and the railroad, the steamboat and the steamcar 

 offer their facilities for the transportation of com- 

 modities. Remote extremes are thus brought near. 

 The mountain and the valley, the river and the 

 lake, are alike easily passed, as if by the power of 

 magic. The rapid currents of the great rivers of 

 the West are ascended by the power of steam, with 

 almost the speed of the race horse. Journeys, that 

 required months for their accomplishment, are now 

 performed in as many days. New Orleans and St. 

 Louis, Detroit and Passamaquoddie, Boston and Pra- 

 ire du Chin, which were once regarded as at almost 

 impassable distances, are now, for the purposes of 

 business, neighbors. The certainty of arrival and 

 departure, and the ease and expedition of these 

 modern modes of conveyance, are of incalculable 

 value to the man of business, and greatly promote 

 the general prosperity of our country. 



No flight of imagination is, perhaps, too bold, to 

 anticipate our increase in numbers, and wealth, and 

 power, and national resources, during the current 

 half century. The ratio of multiplication, large as 

 it is, will probably increase, rather than diminish. 

 The facilities for sustaining a dense population are 

 daily multiplying in the Atlantic states, and every 

 acre that is reclaimed at the West, and South West, 

 adds to the means of support. Every newly culti- 

 vated foot of ground, every loom, or spindle, in- 

 creases the national wealth. Every yard of canvass y 

 that floats in the breezes, and every ton of shipping, 

 that swims on the waters of the ocean, contribute to 

 swell the aggregate fund. Is it too much, then, for 

 a sanguine imagination, indeed, is it too much for 



