the highest dignitary of the Roman Catholic Church. Time was within the memory of many of us here when the presence on the same platform, even in the cause of charity, of men and women of different denominations and different religious creeds seldom if ever occurred; and time still is, perhaps, when the presence of Jew and Gentile and Catholic and Protestant on the same platform is still a little, I am glad to say only a little, remarked. I venture to say that most of us here will live to see the time when the subject of remark will be not that they do, but that they do not stand together, for the broad Church of charity knows no denomination and recognizes no line of division between Hebrew and Christian, or between those of different Christian faiths. I have the honor to present His Grace Archbishop Corrigan of this city.

ADDRESS OF MOST REVEREND M. A. CORRIGAN, D. D., ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK.

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is indeed a great pleasure to come here, and particularly with such an introduction, and to feel that, as the Chairman has said, the old lines of mistrust and misunderstanding are fast and happily disappearing. We trust that very soon they will entirely disappear and become ancient history.

A well-known medieval writer says that there are some who seek knowledge only for the purpose of acquiring it, and this is curiosity; and there are some that seek knowledge for the purpose of being considered learned, and this is vanity; there are some that seek it only to sell it for place and position, or for honors, and this is vile lucre; there are some that seek it in order that they may help others, and this is charity, or that they themselves may be benefited thereby, and this is wisdom and prudence. Bearing in mind this saying of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, one might say that in the great cause of charity and correction there are some who seek to raise up the fallen brother and help the

afflicted in order that they may render them useful members of society and that human nature may be benefited thereby, and this is philanthropy; there are some who desire that the burdens of taxation should be diminished and that the public exchequer should be devoted to some other useful purpose, and this is political economy; and there are some who wish to help the poor, not merely in order that they may become better citizens of the State, but also better children of God, and this is charity.

In the distinguished assembly I have the honor of addressing to-night, every class of those that work for the common good is ably and appropriately represented, like so many groups of flowers of varied hue and perfume in a well-ordered garden, but different as our particular views may be, I think I can safely say that philosophy, philanthropy, charity, the results of medical science, the teachings of experience, all contribute their quota to the same common end-to help suffering humanity. And if we analyze the matter further, I think we may also say that, however different these special policies may seem to be at first sight, when we examine them more closely, the difference is really less than appears on the surface. Good citizenship, for instance, seeks for prosperity in this life. This is the end of good government. Religion ultimately desires happiness in the future, but meanwhile also endeavors to promote the faithful observance of law and respect for the rights of others; and so, directly or indirectly, all of us, philanthropists, humanitarians and those who simply work in the cause of charity, are tending toward the same end and trying to accomplish the self-same purpose; and therefore I heartily congratulate this State Conference of Charities and Correction on all the good it is likely to accomplish; and I think we may say that this Conference will accomplish three special kinds of good.

In the first place, it will tend to remove prejudices and misconceptions; next, it will accentuate earnest and honest endeavors

for good; and, lastly, I esteem it a great privilege that its Constitution says, we do not propose to make hard and fast laws, or to look so much to legislate as to interchange views, and to learn from one another.

Regarding the first point, that this Conference is likely to remove possible misconceptions, I might give a rough illustration from the old maps that antedate the discoveries of Columbus. If you bring forth one of those ancient maps, for instance that of Ptolemy, you will find there the various countries then known to geographical science, and beyond, stretching far away, what was called then "the great and darksome sea," vast unknown tracks of ocean; and the artist in order to represent this still more forcibly has dotted all this space with marine monsters, wonderful of shape and horrible to view.

Now, after all, what is this? It is simply an instance of the fear of the unknown, of our imagination conjuring up difficulties and monsters where such things have no existence in reality; and so I believe that our coming together in Conference will not only bring about friendly intercourse, but also will do a great deal of good in ridding us of doubts or prejudices that, after all, may cling to us even without our knowledge. And then not merely this, but when mind strikes mind sparks are lighted, new ideas are engendered, we are stimulated to action; and here again one remembers the words of our great poet, "Homestaying youths have ever homely wits." That is, Shakespeare speaks of the advantage of travel in broadening and expanding a man, in adding to the stores of one's experience; and so, in like manner, must we not say that people coming here from all parts of the State, each bringing his own treasure of experience to the common fund, will enable us all to profit by the store thus placed at our disposal? And so new ideas must arise, new thoughts must come and new methods must suggest themselves; and from all this certainly good must result.

Governor Odell spoke of the good that is done by devotedness

and charity and also of the good that is added thereto when the work is properly directed by science and by skill. I am reminded of our agricultural colleges. No doubt you have visited them. They commonly give this object lesson. They take two patches of ground of the same size, with the same exposure, with the same advantages; and one patch is allowed to be cultivated in the time-honored and old-fashioned way, and the other is treated scientifically with the aid of fertilizers and phosphates; as the crop grows, you see the immense difference in results.

Now, then, we do not doubt for a moment, as indeed all of us who have engaged in benevolent work must know, that there is in this city of New York many an organization for the loving care of the sick and of the afflicted, that there is devoted personal service, and that the greatest attention is paid in many instances to those who are the outcasts of society, or who by some reason or other have been afflicted. No matter how great this personal service may be, I think we shall be willing to admit that if to it be linked also the aid of experience, if science will lend its help, if good judgment second the good will already in existence, the results of the work will be greater. This precisely it is the province of this Conference to accomplish.

Lastly, we have also some reason to be grateful that, after all, the Conference does not propose to insist on legislation. We are continually giving forth new theories; some are yet untried. Time is the great test of merit. Time winnows the product of the soil, disperses the chaff and allows the grain to remain. Time consumes opinions unsubstantiated by facts. Commenta hominum delet dies."

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Now may it not be said that there is nothing that has had the approval of time like works of benevolence? We might go back to the book of Deuteronomy and find passages there with which you are all familiar regarding the care of the poor and the duty of helping them. You might take up the book of Job and find

that he " was an eye to the blind and a foot to the lame; he was a father to the poor," and there are many other such expressions. We have felt that charity has been approved by that test of centuries. I know there is a theory of philosophers which says that all our civilization moves in a circle; and if this were true, humanity at times would have to recede and move backwards. But I don't believe that that theory can be true. I do not believe, with all our enlightenment, with the thousands and thousands of volumes of printed pages, with all the result of experience and the facilities of communication throughout the entire world, it will ever be possible for the light which we now have to go out, and that we could return, for instance, to the pagan days when poor children were mercilessly exposed to certain death, when the aged were uncared for and the cripples were abandoned, when the philosophers would say with Seneca that mercy and gentleness and compassion were not manly feelings, but mere exhibitions of weakness. No, I think that that day has passed forever, and we have come to a time of enlightenment which will go on increasing with more and more love to the poor, more and more enlightened care for them, and better and better results.

I remember reading of a man, the son of a poor peasant, whose heart overflowed with the milk of human kindness and with divine love; a man who first instituted in modern times organized associations of charity; who, while he had no compassion for those who could work and would not, was all tenderness for those whom misfortune and not their own fault had reduced to misery; who, in time of public distress, raised nearly $5,000,000 to relieve the sufferings of others; who, making love the lever and first principle of his action, yet united thereto such common sense, good judgment and wisdom that his rules of dispensing charity, made 250 years ago, remain a model to us to-day; who attracted to his good works the noblest ladies and the brightest men of the time and made them feel it to be their highest privilege to assist and serve the poor, because he made them see reflected in them