filled up to complete these magic communications between the shores of the two great oceans.

This is the object! that road, compared to which, those "Alpian sad Flaminian Ways," which have given immortality to their authors, are but as dots to lengthened lines-as sands to mountains--as grains of mustard to the full grown tree. Besides the advantages to our Union in opening direct communication with that golden California, which completes our extended dominion towards the setting sun, and a road to which would be the realization of the Roman idea of annexation, that no conquest was annexed until reached and pervaded by a road; besides the obvious advantages, social, political, commercial, of this communica tion, another transcendental object presents itself! That Oriental commerce which nations have sought for, and fought for, from the time of the Phenicians to the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope-which was carried on over lines so extended-by conveyances so slow and limitedamidst populations so various and barbarous, and which considered the merchant their lawful prey-and up and down rapid rivers, and across strange seas, and through wide and frightful deserts; and which, under all these perils, burdens, discouragements, converted Asiatic and African cities into seats of wealth and empire-centres of the arts and sciences -while Western Europe was yet barbarian; and some branches of which afterwards lit up Venice, and Genoa, and Florence, and made commercial cities the match for empires, and the wives and daughters of their citizens (in their luxurious, Oriental attire) the admiration and the envy of queens and princesses. All this commerce, and in a deeper and broader stream than the "merchant princes" ever saw, is now within our reach! attainable by a road all the way on our own soil, and under our own laws; to be flown over by a vehicle as much superior in speed and capacity to the steamboat as the boat is to the ship, and the ship to the camel. Thanks to the progress of the mechanic arts! which are going on continually, converting into facilities what stood as obstacles in the way of national communications. To the savage, the sea was an obstacle: mechanical genius, in the invention of the ship, made it a facility. The firm land was what the barbarian wanted: the land became an obstacle to the civilized man, and remained so until the steam car was invented. Now the land becomes the facility again-the preferred element of passage-and admitting a velocity in its steam car which rivals the flight of the carrier pigeon, and a punctuality of arrival which may serve for the adjustment of clocks and watches. To say nothing of its accompaniment-the magnetic telegraph, which flashes intelligence across a continent, and exchanges messages between kingdoms in the twinkling of an eye; and compared to which the flying car degenerates into a lazy, lagging, creeping John Trot of a traveler, arriving with his news after it had become stale with age.

All this commerce, in a stream so much larger, with a domestic road for its track, your own laws to protect it, with conveyances so rapid, and security so complete, lies at your acceptance. That which Jew and Gentile fought for before the age of Christianity, and for which Christians have fought both Jew and Gentile, and fought each other, and with the

Saracen for an ally; all this is now at your acceptance, and by the beneficent process of making a road, which, when made, will be a private fortune, as well as a public benefaction-a facility for individuals as well as for the government. Any other nation, upon half a pretext, would go to war for such a road, and tax unborn generations for its completion. We may have it without war, without tax, without treaty with any nation; and when we make it, all nations must travel it, with our permission, and behave well to receive permission, or fall behind and lose the trade by following the old track; giving us a bond in the use of our road for their peaceable behavior. Twenty-five centuries have fought for the commercial road to India; we have it as a peaceable possession. Shall we use it? or wear out our lives in strife and bitterness, wrangling over a miserable topic of domestic contention, while a glorious prize lies ne glected before us? Vasco de Gama-in the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope, and the opening of a new route to India, independent of Mussulman power-eclipsed, in his day, the glory of Columbus, balked in the discovery of his well-divined route by the intervention of a new world. Let us vindicate the glory of Columbus by realizing his divine idea of arriving in the east by going to the west."

Within the last twenty years, our Republic has been the theatre of a pectacle unparalleled in the history of the world in its general aspect sad promised results. Two great migrations of people, from the bosom

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of our confederated States to the wilderness of the farther West, hav taken place; and two distinct commonwealths, already populous and full of progressive energy, have been founded, and added to our galaxy of united republics.

The motors which impelled these migrations were antipodal in essence, vet equally puissant in their attractive forces and interior energy. These were, acquisitiveness and religious enthusiasm, two powerful agents in moving the masses, and confined in their manifestations to no particular time, people, or creed. The former, addressing itself to the material nature of man. - his to-day-makes him brave and enduring. With these qualities as a basis of action, a vast number of our political kindred have founded a flourishing State upon the far-off coast of the Paeific ocean, and are spreading the sails of trade upon the bosom of that hitherto almost solitary sea, bearing the key to the vast commercial treas ures of the Oriental world. The latter, addressing itself to man's spir itual nature-his to-morrow-makes him still more brave and enduring. because the prize to be won lies beyond the events of Time, and is sub. ject to no physical contingencies. Impelled by this higher motive, which has given martyrs to the fury of persecution in all ages, a large number of our political kindred, commingled with a greater host from the British Isles and the European continent, have congregated in fertile valley among the rugged mountains of the interior of our continent, in the direct pathway from the elder States to the capital of the Pacific common. wealth. The memory of the fiery Past, and the bright visions of the peaceful Future, inspire them with indomitable perseverance and sur prising energy; and system, order, and political wisdom have there been wonderfully developed among a heterogeneous mass gathered from many nations, and out of almost every class of common society.

In the midst of the vast solitudes of the Rocky Mountain region, where, twenty years ago, the Utah and the grizzly bear disputed possession, a nation has been born, and a populous city, encircled by broad fields, made richer by the tilier's culture, is full of busy men, plying the implements of almost every industrial pursuit, and is continually sending forth from its swarming hive energetic workers, to found other cities and plant other gardens in Deseret-the land of the Honey Bee. Let us consider the origin and brief history of this wonderful people.

About forty-five years ago, Joseph Smith, an illiterate and not overscrupulous young man of eighteen years, residing with his parents, near Palmyra, in the interior of the State of New York, attracted the atten tion of his kindred and neighbors by his pretensions to the character of a favored recipient of direct revelations from the councils of the Most High. For some time his mind had been disturbed by excitements at religious meetings, when, as he asserts, while praying for light and spir itual guidance, two angels appeared to him, and announced that he was the chosen Apostle and Prophet of God, to preach the true gospel to the world in its purity and power. A few evenings afterward (September 21, 1823), he was again visited by a heavenly messenger, "whose countenance was as lightning, yet it was pleasing, innocent, and glori ous." ." This personage announced himself as a special messenger from the

Great Throne, to reveal to the chosen Apostle the hidden taings of the Future, and to lead him to the depository of the written records of tho lost tribes of Israel-"the progenitors of the American Indians." These records, engraved upon plates of gold, contained not only the history o the long-lost tribes, but also divine instructions pertaining to the promulgation of the true gospel, and vivid prophecies concerning the Millennial era, then about to dawn upon the world. Twice during the night the angel visited the fledgling Seer; and the following morning, while the Chosen was at work in his father's field, the Divine instructor came and bade him go immediately to the "hill of Cumorah,"* and unearth the golden book. The task was easy, for the storms of centaries had removed the soil, and a portion of the stone box in which the plates were secured was visible. In the bottom of the box (which was carefully made air and water tight by cement), were three short pillars, and upon these were laid the sacred oracles of God. Beneath them was a breast-plate, such as the ancients used, and lying upon it were two stones, "clear as crystal, set in two rims of a bow," like a pair of spectacles. These were reputed to be identical with the Urim and Thummim of the Hebrews, by which things distant or future were made manifest. While the young prophet was gazing upon these sacred objects in wonder and awe, the angel appeared, his interior vision was opened, and heaven with all its glory stood revealed to the mortal. Suddenly the Prince of Darkness and his demon train passed by, and the good and the evil were thus displayed before him. The dark host disappeared, and then the angel, after giving Smith many consoling promises, informed him that "the fullness of time" had not yet arrived when he should receive the plates, and translate the divine records.

For four years the chosen prophet was denied possession of the golden book, yet he was frequently comforted by the presence of the angel. On the morning of the 22d of September, 1827, "the fullness of time" arrived, and Smith received, with wonder and delight, the precious volume. Its leaves were apparently of fine gold, thinner than sheets of vulgar tin, seven by eight inches in size, and covered on both sides with "improved Egyptian" characters, neatly engraved. The leaves were fastened together by three rings, and formed a volume about six inches in thickness. A part of it was sealed, to be opened at a future time; the remainder Smith was directed to translate by the assistance of the enormous crystal spectacles found with the book. During these four yearsthe chrysalis period of the Anointed, while changing from the mortal grub known as "Joe Smith, the money-digger," to the immortal winged creature of the new revelation, whose element was the skies-he was not an idle dreamer nor ascetic recluse. He wandered up and down the Dead waters of the Susquehannah, in search of mineral treasures, duping one and swindling another; and finally eloped with and married the

*This hill is about four miles distant from Palmyra, on the east side of the post road leading from that village to Canandaigua, and near the little town of Manchester. The alleged place of deposit of the golden plates is marked by several trees on the western slope of the hill.

daughter of a mortal, an intelligent young lady of New Harmony, Pensylvania. With his wife he settled down near his father's house, cease money-digging, and, under the direction of his good angel, opened a far more productive treasure in the "hill of Cumorah."

Money, reputation, and learning were essential in the promulgation of he new gospel. Smith lacked these, and he at once sought for them among his credulous neighbors. His earliest disciples were his father and two brothers, whom the world would willingly believe were accessories in a most unblushing imposture. They immediately spread the wonderful story of the golden book. It was confirmatory of a legend long known to money-diggers in Canada, that a golden Bible was somewhere buried. The credulous among the people of a sparsely populated district listened, wondered, and believed; and a farmer, possessing many acres but little knowledge of the world, became a dupe, and furnished Smith with money to enable him to engage in the holy work of translation. The curious began to ask questions, and Smith was almost daily hard pressed for answers. His natural shrewdness was brought into requisition, and he conceived an admirable method of evasion, and declared that he could divulge nothing except by "special revelation!" This conception, the child of an impostor's necessity, was the germ of the power by which his career was made successful, and by which the chief ruler of the Mormon church now wields an autocratic sceptre. From that time, whatever Smith desired to do, he was sure to have a special revelation commanding him to do it. This policy marked his whole career, and such is still the ingenious and potential policy of his successors in the church.

By "special revelation" the farmer was made to contribute his money freely to the work of translating and publishing the sacred book. Common sense sometimes raised doubts in the farmer's mind. He once ventured to ask for proof of the divinity of the book in Smith's possession, and even made a journey to the city of New York with some of the "improved Egyptian" characters, transcribed by Smith on paper, to consult the learned Professor Anthon, of Columbia College. He was assured by that gentleman that all was gross deception, yet the poor man, under the influence of the basilisk eye of the special revelator, suppressed his wicked doubts, and piously lent his time and money to the holy work, until foreclosures of mortgages upon his farm expelled himself and family from his homestead. Yet piety was not the chief motive. The farmer was a miser, and Smith excited his acquisitiveness to the highest degree, by promises of great worldly treasure. He meekly became "a scribe like Baruch for Jeremiah," and wrote the words as the prophet delivered them from behind a screen. The scribe was not allowed to see the sacred plates, for the angel had said that no man but Joseph Smith could look upon them and live! To this day no mortal eyes have rested upon them, save those of the great Seer.

When the farmer's money was exhausted, his mission was ended, and Smith procured another scribe, and money from other sources. His disciples now numbered a half dozen. The sacred translations were printed under the title of The Book of Mormon, and its divinity was attested