New-York tribune., 1886-02-12
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
MAINE ON DEMOCRACY.

Tn these four essays originally contributed to 1he
OuorieyIv Reriew Sir Henry Maine surveys the re-
rent progress of democratic theories of gov ernment
In the spirit of one who does not share the popular
se.pect for such principles who holds that they are
full of danger yet who believes that the practicai
difficulties and defects of the Rule OF the Many may
be greatly modified in the old countries oy saio
guards and restraints such ms we have UNDERSTOOD
how to apply in the United States. BY Popuai
Government lie means not merely the IoP"oi'"n
form of government, but every constitutional Nun
arcbv also IN which the popular element Is drectiy
,onrcsented as il is now in Great Britain and IN
:, ost of the states of the Continent During the ast
half century the popular element has everywhere
been growing stronger, and the einereasng prevalence
of democratic ideas 10 more Significant thah the
actual changes as yet effected IN the oalahce Oh
po,itical power. Sir Henry applies himself TO the
inouiry whether Popular Government is really the
benefcent institution which its admirers pretend
GDemocracy a is commonly. described as having an
inherent superiority every other form oil gov
eminent. 1t is supposed to advance with an irre-
sstible and preordained movement 1t is thought
IN he full of the promise of blessings to mankind;
vet if il fails to bring with 1T these blessings, OF
even proves be prolific of the heaviest eaml'os'
il is not held to deserve condemnation. lhese are
the familiar marks of a theory when Chains to oe
independent of experience and observation OIL Vho
plea that it bears the credentials OF eolden age
non historical and unverifable." Leaving LOT
moment the order of Sir 1enrys line OF thought We
may remark that he traces the notion OF the hhere"'
snnerioritv of democracy, rs well as q great many
,broses winch have become political cominOnplaces,
to tho in huence of j. J. Rousseau, whose " Hocihi
Contract" once supplied a great deal of poiitcal
thought and after period of dscredlt seems 10 DC
unconsciously adopted again by class OF EngIish
reformers The French philosophers theory OF INC
origin of government in a mutual compact ol INCL
orev,onslv living in state of nature was once
very popular in this country along WIN other
French political vagaries but 1t hardly survived
the Civil War; and if Americans at the present day
concerned themselves at all about such poItcal
theories. they would probably require something
with more substantial basis than contract when
historically never existed and philOsophcally never
could exist ,
Sir Henry reminds rs that tits only within very
modern period that the democratic theory mas oeeh
mt to the test of serious experience On the Con-
tlnent of Europe it has been tried barely nan
century. and even in England and America 1t may
he caliea an imperfect experiment But side by SIDE
with the progress of the theory a set OF political
facts have disclosed themselves which deserve mucn
moro consideration than they have received III
the first essay the author reviews " The PROSPECTS
of Popular Government" III the light OF these 1acts
and he reaches the conclusion that II mas proved
itself to be extremely fragile" TO begin Win
Franse @since the introduction of political free
dom, at the period of the great revolution, the
existing government nominally clothed with all the
movers of the State" has been oveIthrown three
tmes bv the mob of Paris three times by the army
and three times by foreign invasion provoked by
French aggression d" In all. putting aside the
anomalous period from 1870 to 1855, France SINCE
she began her political experiments, has had forty
four years of liberty and thrty-seven OF stern dic
tatorship" Sir Henry gives no reason Tor putting
aside the period from 1870 TO 1852 and 1t VIII seem
to most persons that the only considerable expert
ment in repnblicanism which France has ever made
ought TO be included in fair comparison Oh results
But waving this point. does the rest of the story
Justify Sir Henry Names conclusion that popular
government in France has proved itself extremely
INSTALLER How many of the nine governments
whose overthrow he cites were popular govern
Ientsl One might just well infer from the lacts
reported that absolute arbitrary governments
had proved themselves extremely unstable; that a
CON Met between the mOnarchlcal and the Demo
cratic idea has been going on in France for hun
dred years. and that the advantage has oeen de-
cldedly with the democracy.
1t would be possible to draw a similar moral from
the disturbed history of Spain, to which the essay
next calls our attention. although here. 1t must be
confessed Sir Henry is more plausible. The recent
striking development of parliamentary power in the
German Empire is abruptly passed over, for the not
very ineligible that the German constltu-
tion is of royal origin. Tie still more remarkable
growth of democracy in Italy is not noticed IN any
way; and strangest of al, Sir Henry leaves out OF
consideration the history of popular government in
his own country, although the prospect of democ-
racy in Great Britain is what he had especially III
view in the composition of his book Looking be-
vond E1rope he ignores the success OF representa-
tive government in Canada and other British de-
tendencies and argues that the inferences which
might be drawn from the stability of the United
States (the Importance of which he always ac-
knowledges in the frankest tcrmsl are much weak
ened If not destroyed by the remarkable spectacle
furnished by the numerous republics set up from the
Mexican border-line to the Straits of Magellan
His general conclusion is that experience tends to
show that popular government is characterized by
great fraglity, and that SINCE its appearance all
forms of government have become more insecure
than they were before" The two parts of this
double conclusion have no necessary connection
with each other, and both can hardly be drawn
from the same set OF facts If it be asserted that
since the appearance of popular government other
forms of government have become more insecure.
that may be promptly admitted as point not worth
discussing; but in order to show the supposed
weakness of popular government itself, the author
is Obliged to leave out of consideration. first the
fact that is strong enough to render autOcracy
longer secure and next the stability which seems to
have followed ITS success in the only countries
where il has been really tried 1t will sueylnot be
pretended that the progress of democratic ideas has
rendered government insecure in Great Britain, in
Canada in Australia there no reason for thinking
that it is having any such effect in Germany; the
case of Italy is too for use on either side; and
the case of the United States is universally regarded
as q most impressive democratic argument. The
recent history of Spain and of Spanish America, and
perhaps of tue French Republic old and new, which
has always been at home vragO and abroad an ad
yentnress illustrates the important truth that the