Semi-weekly Louisianian. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1871-1872, 1872-02-25

Unhappy the kingdom that is
governed by a woman or a child"
was political apophthegm of an
tiquity. Unhappy the country, we
may say, the stability Of whose gov
ernment depends on the life of an
old man; and not only on his life,
but on his caprice. The ancient
apophthegm had its origin in times
when there were no limits to the
power Of the sovereign, and before
the invention of constitutional
guarantees. A nation was, there
fore, unhappy when its reins fell
into feeble hands, not strong enough
to guide it among the rocks and
precipices of domestic and foreign
violence. In Europe, as soon as
the populations began to emerge
from medieval darkness into the
twilight of modern civilization, they
discerned the necessity of guarding
the one-man power by some devices
which should secure them in some
measure from sudden changes by
death or caprice. Thus the heredi-
tary principle came to be established,
and royal families created, so that
there should be no question as to
whom the sovereign power belonged,
and there should be no civil wars Of
succession. The necessity of having
the national power in the hand Of
one man was assumed as a natural
and inevitable one. The throne
erected, and the successor to it pro-
vided for and hedged about
with the superstition of divine
right and guarded by the SEN
timent of loyalty, it became neces-
sary to set up some bulwarks
against the excesses of the sovereigns
and for the protection of the sub
jects against them. Thus the feudal
system came into being, and the
heritable jurisdictions Of the great
lords, who, though oppressive
enough toward the common people,
in the earlier times scarcely above
the condition Of ehattel slaves. still
stood, in a measure, between them
and the sovereign. And, later, in
the quarrels between the king and
the great lords, the common people
gradually grew into a power, from
which both contending parties, al
ternately or together hoped for as
sistance. The free cities arose out
of this condition Of things, and
there were planted and cherished
the first germs Of modern constitu-
tional governments.
Thus, by slowest degrees, the
political ideas which seem to us as
the tritest axioms were developed in
the modern mind-of the checks
and balances of a single executive
and of two houses of legislation,
one either hereditary constituency
from the other, more directly de-
rived from the people and, above
all, courts of justice, removed from
ali political influences. We might
almost say that this development
has thus taken place in the Teutonic
nations for the Latin races are
yet in the process of education, and
the results, on the whole, have not
been satisfactory thus far. In
England, notably, and in this coun-
try by Inheritance from her, the
ideas of a government which con-
tains within itse the power of peace
full alteration in its forms have
"broadened down from precedent to
precedent" to their present estate.
The northern nations of Europe,
the German Empire and its constit-
uent states, and Austria, largely
Germanized as she is, seem to take
kindly and naturally to constitution
| al government. Spain and her South
American children are, at best
struggling toward such a state o.
things, and are far enough as ye1
from having reached it. Italy
overwhelmed with debt, and with
revolution always muttering under
the caves of her palace-is only OF
trial yet. France, certainly, cannot
be regarded as an example Of con
| etifntional snccess with all he,