Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-10-15
COLERlDGE ON AMERICA.
ITS SIZE NOT ITS MOST STRIK-
ING FEATURE.

The Condition of the Upper and Mid
die Glasses of People and Their Home
Life Beyond What England Can At
tain--A Good Word for the RepubIi-
can Form of Government
The reception given to Lord Chief JUS
tice COleridge last Thursday night at the
Academy of Music, New York, was a
brilliant affair. The speech of welcome
was made by Mr.. EYarts.
Lord Colefidge, on advancing to reply.
was received with prolonged applause.
He began by proclaiming his sympathy
with John Bright and what are ordinarily
called radical principles, and then dis
cuSsed some of the features Of iurispru-
dence IN this country. He had been told
that the English courts go faster than the
American, and he could not express the
pleasure he felt at the intelligence that in
England anything was done faster than
here, even lawsuit. He had been told
also that the English Judges take the
liberty of assuming more direction Of af-
fairs than the practice of some states and
the statutes of others permit. From his
point of view he could not help thinking
that the English are right From the
American point of view and under the
difference of circumstances the Ameri-
cans may be right. too. Recently, as the
result of ten years labor by a committee
of which the speaker is chairman, the
English Judges have recommended GER
tain changes in the methods of procedure
in the direction Of simplification which he
hoped would prove beneficial
But" he continued, sit is not only as
lawyer that your country has interested
me. The first question that almost always
Is put to me is whether | was not amaz-
ingly struck by the vast size of the cOun-
try. 1t was not size that particularly inn
pressed me. If size were to be regarded
| should say that smalness rather than
bigness should be insisted on. Men are
great III proportion to the smallness of
their natural advantages. What of the
size of your country? iOu didn't make
it. 1t is not size, but products that are 10
be looked at. Russia and Africa are as
large as the United States, and l doubt
whether the British NOgth American pos
sessions are much smaller. Your pOpu-
latiOn is vast, but where did it come
from: You are the receptacle of the emf
grafton of the world. You are the judges
of how far this has proved an unniXed
gOOd-hOW far the integrity of your pO-
litcal system has been affected or not
not ]. 1t is not size or force or strength
that constitutes true greatness. but when
men rise against oppression; when the
good, honest, GOd-fearing citizens go to
war sooner than suffer the disruption of
their country; when they fight not by the
aid of mercenaries, but with their own
best blood and the blood Of their children
and their childrens children; when they
say that what Is good for themselves is
good for others tOO-that so far as their
rule extends every man, whatever his
race, origin, or color, shall be rs free as
themselves; that no traffic in human flesh
shall ever take place in their domains;
when they endeaYOr to do justice TO their
enemies; when they are not afraid or
ashamed to confess and atone for their
errOrs-then such a nation is truly,
nobly, and indisputably great. Forgive a
friend if he says to you that il is not be-
cause of your strength vastness, or
energy, but because you show that you
have the making of true greatness i'm you
that he respects you. You paid price
that no other nation ever did, but, believe
me, you got the worth Of it.
'As for your wealth, it was not your
colossal fortunes that interested me. L
can see great estates and sufficiently
enormous fortunes at home. l should be
disposed to give a wide berth to these
things, because millions of dollars con-
fuse my mind and are irrelevant to my
tastes. But what | do rejoice to see,
what has filled me with delight, what /
have lOnged to see, but never Will see in
England. is the condition of your upper
and lower middle classes. | met highly
educated men, who would do cretit to any
capital, ditfused throughout the country,
and, what is still more delightful, | saw
tens of thousands of comfortable houses
all lived in by the owners. am told that
this possession of homes is pretty
general that your farmers generally
own their farms, your gentlefOlk their
, houses, and your artisans their cottages.
| The interest in them that results from
their being their own homes is one that
nothing else can give. Think what solid
satisfaction and cOntentment this is in
time of peace. This is your great glory
your real happiness. Let me entreat you
| to keep it, to guard it, never to let 1t 90.
Don't be deluded by the splendOr followed
| by discomfort and misery of where a feu-
/ dal system prevails. | say this because
/ certain English periodicals are constantly
/ advising you that you would be so much
| better off under monarchy, with entail
and the other patriarchal relations that
we have found so pleasant in Ireland. l
can't help asking myself whenever | read
] these things, Where did those people go
in America, what air did they breathe,
and with whom did they cOnsOrtp
Though | feel deeply'' said the speaker
in conclusion, ''the excellence Of the
American system, it must not be sup
posed for moment that | am blind to
that of my own country. Each is the
complement of the other. Imitation in
either case would in my judgment be
great mistake. 1t is the simple truth
that, joined together rs allies, England
and America would be absolutely rresis-
table in the world. ! most earnestly hope
that the present happy state Of feeling
will long continue. l assure you that
there is not in any honest Englishman
trace of grudging when he thinks of the
magnificence of your future. ] hope no
unscrupulous statesman, or malignant
writer on either side of the water, will
ever separate u.s."