216 [Assembly 



n g them ; and when she came so near that the noise of her paddles 

 and machinery were heard, they, if the newspapers of the times be 

 true, in some instances shrunk beneath their decks, while others left 

 their vessels to go ashore, and therie besought Providence to protect 

 them from the horrible monster which was marching on the, tides, and 

 lighting its paths by the fire which it vomited. 



' Fulton himself was a passenger on this voyage, and in an account 

 of it which he published, slates that he left this ciiy at one o'clock on 

 Monday, and arrived at Clermont, the seat of Chancellor Livingston, 

 at one o'clock on Tuesday — time 24 hours, distance 110 miles. On 

 Wednesday he departed from the Chancellor's at nine in the morning, 

 and arrived at Albany at five o'clock in the afternoon, distance 40 

 miles, time eight hours ; completing the journey by the steam engine 

 alone in ihirty-two hours, equal to nearly five miles an hour." 



When we compare these singular facts with those we have more 

 singularly realised at the present day, we have reason to pause at the 

 rapidity of our success ; and could Fulton himself again return to the 

 earth, and witness the rapid performances of the steam palaces at this 

 age, he might be prompted to smile at the dawn of a project which he 

 probably never supposed would have surpassed the glory of the noon- 

 day. And whatever may be said of the ingratitude of republicans, we 

 at least have no hesitation in expressing our belief, that if the merits 

 and services of Fulton were not sufficiently appreciated in his own 

 day, the time has at length arrived when his memory finds a cherished 

 home in the bosom of every friend of national industry. 



We have thus far alluded to the life and accomplishments of Robert 

 Fulton, to fortify us in the assurance that the mechanic arts open as 

 clear a field to an imperishable fame as the pursuits of those who adorn 

 the hignest seats of professional learning ; and although the financial 

 policy of Alexander Hamilton was of invaluable importance subse- 

 quent to the revolution, nevertheless the fact is admissible, that the 

 genius of Franklin, and the practical and mechanical knowledge which 

 originated with De Witt Chnton, were infinitely superior. 



The prosperity of our commerce grows with the growth and in- 

 creases with the strength of America. For intelligence and influence 

 it is scarcely necessary to say, that our merchants rank with every na- 

 tion of the globe, while our mechanic arts assume an enviable posi- 

 tion, when held in comparison with the best labor of other countries. 

 "With the finished vessels hourly sailing from our ports, with their 



