CELEBRATION OF THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY

OF THE ORGANIZATION OF THE MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY, IN THE HALL OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, ST. PAUL, MINN., WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1899.

FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY ADDRESSES.

AFTERNOON SESSION.

The meeting in the afternoon, at half past two o'clock, was opened by Hon. Henry L. Moss, chairman of the Anniversary Committee, who said:

Ladies and Gentlemen: Fifty years ago, on November 15th, 1849, the Minnesota Historical Society was organized under an act of the legislature of the Territory at its first session, which received the approval of Governor Ramsey on October 20th, 1849. To-day we have with us, as the present president of the society, that first Governor of the Territory of Minnesota, and I have the pleasure of now asking him to take his seat and preside on this occasion.

As Governor Ramsey stepped forward, he was greeted with great and prolonged applause. The order of the program was then taken up, including the following invocation and addresses.

INVOCATION.

BY REV. ROBERT FORBES, D. D.

ence.

Almighty God, our Father, we bow reverently in Thy presWe draw nigh unto Thee. We come with reverence that Thou art the great and mighty God. We approach with filial confidence because Thou art our Father. We render thanks unto Thee that in the order of Thy providence we are permitted to assemble in this place. We remember that every good and perfect gift cometh from Thine hand, and we thank Thee for all that life is and all that it means to us. We give thanks unto God for all the beautiful sights that please the

eye, for this beautiful world in which we live, for the forest and the field, for the mountain and the valley, for the land and for the sea, for the sun that shines by day and the moon and the stars by night. Glory be to God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We thank Thee for the pleasant sounds that fall upon the ear, for the words of wisdom that Thou revealest to babes, and for the life of childhood. We thank Thee for the world within, the world of reason and memory and hope and imagination. We give thanks for our country, this great land we so proudly call our own, the land of our birth and of our fathers' graves; and we pray, O Lord God, that Thy blessing may still rest upon this nation, so that the world shall continue to rejoice in the light of America's civilization and her pure form of Christianity.

We pray for the blessing of heaven to come upon this great State, this State of Minnesota. O, we thank Thee for what it is, for the prairie and the forest and the mine, for all the treasures that are here; not only for material blessings, but we thank Thee for home and school and college and church, and for all the benevolent institutions that exist. God grant His blessing upon this great State. Let Thy mercy come to the men and the women who are here to-day and are particularly interested in the work of this Historical Society. We thank Thee for the brave, manly men, and the womanly women, who came here in the early days and laid the foundations of this State. The wise man said, long ago, "The hoary head is a crown of glory if it be found in the way of righteousness"; and we have ourselves observed that nearly all the hoary heads are found in the way of righteousness. "The wicked shall not live out half their days." God grant His blessing upon the men and women here assembled, and upon all the interests they represent. We thank Thee for our civilization, for the hope given unto us in the Gospel, for the idea of our immortality. O, Lord God, bless the churches of every name, Catholic and Protestant, Jew and Gentile, orthodox and heterodox. This poor old world is not so rich in goodness, truth, and devotion and loyalty, and love and self-sacrifice, that we can afford to slight any agency that promises to do even a little good. God bless the churches and the schools, and the teachers in the schools, and the professors in our colleges