Government and Rebellion
I. _What is good government?_ II. _What constitutes rebellion against such government?_ III. _What is the duty of each citizen when rebellion exists?_ I. _What is a good government_? No citizen looks for an absolutely perfect form of nationality--of law. But we have a right to ask for good government. We have been accustomed to think that it depends more on administration than on principle; and the line of the poet, "That which is best administered, is best," is a proverb, to the sentiment of which we too freely yield. No doubt a government with bad statutes and wrong laws, may be so administered as to produce a tolerable degree of national comfort and development for a season; while a Constitution perfect in its theories and principles, may be so maladministered as to corrupt and distract, impoverish and demoralize, a people. And yet, I agree with an old patriot of the past
ALICE, alarmed, 'My child!' Seizing her: 'Amy, tell me what you know.'
AMY. 'Don't ask me, please. I have sworn not to talk of it.'
ALICE. 'Sworn? To whom?'
AMY. 'To another.'
Alice, with a sinking, pounces on her daughter's engagement finger;
but it is unadorned.
ALICE. 'Tell me, Amy, who is that other?'
AMY, bravely, 'It is our secret.'
ALICE. 'Amy, I beg you--'
AMY, a heroic figure, 'Dear mother, I am so sorry I must decline.'
ALICE. 'You defy me.' She takes hold of her daughter's shoulders.
'Amy, you drive me frantic. If you don't tell me at once I shall insist
on your father--. Oh, you--'
It is not to be denied that she is shaking Amy when the Colonel once
more intrudes.
I. _What is good government?_ II. _What constitutes rebellion against such government?_ III. _What is the duty of each citizen when rebellion exists?_ I. _What is a good government_? No citizen looks for an absolutely perfect form of nationality--of law. But we have a right to ask for good government. We have been accustomed to think that it depends more on administration than on principle; and the line of the poet, "That which is best administered, is best," is a proverb, to the sentiment of which we too freely yield. No doubt a government with bad statutes and wrong laws, may be so administered as to produce a tolerable degree of national comfort and development for a season; while a Constitution perfect in its theories and principles, may be so maladministered as to corrupt and distract, impoverish and demoralize, a people. And yet, I agree with an old patriot of the past