268 
MAGAZINE OF SCIENCE AND AKT. 
culture 18 , because the mechanical genius of mankind has 
never taken it in hand with determination; and while 
cotton and other goods have been reduced to a price that 
would astonish our forefathers there is no reason why 
our “individual selves" may not awake to an equal 
astonishment some ten or fifteen years hence, by seeing 
the same causes produce the same effects in the production 
of food, and see as great a stimulus to commerce and 
industry in its pnduction and distribution as has ever 
been eflectcd by power loom or spinning jenny. Hut 
apart from its character as an agent of pecuniary pros¬ 
perity as well as commercial activity, the effect of an 
abundance of the necessaries of life on the social character 
of mankind, of a good diet and an abundant supply of 
food on his physical and moral development, is not the 
least important consideration. Those who make this 
branch of knowledge their study inform us that those pro¬ 
minent traits, characteristic of different nations, are 
effected by food, climate, &c. ; food, however, is acknow¬ 
ledged to have a very prominent influence in the develop¬ 
ment of character. How great an agent, therefore, would 
be an abundant supply of food towards the extension of 
civilization and the moral and physical improvement of 
the race. One social result of the application of slcam to 
manufactures has been to put into operation a centripetal 
force, which draws together large bodies of individuals, 
and concentrates their habitations to a limit that is incon¬ 
sistent with the demands of nature or requirements of 
health. The extraordinary growth of towns and cities, 
especially manufacturing towns, a d those that have 
sprung from the requirements, faei'ities of locomotion, 
commerce, &c., that manufacturing Industry has given 
rise to, is attri'.iiltable to this source. The introduction of 
a system of agriculture, suited to the profitable employ¬ 
ment of n thoroughly practical steam plough, with the 
multiplication of duties that would ensue, as well as the 
extra amount of intelligence requisite to perform t cm, 
would counteract this centralising influence, and disperse 
the accumulated inhabitants of the cities to much more 
attractive localities. 
It will also bo observed that the onerous duties that the 
present system entails would ecr-c, and that the duties of 
the agriculturist would bo more attractive and healthy, 
and equally remunerative and social as that of the artizan. 
The most prominent events of the t.'ues seem point¬ 
ing to the absolute necessity of some aid to agriculture, 
for while the barbarous wilds of Africa are being gradually 
opened as a field for industry and the march of civilisa¬ 
tion, the great monopolies that have hitherto governed the 
destinies of India and China arc crumbling before the 
power of the commercial energy of the age. But where 
will bo the use of these tropical gardens without other 
power than the sinews of man to cultivate ? for we 
even now hear the whinings of many bewailing the eman¬ 
cipation of negro slavery, pronouncing it premature, and 
a sacrifice of common sense to sentiment, and advocating 
the absolute necessity of the slave for the thorough cul¬ 
tivation of those tropical climates already under the do¬ 
minion of the white man. 
Although we are led to believe, both by the proud 
eminence on which man is placed, as the most powerful 
and intelligent being in the creation, as well as by the 
revelation of holy writ, that everything in nature was 
intended to be subservient to his use, and as a means for 
accomplishing the great primary object, the maturity of 
his mental and physical qualities to the highest state of 
perfection - happiness, yet this is praitieally the last 
consideration that enters into our calculation with regard 
to the snccess of every new scheme. In fact, this is not 
the business light of the subject, and although its impor¬ 
tance is acquiesced in it is not realised but in the minds 
of few. It is like the Maine liquor law, all acquiesce in 
the advisability of Its adoption, but no one individual is 
willing to be bound by its restrictions: a principle, how¬ 
ever, has been embodied in the construction of the moral 
laws of our nature by which the promotion of indivi¬ 
dual acquisition is secured towards furthering a general 
advancement. In looking at the probable result of 
greatly multiplying the necessaries of life all other consi¬ 
derations sink before that of its political influence, and 
that of extending more particularly the birthright of 
liberty, intelligence, and a rational amount of leisure to 
that class over whose shortcomings both preachers and 
laymen are engaged in continual discussion—the labouring 
classes. In looking at the political progress of the age it 
is not a very common tiring to hear our success attributed 
to any physical power. Vet it remains in reasonable 
doubt whether the present extension of political free¬ 
dom enjoyed in our country could have continued to 
exist were it not for the physical effects of the steam- 
engine. I think it is natural to man to know when 
he is oppressed ; even the most ignorant, and I doubt 
whether mankind lues made any progress in this paiti- 
cular branch of knowledge since the Israelites were in 
Egypt, and political and social freedom we cannot 
doubt were always as much loved and coveted as at 
present, but the reason it was never achieved and per¬ 
petuated is because circumstances rendered it imprac¬ 
ticable. 1 think we have examples of cases in point 
in the histories of England and Prance: one by mecha¬ 
nical industry laying the foundation of a wealthy class 
that should rise up as tho champion of freedom against 
monopoly, and the other proving tho utter fallacy of 
the struggle of poverty on one side against monopoly 
and wealth on the other. Not that 1 would rob the 
influence of an improved political creed of its due 
share of credit, but that the introduction of machinery 
rendered its principles capable of realisation; for it 
does not follow that even an increased standard of 
intelligence or knowledge should produce a more just 
appreciation of a common freedom. And it is very 
doubtful had tho United States to form a constitution 
now, whether they would ho able to embody those 
principles of equality and freedom which that amount of 
national virtue excited by a gallant and self-devoted 
struggle in the cause of their common rights was tho 
means of producing. We have but to look at the con¬ 
stitution of the State of Kansas, the production of the 
year 1855, and compare it with, that of the American 
republic, the production of the last century, to get an 
excellent proof that tho moral character of mankind is 
not subject, in the aggregate, to a necessary continuous 
improvement, even though their knowledge may have 
extended. The result oi the extension of political 
influence to commercial and mechanical classes has 
been a most decided stop in tho cause of freedom ; and 
the rights that have since been wrested by hard fight¬ 
ing from the class that hitherto possessed them, consti¬ 
tuted tho power of retaining and perpetuating this 
monopoly. Tho source of their power was tha_ mono¬ 
poly of the source of food, and all engaged in it were 
moved hv one common interest—tho retention ot that 
power and influence. After its permanent establish¬ 
ment it was less likely to be checked by any internal 
cause, anv qualms at’its injustice, for education and 
habit tended to convert an usurpation into a right. To 
complete its power it grasped the right of legislation, 
by which it could restrict commerce by taxation. 
There, then, remained no alternative hut physical force, 
or the aid of foreigners, who, by supplying food, would 
become competitors with the owners of the soil. To 
subdue the great mass of the people to the full influ¬ 
ence of a thorough oppression the first was guarded 
against by an army of bayonets, and the latter by 
exorbitant restrictions. The steam-engine comes, 
raised a competitor, annihilated the restrictions of 
commerce bv tho necessity it had created for the dis¬ 
posal of its'pi'odmrtkm 5 - and eventually clipped the 
wings of this monopoly. The French burst forth in a 
frenzy of revenge, and! after deluging the country with 
tile blood of their oppressors, eventually succumbed to 
a more perfect despotism than before. Ted, in spite of 
the experience of the past, reform still struggles 
against an opposition from the same.sonrcc, and. until a 
competitive and commercial spirit is infused into the 
profession of agriculture, and the extortions of the 
landlord checked, it will stand out.as the claimant of 
especial privileges, and hold, up its head in the old 
conservative stvle. I feel satisfied that the acquisition 
