, 1872-03-07

be a. thickly peopled as Old England.
Wages will be rs low; and will fiuctuate
as much with you rs rs. You will have
your Manchester and Birminghams,
and in those Hanchesters and Birmiup-
hams hundreds Of thousands Of artisan.
will assuredly be sometimes out of work.
Then your Institutions will be fairly
brought to the test. Distress every.
where makes the laborer mutinous and
discontented. and inclines him to listen
with eagerness to agitators who tell him
that it is a monstrous iniquity that one
man should have q million while anoth-
er cannot get full meal. In bad years
there is plenty Of grumbling here, and
sometimes little rioting. But it mat
tiers little. For here the sufferers are
not the rulers. The supreme power is
in the hands Of claaa, numerous in
deed, but select, of an educated class,
Of class which is and knows itself to
be deeply interested in the security of
property and the maintenance of order.
Accordingly the malcontents are firmly
yet gently restrained. The bad time is
got over without robbing the wealthy to
relieve the INDECENT. The springs of
national prosperity soon began to flow
again; work is plentiful, wages rise. and
all is tranquility and cheerfulness. 1
have seen England pass three or four
times through such critical seasons as 1
have described. Through such seasons
the United States will have to pass in
the course of the next century, if not
of this. How will you pass through
them 1 heartily wish you good de-
liverance. But my reason and nv
wishes are ut war, and cannot help for
boding the worst. 1t is quite plain that
your Government will never be able to
restrain a distressed and discoutented
majority; for with you the majority
is the Government, and has the rich.
who are always in minority, abso-
ia'ely at Its mercy.
The day will come, when, in the
State of New York, multitude of peo-
pie, none of whom has had more than
half breakfast, or expects to have
more than half dinner, will choose a
Legislature. Is it possible to doubt
what sort Of Legislature will be chosen?
On the one side is statesman preach
ing patience, respect for vested rights,
strict observance of public faith. On
the otter ;s demagogue ranting about
the tyranny o. capitalists and usurels,
and asking why anybody should be
permitted to drink champagne and ride
in carriage, while thousands of honest
folks are in want of necessaries. Which
Of the two candidates is likely to be
preferred by a working man who hears
his children cry for more bread? !
seriously arprehend that you will, in
some such season of adversely as have
described, do things which will prevent
prosperity from returning; that you
will act like people would in a year OF
scarcity, devour all the seed corn, and
thus make the next year year not. Of
scarcity, but Of absolute famine. There
will be, fear, spoliation. The spolia.
ton will increase the distress. The dis
tress will produce fresh spoliation
There is nothing to stay you. Your Con
stitution is all sail and no anchor. As
said before, when society has entered OF
this downward progress, either civiliza
ton or liberty must perish. Eit'
some Cesar or Napoleon will g
reins of government with " ,erze I
OF your Republic W .stronc han
plundered and al be as fearful
in the two laid waste by barbaria
Em~' -htieth century as the Rom,
! gre was in the fifth; with this a7s.
ence' that the Huns and vandals. =,
r.vased the Roman Empire, cams f,o
~l'nout. and that your Huns and Va,
dala will have been engendered with;
your country by your own inst;tnt;on
ihinking thus. of course I can,
reckon jefferson among the benefac, :.
OF mankind, I readily admit tn. . I,
Intentions were good and his ., ~.
considerable. Odious stories h. Inv
circulated about his private i "eoe
know not on what evidence u D1
rest; and think it probe h,o -, '
false or monstrously ey .oco.a.. T"
have no doubt but that sSom
both pleasure and j. ,form..;,,.
your account of him. o
I have the honor to be, dear sir 70,
faithful servant, W
I. B. MAcAuLA1
X2RrOr >G