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we should have also yet more increased means to meet that liability ; while every year , though our means we may suppose remain the same , our liabilities would assuredly ( at the rate of one per cent , per annum ) be constantly diminishing . Hence , ten times , perhaps even fifty times our present amount of debt need not alarm us—for to what extent under such a system might not Government colonize ? Next week , with your permission , I shall attempt a defence of the principles involved in the above . In spite of the clamours and misrepresentations with which here and elsewhere it has been assailed , there is , after all , some truth in the assertion—•• Property is Bobbery . " I a . m sir , yours respectfully , VTJLNEItATITS .
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OLOVE AND MARRIAGE . Newport , Isle of Wight , June 27 , 1850 . Sir , —The letter headed " Marriage Indissoluble , " appearing in your last number , finds a response with me in the dissappointment it expresses that no reply has appeared in your " Open Council" to the letters of Francis Worsley and H . Glynn . on " Love and Marriage" and ' Marriage and Divorce . " I would throw out a word with reference to the first mentioned topic , hoping it may lead to further discussion oh the hitherto almost passive side of the question .
Mr . Worsley appears to have some respect for the claims of religion in reference to the marriage ordinance , for he tells you in the course of his letter that he does not " condemn" " Holy matrimony , " but •' would onlyunblind society as to its nature . " Now the authority for matrimony and its nature and character are to be found most clearly and unequivocally defined in the New Testament by Christ himself . If the writer deem matrimony to be holy in this view of it , he cannot by consequence find fault with its " nature , " but only with its abuBe ; let him unblind society as to its abuse , if he will . The
writer's tone of argument is , however , too ambiguous to enable one to form a satisfactory idea of his respect for religious authority or divine injunction . We will proceed , therefore , to examine his letter upon its own merits , allowing the most liberal scope to any moral or religious regard seeming to actuate its sentiments . The writer then states his " objection to the religious ceremony , " thus attacking the ordinance itself rather than its abuse , and then goes on to charge it with * ' deceiving the consciences of people into immoral unions where no love is , causing an immoral state of strife , &c . " But I contend that his " objection " to
the religious ceremony is in fact but the condemnation of the abuse of it ; and the evils which he enumerates as flowing from , and the ground of , such objection , have sole reference to such , abuse , and are no ground of nou-observance of the ceremony itself , for since it is holy in its essence it cannot be less holy by its abuse . ** The Devil can cite Scripture for his purpose , " but it is Scripture still . It is only reasonable to assume that a person who will commit perjury at the altar has no sense of future responsibility . Is it any matter of surprise , therefore , that he should use the ordinance to its abuse , and that evil
and misery are the fruits of such an act ? Such a discordance between the moral and physical laws must produce a discord of consequences—but is holy matrimony to be blamed ever the more ? On the writer ' s reply to Paley ' s Enquiry , to which he refers , we would urge our denial that by the marriage ceremony we nre taken to acknowledge that the union is made pure by the form . " We believe that its operation is spiritual , as its essence is acknowledged to be " holy ; that on all minds influenced by a sense of human accountability it has a holy and binding influence ; and that no person so influenced will
exercise the holy ordinance in the absence of the bond of love , as he would fly the commission of perjury We do , therefore , uphold and not «* abjure a ceremony " which must , we contend , with euch persons have a moral efficacy . We do undoubtedly " brand the affections as impure without it , " as , where true affection exists , there must of necessity be a corresponding desire to exercise its hallowing influence . That " it tempts to the most corrupt unions , " is only to assert that Vico will assume the garb of Virtue to compass unworthy ends—then ' if the tree be corrupt lut the fruit be corrupt . " But banish the ordinance for the sake of argument ; are the means , and with them the temptation , to 11
corrupt unions" complained of by the writer banished with it ? Is the facility for profession of affection , though none exist , lessened ?* And is not this profession the snare which entraps five women out of six , —this profession of the only true bond of union , as our opponent would contend ? Will n woman ever no to the altar with one who has never macks this profession to her ear ?—or if she do it must be for the attainment of some end short of love , and this sho is more likely to do without compunction of feeling m tho absence of tho ordinance of inaniugo than with it , there being nothing to warn her of tho weighty nature of the act she is about to commit : fto that the wtlinanw in this case -wimhl be rather a *> bfuvnn" than a " . snare . " Hut how can " the Of cuardc I am only taking cueca whvre no ulVection exiisU .
endure the painful imputation which a solemn vow of faithful and life-long attachment , breathed under a consecrated edifice must have upon the real spirit of his love ! Truly the most delicate consciences are the most easily wounded ! No : this haven of peace and security from the blighting blasts without must not be entered ! The beloved object must be thrust forth on her despairing destiny , and her attached lover must walk the world apparently to all around a happy man—but is he so ? No—delusive idea ! He still
infamy on woman consequent on the non-observance of this form induce child-murder and prostitution ' if the bond of true love exist ? Will the frown of society alone lead to abandonment on one side or the other , or on both ? Will a man voluntarily cast away the object to which his heart ' s affections cling for lack of a few words—words to which his heart moreover responds ? His self-sacrifice to a principle is rather unpJiilosopJdcal in this case , for he refuses the exercise of at least a harmless ordinance to the promotion of " child-murder and prostitution ! " Of what delicate and sensitive texture must his love be !—it cannot
loves , but he has sacrificed his affection to a principle which has involved even the destruction of his beloved , but not of himself ! ! Nay , but will he forsake her and his principle at the same time ? Was not " love the only bond' * that principle ? Will it not bear the world ' s froton of disapproval ? Is it so pliant to public opinion t Is its champion so easily vanquished ?—is he not then the worst of cowards , a moral coward , or the vilest of charlatans ? Then is not the infamy on woman more consequent on the absence of affection than on the f
non-observance of this unjustly aousea .. no . yet the writer deems ' * it well to invoke the Maker ' s blessing , and deepen the sense of mutual obligation . " Why , then , will he object to the exercise of so valuable a privilege , even to repudiation , because some misuse it , and so abuse it ? Can the immoral and perjured use of it by the false in heart render it less efficacious and consecrating to the faithful ? Is it not a palpable fallacy to contend for the abrogation of any means of spiritual endowment because some dare to adopt the form , not rcqarding the spirit . Your faithful servant , L . W .
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RIGHTS . —EXTENSION OF THE SUFFRAGE . July 6 , 1850 . Sir , —I endeavoured in my last letter to show that the only foundation for the " rights of man" is the obligation incumbent on each , by every standard of duty , to do the best he can to promote the welfare of his fellow-men . Hence tho only debt due by the rulers to the ruled is good government , meaning thereby , of course , the best government that the knowledge of the times and means at their command will permit . In working out this great principle in detail , so as to determine what measures are essential for good government amongst any particular people , it must be remembered that man is a progressive being , and differs in different countries ; and hence that he advances to feel desires and to be endowed with powers of which his forefathers had no knowledge , and which may be utterly unknown even to his contemporaries in another land ; and , therefore , that inay come to be a right at one time , or among one people , which is never thought of , or would be quite unsuitable for another age or another people . The lights of man are limited by some to freedom from personal restraint , possession of property , subsistence , liberty to pursue one ' s business unmolested , &c . But the rights of man must not be limited to such as these . The present wants of man are not to be measured by the confined feelings and capacities of a rude and barbarous age , to the neglect of new wants which have arisen , and new resources b y which they can be supplied . Hights cannot be limited by the imperfect state of man before society was formed , but should be judged of by what they would be were society now commencing anew . In short , men have a right to all the enjoyment of which they are capable without injury to themselves or others ; and the rights of man , therefore , expand as his capacities and wants expand , and must be determined in each age for the people of that age . It will be objected to this view that it gives no simple and distinct guide by which to determine on rights—points out no couit entitled to judge on questions of rights—and , by rejecting any right in the whole body of the people to take the judgment into their own hands , leaves us no standard of iii * ht but that of might , and places our interests at the mercy of the powers that be . It will be urged that tho principle is too general , and that it would be better to have some simple , clear , fundamental principles fitted to human nature , in all pluces and all times , by which to determine all questions of lights , instead of leaving the solution to a constantly renewed struggle between the rulers and tho ruled . Sir , these ' statements are perfectly just ; I have no quarrel with them , except in their character of •? objections , " which implies that other principles can be found than those against which the above truisms are urged . Mankind are very fond of searching out absolute find , eternal first principles , ami in some cases the search has been prosecuted with great success ; but it has a ? yet been an utter failure as to
details of government , and it would be greatl y for the advantage of all that this were generally recognized , and our attention turned to the solution of practical questions . The truth is , the means by which the governed can gain anything , without force ( which is anarch y ) , from those who have power , are exactly the same as those by which in ordinary matters any one procures some benefit from another ; that is , by working on his fear or goodness . There is no other clear and universal rule by which to influence men ; and the sooner the masses know their position , and how only they can work themselves into an improved position ,
it will be the better for them . When rulers are pressed for any particular concession to those whom they govern , they must grant it , refuse it , or lay down their power . If conscientious men , they cannot possibly grant it , unless their judgment is satisfied that it would really be for the advantage of the governed—they cannot refuse it without taking into consideration the consequences which may arise from the dissatisfaction excited by their refusalthey cannot lay down their power , unless satisfied that they can do so without leading to anarchy and convulsions . On what other principles just and benevolent rulers can act , I am at a loss to
deter-. Hence , then , if the people are anxious to possess any new privilege , they must take it by force , or by the fear of force , or by satisfying their rulers that they are qualified to use the privilege advantageously for the community . With respect to the suffrage , it is much to be regretted , that while the people have been steadily advancing towards the state in which they feel and
urge such a claim , no measures have been taken to prepare them for it . Our condition has been one of constant and inevitable progress , but we have neglected to provide for the consequences of that progress . We have neither secured to the people that degree of happiness and comfort which predisposes in favour of peace , order , and existing institutions , nor that information , intelligence , and mental cultivation which would ensure a calm , rational , and
considerate mode of action in any movement they make to improve their condition , and fit them for the temperate exercise of such power as may be placed in their hands . There i 3 no more difficult situation than that of a country where the people have begun to demand political power , and the rulers have done nothing to prepare them for its exercise . The people feel oppressed by suffering , and they wildly cry for power that they may obtain relief . This is refused ; and , however the refusal may be
softened , it is interpreted as follows : — " You . an * uneducated , and , therefore , unfit for the duties of electors ; you are reckless and desperate , and having no property yourselves , would be easily led to overthrow that valued institution that you might get something in the scramble ; you have no stake in the country , and would be too ready to enter rashly on measures which might lead to civil discord and convulsions . We can take care of your interests . lJo not meddle with what is above you . "
But there are great numbers of the unenfranchised to whom such language cannot be applied . They are men who exercise some calling demanding much knowledge and skill , which knowledge and skill are leading sources of the wealth and prosperity of the country . Their minds are informed and cultivated by reading and study ; they enquire keenly into all subjects relating to the social condition of man ; express their thoughts well in speech and writing , and influence powerfully the minds of others . Many of them are really able writers and speakers on a variety of topics requiring extensive knowledge , considerable reasoning power , and skill in stating their views . Numbers of them spare a portion of
their moderate earnings for other than mere selfish purposes—for the promotion of reforms by which they are to be but remotely benefitted—showing a range of mind and forethought characteristic of men in whom the tnens divina plays no subordinate part . Many are the most active and zealous supporters of public libraries , mechanics' institutions , lectures , magazines , newspapers , and other means for elevating their order , educating them , and enabling them to bear up against the disadvantages under which they labour . The intellectual dignity of man is created and roused within him . The pride ot mental power , and the sense of rights connected with thatare predominant .
, Such men are truly intelligent and respectable . When we consider the imperfect education most oi them have received , their scanty means , how much of their time is occupied in providing for the wants << f the hour , and the numerous temptations by which they avi beset , the position and character they maintain are in the highest degree honourable to them ; and if they are humble in mere rank , in all that really dignifies and exults man , they are second to
none . . It is impossible to deny such men the franchise . In tho first place they desire it . Thnir minds nro awakened lu the idu . i that they have the capacity and . the right to take a part in public affairs . They feel degraded by this privilege being refused them . Men
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308 W&t & «« & * ¥ » tSitOHDAT ,
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Leader (1850-1860), July 20, 1850, page 398, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1847/page/14/
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