Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - XI. The Government of Finland and its Future
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as not yet even completely known, full of great natural
difficulties, but still with considerable possibilities;
and where access, for instance, to the ice-free northern
ports would be of importance. In various ways the
rulers might assist the honest, patient, tenacious, and
sometimes really heroic efforts of the people. We
need not lay stress on the absolute necessity for a
national, independent and free development. Those
rulers are in reality the strongest, and accomplish the
most, who work with their people. And no people are
more willing to co-operate heartily with their rulers
than the Finns.
We all know the saying of Montesquieu that those
countries are the richest which are the best governed,
and not those which have the best natural conditions.
It is, however, less true now than formerly. At
present the central government in the most highly
developed country has less influence than formerly,
compared to local administration, and especially to the
free efforts of individuals. In the United States we
have seen parts of the country, especially some large
cities, which have had the very worst administration,
but where the whole situation and the general progress
has thereby been influenced only in a small degree. Like
hard natural conditions, a bad government may, in some
respects, even be a stimulus. Still the influence of
the government must always be enormous for good or
for evil in a country like Finland.
As regards the present situation, we are
compelled to ask, not only what good the government
might do, but also what power of resistance the people
have against its evil acts. In some respects the
people had no need of modern arts to be able to
resist. This is the case where it is a question of the
conservation of nationality, and especially of language.
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