1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 309 



of the world." And, contemplating the genius of our insti- 

 tutions and the vital force of our republic, De Tocqueville 

 declared : " There will then come a time when there will be 

 seen in North America one hundred and fifty millions of men 

 equal among themselves, who will all belong to the same 

 family, who will have the same point of departure, the 

 same civilization, the same language, the same religion, the 

 same habits, the same manners, and among whom thought 

 will circulate in the same form, and paint itself in the same 

 colors. All else is doubtful, but this is certain. Now, here 

 is a fact entirely new in the world, of which imagination 

 itself cannot grasp the import." 



Unchecked by war, and defiant of all disaster, this repub- 

 lic has increased in population at the rate of a million a year 

 during the last decade, rivaling now every country in the 

 civilized world except Russia, and attracting to her shores 

 vast communities of people from those crowded and impover- 

 ished nationalities. Thriving States and populous cities 

 spring up here like magic. The products of new and fertile 

 lands are borne to the great centres of trade which are 

 created everywhere by the necessities of a teeming popula- 

 tion. The civilization which is advancing with such rapid 

 strides from sea to sea is indeed a civilization of thrift, 

 intelligence and morality. Prosperous industry is here the 

 pioneer of education : the cultivated farm and the profitable 

 mill preparing the way for the library and the lyceum, the 

 school-house and the meeting-house. Conscious of the 

 responsibilities and duties which attend them wherever they 

 go, and proud of that individuality which Freedom bestows 

 upon every man who enjoys her influence, this aspiring and 

 industrious people of our land have endowed schools and 

 colleges, have established more than seventy thousand 

 churches, have provided places of worship for more than 

 twenty millions of worshipers, and have church property 

 valued at more than three hundred and fifty million dollars. 

 You will allow me to remind j^ou of that wonderful develop- 

 ment of industry out of which this mental and moral activity 

 has grown, and in the encouragement of which the well- 

 organized agriculture of the community has done its share. 



In agriculture our growth has been extraordinary, and 



