Richland beacon. [volume] (Rayville, La.) 1869-1890, 1874-05-30
Our Government.

.ipally for It's success, upon the sound
moral habits and principles OF its OK
.cs,ors ant! rXpounders, rather than
the nice halunccs and checks with
which lis cnnairiing elements arc ar
ranged "That government is best,
which is best administered" is an ut.
tcrance Of Pope, and is not without
foundation in the practical operation
Of government. The best theory may
he ruined by bad practice. The finest
ryperimcnisin chemistry, for instance,
n,av bcc>~a blank failure in the
awkward hands Of he careless manip-
ulator. SO, the best governmental
element. that ever have been brought
TO bear upon human society, may be
rendered nuca,ory or dcspOtic by a
had or lccnlious administration
Government, in the abstract, is not an
evil, yet in It's practical operation, it
frequently rubs and abradcs various
parts of the body pOiiic. In the pres
cnt state Of sinful society, these things
cannot hc avoided. Calhoun once
said, that we are compelled to resort
10 government as much by our selfish
as our bcH-rolcH affections. In this
short ana vsis, any one can see that
correct governmental theories are go0d
but tha, correct and equal cmbodi-
mcnt Of these theories in laws aud
their faithful and just administration,
are bcticr. Now the question comes
up, can or will a corrupt ruler admin
lister faithful V and fairly an otherwise
good government VIII wicked men
lcgislatc for the COED of society p
Have they ever done so? We admit
that bad men progress in this matter
like every other criminal, going from
lad to worse, but finally they will lay
their destructive Lands upon the sa-
cred shrine itself, and dcmolish every
shape and form OF constitutional gov
crnment The voice Of the past de-
clares this to be true. When "thc
wicked are in power, TIE people
mourn" says the great Legislator
and Tcmplc-Buildcr, Solomon. "Thc
whole head is sick and the whole
heart faint" aplly fits our case, as
well as it did the chosen people of old.
1t needs no Isaiah TO tell our doom
under such n regimen 1t is written
in the dark characters Of the past, too
plain however, to he misunderstood
Such will be the dire results, the eth
'cs Of interest, when applied TO the
governmental science. Nothing can
avert the march of Sellishness in its
career-but iRdiriduaI reformation, ir-
dividual honesty, individual integrity.
If this land and nation is to be saved,
we must reform or OWn hearts. our
NVn families, our own churches, our
OWn communities, our schools, our
collegcs-we must purge out the "old
leven" Of sellishness-act and live
more for the public good, for posterity
drive out from our hearth-stones and
our hearts those earthly, sensual and
devilish maxims, that cause our every
thought and action to revolve around
the narrow circumference of the Dol
Iar-then, and not till then, will the
influence of our charity, integrity and
uprightness, reach and pcrmeate, with
force and energy, every department of
our governmental system. Then will
the wave of our righteous influence
spread out, acting first N on our i'm
mediate representatives, and finally
ramifying and purifying the highest,
remotest, functions Of " Republican
system. No other So of political
reform can insure stability NApoliti-
cal prosperity. Purify the fountain,
and the streams flowing lberefrom
will be sweet. II the springs are
poisoned, every rivulet issuing thence,
will bear death and pestilence where
ever it mcandcrs. The, foundation
stone, the man, the ,coman, the child,
must he of good material, and laid in
the firm cement Of virtue. Charity, it
is said, begins at home; so does good
government. 1t is a sad mistake to
think that corrupt, selfish people can
have pure. holy end upright ser
wants. Like people. like pricst"is an
old proverb. and without dc,riment
to its force might read as follows:
Like people, like rulers" The pro-
cess Of assimilation between a people
and rulers may be slow; but in our
case, it has been rapid-so rapid in
fact, that our brain whirls amid the
conflict of opposing theories and opin-
ions. But rcvcriing to FIRST princi-