, 1859-10-04

When arc VIC to hnye "hettcr times" il tho
aal-ahsorhiag question in almost every circle Of
western society. To answer this question in
telligcnuy, requires @ careful surrey Of the
causes Which proauce, about every twenty
years, q great 1innncial rcyulsion, aud also Of
tho meaus by which society recovcra FROM their
disas,roys effects Their cause is to be found
in IN undue expansion Of values, reckless
nbuso Of the credit system, wasting the capital
Of tho countr, in wild and useless schemes Of
informal improvement and general extrava.
gance in public and pfiyate expenditure At
1ougth tic stupeudous bubble bursts and thou
sands arc involved in hopeless ruin among
these thousands aro found tho sansuiue and
the cuterprising, the men who build steam-
ships, and te1cgraphs, and railways-who c1-
plore new countries. and open new fields for
the expansion Of commerce; and, in fact near-
y oil those vino are devoled to the progress Of
mankind in physical and social development,
who constitute the motive power Of society
arc involved il serious embarrassment, OF per-
chance in hopeless bankruptcy. When the
motive power is disabled Or destroyed, the ma
chineg Of commerce must stop; society must
rest till That power can 10 created aud again
applied to physical and eocial progress.
The aboyc will be recognized as but a mea-
gre sketch Of the sad effects following tie
crash Of 1857. How long it will require for
aociety fully to recover from it, no one can
exactly foretell. Time must be allowed for the
removal Of the debris Of past disaster By the
payment Of old debts. Men will not engage in
ncw enterprises till former liabilities arc liquid
ased And, besides, great majority Of those
~ho wcre tho sauguino and the enterp1ising
during tic season Of prosperity, hare fallen
doggedly into the ranks Of the cautious and
tho conservative, and in some sense new men
Of the game temperament must be raised IN
before any considerable movement can be real
lied. So elastic and vigorous Is tho American
character, TINT these men are soon supplied to
the progressive ranks Of society. Young men
conc forward with alacrity to take tue lead in
every department. Of business. They come
from tic 3arm and the workshop, imbued with
habits Of close economy and untiring industry.
In very few years their influence becomes
potent and all pesrading, and new enterprises,
commercial educational md religious, arc car
Rcd forward to successful conclusion.
Another stimulus to activity ia derived from
the distribution Of largo estates among heirs,
who use the means that had been clutched for
4 generation By some miseFly fathee, in active
business. Tbs sons Of the rich seldom continue
the boarding process Of their fa.hera- 1t must
bo confessed that they too often squander the
hard earnings Of their pareuta5 but even then
alarge proportion Of it finds its way into the
channels Of nciyc business.
In an article few days since, We showed
TINT some twelve mil1ons Of dollars would be
placed to the credit Of Chicago during the -four
months preceding the first Of next january.
l. very considerable portion Of this money can
be applied to realize tho first condition Of bet
ter tines, viz tho payment Of old debts, With
careful economy for another year and tho pro
ceods Of another c.op, t'.ough like that Of the
present year it 10 ra.her short, wo NAV hone
sold debts" will mainly be wiped out. b.
that time the men Of energy and enterprise
will begin to tnke their positions in the front
ranfsof society. Rapid advancement ahould no
It first be expected. Tho foundations must b
: faM for steady, substantial progress in tho fu