odium attached to taxation ; the citizen felt it to be rather a 

 voluntary and self-imposed contribution, the benefits of which 

 he should personally realize. Such, in part, hastily and im- 

 perfectly drawn, were the results of good government. Was 

 it strange or not that, under such circumstances, men should 

 not make the subject of government a study ? The true 

 theory of government was not well expressed by Pope when 

 he said : 



For forms of government let fools contest, 

 Whate'er is best administered is best. 



Good administration is essential to any form of government, 

 and, indeed, will make any system of government tolerable. 

 More accurate, indeed, was the view of a nearly contem- 

 porary British Jurist, who said, " the true liberty of the sub- 

 ject consists, not so much, in the gracious behavior as in the 

 limited power of the sovereign." I should rather say that 

 government is best to the existence of which the subject is 

 most unconscious. It has, however, this penalty. Being un- 

 conscious of it, the subject becomes unmindful that there is 

 such a power as government, and, naturally, if not neces- 

 sarily, becomes neglectful of its study ; and without study 

 and careful contemplation, erroneous notions upon the sub- 

 ject of government, equally as upon other subjects, spring 

 up. 



If by any process the question could to-day be submitted 

 to each voter, even of Massachusetts, What is the nature and 

 purpose of government ? and an independent answer could be 

 had from each, while, probably, no single answer would be pro- 

 nounced wholly and absolutely wrong, we should assuredly 

 find that there is no identity and very little similarity of 

 opinion on the subject. It is almost impossible to give any 

 definition of government and its purposes, which shall not 

 have something of truth in it. Upon the minds of most peo- 

 ple, the general histoi-y of public affairs and the common use 

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