The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1853-08-17

From the Pittsburgh Union

From the Pittsburgh Union.
D- II is perhapsa fortunate circumstances in
American History that the discovery of ITS i'm.
! manse mineral resources was So late in the ord
er OF events. There a-e many good men who
discern the direction of an overriding Provide
~ the events OF nations AID probable no single
fact would seem to warrant belief in such sub
lime conception, more foscib.y, than the gold
mines OF California. Let US suppose for mo.
aient, that. instead Of being located near the
coast Of The Pacific, the centre cf \ eaith had
been discovered among the Alieghenies, wha.
would have BEEN the probable consequences
Instead OF The American people being compos.
ed at the lime OF the revolution, of number of
agfcul u'al colonies, the entire TIDE III emgra-
ti'n would have poured into the gold regions,
| and the rich and fertile valleys would. for 4
! long peitod, have remained ia oqs.,parsaiye
nsgitct, untouched and uncuitivated
Forests that were quickly subducd " ud
have stood in unmoIessed wildness The are
of The settler, # used at ALL would have been
quickly abandoned for the pick, and the hum
bic cottages. ana neat farm houses Of the des
cendants Of the pilgrims, would have been fot-
saksn Tor mountainous retreats, Tue Indian
might have kept his hunting grounds on the
Hudson and DsleweTe for long time, and the
vast mountain range, which is still almost viii
defness, might have presented the business
scene OF iiie and activity. The character of the
people, too, would have been fa, different from
that OF the bold, Independent and hardy race.
who met the enemies ofour liberty, on Bum
kers HILL and at Trenton But there the in.
quiry occurs 10 Us, would there have been apy
struggle tor liberty at all? Would not the en-.
ire power Of the colonists have been centered
siouad The single spot, where lay the only
Wealth that was known or cared for; and II
they had for moment entertained the rising
thought OF liberty, how quickly would tyrants
power have seized that desired spot, and made
resistance powerless 1t was the scattered ua-
ture OF the American force and the immense
eatent OF territory, over which patriotic pes
pie We're spr ad, that rendered their Complete
suhjection impossible. single city may be
ieveiied with ground by Ere is inhabitan,s
may be subdued by famine, but the conquest Of
county, which, when one point is taken, may
be Organizing fresh band Of sordisrs, thou
sant miles distant is a here culean labor, that de-
hes even the science Of modern war
On the other hand, the object presented 70
the mother country would have been one too
brilliant TO admit of abandonment at any sacri.
hce Assistance the colonisis nigh. have had,
If more than one colony then had existence, but
It would have been the help Of nation, that
would have saved only to destroy. The gilt.
tering pr'ze would have been too great an al.
lurement to the avarice Of Europe, to allow the
and the close of the Revolution, had it not been
nipped in the bud, might have been the CON-
mencement Of foreign dominion.
The same course that would have weakened
the resistance of the American people, would
have been the most powerful incentive to the
avarice Of their opponents, and made their at.
tack more terribly determined. Confined with.
i'll narrow limits, destitute Of arts and without
the greatest source Of power and wealth, the
cultivation Of the soil, who would say, that
American patriots would have ever celebrated
their National Independence
But the field upon which we have ventured
is too wide for our weak view. We cannot tell
what might have happened had this or that event
been other tnan it was. Had Moses not been
the leader Of The children of Israel, or had he
proved recreant to his high commission, we
will not say they would not have reached the
promised land. Had not Washington been at
the head Of the American army, it is not in
our power to decide whether our country would
have been free; butwe can discern the workings
of Divinity, in the moral as in the natural
world, only by the admirable adaptation Of the
means employed, to the end which they pro-
duce.
We know that fish without eyes play in wat.
ers far beneath the ground, and we attribute
their existence there to preconceived design
We see the Swallow returning in the Spring,
and think we discern a superior wisdom direct
ing its fight TO its summer home Can we read
no traces of this same great ruling thought, in
the destinies of men Does not the opening OF
mighty treasurers on our Western coasts, at The
precise period Of its occurrence, argue some
thing like plan Would they have been as
useful years ago, or would they have answered
the same purpose in another place Had they
been found sooner, other great resources Of the
country would have been unknown, or neglec.
ted--Had they been located elsewhere, they
would not have proved the great dazzling al
lurement, to strengthen the weary march of ad.
venture, and tempt it forward, to complete the
course Of civilization around the world
If, instead Of being the las. great incentive
to our progress, they had been brought TO light
long ago, they might have paralyzed the indus
try which they now stimulate the
expansion of population which they now in
crease, and perhaps given fatal blow to that
ardent spirit Of invention, and that sterling
morality which have marked the American
character. The very liberty which ensures the
proper use of Natures treasures, and which
guarantees their utility to the world, might
have been stfied in its earliest germ.