Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1871-09-09
porrr1oA1eapuoAT1oN

In an address delivered before
Teachers Convention over thirty years
ago, we find q passage as remarkable
for Its happy illustration as for Its
truth. The orator said. 1--WE boast
1t as the distinguishing feature Of our
institutions, that all power lies with
the people. This Is we'll while the
people are capacitated to use it intelll-
gently. and wisely. A republic, In
which the great a of the people,
who hold the sovereign power, Is given
up to ignorance and degration, Is the
grandest treason that can be devised
against humanity. 1t Is like a vol
canic mountain, murmuring with in
ternal fires, which rage and swelter In
its bosom, but which send mp to the
surface a genial warmth, that covers 1t
with perpetual yerdure-thus lifting
itself In beauty and grandeur to the
eye, and inviting from afar the hum
BILE jewellers of the plain to climb Its
blooming sides, and fix amidst Its
loveliness their treacherous hablta-
tions. Poetry has sung the praises Of
the enlightened few;' but history IL
a sterner monitor, and she a US,
as we value our liberties and NJ po-
litical existence, to seek out the ame-
Iteration and improvement Of the
many" All unsuccessful attempts to
establish republics have found their
failure in the superior Intelligence and
consequent power Of the designing and
ambitious. Their opportunity has
been in the ignorance of the great
multitude. The advantages which
were enjoyed by the colonists In this
country, their intelligence and fru-
gality, and the high moral tone which
pervaded politics" in those days,
prepared them for self.assertlon.
Teachers Of the people, in religion and
In politics, were listened to and heed
ed ; not, indeed, as men to whom blind
defereuce was to be yielded, but as the
propounders Of truths and doctrines,
which the people were to weigh and
to consider. The legislative bodies
and the popular conventions were
schools In which men were taught.
While the results Of the great agita-
ton which preceded the Revolution
promoted the cause Of liberty, the
same results, being conclusions from
reasoning, defeated any ambitious pur-
pose, If such purpose were entertained.
There Is one point In which our Reyo-
luton was unique. No aspiring dem.
agogue rode into power on the change
OF government. There was no per-
sonal following, NJ enthusiasm in
favor Of a popular favorite, military
or civil, which contributed to the hard
won success Of the c~olonists, in assert
ing their independence. Measures and
men were subjected to q rigid, and
even to an ~unfriendly scrutiny. Much
Of the admiration with which the ma
ton now regards her political found
ers was an aftergrowth, due to a tenn
perate weighing Of their merits, and a
slowly admitted consideration OF their
services. After the peace was secured
there was a period Of uncertainty, dur
ing which the liberated people hesi-
tated to intrust anybody with the
| actual government of tho liberated
country. National Offices were not
created to reward the men who had
made the existence Of such offices pos
sible. Public trusts were created for
the benefit Of the nation and men
were called to those offices on account
OF their estimated fitness. The orator
and the poet who now take "enthu-
slasm " for granted as n Of the great
vlctors in the Revolutionary struggle ;
and especially those who speak as If
the personal worship Of leaders con-
tributed to its success, take for granted
a state Of things which did not exist.
Seven years before the wal men talked
Of what they desired with the coolness
of men who weighed consequences.
For the seven years Of the war, they
worked with the determined persever-
ence of men who had counted the cost
Of what they were doing. And at the
close of the foreign struggle, domestic
questions were debated with q zeal
and warmth which never have been
exceeded since. Popular political ed
ucation had been pursued under a
course of arduous training. What
kind Of education was contemplated
for after years the foregoing brief re-
view will suggest. 1t went far beyond
the acquisition Of mere school knowl-
edge, reading, writing, arithmetic,
mathematics, etc. These were essen
tial as a foundation merely. But the
linen" who were to constitute the
State " were to be trained with correct
ideas Of their duties a. citizens, as we'll
as In full knowledge Of their rights.
They were to be well acquainted with
the principles of free government, and
to be made to understand and to act
upon the fundamental truth, that a
free government cannot be successfully
administered unless its electors cast
their votes intelligently and conscien-
tiously for the men and the measures
best calculated to promote the public
welfare. The fathers" Of the Re-
public knew tina: without this there
can be M permanency, no enduring
prosperity In any free government.
They knew that If the voters set the
example Of Indifference to their own
welfare by voting without care or con-
science rs to whether this candidate or
the measure be good or bad, they have
no reason TO be surprised when officials