good sense of his posterity. You show the American the errors of his government in practice, and he replies by drawing a vivid picture of it as it presents itself to his fancy. It is not always easy in an inquiry upon American affairs to distinguish between the real and the ideal. If the wishes of those who made the Constitution, and the desires of the educated class, could prevail, there would be a perfect government in the United States, and the American will sometimes assert that such a privilege does belong to him. But when its faults and its errors are pointed out he at once changes his ground, and pleads that the country is new, that it has already achieved wonders in a short time, and that there is every reason to suppose it will continue to improve and progress. These arguments are entitled to the utmost attention and respect, but if the admissions which they contain were more carefully borne in mind there would be no necessity to urge them. So much would not be looked for in the American government, because no extravagant pretensions would be made by those who undertake to defend it against criticism. But when Americans challenge comparison with the rest of the world, it is only a proper tribute to them to examine into their claims. They ought to wish all their fellow-creatures the enjoyment of the same blessings which they possess, but in order to induce the world to avail itself of them it must first be taught to appreciate the boon. This cannot be done without explanation and inquiry.

Foreign criticisms

CHAP. I.

MODERN CHANGES.

17

may often be full of fallacies, but these fallacies as frequently give the American system praise which it does not deserve as they detract from its just merits. The favourite ideal of the Americans, though doubtless exceedingly noble and attractive in itself, is probably still further from conveying a true idea of the government as it is. What that ideal is we shall have an opportunity of ascertaining in a subsequent chapter, and the proof will be given from American history and American writers that it differs widely from the state of things which actually exists. Nothing was more essential to the original theory of the government than that there should be one great law by which all questions affecting the interests of different sections of the country should be judged and decided, and yet that law is now mainly a thing of the past. Again, what was so much sought after by the early statesmen, or what was so precious to the people, as the maintenance of State independence? It was the very life-blood of the system. But time and events have transformed the government, without bringing it any nearer to the ideal of the people. Now, as immediately after the war of independence, they are willing to sacrifice almost everything for the sake of securing an irresistible power at some central point. Any one who wishes to describe the working of the American government must study, not the Constitution of 1787, but the records of partics, the acts of the Legislature, the events of the last fiveand-twenty years, and the history of the country as

C

it is written upon the statute-books. The Constitution shows what the government was intended to be, and in so far as it does this it is still valuable. Contemporary history and legislation alone show what the government really is. The Constitution has not been expressly abandoned, for the homage of the lips is still paid to it. But it has been subjected to so many violent changes that its framers, could they see it once more, would detect but few traces of their work. Yet one doctrine of the former government is still preserved-namely, that all power belongs to the people. Before that doctrine is accepted as the wisest yet discovered in the science of governing mankind it would be well to see what is the effect of its practical application in the United States. But in times of popular agitation reason, facts, and arguments are no more than straws before the wind, and the examples and warnings presented by the American government are misconstrued or disregarded.

CHAP. II.

THE STATE AND THE UNION.

19

CHAPTER II.

THE STATE AND THE UNION.

THE authors of the Constitution proposed to themselves an undertaking which no human ingenuity could have accomplished. Thirteen States which had been accustomed to make their own laws, to decide what taxes they should pay, and generally to control their own affairs, were to be brought together by a common bond. It was to be a bond strong enough to render a general government practicable, and yet not so strong as to impair the efficiency or independence of the local governments. It was to be elastic enough to enclose new members of the Federation, and its pressure was to be equally distributed over all parts. It was to endure for all ages, and be capable of satisfying the requirements of as many millions as there were thousands in the Confederacy. A complex machine was set in motion, constructed by many hands, and with pieces inserted in various points at the last moment to gratify caprice or appease jealousies. There were independent parts in it which always had a tendency to come into collision, and which yet were supposed to be certain to

go on working independently for ever. Small local ambitions and great national aspirations were alike to be satisfied. The community might progress, new interests might arise, new conditions of life be forced upon the people. But the general theory of the government, it was thought, could never need reconstruction. It was imperishable, perfect in all its parts, secure in all its details, destined to be the wonder and envy of the world as at once the most just and most beneficent form of government which a nation of free men ever had the wisdom to choose for themselves.

A very few years elapsed before there began to be discovered in this carefully studied plan many unfortunate deficiencies. The newly created power threatened to swallow up the old one. The States were always in alarm for the preservation of their rights. The Federal government was regarded with affection because it was believed to confer many inestimable benefits upon the people. It was in purpose a just and fair government; it left every man free to enjoy the fruits of his labour, unless he were a slave; and it relieved the public mind from the fear of foreign aggression. But there were critical misunderstandings in the community, and very early in the history of the new commonwealth they seemed likely to produce disastrous consequences. The very soldiers who had fought together against the English regiments quarrelled bitterly on questions relating to their several States. "The Southern troops," wrote Washington's