MR. PRESIDENT AND GENTLEMEN,--I am happy to stand here, where so many of my ancestors have stood, and to address my fellow-citizens on such a measure of public importance. When this matter was first brought to my attention through the papers, when the plan proposed in all its grandeur first came before my mind, I was reminded of a saying of a musical friend of mine. He belonged to a band. He came from the fatherland; and his great specialty was to play on the trombone. After a while, it became rather remarkable, these solos on the trombone; and some of the college boys wanted to put him down a little; so they commenced by applauding. That seemed to have no effect. So one night they thought they would try another plan. He was playing his best on the trombone; and one of the boys cried out, "Louder!" And so he began again on the trombone; and the boys said, "Louder!" And he tried again on the trombone; and the boys still cried, "Louder!" And they still kept on, "Louder!" until he almost burst every blood-vessel. And he put down his instrument in disgust and said, "It is very well to say, 'Louder!' but where is you going to get the vind?" [Laughter.] Now when I thought of this system, and the immense expense it would be, I said to myself, Now, that is a grand system; it would be beautiful indeed; but where are you going to get the money? But then I took the Report of those able Commissioners, this pamphlet that is spoken of; and I read it myself carefully to see if it was a practicable and feasible plan, and was surprised to see the ability with which the whole matter had been treated. So thorough had been their investigations, that they had demonstrated it was perfectly clear that this grand and beautiful system of parks could be built at this time, now, with a very slight taxation upon the whole business community; and, furthermore, that by the improvement of property in the neighborhood of the parks, and by the advantage to the city in general, the money expended would soon return to the taxpayers of the city; and so that objection is disposed of at once. There seems to be no difficulty. There are so many solid men here in Boston, that a work of this kind surely can be carried out with greater ease than it has been in other cities; and we know in other cities they have reaped great pecuniary benefit from the establishment and building-up of their system of parks. But you would hardly expect a clergyman here to talk on the financial question: that is a little out of order. But the physicians have considered the medical point of view, the sanitary point of view, how necessary it is to the health of the city; and the financiers have demonstrated that it is easy in a financial point of view; and it would be natural for me to speak here to-night, perhaps, on the moral necessity of such a system of parks.