own　advantage；　thus；　within　the　last　few　months　serious　riots　have　broken　out　in　Philadelphia　and　in　New　York。　Disturbances　of　this　kind　are　unknown　in　the　rest　of　the　country；　which　is　nowise　alarmed　by　them；　because　the　population　of　the　cities　has　hitherto　exercised　neither　power　nor　influence　over　the　rural　districts。　　Nevertheless；　I　look　upon　the　size　of　certain　American　cities；　and　especially　on　the　nature　of　their　population；　as　a　real　danger　which　threatens　the　future　security　of　the　democratic　republics　of　the　New　World；　and　I　venture　to　predict　that　they　will　perish　from　this　circumstance　unless　the　government　succeeds　in　creating　an　armed　force；　which；　whilst　it　remains　under　the　control　of　the　majority　of　the　nation；　will　be　independent　of　the　town　population；　and　able　to　repress　its　excesses。
  ＇The　population　of　the　city　of　New　York　had　risen；　in　1870；　to　942；292；　and　that　of　Philadelphia　to　674；022。　　Brooklyn；　which　may　be　said　to　form　part　of　New　York　city；　has　a　population　of　396；099；　in　addition　to　that　of　New　York。　　The　frequent　disturbances　in　the　great　cities　of　America；　and　the　excessive　corruption　of　their　local　governments　…　over　which　there　is　no　effectual　control　…　are　amongst　the　greatest　evils　and　dangers　of　the　country。＇＇
  To　subject　the　provinces　to　the　metropolis　is　therefore　not　only　to　place　the　destiny　of　the　empire　in　the　hands　of　a　portion　of　the　community；　which　may　be　reprobated　as　unjust；　but　to　place　it　in　the　hands　of　a　populace　acting　under　its　own　impulses；　which　must　be　avoided　as　dangerous。　　The　preponderance　of　capital　cities　is　therefore　a　serious　blow　upon　the　representative　system；　and　it　exposes　modern　republics　to　the　same　defect　as　the　republics　of　antiquity；　which　all　perished　from　not　having　been　acquainted　with　that　form　of　government。
  It　would　be　easy　for　me　to　adduce　a　great　number　of　secondary　causes　which　have　contributed　to　establish；　and　which　concur　to　maintain；　the　democratic　republic　of　the　United　States。　　But　I　discern　two　principal　circumstances　amongst　these　favorable　elements；　which　I　hasten　to　point　out。　I　have　already　observed　that　the　origin　of　the　American　settlements　may　be　looked　upon　as　the　first　and　most　efficacious　cause　to　which　the　present　prosperity　of　the　United　States　may　be　attributed。　　The　Americans　had　the　chances　of　birth　in　their　favor；　and　their　forefathers　imported　that　equality　of　conditions　into　the　country　whence　the　democratic　republic　has　very　naturally　taken　its　rise。　　Nor　was　this　all　they　did；　for　besides　this　republican　condition　of　society；　the　early　settler　bequeathed　to　their　descendants　those　customs；　manners；　and　opinions　which　contribute　most　to　the　success　of　a　republican　form　of　government。　　When　I　reflect　upon　the　consequences　of　this　primary　circumstance；　methinks　I　see　the　destiny　of　America　embodied　in　the　first　Puritan　who　landed　on　those　shores；　just　as　the　human　race　was　represented　by　the　first　man。
  The　chief　circumstance　which　has　favored　the　establishment　and　the　maintenance　of　a　democratic　republic　in　the　United　States　is　the　nature　of　the　territory　which　the　American　inhabit。　　Their　ancestors　gave　them　the　love　of　equality　and　of　freedom；　but　God　himself　gave　them　the　means　of　remaining　equal　and　free；　by　placing　them　upon　a　boundless　continent；　which　is　open　to　their　exertions。　　General　prosperity　is　favorable　to　the　stability　of　all　governments；　but　more　particularly　of　a　democratic　constitution；　which　depends　upon　the　dispositions　of　the　majority；　and　more　particularly　of　that　portion　of　the　community　which　is　most　exposed　to　feel　the　pressure　of　want。　When　the　people　rules；　it　must　be　rendered　happy；　or　it　will　overturn　the　State；　and　misery　is　apt　to　stimulate　it　to　those　excesses　to　which　ambition　rouses　kings。　　The　physical　causes；　independent　of　the　laws；　which　contribute　to　promote　general　prosperity；　are　more　numerous　in　America　than　they　have　ever　been　in　any　other　country　in　the　world；　at　any　other　period　of　history。　In　the　United　States　not　only　is　legislation　democratic；　but　nature　herself　favors　the　cause　of　the　people。
  In　what　part　of　human　tradition　can　be　found　anything　at　all　similar　to　that　which　is　occurring　under　our　eyes　in　North　America？　　The　celebrated　communities　of　antiquity　were　all　founded　in　the　midst　of　hostile　nations；　which　they　were　obliged　to　subjugate　before　they　could　flourish　in　their　place。　　Even　the　moderns　have　found；　in　some　parts　of　South　America；　vast　regions　inhabited　by　a　people　of　inferior　civilization；　but　which　occupied　and　cultivated　the　soil。　　To　found　their　new　states　it　was　necessary　to　extirpate　or　to　subdue　a　numerous　population；　until　civilization　has　been　made　to　blush　for　their　success。　　But　North　America　was　only　inhabited　by　wandering　tribes；　who　took　no　thought　of　the　natural　riches　of　the　soil；　and　that　vast　country　was　still；　properly　speaking；　an　empty　continent；　a　desert　land　awaiting　its　inhabitants。
  Everything　is　extraordinary　in　America；　the　social　condition　of　the　inhabitants；　as　well　as　the　laws；　but　the　soil　upon　which　these　institutions　are　founded　is　more　extraordinary　than　all　the　rest。　　When　man　was　first　placed　upon　the　earth　by　the　Creator；　the　earth　was　inexhaustible　in　its　youth；　but　man　was　weak　and　ignorant；　and　when　he　had　learned　to　explore　the　treasures　which　it　contained；　hosts　of　his　fellow　creatures　covered　its　surface；　and　he　was　obliged　to　earn　an　asylum　for　repose　and　for　freedom　by　the　sword。　　At　that　same　period　North　America　was　discovered；　as　if　it　had　been　kept　in　reserve　by　the　Deity；　and　had　just　risen　from　beneath　the　waters　of　the　deluge。
  That　continent　still　presents；　as　it　did　in　the　primeval　time；　rivers　which　rise　from　never…failing　sources；　green　and　moist　solitudes；　and　fields　which　the　ploughshare　of　the　husbandman　has　never　turned。　　In　this　state　it　is　offered　to　man；　not　in　the　barbarous　and　isolated　condition　of　the　early　ages；　but　to　a　being　who　is　already　in　possession　of　the　most　potent　secrets　of　the　natural　world；　who　is　united　to　his　fellow…men；　and　instructed　by　the　experience　of　fifty　centuries。　　At　this　very　time　thirteen　millions　of　civilized　Europeans　are　peaceably　spreading　over　those　fertile　plains；　with　whose　resources　and　whose　extent　they　are　not　yet　themselves　accurately　acquainted。　　Three　or　four　thousand　soldiers　drive　the　wandering　races　of　the　aborigines　before　them；　these　are　followed　by　the　pioneers；　who　pierce　the　woods；　scare　off　the　beasts　of　prey；　explore　the　courses　of　the　inland　streams；　and　make　ready　the　triumphal　procession　of　civilization　across　the　waste。
  The　favorable　influence　of　the　temporal　prosperity　of　America　upon　the　institutions　of　that　country　has　been　so　often　described　by　others；　and　adverted　to　by　myself；　that　I　shall　not　enlarge　upon　it　beyond　the　addition　of　a　few　facts。　　An　erroneous　notion　is　generally　entertained　that　the　deserts　of　America　are　peopled　by　European　emigrants；　who　annually　disembark　upon　the　coasts　of　the　New　World；　whilst　the　American　population　increases　and　multiplies　upon　the　soil　which　its　forefathers　tilled。　　The　European　settler；　however；　usually　arrives　in　the　United　States　without　friends；　and　sometimes　without　resources；　in　order　to　subsist　he　is　obliged　to　work　for　hire；　and　he　rarely　proceeds　beyond　that　belt　of　industrious　population　which　adjoins　the　ocean。　　The　desert　cannot　be　explored　without　capital　or　credit；　and　the　body　must　be　accustomed　to　the　rigors　of　a　new　climate　before　it　can　be　exposed　to　the　chances　of　forest　life。　　It　is　the　Americans　themselves　who　daily　quit　the　spots　which　gave　them　birth　to　acquire　extensive　domains　in　a　remote　country。　Thus　the　European　leaves　his　cottage　for　the　trans…Atlantic　shores；　and　the　American；　who　is　born　on　that　very　coast；　plunges　in　his　turn　into　the　wilds　of　Central　America。　　This　double　emigration　is　incessant；　it　begins　in　the　remotest　parts　of　Europe；　it　crosses　the　Atlantic　Ocean；　and　it　advances　over　the　solitudes　of　the　New　World。　　Millions　of　men　are　marching　at　once　towards　the　same　horizon；　their　language；　their　religion；　their　manners　differ；　their　object　is　the　same。　The　gifts　of　fortune　are　promised　in　the　West；　and　to　the　West　they　bend　their　course。　*b
  ＇Footnote　b：　＇The　number　of　foreign　immigrants　into　the　United　States　in　the　last　fifty　years　（from　1820　to　1871）　is　stated　to　be　7；556；007。　　Of　these；　4；104；553　spoke　English　…　that　is；　they　came　from　Great　Britain；　Ireland；　or　the　British　colonies；　2；643；069　came　from　Germany　or　northern　Europe；　and　about　half　a　million　from　the　south　of　Europe。＇＇
  No　event　can　be　compared　with　this　continuous　removal　of　the　human　race；　except　perhaps　those　irruptions　which　preceded　the　fall　of　the　Roman　Empire。　Then；　as　well　as　now；　generations　of　men　were　impelled　forwards　in　the　same　direction　to　meet　and　struggle　on　the　same　spot；　but　the　designs　of　Providence　were　not　the　same；　then；　every　newcomer　was　the　harbinger　of　destruction　and　of　death；　now；　every　adventurer　brings　with　him　the　elements　of　prosperity　and　of　life。　　The　future　still　conceals　from　us　the　ulterior　consequences　of　this　emigration　of　the　Americans　towards　the　West；　but　we　can　readily　apprehend　its　more　immediate　results。　　As　a　portion　o