The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-10-29
His Second Lecture at the College
Last Night.
ANOTHER LARGE AUDIENCE
The Speakers Subject Was "Poiificai
Liberty; It's Nature and Existence
and He Gave an Instructive tx
position of His Theme

aownment. AS on the previous night
there were many prominent people in the
audience including a numoer OF wei
known lawyers and other professional
men.
DIR. woodrow wilson, the lecturer, took
as his subject, Political Liberty; Its
Nature ana Exercise.
I;is discourse was instructive and high
ly interesting. and was delivered, as was
the one before 1t, in a clear, attractive
style.
Dr. Wilson caught tho attention Of his
hearers from the beginning, and he was
listened to closely throughout.
ANALYSIS OF LIBERTY.
DIR. Wilson SAID In part:
The difficulty in Analysing liberty Is a
difficulty of sentiment. 1t Is word Oh
enthusiasm associated with adventure
with fortitude and with heroic endeavor.
II is word also of license and foilys
stained with bloodshed and crime. 1t IS
difficult TO associate 1t from the history
that clings about struggles for liberty,
and requires distinct effort 10 regard
II from a purely philosophical and dis
passionate point of view. 1t is not even
clear that liberty is best developed in
those countries In which 1t has been spec
uiatively analysed. The countries which
have enjoyed liberty have not usually
been those which have speculated about
A.. Ii has been embodied where success
fully established IN institutions ana laws
rather than In theories.
The races. indeed. which have
strongest in the history of liberty have
been those which have had an instructive
distrust of speculation and have showed
a genius for affairs rather than for poll
teal philosophy. The French, for exam
pie. who regard liberty as a body or
natural rights" have never managed to
establish practical liberty, whereas the
English who have never troubled them-
selves TO inquire whether their rights
were natural or artificial have for gene
ations put liberty into practice.
A PRODUCT or LIFE.
Liberty, II would appear then, is pro-
duct OF life and experience and not OF
mere rational speculation. IT needs hard
headed sense 10 know what liberty IS
and hard-headed sense is to be gotten
out of experience and not out of BOOKS
An analysis of constitutional government
such as We undertook in the last lecture
sets US a great way forward in the COM
prehension Of the nature of liberty. We
saw that constitutional government had
az its basis an understanding between
the government and the community as 10
the limits beyond which the government
should not venture TO restrain the ac-
ton of the Individual, and manifesuy
such an understanding must itself be bas-
ed upon a clear. experimental KNOWLEDGE
of the proper field of independent lnul-
yidual action. And this is the field oil
liberty. The nation that does not under
stand liberty cannot have constitutional
government.
Liberty. 1t also becomes evident, Is
product OF society. II is the free action
of the Individual within the necessary
social restraints. And IL Is the opposite
not OF socety-that is not of the reason
able association of individuals for mutual
cooperation and helpfulness, ou' OF rlsld
and arbitrary authority of an unchecked
and wilful power on the part OF the gov
eminent uuadjusted to and unmindtul OF
the interest of individuals.
POWER WITHOUT FRICTION.
Despotism is a force checked only by
friction which must sooner or later gene
rate dangerous heat. whereas free gov
eminent is force balanced and held IN
eouipois by union and adjustment where
tho forces OF action and restraint are Ike
those of a perfectly adjusted machine
where there is power without friction
The piston of a graeat engine runs free
not. of cause, because II is not restrain
ed hut because It is perfectly adjusted
the parts Wnlcn TtSltiluS IL. anu ~ -
free government is one in which there is
a perfect adjustment between authority
and liberty, between the power of the
magistrate and the privilege OF the citl-
zen.
liberty Is so far from being n principle
opposite TO social organization as kous-
seau and others have supposed 1t 10 DE
that II would be inconceivable without
social organization. Man cannot DO WIN
aud Ct
exercise of his powers only by co-opera-
zion. Robinson Crusoe, obliged as ne was
20 do everything for himself, was less
free before he found his man Frlday
than after; less free to get the coniior's ;
~ NE. less free to understand MS islahu
and Man his future. tied to the drudseIy
which was slavery.
THE STATE A NECESSITY.
what we call the state--that, is the
NAUTICAL oommunity-is neither mere ne
cessitv nor mere convenience. but an
oh,ding natural relationship without
which man has never been strong OF
hannv II Is the invariable and normal
embodiment and expression OF higher
form Of life than the indivldual-namely'
q, that common life which makes a
stage and an opportunity for the lndi-
vidual life makes IL flu ana complete
makes II spiritual Leisure. that is some
aerree of freedom from drudgery, Is nee
essarv To the development OF the spiritual
mart Of man the only part when makes
him different from the beasts. and he
could have no such chance Of develop
ment ~ IL were not for his social union
with other men.
Liberty then, Is not the opposite OF So
ciety. but simply OF unreasonable re-
straint and experience. IL must snow
what restraint is easonable. IL Is such
an adjustment or systematic paiahce
between private right and public power
between assistance and interference as
will give the Individual spirit free play
And how far that can safely be accom-
plished Is a question which can be de-
,ermined. not by theoretical speculation.
but by experiments triei by hard-neaueu
men. Here Is our explanation OF why
liberty has arisen out of experience anu
not out Of theory
FROM THE ENGLISH.
We ourselves get liberty from the Eng
lish and we can find In our own bills OF
rights which we copied out OF the docu-
ments OF English history a very clear
and adequate notion OF what practical
Englishmen have found out about the
native and use OF liberty. 1t will be seen
upon an examination of those documents
that they all run In negatives, and not
An affirmative statements. II Is nowhere
said IN our law. for example. that there
= shall be freedom OF speech and OF the
rress. and We have laws OF libel arr Of
Islander 10 show that We do not intend
that there should be absolute freedom
Of spsech and of the press. Our law
saws simply that freedom OF speech and
- che nress shall not be restrained, ex-