New-York daily tribune., 1857-04-25

C0mmO0WealtD.
in the State Of New-fork meme minds have scarccay
Gained Gown from zeaious advocacy and relentesD
adoption Of system at stern prohibition and cop6s-
cation Of all spiri,uous drinks when thar system 10
abandoned. and return is made 20 the old enc f
hcerses snd excuses. which existed before snyihne
wss h ard Of the peculiar laws OF Maine
I think II the history Of parties in ths country
were sedulcusly scruinized IL would be found thai
the sin such as il s of those TO whom change
of oprop attributed consists either in that they hsA
rot changed late or not 80 early as their sccuses
did or looking tolerantly on while Others chansed:
rad not charged at al themselves, but stood st2
,,, ,be world 10 come back 10 them, and thee
resumed their place IN column -
InsworJ he 20 whom il never happened 10 think
or Enox something to-day wbi1h he did rot know or
think Yesterday must have been born omnisc'en'iy
nfable or has not vet advanced from tho innocent
simplicity ard petuant willtullness OF infancy sm
not so humble az to admit that my condition rs the
latter, presumptive as to pretend tha' 'no
former, of the opposite categores -.
But LEI tha, pass II is the fecitous condition o.
the United States TO possess constitution oil govern
meut which consists Of stipustons of compact ~ the
rule of action, not Of party platforms nor pohncsa
dogmas Thus il IL that under the protecting shsdow
of the Constitution thought free. and opinions ne
and fall, and parties come and CO. transi'ofy are
errsc as meteors comets in the middle sky, whils
far above shine fxedy the steady us,er Of their gle.
rious effulgence the bright s,srs Of Union.
We the people of the United States, have predes-
tined fate before u.s. plain to be according to my
thought as if inscribed on the adamantne leaves a
time with pencil of fire. Nay, it is prov,dentd
mission assigned TO by the visible ous'refcned nm
know il is not uncommon for men to speak nrev-
ereny On the one hsnd or rlghtingy on the other
the destnies the mission Of the United States Let
us pause here a few minutes.
Itwas my fortune, not many years ago to traverse
the Pacific Ocean in ts widest expsnse from the Goa
tipept of Asia 10 that of America. We launcnea
forth upon i, in our tra bark Columbus did on the
Atlantic with nothing save il to speak OF mans pres
ence in that great world of sea and OF sky IL may
no. hats
from New Bedford or Nantucket chased the whale u
the distant bays of kamschatka or the Aieuuan
Islands that some Russian cossted along the Sues
of B.hrirg from the Asatic to the American Siberia;
but otherwise from the Sandwich Islands beneath the
Tropc of Cancer to the icebound foundations OF the
| polar north we slone were out on uat im'nense
ocean No forget. There might have been stray
ship from Boston Salem painfully collecting csige
of raw hides in San Francisco or San Diego OF
from our city, with perhaps your present mayor ans
others of your immediate teLowcitiSens ON osa,u.
plsntine our couutrys standard the banks OF the
Columbia: for be Il remembered, Oregon was orsi-
| naly colonized by men OF Newburypor, pu. no
longer were the great gailecns OF Spaln 70 S,;n.
II was desert waste Of water, as II awaiting the
winged messenger of the ark TO fly forth upon Il ana
| While navigating that waste of water-wbile sail.
ing by is almost unnhabitabe shores, the thought
| cane TO mellow should it not ARE al the IN
vaabe riches OF those vast regions OF EARN never
profit man IL that vast ocean 10 continue mus par
| rem of use, with white canvas OF the mariner no
steamship with its cloud by day and its piar Oh nrc
| by night, to pillow the deep and breast the rolling
waves bearing the freight and wealth oil ule "es'efu
Tme~and how brief a time has answered this
question. The opulent State Of California has grown
| up there az il were in a day-gving ana receiving
treasures of wealth and assuming its proud place ID
| the galaxy of the Union. second State, Oregon v
about to take on tho robes of sovereignty as ooe9u
member Of the Confederation OF States , IhlIu,
| Washington. perpetusting the name OF the father
of his country in that ultima thule OF Americs, WV
not be content TO remain long without us iul ENJOY
ment of constitutional rights and its due
ton in the Senate of the United States. And that -
recently unoccupied ocean OF the North Pacihc-how
buoyanty does II bear on its swelling waves the
noble fleets of clipper-shps of Newburyport and Esst
Boston by the aide Of which the gaeons of Acapuico
| and Manila were but unsghtly hulks, and which are
reighted with wealth such poet never dreamed OF
| to ill the great argosies Of Genoa and 'enice'
| Who, in so brief time, wrought all these wonders
Was il the work of legions Of fabulous giants, mar
shaled to their stupendous tack by the miraculous
charm Of the ring Of Solomon such as we read OF 10
the picturesque legends Of Arabia He who saw II as
il was ten years ago. and il IA II Ia now might
| wen conceive that nothing short Of supernatural
| power could have produced the marvellous change.
Il is miraculous, il is supernafuranot the mracie OF
dcnor-slaves driven under the Lash of some magciss
| teskmaster; but the miracle Of American courage,
| American genius and American virtue working out
our country great destines, under the pre-ordained
| npusion of Almighty God.
Ii was NY fortune, at another time 10 stand on the
summit Of the lofty ridge OF land which divides the
sources # the Mississippi from those of Lakes Supe.
rior Huron Erie and Ontario havingon right hand
the waters of that mighty river which drains, and, e.
il flows on TO the Gulf II Mexico, fertzes the largest
and the richest valley of cultvabe land on the face OF
| the earth and on my left hand that unique success
sion of great rivers and lakesthe river, alternately
expanding into magnificent iresh-water seas, ana the
seas narrowing again into beautiful nvers ana 40,
through forest and meadow, and over cataracts ana
rapid rolling on with lavish profusion thousand miles
10 the far-off Gulf Of 81. Lawrence. Such wr the
standpoint of view. Before behind, all around me,
| were noble forests Of oak and pine and maple and
| elm earth-bon giants Of the ,primeva world; and
beyond them, stretching far away to the utternost
bounds of the horizon verdant savannafs In all the
luxurance of natures virginia. unstnted prodigafy.
| sublimely immense ocean, lovely a. dream VI
| Paradise Streamlets and lakes were sparkling amid
the trees in the sunlight like diamonds and sspphrsS
scattered the ch resses oil some fair maiden az
she steps in the pride Of her beauty and her youth All
that MAGNIFICENT scene however, was but widerness,
where the Indian still roamed at will in his native Tor.
ests or padded his light on river and lake; ana
where 10 sign of cultivation, no marx OF ci'iHeuon,
| was TO be seen, in the glorious banner Oh the
sripes and stars floating some military station or
outpost to be witness to the omnipresent power OF the
| Union.
| Here again the Thought came to me-csn IL be
that all this wealth of land and sea Is to remain lost
70 the uses Of human greatness and happiness TX
half ftempted one to mpeach the Divine Jusce to re.
aect that millions and millions Of men were at that
hour sitting for want Of space in the crowded coun-
| tries of Europe" cabined, cribbed, confined IN
! narrow lanes where industry had no field to Work
in ard ambition was devouring its own hean for
| want Of scope ard object; and wives and chiidres
were pning away on the crusts OF destifution eno
mi-.ry-yhie here was earth enough to be the scar ot
imperial dominion, squandered apparently on hsnd-
fui Of untaimed and untamabe Indians. But impious
| would have been such thougbt-the foolish implety
of mans improyidence and Ignorance. Gods WISDOM
4 N