, 1875-03-07

HT0f. ". Il. GUNNER mas followed up HI
lecture in the Yale t-graduate course OF
the nature of the Republic, upon which VI
commented a short time since, with one OF
the danger Of the Republic. He makes thret
especially noteworthy points.
The first danger is the lack Of good op
position For want of it We are drifting to
wards democracy" which, according tc
MoNTEsQuRU's famous saying, either sweeps
everything beforeit With its hundred thousand
arms, or creeps tardily along with its hun
dred thousand feet. Under democracy,
equality and the absolute rule Of numerical
majority prevail The minority has nothing
to do but submit Arbitrary rule is an evil,
whether it is TINT of the one or the many.
The opposition in this country should act as
it does in England. It should argue, per-
suade, and convince, and so modify the
measures of which it disapproves. Legisla~
ton in England is series of compromises.
It is never too fast and rarely too slow. This
is the result Of Intelligent opposition. We
have not this. check in this country, and we
must have 1t in order to maintain a constitu-
tiona1, as against democratic, Republic
One thing that prevents it is the abuse OF the
'sprevious question" in the popular branch of
Congress. It stops useless and often inter-
minable talk, to be sure, but it stops useful
talk, too. The decline of debate and the
growth Of the CAUCUS are conte1nporaneous
facts. A meeting Of the majority decides what
measures shall be passed. The decision is
i,
q majority, which is almost certainly mi
nority Of the whole body, shapes legislation.
This leaves no scope for intelligent opposi-
ton, because the moving Of the previous
question as soon as the question is before the
House cuts OF debate and prevents amend
ments- Under the present rule, day is given
for debate, but Prof SUMNER thinks that the
House should initiate the Senate and gag
nobody who has anything to say. This is the
practice in the British Parliament. It is
possible that the fibustering which so often
delays legislation in America is more the
result than the cause Of the gag-rules. It
might pass away, in q great measure, with
The rules The people would not suffer any
party to delay business with impunity, if the
lelay did not generally seem like gallant
protest against restricting free speech.
The second danger to the Republic is the
influence Of moneyed interests. This is the
threatened despotis1n- "C@sarizm," so far
Is the Executive is concerned, is weak bug
lboo to scare very timid souls with. No
President could make himself supreme, nor
'ven take the first step thereto. Moneyed
interests, however, can and do rule. They
combine with each other to secure special |
egislatiou, which is usually opposed, as its
,ame implies, to the public good The
protective tariff is the most gigantic in
tance Of moneyed< <despotism which has yet
'een developed in this country. It taxes the
nasses for the benefit of the few, robs a
thousand for the sake of ten. Despots can
10 little more
The third danger to the Republic is the
buse of elections We have been electine
20 many officials, and making their terms
DO short Officials should serve long enough
, know how to discharge their duties. Too
requent elections, moreover, weary and dis
ust the people, and so throw politics into
ae hands Of wire-pu1lers and professionals.
here are mu1htudes Of officers now elected
.ho ought not to be elected at all, but ap-
ointed Among these are, first and fore
lost, the Judiciary. English historians,
ON HA11AM to KN1GHr, concur in cal1-
lg the severance Of the tie between
,e judiciary and the Sovereign in
Int country one Of the greatest
institutional measures secured BY the expul-
on Of the STUARTs. St,on after the accession
WILLIAM and MARY, the Judges terms were
ade to continue 't duri1p good hehaviocr