China would not have been entered upon with equal readiness, applauded with equal vehemence, and probably prolonged even more vindictively and more fiercely, if it had been left to a ballot of such electoral districts. It is said that this would not be so, for the poorer classes are those from which our soldiers and sailors are taken,—it is they who suffer in the conflict, and it is they who are still more empovrished by the prostration of industry which attends it. It is, indeed, true that they are the victims; but to suppose that, therefore, their passions will be restrained, that they will learn forbearance, that they will resist the specious arguments of men who know how to make the worse appear the better cause, that they will foresee the retroactive efforts of extravagant expenditure, the exhaustion which is to succeed unprofitable effort, the economical consequences which follow a vast outlay in destruction—is to suppose that the majorities have suddenly risen to the height of this great argument, and have become temperate, moderate, and wise. That such a consummation is the wish and hope of some who desire to place all political power in the hands of the greater number is not to be doubted; but is the expectation reasonable—is there the shadow of a hope of its realisation ? Are the numerical majorities which govern the United States remarkable for their concern at the horrors of war,—for their solicitude to avoid national quarrels,—for their anxiety to preserve peace,—for their forbearance towards other countries,—for their respect of the claims of weaker neighbours,—for their tenderness of all aggression?[1]
- ↑ These pages were published before the begmning of the American civil war, but the Author cannot now let them pass without protesting against the injustice of attributing to the American form of popular government, either the severities of the war or the persistence with which it is prosecuted. There has been no act of cruelty, however deplorable, which is not equalled and surpassed in the exploits of the armies of Europe; and notwithstanding the evidences of indomitable spirit displayed by the South, if the Federal government had not engaged in a struggle, however long and bitter, rather than yield up so large a portion of the territory of the Union, it would have set an example of a political moderation which neither monarchies nor aristocracies have hitherto displayed.—[Note to 3rd Ed.]
