The Portland daily press., 1868-10-10
Gov. Chamberlain's Address,

dOV. UnamDerlaln'S Address
"a e''ia grii-sU
DELIVERED BEFORE THE MAINE STATE AsR,
CULTURAL SOCIETY.
Cicero tells us of a certain Greek orato,
who was invited to speak before Hannibal
and thought it beftting the occasion To de.
llVer lengthy discourse upon military ART
and the office of general. At the conclu.
sion the great soldier was asked what he
thought OF the orator He replied with more
force than eloquence that he had heard MANY
silly old men in his day, but this orator was
ahead OF them ALL What fippancy and pre-
sumption before Hannlbal who for so many
years had contended for the empire with tbe
Romans-the conquerors of the world for
this Greek man who had never seen the enc.
my, never seen the field, never exercised the
smallest particle of any public Office to un-
aertake 10 give precepts on military art!
30 IL may seem to you, veterans of a humid
ied nelas, presumptuous in me to discourse
in your presence of the farmers calling or
the Art OF Agriculture; for if / assume to
instruct, or criticise, you will deny my COM
potency as an expert, and if | seek to encour-
age you, and praise your vocation, you will
want 10 ask, why, If think farming such a
| L Try fDy DaIlQ at
| IT myself. have serious thoughts of ii. nv
friends, but the fact is you don't seem to fa-
vor it yourselves. A very respectable portion
OF you, 1t is true, seem kindly enough dispos-
| ed towards my devoting the rest of my days
| to.1armlng; but the majority are still SO stub
born, or SO jealous lest should beat them at
it, that they won't give me the chance. i.ls
But yet do not shut me wholly ont from
your fellowship; for during just one half the
years IL mas taken to bring me to the age of
| wisdom, suppose there was hardly any du-
ty or function of farmers boy that I did
not nave a hand in, and if you doubt whetl-
er was good boy at that business and
wantto pop mischievous question at me |
shall blushingly reply, Ask my mother! And
| L mind me OF certain twenty-acre lot.
where my father gave scope to my boysh
| ambition and l went at it single-handed.
from what time the axe was laid at the root
| OF those mighty trees, till it smiled in grace
iui harvest. es, have cleared field! and
there Is still something within me that wants
| to do it again.
Since that. my main work in life has been
different, and such little harvests as have
| been vouchsafed to me, have been ireaped
| from other fields. But it is the truth to saw
that in no work or achievement, have felt a
parer or prouder JOY than when, in the calm
summer twilight never forget, 1 smoothed
the brooding earth over that last breadth of
gram, and knew how Paul felt when he saw
in this the emblem of the great resurrection.
| Do you wonder that the last time L went
home walked out there with nv little
daughter, and sat down and styled for some
| thing had not P something that you, kind
| trends, with all your honors could not give
| me-the sweet rest-the calm mind. the
sound body, the heaven lifted soul of those
dear days of old? These are pleasing mem-
cries; nor are there brighter dreams of the
iuture--lf it is permitted still to dream
than the peace, the freedom, the breadth of
view, all the luling sounds of field and for
est, the breath of the home returning kiue,
the smell OF the upturned earth, the sight of
waving harvests in green and gold. Can you
deem me over weak if long for these again
to dispel the lingering visions of the earth
upturned by fiercer Implements, and the
| thick-strewn harvests where pitiless Death
moved down your strong and brave
Thus it is, that when yielded to the wish
es of your Executive Committee, the diff
dence felt at speaking on these things be-
fore you was overcome by the pride l felt in
| your honorable record, and my interest in
your calling. .-sa- (. - 7atE
| Distinguished as the State is for some spe.
claltes OF business, it cannot be denied that
by far the greatest part of our productive in
dustry is within the vocation of Agriculture
and it is a fact of which you NAV well be
proud that our public character as State in
| social, moral, and political, and even military
affairs, takes its type and tone from our agri-
cultural population. Itrbecomes therefore a
high official duty as well as a personal pleas
ure, to appreciate the services, encourage the
labors, and prsnote the prosperity Of those
who contribute so largely to the public sus-
tenance and TO the public character. II
xunrs utc I.a
there is lack OF interest here in Agricut
ture; for all this bountiful and magnificent
array before us, these fruits and fabrics
these finished implements and curious inven
tions, these animals so perfect of their kind
| nay, this noble and beautiful assembly O
men and women-for these be it not forgot
ten, are representatives of the far.1; all thi;
say, will put any doubter to the blush. This
Interest is also attested by the fact itself thai
you are holding this fair to be followed by
others in every county; by all the Boards
Associations. reports. published commnnica
tions, as well as legislative acts, which show
that men feel that there is something in th,
matter worth attending to.
For all this, think it fair to say that th,
farmer in this State is not over enthusiastic
All the public performances are jubilant, bu
the individual farmer is apt to be grumbling
Our season is short; the soil not so rich a
elsewhere; the rocks plague him; the mdg
is after his wheat; the rust his potatoes; th
eoons his corn; the dogs his sheep: the boy
his fruit that is, If the drought hasn't go
everything before hand. He groans, bein,
burdened. Under such rallying cry it is D,
wonder that he doesn't go at his work will
much heart. His boys are not likely, either
to be captivated by that strain. They hea
of broad prairies needing neither axe, no
| Sff,r, RI tn flrf
living from the soil, of magical cities wher
fortune is made in night, or of distan
territories where everything even to tn
mountains is on "a gold basis" and the
strike out for themselves. Those who sue
ceed come back with smooth hands and fin
airs, and with money enough perhaps to bn
out their father and all his neighbors. Thi
OF course works powerfully on the imagina
ton, aud the neighboring young people anS
ious and ambitious, bid the old homestea
adieu, which unfortunately doesn't mean
Dteu -commending them to God but quit
the reverse.
And he who is but dsposed-most earnes
and patient--hnds that he can't succee
without hard work, and that at the bes
FARMING requires vast deal OF prudence an
care, and even then its returns are somewha
precarious and comparatively small. He
| more dapendent on chances OF the weathc
IMAM the sailor, and cau't get his crop insul
ed for the season as the other can his shi
[! for the voyage. The worst is that his boy
too, energetic and capable. as they are, wi
be likely to take one of those farewells whic
. don't leave much aoelfdre behind them.
4 This has affected me much. and has
more than once taken what seemed TO me
proper occasion to express my views ON
with such brevity as | could, which has stl
appeared to some a culpable prolixity. ca
hardly now do more or less than to insist a
on those views with that familiarity of e.
. preston which this occasion happily permit
without wishing to appear boaatiui
Maine, am not willing to have her mlsiu
!. derstood ano decried. We can bear TO s.
now matters stand. II appears that u
yearly value of our hay, potatoes, and gra
}, alone at the last returns was not much sho
T. OF thirty millions. ard five take into accou
the other products OF our farms, such as d
smaller vegetables and fruits, stock raisiI
= and domestic manufactures, II will swell 4
amount to nearly fifty millions annually
M business within the legitimate sphere of az
: culture, which ought TO be considered
spectacle i'm quantity II not In quality, a