Daily national Democrat., 1860-09-08
ADDRESS OF WILSON G. FLINT,

| - w -" "Su VI"tor, snare with you the hope
that the malady which detains him from
among you, may be brief and of happy ter
nnnation. Nor can hopo that my feebl
efforts to entertain You on this grand occa
sion, VIII to any considerable extent. amelior
atea foregone disappointment.
Crude indeed must be the ideas which
am able to present to you, as the subjects re
curing discussion on occasions like this hav
for their basis, the world Of nature. art an,
science, each having a record dating back (,
| remote periods, all historical of human pro
gress. To properly investigate all these, St
that Agriculture may claim her due share o
| glory and renown, requires time aud laLori
! Gus investigation.
/ A little more than ten years since it wa
my fortune to have made my way through
the dense thickeis on the South side of th
uOa, where now wave great corn fields
The swift ford Of sparkling waters passed
found me under sycamore tree near wher,
now stands the Merchants Hotel. lust as tL,
sun s.ot down in the west behind thicl
storm clouds and the darkness of niphs Wha
lew CLEANS of day yet fingered showed Nc
Signs OF hospltaOle roof Here and there wa.
ir"i tent or wretched shanty, forbiddiug al
the dusky sky Supper of dainty viauds ther,
was not and | could truly say with the i'm
mortal Bard, 1--WE supped on horrors
Spreading my blankets 10y the trunk Of that
friendly old tree, | retired for the night. and
dreamed--of--Empire. The music that
luIled the restless brain, sang in the requiem
Of the storm, and found accompaniment from
the castanets of the crashing forest timber
nor forgot the owl to hoot solemn measure
or the coyote to ring sharp cadence.
The morrow came, and where the parting
sun last looked upon lisping stream his
rising saw n raging torrent and an inland sea.
But men were here to found a city, and no
calamity could appal them. Graves opened
then as now, and human sympathy which
had soothed the strangers last hour, dropped
into the silent house of all the dead, the tears
OF rigid manhood; seeds of faith and hope
which spring up around us to-day in a full
fruition of blessed realities. If it had been
my lot to have remained among YOU through
the past decade of years, l would to day with
humble awe thank God, that had been one
OF those who had been instrumental, however
obscure and low " my station, in rearing upon
this beautiful plain, so late a wildernes. n
city whose equal for enterprise, wealth
beauty otits public and private edifces, edu-
cational facilities and morality, may in vain
For this most uneXampled prosperity you
are indebted TO your favorable agricultural
locality and the amazing richness aud ex-
tensive development of the gold placers in
your immediate vicinity. That these mine:
Will continue to be productive and afford
your farmers market for their products for
long time there can be no doubt; but YOU
are surrounded by an area of lands varying
in adaptability to all kinds of products known
to the uses of man, of such extent, that their
proper subdivision and cultivation might
usetully employ millions of people. If You
contemplate the present with the horoism Of
seli-denial you will perceive what a mighty
drama is TO be enacted in the future. from
which time is hourly drawing the curtain.
1t is true you have toiled upward and on
ward amid discouragements which would
have appalled, any other people and many Of
you have been abundantly blessed with sta
tion and fortune, and perhaps sometimes gaze
with longing eyes upon other lands for repose
and pastime, and sometimes turn your backs
with disdain on the land which had so pros
pered you. Let me ask you in all candor and
kindness, is this right? Have that people no
claims upon you, who have contributed to
your prosperity 10y that material and mutual
aid which has led them to believe you are o
them and for them? There are communite,
growing up in our State, isolated from socia
and school privileges, and We're you to re
main amongst us, yon might by the applica-
tion OF moity of your boarded wealth, raise
up from ignorance and crime some one OF
more Of the children of misfortune that they
might bless you, because you had saved then
from degradation 10y the force of example
which knows wisely how to distribute ma
teral aid; whereas, if you turn your back
upon the State as soon as your ungrlteful cof
lers are filled to repletion, you may be as
sured that the sentiment here will be, that
California would have been far better off haC
you never entered the State
That so many people should leave Califor-
MIA after acquiring a competence is attribu-
ted to the fact that our present population is
gathered from the four quarters of the globe
and consequently, while in this country, are
deprived of the society of old associates, and
having had few opportunities to form new
ones, owing to all having come here stran,
gers, and afterwards lived in isolated places
there are not opportunities for the formation
OF new friendships. This matter it is in our
power to remedy, to a great extent, and it,
most happy mode of accomplishment is pre-
sented through the medium of industrial
affairs. On occasions like this, old and young
the gay and sedate, of mountain and plain
may come together in grand mass social
reunion, where diverse mind or erratic taste
will meet its affinity, and life's long Journey
will be made with new companionship, and
its rugged pathway strown with flowers o
friendship which otherwise might have
bloomed unseen and
"Shed their fragrance on the desert air."
While all acknowledge the qualification
they experience on visiting your Pavilion
and Grounds where may be seen the won
derlul productions of husbandry and art, il
were well that they should resolve that nt
future occasion should pass, in whose display
there should not be found some one thing OF
another as an attesting witness that you ar,
no drone in society. 1t is painful truth
that at the annual rteurn Of our fairs, ther,
not only can be found at distance but il
the immediate neighborhood, numbers o
persons who refuse to exhibit articles whicl
would add greatly to the interest of the asso
citation, because they indulge silly persona
spleen, thus detracting from the usefulness o
the fair, which is designed to illustrate anC
advance the prosperity of the general public
Others again plead business engagements "a
an excuse for throwing the ltbors of prepar
ing the exhibitions upon an enthusiastic few
and when called upon for that material ai(
which is the spinal marrow of industrial eX-
hibitions, coldly shrug their shoulders anC
niggardly refuse to give moity OF thos'
profits of trade which is brought to thei
doors by the throngs of people, from abroad
come to visit the show. | trust these re
marks will not be found applicable to thi
latitude-l am aware that this people ar,
proverbial for their liberality.
The first epoch of California Anglo Amer
lean history, was the gold discovery and it
subsequent rapid settlement Ly the intro