The Liberator

DEVELOPMENT

DORCHESTER, July 18, 1864.

The present struggle is a momentous one; and with the rebels, at least, it is a desperate one. Politically and locally, it is a revolt of the slaveholding oligarchy of the South, with those who follow in their wake, against the fundamental principles of our republican institutions,—the right of the majority to rule. In its elements, it is a revolt of the infernal against the supernal; of the earthly, sensual, devilish, against the supremacy of the humane, spiritual, godlike tendencies in man; and, is, therefore, the part assigned to us. of the universal, immemorial conflict between the powers of light and of darkness, of truth and falsehood, of Christ and Belial, of good and evil, of heaven and hell.

But, although the people, North and South, are exhibiting their peculiar characteristics in the strongest light,—and although, in general, those of the North occupy a higher plane, present a worthier type of civilization, and show a broader development and more generous culture,—they cannot arrogate to themselves all that is noble, magnanimous, and praiseworthy; nor justly ascribe to those of the South all that is wicked, base, and degrading in the land. The dominant classes in both sections, elated by prosperity and success, had become proud, supercilious and overbearing; and those of the South especially, accustomed to the exercise of tyranny, were not a little given to vainglorying and conceit.

Beset alike by ambition, avarice, love of pleasure and love of ease, their means of gratifying these cravings and propensities have been widely different. Thus, to evade the Heaven-imposed necessity of manual labor, the aristocracy of the South, without scruple, lay hold of the black man, and, under the pretext of prescriptive and divine right

"Bind him, and task him, and exact his sweat
With stripes, that Mercy with a bleeding heart
Weeps when she sees inflicted on a beast."

From the first, their policy has been, not to disseminate but to withhold the light; to suppress mental development in the masses; and, monopolizing as far as possible the intelligence, they monopolized also, to a great extent, the soil and the sunshine, the rain and the dew; creating the greatest possible inequality of classes, and thus enabling themselves to exercise over their fellow-men unrighteous and almost unlimited control.

The people of the North, on the other hand, availing themselves of rightful dominion over the fish of the sea, the fowls of the air, and the beasts of the field, claimed for themselves the largest freedom—free speech, a free press, free suffrage; and having tasted the blessings of liberty and light, were anxious to extend and perpetuate them.

To this end, they instituted churches, colleges and schools; established professorships, created libraries; providing at once for the intellectual and moral training of the whole people. Prizing knowledge as their noblest wealth and best protection.

"They bound themselves by statute to secure
For all the children whom their soil maintains,
The rudiments of letters; so that none,
However destitute, be left to droop
By timely culture unsustained, or run
Into a wild disorder; or be forced
To drudge through weary life without the aid
Of intellectual implements and tools;
A savage horde among the civilized.
A servile band among the lordly free."

By the elevation of the masses, they hoped to secure the greatest possible equality; so that the children of the humblest citizen might, in the career of life, come into successful competition with those of the most favored; and with the ballot in their hands, with the will and power to provide for and protect their own interests and rights, they might laugh to scorn all pretensions to arbitrary sway; and, becoming themselves the sources of power and patronage, might compel political aspirants, asking favors at their hands, to go for measures which their constituents might approve, and bow submissive to their will.

By the liberal and abiding policy of developing the mind of the country, they stimulated the spirit of discovery, and opened in themselves the very sources of power. Familiar with some of the more obvious qualities of earth, air and water, they soon learned to control the once terrible, because hidden forces of nature,—electricity, magnetism, gravitation, heat,—and turned them to beneficial use. The farmer has recourse to his plow and his sower—his reaper and mower and thresher—before he can even present his corn at the mill. The miller subjects his wheels to the gravitating power of water, or the expansive power of steam; and, between the upper and nether millstones, the corn is forthwith transformed into meal. The manufacturer, by the application of the same forces to the spinning jenny and the loom, with a motion that never tires, multiplies his fabrics, fills the markets, and crowds his huge warehouses with cotton and woollen cloths.

The intelligent merchant, who, with the stars and compass for his guides, "goes down to the sea in ships, and does business upon the great deep," availing himself of trade-winds and oceanic currents, uses their strength as if it were his own; and when clouds gather, the skies are darkened, the waves are lifted, and the tempests roar, he brings the irresistible steam engine to his aid; and, in spite of winds and waves, rides out the storm and comes safely into port. With such gigantic forces at his command, he travels continents and oceans, and, by a generous commerce, effects an exchange of natural and industrial commodities between the remotest regions of the habitable globe.

The invention of the cotton-gin (a Yankee enterprise, of course,) enhanced the value of the cotton crop, increased the demand for, and gave impetus and direction to labor, and thus stimulated the breeding and importation of slaves. At the same time, it augmented the wealth, nourished the insolence, swelled the pride, and aggravated the cruelty of their oppressors; and thus hastened the necessity of our anti-slavery revolution.

Thus, in every department of industry, the work is hastened and carried forward and perfected by the aid of labor-saving or labor-doing machines. And to them, in a great measure, we owe the development of the physical resources of the country; its wealth and its strength. They are a sign and a means of civilization; have played, and are destined to play, an important part in the great providential movements of our times. And these are the products of mind.

H. W. C.