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and dreams haunted with the sights one has to witness, or at least which one has heard. And it is not surprising that one who is not called from a deep feeling, should not feel any great desire or anxiety to come and hear such themes discussed. We have had here in Cleveland a large attendance, a much larger attendance than is usual, of the outside community, and we are grateful for it. We feel, however, that these meetings are of the very greatest importance. There are many persons attracted here who receive impressions that will go with them through life. I remember one distinguished lady, a member of the Society of Friends, who said that the first impulse she ever received in the direction of charity work was while sitting as a little child in a meeting which was addressed by Mrs. Elizabeth Frye, in London. She wished to be like that woman, and do the same kind of work that Mrs. Frye was engaged in; and thus the influence of example goes on and one's attention is drawn into the circle of work; persons become interested, and here and there a child is born for whom the whole world may have occasion to thank God and to thank the assembling of these Conferences.

Then, again, those interested and absorbed in one particular branch, who are altogether taken up with the care of our insane, or the welfare of persons who are indigent, of neglected or abandoned children in our streets, come and find that there are other subjects which also demand attention; they find that there are workers in other fields; they see points of analogy and points of difference between their own work and that of others, and their minds are broadened and expanded. I remember very well of hearing a member of one of the Scotch Commissions of Lunacy tell me that he thought it would be a very fine thing for the Scotch Commission of Lunacy if they knew more of other subjects, and knew the relation of one with another.

The papers read here are many of them very valuable, and that you have been interested in them is evidenced by the way you have listened to them. You have sat here through this Conference and all these days, have listened to a number of hard papers, one after another, six, eight, nine and ten, and yet there is not one of you, probably, that will go away from here without having received thoughts which will find lodgment and remain.

And then last, but not least, ladies and gentlemen, in speaking of things of this kind, I want to call attention to the personal friendships which we have formed here. There are so many men and women in this world who are busy doing the work which lies next to them; looking after these institutions they have under their charge, or this poor afflicted child or other person who comes under their notice, who feel in the community in which they live almost alone, shut off from sympathy, and they feel confined there, as though they wanted to go somewhere for advice in their troubles, and hear the experience of others engaged in the work. I remem

ber when the Prison Congress met some years ago at Cincinnati, when those great workers, who all felt as though they were alone, became known to each other, that they had a common aim, a common interest, a common purpose and common methods, - it seemed as if a great wave of Christian love rolled over them all and melted their hearts into one, and they felt as if they were sitting in the love of Christ Jesus; and I appeal to my friend, Dr. Byers, if he remembers it and can testify to it. [I do, sir, remember it well.] Now, in these Conferences we find that we know the workers all over the country. Where we thought that all was darkness we find rays of light; we meet workers here from the East and from the West, from the North and from the South; our hearts are bound together, and in union there is strength, and we go back from these meetings with increased strength, encouraged earnestness, and we have more confidence in the success of our labors and the wisdom of our plans, when they have been criticised and commented upon by others, and we find them standing the test of criticism.

Now, Mr. Chairman, I have said a great deal more than I intended to say. I feel that in bidding this Conference good-bye, and this city good-bye, my heart is full, and I hope that in future years matters may so shape themselves that this Conference may again assemble here, and that we may renew the acquaintances and friendships here formed. [Great applause.]

Dr. BYERS: As Secretary of the State Board of Charities, who have had some part in the hospitalities spoken of by Mr. Wines, I feel as though I possibly ought to be silent; and yet there are feelings of personal interest and a deep sense of personal obligation that prompt me to say just this word. For twelve months we have looked forward with great interest, and, as the time approached, not without some anxiety touching the success of this Cleveland Conference of Charities. This solicitude, as the time drew near for us to separate, has been dissipated, and has vanished with the testimony Mr. Wines has given to its success. I, for one, desire to say, that to have sat together with you, to have participated in any degree in these proceedings, to have contributed in anywise to the bringing together, and to share in the excellence of a convention like this, is a reward sufficient for all we have done and suffered in the way of anxiety; and our pleasure has been a thousand fold increased by the expressions of gratification embodied in this vote of thanks. Personally, I have enjoyed the Conference very much, and I know that I express the sentiments of the Ohio Board of State Charities.

Mr. NEFF (of the Ohio Board): This is the first time I have had the privilege of meeting with you as a member. I desire to express my appreciation of the papers read before the Conference, and the practical manner in which they and you have treated the subjects

discussed. I also desire to express my appreciation of the hospitalities of the citizens of Cleveland, and to speak of its charitable institutions, public and private. They are all in good condition, so far as I have had the opportunity of witnessing them, and such as to make a deep and lasting impression upon all the delegates in this Conference.

Mr. MILLIGAN: Mr. Chairman, I have attended all such Conferences, in this country and in Europe, since this Conference was established; all that have met separately and jointly in various parts of this country and of Europe; and I want here and now, before we separate, to bear my testimony to this meeting as being one of the most interesting I have ever attended; and I would extend earnest and sincere thanks to Gen. Brinkerhoff and the local Committee in charge of matters here. I feel, also, that the papers coming before us at this time, have been of the highest character,— better, as a whole, than any I have heard at any preceding Conference in the United States, since they were inaugurated, at the Prison Congress of Cincinnati in 1870, by my eloquent and lamented friend, Dr. E. C. Wines. I shall go back to Pittsburgh with my heart stirred more deeply for the great interests we represent, and which so need an earnest presentation, throughout this land, and all over Europe.

FAREWELL REMARKS OF THE PRESIDENT (MR. LORD).

Before we adjourn, I will say a word, if you will allow me. Our organization of Charities and Correction would seem to imply a title somewhat incongruous, as if the work of charities and the work of correction lay far apart in the field of human transactions; yet, as in many other fields of labor, they lie side by side, their borders overlapping and meeting. Poverty leads to crime, and crime tends to poverty. Insanity tends to poverty, without any exception, and always tends to crime, or what would be crime, if the parties were free moral agents. Therefore, charities and correction necessarily work together, and I imagine for some years to come the title of this body will properly and of necessity be what it now is.

Now,

Many of the transactions in which we have been zealously engaged have been during all the experience of mankind in darkness. We have had to deal with crime mainly in darkness. there are persons connected with this organization who can illuminate those dark places, and brighten them with something like a ray of sunlight, and picture them like a photograph throughout the length and breadth of the land, so that men can see defects and inadequacies in view of the light brought to bear upon these dark places.

We have met with rather a small audience here, as we have had everywhere, yet, through these indefatigable, busy fingers and pencils we see before us, whatever is said here that is worthy, will,

within twenty-four hours, reach more people than would fill all the halls and all the public buildings in this city. The great public will extract from these proceedings whatever is useful, and it will have its influence throughout the length and breadth of our land. Further than that, the transactions of this body will cross the Atlantic, and there be considered in many different languages; men will winnow this mass that goes out from here, and whatever of golden grain there is in it, will be carefully preserved and resown over their own fields, and there be reproduced. And, also, while we have many familiar faces and old delegates with us from the North, South, East and West, Her Majesty, the honored English Queen, has sent to our convention one of her ablest and most trusted servants, to give information to us how she follows up and cares for delinquency and dependency in all the parts of her immense dominions; and we have seen with great gratification the care of that Government, solicitous for the welfare of every subject. She has kept all her charitable enterprises fully apace with ours.

We are about to adjourn to meet again in one of the New England States. We have for three years held our Conference in the West. We have decided to hold it next year in Boston; and I hope, as we develop in experience, we shall be able to make it less wearisome to the public. For the next convention we have divided the business into six heads, which will give each of the six Committees one day. We shall hold morning and evening sessions, and none in the afternoon, and no doubt we shall have a pleasant and profitable Conference. No papers will be read except by their authors; others received will be referred to a Committee upon Publication, and thus much time will be devoted to a discussion upon those read.

Rev. Mr. McCulloch, of Indianapolis, then closed the session with prayer and benediction, and Dr. Hoyt declared the Conference adjourned until the last Monday in July, 1881, at Boston.

NOTE.—The Address of Bishop Bedell, and the remarks of Mr. Ogden, of New York, are printed on subsequent pages, not having been sent to the printer in time to take their natural place in the Proceedings.

BISHOP BEDELL'S ADDRESS TO THE CONFERENCE.

THE RELATION OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH TO THE CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS

OF THE STATE.

(Delivered Tuesday, June 29, 1880.)

It meets us before

A preliminary question must be settled. we reach even the threshold of this subject. Is this a Christian State? Our discussion and the conclusion hinge upon the answer to that question. If the State be Christian, the relation of the Christian church to its institutions may be intimate. If the State be anti-Christian, those relations must be antagonistic.

But if the State be neutral in religion. Neutral? impossible! Neutrality is hostility. A State cannot be neutral as to these deep-seated and under-working moral elements of national character and habit which are termed religion. Indifference would be the abandonment of control over its citizens and effort for their well-being at the very point where governmental discipline becomes most ready and effective. Neither an individual nor a State can be neutral in religion. Our Lord Christ said, "He that is not with me is against me." Like all His apothegms, the truth which underlies this statement leads to a rapid generalization. Only two moral forces are working in the universe. Like magnetic forces they range themselves round one or other of two poles. They are with Christ or against Christ. Individual character instantly submits to this resolution of its elements. An individual instantly decides for himself his moral position with respect to the Lord of Lords. As is the majority of individuals in a nation, so that people and government ranges itself for or against the religion of Christ. It is not a question to be decided by constitutional enact. ment. The Magna Charta of a great people may be silent as to its Divine Ruler or vocal in His praise, but it is neither its silence or its speech which decides the question of that people's Christianity. That question is decided by the actual religious allegiance of the people; the religious allegiance of the majority, as with us; or the allegiance of the influential forces of the community, as in some less democratic States. England is not a religious country merely because its national church is an essential element in its constitution; nor is the United States an unchristian country merely because church and State are forever dissevered by its constitution. England is a Christian country because its people, by majorities, acknowledge allegiance to the King of Kings; and the United States is an equally Christian Government, because the mass of its people recognize the sovereignty of Christ, and the test of the correctness of this assertion is the truth of that apothegm of Christ out of which this statement has grown. For

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