their race. Revolution succeeds Revolution, and the country mourns
that some petty chief may triumph, and through a sixty days'
government ape the rulers of the earth. Even now the nearest and
strongest of these American Republics, which were fashioned after the
model of our own, seems to be tottering to a fall, and the world is
inquiring as to who will take possession; or, as protector, raise and
lead a people who have shown themselves incompetent to govern
themselves.

He said our fathers laid the foundation of Empire, and declared its
purposes; to their sons it remained to complete their superstructure.
The means by which this end was to be secured were simple and easy. It
involved no harder task than that each man should attend to his own
business, that no community should arrogantly assume to interfere with
the affairs of another--and that all by the honorable obligation of
fulfiling that compact which their fathers had made.

He then referred to the commercial position of Maine, and spoke of her
brightly unfolding prospects of prosperity and greatness. Many
considered her wealth to consist of her forests, and that her
prosperity would decline when her timber was exhausted--he held to a
different opinion, and thought they might welcome the day, when the
sombre shadows of the Pine gave place to verdant pastures and fruitful
fields. Was he asked, what then was to become of the interest of
ship-building? He would answer--let it be changed from wood to iron.
The skill to be aquired be a few years' experience, would at a fair
price for iron, enable our ship builders to construct iron ships,
which, taking into account their greater capacity for freight and
greater durability, would be cheaper than vessels of wood, even whilst
timber was as abundant as now;--at least such was the information he