Year: 1875

7 Mr. Yawkins-whom | have before il
! troduced, and whom I greatly admire fl
, his admiration OF the Little Pedlingtc
/, editors-in mentioning to the intellige1
. Londoner, with a laudable' local prid


that another paper had been establishe
since his former visit, mentioned also i


aims and objects, evidently reciting frol


the heading of the journal itself: "Th
, Little Pedlington Dictator" said
written by Mr.. Fiat, is a paper excl
sively devoted to politics, literature, th


drama, the fine arts, science, politics


economy, geology, zoology, concholog!


pathology, craniology". Here the LoI


don visitors astonishment interrupte


him before he had got more than hal


through. stop, stop, Mr. Yawkins, fo


heavens sake? Surely you do not pre-


tend that Mr. Fiat himself writes upo


all these subjects p Indeed, but | dc


sir" replied he, "and writes upon al


with equal knowledge, taste and judg


ment.


The editor who can not, off hand, writ


an able article upon any of these subjects


and upon all with equal knowledge, taste


and judgment, has mistaken his calling


He would better go West, and go to irri


eating patch of the arid plains, anc
! grow up with the country.


There is common but illogical sayins
| that the time of miracles is past, but the


have only taken on new forms or mani
festations. The newspaper is the mod
ern miracle. There are many that fine
1t hard to believe that the Roman Pontif
speaks infalibly. Yet he is consecrateo
from his youth to the learning and rites


of the Church. He abjures from his
youth the love of woman-that hindrance
to spiritual growth he has been chosen
by the high council of the Church, and
he has the apostolic succession from st.
Peter. But the immeasurably greater
miracle of the infalibility of the press, by
virtue of simple putting together of
certain mechanical parts and an editor,
hnds universal acceptation, and all join
to exalt it as the great moral engine.


The proposition seems to be founded
in irrefragable logic, that a great moral
engine must have great moral en- ngineer.
Else it would be great engine of de-
pravity. 1t is fearful to think on the
perversion of the moral engine if the
editor had only the common selfish mo-
tives OF human nature, and had taken up
this as men take up other business, only
to make money, or to get living and
support family! How vastly more
fearful if the editor could be a sordid,





prejudice, and even viciousness, to find
market for his paper? If this could hap
pen. then the first bringing of news into
the first family, who wrought what the
illogical gallantry calls Adams fall
was not greater propagator of evil than
the great moral engine would be- But
this is indulgence in chimeras. AS such
a calamity never did happen, we may be-
lieve it is providentially impossible One
of the chief of the miracles of the press
is that its power is never abused.


Journalism is clearly special calling
A call to the mission of editor has the
same effect in transfiguring the man
lifting him out of himself and divesting
him of all the passions and frailties of
human nature-as call to preach the
Gospel to a fashionable congregation,
with good salary.


1t is not strange that the ways of SO
wonderful an engine are mysterious to
many. The ways of the newspaper seem
dark to the ignorant. Their faith in the
infallibility of the great moral engine, and
in the ultimate perfection of mankind
through it, is shaken by differences of
opinions, and even disputes between con-
temporary engines.


Infallibility, they think, should speak
with one voice. Often a great moral
engine speaks of a contemporary engine
as the reverse of moral. And the other
CINE returns the compliment Often
this interchange of civilities occupies
their chief energies, while society looks |
IN with awe to see infallibility befouling
itself. There are some that think these
mutual testimonials detract from the
character and power Of the great moral |
engine. But this is a shallow view for
if the incessant chickering's of the newspa-
Ders had any evil effect, they would not |
De moral engines at all; for the Ameri-
can newspaper has never been able to |
run without these any more than an en-
CINE can run without fuel. Profound !
finds the perpetual quarreling |
IF the great moral engines the vital part |
IF their moral work


To demonstrate this proposition it is |
necessary to go down to the very founda-
ions of human nature in our origin The |
governing premise that l lay down is that
1uman nature is always the same. 1t is
Is indestructible as universal matter
That which we call development or civ
lization, is only change of fashion. In
me form or another, the same carnivor-
,us and predatory nature which was the
original law of our being will have full
exercise in all times races, and in every
tage of human development. If there
we're time to go into the subject fully,
md if our manners would tolerate it in
public assembly, it would be easy to
demonstrate that even the most revolt
ng of the customs of those peoples we
all savages, such as cannibalism; the
lispatch of parents who linger too long;
plurality of wives; the suppression of
offspring; slavery; the selling
# our own children, exist in the same
legree in our society, with only little
ariation in the form of their exercise.


For example, the natural constitution
# government was the rule of the strong
st. They demonstrated their right to
overn by knocking down those that con-
ested it. Thus the most capable bore
ule. This is the law of nature We have
n form repealed the natural constitution
# government by enacting that all men
re created alike, and that one is as ca
able of governing as another. But na
ure never created anything equal. The
,HAOS of mythology was equality. The
eginning of creation is the abrogation
f equality. Herbert Spencer lays down
is philosophy, when he affirms that all
evelopment is by evolution from the
homogeneous to the heterogeneous; that
) to say from equality to inequality.
hat which we call social progress is only
y this evolution. Mr.. John Fiske, the
Professor of the positive philosophy, who
J largely developed disciple Of Herbert
pencer, lays down this principle still
nore broadly in his book entitled 'Cos
mic Philosophy" and he defines evolu-
ion in way better suited to the popu-
lr mind in the following: Evolution is
n indignation of matter and concomi-
ant dissipation of motion, during which