Allusion was made to the division of the landed estates of France under Napoleon, by which agriculture was greatly improved, and also to the division by Henry VIII of England of the large landed properties held by the monasteries during the sixteenth century, and the beneficial effect of this division upon the commercial welfare of the kingdom. Under the English law of primogeniture the eldest son inherits the entire estate of his father, and as a consequence there are yet large bodies of land in England which have been held intact by a single individual and his descendants from generation to generation for hundreds of years, and which cannot be sold or divided. This is greatly to the disadvantage of the agricultural classes. To be able to own the little farm which he tills is a great encouragement to the small farmer. He at once becomes interested in its proper and successful tillage, takes care of the improvements, and is decidedly a better farmer. The law of primogeniture and also the English doctrine of entailment, whereby a testator can limit or restrict the future ownership of an estate to certain persons and their heirs, was introduced into this country as a part of the common law of England, from which our system of jurisprudence was borrowed. These laws were like a "dead hand" upon the land, sending it down for generations in the line of the eldest male. The aristocratic families in New York and south of Pennsylvania were favorable to these laws, as sustaining and perpetuating their leadership. Massachusetts abolished these laws of inheritance but recognized their spirit to a degree by giving a double portion to the eldest son, according to the Mosaic code, but divided the rest among the daughters as well as the sons, and this system prevailed generally throughout New England and also in Pennsylvania; but after the American Revolution, the founders of our republic, recognizing its injustice to a portion of the heirs of an estate, and its objectionable feature as a hinderance to commercial progress, chiefly through the efforts of Thomas Jefferson, abolished it. Estates in this country can be subdivided or transferred with ease, and are free from many of the prescriptive rights and entailments which prevent or hinder transfers of titles to land in the older countries. By a convenient system of surveying the land and dividing it into counties, townships and sections, located with reference to established meridians, and the recording of titles upon public books of record, the transfer of land is encouraged and made easy. This, we believe, has had a marked effect, upon not only the agricultural classes, by inducing thrift and industry, but also upon the general progress and commercial welfare of the nation.

To signalize the attainment of the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of the republic a great exposition was held in the city of Philadelphia in 1876, in which were exemplified the wonderful improvements in the industrial and mechanical arts made since the Crystal Palace exposition in New York in 1853. From the mammoth Corliss engine, which put in motion fourteen acres of innumerable steel and iron organisms, the visitor could examine the processes of nearly every important manufacture on the globe. Numerous great palaces, each devoted to a particular department of human activity or achievement, were completely filled with extensive and interesting exhibits, from not only the United States but from all parts of the world. Egypt sent specimens of corn, cotton, sugar, woods, fruit, honey and perfumery; Australia sent wool, iron, wood, tin and agricultural products; Switzerland, her far-famed watches; Norway and Sweden, their glass work, wood carvings, porcelain, iron and steel; Holland, her excellent models of" dikes and sea coast defenses, bridges and dams; China, her jars, vases and other ceramics; Japan, her porcelain and bronzes; Italy, her fine art contributions; France, her vases, statuary, textiles and wines; England, her woolens, cotton and silk goods, hardware, etc., and thus the infinite collection was made up, proving to be a vast object lesson upon the achievements of the race and the brotherhood of man.

The Centennial Exposition was only surpassed by the World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America. In magnitude and grandeur the palaces of the White City surpassed those of any exposition ever previously attempted. While the displays were commensurate with the beauty, variety and extent of the Palaces in which they were installed, the one great distinguishing feature of the exposition of 1893 was the display in electricity. In 1876 the telegraph constituted almost the sole practical application of electricity to the utilities of man, but in 1893 we had the electric light in its varied forms, the electric motor for the propulsion of machinery and cars, the telephone and numerous other adaptations of this wonderful though subtle power. The one great lesson of this exposition was, that we had been, and were, passing through an age of invention. Thousands of examples were to be seen on every hand of inventions which multiplied human control over natural forces. In the language of President McKinley at the Pan-American Exposition, his last public address, "Expositions are the timekeepers of progress. They record the world's advancement. They stimulate the energy, enterprise and intellect of the people and quicken human genius."

Through the inventive genius of man, manufactures have been cheapened during the past hundred years, while at the same time the price of labor has constantly advanced and the hours have shortened, thus greatly improving the condition of the working classes. In 1790 carpenters received 60 cents a day; in 1800, 70 cents; in 1810, $1.09; in 1820, $1.13; in 1830 to 1840, $1.13 to $1.40, and about the same up to 1860; in 1880, $2.42; and in 1890, $3.50, with the day shortened from ten hours to eight. Common laborers in 1790 received 43 cents a day; in 1800, 621/2 cents; in 1810, 82 cents; from 1810 to 1820, something over 90 cents; and 1840 to 1860, from 871/2 cents to $1 per day.* While machinery has displaced hand labor, new industries have sprung up to furnish work for all willing hands, and the shortening of the hours, with better pay, has given workmen time and means for self-improvement and social enjoyment. Under the modern factory system men are brought into closer relationship with others, and as a consequence a higher standard of intelligence prevails. Low grades of labor are constantly giving place to educated labor, and what are luxuries to one generation become necessaries to the generations which follow. This is illustrated by the fact that "there was a time when a linen sheet was worth thirty-two days of common labor, and a gridiron cost from four to twelve days' labor."

In 1898 the Hawaiian Islands were annexed and now form a territory of the United States. Their chief productions are sugar, coffee, rice and bananas, the principal export being raw sugar. The chief value of the islands, however, lies in the fact that they are situated at the crossing of the routes of ocean travel between America, Asia and Australia, and afford a convenient coaling and supply station for ocean vessels. As a result of the Spanish-American War, Spain ceded to the United States in 1899 the island of Porto Rico, one of the Antilles, and the extensive group of the Philippines in the Pacific. Porto Rico produces cotton, sugar, coffee, fine tobacco and tropical fruits. The climate is healthful, and the island will no doubt be greatly improved and developed by American capital. The Philippines are of volcanic origin, with mountain ranges predominant, but the valleys are adapted to tropical argiculture. The coast lands, plains and valleys produce large quantities of Manila hemp, raw sugar, tobacco and cocoanuts. The Manila hemp is of a superior quality, and the islands have practically a monopoly of the industry. The United States and Great Britain take nearly all of the crop. While the United States has for many years bought more than one-fourth of the Philippine exports, its share of the imports has been small. Under the new relation, however, as a territory of the republic our trade will no doubt greatly extend. The greatest value of the Philippines to the United States, however, will no doubt prove to be their proximity to Asia, and the aid they will afford in securing and carrying on an important and constantly expanding trade with China, where our manufactures are now being introduced.

Our total export for the year ending June 30,1901, amounted to the enormous sum of $1,487,764,991, being the largest volume of exports during any year in the history of the republic. Of this sum $944,000,000, or nearly 65 per cent., were the products of agriculture, and of these breadstuff's, such as wheat, corn, rye, oats, barley, etc., amounted to $276,000,000; cotton, $314,000,000; provisions, comprising meats and dairy products, $197,000,000; animals, including horses, cattle, hogs, sheep, mules and poultry, $52,000,000; raw tobacco, $28,000,000; oil cake, $18,000,000. The exports from the products of our mines, including coal and' mineral oils, amounted to $28,000,000, or 2 6-10 per cent.; of our forests, $55,000,000, or about 3| per cent.; and fisheries, $8,000,000, or about 1/2 per cent. The total export of the products of our manufactures in 1901 amounted to $412,000,000, or about 281/4 per cent, of the whole. The total imports of the United States in 1901 amounted to $823,172,165, leaving a balance of trade in our favor of $664,592,826. The total manufactures of the United States now foot up annually $13,000,000,-000, which is about forty per cent of the entire manufactures of the world. This enormous increase of manufactures* places the United States in the ranks of the great manufacturing nations of the world; and whereas heretofore our exports have been chiefly agricultural products, we may expect in the future a large increase in the exports of our manufactures. We are now supplying Europe with articles which we formerly imported, and American products are establishing a reputation for excellence in foreign markets. With the natural factors of production yet largely undeveloped and in no prospect of exhaustion, aided by the genius of the American inventor and the capacity and enterprise of the American business man, we believe the commercial future of the United States is destined to a remarkable development. Social and industrial problems may confront us, such as combinations of capital and labor, tariff and finance, but let us hope that these may all be wisely solved, and that as our commerce grows in greatness it may be governed by the principle of right.

•In 1870 our total manufacturing amounted to about $4,250,000,000, or less than one-third of their present value.