The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1848-05-18


farmer, in common with all wise and good
citizens, should esteem the mechanic arts in
an eminent degree worthy Of patronage and
encouragement, especially in a country whose
yet undcvcloped natural resources are so
boundless and diversified. 1t is by means of
these arts alone, that those internal improve
mcnts can be effected, which bind cur wide
contederacy together, unite our inland seas
with the ocean-the common boundary and
highway Of nations, bring every producer
within reach Of a market, and tend to equal.
lze the value Of lands in all parts of our wide
domain. On these topics / am sure | speak
to neither ignorant nor unintcrested ears
and the efforts which the people of Vermont
are now making to secure to themselves the
advantages of the improvements to which |
allude, are as creditabIe to their intelligence,
as they are honorable to their public spirit.
In the distribution of the bounty of the ma
tional government, the power of the larger
states will never allow to our smaller COM
monwcalths their Just share, and whatever
millions may be lavishcd on the favored West.
we must be content with such improvements
as the means accumulated by our own indus
try, aided by the enlightened libcralty of
city capitalists, shall enable us to make. 1t is
therefore highly encouraging cause of hope
and satisfaction, that Vermont has at length
put her own shoulder to the wheel, without
waiting for Hercules, and VIC have every rca-
son to expect, that another year or two will
place our territory on as favorable q ground.
as localities more blessed by nature, or more
pampered by the partial bounty of the gene
raj government. What great advantage over
you in fact has the farmer who lives on a
turnpike road ten miles from Boston, if the
grain which WAS removed from your store
house at sunset is, while he sleeps, hurried to
market on the wings Of steam, and delivered
at the city depot before he has time to trans.
port thithcr the corn he had measured and
loaded UP before he retired to rest And
why will not our water-power be as available
as that of Massachusetts, when the cottons
turned out by our facgOricrs to-day shall be
ailoat on the Atlantic to- morrow
1t is through the mechanic arts alone, that
we can become truly independent of foreign |.
nations, and establish an interchange between
the producer, the manufacturer, and The con- |
sumner, which shall increase the wealth and
tighten the burdens of each, by retaining
among ourselves the net profits of labor, and
thus avoiding The drains Of the precious me-
tails for supplies. The mechanic arts arc
worthy of patronage also from their progress
i've character, and the promise they hold ont
to US OF acquiring complete mastery over
nature. The progress of agricu- |
ture, within the last half century, though great
IN itself and full of future promise, has been /
but a tardy movement, in comparison with |
the swift advancement of the mechanic arts.
The steamboat, the locomotive, the power
loom, and the power press, have all been
brought into use since the beginning of the |
present century, and what n revolution have
they wrought upon the face of the globe
How they have brought together and linked .
different states and counties What mil !
hons have they clothed, and Nhat millions en-
lghtencd Suppose we we're at once to be
deprived Of these great gifts Of mechanic art,
and s7ddcny cut off from the cheap and
abundant supply of the means of knowledge.
our necessary clothing doubled in cost, and
'ur products reduced to half their value for
want OF speedy and economical means of trans
port to their market, our intelligence from
he seat OF government, from our distant
friends, and from the old world, as well as our
'rrsonaI communication with other parts of
ur country, retarded and delayed for want
II our accustomed means of transport and TO-
omotion, what value should we not attach
o these now almost unnoiCcd blessings. and
'hat efforts and sacrifices should we not be
cady to encounter to regain them? Yet
ie may well Judge Of the future from the c
asst, and the progress Of natural knowledge, {
pom which ak mechanical art is founded, au
lorizes us to expect that the remaining half G
the nineteenth century will be as fertile in 2
improvements as the portion of it which has :.