RESOURCES OF MASSACHUSETTS. 39 



The founders of the State had suffered much from the bad 

 government of their native land, and especially from the 

 caprice of monarchs. They sought, therefore, to protect 

 themselves here from the evils of personal rule, by placing 

 p.round their magistrate councillors whose advice and consent 

 must be obtained before any important measure could be 

 passed or any important office filled, either in city or State. 

 These councillors are now chosen at the same time that the 

 governor is elected, and are like him responsible to the peo- 

 ple only. This principle was carried by the founders of the 

 State into all their administrations. 



Herein is our safety as a communitj'', and from this comes 

 our freedom from fraud and peculation which have been so 

 rife in other Commonwealths. The danger to liberty in any 

 nation comes from the one-man power. This was fully 

 understood by our fothers, and let us see to it that under no 

 pretence shall the power of any high executive office be 

 increased. The inquiry will be made, doubtless : What has 

 all this to do with fiirmino^? The answer is that nothino- is 

 more necessary to insure the prosperity of the farmer than a 

 stable and economical government. In other occupations the 

 product of labor is immediate. The merchant and manufac- 

 turer get their returns usually twice in the 3'ear, but the 

 farmer can have only one chance for a profit. He must lay 

 the foundation of his business by annual outlaw's for many 

 years, by clearing off" forests, reducing the soil to a suitable 

 condition for planting crops, in setting out orchards and 

 draining and improving the land for the cultivation of grasses. 

 Though the return for his labor is sure it is slow, and disor- 

 der and disturbance are ruin to him. 



If there is a political commotion and frequent change in the 

 government, he is the first to suffer, for his property is visible 

 and subject to inroads, and at any rate, to the full burden of 

 taxation. His prosperity' is assured only in peace and order, 

 and extravagance in public affiiirs is felt by him most keenly. 

 For these reasons the tarming community are careful in the 

 public expenditure and alive to the public interest. 



All honor to them for the public spirit always exhibited, 

 and never more conspicuously than in the great rebellion. 



Essential to a farmer's success is a thorough knowledge 



