274 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan. 



enemies of their kind. And not less mistaken are those who 

 war upon religious associations because of the bigotry and 

 tyranny which these have so often manifested. 



The work of these associations, in elevating and purifying 

 thought and conduct, and in sustaining humanity under sore 

 trials by means of faith in a loving Heavenly Father and in 

 a spiritual life supplementing this mortal life, will a thousand 

 times outweigh the evils they have wrought, stated at their 

 utmost. 



And I think the same thing is true in general of the mis- 

 cellaneous class associations, which we are, perhaps, too apt 

 to think of as selfish and narrow, and not calculated to do 

 good work. In the order of progress, narrowness precedes 

 breadth ; and, if an organization be not in its influence nar- 

 rowing, it is no valid criticism of it to say that it is narrow. 

 It is its tendency, not its absolute condition, by which it 

 must be justified or condenmed. We learn the grand lesson 

 of brotherhood little by little. We can find room in our 

 hearts at first for but few, and those must be in some way 

 very close to us. It is the exercise of brotherliness which 

 opens our eyes and warms our hearts and widens our scope 

 of fraternal feeling. Any association which gives brotherly 

 love a chance to work, even in a limited sphere, is doing 

 good. 



And, while the word selfish, as we use it, has a bad sound, 

 we must remember that a true regard for self is not only not 

 bad, but it is one of the first and most important duties laid 

 upon any one. To provide for one's self; within reasonable 

 limits to assert one's self; to find one's place and to occupy 

 it, if need be to crowd an intruder out of it ; to grasp the 

 equipment necessary for his work, — all these have reference 

 to self, and may perhaps be classed as selfish actions. But 

 they are right, every one of them ; and he who fails therein 

 is responsible for a blunder, if not guilty of a wrong. It is 

 no objection to an association that a true self-regard and 

 a justifiable self-interest are among the objects it seeks to 

 promote. 



I believe that the final verdict upon the work of all these 

 associations must be this, — They have wrought well. Gor- 

 ernments, churches, trade associations, and most of the mis- 



