The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1865-12-12


- -------
From the time when the toilinx and patien
philosophy OF Induction and experiment. inan
9arated By Lord Bacon, came into favor, phi.
stce, arts, utility and progress have ruled th'
tAo0GAts of man, and developed with amaxim,
rapAdity their producing poweYa. The hNrr~s
dispatatione Of the scAcolnsen and the absurstt
ttes 81 astroio9y and alchemy recetied before
the advance OF natural science and mechanics
construction, and the arrangement and adjust
meat Of natural forces took their place. the
great master who taught the world 10 investi
gate. step by step, and process by procr>s. the
laws 70 eevern them in their efforts to s"otne
matter and combine force could view the ei'
gaatic results Of enterprise. production and
consumption which distinguish our modern
civilization, his soul woah swell With n trt-
umpA sach a. never thrilled the heart Of tfc
xraass<t and most successful Of military son,
Qusrors.
Now that war has ended and peace resun,es,
is sway: now that Virginia has entered upon
new era. we feel profoundly seiici,ous that
the mechanical arts and manufactures should
ealist the tns<r~ss and energies of her people
The war itself bore striking testimony 10 their
SHlue and Importance, Tn. genius Of the cOan-
QutCAC0eW
sxcitasions Of the time. and the creative and
Constructive forces played part as influential
- IL armies in The field. The Development oi
mechanical skill in the South WAS among the
most noticeable rhehomena Of that wonderful
period. We had been purely agricultural
people and. in the midst Of Sn age and country
Of Usshanism, had left To Others the rich
prizes Of msclanicSl and mannfactur-
tnE industry. ~ The war having disclosed
to Ms capacities which we did not know
ourselves that We possessed, let It's now
apply them 10 the restoration OF our
fallen fortunes and the development OF the
wealth and greatness Of our State. The Unfit /
ence Of the mechanic arts upon political and
eocial progress is conspicuously inscribed upon !
every page Of modern history. 1t was among /
the M0st powerful agencies that undermined I
The institution Of feudalism and paved the
way for the triumph of liberal ideas and the ,
fusion Of social classes. The philosophical .
historian, HALLax, IN classifying the periods /
and the causes of the deliverance OF Europe
has ascribed one Of the first degrees OF pro
Sress to the introduction OF WOODEN manufac. !
tures into Flanders nearly six hundred wears
ago. This new 6i>s~r-s>ssscn Of industry mad. .
that little disrriS. sas q; HE wonders OF the
world. and assr2s issi TO Ii merchants from all !!
ME kiAxtcsga< 81 the earth. Mechanical skill F,
and production spread from Flanders TO the /
free CITIES of Germany: and England great En-
WARD cuaieEr<Sd upon her hoen. by introtlu-
eng emigration from the manufacturers of the z
continent, which has rarely been equ,llcd BY
her most glorious military and naval victories. !
1t has been justly os<ers Ell that, aided by the I
practical arts. the democratical interest gained
Ihe first modern triumph for while, in an
earlier day, WAT TyLEK's powerless rabbla
fell easily before the knights in their armor Of .
steel, CROxwgLL gathered from the houses Of ,
and merchants those steady soldiers /
whose backs were never seen by the foe. The
progress of Great Britain since she emerged
from the middle period exposed her to the
taant Of NAPOLEON that she was nation OF
shop-keepers: but she was, and is, equally a
nation of mechanics and 1T was the wealth
which trade and manufactures produced that
proved too strong in the end for even the ge-
dare say with truth. that ARKwRIanr, who
placed cotton spinning in the sisterllood of
national powers, bore the English nation tri-
nmphantly through the wars Of the French
revolution and that WArr, who organized the
steam engine. was the conqueror Vt the con-
aueror of Europe. At n later period, when
plain Northumberland mechanic inaugurated
Inc grand railroad experiment Of the age DIR.
AaxoLD, Of Rugby, looking from one OF the
bridges ut the flashing train, exclaimed IL
" rejoice to See it, and to think that Jendolty is
. gone /0Seres.''
The development Of the mechanic arts in the !
American colonies awakened at an early pc.
iod, the jealousy of the mother country, and I
ave rise to . repressiye, and, occasionally, l
,rohibitory policy of Great Britain, intended i
o impoYerish the industrial resources Of the 6
md drawing from Mr.. BURKE the :
emark that the English nation seemed
o act upon the thought that America was ]
>ec0miDg her rival in the department OF /
landieTaft. This legislation aroused a cor I
espOnding spirit in the colonies, SO that, as 1
ms been justly remarked, when the time came
or rupturfng the tie Of empire, the q,ics ton I
4 taxation was rather the occasion than the {
Urinary caase of the wars. The mechanical {
enius TINS early and prominently displayed.
n this country has stamped itself indelibly
lpOn the national character and progress ,
;yen Great Britain, the workshop OF the ;
v0e6d, with her twenty thousand steam on =
ines. driven with power equal to two mil Y
Ions Of map. trembies at the mechanical encr- q
,ies Of . country which, in the very infancy I
4 Its existence, bias reclaimed an empire larger ]
han Europe from the Wiks Of barbarism q
vhich has, constructed thirty thousand miles q
railroad, and twenty five thousand miles Of
lectTic wire. /
We invoke Virginia TO embark with prompts + h
49, and energy In those mechanic arts which n
-, in these modern days, the chief agencies of r
ational wealth and power. We haye neg v
'cted too Iouu, In former days., this patent n
nd practical highway to greatness. The I'M u
enbted energies OF the Virginia character has r.
aen Qppsefitabiy expended III barren po- il
deal 0elis, yielding only the thistle bloom of A
l0vy. bslt nothing that could afford susie Il
ance to either man q beast. II the ,neshani- ri
\ arts, With which manufactures may be n
synonymous. and the enterprises of L
'mapfce hAd engaged as much and aspcr- II
stently the attention Of our people as tbs ~
Iisss and harvests OF political renown, she II
mid NOW BE- the foremost State of the Ameri- al
~ Unioa. We have now an opportunity to