OCR Text |
Show Patau UNO rn i V fbmoei'aiie (Government h i F,r.an! By flip IVo- e. i j.a;-ris 3ora cfaLove of taePeople. .- ii r'.-:;) u.biica.iii mora Desire to Hold endExrciso Power. p r.,r. R. OAK FIELD, JUST '-;.": ' '- before his untimely -?.'-' ?' 0-e'li, said that e Jr iiuence cf Jefferson i " 5 ' iptn the politics of v i ;-i ? v this country was rap-,i- -,X f ltlly waning, wtiile '' that of Ilamilton was rf.pi.il y :ncre;isinc. Nor was the retsarfe uouiiiiii :n. Us was accustomed to see and ilut!r the rovcruh:ent only lu its most t; e-lueo-iouM ex!iihit:on9 o! strength during an eoit'tona! pTioJ. Its euoraious drafts upon t'i lives oDd property of the people. Its VH-t Chch.1 and miiitury operatious, it mpei ial eiiuow ui! nts of corporations, its rui!ue-s discriminations, in favor of the few as asahibt the many in its lax law3, and, indeed, in-deed, its whole legislation and adtninistra-tiQU,.froia adtninistra-tiQU,.froia the.hour in which he entered .Coii-sress to the hour in which he became President, seemed to show tbat the limited federal agency which our forefathers established es-tablished had at length developed Into that stronsr, masterful government which was Hamdton's ideal. But even when President Presi-dent Garfield spoke, the tide that had been o strongly was near its turn. THE DREAD OF D18UXIOX. For twenty years the overmastering' dread of this people was that which arose from the mad attempt to destroy the Union ; end their attention was fixed upon the one point of danger. They poured out blood and money without stint to preserve the Union; but these were not the whole, nor, perhaps, the greatest of their sacrifices. They tamely suffered the states to be robbed of power at every possible poiht of ttiritlon between them and the federal government, and at some points where there was not even the excuse of attrition. They permitted the manufacturers who supplied our armies and those who furnished fur-nished the munitions of war the fortunate no-feisors of the furnaces, forges, mills, sloops and looms, who were able to render a timely service to the republic at an infinite private profit to sot themselves up as a clais apart, and under the war tarifT to levy enormous tribute upon the industry of the people long after the peace. Tuo allowed the capitalists who took th national loans, at shaves each more ruinous than the last, not merely to roll up great fortunes and acquire excluslvo privileges, but to erect , themselves into a permanent power, able to control the operations of the treasury, to j bind and loose the business cf the country, and to exercUe a msst dangerous power in political contests. They saw the railway corporation, whose inestimable service to the cause of the Union was doublyipald for, turn into its coffers rich streams of subsidy from the proceeds of common taxation ; appropriate ap-propriate the pubilo domain, Thich was ao-oulred ao-oulred by the first Democratlo admlnlatra. tluu, uua wmcii -lr. jeiiuraou louoiy ue-lieTed ue-lieTed wou'.d remain an ample baaisof public pub-lic credit forever; lift itsolf into an imper-tunt imper-tunt in impcrio, levy taxes, extort tribute, invade Congress, buy legislatures, corrupt the political morals, and weil nigh strangle the liberties of tho nation. And in 1S77 they saw all these classes and pW'ers unite in the imposition of a chief magistrate, not merely unchosen but overwhelmingly repudiated re-pudiated at a regular and orderly election. All this they submitted to because they were too much preoccupied to resist. While the war lasted, while tho federal relations of the seceding states remained in achate, an appeal to the supreme passion of union was all that was necessary to divert attention atten-tion from any question less grave than that of national preservation. BOW TH8 FEDSKILISTS C62D THS 8AM3 yEKLIXG. Tho same passion was played upon in the same way by Hamilton and the "Eono-crats," "Eono-crats," who undartook to revolutionize the new government by the assumption of Implied Im-plied powers at tho close of the last century. The pressure cf British force was hariily withciraxvn until the contending nations ot Europe bejran to rival ech other in the destruction de-struction cf American commerce, and the younc republic for years trembled on th Verjfe oi aconliic.t wherein the firmest union of the states would have been as lmuoriant as during the revolution. Secession at that time meant simple ruin to tiie states which should go as well us to the states which should remain. The very word was terrible terri-ble in the oars of men v ho had Just achieved pclilicai and commercial independence, and knew that both wouid be completely sacrificed sacri-ficed by fiismombcrmpnt. In lbtil, the United States and the Confederate States would each have constituted a great nation, but in isXiu no respectable power could have been forau'd by uny suiidiylslon of the wbol-J. Ujjon this dread Hamilton and his I politicol a sociates laid hold as the lever with which to pry ono rib after another from the constitution. When the funding bill wa to be passed, under circumstances which enrichou a class of favored speculators specula-tors and fo raed ''treasury party" in L,on gregs, the Union was said to be in danger. When the state debts were to ba assumed, it was insisted that the project of separation separa-tion bad already takan form; and when the Natiocal b;nt, the parent of "the monster'' of JacKsou's timo, was proposed, it was urged vhut it alone was capable of nursing strong confederacy, and contenting Its several members in the same family. Hut this could not continue; the practice craned with toe pretext; and the people realised tho tcischipf which had boon accomplished in ho C'eau'lme. At the close of the Adras administration, with Us extrava eauoo and corruption. It British sympathies, sympa-thies, its alien ami 3;!:Uon laws, its Judicial outrwes, its whippings of editors, its prisons pris-ons tilled with the netims of political persecutions, per-secutions, the revolution camo, and the ever intamou attempt, so like that of 1370, to seal a I'resliisnt ngRinst the will of tho pao-1 pao-1 pie completed the good work. To roaiUs j the fierce and stubborn spirit with which those old federalists resisted tho grand ro- r!niHt!on of popular r'.gbts, as propixod by i tfio itepubilcans under jefforsou, on mast j turn over many a musty j'see which In the ! light of ev'fciiw possesses none but a painful ' intercut. The noblest men that ever lived j In ili Ihctidoof timo were denounced as the i i-Mkiiion enemies of religion aud of society. I Tlni pimple demanding only a faithful o'o- btvuiim of the constitution were ,-thorab- i b e, preparing iu the secrecy of tbp Demo r iM- ic soeieiies all the horrors of the French levoiutlou, BB'l Jefferson, Madison, Galla- j tin, ami ti;eir compatriots wers Jacobins j : and dlsuuionts. j j HISTOUY ITSBLP. But the Federalist party and all Its be-; be-; long'.i.gs w f ie swept away for the time.aud no t::u of that geuerution saw its foul head ra'x.-.l airain. "The constitution was n-ivt-d," nid Jefferson, "at the lust gasp." I 'J he peniile and the sta'f a reclaimed the ! rail's wnk-h had been tiiched from them; t the iloe:rine of "implied powers" in the Hamilton! an tense was decidedly negatived, ' and the process of consolidation was uot sorely arrested, but roverBed. "The ship I ot sta-e was put on her Republican tack j eiidin;" p.rtnauients were reduced; simplicity simplic-ity aud economy became the rule; the federal fed-eral tax gatherer disappeared; the publio I oebt was discharged; the territory of the j nation was doubled; the political prisoner i cumo foAh from his duneeon; tho liberty j of speech and of press was restored; and the golden au-e cf the repub4o passod like a cloudless hummer under the Illustrious Una of Virginia prssidents. History Is again repeating lteelf. The election of President Cleveland at lbs close of ib tera for which President Garfield was cuosun marked the turn of I5e tids.and with tho mestuge in which President Cleveland Cleve-land struck the key note for th'.a campaign mo stanasrns ot jenergonian uemocracy were again railed. In the eleotlon of ls&S, under changed names and new ieadart, tho same grtiit parlies front each other on tne tame lines as In 1S00. On tha one side the party of "protection" or special privileges the party of Hamilton. On the other side the party of freedom or equal rights the party of Jefferson. I have faith In the result. For years It has indeed seemed as if Hamilton waxed, while Jefferson waned, but the question fairly before the poople and the political revolution of ltOO must repeat re-peat Itself. A riuple statement of the systems of HaaiUton and Jefferson tha ono the Ideal of tho Kepublicaa pny and Ihp other the ideal of the Democratic parly will sufll cieotiv account tar Va aoth-a of tha duodjs iiiium ' ' r- II l' " , x-liULi1 i wi I "'' ' mJ-wnaagML. - Wi n i 1 JnrT1' whenever their "30ber Judgesasct," tin-vexed tin-vexed by any other Issue, has been called to deciae between them. For s Tre people, inu-ndicg to renihta fresi, ttire cau bo but one coolt'6. The qtiKstion la a portectly tla.n one, between a fixed written cocstitu- ..on aDd a constitution c&pabie of ludMCnite ; xpnosioa in any d'.roction considered do- ! .role by its admlnislrstors, between a j i ivcrnaioBl of limited and a gororuajeo.t cf j initialled powars, betvmta the republic and j tiio empire. Our fornfattsrH roudr-ro-.'. j hulr decision between th two la the ad op 9 ni of Ihn coutitut'.ou of 17T(i, in tLio -:.p .on of tb aaiendu:ants proposed by tbe mst Congress, and in tbe tot; rep;d:ut:ou in $i)0 of the federalUts, who hud utsuer tsi;en to accomplish by forced coosiruciioc vhat they had failed to acooaipliia by fundamental fun-damental enactment. HJn.TON'S OF A COSRCIVK UNION. Hamilton's earliest dreams respecting the new government was of a grand, costly, magnificent "coercive union" a dream wnloh he found tiiuetoelaburitein the very heat of the revolution. The British constitution consti-tution was his ideal, and its worst features were tnose which he distinguished by bis heartiest approbation. He ma ie no eecret of his couvlctioa that, while it was as it stood the most perfect government ever .ie vised by man, tbe extension of tho surfrare or the curtailm' nt of the powor of tae ministry min-istry to procure corrupt parliamentary majorities ma-jorities by the patronaire of tho crown, would render it abortive. Upon this niodW, with nil its dofects, which in his eyes were but so many virtues, he longed to fashion tbe institutions of the new world. H.b fundamental postulate was, not that the people should govern, but that they should be governed, and his noxt, that there were but two methods of governing them well, namely, by force and by interest. Waca. therefore, he appeared in the convention of 17b7, nobody wr.s surprised by tha extraordinary extra-ordinary scheme of empire which he im proved an early opportunity to develop. Here Is the outline: His first step was the extinction of the sthtes; they could not coexist co-exist with a national government. For the rest he proposed, to follow as nearly as might be the Brit'sb modol, boing specially careful to give constitutional sanction to the worst abuses of that system. "It is Baid with us," he said, "to bo unattainable. unat-tainable. If It was once formed it would maintain its9lf. All communities divide themselves into the few and the many. The first are the rich and the well bora;the other the mass of the people. The voice of the people has been said to be the voice ot God; and however generally this maxim has been c toted and believed it is not true In fact. The people are turbulent and changing; they seldom judge or determine right Give, therefore, to tho first class n distinct, percranent share in to government. govern-ment. They will check tho unstcadim ss of tho second, and as they cannot receive any advsntogo by a ohance they, therefore, will ever maintain good government. Can a Democratic assembly, who annually revolve re-volve in the niBssoa cf the people, be sup posed steadily to pursue the public good! Nothing but a permanent boay can eheeU tho imprudence of Democracy. The.lr tur-ouient tur-ouient and controlling disposition requires checks. xt is admitted that you cannot have a good executivo on tho Democratic plan, fbco tbe excellency of the British executive 1 He is placed abvo temptation; he can havo no interests distinct dis-tinct from tho publio welfare. Nothing short of such an exeoutive caa be eilicieut. Let one body of the legislature leg-islature le constituted during sood behavior or life. "Lit one oxecutivo ba appelate! who dares execute his powor. "It may be asuod, iu this a Ke.pubHcnn system J "It is strictly eo as lonj? as they remain elective. And let me observe that, an csoc-utive csoc-utive is less dangerous to tho liberties of the people when in ouieo durin.-r lit e than for seven years. "Let electors bo f.ppoioted in each of tne stutes to elect the executivo (hero Mr. H. produced his plan), to consist of two branches, and 1 would give them tho unlimited un-limited power of passing all laws without exception. (The sentence elands thus in itiltti u.ii'Utcs.j i:t.i :is:.m.iy.y u elected tor three year by th-: pcr;.;e in tistricts: the sen.ito to b". eloeW. by e'n t-rs t-rs choren for tnat putioi-o fey tho pco:. u. atid to roiuaic iu oice during .U T;i--cxecutive to have tbe pow er of ncira!. v: .-; ail laws; to maka war or peace with! -o advlco of the senate; to mako trnt:cs with tbelr advice, but lo have the bom itirc-cfon of all military operations, and to sere." j bassadors und appoint all military n!l:e.'V .ind to pardon all oiTenuers, tre.iEO j x-ci'ptcd, x-ci'ptcd, unless by the advice of the soru'.o. Or. his death or rmuoviil, tho president of ihn Senate to officiate, with the sin? power, until another is elpcied. Supreme udlcii'.l oillccrs to bo eppoint-d iy t:ia President and tho Senate. Tho leg'ishitura to appoint the courts in each state so as to .nuke tho state governments unneccsa-y 10 it. "All stat? lews to ba absolutely void vblch contravena tho general lawn. jn Sicer to be appointed in each state to have i necative on ell stale laws. All the milt ia and the appointment of ofllcers to bo inder the national government. "I confess toat this plan and thai, fro'D ."irgiaia aro very rcmoto from tha people iVrhaps tho Jersey plan is nean.-at their ex pecuitious. But the people are cradun'.iy ri; en!ng in their opinions of povern,iie:;t. they begin to be tired of a:i excess tf Cm uiocraoy;and what even is tho Virginia ; 1 in, but pork etiil, with a littlo change o? suucai" HAMILTON'S rOIN'T OP ATTACK. These were Colonel Hatuilton'ii "loons of a suitable plan of government." 'i 1: - .v wcrt received by the convention with silence, si-lence, Dot to p,ay contempt,, and wore heare. if no moro. Tha inou of the revoluthm hid oven le-3 tupto lor that sort of goiefn-metit goiefn-metit than tbe men oftodiy; and Coioncf tlsmiltou und hia tew auvancetl f ncn '.s failing in their plan of monarchy, weie forced to make reluctant ciioiee beiwe ! tbe several lans of tho Kepublicaus. Tney ata the "pork," but they never so much a-pretended a-pretended that they lined it. But the constitution was parsed witliont a bill of rights, aud without n declared rule of construction, and tho advocates of strong government wero not without bopo. There was room for a wido dillerence of interpretation, inter-pretation, and, with favorable adrnini3tra tions, Hamilton foresaw the possibility of building up an immense superstructure, undreamed of by the framers, upon the basis of implied poweri. There had crept into tho preamble, through "mere iuattea lion," as Madisun put it, "to the pbi as v ology," a few words copied from too articles arti-cles of eonfoderation, and ttiese words "t pruvldo for tho cumieon tlefottso and pro mote the gnneral wolfaro" taitca nimie and witnout reTt-rom e tu tho cnutuerutioti of specific power In tho body of the in- irument. seenied coiitpro'r.cnsivo cr.oic-h V. warrant tho assumption of any concLivahie ButGDiiry. Ilamilton therofore favored tin auoption of the constitution. He saw in i; but the goim of the government of tin future; it would grow; It wcuie expand; a fixed constitution was u him nu absurdity; power W'.-jl-t "gravitate' to the centre; "tho rich und weil born" would gr.idiuliy assui-t themselves over tho s.viii:3:! "ciiuiy," t:i: l. with this oliiiiiii.iti.'in of what hu wa pleased to call "porn" from tuo wofkiti. charter, tho "few" would ultimately a.s tume tho "distinct si;d permanent sitr.rv" of authority whica proioily bo!c-n-;i;;l tt i I horn. TUB PEfJI.AI'.ATIO.'f OF IltaHTfll. The states hesitated to ratify tha consM I tulicn in this furui; it v. n- chv.r'.y ti most Lazurdous experiment; but tho great name of Washington, aul tha clear understand I ing that be would become tho tirst presi I dtnt, overbore the better judgment of in-firmest in-firmest Republicans. But, utifortutiuteiy for Hamilton's Bchcuic of rovoiution by construction, tho tirst congress supplied the declaratian of rights, and the inflexible rule of intei prfctation in the tea aiio tid-meuts tid-meuts which were Immediate. y proposed and ratiiied. Indeed, most of tlu slates bad ratified only upon tbe distinct tiiinor-standing tiiinor-standing thai these amendments should bo made,; ana in nearly every case tho ali-important ali-important teum aiiieujiiieiit i ne powers uot delegated to the Unied States, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserve. i to the states respectively, or to tire peoiuo" was strenuutibly insisted upon, liven Colonel Hamilton's own New York pin Ihis in bar declaration of rights which accompanied ac-companied the ralilioatiou,wlth peculiar Bo.omnity and uncummon precision ct words. Colonel Hamilton had now nothing loft to Btand upon but tho half-dozen iualvortont words of the preamole, limited and ro-straluod ro-straluod as they wero by tho spoeilio grants in the opsrallva words of the constitution. But he did not despair. He was confident that this small piece of ela-tio material in the framework of tho cow government might be tarotchod out wido enough to support sup-port banks, paper motley, corporations, internal in-ternal improvements, bounties, subsidies, armies and an aristocracy of money, patronage pat-ronage to corrupt aud forca to intimidate tho people. No soouer was the constitut.on put in operation than be appeared in that identical place wnero of ail others, on administration ad-ministration Hostile to its whole spirit might be readily engineered. Washington had applied to Koberl Morris for advice on the finances. Great as were his services in tho revolution, Morris was a testy old aristocrat. Ho was tnen pjst fresa from Furls, where he had spent months sunt up in his houMO cursing Jacobins, lie whs heartily siclt of Democrats, perhaps of Republicans, Re-publicans, and recommended Haniiitou ta tbe task lor which he had no 6tomaoh hlm-aelf. raooasss TowA.uo aJo.AHC7rr. I havo nolther spaco nor inclination to re oapitaltte the history o tho first armies t ;ltiou. Macn of li Washington sincerely r-grelo. i; much of it be permitted to !x sr.iwie with evident relnctaoca; and it U .iter cow that If he had really proved tht hiure cf ciay which ho was expected to bi in the hsinus of his loijiog ni::lster, th. joveraTTtont would have b.'en rsvo;ution .z d Wfore it was fairly.i'i.:i'jrete-l. ilam teen's L-.cnsures were a . of h : iece, !aet in dao succession and with a !-;u 6 view. Tne funding bill was a graad speculation It was matured an promulgated In such a manner as to enable the favurites of the treasury to realize largo fortunes in a i.virik ing. Members of Congress wen percutted to pariicipata in the plun:ier,noil jo wfc.-s iorm-?a tha "treasury band" in tne two houses. Here also wj-.s created iime-jiately iime-jiately the nucleus of tnat moneyed nris-tocracy nris-tocracy the holders ot tao puulic iloct. suddenly enriched by the very act of acquiring ac-quiring it which Hamiltcu beltuved would uitiaie.teiy become the great cea?rvntiv force tc the stoveruaieat. T;.e asstiini-.tion of tno .rato Coots io!I'iw--.i ;n the sau.o 01-re.et.i.-r. t SS .ttirr e:e"j'-Kt mora laCu t-r.co -n tco treuf-sry, & iur:r,fr increase oi the uc- t and of '-he p.nVs r ol tho debt holders hold-ers Then oaine the i;-:r.s. With tat 'ic.juster'' ani us preeny tite Hercules of Democracy tits been cvutending, with Lrief mtt-rvsl, ever s'nea. The treasury report on rutnutact-iri-s -.vms a meroexpuu-i meroexpuu-i ..it-.a of ihe system, it undortooK to cstab-I cstab-I V'-ii the tloctuito taat Cccroj mlB-ht take the money of one class ot citizens and give tt lo another under tho pica of encouraging a oeeirnbie'ndisiry. il laid the foundation of monopoly doep f:nd widi. Here, to be uie, was a lino beginning 1 Patronage, corruption, niauipulaticn of the debt, oanic-t:tg, oanic-t:tg, paper cior.oy, bout. tics, tiiinopoiyl When to th's was huued mystery the circle was completed. Jefievson chargod that Hamilton dhho-rilely myst-hed tte accounts ac-counts of the treasury so lioit neither Congress Con-gress nor the people couid unravel t&eai. THE FORMS. But Hamilton understood also the value of ceremony as an accessory to power, and he prescribed a system of aosurd formalities formali-ties to govern the intercourse of tho President Presi-dent with his feiloiv citizens. wont in e coach and six, attended by outriders in livery and followed by members of tha administration ad-ministration in a coach and four, with a numerous and stately retinuo, to open Congress, Con-gress, und then delivered his message like a king's speech. Congress, having agreed upon an "address" in reply to the speech, attended the President in a body to present it. All forms of etiquette wore arranged to the minutest purtieular af tor the manner man-ner of Kuropeau courts. Tbe greater part of it was extremely irksoEi9 and distastof ul to Washington, and there is reason to believe be-lieve that of some of it he was subsequently aitnost ashamed; but bo wea persuaded to submit to it, as being necessary to maintain the dignity of government. Hamilton even went so far as t suggest that no citizen, private or obicial, should bo permitted a private interview with ib.9 President, ex-cout ex-cout members of the Senate, who, like the peers of Franco, should aiono enjoy 'this bU'h privilege. Still he was not satisfied. The experiment had auceoeded bettor thtn ho expected, but be said: "Ilia my opinion, though I do not pub-i pub-i it In Dan or Baersheba, that tha pi-es-govorcffisnt is cot that which will a-.' -.ver the nods of eoeiety by giving sta- h y Md protection to its rights, atid that It -, ;u probubty ba found expedieut to go r,i ti io ilritish form." This pa "tho systetn of Hamilton," .t. cb wo f.re laforinc i is to stiporsodo Hjo 'leci of JefTerson," upon which the Union was founded, and upon which t flourished in liberty, pence and M i.rity fcr more than half a century-ir. century-ir. to be exact, from the moment a ;?:.! republican administration, elu-ereiy elu-ereiy cherishing tho principles of the con-siiittiir.n, con-siiittiir.n, ca.-r.o into power ia lsOl, until the Detnorrutic aiioiitiistration wont out of t-:'.vor in lf81. The brief intrusions of the V-'i.igs in lvS() end in ls!3, scarcely amount-cc amount-cc to iitterruj. tions, since their measures ,.' :) never suffered to succod, and tiie : a'p.i' ciind on each occasion roverted , .-.-itip'iv to tiio tried rules cf democratio v i.di.istfat'.on, whoso value these new de-...ii de-...ii Lures only served to illuatrata. JSf?::i'.SOS'3 DEVOTION TO LIESSTT. .'offersen was a born Domocrat. Ke no! -li1 I", .ieved firmly in the rizht of the puo-: puo-: to rovern the!Usei7n?, but lu their -'iu' lo do it belter than it vr hxd hea j: cct cuuiii oc ,.oi.! power osrivoa fi'otu any other source. Fortunately for mankind, and fortunately especially for the coantry wuich, in his eyes, was blessed Dy bv (Joa and nature beyond every other, he came upon the stss.6 of action at, perhaps tne only tima in history, and tno only plao in tho world, where his gospel of aoaiule unman freedom could be put, in successful coujpetition with the hoary abuses of kidj-saip, kidj-saip, of statecraft, of aristocracy, or as Mr. Hamilton had it, o" too "rich and the well born," It would be interestinj, were it within the seo.-ie of this paper, to follow hitu through his exiraordinury career of radical reform in Virginia the act of religious re-ligious freedom, the tiuolitioa of tho right ot primogeniture and of the law of entails, ti. a codo which came round aud perfect from his hands, with every ancient right of Englishmen restored and fixed Id tCS nice precision of the common law terms, i his lierco opposition to the slave trade, his j nnbie efforts for eomplcto emancipation, j and bis great labord m the cause of frta popular education. Mr. Jefferson held that tho Arac-rl tn j colonics wero and ever had bi.'eti frr o ! states. It was not a no w thought when tie embodied It in too Declaration of Indo- i peiidecco. Each distinct society in tha : new world win as independent a3 Great -Britain hersoif. With her thoy owed a ! common alh'giancc to the crown; but her ; parliament had no power to make laws for them any more than for Hanover. Thoir j several legislatures ordainod their several ! laws, and within the limits of each tboking j was as firmly bound by thooo laws as ha j was by the acts of parliament in tho three j ktugdoms. This theory was boldly ad- vanced by Mr. Jefferson long before the ; older statesmen of Virginia were prepared to accept it. But i was tbe only theory : upon which the rovoiution could proceed cither legally or logically: and when ho came to draw the Declaration of Independence Independ-ence it had oecome tho doctrine of the patriot pat-riot party through the continent. Tnat immortal document is an srrigntaent ot tno king for a series of political crimes, whereby where-by he had absolved his American subjects from their allegiance, precisely as the Whigs contended King James bad absolved all Englishmen in 1058. It did not make the colouies free ana independent staitis. It merely declared the fact tht they were free and Independent states, and In the ex-erciso ex-erciso of a right belonging to them in thai capacity they severed their connection con-nection with a hostile king. The result cf the war was the acknowledgment acknowl-edgment of the independence of each separate commonwealth, and upon this stupendous stu-pendous truth rested Mr. Jefferson's whole political systom, JliFfftllUON's rAITH IS T1I2 pfiO?LH. Mr. Jefferson was in France when tho convention of lis? finished its work. From t;:at gouti hour when ho instituted tiie Virginia Vir-ginia c-jmunttaa of correspondence with a tiisiinot view 10 early conrouerution, he bad iiuaioeil thn solimno of cIos t unon tvveeu tne stales wlia eager assiauity, ana h had watched the course of late events from bis distant standpoint with Intense I anxie'.y. When tho constitution reached him, ho was charmed at first glanco with the symmetrical framework of the now government; with its power "to go on of Itsolf peaceably, without needing continual recurrence to ibe state legislature;" with Its wise distribution of powers, and with its "comDromiaa oi tha onoasiLa eiaims at j eijuiii liii'l of the former to proportional :a-tiuom.0." :a-tiuom.0." But ho was struck wild amazement amaze-ment oy the omissions. Tno lack of a mil 01 ngti'-s was a iatal defect. He desired such a bill, coutaming ail tho provisions of tne lirst ten amendments, and so'ne others wnieh posterity has reason, and may yet have more, to regret that ho was unaole' to Secure. He earnestly protested against the perpetual re-eltgioility of tho President, ana against "standing armies in time of peace," and ho wished to guard g,tinst "monopolies," the ripe fruits of wnich were then Visible in Fruaca, by the most rigid constitutional restrictions. But he siron.ly urged the adoption of the instru-meut instru-meut us it stood, together with instructions to tne representatives of each ratifying state, to procure at once tho proposal to the legislatures of the necessary amendments. amend-ments. His faith in thn people w& unbounded. un-bounded. "After all," ha said, "it is my principle that tha will of tho majority should prevail, if they approve the proposed pro-posed constitution In all iu parts. I shall concur m it Cheerfully, in hopos that they win amend it whenever th6y snail find it works wrong. This relianco cau uot deceive us as long as we remain virtuous, and I think we shall be so us long kj agnculturo is our principle object, which will be the easy while there remain vacant lands ia any part of America. When we get piled upon one another in largo cities, as la Europe, we shall become corrupt as In Europe, aud go to outing one another as they do there." Ho foresaw, it appears, clearly enough, the process by whlcli uiun-.-yed aud nriaufaciuring interests j would lirst corrupt and thon porverl the I government to euublo them to devour the I earnings of thj peoplo whoai, at some re-I re-I moto period, population should concentrate I lor work and bread in a few centers; but j atusn hia nr Tthnt.ln koq was uacau&l to tUO jmmmmwmwmmwmmmmm mm mmmmm mmTmmm"mm conception mat "monopoly" wonia evs istirp uncounted millions of acres of ins "vacant lands of America," and fling them i.to into the scale against liberty and Jus Uce 1 JEFFERSON IS WjL3UIUOTOS'a CABIN ST. When Jefferson took his seat in the caoinet of Washington he found a most extraordinary state both of public pub-lic affairs and of society. Hamilton's Hamil-ton's plans were already well under way. Tne treasury had "insinuated its power in both houses of Congress." The funding bill had passed; tbe assumption assump-tion bill was matured, and the bank was about to be born. Jefferson and Hamilton were the recognized leaders of the two parties, par-ties, then almost as distinct as at any time since. They were thrown together at almost al-most every meeting "like cocks in the pit." Randolph supported Jefferson with enlightened en-lightened seal. Knox, a great honest giant, was tne mere echo of Hamilton. He believed be-lieved in his little colleague and big guns; and that was his whole confession of political po-litical faith. Washington endeavored to hold the balance even between them. Both his great secretaries enjoyed his personal confidence; but Jefferson always contended that he did not comprehend the "drift" of Hamilton's measures. The president signed the bank bill with hesitation, not because he approved the principle, but in deference to the will of the legislature. "He was true to the Republican charge confided to him, and Has solemnly and re-Bfl&tadlT re-Bfl&tadlT crotestad to ma." ss-va Jeffarsoa. the last drop of his blood In support ot it, and he did this the oftener and with the more earnestness, because he knew my suspicions of Hamilton's designs against it, and wished to quiet them." But it was tho tone of society and the talk of the drawing rooms and dinner tables which most astonished tho Demo cratio seoretary of state. Classes were already formed and the divisious officially recognized, and, amid the pomp and ceremony cere-mony instituted by Hamilton, the prevailing prevail-ing sentiment sounded strangely un liepuo-lican liepuo-lican in the ears of the author of the Declaration Dec-laration of Independence. The sympathies sympa-thies of this pseudo aristocracy were unra-Bervedly unra-Bervedly British, and the lat ambassador to France was not a little shocked bv the comments he was forced to hear of the mild beginnings of the Frenoa revolution, to whioh every friend of liberty was then a hearty well wisher. He soon ascertained that whiio tho secretary of state could not wed be excluded from these select circles, he was not especially welcome. Hamilton's Hamil-ton's candor alone was entirely unabasned in his presence. Mr. Adams, who was a convert to the principle of monarchy, but wished it elective and bonest, said at table, "Purge that (the British) constitution of its corruption, and givo to Its popular branch equality of representation, and it would bo tho most perleot constitution ever devised by the wit of man." To which Hamilton, a.'cer a significant pause, rejoined : "Purge it of its corruption, and give to its popular branch equality of rep reser.tatiun, and it would become an itr.prco-tlcablo itr.prco-tlcablo governmeit: aa it stands at present, pres-ent, with all its supposed defects, it is the most perfect government which ever existed." ex-isted." 1IIB FEDERALISTS IX POWES. Upon Mr. Jefferson's retirement the federalists assumed "unchecked control." Hamilton was always for improving every opportunity for increasing and displaying tne military power of the government, auu be longed lor some domestic case in which a "siriKing exhibition" of this sort, might be made. The so-called whisky insurrection insurrec-tion furnished him a pretext, and ho not only marched an army to suppress an insurrection in-surrection which had no existence, but he trampled in brutal triumph upon en unoffending unof-fending peopie, who had peaceably submitted submit-ted to every requirement of tha govern-mein govern-mein before a soldier had cros9od the Alle-ianies. Alle-ianies. It Is a fact that Hamilton, without with-out any authority, civil or military, organized organ-ized a mixed commission of bis ovvn to la-tiict la-tiict his will upon tbe inhabitants of western west-ern Pennsylvania, and most singular it is th-it history has taken so little note Of that, tho worst, the basest and the boldest crime av-iiinst liberty aud law since the adoption 01 ttie constitution. The Adams administration has, by common com-mon couaeut, become tte object of universal univer-sal execration. If it had any redeeming features beyond the personal integrity of the infatuated men who composed it, history his-tory has failed to mention them. Toe British craze pervaded it from farst to last; and the excesses of the French revolution, together with the celebrated X. Y. Z. afiair, whereby it was made to appear that Talleyrand had endeavored to exiort from the American ambassadors a Iarte sum as ihe price of a treaty, had set the tide wiib momentary but tremendous force in favor of tno British Dartv. The Hamilton mnji. ..; es were contiDUuu, aim oluers even mcr eihous aud in more flagrant violation of the constitution were added. The alien la enabled the President to banish foreigners at pleasure, and was aimed especially at tho French republicans exited or domiciled hero. Tne sedition law was intended to silence criticism, and it was rigorously and brutally enforced. The country was j pusQeu to tbe verge cf war with France ! and to the edge of a most unnatural alii-I alii-I auce with England; and this lone after the determination of France to keep the pence with us at any price had been know n was made the pretext of great military and naval establishments, involving an eoortuoua increase of the public debt, both of whioh debt und army were in themselves them-selves primary objects of federalist policy. Pulpit and press teemed with "maniacal ravings" regarding the Jacobins of France nnd their alleged friends and allies, the Republicans of America. Every excess, every horror of tbe French revolution, woro predicted as the natural consequences of ibe triumph of Jtffersonian Democracy, among the least of which were the dissolu-j dissolu-j tiou of the union and bloody anarchy. I say the least deliberately, for in tho dream I of diabolism which haunted the desperate j federalist cf that day were things which j may not even be written, j Jei2erson had boon elected Vice-Presi dent with Adams. He remained at his post ' aud guided the contest at the seat of gov-: gov-: eminent. But many of tbe Republican i leaders gave up the conflict In Congress, I and went into the state legislatures "to I rouse tbe people" to a jnst sense of their danger. Gallatin alone remained in tbe ' House, where the federalist members snouted him down, and inflicted every in- dignity possible in such a body. There j was talk even of "deportation" of obnoxious obnoxi-ous persons, and the attorney general was ! as rendy as any attorney-general of I them all. from tha iirst of Adams j to me last ot urart, to lena mmso.T j to any outrage that power doomed expe-! expe-! dier.t. "No man who did not witness I it can form an idea of their unbridled . madness and the terrorism with which they j surrounded themselves." j TnB PSOrLB AW A KB. i But the federalists had pushed their : plans of centralization too boldly. When ; then the people saw that thoy had "been j duped into the support of measures calculated calcu-lated 10 sap tho very foundation of repub-; repub-; licanistn," they swept the offending party , from tho councils of toe nation, to reappear aga'n oniy after tho lapse of mora than half a century, when the crlmeB of its ancestor an-cestor had been forgotten, to run tbe same course and to meet, it is to be hoped, the same fate. Tbe i-iection of lbOO resulted in the choice of Jefferson and Burr. But tha Dartv which held power, like the party wklch held power in 1;G, could not afford to lay It down at the holding of the people, and they determined, if possible, to hold on by fraud, and if necessary, by force. Tha people of Now York having elected a legislature legis-lature pledged to choose Republican electors, elec-tors, Hamilton wrote tho governor imploring implor-ing him to assemble the. existing federalist legislature und defeat the will of the voters vot-ers Dy changing the law; but the governor quietly laid the letter away, wilh an endorsement en-dorsement indicating his Sesosh 01 imny ot tno proposal, ana mat was thotntl of tho first attempt to tamper with the electoral vote of 11 state. Then they resolved re-solved to elect Burr, and trust for their protection to his treachery and his gratitude. grati-tude. Failing In that, they conceived the project of defeating an election altogether, auu iustailini; the president of the Senate, a schema whietl was abandoned only tecause the majority of lailO was made of sterner sluff than tho majority of 1678. When every oilier resource had been exhausted, ex-hausted, they resorted to the ineffable baseness base-ness of attempting to bargain with Jefferson Jeffer-son himself, but their overtures were rejected re-jected with contempt The federalist party was dead ; like ail such parties, It was rotten before It was dead, and a hasty Interment was the only decent thing it could demand. In ouodienoo to tho will of the people, complied with only after a long and perilous peril-ous contest in the House, Mr. Jefferson became President on tha 4th of March, lbOl. As a mere litorary production the inaugural was simply perfeot; while as a statement of fundamental theories sod republican re-publican principles of conduct, it became at once, aud remains to ibis day, a vory scripture of Democratic faith, Andtbo i two administrations which followed came fuily up to tbe proclamation. To this hour it is uncertain whether the first Democratic I President rode on horesback and almost aiono to tbe place of his inauguration, or "walked up lrotn his lodging bousJ, attended at-tended by a few gentlemen." At all events, tbe ceremony was of the simplest and plainest. Wuoa he reached the White House the whoie of tho old Hamiltonian system of courtly etiquette was brushed j itw. h hand of tha rflouhlinan Prnsldaat 1 was froely given to V6?y cittzsn and tils ! ear to every complaint. Ho communicated ; with Congress ty written mrsstv,";, and dispensed with the absurd par;; jo of tho address to the executive. But the "monocrats" tiled hard. To the last moment of its eristence the Adams administration continued : to strucgle sgaiust fate. Ilmniiton's plan of augmeuttng tno wu got of ; j government by "cutting the states Into con- i venient districts" and setiins up a crowu of ; new judges tad boon partly adopted, and ! John Marshall wss busy uulil midnignt of : the 3rd of March preparing their cc 121 at is- ; sions, when Levi Lincoln, by order of Jef- : ferson, summarily relieved him, so sum- ' marily that Marshall declared he wa al- I lowed to take nothing a.va but his hut. The commissions were withheld, and the ' "midnight judges' never sac This done, the prisons were opened, and tho languishing languish-ing victims of the ur.constitutioual sedition law set free. Tl.cn, with his illustrious : cabinet, Madison, Gallatin, Smith, Dearborn Dear-born and Lincoln, he began the great work of reducing the government In e.-r-ry do-., partment to a aiale of Republican sitii'Jhc-iiy. sitii'Jhc-iiy. Tn goldss ao s or ihb aiiPcr.Lic. Mr. Jefferson's sovereign euro for fill t;:s ills of the stale was the iii trod action of the most rigid economy ; a frugal govercu-e: ( is seldom corrupt ana never oppressive. ' He cut down in-i reut rr.i.itary and nav al establishments be liu.nhed by the federal- ! Ists as rapidly ua tne law permitted; and , finally wltu the aid of Congress, reduced ; the army to about 3,000 men, whioa wer-;.. ; that an honest government bad any its fe.r ! He reduced the diplomatic force to 1! 6 three ministers at London, lrls and Mad-r;d. Mad-r;d. He dismissed unnecessary oCica s ca , fast as investigation disclosed their jexisV ence. He directed .Gallatin to simplify t :.e j treasury statements and accounts so to ! render them Intelligible to the plainest o-.'i- zen, and Invited every aid In the work . 1 reform. The whole system of Internal rax ' ation, including three-fourths of the wlioit-civil wlioit-civil list, was abolished at a blow, and fie deficiency supplied by Jefferson's in Var.aL.e expedient, economy. When he bad exhausted ex-hausted his discretion he appealed to Congress Con-gress for authority to malje further reductions, reduc-tions, and the curious spectncie was pro sented of an executive petitioning the ietrij lature for permission to surrender power and to give up patroaage. The result v.-us the rapid decrease of the publio debt, which the federalists bad regarded as a "national 1 blessing," and the rise of a new question-new, question-new, indeed, in every part of the eartn. What should be done with the surplus! Of this government, In truth, the people knew nothing but tho blessings; Us burdens were Imperceptible. This was "the system of Jefferson." It was faithfully continued under his lineal descendants, Madison and Monroe, and has never, for aa Instant of time, ceased to command the deliberate approval ap-proval of tho American poople. If 11 has i been displaced by corrupt aamluUtraticus, j they have never yet dared to go to the j country upon their federal principles. ! They have uniformly dUguUcC. their rae-.s ! ures, denied their purpose, and ridden into ! poer under fals.i ,irewnii4. Wtfto Pr-r.i- I dent Garfield said tho principles of JetTr- I son were waning, ho menm only to say that j tho special interests opposed to" popular ho erty, and depending for their existence I upon foderal consolidation, corruption n;d extravagance, were gainlntt. Hut thrv gained In like proportion f rcn liiK) to ls.ou. The power of the "few" swmcd then as u a- I pregnable as dow. Hamilton bolieved tn ci j theelectlcn ol Adams In 17i. bad saucttoiici 1 the civil revolution, impressed upon the j constitution the quality of expaaslveo-. ss, 1 settled practically the question between the "British model" and tbe hyorid abortion of j I7bi, and confirmed tiie power cf the feue-r aiists for all time. President Gartieid in terpreted recent e!eoil ns in the same way, and was just as much mistdKen. As .lc- r son's simple faith in the ultimate soe-1 sense of the American paoplo was Justice.1 on the first gTeat occasion for tte eserci-t of their "sober Judgment." aa will It b-Justified b-Justified again, now teat, as In ls'J'j, iu-. special causes cf delusion have pasec away. J rn js?rKsotf ci.cb. i Eat Mr. Jefferson loved to sco the pfior.'.e j tnovo In their primary capacity; the ;e--. j ,noy trusted to tueir representatives and I the more th6y trusted to themselves the j .creator was the safety. Ttitae govern j ments were theirs, "by the peoplo and for the peoplet" they should manage them.and "eternal vigilance was the prlco of User Us-er ty." Accordingly, In every hour of perii ha advised them to organize, to deliberate, to agitate, to come together in local societies, socie-ties, which, being connected by the ties of j fraternal interest and correspondence. might pass the signals of danger fro:u one U anotner, "Use that shepherd's whittle " .. - 01 tne night, gives warning that the Wolf la upon his walk again." It was the voluntary local associations, the vigilance committees, the committees of correspondence, correspond-ence, which lent tbe strongest impulse to the revolution, and It was the voice oi the people rising in thunder tones through the many throats of the "Democratlo societies" which struck terror to the hearts of the federalists in 1300. The popular club is the chos9n engine of liberty everywhere; and tbe Democratlo society, planted in every neighborhood, is tbe one thing needful to "rouse the people," as aforetime thoy were roused by Jefferson, Madison and Gallatin. Shall we not take this leaf also from the handbook of freedom which comes down to us from the "aulhor of the Declaration of Independence and the founder of the Dein ocrutic part.-1" As he lay dying, on tiie 3rd of July, 13'Jft, his mighty intellect, half released from its emoarrsssuient of flesh, reverted fondly to tills system of popul.t machinery for the security of poptiUt rights. Fancying the struggle again ii progress he cried out: "Warn tho commit leesl'' and rising in the bed, he seemed ti he trnr!n? wt'h "ayr but shrunken hat. 1 t,iyZZ- V? is crr..-.oc.rca patrrois. 1 u were almost his last words. The next i)a. oeing the Fourth, and tho fittiesh anniver sary of the oeciaration, he passed away a: high noon, and In the vory hour of its a; lop lion. When he shall have "waned," who; bis teachings shail have lo3t their influence when bis memory snail have ceased to l'-dear, l'-dear, the free Institutions of America wh. be no more. THS SYSTEM Or JEFFBRSOS. ! Mr. Jefferson bad a soientlfio mind of thr highest order, and he gave to his doctr.ues the simplest and clearest expositions 0 which they were capable. Such exposi lions, precise and beautiful, at once eza.-t sod comprehensive, are found scatter". throughout bis political writings. Ttu most familiar are those In the lirst ln&utr uraJ, and In the letter to Mr. Gerry (d. 2.,7 j voL 4, of his works.) Tho following briei i Statements comprise the whole system : The tenth amendment to the eoosti tutio: 1 Is an Inflexible rule of construction, th ! sacred and comprehensive guarantee oi ' American liberty. "The support of the state govern tre ata Ir. j all their rights, as the most competent ad ! ministrations for our domestic coucer;: and the surest bulwarks against nnti i'.e publican tendencies; the preservation o the general government In its whole eonsti tutlcnal vigor as the sheet anchor of our peace at home and safety abroad." An honest administration of the government, govern-ment, which Implies not merely a Just ao plication of the public moneys to the pub i-tervics, i-tervics, but a faithful oosprvaccd of thr limitations of the constitution. O" applicants appli-cants for ofUce. three Questions onlv "necc be asked: "Is be honestf Is he cu;"i?i:; Is he faithful to tho constitution i" A number of ofiieiais sufficient for the transaction of the publio business; lot;; peroumerariea to eat out the substance ci the people. A diplomatic establishment limited to tha publio necessities; nothing for par&do; nothing for patronage. A sleepless jealousy of standing armies ;a Mercenary force always d&ngerous to lib-pty lib-pty ; tbe military embodiment of tho pej 'ie In the states the surest safeguard of ulfn ooac snd MiTTiPVae rf .'h?a iu uonef ra'.sea oy taxation to &e expended ex-pended only on the objects Sjireified la tho constitution. It may not be distributed to favorites In th; form of bounties or of subsidies, sub-sidies, nor given away In charity. Ho urged the state cf Virginia to bo liberal toward to-ward the San Domingo sufferers, but bo denied the right of Congress to grttttt iliem a dollar. economy in me puono sxpenauures, cot only that the people may be lightly bur Jen- ! ed, but that the purity of tho admiau.tra- i tion may be preserved. ExtravaaLce Is i the parent of corruption, and corruption is ihe parent of usurpation. A public thief is ft pubilo enemy. Daring the eight yoars of as administration there was not even an Lsdlan war, simply because thero was no swindle to provoke one. Every word of promise was kept, and every dollar was sacredly applied to tho purpoao lor w- uich it had been appropriated. No power ir tha general governuic.-it to lay one class of citizens undsir trlomo to I another; duties levied for revenue, and d:a-I d:a-I criminations permissible only against tboe j countries which discriminate against us. "Free commerce with all nations, entangling entang-ling alliances with none." ho held fan; ull restrictions upon the freedom of trada woro but remnantB of barbariair., and thai a state of things in which any people, wherever situated, might freely exohango its surplus for tbe surplus of any ether would produca Ue greatest sum of human ha;pin?ss. Tho power to prosecute interna! improvements improve-ments belongs to th? states; whether wisa-! wisa-! ly or not. It was certainly withheld fro-n the general government. Ia order to appiy I even and inconvenient surplus in the treasury treas-ury to such objects an amendment would be I necessity. "r"'"'L-" - ' " V : ; voairesi Pas is powiv to rrcs a private, or a niixtd private a:s.l pnhMa corporation, '' ' to do thai by ti:ii rectioti v. hica T-h'o United States may net ;othr. c;ly. Eternal, hostility to monrsolies: no power to create there Is ;rriti:oi: the whol l spirit of tho enns'itutioj. prf-tilbits taetn. But such was Mr. JeiTurso.-f s dre.sj cf so ' subtile and fonnldal.-lj cue tines of f re loia i that he earnestly reeo:r:r.eni..i a pr- 1 ate ciaa so in the b il of rig..t- "to s-.ird against them" forever, ih.t tae du:i-r at ! thai time soenie-l so remote to a l but hi far sighted sent. net oa the wt-'U tower that his solemn warning p iss.-J unheeded, ad ! Sosteriiy is paying the paoait.v. Supreme conboence iu Hih vtrf io a-ei ia-telii.-nce of tho peopie, and Implicit obedi-enee obedi-enee to their will when I'-sfaiiy ex;-; ' se.i. . This is the system of JetTers n Thai of Hamilton was ia ail points the prrc.se 1 p;o-slto. p;o-slto. Ills friend and admirer. 1 k.vrt.or Morris, who delivered thn n,ost Lotatiio of his funeral orit:ons, states bis opinion in a nutshell: "General Ha't It' n o ..n.i tiS constitution, believing a.l Ret h-'sr. c v-crnment v-crnment radically detect.vc. ii ':. publican govern:, ent. lit- t: -.:. sa the changes ana ct ences o: tir '. . , - :i he i!tV0id ! sotnt war v.. c:i t: ;a& : strengthen our Union and tu rve tin v .-. u- i live. He never fa:.--I,:!!! evn-y e . .. : .. f I advocate tho etti'eilenee of, . 1 tfachmect to siotcir ? '. 1. g--ve; r.--.. ' j Between these st ste-i.s. 1. at '. "n ' and tha; of 1?u:t!!.',ct.. ttn.i : r..- :. of Ameiicans sf" ;.-. m in tt,-s . oix I todeeide. '1 h I--- ,;. : .o -i :v i which si.'.e tbec;;e:e-j w:- 4i-.;i. "e Ai.vr- i lean people are not yet r -..t'.y t,j i ei i s - tna I Judgment of t'aeir atiiv st s. Cn.M'NCKY Y. '..M . I |