Assuming that Cromwell pursues his suggestion, he looks forward to the fiftieth year of a successful republic, when the great legislator is made to die at the ripe age of 116, and a monument is erected to his memory by his grateful fellowcitizens in the form of an equestrian statue in the plaza in front of Westminster Hall, on the pedestal of which are inscribed the words: "The father of his country, invincible in the field, inviolable in his faith, unfeigned in his zeal, immortal in his fame, the greatest of captains, the best of princes, the happiest of legislators, the most sincere of Christians, who setting the kingdoms of earth at liberty, took the kingdoms of heaven by violence." What a contrast between this supposed national tribute and the actual destiny of the desecrated head, placed a few years later upon a pole on this very Westminster Hall, the object of derision and vile jests, as it slowly went through the process of decay! How it would have gladdened the eyes of this wise old philosopher and sterling patriot if he could have prolonged his life for a hundred or more years, and could have followed, with eager and intensely loving gaze, the deeds of those men of his own race who, to enjoy the privileges he had held out to them as appertaining to a commonwealth, had crossed the sea and subdued a wilderness to the arts of peace! He would have seen a great general, having all the virtues attributed by him to the mighty Cromwell, doing what he had suggested, laying down his victorious arms and dismissing from service his devoted army to frame a constitution and become the president of a commonwealth. By and by he would have seen this man quietly push aside the presidential power and withdraw into the ranks of private citizenship, lending thus the weight of his example to Harrington's rule that it is well to be governed as well as to govern. And when this nobler Cromwell - this man after Harrington's own heart lay dying in the little back room in his family mansion, his last gaze resting upon the noble and tranquil river that flowed forward as peacefully as his own life ebbed away, our philosopher would in his mourning rejoice to know that the eyes of millions of grateful people "became as the showers in autumn." Had it been Harrington's good fortune to address a Washington instead of a Cromwell, it is not impossible that the course of the world's history would have been changed. We can spend but a moment in gathering up some of the lessons fairly to be derived from these remarkable treatises. The prime feature of Harrington's scheme is that a government can be made to run forever, if there is only good machinery, well oiled, and of the most improved pattern. Make a perfect equilibrium of forces on paper, regulate the ownership of land, cause your magistrates to rotate in office, cast your suffrages by secret ballot, have a well-drawn constitution, with all the powers of government sharply defined and vested in distinct persons, and your government, once set in motion, must go on forever. Alas, we have tried nearly all of these, and is our system of government yet perfect or absolutely secure? We have had the so-called secret ballot this hundred years; we have rotated our magistrates with the most perfect regularity; we have had an admirable constitution. All these are of admitted value. And yet, can it be said with truth that we confide in them as an absolute security? With them we have passed with difficulty and sorrow through the most tremendous civil war the world has ever seen. We have seen abundance of corruption in office, and fraud in the ballot box. We are conscious of dangerous forces in society which none of these political devices have any tendency to remove. We must, as thinking men, pause and inquire whether we are not too fondly reposing for our security on constitutional checks and limitations. The ruling idea of many is substantially this: If a legislature is foolish or corrupt, make it wise and pure by shackling it with constitutional restrictions. In some of the states the legislative power is almost choked, so tightly drawn are these leading-strings. By and by they will have to be relaxed, and the old evils will return. A qualifying feature of Harrington's work must not be forgotten in forming a correct estimate of its value. It was all along assumed by him that his cherished constitution would only be managed by such men as he saw around him, and such “The as he himself was, fearing God, hating covetousness. saintship of a people as to government consists in the election of magistrates fearing God and hating covetousness. It consists in making the most prudent and religious choice men can." 1 There must be men of a nice sense of honor, of burning patriotism, high intelligence, ready and persuasive speech, moderation in action, and undaunted courage. This is the pattern of a true gentleman; and Harrington held men of this pattern to be absolutely necessary in a constitutional commonwealth as legislators, generals, and judges. We have advanced little further than this to-day. The perfect democratic govern ment must build on fundamental principles. These belong not to men, nor to nations, nor to human laws. "To build upon such principles as are apparently laid by God in the inevitable necessity or law of nature is that which truly appertains to men, to nations, and to human laws. To make any other fundamentals, and then to build upon them, is to build castles in the air." 2 Having a well-framed constitution that recognizes these natural forces and holds them in due equilibrium, it must be managed by men of intelligence, honor, and virtue. The great problem, then, to be solved in the United States, as Harrington would hold were he here, is this: How is it possible, at regularly recurring intervals for an indefinite period, to bring the right men to the conduct of affairs? If this problem shall prove insoluble, democratic government will end. To plead that good men are sufficient to carry on a government permanently without good laws is the cry of a demagogue; to insist that good men are essential to give life and vitality to good laws is the utterance of a statesman. The main requirement in a republic for the continual generation of good men to hold office is the conviction of the people that such men are necessary to their welfare. If there is a constant demand, there will, according to laws in general operation, be a sufficient supply. In this way, under God, the people have their destinies in their own hands. Physical nature has not degenerated in these later years, nor has wisdom nor virtue died 1 Oceana, p. 75. 2 Political Aphorisms, p. 520. out of the intellect or soul of man. There must be summoned to our aid correct methods and breadth of education; the influence of morals and religion; high culture, including the development of that sense of delicacy and honor which, in Harrington's words, prevents a man from carving for himself at the public table; and a positive patriotic spirit which impels him to use all legitimate efforts actively to promote the general good. These are not impossible virtues or qualities. It is the part of good men to stimulate and encourage their juniors by every reasonable effort to emulate the wisdom and virtues, both public and private, of such men as James Harrington and John Milton; the one a mild and the other an austere republican, but each animated and supported in the most trying circumstances, whether public or domestic, by the noblest principles that control human action, and by a passionate though rational attachment to the country which gave him birth. If men such as these can be reproduced from time to time, and receive the confidence of the people, the republic, like the glorious luminaries to which our author loved to refer, may go onward with steady and melodious motion forever. It will be well, in concluding this paper, to summarize Harrington's leading views. 1. A commonwealth should be an "empire of laws and not of men." 2. In a republic, land should be much subdivided, and there should be a large number of freeholders. Great landed estates should be discouraged as adapted to monarchical rather than to republican institutions. 3. Political liberty consists in the empire of law and not in the mere existence of freedom. Yet no one obtains his liberty from the law, but rather holds it by the law. 4 There is a natural aristocracy among men. Members of this class will in the end emerge from the masses and control public affairs. The leading function of such men is to discuss and disclose political truth which in the end their fellow-citizens will recognize and adopt. 5. Government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed. 6. There should be a written constitution limiting the sovereign power of the people. This constitution should be adopted by the people. 7. The powers of government are threefold: legislative, executive, and judicial. These should be vested in different persons. 8. There should be two houses of Parliament, one more numerous than the other, and the members should be chosen by the people in convenient districts. 9. A legislative body should have a continuous life, though its membership should gradually change by means of a regular plan. This plan is that of "partial rotation," whereby, for example, one-third of the number might go out of office annually or biennially. This scheme unites gradual change of membership with continuity of the existence of the body itself. This plan may be extended to other political organizations. 10. Elections should take place by ballot. The ballot must be secret, and suitable laws devised to preserve its purity. "The suffrage is the health, if not the life of the state. By it the soul is breathed into the sovereign power." II. The commonwealth should not engage in war without the consent of the senate and the people. 12. Those who govern must be at times in the condition of the governed. In other words, the magistracy must from time time return to the body of the people. Life tenure is not admissible. 13. Equality before the law is the life blood of a commonwealth. Still, the government will not be well administered unless gentlemen are at its head. By gentlemen are meant not merely men of rank or wealth, but men of a nice sense of honor, sterling patriotism, and earnest in rendering disinterested service to the commonwealth. Proper measures must be taken to induce the citizens to choose such men. 14. There should be gratuitous education for the masses, if necessary. It should also be compulsory, if not voluntarily accepted. This is in the interest of the commonwealth. Uni |