AN ELOQUENT ORATION.
General Banks on the Paris
Exposition.
gis Great Speech Delivered in the
House of Representatives,
Tuesdayf March
• 130, 1866.
Oflieia , l Report.
IFrom tbE Congressional Globe.]
Mr. Stevens moved : that the rules be sus-
pendedf and that the House resolve itself
into the Committee of the Whole on ~the
state of the Union. •
The motion was agreed to ; and the House
accordingly resolved itself into the Commit
tee of the Whole on the state of the Union,
(Mr.-Wilson, of lOWEhill the chair), and pro-1
ceeded to the consideration of Housejoint
resolution No. 52, to provide for the expenses
attending the exhibition of the products
of industry of the United States at the Ex
position at Paris in 1867.
Washburn(lll.) I move to lay that.
Mr. Washburn
AMY and take up an appropriation bill. -
M. Banks I hope not. It is necessary
this question should be settled.
The motion was disagreed to.
Mr. Banks moved that, by:unanimous
consent,' the first reading of the joint resolu
tion for information be dispensed with.
Mr. Washburne (III.) objected.
The joint resolution was then read a first
time for information.
Mr. Banks. I move to amend the first
section by the following, which was omitted
by accident
After line seven, section one,
insert :
First, to provide necessary. furniture and
fixtures for the proper exhibition of the ar
ticles and products of the industry of the
United States, according to the plan of the
imperial commissioners, in that part of the
building exclusively assigned to the , use of
the United States, $48,000. •
Mr. Chairman, I suppose this amendment
opens the whole subject for discussion.
The Chairman. General debate has not
been closed.
Mr. Banks. Mr. Chairman, the 'amend
mnd I have offered embraces the - laiaterial
part of the sum approp • riated in the first re
solution, and is the point which controlled
the judgment of the Committee on Foreign
Affairs, to which this subject was referred,
in asking the House to make an appropria
for this purpose.
It is proper to say, Mr. Chairman, that
the Government of the United States has
never made an appropriation for an object
of this character; aral unti). the Exhibition
of 1867 was proposed, no Government has
taken the initiative and , assumed the re
sponsibility of expenses incurred in c.chi
bitions of this description. Industrial ex
hibitions in all ages have been popular, and
not (govermental, enterprises. Whenever
the people have had wrongs to redress or
rights to assert, their only means of appeal
ing to public opinion and sympathy, except
by violence, have been through the exhibi
tion of the fruits of their industry. Than it
has ever been in Poland, Hungary, e,
or England; wherever the people sought to
influence the Government or stamp their
ideas upon the public mind, they have, in
exhibiting the fruits of their:industry, given
4midence of their claims upon
Government. This was true of • our
own Revolution as of other States. It was
not until 1851 that industrial exhibitions
engaged the universal attention of nations.
'The Exhibition of 1851 itself was only estab
lished upon the guarantee made by indi•
vidual citizens who engaged that the Go
vernment should not be made responsible
in any encouragement which it might at
find. The Exhibitions at Paris- in' 1855, at
London in 1862, and at Hamburg in 1863,
proceeded on the sameldea, that the 'enter
prise was one of individual character, in
which Governments participated, but for
which they were not responsible, and which
they did not assume to control. ' But at
length, as with education, railways, and
other popular organizations for the im
provement of the condition of the people,
ineustrial expositions now enjoy ,for the
first time the reluctantbut essential patron
age and favor of Governments.
The Emperor of France has for the first
time in the history of the world assumed
the 'responsibility of collecting, classifying,
and exhibiting its industry, and invites all
nations to present evidences of their pros
perity, progress, and power in industrial
pursuits. His Government has appropriated
7,0,000,000 francs for its expenses. He pays
12,000,000 francs from the treasury of the
empire, and trusts that the balance of eight
millions may be obtained from admission
fees and in other forms of contribution.
Belgium has appropriated 600,000 francs.
or $120,000, for the same purpose. Every
nation on the European continent will
make its appropriations. Individuals, so
cieties, corporauons,cities, and departments
of France will also be called upon for vol
=tag contributions. It is therefore an en
terprise in which Governments and not in
dividuals are to act, and if the United States
desires to be represented in this exhibition
of the world's 4 Fvealth, it must be through
their Government, and not, as heretofore,
i
by individuals. It is for that reason,among
others, that the Committee on Foreign
Affairs has asked this -appropriation of the
Rouse. Unless the Government takes the
initiative and is represented there as a Go
-vernment, the people of the United States
interested in the report of our, progress in
industry will be without rights or privi
leges. Itis important that we should. con
sider the subject in view of this fact.
On the 15th of January last a resolution
was approved by the. President, which had
passed both Houses of Congress, accepting
thikinvitation of the Emperor of France to
tate part in the Exposition of 1867; and it
now becomes our privilSge and duty to say
whetter, by fit appropriations for this pur
e pose, wit%N will enable the Epeopie, we repre
sent to ail themselves of the advantages
offered ns in common with other nations.
There can be no impropriety , in saying that •
if are to be represented at all we should be
well represented, and that maket it neces
sary we should conform to the plan of the
imperial commission. This plai t h as p r y
probably attracted the attention of gentle- -4)
men of the House, as it has been p r intedat length in No. 12 of the ExecutiveDocu
is to :eeritfiepre
xne ta. Each Government
waited through its industrial a
raFt of the palace constructed for . the A
proper exhibition of the varied products
of human 'industry is assigned to each
ten,: The structure covers thirty , ' na
-SLB acr es
ofthe ,ChamP - de Mars. It is ethpticalin
form .. Each of the ten groups in -which all
brtmches are classified occupies one of the
ten divisions running with the elliptical
forth of the • structure into which it is. di
vided, :and each nation is assigned a section
of the ground floor; running from'the out
side to the centre;. so that a• spectator • in
moving round the building inspects all ar
ticles of any one class that, the world•_pro
duces; and in moving from " the' outside to
the centre by the transverse passage he will
see. everything that each: nation produces.
The industry of the world is thus so classi
fied and arranged that a view of the whole.
or of the part of each nation, is easily ob
tained. The United States ranks the eighth
3n the list of assignments of space. It has
fillE DAILY EVENING SATURDAY, MARCH 17,1866.---TRIPLE SHEET.
pia times the space heretofore assigned
other exhibitions where it was the fourth in
the rank 'of nations
It is necessary that the portiOn assigned
to us should be furnished for the proper ex--
hibition of the fruits of our industry, Sc-
cording to the plan provided for all nations.
The expenditure required for this purpose,
according to the estimate of the Arnerican
minister at Paris,for furniture and fixtures,
will be $48,000. It is to provide for this sum
that the amendment is offered. which I have
sent to the Chair, and Which was - omitted in
the printed form by accident. lam au
thorized to say by the committee that it is
their unanimous opinion that the acceptance
of the invitation on the part of the Govern
ment makes it incumbent upon us to make
this appropriation at least. I believe they
were all united in that opinion. :The com
mittee hesitated, long and carefully con
sidered the subject in every point of view,
before they agreed to make the recommen
dation for the appropriation of $lOO,OOO.
The part of the building assigned for us
contains thirty thousand square feet. It
gives.us twenty thousand feet for passage
ways and ten thousand feet net for exhibi
tion. Evezy State in the Union has already
wade application for . a portion of this
space. The State of Illinois has applied for
a - very large share, and altogether the room
already demanded will more than cover
- _ _
the spice assigned to us. It is probable
that a larger part of the building would
have been assigned had the representative
of the Government at Paris or the executive
officers here been authorized to accept the
invitations or specify what space would be
required or how much would'be used if as
signed. But neither there nor here, 'was
any one able to specify what space would
be .wanted. The opinion was ex.Kessed
that the American people would destre to
be represented and that the largest space al
lowed would be wanted. It is to furnish
appropriate furniture and fixtures for this
space that the appropriation of $48,000 is
proposed.
I will turn to the next section of the bill
in order to explain other expenditures
which are embraced in the $lOO,OOO asked
for, The next provision is--;
For the compensation of four clerks in
New York and four clerks in Paris, whose
salaries shall be as follows: one at $1,500,
one at $1,400, and two at $1,200 each.
These clerks are provided for at New
York in the resolution which passed Con
gress and was approved by the Prosident.
This bill cuts down the salaries specified in
the joint resolution passed, which was ap
proved January 15, from $1,600 to $1,400, or
$2OO for each clerk. So that it makes a re
duction in the sum required to that extent.
If we are to appear in Paris, if we are to ex
pend $48,000 for fixtures and furniture, it is
of course necessary that there should be
some arrangement made by which the arti
cles presented for exhibition should be so
classified that we should not duplicate from
each State, and from different parts of the
same State, the same articles. It is there-
I fore absolutely necessary that there should
be some officers to regulate this. A general
agent was appointed at New York by the
Secretary of State, whose salary was not
fixed. This appointment has been approved,
and the appropriation is requested for him
self and the clerk which he was authorized
to appoint.
The next provision is—
For the compensation of professional and
scientific commissioners, ten in number, at
the rate of $l,OOO each per annum, $lO,OOO.
It may seem to some unnecessary that
there should be ten scientific commission-
era appointed to attend this Exposition; but
if it be necessary, assuredly the compensa
tion of sl,ooo,with the passage out andback,
which is provided for in another section,
will not be deemed extravagant. I think I
may say with some degree of confidence
that if the committee will look at the cha
racter of the Exposition and the plan upon
which it is organized they will come to the
conclusion that a scientific commission that
shall attend for the purpose of examining
and reporting upon the results of the indus
try of the world is absolutely essential to
the fall realization of its manifold advan
tages,and will far more than compensate for
the amount of the expenditure incurred in
this section.
The plan of the Exposition of 1867 is the
grandest classification of the world's indus
try that the mind of man has ever con
ceived. There has never been presented,in
the history of the world, such a compre
hensive, systematic, and scientific group
ing of the various branches of human in
dustry of the world as this plan unfolds.
All the pursuits and products of industry
are classified in ten leading di
visions, and subdivided into ninety-five
classes. It is proposed by the commissioner
acting for the Government, the American
minister at Paris, that one scientific com
missioner for each one of these groups shall
be appointed by the Government. The
gronps are as follows:
1: Works of art.
2. Materials and application of labor to
art.
3. Furniture and other household articles.
4. Clothing, including cloths and other
wearing apparel.
5. Mining, and the rough products of
milling.
6. Processes of mechanic arts.
7. Food, fresh and preserved, in its va
rious states.
8. Leading agricultural products and
specimens.
9. Natural horticultural products and
specimens.
10. Objects especially exhibited for im
proveing the physical and moral condition
of the populations of the earth.
These ten grounds embrace all the pursuits
of man, all the products of industry, all, the
habits of life, all the relations of men to
each other, to society, and to progressive
civilization. It is of vast importance that
this World's Exhibition should be so far
studied by our people that we may be able
to comprehend the advantages to be derived
from it, and appropriate them to the instruc
tion and benefit of the different sections of
the country.
- We have eminent scientific men in every
part of the country who will be capable not
only of illustrating our own relation to the
industrial products of the earth, but com
bine in concise, comprehensive methods the
results of their investigation, and to impart
that information to our people.
In the Eastern States we have Professor
Agassiz, now in South America, whose in
vestigations in natural science will electrify
the world and give .to the American name
in the scientific world a higher prestige
than any nation has enjoyed. Professor
Agassiz believes that in a fewyears the sons
of the noble lamiles of every nation in
Europawill be sent to the universities of
this country to complete their studies, and
that in the study of natural science we shall
have advantages that are not enjoyed by
any other nation or any other people on the
face of the earth.
:in the middleEtates they will be able to
present some one who will understand what
is necessary for the development of their
industry and the.promotion of the great
public interests identified with and depen
dent upon the success of American industry,
And. - the valley of the Missitisippi—a
valley that is comparatively unknown to
us—that is capable of supporting five hun
dred or one thousand. million people which
will yield to our, industry . every Product,
every• manufacture, every form of mineral,
will be able to present a man who under
stands the resources of , that Vast section of
our country, who will represent its power,
who will make known the improvements
that may be.made, and. the progress of in
dustry elsewhere.
In regard to the mineral and commercial
regions on the
Pacific coast, let me say that
it is of- the greatest importance that some
man of science and practical - Easilteliould be
able to riresent to the people of the .Old
World the capacities and resources of that
part of our country, and also make known
to us in•return what advantages!, may be
derived frem this Industrial; Exhibition.
In this manner we shall be able to repre
sent our material wealth.
And more than that, it is in our power to
represent the social and political character
of the country in such a way as to attract
the attention of other nations. The educa
tion and the habits of the people; their
habits in relation to their industrial pur
suits; the food upon which they live;- the
clothing they wear; the customs of the so
ciety in which they, move ; everything per-,
taining to American civilization .will be
represented by us. We can show the log
cabin where lived one of the earlier Presi
dents of the Union; the humble roof be,
neath which was born or dwelt the martyr
President, whose name Is known and be
loved by the common people of all nations.
We can show the habits of our people in
''their industrial pursuits, and also the ad
vantages which they enjoy in respect to
education and progress, and thus'place be
fore the world an enlarged view the con
dition and the prospect of Amer" ain civili
zation, that has not yet been pr isented, and
that cannot be presented in any other way.
And I think the expenditure of $lOO,OOO to
represent us in these great' aspects, the re
sults of which will be reported. through ten
of the best informed, the most scientific and
practical men of the country, will be a sum
very well bestowed and very profitably ex
pended.
The nextaection -relates to att additional
structure which possibly may become neces
sary for our accommodation. I have said
that thirty thousand square feet of area in
gross have , been assigned to us by the
French Government, placing us eighth in
the list of nations. Beyond all question
that will be insufficient. Applications
have been made already that will
fill the entire space. The State of
Illinois alone has made application for a
space sufficient to take nearly all that
assigned to us. It may be necessary for us
to provide an additional structure. In the
Champ de Mars we can have as much space i
as we please, and therefore it is proposed, if
it shall be requisite, that the Government of
the United States shall appropriate $25,000
for the additional structure, upon condition
that an equal sum shall be contributed by
individuals for the same purpose. It may
be found necessary, and it may not. Ido
not think the appropriation is an unreason
able one to request or an unreasonable one
to grant.
The next section contains an appropria
tion for contingent expenses in Paris and
New York, to be expended' as the commis
sioners may :direct, $5,000 being for rent,
advertising and incidental expenses already
incurred in pursuance of the action of the
Secretary of State, confirmed by the action
of the two Houses of Congress, and ap
proved by the President.
The next is a section to which I propose to
offer an amendmept when it shall be
reached. It now provides that the Secretary
of the Navy, at the request of the Secretary
of State, shall be authorized to furnish one
or more public vessels to transport the in
dustrial products of this country to and
from France. The sentiments of the Secre
tary of the Navy upon this subject, as indi
cated when the subject was up before, has
led me, upon my own responsibility,to pro
pose a modification. I shall therefore pro
pose that the President of the United States
shall be requested to furnish one or more
public vessels for the transportation of the
industrial products of this country to
France, but not to return them; because it
might be said, as the Exhibition will con
tinue for six months, that to keep the ves
sels there for that time, or to subject them
to another voyage out to bring the goods to
this country would be perhaps an unreason
able addition to the expense. I therefore
propose that we provide one or more public
vessels for the transportation of our conti
nental industry to the shores of France.
And I take occasion to say that the repre
sentations which have been made here when
this subject has been up before in regard to
the expense of thistratisportation have been
greatly exaggerated. Gentlemen have said
that the expense would be two or three
hundred thousand dollars; and it has been
slated to us that the Navy Department is
responsible for such a statement. I say,
Mr, Chairman, that no such expenditure
will be incurred: that neither $lOO,OOO nor
$50,000 nor $20,000 nor $lO,OOO nor any other
considerable sum will be incurred. The
expense will be no more than that which
pertains to the possession of „the vessels
which the Government now owns.
We ask in the first place nothing more
than store-ships—sailing vessels—which are
now at the disposal of the Navy Depart
ment, which are not engaged in any public
service, and can be assigned to this duty
without the cost of a dollar to the Govern
ment. The use ofthe vessels with the services
of the officers and men now employed and
paid by the Government, will add nothing
at all to the expenses of the Department;
and I feel authorized to say in behalf of the
committee that we will gratefully accept
the meanest exhibition of the national flag
which the Navy Department chooses to
make for us in aid of this great national
representation of our industry.
I am told by officers of the Navy Depart
ment that these storeships, when they are
not, wanted for service, are not now even
sold; that the prices which they bring are
so insignificant that that they are broken
up for the sake of the material. It is only
necessary therefore for us to say to the
Navy Department, preserve one,
two, three
or four of these vessels, as may be required
—and this will give us all that we need for
transporting the exhibitions of our indus
try to the shores of France. Within the
present month I believe not lessthan twenty
steamers have been sold in the city of Balti
more at an average of less than $6,000 each;
more than half of them were sold for less
than $4,000 each. Even a we should ask the
use of steamers, which we do not, cer
tainly the Government of the United States
has the power to- gratify the people of this
country at a very slight cost and with very
little trouble.
The reason for making this request upon
the Navy Department is based upon a fact
alike honorable to the service and the peo
ple of England. At the Exhibitionof 1851
the. Secretary of the Navy, without a re
quest of Congress, authority of, law, or un
justifiable expense, gave to the manufac
turers, the artisans, the agriculturists, of
this country the use of the war frigate St.
Lawrence to carry to Southampton the pro
ducts of their industry; and the arrival of
the St. Lawrence at Southampton is an
nounced in the English histories of the Ex
hibition of 1851 as one of the most notable
and gratifying incidents of that grand in
industrial exposition. The officers and
men of that frigate were honored with an
ovation at Southampton; and wheneverthey
appeared within the realm of England they
were recognized as, the repredentatives of
the flag of our country, the bearers of the
centributions of- American industry.
Now, sir, if that was the case in 1851, as
suredly the flag of the United, States will
be welcomed in the grander ~Exhibition of
1867. We ask in, this case only that the
Government ahall lend us the flag of our
country to convey,the industrialre presenta
tions of rill classes of it a people from every
part of its territory: ,
There is - in the , resolution a provision
which authorized the commissioner at New
York to charge the exhibitomone-half of
the current rate of freight to - France, the
proceeds of which were intended to be ap
plied to the reduction of the general ex
penges of this exhibition on the part of our
Government as provided for by the first
resolution appropriating the sum of $lOO,-
000. It was that provision which led me to
say in reply to a question of the gentleman
from Illinois, Mir. Washburn), when the
subject was before the House some weeks
since, that the :expense would not in any
event exceed $lOO,OOO, and probably_would
not exceed $50,000. But, upon reflection, I
felt that it was not altogetner an elevated
proceeding for the Government of the United
States, in the use of the vessels owned and
paid for by the people, to charge half-price
freight upon the articles to he exhibited in
Paris next year for the purpose of illus
trating the progress and greatness of oar,
country, especially for the benefit of the
Government and the people. And therefore
I propose on my own responsibility to strike
out that section, which stands, as the ykird
section in the printed resolution, leaving it
as it stands in the second , section, modifying
it, however, so far as to call upon the Presi
dent instead of the Secretary of the Navy
to furnish the vessels. -
And Ido this, sir, for another reason
which did not ocetir to me in its fall strength
at the time the committee reported this re
solution. The products which we send to
Paris will be to a great extent sold in that
country. The American minister at Paris
has expressed the opinion that nine:tenths
of the articles we send to that country . will
be sold there: They ought all to be sold. I
think, therefore, there will be no necessity
for specially providing for their return. I
do not think there is any great generosity
in charging them fifty per cent. for their
transportation to France. For these rea
sons I shall submit the several amendments
which I have indicated.
Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the corn-,
mittee, allow me, and I do not know but I.
am trespassing too much on their atten
tion—
Several menabers:;-Go on ; we want to
hear you.
Mr. Banks—will gentlemen allow me to
call attention to the results of previous un
authorized exhibibitions of the world's in
dustry in London, Paris, and Hamburg?
Carefully as we study the history of this
country, and especially of its industry, we
know very little of its present power and
nothing at all of its future. We did not
know in 1851, when we sent to London Ina-
known men, not unknown men merely in
England but unknown men in America,
who would electrify as well as instruct the
people of the world, who were most inter
ested in the prominent and industrial pur
suits. When Mr. McCormick took his
reaper there it was hardly recognised as a
successful implement of agriculture here.
It was only when the premium was awarded
to it that general attention in this country
was called to its great merits and wonder
ful success. When George Steers sent out
the yacht America it attracted little atten
tion. The London Times announced, after
a careful examination of its model, that it
was of a novel and not very promising style
of architecture, of which we had no great
reason to be proud; but when it entered the
contest against the sailing vessels of the
whole world, it so far won in that contest as
to leave no flag second; and then every
American heart bounded with joy, and a
new light broke upon the minds of the
people of all nations.
There were other like honorable exam
ples. There went out an unknown obscure
mechanic from the city of New York, a
native, I believe, of Massachusetts. The
English locksmiths had challenged the
whole world for twenty years to open that
most important as well as most ingenious
invention of mechanism, the Bramah lock.
A prize of two hundred guineas was offered
to whoever could open it, and it bad been
tried by everybody, and no one had made
an impression upon it. Mr. Hobbes, the
American mechanic, gave it his attention.
It was carefully guarded so that there could
be ne possible advantage taken by him,
and then, to the astonishment of all the
English mechanics, after a few hours' ex
periments, he unlocked, locked itlig!dn, and
repeated the operation, without injury, as
often as they pleased.
Sir, I need not refer to the most brilliant
success of other American mechanics.
Every one will agree with me in stating, so
far as the Government was then represented
in the Exhibition of 1851, it was not only a
failure, but a disgraceful failure. and that it
Was only the marvelous and unexpected skill
and power of oar own citizens, our own un
known mechanics, that saved the United
States from utter disgrace.
In 1662 the Exhibition was repeated in
London on a grander. scale. We were then
engaged in a terrible war, and could not
afford to expend money on any extraneous
object. We allowed, however, ninety-five
American citizens to go there at their own
risk and cost to exhibit the industry of the
United States. Eighty-three of thoseninety
five American exhibitors received prizes in
almost every branch of the eursuits of
industry.
The London Times, in speaking of that
Exhibition, said that after the mechanical
department the United States Department
was the point of general attraction for the
people of all nations. There was no repre
sentation of the Government there, no full
representation of the industry, skill, genius,
power and wealth of our people; only a few
unauthorized citizens had gone there at
skyl
their own expense, and th one, accord
ing to the London Times, co stitated the
second point of attraction t the people of
all nations. And foremos among these,
according to the representation of all the
English journals, the great middle classes
were the most constant and interested in
their attendance upon the American de
partment.
In the Exposition of 1863, at Hamburg,
the Government was not represented, but
some of our enterprising citizens were there;
among others, a single representative from
the State of Vermont went there of his owu
accord, without the slightest expectation of
achieving any distinction for himself. He
tookwith him, to represent one of the great
staple interests of this country, twelve
sheep. Ido not suppose there is a man in
this House, or that there was at that time
a man. in the United States, that would be
lieve for a single moment that the Ameri
can States were equal in sheep culture to
those nations where it has been studied for
tVo or three hundred - years. In the Expo
sition at Hamburg, thirty-five different
nations were represented. The crowned
heads of Europe had their own finest spe
cimens of the sheep culture of Europe and
Asia there; the Emperor of the French was
represented himself by his own choice Bp&
dm ens of stock. And this Vermont sheep
raiser, Mr. Campbell—l ought to mention
his name—who carried 'out at his own cost,
twelve sheep, was honored with an exami
nation and received two first prizes, and a
second prize, for the superiority of his
stock. The award was not made by friends
of this Government. not by men interested
in our people, but by strangers: and when
it was announced that an American had
received two first prizes for the superior
ity of his stock, and the second.prize also,
everybody rejected it as fabulous, and
when it was verified, by the subsequent
publication of the, awaras they disputed
the integrity of the award; but Mr. Camp
bell, the Vermont man,,challenged a second
examination, which was not accepted.
I need not go further in the discussien of
this matter, to show what we have done in
the past. Let me say a word as to what we
may do in the future.
Mr. Chairman,. of the ten groups into
which the imperial commission; has classi
fied the industry of the world, the United-
States, if it shall be properly represented,
will be at least the equal, if not the 'supe
rior, of other nations .in six or seven. I
need hardly recount' them. In works of art,
although we havea reputation notyet in the
blossom, I am sure we shall stand in some
respects the equals of the modern -represen
tatives of older nations. The illustrations of
the grand features of American scenery by
Church, Bierstadt, and others, and the mar
bles of Powers, Story, and 'Hosmer, and
other sculptors yet unknown, and whO will
never be known except they shall have op
portunity to compare their achievements
with-the art products of other countries,
cannot fail to attract at least respectful at
tentiom ' e .
In the great democratic exemplification of
the art of wood engraving, the United States
not only stands first, but it= has achieved
distinction by new processes wholly un
known to artists of the same profession in
other parts of the world.
In materials and applications for the libe
ral arts, we cannot say much, because we do
not know much. We have no knowledge
of what this continent will produce in the
way of the materials and applications of the
liberal arts; but We need not be surprised
if• in this gronpe, of the nature of which we
know nothing at all, we stand as well as
other nations.
In the gronpe of minerals, and the
raw and wrought products of mining, cer
tainly we may say that no part of the world
is equal in its mineral wealth to the United
States. The mines of BUSSia are for less im
portant as sources of national wealth. While
the mines of Russia are chiefly on the east
ern slope ofthe Ural mountains, from three
to ifivcthousand miles from St. Petersburg,
whose rivers run gently to the Arctic sea
from the centres of population, costing in
transportation the greater part of the value
of the products, our exhaustless wealth lies
on the lines of population, where our popn
lation is moving and our railroads are con
structed or being constructed,so that we may
say that our wealtkin respect to California
is the same to us, or will be, as if it lay at
the threshold of the Mint at Philadelphia or
the marts of New York.
I need- not refer to our capacity in me
chanical invention orother classes of indus
try in which we shall maintain a respecta
ble if not superior position. But I want to
allude briefly to one point of national in
terest where we will be expected to show
our power, and where we shall have an in
fluence upon domestic as well as foreign
affairs by a full exemplification of what we
can do.
We have passed through a war of great
trials and great success. The attention of the
world has been called to it. There will be
nothing which the people of other countri
will so desire to see and to comprehend as
the materiel and organization of the Ameri
can Army. The qurtermaster's department
proposes to send a baggage wagon, manu
factured at Philadelphia, that followed Mc-
Clellan through his Potomac campaign,
Rosecrans in Tennessee, and Sherman in
his great march from the mountains In the
sea, and then again to Richmond and the
surrender of Lee. A wagon with such a
history cannot fail to attract the attention
of all people. A pair of worn-out shoes,
the dress of an American soldier, the shel
ter-tent under which he slept, his bayonet,
his musket, his knapsack, his cap, his ra
tions, anything that belonged to him will
attract more attention and draw greater
crowds of people and bold them longer and
closer than will the crown jewels of Eng
land.
We want to see also the Navy of our
country represented, that Navy which
ought to be willing to assist us in the slight
demand we make upon it. We want the
people of Europe to see of what our Navy is
composed, our iron-clads and monitors, as
novel in naval architecture as was the yacht
America. We want them to see oar twenty
inch guns and the thousand-pound pro
jectile we have fabricated. The naval au
thorities of our country, lam told, would
not hesitate to challenge the navies of the
whole world todischarge their batteries upon
one of our unresisting and silent monitors
sleeping on their waters like a turtle, if they
will allow that monitor to return the fire of
each by a single shot. We want the people
of the world to see what our mechanics have
done and what they may do ; and we want,
too, to- impress upon the people of Europe
and Asia that if there is a chance to make
friends with the Americans it is better to do
it than to make us enemies. We want to
show them that we prefer peace, that the
fruits of peace are our pride, but that if
war be made by their rulers they must not
count on unresisting war, but on one that
will carry havoc and devastation in their
country as it has been carried into the
coantry of our enemies. [Applause.] We
want, too, that that most simple, that most
pure, that most spotless hero of this or any
age, Admirable Farragut, shall command
in the waters of Europe our iron-dads and
our monitors, and give the people evidence
of the simplicity of the man whose naval ex
ploits ars equal to the brilliant achievemerit
ments of Duguay Trouin of France, of Von
Tromp of Holland, or Nelson of the Eng
lish Navy. And that he may not stand
alone, we want that our own gallant
soldiers shall be • represented by their
leaders, Grant and Sherman and Sheridan,
that we may show the world of what stuff
our Army and Navy are made.
In the way of peace and for the purpose of
averting war, there is and there can be no
act of the American Government so impor
tant as this. I can scarcely doubt that the
Emperor of France desires war with this
country. One who sits upon a bayonet has
a sharp seat and cannot rest quiet long. But
Napoleon and the other rulers of Europe
must satisfy the people of their respective
Governments that they have an easy task
and a sure end. While he has the power to
represent America as he chooses, and
France as he chooses, the people have no
medium of instruction except through his •
representations. But in this industrial the
atre of nations, the voice of rulers will not
be more potential than that of the neople.
The thin and deceptive veil of diplomacy
which has been hanging between Govern
ments and the people for centuries, and
which is responsible for the injustice of na
tions, will be lifted, and the people of Ea
rope will understand the people of America.
God, in His providence, in this the great
est of all providence; now gives to the de
mocracy of America an opportunity to
speak face to face with the democracy of
Europe. The products of industry consti
tute the language of labor ; it is a universal
tongue; every man will comprehend it,
And when they shall have seen for them
selves the results of oar war and capacity
in:peace they will make known is the rulers
of the European. world that the people of
this country are to be preferred as friends
rather than enemies. Thus, in the matter
of peace and war, in preserving our rela
tions with the Governments of other na
tions upon a proper basis, and in the means
of defending our rights, a just representa
tion is the best possible appeal we can make.
But it is not in this view alone that such
representation is important. This great in
dustrial congress will constitute an era in
our industrial history, as it will in the
civilization of the world.
Let me recall a few of the leading fea
tures of our position and power almost un
known to us, and never contemplated by
the people of other countries.
Our cereal products double in quantity
every ten years. They are now more than
the grain crops of France; and equal to the
grain crops of England, and in ten years
they will be larger than the crops of both
empires. Lamartine, ih his letter justifying
the .Frenoli occupation of Mexico, states dis
tinctly that the North American continent
is to become the granary of the world, and
that France must control a portion of its
territory or be subordinate to the Govern
ment and people of the United States.
The cotton crop gives employment toforty
million Europeans. It has been cultivated
-in eight States, really in but five States.
-The utmost extent of thhiprodudt has been
five million bales a year. It can be success
fully and profitably cultivated ,in twenty
States, certainly-in -mare-tharchalf of the
States of the Union. And instead of being
limited to five million bales 'a year as the
extent of the most favorable crops, we will
within a few years send to the markets of
tbe world twenty million bales of cotton mei
year.
The grape is an indigenous product of this
country. In the Mexican. border States, on
the Pacific coast, in the valley of the Missis
sippi, on the Ohio, and in other States, there
is evidence abundant, plentiful, and unde
niable, that in a few years we shall share
at least in the profits of the wine manufac
ture. We already export wines, with other
agricultural products, from the Pacific coast,
to South €America, Australia, the Sandwich,
Islands, Japan, and other Asiatic ports.
The mineral;wealth of this country is fabu
lous. No man would be believed for a sin
gle moment, in the . court of nations next
year if he stated upon his own responsibility
what is the possible, even the probable, de
velopment of the mineral wealth of this
country. It is only, when the Government
shall make its statement that the people of
the Old World will credit the relation. Oar
mineral regions extend over seventeen par
allels of latitude and nearly an equal num
ber of longitude, embracmg trio million.
square miles, the whole of which is plethoric ,
and bursting with iron, lead, copper, asphal
tum, quicksilver, silver, gold, and many
other minerals.
Several years since I was impressed
with the statement made to me by our
minister to Belgium, Mr. Sandford, who
said that Baron Von Humboldt had told
him that in his judgment it was impossible ,
that the mountains of Virginia should not.
yield diamonds; that the configuration and
character of _the country of Virginia in—
dicated to Humboldt, who knew the phy—
sical world as other men know naankind,
that the mountains of Virginia would ulti—
mately be found a depository of this the•
richest and most rare of precious atones.
And in confirmation of this philosophie
suggestion, made by a man who could read
the indications of the surface 01 the earth, as
an expert in natural science recognizes a
fish by its bones—as if in exemplification
and confirmation of this philosophic theory
of Humboldt, we see it announced in the.
Southern portion of the continent that dia
monds and other precious stones have al
ready been discovered. We know com
paratively nothing of the mineral character,
the mineral resources, the mineral wealth
of our country; and it is only when we shall.
stand in the council of scientific men, re
presenting all parts of the world, and tho
roughly conversant with all its wondrous
developments, our own resources fully and
justly represented, that we shall be able to
estimate the value of that we have by that
which we have in our possession, but do
not yet comprehend and rightly value.
I need not speak of the petroleum discov
eries in the view or with the spirit of specu
lation. I have no eyes for speculation. I
never saw in my life a share of stock or
scrip of any sort; and I have no care for
such things. I have no doubt the if-ae-far as
1 1,17
petroleum is the subject of speculation, it
will be an injury as all speculation is. at
. e must look at the developments, of
attire, in whatever aspect they present
themselves. Here in our own country, in
Or most populous States, we discover that
Providence has given to us a form of wealth
necessary to all nations and in all pursuits,
and which is found in almost exhaustless
quantities. It would seem as if precious
oils flowed in the veins of the earth as does
its waters; that when it is exhausted in one
place it appears in another, and-when ex
hausted in the second fountain it reappears
again in the MA So, making any ordinary
and reasonabletlraft upon thia most boun
teous and most miraculous development of
our wealth, we may well say that it is ex
haustless. It extends from the Alleghenies
to the Pacific coast, and may be found any
where within an area of two million square
miles, and no man can put his foot down or
fix his stake at any point at which he may
I not penetrate the earth and receive wealth
I in this form.
Let me look at another point in which we•
hewn or ought to have some interest. It is
the railway system. The railway is a new
element of power. We have thirty-one
tbon-and miles of railroad—four times as
much as England—more than any other
country. We can build as much as we
want, and as soon as we desire. Other
nations count ,llie cost; but we have no cost;
for to invest ins railway is to give value
to that property which we possess in other
forms'. The construction of our railways
has cost us $1,100,000,000; $800,000,000, as I
stated the other day, were expended be
tween 1850 and 1860. And I have no doubt
that between 1870 and 1880, $1,000,000,000•
more will be invested, so that we shall have
a railway to every part of this country,
connecting all the points ofdbmestic wealth,.
whether the coal of Pennsylvania, the lead
of Illinois. the copper of Michigan, or the ,
gold and silver, of the Pacific coast, with.
he commerce of the world.
[Here the hammer fell.]
Mr. Ashley (Ohio) I move that t by
unanimous consent, the gentleman from
Massachusetts be allowed to conclude his
remarks.
There was no objection.
Mr. Banks—Again, sir, consider the ques
tion in another regard, which is moral and
mental. Mr. Oliphant, a member of the
British Parliament, said in a public speech
the other day that in religious and secular
education the United States are ahead of
the whole world. It is well known that we
appropriate more money in public educa
tion than all other States. In this Exhibi
tion of 1867 education will be a material
feature; and it would be a crime if the na
tions of the earth are to be represented in
point of education, that the Government of
the United States should not be properly
represented.
And the same is true of the public press
of the country—the American institution
which gave in 1860 four thousand journals.
and a thousand million copies per annual,.
now yields double the number of copies,.
or two a week for every person in the United
States.
Now, sir, in the court of nations, these
facts will make an impression upon the ,
world in two respects in which we have
much interest: first, in regard to our
finances; and second,in regard to our popu
lation. Capital is proverbially heartless,.
and will go wherever it finds material for
safe and profitable investment. European
nations are insecure in their political rela
tions. We are secure if we settle our do
mestic affairs, as I have no doubt we shall.
We will show in our mineral development,.
in our increased cotton products, in the ex
tension of our cereals, such an absolute se
renity in reference to the payment of our
public and private debts, as to deprive the•
capitalists of Europe of any,. even the ,
slightest, apprehension in mak ng invest
ments in our country.
I say, and I think 'without exaggerations
—I know it is a strong statement that I anis
about to make—if the Government of the ,
country should issue its scrip . in small_
sums, paying, seven, eight, nine, or ten
per cent. interest, with a full and fair repro-.
sentation of our material wealth and. the.
character of our people to the peFillle, it
would break every savings bank in En- -
rope if the Governments did not interfere
to stop subscriptions.
Look at our population, sir, and the ,
great area 'we occupy, as elements of wealth.
The territory is equal to that of Europe. . It.
is sufficient to support a thousand million'
people. • The valley of the Mississippi alone, .
with its tributaries between the mountains,
will support a thousand million'people •
populated as England is, three hundred
and thirty-three to toa avian mile. It will
yield all the products of Europe and Asia.
Tea and coffee will grow in the Southwest,
and with grain grown in the Northwest, in
ten or twenty. years the whole world will
look to America for food. Our population
i s keeping
. progress .'with our advance in.
material weidth. We had thirty millions
of population in 1860.
(Continued on the. Eleventh rage)