would be no success. If there were nothing to
struggle or compete for, there would be nothing achieved. It is well,
therefore, that men should be under the necessity of exerting
themselves. In this necessity for exertion, we find the chief source of
human advancement--the advancement of individuals as of nations. It has
led to most of the splendid mechanical inventions and improvements of
the age. It has stimulated the shipbuilder, the merchant, the
manufacturer, the machinist, the tradesman, the skilled workman. In all
departments of productive industry, it has been the moving power. Is has
developed the resources of this and of other countries,--the resources
of the soil, and the character and qualities of the men who dwell upon
it. It seems to be absolutely necessary for the purpose of stimulating
the growth and culture of every individual. It is deeply rooted in man,
leading him ever to seek after, and endeavour to realize, something
better and higher than he has yet attained.

Of course, man is much more than a competing being. That is only one of
his characteristics, and not the highest or noblest. He has
sensibilities, sympathies, and aspirations, which should induce him to
unite and cooperate with others in works for the common good. With
unfettered individualism, there may, and there ought to be, beneficent
cooperation for the general happiness. Men may unite to labour, to
produce, and to share with each other the fruits of their corporate
industry. But under any circumstances, there will be the instinct of
competition, the opportunities for competition, and, though mixed with
necessary evil, there will be the ultimate advantages of competition.

One of the results of industry and thrift is the accumulation of
Capital. Capital represents the self-denial, the providence, and the
enterprise of the past. The most successful accumulators of capital have
in all times risen from the ranks of labour itself; they are working men
who have shot ahead of their fellows, and who now give employment
instead of receiving it. These persons,--who are not the less working
men because they have ceased to be manual labourers,--by creating and
extending the sphere of productive industry, must be regarded as amongst
the most effective benefactors of the people, as they unquestionably are
among the principal sources of the power and wealth of any nation.
Without the capital accumulated by their thrift during many generations,
the lo