71 
more than one of our ablest contributors have their home. 
Let me be allowed here to mention in particular Principal 
Dawson, of Montreal, and Professor Morris, of Michigan 
University — v.ery able men both in different lines. Here, in 
this Institute, some of the ablest defenders of the Christian 
faith have trained themselves for their work. Two recent 
Bampton Lecturers are among our leading members. Both 
Dr. Irons and Prebendary Row have contributed a series of 
most valuable papers to the Transactions of the Institute. It 
is just possible even that Mr. Row might not have been 
Bampton Lecturer but for the Victoria Institute. Certain it 
is that his papers read before this Institute have served as a 
valuable projocvdeusis for certain sections of his volume of 
lectures. The Institute which has been enriched by papers 
from such Christian students of philosophy and science as the 
gentlemen I have named ; as our founder and first honorary 
secretary, Mr. Reddie, so suddenly removed from us ; as that 
able man of science and exemplary Christian, the late Rev. 
Walter Mitchell, one of our original vice-presidents; as Pro- 
fessor Kirk, of Glasgow ; as the late Professor Main, the 
R adcliffe Observer ; as Dr. Thornton ; as Professor Birks ; as 
our truly learned and very acute colleague, Mr. J. E. Howard, 
one of the earliest members of the Institute, and one of the 
ablest opponents of evolutionary atheism in whatever form, is 
an association which has not been created in vain. The 
number of its members has vastly increased during the last 
fiye years, and now presents a brilliant and impressive array 
of names, including not a few of the most distinguished in 
this and other countries. I venture to anticipate for the 
Institute still growing success, and that it will proceed from 
conquering to conquer. 
Whilst I was in the midst of writing this address an article 
appeared in the Saturday Review so apposite in its line of 
thought and in its conclusions to the plan and outline which I 
had laid out for myself, aud had begun to fill up, that I may 
perhaps bo excused for quoting from it some sentences. If I 
had not already half written this paper before I fell in with 
the article, it might naturally been thought that I had 
borrowed from it my main line of thought and some of my 
illustrations. But in fact the coincidence is a case of inde- 
pendent agreement. The article (April 13) is entitled 
<f Morality and Religious Belief,” and the sentences I have 
selected for quotation are as follows : — 
“ As to the alleged indications of an approaching collapse 
of dogmatic belief,” says the writer, “ it should be remem- 
bered that appearances of this kind may very easily be taken 
