Year: 1869

most lucrative business he ever engaged
in, in peace or war.


But for the great length to which it
would extend this letter, there are certain
specifics l should like to refer to-Fruit
culture, Wine making, Hop growing,
laundering on the large rivers, Sheep
husbandry, small manufacturing, Fisher
les, Gardening on large scale for our
own and Northern markets. [ have In
my minds eye half dozen healthy and
beautiful localities for the establishment
of towns and villages, where the most
diversified pursuits would yield the means.
comforts of peace, and contentment to-
hundreds of inhabitants. l hope to live
to see this State dotted all over with these
little busy centers of industry. A large
Northern immigration is very desirable to
US in another aspect. We had peculiar
social system before the war that made
US the happiest and most contented peo-
pie in the world. / admit that there was
much eld-fogyism in it, but that was one
Of its e1cellences. But since the change
we cannot afford to hold these old -fogy
ways and ideas. The world is running
away from u.s. We think it is going a
little too fast for its own good but being
rather slow ourselves, we have an idea
that good mixing up of Yankee enter
prise with our slower notions, will result
in good to both. We think if your peo-
pie come here we can infuse into them
good deal of our conservatism, and rub
off the sharp points of Yankee character
which we never admired, and, on the
other hand, we will receive new ideas and
adopt new habits from you that will
greatly improve our condition. Now that
the Government of the country has been
changed from a Confederation of States
to great, consolidated national Republic,
it seems to me it should be the higest
aim of the statesman and political philoso-
pher to produce homogeniety in the
nation. [ mean by nation the White
people of this country, for other races will
soon perish under the crushing power of
the American type of the Caucasian. The
wonderful national energy of this country
has sprung from the intermingling of the
nationalities of Europe. America has
been peopled by the most vigorous indi-
viduals of the populations of Europe for
it is only such that emigrate to wilder
ness world. Here intermarriage has led
to still higher developments of individual
energy and power. A longe peace was
tending to slight staguation in the old and
settled portions of the South, where there
were few immigrants. The convulsions
of the last eight years have stirred up the
silent life of the South-the political
cauldron has boiled over-the social life
of the country has been equally disturbed
Statesmen should now aim at harmonlz
ing all these discordant elements, and
thus consolidate a power such as the
world has never seen. The work must
be perfected in the social and industrial
pursuits of the people of America. The
people must be ''mixed up" in business
affairs. Social intercourse and moral
causes will lead in time to closer ties
Northern and Southern character will be
blended-intermarriages will ere long
take place, aud assimilation, in course of
time, produce new race, as it were, pc
culiarly American, possessing a national
power as superior to all other peoples as
this vast continent surpasses their limited
territories.


The first step now is to mingle our peo-
pie and our interests as fast as possible.
L believe you are working in that direc-
ton. In this am with you heart and
hand; and so are thousands of others
in the South. The past that we loved so
well is gone forever. The present has its
trials, which we have endeavored to
bear without unmanly repinings. The
future we look to hopefully, even though
memory may 60 back regretfully to the
lost principles of our earlier and happiest
years. Very respectfully. j. d. IMBoDEN.


Richmond, Va, Feb. %, 1869.