Printing.—­The spread of knowledge through the world is indeed a boon which cannot be too highly extolled; but the thoughts of man could not thus have been circulated had it not been for the printing-press.  See what science and art have done for us in this most perfect and beautiful machine!  When we go only to one example, the “Times” newspaper, and consider the amount of information it circulates each day through the world, it strikes one forcibly what man has been allowed and enabled to do for the benefit of himself and his fellow-men.  What we have brought the printing-press to, is shown in 20,000 copies of the “Times” being thrown off in one hour, and the advantage it has been to the advancement of literature in our now being able to buy such works as those of Sir Walter Scott for sixpence a volume.

Having gone so far, I must not detain you for more than a brief period.  You have had such an able and interesting course of lectures given by men of high talent, that little remains for me except to close this course with congratulation to the Association in being able to procure those individuals to give their valuable time to this desirable object; for what in life is more interesting than the imparting the knowledge we may possess to others who desire to acquire it, seeing that there is no way in which moral and social intercourse is more advanced and developed.  Still, before closing, I must ask for a short time to go into one or two other subjects.  And first, I will take one of the greatest importance to the commerce of this country, and one that has shown what the mind has done for communicating the thoughts of one person to another at far distant places—­I refer to the telegraph.  The land is not only covered with wires, but even the vast depths of the great ocean are made to minister to our requirements.  The world, we may say, is encircled with ropes, and instant communication has been the result.  What has achieved these great results but the mind of man applied to science!  And see in what a multitude of ways this application of mind has been made to work!  What does it bring into play?  Why, we have mining to produce the metal to make the wire; we have the furnace, hammers, and wire-drawing machines to produce the wire from the raw material.  We have the forest then to go to for gutta-percha, for land poles, and for tar to preserve the cables.  We have the farmer for our hemp.  We have the chemist, we have the electrician, we have the steamer, and a great number of other requisites before the silent but unerring voice of the needle brings the thoughts of one man in America to another in this town in an instant of time.  Accidents and mistakes will occur in the best-regulated works of all kinds, but I hope not often.  One as to the telegraph I must tell that happened during the Indian Mutiny.  The message meant to say that “The general won’t act, and the troops have no head.”  The transformation was curious, namely, “The general won’t eat, and the troops have cut off his head.”  If men would only consider well this grand achievement, they would be led indeed to say and feel, with all humility and thankfulness, that God has truly given him dominion over the works of His hands, and has put all things in subjection under his feet.