The Elk Mountain pilot., 1924-01-31
PROFOUND POLITICAL THOUGHTS OF REVOLT
AIRY OCCUPANT OF BAY STATE MANSE
By JOHN BASIL BARNHILL.

oO---'
IN the Old Manning Manse, North Billerica
Massachusetts, built in 1886 by the Puritan Manning who
came from England, discovered recently remark
able political document bearing the date of February 90
1888, written by William Manning the Revolutionary
of the Manse This manuscript bearing title
of 'The Key of Liberty" failed to publication
in its day but worthy of the careful study of the
ent generation
Professor Harold ]. Laski, formerly of Harvard at
present of the University of London and high
est authorities the history political theory has said
that with the exception of England of the Common
wealth, community in modern history has been so
fecund in political thought America in the Revolution
ary period.
Manning's essay is a rich mine of original thought
on the hidden springs of political action The student
who is anxious get very roots of our nations
history is distinctly the gamer by the rescue from its
centuryon sumber of this viriIe product the plain
living and hard thinking of the patriot farmer of the
Revolution
William Manning who was twenty-seven years old at
the time ofthe battle of Lexington, sergeant in
company of mnutemen but his company reached the bat
tile too late to take part in it. He died in 1914 In poll
tics he outandout Jeersonian Like the average
American farmer he had deep disrust of and
government The gradual Entertainments of the const
tuted authorities the domain of popular rights he
viewed with dismay.
So with good quill and inkforn forming his letters
by like child, William Manning wrote his "Key
of Libberty made fair copy and sent it to the Inde
pendent Chronicle the only Jeesonian paper in Boston
Failing publication, year later he sent
the editor an abridgement of key but with the
disappointment. The anxious author then had to
content pour forth his reamdies to his neigh
bors and the travellers who frequented his inn
Possibly reason why the "Key" was not printed
was that Adams brothers who published the Chron
prosecuted for seditous libel under the Alien
and sedition Act one of them dying before the trial and
the other serving thirty days in Jail This the period
called by the Jeersonians the "Federaist Reign of Ter
ror" the period of reaction in American history
and it is necessary to read Mannngs essay in the Nt
the provoc attitude of his political opponents
Education" said Edmund Burke, "is the cheap de-
fense of natiosy William Manning went further
clared that it the only defense of democracies This
indeed of the principal contentious of his key OF
Libberty Implicit in Mannngs writings also was an
other profound thought uttered by Burke Ihe
of the state is the state The Hamonan edition of the
British system of finance, the justice of which is
yet be settled, the special black horse of
Manning and all the Jeffensonans Manning expressed
himself follows the Funding System of Hamilton
feel inclination to apologize for the patriots
and spelling but rather to marvel that he does
SO we'll considering his manifold handicaps:
The funding sistim established by Congress be-
fore equ represented their. Notwithstanding
it always opposed by very large number after a