- /
logue, but also the principal provis- /
ions Of the Mosaic legislation, with I
such N ldificatiOns as were necessary /
to adapt them to AnglO-Saxon man (
ners. And in the laws which he at ]
taehed to them, he tells US that, with /
the concurrence Of his parliament he /
had collected together and committed I
20 writing the regulations which his .
ancestors had established, selecting
such Of them as he approved and re-
jeeting the rest. All these, he tells
US, passed his witena-gemOt, or parlia-
ment, and thus we see be started, not
with a good absOlute or despOtio leFis-
lation, but with good parliamentary
Or constitutional government. He
also instituted trial by jury, which is
still the boast OF the descendants of 1
the Anglo-SaxOn brothers In America,
Canada, Australia, and Great Britain:
and 50 strict was, the great king in
this wise institution. that
be punished eapitally y some judges for
deciding criminal cases by an aTbitra-
~ violation OF the right OfiuFy.
Thus, through the ages, has the
Saxon civilization. been evolved, ex-
paRding and perfecting its common
Juaalfh. and IN the q rnarfean anti