“We have had such a sublime history,” he said. “We used to grow such brave and patriotic men! Do we belong to another race than they? Is our country less dear to our hearts than to theirs? It is such a beautiful land, ‘a land of hills and valleys, that drink water of the rain of heaven, a land which the Lord seeketh and careth for, and His eyes are always upon it from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.’ But in this land—this land of blessing, this little land—and because it is little so manageable—there are scarcely unchecked powers of evil lifting their brazen faces to our blue skies and pure air—greed, cruelty, lust, drunkenness, slavery, hypocrisy, fraud. Do you know that in this land of ours there are nearly five millions of people in destitution and misery? But there are more than seven and a half millions in our Sunday-schools. Of the thirty-six millions who make up the population of Great Britain and Ireland the churches claim a constituency of more than half. Indeed, it is said that five-sevenths of our people profess and call themselves Christians. Then, why, in the name of all that is sacred and responsible, is it possible for these things to flourish in our midst? Are we hypocrites, or are we cowards? All the real strength of the nation is with those who say they are on the side of the Christ. Most of the power, most of the culture, most of the intelligence, yes, and most of the money is on this side also. Then why do we weep and whine over the sin and the misery of the world, since, if for only one year the spirit of Christ were truly in us, and we were content with one accord to stand together under the white flag of Truce, we are well able to bring about that for which we pretend to long and pray. There are subjects which divide Christendom; let them wait while you set yourselves to this work. You are not called to sacrifice any principle, but to adopt a new one—the principle which keeps the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. Retain, if you must, your different forms of church government, but, in the name of Christ, unless you regard your sect and political party more highly than you regard Him, put them behind you while you do the work that presses. Study for a month or two, side by side with the New Testament, the words of the great teachers specially given to this generation and this land—Carlyle, Ruskin, Browning, and Tennyson. They tell you how to do this work, to which they have been urging you with all their powers. We have had a magnificent inheritance in these teachers, whom God sent to make us great; and yet so craven are we that we are afraid to use our power to compel a man to be clean-lipped and moral, and so powerless that we cannot help him to help himself to be fed and clothed. To-day there are women and girls drinking themselves drunken by scores in every town, and selling themselves as if no spark of God were in them; to-day