I'Uill.lSilKI) ItV GKO. n. I5AIIRETT, NO. 52, NORTH IHAIIKKT STIIERT, (at thk Ac.ricui.turai. Warhhousk.)— T. <i. RESSENDRPt. KDI'IOK. 



Vol. \ri. 



IJOSTON, WKDNKSDAV EVBNING, JANUARY 22, 1834. 



NO. 28. 



THK HON. .11 1I..1'. STROKC* S ADDRESS, 



Delivered brfore the. Worcester Jtgr. Society, Oct. '■ Ik, \6A1 

 [Pu'il shcil in tlm N. E. FiirmiT ai Urn request ufilio Trustcus.J 



(tUNCI.UOKU FIJOM PACK 21' .) 



Another source of eneniiriigeiuenl ;i in I muse nl 

 coiifriani liil ion in the Now England tinnier is, the 

 measures wliieli have lieeu adopted by the govern- 

 liii-ui, mill which ii i:-. hoped will lie continued, to 

 furnish to iti<- furiner a market for his produce. I 

 do not mean lo go extensively into the subject. Ii 

 would occupy too miieli lime and woulil lie railn i 

 inappropriate here. I iniist lie permitted to say, 

 however, that in my view, notwithstanding tin 

 conflicting opinions upon this Sllhjeet, and the va- 

 rious plausible arguments used by the opponents 

 of what is railed the American System, there ran 

 be no douht that protection to American industry, 

 to n certain extent, ami perhaps to the extent to 

 whieh it has heen carried by the government, i:- 

 highly beneficial to the farmer. — I consider fact us 

 B heller test of truth than theory, the actual ivsull 

 of an experiment as heller evidence than the linn. 

 retic result predicted. The farmer, aecnr ling to 

 the course of reasoning ailopleil hy the advocates 

 of fin: trade, ought to he poor, embarrassed, -and 

 rapidly progressing to ruin. ]!ut the fact is other- 

 wise. Never was the fanner in a more prosperous 

 state ; never had he more cause for congratulation 

 at the favorable prospect of' his affairs than at the 

 present moment, with the exception of the period 

 from the latter part of the last century lo the veal 

 1S15, at which last lime the general warsoi Eu- 

 rope ceased. The causes of his prosperity during 

 that period are apparent. They were extraordi- 

 nary causes, originating and continued by die 

 movements of oilier nations, anil entirely indepen- 

 dent of the agency or policy of our own govern- 

 ment, except the wise policy whieh was adopted, 

 during the greater part of this period, of preserv- 

 ing our neutrality, and thereby enabling us to real- 

 ize all i he advantages of those extraordinary causes. 

 Does the protection of American industry increase, 

 extend, ami improve our manufactures ? No one 

 doubts ibis. Does the increase, extension and im- 

 provement of in inn fact u res benefit the fanner? 

 Instead of consulting the writers upon political 

 economy upon this subject ; instead of poring over 

 their books, to ascertain' what is meant hy ihe 

 balance of trade, and the measures necessary to 

 obtain and preserve it ; instead of reading their 

 sanguine predictions of the universal prosperity ol 

 the world, if there was a universal freedom ol 

 trade ; instead of consulting their works, fur I he 

 purpose of determining when and how, and hy 

 what political rules and regulations the farmer 

 ought to lie rich and prosperous, ami when and 

 how, ami hy what political rules ami regulations 

 he ought to he poor and depressed ; instead ol 

 yielding your assent to the fine spun and plausible 

 theory, that when a farmer p lys more for an arti- 

 cle of manufacture to his neighbor than the same 

 article could be furnished to him from a foreign 

 country, he is necessarily a loser to the amount ol 

 the difference ; — go ami view the manufacturing 

 villages, go and view the farms which surround 



them, ami let the qiieslion be decided as • ol 



fact and not of theory. When you see the uni- 

 versal prosperity which reigns there ; when you 



si' the firms within a wide circuit around these 

 villages brightening upas it were by the happy in- 

 fluence of ilu-se establishments ; when you see new 

 farm houses erected, or old ones improved; when 

 vim see new land brought into cultivation, and oh! 

 lauds producing greater and more abundant crops; 

 ibeir houses more richly furnished, the inmates 

 better clothed and fed ; and hud the farmer's item 

 in his invoice given in to the assessors of " mo dim 

 at interest more than be pays interest for" greatly 

 increased, you may be entirely satisfied that the 

 farmer is prosperous and happy, and that bis pros- 

 perity is occasioned by the protection of American 

 industry, though accorMng to the books he ought lo 

 he entirely the reverse — | r, embarrassed, de- 

 pressed. This influence is not confined to the im- 

 mediate vicinity of the manufacturing establish- 

 ment. It operates to a greater or less extern 

 ihruughout the whole country ; more to he sure in 

 ihe immediate vicinity, and less on the fanner 

 who is removed to a greater distance. It gins a 

 life and activity to business; creates a demand for 

 a great variety of agricultural products, and labor 

 of almost every various description. It extends 

 us influence directly or iudirectly to almost all the 

 business of ihe community ; and though the farmer 

 may have lo pay more for particular articles than 

 if the same article was furnished from a foreign 

 country, (.though this even is a matter of doubt as 

 to many articles with respect to which this asser- 

 tion is confidently made,) ihe numerous advan- 

 tages whieh lie receives much moie than compen- 

 sate this increase of price. Let not then any dis- 

 trust or jealousy arise between ihe farmer and the 

 manufacturer, or between ihe fanner and the 

 merchant. Their interest is your interest. Their 

 prosperity is your prosperity. The three, each 

 and every one, mutually, support and encourage 

 each other; and neither can flourish or be depress- 

 ed without affecting the others. 



Another source of encouragement and subject 

 of congratulation to the New England farmer, is 

 ihe free and happy government under which he 

 lives. This subject is a trite one, and may seem 

 inappropriate to ibis occasion, and more befitting 

 our annual political jubilee. I do not mean to say 

 much upon this subject. Uut surely the intelli- 

 gent, mural ami religious farmer, will permit me 

 just to call bis attention to this subject ; merely to 

 allude to the happy and enviable siiiialion in which 

 he is placed in this respect, to enkindle anew in Ids 

 heart, and in ihe hearts of us all, that fervor ol 

 gratitude which we all owe lo God, m our ances- 

 tors ihe pilgrims, and to our patriotic fellow coun- 

 trymen, who were the more immediate agents in 

 ihe establishment of our political institutions. I 

 have already noticed the tenures hy which yen 

 hold your lands, as compared with those of other 

 countries, and also your exemption from tithes. 

 Jim, the whole structure of our government, all 

 mir institutions, are calculated to give the greatesi 

 possible encouragement to the farmer, so far us a 

 government, so far as political institutions hear 

 upon and in any way affect him. Your titles to 

 your lands are as secure as good laws, and a faith- 

 ful administration of those laws, can make them ; 

 and the produce of your labor, the products of 

 your farms, are secured to your use in the same 



manner. The only burden which ihe government 

 imposes upon you, is merely your fair proportion 

 nf the necessary expenses for supporting those 

 valuable instiiuiions, in which you have ihe deep- 

 i st interest, and which are established for the sole 

 purpose of promoting the greatest good of the 

 whole community. To bring the subject more 

 prominently to view, to see it in its true light, to 

 bring it out in hold relief, contrast your situation 

 wiih that of the farmer in the country from which 

 our ancestors emigrated ; a country boasting of its 

 superiority over all the countries of the old world, 

 in the freedom of jis government and the wisdom 

 of its institutions. Entailments, tithes, tases, di- 

 rect and indirect, in every possible form, and game 

 laws, are a few among the many burdens, restric- 

 tions, embarrassments and discouragements of the 

 farmer there ; calculated to make a portion of the 

 community rich and another portion poor. And 

 while "Ihe firmer there is snuggling with almost 

 every burden, difficulty, restriction and embarrass- 

 ment, you are perfectly free, not only with respect 

 lo the government, but in the cultivation and man- 

 agement of your land, and the appropriation of its 

 products. Let not ibis subject hear lightly upon 

 your minds and make but a slight and transient 

 impression, but let it sink deep into your hearts 

 and have all abiding influence upon your conduct. 

 In what nation on the face of the earth is the situ- 

 ation of ihe farmer to he compared with yours? 

 Where, else, can he found a class of farmers who 

 hold . . n lands by a perfect and absolute title and 

 unencumbered with any species of tenancy, and 

 have no other burdens imposed upon them than 

 [heir fair proportion of the expenses of supporting 

 a government of their own choice ? Where else 

 call be found a class of persons who are not o[s- 

 pressed with the burden of supporting ihe extrav- 

 agant, and to a considerable, if not a great extent, 

 useless system of a monarchy, an aiistocracy, or 

 uf an overgrown and bloated church establish- 

 ment ? Where else can a class of farmers he 

 found, where their legal rights, their lives, per- 

 sonal liberty and properly, are secured lo them hy 

 laws so simple and so particularly adapted to their 

 situation ? No such legal refinements here, ha 

 constituted the machinery of the law in the feudal 

 ages, ami semi-barbarous limes. The useless re- 

 finements, the prolixity, the mysticism, and io 

 some cases the absurdity even, of the system of 

 conveyaiiey ; the legal title, and the legal remedies 

 of our ancestors ; and which even now to a great 

 extent prevail in England, are here almost entirely 

 abolished ; and the legislature is almost annually alr- 

 rogatiug, or ameliorating the little of this descrip- 

 tion which may remain. We are too prone to dis- 

 regard and forget our greatest blessings, especially 

 when they are made secure and permanent, either 

 from their own nature, or by the exertions or in- 

 stitutions of men. Who that properly appreciates 

 ihe influence and use of the sun in his daily course? 

 who that realizes the utility of the simple element 

 of water iii its abundant supply to our necessities 

 and comforts and luxuries ? and what person among 

 you suitably notices and recognizes with appropri- 

 ate gratitude the distinguished blessings, as re- 

 spects him and his interests, of our government 

 and laws? 



