It is not difficult for most of us to look back twenty-five years and see clearly the wonderful strides which have been made in population, commerce, manufacturing and financial interests, and in all the industries which help to make great and prosperous communities; nor is it difficult to trace the wonders that have been wrought through the agencies of steam and electricity within those years. But to look forward twenty-five years and attempt to discern the condition of things in this metropolis, if they shall continue to move forward on the same scale of progress, is an undertaking that few can grasp. No one dares accept the possibilities that are forced upon the mind in the course of its contemplation. Will these two cities ere then have been consolidated into one great municipality, numbering within its limits more than five millions of people? Will the right of self-government have been accorded to the great city, thus united, and will her people have learned how best to exercise that right? Will the progress of improvement and the preparation for commerce, manufactories and trade, and for the comforts of home for poor and rich, have kept pace with the demand in the great and growing city? Will the establishment of life-giving parks, embellished with appropriate fountains and statues and with the numberless graces of art, which at once gladden the eye and raise the standard of civilization, have kept abreast with its growth in wealth and numbers? These are but few of the pertinent questions which must be answered by the zealous and honest acts of the generation of men already in active life. Here are the possibilities; all the elements and conditions are here; but the results must depend upon the wisdom and patriotism and energy of those who shall lead in public affairs. May they be clothed with a spirit of wisdom and knowledge akin to that which inspired those who conceived and executed the great work which we receive at your hands and dedicate to-day. ADDRESS OF HON. ABRAM S. HEWITT.