at the most, can be said to be the growth of one
century. Nay, the fact is that most of ours has been created in the
last twenty years. In 1860 our national wealth was estimated at
sixteen thousand millions of dollars. But from 1860 to 1880 our wealth
increased twenty-eight thousand millions of dollars--ten thousand
millions more than the entire wealth of the Empire of Russia. From
1870 to 1880, ten years, the increase was twenty thousand millions.
This is without a parallel. Surely these great facts call upon the
President of the United States to convoke the freemen of this country
around their religious altars to offer their gratitude and praise to
Him from whom cometh all these blessings; for in His hand are the
resources of national wealth. With him are the ministers of good and
the ministers of evil. He can marshal the insect. He can excite the
malaria. He can call forth the tornado. He can put down his foot and
wreck the earth with earthquake throes. The ministers of evil are with
Him, and stand with closed eyes and folded wings around His throne,
but not with deaf ears, waiting to hear His summons, "Go forth." So
also around His throne stand the angels of plenty, in whose footfalls
rise the golden harvest; who quicken human genius on the land, on the
ocean, the artificer, the artisan, the scholar, the philanthropist,
and the patriot. It is by these resources of good and evil, forever
the ministers of the great God, we learn our dependence on Him; it is
with the utmost propriety that this Christian nation recognize Him as
God over all and blessed forevermore.

It is eminently proper on a national day like this, standing in the
presence of these phenomenal mercies, these crowning plenties, that
we differentiate ourselves from the nations of our own continent and
from the most favored nations beyond the sea.

It is proper for us to inquire the divine purpose in placing us among
the nations of the earth, and what is our great mission. There are
certain facts which prophesy--for facts are as eloquent in prophetic
announcement as are the lips of prophet or seer. We should remember
that our location is everything to us as a national power, of
intelligence and wealth, and that this location is in the wake of
national prosperity and greatness. It may have escaped your notice
that around this globe is a narrow zone, between the thirtieth and
sixtieth parallels of north latitude, and within that narrow zone is
our home. W