152
THK 8II.KKT l'AKTY.
VOL. Vltl,
poal to sectional interests or biased opin
ions, public aid is almost impossible
Even the statesman lias found that unless
be can maintain sulUciont intiuence to in
sure tlie conlidonco of bis constituents,
be is powerless to reform or reconstruct.
The political history of our country re
mains unwritten. True, we llnd sufllcicnt
material in the newspaper and the journ.
al, but it partakes too much of a prcju.
diced iiatuie.
The pnilius that have from time to lime
shaped the policy of the government,
have found it agreeable to themselves to
bury their disgraces and defeats, and laud
thoir victories and success. These arc the
elements of the commonwealth that repre
sent the nation abioad. If a foreign crit
ic can appreciate the institutions of an
Amorican, he speaks of our government
as under the control of a particular party.
The principals of that party are to him an
ideal of what the American Govurnmcnt
must be. Its laws, its decrees, and its de
cisious are to him the standard of our
credit. With the cry of oppression he
lias forebodings of our danger.
At home, we, true to our name, tend
still faithor. That politician who utters
tho boldest denunciations against his op
ponent, leaves the gieatcst imnicssion
upon the public ear. Once, pcihaps lie has
feasted upon fluctuating legislation and
now clamors loudly for its icluni. But
far beneath the din of the so-called politi.
cal parties will always be found one as
immovable as the Republic itself. Though
silent in its address, it speaks by example.
Though it sounds no trumpet to summon
its politicians for consultation, yet its
plans arc made known to its adherents;
for reason in hor quiet way caries from
humlol to hamlut thodesigns of dangerous
opposition. Willi no
its dogmas, witli no herald to announce
its advent, or its actions, it engages tho at
tcntion of men who arc not yet bound
soul and body to the wild declamer of
"rights and wrongs." And while the two
great parties wrangle
it is this silent party, this silent ballot,
that suddenly throws consternation among
ill ranks. It is this
zles the politician,
his aid, neither can
ponent.
Willi the welfare of society at large de
pendent upon political associations and be
liefs, it is a perplexing situation for tho
young man about to accopt the responsibil
ity of citizenship. To avoid them all is
impossible. He must select the one best
suited to the occasion and the public dc
niands
The two great parties of to.day have
little issue at stake. The thoughts of the
Rebellion may fire the hearts of a few
who were wronged. But the young man
of to-day cannot view the Rebellion and
and its causes in the same light as its he
rcos review them.
He can never share their prejudice.
He cannot unite in thoir politics. The
two parties fouded upon the issue that
led to the Rebellion, they have little
claim upon the present generation.
The bilont paity is consequently increas
ing in numbers and its influence more tel
ling upon national allairs. And the lime
is not far distant, when this clement must
assume sufficient strength and skill to di
rect the shin of state free fiom the shoals
of sectional strife. If not, these constant
strifes will take the line of national boun
daries. Eugknk.
platform to assert
for public plunder,
silent voice that puz
lie cannot call it to
ho tioal it as his op