Cheraw gazette. [volume] (Cheraw, S.C.) 1835-1838, 1836-11-01
From the Columbia Telescope.

rom 1CiCSCoPS'
Mr.. Preston, in his speech concerningthe
Rail Road, on Monday last, drew very
striking contrast between the difference OF
character of the people Of the Northern
and the Southern parts of the Union, and
the consequently opposite condition OF the
countries that they inhabit.
He said that no Southern man can Jour-
nev las he had lately done.) through the
Northern States, and witness the prosperl-
tv, the industry, the public spirit, which
they exhbit-the sedulous cultivation oil all
those arts by which life is rendered comtor-
table and Experimentation feelings OF
deep sadness and shame, as he remembers
his own neglected and desolate home.
There, no dwelling is to be seen abandon
cd. no farm uncultivated, no man idle, no
waterfall, even. unemployed. Every per.
son and every thing performs part to-
wards the result, and the whole land IS
covered with fertile fields, with manutacto-
res. and canals. and rail roads, and public
edifices. and towns and cities. Along the
route of the great New York canal (that
glorious monument ofthe glorious memory
of De Witt Clinton) a Canal, a Rail Road,
and a Turnpike, are to be seen IN the w'oth
of perhaps a hundred yards, each OF them
crowded with travel or overfiowIng with
commerce. Throughout their course lands
that before their construction would scarce.
" command five dollars the acre, now sell
for fifty, seventy five, or a hundred. Pass
Ing alongit, you sec no space Of three miles
without a town or a village, and you
are never out of the sound of Church
bell.
We of the South are mistaken in the
character Of these people. when we think
of them only as peddlers in horn fllnts and
bark numegs. Their energy and enter.
prize are directed to all objects, great and
small, within their reach. At the fail OF
scantv rivulet they set up their little manu-
factory of wooden buttons or combs-they
plant a barren hill side with broom.corn,
and make it into brooms at the bottom
and on its top they erect a wlld-ml!.
Thus at single spot you may see the ar
the earth and the water, all working ior
them. But the same time the ocean IS
whitencd to its cxtremit:es with the sails OF
their ships. and the land is covered with
their works of art and usefulness.
Massachusetts is perhaps the most flour
ishing of the Northern States. Yet OF nat
ural productions she exports but two arti'
cles-erapite and ice. Absolutely nothing
but rock and ice! Every thing else of her
commerce, from which she derives so much
wealth, is artifcial-the work of her own
hands.
Alltbis is done, in region with a bleak
climate and sterile soil, by the energy and
intelligence of the people. Each man
knows that the public good is his individual!
advantage. The number of rail roads and
other modes of expeditions intercommun'-
cation. knts the whole country into close.
" compacted mass, through which the pro-
ductions of commerce and Of the press, the
comforts OIL and the means of knowl.
edge. are universally diffused; while the
close intercourse of travel and business
makes all men neighbors, and promotes
common interest and common sympathy
In community thus connected, single
flash ofthought pervades the whole iand'
almost as rapidly as thought itself can n.y.
The population becomes, as 1t were, s'h'
ole set of muscles, animated by one
heart, and directed by a common senso-'
rum.
How different the condition of things in
the South! Here, the face OF the country
wears the aspect of premature old age and
decay. No improvement is gong on
nothing is done for posterity-no man
thinks Of any thing beyond the present mo-
ment. Our lands are yearly tasked to their
utmost capacity of production, and when
exhausted are abandoned for the youthful
West. Because Nature has been prodi-
gal to US. we seem to think it unnecessary
to to do anv thing for ourselves. The indus.
try and skill that converted the inclement
and barren hills of New-England into a
garden, in the genial climate and fertile SOIL
ofthe South would create almost a para
disc. Our natural advantages are among
the greatest with which providence has
blessed mankind, but we lack the spirit to
enjoy and improve them. The rich ore IS
beneath our feet, yet we dig not tor 1t.
The golden fruit hangs from the bough'
and we lift not our hands to gather IT. Inc
cask of delicious liquor is before our eyes,
but we are too lazy even to broach IT. In
thinking, in writing, and in talking, We are
equal to any people on the face OF the eart9
but we do nothing but think, wfise una
talk.