Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1851-07-17
VOL. XIV, NO. 34.---WHOLE NO. 1885.

I the Almighty hath given him understanding
y Then, only, is he tending towards his own
y destiny, while he seeks for knowledge or
. virtue, for the will Of his Maker and for
Jnst conceptions OF his own duty. OF all
, important questions, therefore. let this be
the most important of all, be FIRST asked and
= first answered In what country of The
! habltable globe, Of great extent and large
population, are the means Of knowledge the
most generally diilnsed and enioved among
the people This question admits of one
and only one answer. II is here-itis here
IN this United States-it is among the de-
scendanis of those who settled at Yorktown
: lot those who we're pilgrims on the shore
OF Plymouth; and Of those other races of
men, who, in subsequent times, have be-
come Joined 90 this great American family
Let one iact incapable OF doubt or dispute,
satisfy every mind on this point. The po-
pnlaton OF the United States is %. 600 600.
Now take the map Of the Continent of Eu-
4 rupe and spread It out before you. Take
your scale and your diyiders aud lay of in
one area, IN any shape you please, a TRAN
gle, square, circle, parallelogram, or trapez-
Old, and of an area that shall contain l5O.-
600 900 of people, and there will be found
within the Unhed States more persons who
do habltualy read aud write. than can be
embraced within the lines of your demarca-
ton. But there is something even more
than this Man is not only an intellectual.
but he is also a religious being and his re-
hglous ieellns and habits require cultivation.
Let the religious element IN mans nature
be neglected, let him be influenced BY no
higher motives than low selfinterest, aud
subjected TO no stronger restraint than the
limits of civil authority, and he becomes the
creature of selfish passions or blind fanatic
ism. The spectacle ol a nation, powerful
and enlightened, but without Christian faith,
has been presented, almost within our own
I day, as a warning beacon for the nation
Ga the other hand, the cultivation of the
religious sentiment reprcsses licentiousucss,
lncites To general beneyolence, and the prac-
teal acknowledgement of the brotherhood
| OF man, inspires respect for law aud order,
and gives strength to the whole social fab
re; at the same time it conducts the human
soul upward to the author OF its being. As
one of lis necessary consequences, 1t may,
think, be stated with truth. that in no
country, IN proportion to rs population, are
there SO many benevolent establishments,
bible, miss ionary and tract societies, sup
ported by public and private contributions,
as in our own. There are also institutions
Tor the education Of the blind, the deaf aud
dumb, OF idiots, for the reception uf orphan
and destitute children, for moral reform,
designed for children and females respect
lively; institutions for tlc reformation of
criminals, not 10 speak Of those numerous
establishments IN almost every county and
town ia the United States, for the reception
OF the aged, infrm aud destitute poor, many
O. whom have fled to our shores to escape
the poverty and wreichcdness of their con-
ditlon at home. In the United States there
Is no church establishment or ecclesastical
authority founded by government Public
worship IS maintained, either by voluntary
contributions, or by trusts aud donations of
charitable origin. Now, | think II safe
to say that greater portion of the people
OF the United States attend public worship,
decenty clad, well behaved, aud well seat
ed, than OF any other country of the civil
zed world Edllices of religion are seen
every where. Their aggregate cost would
amount to an immense sum of money
They are, IN general kept IN good re-
PAIR, and consecrated to the purposes OF
public worship. la these edlhces the peo-
pie regularly assemble on the Sabbath day,
which is sacredy set apart for rest by all
classes, from secular employment and for
religious meditation and worship, to listen
to the reading of the Holy Scriptures, and
discourses from pious ministers Of the sew
efal denominations. THIS attention to the
wants of the intellect and of the soul as
manifested by the voluntary support Of
schools and colleges, of churches and ben
eyolent institutions, is one of the most re-
markable characteristics of the American
people, not less slrlkingy exhibited in the
new than IN the old settlements of the coun-
try On the spot where the first trees of
the forest were lelled. near the log cabins
of the pioneers, are to be seen rising togeth-
er the church aud the school house. So
has It been from the beginning, aud God
grant that thus It may continue
On other shores, above their Wondering towns,
In sullsn pomp the tam eatheir, rownsi
Simple and fail our ,,yly temples throw
Their slender shadows on the paths below
Scarce steals the wind that sweeps his woodland uacks
The larehs perfume f,om he settlers axe,
Ere like a yisioa of iho morning air,
III. sisht-iiumed s,seps miik' the house Of Preyer
W, f-itii. pure hymn, beneaih its shotor rude,
Brcathes out : sseetll to the tangled wood,
A. where the rays through blazing ores pour
Ca marble shan and iesselated door
Who does not admit that this unparalleled
growth of prosperity aud reno@n are the
results under Providence, under the union
of these States, under general constitu-
ton, which guarantees 10 each State repub-
hcan form OF government, and TO every man
the enjoyment of life, liberty. aud the pur-
suit of happiness, free from civil tyranny or
ecclesiastical domination. To bring home
this idea to the present occasion, who does
not feel that when President Washington
laid his hand on the foundation of the first
capitol building, he performed great work
of perpetuation OF the Union aud the con-
stiulonl Who does not feel that ths seat
Of the general government healthlul IA ITS
situation, central IN It's position, neas to the
mountains from whence gush springs OF
wonderful virtue, teeming with natures
richest products, and yet not far from the
bays aud the great estuarles ot the sea, cas-
ily accessible and generally agreeable IN
chuate and assOclatlOn does not give