l, that flourished about the 'people' and their 'rights,'
than in all the arguments that reason, sustained even by revelation,
could offer to show the fallacies and dangers of this new doctrine, As a
matter of course, the wiles of the demagogue were not without fruits.
Although every man in the colony, either in his own person, or in that
of his parent or guardian, had directly entered into the covenants of
the fundamental law, as that law then existed, they now began to quarrel
with its provisions, and to advance doctrines that would subvert
everything as established, in order to put something new and untried in
its place. _Progress_ was the great desideratum; and _change_ was the
hand-maiden of progress. A sort of 'puss in the corner' game was
started, which was to enable those who had no places to run into the
seats of those who had. This is a favourite pursuit of man, all over the
world, in monarchies as well as in democracies; for, after all that
institutions can effect, there is little change in men by putting on, or
in taking off ermine and robes, or in wearing 'republican simplicity,'
in office or out of office; but the demagogue is nothing but the
courtier, pouring out his homage in the gutters, instead of in an
ante-chamber.

Nor did the governor run into extremes in his attempts to restrain the
false reasoning and exaggerations of the demagogue and his deluded, or
selfish followers. Nothing would be easier than to demonstrate that
their notions of the rights of numbers was wrong, to demonstrate that
were their theories carried out in practice, there could be, and would
be nothing permanent or settled in human affairs; yet not only did each
lustrum, but each year, each month, each week, each hour, each minute
demand its reform. Society must be periodically reduced to its elements,
in order to redress grievances. The governor did not deny that men had
their natural rights, at the very moment he insisted that these rights
were just as much a portion of the minority as of the majority. He was
perfectly willing that equal laws should prevail, as equal laws did
prevail in the colony, though he was not disposed to throw everything
into confusion merely to satisfy a theory. For a long time, therefore,
he opposed the designs of the new-school, and insisted on his vested
rights, as established in the fundamental law, which had made him ruler
for life. But "it is hard to kick against the pricks." Although the
claim of t