The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1879-10-11
LITERATURE


pie in reading Mr. Stickney's book is how much
easier it is TO pull down than to build up! 10
justify his plea for new republic, he hndS II
necessary to point out the defects of subssting
systems OF government-Hercdit Monarchy
or Absoutism, like Russia, Persia, &c; Consu'
tutional Royalty, like the government OF Eng
land and Republicansm, as he finds 1t in Ameri'
ca And it must be admitted that all these sys
TENS he has no difficulty in showing to DC very
seriously defective indeed. Starting out with
the proposition that that system is the best which
in the government secures the best men and their
best work, he readily disposes OF hereditary ao'
eolutism as on its face absurd, being based on
the claim that the accident Of birth can be relied
upon to bring the best man. But advancing to
the next stage, an hereditary monarchy with
constitutional limitations and responsible min
listry, can they be more relied upon to bring
| the best men and their best work. Appealing
to the history Of England from the days OF the
Barons down, we have little else than an unre-
deemed record Of lamentable failures. Her kings
have been succession Of imbeciles her "respon-
sible ministry" sham, and the choice OF her
public employees, instead OF being dictated by
regard for fitness, has been controlled by con.
siderations Of birth, family influence party ser
vices or money.-And, thirdly, republicanism, as
exempllfed in America has worked no better.
Here surely, said the founders OF our system,
power shall be given to men only for their iit-
ness and be taken from them for their uniitness;
here the people shall choose their own rulers
and the Offices shall be used only in the peoples
service. But what has been the result? Party
has chosen the peoples rulers, and the peoples
offices are used in the service Of party! 1t
is needless to follow Mr.. stickney through the
hundred pages in which he shows how this sys
TEN works The record is Illuminating and sick
ening enough Jefferson, past doubt, was no
saint, Madison was a wcakling, Jackson boor,
and the waste, peculation, meanness and uncon-
scionable scoundrclism that characterised the
administration OF President Lincoln, personally
the uprightest and purest Of all our presidents,
hardly excepting Washington, afford such an
overwhelming argument against the rule of
partyism AS to need no further demonstration.
Well, what then9 Absolutism limited mon.
archy and American republicanism all being
lamentable failures, and thus metaphorically
yazcd 10 the ground, what would Mr.. Stckney
erect in their stead? !. A government present
ing sharp discrimination Of powers and duties
between the executive, legislative and Judicial
branches; 2, all Offices to be held as long as good
service is done BY the incumbents. To descend
to details, he would have the executive chosen
by an electoral college A. our president is now
chosen, only the college is to be elected without
questions OF party, and meet in body and
choose the best man without being trammeled
by party pledges This executive is to have the
sole power to appoint and remove the heads of
departments, and said heads are each to have the
sole power to appoint and remove all their sub.
ordinates. The legislature to consist OF two
houses like our present congress, but both elected
directly by the people, who are not to be gov
erned by party predictions in their choice but
only by regard for fitness, is to pass all laws,
levy all taxes hold Office as long as they DO good
service, any member being at all times remova-
BILE BY two. thirds vote OF the body OF which he
is member, as the President or Chief executive
ia bysa two thirds vote OF both branches of the
national legislature.
Mr. stickney goes into further details, but this
Is rough outline Of his system. The difficulty
is, to understand how aman who had written SO
finely the first half OF his book could lose his
senses and come to so lame and impotent con.
clusion. Granting that the great evil Of our
present system is party, in the name of common
sense how is partyism to be killed by such sys.
TEN? There never was q government yet under
which parties did not spring up, and so long as
two separate tendencies exist in the human mind
one towards innovation and the other in favor
Of conservatism, parties are rs certain as free
thought and action.
The upshot OF it is, that Mr.. Stickney, though
he has written readable book and Incorporated
in it many clever things, is after all but another
shallow dreamer like our grccnbsck phloso-
pliers, currency doctors and endless brood Of
other "reformers," whose existence is doubtless
as consistent with the scheme Of the universe as
that of mosquitoes and CAD flies, but the wisdom
of which is so hard to understand.
SmAKRsrEARE's TRAGEDY OF OTHELLo, TnEI
Moon OF VENICE Edited with Notes, by vii.
liam j. Role, A. NJ. New York: Harper 81
Brothers. Chicago: Jansen, McClurg d Co.
Ottawa: Osman & Hapeman Price 10 cents.
Next to the Bible, probably, no production of
pen or tongue has been 80 deliberately comment
ed upon as the plays OF Shakespeare. large
library could be filled with Shakespearcan litera-
ture alone No wonder! Take Shakespeare
four great tragedes-Othello, Hamlet, Macbeth
and Lear--and Mr.. Rolfc says truly, "there Is no.
other such group in the literature of any coun-
try or any age" Take all his plays, and we can
contemplate the colossal mind that produced
them only with awe. II degrees are allowable
in such case, probably the mass Of Shakespear-
can students will agree with Macaulay that of
his tragedies Othello is-all in all-the greatest.
In it perhaps his genius unfolded to him more
fully that marvellous knowledge Of mans nature
and the force Of his passions, and enabled him
to exhibit them wildly to ether eyes, than in any
other While it may be true that most men Of
liberal education can better enjoy the reading Of
the play without than with the constant inter
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