"THE AGE WE LIVE IN."

New Zealander, Volume 8, Issue 637, 22 May 1852, Page 3

"THE AGE WE LIVE IN."

A Lecture, delivered by W. Gisborne, Esq. at the Auckland Mechanics' Institute, or Wednesday evening last, the iOlh May. Ladies and Gentlemen, — I have been askec by the Committee of this Institution to delivei a Lecture, and I purpose, (hough with great dif fidencc, to comply with their request. In choos ing the subject which I have chosen, I could hope but to add little to what you already know. Noi can 1 hope to give you any thing like a detailed view of the subjects involved in the consideration of the "Age we live in." My trusl is that I may be able, by, however feebly, sketching some of its phases, to suggest such s train of thoughts in our minds as may, by recalling to our recollection the causes we have of gratitude for the present, andofencouragemenl for the future, teach us to appreciate the spiril of the Age, and incite us to further exertions k the cause of our fellow-creatures. The law of the human mind, throughout all ages, is progress. The perishable form ir which it has been placed may moulder into clay, but the mind still survives, in this world, in its works. That divine principle, struggling againsl every difficulty, and amid all the folly, crime, and misery of the world, has made a slow bul sure advance. From the beginning of the world to the present lime the triumph of mind ovei mailer, the subjection of the elements to the use of man, has been continually progressive. Nations may have degenerated from the fancied height of civilisation, but still other nations have arisen, to whom this trust has been conTided, and by whom the work has been car ried an. The Egyptians, the Greeks, the Romans, md lastly the inhabitants of Northern Europe, form a chain of this successive series. That advance has, however, not been uniform throughout. Since the introduction of Christianity into the world, and, especially since the Reformation, it has been rapidly accelerated. \nd, when we mentally review the vast number )f improvements, in extending the power and meliorating the lot of man, that have been made ivithin the bst two centuries, as contrasted with hose that were made before that time, we are mabled also to appreciate tbe striking difference jctween the Utilitarian philosophy originated jy Bacon, and the merely speculative philosophy )f the Ancients which had for so many years swayed the mind of man. That difference has >een beautifully summed up by Macaulay, in the following passages in his Review of the Life ol Lord Bacon. " To sum up the whole, we should say I hat he aim of the Platonic philosophy was to exalt nan into a god. The aim of the Baconian phiosophy was to provide man with what he repjires while he continues to be man. The aim )f the Platonic philosophy was to raise us far ibove vulgar wants ; the aim of the Baconian )hilosophy was to supply our vulgar wants. The former aim was noble, but the latter was tttainable." And again, " The philosophy of ?lalo began in words, and ended in words — noble ,vords indeed ; words such as were to be exacted from the finest of human intellects! ;\crcising boundless dominion over the fines, )f human languages. The philosophy of Bacon )egan in observations, anil ended in arts." And n another place, one he calls " the philosophy )f thorns," and the other the " philosophy of ruils ;" one '' the philosophy of words," and (he )ther the "philosophy of works." This " philosophy of fruits and of works" is, I iced hardly say, (he recognised philosophy of he present day. He who makes (wo blades of ;iass grow where one grew before is considered [ public benefactor. Any invention which bridges the manual labour, increases the power, >r mitigates the sufferings of wan, is cordially velcomed. And it is under this view thai 1 wish 'ou to consider some of (he characteristics of Ihe ' .Age Avelivc in," which were not to be found n Bacon's time, and which are so eminently

calculated to enhance the value of his practical philosophy — characteristics which present us with means and opportunities a thousand fold greater to extend the knowledge and promote the happiness of mankind. One of the great characteristics of the present age is the strenuous effort made to disseminate knowledge among the masses of the human race, and to facilitate their mutual intercourse. Among ancient civilised nations there were always certain privileged classes, by whom knowledge was monopolised, and to whom the vulgar looked with superstitious awe. Egypt, Greece, and Rome, had their philosophers and priests, who made science a mystery, and found it a prolific source of power and wealth to impose upon popular credulity. Even in Europe, till the sixteenth century, the Church had a monopoly of learning. It is difficult justly to speculate upon the fall of nations ; but it has sometimes struck me that, among other reasons for the decay of (hose once eminent nations, in whose lands we now find proofs of former civilisation of a high order, was the fact of this monopoly of knowledge on the part of a small minority, and this want of it on the part of a great majority. Learning, wealth, and power may nourish for a time among nations where knowledge is confined to a few,— where the flow of its living waters is artificially banked up, but I hold it impossible for such nations long to remain prosperous, and long to keep the lead in the course of civilisation. This system of mental restriction is essentially false, and carries in itself the cause of its fall. The pyramid rests upon its apex, and not upon ils base. True, the record of learning may remain to instruct posterity, but the glory of the nation itself soon passes away. The light it sheds may dazzle for a lime, but it is the brief glare of the meteor, not the true light of the sun. Nor, indeed, is learning bencfitted in the highest degree by such a system . As the commerce of nations creates material wealth, so are the treasures of learning best secured by the free commerce of mind and mind. Knowledge ought to know no monopoly. Like Mercy, " It is twice bless'd It blessetli him that gives, and him tut tales." The sage in bis cell may pore over his transcendental studies, and rack his brains for the transmutation of metals, and for the miraculous stone, — nay, he may do more, — as ancient philosophers have done, he may proclaim the wonders of natural science, and expound the purest system of ethics, — but the real friend of Learning, and the real benefactor of his fellow-creatures, is he, who mixes with them, learns from them, and instructs them simultaneously, — courts their sympathy, and labors, hand in hand with them, to enlarge the intellect of their minds, and improve the condition of (heir bodies. Nor was intercourse with the world an object of desire in ancient times. Wrapped up in its own imagined superiority, each nation that boaslcd of civilisation looked down upon others as barbarians. Little cared it for intercourse with them, unless indeed their territories presented favorable opportunities for gratifying the lust of wealth and of conquest. Look now at the present age, in countries where civilisation is highest. It is no longer attempted to make knowledge valuable by making it scarce, but to make it useful by making if common. The general diffusion of knowledge among the people is the ambition of the present generation. Eminent men, on all sides, labour assiduously to add to the learning, and promote the education of the multitude. As in former times every effort was made (o maintain knowledge as the exclusive privilege of the few, so now every effort is directed to disseminate its stores, far and wide, and to enable every one, be his lot what it may be, to participate in them and take his fill. The people no longer are regarded as credulous victims, whom it was the interest of priests and despots to keep steeped in ignorance, but arc now recognised as the real depositaries of power, and, therefore, a wise policy inculcates the necessity of educating them in that manner which may fit them most bencfiially to exercise it. And, as regards the facility of intercourse, wheat an astonishing contrast does this age present to former ones. Every mental faculty is now exerted to accelerate locomotion, to bring together the most remote portions of the globe, and to facilitate, in the highest degree, the inter-communication of man and man. And this brings me to the great means which now exist, and materially aid in the attainment of these objects, — the general education and rapid intercourse of the human race. Means, which form the grand feature of the present age. — Printing, Steam, and Electricity. These are the three powerful genii of modern time, — whose wonderful achievements and strange transformations far transcend the miracles of their fabled predecessors. The barriers of time and space are being swept away. A flood of knowledge pours its fertilising stream over a moral desert. Elements, once the dread of man, are now become his slaves. Let us successively trace the operations of these great agencies, and see what important works, they arc now doing for us. First then, what a change in the world Printing has effeclcd ! An art by means of which we arc no longer dependent on tradition or accidental manuscript, for the narrative of evente, for the records of experience, for the works of genius, and the exploits of greatness, — but we have them permanently daguerrotyped before us, in all their original brilliance and power. Under ils influence, the mind lately barren of aught but selfish desire, now becomes vivified with new ideas and higher responsibilities. No longer grovelling in the dust, anxious only to pamper its frail tenement, it learns new duties. It discovers a nobler mission. The leaven begins to ferment. Genius finds play, and from a humble origin soon soars, even the highest fame of a Newton or a Franklin. Printing ! from which now pours over civilised lands a deluge of cheap, useful books, and a periodical Press of great ability, daily perused bj millions, — a Press, whose unfettered voice is and always will be the terror of despotism, and the guaidian of liberty, — a Press which now emplojs Steam as ils engineer, and Lightning as ils messenger. It is true that from the power and freedom of the Press, there has sprung a vast variety of injurious and trashy publications, but tbib lamwilable result is owing to thai imperfection of our nature, which, in this world, inseparably mingles good and evil, — the nee and abuse of every menial (acuity and scientific ait. Such a faci is no just argument against progressive improvement. Were it so, Ihe age of barbarous ignorance would bo preferable to that of civilisation. II is merely an additional incentive to multiply useful, and contract pernicious knowledge, and to implanl lliose piinriplcs on (he mind of man, o^vnalh in his childhood, which shall leach hhn to »'hoo'«e £ lie whoiisnme I'vuit, and reject that which, howeMM 1 (air it inaj bo (o look upon, is e\entu:ili\ in thy mouth, but di«st and ashes. Dr. liobf-if YcWThin, hi his book on (V As™ of Gieat C.ilir-. r.iAes some remarks on tlie freedom of (iio Preis, which, I think, clearly show that the evils of lliui freedom sraiU»aßy correct them^eh Ci>. lie s<u a — " The Press maj

sometimes bear with a degree of hardship and injustice upon good men, but it's natural tendency, is to fix meiiled exposure upon bad men. It may seem to give a diffusion to error which it could not otherwise obtain. But it does the same oflice in a much greater degree wilh regard to truth. Truth has so fixed a relation to the reasonable, and error has so fixed a relation to the unreasonable, that discussion, which, as it becomes deeper and stronger, only resembles the light waxing brighter and brighter, cannot possibly fail to carry wilh it a powerful aptitude to vindicate the true, and to repudiate the false. It is no less natural to error that it should lose by discussion, and to liuth that it should gain by it, than it is to the deformed in nature that its disproportions should be revealed by the coming of the daylight, and to the beautiful in nature, that its proportions and colouring should become manifest by (he same means. Hence, wherever there is unfettered and free debate, we may sec the high mental process going on by "which men are always bringing to the lest, through the medium of a free press, the distinction between Ihe precious and the vile, between the wise and the unwise. Even the temporary ascendencies of error, resulting from it's alliance with infirmities in human nature possessing too strong an affinity with if. only serve to develop its nature more fully, and to prepare the way towards its more signal discomfiture in due time." Printing is an art which has been discovered for about four centuries but never was it in such an incomparably high stale of efficiency, as at present. Until the conclusion of the last century, scarcely any improvement had been made in (he original Printing Press. Since (hat lime the course of improvement has been rapid, and in 18H, in (he oflice of the London Times newspaper, was first brought into practice, a cylindrical Press, worked by the power of steam. Let us just lake the instance of newspapers, merely a part of present literature, as a proof of what the Printing Press achieves. In 1828 the Times Piess was able to print off 4200 sheets of that newspaper per hour, at (he almost miraculous rate of 72 sheets per minute, a rate about as much in advance of the one of the preceding century, as thai of the locomotive is of the highway waggon. "We all know of what size a sheet of the Times is. Consider then for a moment ; — during one brief beat of the human pulse, that >as( void of blank paper i.s filled, — and permanently records the sympathies, wants, passions and eventful history of the cotemporary world, this instantaneous transformation being continued in undelaycd succession for hours together. In (he course of the day that immense amount of mailer has spread, far and wide, entertaining, informing, and instructing thousands of human minds. Remember then that the Times is Iml a small component parl of the newspaper press in Great Britain, within which, in one year, il was estimated some years ago that at least fifty millions copies of newspapers were issued — add to this the newspapers of continental Europe, and fully an equal circulation in the United Stales, and you may, if your minds are equal to the conception, form some idea of Ibis gigantic and powerful feature of the present age. Steam furnishes man vulh a power which almosls transcends belief. In this age, its offices arc innumerable. In (he shop, in the factory, along the railway, underneath the ground, upon the water, the Steam Engine indefafigably woiks for the benefit of Ihe human race. By il incalculable wealth is created, and the material power of man is immeasurably increased. How completely too the glorious achieve ments of the Steam Engine come within the present age! It is within a hundred years that the Steam Engine has been brought into practical effect. In 17G5, James Watt made those improvements in its working, that justly entitle him to be called its inventor. About the end of last century the first steam vessel was tried in the Foi Ih and Clyde Canal, and in 1850 the first locomotive was started on the Liverpool and Manchester Bailway. What is the case now ? Steam Engines arc in common use in every part of Europe and North America. There, the ocean, the inland seas, and the rivers, swarm with steamers, and the face of the land is intersected by lines of rail. Fifty years ago, the experimental steam boat was launched, with fear and dread, in the quiel waters of a canal. Now, the broad Atlantic is crossed in a fortnight. And soon in the Pacific will the traffic of ocean steamers commence in earnest. In twenty years the locomotive railway has still more wondei fully progressed. Great as has been (hat progression in Europe, it has been on a more extended scale in (he United Slates. " They have pushed these roads," says a Mechanics' Magazine, ''into Ihe very bosom of of the wilderness. Like Ihe military roads of the Romans, they hold steadily and straight on through plain and morass, through lane, foresl and river, and across the rugged Allgehanies, and the wild woods (hat skirl the banks of the Mohawk; and where a few years since, an Indian hunter could scarcely force his way, you now dash along at the fearful velocity of twenty miles an hour. There is no country where you can cross such vast tracts in so short a time as in America, and the facilities are every day increasing. The Ohio already joins the Delaware by a railroad, 550 miles long, and in a few years a traveller may be able to pass from the gulf of Newfoundland to the gulf of Mexico, — from icebergs to orange groves — in six days." The present gigantic projection of railways appears to know noabalement. As difficulty after difficulty— the lofty mountain, Ihe treacherous swamp, the broad, deep river-all disappear before enterprise and skill, fresh schemes are mooted, ridiculed as visionary at first, but soon afterwards, such is Ihe rapid progress of the age, admired and appreciated as practical results, of great utility. Already (heconlinualion of the railway from Calais into India is confidently talked of by professional men. The human mind is perfectly overwhelmed al the thought of the present and prospective power of Steam. The world and all ils relations of lime and space are being completely changed. We can only feebly guess at the amount of benefit il may confer on mankind, by recollecting the immense amount it has already conferred. A writer has well observed, u The Steam Engine has infinitely increased the mass of human comforts, and rendered cheap and accessible all over (he world Ihe materials of wealth and prosperity. It has armed (he feeble hand of man, in short, with a power lo which no limits can be assigned, completed the dominion of mind over the most refractory qualities of matter, and laid a sure foundation for all those future miracles of mechanical power, which arc to add to and reward the labours of after generations. Already il has become a (lung alike stupendous for its force and ils flexibility. The trunk of an elephant that can pick up a pin, or rend an oak, is nolhing lo il. It can engrave a seal, and crush masses of obdurate materials, like wax before it ; draw out, without breaking, a thread as fine as gossamer, and lilt a ship of war like a bauble in the air. II can embroider muslin, and forge anchors, cut steel into ribbons, and impel loaded vessels against the fury of Ihe winds and waves/ Eleclricily is still so wrapped in mystery, so miraculous in its agency, thai while we can

glance at one of its principal uses al present, it is impossible to forclel to what purposes, in a few years, it may he beneficially applied. Already, in the telegraph, electricity transmits mes-ages between distant localities in an incredibly short time. Spaces, which it would take days for man, on the fleetest horses, or on the most rapid locomotives, to traverse, are, for the purpose of communicating informal ion, literally annihilated. Ms wonderful effect in the aid of justice has been often realized. The criminal, after perpetrating his crime al a distant spot, may be hurrying far from the guilty scene, on the wings of steam, at the greatest speed with which it is now possible to convey man from place to place, but faster, inconceivably faster, slill, unseen, unheard, (he hue and cry of the electric wire, follows on his track, and secures his apprehension al his imagined refuge. A remarkable instance of. Ihis occurred in the case of the murderess, Maria Manning. Within twenty minutes of the Police Inspector at London telegraphing, to a brother Inspector al Edinburgh, a statement of her supposed concealment at the latter place, he received a reply informing him that, in that interval, owing to the information he had sent, she had been found in Edinburgh, and lodged in custody. Now, here we see that electricity has enabled, in a few minutes, persons, separated by nearly 400 miles, to communicate and make proper arrangements for the apprehension of a culprit. Probably, had the two Police Inspectors been close together, and holding viva vocc intercourse, those arrangements could not have been made with more rapidity and success. Can it not then be truly said that, in such cases, space is literally annihilated? It is impossible to affix a limit to this wonderful power in facilitating and accelerating inter-communication all over the world. Even now, electricity, submerged beneath the sea, connects Dover and Calais by instantaneous intercourse. That boisterous element may rage, and its billows may beat over the dismasted wreck, — the crew in helpless agony, straining their gaze towards (hat shore which they never will reach — but, silently, invisibly, far beneath that stormy surface, the electric nerve of the human mind works undisturbed, and transmits its messages, to and fro, with swift and unerring certitude. France and England arc not now, as unlillast year they were, asking questions one day, and receiving replies the next — quick even as that intercourse was in comparison with that fifty years ago — but can converse as easily and as quickly as human beings can face to face. We have thus traced some of (he almost supernatural effects of these three Great Agencies during the present age, and when we reflect that twoof them, Steam and Electricity, areatprcsenl in (heir infancy, when we think how directly they affect those momentous questions, the diffusion of knowledge, and the intercourse of mankind ; questions, which in their turn, so directly affect human welfare, we cannot, I conceive, but feel grateful for being permitted to live in an age which has working within it such important elements of prosperity, wanting in former ages, and also feel encouraged at the cheering prospect of the future. E\il, intermingled with the good around us, there always must be. Rebellions, revolutions, wars, crime, poverty, will slill occur. Bui so long as knowledge is not monopolised, but, on the contrary, diffused to Ihe utmost extent, so long as civilisation and education, using that term in its religious and most comprehensive meaning, go hand and hand, not only among the rich and those in high places, but in the crowded populace, among Ihe poor, the feeble, and the ignorant, to enable them to direct the exercise of their talents, (and, rest assured, (he poorest, the feeblest, and (he most ignorant has at least one talent in his charge), towards such objects as will best promote the moral and material interests of themselves and their fellow creatures, so long there will be little fear of the retrogression of the human race. In this age, then, a peculiar feature is the combination ofpowcr at work to diffuse information and facilitate intercourse. To this, we must attribute (he general agitation of popular rights, and the general advance of popular power, so remarkable at present, — and to this also the science of the present Age owes its unparalleled progress in all its branches. Mind reacting on mind, in the quick alternation of reciprocal experience and ideas, rapidly collects information, arranges facts and forms conclusions. From these conclusions spring the improvements in all the useful arts of this eminently practical Age. It is impossible for me, without trespassing 100 much on your attention, to advert lo the numerous improvements which have lately been made in Astronomy, Geology, Chemistry, Medicine, Agriculture, and Political Economy. Suffice it to say that we are not leaving to posterity the barren syllogisms of a theoretical philosophy. We bequeath to them fi more fruitful heritage, — that of utility and progress. We do not leave them endless arguments and unprofitable questions. We do not declaim upon menial perfection, but give them the means of storing their minds wiih the most useful knowledge, and of exercising their intellects to the best advantage. We do not try to prove to them (he pleasure of pain, but furnish them with the belter means of assuaging it, and of adding to the length of life. We do not deny the existence of matter, but leave them inventions which will a hundred-fold increase their dominion over it. Thus, as generation succeeds generaUon, so proportionately greater and greater will, we trust, be the means of extending the happiness of man, and of rendering him worthier of it during his life of trial and probation in this world. As a peculiar feature of the great tendency in Ihe present Age to extend human knowledge and human intercourse, we cannot but bestow some consideration on the Great Exhibition of Industry of all Nations, which took place last year in England. That Exhibition was an appropriate termination of a half-century which had effected so much in the way of practical improvements, — and an appropriate commencement of a half-century which promises so much more. 4s a premium on industry, and as an inducement to peaceful intercourse, it directly tended to the moral elevation and the social welfare of mankind. — I have always thought that the orderly conduct of Ihe myriads who crowded the Crystal Palace, and the small amount of crime in consequence, formed a wonderful proof of the blessing vouchsafed on this Holy Work, — and how consistent such a result was with the cultivation of (hose virtues, Peace and Industry, under whose special auspices the work was inaugurated, and successfully carried out. Altogether wonderful as the spectacle must have been, Ihe suggestions and associations it gives rise lo are not ils least wonderful incidents. Few, I should imagine, could pace those galleries, in which all the treasures of nature and art, elicited by human skill, were displayed, without feelings of admiration at the successful power of the human intellect, and of reverential gratitude lo Ihe Infinite Source from which it sprang. It was not the pomp of war, — the triumph of victory, or the splendour of wealth, that brought together this Congress of Nations. They met not lo deface Ihe handiwork of God, or lo exalt Ihe pride of man. They met to celebrate the Jubilee of Civilisation, to compete iv (hat generous uvalry which induces man, by (be exercise of his talents, alike (o promote (he an elfare of his species, and to illustrate the glory

of his Creator. Viewed in this light, the Crystal Palace — the moral Koh-i-noor of this age — was indeed inexpressibly glorious, not only for the precious treasures it contained; hut as a proof of the great advance made by the nations of the world in the knowledge of true civilisation, aiid in their appreciation of the moral of (hat beautiful hymn with which angels ushered Christianity into the world, " Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." Another important characteristic of the "Age we live in" is the wide spread of the AngloSaxon race over the earth. In the time of the two first Chsars, a little before (he commencement of the Christian Era, Rome, the Mistress of the World, looked on the British Isles as the extreme limit of her dominions. She regarded the barbarian inhabitants of those remote islands with the same supercilious feelings with which a narrow-minded and arrogant man in England might look down upon the aborigines of New Zealand. Almost impregnably fortified, magnificent in works of art, all the luxuries of wealth around her, a conquered world at her feet, her lilciature refined to the highest degree of excellence, Cicero her orator, Virgil her poet, and Livy her historian, proudly and contemptuously indeed might she regard a parcel of half-naked savages, who painted themselves blue, and offered human sacrifices to their idols. But what is the case now? While Rome has sunk into utter insignificance — alternately the victim of anarchy and despotism — while her very streets are garrisoned by foreign bayonets, Britain has not only assumed a leading station in Europe, but has occupied continents far greater than ever was the Roman Empire, and of whose existence Home was ignorant, Nor has the force of arms accomplished this ; nor has it occupied any lengthened period of time. Colonisation has been the principal means, and only two hundred and fifty years have elapsed since its operation began. In that short time, from Great Britain, as from a central luminary, rays of civilisation have pierced live gloom of heathen barbarism, in North America, South Africa, India, Australia, and the Islands of the Pacific. The AngloSaxon race, so eminent for the freedom of its political institutions, and for the enterprise of its children, is found, and its language heard, in almost every clime beneath the sun. The population of that race, and of those who are subject to its rule already amounts, in round numbers, to one hundred and fifty millions, or to more than one-sixth of the estimated population of the whole world. That race occupies an area of about nine millions and five hundred thousands square miles, or about one-fifth of the Urrestial superficies of the earth, including all the islands which are scattered throughout the ocean. Colonisation has, during the last two centuries, exercised a wonderful influence over Ihe fortunes of that race, and appears to be an instrument in the hands of Providence destined to exercise a far greater influence for the future. Far from slackening, the tide of British Colonisation flows more rapidly than ever. Not only have facilities of intercourse and an extended knowledge of the world, increased this tendency ; but social and political causes have powerfully combined to aid (he movement. Emigration from Ireland alone into the United States has been lately estimated at (he rale of a thousand souls a-day. A vast flood of human beings, from (he British Isles, pours westward, towards the shores of the Pacific, peopling, as it flows, the broad Continent of America. And now, the discovery of Californian and Australian gold will attract thousands more of the same race to those remote parts of the earth ; while, soon, through (he projected canal across the Isthmus of Panama, the gigantic power of steam will afford thousandfold facilities for this stupendous migration. In thus reviewing the characteristics of the present age, we first find that there is a great tendency to increase the means and facilities of intercourse between the inhabitants of the world. The remote regions of the earth are no longer unknown or dreaded. We read books about them : we see pictures of them ; we converse with persons who have visited them. Numbers of persons desirous of knowledge, or stimulated by enterprise, follow the example. AH difficulty and danger disappear with the novelty of the route. Science co-operates, barrier after barrier falls, ocean after ocean is spanned, and civilisation, attended by her assistant genii, the Press, (he Steam Engine, and the Electric Telegraph, fast occupies each successive wilderness and waste. We also find that this remarkable tendency is almost altogether peculiar to one raee — the race to which we ourselves belong. Our great privilege is not only to witness the wonderful movement and the wonderful means, in course of progress among us, — but also to be of the same kith and kin, as those by whom the movement is made, and the means employed. But, where there is privilege, there is also duly. Our duly is not to lie inactive and carelessly wait for the course of events, but to prepare ourselves and others to profit by it. There is no one, however small his influence or few his talents may be, who cannot do something, within his sphere, towards this preparation. The ignorant and presumptuous man, in (he '' Arabian Tales" who evoked the Genii, but was unable to meet them with the proper cabalistic spell, was torn to pieces by them. Let us not follow a foolish example. Let us accumulate useful knowledge, not niggardly to hoard it for ourselves only, but liberally to distribute it among our less fortunate neighbours. — " Education, Education for the people" ought to be the motto and the practice of this Age. — Every effort which promotes that knowledge, also promotes that education, and accordingly deserves our support. This Mechanics 1 Institute in Auckland, small as it is, can, by your exertions, materially contribute towards that object. — I entreat you then not to relax your support of Institutions of this kind. Your means may be humble and your encouragement small, — but, do not despond. The delicate seedling may yet become the vigorous tree, and, in after years, this Institution, and others of similar kind, may, I trust, by expanding the mind, and directing its energy to useful ends, enable many persons, who otherwise would have fallen into dissipation and idleness, to profit by, and bear their useful parts in, the momentous events of the Age in which we live.