as elsewhere,--to give the initiative. A new strange task of
these new epochs; which no Government, never so
"constitutional," can escape from undertaking. For it is vitally
necessary to the existence of Society itself; it must be
undertaken, and succeeded in too, or worse will follow,--and, as
we already see in Irish Connaught and some other places, will
follow soon. To whatever thing still calls itself by the name of
Government, were it never so constitutional and impeded by
official impossibilities, all men will naturally look for help,
and direction what to do, in this extremity. If help or
direction is not given; if the thing called Government merely
drift and tumble to and fro, no-whither, on the popular vortexes,
like some carcass of a drowned ass, constitutionally put "at the
top of affairs," popular indignation will infallibly accumulate
upon it; one day, the popular lightning, descending forked and
horrible from the black air, will annihilate said supreme
carcass, and smite it home to its native ooze again!--Your
Lordship, this is too true, though irreverently spoken: indeed
one knows not how to speak of it; and to me it is infinitely sad
and miserable, spoken or not!--Unless perhaps the Voluntary
Principle will still help us through? Perhaps this Irish leak,
in such a rotten distressed condition of the Ship, with all the
crew so anxious about it, will be kind enough to stop of
itself?--

Dismiss that hope, your Lordship! Let all real and imaginary
Governors of England, at the pass we have arrived at, dismiss
forever that fallacious fatal solace to their do-nothingism: of
itself, too clearly, the leak will never stop; by human skill and
energy it must be stopped, or there is nothing but the sea-bottom