The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-07-09

derive their just powers from the consent
Of the governed, making the people and
not king or an oIigarchy the source Of all
political power in the state; reserving to
themselves all the powers they had not
delegated to the government The powers
crethey granted to the government they had
ated they entrusted TO new forms: and now
after an experiment Of more than hun
bred years, we may say that the success
which has attended this experiment in self
government, vindicates the wisdom-hu
man or divine-which based 1t upon that
new principle and entrusted it to those
new forms. Nor is it too much to say that
this noble offspring Of theirs now fiourishes
in the full and lusty vigor Of proud and
perfect manhood. More than in their
fondest and most sanguine dreams
they dared to hope for has been
accomplished under the government they
created. They not only builded better than
they knew, but better than they hoped.
Theirs, we say, was the task to create, to
organize; ours to preserve. to make immor-
tai, a task no less glorious than that given
to them; and let US hope that future gener-
ations will be able to say OF US what we
now may say of the founders Of our ccnsti-
tuition: They did their part we'll
Upon that depends all. To US and to the
future generations Of our children has been
bequeathed q noble political Inheritance In
the constitution Of our country; it depends
upon US and them whether that inheritance
shall be preserved inviolate or not. 1t Is
too much to hope that all peril to liberty IS
past, or that all danger to security has van
ished. In times past stern necessity seems
to have existed in society which has oc-
casionally indicated itself above law, and
occasional revolutions in states seem be-
yond the power Of prevention; but II we
may not hope for ourselves and our poster
ity perfect peace with perfect liberty,
millennium wherein there shall be no quar-
rel between government and liberty, but
where the former shall be the shield OF the
latter-if we cannot hope for all this, we at
least can take such steps as to defer the
evil days which shall see authority subvert
liberty, or reckless anarchy destroy gov
eminent. by teaching constitutional moral
ity-by which we mean a strict adherence
to the constitution and due regard for in
dividual righteousness. For after all nation
is not better than the units composing 1T;
and TO- day and in the future, as well as
anciently, it will he found that righteous
ness not only exalteth natlon, but Is
necessary to its preservation.
How we'll, then, we shall perform our
part-which we have said is the preserva-
tloE of the state bequeathed to US by our
fathers-depends upon our making consti-
tutional morality and personal righteous
ness a characteristic of ourselves and
our postsrity. .'If we and our posterity,"
said DANIEL WEBSTER in his great
Historical address, before the New York
Historical society, ''if we and they shall
live always in the fear of GoD, and shall
respect His cemmandments-if we and they
shall maintain just, moral sentiments, and
such conscientious convictions Of duty as
shall control the heart and life-we may
have the highest hopes Of the future
fortunes of our country, and if we main
tain those institutions of government. and
that political union, exceeding all praise
as much as it exceeds all former examples
of political associations, we may be sure
OF one thing-that, while our country
| furnishes materials Tor thousand masters
Of historic art, it will afford no topic for a
GIBBoN. 1t will have nc Decline and Fall.
1t will go on prosrering and to prosper.
But if we and our posterity violate the
rules of eternal justice, trifie with the in
functions of morality, and recklessly
destroy the political constitution which
holds US togethss no man can tell how sud
den catastrophe may overwhelm US, that
shall bury all our glory in profound OBJ
scurity."
The people of Utah to-day, as never be-
fore, are looking into the fundamental
principles Of the American system Of gov
eminent, and we believe that due regard
should be given to those principles upon
which the perpetuatiop OF our institutions
depend.