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forget, for I have liad it thrown in my face often dnring 

 the last few years, that this is particulai-ly tlie i)la(;e where 

 witches were hnng. I know that unmeasured abuse has 

 been heaped upon your ancestors for this fact. They 

 w'ere stern men in their judgments of evil and evil ten- 

 dencies, and they had stern and swift methods of dealing 

 with those whom they believed dangerous to society and 

 religion. Unquestionably they erred in their treatment 

 of the witchcraft delusions, but I confess to somethiiig of 

 admiration for the spirit and moral courage which they 

 displayed. I am aware, also, that for a long period yours 

 was the chief commercial city of the State. While it 

 has lost its position in this regard it is rapidly assuming 

 the characteristics of a manufacturing community, and I 

 trust it may see a thriving and prosperous future. The 

 new and eles^ant structures which meet our o-lauces on 

 every hand, are tangible evidences of thrift pleasant to 

 observe, and I am glad to notice that some edifices yet 

 remain as monuments of the taste and skill of former 

 generations. Mere outward, physical developments are 

 not, however, what should most be valued in your city ; 

 it is of far more consequence that rare facilities have been 

 and still are aflbrded for moral and intellectual growth 

 and culture. This indeed is one of the marked peculi- 

 arities of our Commonwealth. We are not without inter- 

 nal improvements of which we may be justly proud ; 

 there are al)undant witnesses of the energy and enterprise 

 of our people — wharves and warehouses and nianufac- 

 turing establishments of one kind and another. But 

 these are not the things that have given Massachusetts its 

 chief renown and standing before the world. Partially 

 at least we owe our good name to the qualities which 

 characterized our ancestors, and we shall find that this 

 good name has departed from us when we have fallen 



