Chapter XI: Front Matter (11)

Again, "The moderate and thinking men of both parties--indeed, we may say every honourable man who has been a spectator of recent events--feel shocked at the frauds, perjury, and corruption, which too evidently enabled the administration party to poll so powerful a vote. What are we coming to in this country? A peaceable contest at the polls is a peaceable test of party--it is to ascertain the opinions and views of citizens entitled to vote--it is a fair and honourable party appeal to the ballot-box. We are all Americans--living under the same constitution and laws; each boasting of his freedom and equal rights-- our political differences are, after all, the differences between members of the same national family. What, therefore, is to become of our freedom and rights, _our morals, safety, and religion_, if the administration of our government is permitted to embark in such open, avowed, palpable schemes of fraud and corruption as those recently exhibited in this city? More than _five thousand_ strangers, having no interest and no domicile, are introduced by the partisans of the administration into the city, and brought up to the polls to decide who shall make our municipal laws. More than four hundred votes over and above the ascertained votes of a ward, are polled in such ward. Men moved from ward to ward to sleep one night as an evasive qualification. More than two hundred sailors, from United States' vessels of war, brought over to the city to vote--sloops and small craft, trading down the north and east rivers, each known never to have more than three bands, turning out thirty or forty voters from each vessel. Men turned from the polls for want of legal qualifications, brought back by administration partisans and made to _swear_ in their vote. Hundreds with the red clay of New Jersey adhering to their thick-soled shoes, presenting themselves to vote as citizens of New York, and all this fraud and perjury set on foot and justified to enable Mr Van Buren to say, `I have recovered the city.' But he has been signally defeated, as he ought to be, notwithstanding all his mighty efforts. There is this day a clearly ascertained Whig majority in this city of five thousand.

"It is, therefore, a mockery to call a contest with persons from other States, hired for the occasion, an election. _We must have a registry of votes_, in order to sweep away this vast system _of perjury and fraud_; and every man who has an interest at stake in his person, his children, or his property, must demand it of the legislature, as the only means of coming to a fair decision on all such matters. This charter election should open the eyes of the honourable of all parties to the dangers that menace us, and a redress provided in time."

Again, "_The Atlas, Monday Morning, April_ 16, 1838.--(_Triumphant Result of the Election to New York_).--We have rarely known an election which, during its continuance, has excited so lively a degree of interest as has been felt in regard to the contest just terminated in New York. From numerous quarters we have received letters requesting us to transmit the earliest intelligence of the result, and an anxiety has been evinced among the Whigs of the country, which we have hardly seen surpassed. The tremendous onset of the Loco-focos upon the first day increased this anxiety, and fears began to be entertained that the unparalleled and unscrupulous efforts of our opponents--their shameless resort to every species of fraud, violence, and corruption--their importation of foreign, perjured voters, and the _lavish distribution of the public money_--might possibly overpower the legitimate voice of the majority of the citizens of New York. But gloriously have these fears been dispelled. Nobly have the Whigs of the great metropolis done their duty. Gladly does old Massachusetts respond to their paeans of triumph.

"We learn from the New York papers that there was considerable uneasiness in that city on Friday among the Whigs with regard to the result. Never was the struggle of the administration party so desperate and convulsive. Hordes of aliens and illegal voters were driven into the city--

"`In multitudes, like which the populace North
Poured never from her frozen loins, to pass
Rhine or the Danube.'

"The most reasonable calculation admits that there must have been at least four thousand illegal votes polled at the different wards. Squatters and loafers from the Croton Water-Works, from Brooklyn and Long Island, and from Troy to Sing Sing, took up their line of march for the doubtful wards, to dragoon the city into submission to Mr Van Buren. Some of the wards threw from four hundred to six hundred more votes than there were known to be residents in them. Double voting was practised to a great extent. The Express says, the whole spirit of the naturalisation laws was defied, and an utter mockery was made of the sacred right of suffrage. What party is likely to be most guilty of these things, may be judged from the fact, that the Loco-foco party _resist every proposition for a registry law, or any other law that will give the people a fair and honest and constitutional system of voting_."

When I was one day with one of the most influential of the Whig party at New York, he was talking about their success in the contest--"We beat them, sir, literally with their own weapons." "How so," replied I. "Why, sir, we bought over all their bludgeon men at so many dollars a head, and the very sticks intended to be used to keep us from the poll were employed upon the heads of the Loco-focos!" So much for _purity of election_.

Another point which is worthy of inquiry is, how far is the government of the United States a cheap government; that is, not as to the amount of money expended in that country as compared to the amount of money paid in England or France, but cheap as to the work done for the money paid? And, viewing it in this light, I rather think it will be found a very expensive one. It is true that the salaries are low, and the highest officers are the worst paid, but it should be recollected that every body is paid. [See Note 1.] The expenses of the Federal Government, shown up to the world as a proof of cheap government, is but a portion of the real expenses which are paid by the several States. Thus the government will promulgate to the world that they have a surplus revenue of so many millions, but at the same time it will be found that the States themselves are borrowing money and are deeply in debt. The money that disappears is enormous; I never could understand what has become of the boasted surplus revenue which was lodged in the pet banks, as they were termed. The paid officers in the several States are very numerous; take, for instance, the _State of New York_ alone. An American newspaper has the following article:--

"THE STANDING ARMY."

The following is given in the _Madisonian_ as the rank and file of the executive standing army of office-holders in the State of New York. How hardly can the freedom of elections be maintained against the natural enemies of that freedom, when their efforts are seconded by the assaults of such an army of placemen, whose daily bread, under the rule and reign of the spoilers, is dependent on their partisan exertions!

"1880 Postmasters.
217 Mail Contractors.
59 Clerks in the New York Post-office.
25 Lighthouse Keepers.
500 Custom-House Officers.

"These," says the Madisonian, "constitute a regiment of the King's own, well drilled in the system of terrorism and seduction, and of dragooning voters!"

And it should be remarked, that in the United States, upon any one party losing an election, the whole of that party in office, even down to the lamplighters, are turned out, and replaced by partisans of the successful party; _capability_ for office is never considered, the only object is to reward political services. That the work cannot be well carried on when there are such constant changes, attended with ignorance of the duties imposed, is most certain. The long list of defaulters proves that the party at present in power is supported by needy and unprincipled men; indeed, there is a waste of money in almost every department which would be considered monstrous in this country. The expenses of the Florida war are a proof of this. The best written accounts from America are those written by a party who signs himself "A Genevese Traveller," and whose letters very often appear in the _Times_ newspaper. I have invariably observed the correctness not only of his statements of facts, but of the opinions drawn from them. Speaking of the Florida war, he has the following observations:--

"As to the expenditure, it is yet more astounding. Not less than 20,000,000 dollars have already been lavished upon favourites, or plundered from the treasury by marauders, whose profligacy and injustice caused the war. Army contractors, government agents, etcetera, are wallowing in wealth obtained by the worst means; and these are the men that condemn a peace, and will do all in their power to produce and keep up an excitement. But unless they can reach the treasury of the United States, their sympathy for the murdered inhabitants will soon evaporate. I hope, however, and believe that the war for the present is at an end. But the peace will only be temporary, for the rapacity of the avaricious land speculator will not be satisfied until the red man is deprived of every acre of land."

To enter into any estimate of expense would be impossible; all I assert is, that there is a much greater waste of public money in the United States than in other countries, and that for the work done they pay very dearly. I shall therefore conclude with an extract from M. Tocqueville, who attempts in vain to come to any approximation.

"Wherever the poor direct public affairs, and dispose of the national resources, it appears certain, that as they profit by the expenditure of the State, they are apt to augment that expenditure.

"I conclude, therefore, without having recourse to inaccurate computations, and without hazarding a comparison which might prove in correct, that the democratic government of the Americans is _not a cheap government_, as is sometimes asserted; and I have no hesitation in predicting, that if the people of the United States are ever involved in serious difficulties, its taxation will speedily be increased to the rate of that which prevails in the greater part of the aristocracies and the monarchies of Europe."

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Note 1. I cannot here refrain from making an extract from M. Tocqueville's clever work, well worthy the attention of those who rule in this country, as probably they may not be aware of what they are doing: "When a _democratic_ republic renders offices which had formerly been remunerated _gratuitous_, it may safely be believed that the State is advancing to _monarchical_ institutions; and when a monarchy begins to _remunerate_ such officers as had hitherto been _unpaid_, it is a sure sign that it is approaching towards a despotic or a _republican_ form of government. The substitution of paid for unpaid functionaries, is of itself, in my opinion, sufficient to constitute a serious revolution."

VOLUME TWO, CHAPTER TEN.

The Americans, and with justice, hold up Washington as one of the first of men; if so, why will they not pay attention to his opinions? because the first of men must not interfere with their prejudices, or, if he does, he immediately in their eyes becomes the _last_. Nevertheless, Washington proved his ability when he made the following observation, in his letter to Chief Justice Jay, dated 10th of March, 1787; even at that early period he perceived that the institutions of America, although at the time much less democratical than at present, would not stand. Hear the words of Washington, for they were a _prophecy_:--

"Among men of reflection, few will be found, I believe, who are not beginning to think that our system is better in _theory_ than in _practice_ and that, notwithstanding the boasted virtue of America, it is more than probable that we shall exhibit the last melancholy proof, that mankind are incompetent to their own government _without the means of coercion in the sovereign_."

Now, if you were to put this extract into the hands of an American, his admiration of Washington would immediately fall down below zero, and in all probability he would say, as they do of poor Captain Lawrence--"Why, sir, Washington was a great man, but great men have their failings. I guess he wrote that letter _after_ dinner."

But Washington has been supported in this opinion by a modern American patriot, Dr Charming, who, asserting that, "Our institutions have disappointed us all," has pointed out the real effects of democracy upon the morals of the nation; and there are many other good and honest men in America who will occasionally tell the truth, although they seldom venture to put their names to what they write. In a manifesto, published when I was in the States, the following bitter pills for the democrats were inserted. Speaking of dependence on the virtue and intelligence of the people, the manifesto says:--

"A form of government which has no better corrective of public disorders than this, is a burlesque on the reason and intelligence of men; it is as incompatible with wisdom as it is with public prosperity and happiness.

"The people are, by principle and the Constitution, guarded against the tyranny of kings, but not against their own passions, and ignorance, and delusions."

The necessity of relying on some other power than the people is therefore enforced:

"Such facts have induced nations to abandon the practice of electing their chief magistrate; preferring to receive that officer by hereditary succession. Men have found that the chances of having a good chief magistrate by _birth_, are about equal to the chances of obtaining one by _popular election_. And, boast as we will, that the superior intelligence of our citizens may render this government an exception, time will show that this is a mistake. No nation can be an exception, till the Almighty shall change the whole character of man.

"It is a solemn truth, that when executive officers are dependent for their offices on _annual or frequent elections_, there will be no impartial or efficient administration of the laws.

"It is in vain that men attempt to disguise the truth; the fact, beyond all debate, is that the disorders in our political affairs are the genuine and natural consequences of _defects in the Constitution_, and of the false and visionary opinions which Mr Jefferson and his disciples have been proclaiming for forty years.

"The _mass of the people_ seem not to consider that the affairs of a great commercial nation require for their correct management talents of the first order.

"Of all this, _the mass of our population_ appear to know little or nothing.

"The _mass of the people_, seduced and disciplined by their leaders, are still farther deceived, by being taught that our public disorders are to be ascribed to other causes than the ignorance and perversity of their party.

"And yet our citizens are constantly boasting of the _intelligence of the people_! Intelligence! The history of nations cannot present an example of such total _want of intelligence_ as _our country_ now exhibit: and what is more, a _want of integrity_ is equally surprising."

This is strong language to use in a republic, but let us examine a little.

The great desideratum to be attended to in the formation of a government is to guard against man preying upon his fellow-creature. Call a government by any name you will, prescribe what forms you may, the one great point to be adhered to, is such a code of laws as will put it out of the power of any one individual, or any one party, from oppressing another. The despot may trifle with the lives of his people; an aristocracy may crush the poorer classes into a state of bondage, and the poorer classes being invariably the most numerous, may resort to their physical force to control those who are wealthy, and despoil them of their possessions. Correctly speaking, the struggle is between the plebeian and the patrician, the poor and the rich, and it is therefore that a third power has, by long experience, been considered as necessary (an apex, or head to the pyramid of society), to prevent and check the disorders which may arise from struggles of ambition among the upper classes.

Wherever this apex has been wanting, there has been a continual attempt to possess it; whenever it has been elective, troubles have invariably ensued; experience has, therefore, shewn that, for the benefit of all classes, and the maintenance of order, the wisest plan was to make it hereditary. It is not to be denied that despotism, when it falls into good hands, has rendered a nation flourishing and happy, that an oligarchy has occasionally, but more rarely, governed with mildness and a regard to justice; but there never yet was a case of a people having seized upon the power, but the result has been one of rapacity and violence, until a master-spirit has sprung up and controlled them by despotic rule. But, although one despot, or one oligarchy may govern well, they are exceptions to the general rule; and, therefore, in framing a government, the rule by which you must be guided, is on the supposition that each class will encroach, and the laws must be so constituted as to guard against the vices and passions of mankind.

To suppose that a people can govern themselves, that is to say directly, is absurd. History has disproved it. They may govern themselves indirectly, by selecting from the mass the more enlightened and intelligent, binding themselves to adhere to their decisions, and, at the same time, putting that due and necessary check to the power invested in their delegates, which shall prevent their making an improper use of it. The great point to arrive at, is the exact measure and weight of their controlling influences, so as to arrive at the just equipoise; nor can these proportions be always the same, but must be continually added to or reduced, according to the invariable progressions or recessions which must ever take place in this world, where nothing stands still.

The history of nations will shew, that although the just balance has often been lost, that if either the aristocracy or the ruling power gained any advantage, the evil, if too oppressive, was capable of being corrected; but any advance gained by the democratic party, has never been retraced, and that it has been by the preponderance of power being thrown into its hands that nations have fallen. Of all the attempts at republics, that of the Spartan, perhaps, is the most worthy of examination, as Lycurgus went to work radically, and his laws were such as to obtain that equality so much extolled. How far the term republic was applicable to the Spartan form of government I will not pretend to say, but when Lycurgus was called upon to re-construct its legislation, his first act was to make the necessary third power, and he appointed a senate.

But Lycurgus was wise enough to perceive that he must amend the morals of his countrymen, and that to preserve an equality of condition he must take away all incentives to ambition, or to the acquisition of wealth. He first divided the lands into equal portions, compelled all classes, from the kings downwards, to eat at the same table, brought up all the children in the same hardy manner, and obliged every citizen after a certain age to carry arms. But more sacrifices were necessary; Lycurgus well knew:

Quid leges sine moribus vanae profleunt.
_Horace_, _Ode_ 24, _lib_. 3.

To guard against the contagion of corruption, he prohibited _navigation and commerce_; he permitted no intercourse with _foreigners_; he abolished the gold and silver coin as current money, that every stimulus to any one individual to exalt himself above his neighbour should be removed. If ever there was a system calculated to produce equality, it was that planned by the wisdom of Lycurgus; but I doubt if the Americans would like to follow in his footsteps.

What occasioned the breaking up and the downfall of this republic? An increase of power given to the democratic party, by the creation out of their ranks of the magistrates, termed Ephori, which threw an undue weight and preponderance into the hands of the people. By this breach in the constitution, faction and corruption were let in and fomented. Plutarch, indeed, denies this, but both Polybius and Aristotle are of a different opinion; the latter says, that the power of the Ephori was so great as to amount to a perfect tyranny; the kings themselves were necessitated to court their favour by such methods as greatly to hurt the constitution, which from an aristocracy degenerated into an absolute democracy. Solon was called in to re-model the constitution of the Athenian republic. He had a more difficult task than Lycurgus, and did not so well succeed. He left too much power in the hands of the democracy, the decisions of the superior courts being liable to appeal, and to be _rescinded_ by the _mass of the people_. Anacharsis, the Scythian philosopher, when he heard some points first debated in the Senate, and afterwards debated in the Assembly of the people, very properly observed, that at Athens "Wise men debated, but fools decided." The whole history of the Athenian republic is, therefore, one of outrageous bribery and corruption among the higher class; tyranny, despotism, and injustice on the part of the lower, or majority.

The downfall of the Roman empire may equally be traced to the undue weight obtained by the people by the appointment of the tribunes, and so it will be proved in almost every instance: the reason why the excess of power is more destructive when in the hands of the people is, that either they, by retaining the power in their own hands, exercise a demoralising despotism, or if they have become sufficient venal, they sell themselves to be tyrannised over in their turn.

I have made these remarks, because I wish to corroborate my opinion, that, "power once gained by the people is never to be recovered, except by bribery and corruption," and that until then, every grant is only the forerunner of an extension; and that although the undue balance of power of the higher classes occasionally _may be_, that in the hands of the people _is_ invariably attended by the downfall of the institution.

At the same time, I do not intend to deny the right of the people to claim an extension of their privileges, in proportion as they rise by education to the right of governing themselves; unfortunately these privileges have been given, or taken, previous to their being qualified. A republic is certainly, in theory, the most just form of government, but, up to the present day, history has proved that no people have yet been prepared to receive it.

That there is something very imposing in the present rapid advance of the United States, I grant, but this grandeur is not ascribed by the Americans to its true source: it is the magnificent and extended country, not their government and institutions, which has been the cause of their prosperity. The Americans think otherwise, and, as I have before observed, they are happy in their own delusions--they do not make a distinction between what they have gained by their country, and what they have gained by their institutions. Everything is on a vast and magnificent scale, which at first startles you; but if you examine closely and reflect, you are convinced that there is at present more show than substance, and that the Americans are actually existing (and until they have sufficient labourers to sow and reap, and gather up the riches of their land, must continue to exist) upon the credit and capital of England.

The American republic was commenced very differently from any other, and with what were real advantages, if she had not been too ambitious and too precipitate in seizing upon them. A republic has generally been considered the most primitive form of rule; it is, on the contrary, the very last pitch of refinement in government, and the cause of its failure up to the present has been, that no people have as yet been sufficiently enlightened to govern themselves. Republics, generally speaking, have at their commencement been confined to small portions of territory having been formed by the extension of townships after the inhabitants had become wealthy and ambitious. In America, on the contrary, the republic commenced with unbounded territory--a vast field for ambition and enterprise, that has acted as a safety-valve to carry off the excess of disappointed ambition, which, like steam, is continually generating under such a form of government. And, certainly, if ever a people were in a situation, as far as education, knowledge, precepts and lessons for guidance and purity of manners could enable them, to govern themselves, those were so who first established the American independence.

Fifty years have passed away, and the present state of America I have already shown. From purity of manners, her moral code has sunk below that of most other nations. She has attempted to govern herself--she is dictated to by the worst of tyrannies. She has planted the tree of liberty; instead of its flourishing, she has neither freedom of speech nor of action. She has railed against the vices of monarchical forms of government, and every vice against which she has raised up her voice, is still more prevalent under her own. She has cried out against corruption--she is still more corrupt: against bribery--her people are to be bought and sold: against tyranny--she is in fetters. She has proved to the world that, with every advantage on her side, the attempt at a republic has been a miserable failure, and that the time is not yet come when mankind can govern themselves. Will it ever come? In my opinion, never!

Although the horizon may be clear at present, yet I consider that the prospect of the United States is anything but cheering. It is true that for a time the States may hold together, that they may each year rapidly increase in prosperity and power, but each year will also add to their demoralisation and to their danger. It is impossible to say from what quarter of the compass the clouds may first rise, or which of the several dangers that threaten them they will have first to meet and to oppose by their energies. At present, the people, or majority, have an undue power, which will yearly increase, and their despotism will be more severe in proportion. If they sell their birthright (which they will not do until the population is much increased, and the higher classes are sufficiently wealthy to purchase, although their freedom will be lost) they will have a better chance of happiness and social order. But a protracted war would be the most fatal to their institutions, as it would, in all probability, end in the dismemberment of the Union, and the wresting of their power from the people by the bayonets of a dictator.

The removal of the power and population to the West, the rapid increase of the coloured population, are other causes of alarm and dread; but, allowing that all these dangers are steered clear of, there is one (a more remote one indeed, but more certain), from which it has no escape-- that is, the period when, from the increase of population, the division shall take place between the poor and the rich, which no law against entail will ever prevent, and which must be fatal to a democracy.

Mr Sanderson, in his "Sketches of Paris," observes--"If we can retain our democracy when our back woodlands are filled up; when New York and Philadelphia have become a London and Paris; when the land shall be covered with its multitudes, struggling for a scanty living, or with passions excited by luxurious habits and appetites. If we can then maintain our universal suffrage and our liberty, it will be fair and reasonable enough in us to set ourselves up for the imitation of others. Liberty, as far as we yet know her, is not fitted to the condition of these populous and luxurious countries. Her household gods are of clay, and her dwelling where the icy gales of Alleghany sing through the crevices of her hut."

I have observed, in my introduction to the first three volumes of this work, that our virtues and our vices are mainly to be traced to the form of government, climate, and circumstances, and I think I can show that the vices of the Americans are chiefly to be attributed to their present form of government.

The example of the Executive is most injurious. It is insatiable in its ambition, regardless of its faith, corrupt in the highest degree; never legislating for morality, but always for expediency. This is the first cause of the low standard of morals; the second is the want of an aristocracy, to set an example and give the tone to society. These are followed by the errors incident to the voluntary system of religion, and a democratical education. To these must be superadded the want of moral courage, arising from the dread of public opinion, and the natural tendency of a democratic form of government to excite the spirit of gain, as the main-spring of action, and the _summum bonum_ of existence.

Dr Channing observes--"Our present civilisation is characterised and tainted by a devouring greediness of wealth; and a cause which asserts right against wealth, must stir up bitter opposition, especially in cities where this divinity is most adored." "The passion for gain is every where sapping pure and generous feeling, and every where raises up bitter foes against any reform which may threaten to turn aside a stream of wealth. I sometimes feel as if a great social revolution were necessary to break up our present mercenary civilisation, in order that Christianity, now repelled by the almost universal worldliness, may come into new contact with the soul, and may reconstruct society after its own pure and disinterested principles." Channing's Letter to Birney, 1837.

All the above evils may be traced to the nature of their institutions; and I hold it as an axiom, that the chief end of government is the happiness, social order, and morality of the people; that no government, however perfect in theory, can be _good_ which in practice _demoralises those who are subjected to it_. Never was there a nation which commenced with brighter prospects; the experiment has been made and it has failed; this is not their fault. They still retain all the qualities to constitute a great nation, and a great nation, or assemblage of nations, they will eventually become. At present, all is hidden in a futurity much too deep for any human eye to penetrate; they progress fast in wealth and power, and as their weight increases, so will their speed be accelerated, until their own rapid motion will occasion them to split into fragments, each fragment sufficiently large to compose a nation of itself. What may be the eventual result of this convulsion, what may be the destruction, the loss of life, the chaotic scenes of strife and contention, before the portions may again be restored to order under new institutions, it is as impossible to foresee as it is to decide upon the period at which it may take place; but one thing is certain, that come it will, and that every hour of increase of greatness and prosperity only adds to the more rapid approach of the danger, and to the important lesson which the world will receive.

I have not written this book for the Americans; they have hardly entered my thoughts during the whole time that I have been employed upon it, and I am perfectly indifferent either to their censure or their praise. I went over to America well-inclined towards the people, and anxious to ascertain the truth among so many conflicting opinions. I did expect to find them a people more virtuous and moral than our own, but I confess on other points I had formed no opinions; the results of my observations I have now laid before the English public, for whom only they have been written down. Within these last few years, that is, since the passing of the Reform Bill, we have made rapid strides towards democracy, and the cry of the multitude is still for more power, which our present rulers appear but too willing to give them. I consider that the people of England have already as much power as is consistent with their happiness and with true liberty, and that any increase of privilege would be detrimental to both. My object in writing these pages is, to point out the effects of a democracy upon the morals, the happiness, and the due apportionment of liberty to all classes; to shew that if, in the balance of rights and privileges, the scale should turn on one side or the other, as it invariably must in this world, how much safer it is, how much more equitable I may add, it is that it should preponderate in favour of the intelligent and enlightened portion of the nation. I wish that the contents of these pages may render those who are led away by generous feelings and abstract ideas of right, to pause before they consent to grant to those below them what may appear to be a boon, but will in reality prove a source of misery and danger to all parties--that they may confirm the opinions of those who are wavering, and support those who have true ideas as to the nature of government. If I have succeeded in the most trifling degree in effecting these ends, which I consider vitally important to the future welfare of this country--if I have any way assisted the cause of Conservatism--I am content, and shall consider that my time and labour have not been thrown away.

VOLUME TWO, CHAPTER ELEVEN.