New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1875-03-28
CONSERVATISM.

The. American people have always
shown themselves, since their disenthrall.
nent from foreign authority, duly i'm
pressed with the essential quality of con-
servatism; and as they have augmented in
numbers this spirit has grown with the
growth Of the country and its free institu-
tons, until both are acknowledged to be
| planted on solid foundation The re-
publican government which has been
maintained by the American people
almost a century, was baptised in some of
their best blood; and since that time the
! republic has successfully passed through
| several bloody wars calculated to test the
| preference of the people for free govern
| ment by the amount of suffering they
were willing to endure in order that it
should be we'll established. The indie
peadence Of the country, declared in 1776,
Was secured by what is known as the war
Of the revolution. That was successfully
main2ained by the American people
against the oppressive exactions and au-
thority Of a foreign government, and in
favor Of the establishment of home gov
ernment upon republican instead Of mon
archical principles. But it took years
after England had recognized the indie
pendence of the United States of America
to establish republican government in
territory that had once beenruled by Eng
land as English colonies, and in all the
trials that free government has been sub
jected to by its enemies the people have
stood firmly by the republic, SO that it
may now be said our free institutions
stand 10 longer in danger of being success
fully assailed either by foreign Or domestic
enemies. They have stood the trials of
hundred years; the insidious assaults Of
those who protested to be friends of re-
publican government as we'll as the as
saults that came from those who openly
denied that any good could come from it.
And yet our free Institutions exist and
continue to grow in strength. They are
established. Therefore it should be un-
derstood that ''conservatism'-a term
that is often used nowadays in politics
means a desire of preserving whatever is |
established by the conservative masses. It I!
was the conservatives OF this country that |
rallied under the Republican banner in |
1860 and elected Mr.. Lincoln Presi- |
dent. He stood pledged to the
masses Of the country
that its free institutions should not be
changed and slavery made the perpetual
dominant party. Mr.. Lincoln, the true +
representative Of tie conservative masses
md the champion Of Republican govern
nent, fell martyr to the noble
cause he had espoused, but this
act did not drive the Conservative
nasses-the Republicans from the per
ormance of their duty. They have con-
inued to battle from that until the pres.
mt time in defense Of popular govern
nent, and against the party that "a
ored the disintegration of the country
nd tie subversion Of its free institu-
ions. The Republican party, then, is
he only conservative party in the coun-
ry. 1t las been sustained by the con-
ervative masses since 1850, ina op-
osition to the Democratic party
hitch has persisted in a course that if i
ermitted to be carried out would un-
oubtedly change the character of our
,stitutions and make the government c
nstable.
AS the term conservatism is often mis-
,pled in politics, so is the word b
radical misunderstood. A conser- =
tive Democrat IS indeed rara axis; and {
erefore the word conservative is mis-
piled when used in that way. The
ord radical, particularly when used