“Well, gentlemen, I have asked the gentleman what would become of us without manufactures in case of a war? Here is a question! will you answer me that? Can you deny that our manufactures are destined at some future day not only to compete with those of England, but to beat them? And as to the insinuation, sir, that the establishment of manufactures has hurt this country, I look upon it with scorn; and what is worse than scorn, with pity,—nay, with perfect contempt.”
(Cries of, “That is personal;” “that won’t do, Mr. ***; you are out of order.”)
“If I was out of order, I am sorry for it; I did not mean to be personal; I only wished to state the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. The gentleman hinted that we have not enough capital or perseverance to carry on that branch of industry; at least, I understood him to say so; but I guess he will find himself mistaken. If we have not enough perseverance, we have at least ‘an awful sight of hang-on.’” (Shouts of “That’s right: give it to him!” and laughter.) “But, sir, I gladly reciprocate; nay, I feel absolutely obliged to you for the kind sentiments you expressed in reference to this country. I hope the friendship between England and this country will be eternal; I mean to say, I trust it will last for ever. England cannot but profit by it, and so must we. Why then should we be eternally quarrelling with one another. I can see no good arising from it in any shape; so far from it, on the contrary, a pretty considerable deal of evil.
“It has been the custom of a few ignorant Englishmen to underrate the American character; but I calculate the English nation had nothing to do with it, and must, since Lord Brougham’s establishment of common schools, have learnt the true character of our people. But, as I always say, gentlemen, there is not the least cause of enmity between us. We both speak the same language, and were originally one and the same people; we intermarry and trade with one another; and, in short, do all things which mark us as civilized nations. On this account, gentlemen, and because it does not behove a Christian people (as one of our orators said), even in time of war, to harbour any ill will towards one another,[9] I give you, gentlemen, and I trust it may be a sentiment to which you will all cordially respond,—‘Success to the enterprise of both countries; and may they never forget their common stock!’”
“A fine stump speaker[10] this!” observed one of the Americans.
“Rather too Kentuckical, though,” remarked another; “but the fact is, there are so many nice shades of our meaning, that we cannot express them in any other language.”
I again saw my cicerone in the evening, and related to him the conversation I had listened to, expressing my surprise at the continual feuds between the English and Americans.
“This ought not to astonish you,” observed he: “most of the commercial agents, who come here either to settle or to reside, find themselves, for the first time in their lives, in what is called ‘the first society,’ apparently on a par with our most influential, i. e. moneyed citizens. This, of course, strikes them as extraordinary, and leads them to the conclusion that the first society in America must be essentially different from the society called ‘the first’ in England or Europe in general; to which they could not, possibly, procure themselves an introduction. This, as you may perceive, must be the natural effect of their modesty, for which you ought not to blame them, and for which I, for one, am rather disposed to give them credit; especially as I have seen the same persons, who in America flourished in the most fashionable circles, on their return to England not even admitted to the society of a London club, but content with a place in the counting-room of their employers, and a table in a city coffee-room. Though occasionally thrown into the company of our statesmen, they never approached, by chance, a member of parliament in their own country; and, although here considered as men of ability, they were satisfied with living in obscurity at home.
“As regards their political opinions,” he continued, “few of them, I believe, have received a liberal education, so as to be able to view our institutions with an enlarged, impartial mind, or to separate an accidental evil from the general good of which they may be productive to the great mass of the people. Instead of seeing in our government a practical illustration of the political doctrines abstracted from the experience of all countries and of every age, they view in it only a modification of the government of England, and apply to it the scale of their own country.