New-York tribune., 1868-12-17
POLITICAL PROGRESS.
ADDRESS or TIE HON. j. l.. MOTLEY AT ,,.-
sINTf-FouRTH ANNIVERSARY Oh THE NEw-
YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY,

assembling OF a crowded md attentive as well "a ,ah
able audience The stage temporarily enlarged o..
the occasion, and prior to the literary exercises. An.
/ blnd dlseoursed selections fron tie popular oue,ss
Ample seats were reserved on tho stage for meIobe,
Of the Society who entered precisely at O'Clock bads
! by their President, ex-Goy Hamilton t. Fish eso,
me orator OF the evening" the Hon. John Lothrop Mo,Is
Among the distinguished gentlemen present wepe ,S
Hon. @. Verpanck, Admiral Fauagut the Right r.
Bishop Potter the Rev DIR. DE WITT and others OF MOI,
| The entrance of Admiral Fauagut was the signal o.
applause When the members had become sea ted exGov
| Fish arose and said
! sPEECn OF Ex-Cov FISH
! LADIES AND GESTLEMEN: The Ebw.York Histories,
with them m commemoratng sxtyfoart 10 unite
Si r e tSa9a1n Of RS M Sogfy Net i T se celebrated
wo'e name belong, TO no sng country and q single
6ngs to 4incrca; as scholar 10 tie wold a. ne be-
a historian, all ages viii claim him the future iAm
with prayer by the Rev Dr. DaNitt' d,n'fSs iSs
first yfce-PresideRt OF the society, after whIes
by SIr Motley snbscGuentIy tie beuehin,Iedd GshiSsrd
viii be pronounced. and thereafter without formal vote
or notion the meeting will stand adjourned. The prayer
will now be made by tile Rev. DR.. Dewitt.
At the conclusion of the prayer ex-Gov Fish advanced
and presented Mr. Motley the audience amid prolonged
applause. Mr. Motley spoke as follows:
| ADDRESS OF THE HON. JOHN LoTHRoP MOTLEY.
have the honor Of addressing the Historical Society
in the great Metropolis of the great Republic These
simple words suggest 10 wide range Of though:
that you will pardon If do OH local details
OF history OF any history before Inc an i'm.
result, and would faln grope my way with such
lantern as l can provide for myself toward causes
whether distant As have sometimes wandered
almost at random through this magnificent city; as
marked the long, sumptuous Of stone and mar
ble houses, which seemed to multiply even while lOOke
upon themas In tropical regions the strenuous, full
yltazed vegetation, wish its gorgeous blossoms, ram
pant vines, oyershadowng foliage expands IN growth
almost beneath the gazer's eye / the in
| Vulnerable steamers aud ships which crowd yonf
| wlaryes, like moving woods and shifting palaces
| forming an unbroken chain OF connection with
! every zone and clime I moved through tho
crowded mart whose slightest thrOb sends pulsaton
through tho world felt myseli-a casual spectator
caught UP and whred along, almost against my viii, on
the npetu0us rapids of this swift commercial lie; whsa
surveyed this miOnheaded monster stretching forth
it's eelers and feeders, long lines OF rau river, aud
canal into distance devourug for its daily needs
the product Of farm forest, factory and mine every
Of the gobe cluchng in its ever expanding a
as day rolls on thousands Of the foron the adTen,
tlrous the outeast aud lifting them out OF misery into
hopes assmilang all tins discofdant material Into to
own flesh and blood with sw1ness which suggests
occasional doubt whether such violent digestive powers
are quite natural or wholesome; turned from hecs
excitement TO tho stately parks-tlan which
| nothing more luxurious is to be found IN Older
and imperial ctiesto the frequent, splendid chureEes
| Of charity, Of administration. and justice; as
! looked upon and listened 10 this vast resonant,
vehement whole, oppressed with single Thought
hat all this Ia Of to-day. There IS something at once
startling and depressing in the rapdity With which thi
result has been reached We talk OF History. No man
can highly appreciate than do the noble abcfs Of
this society and OF others in this country for the preser
walton of memorials belonging brief but most i'm
portant Past We can collect too many OF them,
nor ponder them too carefully for they mark the era OF
new civilization But that interesting Past presses SO
closely upon sight that is seems still portion OF inc
Present the gmmerng dawn preceding tho noontde OF
to-day. shall not be misunderstood. then, say thas
there Is no such thing human history Nothing can be
more profoundly sadly true. The annals ofmanhd nave
been written, can be written; nor woud DO
within capacity to read them " they were written
We have leaf torn from the great book OF human
fate nuers in the storm winds sweeping acrose
the earth. We decipher them best can with pur
blind eyes and eudeavOr 10 learn their mystery
float along the abyss; but 1t is all confused babble,
hieroglyphics OF which the key is lost. Consider but
moment The island which this city stauds Is perhaps
as perfect site rs man could desire for great.
mercia imperial city. Byzantium, which the lords Of
world built for the capital Of the earhwhici
the temperate and vigorous Turk In the days Of his stern
military discipline. plueked from the decrepit hands
which held the sceper OF Caesar and Constantine and for
the possession OF which the present lords Of Europe are
wrangling; not ByzantIum hundred gated Thebes
pass the future ceranes OF this thrteenme long Man
haitian And yet it but yesterdayfor what TIVE
centuries and half in the bGundess vista Of the Past
that the Mohawk and tho Mohicanswere tomahawkss
and scalping each other throughout these regions aud
had been doing for centuries when the whole surface
OF this island, groaning under millions OF wealth
which oppress the Imagination, hardly furnished re-
spectacle huntng.ground for q single sachem,
| In his war paint and lmOccasius, who
| imagined himself proprietor OF the soh
But yesterday Cimmeran darkness; primeval night To
day grandeur, luxury, wealth. power. come not here
tonight to draw pictures pour forth dthyranoies
that may crafty your vanity, or my own' "heiher
municipal or national. To appreciate tho unexampled
| advantages bestowed by the omnipo;ent upon this
favored Republic His youngest child Of 'ciyllz on, Ia
rather TO oppress the Thoughtful mind with AN over
whelmng sense Of responsibility 10 saiien with auick
coming fears: to torture with reasonable doubts Inc
worlds great hope IS here The futare OF hnm1niy-a
least for that cycle which are now revoiviag-de
pends maiuly upon the in which deal with oai
great trust The good old times Where and when were
those good old times "All times when old, are good
'"'' Ard all our yesterdays have lighted fools
| The way TO dusty DEATH"
| says the great master Of morals and humanity. But
neither fools nor sages neither individuals nor ns
| tions, have any other light TO guide then on th'
track which all must tread Gsaye that long sDnmerns
vista of yesterdays which grows swiftly fainter anu
fainter as the present fades of into the past Aud De-
eve ii possible to discover law out OF all ts appA
renty chaotic whirl and bustlethis tangled sken Oh
human affairs as II spins itself through the centuries
That law is PrOgress-Slow confused CONTRADICTORY ou
ceasess development, intellectual and moral OF the nu
man race 1t Is Of Human Progress that speak toght
It's OF Progress that nd startling result when sur
yey the spectacle which the American Present display"
| This nation stands the pont toward which oshei
people are moving IL has put itsolor rather destiny
| Ng,sa 10 than nfba M