Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1897-07-08

not agree With me.
What great strides have We made
in political progress within the lim-
its Of this marvellous material pro-
gress. Have. we even lived up to
our Declaration of Independence
and the charter Of our liberties=
the constitution of our country !?
The favorite answer Of those to
whom this suggestion is made is
that the Constitution was made for
another generation and another
condition of things. This to my
mind is the veriest subterfuge and
faulty apology ever made by an ig-
noramus or a demagogue. The
whole trath is the very foundation
upon which our Government, crea-
ted by our Constitution, rests has
been perverted, whereas living up
to the provisions of the Constitu-
tion and the spirit and genius Of
our institutions would have met re-
quirements infinitely better. This
is a government of the people and
rests upon the consent of the gov
erned, and whenever that principle
is lost sight of the whole character
OF the government IS perverted. IL
is by living up strictly to the re-
and limitations of the
that the character Of
the government can alone be pre-
served. | very much fear that the
and result of much OF
modern Interpretation of eonstitu-
tional law has rendered to subvert
rather than to establish more firmly
the theory of the government under
which we live. We seem to have
gotten away from the simplicity of
administration which was the best
guarantee to the citizen in tie pre-
servation of all his rights and liber-
ties. The progress to which have
alluded has so concentrated the
thought of the people upon materi-
al things that they have forgotten
or seem to have forgotten the ethics
of government which alone apply
to the individual.
What guarantee have we that
this form of government under
which we live shall be perpetuated
| often think that it was almost
miraculous that in the early days
OF our country's history the people
of that day should have accepted
the teachings of jefferson rather
than of Hamilton. For they found,
and there can be no question of the
fact, that all history and the lights
of the past by which they were
guided, without an exception, de-
monstratedthat the monarchial styl
had alone been successful. Every
republic established on the eartf
had gone to death and destruction
Why should they have hoped thai
q different fate would have awaited
rs. Look at the republic Of Ath
ems. Nowhere in ancient anG
modern times have the arts, poetr,
and architecture flourished as il
the days of the Grecian republic
Then, art, architecture, poetry ant
oratory are no guarantee for th'
life of q republic. Yet we toda.
look to Athens and the days of tn
republic of Athens for our model
in all of these things. And yet i
was comparatively short-lived. Blu
l may be told that they were lack
ing in MARTA! spirit and therefor
were not capable of maintaining
their form OF government. Thi
answer is not satisfactory. Loo
| at Rome, the greatest republic tn
world had ever seen, equipped az n
other country was, with an arm
the superior of any that was eve
organized on the earth, with gen
erals whose names are very syno
nyms of military excellence, an
yet the martial spirits of the Re
mans was inadequate to maiEtai
the republic. Not only is this SC
but here tiourished again literatur,
oratory, poetry and all the accom-
plishments which superior in;ellec
procures. But we are told ths
Rome could not maintain her p'
sition, because, forsooth. OF ii
want of ntercommunication. Tn
won't do. The magnificent roa'
ways built by Rome all over Europ
Northern Asia and Africa, wit
their substantial bridges in mar
places, exist today unharmed by Il
hand Of ages. Her acqueducts al
her canals wifh the anulianees wit