Everything depends, as we shall afterwards find, upon the uses to which accumulations of wealth are applied.  On the tombstone of John Donough, of New Orleans, the following maxims are engraved as the merchant’s guide to young men on their way through life:—­

“Remember always that labour is one of the conditions of our existence.

“Time is gold; throw not one minute away, but place each one to account.

“Do unto all men as you would be done by.

“Never put off till to-morrow what can be done to-day.

“Never bid another do what you can do yourself.

“Never covet what is not your own.

“Never think any matter so trifling as not to deserve notice.

“Never give out what does not come in.

“Do not spend, but produce.

“Let the greatest order regulate the actions of your life.

“Study in your course of life to do the greatest amount of good.

“Deprive yourself of nothing that is necessary to your comfort, but live in honourable simplicity and frugality.

“Labour then to the last moment of your existence.”

Most men have it in their power, by prudent arrangements, to defend themselves against adversity, and to throw up a barrier against destitution.  They can do this by their own individual efforts, or by acting on the principle of co-operation, which is capable of an almost indefinite extension.  People of the most humble condition, by combining their means and associating together, are enabled in many ways to defend themselves against the pressure of poverty, to promote their physical well-being, and even to advance the progress of the nation.

A solitary individual may be able to do very little to advance and improve society; but when he combines with his fellows for the purpose, he can do a very great deal.  Civilization itself is but the effect of combining.  Mr. Mill has said that “almost all the advantages which man possesses over the inferior animals, arise from his power of acting in combination with his fellows, and of accomplishing, by the united efforts of numbers, what could not be accomplished by the detached efforts of individuals.”

The secret of social development is to be found in co-operation; and the great question of improved economical and social life can only receive a satisfactory solution through its means.  To effect good on a large scale, men must combine their efforts; and the best social system is that in which the organization for the common good is rendered the most complete in all respects.