The Press., 1883-10-18
THE STAFFORD FAIR.
ABSTRACT OF DIR. LoR1NG's ADDRESS

certain sense Connecticut stood foremost
 among agricultural communities, We are
 told that when 70 per cent. of the people
 are engaged in agriculture the annual
 earnings of each person are $161 per an-
 mum when 20 per cent. are engaged the
 annual earnings of each person are $45O
 per annum. To this last class belongs Con-
 nectlcut, abounding in carefully cultivated
 farms, herds of valuable cattle, great local
 markets, aud everything necessary to the
 intelligence and prosperity of the commun-
 ity. E. .'.
 From this the speaker passed to consid-
 eration of. agriculture as national indus
 try. He recognized the fact that it lies at
 the foundation of state and society in eve
 ry country ,and especially in our own where
 for many years 1t was almost our only in
 dustry, supplying us with our revenue and
 feeding and clothing the strong men who
 gave us our nationality. It was cluster
 of agricultural colonies which secured our
 independence. The citizen proprtetors of
 the soil of America have learned to defend
 their rights, and they struck for freedom
 long before the associate industries had
 gained 8 foothold on these shores. It was
 the ''embattled farmer" the poet tells us,
 who fired the shot heard round the world. y
 And having laid the foundation of our re-
 pnblic, they pursued their calling with dil-
 lgence and success, and gave us strong
 and honorable community, renowned for
 courage, honor, integrity, and fidelity. It
 was this almost universal industry connect
 ed with small commerce, which enabled an
 economical and prudent people to set an
 example of financial honor which has not
 yet been forgotten, When MT. Jefferson
 closed his career as president of theUnited
 States, he was congratulated by the legisla-
 ture of Virginia, through the mouth of the
 lllustrious William Wirt, that he had suc-
 ceeded in paying $50, 900, 900 of the nation
 al debt. The power to do this came large
 ly from the land. Manufactures had no ex-
 istence. The r1vers washed down their
 falls and rapids unhindered to the sea. Cot
 ton manufactures were unknown. Woolen
 cloth was woven by the industrious moth
 CTS and sisters on looms for which room
 was always provided in the well organized
 household. Flax was grown and linen made
 But neither manufactures nor the mechanic
 arts gave employment to our people, nor
 revenue to the state. The power of the na-
 tlon consisted in the stout hearts of the farmers, and the wealth of the nation in
 the successful application of their skill to
 l.
 tages, 1t IS true. The soil was fertile, and
 the harvests were great. In my own state.
 in fact Tn my county of Essex, so famed for early and late activity and industry, one of the most reliable, powerful and faithful statesmen and soldiers of the revolution, Timothy Pickering, tells us that in his day the soil yielded to the acre 29 bushels of wheat, IF bushels of corn, 52 bushels of
 barley, 5l8 bushels of common potatoes, 300 bushels of, carrots, 1,034 bushels of mangelwurzel, ,632 bushelsSwedish turnips,
 783 bushels wheat, 654 bushels onions, 80 tons of hay grown on 6 acres, and the year ly average of forty acres for many years was more than 120 tons. To the fertile lands Of the west these crops may not seem extraordinary, but to the east they were, and are far beyond what can now be reach ed by the most skillful fertilizing and the highest cultivation. In our own day the soil may have lost it's fertility, industries may have multiplied, the paths to wealth and comfort may have become more and more varied, but agriculture holds it's for mer place still, and taxes our ingenuity and secures prosperity. In the great trials that have befallen the generation, trials in which not only the wisdom of the wise, but the fruits of the industrious are needed to sus- tain and develop the country which theival- or of the faithful saved from ruin, the wealth which has been drawn from the soil has enabled us to maintain our finan cial honor and solve many vexed financial problem. The position held by us in the commerce of the world was watched with interest and anxiety during all those years Tn which the power of our people to bear the great war debt was matter of painful fha a1O ~f IL e.. c1al facts of our country were against us. Gold was at a premium. Our exports were comparatively small. The balance of trade was against us, and our supply of gold was constantly drawn on to pay our foreign bills. Then 1t was that the most thought ful and patriotic American citizen turned to the growing industries of the country for the solution of the financial question, which was so universally discussed, and so considered Not to our vast rev enues alone did we turn, but to that pro- 1ucing power of our people which might ind foreign market and fix exchange in our favor. The men who had fought brave y now toiled diligently, and ere long ex- ports increased rapidly, gold was removed as 8 commodity from the market, the bal | ance of export was in our favor, and the American people ranked among the large nations of the earth The solu ion of our financial policy had begun, ,and it has been continued until we are of one heart and one mind on this all important | question. Once more has agriculture con- vast share of that which has been sent into the markets of the world | As in the early days of the republic, so in our day, has the soil enriched and support ed our people. Besides feeding lavishly fifty millions of people, the agriculture of | the country has continued to supply a | arge amount of our exports of domestic | merchandise. In 1880 the exports from 'his country rose in cue year from $685. )42, ,O78 to $883, ,815, 941, and of this vast ,um agriculture furnished SPA, ,489. .413. or .O6 per cent. of the whole amount. The imports amounted to $667, ,954, 736, leaving ! balance of $215, ,961, ,195. The effect of his contribution to our export trade is in- and it has done much towards 'estoring us to that financial stability and and honor of which as 8 nation we ought to be proud ,and for which every prosperous man ought to be so grateful hat turn with pride and satisfaction to he record that American agriculture has made for itself. But not only are the years # agricultural prosperity instructive, but he bad seasons also teach us lesson which ve should not forget, Last year the great rops. of 1880 were largely reduced ,and the hange Tn our commercial affairs was strik- ng and significant In 1881 the cotton K rop fell off 1,200, ,0OO bales, wheat 118, ,269.- 8S bushels corn 122 512 543 h11sba1s oofs la