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Parties Always Corrupt

Parties Always Corrupt image
Parent Issue
Day
11
Month
August
Year
1841
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

"Uut parties alwaya become corrupt. - Resolve yourselves into a political party and you commit moral 6uicide.M So do state, sodochurches always become corrupt. Must we tberefore dissolve all chriatian and social fellowsbip, and each man seek out a den or cave for hiinself, where, insulated frotn bis fellow men, hemay cultívate tbe graces without the disturbance of bad oxample ? Who does not know that mau, solitary, is more exposed to teraptation, more apt to conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity of tbe worst form,than man gregarious? Farties and churches and statea teud to degeneracy, because the individuals composing them are prone to evil, as the eparks are to fly up warde. - Of course, the remedy for the evil is to bc fuund, not in disorganizing the maas, but in regeneratiog tbe individual. In reference, huwever, to the exi6ting political parties, thero are obvious reasona wby thoy should be peculiarly corrupt. - They are founded,in tact, on no fundamental principie, no great idea, no doctrine having relation to tbe spiritual nature, and higher interests of man. The questiong in dispute betveen tbetn nll reíale to tha curreney. Contraction, expansión, specie bank notes, the price of corn and cotton, stocks, loans, imports, exports, national bank, eubtreaaury; these, and euch as the3e,are the representativesofthat world of ideas n which thcy live, move, and have their being. Trulh, justice, merey, ffoodcess, rigbt, have litlle to do in such aworld. All the calculations and reasoningsof our poüticiansare naturally imbued wiih selíishnGss; they aro apt to be low, worldly, corrupt and corrupting. The great principies whicb lie at the basis of man,s trueaignity and prosperity are left out of pight; their restraining, refiningand elevating influeuces are unfelt in the com, mtinity. Is it any wonder that parties, jrounded on mere differances of opinión n relation to the inferior intcrests of society, into whose discussions ihe idea of per onal rights scarcely ever enters, whoso vhole object i?, to regúlale the monied affairs of the country, should furnish such examples of political depravity as make good men almost distrust man's ability for self-government? Mitchell, the forger, has had bia trial putofl'untilOctober; and is applying foi bail.