though they are part and parcel with our modern civilization, are a threat to that civilization, whose lines have not been too darkly nor gravely drawn this morning. I say, then, that, in order to improve the condition of things, we must take hold of the mighty power which has been placed in our hands. Our testimony here this morning, by our very presence, is a testimony of our belief in the power of the Gospel to uplift the common manhood of our country. This thing it can do, this thing it will do, if it is faithfully and persistently used. We know it by experience. But in using the Gospel let us not turn away from the motive which has been given us. We are to preach the Gospel, not because civilization is imperiled, not because property is in danger, not because even our nation is in peril, but because human souls are in peril, and because the Christ bids us carry on His kingdom and save men from a lost condition. If we turn aside from preaching the Gospel for the sake of winning souls, to the idea of preaching the Gospel for sake of saving property and institutions, we put ourselves, in the motive which we urge, below the position that Christ intended us to take. We come down to the level of men in business; we even put ourselves, perhaps, below the anarchists and the socialists, who always advance the idea of human brotherhood, the elevation of the whole mass, in the propositions which they bring forward. Let us, then, still high advanced, hold the banner of Jesus Christ. Let us not forget that Christ is able to bring peace to the troubled hearts of the great towns. Let McAll, from the midst of the flaring and crowded boulevards of Paris, stand as our witness; and Chalmers, from amidst the teeming tenements of Edinburgh; and Brown and Bernardo, from the reeking slums of East London; and many noble men from the great cities of our land. The Gospel has won, and will win, and is always able to win, the masses of the great cities. Let us not forget this, and let us not lose our courage and faith in its advancing power. It is enough to make a man sad: we talk about these things a great deal, but when we look to see what we have done and what we are doing, we have abundant reason for the present condition of things in the work of the churches. Take the simple fact which has been brought forward so plainly by the distinguished Secretary of this Alliance, that in New York City, since 1880, where there has been a growth of 300,000 people, there has been an increase in the number of churches of only four; and it looks as if we were going backward and not forward. Brethren, "He has sounded out a trumpet which shall never call retreat, Our God is marching on." [Applause.] AFTERNOON SESSION, WEDNESDAY, DEC. 7. The Conference reassembled at 2 o'clock, Ex-Justice Strong, late of the United States Supreme Court, presiding. Rev. Dr. Tyler, of the Church of the Disciples, conducted the devotional services. Justice Strong: I regard it as very much out of place for me to Occupy the time of this assembly, and thus delay their attention to the papers and discussions that are promised to us for the afternoon; and I will take occasion only to say that I am in hearty sympathy with the work that this Alliance is engaged in, and which it places before itself for its future operation. If there ever was a time in the history of this country, I might say in the history of the world, when the precise work which this Alliance proposes to itself was needful, was indispensable, it is the present hour. Society throughout this country is everywhere in a state of ferment, as well as in a state of formation. The effort of our people to homologate, to produce homogeneity in the various divisions of our people which exist, is a very great work, and it needs the work of the Christian Church and Christian men of all denominations. But, as I said, I do not propose to detain you by any remarks of mine. I have pleasure in introducing to you now Professor Boyesen, of New York. IMMIGRATION. BY PROF. H. H. BOYESEN, OF COLUMBIA COLLEGE. 1.-IMMIGRATION. The Constitution of the United States breathes a sanguine spirit.. It is founded upon trust in human nature. The spirit that was abroad in the latter half of the eighteenth century was that of Rousseau, and the minds of Jefferson and Franklin were deeply imbued with it. The gospel of the age was the "Contrat Social" with its new trinity of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity," which we yet see inscribed upon the walls of the churches of Paris. The same intellectual movement which produced the French Revolution was also a strong co-operating factor in the American Revolution. When the founders of the American Republic stretched out their hands with a hospitable welcome to all the oppressed of the earth, it was in a large measure because Rousseau had taught them to believe in the inherent goodness of man. They took it for granted that the oppressed, no matter who they were and whence they came, were deserving characters, who needed only the liberty which the new republic offered them, to grow to the full stature of civic, moral and intellectual manhood. That the newly liberated state needed a population to till its vast uncultivated domain was, no doubt, also an important consideration, perhaps the most important. But what is interesting to note is that the material need was reinforced by a philosophical enthusiasm for mankind, and a sublime faith in its future. The eighteenth century knew little of the influence of heredity, but believed with Rousseau that each man came pure and perfect from the hand of nature, and that it was his environment which spoiled and corrupted him. Rousseau held civilization—or, as he preferred to call it, society-responsible for all sin, sorrow and misery. It lay very near, therefore, to conclude that, on a new continent, where the feudal institutions of the Old World had never struck root; where civilization, in the European sense, scarcely existed-humanity could pursue its glorious destiny unimpeded by the obstacles which in the older lands had blocked its way and clogged the path of its progress with blood and fire. Utopian dreams were in the air and pervaded literature; the savage in Chateaubriand is the type of nature's nobleman; and in Bernardin de St. Pierre's "Paul et Virginie," the perfection of bliss is realized on a desert island by two loving hearts, unconscious of the social barriers which separate them. It seemed perfectly rational to expect some startlingly new social development on this vast virgin continent; and it seemed only fair to invite all mankind, irrespective of race, to share in the blessings of this new civilization, founded upon liberty, justice and humanity. It is, therefore, scarcely to be wondered at that the first naturalization law, which Congress passed March 26, 1790, was monumental in its liberality. It offered citizenship to any white male applicant who had spent two years in the United States, provided he was of good character and was willing to swear allegiance to the Constitution. But even at that early period, and in spite of the crying need of a population, this liberality produced a reaction. The sentiment gained ground that, at some time or other, the natural advantages of the country might suffice to attract a larger alien population than was desirable, without additional allurements on the part of Congress. The naturalization law of 1790 was accordingly amended by the act of 1795, requiring a residence of five years before citizenship could be acquired, and a declaration of intention two years previous to naturalization. Three years later, this law was superseded by the act of 1798, requiring a residence of fourteen years, which requisition remained in force only four years, being supplanted by the act of April 14, 1802, making the term of residence five years. This law has never since been repealed. It must be inferred, from the frequency of Congressional acts relating to naturalization during the first years of our national existence, that the question was seen from the beginning to be one of vital importance. Although immigration on an extensive scale did not begin until the forties, when the potato famine in Ireland (1846-47) and the unsuccessful revolutionary uprising in Germany swelled the tide, the possibility of its increase until it might unfavorably affect the industries of the country, and subject its |