present moment, has the Declaration of Independence been tested by criticism of every possible kind-by criticism intended and expected to be destructive. Apparently, however, all this criticism has failed to accomplish its object. of the King. Not only did he direct the minister,' a careful observer tells us, in all important matters of foreign and domestic policy, but he instructed him as to the management of debates in Parliament, suggested what motions should be made or opposed, and how measures should It is proper for us to remember, also, be carried. He reserved for himself all that what we call criticism is not the the patronage, he arranged the whole cast only valid test of the genuineness and of the administration, settled the relative worth of any piece of writing of great place and pretensions of ministers of practical interest to mankind: there is, state, law officers, and members of the in addition, the test of actual use and serhousehold, nominated and promoted the vice, in direct contact with the common English and Scotch judges, appointed and sense and the moral sense of large masses translated bishops and deans, and dis- of men, under various conditions, and for pensed other preferments in the Church. a long period. Probably no writing which He disposed of military governments, is not essentially sound and true has ever regiments, and commissions, and himself survived this test. ordered the marching of troops. He gave and refused titles, honors, and pensions.' All this immense patronage was steadily used for the creation of a party in both Houses of Parliament attached to the King himself. . . . George was, in fact, sole minister during the fifteen years which followed; and the shame of the darkest hour of English history lies wholly at his door." Surely, until these tremendous verdicts of English history shall be set aside, there need be no anxiety in any quarter as to the historic soundness of the two great accusations which together make up the principal portion of the Declaration of Independence. In the presence of these verdicts also, even the passion, the intensity of language, in which those accusations are uttered, seem to find a perfect justification. Indeed, in the light of the most recent and most unprejudiced expert testimony, the whole document, both in its substance and in its form, seems to have been the logical response of a nation of brave men to the great words of the greatest of English statesmen, as spoken in the House of Commons precisely ten years before: "This kingdom has no right to lay a tax on the colonies. Sir, I rejoice that America has resisted. Three millions of people, so dead to all the feelings of liberty as voluntarily to submit to be slaves, would have been fit instruments to make slaves of the rest." Thus, ever since its first announcement to the world, and down almost to the Neither from this test has the great Declaration any need to shrink. As to the immediate use for which it was sent forth-that of rallying and uniting the friends of the Revolution, and bracing them for their great task-its effectiveness was so great and so obvious that it has never been denied. During the century and a quarter since the Revolution, its influence on the political character and the political conduct of the American people has been great beyond calculation. For example, after we had achieved our own national deliverance, and had advanced into that enormous and somewhat corrupting material prosperity which followed the adoption of the Constitution and the development of the cotton interest and the expansion of the republic into a transcontinental power, we fell under an appalling temptation-the temptation to forget, or to repudiate, or to refuse to apply to the case of our human brethren in bondage, the principles which we had once proclaimed as the basis of every rightful government. The prodigious service rendered to us in this awful moral emergency by the Declaration of Independence was, that its public repetition, at least once every year, in the hearing of vast throngs of the American people in every portion of the republic, kept constantly before our minds, in a form of almost religious sanctity, those few great ideas as to the dignity of human nature, and the sacredness of personality, and the indestructible rights of man as mere man, with which we had so gloriously identified the beginnings of our national existence. It did at last become very hard for us to listen each year to the preamble of the Declaration and still to remain the owners and users and catchers of slaves; still harder, to accept the doctrine that the righteousness and prosperity of slavery was to be accepted as the dominant policy of the nation. The logic of Calhoun was as flawless as usual, when he concluded that the chief obstruction in the way of his system was the preamble of the Declaration of Independence. Had it not been for the inviolable sacredness given by it to those sweeping aphorisms about the natural rights of man, it may be doubted whether Calhoun might not have won over an immense majority of the American people to the support of his compact and plausible scheme for making slavery the basis of the republic. It was the preamble of the Declaration of Independence which elected Lincoln, which sent forth the Emancipation Proclamation, which gave victory to Grant, which ratified the Thirteenth Amendment. up in the nursery of every king, and blazoned on the porch of every royal palace," it is because it has become the classic statement of political truths which must at last abolish kings altogether, or else teach them to identify their existence with the dignity and happiness of human nature. Declaration of Independence, DUTCH. The following is the text of the declaration of the States General of the United Provinces, setting forth that Philip II. had forfeited his right of sovereignty over the said provinces, promulgated at The Hague, July 26, 1581: The States General of the United Provinces of the Low Countries, to all whom it may concern, do by these Presents send greeting: As 'tis apparent to all that a prince is constituted by God to be ruler of a people, to defend them from oppression and violence as the shepherd his sheep; and whereas God did not create the people slaves to their prince, to obey his commands, whether right or wrong, but rather the prince for the sake of the subWe shall not here attempt to delineate jects (without which he could be no the influence of this state paper upon prince), to govern them according to mankind in general. Of course, the equity, to love and support them as a emergence of the American Republic as an father his children or a shepherd his flock, imposing world-power is a phenomenon and even at the hazard of life to defend which has now for many years attracted and preserve them. And when he does not the attention of the human race. Surely, behave thus, but, on the contrary, opno slight effect must have resulted from presses them, seeking opportunities to the fact that, among all civilized peoples, infringe their ancient customs and privithe one American document best known leges, exacting from them slavish compliis the Declaration of Independence and ance, then he is no longer a prince, but a that thus the spectacle of so vast and tyrant, and the subjects are to consider beneficent a political success has been him in no other view. And particularly everywhere associated with the assertion when this is done deliberately, unauthorof the natural rights of man. "The doc- ized by the States, they may not only trines it contained," says Buckle, “were disallow his authority, but legally pronot merely welcomed by a majority of the ceed to the choice of another prince for French nation, but even the government their defence. This is the only method itself was unable to withstand the gen- left for subjects whose humble petitions eral feeling." "Its effect in hastening and remonstrances could never soften their the approach of the French Revolu- prince or dissuade him from his tyranwas indeed most remark- nical proceedings; and this is what the law of nature dictates for the defence of liberty, which we ought to transmit to posterity, even at the hazard of our lives. And this we have seen done frequently in several countries upon the like occasion, whereof there are notorious instances, and ought to be hung more justifiable in our land, which has tion prince's creatures at devotion; and by the addition of the said canons he would have introduced the Spanish inquisition, which has been always as dreadful and detested in these provinces as the worst of slavery, as is well known, in so much that his imperial majesty, having once before proposed it to these States, and upon whose remonstrances did desist, and entirely gave it up, hereby giving proof of the great affection he had for his subjects. But, notwithstanding the many remonstrances made to the King both by been always governed according to their ancient privileges, which are expressed in the oath taken by the prince at his admission to the government; for most of the provinces receive their prince upon certain conditions, which he swears to maintain, which, if the prince violates, he is no longer sovereign. Now thus it was with the King of Spain after the demise of the Emperor, his father, Charles the Fifth, of glorious memory (of whom he received all these provinces), forgetting the services done by the subjects of these countries, both to his father and himself, the provinces and particular towns, in by whose valor he got so glorious and writing as well as by some principal lords memorable victories over his enemies that by word of mouth; and, namely, by the his name and power became famous and Baron of Montigny and Earl of Egmont, dreaded over all the world, forgetting also who with the approbation of the Duchess the advice of his said imperial majesty, of Parma, then governess of the Low made to him before to the contrary, did Countries, by the advice of the council of rather hearken to the counsel of those State were sent several times to Spain Spaniards about him, who had conceived a upon this affair. And, although the King secret hatred to this land and to its lib- had by fair words given them grounds to erty, because they could not enjoy posts of hope that their request should be comhonor and high employments here under plied with, yet by his letters he ordered the States as in Naples, Sicily, Milan, and the contrary, soon after expressly comthe Indies, and other countries under the manding, upon pain of his displeasure, to King's dominion. Thus allured by the admit the new bishops immediately, and riches of the said provinces, wherewith put them in possession of their bishopmany of them were well acquainted, the rics and incorporated abbeys, to hold said counsellors, I say, or the principal of the court of the inquisition in the places them, frequently remonstrated to the King where it had been before, to obey and that it was more for his majesty's reputa- follow the decrees and ordinances of the tion and grandeur to subdue the Low Coun- Council of Trent, which in many articles tries a second time, and to make himself are destructive of the privileges of the absolute (by which they mean to tyran- country. This being come to the knowlnize at pleasure), than to govern accord- edge of the people gave just occasion to ing to the restrictions he had accepted, great uneasiness and clamor among them, and at his admission sworn to observe. and lessened that good affection they had From that time forward the King of always borne toward the King and his Spain, following these evil counsellors, predecessors. And, especially, seeing that sought by all means possible to re- he did not only seek to tyrannize over duce this country (stripping them of their their persons and estates, but also over ancient privileges) to slavery, under their consciences, for which they bethe government of Spaniards having first, lieved themselves accountable to God only. under the mask of religion, endeavored to Upon this occasion the chief of the nobilsettle new bishops in the largest and ity in compassion to the poor people, in principal cities, endowing and incorporat- the year 1566, exhibited a certain reing them with the richest abbeys, assign- monstrance in form of a petition, humbly ing to each bishop nine canons to assist praying, in order to appease them and him as counsellors, three whereof should prevent public disturbances, that it would superintend the inquisition. By this in- please his majesty (by shewing that corporation the said bishops (who might clemency due from a good prince to his be strangers as well as natives) would people) to soften the said points, and have had the first place and vote in the especially with regard to the rigorous assembly of the States, and always the inquisition, and capital punishments for |