The evening light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1881-1883, 1882-07-13
Thursday, j ,ly ID, 1882.
WHAT TRUE sELF-GOVERN 'ENT DE-
Nj .NDS.

The demand Of the pregnant and teemlng
present upon the future Of this country is dis
ENHANCEMENT from the needless accesslonS by
which government is obstructed. As long as
we disregard fast and impartial ends and SIM
ME and direct methods we shall not be free.
Pomp and pageanty and pay must cease to
be stronger than justice, and authority stronger
than the rights of man. The benefits OF
good government must become more precious
and be more sought than the privileges OF
governing.
We fail, as people, to apply, or even to
recognize, the true principles OF selt'goVern-
men, All sovereignty and all rights are IN
the individual. The people collectively have
no rights but those conferred, as the right to
organize constitutions, make laws and pro-
vide for their administration. There is no
such thing as state sovereignty; there is lndi-
vdual sovereignty. There is no such thlrs
as federal sovereignty; the confederated power
is functional and mandatory. Both may eS-
ercise the powers and perform the functions
conferred, neither can do any more. The IN
dividual endows the people of the state co..
lectively with his authority; the state reserve"
some of it and confers the rest uP'n the
general vernmen. These are the iun a.
mental principles of free government and
there are no others. AT their base lies the re-
served purpose of the individual to exercise
his own sovereignty in the government OF HIM
SELF If, as people, we have not these prln-
ciples, or they are not in operation, we are
not self-governed.
The mere recognition of these principles Is
of no utility The individual must follow his
rights into the mass and exercise them as an
inegral member of that body. This is pa
triotism for in it he seeks the good of the
whole. There are no involuntary powers In
governments, all are the conscious operations
of will, an this Will has only aggregate en-
preston, not ldenty hat is to say, the will OF
the individual can obtain expression only IN
common with the universal will. 1t has lost
itself in the virtue, power and capacity OF the
whole; but in the degree Of It's inherent virtue,
capacity and power it accrmplishes the ends
of self government.
There are two basic errors to be considered:
errors that lie at the foundation Of mis- govern
ment. Thee are, first the prevailing pur-
suit of Office and next, the universal reliance
upon government for individual benefits, tor
money, plenty and better times. All men
should rely upon their industry ard skill for
the means Of living and, when these fail,
should help each other. In the early days OF
the republic it was disreputable to S elk office
-disreputable to SEEK places of power, not
honorable to hold places Of dependence.
How sadly we have departed from the ser-
ling integrity Of tina age every political can
vas attests. every public journal bea S witness.
1t must be recalled, if the Republic is going
to live; but it can only be recalled by the
grating Of higher instincts on the public
mind, by the better education of the people,
by living orderly lives, by abstaining from
high and its means hard to get. Let no one
look to government for support. Let no ore
look to government to make business better,
or enhance profits, or, in any way, influence
commerce and trade. Let no law be passed
that can have any pos ibe effect on private in
terests, but let government move in its own
snhere and be confined to it.
When few things shall be learnedadn
practiced-partial laws abolished and all leg
isIation universal, no corporations nor priviIe-
pes created, when money shall be made to
serve the uses of yard stick and to stop
there, when the judiciary shall be curtailed Of
every court and ShOan Of all jurisdi ton thai
affect mems private relations. when subor
dinate official shall not be removed from hi:
pace of trust just when he has learned how
70 perform its duties, and just to make room
for one who has not learned and who ough
M, to he Withdrawn from his calling to occcu
nv it then we may become self-governec
ne ,ple. Industry will take the place Of idle
ness and abundance OF want. Few laws viii