No. 124] 181 



country 1 He would say that there were the most abundant proofs 

 that we can do so. He adverted to the fact that in the early history 

 of the country this had been demonstrated. The culture of silk was 

 well known in the Colonies (now the United States,) before the Revo- 

 lution. Georgia, Virginia and Pennsylvania, had successf'^lly de- 

 monstrated its feasibility. New-England, also, had even then done 

 the same : and far-seeing men of that time, such as Dr. Franklin, 

 Dr. Styles, President of Yale College, and others interested patrioti- 

 cally in the subject, had done much towards the promotion of the 

 business. 



From 1740 to 1790 hundreds of pounds of excellent silk were 

 grown in the southern, middle, and New-England States : and in the 

 old town of Mansfield Conn., the business became permanently es- 

 tablished, and has continued to the present day. 



But the question very naturally and very properly, here comes up, 

 How did it happen that it w^as generally abandoned 1 My answer is, 

 that the population of the country was sparse — the Revolution com- 

 ing on, of course, broke up the business for the time — and the people 

 of the south became absorbed in the cotton culture. But the owe, 

 the greatj the all -controlling obstacle, was the want of a home mar- 

 ket for cocoons and raw silk. Such a market was not created, be- 

 cause the popular sentiment of the country was opposed to home 

 manufacture^ of every kind. The reieived doctrine of the country, 

 even down to 1816, was that we w^ere to be an agricultural, and a 

 commercial, but not a manufacturing people. 



But the tariff law of 1816 settled the policy of the country in 

 favor of domestic manufactures. A new order of things came up. 

 The cotton business soon became fully established. Then the woollen 

 business, under subsequent modifications of the tariff, became es- 

 tablished. And thus, a manufacturing spirit^ as the spirit of the 

 country, was generated. We no longer heard the old song, that ag- 

 riculture and trade were the only pursuits befitting our circumstan- 

 ces and our genius as a people. 



In this way the whole silk question, growing and manufacturing, 

 was again called up, as a permanent branch of American industry. 

 As early as 1826, Congress began to call public attention to the sub- 

 ject, and between that date and 1838, several documents of great 

 value were issued by that body. Several of the States issued similar 

 documents, and offered also liberal bounties upon cocoons and raw 

 silk. 



But the cause has had peculiar difficulties to surmount : some 

 growing out of the nature of the business itself, as a new business — 

 some out of the prejudices of the ignorant — some out of the indiscre- 

 tions of its friends — still more out of the operations of unprincipled 

 speculators in mulberry trees. 



Yet the progress of the business has been onward, especially for 

 the last two or three years. To prove this, he would send the au- 

 ditory to that part of the gardens in which the silk manufactures 

 were exhibited. He would send them also the returns of our State 

 treasurers ; showing the increasing bounties paid out from year to 



