m 



Mr. Butler's Discourse. 



To what new uses it is hereafter to be applied, no one can 

 foretell ; though we may reasonably conclude that it will be 

 extended to many practical purposes which have not yet been 

 attempted. 



But who can foresee its consequences on society, in its ap- 

 plication to those arts which formerly required the labors of 

 innumerable men, horses and oxen, all of whom were to be 

 subsisted whilst performing, at immense expense, operations 

 which the steam engine accomplishes, as it were, at a single 

 stroke ? Or who can foretell its ultimate consequences on the 

 intercourse of nations in peace, or on maritime warfare and 

 other modes of annoyance or defence, in war ? We already 

 find that by rendering navigable many of our numerous rivers, 

 which would otherwise have flowed on with little or no bene- 

 fit to mankind, it has changed the face of this quarter of the 

 globe ; and that by bringing into comparative proximity the 

 most remote portions of the union, it has not only facilitated 

 all the means of inter-communication, and dispensed ten thou- 

 sand blessings to our people, but has actually removed, what 

 was considered by the founders of our republic, one of the 

 most formidable objections to its perpetuity — I mean the dan- 

 gers anticipated from the immense extent of our territory. 



We see also, from this example, how intimate and wonder- 

 ful is the connexion between the various branches of science — 

 this improvement in mechanics bearing with great effect on the 

 science of government, and tending, in our case, to give 

 strength and permanence to our free institutions. 



Thus much for the general history of this wonder-working 

 agent. The history of each of its particular operations, is 

 equally calculated to excite our admiration in view of the past, 

 and to encourage our expectations in reference to the future. 

 The first steam-boat that plied on the Hudson, after the com- 

 plete establishment of the invention, performed her passages 

 from New- York to Albany, in an average of from thirty-two 

 to thirty-four hours — a result then deemed, (and justly too) 

 one of the most splendid triumphs of genius and art recorded 

 in the annals of our species. Aware of the disadvantages at- 

 tending a first experiment, it was naturally expected that 

 when a second passage boat, came to be constructed, her speed 



