MR. SALTONSTALL's ADDRESS. 21' 



a longer period than has been known for centuries, 

 has given men leisure to think of the miseries and 

 the wickedness of war, and to reflect on the count- 

 less blessings of peace. It has multiplied the honorable 

 pursuits of men. They see that agriculture and all the 

 arts which promote true civilization and ameliorate the 

 condition of man, have advanced more within the last 

 twenty-five years, than in the preceding century, and 

 that the condition of every nation has been improved. 

 We are no optimists — We know the infirmity of man, 

 and have no faith in his perfectibility, but the signs of 

 the times warrant us in hoping that the time will soon 

 come- — nay that it has come, when christian nations 

 will see to it, that wars shall be undertaken only in the 

 last resort, and from dire necessity — when the ambition 

 of man shall not be confined to military glory, falsely so 

 called, won at the expense of the lives of thousands of 

 our fellow beings, and the misery of more — when great 

 and wise men will aspire to have their names enrolled 

 among the benefactors of mankind ; those who have 

 led the way in benevolent enterprises, or who by use- 

 ful inventions or discoveries have contributed to the fa- 

 cility of labor and the comforts of life — when they shall 

 be ambitious of the fame of Watt and Arkwright, or of 

 our own Franklin, rather than the heartless and ruth- 

 less conquerors, ravagers of the earth, who have hith- 

 erto attracted the world's gaze and admiration. We 

 are no optimists, but we do hope — nay we believe — 

 that one scientific discovery, the application of steam 

 to transportation on the land and on the water, is 

 the master-power, which is destined to revolutionize 

 the civilized world. All experience shows, that mu- 

 tual intercourse between nations promotes, and indeed 

 is indispensable to, the progress of civilization and 

 true humanity. Let rail-roads run from nation to 

 nation, and the people of different countries associate 

 and hold intimate relations together, and it must 

 remove national prejudices and liberalize them all. 

 Let the passage between the capitals of England and 

 France be reduced to a few hours, and the generations 



