Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-04-24


Republican institutions and republican
principles in Europe and America differ.
The advance in public sentiment, which
allows the formation of a republican
form of government in any of the old
monarchial countries of Europe, must,
necessarily, be great. Spain is, however,
as vet unused to government by the
people for the people. 1t was note
worthy step when she threw off the
monarchy for the republic We hope
and trust that the experiment Will be
successful and permanent. To consti-
tute true and perfect republic, how
ever. will be work of time. The body
of the people must become accustomed
to the fact that they are the rulers.
They will ascertain, in time, that, II
they are true to their principles, they
must be ready and willing to accord to
Others that which they claim for them
selves. When they attain this.position,
they will cOncede the independence of
Cuba, if its inhabitants honestly desire
independence CASTELAR, is, probably,
the most advanced republican, in his
ideas and principles, of any living Euro
pean. Yet he does not hesitate to an
nounce that he is "a better Spaniard
than republican" This is, perhaps,
natural. From his very education and
associations, he must be thoroughly i'm
bued with Spanish ideas and prejudices.
The glory of Spain, in former years,
consisted in her conquests. The num-
Der of her dependencies was always
large, and, when in the full tide of her
strength and renown, she was continu-
ally adding to the number of her possess
ions, In her decadence, she has wit
messed colony after colony wrested from
her possession, so that now her DEEPEN
denotes are few in number and, for the
most part, insignificant in Importance.
An educated Spaniard, as he reads the
history of his country, must feel glow
of pride at her position, greatness and
renown. He must, also, long for the
day when she shall again assume her
former position among the nations of
the earth. How that position was at
tanned and retained, they well know.
They know and feel that, but for her
discoveries, her colonies and dependen-
cies, she would always have been a
second rate nation. They understand,
too, that with the discontinuance of
maritime voyages of discovery, and with
the loss of her foreign possessions, her
decadence began. Is it any wonder,
then, that the present government of
Spain should be 10th to give up Cuba.
They have not yet learned that the true
glory and granduer of nation does not
consist in the extent of her territory,
the number of her dependencies or the
triumphs of her armies. When her
statesmen and people shall have reached
the point, when their energies shall be
devoted to the education of the masses,
the development of her resources, the
elevation of the condition of all classes,
and the general diffusion of knowledge,
then may we expect that justice will be
done to Cuba They have not yet learn
ed, because they have had no expert
ence, "that all men are created equal
that they are endowed by their Creator
with certain unalienable rights; that
among these, are life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness. That, to secure
these rights, governments are instituted
among men, deriving their just powers
from the consent of the governed" Her
statesmen and scholars have, doubtless,
read these words, but have failed to COM
prehend their significance. To them,
they have been as mere idle yagaries or
the dreams of an utopian political phil
osopher. 1t is natural that they should
have so considered them. There has
been nothing in their past history to
indicate that there were or could be any
such ''unalenable rights. They might
carefully scan the past records of any
and all other nations in Europe and they
would fail to find these "rights' recOg-
nized. We regret to say that, until
within very few years, they would,
also, fail to find any such recognition in
republican America. One of our own
statesmen and orators pronounced them
to be idle words and mere ''glittering
generalities. That statesman and ora
tor so believed, and proved his belief by
his political affiliations. The large mass
of our countrymen either believed these
utterances of the founders of the repub-
lie to be "glittering generalities' and I
the idle vaporings of the brain of politi-
cal philosophers and dreaners, or acted /
as if they } believed. What wonder,
then, that the Spaniard should fail to
discover their true import and reality? /
Rufus Choate and bis compeers and CO.
laborers, also, believed it to be a gilt
tering generality ''that, whenever any
form OF government becomes destructive
of these ends, it is the right of the peo-
pie to alter or to abolish it, and to insti-
tute new government, laying its foun-
dalton on such principles, and organizing
its powers in such form, as to them shall
seem most likely to effect their safety
and happiness" He and they were I'M
mindful or forgetful of the fact, that
these ideas and principles ushered the
United States into existence Isit strange
then that the statesmen of Spain, born,
reared and educated under monarchial
government, surrounded by the influence
of kingly arist1cracy, and studying the
history and seeing the example Of other
nations, should fail to understand these
principles? They claim and exercise
the right to change their own form Of
government, and sec no inconsistency ID
refusing the same rightto others They
fail to comprehend the significance Of
their act or the idea upon which il is
based. CASTELAR, expressed the views
of the statesmen, the scholars and peo