Alexandria Gazette

REMINISCENCES OF 1826, 7 & 8.
Extracts from Buchannan's speech "on Chilton's Resolutions."
"Liberty, Sir, is a precious gift, which can never be long enjoyed by any people without the most watchful jealousy. It is the Hesperian fruit which the ever wakeful jealousy of the people can alone preserve. The very possession of power has a strong, a natural tendency, to corrupt the heart. The lust of dominion grows with its power into a monster."
"The nature of man is the same under Republics and under monarchies. The history of the human race proves that liberty can never long be preserved without popular jealousy. It is the condition of its enjoyment."
It is the maxim of despots that the people should never inquire into the concerns of government."
"In times like the present, the Republic is always most in danger. When the clouds of adversity are lowering over the country, and when direct taxation becomes necessary for the support of the government, the people are watchful—and jealous, and will attend strictly to their own concerns. It is in the halcyon days of peace and prosperity when the jealousy of the people slumbers, that abuses are most likely to steal into the administration of your government."