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diff --git a/23138.txt b/23138.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ad53e7d --- /dev/null +++ b/23138.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16879 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Diary in America, Series Two, by +Frederick Marryat (AKA Captain Marryat) + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Diary in America, Series Two + +Author: Frederick Marryat (AKA Captain Marryat) + +Release Date: October 21, 2007 [EBook #23138] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DIARY IN AMERICA, SERIES TWO *** + + + + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + + + + +Diary in America--Series Two, by Captain Marryat. + +________________________________________________________________________ +In the late 1830s Captain Marryat, already a famous literary figure in +North America, visited the United States and Canada, writing his +observations in two Series of volumes, each containing three books. + +These were published in Britain as the six books, but were published in +America as two books with small print and thin paper, thus enabling the +Diary to be published as two books only. It is from first editions of +the American version that we have worked, though we do possess three of +the British first edition of six volumes. + +While some of the observations are trivial, and some even possibly +misleading, there is a great deal of useful fact in these books, making +them well worth looking at. There are some tables that may not +reproduce well in the PDA version of these books. + +Marryat used his knowledge of America to write a novel based in the +more southerly part, especially California and Texas. + +________________________________________________________________________ +DIARY IN AMERICA--SERIES TWO, BY CAPTAIN MARRYAT. + + +VOLUME ONE, CHAPTER ONE. + +TRAVELLING. + +I believe that the remarks of a traveller in any country not his own, +let his work be ever so trifling or badly written, will point out some +peculiarity which will have escaped the notice of those who were born +and reside in that country, unless they happen to be natives of that +portion of it in which the circumstance alluded to was observed. It is +a fact that no one knows his own country; from assuetude and, perhaps, +from the feelings of regard which we naturally have for our native land, +we pass over what nevertheless does not escape the eye of a foreigner. +Indeed, from the consciousness that we can always see such and such +objects of interest whenever we please, we very often procrastinate +until we never see them at all. I knew an old gentleman who having +always resided in London, every year declared his intention of seeing +the Tower of London with its Curiosities. He renewed this declaration +every year, put it off until the next, and has since left the world +without having ever put his intention into execution. + +That the Americans would cavil at portions of the first part of my work, +I was fully convinced, and as there are many observations quite new to +most of them, they are by them considered to be false; but the United +States, as I have before observed, comprehend an immense extent of +territory, with a population running from a state of refinement down to +one of positive barbarism; and although the Americans travel much, they +travel the well beaten paths, in which that which is peculiar is not so +likely to meet the eye or even the ear. It does not, therefore, follow +that because what I remark is new to many of them, that therefore it is +false. The inhabitants of the cities in the United States, (and it is +those who principally visit this country), know as little of what is +passing in Arkansas and Alabama as a cockney does of the manners and +customs of Guernsey, Jersey, and the Isle of Man. + +The other day, one American lady observed that, "it was too bad of +Captain Marryat to assert that ladies in America carried pigtail in +their work-boxes to present to the gentlemen;" adding, "I never heard or +saw such a thing in all my life." Very possible; and had I stated that +at New York, Philadelphia, Boston, or Charleston, such was the practice, +she then might have been justifiably indignant. But I have been very +particular in my localities, both in justice to myself and the +Americans, and if they will be content to confine their animadversions +to the observations upon the State to which they belong, or my general +observations upon the country and government, I shall then be content; +if, on the contrary, their natural vanity will not allow any remarks to +be made upon the peculiarities of one portion of society without +considering them as a reflection upon the whole of the Union, all I can +say is that they must, and will be annoyed. + +The answer made to the lady who was "wrathy" about the pigtail was, +"Captain M has stated it to be a custom in one State. Have you ever +been in that State?" + +"No, I have not," replied the lady, "but I have never heard of it." So +then, on a vast continent, extending almost from the Poles to the +Equator, because one individual, one mere mite of creation among the +millions (who are but a fraction of the population which the country +will support), has not heard of what passes thousands of miles from her +abode, therefore it cannot be true! Instead of cavilling, let the +American read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest all that I have already +said, and all that I intend to say in these volumes; and although the +work was not written for them, but for my own countrymen, they will find +that I have done them friendly service. + +There is much comprehended in the simple word "travelling" which heads +this chapter, and it is by no means an unimportant subject, as the +degree of civilisation of a country, and many important peculiarities, +bearing strongly upon the state of society, are to be gathered from the +high road, and the variety of entertainment for man and horse; and I +think that my remarks on this subject will throw as much light upon +American society as will be found in any chapter which I have written. + +In a country abounding as America does with rivers and railroads, and +where locomotion by steam, wherever it can be applied, supersedes every +other means of conveyance, it is not to be expected that the roads will +be remarkably good; they are, however, in consequence of the excellent +arrangements of the townships and counties, in the Eastern States, as +good, and much better, than could be expected. The great objection to +them is that they are not levelled, but follow the undulations of the +country, so that you have a variety of short, steep ascents and descents +which are very trying to the carriage-springs and very fatiguing to the +traveller. Of course in a new country you must expect to fall in with +the delightful varieties of _Corduroy_, etcetera, but wherever the +country is settled, and the population sufficient to pay the expense, +the roads in America may be said to be as good as under circumstances +could possibly be expected. There are one or two roads, I believe, not +more, which are government roads; but, in general, the expense of the +roads is defrayed by the States. + +But, before I enter into any remarks upon the various modes of +travelling in America, it may be as well to say a few words upon the +horses, which are remarkably good in the United States: they appear to +be more hardy, and have much better hoofs, than ours in England; +throwing a shoe therefore is not of the same consequence as it is with +us, for a horse will go twenty miles afterwards with little injury. In +Virginia and Kentucky the horses are almost all thorough-bred, and from +the best English stock.--The distances run in racing are much longer +than ours, and speed without bottom is useless. + +The Americans are very fond of fast trotting horses; I do not refer to +rackers, as they term horses that trot before and gallop behind, but +fair trotters, and they certainly have a description of horse that we +could not easily match in England. At New York, the Third Avenue, as +they term it, is the general rendezvous, I once went out there mounted +upon Paul Pry, who was once considered the fastest horse in America; at +his full speed he performed a mile in two minutes and thirty seconds, +equal to twenty-four miles per hour. He took me at this devil of a pace +as far as Hell Gate; not wishing "to intrude," I pulled up there, and +went home again. A pair of horses in harness were pointed out to me who +could perform the mile in two minutes fifty seconds. They use here +light four-wheeled vehicles which they call wagons, with a seat in the +front for two persons and room for your luggage behind; and in these +wagons, with a pair of horses, they think nothing of trotting them +seventy or eighty miles in a day, at the speed of twelve miles an hour; +I have seen the horses come in, and they did not appear to suffer from +the fatigue. You seldom see a horse bent forward, but they are all +daisy cutters. + +The gentlemen of New York give very high prices for fast horses; 1,000 +dollars is not by any means an uncommon price. In a country where time +is every thing, they put a proportionate value upon speed. Paul Pry is +a tall grey horse (now thirteen years old); to look at, he would not +fetch 10 pounds,--the English omnibuses would refuse him. + +Talking about omnibuses, those of New York, and the other cities in +America, are as good and as well regulated as those of Paris; the larger +ones have four horses. Not only their omnibuses, but their hackney +coaches are very superior to those in London; the latter are as clean as +private carriages; and with the former there is no swearing, no +dislocating the arms of poor females, hauling them from one omnibus to +the other,--but civility without servility. + +The American stage-coaches are such as experience has found out to be +most suitable to the American roads, and you have not ridden in them +five miles before you long for the delightful springing of four horses +upon the level roads of England. They are something between an English +stage [see note 1] and a French diligence, built with all the panels +open, on account of the excessive heat of the summer months. In wet +weather these panels are covered with leather aprons, which are fixed on +with battons, a very insufficient protection in the winter, as the wind +blows through the intermediate spaces, whistling into your ears, and +rendering it more piercing than if all was open. Moreover, they are no +protection against the rain or snow, both of which find their way in to +you. The coach has three seats, to receive nine passengers; those on +the middle seat leaning back upon a strong and broad leather brace, +which runs across. This is very disagreeable, as the centre passengers, +when the panels are closed, deprive the others of the light and air from +the windows. But the most disagreeable feeling arises from the body of +the coach not being upon springs, but hung upon leather braces running +under it and supporting it on each side; and when the roads are bad, or +you ascend or rapidly descend the pitches (as they term short hills) the +motion is very similar to that of being tossed in a blanket, often +throwing you up to the top of the coach, so as to flatten your hat--if +not your head. + +The drivers are very skilful, although they are generally young men-- +indeed often mere boys--for they soon better themselves as they advance +in life. Very often they drive six in hand; and if you are upset, it is +generally more the fault of the road than of the driver. I was upset +twice in one half hour when I was travelling in the winter time; but the +snow was very deep at the time, and no one thinks anything of an upset +in America. More serious accidents do, however, sometimes happen. When +I was in New Hampshire, a neglected bridge broke down, and precipitated +coach, horses, and passengers into a torrent which flowed into the +Connecticut river. Some of the passengers were drowned. Those who were +saved, sued the township and recovered damages; but these mischances +must be expected in a new country. The great annoyance of these public +conveyances is, that neither the proprietor or driver consider +themselves the servants of the public; a stage-coach is a speculation by +which as much money is to be made as possible by the proprietors; and as +the driver never expects or demands a fee from the passengers, they or +their comforts are no concern of his. The proprietors do not consider +that they are bound to keep faith with the public, nor do they care +about any complaints. + +The stages which run from Cincinnati to the eastward are very much +interfered with when the Ohio river is full of water, as the travellers +prefer the steam-boats; but the very moment that the water is so low on +the Ohio that the steam-boats cannot ascend the river up to Wheeling, +double the price is demanded by the proprietors of the coaches. They +are quite regardless as to the opinion or good-will of the public; they +do not care for either, all they want is their money, and they are +perfectly indifferent whether you break your neck or not. The great +evil arising from this state of hostility, as you may almost call it, is +the disregard of life which renders travelling so dangerous in America. +You are completely at the mercy of the drivers, who are, generally +speaking, very good-tempered, but sometimes quite the contrary; and I +have often been amused with the scenes which have taken place between +them and the passengers. As for myself, when the weather permitted it, +I invariably went outside, which the Americans seldom do, and was always +very good friends with the drivers. They are full of local information, +and often very amusing. There is, however, a great difference in the +behaviour of the drivers of the mails, and coaches which are _timed_ by +the post-office, and others which are not. If beyond his time, the +driver is mulcted by the proprietors; and when dollars are in the +question, there is an end to all urbanity and civility. + +A gentleman of my acquaintance was in a mail which was behind time, and +the driver was proceeding at such a furious pace that one jerk threw a +lady to the top of the coach, and the teeth of her comb entering her +head, she fainted with pain. The passengers called out to the driver to +stop. "What for?" "That last jerk has struck the lady, and she has +fainted." "Oh, that's all! Well, I reckon I'll give her another jerk, +which will bring her to again." Strange to say, he prophesied right; +the next jerk was very violent, and the lady recovered her senses. + +Mr E, an employe of the American government, was travelling in the +state of Indiana--the passengers had slept at an inn, and the coach was +ready at the door, but Mr E had not quite finished his toilet; the +driver dispatched the bar-keeper for him, and Mr E sent word he would +be down immediately. + +"What is he about?" said the driver impatiently to the bar-keeper when +he came down again. + +"Cleaning his teeth." + +"_Cleaning his teeth_!" roared the driver, indignantly; "by the --," and +away went the horses at a gallop, leaving Mr E behind. + +The other passengers remonstrated, but without avail; they told him that +Mr E was charged with government despatches--he didn't care; at last, +one of them offered him a dollar if he would go back. They had +proceeded more than a mile before the offer was made; the man +immediately wheeled his horses round, and returned to the inn. + +The Rev Mr Reid gives an anecdote very characteristic of American +stage-coach travelling, and proving how little the convenience of the +public is cared for. + +"When we stopped at Lowell to change horses, a female wished to secure a +place onward. We were already, as the phrase is, more than full; we had +nine persons, and two children, which are made to go for nothing, except +in the way-bill. Our saucy driver opened the door, and addressing two +men, who, with us, would have been outside passengers--`now, I say, I +want one of you to ride with me, and let a lady have your seat.' The +men felt they were addressed by a superior, but kept their places. +`Come, I say,' he continued, `you shall have a good buffalo and +_umbrel_, and nothing will hurt you.' Still they kept their places, and +refused him. His lordship was offended, and ready to lay hands on one +of them; but, checking himself, exclaimed, `Well, if I can't get you +out, hang it if I'll take you on till one of you gets out.' And there +we stood for some time; and he gained his point at last, and in civiller +terms, by persuading the persons on the middle seat to receive the lady; +so that we had now twelve inside." + +I once myself was in a stage-coach, and found that the window glasses +had been taken out; I mentioned this to the driver, as it rained in very +fast--"Well, now," replied he, "I reckon you'd better ax the +proprietors; my business is to drive the coach." And that was all the +comfort I could procure. As for speaking to them about stopping, or +driving slow, it is considered as an unwarrantable interference. + +I recollect an Englishman at New York telling me, that when in the +Eastern States, he had expressed a wish to go a little faster--"Oh," +said the driver, "you do, do you; well, wait a moment, and I'll go +faster than you like." The fellow drove very slow where the road was +good; but as soon as he came to a bad piece, he put his horses to the +gallop, and, as my friend said, they were so tossed and tumbled about, +that they hardly knew where they were. "Is that fast enough, Mister," +said the driver, leering in at the couch window. + +As for stopping, they will stop to talk to any one on the road about the +price of the markets, the news, or any thing else; and the same +accommodation is cheerfully given to any passenger who has any business +to transact on the way. The Americans are accustomed to it, and the +passengers never raise any objections. There is a spirit of +accommodation, arising from their natural good temper (note 2). + +I was once in a coach when the driver pulled up, and entered a small +house on the road side; after he had been there some time, as it was not +an inn, I expressed my wonder what he was about. "I guess I can tell +you," said a man who was standing by the coach, and overheard me; +"there's a pretty girl in that house, and he's doing a bit of courting, +I expect." Such was the fact: the passengers laughed, and waited for +him very patiently. He remained about three-quarters of an hour, and +then came out. The time was no doubt to him very short; but to us it +appeared rather tedious. + +Mrs Jamieson, in her last work, says: "One dark night, I remember, as +the sleet and rain were falling fast, and our Extra was slowly dragged +by wretched brutes of horses through what seemed to me `Sloughs of +Despond,' some package ill stowed on the roof, which in the American +stages presents no resting-place for man or box, fell off. The driver +alighted to fish it out of the mud. As there was some delay, a +gentleman seated opposite to me put his head out of window to inquire +the cause; to whom the driver's voice replied, in an angry tone, `I say, +you mister, don't you sit jabbering there; but lend a hand to heave +these things aboard!' To my surprise, the gentleman did not appear +struck by the insolence of this summons, but immediately jumped out and +rendered his assistance. This is merely the _manner_ of the people. +The driver intended no insolence, nor was it taken as such; and my +fellow-travellers could not help laughing at my surprise." + +I have mentioned these little anecdotes, as they may amuse the reader; +but it must be understood that, generally speaking, the drivers are very +good-natured and obliging, and the passengers very accommodating to each +other, and submitting with a good grace to what cannot be ameliorated. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 1. Miss Martineau in her work speaks of that most _delightful_ of +all conveyances--an American stage-coach; but Miss M is so very peculiar +in her ideas, that I am surprised at nothing that she says. I will, +however, quote the Reverend Mr Reid against her:-- + +"I had no sooner begun to enter the coach than splash went my foot in +mud and water. I exclaimed with surprise. `Soon be dry, sir,' was the +reply; while he withdrew the light; that I might not explore the cause +of complaint. The fact was, that the vehicle, like the hotel and +steam-boat, was not water-tight, and the rain had found an entrance. +There was, indeed, in this coach, as in most others, a provision in the +bottom, of holes, to let off both water and dirt; but here the dirt had +become mud, and thickened about the orifices, so as to prevent escape. +I found I was the only passenger; the morning was damp and chilly; the +state of the coach added to the sensation; and I eagerly looked about +for some means of protection. I drew up the wooden windows; out of five +small panes of glass in the sashes three were broken. I endeavoured to +secure the curtains; two of them had most of the ties broken, and +flapped in one's face. There was no help in the coach, so I looked to +myself. I made the best use I could of my garments, and put myself as +snugly as I could in the corner of a stage meant to accommodate nine +persons. My situation just then was not among the most cheerful. I +could see nothing; every where I could feel the wind drawn in upon me; +and as for sounds I had the calls of the driver, the screeching of the +wheels, and the song of the bull-frog for my entertainment."--Rev Mr +Reid's Tour, vol. I, page 100.--Very delightful, indeed! + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 2. This spirit of accommodation produces what would at first +appear to be rudeness, but is not intended for it. When you travel, or +indeed when walking the streets in the Western country, if you have a +cigar in your mouth, a man will come up--"Beg pardon, stranger," and +whips your cigar out of your mouth, lights his own, and then returns +yours. I thought it rather cool at first, but as I found it was the +practice, I invariably did the same whenever I needed a light. + + + +VOLUME ONE, CHAPTER TWO. + +TRAVELLING. + +In making my observations upon the rail-road and steam-boat travelling +in the United States, I shall point out some facts with which the reader +must be made acquainted. The Americans are a restless, locomotive +people: whether for business or pleasure, they are ever on the move in +their own country, and they move in masses. There is but one +conveyance, it may be said, for every class of people, the coach, +rail-road, or steam-boat, as well as most of the hotels, being open to +all; the consequence is that the society is very much mixed--the +millionaire, the well-educated woman of the highest rank, the senator, +the member of Congress, the farmer, the emigrant, the swindler, and the +pick-pocket, are all liable to meet together in the same vehicle of +conveyance. Some conventional rules were therefore necessary, and those +rules have been made by public opinion--a power to which all must submit +in America. The one most important, and without which it would be +impossible to travel in such a gregarious way, is an universal deference +and civility shewn to the women, who may in consequence travel without +protection all over the United States without the least chance of +annoyance or insult. This deference paid to the sex is highly +creditable to the Americans; it exists from one end of the Union to the +other; indeed, in the Southern and more lawless States, it is even more +chivalric than in the more settled. Let a female be ever so +indifferently clad, whatever her appearance may be, still it is +sufficient that she is a female; she has the first accommodation, and +until she has it, no man will think of himself. But this deference is +not only shewn in travelling, but in every instance. An English lady +told me, that wishing to be present at the inauguration of Mr Van +Buren, by some mistake, she and her daughters alighted from the carriage +at the wrong entrance, and in attempting to force their way through a +dense crowd were nearly crushed to death. This was perceived, and the +word was given--`make room for the ladies.' The whole crowd, as if by +one simultaneous effort, compressed itself to the right and left, +locking themselves together to meet the enormous pressure, and made a +wide lane, through which they passed with ease and comfort. "It +reminded me of the Israelites passing through the Red Sea with the wall +of waters on each side of them," observed the lady. "In any other +country we must have been crushed to death." + +When I was on board one of the steam-boats, an American asked one of the +ladies to what she would like to be helped. She replied, to some +turkey, which was within reach, and off of which a passenger had just +cut the wing and transferred it to his own plate. The American who had +received the lady's wishes, immediately pounced with his fork upon the +wing of the turkey and carried it off to the young lady's plate; the +only explanation given, "a _lady, Sir_!" was immediately admitted as +sufficient. + +The authority of the captain of a steam-boat is never disputed; if it +were, the offender would be landed on the beach. I was on board of a +steam-boat when, at tea time, a young man sat down with his hat on. + +"_You_ are in the company of ladies, sir," observed the captain very +civilly, "and I must request you to take your hat off." + +"Are you the captain of the boat?" observed the young man, in a sulky +tone. + +"Yes, sir, I am." + +"Well, then, I suppose I must," growled the passenger, as he obeyed. + +But if the stewards, who are men of colour, were to attempt to enforce +the order, they would meet with such a rebuff as I have myself heard +given. + +"If it's the captain's orders, let the captain come and give them. I'm +not going to obey a _Nigger_ like you." + +Perhaps it is owing to this deference to the sex that you will observe +that the Americans almost invariably put on their best clothes when they +travel; such is the case whatever may be the cause; and the ladies in +America, travelling or not, are always well, if not expensively dressed. +They don't all swap bonnets as the two young ladies did in the +stage-coach in Vermont. + +But, notwithstanding the decorum so well preserved as I have mentioned, +there are some annoyances to be met with from gregarious travelling. +One is, that occasionally a family of interesting young citizens who are +suffering from the whooping-cough, small-pox, or any other complaint, +are brought on board, in consequence of the medical gentlemen having +recommended change of air. Of course the other children, or even +adults, may take the infection, but they are not refused admittance upon +such trifling grounds; the profits of the steam boat must not be +interfered with. + +Of all travelling, I think that by railroad the most intriguing, +especially in America. After a certain time the constant coughing of +the locomotive, the dazzling of the vision from the rapidity with which +objects are passed, the sparks and ashes which fly in your face and on +your clothes become very annoying; your only consolation is the speed +with which you are passing over the ground. + +The railroads in America are not so well made as in England, and are +therefore more dangerous; but it must be remembered that at present +nothing is made in America but to last a certain time; they go to the +exact expense considered necessary and no further, they know that in +twenty years they will be better able to spend twenty dollars than one +now. The great object is to obtain quick returns for the outlay, and, +except in few instances, durability or permanency is not thought of. +One great cause of disasters is, that the railroads are not fenced on +the sides, so as to keep the cattle off them, and it appears as if the +cattle who range the woods are very partial to take their naps on the +roads, probably from their being drier than the other portions of the +soil. It is impossible to say how many cows have been cut into atoms by +the trains in America, but the frequent accidents arising from these +causes has occasioned the Americans to invent a sort of shovel, attached +to the front of the locomotive, which takes up a cow, tossing her off +right or left. At every fifteen miles of the rail-roads there are +refreshment rooms; the cars stop, all the doors are thrown open, and out +rush the passengers like boys out of school, and crowd round the tables +to solace themselves with pies, patties, cakes, hard-boiled eggs, ham, +custards, and a variety of railroad luxuries, too numerous to mention. +The bell rings for departure, in they all hurry with their hands and +mouths full, and off they go again, until the next stopping place +induces them to relieve the monotony of the journey by masticating +without being hungry. + +The Utica railroad is the best in the United States. The general +average of speed is from fourteen to sixteen miles an hour; but on the +Utica they go much faster. [See note 1.] A gentleman narrated to me a +singular specimen of the ruling passion which he witnessed on an +occasion when the rail-cars were thrown off the road, and nearly one +hundred people killed, or injured in a greater or less degree. + +On the side of the road lay a man with his leg so severely fractured, +that the bone had been forced through the skin, and projected outside +his trowsers. Over him hung his wife, with the utmost solicitude, the +blood running down from a severe cut received on her head, and kneeling +by his side was his sister, who was also much injured. The poor women +were lamenting over him, and thinking nothing of their own hurts; and +he, it appears, was also thinking nothing about his injury, but only +lamenting the delay which would be occasioned by it. + +"Oh! my dear, dear Isaac, what can be done with your leg?" exclaimed the +wife in the deepest distress. + +"What will become of my leg!" cried the man. "What's to become of my +business, I should like to know?" + +"Oh! dear brother," said the other female, "don't think about your +business now; think of getting cured." + +"Think of getting cured--I must think how the bills are to be met, and I +not there to take them up. They will be presented as sure as I lie +here." + +"Oh! never mind the bills, dear husband--think of your precious leg." + +"Not mind the bills! but I must mind the bills--my credit will be +ruined." + +"Not when they know what has happened, brother. Oh! dear, dear--that +leg, that leg." + +"D---n the leg; what's to become of my business," groaned the man, +falling on his back from excess of pain. + +Now this was a specimen of true commercial spirit. If this man had not +been nailed to the desk, he might have been a hero. + +I shall conclude this chapter with an extract from an American author, +which will give some idea of the indifference as to loss of life in the +United States. + +"Every now and then is a tale of railroad disaster in some part of the +country, at inclined planes, or intersecting points, or by running off +the track, making splinters of the cars, and of men's bones; and +locomotives have been known to encounter, head to head, like two rams +fighting. A little while previous to the writing of these lines, a +locomotive and tender shot down the inclined plain at Philadelphia, like +a falling star. A woman, with two legs broken by this accident, was put +into an omnibus, to be carried to the hospital, but the driver, in his +speculations, coolly replied to a man, who asked why he did not go on?-- +that he was waiting for a _full load_." + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 1. The railroads finished in America in 1835 amounted in length to +1,600 miles; those in progress, and not yet complete, to 1,270 miles +more. The canals completed were in length 2,500 miles, unfinished 687 +miles. + + + +VOLUME ONE, CHAPTER THREE. + +TRAVELLING. + +The most general, the most rapid, the most agreeable, and, at the same +time, the most dangerous, of American travelling is by steam boats. It +will be as well to give the reader an idea of the extent of this +navigation by putting before him the lengths of some of the principal +rivers in the United States. + ++=====================================================+======+ +Y YMiles.Y ++-----------------------------------------------------+------+ +YMissouri and Mississippi Y 4490Y ++-----------------------------------------------------+------+ +YDo. to its junction with the Mississippi Y 3181Y ++-----------------------------------------------------+------+ +YMississippi proper, to its junction with the MissouriY 1600Y ++-----------------------------------------------------+------+ +YDo. to the Gulf of Mexico Y 2910Y ++-----------------------------------------------------+------+ +YArkansas River, a branch of the Mississippi Y 2170Y ++-----------------------------------------------------+------+ +YSt Lawrence River, including the Lakes Y 2075Y ++-----------------------------------------------------+------+ +YPlatte River, a branch of the Missouri Y 1600Y ++-----------------------------------------------------+------+ +YRed River, a branch of the Mississippi Y 1500Y ++-----------------------------------------------------+------+ +YOhio River, Do. Do. Y 1372Y ++-----------------------------------------------------+------+ +YColumbia River, empties into the Pacific Ocean, Y 1315Y ++-----------------------------------------------------+------+ +YKansas River, a branch of the Missouri Y 1200Y ++-----------------------------------------------------+------+ +YYellowstone Do. Do. Y 1100Y ++-----------------------------------------------------+------+ +YTennessee Do. Ohio Y 756Y ++-----------------------------------------------------+------+ +YAlabama River, empties into the Gulf of Mexico Y 575Y ++-----------------------------------------------------+------+ +YCumberland River, a branch of the Ohio Y 570Y ++-----------------------------------------------------+------+ +YSusquehanna River, empties into Chesapeake Bay Y 460Y ++-----------------------------------------------------+------+ +YIllinois River, a branch of the Mississippi Y 430Y ++-----------------------------------------------------+------+ +YAppalachicola River, empties into the Gulf of Mexico Y 425Y ++-----------------------------------------------------+------+ +YSt John's River, New Brunswick, rises in Maine Y 415Y ++-----------------------------------------------------+------+ +YConnecticut River, empties into Long Island Sound Y 410Y ++-----------------------------------------------------+------+ +YWabash River, a branch of the Ohio Y 360Y ++-----------------------------------------------------+------+ +YDelaware River, empties into the Atlantic Ocean Y 355Y ++-----------------------------------------------------+------+ +YJames River, empties into Chesapeake Bay Y 350Y ++-----------------------------------------------------+------+ +YRoanoke River, empties into Albemarle Sound Y 350Y ++-----------------------------------------------------+------+ +YGreat Pedee River, empties into Atlantic Ocean Y 350Y ++-----------------------------------------------------+------+ +YSantee River, empties into Atlantic Ocean Y 340Y ++-----------------------------------------------------+------+ +YPotomac River, empties into Chesapeake Bay Y 335Y ++-----------------------------------------------------+------+ +YHudson River, empties into Atlantic Ocean Y 320Y ++-----------------------------------------------------+------+ +YAltamaha River, empties into Atlantic Ocean Y 300Y ++-----------------------------------------------------+------+ +YSavannah River, empties into Atlantic Ocean Y 290Y ++=====================================================+======+ + +Voice from America. + +Many of the largest of these rivers are at present running through +deserts--others possess but a scanty population on their banks; but, as +the west fills up, they will be teeming with life, and the harvest of +industry will freight many more hundreds of vessels than those which at +present disturb their waters. + +The Americans have an idea that they are very far ahead of us in steam +navigation, a great error which I could not persuade them of. In the +first place, their machinery is not by any means equal to ours; in the +next, they have no sea-going steam vessels, which after all is the great +desideratum of steam navigation. Even in the number and tonnage of +their mercantile steam vessels they are not equal to us, as I shall +presently show, nor have they yet arrived to that security in steam +navigation which we have. + +The return of vessels belonging to the Mercantile Steam Marine of Great +Britain, made by the Commissioners on the Report of steam-vessel +accidents in 1839, is, number of vessels, 810; tonnage, 157,840; horse +power, 63,250. + +Mr Levi Woodbury's Report to Congress in December, 1838, states the +number of American steam vessels to be 800, and the tonnage to be +155,473; horse power, 57,019. + +It is but fair to state, that the Americans have the credit of having +sent the first steam vessel across the Atlantic. In 1819, a steam +vessel, built at New York, crossed from Savannah to Liverpool in +twenty-six days. + +The number of _sea-going_ steam vessels in England is _two hundred and +eighty-two_, while in the United States they have not more than ten at +the outside calculation. In the size of our vessels also we are far +superior to them. I here insert a table, shewing the dimensions of our +largest vessels, as given in the Report to the House of Commons, and +another of the largest American vessels collected from the Report of Mr +Levi Woodbury to Congress. + +_Table shewing some of the Dimensions of the Hull and Machinery of the +five largest ships yet built or building_. + +[Table to be added in a later edition.] + +But the point on which we are so vastly superior to the Americans, is in +our steam vessels of war. They have but one in the United States, named +the Fulton the Second. The following is a list of those belonging to +the Government of Great Britain, with their tonnage:-- + ++=========+=====+=========+=====+===========+=====+ +Y YTons.Y YTons.Y YTons.Y ++---------+-----+---------+-----+-----------+-----+ +YAcheron Y 722YFearless Y 165YMyrtle Y 116Y ++---------+-----+---------+-----+-----------+-----+ +YAdder Y 237YFirebrandY 495YOtter Y 237Y ++---------+-----+---------+-----+-----------+-----+ +YAdvice Y 475YFire Fly Y 550YPhoenix Y 809Y ++---------+-----+---------+-----+-----------+-----+ +YAfrican Y 295YFlamer Y 496YPigmy Y 230Y ++---------+-----+---------+-----+-----------+-----+ +YAlban Y 294YFury Y 166YPike Y 112Y ++---------+-----+---------+-----+-----------+-----+ +YAriel Y 149YGleaner Y 306YPluto Y 365Y ++---------+-----+---------+-----+-----------+-----+ +YAsp Y 112YGorgon Y 1111YProspero Y 244Y ++---------+-----+---------+-----+-----------+-----+ +YAvon Y 361YHecate Y 815YRedwing Y 139Y ++---------+-----+---------+-----+-----------+-----+ +YBeaver Y 128YHecla Y 815YRadamanthusY 813Y ++---------+-----+---------+-----+-----------+-----+ +YBlazer Y 527YHermes Y 716YSalamander Y 818Y ++---------+-----+---------+-----+-----------+-----+ +YBoxer Y 159YHydra Y 818YShearwater Y 343Y ++---------+-----+---------+-----+-----------+-----+ +YCarron Y 294YJasper Y 230YSpitfire Y 553Y ++---------+-----+---------+-----+-----------+-----+ +YCharon Y 125YKite Y 300YSprightly Y 234Y ++---------+-----+---------+-----+-----------+-----+ +YColumbia Y 360YLightningY 296YStrombolo Y 966Y ++---------+-----+---------+-----+-----------+-----+ +YComet Y 238YLucifer Y 387YSwallow Y 133Y ++---------+-----+---------+-----+-----------+-----+ +YConfianceY 295YMedea Y 835YTartarus Y 523Y ++---------+-----+---------+-----+-----------+-----+ +YCuckoo Y 234YMedusa Y 889YUrgent Y 583Y ++---------+-----+---------+-----+-----------+-----+ +YCyclops Y 1190YMegaera Y 717YVesuvius Y 966Y ++---------+-----+---------+-----+-----------+-----+ +YDasher Y 260YMerlin Y 889YVolcano Y 720Y ++---------+-----+---------+-----+-----------+-----+ +YDee Y 704YMessengerY 733YWidgeon Y 164Y ++---------+-----+---------+-----+-----------+-----+ +YDoterel Y 723YMeteor Y 296YWildfire Y 186Y ++---------+-----+---------+-----+-----------+-----+ +YEcho Y 298YMonkey Y 211YZephyr Y 237Y ++=========+=====+=========+=====+===========+=====+ + +_Government Steam Vessels Building_. + ++======+====+======+===+==========+===+ +YAlectoY 799YLizardY282YPolyphemusY799Y ++------+----+------+---+----------+---+ +YArdentY 799YLocustY282YPrometheusY799Y ++------+----+------+---+----------+---+ +YDover YIronYMedinaY889Y Y Y ++======+====+======+===+==========+===+ + +I trust that the above statement will satisfy the Americans that we are +ahead of them in steam navigation. In consequence of their isolation, +and having no means of comparison with other countries, the Americans +see only their own progress, and seem to have forgotten that other +nations advance as well as themselves. They appear to imagine that +while they are going ahead all others are standing still: forgetting +that England with her immense resources is much more likely to surpass +them than to be left behind. + +We must now examine the question of the proportionate security in steam +boat travelling in the two countries. The following table, extracted +from the Report of the Commissioners on Steam boat Accidents, will show +the casualties which have occurred in this country in _ten_ years. + +Abstract of ninety-two Accidents. Table not included. + +The principal portion of this loss of life has been occasioned by +vessels having been built for _sale_, and not sea-worthy; an occurrence +too common, I am afraid, in both countries. + +The author of "A Voice from America" states the list of steamboat +disasters, on the waters of the United States, for _twelve months_ out +of the years 1837-38, by bursting of boilers, burning, wrecks, etcetera, +besides numerous others of less consequence, comprehends the total loss +of eight vessels and _one thousand and eighty lives_. + +So that we have in England, loss in ten years, 634; one year, 63. + +In America, loss in one year, 1,080. + +The report of Mr Woodbury to Congress is imperfect, which is not to be +wondered at, as it is almost impossible to arrive at the truth; there +is, however, much to be gleaned from it. He states that, since the +employment of steam vessels in the United States, 1,300 have been built, +and of them _two hundred and sixty_ have been lost by accidents. + +The greatest loss of life by collision and sinking, was in the Monmouth, +(Indians transporting to the West), in 1837, by which three hundred +lives were lost; Oronoka, by explosion, by which one hundred and thirty +or more lives were lost and Moselle, at Cincinnati, by which from one +hundred to one hundred and twenty lives were lost. + +The greatest loss by shipwreck was in the case of the Home, on the coast +of South Carolina, when one hundred lives were lost; the greatest by +fire, the Ben Sherrod, in 1837, by which one hundred and thirty +perished. + +The three great casualties which occurred during my stay in America, +were those of the Ben Sherrod, by fire; the Home, by wreck; and the +Moselle, by explosion: and as I have authentic details of them, by +Americans who were on board, or eye-witnesses, I shall lay them before +my readers. The reader will observe that there is a great difference in +the loss of life mentioned in Mr Woodbury's report and in the +statements of those who were present. I shall hereafter state why I +consider the latter as the more correct. + +LOSS OF THE BEN SHERROD, BY A PASSENGER. + +"On Sunday morning, the 6th of May 1837, the steam-boat Ben Sherrod, +under the command of Captain Castleman, was preparing to leave the levee +at New Orleans. She was thronged with passengers. Many a beautiful and +interesting woman that morning was busy in arranging the little things +incident to travelling, and they all looked forward with high and +certain hope to the end of their journey. Little innocent children +played about in the cabin, and would run to the guards--the _guards_ of +an American steam-boat are an extension of the deck on each side, beyond +the paddle boxes, which gives great width for stowage--now and then, to +wonder, in infantine language, at the next boat, or the water, or +something else that drew their attention. "Oh, look here, Henry--I +don't like that boat, Lexington."--"I wish I was going by her," said +Henry, musingly. The men too were urgent in their arrangements of the +trunks, and getting on board sundry articles which a ten days' passage +rendered necessary. In fine all seemed hope, and joy, and certainty. + +"The cabin of the Ben Sherrod was on the upper deck, but narrow in +proportion to her build, for she was what is technically called a +Tennessee cotton boat. To those who have never seen a cotton boat +loaded, it is a wondrous sight. The bales are piled up from the lower +guards wherever there is a cranny until they reach above the second +deck, room being merely left for passengers to walk outside the cabin. +You have regular alleys left amid the cotton in order to pass about on +the first deck. Such is a cotton boat carrying from 1,500 to 2,000 +bales. + +"The Ben's finish and accommodation of the cabin was by no means such as +would begin to compare with the regular passenger boats. It being late +in the season, and but few large steamers being in port in consequence +of the severity of the times, the Ben Sherrod got an undue number of +passengers, otherwise she would have been avoided, for her +accommodations were not enticing. She had a heavy freight on board, and +several horses and carriages on the forecastle. The build of the Ben +Sherrod was heavy, her timbers being of the largest size. + +"The morning was clear and sultry--so much so, that umbrellas were +necessary to ward off the sun. It was a curious sight to see the +hundreds of citizens hurrying on board to leave letters, and to see them +coming away. When a steam-boat is going off on the Southern and Western +waters, the excitement is fully equal to that attendant upon the +departure of a Liverpool packet. About ten o'clock AM the ill-fated +steamer pushed off upon the turbid current of the Mississippi, as a swan +upon the waters. In a few minutes she was under way, tossing high in +air, bright and snowy clouds of steam at every half revolution of her +engine. Talk not of your northern steam-boats! A Mississippi steamer +of seven hundred tons burthen, with adequate machinery, is one of the +sublimities of poetry. For thousands of miles that great body forces +its way through a desolate country, against an almost restless current, +and all the evidence you have of the immense power exerted, is brought +home to your senses by the everlasting and majestic burst of exertion +from her escapement pipe, and the ceaseless stroke of the paddle wheels. +In the dead of night, when amid the swamps on either side, your noble +vessel winds her upward way--when not a soul is seen on board but the +officer on deck--when nought is heard but the clang of the fire-doors +amid the hoarse coughing of the engine, imagination yields to the +vastness of the ideas thus excited in your mind, and if you have a soul +that makes you a man, you cannot help feeling strongly alive to the +mightiness of art in contrast with the mightiness of nature. Such a +scene, and hundreds such have I realised, with an intensity that cannot +be described, always made me a better man than before. I never could +tire of the steam-boat navigation of the Mississippi. + +"On Tuesday evening, the 9th of May 1837, the steam-boat Prairie, on her +way to St Louis, bore hard upon the Sherrod. It was necessary for the +latter to stop at Fort Adams, during which the Prairie passed her. +Great vexation was manifested by some of the passengers, that the +Prairie should get to Natchez first. This subject formed the theme of +conversation for two or three hours, the captain assuring them that he +would beat her _any how_. The Prairie is a very fast boat, and under +equal chances could have beaten the Sherrod. So soon as the business +was transacted at Fort Adams, for which she stopped, orders were given +to the men to keep up their fires to the extent. It was now a little +after 11 p.m. The captain retired to his berth, with his clothes on, +and left the deck in charge of an officer. During the evening a barrel +of whisky had been turned out, and permission given to the hands to do +as they pleased. As may be supposed, they drew upon the barrel quite +liberally. It is the custom on all boats to furnish the firemen with +liquor, though a difference exists as to the mode. But it is due to the +many worthy captains now on the Mississippi, to state that the practice +of furnishing spirits is gradually dying away, and where they are given, +it is only done in moderation. + +"As the Sherrod passed on above Fort Adams towards the mouth of the +Homochitta, the wood piled up in the front of the furnaces several times +caught fire, and was once or twice imperfectly extinguished by the +drunken hands. It must be understood by those of my readers who have +never seen a western steamboat, that the boilers are entirely above the +first deck, and that when the fires are well kept up for any length of +time, the heat is almost insupportable. Were it not for the draft +occasioned by the speed of the boat it would be very difficult to attend +the fires. As the boat was booming along through the water close +in-shore, for, in ascending the river, boats go as close as they can to +avoid the current, a negro on the beach called out to the fireman that +the wood was on fire. The reply was, "Go to h---l, and mind your own +business," from some half intoxicated hand. "Oh, massa," answered the +negro, "if you don't take care, you will be in h---l before I will." +On, on, on went the boat at a tremendous rate, quivering and trembling +in all her length at every revolution of the wheels. The steam was +heated so fast, that it continued to escape through the safety valve, +and by its sharp singing, told a tale that every prudent captain would +have understood. As the vessel rounded the bar that makes off from the +Homochitta, being compelled to stand out into the middle of the river in +consequence, the fire was discovered. It was about one o'clock in the +morning. A passenger had got up previously, and was standing on the +boiler deck, when to his astonishment, the fire broke out from the pile +of wood. A little presence of mind, and a set of men unintoxicated, +could have saved the boat. The passenger seized a bucket, and was about +to plunge it overboard for water, when he found it locked. An instant +more, and the fire increased in volumes. The captain was now awaked. +He saw that the fire had seized the deck. He ran aft, and announced the +ill-tidings. No sooner were the words out of his mouth, than the +shrieks of mothers, sisters, and babes, resounded through the hitherto +silent cabin in the wildest confusion. Men were aroused from their +dreaming cots to experience the hot air of the approaching fire. The +pilot, being elevated on the hurricane deck, at the instant of +perceiving the flames, put the head of the boat shoreward. She had +scarcely got under good way in that direction, than the tiller ropes +were burnt asunder. Two miles at least, from the land, the vessel took +a sheer, and, borne upon by the current, made several revolutions, until +she struck off across the river. A [sand] bar brought her up for the +moment. + +"The flames had now extended fore and aft. At the first alarm several +deck passengers had got in the yawl that hung suspended by the davits. +A cabin passenger, endowed with some degree of courage and presence of +mind, expostulated with them, and did all he could to save the boats for +the ladies. 'Twas useless. One got out his knife and cut away the +forward tackle. The next instant and they were all, to the number of +twenty or more, launched onto the angry waters. They were seen no more. + +"The boat being lowered from the other end, filled and was useless. Now +came the trying moment. Hundreds leaped from the burning wreck into the +waters. Mothers were seen standing on the guards with hair dishevelled, +praying for help. The dear little innocents clung to the side of their +mothers and with their tiny hands beat away the burning flames. Sisters +calling out to their brothers in unearthly voices--`Save me, oh save me, +brother!'--wives crying to their husbands to save their children, in +total forgetfulness of themselves,--every second or two a desperate +plunge of some poor victim falling on the appalled ear,--the dashing to +and fro of the horses on the forecastle, groaning audibly from pain of +the devouring element--the continued puffing of the engine, for it still +continued to go, the screaming mother who had leaped overboard in the +desperation of the moment with her only child,--the flames mounting to +the sky with the rapidity of lightning,--shall I ever forget that +scene--that hour of horror and alarm! Never, were I to live till the +memory should forget all else that ever came to the senses. The short +half hour that separated and plunged into eternity two human beings has +been so burnt into the memory that even now I think of it more than half +the day. + +"I was swimming to the shore with all my might, endeavoured to sustain a +mother and her child. She sank twice, and yet I bore her on. My +strength failed me. The babe was nothing--a mere cork. `Go, go,' said +the brave mother, `save my child, save my--' and she sank, to rise no +more. Nerved by the resolution of that woman, I reached the shore in +safety. The babe I saved. Ere I had reached the beach, the Sherrod had +swung off the bar, and was floating down, the engine having ceased +running. In every direction heads dotted the surface of the river. The +burning wreck now wore a new, and still more awful appearance. Mothers +were seen clinging, with the last hope to the blazing timbers, and +dropping off one by one. The screams had ceased. A sullen silence +rested over the devoted vessel. The flames became tired of their +destructive work. + +"While I sat dripping and overcome upon the beach, a steam boat, the +Columbus, came in sight, and bore for the wreck. It seemed like one +last ray of hope gleaming across the dead gloom of that night. Several +wretches were saved. And still another, the Statesman, came in sight. +More, more were saved. + +"A moment _to me_ had only elapsed, when high in the heavens the cinders +flew, and the country was lighted all round. Still another boat came +booming on. I was happy that more help had come. After an exchange of +words with the Columbus, the captain continued on his way under full +steam. Oh, how my heart sank within me! The waves created by his boat +sent many a poor mortal to his long, long home. A being by the name of +Dougherty was the captain of that merciless boat. Long may he be +remembered! + +"My hands were burnt, and now I began to experience severe pain. The +scene before me--the loss of my two sisters and brother, whom I had +missed in the confusion, all had steeled my heart. I could not weep--I +could not sigh. The cries of the babe at my side were nothing to me. + +"Again--another explosion! and the waters closed slowly and sullenly +over the scene of disaster and death. Darkness resumed her sway, and +the stillness was only interrupted by the distant efforts of the +Columbus and Statesman in their laudable exertions to save human life. + +"Captain Castleman lost, I believe, a father and child. Some argue, +this is punishment enough. No, it is not. He had the lives of hundreds +under his charge. He was careless of his trust; he was guilty of a +crime that nothing will ever wipe out. The bodies of two hundred +victims are crying out from the depth of the father of waters for +vengeance. Neither society nor law will give it. His punishment is yet +to come. May I never meet him! + +"I could tell of scenes of horror that would rouse the indignation of a +stoic; but I have done. As to myself, I could tell you much to excite +your interest. It was more than three weeks after the occurrence before +I ever shed a tear. All the fountains of sympathy had been dried up, +and my heart was as stone. As I lay on my bed the twenty-fourth day +after, tears, salt tears, came to my relief, and I felt the loss of my +sisters and brother more deeply than ever. Peace be to their spirits! +they found a watery grave. + +"In the course of all human events, scenes of misery will occur. But +where they rise from sheer carelessness, it requires more than christian +fortitude to forgive the being who is in fault. I repeat, may I never +meet Captain Castleman or Captain Dougherty! + +"I shall follow this tale of woe by some strictures on the mode of +building steam-boats in the west, and show that human life has been +jeopardised by the demoniac spirit of speculation, cheating and roguery. +The fate of the Ben Sherrod shall be my text." + +It will be seen from this narrative, that the loss of the vessel was +occasioned by racing with another boat, a frequent practice on the +Mississippi. That people should run such risk, will appear strange but +if any of my readers had ever been on board of a steam vessel in a race, +they would not be surprised; the excitement produced by it is the most +powerful that can be conceived--I have myself experienced it, and can +answer for the truth of it. At first, the feeling of danger +predominates, and many of the passengers beg the captain to desist: but +he cannot bear to be passed by, and left astern. As the race continues, +so do they all warm up, until even those who, most aware of the danger, +were at first most afraid, are to be seen standing over the very +boilers, shouting, huzzaing, and stimulating the fireman to blow them +up; the very danger gives an unwonted interest to the scene; and +females, as well as men, would never be persuaded to cry out, "Hold, +enough!" + +Another proof of the disregard of human life is here given in the fact +of one steam-boat passing by and rendering no assistance to the drowning +wretches; nay, it was positively related to me by one who was in the +water, that the blows of the paddles of this steam-boat sent down many +who otherwise might have been saved. + +When I was on the Lakes, the wood which was piled close to the +fire-place caught fire. It was of no consequence, as it happened, for +it being a well-regulated boat, the fire was soon extinguished; but I +mention it to show the indifference of one of the men on board. About +half an hour afterwards, one of his companions roused him from his +berth, shaking him by the shoulder to wake him, saying, "Get up, the +wood's a-fire--quick." "Well, I knew that 'fore I turn'd in," replied +the man, yawning. + +The loss of the Home occasioned many of the first families in the states +to go into deep mourning, for the major portion of the passengers were +highly respectable. I was at New York when she started. I had had an +hour's conversation with Professor Nott and his amiable wife, and had +made arrangements with them to meet them in South Carolina. We never +met again, for they were in the list of those who perished. + +LOSS OF THE HOME. + +"The steam-packet Home, commanded by Capt. White, left New York, for +Charleston, South Carolina, at four o'clock, p.m., on Saturday, the 7th +Oct. 1837, having on board between eighty and ninety passengers, and +forty-three of the boat's crew, including officers, making in all about +one hundred and thirty persons. The weather at this time was very +pleasant, and all on board appeared to enjoy, in anticipation, a +delightful and prosperous passage. On leaving the wharf, cheerfulness +appeared to fill the hearts and enliven the countenances of this +floating community. Already had conjectures been hazarded, as to the +time of their arrival at the destined port, and high hopes were +entertained of an expeditious and pleasant voyage. Before six +o'clock,--a check to these delusive expectations was experienced, by the +boat being run aground on the Romer Shoal, near Sandy Hook. It being +ebb tide, it was found impossible to get off before the next flood; +consequently, the fires were allowed to burn out, and the boat remained +until the flood tide took her off, which was between ten and eleven +o'clock at night, making the time of detention about four or five hours. +As the weather was perfectly calm, it cannot, reasonably, be supposed +that the boat could have received any material injury from this +accident; for, during the time that it remained aground, it had no other +motion than an occasional roll on the keel from side to side. The night +continued pleasant. The next morning, (Sunday,) a moderate breeze +prevailed from the north-east. The sails were spread before the wind, +and the speed of the boat, already rapid, was much accelerated. All +went on pleasantly till about noon, when the wind had increased, and the +sea became rough. At sunset, the wind blew heavily, and continued to +increase during the night; at daylight, on Monday, it had become a gale. +During the night, much complaint was made that the water came into the +berths, and before the usual time of rising, some of the passengers had +abandoned them on that account. + +"The sea, from the violence of the gale, raged frightfully, and caused a +general anxiety amongst the passengers; but still, they appeared to rely +on the skill and judgment of the captain and officers,--supposing, that +every exertion would be used, on their part, for the preservation of so +many valuable lives as were then entrusted to those who had the charge +of this frail boat. Early on Monday, land was discovered, nearly ahead, +which, by many, was supposed to be False Cape, on the northern part of +Hatteras. Soon after this discovery, the course of the boat was changed +from southerly to south-easterly, which was the general course through +the day, though with some occasional changes. The condition of the boat +was now truly alarming; it bent and twisted, when struck by a sea, as if +the next would rend it asunder: the panels of the ceiling were falling +from their places; and the hull, as if united by hinges, was bending +against the feet of the braces. Throughout the day, the rolling and +pitching were so great, that no cooking could be done on board. + +"It has already been stated, that the general course of the boat was, +during the day, south-easterly, and consequently in what is called the +trough of the sea, as the wind was from the north-east. Late in the +afternoon, the boat was reported to be in twenty-three fathoms of water, +when the course was changed to a south-westerly. Soon after this, it +was observed that the course was again changed, to north-westerly; when +the awful truth burst upon us, that the boat must be filling; for we +could imagine no other cause for this sudden change. This was but a +momentary suspense; for within a few minutes, all the passengers were +called on to bale, in order to prevent the boat from sinking. +Immediately, all were employed, but with little effect; for, +notwithstanding the greatest exertion on the part of the passengers, +including even many of the ladies, the water was rapidly increasing, and +gave most conclusive evidence, that, unless we reached the shore within +a few hours, the boat must sink at sea, and probably not a soul be left +to communicate the heart-rending intelligence to bereaved and +disconsolate friends. Soon after the boat was headed towards the land, +the water had increased so much, as to reach the fire under the boilers, +which was soon extinguished. Gloomy indeed was the prospect before us. +With one hundred and thirty persons in a sinking boat, far out at sea, +in a dark and tempestuous night, with no other dependence for reaching +the shore than a few small and tattered sails, our condition might be +considered truly awful. But, with all these disheartening +circumstances, hope, delusive hope, still supported us. Although it was +evident that we must soon sink, and our progress towards the land was +very slow, still we cherished the expectation that the boat would +finally be run on shore, and thus most of us be delivered from a watery +grave. Early in the afternoon, the ladies had been provided with strips +of blankets, that they might be lashed to such parts of the boat as +would afford the greatest probability of safety. + +"In this condition, and with these expectations, we gradually, but with +a motion nearly imperceptible, approached, what to many of us was an +untried, and almost an unknown shore. At about eleven o'clock, those +who had been employed in baling were compelled to leave the cabin, as +the boat had sunk until the deck was nearly level with the water, and it +appeared too probable that all would soon be swallowed up by the foaming +waves. The heaving of the lead indicated an approach to the shore. +Soon was the cheering intelligence of `Land! land!' announced by those +on the look-out. This, for a moment, aroused the sinking energies of +all, when a general bustle ensued, in the hasty, but trifling, +preparations that could be made for safety, as soon as the boat should +strike. But what were the feelings of an anxious multitude, when, +instead of land, a range of angry breakers were visible just ahead; and +land, if it could be seen at all, was but half perceptible in the +distance far beyond. + +"As every particular is a matter of interest, especially to those who +had friends and relatives on board,--it may not be improper to state, +that one individual urged the propriety of lowering the small boats, and +putting the ladies and children into them for safety, with suitable +persons to manage them, before we struck the breakers. By this +arrangement, had it been effected, it is believed that the boats might +have rode out the gale during the night, and have been rescued in the +morning by passing vessels, and thus all, or nearly all, have been +saved. But few supported this proposition, and it could not be done +without the prompt interference of those who had authority to command, +and who would be obeyed. + +"Immediately before we struck, one or two passengers, by the aid of some +of the seamen, attempted to seek safety in one of the bouts at the +quarter, when a breaker struck it, swept it from the davits, and carried +with it a seaman, who was instantly lost. A similar attempt was made to +launch the long-boat from the upper deck, by the chief mate Mr Mathews, +and others. It was filled with several passengers, and some of the +crew; but, as we were already within the verge of the breakers, this +boat shared the fate of the other, and all on board (about ten in +number) perished. + +"Now commenced the most heart-rending scene. Wives clinging to +husbands,--children to parents,--and women who were without protectors, +seeking aid from the arm of the stranger, all awaiting the results of a +moment, which would bring with it either life or death. Though an +intense feeling of anxiety must, at this time, have filled every breast, +yet not a shriek was heard, nor was there any extraordinary exclamation +of excitement or alarm. A slight agitation was, however, apparent in +the general circle. Some few hurried from one part of the boat to +another, as if seeking place of greater safety; yet most, and +particularly those who had the melancholy charge of wives and children, +remained quiet and calm observers of the scene before them. + +"The boat, at length, strikes; it stops, as motionless as a bar of lead. +A momentary pause follows, as if the angel of death shrunk from so +dreadful a work of slaughter. But soon the work of destruction +commenced. A breaker with a deafening crash, swept over the boat, +carrying its unfortunate victims into the deep. At the same time, a +simultaneous rush was made towards the bows of the boat. The forward +deck was covered. Another breaker came, with irresistible force, and +all within its sweep disappeared. Our numbers were now frightfully +reduced. The roaring of the waters, together with the dreadful crash of +breaking timbers, surpasses the power of description. Some of the +remaining passengers sought shelter from the encroaching dangers, by +retreating to the passage, on the lee side of the boat, that leads from +the after to the forward deck, as if to be as far as possible from the +grasp of death. It may not be improper here to remark, that the +destruction of the boat, and loss of life, was, doubtless, much more +rapid than it otherwise would have been, from the circumstance of the +boat heeling to windward, and the deck, which was nearly level with the +water, forming, in consequence, an inclined plane, upon which the waves +broke with their full force. + +"A large proportion of those who rushed into this passage, were ladies +and children, with a few gentlemen who had charge of them. The crowd +was so dense, that many were in danger of being crushed by the +irresistible pressure. Here were perhaps some of the most painful +sights ever beheld. Before introducing any of the closing scenes of +individuals, which the writer witnessed, or which he has gathered from +his fellow passengers, he would beg to be understood, that it is not for +the gratification of the idle curiosity of the careless and indifferent +reader, or to pierce afresh the bleeding wounds of surviving friends, +but to furnish such facts as may be interesting, and which, perhaps, +might never be attained through any other channel. + +"As the immediate connections of the writer are already informed of the +particulars relating to his own unhappy bereavement, there is no +necessity for entering in a minute detail of this melancholy event. + +"This passage contained perhaps thirty or more persons, consisting of +men, women and children, with no apparent possibility of escape; +enclosed within a narrow aperture, over which was the deck, and both +ends of which were completely closed by the fragments of the boat and +the rushing of the waves. While thus shut up, death appeared +inevitable. Already were both decks swept of everything that was on +them. The dining cabin was entirely gone, and everything belonging to +the quarter-deck was completely stripped off, leaving not even a +stanchion or particle of the bulwarks; and all this was the work of +about five minutes. + +"The starboard wheel-house, and everything about it, was soon entirely +demolished. As much of the ceiling forward of the starboard wheel had, +during the day, fallen from its place, the waves soon found their way +through all that remained to oppose them, and were in a few minutes' +time forcing into the last retreat of those who had taken shelter in the +passage already mentioned. + +"Every wave made a frightful encroachment on our narrow limits, and +seemed to threaten us with immediate death. Hopeless as was the +condition of those thus hemmed in, yet not a shriek was heard from them. +One lady, unknown to the writer, begged earnestly for some one to save +her. In a time of such alarm, it is not strange that a helpless female +should plead with earnestness for assistance from those who were about +her, or even offer them money for that aid which the least reflection +would have convinced her it was not possible to render. Another scene, +witnessed at this trying hour, was still more painful. A little boy was +pleading with his father to save him. `Father,' said the boy, `you will +save me, won't you? you can swim ashore with me, can't you, father?' +But the unhappy father was too deeply absorbed in the other charges that +leant on him, even to notice the imploring accents of his helpless +child. For at that time, as near as the writer can judge, from the +darkness of the place they were in, his wife hung upon one arm, and his +daughter of seventeen upon the other. He had one daughter besides, near +the age of this little boy, but whether she was at that time living or +not, is uncertain. + +"After remaining here some minutes, the deck overhead was split open by +the violence of the waves, which allowed the writer an opportunity of +climbing out. This he instantly did, and assisted his wife through the +same opening. As he had now left those below, he is unable to say how +they were finally lost; but, as that part of the boat was very soon +completely destroyed, their further sufferings could not have been much +prolonged. We were now in a situation which, from the time the boat +struck, we had considered as the most safe, and had endeavoured to +attain. Here we resolved to await our uncertain fate. From this place +we could see the encroachment of the devouring waves, every one of which +reduced our thinned numbers, and swept with it parts of our crumbling +boat. For several hours previously, the gale had been sensibly abating; +and, for a moment, the pale moon broke through the dispersing clouds, as +if to witness this scene of terror and destruction, and to show to the +horror-stricken victims the fate that awaited them. How few were now +left, of the many who, but a little before, inhabited our bark! While +the moon yet shone, three men were seen to rush from the middle to the +stern of the boat. A wave came rushing on. It passed over the deck. +One only, of the three, was left. He attempted to gain his former +position. Another wave came. He had barely time to reach a large +timber, to which he clung, when this wave struck him, and he too was +missing. As the wave passed away, the heads of two of these men were +seen above the water; but they appeared to make no effort to swim. The +probability is, that the violence with which they were hurled into the +sea disabled them. They sunk to rise no more. + +"During this time, Mr Lovegreen, of Charleston, continued to ring the +boat's bell, which added if possible to the gloom. It sounded, indeed, +like the funeral knell over the departed dead. Never before, perhaps, +was a bell tolled at such a funeral as this. While in this situation, +and reflecting on the necessity of being always prepared for the +realities of eternity, our attention was arrested by the appearance of a +lady, climbing upon the outside of the boat, abaft the wheel near where +we were. Her head was barely above the deck on which we stood, and she +was holding to it, in a most perilous manner. She implored help, +without which she must soon have fallen into the deep beneath, and +shared the fate of the many who had already gone. The writer ran to her +aid, but was unable to raise her to the deck. Mr Woodburn, of New +York, now came, and, with his assistance, the lady was rescued; she was +then lashed to a large piece of timber, by the side of another lady, the +only remaining place that afforded any prospect of safety. The former +lady (Mrs Shroeder) was washed ashore on this piece of wreck, one of +the two who survived. The writer having relinquished to this lady the +place he had occupied, was compelled to get upon a large piece of the +boat, that lay near, under the lee of the wheel; this was almost +immediately driven from its place into the breakers, which instantly +swept him from it, and plunged him deep into the water. With some +difficulty he regained his raft. He continued to cling to this +fragment, as well as he could, but was repeatedly washed from it. +Sometimes when plunged deep into the water, he came up under it. After +encountering all the difficulties that seemed possible to be borne, he +was at length thrown on shore, in an exhausted state. At the time the +writer was driven from the boat, there were but few left. Of these, +four survived, _viz_. Mrs Shroeder and Mr Lovegreen, of Charleston; +Mr Cohen, of Columbia; and Mr Vanderzee, of New York. + +"On reaching the beach, there was no appearance of inhabitants; but +after wandering some distance, a light was discovered, which proved to +be from Ocracoke lighthouse, about six miles south-west of the place +where the boat was wrecked. The inhabitants of the island, generally, +treated us with great kindness, and, so far as their circumstances, +would allow, assisted in properly disposing the numerous bodies thrown +upon the shore. + +"The survivors, after remaining on the island till Thursday afternoon, +separated, some returning to New York, others proceeding on to +Charleston. Acknowledgment is due to the inhabitants of Washington, +Newbern, and Wilmington, as well as of other places through which we +passed, for the kind hospitality we received, and the generous offers +made to us. Long will these favours be gratefully remembered by the +survivors of the unfortunate Home." + +Even if the captain of the Home was intoxicated, it is certain that the +loss of the vessel was not occasioned by that circumstance, but by the +vessel not having been built sea-worthy. + +The narrative of the loss of the Moselle is the last which I shall give +to the reader. It is written by Judge Hall, one of the best of the +American writers. + +LOSS OF THE MOSELLE. + +"The recent explosion of the steam-boat Moselle, at Cincinnati, affords +a most awful illustration of the danger of steam navigation, when +conducted by ignorant or careless men: and fully sustains the remark +made in the preceding pages, that, `the accidents are almost wholly +confined to insufficient or badly managed boats.' + +"The Moselle was a new boat, intended to ply regularly between +Cincinnati and St Louis. She had made but two or three trips, but had +already established a high reputation for speed; and, as is usual in +such cases, those by whom she was owned and commanded, became ambitious +to have her rated as a `crack boat,' and spared no pains to exalt her +character. The newspapers noticed the _quick trips_ of the Moselle, and +passengers chose to embark in this boat in preference to others. Her +captain was an enterprising young man, without much experience, bent +upon gaining for his boat, at all hazards, the distinction of being the +fastest upon the river, and not fully aware, perhaps, of the inevitable +danger which attended this rash experiment. + +"On Wednesday the 25th of April, between four and five o'clock in the +afternoon, this shocking catastrophe occurred. The boat was crowded +with passengers; and, as is usually the case on our western rivers, in +regard to vessels passing westerly, the largest proportion were +emigrants. They were mostly deck passengers, many of whom were poor +Germans, ignorant of any language but their own, and the larger portion +consisted of families, comprising persons of all ages. Although not a +large boat, there were eighty-five passengers in the cabin, which was a +much larger number than could be comfortably accommodated; the number of +deck passengers is not exactly known, but, as is estimated, at between +one hundred and twenty and one hundred and fifty; and the officers and +crew amounted to thirty, making in all about two hundred and sixty +souls. + +"It was a pleasant afternoon, and the boat, with steam raised, delayed +at the wharf, to increase the number--already too great--of her +passengers, who continued to crowd in, singly or in companies, all +anxious to hurry onwards in the first boat, or eager to take passage in +the _fast-running_ Moselle. They were of all conditions--the military +officer hastening to Florida to take command of his regiment--the +merchant bound to St Louis--the youth seeking a field on which to +commence the career of life--and the indigent emigrant with his wife and +children, already exhausted in purse and spirits, but still pushing +onward to the distant frontier. + +"On leaving the wharf, the boat ran up the river about a mile, to take +in some families and freight, and having touched at the shore for that +purpose, for a few minutes, was about to lay her course down the river. +The spot at which she thus landed was at a suburb of the city, called +Fulton, and a number of persons had stopped to witness her departure, +several of whom remarked, from the peculiar sound of the steam, that it +had been raised to an unusual height. The crowd thus attracted--the +high repute of the Moselle--and certain vague rumours which began to +circulate, that the captain had determined, at every risk, to beat +another boat which had just departed--all these circumstances gave an +unusual eclat to the departure of this ill-fated vessel. + +"The landing completed, the bow of the boat was shoved from the shore, +when an explosion took place, by which the whole of the forepart of the +vessel was literally blown up. The passengers were unhappily in the +most exposed positions on the deck, and particularly on the forward +part, sharing the excitement of the spectators on shore, and +anticipating the pleasure of darting rapidly past the city in the swift +Moselle. The power of the explosion was unprecedented in the history of +steam; its effect was like that of a mine of gunpowder. All the +boilers, four in number, were simultaneously burst; the deck was blown +into the air, and the human beings who crowded it hurried into instant +destruction. Fragments of the boilers, and of human bodies, were thrown +both to the Kentucky and the Ohio shore; and as the boat lay near the +latter, some of these helpless victims must have been thrown a quarter +of a mile. The body of Captain Perry, the master, was found dreadfully +mangled, on the nearest shore. A man was hurled with such force, that +his head, with half his body, penetrated the roof of a house, distant +more than a hundred yards from the boat. Of the number who had crowded +this beautiful boat a few minutes before, nearly all were hurled into +the air, or plunged into the water. A few, in the after part of the +vessel, who were uninjured by the explosion, jumped overboard. An +eye-witness says that he saw sixty or seventy in the water at one time, +of whom not a dozen reached the shore. + +"The news or this awful catastrophe spread rapidly through the city, +thousands rushed to the spot, and the most benevolent aid was promptly +extended to the sufferers--to such, we should rather say, as were within +the reach of human assistance--for the majority had perished. + +"The writer was among those who hastened to the neighbourhood of the +wreck, and witnessed a scene so sad that no language can depict it with +fidelity. On the shore lay twenty or thirty mangled and still bleeding +corpses, while others were in the act of being dragged from the wreck or +the water. There were men carrying away the wounded, and others +gathering the trunks, and articles of wearing apparel, that strewed the +beach. + +"The survivors of this awful tragedy presented the most touching objects +of distress. Death had torn asunder the most tender ties; but the +rupture had been so sudden and violent, that as yet none knew certainly +who had been taken, nor who had been spared. Fathers were inquiring for +children, children for parents, husbands and wives for each other. One +man had saved a son, but lost a wife and five children. A father, +partially deranged, lay with a wounded child on one side, a dead +daughter on the other, and his wife, wounded, at his feet. One +gentleman sought his wife and children, who were as eagerly seeking him +in the same crowd--they met, and were re-united. + +"A female deck passenger, that had been saved, seemed inconsolable for +the loss of her relations. To every question put to her, she would +exclaim, `Oh my father! my mother! my sisters!' A little boy, about +four or five years of age, whose head was much bruised, appeared to be +regardless of his wounds, but cried continually for a lost father; while +another lad, a little older, was weeping for his whole family. + +"One venerable looking man wept a wife and five children; another was +bereft of nine members of his family. A touching display of maternal +affection was evinced by a lady who, on being brought to the shore, +clasped her hands and exclaimed, `Thank God, I am safe!' but instantly +recollecting herself, ejaculated in a voice of piercing agony, `where is +my child!' The infant, which had been saved, was brought to her, and +she fainted at the sight of it. + +"A public meeting was called in Cincinnati, at which the mayor presided, +when the facts of this melancholy occurrence were discussed, and among +other resolutions passed, was one deprecating `the great and increasing +carelessness in the navigation of steam vessels,' and urging this +subject upon the consideration of Congress. No one denied that this sad +event, which had filled our city with consternation, sympathy, and +sorrow, was the result of a reckless and criminal inattention to their +duty, on the part of those having the care of the Moselle, nor did any +one attempt to palliate their conduct. Committees were appointed to +seek out the sufferers, and perform the various duties which humanity +dictated. Through the exertions of the gentlemen appointed on this +occasion, lists were obtained and published, showing the names of the +passengers as far as could be obtained, and giving the following +result:--" + ++=============+===+ +YKilled Y 81Y ++-------------+---+ +YBadly woundedY 18Y ++-------------+---+ +YMissing Y 55Y ++-------------+---+ +YSaved Y117Y ++-------------+---+ +Y Y266Y ++=============+===+ + +"As many strangers entered the boat but a few minutes before its +departure, whose names were not registered, it is probable that the +whole number of souls on board was not less than _two hundred and +eighty_. Of the missing, many dead bodies have since been found, but +very few have been added to the list of _saved_. The actual number of +lives lost, therefore, does not vary much from _one hundred and fifty_." + +The following observations are made in the Report of the Committee, +relative to the tremendous force of the steam: + +"Of the immense force exerted in this explosion, there is abundant +evidence: still in this extraordinary occurrence in the history of +steam, I deem it important to be particular in noting the facts, and for +that purpose I have made some measurements and calculations. The boat +was one hundred and sixteen feet from the water's edge, one hundred and +ninety-two from the top of the bank, which was forty-three feet in +perpendicular height above the water. The situations of projected +bodies ascertained were as follows: Part of the body of a man, thrown +nearly horizontally into a skiff at the water's edge, one hundred and +sixteen feet. The body of the captain thrown nearly to the top of the +bank, two hundred feet. The body of a man thrown through the roof of a +house, at the distance of one hundred and twelve feet, and fifty-nine +feet above the water's edge. A portion of the boiler, containing about +sixty square feet, and weighing about four hundred and fifty pounds, +thrown one hundred and seventy feet, and about two-thirds of the way up +the bank. A second portion of the boiler, of about thirty-five square +feet, and weighing about two hundred and forty-five pounds, thrown four +hundred and fifty feet on the hill side, and seventy feet in altitude. +A third portion of the boiler, twenty-one square feet, one hundred and +forty-seven pounds, thrown three hundred and thirty feet into a +tan-yard. A fourth portion, of forty-eight square feet, and weighing +three hundred and thirty-six pounds, thrown four hundred and eighty feet +into the garret of a back shop of a tan-yard; having broken down the +roof and driven out the gable-end. The last portion must have been +thrown to a very great height, as it had entered the roof of [sic] an +angle of at least sixty degrees. A fifth portion, weighing two hundred +and thirty-six pounds, went obliquely up the river eight hundred feet, +and passing over the houses, landed on the side walk, the bricks of +which had been broken and driven deeply into the ground by it. This +portion had encountered some individual in its course, as it came +stained with blood. Such was the situation of the houses that it must +have fallen at an angle as high as forty-five degrees. It has been +stated, that bodies of persons were projected quite across the river +into Kentucky. I can find no evidence of the truth of this: on the +contrary, Mr Kerr informs me that he made inquiries of the people on +the opposite shore, and could not learn that anything was seen to fall +farther than half way across the river, which is at that place about +sixteen hundred feet wide." + +I was at Cincinnati some time after the explosion, and examined the +wreck which still lay on the Ohio shore. After the report was drawn up +it was discovered that the force of the explosion had been even greater +than was supposed, and that portions of the engine and boilers had been +thrown to a much greater distance. It is to be remarked, that Mr +Woodbury's report to Congress states from one hundred to one hundred and +twenty persons as having been killed. Judge Hall, in the report of the +committee, estimates it at one hundred and fifty; but there is reason to +believe that the loss on this occasion, as well as in many others, was +greater than even in the report of the committee. The fact is, it is +almost impossible to state the loss on these occasions; the only data to +go upon are the books in which the passengers' names are taken down when +the fare is paid, and this is destroyed. In a country like America, +there are thousands of people unknown to anybody, migrating here and +there, seeking the Far West to settle in; they come and go, and nobody +knows anything of them; there might have been one hundred more of them +on board the Moselle at the time that she exploded; and as I heard from +Captain Pearce, the harbour-master, and others, it is believed that such +was the case, and that many more were destroyed than was at first +supposed. + +The American steam-boats are very different from ours in appearance, in +consequence of the engines being invariably on deck. The decks also are +carried out many feet wider on each side than the hull of the vessel, to +give space; these additions to the deck aye called guards. The engine +being on the first deck, there is a second deck for the passengers, +state-rooms, and saloons; and above this deck there is another, covered +with a white awning. They have something the appearance of two-deckers, +and when filled with company, the variety of colours worn by the ladies +have a very novel and pleasing effect. The boats which run from New +York to Boston, and up the Hudson river to Albany, are very splendid +vessels; they have low-pressure engines, are well commanded, and I never +heard of any accident of any importance taking place; their engines are +also very superior--one on board of the Narangassett, with a horizontal +stroke, was one of the finest I ever saw. On the Mississippi, Ohio, and +their tributary rivers, the high-pressure engine is invariably used; +they have tried the low-pressure, but have found that it will not +answer, in consequence of the great quantity of mud contained in +solution on the waters of the Mississippi, which destroys all the valves +and leathers; and this is the principal cause of the many accidents +which take place. At the same time it must be remembered, that there is +a recklessness--an indifference to life--shown throughout all America; +which is rather a singular feature, inasmuch as it extends East as well +as West. It can only be accounted for by the insatiate pursuit of gain +among a people who consider that time is money, and who are blinded by +their eagerness in the race for it, added to that venturous spirit so +naturally imbibed in a new country, at the commencement of its +occupation. It is communicated to the other sex, who appear equally +indifferent. The Moselle had not been blown up two hours, before the +other steamboats were crowded with women, who followed their relations +on business or pleasure, up and down the river. "Go a-head," is the +motto of the country; both sexes join in the cry; and they do go +a-head--that's a fact! + +I was amused with a story told me by an American gentleman: a steamboat +caught fire on the Mississippi, and the passengers had to jump overboard +and save themselves by swimming. One of those reckless characters, a +gambler, who, was on board, having apparently a very good idea of his +own merits, went aft, and before he leapt overboard, cried out, "Now, +gallows, claim your own!" + +The attention of the American legislature has at length been directed to +the want of security in steam navigation; and in July, 1838, an act was +passed to provide for the better security of the passengers. Many of +the clauses are judicious, especially as far as the inspecting of them +is regulated; but that of iron chains or rods for tiller ropes is not +practicable on a winding river, and will be the occasion of many +disasters. Had they ordered the boats to be provided with iron chains +or rods, to be used as preventive wheel-ropes, it would have answered +the purpose. In case of fire they could easily be hooked on; but to +steer with them in tide-ways and rapid turns is almost impossible. The +last clause, No. 13, (page 170, Report) is too harsh, as a flue may +collapse at any time, without any want of care or skill on the part of +the builders or those on board. + +It is to be hoped that some good effects will be produced by this act of +the legislature. At present, it certainly is more dangerous to travel +one week in America than to cross the Atlantic a dozen times. The +number of lives lost in one year by accidents in steam boats, +rail-roads, and coaches, was estimated, in a periodical which I read in +America, at _one thousand seven hundred and fifty_. + + + +VOLUME ONE, CHAPTER FOUR. + +TRAVELLING. + +To one who has been accustomed to the extortion of the inns and hotels +in England, and the old continent, nothing at first is more remarkable +than to find that there are more remains of the former American purity +of manners and primitive simplicity to be observed in their +establishments for the entertainment of man and horse, than in any +portion of public or private life. Such is the case, and the causes of +the anomaly are to be explained. + +I presume that the origin of hotels and inns has been much the same in +all countries. At first the solitary traveller is received, welcomed, +and hospitably entertained; but, as the wayfarers multiply, what was at +first a pleasure becomes a tax. For instance, let us take Western +Virginia, through which the first irruption to the Far West may be said +to have taken place. At first every one was received and accommodated +by those who had settled there; but as this gradually became +inconvenient, not only from interfering with their domestic privacy, but +from their not being prepared to meet the wants of the travellers, the +inhabitants of any small settlement met together and agreed upon one of +them keeping the house of reception; this was not done with a view of +profit, the travellers being only charged the actual value of the +articles consumed. Such is still the case in many places in the Far +West; a friend of mine told me that he put up at the house of a widow +woman; he supped, slept, had his breakfast, and his horse was also well +supplied. When he was leaving, he inquired what he had to pay, the +woman replied--, "Well, if I don't charge something, I suppose you will +be affronted. Give me a shilling;" a sum not sufficient to pay for the +horse's corn. + +The American innkeeper, therefore, is still looked upon in the light of +your host; he and his wife sit at the head of the _table-d'hote_ at meal +times; when you arrive he greets you with a welcome, shaking your hand; +if you arrive in company with those who know him, you are introduced to +him; he is considered on a level with you; you meet him in the most +respectable companies, and it is but justice to say that, in most +instances, they are a very respectable portion of society. Of course, +his authority, like that of the captains of the steam-boats, is +undisputed; indeed the captains of these boats may be partly considered +as classed under the same head. + +This is one of the most pleasing features in American society, and I +think it is likely to last longer than most others in this land of +change, because it is upheld by public opinion, which is so despotic. +The mania for travelling, among the people of the United States, renders +it most important that every thing connected with locomotion should be +well arranged; society demands it, public opinion enforces it, and +therefore, with few exceptions, it is so. The respect shown to the +master of a hotel induces people of the highest character to embark in +the profession; the continual streams of travellers which pours through +the country, gives sufficient support by moderate profits, to enable the +innkeeper to abstain from excessive charges; the price of every thing is +known by all, and no more is charged to the President of the United +States than to other people. Every one knows his expenses; there is no +surcharge, and fees to waiters are voluntary, and never asked for. At +first I used to examine the bill when presented, but latterly I looked +only at the sum total at the bottom and paid it at once, reserving the +examination of it for my leisure, and never in one instance found that I +had been imposed upon. This is very remarkable, and shows the force of +public opinion in America; for it can produce, when required, a very +scarce article all over the world, and still more scarce in the +profession referred to, Honesty. Of course there will be exceptions, +but they are very few, and chiefly confined to the cities. I shall +refer to them afterwards, and at the same time to some peculiarities, +which I must not omit to point out, as they affect society. Let me +first describe the interior arrangements of a first-rate American hotel. + +The building is very spacious, as may be imagined when I state that in +the busy times, from one hundred and fifty to two, or even three +hundred, generally sit down at the dinner-table. The upper stories +contain an immense number of bed-rooms, with their doors opening upon +long corridors, with little variety in their furniture and arrangement, +except that some are provided with large beds for married people, and +others with single beds. The basement of the building contains the +dinner-room, of ample dimensions, to receive the guests, who at the +sound of a gong rush in, and in a few minutes have finished their +repast. The same room is appropriated to breakfast and supper. In most +hotels there is but one dining-room, to which ladies and gentlemen both +repair, but in the more considerable, there is a smaller dining-room for +the ladies and their connexions who escort them. The ladies have also a +large parlour to retire to; the gentlemen have the reading-room, +containing some of the principal newspapers, and the _Bar_, of which +hereafter. If a gentleman wants to give a dinner to a private party in +any of these large hotels, he can do it; or if a certain number of +families join together, they may also eat in a separate room (this is +frequently done at Washington;) but if a traveller wishes to seclude +himself _a l'Anglaise_, and dine in his own room, he must make up his +mind to fare very badly, and, moreover, if he is a foreigner, he will +give great offence, and be pointed out as an aristocrat--almost as +serious a charge with the majority in the United States, as it was in +France during the Revolution. + +The largest hotels in the United States are Astor House, New York; +Tremont House, Boston; Mansion house, Philadelphia; the hotels at West +Point, and at Buffalo; but it is unnecessary to enumerate them all. The +two pleasantest, are the one at West Point, which was kept by Mr +Cozens, and that belonging to Mr Head, the Mansion House at +Philadelphia; but the latter can scarcely be considered as a hotel, not +only because Mr Head is, and always was, a gentleman with whom it is a +pleasure to associate, but because he is very particular in whom he +receives, and only gentlemen are admitted. It is more like a private +club than any thing else I can compare it to, and I passed some of my +pleasantest time in America at his establishment, and never bid farewell +to him or his sons, or the company, without regret. There are some +hotels in New York upon the English system: the Globe is the best, and I +always frequented it; and there is an excellent French restaurateur's +(Delmonico's). + +Of course, where the population and traffic are great, and the +travellers who pass through numerous, the hotels are large and good; +where, on the contrary, the road is less and less frequented, so do they +decrease in importance, size, and respectability, until you arrive at +the farm-house entertainment of Virginia and Kentucky; the grocery, or +mere grog-shop, or the log-house of the Far West. The way-side inns are +remarkable for their uniformity; the furniture of the bar-room is +invariably the same: a wooden clock, map of the United States, map of +the State, the Declaration of Independence, a looking-glass, with a +hair-brush and comb hanging to it by strings, _pro bono publico_; +sometimes with the extra embellishment of one or two miserable pictures, +such as General Jackson scrambling upon a horse, with fire or steam +coming out of his nostrils, going to the battle of New Orleans, +etcetera, etcetera. + +He who is of the silver-fork school, will not find much comfort out of +the American cities and large towns. There are no neat, quiet little +inns, as in England. It is all the "rough and tumble" system, and when +you stop at humble inns you must expect to eat peas with a two-pronged +fork, and to sit down to meals with people whose exterior is any thing +but agreeable, to attend upon yourself, and to sleep in a room in which +there are three or four other beds; (I have slept in one with nearly +twenty,) most of them carrying double, even if you do not have a +companion in your own. + +A New York friend of mine travelling in an Extra with his family, told +me that at a western inn he had particularly requested that he might not +have a bed-fellow, and was promised that he should not. On his +retiring, he found his bed already occupied, and he went down to the +landlady, and expostulated. "Well," replied she, "it's only your own +_driver_; I thought you wouldn't mind him." + +Another gentleman told me, that having arrived at a place called Snake's +Hollow, on the Mississippi, the bed was made on the kitchen-floor, and +the whole family and travellers, amounting in all to seventeen, of all +ages and both sexes, turned into the same bed altogether. Of course +this must be expected in a new country, and is a source of amusement, +rather than of annoyance. + +I must now enter into a very important question, which is that of eating +and drinking. Mr Cooper, in his remarks upon his own countrymen, says, +very ill-naturedly--"The Americans are the grossest feeders of any +civilised nation known. As a nation, their food is heavy, coarse, and +indigestible, while it is taken in the least artificial forms that +cookery will allow. The predominance of grease in the American kitchen, +coupled with the habits of hearty eating, and of constant expectoration, +are the causes of the diseases of the stomach which are so common in +America." + +This is not correct. The cookery in the United States is exactly what +it is and must be every where else--in a ratio with the degree of +refinement of the population. In the principal cities, you will meet +with as good cookery in private houses as you will in London, or even +Paris; indeed, considering the great difficulty which the Americans have +to contend with, from the almost impossibility of obtaining good +servants, I have often been surprised that it is so good as it is. At +Delmonico's, and the Globe Hotel at New York, where you dine from the +Carte, you have excellent French cookery; so you have at Astor House, +particularly at private parties; and, generally speaking, the cooking at +all the large hotels may be said to be good; indeed, when it is +considered that the American table-d'hote has to provide for so many +people, it is quite surprising how well it is done. The daily dinner, +at these large hotels, is infinitely superior to any I have ever sat +down to at the _public_ entertainments given at the Free-Masons' Tavern, +and others in London, and the company is usually more numerous. The +bill of fare of the table-d'hote of the Astor House is _printed every +day_. I have one with me which I shall here insert, to prove that the +eating is not so bad in America as described by Mr Cooper. + ++=======================================+ +YAstor House, Wednesday, March 21, 1838.Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YTable-d'Hote Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YVermicelli Soup Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YBoiled Cod Fish and Oysters Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YDo. Corn'd Beef Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YDo. Ham Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YDo. Tongue Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YDo. Turkey and Oysters Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YDo. Chickens and Pork Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YDo. Leg of Mutton Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YOyster Pie Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YCuisse de Poulet Sauce Tomate Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YPoitrine de Veau au Blanc Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YBallon de Mouton au Tomate Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YTete de Veau en Marinade Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YSalade de Volaille Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YCasserolle de Pomme de Terre garnie Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YCompote de Pigeon Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YRolleau de Veau a la Jardiniere Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YCotelettes de Veau Saute Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YFilet de Mouton Pique aux Ognons Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YRonde de Boeuf Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YFricandeau de Veau aux Epinards Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YCotelettes de Mouton Panee Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YMacaroni au Parmesan Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YRoast Beef Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YDo. Pig Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YDo. Veal Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YDo. Leg of Mutton Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YRoast Goose Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YDo. Turkey Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YRoast Chickens Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YDo. Wild Ducks Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YDo. Wild Goose Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YDo. Guinea Fowl Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YRoast Brandt Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YQueen Pudding Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YMince Pie Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YCream Puffs Y ++---------------------------------------+ +YDessert. Y ++=======================================+ + +There are some trifling points relative to eating which I shall not +remark upon until I speak of society, as they will there be better +placed. Of course, as you advance into the country, and population +recedes, you run through all the scale of cookery until you come to the +"_corn bread, and common doings_," (i.e. bread made of Indian meal, and +fat pork,) in the Far West. In a new country, pork is more easily +raised than any other meat, and the Americans eat a great deal of pork, +which renders the cooking in the small taverns very greasy; with the +exception of the Virginian farm taverns, where they fry chickens without +grease in a way which would be admired by Ude himself; but this is a +State receipt, handed down from generation to generation, and called +_chicken fixings_. The meat in America is equal to the best in England; +Miss Martineau does indeed say that she never ate good beef during the +whole time she was in this country; but she also says that an American +stage-coach is the most delightful of all conveyances, and a great many +other things, which I may hereafter quote, to prove the idiosyncracy of +the lady's disposition; so we will let that pass, with the observation +that there is no accounting for taste. The American markets in the +cities are well supplied. I have been in the game market, at New York, +and seen at one time nearly three hundred head of deer, with quantities +of bear, racoons, wild turkeys, geese, ducks, and every variety of bird +in countless profusion. Bear I abominate; racoon is pretty good. The +wild turkey is excellent; but the great delicacies in America are the +terrapin, and the canvas-back ducks. To like the first I consider as +rather an acquired taste. I decidedly prefer the turtle, which are to +be had in plenty, all the year round; but the canvas-back duck is +certainly well worthy of its reputation. Fish is well supplied. They +have the sheep's head, shad, and one or two others, which we have not. +Their salmon is not equal to ours, and they have no turbot. +Pine-apples, and almost all the tropical fruits, are hawked about in +carts in the Eastern cities; but I consider the fruit of the temperate +zone, such as grapes, peaches, etcetera, inferior to the English. +Oysters are very plentiful, very large, and, to an English palate, +rather insipid. As the Americans assert that the English and French +oysters taste of copper, and that therefore they cannot eat them, I +presume they do; and that's the reason why we do not like the American +oysters, copper being better than no flavour at all. + +I think, after this statement, that the English will agree with me that +there are plenty of good things for the table in America; but the old +proverb says, "God sends meat, and the devil sends cooks;" and such is, +and unfortunately must be, the case for a long while, in most of the +houses in America, owing to the difficulty of obtaining, or keeping +servants. But I must quit the subject of eating, for one of much more +importance in America, which is that of drinking. + +I always did consider that the English and the Swiss were the two +nations who most indulged in potations; but on my arrival in the United +States, I found that our descendants, in this point most assuredly, as +they fain would be thought to do in all others, surpassed us altogether. + +Impartiality compels me to acknowledge the truth; we must, in this +instance, submit to a national defeat. There are many causes for this: +first, the heat of the climate, next the coldness of the climate, then +the changeableness of the climate; add to these, the cheapness of liquor +in general, the early disfranchisement of the youth from all parental +control, the temptation arising from the bar and association, and, +lastly, the pleasantness, amenity, and variety of the potations. + +Reasons, therefore, are as plentiful as blackberries, and habit becomes +second nature. + +To run up the whole catalogue of the indigenous compounds in America, +from "iced water" to a "stone fence," or "streak of lightning," would +fill a volume; I shall first speak of foreign importations. + +The Port in America is seldom good; the climate appears not to agree +with the wine. The quantity of Champagne drunk is enormous, and would +absorb all the vintage of France, were it not that many hundred thousand +bottles are consumed more than are imported. + +The small state of New Jersey has the credit of supplying the _American_ +Champagne, which is said to be concocted out of turnip juice, mixed with +brandy and honey. It is a pleasant and harmless drink, a very good +imitation, and may be purchased at six or seven dollars a dozen. I do +not know what we shall do when America fills up, if the demand for +Champagne should increase in proportion to the population; we had better +drink all we can now. + +Claret, and the other French wines, do very well in America, but where +the Americans beat us out of the field is in their Madeira, which +certainly is of a quality which we cannot procure in England. This is +owing to the extreme heat and cold of the climate, which ripens this +wine; indeed, I may almost say, that I never tasted good Madeira, until +I arrived in the United States. The price of wines, generally speaking, +is very high, considering what a trifling duty is paid, but the price of +good Madeira is surprising. There are certain brands, which if exposed +to public auction, will be certain to fetch from twelve to twenty, and I +have been told even forty dollars a bottle. I insert a list of the +wines at Astor House, to prove that there is no exaggeration in what I +have asserted. Even in this list of a tavern, the reader will find that +the best Madeira is as high as twelve dollars a bottle, and the list is +curious from the variety which it offers. + +But the Americans do not confine themselves to foreign wines or liquors; +they have every variety at home, in the shape of compounds, such as +mint-julep and its varieties; slings in all their varieties; cocktails, +but I really cannot remember, or if I could, it would occupy too much +time to mention the whole battle array against one's brains. I must, +however, descant a little upon the mint-julep; as it is, with the +thermometer at 100 degrees, one of the most delightful and insinuating +potations that ever was invented, and may be drank with equal +satisfaction when the thermometer is as low as 70 degrees. There are +many varieties, such as those composed of Claret, Madeira, etcetera; but +the ingredients of the real mint-julep are as follows. I learnt how to +make them, and succeeded pretty well. Put into a tumbler about a dozen +sprigs of the tender shoots of mint, upon them put a spoonful of white +sugar, and equal proportions of peach and common brandy, so as to fill +it up one third, or perhaps a little less. Then take rasped or pounded +ice, and fill up the tumbler. Epicures rub the lips of the tumbler with +a piece of fresh pine-apple, and the tumbler itself is very often +incrusted outside with stalactites of ice. As the ice melts, you drink. +I once overheard two ladies talking in the next room to me, and one of +them said, "Well, we have a weakness for any one thing, it is for a +mint-julep--" a very amiable weakness, and proving her good sense and +good taste. They are, in fact, like the American ladies, irresistible. + +The Virginians claim the merit of having invented this superb compound, +but I must dispute it for my own country, although it has been forgotten +of late. In the times of Charles the First and Second it must have been +known, for Milton expressly refers to it in his Comus:-- + + "Behold the cordial julep--here + Which flames and dances in its crystal bounds + With spirits of _balm_ and _fragrant syrups_ mixed. + Not that Nepenthes, which the wife of Thone + In Egypt gave to Jove-born Helena + Is of such power to stir up joy like this, + To life so friendly, or so _cool to thirst_." + +If that don't mean mint-julep, I don't know the English language. + +The following lines, however, which I found in an American newspaper, +dates its origin very far back, even to the period when the heathen gods +were not at a discount as they are now. + +ORIGIN OF MINT-JULEP. + + 'Tis said that the gods, on Olympus of old, + (And who, the bright legend profanes, with a doubt,) + One night, 'mid their revels, by Bacchus were told + That his last butt of nectar had somewhat run out! + + But determined to send round the goblet once more, + They sued to the fairer immortals--for aid + In composing a draught which, till drinking were o'er, + Should cast every wine ever drank in the shade. + + Grave Cerce herself blithely yielded her corn, + And the spirit that lives in each amber-hued grain, + And which first had its birth from the dews of the morn, + Was taught to steal out in bright dew drops again. + + Pomona, whose choicest of fruits on the board, + Were scattered profusely in every one's reach, + When called on a tribute to cull from the board, + Expressed the mild juice of the delicate peach. + + The liquids were mingled while Venus looked on + With glances so fraught with sweet-magical power, + That the honey of Ilybla, e'en when they were gone, + Has never been missed in the draught from that hour. + + Flora, then, from her bosom of fragrance shook, + And with roseate fingers pressed down in the bowl, + As dripping and fresh as it came from the brook, + The herb whose aroma should flavour the whole. + + The draught was delicious, each god did exclaim, + Though something yet wanting they all did bewail, + But Julep the drink of immortals became, + When Jove himself added a handful of hail. + +I have mentioned the principal causes to which must be assigned the +propensity to drink, so universal in America. This is an undeniable +fact, asserted by every other writer, acknowledged by the Americans +themselves in print, and proved by the labours of their Temperance +Societies. It is not confined to the lower classes, but pervades the +whole mass: of course, where there is most refinement, there is less +intoxication, and in the Southern and Western States, it is that the +custom of drinking is most prevalent. + +I have said that in the American hotels there is a parlour for the +ladies to retire to: there is not one for the gentlemen, who have only +the reading-room, where they stand and read the papers, which are laid +out on desks, or the bar. + +The bar of an American hotel is generally a very large room on the +basement, fitted up very much like our gin palaces in London, not so +elegant in its decorations indeed, but on the same system. A long +counter runs across it, behind which stand two or three bar-keepers to +wait upon the customers, and distribute the various potations, +compounded from the contents of several rows of bottles behind them. +Here the eye reposes on masses of pure crystal ice, large bunches of +mint, decanters of every sort of wine, every variety of spirits, lemons, +sugar, bitters, cigars and tobacco; it really makes one feel thirsty, +even the going into a bar. [See Note 3.] Here you meet every body and +every body meets you. Here the senator, the member of Congress, the +merchant, the store-keeper, travellers from the Far West, and every +other part of the country, who have come to purchase goods, all +congregate. + +Most of them have a cigar in their mouth, some are transacting business, +others conversing, some sitting down together whispering confidentially. +Here you obtain all the news, all the scandal, all the politics, and +all the fun; it is this dangerous propinquity, which occasions so much +intemperance. Mr Head has no bar at the Mansion-house in Philadelphia, +and the consequence is, that there is no drinking, except wine at +dinner; but in all the other hotels, it would appear as if they +purposely allowed the frequenters no room to retire to, so that they +must be driven to the bar, which is by far the most profitable part of +the concern. + +The consequence of the bar being the place of general resort, is, that +there is an unceasing pouring out, and amalgamation of alcohol, and +other compounds, from morning to late at night. To drink with a friend +when you meet him is good fellowship, to drink with a stranger is +politeness, and a proof of wishing to be better acquainted. + +Mr A is standing at the bar, enter B. "My dear B, how are +you?"--"Quite well, and you?"--"Well, what shall it be?"--"Well, I don't +care--a gin sling."--"Two gin slings, Bar-keeper." Touch glasses, and +drink. Mr A has hardly swallowed his gin sling, and replaced his +cigar, when, in comes Mr D. "A, how are you?"--"Ah! D, how goes it on +with you?"--"Well, I thankey--what shall we have?"--"Well, I don't care; +I say brandy cocktail."--"Give me another," both drink, and the shilling +is thrown down on the counter. + +Then B comes up again. "A, you must allow me to introduce my friend +C."--"Mr A"--shake hands--"Most happy to make the acquaintance. I +trust I shall have the pleasure of drinking--something with you?"--"With +great pleasure, Mr A, I will take a julep."--"Two juleps, +Bar-keeper."--"Mr C, your good health"--"Mr A, yours; if you should +come our way, most happy to see you,"--drink. + +Now, I will appeal to the Americans themselves, if this is not a fair +sample of a bar-room. + +They say that the English cannot settle any thing properly, without a +dinner. I am sure the Americans can fix nothing, without a drink. If +you meet, you drink; if you part, you drink; if you make acquaintance, +you drink; if you close a bargain you drink; they quarrel in their +drink, and they make it up with a drink. They drink, because it is hot; +they drink because it is cold. If successful in elections, they drink +and rejoice; if not, they drink and swear; they begin to drink early in +the morning, they leave off late at night; they commence it early in +life, and they continue it, until they soon drop into the grave. To use +their own expression, the way they drink, is "quite a caution" [See Note +4.] As for water, what the man said, when asked to belong to the +Temperance Society, appears to be the general opinion, "it's very good +for navigation." + +So much has it become the habit to cement all friendship, and commence +acquaintance by drinking, that it is a cause of serious offence to +refuse, especially in a foreigner, as the Americans like to call the +English. I was always willing to accommodate the Americans in this +particular, as far as I could; (there at least, they will do me +justice;) that at times I drank much more than I wished is certain, yet +still I gave most serious offence, especially in the West, because I +would not drink early in the morning, or before dinner, which is a +general custom in the States, although much more prevalent in the South +and West, where it is literally, "Stranger, will you drink or fight?" +This refusal on my part, or rather excusing myself from drinking with +all those who were introduced to me, was eventually the occasion of much +disturbance and of great animosity towards me--certainly, most +unreasonably, as I was introduced to at least twenty every forenoon; and +had I drunk with them all, I should have been in the same state as many +of them were--that is, not really sober for three or four weeks at a +time. + +That the constitutions of the Americans must suffer from this habit is +certain; they do not, however, appear to suffer so much as we should. +They say that you may always know the grave of a Virginian; as from the +quantity of juleps he has drunk, mint invariably springs up where he has +been buried. But the Virginians are not the greatest drinkers, by any +means. I was once looking for an American, and asked a friend of his, +where I should find him. "Why," replied he, pointing to an hotel +opposite, "that is his _licking place_, (a term borrowed from deer +resorting to lick the salt:) we will see if he is there." He was not; +the bar-keeper said he had left about ten minutes. "Well, then, you had +better remain here, he is certain to be back in ten more--if not +sooner." The American judged his friend rightly; in five minutes he was +back again, and we had a drink together, of course. + +I did not see it myself, but I was told that somewhere in Missouri, or +thereabouts, west of the Mississippi, all the bars have what they term a +_kicking-board_, it being the custom with the people who live there, +instead of touching glasses when they drink together, to kick sharply +with the side of the foot against the board, and that after this +ceremony you are sworn friends. I have had it mentioned to me by more +than one person, therefore I presume it is the case. What the origin of +it is I know not, unless it intends to imply, "I'm your's to the _last +kick_." + +Before I finish this article on hotels, I may as well observe here that +there is a custom in the United States, which I consider very +demoralising to the women, which is that of taking up permanent +residence in large hotels. + +There are several reasons for this: one is, that people marry so very +early that they cannot afford to take a house with the attendant +expenses, for in America it is cheaper to live in a large hotel than to +keep a house of your own; another is, the difficulty of obtaining +servants, and, perhaps, the unwillingness of the women to have the +fatigue and annoyance which is really occasioned by an establishment in +that country: added to which is the want of society, arising from their +husbands being from morning to night plodding at their various +avocations. At some of the principal hotels you will find the +apartments of the lodgers so permanently taken, that the plate with +their name engraved on it is fixed on the door. I could almost tell +whether a lady in America kept own establishment or lived at an hotel, +the difference of manners are so marked; and, what is worse, it is +chiefly the young married couples who are to be found there. Miss +Martineau makes some very just comments upon this practice:-- + +"The uncertainty about domestic service is so great, and the economy of +boarding-house life so tempting to people who have not provided +themselves with house and furniture, that it is not to be wondered at +that many young married people use the accommodation provided. But no +sensible husband, who could beforehand become acquainted with the +liabilities incurred, would willingly expose his domestic peace to the +fearful risk. I saw enough when I saw the elegantly dressed ladies +repair to the windows of the common drawing-room, on their husbands' +departure to the counting-house after breakfast. + +"I have been assured that there is no end to the difficulties in which +gentlemen have been involved, both as to their commercial and domestic +affairs, by the indiscretion of their thoughtless young wives, amidst +the idleness and levities of boarding-house life. As for the gentlemen, +they are much to be pitied. Public meals, a noisy house, confinement to +one or two private rooms, with the absence of all gratifications of +their own peculiar convenience and taste, are but a poor solace to the +man of business, after the toils and cares of the day. When to these +are added the snares to which their wives are exposed, it may be +imagined that men of sense and refinement would rather bear with any +domestic inconvenience from the uncertainty and bad quality of help, +than give up housekeeping." + +If such is the case in boarding-houses, what must it be in hotels, where +the male company is ever changing. It is one constant life of scandal, +flirting, eating, drinking, and living in public; the sense of delicacy +is destroyed, and the women remind you of the flowers that have been +breathed upon till they have lost their perfume. + +Miss M observes:-- + +"I can only say, that I unavoidably knew of more eases of lapse in +highly respectable families in one State than ever came to my knowledge +at home; and that they were got over with a disgrace far more temporary +and superficial than they could have been visited with in England." + +If this observation is correct, it must, in my opinion, be considered as +referring to that portion of the sex who live in _hotels_, certainly not +to the mass, for reasons which I shall hereafter point out. + +Indeed, what I have seen at some of the large hotels fully bears out her +assertion. Miss M talks of young ladies being _taken_ to the piano in a +promiscuous company. I have seen them go to the piano without being +taken there, sit down and sing with all the energy of peacocks, before +total strangers, and very often without accompaniment. In the hotels, +the private apartments of the boarders seldom consist of more than a +large bed-room, and although company are admitted into it, still it is +natural that the major portion of the women's time should be passed down +below in the general receiving room. In the evening, especially in the +large western cities, they have balls almost every night; indeed it is a +life of idleness and vacuity of outward pretence, but of no real good +feeling. + +Scandal rages--every one is busy with watching her neighbour's affairs; +those who have boarded there longest take the lead, and every newcomer +or stranger is canvassed with the most severe scrutiny; their histories +are ascertained, and they are very often sent to Coventry, for little +better reason than the will of those who, as residents, lay down the +law. + +Indeed, I never witnessed a more ridiculous compound of pretended +modesty, and real want of delicacy, than is to be found with this class +of sojourners on the highway. Should any of their own sex arrive, of +whom some little scandal has been afloat, they are up in arms, and down +they plump in their rocking-chairs; and although the hotel may cover +nearly an acre of ground, so afraid are they of contamination, that they +declare they will not go down to dinner, or eat another meal in the +hotel, until the obnoxious parties "clear out." The proprietors are +summoned, husbands are bullied, and, rather than indignant virtue should +starve in her rocking-chair, a committee is formed, and the libelled +parties, guilty or not guilty, are requested to leave the hotel. As +soon as this purification is announced, virtue, appeased, recovers her +appetite, and they all eat drink, talk scandal, flirt, and sing without +invitation as before. + +I have been severe upon this class of society in America, not only +because I consider that it deserves it, but because I wish to point out +that Miss Martineau's observations must be considered as referring to +it, and not to the general character of the American woman. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 1. The Americans are apt to boast that they have not to pay for +civility, as we do in England, by facing waiters, coachmen, etcetera. +In some respects this is true, but in the cities the custom has become +very prevalent. A man who attends a large dinner-table, will of course +pay more attention to those who give him something, than to those who do +not; one gives him something, and another, if he wishes for attention +and civility, is obliged to do the same thing. In some of the hotels at +New York, and in the principal cities, you not only must fee, but you +must fee much higher than you do in England, if you want to be +comfortable. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 2. If I am rightly informed; there are very unpleasant cutaneous +diseases to which the Americans are subject, from the continual use of +the same brush and comb, and from sleeping together, etcetera, but it is +a general custom. At Philadelphia, a large ball was given, (called, I +think, the Fireman's Ball,) and at which about 1,500 people were +present, all the fashion of Philadelphia; yet even here there were six +combs, and six brushes, placed in a room with six looking-glasses for +the use of _all_ the gentlemen. An American has come into my room in +New York, and _sans ceremonie_ taken up my hair-brush, and amused +himself with brushing his head. They are certainly very unrefined in +the toilet as yet. When I was travelling, on my arrival at a city I +opened my dressing case, and a man passing by my room when the door was +open, attracted by the glitter, I presume, came in and looked at the +apparatus which is usually contained in such articles--"Pray, Sir," said +he, "are you a _dentist_?" + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 3. Every steam-boat has its bar. The theatres, all places of +public amusement, and even the capitol itself; as I have observed in my +Diary. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 4. It was not a bad idea of a man who, generally speaking, was +very low-spirited, on being asked the cause, replied, that he did not +know, but he thought "that he had been born with _three drinks too +little_ in him." + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 5. In a chapter which follows this, I have said that the women of +America are physically superior to the men. This may appear +contradictory, as of course they could not be born so; nor are they, for +I have often remarked how very fine the American male children are, +especially those lads who have grown up to the age of fourteen or +sixteen. One could hardly believe it possible that the men are the same +youths, advanced in life. How is this to be accounted for? I can only +suppose that it is from their plunging too early into life as men, +having thrown off parental control, and commencing the usual excesses of +young men in every country at too tender an age. The constant stimulus +of drink must, of course, be another powerful cause; not that the +Americans often become intoxicated, on the contrary, you will see many +more in this condition every day in this country than you will in +America. But occasional intoxication is not so injurious to the +constitution as that continual application of spirits, which must +enfeeble the stomach, and, with the assistance of tobacco, destroy its +energies. The Americans are a _drinking_ but not a _drunken_, nation, +and, as I have before observed, the climate operates upon them very +powerfully. + + + +VOLUME ONE, CHAPTER FIVE. + +EMIGRATION AND MIGRATION. + +In this chapter I shall confine myself to the emigration to the United +States, reserving that to Canada until I remark upon that colony. In +discussing this question I have no statistics to refer to, and must, +therefore, confine myself to general observations. + +What the amount of emigration from the Old Continent to the United +States may be at present I do not think the Americans themselves can +tell, as many who arrive at New York go on to the Canadas. The +emigrants are, however, principally English, Irish, and German; +latterly, the emigration to New South Wales, New Zealand, and +particularly Texas, has reduced the influx of emigrants to the United +States. + +It ought to be pointed out, that among the emigrants are to be found the +portion of the people in the United States the most disaffected and the +most violent against England and its monarchical institutions; and who +assist very much to keep up the feelings of dislike and ill-will which +exist towards us. Nor is this to be wondered at; the happy and the +wealthy do not go into exile; they are mostly disappointed and unhappy +men, who attribute their misfortunes, often occasioned by their own +imprudence, to any cause but the true one, and hate their own country +and its institutions because they have been unfortunate in it. They +form Utopian ideas of liberty and prosperity to be obtained by +emigration; they discover that they have been deceived, and would +willingly, if possible, return to the country they have abjured, and the +friends they have left behind. This produces an increase of irritation +and ill-will, and they become the more violent vituperative in +proportion as they feel the change. [See Note 1.] + +I have had many conversations with English emigrants in the United +States, and I never yet found one at all respectable, who did not +confess to me that he repented of emigration. One great cause of this +is honourable to them; they feel that in common plain-dealing they are +no match for the keen-witted, and I must add unprincipled, portion of +the population with which they are thrown in contact. They must either +sacrifice their principle or not succeed. + +Many have used the same expression to me. "It is no use, sir, you must +either turn regular Yankee and do as they do, or you have no chance of +getting on in this country." + +These people are much to be pitied; I used to listen to them with +feelings of deep compassion. Having torn themselves away from old +associations, and broken the links which should have bound them to their +native soil, with the expectation of finding liberty, equality, and +competence in a new country, they have discovered when too late that +they have not a fraction of the liberty which is enjoyed in the country +which they have left; that they have severed themselves from their +friends to live amongst those with whom they do not like to associate; +that they must now labour with their own hands, instead of employing +others; and that the competence they expected, if it is to be obtained, +must be so by a sacrifice of those principles of honesty and +fair-dealing imbibed in their youth, adhered to in their manhood, but +which now that they have transplanted themselves, are gradually, +although unwillingly, yielded up to the circumstances of their position. + +I was once conversing with an Irishman; he was not very well pleased +with his change; I laughed at him, and said, "But here you are free, +Paddy."--"Free?" replied he, "and pray who the devil was to buy or sell +me when I was in Ireland? Free! och! that's all talk; you're free to +work as hard as a horse, and get but little for so doing." + +The German emigrants are by far the most contented and well-behaved. +They trouble themselves less about politics, associate with one another +as much as possible, and when they take a farm, always, if they possibly +can, get it in the neighbourhood of their own countrymen. + +The emigrants most troublesome, but, at the same time, the most valuable +to the United States, are the Irish. Without this class of people the +Americans would not have been able to complete the canals and +rail-roads, and many other important works. They are, in fact, the +principal labourers of the country, for the poor Germans who come out +prefer being employed in any other way than in agriculture, until they +amass sufficient to obtain farms of their own. As for the Irish, there +are not many of them who possess land in the United States, the major +portion of them remain labourers, and die very little better off than +when they went out. Some of them set up groceries (these are the most +calculating and intelligent,)--and by allowing their countrymen to run +in debt for liquor, etcetera, they obtain control over them, and make +contracts with the government agents, or other speculators (very +advantageous to themselves,) to supply so many men for public works; by +these means a few acquire a great deal of money, while the many remain +in comparative indigence. + +We have been accustomed to ascribe the turbulence of the Irish lower +classes to ill-treatment and a sense of their wrongs, but this +disposition appears to follow them every where. It would be supposed +that, having emigrated to America and obtained the rights of citizens, +they would have amalgamated and fraternised to a certain degree with the +people: but such is not the case; they hold themselves completely apart +and distinct, living with their families in the same quarter of the +city, and adhering to their own manners and customs. They are just as +little pleased with the institutions of the United States as they are +with the government at home; the fact is, that they would prefer no +government at all, if (as Paddy himself would say) they knew where to +find it. They are the leaders in all the political rows and commotions, +and very powerful as a party in all elections, not only on account of +their numbers (if I recollect rightly, they muster 40,000 at New York,) +but by their violence preventing other people from coming to the poll; +and, farther, by multiplying themselves, so as greatly to increase their +force, by voting several times over, which they do by going from one +ward to another. I was told by one of them that, on the last election +he had voted _seven_ times. [See Note 2.] + +An American once said to me that the lower Irish ruled the United +States, and he attempted to prove his assertion as follows: + +The New York election is carried by the Irish; now the New York election +has great influence upon the other elections, and often carries the +State. The State of New York has great influence upon the elections of +other States, and therefore the Irish of New York govern the country.-- +QED. + +The Irish, in one point, appear to improve in the United States--they +become much more provident, and many of them hoard their money. They +put it into the Savings Banks, and when they have put in the sum allowed +by law to one person, they deposite in other names. + +A captain of one of the steam-boats told me an anecdote or two relative +to the Irish emigrants, by which it would appear that they are more +saving of their money than is quite consistent with honesty. + +He constantly received them on board, and said that sometimes, if they +were very few, they would declare at the end of the trip that they had +no money, although when detained they never failed to produce it; if +they were very numerous they would attempt to fight their way without +paying. In one instance, an Irishman declared that he had no money, +when the captain, to punish him, seized his old jacket, and insisted +upon retaining it for payment. The Irishman suffered it to be taken +off, expecting, it is to be presumed, that it would be returned to him +as valueless, when the captain jerked it overboard. "Oh! murder!-- +captain, drop the boat," cried Paddy; "pick my jacket up, or I'm a +ruined man. _All_ my _money's_ in it." The jacket was fortunately +picked up before it sank, and, on ripping it up, it was found to +contain, sewed up in it, upwards of fifty sovereigns and gold eagles. +The same captain narrated to me the particulars of one instance in which +about one hundred Irish were on board, who when asked for payment, +commenced an attack upon the captain and crew with their bludgeons; but, +having before experienced such attempts, he was prepared for them, and +receiving assistance from the shore, the Irishmen were worsted, and then +every man paid his fare. The truth is that they are very turbulent, and +the lower orders of the Americans are very much enraged against them. +On the 4th of July there were several bodies of Americans, who were out +on the look-out for the Irish, after dark, and many of the latter were +severely beaten, if not murdered; the Irish, however, have to thank +themselves for it. + +The spirit of the institutions of the States is so opposed to servitude, +that it is chiefly from the emigrants that the Americans obtain their +supply of domestics; the men servants in the private houses may be said +to be, with few exceptions, either emigrants or free people of colour. +Amongst other points upon which the Americans are to be pitied, and for +which the most perfect of theoretical governments could never +compensate, is the misery and annoyance to which they are exposed from +their domestics. They are absolutely slaves to them, especially in the +western free States; there are no regulations to control them. At any +fancied affront they leave the house without a moment's warning, putting +on their hats or bonnets, and walking out of the street-door, leaving +their masters and mistresses to get on how they can. I remember when I +was staying with a gentleman in the west, that, on the first day of my +arrival, he apologised to me for not having a man servant, the fellow +having then been drunk for a week; a woman had been hired to help for a +portion of the day, but most of the labour fell upon his wife, whom I +found one morning cleaning my room. The fellow remained ten days drunk, +and then (all his money being spent) sent to his master to say that he +would come back on condition that he would give him a little more +liquor. To this proposition the gentleman was compelled to assent, and +the man returned as if he had conferred a favour. The next day, at +dinner, there being no porter up, the lady said to her husband, "Don't +send for it, but go _yourself_, my dear; he is so very cross again that +I fear he will leave the house." A lady of my acquaintance in New York +told her coachman that she should give him warning; the reply from the +box was--"I reckon I have been too long in the woods to be scared with +an owl." Had she noticed this insolence, he would probably have got +down from the box, and have left her to drive her own cattle. The +coloured servants are, generally speaking, the most civil; after them +the Germans; the Irish and English are very bad. At the hotels, +etcetera, you very often find Americans in subordinate situations, and +it is remarkable that when they are so, they are much more civil than +the imported servants. Few of the American servants, even in the large +cities, understand their business, but it must be remembered that few of +them have ever learnt it, and, moreover, they are expected to do three +times as much as a servant would do in an English house. The American +houses are much too large for the number of servants employed, which is +another cause for service being so much disliked. + +It is singular that I have not found in any one book, written by +English, French, or German travellers, any remarks made upon a custom +which the Americans have of almost entirely living, I may say, in the +basement of their houses; and which is occasioned by their difficulties +in housekeeping with their insufficient domestic establishments. I say +custom of the Americans, as it is the case in nine houses out of ten; +only the more wealthy travelled, and refined portion of the community in +their cities deviating from the general practice. + +I have before observed that, from the wish of display, the American +houses are generally speaking, too large for the proprietors and for the +domestics which are employed. Vying with each other in appearance, +their receiving rooms are splendidly furnished, but they do not live in +them. + +The basement in the front area, which with us is usually appropriated to +the housekeeper's-room and offices, is in most of their houses fitted up +as a dining-room; by no means a bad plan, as it is cool in summer, warm +in winter, and saves much trouble to the servants. The dinner is served +up in it, direct from the kitchen, with which it communicates. The +master of the house, unless he dines late, which is seldom the case in +American cities, does not often come home to dinner, and the +preparations for the family are of course not very troublesome. But +although they go on very well in their daily routine, to give a dinner +is to the majority of the Americans really an effort, not from the +disinclination to give one, but from the indifference and ignorance of +the servants; and they may be excused without being taxed with want of +hospitality. It is a very common custom, therefore, for the Americans +to invite you to come and "_take wine_" with them, that is to come after +dinner, when you will find cakes, ices, wine, and company, already +prepared. But there is something unpleasant in this arrangement; it is +too much like the bar of the tavern in the west, with--"Stranger, will +you drink?" It must, however, be recollected that there are many +exceptions to what I have above stated as the general practice. There +are houses in the principal cities of the States where you will sit down +to as well-arranged and elegant a dinner as you will find in the best +circles of London and Paris; but the proprietors are men of wealth, who +have in all probability been on the old continent, and have imbibed a +taste for luxury and refinement generally unknown and unfelt in the new +hemisphere. + +I once had an instance of what has been repeatedly observed by other +travellers of the dislike to be considered as servants in this land of +equality. + +I was on board of a steam-boat from Detroit to Buffalo, and entered into +conversation with a young woman who was leaning over the taffrail. She +had been in service, and was returning home. + +"You say you lived with Mr W.?" + +"No, I didn't," replied she, rather tartly; "I said I lived with _Mrs_. +W." + +"Oh, I understand. In what situation did you live?" + +"I lived in the house." + +"Of course you did, but what as?" + +"What as? As a _gal_ should live." + +"I mean what did you do?" + +"I helped Mrs W." + +"And now you are tired of helping others?" + +"Guess I am." + +"Who is your father?" + +"He's a doctor." + +"A doctor! and he allows you to go out?" + +"He said I might please myself." + +"Will he be pleased at your coming home again?" + +"I went out to please myself, and I come home to please myself. Cost +him nothing for four months; that's more than all gals can say." + +"And now you're going home to spend your money?" + +"Don't want to go home for that, it's all gone." + +I have been much amused with the awkwardness and nonchalant manners of +the servants in America. Two American ladies who had just returned from +Europe, told me that shortly after their arrival at Boston, a young man +had been sent to them from Vermont to do the duty of footman. He had +been a day or two in the house, when they rang the bell and ordered him +to bring up two glasses of lemonade. He made his appearance with the +lemonade, which had been prepared and given to him on a tray by a female +servant, but the ladies, who were sitting one at each end of a sofa and +conversing, not being ready for it just then, said to him--"We'll take +it presently, John."--"Guess I can wait," replied the man, deliberately +taking his seat on the sofa between them, and placing the tray on his +knees. + +When I was at Tremont House, I was very intimate with a family who were +staying there. One morning we had been pasting something, and the bell +was rung by one of the daughters, a very fair girl with flaxen hair, who +wanted some water to wash her hands. An Irish waiter answered the bell. +"Did you ring, ma'am?"--"Yes, Peter, I want a little warm water."--"Is +it to _shave with_, miss?" inquired Paddy, very gravely. + +But the emigration from the old continent is of little importance +compared to the migration which takes place in the country itself. + +As I have before observed, all America is working west. In the north, +the emigration by the lakes is calculated at 100,000 per annum, of which +about 30,000, are foreigners; the others are the natives of New England +and the other eastern States, who are exchanging from a sterile soil to +one "flowing with milk and honey." But those who migrate are not all of +them agriculturalists; the western States are supplied from the +north-eastern with their merchants, doctors, schoolmasters, lawyers, +and, I may add, with their members of congress, senators, and governors. +New England is a _school_, a sort of manufactory of various +professions, fitted for all purposes--a talent bazaar, where you have +every thing at choice; in fact, what Mr Tocqueville says is very true, +and the States fully deserve the compliment. + +"The civilisation of New England has been like a beacon lit upon a hill, +which, after it has diffused its warmth around, tinges the distant +horizon with its glory." + +From the great extent of this emigration to the west, it is said that +the female population in the New England states is greater than the +male. In the last returns of Massachusetts the total population was +given, but males and females were not given separately, an omission +which induces one to believe that such was the truth. [See note 3.] + +But it is not only from the above States that the migration takes place; +the fondness for "shifting right away," the eagerness for speculation, +and the by no means exaggerated reports of the richness of the western +country, induce many who are really well settled in the States of New +York, Pennsylvania, and other fertile States, to sell all and turn to +the west. The State of Ohio alone is supposed to have added many more +than a million to her population since the last census. An extensive +migration of white population takes place from North and South Carolina +and the adjacent States, while from the eastern Slave States, there is +one continual stream of black population pouring in, frequently the +cavalcade headed by the masters of their families. + +As the numerous tributary streams pour their waters into the +Mississippi, so do rivers of men from every direction continually and +unceasingly flow into the west. It is indeed the promised land, and +that the whites should have been detained in the eastern States so long +without a knowledge of the fertile soil beyond the Alleghanines, reminds +you of the tarrying of the Jewish nation in the wilderness before they +were permitted to take possession of their inheritance. + +Here there is matter for deep reflection. I have already given my +opinion upon the chances of the separation of the northern and Southern +States upon the question of slavery; but it appears to me, that while +the eyes of their legislators have been directed with so much interest +to the prospects arising from the above question, that their backs have +been turned to a danger much more imminent, and which may be attended by +no less consequences than a convulsion of the whole Union. + +The Southern and Northern States may separate on the question of +slavery, and yet be in reality better friends than they were before: but +what will be the consequence, when the Western States become, as they +assuredly will, so populous and powerful, as to control the Union; for +not only population, but power and wealth, are fast working their way to +the west. New Orleans will be the first maritime port in the universe, +and Cincinnati will not only be the Queen of the West, but Queen of the +Western World. Then will come the real clashing of interests, and the +Eastern States must be content to succumb and resign their present +power, or the Western will throw them off, as an useless appendage to +her might. This may at present appear chimerical to some, and would be +considered by many others as too far distant; but be it remembered, that +ten years in America, is as a century; and even allowing the prosperity +of the United States to be checked, as very probably it may soon be, by +any quarrel with a foreign nation, the Western States will not be those +who will suffer. Far removed from strife, the population hardly +interfered with, when the Eastern resources are draining, they will +continue to advance in population, and to increase in wealth. I refer +not to the Slave States bordering on the Mississippi, although I +consider that they would suffer little from a war, as neither England, +nor any other nation, will ever be so unwise in future as to attack in a +quarter, where she would have extended the olive branch, even if it were +not immediately accepted. Whether America is engaged in war, therefore, +or remains in peace, the Western States must, and will soon be the +arbiters, and dictate as they please to the Eastern. + +At present, they may be considered as infants, not yet of age, and the +Eastern States are their guardians; the profits of their produce are +divided between them and the merchants of the Eastern cities, who +receive at least thirty per cent. as their share. This must be the case +at present, when the advances of the Eastern capitalists are required by +the cotton growers, who are precisely in the same position with the +Eastern States, as the West India planters used to be with the merchants +of London and Liverpool, to whom they consigned their cargoes for +advances received. But the Western States (to follow up the metaphor) +will soon be of age, and no longer under control: even last year, +vessels were freighted direct from England to Vicksburg, on the +Mississippi; in a few years, there will be large importing houses in the +Far West, who will have their goods direct from England at one half the +price which they now pay for them, when forwarded from New York, by +canal, and other conveyances. [See Note 4.] Indeed, a very little +inquiry will prove, that the prosperity of the Eastern free States +depends in a great measure upon the Western and Southern. The Eastern +States are the receivers and transporters of goods, and the carriers of +most of the produce of the Union. They advance money on the crops, and +charge high interest, commissions, etcetera. The transport and +travelling between the Eastern, Southern, and Western States, are one +great source of this prosperity, from the employment on the canals, rail +roads, and steam boats. + +All these are heavy charges to the Western States, and can be avoided by +shipping direct from, and sending their produce direct to, the Old +Continent. As the Western States advance in wealth, so will they +advance in power, and in proportion as they so do, will the Eastern +States recede, until they will be left in a small minority, and will +eventually have little voice in the Union. + +Here, then, is a risk of convulsion; for the clashing of interests, next +to a war, is the greatest danger to which a democracy can be exposed. +In a democracy, every one legislates, and every one legislates for his +own interests. The Eastern States will still be wealthy and formidable, +from their population; but the commerce of the principal Eastern cities +will decrease, and they will have little or no staple produce to return +to England, or elsewhere, whereas the Western States can produce every +thing that the heart of man can desire, and can be wholly independent of +them. They have, in the West, every variety of coal and mineral, to a +boundless extent; a rich alluvial soil, hardly to be exhausted by bad +cultivation, and wonderful facilities of transport; independent of the +staple produce of cotton, they might supply the whole world with grain; +sugar they already cultivate; the olive flourishes; wine is already +produced on the banks of the Ohio, and the prospect of raising silk is +beyond calculation. In a few days, the manufactures of the Old World +can find their way from the mouth of the Mississippi by its thousand +tributary streams, which run like veins through every portion of the +country, to the confines of Arkansas and Missouri, to the head of +navigation at St Peter's, on again to Wisconsin, Michigan, and to the +Northern lakes, at a _much cheaper rate_ than they are supplied at +present. + +One really is lost in admiration when one surveys this great and +glorious Western country, and contemplates the splendour and riches to +which it must ultimately arrive. + +As soon as the Eastern States are no longer permitted to remain the +factors of the Western, they must be content to become manufacturing +states, and probably will compete with England. The Western States, +providentially, I may say, are not likely to be manufacturers to any +great extent, since they have not _water_ powers; the valley of the +Mississippi is an alluvial flat, and although the Missouri and +Mississippi are swift streams, in general the rivers are sluggish, and, +at all events, they have not the precipitate falls of water necessary +for machinery, and which abound in the North-eastern States; indeed, if +the Western States were to attempt to manufacture, as well as to +produce, they would spoil the market for their own produce. Whatever +may be the result, whether the Eastern States submit quietly to be shorn +of their greatness, (a change which must take place,) or to contest the +point until it ends in a separation, this is certain, that the focus of +American wealth and power will eventually be firmly established in the +Free States on the other side of the Alleghany mountains. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 1. I was once conversing with one who was formerly very popular +with the democrats, but who was likely to be outset by another +demagogue, who "went the whole hog," down to the Agrarian system. +"Captain," said he, with his fist clenched, "I'm the very +personification of democracy, but I'm out-Heroded by this fellow. The +emigrants are a pack of visionaries, who don't know what they want. The +born Americans I can deal with, but with these newcomers democracy is +not sufficient; they want a mobocracy, and I suppose we must have +it."--"You have it now," replied I.--"Well, captain, I believe you're +right." + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 2. I don't know why, but there is no scrutiny of the votes in +American elections, or if there be, I never heard of one being made. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 3. "The young men of New England migrate in large numbers to the +west, leaving an over proportion of female population, the amount of +which I never could learn. Statements were made to me, but so +incredible that I withhold them. Suffice it, that there were more women +than men in from six to nine States in the Union."--Miss Martineau. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 4. To give the reader some idea of the price of European articles +in the Western country, I will mention cloth. A coat which costs 4 +pounds in England, is charged 7 pounds 10 shillings at New York; and at +Cincinnati, in the West, upwards of 10 pounds. + + + +VOLUME ONE, CHAPTER SIX. + +NEWSPAPER PRESS. + +Mr Tocqueville observes, "that not a single individual of the twelve +millions who inhabit the territory of the United States has as yet dared +to propose any restrictions upon the liberty of the press." This is +true, and all the respectable Americans acknowledge that this liberty +has degenerated into a licentiousness which threatens the most alarming +results; as it has assumed a power, which awes not only individuals, but +the government itself. A due liberty allowed to the press, may force a +government to do right, but a licentiousness may compel it into error. +The American author, Mr Cooper, very justly remarks: "It may be taken +as a rule, that _without_ the liberty of the press there can be no +_popular liberty_ in a nation, and without its licentiousness, neither +_public honesty, justice_, or a proper regard for _character_. Of the +two, perhaps, that people is the happiest which is deprived altogether +of a free press, as private honesty and a healthful tone of the public +mind are not incompatible with narrow institutions, though neither can +exist under the corrupting action of a licentiousness press." + +And again--"As the press of this country now exists, it would seem to be +expressly devised by the great agent of mischief, to depress and destroy +all that is good, and to elevate and advance all that is evil in the +nation. The little truth which is urged, is usually urged coarsely, +weakened and rendered vicious by personalities, while those who live by +falsehoods, fallacies, enmities, partialities, and the schemes of the +designing, find the press the very instrument that devils would invent +to effect their designs." + +A witty, but unprincipled statesman of our own times, has said, that +"speech was bestowed on man to conceal his thoughts;" judging from its +present condition, he might have added--"the press, in America, to +_pervert truth_." + +But were I to quote the volumes of authority from American and English +writers, they would tire the reader. The above are for the present +quite sufficient to establish the fact, that the press in the United +States is licentious to the highest possible degree, and defies control; +my object is to point out the effect of this despotism upon society, and +to show how injurious it is in every way to the cause of morality and +virtue. + +Of course, the newspaper press is the most mischievous, in consequence +of its daily circulation, the violence of political animosity, and the +want of respectability in a large proportion of the editors. The number +of papers published and circulated in Great Britain, among a population +of twenty-six millions, is calculated at about three hundred and +seventy. The number published in the United States, among thirteen +millions, are supposed to vary between _nine and ten thousand_. Now the +value of newspapers may be fairly calculated by the capital expended +upon them; and not only is not one-quarter of the sum expended in +England, upon three hundred and seventy newspapers, expended upon the +nine or ten thousand in America; but I really believe that the expense +of the `_Times_' newspaper alone, is equal to at least five _thousand_ +of the _minor_ papers in the United States, which are edited by people +of no literary pretension, and at an expense so trifling as would appear +to us not only ridiculous, but impossible. As to the capabilities of +the majority of the editors, let the Americans speak for themselves. + +"Every wretch who can write an English paragraph (and many who cannot,) +every pettifogger without practice, every one whose poverty or crimes +have just left him cash or credit enough to procure a press and types, +sets up a newspaper." + +Again--"If you be puzzled what to do with your son, if he be a born +dunce, if reading and writing be all the accomplishments he can acquire, +if he be horribly ignorant and depraved, if he be indolent and an +incorrigible liar, lost to all shame and decency, and incurably +dishonest, make a newspaper editor of him. Look around you, and see a +thousand successful proofs that no excellence or acquirement, moral or +intellectual, is requisite to conduct a press. The more defective an +editor is, the better he succeeds. We could give a thousand +instances."--_Boston News_. + +These are the assertions of the Americans, not my own; that in many +instances they are true, I have no doubt. In a country so chequered as +the United States, such must be expected; but I can also assert, that +there are many very highly respectable and clever editors in the United +States. The New York papers are most of them very well conducted, and +very well written. The New York Courier and Enquirer, Colonel Webb; the +Evening Star, by Noah; the Albion, by Doctor Birtlett; Spirit of the +Times, and many others, which are too numerous to quote, are equal to +many of the English newspapers. The best written paper in the States, +and the happiest in its sarcasm and wit, is the Louisville Gazette, +conducted by Mr Prentice of Kentucky; indeed, the western papers, are, +generally speaking, more amusing and witty than the eastern; the New +Orleans Picayune, by Kendall, is perhaps, after Prentice's, the most +amusing; but there are many more, which are too numerous to mention, +which do great credit to American talent. Still the majority are +disgraceful not only from their vulgarity, but from their odious +personalities and disregard to truth. The bombast and ignorance shown +in some of these is very amusing. Here is an extract or two from the +small newspapers published in the less populous countries. An editor +down East, speaking of his own merits, thus concludes--"I'm a real +catastrophe--a small creation; Mount Vesuvius at the top, with red hot +lava pouring out of the crater, and routing nations--my fists are rocky +mountains--arms, whig liberty poles, with iron springs. Every step I +take is an earthquake--every blow I strike is a clap of thunder--and +every breath I breathe is a tornado. My disposition is Dupont's best, +and goes off at a flash--when I blast there'll be nothing left but a +hole three feet in circumference and no end to its depth." + +Another writes the account of a storm as follows:-- + +"On Monday afternoon, while the haymakers were all out gathering in the +hay, in anticipation of a shower from the small cloud that was seen +hanging over the hilly regions towards the south-east, a tremendous +storm suddenly burst upon them, and forced them to seek shelter from its +violence. The wind whistled outrageously through the old elms, +scattering the beautiful foliage, and then going down into the meadow, +where the men had just abruptly left their work unfinished, and +overturning the half-made ricks, whisked them into the air, and filled +the _whole afternoon_ full of hay." + +I copied the following from a western paper:-- + +"Yes, my countrymen, a dawn begins to open upon us; the crepusculous +rays of returning republicanism are fast extending over the darkness of +our political horizon, and before their brightness, those myrmidons +shall slink away to the abode of the demons who have generated them, in +the hollow caves of darkness." + +Again--"Many who have acquired great fame and celebrity in the world, +began their career as printers. Sir William Blackstone, the learned +English commentator of laws, was a printer by trade. _King Charles the +Third_ was a printer, and not unfrequently worked at the trade after he +ascended the throne of England." + +Who Charles the Third of England was I do not know, as he is not yet +mentioned in any of our histories. + +The most remarkable newspaper for its obscenity, and total disregard for +all decency and truth in its personal attacks, is the Morning Herald of +New York, published by a person of the name of Bennett, and being +published in so large a city, it affords a convincing proof with what +impunity the most licentious attacks upon private characters are +permitted. But Mr Bennett is _sui generis_; and demands particular +notice. He is indeed a remarkable man, a species of philosopher, who +acts up to his tenets with a moral courage not often to be met with in +the United States. His maxim appears to be this--"Money will find me +every thing in this world, and money I will have, at any risk, except +that of my life, as, if I lost that, the money would be useless." +Acting upon this creed, he has lent his paper to the basest and most +malignant purposes, to the hatred of all that is respectable and good, +defaming and inventing lies against every honest man, attacking the +peace and happiness of private families by the most injurious and base +calumny. As may be supposed, he has been horse-whipped, kicked, trodden +under foot, and spat upon, and degraded in every possible way; but all +this he courts, because it brings money. Horse-whip him, and he will +bend his back to the lash, and thank you, as every blow is worth so many +dollars. Kick him, and he will remove his coat tails, that you may have +a better mark, and he courts the application of the toe, while he counts +the total of the damages which he may obtain. Spit upon him, and he +prizes it as precious ointment, for it brings him the sovereign remedy +for his disease, a fever for specie. + +The day after the punishment, he publishes a full and particular account +of how many kicks, tweaks of the nose, or lashes he may have received. +He prostitutes his pen, his talent, every thing for money. His glory +is, that he has passed the rubicon of shame; and all he regrets is, that +the public is at last coming to the unanimous opinion, that he is too +contemptible, too degraded, to be even touched. The other, and more +respectable editors of newspapers, avoid him, on account of the filth +which he pours forth; like a polecat, he may be hunted down; but no dog +will ever attempt to worry him, as soon as he pours out the contents of +his foetid bag. + +It is a convincing proof of the ardent love of defamation in this +country, that this modern Thersites, who throws the former of that name +so immeasurably into the background, has still great sway over men in +office; every one almost, who has a character, is afraid of him, and +will purchase his silence, if they cannot his good will. + +During the crash at New York, when even the suspicion of insolvency was +fatal, this miscreant published some of the most respectable persons of +New York as bankrupts, and yet received no punishment. His paper is +clever, that is certain; but I very much doubt if Bennett is the clever +man--and my reason is this, Bennett was for some time in England, and +during that time the paper, so far from falling off, was better written +than before. I myself, before I had been six weeks in the country, was +attacked by this wretch, and, at the same time, the paper was sent to me +with this small note on the margin:--"Send twenty dollars, and it shall +be stopped."--"I only wish you may get it," said I to myself. [See Note +1.] + +Captain Hamilton, speaking of the newspaper press in America, says-- + +"In order to form a fair estimate of their merit, I read newspapers from +all parts of the union, and found them utterly contemptible, in point of +talent, and dealing in abuse so virulent, as to excite a feeling of +disgust,--not only with the writers, but with the public which afforded +them support. Tried by this standard--and I know not how it can be +objected to--the moral feeling of this people must be estimated lower +than in any deductions from other circumstances I have ventured to rate +it." + +In the following remarks, also, I most cordially agree with him. "Our +newspaper and periodical press is bad enough. Its sins against +propriety cannot be justified, and ought not to be defended. But its +violence is meekness, its liberty restraint, and even its atrocities are +virtues, when compared with that system of _brutal and ferocious +outrage_ which distinguishes the press in America. In England, even an +insinuation against personal honour is intolerable. A hint--a breath-- +the contemplation even of a possibility of tarnish--such things are +sufficient to poison the tranquillity, and, unless met by prompt +vindication, to ruin the character of a public man; but in America, it +is thought necessary to have recourse to other weapons. The strongest +epithets of a ruffian vocabulary are put in requisition." + +It may be asked, how is it possible that an "enlightened nation" can +permit such atrocity. It must be remembered, that newspapers are vended +at a very low price throughout the States, and that the support of the +major portion of them is derived from the ignorant and lower classes. +Every man in America reads his newspaper, and hardly any thing else; and +while he considers that he is assisting to govern the nation, he is in +fact, the dupe of those who pull the strings in secret, and by +flattering his vanity, and exciting his worst feelings, make him a poor +tool in their hands. People are too apt to imagine that the newspapers +echo their own feelings; when the fact is, that by taking in a paper, +which upholds certain opinions, the readers are, by daily repetition, +become so impressed with these opinions, that they have become slaves to +them. I have before observed, that learning to read and write is not +education, and but too often is the occasion of the demoralisation of +those, who might have been more virtuous and more happy in their +ignorance. The other day when I was in a steam-vessel, going down to +Gravesend, I observed a foot-boy sitting on one of the benches--he was +probably ten or eleven years old, and was deeply engaged in reading a +cheap periodical, mostly confined to the lower orders of this country +called the Penny Paul Pry. Surely it had been a blessing to the lad, if +he had never learnt to read or write, if he confined his studies, as +probably too many do, from want of farther leisure, to such an immoral +and disgusting publication. + +In a country where every man is a politician, and flatters himself that +he is assisting to govern the country, political animosities must of +course be carried to the greatest lengths, and the press is the vehicle +for party violence; but Captain Hamilton's remarks are so forcible, and +so correct, that I prefer them to any I could make myself. + +"The opponents of a candidate for office, are generally not content with +denouncing his principles, or deducing from the tenor of his political +life, grounds for questioning the purity of his motives. They accuse +him boldly of _burglary_ or _arson_, or at the very least, of petty +larceny. _Time, place and circumstances_, are all stated. The +candidate for Congress or the Presidency, is broadly asserted to have +_picked pockets_, or pocketed silver spoons, or to have been guilty of +something equally mean and contemptible. Two instances of this, occur +at this moment to my memory. In one newspaper, a member of Congress was +denounced as having feloniously broken open a scrutoire, and having +thence stolen certain bills and banknotes; another was charged with +selling franks at twopence a piece, and thus coppering his pockets at +the expense of the public." + +But let me add the authority of Americans. Mr Webster, in his +celebrated speech on the public lands, observes in that powerful and +nervous language for which he is so celebrated:--"It is one of the +thousand calumnies with which the press teemed, during an excited +political canvass. It was a charge, of which there was not only no +proof or probability, but which was, in itself, wholly impossible to be +true. No man of common information ever believed a syllable of it. Yet +it was of that class of falsehoods, which by continued repetition, +through all the organs of detraction and abuse, are capable of +misleading those who are already far misled, and of farther fanning +passion, already kindled into flame. Doubtless, it served in its day, +and, in greater or less degree, the end designed by it. Having done +that, it has sunk into the general mass of stale and loathed calumnies. +It is the very cast-off slough of a _polluted_ and _shameless_ press." +And Mr Cooper observes--"Every honest man appears to admit that the +press in America is fast getting to be _intolerable_. In escaping from +the tyranny of foreign aristocrats, we have created in our bosoms a +_tyranny of a character_ so _insupportable_, that a change of some sort +is getting indispensable to peace." + +Indeed, the spirit of defamation, so rife in America, is so intimately +connected with its principal channel, the press, that it is impossible +to mention one, without the other, and I shall, therefore, at once enter +into the question. + +Defamation is the greatest curse in the United States, and its effects +upon society I shall presently point out. It appears to be inseparable +from a democratic form of government, and must continue to flourish in +it, until it pleases the Supreme to change the hearts of men. When +Aristides inquired of the countryman, who requested him to write down +his own name on the oyster-shell, what cause of complaint he had against +Aristides; the reply given was, "I have none; except, that I do not like +to hear him always called the _Just_." So it is with the free and +enlightened citizens of America. Let any man rise above his fellows by +superior talent, let him hold a consistent, honest career, and he is +exalted only into a pillory, to be pelted at, and be defiled with +ordure. False accusations, the basest insinuations, are industriously +circulated, his public and private character are equally aspersed, truth +is wholly disregarded: even those who have assisted to raise him to his +pedestal, as soon as they perceive that he has risen too high above +them, are equally industrious and eager to drag him down again. +Defamation exists all over the world, but it is incredible to what an +extent this vice is carried in America. It is a disease which pervades +the land; which renders every man suspicious and cautious of his +neighbour, creates eye-service and hypocrisy, fosters the bitterest and +most malignant passions, and unceasingly irritates the morbid +sensibility, so remarkable among all classes of the American people. + +Captain Hamilton, speaking of the political contests, says, "From one +extremity of the Union to the other, the political war slogan is +sounded. No quarter is given on either side; every printing press in +the United States is engaged in the conflict. Reason, justice, and +charity; the claims of age and of past services, of high talents and +unspotted integrity, are forgotten. No lie is too malignant to be +employed in this unhallowed contest, if it can but serve the purpose of +deluding, even for a moment, the most ignorant of mankind. No +insinuation is too base, no equivocation too mean, no artifice too +paltry. The world affords no parallel to the scene of political +depravity exhibited periodically in this free country." + +Governor Clinton, in his address to the legislature in 1828, +says--"Party spirit has entered the recesses of retirement, violated the +sanctity of female character, invaded the tranquillity of private life, +and visited with severe inflictions the peace of families. Neither +elevation nor humility has been spared, nor the charities of life, nor +distinguished public services,--nor the fire-side, nor the altar, been +left free from attack; but a licentious and destroying spirit has gone +forth, regardless of everything, but the gratification of malignant +feelings and unworthy aspirations." And in the New York Annual +Register, quoted by Captain Hamilton, we have the following remarks: "In +conducting the political discussions which followed the adjournment of +Congress, both truth and propriety were set at defiance. The decencies +of private life were disregarded; conversations and correspondence which +should have been confidential, were brought before the public eye; the +ruthless warfare was carried into the bosom of private life; neither age +nor sex were spared, the daily press teemed with ribaldry and falsehood; +and even the tomb was not held sacred from the rancorous hostility which +distinguished the presidential election of 1828." + +I have considered it necessary thus to heap authority upon authority, as +the subject is one of the most vital importance; and I must first prove +the extent of this vice, without the chance of the shadow of +contradiction, before I point out its fatal consequences. + +That the political animosities arising from a free and enlightened +people governing themselves, have principally engendered and fostered +this vice, is most certain; and it would be some satisfaction, if, after +the hostile feelings had subsided, the hydra also sank to repose. + +But this cannot be the case. A vice, like detraction, so congenial to +our imperfect natures, is not to be confined to one channel, and only +resorted to, as a political weapon, when required. It is a vice which +when once called into action, and unchecked by the fear of punishment or +shame, must exist and be fed. It becomes a confirmed habit, and the +effect upon society is dreadful. If it cannot aim its shafts at those +who are in high places, if there is no noble quarry for its weapons, it +will seek its food amongst smaller game, for it never tires. The +consequence is, that it pervades and feeds upon society--private life is +embittered; and, as Mr Cooper most justly observes, "_rendering men +indifferent to character, and indeed rendering character of little +avail_." + +Indeed, from the prevalence of this vice, society in America appears to +be in a state of constant warfare--Indian warfare, as every one is +crouched, concealed, watching for an opportunity to scalp the reputation +of his neighbour! They exist in fear and trembling, afraid to speak, +afraid to act, or follow their own will, for in America there is no free +will. When I have asked why they do not this or that, the reply has +invariably been, that they dare not. In fact, to keep their station in +society, they must be slaves--not merely slaves, for we are all so far +slaves, that if we do that which is not right, we must be expelled from +it; but abject and cowardly slaves, who dare not do that which is +innocent, lest they should be misrepresented. This is the cause by +there is such an attention to the _outward_ forms of religion in the +United States, and which has induced some travellers to suppose them a +religious people, as if it were possible that any real religion could +exist, where morality is at so low an ebb. When I first went to Boston, +I did not go to church on the following day. An elderly gentleman +called upon and pointed out to me that I had omitted this duty; "but," +continued he, "I have had it put into one of the newspapers that you +attended divine service at such a church, so all is right." All was +right; yes, all was right, according to the American's ideas of "all was +right." But I thought at the time, that my sin of omission was much +more venial than his of commission. + +When at Detroit, I was attacked in the papers because I returned a few +calls on a Sunday. I mention this, not because I was justified in so +doing, but because I wish to show the censorship exercised in this very +moral country. + +The prevalence of this evil acts most unfortunately upon society in +other ways. It is the occasion of your hardly ever knowing whom you +may, or whom you may not, be on terms of intimacy with, and of the +introduction of many people into society, who ought to be wholly +excluded. Where slander is so general, when in the space of five +minutes you will be informed by one party, that Mr So and So is an +excellent person, and by another that he is a great scoundrel, just as +he may happen to be on their side or the opposite, in politics, or from +any other cause, it is certain that you must be embarrassed as to the +person's real character; and as a really good man may be vituperated, so +the reports against one who is unworthy, are as little credited: the +fact is, you never know who you are in company with. + +Almost all the duels which are so frequent in America, and I may add all +the assassinations in the western country, arise principally from +defamation. The law gives no redress, and there is no other way of +checking slander, than calling the parties to account for it. Every man +is therefore ready and armed against his fellow. + +Inadvertently affront any party, wound his self-love, and he will +immediately coin some malignant report, which is sure to be +industriously circulated. You are at the mercy of the meanest wretch in +the country; for although praise is received with due caution, slander +is everywhere welcomed. An instance occurred with respect to myself. I +was at Lexington, and received great kindness and civility from Mr +Clay. One day I dined at his table; there was a large party, and at the +further end, at a distance where he could not possibly have heard what +passed between Mr Clay and me, there sat a young man, whose name is not +worth mentioning. When he returned to Louisville, he spread a report +that I had grossly insulted Mr Clay at his own table. Now the +catalogue of enormities circulated against me was already so extensive, +that I was not in very good odour; but Mr Clay is so deservedly the +idol of this State, and indeed of almost the whole Union, that there +could not be a more serious charge against me--even those who were most +friendly avoided me, saying, they could forgive me what I had formerly +done, but to insult Mr Clay was too bad. So high was the feeling, and +so industriously was the calumny circulated, that at last I was +compelled to write to Mr Clay on the subject, and I received in return +a most handsome letter, acquitting me of the malicious charge. This I +showed to some, and they were satisfied; and they advised me to print +it, that it might be better known. This was a compliment I did not +choose to pay them; and the impression of the majority still is that I +insulted Mr Clay. The affair being one of the many connected with +myself, I should not have mentioned it, except to prove how lightly such +a practice is estimated. + +Whatever society permits, people will do, and moreover, will not think +that they are wrong in so doing. In England, had a person been guilty +of a deliberate and odious lie, he would have been scouted from society, +his best friends would have cut him; but how was this person treated for +his conduct? When I showed Mr Clay's letter, one said, "Well now, that +was very wrong of A."--Another, "I did not believe that A would have +done so."--A third, "that A ought to be ashamed of himself;" but they +did not one of them, on account of this falsehood, think it necessary to +avoid him. On the contrary, he was walking arm-in-arm with the men, +dancing and flirting with the women just as before, although his +slander, and the refutation of it, were both well known. + +The reader will now perceive the great moral evil arising from this +vice, which is, that it habituates people to falsehood. The lie of +slander is the basest of all lies; and the practice of it, the most +demoralising to the human heart. Those who will descend to such +deliberate and malignant falsehood, will not scruple at any other +description. The consequence is, that what the Americans have been so +often taxed with, is but too prevalent, "a disregard to _truth_." + +To what must we ascribe the great prevalence of this demoralising habit +in the United States? That the licentiousness of the press feeds it, it +is true; but I am rather inclined to imagine that the real source of it +is to be found in the peculiarity of their institutions. Under a +democracy, there are but two means by which a man can rise above his +fellows--wealth and character; and when all are equal, and each is +struggling to rise above the other, it is to the principle that if you +cannot rise above another by your own merit, you can at least so far +equalise your condition by pulling him down to your own level, that this +inordinate appetite for defamation must be ascribed. It is a state of +ungenerous warfare, arising from there being no gradation, no scale, no +discipline, if I may use the term, in society. Every one asserts his +equality, and at the same time wishes to rise above his fellows; and +society is in a state of perpetual and disgraceful scuffle. Mr +Tocqueville says, "There exists in the human heart a depraved taste for +equality, which impels the weak to attempt to lower the powerful to +their own level, and induces men to prefer equality in slavery to +inequality with freedom." + +In politics, especially, character becomes of much more importance than +wealth, and if a man in public life can once be rendered odious, or be +made suspected, he loses his supporters, and there is one antagonist +removed in the race for pre-eminence. Such is one of the lamentable +defects arising from a democratical form of Government. How different +from England, and the settled nations of the old world, where it may be +said that everything and everybody is, comparatively speaking, in his +place! + +Although many will, and may justifiably, attempt to rise beyond his +circumstances and birth, still there is order and regularity; each party +knows the precise round in the ladder on which he stands, and the +majority are content with their position. + +It is lamentable to observe how many bad feelings, how many evil +passions, are constantly in a state of activity from this unfortunate +chaotical want of gradation and discipline, where all would be first, +and every one considers himself as good as his neighbour. + +The above-mentioned author observes--"The surface of American society +is, if I may use the expression, covered with a layer of democracy, from +beneath which the aristocratic colours sometimes peep." + +In a moral sense, this is also true, the nobler virtues which are +chiefly produced in the fertile field of aristocracy do occasionally +appear; but the whole surface is covered with a layer of democracy, +which like the lava which the volcano continually belches forth, has +gradually poured down, and reduced the country round it to barrenness +and sterility. [See Note 2.] + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 1. _Some_ of the _invented calumnies_ against me found their way +to this country. I consider the contents of this chapter to be a +sufficient refutation, not only of what has been, but of what will in +all probability be hereafter asserted against me by the American press. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 2. This chapter was in the press, when a paragraph, cut out of the +Baltimore Chronicle, was received from an anonymous hand at New York. +Whether with a friendly intention or otherwise, I am equally obliged to +the party, as it enables me to further prove, if it were necessary, the +vituperation of the American press. + +"Many persons in our country had an opportunity of becoming acquainted +with the Captain. The fast-anchored isle never gave birth to a _more +unmitigated blackguard_. His awkward, unwieldy misshapen body, was but +a fair lodging for a low, depraved, licentious soul. Although liberally +educated, he seemed insensible to any other enjoyments than those of +sense. No human being could in his desires or habits approach more near +to the animal than him. No gentleman ever sat down with him an hour +without a sensation of loathing and disgust. `What kind of man is +Captain Marryat?' was once asked in our presence of a distinguished +member of Congress, who had sojourned with him at the White Sulphur +Springs. `He is no man at all,' was the reply, `he is a beast.'" + +This is really "going the whole hog" himself, and making me go it too. +Now, if I receive such abuse for my first three volumes, in which I went +into little or no analysis, what am I to expect for those which are +about to appear? To the editor of the Baltimore Chronicle I feel +indebted: but I suspect that the _respectable_ portion of the American +community will be very much annoyed at my thus giving his remarks more +extensive circulation than he anticipated. + + + +VOLUME ONE, CHAPTER SEVEN. + +AUTHORS, ETC. + +The best specimens of American writing are to be found in their +political articles, which are, generally speaking, clear, argumentative, +and well arranged. The President's annual message is always masterly in +composition, although disgraced by its servile adulation of the +majority. If we were to judge of the degrees of enlightenment of the +two countries, America and England, by the President's message and the +King's speech, we should be left immeasurably in the back-ground--the +message, generally speaking, being a model of composition, while the +speech is but too often a farrago of bad English. This is very strange, +as those who concoct the speech are of usually much higher classical +attainments than those who write the message. The only way to account +for it, is, that in the attempt to condense the speech, they pare and +pare away till the sense of it is almost gone; his Majesty's ministers +perfectly understanding what they mean themselves, but forgetting that +it is necessary that others should do the same. But in almost all +branches of literature the Americans have no cause to be displeased with +the labours of their writers, considering that they have the +disadvantage of America looking almost entirely to the teeming press of +England for their regular supply, and nowhere in that country can be +said at present to be men of leisure and able to devote themselves to +the pursuit. An author by profession would gain but a sorry livelihood +in the United States, unless he happened to be as deservedly successful +as Washington Irving or Cooper. He not only has to compete against the +best English authors, but as almost all the English works are published +without any sum being paid for the copyright, it is evident that he must +sell his work at a higher price if he is to obtain any profit. An +English work of fiction, for instance, is sold at a dollar and a +quarter, while an American one costs two dollars. + +This circumstance would alone break down the American literature if it +were not for the generosity of England in granting their authors a +copyright in this country; indeed, the American public pay that tacit +compliment to us that they will hardly look at a work by one of their +own citizens, until it has first been published in England, and received +the stamp of approbation. Those American authors who have obtained a +reputation, look, therefore chiefly to the English copyright for +remuneration; and if it were not for this liberality on our part, the +American literature would not receive sufficient support from its own +country to make it worth the while of any one to engage in it. The +number of English works republished in America is very great, but the +number of each work sold is much smaller than people here imagined. + +The periodical literature of the United States is highly creditable. +The American Quarterly Review; the New York Mirror, by George P Morris; +the Knickerbocker, by Clarke; and the Monthly Magazine; all published at +New York, are very good; so, indeed, are the magazines published at +Philadelphia, and many others. It may be said that, upon the whole, the +periodical press of America is pretty well on a par with that of this +country. Periodical literature suits the genius of the Americans, and +it is better supported by them than any other description. + +The Americans are jealous of our literature, as they are, indeed, of +everything connected with this country; but they do themselves injustice +in this respect, as I consider that they have a very fair proportion of +good writers. In history, and the heavier branches of literature, they +have the names of Sparks, Prescott, Bancroft, Schoolcraft, Butler, +Carey, Pitkin, etcetera. In general literature, they have Washington +Irving, Fay, Hall, Willis, Sanderson, Sedgwick, Leslie, Stephens, Child +and Neal. In fiction, they have Cooper, Paulding, Bird, Kennedy, +Thomas, Ingraham, and many others. They have, notwithstanding the +mosquitoes, produced some very good poets: Bryant, Halleck, Sigourney, +Drake, etcetera; and have they not, with a host of polemical writers, +Dr Channing, one of their greatest men, and from his moral courage in +pointing out their errors, the best friend to his country that America +has ever produced! Indeed, to these names we might fairly add their +legal writers--Chancellor Kent and Judge Story, as well as Webster, +Clay, Everett, Cass, and others, who are better known from their great +political reputations than from their writings. Considering that they +have but half our population, and not a quarter of the time to spare +that we have in this country, the Americans have no want of good +writers, although there are few of them well known to the British +public. It must be pointed out that the American writers are under +another disadvantage which we are not subject to in this country, which +is, that freedom of opinion is not permitted to them; the majority will +not allow it, except on points of religion, and in them they may +speculate as much as they please, and publish their opinions, whether +Deistical, Atheistical, or worse, if they can find worse out. It is +true than an author may, and some will, publish what they please, but if +he does not wish to lose his popularity, and thereby lose his profits, +he must not only not offend, but he must conciliate and flatter the +nation: and such is the practice with the majority of American authors. +Whether it be a work of fiction or one of history his countrymen must be +praised, and, if it be possible to introduce it, there must be some +abuse of England. This fact will account for the waning popularity of +Mr Cooper; he has ventured to tell his countrymen the truth in more +than [one] of his later works, and now the majority are against him. +The work, which I have often quoted in these pages, called "The +Democrat," fell dead from the press. I think it fortunate for Mr +Cooper that it did, as people have been lynched who have not said half +so much as he did in that work. His "Naval History" will reinstate him, +and I suspect it has been taken up with that view, for, although Mr +Cooper has shown a good deal of moral courage, he has not remained +consistent. At one moment he publishes "The Democrat," and gives his +countrymen a good _whipping_, and then he publishes his "Naval History," +and _soft sawders_ them. But, with the exception of Dr Channing, he +almost stands alone in this particular. + +One of the best authors of America is Judge Hall; he proves himself by +his writings to be a shrewd, intelligent man, and yet in his "Statistics +of the West" I was surprised to find the following paragraph, the +substance of which was more than once repeated in the work. Speaking of +the Indian hostilities, he says:-- + +"The mother country (England) never ceased to indulge in the hope of +reuniting the colonies (that is the United States) to her empire, until +the _war of eighteen hundred and twelve_ crushed the last vestige of her +delusive anticipations." + +Such is his preposterous assertion, the absurdity of which will make an +Englishman laugh; but the corollaries drawn from it are serious, as they +are intended to feed the hostile feeling still existing against this +country; for he attempts to prove that from the time the Independence +was ratified by George the Third, that we have ever been trying to +reduce America again to our sway; and that all the hostile attempts of +the various Indian tribes, all the murders of women and children, and +scalping, since that date, were wholly to be ascribed to the agency and +bribes of England, who hoped by such means to drive the Americans back +to the sea coast, where they could be assailed by her navy. + +A little reflection might satisfy any reasonable American, that when +they wrestled by main force, and without regard to justice, those lands +from the Indians which they had hunted over for so many generations, and +which were their own property, it was very natural that the Indians +should not surrender them without a struggle. But the wish of Judge +Hall was to satisfy his countrymen that their exterminating wars against +the Indians have been those of _self defence_, and not of _unpardonable +aggression_. At that period there were many white men who had either +joined, or, having been captured, had been adopted into, the Indian +tribes. All these Judge Hall would make out to be English emissaries, +especially one whom he very correctly designates as the "infamous +Girty." Unfortunately for Judge Hall the infamous Girty was an +American, and born in Philadelphia, as is proved by American authority. + +This obligation to write for their own countrymen, and for them alone, +has very much injured the sale of American works in England, for +publishers having read them find so many offensive and untrue remarks +upon this country, that they will not print them. But it does more +harm, as it cramps genius, harrows their ideas, and instead of leading +in the advance, and the people looking up to them, they follow in the +rear, and look up to the people, whom they flatter to obtain popularity; +and thus the pen in America, as a moral weapon, is at present +"_niddering_." + +The remarks of Miss Martineau on American literature are, as all her +other remarks, to be received with great caution. Where she obtained +her information I know very well, and certain it is that she has been +most egregiously deceived. An American critic observes very truly:-- + +"It is the misfortune of professed book writers, when they arrive in the +United States, to fall into the hands of certain cliques in our +principal cities and town, who make themselves the medium of +interpretation--their own modes of life, the representation of those of +the _elite_ of the country; their own opinions, the infallible criterion +by which all others must be estimated. They surround the traveller with +an atmosphere of their own, and hope to shine through it on the future +pages of the grateful guest. + +"This accounts satisfactorily for many things which are to be found in +Miss Martineau's work, for her numerous misapprehensions as to the +character, taste, and occupations of the American women. + +"She evidently mistakes the character of our merchants, and does our +literature but meagre justice. To hold up some obscure publications +from the pens of mere literary adventurers as the best works she has +seen, and at the same time pronounce Mr Cooper's much regretted +failure, is a stretch of boldness, quite unwarranted by anything Miss +Martineau has yet achieved in the republic of letters." + +Such was really the case; Miss Martineau fell into what was termed the +Stockbridge clique, and pinned her faith upon the oracles which they +poured into her ears. She says that in America, Hannah More is best +known; on the contrary, Hannah More is hardly known in the United +States. + +She says that Wordsworth is much read. Mr Wordsworth has never even in +this country been appreciated as he ought to be. In America it may +almost be said that he has not been read; and she adds to this, that +Byron is _little known_; this is really too bold an assertion. Miss +Martineau was everywhere in the best society in America; and I believe +that in nine drawing-rooms out of ten, she must have seen a copy of +Byron lying on the table. + +She says Mr Cooper is a failure. With the exception of Washington +Irving, there never was an American writer so justly popular in America +as Cooper. It is true that latterly he has displeased the majority, by +pointing out to them their faults, and that he is not _always_ in a good +humour when he writes about England. But to state the author of such +works as "_The Pilot_", "_The Last of the Mohicans_", and "_The +Prairie_", a failure, is really too absurd. The cause of this remark is +said to be that Mr Cooper had a quarrel with Miss Martineau's +particular friend Mr S---. There is only one remark in the whole of +her observations which is in itself true. She says Bulwer is much read. +Here she is correct: but the cause which she gives for his being so +much read, is not the real one. She asserts it is on account of his +liberal opinions; it is not on that account, it is from the interest of +his stories, and the beauty of his writing. + +But the assertion that seemed to me the most strange in Miss Martineau's +work, was, that Mr Carlisle, the author of "_Sartor Resartus_", was the +most read of any English author. Without intending to depreciate the +works of Mr Carlisle, I felt convinced from my own knowledge, that this +could not be a fact, for Mr Carlisle's works are not suited to the +Americans. I, therefore, determined to ascertain how far it was +correct. I went to the publishers, and inquired how many of Mr +Carlisle's works had been printed. They replied that they had printed +one edition of six hundred copies, which they had nearly sold; and were +considering whether it would be worth their while to print a second; and +in consequence of Miss Martineau's assertion, that Byron was little +known, I applied to the largest publishers in New York and Philadelphia, +to ascertain, if I could, how many copies of Byron had been published. +The reply was, that it was impossible to say exactly, as there had been +so many editions issued, by so many different publishers, but that they +considered that from one hundred and fifty to two hundred thousand +copies, must have been sold! so much for the accuracy of Miss Martineau. +[See Note 1.] + +I am afraid, that notwithstanding the eloquent and energetic exertions +of the author of "_Ion_," we shall never be able to make the public +believe that the creations of a man's brain are his own property, or +effect any arrangement with foreign countries, so as to secure a +copyright to the English author. As on my arrival in America it was +reported in the newspapers that I had come out to ascertain what could +be done in that respect, and to follow up the petition of the English +authors. The subject was, therefore, constantly introduced and +canvassed; and I naturally took an interest in it. Every one almost was +for granting it; but, at the same time, every one told me that we should +not obtain it. + +The petition of the English authors to Congress was warmly espoused by +Mr Clay, who invariably leads the van in everything which is liberal +and gentlemanlike. A select committee, of which Mr Clay was chairman, +was formed to consider upon it, and the following was the result of +their inquiry, and a bill was brought in, upon the report of the +committee:-- + +"_In Senate of the United States, Feb_. 16, 1837. + +"Mr Clay made the following report:-- + +"The select committee to whom was referred the address of certain +British and the petition of certain American authors, have, according to +order, had the same under consideration, and beg leave now to report:-- + +"That, by the act of Congress of 1831, being the law now in force +regulating copyrights, the benefits of the act are restricted to +citizens or residents of the United States; so that no foreigner, +residing abroad, can secure a copyright in the United States for any +work of which he is the author, however important or valuable it may be. +The object of the address and petition, therefore, is to remove this +restriction as to British authors, and to allow them to enjoy the +benefits of our law. + +"That authors and inventors have, according to the practice among +civilised nations, a property in the respective productions of their +genius is incontestible; and that this property should be protected as +effectually as any other property is, by law, follows as a legitimate +consequence. Authors and inventors are among the greatest benefactors +of mankind. They are often dependent, exclusively, upon their own +mental labours for the means of subsistence; and are frequently, from +the nature of their pursuits, or the constitutions of their minds, +incapable of applying that provident care to worldly affairs which other +classes of society are in the habit of bestowing. These considerations +give additional strength to their just title to the protection of the +law. + +"It being established that literary property is entitled to legal +protection, it results that this protection ought to be afforded +wherever the property is situated. A British merchant brings or +transmits to the United States a bale of merchandise, and the moment it +comes within the jurisdiction of our laws they throw around it effectual +security. But if the work of a British author is brought to the United +States, it may be appropriated by any resident here, and republished, +without any compensation whatever being made to the author. We should +be all shocked if the law tolerated the least invasion of the rights of +property, in the case of the merchandise, whilst those which justly +belong to the works of authors are exposed to daily violation, without +the possibility of their invoking the aid of the laws. + +"The committee think that this distinction in the condition of the two +descriptions of property is not just; and that it ought to be remedied +by some safe and cautious amendment of the law. Already the principle +has been adopted in the patent laws, of extending their benefits to +foreign inventions and improvements. It is but carrying out the same +principle to extend the benefit of our copyright laws to foreign +authors. In relation to the subject of Great Britain and France, it +will be but a measure of reciprocal justice; for, in both of those +countries, our authors may enjoy that protection of their laws for +literary property which is denied to their subjects here. + +"Entertaining these views, the committee have been anxious to devise +some measure which, without too great a disturbance of interests or +affecting too seriously arrangements which have grown out of the present +state of things, may, without hazard, be subjected to the test of +practical experience. Of the works which have heretofore issued from +the foreign press, many have already been republished in the United +States; others are in a progress of republication, and some probably +have been stereotyped. A copyright law which should embrace any of +these works, might injuriously affect American publishers, and lead to +collision and litigation between them and foreign authors. + +"Acting, then, on the principles of prudence and caution, by which the +committee have thought it best to be governed, the bill which the +committee intend proposing provides that the protection which it secures +shall extend to those works only which shall be published after its +passage. It is also limited to the subjects of Great Britain and +France; among other reasons, because the committee have information +that, by their laws, American authors can obtain there protection for +their productions; but they have no information that such is the case in +any other foreign country. But, in principle, the committee perceive no +objection to considering the republic of letters as one great community, +and adopting a system of protection for literary property which should +be common to all parts of it. The bill also provides that an American +edition of the foreign work for which an American copyright has been +obtained, shall be published within reasonable time. + +"If the bill should pass, its operation in this country would be to +leave the public, without any charge for copyright, in the undisturbed +possession of all scientific and literary works published prior to its +passage--in other words, the great mass of the science and literature of +the world; and to entitle the British or French author only to the +benefit of every copyright in respect to works which may be published +subsequent to the passage of the law. + +"The committee cannot anticipate any reasonable or just objection to a +measure thus guarded and restricted. It may, indeed, be contended, and +it is possible that a new work, when charged with the expense incident +to the copyright, may come into the hands of the purchaser at a small +advance beyond what would be its price, if there were no such charge; +but this is by no means certain. It is, on the contrary, highly +probable that, when the American publisher has adequate time to issue +carefully an edition of the foreign work, without incurring the +extraordinary expense which he now has to sustain to make a hurried +publication of it, and to guard himself against dangerous competition, +he will be able to bring it into the market as cheaply as if the bill +were not to pass. But, if that should not prove to be the case, and if +the American reader should have to pay a few cents to compensate the +author for composing a work which he is instructed and profited, would +it not be just in itself? Has any reader a right to the use, without +remuneration, of intellectual productions which have not yet been +brought into existence, but lie buried in the mind of genius? The +committee think not; and they believe that no American citizen would not +feel it quite as unjust, in reference to future publications, to +appropriate to himself their use, without any consideration being paid +to their foreign proprietors, as he would to take the bale of +merchandise, in the case stated, without paying for it; and he would the +more readily make this trifling contribution, when it secured to him, +instead of the imperfect and slovenly book now often issued, a neat and +valuable work, worthy of preservation. + +"With respect to the constitutional power to pass the proposed bill, the +committee entertain no doubt, and Congress, as before stated, has acted +on it. The constitution authorises Congress to promote the progress of +science and useful arts, by securing, for limited times, to authors and +inventors, the exclusive right to their respective writings and +discoveries. There is no limitation of the power to natives or +residents of this country. Such a limitation would have been hostile to +the object of the power granted. That object was to _promote_ the +progress of science and useful arts. They belong to no particular +country, but to mankind generally. And it cannot be doubted that the +stimulus which it was intended to give to mind and genius, in other +words, the promotion of the progress of science and the arts, will be +increased by the motives which the bill offers to the inhabitants of +Great Britain and France. + +"The committee conclude by asking leave to introduce the bill which +accompanies this report." + +Let it not, however, be supposed that Mr Clay was unreported by the +American press; on the contrary, a large portion of it espoused the +cause of the English author in the most liberal manner, indeed the boon +itself, if granted, would in reality be of more advantage to America +than to us; as many of them argued. The New York Daily Express +observes, "But another great evil resulting from the present law is, +that most of the writers of our own country are utterly precluded from +advancing our native literature, since they can derive no emolument or +compensation for their labours; and it is idle to urge that the devotees +of literature, any more than the ingenious artisan or mechanic, can be +indifferent to the ultimate advantages which should result alike to both +from the diligent use and studious application of their mental energies. +We patronise and read the works of foreign writers, but it is at the +expense of our own, the books of the English author being procured free +of all cost, supersede those which would otherwise be produced by our +own countrymen,--thus the foreigner is wronged, while the same wrong +acts again as a tariff upon our American author and all this manifest +injury is perpetuated without its being qualified by the most remote +advantage to any of the parties concerned." + +The Boston Atlas responded to this observation in almost the same +language. + +"This systematic, legalised depredation on English authors, is perfectly +ruinous to all native literature. What writer can devote himself to a +literary work, which he must offer on its completion, in competition +with a work of the same description, perhaps, furnishing _printed copy_ +to the compositors, and to be had for the expense of a single London +copy. What publisher would give its worth for a novel, in manuscript, +supposing it to be equal to Bulwer's best, when he would get a novel of +Bulwer himself, for a few shillings--with an English reputation at the +back of it? This is the great reason that we have so few works +illustrative of our own history--whether of fact or fiction. Our +booksellers are supplied for nothing." + +I extract the following from a very excellent article on the subject, in +the North American Review. + +Another bad consequence of the existing state of things is, that the +choice of books, which shall be offered us, is in the wrong hands. Our +publishers have, to no small extent, the direction of our reading, +inasmuch as they make the selection of books for reprinting. They, of +course, will choose those works which will command the readiest and most +extensive sale; but it must be remembered, that in so doing, while they +answer the demand of the most numerous class of readers, they neglect +the wants of the more cultivated and intelligent class. Besides his, +there are many admirable works, which might come into general use if +they were presented to our reading public, but which are left unnoticed +by the publishers, because their success is doubtful. Supposing +Abbott's `Young Christian,' for instance, a book which has had a more +extensive circulation than any work of the present times, had been first +published in England at the same moment that a good novel appeared, the +American publishers would have given us immediately a horrid reprint of +the novel; but we should have heard nothing of Abbott's book, till its +success had been abundantly tried abroad; nor even then, if some +ephemeral novel had started up which promised to sell better. + +"Nor is it certain that the price of books would be seriously augmented +by the passage of the copyright law. It must be remembered, that a +great number of writers would thus be called into the field at once, +English as well as American writers; for, if English authors could enjoy +this benefit, they would soon begin to write expressly for America; and +the competition would become so great, as to regulate the prices of +books to a proper standard. But, even supposing the price to be +considerably raised, it would certainly be better to pay two dollars for +a handsome volume, which is worth keeping, and worth reading again, than +to pay only one dollar for a book, which in five years will be worth no +more than the same amount of brown paper. And, finally, there is the +consideration of a native literature, which will, we presume, be placed +by all reasonable and intelligent persons above that of cheap books." + +Nevertheless, a large portion of the press took up the other side of the +question, as may be inferred from a reply which I have inserted in the +note beneath. [See note 2.] + +The bill brought in was lost. Strange to say, the Southerner voted +against, on the grounds that they would not give a copyright to Miss +Martineau, to propagate her abolition doctrines in that country-- +forgetting, that as a copyright would increase the price of a work, it +would be the means of checking its circulation, rather than of extending +it. + +When I arrived at Washington, I thought it would be worth while to +ascertain the opinion of any of the members of Congress I might meet; +and one fine morning, I put the question to one of the Loco foco +delegates; when the following conversation took place:-- + +"Why, Captain, there is much to be said on this subject. Your authors +have petitioned our Congress, I perceive. The petition was read last +session." + +(Many of the Americans appeared to be highly gratified at the idea of an +English petition having been sent to Congress.) + +"I believe it was." + +"Well, now, you see, Captain--you will ask us to let you have your +copyright in this country, as you allow our authors their copyright in +yours; and I suppose you mean to say that if we do not, that our authors +shall have no copyright in your country. We'll allow that, but still I +consider you ask too much, as the balance is on our side most +considerably. Your authors are very numerous--ours are not. It is very +true, that you can steal our copyrights, as well as we can yours. But +if you steal ten, we steal a hundred. Don't you perceive that you ask +us to give up the advantage?" + +"Oh, certainly," replied I, "I have nothing more to say on the subject. +I'm only glad of one thing." + +"And what may that be, Captain?" + +"That I did not sign the petition." + +"No, we observed that your name was not down, which rather surprised +us." + +To this cogent argument of the honourable member, I had no reply; and +this was the first and last time that I broached the subject when at +Washington; but after many conversations with American gentleman on the +subject, and examination into the real merits of the case, came to the +conclusion, that the English authors never would obtain a copyright in +the United States, and as long as the present party are in power. + +Their principal argument raised against the copyright, is as follows:-- + +"It is only by the enlightening and education of the people, that we can +expect our institutions to hold together. You ask us to tax ourselves, +to check the circulation of cheap literature, so essential to our +welfare for the benefit of a few English authors? Are the interests of +thirteen millions of people to be sacrificed? the foundation of our +government and institutions to be shaken for such trivial advantages as +would be derived by a few foreign authors. Your claim has the show of +justice we admit, but when the sacrifice to justice must be attended +with such serious consequences, must we not adhere to expediency?" + +Now, it so happens that the very reverse of this argument has always +proved to be the case from the denial of copyright. The enlightening of +a people can only be produced by their hearing the truth, which they +cannot, and do not, under existing regulations, receive from their own +authors, as I have already pointed out; and the effects of their refusal +of the copyright to English authors, is, that the American publishers +will only send forth such works as are likely to have an immediate sale, +such as the novels of the day, which may be said at present to comprise +nearly the whole of American rending. Such works as might enlighten the +Americans are not so rapidly saleable as to induce an American publisher +to risk publishing when there is such competition. What is the +consequence that the Americans are amused, but not instructed or +enlightened? + +According to the present system of publication in America, the grant of +copyright would prove to be of advantage only to a few authors--of +course, I refer to the most popular. I had free admission to the books +of one of the largest publishing houses in the United States, and I +extracted from them the profits received by this house for works of a +certain reputation. It will be perceived, that the editions published +are not large. The profits of the American houses chiefly resulting +from the number of works published, each of these yielding a moderate +profit, which when collected together, swell into a large sum total. + ++=========================+==============+===========+================+ +Y Ycopies printedYTrade priceY Y ++-------------------------+--------------+-----------+----------------+ +YFielding Y 2,500Y104 cents Ymany left unsoldY ++-------------------------+--------------+-----------+----------------+ +YPrior's Life of GoldsmithY 750Y200 cents Ysold Y ++-------------------------+--------------+-----------+----------------+ +YArethusa Y 1,250Y70 cents Yall sold Y ++-------------------------+--------------+-----------+----------------+ +YAbel Allnut Y 1,250Y52 cents Yalmost all sold Y ++-------------------------+--------------+-----------+----------------+ +YFellow Commoner Y 2,000Y70 cents Ymany on hand Y ++-------------------------+--------------+-----------+----------------+ +YRifle Brigade Y 2,000Y37 cents Ymany on hand Y ++-------------------------+--------------+-----------+----------------+ +YSharpe's Essays Y 1,000Y54 cents Yone half sold Y ++=========================+==============+===========+================+ + +Now, as there are one hundred cents to a dollar, and the expenses of +printing, paper, and advertising have to be deducted, as well as the +copies left on hand, it will be evident, that the profit on each of the +above works, would be too small to allow the publishers in America to +give even 20 pounds for the copyright, the consequence of a copyright +would therefore be, that the major portion of the works printed would +not be published at all, and better works would be substituted. Of +course, such authors as Walter Scott, Byron, Bulwer, etcetera, have a +most extensive sale; and the profits are in proportion, but then it must +be remembered that a great many booksellers publish editions, and the +profits are divided accordingly. Could Sir Walter Scott have obtained a +copyright in the United States, it would have bean worth to him by this +time at least 100,000 pounds. + +The Americans talk so much about their being the most enlightened nation +in the world, that it has been generally received to be the case. I +have already stated my ideas on this subject, and I think that the small +editions usually published, of works not standard or elementary, prove, +that with the exception of newspapers, they are not a _reading_ nation. +The fact is, they have no time to read; they are all at work; and if +they get through their daily newspaper, is quite as much as most of them +can effect. Previous to my arrival in the United States, and even for +some time afterwards, I had an idea that there was a much larger +circulation of every class of writing in America, than there really is. +It is only the most popular English authors, as Walter Scott, or the +most fashionable, as Byron, which have any extensive circulation; the +works which at present the Americans like best, are those of fiction in +which there is anything to excite or amuse them, which is very natural, +considering how actively they are employed during the major portion of +their existence, and the consequent necessity of occasional relaxation. +When we consider the extreme cheapness of books in the United States, +and the enormous price of them in this country, the facilities of +reading them there, and the difficulty attending it here from the above +cause, I have no hesitation in saying, that as a _reading nation_, the +United States cannot enter into comparison with us. + +As I am upon this subject, I cannot refrain from making a few remarks +upon it, as connected with this country. The price of a book now +published is enormous, when the prime cost of paper and printing is +considered; the actual value of each three volumes of a moderate +edition, which are sold at a guinea and a half, being about four +shillings and sixpence, and when the edition is large, as the outlay for +putting up the type is the same in both, of course it is even less; but +the author must be paid, and upon the present small editions he adds +considerably to the price charged upon every volume; then comes the +expense of advertising, which is very heavy; the profits of the +publisher, and the profits of the trade in general; for every book for +which the public pay a guinea and a half, is delivered by the publisher +to the trade, that is, to the booksellers, at 1 pound 1 shillings 3 +pence. The allowance to the trade, therefore, is the heaviest tax of +all; but it is impossible for booksellers to keep establishments, +clerks, etcetera, without having indemnification. In all the above +items, which so swells up the price of the book, there cannot well be +any deduction made. + +Let us examine into the division of profits. I am only making an +approximation, but it is quite near enough for the purpose. + +An edition of 1,000 copies at 1 pound 11 shillings 6 pence will give +1,575 pounds. + +POSITIVE EXPENSES TO PUBLISHER. + +Trade allowance of 10 shillings. 3 pence per copy: 512 pounds 10 +shillings. + +Extra allowance. 25 for 24-40 copies: 63 pounds. + +Printing and paper, 4 shillings 6 pence per copy: 225 pounds 0 +shillings. + +Advertising, equal to 2 shillings per copy: 100 pounds 0 shillings. + +Presentations to Universities and Reviewers, say 30 copies: 47 pounds 5 +shillings. + +The author if he is well known, may be said to receive 7 shillings per +copy: 250 pounds 0 shillings. + +Leaving for the publisher: 277 pounds 0 shillings. + +Total 1,575 pounds 0 shillings. + +All the first expenses being positive, it follows that the struggle is +between the publisher and the author, as to what division shall be made +of the remainder. The publisher points out the risk he incurs, and the +author his time and necessities; and when it is considered that many +authors take more than a year to write a book, it must be acknowledged +that the sum paid to them, as I have put it down, is not too great. The +risk, however, is with the publisher, and the great profits with the +trade, which is perhaps the reason why booksellers often make fortunes, +and publishers as often become bankrupts. Generally speaking, however, +the two are combined, the sure gain of the bookseller being as a set off +against the speculation of the publisher. + +But one thing is certain, the price of books in this country is much too +high, and what are the consequences? First, that instead of purchasing +books, and putting them into their libraries, people have now formed +themselves into societies and book-clubs, or trust entirely to obtaining +them from circulating libraries. Without a book is very popular, it is +known by the publisher what the sale is likely to be, within perhaps +fifty copies; for the book-clubs and libraries will, and must have it, +and hardly anybody else will; for who will pay a guinea and a half for a +book which may, after all, prove not worth reading! Secondly, it has +the effect of the works being reprinted abroad, and sent over to this +country; which, of course, decreases the sale of the English edition. +At the Custom-House, they now admit English works printed in Paris, at a +small duty, when brought over in a person's luggage for private reading; +and these foreign editions are smuggled, and are to be openly purchased +at most of the towns along the coast. This cannot be prevented--and as +for any international copyright being granted by France or Belgium, I do +not think that it ever will be; and if it were, it would be of no avail, +for the pirating would then be carried on a little further off in the +small German States; and if you drove it to China, it would take place +there. We are running after a Will-o'-the-wisp in that expectation. +The fault lies in ourselves; the books are too dear, and the question +now is, cannot they be made cheaper? + +There is a luxury in printing, to which the English have been so long +accustomed, that it would not do to deprive them of it. Besides, bad +paper and bad type would make but little difference in the expense of +the book, as my calculation will show; but if a three volume work [see +Note 3] could be delivered to the public at ten shillings, instead of a +guinea and a half, it would not only put a stop to piracy abroad, but +the reduced price would induce many hundreds to put it into their +library, and be independent of the hurried reading against time, and +often against inclination, to which they are subject by book-clubs and +circulating libraries; and that this is not the case, is the fault of +the public itself, and not of the author, publisher, or any other party. + +It is evident that the only way by which books may be made cheap, is by +an extended sale--and "_Nicholas Nickleby_", and other works of that +description, have proved that a cheap work will have an extended sale-- +always provided it is a really good one. + +But it is impossible to break through the present arrangements which +confine the sale of books, unless the public themselves will take it in +hand--if they choose to exert themselves, the low prices may be firmly +established with equal benefit to all parties, and with an immense +increase in the consumption of paper. To prove that any attempt on the +part of an author or publisher will not succeed unaided, it was but a +few months ago, that Mr Bentley made the trial, and published the three +volumes at one guinea; but he did not sell one copy more--the clubs and +libraries took the usual number, and he was compelled to raise his +price. The rapid sale of the Standard Novels, which have been read over +and over again, when published at the price of five shillings, is +another proof that the public has no objection to purchase when the +price is within its means. + +I can see but one way by which this great desideratum is to be effected; +which is, by the public insuring by subscription any publisher or +bookseller from loss, provided he delivers the works at the reduced +price. At present, one copy of a book may be said to serve for thirty +people at least; but say that it serves for ten, or rather say that you +could obtain five thousand, or even a less number, of people to put down +their names as subscribers to all new works written by certain named +authors, which should be published at the reduced price of ten shillings +per copy. Let us see the result. + +A ten shilling work under such auspices would be delivered to the trade +at eight shillings. + +The value of the five thousand copies to the publisher would be 2,000 +shillings 0 shillings. + +The expenses of printing and paper would be reduced to about 3 shillings +a copy, which would be 750 pounds. + +Advertising, as before, 100 pounds. + +Extra 1 shilling 3 pence, 4 shillings, 5 shillings, about 16 pounds, +subtotal 866 pounds. + +Leaving a profit for author and publisher of 1,134 pounds 0 shillings. + +Whereas, in the printing of a thousand copies, the profits of author 350 +pounds, and of publisher 277 pounds 5 shillings, equalled only 627 +pounds 5 shillings. + +Extra profit to author and publisher 506 pounds 15 shillings. + +Here the public would gain, the author would gain, and the publisher +would gain; nor would any party lose; the profits of the trade would not +be quite so great, being 500 pounds, instead of 575 pounds; but it must +be remembered, that there are many who, not being subscribers, would +purchase the book as soon as they found that it was approved of--indeed, +there is no saying to what extent the sale might prove to be. + +If any one publisher sold books at this price, the effect would be of +reducing the price of all publications, for either the authors must +apply to the cheap publisher, or the other publishers sell at the same +rate, or they would not sell at all. Book-clubs and circulating +libraries would then rapidly break up, and we should obtain the great +desideratum of cheap literature. + +And now that I have made my statement, what will be the consequence? +Why, people will say, "that's all very well, all very true"--and nobody +will take the trouble--the consequence is, that the public will go on, +paying through the nose as before--and if so, let it not grumble; as it +has no one to thank but itself for it. [See Note 4.] + +The paper and printing in America is, generally speaking, so very +inferior, that the books are really not worth binding, and are torn up +or thrown away after they are read--not that they cannot print well; for +at Boston particularly they turn out very excellent workmanship. Mr +Prescott's "_Ferdinand and Isabella_", is a very good specimen, and so +are many of the Bibles and Prayer books. In consequence of their own +bad printing, and the tax upon English books, there are very few +libraries in America: and in this point, the American government should +make some alteration, as it will be beneficial to both countries. The +English editions, if sent over, would not interfere with the sale of +their cheap editions, and it would enable the American gentlemen to +collect libraries. The duty, at present, is twenty-six cents per pound, +on books in boards, and thirty cents upon bound-books. + +Now, with the exception of school books, upon which the duty should be +retained, this duty should be very much reduced. + +At present, all books published prior to 1775, are admitted upon a +reduced duty of five cents. This date should be extended to 1810, or +1815, and illustrated works should also be admitted upon the reduced +duty. It would be a bonus to the Americans who wish to have libraries, +and some advantage to the English booksellers. + +I cannot dismiss this subject without pointing out a most dishonest +practice, which has latterly been resorted to in the United States, and +which a copyright only, I am afraid, can prevent the continuance of. +Works which have become standard authority in England, on account of the +purity of their Christian principles, are republished in America with +whole pages altered, advantage being taken of the great reputation of +the orthodox writers, to disseminate Unitarian and Socinian principles. +A friend of mine, residing in Halifax, Nova Scotia, sent to a religious +book society at New York for a number of works, as presents to the +children attending the Sunday school. He did not examine them, having +before read the works in England, and well knowing what ought to have +been the contents of each. + +To his surprise, the parents came to him a few days afterwards to return +the books, stating that they presumed that he could not be aware of the +nature of their contents; and on examination, he found that he had been +circulating Unitarian principles among the children, instead of those +which he had wished to inculcate. [See Note 5.] + +The press of America, as I have described it, is all powerful; but still +it must be borne in mind, that it is but the slave of the majority; +which, in its turn, it dare not oppose. + +Such is its tyranny, that it is the dread of the whole community. No +one can--no one dare--oppose it; whosoever falls under its displeasure, +be he as innocent and as pure as man can be, his doom is sealed. But +this power is only delegated by the will of the majority, for let any +author in America oppose that will, and he is denounced. You must +drink, you must write, not according to your own opinions, or your own +thoughts, but as the majority will. [See Note 6.] + +Mr Tocqueville observes, "I know no country in which there is so little +true independence of mind, and freedom of discussion, as in America." + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 1. Miss Martineau talks of Dr Follett as one of the greatest men +in America. I was surprised at this, as I never heard of his name, so I +inquired--"Who is Dr Follett?"--"I don't know."--"Do you know Dr +Follett?"--"Never heard of him."--"Do you?"--"No." I asked so many +people that at last I became quite tired; at last I found a man who knew +him, his answer was--"Oh, yes; he's an _Abolitionist_!" As the American +critic justly observes, "He shines in the future pages of his grateful +guest." + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 2. The International Copyright Question. + +One of the most important questions, upon principle, that ever was +mooted, has for some time placed in juxtaposition the various editors of +the corps critical, accordingly as their interests or feelings have been +worked upon. Our chief object in these remarks is to hold up to the +scorn and derision that it richly merits, the assumption of an editor, +that an author has no right to the emanations of his own mind--to the +productions of his own pen. We do not mean to answer the many and gross +absurdities--which this talented gentleman's sophistry has palmed upon +the public,--it would be a work of supererogation, inasmuch as his `airy +vision' has already been completely `dissolved' by the breath of that +eminent gentleman, well known to us, who has so completely annihilated +the wrong which he is so anxious to continue. But the shameful +assumption that a writer, universally allowed to be the worst paid +artist in creation, should not have--is not entitled to have, by every +principle--of courtesy and honour, a sole and undivided right to, and +in, his own productions--is so monstrous, that every editor imbued with +those feelings, which through life, should be the rule of his conduct, +is in duty bound to come forward and express his dissent from such a +doctrine, and his abhorrence of a principle so flagitious. + +"We avail ourselves of the opportunity this number affords of upholding +the poor author's right, of censuring the greedy spoliation of +publishing tribe, who would live, batten, and fatten upon the despoiled +labours of those whom their piracy starves--snatching the scanty crust +from their needy mouths to pamper their own insatiate maws. + +"This matter lies between the publisher and the author. The author +claims a right to his own productions, wherever they may be. The +publishers, like the Cornwall wreckers, say no, the moment your labours +touch our fatal shore they are ours; you have no right to them, no title +in them. Good heavens! shall such a cruel despoliation be permitted! +The publishers, with consummate cunning, turn to the public, and +virtually say, support us in our theft, and we will share the spoil with +you; we will give you standard works at a price immeasurably below their +value. As well might a thief, brought before the honest and worthy +recorder say: If your honour will wink at the crime, you will make me a +public benefactor, for whilst I rob one man of an hundred watches, I can +sell them to an hundred persons for one-third of their prime cost; and +thus injure one and benefit a hundred, you shall have one very cheap. +What would this recorder say? He would say, the crime is apparent, and +I spurn with indignation and contempt your offer to part with to me that +which is not your own. And should not this be the reply of the public +to the publishers? Yes, and it will be too. And the vampires who have +so long lived upon the spirits of authors, will have tax their own to +yield themselves support." + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 3. I ought here to remark, that the authors are much injured by +the present system. It having been satisfactorily proved, that a +three-volume work is the only one that can be published at the minimum +of expense, and the magnum of profits, no publisher likes to publish any +other. There is the same expense in advertising, etcetera, a two +volume, or a one octavo book, as a three. The author, therefore, has to +spin out to three volumes, whether he has matter or not; and that is the +reason why the second volume, like the fourth act of a five act play, +is, generally speaking, so very heavy. Publishers, now-a-days, measure +works with a foot-rule, as the critic did in Sterne. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 4. The members of the peerage and baronetage of Great Britain, the +members of the untitled aristocracy--the staff officers of the army and +navy--the members of the different clubs--are each of them sufficiently +numerous to effect this object; and if any subscription was opened, it +could not fail of being filled up. + +Note 5. One of those works was Abbot's `Young Christian', or some other +work by that author. + +Note 6. Indeed, one cannot help being reminded of what Beaumarchais +makes Figaro say upon the liberty of the press in another country. "On +me dit que pendant ma retraite economique il s'est etabli dans Madrid un +systeme de liberte sur la vente des productions, qui s'etend meme a +celles de la presse; et, pourvu que je parle dans mes ecrits, ni de +l'autorite, ni du culte, ni de la politique, ni de la morale, ni des +gens en place, ni des corps en credit, ni de l'opera, ni des autres +spectacles, ni de personne qui tient a quelque chose, je puis tout +imprimer _librement_; sous l'inspection de _deux ou trois censeurs_." + + + +VOLUME ONE, CHAPTER EIGHT. + +THE MISSISSIPPI. + +I have headed this chapter with the name of the river which flows +between the principal States in which the society I am about to depict +is to be found; but, at the same time, there are other southern States, +such as Alabama and Georgia, which must be included. I shall attempt to +draw the line as clearly as I can, for although the territory +comprehended is enormous, the population is not one-third of that of the +United States, and it would be a great injustice if the description of +the society I am about to enter into should be supposed to refer to that +of the States in general. It is indeed most peculiar, and arising frow +circumstances which will induce me to refer back, that the causes may be +explained to the reader. Never, perhaps, in the records of nations was +there an instance of a century of such unvarying and unmitigated crime +as is to be collected from the history of the turbulent and +blood-stained Mississippi. The stream itself appears as if appropriate +for the deeds which have been committed. It is not like most rivers, +beautiful to the sight, bestowing fertility in its course; not one that +the eye loves to dwell upon as it sweeps along, nor can you wander on +its bank, or trust yourself without danger to its stream. It is a +furious, rapid, desolating torrent, loaded with alluvial soil; and few +of those who are received into its waters ever rise again, or can +support themselves long on its surface without assistance from some +friendly log. It contains the coarsest and most uneatable of fish, such +as the cat-fish and such genus, and, as you descend, its banks are +occupied with the fetid alligator, while the panther basks at its edge +in the cane-brakes, almost impervious to man. Pouring its impetuous +waters through wild tracks, covered with trees of little value except +for firewood, it sweeps down whole forests in its course, which +disappear in tumultuous confusion, whirled away by the stream now loaded +with the masses of soil which nourished their roots, often blocking up +and changing for a time the channel of the river, which, as if in anger +at its being opposed, inundates and devastates the whole country round; +and as soon as it forces its way through its former channel, plants in +every direction the uprooted monarchs of the forest (upon whose branches +the bird will never again perch, or the racoon, the opossum or the +squirrel, climb) as traps to the adventurous navigators of its waters by +steam, who, borne down upon these concealed dangers which pierce through +the planks, very often have not time to steer for and gain the shore +before they sink to the bottom. There are no pleasing associations +connected with the great common sewer of the western America, which +pours out its mud into the Mexican Gulf, polluting the clear blue sea +for many miles beyond its mouth. It is a river of desolation; and +instead of reminding you, like other beautiful rivers, of an angel which +has descended for the benefit of man, you imagine it a devil, whose +energies have been only overcome by the wonderful power of steam. + +The early history of the Mississippi is one of piracy and buccaneering; +its mouths were frequented by these marauders, as in the bayous and +creeks they found protection and concealment for themselves and their +ill-gotten wealth. Even until after the war of 1814 these sea-robbers +still to a certain extent flourished, and the name of Lafitte, the last +of their leaders, is deservedly renowned for courage and for crime; his +vessels were usually secreted in the land-locked bay of Barataria, to +the westward of the mouth of the river. They were, however, soon +extirpated by the American government. The language of the adjacent +States is still adulterated with the slang of those scoundrels, proving +how short a period it is since they disappeared, and how they must have +mixed up with the reckless population, whose head-quarters were then at +the mouth of the river. + +But as the hunting-grounds of Western Virginia, Kentucky, and the +northern banks of the Ohio, were gradually wrested from the Shawnee +Indians, the population became more dense, and the Mississippi itself +became the means of communication and of barter with the more northern +tribes. Then another race of men made their appearance, and flourished +for half a century, varying indeed in employment, but in other respects +little better than the buccaneers and pirates, in whose ranks they were +probably first enlisted. These were the boatmen of the Mississippi, who +with incredible fatigue forced their "keels" with poles against the +current, working against the stream with the cargoes entrusted to their +care by the merchants of New Orleans, labouring for many months before +they arrive at their destination, and returning with the rapid current +in as many days as it required weeks for them to ascend. This was a +service of great danger and difficulty, requiring men of iron frame and +undaunted resolution: they had to contend not only with the stream, but, +when they ascended the Ohio, with the Indians, who, taking up the most +favourable positions, either poured down the contents of their rifles +into the boat as she passed; or, taking advantage of the dense fog, +boarded them in their canoes, indiscriminate slaughter being the +invariable result of the boatmen having allowed themselves to be +surprised. In these men was to be found, as there often is in the most +unprincipled, one redeeming quality (independent of courage and +perseverance), which was, that they were, generally speaking, +unscrupulously honest to their employers, although they made little +ceremony of appropriating to their own use the property, or, if +necessary, of taking the life any other parties. Wild, indeed, are the +stories which are still remembered of the deeds of courage, and also of +the fearful crimes committed by these men, on a river which never gives +up its dead. I say still remembered, for in a new country they readily +forget the past, and only look forward to the future, whereas in an old +country the case is nearly the reverse--we love to recur to tradition, +and luxuriate in the dim records of history. + +The following description of the employment of this class of people is +from the pen of an anonymous American author:-- + +"There is something inexplicable in the fact, there could be men found, +for ordinary wages, who would abandon the systematic but not laborious +pursuits of agriculture to follow a life, of all others except that of +the soldier, distinguished by the greatest exposure and privation. The +occupation of a boatman was more calculated to destroy the constitution +and to shorten life than any other business. In ascending the river it +was a continued series of toil, rendered more irksome by the snail-like +rate at which they moved. The boat was propelled by poles, against +which the shoulder was placed, and the whole strength and skill of the +individual were applied in this manner. As the boatmen moved along the +running board, with their heads nearly touching the plank on which they +walked, the effect produced on the mind of an observer was similar to +that on beholding the ox rocking before an overloaded cart. Their +bodies, naked to their waist for the purpose of moving with greater ease +and of enjoying the breeze of the river, were exposed to the burning +suns of summer and to the rains of autumn. After a hard day's push they +would take their `fillee,' or ration of whisky, and, having swallowed a +miserable supper of meat half burnt, and of bread half baked, stretched +themselves, without covering, on the deck, and slumber till the +steersman's call invited them to the morning `fillee.' Notwithstanding +this, the boatman's life had charms as irresistible as those presented +by the splendid illusions of the stage. Sons abandoned the comfortable +farms of their fathers, and apprentices fled from the service of their +masters. There was a captivation in the idea of `going down the river,' +and the `youthful boatman who had pushed a keel' from New Orleans felt +all the pride of a young merchant after his first voyage to an English +sea-port. From an exclusive association together they had formed a kind +of slang peculiar to themselves; and from the constant exercise of wit +with the squatters on shore, and crews of other boats, they acquired a +quickness and smartness of vulgar retort that was quite amusing. The +frequent battles they were engaged in with the boatmen of different +parts of the river, and with the less civilised inhabitants of the lower +Ohio and Mississippi, invested them with that furious reputation which +has made them spoken of throughout Europe. + +"On board of the boats thus navigated our merchants entrusted valuable +cargoes, without insurance, and with no other guarantee than the receipt +of the steersman, who possessed no property but his boat; and the +confidence so reposed was seldom abused." + +Every class of men has its hero, as those always will be, who, from +energy of character and natural endowment, are superior to their +fellows. The most remarkable person among these people was one _Mike +Fink_, who was their acknowledged leader for many years. His fame was +established from New Orleans to Pittsburg. He was endowed with gigantic +strength, courage, and presence of mind--his rifle was unerring, and his +conscience never troubled his repose. Every one was afraid of him; +every one was anxious to be on good terms with him, for he was a regular +freebooter; and although he spared his friends, he gave no quarter to +the lives or properties of others. Mike Fink was not originally a +boatmen: at an early age he had enlisted in the company of scouts, +another variety of employment produced by circumstances--a species of +solitary rangers employed by the American government, and acting as +spies, to watch the motions of the Indians on the frontiers. This +peculiar service is thus described by the author I have before quoted:-- + +"At that time, Pittsburg was on the extreme verge of white population, +and the spies, who were constantly employed, generally extended their +_reconnaissance_ forty or fifty miles to the west of this post. They +went out singly, lived as did the Indian, and in every respect became +perfectly assimilated in habits, taste, and feeling, with the red men of +the desert. A kind of border warfare was kept up, and the scout thought +it as praiseworthy to bring in the scalp of a Shawnee, as the skin of a +panther. He would remain in the woods for weeks together, using parched +corn for bread, and depending on his rifle for his meat--and slept at +night in perfect comfort, rolled in his blanket." + +In this service Mike Fink acquired a great reputation for coolness and +courage, and many are the stories told of his adventures with the +Indians. It has been incontestably proved, that the white man, when +accustomed to the woods, is much more acute than the Indian himself in +that woodcraft of every species, in which the Indian is supposed to be +such an adept; such as discovering a trail by the print of a mocassin, +by the breaking of twigs, laying of the grass, etcetera, and in the +practice of the rifle he is very superior. As a proof of Fink's +dexterity with his rifle, he is said one day, as they were descending +the Ohio in their boat, to have laid a wager, and won it, that he would +from mid-stream with his rifle balls cut off at the stumps the tails of +five pigs which were feeding on the banks. One story relative to Mike +Fink, when he was employed as a scout, will be interesting to the +reader. + +"As he was creeping along one morning, with the stealthy tread of a cat, +his eye fell upon a beautiful buck browsing on the edge of a barren +spot, three hundred yards distant. The temptation was too strong for +the woodsman, and he resolved to have a shot at every hazard. Repriming +his gun, and picking his flint, he made his approaches in the usual +noiseless manner. But the moment he reached the spot from which he +meant to take his aim, he observed a large savage, intent upon the same +object, advancing from a direction a little different from his own. +Mike shrunk behind a tree with the quickness of thought, and keeping his +eye fixed on the hunter, waited the result with patience. In a few +moments the Indian halted within fifty paces, and levelled his piece at +the deer. In the meanwhile Mike presented his rifle at the body of the +savage, and at the moment the smoke issued from the gun of the latter, +the bullet of Fink passed through the red man's breast. He uttered a +yell, and fell dead at the same instant with the deer. Mike re-loaded +his rifle, and remained in his covert for some minutes to ascertain +whether there were more enemies at hand. He then stepped up to the +prostrate savage, and having satisfied himself that life was +extinguished, turned his attention to the buck, and took from the +carcase those pieces suited to the process of jerking." + +As the country filled up the Indians retreated, and the corps of scouts +was abolished: but after a life of excitement in the woods, they were +unfitted for a settled occupation. Some of them joined the Indians, +others, and among them Mike Finn, enrolled themselves among the +fraternity of boatmen on the Mississippi. + +The death of Mike Fink was befitting his life. One of his very common +exploits with his rifle was hitting for a wager, at thirty yards +distance, a small tin pot, used by the boatmen, which was put on the +head of another man. Such was his reputation, that no one hardly +objected to being placed in this precarious situation. It is even said +that his wife, that is, his _Mississippi_ wife, was accustomed to stand +the fire; this feat was always performed for a wager of a quart of +spirits, made by some stranger, and was a source of obtaining the +necessary supplies. One day the wager was made as usual, and a man with +whom Mike had at one time been at variance (although the feud was now +supposed to have been forgotten) was the party who consented that the +pot should be placed on his head. Whether it was that Mike was not +quite sober, or that he retained his ill-will towards the man, certain +it is, that in this instance, instead of his hitting the mark, his +bullet went below it and through the brain of the man, who instantly +fell dead; but his brother, who was standing by, and probably suspecting +treachery, had his loaded rifle in his hand, levelled, fired, and in a +second the soul of Mike was despatched after that of his victim. + +Here ended the history of Mike Fink, Esq. + +The invention of the steam-engine, and its application to nautical +purposes, deprived the boatmen of employment; they were again thrown +upon their own resources, and as it may be supposed, did not much assist +in the amelioration of Mississippi society. The country gradually +increased its population, but as a majority of those who migrated were +of the worst description, being composed of those who had fled from the +more settled States to escape the punishment due to their crimes, it may +be said, that so far from improving, the morals of the Mississippi +became worse, as the mean and paltry knave, the swindler, and the forger +were now mingled up with the more daring spirits, producing a more +complicated and varied class of crime than before. The steam-boats were +soon crowded by a description of people who were termed gamblers, as +such was their ostensible profession, although they were ready for any +crime which might offer an advantage to them, [see note 1] and the +increase of commerce and constant inpouring of populations daily offer +to them some new dupe for their villainy. The state of society was much +worse than before--the knife was substituted for the rifle, and the +river buried many a secret of atrocious murder. To prove the extent to +which these deeds of horror were perpetrated, I shall give to the +English reader, in as succinct a form as I can, the history of John +Murel, the land pirate, as he was termed. There is an octavo volume, +published in the United States, giving a whole statement of the affair; +it was not until the year 1833 that it was exposed, and Murel sent to +the Penitentiary. Murel was at the head of a large band, who had joined +under his directions, for the purposes of stealing horses and negroes in +the southern States, and of passing counterfeit money. He appears to +have been a most dexterous as well as consummate villain. When he +travelled, his usual disguise was that of an itinerant preacher; and it +is said that his discourses were very "soul moving"--interesting the +hearers so much that they forgot to look after their horses, which were +carried away by his confederates while he was preaching. But the +stealing of horses in one State, and selling them in another, was but a +small portion of their business; the most lucrative was the enticing +slaves to run away from their masters, that they might sell them in some +other quarter. This was arranged as follows; they would tell a negro +that if he would run away from his master, and allow them to sell him, +he should receive a portion of the money paid for him, and that upon his +return to them a second time they would send him to a free State, where +he would be safe. The poor wretches complied with this request, hoping +to obtain money and freedom; they would be sold to another master, and +run away again to their employers; sometimes they would be sold in this +manner three or four times until they had realised three or four +thousand dollars by them; but as, after this, there was fear of +detection, the usual custom was to get rid of the only witness that +could be produced against them, which was the negro himself, by +murdering him, and throwing his body into the Mississippi. Even if it +was established that they had stolen a negro before he was murdered, +they were always prepared to evade punishment, for they concealed the +negro who had run away until he was advertised, and a reward offered to +any man who would catch him. An advertisement of this kind warrants the +person to take the property, if found, and then the negro becomes a +property in trust. When, therefore, they sold the negro, it only became +a breach of trust, not stealing; and for a breach of trust, the owner of +the property can only have redress by a civil action, which was useless, +as the damages were never paid. It may be inquired, how it was that +Murel escaped Lynch law under such circumstances? This will be easily +understood when it is stated that he had more than a thousand sworn +confederates, all ready at a moment's notice to support any of the gang +who might be in trouble. The names of all the principal confederates of +Murel were obtained from himself, in a manner which I shall presently +explain. The gang was composed of two classes: the heads or council, as +they were called, who planned and concerted but seldom acted; they +amounted to about four hundred. The other class were the active agents, +and were termed Strikers, and amounted to about six hundred and fifty. +These were the tools in the hands of the others; they ran all the risk, +and received but a small proportion of the money; they were in the power +of the leaders of the gang, who would sacrifice them at any time by +handing them over to justice, or sinking their bodies in the +Mississippi. The general rendezvous of this gang of miscreants was on +the Arkansaw side of the river, where they concealed their negroes in +the morasses and cane-brakes. + +The depredations of this extensive combination were severely felt: but +so well were their plans arranged, that although Murel, who was always +active, was everywhere suspected, there was no proof to be obtained. It +so happened, however, that a young man of the name of Stewart, who was +looking after two slaves which Murel had decoyed away, fell in with him +and obtained his confidence, took the oath, and was admitted into the +gang as one of the general council. By this means all was discovered; +for Stewart turned traitor, although he had taken the oath, and, having +obtained every information, exposed the whole concern, the names of all +the parties, and finally succeeded in bringing home sufficient evidence +against Murel, to procure his conviction and sentence to the +Penitentiary; where he now is. (Murel was sentenced to fourteen years' +imprisonment, but as he will, upon the expiration of his time, be +immediately prosecuted and sentenced again for similar deeds in other +States, he will remain imprisoned for life). So many people who were +supposed to be honest, and bore a respectable name in the different +States, were found to be among the list of the Grand Council as +published by Stewart, that every attempt was made to throw discredit +upon his assertions--his character was vilified, and more than one +attempt was made to assassinate him. He was obliged to quit the +Southern States in consequence. It is, however, now well ascertained to +have been all true; and although some blame Mr Stewart for having +violated his oath, they no longer attempt to deny that his revelations +were not correct. To understand, to the full amount, the enormities +committed by this miscreant and his gang, the reader must read the whole +account published at New York; I will however just quote one or two +portions of Murel's confessions to Mr Stewart, made to him when they +were journeying together. I ought to have observed, that the ultimate +intentions of Murel and his associates were by his own account on a very +extended scale; having no less an object in view than raising the blacks +against the whites, taking possession of, and plundering New Orleans, +and making themselves possessors of the territory. The following are a +few extracts from the published work:-- + +"I collected all my friends about New Orleans at one of our friend's +houses in that place, and we sat in council three days before we got all +our plans to our notion; we then determined to undertake the rebellion +at every hazard, and make as many friends as we could for that purpose. +Every man's business being assigned him, I started to Natchez on foot, +having sold my horse in New Orleans, with the intention of stealing +another after I started: I walked four days, and no opportunity offered +for me to get a horse. The fifth day, about twelve, I had become tired, +and stopped at a creek to get some water and rest a little. While I was +sitting on a log, looking down the road the way that I had come, a man +came in sight riding on a good-looking horse. The very moment I saw +him, I was determined to have his horse, if he was in the garb of a +traveller. He rode up, and I saw from his equipage that he was a +traveller. I arose from a seat, and drew an elegant rifle pistol on him +and ordered him to dismount. He did so, and I took his horse by the +bridle and pointed down the creek, and ordered him to walk before me. +He went a few hundred yards and stopped. I hitched his horse, and then +made him undress himself, all to his shirt and drawers, and ordered him +to turn his back to me. He said, "If you are determined to kill me, let +me have time to pray before I die." I told him I had no time to hear +him pray. He turned round and dropped on his knees, and I shot him +through the back of the head. I ripped open his belly and took out his +entrails, and sunk him in the creek. I then searched his pockets, and +found four hundred dollars and thirty-seven cents, and a number of +papers that I did not take time to examine. I sunk the pocket-book and +papers, and his hat, in the creek. His boots were brand new, and fitted +me genteelly; and I put them on and sunk my old shoes in the creek, to +atone for them. I rolled up his clothes and put them into his +portmanteau, as they were brand new cloth of the best quality. I +mounted as fine a horse as ever I straddled, and directed my course for +Natchez in much better style than I had been for the last five days. + +"Myself and a fellow by the name of Crenshaw gathered four good horses +and started for Georgia. We got in company with a young South Carolina +just before we got to Cumberland mountain, and Crenshaw soon knew all +about his business. He had been to Tennessee to buy a drove of hogs, +but when he got there pork was dearer than he had calculated, and he +declined purchasing. We concluded he was a prize. Crenshaw winked at +me; I understood his idea. Crenshaw had travelled the road before, but +I never had. We had travelled several miles on the mountain, when he +passed near a great precipice; just before we passed it Crenshaw asked +me for my whip, which had a pound of lead in the butt; I handed it to +him, and he rode up by the side of the South Carolinian, and gave him a +blow on the side of the head and tumbled him from his horse; we lit from +our horses and fingered his pockets; we got twelve hundred and sixty-two +dollars. Crenshaw said he knew of a place to hide him, and he gathered +him under his arms, and I by his feet, and conveyed him to a deep +crevice in the brow of the precipice, and tumbled him into it, he went +out of sight; we then tumbled in his saddle, and took his horse with us, +which was worth two hundred dollars. + +"We were detained a few days, and during that time our friend went to a +little village in the neighbourhood and saw the negro advertised, and a +description of the two men of whom he had been purchased, and giving his +suspicions of the men. It was rather squally times, but any port in a +storm: we took the negro that night on the bank of a creek which runs by +the farm of our friend, and Crenshaw shot him through the head. We took +out his entrails and sunk him in the creek. + +"He sold him the third time on Arkansaw river for five hundred dollars; +and then stole him and delivered him into the hand of his friend, who +conducted him to a swamp, and veiled the tragic scene and got the last +gleanings and sacred pledge of secrecy, as a game of that kind will not +do unless it ends in a mystery to all but the fraternity. He sold that +negro for two thousand dollars, and then put him for ever out of the +reach of all pursuers; and they can never graze him unless they can find +the negro; and that they cannot do, for his carcass has fed many a +tortoise and cat-fish before this time, and the frogs have sung this +many a long day to the silent repose of his skeleton." + +It will be observed that in the account of his murders, by the +cold-blooded villain, whenever he conceals his victim in the water, he +takes out the entrails. This is because when the entrails are removed, +the body will not rise again to the surface from the generation of gas, +occasioned by putrefaction. + +As it is but five years since the conviction of Murel, it may be +supposed that society cannot be much improved in so short a period. But +five years is a long period, as I have before observed in American +history; and some improvement has already taken place, as I shall +hereafter show; still the state of things at present is most lamentable, +as the reader will acknowledge, when he has heard the facts which I have +collected. + +The two great causes of the present lawless state of society in the +South are a mistaken notion of physical courage, and a total want of +moral courage. Fiery and choleric in his disposition, intemperate in +his habits, and worked upon by the peculiarity of the climate, the +Southerner is always ready to enter into a quarrel, and prepared with +pistol and Bowie-knife to defend himself. For the latter he cannot well +be blamed, for in the present state of things, it is only being prepared +in self-defence; but at the same time, the weapons being at hand, is one +great cause of such frequent bloodshed. To give the lie, or to use +opprobrious language, is considered sufficient justification for using +the knife; and as public opinion is on the side of the party who thus +retaliates on an affront, there is no appeal to law, as if there was, +the majority would never permit the law to be put in force: the +consequence is, that if a man is occasionally tried for murder, if any +witness will come forward to prove that the party murdered made use of +an offensive epithet to the prisoner, (and there are always to be found +plenty of people to do this act of kindness,) he is invariably +acquitted. The law therefore being impotent, is hardly ever resorted +to; every man takes the law into his own hands, and upon the least +affront, blood is certain to be shed. Strange to say, I have heard the +system of the South defended by very respectable individuals. They say +that, taking summary measures at the time that the blood is up, is much +preferable to the general custom of fighting a duel the next day, which +is murder in cold blood; that this idea is supported by the laws of +England is certain, as it resolves murder into manslaughter. But, +unfortunately, the argument is not borne out, from the simple fact, that +the quarrels do not [go away] with the cooling down of the blood, and if +not settled on the spot, they remain as feuds between the parties, and +revenge takes the place of anger; years will sometimes pass away, and +the insult or injury is never forgotten; and deliberate, cold-blooded +murder is the result; for there is no warning given. + +When I was in Kentucky, a man walked up to Mr Prentice, the talented +editor of the Louisville Journal, and without a word passing, fired a +pistol at his head. Fortunately the ball missed him; no notice was +taken of this attempt to murder. But I have had many other examples of +this kind, for if you quarrel with a person and the affair is not +decided at once, it is considered perfectly justifiable to take your +revenge whenever you meet him, and in any way you can. An American +gentleman told me that he happened to arrive at a town in Georgia with a +friend of his, who went with him to the post-office for letters. This +person had had a quarrel with another who resided in the town; but they +had not met with each other for seven years. The town resident was +looking out of his window, when they went to the post-office on the +opposite side of the street; he recognised his enemy, and closing his +shutters that he might not be seen, passed the muzzle of his rifle +between them, and shot him dead, as he was with his back to him paying +for his letters. + +But a more curious instance of this custom was narrated to me by an +eye-witness; a certain general had a feud with another person, and it +was perfectly understood that they were to fight when they met. It so +happened, that the general had agreed to dine at the public table of the +principal hotel in the town with some friends. When the gong sounded, +and they all hastened in, as they do, to take their places, he found his +antagonist seated with a party of his own friends directly opposite to +him. Both their pistols were out in a moment, and were presented. +"Would you prefer dining first?" said the general, who was remarkable +for coolness and presence of mind. "I have no objection," replied the +other, and the pistols were withdrawn. Some observation, however, +occasioned the pistols to be again produced before the dinner was over; +and then the friends interfered, each party removing so many feet above +and below, so as to separate them. + +A day or two afterwards they again met at the corner of a street, and +the weapons were produced; but the general, who had some important +business to transact, said, "I believe, sir, I can, and you know I can, +cock a pistol as soon as any man. I give you your choice; shall it be +now, or at some future meeting?"--"At some future meeting then," replied +his antagonist, "for, to confess the truth, general, I should like to +_have you at an advantage_; that is to say, I should like to shoot you, +when your back is turned." + +I have observed that there is a total want of moral courage on the part +of the more respectable population, who will quietly express their +horror and disgust at such scenes, but who will never interfere, if the +most barbarous murder is committed close to where they are standing. I +spoke to many gentlemen on this subject, expressing my surprise; the +invariable answer was, "If we interfered we should only hurt ourselves, +and do no good; in all probability we should have the quarrel fixed upon +ourselves, and risk our own lives, for a man whom we neither know nor +care about." + +In one case only, the Southerners hang together, which is, if the +quarrel is with a stranger. Should the stranger have the best of it, +all the worse for him; for, by their own understanding, the stranger +must be _whipped_. (Whipping is the term for being conquered, whether +the contest is with or without weapons.) No stranger can therefore +escape, if he gets into a quarrel; although they fight with each other, +on this point the Southerners are all agreed, and there is no chance of +escape. + +A striking proof of indifference to human life shown by the authorities +took place when I was in the West. Colonel C, returning with his +regiment from Florida, passed through a town in the State of Tennessee. +In a quarrel, one of his soldiers murdered a citizen; and the colonel, +who respected the laws, immediately sent the soldier as a prisoner, with +a corporal's guard, to be handed over to the authorities. The +authorities returned their thanks to the colonel for his kind attention, +were "very much obliged to him: but as for the man, _they did not want +him_," so the soldier marched off with the rest of the detachment. + +It must not be supposed that in this representation of society, I +chiefly refer to the humbler classes. I refer to those who are +considered as [gentlemen], and who, if wealth, and public employment may +be said to constitute gentility, are the gentlemen of the States +bordering on the Mississippi. My readers may perhaps recollect a +circumstance which occurred but a short time ago, when a member of the +House of Legislature in the State of Arkansas, who had a feud with the +Speaker of the House, upon his entering the hall, was rushed upon by the +Speaker, and stabbed to the heart with a Bowie-knife. What was the +result? What steps were taken on the committal of such a foul murder in +the very hall of legislature! such a precedent of example shown to the +State, by one of its most important members? The following American +account, will show what law, what justice, and what a jury is to be +found in this region of unprecedented barbarism! + +"A MOST DISGRACEFUL AFFAIR. + +"Our readers will perhaps recollect the circumstance which occurred in +the legislature of Arkansas, when a member was killed by the Speaker. +The Little Rock Gazette gives the following picture of the state of +public feeling in that most civilised country:-- + +"Three days had elapsed before the constituted authorities took any +notice of this terrible, this murderous deed, and not even then until a +relation of the murdered Anthony had demanded a warrant for the +apprehension of Wilson. Several days then elapsed before he was brought +before an examining court; he then, in a carriage and four, came to the +place appointed for his trial. Four or five days were employed in the +examination of witnesses, and never was a clearer case of murder proved +than on that occasion. Notwithstanding, the court (Justice Brown +dissenting) admitted Wilson to bail, and positively refused that the +prosecuting attorney for the State should introduce the law, to show +that it was not a bailable case, or even to hear an argument from him, +and the counsel associated with him to prosecute Wilson for the murder. + +"At the time appointed for the session of the Circuit Court, Wilson +appeared agreeably to his recognisance; a motion was made by Wilson's +counsel for a change of _venue_, founded on the affidavits of Wilson and +two other men. One stated in his affidavit, that `nine-tenths of the +people of Pulaski had made up and expressed their opinions, and that +therefore it would be unsafe for Wilson to be tried in Pulaski;' and the +other, that, `from the repeated occurrence of similar acts within the +last four or five years in this country, the people were disposed to act +rigidly, and that it would be unsafe for Wilson to be tried in Pulaski.' +The court thereupon removed Wilson to Saline county, and ordered the +sheriff to take Wilson into custody, and deliver him over to the sheriff +of Saline county. + +"The sheriff of Pulaski never confined Wilson one minute, but permitted +him to go where he pleased, without a guard or any restraint imposed +upon him whatever. On his way to Saline he entertained him freely at +his own house, and the next day delivered him over to the sheriff of +that county, who conducted the prisoner to the debtors' room in the jail +and gave him the key, so that everybody else had free egress and ingress +at all times. Wilson invited everybody to call on him, and he wished to +see his friends, and his room was crowded with visitors, who called to +drink grog and laugh and talk with him. But this theatre was not +sufficiently large for this purpose; he afterwards visited the +dram-shops, where he freely treated all that would partake with him, and +went fishing and hunting with others at pleasure, and entirely without +restraint; he also ate at the same table with the judge while on trial. + +"When the court met at Saline, Wilson was put on his trial. Several +days were occupied in examining witnesses in the case; after the +examination was closed, while Colonel Taylor was engaged in a very able, +lucid, and argumentative speech on the part of the prosecution, some man +collected a parcel of the rabble, and came within a few yards of the +court-house door, and bawled, in a loud voice, `Part them! part them!' +Everybody supposed there was an affray, and ran to the door and windows +to see, and behold there was nothing more than the man and the rabble he +had collected round him for the purpose of annoying Colonel Taylor while +speaking. A few minutes afterwards this same person brought a horse +near the court-house door, and commenced crying the horse, as though he +were for sale, and continued for ten or fifteen minutes to ride before +the court-house door, crying the horse in a loud and boisterous tone of +voice. The judge sat as a silent listener to the indignity thus offered +the court and counsel by this man, without interposing his authority. + +"To show the depravity of the times and the people, after the verdict +had been delivered by the jury, and the court informed Wilson that he +was discharged, there was a rush towards him; some seized him by the +hand, some by the arm, and there was great and loud rejoicing and +exultation directly in the presence of the court, and Wilson told the +sheriff to take the jury to a grocery that he might treat them, and +invited every body that chose to go. The house was soon filled to +overflowing, and it is much to be regretted that some men who have held +a good standing in society followed the crowd to the grocery and partook +of Wilson's treat. The rejoicing was kept up till near supper time; +but, to cap the climax, soon after supper was over a majority of the +jury, together with many others, went to the room that had been occupied +for several days by the friend and relation of the murdered Anthony, and +commenced a scene of the most ridiculous dancing (as it is believed) in +triumph for Wilson, and as a triumph over the feelings of the relation +of the departed Anthony. The scene did not end here. The party retired +to a dram-shop, and continued their rejoicings until about half after +ten o'clock. They then collected a parcel of horns, trumpets, etcetera, +and marched through the streets blowing them till near day, when one of +the company rode his horse into the porch adjoining the room which was +occupied by the relation of the deceased. + +"These are some of the facts that took place during the progress of the +trial, and after its close. The whole proceedings have been conducted +more like a farce than anything else, and it is a disgrace to the +country in which this fatal, this horrible massacre has happened, that +there should be in it men so lost to every virtue, of feeling and +humanity, to sanction and give countenance to such a bloody deed. +Wilson's hand is now stained with the blood of a worthy and unoffending +man. The seal of disapprobation must for ever rest upon him in the +estimation of the honest, well-meaning portion of the community. +Humanity shudders at the bloody deed, and ages cannot wipe away the +stain which he has brought upon his country. Arkansas, therefore, the +mock of the other States on account of the frequent murders and +assassinations which have marked her character, has now to be branded +with the stain of this horrible, this murderous deed, rendered still +more odious from the circumstance that a jury of twelve men should have +rendered a verdict of acquittal contrary to law and evidence." + +To quote the numerous instances of violation of all law and justice in +these new States would require volumes. I will, however, support my +evidence with that of Miss Martineau, who, speaking of the State of +Alabama, says--"It is certainly the place to become rich in, but the +state of society is fearful. One of my hosts, a man of great +good-nature, as he shows in the treatment of his slaves and in his +family relations, had been stabbed in the back, in the reading-room of +the town, two years before, and no prosecution was instituted. Another +of my hosts carried loaded pistols for a fortnight, just before I +arrived, knowing that he was lain in wait for by persons against whose +illegal practices he had given information to a magistrate, whose +carriage was therefore broken in pieces and thrown into the river. A +lawyer, with whom we were in company one afternoon, was sent to take the +deposition of a dying man, who had been sitting with his family in the +shade, when he received three balls in the back from three men who took +aim at him from behind trees. The tales of jail-breaking and rescue +were numberless; and a lady of Montgomery told me, that she had lived +there four years, during which time no day, she believed, had passed +without some one's life having been attempted either by duelling or +assassination." + +The rapid increase of population in the Far West, and the many +respectable people who have lately migrated there, together with the +Texas having now become the refuge of those whose presence even the +Southern States will no longer tolerate, promise very soon to produce a +change. The cities have already set the example by purifying +themselves. Natchez, the lower town of which was a Pandemonium, has +cleansed herself to a very great extent. Vicksburg has, by its salutary +Lynch law, relieved herself of the infamous gamblers, and New Orleans, +in whose streets murders were daily occurring, is now one of the safest +towns in the Union. + +This regeneration in New Orleans was principally brought about by the +exertions of the English and American merchants from the Eastern States, +who established an effectual police, and having been promised support by +the State legislature, determined to make an example of the very first +party who should commit a murder. It so happened, that the first person +who was guilty, was a Colonel or Mr Whittaker of Louisiana, a person +well connected, and of a wealthy family. In a state of intoxication he +entered the bar of an hotel, and affronted at the bar-keeper not paying +immediate attention to his wishes, he rushed upon the unfortunate man, +and literally cut him to pieces with his heavy Bowie knife. + +He was put in prison, tried and condemned. Every effort was made to +save him, both by force and perseverance, but in vain. Finding that he +must really suffer the penalty of the law, his friends, to avoid the +disgrace of a public execution, provided him with the means; and he +destroyed himself in the prison the night before his execution. So +unexpected was this act of justice, that it created the greatest +sensation; it was looked upon as a legal murder; his body, being made +over to his relations, was escorted to his home with great parade; the +militia were turned out to receive it with military honours, and General +--, who set up for the governorship of Louisiana, pronounced the funeral +eulogy!! + +But this decided and judicious step was attended with the best results; +and now that there is an active police, and it is known that a murderer +will be executed, you may safely walk the streets of New Orleans on the +darkest nights. + +To show, however, how difficult it is to eradicate bad habits, a +gentleman told me that it being the custom when the Quadroon balls were +given at New Orleans, for the police to search every person on entering, +and taking away his Bowie-knife, the young man would resort to the +following contrivance. The knives of a dozen, perhaps, were confided to +one, who remained outside; the others entered, and being searched were +passed; they then opened one of the ball-room windows, and let down a +string, to which the party left outside fastened all their knives as +well as his own; they were hauled up, he then entered himself, and each +person regained his knife. The reason for these precautions being taken +by the police was, that the women being all of colour, their evidence +was not admissible in a court of justice; and no evidence could be +obtained from the young men, should a murder have been committed. + +But although some of the towns have, as I have pointed out, effected a +great reformation, the state of society in general in these States is +still most lamentable; and there is little or no security for life and +property; and what is to be much deplored, the evil extends to other +States which otherwise would much sooner become civilised. + +This arises from the Southern habits of migrating to the other States +during the unhealthy months. During the rest of the year they remain on +their properties, living perhaps in a miserable log-house, and almost in +a state of nature, laying up dollars and attending carefully to their +business. But as soon as the autumn comes, it is the time for holiday, +they dress themselves in their best clothes, and set off to amuse +themselves; spend their money and pass off for gentlemen. Their resorts +are chiefly the State of Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio; where the +springs, Cincinnati, Louisville, and other towns are crowded with them; +they pass their time in constant revelling, many of them being seldom +free from the effects of liquor; and I must say, that I never in my life +heard such awful swearing as many of them are guilty of. Every sentence +is commenced with some tremendous oath, which really horrifies you; in +fact, although in the dress of gentlemen, in no other point can they lay +any pretensions to the title. Of course, I am now speaking of the mass; +there are many exceptions, but even these go with the stream, and make +no efforts to resist it. Content with not practising these vices +themselves, they have not the courage to protest against them in others. + +In the Eastern States the use of the knife was opposed to general +feeling, as it is, or as I regret to say, as it _used_ to be in this +country. I was passing down Broadway in New York, when a scoundrel of a +carman flogged with his whip a young Southern who had a lady under his +protection. Justly irritated, and no match for the sturdy ruffian in +physical strength, the young man was so imprudent as to draw his knife, +and throw it Indian fashion; and for so doing, he was with difficulty +saved from the indignation of the people. + +Ohio is chiefly populated by Eastern people; yet to my surprise when at +Cincinnati, a row took place in the theatre, Bowie-knives were drawn by +several. I never had an idea that there was such a weapon worn there; +but as I afterwards discovered, they were worn in self defence, because +the Southerners carried them. The same may be said of the States of +Virginia and Kentucky, which are really now in many portions of them +civilised States; but the regular inroad of the Southerners every year +keeps up a system, which would before this have very probably become +obsolete; but as it is, the duel at sight, and the knife, is resorted to +in these States, as well as in the Mississippi. This lamentable state +of society must exist for some time yet, as civilisation progresses but +slowly in some of the slave States. Some improvement has of late been +made, as I have pointed out; but it is chiefly the lower class of +miscreants who have been rooted out, not the _gentleman assassins_; for +I can give them no other title. + +The women of the south appear to have their passions equally violent +with the men. When I was at Louisville, a married lady, for some +fancied affront, insisted upon her husband _whipping_ another gentlemen. +The husband not wishing to get a broken head, expostulated, upon which +she replied, that, if he did not, she would find some other gentleman to +do it for her. The husband, who probably was aware that these services +are not without their reward, went accordingly, and had a turn-up in +obedience to the lady's wishes. + +It appears to me, that it is the Southern ladies, and the ladies alone, +who can affect any reformation in these points. They have great sway, +and if they were to form an association, and declare that they would not +marry, or admit into their company, any man who carried a Bowie-knife or +other weapons, that they would prevail, when nothing else will. This +would be a glorious achievement, and I am convinced from the chivalry +towards women shown by the Southerners on every occasion, that they +might be prevailed upon by them to leave off customs so disgraceful, so +demoralising, and so incompatible with the true principles of honour and +Christianity. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 1. "_Jackson, Mississippi, Oct_. 18. + +"Postscript.--_By yesterday evening's northern mail_, we learn from the +Argus of 9th inst., that during the last week the gamblers in Columbus, +Mississippi, have kept the town in great excitement. Armed men paraded +the streets, and were stationed at corners, with double-barrelled guns, +Bowie knives, etcetera; and every day a general fight was anticipated. +The gamblers put law and public indignation at defiance. The militia +were called out to aid the civil authority in preserving peace."--Sun. + + + +VOLUME TWO, CHAPTER ONE. + +SOCIETY--WOMEN. + +The women of America are unquestionably, physically, as far as beauty is +concerned, and morally, of a higher standard than the men; nevertheless +they have not that influence which they ought to possess. In my former +remarks upon the women of America I have said, that they are the +prettiest in the world, and I have put the word _prettiest_ in italics, +as I considered it a term peculiarly appropriate to the American women. +In many points the Americans have, to a certain degree, arrived at that +equality which they profess to covet; and in no one, perhaps, more than +in the fair distribution of good looks among the women. This is easily +accounted for: there is not to be found, on the one hand, that squalid +wretchedness, that half-starved growing up, that disease and misery, nor +on the other, that hereditary refinement, that inoculation of the +beautiful, from the constant association with the fine arts, that +careful nurture, and constant attention to health and exercise, which +exist in the dense population of the cities of the Old World; and +occasion those variations from extreme plainness to the perfection of +beauty which are to be seen, particularly in the metropolis of England. +In the United States, where neither the excess of misery nor of luxury +and refinement are known, you have, therefore, a more equal distribution +of good looks, and, although you often meet with beautiful women, it is +but rarely that you find one that may be termed ill favoured. The +_coup-d'oeil_ is, therefore, more pleasing in America--enter society, +and turn your eyes in any direction, you will everywhere find cause for +pleasure, although seldom any of annoyance. The climate is not, +however, favourable to beauty, which, compared to the English, is very +transitory, especially in the Eastern States; and when a female arrives +at the age of thirty, its reign is, generally speaking, over. + +The climate of the Western States appears, however, more favourable to +it, and I think I saw more handsome women at Cincinnati than in any +other city of the Union; their figures were more perfect, and they were +finer grown, not receiving the sudden checks to which the Eastern women +are exposed. + +Generally speaking, but a small interval elapses between the period of +American girls leaving school and their entering upon their duties as +wives; but during that period, whatever it may be, they are allowed more +liberty than the young people in our country; walking out without +_chaperons_, and visiting their friends as they please. There is a +reason for this: the matrons are compelled, from the insufficiency of +their domestics, to attend personally to all the various duties of +housekeeping; their fathers and brothers are all employed in their +respective money-making transactions, and a servant cannot be spared +from American establishments; if, therefore, they are to walk out and +take exercise, it must be alone, and this can be done in the United +States with more security than elsewhere, from the circumstance of +everybody being actively employed, and there being no people at leisure +who are strolling or idling about. I think that the portion of time +which elapses between the period of a young girl leaving school and +being married, is the happiest of her existence. I have already +remarked upon the attention and gallantry shewn by the Americans to the +women, especially to the unmarried. This is carried to an extent which, +in England, would be considered by our young women as no compliment; to +a certain degree it pervades every class, and even the sable damsels +have no reason to complain of not being treated with the excess of +politeness; but in my opinion, (and I believe the majority of the +American women will admit the correctness of it,) they do not consider +themselves flattered by a species of homage which is paying no +compliment to their good sense, and after which the usual attentions of +an Englishman to the sex are by some considered as amounting to hauteur +and neglect. + +Be it as it may, the American women are not spoiled by this universal +adulation which they receive previous to their marriage. It is not that +one is selected for her wealth or extreme beauty to the exception of all +others; in such a case it might prove dangerous; but it is a flattery +paid to the whole sex, given to all, and received as a matter of course +by all, and therefore it does no mischief. It does, however, prove what +I have observed at the commencement of this chapter, which is, that the +women have not that influence which they are entitled to, and which, for +the sake of morality, it is to be lamented that they have not; when men +_respect_ women they do not attempt to make fools of them, but treat +them as rational and immortal beings, and this general adulation is +cheating them with the shadow, while they withhold from them the +substance. + +I have said that the period between her emancipation from school and her +marriage is the happiest portion of an American woman's existence; +indeed it has reminded me of the fetes and amusements given in a +Catholic country to a young girl previous to her taking the veil, and +being immured from the world; for the duties of a wife in America are +from circumstances very onerous, and I consider her existence after that +period as but one of negative enjoyment. And yet she appears anxious to +abridge even this small portion of freedom and happiness, for marriage +is considered almost as a business, or, I should say, a duty, an idea +probably handed down by the first settlers, to whom an increase of +population was of such vital importance. Note 1. + +However much the Americans may wish to deny it, I am inclined to think +that there are more marriages of _convenance_ in the United States than +in most other countries. The men begin to calculate long before they +are of an age to marry, and it is not very likely that they would +calculate so well upon all other points, and not upon the value of a +dowry; moreover, the old people "calculate some," and the girls accept +an offer, without their hearts being seriously compromised. Of course +there are exceptions: but I do not think that there are many _love_ +matches made in America, and one reason for my holding this opinion is, +my having discovered how quietly matches are broken off and new +engagements entered into; and it is, perhaps, from a knowledge of this +fact, arising from the calculating spirit of the gentlemen, who are apt +to consider 20,000 dollars as preferable to 10,000, that the American +girls are not too hasty in surrendering their hearts. + +I knew a young lady who was engaged to an acquaintance of mine; on my +return to their city a short time afterwards, I found that the match was +broken off, and that she was engaged to another, and nothing was thought +of it. I do not argue from this simple instance, but because I found, +on talking about it, that it was a very common circumstance, and +because, where scandal is so rife, no remarks were made. If a young +lady behaves in a way so as to give offence to the gentleman she is +engaged to, and sufficiently indecorous to warrant his breaking off the +match, he is gallant to the very last, for he writes to her, and begs +that she will dismiss _him_. This I knew to be done by a party I was +acquainted with; he told me that it was considered _good taste_, and I +agreed with him. On the whole, I hold it very fortunate that in +American marriages there is, generally speaking, more prudence than love +on both sides, for from the peculiar habits and customs of the country, +a woman who loved without prudence would not feel very happy as a wife. + +Let us enter into an examination of the married life in the United +States. + +All the men in America are busy; their whole time is engrossed by their +accumulation of money; they breakfast early and repair to their stores +or counting-houses; the majority of them do not go home to dinner, but +eat at the nearest tavern or oyster-cellar, for they generally live at a +considerable distance from the business part of the town, and time is +too precious to be thrown away. It would be supposed that they would be +home to an early tea; many are, but the majority are not. After +fagging, they require recreation, and the recreations of most Americans +are politics and news, besides the chance of doing a little more +business, all of which, with drink, are to be obtained at the bars of +the principal commercial hotels in the city. The consequence is, that +the major portion of them come home late, tired, and go to bed; early +the next morning they are off to their business again. Here it is +evident that the women do not have much of their husband's society; nor +do I consider this arising from any want of inclination on the part of +the husbands, as there is an absolute necessity that they should work as +hard as others if they wish to do well, and what one does, the other +must do. Even frequenting the bar is almost a necessity, for it is +there that they obtain all the information of the day. But the result +is that the married women are left alone; their husbands are not their +companions, and if they could be, still the majority of the husbands +would not be suitable companions for the following reasons. An American +starts into life at so early an age that what he has gained at school, +with the exception of that portion brought into use from his business, +is lost. He has no time for reading, except the newspaper; all his +thoughts and ideas are centred in his employment; he becomes perfect in +that, acquires a great deal of practical knowledge useful for making +money, but for little else. This he must do if he would succeed, and +the major portion confine themselves to such knowledge alone. But with +the women it is different; their education is much more extended than +that of the men, because they are more docile, and easier to control in +their youth; and when they are married, although their duties are much +more onerous than with us, still, during the long days and evenings, +during which they wait for the return of their husbands, they have time +to finish, I may say, their own educations and improve their minds by +reading. The consequence of this, with other adjuncts, is, that their +minds become, and really are, much more cultivated and refined than +those of their husbands; and when the universal practice of using +tobacco and drinking among the latter is borne in mind, it will be +readily admitted that they are also much more refined in their persons. + +These are the causes why the American women are so universally admired +by the English and other nations, while they do not consider the men as +equal to them either in manners or personal appearance. Let it be borne +in mind that I am now speaking of the majority, and that the exceptions +are very numerous; for instance, you may except one whole profession, +that of the lawyers, among whom you will find no want of gentlemen or +men of highly cultivated minds; indeed, the same may be said with +respect to most of the liberal professions, but only so because their +profession allows that time for improving themselves which the American +in general, in his struggle on the race for wealth, cannot afford to +spare. + +As I have before observed, the ambition of the American is from +circumstances mostly directed to but one object--that of rapidly raising +himself above his fellows by the accumulation of a fortune; to this one +great desideratum all his energies are directed, all his thoughts are +bent, and by it all his ideas are engrossed. When I first arrived in +America, as I walked down Broadway, it appeared strange to me that there +should be such a remarkable family likeness among the people. Every man +I met seemed to me by his features, to be a brother or a connection of +the last man who had passed me; I could not at first comprehend this, +but the mystery was soon revealed. It was that they were all intent and +engrossed with the same object; all were, as they passed, calculating +and reflecting; this produced a similar contraction of the brow, +knitting of the eye-brows, and compression of the lips--a similarity of +feeling had produced a similarity of expression, from the same muscles +being called into action. Even their hurried walk assisted the error; +it is a saying in the United States, "that a New York merchant always +walks as if he had a good dinner before him, and a bailiff behind him," +and the metaphor is not inapt. + +Now, a man so wholly engrossed in business cannot be a very good +companion if he were at home; his thoughts would be elsewhere, and +therefore perhaps it is better that things should remain as they are. +But the great evil arising from this is, that the children are left +wholly to the management of their mothers, and the want of paternal +control I have already commented upon. The Americans have reason to be +proud of their women, for they are really good wives--much _too good_ +for them; I have no hesitation in asserting this, and should there be +any unfortunate difference between any married couple in America, all +the lady has to say is, "The fact is, Sir, I'm much too good for you, +and Captain Marryat says so." (I flatter myself there's a little +mischief in that last sentence.) + +It appears, then, that the American woman has little of her husband's +society, and that in education and refinement she is much his superior, +notwithstanding which she is a domestic slave. For this the Americans +are not to blame, as it is the effect of circumstances, over which they +cannot be said to have any control. But the Americans are to blame in +one point, which is, that they do not properly appreciate or value their +wives, who have not half the influence which wives have in England, or +one quarter that legitimate influence to which they are entitled. That +they are proud of them, flatter them, and are kind to them after their +own fashion, I grant, but female influence extends no farther. Some +authors have said, that by the morals of the women you can judge of the +morals of a country; generally speaking, this is true, but America is an +exception, for the women are more moral, more educated, and more refined +than the men, and yet have at present no influence whatever in society. + +What is the cause of this? It can only be ascribed to the one great +ruling passion which is so strong that it will admit of no check, or +obstacles being thrown in its way, and will listen to no argument or +entreaty; and because, in a country when every thing is decided by +public opinion, the women are as great slaves to it as the men. Their +position at present appears to be that the men will not raise themselves +to the standard of the women, and the women will not lower themselves to +the standard of the men; they apparently move in different spheres, +although they repose on the same bed. + +It is, therefore, as I have before observed, fortunate that the +marriages in America are more decided by prudence than by affection; for +nothing could be more mortifying to a woman of sense and feeling, than +to awake from her dream of love, and discover that the object upon which +she has bestowed her affection, is indifferent to the sacrifice which +she has made. + +If the American women had their due influence, it would be fortunate; +they might save their country, by checking the tide of vice and +immorality, and raising the men to their own standard. Whether they +ever will effect this, or whether they will continue as at present, to +keep up the line of demarcation, or gradually sink down to the level of +the other sex, is a question which remains to be solved. + +That the American women have their peculiarities, and in some respects +they might be improved, is certain. Their principal fault in society +is, that they do not sufficiently modulate their voices. Those faults +arising from association, and to which both sexes are equally prone, are +a total indifference to, or rather a love of change, "shifting right +away," without the least regret, from one portion of the Union to +another; a remarkable apathy as to the sufferings of others, an +indifference to loss of life, a fondness for politics, all of which are +unfeminine; and lastly, a passion for dress carried to too great an +extent; but this latter is easily accounted for, and is inseparable from +a society where all would be equal. But, on the other hand, the +American women have a virtue which the men have not, which is moral +courage, and one also which is not common with the sex, physical +courage. The independence and spirit of an American woman, if left a +widow without resources, is immediately shewn; she does not sit and +lament, but applies herself to some employment, so that she may maintain +herself and her children, and seldom fails in so doing. Here are faults +and virtues, both proceeding from the same origin. + +I have already in my Diary referred to another great error in a portion +of the American women. Lady Blessington, in one of her delightful +works, very truly observes, "I turn with disgust from that affected +prudery, arising, if not from a participation, at least from a knowledge +of evil, which induces certain ladies to cast down their eyes, look +grave, and shew the extent of their knowledge, or the pruriency of their +imaginations, by discovering in a harmless jest nothing to alarm their +experienced feelings. I respect that woman whose innate purity prevents +those around her from uttering aught that can arouse it, much more than +her whose sensitive prudery continually reminds one, that she is _au +fait_ of every possible interpretation which a word of doubtful meaning +admits." + +The remarks of Miss Martineau upon the women of America are all very +ungracious, and some of them very unjust. That she met with affectation +and folly in America, is very probable--where do you not? There is no +occasion to go to the United States to witness it. As for the charge of +carrying in their hands seventy-dollar pocket-handkerchiefs, I am afraid +it is but too true: but when there is little distinction, except by +dress, ladies will be very expensive. I do not know why, but the +American ladies have a custom of carrying their pocket-handkerchiefs in +their hands, either in a room, or walking out, or travelling; and +moreover, they have a custom of marking their names in the corner, at +full length, and when in a steamboat or rail-car, I have, by a little +watching, obtained the names of ladies sitting near me, in consequence +of this custom, which of course will be ascribed by Miss Martineau to a +wish to give information to strangers. + +The remark upon the Washington belles, [note 2] I am afraid is too true, +as I have already pointed out that the indifference to human life in +America extends to the softer sex; and I perfectly well remember, upon +my coming into a room at New York with the first intelligence of the +wreck of the `Home,' and the dreadful loss of life attending it, that my +news was received with a "dear me!" from two or three of the ladies, and +there the matter dropped. There is, however, much truth in what Miss +Martineau says, relative to the manner in which the women are treated by +their lords and masters, in this new country. The following quotation +from the work is highly deserving of attention:-- + +"If a test of civilisation be sought, none can be so sure as the +condition of that half of society over which the other half has power,-- +from the exercise of the right of the strongest. Tried by this test, +the American civilisation appears to be of a lower order than might have +been expected from some other symptoms of its social state. The +Americans have, in the treatment of women, fallen below, not only their +own democratic principles, but the practice of some parts of the Old +World. + +"The unconsciousness of both parties as to the injuries suffered by +women at the hands of those who hold the power, is a sufficient proof of +the low degree of civilisation in this important particular at which +they rest, while woman's intellect is confined, her morals crushed, her +health ruined, her weaknesses encouraged, and her strength punished, she +is told that her lot is cast in the paradise of women: and there is no +country in the world where there is so much boasting of the `chivalrous' +treatment she enjoys. That is to say,--she has the best place in +stage-coaches: when there are not chairs enough for everybody, the +gentlemen stand she hears oratorical flourishes on public occasions +about wives and home, and apostrophes to woman: her husband's hair +stands on end at the idea of her working, and he toils to indulge her +with money: she has liberty to get her brain turned by religious +excitements, that her attention may be diverted from morals, politics, +and philosophy; and, especially, her morals are guarded by the strictest +observance of propriety in her presence. In short, indulgence is given +her as a substitute for justice." + +If Miss Martineau had stopped here, she had done well; but she follows +this up by claiming for her sex all the privileges of our own, and seems +to be highly indignant, that they are not permitted to take their due +share of the government of the country, and hold the most important +situations. To follow up her ideas, we should have a "teeming" prime +minister, and the Lord Chancellor obliged to leave the woolsack to nurse +his baby; Miss M forgets that her prayer has been half granted already, +for we never yet had a ministry without a certain proportion of _old +women_ in it; and we can, therefore dispense with her services. + +There is, however, one remark of Miss Martineau's which I cannot pass +over without expressing indignation; I will quote the passage. + +"It is no secret on the spot, that the habit of intemperance is not +infrequent among women of station and education in the most enlightened +parts of the country. I witnessed some instances, and heard of more. +It does not seem to me to be regarded with all the dismay which such a +symptom ought to excite. To the stranger, a novelty so horrible, a +spectacle so fearful, suggests wide and deep subjects of investigation. +If women, in a region professing religion more strenuously than any +other, living in the deepest external peace, surrounded by prosperity, +and outwardly honoured more conspicuously than in any other country, can +ever so far cast off self-restraint, shame, domestic affection, and the +deep prejudices of education, as to plunge into the living hell of +intemperance, there must be something fearfully wrong in their +position." + +Miss Martineau is a lady; and, therefore, it is difficult to use the +language which I would, if a man had made such an assertion. I shall +only state, that it is one of the greatest libels that ever was put into +print: for Miss Martineau implies that it is a general habit, among the +American women; so far from it, the American women are so abstemious +that they do not drink sufficient for their health. They can take very +little exercise, and did they take a little more wine, they would not +suffer from _dyspepsia_, as they now do, as wine would assist their +digestion. The origin of this slander I know well, and the only ground +for it is, that there are two or three ladies of a certain city, who +having been worked upon by some of the Evangelical Revival Ministers, +have had their minds crushed by the continual excitement to which they +have been subjected. The mind affects the body, and they have required, +and have applied to, stimulus, and if you will inquire into the moral +state of any woman among the higher classes, either in America or +England, who has fallen into the vice alluded to, nine times out of ten +you will find that it has been brought about by religious excitement. +Fanaticism and gin are remarkable good friends all over the world. It +is surprising to me that, when Miss Martineau claims for her sex the +same privilege as ours, she should have overlooked one simple fact which +ought to convince _her_ that they are the weaker vessels. I refer to +what she acknowledges to be true, which is, that the evangelical +preachers invariably apply to women for proselytes, instead of men; not +only in America but everywhere else; and that for one male, they may +reckon at least twenty females among their flocks. According to Miss +Martineau's published opinions, there can be no greater weakness than +the above. + +In the United States, divorces are obtained without expense, and without +it being necessary to commit crime, as in England. The party pleads in +_forma pauperis_, to the State Legislation, and a divorce is granted +upon any grounds which may be considered as just and reasonable. + +Miss Martineau mentions a divorce having been granted to a wife, upon +the plea of her husband being a gambler; and I was myself told of an +instance in which a divorce was granted upon the plea of the husband +being such an "_awful swearer_;" and really, if any one heard the +swearing in some parts of the Western country, he would not be surprised +at a religious woman requesting to be separated. I was once on board of +a steam-boat on the Mississippi, when a man let off such a volley of +execrations, that it was quite painful to hear him. An American who +stood by me, as soon as the man had finished, observed, "Well, I'm glad +that fellow has nothing to do with the engines: I reckon he'd burst the +_biler_." + +Miss Martineau observes, "In no country I believe are the marriage laws +so iniquitous as in England, and the conjugal relation, in consequence, +so impaired. Whatever may be thought of the principles which are to +enter into laws of divorce, whether it be held that pleas for divorce +should be one, (as narrow interpreters of the New Testament would have +it;) or two, (as the law of England has it;) or several, (as the +Continental and United States' laws in many instances allow,) nobody, I +believe, defends the arrangement by which, in England, divorce is +obtainable only by the very rich. The barbarism of granting that as a +privilege to the extremely wealthy, to which money bears no relation +whatever, and in which all married persons whatever have an equal +interest, needs no exposure beyond the mere statement of the fact. It +will be seen at a glance how such an arrangement tends to vitiate +marriage: how it offers impunity to adventurers, and encouragement to +every kind of mercenary marriages; how absolute is its oppression of the +injured party; and how, by vitiating marriage, it originates and +aggravates licentiousness to an incalculable extent. To England alone +belongs the disgrace of such a method of legislation. I believe that, +while there is little to be said for the legislation of any part of the +world on this head, it is nowhere so vicious as in England." + +I am afraid that these remarks are but too true; and it is the more +singular, as not only in the United States, but in every other +Protestant community that I have ever heard of, divorce can be obtained +upon what are considered just and legitimate grounds. It has been +supposed, that should the marriage tie be loosened, that divorces +without number would take place. It was considered so, and so argued, +at the time that Zurich (the only Protestant canton in Switzerland that +did not permit divorce, except for adultery alone,) passed laws similar +to those of the other cantons; but so far from such being the case, only +one divorce took place, within a year after the laws were amended. What +is the reason of this? It can, in my opinion, only be ascribed to the +chain being worn more lightly, when you know that if it oppresses you, +it may be removed. Men are naturally tyrants, and they bear down upon +the woman who cannot escape from their thraldom; but, with the knowledge +that she can appeal against them, they soften their rigour. On the +other hand, the woman, when unable to escape, frets with the feeling +that she must submit, and that there is no help or hope in prospect; but +once aware that she has her rights, and an appeal, she bears with more, +and feels less than otherwise she would. You may bind, and from +assuetude and time, (putting the better feelings out of the question,) +the ties are worn without complaint; but if you bind too tight, you cut +into the flesh, and after a time the pain becomes insupportable. In +Switzerland, Germany, and I believe all the Protestant communities of +the old world, the grounds upon which divorce is admissible are as +follows:--adultery, condemnation of either party to punishment +considered as infamous, madness, contagious chronic diseases, desertion, +and incompatibility of temper. + +The last will be considered by most people as no ground for divorce. +Whether it is or not, I shall not pretend to decide, but this is +certain, that it is the cause of the most unhappiness, and ultimately of +the most crime. + +All the great errors, all the various schisms in the Christian church, +have arisen from not taking the holy writings as a great moral code, (as +I should imagine they were intended to be,) which legislates upon broad +principles, but selecting particular passages from them upon which to +pin your faith. And it certainly appears to me to be reasonable to +suppose that those laws by which the imperfection of our natures were +fairly met, and which tended to diminish the aggregate of crime, must be +more acceptable to our Divine Master than any which, however they might +be in spirit more rigidly conformable to his precepts, were found in +their working not to succeed. And here I cannot help observing, that +the heads of the Church of England appear not to have duly weighed this +matter, when an attempt was lately made to legislate upon it. Do the +English bishops mean to assert, that they know better than the heads of +all the other Protestant communities in the world--that they are more +accurate expounders of the gospel, and have a more intimate knowledge of +God's will? Did it never occur to them, that when so many good and +virtuous ecclesiastics of the same persuasion in other countries have +decided upon the propriety of divorce, so as to leave them in a very +small minority, that it might be possible that they might be wrong, or +do they intend to set up and claim the infallibility of the Papistical +hierarchy? + +Any legislation to prevent crime, which produces more crime, must be bad +and unsound, whatever may be its basis: witness the bastardy clause, in +the New Poor Law Bill. That the former arrangements were defective is +undeniable, for by them there was a premium for illegitimate children. +This required amendment: but the remedy has proved infinitely worse than +the disease. For what has been the result? That there have been many +thousands fewer illegitimate children _born_, it is true; but, has the +progress of immorality been checked? On the contrary, crime has +increased, for to the former crime has been added one much greater, that +of infanticide, or producing abortion. Such has been the effect of +attempting to legislate for the affections; for in most cases a woman +falls a sacrifice to her better feelings, not to her appetite. + +In every point connected with marriage, has this injurious plan been +persevered in; the marriage ceremony is a remarkable instance of this, +for, beautiful as it is as a service, it is certainly liable to this +objection, that of making people vow before God that which it is not in +human nature to control. The woman vows to love, and to honour, and to +cherish; the man to love and cherish, until death doth them part. + +Is it right that this vow should be made? A man deserts his wife for +another, treats her cruelly, separates her from her children. Can a +woman love, or honour, or cherish such a man--nevertheless, she has +vowed before God that she will. Take the reverse of the picture when +the fault is on the woman's side, and the evil is the same; can either +party control their affections? surely not, and therefore it would be +better that such vows should not be demanded. + +There is another evil arising from one crime being the only allowable +cause of divorce, which is that the possession of one negative virtue on +the part of the woman, is occasionally made an excuse for the practice +of vice, and a total disregard of her duties as a wife. I say negative +virtue, for chastity very often proceeds from temperament, and as often +from not being tempted. + +A woman may neglect her duties of every kind--but she is chaste; she may +make her husband miserable by indulgence of her ill-temper--but she is +chaste; she may squander his money, ruin him by expense--but she is +chaste; she may, in short, drive him to drunkenness and suicide--but +still she is chaste; and chastity, like charity, covers the whole +multitude of sins, and is the scape-goat for every other crime, and +violation of the marriage vow. + +It must, however, be admitted, that although the faults may occasionally +be found on the side of the woman, in nine times out of ten it is the +reverse; and that the defects of our marriage laws have rendered English +women liable to treatment which ought not to be shewn towards the +veriest slaves in existence. + +I must now enter into a question, which I should have had more pleasure +in passing over lightly, had it not been for the constant attacks of the +Americans upon this subject, during the time that I was in the country, +and the remarks of Mr Carey in his work, in which he claims for the +Americans pre-eminence in this point, as well as upon all others. + +Miss Martineau says, "The ultimate, and very strong impression on the +mind of a stranger, pondering on the morals of society in America, is +that human nature is much the same every where." Surely Miss Martineau +need not have crossed the Atlantic to make this discovery; however I +quote it, as it will serve as a text to what is to follow. + +The Americans claim excessive purity for their women, and taunt us with +the _exposees_ occasionally made in our newspapers. In the first +place--which shews the highest regard for morality, a country where any +deviation from virtue is immediately made known, and held up to public +indignation? or one which, from national vanity, and a wish that all +should _appear_ to be correct, instead of publishing, conceals the +facts, and permits the guilty parties to escape without censure, for +what they consider the honour of the nation? + +To suppose that there is no conjugal infidelity in the United States, is +to suppose that human nature is not the same every where. That it +never, to my knowledge, was made public, but invariably hushed up when +discovered, I believe; so is suicide. But _one_ instance came to my +knowledge, during the time that I was in the States, which will give a +very fair idea of American feeling on this subject. It was supposed +that an intrigue had been discovered, or, it had actually been +discovered, I cannot say which, between a foreigner and the wife of an +English gentleman. It was immediately seized upon with ecstasy, +circulated in all the papers with every American embellishment, and was +really the subject of congratulation among them, as if they had gained +some victory over this country. It so happened that an American called +upon the lady, and among other questions put to her, inquired in what +part of England she was born. She replied, "that she was not an +English-woman, but was born in the States, and brought up in an American +city." + +It is impossible to imagine how this mere trifling fact, affected the +Americans. She was then an American--they were aghast--and I am +convinced that they would have made any sacrifice, to have been able to +have recalled all that they had done, and have hushed up the matter. + +The fact is that human nature _is_ the same every where, and I cannot +help observing, that if their community is so much more moral, as they +pretend that it is, why is it, that they have considered it necessary to +form societies on such an extensive scale, for the prevention of a +crime, from which they declare themselves (comparatively with us, and +other nations,) to be exempt? I once had an argument on this subject +with an elderly American gentleman, and as I took down the minutes of it +after we parted, I think it will be as well to give it to my readers, as +it will shew the American feeling upon it-- + +"Why, Captain M, you must bear in mind that we are not so vicious and +contaminated here, as you are in the old country. You don't see our +newspapers filled, as your's are, with crim. cons, in high life. No, +sir, our institutions are favourable to virtue and morality, and our +women are as virtuous as our men are brave." + +"I have no reason to deny either one assertion or the other, as far as I +am acquainted with your men and women; but still I do not judge from the +surface, as many have done who have visited you. Because there are no +crim. cons. in your papers, it does not prove that conjugal infidelity +does not exist. There are no suicides of people of any station in +society ever published in your newspapers, and yet there is no country +where suicide is more common. + +"I grant that, occasionally, the coroner does bring in a verdict so as +to save the feelings of the family." + +"That is more than a coroner would venture to do in England, let the +rank of the party be of the highest. But, if you hush up suicides, may +you not also hush up other offences, to save the feelings of families? +I have already made up my mind upon one point, which is that you are +content to substitute the appearance for the reality in your moral +code--the fact is, you fear one another--you fear society, but, you do +not fear God." + +"I should imagine, captain, that when you have conversed, and mixed up +with us a little more, you will be inclined to retract, and acknowledge +what I have said to be correct. I have lived all my life in the States, +and I have no hesitation in saying, that we are a very moral people. +Recollect that you have principally confined yourself to our cities, +during your stay with us; yet even there we may proudly challenge +comparison." + +"My opinion is, that unless you can shew just cause _why_ you should be +more moral than other nations, you are, whether in cities or in the +country, much the same as we are. I do not require to examine on this +point, as I consider it to be a rule-of-three calculation. Give me the +extent of the population, and I can estimate the degree of purity. +Mankind demoralise each other by collision; and the larger the numbers +crowded together, the greater will be the demoralisation, and this rule +will hold good, whether in England or the United States, the Old World +or the New." + +"That argument would hold good if it were not for our institutions, +which are favourable to morality and virtue." + +"I consider them quite the contrary. Your institutions are beautiful in +theory, but in practice do not work well. I suspect that your society +has a very similar defect." + +"Am I then to understand, captain, that you consider the American ladies +as _not_ virtuous?" + +"I have already said that I have had no proofs to the contrary; all I +wish is to defend my own country, and I say that I consider the English +women at all events quite as moral as the Americans." + +"I reckon that's no compliment, captain. Now, then, do you mean to say +that you think there is as much conjugal infidelity in New York, in +proportion to the population, as there is in London? Now, captain, if +you please, we will stick to that point." + +"I answer you at once. No, I do not believe that there is; but--" + +"That's all I want, captain--never mind the _buts_." + +"_But_ you must have the _buts_. Recollect, I did not say that your +society was more moral, although I said that there was in my opinion +less infidelity." + +"Well, how can that be?" + +"Because, in the first place, conjugal infidelity is not the only crime +which exists in society; and, secondly, because there are causes which +prevent its being common. That this vice should be common, two things +are requisite--time and opportunity; neither of which is to be found in +a society like yours. You have no men of leisure, every man is occupied +the whole day with his business. Now, suppose one man was to stay away +from his business for merely one day, would he not be missed, and +inquiries made after him; and if it were proved that he stayed away to +pass his time with his neighbour's wife, would not the scandal be +circulated all over the city before night? I recollect a very plain +woman accusing a very pretty one of indiscretion; the reply of the +latter, when the former vaunted her own purity, was, `Were you ever +asked?' Thus it is in America; there is neither time nor opportunity, +and your women are in consequence seldom or ever tempted. I do not mean +to say that if they were tempted they would fall; all I say is, that no +parallel can in this instance be drawn between the women of the two +countries, as their situations are so very different. I am ready to do +every justice to your women; but I will not suffer you to remain in the +error, that you are more moral than we are." + +"Why, you have admitted that we are from circumstances, if not from +principle." + +"In one point only, and in that you _appear_ to be, and I have given you +a reason why you really should be so; but we can draw no inference of +any value from what we know relative to your better classes of society. +If we would examine and calculate the standard of morality in a country, +we must look elsewhere." + +"Where?" + +"To the lower class of society, and not to the highest. I presume you +are aware that there is a greater proportion of unfortunate females in +New York, taking the extent of the populations, than in London or Paris? +I have it from American authority, and I have every reason to believe +that it is true." + +"I am surprised that any American should have made such an admission, +captain; but for the sake of argument let it be so. But first recollect +that we have a constant influx of people from the Old Country, from all +the other States in America, and that we are a sea-port town, with our +wharfs crowded with shipping." + +"I admit it all, and that is the reason why you have so many. The +supply in all countries is usually commensurate with the demand; but the +numbers have nothing to do with the argument." + +"Then I cannot see what you are driving at; for allow me to say that, +admitting the class to be as numerous as you state from American +authority, still they are very orderly and well behaved. You never see +them drunk in the streets; you never hear swearing or abusive language; +and you do in London and your seaports. There is a decorum and sense of +propriety about them which, you must admit, speaks well, even for those +unfortunate persons, and shews some sense of morality and decency even +in our most abandoned." + +"You have brought forward the very facts which I was about to state, and +it is from these facts that I draw quite contrary conclusions. If your +argument is good, it must follow that the women of Paris are much more +virtuous than the women of London. Now, I consider that these facts +prove that the standard of morality is lower in America and France than +it is in England. A French woman who has fallen never drinks, or uses +bad language; she follows her profession, and seldom sinks, but rises in +it. The grisette eventually keeps her carriage, and retires with +sufficient to support her in her old age, if she does not marry. The +American women of this class appear to me to be precisely the same +description of people; whereas, in England, a woman who falls, falls +never to rise again--sinking down by degrees from bad to worse, until +she ends her days in rags and misery. But why so? because, as you say, +they become reckless and intemperate--they _do_ feel their degradation, +and cannot bear up against it--they attempt to drown conscience, and die +from the vain attempts. Now, the French and the American women of this +class apparently do not feel this, and, therefore, they behave and do +better. This is one reason why I argue that the standard of morality is +not so high in your country as with us, although, from circumstances, +conjugal infidelity may be less frequent." + +"Then, captain, you mean to say that cursing, swearing, and drinking, is +a proof of morality in your country?" + +"It is a proof, not of the morality of the party, but of the high +estimation in which virtue is held, shewn by the indifference and +disregard to everything else after virtue is once lost." + +This is a specimen of many arguments held with the Americans upon that +question, and when examining into it, it should be borne in mind that +there is much less excuse for vice in America than in the Old Countries. +Poverty is but too often the mother of crime, and in America it may be +said that there is no poverty to offer up in extenuation. + +Mr Carey appears to have lost sight of this fact when he so +triumphantly points at the difference between the working classes of +both nations, and quotes the Report of our Poor Law Commissioners to +prove the wretchedness and misery of ours. I cannot, however, allow his +assertions to pass without observation, especially as English and French +travellers have been equally content to admit without due examination +the claims of the Americans; I refer more particularly to the large +manufactory at Lowell, in Massachusetts, which from its asserted purity +has been one of the boasts of America. Mr Carey says:-- + +"The following passage from a statement, furnished by the manager of one +of the principal establishments in Lowell, shows a very gratifying state +of things:--`There have only occurred three instances in which any +apparently improper connection or intimacy had taken place, and in all +those cases the parties were married on the discovery, and several +months prior to the birth of their children; so that, in a legal point +of view, no illegitimate birth has taken place among the females +employed in the mills under my direction. Nor have I known of but one +case among all the females employed in Lowell. I have said known--I +should say heard of one case. I am just informed, that that was a case +where the female had been employed but a few days in any mill, and was +forthwith rejected from the corporation, and sent to her friends. In +point of female chastity, I believe that Lowell is as free from reproach +as any place of an equal population in the United States or the world.'" + +And he winds up his chapter with the following remark:-- + +"The effect upon morals of this state of things, is of the most +gratifying character. The number of illegitimate children born in the +United States is small; so small, that we should suppose one in fifty to +be a high estimate. In the great factories of the Eastern States there +prevails a high degree of morality, presenting a most extraordinary +contrast to the immorality represented to exist in a large portion of +those of England." + +Next follows Miss Martineau, who says--"The morals of the female factory +population may be expected to be good when it is considered of what +class it is composed. Many of the girls are in the factories because +they have too much pride for domestic service. Girls who are too proud +for domestic service as it is in America, can hardly be low enough for +any gross immorality, or to need watching, or not to be trusted to avoid +the contagion of evil example. To a stranger, their pride seems to have +taken a mistaken direction, and they appear to deprive themselves of a +respectable home and station, and many benefits, by their dislike of +service; but this is altogether their own affair, they must choose for +themselves their way of life. But the reasons of their choice indicate +a state of mind superior to the grossest dangers of their position." + +And the Reverend Mr Reid also echoes the praise of the factory girls +given by others, although he admits that their dress was above their +state and condition, and that he was surprised to see them appear "in +_silks_, with _scarfs, veils_, and _parasols_." + +Here is a mass of evidence opposed to me, but the American evidence must +be received with all due caution; and as for the English, I consider it +rather favourable to my side of the question than otherwise. Miss +Martineau says that "the girls have too much pride for domestic +service," and, therefore, argues that they will not be immoral; now, the +two great causes of women falling off from virtue, are poverty and false +pride. What difference there is between receiving money for watching a +spinning-jenny, and doing household work, I do not see; in either case +it is servitude, although the former may be preferred, as being less +under control, and leaving more time at your own disposal. I consider +the pride, therefore, which Miss Martineau upholds, to be _false_ pride, +which will actuate them in other points; and when we find the factory +girls vying with each other in silks and laces, it becomes a query +whether the passion for dress, so universal in America, may not have its +effect there as well as elsewhere. I must confess that I went to Lowell +doubting all I had heard--it was so contrary to human nature that five +hundred girls should live among a population of fifteen hundred, or +more, all pure and virtuous, and all dressed in silks and satin. + +When I went to Lowell I travelled with an American gentleman, who will, +I have no doubt, corroborate my statement, and I must say that, however +pure Lowell may have been at the time when the encomiums were passed +upon it, I have every reason to believe, from American authority as well +as my own observation, that a great alteration has taken place, and that +the manufactories have retrograded with the whole mass of American +society. In the first place, I never heard a more accomplished swearer, +east of the Alleghanies, than one young lady who addressed me and my +American friend, and as it was the _only instance_ of swearing on the +part of a female that I ever met with in the United States, it was the +more remarkable. I shall only observe, that two days at Lowell +convinced me that "human nature was the same every where," and thus I +dismiss the subject. + +Mr Carey compels me to make a remark which I would gladly have avoided, +but as he brings forward his comparative statements of the number of +illegitimate children born in the two countries as a proof of the +superior morality of America, I must point out to him what I suspect he +is not aware of. Public opinion acts as _law_ in America; appearances +are there substituted for the reality, and provided appearances are kept +up, whether it be in religion or morality, it is sufficient; but should +an exposure take place, there is no mercy for the offender. As those +who have really the least virtue in themselves are always the loudest to +cry out at any lapse which may be discovered in others, so does society +in America pour out its anathemas in the inverse ratio of its real +purity. Now, although the authority I speak from is undoubted, at the +same time I wish to say as little as possible. That there are fewer +illegitimate children _born_ in the United States is very true. But why +so? because public opinion there acts as the bastardy clause in the new +poor law bill has done in this country; and if Mr Carey will only +inquire in his own city, he will find that I should be justified if I +said twice as much, as I have been compelled in defence of my own +country to say, upon so unpleasant a subject. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 1. Bigamy is not uncommon in the United States from the women +being in too great a hurry to marry, and not obtaining sufficient +information relative to their suitors. The punishment is chipping stone +in Sing Sing for a few years. It must, however, be admitted, that when +a foreigner is the party, it is rather difficult to ascertain whether +the gentleman has or has not left an old wife or two in the Old World. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 2. A Washington belle related to me the sad story of the death of +a young man who fell from a small boat into the Potomac in the night,-- +it is supposed in his sleep. She told me where and how his body was +found; and what relations he had left; and finished with "he will be +much missed at parties." + + + +VOLUME TWO, CHAPTER TWO. + +PUBLIC OPINION, OR THE MAJORITY. + +The majority are always in the _right_, so says Miss Martineau, and so +have said greater people than even Miss Martineau; to be sure Miss +Martineau qualifies her expression afterwards, when she declares that +they always will be right in the _end_. What she means by that I do not +exactly comprehend; the end of a majority is its subsiding into a +minority, and a minority is generally right. But I rather think that +she would imply that they will repent and see their folly when the +consequences fall heavily upon them. The great question is, what is a +majority? must it be a whole nation, or a portion of a nation, or a +portion of the population of a city; or, in fact, any _plus_ against any +_minus_, be they small or be they large. For instance, two against one +are a majority, and, if so, any two scoundrels may murder an honest man +and be in the right; or it may be the majority in any city, as in +Baltimore, where they rose and murdered an unfortunate minority [see +note 1]; or it may be a majority on the Canada frontier, when a set of +miscreants defied their own government, and invaded the colony of a +nation with whom they were at peace--all which is of course right. But +there are other opinions on this question besides those of Miss +Martineau, and we shall quote them as occasion serves. + +I have before observed, that Washington left America a republic; and +that in the short space of fifty years it has sunk into a democracy. + +The barrier intended to be raised against the encroachments of the +people has been swept away; the senate (which was intended, by the +arrangements for its election, to have served as the aristocracy of the +legislature, as a deliberative check to the impetus of the majority, +like our House of Lords), having latterly become virtually nothing more +than a second congress, receiving instructions, and submissive to them, +like a pledged representative. This is what Washington did not foresee. + +Washington was himself an aristocrat; he shewed it in every way. He was +difficult of access, except to the higher classes. He carried state in +his outward show, always wearing his uniform as General of the Forces, +and attended by a guard of honour. Indeed, one letter of Washington's +proves that he was rather doubtful as to the working of the new +government shortly after it had been constituted. He says:-- + +"Among men of reflection few will be found, I believe, who are not +_beginning_ to think that our system is better in _theory_ than in +_practice_, and that notwithstanding the _boasted virtue_ of America, it +is more than probable we shall exhibit the _last melancholy proof_, that +mankind are incompetent to their own government without _the means of +coercion in the sovereign_." [Washington's letter to Chief Justice Jay, +10th March, 1787.] + +This is a pretty fair admission from such high authority; and fifty +years have proved the wisdom and foresight of the observation. +Gradually as the aristocracy of the country wore out (for there was an +aristocracy at that time in America), and the people became less and +less enlightened, so did they encroach upon the constitution. President +after president gradually laid down the insignia and outward appearance +of rank, the senate became less and less respectable, and the people +more and more authoritative. + +M. Tocqueville says, "When the American revolution broke out, +distinguished political characters arose in great numbers; for public +opinion then served, not to tyrannise over, but to direct the exertions +of individuals. Those celebrated men took a full part in the general +agitation of mind common at that period, and they attained a high degree +of personal fame, which was reflected back upon the nation, but which +was by no means borrowed from it." + +It was not, however, until the presidency of General Jackson, that the +democratic party may be said to have made any serious inroads upon the +constitution. Their previous advances were indeed sure, but they were, +comparatively speaking, slow; but, raised as he was to the office of +President by the mob, the demagogues who led the mob obtained the +offices under government, to the total exclusion of the aristocratic +party, whose doom was then sealed. Within these last ten years the +advance of the people has been like a torrent, sweeping and levelling +all before it, and the will of the majority has become not only absolute +with the government, but it defies the government itself, which is too +weak to oppose it. + +Is it not strange, and even ridiculous, that under a government +established little more than fifty years, a government which was to be a +_lesson_ to the whole world, we should find political writers making use +of language such as this: "We are for _reform, sound, progressive +reform_, not subversion and destruction." Yet such is an extract from +one of the best written American periodicals of the day. This is the +language that may be expected to be used in a country like England, +which still legislates under a government of eight hundred years old; +but what a failure must that government be, which in fifty years calls +forth even from its advocates such an admission!! + +M. Tocqueville says, "Custom, however, has done even more than laws. A +proceeding which will in the end set all the guarantees of +representative government at nought, is becoming more and more general +in the United States: it frequently happens that the electors who choose +a delegate, point out a certain line of conduct to him, and impose upon +him a certain number of positive obligations, which he is pledged to +fulfil. With the exception of the tumult, this comes to the same thing +as if the majority of the populace held its deliberations in the +market-place." + +Speaking of the majority as the popular will, he says, "no obstacles +exist which can impede, or so much as retard its progress, or which can +induce it to heed the complaints of those whom it crushes upon its path. +This state of things is fatal in itself, and dangerous for the future." + +My object in this chapter is to inquire what effect has been produced +upon the morals of the American people by this acknowledged dominion of +the majority? + +1st. As to the mass of the people themselves. It is clear, if the +people not only legislate, but, when in a state of irritation or +excitement, they defy even legislation, that they are not to be compared +to _restricted_ sovereigns, but to despots, whose will and caprice are +law. The vices of the court of a despot are, therefore, practised upon +the people; for the people become as it were the court, to whom those in +authority, or those who would be in authority, submissively bend the +knee. A despot is not likely ever to hear the truth, for moral courage +fails where there is no law to protect it, and where honest advice may +be rewarded by summary punishment. The people, therefore, like the +despot, are never told the truth; on the contrary, they receive and +expect the most abject submission from their courtiers, to wit, those in +office, or expectants. + +Now, the President of the United States may be considered the Prime +Minister of an enlightened public, who govern themselves, and his +communication with them is in his annual message. + +Let us examine what Mr Van Buren says in his last message. + +First, he humbly acknowledges their power. + +"A national bank," he tells them, "would impair the rightful _supremacy_ +of the popular _will_." + +And this he follows up with that most delicate species of flattery, that +of praising them for the very virtue which they are most deficient in; +telling them that they are "a people to whom the _truth_, however +unpromising, can _always_ be told with _safety_." + +At the very time when they were defying all law and all government, he +says, "It was reserved for the American Union to test the advantage of a +government entirely dependent on the continual exercise of the popular +will, and our experience has shewn, that it is as _beneficent_ in +_practice_, as well as it is just in _theory_." + +At the very time that nearly the whole Union were assisting the +insurrection in Canada with men and money, he tells them "that +temptations to interfere in the intestine commotions of neighbouring +countries have been thus far successfully resisted." + +This is quite enough; Mr Van Buren's motives are to be re-elected as +president. That is very natural on his part; but how can you expect a +people to improve who _never hear the truth_? + +Mr Cooper observes, "Monarchs have incurred more hazards from follies +of their own that have grown up under the adulation of parasites, than +from the machinations of their enemies; and in a democracy, the delusion +that still would elsewhere be poured into the ears of the prince, is +poured into those of the people." + +The same system is pursued by all those who would arrive at, or remain +in place and power: and what must be the consequence? that the +straight-forward, honourable, upright man is rejected by the people, +while the parasite, the adulator, the demagogue, who flatters their +opinions, asserts their supremacy, and yields to their arbitrary +demands, is the one selected by them for place and power. Thus do they +demoralise each other; and it is not until a man has, by his abject +submission to their will, in contradiction to his own judgment and +knowledge, proved that he is unworthy of the selection which he courts, +that he is permitted to obtain it. Thus it is that the most able and +conscientious men in the States are almost unanimously rejected. + +M. Tocqueville says, "It is a well-authenticated fact, that at the +present day the most talented men in the United States are very rarely +placed at the head of affairs; and it must be acknowledged that such has +been the result in proportion as democracy has outstepped all its former +limits: the race of American statesmen has evidently dwindled most +remarkably in the course of the last fifty years." + +Indeed, no high-minded consistent man will now offer himself, and this +is one cause among many why Englishmen and foreigners have not done real +justice to the people of the United States. The scum is uppermost, and +they do not see below it. The prudent, the enlightened, the wise, and +the good, have all retired into the shade, preferring to pass a life of +quiet retirement, rather than submit to the insolence and dictation of a +mob. + +M. Tocqueville says, "Whilst the natural propensities of democracy +induce the people to reject the most distinguished citizens as its +rulers, these individuals are no less apt to retire from a political +career, in which it is almost impossible to retain their independence, +or to advance without degrading themselves." + +Again, "At the present day the most affluent classes of society are so +entirely removed from the direction of political affairs in the United +States, that wealth, far from conferring a right to the exercise of +power, is rather an obstacle than a means of attaining to it. The +wealthy members of the community abandon the lists, through +unwillingness to contend, and frequently to contend in vain, against the +poorest classes of their fellow-citizens. They concentrate all their +enjoyments in the privacy of their homes, where they occupy a rank which +cannot be assumed in public, and they constitute a private society in +the State which has its own tastes and its own pleasures. They submit +to this state of things as an irremediable evil, but they are careful +not to shew that they are galled by its continuance. It is even not +uncommon to hear them laud the delights of a republican government, and +the advantages of democratic institutions, when they are in public. +Next to hating their enemies, men are most inclined to flatter them. +But beneath this artificial enthusiasm, and these obsequious attentions +to the preponderating power, it is easy to perceive that the wealthy +members of the community entertain a hearty distaste to the democratic +institutions of their country. The populace is at once the object of +their scorn and of their fears. If the maladministration of the +democracy ever brings about a revolutionary crisis, and if monarchial +constitutions ever become practicable in the United States, the truth of +what I advance will become obvious." + +It appears, then, that the more respectable portion of its citizens have +retired, leaving the arena open to those who are least worthy: that the +majority dictate, and scarcely any one ventures to oppose them; if any +one does, he is immediately sacrificed; the press, obdient to its +masters, pours out its virulence, and it is incredible how rapidly a +man, unless he be of a superior mind, falls into nothingness in the +United States, when once he has dared to oppose the popular will. He is +morally bemired, bespattered, and trod under foot, until he remains a +lifeless carcase. He falls, never to rise again, unhonoured and +unremembered. + +Captain Hamilton, speaking to one of the federalist, or aristocratical +party, received the following reply. I have received similar ones in +more than fifty instances. "My opinions, and I believe those of the +party to which I belonged, are unchanged; and the course of events in +this country has been such as to impress only a deeper and more thorough +conviction of their wisdom; but, in the present state of public feeling, +we _dare not_ express them. An individual professing such opinions +would not only find himself excluded from every office of public trust +within the scope of his reasonable ambition, but he would be regarded by +his neighbours and fellow-citizens with an evil eye. His words and +actions would become the objects of jealous and malignant scrutiny, and +he would have to sustain the unceasing attacks of a host of unscrupulous +and ferocious assailants." + +Mr Cooper says, "The besetting, the _degrading vice_ of America is the +moral cowardice by which men are led to truckle to what is called public +opinion, though nine times in ten these are mere engines set in motion +by opinions the most corrupt and least respectable portion of the +community, for the most unworthy purposes. The English are a more +respectable and constant [unconstant?] nation than the Americans, as +relates to this peculiarity." + +To be popular with the majority in America, to be a favourite with the +people, you must first divest yourself of all freedom of opinion; you +must throw off all dignity; you must shake hands and drink with every +man you meet; you must be, in fact, slovenly and dirty in your +appearance, or you will be put down as an aristocrat. I recollect once +an American candidate asked me if I would walk out with him? I agreed; +but he requested leave to change his coat, which was a decent one, for +one very shabby; "for," says he, "I intend to look in upon some of my +constituents, and if they ever saw me in that other coat, I should lose +my election." This cannot but remind the reader of the custom of +candidates in former democracies--standing up in the market-place as +suppliants in tattered garments, to solicit the "voices" of the people. + +That the morals of the nation have retrograded from the total +destruction of the aristocracy, both in the government and in society, +which has taken place within the last ten years, is most certain. + +The power has fallen into the hands of the lower orders, the offices +under government have been chiefly filled up by their favourites, either +being poor and needy men from their own class, or base and dishonest +men, who have sacrificed their principles and consciences for place. I +shall enter more fully into this subject hereafter; it is quite +sufficient at present to say, that during Mr Adams' presidency, a Mr +Benjamin Walker was a defaulter to the amount of 18,000 dollars, and was +in consequence incarcerated for two years. Since the democratic party +have come into power, the quantity of defaulters, and the sums which +have been embezzled of government money, are enormous, and no punishment +of any kind has been attempted. They say it is only a breach of trust, +and that a breach of trust is not punishable, except by a civil action; +which certainly in the United States is of little avail, as the payment +of the money can always be evaded. The consequence is that you meet +with defaulters in, I will not say the very best society generally, but +in the very best society of some portions of the United States. I have +myself sat down to a dinner party to which I had been invited, with a +defaulter to government on each side of me. I knew one that was setting +up for Congress, and, strange to say, his delinquency was not considered +by the people as an objection. An American author [Voice from America] +states, "On the 17th June, 1838, the United States treasurer reported to +Congress _sixty-three_ defaulters; the total sums embezzled amounting to +one million, twenty thousand and odd dollars." + +The tyranny of the majority has completely destroyed the moral courage +of the American people, and without moral courage what chance is there +of any fixed standard of morality? + +M. Tocqueville observes, "Democratic republics extend the practice of +currying favour with the many, and they introduce it into a greater +number of classes at once: this is one of the most serious reproaches +that can be addressed to them. In democratic States organised on the +principles of the American republics this is more especially the case, +where the authority of the majority is so absolute and irresistible, +that a man must give up his rights as a citizen, and almost abjure his +quality as a human being, if he intends to stray from the track which it +lays down. + +"In that immense crowd which throngs the avenues to power in the United +States, I found very few men who displayed any of that manly candour, +and that masculine independence of opinion, which frequently +distinguished the Americans in former times, and which constitutes the +leading feature in distinguished characters wheresoever they may be +found. It seems, at first sight, as if all the minds of the Americans +were formed upon one model, so accurately do they correspond in their +manner of judging. A stranger does, indeed, sometimes meet with +Americans who dissent from these rigorous formularies; with men who +deplore the defects of the laws; the mutability and the ignorance of +democracy; who even go so far as to observe the evil tendencies which +impair the national character, and to point out such remedies as it +might be possible to apply; but no one is there to hear these things +beside yourself, and you, to whom these secret reflections are confided, +are a stranger and a bird of passage. They are very ready to +communicate truths which are useless to you, but they continue to hold a +different language in public." See note 2. + +There are a few exceptions--Clay and Webster are men of such power as to +be able, to a certain degree, to hold their independence. Dr Channing +has proved himself an honour to his country and to the world. Mr +Cooper has also great merit in this point and no man has certainly shewn +more moral courage, let his case be good or not, than Garrison, the +leader of the abolition party. + +But with these few and remarkable exceptions, moral courage is almost +prostrate in the United States. The most decided specimen I met with to +the contrary was at Cincinnati, when a large portion of the principal +inhabitants ventured to express their opinion, contrary to the will of +the majority, in my defence, and boldly proclaimed their opinions by +inviting me to a public dinner. I told them my opinion of their +behaviour, and I gave them my thanks. I repeat my opinion and my thanks +now; they had much to contend with, but they resisted boldly; and not +only from that remarkable instance of daring to oppose public opinion +when all others quailed, but from many other circumstances, I have an +idea that Cincinnati will one day take an important lead, as much from +the spirit and courage of her citizens, as from her peculiarly fortunate +position. I had a striking instance to the contrary at St Louis, when +they paraded me in effigy through the streets. Certain young +Bostonians, who would have been glad enough to have seized my hand when +in the Eastern States, before I had happened to affront the majority, +kept aloof, or shuffled away, so as not to be obliged to recognise me. +Such have been the demoralising effects of the tyranny of public opinion +in the short space of fifty years, and I will now wind up this chapter +by submitting to the reader extracts from the two French authors, one of +whom describes America in 1782, and the other in 1835. + +AMERICA IN 1782. + +"Je vais, disais-je, mettre a la voile aujour-d'hui; je m'eloigne avec +un regret infini d'un pays ou l'on est, sans obstacle et sans +inconvenient, ce qu'on devrait etre partout, sincere et libre."--"On y +pense, on y dit, on y fait ce qu'on veut. Rien ne vous oblige d'y etre +ni faux, ni bas, ni flatteur. Personne ne se choque de la singularite +de vos manieres ni de vos gouts."--_Memoires ou Souvenirs de Monsieur de +Segur_, volume I, page 409. + +AMERICA IN 1835. + +"L'Amerique est donc un pays de liberte, ou pour ne blesser personne, on +ne doit parler librement, ni des gouvernans, ni des gouvernes, ni des +eutreprises publiques, ni des entreprises privees; de rien, enfin, de ce +qu'on y rencontre si non peut-etre du climat et du sol; encore +trouve-t-on des Americains prets a defendre l'un et l'autre, comme s'ils +avaient concouru a les former."--_Monsieur de Tocqueville sur la +Democratie aux Etats Unis de l'Amerique_, volume II, page 118. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 1. A striking instance of the excesses which may be occasioned by +the despotism of the majority, occurred at Baltimore in 1812. At that +time the war was very popular in Baltimore. A journal, which had taken +the other side of the question, excited the indignation of the +inhabitants by its opposition. The populace assembled, broke the +printing-presses, and attacked the houses of the newspaper editors. The +militia was called out, but no one obeyed the call, and the only means +of saving the poor wretches, who were threatened by the frenzy of the +mob, were to throw them into prison as common malefactors. But even +this precaution was ineffectual; the mob collected again during the +night, the magistrates again made a vain attempt to call out the +militia, the prison was forced, one of the newspaper editors was killed +upon the spot, and the others were left for dead when the guilty parties +were brought to trial, they were _acquitted_ by the jury. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 2. Mr Carey in his introduction says, "_Freedom_ of _discussion_ +is highly promotive of the power of protection. The _free expressions +of opinion_ in relation to matters of public interest is indispensable +to security." + +He denies that we have it in England, and would prove that this exists +in America: and how? + +1st. By the permission of every man to be of any religion he pleases!! + +2nd. By the _freedom_ of the press in the United States!! + + + +VOLUME TWO, CHAPTER THREE. + +PATRIOTISM. + +This is a word of very doubtful meaning; and until we have the power to +analyse the secret springs of action, it is impossible to say who is or +who is not a patriot. The Chartist, the White Boy, may really be +patriots in their hearts, although they are attempting revolution, and +are looked upon as the enemies of good order. Joseph Hume _may_ be a +patriot, so may O'Connell, so may --; but never mind; I consider that if +in most cases, in all countries the word egotism were substituted it +would be more correct, and particularly so in America. + +M. Tocqueville says, "The inhabitants of the United States talk a great +deal of their attachment to their country; but I confess that I do not +rely upon that calculating patriotism which is founded upon interest, +and which a change in the interests at stake may obliterate." + +The fact is, that the American is aware that what affects the general +prosperity must affect the individual, and he therefore is anxious for +the general prosperity; he also considers that he assists to legislate +for the country, and is therefore equally interested in such legislature +being prosperous; if, therefore, you attack his country, you attack him +personally--you wound his vanity and self-love. + +In America it is not our rulers who have done wrong or right; it is we +(or rather I) who have done wrong or right, and the consequence is, that +the American is _rather_ irritable on the subject, as every attack is +taken as personal. It is quite ridiculous to observe how some of the +very best of the Americans are tickled when you praise their country and +institutions; how they will wince at any qualification in your praise, +and actually writhe under any positive disparagement. They _will_ put +questions, even if they anticipate an unfavourable answer; they cannot +help it. What is the reason of this? Simply their better sense +wrestling with the errors of education and long-cherished fallacies. +They feel that their institutions do not work as they would wish; that +the theory is not borne out by the practice, and they want support +against their own convictions. They cannot bear to eradicate +deep-rooted prejudices, which have been from their earliest days a +source of pride and vain-glory; and to acknowledge that what they have +considered as most perfect, what they have boasted of as a _lesson_ to +other nations, what they have suffered so much to uphold, in +surrendering their liberty of speech, of action, and of opinion, has +after all proved to be a miserable failure, and instead of a lesson to +other nations--a warning. + +Yet such are the doubts, the misgivings which fluctuate in, and irritate +the minds of a very large proportion of the Americans; and such is the +decided conviction of a portion who retire into obscurity and are +silent; and every year adds to the number of both these parties. They +remind one of a husband who, having married for love, and supposed his +wife to be perfection, gradually finds out that she is full of faults, +and renders him anything but happy; but his pride will not allow him to +acknowledge that he has committed an error in his choice, and he +continues before the world to descant upon her virtues, and to conceal +her errors, while he feels that his home is miserable. + +It is because it is more egotistical that the patriotism of the American +is more easily roused and more easily affronted. He has been educated +to despise all other countries, and to look upon his own as the first in +the world; he has been taught that all other nations are slaves to +despots, and that the American citizen only is free, and this is never +contradicted. For although thousands may in their own hearts feel the +falsehood of their assertions, there is not one who will venture to +express his opinion. The government sets the example, the press follows +it, and the people receive the incense of flattery, which in other +countries is offered to the court alone; and if it were not for the +occasional compunctions and doubts, which his real good sense will +sometimes visit him with, the more enlightened American would be as +happy in his own delusions, as the majority most certainly may be said +to be. + +M. Tocqueville says, "For the last fifty years no pains have been +spared to convince the inhabitants of the United States that they +constitute the only religious, enlightened, and free people. They +perceive that, for the present, their own democratic institutions +succeed, while those of other countries fall; hence they conceive an +overweening opinion of their superiority, and they are not very remote +from believing themselves to belong to a distinct race of mankind." + +There are, however, other causes which assist this delusion on the part +of the majority of the Americans; the principal of which is the want of +comparison. The Americans are too far removed from the Old Continent, +and are too much occupied even if they were not, to have time to visit +it, and make the comparison between the settled countries and their own. +America is so vast, that if they travel in it, their ideas of their own +importance become magnified. The only comparisons they are able to make +are only as to the quantity of square acres in each country, which, of +course, is vastly in their favour. + +Mr Sanderson, the American, in his clever Sketches of Paris, observes, +"It is certainly of much value in the life of an American gentleman to +visit these old countries, if it were only to form a just estimate of +his own, which he is continually liable to mistake, and always to +overrate without objects of comparison; `_nimium se aestimet necesse +est, qui se nemini comparat_.' He will always think himself wise who +sees nobody wiser; and to know the customs and institutions of foreign +countries, which one cannot know well without residing there, is +certainly the complement of a good education." + +After all, is there not a happiness in this delusion on the part of the +American majority, and is not the feeling of admiration of their own +country borrowed from ourselves? The feeling may be more strong with +the Americans, because it is more egotistical; but it certainly is the +_English_ feeling transplanted, and growing in a ranker soil. We may +accuse the Americans of conceit, of wilful blindness, of obstinacy; but +there is after all a great good in being contented with yourself and +yours. The English shew it differently; but the English are not so +good-tempered as the Americans. They grumble at everything; they know +the faults of their institutions, but at the same time they will allow +of no interference. Grumbling is a luxury so great, that an Englishman +will permit it only to himself. The Englishman grumbles at his +government, under which he enjoys more rational liberty than the +individual of any other nation in the world. The American, ruled by the +despotism of the majority, and without liberty of opinion or speech, +praises his institutions to the skies. The Englishman grumbles at his +climate, which, if we were to judge from the vigour and perfection of +the inhabitants, is, notwithstanding its humidity, one of the best in +the world. The American vaunts his above all others, and even thinks it +necessary to apologise for a bad day, although the climate, from its +sudden extremes, withers up beauty, and destroys the nervous system. In +everything connected with, and relating to, America, the American has +the same feeling. Calculating, wholly matter-of-fact and utilitarian in +his ideas, without a poetic sense of his own, he is annoyed if a +stranger does not express that rapture at their rivers, waterfalls, and +woodland scenery, which he himself does not feel. As far as America is +concerned, everything is for the best in this best of all possible +countries. It is laughable, yet praiseworthy, to observe how the whole +nation will stoop down to fan the slightest spark which is elicited of +native genius--like the London citizen, who is enraptured with his own +stunted cucumbers, which he has raised at ten times the expense which +would have purchased fine ones in the market. It were almost a pity +that the American should be awakened from his dream, if it were not that +the arrogance and conceit arising from it may eventually plunge him into +difficulty. + +But let us be fair; America is the country of enthusiasm and hope, and +we must not be too severe upon what from a virgin soil has, sprung up +too luxuriantly. It is but the English _amor patriae_ carried to too +great an excess. The Americans are great boasters; but are we far +behind them? One of our most popular songs runs as follows:-- + + "We ne'er see our foes, but we wish them to stay; + They never see us, but they wish us away." + +What can be more bragging, or more untrue, than the words of these +lines? In the same way in England the common people hold it as a +proverb, that, "one Englishman can beat three Frenchmen," but there are +not many Englishmen who would succeed in the attempt. Nor is it +altogether wrong to encourage these feelings; although arrogance is a +fault in an individual, in a national point of view, it often becomes +the incentive to great actions, and, if not excessive, insures the +success inspired by confidence. As by giving people credit for a virtue +which they have not, you very often produce that virtue in them, I think +it not unwise to implant this feeling in the hearts of the lower +classes, who if they firmly believe that they can beat three Frenchmen, +will at all events attempt to do it. That too great success is +dangerous, and that the feeling of arrogance produced by it may lead us +into the error of despising our enemy, we ourselves showed an example of +in our first contest with America during the last war. In that point +America and England have now changed positions, and from false +education, want of comparison, and unexpected success in their struggle +with us, they are now much more arrogant than we were when most flushed +with victory. They are blind to their own faults and to the merits of +others, and while they are so it is clear that they will offend +strangers, and never improve themselves. I have often laughed at the +false estimate held by the majority in America as to England. One told +me, with a patronising air, that, "in a short time, England would only +be known as having been the mother of America." + +"When you go into our interior, Captain," said a New York gentleman to +me, "you will see plants, such as rhododendrons, magnolias, and hundreds +of others, such as they have no conception of in your own country." + +One of Jim Crow's verses in America is a fair copy from us-- + + "Englishman he beat + Two French or Portugee; + Yankee-doodle come down, + Whip them all three." + +But an excellent specimen of the effect of American education was given +the other day in this country, by an American lad of fourteen or fifteen +years old. He was at a dinner party, and after dinner the conversation +turned upon the merits of the Duke of Wellington. After hearing the +just encomiums for some time with fidgetty impatience, the lad rose from +his chair, "You talk about your Duke of Wellington, what do you say to +Washington; do you pretend to compare Wellington to Washington? Now, +I'll just tell you, if Washington could be standing here now, and the +Duke of Wellington was only to look him in the face, why, Sir, +Wellington would drop down dead in an instant." This I was told by the +gentleman at whose table it occurred. + +Even when they can use their eyes, they will not. I overheard a +conversation on the deck of a steam-boat between a man who had just +arrived from England and another. "Have they much trade at Liverpool?" +inquired the latter. "Yes, they've some." "And at London?" "Not much +there, I reckon. New York, Sir, is the emporium of the whole world." + +This national vanity is fed in every possible way. At one of the +museums, I asked the subject of a picture representing a naval +engagement; the man (supposing I was an American, I presume) replied, +"That ship there," pointing to one twice as big as the other, "is the +Macedonian English frigate, and that other frigate," pointing to the +small one, "is the Constitution American frigate, which captured her in +less than five minutes." Indeed, so great has this feeling become from +indulgence, that they will not allow anything to stand in its way, and +will sacrifice anybody or anything to support it. It was not until I +arrived in the United States that I was informed by several people that +Captain Lawrence, who commanded the Chesapeake, was drunk when he went +into action. Speaking of the action, one man shook his head, and said, +"Pity poor Lawrence had his failing; he was otherwise a good officer." +I was often told the same thing, and a greater libel was never uttered; +but thus was a gallant officer's character sacrificed to sooth the +national vanity. I hardly need observe, that the American naval +officers are as much disgusted with the assertion as I was myself. That +Lawrence fought under disadvantages--that many of his ship's company, +hastily collected together from leave, were not sober, and that there +was a want of organisation from just coming out of harbour,--is true, +and quite sufficient to account for his defeat; but I have the evidence +of those who walked with him down to his boat, that he was perfectly +sober, cool, and collected, as he always had proved himself to be. But +there is no gratitude in a democracy, and to be unfortunate is to be +guilty. + +There is a great deal of patriotism of one sort or the other in the +American women. I recollect once, when conversing with a highly +cultivated and beautiful American woman, I inquired if she knew a lady +who had been some time in England, and who was a great favourite of +mine. She replied, "Yes." "Don't you like her?" "To confess the +truth, I do not," replied she; "she is _too English_ for me." "That is +to say, she likes England and the English." "That is what I mean." I +replied, that, "had she been in England, she would probably have become +_too English_ also; for, with her cultivated and elegant ideas, she must +naturally have been pleased with the refinement, luxury, and established +grades in society, which it had taken eight hundred years to produce." +"If that is to be the case, I hope I may never go to England." + +Now, this was _true_ patriotism, and there is much true patriotism among +the higher classes of the American women; with them there is no alloy of +egotism. + +Indeed, all the women in America are very _patriotic_; but I do not give +them all the same credit. In the first place, they are controlled by +public opinion as much as the men are; and without assumed patriotism +they would have no chance of getting husbands. As you descend in the +scale, so are they the more noisy; and, I imagine, for that very reason +the less sincere. + +Among what may be termed the middling classes, I have been very much +amused with the compound of vanity and ignorance which I have met with. +Among this class they can read and write; but almost all their knowledge +is confined to their own country, especially in geography, which I soon +discovered. It was hard to beat them on American ground, but as soon as +you got them off that they were defeated. I wish the reader to +understand particularly, that I am not speaking now of the well-bred +Americans, but of that portion which would with us be considered as on a +par with the middle class of shop-keepers; for I had a very extensive +acquaintance. My amusement was, to make some comparison between the two +countries, which I knew would immediately bring on the conflict I +desired; and not without danger, for I sometimes expected, in the ardour +of their patriotism, to meet with the fate of Orpheus. + +I soon found that the more I granted, the more they demanded; and that +the best way was never to grant any thing. I was once in a room full of +the softer sex, chiefly girls, of all ages; when the mamma of a portion +of them, who was sitting on the sofa, as we mentioned steam, said, "Well +now, Captain, you will allow that we are a-head of you there." + +"No," replied I, "quite the contrary. Our steam-boats go all over the +world--your's are afraid to leave the rivers." + +"Well now, Captain, I suppose you'll allow America is a bit bigger +country than England?" + +"It's rather broader--but, if I recollect right, it's not quite so +long." + +"Why, Captain!" + +"Well, only look at the map." + +"Why, isn't the Mississippi a bigger river than you have in England?" + +"Bigger? Pooh! haven't we got the Thames?" + +"The Thames? why that's no river at all." + +"Isn't it? Just look at the map, and measure them." + +"Well, now, Captain, I tell you what, you call your Britain, the +Mistress of the seas, yet we whipped you well, and you know that." + +"Oh! yes--you refer to the Shannon and Chesapeake, don't you?" + +"No! not that time, because Lawrence was drunk, they say; but didn't we +_whip_ you well at New Orleans?" + +"No, you didn't." + +"No? oh, Captain!" + +"I say you did not.--If your people had come out from behind their +cotton bales and sugar casks, we'd have knocked you all into a cocked +hat; but they wouldn't come out, so we walked away in disgust." + +"Now, Captain, that's romancing--that won't do." Here the little ones +joined in the cry, "We did beat you, and you know it." And, hauling me +into the centre of the room, they joined hands in a circle, and danced +round me, singing: + + "Yankee doodle is a tune, + Which is nation handy. + All the British ran away + At Yankee doodle dandy." + +I shall conclude by stating that this feeling, call it patriotism, or +what you please, is so strongly implanted in the bosom of the American +by education and association, that wherever, or whenever, the national +honour or character is called into question, there is no sacrifice which +they will not make to keep up appearances. It is this which induces +them to acquit murderers, to hush up suicides, or any other offence +which may reflect upon their asserted morality. I would put no +confidence even in an official document from the government, for I have +already ascertained how they will invariably be twisted, so as to give +no offence to the majority; and the base adulation of the government to +the people is such, that it dare not tell them the truth, or publish any +thing which might wound its self-esteem. + +I shall conclude with two extracts from a work of Mr Cooper, the +American:-- + +"We are almost entirely wanting in national pride, though abundantly +supplied with an _irritable vanity_, which might rise to pride had we +greater confidence in our facts." + +"We have the sensitiveness of provincials, increased by the +consciousness of having our spurs to earn on all matters of glory and +renown, and _our jealousy extends even to the reputations of the cats +and dogs_." + + + +VOLUME TWO, CHAPTER FOUR. + +ENGLAND AND THE UNITED STATES. + +Captain Hamilton has, in his work, expressed his opinion that the +Americans have no feeling of ill-will against this country. If Captain +Hamilton had stated that the _gentlemen_ and more respectable portion of +the Americans, such as the New York merchants, etcetera, had no feeling +against this country, and were most anxious to keep on good terms with +us, he would have been much more correct. You will find all the +respectable portion of the daily press using their best endeavours to +reconcile any animosities, and there is nothing which an American +gentleman is more eloquent upon, when he falls in with an Englishman, +than in trying to convince him that there is no hostile feeling against +this country. [See note 1.] I had not been a week at New York before I +had this assurance given me at least twenty times, and I felt inclined +at first to believe it: but I soon discovered that this feeling was only +confined to a small minority, and that the feelings towards England of +the majority, or democratic party, were of _deep irreconcilable hatred_. +I am sorry to assert this; but it is better be known, that we may not +be misled by any pretended good-will on the part of the government, or +the partial good-will of a few enlightened individuals. Even those who +have a feeling of regard and admiration for our country do not venture +to make it known, and it would place them in so very unpleasant a +situation, that they can scarcely be blamed for keeping their opinions +to themselves. With the English they express it warmly, and I believe +them to be sincere; but not being openly avowed by a few, it is not +communicated or spread by kindling similar warmth in the hearts of +others. Indeed it is not surprising, when we consider the national +character, that there should be an ill feeling towards England; it would +be much more strange if the feeling did not exist. That the Americans +should, after their struggle for independence, have felt irritated +against the mother country, is natural; they had been oppressed--they +had successfully resented the oppression, and emancipated themselves. +But still the feeling at that time was different from the one which at +present exists. Then it might be compared to the feeling in the heart +of a younger son of an ancient house, who had been compelled by harsh +treatment to disunite from the head of the family, and provide for +himself--still proud of his origin, yet resentful at the remembrance of +injury--at times vindictive, at others full of tenderness and respect. +The aristocratical and the democratical impulses by turns gaining the +ascendant it was then a manly, fine feeling. The war of 1814, the most +fatal event in the short American history, would not have been attended +with any increase of ill-will, as the Americans were satisfied with +their successful repulse of our attempts to invade the country, and +their unexpected good fortune in their naval conflicts. They felt that +they had consideration and respect in the eyes of other nations, and, +what was to them still gratifying, the respect of England herself. In +every point they were fortunate, for a peace was concluded upon +honourable terms just as they were beginning to feel the bitter +consequences of the war. But the effect of this war was to imbue the +people with a strong idea of their military prowess, and the national +glory became their favourite theme. Their hero, General was raised to +the presidency by the democratical party, and ever since the Americans +have been ready to bully or quarrel with anybody and about everything. + +This feeling becomes stronger every day. They want to _whip_ the whole +world. The wise and prudent perceive the folly of this, and try all +they can to produce a better feeling; but the majority are now +irresistible, and their fiat will decide upon war or peace. The +government is powerless in opposition to it; all it can do is to give a +legal appearance to any act of violence. + +This idea of their own prowess will be one cause of danger to their +institutions, for war must ever be fatal to democracy. In this country, +during peace, we became more and more democratic; but whenever we are +again forced into war, the reins will be again tightened from necessity, +and thus war must ever interfere with free institutions. A convincing +proof of the idea the Americans have of their own prowess was when +General Jackson made the claim for compensation from the French. +Through the intermediation of England the claim was adjusted, and peace +preserved; and the Americans are little aware what a debt of gratitude +they owe to this country for its interference. They were totally +ignorant of the power and resources of France. They had an idea, and I +was told so fifty times, that France paid the money from _fear_, and +that if she had not, they would have "_whipped_ her into the little end +of nothing." + +I do not doubt that the Americans would have tried their best; but I am +of opinion, (not withstanding the Americans would have been partially, +from their acknowledged bravery, successful) that in two years France, +with her means, which are well known to, and appreciated by, the +English, would (to use their own terms again,) have made "an everlasting +smash" of the United States, and the Americans would have had to +conclude an ignominious peace. I am aware that this idea will be +scouted in America as absurd; but still I am well persuaded that any +protracted war would not only be their ruin in a pecuniary point of +view, but fatal to their institutions. But to return. + +There are many reasons why the Americans have an inveterate dislike to +this country. In the first place, they are educated to dislike us and +our monarchical institutions; their short history points out to them +that we have been their only oppressor in the first instance, and their +opponent ever since. Their annual celebration of the independence is an +opportunity for vituperation of this country which is never lost sight +of. Their national vanity is hurt by feeling what they would fain +believe, that they are not the "greatest nation on earth;" that they are +indebted to us, and the credit we give them, for their prosperity and +rapid advance; that they must still look to us for their literature and +the fine arts, and that, in short, they are still dependent upon +England. I have before observed, that this hostile spirit against us is +fanned by discontented emigrants, and by those authors who, to become +popular with the majority, laud their own country and defame England; +but the great cause of this increase of hostility against us is the +democratical party having come into power, and who consider it necessary +to excite animosity against this country. When ever it is requisite to +throw a tub to the whale, the press is immediately full of abuse; +everything is attributed to England, and the machinations of England; +she is, by their accounts, here, there, and everywhere, plotting +mischief and injury, from the Gulf of Florida to the Rocky Mountains. +If we are to believe the democratic press, England is the cause of +everything offensive to the majority--if money is scarce, it is England +that has occasioned it--if credit is bad, it is England--if eggs are not +fresh or beef is tough, it is, it must be, England. They remind you of +the parody upon Fitzgerald in Smith's humorous and witty `Rejected +Addresses,' when he is supposed to write against Buonaparte: + + Who made the quartern loaf and Luddites rise, + Who fills the butchers' shops with large blue flies + With a foul earthquake ravaged the Carraccas, + And raised the price of dry goods and tobaccos? + +Why, England. And all this the majority do steadfastly believe, because +they wish to believe it. + +How, then, is it possible that the lower classes in the United States, +(and the lower and unenlightened principally compose the majority,) can +have other than feelings of ill-will towards this country? and of what +avail is it to us that the high-minded and sensible portion think +otherwise, when they are in such a trifling minority, and afraid to +express their sentiments? When we talk about a nation, we look to the +mass, and that the mass are hostile, and inveterately hostile to this +country, is a most undeniable fact. + +There is another cause of hostility which I have not adverted to, the +remarks upon them by travellers in their country, such as I am now +making; but as the Americans never hear the truth from their own +countrymen, it is only from foreigners [see note 2] that they can. Of +course, after having been accustomed to flattery from their earliest +days, the truth, when it does come, falls more heavily, and the injury +and insult which they consider they have received is never forgotten. + +Among the American authors who have increased the ill-will of his +countrymen towards this country, Mr Cooper stands pre-eminent. Mr +Bulwer has observed that the character and opinions of an author may be +pretty fairly estimated by his writings. This is true, but they may be +much better estimated by one species of writing than by another. In +works of invention or imagination, it is but now and then, by an +incidental remark, that we can obtain a clue to the author's feelings. +Carried away by the interest of the story, and the vivid scene presented +to the imagination, we are apt to form a better opinion of the author +than he deserves, because we feel kindly and grateful towards him for +the amusement which he has afforded us; but when a writer puts off the +holiday dress of fiction, and appears before us in his every day +costume, giving us his thoughts and feelings upon matters of fact, then +it is that we can appreciate the real character of the author. Mr +Cooper's character is not to be gained by reading his `Pilot,' but it +may be fairly estimated by reading his `Travels in Switzerland,' and his +remarks upon England. If, then, we are to judge of Mr Cooper by the +above works, I have no hesitation in asserting that he appears to be a +disappointed democrat, with a determined hostility to England and the +English. This hostility on the part of Mr Cooper cannot proceed from +any want of attention shewn him in this country, or want of +acknowledgment of his merits as an author. It must be sought for +elsewhere. The attacks upon the English in a work professed to be +written upon Switzerland, prove how rancorous this feeling is on his +part; and not all the works published by English travellers upon America +have added so much to the hostile feeling against us, as Mr Cooper has +done by his writings alone. Mr Cooper would appear to wish to detach +his countrymen, not only from us, but from the whole European Continent. +He tells them in his work on Switzerland, that they are not liked or +esteemed any where, and that to acknowledge yourself an American is +quite sufficient to make those recoil who were intending to advance. +Mr Cooper is, in my opinion, very much mistaken in this point;--the +people of the Continent do not as yet know enough of the Americans to +decide upon their national character. He observes very truly, that no +one appears to think any thing about the twelve millions; why so? +because in Switzerland, Germany, and other nations in the heart of the +Continent, they have no interest about a nation so widely separated from +them, and from intercourse with which they receive neither profit nor +loss. Neither do they think about the millions in South America, and +not caring or hearing about them they can have formed no ideas of their +character as a nation. If, then, the Americans are shunned (which I do +not believe they are, for they are generally supposed to be a variety of +Englishmen), it must be from the conduct of those individuals of the +American nation who have travelled there, and not because, as Mr Cooper +would imply, they have a democratic form of government. Have not the +Swiss something similar, and are they shunned? Who cares what may be +the form of government of a country divided from them by three or four +thousand miles of water, and of whom they have only read? Every nation, +as well as every individual, makes its own character; but Mr Cooper +would prove that the dislike shewn to the Americans abroad is owing to +the slander of them by the English, and he points out that in the books +containing the names of travellers, he no less than twenty-five times +observed offensive remarks written beneath the names of those who +acknowledged themselves Americans. These books were at different +places, places to which all tourists in Switzerland naturally repair. +Did it never occur to Mr Cooper that one young fool of an Englishman, +during his tour, might have been the author of all these obnoxious +remarks, and is the folly of one insignificant individual to be gravely +commented upon in a widely disseminated work, so as to occasion or +increase the national ill-will? Surely there is little wisdom and much +captiousness in this feeling. + +How blinded by his ill-will must Mr Cooper be, to enter into a long +discussion in the work I refer to, to prove that England deserves the +title, among other national characteristics, of a _blackguarding +nation_! founding his assertion upon the language of our daily press. +If the English, judged by the _press_, are a blackguarding nation, what +are the Americans, if they are to be judged by the same standard? we +must be indebted to the Americans themselves for an epithet. To wind +up, he more than once pronounced the English to be _parvenus_. There is +an old proverb which says, "A man whose house is built of glass should +not be the first to throw stones;" and that these last two charges +should be brought against us by an American, is certainly somewhat +singular and unfortunate. + +That there should be a hostile feeling when English men go over to +America to compete with them in business or in any profession, is +natural; it would be the same everywhere; this feeling, however, in the +United States is usually shewn by an attack upon the character of the +party, so as to influence the public against him. There was an American +practising phrenology, when a phrenologist arrived from England. As +this opposition was not agreeable, the American immediately circulated a +report that the English phrenologist had asserted that he had examined +the skulls of many Americans, and that he had never fallen in with such +_thick-headed fellows_ in his life. This was quite sufficient--the +English operator was obliged to _clear out_ as fast as he could, and try +his fortune elsewhere. + +The two following placards were given me; they were pasted all over the +city. What the offence was I never heard, but they are very amusing +documents. It is the first time, I believe, that public singers were +described as _aristocrats_, and Englishmen of the first _stamp_. + +"Americans:-- + +"It remains with you to say whether or not you will be imposed upon by +these base aristocrats, who come from England to America, in order to +gain a livelihood, and despise the land that gives them bread. + +"Some few years since there came to this country three `gentlemen +players,' who were received with open arms by the Americans, and treated +more as brothers than strangers; when their pockets were full, in +requital to our best endeavours to raise them to their merit, the +ungrateful dogs turned round and abused us. It is useless, at present, +to give the names of two of those _gentlemen_, as they are not now +candidates for public favour; but there is one, Mr Hodges, who is at +present engaged at the Pavilion Theatre. This _thing_ has said publicly +that the Americans were all `a parcel of ignoramuses,' and that `the +yankee players' were `perfect fools, not possessing the least particle +of talent,' etcetera. We must be brief--should we repeat all we have +heard it would fill a page of the News. + +"Will the Americans be abused in this way without retaliation? We are +always willing to bestow that respect which is due to strangers; but +when our kindness is treated with contempt, and in return receive base +epithets and abuse, let us `block the game.' + +"Once for all--will you permit this thing in pantaloons and whiskers, +this brainless, un-ideaed _cub_, whom a thousand years will not suffice +to lick into a bear, longer to impose upon your good-natures? If so, we +shall conclude you have lost all of that spirit so characteristic of +true born Americans. + +"A word to Mr (?) Hodges.--When these meet your eye, a _dignified +contempt_ will most opportunely swell your breast--such is ever the case +with the _coward_! In affected scorn, you will seek a shelter from the +danger you _dare_ not brave, but we warn you that one day must overtake +you. + +"Several Americans." + +"AMERICANS ATTEND! + +"Americans:--If there is a spark of that spirit in your blood with which +your forefathers bequeathed you, I hope you will shew it when men come +among us from a foreign shore to get a living, and while here to speak +in terms towards our country and ourselves, derogatory to the feelings +of an American to listen to. These men that I speak of are Mr Hodges +and Mr Corri, Englishmen of the _first stamp_, who declare that the +Yankees, (as we are all termed, and proud of the name I dare say,) `are +a parcel of ignoramuses--cannibals--don't know how to appreciate +talent'--they possess very little I am certain. However, the thing +stands thus: they have slandered our country, they have slandered _us_; +and if they are permitted to play upon the boards of the _Eagle +Theatre_, I shall conclude that we have lost all that spunk so +characteristic in a True Born American." + +There certainly is no good feeling in the _majority_ towards England, +and this is continually shewn in a variety of instances, particularly if +there is any excitement from distress or other causes. At the time that +the great commercial distress took place, the abuse of England was +beyond all bounds; and in a public meeting of democrats at Philadelphia, +the first resolution passed was, "that they did not owe England one +farthing," and this is the general outcry of the lower orders when any +thing was wrong. I have often argued with them on this subject, and +never could convince them. This country has now _fifty-five millions +sterling_ invested in American securities, which is a large sum, and the +_majority_ consider that a war will spunge out this debt. Their +argument which they constantly urged against me, has more soundness in +it than would be supposed:--"If you declare war with us, what is the +first thing you do, you seize all American vessels and all American +property that you can lay hold of, which have entered into your ports on +the faith of peace between the two countries. Now, why have we not an +equal right to seize all English property whenever we can find it in +this country?" But this, as I have observed, is the language of the +democrats and locofocos. There are thousands of honourable men in +America, not only as merchants, but in every other class, who are most +anxious to keep on good terms with us, and have the kindest feelings +towards England. Unfortunately they are but few compared to the +majority, and much as they may regret the hostile feelings towards us, I +am afraid that it is wholly out of their power to prevent their +increase, which will be in exact proportion with the increase of the +popular sway. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 1. Soon after I arrived at New York, the naval officers very +kindly sent me a diploma xxx member of their Lyceum, over at Brooklyn. +I went over to visit the Lyceum, and, among the portraits in the most +conspicuous part of the room was that of William the Fourth, with the +"Sailor King" written underneath it in large capitals. As for the +present Queen, her health has been repeatedly drank in my presence; +indeed her accession to our throne appeared to have put a large portion +of the Americans in good humour with monarchy. Up to the present she +has been quite a pet of theirs, and they are continually asking +questions concerning her. The fact is, that the Americans shew such +outward deference to the other sex, that I do not think they would have +any objection themselves to be governed by it; and if ever a monarchy +were attempted in the United States, the first reigning sovereign ought +to be a _very pretty woman_. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 2. A proof that the feeling against England is increasing, is the +singular fact that latterly they insist upon calling the English +_foreigners_, a term which they formerly applied to all other nations, +but not to _ourselves_. + + + +VOLUME TWO, CHAPTER FIVE. + +SOCIETY.--GENERAL CHARACTER, ETCETERA. + +The character of the Americans is that of a restless, uneasy people-- +they cannot sit still, they cannot listen attentively, unless the theme +be politics or dollars--they must do something, and, like children, if +they cannot do anything else, they will do mischief--their curiosity is +unbounded, and they are very capricious. Acting upon impulse, they are +very generous at one moment, and without a spark of charity the next. +They are good-tempered, and possess great energy, ingenuity, bravery, +and presence of mind. Such is the estimate I have formed of their +general character, independent of the demoralising effects of their +institutions, which renders it so anomalous. + +The American author, Mr Sanderson, very truly observes of his +countrymen, that, "they have grown vicious without the refinements and +distractions of the fine arts and liberal amusements." The Americans +have few amusements; they are too busy. Athletic sports they are +indifferent to; they look only to those entertainments which feed their +passion for excitement. The theatre is almost their only resort, and +even that is not so well attended as it might be, considering their +means. There are some very good and well-conducted theatres in America: +the best are the Park and National at New York, the Tremont at Boston, +and the Chesnut Street Theatre at Philadelphia. The American _stock_ +actors, as they term those who are not considered as _stars_, are better +than our own; but were the theatres to depend upon stock actors they +would be deserted--the love of novelty is the chief inducement of the +Americans to frequent the theatre, and they look for importations of +star actors from this country as regularly as they do for our +manufactured goods, or the fashions from Paris. In most of the large +cities they have two theatres; one for legitimate drama, and the other +for melodrama, as the Bowery Theatre at New York, and the Walnut Street +Theatre in Philadelphia; these latter are seldom visited by the +aristocratical portion of the citizens. + +The National Theatre at New York was originally built as an opera house, +and the company procured from the Havannah; but the opera, from want of +support, was a failure. It has since been taken by Mr James Wallack, +in opposition to the Park Theatre. The two first seasons its success +was indifferent; the Park having the advantage in situation, as well as +of a long-standing reputation. But, latterly, from the well-known +talent and superior management of Mr Wallack, and from his unwearied +exertions in providing novelties for the American public, it has been +very successful; so much so, that it is said this last year to have +decidedly obtained the superiority over its rival. I have seen some +splendid representations in the National Theatre, with a propriety in +scenery and costume which is seldom exceeded even in our great theatres. + +Indeed, in three seasons, Mr Wallack has done much to improve the +national taste; and from his exertions, the theatres in general in +America may be said to have been much benefited. But there is one +objection to this rivalry between the Park and National; which is, that +the _stars_ go out too fast, and they will soon be all expended. +Formerly things went on very regularly: Mr Price sent out to Mr +Simpson, duly invoiced, a certain portion of talent for every season; +and Mr Simpson, who is a very clever manager, first worked it up at New +York, and then dispatched it to Boston, Philadelphia, and the other +theatres in the Union. But, now, if Mr Simpson has two stars sent to +him, James Wallack comes home, and takes out three; whereupon, Mr Price +sends out a bigger star; and so they go on; working up the stars so +fast, that the supply will never equal the demand. There are not more +than two or three actors of eminence in England, who have not already +made their appearance on the American boards; and next season will +probably use them up. It is true, that some actors can return there +again and again; as Power, who is most deservedly a favourite with them, +and Ellen Tree, who is equally so. Celeste has realised a large +fortune. Mrs Wood, and the Keeleys, were also very great favourites; +but there are not many actors who can venture there a second time; at +least, not until a certain interval has elapsed for the Americans to +forget them. When there are no longer any stars, the theatres will not +be so well attended; as, indeed, is the case every where. To prove how +fond the Americans are of anything that excites them, I will mention a +representation which I one day went to see--that of the "Infernal +Regions." There were two or three of these shewn in the different +cities in the States. I saw the remnants of another, myself; but, as +the museum-keeper very appropriately observed to me, "It was a fine +thing once, but now it had all gone to hell." You entered a dark room; +where, railed off with iron railings, you beheld a long perspective of +caverns in the interior of the earth, and a molten lake in the distance. +In the foreground were the most horrible monsters that could be +invented--bears with men's heads, growling--snakes darting in and out, +hissing--here a man lying murdered, with a knife in his heart; there--a +suicide, hanging by the neck--skeletons lying about in all directions, +and some walking up and down in muslin shrouds. The machinery was very +perfect. At one side was the figure of a man sitting down, with a +horrible face; boar's tusks protruding from his mouth, his eyes rolling, +and horns on his head; I thought it was mechanism as well as the rest; +and was not a little surprised when it addressed me in a hollow voice: +"We've been waiting some time for you, captain." As I found he had a +tongue, I entered into conversation with him. The representation wound +up with showers of fire, rattling of bones, thunder, screams, and a +regular cascade of the d---d, pouring into the molten lake. When it was +first shewn, they had an electric battery communicating with the iron +railing; and whoever put his hand on it, or went too near, received a +smart electric shock. But the alarm created by this addition was found +to be attended with serious consequences, and it had been discontinued. + +The love of excitement must of course produce a love of gambling, which +may be considered as one of the American amusements: it is, however, +carried on very quietly in the cities. In the South, and on the +Mississippi, it is as open as the noon day; and the gamblers may be said +to have there become a professional people. I have already mentioned +them, and the attempts which have been made to get rid of them. Indeed, +they are not only gamesters who practice on the unwary, but they combine +with gambling the professions of forgery, and uttering of base money. +If they lose, they only lose forged notes. There is no part of the +world where forgery is carried on to such an extent as it is in the +United States; chiefly in the Western country. The American banks are +particularly careful to guard against this evil, but the ingenuity of +these miscreants is surprising, and they will imitate so closely as +almost to escape detection at the banks themselves. Bank-note engraving +is certainly carried to the highest state of perfection in the United +States, but almost in vain. I have myself read a notice, posted up at +Boston, which may appear strange to us. "Bank notes made here to any +pattern." But the Eastern banks are seldom forged upon. Counterfeit +money is also very plentiful. When I was in the West, I had occasion to +pay a few dollars to a friend: when I saw him a day or two afterwards, +he said to me, "Do you know that three dollars you gave me were +counterfeits?" I apologised, and offered to replace them, "Oh! no," +replied he; "it's of no consequence. I gave them in payment to my +people, who told me that they _were_ counterfeit; but they said it was +of no consequence, as they could easily pass them." In some of the +States lotteries have been abolished, in others they are still +permitted. They are upon the French principle, and are very popular. + +There is one very remarkable point in the American character, which is, +that they constantly change their professions. I know not whether it +proceeds simply from their love of change, or from their embracing +professions at so early a period, that they have not discovered the line +in which from natural talents they are best calculated to succeed. I +have heard it said, that it is seldom that an American succeeds in the +profession which he had first taken up at the commencement of his +career. An American will set up as a lawyer; quit, and go to sea for a +year or two; come back, set up in another profession; get tired again, +go as clerk or steward in a steam-boat, merely because he wishes to +travel; then apply himself to something else, and begin to amass money. +It is of very little consequence what he does, the American is really a +jack of all trades, and master of any to which he feels at last inclined +to apply himself. + +In Mrs Butler's clever journal there is one remark which really +surprised me. She says, "The absolute absence of imagination is of +course the absolute absence of humour. An American can no more +understand a fanciful jest than a poetical idea; and in society and +conversation the _strictest matter of fact_ prevails," etcetera. + +If there was nothing but "_matter of fact_" in society and conversation +in America or elsewhere, I imagine that there would not be many words +used: but I refer to the passage, because she says that the Americans +are not imaginative; whereas, I think that there is not a more +imaginative people existing. It is true that they prefer broad humour, +and delight in the hyperbole, but this is to be expected in a young +nation; especially as their education is, generally speaking, not of a +kind to make them sensible to very refined wit, which, I acknowledge, is +thrown away upon the majority. What is termed the under current of +humour, as delicate raillery, for instance, is certainly not understood. +When they read Sam Slick, they did not perceive that the author was +laughing at them; and the letters of Major Jack Downing are much more +appreciated in this country than they are in America. But as for saying +that they are not imaginative, is a great error, and I have no doubt +that Mrs B has discovered it by this time. + +Miss Martineau says, and very truly, "The Americans appear to me an +eminently imaginative people." Indeed, it is only necessary to read the +newspapers to be convinced it is the case. The hyperbole is their +principal forte, but what is lying but imagination? and why do you find +that a child of promising talent is so prone to lying? because it is the +first effort of a strong imagination. Wit requires refinement, which +the Americans have not; but they have excessive humour, although it is +generally speaking coarse. + +An American, talking of an ugly woman with a very large mouth, said to +me, "Why, sir, when she yawns, you can see right down to her garters;" +and another, speaking of his being very sea-sick, declared, "That he +threw every thing up, down to his knee-pans." + +If there required any proof of the dishonest feeling so prevalent in the +United States arising from the desire of gain, it would be in the fact, +that almost every good story which you hear of an American is an +instance of great ingenuity, and very little principle. So many have +been told already, that I hesitate to illustrate my observation, from +fear of being accused of uttering stale jokes. Nevertheless I will +venture upon one or two. + +"An American (Down East, of course), when his father died, found his +patrimony to consist of several hundred dozen of boxes of ointment for +the cure of a certain complaint, said (by us) to be more common in the +North than in England. He made up his pack, and took a round of nearly +a hundred miles, going from town to town and from village to village, +offering his remedy for sale. But unfortunately for him no one was +afflicted with the complaint, and they would not purchase on the chance +of any future occasion for it. He returned back to his inn, and having +reflected a little, he went out, inquired where he could find the +disease, and having succeeded, inoculated himself with it. When he was +convinced that he had it with sufficient virulence, he again set forth +making the same round; and taking advantage of the American custom which +is so prevalent, he shook hands with everybody whom he had spoken to on +his former visit, declaring he was `'tarnal glad to see them again.' +Thus he went on till his circuit was completed, when he repaired to the +first town again, and found that his ointment, as he expected, was now +in great request; and he continued his route as before, selling every +box that he possessed." + +There is a story of a Yankee clock-maker's ingenuity, that I have not +seen in print. He also "made a circuit, having a hundred clocks when he +started; they were all very bad, which he well knew; but by `soft sawder +and human natur,' as Sam Slick says, he contrived to sell ninety-nine of +them, and reserve the last for his intended `_ruse_.' He went to the +house where he had sold the first clock, and said, `Well, now, how does +your clock go? very well, I guess.' The answer was as he anticipated, +`No, very bad.' `Indeed! Well, now, I've found it out at last. You +see, I had one clock which was I know a bad one, and I said to my boy, +"you'll put that clock aside, for it won't do to sell such an article." +Well, the boy didn't mind, and left the clock with the others; and I +found out afterwards that it had been sold somewhere. Mighty mad I was, +I can tell you, for I'm not a little particular about my credit; so I +have asked here and there, everywhere almost, how my clocks went, and +they all said that "they actually regulated the sun." But I was +determined to find out who had the bad clock, and I am most particular +glad that I have done it at last. Now, you see I have but one clock +left, a very superior article, worth a matter of ten dollars more than +the others, and I must give it you in change, and I'll only charge you +five dollars difference, as you have been annoyed with the bad article.' +The man who had the bad clock thought it better to pay five dollars +more to have a good one; so the exchange was made, and then the Yankee, +proceeding with the clock, returned to the next house. `Well, now, how +does your clock go? very well, I guess.' The same answer--the same +story repeated--and another five dollars received in exchange. And thus +did he go round, exchanging clock for clock, until he had received an +extra five dollars for every one which he had sold." + +Logic.--"A Yankee went into the bar of an inn in a country town: `Pray +what's the price of a pint of shrub?' `Half a dollar,' was the reply of +the man at the bar. `Well, then, give it me.' The shrub was poured +out, when the bell rang for dinner. `Is that your dinner-bell?' `Yes.' +`What may you charge for dinner?' `Half a dollar.' `Well, then, I +think I had better not take the shrub, but have some dinner instead.' +This was consented to. The Yankee went in, sat down to his dinner, and +when it was over, was going out of the door without paying. `Massa,' +said the negro waiter, `you not paid for your dinner.' `I know that; I +took the dinner instead of the shrub.' `But, massa, you not pay for the +shrub.' `Well, I did not have the shrub, did I, you nigger?' said the +Yankee, walking away. The negro scratched his head; he knew that +something was wrong, as he had got no money; but he could not make it +out till the Yankee was out of sight." + +I do not think that _democracy_ is marked upon the features of the lower +classes in the United States; there is no arrogant bearing in them, as +might be supposed from the despotism of the majority; on the contrary, I +should say that their lower classes are much more civil than our own. I +had a _slap_ of equality on my first landing at New York. I had hired a +truck-man to take up my luggage from the wharf; I went a-head, and +missed him when I came to the corner of the street where I had engaged +apartments, and was looking round for him in one direction, when I was +saluted with a slap on the shoulder, which was certainly given with +good-will. I turned, and beheld my carman, who had taken the liberty to +draw my attention in this forcible manner. He was a man of few words; +he pointed to his truck where it stood with the baggage, and then went +on. + +This civil bearing is peculiar, as when they are excited by politics, or +other causes, they are most insolent and overbearing. In his usual +demeanour, the citizen born is quiet and obliging. The insolence you +meet with is chiefly from the emigrant classes. I have before observed, +that the Americans are a good-tempered people; and to this good temper I +ascribe their civil bearing. But why are they good-tempered? It +appears to me to be one of the few virtues springing from democracy. +When the grades of society are distinct, as they are in the older +institutions, when difference of rank is acknowledged and submitted to +without murmur, it is evident that if people are obliged to control +their tempers in presence of their superiors or equals, they can also +yield to them with their inferiors; and it is this yielding to our +tempers which enables them to master us. But under institutions where +all are equal, where no one admits the superiority of another, even if +he really be so, where the man with the spade in his hand will beard the +millionaire, and where you are compelled to submit to the caprice and +insolence of a domestic, or lose his services, it is evident that every +man must from boyhood have learnt to control his temper, as no +ebullition will be submitted to, or unfollowed by its consequences. I +consider that it is this habitual control, forced upon the Americans by +the nature of their institutions, which occasions them to be so +good-tempered, when not in a state of excitement. The Americans are in +one point, as a mob, very much like the English; make them laugh, and +they forget all their animosity immediately. + +One of the most singular points about the lower classes in America is, +that they will call themselves ladies and gentlemen, and yet refuse +their titles to their superiors. Miss Martineau mentions one +circumstance, of which I very often met with similar instances. "I once +was with a gentleman who was building a large house; he went to see how +the men were getting on; but they had all disappeared but one. `Where +are the people?' inquired he. `The _gentlemen_ be all gone to +_liquor_,' was the reply." + +I bought one of the small newspapers just as I was setting off in a +steam-boat from New York to Albany. The boy had no change, and went to +fetch it. He did not come back himself, but another party made his +appearance. "Are you the _man_ who bought the newspaper?" "Yes," +replied I. "The _young gentleman_ who sold it to you has sent me to pay +you four cents." + +A gentleman was travelling with his wife, they had stopped at an inn, +and during the gentleman's momentary absence the lady was taken ill. +The lady wishing for her husband, a man very good-naturedly went to find +him, and when he had succeeded he addressed him, "I say, Mister, your +_woman_ wants you; but I telled the _young lady of the house_ to fetch +her a glass of water." + +There was no insolence intended in this; it is a peculiarity to be +accounted for by their love of title and distinction. + +It is singular to observe human nature peeping out in the Americans, and +how tacitly they acknowledge by their conduct how uncomfortable a +feeling there is in perfect equality. The respect they pay to a title +is much greater than that which is paid to it in England; and naturally +so; we set a higher value upon that which we cannot obtain. I have been +often amused at the variance on this point between their words and their +feelings, which is shewn in their eagerness for rank of some sort among +themselves. Every man who has served in the militia carries his title +until the day of his death. There is no end to generals, and colonels, +and judges; they keep taverns and grog shops, especially in the Western +State; indeed, there are very few who have not brevet rank of some kind; +and I being only a captain, was looked upon as a very small personage, +as far as rank went. An Englishman, who was living in the State of New +York, had sent to have the chimney of his house raised. The morning +afterwards he saw a labourer mixing mortar before the door. "Well," +said the Englishman, "when is the chimney to be finished?" "I'm sure I +don't know, you had better ask the colonel." "The colonel? What +colonel?" "Why, I reckon that's the colonel upon the top of the house, +working away at the chimney." + +After all, this fondness for rank, even in a democracy, is very natural, +and the Americans have a precedent for it. His Satanic Majesty was the +first democrat in heaven, but as soon as he was dismissed to his abode +below, if Milton be correct, he assumed his title. + + + +VOLUME TWO, CHAPTER SIX. + +ARISTOCRACY. + +If the Americans should imagine that I have any pleasure in writing the +contents of this chapter they will be mistaken; I have considered well +the duty of and pondered over it. I would not libel an individual, much +less a whole nation; but I must speak the truth, and upon due +examination, and calling to my mind all that I have collected from +observation and otherwise, I consider that at this present time the +standard of morality is lower in America than in any other portion of +the civilised globe. I say at this present time, for it was not so even +twenty years ago, and possibly may not be so twenty years hence. There +is a change constantly going on in every thing below, and I believe, for +many reasons, that a change for the better will soon take place in +America. There are even now many thousands of virtuous, honourable, and +enlightened people in the United States, but at present virtue is +passive, while vice is active. + +The Americans possess courage, presence of mind, perseverance, and +energy, but these may be considered rather as endowments than as +virtues. They are propelling powers which will advance them as a +people, and, were they regulated and tempered by religious and moral +feeling, would make them great and good, but without these adjuncts they +can only become great and vicious. + +I have observed in my preface that the virtues and vices of a nation are +to be traced to the form of government, the climate, and circumstances, +and it will be easy to shew that to the above may be ascribed much of +the merit as well as the demerits of the people of the United States. + +In the first place, I consider the example set by the government as most +injurious: as I shall hereafter prove, it is insatiable in its ambition, +regardless of its faith, and corrupt to the highest degree. This +example I consider as the first cause of the demoralisation of the +Americans. The errors incident to the voluntary system of religion are +the second: the power of the clergy is destroyed, and the tyranny of the +laity has produced the effect of the outward form having been +substituted for the real feeling, and hypocrisy has been but too often +substituted for religion. + +To the evil of bad example from the government is superadded the natural +tendency of a democratic form of government, to excite ambition without +having the power to gratify it morally or virtuously; and the debasing +influence of the pursuit of gain is everywhere apparent. It shews +itself in the fact that money is in America everything, and everything +else nothing; it is the only sure possession, for character can at any +time be taken from you, and therefore becomes less valuable than in +other countries, except so far as mercantile transactions are concerned. +Mr Cooper says--not once, but many times--that in America all the +local affections, indeed everything, is sacrificed to the spirit of +gain. Dr Charming constantly laments it, and he very truly asserts, "A +people that deems the possession of riches its highest source of +distinction, admits one of the most degrading of all influences to +preside over its opinions. At no time should money be ever ranked as +more than a means, and he who lives as if the acquisition of property +were the sole end of his existence, betrays the dominion of the most +sordid, base, and grovelling motive that life offers;" and ascribing it +to the institutions, he says, "In one respect our institutions have +_disappointed us all_: they have not wrought out for us that elevation +of character which is the most precious, and, in truth, the only +substantial blessing of liberty." + +I have before observed, that whatever society permits, men will do and +not consider to be wrong, and if the government considers a breach of +trust towards it as not of any importance, and defaulters are permitted +to escape, it will of course become no crime in the eyes of the +majority. Mr Cooper observes, "An evident _dishonesty_ of sentiment +pervades the _public_ itself, which is beginning to regard acts of +private delinquency with a dangerous indifference; acts too that are +inseparably connected with the character, security, and right +administration of the state." + +Such is unfortunately the case at present; it may be said to have +commenced with the Jackson dynasty, and it is but a few years since this +dreadful demoralisation has become so apparent and so shamelessly +avowed. In another work the American author above quoted observes,--"We +see the effects of this baneful influence in the openness and audacity +with which men avow improper motives and improper acts, trusting to find +support in a popular feeling, for while vicious influences are perhaps +more admitted in other countries than in America, in none are they so +openly avowed." Surely there is sufficient of American authority to +satisfy any reader that I am not guilty of exaggeration in my remarks. +Nor am I the only traveller who has observed upon what is indeed most +evident and palpable. Captain Hamilton says, "I have heard conduct +praised in conversation at a public table, which, in England, would be +attended, if not with a voyage to Botany Bay, at least with total loss +of character. It is impossible to pass an hour in the bar of the hotel, +without struck with the tone of callous selfishness which pervades the +conversation, and the absence of all pretension to pure and lofty +principle." + +It may indeed be fairly said, that nothing is disgraceful with the +majority in America, which the law cannot lay hold of. [See Note 1.] +You are either in or out of the Penitentiary: if once in, you are lost +for ever, but keep out and you are as good as your neighbour. Now one +thing is certain, that where honesty is absolutely necessary, honesty is +to be found, as for example among the New York merchants, who are, as a +body, highly honourable men. When, therefore, the Americans will have +moral courage sufficient to drive away vice, and not allow virtue to be +in bondage, as she at present is, the morals of society will be +instantly restored--and how and when will this be effected? I have said +that the people of time United States, at the time of the Declaration of +Independence, were perhaps the most moral people existing, and I now +assert that they are the least so; to what cause can this change be +ascribed? Certainly not wholly to the spirit of gain, for it exists +every where, although perhaps nowhere so strongly developed as it is +under a form of government which admits of no other claim to +superiority. I consider that it arises from the total extinction, or if +not extinction absolute bondage, of the aristocracy of the country, both +politically as well as socially. There was an aristocracy at the time +of the Independence--not an aristocracy of title, but a much superior +one; an aristocracy of great, powerful, and leading men, who were looked +up to and imitated; there was, politically speaking, an aristocracy in +the senate which was elected by those who were then independent of the +popular will; but although a portion of it remains, it may be said to +have been almost altogether smothered, and in society it no longer +exists. It is the want of this aristocracy that has so lowered the +standard of morals in America, and it is the revival of it that must +restore to the people of the United States the morality they have lost. +The loss of the aristocracy has sunk the Republic into a democracy--the +renewal of it will again restore them to their former condition. Let +not the Americans start at this idea. An aristocracy is not only not +incompatible, but absolutely necessary for the duration of a democratic +form of government. It is the third estate, so necessary to preserve +the balance of power between the executive and the people, and which has +unfortunately disappeared. An aristocracy is as necessary for the +morals as for the government of a nation. Society must have a head to +lead it, and without that head there will be no fixed standard of +morality, and things must remain in the chaotic state in which they are +at present. + +Some author has described the English nation as resembling their own +beer-froth at the top, dregs at the bottom, and in the middle excellent. +There is point in this observation, and it has been received without +criticism, and quoted without contradiction: but it is in itself false; +it may be said that the facts are directly the reverse, there being more +morality among the lower class than in the middling, and still more in +the higher than in the lower. We have been designated as a nation of +shopkeepers, a term certainly more applicable to the Americans, where +all are engaged in commerce and the pursuit of gain, and who have no +distinctions or hereditary titles. Trade demoralises; there are so many +petty arts and frauds necessary to be resorted to by every class in +trade, to enable them to compete with each other; so many lies told, as +a matter of business, to tempt a purchaser, that almost insensibly and +by degrees the shopkeeper becomes dishonest. These demoralising +practices must be resorted to, even by those who would fain avoid them, +or they have no chance of competing with their rivals in business. It +is not the honest tradesman who makes a rapid fortune; indeed, it is +doubtful whether he could carry on his business; and yet, from assuetude +and not being taxed with dishonesty, the shopkeeper scarcely ever feels +that he is dishonest. Now, this is the worst state of demoralisation, +where you are blind to your errors and conscience is never awakened, and +in this state may be considered, with few exceptions, every class of +traders, whether in England, America, or elsewhere. + +Among the lower classes, the morals of the manufacturing districts, and +of the frequenters of cities, will naturally be at a low ebb, for men +when closely packed demoralise each other; but if we examine the +agricultural classes, which are by far the most numerous, we shall find +that there is much virtue and goodness in the humble cottage; we shall +there find piety and resignation, honesty, industry, and content, more +universal than would be imagined, and the Bible pored over, instead of +the day-book or ledger. + +But it is by the higher classes of the English nation, by the nobility +and gentry of England, that the high tone of virtue and morality is +upheld. Foreigners, especially Americans, are too continually pointing +out, and with evident satisfaction, the scandal arising from the conduct +of some few individuals in these classes as a proof of the conduct of +the whole; but they mistake the exceptions for the rule. If they were +to pay attention, they would perceive that these accusations are only +confined to some few out of a class comprehending many many thousands in +our wealthy isle, and that the very circumstance of their rank being no +shield against the attacks made upon them, is a proof that they are +exceptions, whose conduct is universally held up to public ridicule or +indignation. A _crim. con_. in English high life is exulted over by the +Americans; they point to it, and exclaim, "See what your aristocracy +are!" forgetting that the crime is committed by one out of thousands, +and that it meets with the disgrace which it deserves, and that this +crime is, to a certain degree, encouraged by our laws relative to +divorce. Do the Americans imagine that there is no _crim. con_. +perpetrated in the United States? many instances of suspicion, and some +of actual discovery, came to my knowledge even during my short residence +there, but they were invariably, and perhaps judiciously, hushed up, for +the sake of the families and the national credit. I do not wish, nor +would it be possible, to draw any parallel between the two nations on +this point; I shall only observe that in England we have not considered +the vice to have become so prevalent as to think it necessary to form +societies for the prevention of it, as they have done in the United +States. + +It has been acknowledged by other nations, and I believe it to be true, +that the nobility and gentry of England are the most moral, most +religious, and most honourable classes that can be found not only in our +country, but in any other country in the world, and such they certainly +ought from _circumstances_ to be. + +Possessed of competence, they have no incentives to behave dishonestly. +They are well-educated, the finest race of men and women that can be +produced, and the men are brought up to athletic and healthy amusements. +They have to support the honour of an ancient family, and to hand down +the name untarnished to their posterity. They have every inducement to +noble deeds, and are, generally speaking, above the necessities which +induce men to go wrong. If the Americans would assert that luxury +produces vice, I can only say that luxury infers idleness and +inactivity, and on this point the women of the aristocracy in this +country have the advantage over the American women, who cannot, from the +peculiarity of the climate, take time exercise so universally resorted +to by our higher classes. I admit that some go wrong, but is error +confined to the nobility alone; are there no spendthrifts, no dissolute +young men, or ill brought up young women, among other classes? Are +there none in America? Moreover, there are some descriptions of vice +which are meaner than others and more debasing to the mind, and it is +among the middling and lower classes that these vices are principally to +be found. + +The higher classes invariably take the lead, and give the tone to +society. If the court be moral, so are the morals of the nation +improved by example, as in the time of George the Third. If the court +be dissolute, as in the time of Charles the Second, the nation will +plunge into vice. Now, in America there is no one to take the lead; +morals, like religion, are the concern of nobody, and therefore it is +that the standard of morality is so low. I have heard it argued that +allowing one party to have a very low standard of morality and to act up +to that standard, and another to have a high standard of morality and +not to act up to it, that the former is the really moral man, as he does +act up to his principles such as they are. This may hold good when we +examine into the virtues and vices of nations: that the American Indian +who acts up to his own code and belief, both in morality and religion, +may be more worthy than a Christian who neglects his duty, may be true; +but the question now is upon the respective morality of two enlightened +nations, both Christian and having the Bible as their guide--between +those who have neither of them any pretence to lower the standard of +morality, as they both know better. M. Tocqueville observes, speaking +of the difference between aristocratical and democratical +governments--"In aristocratic governments the individuals who are placed +at the head of affairs are rich men, who are solely desirous of power. +In democracies statesmen are poor, and they have their fortunes to make. +The consequence is, that in aristocratic States the rulers are rarely +accessible to corruption, and have very little craving for money; whilst +the reverse is the case in democratic nations." + +This is true, and may be fairly applied to the American democracy: as +long as you will not allow the good and enlightened to rule, you will be +governed by those who will flatter and cheat you, and demoralise +society. When you allow _your_ aristocracy to take the reins, you will +be better governed, and your morals will improve by example. What is +the situation of America at present? the aristocracy of the country are +either in retirement or have migrated, and if the power of the majority +should continue as it now does its despotic rule, you will have still +farther emigration. At present there are many hundreds of Americans who +have retired to the Old Continent, that they may receive that return for +their wealth which they cannot in their own country; and if not +flattered, they are at least not insulted and degraded. + +Mr Sanderson, in his "Sketches from Paris," says--"The American society +at Paris, taken altogether, is of a good composition. It consists of +several hundred persons, of families of fortune, and young men of +liberal instruction. Here are lords of cotton from Carolina, and of +sugar-cane from the Mississippi, _millionaires_ from all the Canadas, +and pursers from all the navies; and their social qualities, from a +sense of mutual dependence or partnership in absence, or some such +causes, are more active abroad than at home. + +"They form a little republic apart, and when a stranger arrives he finds +himself at home; he finds himself also under the censorial inspection of +a public opinion, a salutary restraint not always the luck of those who +travel into foreign countries. One thing only is to be blamed: it +becomes every day more the fashion for the _elite_ of our cities to +settle themselves here _permanently_. We cannot but deplore this +exportation of the precious metals, since our country is drained of what +the supply is not too abundant. They who have resided here a few years, +having fortune and leisure, do not choose, as I perceive, to reside +anywhere else." + +This is the fact; and as the wealth of America increases every day, so +will those who possess it swarm off as fast as they can to other +countries, if there is not a change in the present society, and a return +to something like order and rank. Who would remain in a country where +there is no freedom of thought or action, and where you cannot even +spend your money as you please? Mr Butler the other day built a house +at Philadelphia with a _porte-cochere_, and the consequence was that +they called him an aristocrat, and would not vote for him. In short, +will enlightened and refined people live to be dictated to by a savage +and ignorant majority, who will neither allow your character nor your +domestic privacy to be safe! + +The Americans, in their fear of their institutions giving way, and their +careful guard against any encroachments upon the liberty of the people, +have fallen into the error of sacrificing the most virtuous portion of +the community, and driving a large portion of them out of the country. +This will eventually be found to be a serious evil; absenteeism will +daily increase, and will be as sorely felt as it is in Ireland at the +present hour. The Americans used to tell me with exultation, that they +never could have an Aristocracy in their country, from the law of entail +having been abolished. They often asserted, and with some truth, that +in that country property never accumulated beyond two generations, and +that the grandson of a _millionaire_ was _invariably_ a pauper. This +they ascribe to the working of their institutions, and argue that it +will always be impossible for any family to be raised above the mass by +a descent of property. Now the very circumstance of this having been +invariably the case, induces me to look for the real cause of it, as +there is none to be found in their institutions why all the grandsons of +_millionaires_ should be paupers. It is not owing to their +institutions, but to moral causes, which, although they have existed +until now, will not exist for ever. In the principal and wealthiest +cities in the Union, it is difficult to spend more than twelve or +fifteen thousand dollars per annum, as with such an expenditure you are +on a par with the highest, and you can be no more. What is the +consequence? a young American succeeds to fifty or sixty thousand +dollars a year, the surplus is useless to him; there is no one to vie +with--no one who can reciprocate--he must stand alone. He naturally +feels careless about what he finds to be of no use to him. Again, all +his friends and acquaintances are actively employed during the whole of +the day in their several occupations; he is a man of leisure, and must +either remain alone or associate with other men of leisure; and who are +the majority of men of leisure in the towns of the United States? +Blacklegs of genteel exterior and fashionable appearance, with whom he +associates, into whose snares he falls, and to whom he eventually loses +property about which he is indifferent. To be an idle man when every +body else is busy, is not only a great unhappiness, but a situation of +great peril. Had the sons of _millionaires_, who remained in the States +and left their children paupers, come over to the old Continent, as many +have done, they would have stood a better chance of retaining their +property. + +All I can say is, that if they cannot have an aristocracy, the worse for +them; I am not of the opinion, that they will not have one, although +they are supported by the strong authority of M. Tocqueville, who +says--"I do not think a single people can be quoted, since human society +began to exist, which has, by its own free-will and by its own +exertions, created an aristocracy within its own bosom. All the +aristocracies of the Middle Ages were founded by military conquest: the +conqueror was the noble, the vanquished became the serf. Inequality was +then imposed by force; and after it had been introduced into the manners +of the country, it maintained its own authority, and was sanctioned by +the legislation. Communities have existed which were aristocratic from +their earliest origin, owing to circumstances anterior to that event, +and which became more democratic in each succeeding age. Such was the +destiny of the Romans, and of the barbarians after them. But a people, +having taken its rise in civilisation and democracy, which should +gradually establish an inequality of conditions, until it arrived at +inviolable privileges and exclusive castes, would be a novelty in the +world and nothing intimates that America is likely to furnish so +singular an example." + +I grant that no single people has by its own free-will created an +aristocracy, but circumstances will make one in spite of the people; and +if there is no aristocracy who have power to check, a despotism may be +the evil arising from the want of it. At present America is thinly +peopled, but let them look forward to the time when the population shall +become denser; what will then be the effect? why a division between the +rich and the poor will naturally take place; and what is that but the +foundation if not the formation of an aristocracy. An American cannot +entail his estate, but he can leave the whole of it to his eldest son if +he pleases; and in a few years, the lands which have been purchased for +a trifle, will become the foundation of noble fortunes [see Note 2] but +even now their law of non-entail does not work as they would wish. + +M. Tocqueville says--"The laws of the United States are extremely +favourable to the division of property; but a cause which is more +powerful than the laws prevents property from being divided to excess. +[See Note 3.] This is very perceptible in the States which are beginning +to be thickly peopled; Massachusetts is the most populous part of the +Union, but it contains only eighty inhabitants to the square mile, which +is much less than in France, where a hundred and sixty-two are reckoned +to the same extent of country. But in Massachusetts estates are very +rarely divided; the eldest son takes the land, and the others go to seek +their fortune in the desert. The law has abolished the rights of +primogeniture, but circumstances have concurred to re-establish it under +a form of which none can complain, and by which no just rights are +impaired." + +And Chancellor Kent, in his "Treatise upon American Law," observes--"It +cannot be doubted that the division of landed estates must produce great +evils when it is carried to such excess as that each parcel of land is +insufficient to support a family but these disadvantages have never been +felt in the United States, and _many generations must elapse_ before +they can be felt. The extent of our inhabited territory, the abundance +of adjacent land, and the continual stream of emigration flowing from +the shores of the Atlantic towards the interior of the country, suffice +as yet, and will long suffice, to _prevent_ the parcelling out of +estates." + +There is, therefore, no want of preparation for an aristocracy in +America, and, although at present the rich are so much in the minority +that they cannot coalesce, such will not be the case, perhaps, in twenty +or thirty years; they have but to rally and make a stand when they +become more numerous and powerful, and they have every chance of +success. The fact is that an aristocracy is absolutely necessary for +America, both politically and morally, if the Americans wish their +institutions to hold together, for if some stop is not put to the +rapidly advancing power of the people, anarchy must be the result. I do +not mean an aristocracy of title; I mean such an aristocracy of talent +and power which wealth will give--an aristocracy which shall lead +society and purify it. How is this to be obtained in a democracy?-- +simply by purchase. In a country where the suffrage is confined to +certain classes, as in England, such purchase is not to be obtained, as +the people who have the right of suffrage are not poor enough to be +bought; but in a country like America, where the suffrage is universal, +the people will eventually sell their birth-right; and if by such means +an aristocratical government is elected, it will be able to amend the +constitution, and pass what laws it pleases. This may appear visionary, +but it has been proved already that it can be done, and if it can be +done now, how much more easily will it be accomplished when the +population has quadrupled, and the division commences between the rich +and the poor. I say it has been done already, for it was done at the +last New York election. The democratic party made sure of success: but +a large sum of money was brought into play, and the whole of the +_committees_ of the democratic party were bought over, and the Whigs +carried the day. + +The greatest security for the duration of the present institutions of +the United States is the establishment of an aristocracy. It is the +third power which was intended to act, but which has been destroyed and +is now wanting. Let the senate be aristocratical--let the congress be +partially so, and then what would be the American government of +president, senate, and congress, but _mutato nomine_, king, lords, and +commons? + +I cannot perhaps find a better opportunity than here of pointing out +what ought to be made known to the English, as it has done more harm to +the American aristocracy than may be imagined. I refer to the +carelessness and facility with which letters of introduction to this +country are given, and particularly by the American authorities. I have +drawn the character of Bennett, the editor of the Morning Herald of New +York, and there is not a respectable American but will acknowledge that +my sketch of him is correct; will it not surprise the English readers +when I inform them that this man obtained admittance to Westminster Hall +at the Coronation, and was seated among the proudest and purest of our +nobility!! Such was the fact. But it will be as well to revert back a +little to what has passed. + +During the time that England was at war with nearly the whole of Europe, +the Americans were to a great degree isolated and unknown, except as +carriers of merchandise under the neutral flag; but they were rapidly +advancing in importance and wealth. At the conclusion of the last +American war, during which, by their resolute and occasionally +successful struggles, they had drawn the eyes of Europe towards them, +and had advanced many degrees in the general estimation of their +importance as a nation, the Americans occasionally made their appearance +as travellers, both on the Continent and in England; but they found that +they were not so well received as their own ideas of their importance +induced them to imagine they were entitled to be; especially on the +Continent. + +The first great personage who shewed liberality in this respect, was +George the Fourth. Hearing that some American ladies of good family had +complained that, having no titles, no standing in society, they did not +meet with that civility to which, from descent and education, they were +entitled, he received them at Court most graciously, and those very +ladies are now classed among the peeresses of Great Britain. Still the +difficulty remained, as it was almost impossible for the aristocracy, +abroad or at home, to ascertain the justness of the claims which were +made by those of a nation who professed the equality of all classes, and +of whom many of the pretenders to be well received did not by their +appearance warrant the supposition that their claims were valid. It +being impossible to give any other rank but that of office, the American +Government hit upon a plan which was attended with very evil +consequences. They granted supernumerary attache-ships to those +Americans who wished to travel; and as, on the Old Continent, the very +circumstance of being an _attache_ to a foreign minister warranted the +respectability of the party, those who obtained this distinction were +well received, and, unfortunately, sometimes did no credit to their +appointments. The fact was that these favours were granted without +discrimination, and all who received them being put down as specimens of +American gentlemen, the character of the Americans lost ground by the +very efforts made to establish it. The true American gentlemen who +travelled (and there is no lack of them) were supposed to be English, +while the spurious were put down as samples of the gentility of the +United States. + +That the principles of equality were one great cause of the +indiscriminate distribution of those marks of distinction by the highest +quarters in the Union, and of the facility of obtaining letters of +recommendation from them there is no doubt; but the principal and still +existing causes, are the extended and domineering power of the press, +and the high state of excitement of the political parties. Those in +power are positively afraid to refuse literary men, or those who have +assisted them in their political career; they have not the moral courage +to do so, however undeserving the parties may really be. But, as is +generally the case, they really do not know the parties; it is +sufficient that the favour, considered trifling, is demanded, and it is +instantly granted. Now, as at the accession of General Jackson, and the +subsequent raising of Mr Van Buren to the presidency, the democratical, +or Loco Foco party came into power, it is to their friends and +supporters, the least respectable portion of the American community, to +whom these favours have been granted; which of course has not assisted +the claims of the Americans to respectability. An instance of this sort +occurred to me after I had been a few months in America. One of the +most gentleman-like and well-informed men in New York, requested that I +would give a letter of introduction to a friend of his who was going to +England. Taking it for granted that such a request would not be made +without the party deserving the recommendation, I immediately assented. +The party who obtained my letters (an editor of a paper, as I afterwards +discovered), on his arrival in England, considering that he was not +treated with that attention to which, in his own vain-gloriousness, he +thought himself entitled, actually sent a hostile letter to one of the +gentlemen to whom he had been introduced, and otherwise proved himself +by his conduct to be a most improper person. I was informed of this by +letters from England; and immediately went to the gentleman who had +requested the introduction from me, and stated the conduct of the party. +"I really am very sorry," said he, "but _I_ knew nothing of him." +"Knew nothing of him?" replied I. "No, indeed; but my friend Mr C, of +Philadelphia, introduced him by letter, and requested me to ask for +introductions for him." "Then you will oblige me by writing to your +friend Mr C, and ask him why he did so, as I find myself very much +compromised by this affair." He wrote to Mr C, of Philadelphia, who +replied that he was very sorry, but that really _he_ knew nothing of +him. He had been introduced to him by letter, by Mr O, and that he was +a _staunch supporter_ of their party. Now, how many grades this person +had climbed up by letters of introduction it is impossible to say, but +this is sufficient to prove that letters of introduction which are, you +may say, _demanded_, and not refused from the fear of offending a +political agent or penny-a-liner, must ever be received with due +caution; and it is equally certain, that those from the President +himself are the most easy to be obtained. + +I have entered freely into this question, as it is important that it +should be known, not only to the English, but to the Americans +themselves. A letter of introduction from a gentleman of Carolina, +Virginia, or Boston, I should be infinitely more induced to take notice +of than from the President of the United States, unless the President +stated that he was personally acquainted with the party who delivered +it; and I make this statement in _justice_ to the American gentlemen, +and not with the slightest wish to check that intercourse which will +every day increase, and, I trust, to the advantage of both nations. See +note 4. + +Indeed, now that such rapid communication has taken place between the +two countries, since the Atlantic has been traversed by steam, it +becomes more imperative that these facts should be known. Every +fortnight a hundred and sixty passengers will arrive by the Great +Western, or some other steamer. Most of them are American citizens, +armed with their letters of recommendation, and the situation of the +American minister has become one of peculiar difficulty. + +By one steam-packet alone he has had seventy-five people, or families, +with letters of introduction to him, mostly obtained by the means which +I have described; and there is not one of these parties who does not +expect as much attention as if the American minister had nothing else to +do but to be at his command. They leave their cards with him; if the +cards are not returned in two or three days, they send a letter to know +why he has not called upon them? and if the visit is returned, send a +letter to know whether the minister called _in person_, or _not_? With +a stipend from his own government, quite inadequate to the purpose, he +is expected, to the great detriment of his private fortune, to receive +and entertain all these people. I have it from the best authority, that +some of these parties have called and inquired whether the minister was +at home; being answered in the negative, they have gone into a room, +taken a chair, and declared their determination not to leave the house +until they had seen him. Most of them expect him to obtain admittance +for them into the Houses of Lords and Commons, and to present them at +Court. In some instances, when the minister has stated the necessity of +a _Court dress_, they have remonstrated, thinking it an expense wholly +unnecessary. "They were American _citizens_, and would be introduced as +such; they had nothing to do with Court dresses, and all that nonsense." +And thus, since the steam-vessels have increased the communication +between the two countries, has the American minister been in a state of +annoyance, to which it is impossible that he, or any other who may be +appointed in his place, can possibly submit. + +Let the Americans understand, that those only go to Court in this +country who have claims, as the nobility, the oldest commoners, people +in office, the army and navy, and other liberal professions. There are +thousands of families in England, by descent, fortune, and education, +very superior to those of America, who never think of going to Court, +being aware that such is not their sphere; and yet every American who +comes over here with four or five introductions in his pocket must, +forsooth, be presented. If the minister refuses, why then there is an +attack upon him in the American prints, and his name and his supposed +misdemeanors are bandied about from one end of the Union to the other. +It is hardly credible to what a state of slavery they would reduce the +American representative. One man says, "I understand I can have a Court +dress at a Jew's." "Yes, you can, I believe." "Well, now, suppose we +step down together; you may _cheapen_ it a bit for me, may be." These +facts are known to the respectable and gentleman-like Americans, who, +after the samples which have come over, and have obtained admission into +society and gone to Court, will not shew themselves, but prefer to stay +at home. + +All this is wrong, and a remedy must soon be found, as the evil +increases every day. The Americans cannot take the English Court by +storm, or force us to acknowledge their equality in this country. There +are but certain classes in this country who have any pretension to be +received at Court; and unless the Americans can prove that they are by +their situation, or descent, of a sufficient rank to qualify them to be +admitted, they must be content to be excluded, as the major portion of +our countrymen are. Even an American being a member of Congress does +not qualify him, although being a member of the Senate certainly +_should_. The members of the American Congress are not in the mass +equal by any means in respectability to the members of the English House +of Commons; and there have been many members of the English House of +Commons, since the passing of the Reform Bill, who could not, and +cannot, gain admittance into society. + +If the harmony and good feeling between the two countries is to continue +uninterrupted, and our intercourse to be extended, as there is every +probability that it will be, it appears to me that there is more +importance to be attached to this question than at the first view of it +might be supposed. The Americans are more ambitious of birth and +aristocracy than any other nation, which is very natural, if it were +only from the simple fact that we always most desire what is out of our +reach. Since the Americans have come over in such numbers to this +country, our Herald's Office has actually been _besieged_ by them, in +their anxiety to take out the arms and achievements of their presumed +forefathers; this is also very natural and very proper, although it may +be at variance with their institutions. The determination to have an +aristocracy in America gains head every day: a conflict must ensue, when +the increase of wealth in the country adds sufficiently to the strength +of the party. But some line must be drawn in this country, as to the +admission of Americans to the English Court, or, if not drawn, it will +end in a total, and therefore unjust exclusion. As but few of the +Americans can claim any right to aristocracy in their own country from +acknowledged descent, I should not be surprised if in a few years, now +that the two countries are becoming so intimately connected, a reception +at the English Court of this country be considered as an establishment +of their claim. If so, it will be a curious anomaly in the history of a +republic, that, fifty years after it was established, the republicans +should apply to the mother country whose institutions they had abjured, +to obtain from her a patent of superiority, so as to raise themselves +above that hated equality which, by their own institutions, they +profess. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 1. English Capital Invested.--It is but _fair_ to give the English +who have invested their money in American securities, some idea of what +their chance of receiving their principal or receiving their interest +may be. As _long_ as it depends upon the faith of those who have +contracted the debt, their money is safe, but as soon as the power is +taken out of their hands, and vested in the majority, they may consider +their money as gone. I will explain this--at present the English have +vested their capital in canals, railroads, and other public +improvements. The returns of these undertakings are at present +honourably employed in paying interest to the lenders of the capital, +and if the returns are not sufficient, more money is borrowed to meet +the demands of the creditor; but there is a certain point at which +credit fails, and at which no more money can be borrowed; if then no +more money can be borrowed, and the returns of their railroads, canals, +and other securities fail off, where is the deficiency to be made good? +In this country it would be made good by a tax being imposed upon the +population to meet the deficiency, and support the credit of the nation. +Here is the question:--will the majority in America consent to be +taxed? I say, No--if they do, I shall be surprised, and be most happy +to recant, but it is my opinion that they will not, and if so the +English capital will be lost; and if the reader will call to mind what I +have pointed out as to the probable effect of the power of America +working to the westward, and the direct importation which in a few years +must take place, he will see that there is every prospect of a rapid +decrease in the value of all their securities, and that the only +ultimate chance of their recovering the money is by this country +compelling payment of it by the Federal Government. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 2. "At the time of the first settlement of the English in +Virginia, when land was to be had for little or nothing, some provident +persons having obtained large grants of it, and being desirous of +maintaining the splendour of their families, entailed their property +upon their descendants. The transmission of these estates from +generation to generation, to men who bore the same name, had the effect +of raising up a distinct class of families, who, possessing by law the +privilege of perpetuating their wealth, formed by these means a sort of +patrician order, distinguished by the grandeur and luxury of their +establishments. From this order it was that the king usually chose his +councillors of state. + +"In the United States, the principal clauses of the English law +respecting descent have been universally rejected. The first rule that +we follow, says Mr Kent, touching inheritance, is the following:--If a +man dies intestate, his property goes to his heirs in a direct line. If +he has but one heir or heiress, he or she succeeds to the whole. If +there are several heirs of the same degree, they divide the inheritance +equally amongst them, without distinction of sex. + +"This rule was prescribed for the first time in the State of New York by +a statute of the 23rd of February, 1786. (_See Revised Statutes_, +volume III, _Appendix_, page 48.) It has since then been adopted in the +revised statutes of the same State. At the present day this law holds +good throughout the whole of the United States, with the exception of +the State of Vermont, where the male heir inherits a double portion: +Kent's Commentaries, volume IV, page 370. Mr Kent, in the same work, +volume IV, pages 1-22, gives an historical account of American +legislation on the subject of entail; by this we learn that previous to +the revolution the colonies followed the English law of entail. Estates +tail were abolished in Virginia in 1776, on a motion of Mr Jefferson. +They were suppressed in New York in 1786; and have since been abolished +in North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and Missouri. In +Vermont, Indiana, Illinois, South Carolina, and Louisiana, entail was +never introduced. Those States which thought proper to preserve the +English law of entail, modified it in such a way as to deprive it of its +most aristocratic tendencies. `Our general principles on the subject of +government,' says Mr Kent, `tend to favour the free circulation of +property.' + +"It cannot fail to strike the French reader who studies the law of +inheritance, that on these questions the French legislation is +infinitely more democratic even than the American. + +"The American law makes an equal division of the father's property, but +only in the case of his will not being known; `for every man,' says the +law, `in the State of New York, (_Revised Statutes_, volume III, +_Appendix_, page 51), has entire liberty, power, and authority, to +dispose of his property by will, to leave it entire, or divided in +favour of any persons he choses as his heirs, provided he do not leave +it to a political body or any corporation.' The French law obliges the +testator to divide his property equally, or nearly so, among his heirs. + +"Most of the American republics still admit of entails, under certain +restrictions; but the French law prohibits entail in all cases. + +"If the social condition of the Americans is more democratic than that +of the French, the laws of the latter are the most democratic of the +two. This may be explained more easily than at first appears to be the +case. In France, democracy is still occupied in the work of +destruction; in America, it reigns quietly over the ruins it has +made."--_Democracy in America, by A De Tocqueville_. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 3. In New England the estates are exceedingly small, but they are +rarely subjected to further division. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 4. It may also be here observed, that the Americans have little +opportunity of judging favourably of the English by the usual +_importations_ to their country. They all call themselves English +_Gentlemen_, and are too often supposed to be, and are received as such. +I have often been told that I should meet with an English gentleman or +an English merchant, and the parties mostly proved to be nothing but +travellers, bagsmen, or even worse. If the sterling Americans stay at +home, and send the bad ones to us, and we do the same, neither party +will be likely to form a very favourable opinion of the other for some +time to come. + + + +VOLUME TWO, CHAPTER SEVEN. + +GOVERNMENT. + +It is not my intention to enter into a lengthened examination of the +American form of government. I have said that, as a government, "with +all its imperfections, it is the best suited to _the present condition +of America_, in _so far as_ it is the one under which the country has +made, and will continue to make, the most rapid strides;" but I have not +said that it was a better form of government than others. Its very +weakness is favourable to the advance of the country; it may be compared +to a vessel which, from her masts not being wedged, and her timbers +being loose, sails faster than one more securely fastened. Considered +merely as governments for the preservation of order and the equalisation +of pressure upon the people, I believe that few governments are bad, as +there are always some correcting influences, moral or otherwise, which +strengthen those portions which are the weakest. A despot, for +instance, although his power is acknowledged and submitted to, will not +exercise tyranny too far, from the fear of assassination. + +I have inserted in an Appendix the Form of the American Constitution, +and if my readers wish to examine more closely into it, I must refer +them to M. Tocqueville's excellent work. The first point which must +strike the reader who examines into it is, that it is extremely +complicated. It is, and it is not. It is so far complicated that a +variety of wheels are at work; but it is not complicated, from the +circumstance that the _same principle_ prevails throughout, from the +Township to the Federal Head, and that it is put in motion by one great +and universal propelling power. It may be compared to a cotton-thread +manufactory, in which thousands and thousands of reels and spindles are +all at work, the labour of so many smaller reels turned over to larger, +which in their turn yield up their produce, until the whole is collected +into one mass. The principle of the American Government is good; the +power that puts it in motion is enormous, and therefore, like the +complicated machinery I have compared it to, it requires constant +attention, and proper regulation of the propelling power, that it may +not become out of order. The propelling power is the sovereignty of the +people, otherwise the will of the majority. The motion of all +propelling powers must be regulated by a fly-wheel, or corrective check, +if not, the motion will gradually accelerate, until the machinery is +destroyed by the increase of friction. But there are other causes by +which the machinery may be deranged; as, although the smaller portions +of the machine, if defective, may at any time be taken out and repaired +without its being necessary for the machine to stop; yet if the larger +wheels are by any chance thrown out of their equilibrium, the machinery +may be destroyed just as it would be by a too rapid motion, occasioned +by the excess of propelling power. Further, there are external causes +which may endanger it: any machine may be thrown out of its level by a +convulsion, or shock, which will cause it to cease working, if even it +does not break it into fragments. + +Now, the dangers which _threaten_ the United States are, the Federal +Government being still weaker than it is at present, or its becoming, as +it may from circumstances, too powerful. + +The _present_ situation of the American Government is that the +fly-wheel, or regulator of the propelling power (that is to say the +aristocracy, or power of the senate,) has been nearly destroyed, and the +consequences are that the motion is at this moment too much accelerated, +and threatens in a few years to increase its rapidity, at the risk of +the destruction of the whole machinery. + +But, although it will be necessary to point out the weakness of the +Federal Government, when opposed to the States or the majority, inasmuch +as the morality of the people is seriously affected by this weakness, my +object is not to enter into the merits of the government of the United +States as a _working_ government, but to inquire how far the Americans +are correct in their boast of its being a model for other countries. + +Let us consider what is the best form of government. Certainly that +which most contributes to security of life and property, and renders +those happy and moral who are submitted to it. This I believe will be +generally acknowledged, and it is upon these grounds that the government +of the United States must be tested. They abjured our monarchy, and +left their country for a distant land, to obtain _freedom_. They railed +at the vices and imperfections of continental rule, and proposed to +themselves a government which should be perfect, under which every man +should have his due weight in the representation, and prove to the world +that a people could govern themselves. Disgusted with the immorality of +the age and the disregard to religion, they anticipated an amendment in +the state of society. This new, and supposed perfect, machinery has +been working for upwards of sixty years, and let us now examine how far +the theory has been supported and borne out by the practical result. + +I must first remind the reader that I have already shewn the weakness of +the Federal Government upon one most important point, which is, that +there is not sufficient security for person and property. When such is +the case, there cannot be that adequate punishment for vice so necessary +to uphold the morals of a people. I will now proceed to prove the +weakness of the Federal Government whenever it has to combat with the +several States, or with the will of the majority. + +It will be perceived, by an examination into the Constitution of the +United States, that the States have reserved for themselves all the real +power, and that the Federal Union exists but upon their sufferance. +Each State still insists upon its right to withdraw itself from the +Union whenever it pleases, and the consequence of this right is, that in +every conflict with a State, the Federal Government has invariably to +succumb. M. Tocqueville observes, "If the sovereignty of the Union +were to engage in a struggle with that of the States, at the present +day, its defeat may be confidently predicted; and it is not probable +that such a struggle would be seriously undertaken. As often as a +steady resistance is offered to the Federal Government, it will be found +to yield. Experience has hitherto shewn that whenever a State has +demanded any thing with perseverance and resolution, it has invariably +succeeded; and that if a separate government has distinctly refused to +act, it was left to do as it thought fit. See Note 1. + +"But even if the government of the Union had any strength inherent in +itself, the physical situation of the country would render the excise of +that strength very difficult. [See Note 2.] The United States cover an +immense territory; they were separated from each other by great +distances; and the population is disseminated over the surface of a +country which is still half a wilderness. If the Union were to +undertake to enforce the allegiance of the confederate States by +military means, it would be in a position very analagous to that of +England at the time of the War of Independence." + +The Federal Government never displayed more weakness than in the +question of the tariff put upon English goods to support the +manufacturers of the Northern States. The Southern States, as producers +and exporters, complained of this as prejudicial to their interests. +South Carolina, one of the smallest States, led the van, and the storm +rose. This State passed an act by convention, _annulling_ the Federal +Act of the tariff, armed her militia, and prepared for war. The +consequence was that the Federal Government abandoned the principle of +the tariff, but at the same time, to save the disgrace of its defeat, it +passed an act warranting the President to _put down resistance by +force_, or, in other words, making the Union _compulsory_. South +Carolina _annulled_ this law of the Federal Government, but as the State +gained its point by the Federal Government having abandoned the +principle of the tariff, the matter ended. + +Another instance in which the Federal Government showed its weakness +when opposed to a State, was in its conflict with Georgia. The Federal +Government had entered into a solemn, and what ought to have been an +inviolable treaty, with the Cherokee Indians, securing to them the +remnant of their lands in the State of Georgia. The seventh Article of +that treaty says, "The United States _solemnly_ guarantee to the +Cherokee nation all their lands not hitherto ceded." The State of +Georgia, when its population increased, did not like the Indians to +remain, and insisted upon their removal. What was the result?--that the +Federal Government, in violation of a solemn treaty and the national +honour, submitted to the dictation of Georgia, and the Indians were +removed to the other side of the Mississippi. + +These instances are sufficient to prove the weakness of the Federal +Government when opposed to the States; it is still weaker when opposed +to the will of the majority. I have already quoted many instances of +the exercise of this uncontrolled will. I do not refer to Lynch law, or +the reckless murders in the Southern States, but to the riots in the +most civilised cities, such as Boston, New York, and Baltimore, in which +outrages and murders have been committed without the Government ever +presuming to punish the perpetrators; but the strongest evidence of the +helplessness of the Government, when opposed to the majority, has been +in the late Canadian troubles, which, I fear, have only for the season +subsided. If many have doubts of the sincerity of the President of the +United States in his attempts to prevent the interference of the +Americans, there can be no doubt but that General Scott, Major Worth, +and the other American officers sent to the frontiers, did their utmost +to prevent the excesses which were committed, and to allay the +excitement; and every one is aware how unavailing were their efforts. +The magazines were broken open, the field-pieces and muskets taken +possession of; large subscriptions of money poured in from every +quarter; farmers sent waggon-loads of pigs, corn, and buffalos, to +support the insurgents. No one would, indeed no one could, act against +the will of the majority, and these officers found themselves left to +their individual and useless exertions. + +The militia at Detroit were ordered out: they could not refuse to obey +the summons, as they were individually liable to fine and imprisonment; +but as they said, very truly, "You may call us out, but when we come +into action we will point our muskets in which direction we please." +Indeed, they did assist the insurgents and fire at our people; and when +the insurgents were defeated, one of the drums which they had with them, +and which was captured by our troops, was marked with the name of the +militia corps which had been called out to repel them. + +When the people are thus above the law, it is of very little consequence +whether the law is more or less weak; at present the Federal Government +is a mere cypher when opposed by the majority. Have, then, the +Americans improved upon us in this point? It is generally admitted that +a strong and vigorous government, which can act when it is necessary to +restrain the passions of men under excitement, is most favourable to +social order and happiness; but, on the contrary, when the dormant power +of the executive should be brought into action, all that the Federal +Government can do is to become a passive spectator or a disregarded +suppliant. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 1. See the conduct of the Northern States in the war of 1812. +"During that war," says Jefferson in a letter to General Lafayette, +"four of the Eastern States were only attached to the Union, like so +many inanimate bodies to living men." + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 2. The profound peace of the Union affords no pretext for a +standing army; and without a standing army a Government is not prepared +to profit by a favourable opportunity to conquer resistance, and take +the sovereign power by surprise. + + + +VOLUME TWO, CHAPTER EIGHT. + +The next question to be examined into is, has this government of the +United States set an example of honour, good faith, and moral principle, +to those who are subjected to it?--has it, by so behaving, acted +favourably upon the morals of the people, and corrected the vices and +errors of the monarchical institutions which the Americans hold up to +such detestation? + +The Americans may be said to have had, till within the last twenty +years, little or no relation with other countries. They have had few +treaties to make, and very little diplomatic arrangements with the old +Continent. But even if they had had, they must not be judged by them; a +certain degree of national honour is necessary to every nation, if they +would have the respect of others, and a dread of the consequences would +always compel them to adhere to any treaty made with great and powerful +countries. The question is, has the Federal Government adhered to its +treaties and promises made with and to those who have been too weak to +defend themselves? Has it not repeatedly, in the short period of their +existence as a nation, violated the national honour whenever without +being in fear of retaliation or exposure it has been able to do so. Let +this question be answered by an examination into their conduct towards +the unhappy Indians, _who_, to use their own expression, are "now +melting away like snow before the white men." We are not to estimate +the morality of a government by its strict adherence to its compacts +with the powerful, but by its strict moral sense of justice towards the +weak and defenceless; and it should be borne in mind, that one example +of a breach of faith on the part of a democratic government, is more +injurious to the morals of the people tinder that government than a +thousand instances of breach of faith which may occur in society; for a +people who have no aristocracy to set the example, must naturally look +to the conduct of their rulers and to their decisions, as a standard for +their guidance. To enumerate the multiplied breaches of faith towards +the Indians would swell out this work to an extra volume. It was a +bitter sarcasm of the Seminole chief, who, referring to the terms used +in the treaties, told the Indian agents that the white man's "_for +ever_" did not _last long enough_. Even in its payment of the trifling +sums for the lands sold by the Indians and resold at an enormous profit, +the American Government has not been willing to adhere to its agreement; +and two years ago, when the Indians came for their money, the American +Government told them, like an Israelite dealer, that they must take half +money and half goods. The Indians remonstrated; the chiefs replied, +"Our young men have purchased upon credit, as they are wont to do; they +require the dollars, to pay honestly what they owe." + +"Is our great father so poor?" said one chief to the Indian agent; "I +will lend him some money;" and he ordered several thousand dollars to be +brought, and offered them to the agent. + +In the Florida war, to which I shall again refer, the same want of faith +has been exercised. Unable to drive the Indians out of their swamps and +morasses, they have persuaded them to come into a council, under a flag +of truce. This flag of truce has been violated, and the Indians have +been thrown into prison until they could be sent away to the Far West, +that is, if they survived their captivity, which the gallant Osceola +could not. Let it not be supposed that the officers employed are the +parties to blame in these acts; it is, generally speaking, the Indian +agents who are employed in these nefarious transactions. Among these +agents there are many honourable men, but a corrupt government will +always find people corrupt enough to do anything it may wish. But any +language that I can use as to the conduct of the American Government +towards the Indians would be light, compared to the comments made in my +presence by the _officers_ and other American _gentlemen_ upon this +subject. Indeed, the indignation expressed is so general, that it +proves there is less morality in the Government than there is in the +nation. + +With the exception of the Florida war, which still continues, the last +contest which the American Government had with the Indians was with the +Sacs and Foxes, commanded by the celebrated chief, Black Hawk. The Sacs +and Foxes at that period held a large tract of land on Rock river, in +the territory of Ioway, on the east side of the Mississippi, which the +Government wished, perforce, to take from them. The following is Black +Hawk's account of the means by which this land was obtained. The war +was occasioned by Black Hawk disowning the treaty and attempting to +repossess the territory. + +"Some moons after this young chief (Lieutenant Pike) descended the +Mississippi, one of our people killed an American, and was confined in +the prison at St Louis for the offence. We held a council at our +village to see what could be done for him, which determined that +Quash-qua-me, Pa-she-pa-ho, Ou-che-qua-ha, and Ha-she-quar-hi-qua, +should go down to St Louis, and see our American father, and do all +they could to have our friend released; by paying for the person killed, +thus covering the blood and satisfying the relations of the man +murdered! This being the only means with us of saving a person who had +killed another, and we _then_ thought it was the same way with the +whites. + +"The party started with the good wishes of the whole nation, hoping they +would accomplish the object of their mission. The relations of the +prisoner blacked their faces and fasted, hoping the Great Spirit would +take pity on them, and return the husband and the father to his wife and +children. + +"Quash-qua-me and party remained a long time absent. They at length +returned, and encamped a short distance below the village, but did not +come up that day, nor did any person approach their camp. They appeared +to be dressed in fine coats and had medals. From these circumstances, +we were in hopes they had brought us good news. Early the next morning, +the council lodge was crowded; Quash-qua-me and party came up, and gave +us the following account of their mission:-- + +"On their arrival at St Louis, they met their American father, and +explained to him their business, and urged the release of their friend. +The American chief told them he wanted land, and they agreed to give him +some on the west side of the Mississippi, and some on the Illinois side, +opposite the Jeffreon. When the business was all arranged, they +expected to have their friend released to come home with them. But +about the time they were ready to start, their friend, who was led out +of prison, ran a short distance, and was _shot dead_. This is all they +could recollect of what was said and done. They had _been drunk_ the +greater part of the time they were in St Louis. + +"This is all myself or nation knew of the _treaty of_ 1804. It has been +explained to me since. I find by that treaty, all our country east of +the Mississippi, and south of the Jeffreon, was ceded to the United +States for one thousand dollars a year! I will leave it to the people +of the United States to say, whether our nation was properly represented +in this treaty? or whether we received a fair compensation for the +extent of country ceded by those four individuals. I could say much +mere about this treaty, but I will not at this time. It has been the +origin of all our difficulties." + +Indeed, I have reason to believe that the major portion of the land +obtained from the Indians has been ceded by parties who had no power to +sell it, and the treaties with these parties have been enforced by the +Federal Government. + +In a Report for the protection of the Western Frontier, submitted to +Congress by the Secretary of War, we have a very fair expose of the +conduct and intentions of the American Government towards the Indians. +Although the Indians continue to style the President of the United +States as their Great Father, yet, in this report, the Indian feeling +which really exists towards the American people is honestly avowed; it +says in its preamble-- + +"As yet no community of feeling, except of _deep and lasting hatred_ to +the white man, and particularly to the _Anglo-Americans_, exists among +them, and, unless they coalesce, no serious difficulty need be +apprehended from them. Not so, however, should they be induced to unite +for purposes offensive and defensive; their strength would then become +apparent, create confidence, and in all probability induce them to give +vent to their long-suppressed desire to _revenge past wrongs_, which is +restrained, as they openly and freely confess, by fear alone." + +And speaking of the feuds between the tribes, as in the case of the +Sioux and Chippeways, which, as I have observed in my Journal, the +American Government _pretended_ to be anxious to make up; it appears +that this anxiety is not so very great, for the Report says-- + +"Should it however prove otherwise, the United States will, whenever +they choose, be able to bring the whole of the Sioux force (the +hereditary and irreclaimable enemy to every other Indian) to bear +against the hostiles; or _vice versa_, should our difficulty be with the +Sioux nation. And the suggestion is made, whether prudence does not +require, that _those hereditary feelings_ should not rather be +_maintained_ than destroyed by efforts to cultivate a closer reunion +between them." + +This Report also very delicately points out, when speaking of the +necessity of a larger force on the frontier, that, "it is merely +adverted to in connexion with the heavy obligations which rest upon the +Government, and which have been probably contracted from time to time +without any _very nice calculation_ of the means which would be +necessary to a _faithful discharge_ of them." + +I doubt whether this Report would have been presented by Congress had +there been any idea of its finding its way to the Old Country. +By-and-by I shall refer to it again. I have made these few extracts +merely to shew that expediency, and not moral feeling, is the principle +alone which guides the Federal Government of the United States. + +The next instance which I shall bring forward to prove the want of +principle of the Federal Government is its permitting, and it may be +said tacitly acquiescing, in the seizure of the province of Texas, and +allowing it to be ravished from the Mexican Government, with whom they +were on terms of amity, but who was unfortunately too weak to help +herself. In this instance the American Government had no excuse, as it +actually had an army on the frontier, and could have compelled the +insurgents to go back; but no; it perceived that the Texas, if in its +hands, or if independent of Mexico, would become a mart for their extra +slave population, that it was the finest country in the world for +producing cotton, and that it would be an immense addition of valuable +territory. Dr Channing's letter to Mr Clay is so forcible on this +question, enters so fully into the merits of the case, and points out so +clearly the nefariousness of the transaction, that I shall now quote a +few passages from this best of American authority. Indeed, I consider +that this letter of Dr Channing is the principal cause why the American +Government have not as yet admitted Texas into the Union. The efforts +of the Northern States would not have prevented it, but it has actually +been shamed by Dr Channing, who says-- + +"The United States have not been just to Mexico. Our citizens did not +steal singly, silently, in disguise, into that land. Their purpose of +dismembering Mexico, and attaching her distant province to this country, +was not wrapt in mystery. It was proclaimed in our public prints. +Expeditions were openly fitted out within our borders for the Texan war. +Troops were organised, equipped, and marched for the scene of action. +Advertisements for volunteers, to be enrolled and conducted to Texas at +the expense of that territory, were inserted in our newspapers. The +Government, indeed, issued its proclamation, forbidding these hostile +preparations; but this was a dead letter. Military companies, with +officers and standards, in defiance of proclamations, and in the face of +day, directed their steps to the revolted province. We had, indeed, an +army near the frontiers of Mexico. Did it turn back these invaders of a +land with which we were at peace? On the contrary, did not its presence +give confidence to the revolters? After this, what construction of our +conduct shall we force on the world, if we proceed, especially at this +moment, to receive into our Union the territory, which, through our +neglect, has fallen a prey to lawless invasion? Are we willing to take +our place among robber-states? As a people have we no self-respect? +Have we no reverence for national morality? Have we no feeling of +responsibility to other nations, and to Him by whom the fates of nations +are disposed?" + +Dr Channing then proceeds:-- + +"Some crimes by their magnitude have a touch of the sublime; and to this +dignity the seizure of Texas by our citizens is entitled. Modern times +furnish no example of individual rapine on so grand a scale. It is +nothing less than the robbery of a realm. The pirate seizes a ship. +The colonists and their coadjutors can satisfy themselves with nothing +short of an empire. They have left their Anglo-Saxon ancestors behind +them. Those barbarians conformed to the maxims of their age, to the +rude code of nations in time of thickest heathen darkness. They invaded +England under their sovereigns, and with the sanction of the gloomy +religion of the North. But it is in a civilised age, and amidst +refinements of manners; it is amidst the lights of science and the +teachings of Christianity; amidst expositions of the law of nations and +enforcements of the law of universal love; amidst institutions of +religion, learning, and humanity, that the robbery of Texas has found +its instruments. It is from a free, well-ordered, enlightened Christian +country, that hordes have gone forth in open day, to perpetrate _this +mighty wrong_." + +I shall conclude my remarks upon this point with one more extract from +the same writer. + +"A nation, provoking war by cupidity, by encroachment, and, above all, +by efforts to propagate the curse of slavery, is alike false to itself, +to God, and to the human race." + +Having now shewn how far the Federal Government may be considered as +upholding the purity of its institutions by the example of its conduct +towards others, let us examine whether in its domestic management it +sets a proper example to the nation. It cries out against the bribery +and corruption of England. Is it itself free from this imputation? + +The author of a `Voice from America' observes, "In such an unauthorised, +unconstitutional, and loose state of things, millions of the public +money may be appropriated to electioneering and party purposes, and to +buy up friends of the administration, without being open to proof or +liable to account. It is a simple _matter of fact_, that all the public +funds lost in this way, have actually gone to buy up friends to the +government, whether the defalcations were matters of understanding +between the powers at Washington and these parties, or not. The money +is gone, and is going; and it goes to friends. So much is true, +whatever else is false. And what has already been used up in this way, +according to official report, is sufficient to buy the votes of a large +fraction of the population of the United States,--that is to say, +sufficient to produce an influence adequate to secure them. On the 17th +of January, 1838, the United States treasurer reported to Congress +_sixty-three_ defalcators (individuals), in all to the amount of upwards +of a _million_ of dollars, without touching the vast amounts lost in the +local banks,--a mere beginning of the end." + +As I have before observed, when Mr Adams was President, a Mr B Walker +was thrown into prison for being a defaulter to the extent of eighteen +thousand dollars. Why are none of these defaulters to the amount of +upwards a million of dollars punished? If the government thinks proper +to allow them to remain at liberty, does it not virtually wink at their +dishonesty. Neither the defaulters nor their securities are touched. +It would appear as if it were an understood arrangement; the government +telling these parties, who have assisted them, "we cannot actually pay +you money down for your services; but we will put money under your +control, and you may, if you please, _help_ yourself." What has been +the result of this conduct upon society?--that as the government does +not consider a breach of faith as deserving of punishment, society does +not think so either; and thus are the people demoralised, not only by +the example of government in its foreign relations, but by its leniency +towards those individuals who are as regardless of faith as the +government has proved to be itself. + +Indeed, it may be boldly asserted, that in every measure taken by the +Federal Government, the moral effect of that measure upon the people has +never been thought worthy of a moment's consideration. + + + +VOLUME TWO, CHAPTER NINE. + +We must now examine into one or two other points. The Americans +consider that they are the only people on earth who govern themselves. +They assert that _we_ have not a free and perfect representation. We +will not dispute that point; the question is, not what the case in +England may be, but what America may have gained. This is certain, that +if they have not a free impartial representation, they do _not_, as they +suppose, govern themselves. Have they, with universal suffrage, +obtained a representation free from bribery and corruption? If they +have, they certainly have gained their point; if they have not, they +have sacrificed much, and have obtained nothing. + +By a calculation which I made at the time I was in the United States of +all the various elections which took place annually, biennially, and at +longer dates, including those for the Federal Government, the separate +governments of each State, and many other elective offices, there are +about two thousand five hundred elections of different descriptions +every year; and if I were to add the civic elections, which are equally +political, I do not know what amount they would arrive at. In this +country we have on an average about two hundred elections per annum, so +that, in America, for thirteen millions, they have two thousand five +hundred elections, and in England for twenty-seven millions, two +hundred, on the average, during the year. + +It must, however, be admitted, that the major portion of these elections +in the United States pass off quietly, probably from the comparative +want of interest excited by them, and the continual repetition which +takes place; but when the important elections are in progress the case +is very different; the excitement then becomes universal; the coming +election is the theme of every tongue, the all-engrossing topic, and +nothing else is listened or paid attention to. + +It must be remembered, that the struggle in America is for place, not +for principle; for whichever party obtains power, their principle of +acting is much the same. Occasionally a question of moment will come +forward and nearly convulse the Union, but this is very rare; the +general course of legislation is in a very narrow compass, and is seldom +more than a mere routine of business. With the majority, who lead a +party, (particularly the one at present in power), the contest is not, +therefore, for principle, but, it may almost be said, for bread; and +this is one great cause of the virulence accompanying their election +struggles. The election of the President is of course the most +important. M. Tocqueville has well described it, "For a long while +before the appointed time is at hand, the election becomes the most +important and the all-engrossing topic of discussion. The ardour of +faction is redoubled; and all the artificial passions which the +imagination can create in the bosom of a happy and peaceful land are and +brought to light. The President, on the other hand, is absorbed by the +cares of self-defence. He no longer governs for the interest of the +State, but for that of his re-election; he does homage to the majority, +and instead of checking its passions, as his duty commands him to do, he +frequently courts its worst caprices. As the election draws near, the +activity of intrigue and the agitation of the populace increase; the +citizens are divided into hostile camps, each of which assumes the name +of its favourite candidate; the whole nation glows with feverish +excitement; the election is the daily theme of the public papers, the +subject of private conversation, the end of every thought and every +action, the sole interest of the present." + +Of course the elections in the large cities are those which next occupy +the public attention. I have before stated, that at the last election +in New York the committees of the opposite party were bought over by the +Whigs, and that by this bribery the election was gained; but I will now +quote from the Americans themselves, and let the reader then decide in +which country, England or America, there is most purity of election. + +"On the 9th, 10th, and 11th instant, a local election for mayor and +charter-offices was held in this city. It resulted in the defeat of the +Whig party. The Loco-focos had a majority of about one thousand and +fifty for their mayor. Last April the Whigs had a majority of about +five hundred. There are seventeen wards, and seventeen polls were +opened. The out, or suburb, wards presented _the most disgraceful +scenes of riot, fraud, corruption, and perjury_, that were ever +witnessed in this or any other country on a similar occasion. The whole +number of votes polled was forty-one thousand three hundred. It is a +notorious fact, that there are not forty thousand legal voters residing +in the city. In the abstract this election is but of little importance. +Its moral influence on other sections of the country remains to be +seen. Generally, the effect of such a triumph is unfavourable to the +defeated party in other places; and it would be so in the present +instance, if the contest had been an ordinary contest, but the +circumstances to which I have referred of fraud, corruption, and +perjury, may, or may not, re-act upon the alleged authors of these +shameless proceedings." + +Again, "The moderate and thinking men of both parties--indeed, we may +say every honourable man who has been a spectator of recent events--feel +shocked at the frauds, perjury, and corruption, which too evidently +enabled the administration party to poll so powerful a vote. What are +we coming to in this country? A peaceable contest at the polls is a +peaceable test of party--it is to ascertain the opinions and views of +citizens entitled to vote--it is a fair and honourable party appeal to +the ballot-box. We are all Americans--living under the same +constitution and laws; each boasting of his freedom and equal rights-- +our political differences are, after all, the differences between +members of the same national family. What, therefore, is to become of +our freedom and rights, _our morals, safety, and religion_, if the +administration of our government is permitted to embark in such open, +avowed, palpable schemes of fraud and corruption as those recently +exhibited in this city? More than _five thousand_ strangers, having no +interest and no domicile, are introduced by the partisans of the +administration into the city, and brought up to the polls to decide who +shall make our municipal laws. More than four hundred votes over and +above the ascertained votes of a ward, are polled in such ward. Men +moved from ward to ward to sleep one night as an evasive qualification. +More than two hundred sailors, from United States' vessels of war, +brought over to the city to vote--sloops and small craft, trading down +the north and east rivers, each known never to have more than three +bands, turning out thirty or forty voters from each vessel. Men turned +from the polls for want of legal qualifications, brought back by +administration partisans and made to _swear_ in their vote. Hundreds +with the red clay of New Jersey adhering to their thick-soled shoes, +presenting themselves to vote as citizens of New York, and all this +fraud and perjury set on foot and justified to enable Mr Van Buren to +say, `I have recovered the city.' But he has been signally defeated, as +he ought to be, notwithstanding all his mighty efforts. There is this +day a clearly ascertained Whig majority in this city of five thousand. + +"It is, therefore, a mockery to call a contest with persons from other +States, hired for the occasion, an election. _We must have a registry +of votes_, in order to sweep away this vast system _of perjury and +fraud_; and every man who has an interest at stake in his person, his +children, or his property, must demand it of the legislature, as the +only means of coming to a fair decision on all such matters. This +charter election should open the eyes of the honourable of all parties +to the dangers that menace us, and a redress provided in time." + +Again, "_The Atlas, Monday Morning, April_ 16, 1838.--(_Triumphant +Result of the Election to New York_).--We have rarely known an election +which, during its continuance, has excited so lively a degree of +interest as has been felt in regard to the contest just terminated in +New York. From numerous quarters we have received letters requesting us +to transmit the earliest intelligence of the result, and an anxiety has +been evinced among the Whigs of the country, which we have hardly seen +surpassed. The tremendous onset of the Loco-focos upon the first day +increased this anxiety, and fears began to be entertained that the +unparalleled and unscrupulous efforts of our opponents--their shameless +resort to every species of fraud, violence, and corruption--their +importation of foreign, perjured voters, and the _lavish distribution of +the public money_--might possibly overpower the legitimate voice of the +majority of the citizens of New York. But gloriously have these fears +been dispelled. Nobly have the Whigs of the great metropolis done their +duty. Gladly does old Massachusetts respond to their paeans of triumph. + +"We learn from the New York papers that there was considerable +uneasiness in that city on Friday among the Whigs with regard to the +result. Never was the struggle of the administration party so desperate +and convulsive. Hordes of aliens and illegal voters were driven into +the city-- + + "`In multitudes, like which the populace North + Poured never from her frozen loins, to pass + Rhine or the Danube.' + +"The most reasonable calculation admits that there must have been at +least four thousand illegal votes polled at the different wards. +Squatters and loafers from the Croton Water-Works, from Brooklyn and +Long Island, and from Troy to Sing Sing, took up their line of march for +the doubtful wards, to dragoon the city into submission to Mr Van +Buren. Some of the wards threw from four hundred to six hundred more +votes than there were known to be residents in them. Double voting was +practised to a great extent. The Express says, the whole spirit of the +naturalisation laws was defied, and an utter mockery was made of the +sacred right of suffrage. What party is likely to be most guilty of +these things, may be judged from the fact, that the Loco-foco party +_resist every proposition for a registry law, or any other law that will +give the people a fair and honest and constitutional system of voting_." + +When I was one day with one of the most influential of the Whig party at +New York, he was talking about their success in the contest--"We beat +them, sir, literally with their own weapons." "How so," replied I. +"Why, sir, we bought over all their bludgeon men at so many dollars a +head, and the very sticks intended to be used to keep us from the poll +were employed upon the heads of the Loco-focos!" So much for _purity of +election_. + +Another point which is worthy of inquiry is, how far is the government +of the United States a cheap government; that is, not as to the amount +of money expended in that country as compared to the amount of money +paid in England or France, but cheap as to the work done for the money +paid? And, viewing it in this light, I rather think it will be found a +very expensive one. It is true that the salaries are low, and the +highest officers are the worst paid, but it should be recollected that +every body is paid. [See Note 1.] The expenses of the Federal +Government, shown up to the world as a proof of cheap government, is but +a portion of the real expenses which are paid by the several States. +Thus the government will promulgate to the world that they have a +surplus revenue of so many millions, but at the same time it will be +found that the States themselves are borrowing money and are deeply in +debt. The money that disappears is enormous; I never could understand +what has become of the boasted surplus revenue which was lodged in the +pet banks, as they were termed. The paid officers in the several States +are very numerous; take, for instance, the _State of New York_ alone. +An American newspaper has the following article:-- + +"THE STANDING ARMY." + +The following is given in the _Madisonian_ as the rank and file of the +executive standing army of office-holders in the State of New York. How +hardly can the freedom of elections be maintained against the natural +enemies of that freedom, when their efforts are seconded by the assaults +of such an army of placemen, whose daily bread, under the rule and reign +of the spoilers, is dependent on their partisan exertions! + + "1880 Postmasters. + 217 Mail Contractors. + 59 Clerks in the New York Post-office. + 25 Lighthouse Keepers. + 500 Custom-House Officers. + +"These," says the Madisonian, "constitute a regiment of the King's own, +well drilled in the system of terrorism and seduction, and of dragooning +voters!" + +And it should be remarked, that in the United States, upon any one party +losing an election, the whole of that party in office, even down to the +lamplighters, are turned out, and replaced by partisans of the +successful party; _capability_ for office is never considered, the only +object is to reward political services. That the work cannot be well +carried on when there are such constant changes, attended with ignorance +of the duties imposed, is most certain. The long list of defaulters +proves that the party at present in power is supported by needy and +unprincipled men; indeed, there is a waste of money in almost every +department which would be considered monstrous in this country. The +expenses of the Florida war are a proof of this. The best written +accounts from America are those written by a party who signs himself "A +Genevese Traveller," and whose letters very often appear in the _Times_ +newspaper. I have invariably observed the correctness not only of his +statements of facts, but of the opinions drawn from them. Speaking of +the Florida war, he has the following observations:-- + +"As to the expenditure, it is yet more astounding. Not less than +20,000,000 dollars have already been lavished upon favourites, or +plundered from the treasury by marauders, whose profligacy and injustice +caused the war. Army contractors, government agents, etcetera, are +wallowing in wealth obtained by the worst means; and these are the men +that condemn a peace, and will do all in their power to produce and keep +up an excitement. But unless they can reach the treasury of the United +States, their sympathy for the murdered inhabitants will soon evaporate. +I hope, however, and believe that the war for the present is at an end. +But the peace will only be temporary, for the rapacity of the +avaricious land speculator will not be satisfied until the red man is +deprived of every acre of land." + +To enter into any estimate of expense would be impossible; all I assert +is, that there is a much greater waste of public money in the United +States than in other countries, and that for the work done they pay very +dearly. I shall therefore conclude with an extract from M. +Tocqueville, who attempts in vain to come to any approximation. + +"Wherever the poor direct public affairs, and dispose of the national +resources, it appears certain, that as they profit by the expenditure of +the State, they are apt to augment that expenditure. + +"I conclude, therefore, without having recourse to inaccurate +computations, and without hazarding a comparison which might prove in +correct, that the democratic government of the Americans is _not a cheap +government_, as is sometimes asserted; and I have no hesitation in +predicting, that if the people of the United States are ever involved in +serious difficulties, its taxation will speedily be increased to the +rate of that which prevails in the greater part of the aristocracies and +the monarchies of Europe." + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 1. I cannot here refrain from making an extract from M. +Tocqueville's clever work, well worthy the attention of those who rule +in this country, as probably they may not be aware of what they are +doing: "When a _democratic_ republic renders offices which had formerly +been remunerated _gratuitous_, it may safely be believed that the State +is advancing to _monarchical_ institutions; and when a monarchy begins +to _remunerate_ such officers as had hitherto been _unpaid_, it is a +sure sign that it is approaching towards a despotic or a _republican_ +form of government. The substitution of paid for unpaid functionaries, +is of itself, in my opinion, sufficient to constitute a serious +revolution." + + + +VOLUME TWO, CHAPTER TEN. + +The Americans, and with justice, hold up Washington as one of the first +of men; if so, why will they not pay attention to his opinions? because +the first of men must not interfere with their prejudices, or, if he +does, he immediately in their eyes becomes the _last_. Nevertheless, +Washington proved his ability when he made the following observation, in +his letter to Chief Justice Jay, dated 10th of March, 1787; even at that +early period he perceived that the institutions of America, although at +the time much less democratical than at present, would not stand. Hear +the words of Washington, for they were a _prophecy_:-- + +"Among men of reflection, few will be found, I believe, who are not +beginning to think that our system is better in _theory_ than in +_practice_ and that, notwithstanding the boasted virtue of America, it +is more than probable that we shall exhibit the last melancholy proof, +that mankind are incompetent to their own government _without the means +of coercion in the sovereign_." + +Now, if you were to put this extract into the hands of an American, his +admiration of Washington would immediately fall down below zero, and in +all probability he would say, as they do of poor Captain Lawrence--"Why, +sir, Washington was a great man, but great men have their failings. I +guess he wrote that letter _after_ dinner." + +But Washington has been supported in this opinion by a modern American +patriot, Dr Charming, who, asserting that, "Our institutions have +disappointed us all," has pointed out the real effects of democracy upon +the morals of the nation; and there are many other good and honest men +in America who will occasionally tell the truth, although they seldom +venture to put their names to what they write. In a manifesto, +published when I was in the States, the following bitter pills for the +democrats were inserted. Speaking of dependence on the virtue and +intelligence of the people, the manifesto says:-- + +"A form of government which has no better corrective of public disorders +than this, is a burlesque on the reason and intelligence of men; it is +as incompatible with wisdom as it is with public prosperity and +happiness. + +"The people are, by principle and the Constitution, guarded against the +tyranny of kings, but not against their own passions, and ignorance, and +delusions." + +The necessity of relying on some other power than the people is +therefore enforced: + +"Such facts have induced nations to abandon the practice of electing +their chief magistrate; preferring to receive that officer by hereditary +succession. Men have found that the chances of having a good chief +magistrate by _birth_, are about equal to the chances of obtaining one +by _popular election_. And, boast as we will, that the superior +intelligence of our citizens may render this government an exception, +time will show that this is a mistake. No nation can be an exception, +till the Almighty shall change the whole character of man. + +"It is a solemn truth, that when executive officers are dependent for +their offices on _annual or frequent elections_, there will be no +impartial or efficient administration of the laws. + +"It is in vain that men attempt to disguise the truth; the fact, beyond +all debate, is that the disorders in our political affairs are the +genuine and natural consequences of _defects in the Constitution_, and +of the false and visionary opinions which Mr Jefferson and his +disciples have been proclaiming for forty years. + +"The _mass of the people_ seem not to consider that the affairs of a +great commercial nation require for their correct management talents of +the first order. + +"Of all this, _the mass of our population_ appear to know little or +nothing. + +"The _mass of the people_, seduced and disciplined by their leaders, are +still farther deceived, by being taught that our public disorders are to +be ascribed to other causes than the ignorance and perversity of their +party. + +"And yet our citizens are constantly boasting of the _intelligence of +the people_! Intelligence! The history of nations cannot present an +example of such total _want of intelligence_ as _our country_ now +exhibit: and what is more, a _want of integrity_ is equally surprising." + +This is strong language to use in a republic, but let us examine a +little. + +The great desideratum to be attended to in the formation of a government +is to guard against man preying upon his fellow-creature. Call a +government by any name you will, prescribe what forms you may, the one +great point to be adhered to, is such a code of laws as will put it out +of the power of any one individual, or any one party, from oppressing +another. The despot may trifle with the lives of his people; an +aristocracy may crush the poorer classes into a state of bondage, and +the poorer classes being invariably the most numerous, may resort to +their physical force to control those who are wealthy, and despoil them +of their possessions. Correctly speaking, the struggle is between the +plebeian and the patrician, the poor and the rich, and it is therefore +that a third power has, by long experience, been considered as necessary +(an apex, or head to the pyramid of society), to prevent and check the +disorders which may arise from struggles of ambition among the upper +classes. + +Wherever this apex has been wanting, there has been a continual attempt +to possess it; whenever it has been elective, troubles have invariably +ensued; experience has, therefore, shewn that, for the benefit of all +classes, and the maintenance of order, the wisest plan was to make it +hereditary. It is not to be denied that despotism, when it falls into +good hands, has rendered a nation flourishing and happy, that an +oligarchy has occasionally, but more rarely, governed with mildness and +a regard to justice; but there never yet was a case of a people having +seized upon the power, but the result has been one of rapacity and +violence, until a master-spirit has sprung up and controlled them by +despotic rule. But, although one despot, or one oligarchy may govern +well, they are exceptions to the general rule; and, therefore, in +framing a government, the rule by which you must be guided, is on the +supposition that each class will encroach, and the laws must be so +constituted as to guard against the vices and passions of mankind. + +To suppose that a people can govern themselves, that is to say directly, +is absurd. History has disproved it. They may govern themselves +indirectly, by selecting from the mass the more enlightened and +intelligent, binding themselves to adhere to their decisions, and, at +the same time, putting that due and necessary check to the power +invested in their delegates, which shall prevent their making an +improper use of it. The great point to arrive at, is the exact measure +and weight of their controlling influences, so as to arrive at the just +equipoise; nor can these proportions be always the same, but must be +continually added to or reduced, according to the invariable +progressions or recessions which must ever take place in this world, +where nothing stands still. + +The history of nations will shew, that although the just balance has +often been lost, that if either the aristocracy or the ruling power +gained any advantage, the evil, if too oppressive, was capable of being +corrected; but any advance gained by the democratic party, has never +been retraced, and that it has been by the preponderance of power being +thrown into its hands that nations have fallen. Of all the attempts at +republics, that of the Spartan, perhaps, is the most worthy of +examination, as Lycurgus went to work radically, and his laws were such +as to obtain that equality so much extolled. How far the term republic +was applicable to the Spartan form of government I will not pretend to +say, but when Lycurgus was called upon to re-construct its legislation, +his first act was to make the necessary third power, and he appointed a +senate. + +But Lycurgus was wise enough to perceive that he must amend the morals +of his countrymen, and that to preserve an equality of condition he must +take away all incentives to ambition, or to the acquisition of wealth. +He first divided the lands into equal portions, compelled all classes, +from the kings downwards, to eat at the same table, brought up all the +children in the same hardy manner, and obliged every citizen after a +certain age to carry arms. But more sacrifices were necessary; Lycurgus +well knew: + + Quid leges sine moribus vanae profleunt. + _Horace_, _Ode_ 24, _lib_. 3. + +To guard against the contagion of corruption, he prohibited _navigation +and commerce_; he permitted no intercourse with _foreigners_; he +abolished the gold and silver coin as current money, that every stimulus +to any one individual to exalt himself above his neighbour should be +removed. If ever there was a system calculated to produce equality, it +was that planned by the wisdom of Lycurgus; but I doubt if the Americans +would like to follow in his footsteps. + +What occasioned the breaking up and the downfall of this republic? An +increase of power given to the democratic party, by the creation out of +their ranks of the magistrates, termed Ephori, which threw an undue +weight and preponderance into the hands of the people. By this breach +in the constitution, faction and corruption were let in and fomented. +Plutarch, indeed, denies this, but both Polybius and Aristotle are of a +different opinion; the latter says, that the power of the Ephori was so +great as to amount to a perfect tyranny; the kings themselves were +necessitated to court their favour by such methods as greatly to hurt +the constitution, which from an aristocracy degenerated into an absolute +democracy. Solon was called in to re-model the constitution of the +Athenian republic. He had a more difficult task than Lycurgus, and did +not so well succeed. He left too much power in the hands of the +democracy, the decisions of the superior courts being liable to appeal, +and to be _rescinded_ by the _mass of the people_. Anacharsis, the +Scythian philosopher, when he heard some points first debated in the +Senate, and afterwards debated in the Assembly of the people, very +properly observed, that at Athens "Wise men debated, but fools decided." +The whole history of the Athenian republic is, therefore, one of +outrageous bribery and corruption among the higher class; tyranny, +despotism, and injustice on the part of the lower, or majority. + +The downfall of the Roman empire may equally be traced to the undue +weight obtained by the people by the appointment of the tribunes, and so +it will be proved in almost every instance: the reason why the excess of +power is more destructive when in the hands of the people is, that +either they, by retaining the power in their own hands, exercise a +demoralising despotism, or if they have become sufficient venal, they +sell themselves to be tyrannised over in their turn. + +I have made these remarks, because I wish to corroborate my opinion, +that, "power once gained by the people is never to be recovered, except +by bribery and corruption," and that until then, every grant is only the +forerunner of an extension; and that although the undue balance of power +of the higher classes occasionally _may be_, that in the hands of the +people _is_ invariably attended by the downfall of the institution. + +At the same time, I do not intend to deny the right of the people to +claim an extension of their privileges, in proportion as they rise by +education to the right of governing themselves; unfortunately these +privileges have been given, or taken, previous to their being qualified. +A republic is certainly, in theory, the most just form of government, +but, up to the present day, history has proved that no people have yet +been prepared to receive it. + +That there is something very imposing in the present rapid advance of +the United States, I grant, but this grandeur is not ascribed by the +Americans to its true source: it is the magnificent and extended +country, not their government and institutions, which has been the cause +of their prosperity. The Americans think otherwise, and, as I have +before observed, they are happy in their own delusions--they do not make +a distinction between what they have gained by their country, and what +they have gained by their institutions. Everything is on a vast and +magnificent scale, which at first startles you; but if you examine +closely and reflect, you are convinced that there is at present more +show than substance, and that the Americans are actually existing (and +until they have sufficient labourers to sow and reap, and gather up the +riches of their land, must continue to exist) upon the credit and +capital of England. + +The American republic was commenced very differently from any other, and +with what were real advantages, if she had not been too ambitious and +too precipitate in seizing upon them. A republic has generally been +considered the most primitive form of rule; it is, on the contrary, the +very last pitch of refinement in government, and the cause of its +failure up to the present has been, that no people have as yet been +sufficiently enlightened to govern themselves. Republics, generally +speaking, have at their commencement been confined to small portions of +territory having been formed by the extension of townships after the +inhabitants had become wealthy and ambitious. In America, on the +contrary, the republic commenced with unbounded territory--a vast field +for ambition and enterprise, that has acted as a safety-valve to carry +off the excess of disappointed ambition, which, like steam, is +continually generating under such a form of government. And, certainly, +if ever a people were in a situation, as far as education, knowledge, +precepts and lessons for guidance and purity of manners could enable +them, to govern themselves, those were so who first established the +American independence. + +Fifty years have passed away, and the present state of America I have +already shown. From purity of manners, her moral code has sunk below +that of most other nations. She has attempted to govern herself--she is +dictated to by the worst of tyrannies. She has planted the tree of +liberty; instead of its flourishing, she has neither freedom of speech +nor of action. She has railed against the vices of monarchical forms of +government, and every vice against which she has raised up her voice, is +still more prevalent under her own. She has cried out against +corruption--she is still more corrupt: against bribery--her people are +to be bought and sold: against tyranny--she is in fetters. She has +proved to the world that, with every advantage on her side, the attempt +at a republic has been a miserable failure, and that the time is not yet +come when mankind can govern themselves. Will it ever come? In my +opinion, never! + +Although the horizon may be clear at present, yet I consider that the +prospect of the United States is anything but cheering. It is true that +for a time the States may hold together, that they may each year rapidly +increase in prosperity and power, but each year will also add to their +demoralisation and to their danger. It is impossible to say from what +quarter of the compass the clouds may first rise, or which of the +several dangers that threaten them they will have first to meet and to +oppose by their energies. At present, the people, or majority, have an +undue power, which will yearly increase, and their despotism will be +more severe in proportion. If they sell their birthright (which they +will not do until the population is much increased, and the higher +classes are sufficiently wealthy to purchase, although their freedom +will be lost) they will have a better chance of happiness and social +order. But a protracted war would be the most fatal to their +institutions, as it would, in all probability, end in the dismemberment +of the Union, and the wresting of their power from the people by the +bayonets of a dictator. + +The removal of the power and population to the West, the rapid increase +of the coloured population, are other causes of alarm and dread; but, +allowing that all these dangers are steered clear of, there is one (a +more remote one indeed, but more certain), from which it has no escape-- +that is, the period when, from the increase of population, the division +shall take place between the poor and the rich, which no law against +entail will ever prevent, and which must be fatal to a democracy. + +Mr Sanderson, in his "Sketches of Paris," observes--"If we can retain +our democracy when our back woodlands are filled up; when New York and +Philadelphia have become a London and Paris; when the land shall be +covered with its multitudes, struggling for a scanty living, or with +passions excited by luxurious habits and appetites. If we can then +maintain our universal suffrage and our liberty, it will be fair and +reasonable enough in us to set ourselves up for the imitation of others. +Liberty, as far as we yet know her, is not fitted to the condition of +these populous and luxurious countries. Her household gods are of clay, +and her dwelling where the icy gales of Alleghany sing through the +crevices of her hut." + +I have observed, in my introduction to the first three volumes of this +work, that our virtues and our vices are mainly to be traced to the form +of government, climate, and circumstances, and I think I can show that +the vices of the Americans are chiefly to be attributed to their present +form of government. + +The example of the Executive is most injurious. It is insatiable in its +ambition, regardless of its faith, corrupt in the highest degree; never +legislating for morality, but always for expediency. This is the first +cause of the low standard of morals; the second is the want of an +aristocracy, to set an example and give the tone to society. These are +followed by the errors incident to the voluntary system of religion, and +a democratical education. To these must be superadded the want of moral +courage, arising from the dread of public opinion, and the natural +tendency of a democratic form of government to excite the spirit of +gain, as the main-spring of action, and the _summum bonum_ of existence. + +Dr Channing observes--"Our present civilisation is characterised and +tainted by a devouring greediness of wealth; and a cause which asserts +right against wealth, must stir up bitter opposition, especially in +cities where this divinity is most adored." "The passion for gain is +every where sapping pure and generous feeling, and every where raises up +bitter foes against any reform which may threaten to turn aside a stream +of wealth. I sometimes feel as if a great social revolution were +necessary to break up our present mercenary civilisation, in order that +Christianity, now repelled by the almost universal worldliness, may come +into new contact with the soul, and may reconstruct society after its +own pure and disinterested principles." Channing's Letter to Birney, +1837. + +All the above evils may be traced to the nature of their institutions; +and I hold it as an axiom, that the chief end of government is the +happiness, social order, and morality of the people; that no government, +however perfect in theory, can be _good_ which in practice _demoralises +those who are subjected to it_. Never was there a nation which +commenced with brighter prospects; the experiment has been made and it +has failed; this is not their fault. They still retain all the +qualities to constitute a great nation, and a great nation, or +assemblage of nations, they will eventually become. At present, all is +hidden in a futurity much too deep for any human eye to penetrate; they +progress fast in wealth and power, and as their weight increases, so +will their speed be accelerated, until their own rapid motion will +occasion them to split into fragments, each fragment sufficiently large +to compose a nation of itself. What may be the eventual result of this +convulsion, what may be the destruction, the loss of life, the chaotic +scenes of strife and contention, before the portions may again be +restored to order under new institutions, it is as impossible to foresee +as it is to decide upon the period at which it may take place; but one +thing is certain, that come it will, and that every hour of increase of +greatness and prosperity only adds to the more rapid approach of the +danger, and to the important lesson which the world will receive. + +I have not written this book for the Americans; they have hardly entered +my thoughts during the whole time that I have been employed upon it, and +I am perfectly indifferent either to their censure or their praise. I +went over to America well-inclined towards the people, and anxious to +ascertain the truth among so many conflicting opinions. I did expect to +find them a people more virtuous and moral than our own, but I confess +on other points I had formed no opinions; the results of my observations +I have now laid before the English public, for whom only they have been +written down. Within these last few years, that is, since the passing +of the Reform Bill, we have made rapid strides towards democracy, and +the cry of the multitude is still for more power, which our present +rulers appear but too willing to give them. I consider that the people +of England have already as much power as is consistent with their +happiness and with true liberty, and that any increase of privilege +would be detrimental to both. My object in writing these pages is, to +point out the effects of a democracy upon the morals, the happiness, and +the due apportionment of liberty to all classes; to shew that if, in the +balance of rights and privileges, the scale should turn on one side or +the other, as it invariably must in this world, how much safer it is, +how much more equitable I may add, it is that it should preponderate in +favour of the intelligent and enlightened portion of the nation. I wish +that the contents of these pages may render those who are led away by +generous feelings and abstract ideas of right, to pause before they +consent to grant to those below them what may appear to be a boon, but +will in reality prove a source of misery and danger to all parties--that +they may confirm the opinions of those who are wavering, and support +those who have true ideas as to the nature of government. If I have +succeeded in the most trifling degree in effecting these ends, which I +consider vitally important to the future welfare of this country--if I +have any way assisted the cause of Conservatism--I am content, and shall +consider that my time and labour have not been thrown away. + + + +VOLUME TWO, CHAPTER ELEVEN. + + + +APPENDIX. CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. + +We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect +union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquillity, provide for the +common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of +liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this +Constitution for the United States of America. + +ARTICLE 1.--SECTION 1. + +1. All legislative powers herein granted, shall be vested in a Congress +of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of +Representatives. + +SECTION 2. + +I. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen +every second year by the people of the several States; and the electors +in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of +the most numerous branch of the State legislature. + +2. No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained to +the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the +United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that +State in which he shall be chosen. + +3. Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the +several States which may be included within this Union, according to +their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the +whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a +term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all +other persons. The actual enumeration shall be made within three years +after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within +every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law +direct. The number of representatives shall not exceed one for every +thirty thousand, but each State shall have at least one representative; +and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire +shall be entitled to choose three; Massachusetts eight; Rhode Island and +Providence Plantations one; Connecticut five; New York six; New Jersey +four; Pennsylvania eight; Delaware one; Maryland six; Virginia ten; +North Carolina five; South Carolina five; and Georgia three. + +4. When vacancies happen in the representation from any State, the +executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill up +such vacancies. + +5. The House of Representatives shall choose their speaker and other +officers, and shall have the sole power of impeachment. + +SECTION 3. + +1. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two senators +from each State, chosen by the legislature thereof, for six years; and +each senator shall have one vote. + +2. Immediately after they shall be first assembled, in consequence of +the first election, they shall be divided, as equally as may be, into +three classes. The seats of the senators of the first class shall be +vacated at the expiration of the second year; of the second class, at +the expiration of the fourth year; and of the third class, at the +expiration of the sixth year; so that one-third may be chosen every +second year; and if vacancies happen, by resignation or otherwise, +during the recess of the legislature of any State, the executive thereof +may make temporary appointment until the next meeting of the +legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies. + +3. No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the age +of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and +who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which he +shall be chosen. + +4. The Vice-President of the United States shall be President of the +Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. + +5. The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a President, +_pro tempore_, in the absence of the Vice-President, or when he shall +exercise the office of President of the United States. + +6. The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When +sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. When +the President of the United States is tried, the chief justice shall +preside; and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of +two-thirds of the members present. + +7. Judgment, in case of impeachment, shall not extend further than to +removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office +of honour, trust, or profit, under the United States; but the party +convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, +judgment, and punishment according to law. + +SECTION 4. + +1. The times, places, and manners of holding elections for senators and +representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the legislature +thereof, but the Congress may, at any time, by law, make or alter such +regulations, except as to the places of choosing senators. + +2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such +meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by +law appoint a different day. + +SECTION 5. + +1. Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and +qualifications of its own members; and a majority of each shall +constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn +from day to day, and may be authorised to compel the attendance of +absent members, in such manner and under such penalties as each House +may provide. + +2. Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its +members for disorderly behaviour, and, with the concurrence of +two-thirds, expel a member. + +3. Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to +time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment +require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members of either House, +on any question, shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be +entered on the journal. + +4. Neither House, during the session of Congress, shall, without the +consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other +place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting. + +SECTION 6. + +1. The senators and representatives shall receive a compensation for +their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury +of the United States. They shall, in all cases, except treason, felony, +and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their +attendance at the session of their respective houses, and in going to or +returning from the same; and for any speech or debate in either House, +they shall not be questioned in any other place. + +2. No senator or representative shall, during the time for which he was +elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the +United States which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof +shall have been increased, during such time; and no person holding any +office under the United States shall be a member of either House during +his continuance in office. + +SECTION 7. + +1. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of +Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments, +as on other bills. + +2. Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and +the Senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to the President +of the United States; if he approve, he shall sign it; but if not, he +shall return it, with his objections, to that House in which it shall +have originated, who shall enter the objection at large on their +journal, and proceed to re-consider it. If, after such +re-consideration, two-thirds of that House shall agree to pass the bill, +it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other House, by +which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds +of that House, it shall become a law. But in all such cases, the votes +of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of +the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the +journal of each House respectively. If any bill shall not be returned +by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have +been presented to him, the same shall be a law in like manner as if he +had signed it, unless the Congress, by their adjournment, prevent its +return, in which case it shall not be a law. + +3. Every order, resolution, or vote, to which the concurrence of the +Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary, (except on a +question of adjournment,) shall be presented to the President of the +United States; and before the same shall take effect, shall be approved +by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two-thirds of +the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the rules and +limitations prescribed in the case of a bill. + +SECTION 8. + +The Congress shall have power-- + +1. To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises; to pay the +debts and provide for the common defence and general welfare of the +United States; but all duties, imposts, and excises, shall be uniform +throughout the United States. + +2. To borrow money on the credit of the United States. + +3. To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several +States, and with the Indian tribes. + +4. To establish a uniform rule of naturalisation, and uniform laws on +the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States. + +5. To coin money, regulate the value thereof; and of foreign coin, and +fix the standard of weights and measures. + +6. To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and +current coin of the United States. + +7. To establish post-offices and post-roads. + +8. To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing, for +limited times, to authors and inventors, the exclusive right to their +respective writings and discoveries. + +9. To constitute tribunals inferior to the supreme court: to define and +punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offences +against the law of nations. + +10. To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make +rules concerning captures on land and water. + +11. To raise and support armies; but no appropriation of money to that +use shall be for a longer term than two years. + +12. To provide and maintain a navy. + +13. To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and +naval forces. + +14. To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the +Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions. + +15. To provide for organising, arming, and disciplining the militia, +and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of +the United States, reserving to the States respectively the appointment +of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to +the discipline prescribed by Congress. + +16. To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever over such +district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of +particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of +government of the United States, and to exercise like authority over all +places purchased, by the consent of the legislature of the State in +which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, +dock-yards, and other needful buildings; and, + +17. To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying +into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this +constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any +department or officer thereof. + +SECTION 9. + +1. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the States +now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the +Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight; but a +tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten +dollars for each person. + +2. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, +unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may +require it. + +3. No bill of attainder, or _ex post facto_ law, shall be passed. + +4. No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in +proportion to the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to be +taken. + +5. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State. +No preference shall be given to any regulation of commerce or revenue to +the ports of one State over those of another: nor shall vessels bound to +or from one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another. + +6. No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of +appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of the +receipts and expenditure of all public money shall be published from +time to time. + +7. No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States, and no +person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without +the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, +or title of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state. + +SECTION 10. + +1. No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; +grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; +make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; +pass any bill of attainder, _ex post facto_ law, or law impairing the +obligation of contracts; or grant any title of nobility. + +2. No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any imposts +or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary +for executing its inspection laws; and the neat produce of all duties +and imposts, laid by any State on imports or exports, shall be for the +use of the treasury of the United States, and all such laws shall be +subject to the revision and control of the Congress. No State shall, +without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops or +ships of war in time of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with +another State, or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless +actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay. + +ARTICLE 2.--SECTION 1. + +1. The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United +States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four +years, and, together with the Vice-President, chosen for the same term, +be elected as follows: + +2. Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof +may direct, a number of electors equal to the whole number of senators +and representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress; +but no senator or representative, or person holding any office of trust +or profit under the United States, shall be appointed an elector. + +3. The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by +ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant +of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a list of all +the persons voted for, and of the number of votes for each; which list +they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the +Government of the United States, directed to the President of the +Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the +Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the +votes shall then be counted. The person having the greatest number of +votes shall be President, if such number be a majority of the whole +number of electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have +such a majority, and have an equal number of votes, then the House of +Representatives shall immediately choose, by ballot, one of them for +President; and if no person have a majority, then, from the five highest +on the list, the said House shall, in like manner, choose the President. +But, in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by States, the +representation from each State having one vote; a quorum for this +purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the +States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. +In every case, after the choice of the President, the person having the +greatest number of votes of the electors, shall be the Vice-President. +But if there should remain two or more who have equal votes, the Senate +shall choose from them, by ballot, the Vice-President. + +4. The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and +the day on which they shall give their votes; which day shall be the +same throughout the United States. + +5. No person, except a natural-born citizen, or a citizen of the United +States at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be +eligible to the office of President: neither shall any person be +eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of +thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident within the United +States. + +6. In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his +death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of +the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-President, and the +Congress may, by law, provide for the case of removal, death, +resignation, or inability, both of the President and Vice-President, +declaring what officer shall then act as President, and such officer +shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed, or a President +shall be elected. + +7. The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services a +compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the +period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive +within that period any other emolument from the United States, or any of +them. + +8. Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the +following oath or affirmation:-- + +9. "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the +office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my +ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United +States." + +SECTION 2. + +1. The President shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of +the United States, and of the militia of the several States, when called +into the actual service of the United States; he may require the +opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive +departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective +offices; and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for +offences against the United States, except in cases of impeachment. + +2. He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the +Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the senators present +concur: and he shall nominate, and, by and with the advice and consent +of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and +consuls, judges of the supreme court, and all other officers of the +United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, +and which shall be established by law. But the Congress may, by law, +vest the appointment of such inferior officers as they think proper, in +the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of +departments. + +3. The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may +happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which +shall expire at the end of their next session. + +SECTION 3. + +1. He shall, from time to time, give to the Congress information of the +state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures +as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may on extraordinary +occasions convene both Houses, or either of them, and in case of +disagreement between them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he +may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper; he shall receive +ambassadors and other public ministers; he shall take care that the laws +be faithfully executed; and shall commission all the officers of the +United States. + +SECTION 4. + +1. The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of the United +States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction +of, treason, bribery, or other crimes and misdemeanors. + +ARTICLE 3.--SECTION 1. + +1. The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one +supreme court, and in such inferior courts, as the Congress may from +time to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the supreme and +inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behaviour; and +shall at stated times receive for their services a compensation, which +shall not be diminished during their continuance in office. + +SECTION 2. + +1. The judicial power shall extend to all cases in law and equity, +arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and +treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority; to all +cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls; to all +cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; to controversies to which +the United States shall be a party; to controversies between two or more +States; between a State and citizens of another State; between citizens +of different States; between citizens of the same State claiming lands +under grants of different States; and between a State or the citizens +thereof, and foreign States, citizens or subjects. + +2. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and +consuls, and those in which a State shall be a party, the supreme court +shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before +mentioned, the supreme court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as +to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under such regulations, as +the Congress shall make. + +3. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by +jury, and such trial shall be held in the State where the said crimes +shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the +trial shall be at such places as the Congress may by law have directed. + +SECTION 3. + +1. Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war +against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and +comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the +testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in +open court. + +2. The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason; +but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or +forfeiture, except during the life of the person attainted. + +ARTICLE 4.--SECTION 1. + +1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public +acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And the +Congress may, by general laws, prescribe the manner in which such acts, +records, and proceedings, shall be proved, and the effect thereof. + +SECTION 2. + +1. The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and +immunities of citizens in the several States. + +2. A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other crime, +who shall flee from justice, and be found in another State, shall, on +demand of the executive authority of the State from which he has fled, +be delivered up, to be removed to the State having jurisdiction of the +crime. + +3. No person held to service or labour in one State under the laws +thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or +regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labour; but shall +be delivered up on the claim of the party to whom such service or labour +may be due. + +SECTION 3. + +1. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no +new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any +other State, nor any State be formed by the junction of two or more +States, or parts of States, without the consent of the legislatures of +the States concerned, as well as of the Congress. + +2. The Congress shall have power to dispose of, and make all needful +rules and regulations respecting, the territory or other property +belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall +be so construed as to prejudice any claims of the United States, or of +any particular State. + +SECTION 4. + +1. The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a +republican form of Government, and shall protect each of them against +invasion; and, on application of the legislature, or of the executive, +(when the legislature cannot be convened) against domestic violence. + +ARTICLE 5. + +1. The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both Houses shall deem it +necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution; or, on the +application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several States, +shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, +shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this +Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the +several States, or by conventions of three-fourths thereof, as the one +or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; +provided, that no amendment which may be made prior to the year one +thousand eight hundred and eight, shall in any manner affect the first +and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article: that and +no State, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage +in the Senate. + +ARTICLE 6. + +1. All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before the +adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United +States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation. + +2. This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be +made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall be +made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law +of the land; and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any +thing in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary +notwithstanding. + +3. The senators and representatives before mentioned, and the members +of the several State legislature, and all executive and judicial +officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be +bound by oath or affirmation to support this Constitution: but no +religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office +or public trust under the United States. + +ARTICLE 7. + +1. The ratification of the conventions of nine States shall be +sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution between the States +so ratifying the same. + +Done in Convention, by the unanimous consent of the States present, the +seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven +hundred and eighty-seven, and of the Independence of the United States +of America, the twelfth. In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed +our names. + +George Washington, _President and Deputy from Virginia_ + +New Hampshire. John Langdon, Nicholas Gilman. + +Massachusetts. Nathaniel Gorman, Rufus King. + +Connecticut. William Samuel Johnson, Roger Sherman. + +New York. Alexander Hamilton. + +New Jersey. William Livingston, David Bearly, William Paterson, +Jonathan Dayton. + +Pennsylvania. Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Mafflin, Robert Morris, George +Clymer, Thomas Fitzsimons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson, Governeur +Morris. + +Delaware. George Read, Gunning Bedford, Jun. John Dickenson, Richard +Bassett, Jacob Broom. + +Maryland. James McHenry, Daniel of St Tho. Jenifer, Daniel Carrol. + +Virginia. John Blair, James Madison, jun. + +North Carolina. William Blount, Richard Dobbs Spaight, Hugh Williamson. + +South Carolina. John Rutledge, Chas. Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles +Pinckney, Pierce Butler. + +Georgia. William Few, Abraham Baldwin. + +(_Attest_,) William Jackson. + +AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. + +Art. 1. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of +religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the +freedom of speech or of the press; or the right, of the people peaceably +to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. + +Art. 2. A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a +free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be +infringed. + +Art. 3. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house +without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war, but in a manner +prescribed by law. + +Art. 4. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, +papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall +not be violated; and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, +supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place +to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. + +Art. 5. No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise +infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, +except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, +when in actual service, in time of war or public danger; nor shall any +person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of +life or limb; nor shall be compelled, in any criminal case, to be a +witness against himself; nor be deprived of life, liberty or property, +without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for +public use, without just compensation. + +Art. 6. In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right +to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the State and +district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district +shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the +nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses +against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his +favour; and to have the assistance of counsel for his defence. + +Art. 7. In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall +exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved; +and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any court +of the United States, than according to the rules of common law. + +Art. 8. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines +imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. + +Art. 9. The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not +be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. + +Art. 10. The powers not delegated to the United States by the +Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the +States respectively, or to the people. + +Art. 11. The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed +to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against +one of the United States by citizens of another State, or by citizens or +subjects of any foreign State. + +Art. 12. 1. The electors shall meet in their respective States, and +vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, +shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with themselves; they shall +name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct +ballots the person voted for as Vice-president; and they shall make +distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons +voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which +lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of +the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the +Senate; the President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate +and House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes +shall then be counted; the person having the greatest number of votes +for President shall be the President, if such of the number be a +majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person +have such a majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers, +not exceeding three, on the list of those voted for as President, the +House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the +President. But, in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by +States, the representation from each State having one vote; a quorum for +this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the +States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. +And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President +whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth +day of March next following, the Vice-President shall act as President, +as in the case of the death, or other constitutional disability of the +President. + +2. The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, +shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole +number of electors appointed; and if no person have a majority, then +from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the +Vice-President: a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of +the whole number of senators, and a majority of the whole number shall +be necessary to a choice. + +3. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of +President, shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United +States. + +END OF VOL. II. + + + +VOLUME THREE, CHAPTER ONE. + +CANADA. + +Of what advantage are the Canadas to England? + +This question has been put to me, at least one hundred times since my +return from America. It is argued that the Canadas produce and export +nothing except timber, and that the protecting duty given to Canada +timber is not only very severely felt by the mother-country, but very +injurious to her foreign relations. These observations are undeniable; +and I admit that, as a mere colony compelled to add to the wealth of +England, (sending to her all her produce, and receiving from her all her +supplies), Canada has been worth less than nothing. But, admitting this +for the present, we will now examine whether there are no other grounds +for the retention of the Canadas under our control. + +Colonies are of value to the mother-country in two ways. The first is +already mentioned, and in that way, the present advantage of the Canadas +as colonies is abandoned. The other great importance of colonies is, +that they may be considered as outports, as stepping-stones, as it were, +over the whole world; and for the present I shall examine into the value +of these possessions merely in this point of view. We have many islands +or colonies under our subjection which are in themselves not only +valueless, but, moreover, extremely expensive to us; and if every colony +or island is to be valued merely according to the produce and advantage +derived from it by the mother-country, we must abandon Heligoland, +Ascension, St Helena, Malta, and, even Gibraltar itself. All these, +and some others, are, in point of commerce, valueless; yet they add much +to the security of the country and to our dominion of the seas. This +will be admitted, and we must therefore now examine how far the Canadas +may be considered as valuable under this second point of view. + +I have already shewn that the ambition for territory is one of the +diseases, if I may use the term, of the American people. On that point +they are insatiable, and that they covet the Canadas is undeniable. Let +us inquire into the reasons why the Americans are so anxious to possess +the Canadas. + +There are many. In the first place, they do not like to have a people +subjected to a monarchial form of government as their neighbours; they +do not like that security of person and property, and a just +administration of the law, should be found in a thinly-peopled province, +while they cannot obtain those advantages under their own institutions. +It is a reproach to them. They continually taunt the Canadians that +they are the only portion of the New World who have not thrown off the +yoke--the only portion who are not yet free; and this taunt has not been +without its effect upon the unthinking portion of the community. What +is the cause of this unusual sympathy? The question is already +answered. + +Another important reason which the Americans have for the possession of +the Canadas is, that they are the means of easy retaliation on the part +of England in case of aggression. They render them weak and assailable +in case of war. Had they possession of the Canadas, and our other +provinces, the United States would be almost invulnerable. As it is, +they become defenceless to the north, and are moreover exposed to the +attack of all the tribes of Indians concentrated on the western +frontier. Indeed, they never will consider their territory as complete +"in a ring fence," as long as we have possession of the mouths of the +St Lawrence. They wish to be able to boast of an inland navigation +from nearly the Equator to the Pole--from the entrance of the +Mississippi to the exit of the St Lawrence. Our possession of the +Canadas is a check to their pride and ambition, which are both as +boundless as the territory which they covet. + +But there are other reasons equally important. It is their anxiety to +become a manufacturing as well as a producing nation. Their object is, +that the north should manufacture what the south produces; and that, +instead of commercial relations with England, as at present, that +American cotton-manufactures should be borne in American bottoms over +all the world. This they consider is the great ultimatum to be arrived +at, and they look forward to it as the source of immense wealth and +increased security to the Union, and of their wresting from England the +sceptre and dominion of the seas. + +It may be said that the United States, if they want to become a +manufacturing nation, have _now_ the power; but such is not the case. +Until they can completely shut out English manufactures, they have not. +The price of labour is too dear. Should they increase the tariff, or +duty, upon English goods, the Canadas and our other provinces will +render their efforts useless, as we have a line of coast of upwards of +2,000 miles, by which we can introduce English goods to any amount by +smuggling, and which it is impossible for the Americans to guard +against; and as the West fills up, this importation of English goods +would every year increase. As long, therefore, as we hold the Canadas, +the Americans must be content to be a very inferior manufacturing nation +to ourselves; and it may be added that _now_ or _never_ is the time for +the Americans to possess themselves of the Canadas. They perceive this; +for when once the Western States gain the preponderance in wealth and +power, which they will in a few years, the cause of the Eastern, or +manufacturing States will be lost. The Western States will not quarrel +with England on account of the Eastern, but will import our goods direct +in exchange for their produce. They themselves cannot manufacture and +they will go to market where they can purchase cheapest. + +But do the views of the Americans extend no further? Would they be +satisfied if they obtained the Canadas? Most assuredly not. They are +too vast in their ideas--too ambitious in their views. If Canada fell, +Nova Scotia would fall, and they would obtain what they most covet--the +harbour of Halifax. New Brunswick would fall, and they would have then +driven us out of our Continental possessions. Would they stop then? +No; they never would stop until they had driven the English to the other +side of the Atlantic. Newfoundland and its fisheries would be their +next prey; for it, as well as our other possessions, would then be +defenceless. They would not leave us the West-Indies, although useless +to them. Such is their object and their earnest desire--an increase of +territory and power for themselves, and the humiliation of England. The +very eagerness with which the Americans bring up this question on +purpose that they may disavow their wishes, is one of the strongest +proofs of their anxiety to blind us on the subject; but they will never +lose sight of it; and if they thought they had any chance of success, +there is no expense which they would not cheerfully incur, no war into +which they would not enter. Let not the English be deceived by their +asseverations. What I have now asserted is _the fact_. The same spirit +which has actuated them in dispossessing the Indians of territories +which they cannot themselves populate, which prompted the "high-handed +theft" of the Texas from Mexico, will induce them to adopt any pretext, +as soon as they think they have a chance, to seize upon the Canadas and +our other transatlantic possessions. + +If what I have stated be correct, and I am convinced of its truth +myself, it will be evident that the Canadas, independent of every other +consideration, become a _most important outpost_ which we must defend +and hold possession of. Let it be remembered that every loss to us, is +an increase to the power of America--an increase to her security and to +her maritime strength; that whatever her assertions may be, she is +deadly hostile to us, from the very circumstance that she considers that +we prevent her aggrandisement and prosperity. America can only rise to +the zenith, which she would attain, by the fall of England, and every +disaster to this country is to her a source of exultation. That there +are many Americans of a contrary opinion I grant; that the city of New +York would prefer the present amicable relations is certain; but I have +here expressed the feelings of the _majority_, and it must be remembered +that in America it is the majority who decide all questions. + +To prove that I am not too severe upon the Americans in the above +remarks, let me refer to their own printed documents. + +The reader must be informed that the Canadian rebels, with their +American auxiliaries, made incursions into our territory near the +boundary-line, burnt the houses, took away the cattle, and left +destitute those parties who were considered as loyal and well affected, +or, in fact, those who refused to arm and join the rebels. When pursued +by the militia, or other forces, the rebel parties hastened over the +boundary-line, where they were secure under the American protection. +This system of protection naturally irritated the loyal Canadians, who +threatened to cross the boundary and attack the Americans in return. It +was, however, only a _threat_, never being put in execution; but upon +the strength of this threat, application was made to the Governor in the +State of Vermont, requesting that the arms in the American arsenals +might be supplied to the citizens for their protection. The Governor +very properly refused, and issued a proclamation warning the citizens of +Vermont not to interfere. This offended the _majority_, who forthwith +called a meeting at St Albans, the results of which were ordered to be +printed and circulated. I have a copy of these reports and resolutions, +from which I shall now give some extracts. Let it be observed that +these are not the resolutions of a few lawless and undisciplined people, +bordering on the lakes, as the sympathisers are stated to have been. +The title of Honorable denotes that the parties are either Members of +the State or Federal Governments; and, indeed, the parties whose names +appear on the committee, are all of the first respectability in the +State. + +"_Meeting of the Freemen at St Albans_. + +"Agreeable to a notice circulated throughout the county, about +forty-eight hours previous to the meeting, two thousand of the freemen +from the different towns in the county assembled to take into +consideration a recent proclamation of the Governor, and an +extraordinary letter accompanying the same, and also to express their +sentiments on Canadian affairs, especially such as have recently +transpired in the neighbourhood of latitude forty-five degrees. + +"Jeptha Bradley, Esquire, of St Albans, was called to the chair, and, +agreeable to a resolve of the meeting, appointed the _Hon_. SS Brown, +_Hon_. Timothy Foster, and GW Kendall, Esquire, a committee to nominate +officers. + +"The following gentlemen were nominated and appointed:-- + +"_Hon_. Austin Fuller, of Enosburgh, _President_. + +"_Vice Presidents_." + ++=======================+============+ +YColonel SB Hazeltine, YBakersfield.Y ++-----------------------+------------+ +YHON. Horace Eaton, YEnosburgh. Y ++-----------------------+------------+ +YDoctor IS Webster, YBerkshire. Y ++-----------------------+------------+ +YWilliam Green, Esquire,YSheldon. Y ++-----------------------+------------+ +YMartin Wires, Esquire, YCambridge. Y ++-----------------------+------------+ +YHON. Timothy Foster, YSwanton. Y ++=======================+============+ + +_Secretaries_. + ++===============+========+ +YJJ Beardsley, YSheldon.Y ++---------------+--------+ +YZoroaster Fisk,YSwanton.Y ++===============+========+ + +"The following gentlemen were appointed a committee to prepare a report +and resolutions for the meeting:--" + ++========================+===========+ +YHenry Adams, Esquire, YSt Albans.Y ++------------------------+-----------+ +YNL Whittemore, Esquire, YSwanton. Y ++------------------------+-----------+ +YRA Shattuck, Esquire, YSheldon. Y ++------------------------+-----------+ +YBradley Barlow, Esquire,YFairfield. Y ++------------------------+-----------+ +YIB Bowdish, Esquire, YSwanton. Y ++========================+===========+ + +"The letter of certain citizens of Burlington, and the proclamation of +his Excellency, Silas H. Jennison, were then read by the Secretary, JJ +Beardsley, Esquire After the reading of the letter and the proclamation +the meeting was addressed by several gentlemen, in an eloquent and +impressive manner, and their remarks severally called forth great +applause. + +"The committee, on resolutions by Henry Adams, Esquire, chairman, then +presented the following report and resolutions, which were _unanimously +adopted_." + +After having in the report stated that threats have been made, they then +attack the legality of the Governor's proclamation and conduct, as +follows:-- + +"The committee have no evidence to show that the execution of the +threats above-mentioned, or that any invasion of the rights of American +citizens, would knowingly be permitted by the existing government in +Canada, or approved of by a majority of the citizens in the Canadian +townships; but when they bear in mind that civil law is suspended in +Canada, and in its place are substituted the summary proceedings of +military courts and the capricious wills of petty military officers; +when they consider the excited and embittered feelings which prevail +along the frontier, and which some have studied to inflame, and also the +character of a portion of the population which borders upon our +territory, they deem it not improbable that acts of violence might be +attempted, and even that a gang of marauders might be gathered together, +and led to make some petty invasion into our territory, disturbing the +public peace, and committing acts of outrage. If this be deemed +improbable, still a state of suspense and doubt is not to be endured. +Every family on the frontier should live in a state of undisturbed +repose. The ability not only to resist aggression, but to redress +injuries with summary justice, furnishes a certain, if not the only +guarantee of perfect quiet. + +"With these views, at recent meetings of the people, a committee was +appointed to wait upon the Governor and request the use of a part of the +arms in the State arsenal. This request has been denied; and the reason +assigned by his Excellency is, that he has doubts whether by law he can +loan out the arms of the State to be used by the people of the State for +their own defence. Without commenting on the technicalities which so +much embarrass his Excellency, or inquiring into the wisdom of that +construction of the law which infers, that because the State arms _are +to be kept fit for use_, therefore _they are not to be used_, the +committee would beg leave respectfully to suggest to the people that, +inasmuch as they are to receive no aid from the State, it is their duty +at once to arm themselves, and to rely upon themselves. + +"While the governor has thus declined furnishing any aid for the +security of the frontier, he has issued a proclamation enjoining upon +the citizens of this State the observance of a strict neutrality between +the hostile parties in Canada. The propriety of our Governor's issuing +a proclamation on an occasion like the present, merely advisory, may +well be questioned. It neither creates any new obligations, nor adds +force to those already resting on our citizens. When it is considered +that our relations with foreign powers are solely confided to the +general government, and that if the people of this State should boldly +break the obligations of neutrality, the governor of the State has no +power to restrain at to punish. It must be admitted, that a +proclamation of neutrality issuing from our State executive seems to be +over-stepping the proprieties of the office, and should be exercised, if +at all, only in case of a general and glaring violation of the laws of +nations; and even then it may reasonably be questioned whether the +ordinary process of law would not be sufficient, and whether gratuitous +advice to the people on the one hand, and gratuitous interference with +the exclusive functions of the general government on the other, would +become pertinent by being stamped with the official Seal of State. We +are not aware of any express authority in our constitution or laws for +the exercise of this novel mode of addressing the people; and it can +only be justified on the ground, that the chief magistrate has something +of fact or doctrine of importance to communicate, of which the people +are supposed to be ignorant. In neither point of view is there any +thing striking in this otherwise extraordinary document. + +"No facts are set forth before unknown to the public, except that a +representation has been made to his Excellency that `_hostile forces had +been organised within this State_,' of which organisation our citizens +are _profoundly ignorant_. + +"To the doctrine of this proclamation,--that the declaration of martial +law, by Lord Gosford, changes the relations between the United States +and Canada, we cannot assent. Our relations with Great Britain and her +colonies rest upon treaties, and the general law of nations, which, it +is believed, her Majesty's Governor in Chief of Lower Canada can neither +enlarge nor restrict. + +"To assume that our citizens are ignorant of their rights and +obligations as members of a neutral independent power, is to take for +granted that they have forgotten the repeated infractions of those +rights which have so often agitated our country since the adoption of +Federal Constitution, which led to the late war with Great Britain, and +which have given rise to claims of indemnity that are still due from +various powers of Europe. Every page of the history of our country +portrays violations of her neutral rights by the despotic and haughty +powers of Europe, among whom _England has ever been foremost_. Your +committee do not deem it necessary to enlarge upon this subject." + +After the report came the resolutions, a portion of which I subjoin:-- + +"Resolved--That the safety of the people is the supreme law, and we +recommend to our citizens to arm themselves for the maintenance of this +law. + +"Resolved--That the proclamation of martial law in Canada, and placing +arms in the hands of people unaccustomed to their use, hostile to our +institutions, and heated by intestine dissensions, have a direct +tendency to disturb the peace of our citizens, and demands the immediate +interference of the general government. + +"Resolved--That our government ought to take immediate measures to +obtain redress for the injuries and insults perpetrated on our citizens +by the people of Canada. + +"Resolved--That as friends of human liberty and human rights, we cannot +restrain the expression of our sympathy, when we behold an _oppressed +and heroic people unfurl the banner of freedom_. + +"Resolved--That we hope that time will soon come when the bayonet shall +fail to sustain the _last relic of royalty_ which now lingers on the +western continent. + +"Resolved--That we concur in the opinions which have been fully and +freely expressed in the British parliament by eminent _English +statesmen_; that `in the ordinary course of things, Canada must soon be +separated from the mother country.' + +"Resolved--That it is the duty of every independent American to aid in +every possible manner, consistent with our laws, the exertions of the +patriots in Lower Canada, against the _tyranny, oppression, and misrule +of a despotic government_." + + + +VOLUME THREE, CHAPTER TWO. + +THE CANADAS, CONTINUED. + +The next question to be considered is, whether, independent of their +being important to us as an outpost to defend our transatlantic +possessions, the Canadas are likely to be useful to us, as a colony, in +a commercial point of view. This requires much consideration. + +It must be admitted that, up to the present, we may consider the Canadas +to have been a heavy burden to this country. From what I am now going +to state, there are many, who agreeing with me in most other points, +will be likely to dissent. That I cannot help; I may be in error, but, +at all events, I shall not be in error from a too hasty decision. + +That it is wise and proper for a mother country to assist and support +her colonies in their infancy is undoubted. In so doing, the mother +country taxes herself for the advantages to be hereafter derived from +the colony; but it may occur that the tax imposed upon the people of the +another country may be too onerous, at the same time that no advantages +at all commensurate are derived from the colony. When such is the case, +the tax is not fair; and the colony for whose benefit that tax has been +imposed, is looked upon with ill-will. This is the precise situation of +the Canadas, and this is the cause why there is so strong an outcry +against our retaining possession of these provinces. + +The bonus of forty-five shillings on a load of timber, which is given to +the Canadas by our present duties, is much too great; and has pressed +too heavily on the people of the mother country. It has, in fact, +created a monopoly; and when it is considered how important and +necessary an article timber is in this country,--how this enormous bonus +on Canadian timber affects the shipping, house-building, and +agricultural interests--it is no wonder that people wish to get rid of +the Canadas and the tax at one and the same time. It is also injurious +to us in our commercial relations with the northern countries, who +refuse our manufactures because we have laid so heavy a duty upon their +produce. This tax for the benefit of the Canadian produce was put on +during the war, without any intention that it should remain permanent: +and I think I shall be able satisfactorily to establish, that, not only +is it unjust towards our own people, but that, instead of benefiting, it +will be, now that the Canadas are fast increasing in population, an +injury to the Canadas themselves. + +Up to the present period, timber has been the only article of export +from Canada: we certainly have had the advantage of a large carrying +trade, and the employment of many thousand tons of shipping; but, with +this exception, the timber trade has been injurious, not only to the +mother country, but to the colony itself, as it has prevented her real +prosperity, which must ever depend upon the culture of the land and the +increase of population. The first point to which the attention of a +colony should be directed, is its own support, the competence and supply +of all the necessaries of life to its inhabitants; it is not until after +this object has been obtained, that it must direct its attention to the +gain which may accrue from any surplus produce. In what way has the +timber trade benefited the Canadas? Has it thrown any wealth into the +provinces? most certainly not; the timber has been cut down, either by +those Canadians who would have been much better employed in tilling the +land, for every acre cleared is real wealth; or by Americans who have +come over to cut down the timber and have returned to their own country +to spend the money. That the profits of the timber trade have been +great is certain; but have these profits remained in the Canadas?--have +the sums realised been expended there?--no; they have been realised in, +or brought over to England, shared among a few persons of influence who +have, to a certain degree, obtained a monopoly by the bonus granted, but +the Canadas have benefited little or none, and the mother-country has +received serious injury. That the parties connected with the Canada +timber trade will deny this, and endeavour to ridicule my arguments, I +am aware; and that they are an influential party I well know; but I +trust before I have concluded, to prove to every disinterested person, +that I am correct in my view of the case, and that the prosperity of the +Canadas is a very different question from the prosperity of the Canadian +timber merchants, or even the proprietors on the Ottawa. + +When the protecting duty was first imposed, there was no idea of its +being a permanent duty: it was intended as an encouragement for ships to +go to Canada for timber, when it could not be got in the Baltic. It +was, in fact, a war measure, which should have been removed upon the +return to peace. The reason why it was not, is, the plea brought +forward, that the taking off the protecting duty would be a serious loss +to the emigrant settler, who would have no means of disposing of his +timber after he had felled it, and that the emigrant looked to his +timber as his first profits; moreover, that it gave employment to the +emigrant in the long winters. That those who have never been in the +country were led away by this assertion I can easily imagine, but I must +say that a more barefaced falsehood was never uttered. There are +varieties of emigrants, and those with capital speculate in timber as +well as other articles; but let us examine into the proceedings of the +emigrant settler, that is, the man who purchases an allotment and +commences as a farmer--for this is the party to whom the supposed +philanthropy was to extend. He builds his cottage and clears two or +three acres, that is, he fells the trees; as soon as he has done this, +if the weather permit, he burns them where they lie, the branches and +smaller limbs being collected round the trunks as fuel to consume them. +This he is compelled to do, for the land having been so long smothered +by the want of air and sunshine, arising from the denseness of the +forest, has a degree of _acidity_ in it, which the alkali of the wood +and ashes are required to correct, previous to his obtaining a crop. I +do not believe that a settler ever sold a tree when he was clearing, +although if water-carriage was convenient, he may afterwards, when he +was in competent circumstances, have done so. Having raised his crop +from the first year's clearing, what is his employment during the +winter,--cutting down timber on the Ottawa for the English market? no; +cutting down timber on his own property as fast as he can, so as to have +it ready for burning in the early spring, and having a crop off this, +his second clearing. And so he continues, with full employment on his +own farm, until he has cleared sufficient for the growing of his corn +and the pasture for his cattle. When he has become independent and +comfortable, and has a few thousand dollars to spare, then he will erect +a saw-mill, and work up his own trees into lumber for sale, but by that +time he must be considered as a rich man for a settler. The _timber_ +trade, therefore, is hurtful to the Canadas, in so much as it prevents +them from clearing land and becoming independent people, who by other +means would become so. The timber which is cut down for exportation, is +chiefly from the forests on or near the Ottawa river, and the emigrant +settler has neither interest or concern in it. + +It may be argued that, as settlers do, as soon as they are in better +circumstances, erect saw-mills, and work up their trees into _lumber_, +that it would be unfair to deprive them of that advantage. I will grant +that; but the fact is, that you will not do so; for of the quantity of +timber and lumber exported from the Canadas, it is only one-half which +is sent to the British market, the other half is divided between the +West Indies, the United States, and their own consumption; and the +demand of the United States will so rapidly increase, that, in a few +years, the Canadians will care little for sending their timber to +England, even if the present duty were kept on. I consider that this +bounty upon cutting timber is very injurious to the American provinces, +as it distracts their attention from the real source of wealth, which +must consist in clearing the country; for, to show how great a +difference this makes to them, it must be observed, that a farm which +was only worth two dollars an acre when the settler first came to it, +will, as soon as others have cleared around him, rise to twenty or +thirty dollars per acre. Every man, therefore, who settles and clears +land, not only benefits himself, but increases the value of the property +of those all around him; while the feller of timber on the Ottawa only +puts a few dollars into his own pocket, and does no good to the +province, as the timber-dealers in England reap all the harvest. + +It would appear very strange that the ship-owners should have joined the +Canadian timber merchants in persuading the government to continue these +duties, were it not from the fact that the ship owners appear, +invariably, to oppose any measure advantageous to their own interests. +That the carrying trade to the Canadas is of importance is certain; but +of how much more importance to the ship owner is the reduction of +expense in building his ship, which must ensue if the timber duties were +reduced. The ship owner complains that he cannot sail his ship at as +low a rate as foreigners; that he must be protected, or that he cannot +compete with them in any way; and yet he opposes the very measure which +would materially assist him in so doing. But the fact is, that, as I +shall eventually show, the carrying trade with Canada would not be lost, +though the cargo would not be the same; and there is every reason to +suppose that the employment of the shipping would very soon amount to +the same tonnage as at present. + +The next consideration is, to what should the duty be reduced, so as not +to affect our revenue? This is a question easily answered. + +In the Report on Timber Duties, Appendix Number 10, we have. in round +numbers, for the year 1833:-- + ++==========================================+========+==========+ +Y YLoads. YDuty paid.Y ++------------------------------------------+--------+----------+ +Y Y Y (pounds) Y ++------------------------------------------+--------+----------+ +YTimber exported from Canada and American Y Y Y ++------------------------------------------+--------+----------+ +Yprovinces, calculated in loads Y 719,000Y 300,000Y ++------------------------------------------+--------+----------+ +YTimber from the north of Europe, in ditto.Y 444,000Y 985,000Y ++------------------------------------------+--------+----------+ +Y Y1463,000Y 1,285,000Y ++==========================================+========+==========+ + +Now it is certain that, wherever the timber may come from, the same +quantity will be required; we have, therefore, to fix a duty upon timber +coming from all parts of the world, by which the revenue will not +suffer. A duty of 25 shillings per load will give, upon the whole +importation, a revenue of 1,453,000 pounds, not only an increase of +revenue upon the timber at present imported; but there is every reason +to suppose that it would occasion a much greater consumption of timber, +and of course a great increase of revenue. I do not consider that it +would be advisable to make this reduction immediately. There is a large +tonnage, employed in the Canada trade, which might as well wear out in +it; and it would be but fair to allow those who have embarked their +capital in the trade, to have time to withdraw it. As the Canadas are +not yet prepared to send other produce to the market, we can, with great +propriety, confer this boon upon the present timber trade. The +reduction of the duty should be gradual, and extended over ten years, at +which period the final reduction to 25 shillings per load should take +place; by which time, if Canada be cherished, she will have other +produce for the market. + +The more I consider the question, the more I am convinced that this +alteration would be a benefit to all parties. We then should be able to +build ships at a moderate price; we should have a fall in house-rent; +and, indeed, it would be of advantage to every class in this country; +and, however interested people may argue, the removal of this protecting +duty would be the greatest boon and kindness which we could confer on +our transatlantic possessions. + +Let us now inquire what are likely to be made the future prospects and +produce of the Canadas as the population increases, and the resources of +the country will be developed. + +Lower Canada is a sterile country; not that the land is in itself bad, +but from the severity and length of the winters. The climate of Lower +Canada is precisely the same as that of Russia, and so might be its +produce. The winters are tedious, but not unhealthy, as they are dry. +The summers, like all the summers in the northern regions, although +short, are excessively hot. It is owing to this excessive heat of the +summer that the maize, or Indian corn, which will not ripen in this +country, can be grown in Lower Canada, and it is the principal corn +which is raised. The French Canadians who inhabit Lower Canada are but +indifferent and careless farmers, yet still they contrive to live in +apparent comfort: but the question is not whether the inhabitants of +Lower Canada can support themselves, but whether they are likely to be +able to produce any thing which might become an article of export to +England. I should say yes: they may produce _tar_ and _hemp_, two very +important articles, and for which we are almost wholly dependent upon +Russia. Tar they can most assuredly produce; and, with the same climate +as Russia, why not hemp? Hemp will grow in any climate, and almost in +any soil, except very stiff clay, and I consider the soil of Lower +Canada admirably adapted to it. Up to the present time the French +Canadians have merely vegetated, but as the country fills up, and they +gradually amalgamate with the other settlers, there is no doubt that +they will rapidly improve. + +Upper Canada has been, and is still, but little known. At the close of +the war, there was not a population of 40,000 upon the whole province: +even now there is but 400,000 upon a territory capable of receiving and +supporting many millions. It is, without exception, the most favoured +spot in North America, having all the fertility of the southern and +Western States, without being subject to the many and fatal diseases +which are a drawback upon the latter. Although so far north, its +climate is peculiarly mild, from its being so wholly surrounded with +water, which has the effect of softening down both the cold of the +winter and the heat of the summer. It abounds with the most splendid +timber; is well watered; the land is of the richest quality; the produce +is very great, and the crops are almost certain. I particularly notice +this as I consider Upper Canada to be the finest _corn country_ in the +world. + +At present the resources of the Canadas are unknown; the country has not +been explored; it is without capital, and I may add without credit, but +its prospects are very favourable. The timber trade to England will in +a few years, even allowing the present bonus to be continued, be of +little advantage to Upper Canada; they will find a much better market as +the Western States fill up, as then there will be a great demand for +lumber, which will be obtained cheaper from Canada than from any portion +of the United States. Even now lumber is sent over from Upper Canada to +those portions of the United States bordering on the lakes. I have +pointed out the want of timber in the Western States, that is, of timber +fit for building; they have some in the State of Wisconsin, which will +soon be absorbed, and then the Canada timber and lumber will be in +demand, and I have no doubt that there will be a very extensive +exportation of it. + +The next article of produce to which the Canadians should direct their +attention is the fisheries on the lake, which may be carried on to any +extent and with great profit. The trout and white fish, both very +superior to the Newfoundland cod, are to be taken with the greatest +ease, and in vast quantities. I have mentioned that the Americans have +already commenced this fishery, and the demand is rapidly increasing. +As the West fills up, the supply would hardly keep pace with the demand; +besides that it would also be an article of exportation to this country. + +There are millions and millions of acres to the north and about Lake +Superior, fit for little else than the increase of the animals whose +furs we obtain, and which will probably never be brought into +cultivation; yet these lands are rich in one point, which is, that the +maple-tree grows there, and any quantity of sugar may be collected from +it, as soon as the population is thick enough to spare hands for its +collection. A maple-tree, carefully tapped, will yield for forty years, +and give six or seven pounds of sugar, fully equal to the best +East-India produce, and refining well. A few tons are collected at +present, but it may become a large article of export. + +The United States appear to be rich in most metals, but particularly in +lead and iron; [note 1] the metal which they are most deficient in is +copper. It is said that the copper mines in New Jersey are good; those +in the West have not yet proved to be worth working. Canada, as I have +before said, is as yet unexplored, but I have every reason to believe +that it will be found rich in minerals, especially copper. I argue, +first, from its analogy with Russia, which abounds in that metal; and +secondly, because there is at this time, on the shores of Lake Superior, +a mass of native copper weighing many tons, a specimen of which I have +had in my hand. We must not forget to reckon, among the other products +and expected resources of Canada, the furs obtained by the Hudson Bay +Company. Of course, if the Canadas are wrested from us, we shall have +to depend upon the Americans for our supply of this necessary article. +The value in Canada of the furs exported to this country, by the +company, amounts, as I have observed in my Diary, to about a million and +a half of dollars. + +I now come to what I consider will be the most important export from the +Canadas. I have stated it to be my opinion that Upper Canada will be +the first corn country in the world, and in a very few years we may +expect that she will export largely into this country; already having +had a surplus which has been sold to the Americans. It must be +recollected that America, who used to supply the West-Indies and other +parts of the world with her flour, has, for these last few years, in her +mania for speculating, neglected her crops, and it is only during these +last two years that she has redirected her attention to the tillage of +her land. She will now no longer require assistance from Upper Canada, +and the yearly increasing corn-produce of that province must find a +market elsewhere. After supplying the wants of Nova Scotia and New +Brunswick, this surplus will find its way into this country. As the +population of Upper Canada increases, so will of course her growth of +wheat be greater, and in a very few years, we have reason to expect that +there will be not only a constant, but even a more than requisite, +exportation of corn to this country. Now what will be the effect? Corn +from Canada is admitted at a fixed duty of 5 shillings per quarter, +therefore as soon as the supply from thence, is sufficient, the corn +laws will be _virtually_ repealed, that is to say, they will be +exchanged for a permanent duty of 5 shillings per quarter. + +I think that the remarks I have made will incline the reader to agree +with me, that the reduction of the duties on timber will be a real boon +to all parties: to the Canadians, because at the same time that the +supplies of lumber to the West Indies and elsewhere will give a certain +profit, they will no longer have the true interested of the colony +sacrificed for the benefit of parties at home; to the mother country, +because it will relieve the expenses of the builder, lessen house-rent +and agricultural expenses, and at the same time increase the revenue;-- +to the ship-owner, as it will enable him to build much cheaper, and to +compete more successfully with foreign vessels, with the prospect also +of the carrying trade soon reviving, and the freight of the corn proving +an indemnification to him for the loss of that on the timber. That a +few interested individuals would complain is undoubted, but it is high +time that a monopoly so injurious in every point, should be removed; and +the profits of a few speculators are not to be for a moment considered, +when opposed both to the interests of the colony and of the nation. + +I may as well here remark that it would only be an act of justice to the +provinces, and no less so to ourselves, to take off the prohibitions at +present in force against the importation of goods from France and other +countries. The boon itself would be small, but still it would be a +stimulus to enterprise, and the time has gone by for England to impose +such restrictions on her colonies. I say that we should lose nothing, +because all these articles are imported by the Americans; and if the +Canadians wish to procure them, they can obtain them immediately at +Buffalo, and other American towns bordering on the lakes. At present, +therefore, all the profits arising from these importations go into the +pockets of the Americans, who are the only parties benefited by our +restrictive laws. We should therefore remove them. + +I shall now support the arguments in this chapter, touching the relative +value of the corn and the timber trade to the Canadas, by some extracts +from the evidence given in the Report of the Committee on the Timber +Duties. + +_Q_. "Have you ever formed an opinion of what rate per quarter wheat +could be exported to this country, so as to yield a profit to the +exporter?"--_A_. "I cannot call it to mind accurately, but I think the +estimate I once made was between 40 shillings and 50 shillings." + +_Q_. "Would it not follow that, unless the price of wheat in this +country were to rise to 40 shillings or 50 shillings per quarter, the +population that your former answer would transfer front the timber trade +to the agricultural would not be able advantageously to employ +themselves?"--_A_. "No; I do not think it follows necessarily. If all +our population were devoted to agriculture, our settlements would be +more dense, and their roads more perfect; in fact, all the social +offices more perfectly fulfilled; which would enable them to bring their +wheat to market at a more moderate price, and thus they might obtain a +larger profit even with a lower price. We should bear in mind, in +relation to their agricultural produce, that the farmer of course first +feeds his own family, and that price affects him so far as it relates to +his surplus produce, and that price rather affects his luxuries than his +means of subsistence. I am not aware that the present prices would +prevent a farmer obtaining that return which would enable him to +purchase at least all his necessaries." + +_Q_. "What do you suppose is the average expense of the conveyance of +wheat from the remote parts of Canada to Montreal?"--_A_. "I believe +the cost of bringing wheat from Niagara to Montreal was about 15 pence +colonial currency, but I am not certain; it is not now lower. I once +made a table showing the cost of taking produce of all kinds from three +points on Lake Ontario and on Lake Erie, and sending up articles to the +same places." + +_Q_. "What is the freight from Quebec to England?"--_A_. "The ordinary +rate has been from 8 shillings to 8 shillings 6 pence a quarter for +wheat." + +_Q_. "Do you know the price of wheat in this country?"--_A_. "I +believe the last average was 40 shillings." + +_Q_. "If at 40 shillings you would probably allow 10 shillings a +quarter, by your present statement, as a fair deduction for the expense +of bringing it into this market?"--_A_. "I should think so." + +_Q_. "Do you think the price of 30 shillings would pay the agricultural +producer in Canada for the production of wheat; would afford a return +for the investment of capital in the production of wheat in +Canada?"--_A_. "I should be loth to speak to a point on which I have +not sufficient knowledge." + +_Q_. "Is it not indispensable to form an opinion upon that point to +justify the opinion you have already given?"--_A_. "I think not. I +have that feeling, that the consequence of their not having the timber +trade would be, that they would produce other articles, and that their +condition would not be deteriorated. I am led to that conclusion by +seeing the present condition of the State of New York, which once +depended on the timber trade; I look also to Vermont; and when every man +tells me that he laments and has lamented that he ever meddled with the +timber trade, I think that I am justified in my opinion, for no one will +pretend to state that the land of Vermont, or even of New York, equals +that of Canada. While speaking of the soil of Canada, I would observe +that Jacobs has estimated the average return for wheat on the Continent +at four to one, of Great Britain seven to one, and Gourlay has estimated +the return of Upper Canada at _twenty to one_. Many state that Upper +Canada is _unrivalled_ in comparison with any other piece of land of +equal extent." + +_Q_. "Are you aware of the extent of exportation of agricultural +produce from Canada?"--_A_. "I am; I can state it from memory. The +largest quantity of wheat exported in any year was in 1831, and I think +amounted to 1,300,000 bushels." + +_Q_. "Can you make the same statement with reference to corn and +provisions as to other articles?"--_A_. "Canada exports a great deal of +corn." + +_Q_. "Which Canada?"--_A_. "Both Upper and Lower Canada." + +_Q_. "Does Lower Canada grow corn enough for her own +consumption?"--_A_. "I should think Lower Canada did, and more." + +_Q_. "Does Upper Canada?"--_A_. "Upper Canada a great deal more." + +_Q_. "Have you the amount of the exports?"--_A_. "I have the exports +of 1833; the two Canadas exported 650,000 bushels of wheat." + +_Q_. "How much flour?"--_A_. "About 91,000 barrels." + +_Q_. "Have you any account of the imports of flour from the United +States into Lower Canada?"--_A_. "I have not with me but can give it +very nearly." + +_Q_. "Do those exports of which you have spoken just now comprehend the +United States flour?"--_A_. "No, they are exclusive of Colonial +production." + +_Q_. "Is not Lower Canada, as well as Upper Canada, in the habit of +supplying herself, to a certain degree, with American flour and wheat, +and exporting her own produce, on account of the state of the corn laws +last year?"--_A_. "Yes, it is done to a certain extent. I have some +indication as to the quantity which comes from the United States into +Upper and Lower Canada being small. In the returns of the traffic last +year through our Welland Canal, about 265,000 bushels of wheat passed +through, of which 18,000 British and 22,000 American only went to +Montreal. All the rest went to Oswego, for the New York market: but the +destination in future will probably depend upon whether the internal +communication is improved in those colonies, and on the state of the +market in New York and in the Canadas." + +_Q_. "If there is sufficient capital, is there any reason to suppose it +would not be beneficial to engage in both?"--_A_. "I do not think it is +a question concerning the abundance of capital, but the good to be +derived from the preservation of the Canada timber trade by enormous +protecting duties. I am confident that _the timber trade is inimical_ +to _the best interests of the Canadas_; it would be possible to make the +timber trade more beneficial than any other pursuit in the country, and +the way to render it so would be to give immense protecting duties to +the timber trade of Canada, allowing all other articles of produce to be +open to general competition; but, by such a course, England would not be +benefiting _Canada_." + +_Q_. "Can you state the average prices of wheat at Quebec the last four +or five years?"--_A_. "I think 5 shillings or 6 shillings. Canadian +currency; the latter rate is equal to 5 shillings sterling, which is 40 +shillings a quarter; but I do not suppose an average of several years +would be over 4 shillings, 2 pence, that would be 33 shillings, 4 pence. +There are peculiar circumstances that attended the last three or four +years." + +_Q_. "Has it been higher the last three or four years than the three or +four years previously? _A_. Considerably higher than the ten years +previously." + +_Q_. "Do you think 30 shillings a quarter would have been the average +of the ten years preceding?"--_A_. "I should think so, but I cannot now +speak positively." + +_Q_. "Are the committee to understand it to be your opinion, that if +the timber establishments were broken up and no more timber exported +from Canada, there would be no loss to that country?"--_A_. "There +might be an immediate loss, and a _very great subsequent gain_. I think +there would be an immediate loss attending on the mills, possibly +150,000 pounds to 200,000 pounds." + +_Q_. "Has it not been the fact that there has been a constant and +gradual increase of tonnage into Quebec for the last fifteen +years?"--_A_. "Yes." + +_Q_. "Presuming that those establishments were to be broken up and no +more timber exported, do you think that gradual increase would still +continue?"--_A_. "No; the first consequence, I think, very possibly +would be a very material decrease." + +_Q_. "Subsequently the _same tonnage_ would be required for the +_carriage of corn_ as at present?"--_A_. "Some years hence, for corn +and other articles." + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 1. The following description of the iron mines at Marmora are +worthy the attention of the reader. It is from the engineer who was +sent to survey them. + +"To Isaac Fraser, Esquire + +"The water power at Marmora, and its sufficiency for all hydraulic +purposes, may be better imagined than explained to you by me, from the +fact, that the falls occur upon the Crow River, at the foot of untold +lakes falling into Crow Lake, the deepest inland lake in the province, +and just below the junction of the Beaver River, which latter has its +source in the Ottawa or Grand River, or the waters flowing parallel +therewith, and by the outlet at the Marmora Falls: these head waters, on +the confluence with the waters of the Otonabee, and Rice Lake in Crow +Bay, six miles below the works, form the great River Trent, second in +importance and magnitude only to the St Lawrence. It is sufficient for +me to add, that I deem the water power at the works abundantly equal to +all the purposes of machinery and manufacture, which can for centuries +be established there. + +"Immediately adjoining the works there is an ore bed, from the partial +development of which, and from the opinions I have received of its +superior quality, it would appear to be of the purest kind of iron ore, +except native iron, in the same veins with which is an admixture of red +paint and yellow ochre, and in separate veins and beds at this locality, +those paints occur in some quantities, several barrels of which, +especially the red paint, Mr Hayes disposed of at 25 shillings per +barrel, at the works, and it seems probable they would become profitable +articles of commerce. Here also there is a bed of purely white marble, +not seemingly stratified, but in large blocks; and a quarry of superior +stone for lithographic purposes, the quality of which has been tested +and reported favourably upon. This ore bed would be from its situation +within any wall constructed for the custody of the convicts, but from +the great jumble of mineral substances, which the careless opening of +those veins has occasioned, it is not possible to hazard an opinion as +to the probable extent of minerals here, but from, if I may judge by +appearances and from geological analogy, the few acres surrounding, it +is probable they are sufficiently extensive to be an object of +consideration--several hundred tons of ore have already been taken out +for the furnaces. There is at this place a well-built bridge and a +wharf at which the ore brought from the lake ore beds is landed, and +from thence carted or wheeled up to the ore bank. + +"_At a distance of four miles by water, that is at the Crow Lake, in the +township of Belmont, Newcastle District, the principal ore bed occurs_. +I may confine my observations respecting this ore bed to the qualities +and varieties of the ores to be found there, and of the extent of the +deposit give you an idea, by fancying my feelings when I first saw the +mountain. My surprise was great, and _my first conclusion was, that it +would be more than sufficient to supply the world with iron for ever_. +The ore here is in great variety of magnetic ore, easily quarried and, +in fact, it can be quarried, loaded, and transported to the works, +roasted on the ore bank, broken up into particles, and put upon the +furnace, at an expense not exceeding 2 shillings 0 pence per ton; as I +observed it is strongly magnetic, and although mixed considerably with +sulphur, it is easily freed from that deleterious mineral by exposure to +the atmosphere, and to the action of air and frost, and by this species +of evaporation, a new and valuable commodity could be procured in great +quantities, namely, the copperas of commerce. + +"With a boat of fifty tons burthen--and there is depth of water enough +for a 74 gun ship from the wharf at the works, to this mountain of ore-- +navigated by four men, 150 tons of ore could be brought down in two +days--so readily is it quarried, and so handily put on board. +Intermediate to this bed and the works, several other deposites of iron +are discovered--one of a superior quality, surpassing in magnetic power +any other ore yet discovered, possessing what mineralogists call +polarity--and near to this, meadow and bog ore, not a mile distant from +the works, is to be found in great quantities. The works are to the +north-north-east and eastward, surrounded by beds of ore, of which five +have been tried and brought into use--but as they are inland, and +consequently more expensively procured, they merit but this passing +observation, that in quantity and quality they are valuable. + +"For the present I am, Sir, + +"Your obedient servant,--_Engineer_" + + + +VOLUME THREE, CHAPTER THREE. + +THE CANADAS, CONTINUED. + +To one who has a general knowledge of the various English colonies, to +which emigration is constantly taking place, it appears very strange +that people should emigrate to such countries as New South Wales, Van +Dieman's Land, and New Zealand, when Upper Canada is comparatively so +near to them, and affording every advantage which a settler could wish. +Of course the persuasion of interested parties, and their own ignorance, +prevent them from ascertaining the truth. Indeed, the reports upon +Upper Canada are occasionally as highly coloured as those relative to +other colonies, and nothing but an examination of the country, I may say +a certain period of residence in it, can enable you to ascertain the +real merits of the case. I have neither land nor interest in Upper +Canada, and, therefore, my evidence on the question may be considered as +impartial; and I do not hesitate to assert that Upper Canada promises +more advantages to the settler than any other English colony, or any +portion whatever of the United States. + +I shall now make a few remarks upon emigration to that province, and +point out what the settler will have to expect. I have read many works +upon the subject; they are very inaccurate, and hold out to the emigrant +brilliant prospects, which are seldom or never realised. The best work, +independently of its merits as a novel, is "Laurie Todd," by Mr Galt. +And first, I address myself to the poor man who goes out with only +twenty or thirty pounds in his pocket. + +If he credit the works written to induce people to emigrate, all that he +has to do is to build his log-hut, clear his land, and in three years be +an independent man. + +It is true that he can purchase fifty acres of land for one hundred +dollars, or twenty-five pounds; that he has only to pay one-tenth part +of the sum down, which is two pounds ten shillings sterling. It is true +that he will collect a _Bee_, as it is termed, or a gathering of +neighbours to run up the frame of his house; but, nevertheless, +possessing his fifty acres of land and his log-house, he will in all +probability be starved out the very first year, especially if he has a +family. + +To a poor man, a family is _eventually_ of immense value. As soon as he +has fairly settled, the more children he has the faster he will become +rich; but on his first arrival, they will, if not able to work for +themselves, be a heavy burthen. If, however, they can do any thing, so +as to pay for their board and lodging, he will not be at any expense for +them, as there is employment for every body, even for children. + +The only article I should recommend him to take out from England is a +good supply of coarse clothing for his family; if he would take out a +venture, let it be _second-hand clothes_, and he will double his money +if he sells them by auction, for clothes are the most expensive article +in Canada. I once saw some cast-off clothes sold by an acquaintance of +mine in Upper Canada; a Jew in England would not have given five pounds +for the lot, yet, sold at auction, they cleared twenty-five pounds, all +expenses paid. He cannot, therefore, take out too much clothing, but +the coarser and more common it is the better. Let him supply himself +from the old clothes shops, or the cheap stores. New clothes will soon +become old when he works hard. Having made this provision, let him buy +nothing else; but change his money into sovereigns and keep it in his +pocket. + +As soon as he arrives at Quebec, he must lose no time in taking the +steamboat up the St Lawrence, and landing near to where he has decided +upon locating. If he has made no decision, at all events let him leave +the city immediately, and get into the country, for there he will get +work and spend less money. Instead of thinking of making a purchase of +land, let him _give up all thoughts of it for a year or two_; but hire +himself out, and his wife and children also, if he can. If he is a good +man, he will receive four pounds a month, or forty-eight pounds a year, +with his board and lodging. The major part of this he will be able to +lay by. If his wife must stay at home to take care of the children, +still let her work; work is always to be found, and she may not only +support herself and children, but assist his fund. By the time that he +has been eighteen months or two years in the country, he will have his +eyes open, know the value of every thing, and will not be imposed upon +as he would have been had he taken a farm immediately upon his arrival. +He will have laid by a sufficient sum for him to begin with, and he will +have become acquainted with the mode of farming in the country, which is +very different from what he has been used to in the old. He may then go +on and prosper. + +The next description of emigrant settler to which I shall address myself +is he who comes out with a small capital, say from two hundred to five +hundred pounds; a sum sufficient to enable him to commence farming at +once, but not sufficient to allow him to purchase or stock a farm which +has a portion of the land already cleared. The government lands fetch +at auction about ten shillings an acre, and they are paid for by +instalments, one-tenth down, and one-tenth every year, with interest, +until the whole be paid; of course, he may pay it all at once, if he +pleases, and save the interest. He must not purchase more than four +hundred acres. He can always procure more if he is successful. His +first instalment to government for the purchase of four hundred acres +will be eighty dollars. + +His next object is to have a certain portion of his land cleared for +him. The price varies according to the size and quantity of the +portion; but you may say, at the highest, it will cost about sixteen +dollars an acre. Let him clear ten acres, and then build his house and +barns. I will make two estimates, between which he may decide according +to his means. + +_Estimate_ 1. + ++====================================+========+ +Y YDollars.Y ++------------------------------------+--------+ +YInstalment to Government Y 80Y ++------------------------------------+--------+ +YShingle-house Y 400Y ++------------------------------------+--------+ +YFurniture Y 100Y ++------------------------------------+--------+ +YBarns and sheds Y 400Y ++------------------------------------+--------+ +YTen acres clearing Y 160Y ++------------------------------------+--------+ +YOxen Y 80Y ++------------------------------------+--------+ +YCow Y 20Y ++------------------------------------+--------+ +YPigs and poultry Y 20Y ++------------------------------------+--------+ +YPlough, harrow, etcetera. Y 20Y ++------------------------------------+--------+ +YSeed Y 50Y ++------------------------------------+--------+ +YHorse and wagon Y 100Y ++------------------------------------+--------+ +YAbout 300 pounds Y 1,430Y ++------------------------------------+--------+ +YTo this (if you have no family Y Y ++------------------------------------+--------+ +Yable to work) for a man and his wifeY 300Y ++------------------------------------+--------+ +YExpenses of living the first year Y 200Y ++------------------------------------+--------+ +Y400 pounds Y 1930Y ++====================================+========+ + +_Estimate_ 2. + ++=========================+=======+ +Y YDollarsY ++-------------------------+-------+ +YInstalment to Government Y 80Y ++-------------------------+-------+ +YLog-house and furniture Y 100Y ++-------------------------+-------+ +YBarn Y 60Y ++-------------------------+-------+ +YClearing Y 160Y ++-------------------------+-------+ +YOxen Y 80Y ++-------------------------+-------+ +YCow Y 20Y ++-------------------------+-------+ +YPigs and poultry Y 20Y ++-------------------------+-------+ +YPlough, harrow, etcetera.Y 20Y ++-------------------------+-------+ +YSeed Y 50Y ++-------------------------+-------+ +YHorse and wagon Y 100Y ++-------------------------+-------+ +Y150 pounds Y 690Y ++=========================+=======+ + +But choosing between these two estimates, according to his means, that +is, by reserving, if possible, one hundred pounds for contingencies, he +has every chance of doing well. He must bear in mind, that although +every year his means will increase, he must not cripple himself by an +outlay of all his money at first starting. After the first year, he +will be able to support himself and family from the farm. I have put +every thing at the _outside expense_, that he may not be deceived; but +he must not expend all his capital at once; his horse or oxen may die-- +his crops may partially fail--he may have severe illness--all these +contingencies must be provided against. + +But the settler who goes out under the most favourable circumstances, is +the one who has one thousand pounds or more, and who can, therefore, +purchase a farm of from two hundred to four hundred acres, with a +portion cleared, and a house and offices ready built. These are always +to be had, for there are people in the Canadas, as in America, who have +pleasure in selling their cleared land, and going again into the bush. +These farms are often to be purchased at the rate of from five to ten +dollars per acre for the whole, cleared and uncleared. In this case all +the difficulties have been smoothed away for him, and all that he has to +do is, to be industrious and sober. + +When I was at London, on the river Thames, (in Upper Canada I mean), I +might have purchased a farm, lying on the banks of that river, of four +hundred acres, seventy of them cleared, and the rest covered with the +finest oak timber, with a fine water-power, and a saw-mill in full work, +a good house, barn, and out-buildings and kitchen garden, for six +hundred pounds. In ten years this property will be worth more than six +thousand pounds; and in twenty more, if the country improves as fast as +it does now, at least fifteen thousand pounds. + +In looking out for a property in Canada, always try to obtain a +water-power, or the means of erecting one, by damming up any swift +stream; its value will, in a few years, be very great; and never +consider a few dollars an acre more, if you have transport by water, or +are close to a good market. You must look forward to what the country +_will be_, not to what it is at present. + +Half-pay officers settle in Upper Canada with great advantages, arising +from the circumstance, that their annual pay is always a resource to +fill back upon. A very small capital is sufficient in this case; and, +if prudent, they gradually rise to independence, if not to wealth. +There are, however, one or two cautions to be given to these gentlemen. +_Never go into the bush_ if you can help it: accustomed to society, you +will find the total loss of it too serious. If you have a wife and +large family, they may partially compensate for the loss, but even then +it is better to locate yourself near a small town. If you are a single +man and sit down in the bush, you are lost. Hundreds have done so, and +the result has been, that they have resorted to _intemperance_, and have +died ruined men. + +But the settlers most required in Upper Canada, and those who would reap +the most golden harvest, are men of capital; when I say capital, I mean +those who possess a sum of four or five thousand pounds--a sum very +inadequate to support a person in England who has been born and bred as +a gentleman; but in Canada, with such a sum, he can not only farm, but +speculate to great advantage. At present the Americans go over there +every year, and realise large sums of money. Indeed, capital is so much +required in Upper Canada, and may be employed to such advantage, that I +wonder people, with what may be considered as small capitals here, do +not go over. The only caution to give them is, not to be in a hurry; in +the course of a year or two they will understand what they are about, +and then they will soon become wealthy. + +When I arrived at Toronto, I was called upon by an old friend who had +often shot with me in Norfolk. His father had once set him up in +business, but the house failed. He resolved to go out to Canada, and +his father gave him a _thousand pounds_ as a start, and allowed him two +hundred pounds a year afterwards. He had been in the country seven +years when we met again. I accepted his invitation to dine and sleep at +his house, which was about seven miles from the town. He sent handsome +saddle horses over for three of us. I found him located on a beautiful +farm of about four hundred acres, the major portion of it cleared; his +house was a very elegantly built cottage ornee, every thing had the +appearance of a handsome English country residence; he had married a +beautiful woman of one of the first families. We sat down to an +excellent dinner, and, in every respect, the whole set-out was equal to +what you generally meet with in good society in England. He was really +living in luxury. We returned the next day, in a handsome carriage and +as fine a pair of horses as one would wish to see. + +I could hardly credit that all this could have been accumulated in seven +years--yet such was the case, and it was not a singular one; for the +whole road from his farm to Toronto was lined with similar farms and +handsome houses, belonging to gentlemen who had emigrated, forming among +themselves, a very extensive and most delightful society. + +Although they do not go ahead as fast as some of the American cities, +(for instance, Buffalo,) still Upper Canada has, within the last ten or +fifteen years, taken a surprising start, and will now, if judiciously +governed, increase in wealth almost as fast as any of the American +States. About Toronto, most of the gentlemen have incomes of from seven +hundred to fifteen hundred pounds per annum, and keep handsome +equipages; but there are many other towns which have lately risen up +very rapidly. Peterborough is an instance of this. "Peterborough in +1825 contained but one miserable dwelling; now, in 1838, may be seen +nearly four hundred houses, many of them large and handsome, inhabited +by about fifteen hundred persons; a very neat stone church, capable of +accommodating eight hundred or nine hundred persons, [see Note 1] a +Presbyterian church of stone, two dissenting places of worship, and a +Roman Catholic church in progress. The town has in or near it, two +grist, and seven saw-mills, five distilleries, two breweries, two +tanneries, eighteen or twenty shops (called stores), carriage, sleigh, +wagon, chair, harness, and cabinet-makers and most other useful trades. +Stages run all the year, bringing mails five times a week and steamboats +whilst the navigation is open; there is one good tavern (White's), and +two inferior ones. Families may now find houses of any sizes to suit +them, at moderate rents. The roads in this neighbourhood are being +greatly improved. The towns of Cobourg, Port Hope, Colborne, Grafton, +Brighton, River Trent, and Beaumont in the Newcastle district, are all +equally prosperous, and, like Peterborough, are surrounded by genteel +families from the United Kingdom; in short, the advancement of this +district is almost incredible." + +But there is one important subject relative to emigration which must be +considered; if it be, as I trust my readers will be inclined to think +with me, a national question, it is highly expedient that it should be +not only assisted, but controlled by government. At present the +mortality is tremendous; and I very much question whether there are not +more lives sacrificed in the _transport_ of the emigrants, than +subsequently fall a prey to disease in the western States, bordering on +the Mississippi. With those who would emigrate to the United States, we +have nothing to do, neither do they so much require our sympathy. The +American packets are good vessels, and they suffer little; and when they +land at New York, Baltimore and Philadelphia, the charity of the +Americans is always ready for their relief. But with the poor emigrants +who would settle in Canada, the case is very different. It must be +understood, that the Quebec trade is chiefly composed of worn-out and +unseaworthy vessels, which cannot find employment elsewhere; for a +vessel which is in such a state that a cargo of dry goods could not be +entrusted to her, is still sufficiently serviceable for the timber +trade--as, `allowing her bottom to be out' with a cargo of timber she of +course cannot founder. But if these vessels are sufficiently safe to +bring timber home, they are not sufficiently good vessels to receive +three or four hundred emigrants on board. Leaky, bad sailers, +ill-found, the voyage is often protracted, and the sufferings of the +poor people on board are dreadful. Fever and other diseases break out +among them, and they often arrive at Quebec with sixty or seventy people +who are carried to the hospital independently of those who have died and +been thrown overboard. + +Sometimes their provisions do not last out the voyage, and they are +obliged to purchase of the captain or others on board, (who have +prepared for the exigence,) and thus their little savings to recommence +life with, are all swallowed up to support existence. I believe that +what they suffer is dreadful; and if ever there was a case which would +call forth patriotism and sympathy, it is the hardships of these poor +people. Allowing emigration not to be a national question, still it is +a question for national humanity, and all this suffering might be +alleviated at comparatively a very trifling expense. + +If two or three of our smaller line-of-battle ships now lying at their +moorings, were to be jury-rigged, without any guns on board, and manned +with a sloop's ship's company, they would not decay faster by running +between Quebec and this country than if they remained in harbour. One +of those vessels would carry out 2,500 men, women, and children. Let +the emigrants take their provisions on board, and should their +provisions fail them, let there be a surplus for their supply at the +cost price. Under this arrangement, you would have that order, +cleanliness, and ventilation which would insure them against disease, +and proper medical attendance if it should be required; you would save +thousands of lives, and the emigrant, as he left the ship, would feel +grateful for the benefit conferred. But the assistance of government +must not end here: the emigrant, on his arrival, is adrift; he knows not +where to go; he has no resting-place; he is a perfect stranger to the +country and to every thing; he exhausts his means before he can find +employment or settle: other arrangements are therefore necessary, if the +work of charity is to be completed. Indeed, the want of these +arrangements is the cause of a very large proportion of the Canadian +emigrants leaving our provinces and settling in the United States, where +they can immediately find employment; and Americans, agents of the land +speculators, are continually on the look-out in Canada, persuading the +emigrants, by all sorts of promises and inducements, to leave the +provinces and to take lands in the States, belonging to their employers. +Every emigrant lost to us is a gain to America; and upon the increase +of the English population depends the prosperity of the Canadas, and our +best chance of retaining them in our possession. + +Both Upper and Lower Canada have one great advantage over most of the +other territories of the United States, which is, that they are so very +healthy; the winters in both provinces are dry, and, in Upper Canada, +they are not severe; and the summers are cool, compared with those of +the United States. Indeed, in point of climate, they cannot be +surpassed; and I rather think, independently of its fine soil, which +enables it to grow every thing (for even tobacco grows well in Upper +Canada), that in mineral richness it is not to be exceeded. It abounds +in water-power, and has several splendid rivers. As soon as the roads +are made (for that is the present desideratum in the Upper Province), I +have no hesitation in asserting, that it will be, of all others, the +most favourable spot for emigration. It is a man's own fault if, with +common industry, he does not, in a few years, secure competence and the +happiness arising from independence, when it is accompanied by that +greatest of all blessings--health. + +There has been so strange and continued a system of misrule on the part +of the mother-country with respect to these provinces, that I am not +surprised at any thing which takes place; but it is certain that the +emigration to the Canadas has been very much checked by the Government +itself. + +The price of land in the United States is fixed at a dollar and a +quarter per acre; be it of the best quality, full of minerals, or with +any other important advantages, the price is still the same. The set-up +price in Canada is two dollars per acre. If no more is offered it is +sold at that sum, but at no less. Now, whatever the Government may +imagine, I can assure them that this difference in the price is +considered very important by those who emigrate, and that thousands who +would have settled in Canada, have, in consequence, repaired to the +United States, much to our disadvantage; and this appears so +contradictory, as the Government have very unwisely parted with enormous +tracts of the best land, selling them to a Company at a price which, +with facilities for payment, reduces the price paid per acre by this +Company, to, I think, about one shilling and three-pence, and for which +the Company now charge the same price as the Government; thus giving a +bonus to speculators which they refuse to those who wish to become _bona +fide_ settlers. I never could comprehend the grounds upon which they +were persuaded to so unwise an act as that. The lands were sold to the +Company before the present Government were in power, but why the price +of the land still in possession of the Crown should be raised higher +than in the United States I cannot imagine. Sound policy would reduce +it lower, for the increase of wealth in the province must ever consist +in the increase of its population. + +There are in Upper Canada several villages of free negroes, who have +escaped from the United States, and should it be considered at any time +advisable to remove any of the West Indian population, it would be very +wise to give them land on the Upper Canada frontiers. The negroes +thrive there uncommonly well, and have acquired habits of industry; and, +as may be supposed, are most inveterate against the Americans, as was +proved in the late disturbances, when they could hardly be controlled. +They imagine (and very truly) that if the Americans were to obtain +possession of Canada, that they would return to slavery, and it is +certain that they are not only brave, but would die rather than be taken +prisoners. This is a question worth consideration, as out of an idle +and useless race in the West Indies may be formed, at very little +expense, a most valuable frontier population to these provinces. I am +happy to perceive that, in the Report of Lord Durham, the importance of +these provinces to the mother country is fully acknowledged. + +"These interests are indeed of great magnitude; and on the course which +your Majesty and your Parliament may adopt, with respect to the North +American colonies, will depend the future destinies, not only of the +million and a half of your Majesty's subjects who at present inhabit +those provinces, but of that vast population which those ample and +fertile territories are fit and destined hereafter to support. No +portion of the American continent possesses greater natural resources +for the maintenance of large and flourishing communities. An almost +boundless range of the richest soil still remains unsettled, and may be +rendered available for the purposes of agriculture. The wealth of +inexhaustible forests of the best timber in America, and of extensive +regions of the most valuable minerals, have as yet been scarcely +touched. Along the whole line of sea-coast, around each island, and in +every river, are to be found the greatest and richest fisheries in the +world. The best fuel and the most abundant water-power are available +for the coarser manufactures, for which an easy and certain market will +be found. Trade with other continents is favoured by the possession of +a large number of safe and spacious harbours; long, deep, and numerous +rivers, and vast inland seas, supply the means of easy intercourse; and +the structure of the country generally affords the utmost facility for +every species of communication by land. Unbounded materials of +agricultural, commercial and manufacturing industry are there; it +depends upon the present decision of the Imperial Legislature to +determine for whose benefit they are to be rendered available. The +country which has founded and maintained these colonies at a vast +expense of blood and treasure, may justly expect its compensation in +turning their unappropriated resources to the account of its own +redundant population: they are the rightful patrimony of the English +people, the ample appanage which God and Nature have set aside in the +New World for those whose lot has assigned them but insufficient portion +in the Old. Under wise and free institutions, these great advantages +may yet be secured to your Majesty's subjects; and a connexion, secured +by the link of kindred origin and mutual benefits, may continue to bind +to the British Empire the ample territories of its North American +provinces, and the large and flourishing population by which they will +assuredly be filled." + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 1. The building of this Church was undertaken by the inhabitants +of Peterborough and its vicinity, belonging to the church of England. +In 1835 it was commenced, and, by great exertions, opened for Divine +worship in December 1836, though not altogether finished. Nine hundred +pounds was raised by voluntary contributions, not one farthing having +been given by any public body to it. The gentlemen composing the +building committee are responsible for the remainder due, being five +hundred pounds. An advertisement for subscriptions to liquidate this +debt has been for some weeks past inserted in a London newspaper. + + + +VOLUME THREE, CHAPTER FOUR. + +THE CANADAS, CONTINUED. + +Previous to my entering into a further examination of the Canada +question, it will perhaps be better to recapitulate, in as few words as +possible, what has already occurred, and the principal causes of the +late insurrection. + +When the Canadian provinces were reduced by the British arms, the +inhabitants, being entirely French, were permitted to retain their own +laws, their own language in Courts and public offices, and all their +vested rights which had been granted to them by the French government. +It was a generous, but, as it has been proved, an unwise policy. The +form of government, as an English colony, was proposed, and acceded to +by the French population, who, gratified by the liberality of their new +rulers, cheerfully took the oath of allegiance. For many years, indeed +it may be said until the close of the war of 1814, the population +remained almost entirely French. England had been so long engaged in +war, and the annual expenditure of life in her armies and her navies was +so great, that she could not permit, much less encourage, emigration. + +At the close of the war of 1814, the census of the population in the two +Canadian provinces was as follows:--In Lower Canada, between three and +four hundred thousand; in Upper Canada, from thirty to forty thousand, +of which nineteen-twentieths were of French extraction. But the +emigration during the last twenty-five years of peace has made a +considerable change. The population of Lower Canada has increased to +six hundred thousand, and that of Upper Canada now amounts to upwards of +four hundred thousand. As the emigration has been almost wholly from +the British dominions, it may be now fairly assumed that, taking the two +provinces together, the English and French population are now on a par +as to numbers; the English preponderate in the Upper province as much as +the French do in the Lower. But if we are to consider the two nations +of settlers as to their respective value as emigrants to the provinces, +on the point of capital, industry, and enterprise, the scale will +descend immediately in favour of the English population. The French are +inactive, adverse to speculation, or even improvement. Every _habitant_ +is content with his farm as handed down to him by his progenitor, and +the higher classes who hold the seigneuries are satisfied with their +seignorial rights and the means of exaction which they afford to them. +The privileges of these seigneurs, or lords of the manor, in Lower +Canada, are very extensive, and a bar to all improvement or advance. +They hold the exclusive right of hunting and fishing; all the water +privileges, such as the erection of saw-mills, etcetera, are insured to +them. The _habitant_ is even compelled to send his flour to be ground +at the mill of the lord of the manor. At the sale of every property, +the lord of the manor receives one-twelfth of the proceeds. Thus, if a +farm worth a few hundred pounds was to fall into the hands of an +enterprising man, and he was to raise it to the value of thousands, more +than the prime-cost would be deducted for the lord of the manor if he +were compelled to part with it. This, with the other impediments to +enterprise, has left Lower Canada in a state of quiescence, and the +emigrants who have gone over have passed it by that they might settle on +the more fertile and free province of Upper Canada. One of the writers +in the daily press of New York has very truly remarked:-- + +"When the British first obtained the Canadas, its commerce consisted of +a few peltries, conveyed to France by the vessels which brought out the +troops and carried back the disbanded regiments. The lumber trade was +unknown. The importations were a nonentity. While at present many +hundreds of vessels are engaged in the direct timber trade, and more +than one hundred and fifty vessels have been frequently counted on the +river St Lawrence. These, it must be remembered, are almost +exclusively owned by British merchants; while the French Canadians own +the land in the same proportion as the English do the trade." + +It was the knowledge of these facts, and that the English were every +year rising in importance, (for they had not only secured the whole +trade, but were gradually occupying the more fertile land of the Upper +province,) which has created the jealousy and ill-will, and has been +such a source of irritation to the French inhabitants of the Lower +province. I have dwelt upon these facts because there is a very general +opinion (which has most unfortunately been acted upon by our +Government), that the legislature of the province should be guided by +the interests of the majority, and this they have considered to be in +favour of the French population; whereas in numbers they are about +equal, and in point of wealth and importance, the English population are +most decidedly in the advance; besides that, the former population would +willingly separate themselves from the mother-country, and therefore +deserve but little favour, while the latter are loyal and attached to +it. The French having the ascendancy of five to one in the Lower +province, have done all they can to check improvement. Public works +which have cost large sums, have remained uncompleted, because the House +of Assembly in the Lower province has refused to allow them to be +carried on. Indeed, had the Lower province been allowed to continue in +her career of opposition, she would have eventually rendered difficult +all communication between the Upper province and the mother-country. + +This is acknowledged in Lord Durham's report, which says:-- + +"Without going so far as to accuse the Assembly of a deliberate design +to check the settlement and improvement of Lower Canada, it cannot be +denied that they looked with considerable jealousy and dislike on the +increase and prosperity of what they regarded as a foreign and hostile +race; they looked on the province as the patrimony of their own race; +they viewed it not as a country to be settled, but as one already +settled; and instead of legislating in the American spirit, and first +providing for the future population of the province, their primary care +was, in the spirit of legislation which prevails in the old world, to +guard the interests and feelings of the present race of inhabitants, to +whom they considered the newcomers as subordinate; they refused to +increase the burthens of the country by imposing taxes to meet the +expenditure required for improvement, and they also refused to direct to +that object any of the funds previously devoted to other purposes. The +improvement of the harbour of Montreal was suspended, from a political +antipathy to a leading English merchant who had been the most active of +the commissioners, and by whom it had been conducted with the most +admirable success. It is but just to say, that some of the works which +the Assembly authorised and encouraged, were undertaken on a scale of +due moderation, and satisfactorily perfected and brought into operation. +Others, especially the great communications which I have mentioned +above, the Assembly showed a great reluctance to promote or even to +permit. It is true that there was considerable foundation for their +objections to the plan on which the Legislature of Upper Canada had +commenced some of these works, and to the mode in which it had carried +them on; but the English complained that, instead of profiting by the +experience which they might have derived from this source, the Assembly +seemed only to make its objections a pretext for doing nothing. The +applications for banks, railroads, and canals were laid on one side +until some general measures could be adopted with regard to such +undertakings; but the general measures thus promised were never passed, +and the particular enterprises in question were prevented. The adoption +of a registry was refused, on the alleged ground of its inconsistency +with the French institutions of the province, and no measure to attain +this desirable end in a less obnoxious mode, was prepared by the leaders +of the Assembly. The feudal tenure was supported, as a mild and just +provision for the settlement of a new country; a kind of assurance given +by a committee of the Assembly, that some steps should be taken to +remove the most injurious incidents of the seignorial tenure, produced +no practical results; and the enterprises of the English were still +thwarted by the obnoxious laws of the country. In all these decisions +of the Assembly, in its discussions, and in the apparent motives of its +conduct, the English population perceived traces of a desire to repress +the influx and the success of their race. A measure for imposing a tax +on emigrants, though recommended by the Home Government, and warranted +by the policy of those neighbouring States which give the greatest +encouragement to emigration, was argued on such grounds in the Assembly, +that it was not unjustly regarded as indicative of an intention to +exclude any further accession to the English population; and the +industry of the English was thus retarded by this conduct of the +Assembly. Some districts, particularly that of the Eastern Townships, +where the French race have no footing, were seriously injured by the +refusal of necessary improvements; and the English inhabitants generally +regarded the policy of; the Assembly as a plan for preventing any +further emigration to the province, of stopping the growth of English +wealth, and of rendering precarious the English property already +invested or acquired in Lower Canada." + +It may be said, that latterly the French party, by the inconsiderate +yielding of the Government at home, legislate for both provinces; and +finding that they never could compete with the English in other points, +their object has been to crush them as much as possible. [See Note 1.] +The policy pursued by M. Papineau and his adherents, has therefore been +to keep the Lower Province entirely in the hands of the French, and with +this view they have as much as possible, prevented British settlers from +obtaining land in Lower Canada; and that their rule might be absolute, +over the French population, they have prevented their education, so that +they might blindly follow those who guided them. These two assertions +will be fully borne out by an examination into the public records. + +The land being almost wholly in the possession of the French, M. +Papineau's first object was, to make the possession of _landed property_ +the tenure by which any employment of the trust under government could +be held; and in this great object he succeeded. It must at once be +perceived that, by this regulation alone, all British residents were +excluded, and that if possessed of capital to any amount, whatever their +stake in the colony might be, they were ruled and dictated to by the +French party. No person could be an officer in the militia unless he +was a landowner. The wealthy English merchant had to fall into the +ranks, and be ordered about by an ignorant French farmer, a man who +could not write or read, but made his cross to any paper presented to +him for his signature. + +By another enactment the grand juries were to be selected from those who +were land-owners, and the consequence was, that in two grand juries +selected in two succeeding years, there was only one man who could write +or read out of the whole number, and the others fixed their cross to the +bills found. + +What was still more absurd was, that the office of trustee for the +schools could only be held by the same tenure, and in the Act passed, it +is provided, that the trustees for national education may be permitted +to affix their _cross_ to the school reports, a more convincing proof of +the state of ignorance in which the Canadian French population have been +held and acknowledged to be so by the French party, by the making such a +proviso in the statute. I had a convincing proof myself of the +ignorance of the French population during the rebellion in Lower Canada. +I handed a printed circular to about four hundred prisoners who were +collected, for one of them to read aloud to the rest, and there was not +one who could read _print_. + +Having secured the party in the province, the next object of M. +Papineau and his adherents was, to blind the Government at home: they +sent home a list of grievances which required redress, and in this they +were joined by the English republican party. Among other demands, they +insisted upon the right to the Lower Assembly having the control of the +colonial revenues. So earnest was the Government at home to satisfy +them, that every concession was made, and even the last great question +of controlling their own expenditure was consented to, upon the sole +condition that the civil list, for the payment of the salary of the +governor and other state officers, was secured. + +What was the conduct of M. Papineau and his party as soon as they had +gained their point? They immediately broke their faith with the +Government at home, and refused to vote the sum for the civil list. + +For three years, the governor and all the public officers were without +their salaries, which were at last provided for by a vote of the English +Parliament at home. This nefarious conduct of the French Party had one +good effect, it created a disunion with the English republican party, +who, although they wished for reform, would be no participators in such +a breach of honour. + +That for many years there has been sad mismanagement on the part of the +Government at home, cannot be denied, but the error has been the +continual yielding to French clamour and misrepresentation, and the +Government having lost sight of the fact that the English population +were rapidly increasing, and had an equal right to the protection of the +mother-country. It is the English population who have had real cause of +complaint, and who are justified in demanding redress. The French have +been only too well treated, and their demands became more imperious in +proportion to the facility with which the Government yielded to them in +their earnest, but mistaken, desire to put an end to the agitation of M. +Papineau and his party. Mistaking the forbearance of the English +government for weakness, M. Papineau issued his inflammatory appeals; +the people were incited to rebellion; but even this conduct did not seem +to rouse the Government at home, who had probably formed the idea that +the French Canadian was too peaceful to have recourse to arms. +Emboldened by the conduct on the part of the Government, which was +ascribed to fear, and finding themselves supported by Mr Joseph Hume +and Mr Roebuck at home, the republican party in Upper Canada openly +declared itself, and a portion of the Canadian press issued the most +treasonable articles without molestation. The Americans were not idle +in fomenting this ill-will towards the mother country in the Upper +Province, and the Papineau party proceeded to more active measures. +Arrangements were made for a general rising of the Lower Province; the +meeting of St Charles took place, and resolutions were passed of a +nature which could no longer be overlooked by the Provincial Government. +For many months previous to the meeting at St Charles, the Provincial +Government had been aroused and aware of the danger, and Lord Gosford +perceived the necessity of acting contrary to the orders received from +home. Proofs had been obtained against those who were most active in +the intended rebellion, and at last warrants were issued by the +Attorney-General for their apprehension. It was this sudden and +unexpected issue of the warrants which may be said to have saved the +provinces. It defeated all the plans of the conspirators, who had not +intended to have flown to arms until the _next Spring_, when their +arrangements would have been fully made and organised. This fact I had +from Bouchette, and three or four of the ringleaders, whom I visited in +prison. They intended to have had the leaf on the tree, and the cold +weather over, before they commenced operations; and had they waited till +then the result might have been very serious, but the issue of the +warrants for the apprehension of the leaders placed them in the awkward +dilemma of either being deprived of them, or of having recourse to arms +before their plans were fully matured. The latter was the alternative +preferred; and the results of this unsuccessful attempt are well +described in Lord Durham's report:-- + +"The treasonable attempt of the French party to carry its political +objects into effect by an appeal to arms, brought these hostile races +into general and armed collision. I will not dwell on the melancholy +scenes exhibited in the progress of the contest, or the fierce passions +which held an unchecked sway during the insurrection, or immediately +after its suppression. It is not difficult to conceive how greatly the +evils, which I have described as previously existing, have been +aggravated by the war; how terror and revenge nourished, in each portion +of the population, a bitter and irreconcilable hatred to each other, and +to the institutions of the country. The French population, who had for +some time exercised a great and increasing power through the medium of +the House of Assembly, found their hopes unexpectedly prostrated in the +dust. The physical force which they had vaunted was called into action, +and proved to be utterly inefficient. The hope of recovering their +previous ascendancy under a constitution similar to that suspended, +almost ceased to exist. Removed from all actual share in the government +of their smaller country, they brood in silence over the memory of their +fallen countrymen, of their burnt villages, of their ruined property, of +their extinguished ascendancy, and of their humbled nationality. To the +Government and the English they ascribe these wrongs, and nourish +against both an indiscriminating and eternal animosity. Nor have the +English inhabitants forgotten in their triumph, the terror with which +they suddenly saw themselves surrounded by an insurgent majority, and +the incidents which alone appeared to save them from the unchecked +domination of their antagonists. They find themselves still a minority +in the midst of a hostile and organised people; apprehensions of secret +conspiracies and sanguinary designs haunt them unceasingly, and their +only hope of safety is supposed to rest on systematically terrifying and +disabling the French, and in preventing a majority of that race from +ever and again being predominant in any portion of the legislature of +the province. I describe in strong terms the feelings which appear to +me to animate each portion of the population; and the picture which I +draw represents a state of things so little familiar to the personal +experience of the people of this country, that many will probably regard +it as the work of mere imagination; but I feel confident that the +accuracy and moderation of my description will be acknowledged by all +who have seen the state of society in Lower Canada during the last year. +Nor do I exaggerate the inevitable constancy, any more than the +intensity of this animosity. Never again will the present generation of +French Canadians yield a loyal submission to a British Government; never +again will the English population tolerate the authority of a House of +Assembly in which the French shall possess or even approximate to a +majority." + +Although M. Papineau and his party were very willing to fraternise with +the discontented party in Upper Canada, and to call forth the sympathy +and the assistance of the Americans, their real intentions and wishes +were to have made the Canadas an independent French province, in strict +alliance with France. [See Note 2.] The assistance of the Upper Canada +party would have been accepted until they were no longer required, and +then there would have been an attempt, and very probably a successful +one, to drive away by every means in their power the English settlers in +Upper Canada to the United States. The Americans, on the other hand, +cared nothing about the French or English grievances; their sympathy +arose from nothing less than a wish to add the Canadas to their already +vast territories, and to drive the English from their last possessions +in America; but they also knew how to wear the cloak as well as M. +Papineau, and had the insurrection been successful, both French and +English would by this time have been subjected to their control, and M. +Papineau would have found that he had only been a tool in the hands of +the more astute and ambitious Americans. Such is my conviction: but +this is certain, that whatever may have been the result of the former +insurrection, or whatever may be the result of any future one (for the +troubles are not yet over), the English in Upper Canada must fall a +sacrifice to either one party or the other, unless they can succeed +(which, with their present numbers and situation, will be difficult) in +overpowering them both. + +It may be inquired, what were the causes of discontent which occasioned +the partial rising in Upper Canada. Strange to say, although Mackenzie +and his party were in concert and correspondence with M. Papineau, the +chief cause of discontent arose from the partiality shown by the English +government to the French Canadians in Lower Canada; their grievances +were their own, and they had no fellow-feeling with the French +Canadians. If they had any prepossession at all, it was in favour of +joining the American States, and to this they were instigated by the +number of Americans who had settled in Upper Canada. There were several +minor causes of discontent: the Scotch emigrants were displeased because +the Government had decided that the clergy revenues were to be allotted +only for the support of the Episcopal church, and not for the +Presbyterian. But the great discontent was because the English settlers +considered that they had been unfairly treated, and sacrificed by the +government at home. But although discontent was general, a wish to +rebel was not so, and here it was that Mackenzie found himself in error, +and M. Papineau was deceived; instead of being joined by thousands, as +they expected, from the Upper Province, they could only muster a few +hundreds, who were easily dispersed: the feelings of loyalty prevailed, +and those whom the rebel-leaders expected would have joined the standard +of insurrection, enrolled themselves to trample it tinder foot. The +behaviour of the settlers in Upper Canada was worthy of all praise; they +had just grounds of complaint; they had been opposed and sacrificed to a +malevolent and ungrateful French party in the Lower Province; yet when +the question arose as to whether they should assist, or put down the +insurrection, they immediately forgot their own wrongs, and proved their +loyalty to their country. + +The party who adhered to Mackenzie may well be considered as an American +party; for Upper Canada had been so neglected and uncared for, that the +Americans had already obtained great influence there. Indeed, when it +is stated that Mathews and Lount, the two _members of the Upper House of +Assembly_ who were executed for treason, were both _Americans_, it is +evident that the Americans had even obtained a share in the legislation +of the province. When I passed through the Upper Province, I remarked +that, independently of some of the best land being held by Americans, +the landlords of the inns, the contractors for transporting the mails, +and drivers of coaches, were almost without exception, Americans. + +One cause of the Americans wishing that the Canadas should be wrested +from the English was that, by an Act of the Legislature, they were not +able to hold lands in the province. It is true that they could purchase +them, but if they wished to sell them, the title was not valid. Colonel +Prince, whose name was so conspicuous during the late troubles, brought +in a bill to allow Americans to hold land in Upper Canada, but the bill +was thrown out. It scarcely need be observed that Colonel Prince is now +as violent an opponent to the bill. See Note 3. He has had quite +enough of Americans in Upper Canada. + +It was fortunate for the country that there was such a man as Sir John +Colborne, and aided by Sir Francis Head, at that period in the command +of the two provinces. Of the first it is not necessary that I should +add my tribute of admiration to that which Sir John Colborne has already +so unanimously received. Sir Francis Head has not been quite so +fortunate, and has been accused (most unjustly) of rashness and want of +due precaution. Now the only grounds upon which this charge can be +preferred is, his sending down to Sir John Colborne all the regular +troops, when he was requested if possible so to do. I was at this +period at Toronto, and as I had the pleasure of being intimate with Sir +Francis, I had fell knowledge of the causes of this decision. Sir +Francis said, "I have but two hundred regular troops; they will be of +great service in the Lower Province, when added to those which Sir John +Colborne already has under his command. Here they are not sufficient to +stem an insurrection if it be formidable. I do not know what may be the +strength of the rebels until they show themselves, but I think I do know +the number who will support me. Should the rebels prove in great three, +these two companies of regular troops will be overwhelmed, and what I +consider is, not any partial success of the rebel party, but the moral +effect which success over regular troops will create. There are, I am +sure, thousands who are at present undecided, who, if they heard that +the _regular troops_, of whom they have such dread, were overcome, would +join the rebel cause. This is what I fear; as for any advantage gained +over me, when I have only _militia_ to oppose to them, that is of little +consequence. When Sir John Colborne has defeated them in Lower Canada, +he can then come up here, with the regular troops." + +I believe these to be the very words used by Sir Francis Head when he +asked my opinion on the subject, and I agreed with him most cordially; +but if any one is inclined to suppose, from the light, playful, and I +must say, undiplomatic style of Sir Francis's despatches, that he had +not calculated every chance, and made every disposition which prudence +and foresight could suggest, they are very much mistaken. The most +perfect confidence was reposed in him by all parties; and the event +proved that he was not out in his calculations, for with the militia +alone he put down the rebellion. During the short time from Sir Francis +Head's going out, until he requested to be recalled, he did more good to +that province, and more to secure the English dominion than could be +imagined, and had he not been governor of the province for some time +previous to the rebellion, I strongly surmise that it would have been +lost to this country. + +The events of the rebellion are too fresh in the reader's memory to be +mentioned here. It is, however, necessary to examine into the present +state of affairs, for it must not be supposed that the troubles have yet +ceased. + +First, as to the French Canadian party. If I am not very much mistaken, +this may be considered as broken up; the severe lesson received from the +English troops, and the want of confidence in their leaders from their +cowardice and inability, will prevent the French Canadians from again +taking up arms. They are naturally a peaceable, inoffensive, +good-tempered people, and nothing but the earnest instigation of a +portion of their priests, the notaries, and the doctors, (the three +parties who most mix with the _habitants_), would have ever roused them +to rebellion. As it is, I consider that they are efficiently quelled, +and will be quiet, at least for one generation, if the measures of the +government at home are judicious. The cause of the great influence +obtained by the people I have specified over the _habitants_ is well +explained in Lord Durham's Report. Speaking of the public seminaries, +he says:-- + +"The education given in these establishments greatly resembles the kind +given in the English public schools, though it is rather more varied. +It is entirely in the hands of the Catholic clergy. The number of +pupils in these establishments is estimated altogether at about a +thousand; and they turn out every year, as far as I could ascertain, +between two and three hundred young men thus educated. Almost all of +these are members of the family of some habitant, whom the possession of +greater quickness than his brothers has induced the father or the curate +of the parish to select and send to the seminary. These young men, +possessing a degree of information immeasurably superior to that of +their families, are naturally averse to what they regard as descending +to the humble occupations of their parents. A few become priests; but +as the military and naval professions are closed against the colonist, +the greater part can only find a position suited to their notions of +their own qualifications in the learned professions of advocate, notary, +and surgeon. As from this cause these professions are greatly +overstocked, we find every village in Lower Canada filled with notaries +and surgeons, with little practice to occupy their attention, and living +among their own families, or at any rate among exactly the same class. +Thus the persons of most education in every village belong to the same +families, and the same original station in life, as the illiterate +_habitants_ whom I have described. They are connected with them by all +the associations of early youth, and the ties of blood. The most +perfect equality always marks their intercourse, and the superior in +education is separated by no barrier of manners, or pride, or distinct +interests, from the singularly ignorant peasantry by which he is +surrounded. He combines, therefore, the influences of superior +knowledge, and social equality, and wields a power over the mass, which +I do not believe that the educated class of any other portion of the +world possess." + +The second party, which are the discontented, yet loyal English of Upper +Canada, are entitled to, and it is hoped will receive the justice they +claim they well deserve it. It is the duty, as well as the interest of +the mother country to foster loyalty, enterprise, and activity, and it +is chiefly in Upper Canada that it is to be found. One great advantage +has arisen from the late troubles, which is, that they have driven most +of the Americans out of the province, and have created such a feeling of +indignation and hatred towards them in the breasts of the Upper +Canadians, that there is no chance of their fraternising for at least +another half century. Nothing could have proved more unfortunate to the +American desire of obtaining the Canadas than the result of the late +rebellions. Should the Upper Canadians, from any continued injustice +and misrule on the part of the mother country, be determined to +separate, at all events it will not be to ally themselves with the +Americans. In Lord Durham's Report we have the following remarks:-- + +"I have, in despatches of a later date than that to which I have had +occasion so frequently to refer, called the attention of the Home +Government to the growth of this alarming state of feeling among the +English population. The course of the late troubles, and the assistance +which the French insurgents derived from some citizens of the United +States, have caused a most intense exasperation among the Canadian +loyalists against the American government and people. Their papers have +teemed with the most unmeasured denunciations of the good faith of the +authorities, of the character and morality of the people, and of the +political institutions of the United States. Yet, under this surface of +hostility, it is easy to detect a strong under-current of an exactly +contrary feeling. As the general opinion of the American people became +more and more apparent during the course of the last year, the English +of Lower Canada were surprised to find how strong, in spite of the first +burst of sympathy, with a people supposed to be struggling for +independence, was the real sympathy of their republican neighbours with +the great objects of the minority. Without abandoning their attachment +to their mother country, they have begun, as men in a state of +uncertainty are apt to do, to calculate the probable consequences of a +separation, if it should unfortunately occur, and be followed by an +incorporation with the United States. In spite of the shock which it +would occasion their feelings, they undoubtedly think that they should +find some compensation in the promotion of their interests; they believe +that the influx of American emigration would speedily place the English +race in a majority; they talk frequently and loudly of what has occurred +in Louisiana, where, by means which they utterly misrepresent, the end +nevertheless of securing an English predominance over a French +population has undoubtedly been attained; they assert very confidently, +that the Americans would make a very speedy and decisive settlement of +the pretensions of the French; and they believe that, after the first +shock of an entirely new political state had been got over, they and +their posterity would share in that amazing progress, and that great +material prosperity, which every day's experience shows them is the lot +of the people of the United States. I do not believe that such a +feeling has yet sapped their strong allegiance to the British empire; +but their allegiance is founded on their deep-rooted attachment to +British, as distinguished from French institutions. And if they find +that that authority which they have maintained against its recent +assailants, is to be exerted in such a manner as to subject them to what +they call a French dominion, I feel perfectly confident that they would +attempt to avert the result, by courting, on any terms, an union with an +Anglo-Saxon people." + +Here I do not agree with his lordship. That such was the feeling +previous to the insurrection I believe, and notwithstanding the defeat +of the insurgents, would have remained so, had it not been for the +piratical attacks of the Americans, which their own government could not +control. This was a lesson to the Upper Canadians. They perceived that +there was no security for life or property--no law to check outrage--and +they felt severely the consequences of this state of things in the +destruction of their property and the attempts upon their lives by a +nation professing to be in amity with them. Fraternise with the +Americans the Upper Canadians will not. They may be subdued by them if +they throw off the allegiance and protection of the mother-country, as +they would be hemmed in between two hostile parties, and find it almost +impossible, with their present population, to withstand their united +efforts. But should a conflict of this kind take place, and the Upper +Canadians be allowed but a short period of repose, or could they hold +the Americans in check for a time, they would sweep the whole race of +the Lower Canadians from the face of the earth. Their feelings towards +the Lower Canadians are well explained in Lord Durham's Report:-- + +"In the despatch above referred to I also described the state of feeling +among the English population, nor can I encourage a hope that that +portion of the community is at all more inclined to any settlement of +the present quarrel that would leave any share of power to the hostile +race. Circumstances having thrown the English into the ranks of the +government, and the folly of their opponents having placed them, on the +other hand, in a state of permanent collision with it, the former +possess the advantage of having the force of government, and the +authority of the laws on their side in the present state of the contest. +Their exertions during the recent troubles have contributed to maintain +the supremacy of the law, and the continuance of the connexion with +Great Britain; but it would, in my opinion, be dangerous to rely on the +continuance of such a state of feeling, as now prevails among them, in +the event of a different policy being adopted by the Imperial +government. Indeed the prevalent sentiment among them is one of any +thing but satisfaction with the course which has been long pursued, with +reference td Lower Canada, by the British legislature and executive. +The calmer view, which distant spectators are enabled to take of the +conduct of the two parties, and the disposition which is evinced to make +a fair adjustment of the contending claims, appear iniquitous and +injurious in the eyes of men who think that they alone have any claim to +the favour of that government, by which they alone have stood fast. +They complain loudly and bitterly of the whole course pursued by the +Imperial Government, with respect to the quarrel of the two races, as +having been rounded on an utter ignorance of, or disregard to the real +question at issue, as having fostered the mischievous pretensions of +French nationality, and as having, by the vacillation and inconsistency +which marked it, discouraged loyalty and fomented rebellion. Every +measure of clemency, or even justice, towards their opponents, they +regard with jealousy, as indicating a disposition towards that +conciliatory policy which is the subject of their angry recollection; +for they feel that being a minority, any return to the due course of +constitutional government would again subject them to a French majority: +and to this I am persuaded they would never peaceably submit. They do +not hesitate to say that they will not tolerate much longer the being +made the sport of parties at home, and that if the mother country +forgets what is due to the loyal and enterprising men of her own race, +they must protect themselves. In the significant language of one of +their own ablest advocates, they assert that `Lower Canada must be +_English_, at the expense, if necessary, of not being _British_.'" + +The third party, which is the American, is the only one at present +inclined to move, and in all probability they will commence as soon as +the winter sets in; for however opposed to this shameful violation of +the laws of nations the President, officers, and respectable portion of +the American Union may be, it is certain that the _majority_ are +represented by these marauders, and the removal of our troops would be a +signal for immediate aggression. + +The Americans will tell you that the sympathy, as they term it, only +exists on the borders of the lakes; that it extends no further, and that +they are all opposed to it, etcetera. Such is not the case. The +greatest excitement which was shown any where was perhaps at Albany, the +capital of the State of New York, on the Hudson river, and two hundred +miles at least from the boundary; but not only there, but even on the +Mississippi the feeling was the same; in fact, it was the feeling of the +majority. In a letter I received the other day from a friend in New +York, there is the following remark:-- + +"Bill Johnson (the pirate on lake Ontario) _held his levees_ here during +the winter. They were _thronged_ with all the _best people_ of the +city." + +Now, the quarter from whence I received this intelligence is to be +relied upon; and that it was the case I have no doubt. And why should +they feel such interest about a pirate like Bill Johnson? Simply +because he had assailed the English. This may appear a trifle; but a +straw thrown up shows in what direction the wind blows. + +At present there is no want of troops to defend the Canadas against a +foreign attack, and little inclination to rebel in the provinces +themselves. That now required is, that the legislature should be +improved so as to do justice to all parties, and such an encouragement +given to enterprise and industry as to induce a more extended +emigration. + +Lord Durham has very correctly observed, that it is not now a conflict +of principles between the English and French, but a conflict of the two +races. He says:-- + +"I expected to find a contest between a government and a people: I found +two nations warring in the bosom of a single state: I found a struggle, +not of principles, but of races; and I perceived that it would be idle +to attempt any amelioration of laws or institutions until we could first +succeed in terminating a deadly animosity that now separates the +inhabitants of Lower Canada into the hostile divisions of French and +English." + +But why should this conflict between the two races have taken place? +Firstly, because the French, by the injudicious generosity of our +Government in allowing them to retain their language in public affairs, +with all their customs and usages, were allowed to remain a French +colony, instead of amalgamating them with the English, as might have +been done. Subsequently, because the interests of the English colonists +have been sacrificed to the French, who, nevertheless, became +disaffected, and would have thrown off the English dominion. Lord +Durham very correctly adds:-- + +"Such is the lamentable and hazardous state of things produced by the +conflict of races which has so long divided the province of Lower +Canada, and which has assumed the formidable and irreconcilable +character which I have depicted. In describing the nature of this +conflict, I have specified the causes in which it originated; and though +I have mentioned the conduct and constitution of the colonial +government, as modifying the character of the struggle, I have not +attributed to political causes a state of things which would, I believe, +tinder any political institutions have resulted from the very +composition of society. A jealousy between two races, so long +habituated to regard each other with hereditary enmity, and so differing +in habits, in language, and in laws, would have been inevitable under +any form of government. That liberal institutions and prudent policy +might have changed the character of the struggle, I have no doubt; but +they could not have prevented it; they could only have softened its +character, and brought it more speedily to a more decisive and peaceful +conclusion. Unhappily, however, the system of government pursued in +Lower Canada has been based on the policy of perpetuating that very +separation of the races, and encouraging these very notions of +conflicting nationalities which it ought to have been the first and +chief care of Government to check and extinguish. From the period of +the conquest to the present time, the conduct has aggravated the evil, +and the origin of the present extreme disorder may be found in the +institutions by which the character of the colony was determined." + +We have, therefore, to legislate between the two parties, and let us, +previous to entering upon the question, examine into their respective +merits. On the one hand we have a French population who, after having +received every favour which could be granted with a due regard to +freedom, have insisted upon, and have obtained much more, and who in +return for all the kindness heaped upon them, excited by envy and +jealousy of an energy and enterprise of which they were incapable, have +risen in rebellion, with the hopes of making themselves an independent +nation. + +On the other hand we have a generous, high-spirited race of our own +blood, and migrating from our own soil, who having been unfairly +treated, and _having just grounds_ of complaint against the +mother-country, have nevertheless forgotten their own wrongs, and, to a +mail, flown to arms, willing to shed their blood in defence of the +mother-country. + +Add to this, we have the French inhabiting a comparatively sterile +country, without activity or enterprise; the English, in a country +fertile to excess, possessing most of the capital, and the only portion +of the colonists to whom we can safely confide the defence of that which +I trust I have proved to the reader to be the most important outpost in +the English dominions. Bearing all this in mind, and also remembering +that if the emigration to Upper Canada again revive, that this latter +population will in a few years be an immense majority, and will +ultimately wholly swallow up all the former, we may now proceed to +consider what should be the policy of the mother-country. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 1. It was not long after the conquest, that another and larger +class of English settlers began to enter the province. English capital +was attracted to Canada by the vast quantity and valuable nature of the +exportable produce of the country, and the great facilities for +commerce, presented by the natural means of internal intercourse. The +ancient trade of the country was conducted on a much larger and more +profitable scale; and new branches of industry were explored. The +active and regular habits of the English capitalist drove out of all the +more profitable kinds of industry their inert and careless competitors +of the French race; but in respect of the greater part (almost the +whole) of the commerce and manufactures of the country, the English +cannot be said to have encroached on the French; for, in fact, they +created employments and profits which had not previously existed. A few +of the ancient race smarted under the loss occasioned by the success of +English competition; but all felt yet more acutely the gradual increase +of a class of strangers in whose hands the wealth of the country +appeared to centre, and whose expenditure and influence eclipsed those +of the class which had previously occupied the first position in the +country. Nor was the intrusion of the English limited to commercial +enterprises. By degrees, large portions of land were occupied by them; +nor did they confine themselves to the unsettled and distant country of +the townships. The wealthy capitalist invested his money in the +purchase of seignorial properties; and it is estimated, that at the +present moment full half of the more valuable seignories are actually +owned by English proprietors. The seignorial tenure is one so little +adapted to our notions of proprietary rights, that the new seigneur, +without any consciousness or intention to injustice, in many instances +exercised his rights in a manner which would appear perfectly fair in +this country, but which the Canadian settler reasonably regarded as +oppressive. The English purchaser found an equally unexpected and just +cause of complaint in that uncertainty of the laws, which rendered his +possession of property precarious, and in those incidents of the tenure +which rendered its alienation or improvement difficult. But an +irritation, greater than that occasioned by the transfer of the large +properties, was caused by the competition of the English with the French +farmer. The English farmer carried with him the experience and habits +of the most improved agriculture in the world. He settled himself in +the townships bordering on the seignories, and brought a fresh soil and +improved cultivation to compete with the worn-out and slovenly farm of +the _habitant_. He often took the very farm which the Canadian settler +had abandoned, and, by superior management, made that a source of profit +which had only impoverished his predecessor. The ascendancy which an +unjust favouritism had contributed to give to the English race in the +government and the legal profession, their own superior energy, skill +and capital secured to them in every branch of industry. They have +developed the resources of the country; they have constructed or +improved its means of communication; they have created its internal and +foreign commerce. The entire wholesale, and a large portion of the +retail trade of the province, with the most profitable and flourishing +farms, are now in the hands of this numerical minority of the +population. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 2. "Nor does there appear to be the slightest chance of putting an +end to this animosity during the present generation. Passions inflamed +during so long a period, cannot speedily be calmed. The state of +education which I have previously described as placing the peasantry +entirely at the mercy of agitators, the total absence of any class of +persons, or any organisation of authority that could counteract this +mischievous influence, and the serious decline in the district of +Montreal of the influence of the clergy, concur in rendering it +absolutely impossible for the Government to produce any better state of +feeling among the French population. It is even impossible to impress +on a people so circumstanced the salutary dread of the power of Great +Britain, which the presence of a large military force in the province +might be expected to produce. I have been informed, by witnesses so +numerous and trustworthy that I cannot doubt the correctness of their +statements, that the peasantry were generally ignorant of the large +amount of force which was sent into their country last year. The +newspapers that circulate among them had informed them that Great +Britain had no troops to send out; that in order to produce an +impression on the minds of the country-people, the same regiments were +marched backwards and forwards in different directions, and represented +as additional arrivals from home. This explanation was promulgated +among the people by the agitators of each village; and I have no doubt +that the mass of the inhabitants really believed that the government was +endeavouring to impose on them by this species of fraud. It is a +population with whom authority has no means of contact or explanation. +It is difficult even to ascertain what amount of influence the ancient +leaders of the French party continue to possess. [The name of M. +Papineau is still cherished by the people; and the idea is current that, +at the appointed time, he will return, at the head of an immense army, +and re-establish "La Nation Canadienne."] But there is great reason to +doubt whether his name be not used as a mere watchword; whether the +people are not in fact running entirely counter to his councils and +policy; and whether they are not really under the guidance of separate +petty agitators, who have no plan but that of a senseless and reckless +determination to show in every way their hostility to the British +Government and English race. Their ultimate designs and hopes are +equally unintelligible. Some vague expectation of absolute independence +still seems to delude them. The national vanity, which is a remarkable +ingredient in their character, induces many to flatter themselves with +the idea of a Canadian Republic; the sounder information of others has +led them to perceive that a separation from Great Britain must be +followed by a junction with the great confederation on their southern +frontier. But they seem apparently reckless of the consequences, +provided they can wreak their vengeance on the English. There is no +people against which early associations and every conceivable difference +of manners and opinions have implanted in the Canadian mind a more +ancient and rooted national antipathy than that which they feel against +the people of the United States. Their more discerning leaders feel +that their chances of preserving their nationality would be greatly +diminished by an incorporation with the United States; and recent +symptoms of Anti-Catholic feeling in New England, well known to the +Canadian population, have generated a very general belief that their +religion, which even they do not accuse the British party of assailing, +would find little favour or respect from their neighbours. Yet none +even of these considerations weigh against their present all-absorbing +hatred of the English; and I am persuaded that they would purchase +vengeance and a momentary triumph by the aid of any enemies, or +submission to any yoke. This provisional but complete cessation of +their ancient antipathy to the Americans, is now admitted even by those +who most strongly denied it during the last spring, and who then +asserted that an American war would as completely unite the whole +population against the common enemy, as it did in 1813. My subsequent +experience leaves no doubt in my mind that the views which were +contained in my despatch on the 9th of August are perfectly correct; and +that an invading American army might rely on the co-operation of almost +the entire French population of Lower Canada." + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 3. Colonel Prince is the gentleman who took with his own hands +General Sutherland and his aide-de-camp, and who ordered the Yankee +pirates to be shot. Mr Hume has thought proper to make a motion in the +House of Commons, reprobating this act as one of murder. I believe +there is little difference whether a man breaks into your house, and +steals your money; or burns your house, and robs you of your cattle and +other property. One is as much a case of burglary as the other. In the +first instance you are justified in taking the robber's life, and why +not in the second? Those people who attacked the inhabitants of a +country with whom they were in profound peace, were disowned by their +own government, consequently they were outlaws and pirates, and it is a +pity that Sutherland and every other prisoner taken had not been +immediately shot. Mr Hume may flare up in the House of Commons, but I +should like to know what Mr Hume's opinion would be if he was the party +who had all his property stolen and his house burnt over his head, in +the depth of a Canadian winter. I suspect he would say a very different +say, as he has no small respect for the _meum_; indeed, I should be +sorry to be the party to be sentenced by Mr Hume, if I had stolen a few +ducks out of the honourable gentleman's duck decoys near Yarmouth. + + + +VOLUME THREE, CHAPTER FIVE. + +THE CANADAS, CONTINUED. + +In the last chapter I pointed out that in our future legislation for +these provinces, we had to decide between the English and French +inhabitants; up to the present the French have been in power, and have +been invariably favoured by the Government, much to the injury of the +English population. Before I offer any opinion on this question, let us +inquire what has been the conduct of the French in their exercise of +their rights as a Legislative Assembly, and what security they offer us, +to incline us again to put confidence in them. In examining into this +question, I prefer, as a basis, the Report of Lord Durham, made to the +English Parliament. His lordship, adverting to the state of hostility +between the representative and executive powers in our colonies, +prefaces with a remark relative to our own country, which I think late +events do not fully bear out; he says:-- + +"However partial the monarch might be to particular ministers, or +however he might have personally committed himself to their policy, he +has been _invariably_ constrained to abandon both, as soon as the +opinion of the people has been irrevocably pronounced against them, +through the medium of the House of Commons." + +This he repeats in an after part of the Report:-- + +"When a ministry ceases to command a majority in Parliament on great +questions of policy, its doom is immediately sealed; and it would appear +to us as strange to attempt, for any time, to carry on a Government by +means of ministers perpetually in a minority, as it would be to pass +laws with a majority of votes against them." + +If such be an essential part of our constitution, as his lordship +asserts, surely we have suffered an inroad into it lately. + +That the system of Colonial Government is defective, I grant, but it is +not so much from the check which the Legislative Council puts upon the +Representative Assembly, as from the secrecy of the acts and decisions +of that council. This, indeed, his lordship admits in some cases, and I +think that I can fully establish that, without this salutary check, the +Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada would have soon voted themselves +Free and Independent States. Lord Durham observes:-- + +"I am far from concurring in the censure which the Assembly and its +advocates have attempted to cast on the acts of the Legislative Council. +I have no hesitation in saying that many of the bills which it is most +severely blamed for rejecting, were bills which it could not have passed +without a dereliction of its duty to the constitution, the connexion +with Great Britain, and the whole English population of the colony. If +there is any censure to be passed on its general conduct, it is for +having confined itself to the merely negative and defensive duties of a +legislative body; for having too frequently contented itself with merely +defeating objectionable methods of obtaining desirable ends, without +completing its duty by proposing measures, which would have achieved the +good in view without the mixture of evil. The national animosities +which pervaded the legislation of the Assembly, and its thorough want of +legislative skill or respect for constitutional principles, rendered +almost all its bills obnoxious to the objections made by the Legislative +Council; and the serious evil which their enactment would have +occasioned, convinces me that the colony has reason to congratulate +itself on the existence of an institution which possessed and used the +power of stopping a course of legislation that, if successful, would +have _sacrificed every British interest_, and _overthrown every +guarantee of order and national liberty_." + +Again:-- + +"One glaring attempt which was made directly and openly to _subvert the +constitution of the country, was_, by passing a bill for the formal +repeal of those parts of the 31 Geo. 3, c. 31, commonly called the +Constitutional Act, by which the constitution and powers of the +Legislative Council were established. It can hardly be supposed that +the framers of this bill were unaware, or hoped to make any concealment +of the obvious illegality of a measure, which, commencing as all +Canadian Acts do, by a recital of the 31 Geo. 3, as the foundation of +the legislative authority of the Assembly, proceeded immediately to +infringe some of the most important provisions of that very statute; nor +can it be supposed that the Assembly hoped really to carry into effect, +this extraordinary assumption of power, inasmuch as the bill could +derive no legal effect from passing the Lower House, unless it should +subsequently receive the assent of the very body which it purported to +annihilate." + +Take again the following observations of his lordship:-- + +"But the evils resulting from such open attempts to dispense with the +constitution were small, in comparison with the disturbance of the +regular course of legislation by systematic abuse of constitutional +forms, for the purpose of depriving the other branches of the +legislature of all real legislative authority. + +"It remained, however, for the Assembly of Lower Canada to reduce the +practice to a regular system, in order that it might have the most +important institutions of the province periodically at its mercy, and +use the necessities of the government and the community for the purpose +of extorting the concession of whatever demands it might choose to make. +Objectionable in itself, on account of the uncertainty and continual +changes which it tended to introduce into legislation, this system of +temporary laws derived its worst character from the facilities which it +afforded to the practice of `tacking' together various legislative +measures. + +"A singular instance of this occurred in 1836, with respect to the +renewal of the jury law, to which the Assembly attached great +importance, and to which the Legislative Council felt a strong +repugnance, on account of its having in effect placed the juries +entirely in the hands of the French portion of the population. In order +to secure the renewal of this law, the Assembly coupled it in the same +bill by which it renewed the tolls of the Lachine Canal, calculating on +the Council not venturing to defeat a measure of so much importance to +the revenue as the latter by resisting the former. The council, +however, rejected the bill; and thus the canal remained toll-free for a +whole season, because the two Houses differed about a jury law." + +So much for their attempts to subvert the constitution. Now let us +inquire how far these patriots were disinterested in their enactments. +First, as to grants for local improvements, how were they applied? His +lordship observes:-- + +The great business of the Assemblies is, literally, parish business; the +making parish roads and parish bridges. There are in none of these +provinces any local bodies possessing authority to impose local +assessments, for the management of local affairs. To do these things is +the business of the Assembly; and to induce the Assembly to attend to +the particular interests of each county, is the especial business of its +county member. The surplus revenue of the province is swelled to as +large an amount as possible, by cutting down the payment of public +services to as low a scale as possible; and the real duties of +government are, sometimes, insufficiently provided for, in order that +more may be left to be divided among the constituent bodies. `When we +want a bridge, we take a judge to build it,' was the quaint and forcible +way in which a member of a provincial legislature described the tendency +to retrench, in the most necessary departments of the public service, in +order to satisfy the demands for local works. This fund is voted by the +Assembly on the motion of its members; the necessity of obtaining the +previous consent of the Crown to money votes never having been adopted +by the Colonial Legislatures from the practice of the British House of +Commons. There is a perfect scramble among the whole body to get as +much as possible of this fund for their respective constituents; cabals +are formed, by which the different members mutually play into each +other's hands; general politics are made to bear on private business, +and private business on general politics; and at the close of the +Parliament, the member who has succeeded in securing the largest portion +of the prize for his constituents, renders an easy account of his +stewardship, with confident assurance of his re-election. + +"Not only did the leaders of the Lower Canadian Assembly avail +themselves of the patronage thus afforded, by the large surplus revenue +of the province, but they turned this system to much greater account, by +_using it to obtain influence over the constituencies_. + +"The majority of the Assembly of Lower Canada is accused by its +opponents of having, in the most systematic and persevering manner, +employed this means of corrupting the electoral bodies. The adherents +of M. Papineau are said to have been lavish in their promises of the +benefits which they could obtain from the Assembly for the county, whose +suffrages they solicited. By such representations, the return of +members of opposition politics is asserted, in many instances, to have +been secured; and obstinate counties are alleged to have been sometimes +starved into submission, by an entire withdrawal of grants, until they +returned members favourable to the majority. Some of the English +members who voted with M. Papineau, excused themselves to their +countrymen by alleging that they were compelled to do so, in order to +get a road or a bridge, which their constituents desired. Whether it be +true or false, that the abuse was ever carried to such a pitch, it is +obviously one, which might have been easily and safely perpetrated by a +person possessing M. Papineau's influence in the Assembly." + +Next for the grants for public education. + +"But the most bold and extensive attempt for erecting a system of +patronage, wholly independent of the Government, was that which was, for +some time, carried into effect by the grants for education made by the +Assembly, and regulated by the Act, which the Legislative Council has +been most bitterly reproached with refusing to renew. It has been +stated, as a proof of the deliberate intention of the Legislative +Council to crush every attempt to civilise and elevate the great mass of +the people, that it thus stopped at once the working of about 1,000 +schools, and deprived of education no less than 40,000 scholars, who +were actually profiting by the means of instruction thus placed within +their reach. But the reasons which induced, or rather compelled, the +Legislative Council to stop this system, are clearly stated in the +Report of that body, which contains the most unanswerable justification +of the course which it pursued. By that it appears, that the whole +superintendence and patronage of these schools had, by the expired law, +been vested in the hands of the county members; and they had been +allowed to manage the funds, without even the semblance of sufficient +accountability. The Members of the Assembly had thus a patronage, in +this single department, of about 25,000 pounds per annum, an amount +equal to half of the whole ordinary civil expenditure of the Province. +They were not slow in profiting by the occasion thus placed in their +hands; and as there existed in the Province no sufficient supply of +competent schoolmasters and mistresses, they nevertheless immediately +filled up the appointments with persons who were _utterly and obviously +incompetent. A great proportion of the teachers could neither read +nor write_. The gentleman whom I directed to inquire into the state of +education in the Province, showed me a petition from certain +schoolmasters, which had come into his hands; and the majority of the +signatures were those of _marks-men_. These ignorant teachers could +convey no useful instruction to their pupils; the utmost amount which +they taught them was to say the Catechism by rote. Even within seven +miles of Montreal, there was a schoolmistress thus unqualified. These +appointments were, as might have been expected, jobbed by the members +among the political partisans; nor were the funds _very honestly_ +managed. In many cases the members were suspected, or accused, of +misapplying them to their own use; and in the case of Beauharnois, where +the seigneur, Mr Ellice, has, in the same spirit of judicious +liberality by which his whole management of that extensive property has +been marked, contributed most largely towards the education of his +tenants, the school funds were proved to have been misappropriated by +the county member. The whole system was a gross political abuse; and, +however laudable we must hold the exertions of those who really laboured +to relieve their country from the reproach of being the least furnished +with the means of education of any on the North American continent, the +more severely must we condemn those who sacrificed this noble end, and +perverted ample means to serve the purposes of party." + +We will now claim the support of his lordship upon another question, +which is, how far is it likely that the law will be duly administered if +the power is to remain in the hands of the French Canadian population? +Speaking of the Commissioners of Small Causes, his lordship observes:-- + +"I shall only add, that some time previous to my leaving the Province, I +was very warmly and forcibly urged, by the highest legal authorities in +the country, to abolish all these tribunals at once, on the ground that +a great many of them, being composed entirely of disaffected French +Canadians, were busily occupied in harassing loyal subjects, by +entertaining actions against them on account of the part they had taken +in the late insurrection. There is no appeal from their decision; and +it was stated that they had in the most barefaced manner given damages +against loyal persons for acts done in the discharge of their duty, and +judgments by default against persons who were absent, as volunteers in +the service of the Queen, and enforced their judgment by levying +distresses on their property." + +Relative to the greatest prerogative of an Englishman, the trial by +jury, his lordship observes:-- + +"But the most serious mischief in the administration of criminal +justice, arises from the entire perversion of the institution of juries, +by the political and national prejudices of the people. The trial by +jury was introduced with the rest of the English criminal law. For a +long time the composition of both grand and petit juries was settled by +the governor, and they were at first taken from the cities, which were +the _chefs lieux_ of the district. Complaints were made that this gave +an undue preponderance to the British in those cities; though, from the +proportions of the population, it is not very obvious how they could +thereby obtain more than an equal share. In consequence, however, of +these complaints, an order was issued under the government of Sir James +Kempt, directing the sheriffs to take the juries not only from the +cities, but from the adjacent country, for fifteen leagues in every +direction. An Act was subsequently passed, commonly called `Mr Viger's +Jury Act,' extending these limits to those of the district. The +principle of taking the jury from the whole district to which the +jurisdiction of the court extended, is, undoubtedly, in conformity with +the principles of English law; and Mr Viger's Act, adopting the other +regulations of the English jury law, provided a fair selection of +juries. But if we consider the hostility and proportions of the two +races, the practical effect of this law was to give the French an entire +preponderance in the juries. This Act was one of the temporary Acts of +the Assembly, and, having expired in 1836, the Legislative Council +refused to renew it. Since that period, there has been no jury law +whatever. The composition of the juries has been altogether in the +hands of the Government: private instructions, however, have been given +to the sheriff to act in conformity with Sir James Kempt's ordinance; +but though he has always done so, the public have had no security for +any fairness in the selection of the juries. There was no visible check +on the sheriff; the public knew that he could pack a jury whenever he +pleased, and supposed, as a matter of course, that an officer, holding a +lucrative appointment at the pleasure of Government, would be ready to +carry into effect those unfair designs which they were always ready to +attribute to the Government. When I arrived in the Province, the public +were expecting the trials of the persons accused of participation in the +late insurrection. I was, on the one hand, informed by the law officers +of the Crown, and the highest judicial authorities, that not the +slightest chance existed, under any fair system of getting a jury, that +would convict any of these men, however clear the evidence of their +guilt might be; and, on the other side, I was given to understand, that +the prisoners and their friends supposed that, as a matter of course, +they would be tried by packed juries, and that even the most clearly +innocent of them would be convicted. + +"It is, indeed, a lamentable fact which must not be concealed, that +there does not exist in the minds of the people of this Province the +slightest confidence in the administration of criminal justice; nor were +the complaints, or the apparent grounds for them, confined to one party. + +"The trial by jury is, therefore, at the present moment, not only +productive in Lower Canada of no confidence in the honest administration +of the laws, but also provides impunity for every political offence." + +I have made these long quotations from Lord Durham's Report as his +lordship's authority, he having been sent out as Lord High Commissioner +to the Province, to make the necessary inquiries, must carry more weight +with the public than any observations of mine. All I can do is to +assert that his lordship is very accurate; and, having made this +assertion, I ask, what chance, therefore, is there of good government, +if the power, or any portion of the power, be left in the hands of those +who have in every way proved themselves so adverse to good government, +and who have wound up such conduct by open rebellion. + +The position of the Executive in Canada has, for a long while, been just +what our position in this country would be if the House of Commons were +composed of Chartist leaders. Every act brought forward by them would +tend to revolution, and be an infringement of the Constitution, and all +that the House of Lords would have to do, would be firmly to reject +every bill carried to the Upper House. If our House of Commons were +filled with rebels and traitors, the Government must stand still, and +such has been for these ten years the situation of the Canadian +government; and, fortunate it is, that the outbreak has now put us in a +position that will enable us to retrieve our error, and re-model the +constitution of these Provinces. The questions which must therefore be +settled previous to any fresh attempts at legislation for these +Canadians, are,--are, or are not, the French population to have any +share in it? Can they be trusted? Are they in any way deserving of it? +In few words, are the Canadas to be hereafter considered as a French or +an English colony? + +When we legislate, unless we intend to change, we must look to futurity. +The question, then, is not, who are the majority of to-day, but who +will hereafter be the majority in the Canadian Provinces; for all agree +upon one point, which is, that we must legislate for the majority. At +present, the population is nearly equal, but every year increases the +preponderance of the English; and it is to be trusted that, by good +management, and the encouragement of emigration, in half a century the +French population will be so swallowed up by the English, as to be +remembered but on record. If, again, we put the claims of British +loyalty against the treason of the French--the English energy, activity, +and capital, in opposition to the supineness, ignorance, and incapacity +of the French population,--it is evident, that not only in justice and +gratitude, but with a due regard to our own interests, the French +Canadians must now be _wholly deprived_ of any share of that power which +they have abused, and that confidence of which they have proved +themselves so unworthy. I am much pleased to find that Lord Durham has +expressed the same opinion, in the following remarks; and I trust their +importance will excuse to the reader the length of the quotation. + +"The English have already in their hands the majority of the larger +masses of property in the country; they have the decided superiority of +intelligence on their side; they have the certainty that colonisation +must swell their numbers to a majority; and they belong to the race +which wields the Imperial Government, and predominates on the American +continent. If we now leave them in a minority, they will never abandon +the assurance of being a majority hereafter, and never cease to continue +the present contest with all the fierceness with which it now rages. In +such a contest, they will rely on the sympathy of their countrymen at +home; and if that is denied them, they feel very confident of being able +to awaken the sympathy of their neighbours of kindred origin. They feel +that if the British Government intends to maintain its hold of the +Canadas, it can rely on the English population alone; that if it +abandons its colonial possessions, they must become a portion of that +great Union which will speedily send forth its swarms of settlers, and, +by force of numbers and activity, quickly master every other race. The +French Canadians, on the other hand, are but the remains of an ancient +colonisation, and are and ever must be isolated in the midst of an +Anglo-Saxon world. Whatever may happen, whatever government shall be +established over them, British or American, they can see no hope for +their nationality. They can only sever themselves from the British +empire by waiting till some general cause of dissatisfaction alienates +them, together with the surrounding colonies, and leaves them part of an +English confederacy; or, if they are able, by effecting a separation +singly, and so either merging in the American Union, or keeping up for a +few years a wretched semblance of feeble independence, which would +expose them more than ever to the intrusion of the surrounding +population. I am far from wishing to encourage, indiscriminately, these +pretensions to superiority on the part of any particular race; but while +the greater part of every portion of the American continent is still +uncleared and unoccupied, and while the English exhibit such constant +and marked activity in colonisation, so long will it be idle to imagine +that there is any portion of that continent into which that race will +not penetrate, or in which, when it has penetrated, it will not +predominate. It is but a question of time and mode; it is but to +determine whether the small number of French who now inhabit Lower +Canada shall be made English, under a government which can protect them, +or whether the process shall be delayed until a much larger number shall +have to undergo, at the rude hands of its uncontrolled rivals, the +extinction of a nationality strengthened and embittered by continuance. + +"And is this French Canadian nationality one which, for the good merely +of that people, we ought to strive to perpetuate, even if it were +possible? I know of no national distinctions marking and continuing a +more hopeless inferiority. The language, the laws, the character of the +North American Continent are English; and every race but the English (I +apply this to all who speak the English language) appears there in a +condition of inferiority. It is to elevate them from that inferiority +that I desire to give to the Canadians our English character. I desire +it for the sake of the educated classes, whom the distinction of +language and manners keeps apart from the great empire to which they +belong. At the best, the fate of the educated and aspiring colonist is, +at present, one of little hope, and little activity; but the French +Canadian is cast still further into the shade, by a language and habits +foreign to those of the Imperial Government. A spirit of exclusion has +closed the higher professions on the educated classes of the French +Canadians, more, perhaps, than was absolutely necessary; but it is +impossible for the utmost liberality on the part of the British +Government to give an equal position in the general competition of its +vast population to those who speak a foreign language. I desire the +amalgamation still more for the sake of the humbler classes. Their +present state of rude and equal plenty is fast deteriorating under the +pressure of population in the narrow limits to which they are confined. +If they attempt to better their condition, by extending themselves over +the neighbouring country, they will necessarily get more and more +mingled with an English population; if they prefer remaining stationary, +the greater part of them must be labourers in the employ of English +capitalists. In either case it would appear, that the great mass of the +French Canadians are doomed, in some measure, to occupy an inferior +position, and to be dependent on the English for employment. The evils +of poverty and dependence would merely be aggravated in a ten-fold +degree, by a spirit of jealous and resentful nationality, which should +separate the working class of the community from the possessors of +wealth and employers of labour. + +"I will not here enter into the question of the effect of the mode of +life and division of property among the French Canadians, on the +happiness of the people. I will admit, for the moment, that it is as +productive of well-being as its admirers assert. But, be it good or +bad, the period in which it is practicable, is past; for there is not +enough unoccupied land left in that portion of the country in which +English are not already settled, to admit of the present French +population possessing farms sufficient to supply them with their present +means of comfort, under their present system of husbandry. No +population has increased by mere births so rapidly as that of the French +Canadians has since the conquest. At that period their number was +estimated at 60,000: it is now supposed to amount to more than seven +times as many. There has been no proportional increase of cultivation, +or of produce from the land already under cultivation; and the increased +population has been in a great measure provided for by mere continued +subdivision of estates. In a Report from a Committee of the Assembly in +1826, of which Mr Andrew Steuart was chairman, it is stated, that since +1784 the population of the seignories had quadrupled, while the number +of cattle had only doubled, and the quantity of land in cultivation had +only increased one-third. Complaints of distress are constant, and the +deterioration of the condition of a great part of the population +admitted on all hands. A people so circumstanced must alter their mode +of life. If they wish to maintain the same kind of rude, but +well-provided agricultural existence, it must be by removing into those +parts of the country in which the English are settled; or if they cling +to their present residence, they can only obtain a livelihood by +deserting their present employment, and working for wages on farms, or +on commercial occupations under English capitalists. But their present +proprietary and inactive condition is one which no political +arrangements can perpetuate. Were the French Canadians to be guarded +from the influx of any other population, their condition in a few years +would be similar to that of the poorest of the Irish peasantry. + +"There can hardly be conceived a nationality more destitute of all that +can invigorate and elevate a people, than that which is exhibited by the +descendants of the French in Lower Canada, owing to their retaining +their peculiar language and manners. They are a people with no history, +and no literature. The literature of England is written in a language +which is not theirs; and the only literature which their language +renders familiar to them, is that of a nation from which they have been +separated by eighty years of a foreign rule, and still more by those +changes which the Revolution and its consequences have wrought in the +whole political, moral, and social state of France. Yet it is on a +people whom recent history, manners, and modes of thought, so entirely +separate from them, that the French Canadians are wholly dependent for +almost all the instruction and amusement derived from books: it is on +this essentially foreign literature, which is conversant about events, +opinions and habits of life, perfectly strange and unintelligible to +them, that they are compelled to be dependent. Their newspapers are +mostly written by natives of France, who have either come to try their +fortunes in the province, or been brought into it by the party leaders, +in order to supply the dearth of literary talent available for the +political press. In the same way their nationality operates to deprive +them of the enjoyments and civilising influence of the arts. Though +descended from the people in the world that most generally love, and +have most successfully cultivated the drama--though living on a +continent, in which almost every town, great or small, has an English +theatre, the French population of Lower Canada, cut off from every +people that speak its own language, can support no national stage. + +"In these circumstances, I should be indeed surprised if the more +reflecting part of the French Canadians entertained at present any hope +of continuing to preserve their nationality. Much as they struggle +against it, it is obvious that the process of assimilation to English +habits is already commencing. The English language is gaining ground, +as the language of the rich and of the employers of labour naturally +will. It appeared by some of the few returns, which had been received +by the Commissioner of Inquiry into the state of education, that there +are about ten times the number of French children in Quebec learning +English, as compared with the English children who learn French. A +considerable time must, of course, elapse before the change of a +language can spread over a whole people; and justice and policy alike +require, that while the people continue to use the French language, +their government should take no such means to force the English language +upon them as would, in fact, deprive the great mass of the community of +the protection of the laws. But, I repeat, that the alteration of the +character of the province ought to be immediately entered on, and +firmly, though cautiously, followed up; that in any plan, which may be +adopted for the future management of Lower Canada, the first object +ought to be that of making it an English province; and that, with this +end in view, the ascendancy should never again be placed in any hands +but those of an English population. Indeed, at the present moment, this +is obviously necessary: in the state of mind in which I have described +the French Canadian population, as not only now being, but as likely for +a long while to remain, the trusting them with an entire control over +this province would be, in fact, only facilitating a rebellion. Lower +Canada must be governed now, as it must be hereafter, by an English +population; and thus the policy, which the necessities of the moment +force on us, is in accordance with that suggested by a comprehensive +view of the future and permanent improvement of the province." + + + +VOLUME THREE, CHAPTER SIX. + +THE CANADAS, CONTINUED. + +I have quoted largely from Lord Durham's Report, as in most points +relative to _Lower Canada_, especially as to the causes which produced +the rebellion, the unwarrantable conduct of the Legislative Assembly, +and his opinions as to the character of the French Canadians, I consider +that the remarks are correct: they are corroborated by my own opinions +and observations: but I think that the information he has received +relative to _Upper Canada_ is not only very imperfect, but certainly +derived from parties who were not to be trusted: take one simple +instance. His lordship says in his Report, that the petitioners in +favour of Mathews and Lount, who were executed, amounted to 30,000, +whereas it is established, that the whole number of six natures only +amounted to 4,574. Those who deceive his lordship in one point would +deceive him in another; indeed his lordship had a task of peculiar +difficulty, going out as he did, vested with such powers, and the +intents of his mission being so well known. It is not those who are in +high office that are likely to ascertain the truth, which is much more +likely to be communicated to a humble individual like myself, who +travels through a country and hears what is said on both sides. The +causes stated by his lordship for discontent in Upper Canada are not +correct. I have before said, and I repeat it, that they may almost be +reduced to the following: the check put upon their enterprise and +industry by the acts of the Lower Canadian Assembly; and the favour +shewn to the French by the Colonial Office, aided by the machinations of +the American party, who fomented any appearance of discontent. + +There is in his lordship's Report, an apparent leaning towards the +United States, and its institutions, at which I confess that I am +surprised. Why his lordship, after shewing that the representative +government did all they possibly could to overthrow the constitution, +should propose an increase of power to that representative government, +unless, indeed, he would establish a democracy in the provinces, I am at +a loss to imagine. + +That a representative body similar to that which attempted to overturn +the constitution in Lower Canada can work well, and even usefully reform +when in the hands of loyal English subjects, is acknowledged by his +lordship, who says, "the course of the Parliamentary contest in Upper +Canada has not been marked by that singular neglect of the great duties +of a legislative body, which I have remarked in the proceedings of the +Parliament of Lower Canada. The statute book of the Upper Province +abounds with useful and well-constructed measures of reform, and +presents an honourable contrast to that of the Lower Province." + +Indeed, unless I have misunderstood his lordship he appears to be +inconsistent, for in one portion he claims the extension of the power of +the representative, and in another he complains of the want of vigorous +administration of the royal prerogative, for he says:-- + +"The defective system of administration in Lower Canada, commences at +the very _source_ of power; and the efficiency of the public service is +impaired throughout by the entire want in the colony of any vigorous +administration of the prerogative of the crown." + +To increase the power of the representative is to increase the power of +the people, in fact to make them the _source_ of power; and yet his +lordship in this sentence acknowledges that the crown is the _source_ of +power, and that a more vigorous administration of its prerogative is +required. + +There are other points commented upon in his lordship's Report, which +claim earnest consideration: one is, that of the propriety of municipal +institutions. Local improvements, when left in the hands of +representative assemblies, are seldom judicious or impartial, and should +therefore be made over either to the inhabitants or executive. The +system of townships has certainly been one great cause of the prosperity +of the United States, each township taxing itself for its own +improvement. Although the great roads extending through the whole of +the Union are in the hands of the Federal Government, and the States +Government take up the improvement on an extensive scale in the States +themselves, the townships, knowing exactly what they require, tax +themselves for their minor advantages. The system in England is much +the same, although perhaps not so well regulated as in America. Are +not, however, municipal institutions valuable in another point of view? +Do they not prepare the people for legislating? are they not the +rudiments of legislation by which a free people learn to tax themselves? +And indeed, it may also be asked, would not the petty influence and +authority confided to those who are ambitious by their townsmen satisfy +their ambition, and prevent them from becoming demagogues and disturbing +the country? + +Whatever may be the future arrangements for ruling these provinces, it +appears to me that there are two great evils in the present system; one +is, that the governors of the provinces have not sufficient +discretionary power, and the other, that they are so often removed. The +evils arising from the first cause have been pointed out in Lord +Durham's Report:-- + +"The complete and unavoidable ignorance in which the British public, and +even the great body of its legislators, are with respect to the real +interests of distant communities, so entirely different from their own, +produces a general indifference, which nothing but so me great colonial +crisis ever dispels; and responsibility to Parliament, or to the public +opinion of Great Britain, would, except on these great and rare +occasions, be positively mischievous, if it were not impossible. The +repeated changes caused by political events at home having no connexion +with colonial affairs, have left, to most of the various representatives +of the Colonial Department in Parliament, too little time to acquire +even an elementary knowledge of the condition of those numerous and +heterogeneous communities for which they have had both to administer and +legislate. The persons with whom the real management of these affairs +has or ought to have rested, have been the permanent but utterly +irresponsible members of the office. Thus the real government of the +colony has been entirely dissevered from the slight nominal +responsibility which exists. Apart even from this great and primary +evil of the system, the presence of multifarious business thus thrown on +the Colonial Office, and the repeated changes of its ostensible +directors, have produced disorders in the management of public business +which have occasioned serious mischief, and very great irritation. This +is not my own opinion merely; for I do but repeat that of a select +committee of the House of Assembly in Upper Canada, who, in a Report +dated February 8, 1838, say, `It appears to your committee, that one of +the chief causes of dissatisfaction with the administration of colonial +affairs arises from the frequent changes in the office of secretary of +state, to whom the Colonial department is intrusted. Since the time the +late Lord Bathurst retired from that charge, in 1827, your committee +believe there has not been less than eight colonial ministers, and that +the policy of each successive statesman has been more or less marked by +a difference from that of his predecessor. This frequency of change in +itself almost necessarily entails two evils; _first_, an imperfect +knowledge of the affairs of the colonies on the part of the chief +secretary, and the consequent necessity of submitting important details +to the subordinate officers of the department; and, _second_, the want +of stability and firmness in the general policy of the Government, and +which, of course, creates much uneasiness on the part of the Governors, +and other officers of the colonies, as to what measures may be approved. + +"`But undoubtedly (continues the Report) by far the greatest objection +to the system is the impossibility it occasions of any colonial +minister, unaided by persons possessing local knowledge, becoming +acquainted with the wants, wishes, feelings, and prejudices of the +inhabitants of the colonies, during his temporary continuance in office, +and of deciding satisfactorily upon the conflicting statements and +claims that are brought before him. A firm, unflinching resolution to +adhere to the principles of the constitution, and to maintain the just +and necessary powers of the crown, would do much towards supplying the +want of local information. But it would be performing more than can be +reasonably expected from human sagacity, if any man, or set of men, +should always decide in an unexceptionable manner on subjects that have +their origin thousands of miles from the seat of the Imperial +Government, where they reside, and of which they have no personal +knowledge whatever; and therefore wrong may be often done to +individuals, or a false view taken of some important political question, +that in the end may throw a whole community into difficulty and +dissension, not from the absence of the most anxious desire to do right, +but from an imperfect knowledge of facts upon which to form an +opinion.'" + +This is all very true. There is nothing so difficult as to legislate +for a colony from home. The very best theory is useless; it requires +that you should be on the spot, and adapt your measures to the +circumstances and the growing wants of the country. I may add that it +is wrong for the Home Government to consider the government given to the +colony as permanent. All that the mother-country can do is to give it +one which, in theory, appears best adapted to secure the true freedom +and happiness of the people; but leaving that form of government to be +occasionally modified, so as to meet the changes which the colony may +require, and to conform with its wants and its rising interests: all of +which being unforeseen could not be provided for by the prescience of +man. The governor, therefore, of a colony should be invested with more +discretionary power. + +The constant removal of the governor from the colony is also much to be +deprecated. On his first arrival, he can only have formed theoretical +views, which, in all probability, he will have to discard in a few +months. He finds himself surrounded by people in office, interested in +their own peculiar policy, and viewing things through their own medium. +In all colonies you will usually find an oligarchy, cemented by mutual +interest and family connection, and so bound up together as to become +formidable if opposed to the Government. Into the hands of these people +a governor must, to a certain degree, fall; and must remain in them +until he has had time to see clearly and to judge for himself. But by +the time that he has just disenthralled himself, he is removed, and +another appointed in his place, and the work has to commence _de novo_. + +Lord Durham has proposed that the Canadas should be united, and there +certainly are some benefits which would arise _could_ their union take +place. He asserts most positively that the French party must be +annihilated. He says:--"It must henceforth be the first and steady +purpose of the British Government to establish an English population, +with English laws and language in this province, and to trust its +government to none but a decidedly English legislature." This is plain +and clear; but how is it to be effected? The land of Lower Canada is +still in the hands of the French, and nearly five hundred thousand out +of six hundred thousand of the population are French. + +How, then, are we to make the Lower Canadas English? We may buy up the +seigneuries; we may insist upon the English language being used in the +Assembly and courts of law, in public documents, etcetera; we may alter +the laws to correspond with those of the mother-country; but will that +make the province English? We may even insist that none but +English-born subjects, or Canadian-born English, shall be elected to the +House of Assembly, or hold any public office; but will that make the +province English? Certainly not. There is no want of English-born +demagogues, as well as French, in the province. The elections of the +Lower province are decided by the Canadian French, who are in the +majority, and they would find no difficulty in obtaining representatives +who would continue the former system of controlling the executive and +advocating rebellion. Is it, then, by altogether taking away from the +Canadian French the elective franchise and giving it entirely into the +hands of the English, that the province is to be made English? If so, +although I admit the French have proved themselves undeserving, and have +by their rebellion forfeited their birth-right, you then place them in +the situation of an injured, oppressed, and sacrificed people; reducing +them to a state of slavery which, notwithstanding their offences, would +still be odious to the present age. By what means, therefore, does his +lordship intend that the province shall become English--by immigration? +That requires time; and before the immigration necessary can take place +the Canadas may be again thrown into a rebellion by the French +machinations. In our future legislation for the Canadas, we must always +bear in mind that the French population will be opposed to the +Government and to the mother-country; and that there is no chance of a +better state of feeling in the Lower province until they shall become +amalgamated and swallowed up by British immigration. Until that takes +place, the union of the Canadas will only create a conflict between the +two races, as opposed to each other as fire and water, and nearly equal +in numbers. It will be an immense cauldron, bubbling, steaming, and +boiling over--an incessant scene of strife and irritation--a source of +anxiety and expense to the mother-country, and, so far from going +a-head, I should not be surprised if, in twenty years hence, the English +population should be found to be smaller than it now is. Political +dissensions would paralyse enterprise, frighten away capital, and, in +all probability, involve us in a conflict with the United States. +Until, therefore, I understand how the Lower Province is to become +British, I cannot think a union between the Canadas advisable. + +Whether his lordship is aware of it or not, I cannot say; but there +appears to me to be a strong inclination to democracy in all his +proposed plans, and an evident leaning towards the institutions of the +United States. He wishes to make the Executive Government responsible +to the people; he would make one Federal Union of all our provinces, and +institute the Supreme Court of Appeal which they have in the United +States. In short, change but the word governor for president, and we +should have the American constitution, and a "free and enlightened +people;"--that is to say, the French Canadians, who can _neither read +nor write_, governing themselves. + +So far from a Federal union between all our transatlantic possessions +being advisable, I should think, from their contiguity with the +Americans, that it would be advisable to keep them separate. I am of +the same opinion respecting the Canadas. I consider that, even as two +provinces, they are too vast in territory already. Whether it be a +woman looking after her servants and household affairs, or a captain +commanding a ship, or a governor ruling over a province, large or small +as may be the scale of operation, one of the most important points in +good legislation, is the _eye_. A governor of a vast province cannot +possibly be aware of the wants of the various portions of the province. +He is obliged to take the reports of others, and consequently very often +legislates unadvisedly. + +That the two provinces cannot remain in their present state is +acknowledged by all. The question therefore is, can we rationally +expect any improvement from their union? Perhaps it may appear +presumptuous in me to venture to differ from Lord Durham, who is a +statesman born and bred--for this is not a party question in which a +difference of politics may bias one: it is a question as to the +well-governing of a most important colony, and no one will for a moment +doubt that his lordship is as anxious as the Duke of Wellington, and +every other well-wisher to his country, to decide upon that which he +considers honestly and honourably to be the best. It is really, +therefore, with great deference that I submit to him, whether another +arrangement should not be well considered, before the union of the two +provinces is finally decided upon. + +His lordship has very truly observed, that in legislating, we are to +legislate for futurity; if not, we must be prepared for change. Acting +upon this sound principle, we are to legislate upon the supposition that +the whole country of Upper and Lower Canada _is_ well peopled. We are +not to legislate for the present population, but for the future. And +how is this to be done in the present condition of the provinces? Most +assuredly by legislating for territory--for the amount of square acres +which will eventually be filled up by emigration. I perfectly agree +with his lordship in the remark that, "if the Canadians are to be +deprived of their representative government, it would be better to do it +in a straightforward way;" but I submit that it would be done in a +straightforward way by the plan I am about to submit to him, and I +consider it more advisable than that of convulsing the two provinces by +bringing together two races so inveterate against each other. Instead +of a union of the two provinces, I should think it more advisable to +separate the Canadas into three: Upper, Lower, and Middle Canada,--the +line of demarcation, and the capitals of each Province appearing already +to be marked out. The Lower province would have Quebec, and be +separated from the Middle province by the Ottawa river. The Middle +province would have Montreal, and would extend to a line drawn from Lake +Simcoe to Lake Ontario, throwing into it _all the townships on the +American side of the St Lawrence_, which would do away with the great +objection of the Upper province being dependent upon the Lower for the +transport of goods up the river, and the necessity of dividing between +the provinces the custom-house revenues. Under any circumstances, it +would be very advantageous to have sport of entry and a custom-house, in +or nearer to the Gulf of St Lawrence, as ships would then be able to +make an extra voyage every year. I should say that about Gaspe would be +the spot. This bay being on the American side of the river St Lawrence +would become the entry port for the Upper and Middle provinces, +rendering them wholly independent of the Lower. The Upper province +would comprehend all the rest of the territory west of the line, drawn +from Lake Superior, and have Toronto for its capital. This would be a +pretty fair division of territory, and each province would be more than +sufficient for the eye of the most active governor. Let each province +have its separate sub-governor and House of Assembly; but let the Upper +House, or Senate, be selected of _equal numbers_ from _each_ province, +and assemble at Quebec, to decide, with the _Governor-in-chief of the +provinces_, upon the passing or rejecting of the bills of the three +respective Lower Houses. This, although perfectly fair, would at once +give in the _Senate_ the preponderance to the English of the Upper and +Middle provinces. It would still leave to the Lower Canadians their +franchise; and their House of Assembly would be a species of +safety-valve for the demagogues to give vent to their opinions, (without +their being capable of injuring the interests of the provinces,) until +they gradually amalgamated with the British immigration. I merely offer +this plan as a suggestion to his lordship, and, of course, enter into no +further detail. + +There are, however, one or two other points which appear to me to be +worthy of consideration. If the Canadas are of that importance which I +think them, there are no means which we should not use to attach them to +the mother country--to make them partial to monarchical institutions-- +and to _identify_ them with the British empire. We should make +sacrifices for them that we would not for other colonies; and therefore +it is that I venture my opinion, that it would not only be politic, but +just, to such an extensive territory--and what will eventually be, such +an extensive population--to permit each of the three provinces, +(provided they are ever divided into three,) to select one of their +senate to represent them in the British House of Commons. I consider it +but an act of justice as well as of policy. This step would, as I said +before, _identify_ these valuable provinces with ourselves. They then +would feel that they were not merely ruled by, but that they were part +and portion of, and assisted in, the government of the British empire. +And to draw the line as strictly as possible between them and their +democratic neighbours, and to attach them still closer to monarchical +institutions, it should be proposed to the Sovereign of these realms +that an Order of knighthood and an Order of merit expressly Canadian +should be instituted. These last may be considered by many to be, and +perhaps in themselves are, trifles; but they are no trifles when you +consider that they must militate against those democratic feelings of +equality which have been so industriously and so injuriously circulated +in the provinces by our transatlantic descendants. I cannot better +conclude these observations than by quoting the opinion of so +intelligent a nobleman as Lord Durham, who asserts most positively that, +"England, if she loses her North American colonies, must sink into a +second-rate power." + + + +VOLUME THREE, CHAPTER SEVEN. + +INDIANS. + +There was no subject of higher interest to me during my travels in North +America, than the past and present condition of the Indian tribes. Were +I to enter into the history of the past, I could easily fill three or +four volumes with matter which I think would be found very well worth +perusing. It is to be lamented that there has been no correct history +of the Indian tribes yet published. There are many authors in America +well calculated to undertake the task; and the only reason which I can +give for its not having been already done, is that, probably, the +American Government are not very willing to open the archives of the +Indian department even to their own countrymen; and, at the same that +time, an American author, who would adhere to the truth, would not +become very popular by exposing the system of rapine and injustice which +was commenced by the English who first landed, and has been continued up +to the present day by the Federal Government of the United States. +Nevertheless, it is to be lamented, now that the race is so fast +disappearing, that a good historical account of them is not published. +There is no want of material for the purpose, even if the Government +refuse their aid; but at present, it is either scattered in various +works, or when attempted to be collected together, the author has not +been equal to the task. + +There is a question which has been raised by almost every traveller in +America, and that is--from whom are the American Indians descended? and +I think, from the many works I have consulted, that the general opinion +is, that they are descended from the lost tribes of Israel. We have +never discovered any other nation of savages, if we may apply such a +term to the American Indians, who have not been idolators; the American +Indian is the only one who worships the one living God. In a discourse, +which was delivered by Mr Noah, one of the most intelligent of the +Jewish nation that I ever had the pleasure of being acquainted with, +there is much deep research, and a collection of the various opinions +upon this subject. To quote from it would not do it justice, and I have +therefore preferred, as it is not long, giving the whole of it in the + + +Appendix, as it is not (though should be more) generally known. In the +second volume I have given a map of North America, in which I have laid +down, as correctly as I can, and sufficiently so for the purpose, the +supposed locations of the various tribes, at the period that the white +man first put his foot on shore in America. I have said "as correctly +as I can," for it would be as difficult to trace the outer edges of a +shifting sand-bank under water, as to lay down the exact portion of +territory occupied by tribes who were continually at war, and who +advanced or retreated according as they were victorious or vanquished. +Indeed, many tribes were totally annihilated, or their remnants +incorporated into others, living far away from their original +territories: the Tuscororas, for instance, were driven out of Carolina +and admitted into the Mohawk confederacy, which originally came down +from the upper shores of the river St Lawrence. The Winnebagoes, also, +were driven from the south and settled on the river Wisconsin. The Sacs +and Foxes fought their way from the river St Lawrence to the Fox river, +in Wisconsin, and were driven from thence, by the Menomonies and +Chippewas, to the territory of Rock river, on the river Mississippi, +where they remained, until deprived of their territory by the Federal +Government, and sent away to the west of the river. I make these +observations that the map may not be cavilled at by some hyper critic, +who has thought that he has discovered a mare's nest; it is as accurate +as I can make it, and I profess to do no more. + +Notwithstanding the vicissitudes which continually occurred, the tribes +of North American Indians may be classed as follows:-- + +The Algonquin stock of the North--under which are comprehended the +Chippewas, Ottawas, Menomonies, Hurons, etcetera. + +The Southern tribes, who are also descended from one stock, and comprise +Creeks, Cherokees, Choctaws, Catawbaws, Chickasaws, etcetera. + +The _Horse_ Indians of the West, as the Pawnees, Osages, Sioux, Kansas, +Comanches, etcetera. + +The Indians of the Rocky Mountains, as Crows, Snakes, and Blackfeet. + +All the above races were composed of numerous tribes, who acknowledged +themselves as blood relations, but did not enter into any confederacy +for mutual support; on the contrary, often warred they with each other. +There were other powerful tribes, which resided between the lakes and +the Ohio, bordering on the hunting grounds of Kentucky and Tenessee, +which portion appeared to be set aside, by general consent, not only for +hunting but for war. There were Delawares, or Lenni-Lenape, the +Shawnees, Wyandots, Illinois, Peoria, and some others. + +The _confederate_ tribes, and with which the early settlers had to +contend, were as follows:-- + +The Powhatan confederacy, comprising the Monacans, Monahoacs, and +Powhatans, occupying the present state of Virginia from the sea-coast to +the Alleghany mountains. + +The New England confederacy, who resided in the present States of New +England, composed of the Pequots, Narangassets, Pawtuckets, Pokanokets, +and Massachusetts tribes. + +And lastly, the confederacy of the five nations, or Mohawks, called +Mingos by the other Indians, and Iroquois by the French. This +confederacy was composed of the Mohawks, Oneidas, Caguyas, Onandagas, +and Senecas. The Tuscaroras were afterwards admitted as a sixth. + +I will make a few brief observations upon the various tribes, in the +order I have set them down. + +The Algonquin stock has suffered less than any other, simply because +they have been located so far north, and their lands have not been +required. The Chippewas are at present the most numerous tribe of +Indians. The most celebrated chief of this stock was Pontiac, an +Ottawa. After the Canadas were given up to the English, he proved a +most formidable enemy; he attempted and, to a certain degree, succeeded, +in uniting the tribes against us, and had not his plot been discovered, +would, in all probability, have wrested from us Detroit, and every other +post in our possession on the lakes. But Pontiac could not keep up a +standing army, which was so contrary to the habits of the Indians; one +by one the tribes deserted him, and sued for peace. Pontiac would not +listen to any negotiations: he retired to Illinois, and was murdered by +a Peoria Indian. The Ottawas, Chippewas, and Pottawatamies, who fought +under him, avenged his death by the extermination of nearly the whole +tribe of Peorias. Pontiac was one of the greatest Indians in history. + +Of the Southern tribes there are not any records sufficiently prominent +for so short a notice. + +The Horse Indians of the West and those of the Rocky Mountains are +scarcely known. + +The Midland tribes produced some great men. The Delawares were at one +period the most celebrated. The Shawanees, or Shawnees, do not appear +to have been opposed to the Whites, until Boone and his adventurers +crossed the Alleghanies, and took possession of the valley of Kentucky. +But the Shawnees have to boast of Tecumseh, a chief, as great in renown +as Pontiac; he also attempted to confederate all the tribes and drive +away the Whites; his history is highly interesting. He fell in battle +fighting for the English, in the war of 1814. + +The _confederate tribes_ on the eastern coast, were those with which the +first settlers were embroiled. The history of Virginia is remarkable +for one of the most singular romances in real life which ever occurred: +I allude to Pocahontas, the daughter of the king of the Powhatans, who +saved the life of the enterprising Captain Smith, at the imminent risk +of her own. The romance was not, however, wound up by their marriage, +Captain Smith not being a marrying man; but she afterwards married a +young Englishman, of the name of Randolph, was brought to England, +received at court, and paid much attention to by Queen Anne. Some of +the first families in Virginia proudly and justly claim their descent +from this noble girl. + +The New England Confederacy was opposed to the pilgrim fathers and their +descendants. The chief tribe, the Wampanoags, have to boast of the +third great chief among the Indian tribes--King Philip. His history is +well known; I have already referred to it in my Diary. + +If the reader will consult the histories of Philip, Pontiac and +Tecumseh, who may fairly be said to have been "great men," he will +perceive that in each case, these chiefs were the life and soul of +enterprise and action, and that it was by their talents, bravery, and +activity, that the tribes were confederated and led against the Whites. +As soon as they were gone, there were none who could succeed them or +fill up their places, and the confederacies were immediately broken up. +But this was not the case with the celebrated five nations, or Mohawks, +who, like the Romans of former days, spread their conquests until their +name was a terror wherever it was mentioned. Philip, Pontiac and +Tecumseh were great men, but the Mohawks' confederacy was a nation of +great men. When the French settled in Canada in 1603, the Mohawks, or +Iroquois as they called them, were living near to where Montreal now +stands. They were at war with the Adirondacks, a very numerous and +powerful nation, and were beaten down towards the Lakes; but they +recovered themselves, and their opponents were in their turn beaten down +to Quebec. The war between the Adirondacks and the Iroquois is full of +the most interesting details of courage on both sides. The Iroquois +having subdued, and, indeed, exterminated the Adirondacks, turned their +arms against several other tribes, whom they vanquished; they then +attacked the Ottawas and Hurons, and drove them to the other side of the +Mississippi. The Illinois were next subdued, then the Miamies and +Shawnees were driven back for the time. Finally, they conquered the +Virginian tribes, and warred against the Cherokees, Catawbas, and other +nations of the South. Although it was impossible for them to hold the +vast extent of country which they had overrun, still it is certain that +their very name was so terrible that, from New England to the +Mississippi, every town and village would be deserted at their approach. + +The chief portion of the Mohawks, under their celebrated leader Brandt, +served on the British side in the war of Independence, and at the close +of the war, they settled in lands given them by the English, on the +banks of Grand river in Canada in the year 1783. At the time they took +possession of their land, their numbers amounted to nearly 8,000; but, +as is every where the case where the Indians are settled and confined on +reserved lands, they have now decreased to about 2,500. A portion of +the tribe of Senecas, one of the Mohawk confederacy, joined the +Americans; the remnants of them are still located a few miles from +Buffalo, in the State of New York. Their chief, Red-jacket, died +lately; he was a great warrior and still greater orator. + +The most formidable opponents to the five nations were the Delawares, or +Lenni Lenape, who lived in Pennsylvania. The Delawares joined the +British in the war of Independence. + +In the succeeding chapter, I shall give the reader a census of the +American Indian tribes which still remain. It will be perceived that +they are chiefly comprised of tribes which inhabited the Far-West, and +were until lately, almost unknown. Of the New England and Virginian +confederacies, once so powerful, not a vestige remains; of the +Delawares, 826 still exist west of the Mississippi; of the Shawanees, or +Shawnees, once so terrible on the banks of the Ohio, 1,272. In fact, +all those Indians whose territory bounded the coast first taken +possession of by the white men, have been annihilated. I have often +heard it argued, when I was in the United States, that the Indians could +not be considered as having any claim to the land, as they did not +settle or cultivate it, and it is a general opinion that they lived +almost entirely by the proceeds of the chase: but this is not a fact; +indeed it is disproved by the early settlers themselves, who acknowledge +that if they had not been supplied with corn by the Indians they must +have starved. That the Indians did not grow more than was sufficient +for their own consumption is very probable, but that they did cultivate +the land is most certain; indeed, when the country and soil were +favourable, they appear to have cultivated to a great extent. When +General Wayne destroyed the settlements of the Miamies and Wyandots, on +the Miami river, in 1794, he says in his despatch, "never have I beheld +such immense fields of corn in any part of America as possessed by these +Indians." The chase was considered by the Indians as a preparatory +school for warriors, and was followed accordingly; indeed, a hunting +party and a war party were often one and the same thing, as the hunting +grounds were common, and when tribes who were at variance fell in with +each other, a conflict invariably ensued. My limits will not permit me +to enter into the subject more fully; my object has been, in as few +pages as possible, to assist the map in giving the reader some idea of +the location of the Aborigines of America. If he would know more of +this interesting people, there are many very excellent works concerning +them written by Americans, which, were they collected together, would +form a most valuable and important history. + + + +VOLUME THREE, CHAPTER EIGHT. + +INDIANS. + +I will now enter into a short examination of the present position of the +remaining Indian tribes. The plan of the American Government has been +to compel them to sell their lands and remove west of the Mississippi, +to lands of which I doubt that the Americans have any right to claim an +acre. That the removal of them is expedient I grant, and that is all +that can be said on the subject. That the Indians were fated to melt +away before the white men, like snow before the sun, is true; still, it +is painful to consider what has taken place from the period of our first +landing, when we were received hospitably--saved from starvation by the +generous sacrifice of their small stores of grain--permitted to settle +upon a small tract of land humbly solicited--and that from the time that +the white men once gained a footing on their shores, the Indians have +been hunted like wild beasts from hill to hill, from river to river, and +from country to country, until nearly the whole of the vast continent +may be said to have been wrested from them. This system is still +continued, one tribe being forced back westward upon another, till they +come into conflict with, and destroy, each other; but the buffalo and +other animals, upon which they depend for food, recede with them and +gradually disappear. As Christians, we must lament that the track for +the advance of Christianity is cleared away by a series of rapine, +cruelty, and injustice, at which every one must shudder. + +The following is the Report to the American Government, of the various +tribes of Indians remaining in the year 1837. It is divided into three +parts. + +Statement showing the number of Indians now east of the Mississippi; of +those that have emigrated from the east to the west of that river; and +those within striking distance of the Western frontier. + +_1.--Name and number of the tribes now east of the Mississippi_. + +1.--Under treaty stipulations to remove west of the Mississippi. + ++==================================================+======+ +YWinnehagoes Y 4,500Y ++--------------------------------------------------+------+ +YOttawas of Ohio Y 100Y ++--------------------------------------------------+------+ +YPottawatamies of Indiana Y 2,950Y ++--------------------------------------------------+------+ +YChippewas, Ottawas, and Pottawatamies Y 1,500Y ++--------------------------------------------------+------+ +YCherokees Y14,000Y ++--------------------------------------------------+------+ +YCreeks Y 1,000Y ++--------------------------------------------------+------+ +YChickasaws Y 1,000Y ++--------------------------------------------------+------+ +YSeminoles Y 5,000Y ++--------------------------------------------------+------+ +YAppalachicolas Y 400Y ++--------------------------------------------------+------+ +YOttawas and Chippewas in the Peninsula of MichiganY 6,500Y ++--------------------------------------------------+------+ +Y -Y36,950Y ++==================================================+======+ + +2.--_Not under treaty stipulations to remove_. + ++==================================+======+ +YNew York Indians Y 4,176Y ++----------------------------------+------+ +YWyandots Y 575Y ++----------------------------------+------+ +YMiamies Y 1,100Y ++----------------------------------+------+ +YMenomonies Y 4,000Y ++----------------------------------+------+ +YOttawas and Chippewas of the lakesY 2,564Y ++----------------------------------+------+ +Y -Y12,415Y ++----------------------------------+------+ +Y -Y49,365Y ++==================================+======+ + +2.--_Number of Indians who have emigrated from the east to the west of +the Mississippi_. + ++======================================+======+ +YChickasaws Y 549Y ++--------------------------------------+------+ +YChippewas, Ottawas, and Pottawatamies,Y 2,191Y ++--------------------------------------+------+ +YChoctaws Y15,000Y ++--------------------------------------+------+ +YQuapaws Y 476Y ++--------------------------------------+------+ +YCreeks Y20,437Y ++--------------------------------------+------+ +YSeminoles Y 407Y ++--------------------------------------+------+ +YAppalachicolas Y 265Y ++--------------------------------------+------+ +YCherokees Y 7,911Y ++--------------------------------------+------+ +YKickapoos Y 588Y ++--------------------------------------+------+ +YDelawares Y 826Y ++--------------------------------------+------+ +YShawnees Y 1,272Y ++--------------------------------------+------+ +YOttawas Y 374Y ++--------------------------------------+------+ +YWeas Y 222Y ++--------------------------------------+------+ +YPiankeshaws Y 162Y ++--------------------------------------+------+ +YPeorias and Kaskaskias Y 132Y ++--------------------------------------+------+ +YPottawatamies of Indians Y 53Y ++--------------------------------------+------+ +YSenecas Y 251Y ++--------------------------------------+------+ +YSenecas and Shawnees Y 211Y ++--------------------------------------+------+ +YTotal Y51,327Y ++======================================+======+ + +_3.--Number of the Indigenous Tribes within striking distance of the +Western frontier_. + ++=====================+=======+ +YSioux Y 21,600Y ++---------------------+-------+ +YIowas Y 1,500Y ++---------------------+-------+ +YSacs Y 4,800Y ++---------------------+-------+ +YFoxes Y 1,600Y ++---------------------+-------+ +YSacs of the Missouri Y 500Y ++---------------------+-------+ +YOsages Y 5,120Y ++---------------------+-------+ +YKansas Y 1,606Y ++---------------------+-------+ +YOmahas Y 1,600Y ++---------------------+-------+ +YOttoes and MissouriasY 1,000Y ++---------------------+-------+ +YPawnees Y 12,500Y ++---------------------+-------+ +YComanches Y 19,200Y ++---------------------+-------+ +YKioways Y 1,800Y ++---------------------+-------+ +YMandans Y 3,200Y ++---------------------+-------+ +YQuapaws Y 450Y ++---------------------+-------+ +YMinatarees Y 2,000Y ++---------------------+-------+ +YPagans Y 30,000Y ++---------------------+-------+ +YAssinaboins Y 15,000Y ++---------------------+-------+ +YAppaches Y 20,280Y ++---------------------+-------+ +YCrees Y 3,000Y ++---------------------+-------+ +YArrepahas Y 3,000Y ++---------------------+-------+ +YGros-Ventres Y 16,800Y ++---------------------+-------+ +YEutaws Y 19,200Y ++---------------------+-------+ +YCrows Y 7,200Y ++---------------------+-------+ +YCaddoes Y 2,000Y ++---------------------+-------+ +YPoncas Y 900Y ++---------------------+-------+ +YArickarees Y 2,750Y ++---------------------+-------+ +YCheyennes Y 3,200Y ++---------------------+-------+ +YBlackfeet Y 30,000Y ++---------------------+-------+ +YTotal Y231,806Y ++=====================+=======+ + +RECAPITULATION. + +Number of Indians now east of the Mississippi 49,365 + +Number of Indians who have emigrated from east to west side 51,327 + +Number of indigenous tribes 231,806 + +Aggregate 332,498 + +_Estimated number of warriors_. + +Whole number of Indians 332,498 + +Assuming that every fifth one may be considered a warrior (and this is +believed to be a reasonable supposition), the number of warriors will be +66,499 + +War Department, Office of Indian Affairs, November 22, 1837. + +CA Harris, Commissioner. + +This force of the Indians, if ever they combined, would be very +formidable, and they might certainly sweep away the whole white +population west of the Mississippi. That there will hereafter be an +attempt of that kind is very probable, as hunger must eventually drive +them to it; but any success in their attempt must depend very much upon +their leaders, and the possibility of combination. It certainly +_appears_ to have been an oversight on the part of the American +Government, to concentrate the whole of the Indians upon their frontiers +in the way which they have done; still they could not well have acted +otherwise. The removal of the Cherokees has been the most hazardous +part of their proceeding, as they are very superior people; and should +the other tribes put themselves under their directions, they would be +formidable enemies. There is another circumstance which may render the +Indians more serious enemies, which is, that they, having been located +on the prairie country, have become Horse Indians, instead of what is +termed Wood Indians, and they have a vast country behind them to retreat +to in case of necessity. I do not think, however, that there is, at +present, much fear to be felt relative to the Indians, although the +Cherokees, the Sioux, and some other powerful tribes openly declare +their hostile intentions as soon as an opportunity offers for carrying +them into execution. That opportunity will not offer unless America is +plunged into war with France or this country, and then I am pretty +confident that there will be a general rising of the Indians; when, +whether they act in concert or not, they will give the Americans more +occupation than will be agreeable. The American Government have not +been insensible to the danger to which they are exposed from this +quarter, and, in 1837, the reports of military men were sent into +Congress as to the best plan of protecting their frontier. Whether +those reports are intended to be acted upon I know not; but if so, the +present regular army of the United States will not be sufficient for the +purpose, the lowest estimation for the garrisons of the proposed forts +being 7,000 rank and file, while at present their rank and file on the +army-list only amounts to 5,600. + +The American forts opposed to the Indians are, at present:-- + +Fort Gratiot, River St Clare. + +Mackinaw Island Fort. + +Fort Brady, St Marie, Lake Superior. + +Fort Howard, Green Bay. + +Fort Winnebago, Wisconsin. + +Fort Crawford. Prairie des Chiens. + +Fort Snelling, St Peters. + +Fort Leavenworth, Missouri. + +Fort Madison, Des Moines River. + +Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. + +_Advanced Ports_. + +Fort Towson, Red River. + +Fort Gibson, Arkansas and Grand Junction River. + +Fort Adams, Baton Rouge. + +There are one or two outposts also on the Arkansas River. If all these +forts were properly garrisoned, they would take every disposable musket +in the regular army of the United States; whilst at present they have, +in consequence of the protracted Florida war, scarcely sufficient men to +do the duty. + +In the report of the acting quarter-master general, the following +garrisons are proposed for the western frontier:-- + ++=========================================+========+ +YFort Snelling Y300 men.Y ++-----------------------------------------+--------+ +YFort Crawford Y 300Y ++-----------------------------------------+--------+ +YUpper forks of the Des Moines Y 400Y ++-----------------------------------------+--------+ +YFort Leavenworth Y 1,200Y ++-----------------------------------------+--------+ +YFort Gibson Y 1,500Y ++-----------------------------------------+--------+ +YFort Towson Y 800Y ++-----------------------------------------+--------+ +YThe eight posts of refuge proposed Y 800Y ++-----------------------------------------+--------+ +YThe protection of the four depots Y 200Y ++-----------------------------------------+--------+ +YJefferson barracks, as a corps of reserveY 1,500Y ++-----------------------------------------+--------+ +YTotal Y 7,000Y ++=========================================+========+ + +To which must be added, for the garrisons of the five Lakes forts, 1,500 +at least, making the force necessary for the protection of the +boundaries, to amount to 8,500 men. Colonel Gratiot, in his report, +computes the force necessary at 12,910 men. + +The letter of Mr Poinsett to Congress will throw much light upon this +subject, and I shall therefore insert it. + +"Department of War, + +"December 30, 1837. + +"Sir:--In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives, in +relation to the protection of the western frontiers of the United +States, I have the honour to transmit the accompanying reports of the +chief engineer and the acting quarter-master general, together with a +report of the commissioner of Indian affairs. That expected from +General Gaines will be sent as soon as it is received. + +"In presenting these documents, which are ably drawn up, and contain +full and satisfactory information on all the topics embraced by the +resolution, I might have considered my duty fully discharged, had not +other plans been previously recommended, which I regard as entirely +inefficient, but which have received, in some measure, the sanction of +Congress. A survey has been directed to determine the line of a road, +which, it is contemplated, shall extend from some point of the Upper +Mississippi to Red River, passing west of Missouri and Arkansas; and it +is proposed to place a cordon of temporary posts of ordinary +construction along it, as a sufficient measure for the defence of that +part of the country. In pursuance of the orders of Congress, officers +have been appointed to perform that duty, and, upon their report being +received, measures will be taken to carry into effect the intentions of +Congress, unless, upon a deliberate review of the whole matter, some +more eligible plan of defence shall be adopted. My own opinion has +been, from the time I first considered the subject, that such a chain of +posts, strung along the best road that can be constructed, furnished +with all the means to operate, and with competent garrisons to occupy +them, is not calculated to afford that protection which the border +States have a right to expect from the Government, nor to redeem its +pledge to protect the emigrant tribes from the savage and warlike people +that surround them. The only possible use of such a road would be to +facilitate occasional communications between the posts in time of peace. +Supplies would not be transported along it, for they must be brought +from the interior. Succours could not reach the posts by that +direction, for they would be furnished by the militia within the line; +and any attempt to concentrate the forces composing the garrisons in the +event of an outbreak, would probably be attended with disastrous +consequences; for the troops, whose route must be well known, would be +exposed to be attacked and destroyed in detail. The enemy, having +nothing to dread on their flanks or rear, might approach this road +without risk, and attack the detachments on their line of march, before +they could concentrate their forces so as to offer an effectual +resistance. + +"After mature reflection, I am of opinion that military posts ought to +be established and kept up within the Indian territory, in such +positions as to maintain peace among the Indians, and protect the +emigrant and feebler tribes against the stronger and more warlike +nations that surround them; which the United States are bound to do by +treaty stipulations. To withdraw those which now exist there, would be +to violate our faith, as there is reason to apprehend that it would be +the signal of war. Persons well acquainted with that country assure us +that war would break out among the Indians, `just so soon as the troops +are removed from those posts,' and all accounts from that quarter +confirm that impression. + +"Independently of the military protection which the existence of these +posts in the interior of the Indian country afford to the emigrating +tribes, and the good they are calculated to effect by the beneficial +influence the officers are enabled to exert over the surrounding +Indians, they more effectually cover and protect the frontier than ten +times the number of fortresses, strung along in one line, could do. + +"With the very limited knowledge of that country as yet in possession of +this department, it appears to me that six or seven permanent exterior +posts would be sufficient to preserve the peace of that frontier. It +will be necessary, at the same time, to establish, at convenient points, +an interior line of posts, to serve as places of refuge for the +inhabitants in periods of danger and alarm, until the militia can march +to their succour from the interior, and the troops be put in motion upon +the rear of the invaders. Eight of these would be amply sufficient, +from which patrols might be kept up along the frontier to enforce the +intercourse laws. Both descriptions of forts should be so constructed +as to be defended by a small garrison, and in a manner that each part +may be successfully maintained against a very superior force, both +during the time the whole is being completed, and in the event of any +portion of it being burnt or destroyed. This arrangement would require +the establishment of a few depots of arms and supplies, from which +communications should be opened to the posts. The accompanying skeleton +map presents a view of the relative positions of the posts and depots, +and of the communications from them to the line of defence for the +speedy transportation of succours and supplies. A regular force of five +thousand men would be sufficient to garrison these posts, and, with a +competent reserve at Jefferson barracks, and an effective force at Baton +Rouge, would, I think, both ensure the safety of the western frontier, +and enable the Government to fulfil all its treaty stipulations, and +preserve its faith with the Indians. I would recommend, as an important +auxiliary to this system of defence, the organisation of an efficient +volunteer force, to be raised in each of the frontier States; the men to +be mustered into service for a certain term of time, the officers to be +appointed according to their State laws, and to be instructed a certain +number of days in each year by the regular officers of the United States +army at the posts within the States, and to receive pay during that +period. In this manner an efficient corps of officers may be created, +and a body of volunteers be at hand to march to the succour of the +border settlers and repel the invaders, whenever they are called upon by +the proper authority. + +"I venture to hope, if these measures are adopted by Congress, and +carried into effect at an early day, so as to anticipate any hostile +movement of the Indians, peace will be preserved on our Western borders; +but if they should, unfortunately, be delayed until the discontent which +exists among many of the tribes breaks out into open hostility, and the +first movements of that wild and warlike people prove successful, as +they infallibly would do in our present unprepared state, it might +require double the force and quadruple the means I have here indicated +to restore and preserve peace along that extended frontier. All which +is respectfully submitted. + +"JR Poinsett. + +"Honourable James K Polk, + +"Speaker of the House of Representatives." + +The acting quarter-master-general, in his report, makes the following +observation:-- + +"The obligations of the Government in reference to the Western frontier +are of a very peculiar character. It is first bound, by a common duty, +to protect its own border settlements, extending along a line of one +thousand miles, against the incursions of numerous savage tribes, +separated from those settlements by mere imaginary lines; and it is next +bound, by the solemn treaty stipulations, with such of those tribes as +have emigrated to that frontier, `to protect them at their new +residences against all interruptions or disturbances from any other +tribes or nations of Indians, or _from_ any other person or persons +whatsoever.' + +"If these obligations are to be scrupulously fulfilled in good faith, +which would seem to be due to our character as a nation professing a +paternal care over these people, a military force of _thirty thousand +men_ on the Western frontier would scarcely be adequate to enable the +Government to discharge its duties to its own citizens, and redeem these +pledges of protection to the Indians. + +"It is not my intention, however, to propose such a force. Political +expediency, I presume, would not tolerate it, however it might be +justified by military considerations. It is merely adverted to here in +connexion with the _heavy obligations_ which rest upon Government, and +which have probably been contracted from time to time, without any very +nice calculation of the means that would be necessary to a _faithful +discharge of them_. I will, therefore, without enlarging upon this +point, proceed to state the _minimum_ force that is deemed necessary to +give protection to the border settlements, and assist in preserving +peace among them and their Indian neighbours along the line of the +frontier. These are great and important objects of themselves, without +superadding the yet more difficult task of protecting the emigrant +tribes, whom our policy has placed beyond the frontier, from the wild +and warlike Indians of the Far-West." + +And Colonel Gratiot, in his report, makes the following admission. +Speaking of the second, or middle, section, he says:-- + +"_Second, or Middle Section_.--The country beyond this line is mostly +elevated and free from marshy ground; is abundantly watered, thinly +wooded, healthy, and has been assigned for the permanent residence of +the tribes which have been, or are to be, removed from the States and +territories east of the Mississippi, and is still occupied by the +Aborigines originally found within its limits. In numbers they count, +according to some estimates, 131,000, and can send to the field 26,200 +warriors. As yet, no community of feeling except of deep and lasting +hatred to the white man, and more particularly to the Anglo-Americans, +exists among them; and, unless they coalesce, no serious difficulty need +be apprehended from them. Not so, however, should they be induced to +unite for purposes offensive and defensive: their strength would then +become apparent, create confidence, and, in all probability, induce them +to give vent to their long-suppressed desire to revenge past wrongs, +which is restrained, as they openly and freely declare, by fear alone. +That such a union will be formed at no distant day, we have every reason +to believe; and the period may be accelerated by their growing wants, +and the policy of Mexico to annoy Texas, and raise an impenetrable +barrier in the direction of her frontier." + +That at present the Western frontier is defenceless is undeniable, and +the Florida war does not appear to be at all nearer to a conclusion than +it was two or three years ago. That the Indians to the west of the +Mississippi are not ignorant of what is going on is very certain; and +the moral effect arising from the protracted defence of the Seminoles +may eventually prove most serious, and be attended with enormous expense +to the United States. + +The Federal Government takes every precaution to impress the Indians +with an idea of the impossibility of their opposing the white men. The +agents persuade the chiefs to go down to Washington to see their great +father, the President. On these occasions they are accompanied by the +Indian agent and interpreter, and, of course, all their expenses are +paid. They are lodged at the hotels, taken to all places of public +amusement, and provided with conveyances. But the policy of the +Government is to cause them to make a circuit through all the most +populous cities, as the crowds attracted by the appearance of the +Indians give them an extraordinary and incorrect idea of the American +population. Wherever they go they are in a crowd. If they are at the +windows of an hotel, still the crowds are immense; and this is what the +Government is anxious should take place. I was at Boston when the two +deputations of the Sioux and Sacs and Foxes tribes arrived. The two +nations being at enmity, the Sioux were conducted there first, and left +the town on the arrival of the Sacs and Foxes, or there would probably +have been a fight. The Governor received the latter in the Town-hall, +and made a speech; I was present. I thought at the time that it was not +a speech that I would have made to them, and if I mistook not, it +brought up recollections not very agreeable to the chiefs, although they +were too politic to express their feelings. But a few years before, +their lands east of the Mississippi had been wrested from them in the +most unfair way, as I have mentioned in my remarks upon the treatment of +the Indians by the American Government. + +Governor Everett commenced his speech as follows:-- + +"Chiefs and warriors of the confederated Sacs and Foxes, you are welcome +to our Hall of Council. You have come a far way, from your red friends +of the West, to visit your white brethren of the East. We are glad to +take you by the hand. We have heard before of the Sac and the Fox +tribes: we have heard much of their chiefs, warriors, and great men: we +are now glad to see them here. We are of Massachusets: the red men once +resided here: their wigwams were on yonder hill: and their Council +Chamber was here. When our fathers came over the great waters, they +were a small band, and you were powerful: the red man stood on the rock +by the seaside, and looked at them with friendly eyes: he might have +pushed them into the water, but took them by the hand, and said welcome, +white man. Our fathers were hungry, and the red man gave them corn and +venison. Our fathers were cold, and the red man spread his blanket over +them and made them warm. We are now great and powerful, but we _will +remember_ in our prosperity the benefits bestowed by our red brethren in +our adversity." + +Up to the present, they certainly have forgotten them!! + +But the fate of the red man appears to be nearly decided. What between +their wars with each other, the use of spirituous liquors, and the +diseases imported by the whites, they dwindle away every day. The most +fatal disease to them is the small-pox. The following account, which I +have extracted from one of the American papers, was confirmed to me by a +letter from Fort Snelling:-- + +_Appalling destruction of North-west Indians by Small-pox_. + +"We gave yesterday an account of the origin of this epidemic by means of +a steam-boat trading on the Missouri. Today we subjoin, from the St +Louis bulletin slip of March 3rd, a detailed account of its ravages. +The disease had reached the remote band of the Blackfeet, and thousands +of them had fallen victims. They do not blame the traders. + +"The Pipe Stem, a chief of great influence, when dying, called his +people around him, and his last request was, that they would love their +traders, and be always governed by their advice. `I may,' says one of +the traders, `be blamed for not using measures to arrest the progress of +the disease, but without resort to arms on the arrival of the boat with +supplies, the Indians could not have been driven from the fort.' + +"An express went two days a-head of the boat, but it was of no use +preaching to the Indians to fly--they flocked down to the boat as usual +when she arrived. The peltry trade in that quarter is ruined for years. +The company agent at Fort Union, writes, Nov. 30, that all their +prospects on the Upper Missouri are totally prostrated. The epidemic +spread into the most distant part of the Assinaboin country, and this +tribe were dying by fifties and hundreds a day. The disease appeared to +be of a peculiarly malignant cast; some, a few moments after severe +attacks of pain in the head and loins, fell down dead, and the bodies +turned black immediately after, and swelled to three times their natural +size. The companies erected hospitals, but they were of no use. The +carts were constantly employed burying the dead in holes; afterwards, +when the earth was frozen, they were consigned to the water. Many of +the squaws are left in a miserable condition. The disease has not +reached the Sioux, many of whom have being vaccinated. + +"The Mandans, numbering 1,600, living in permanent villages 1,600 miles +above St Louis, have all died but thirty-one. + +"The Minatarees, or Gros Ventres, living near the Mandans, numbering +about 1,000, were, by our last accounts, about one half dead, and the +disease still raging. + +"The Arickarees, amounting to 3,000, who but lately abandoned a +wandering life, and joined the Mandans, were about half dead, and the +disease still among them. It is probable they have been reduced in +proportion to the Mandans. + +"The Assinaboins, a powerful tribe, about 9,000 strong, living entirely +by the chase, and ranging north of the Missouri, in the plains below the +Rocky Mountains, down towards the Hudson's Bay Company, on the north Red +River, are _literally annihilated_. Their principal trade was at Fort +Union, mouth of the Yellow Stone. + +"The Crees, living in the same region, numbering 3,000, are nearly all +destroyed. The great nation called Blackfeet, who wander and live by +the chase, ranging through all the region of the Rocky Mountains, +divided into bands--Piegans, Gros Ventres, Blood Indians, and Blackfeet, +amounting in all to 50,000 or 60,000, have deeply suffered. One +thousand lodges or families have been destroyed, and the disease was +rapidly spreading among the different bands." + +The average number in a lodge is from six to eight persons. + +"The boat that brought up the small-pox made her voyage last summer, and +the ravages of the distemper appear to have been greatest in October. +It broke out among the Mandans, July 15th. Many of the handsome +Arickarees who had recovered, seeing the disfiguration of their +features, committed suicide; some by throwing themselves from rocks, +others by stabbing, shooting, etcetera. The prairie has become a grave +yard; its wild flowers bloom over the sepulchres of Indians. The +atmosphere for miles is poisoned by the stench of hundreds of carcases +unburied. The women and children are wandering in groups without food, +or howling over the dead. The men are flying in every direction. The +proud, warlike, and noble looking Blackfeet are no more. The deserted +lodges are seen on the hills, but no smoke issues from them. No sound +but the raven's croak, and the wolf's long howl, breaks the awful +stillness. The wolves fatten on the dead carcases. The scene of +desolation is described as appalling beyond the powers of imagination to +conceive." + +That they may give the Americans much trouble, however, previous to +their final extermination, is true, and that they are very anxious to +revenge themselves, is equally certain. The greatest misfortune which +could happen to the United States would be a union or mixture of the +negroes with the Indian tribes. If this were to take place, the +population would, in all probability, rapidly increase, instead of +falling away as it now does; as then the negro population would till the +ground sufficiently for the support of themselves and the Indians, as +they now do among the Creek and Seminole tribes, who have plenty of +cattle and corn. The American Indian in his natural state suffers much +from hunger, and this is one cause of the non-increase of their +population. What might be effected by the bands now concentrated on the +American frontier, if at any future time they should become amalgamated +with the negroes, will be fairly estimated by the reader when he has +read the account I am about to lay before him of the war in Florida. + + + +VOLUME THREE, CHAPTER NINE. + +CAUSES OF THE FLORIDA WAR. + +Most of my countrymen are aware that the Americans have been carrying on +a war against the Florida Indians for the last two or three years; the +details, however, are not so well known; and as this Florida war ought +to be a lesson to the Americans, and may, as a precedent to the other +Indians, prove of great importance, I shall enter into the particulars +of it. I am moved, indeed, so to do, as it will afford the reader a +very fair specimen of the general policy and mode of treatment shewn to +the Indians by the American Government. Florida was ceded by Spain to +the United States as a set-off against 500,000 dollars, claimed by the +Americans for spoliations committed on her commerce. The white +population of Florida is not very numerous even now; the census of 1830 +gave 18,000 whites and 16,000 slaves, independent of the Florida +Indians, or Seminoles. Seminoles is a term for runaways or wanderers; +the Indian tribes in Florida being a compound of the old Florida +Indians, two varieties of Creeks, who quitted their tribe previous to +their removal west of the Mississippi, and Africans who are slaves to +the Indians. Their numbers at the commencement of the war were +estimated as follows:-- + +The Mico-sukee Indians, of which Osseola, or Asseola, was one of the +principal chiefs, 400 warriors. + +Creek and Spanish Indians, 850 warriors. + +Negroes, 600 to 700 warriors. + +In all about 1900 warriors. + +The chief of the whole Seminole nation is Mic-e-no-pah, and next to him +in consequence, as orator of the nation, is an Indian of the name of +Jumper. It must be observed that these Indians, having slaves, +cultivated the ground and had large stocks of cattle. Florida, like all +the confines of the United States, had a white population not very +creditable to any country, and many of these people went there more with +a view of robbing the Indians of their negroes and cattle, and selling +them in the Western States, than with any intention of permanently +settling in the country. + +As soon as the Floridas were ceded by the Spanish, the American +Government perceived the expediency of removing the Indians from the +territories, and, on the 18th of September 1823, a treaty was entered +into with the Indians, by which the Indians, on their part, agreed to +remove to the westward after _twenty years_ from that date, that is on +September 18th, 1843. By the same treaty the American Government +secured to the Indians a tract of land in Florida, containing five +millions of acres, for their subsistence during the time that they +remained in that State; and agreed to pay the Indians certain advances, +in consequence of their surrendering all title to the rest of the +Florida country, and engaging to confine themselves to the limits of the +territory allotted to them. + +Nothing could be more plain or simple than the terms of this treaty, +which, in consequence of the council being held at this spot, was +denominated the treaty of Camp Moultrie. + +The third article in the treaty of Camp Moultrie runs as follows:--"The +United States will take the Florida Indians under their care and +patronage, and _will afford them protection against all persons +whatsoever_." + +One of the great errors committed by the American Government was in +binding itself to perform what was not in its power. It could no more +protect these Indians against the white marauders than it could prevent +the insurgents from attacking Upper Canada. The arm of the Federal +Government is too weak to reach its own confines, as will hereafter be +shewn by its own acknowledgment. The consequence was that, very soon +after the treaty of Camp Moultrie had been signed, the Indians were +robbed and plundered by the miscreants who hovered near them for that +purpose. + +An American author states that two men, Robinson and Wilburn, belonging +to Georgia, contrived to steal from one chief twenty slaves, to the +value of 15,000 dollars, and carried them to New Orleans. I will +however quote a portion of the work. + +"Another influential chief, Emachitochustern, commonly called John +Walker, was robbed of a number of slaves in a somewhat similar manner. +After making an appeal to the government agent, without the least chance +of redress, he says: `I don't like to make any trouble or to have any +quarrel with white people, but, if they will trespass on my lands and +rights, I must defend myself the best way I can, and if they do come +again they must bear the consequences. But is there no civil law to +protect me? Are the negroes belonging to me to be stolen away publicly +in the face of all law and justice? carried off and sold to fill the +pockets of these land pirates? Douglass and his company have hired a +man, who has two large trained dogs for the purpose, to come here and +take off others. He is from Mobile, and follows catching negroes.' + +"Colonel John Blount, another estimable chief, was inhumanly beaten by a +party of white men, who robbed him of several hundred dollars; he made +application to the authorities, but the villains were allowed to escape. + +"These facts show how mild and forbearing the Seminoles have acted under +the most trying circumstances; and even when their property has been +assailed in this way, they have, in numerous instances, refrained from +making resistance; their hands were bound, as the severest punishment +awaited any attack they might make upon the intruders, even though +circumstances justified it. But as the Indian's evidence could not be +received in a court of justice, the white man's oath would condemn him +to the most torturing punishment." + +But in every way were the poor Indians the prey of the white men. The +same author says, among many other cases brought forward, "A man, by the +name of Floyd, was employed by an Indian woman to recover some negroes +for her, and instead of presenting a mere power of attorney for her +signature, she found, alas! it was a bill of sale for all her negroes! +Another individual was requested by Miconopy, governor of the Seminoles, +to draw a piece of writing for him, to which, without suspicion of its +character, he attached his name; it was soon after discovered to be a +conveyance of a large tract of land!" + +Another source of profit to these scoundrels was the obtaining by +fraudulent means from the Indians, orders upon the American Government +for the payment of portions of their annuity granted in return for the +cession of the territory. "One of the government agents was a +delinquent to them for a considerable amount. He robbed the principal +interpreter of the nation, a very influential black chief by the name of +Abraham, of several hundred dollars, by getting a receipt from him +without paying the money, under the plea that it was necessary to send +the receipt to Washington, where it was filed to the credit of the +agent. Several other Indians of influence were robbed in a similar +manner; and when they demanded the money from the succeeding agent, they +were told that the government would not pay them. Is not this an +unsound principle to adopt in our intercourse with the Indians? Is it +just or honourable for us to send our own agents among them, without +their approval, and not hold ourselves responsible for their conduct? +If we were indebted to a nation, and the funds are sent through an agent +to pay over, and he neglects to do so, are we not still liable, and +would not a civilised power still hold us responsible?" + +I have mentioned these facts to show that the Indians were justified in +their want of faith in the white men: they were robbed and pillaged and +had no redress; nay, they were imprisoned as thieves for taking away +their own cattle which had been stolen from them, although they showed +their own marks and brands upon them. Whether the American Government +suffered all this spoliation with a view to disgust the Indians and +incline them to remove to the westward, the reader will be better able +to judge for himself when he has read a few pages more. + +The Florida people were now subjected to retaliation, on the part of the +Indians, who, finding that they could obtain no redress, naturally took +the law into their own hands, and loss of life on both sides was the +consequence. This produced petition after petition from the Florida +white population to the government, requesting that the Indians might be +moved west prior to 1843, the period agreed upon by the treaty of Camp +Moultrie. Colonel Gadsden, a citizen of Florida, was appointed +commissioner to treat with the Indians, and on the 8th of April 1832, +had an interview with Mic-e-no-pah, and a few other chiefs. The Indians +requested thirty days to collect the opinions of the absent chiefs, and +on the 8th of May 1832, they met the commissioner, according to +appointment, at Payne's Landing. The commissioner had a great deal of +difficulty in obtaining their consent to the removal, which was +ultimately given upon certain conditions. + +By this treaty, the Indians agreed to remove west upon being paid a +certain sum for the reserved land; an annuity for a certain number of +years; and other advantages, which would occupy too much space to +particularise here. The treaty was signed by Mic-e-no-pah, the head +chief, Jumper, and thirteen more. + +But the treaty was assented to upon one condition, which was, that the +Seminoles were _satisfied_ with the lands apportioned to them west of +the Mississippi. This is acknowledged by Colonel Gadsden, in his letter +to the Secretary of War, who says--"There is a condition prefixed to the +agreement, without assenting to which the Florida Indians most +positively refused to negotiate for their removal west of the +Mississippi. Even with the condition annexed, there was a reluctance +(which with some difficulty was overcome) on the part of the Indians, to +bind themselves by any stipulations before a knowledge of facts and +circumstances would enable them to judge of the advantages or +disadvantages of the disposition the government of the United States +wished to make of them. They were finally induced, however, to assent +to the agreement." "The final ratification of the treaty will depend +upon the opinion of the seven chiefs selected to explore the country +west of the Mississippi river. If that corresponds to the description +given, or is equal to the expectations formed of it, there will be no +difficulty on the part of the Seminoles." + +There was a very unwise delay on the part of the American government +after the signing of this second treaty. More than two years were +permitted to elapse before any appropriation of land was made for the +Indians, who became dissatisfied, and the treaty was by them pronounced +to be "a white man's treaty," which they did not any longer consider to +be binding. + +But there were other reasons why the Seminoles did not consider the +treaty as binding; they did _not_ like the lands allotted to them. A +deputation of seven was sent west of the Mississippi: the land they +acknowledged was good land, but they found that they were close to the +Pawnee territory, and that that tribe was proverbially famous for +stealing cattle and horses. It was also the determination of the +American Government, as they were considered as a portion of the Creek +nation, to settle them near to and incorporate them with that nation. +This did not suit them; the Creeks had claimed many of their slaves, and +they knew that they had no chance with so superior a force as that of +the Creek nation, who would have taken all their slaves from them. As, +therefore, the Pawnees would have stolen all their cattle, and the +Creeks have taken all their slaves, they considered that utter +destitution would be the consequence of the removal as proposed by the +American Government. To get over the latter difficulty, the government +proposed that the Seminoles should sell their slaves previous to their +removing, but this they objected to. The American author I have quoted +says:-- + +"It was then suggested to them that, by a sale of these negroes before +they left Florida, they would augment their resources, and could go into +their new country without the dread of exciting the cupidity of the +Creeks. But these Indians have always evinced great reluctance to +parting with slaves: indeed the Indian loves his negro as much as one of +his own children, and the sternest necessity alone would drive him to +the parting: this recommendation was, therefore, viewed with evident +alarm, and as the right of retaining possession of them was guaranteed +by the commissioner, strong doubts were raised as to the sincerity of +the pledge. + +"The Seminole Indians are poor agriculturists and husbandmen, and withal +too indolent to till the ground, and, without their negroes, would +literally starve: besides, should they dispose of them they could not be +replenished in a new country. Again: the opposition of the slaves +themselves to being sold to the whites would excite all their energies +to prevent emigration, for they dread the idea of being transferred to +sugar and cotton plantations, where they must be subject to the +surveillance of the overseer. The life of a slave among the Indians, +compared with that of negroes under overseers, is one of luxury and +ease; the demands upon him are very trifling, scarcely ever exceeding +eight or ten bushels from the crop, the remainder being applied to his +own profit: they live separate, and often remote, from their owners, and +enjoy an equal share of liberty. The negro is also much more provident +and ambitious than his master, and the peculiar localities of the +country eminently facilitate him in furnishing the Indian with rum and +tobacco, which gives him a controlling influence over the latter, and at +the same time affords him an immense profit; so that it can be easily +imagined that the negroes would in no manner be benefited by the +change." + +On the 23rd of October, 1834, being two years and a half after the +signing of the second treaty at Payne's Landing, a council of Indians +was again summoned by the agent, who informed them that all they had now +to answer were the following questions:-- + +Will you incorporate yourselves with the Creek nation in the Far-West? + +Will you have money for your cattle which you leave here on your arrival +there, or will you have cattle in return? + +Will you go by water, or by land? + +Will you have your next annuity paid in money or in goods? + +Upon this, the chiefs retired and held a private council. It is said +that Asseola, the principal chief of the tribe of Micosukees, persuaded +them strongly to resist going, and declared that he would consider as +his enemy any one who agreed to go. Asseola had not signed the treaty. +The next day the council was resumed, and the chiefs made the following +replies to the agent. + +The first who spoke was Holata Mico, principal war chief. He expressed +his wish that there should be no quarrelling, at the same time that he +gave his evidence as to the truth of the first book of Moses. + +"_Holata Mico_ then rose, and said:--`God made all of us, and we all +came from one woman, sucked one bubby; we hope we shall not quarrel; +that we will talk until we get through.' + +"_Miconopy_ then said--`When we were at Camp Moultrie we made a treaty, +and we were to be paid our annuity for twenty years. That is all I have +got to say.' + +"_Jumper_ said--`At Camp Moultrie they told us all difficulties should +be buried for twenty years, from the date of the treaty made there; that +after this we held a treaty at Payne's Landing, before the twenty years +were out; and they told us we might go and see the country, but that we +were not obliged to remove. The land is very good, I saw it, and was +glad to see it; the neighbours there are bad people; I do not like them +bad Indians, the Pawnees. I went and saw the place; I told the agent +that I was a rogue; that he had brought me to the place here alongside, +and among the rogues, the bad Pawnees, because I am a rogue. I went to +see the land, and the commissioners said that the Seminoles must have +that land. When we went west to see the land, we had not sold our land +here, and we were told only to go and see it. The Indians there steal +horses, and take packs on their horses; they all steal horses from the +different tribes; I do not want to go among such people; your talk seems +always good, but we don't feel disposed to go west.' + +"_Charley Amathia_ then rose, and said--`The speakers of the nation are +all dead; but I recollect some of their words when they had the meeting +at Camp Moultrie. I was not there, but heard that we would be at peace, +and that we would have our annuity paid to us for twenty years. _White +people have told me that the treaty at Camp Moultrie, which was made by +great men, and not to be broken, had secured them for twenty years; that +seven years of that treaty are still unexpired_. I am no half breed, +and do not lean on one side. If they tell me to go after the seven +years, I say nothing. As to the proposition made us by the agent about +removing, I do not say I will not go; but I think that, until the seven +years are out, I give no answer. My family I love dearly and sacredly. +I do not think it right to take them right off. Our father has often +said to me that he loves his children--and they love him. When a man is +at home, and got his stock about him, he looks upon it as the +subsistence of himself and family. Then when they go off, they reflect +and think more seriously than when quiet at home. I do not complain of +the agent's talk. My young men and family are all around me. Should I +go west, I should lose many on the path. As to the country west, I +looked at it; a weak man cannot get there, the fatigue would be so +great; it requires a strong man.'" + +This talk made the agent very angry; he told them that they should stand +by the treaty at Payne's Landing; he desired them to retire, and when +they came again to act like chiefs and honourable men. + +"October 25, 1834. The council convened at 11 o'clock. Interpreters as +yesterday. + +"The _agent_ said to the council, `I am ready to receive your answers to +the questions which I submitted to you.' + +"_Holato Mico_.--`I have only to repeat what I said yesterday, and to +say that the twenty years from the treaty at Moultrie has not yet +expired. I never gave my consent to go west; the whites may say so, but +I never gave my consent.' + +"_Jumper_.--`We are not satisfied to go until the end of twenty years, +according to the treaty at Camp Moultrie. We were called upon to go to +the west, beyond the Mississippi. It is a good country; this is a poor +country, we know. We had a good deal of trouble to get there; what +would it be for all our tribe.' + +"_Miconopy_.--`I say, what I said yesterday, I did not sign the treaty.' + +"_Agent_.--`Abraham, tell Miconopy that I say _he lies_; he did sign the +treaty, for here is his name.'" + +Miconopy here asserts that he did not sign the treaty, which certainly +appears to be a falsehood: but it should be remembered that, by the +agent's own admission, it was only a conditional signature by a portion +of the chiefs, provided that they liked the location offered to them; +and as they objected to this, the treaty was certainly, in my opinion, +null and void. Indeed, the agent had no right to demand the signatures +when such an important reservation was attached to the treaty. I do not +give the whole of the agent's reply, as there is so much repetition; the +following are extracts:-- + +"I have told you that you must stand to your bargain. My talk is still +the same. You must go west. Your father, the President, who is your +friend, will compel you to go. Therefore, be not deluded by any hope or +expectation that you will be permitted to remain here. You have +expressed a wish to hear my views and opinion upon the whole matter. As +a man, and your friend, I will this day deign to reason with you; for I +want to show you that your talk of today is the foolish talk of a child. + +"Jumper says, they agreed at Payne's Landing to go and examine the +country west, but they were not bound to remove to it until the nation +should agree to do so, after the return of the delegation; and he adds, +what others of you have said, that the treaty at Camp Moultrie was to +stand for twenty years. Such a talk from Jumper surprises me, for he is +a man of sense. He understands the treaty at Payne's Landing, which he +signed; he was the first named in that treaty, of the delegation +appointed to go west; he knows that that treaty gave him and the members +of the delegation authority to decide whether the nation should remove +or not. + +"The Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws and Cherokees, who live in the States, +are moving west of the Mississippi river, because they cannot live under +the white people's laws; they are gone and going, and the Seminole +nation are a small handful to their number. Two governments cannot +exist under the same boundary of territory. Where Indians remain within +the limits of a state or territory until the jurisdiction of a state or +territory shall be extended over them, the Indian government, laws and +chiefships, are for ever done away--the Indians are subject to the white +man's law. The Indian must be tried, whether for debt or crime, in the +white man's court; the Indian's law is not to be known there; the +Indian's evidence is not to be admitted there; the Indian will, in every +thing, be subject to the control of the white man. It is this view of +the subject which induces your father, the President, to settle his red +children beyond the limits of the states and territories where the white +man's law is never to reach you, and where you and your children are to +possess the land, while the grass grows and the water runs. He feels +for his red children as a father should feel. It is, therefore, that he +made the treaty with you at Payne's Landing, and for the same reason he +will compel you to comply with your bargain. But let us look a little +more closely into your own situation. Suppose (what is however +impossible) that you could be permitted so remain here a few years +longer, what would be your condition? _This land will soon be +surveyed, sold to, and settled by, the whites. There is now a surveyor +in the country; the jurisdiction of the territory will soon be extended +over this country. Your laws will be set aside, your chiefs will cease +to be chiefs; claims for debt and for your negroes would be set up +against you by bad white men, or you would perhaps be charged with +crimes affecting life; you would be hauled before the white man's court; +the claims against you for debt, for your negroes or other property, and +the charges of crime preferred against you, would be decided by the +white man's law. White men would be witnesses against you; Indians +would not be permitted to give evidence; your condition, in a very few +years, would be hopeless wretchedness_." + +What an admission from their father, the President, after having, in the +third article of the treaty of Camp Moultrie, declared that the United +States will afford the Florida Indians _protection against all persons +whatsoever_!! + +"Thus, you may see, that were it possible for you to remain here a few +years longer, you would be reduced to hopeless poverty, and when urged +by hunger to ask, perhaps, of the man who thus would have ruined you +(and is, perhaps, now tampering with you for the purpose of getting your +property) for a crust of bread, you might be called an Indian dog, and +be ordered to clear out. [Here _Asseola_, who was seated by Miconopy, +urged him to be firm in his resolution.] Your father, the President, +sees all these evils, and will save you from them by removing you west; +and I will stand up for the last time to tell you, that you must go; and +if not willingly, you will be compelled to go. I should have told you +that no more annuity will be paid to you here. [_Asseola_ replied, that +he did not care whether any more was ever paid.] I hope you will, on +more mature reflection, act like honest men, and not compel me to report +you to your father, the President, as faithless to your engagements." + +"_Asseola_ said, the decision of the chiefs was given; that they did not +intend to give any other answer. + +"_Miconopy_ said--`I do not intend to remove.' + +"_The Agent_.--`I am now fully satisfied that you are wilfully disposed +to be entirely dishonest in regard to your engagements with the +President, and regret that I must so report you. The talk which I have +made to you must and will stand.'" + +Thus, indeed, the council and the parties separated. The American +government was supine, thinking, probably, that the Indians would not +resist much longer; but the Indians, on the other hand, laid up large +stores of powder and lead. Six months elapsed, and then the Indians +were informed that they were to hear the _last_ talk of the father, the +President on _this side_ of the Mississippi. On the 22nd of April, +1835, the Indians assembled, and had the following communication from +General Jackson:-- + +"_To the Chiefs and Warriors of the Seminole Indians in Florida_. + +"My Children: I am sorry to have heard that you have been listening to +bad counsels. You know me, and you know that I would not deceive, nor +advise you to do any thing that was unjust or injurious. Open your ears +and attend to what I shall now say to you. They are the words of a +friend, and the words of truth. + +"The white people are settling around you. The game has disappeared +from your country. Your people are poor and hungry. All this you have +perceived for some time. And nearly three years ago, you made an +agreement with your friend, Colonel Gadsden, acting on the part of the +United States, by which you agreed to cede your lands in Florida, and to +remove and join your brothers, the Creeks, in the country west of the +Mississippi. You annexed a condition to this agreement, that certain +chiefs, named therein, in whom you placed confidence, should proceed to +the western country, and examine whether it was suitable to your wants +and habits; and whether the Creeks residing there were willing to permit +you to unite with them as one people, and if the persons thus sent, were +satisfied on these heads, then the agreement made with Colonel Gadsden +was to be in full force. + +"In conformity with these provisions, the chiefs named by you proceeded +to that country, and having examined it, and having become satisfied +respecting its character and the favourable disposition of the Creeks, +they entered into an agreement with commissioners on the part of the +United States, by which they signified their satisfaction on these +subjects, and finally ratified the agreement made with Colonel Gadsden. + +"I now learn that you refuse to carry into effect the solemn promises +thus made by you, and that you have stated to the officers of the United +States, sent among you, that you will not remove to the western country. + +"My children: I have never deceived, nor will I ever deceive, any of the +red people. I tell you that you must go, and that you will go. Even if +you had a right to stay, how could you live where you now are? You have +sold all your country. You have not a piece as large as a blanket to +sit down upon. What is to support yourselves, your women and children? +The tract you have ceded will soon be surveyed and sold, and immediately +afterwards will be occupied by a white population. You will soon be in +a state of starvation. You will commit depredations upon the property +of our citizens. You will be resisted, punished, perhaps killed. Now, +is it not better peaceably to remove to a fine, fertile country, +occupied by your own kindred, and where you can raise all the +necessaries of life, and where game is yet abundant? The annuities +payable to you, and the other stipulations made in your favour, will +make your situation comfortable, and will enable you to increase and +improve. If, therefore, you had a right to stay where you now are, +still every true friend would advise you to remove. But you have no +right to stay, and you must go. I am very desirous that you should go +peaceably and voluntarily. You shall be comfortably taken care of and +kindly treated on the road, and when you arrive in your new country, +provisions will be issued to you for a year, so that you can have ample +time to provide for your future support. + +"But lest some of your rash young men should forcibly oppose your +arrangements for removal, I have ordered a large military force to be +sent among you. I have directed the commanding officer, and likewise +the agent, your friend, General Thompson, that every reasonable +indulgence be held out to you. But I have also directed that one-third +of your people, as provided for in the treaty, be removed during the +present season. If you listen to the voice of friendship and truth, you +will go quietly and voluntarily. But should you listen to the bad birds +that are always flying about you, and refuse to remove, I have then +directed the commanding officer to remove you by force. This will be +done. I pray the Great Spirit, therefore, to incline you to do what is +right. + +"Your friend, + +"A Jackson. + +"_Washington, February 16_, 1835." + +Several of the Indian chiefs replied, wishing for amity but unwilling to +quit; but the council was broken up by the agent, who informed them that +he had been sent there to enforce the treaty: he had warriors enough to +do it, and he would do it. It was the question now whether they would +go of their own accord, or by force? + +This determination on the part of the agent induced some of the chiefs +to waver, and eventually eight principal chiefs and eight sub-chiefs +signed the articles agreeing to remove; but Miconopy, the chief of the +whole tribes, Jumper, the second in consequence, and three other +powerful chiefs, refused. Upon this, the agent took upon himself the +most unwarrantable responsibility, by saying, Miconopy was no longer +chief of the nation, and that his name and the other opposing chiefs +were now struck out of the council of the nation. + +That such an act as this was the cause of the greatest irritation to the +Seminoles there can be no doubt; and the conduct of the agent was +reproved by the Secretary of War, who, in his letter, observes:-- + +"It is not necessary for me to enter into much detail on the subject +presented by you. I understand from Mr Harris, that he communicated to +you the President's views on the subject of the chiefs whom you declined +to recognise in all questions connected with the removal of the +Seminoles. I understand that the President deemed this course an +incorrect one; and it seems to me obviously liable to strong objections. +We do not assume the right of determining who shall be the chiefs in +the various Indian tribes; this is a matter of internal policy which +must necessarily be left to themselves. And if, when we have a grave +matter for adjustment with one of the tribes, we undertake to say _it +shall be_ determined by a particular class of individuals, we certainly +should render ourselves obnoxious to censure. It appears to me the +proper course, upon important questions, is to treat directly with the +tribe itself; and if they depute their chiefs, or any other individual +to act for them, we must either recognise such authority or abandon the +object in view." + +In June 1835, Asseola, the chief of Micosukees, who did not appear at +the council, but who was the most determined opponent of the treaty, +came in to complain of the treatment his people had received from some +white men, one of them having been wounded. He received no redress, and +saying something offensive to the agent, he was thrown into prison. To +obtain his release he promised to sign the treaty, at least, so it is +said, and that he did sign it; but this must be considered only as an +Indian stratagem: he had been imprisoned without any cause, and it is to +be presumed that he thought himself justified in escaping by a +corresponding fraud on his own part. The month after this occurrence, +some of the tribe of Asseola murdered a government mail-carrier. + +The Indians made one more effort: they called a council, and offered to +remove to the west of the Mississippi, provided they had lands and an +agent for themselves; but this was sternly refused by the government, +who sent back as an answer, that their great father, General Jackson, +had been "made very angry." The attacks and depredations upon the +Indians were now more frequent, and the majority of them determined upon +resistance. Only six chiefs, out of all who had signed the treaty, +acted to their word and brought in their cattle, etcetera, for the +government agent, to be sold previous to their migration. Five of their +chiefs removed to the protection of Brooke's Fort, as they feared that +the Seminoles would punish them for their revolt. One of them, Charley +Amathla, was preparing to follow the others, when Asseola and two other +chiefs went to his house and insisted that he should not remove his +people. Charley Amathla replied that he had already pledged his word +that he would abide by the promise which he made to their great father, +and that if his life paid the forfeit, he felt bound to adhere to that +promise. He said he had lived to see his nation a ruined and degraded +people, and he believed that their only salvation was in removing to the +West: that he had made arrangements for his people to go, and had +delivered to the agent all their cattle, so that he had no excuse now +for not complying with his engagements. One of the chiefs then informed +him that the crisis was come: he must either join them in their +opposition, or suffer death, and that two hours would be allowed him to +consult his people and declare his determination. He replied, that his +mind was unalterable, and his people could not make him break his word; +that if he must die he hoped they would grant him time enough to make +some arrangements for the good of his people. At this moment Asseola +raised his rifle and was about to fire, when Abraham arrested the +murderous aim, and requested them all to retire for a council with the +other chiefs. Asseola, with a small party, however, separated +themselves from the main body of the Indians, and returned to Charley +Amathla's, and shot him. Thirteen of Amathla's people immediately +escaped to Fort King, while the others, deterred by their fears, +remained until the return of the principal band, when they joined the +hostile party. + +This was a fine trait in the Indian, and proves that the Seminoles are +not the faithless people they are represented to be by the government +agents. The death of this noble Indian was the signal for the +commencement of hostilities; the Indians immediately abandoned all their +towns, and, concealing their trail, removed their families to a place of +safety, which has ever since baffled all conjecture as to its +whereabout, and its secrecy been a subject of the greatest astonishment. + + + +VOLUME THREE, CHAPTER TEN. + +FLORIDA WAR. + +It is naturally conjectured that the Seminoles retreated to some portion +of the vast swamps which surround the Ouithlacoochee river; but certain +it is that since the commencement of the war, in December 1835, up to +the present time, their retreat has never been discovered. Marauding +parties now commenced on the part of the Indians, who took summary +vengeance on those who had robbed and maltreated them. The whole +country from Fort Brooke to Fort King was in a state of conflagration, +and the whites were compelled to abandon everything, and seek protection +under the forts. At the outbreak of hostilities the American force in +the department did not amount to five hundred men. The militia were +called out, but military stores were not at hand, and it was decided +that the troops must wait for reinforcements before any attack could be +made upon the Indians; the great object was to throw a reinforcement +into Fort King. + +General Clinch, who commanded at Fort Brooke, having been reinforced +with thirty-nine men from Key West, no time was lost in preparing two +companies for the above service. On the 24th of December 1835, a force +of one hundred men, and eight officers, with a field-piece, under the +command of Major Dade, commenced their march. + +On the morning of the 28th, when it had proceeded four miles from the +encampment of the previous night, this force was attacked by the +Indians, whose first volley was very destructive, Major Dade, with +almost every man of the advanced guard, falling dead. The Indians were +repelled by the troops under Captain Gardner, upon whom the command then +devolved, and the Americans proceeded to throw up breastworks; but +before they could raise them high enough for efficient protection, the +Indians attacked them again. The Americans brought their field-piece +into play, but the breastworks not being high enough, the Indians shot +down every man who attempted to work the gun. All the officers, and +more than two-thirds of the American troops had fallen, when the +survivors found that all their ammunition was expended. The Indians, +perceiving this, rushed in, and, with the exception of two men, who, +although severely wounded, contrived to conceal themselves, and +ultimately to make their escape, not one of the whole detachment was +spared. + +The force of the Indians is supposed to have been about three hundred +and fifty or four hundred. The contest lasted six hours; and it must be +admitted that nothing could be more gallant than the defence made by the +troops against such a superior force. + +On the afternoon of the same day, the Americans had to lament the loss +of General Thompson, the Indian agent at Fort King. Imprudently +strolling out about three hundred yards from the fort, he was attacked +by the Indians, who waited in ambush for him, and, with Lieutenant Smith +and three other people belonging to the fort, was shot dead. This party +of Indians was headed by Asseola, who had warned General Thompson that +the white men should suffer for their treatment of him. His peculiar +and shrill war-yell was given as the Indian party retreated, to let the +whites know to whom they were indebted for the massacre. + +General Clinch having been reinforced at Fort Brooke, (where he had two +hundred regular troops,) with five hundred volunteers under the command +of General Call, now moved with the whole force of seven hundred men. + +On the 30th of December, as they were passing the Ouithlacoochee river, +the Indians watched their opportunity, and, when a portion only of the +troops had gained the opposite side, commenced an attack, which was +vigorously and successfully resisted; the Indians, in little more than +an hour, were beaten off. The battle was, however, severe, and the +Americans sustained a loss of sixty-three killed and wounded. The +Indian force is supposed to have amounted to seven hundred men. + +But independently of these conflicts with the militia and regulars, the +ravages of the Indians over the whole country are stated to have been +most fearful. Women and children were murdered, and the hearth made +desolate in every portion of the country. In the more settled parts +near St Augustine, the sugar-cane plantations, with the expensive works +attached to them, were destroyed, and in many cases the slaves who were +on the plantations were either carried off, or, voluntarily joining the +Indians, increased the strength of the enemy. More than a hundred +estates were thus laid waste, the average loss upon each estate being +computed, independently of the loss of the negroes, at fifty thousand +dollars. + +The intelligence of this havoc, and the massacre of Major Dade and his +whole party, soon reached the neighbouring States, and a requisition for +assistance made by General Clinch, was promptly responded to. Meetings +were organised at Augusta, Savannah, Darien, and Charleston, and in a +few days nearly two thousand volunteers were ready to march to the +theatre of war. Indeed, the cause now became the cause of all the +slave-holding States, and was taken up with the usual energy of the +Americans. + +In Louisiana the same spirit was shewn. General Gaines was at that time +on a tour of inspection, and had received orders to take charge of the +troops assembling on the Mexican frontier; but, at the request of the +volunteers, he took the command of _them_ until he could receive further +orders from Washington. The assistance of the American naval forces +were demanded and obtained, and General Gaines having received +intelligence that Fort Brooke was invested by the Indians, sent an +express to General Clinch at Fort King, to say that he would join him +with his forces to relieve the post. The Seminole Indians who had +agreed to the treaty, remained firm to their word, and took up arms +against their brethren, and a large force was now marching from all +directions to the succour of the whites. I ought here to observe, that +not only at the commencement, but ever since the war has continued, the +difficulty and expense of forwarding supplies have been very great, and +the American troops have undergone the severest privations, as well as +great mortality from sickness and disease. + +On the 13th February 1836, General Gaines, having arrived at Fort +Brooke, reviewed his force, which amounted to between eleven hundred and +twelve hundred men, and commenced his march to relieve Fort King, at +which post he arrived on the 2nd February, without falling in with any +of the Indians. The general then made a detour in pursuit of the enemy. +On the 27th, when the force was crossing the Ouithlacoochee River, it +was assailed by the Indians, who retired after a skirmish of +three-quarters of an hour, the loss of the Americans being very +trifling. On the 28th, when again fording the river, the Indians made +another attack, which was continued for nearly four hours, and the +Americans had to lament the loss of Major Izard, who was killed, and two +other officers were wounded. On the 29th, the Indians again attacked, +with a force of at least a thousand men, with a view of forcing the +American troops from the breastwork which they had thrown up; the +Indians, after about two hours' fighting, set fire to the high grass; +but, unfortunately for them, the wind suddenly changed, and, instead of +burning out the American troops, all their own concealed positions were +burnt up and exposed, and they were compelled to retire. The loss on +the Indian side was not known, but was supposed to be heavy; that on the +part of the Americans amounted to thirty-two killed and wounded. +General Gaines, finding that the Indians were so near him, now +despatched expresses for a supply of ammunition, being resolved, if +possible, to bring them to a general action. The sufferings of the +American troops were very severe, and they were killing their horses for +subsistence; but the camp was secure, in consequence of the Indians +having burnt down all the means of concealment so necessary in their +mode of warfare. Notwithstanding which, on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of +March, the camp was vigorously assailed. On the evening of the 5th, the +Indian interpreter came in from the Seminoles, stating that they wished +to hold a council, and did not want any more fighting. On the 6th, a +truce was held, when Asseola and other chiefs made their appearance, +saying, that if the Americans would not cross the river, they would +remain on their own side of it, and not commit any more ravages. This +was, in fact, nothing but the original proposal of the Indians, that +they should remain upon the land which had been assigned to them by the +treaty of Camp Moultrie. The reply of General Gaines was, that he was +not authorised to make a treaty with them; their arms must be given up, +and they must remain on the other side of the river, until the American +Government sent them away west of the Mississippi. While this +negotiation was pending, General Clinch arrived with the succour and +reinforcements, much to the joy of the American troops, who were half +starved. General Gaines, who had heard that General Scott had been +appointed to the command in Florida, now resigned that authority to +General Clarke, and on the 11th, the troops arrived at Fort Drane. It +hardly need be observed, that the treating with the Indians ended in +nothing. General Scott having assumed the command, arrived at Fort +Drane on the 13th March 1836. He had had previously to contend with +heavy rains and almost impracticable roads, and was encumbered with a +heavy baggage train; his whole force amounted to nearly 5,000 men. This +he divided into a centre and two wings, with a view to scour the whole +country, and force the Indians from their retreats; but in vain. The +Indians being on the flanks of each division, occasional skirmishes took +place; but when the troops arrived to where the Indians were supposed to +be, not a man was to be seen, nor could they discover the retreat of +their families. Occasionally the Indians attacked the outposts with +great vigour, and were bravely repulsed; but the whole army, of 5,000 +men, did not kill and capture more than twenty Indians. As far as I can +judge, nothing could be better than the arrangements of General Scott, +but the nature of the country, to which the Indians had retreated, +rendered it almost impossible for troops to act. The swamps extended +over a great surface of ground; here and there was an island on which +the Indians could remain; while to attack them, the troops would have to +wade up to their necks for miles, and as soon as they arrived the +Indians were gone. + +It is not my intention to follow up all the details of the petty warfare +which has continued to the present time. General Scott resigned the +command, and was succeeded by General Jessopp. On the 20th October +1837, after nearly a year's skirmishing, Asseola was persuaded to come +in, to a council. The flags of truce were hoisted by the Americans, and +Asseola, carrying a flag of truce in his hand, and accompanied by other +chiefs and about 50 warriors, came in to talk. On their arrival, they +were surrounded by bayonets, and made prisoners by the orders of the +Federal Government, who, despairing of subduing the Indians, had +recourse to this shameful breach of faith. The proud spirit of Asseola +could not endure confinement: he died in prison. Other chiefs were +kidnapped in the same traitorous manner; but, severe as the loss must +have been to the Indians, it did not appear to discourage them. The war +was still carried on by those who were left, and, indeed, is still +continued; for the ranks of the Indians are said to be filled up by +runaway slaves, and some of the Creek Indians who have not yet quitted +Georgia. On the 25th of December 1837, a severe battle was fought +between the Indians and the American troops, at a spot between Pease +Creek and the Big Cypress Swamps; on this occasion the Americans lost +Colonels Thompson and Guntry, with twenty-eight killed, and one hundred +and eleven wounded. Since that I am not aware that any important combat +has taken place; but it is certain that the Seminoles, notwithstanding +the loss of their leaders, still hold out and defy the whole power of +the United States. + +It is asserted in the American papers that the loss of lives on the +American side, from the enemy and from disease, amounts to between two +and three thousand men, and that the expenses of the war are now +estimated at 30,000,000 of dollars. How far these calculations may be +correct I cannot pretend to say, but it is notorious that a handful of +Indians, estimated, at the commencement of the war, at about 1,900, have +contended against armies of four or five times their number, commanded +by gallant and able officers; that this small band of Indians, +notwithstanding their losses from the weapons of the enemy, and their +still greater losses from breach of faith, have now for four years held +out against the American Government, and have contrived to _subsist_ +during that period; and that the retreat of their wives and families has +never been discovered, notwithstanding the Americans have a friendly +portion of the Seminoles acting with them. Indeed, if we are to believe +the American statements, the war is almost as far from its conclusion +now as it was at its commencement. See note 1. + +I have hastily narrated the causes and principal events of the war, as +they are little known in England. The Americans, even if they expend +twice as much money, must persevere, until they have extirpated every +Indian, and settled the territory with white people; if they do not, the +Florida swamps will become the resort of runaway slaves, and the +precedent of what can be done, will encourage a general rising of the +slaves in the adjoining States, who will only have to retire to the +banks of the Ouithlacoochee and defend themselves. So fatal is the +climate to the European, that America even now will probably have to +sacrifice life and treasure to a much greater extent before she obtains +possession of the territory. I shall conclude by quoting a portion of a +letter from the Genevese Traveller which appeared in the _Times_ +newspaper. + +"The war was unrighteous in its commencement, and has been continued for +years under circumstances the most profligate. There has not been a +single campaign in which the army has not reaped a plentiful harvest of +mortification and disgrace. When brought into action both officers and +men fought valiantly, but the character of the country, its deep +morasses and swamps, and the ignorance of the troops of Indian warfare, +have uniformly tended to produce the most disastrous defeats. + +"There is not to be found on the page of history, in any country, an +instance of a scattered remnant of a tribe, so few in number, defending +themselves against the assaults of a disciplined and numerous army, with +the same heroism and triumphant results with those of the Seminoles in +resisting the American troops. In every campaign the invaders have been +at least ten to one against the invaded. At no period have the Indians +been able to muster more than 700 or 800 warriors, and it is doubtful +whether they have ever had more than half that number, while the +American army, when in the field, has uniformly amounted to from 6,000 +to 10,000 men." + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 1. Although the Federal Government has set its face against the +Indians making war with each other (or at least pretends so to do), it +would appear by the following notice, that, in their necessity, they +have not adhered to the following resolutions:-- + +_Extract of a Letter, date_:-- + +"Fort Brooke, Florida, June 14. + +"The Cherokees and Choctaws are soon expected in this country, when +there will be a war of extermination and no quarter shown. The affairs +here are just the same as two years ago. The war is no nearer ended. +But we do hope that the offer of ten dollars for each Seminole scalp +will be a great inducement for the Cherokees and Choctaws to cut and +slash among them." + + + +VOLUME THREE, CHAPTER ELEVEN. + +REPLY TO THE EDINBURGH REVIEW. + +The art of reviewing may be compared to French cookery; it has no +medium--it must either be first-rate or it is worth nothing: nay, the +comparison goes much further, as the attempt at either not only spoils +the meat, but half poisons the guests. The fact is, good reviewing is +of the highest order of literature, for a good reviewer ought to be +superior to the party whose writings he reviews. Such men as Southey, +Croker, and Lockhart on the one side, Brougham, Fontblanque, and Rintoul +on the other, will always command respect in their vocations, however +much they may be influenced by political feelings, or however little you +may coincide with them in opinion. But, passing over these, and three +or four more _cordons bleus_, what are reviewers in general? men of a +degree of talent below that of the author whose works they presume to +decide upon; the major portion of whom, having failed as authors, are +possessed with but one feeling in their disappointment, which is to drag +others down to their own debased level. To effect this, you have +malevolence substituted for wit, and high-sounding words for sense; +every paltry advantage is taken that can be derived from an intentional +misrepresentation of your meaning, and (what is the great secret of all) +from unfair quotations of one or two lines, carefully omitting the +context--an act of unpardonable dishonesty towards the author, and but +too often successful in misleading the reader of the Review. By acting +upon this last-mentioned system, there is no book, whatever its merits +may be, which cannot be misrepresented to the public: a work espousing +atheism may be made to appear wholly moral; or, the Holy Scriptures +themselves condemned as licentious and indecent. If such reviewing is +fair, a jury may, upon a similar principle, decide upon a case by the +evidence in favour of the prosecution; and beauty or deformity in +architecture be pronounced upon by the examination of a few bricks taken +out from different portions of a building. + +That, latterly, the public have been more inclined to judge for +themselves, than to pin their faith upon reviews, is certain; +nevertheless, when what is termed a "_slashing article_" upon a popular +work makes its appearance, the public are too apt to receive it without +scrutiny. Satisfied with the general effect, as with that produced in a +theatrical representation, they do not bear in mind that that which has +the appearance of gold, would prove upon examination to be nothing more +than tinsel. + +Were all reviewers to be reviewed by authors as well as all authors by +reviewers, the authors would have the best of it in the _melee_. Again, +were reviewers obliged to put their names to their several articles, +there would be a great difference in their style; but, secure in their +_incognito_ from the disgrace of exposure, they make no scruple to +assert what they well know to be false, and, coward-like, to assail +those who have seldom an opportunity, whatever may be their power, to +defend themselves. Never, perhaps, was there a better proof of the +truth of the foregoing observations than is afforded by the article in +the Edinburgh Review upon the first portion of my work on America; and +as I have some pages to spare, I shall now take the unusual liberty of +reviewing the Reviewer. + +First, let me introduce to the public the writer of the article--Miss +Harriet Martineau. My readers may inquire how I can so positively make +this assertion? I reply that it is owing to my "craft." A person who +has long dealt in pictures will, without hesitation, tell you the name +of the painter of any given work: a shepherd with a flock of three or +four hundred sheep under his charge, will know every one of them +individually, although to people in general, one sheep is but the +counterpart of the others. Thus, there are little varieties of style, +manner, and handling of the pen, which become evident to practised +writers, although they are not always so to readers. But even if these +peculiarities were not sufficient, the manner in which the article is +managed (the remarks of Miss Martineau upon the merits of Miss +Martineau) in my mind establishes to conviction, that the major portion +of the article, if not the whole, has proceeded from her pen. This is a +matter of no consequence, and I only mention it that my readers may +understand why Miss Martineau, who forms so prominent a feature in the +Edinburgh article, will also occasionally appear in mine. My reply, +however, is not addressed to her, but to the Edinburgh Reviewer. + +I have no doubt the Reviewer will most positively deny that Miss +Martineau had any thing to do with the Review of my work: that of +course. With his permission, I will relate a little anecdote. "When +the Royal George went down at Spithead, an old gentleman, who had a son +on board, was bewailing his loss. His friends came to console him. `I +thought,' observed one of them, `that you had received a +letter?'--`Yes,' replied the old gentleman, `but it was from _Jack +himself_.'--`Well, what more would you have?'--`Ah,' replied the old +gentleman, `had it been from the captain, or from one of his messmates, +or, indeed, from anybody else, it would have consoled me; but Jack,--he +is such _an incorrigible liar_, that his _very assertion_ that he is +safe, convinces me that he has gone to the bottom.'" + +Now my opinion of the veracity of the Edinburgh Review may be estimated +by the above anecdote; the very circumstance of its denial would, with +me, be sufficient to establish the fact. But to proceed. + +The Review has pronounced the first portion of my work to be light and +trifling, and full of errors; it asserts that I have been hoaxed by the +Americans; that I am incapable of sound reasoning; cannot estimate human +nature; and, finally, requests as a favour that I will write no more. +Such are the general heads of the Review. + +Now here we have a strange inconsistency, for why should the Edinburgh +Review, if the work be really what he asserts it to be, "light and +trifling," etcetera, waste so much powder and shot upon a tomtit? Why +has he dedicated twenty-seven pages of ponderous verbosity to so light +and trifling a work? How seldom is it that the pages of the Quarterly +or Edinburgh condescend to notice even the very best of light +literature! Do they not, in their majesty, consider it _infra dig_. to +review such works, and have not two or three pages bestowed upon them +been considered as an immense favour on their part, and a high +compliment to the authors? Notwithstanding which, we have here +_twenty-seven pages of virulent attack_ upon my light and trifling work. +Does not the Edinburgh reviewer at once shew that the work is not light +and trifling? does he not contradict his own assertions, by the labour +and space bestowed upon it? nay, more, is it not strange that he should +think it necessary to take the unfair advantage of reviewing a work +before it is half finished, and pounce upon the first portion, with the +hopes of neutralising the effects which he evidently dreads from the +second. + +I will answer the question for him. He indulges in his precipitate and +unmeasured attacks, because he feels that the work is written in a style +that will induce every one to read it; because he feels assured that the +occasional, and apparently careless hits at democracy, are only +preparatory to others more severe, and that these will come out in the +second part, which will be read with as much avidity as the first. He +perceives the drift of the work; he feels that it has been purposely +made amusing, and that it will be more injurious to the cause which the +Edinburgh Review upholds than a more laboured treatise; that those who +would not look at a more serious work will read this, and that the +opinions it contains will be widely disseminated, and impressed without +the readers being aware of it; moreover, that it will descend to a class +of readers who have hitherto been uninformed upon the subject: in short, +he apprehends the greater danger to his cause from the work having, as I +have said, been made amusing, and from its being in appearance, although +not in reality, "light and trifling." + +I candidly acknowledge that the Reviewer is right in his supposition: my +great object has been to do serious injury to the cause of democracy. +To effect this, it was necessary that I should write a book which should +be universally read--not merely by the highly educated portion of the +community, for they are able to judge for themselves; but _read by every +tradesman and mechanic_; pored over even by milliners' girls, and boys +behind the counter, and thumbed to pieces in every petty circulating +library. I wrote the work with this object, and I wrote accordingly. +Light and trifling as it may appear to be, every page of it (as I have +stated) has been the subject of examination and deliberation: it has +given me more trouble than any work I ever wrote; and, my labour having +been so far crowned with success, I trust that I shall have "done the +State some service." [See Note 1.] The review in the Edinburgh will +neither defeat nor obstruct my purpose, as that publication circulates +chiefly among those classes who have already formed their opinions; and +I have this advantage over it, that, as for one that reads the Edinburgh +Review, fifty will read my work, so will fifty read my reply who will +never trouble themselves about the article in the Edinburgh Review. + +And now let us enter a little into detail. The Reviewer finds great +fault with my introduction, as being wholly irrevelant to the Diary +which follows it. I admit, that if it were an introduction to the Diary +alone, there then would be some justice in his remark. But such is not +the case: an introduction is, I believe, generally understood to refer +to the _whole_ of the work, not a portion of it; and now that the work +is complete, I leave it to the public to decide whether the introduction +is suitable or not, as bearing upon the whole. I believe, also, it is +the general custom to place an introduction at the commencement of a +work; I never heard of one being introduced into the middle or at the +end of it. The fault, therefore, of its imputed irrelevancy is not +mine: it is the Reviewer's, who has thought proper to review the work +before it was complete. He quotes me, as saying, "_Captain Marryat's +object was to examine and ascertain what were the effects of a +democratic form of government upon a people which, with all its foreign +admixture, may still be considered as English_;" and then, without +waiting till I have completed my task, he says, that the present work +"has nothing, or next to nothing, to do with such an avowal." Whether +such an assertion has any thing to do with the work now that it is +completed, I leave the public to decide. The Reviewer has no excuse for +this illiberal conduct, for I have said, in my Introduction, "In the +arrangement of this work, I have considered it advisable to present to +the reader first, those portions of my Diary which may be interesting, +and in which are recorded _traits_ and _incidents_ which will _bear +strongly upon the commentaries I shall subsequently make_;" +notwithstanding which the reviewer has the mendacity to assert that, +"not until the last paragraph of the last volume, does he learn for the +first time that the work is not complete." I will be content with +quoting his own words against him--"_An habitual story teller_ prefers +_invention_ to description." + +The next instance of the Reviewer's dishonesty is, his quoting a portion +of a paragraph and rejecting the context. He quotes, "I had not been +three weeks in the country before I decided upon accepting no more +invitations, charily as they were made," and upon this quotation he +founds an argument that, as I did not enter into society, I could of +course have no means of gaining any knowledge of American character or +the American institutions. Now, if the reviewer had had the common +honesty to finish the paragraph, the reason why I refused the +invitations would have been apparent; "because I found that, although +invited, my presence was a restraint upon the company, and every one +_was afraid to speak_." Perhaps the sagacity of the Reviewer will +explain what information I was likely to gain from people who would not +open their mouths. Had he any knowledge of the Americans, he would +admit that they never will venture to give their opinions _in the +presence of each other_; it was not that they were afraid of _me_, but +of each other, as Monsieur de Tocqueville has very truly pointed out in +his work. Moreover, I have now, for the first time, to learn that the +best way of arriving at the truth is to meet people who are on their +guard, and whose object is to deceive. + +There is a malevolent feeling in the assertion, that I have treated +_all_ other previous writers on America with contempt; and here again he +intentionally quotes falsely. My words are "the _majority_ of those who +have preceded me." As nearly as I can reckon, there have been about +fifty works published on America, out of which there are not _ten_ which +deserve attention; and the ample quotations I have made from Monsieur de +Tocqueville, Captain Hamilton, and others, in corroboration of my own +opinions, fully evince the respect I have for their writings. In fact, +the whole article is a tissue of falsehood and misrepresentation, and so +weak that hardly one of its positions is tenable. Can any thing be more +absurd, or more shallow, than to quote the Mississippi scheme and Mr +Law as a proof that the French are, as well as the English and +Americans, a _speculative nation_: one solitary instance of a portion of +the French having, about sixty or seventy years ago, been induced to +embark their capital, is brought forward, while the abject supineness of +the French population of Lower Canada, in juxta-position with the energy +and enterprise of the Americans, has for half a century stared us in the +face. + +The Reviewer has the kindness repeatedly to inform me that I have been +hoaxed by the Americans, and, most unfortunately for himself, he has +brought forward the "Original Draft of the Declaration of Independence" +as a proof of it. That he would be very glad to prove it to be a hoax, +I believe; as it is a sad discovery, and one which the American +democrats should have kept secret. That the Americans did hoax Miss +Martineau, and that they would have hoaxed me if they could, I admit, +but even the Reviewer must acknowledge that they would not _hoax_ +themselves. Now it so happens, that this document, which has not long +been discovered, is in the splendid public library of Philadelphia: it +has been carefully preserved in a double plate-glass frame, so as to be +read on both sides without handling; it is expensively mounted, and +shewn to every visitor as a great curiosity, as it certainly is, the +authenticity of it being undeniable, and acknowledged by the Americans. +The paragraph which was expunged is verbatim as I gave it--a paragraph +which affords more proof, if further proof were necessary, that +Jefferson was one of the most unprincipled men who ever existed. The +Reviewer recommends my perusal of the works of this "_great and good +man_," as Miss Martineau calls him. I suspect that I have read more of +Mr Jefferson and other American authors than ever the Reviewer has; and +I consider the writings of this Father of Democracy, opposed to his +private life, to be a remarkable _type_ of democracy in _theory_ and in +_practice_. To borrow a term from the Reviewer, those writings are +"_brave words_" to proceed from an infidel, who proved his ardent love +of liberty by allowing his own children to be put up to auction at his +death, and wear away their existence in misery and bondage. I cannot +help here observing a _trifling inconsistency_ on the part of the +Reviewer. After lauding the Father of Democracy, and recommending me to +read his works; after sneering at our aristocracy by observing, "that no +_kind_ of virtue that we have heard of can suffer much from the loss of +a _court_ and of an _hereditary nobility_;" after, in short, defending +and upholding democracy in every page, all of a sudden the Reviewer +turns round and says, "_We are no general admirers of democracy_." +Indeed! if not general, you certainly appear to be _particular_ +admirers; and if neither general nor particular, may I inquire what the +Edinburgh Review has been frothing, fizzing, hissing, and bubbling +about, like a tea-kettle in a passion, for these last twenty years? + +Never was there a more convincing proof of the boldness and arrogance +which Reviewers (trusting to the irresponsibility arising from their +concealment) assume, than is afforded by the following passage in the +Edinburgh article:-- + +"_An ardent pursuit of wealth and deep religious feelings go very well +together_." + +It is not for me to reply to the Reviewer in this instance; I must hand +him over to higher authority. I must oppose the everlasting doctrines +of inspiration to the cold, heartless, and arrogant philosophy of an +Edinburgh reviewer. In vain are we again and again forewarned in the +Scriptures against the love of money; in vain has our Saviour denounced +it; in vain have the apostles followed in his steps. Let the Reviewer, +if he ever has looked into the Bible, refer to the epistles to the +Colossians and to the Ephesians. St Paul declares that covetousness is +_idolatry_. Hear also what he sayeth to Timothy:-- + +"But they that _wish to be rich_ fall into temptation and a snare, and +into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and +perdition." "For the _love of money is the root of all evil_." + +Our Divine Master is even more explicit, for he says--"No servant can +serve two masters; for either he will _hate_ the one, and _love_ the +other; or else he will _hold_ to the one, and _despise_ the other. Ye +cannot serve _God_ and _Mammon_." Thus says our Lord--now hear the +Edinburgh Reviewer.--"An ardent _pursuit of wealth_ and _deep religious +feelings_ go very well together." + +Here the Edinburgh Reviewer has placed himself on the horns of a +dilemma. The Holy Writings assert most positively and repeatedly one +thing, while he asserts another. If, therefore, he acknowledge the +Scriptures, he must at the same time acknowledge his own grievous error, +and, I may add, his deep sin: if, on the contrary, he still hold to his +own opinion, hath he not denied his faith, and is he not worse than an +infidel? + +The reviewer sneers at my observation, that "Washington had no power to +control the nature of man." It may be, as he observes, a very _simple_ +remark; but, at all events, it has one advantage over his own, which is, +that it is a very _true_ one. Miss Martineau makes an observation in +her book, which is quite as great a truism as mine; for she also says +that "Human nature is the same everywhere." + +How far I have succeeded in my analysis of human nature it is not for me +to decide; but that it is the same every where I will now venture to +support by something more than _assertion_ on the part of Miss +Martineau. + +When I was at Boston, in company with some of the young ladies, the +conversation turned upon Miss Martineau, with whom they stated that they +had been intimate. Naturally anxious to know more of so celebrated a +personage, I asked many questions. I was told much to interest me, and, +among other little anecdotes, they said that Miss Martineau used to sit +down surrounded by the young ladies, and amuse them with all the +histories of her former loves. She would detail to them "how Jack +sighed and squeezed her hand; how Tom went down on his knees; how Dick +swore and Sam vowed; and how--she was still Miss Martineau." And thus +would she narrate and they listen until the sun went down, and the +firefly danced, while the frogs lifted up their voices in full concert. + +And I said to myself, "Who would have supposed that this Solon in +petticoats would ever have dwelt upon her former days of enthusiasm and +hope, or have cherished the reminiscences of love? How true it is that +_human nature is the same everywhere_." + +Once more:-- + +I was conversing with a lady at New York, who informed me that she had +seen a letter from Miss M, written to a friend of hers, after her return +to England, in which Miss M declared that her door was so besieged with +the carriages of the nobility, that it was quite uncomfortable, and that +she hardly knew what to do. + +Thinks I to myself, I recollect an old story. + +"Oh! Grandmother," cried Tom, running in, out of breath, "there's at +least a thousand cats in our garden."--"No, no, Tom," quickly replied, +the old lady; "not a thousand, Tom."--"Well I'm sure there's five +hundred."--"No, nor five hundred," replied the old lady, not taking her +eyes off her knitting.--"Well, then, grandmother, I'm sure there's +fifty."--"I don't think there _are_ fifty, Tom."--"Well, at all events, +there's _our cat and another_."--"Ah! Tom," replied the old lady, "that +_may_ be." + +I believe that the carriage of Lord Brougham is occasionally to be seen +at the door of Miss Martineau. + +But when I heard this I was pleased, for I said to myself, "So, then, +this champion of democracy, this scorner of rank and title, is flattered +by the carriages of the nobility crowding at her door;" and, again I +said to myself, "_human nature is the same everywhere_." + +But the Reviewer, in his virulence, has not been satisfied with +attacking me; he has thought it necessary to libel the whole profession +to which I have the honour to belong. He has had the folly and +impertinence to make the following remark: "No landsmen can have been on +board of a ship a week, without coming to the conclusion that a +_sensible house dog_ is more like the people he has left at home than +most of his new companions, and that it (the house dog) would be nearly +as _capable_ of solving problems on national character." + +Indeed!! + +Is it possible that the Reviewer should still remain the dupe of such a +vulgar error? That at one time it was the custom to send to sea _the +fool of the family_, is certain, and had the Reviewer flourished in +those days, he would probably have been the one devoted to the service-- +but _tempora mutantur_. Is the Reviewer aware that one-half, and +certainly the most successful half, of English diplomacy, is now carried +on by the admirals and captains, not only in the Mediterranean, but all +over the world. Is he aware that when the Foreign Office wishes to do +its work cheaply and well, it demands a vessel from the Admiralty, which +is made over to that office, and is set down as employed on "particular +service:" that during that service the captain acts from instructions +given by the Foreign Office alone, and has his cabin piled with +voluminous documents; and that, like the unpaid magistracy of England, +we sailors do all the best of the work, and have nothing but our trouble +for our pains. Nay, even the humble individual who pens this +remonstrance was for months on this very service, and, when it was +completed, the Foreign Office expressed to the Admiralty its +satisfaction at his conduct during his short diplomatic career. + +_House dogs_! Hear this, ye public of England! A sensible house dog is +to be preferred to St Vincent, Nelson, Collingwood, Exmouth, and all +those great men who have aided their country as much with their pen as +with their sword; as much by their acuteness and firmness in diplomacy, +as by their courage and conduct in action. + +Now, Mr Reviewer, don't you feel a little ashamed of yourself? Would +you really like to give up your name as the author of this bare-faced +libel? Would you like openly to assert that such is your opinion, and +that you will stand by it? + +No liberal, high-minded man, whatever his politics may have been, has +ever refused to do justice to a service which has been the bulwark of +England. Lord Brougham has lately published a work containing the lives +of celebrated persons in the reign of George the Third. I will just +quote a few passages from his life of Lord St Vincent. + +"The present sketches would be imperfect if Lord St Vincent were passed +over in silence, for he was almost as _distinguished_ among the +_statesmen_, as the _warriors_ of the age. + +"A _statesman_ of profound views and of penetration, hardly _equalled_ +by any other man of his time. + +"But the consummate vigour and wisdom of his proceedings during the +dreadful period of the mutiny, are no less a theme of wonder and of +praise. + +"When the Addington ministry was formed, he was placed at the head of +the Admiralty; and now shone forth in all its lustre that great capacity +for affairs with which he was endowed by nature, and which ample +experience of men, habits of command, and an extended life of deep +reflection, had matured. + +"The _capacity of a statesman_ and the valour of the hero, outshone by +the magnanimous heart which beats only to the measures of generosity and +justice." + +Here, again, the Reviewer is in what the Yankees would call an +"everlasting awkward fix;" for he contradicts Lord Brougham, the patron +and sole supporter of his fast-waning review, without the aid of whose +admirable pen, it would long ago have gone to its proper place. He must +now either admit that he is himself wrong, or that it is Lord Brougham +who is in error. He has but to choose. + +I have but one more remark to make upon the review itself. At the close +of it, the Reviewer observes, that my remarks upon the marine are +interesting and useful. How does he know? Upon his own argument, if we +house dogs are not competent upon shore matters, he must be equally +ignorant of anything connected with our profession; and I therefore +consider it a piece of unpardonable presumption on the part of a _land +lubber_ like him to offer any opinion on the subject. + +The Reviewer, whoever it may be, has proved himself wholly incompetent +to his task; he has attacked, but has yet to learn the art of parrying, +as has been proved by his laying himself so open. His blows have been +stopped, and, without giving, he has received severe punishment. I am +the more surprised at this, as I really considered that there was a +certain tact in the Edinburgh Review, which enabled it to know where to +direct the blow, so as to make it tell; a species of professional +knowledge proper to executioners, reviewers, and cab-drivers, and which +may be summed up in the following axiom: "The great art of flogging is, +to know where to find a bit of _raw_." + +So little have I felt the castigation intended, that I have had some +compunction in administering this discipline to the Reviewer in return. +Surely the _Edinburgh Review_ can put a better head on, when it takes +notice of this second portion of my work? I will give it an anecdote. + +A lady of my acquaintance was blessed with a son, then about three years +old. She was very indulgent, and he was very much spoiled. At last he +became so unmanageable that she felt it was her imperative duty to +correct him. She would as soon have cut off her right arm, but that +would not have mended the matter, nor the child. So one day, when the +young gentleman had been more than usually uproarious, she pulled up his +petticoats and administered what _she_ considered a most severe +infliction. Having so done, with a palpitating heart she sat down to +recover herself, miserable that she had been compelled to punish, but +attempting to console herself with the reflection that she had done her +duty. What then was her surprise to have her reveries interrupted by +the young urchin, who, appearing only to have been _tickled_, came up to +her, and laying down his head on her lap, pulled up his coats, and +cried, "More whipping, Ma; please, more whipping." So weak has been the +wrist, whether it be feminine or not, that has applied the punishment, +that I also feel inclined to exclaim with the child, "More whipping, +(Miss Martineau?) please, more whipping." + +The Reviewer has pronounced that "_no author is cleverer than his +works_." If no author be cleverer than his works, it is equally certain +that _no reviewer is cleverer than his review_. Does the Reviewer +recollect the fable of the jackass who put on the lion's skin? Why did +he not take warning from the fabled folly of his ancestor and _hold his +tongue_? He might still have walked about and have been supposed to be +a Reviewer. + +He asserts that I am not capable of serious reflection: he is mistaken. +I have seldom cut the leaves of the _Edinburgh_, having been satisfied +with looking at its outside, and thinking how very appropriate its +colours of _blue and yellow_ were to the opinions which it advocates. +But at times I have been more serious. I have communed with myself as +it lay before me, and I have mentally exclaimed:--Here is a work written +by men whom the Almighty has endowed with talents, and who will, if +there be truth in Scripture, have to answer for the talents committed to +their keeping,--yet these men, like madmen, throw about fire, and cry it +is only in sport; they uphold doctrines as pernicious as, unfortunately, +they are popular; disseminate error under the most specious guise; wage +war against the happiness of their fellow-creatures, unhinging society, +breeding discontent, waving the banner of infidelity and rebellion, and +inviting to anarchy and bloodshed. To such prostitution of talent to +this work of the devil, they are stimulated by their pride and their +desire of gain! And I have surmised that hereafter they _will have_ +their reward; but, remembering that we are forbid to judge, I have +checked my thoughts as they have turned upon what might hereafter be the +portion below of--an Edinburgh Reviewer. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 1. A very acute reviewer has observed of my first portion, that +there always appeared as if there was something _left behind and not +told_. He was right; I have entered into every subject just as deeply +as I dared to venture, without wearying the class of readers for whom, +although not avowedly, yet in reality, the work has chiefly been +written. The second portion will therefore be found almost as light and +trifling as the first. + + + +VOLUME THREE, CHAPTER TWELVE. + +DISCOURSE ON THE EVIDENCES OF THE AMERICAN INDIANS BEING THE DESCENDANTS +OF THE LOST TRIBES OF ISRAEL. + +Those who study the Scriptures, either as a matter of duty or pleasure-- +who seek in them divine revelations, or search for the records of +history, cannot be ignorant of the fact that the Jewish nation, at an +early period, was divided into twelve tribes, and occupied their ancient +heritage under geographical divisions, during the most splendid periods +under the kingdoms of Judah and of Israel. + +Their early history--the rise, progress, and downfall of the nation--the +proud distinction of being the chosen people--their laws, government, +and wars--their sovereigns, judges, and temples--their sufferings, +dispersions, and the various prophecies concerning this ancient and +extraordinary people, cannot be unknown to you all. For their history +is the foundation of religion, their vicissitudes the result of +prophecy, their restoration the fulfilment of that great promise made to +the Patriarch Abraham, almost I may say in the infancy of nature. + +It is also known to you that the Jewish nation was finally overpowered, +and nine and a half of the tribes were carried captives to Samaria; two +and a half, to wit: Judah, Benjamin, and half Menassah, remained in +Judea or in the transjordani cities. + +The question before us for consideration is, what has become of the +missing or dispersed tribes--to what quarter of the world did they +direct their footsteps, and what are the evidences of their existence at +this day? + +An earthquake may shake and overturn the foundations of a city--the +avalanche may overwhelm the hamlet--and the crater of a volcano may pour +its lava over fertile plains and populous villages--but a whole nation +cannot vanish from the sight of the world, without leaving some traces +of its existence, some marks of habits and customs. + +It is a singular fact that history is exceedingly confused, or rather, I +may say, _dark_, respecting the ultimate dispersion of the tribes among +the cities of the Medes. The last notice we have of them is from the +second Book of Esdras, which runs thus: + +"Whereas thou sawest another peaceable multitude: these are the ten +tribes which were carried away prisoners out of their own land in the +time of Osea, whom Salmanazar, king of Assyria, led away captive, and he +carried them over the waters, so they came unto another land. + +"They took this counsel among themselves that they would leave the +multitude of the _heathen_, and go into a further country wherein _never +mankind dwelt_, that they might there keep their statutes, which they +never kept in their own land (Assyria), and there was a great way to go, +namely, a year and a half." + +Esdras, however, has been deemed apocryphal. Much has been said +concerning the doubtful character of that writer. He wrote in the first +century of the Christian church, and Tertullian, St Ereneus, Clemens +Alexandrius, Pico di Mirandola, and many learned and pious men, had +great confidence in his writings. Part of them have been adopted by +Protestants, and all considered orthodox by Catholics. With all his old +Jewish attachments to the prophecies and traditions, Esdras was +nevertheless a convert to Christianity. He was not an inspired writer +or a prophet, although he assumed to be one, and followed the course as +well as the manner of Daniel. + +The Book of Esdras, however, is of great antiquity, and as an historical +record is doubtless entitled to great respect. + +The precise number which left Babylon and other cities, and took to the +desert, cannot be accurately known; but they were exceedingly numerous, +for the edict of Ahasherus, which decreed their destruction, embraced +127 provinces, and reached from Ethiopia to the Indies. Benjamin of +Tudela, who travelled in the eleventh century through Persia, mentions +that in some of the provinces, at the time of that decree, the Jews +occupied forty cities, two hundred boroughs, one hundred castles, which +contained 300,000 people. I incline to the opinion that 300,000 of the +tribes left Persia. + +There is no doubt that, in the march from the Euphrates to the +north-east coast of Asia, many of the tribes hesitated in pursuing the +journey: some remained in Tartary, many went into China. Alverez states +in his History of China, that the Jews had been living in that kingdom +for more than six hundred years. He might with great probability have +said 1,600 years. He speaks of their being very numerous in some of the +provinces, and having synagogues in many of the great cities, especially +in that of Hinan and in its metropolis Kai-tong-fu, where he represents +them to have a magnificent place of worship, and a repository, the Holy +Volume, adorned with richly embroidered curtains, in which they preserve +an ancient Hebrew manuscript roll. + +They know but little of the Mosaic law, and only repeat the names of +David, Abraham, Isaiah, and Jacob. In a Hebrew letter written by the +Jews of Cochin-China to their brethren at Amsterdam, they give as the +date of their retiring into India, the period when the Romans conquered +the Holy Land. + +It is clearly evident, therefore, that the tribes, in their progress to +a new and undiscovered country, left many of their numbers in China and +Tartary, and finally reached the Straits of Behring, where no difficulty +prevented their crossing to the north-west coast of America, a distance +less than thirty miles, interspersed with the Copper Islands, probably +frozen over; and reaching our continent, spread themselves in the course +of two thousand years to Cape Horn, the more hardy keeping to the north, +to Labrador, Hudson's Bay, and Greenland; the more cultivated fixing +their residence in the beautiful climate and rich possessions of Central +America, Mexico, and Peru. + +But it may here be asked, could the scattered remnants of Israel have +had the courage to penetrate through unknown regions, and encounter the +hardships and privations of that inhospitable country? Could they have +had the fortitude, the decision, the power, to venture on a dreary +pilgrimage of eighteen months, the time mentioned by Esdras as the +period of their journey? Could they not? What obstacles had hitherto +impeded their progress, that had broken down their energies, or impaired +their constancy and fidelity? + +They knew that their brethren had severed the chains of Egyptian +bondage; had crossed in safety the arm of the Red Sea; had sojourned for +years in the wilderness; had encamped near Mount Sinai, and had +possessed themselves of the Holy Land. + +They remembered the kingdoms of Judah and Israel in all their glory; +they had witnessed the erection and destruction of their Temple; they +had fought and conquered with the Medes, the Assyrians, the Persians, +the Greeks, and the Romans. They had encountered sufferings upon +sufferings unmoved; had bowed their necks submissively to the yoke. + +Kings, conquerors, nations, Christians, Mahometans, and Heathens, all +had united in the design of destroying the nation; but they never +despaired--they knew they were the elect and chosen of the Lord. The +oath, that He never would abandon his people, had been fulfilled 3,500 +years, and, therefore, with the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by +night, they abandoned the Heathens and the Persian territory, passed the +confines of Tartary and China, and, no doubt, through great sufferings, +reached the north-eastern coast of Asia, and came in sight of that +continent, wherein, as they had reason to believe, "mankind never before +had dwelt." + +On the discovery of America by Columbus, and the discoveries subsequent +to his time, various tribes of Indians or savages were found to inhabit +this our continent, whose origin was unknown. + +It is, perhaps, difficult for the human mind to decide on the character +and condition of an extreme savage state. We can readily believe that +children abandoned in infancy in a savage country, and surviving this +abandonment, to grow up in a state of nature, living on herbs and +fruits, and sustaining existence as other wild animals, would be stupid, +without language, without intellect, and with no greater instinct than +that which governs the brute creation. We can conceive nothing reduced +to a more savage condition; with cannibal propensities, an ungovernable +ferocity, or a timid apprehension, there can be but a link that +separates them from other classes of animal creation. So with herds of +men in a savage state, like herds of buffalo or wild horses on our +prairies, they are kept together by sounds common amongst themselves, +and are utterly unacquainted with the landmarks of civilisation. + +This, however, was not the condition of the American Indians when first +discovered. They were a singular race of men, with enlarged views of +life, religion, courage, constancy, humanity, policy, eloquence, love of +their families; with a proud and gallant bearing, fierce in war, and, +like the ancients, relentless in victory. Their hospitality might be +quoted as examples among the most liberal of the present day. These +were not wild men--these were a different class from those found on the +Sandwich and Feegee Islands. The red men of America, bearing as they do +the strongest marks of Asiatic origin, have, for more than two thousand +years (and divided as they are in upwards of three hundred different +nations) been remarkable for their intellectual superiority, their +bravery in war, their good faith in peace, and all the simplicity and +virtues of their patriarchal fathers, until civilisation, as it is +called, had rendered them familiar with all the vices which distinguish +the present era, without being able to enforce any of the virtues which +are the boast of our present enlightened times. + +It is, however, in the religious belief and ceremonies of the Indians +that I propose showing some of the evidences of their being, as it is +believed, the descendants of the dispersed tribes. The opinion is +founded-- + +1st. In their belief in one God. + +2nd. In the computation of time by their ceremonies of the new moon. + +3rd. In their divisions of the year in four seasons, answering to the +Jewish festivals of the feast of flowers, the day of atonement, the +feast of the tabernacle, and other religious holidays. + +4th. In the erection of a temple after the manner of our temple, and +having an ark of the covenant, and also the erection of altars. + +5th. By the divisions of the nation into tribes, with a chief, or grand +sachem at their head. + +6th. By their laws of sacrifices, ablutions, marriages; ceremonies in +war and peace, the prohibitions of eating certain things, fully carrying +out the Mosaic institutions;--by their traditions, history, character, +appearance, affinity of their language to the Hebrew, and finally, by +that everlasting covenant of heirship exhibited in a perpetual +transmission of its seal in their flesh. + +If I shall be able to satisfy your doubts and curiosity on these points, +you will certainly rejoice with me in discovering that the dispersed of +the chosen people are not the lost ones--that the promises held out to +them have been thus far realised, and that all the prophecies relative +to their future destination will in due time be strictly fulfilled. + +It has been the general impression, as before mentioned, that great +resemblance existed between some of the religious rites of the Jews, and +the peculiar ceremonies of the Indians; and the belief in one Great +Spirit has tended to strengthen the impression; yet this mere +resemblance only extended so far as to admit of the belief, that they +possibly may have descended from the dispersed tribes, or may have been +of Tartar or Malay origin. + +It was, however, a vague and unsatisfactory suspicion, which, having no +tangible evidence, has been rejected, or thrown aside as a mere +supposition. All the missionaries and travellers among the Indian +tribes since the discovery of America--Adair, Heckwelder, Charliveux, +Mckenzie, Bartram, Beltrami, Smith, Penn, Mrs Simon, who has written a +very interesting work on this subject, etcetera, have expressed opinions +in favour of their being of Jewish origin--the difficulty, however, +under which they all laboured was simply this; they were familiar with +the religious rites, ceremonies, traditions, and belief of the Indians, +but they were not sufficiently conversant with the Jewish rites and +ceremonies to show the analogy. It is precisely this link in the chain +of evidence that I propose to supply. + +It has been said that the Indians, believing in one great Spirit and +Fountain of Life, like the Jews, does not prove their descent from the +missing tribes, because in a savage state their very ignorance and +superstition lead them to confide in the works of some divine superior +being. But savages are apt to be idolaters, and personate the deity by +some carved figure or image to whom they pay their adoration, and not, +like the Indians, having a clear and definite idea of one great Ruler of +the universe, one great Spirit, whose attributes are as well known to +them as to us. + +But if the continued unerring worship of one God like the Jews prove +nothing, where did they acquire the same Hebrew name and appellation of +that deity? If tradition had not handed down to them the ineffable name +as also preserved by the Jews, how did they acquire it in a wilderness +where the word of the Lord was never known? + +Adair, in whom I repose great confidence, and who resided _forty_ years +among them, in his work published in 1775, says, "The ancient heathens +worshipped a plurality of gods, but these Indians pay their devoirs to +_Lo-ak_ (Light) _Ish-ta-koola-aba_, distinctly Hebrew, which means the +great supreme beneficent holy Spirit of Fire who resides above." + +"They are," says Adair, "utter strangers to all the gestures practised +by the Pagans in their religious rites--they kiss no idols, nor would +they kiss their hands in tokens of reverence or willing obedience." + +"These tribes," says Adair, "so far from being Atheists, use the great +and dreadful name of God, which describes his divine essence, and by +which he manifested himself to Moses! and are firmly persuaded that they +now live under the immediate government of the Almighty Ruler. Their +appellative for God is _Isto-hoolo_, the Hebrew of _Esh-Eshys_, from +_Ishto, Great_, but they have another appellative, which with them, as +with us, is the mysterious essential name of God, which they never +mention in common speech, and only when performing their most sacred +religious rites, and then they most solemnly divide it in syllables, +with intermediate words, so as not to pronounce the ineffable name at +once." + +Thus, in their sacred dances at their feast of the first-fruits, they +sing _Aleluyah_ and _Mesheha_, from the Hebrew of _Masheach_, Messiah, +the anointed one. + +"Yo mesheha", "_He_ mesheha", "_Wah_ meshehah," thus making the +_Alleluyah_, the Meshiah, the Yehovah. + +Can we, for a moment, believe that these sacred well-known Hebrew words +found their way by _accident_ to the wilderness? Or can it be doubted +that, like the fire of the burning bush, which never is extinguished, +those words of religious adoration are the sacred relics of tradition, +handed down to them from generation to generation? "In the same +manner," says Adair, "they sing on certain other religious celebrations, +_ailyo ailyo_, which is the Hebrew _el_ for God, by his attribute of +omnipotence." They likewise sing _hewah, hewah_, He chyra, the +"immortal soul." Those words sung at their religious rejoicings are +never uttered at any other time, which must have occasioned the loss of +their divine hymns. They on some occasions sing _Shilu yo_--_Shilu +he_--_Shilu wah_. The three terminations make up in their order the +four lettered divine name in Hebrew. _Shilu_ is evidently _Shaleach_, +_Shiloth_, the messenger, "the peace maker." + +The number of Hebrew words used in their religious services is +incredible; thus, in chiding anyone for levity during a solemn worship, +they say, _Che hakeet Kana_, "you resemble those reproved in Canaan," +and, to convey the idea of criminality, they say _Hackset Canaha_, "the +sinners of Canaan." They call lightning _eloah_, and the rumbling of +thunder _rowah_, from the Hebrew _ruach_, "spirit." + +Like the Israelites, they divide the year into four seasons, with the +same festivals; they calculate by moons, and celebrate, as the Jews do, +the _berachah halebana_, the blessing for the new moon. + +The Indians have their prophets and high-priests, the same as the Jews +had; not hastily selected, but chosen with caution from the most wise +and discreet, and they ordain their high-priests by anointing and have a +most holy place in their sanctuaries, like the Holy of Holies in the +temple. The archimagus, or high-priest, wears, in resemblance to the +ancient breast-plate, a white conch-shell ornamented so as to resemble +the precious stones on the _Urim_, and instead of the golden plate worn +by the Levite on his forehead, bearing the inscription _Kodish +Ladonaye_, the Indian binds his brows with a wreath of swan's feathers, +and wears a tuft of white feathers, which he calls _Yatira_. + +The Indians have their ark, which they invariably carry with them to +battle, well guarded. In speaking of the Indian places of refuge, Adair +says, "I observed that if a captive taken, by the reputed power of the +holy things of their ark, should be able to make his escape into one of +these towns, or even into the winter house of the _Archima gun_, he is +delivered from the fiery torture, otherwise inevitable. This, when +taken in connection with the many other faint images of Mosaic customs, +seems to point at the mercy-seat of the sanctuary. It is also worthy of +notice, that they never place the ark on the ground. On hilly ground, +where large stones are plenty, they rest it thereon, but on level +prairies, upon short logs, where they also seat themselves. And when we +consider," continues Adair, "in what a surprising manner the Indians +copy after the ceremonial law of the Hebrews, and their strict purity in +the war camps; that _opae_, "the leader," obliges all during the first +campaign which they have made with the beloved ark, to stand every day, +they are not engaged in warfare, from sunrise to sunset, and after a +fatiguing day's march and scanty allowance, to drink warm water +embittered with rattle-snake root very plentifully, in order to +purification; that they have also as strong a faith in the power of +their ark as ever the Israelites had in theirs, ascribing the success of +one party to their stricter adherence to the law, than the other, we +have strong reason to conclude them of Hebrew origin. The Indians have +an old tradition, that when they left their own native land, they +brought with them a _sanctified rod_, by order of an oracle, which they +fixed every evening in the ground, and were to remove from place to +place on the continent, towards the sun rising, till it budded in one +night's time. I have seen other Indians," says the same writer, "who +related the same thing." Instead of the miraculous direction to which +they limit it, in their western banishment, it appears more likely that +they refer to the ancient circumstance of the rod of Aaron, which, in +order to check the murmur of those who conspired against him, was, in +his favour, made to bud blossoms and yield almonds at one and the same +time. It is a well attested fact, and is here corroborated by Adair, +that in taking female captives, the Indians have often protected them, +but never despoiled them of honour. + +This statement of Adair, in relation to the ark, is corroborated by +several travellers. Major Long, a more recent traveller, in his +expedition to the Rocky Mountains, says, in relation to the ark, "It is +placed upon a stand, and is never suffered to touch the earth. No +person dare open all the coverings. Tradition informs them that +curiosity induced three different persons to examine the mysterious +shell, who were immediately punished for their profanation by instant +blindness." This is the Jewish punishment pronounced for looking on the +holy of holies--even now for looking on the descendants of the high +priest who alone have the privilege of blessing the people. + +The most sacred fast day uniformly kept by the Jews is the day of +atonement, usually falling in the month of September or early in +October. This is deemed in every part of the world a most solemn fast, +and great preparations are made for its celebration. It is in the +nature of expiation of sin, of full confession, penitence, and prayer; +and is preceded by ablution and preparation of morning prayer for some +time. + +It is a very sacred fast, which lasts from sunset on one day until the +new moon is seen on the succeeding evening. It is not in the nature of +a gloomy desponding penance, but rather a day of solemn rejoicing, of +hope and confidence, and is respected by those most indifferent to all +other festivals throughout the year. + +Precisely such a fast, with similar motives, and nearly at the same +period of the year, is kept by the Indian natives generally. + +Adair, after stating the strict manner in which the Indians observe the +revolutions of the moon, and describing the feast of the harvest, and +the first offerings of the fruits, gives a long account of the +preparations in putting their temple in proper order for the great day +of atonement, which he fixes at the time when the corn is full-eared and +ripe, generally in the latter end of September. He then proceeds: + +"Now one of the waiters proclaims with a loud voice, for all the +warriors and beloved men whom the purity of their law admits, to come +and enter the beloved square and observe the fast. He also exhorts the +women and children, with those who have not been initiated in war, to +keep apart according to the law. + +"Four sentinels are now placed one at each corner of the holy square, to +keep out every living creature as impure, except the religious order, +and the warriors who are not known to have violated the law of the first +fruit-offering, and that of marriage, since the last year's expiation. +They observe the fast till the rising of the second sun; and be they +ever so hungry in the sacred interval, the healthy warriors deem the +duty so awful, and disobedience so inexpressibly vicious, that no +temptation would induce them to violate it. They at the same time drink +plentifully of a decoction of the button snake root, in order to vomit +and dense their sinful bodies." + +"In the general fast, the children and men of weak constitutions, are +allowed to eat, as soon as they are certain that the sun has begun to +decline from his meridian altitude. + +"Now every thing is hushed. Nothing but silence all around. The great +beloved man, and his beloved waiter, rising up with a reverend carriage, +steady countenance and composed behaviour, go into the beloved place, or +holiest, to bring them out the beloved fire. The former takes a piece +of dry poplar, willow, or white oak, and having cut a hole, but not so +deep as to reach through it; he then sharpens another piece, and placing +that in the hole, and both between his knees, he drills it briskly for +several minutes, till it begins to smoke--or by rubbing two pieces +together for a quarter of an hour, he collects by friction the hidden +fire, which they all consider as proceeding from the holy spirit of +fire. + +"The great beloved man, or high priest, addresses the warriors and +women; giving all the particular, positive injunctions and negative +precepts they yet retain of the ancient law. He uses very sharp +language to the women. He then addresses the whole multitude. He +enumerates the crimes they have committed, great and small, and bids +them look at the _holy fire_ which has forgiven them. He presses on his +audience, by the great motives of temporal good and the fear of temporal +evil, the necessity of a careful observance of the ancient law, assuring +them that the _holy fire_ will enable their prophets, the rain makers, +to procure them plentiful harvests, and give their war leaders victory +over their enemies. He then orders some of the fire to be laid down +outside of the holy ground, for all the houses of the various associated +towns, which sometimes lay several miles apart." + +Mr Bartram, who visited the southern Indians in 1778, gives an account +of the same feast, but in another nation. He says, "that the feast of +first-fruits is the principal festival. This seems to end the old and +begin the new ecclesiastical year. It commences when their new crops +are arrived to maturity. This is their most solemn celebration." + +With respect to the sacrifices, we have had none since the destruction +of the temple, but it was customary among the Jews, in the olden time, +to sacrifice daily a part of a lamb. This ceremony is strictly observed +by the Indians. The hunter, when leaving his wigwam for the chase, puts +up a prayer that the great spirit will aid his endeavours to procure +food for his wife and children, and when he returns with the red deer, +whatever may be the cravings of hunger, he allows none to taste until he +has cut part of the flesh, which he throws in the fire as a sacrifice, +accompanied with prayer. All travellers speak of this practice among +the Indians, so clearly Hebrew in its origin. + +The bathings, anointings, ablutions, in the coldest weather, are never +neglected by the Indians, and, like the Jews of old, they anoint +themselves with bear's oil. + +The Mosaic prohibition of eating unclean animals, and their enumeration, +are known to you all. It would be supposed that, amidst the uncertainty +of an Indian life, all kinds of food would be equally acceptable. Not +so: for, in strict conformity with the Mosaic law, they abstain from +eating the blood of any animal, they abominate swine flesh, they do not +eat fish without scales, the eel, the turtle or sea-cow: and they deem +many animals and birds to be impure. These facts are noticed by all +writers, and particularly by Edwards in his History of the West-Indies. +The latter able historian, in noticing the close analogy between the +religious rites of the Jews and Indians, says, "that the striking +conformity of the prejudices and customs of the Caribbee Indians, to the +practices of the Jews, has not escaped the notice of such historians as +Gamella, Da Tertre, and others;" and Edwards also states, that the +Indians on the Oroonoke, punished their women caught in adultery, by +stoning them to death before the assembly of the people. + +Among the Mosaical laws is the obligation of one brother to marry his +brother's widow, if he die without issue. Major Long says, "if the +deceased has left a brother, he takes the widow to his lodge after a +proper interval and considers her as his wife." + +This is also confirmed by Charliveux. + +It would occupy a greater space of time than I can afford, to trace a +similitude between all the Indian rites and religious ceremonies, and +those of the Jewish nation. In their births, in their separation after +the births of their children, in their daily prayers and sacrifices, in +their festivals, in their burials, in the employment of mourners, and in +their general belief, I see a close analogy and intimate connection, +with all the ceremonies and laws which are observed by the Jewish +people; making a due allowance for what has been lost, and +misunderstood, in the course of upwards of 2,000 years. + +A general belief exists among most travellers, that the Indians are the +descendants of the missing tribes. + +Menassah Ten Israel wrote his celebrated treatise to prove this fact, on +the discovery of America. + +William Penn, who always acted righteously to wards the Indians, and had +never suspected that they had descended from the missing tribes, says, +in a letter to his friends in England, "I found them with like +countenances to the Hebrew race. I consider these people under a dark +night, yet they believe in God and immortality, without the aid of +metaphysics. They reckon by moons, they offer their first ripe fruits, +they have a kind of feast of tabernacles, they are said to lay their +altars with twelve stones, they mourn a year, and observe the Mosaic law +with regard to separation." + +Emanuel de Moraez, in his history of Brazil, declares that America has +been peopled by the Carthaginians and Israelites, and as to the +Israelites he says, nothing is wanting but circumcision, to constitute a +perfect resemblance between them and the Brazilians. + +The Reverend Mr Beatty, a very worthy missionary, says, "I have often +before hinted, that I have taken great pains to search into the usages +and customs of the Indians, in order to see what ground there was far +supposing them to be part of the ten tribes, and I must own, to my no +small surprise, that a number of their customs appear so much to +resemble those of the Jews, that it is a great question with me, whether +we can expect to find among the ten tribes, wherever they are at this +day, all things considered more of the footsteps of their ancestors than +among the different Indian tribes." + +Monsieur de Guignes, an old French historian, in speaking of the +discoveries made in America, before the time of Columbus, says, "These +researches, which of themselves give us great insight into the origin of +the Americans, lead to the determination of the route of the colonies +sent to the continent;" and he proceeds to give reasons for his belief, +that the greater part of them passed thither "by the most eastern +extremities of Asia, where the two continents are only separated by a +narrow strait, easy to cross." + +Beltrami, in his discovery of the sources of the Mississippi, after a +full and interesting account of the Indians, says, "Different authors +have brought them hither from all parts of the world. I was at first +induced to join with those who derived them from the Hebrews. It seemed +impossible for me to doubt that, by so doing, I should be building on an +impregnable foundation." He then proceeds to prove their Asiatic origin +by many interesting facts. + +The late Earl of Crawford and Lindsay, published his travels in America, +in 1801. "It is curious and pleasing," says he, "in reading the travels +of those who have been among these people, to find how their customs +comport with the laws of Moses;" and after describing at length their +religious rites and ceremonies, his lordship emphatically observes, "It +is a sound truth, that the Indians _are_ descended from the ten tribes; +and time and investigation will more and more enforce its +acknowledgment." + +It is, however, in Mexico and Peru, that we must look for the most +enlightened and the most wealthy of the Indian race. On the +representations of Montesini, who travelled in South America, the +learned Rabbi Menassah Ten Israel, as I have said before, wrote his +famous work _La Esperanza de Israel_, which he published in Amsterdam, +in _1650_, endeavouring with great zeal to prove, that the Indians in +North and South America were the descendants of the missing tribes; and +Cromwell, to whom the work was dedicated, was greatly interested in the +evidences produced on that occasion. Montesini, travelling through the +province of _Quif_ found that his Indian guide was a Jew, and pursuing +his inquiries, discovered that immense numbers lived behind the +Cordilleras. Francis, the name of his guide, admitted to Montesini, +that his God was called _Adonal_, and that he acknowledged Abraham, +Isaac, and Jacob, as his ancestors, and they claimed to have descended +from the tribe of Reuben. + +Acosta contends that they have a tradition relative to the deluge; that +they preserve the rite of circumcision; they offer the first-fruits, and +in Peru they eat the Paschal Lamb; they believe in the resurrection, and +clothe the dead with the richest equipage. Lopez de Gomara says, that +some of them, and not all, are circumcised. Acosta continues, "the +Mexicans point out the various stations as their ancestors advanced into +their country, and it is precisely the route which they must have held, +had they been emigrants from Asia." + +Menassah Ten Israel declares, that the Indians of Mexico had a +tradition, that their magnificent place of worship had been built by a +people who wore their beards, and were more ancient than their Incas. +In the Universal History of 1748, it is affirmed, that the Mexicans and +other American Indians rend their garments, in order the more +effectually to express grief--the Hebrew custom at this day. + +Lopez de Gomara states, that the Mexicans offer sacrifices of the +first-fruits, and, when Cortez approached Mexico, Montezuma shut himself +up for the space of eight days in fasting and prayer. Emanuel de Moreas +and Acosta say, that the Brazilians marry in their own tribes and +families; and Escorbatus affirms, that he frequently heard the southern +tribes repeat the sacred notes _Ha-le-lu-yah_. Malvenda states, that +several tomb-stones were found in St Michael's, with ancient Hebrew +characters. + +When the Spaniards invaded Mexico, the Cholula was considered a holy +city by the natives, with magnificent temples, in which the High Priest +Quetza-colt preached to man, and would permit no other offerings to the +Master of Life than the first-fruits of the harvest. "We know by our +traditions," said the venerable Prince Montezuma to the Spanish General +Cortez, "that we who inhabit this country are not the natives but +strangers who come from a great distance." + +Don Alonzo Erecella, in his history of Chili, says, the Araucanians +acknowledge one Supreme Being, and believe in the immortality of the +soul; and the Abbe Clavigero declares, that they have a tradition of the +great deluge. The laws and ceremonies of the Peruvians and Mexicans +have, no doubt, been corrupted in the course of many ages, both in their +sacrifices and worship. + +Their great and magnificent temple, evidently in imitation of that +erected by Solomon, was founded by Mango Capac, or rather by the Inca +Vupanque, who endowed it with great wealth. Clavagero and De Vega, in +their very interesting account of this temple say, "what we called the +altar was on the east side of the temple. There were many doors to the +temple, all of which were plated with gold, and the four walls the whole +way round were crowned with a rich golden garland, more than an ell in +width. Round the temple were five square pavilions, whose tops were in +the form of pyramids. The fifth was lined entirely with gold, and was +for the use of the Royal High-Priest of sacrifices, and in which all the +deliberations concerning the temple were held. Some of the doors led to +the schools where the Incas listen to the debates of the philosophers, +sometimes themselves explaining the laws and ordinances." + +Mexico and Central America abound in curiosities, exemplifying the fact +of the Asiatic origin of the inhabitants; and it is not many years ago, +that the ruins of a whole city, with a wall nearly seven miles in +circumference, with castles, palaces, and temples, evidently of Hebrew +or Phoenician architecture, was found on the river Palenque. The +thirty-fifth number of the Foreign Quarterly Review contains an +interesting account of those antiquities. + +The ruins of this city of Guatemala, in Central America, as described by +Del Rio in 1782, when taken in conjunction with the extraordinary, I may +say, wonderful antiquities spread over the entire surface of that +country, awaken recollections in the specimens of architecture which +carry us back to the early pages of history, and prove beyond the shadow +of doubt, that we who imagined ourselves to be the natives of a new +world, but recently discovered, inhabit a continent which rivalled the +splendour of Egypt and Syria, and was peopled by a powerful and highly +cultivated nation from the old world. When we speak of what is called +Mexican antiquities, we must not confound the rude labours of modern +times, with the splendid perfections which distinguished the efforts of +those who reared the Egyptian pyramids, and built the temples of Thebes +and Memphis. It is not Mexican antiquities, but the antiquities of +Tultecan; and in addition to the ruins of Palenque, on this _our_ +continent, there are pyramids larger than those of Sachara in Egypt, at +Cholula, Otamba, Paxaca, Mitlan, Tlascola, and on the mountains of +Tescoca, together with hieroglyphics, planispheres and zodiacs, a +symbolic and Photenic alphabet; papyrus, metopes, triglyphs, and temples +and buildings of immense grandeur; military roads, aqueducts, viaducts, +posting stations and distances; bridges of great grandeur and massive +character, all presenting the most positive evidences of the existence +of a powerful enterprising nation, which must have flourished two +thousand years before the Spanish conquest. Take, for example, the +description of the temple at Palenque, which Lord Kingsborough, in his +travels, not only declares _was_ built by the Jews, and is a copy of +Solomon's temple, but which, no doubt, is precisely the model of the +temple described by Ezekiel. Travellers speak of it in the following +terms: + +"It may be appropriately called an ecclesiastical city, rather than a +temple. Within its vast precincts there appear to be contained (as +indeed was, in some measure, the case with the area that embraced the +various buildings of Solomon's temple) a pyramidal tower, various +sanctuaries, sepulchres; a small and a large quadrangular court, one +surrounded, as we have said, by cloisters; subterranean initiatory +galleries beneath; oracles, courts of justice, high places, and cells or +dwellings for the various orders of priests. The whole combination of +the buildings is encircled by a quadrilateral pilastered portico, +embracing a quadrangular area, and resting on a terraced platform. This +platform exhibits the same architectural model, which we have described +as characterising the single temples. It is composed of three graduated +stuccoed terraces, sloping inwards, at an angle of about seventy +degrees, in the form of a truncated pyramid. Four central staircases +(one facing each of the cardinal points) ascend these terraces in the +middle of each lateral facade of the quadrangle; and four gates fronting +the same cardinal points, conduct from the top of each staircase into +the body of the building, or into the great court. The great entrance, +through a pilastered gateway, fronts the east, and descends by a second +flight of steps into the cloistered court. On the various pilasters of +the upper terrace are the metopes, with singular sculptures. On +descending the second staircase into the cloistered court, on one side, +appears the triple pyramidal tower, which may be inferred, from the +curious distribution of little cells which surround the central room of +each story, to have been employed as a place of royal or private +sepulture. It would be pronounced a striking and tasteful structure, +according to any architectural rule. On another side of the same +cloistered court is the detached temple of the chief god, to whom the +whole religious building appears to have been devoted, who appears to +have been the great and only god of the nations who worshipped in this +temple. Beneath the cloisters, entered by staircases from above, are +what we believe to be the initiatory galleries. These opened into +rooms, one of which has a stone couch in it, and others are +distinguished by unintelligible apparatus carved in stone. The only +symbol described as found within these sacred haunts is, however, +perfectly Asiatic, and perfectly intelligible; we mean two contending +serpents. The remnant of an sitar, or high place, occupies the centre +of the cloistered quadrangle. The rest of the edifice is taken up with +courts, palaces, detached temples, open divans, baths, and streets of +priestly cells, or houses, in a greater or less degree of dilapidation." + +... + +"It is perfectly clear, from the few records of their religious rites +which have come down to us, and which are principally derived from the +extraordinary rolls of American papyrus, [formed of prepared fibres of +the Maguery] on which their beautiful hieroglyphical system is preserved +(there is one of considerable extent in the Dresden Museum), that they +were as simple, perhaps we may add with propriety, as innocent. Not +only does it appear that they had no human sacrifices, but no animal +sacrifices. Flowers and fruits were the only offerings made to the +presiding divinity of their temples." + +But who were the Tultequans and Azeteques, the founders of this empire +in America; who built the pyramids of Cholula and city of Palenque? +_Not the Jews_. + +Here we have a most singular diversion from the path on which we +originally set out--another extraordinary discovery, marked, too, by +events no less extraordinary than amazing. + +They were the Canaanites, the scriptural Titans, who, according to the +sacred historian, built with walls and towers reaching to the heavens. +The builders of the Tower of Babel, the family of the shepherd kings who +conquered Egypt, and built the pyramids, and were driven from Syria by +Joshua. The men who finally founded Tyre and Carthage, navigated round +the continent of Africa, and sailed in their small craft across the +Atlantic, and landed in the Gulf of Mexico. + +The _Phoenicians_ were the founders of Palenque, Mitlan, Papantla. +Quemada, Cholula, Chila, and Antiquerra. + +When I studied the history of these people, on the ruins of Carthage, it +was said by antiquarians present, that the Carthaginians had a colony at +a considerable distance, which they secretly maintained; and when I was +at Tangiers, the Mauritania Tangitania of the ancients, I was shown the +spot where the pillar was erected, and was standing at the time of Ibnu, +the Moorish historian, on which was inscribed, in the Phoenician +language, "We are the Canaanites who fled from Joshua, the son of Nun, +that notorious robber." From that spot, then ... the pillars of +Hercules, now known as the Straits of Gibraltar, they crossed to our +continent, and founded a great empire of the Ophite worship, with Syrian +and Egyptian symbols. Now, mark the issue. Fifteen hundred years after +the expulsion of the Canaanites by Joshua, the ten tribes pass over the +Straits of Behring to the continent of America, and poured down upon +these people like the Goths and Vandals. The descendants of Joshua a +_second_ time fell on the Canaanites on another continent, knowing them +well as such, and burn their temples, and destroy their gigantic towers +and cities. + +When Columbus discovered America, he found an innocent people in a +demi-savage state, with Jewish traditions, and the only reference to +early times was a vague impression that the ruins they saw were built by +giants, and a people called wandering masons. + +I have the most settled conviction of this theory. The magnificent +ruins which are to be seen at this day in Mexico and Central America, +were the works of the Phoenicians, and the irruption of the wandering +tribes from the north-west coast of America swept that nation away, and +have ever since maintained possession of this country, until white men +have thinned their ranks, and gradually encroached upon, and usurped a +great part of their territory. + +The only opposition made to the general declaration of travellers, that +the Indians are of Jewish descent, is, that they are red men, and are +beardless. Now, take the olive complexion of the Jews in Syria, pass +the nation over the Euphrates into a warmer climate, let them mingle +with Tartars and Chinese, and after several generations reach this +continent, their complexion would undergo some shades of hue and colour; +and as to beards, they cannot grow while they are continually plucked, +as is the Indian custom. The colour proves nothing against their +origin. Take our fellow-citizens on our eastern borders, and compare +their florid colour with the sickly hue and sallow complexions of those +living on the southern shores, in the palmettoes and everglades, and we +shall see a marked distinction, and yet they are members of the same +family. + +Du Pratz, speaking of the traditions of the Natches tribe, relates that +in answer to the question, "Whence come you?" their reply was, "All that +we know is that our fathers, to come hither, followed the sun, and came +from the place where he rises. They were long in their journey; they +were nearly perishing; and were brought to this wilderness of the sun +setting without seeking it." Souard says of the Indians of Surinam, on +the authority of Nasci, a learned Jew residing there, that the dialect +of those Indians common in Guinana is soft, agreeable, and regular, and +their substantives are Hebrew. "Their language, in the roots, idioms, +and particular construction, has the genius of the Hebrew language, as +their orations have the bold, laconic, and figurative style of the +Hebrew prophets." + +The Reverend Mr Chapman says of the Osages, "it is their universal +practice to salute the dawn of every morning with their devotion." A +custom always prevailing among pious Jews. + +Malvenda and Acosta both affirm, that the natives had a tradition of a +jubilee, according to the jubilee of Israel. + +Dr Beatty, in speaking of the festival of the first-fruits by the +Indians west of the Ohio, says, "at this ceremony _twelve_ of their old +men divide a deer into twelve parts, and these men hold up the venison +and fruits with their faces to the east, acknowledging the bounty of God +to them. A singular and close imitation of the ceremonies and +sacrifices of the temple." The doctor further says, "they have another +feast which looks like the Passover." + +Sir Alexander Mackenzie, in his tour to the north-west coast, says, that +"the Chepewyan Indians have a tradition among them, that they originally +came from another country, inhabited by very wicked people, and had +traversed a great lake which was in one place narrow and shallow, and +full of islands, where they had suffered great misery; and a further +tradition has it that nine parts of their nation out of ten passed over +the river. The Mexicans affirm, that seven tribes or houses passed from +the east to the wilderness." + +Beltrami says, that the skeletons of the mammoths found in Kentucky and +Missouri, and other parts of America, have been ascertained to resemble +precisely those which have been found in Siberia and the eastern part of +Asia, showing the facility of communication between the two coasts. And +here it may be well to state a fact, which is strongly corroborative of +the view we have taken, not only of the possibility of passing from one +continent to the other, but of the actual and probably constant +communication between them. Charlevoix, says, he knew a Catholic +priest, called Father Grilion, in Canada, who was recalled to Paris +after his mission had been ended, and who was subsequently appointed to +a similar mission in China. One day in Tartary, he suddenly encountered +a Huron woman with whom he had been well acquainted in Canada, and who +informed him that she had been captured, and passed from nation to +nation, until she reached the north-west coast, when she crossed into +Tartary. + +Since delivering the present lecture, I have received a letter from Mr +Catlin, the celebrated painter, who for the last five years has been +residing among the Indians. Mr Catlin says: + +"The first thing that strikes the traveller in an Indian country as +evidence of their being of Jewish origin, (and it is certainly a very +forcible one,) is the striking resemblance which they generally bear in +contour, and expression of head, to those people. In their modes and +customs, there are many striking resemblances, and perhaps as proof, +they go much further than mere personal resemblance. Amongst those +customs, I shall mention several that have attracted my attention, +though probably they have never before been used for the same purpose; +and others I may name, which are familiar _to you_, and which it may not +be amiss to mention, as I have seen them practised while in their +country. + +"The universal custom among them of burying their dead with feet to the +east, I could conceive to have no other meaning or object than a journey +to the east after death--like the Jews who expected to travel under +ground after death to the land of Canaan. On inquiry, I found that +though they were all going towards the `setting sun,' during their +life-times, they expected to travel to the east after death. + +"Amongst the tribes, the women are not allowed to enter the medicine +lodge; as they were not allowed in Judea to enter the court of Israel. +Like the Jewish custom also, they are not allowed to mingle in worship +with the men; and at meals, are always separated. + +"In their modes, fastings, feastings, or sacrifices, they have also a +most striking resemblance. Amongst all the western tribes, who have not +been persuaded from those forms by white men, they are still found +scrupulously and religiously adhering to, and practising them to the +letter. The very many times and modes of sacrificing, remind us +forcibly of the customs of the Israelites; and the one in particular, +which has been seen amongst several of the tribes, though I did not +witness it myself, wherein, like the manner of the `peace-offering,' the +firstling and that of the male is offered, and `_no bone is to be +broken_.' Such circumstances afford the strongest kind of proofs. All +the tribes have a great feast at the dawn of spring, and at those feasts +their various sacrifices are made. At the approach of the season of +green corn, a feast of the first ears are sacrificed with great +solemnity, followed by feasting and dancing: so at the ripening of +different kinds of fruit. The first and best piece that is cut from a +buffalo is always _Deo Dante_. + +"Over the medicine lodge, and also over the lodges of the most +distinguished chiefs, are hung on high poles large quantities of fine +cloth, white buffalo robes, or other most costly articles which can be +procured, there to decay, an offering to the Great Spirit. + +"The bunch of willow boughs with which each dancer is supplied, in the +Mandan religious ceremonies, the sacrificing and other forms therein +observed, certainly render it somewhat analogous to the Israelitish +feast of tabernacles. + +"The universal practice of `_solus cam solo_' of the women, ablution and +anointing with bear's grease, is strikingly similar to the Jewish +custom. Every family has a small lodge expressly for this purpose, and +when any one of the family are ready for it, it is erected within a few +rods, and meat is carried to her, where she dwells, and cooks and eats +by herself, an object of superstitious dread to every person in the +village. + +"The absence of every species of idolatry amongst the North American +Indians, affords also a striking proof of the ceremonial law, and stamps +them at once, in one respect, at all events, differing from all other +savage tribes of which we have any knowledge." + +What are, I may ask, the characters of these people? On the discovery +of America by Columbus, nearly 2,000 years after the dispersion of the +Hebrew tribes, the whole continent is found peopled, not with a race of +wild men, of cannibals, of savages, but with a race of intellectual, +moral, innocent persons, divided into many hundred nations, and spread +over 8,000 miles of territory. "I swear to your majesties," said +Columbus, writing to Ferdinand and Isabella, "that there is not a better +people in the world than these; more affectionate or mild. They love +their neighbours as themselves; their language is the sweetest, the +softest and the most cheerful, for they always speak smilingly." Major +Long says, "they are the genuine sons of nature; they have all the +virtues nature can give, without the vices of civilisation. They are +artless, fearless, and live in constant exercise of moral and Christian +virtues, though they know it not." + +Charlevoix gives his testimony in their behalf. "They manifest," says +he, "much stability in their engagements, patience in affliction, and +submissive acquiescence in what they apprehend the will of Providence. +In all this they display a nobleness of soul and constancy of mind, at +which _we_ rarely arrive, with all our philosophy and religion." + +Du Pratz contends that they have a greater degree of prudence, +faithfulness, and generosity than those who would be offended with a +comparison with them. "No people," says he, "are more hospitable and +free." + +Bartram, who lived many years in the Creek nation, says, "Joy, +contentment, love and friendship without guile or affectation, seem +inherent in them, or predominant in their vital principle, for it leaves +them but with their breath. They are," says he, "just, honest, liberal +and hospitable to strangers considerate and affectionate to their wives, +children, and relations; frugal and persevering, charitable and +forbearing." + +_Who are they_? Men do not grow up like stones or trees or rocks; they +are not found in herds like wild animals. God, that made man in his own +image, gave to the Indians an origin and parentage, like unto the rest +of the great family of mankind, the work of his own almighty hand. From +whom, then, did our red brethren, the rightful owners of this continent, +descend? + +There seems to be no difference of opinion that they are of Asiatic +origin, and not indigenous to our soil. Nearly all writers and +historians concur on this point--they _are_ Asiatic--they crossed to the +continent of America from Asia; but who are they, and from whom have +they descended? + +Eldad, who wrote learnedly of the twelve tribes, in 1300, contends, that +the tribe of Dan went into Ethiopia, and pretends that the tribes of +Naphtali, Gad, and Asher, followed. That they had a king of their own, +and could muster 120,000 horse and 100,000 foot. In relation to part of +these three tribes, there might have been some truth in it, for Tigleth +Pelieser did compel them to go into Ethiopia. Issachar, he contends, +remained with the Medes and Persians. Zebulon extended from the +mountains of Pharan to the Euphrates. Reuben dwelt behind Pharan, and +spoke Arabic. Ephraim and half Manasseh were thrown on the southern +coast. Benjamin of Tudela places Dan, Asher, Naphtali, and Zebulon on +the banks of the river Gozan. In the midst of all these contradictory +and vague statements, two opinions prevail among Jews and Christians, in +early and late periods. One is, that the ten tribes went into Tartary, +where they remained; the other, that from Tartary they penetrated into +America. + +Manasseh Ten Israel, the most learned of the nation, declares that they +passed into America. Lescarbot believes that the Indians are the +posterity of Ham, expelled by Joshua, and who passed out of the +Mediterranean, and were driven by storms to the American coast. Grotius +contends, that the inhabitants of the new world were originally from +Greenland; and while Basnage frankly admits, that manifest tracts of +Judaism are to be found in America, he contends, that the tribes could +not have overcome the warlike Scythians and penetrated to this +continent, and that they remained in Halak and Heber, and in the cities +of the Medes. + +Truth, no doubt, lies between these opinions. Many of the tribes passed +into Egypt and Ethiopia, many remained in Persia and Tartary; all did +not make for the north-west coast, nor was it necessary that all should +do so. There were degrees of piety and condition then as now. Restore +Jerusalem tomorrow, and all the Jews will not return there. Rabbi Akiba +contends, that all the noble families remained in Persia. A number, a +considerable number, no doubt, impressed with a solemn belief that if +they remained in Persia they would in time become idolators, and lose +all the landmarks of their ancient faith, resolved, like those who went +out of Egypt, to remain no longer in bondage, and, as Esdrass says, they +departed for a country "wherein mankind never before had dwelt"--and the +resolution was perfectly feasible. It was a thickly populated country, +and by keeping on the borders of China, they would, within the time +prescribed, namely, eighteen months, have reached our continent. At +this day there is a constant intercourse between the continents, and a +trip to the Rocky Mountains, once so terrifying, is now a mere summer's +journey. + +If the Indians of America are not the descendants of the missing tribes, +again I ask, from whom _are_ they descended? From the Egyptians? +Wherein, in their belief, is there the least resemblance to the worship +of Isis and Osiris, or the Hieroglyphics or historical reminiscences of +that very ancient people? Are they a part of the fierce Scythians? +Their warlike propensities would prove them to be so; but where among +those barbarians do we discover the belief in one Great Spirit, together +with the softer virtues, the purity and talents of the Indians? Are +they of the Tartar race? Their complexion, "the shadowed livery of the +burning sun," might be offered in evidence; they have not the flat head, +the angular and twinkling eye, nor the diminutive figure of the Chinese +or Tartars. + +The Indians have distinct Jewish features, and neither in mind, manners, +nor religion, bear any affinity to the Tartar race. I have endeavoured +to show this by their traditions, by their religion, by their +ceremonies, which retain so much of the ancient worship. But there is +one proof more, which, in my mind, removes all doubt. Sir Alexander +MacKenzie, in his journal of a tour to the north-west continent of +America, declares from his own observation, that the Chippewa Indians +practise circumcision, which fact is corroborated by several other +travellers amongst the various tribes. + +It will scarcely be necessary for me to refer you to the many prophetic +warnings relative to the sins, the denunciations, the promises, the +dispersion and redemption of the Jewish people, which we find throughout +the Bible. With that good book you all are or should be familiar--it is +a delightful book, view it in any manner you please. Let the unbeliever +sneer and the philosopher doubt, it is certain that the most important +events predicted by the prophets _have_ come to pass, giving an +assurance which is stripped of all doubt, that what remains to be +fulfilled, _will_ be fulfilled. In what direction are we to look for +the missing tribes according to the prophets? From Jeremiah we learn +that they are to come from a country north and west from Judea. From +Isaiah, "it is a country far from Judea," and answering also "from the +ends of the earth." + +In Zachariah we are told, it must be in the western regions, or the +country of the going down of the sun; and according to the historian, +Esdras, it must be a land wherein mankind never before had dwelt, and, +of course, free from the residence of the heathen. + +Our prophet Isaiah has a noble reference to the dispersed tribes and +their redemption, which may be here appropriately quoted. I use his +language, the Hebrew, which from its peculiar associations should be +always interesting to you. + +And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand +the _second_ time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be +left from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and +from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the +sea. + +And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the +outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah, from the +four corners of the earth. + +"And there shall be a highway for the remnant of his people, which shall +be left from Assyria, like as it was to Israel, in the day that he came +up out of the land of Egypt." + +May I not with propriety refer, among other evidences, to the cruel +persecutions which have uniformly been practised towards the Indians of +this continent, not unlike those which the chosen people have suffered +for the last eighteen centuries? + +"What makes you so melancholy?" said General Knox to the chief of an +Indian deputation, that he was entertaining in this city, at the close +of the revolutionary war. "I'll tell you, brother," said the aged +chief; "I have been looking at your beautiful city--the great water full +of ships, the fine country, and see how prosperous you all are. But, +then, I could not help thinking that this fine country _was ours_. Our +ancestors lived here. They enjoyed it as their own in peace. _It was +the gift of the Great Spirit to them and their children_. At last, +white men came in a great canoe. They only asked to let them tie it to +a tree, lest the water should carry it away. We consented. They then +said some of their people were sick, and they asked permission to land +them, and put them under the shade of the trees. The ice then came, and +they could not go away. They then begged a piece of land to build +wigwams for the winter. We granted it to them. They then asked for +corn to keep them from starving. We furnished it out of our own scanty +supply. They promised to go away when the ice melted. When this +happened, they, instead of going, pointed to the big guns round the +wigwams, and said, `we shall stay here.' Afterwards came more: they +brought intoxicating drinks, of which the Indians became fond. They +persuaded them to sell their land, and, finally, have driven us back, +from time to time, to the wilderness, far from the water, the fish, and +the oysters. They have scared away our game--my people are wasting +away. We live in the want of all things, while you are enjoying +abundance in our fine and beautiful country. This makes me sorry, +brother, and I cannot help it." + +These persecutions and repeated acts of cruelty and injustice appear to +have no termination--the work of destruction, commenced with the +Narragansetts, will extend to the Ceminoles, and gradually to the blue +waters of the Pacific. Look even now at the contest maintained by a +handful of Indians in the everglades of Florida. Do they war against +unequal numbers for a crown--for a part of that immense surplus which +overflows from the coffers of a country which was once their own? No-- +they fight for the privilege of dying where the bones of their ancestors +lie buried: and yet we, Christians as we call ourselves, deny them that +boon, and drive the lords of the soil into the den of the otter. + +In referring to the splendid specimens of Indian oratory, where, I would +ask, can you find such wisdom, such lofty and pure eloquence, among the +Chinese and Tartars, even at this day? + +The Indians, like the Hebrews, speak in parables. Of their dialects, +there is no doubt that the Algonquins and Huron are the parents of five +hundred Indian tongues--they are copious, rich, regular, forcible, and +comprehensive; and although here and there strong Hebrew analogies may +be found, yet it is reasonable to suppose, that the Indian languages are +a compound of all those tongues belonging to the various Asiatic nations +through which they passed during their pilgrimage. + +Firmly as I believe the American Indian to have been descended from the +tribes of Israel, and that our continent is full of the most +extraordinary vestiges of antiquity, there is one point, a religious as +well as an historical point, in which you may possibly continue to +doubt, amidst almost convincing evidences. + +If these are the remnants of the nine and a half tribes which were +carried into Assyria, and if we are to believe in all the promises of +the restoration, and the fulfilment of the prophecies, respecting the +final advent of the Jewish nation, what is to become of these our red +brethren, whom we are driving before us so rapidly, that a century more +will find them lingering on the borders of the Pacific Ocean? + +Possibly the restoration may be near enough to include even a portion of +those interesting people. Our learned Rabbis have always deemed it +sinful to compute the period of the restoration; they believe that when +the sins of the nation were atoned for, the miracle of their redemption +would be manifested. My faith does not rest wholly in miracles-- +Providence disposes of events, human agency must carry them out. That +benign and supreme power which the children of Israel had never +forsaken, has protected the chosen people amidst the most appalling +dangers, has saved them from the uplifted sword of the Egyptians, the +Assyrians, the Medes, the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans, and +while the most powerful nations of antiquity have crumbled to pieces, we +have been preserved, united, and unbroken, the same now as we were in +the days of the patriarchs--brought from darkness to light, from the +early and rude periods of learning to the bright reality of +civilisation, of arts, of education and of science. + +The Jewish people must now do something for themselves; they must move +onward to the accomplishment of that great event long foretold--long +promised--long expected; and when they _do_ move, that mighty power +which has for thousands of years rebuked the proscription and +intolerance shown to the Jews, by a benign protection of the _whole_ +nation, will still cover them with his invincible standard. + +My belief is, that Syria will revert to the Jewish nation by _purchase_, +and that the facility exhibited in the accumulation of wealth, has been +a providential and peculiar gift to enable them, at a proper time, to +re-occupy their ancient possessions by the purse--string instead of the +sword. + +We live in a remarkable age, and political events are producing +extraordinary changes among the nations of the earth. + +Russia, with its gigantic power, continues to press hard on Turkey. The +Pacha of Egypt, taking advantage of the improvements and inventions of +men of genius, is extending his territory and influence to the straits +of Babelmandel on the Red Sea, and to the borders of the Russian empire; +and the combined force of Russia, Turkey, Persia, and Egypt, seriously +threaten the safety of British possessions in the East Indies. An +immediate and balancing power is required to check this thirst of +conquest and territorial possession, and to keep in check the advances +of Russia in Turkey and Persia, and the ambition and love of conquest of +Egypt. This can be done by restoring Syria to its rightful owners, not +by revolution or blood, but as I have said, by the purchase of that +territory from the Pacha of Egypt, for a sum of money too tempting in +its amount for him to refuse, in the present reduced state of his +coffers. Twelve or thirteen millions of dollars have been spoken of in +reference to the cession of that interesting territory, a sum of no +consideration to the Jews, for the good-will and peaceable possession of +a land, which to them is above all price. Under the co-operation and +protection of England and France, this re-occupation of Syria within its +old territorial limits is at once reasonable and practicable. + +By opening the ports of Damascus, Tripoli, Joppa, Acre, etcetera, the +whole of the commerce of Turkey, Egypt, and the Mediterranean will be in +the hands of those, who, even now in part, control the commerce of +Europe. From the Danube, the Dneister, the Ukraine, Wallachia, and +Moldavia, the best of agriculturists would revive the former fertility +of Palestine. Manufacturers from Germany and Holland; an army of +experience and bravery from France and Italy; ingenuity, intelligence, +activity, energy, and enterprise from all parts of the world, would, +under a just, a tolerant, and a liberal government, present a formidable +barrier to the encroachments of surrounding powers, and be a bulwark to +the interests of England and France, as well as the rising liberties of +Greece. + +Once again unfurl the standard of Judah on Mount Zion, the four corners +of the earth will give up the chosen people as the sea will give up its +dead, at the sound of the last trumpet. Let the cry be `Jerusalem,' as +it was in the days of the Saracen and the lion-hearted Richard of +England, and the rags and wretchedness which have for eighteen centuries +enveloped the persons of the Jews, crushed as they were by persecution +and injustice, will fall to the earth; and they will stand forth. The +richest, the most powerful, the most intelligent nation on the face of +the globe, with incalculable wealth, and holding in pledge the crowns +and sceptres of kings. Placed in possession of their ancient heritage +by and with the consent and co-operation of their Christian brethren, +establishing a government of peace and good-will on earth, it may then +be said, behold the fulfilment of prediction and prophecy: behold the +chosen and favoured people of Almighty God, who, in defence of his unity +and omnipotence, have been the outcast and proscribed of all nations, +and who, for thousands of years, have patiently endured the severest of +human sufferings, in the hope of that great advent of which they never +have despaired;--and then, when taking their rank once more among the +nations of the earth, with the good wishes and affectionate regards of +the great family of mankind, they may by their tolerance, their good +faith, their charity, and enlarged liberal views, merit what has been +said in their behalf by inspired writers, "Blessed are they who bless +Israel." + +THE END. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Diary in America, Series Two, by +Frederick Marryat (AKA Captain Marryat) + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DIARY IN AMERICA, SERIES TWO *** + +***** This file should be named 23138.txt or 23138.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/3/1/3/23138/ + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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