The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-07-18
MACAULAyS PROPHECY ABOUT
ANERICA.
what the English Historian Thought or
Jewcrsonian Democracy.

| JcTersOnian Democracy.
DEAR SIR: You are surprised to learn
that / have not n high opinion OF Mr..
| Jefferson, and ! am surprised at your
| surprise | am certain that never wrote
| n line, and that I never in Parliament. in
| conversation. or even in the hastings. a
place where IL IL the fashion to court the
| populace. uttered a word Indicating an
! opinion that the supreme authority in a
| state ought to be intrusted to the ma jor-
i ity OF citizens told by the head in other
! words. to the poorest and most ignorant
! part of society. I have long been con-
WINGED that institutions purely democratic
\ must. sooner or later destroy liberty or
| civilization. or both. In Europe, where
| the population ls dense, the effect of such
/ institutions would be almost instantaneous.
What happened lately in France is an
| example. In lSiS a pure democracy was
established there. During short time
| there was reason to expect general
! spoliation, a national bankruptcy. a new
/ partition OF the soil, maximum OF
prices. a ruinous load OF taxation laid
on the rich for the purpose of supporting
the poor in dleness. Such system
would. In twenty years. have made France
| as poor and barbarous as the France Of
! the Carlovingians. Happily. the danger
was averted and there IL now "A despot-
! ism. "a silent tribune. an enslaved press.
! Liberty Is gone, but civilization has been
saved. ! have not the smallest doubt
/ that II we had . purely democratic gov
eminent here the effect would be the
same. Either the poor would plumber the
rich, and civilization would perish. or
order and prosperity would be saved by a
strong military government, and liberty
| would perish.
You may think that your country enjoys
| an exemption from these evils ! will
! frankly owr 10 YOU that 7 am OF very
! different opinion. Your fate 7 believe to
- -.
! physical cause As long as you have a
boundless extent OF fertile and unoccupied
land. your laboring population will he far
| more at ease than the laOorng population
! of the Old World and while that II the
case the Jeffersonan polltv may continue
10 exist without causing any fatal calam-
ity. But the time will come when New
| England will he as thckly settled as Old
| England. Wages will be "a low and will
| ructuate as much with you as with us.
You will have your Manchesters and
| Birminghams and In those Manchesters
and Blrnninghams hundreds of thousands
| of artisans will assuredy sometimes he
| out OF work. Then your institutions viii
he fairly brought to the test. Distress
| everywhere makes the lahorer mutinous
and disconnected and inclnes him 10 listen
with eaRerness To agitators who tell him
that IL Is a monstrOus iniquity that one
man should have a million while another
cannot got a full meal
In bad years there Is plenty OF grum-
bling here, and sometimes a little rioting
but " matters little for here the sufferers
are not the rulers The supreme power IL
In the hands Of "A class. numerous indeed
but select of an educated class of n
class which is. and knows Itself TO he
deeply interested in tho security Of prop
crty and the maintenance Of order Ac-
cordingly tho indictments are gently hut
firmly restrained The bad time "a got
over without robbing the wealthy to relieve
the INDECENT. The springs of national
prosperity soon begin to fow again, work
is plentiful. wages rise, and all is tran
quillity and cheerfulness. I have seen
England pass, three or four times through
such critical seasons as | have described.
. Through such seasons the United States
Will have To pass in the course Of the
next century. II not Of this. How will
. YOU pass through them ! heartily wish
. YOU good deliverance But my reason and
4 my wishes are AT war. and cannot help
e foreboding the worst. II In quite plain
| that your Government will never bee able
to restrain distressed and disconnected
, majority. For. with YOU. the majority Is
!. the government. and has the rich who
y are always the minority, absolutely at
Its mercy. The day will come when in
g the state OF New York. "a multitude ~
r people, none of whom has had more than
V half breakfast, or expects To have more
than half a dinner. will choose a Icglsla-
9 turc. Is u possible 10 doubt what sort o,
a a Legislature will he chosen ON one
Z side Is Il statesman preaching patience
( respect for vested rights. strict observ.
. ance Of public faith on the other Is a
g demagogue, ranting about the tyranny of
Il the capitalists and Insurers and asking
?, why anybody should be permitted TO drink
r champagne and 10 ride in a carriage Will,
u thousands OF honest folk are I'm want oi
n'c"ssarics Which Of the two candidate.
Is likely TO he preferred by a workman
I who hears his children cry for bread?
I | seriously apprehcud that YOU will In
y some such season OF adversely as ! have
= described. do things that will prevent pros
= perty from returning; that YOU viii ac
,, like people who should. in season ot
@ scarcity, dcvour all the seed corn ant
: thus make the next year not one al
scarcity but Of absolute famine Thor,
IL Will he. ] fear. spoliaton. The spoliatior
= will increase the distress. Tho d's,res,
n will produce fresh spoliaton There /,
q nothing TO stop you. Your Constitution
3 s all sail and no anchor. As | said he
fore, when a society has entered ON ~
Y downward progress either civilization nj
x liberty must pAish. Either some Cnsa
e or Napoleon Will seize the rcns of gov
Y eminent with n strong hand or YOU
Ir republic will he as fcarfully plundere,
70 and laid waste by barharlans in IN,
Y twentieth century as the Roman Empir
a was in the hfth-with this difference tina
"A the Huns and Nandals who rAVaged IN.
Roman Empire came from without. Will,
" your Huns and Nandals will have beer
y cngendered within your own country h,
T. your own institutions
le Thinking thus. 81 course ! cannot reckon
II Jefferson among the benefactors Of man
" kind. Yours respectfully,
THOMAS SAHfNGToN MAcAuLAY
lc IoNDoS, May %. 1857.
10 \ Prison i n Place OF Joy.