typical humanity, without any trial being made of their intrinsic value. The greed and covetousness associated with the early discovery of the continent by the foreigner have therefore to be accounted for, as their impress has been left on its expansion side by side with that of the Pilgrim Fathers; and the fabled fountain, which at one time seemed to have been found in the development of the democratic spirit, is still to be sought by every one who desires the happiness of man.

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In writing so, it is not, of course, denied that the progress of the world has been accelerated by the influence of the United States, which consolidated freedom and taught the way to wealth by throwing to the winds every vestige of ancient prejudice ;" but the lever that accomplished these results was education, and the early advantage derived from its adoption is now no longer exclusively retained. The increase of wealth, nevertheless, which remains the chief feature of the gain, cannot be taken as the gauge of progress, though it is commonly accepted as evidence; for although its distribution is greater than at any other time, thereby enabling vast numbers to enjoy a large material happiness, its whole drift, except in the British Isles, runs in the direction of the creation of monopolies and so long as this is the case, the interests of the many must be sacrificed to those of the few. The fight for freedom in America, the rebellion against dictation, after destroying all obstacles to that improvement of the race which is now a reality, has thus lost its prime significance in the modern unfolding of events. The selfish ness of the nation in upholding a system of Protection, greatly accentuated by the M'Kinley tariff, is beginning to be reflected in the selfishness of the individual seeking a special good. Were it not actually in existence, the political philosopher would naturally look for its effect on private action, wherever a public policy is based on exclusivism, and expect to see produced internally a disposition of affairs parallel to what exists externally. So that a democracy, of all forms of government, which cultivates nationally its own. peculiar interests to the neglect of the welfare of humanity, must run the risk of its local affairs standing in the same relation to its general attitude as this stands towards the world. In the falseness of

its position it is a community of stagnation, no matter how great the prosperity of the surface may seem, and sooner or later will reap what it has sown. Already the vigor and freshness of youth, at one period so captivating to outsiders, has been lost in the premature arrival of a middle age of labor problems. The America of to-day holds out no helping ideas to solve the higher questions of life. Its democracy appears to be content with its greatest achievement-the victory of self-government; and having provided a vote for every one at the attainment of manhood, has retired from the contest with an air of repose.

It cannot, however, rest satisfied here, as the winning of independence was the realization of a hope long cherished in England. The right, too, on which self-government has been basedthe reason and the probity of the individual-must be exercised to the full to make progress a fact; and this is not accomplished by the casting of a vote. A responsibility not to be forgotten attaches to the voter, requiring at his hands the consideration of the interests of the nation over and above all political machines. He must subordinate individual good to national gain; and where this is not a primary object, an end will be made to healthy advance. The Protective tariff that shuts off foreign competition with the cry of America for Americans, forces the cultivation of the one-sided view. The consequences, accordingly, are visible in a reawakened spirit of sectarianism; and although the modern tendency of Congress is toward assuming the powers of a national council like Westminster, this is more the outcome of a wish to speak with authority than the natural flow of opinion to find a centre at Washington.

If, therefore, American democracy is not to belie the songs of the poets of the first years of the century, who welcomed its birth as the downfall of tyranny, it must restudy the history of its early foundation. Its future must be devoted to emancipating the mind of the public from the pursuit of dividends, by giving a check to those monopolies of trade that are building up a greater despotism than the mercantile system, the origin of the American rebellion. If it is not to turn in upon itself like animal intelligence, with the fulfilment of the original object of its existence, but is to be creative and

progressive, it will be necessary to destroy individual selfishness by widering the area of competition,-in opening all ports to the business of the nations, and freely accepting their goods. Even now it is evident, through the unequal diffusion of wealth, notwithstanding a broad average of gain hitherto unparalleled, that the rich are growing richer, and the poor poorer. An oligarchy of the one rules a democracy of the other. At the present rate of procedure, and under the same fiscal system, it cannot be very long before a line of demarcation will appear between the two, and a return set in toward the social state of ancient Rome. No other cause than the forcing of commerce into unnatural channels, seems adequate to explain the growing congestion; for only an eighth of the arable land is estimated to be under cultivation, no want of enterprise is shown by the people, nor are there any internal checks on mercantile transactions; while in Great Britain the late Trade Commission made clear that remuneration was almost even between capital and work. Cobden discovered long ago it was the interest of every country to arrange its finances on the freest basis, so that imported articles might enter into consumption at the cheapest price. The Americans, however, hold an opposite opinion, and have heavily handicapped in foreign markets not only their farmers, but their manufacturers, by the duties they levy on the introduction of raw materials. They broke the shackles of social despotism, but permitted the politicians to reforge them under the guise of domestic welfare, and while glorying in the delusion of an expression called "republican freedom," cling to class legislation of the worst description. The ancient boast of what democracy would do for the United States and for the world has consequently become at the moment a little vain. The political liberation of the individual, the great increase of material comfort, has not been followed up by a period of natural freedom, which would have carried the new conditions on into a new era of progress, but with enormous possibilities lying at the hand of every one, has been succeeded by years of arrest -so far as the continuous amelioration of the lot of the wage-earner is concerned that has created a false position, and enslaved the population as a whole, until

with the rise of artificial liberty there are signs of national trouble in the ballotbox.

That the adoption of Protection has increased the spirit of selfishness, is evident not alone in the United States. We see it everywhere in the national desire to benefit at some other nation's expense, as if such a thing had never been shown to be impossible, by the laws of political economy. In America, however, this spirit is beginning to make itself felt to such an extent, that the people are becoming vaguely conscious, by the load of taxation they are compelled to bear, of the necessity for tariff reform. Unfortunately for themselves, it fell to the lot of the republican party to endeavor to effect this end by promising a happy time. to every one, and, per contra, a bad time to the rest of mankind through the notorious M'Kinley bill. No measure could more clearly demonstrate the blindness which has fallen on political Americans, owing to the cultivation of selfishness, than the passing of this Act into law; and it is undoubtedly a satisfactory thing that the recent elections have proved the nation at large to be more or less aware of the fact. Still, the consequences arising internally out of national self-aggrandizement are seen at the bottom of nearly every great question. Witness the action of President Cleveland, in rejecting the treaty negotiated by Mr. Chamberlain and Sir C. Tupper, which was reported to the Senate as fair and equitable; and the protracted negotiations over the right of fishing in Behring Sea, which has led Mr. Blaine to trifle with the peculiarly American idea of arbitration. Both of these results can be traced very clearly, as is generally believed, to the wish of securing a party triumph, and yet in both the welfare of the country was overlooked; for it cannot be to the universal good that strained relations should exist between the two great branches of the Anglo-Saxon race.

every one that the builders of America were men of deep conviction, and that the foundations of democracy were firmly laid. As their task proceeded, a unity of purpose grew up which embraced the immigrants flying from European tyranny, and who, according to Bancroft, "renounced their nationality to claim the rights of Englishmen." With the achievement of independence, however, and the cessation of all dread of outside interference, local interests rose in prominence till the civil war became necessary to reassert harmony of action. Since then the material progress of the country has been so abnormal, so stimulated by the Protective spirit, that internal matters have been overlooked, and, as a natural result, are once more coming to the front. They have taken their coloring from the policy of the States, which, as we have said, has pursued a course of selfishness toward the commerce of the world, but in particular to that of the United Kingdom, and are now so far developed as to render it almost certain a real source of danger is at hand. The "typical immigrant," as the author of "Our Country" remarks, "is a European peasant whose horizon has been narrow, and whose ideas of life are low." He has migrated to such an extent, that there is now a large population of foreign extraction; but instead of its being the means of concentrating experience, it furnishes the greatest percentage of crime. Whole colonies of these immigrants annually go West, where, in defiance of the example of their wiser predecessors, they retain their nationalities and free themselves from American influences. Already at Chicago, we are told, the great majority of the people are foreign by birth or parentage; and even in the city of New York, if all foreigners qualified themselves for the franchise, they could easily outvote the real Americans; while numbers scattered over the country" are apparently under the impression that the ten commandments are not binding west of the Missouri." In the course of a few years, almost at present within view, as the centre of population advances, the West must dominate the East, must "elect the executive and control legislation;" for under manhood suffrage every man has an equal voting value. It is of little moment that the population of American-born persons of

American parentage may be nearly twothirds of the whole; for the American franchise has been so easily obtained, sufficient time has not elapsed to allow of the absorption by the Anglo-Saxon American of the heterogeneous Europeans who, until that occurs, cannot be termed Americans in the sense the original owners of the country understand. The significance of all this has been so thoroughly grasped, that a new party is said to have been formed some time ago, "to uphold American ideas of law, order, and education," but into which no foreigner is admitted. What, then, is in the future for the American people, as viewed through the light of the present tendency?

The authors of the tariff are the capitalists of the East, who, having had so far the voting power in their hands, have been able to maintain exorbitant duties for their own benefit. The West was opened up at a ridiculous expense, the rate on pig-iron, an article which most directly affects the farmer, as it is the basis from which all his tools are made, has been at about $7, or 30s. a ton. A high cost of production had therefore to be and still is supported, which, as already declared, places the Western wheat grower in difficulties that have risen out of the competition of other nations, until it is almost a matter of existence to be able to produce cheaper. He is forced, however, by the tariff to supply his wants through the Eastern manufacturer, who cannot allow duties to be effectively reduced without being satisfied to work in the light of competition at the minimum of profit, a thing he has not even brought himself to think about. The M'Kinley bill shows, too, he will not allow them to be reduced. There is therefore to be seen, in the difference between the interests of the East and the West, all the elements of political discord and disruption, so that when Congress is controlled by the West, a reversal of the policy of the East may be expected. It is true a portion of the West has lately favored the tariff, but it was only a part of the political game, which will disappear as the centre of power is transferred, and the inhabitants understand that development has been made at their expense, most notably in the matter of railway extension through the former monstrous price of steel rails. When this reversal takes place it can only lead to furious dis

sension, and the world will see enacted over again the spectacle of an assault on vested interests. The peril of the position will then attain its height, and all will depend on the temper of the people; but the drift of things to-day does not augur well.

The folly of endeavoring to reconcile by Protection the wants of the New World is thus painfully apparent, and the false stimulation of industry for a selfish end is working on to its natural conclusion, till presidential messages to Congress call for such changes as will prevent "financial disturbance," or the formation of "schemes of public plunder." It is a curious commentary, however, upon the history of manhood suffrage, to observe how basely it has been used to subserve private interests to the detriment of the nation's, and what a capable instrument of mischief it may become when worked by a selfish democracy; while having once gone persistently wrong on a fundamental question, it cannot recover itself without giving rise to a period of even unpremeditated retaliation. As it enables the East to maintain a tariff for its sole benefit, it will hereafter be necessary for the West, by the same power, to destroy that tariff and kill off the high-priced raw material which is injurious to its development. Monopolies, cultivated by a free democracy, will meet with their reward, but the democracy that encourages them is more imbued with the spirit of the early Spaniard than with that of the Pilgrim Father. In the end, the sufferer through it all will be the Eastern working man, who upholds the present system in the belief it is his interest to do so; for when capital has retired from the condition it now occupies, as it certainly will do with the first breath of adversity, the artisan will be thrown on his resources. He does not see he is the tool of the capitalist unless the question is one of wages, and that the farmer will sacrifice him remorselessly for the profits he has taken out of the West. His notion of success is centred in himself, the advancement of his town or state, while the country at large is a geographical expression. The situation, however, having been created through the ballot-box, unity must suffer in the first instance, as Protection is the father of provincialisms, and these will be called into play from the habit, long

fostered, of dwelling on local considerations. Here, then, is the heart of the matter. Ignorance and selfishness-the characteristics as we are told of a great part of the immigrant population, who we must not forget are mainly responsible for the increase of crime-will add to the confusion of the moment, and these foreign Americans, still cherishing the traditions and the language of their native homes, will snatch at the opportunity to obtain some advantage for their communities. The stupidity of having permitted European nationalities to retain their separate existences will be acknowledged when too late to be easily remedied

the recent Italian troubles at New Orleans being a painful example; while the other interests, social and religious, will also strive for the mastery by endeavoring to guide the reins of government through the power of possessing the casting vote in Congress. In the general disorder that must everywhere follow, in the struggles for local ascendancy, the ultimate danger will be that of a federal nature, till, with the exasperation of strife, party spirit will break loose and temporarily pass beyond control, so that it would not be surprising if history should repeat itself and attempts were made to form small independent centres. Thus in a free state, selfishness, symbolized by Protection, turns on the heads of its worshippers. Without doubt the Anglo-Saxon may be trusted to secure his own salvation, as his instincts are those of a conqueror; but at the commencement he must be the chief loser from the liberty that owes its origin to him, which he alone knows how to use with moderation, and that for the want of its natural expansion has reacted on himself to his great disadvantage. When, however, he finally reasserts his principles and levels up democracy again to the point of progress, the result, it is to be feared, will only have been arrived at over misery and bloodshed, though with his victory would come that of Free Trade, and at the same time a true idea of unity.

In the present day we hear a great deal of the perfection of humanity, but little of that spirit of unselfishness which is the key-note of the Christian republic. The world, while full of experience, has hardly got beyond, in many respects, its primitive condition; for though the stronger has ceased to make war upon the weaker,