to its preservation. the danger to all well-established free governments arises from the unwillingness of the people to believe in its existence or from the influence of designing men diverting their attention from the quarter whence it approaches to a source from which it can never come. this is the old trick of those who would usurp the government of their country. in the name of democracy they speak， warning the people against the influence of wealth and the danger of aristocracy. history， ancient and modern， is full of such examples. caesar became the master of the roman people and the senate under the pretense of supporting the democratic claims of the former against the aristocracy of the latter； cromwell， in the character of protector of the liberties of the people， became the dictator of england， and bolivar possessed himself of unlimited power with the title of his country's liberator. there is， on the contrary， no instance on record of an extensive and well- established republic being changed into an aristocracy. the tendencies of all such governments in their decline is to monarchy， and the antagonist principle to liberty there is the spirit of faction——a spirit which assumes the character and in times of great excitement imposes itself upon the people as the genuine spirit of freedom， and， like the false christs whose coming was foretold by the savior， seeks to， and were it possible would， impose upon the true and most faithful disciples of liberty. it is in peri
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