The patron of husbandry. (Columbus, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1881-09-17
speech 81 Hon. ThoS. ". Berry.

Delivered before the County Grange of
Claiborne County, Miss, June, 1851.
Worthy Master, Brothers and
Sisters, Ladies and Gentlemen:
Having been invited to address Won
on the present occasion, regret, for
your sakes, my want of ability to
open the eyes of your understand
ing to see the evils that oppose your
happiness and prosperity, and OF
eloquence to arouse your minds and
hearts to the proper action to eradi
cate them from your pathway.
With a most genial climate and fer
tile soil; with crops of cotton each
exceeding its predecessor; with I'm
renting industry and rigid econ
omy, amounting in many instances
to extreme self denial, still YOU are
annually growing poorer and poor
er, your county records are over
flowing with mortgages, deeds OF
trust, agricultural liens, the close OF
each year and the beginning of the
next are occasions of extreme anXt-
ETY.. Each and every one of you,
hardly without an exception, feels
the pains and anxieties of the stu,
alton, and anXiouslv asks himself.
herself, his or her neighbor what is
the matter, what is the nature, cause
and remedy for the individual and
general distress which one and all
feel: Some give one answer and
some another; but that the true an
swer Is not given, OF, if given, is not
appreciated, is apparent from the
fact that no adequate means are ia
ken TO cure the patient, although he
issick nigh unto death /, too, NAV
not be able to diagnose the disease
or to prescribe the proper remedy
but since you have invited me tc
address you, that fact implies that
you have some respect for my opin
ion, for none of you expect me
merely to amuse you, even if being
IN SO distressed a condition, you
could be amused, and that gives me
confidence to give you my thoughts
on the subject
We must remember that the
world is not governed by blinc
| chance; that the universe and all i
contains is governed by fixed anc
memorable laws; that there is nc
effect without an adequate cause
that every molecule in creation is {
force acting and being acted upor
by its fellows, and all combined il
one continual and never ceasine
agonism and antagonism.
Having promised thus much, lie
us proceed to the subject in hand
and [ beg of you, on the Threshold
not to be offended at what | shall
say, for | am here not to fatter you
but to speak the truth in all cando
and thereby to benefit you if | can
aud | hesitate not to say that in my
opinion, the first and grand cause O
your depressed condition is ignor
nce,ignorance ofyour true interests
rights and duties. Ignorance is Fl
ways feeble and easilyimposed upor
the subject of it, though often en-
dowed, like the poor Indian, will
sensibility to feel, has not Away
the capacity to see the causes of hi
unhappy condition. 1t enervate
both mind and body, and subject
its victim to every designing person
with whom be comes in contact
and makes him the slave of all hi
unfavorable surroundings and an
tagonizing forces. He is the obiec
of pity to the philanthropist (un
fortunately few in numbers and 0
scorn and contempt to those VIII,
prey upon bin. 1t deprives it
subject Of all proper self-respect
manhood and womanhood. Neet
| further fill up the picture? For
tunately you are not sunk so Low
that you can not appreciate it with
our fuller details.
Having thus glanced at the chic
cause of your unhappy condition
personal to yourselves, let us pas
on to some of the external forces
superimposed and induced by tn,
first, which have led you into it anc
will continue to keep you there, un
less with manly and womanly re
solve you determine to shatter anS
break off the shackles which bin,
! you