that day, were often shown towards this country by Englishmen, who had some learning without much depth of understanding.

I have cited this passage merely to remark that the tone of this periodical, which still sustains its former reputation, as well as others less friendly to this country, has been entirely changed - within the last twenty years. The works of many of our writers are now republished in England, and are read with as much interest as their own productions. Not only our writers are spoken of in high terms, but our orators, in the pulpit and in the Senate, are treated in the British periodical press with great respect. So far now from treating us contemptuously, they indulge a very natural pride to see their descendants so rapidly rising in the scale of civilization. These sentiments have been extorted from them in opposition to their deeply rooted prejudices, by the character for efficiency which this country has exhibited.

In the learned professions we have as able men, as learned and as eloquent, as any of whom England can boast. And when we take a philosophical view of the future, and contemplate the causes which are now in operation, and which must create that future, it may be said, without presumption, that this country will, in perhaps less than a century, in the empire of mind, surpass that of Great Britain. This may be thought a bold and hazardous expression; but let us examine it.

Causes are followed by their natural effects on mind as well as on matter. This postulate will not be denied ; and we have only to enquire what circumstances are most favorable to the development of mind. Here we may safely consult the lights of antiquity. At what period and under what circumstances were the most illustrious men of antiquity produced?

Our attention is immediately fixed on Greece, as more distinguished for her intellectual achievements than any other country. Within the century preceding the death of Alexander, more great men were produced in this classic land than can be found in any other. They shed a lustre upon their country which no lapse of time nor change of circumstances can obscure. And what were the circumstances under which they were produced? They were citizens of free States which cherished among themselves a jealous. rivalry; and within the bosom of each there was a continual struggle for the ascendency. In the midst of these excitations, the highest powers of the human mind were called into action. The citizens of each republic felt themselves elevated by the achievements of their distinguished men. And whilst they were proud of the glory of every part of Greece, they cherished most that which belonged to their own State; and this feeling was never extinguished by the destructive wars which occurred among themselves. Now of all existing governments, there are none so nearly assimilated to those of Greece as our own. The form of our

government, it is true, is entirely different, but it is free, and we have similar struggles for the ascendency and similar excitements. If we have not the same jealousy among the States, we have in some degree the same rivalry.. There is a local attachment felt by the people of each State for its distinguished citizens; and a general pride in the character of the Union. These two elements combine as strongly in this country as they did in Greece and if we shall avoid intestine war, which may God grant, may we not still look for those high intellectual developments which constituted the glory of Greece? Nothing but the corruption or downfall of our government can defeat this brilliant result. In England there is excitement, but there is a want of rivalry between independent States and that local attachment which arises out of it. The metropolitan power overshadows the empire and will admit of no local rivalries. Public attention is continually directed to the seat of political power, and although pride is felt in the achievements of their distinguished men, it is too general to produce a strong excitement. It is like the pride we feel in illustrious deeds which ennoble our nature. There is no special appropriation of the glory, no personal identity or elevation of our own character, by any connection which exists, either natural or political, between ourselves and the actor.

We can think of no distinguished man of Greece without associating with his noble deeds the place of his birth. When the names of Plato, of Demosthenes, and many others occur, we think. of Athens. With the name of Leonidas we associate that of Sparta, and so of other distinguished Grecians. Who that thinks of Washington, Jefferson and Madison, does not at the same time think of the State in which they were born, and which they have rendered illustrious. And the same remark may be made of other distinguished names and States. But in England no such association exists. Who recollects the birth-place of Bacon, Locke, Newton or Pitt. This important element of mental development is wanting in England, and is possessed in this country.

In France the feeling is still more general than it is in England. Bonaparte once said that Paris is France, and the remark was true, In that metropolitan city there is a concentration of almost every thing which gives character to the country. There are but few distinguished men in any of the provinces.

If these causes operate upon mind and are as certainly followed by their natural effects as when they act upon matter, and if the action of our own institutions afford causes more diversified and similar to those which produced the highest mental development in Greece, why may we not look for the same issue? We may expect it, should our government be maintained in its purity and no counteracting principles exist, with as much certainty as any effect that results from a cause under the laws of nature.

Since the commencement of the present century, more has been done by governments and individuals to diffuse the benefits of education among the great mass of the people, than had before been done in many centuries. In many countries besides our own, provision is made for the education of the poor by a tax on property; and this principle should be universal. It was adopted, I believe, first in New England; and it has mainly contributed to give to that part of the Union, less favored by soil and climate than others, the most efficient and best instructed population on the globe.

In Prussia the system of instruction, in some respects, may be more perfect than in New England; and in some parts of that country, under the influence of this system, its citizens may understand certain branches of education better than the mass of the citizens of New England, but the people of no part of Prussia or of any other government in Europe, can be compared, in useful. knowledge, with the yeomanry of New England. There are few of the latter who cannot read and write, and who do not understand the common rules of arithmetic; and they can discuss and comprehend the elementary principles of trade, of personal rights, of government, and especially of their own goverment. This amount of knowledge is greater than is possessed by the laboring class of any other country.

[In other countries the diffusion of instruction is necessary to the well being of the people; in this it is essential to the maintenance of the government. The grand experiment whether man is capable of self government is still here in progress; and whatever may be our sanguine belief and hopes on the subject, the enemies of our republican system abroad do not yet admit that our institutions will be perpetuated. They see or think they see the seeds of dissolution springing up, which must prove fatal to the experiment. And are there no grounds of apprehension to ourselves? What are the tendencies of the political action of our system? Has not party spirit usurped the place of patriotism? Are not the lower passions of the people addressed and excited with a view to successful party action? Is not the press made subservient to this object? And who has not observed the corrupting influence of money and office? Has not the value of the Union been estimated? Formerly this subject was held a political axiom, clear of all doubt and too sacred for discussion; but of late years is it not treated as a question of expediency, and in our legislative halls, in our newspapers, in common conversation, has it not become a matter of debate? Thirty years ago who doubted the permanency of our Union; and who, at this day, is without distressing apprehensions on the subject? These indications portend immeasurable calamity. They should be deeply and solemnly considered, that the fatal eonsequences may be averted.

All who have reflected upon the structure of our government

and its tendencies, agree in this, that our institutions cannot be sustained except by the exercise of a high degree of intelligence and virtue by the people. Where the sovereign power resides in a monarch or in a few individuals, the government may be carried on successfully, however ignorant the mass of the people may be; and indeed the form of such a government may be more certainly preserved, where its subjects are ignorant than where they are enlightened. How long would the people of this country submit to the despotism of any of the continental governments of Europe?

When I consider a citizen of this great republic, in reference to the extent of his rights and privileges, the powers he exercises and the effects of those powers, I see a being of incomparably greater importance, in the scale of society, than a subject of a despotism. The latter may be better educated, and he may occupy a higher rank in society, but the destiny of the citizen is much more im-^ portant than that of the subject.

In the citizen dwells a portion of the sovereignty of his country; and he is often called upon to act in this high-capacity. He has a voice in the formation of his own government, and also in changing it. In the ordinary exercise of his suffrages he appoints, with the exception of the judicial department, the great functionaries of the federal and state governments; and of the latter, many of the inferior officers. And in addition to this he claims the right to instruct the public agents in the discharge of their high duties. On the most momentous questions his voice is heard and regarded. But more than all this, he may himself become an organ of the government. There is no office in the vast range of executive, judicial and legislative duties in the federal or state governments, to which he may not aspire. Powers so multifarious and important were never before exercised by the people of any country; and all these appertain to the humblest citizen. Need I ask whether intelligence and virtue are essential to the discharge of these duties?

Intelligence and virtue are the ground-work of our whole system. It is the basis on which the superstructure rests, and if this shall fail all must fail. As well might we expect a blacksmith to construct with his sledge and anvil, the nicely balanced and curiously wrought machinery of a watch, of which he is ignorant, as for a people without intelligence to maintain a free government. But virtue is not less essential to its maintenance than intelligence. These must be combined and they must be exercised with an untiring vigilance. If this be so, and no one will controvert it, it is of the last importance that the rising generation should be virtuous and enlightened. The establishment of our independence was a great achievement; but the establishment and maintenance of our complex system of government, in its purity, is a much greater. In the one case high patriotism, dauntless courage, strong arms,

and unyielding perseverance were required to roll back the tide of war. In the other a sleepless vigilance must be exercised to detect, expose and eradicate corruption, which interweaves itself into our government.

When the crisis is at hand, and men's feelings become deeply enlisted, it is not difficult to rouse them to a sense of their danger and duty. This was the case in our revolutionary struggle. A common danger was seen and felt, and this led to a common effort. But corruption is sinuous, soft and stealthy in its approaches. It not unfrequently assumes the garb of patriotism, and covets popular applause by professions of the utmost devotion to the people; and how often is it hailed, in this form, by thousands of unsuspecting citizens. So subtle is this poison, that to detect it requires the exercise of no unpractised eye and of no ordinary intelligence. In the war against corruption there is no public enemy in the field: the foe is shadowy in his appearance, and so changeable that you cannot always grasp him. If rebuked at one point, he may withdraw for the moment to practice his wiles in some other form, or at some other point of attack. He never slumbers nor sleeps; and he can only be repulsed by a vigilance that never tires.

It is the order of Providence to suspend the blessings of this life on conditions. The farmer cannot expect a harvest unless he prepare his grounds and sow his seed. The artisan cannot hope for a reward without the exercise of his skill and labor: and this rule applies with as much force in politics as in physics, in morals as in mechanics. We must have intelligence to perceive and virtue to discharge the great and important duties of freemen: duties higher and deeper, and of more lasting consequences than any that ever devolved upon any people.

The nature and importance of these duties should be inculcated on the youth of the country. On them will soon devolve the responsibility of conducting the great operations of the government; and prior to this they mingle with their elders in controlling it. They constitute a most important element in the body politic. Full of vigor, they are seen and felt in every political contest; and if ignorant of the duties in which they engage, being unsuspicious and inexperienced, they are always liable to be used as instruments of evil. They are most likely to be fascinated and controlled by the noisy and unprincipled political adventurer, who, having little business of his own, floats upon the surface of society, ready to seize upon any thing and every thing which may better his condition. In a state of excitement he becomes an individual of importance and of no little influence; and his great effort is to produce and keep up such a state. His note of patriotism is the highest and the loudest, his zeal for the people the most conspicuous, and of all men his motives are the least selfish. All who are opposed to him are denounced as selfish and unprincipled.