The Arkansas advocate., 1830-12-08

eioii eioii oitu HCi dlltliudit lIditl, llDefl1 ane
 happiness, have dispeIled this fcarfG. gloom; this more than Stygiaa darkness
 Here the goddess of freedom has reared high the liberty tree--here she has holsted her flag and has engraved as a motto" the untrammeiled rights ol man''-here NC have proved the great desideratpmin pohtics-that man can govern himself. Here, on the very soil where naught was heard but yells oi exulting sayages, are twenty-tour free and sovereign states--governed by mild and genial laws, dispensing, with an equal and impartial hand, the unriyalled sweets of justice and mercy. Yes, ye sons and daughters Of CoIumbia--ye favoured and enlightened few, cast your eyes around tiljh wide and extended continent, and View the vast improve ments that civilization, in conjunction with It's sister art. education, has per formed in the lapse of four hundred years. See the sturdy sons of our na- tive forests leyeIled by the axe-mans $ blows, and the fertile glebe converted into richly cultivated fields, for the sup port and sustenaHc Hce of fnaG--See the mountains rugged brow, converted into level highways-see he rolling tides of rivers fad rev and ubsoueht channels in the form of canals-see our lofty ships trayefsing every cline, a=d unfurling the Stars of Liberty in every known port-see our believing steam boats, rushing against wind and tide. and depositing the luxuries of every country at our doors-see the daily. weekly and monthly publications ofour happy country, teeming with intelli- gence fromevefy quarter of the globe see our wise and hoarY-headed states men fostering with the incest care the institutions of learning for the general of the minds of the youthz ful generation--see the different seets and denominations of Christians spread ing, far and wide useful and cntertain- ing knowledge. by means of different societies. Ah, happy. happy country,
 's The home of tue free,
 And the land of the brave.''
 With Dwight ] exelaim,.
 Columbia, Columbia, to glory arise,
 The Queen of the world and the child of
 the skies"
 Could the wild licentious Indian, de- void of civilization; devoid of educa- .ion; devoid of the blessings of the gospel; effect this mighty change, so pleasing to the mind? Every man aa- swers no! From thence We ask, enpha- tically, now are We to preserve the free dom and happiness of those institutions2 Gan it De done by lettering the minds of the growing generation in chains of worse than Egyptian bondage-the shackles of ignorance and prejudice? Every patriotic citizen will answer nol Every man that wishes his country free and happy for centuries to come, will answer no. Ali history establishes the fact, that the general diffusion Of knos- ledge is necessary for the preservation of civil and religious liberty. We see the ancient republic of Greece, the re- republic of Rome and other republics, fall for the want of intelligence and vir- tue iD their citizens. What a lesson for us. Then if a want of yirtue--want of intelligence, has been the bane of other republics, let us not try 10 follow their To avoid a like catastrophe, let societies for the propagation of use ful knowledge be more generally estab- lisned-let free schools receive more of the attention of our wise men and infiu- ential cltlzens-let every man, woman and child he emulons of fexcelling---feel within themselves, that intellectual spark, that emanation of Divinity itself. Letthem strive to cultivate and improve their minds--let them aim at nothing short of perfection-let vices of the most degrading character cease-let this be the land Of virtue, happiness and peace. We ask, and ask with due deter cnce, what nation in the four quarters of the globe, offer the same induce
 ments as ours for the acquisition 0
 knowledge? None other, we answer
 Here the meanest plebian is on al
 equality, with the highest lord. N
 distinction, but what arises from virtue and intelligence. Here the poores child, if he has talents, learning and in tegrity, may wield the destinics of in, nation, CT thunder with Demosli,enial Ieloquenee in the forum of justfce..-- What higher encouragement do ", ! 1