Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-07-06

he sails maiestically into the calm Pacific. and
not only attend his progress over the American
continent, but are in some measure re-en9cted
wherever he shines throughout the civilized
and the unciyilized world; wherever an Ameri-
can heart beats. wherever an American breast
heayes wherever an American mind responds
to the dear land which gave him birth and took
him under its protection. Surely, under these
circumstances it Is wise and it is right to trace
the cause and the reason which justiiies the
pride and The pomp of the display.
The reason may be found in the facts have
enumerated, and in other facts which are asso-
eiated with them; but the cause lies far behind.
IN that fast Teeeding epoch when the fathers Of
this republic framed and adopted tie immortal
Declaration which has been read to you to-day.
That Declaration was not merely sentimental
or philosophical like the celebrated thesis of
Mirabeau. 1t contained nothing visionary or
theoretical, but, while it expressed and applied
the lOitest ideas for the good OF mankind, ii was
a practical assertion Of human rights. II was
no. declaration of rights merely, but decla-
ration ofindependence, of and 1t was followed by
acts and by conduct which Yindiclted and
cTystaliZed its principles.
And yet except in form, except in its relation
to the men who required and who afterwards
sustained 1t. except III its connection with the
great history it developed. the Declaration of
Independence was not fundamentally original.
Beyond those conditions which are always
changing ana always perlshlng. there is moth
ing new under the sun. And the two oldest
things under the sun, one Of them older than
the sun Itself, are the absolute sovereignty of
God, and within his own proper sphere. the
relative sovereignty of man. Of these two
imnlutable truths, one is recognized and the
other proclaimed in the Declaration, and the
necessity for the proclamation is proved by
recapituldted and lncontestable facts.
We find then, in our form of government,
from its earliest inception, not new principle,
but the first complete recognition of an indie
strHetible Truth, which must be the basis of all
durable political insutCtions-the sovereignty
OF man, limited only by the laws of the brutes
and. by the concessions which he makes from
time to time, for the good of society. This
truth, which was, so to speak, the life blood Of
the Declaration of Independence, was inaTti-
ficially framed into the Articles of Confedera-
ton, but was accurately formaliZed in the Fed
eIGl and State Constitutions. Amidst many pro-
testations in practice, it has substantially con-
trolled our State and Federal legislation, and
has been wisely guarded by the Judiciary,
and departures from it have originated all the
difficulties we have had 10 encounter, including
the contest Tor and against the extension of
slavery, and the civil war, through which the
supremacy Of our constitutional Union WAS sue
ceSSfuily asserted. II is impossible for the in
diyidual American 10 dive too fully upon this
proposition. Popular suHeIance IS all that Ell
ables or ever has enabled even imperial or
mOnarchidl systems 10 exist. The viii of the
people, not their capTiccs or fancies is the
vital element OF our political institutions Con
hdence III the people j. the true foundation Of
all political advancement in the United States
and political advancement, rightly compre-
hended, is the accompaniment OF all individual
of these facts is part OF the education Of every
American citizen competent TO exercise the
elective franchise.
The task OF adequately describing our coun-
try and the ideas it eXempliiies in q single ad-
dress is beyond human capacity, and 10 listen
TO such an exposition, if it were otherwise pFae-
ticable, would be beyond human endurance.
The facts, geographical and statistical, which
illustrate our history aud our present attitude
among modern nations, belong to the domain
of education, and ought 10 be reckoned among
the intellectual acquisitions of every American.
Some few of them l have brought TO your no.
tice but taken as q whole. they transcend the
province OF rhetoric and the power of verbal
eulogy.
- A solemn reverence stills our songs,
And praise sits silent on our tongues
And, as it seems to me, our national anniver-
sary, while it should revive all the thoughts 10
which have endeavOred to draw your atten-
tion and bring our hearts into unison with the
heroic dead who have labored and suffered that
we might enjoy, shall not be exclusively de-
voted to complaeent retroSpeetiOn. There is a
patriotism which looks not solely to the past
glorious though it may have been, but directs
It's attention wisely and clearly TO the present
and the future and it is TO that patriotism that
/ wish to appeal i'll the thoughts which viii
form the closing portion of this discursive ad-
dress. In order 10 compress what have to say
within the limits foT which have stipulated. /
have to pass from one topic to another without
that perfect order and smo0thness which would
ity will induce you to pardon these departures
from the rules of Quintilia1.
Now what 1t is in my mind principally to i'm
press upon You, in contemplating the present
and the future of our county is the vital neces-
sity of rigid adherence to our Constitution and
our LAWS, not only in their letter, but in the
spirit when perva1es them and i'll the princi-
pies which underlie them. Our fathers were
mainly right in their ideas and in their CON
duct, and the people OF the United States have
been right in every instance where they have
impressed their matured ana deliberate decis-
ion upon any public question. II will be so to
the end, because, subject TO the limitations l
have already mentioned. man was made TO he
sovereign in every department of human life,
and his regulated sovereignty is the essence of
all good government. and constitutes what may
be termed the Amer can idea.
There are few thoughts which everywhere
and in all ages are sound and true, and this is
one of them-probaby the most important OF
all. All emanations of so called intellect be-
yond the eternal writers, are eyanescent Athe-
ism, intidelity, agnosticism, and the various
creeds of modern invention which seek to har-
monte rugged truth and stern duty with epicu-
rean pleasures, and which are grounded on the
pretension that nothing is vicious but excess
will pass away: The evolution of mind, while
it unquestionably produces higher and higher
intellectual condition, is nevertheless in itself
temporary. 1t serves only as a bridge on which,
from century to century, humanity passes chasms
that are yawning beneath it, and as each chasm
is escaped the bridge is destroyed for mankind
never goes back, but ever advances-slowly and
painfully it is true-up the mountains of prog
ress and across the ravines and canyons Of er-
ror. And, while the scene shifts and changes
as higher attitudes are reached, the foundation
which upholds the surface is the same and un-
Philosophers may theorize and statesmen NAV
invent until the crack of doom, but they will
never discover principle for the regulation
and direction of human society which will su-
percede or impair the absolute sovereignty of
God and the relative sovereignty of man, as
and eDitomized by the founders
Of this continental republic.
Have you observed and truly appreheuded
the extent TO which our governmental system.
thus characterized, has reacted upon Europe
say cOolly aud dispassionately that much, if
not most, OF the political advancement that has
been manifested there within the past century
is due TO the silent influences of our system. /
have no time to offer statistical proofs of this
assertion, but mere suggestions are sufficient for
your instructed intelligence. Look at the con-
eessions which Austria has made to hungary. ,
Look at Norway and Sweden in their present |
relations to each other. Look at the contrast !
which the existing French republic presents to |
The France of the revolutionary period, TO the |
France of the Napoleonic epochs, to the France |
IF Charles X, and of Louis Philippe
Look at the altered conditions of Spain and
)t Italy. Look at the Canadian Confedera ion, at
he Central and South American Republics,
With all their imperiections and at the Austral-
1t Great Britain herself. Have you fairly real |
zed that the concession of home rule, OF local
to Ireland, is substantially an
of the American plan ofgovernment?
the English Washington the greatest
statesman of Europe, the greatest orator of his !
ime, Iman cast in heroic mold, possessed of |
noble and unselfish purposes, deep and careful |
II his thought, capable of waiting and even of |
,nduring temporary defeat for the development
md application OF correct idea, is almost an
American. But his object. however frustrated
or the time by combinations which call them
selves conservative, will be ultimately accom-
plished
All this is principally due to the influence of
American practices and modern prOgrtss We
nave participated in the graEd advancement Of
he world and have made special advancement
If our own, due to Cur political institutions, MS
we have adhered to them, to our resources TO |
)ur opportunities, 10 our freedom from the Oh
'tacles which obstruct older communities.
The point now to be met Is, how
% maintain our position? low shall
ge meet and ove-come the difficulties
re are encountering and must necessarily
IN the future. These are pregnant
luestions the answer to which, however hard
elligibiy stated We must adhere 10 the old !
landmarks We must guard ourselves sgaiust
all aggressive forces, whether they spring from
without or within. We must solve forourseiyes |
hose problems which are com mon TO ali modern |
We must elevate the standard of
by all the means which education
and our political system supply.
The lesson we need 10 draw from the truths |
which underlie cur politics, and for the diversi-
ied and thronging facts of the times is the !
necessity Of maintaining, under ali the diyi |
lions OF parties and in all social conditions a /
sound and wholesome Americanism. If pos |
,ible we must train ourselves better in the daily
application OF the principles we profess. and be !
better prepared not only 10 utilize them in our
Jyn conduct, but 10 detect and successfully |