LECTURE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2534, 27 July 1893, Page 3

LECTURE.

On Tuesday evening at the Wesleyan Church, Temuka, the Rev. W. M. Morley lectured on “ What I saw and heard in America.” There was only a moderate attendance, a matter to be regretted, as the lecture proved both instructive and amusing. The Rev. Mr Dellow occupied the chair and introduced the lecturer. Mr Morley said that he was first impressed with the vastuess of every thing in America, the immense distances, the mountains, rivers, and lakes, compared with which those of Asia and Europe sunk into insignificance. There were 45 States, some larger than Great Britain, and with a population of C2£ millions of souls of all nationalities, and this population was being added to weekly. Wherever a man travelled he could not fail to be impressed with the gigantic enterprise of the people. The Philadelphian ironworks turned out 17 1 finished h comotives every week. Ships were built as it were by the mile, and thousands of acres were under cultivation. Of the scenery of Niagara Mr Morley gave a vivid description, and eulogised the liberality of the Government that had set aside large reservations fvrpunfl tfio Fftlls for the pleasure of the ppople. An interesting account was given pf tfxe IQOO islands of the St. Lawrence, mostly occupied by citizens for priyao residences, and the passage of one of the largo steamers down the rapids was graphically sketched, Turning from ppepery the lecturer referred to the Ji jptoric interest of Plymouth Rock, where

I the Pilgrim Fathers landed, of the State I House, Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence was signed on the 4th July, 1776, and other places. He touched upon the literary associations and then proceeded to give an ac- . count of Chicago and its phenomenal ' growth. In 1830 there was only one ! settlor and his wife located there, in 1871, at the time of the great fire, there were 100,000. After the fire new buildings were erected with marvellous speed, and the town now was one of the wonders of the world. There were buildings of 16 storeys high, and those of G, 7, and 8 storeys were quite common. Three hundred trains left and arrived daily, and the tram system was wonderfully complete and very cheap. The Corn Exchange was a magnificent building, with white marble pillars, stained glass, etc., and it was fitted with most complete telegraphic apparatus. Grain to the value of a million dollars changed hands here in a few hours, and fortunes were made and lost in a day. The pork industry was something wonderful, one firm alone employing 8000 hands. The city of Washington was then described, and some interesting particulars given of the capitol, the tomb of Washington, the scenery of thejPotomac, and of the public parks and gardens. Many of the towns made specialities of various branches of trade, and a good deal of jealousy existed. Milwaukee was celebrated for its lager beer, Boston for boots, Philadelphia for cutlery. Minneapolis was the centre of the milling industry, and one mill put through 14,000 bushels of wheat daily. This mill was worked on the co-operative system, and every hand on the place received a share of the profits. The lecturer thought Philadelphia one of the best cities. It contained 950 miles of streets, and the park covered 2700 acres of land. One store contained 18 acres of space; there were 4000 general attendants, and 600 more in the restaurant. In Philadelphia was the United States mint, which was fully described, and a comprehensive sketch was given of the religious organisations, the largest being the Methodists »nd the next the Baptists The former had 30,000 ordained ministers. In 18 months in Chicago alone 20 new churches were built and numerous hospital and charitable institutions supported. Mr Morley spoke briefly of the characteristics of the colored population, and also told some humorous stories of American characteristics. The news - papers were criticised, especially the fact that leading articles were dispensed with, everyone being allowed to formulate his own opinion, and mention was made of the liberal way in which sermons and so forth were reported. Some amusing advertisements were quoted, and in conclusion the lecturer paid a high tribute to the Americans for their loyalty to their country, their enterprise in business, and the way in which they cultivate art and literature. He also commended their benevolence and philanthropy. At the conclusion of the address a hearty vote of thanks was passed to Mr Morley, and a collection having been made for the Home Mission fund the benediction was pronounced, and the meeting closed.