The manner in which this story illustrates the state of things in this country.
My Friends:
I will now point out some respects in which you will see that the people of this nation are situated very much like the shipwrecked travellers. In the first place then, we have received from God, that great and benevolent King over all, a noble country, filled with an abundance of all kinds of treasures. And the two conditions on which we enjoy it are, first, that we shall take care of ourselves, and do our own work, and, secondly, that we shall all be “free and equal,” and all “equally entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” in any way that each one may think best for himself.
We also are bound by the same grand rule that was adopted by the shipwrecked company, that, every one shall do that which will secure
the most enjoyment to the whole company, and not that which each one likes best. It is according to this rule that all our laws are made, which restrain men from seeking their own pleasure by sacrificing the public good. And our laws are made by men appointed by the people for the purpose, and executed by judges and officers appointed by the people, from among themselves. In this also we resemble the company in the story.
The question as to who shall work, and what kind of work each one shall do, and who shall have the best rooms and furniture and clothes, is also settled just as it was in the story.
For by common agreement women are appointed to work in the house, and men to work out doors.
Then it is God decides what our lot shall be when we are born into the world. God determines who shall be born of poor parents and who of rich, and this decides what kind of work each one shall do, and what kind of accommodations and furniture each shall possess. It was thus in the story. By casting lots, the company gave to God the business of deciding
what stations and employments each should take, and this determined what clothes and accommodations each should take. But more depends on our intelligence, industry, and virtue, than on the particular lot in which we are born, so that the people in this country are in exactly the situation of the shipwrecked company after they began to trade at the store. Though some few keep the place they got by the lot of birth, almost every thing depends on intelligence, skill, industry and virtue. In this country, any man who is well educated, active, skillful and industrious can become comparatively rich. Of course, in this land, men have more inducements to become well educated, virtuous, and industrious than the people of any other nation on earth.
In like manner, each kind of work has overseers appointed to direct others. Who these overseers shall be, in most cases, also, is decided on the same plan as in the story. Those who know the most, generally, become overseers. In cases where persons hire laborers to work on farms, or in their families, then the master of the house, or the farm, is the overseer, and directs