New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-12-24
MR.. FROUDE on DEMOCRACY.

from me fOFtHHNtD IttfftW'
People talked in Aristotles time and they talk
now an if the voice of majority any given
or, aston was or ought to be, decisive, and could
not be wrong AND yet u mas pcen Olten
mankind have been the work If determined minor
tiles When the matter in question can wait, tho
minority trusts to reason and argument TO bring
ths majority over 10 its side. But sometimes IT Will
not wait. The Catholics were in Il large majority
IN the Low Countries IN the sixteenth century. and
they wanted to compel the fTOicstants 10 20 10
mass The Professionals would not 90 to mass.
They fought for forty years and won
their liberty with swords IN their hands'
There is no divine right III majOrltles. NO voting,
though al mankind We're unanimous, VIII make
right out of wrong; ard voting Is only rough-and-
ready means of huding what IT is most EN-
to do at a given moment. lon hear 1t SAID that the
sonTce of bower is the will of the people, that men
must have themselves consented 10 the laws oy
which they are to be governed with other such con-
Ncntional forms OF speech. l humbly submit that
such xprossiOns are conventional ana notillDg es'
IL has happened to me- as 1t has happened To most
of MS to have been in the minority on some occa-
sjons in my life. Money, for instance. has been
voted for wars, the Crmean war for instance,
which abhorTed. paid because was Obliged i -,
did not consent ! objected to the uttermost OF my
power and | submitted only to superior force:
There is but one divine right, and that is the
thing which, on any occasion odght 10 10 zone
Yav from the cooking mutton chop to the guld-
ing an empire; and the opinion OF majority. pro
yided the people of fair intelligence aDd char
acter and courage is an indication where the right
lies: but that is allan Indication only, not a
proof and in extreme cases otner iletnods nave 70
he adopted. In fact. whether we Ike IL or MOI, the
voice which ut any given momeDJ always decides is
the voice of those who are at that moment the
strongest. The universe Is so constructed that IL
wrong there is no appeal from 1t TIL the balance OF
strength is altered. In the Greek republics. az IN
modern Europe and America, a majority OF me
peopls was presumed to be the strongest / he bal
auce of force assumed to lie with the greater
number without trying the question by force But
IL was not SO between the lions and the haIes aud
70 II " uuts beWeeu the greeks ana ASH
atics One Greek in the field equalled ten Aslatlcs
He was not likely to give the Asiatic an equal vote
with him. .
And when any great question rises even in the
most advanced community, any question which
touches the heart and conscience OF nen as 1t was
with those Door Dutchmen that | spoke of, the
same difference is produced by superior constancy,
bvsuperiOr courage, by readiness to die rather than
su bmlt to what is false or unJust; ana III sucn
ca,es nnOlties of brave meu have carried their
pont against the fmajOrity by force, trusting to
time to ucquit them, and 80 believe they Will con-
TIME to do as long rs there is any worth III human
natute I he army which made Oliver Cromwell
Protector represented but small fraction OF the
English nation counted by heads, III the vote
could he taken now. the English nation would per-
haps still be found equally unfavorable to him.
Yet Cromwell is slowly taking his place IN the e5-
innate of the intelligent part of mankind az one Of
the very greatest and best Englishmen that ever
Bnt Notwithstanding objections, Aristotle re
manned of opinion that government by majority
of votes was on the whole tho happlest and most
secure No adjustment OF human affairs will work
perfectly and under all circumstances If nature
had provided any such srrang cement. it would have
been discovered long ago. aud we should all have
gone to sleep no form OF government VIII save us
from our own faults. If the commonwealth Is TO
prosper we have each our own parts to play. 1t is
the continual struggle, the continual necessity TO
watch our own lives which gives sprlt and force 70
human existence And THIS Aristotle saw. lie did
not condemn monarchies; he did not condemn ar.
istOcracIes Under e'tner of these forms Il brave
law abiding people might be cOntenteq ana become
yreat The government of q nation by itself mad
It's dangers also. aud might degenerate into mol
| rule and anarchy. Maiorities might 20 wrong
taking things for all in all the national spirit was
| likely TO rise higher, the, laws were likely TO be
more impartial. ald to he more impartialy exc
cutcd when the people were their own legisial OF
| and chose their own officers. Decidedly That Stat
ought to be in its happest condition when all cil
zens had equal rights when there was no privilege
rise to am condition for which nature and industry
| had nualiied him.