Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1856-04-28

Is a remarkable fact in the history of the
world that the most powerful, wealthy and
intellectual nations Rave generally lived on
unpromising soils, and in comparatively small
and scanty territories patches, as it
were. of the earth's surface. And another
equally noticeable fact is this, that the ma
tons which have produced the hardest,
bravest and most intelligent population have
always have great extent ofseacoast; an ex-
tent of sea coast enormously out ofproportion
to their seanty interior A harsh, unproduc-
tive soil, pure water, plenty Of hills and
mountains, and an unlimited seacoast- these
are the surrouL dings. in whiehthe men have
been produced who have conquered the
world and civilized it, who have had the
largest minds, the toughest thews and sinews,
the greatest amount of enterprise and daring,
who have given the world its noblest exam
Piles of patriotism, heroism and virtue; its
best poetry, eloquence and philosophy; its
arts, sciences and inventions. For some reas
on the human race has never hourished great
" except under harsh natural conditions
where work. and hard work was absolutely
necessary to sustain life. Nations living on
vast inland plains with deep fat soils easy of
cultivation, never exercised much influence
on the world. rich soil, and immense ex-
tent of territory, (inland territory we mean, }
have generally been ruinous to human enter.
prise and improvement. Ancient Greece
proper was not much larger than two or three
of our counties, yet its people left their mark
upon the world and on its historytf All time.
Take the rwo most inauntial states Of mod
ern Europe, paiely, France and England,
what p they territorially considered? Moth
-Sg but little patches on the earth's surface;
neither of them is much larger than one OF
our largest states. SYet strike the history OF
France and England out of the annals ofmod-
ern times and what would be lett Decidedly
poor picking; little or nothing in fact worth
speaking of. This mighty republic would
not be IN existence, and another one almost
equally large, which is rapidly coming abreast
of us in the vast island continent of Polyne.
STA in the far pacific we refer to Australia
1t has hitherto been the smallest and natural
ly least productive spots on the earth's surface
that have produced the most powerful and
energetic nations, while those countries enjoy
the softest and most delicious climates, the
most teeming and fertile soils, and the great
est extent of territory, have been precisely
those where the human race has accomplish
ed the least Let those who imagine that the
sterile New England states are going to fall
behind their gigantic sister common wealths of
the West bear this historical fact in mind
Let those who are so eager TO get away from
the mountains and ocean swept shores, and
tie rough craggy lands of New England,
in order that they may plant themselves anew
in the fat soil of the central and far West re.
member this lesson of history. The New
England states will never lag in the rear Of
any other division of this Union. They may
not possess such vast deposits of coal and iron,
such immense rivers and lakes, such an inn
pera breadth of domain, such deep, dark,
rich bottom lands, teeming with riotous and
almost supernatural fertility, but these things
alone never yet made nation great. A coun-
try with these characteristics is sure in the
long run to make its inhabitants sluggish and
unenterprising. The West cannot yet be said
to have native population. The people now
doing such wonders there, building such inn
mense railroads, rearing great cities as II by
some Aladdin S lamp process OF enchantmeht,
growing such enormous quantities OF wheat,
and performing so many marveis OF progress
and Improvement, that, I'LL the stay at home
folks here in the East with such establishment,
these wonder. working people, we say, are not
Westerners by birth, they were not born in
land, but they went from New England and
old England, from Germany and other re-
sons and the stern lessons q necessity made
tn6m GU udl W Int TASK Oh uTHWIug out All the
natural advantages of the wonderful region to
which they have transplanted themselves
But when the West is settled and filed up,
when it is occupied by a native population to
the manor born, after the lapse say of five or
six generations, the people of that region will
not possess the enterprise that they now pos
sess. The sea. coast aoiU assert its Supremacy
orer the INLAND as of old. New England in
the long run, win keep far in advance Of Ohio
or Wisconsin, or any equal extent OF country
in the interior. She may not have such nat
ural advantages in the treasures of her soil,
but her position, with all its apparent draw
backs of harsh climate, &c., is more favora-
BILE to the development of enterprise, intellect,
and activity of all kinds. The moasytaan and
the sea are hers, and with these she can spare
the dead flat of the wide stretching monoto-
nous prairie and the shallow fresh water lake,
with all the merely vegetable fertility which
they engender. AT present every body is head
ed in the direction of shutdown and the even
ing star. Let all go IN that direction who
please. New England does not envy the
West. She can holdher own against any Sec
ton of the country The more wheat grow
ers and pork-raisers there are on the Ohio and
the Missouri, the more weavers and spinners
there will be on the Merrimack and Connec-
ticut. The West and East will thus play into
each others hands. The growth of Chicago,
and Cincinnati, and st. Louis, will promote
the growth OF Lowell, Manchester, and Law
renee. The day is not far distant, when the
banks of the Merrimac River, from its source
IN Lake Winnepissaukee to the Atlantic, will
be thickly studded with cities Of factories, their
huge chimnies vomiting smoke like volcanoes.
Whatever may be the growth of the West
hereafter, the New England States, by virtue
of law of nature old as the history of man,
will always maintain a certain superiority in
intellect, wealth, and enterprise, over the
States of the vast interior. -Lo,ceH Courier.