The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-01-08
POPULAR CONSCIOUSNESS.
ITS GROWTH IN THE YEAR JUST
 TER1IINATED.

IERMINATED.
 A Striking Discourse Preached by Rev. J
 Lee Mitchell in the Grand Avenue Con
 gregationaI Church sunday Forenoon,
 January 9th.
 1T you will examine the history of nearly anyone Of our laws of physics you will find that it has been completed only after innumerable experiments and inductions. If you now consider the history of humanity it becomes evil dent that the experiments have become comparatively extremely few. It takes so long to complete an experiment.; some have extended over a thousand years, a generation is the bottom limit within which almost any detail can be worked out. The black race became a factor ln civilization 200 years ago. and no one would venture to say he knew to- aay what 1t Is or what it is to be. He would be hopeful prophet who should say ten generations more would develop an answer. Christianity is 1900 years
 T' AH philA cll GllllIGlS uIlIilGdS force. We have no science of history, ana cannot have for at least 10, 900 years. 1t will take Gods great laboratory as long as that to perform some most ele- mentary experiments. The world is young, inexperienced; has not reached poyhood's first sneeze yet.
 It Is only within a few years that we nave perceived history was not made gpy kings and armies and legislatures, but by the growth of popular ideas and principles; that the record of govern memts has been mischievous; that the best laws ever passed by legislation have been those which removed laws. Laws and armies are powerless to pre- vent and powerless to help the growth yof ideas among the people which alone IS abiding gain. We know now that waterloo had not the effect of a spring snow storm to hinder the swelling of the buds of continental revolt against privileged classes. The greatest strides then of humanity have been made when government, either in church or state, was least strong and active. No more complete and well rounded fools ever sat on chair. to say nothing of a throne, than the first three Georges of England The first two could not even speak the language of the people they governed. National humiliations fol- lowed, of course, but during the reigns of the first two sluggards the spirit of Inquiry, the development of popular in- dependence made immense progress Nry1nf fI1A Tor F. tyranny of the last one drove those ideas into revolt. I dare prophecy that when the growth of popular strength shall become evident this last year will be found to be one of the most fruitful in our history; the absolute imbecility of congress, the perversities of the ad- ninistration have brought us national distress and humiliation, but there never was a year since time began when so many people thought for themselves, were conscious that they thought for themselves, and must think for them selves as this year The American peo- pie is going to be an awfully hard peo- pie tc lie to in the next campaign. It is a people doubting the truthfulness of its privileged classes, doubting the use fitness of it's senate, thoroughly doubt ing the honesty of it's representatives and a people doubting is a people on the way to the discovery of new truths A period of doubt is painful period, but 1t is the necessary precursor of the consolidation of new and biting pur- pose. A wise, strong, successful gov- ernanent would have swept friend and foe along with it, and would be nothing like such a breeder of thought
 A mere chronicle of events is worth