Strong Government?

Yes, here is another post based on information from the Covington Journal from February 16, 1861. I do not intend to have this blog become CovingtonJournal.com, but as long as I see interesting articles in it, I'll take advantage of this resource. I especially am interested in watching it in the weeks before war broke out. Some of its articles are long and often hard to read online, but still provide an interesting Southern-supporting perspective from a city located along the Ohio River, just a short trip from "the North."

There was no title to this particular piece, but please note that even this brief manifesto on government cannot resist mentioning the topic of slavery.

A Republican says that if we have a Government, he would like to see its strength tried. Better not try it just now; for its weakness might be more apparent than its strength. Our fathers did not intend to make a strong Government. A power able to execute law with exactness at all times is convenient for the governors but not so comfortable to the governed. Such a power is too strong for the liberties of the people. The British Government was strong enough to hold Ireland in chains for centuries. Austria is still strong enough to hold Hungary. The first-named was strong enough to force the emancipation of slaves in Jamaica, and to extort from the toil and sweat of the laboring white men of England one hundred thousand pounds, to liberate the worthless negro. Every page of history is full of the crimes of strong governments. It is true, the weakness of our government is manifest now; but must it be strong enough to coerce these States? Could we afford to have so strong a Government? The troubles we pay now are but the penalties we pay for freedom. We apprehend that a strong government, and a free one, no human ingenuity will ever invent.