The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1914-05-29
MACAULAY'S VIEW OF DEMOC
RACY'S FUTURE.

snip OF state, WHICH ne expressed Ill
striking letter written In 1857 to FL
S. Randall, OF New York, who had
sent to the author of the History Of
England" Life of Jefferson" The
letter. in its essential parts, is as fol
lows:
| have long been convinced that in
stitutions purely democratic must
sooner or later, destroy liberty Of
civilization, or both. In Europe, where
the population Is dense, the effect 81
such institutions would be almost in
Simultaneous.
what happened lately in France Is
an example In 1S48 a pure demo
crazy was established there. During
a snort time there was reason to eX-
pect a general spoliation, a national
bankruptcy, a new partition OF the
soil, maximum of prices, rulnous
load of taxation laid on the rich tor
the purpose of supporting the poor In
idleness.
Such a system would, in twenty
years, have made France as poor and
barbarous as the France of the Car
llovingians. Happily, the danger was
averted; and now there is despot-
ism, silent tribune, an enslaveo
press. Liberty is gone. but civillza-
ton has been saved
You may think that your country
enjoys an exemption from these evils;
I will frankly own to you that I an
OF a very different opinion.
Your Ia+e | believe to be certain
though It is deferred by physical
cause. AS long as you have bound
| less extent OF fertile and unoccupied
land, your laboring population will be
far more at ease than the labor
ing population Of the Old World;
and while that Is the case the
Jefferson politics may continue TO
exist without causing any fatal cal
amity.
But the time will come when New
England will be as thickly settled as
Old New England. Wages will be as
low, and will 1uctuate as much with
you as with us. You will have your
Manchesters and Birminghams; and
in those Manchesters and Birming-
hams hundreds and thousands of
artisans will sometimes be out OF
work.
Then your institutions will be fairly
brought to the test. Distress every
where makes the laborer mutinous
and discontinued, and inclines him to
listen with eagerness to agitators, who
tell him that it is monstrous in
iquity that one man should have a
million while another cannot get a
full meal.
In bad years there is plenty Of
grumbling here, and sometimes lit
tie rioting; but 1t matters little, for
here the sufferers are not the rulers.
The supreme power Is in the hands OF
q class, numerous indeed, but select
of an educated class-of a class
which is, and knows itself to be, deep
Iy interested in the scrutiny OF prop
erty and the maintenance of order.
Accordingly the malcontents are
gently but firmly restrained. The bad
time is got over without robbing the
wealthy to relieve the INDECENT. The
springs of national prosperity soon
begin to flow again; work is plentiful,
wages rise, and all is tranquility
and cheerfulness.
have seen England pass, three or
four times through such critical sea-
sons as ! have described. Through
such seasons the United States will
have to pass in the course Of the next
century, If not Of this. How will you
pass through them? 7 heartily wish
you good deliverance; but my reason
and my wishes are at war, and
cannot help foreboding the worst
1t is quite plain that your govern
ment will never be able to restrain a
distressed and discontinued majority.
For, with you, the majority Is the
government, and has the rich, who
are always in the minority, absolute
ly at its mercy.
The day will come when, in the
State of New York, q multitude of
people, none of whom has had more
than half a breakfast, or expects to
have more than half dinner will
choose Legislature. IL it possible
to doubt what sort of a Legislature
will be chosen?
On one side is statesman preach
ing patience, respect for vested rights,
strict observance OF public faith; on
the other is a demagogue, ranting
about the tyranny of the capitalists
and usurers, and asking why anybody
should be permitted to drink cham
payne and to ride in a carriage while
thousands OF honest folk are Ia want
of necessaries. Which OF the two
candidates Is likely to be preferred by
a workman who hears his children
cry for bread?
/ I seriously apprehend you will. In
some such season OF adversely as !
have described, do things that will
prevent prosperity from returning
that you will act like people who
should, in a season of scarcity, devour
all the seed-corn, and thus make the
next year not one of scarcity, but OF
ABSOLUTE famine.
\ There will be, / fear, spoliation
Al The spoliation will increase the dis
tress. The distress will produce fresh
spoliation. There is nothing to stoI
YOU. Your constitution is all sal
and no anchor. As I said before, when
a society has entered on its downward
progress either civilization or liberty
must perish. Either some Caesar Of
Napoleon will seize the reins Of gov
eminent with strong hand or YOU
republic will be as fearfully plumber
ed and laid waste by barbarians II
the twentieth century as the Roman
Empire was in the fifth, m
!, Curious that Macaulay's fears III
W America should not havenbeeh felt ID!
Americans themselves until now. Ever
|, to-day, when in some degree tn,
, symptoms he described a half centur.
Y ago are making their appearance
W the American people IS more interest
o5 ", - 49, 49,, \ ", -, "a II,