The Grand Haven news. [volume] (Grand Haven, Mich.) 1858-18??, 1862-10-08
A D D r E S s,
BY HON. THos. W. FERRY,
Delivered at the Annual Fair Of the
OHawa County agricultural Society,
September 20, 1862.

OtdUG County AgrtcmturM S0cfety
September 26, 1862.
Mr.. President, Members of the Soci-
ETY., and Farmers Of Otta,ea County!
Tho key note to the ultimate suppress
sion of the present rebellion was struck
when from the head of John G. Calhoun,
its arch instigator, few these words, I" he
who digs the wealth out of the earth is
entitled to it against the world; no one
has right to take il from him but his
government, and it only to the extent OF
its legitimate want" The ring Of this
truth has resounded in the halls of our
late Congress, where, Notwithstanding the
earnest and anxious labors of the nation
for selfpscservation, opportunity and dis
position were employed TO establish as one
of the permanently conservative depart
ments Of the national government, bu-
reau of Agriculture. To the Importance
and responsibility of your vocation as an
element for the greater security of the lib
critics Of a free people, l invite, farmers,
brief and careful attention.
Our forefathers by their valor, blood
and treasure, earned not only their Iude-
pendeuce, but purchased by the primary
right of occupation and the power Of VIC
torious arms, the title to the American
domain. To the manor-born, the descend
ants OF those illustrious heroes claim and
dare maintain their lands against the pow
ers of the world. In repeated trials the
gallantry and invincibiity of the Ameri-
can people have been proven and acknowl-
edged against all foreign foes, and to no
authority or dictntion have they yielded
submission, save to the government which
affords them security, protection and per-
petuity. Allegiance 10 that is the cardi-
nal principle of the American Citizen
When that government is threatened, its
constitution ignored, and the Union, once
so peaceful and perfect in its ample folds,
contemned and broken by faction of
ambitious, desperate citizens, who seek
nothing short Of its utter ruin, the search
ing question appeals to each heart, Of
what import TO me, in my sphere, has this
menacing revolt affecting the value place
upon the iinperlled government, anu up
on my responsibility as a citizen Of the
republic and cultivator of its soil p
When our greatest statesmen employ the
language of my text, to recognize the
important rank Of those who "dig the
wealth out of the earth," and the nation
al legislature halts in the midst of its
martial enactments to dignity the farmers
vocation with an executive function, l shall
not be counted impertineut, while refresh
ing the memory of my hearers with the
strides the nation has made under the rich
contributions Of her soil, nor shall be
deemed to have mistaken the occasion,
when the importance and responsibility Of
the farmers employment is made the
theme for consideration.
No better landmarks can be cited from
the past than Greece and Rome to illus
trate the value, TO nation, Of farming,
and its invaluable element in the prosper
ity Of people. Notwithstanding the
Greeks were, in early times, the acknowl,
edged coneuerors and civilizers of the
world; whether, as considered in their he
roic age, starting with their legendary ex-
ploits in search of the golden fleece and
ending with the crowning glory of the
seizure and capture of Troy; whether, un-
der regal rule, blessed even with the favor
Of the gods and the special patronage of
Hercules, or under Ionian States or Do.
rian Confederation; whether ruled by
Spartan vigor, administered by the favor
ite law-giver, Lycurgus, or dazzled by the
Athenian administration when the race
become famous for letters, art, political
science and eloquence; whether under the
conquering Miltiades or the vanquished
but valiant Leonidas-lhe plains Of Mar
atbon and the pass of Thermopylae alike F;
whether independent under royalty, as
well as constitutional sovereignty, or de-
pendent subjects to the dictation Of Ro-
man rule, or finally achieving their inde-
pendence of the tyranny of the Turkish
despot; in short, amid the greatness Of
her schools Of letters and Of arts, crowd
ed by the grandeur of her temples and
statutes, in all her brilliant and wonderful
vicissitudes, she lacked the great central
poise of regulated, landed estate TO give
her permanence, true greatness and pow
er. Despising the cultivation of the soil,
she, by her statutes, assigned agriculture
TO her menials and thus associated it with
degeneracy and iDfamy. In her meteor
ic history, her early magnifcence, tempo
rary refinement, and decline to an insig.
nificant power, is written the result Of her
national contempt of the utility of the
soil.
Rome, on the other hand, weaned by
Romulus and Remus 10 war and rule,
through her master stroke Of admitting
plebiaus to political power, sprapg at once
into further reforms which eventually
made her the mistress Of the world. The
disastrous weakness Of the early years ol
that Republic was occasioned by the bit.
tor feuds and irreconcilable dissensions oI
factions, intent upon political supremacy,
conspiripg to jeoperdize the existence o.