On the 4th of July, 1876, the United States of America ended the first century of their national existence; a century of marvellous experiences throughout the civilized world; of experiences in the science of government, which bear directly upon the moral development of man and experiences in the physical sciences which minister directly and indirectly both to his material wants and to the demands of his intellectual nature. Civilization had reached in those hundred years a height and a completeness which it had never reached before. Proud of what they had done, confident of what they could do, they invited the other civilized nations, their elders by centuries, to bring the choicest productions of their art and industry and set them side by side with those of the young republic. In this comparison how well Rhode Island bore her part the following list will show: Rhode Island was conspicuous at the Exposition for the excellence of her products in the following departments:[A] _First_--Machinery, including new inventions. _Second_--Cotton fabrics, including sheeting and shirting, calico, fine muslins, jeans, drillings, etc. _Third_--Woolen fabrics, broad cloths, cassimeres, shawls, worsteds, etc. _Fourth_--Wood screws. (American Screw Co., Providence.) _Fifth_--Fire-arms, rifles, carabines chiefly. The Peabody-Martini rifle furnished the Turkish government an arm of great excellence. (Providence Tool Co.) _Sixth_--Fabrics of India rubber. (The Bristol Works.) _Seventh_--Silver and plated ware. (Gorham's.) _Eighth_--Steam engines. _Ninth_--Hair cloth. (Various companies in Pawtucket.) _Tenth_--Files and mechanics' tools. _Eleventh_--Stoves and furnaces. (Chiefly the product of the Barstow Works.) _Twelfth_--Chemical manufactures. [A] For the above list I am indebted to my friend, Hon. J. R. Bartlett, to whom Rhode Island is indebted for the preservation and publication of her Colonial Records. And here I stay my hand. I have spoken kindly of the State of my birth, but mindful of the historian's first duty, I have striven in every thing to speak truthfully. It is an unvarnished tale, and yet there is a moral grandeur in it far beyond the grandeur of battle-fields and thrones. By deep and earnest convictions, by unwavering faith and unshaken resolution, Rhode Island has worked out for herself and for mankind one of the grandest problems of civilization. It is the privilege of history that it teaches by examples. It is good for man that such men as Roger Williams and John Clark, should have lived. It is for the glory of Rhode Island that men like these, searching for a spot whereon they might build and live with unfettered consciences, should have chosen her for their dwelling place. AUTHOR'S NOTE. (_Referring to Page 196._)