First Godkin Lecture Given

Mr. George Arthur Sedgwick '64 gave the first of the Godkin Lectures on "Some Unsettled Questions Relating to Popular Government," in Emerson D last evening. The special subject of the lecture was "The Operation of Government."

At the present time there is a great diversity in the theories of government, each authority having his own views. Professor Lowell closes his book with a warning against thinking that causes which have had certain results under one condition will have the same results under a different condition. Other authorities warn us against treating government as a machine. Government is, however, not only a branch of knowledge, but a branch of action. Since ancient times advance in the theory of government has been made equal to the advance of science. By observing the practical operation of government in foreign countries and by studying man and his motives we can find the requirements of an upright judiciary. The operation of government used to depend on force alone. What that system lacked was the recognition of the individual character.

The subject of the second lecture, to be given in Emerson D, tomorrow evening at 8 o'clock, will be "The Principle of Responsibility."