The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1853-02-16
IOWA, FEBRUARY
MECHANICS INSTITUTE, NEW YoRk

MECH ANlC lES UIE, NEW lOa
GEoaGE HAscRorr, ths historian, delivere
a lecture the other day at ;he Mechanics In
stitute, New York, some parts Of which W
think mos. admirable. Mr. B. says:
This institution seems TO m, to be one of III,
most interesting in the city of New York. TIN
first question is, What is a mechanic?-We mus
have definition of the ter n before nrocee.
say mechanic is one who applies the power
Of nature 10 the service of man, for he IL to dea
with universal nature, and he may engage il
any occupation or pursuit, and feel the dignity
OF his position-f know We are met with OBJ
ieciions with regard to the dwelling place O
the mechanic--I know it is fashionable to speal
we'll of the country, and i'll ofthe town; bu
the town is essentially and peculiarly tie aoMs
of the mechanic, aud it is in the town and the
city where there is the greatest gathering of me
chanical genius, and the greatest opportunity
/ for the display Of its power for in the city
mind is nearer 10 mind, and the opportunities oi
intercourse, hospitality, charity, and friendship
are more abundant The poet does indeed
say
.sGod made the country, and man made the
! town.
| But think that is neither good poetry, nor
good sense, for God is to be found IN the city as
much as in the country. What is the country
the immense exuberancc of productive nature,
exerted only to run to waste-and it does not
assume an attitude of beauty until it has sub.
mitted itself to the hand of industry, and until
science has called in aids from the ocean, from
the depths of the earth, and from distant parts
of the world, to enrich it. So, then, the coun
try is not beautiful until it has born upon It's
lace the marks of the intelligence and the hand
of man. Can we then not find evidence oftte
Deity in the city, Think but for moment OF
Tie reliance of man on man; think OF the de-
gree of bretherly affinity, and intimate connec
ton and firm relance-the fidelity to obIgati-
ons-the sacred respect to truth, which is mani
tested in every instance Of commercial trans
action between one country and another, and
then consider how much fai'h exists between
mankind in the transactions OF the daily COM
merce OF New York-Think but for moment
that three lines, with the proper names added to
it can transfer property to the anipoles and mer
chandise to Hong Kong, or to Peru, and ask
Yourselves, is there not something OF 4 vital
prinu ipal that springs from the Deity and ma.
ture in the human breas2 Could this take
place if commerce were not founded on justice,
and paid respect to truth? Think how in'i-
n.atey the whole family Of the human race be-
comes bound together by this confidence in one
another, letter dropped in one mail, with
the proper direction, IS sure to find its way to
your friend, be he at the Hebrides or on the
Bosphorus; letter will reach him, though he
were at the foot of the Himalsya mountains, or
tar away on Puget's Sound. Is there not here
evidence of that love Of man to man, which is
the fulilment Of that second great command
ment, and springs from the consciousness OF
the presence of God among US But if these
be rot clear and convincing proofs, | take yoa
10 the workshop of the mechanic. There you
will find the man of industry face to face with
the great powers of nature. There you will
find him studying with diligence the secret laws
of the universe, to make himself familiar and
thoroughly acquainted with the designs Of Pro
vidence, and the laws by which the universe is
controlled; and in all this; co you not see that
the mechanic, in every act of his life, as it were
rendering tttbute. Eaying worship to divine
power, and recognizing its presence.-Iiow
infinitely various are the applications OF this
power and to what wonderful extent has the
hand of mechanical science contrived to subject
the power of nature to the science OF man Bee
so netimes how machines are constructed where
the bare computation OF the forces and the re-
sistances constitute one of the most dlfhcult
problems that the mathematician can be called
on to solve and one for which he has to invent
and moralize in order to reach solution. See
again with what art the mechanic bids the
mighty powers of nature work at the command.
See how he controls the old elements of fire,
earth and water, and how they do his bidding
how FIRE at his word, makes him master ,f all
the metals that earth contains within its bosom
how water is checked as it runs downwards
toward the sea, and made to work its passage
through the earth, and springing into streams,
opens an infnty of power, which the discovery
of the application Of that power has put within
your reach. The lecturer then proceeded to
describe the water power used in Pennsylvania,
and that Ct the stean, printing presses of the
city, which were able to strike off 20, 900 copies
Of newspapers an hour.-Then, cohtiHued he,
mechanical means control the air, for time out
of mind, it has filled the mariners sails, but
now 1t is applied to hydraulic power, and pro.
duces wonderful results. In all this, and every.
thing which relates to City life, is the result OF
mechanical genius, and if you would wish t"
know the monument of the mechanics of New
York, look around you. The works which are
thrown out into the ocean his work, the
houses which have been raised are the evidence
of his genius and industry, and everything that
you see about your streets are his work and
when asked for his monument, you can only
.b fho oil tooR