New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-07-16
FREEMAN ON FEDERALISM.
HIS HISTORY REPRINTED WITH ADDiiioN

| Xlviii. co.. Macmillan " co.
II is 70 be regretted not merely that Freeman
! failed 10 complete the work OF when thiS Noi''io
| formed part but aso-cspcclalN To Amcricahs-
! that he did not rewrite some parts oil 'haV WHY"
left his hands in 1862. II would have h''h III
tcresting TO read what could be sald alter 'e cioS
of the Civil War in the United States ny hi'h
who in the middle of the conflict vcntured 10 pre-
dict success for the rebe'lious States. lie ia"
| been studying too intently the mere mechanism
of Federal systems and had neglected to dscrlml-
! nate between the tempers OF the various ricc>
which had tried federation in one form or another
| He forrot for the moment that the special aptl-
| tude of the composite race which had settled tn
United States was and is for political organlza'
1 ton while that of the Greeks WAS for tn" lnVcn-
| lion of forms. He forgot, too, that Ill the one
case a stubborn persistence. the outcome pcrhap'
| of innumerabe ages Of strife with nature Ill h"f
| harshest moods, warranted the hope that lnS'ltu-
tions would he pcrpetuated which in the other
| case were too readily changed or overturned hF
influences inspired by mere love OF anarchy ah'
disturbance. The Greeks have always had a life
too easy for the cultivation of scli-depcnd"no" III
notifies Tie onW wonder Is that any form OF
| government among them lasted as long as som"
forms did They taught the modern world Il vas
thing We owe that lesson to the Tcutons
As a historic thinker however, who not onW had
a story to tell, but an argument TO make. Freeman
may have done well in prcsupposing DIVISION oil
the Trited States I;v that method lie met thr
ordinary run of European opponents of federalism
on their own ground lie could then show them
that the American Rebellion considered as an ar
gumont against form of government compared
with others was Of no value and was not even
pertinent to the case In the hrSt par" vi" P''-
pie of the United states had put behind them n
rrosnorour career Of many years. Again, notwith-
stardine tbe bitterness of the conflict diSpoSl
,on was shown m either side TO reject the federal
rrinciulo The Southern States had not proposed
n monarchy, but had agreed upon constltntloh'
which, at all events TO foreign historian seemed
very like the ono they were striving 10 nndo ne
no;ntcd ont that the cqrrvin! on Of fedora sy'-
tenn hy any rcor' implied high political develop
mcnt. far higher than that to be expected among
the subjects OF monarchy. For the hfin3h'
ont of individual powers ard character, fcd"rH
democracy was only less efficient than thu narro"
cty-s,atc ike Athens. where the political intclIi-
oopco of IN, citizen was necessarily cultivated to
the highest
The point on which Freeman was most thor
ounhly wrong JUDGED from within federal
system, was his acccptan"" Of the doctrine OF
secession lie. indeed. acknowledged ana asScr'ci
that secession was rebellion. Nevertheless II"
made the preferences of the individual state the
sole test Of the strength of the federal bond. II"
looked upon federal system as not maj. hu'
Intermediates II WIS the natural way of unl'InE
states which had hitherto been separate, nut u"
looked upon it as impossible in In" case OF sub
divisions Of a ration already consolidated. The
political separation Of England and Wales struck
| Linn a. too absurd 20 contemplate, but surely II
| is not more than, say, the setting mp OF ONO
and Iowa az Independent nations lndecG, j"
dwell, too much on ii rcrcnccs Of political mech
anism losing scht altogether Of the fact that
the disintccration Of nation must always be a
matter of physical force, the result Of processes
nor considered in the mechanism al all. tn
most curious fact was that while he conceded
the right of the States TO break ont e federal
league he was Mortified by the converse action
of the lcaruc in cutting or one of its members.
Words almost failed him in his narrative Of tho
Achaian League when be came to the attempt OF
lratr, to hand Corinth over 20 III" Ma 'od'nia1
King. Undoubtedly il pcTilious act only
possible TO q man like Aratn>. in whom patriotism
and scoundrclism were strangely mingled. But
granting the right OF Corinth 10 separate from
the League, il is Unique jionablc that the League
had the equivalent privilege Of withdrawing its
protection at any time from any member. such
a rule must work both ways; otherwise IT can
not work at all. If AIatus had gon" no further
than TO assure Maccdon that the League would
offer no opposition TO the taking of CorInth, he
would have been legally justifahc, as long as the
doctrine Of secession justified. lie would
then have left Cornth to defend herself As it
was, he went further and cndeavorcd by treachery
20 forcstall any effort AZ dcicncr 1t was this
that constituted his crime against one Of the for
most Greek cities His act in cjcctng Il city from
the union which he impcrsOnated can only be
criticised by those who hold Il federal bond u b,
as permanent any other political tie. Freeman
had 10 right to tolerate secession on one page ana
to condemn Aratus on another.
But on any grounds. aside from the wicked
secrecy of his plotting. Aratus can be plausiblG
defended The case was thus Aratus had been
all his life engaged, with the enthusiastic approval
Of his fellow citizens, in pcrfccting and enlargln9
the Achaan Federation. Ii owed most of its ac-
cessons to his efforts. Its politics and It's diplo
macy were largely Influenced by his personal ac-
tivity If he had been much of soldier
he was statesman, lie would almost deserve the
honor which Freeman coniers on him by bracket
ing him with Washington. In his later years
there rose against him and against the League
leader of great military skin, Ccomcncs of Sparta.
The mere presence of such man dashed TO the
ground the hopes which Aratus had cherished for
years of drawing Sparta iato the League Bat
Cleomenes could hardly have rested within the
bounds of his own kingdom, if he had wished to do
so. The inevitable result of the fact that two
such men as he and Aratus were contemporaries
and political neighbors insured war sooner or
later In that war Cleomencs was the victor, and
he proposed as victor TO become member of the
League Now, the League was so constituted that
its members whether great or small, equal
in the eye Of the federal power. But the proposal
Of Cleomenes would have upset all this Sparta
was to come in as the leader of the League and
instead of choosing general each year the union
was expected to take the King Of Sparta as its
military ruler Aratus was unquestonaby ca-