try; and few in this had more resources at his age than he. Moses Brown's plain manner of speaking of the partner of his son-in-law, led, in some measure, to this mistake; and Mr. Slater, if he knew it, would never take the pains to explain his condition, or do any thing to disabuse public opinion with regard to his personal affairs; for he was never known to boast of any thing relating to himself, whether of property or abilities, being ever acknowledged a modest, unassuming man. Capital alone is not worthy of credit, unless associated with moral qualities in the tradesman; for a prudent man of great industry, integrity, and knowledge in his business, is more worthy of credit without capital, than a rich man, ignorant of his business. Persons who begin with large capitals do not succeed, generally speaking, so well as those who begin with small ones cautiously administered.

It is proper, perhaps, to close this chapter with an extract from a "Short Sketch of the Life of Slater," in the Providence Journal: "Such are the outlines of the business life of a man, whose skill and knowledge of detail, in a business which, up to the time of his appearance among us, was unknown to this community, were unrivaled, whose commercial views were of the most liberal and enlightened character,-whose energy, perseverance, and untiring diligence, aided in his early efforts by the money and countenance of those who justly appreciated his merits and confidently anticipated his eminence, have triumphed over obstacles which would have discouraged others; have given a new direction to the industry of his adopted country, and opened a new and boundless field to its enterprise. It has rarely fallen to the lot of any single individual to be made an instrument, under Providence, of so much and such widely diffused benefit to his fellow-men, as this man has conferred upon them, without any pretension to high-wrought philanthropy, in the ordinary, unostentatious pursuit of that profession to which he had been educated, as a means of honest and creditable living. Yet, unpretending as he was, and noiseless in that sublimated charity, which is now so fashionable and predominant, his sympathy for the distressed, and his kindness and good will for all, were ever warm, active, practical, and efficient sentiments; based upon steadfast principles, and aiming at the greatest attainable measure of good. In the relief of immediate and pressing want he was prompt and liberal. In the measures which he adopted for its prevention in future, he evinced paternal feeling and judicious forecast. Employment and liberal pay to the able-bodied promoted regularity and cheerfulness in the house, and drove the wolf from its door. Direct charity,' he has been

heard to say, 'places its recipient under a sense of obligation which trenches upon that independent spirit that all should maintain. It breaks his pride, and he soon learns to beg and eat the bread of idleness without a blush. But employ and pay him, and he receives and enjoys, with honest pride, that which he knows he has earned, and could have received for the same amount of labour from any other employer.' It would be well for all communities if such views, on the subject of pauperism, were generally adopted and carried into practice. It is hardly necessary to state, concerning one who has done so much business, and with so great success, that his business habits and morals were of the highest character. The punctual performance of every engagement, in its true spirit and meaning, was, with him, a point of honour, from which no consideration of temporary or prospective advantage would induce him to depart; from which no sacrifice of money or feeling were sufficient to deter him. There was a method and arrangement in his transactions by which every thing was duly, and at the proper time attended to. Nothing was hurried from its proper place, nothing was postponed beyond its proper time. It was thus that transactions the most varied, intricate, and extensive, deeply affecting, and affected by, the general business of three adjoining states, and extending their influence to thousands of individuals, proceeded from their first inception to their final consummation, with an order, a regularity and certainty, truly admirable and instructive. The master's mind was equally present and apparent in every thing; from the imposing mass of the total to the most minute particular of its component parts."

CHAPTER IV.

MORAL INFLUENCE OF MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS.

"There is no artist, or man of industry, who mixeth judgment with his practice, but findeth in the travail of his labour, better and nearer courses to make perfect the beauty of his work, than were at first presented to the eye of his knowledge."

We have already seen that manufacturing establishments exert a powerful and permanent influence in their immediate neighbourhoods, and time, if not already, will teach the lesson, that they will stamp indelible traits upon our moral and national character. Evidences abound, wherever man exists, that his character is modified by localities, by a diversity of pursuits, by a facility of acquiring a living, by the quality and fashion of the living itself, by a restrained or free exercise of his rational powers, and by restraint on the enjoyment of liberty. Different climates and different countries produce indelible peculiarities. In the same climate and in the same country similar changes appear, from the effects of immoral habits, and from what may be termed artificial or mechanical causes. The effects of immoral habits are well known to all observers of human nature.

Those pursuing different occupations are aware that these exert an influence upon character, producing moral, no less than physical, varieties. For example, butchers become hard-hearted and cruel, and in England are excluded from the jury-box; those who are confined to a particular routine against their will, peevish and discontented; those who are always ordered or driven, and expect to be so, exercise little control or discernment for themselves.

Manufacturing establishments become a blessing or a curse according to the facilities which they create for acquiring a living, to the necessary articles which they provide, and the general character which they produce. To set up and encourage the manufacturing of such articles, the use and demand of which produces no immoral tendency, is one of the best and most moral uses which can be made of capital. The moral manufacturer, without the power or disposition to overreach, is in reality a benefactor. The acquisition of wealth in this way, is the most laudable. In point of benevolence and real worth of character, it claims a decided advantage over the cent per cent. process of accumulation.