But of such is the kingdom of civilservice reform! The one grand idea which actuated the earliest settlers of the American wilderness was the desire to escape from irresponsible hereditary power. from class rulers. from a government which could not be changed if bad and oppressive without revolutionary violence. By tracing the history of the principal streams of emigration which constituted our colonial blood it will be observed that each one was seeking to escape from political or ecclesiastical oppression in one form or another for which there was no redress by peaceful or constitutional means. Their exodus in each case sprang from a strong desire "to make an offering to liberty in the wilderness which the stringency of power prevented them making at home." When the final rupture between them and the mother countrywas accomplished their chief desire was to lay the foundations of a new government in such principles as would forever relieve them and their descendants from the tfar of a recurrence of such oppressions. Their action in this regard was characterized by an insurmoun table opposition to hereditary political power in any shape and under any circumstances.
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emigration