you propose to imitate. Will you be young Petrarchs, or will you adopt the course of the unfortunate boy in Boston jail? They are both before you. If you would be like the former, begin right. Resist temptation to wrong-doing, with all your might. Let no one entice you from the way which conscience points out.

This precept is applicable to all,-to both sexes and every age. Let me, then, I pray you, when I shall inquire, hereafter, respecting the habits and characters of the children of the Public Schools of Salem, have the satisfaction to hear, that the instructions of this occasion made an impression on their minds favorable to truth and duty, which subsequent time could never efface.

DEDICATION OF THE NEW SCHOOL-HOUSE IN PAWTUCKET, OCTOBER 31, 1846 ADDRESS OF President WAYLAND, OF BROWN UNIVERSITY.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

There is something deeply interesting, both to the philanthropist and to the political economist, in the appearance of such a village as this, the abode of wealth, civilization and refinement. We find ourselves, as we look upon it, unconsciously reverting to the period, not very remote, when this whole region was a desert. Thick forests covered all these hills, and pressed down even to the water's brink. This river rushed over its rocky bed, or tumbled down its precipitous ledges, unnoticed by the eye of civilized man. A few savages from time to time, erected their transient wigwams upon its banks, as the season of hunting or fishing attracted them, and they alone disputed the claim of the beasts of the forest to this beautiful domain. The products of all this region were a scanty and precarious pasturage for game, a few canoe loads of fish, and, it may be, a few hundred pounds of venison. Whatever else the earth produced, fell and perished ungathered. Age after age, beheld this annual waste. Here was the earth with all its capabilities. Here were the waters with all their unexpended powers. But here was no man whose intellect had been instructed in the laws of nature. Here was neither continuous in

dustry, nor even frugal forethought. Hence there could be no progress. All things continued as they were from the beginning of the creation.

About two hundred years since, the first civilized man cast his eyes over this beautiful landscape. He brought with him the arts and the science of the older world, and a new era commenced in the history of that part of our country, since known as Rhode Island. The labors of agriculture soon began to work their magic changes. The forest was felled, the soil was tilled, and, in the place of the precarious products of the uncultivated field, rich harvests of grain waved over these plains. The beasts of the forest retired, and the animals given by the Creator to aid us in our toil, occupied their place. Instead of the graceful deer, the clumsy moose, the prowling wolf and the ravenous panther, these fields were covered with the lowing herds, the bleating sheep, the laborious ox, and the horse, in all latitudes the faithful servant of man.

This was a great and glorious transformation. From the moment that a civilized man first thrust his spade into this earth, or here yoked his oxen to the plough, the sleep of ages was broken, and the reign of progress commenced. From this moment the darkness had begun to pass away, and the sun was dispersing that night, which, since the deluge, ad brooded over this land. From that auspicious beginning, all the means of happiness that the eye beholds, have proceeded. Acre after

acre has been reclaimed from barrenness. Every variety of product has been tried, in order to ascertain which would be produced by the earth most kindly. The smoky wigwam gave place to the log house, and this in turn, to the convenient farm-house, or the stately mansion. And thus another portion of the earth was added to the area of Anglo-Saxon civilization.

But still the river, to which all the distinctive prosperity of this region owes its origin, ran, as it ever had ran, to utter waste. This mighty and most productive means of wealth, remained wholly unemployed. A mine richer than that of gold, was yet unwrought. It was a mine of mechanical power, instead of metallic treasure, and let me add, a mine of incalculably greater value. At last it was discovered, that this little river, falling over its innumerable ledges, could do the labor of many thousand men. An accomplished manufacturer,* from England, whose name has made this village one of the most renowned spots in our country, came among us, and applied the power of this water-fall to the spinning and weaving of cotton. Who can measure the results of this one grand experiment? We hear of battles and sieges, of the defeat of armies, the capture of towns, the destruction of fleets; but what achievement of war was ever of such importance to a people, as that which was accomplished, when that wheel made its first revolution, and the first thread of cotton was here, in this very village, spun by water power? From this moment may be dated the commencement of general manufactures in this country, and that of cotton in particular. From that moment, every fall of water throughout our land became a most valuable possession. From that moment, this noble natural agent began, everywhere, to fabricate garments for our people. From that moment all the labor, of every age, throughout New England, could be profitably employed. From that moment it was certain that capital to any amount could readily find investment. The rich proceeds of one manufactory laid the foundations of a similar one by the side of it. As one branch of manufactures began to supply the demand of the nation, another branch was established. Thus we are every year adding millions to this form of investment, and employing additional thousands of hands in this mode of industry. We are entering into generous and successful rivalry with the nations of Europe. Already many of our cottons are preferred to theirs in the markets of the world. Soon, other branches of our manufactures will be brought to equal perfection. Nay, I anticipate the time when we, in this country, under a system of generous reciprocity, shall supply the continent and England herself with all those articles, for the fabrication of which we have special advantages.

But this chain of events by no means ceases here. Year after year every branch of manufactures is increasing its means, and distributing the proceeds of its labor over every part of our land. Wherever a fabric is sent, it is exchanged, in some form, for the productions of that region in which it is consumed. The common means for accomplishing these mutual and increasing exchanges, soon became utterly inadequate; more efficient modes of transportation must, from necessity, be invented. The business of the country could not be carried on without them. Our manufacturing prosperity, while it creates the necessity for internal improvements, also supplies the means for constructing them. The annual gains of manufacturing capital are next invested in canals and railroads, and thus the means of transporting these fabrics at the least cost, are at once

Mr. Slater has even a higher claim to the gratitude and veneration of this country, than that which he derives from the introduction of the cotton manufacture. He established in Pawtucket the first SUNDAY SCHOOL that was ever opened in America; and for some time sustained it wholly at his own expense.

provided. Here is, then, another mode created, of advantageous investment. By means of internal improvement, the market of every producer is indefinitely extended, he also receives a fair remuneration for this very investment, by which his market is thus extended, and, at the same time the consumer receives whatever he purchases at a cheaper rate and in greater perfection. Thus, as we always observe, under the government of God, a real benefit to one is a benefit to all. And hence we learn, that to attempt to secure exclusive advantages to ourselves, is always abor lost. Nothing can be a real benefit to us, that is not a real benefit also to our neighbors.

And the illustration of all that I have said, is manifest every where around us. We behold how every other art has clustered around the art of transforming cotton into clothing. We see how one establishment has been the seed that has produced a multitude of those that resemble it. You see how manufactures have given rise to internal improvements; how the spindle has cut through the mountains, and filled up the valleys and graded the road, and stretched from city to city the iron rail. You see how loth these inseparable friends are to be parted from each other. The region of manufactures is the region of railroads. And you perceive, as the iron road that passes through this village, pursues its way toward the west, how it winds along through the valley of the Blackstone, greeting every village and waking every hamlet to renewed activity.

All this you readily perceive. You must be astonished yourselves, when you reflect upon the amount of capital which a single life time has added to the resources of this village, and the country in its immediate vicinity. But while we exult in the large measure of prosperity with which a bountiful Providence has endowed us, it may not be uninstructive to inquire, in what ways have these blessings been improved? Has it ever occurred to you, that almost all this capital has been invested in procuring for ourselves, the means of physical happiness? We erect houses, and we render them spacious, warm, and commodious. We furnish them with every means of physical luxury. We spread carpets for our feet. We stretch ourselves on couches of down. We temper the atmosphere at our will. We clothe ourselves with vestments wrought in every clime, and by people of every hue and language. We vary our dress with every fashion. We load our tables with luxuries imported from the tropics or the poles; we vex sea and land for new viands to stimulate our palates, already saturated with abundance. We please ourselves with every form of equipage, and tax the ingenuity of every artisan, that we may be enabled to roll from place to place without the fatigue of motion. But why need I proceed to specify any further. We all perceive, on the least reflection, that it is in expenditures of this kind, that almost all the expenses of living are incurred.

But if this be true, must there not be some grievous error in the principles of our conduct? Can this be a wise mode of expenditure for intelligent and immortal beings? In all that I have here recited, is there any thing in which, on principle, we have excelled, (excuse the homeliness of the illustration,) the Beaver that once inhabited these streams? The thoughtful animal expended all the treasures of his intellect or instinct, in rendering his dwelling commodious; and he accomplished it. Have we not done precisely the same thing? Has not all the expenditure of which I have spoken, been consumed for the convenience of the physical, the perishable, the material? Might not all this have been done, had we no consciousness of an immortal spirit?

But God has made us immortal. He has given to us a spiritual existEach one of us possesses a priceless mind. We are endowed with reason to discover truth, imagination to form conceptions of the beautiful

ence.

and the grand, taste to delight in all that is lovely or glorious, and conscience by which we are allied to God the Father of all, and the holy and blessed throughout the universe. It is by the possession of these powers, that man claims precedence over the brute. It is by the cultivation of these, that we have become more powerful than the savage, who once dwelt where we now dwell. It is by the use of these powers, that all the wonders of art have been wrought, which we now behold around us. If such be the fact, it must certainly be true that this, the spiritual part of man, is by far the most deserving of attention, and that, in the cultivation of this portion of our nature, we can in the most appropriate manner invest our capital.

But while this is evident, does our practice correspond with these well established principles? We liberally expend our substance to preserve our bodies in health, and to cultivate in our children the full development of every power, and the outward manifestation of every grace. But do we bestow proportionate labor in developing every spiritual faculty, and protecting the immortal part from the spreading contagion of evil example, and the wasting results of evil habit? We expend whatever is necessary in furnishing our tables with every thing that may be desired for the sustentation of the body. Where is there the man among us, who would not blush to be considered an illiberal provider for the wants of his household? but is any man ashamed to confess, that he has made no provision for the spiritual appetites of his children? Who of us would permit tainted or unwholesome food to be brought into his house, or placed upon his table? and yet is not intellectual food of the most questionable character, daily read in the houses of many of our most excellent citizens? Who is ashamed to declare, that he has no library in his house, or that, he has never taken the pains to inquire whether the books that are read by his family, are useful or deleterious?

But this is not all. We know that the youthful mind is destitute of knowledge, and that it is strongly predisposed to the formation of improper habits. Every one knows that a child needs instruction, and that the labor of giving it instruction should be devolved upon those only, who are intellectually and morally qualified to impart it. The parent can rarely do this for himself. The principle of division of labor teaches us, that it can be much more successfully done by some one who will devote his whole attention to it. But, now, let us look over our own neighborhoods, and observe how very small, until quite lately, has been the amount of capital devoted to the education of our youth. Compare it with almost every other form of investment, and you at once perceive how small is its relative amount. Take, for instance, the railroad which passes within a stone's throw of the place in which we are assembled. Many of you and your fellow citizens, subscribed for its stock. You did wisely. It will, I presume, raise the value of every form of property here. Land will sell for a better price. You will thus become directly connected with the whole of the South, and with the whole of the East and West; and you can, at very little expense of transportation, exchange productions with the remotest extremities of our country. This is certainly an improvement upon your former means of communication, and you are willing to invest your capital in the effort to secure it. suppose you had been assessed to an equal amount, in order to provide the means of education; suppose you had been called upon to subscribe the same sum in aid of an effort to give to the youth of this village the best education in New England, would you not have considered the demand excessive? Would you have believed that you could possibly have paid it? Yet, I ask, is not the education of your children as important an object as the improvement of your means of transportation? Suppose you were to unite in such an effort, would not the amount of

But

which I have spoken be sufficient to accomplish the result, the giving to your children the best education in New England. Is it not evident, then, that we bestow upon the means of education, an attention very much less than they deserve?

I have spoken in this manner as though I were addressing you in particular. But this is not what I intend. I speak of the amount of attention which, until lately, has been given to this subject, here in this State, and throughout New England. I know as well as you, that you have not been specially behind hand in this matter. You have always been prepared to do your part, in every effort to improve the condition of education amongst us. I have, however, alluded to these facts and have presented these parallels, that you may be enabled to judge of the degree in which we have erred, in estimating the proportion of our income which is due to the cause of education.

1 greatly rejoice, however, that indications of decided improvement in this respect, are visible every where around us. In Massachusetts, for several years past, no subject has appealed with greater success to the enlightened public opinion of her citizens. One of her most gifted and eloquent sons has consecrated his life to this noble cause, and the results of his efforts have become every where apparent. Nor have we of Rhode Island been wholly wanting to ourselves in this good work. Although for many years the people were indifferent to their true interests in this respect, yet, when they came to its importance, they pursued it with a manly steadfastness and a far-seeing liberality, which would do honor to any community in our country. The school system of Providence is acknowledged to be second to none in the land, in excellence and efficiency. The people in all our districts, agricultural and manufacturing, are seeking to know the best means of promoting the thorough education of their children; they are building school-houses on the best models that can be presented to them, and are raising money, with annually increasing liberality, for the purpose of accomplishing these results most perfectly.

It gives me great pleasure, Ladies and Gentlemen of Pawtucket, to be a witness to the enlightened zeal which you have manifested on this subject. From this village, first went forth the impulse which called into existence the most important manufacturing interest in this country. It is meet that as you have taught us how to supply our external, you should teach us how to supply our internal wants. You have taught us how we may clothe our bodies, it is well that you should teach us how to cultivate, and strengthen, and ennoble our minds. You have intended to render this school-house a model for your fellow citizens throughout the State. It is a noble and patriotic emulation, and we thank you for it. We hope that every village and district in the State will imitate your example.

I am delighted to observe that, in all your arrangements, you have in this matter acted with wise and thoughtful liberality. Instead of puttine vour school-house out of sight, in an inconvenient and unheal position, you have placed it on an eminence, in a desirable locality, and have determined to surround it with ample play-grounds. The building itself is exceedingly pleasing in its external proportions, and forms one of the most agreeable ornaments of your village. You thus associate education in the mind of the young with every thing gladsome and alluring; while, at the same time, you testify to your children, the importance which you attach to their intellectual cultivation.

The apartments of your house are large and convenient. The desks are constructed upon the most improved models, and the seats seem to me durable and neat, and, at the same time, comfortable to the pupil. Every thing in the school-rooms has the air of finish and completeness. The arrangements for illustration, by the blackboards, are, and I presume