,
always wretched, ever burdensome, with but one source of temporary
relief within their means, the grogshop, which deepens their misery; to
their hopeless degradation and perpetual ignorance, under present social
arrangements, whether labor be a little higher for a time or not. On the
other hand, in referring to the apathy of the rich and intelligent
classes, I do not charge them with a want of large benevolence on the
ordinary charitable plane, but to something far different, as will
appear in the sequel.

It is time, then, that the intelligent and opulent classes began to
reflect upon the nature of the community in which they live, and upon
the conditions of their neighbors; not, as heretofore, in a casual way,
and without any intention of thoroughly considering the question, or
doing anything to remedy radically the defects which they may discover,
but in the spirit of desire and determination to relieve the masses
permanently of burdens which press heavily upon them, to rescue them
from the persistent deception of the intriguing demagogues whose snares
are winding closer and closer around them, and to unite in bonds of
respect and mutual assistance the physical substratum of society with
the moral, intellectual, and substantial. The scenes of the New York
riot are a solemn warning that the time has come when society must begin
in earnest the work of lifting the masses out of their degradation,
their squalor, their ignorance, and their poverty, or the lowest
classes, driven to desperation, will make the attempt, at least, to drag
society down to their level. The doctrine of equality has been pushed to
its utmost in the hands of political cajolers, until the practical logic
of the crude multitude, spurred to its intellectual conclusions by
physical necessity, asks, What sort of equality is that which keeps the
largest portion of the people in want, while the smaller rolls in
plenty? So long as the estrangement of the lower classes from their
natural directors and advisers continues, so long will these dangerous
distortions of truth be powerful weapons in the hands of unfeeling men,
whose interests and purposes are subserved by deception. And this
estrangement will never cease until the intelligence and wealth of the
community withdraw the allegiance of the masses from tricksters and
schemers, and transfer it to themselves by the inauguration of such
methods of social amelioration as shall convince the multitude of th