Perhaps you will say that there is no such science as that of justice.
If you do say this, by what right, or on what reason, do you proclaim
your intention "to do equal and exact justice to all men"? If there is
no science of justice, how do you know that there is any such principle
as justice? Or how do you know what is, and what is not, justice? If
there is no science of justice,--such as the people can learn and
understand for themselves,--why do you say anything about justice _to
them?_ Or why do you promise _them_ any such thing as "equal and exact
justice," if they do not know, and are incapable of learning, what
justice is? Do you use this phrase to deceive those whom you look upon
as being so ignorant, so destitute of reason, as to be deceived by idle,
unmeaning words? If you do not, you are plainly bound to let us all know
what you do mean, by doing "equal and exact justice to all men."
I can assure you, sir, that a very large portion of the people of this
country do not believe that the government is doing "equal and exact
justice to all men." And some persons are earnestly promulgating the
idea that the government is not attempting to do, and has no intention
of doing, anything like "equal and exact justice to all men"; that, on
the contrary, it is knowingly, deliberately, and wilfully doing an
incalculable amount of injustice; that it has always been doing this in
the past, and that it has no intention of doing anything else in the
future; that it is a mere tool in the hands of a few ambitious,
rapacious, and unprincipled men; that its purpose, in doing all this
injustice, is to keep--so far as they can without driving the people to
rebellion--all wealth, and all political power, in as few hands as
possible; and that this injustice is the direct cause of all the
widespread poverty, ignorance, and servitude among the great body of the
people.
Now, Sir, I wish I could hope that you would do something to show that
you are not a party to any such scheme as that; something to show that
you are neither corrupt enough, nor blind enough, nor coward enough, to
be made use of for any such purpose as that; something to show that when
you profess your intention "to do equal and exact justice to all men,"
you attach some real and definite meaning to your words. Until you do
that, is it not plain that the people have a right to consider you a
tyrant, and the confederate and tool of tyrants, and to get rid of you
as unceremoniously as they would of any other tyrant?