ILLUSTRATED BY THE HISTORY OF THE WESTERN STATES. 21, son; but the truth is that this country has grown rich through th money of banks and the enterprise of merchants. The farmer ha been the greatest gainer from the general prosperity. Commerce has supplied money to purchase his products; the building of mills, the creation of roads, canals, and steamboats, are due to the enterprise of commerce, but they bring a market to the farmer. The agricul tural products, which, but a few years ago, were not worth the labor ef production, are now sources of wealth to the farmer -- of vast aggregated wealth to the State. In 1795, when the troops of Wayne triumphed over a numerous Indian force, the whole territory of Ohio was a wilderness; now we have a population of two millions, actively engaged in the various pursuits of industry, a country rich in resources, highly improved, and intersected in every direction by turnpike-roads, railroads, and canals; the aggregate extent of the artificial communications made by the State being over fifteen hundred miles, and their cost more than fourteen millions of dollars. And these are not military roads, constructed by the patronage of the government; neither are they the highways of a rural people, required for the purposes of social intercourse; they are the avenues of commerce the arteries of our great commercial system, through which wealth and property circu late throughout the broad land, nourishing its prosperity into healthful and lusty vigor--created by the wants, the influence, and the wealth of commerce. Fifty years ago the national flag waved over a lone fortress, surrounded by a few log huts, on the spot we now occupy. Around it was the unbroken forest, penetrated only by the war-path of the Indian, and the track of the buffalo. Standing upon the ramparts of that fort, the eye of the beholder would have rested on the pristine verdure of the luxuriant forest, and on the placid stream of the Ohio, seldom disturbed, even by the light craft which then floated on her bosom - his ear would have heard at dawn the martial notes of the reveille, and at night the hooting of the owl, and the savage bay of the prowling wolf. Now we stand upon the same spot, in the centre of a populous city, surrounded by all the refinements of wealth and cultivation a city numbering, with its suburbs, nearly one hundred thousand souls, and embracing a vast amount of the industry, the energy, and the excitement of business. Situated in the midst of a great agricultural region, with natural avenues, and artificial roads tending to it in every direction, it is unsurpassed as a market for the products of husbandry. The wonderful statistics of one of our staples have obscured the other elements of our prosperity from observation, and we are known chiefly by the fame of three hundred thousand hogs packed annually, at our pork houses, for exportation. Our exports of beef, flour, whiskey, butter, and other provisions, are equally abundant; and the aggregate is so great, as to make this the greatest provision market in the world. But even this is but a part of our business. Among our population we number ten thousand operatives engaged in manufacturing and the mechanic arts, who make a great variety of articles of wood, iron, brass, copper, tin, leather, cotton, wool, and other materials, making in all about one hundred and fifty different and distinct branches of manufacture, and the annual value of whose products is about twenty millions of dollars. Among these are an average of thirty steamboats, which are built annually at a cost of five hundred thousand dollars. The capital invested in commerce in this city is said to amount also to twenty millions of dollars, so that our trade and manufactures bear nearly equal proportions to each other. The citizens of Cincinnati have shown great public spirit in the construction of railroads, turnpikes, and canals, leading into the city. There are now no less than sixteen principal avenues concentrating here, the aggregate length of which is one thousand one hundred and twenty-five miles, and which will have cost twelve millions of dollars when completed, a liberal portion of which has been subscribed by the city in its municipal character, and by public-spirited citizens. All these were made for the transit of merchandise; they were made by commercial enterprise and liberality, for the benefit of commerce. If we have been successful in showing that our prosperity has resulted from the enterprise of individuals, it will be readily seen that we owe it chiefly to the commercial class. Not that we would claim for them the sole honor, or deny the merits of others, for this would be as unreasonable as the fabulous dispute between the body and the limbs. We only place them in the foremost rank of an active, hardy, adventurous population, because, by controling the wealth, the business, and the resources of the country, they have been the chief agents in its rapid aggrandizement. And now allow us to touch for a moment upon a very important point, as connected with this discussion. It is one of paramount importance, and should receive a much more attentive consideration than we can give it, incidentally, on this occasion. What should be the character of those who act so important a part in the business of the country, who control its resources, direct its energies, and in a great degree form the moral standard which regulates the transactions of the whole people? The mercantile mind of our country is sufficiently keen. The pursuit of wealth, attracting as it does intellects of every grade, includes among its votaries many of the most aspiring and most capable minds; and gives to them that constant and healthy exercise, which is calculated to sharpen the faculties, and, if united with reading and reflection, produces a high degree of refinement. The merchant should cultivate his mind, and acquire knowledge, as an element of power. Dealing in the products of various climes, and of all the arts, and engaged in an intercourse, personally or by correspondence, which extends to all the marts of traffic throughout the world, he should be well acquainted with the geography of the globe, and with the productions, resources, habits, financial systems, and commercial usages of all nations. He should know thoroughly the composition and history, the mode of production, cost, and all other incidents, connected with every article in which he deals; and should be versed especially in the moneys and measures, the exchanges, the commercial laws and regulations, of the various places to which his business relations extend. This much we insist upon, as actually necessary to the respectability of the mercantile character, and to enable the merchant to wield his capital to advantage. * See Art. Cincinnati, Commercial Review, Vol. ii., 1846.-ED. But 1 ILLUSTRATED BY THE HISTORY OF THE WESTERN STATES. 29 the intelligent merchant should aspire to more than this. His position in society demands that he should place himself upon an equality with the most cultivated of his fellow-citizens. As a class, the merchants are the most wealthy men of our country. In social intercourse they mingle with the most refined, with those who are highest in intellectual standing and official position. There is no place in society, no post in the government, from which the merchant is excluded. On the contrary, his command of money, and the facilities afforded by his relations of business, place him in a prominent position, give him the control of the various commercial and moneyed institutions, and render him the fit and active director and agent in the whole circle of public charities, and in the numberless endowments for literary and liberal purposes. Having thus opened to him a wide sphere of usefulness, he should enter upon it with a consciousness of its dignity and importance, and qualify himself for the discharge of its duties by an assiduous and liberal cultivation of his mind and inorake. The merchant should be a patron of the arts, a promoter of edu cation, a friend to literature and science, an active agent in all publie improvements; because his habits of business, his wealth, his connection with moneyed institutions and with fiscal concerns, enable him to render efficient aid to enterprises of patriotism and benevolence. He should be forward in every good word and work, also, as a means of blunting that vulgar prejudice, which supposes that the men who possess or control wealth, enjoy exclusive privileges; and should show a willingness to pay liberally for the advantages of his position, whether real or imaginary, by using those advantages freely for the public good. There is another point in regard to the commercial character, of greater delicacy, but which we do not feel at liberty to pass untouched, as it is the most essential to the honor and the prosperity of the mercantile class, as well as of the community to which they belong. The most precious possession of the merchant is his credit. And here allow us to draw a distinction: the credit of the merchant does not consist simply in his wealth, or in his ability to borrow money by means of his connections, or of the securities he may be able to offer. It is a gross fallacy to suppose that what is termed an doubted standing," requires nothing for its support but the possession of facilities for raising money. The credit of a merchant depends mainly on his character for integrity, capacity, and industry. The true merchant is a man whose morality is as inflexible as the rules of arithmetic his honesty is as invariable as the result of a correct balance-sheet. He should be not only honest, but strictly honorable, so that the confidence reposed in him should be unlimited. Such a man is trusted, not merely on account of his wealth, but in consideration of his personal character. The commercial virtues are so essential to the well-being of society, that their cultivation should be an object of sedulous care to the whole mercantile body, who should exercise a conservative influence by frowning upon every infraction of the laws of fair trading. Punctuality should be insisted upon as an indispensable requisite, and no inan should be trusted or tolerated, who would forfeit his word, or violate his engagements. Society has a right to demand of all its members the observance of good faith, and it is only by insisting on this right. that a wholesome public opinion is established. Especially should the merchants of a city like ours, endeavor to establish a high tone of commercial character. They should set up a standard of strict and elevated morality, which every regular dealer and fair merchant would acknowledge to be just, and to which all should be required to adhere. They should patronize those virtues which adorn the in lividual character, which promote success in business, while they render its transaction safe and agreeable, and which are as beneficial as they are honorable to the community in which they flourish-industry, honesty, temperance, and prudent economy; while by inflexible rules and strict observances, they should discountenance fraud, deception, trickery, and bad faith. When we speak of the rapid advancement of our country to its present high state of prosperity, we are easily led by national vanity into the employment of high-sounding words which do not always lead us to satisfactory conclusions. Patriotism, public spirit, benevolence-liberty, education, the freedom of the press, our liberal institutions, the benign and pacific policy of our government, are referred to as causes of our national growth and aggrandizement. We shall not dispute the happy influence of all these principles. But there is one element in the national character, one principle of action animating the entire mass of our people, which is greater than any other; nay, we will be bold enough to assert, more powerful than all others united. Whether it be called avarice, or the love of money, or the desire of gain, or the lust of wealth, or whether it be softened to the ear under the more guarded terms, prudence, natural affection, diligence in business, or the conscientious improvement of time and talents-it is still money-making which constitutes the great business of the majority of our people-it is the use of money which controls and regulates everything. Whether the propensity for money-getting is beneficial or otherwise, depends upon circumstances. Industry is an admirable quality; its exercise is directly useful to the public as well as to individual interests, and it is accompanied by temperance, prudence, morality, and other virtues. But the desire of wealth, for its own sake, is far from being a virtue. Where money is greedily sought, without regard to the means of acquisition, and without liberality in its expenditure, the passion which directs its pursuit is base and sordid. miser is a wretched man, a worthless citizen, a dishonor to the dignity of human nature. The We are happy to believe that the acquisition of wealth does not necessarily, nor as we hope usually, blunt the sensibilities, nor destroy the manliness of a generous character-that it is not always a selfish and a mercenary occupation. If money be sought with moderation, by honorable means, and with a due regard to the public good, no employment affords exercise to higher or nobler powers of the mind and heart. And such should be the character of the merchant. He should guard his heart against the seductive influence of money; he should carefully shield his mind against the narrow precepts of avarice. Money should be regarded as the agent and representative of the good it may be made to perform-it should be sought as the in PROGRESS OF THE GREAT WEST. 31 strument of self-defense against the evils of poverty; of parental love, enabling us to provide for those dependent on us; of public spirit, in affording the means of promoting the public good. In conclusion, allow me to congratulate you on the success of the institution whose anniversary we celebrate this evening. It has ceased to be an experiment, and is now a flourishing and a useful association, numbering, as I understand, more than seven hundred members, chiefly active young men engaged in mercantile pursuits the Library contains five thousand three hundred volumes, the greater part of which are works of permanent value, and about six hundred volumes are issued to members each week. The influence of such a Society, with means so ample, and so well directed, cannot fail to be beneficial. It is important to the country that the merchants, controling as they do its business and resources, should be well informed. It is still more important that they should cherish commercial virtues, and we hope much from such a body in elevating and sustaining for our city a high tone of mercantile honor. Cincinnati has earned a high name for its enterprise and energy. Be it your task, gentlemen, by the observance and inculcation of punctuality, integrity, and good faith, to maintain for her a credit which shall be undoubted, unspotted, and unfading. Art. II. PROGRESS OF THE GREAT WEST IN POPULATION, AGRICULTURE, ARTS AND COMMERCE. "Thou movest, Like climbing some great Alp, which still doth rise- CHILDE HAROLD. THE immense regions of the American Union, westward of the Appalachean mountains, drained by the waters of the Gulfs of Mexico and California and the remote Oregon, swell upon the imagination in majesty and grandeur, contemplated in whatever light. In this semi-hemisphere exists every conceivable element of densest population, progress, enterprise, wealth, and highest civilization. Climates genial-soils prolific in all growths and without degreerivers like inland oceans, for navigation and trade-minerals and forests unlimited. Westward is the tide of progress, and it is rolling onward like the triumphant Roman chariot, bearing the eagle of the republic or the empire, victorious ever in its steady but bloodless ad vances. Four great valleys have their mountain ranges and divisions in this vast whole, which we have had the temerity to contemplate at a single view, as the heritage which our fathers left to us and to our children, and which we, so far from squandering, have wisely administered and enlarged-the Valley of the Rio Grande-the Valley of the Colorado of the West-the Valley of the Oregon-the Valley of the Mississippi. Of course it would be impossible in the limits of a magazine like ours, to notice in detail the striking features and interesting charac |