The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1853-07-26


as Congress is concerned, any further contes
on the part of the wings is mainly an individual
affair, for the pay and mileage; for, with a ma
jority Of siXty-two already, the democrats are
utterly beyond the reach of wing soundings
What we expect is. that before the meeting o.
Congress the intervening State elections will
foreshadow the final breaking up of the old
effete party lines. and new arrangement Of
things for 1856; and it is possible that we may
have some inklings to this effect in the elections
Of August.
Our Home OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES from New
England.
In another column will be found fresh
communication from our New England Com
missioner We wish to draw attention to the
paper, as it is one Of series, which in our
opinion, is deserving the careful study Of those
who take an interest in the progress and well
fare of the various sections of this great country.
1t is an undoubted. and at the same time pain
full truth, that. though Americans are unques-
tionably the greatest travellers in the world
though it is rare to meet with man who has
not. at some time or other. traversed the great
est part Of the Union-we are generally as a
people, sadly deficient in acquaintance with the
condition and resources of our own country
We ali know something Of some State or other.
Our native place is familiar to u.s. and to fol-
low its progress with watchful eye is labor
of love. But our neighbors are treated with
more indifference; and as we wander further
from cur home, our interest diminishes, and our
information becomes less reliable and more
scanty. What Vrginian is familiar with the
manufactures of Massachusetts, What Con-
nectcut farmer can describe the soil
of Georgia? Where is the Western man
who would feel at home on the quay
at New Orleans? Where is the Southerner
who has respectable acquaintance with the
trade Of Maine? Yet all these various States
are partners in the great firm of the Union
Their interests are undivided and inseparable !;
their prosperity depends directly upon their
close attachment to each other Ruled by the
same cabinet and governed by the same au-
thorites. the separation Of State from State is
mere conventional arrangement, accompanied
by no practical consequences, so far as the
federal government is concerned. The same
men are called upon to decide the fate Of
Florida and New Hampshire. of Minnesota and
Vermont How unfit must they be for their
task if their knowledge is limited to one or
other Of these territories
An equal share of ignorance prevails among
our citizens generally with respect to the con-
dition of the distant States. Some are familiar
with the South others with the West; some
have dealings with the East only. and others
know nothing beyond the North. Few if any
can boast of a tolerabIe acquaintance with all
the various sections Of the country. We APP
plaud vocferously when speaker at public
meeting tells us that he knows i" no North, no
South, no East, no West" How shallow our
appreciation of the sentiment, what a sham our
braves if we are really ignorant of the wants
and the hopes, the peculiarities and the inter:
ests of the various sections we would blend in
one whole
To assist in supplying our deficiency of il:
formation in this respect, we have despatched,
within the past few weeks, commissioners to
each Of the chief sections of the Union, and one
to Canada, which, commercially speaking, may
be fairly regarded as one Of the States. Hither-
to our New England commissioner has been the
only one whose letters have attracted much
will not be long behindhand. however ; and
meanwhile, the reports we have received from
Maine and Massachusetts will not have been
without fruit. Our Southern readers especially,
will have learned from them much that was new.
ard much that was valuable, respecting tract
familiar than with the boulevards of Paris or
lie streets Of London. IF the net result of these
reports be 10 impress upon the citizens of the
South the absolute necessity Of cultivatng the
closest relations Of amity aud brotherhood with
our Northern neighbors. our commissioner will
not have wholly lost his time
An interesting study IL is, in truth, to watch
The progress Of these New England men from
their infancy on the bleak rocks on the Allan
tic. TO this their manhood in the richest and
most prosperous country Of the world. Faults
they had. no doubt who ia free from them
Prciudiccs, too--if that can be calleda prejudice
which is merely rooted antipathy, founded on
conscientious experience-gr grew strong and thick
among them. But amid all, there was hearty
vigor and thorough honesty among these old
Plains and their kin. which bid our heart
ycarn towards them in spite Of everything.
Blue laws and narrow bases are very nsigni1-
cant Ieccadilloes to counterbalance the stout
heart and heroic manliness Of the descendants
Of the Plymouth Pilgrims. They were, above
all, horoug h-no deceit, or guile, or treachery