FORMAL COMMENDATIOif OF OFFICIALS. 135 



lie revenues. A vote of thanks by the representatives of the peo- 

 ple for such a cause proves one of two things: that the popular 

 idea of duty has become wofiilly debased, so that not to wink at 

 crimes against the general weal is evidence of superior virtue on 

 the part of the highest officers of the government; or, that the po- 

 litical parties of the country have grown so corrupt and reckless 

 that for mere short-lived partisan advantage they are willing to 

 at once poison the fountains of virtue for the youth of the land, 

 and put a tarnish upon the national honor. 



Accepting either alternative, there is ground of anxiety lor the 

 future. There is need of a resolute purpose among honest citizens 

 everywhere to stem the swift current of immorality and to raise up 

 the old, or yet better, standards of both public and private virtue. 



It should be settled at once and forever that no public officer, be 

 his rank as low as the lowest, should be formally commended by 

 the people or their representatives for doing, however thoroughly 

 and well, v^^hat was a manifest dut}"", what not to have done would 

 have justly subjected him to condemnation and punishment. 



And it should also be settled as a principle, and deeply engraven 

 on the hearts of the people both young and old, that such com- 

 mendation of an officer whose duties are of so grave a character 

 that honor is the only security demanded for their fulfillment, is a 

 reflection upon those who offer it, and an imputation upon that in- 

 tegrity and high sense ot honor which, in the public mind, should 

 be inseparable from every public trust. 



