Miscellany: Morality And Intelligence Increase Wealth

uovernmenc can uu ui augiiiuimnj me atnouiit of knowledge in comrnunify, by fewnrding those who have been Fuccessful in the advancement of sciencc. This may be done uirectly, by bestowing proü urn", rcwarHs, grants of money, &c., tq those who Iiave made useful discoveries. 'l'liis hns long been done by the British governmenf. In tiie Unitod States it is never practifed. Siiys Dr. Woyland, "the only rewards ioe pver conf'er, are ior military or naval service. The propricty of thoso, I by no means in ihis place disputo, yot I tliink it would be diiïïcult to show llint warriors are llie only brnefactors of mankind, or that Whitnoy or Fulton did not deserve as well of iheir country, for the invention of thecotton gin, and the application of steim to navigation, as thpy would have done, had they cnp!urel a fleet on tho ocean, or ro'Ued a tribe of Iiuhnns iit the forest. ' Govornment nmy nlso reward tliose who have advanced scienco, by granting to the disenverers the riglit to derive advantage fiom theirinvention1. Th is is done by Jawsofcopy j and patent right. Governmont mny improve tlie nteüec'ual j chamcier oi'n pcople, by making provisión for j tlieir univeiíal instruciion in the clemente ofi a conimon education. Tfie in'ierest of every i mnri require-s that al' liis fellow cilizons should be able to rend and write, keep nccnunts, and understand gfogríiphy. As a stimulus to intellectual nnproveiwnt, it. has been propo?ed by soine that the right of 6uifr;igc shonld be i restricted to those who are able lo road nnd ' wri'.c. The inducements lo labor, and consequent I ly the wealth and h?ppincss of each nation, will depend also on the morality, as well as the intelligence of its citizens. On this t'epends the juslice of the lavvs - its respect for j individual right, security ofproperty, i nal and social virtue, and thnt frugality wliicli ' are their invariable attendants. Where these exist, riches, by natural consequenco, will j cumúlate. Bat mtellectual cultivatiori, when I t exiets without the love of right only f Jates unrestrained desiro, and it will, ally, overturn the social fabric. Henee, other v things being equal, a carefu] examination of c the condition of every nation will demónstrate j h that the wealth, power, and happiness of each L nntion are in exact proportion to its intcllectua! and moral cliaracter. c Whatever has a tendency to improve the j moráis of a peoplc, tends olso to augment j their vcalth. lu this view Sabbith Schools j t ad the prcacUiög of the Gofpcl are of great ilimportnjice to the prjchclivenioigies of a { ion. On Una account, the Protestant faith ö prefernblo to the Catiioüc, the Catholic to the Mah.mctai), aul the Alahometan to llio Pagan. Henee tho eñbrts of benevolcnce making to improve foreign natins, tenda'so to increase tiieir wealih, and conscquently that of the w-hole ivorld. Inlelligence, virtue, and cqnitablo luws will have the samn cfi'cot upon other nation., that tliey have had on r.s. They wil] rendor men jndustrious, fruga!, und consequeiüly ricli, nnd will raisn thern from a savngn to a civiüzed state. Tlins thoy will trade much more wilh ol.'ier natiqn?, Sc thcre wi'l bc an increase of wealt!) to ail the world. Of how much more value to each other are Englnnd and France than tley vverc in ihe dnys of Julius Caesar? How greatly vvouUl the comfurts and lnxuries of men be ncreased, were Afiica j-eopled by civilized and CbritUianized men? A demonstmtion ofthrse truths, may be loimd in tho piesent condiiion of the Southern Siates. What a deficieney of intelligence and good moráis prevails in the old Slave States! For inst.ince, the census gives us a return of 'Vcholurs at publio churge " Of these there are in the dxe st;iics, 432, LÏÜ. '■, f-lave sthlcs, 3j,53ü. O!jío i'oiie has 51,31üsuc!i eclfolñrs. more tiisri are to bc tound in tie 13 slave stotes. - Her heighbqr Konlucky has 429 !! Let us comparo in this pnrlicular tLe íargesl and the mallest Ma?e in the Union. Yirpinia has scliolars at public chargé 9,791. iliiode Iiland 10.912. I All the colored popuia lioh of the South are kept as ignorant and degraded as ppssible, and !he whites are tur behind the rest of the Union. ís it any wonder, then, the'SInve States are impoverished and bankrup:? Wi'l oot ;in ighorant and vicions propio alwnys be poor, powerles, and wretcher;? How can this resuit be prevenfod luit by an education of all tlic cliildren? Acid caa they be educated wilh out emuncipation?