Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1878-01-04
THEREMEpY FOR MlsGoyERSMENr.
The Rule of IN Arist1cracy the Best for
the People advantages Of Govern.
ment Of Gentlemen.

w. II, LeFNA III tHe Nolta AM rlcau NeNltW.
From these extreme evils Il country
is for the most part saved by intrustine
the management of its affairs chiefly 70
the upper classes Of the community.
\ government Of gentlemen may be
and often is extremely deficient III III
telligonce, il energy, in sympathy with
the poor classes. 1t may be shumefnlly
biased bv class interests, and guilty Of
great corruption in the disposal Of pat
ronage, but the standard of honor COM
mon to the class ut least secures it from
the grosscr forms Of malversation, and
the interests of its members are indis-
soluhly connected with the permanent
wcll-being Of the country. Such men
may be guilty Of much misgovernmcnt,
and they will certainly, if uncontrolled
hy other classes, display much selfish.
ness, but il is scarcely possible that
they should bc wholly indifferent to tic
ultimate consequences of then acts, or
should diyest themselves Of all sense Of
responsibility or public duty. When
other things arc equal the class which
has most to lose and least to gam hy
dishonesty will exhibit the highest level
Of integrity. When other things arc
equal, the class whose interests are
most permanently and seriously bound
up with those Of the nation is likely to
he the most careful guardian of the
national welfare. When other things
are equal, the class which has the most
leisure and most means Of instruction
will, rs whole, be the most intelligent
Besides this the tact, the refinement,
the retccncc, the conciliatory tone of
thought and manner characteristic of
gentlemen are all peculiarly valuable in
public mon, whose chief task is to re-
eoncilc conflicting professions, and to
harmonic Earring interests. Nor is II
u matter Of slight importance to the
political life of nation or 10 the esti-
mate in which il nation is held by its
neighhors that its government should be
in the hands Of men on whom no class
can look down. Rightly or wrongly,
nations are Judged mainly Ivy the politi-
clans and by their political acts, and
when these have ceased to command
respect, the character ola nation iii The
world is speedily lowered.
These considerations may be carried
a step further. All civic virtue, all the
heroism and self-sacrifice or patriot
ism, spring ultimately from the habit
men acquire or regarding their nation
as great organic whole, identifying
themselves with its fortunes in the past
as i'll the present, and looking forward
anXiously to its future dcStinies. When
the members of amy nation have como
toregard their country rs nothing more
than the plot Of ground on which they
reside and their government as mere
organization for providing police or
contracting treaties; when they have
ceased to entertain any warmer feelings
for one another than those which pri-
waite interests or personal friendship or
4 Nicer general philanthropy may pro
duce, the moral dissolution of that ma
ton is at hand. Even in the order of
material interests the well-bcing Of each
generation Is III Il great degree depcn-
dent upon the forbearancc, self-Sacritice.
and providence of those who have pre-
ceeded it, and civic virtues can never
flourish III IL generation which thinks
only of itself. Those will not look for
ward to their posterity WHO never look
backward to their ancestors. To
kindle and sustain the vital flame of
national sentiment is the chief moral
end of national institutions, and while
it cannot be denied that it has been at
tanned under the most various forms
of government, it is equally certain
that an aristocracy which is at once
popular and hereditary, which blends
and assimilates itself with the general
interests Of the present, while it pcrpet-
yates and honors the memories Of the
past, is peculiarly fitted to foster it,
Another advantage which should not
he neglected in u review Of the effects
Of aristocratic institutions is their ten
dency TO bring young men into active
political life. In politics, us in most
otter professions, early training is OF
extreme importance, and III IL country
whose government is conducted mainly
through the insttumentality Of parlia-
ment this training, to be really efficient.
must include an early practice of par
liamentary duties A young man Of
energy and industry, possessing the tact
and manners of good society, and en-
dowed with abilities slightly superior to
those of the average of men, is likely,
if brought into parliamentary and Of
fetal life between twenty and thirty, to
acquire skill in the conduct Of public
business rarely attained even by men
Of great genius whose minds and char
acters have been formed in other
spheres and who have come late into
the arena Of parliament. The presence
in parliament of u certain number Of
young politicians, from whom the lower
Offices Of administration may be filled,
and who may gradually rise to the fore
most places. is an essential condition
Of the well-boing Of constitutional gov