State Agricultural Society. 119 



evil instruction witli whicli it has been treated. The basis of man's 

 moral responsibility, and his iuturc condition, has been made to 

 assume .so horrid and realistic a form that the natural mental rebound 

 has induced a skepticism which prevents all just examination. In 

 politics and j)olitical science we have been still more uniortunate. 



One who has no knowledge of finance, nor of the science or history 

 of fj;overnment, if he is known to be a man without principle and is 

 of evil rei)utation, if he can make a good i)olitical speech, is thought 

 a projjcr person to enlighten peoi)le hungry for solid instruction as 

 to public measures, and the political, moral considerations under- 

 lying them. 



We are told an anecdote when we want a reason, regaled with a 

 conjecture or a guess when we are praying for a fact, and when all 

 else fails, there is an endless fund of pitiable insinuation, falsehoods 

 and evasions, by which we are supposed to be fully enabled to sup- 

 port the dignity of manhood and to discharge the duties of citizen- 

 ship. 



AVe ask ouf leaders for an egg, and they give us a .stone; for a fi.sh, 

 and they give us a serpent. Even our grave assemblies, that assume 

 to utter our thoughts and give expression to our intentions, get up in 

 detail schedules of principles, and platforms of opinion, and creeds, 

 and justify their shameless abandonment of them on the ground that 

 they were intended simply as decoys, or to use a phrase furnished to 

 my hand, they were " molasses to catch flies with." 



What wonder can there be that masses of men, whose self-respect 

 has been thus lowered, whose confidence has been thus abused, whose 

 honor has been thus outraged, made to appear like those to whom 

 the phrase "liar and thief" would be complimentary, should revolt 

 from their old associations, and go anywliere in search of an appor- 

 tunity of truthful self-assertion and justification? 



One in.stance of these fallacious teachings I will mention. I do 

 not desire to elevate railroads to any disproportionate importance, 

 but the objectionable proposition was an important one. Tliere was 

 a question made before our last Legislature as to the power of rail- 

 roads to change their tracks, and it was proi^osed to prevent such 

 change except upon legislative leave. It looked to an indilferent 

 observer that some thought there was money in the question in the 

 sales of these powers or indulgences. In support of this bill it was 

 urged by two distinguished gentlemen of the Assembly, that after 

 having made the road-bed and i)ut the rails down, that the structure 

 became not only a common highway, but that the title to all the road 

 and all its api)urtenances passed to the public in the condition it 

 then was. Under this claim, while the public itself was under no 

 obligation to repair the track from the efi'ect of accident or wear, the 

 corporation would have no right to alter the structure in any respect, 

 to take out or replace a rail, or if the track was carried away by flood 

 it could not be more .securely located. If the corporation built a 

 temporary track around a hill while it was driving a tunnel through 

 it, there would be no right to take up the temi)orary track after it 

 became u.seless. In short, they could do nothing involving change, 

 however pressing the exigency, without legislative consent. These 

 legislators did not consider it necessary to inform their constituents 

 that these notions were without any support among legal authorities, 

 nor did they seem to consider that older law — thou shalt not steal, 

 thou shalt not covet anything which is thy neighbor's — as being yet 



