64 



Meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society of England. Vol. V. 



with Great Britain, upon terms compatible 

 with the rights and honour of both. He re- 

 joiced in having had it in his power to attend 

 upon the present occasion ; for, besides the 

 opportunity it afforded him of witnessing pro- 

 ceedings so congenial to his feelings, it ena- 

 bled him to express in person his sense of the 

 honour which the vSociety had done him, in 

 electing him one of its honorary members. 

 In such an assembly it would be needless to 

 expatiate on the subject of agriculture and 

 its claims to support ; he, however, felt a dis- 

 position to throw out one or two suggestions 

 which might not be unworthy of considera- 

 tion. All concurred in assigning to agricul- 

 ture a high place in the scale of individual 

 and national interests, but yet he thought 

 they did not give it the importance it merited, 

 and to which it justly aspired — in other words, 

 that too many supposed *he object of agricul- 

 ture was alone for purposes of subsistence. 

 Now, a more fallacious opinion could not ob- 

 tain, than that the responsibilities of agricul- 

 ture stopped at the production of food for 

 eaters'. — The duties of agriculture were like 

 those of morals, they spread beyond the cir- 

 cle of providing the means of subsistence, 

 into a wide expanse, created by the obliga- 

 tions arising out of a state of society, and 

 were connected with all the great national 

 interests. Hence the support of government, 

 the encouragement of commerce, the basis 

 of trade, the subsistence of the learned pro- 

 fessions, depend upon the importance and 

 interests of agriculture ; it was the source 

 from which not only all classes derive sub- 

 sistence, but prosperity. As an object of 

 universal benefit, then, it was justly entitled 

 to universal patronage. 



Agriculture had been justly considered na- 

 tional property ; the whole country was one 

 great farm, and the inhabitants as one great 

 family, in which, however, those who worked 

 the least had often the most profit. Now, if 

 this were true, as he believed it to be to a 

 certain extent, then those who were not farm- 

 ers, had still as deep an interest as the tarmcr 

 himself, inasmuch as the whole class employed 

 in agricultural districts and labour were the 

 first to be subsisted, and that of the other 

 classes out of the surplus — and, of course, the 

 larger the surplus the greater would be the 

 profit : this was a selfish argument it might be 

 said, but yet he thought it not the less strong. 



Of all the modes that had been resorted to 

 in aid of agriculture, the most beneficial were 

 associations of this cliaracter — societies for 

 the collection and diffusion of knowledge, the 

 introduction of useful experiments, the writ- 

 ings of able and distinguished men, and the 

 emulation so essential to all improvement. 

 Science was absolutely necessary to modern 

 agriculture; theory and practice reflected 



light upon each other, and this was the more 

 felt as, of all pursuits, there was no class so 

 wedded to old habits which were so unyield- 

 ing, as those who cultivate the soil ; and this 

 was the case in the new world as well as the 

 old. He rejoiced, therefore, in the giant 

 strides which agriculture was making in 

 every quarter of the globe, under the benefi- 

 cial aids of practical science : this was one 

 of the great benefits which this Society would 

 accomplish, and if any man doubted the ex- 

 tent to which science had benefited agricul- 

 ture, let him visit England and Scotland. 

 And why was it so? Simply, because its sur- 

 face was cultivated upon principles which 

 were brought to the test of rapid and severe 

 experiment ; because agriculture was scien- 

 tifically and philosophically pursued, and be- 

 cause she had such excellent farmers. If a 

 foreigner wished to know what England 

 really was, he must go into the country and 

 mix with her farmers and yeomanry. It had 

 been said, he believed by one of the princes 

 of the reigning family, that the pride of Eng- 

 land was her yeomanry — he re-echoed the 

 sentiment, and he was happy to belong, when 

 at home, to that class — not to the proud dis- 

 tinction of being an American citizen, but 

 that of being a farmer. Who could look 

 upon such an assembly as this without feeling 

 himself elevated and gratified ! They saw 

 there all classes united in this great work — 

 the wise, the good, the public and the private 

 man ; those who filled high places, mixing 

 with the farmers and cultivators of the soil 

 upon perfect equality, and the spirit of peace 

 and charity shedding around a holy calm, re- 

 freshing alike to the feelings and to the intel- 

 lect ! It was upon this Society, and its wide- 

 spreading and far-extending purposes, that 

 the eyes of Europe and America were now 

 fixed witli a steady gaze, and he trusted there 

 would be no disappointment of their ardent 

 hopes ! Viewed in relation to their own coun- 

 try, there was every motive for supporting it, 

 but viewed in relation to its effects upon other 

 nations — as has been justly said — the motive 

 for exertion rose into a much higher and 

 nobler sentiment ; it became then the cause, 

 not of their country or his, but that of man- 

 kind ! And who was so poor or sordid in spi- 

 rit, as to think only of himself or of his coun- 

 try, when the great question was, whether 

 the earth should be inhabited and cultivated 

 by enlightened and virtuous and religious 

 men, or by debased and ignorant human be- 

 ings and hordes of savages? In concluding, 

 the honourable gentleman said, he could only 

 repeat his thanks for the kindness and honour 

 done him, and his best wishes for the success of 

 their association ; he trusted that it might fulfil 

 its high purposes, do honour to its founders, and 

 benefit mankind throughout the universe." 



