the contrast in the civilization of the North and the South, from 

 our early history till to-day. In the language of Senator Dawes, 

 "With the township here, its vital force unimpaired, New 

 England can never become South Carolina or Mississippi, and 

 without the educating influence that comes of the town, neither 

 South Carolina nor Mississippi will ever become New England 

 in the enjoyment of liberty regulated by law. They are the 

 very corner-stone of republican institutions among us, and they or 

 their equivalent must take the place of that unorganized parish 

 system by which Southern plantation society is loosely linked 

 together, before a representative republic, in anything else than 

 name, can be maintained among them. The town is not 

 therefore to fade, but is to continue to be the nursery of intelli- 

 gent, untrammeled, thinking freemen, the source, the supply of 

 the government they themselves have instituted on this conti- 

 nent." My sympathies and efforts have long been enlisted in 

 behalf of the declining towns which most need help and encour- 

 agement. 



This is one source of my interest in the work of Rural 

 Improvement, now so widely diffused through the State. 

 Connecticut cannot afford to allow any of these old towns to 

 die out. Many of them have a noble history, and if we of the 

 present generation do our duty, they are to have a grand future. 

 A most encouraging history would be that fitly recording the 

 achievements of those who have gone out from these rural dis- 

 tricts which are thus continually enriching the great centers of 

 population and wealth. 



2. To quicken the intellectual life of the people is an 

 important aim of these associations. Besides the liberal 

 support of schools, the founding of libraries is an important 

 help in this direction which should be encouraged in all 

 our towns. Their value cannot be over-estimated. The sup- 

 ply of good books increases the demand. A taste for books 

 has been awakened in many towns by a well-selected library 

 where the improvement has been as marked in the quality 

 as in the quantity of the books read. Such a library natu- 

 rally becomes the pride and treasure of a town, rendering 

 it a more desirable place of residence, adding attractions to 

 every intelligent home within its limits, and helping both 



