England;

"Dear for her reputation through the world;"

and although you have felt, as a colonist, that her provinces of North
America might have been better governed, and that they have had even
much justly to complain about, still you have always upheld the
connection with England, and argued its value. In writing to you, the
thoughts of old times have returned, and reminded me of our happy
meetings and friendly converse in your lodgings in Piccadilly; and, thus
thinking, I have written on, as in fancy I have imagined we should have
chatted together,--and now I cannot do otherwise than continue in this
freedom of communication, and endeavour to excite you to entertain my
thoughts, and to canvass them among your fellow-countrymen.

To return, then, to our subject, and to the necessity for England to be
up and stirring. It has been remarked, that "a person who is already
thriving seldom puts himself out of his way to commence even a lucrative
improvement, unless urged by the additional motive of fear lest some
rival should supplant him by getting possession of it before him."
Truly, indeed, has it been said by the Spectator, "that England is not
bankrupt, nor poor, nor needy. In every quarter we see immense additions
to material wealth; we observe, too, on all hands a vast extension of
luxurious enjoyments among the middle classes; every thing attests a
huge growth in the wealth of the nation." It may be fairly considered,
then, that England is thriving--a lucrative improvement of vast
magnitude is open to her--and if the additional motive of fear of
rivalry is necessary to excite her in so noble an undertaking, let her
reflect on what is said in an American paper:--

A Boston paper of the day says, "the finding of these gold mines is of
more importance than any previous event for 300 years. The prosperity
of Queen Elizabeth's reign was mainly owing to the stimulus given to
commerce by the increase of the precious metals; but the field now to be
acted upon is at least fifty times greater than during that period.
Within five years there will be a Railroad from the Atlantic Ocean,
across the great American Continent, through the gold regions, to the
Bay of San Francisco, said to be the finest harbour in the world. The
people of San Francisco will then communicate by telegraph in a few
minutes, and the mails will be taken to Canton on the one side in
fourteen days, and to London on the other in nine days; so that