ADDRESS 



Of the Hon. James Dixon, of Hartford, Ct., delivered 

 before the American Institute, Oct. 21, 1852. 



AMERICAN INDUSIUY, 



Mr. President end Gentlemen of the Institute — Permit me, sir, to 

 congratulate you personally, on the. prosperous condition in which 

 you to-day find the institution, founded a quarter of a century 

 ago, by yourself and your fellow laborers in the cause of Ameri- 

 can industry. From small beginnings, it has grown, under your 

 auspices, to he truly national in ifs influence and initsmagrttude, 

 -and you may now have the pleasure of beholding throughout our 

 country, exhibitions of a similar character, cf which yours was 

 the forerunner and the parent. 



To you, gentlemen, I beg leave also to offer my cordial con- 

 gratulations, that ou this twenty-fifth anniversary of your exist- 

 ence, your chair is again occupied and honored by the distin- 

 guished president of the American Institute. 



The prominent idea which impresses the mind of the spectator 

 of your exhiLition, is the wonderful advance of our country in. 

 the industrial arts. The skill, the enterprise, the invention of a 

 great nation, competent to create within itself all that necessity 

 may demand or luxury desire, have arrested the gratified atten- 

 tion of thousands. The triumphs of art, the wonders of science, 

 prove that while our territorial boundaries have been extended 

 by conquest, the heart of the nation is at the same time alive with 

 a prosperous and healthy growth. 



I desire for a single moment to turn your thoughts from the 

 contemplation of this display of the successful industry and Inge- 

 nuity of a powerful and advancing people, to an occasion which 

 freseuted a far different impression of our national greatness, and 



