Part 12 (1/2)

In New England the war of the Revolution commenced I address those who remember the me spires of Charlestoho beheld the deeds of Prescott, and heard the voice of Putnaenerous Warren fall, the first distinguished victim in the cause of liberty It would be superfluous to say, that no portion of the country didthe Revolutionary struggle to a successful issue It is scarcely less to her credit, that she saw early the necessity of a closer union of the States, and gave an efficient and indispensable aid to the establishovernht safely say, that a new spirit and a new excitean to exist here about the middle of the last century To whatever causes it may be imputed, there seems then to have commenced a more rapid improvement The Colonies had attracted more of the attention of the mother country, and some renown in arlish h importance to these possessions of the crown, and who foresaw any thing of their future growth and extension His opinion was, that the great rival of England was chiefly to be feared as a maritime and commercial power, and to drive her out of North America and deprive her of her West Indian possessions was a leading object in his policy He dwelt often on the fisheries, as nurseries for British sea theor, terland The effect of this was iland Colonies; for, the fear of Indian hostilities on the frontiers being now happily removed, settleether unprecedented, and public affairs wore a new and encouraging aspect Shortly after this fortunate ter topics connected with the taxation of Aan to be discussed, and the attention and all the faculties of the people draards them There is perhaps no portion of our history more full of interest than the period froress of opinion in this period, though less known, is not less i deserves more consideration than those events and discussions which affected the public sentiment and settled the revolution in men's minds, before hostilities openly broke out

Internal improvement followed the establishovernment More has been done for roads, canals, and other public works, within the last thirty years, than in all our former history In the first of these particulars, few countries excel the New England States The astonishi+ng increase of their navigation and trade is known to every one, and now belongs to the history of our national wealth

We may flatter ourselves, too, that literature and taste have not been stationary, and that soant, as well as in the useful arts

The nature and constitution of society and govern topics, to which I would devote what reovern to be said is, that it is really and practically a free systeinates entirely with the people, and rests on no other foundation than their assent To judge of its actual operation, it is not enough to look merely at the forovernment depends often on a variety of considerations, besides the abstract fra these are the condition and tenure of property; the laws regulating its alienation and descent; the presence or absence of a military power; an arree of general intelligence In these respects it cannot be denied that the circumstances of this country are overnreat nation on principles entirely popular In the absence of overnment must essentially depend on the manner in which property is holden and distributed There is a natural influence belonging to property, whether it exists in hts of property that both despotism and unrestrained popular violence ordinarily coovernard to wealth, and their early laere of a nature to favor and continue this equality

A republican forovernment rests not more on political constitutions, than on those lahich regulate the descent and transmission of property Governments like ours could not have beento the principles of the feudal system; nor, on the other hand, could the feudal constitution possibly exist with us Our New England ancestors brought hither no great capitals fro productive in which they could have been invested They left behind them the whole feudal policy of the other continent They broke away at once froes, and which continues, down even to the present time, more or less to affect the condition of property all over Europe They came to a new country

There were, as yet, no lands yielding rent, and no tenants rendering service The whole soil was unreclaimed froinal condition, or froeneral level in respect to property Their situation de out and division of the lands, and it may be fairly said, that this necessary act _fixed the future fraovernment_ The character of their political institutions was deter property The laws rendered estates divisible aeniture, at first limited and curtailed, was afterwards abolished The property was all freehold The entail trusts, and the other processes for fettering and tying up inheritances, were not applicable to the condition of society, and seldom made use of On the contrary, alienation of the land was every way facilitated, even to the subjecting of it to every species of debt

The establishistries, and the sireatly facilitated the change of real estate from one proprietor to another The consequence of all these causes has been, a great subdivision of the soil, and a great equality of condition; the true basis, overnton, ”hold three parts in four of the territory, it is plain there can neither be any single person nor nobility able to dispute the government with them; in this case, therefore, _except force be interposed_, they govern themselves”

The history of other nations may teach us how favorable to public liberty are the division of the soil into small freeholds, and a system of laws, of which the tendency is, without violence or injustice, to produce and to preserve a degree of equality of property It has been estimated, if I mistake not, that about the tiland was holden by the great barons and ecclesiastics The effects of a growing coan to break in on this state of things, and before the Revolution, in 1688, a vast change had been wrought It ht probable, that, for the last half-century, the process of subdivision in England has been retarded, if not reversed; that the great weight of taxation has compelled many of the lesser freeholders to dispose of their estates, and to seek employment in the army and navy, in the professions of civil life, in commerce, or in the colonies The effect of this on the British constitution cannot but be er; but the number of those who have no estates also increases; and there reat, that those who possess it overn experiovern in France It is understood, that the law regulating the transmission of property in that country, now divides it, real and personal, ahters; and that there is, also, a very great restraint on the power ofdispositions of property by will It has been supposed, that the effects of this ht probably be, in time, to break up the soil into such small subdivisions, that the proprietors would be too poor to resist the encroachments of executive power I think far otherwise What is lost in individual wealth will be ence, and in a sympathy of sentiment If, indeed, only one or a few landholders were to resist the crown, like the barons of England, they reat and powerful landholders, with multitudes of retainers, to proiven extent of territory are summoned to resistance, there is no reason to believe that such resistance would be less forcible, or less successful, because the nureat Each would perceive his own importance, and his own interest, and would feel that natural elevation of character which the consciousness of property inspires A common sentith, but excite enthusiasm It is true, that France possesses a vast military force, under the direction of an hereditary executive governovernment It is in vain, however, in this period of the world, to look for security against reat landholders

That notion is derived fro since past; a state in which a feudal baron, with his retainers, n and his retainers, hireatest baron But at present, what could the richest landholder do, against one regiainst the prevalence of military power must be provided Happily for us, we are not so situated as that any purpose of national defence requires, ordinarily and constantly, such a er our liberties

In respect, however, to the recent law of succession in France, to which I have alluded, I would, presuoverne the law, the law in half a century will change the governe will be, not in favor of the power of the crown, as soainst it Those writers only reason upon what they think correct general principles, in relation to this subject They acknowledge a want of experience Here we have had that experience; and we know that a ence, and that enthusiasm which a common cause inspires, constitute not only a formidable, but an invincible power[47]

The true principle of a free and popular governive to all, or at least to a very great majority, an interest in its preservation; to found it, as other things are founded, on overnment demands that those who desire its continuance should be more powerful than those who desire its dissolution This power, of course, is not always to be measured by mere numbers Education, wealth, talents, are all parts and eleate of power; but numbers, nevertheless, constitute ordinarily the most important consideration, unless, indeed, there be _a military force_ in the hands of the few, by which they can control the overnreat majority, both in numbers and in other means of power and influence, ht about solely by written political constitutions, or the overnulate the descent and transovern acceptable, if the tendency of the laere to create a rapid accureat mass of the population dependent and penniless In such a case, the popular poould be likely to break in upon the rights of property, or else the influence of property to limit and control the exercise of popular power Universal suffrage, for exareat inequality of property

The holders of estates would be obliged, in such case, in soht of suffrage would, before long, divide the property In the nature of things, those who have not property, and see their neighbors possess much more than they think them to need, cannot be favorable to laws made for the protection of property When this class becorows clamorous It looks on property as its prey and plunder, and is naturally ready, at all times, for violence and revolution

It would seeovernment on property; and to establish such distribution of property, by the lahich regulate its transreat overnine, the true theory and the actual practice of our republican institutions With property divided as we have it, no other government than that of a republic could be h to desire it There is reason, therefore, to expect a long continuance of our system Party and passion, doubtless, may prevail at times, and much teed, and perhaps for the worse But a great revolution in regard to property overnments can be moved from their republican basis, unless they be violently struck off by military power The people possess the property, more emphatically than it could ever be said of the people of any other country, and they can have no interest to overturn a government which protects that property by equal laws

Let it not be supposed, that this state of things possesses too strong tendencies towards the production of a dead and uninteresting level in society Such tendencies are sufficiently counteracted by the infinite diversities in the characters and fortunes of individuals Talent, activity, industry, and enterprise tend at all times to produce inequality and distinction; and there is rooreat advantages, to all reasonable and useful extent It has been often urged against the state of society in America, that it furnishes no class of men of fortune and leisure This may be partly true, but it is not entirely so, and the evil, if it be one, would affect rather the progress of taste and literature, than the general prosperity of the people But the promotion of taste and literature cannot be primary objects of political institutions; and if they could, it s, as e, as is lost by di the number of those who are enabled by fortune and leisure to devote themselves exclusively to scientific and literary pursuits However this may be, it is to be considered that it is the spirit of our systeeneral, and if there be particular disadvantages incident to this, they are far ainst theenerally conducted, in all countries, by the men of business and practical ability; and even in es of mere leisure are liable to be overrated

If there exist adequate means of education and a love of letters be excited, that love will find its way to the object of its desire, through the crowd and pressure of the most busy society

Connected with this division of property, and the consequent participation of the great mass of people in its possession and enjoyments, is the system of representation, which is ad us, and her and in the lower departovernment, than it has been by any other people Great facility has been given to this in New England by the early division of the country into townshi+ps or sulated, and in which representatives to the legislature are elected Nothing can exceed the utility of these little bodies They are so many councils or parliaments, in which coe acquired and coovernislative department into two chambers, are essential provisions in our systeh not new in itself, yet seeovernments wholly popular The Grecian republics, it is plain, knew nothing of it; and in Roislative power, such as it was, lay between the people and the senate Indeed, few things are more difficult than to ascertain accurately the true nature and construction of the Roman commonwealth The relative power of the senate and the people, of the consuls and the tribunes, appears not to have been at all times the same, nor at any time accurately defined or strictly observed Cicero, indeed, describes to us an adement of political power, and a balance of the constitution, in that beautiful passage, in which he compares the democracies of Greece with the Roman commonwealth ”O morem preclarum, disciplinamque, quam a majoribus accepimus, si quidem teneremus! sed nescio quo pacto jam de manibus elabitur Nullam enim illi nostri sapientissimi et sanctissimi viri vim concionis esse voluerunt, quae scisseret plebs, aut quae populus juberet; summota concione, distributis partibus, tributim et centuriatim descriptis ordinibus, classibus, aetatibus, auditis auctoribus, re nita, juberi vetarique voluerunt Graecorum autem totae respublicae sedentis concionis temeritate administrantur”[48]

But at what time this wise system existed in this perfection at Roinally framed for a monarchy, never seemed to be adjusted in its several parts after the expulsion of the kings Liberty there was, but it was a disputatious, an uncertain, an ill-secured liberty The patrician and plebeian orders, instead of being matched and joined, each in its just place and proportion, to sustain the fabric of the state, were rather like hostile powers, in perpetual conflict With us, an attempt has been made, and so far not without success, to divide representation into chae, character, qualification, or overn with these observations, Itopic,--the Free Schools In this particular, New England may be allowed to claim, I think, a merit of a peculiar character She early adopted, and has constantly ht and the bounden duty of government to provide for the instruction of all youth That which is elsewhere left to chance or to charity, we secure by law[49] For the purpose of public instruction, we hold every man subject to taxation in proportion to his property, and we look not to the question, whether he himself have, or have not, children to be benefited by the education for which he pays We regard it as a wise and liberal system of police, by which property, and life, and the peace of society are secured We seek to prevent in so a salutary and conservative principle of virtue and of knowledge in an early age We strive to excite a feeling of respectability, and a sense of character, by enlarging the capacity and increasing the sphere of intellectual enjoyeneral instruction, we seek, as far as possible, to purify the whole ood senti and opinion, as well as the censures of the law and the denunciations of religion, against immorality and crime We hope for a security beyond the law, and above the law, in the prevalence of an enlightened and well-principledthe tiland, therethat our government rests directly on the public will, in order that we ive a safe and proper direction to that public will We do not, indeed, expect all men to be philosophers or statesmen; but we confidently trust, and our expectation of the duration of our systeoverneneral knowledge and good and virtuous sentiainst open violence and overthrow, as against the slow, but sure, under of licentiousness

We know that, at the present tilish Parliament to provide by law for the education of the poor, and that a gentlehaovernh the representatives of the three kingdoht, we hear no principles hich we ourselves have not been fa in the plan but an approach towards that systeland for land nottaught to read and write; in Wales, _one in twenty_; in France, until lately, when some improvement was made, notto say, that in New England _every child possesses_ such means It would be difficult to find an instance to the contrary, unless where it should be owing to the negligence of the parent; and, in truth, the means are actually used and enjoyed by nearly every one A youth of fifteen, of either sex, who cannot both read and write, is very seldom to be found Who can make this coht and a feeling of just pride? Does any history show property overnment ever subject the property of those who have estates to a burden, for a purpose more favorable to the poor, or more useful to the whole community?

A conviction of the importance of public instruction was one of the earliest sentiiver of ancient or modern times has expressed more just opinions, or adopted wiser measures, than the early records of the Colony of Plymouth show to have prevailed here

asseo, the legislature of this Colony declared, ”Forasood literature dothstate of societies and republics, this Court doth therefore order, that in whatever townshi+p in this govern of fifty farammar school, such townshi+p shall allow at least twelve pounds, to be raised by rate on all the inhabitants”

Having provided that all youth should be instructed in the ele by the institution of free schools, our ancestors had yet another duty to perform Men were to be educated for the professions and the public For this purpose they founded the University, and with incredible zeal and perseverance they cherished and supported it, through all trials and discouragements[50] On the subject of the University, it is not possible for a son of New England to think without pleasure, or to speak without e confers more honor on the State where it is established, or e

A respectable university is an establishment which , no new institution could possess character and respectability at once We owe deep obligation to our ancestors, who began, al up this institution

Although established in a different government, the Colony of Plye At an early period, its governhout all the towns in this Colony, in aid of its ses were subsequently founded and endowed, in other places, as the ability of the people allowed; and we may flatter ourselves, that the land are not only adequate to the diffusion of the ele all classes, but sufficient also for respectable attainments in literature and the sciences