their indulging dreams of a freedom, of which, moreover, their acts and utterances show they had not the faintest idea.'

Freedom, and the notions of it, came to the colonies, as it comes to all bodies politic; that is to say, by the process of natural development. It is the product of necessity rather than of the dreams of enthusiasts. When the colony had so waxed in strength and stature as to be conscious of its ability to take care of itself, then only, and not till then, do we hear voices declaring the goodness of liberty, and a determination to have it; but even then, these notions of liberty seemed to be confined entirely to the preservation of the liberties specified in their charter, and the idea of independence to be satisfied by less interference on the part of the home government in their domestic affairs. It was not until after the cessation of immigration, not until the colony had the assurance of experience that it could stand alone, and not until the Parliament was so hampered by civil discord that it could not resent assumption,-it was not till then that we hear any thing like independence. Then, indeed, following out the natural law of development, the General Court, or Legislature, summoned up enough resolution to declare that "plantations are above the rank of an ordinary corporation," and that "colonies are the foundations of great commonwealths"; but down to that time (1646), all utterance is limited by thankfulness for their happy escape from religious oppression, of joy at being able at last to worship God in their own way and free from intrusion, and of reverence for a charter which had made them, to their great content, members of an "ordinary corporation" indeed. In short, there is nothing to indicate that they came over with any loftier purpose than to get away from the world and to find an asylum where their peculiar tenets could have free scope and action; and the thought of assuming a nobler political character than the one they had always borne, or of securing civil liberty for future generations, does not seem to have crossed their minds, nor to have interrupted for a moment the play of the fanaticism they had braved the dangers of the ocean to enjoy. If there were any

*

1 "A royal donation under the great seal is the greatest security that may be had in human affairs. * * God knows our greatest ambition is to live a quiet life in a corner of the world. We came not into this wilderness to seek great things to ourselves."—Address to Charles II, A.D. 1644.

2 See "Remonstrance to the Long Parliament," and note supra.

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thing of the kind, they left it for those to accomplish who had stayed behind, and it was with shrewd delight that they accepted a charter, which, while it allowed freedom of worship to themselves, permitted them, nevertheless, to exclude the ungodly from their midst, and with them all their unhallowed joys. It was not civil liberty they sought, but full play of their religious notions.'

It is well for a people when they can show that they have transmitted in purity the social forces of the vigorous and sensible race from which they sprung, and that they have faithfully pursued the plan of development imposed upon them by natural law. No people can do better than to live naturally, and they who have done this, the hardest of all things for men or states, are entitled to the praise of mankind, be the motives of their origin what they may-whether they were led to found the new state from the necessity of escaping from slavery, like the Israelites; from the need of defensive combination, like the Romans; from the crowding of excessive population, like the Franks; from the desire to worship God in their own way, like the Roman Catholics of Maryland and the Puritans of Massachusetts; or even by the lust of conquest or the dread of their fellow-creatures, like the Spaniards in Central America or the mutineers of the Bounty.

It is certainly pleasing to liken the rise of our own people to that of the sun, who, by his rays, chases away the darkness which covered the land, and warms into activity the teeming life, which unto his coming had lain dormant. The fancy glows with the colors of the new-born day. But, after all, the pleasure is as fleeting as the hues of morning, and the mind receives greater satisfaction in comparing the growth of the state with that of the oak, which, growing with its growth and strengthening with its strength, at last, "moored in the rifted rock," spreads abroad its arms in hospitable shelter, and raises its head alike careless of the summer's gust or the winter's storm. No one, looking at it, asks "We now enjoy God and Jesus Christ, and is not that enough?”—Winthrop. "I shall call that my country where I may most glorify God and enjoy the presence of my dearest friends."-Id. "New England was a religious plantation, not a plantation for trade." "We all came into these parts of America to enjoy the liberties of the Gospel in purity and peace.' ** * "New England was the colony of conscience."-Extracts from Puritan authorities, cited in Bancroft, i, 464; see further, sparsim, "As to Roger Williams."

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where it is, or how it got there, so long as the glorious object confronts the gaze. It may have been planted by a king from the acorns of Boscobel, or dropped by a quarry as he turned from the eagle's stroke. There, however, it stands; it is enough that it is one of the perfect works of nature, and that, as such, men turn to it with pleasure and take delight in its perfection.

So with the rise and growth of peoples; and the only mode of ascertaining the true greatness and well-being of a people, is not by observing the circumstances of its origin, but by observing its growth. If a people has steadily developed according to the laws of nature, then it may be taken for granted, that it has been worthily fulfilling the purpose for which it was created. It has been doing good to its neighbors as well as to itself, and in fulfilling this double object consists the true well-being of nations. But if it has not developed according to natural law, then it may be as safely assumed, that it has not been subserving the purposes of its being, and that it has not achieved true greatness. And so sure as the individual betrays upon his person the scarred protests of outraged nature, so sure do states display in their condition the revenge of natural law violated. It is, then, from understanding distinctly that states are planted and grow by a natural law which cannot be evaded with impunity, that we are to start on an investigation which is to lead us to a true conclusion respecting them. That law being clearly understood, we can easily judge of the true character of a people, by observing whether they have obeyed or resisted its authority; for, where it has freedom of action, compliance or non-compliance with it will indicate a healthy or unhealthy condition of the state.

Thus, we see that the real greatness and well-being of a people is affected neither one way or the other by the motives or circumstances of that people's origin, but that it depends solely and entirely on their conformity or nonconformity with the natural law of development. This law acts in the same way everywhereas well among the Esquimaux as among the English, as well among the Patagonians as among the French. Its operation is affected only by influences with which the God of Law has surrounded it, as those of climate in one place, soil in another, race everywhere, or of all three combined. If its effects are not so apparent in Terra del Fuego as in Burgundy, it is because in the

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former region it is met and overcome by other forces which the plan of nature has designed should limit its action in that locality. If its effects are more apparent in England than in Labrador, it is because that same controlling power of nature has lessened opposition to it, and has assigned that locality as one of the theatres of its greatest activity. No one will dispute that the force which expands the Victoria Regia on the Senegambia is the same as that which covers the rocks of Greenland with lichen. It is the same force in both places, acting in the same way, but varying in results as the conditions differ under which it exerts its powers. Viewing this law of development, then, in its actual operation on the Caucasian race, and particularly on our own tribe, our history shows that it is slow of action; that at times it acts spasmodically; but that, taking one century with another, its advance is startlingly marked, and that, so far, it has always been progressive among the English-speaking societies. If we go no further back than strictly historical times, and see how England was peopled, and if we observe the subsequent development of the English, it will be seen at a glance that the great question is not how they were planted, but how they have developed. What have they become, what have they done, and what are they doing? Apart from the consideration of race, the circumstances attending their settlement, and the conditions under which it was accomplished, have nothing to do with our estimate of them as a people.

Taking the English for an example, we see them developing sometimes rapidly, sometimes slowly, but still steadily developing. When they stand still, we observe that it is from such reason as the exhaustion caused by conquest or civil strife, the operation of bad principles in Church and State, or the destruction caused by pestilence or famine; and when they progress, we conclude, what investigation shows us to be the case, that the conquest is over, the civil war ended, the bad principles are eradicated, and the ravages of the plagues are repaired. Sooner or later, the losses are made good, and the people take another step forward. But, under this law of development, even in its best estate, the growth of a great principle is at first very slow. If, for instance, we follow the course taken by the principle of Freedom of Conscience, we shall see, that, though it made its appearance in the history of England as far back as the twelfth century, it, even now, has not

attained its full development. At first, those who broached it did not know what they were doing. Their view was bounded by the walls within which they were born, and their aim extended no farther than a reformation of the evils before their eyes. Following it along, and noting only the most striking features of its growth, we next observe that this principle had developed to a remarkable degree, when the Reformation, which was its first great result, occurred; but that even then, though there were those who recognized it as a principle and a vital social force, and not only advocated but died for it, the mass of Englishmen were blind to its very existence, and that, to them, the Reformation was but the mere throwing off of a foreign yoke. After that event, however, and as a consequence of it, its development is exceedingly rapid, and we observe that it has extended the domain of its struggle to secular affairs, and that its progress is attended by convulsions which not only rent England in twain, but which ultimately shook the whole of Europe, and peopled a continent beyond the ocean. But we see, too, that, though by this time the church was standing on its defence against it, though the state was attacking it with all its might, and though society was stirred by it to its deepest depths, it was, nevertheless, but half understood. Men had still no broader notion of freedom of conscience than as it affected them individually, and it on its side had so little influence over men that it was powerless to compel them to share with their fellows that which they selfishly sought the solitude of deserts to enjoy. The people evidently had not yet taken it home to their hearts, and were not yet ready to assert it as a principle; it was still nothing more than the meagre doctrine of religious toleration, and so little was it a social force, that as sect after sect raised its head under the encouraging help it extended to all, no sooner did these sects get a footing than each outvied its predecessors in intolerance. It is evident, then, that religious toleration is not yet become an accepted principle, and still less is that great force, of which it is the offspring, freedom of conscience, under which term is to be included also freedom of thought. But to complete our observation, we next behold it in an aggressive attitude, and religious toleration not only asserts its existence, but, upon its imperious demand, obtains recognition. Henceforth its career is that of conquest.