The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1886-11-22

departure, and thereby gained new lease of
life Her Italian Provinces lost, she seeks
an equivalent in the southeast, and hopes to
carve new kingdom out of the disintegrat-
ing provinces of Turkey. In pursuing this
policy. she encounters the opposition and
incurs the hostility of Russia, who regards
herself as the lawful heir.
The conflict sure to arise some time, may
be nearer than we think. Russia is more
than match for Austria, but Austria is
probably backed by Germany, far greater
military force than Russia. THE unspeak-
able Turk" must get out of Europe, retreat
ing into Asia, his home. Political and So
cial progress are alike impossible under the
deadly shade of the Mohammedan Upas tree,
especially when OF the Turkish species.
But in almost every other direction polltl-
cal and social progress are both visible even
in the most distant Orient. Japan Is rapid
", perhaps too rapidly, occidentlng itself.
China is turning over new leaf. Corea,
the last of the hermit nations, aDandons her
exclusiveness, opens her ports, ana surren-
ders to the ubiquitous and irresistible YAM
kee, who now turns up with ms notions
To sum up-the chief points are these:
% That the political progress mankind has
made is fact patent to ali. This shows the
capacity of the race for indefinite improve
ment. 81 Political progress is everywhere
followed by Intellectual, moral and social
advancement. Never was knowledge so
widely diifused, and knowledge is power.
And never before was the standard of mo-
atty so high Crime diminishes. In Lon
don and New York alike it has diminished
10 per cent. in 10 years. There is steady
ratio between the increase of intelligence and
the decrease of crime The criminal classes
are mostly recruited from the ranks of the
ignorant and degraded poor. Education and
industry join hands in rescuing these classes
from the temptations to which they are eX-
posed, and which usually prove too powerful
as long as human beings are both Ignorant
and idle,-enslayed by vice and Sl0th. The
masses are steadily rising, and will continue
to rise. The evils of ignorance and of hope
less, because helpless, poverty are not to en-
dure forever. 1t were blasphemy to say so.
The good time is coming when there will be
enough for all, and all will have enough
absolute equality will never come, but in
the future there will be a far nearer ap-
proach to 1t than in the past.
In this great movement for the ameliora-
| ton of the masses of mankind, America leads
| the van. Our fathers laid the foundations in
free schools and churches, free States feder-
| ally united, making one great impregnable
power, against which the waves of foreign
invasion would beat in vain. The reflex in
fiuence of the Republie has revolutionized
not only our old Mother England but our an
| cient ally against our Mother-France; and
with France, Italy and Spain; showing both
Italy and Germany how they must be united,
II they would be prosperous at home and
strong abroad.
Thus we have illustrated and corroborated
Bishop Buffers grand idea of the irresisti-
State.
An unusually large audience listened with
marked attention throughout.