blic opinion should insist that the text books
of our common schools should be the creation of a mass meeting, and all
disagreements arising in the course of the work settled by a majority
vote. That is how all difficulties incident to the popular translation
of the Hebrew Scriptures were composed. It should be admitted, however
that most of those voting knew a little Hebrew, though not much. A
problem in mathematics is a very simple thing compared with many of
those upon which the people are called to pronounce by resolution and
ballot--for example, a question of finance.

"The voice of the people is the voice of God"--the saying is so
respectably old that it comes to us in the Latin. He is a strange, an
unearthly politician who has not a score of times publicly and solemnly
signified his faith in it But does anyone really believe it? Let us see.
In the period between 1859 and 1885, the Democratic party was defeated
six times in succession. The voice of the people pronounced it in error
and unfit to govern. Yet after each overthrow it came back into the
field gravely reaffirming its faith in the principles that God had
condemned. Then God twice reversed Himself, and the Republicans "never
turned a hair," but set about beating Him with as firm a confidence of
success (justified by the event) as they had known in the years of their
prosperity. Doubtless in every instance of a political party's defeat
there are defections, but doubtless not all are due to the voice that
spoke out of the great white light that fell about Saul of Tarsus. By
the way, it is worth observing that that clever gentleman was under no
illusion regarding the origin of the voice that wrought his celebrated
"flop"; he did not confound it with the _vox populi_ The people of
his time and place had no objection to the persecution that he was
conducting, and could persecute a trifle themselves upon occasion.

Majorities rule, when they do rule, not because they ought, but because
they can. We vote in order to learn without fighting which party is the
stronger; it is less disagreeable to learn it that way than the other
way. Sometimes the party that is numerically the weaker is by possession
of the Government actually the stronger, and could maintain itself in
power by an appeal to arms, but the habit of submitting when outvoted
is hard to break. Moreover, we all recognize in a subconscious way, the
reasonableness of the habit as a practical method of gett