Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1859-11-23

Others he looks to it and labors in it with the inn
plements which the mechanic has placed in his
hands, Every ship that sails; every fertilization
that towers along the deep; every improvement up
our rivers, lakes, and seas; every town and city
that adorns the surface of the world every temple
dedicated to law, art science, and religion; every
telegraph wire, annihiating space every steam-car,
uniting the interests and sympathies Of distant conf
munities; every telescope, sweeping the heavens
and bringing other worlds largely before our vision
every microscope, revealing the hidden wonders of
the world around us; every printed book, which in
FORMS instructs, delights and elevates the mind;
every fabric and contrivance which contributes to
our convenience and comfort, or which protects US
from the heat of summer and the cold of winter, is
the direct result of mechanical ingenuity industry
and skill.
Let no man be ashamed of mechanical labor.
Some of the greatest and best men that graced
the earth with their presence were mechanics.
The hard hand of toll is infinitely more honorable
than the soft hand of sloth and luxury Rather let
the mechanic be proud of his skill, of his industry,
and of his usefulness to society," Let him honor his
vocation, and his vocation will honor him. The
true test of merit is in the performance of duty in
whatsoever situation we may be placed. Tried by
this test, the mechanics and working-men Of North
Carolina are tie equals of any and all others. Be
true, gentlemen mechanics, to yourselves to your
country. and to your God. Be loyal to your State
and its interests, as you always have been and as
your brother mechanics were before you, who fol-
lowed WASHINGTON, the farmer and Greene the
blacksmith, and Morgan the wagner, and Sher-
man, the shoemaker, and Franklin the printer, in
the war Of independence. Remember that you are
now power in the State; and that Common Schools
and internal improvements are constantly increas-
ing yoi,r intelligence, your influence, and your pow
er. Remember that labor of all kinds rightly ap-
preciated and justly protected and rewarded is the
happiest temporal inheritance of man. Its fruits
are seen every where, benefiting, gladdening, and
blessing the earth. Labor, of whatsoever kind, is
the life Of the State. When it prospers all inter-
ests flourish; when it languishes, all interests
decline. Let u.s. then, cherish, encourage and
honort; and let the mechanics whose interests and
destinies are inseparaby associated with those of
the farmers resolve to do their full part in advanc
ing the prosperity and augmentng the glory of our
good old State.
"Toil swings the axe, and forests bow;
The seeds break out in radiant bloom;
Rich harvests smile behind the pillow,
And cities cluster round the lOOm
Where tOttering dOmes and tapering spires
Adorn the vale and the hill,
Stout Labor lights its becon fires
And plumes with smoke the forge and mill.
The monarch oak the woodlands pride,
Whose trunk is scanned with lightning
Toll launches on the restless tide,
And there unrolls the flag of stars:
The engine with its lungs of fame,
And ribs of brass and joints of steel,
From Labor plastic fingers came,
With sobblDg valve and whirling wheel.
IT'S Labor works the magic press,
And turns the crank in hives of toll,
And beckons agels down to bless
Industrious hands on sea and soil.
Here sun-browned Toll, with shining spade,
Links lake to lake with silver ties,
Strung thick with palaces Of trade,
And temples towering to the skies"