At  best,  there,  it  is  a  sign  of  the  radical  change  going  on  in  the  human
mind  with  regard  to  the  question,  **  Huw  far  a  man  may  submit  himself
to  others" — a  glorious  sign  that  men  are  beginning  to  think  seriously,  in-
stead of  feeling  madly,  concerning  the  abuses  to  which  they  have  been
aabjected  and  still  groan  under.  But  in  this  country  we  already  are  an
association  ;  every  man  has  a  stake  in  society ;  it  is  the  interest  of  every
one  to  do  right.  If  we  will  but  look  far  and  deep  enough,  every  member
of  society  will  see  this,  and  be  convinced  that  every  wrong  in  a  republic
re-acts  upon  the  individual  who  commits  it.  it  is  a  question  yet  to  be  set-
tled, if  there  can  be  a  nearer  association  than  that  which  exists  among  the
members  of  a  republican  form  of  government.  The  great  e^rt  should  be
then,  not  to  unite  them  nearer  in  theory,  but  to  render  them  so  intelligent
and  virtuous  that  they  may  sec  the  relations  they  now  hold  to  one  another,
and  be  willing  to  acknowledge  them  and  act  accordingly.  The  result  will
be  the  same  whether  you  divide  communities  into  groups,  where  from  day
to  day,  and  in  each  narrow  event,  the  general  consequences  of  particular
acts  can  be  felt,  or  give  them  that  scope  and  reach  of  mind  which  can  in*
fer  the  general  consequences  from  a  wider  field  of  action.  The  nnoral
obligations  of  conduct  would  be  as  binding  in  the  larger  as  in  the  smaller
community.  It  is  certain,  that  if  associations  do  go  into  successful  opera-
tion in  this  country  to  any  considerable  extent,  that  they  will  but  carry
out,  upon  a  small  scale,  what  society  ought  to  do  under  the  present  organ*
ization  ;  at  least  so  far  as  it  regards  the  protection  of  industry,  scrupulous
honf^y,  and  the  rights  of  all  classes.
