AMERICAN PROGRESS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XI, Issue 215, 1 September 1876, Page 4

AMERICAN PROGRESS.

The Amerioan Centennial was celebrated wilh great enthusiasm at Honolulu. At the lunch at the American Legation in reply to the toast " Our Country," Dr Scott, the United States Consul, said that it was the indomitable energy, and perseverance of tbe Americans that made them a great people. In 1776, they were less than 3,000,000 strong, and occupied an area less than the State of California. Now they are 42,000,000, and spread from the St Lawrence to the Florida., and from the Atlantic to the Paoific. They scaled tbe Alleghany mountains, and occupied the great basin of the Mississippi; and are rapidly filling up the Pacific slope. As they pushed westward they hewed down the forests, turned over tbe soil, sowed the seed, and reaped the golden harvest. They built cities, towns, villages, reared churches and schoolhouses, and to-day 85 per cent of our population can read and write. No other nation under tbe sun can claim so much, except this little kingdom of Hawaii. I believe it claims that 90 per cent, of its population can read and write. When our nation took its position among the other nations of tbe earth, it was poor, had no ships, no manufactories; now it exports annually, after feeding its own people, 3 hundred million dollars worth of food, and two hundred million dollars worth of cotton, to feed and clothe other nations; and in addition to this, Bbe exports two hundred millions worth of manufactures and other articles. We have mines of iron, stone, coal, copper, and all the precious metals. We mine one hundred million of gold and silver aunually, and light the world with our petroleum. Ain't we, my friends, a great country? Has there ever been such national progress? It this has been doue in the dry tree what' shall be done in the green ? If this has been our progress in the first century, what will it be in tbe next? We have an area of three and a half million square miles of territory, and only eleven people to the square mile ! England has over 250 people to the square mile. With the rich soil of our country who will say that we cannot support a population as dense as any other country ? And when we have 250 to the square mile what a nation we will be? I think in lhe future I can see my country com-

puting its population by hundreds of millions, and still going onward and upward, occupying the central positipn among the other nations of tbe world. I will close by saying that' I hope I shall meet yon all at tbe next centennial anniversary of our country.