, 1876-11-01

was once my good fortune to be o guest,
and to feel the charm-to an American, q
novel and inexpressible charm-at the pic
turesque and historic English landscape )
the country, beautiful with a thousand
years of cultivation the ancient village
church the stately manof-houses, the scenes
and figures long familiar in history and rO-
nance. To eyes fresh from such a view,
the New England landscape would doubt
less present q physical roughness and q
corresponding baroness of historic or 70.
mantle interest. Nor could ! hope, by
way of compensation, to introduce him to
households superior to those OF the higher
class in his own country in culture, bene-
violence, and all the higher retinements
and graces Of life. II. But it was in the
charming Sussex country that o clergyman
long resident there, and a most intelligent
and philanthropic worker among the
poor, said to me, with deliberation Ut
is my sober Judgment that our agsicultu-
raj labourers are, as q class, inferior IN In
telligence to ordinary savages. The saw
age has some considerable skill III hunting
and in war, but these men hardly know as
much as the oxen they drive" l almost
hesitate to repeat this language, which l
certainly took to be that OF strong e1ag-
geration. But the facts given in detail
afforded some justification for it. And 1t
was only q somewhat paradoxiCal state
ment Of what the public have often been
told as to the extreme degradation OF a
larG section of the English peasantry.
My compensation for whatever deiclen-
cies might painfully impress my English
guest would be found in introducing him
without reserve among the class who In
station correspond most nearly with US to
the English peasants, and in letting him
zee 70 rhimsolf their intelligence, their self
respect, their capacity for citizenship.
Not the least significant facts in this direc-
ton would be found among the labourers
of foreign birth, and the most significant
of all would be the comparison OF foreign
fathers and mothers with their children
born and educated on American soil. For
the children, education at the public
schools is a matter Of course, and this
implies not only some good degree OF men
tai training, but association with the chill
drcn of a higher class. Certainly, from
one influence and another, there results
in the second generation OF immigrants
an intelligence, self-respect, and indepen-
dence which go very far to emanciPate
them from priegtly control and to qualify
them for citizenship.
l have written with special reference to
New England, but very much the sam
things may be said of the whole North and
West. What is true in these respects OF
the country towns also holds good to some
extent of the cities, though in a much less
degree. The facts / am trying to bring
out belong to this general fact. America
is the poor mans country, the country
where to an extent elsewhere unknown
the good things of life are shared by all
classes. If you want to measure US fairly
you must measure us not by the top, but
by the average of our society. Our high
est stratum is no higher than that OF
some other countries, ] do not think
it is SO high as that Of England. Our
literature is poor compared to yours /; our
periodicals are as a class inferior; our
politicians do not compare well with yours,
either in character or ability; we do not
produce as many good thinkers or artists.
Certainly we hope to make q better com
parison on these points hereafter than we
can make now. Our present deficiency