LAW IN POLITICS. 43 I 



memorable examples of the Reign of Law over 

 the course of Political events. Institutions main- 

 tained against the natural progress of Society have 

 " foundered amidst fanatic storms." Other Insti- 

 tutions upheld and cherished against justice, and 

 humanity, and conscience, have yielded only to 

 the scourge of War. 



It is in the wake of such convulsions that re- 

 actions of opinion so often sweep over the Human 

 Mind, as hurricanes sweep over the surface of the 

 Sea. But whatever new forms of error are beeotten 

 of reaction, it is a comfort to believe that there are 

 always some steps gained which are never lost. 

 No man can look back on the history of modern 

 civilisation without seeing that it presents the phe- 

 nomena of development and growth. Nor can it 

 be doubted, surely, that whatever may be the 

 decline of particular Communities, the progress of 

 Mankind, on the whole, is a progress to higher 

 and better things. And if this be true, no par- 

 ticular exceptions should shake our faith in the 

 general rule that all safe progress depends on 

 timely recognition being given to the natural de- 

 velopments of Thought. They can never be re- 



