In 1860 It Had Reached
Nearly 800,000 In The City Of New York Itself.
To this number must
be added the numbers of Brooklyn, Williamsburg, and Jersey City, in
order that a true conception may be had of the population of this
American metropolis, seeing that those places are as much a part of
New York as Southwark is of London.
By this the total will be
swelled to considerably above a million. It will no doubt be
admitted that this growth has been very fast, and that New York may
well be proud of it. Increase of population is, I take it, the
only trustworthy sign of a nation's success or of a city's success.
We boast that London has beaten the other cities of the world, and
think that that boast is enough to cover all the social sins for
which London has to confess her guilt. New York, beginning with
60,000 sixty years since, has now a million souls - a million
mouths, all of which eat a sufficiency of bread, all of which speak
ore rotundo, and almost all of which can read. And this has come
of its love of dollars.
For myself I do not believe that Dives is so black as he is painted
or that his peril is so imminent. To reconcile such an opinion
with holy writ might place me in some difficulty were I a
clergyman. Clergymen, in these days, are surrounded by
difficulties of this nature - finding it necessary to explain away
many old-established teachings which narrowed the Christian Church,
and to open the door wide enough to satisfy the aspirations and
natural hopes of instructed men.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 329 of 538
Words from 87525 to 87804
of 143277
