Show i 1 < POLITICAL f EDUCATIONu Last week wt > spoke of political societies 1J cieties i and advocated their formation upon whatsoever i r olitical principles I f might best suit those forming them The subject is one to be well considered by every citizen of this Territory for nowhere no-where is there less political education t than in Utah and no where is there greater need of it Political education in the American States and Territories is as essential as common school education The genius of a government deriving its powers from the people and acting act-ing through representatives everywhere Ii is so to speak a new departure in governmental 1 govern-mental experiments The Democracy of Athens was in no respect like it for there I the Democracy was thepower exercising the power The English Constitution is our prototype but we are so unlike it in I 1 fundamental theories which are but badly understood as to lead many to f think we are the same in a new dress It I i only The English Constitution was the irowth of centuries and its moclmca f tions are all made by time The American Ameri-can Constitution was created and formulated I formu-lated by conventions conventions whose inspiration came from English institutions I institu-tions as modified by colonial charters and new surroundings Inspiration also I came from France and the ideas of Voltaire of Rousseau of Did erot and the encyclopedists found a partial but practical expression in the American Constitution and it is changed only by amendment The English Constitution Consti-tution was founded upon the rights of classes while the American Constitution was founded on the rights of man King John signing the Magna Carlo at Run neymede was King John recognizing the rights of the barons and the existence of the Feudal system while the refusal of John Hampden to pay his eighteen shillings and thereby plunging the nation into civil war was the middle class asserting its rights and privileges William of Normandy at Sen lac had asserted the rights of force and the crown while the attempts of Wilkes and Bradlaugh to have the laboring classes recognized have been 1 but partial in their success The extension of the county franchise has done much in this direction but more remains In England constitution was crownaristocracy and middle classes the stepping stone to aristocracy aris-tocracy In France up to the revolution it was crown clergy and thiers clot Since then it has been empire restoration restora-tion republics coups d etat and anarchy anar-chy Today it is the Republic with the masses content but with Communards threatening In the United States it is the General Government ana the state governments with the people everywhere every-where in the ascendency These are preliminary studies for political politi-cal societies and must be mastered Another An-other thing thatmustbedone inUtah in acquiring ac-quiring political education is to study the source of our political power the Organic Act and the manner in which we acquired ac-quired it The interpretation of the Organic Act will be various and to have it remain various is a thing much to be wished for The recognition of the source necessarily lead to its exploration and in exploring the Constitution it will be found that the Supreme Court of the United States is by the Constitution itself it-self given the power and authority to decide all questions arising under it and not the Dcxerct Evening News nor the Salt Laic Tribune Having learned this it will be well to search the decisions of that court to find whether the Constitution being torn to tatters and then ground to pulp to print tex t cathedra rulings on and then I there will be no more or not so much t searching in Spain for that fact and finding I find-ing evidence of it in earthquakes at Malaga Ma-laga Having escaped Scylla beware of Cfiarybdis for while one would Head to ely sian fields the other may cast you on the nights plutonian shore and j I Rclfstyled patriots are not always safe pilots and under liberalism there may j lurk ultraBepublicahKm and license r n Remember the end does not justify the means and that proper ends can always be arrived at by proper means Remember I Remem-ber that ours is a representative government govern-ment and that all powers of the government govern-ment are derived from the consent you give and not the consent which is given you In forming societies for political education rely on yourselves and recollect that any advice from any source to rely oi another is bad adi ice |