, 1873-03-16

! titled to public commendation especially III q
| country aud among people "hero tho 1ac1ltles
for divorce, the doctrine OF FREQ lovo, and hum
dred varieties Of fantastic Icentiousnes6, have
threatened the sanctity OF tho marriage re1a-
tion 80 seriously.
THE EFFECTS OF NATIONAL CORRUPTION.
Tho first English paper to break ground upon
the recent Credit Mobilor developments in this
country is the London Spectator, the organ OF
the English Liberals, and always staunch
friend Of the United States. In it's comments
upon the compatibility Of American politicians
it confines itself mainly to the effect upon democ-
racy, and justly assumes TINT nothing can bo
moro disheartening to radicals, or to any men
| who believe in solf-g government, than these
revelations Of corruption. From this stand
point it argues the inevitable results which
must flow from such corruptions unless they are
checked. Assuming that democracy is ILL
corrupt, il it can not or does not
care to find representatives who aro honest, then
democracy is dcad before it 1as we'll been born.
tracts, and, "undor our modern civilization, the
very life Of q patton may depond upon tho
honest performance. OF contracts upon ship
rivets, and soldiers boots, and the quality Of
powder, and the step from furnishing boots of
paper to betraying an expedition is very short
one." This practice having become general,
the work Of legislation is sure to fall to man
who make trade Of it, and, prodting by it, give
! their whole attention to it, and create huge
monopoly. Thus the control OF great coun~
try, like the control OF city, may pass into
the hands of Ring, and al good or
| far-sighted men in such an event must give up
the domocratic cause as hopeless fal1acy.
Gloomy IS this train of reasoning may be, it il
none the less logical, and not only logical but
practical Tho Spectator is not propounding
theory but stating fact, which must result
from these corruptions; sooner or later, If they
are allowed to 20 on unchecked and gather
head, as in tha case Of Credit Mobilier, and the
election frauds, in the fnce Of which such
men rs Pomeroy arc allowed to retain their
places in tho National Legislature, and such
men as Caldwell demand to be excused
because they did not bribe as many
voters as thoy had votes. No one can tell how
long the Var of tho Rebellion WIS prolonged b.
shoddy contracts and sawlust bombs, but those
were made at q time when fraud and corruption
had not been 1egtimatizad by the formal action
OF Congress, and tho National standard Of moral
ity had not been lowered by votes of Congress-
men and public banquets rendered to men
proven guilty Of corruption. It ia impossible at
present to regard tho 1dea Of war with foreign
power with any degree of complacency. Job
berry and swind1ing in contracts have al
| ready reduced our navy to comparative
nul1ity. How much better off would tho army
be, in case of war, now that Congress has doDo
its best to depauch the public morals. and estab-
lish tho fact that corruption may be practised
with immunity?
The only CLEAN Of hope. Of course, lies IN tho
incorrnptibility Of the people. II the people
acquiesce in these corruptions, tho struggle is
at m end; if they do not, there is hope for
better things. As the Spectator says: "a nation
-AA%a6
the hands of corrupt King, and yet remain
itself uncorruptcd. That certainly happened
In England under Charles H., when King,
courtiers, and statesmen alike accepted
bribes which tho electorate would hnvo
rejected with contemptuous scorn and under
Walpole, when Peers apologized for rejecting
bribes which tailors would have thrown in tho
faces of those who offered them" II tho recog-
milton OF the fact that politicians arc corrupt,
and that tho obtaining Of Office is simply mat
ter Of bargain and sale, possess any weight,
there is come hope. The people universally
know this, and VIC believe if these corruptions
could be dealt with by the people themselves,
they would malo summary disposition Of them.
Commenting upon this phase of the question,
the Spectator says:
This Ia 80 fur satisfactory, but cannot deny that
each Of these rcvelsons necessary they If here
ia ever to be REFORM ia blow struck against
democracy. Grant tho electorate innocent, aud we
must still concede that 1t is excessively stupid. It
looks ~ il average, hafeducated workingmen, such
a make up the constituency Of Kansas, while they
can be trusted to fight for their country and to
see that s}ave1y evil cannot be trusted to dis
ceFn the caAf3ctef o1 IaelF representatives. 1Qey
select In ordinary timesa "bad 1ot,m and when &c.
}ected do not lock after thcna with anything Ike
adequate kcenness and intelligence. II they remain
poor, that is credit to them, aud If they become
rich, that ia no cause Of suspicion, for they may
have boen specializing in stocks. Te do
not like tho outlook-for Englishmen aud
Americans essentially the saue-any more than
like the deduction VIC forced to draw,--that the
reverence for rank acts anttsepic the
for money. We never feel sure VIC read these
sories tn American papers, and French papers, and
German papers, that the English guarantee against
repetition Of them IN this country Is not caste pride,
tho strongest argument for arstocracy in some sense
other It would be possible to suggest. It 10 dis
hca1tening thought from our point Of vtew, but We
neyer deny fact aud there the fact is that any
who offered 81 200 ne E1c 600 to any EngNah Peer
county member for his vote would bo sumuaariy
elected from the room. There 1obbyers among
us too but they refrain from putting temptation into
that crude form, and they powerleas Against the
caste.
The only remedy which the people have lies in
a. o~r,o-a;o~- NJ THAR cnpiaynn u&ion a&