YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

Purchased from the income
of the bequest of
WILLIAM ROBERTSON COE
Honorary M.A, 1949, for
material in the field
of American Studies,

A TRIP TO AMERICA.

TWO LECTURES

BY

JAMES HOWARD, M.P.

EEVISED EDITION.

(PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION.)

BEDFORD :
PUBLISHED AT THE "MERCURY" PRESS.

Ui^tJ

r 11 E F A C E .

Upon my return from America last Autumn I received a
pressing invitation from the Committee of the London Farmers'
Club to read a Paper to my fellow Members upon the agricultural
aspects of the country I had visited. To this request I assented
somewhat reluctantly.
The following Paper, Things in Ameeica, was delivered to
a numerously attended meeting of the Club, held in London, on
November 5 last.
As soon as reports had appeared of this meeting, I was requested
by the Bedford Literary and Scientific Institute to favour my more
immediate neighbours with some accoimt of the country upon
topics of more general interest than Agriculture. Feeling unable
to resist the appeal, the Lecture foUowing the Paper, Things in
Amesica, was delivered to a large gathering early in the present
year. Having been so frequently urged to publish these addresses, I
have yielded to the solicitations of my friends.
JAMES HOWARD.
Clapham Park, Bedfordshire,
'March 25, 1867.

BEDPOED :
FEINTED AT THE " MEECUEX " PEESS.

THINCxS IN AMERICA

Some thirty years ago when a boy at home, a well-known
American, Dr. Fisk, was a guest of my father's. At night, it was a
great treat to me to sit up and listen to his glowing descriptions of
the great country across the Atlantic. At that time I fonned a
strong desire to go and see the land which to my youthful mind
seemed to present so many attractions. The occupations, however,
of a busy life prevented the realization of these aspirations until the
Spring of this year, when circumstances seemed to favour the accom
plishment of my lomg-cherished wish. I accordingly determined to
go and see for myself a country which aU the older countries of the
world have begun to regard with so much interest. When I sailed
across the Atlantic I had not the remotest idea of giving publicity
to any account of my trip, much less of addressing this large and
influential Club. However, as the Club was in a difficulty, caused
by Mr. Algernon Clarke's inability to fulfil his engagement to read a
paper on the subject of Steam Cultivation, I somewhat reluctantly
consented to fill the gap. I may, perhaps, be pardoned for making
just one remark upon the subject which was down for discussion
this evening. I am convinced that on both sides of the Atlantic,
tillage by steam power must ere long excite more interest than it
does at present. Steam has slowly, but not less surely, superseded
every other power with which it has been brought into competition ;
and I most thoroughly believe it will, before many years, be the
chief motive-power employed in tillage operations throughout the
civilized world. EXTENT.
America is a country which must be seen to be understood ;
volumes of books may be read about a distant land, but a short visit
will impress the mind more deeply, and on many points afford more
correct views than all the books which can be collected. I had read
much and heard much about America before going, but my mind was

'iJ THINGS IN AMERICA.
not impressed with anything like an adequate idea of its vast extent or
its great resources. Upon landing at New York, after glancing at
the City, I travelled through the State of New York to Canada,
thence through the States of Indiana, Ohio, and lUiaois to Iowa,
heyond the Mississippi ; — ^thence I returned through UUnois iato
Ohio ; and through Pennsylvania to Washington. After a peep at
Virginia, I passed through New Jersey to New York ; thence to
Newport, Boston, and Saratoga, and once more to New York by way
of the Hudson river.
The enclosed land of America — I allude to the States ; I leave
out Mexico, Canada, and what are termed the Territories — amounts to
the enormous breadth of 400 millions of acres ; with the unenclosed,
or imcultivated, to about 1,600 miUions — ^figures which seem to dwarf
our own little Island iato a mere speck upon the map of the world.
The area of the United States, taken alone, is bigger than the whole
Continent of Europe, Notwithstanding the vast extent of the
territory indicated by these figures, the whole has been surveyed,
and those portions which are likely to be settled within a reasonable
time are mapped, divided into townships, subdivided into " squares,"
sections, and again into subsections. The roads and cross-roads are
also laid out, and the widths determined. These several divisions
are numbered and registered, both in the Office of the Surveyor-
General at Washington, and in the Counties Register Offices of
the several Slates. No question, therefore, of title can arise, and
land in America can be transferred as cheaply and readily as a
Ship or Bank Stock. THE people.
I have said that America is a country which must be seen to be
understood. I may say the same of its people. It is notorious how
little the people of France and England understand each other
although such near neighbours ; but then they speak different
languages ; to me, however, it is passing strange, that people
speaking the same language, reading each other's periodicals and
literature, a people of the same race, descendants in the main of the
same parent stock, should entertain such erroneous views respecting
each other as do the Americans and English. It is difficult to

THINGS IN AMERICA. 3
determiae whether the Americans know less of the English, or the
English of the Americans ; but I incUne to the latter view, and for
this reason — where you meet with one Englishman who has been to
America, ten Americans are met with who have been to England.
Again, it has been too much the fashion with our pubUc writers to
hold up the American people to ridicule, to represent them as rough,
boastful, unprincipled, with scarcely a redeeming feature in their
character. I cannot, of coui-se, vouch for what they were in years
gone by, nor can I say they are altogether free from some of the
vices attributed to them. I do not maintain that in etiquette or
personal manners they come quite up to the Enghsh standard, but
any deficiency in this respect is more than compensated for by the
absence of that stiffness and formality of the one class of English,
and of the extreme serviUty of the other class. The Americans
certainly can " brag ; " but then, as John A. Wright, a Pennsylvanian
ironmaster, whom I jokingly reminded of this national propensity,
replied, " Yes, we acknowledge it ; " adding, " you wiU remember
we inherit it from you." If asked the question, I should be obliged
to confess they have shot far-a-head of the old country in the art of
boasting. But, to speak seriously, I do believe the American people
have been misrepresented and traduced by some of our public
writers, in a way that no other people on the face of the earth have
been. Recently, three of England's leading commercial men, after
having visited America, have published to the world their ideas of
America and its people — I allude to Mr. Whitworth, of Manchester
[since become Sir Joseph Whitworth, Bart. J ; Mr. Chambers, the
great Publisher of Edinburgh ; and lastly, Sir Morton Peto, Bart., —
these gentlemen have, by their books, not only done much to
enlighten us upon things in America, but they have done justice
to the American people. Many of our professional writers have
done them as great injustice.
I went to America with a good many of the prejudices of an
Englishman, expecting to find the bulk of the people rough,
"rowdy," uncouth, and vulgar. Dickens and other professional
writers might have met with the characters they have pourtrayed ;
I can only speak of the people as I found them. I travelled some
5,000 mUes without meeting with similar specimens or once being
subjected to insult or rudeness of any kind. I mixed with all classes

4 THINGS IN AMERICA.
— ^for there are no first, second, and third class on their railways
or steam-boats — and I met with nothing but civility, coupled with
a good deal of politeness. The working classes are well-behaved,
and, as a rule, better educated and more intelligent than our own.
The wealthier classes I found to be communicative, open-hearted,
and hospitable ; indeed, as pleasant and agreeable a people as I
could wish to TTii'y with. I could give you many instances of what
•we know as " good breeding," but as it would be foreign to the
objects of this Club, I forbear. I will, however, just mention one
incident. At Pittsburg I went to the Bank with my letter of credit,
which I handed to a clerk to draw some " greenbacks." A grey
headed gentleman, evidently one of the principals, came up and
" guessed I was a stranger in their City." I said, " Yes, I was from
England." He asked whether he could be of assistance to me,
and proffered letters of introduction to the Pittsburg manufacturers.
I thanked him, telling him to whom I had letters ; finding that I
was in good hands, he said how pleased he should have been to
facilitate the objects of my visit. This is one instance among many,
of people upon whom I had not the slightest claim, giving them
selves trouble to make my visit pleasant and agreeable. I went to a
large number of manufactories in various branches, at all of which
I was received with the utmost poUteness, and shown the various
processes without the least reserve.
ameeican ageicultitee.
I will now direct your attention to the real business of this
evening's meeting, namely, the Agricidture of America. America
has been styled the granary for Europe ; it is, doubtless, the largest
corn-growing country in the world. It is mainly upon its agriculture
that the progress of the country depends ; its manufactures are
comparatively unimportant, three-fourths to seven-eights of the
population being engaged in agricultural pursuits, or dependent
thereon. Although we may learn a good deal on various subjects
from our go-ahead kinsmen, in the art and practice of agriculture
the old country, as a whole, is in the position of Teacher. As
might be expected in a comparatively new country, as a rule, the
agricultwe is rough and far behind that of England. That the

things IN AMERICA. 5
farming should not have the neat and finished appearance which it
presents in England and Scotland is not to be wondered at when the
dearness and scarcity of labour are considered, and when it is
remembered how large a number of the cultivators of the soil were
not brought up to the business of farming.
A very large proportion of the farms in the older States have
been reclaimed from the primeval forest : for hundreds upon
hundreds of miles the stumps of the larger trees still remain in
the fields, so that the date of the settlement of a locality can be
calculated by the number of the stumps remaining. In the rocky
and stony districts the stones still remain piled in heaps, the plough
and the reaping machine having to thread their way between these
stumps and heaps of stones.
The system pursued in clearing the land of timber is as follows.
In "the f aU " the underwood is cut and piled; in the winter
the trees are felled on to or toward the stacks of underwood which
are then set on fire. After this, the small stumps are extracted
by a crab, worked by oxen or horses ; the larger stumps are
left to rot. The ground is then ploughed, or, as we should think,
scratched over. Two or three crops of Indian corn are taken in order
to get rid of the second growth of imderwood ; the land is then left
to run to grass until the larger stumps are sufficiently decayed to
be extracted. The grass of America has nowhere the splendid, rich
green of our English pastures. Whether this arises wholly from
the climate, I have some doubt. I think want of care in preparing
the land, selection of seed, and subsequent stocking and treatment
have something to do with the miserable condition and appearance
of the American pastures. On my voyage home, upon arrival in
the Mersey, a North Carolina man asked me what were the beautiful
green crops growing upon the fields. I replied, " Grass, the
indigenous grass of the country." He exclaimed, " I never saw
anything so beautiful."
After having travelled for weeks through old-forest land,
with its blackened stumps and zig-zag rail-fences — " snake-fences,"
as they are called^ — ^to get a view of those grand, open prairie-lands
is a relief scarcely to be described. In the wooded district the toil
of clearing and bringing the land into cultivation is immense. On
the prairies the settler has no such labour ; he has simply to plough

6 THINGS IN AMEEICA.
up the ground and sow the seed. The prairie lands are of three
liinds ; the first, flat level tracts, something Uke our Fens, and about
as uninviting districts to live in ; in many parts without a tree or a
shrub as far as the eye can reach. Then there are the " roUing
prairies," having a sUght undulating surface and some wood, far
less monotonous than the flat, but not, to those who have an eye to
beauty, so inviting as the "high rolling prairies." The most
beautiful country for farming I saw in America was in Iowa, across
the Mississippi ; indeed, it is one of the most picturesque countries
I have ever looked upon. Fine land in this State is to be purchased
at less than it would let for in England — but more on the price of
land presently. This fine State of Iowa contains fifty millions of
acres, only eight mOhons of which are at present under cultivation.
The system generally pursued in American fanning is one of
exhaustion. The evils of this practice, in the gradually and steadily
diminishing yield, are beginning to be felt in the older-settled
States. There can be no doubt that the evils of such a course will
he much more generally and seriously felt unless a change to our
own restorative system of farming be adopted. Rotation is Httle
observed ; root crops, except potatoes, are rarely seen. Crop after
crop of com is taken from the soil without anything in the shape of
fertilizers being returned. The bones of the country are either
thrown away, or, when collected, are exported. So also of linseed
and cotton cake — as there is very little native demand, these products
are mostly exported to Europe. The use of manures and feeding
stuffs is practised by a few, but the practice is quite exceptional.
An old farmer on the banks of the Wabash, in Indiana, told me
that he had grown grain crops — generally Indian corn — ^for thirty-
five years in succession, without a dressing of manure, and that
the last crop of Indian com had yielded no less than 60 bushels
an acre. This land, as you may suppose, is remarkably rich, but
as a shrewd Quaker farmer from Ohio, who joined us about an hour
after, remarked, such a course was too common, and that it must
come to an end — ^he further told me that he had cleared no less
than 600 acres of land himself, had brought up a large family and
settled them in farms, and had found it most profitable to keep
plenty of stock, to observe a proper rotation, and to deal with the
soil liberally.

THINGS IN AMEEICA. 7
The farms in most of the districts I visited are, as a rule, small
— averaging about 100 acres. In the Western country farms are
larger, many being 500 to 1,000 acres. Mr. SuUivant, in Illinois,
who invited me to go and see him, farms 70,000 acres, and manages
this great breadth of land systematically and well. A large
proportion of the cultivators are what may be described as working
farmers — men of rough exterior ; but, owing to the admirable
public-school system, they are generally fairly educated. The
immense circulation of most of the agricultural journals is a proof
that they are a reading people. The New York Tribune issues a
weekly number, in which prominence is given to agricultural
matters ; the issue I found to be over 200,000. The American
Agriculturist issues 150,000. The Prairie Farmer has also a very
large circulation. The larger and more opulent farmers, many of
them gentlemanly and inteUigent men, know well what is going on in
agricidture in England — I thought, sometimes, better even than some
English farmers. There is another, and this a large class in America
— I mean amateur farmers ; doctors, lawyers, bankers, merchants,
manufacturers — all seem possessed with the same love of farming,
so general on this side. I met with many of this class — for the
acquisition of land is so easy. I found, however, that they told the
same tale amateur farmers do on this side — ^viz., that farming was a
very pleasant occupation, but that it did not pay.
The wheat and other cereal crops are much shorter and lighter
than we grow in England — 25 to 30 bushels of wheat being
considered a heavy crop, and the average of the coimtry is only
13 bushels, or less than half the average of England. Maize or
Indian corn yields far more — 80 bushels an acre are occasionally
raised ; 40 to 50 bushels is considered a good crop, and about 25
bushels is the average of the country. It is highly prized as food
for man and beast, and is often cut green for fodder ; upon the farm
of Mr. Cobb, Kankakee, Illinois, I saw a crop being cut which had
attained a height of 12 feet; the amount of green food upon an
acre is something wonderful. Maize is given to all kinds of stock ;
I find my own farm-horses do weU upon the grain.
In England, an enormous demand has set in during the last
twenty years for improved agricultural implements. This has maiidy
arisen from a more correct appreciation of the value and advantages

8 THINGS IN AMERICA.
of good machinery. In America, owing to the high rate of wages and
the difficulty of obtaining an adequate supply of labour, agricultural
machinery calculated to save manual labour has long been an
absolute necessity. Without the reaping machine the crops could not
be harvested, and without the threshing machine they could not be
brought to market. Hence the trade in agricultural implements has
reached gigantic proportions. From inquiries I made I calculated
that at least 100,000 reaping and mowing machines are made
annually in the States. I was there during the harvest — everywhere
the reaper was to be seen going ; the scythe or the sickle was just
as exceptional as the reaping machine was in England ten years ago.
The threshing machines are very inferior to our ovm ; the Americans
are very apt to think they are far ahead of us, and that we are a
very slow people ; I was, therefore, not a httle surprised to find that
their machines were almost exclusively worked by horse-power.
One farmer I visited on the banks of Lake Ontario, who had ten
horses yoked to his thrashing machine, seemed much surprised
when I told him that in England we did all our threshing by steam
power, he had never heard of such a thing, indeed threshing by
steam, so universal in England, is only just beginning to be talked
about in America.
The implements of the farm, — reapers and mowers excepted, —
are of very inferior design and build to our English machines. I
thought one great want in American farming was good steerage
drills with horse-hoes made to follow. In a country where labour
is so scarce and dear, the hoeing of the corn crop by animal power
would be an immense boon to the farmer. The drills are not made
with a steerage, and, consequently, the drilling is very bad, rendering
the use of the horse-hoe impracticable : as labour is so dear, in most
cases the com and the weeds seem to be left " to grow together
until the harvest." To a shrewd farmer in the north of New
York State, on whose land I went to see some reaping machines at
work, and whose barley was full of thistles, I remarked, " If that
crop had been in England, we should have cut out the thistles."
He replied it would not pay, adding he did not mind thistles, for he
always had a good crop of wheat after.
Most of the implements are furnished with a seat for the
men to ride — the idea being to get more work out of the labourers.

THINGS IN .VMEEICA.

I found the Prairie farmers very desirous of having a good
"gang-plough," as it is called, on which the ploughman could
ride. I saw several 2 and 3 furrow implements of the kind, but
very imperfect in design. As reaping machines are used, and
in consequence open furrows undesirable, the land is frequently
ploughed as follows. A short ridge is set in the middle of the
field, the plough passing not only up and down each side, but
a furrow is taken off in going round at each end. By this
means the plough is always in the groimd, and the whole field
ploughed without leaving an open furrow. A field may also be
commenced by ploughing a furrow all round the outside, and
finishing in the middle, indeed one mode is as common as the other.
The American farmer is not satisfied, as we are, with one team
ploughing an acre per day, but expects from each team of a pair of
horses two acres to two and a-half acres. I rather doubted so much
being done, but was over and over assured by both masters and
men that two acres and a-half were not at aU an unusual day's
work. The furrows, I must tell you, are over a foot wide ; the
American farmer cares for none of your fancy ploughing-match
style. The land is also generally much Hghter than our Enghsh
soils, and the depth of the ploughing is, according to my notions,
very much too shallow — a fault not at all confined to that side of the
Atlantic. Steam ploughs have not yet been introduced ; several
attempts have been made, but as all the schemes have been with
engines to travel over the surface — after Romaine's plan — no
wonder they have not succeeded. For the Prairies there would be no
difficulty in constructing machinery capable of breaking up twenty
or even twenty-five acres of such land per day, and this with only
three men. Where labour is so scarce, and time such an object, -
the advantage of the steam plough would be immense.
In Iowa I saw a very simple and efficient appliance called a
"horse pitchfork" — ^for raising crops on to the stack — a horse
simply drawing the load over a puUey. I also saw a very useful
machine in Illinois, a hay-loader attached to the rear of a waggon,
and which gathered up and elevated the crop on to the vehicle,
thereby saving much manual labour.

10 THINGS IN AMERICA.

EARM LIVE-STOCK.

Although the territory of the United States is so much greater
than that of England, the amount of live stock is by no means in the
same proportion. The cows and other horned cattle, according to
the last census, amounted to about 17 millions, about double the
estimated number of the United Kingdom — 2^ milHons of the cattle
were returned as working oxen. The sheep, on the other hand, fell
short of the estimated English number by 2J millions, whilst the
pigs exceeded by ten times our number, reaching the fabulous
number of 33 millions, or just about as many pigs as people.
The bulk of the cattle are of the Shorthorn type. Alderneys
and Ayrshires are much in repute for dairy purposes, but, as in
England, the Shorthorn is the prevaiKng breed. The sheep of
America are of a very nondescript character, miserably bred and
ill-looking, about half the size of the Enghsh, Flocks of Leicesters,
Downs, and Merinoes are to be found, but they are exceptional.
There is one matter — an important one to an EngUshman
— ^viz., the quaUty of the meat. Whether it is the climate, the
food, or the cooking, or all three, I don't know ; but throughout
America the beef and mutton I f oimd to be tough and most inferior
in taste, whilst the pork is tolerably good. The national importance
of paying more attention to sheep is being urged upon the American
farmer by the Daily as well as by the Agricultural Press ; an increase
in the supply of wool is deemed an absolute necessity, five millions
sterling having been paid to England for wooUen goods in 1865.
The draught horses used in America are very much smaller and
very different from our EngUsh type. They are weU-bred, clean-
legged, and active. The Kentucky " thoroughbred," as it is called, is
the favourite breed. I saw an entire horse of this breed upon the
farm of Mr. Emery Cobb, at Kankakee, in lUinois ; he was made, as
hunting men say, " all over Uke a hunter." I could have picked
out of Mr. Cobb's team a good many "weight carriers," which
would fetch fancy prices at TattersaU's. I did not see in the whole
of my travels what I caU a good stout draught-horse, such as I win
the Prizes with in my own County. At the railway stations in
Philadelphia and elsewhere are to be seen horses of the cart breed,
" raised," as I was informed, in Ohio and Pennsylvania. When the

THINGS IN AMERICA. 11
Americans grow bigger crops, as I am sure they might do, they will
want bigger horses in their reaping machines ; and when they stir
their land deeper, which I am sure they ought to do, they will, if
they do not adopt steam, require horses of greater weight. In some
districts I visited, horses are shod with malleable cast-iron shoes,
which are fastened without the use of nails. They simply clip the
foot, and are secured by rivets, the farmer performing the operation.
I have specimens on the table, which I intend to try.
Dairying is an important branch of rural economy in America.
A very novel feature is the introduction of the factory system. In
Oneida Co., N. Y. S., there are about 40 Cheese Manufactories —
or " Associated Dairies," as they are called — 16,000 cows supplying
them. I have only time to glance at this subject. The advantages
claimed are that the farmer's family is relieved of a good deal of
drudgery ; that by the employment of a skilled superintendent a
more uniform and better quaUty of cheese, at less cost, is obtained,
and, of course, higher prices reaUzed. Messrs. Moore, cheese
merchants in Buffalo, told me that for two or three years past
their shipments of factory cheese had commanded the highest
prices in the Liverpool market.
Three of the cities of America most interesting as agricul
tural centres are Buffalo, Chicago, and Cincinnati. Buffalo
is situated at the eastern extremity of Lake Erie. In this city,
remarkable for many things, immense grain elevators have been
erected to facUitate the rapid discharge of cargoes. Upwards of
twenty of these gigantic automatic labourers have been built,
which are capable of unloading vessels at the rate of 100,000
bushels per hour, and also of storing about five miUion bushels in
their capacious chambers. Watson's elevator, which I ascended,
stands 260 feet above the water, worked, of course, by steam
power. Four vessels can be brought alongside it, their cargoes
taken out and trans-shipped or stored simultaneously. By this
promptitude, a whole fleet of ships has not only been cleared, but
has left the port within 36 hours after arrival. In America an
ocean-going ship is loaded or unloaded with grain in a few hours,
whilst in England the same ship would be detained at the wharf
more than a week.
Cincinnati I did not visit, owing to the prevalence of cholera.

12 THINGS IN AMEEICA.
but notwithstanding the presence of this dire enemy in Chicago,
I did venture to spend several days in that most wonderful of aU
American cities. Thirty years ago this place was a mere village :
so recently as 1840 the population was less than five thousand ;
now it numbers over a quarter of a million. I will not take up
your time with a description of its splendid streets and public
buildings, its 120 churches, nor its rising manufactories, for one
might write a book on this extraordinary city.
It is at Chicago that the mind first becomes impressed with the
vastness of the territory which lies beyond the Ohio, Mississippi, and
Wisconsin — a country which, whether for area, productions, resources,
or people, is becoming the noblest and grandest part of the Republic.
I will not weary you with statistics of the trade of Chicago in
agricultural produce. Suffice it to say that upwards of 50 miUion
bushels of com are annuaUy exported ; that 1,400,000 pigs and
90,000 cattle are annually slaughtered in this western metropoUs.
The great slaughtering estabUshments of Chicago, the Elevators,
and corn stores, are as perfect in their way as any of our Lancashire
or Yorkshire factories ; but I have no time to describe them. One
of the most prominent agricultural features in Chicago is the immense
Cattle Market, for which no less than 345 acres have been laid out.
In the centre is an ample railway station, into which nine great
railway companies run their trains ; fifteen miles of sidings or
branches have been laid dovra, water supply laid on, corn and hay
bams erected ; a ^reat Hotel, a Bank, and an Exchange have been
built; in fact, every sort of convenience and accommodation for
both man and beast have been well considered and provided for at
this great Cattle Mart of the West.

AGRICULTURAL MEETINGS.
Soon after my arrival at New York I heard of a great trial of
reaping and mowing machines, going on at Auburn, by the New York
State Agricultural Society, to which city I at once set out. No less
than sixty machines were exhibited for the prizes offered, the
Government of the State having UberaUy voted the necessary sum
to cover the expenses of the trials. These trials were conducted in

THINGS IN AMERICA. IS
a very different style to those hasty and imperfect ones which
prevail in England. In the first place, three weeks were set apart
for the purpose of testing the machines on various crops, and under
varying circumstances. A long list of instructions to the judges,
directing their attention to the various points deemed essential, and
drawn up by a committee of makers and farmers, had been prepared
and printed. The jury consisted of the old EngUsh number of
twelve, with a President, a Secretary, and a Chief Marshal. These
judges were subdivided into committees, some to decide on
mechanical arrangements, others on the quality of the work per
formed. Then there was the " time committee," " the dynamometer
committee," and " the committee of description." After the trials
were over, the jury remained at Auburn two or three days to draw
up their report, and a second and final meeting to settle the awards
was fixed to be held at New York on Sept. 1st. The prizes were
subsequently declared at a meeting held during the New York State
Fair at Saratoga, on September 13th, at which I was present.
The pains taken in preparing the points to which the attention
of the judges should be directed, the various modes in which the
machines were to be tested, the subdivision of the jury, the length
of time devoted to the purpose, and the careful report — containing
a record of facts rather than of opinions — seemed to me to be a
long way in advance of our English mode of conducting such trials.
One of the Exhibitors said to me that the great use of these trials
was that the experience gained, and the careful record of every
fact eUcited, were a means of teaching manufacturers their own
deficiencies. This cannot be accomplished by our own Societies
unless the same care and time be taken as is the practice on the
other side of the Atlantic. I was so struck with the careful
preparation of the points to which the attention of the judges was
directed, and with the whole arrangement, that I at once wrote to
the Secretaiy of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, con
veying to him all the facts.
The American Makers and myself had a good deal of discussion
at Auburn as to which country the invention of the reaping machine
reaUy belonged. Of course the Americans claim the honour. Our
countrymen across the Border dispute the claim, maintaining that
to Scotland the merit is due. If it be a question simply of priority B

14 THINGS IN AMERICA.
¦of invention, neither is right ; I must put in a claim for England :
the inventor of the main elements of the reaping machine was a
Bedfordshire man, Mr. Salmon, of Woburn. In 1807 he patented
the principle of the reciprocating action of the knife, without which
none of our reapers would be of the least use. He also invented
the finger guards and the dividing appliance, and, more stOl, he
xnade his machine with a self-acting rake to deliver the com in
sheaf at the side. Notwithstanding, however, these prior English
¦and Scotch inventions, it is undoubtedly to America that we are
indebted for the reaping machine in its present practical form —
indeed for a machine that can be worked successfully and economi
cally. In America such a machine was a necessity years before any
need of its assistance was felt in England — o'wing in the one case
to a superabundance and in the other to a scarcity of labour.
I met ¦with one circumstance which reflects so much honour
upon the class of agricultural machine-makers in the States, that I
cannot forbear mentioning it. In Ohio two large rival manufac
tories stand on opposite sides of a street, belonging to two different
men. The one is a sharp man, of good commercial knowledge ; the
other is a clever mechanician, and a thoughtful superior man. The
former had made money ; the other had, notwithstanding his
immense business, got into financial difficulties. His rival across
the road, upon hearing of the circumstances, generously eame
forward and advanced some thousands of pounds to carry him
through his difficulties. I think that is a circumstance which
reflects credit not only on the individual, but on the country which
produces such a man.
I found the American manufacturers not only inteUigent, but a
high-minded class of men ; there appeared to be an absence of that
narrowness of feeling, too often observable among us, between rivals
in trade. Perhaps the breadth of country has something to do with
the breadth of their views.
I was struck with one arrangement which exists in America.
Owing to the great number of patents which their system induces,
the leading builders of reaping machines some years ago found
themselves constantly in collision with patentees and each other.
To obviate this serious difficulty, a number of the principal makers
and patentees united, and made a common stock of their own, as

THINGS IN AMERICA. 15
well as a number of other patents which they bought up. Mr. W.
Allen, of Auburn, was appointed their Attorney and Agent. Under
this arrangement the maker can have the use of any or all of the
patents, but he only pays a royalty upon such portions as he may
choose to use. Although such a combination may look something
like a monopoly, it is not so in reality. At all events it is in this
ease directly in the interest of the farmer, inasmuch as he is not the
victim of the dog-in-the-manger practice, so prevalent on this side.
As the patentee or manufacturer who may bring out anything good
is not shut out, it is also advantageous to him, as he can join " the
pool," and avail himself of the general stock of inventions. In this
arrangement I am inclined to think exists the nucleus of a reform in
our o'wn Patent Laws. The State, upon granting a Patent, might,
without injustice, stipulate that licenses upon an equitable basis
should be granted by the Patentee, or by the Patent Commissioners
upon Licensee and Licensor failing to agree.
At Saratoga I had an opportunity of seeing one of the great
State Fairs, as they are termed. Here I found a grand array of
agricultural machinery, particularly of reaping and mowing
machines. Large sheds were also erected in another part of the
ground for the display of domestic wares and machines, such as
cooking stoves, carpet sweepers, potato parers, and dairy utensils.
This department was the chief centre of attraction to crowds of
ladies. Other sheds were devoted to horticidtural products and
appUances ; the separation of agricultural implements from these
other branches greatly facilitated the object of the ¦visitor who
wished to see and examine the agricultural machinery or any
other section. At om- Royal Agricultural Meetings, owing to the
mixture of agricultural, horticultural, and domestic wares, I have
found it impossible to make a thorough examination of the
agricultural machinery. I intend to urge the Royal Agricultural
Society of England to turn its attention to this arrangement, for I
hold that these agricultural gatherings are not only marts, but great
educational institutions, and every facility should be given for the
acquisition of knowledge ; at least it ought not to be rendered as
difficult as possible.
There is one feature about the Agricultural Meetings of America
which our meetings in England are too generally assuming — namely.

16 THINGS IN AMERICA.
they are degenerating into mere gala days, instead of sober business
meetings. The horse ring at Saratoga was well supported and
absorbed much attention, whilst on the ploughing ground not a
single candidate put in an appearance, although Uberal prizes were
offered, — so Uttle interest was felt in this practical part of an
agricultural meeting.
I found the American people at their agricultural shows,
as elsewhere, polite to strangers. I paid for admission like any
other -visitor, but as soon as the Secretary heard that I was
upon the groimd, he came to me regretting that he had not
kno"wn of my visit earUer, and gave me a handsome rosette -with
the word " Guest " upon it. The exhibitors, both of machinery
and Uve stock, were also equally polite, takir^ great pains to explain
to me the merits of their machinery and the points of their animals.
I should take up too much time to speak of their show animals ; the
superiority of their Shorthorns is notorious. Singularly enough,
the first prize Shorthorn bidl at Saratoga I discovered was a son of
my brother's buU — ^the 2nd Duke of Thomdale — ^which my brother
imported from America, and bred by Mr. Thorne, Duchess County,
N.Y.S. The climate evidently suits our EngUsh breeds — ^the
Alderneys or Jerseys, the Ayrshire, the Devon, and the Hereford,
aU seem to thrive, and have their respective champions ; but the
Shorthorn, as here, has the lion's share.
SCHOOLS,
The pubUc schools are so prominent and distinguishing a
feature in America that I cannot pass this subject over without a
few words. Whilst religion, by the State, has been aUowed, as I
think wisely, to take care of itself, education has been fostered and
endowed. The value set upon education by aU classes throughout
America — and Canada too — is something we have no idea of at
home : it is not compulsory but it is enforced by public sentiment,
so strong that it is as stringent as any law. Take a drive into the
country and every two or three miles you pass, in places often
apparently without a population, neat and commodious school-
buildings, whilst in the cities large schools confront you in almost
every street. The plan of supporting these pubUc schools varies ia

THINGS IN AMERICA. 17
the different States. In most, certain portions of land have been
set apart, the revenues from which are devoted to the education of
the people. In the older settled States the schools are supported by
rates. In the new States the Government has, in their settlement,
invariably set apart a portion of the land for school purposes.
Formerly l-36th of all the land in the State was thus set apart;
but such importance is attached to this question of education, that
Congress has latterly increased the School-lands of new States to
1-1 Sth. The affairs of the schools are under the direction of a
committee chosen by the people.
One marked difference between the common schools of the
States and those of (/anada is, that in the former English is the
only language used, — no matter what the nationality of the settle
ment may be ; whilst in the schools of Lower Canada, French has
been retained. The effect in the States has been to make " of one
language, and of one speech the whole people ; " whilst the
French-speaking and the English-speaking portions of Canada have
remained, to a great extent, a separate as well as a different people.
In the States, I was assured that the reUgious differences of the
people were not found to be a disturbing element ; that the Bible
is the only reUgious book used ; that, as a rule, prayer is offered daily,
both at the opening and close, and that no other special religious
teaching is attempted. The absence of a dominant church, and the
fact of the Government being in possession of such vast tracts of
land, have rendered the dealing ¦with this great question of education
comparatively easy. The people of England -will never be educated
as they ought to be until Government passes some more comprehensive
scheme than we have at present. Let me ask you not to go away
¦with the idea that reUgion is not cared for, or that nothing is done
to provide for the religious wants of the people ; on the contrary,
the extent of church accommodation is everywhere far in advance
of that in this country, and this notwithstanding the existence of
our richly-endowed establishment. CONCLUSIONS.
The advantages which America offers are so great, that when
we consider the prospects, present and future to themselves and

18 THINGS IN .VMERICA.
their families, the wonder to me is that so few are willing to make a
present sacrifice ; that so many remain in the Old Country is most
marveUous to one who has paid a visit to the New. Here we are so
over-populated, that thousands of young men above the working
classes are unable to obtain suitable and remunerative employment,
or to embark in business with any fair prospect of success, Farmers
and their sons find it equally difficult to settle ; the consequence is,
that rents in this country have been forced up to an artificial
standard. What with an increased rental, the higher rate of wages,
a lower standard of prices, the greater risk from disease in Uve
stock, and undiminished taxation, I cannot see how the present race
of farmers, except a few favourably-situated, can hope so to increase
their capital as to become possessed of the means of starting their
sons as farmers or settling their families in respectabiUty.
If we could add a Lincolnshire or a Norfolk every year to this
little island the whole position of things would be changed ; there
would be room for everybody ; it is just this power of expansion
that makes all the difference between America and England. One
fact ¦wiU throw some light on this part of my subject. If the
United States were as thickly populated as England and Wales, the
population would amount to the enormous number of 924 miUions.
From the natural resources of America, from its varied soil and
climate, its boundless beds of coal and iron — which are in proportion
to its breadth of territory — ^it would be as capable of supporting
this immense population as is England of supporting its present
number of inhabitants. Among the advantages oflEered by America
to the agriculturist, the low price of land is unquestionably the
greatest. Splendid land can be purchased in the newly-settled
States at the low rate of two dollars an acre. I believe, if bought
direct from the Government, the price is only a doUar-and-a-quarter,
Of course, as the districts increase in population, the price of land
goes up, so that on the banks of the Hudson and about Philadelphia
I found land as dear as in England ; whilst close to Dubuque, in
Iowa, the finest of the land was not fetching more than £5 per acre.
By the " Homestead Law" every head of a family who desires
to settle in America, and become a naturalized subject of the United
States, receives from the Government 160 acres of land, substantially
as a free gift. Each of his sons, too, on coming of age has the

THING.S IN AMERICA. 19.
same advantage. Surely such munificence is enough to tempt some
of our struggling, industrious, but over-weighted farmers to cross
the Atlantic in search of a country where there is so much more
room for their energies. The American farmer has no rent-day to
haunt him : he pays neither tithe nor church-rate ; the poor-rate is
a bagatelle, and there being no game-laws, there is no fear of being,
" eaten up." " But how about wages ? " some will ask. WeU, they
are high, and that is about the chief drawback I know of — ^twenty
dollars a month and board, or about a doUar-and-a-half a day
without board. The men, however, work long hours, and the amount
expended in labour per acre, notwithstanding the high rate, is not
greater than in England, if so great. In Canada the rate of wages
is lower, being only half-a-doUar per day, and a doUar in harvest,
without beer. As wages are paid in gold instead of green-hachs the
difference is not so great as it appears.
One great advantage the American farmer possesses is, that his
team costs him little to keep. We say, " Idle horses eat their
heads off : " over there, when not wanted, they are turned off to
grass, to grow into money. Again, very Uttle of the hindrance
and loss we have to contend with through frequent rain and our
uncertain climate are knovra.. I have said I only know of one great
drawback which the American farmer has to encounter, viz., wages.
There is another I had weU nigh forgotten ; an English farmer ,.
should he desire to purchase an American machine or article, does not
pay a shilling duty upon it ; not so with the American : should he
wish to buy an EngUsh machine, or almost any other foreign
product, he has to pay a duty of twenty-five to fifty per cent.
Just for the advantage of a few wealthy manufacturers, who, be
it observed, are an infinitesimal portion of the community, that
great country allows itself to be taxed on its iron, on its machinery,
on its clothing, and in a hundred other oppressive ways. When the
agricultural and consuming classes once fairly turn their attention
to this subject of Protection to the manufacturer, these oppressive
import duties, I do not question, will go with one fell swoop. At
present public attention is distracted by the great political difficulties
of the country.
I found it was much more common to hire land in Canada than
in the States. Some very fine land I saw near Toronto, about 12 iniles

"-20 THINGS IN AMERICA.
in the interior, was let at 12s. per acre. The tenant, an EngUshman,
seemed weU satisfied with the change he had made by crossing the
Atlantic. Barley fit for malting is grown here, and exported at good
prices to the large Brewers in the States. The milder portions of
Canada offer a fine field to the farmer, but to the trader or
manufacturer Canada is not to be compared with the States. If
I were to be asked which is the most desirable part of the States
for an EngUshman to settle in ? I should say that for corn growing
and stock raising combined, one of the North-western States —
Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, or Michigan, would be the best.
I incline, however, to think that more money is to be made
out of the ¦vine, tobacco, sugar, hops, fruit, and cotton ; a fine field
is open in North Carolina, Texas, California, and other of the warmer
States. Plenty of land is to be had in North CaroUna at 20 to 25
doUars an acre, which ¦will produce a bale of cotton per acre.
CaUfomia is kno^wn over here for its auriferous wealth only, but for
agricultural and wine-growing pursuits there is no more inviting or
more productive State in the Union. I should, however, recommend
anyone going out to America not to be in too much of a hurry
about settling do^wn : traveUing is cheap ; the fare from Boston to
Chicago, a distance of 1,200 miles, is only 27 doUars, less than
£4 in our money. In England we cannot be too near a railway,
in America, out West especially, the farms immediately adjoining
a railway are avoided, owing to the losses through the cattle
getting kiUed by the passing trains — the Unes not being fenced in.
I could say much more on agricultural topics, but must draw my
remarks to a conclusion.
Although a better feeling is springing up than prevailed
during the War, there is not that cordiaUty between the two
countries which should exist between two such communities.
America is our natural, and ought to be our firmest aUy; as we
begin to know and understand each other better, let us hope that
on both sides of the ocean there will be an absence, both of acts
and words, calculated to provoke or keep up irritation or ill feeUng.
There have been undoubtedly faults on both sides, particularly
upon our own ; it is to be hoped, therefore, that the present
Government ¦will do aU that can honourably be done to bring
about a better understanding, and this without delay.

THINGS IN AMERICA. 21
In conclusion I would remark that when a man has visited
England and America he has seen the two most wonderful countries
the sun has ever shone upon. Never before in the history of the
world were there ever gathered together upon so small an area
such numbers, so much wealth, such a development of industrial
enterprise, so well governed, and such a practical and common-
sense people as are to be found in Old England. On the other
hand, never before in the history of the world has there been
anything Uke the rapid growth of America ; so vast a territory
peopled so quickly, its resources developed so speedily, its
institutions so completely and weU organized, and such progress
made in the industrial arts. In America, you find everywhere the
same activity, the same reUant enterprise as at home : these traits
of character are undoubtedly somewhat intensified by the
circumstances and perhaps the climate of the country. When
I -witnessed the large amount of social prosperity throughout the
States, resrdting from these qualities, instead of feeling anything
like national jealousy at the wonderful results everywhere visible,
I was impressed more fuUy ¦with the causes of the true greatness
of my own country. I felt proud in the remembrance that
America was the offspring of England ; that the old country had
been reproduced on so grand a scale in the new ; that the
character of the parent stock was so stamped upon and so apparent
in the ¦vigorous growth of its off-shoots ; not only the blood, but
the ideas, the laws, the reUgion of England, exist and flourish in
the United States. The Anglo-Saxon race on American soil is
asserting its supremacy on a gigantic scale, as weU as with
characteristic energy and vigour. One very remarkable phenomenon
is, that notwithstanding the immense number of immigrants from
the other nations of Europe, the English tjrpe of humanity is
everywhere predominant. Like its o-wn great river, the Mississippi,
which receives numbers of tributary streams that are blended with
and become one great current ; so with aU the races which flock
to America ; they feel the force of, and become blended -with the
grand current of Anglo-American life. In a generation or two
the French, the Dutch, the German, the Scandinavian, and the Celt,
lose everjrthing of their foreign distinctness, and nothing is left of
their national character but the name. The language, the ideas, the

22 THINGS IN AMERICA.
freedom, the enterprise, and what was so thoroughly exemplified
during the late deplorable war, the courage, the pluck of England,
all Uve in America, and seem to be uniting to form the greatest
and most powerful Empire the world has ever seen.

A TRIP TO AMERICA

A VOYAGE across the Atlantic seems a formidable affair to
stay-at-home people. I had been somewhat of a traveller, but I
must confess that when on a bright July morning I left Bedford to
embark for America a thought or two did steal in and trouble me as
to whether I should ever see the good old town again.
The Scotia is said to be, next to the Great Eastern, and our
war vessels, the largest and finest ship afloat. When dropping
down the Mersey in the tender, a feUow-passenger said to me,
"There is the Scotia." I said, "I think you are mistaken; the
Scotia is a very big ship ! " Although the vessel is four hundred
feet long, and has one hundred and thirty yards clear walking space
on her upper deck, so perfect are her proportions and so exquisite
her symmetry that her extraordinary size fails to impress the mind
•with anything Uke an adequate idea of her size and strength.
The Americans, who are no mean judges, acknowledge that on their
side they have never yet produced anything approaching her.
Nevertheless they are not silent about what they mean to do. To
see this noble vessel in mid-ocean when the sea appeared set upon
asserting its supremacy ; when the " fountains of the great deep "
seemed as if " broken up," when all above and beneath and around
conspired, as it were, to swaUow up the ship ; I say, to see her ride
the storm, to defy its fury, and to hasten proudly forward in spite
of aU opposing forces, impressed my mind deeply with this idea :
Is there not here a most remarkable proof of the genius, the
mechanical skiU of man ?
To any one who is not afflicted with a malady which leaves most
unpleasing reminiscences of the sea, a voyage in a first-class steam
ship is about as pleasing and enjoyable a relaxation as I can
imagine. Health and spirits seem to be blown into the system with
every breeze ; the punctilio or etiquette of life on land is broken

A TRIP or AMERICA. 25
through ; people who have never been " introduced " interchange
civilities and opinions freely ; friendships seem to ripen day by day,
and when the time comes for separation, there seems to be about as
much emotion as though the people had known each other from
childhood. In going across the Atlantic from Liverpool to New York, one
would suppose that on this great highway, ships hurrying to and
fro would be seen every hour of the day ; as soon however as the
coast of Ireland is lost sight of, there is nothing to attract the eye
but the broad expanse of waters ; a sail in the distance is so rare
a sight as to caU every telescope and glass on board into
requisition ; a whale spouting brings on deck every passenger who
can crawl thither, while a shoal of porpoises creates the greatest
excitement ; one shoal I saw was over a mile long, and seemed to
be moving due south as uniformly as an army on the march.
When in mid-ocean, and at a time when the weather on both sides
of the Atlantic was aU but tropical, we suffered fi'om intense cold.
This sudden cold arose from icebergs, which were, however, at too
great a distance to be -visible, but being on deck early on July
20th, I had the gratification of seeing one ; it had the appearance
of a bluish vapour and could only just be descried in the horizon,
the cold from it nevertheless pierced us through.
On our return voyage we feU in vrith the equinoctial gales.
Soon after leaving the banks of Newfoundland, the officers admitted
that it blew " three parts of a gale of wind ; " I wondered what a fuU
gale would be. The sails, as though made of paper, were in a few
minutes blovni completely away, not the least chance of taking them
in occurred. I had seen storms in the German Ocean, in the EngUsh
Channel, the Irish Sea, in the Gulf of Lyons, and in the
Mediterranean, but here, in mid-Atlantic, I had an opportunity
of seeing the ocean in its mightiest, in its most a-wful grandeur.
Until then I had never felt the fuU meaning of the words, " Let
the sea roar and make a noise," or " They that go do-wn to the sea
in ships, that do business in great waters ; these see the works
of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep." The waves were
mountains of water ; we could see them rise a mile off and come
sweeping along, swaUo-wing up wave after wave, until destruction
seemed inevitable ; but our gallant ship was Uke a thing of life.

26 A TRIP TO AMERICA.
rising and falling, and adapting herself to the fury of the sea as
though endowed with reason.
Those passengers who had been in Switzerland all agreed that
for three days the sea presented the appearance of the Alps. The
foam was as white as the driven snow. To convey to you some
idea of the force of the sea, I will relate one incident : — One night,
just before bedtime, what is called a stray sea struck the ship ; two
of the Ufeboats were carried away clean over the ship ; the
" da-vits," — cranes, by which the boats are suspended and which
were made of round -wrought iron as thick as a man's thigh (5J
inches in diameter) — were snapped asunder as though they had been
broomsticks ; the side of the saloon was broken in, and in a moment
the interior was four feet deep in water ; seven of the engine fires
were extinguished, and the berths all flooded ; but when it was
found that the vessel, which had reeled over, had righted herself
and stiU sped onward, we felt such inexpressible relief that
surrounding discomforts were regarded as trifles. We had been
struck, not by a wave, but by a mountain of water. The veteran
seaman, Captain Judkins, told me that he had never, during the
twenty-seven years he had been on the Atlantic, encountered such a
wave. I win not, however, trouble you -with further details of the
voyage, but hasten at once to our arrival on the other side. As
soon as the pilot came alongside, the newspapers were thro-wn on
board, for which there was a regular scramble. I was fortunate
enough to catch the first, and was at once surrounded by an eager
throng. As expected of me, I commenced, from an exalted spot,
to read the contents aloud, beginning -with " A hundred deaths a
day from sunstroke," " Alarming outbreak of cholera in New
York." I was greeted immediately with a regular chorus, " Hang
the cholera — what's the price of gold?" "Has the Budget
passed?" The "almighty dollar" had evidently obtained the
mastery over the minds of these apparently sober-minded men.
When the price of gold had been given, all seemed willing enough
to listen to the account of the hundred deaths per day from
sunstroke — caused by the excessive heat prevalent in New York ; —
also to the account of the ravages of the cholera, which was
anything but assuring to us Europeans about to land.

A TRIP TO AMERICA. 27

NE"W XORK.
The harbour and approaches to New York are beautiful in the
extreme. At the head of the bay rise New York and Brooklyn ;
Long Island is on one side ; Jersey and Staten Island opposite, —
studded with beautiful mansions and fine timber. In these lovely
retreats the merchant princes and other well-to-do people seek
in-vigorating health and repose from business. On turning a
promontory, the harbour breaks all at once into -view ; nothing can
be more imposing than the cities with their numerous pubUc
buildings, the shipping, the spacious harbour, and the beautiful
surroimdings, aU bursting suddenly upon the astonished beholder.
I beUeve it is generaUy admitted that this magnificent port is one
of the finest in the world ; its exquisite beauty was not diminished
by our getting a -view of it just as the sun was going do-wn most
gloriously. New York city looks more beautiful from the harbour than
from any other point ; but attractive as was the scene, I was right
glad to set my feet once more on dry ground. Going ashore, an
old Baltimore lady said, in true Yankee style, " WeU, good-bye
Cap'en ; many thank's. Cap' en." I remarked to an EngUsh
acquaintance, " The old lady forgets her t's." A young luggage
porter, who stood by, interposed the remark, " Yes, we Americans
do neglect our t's, but we take care of our h's." I thought this not
bad for the first specimen of Yankee smartness. Their readiness in
reply is scarcely exceUed by the Irish, and that is, I think, saying a
good deal.
To the mere sight-seer New York presents very few objects of
interest. Everything is modem, the people are such thorough
utilitarians that every reUc of former times has been ruthlessly
destroyed or sacrificed at the shrine of Mammon. One of the first
objects which attracted my attention on landing was a large Gothic
church, in the centre of Broadway, turned into a theatre. I had
known theatres turned into churches, but to see a house of God
handed over to such a purpose was a new thing to me, and shocked
my prejudices as to the sacredness of a place ha-ving been set apart
for spiritual purposes. The feeling of veneration for the past, so

28 A TRIP TO AMERICA.
different throughout the States to that which prevails in the Old
World, will doubtless be developed as the country becomes older
and the nnatioal mind and tastes more cultivated.
It is Uttle more than two centuries since the entire site of this
great city was purchased from the Indians for the ridiculous sum of
twenty-four doUars. Now it is covered with long Unes of elegant
marble and stone buildings ; the space is laid out in broad avenues
and squares, from which diverge handsome, wide streets. There are
upwards of 300 churches, many of great architectural beauty. St.
Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church is built of white marble, has a
lofty spire of the same material, and cost upwards of £50,000. The
hotels are of gigantic size and which I wiU describe shortly. The
uniformity of the city, the streets running at right angles at regular
distances, although convenient is not pleasing ; the monotony,
however, is greatly reUeved by the number of beautiful trees in the
squares and on the sides of the streets.
The pubUc works of New York are by far the most interesting
features of the city. The Central Park is a place of which the
Americans may be justly proud ; situated at the outskirts of the
city at a considerable elevation, a splendid -view of the surrounding
country is obtained. The park contains no less than 843 acres ; it
has a lake of 100 acres, streams, islands, bridges, hiUs, rocks, plains,
slopes, walks, drives, shrubs, plants, everything essential to the
picturesque but fine timber ; this will take its own time : man can
do wonders in the mechanical arts, but in vegetation, nature
reserves to herself her o-wn mysterious powers. As may be
supposed, the park is a place of great resort ; every afternoon
are to be seen the most gorgeous and carefully-appointed equipages ;
fast young men -with tandem and four-in-hand teams ; but the woidd-
be aristocrat cannot, even here, escape the democratic element :
mixed up with the sweU turn-out is the shabby " buggy " and the
costermonger's cart : aU the visitor's seem equally bent on enjoyment
and evidently aU are fuUy conscious of equaUty of rights.
New York has set an example to the world in providing a
water supply for its inhabitants. The Croton Waterworks is
undoubtedly one of the most gigantic enterprises ever undertaken,
the ancient Roman schemes not excepted. The water is brought
from the Croton River by an aqueduct forty miles long. The works

A TRIP TO AMERICA. 29
connected with it required engineering knowledge of the highest
order. The High Bridge, by which the water is conveyed across
the Haarlem vaUey and river, spans the whole width of the valley
and river ; the bridge is built of granite, and is 1450 feet in length.
The reservoirs and all connected with the undertaking are beautifully
designed, and their appearance most imposing. The grand scheme
of Mr. Bateman, C.E., for supplying London -with water by bringing
it from the Plinlimmon range, would doubtless eclipse the Croton
works ; but considering the difference in the present and future
requirements of London and those of New York, if Mr. Bateman's
scheme should be carried out — and I sincerely hope it will — the-
Americans could still point to their o-wn works as an example set to
the world. There are other pubUc works and places I might describe, but
having many other subjects to bring before you, I must not dwell
too long at New York. One word, however, on the municipal
government. Much has of late been written about its corruption,
and great stress laid upon the fact — for fact unquestionably it is ; —
but often made use of simply -with a -view to disparage RepubUcan
institutions. The roads certainly are execrable, anything but safe to
drive over ; the drainage is neglected ; the city, excepting the main
streets, is dirty, whilst the municipal expenses are enormous. When
Joseph Whitworth, of Manchester [now Sir Joseph Whitworth, Bart.],
invented a street-sweeping machine, by which one man and a horse
could do the work of twenty men, he could not overcome the vis
inerticB of our o-wn corporate bodies, or prevail against the patronage
of dust contractors and scavengers ; so he sent his machine over to
the municipal authorities of New York. The agent sent with his
scheme was most frankly told that there was no doubt about the
invention being a valuable one, but there was one fatal objection to
the machine — it could not vote ; the journeyman scavengers they
employed could. I do not think, however, that the sweeping
assertions respecting American institutions which have been made
by the press in this country, in consequence of the corruption in
municipal matters in New York, are altogether deserved. New York,
it should be remembeaed, is the great vortex for aU the Irish and
lowest class emigrants. It is chiefly to this troublesome element
that the publicans and bar-keepers owe their power of outvoting the
C

30 A TRIP TO AMERICA.
respectable portion of the electors, and keeping municipal power in
their own hands for their own selfish ends. Other cities are well
governed, Philadelphia for instance. Philadelphians laugh at the
way in which municipal matters are managed in New York ; and
tell a good tale of how, when steam fire-engines were first started,
they sent an agent — •" a smart man " — to sell their old manual
engines to the New York authorities ; this he managed to do, much
to the delight of the Philadelphians, who are not above stealing a
march upon their New York friends.
EXTENT AND RESOURCES OF AMEEICA.
I -will for the present dismiss the towns — I mean cities, there
are no towns in America — and briefly answer a question which has
often been put to me since my return : " What sort of a country is
it ? " As most know, it is " a land of broad rivers and streams ; "
a country of vast extent and boundless resources, inhabited by as
sharp--witted a people as the world has ever seen. The inclosed land
of America, I allude to the States — ^I leave out Mexico, Canada, and
the Territories — amounts to the enormous breadth of 400 millions of
acres ; with the uninclosed or uncultivated portions to about 1,500
millions of acres, — -figures which seem to dwarf our little Island into
a mere speck upon the map of the world. The area of the States
alone is biggerthan the whole Continent of Europe. Notwithstanding
the vast extent of the territory indicated by these figures, the
whole has been surveyed, and those portions which are Ukely to be
settled within a reasonable time are mapped, divided into townships,
subdivided into " squares," sections, and again into subsections.
The roads and cross-roads are also laid out, and the widths
determined ; 80 feet to 100 feet is no unusual -width. These
several divisions are numbered and registered both, in the office of the
Burvey or- general at Washington and in the counties' register office
of the several States ; no question, therefore, of title can arise, and
land in America can be transferred as readily as a ship or bank
stock. The vast extent of the coal fields would alone point to the
future greatness and destiny of the coimtry. A friend of mine 
the late Professor Rogers, for some years Professor of Geology and

A TRIP TO AMERICA, 31
Zoology at the University of Glasgow — estimated the coal fields of
America at 325,000 square miles ; that they possessed a sufficient
supply for 60,000 years, even if the population should become as
dense as that of England. In this case the population would
number 924,000,000. Dr. Cumming could never have cast a
prophetic look across the Atlantic ; for had he known of such a
store of fuel laid up by a wise and beneficent Creator for future use,
he would certainly have given the world a longer lease.
The country is also equally rich in iron. A friend of mine,
who has a number of blast furnaces in Pennsylvania, told me that he
had all but an unlimited supply of ore. The estate being 40,000
acres, he had fuel (wood) in abundance, as it grew faster than his
furnaces could consume it. He was extending his works ; the
situation was so good and the demand so great that they might be
extended almost indefinitely. I was offered a share in the concern
if I would go over and join him ; but although the offer was
tempting the old English maxim, " Let weU alone," prevailed.
Before I had been in the country a month, I came to the conclusion
that America, would ere many years, produce all the iron needed for
her own wants at her own furnaces.
I could say much about the agricultural wealth of the country,
also about its production in cotton, fruits, wine, timber, precious
metals, and oil — that " striking ile " is a wonderful thing. Instead,
however, of dwelling upon these subjects, it will probably be more
interesting if I teU you what I saw of the country, its people, and
its institutions. EAILWATS AND THE PEOPLE.
Railways are so important a feature in any civilized country
that I cannot pass the subject over. The American railways and
railway systems present many differences to those we are accustomed
to. The most notable difference is the ease with which promoters
of railways obtain authority from the legislature to construct Unes.
There is nothing of our own absurd system of trying to strangle
them in their birth ; of fighting for a Bill in the House of Commons
Committee, and then fighting the same battle over again in the
House of Lords, The people of the district through which a

32 A TRIP TO AMEEICA.
proposed Une is to pass, have only to approve of the project in a
public meeting, and the State Legislature, acting upon the belief
that the people of the district are better judges of what they require
than any competing company or any number of factious landowners,
grant the Act without expense, delay, or official difficulty. The
only guarantee required is the pajonent of a certain amount of the
capital by the shareholders. Opposition to railways is a thing
almost unknown. In several cities I visited, the Unes run through
the main thoroughfares, so that trucks of merchandise can be put
down at the very doors of the warehouses. In every large city
there are street tramways, the omnibuses running on which are most
commodious ; the fares are very low, and the pace good.
The engine upon an American railway looks a strange piece of
gear to an EngUshman. In front, it carries a convex framework,
styled a "cow-catcher;" its use is to " clear the track " of any
unfortunate animals which may have strayed upon the line, and as
but a smaU proportion of the railways are fenced in, it is very often,
according to George Stephenson's well-known saying, " an ugly
thing for the coo." As the curves on the lines are very sharp, the
engines have an additional pair of front wheels, which s'wivel Uke
the fore wheels of a wagon. The carriage wheels are aU made to
swivel ; this arrangement is kno'wn as the " Bogie system," and is
admirably adapted for railways -with sharp curves.
On the top of the engine is a great bell, which serves a double
purpose ; it is rung by the engine-driver as a warning, instead of
our horrid steam whistles. From this beU a line is carried from one
end of the train to the other, right through the centre of the cars.
By this means, every passenger as well as the guards, by simply
pulUng the ropes can ring the bell, and thus in a moment
communicate with the engine-driver. The vexed question, therefore,
of communication between passenger, guard, and driver, was in this
simple way solved years ago in America. As the cars hold so many
people, there is Uttle danger of the driver being unnecessarily
alarmed by some frightened passenger.
The carriages, or " cars," hold some fifty people ; they have a
door at each end, and look something Uke a house mounted on eight
wheels. A passage, nearly a yard wide, runs do-wn the centre from
end to end ; the seats, with comfortable stuffed backs, being

A TRIP TO AMERICA. 33
arranged at right angles on either side. If four persons travel
together, they merely have to swing the backs over, and they can
then sit tete A tite. At one end of the car, are a stove and a
cabinet ; at the other end a washing-room, and a filter containing
delicious iced water. Sleeping cars are attached to all the night
trains, with a chamberlain or " boots " in attendance ; this
arrangement is an admirable one for long journeys, and ought long
ago to have been introduced on our own night trains. This form of
carriage possesses two great advantages to a foreign traveUer ; in
the first place, he gets a much better view of the surrounding
country, and what is still better it enables him to glean a good deal
more information from the people. When I had talked to one party
I used to perambulate the cars and join another, so that in travelling
a hundred miles I often conversed with twenty or thirty people.
The trains are not divided into first, second, and third class, all are
equal. " Emigrant cars " are, however, pro-vided on some lines, to
which the roughs and " darkies " betake themselves or are relegated.
To a stiff, buckled-up Englishman, this mixture of classes on
railways is objectionable ; but as my object in going over was to
gain information I rather enjoyed it. I remember on one journey I
had as companions, first a Senator, then a member of Congress,
afterwards a railway plate-layer, followed by a Mohawk chief, and
an Irish labourer. From aU I gathered some information ; from the
latter I got some new ideas about Fenianism. I stayed at the Fifth
Avenue Hotel, in New York, and was assured by an EngUsh waiter
that the Irish servants in the hotel had subscribed over £500
towards the Fenian movement within a year, and that the few
EngUsh servants had no peace unless they contributed also. I
was told over and over by Irishmen, that they would never rest until
Ireland became a Republic.
Although I mixed -with the various classes I experienced nothing
like rudeness, nor did I once hear in the trains any bad language.
Certain carriages are set apart for ladies and the gentlemen who
accompany them ; no matter who he may be who travels -without
the advantages of female society, he is excluded from these select
carriages. Should he also be addicted to the habit of smoking, or,
still worse, to that abominable practice of ruminating with its
attei^dant nastiness, he must for the time being become a total

84 A TRIP TO AMERICA.
abstainer. As I had a lady companion I had the entrie of these
carriages. If any one transgresses the rules — or, to use the
language of Dickens, begins to "describe circles on the floor "^
the conductor, a mighty man in his way, in the most unceremonious
manner orders the offender to leave the car.
Booksellers and newsvendors are constantly walking through
the cars, leaving books, magazines, and papers, caUing for payment
or the return of the books after their perambulations.
One of the greatest improvements upon our English system
is the mode adopted with passengers' luggage. On arrival at a
station you hand over your luggage to a " baggage master,"
who in a moment, by a leathern thong, attaches a metal label, -with
a number and the place of destination upon it ; he hands you the
duplicates, caUed " checks." After this the passenger need not
trouble himself for one moment about his luggage ; he may stop
twenty times, say between Boston and Buffalo, and on his arrival he
has simply to go to the baggage room, present his " checks," and
get his baggage. Or he may save himself even this trouble ; just
before the arrival at any principal station, an official walks through
the cars, asking — " Any baggage for (say) Chicago ? " You give
him your " checks," he gives you a receipt, asks what hotel or house
you are for ; you give him the name, go straight to your hotel, and
in a few minutes you find your luggage in the hall. It is an
immense improvement upon our clumsy system, especiaUy for ladies.
I have been in communication since my return -with the Midland
Company, and hope, at the opening of their through line to London,
to see a similar system adopted.
I vras much struck with the quiet behaviour of the people at
the railway stations and elsewhere. I had an idea that the
Ajnericans were a bustUng, headstrong, irrepressible people ; on the
contrary, they are calm, self-possessed, and quiet ; they arrive at
the station half an hour, or at least a quarter of an hour, before the
train starts. There is no pushing, no hurry, no rushing about the
platform, nothing like impatience ; and I am bound to say in
politeness they are quite up to the standard of this country. No
pushing to get into cars, no matter how great the crowd ; several
times when I entered a car where there was a difficulty in finding
seats, accommodation by giving up or changing seats was at once

A TRIP TO AMERICA. 35
proffered. Thf pace the trains travel is much slower than in
England, but there is one thing, they do keep time. An American
engineer, who had been in England, described the Express train
from Liverpool to London as running a " blue streak," by which
he meant going like lightning. At the railway stations large wash
rooms or lavatories are provided free. At Altoona, in Pennsylvania,
I found provision for sixty to wash at a time — no Uttle boon in a
hot climate and in dusty weather.
When I left New York, I ran up by the Hudson River Railway
to Auburn, in New York State, travelling by night train in a
sleeping car. I passed through Albany, and Syracuse, where are
immense salt works ; their extent may be imagined when I teU you
there are six square miles of shedding. This northern part of
New York State is a most attractive country. It abounds with
inland lakes of very considerable extent, of which we hear little or
nothing on this side. There are Owasco, Oswego, Cayuga, Seneca,
Canandaigua, Oneida, and Saratoga, all as beautiful as their Indian
names are euphonious. The lake Cayuga is 40 miles long. The
cities are also of considerable size, the number of populous and
important places throughout America of which we know or hear so
little greatly surprised me. In the district I refer to, there are
Aibany, Troy, Syracuse, Auburn, Geneva, Ithaca, Oswego, and
Rochester with 60,000, and then the important to-wn of Buffalo with
100,000 people.
Auburn is a beautiful city at the head of Lake Owasco, and is
a great place for the manufacture of reaping and mowing machines.
The manufacturers I found gentlemanly, weU-informed men, living
in good style ; their newly-built and weU-arranged factories they
showed me over, and took great pains to explain the various
processes, nothing was kept back. I met with the same kind
treatment and frankness everywhere ; indeed, sometimes I felt
compeUed to leave a place sooner than I -wished, feeling that I was
taking up the time of the good people to whom I had taken letters
of introduction, and who laid their own affairs aside to show me
attention. The day I arrived at Auburn I was in-rited to an evening party
at seven o'clock, which I gladly accepted. Here I met with some
ten or fifteen ladies, and about as many gentlemen. With a few

36 A TRIP TO AMEEICA.
exceptions they were colonels, captains, honourables, and reverends,
but the colonels preponderated. The whole evening was spent in
¦ conversation — a little, a very Uttle, music. I found here, as elsewhere
throughout the States, a desire to be better friends with England ;
they felt, and the feeUng is universal, that they had much to forgive
us ; their bill of indictment, I can assure you, is not a light
one. Every Northener I met with who had been in England during
the war, complained of the rudeness, the offensive manner in which
the EngUsh thrust their Southern -views and sympathies before them ;
one capital fellow told me that before he re-embarked at Liverpool
he gave our Uttle island a hearty kick, swearing that the next time
he came it should be to fight us. He had evidently, when I left
him, grown less beUicose.
The ladies of America I did not find so political as they have
been represented ; those I met with at Auburn were sensible, Uvely,
well-educated women, and the majority spoke without that dreadful
nasal twang ; this American habit, although -widely prevalent, is not
SO universal as we suppose. The ladies were very desirous to hear
anything and everything about the Old Country ; the Queen and the
Princess came in for a good share of inquiry ; I was amused two or
three times during the evening by ladies coining up and saying, "Now,
Mrs. P. or Mrs. D., you have had Mr. Howard's company long
enough ; I want to talk to him about the Old Country," and without
further ceremony commenced asking questions.
After spending a few days in Auburn and the neighbourhood,
and meeting, as I was assured, some of " the most remarkable men
in our country," — these I was constantly meeting ; Dickens did not
overdraw this picture — I started, with my imagination in fuU stretch
for Niagara. The trains were, generaUy, fuU of people " going West." I
asked some why so many went West — whether they were not doing
well where they came from. The answer generaUy was, " Yes,"
but they thought they might do still better " out West." Population
has in the old countries from the earliest time flowed from East to
West, in America the same law seems to be in fuU force, the people
seemed to be seized ¦with an irresistible desire to travel westward.
To a clergyman — ^an EngUshman by birth, whose acquaintance I made
in Auburn — I expressed my astonishment that people should leave

A TRIP TO AMERICA. 37
such a beautiful State as New York to go to the unsettled districts
in the West. He replied, looking at me steadfastly, " Why,
sir, I hardly think a genuine Yankee would be happy in heaven if
he heard of a place farther west and he could not go." The
reverend gentleman had evidently been in America long enough to
learn the American style of hyperbole.
NIAGARA FALLS.
I was up the first morning at Niagara soon after dayUght :
strolling to the end of the street, on turning a corner, the rapids
burst all at once upon my astonished view ; I was transfixed ; I had
seen a good many of the beauties of our o'wn and foreign lands, but
here was a scene so grand, so impressive, so beautiful, as to be
beyond description. From what I had read, and from reports I had
heard, I was under the impression that the neighbourhood of the
faUs was flat and uninteresting ; but this is only true of the
country above the rapids. Standing on the bank at Niagara, Goat
Island and other smaU islands, covered ¦with lovely trees and ever
greens, are before you in the centre of the rapids ; to the right, just
opposite, is the Canadian side, with rocks and hiUs rising to an
altitude of some 400 feet, charmingly green and beautifuUy wooded ;
to your left, the rapids coming do^wn from the river above dashing
up foam and spray in their rocky bed ; the eddies, the whirlpools,
the ever-changing form of wave, unite to produce the most curious,
the most charming tumult of waters. I thought that the picture
presented to my ¦view was one I could look upon for ever. But I
have said nothing about the FaUs, I feel I am powerless when
approaching this sublime scene ; a subUmity that increases
momentarily as you stand gazing at it in speechless wonder.
Imagine a rock three parts of a mile long and higher than the spire
of St. Paul's. From the summit of this rock, in one unceasing,
imbroken flow, falls every minute a volume of water equal to 9,000
miUions of gallons.
The spray, like a robe of hoar frost, the foam, the varied
coloured streams, the rays of the sun mingling with and adding
immensely to aU this variety, present a picture so subUme, so
majestic, so beautiful, as to be altogether beyond description. In

38 A TRIP TO AMEEICA.
looking at the wonderful scene, the thought occurred to me, how
many centuries, how many thousands of years, had the water been
rushing down this course before the eye of man, civilised man,
beheld it? Such is the amazing quantity that one would think
aU the water on the globe must have gone over it once if not many
times. It is the custom for visitors to go under the Canada fall and
the centre fall on the American side. My companion and I,
dressed up like Laplanders, ventured do-wu to both. O-wing to the
spray, so little is to be seen — except the huge pieces of rock which
have fallen from above, and which are not at aU assuring — that I do
not think the visitor is repaid for his trouble and danger ; at all
events, no one with weak nerves should venture ; the old English
Guide told me that " Foreigners " who commence the descent are
almost sure to turn back. After spending a few days at this
enchanting spot, and astonishing our Guide at the number of miles
we could walk in a day — American -v^omen are no walkers — we
steamed across Lake Ontario to Canada.
CANADA.
Landing at Toronto — meaning, as my Mohawk-chief friend told
me — " Trees in the water ; " a city beautifully situated on the shores
of the lake, with fine streets, houses, and shops. The University,
situated in the people's park, is one of the most beautiful Norman
modern buildings I have ever looked upon. Toronto is evidently a
growing, prosperous city. From books and travellers I had always
imderstood that there was a wonderful difference between the people
of the States and Canada ; the contrast drawn has generaUy been at
the expense of the Americans ; I confess I formed exactly the
opposite opinion. Why there should be so remarkable and palpable
a difference between such near neighbours, speaking the same
language, is passing strange.
On the American side the people are all life, buoyancy, and
activity. I sometimes used to think that some of the Americans, of
the real Yankee type, must have a dash of Indian blood in their veins ;
their dark skins, high cheek-bones, straight black hair, meagre beards,
their restlessness, love of change, all seem to indicate it. These

A TEIP TO AMERICA. 39
characteristics surely are not all due to climate. Local ties appear to
have little influence : I was constantly meeting men who had " sold
out," as they term it ; that is, disposed of their business, and were
travelUng about the States " looking round," as they said, before
" fixing " themselves again. They are quite as ready to change
trades as to change States ; they appear to have all the same
confidence in their o-wn powers as used to be attributed by ill-natured
critics to Lord John Russell. The mechanics, too, acquire a
knowledge of more than one trade, sometimes following one and
sometimes another, just as the demand may set in. Their knowledge
of various trades and caUings is very surprising, and is only excelled
by their thorough knowledge of the geography and progress of the
various parts of their own country.
But to come back to the Canadians. They have less fire in
their eye. You meet many more sleek, well-to-do, self-satisfied
looking men, as fresh coloured as the English, very polite, perhaps
more so than the Americans, more genteel, more formal. In
traveUing through Canada, the external marks of progress are not
so patent ; for miles the traveller passes through unbroken forest,
and when he comes to smaU openings, the settlement seems in a
feeble state of progress. The French Canadians, in their agriculture,
are slovenly and backward in the extreme, but in some parts of
Canada West, settled principaUy by Scotchmen, the farming is
far superior to anything I saw in the States.
From Toronto to Montreal by steamer, along Lake Ontario,
and do-wn the St. La-wrence, is a glorious ride ; but I should
occupy too much of your time were I to dwell on the grandeur
of the rapids or the surpassing loveliness of the " Thousand Islands."
Nothing I have ever seen appeared so nearly to come up to one's
ideas of Paradise as these islands on the bosom of the St. Lawrence ;
all is silence and repose, peace and beauty. Lower down, Montreal,
rising to a considerable altitude on the banks of the St. Lawrence,
seems every inch a capital. Why the seat of government should
have been moved to such an out-of-the-way place as Ottawa, seems
most mysterious ; one reason assigned was to get away from
French influence. In Montreal, I spoke to mechanics, labourers,
and even to the city police, who could not understand me. If
Canada had belonged to the States, the French language would

40 A TEIP TO AMERICA.
have been supplanted years ago. Only one language is taught in
any public school in the States, — ^no matter whence the emigrant
comes, the only chance of his children being taught is through
the English language.
From Montreal I went by steamer to the capital — Ottawa. The
Parliament was sitting ; I, therefore, soon made my way to the House.
Meeting with a gentleman who seemed like a man in authority I spoke
to him, asking him whether I could be admitted to the House ; he at
once gave me his card and an order ; looking at his card, I said,
" Why, sir, this is very odd ; I have a letter of introduction to you."
This was no other than the famous D'Arcy McGee, the once notorious
Irish rebel, but who now is one of the most loyal, one of the
most influential men in Canada. Through his influence -with his
CathoUc fellow-countrymen, Fenianism has been thoroughly kept
in check in the colony.
When I entered the House, a member was addressing it in
French, gesticulating as only a Frenchman can do ; this seemed
a strange sound in a British House of ParUament, but stranger
stiU he was repUed to in English. I was assured that scarcely
half the members from Canada West understand French, and that
many of the Lower Canadians do not understand EngUsh.
One object I had in going to Ottawa was to make an effort to
get off the duties levied upon agricultural machinery. As -I had
letters of introduction to the Governor, Lord Monck, to the Minister
of Finance, the Speaker, and many others, I had the run of both
Houses. The old arguments in favour of protection to native in
dustry were put forward, and stated as pompously as though it were
the first time they had been uttered. I met a few of the senators
and members one morning in the Speaker's parlour, when we
discussed this subject, I remarked that ever since I had been in
the colony I had constantly heard it stated, "All we want, to
develop the resources of Canada, and make it a rich country, are
more labour and more capital ; continually have I heard the
mother country complained of for not feeling greater interest in
your affairs, or investing capital in your pubUc works. Now
suppose a man had a large undeveloped estate and a great manu
factory as weU, and that he could command only half the
requisite capital to carry on both in a manner to insure the

A TRIP TO AMERICA. 41
full amount of prosperity, would it not be wiser ui him to employ
what capital and labour he had at command in carrying on that
branch which would yield the greatest return, and dispose of the
other to some one else ? Canada, from your own showing,
seems to be precisely in this position. Your natural resources lie
undeveloped, whilst you are employing your labour and capital
in producing things you could buy cheaper and better from the
mother country." The Speaker of the House had previously
sho^wn me a specimen of splendid pig iron,. teUing me that there
was a whole mountain of it close to Ottawa, and no effort had yet
been made to work it.
People seem a long time learning that if ships go laden to
a country, they wUl, if the circumstances are at all favourable,
bring back a cargo of the products of that country ; if the
people have anything to sell, out of which a profit can be made,
it would not pay the ship-owTier to come back empty. The
American people, shrewd as they are, do not seem yet to under
stand this.
I have not much faith in the future of Canada, so long as
she is tied to the Old Country. There seems to be a leaning on
England, a trusting to it for both men and money in case of war.
Again, there is a want of confidence about the future ; questions
suggest ¦themselves, especiaUy to capitaUsts, as to the probability
of its remaining a colony of Great Britain, of its becoming an
independent country, and what is more feared, war with and its
annexation to the United States. Capital is proverbially a shy
bird; and hence this feeUng of uncertainty doubtless exercises
considerable infiuence upon the enterprise of the people. There are
two towns, Prescott and Ogdensburg — the former on the Canadian
bank of the St. La^wrence, the latter on the American side, exactly
opposite. Prescott is a miserable, depressing place, with grass in
its streets ; whilst Ogdensburg, ¦with I was assured no greater local
advantages, is aU Ufe and bustle^gas-works, water-works, mUls,
manufactories, shipping, and every sign of wealth and prosperity.
I would not have it supposed that Canada is not prospering ;
imdoubtedly it is a flourishing country; so rich a country must
prosper, though outward circumstances may be adverse.
After spending some time in the country, and conversing

42 A TRIP TO AMEEICA.
with many people on the subject, I came to the conclusion that
it would not only be for the interest of Canada that she should
be set free from the mother country, but that England herself
would be the stronger. At present, Canada is a source of weakness
to us ; a serious cost is also entailed. At any time troubles may arise
upon matters in which the English people have Uttle concern, but
which might add no little sum to our national debt, and as far as I
can see -without any advantages to the mother country. What
have we in return? We are certainly met by Canada with a
very hostile tariff. I am inclined to think that, with all our
colonies peopled from the old Country, there should be a time
when England should " cut the rope," and say to them, " You
have now become quite capable of managing your own affairs ;
we hope ever to be the best of friends, but take your freedom."
So far as I could learn, the American people care little or
nothing for the possession of Canada ; they, however, beUeve it
-will sooner or later drop into their laps, and are, therefore,
unconcerned about it. They would Uke to possess Mexico,
because of its auriferous wealth.
THE -WESTEEN COUNTET AND CHICAGO.
After visiting Hamilton and some other places in the interior,
I took my leave of Canada. Passing Niagara, I had one last
admiring look at the grand scene I have attempted to describe, and
at once started for the flourishing and beautiful city of Buffalo,
situated on lake Erie. On arri-ving at the hotel, I inquired of the
chambermaid whether a travelling acquaintance, Mr. Sco-ville, had
come ; in reply I had a splendid specimen of the liberties Americans
take with our language. Her reply was, " I don't know ; Mr. Scoville
meals here, but he don't room here." A man, who had recognised
me at a railway station, upon my asking what was his present oc
cupation, replied, " I am with Messrs. Taylor, in Chicago ; I do their
' outside ' work. " " Outside work ! " I said, thinking he had
come do-wn to -window-cleaning, or some other menial employ
ment ; however, it turned out that " outside work," in American
parlance, means the occupation of a commercial traveUer. A
gentleman on board the Scotia, speaking of our EngUsh meat,

A TRIP TO AMERICA. 43
said the beef and mutton were elegant. A lady too, on board,
upon my asking after her health, informed me she was " quite
elegant ; " on assuring her that the information was quite super
fluous, she did not at all seem to understand the compliment.
But the best thing I heard in this way was down in Ohio. A plain,
respectable-looking man I feU in with, urged me to call and see
him in Pennsylvania. He remarked, " I must teU you though, we
can eat you, but we can't sleep you."
On arrival at Buffalo I found that a grand trotting match was to
take place next day. The hotels were aU fiUed with a set of drink
ing, gambUng, swearing fellows ; in all my travels in the States,
these were the only rough, rowdy, iU-behaved people I met with.
I was desirous of seeing the horses and therefore ventured to the
match where I saw the celebrated horse " Dexter " trot a mile in
2 minutes and 15 seconds. These trotting matches are very common
throughout America, and attract immense crowds. It is said that
it is mainly through these races that the spirit of gambling has
so permeated the great body of the people. Races, unquestionably,
have exercised a similar baneful influence upon the young men of
England. Buffalo, situated at the eastern extremity of Lake Erie, with
the Niagara river on the other side of it, is the great port for
the re-shipment of com from the vast fields of the West.
Immense Elevators are erected, worked by steam power, by
which a whole fleet of ships can be unladen within a few hours
of their arrival. From the top of one of these elevators, 260
feet above the water, I distinctly saw the spray rising from the
faUs at Niagara. In going to a fresh city, my practice was to
go to the top of the highest church or building in the place ;
in this way many objects attracted my attention which I should
otherwise have missed.
Leaving Buffalo, I made my way toward the great and
famous city of Chicago, the capital of the West. On the way I
feU in with a Presbyterian clergyman, who could not be per
suaded that England was not in a complete state of revolution
about the Reform question and the Hyde Park riots. I found
everjrwhere the most exaggerated notions prevailed on this subject ;
the newspapers seemed to indulge in the most gloomy forebodings

44 A TRIP TO AMERICA.
as to the result of the conflict. A Yankee, who joined in the
conversation, was thoroughly impressed -with the very common
American notion that we are ruled entirely by the aristocracy ;
that the people had no chance of asserting their rights whatever ;
and that we were kept in the most absolute bondage by a
dictatorial and proud aristocracy : this man had been in England
too. Among other things he amused me much by expressing his
astonishment that we should buy so much timber from America,
remarking to the other passenger, " Why, they have lots of fine-
growing timber at home ; " he could not understand our being such
simpletons as to keep it standing simply to look at.
As we neared Chicago, I caught sight of the Prairies for
the first time. After travelling for weeks through old forest
land, with its charred and blackened stumps, to get a view of
these grand open prairie lands is a relief indeed. I had been
under the impression before going to America, that in the older
States the forests had disappeared, that the settlers had made a
clean sweep as they moved westward, leaving the country denuded
of its timber, and divided by wooden rail fences into squares
almost as uniform as a chessboard. On the contrary, only the
best and most level of the land has been cleared — ^the forest seems
only broken into here and there, so that there is abundance of
timber, forest and field alternating, not in charming variation, but
presenting a picture much more in-viting than I expected.
The prairie lands are of three kinds, flat, something Uke our
Fens, and about as uninviting districts to Uve in, -without in many
parts a tree or a shrub as far as the eye can reach. Then there are
the " roUing " prairies, ha-ving a sUght undulating surface, and some
wood, far less monotonous than the flat, but not so inviting to those
who have an eye to beauty, as the high rolling prairies. The most
beautiful country I saw in America was in Iowa, across the
Mississippi ; indeed, it is one of the most picturesque countries I
have ever looked upon, — almost in a state of nature, it looks, in the
coimtry beyond Dubuque, Uke a series of noblemen's parks. The bluffs
or high ridges on the banks of the Mississippi in the distance make
the landscape perfect. Fine land in this State is to be purchased
for less than it would let for in England ; it contains 50 miUions of
acres, only 8 miUions of which are at present under cultivation.

A TRIP 10 AMEEICA. 45
The cholera was reported to prevail on board the Mississippi
steamers, so that my desire to travel down that noble river was
checked. I returned therefore to Chicago, where the same dire
enemy was at work, T ventured, notwithstanding, to stay several
days in that most wonderful of aU the American cities. Thirty
years ago this place was a mere viUage. So recently as 1840 the
population was less than five thousand ; now it numbers over a
quarter of a miUion. I will not take up your time -with a description
of its splendid streets and public buildings, its 120 churches, nor
its rising manufactories ; for one might -write a booh upon this ex
traordinary city. The wonderful account of Chicago, which appeared
in The Times some weeks ago, is perfectly true. I saw the " Tremont
House " it mentioned— a great hotel, bigger than the new one at
Charing Cross — which was Ufted bodily, or "jacked up," six feet, to
add a new basement storey — the business of the hotel being carried
on all the time. It is not uncommon for people who are tired of
Uving in one street to have their houses moved to another. I saw
several on their journey, one with all the furniture iu it untouched.
A friend I visited on the lUinois prairies told me that he intended
to move his house — a large one — to a more picturesque site he
pointed out on the banks of the Kankakee.
A good water supply is considered, throughout America, one
of the most essential things for the welfare of the people. At
Chicago, not content with dra-wing water from Lake Michigan at
its banks, where it is sometimes rendered muddy by storms, the
municipaUty has just pushed a tunnel two miles under the lake, in
order to draw, at aU times, a pure supply for the citizens. This
enterprize not only shows an enlightened poUcy, but from an
engineering point of view it was a bold undertaking.
WASHINGTON.
I have dwelt so long in the West that I must now take the
rather long step of 900 miles, jumping over Pittsburg — the
Birmingham of America  as weU as over the Alleghany moim-
tains, the Susquehannah, Harrisburg, and Baltimore, to Washington ;
simply remarking that the railway ride of a hundred miles through, D

46 A TRIP TO AMEEICA.
or rather round the Alleghany mountains, foUowing the course of
the Juniata river, and over the Susquehannah, is worth crossing
the Atlantic to see.
Before I meddle with the poUtics of the country, just a word
or two about Washington and its neighbourhood. Immediately
opposite the Capitol, just across the Potomac, on Arlington heights,
stands the old family mansion of General Lee. As I gazed upon it
from the Capitol, one of the difficulties of separation was at once
suggested to my mind — the distance is only about a mile. This
lovely spot has been turned into a military cemetery, the bodies of
thousands of the poor feUows who feU in the war having been
brought from the various battle fields and interred -with due honour.
Tombstones have been erected over each grave, and the place most
tastefully planted and arranged ; the intention of the Government
evidently being to impress the public mind with the fact that the
memory of those who perish in the defence of their country shaU
be respected, and thus had in honourable remembrance. The other
portion of General Lee's estate is laid out as a negro settlement.
Although, through the intervention of General Grant, Lee escaped
prosecution, the Government has marked its disapprobation of his
share in the rebeUion by this appropriation of the family estate.
The Capitol at Washington, situated on the highest ground, is a
grand and imposing building, with a dome closely resembling that
of St. Paul's, London, but bigger. From the old paintings at the
Capitol, especiaUy that of the " Declaration of Independence,'' July
4th, 1776, it would appear that the men of that day were healthy,
frugal, and massive specimens of humanity : the figures are as
EngUsh as possible, the Quaker type being the predominent one.
I pointed out to an acquaintance that those portly forms and ruddy
countenances were a standing -witness against the smoking, ehe-wing,
dram-drinking habits of the present, physically, degenerate race.
The public building, at Washington, which so totally ecUpses
anything of the kind in this country, is the Patent Office. This
noble building, arranged in departments, vrith long Unes of galleries
filled with models of patented inventions, aU systematically arranged
and catalogued, is filled -with enquiring visitors. Such a display
must exercise a great educational influence upon the people. Their
patent laws and arrangements in respect of Patents are so far in

A TRIP .TO AMERICA. 47
advance of our o-wn that I have scarcely patience to talk about the
subject, so wUl refrain from going into the question.
AMERICAN GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS.
The laws of the United States were based upon the laws of'
England, or rather the Americans adopted our code ; but they have
had the good sense to set vigorously about the consolidation of
their statute book, aboUshing anomalies, clearing away confusion,
and thus rendering the administration of the law more easy and
less open to question and appeal. England has been talking of
taking such a step, but the accomplishment of the object, since that
unfortunate affair of Lord Westbury's, seems as far off as ever.
Upon my voyage home my seat at table was next to that of Mr.
Dudley Field, the chief agent in this work of consolidation, and
from whom I gleaned much general, as well as legal and political
information. In order to a proper understanding of the politics of America,
it is necessary fully to understand and bear in mind that the people
of each State live under two Governments — the one State, the other
Federal or National ; each system having its own separate sphere
and defined duties, and each sovereign in its particular capacity. In
other language, the Government of each State manages its own
internal affairs, whilst the external, — the Federal or National
objects and duties — are the province of Congress.
I will now very briefly explain the action of these two
governing bodies, as well as describe the present state of parties.
The country is divided into two political parties — -Radicals and
Democrats. The Radicals, formerly called Republicans, are the
old Whig party ; they are the Protectionists, were anti-slavery in_
principle, and Unionists throughout the war. The Democratic
party is composed of the Northern portion of the people who
sympathised with the South during the war, and of the whole of
the Southern population except the Quakers and a few others. The
few Free Traders which exist are to be found in the Democratic
party. The Northerners of the Democratic party are caUed by
the Radicals, " Copperheads,^' after the name of a venomous American
snake, whose approach is stealthy but its bite deadly. The Johnsonian

48 A TRIP TO AMEEICA.
party, whose policy it was to pursue a middle and pacific course
towards the South, are called " Conservative ;" they united with
the Democratic party some months ago.
The members of Congress — ^who must be 25 years old— are
elected every second year by the male residents of the electoral
districts or counties — there are no boroughs. The voters must have
attained their majority and have lived six months in a district, and
twelve months in a State to which the electoral district belongs.
If a voter is of foreign birth, he must have taken the oath of
aUegiance ; before he can constitutionally do this he must have
Uved five years in the United States. This provision is, however,
systematicaUy evaded in the great cities and where there are no
electoral roUs or registers.
The members of the Senate — ^who must be not less than 30
years of age — are elected by the State Representatives and State
Senators in " joint baUot." Each State is entitled to two Senators
only; they are elected for six years. As one-third only of the
Senators are elected at a time, two-thirds are always men of more
or less experience of official life — a very wise arrangement. The
members of Government, the judges, foreign ministers, and other
important officers are selected by the President, subject, however,
to confirmation by the Senate. Any member of the Senate or
Congress upon joining the Government, has to resign his seat which
is fiUed up by another man.
The Representatives to the State Legislature, or " State
Representatives " as they are caUed, are selected by the same
constituency which chooses the members of Congress. These
representatives are elected annually — in some States bienniaUy.
The State Senators are also elected by the same constituency —
generaUy for two years ; in some cases, as for instance Pennsylvania,
for three years. The Governors of the States are also elected by
the same constituency, and for two, three, and four years, according
to the usage of the State.
The President and Vice-President may be said to be elected by
the people, but indirectly so. For instance, each State is entitled to
a certain number of votes according to its representative population,
the number of votes being settled by Congress after each census.
New York State may at one election have 36 and Pennsylvania 28

A TRIP TO AMERICA. 49
presidential votes, which proportion will probably vary at a sub
sequent election. A poUing takes place in every State for the
election of the allotted number of Presidential electors. Some
time after these elections the representatives thus chosen meet at
the capital of their respective States to deliver in their votes for the
President and Vice-President. The results of the polling in the various
States are returned to Washington, and of course the candidates
found to be in the majority are declared as elected. No matter
what may be the Democratic or Radical majorities in the separate
States, whether a single vote or 100,000, the number of votes only
to which the States are entitled counts, so that a President may be
and has been elected by a minority of the people. I perceive you
do not comprehend that arrangement, I admit it is somewhat
difficult to understand. Suppose, for instance, that the people of
the several counties of England elected the ruler of this kingdom
by deputies ; Bedfordshire, being a small county, would not be
entitled to so many deputies as the larger county of Northampton ;
each county would, by the American system, have votes in pro
portion to its representative population, but the total sum of the
various minorities might exceed the total sum of the various
majorities. The President, as we have heard so much of lately, can veto
measures passed by both Congress and Senate, but if a measure is
sent back to the Legislature, passed by a majority of two-thirds in
each House, it becomes law in spite of the veto of the President.
The Freedman's Bureau Bill, passed by Abraham Lincoln for
two years, was instituted to preserve the rights of the emancipated
blacks, and to provide for the necessitous of the coloured population.
A measure to extend the operation of this Bill passed both Houses,
but was vetoed by President Johnson ; it was again brought before
Congress, which again passed the Bill with the necessary majority,
but it failed to pass the Senate.
Another Act, called the Civil Rights Bill, for securing to every
citizen of the United States personal liberty, entitling, for instance,
a negro to sue and give evidence in a court of law, and making it a
penal offence to deprive him of his personal rights was also passed,
but vetoed by the President on the same grounds as he had vetoed
the Freedman's Bureau BiU, namely, that it was an infringement of

50 A TRIP TO AMEEICA.
States' rights. This Bill, however, was subsequently carried through
both Houses. The Constitution provides against Congress interfering
-with the internal or municipal affairs of the separate States. Johnson
maintained that the support of the poor was a State matter ; hence
the Freedman's Bureau Bill was an infringement of State rights, as
the relief of the poor was one of its objects. I believe the President
was right in theory, but his sagacious predecessor, Abraham Lincoln,
knew how in practice it would fare -with the coloured people if left
to the tender mercies of the South.
The charges brought against the black population in respect
of their refusing to labour are overstated if not untrue. The blacks
will work for planters who pay them their wages weekly. The
general practice is to settle with them after the ingathering of the
crops, when poor Sambo often gets tricked out of a portion of his
hard earnings. A Senator — a planter of North Carolina, who
-visited me in October last — assured me that if the blacks have
confidence in their employer they will not withhold their labour.
The Constitutionnl Amendment Bill is of far more importance
than any other question in dispute between North and South. The
impeachment of the President is, compared -with this question, one
of ephemeral importance only. In order to understand the
Constitutional Amendment Bill, it will be necessary to remember
that in fixing the electoral districts the coloured population, although
not entitled to vote, have hitherto been counted ; the number of
members of Congress being regulated by the number of inhabitants,
this question became a matter of great moment. The North re
solutely refused to consent to the whole slave population being
reckoned ; so years ago a compromise was arrived at — five blacks
were to count as three whites. The Constitutional Amendment
aboUshes this practice, and stipulates that if the blacks do not vote
they shall not count. The chief sting in the Constitutional
Amendment Bill is the proposed exclusion from Congress of all
persons who having taken the oath to support the constitution of
the United States subsequently took part in or voluntarily aided
the rebelUon ; this proposition would practically exclude from office
the best men in the South.
The BUI cannot become law unless ratified by three-fourths of
the States. The South says, " We -will not ratify it ; we do not care

A TRIP TO AMERICA. 51
SO much about the blacks not being counted, but we will not be
dictated to as to whom we shall send to represent us." The North
say, " We will not admit to office ' red-handed rebels,' we wiU keep
you out of the Union rather than permit this." The Southerners
reply, " You cannot keep us out of the Union without breaking the
Constitution ; you have always held the Union to be indissoluble ; if
you had made your present demand a condition of peace we must
have submitted ; this you neglected. You submitted the Constitu
tional BUI for ratification, thereby admitting our right to pronounce
upon it ; and we have rejected it, and we will reject it." The
decision of the Supreme Court, that the "Test Oath" is contrary to
the Constitution, is a terrible blow to the Radicals, as it confirms the
President's opinion on the subject.
I am not going to take sides in this dispute. I may say, how
ever, that feeling strongly on the question of slavery, my sympathies
during the struggle were with the North. I do think, however, the
arguments, on the point under consideration, are with the South.
Although it is quite natural for the North to wish to punish the South,
I do not see how they can have their way, and yet uphold the
Constitution. It is asserted that the New England men and other
manufacturers are greatly afraid that if the South is fuUy
represented again, their favourite sj'stem of protection wUl be in
danger, hence the intensity of their opposition.
A pacific poUcy towards the South was very popular when I
landed in America, even H. Ward Beecher advocated it. But that
ill-advised tour of the President, coupled with his extravagances of
conduct, turned the tide of public opinion and threw the game
completely into the hands of the Radicals.
Conventions figure so prominently in American politics that I
must say a word or two upon their action. They are no part of the
Constitution, simply party organisations. The political parties, both
in their national and local capacities, summon meetings of their
supporters ; the first step being the selection of a standing
committee. Conventions are of three kinds, National, State, and
County, each ha-ving a separate standing committee. These
committees are not dissolved at the termination of each election,
the members remain permanently in power. Delegates to the
Conventions are generally elected by the votes of the people of their

52 A TRIP TO AMERICA.
party. The Conventions nominate the candidates for National, State,
and County offices. The list when issued is termed the Republica;n
Ticket, or the Democratic Ticket. The Ust contains the names of
the candidates for President, Vice-President, Members of Congress,
Governors, State legislators. State senators. State treasurers, State
judges, and other elective officers of State. The National
Conventions settle what is called the " platform," that is the
declaration of the principles or policy of their party ; they also
nominate the candidates for the Presidency and Vice-Presidency.
I was in Philadelphia during the Radical Convention. Delegates
from almost every State in the Union were present. Each wore a
favour having on it the name of the State represented. One night
I stood next to General Butler and heard him speak ; neither his
.speech nor his looks impressed me favourably. There was great
excitement ; the notorious Parson Brownlow was there, rushing
about like a -wild man. I found that thoughtful men in America
were very much of the same way of thinking as the same class in
England, namely, that the less ministers of religion publicly meddle
with the troubled waters of politics the better.
H. Ward Beecher, during the time I was there, by advocating
a pacific policy, brought down upon him the whole artillery of the
Radical press. The members of his o-wn congregation being divided
in opinion upon the question at issue, a very undesirable feeling
among members of the same church and their pastor was produced.
It is generaUy supposed on this side that Democracy reigns
supreme in America, but such is far from the fact ; the action of
Democracy is skilfuUy held in check and balanced by these
Conventions. They have in their hands the nomination to aU the
important offices, both State and national ; being composed of the
most active and intelligent of the community, eligible men on
both sides are, as a rule, put in nomination. OccasionaUy, an
independent candidate starts, but in the vast majority of instances
only to fail ; an outsider rarely stands the least chance. The case
of Joe Morissey, a Prize Fighter, was an exception to the rule.
The money for carrying on elections, I was assured, is not found
by the candidates but by the convention. This leads to the difficult
question of bribery. As I had letters of introduction to merchants,
bankers, manufacturers, newspaper proprietors, senators, agricul-

A TRIP TO AMERICA, 53
turists, and various other people — men of all shades of opinion — I
had full opportunity of gleaning reliable information. Bribery, as
we know it in England — ^buying votes for a fixed sum of money — is
almost unkno-wn. It is true a vast deal of money is spent in
agitation ; the publicans and bar-keepers are propitiated by
poUtical agents who sqander money in treating ; betting on the
result of the contest is another form ; promises also of place are
freely made, but the size of the constituencies and the voting by
ballot put our style of bribery entirely out of the question.
I wish it could be proved that there was nothing of the sort in
Congress. On my return voyage I met one of our leading steel
manufacturers, who assured me that during the past Session, in
order to carry the new Tariff Bill, the Protectionist manufacturers
had a committee in Washington and a miUion of doUars at its
command. On the return voyage I had as a companion an old
member of Congress, many years a Senator, and who subsequently
paid me a visit. He admitted to me that there was too much
"lobbjring," as it is styled ; that members' votes were to be bought.
It has this moment occurred to me that I have forgotten to
aUude to one question under the head of the politics of America,
which was over and over pressed upon my attention. In consequence
of the pernicious influence of the low Irish, and the stiU more
dreaded introduction of the " Nigger," to poUtical power, a decided
opinion has grown up in America about the necessity for limiting
the franchise, not by raising it, but confining it to those who can
read and -write. The most popular scheme seemed to be, that every
man who claimed to be put on the electoral roll should be obliged
to go to a pubUc office, fiU up a form in his o-wn -writing, and that
he should be able to read the American Constitution. It was
contended, not only by manufacturers, but by the intelligent native
artisans, that a man who could not read the newspapers, so as to
know what was to be said on both sides the question, was not fit to
have a voice in public affairs. At aU events, I found the inteUigent
working men — who look do-wn upon the uneducated and ignorant
emigrant — ^were quite as much alive to the danger of being swamped
by those below them, as were the wealthy manufacturers.
One great want in America is a leisure class : in England we are
overdone -with leisure people. It is unquestionably a great advantage

54 A TRIP TO AMERICA.
to a country to have men of independence and leisure, who, having
had a liberal education, can devote then- time and abilities wholly
to public questions : men who, entering the arena of poUtics, study
the subject of government as a science, much in the same way as
those who engage in the learned professions.
The Senator I have referred to was for sixteen years the
coUeague of Andrew Johnson, elected with him for Tennessee ; he
assured me that the charges brought against Andrew Johnson were
pure invention, that he had been his bosom friend, and that he had
not a more temperate man among his acquaintances. As he put it,
"Is it within the range of probability that an habitual drunkard
could have risen from obscurity to his present eminent position?"
The practice of vilifying the characters of their public men is a
sad fault with the Americans, and it is admitted by them. Even
good Abraham Lincoln did not escape ; at one time his motives
were suspected, it was said that he was jealous of M'CleUan,
and much evil was spoken of him ; but his singleness of purpose,
his sagacity, and his cahn judgment, at length won for him the
entire confidence of his countrymen. His rival, Judge Douglas, said,
" He was the most honest man I ever knew." The affection felt
throughout the country for Lincoln is something wonderful; his
portrait is in every office, every house, every hotel you enter ; his
praises are sounded by all. The Southerners speak of him -with
respect, while the Canadians speak of him with emotion, and his
portrait is seen almost as often in Canada as in the States.
The crp-wning act of Lincoln's life was undoubtedly his
Proclamation of Emancipation. This step broke the chains of four
miUions of slaves ; it is an act which wUl be handed do-wn to the
remotest period of time as one of the most important historical
events which has happened since the exodus of the children of
Israel. It wiU stand as a poUtical act side by side with Magna
Charta and the Declaration of Independence. Singularly enough,
Abraham Lincoln aboUshed slavery by -rirtue of the power vested in
him as the Commander in Chief of the American Army and Na-vy ; it
being in his opinion " a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing
the rebeUion." At aU events he seized the opportunity, and asserted,
" he had promised God that he would do it." Congress ratified the
step, and I believe it was ratified by the Great Disposer of aU events.

A TRIP TO AMERICA. 55
I think the public mind of England was led astray during the
war from the real question at issue, and this in a great measure by
an unfortunate declaration of President Lincoln himself. It was to
the effect that the war was not a war against slavery, but a war for
the maintenance of the Union. Many an EngUshman on reading
these words, said, " Hang the Union ! What care I about its
maintenance ? I think it is just as well or better dissolved, I
thought the war was about slavery." So it was, slavery was the
cause, the sole cause, and Mr. Lincoln never meant to say anything
to the contrary.
South Carolina was the first State to secede. A declaration of
causes was published by that State, in which the North is charged
with having departed from the original compact, in reference to its
interference with slavery in the matter of the Fugitive Slave Bill,
in fostering for twenty-five years an agitation against the institution,
and to cro-wn aU, " that the Northern States had united in the
election of a man to the high office of President, whose opinions
and purposes are hostile to slavery" — a man too who had declared
" that Government cannot endure, permanently, with the people
half-slave and half-free." Upon this ground, and this ground alone.
South Carolina and the other States seceded. South Carolina,
which took the lead, did not even wait untU the inauguration of
Lincoln as President, but seceded directly after his election. I
have lately read through the Declaration of the several seceding
States, and find no mention of any other reason for secession than
questions arising out of slavery.
Abraham Lincoln was not the rough, vulgar man he was so
often represented ; nor was he a buffoon, as from accounts published
by his own friends during the war, he might be supposed. That he
was fond of a humorous story there can be no doubt, for he once said
to a too serious friend who expostulated with him, " that but for
an occasional vent of the kind he should die," so great was the
strain on his mental powers. I had it on the best authority that he
was one of " nature's gentlemen." Mr, Whiting, of Boston, a
polished, courtly man, who was the Solicitor at War, told me that he
saw him daily — almost hourly at times — that he never heard a vulgar
saying escape his lips. It was true that when his old constituents
came to see him, in order to remind them that he did not forget

56 A TRIP TO AMERICA.
that he was one of themselves, he would address them in their o-wn
style of language. Mr. Whiting assured me that Lincoln wrote and
spoke good terse English, that there was a native grace which never
failed to shine through all his words and acts, and that the mascuUne
character of Lincoln's understanding was apparent to aU who came
in contact with him.
I have aUuded to the fact of the Radicals being in favour of
protection. They are very wily disputants ; they say at once, " Oh,
we don't dispute the fact that on abstract principles free trade is
right, but we maintain that no country can be permanently
prosperous which depends on agriculture and the commerce which
attaches to it ; to obtain the f uU tide of prosperity it must have
manufactures as weU. Ours is a new country, and at present our
manufacturers cannot compete -with yours. We know that it is a
national loss we subject ourselves to in protecting them, but we are
¦willing to put up ¦with this loss for a time for the sake of the future
gain which ¦will accrue to the country when our manufactures are
firmly estabUshed. We think it best to foUow the example set us
by England. England became the great workshop of the world
under a system of strict protection." You may talk to them imtil
your hair turns grey, but back they come to the point. They ignore
or are ignorant of the fact that protection against foreign competition
was never needed for our great staple trades ; that the great Free
Trade battle in England was fought over the Corn Laws.
The newspapers appeal to the working classes after this
style ; " Free trade indeed ! Do you know what it means ?
Why it means bringing down American wages to the same level
as Europe." Then the wages doled out to a Dorsetshire labourer are
quoted and made the most of. This style of argument is at present
accepted as conclusive ; the time, however, wiU come when this
great question of " buying in the cheapest market " wiU be looked
into more narrowly. You can foretell the result ; the producers
are so infinitesimal in number, when compared with the consumers,
that the points at issue have only to be generally understood to find
their natural solution. Unskilled labour is much higher in the
States than in England, but there is not so much difference between
the two countries in the price of skiUed, especially highly skiUed,
labour.

A TRIP TO AMERICA. -57

SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES.

The public schools are so prominent and distinguishing a feature
in America that I cannot pass this subject over without a few words.
WhUst religion, so far as the State is concerned, has been aUowed,
as I think wisely, to take care of itself, education has been fostered
and endowed. The value set upon education by all classes throughout
America — and Canada too — is something we have no idea of at
home : it is not compulsory but it is enforced by public opinion so
strong as to be found as stringent as any law. Take a drive into
the country, and every two or three mUes, in places often apparently
¦without a population, you pass neat and commodious school-buildings,
whUst in the cities large schools confront you in almost every street.
The plan of supporting these public schools varies in the different
States. In most, certain portions of land have been set apart, the
revenues from which are devoted to the education of the people.
In the older settled States the schools are supported by a rate. In
the new States the Government has, in their settlement, invariably
set apart a certain portion of the land for school purposes. Formerly
l-36th of aU the land in the State was thus set apart; but such
importance is attached to this question of education, that Congress
has latterly increased the School-lands to 1-1 Sth. The affairs of
the schools are under the direction of a committee chosen by the
people. I was assured that the reUgious differences of the people were
not found to be a disturbing element ; that the Bible was the only
reUgious book used ; that, as a rule, prayer was offered daily, both
at the opening and close ; and that no other special reUgious
teaching was attempted. The absence of a dominant church, and
the fact of the Government being in possession of such vast tracts
of land, have rendered the dealing with this great question
comparatively easy. The people of England ¦will never be educated
as they ought to be until Government passes some more compre
hensive scheme than we have at present.
Let me ask you not to go away with the idea that religion is
not cared for, or that little is done to provide for the religious wants
of the people. On the contrary the extent of church accommoda-

58 A TRIP TO AMEEICA.
tion is everywhere far in advance of that in this country, and this
notwitstanding the existence of our richly-endowed Establishment.
The great number of churches throughout the length and breadth
of America is, to a stranger, one of the most striking features. I
often asked myseK the question. How do they manage to raise the
money ? It is a very common notion on this side that in America
sects are far more numerous than in England. I have often heard
it asserted " they spring up Uke mushrooms." Like many other
statements about the country, it is totally untrue ; if the churches
of the Germans and other foreigners are excluded from the calcula
tion, there are fewer sects in the great cities of Chicago and
Philadelphia than we have in the smaU town of Bedford.
After ¦visiting Boston and the New England States, I spent
some time at the fashionable watering-places of Newport and
Saratoga ; but I feel compelled, without stopping to dwell upon
what I saw in this part of America, to bring my address to a close.
I returned to New York on board a steamer, a kind of floating
palace. The Hudson river, to my mind, surpasses the Rhine in
majesty if not in beauty. CONCLUSIONS.
The advantages which America offers are so great, that when
the prospects, present and future, to themselves and theu- famiUes
are considered, the wonder to me is that so few are willing to make a
present sacrifice : that so many remain in the Old Country is most
marveUous to one who has paid a visit to the New. Here we are so
over-populated that thousands of young men above the working
classes are unable to obtain suitable and remunerative employment,
or to embark in business ¦with any fair prospect of success. If we
could add a Lincolnshire or a Norfolji every year to this little
island the whole position of things would be changed, there would
be room for everybody. It is just this power of expansion that
makes all the difference between America and England.
In addition to the constant development going on in the older
settled States, it is calculated that a belt of territory ten mUes wide,
stretching from North to South, is brought into cultivation and
settled every year. Under such conditions it is no wonder that the

A TRIP TO AMERICA. 69
people are prosperous, that taxation has sat so lightly upon them,
and that there is work for all.
But for the perversity and blindness of our rulers, this grand
country might still have been a portion of the British Empire.'
As it can never revert to the mother country, let us hope that
the utmost cordiality will ever exist between two such communities,
speaking the same language and sprung from the same parent
stock. A better feeUng is springing up than that which
prevailed toward England during the war and at its close ;
whUst the feeUng toward France, ©¦wing to her part in the
Mexican affair, is far less cordial. America is our natural, and
ought to be our firmest ally ; as we begin to know and understand
each other better, let us hope that on both sides of the ocean,
there ¦will be an absence, both of acts and words calculated
to provoke or keep up irritation or Ul-feeling. There have been
undoubtedly faults on both sides ; it is to be hoped that the present
Government wiU do all that can honourably be done to bring about
a better understanding, and this without delay.
In conclusion, I would remark that wheri a man has -visited
England and America he has seen the two most wonderful countries
the sun has ever shone upon. Never before in the history of the
world were there gathered together upon so smaU an area
such numbers, so much wealth, such a development of industrial
enterprise, so well governed, and such a practical and common-
sense people as are to be found in Old England. On the other
hand, never before in the history of the world has there been
anything Uke the rapid growth seen in America ; so vast a territory
peopled so quickly, its resources developed so speedily, its institutions
so completely and weU organised, and such progress made in the
industrial arts. In America you find everywhere the same activity,
the same reliant enterprise as at home ; these traits of character
are undoubtedly somewhat intensified by the circumstances, and,
perhaps, the climate of that country. When I witnessed the large
amount of social prosperity throughout the States resulting from
these qualities, instead of feeUng anything like national jealousy at
the wonderful results everywhere visible, I was impressed more
fully with the causes of the true greatness of my own country. I
felt proud in the remembrance that America was the offspring of

60 A TRIP TO AMERICA.
England ; that the Old Country had been reproduced on so grand
a scale in the New ; that the character of the parent stock was so
stamped upon, and so apparent in the ¦vigorous growth of its
offshoots : not only the blood, but the ideas, the laws, the religion
of England exist and fiourish in the United States. The Anglo-
Saxon race on American soil is asserting its supremacy on a gigantic
scale, as weU as with characteristic energy and vigour. One very
remarkable phenomenon is, that notwithstanding the immense
number of imniigrants from the other nations of Europe, the
EngUsh type of humanity is everywhere predominant. Like its
own great river, the Mississippi, which receives numbers of
tributary streams that are blended -with and become one great
current, so with all the races which fiock to America ; they feel
the force of, and become blended with, the grand current of
Anglo-American Ufe. In a generation or two, the French, the
Dutch, the German, the Celt, and the Scandana-vian lose everything
of their foreign distinctness, and nothing is left of their national
character but the name. The language, the ideas, the freedom, the
enterprise, and what was so thoroughly exemplified during the late
deplorable war, the courage, the pluck of England, all Uve in
America, and seem to be uniting to form the greatest and most
powerful empire the world has ever seen.