376 



In some parts of Europe, the liusbandman is but a serf, a bondman ; 

 in other parts, he is regarded as a mere dependant. As a class, the 

 farmers of Europe are ignorant of many of the practical and useful im- 

 provements which are being made in agriculture and the arts, in the new 

 world. Purposely kept in ignorance by their rulers — seldom allowed 

 to participate in the affairs of government — it is not strange they should 

 prove wanting to a considerable extent in self-respect and manhood; 

 nor is it strange that they should labor unremittingly to fill the coffers 

 of those they call masters, while they receive but a tithe of then- hard 

 earnings. But here in our own country, we call no man master. Here, 

 intelligence, virtue and industry, are the only true standards by which to 

 estimate the man. 



The unexampled facilities afforded by our system of common schools, 

 places all upon an equality, so far as opportunities for educating the 

 mind are concerned ; and it is with pride I say it, the working men of 

 our country during the last half-century, have shown themselves keenly 

 alive to those advantages which their own foresightedness has created. 

 As a class they certainly occupy the front rank in the country, for tal- 

 ent, respectability and usefulness ; yet, within the recollection of many 

 of you, there was a time when it was deemed degrading to labor with 

 the hands — when the poor man, though possessed of a mind, and of 

 literary acquirements, which a Burke or Brougham might be proud of, 

 was not permitted to enter the arena and battle for fame upon an equal 

 footing with his more opulent competitor. The time was when the far- 

 mer and the mechanic in poor or middling circumstances deemed a 

 place behind a mercliaut's counter, in a lawyer's or doctor's office, the 

 only ones fitted to develop the mind and improve the talent of his more 

 promising sons. 



But things have changed for the better, and are changing still. Ca- 

 pacity in the poor man is now as much regarded as in the rich. The 

 sphere of his usefulness is no longer confined to the store and office; 

 it is extended to a wider one — to one better calculated to draw out the 

 power of body and nJind. That sphere is the farm and mechanic 

 shop. 



From the circumstances which surround our countrymen, a great ma- 

 jority of them will continue to derive their living and their profits from 

 agricultural pursuits. 



