gentlemen; you may hunt the drink here, and perhaps find it, too; but, by God's grace and all the power we have, the drinks shall not hunt you."

Again, four-fifths of the Christian power of the commonwealth is ungeared from the political main-shaft because it belongs to women, who could not, if they would, give it to men; and the Church weakly adjourns from year to year without a quorum, and the world wags its head, saying, "She would save others; herself she cannot save." And Christian men "blown" like birds' eggs so they will not spoil, are kept by political collectors in cabinets as curios. propose to stop that, and before we grind another grist belt on the power of women.

Local option legislation which offers to dam Niagara with small corks is perhaps the most Christian thing in liquor statutes so far prevalent. Yet it makes sweet, wholesome, pious Saint's Rest." Auburndale says, 'To hell with the tempted and wretched of Boston, if only we keep clean." This is a nation, not a string of towns, and Christian patriotism ought to know no bounds. But look at New York yonder, foul to the last breath of air, except the country and the sea breathe on her; her water brine or filth, except that Croton aqueduct brings the country to her lips, and her public morals vile as Sodom, except a flood of white ballots from above the Harlem river wash her clean. "Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil," according to the locality!

Martin Luther's Reformation was a toy compared to this, if we could celebrate to-day an end of that; for if it could run through the land to-morrow morning that Christian men had united to-day in a new Declaration of Independence the liquor dealer and his cousin-german, the "practical politician," would "fold their tents like the Arabs and as silently steal"-something, and leave the country for the country's good. For the liquor traffic has been tried and convicted, but by bribery of the judges has been reprieved from year to year. Let it be called now for sentence. It is nonchalant, but nervous; it has millions of slaves and patrons,

but few friends, and every friend it has is a traitor to something else. Are the judges purchasable this year? Yes; and worse than that, men in high places, leaders, statesmen, who are called Christians, sneer at the prosecutor and call him fool and knave. But let them have a care at whom they

sneer.

The temple of God on the earth is the family. The real sanctuary of godliness and patriotism is the American home. Drink is the great profaner of that sanctuary, the arch in ́sulter of virtue, the scourge of motherhood and desolator of the land, yet the men who make war upon the drink traffic are more jeered at than sneaks and hypocrites. There are Ammonites amongst us in Christian America. Let a man offer himself in wager of battle, champion of the home against that traffic, and forthwith the whole pack, "little dogs and all-Tray, Blanche, Sweetheart-see, they bark at him."

And the mother's cry goes on, up to the high places of State and nation, and refuses to be silent because of the slaughter of her children, and the crowd says, "Aha!" Women organize and ask for champions or suffrage to defend them against the saloon, and religious papers which claim to represent the better sentiment of the community say, "Aha!'' Great churches sit in convention, consider the saloon and say, "It cannot be legalized without sin "; but the Christian voter goes his way, treating the matter as a ghastly joke, and says, Aha!" and the saloon-keeper answers him back, "Aha!" and the two deposit in the ballot-box duplicate expressions of opinion on public affairs, and the devil says, "Aha!"'-Lecture by John G. Woolley.

SIGNS OF THE TIMES IN GERMANY.

PROFESSOR STUCKENBERG, our contributor from Berlin and pastor of the American church there, is temporarily in this country to give lectures in Wittenberg College and Oberlin. At the latter place he is reported as speaking as follows on points of high strategic interest:

Of the nearly a thousand American students that every year visit Berlin for the purposes of higher education, the

majority are drawn towards the American church, as the only place where they can hear the Gospel in their own language, except at the English church, which is patronized by the Empress. This American church is remarkable, because it is a practical example of Christian union. Except the Bible they have no other than the Apostles' Creed. At the formation of the church there were members from ten different denominations, and they now include those who have belonged to twenty-seven of the sects. Yet, with all this diversity of views there has never been the slightest friction as to substantial agreement in Christian work, but a continued and healthful growth. Part of his mission is to raise $100,000 for a church building. His lecture on Saturday evening was on German Socialism. He spoke of its very rapid growth; that now it had one hundred and forty-eight journals devoted to its promotion; commanding 1,500,000 votes, and represented 9,000,000 of people. Among its causes were: (1) The development of self-consciousness, which, in turn, was the result of general education and abundant means of knowledge. (2) The rapid growth of the cities, as compared with the rural districts. (3) That the increase in wages and the ability to obtain the common comforts of life have not kept pace with the increased demand of a growing civilization; and (4) A reaction of the democratic feeling against aristocracy and imperialism. He spoke of the theories of the Socialists; that while they were not necessarily antagonistic to Christianity, they were mainly the products of atheists, and that the whole movement was regarded as a menace to religion. There were often twenty-two socialistic meetings in Berlin each Lord's day.

On Sabbath evening he spoke of the religious needs of the German people, the extent and influence of rationalism over the masses, and the weakened power of Christianity. Of the 1,600,000 people in Berlin, about 1,400,000 are nominal Protestants; and yet in all the Protestant churches of that city there are but 60,000 sittings. The only really active and aggressive religious force in Germany is the Roman church, which aims and expects to reconquer the empire.

On Monday morning he spoke for an hour, in the College chapel, on the development of modern thought in Germany; and then took half an hour to answer written questions. He spoke, first, of the great facilities for inter-communication, the press and the telegraph, as bringing about a community of thought in the entire civilized world, specially among the learned, so that German or French or American thought speedily becomes the thought of the world. He briefly traced the development of philosophy, of science and theology in the German universities. He regarded the present as emphatically the scientific age. Men were everywhere seeking for something practical and realistic, in distinction from theories and opinions. He thought that the tendency among the leaders in theology is to a more spiritual and evangelical type, and that the rationalism and infidelity among the masses is the result of past influences. He regards the greatest obstacle to the influence of Christianity to be the dominance of the state in all religious matters, and that, as a result, there is great diversity of thought in those who are the appointed teachers. He thought that Germany was embarrassed with as great and as difficult problems as other nations; but he did not take a pessimistic view of the general outlook.

Oberlin sends more students to the great Berlin University than any other American school, except Harvard, and the numbers who seek culture abroad will doubtless increase. It is the mission of the American church to look after their spiritual welfare.

QUESTIONS TO SPECIALISTS.

REPLY BY REV. J. M. KING, SECRETARY OF THE NATIONAL LEAGUE,

127.

NEW YORK.

What has been done by the National League for the Protection of American Institutions?

Local Leagues have been formed in several cities and steps are now being taken to organize State Leagues.

About 200 local secretaries have been appointed at the centers of population in the various States, thus furnishing a medium for extended correspondence and organization.

Our principles and XVI. Amendment have been adopted by two National Conventions representing the various patriotic American orders, many of which are doing active work in our interests, securing the co-operation of more than 1,500,000 voters.

The League has vigorously opposed in both LI. and LII. Congresses, and with good measure of success, the making of sectarian appropriations for Indian education, and has sought to extend the Common School system among the wards of the nation.

The League concededly is principally responsible for effecting the divorce between the United States Government and the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions, which was the only explicit partnership which the National Government sustained with any religious sect.

Personal letters and documents were sent to all of the members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives preparing the way for the introduction of the XVI. Amendment into the LII. Congress.

Letters of instructions to secretaries, suggestions to supporters, and forms of memorials to be addressed to individual Senators and Representatives were sent into all the States, in response to which over 300,000 autograph memorials from citizens have been presented, and the work of preparing and sending in memorials is still in progress.

On January 18th, 1892, the XVI. Amendment was introduced into both Houses of Congress, and referred to the respective Committees on the Judiciary. It was presented to the Senate by the Hon. O. H. Platt, of Connecticut, and to the House of Representatives by the Hon. Wm. Springer, of Illinois.

On April 12th, 1892, the League was granted a hearing on the XVI. Amendment before the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of