512 i^e, Privileges and Prejudices of the Farmer. 
Why sKould the life of the farmer be one of perpetual hard la- 
bor? There is no necessity for it. That he must be industrious, 
I will concede, and so should all men be, but he should not be a 
slave to the denial of all privileges of an intellectual nature. He 
can graduate his hands so as to take more or less time to himself 
weekly, for reading and study, and thereby cultivate a taste for 
books, the arts and sciences, and break the monotony of heavy 
toil, by a change that will greatly sweeten life, by adding to his 
knowledge and enriching his mind. A brief time daily at morn- 
ing, noon or evening, devoted to books, will soon render a man 
familiar with almost any branch of education. It is truly sur- 
prising to see how many branches a man can learn, if he will 
give attention to it. If one-fourth part of the time which our 
formers and mechanics spend idly, should be devoted to study, the 
improvement consequent upon it would surprise those who would 
pursue the course for a short time. 
Our country, our government, our institutions, are all calcu- 
lated for the recognition of our laboring classes as the privileged 
ones of the people. They are the source of our wealth and 
strength. Let them become educated, and our country may then 
be envied above all others on earth. We may then be truly called 
a great, a powerful, and an enlightened nation. But whilst the 
thousands and tens of thousands tillers of our soil remain ignorant 
or stand indifferent to intellectual and literary improvement, and 
numbers will set perching upon the reputation of their calling, 
and the agriculture of our country will be kept far in the back- 
ground of the standing and prosperity it shold realize in the in- 
dustrial pursuits of nations. An observer of the changes that 
come over the moral, social and literary conditions of a people, 
when he casts an eye over the world at this time, behold the yeo- 
manry of this country far in advance of that of any other country 
in intelligence and moral standing; and not only this, but he can 
also see a oreat change in gradual progress of advancement in a 
social and literary point of view. We must not expect too rapid 
a progress. We are a great people, and the popular mind is 
like a mighty sea, which is not to be moved too hastily, but may 
by gentle, steady influences be turned into a current to run as 
wisdom and prudence shall dictate, and honor and prosperity shall 
require. We have cause to feel a pride in our country and her 
institutions, which no other country can feel; and this because our 
country is free, and its safety, wealth and prosperity are in the 
hands of the common and laboring classes of the people, rather 
than in those of an aristocratical few. Esto perpetua. 
