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Show litieSe Jaeli and Bis Ikpbem fcKSK.-'' CONVERSATION Tin. (Continued.) Nephew Dick "But how am I to reconcile what you said, my dear uncle, un-cle, in our last conversation, with your violent tirades against the democracy of the country?" Uncle Jack "My dear Dick, it is one of the most difficult things in the world to make a despot understand how we can oppose despotism without opposing op-posing authority, or a democrat understand under-stand how we can oppose democracy without opposing liberty. There are three simple forms of government, monarchy, mon-archy, aristocracy and democracy. Each of these . forms, once adopted, tends to become exclusive, and ench when exclusive, is despotic, as Mr. Calhoun, Cal-houn, our greatest American statesman, used so often to assert, and despotism, whether of the one, of the few, or of the many, is alike hostile to true liberty! lib-erty! In common with all the greatest great-est authorities on the question, I -re gard good government, civil government, govern-ment, I mean, as a matter of compromise compro-mise between these three simple original origi-nal forms; and the wisdom of a civil constitution consist in their nice adjustment, ad-justment, in so balancing one by another an-other as not to embarass the efficiency effi-ciency of the administration, but yet so as to secure an effective guaranty of the just freedom of the subject. Here I stand on true American ground, and in accordance with the men who won our national independence, and originally origi-nally framed our several constitutions. Looking at our civil and -political institutions in-stitutions in the light of their original origi-nal character and intent, they seem to me the wisest and the best that humanity hu-manity can expect, and hence it becomes be-comes the religious duty of every American to preserve these institutions institu-tions intact in that original character charac-ter and'intent. "But I see. or seem to see, a strong and overwhelming tendency in the country, among politicians especially, to render the democratic element exclusive ex-clusive and to convert the government of the country into a pure democracy, which would, if we had powerful neighbors neigh-bors to contend with, very soon re- ; solve itself into a pure military despotism. des-potism. Everything tends to strengthen this, tendency. Demagogues and parties par-ties appeal to it, the press encourages it, and it is more than any man's political reputation is worth to oppose it. He might s well attempt, by rushing rush-ing before it, to arrest the railroad engine going at full speed. Here, I think, I see a most grave peril for our republic. "I have done something to admonish my Catholic brethren of this peril, and the great body of them are now on their guard against it and prepared to sacrifice their lives to preserve American institutions. When you consider con-sider their numbers, every day increasing, in-creasing, as also their growing intelligence, intelli-gence, wealth and moral w,eight, you might see that, if united with the more sober and conservative portion of non-Catholics, non-Catholics, they would be able to' do much to check this dangerous tendency, and to prevent you radicals from running run-ning the noble institutions of the country. coun-try. Liberty is never preserved but at the price of eternal vigilance, and what I have wished to impress upon my countrymen is, that the danger to our liberties does not come from the side of conservatism, but from that of radicalism. But, unhappily, it is precisely pre-cisely here that they do not, and will not, understand me. Because I oppose radicalism" they insist that I oppose liberty and am hostile to the institutions institu-tions of the country. I would not mind this on my own account, but it prevents pre-vents my warnings from being heard or heeded, and therefore I regret it. "This is not all. While I and my friends are doing all in our power to enlist the whole Catholic body on the side of our institutions, and thus bring to them a most powerful support, the non-Catholic portion of my countrymen, country-men, even the conservative as well as the radical, sympathize only with a small party of nominal Catholics who are governed by decided radical and revolutionary tendencies and suffer "th? most uncalled for and cruel movement to go on against us, as if we were enemies ene-mies to the government, and ought not to be suffered to live in the country. You know that it is against Catholics who acree with me in these matters j that the blows are aimed, while they whose declamations, rant and impru- i dent conduct provoke the hostility to Catholics, especially to foreigners, are protected and promoted by the Protestant Protest-ant sentiment of the country. This, as. Fouche would say, is worse than a crime; it is a blunder." "You mistake the reason of this, uncle," said Dick. "You know that we Protestans are perfectly liberal in our views to all religions, in so far as they relate only to the world to come. There is only one point in Catholicity that we care the snap of our finger about. You may believe all Catholic dogmas, and observe all Catholic practices, prac-tices, and be never the worse in our eyes, if you will only not be papists. If you choose to call the PoDe the head of your church, we care not, if you will only be satisfied with allowing him a primacy of order and honor, and not claim for him a real and effective power over the civil and political conduct con-duct of the Catholics. These nominal Catholics as you call them, engage our sympathy because we see that they are independent, men who dare think and act for themselves, according to the honest convictions of their own minds, without asking the Pope's leave, and therefore we know they will never desert de-sert or turn against the country at his order. They are not papists, and therefore there-fore are, in our estimation, as good as I Protestants. But you ad the main body of American Catholics are downright down-right papists, and hold the Pope to be the vicegerent of God on earth. You are bound hand and foot, soul and body, to the Pope, and believe it your duty to obey his orders in preference to all others, even those of your country. coun-try. We can tolerate Catholics who are not papists, but not you. You are the -more consistent Catholics, perhaps, but therefore only the more dangerous. But it 'is not on account of your religion re-ligion as it regards another world that we oppose you, and organize parties and associations against you, but on account of your political subjection to a foreign prince." "The old story inherited from English Eng-lish ancestors in the time of sood Queen Bess,' and you really believe it, I suppose?" interrupted Uncle Jack. "Believe it! -why as for myself, I cannot precisely say that I do; but rely upon it, that no small portion of our countrymen believe it, and you can never get them to believe otherwise." "Do you place, then, no confidence in what your good friends, the Galli-cans, Galli-cans, tell you?" replied Uncle Jack. "They, you know, say the Pope has no . authority over temporals, , and they tell you, in bold and defiant tone, that in politics they recognize no spiritual authority, au-thority, and that were the Pope to require re-quire of them to do anything against their country, that is, what they think would be against their country,- they would be the first to bind on their knapsack, and shoulder their musket, and rush to the battlefield to resist him? Place you no reliance on their hypothetical abuse of the Pope? And have their reiterated and most solemn declarations done nothing to reassure you?" "Pshaw! you know that we are not to be come over with that sort of palaver," interjected Dick. "Cannot we read history, and do we not know that Popes have claimed authority over kings and princes, and that as good papists, you must obey the Pope?" "I know, my dear Dick," replied his uncle, "that there has seldom been a time, when there was a call for them, that plenty of nominal Catholics have not been found to act as these say they would; and that, I think, might give you some assurance, even if you place no reliance on their professions and declarations." "But consider they have done so only at the expense f their duty as Catholics." Catho-lics." said Dick. To be continued.) |
