The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1856-07-05
FREMONT AND FREEDOM !!
National Republican Nominations
FOR PRESIDENT.
JOHN G. FREMON
OF CALIFORNIA.
FOR vlCE-pRESIDENT.
WILLIAM L. DAYTON.
OF NEW JERSEY
INDEPENDENCE nav.

lNDEPENDENCR DAv.
"Sir," said Major Pogram to Martin Cbuz.
s'e"'', I'VE are great people. and we mus
De cracked up!" There is no alternative
We are "cracked up" by the President in an.
nus' messages. We are cracked up by Mem.
bers OF Congress in Buncombe speecbes-
D'vines, lawyers, editors, all take: freouen,
occasion to give another patriotic crack to the
great American people. And every ambitious
orator who does the cracking on the Fourth
OF JuIy' is expected to get . seven by. nine
purchase" under some part Of the land and
hesvs 1t ahead towards Paradise and Pataoo
mia.
We are progressive people. Who doubts
II! We build railroads and rat.traps. We
nil up valleys and tunnel mountains. We null
dow" houses that We may build palaces. We
invent teIegrsphs and tight paptaloons. We
prevent too great increase of population
BY steamboat collisions and brandy "smash.
e." We march 10 victory beneath the wav
ing Of peacock pIumes and gin cocktails"
We stretch our Fifth Avenues from Cane
Cod to Astoria, and Mr.. Potipbar goes the
way OF all the "parvenus." We sell our
hearts to Mammon, and coin their life-blootl
into drachmas. We steal half of Mexico.
lie in wait for Cuba, and square the account
BY putting dollar more than usual into the
contribution box.
But. for once, leaving to others the pleas
sre Of cracking up the country and its inst.
tutions, We wish soberly to inquire, What is
scally the condition Of our n..;o.q and In
what does it differ from the times of the Rev.
olution?
In al physical and outward things there
has been undoubted progress. The wilder.
ness hss been made to blossom as tie ROSE
Towns and cities have multiplied. The art.
Of peace, agriculture, manufactures, com
merce, have all contributed to swell our cof
fers and furnish US with all the appliances
Of civilized life. Educational facilities are
abundant and easy of access. The road tt
wealth, honor and influence is open to ever,
citizen. Ambition urges on, and Fame sit,
beckonins on her temple.
But there is another side to this picture
which, a. Americans, we should not overlook
With our success and increasing prosperity
have been bred the taste for luxury, the de-
sire tor wealth, the impotence Of an hum
bic, the envy Of an opulent condition, the im
Aation in lower sphere of what is only pos
s'bls in higher one, begetting On universal
discomfort and an impotence at the move
ment Of Providence. A restlessnsss, the re-
suit Of feverish anxiety for the future, j.
wearing away every generous and unsel6sh
impulse Of the public mind. There 10 On
en1Iess rivalry going on, in which few ever
think OF the State as something for them ia
serve, but as something that can be made to
serve them at another's expense. The in.
cessant whirling Of business .pcculations, the
Wild and reckless scheming Of political ad.
venturers, the mad rant and wickedness Of
fanatical "reformers." are all signs We can bu,
deplore. which We can only regard a. evil
smens for the happiness Of this and future
geserasions.'
This is not all. The customs and manners
Of our fathers have been supplanted by 9th
ers Of more outward polish, but less hearth
ness and individuality. Local usages, which
confer IN attachment to home and fatherlsnd
strong a. all ties besides, have disappeared
lite an old-fashioned coat, and ! metropoli.
tan ssmeness has invaded the most retired
corner Of the land. Asreat part Of whatev-
o. in sports or exercises or observances once
gave charm to rural life, beguiled toll with
innocent pleasures, ard conferred . manly
strength and courteous address, has vanish
ed; until three.fourihs Of the people are
haunted By cares nearly Is incessant and u
eating - attend him who has hundred rich
eoonercial ventures at sea, or sleeps only =
mons troubled dresms Of the fancy stocks
in which be deals. An uneasy ambition, and
. solicitude gnawing At our heartstrings,
makes life weary tread-mill which We ever
strive to ascend, but which perpetualiy
sinks- beneath our feet. Exempt - We are.
far more than any other people in the world,
from any II the anxieties Of Strengthened
sussistsnce, any fears for the future, - yet
what people 20 little pauses to enjoy.or tastes
les Of. the sweetness of life than ours?
Il this the heart that free state should
have ? this health Of the public mind p
this The temper, and these the thoughts that
are 70 confer new political serurities?
II. nov, vs turn to the political aspect II
tbs county and rss closely the policy of