The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1895-10-05

tne cnaTact0Tlstlc pIouucb5 Oh AIueIi-
can and English institutions, not by
exceptional instances of lawlessness
which grow out of human passion and
depravity and are to be found wher-
ever mixed multitudes and races are
brought into close proximity with
each other. Civic wisdom has not yet
attained in any country complete
mastery of crime.
Each sociological student may
learn something from his most violent
critic, and the critic himself is often
found absorbing the good points of
what he criticises. 1t has been SO
with England respecting the United
States. In 1881, when Mrs. Trollope's
book was published, the English sys
tenn of treating criminals served to
encourage crime, multiply pauperism,
foster drunkenness and throw upon
the industrious taxpayer an ever-in-
creasing burden. No less than 200
offences were punished with death.
Horrible inhumanities such as scourg-
ing, branding, ear-cropping, the pill
lory, and the gibbet were practiced
upon petty offenders. In 1888 Mr..
Crawford was sent out by the British
government to get the light which
American discovery could give. The
result of his official report was that
in 1887 the immense number of capi
tai offences was reduced to twelve,
and afterwards to three. Since then
the progress of English penology has
continually approximated more and
more to American reformatory ideas
and methods, until at present there
is very little difference between the
two systems in this respect. What
ever improvement one discovers is
soon appropriated by the other.
Undoubtedly the prime end of civil
government is the creation and pres
ervation of individual liberty, using
this term in its largest and truest
sense. The root principle of liberty
is obedience to righteousness embod-
led in impartial laws. Therefore the
"disorderly" have nowhere any liber-
ty, except "at the expense of the or
derly." This being true, the supreme
test of good government is, first, the
amount of liberty enjoyed, and, Sec
ond, the security given to that liberty
by the enforcement of law. In both
these particulars the United States
and Great Britain take precedence of
all other nations. In both the inesti-
mable privilege of the habeas corpus
assures to the individual an immun-
ity unknown in other lands. Practi-
cally the amount of personal liberty
enjoyed in both countries today is
substantially the same. But when
we come to apply the test of security
either to life or property, candor COM
pels us to award the palm to Great
Britain. This particular superiority
is owing to no theoretical advantage
over us, but solely to the greater
completeness and strength of her
local governments when brought to
bear upon either extreme of society.
These are far less subject than ours
to the caprices of popular passions.
Since some government is necessary,
the stronger the government, if ad-
ministered in the interest of impartial
justice, the greater the liberty in
trusted to its keeping. Now English
liberty is confessedly social rock
formation, where it has taken centu-
ries to discover any progress, but
where the structure, however slow,
has been sure and unrepenting as the
laws of nature or the course of time.
Hence we are bound to admit that
our English cousins, though subject
to 10000 petty meannesses, yet in the
jealousy that guards the person on
land or sea surpass any nation that
has ever existed. This watchful jeal-
ousy reaches from the bottom to the
top of society. A single illustration:
In the Town of Windsor, which is the
principal residence of the Queen,
there was a strip of landad joining
the royal park and occupied as apper-
tanning thereto, which legally be-
longed to the Queen as an individual
and was taxed accordingly. Prince
Albert refused payment of this tax
on the ground that being practically
a part of the crown lands it should
not be subject to taxation. Where
upon he was Summoned" precisely
as any other delinquent would have
been under like circumstances, and
compelled to "pay up" There was
no disloyalty intended; but simply
extreme sensitiveness to legal right