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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2546f82 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #50161 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50161) diff --git a/old/50161-0.txt b/old/50161-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index e272301..0000000 --- a/old/50161-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,14545 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Charles Sumner; his complete works, volume -15 (of 20), by Charles Sumner - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Charles Sumner; his complete works, volume 15 (of 20) - -Author: Charles Sumner - -Editor: George Frisbie Hoar - -Release Date: October 8, 2015 [EBook #50161] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHARLES SUMNER: COMPLETE WORKS, 15 *** - - - - -Produced by Mark C. Orton and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - [Illustration: A. W. Elson & Co. Boston: WILLIAM PITT FESSENDEN] - - _Statesman Edition_ _VOL. XV_ - - Charles Sumner - - HIS COMPLETE WORKS - - With Introduction - BY - HON. GEORGE FRISBIE HOAR - - [Illustration] - - BOSTON - LEE AND SHEPARD - MCM - - COPYRIGHT, 1875 AND 1877, - BY - FRANCIS V. BALCH, EXECUTOR. - - COPYRIGHT, 1900, - BY - LEE AND SHEPARD. - - Statesman Edition. - LIMITED TO ONE THOUSAND COPIES. - OF WHICH THIS IS - No. 259 - - Norwood Press: - NORWOOD, MASS., U.S.A. - - - - -CONTENTS OF VOLUME XV. - - - PAGE - - THE CESSION OF RUSSIAN AMERICA TO THE UNITED STATES. Speech - in the Senate, on the Ratification of the Treaty between the - United States and Russia, April 9, 1867 1 - - PRECAUTION AGAINST THE PRESIDENT. Remarks in the Senate, on a - Resolution asking for Copies of Opinions with regard to the - Tenure-of-Office Law and Appointments during the Recess of - Congress, April 11, 1867 170 - - FINISH OUR WORK BEFORE ADJOURNMENT. Remarks in the Senate, on a - Motion to adjourn without Day, April 11 and 12, 1867 172 - - MEDIATION BETWEEN CONTENDING PARTIES IN MEXICO. Resolution in - the Senate, proposing the Good Offices of the United States, - April 20, 1867 174 - - EQUAL SUFFRAGE AT ONCE BY ACT OF CONGRESS RATHER THAN - CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Letter to the New York Independent, - April 20, 1867 176 - - CELEBRATION AT ARLINGTON, ON ASSUMING ITS NEW NAME. Speech at a - Dinner in a Tent, June 17, 1867 181 - - POWERS OF THE TWO HOUSES OF CONGRESS IN THE ABSENCE OF A - QUORUM. Protest in the Senate, at its Opening, July 3, 1867 185 - - HOMESTEADS FOR FREEDMEN. Resolution in the Senate, July 3, 1867 188 - - LIMITATION OF THE BUSINESS OF THE SENATE. OBLIGATIONS OF SENATE - CAUCUSES. Speeches in the Senate, July 3, 5, and 10, 1867 189 - - RECONSTRUCTION ONCE MORE. PUBLIC SCHOOLS; OFFICERS AND SENATORS - WITHOUT DISTINCTION OF COLOR. Speeches in the Senate, on the - Third Reconstruction Bill, July 11 and 13, 1867 217 - - SUFFRAGE WITHOUT DISTINCTION OF COLOR THROUGHOUT THE UNITED - STATES BY ACT OF CONGRESS. Remarks in the Senate, on a Bill to - enforce Several Provisions of the Constitution by securing the - Elective Franchise to Colored Citizens, July 12, 1867 229 - - OPENING OF OFFICES TO COLORED PERSONS IN THE DISTRICT OF - COLUMBIA. Remarks in the Senate, on a Bill for the further - Security of Equal Rights in the District of Columbia, - July 16, 1867 234 - - NATURALIZATION WITHOUT DISTINCTION OF RACE OR COLOR. Remarks - in the Senate, on a Bill to strike out the Word “White” in the - Naturalization Laws, July 19, 1867 238 - - THE PRESIDENT MUST BE WATCHED BY CONGRESS, OR REMOVED. Speech - in the Senate, on the Resolution of Adjournment, July 19, 1867 240 - - SYMPATHY WITH CRETE, AND AN APPEAL TO THE TURKISH GOVERNMENT. - Joint Resolutions in the Senate, July 19, 1867, and July - 21, 1868 246 - - PRIVILEGES OF DEBATE IN THE SENATE ON OFFICERS LIABLE TO - IMPEACHMENT. Resolutions in the Senate, July 20, 1867 249 - - PROPHETIC VOICES CONCERNING AMERICA. A Monograph 251 - - - - -THE CESSION OF RUSSIAN AMERICA TO THE UNITED STATES. - -SPEECH IN THE SENATE, ON THE RATIFICATION OF THE TREATY BETWEEN THE -UNITED STATES AND RUSSIA, APRIL 9, 1867. - - - Thirteen governments founded on the natural authority of the - people alone, without a pretence of miracle or mystery, and - _which are destined to spread over the northern part of that - whole quarter of the globe_, are a great point gained in favor - of the rights of mankind.--JOHN ADAMS, _Preface to his Defence - of the American Constitutions_, dated Grosvenor Square, London, - January 1, 1787: Works, Vol. IV. p. 293. - - * * * * * - - Barbarous and stupid Xerxes, how vain was all thy toil to - cover the Hellespont with a floating bridge! Thus rather - wise and prudent princes join Asia to Europe; they join and - fasten nations together, not with boards or planks or surging - brigandines, not with inanimate and insensible bonds, but - by the ties of legitimate love, chaste nuptials, and the - infallible gage of progeny.--PLUTARCH, _Morals_, ed. Goodwin, - Vol. I. p. 482. - - * * * * * - - Late in the evening of Friday, March 29, 1867, Mr. Sumner, - on reaching home, found this note from Mr. Seward awaiting - him: “Can you come to my house this evening? I have a matter - of public business in regard to which it is desirable that I - should confer with you at once.” Without delay he hurried to - the house of the Secretary of State, only to find that the - latter had left for the Department. His son, the Assistant - Secretary, was at home, and he was soon joined by Mr. de - Stoeckl, the Russian Minister. From the two Mr. Sumner learned - for the first time that a treaty was about to be signed for - the cession of Russian America to the United States. With a - map in his hand, the Minister, who had just returned from - St. Petersburg, explained the proposed boundary, according - to verbal instructions from the Archduke Constantine. After - a brief conversation, when Mr. Sumner inquired and listened - without expressing any opinion, they left together, the - Minister on his way to the Department, where the treaty was - copying. The clock was striking midnight as they parted, the - Minister saying with interest, “You will not fail us.” The - treaty was signed about four o’clock in the morning of March - 30th, being the last day of the current session of Congress, - and on the same day transmitted to the Senate, and referred to - the Committee on Foreign Relations. - - April 1st, the Senate was convened in Executive session by the - proclamation of the President of the United States, and the - Committee proceeded to the consideration of the treaty. The - Committee at the time was Messrs. Sumner (Chairman), Fessenden, - of Maine, Cameron, of Pennsylvania, Harlan, of Iowa, Morton, of - Indiana, Patterson, of New Hampshire, and Reverdy Johnson, of - Maryland. Carefully and anxiously they considered the question, - and meanwhile it was discussed outside. Among friendly - influences was a strong pressure from Hon. Thaddeus Stevens, - the acknowledged leader of the other House, who, though without - constitutional voice on the ratification of a treaty, could - not restrain his earnest testimony. Mr. Sumner was controlled - less by desire for more territory than by a sense of the amity - of Russia, manifested especially during our recent troubles, - and by an unwillingness to miss the opportunity of dismissing - another European sovereign from our continent, predestined, - as he believed, to become the broad, undivided home of the - American people; and these he developed in his remarks before - the Senate. - - April 8th, the treaty was reported by Mr. Sumner without - amendment, and with the recommendation that the Senate advise - and consent thereto. The next day it was considered, when Mr. - Sumner spoke on the negotiation, its origin, and the character - of the ceded possessions. A motion by Mr. Fessenden to postpone - its further consideration was voted down,--Yeas 12, Nays 29. - After further debate, the final question of ratification was - put and carried on the same day by a vote of Yeas 37, Nays - 2,--the Nays being Mr. Fessenden, and Mr. Morrill, of Vermont. - The ratifications were exchanged June 20th, and the same day - the treaty was proclaimed. - - The debate was in Executive session, and no reporters were - present. Senators interested in the question invited Mr. Sumner - to write out his remarks and give them to the public. For some - time he hesitated, but, taking advantage of the vacation, he - applied himself to the work, following precisely in order and - subdivision the notes of a single page from which he spoke. - - * * * * * - - The speech was noticed at home and abroad. At home, the Boston - _Journal_, which published it at length, remarked:-- - - “This speech, it will be remembered, coming from the - Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and abounding - in a mass of pertinent information not otherwise accessible - to Senators, exerted a most marked, if not decisive, effect - in favor of the ratification of the treaty. Since then, - the rumors of Mr. Sumner’s exhaustive treatment of the - subject, together with the increasing popular interest in - our new territory, have stimulated a general desire for - the publication of the speech, which we are now enabled - to supply. As might be expected, the speech is a monument - of comprehensive research, and of skill in the collection - and arrangement of facts. It probably comprises about - all the information that is extant concerning our new - Pacific possessions, and will prove equally interesting - to the student of history, the politician, and the man of - business.” - - A Russian translation, by Mr. Buynitzky, appeared at St. - Petersburg, with an introduction, whose complimentary character - is manifest in its opening:-- - - “Senator Charles Sumner, of Massachusetts, appears, since - the election of Lincoln, as one of the most eloquent and - conspicuous representatives of the Republican party. His - name stands in the first rank of the zealous propagators of - Abolitionism, and all his political activity is directed - toward one object,--the completion of the glorious act of - enfranchisement of five millions of citizens by a series of - laws calculated to secure to freedmen the actual possession - of civil and political rights. As Chairman of the Senate - Committee upon Foreign Relations, Mr. Sumner attentively - watches the march of affairs in Europe generally; but, in - the course of the present decade, his particular attention - was attracted by the reforms which took place in Russia. - The emancipation of the peasants in our country was viewed - with the liveliest sympathy by the American statesman, and - this sympathy expressed itself eloquently in his speeches, - delivered on various occasions, as well in Congress as in - the State conventions of Massachusetts.” - - A French writer, M. Cochin, whose work on Slavery is an - important contribution to the literature of Emancipation, in a - later work thus characterizes this speech:-- - - “All that is known on Russian America has just been - presented in a speech, abundant, erudite, eloquent, poetic, - pronounced before the Congress of the United States by the - great orator, Charles Sumner.”[1] - - On the appearance of the speech, May 24th, Professor Baird, the - accomplished naturalist of the Smithsonian Institution, wrote, - expressing the hope that some Boston or New York publisher - would reprint what he called the “Essay” in a “book-form,” - adding: “It deserves some more permanent dress than that of a - speech from the _Globe_ office.” This is done for the first - time in the present publication. - - * * * * * - - These few notices, taken from many, are enough to show the - contemporary reception of the speech. - - -SPEECH. - -MR. PRESIDENT,--You have just listened to the reading of the treaty -by which Russia cedes to the United States all her possessions on the -North American continent and the adjacent islands in consideration of -$7,200,000 to be paid by the United States. On the one side is the -cession of a vast country, with its jurisdiction and resources of all -kinds; on the other side is the purchase-money. Such is the transaction -on its face. - - -BOUNDARIES AND CONFIGURATION. - -In endeavoring to estimate its character, I am glad to begin with what -is clear and beyond question. I refer to the boundaries fixed by the -treaty. Commencing at the parallel of 54° 40´ north latitude, so famous -in our history, the line ascends Portland Canal to the mountains, which -it follows on their summits to the point of intersection with the -meridian of 141° west longitude, which it ascends to the Frozen Ocean, -or, if you please, to the north pole. This is the eastern boundary, -separating the region from the British possessions, and it is borrowed -from the treaty between Russia and Great Britain in 1825, establishing -the relations between these two powers on this continent. It is seen -that this boundary is old; the rest is new. Starting from the Frozen -Ocean, the western boundary descends Behring Strait, midway between -the two islands of Krusenstern and Ratmanoff, to the parallel of 65° -30´, just below where the continents of America and Asia approach each -other the nearest; and from this point it proceeds in a course nearly -southwest through Behring Strait, midway between the island of St. -Lawrence and Cape Chukotski, to the meridian of 172° west longitude, -and thence, in a southwesterly direction, traversing Behring Sea, -midway between the island of Attoo on the east and Copper Island on the -west, to the meridian of 193° west longitude, leaving the prolonged -group of the Aleutian Islands in the possessions transferred to the -United States, and making the western boundary of our country the -dividing line which separates Asia from America. - -Look at the map and observe the configuration of this extensive region, -whose estimated area is more than five hundred and seventy thousand -square miles. I speak by authority of our own Coast Survey. Including -the Sitkan Archipelago at the south, it takes a margin of the main-land -fronting on the ocean thirty miles broad and five hundred miles long to -Mount St. Elias, the highest peak of the continent, when it turns with -an elbow to the west, and along Behring Strait northerly, then rounding -to the east along the Frozen Ocean. Here are upwards of four thousand -statute miles of coast, indented by capacious bays and commodious -harbors without number, embracing the peninsula of Alaska, one of the -most remarkable in the world, twenty-five miles in breadth and three -hundred miles in length; piled with mountains, many volcanic and some -still smoking; penetrated by navigable rivers, one of which is among -the largest of the world; studded with islands standing like sentinels -on the coast, and flanked by that narrow Aleutian range which, -starting from Alaska, stretches far away to Kamtchatka, as if America -were extending a friendly hand to Asia. This is the most general -aspect. There are details specially disclosing maritime advantages -and approaches to the sea which properly belong to this preliminary -sketch. According to accurate estimate, the coast line, including bays -and islands, is not less than eleven thousand two hundred and seventy -miles. In the Aleutian range, besides innumerable islets and rocks, -there are not less than fifty-five islands exceeding three miles in -length; there are seven exceeding forty miles, with Oonimak, which is -the largest, exceeding seventy-three miles. In our part of Behring -Sea there are five considerable islands, the largest of which is St. -Lawrence, being more than ninety-six miles long. Add to all these the -group south of the peninsula of Alaska, including the Shumagins and -the magnificent island of Kadiak, and then the Sitkan group, being -archipelago added to archipelago, and the whole together constituting -the geographical complement to the West Indies, so that the northwest -of the continent answers to the southeast, archipelago for archipelago. - - -DISCOVERY OF RUSSIAN AMERICA BY BEHRING, UNDER INSTRUCTIONS FROM PETER -THE GREAT. - -The title of Russia to all these possessions is derived from prior -discovery, being the admitted title by which all European powers have -held in North and South America, unless we except what England acquired -by conquest from France; but here the title of France was derived from -prior discovery. Russia, shut up in a distant interior and struggling -with barbarism, was scarcely known to the other powers at the time they -were lifting their flags in the western hemisphere. At a later day the -same powerful genius which made her known as an empire set in motion -the enterprise by which these possessions were opened to her dominion. -Peter, called the Great, himself ship-builder and reformer, who had -worked in the ship-yards of England and Holland, was curious to know -if Asia and America were separated by the sea, or if they constituted -one undivided body with different names, like Europe and Asia. To -obtain this information, he wrote with his own hand the following -instructions, and ordered his chief admiral to see them carried into -execution:-- - - “One or two boats with decks to be built at Kamtchatka, or at - any other convenient place, with which inquiry should be made - in relation to the northerly coasts, to see whether they were - not contiguous with America, since their end was not known. And - this done, they should see whether they could not somewhere - find an harbor belonging to Europeans or an European ship. They - should likewise set apart some men who were to inquire after - the name and situation of the coasts discovered. Of all this an - exact journal should be kept, with which they should return to - Petersburg.”[2] - -The Czar died in the winter of 1725; but the Empress Catharine, -faithful to the desires of her husband, did not allow this work to be -neglected. Vitus Behring, Dane by birth, and navigator of experience, -was made commander. The place of embarkation was on the other side -of the Asiatic continent. Taking with him officers and ship-builders, -the navigator left St. Petersburg by land, 5th February, 1725, and -commenced the preliminary journey across Siberia, Northern Asia, and -the Sea of Okhotsk, to the coast of Kamtchatka, which they reached -only after infinite hardships and delays, sometimes with dogs for -horses, and sometimes supporting life by eating leather bags, straps, -and shoes. More than three years were consumed in this toilsome and -perilous journey. At last, on the 20th of July, 1728, the party -was able to set sail in a small vessel, called the Gabriel, and -described as “like the packet-boats used in the Baltic.” Steering in -a northeasterly direction, Behring passed a large island, which he -called St. Lawrence, from the saint on whose day it was seen. This -island, which is included in the present cession, may be considered as -the first point in Russian discovery, as it is also the first outpost -of the North American continent. Continuing northward, and hugging the -Asiatic coast, Behring turned back only when he thought he had reached -the northeastern extremity of Asia, and was satisfied that the two -continents were separated from each other. He did not penetrate further -north than 67° 30´. - -In his voyage Behring was struck by the absence of such great and -high waves as in other places are common to the open sea, and he -observed fir-trees swimming in the water, although they were unknown -on the Asiatic coast. Relations of inhabitants, in harmony with these -indications, pointed to “a country at no great distance towards the -east.” His work was still incomplete, and the navigator, before -returning home, put forth again for this discovery, but without -success. By another dreary land journey he made his way back to St. -Petersburg in March, 1730, after an absence of five years. Something -was accomplished for Russian discovery, and his own fame was engraved -on the maps of the world. The strait through which he sailed now bears -his name, as also does the expanse of sea he traversed on his way to -the strait. - -The spirit of discovery continued at St. Petersburg. A Cossack chief, -undertaking to conquer the obstinate natives on the northeastern -coast, proposed also “to discover the pretended country in the Frozen -Sea.” He was killed by an arrow before his enterprise was completed. -Little is known of the result; but it is stated that the navigator -whom he had selected, by name Gwosdeff, in 1730 succeeded in reaching -“a strange coast” between sixty-five and sixty-six degrees of north -latitude, where he saw people, but could not speak with them for want -of an interpreter. This must have been the coast of North America, and -not far from the group of islands in Behring Strait, through which the -present boundary passes, separating the United States from Russia, and -America from Asia. - -The Russian desire to get behind the curtain increased. Behring -volunteered to undertake the discoveries yet remaining. He was created -Commodore, and his old lieutenants were created captains. The Senate, -the Admiralty, and the Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburg, all -united in the enterprise. Several academicians were appointed to -report on the natural history of the coasts visited, among whom was -Steller, the naturalist, said to be “immortal” from this association. -All of these, with a numerous body of officers, journeyed across -Siberia, Northern Asia, and the Sea of Okhotsk, to Kamtchatka, as -Behring had journeyed before. Though ordered in 1732, the expedition -was not able to leave the eastern coast until 4th June, 1741, when two -well-appointed ships set sail in company “to discover the continent -of America.” One of these, called the St. Peter, was under Commodore -Behring; the other, called the St. Paul, was under Captain Tschirikoff. -For some time the two kept together, but in a violent storm and fog -they were separated, when each continued the expedition alone. - -Behring first saw the continent of North America 18th July, 1741, in -latitude 58° 28´. Looking at it from a distance, “the country had -terrible high mountains that were covered with snow.” Two days later, -he anchored in a sheltered bay near a point, which he called, from the -saint’s day on which he saw it, Cape St. Elias. He was in the shadow -of Mount St. Elias. Landing, he found deserted huts, fireplaces, hewn -wood, household furniture, arrows, “a whetstone on which it appeared -that copper knives had been sharpened,” and “store of red salmon.” Here -also birds unknown in Siberia were noticed by the faithful Steller, -among which was the blue-jay, of a peculiar species, now called by his -name. At this point, Behring found himself constrained by the elbow in -the coast to turn westward, and then in a southerly direction. Hugging -the shore, his voyage was constantly arrested by islands without -number, among which he zigzagged to find his way. Several times he -landed. Once he saw natives, who wore “upper garments of whales’ guts, -breeches of seal-skins, and caps of the skins of sea-lions, adorned -with various feathers, especially those of hawks.” These “Americans,” -as they are called, were fishermen, without bows and arrows. They -regaled the Russians with “whale’s flesh,” but declined strong drink. -One of them, on receiving a cup of brandy, “spit the brandy out again -as soon as he had tasted it, and cried aloud, as if he was complaining -to his countrymen how ill he had been used.” This was on one of the -Shumagin Islands, near the southern coast of the peninsula of Alaska. - -Meanwhile the other solitary ship, proceeding on its way, had sighted -the same coast 15th July, 1741, in the latitude of 56°. Anchoring at -some distance from the steep and rocky cliffs before him, Tschirikoff -sent his mate with the long-boat and ten of his best men, provided -with small-arms and a brass cannon, to inquire into the nature of the -country and to obtain fresh water. The long-boat disappeared behind a -headland, and was never seen again. Thinking it might have been damaged -in landing, the captain sent his boatswain with the small boat and -carpenters, well armed, to furnish necessary assistance. The small -boat disappeared also, and was never seen again. At the same time a -great smoke was observed continually ascending from the shore. Shortly -afterwards, two boats filled with natives sallied forth and lay at -some distance from the vessel, when, crying, “_Agai, Agai_,” they put -back to the shore. Sorrowfully the Russian navigator turned away, not -knowing the fate of his comrades, and unable to help them. This was not -far from Sitka. - -Such was the first discovery of these northwestern coasts, and such -are the first recorded glimpses of the aboriginal inhabitants. The -two navigators had different fortunes. Tschirikoff, deprived of his -boats, and therefore unable to land, hurried home. Adverse winds and -storms interfered. He supplied himself with fresh water by distilling -sea-water or pressing rain-water from the sails. But at last, on -the 9th of October, he reached Kamtchatka, with his ship’s company -of seventy diminished to forty-nine. During this time Behring was -driven, like Ulysses, on the uncertain waves. A single tempest raged -for seventeen days, so that Andrew Hasselberg, the ancient pilot, -who had known the sea for fifty years, declared that he had seen -nothing like it in his life. Scurvy came with disheartening horrors. -The Commodore himself was a sufferer. Rigging broke; cables snapped; -anchors were lost. At last the tempest-tossed vessel was cast upon a -desert island, then without a name, where the Commodore, sheltered in a -ditch, and half covered with sand as a protection against cold, died, -8th December, 1741. His body, after his decease, was “scraped out of -the ground” and buried on this island, which is called by his name, -and constitutes an outpost of the Asiatic continent. Thus the Russian -navigator, after the discovery of America, died in Asia. Russia, by -the recent demarcation, does not fail to retain his last resting-place -among her possessions. - - -TITLE OF RUSSIA. - -For some time after these expeditions, by which Russia achieved the -palm of discovery, imperial enterprise in those seas slumbered. The -knowledge already acquired was continued and confirmed only by private -individuals, who were led there in quest of furs. In 1745 the Aleutian -Islands were discovered by an adventurer in search of sea-otters. -In successive voyages all these islands were visited for similar -purposes. Among these was Oonalaska, the principal of the group of Fox -Islands, constituting a continuation of the Aleutian Islands, whose -inhabitants and productions were minutely described. In 1768 private -enterprise was superseded by an expedition ordered by the Empress -Catharine, which, leaving Kamtchatka, explored this whole archipelago -and the peninsula of Alaska, which to the islanders stood for the whole -continent. Shortly afterwards, all these discoveries, beginning with -those of Behring and Tschirikoff, were verified by the great English -navigator, Captain Cook. In 1778 he sailed along the northwestern -coast, “near where Tschirikoff anchored in 1741”; then again in sight -of mountains “wholly covered with snow from the highest summit down -to the sea-coast,” with “the summit of an elevated mountain above the -horizon,” which he supposed to be the Mount St. Elias of Behring; then -by the very anchorage of Behring; then among the islands through which -Behring zigzagged, and along the coast by the island of St. Lawrence, -until arrested by ice. If any doubt existed with regard to Russian -discoveries, it was removed by the authentic report of this navigator, -who shed such a flood of light upon the geography of the whole region. - -Such from the beginning is the title of Russia, dating at least from -1741. I have not stopped to quote volume and page, but I beg to be -understood as following approved authorities, and I refer especially -to the Russian work of Müller, already cited, on the “Voyages from -Asia to America,” the volume of Coxe on “Russian Discoveries,” with -its supplement on the “Comparative View of the Russian Discoveries,” -the volume of Sir John Barrow on “Voyages into the Arctic Regions,” -Burney’s “Northeastern Voyages,” and the third voyage of Captain Cook, -unhappily interrupted by his tragical death from the natives of the -Sandwich Islands, but not until after the exploration of this coast. - -There were at least four other Russian expeditions, by which this title -was confirmed, if it needed any confirmation. The first was ordered by -the Empress Catharine, in 1785. It was under the command of Commodore -Billings, an Englishman in the service of Russia, and was narrated from -the original papers by Martin Sauer, secretary of the expedition. In -the instructions from the Admiralty at St. Petersburg the Commodore was -directed to take possession of “such coasts and islands as he shall -first discover, whether inhabited or not, that cannot be disputed, -and are not yet subject to any European power, with consent of the -inhabitants, if any”; and this was to be accomplished by setting up -“posts marked with the arms of Russia, with letters indicating the time -of discovery, a short account of the people, their voluntary submission -to the Russian sovereignty, and that this was done under the glorious -reign of the great Catharine the Second.”[3] The next was in 1803-6, -in the interest of the Russian American Company, with two ships, one -under the command of Captain Krusenstern, and the other of Captain -Lisiansky, of the Russian navy. It was the first Russian voyage round -the world, and lasted three years. During its progress, Lisiansky -visited the northwest coast of America, and especially Sitka and the -island of Kadiak. Still another enterprise, organized by the celebrated -minister Count Romanzoff, and at his expense, left Russia in 1815, -under the command of Lieutenant Kotzebue, an officer of the Russian -navy, and son of the German dramatist, whose assassination darkened the -return of the son from his long voyage. It is enough for the present -to say of this expedition that it has left its honorable traces on the -coast even as far as the Frozen Ocean. There remains the enterprise -of Lütke, at the time captain, and afterward admiral in the Russian -navy, which was a voyage of circumnavigation, embracing especially the -Russian possessions, commenced in 1826, and described in French with -instructive fulness. With him sailed the German naturalist Kittlitz, -who has done so much to illustrate the natural history of this region. - - -A FRENCH ASPIRATION ON THIS COAST. - -So little was the Russian title recognized for some time, that, when -the unfortunate expedition of La Pérouse, with the frigates Boussole -and Astrolabe, stopped on this coast in 1786, he did not hesitate -to consider the friendly harbor, in latitude 58° 36´, where he was -moored, as open to permanent occupation. Describing this harbor, -which he named Port des Français, as sheltered behind a breakwater of -rocks, with a calm sea and a mouth sufficiently large, he announces -that Nature seemed to have created at the extremity of America a port -like that of Toulon, but vaster in plan and accommodations; and then, -considering that it had never been discovered before, that it was -situated thirty-three leagues northwest of Los Remedios, the limit of -Spanish navigation, about two hundred and twenty-four leagues from -Nootka, and a hundred leagues from Prince William Sound, the mariner -records his judgment, that, “if the French Government had any project -of a factory on this part of the coast of America, no nation could -pretend to have the slightest right to oppose it.”[4] Thus quietly -was Russia dislodged. The frigates sailed further on their voyage, -and never returned to France. Their fate was unknown, until, after -fruitless search and the lapse of a generation, some relics from them -were accidentally found on an obscure island of the Southern Pacific. -The unfinished journal of La Pérouse, recording his visit to this -coast, had been sent overland, by way of Kamtchatka and Siberia, to -France, where it was published by a decree of the National Assembly, -thus making known his supposed discovery and his aspiration. - - -EARLY SPANISH CLAIM. - -Spain also has been a claimant. In 1775, Bodega, a Spanish navigator, -seeking new opportunities to plant the Spanish flag, reached the -parallel of 58° on this coast, not far from Sitka; but this supposed -discovery was not followed by any immediate assertion of dominion. -The universal aspiration of Spain had embraced this whole region -even at an early day, and shortly after the return of Bodega another -enterprise was equipped to verify the larger claim, being nothing less -than the original title as discoverer of the strait between America -and Asia, and of the conterminous continent, under the name of Anian. -This curious episode is not out of place in the present brief history. -It has two branches: one concerning early maps, on which straits are -represented between America and Asia under the name of Anian; the other -concerning a pretended attempt by a Spanish navigator at an early day -to find these straits. - -There can be no doubt that early maps exist with northwestern straits -marked Anian. There are two in the Congressional Library, in atlases of -the years 1680 and 1717; but these are of a date comparatively modern. -Engel, in his “Mémoires Géographiques,” mentions several earlier, -which he believes genuine. There is one purporting to be by Zaltieri, -and bearing date 1566, an authentic pen-and-ink copy of which is now -before me, from the collection of our own Coast Survey. On this very -interesting map, which is without latitude or longitude, the western -coast of the continent is delineated with a strait separating it from -Asia not unlike Behring’s in outline, and with the name in Italian, -_Stretto di Anian_. Southward the coast has a certain conformity with -what is now known to exist. Below is an indentation corresponding to -Bristol Bay; then a peninsula somewhat broader than that of Alaska; -then the elbow of the coast; then, lower down, three islands, not -unlike Sitka, Queen Charlotte, and Vancouver; and then, further south, -is the peninsula of Lower California. Sometimes the story of Anian -is explained by the voyage of the Portuguese navigator Gaspar de -Cortereal, in 1500, when, on reaching Hudson Bay in quest of a passage -round America, he imagined that he had found it, and proceeded to name -his discovery “in honor of two brothers who accompanied him.” Very soon -maps began to record the Strait of Anian; but this does not explain the -substantial conformity of the early delineation with the reality, which -seems truly remarkable. - -The other branch of inquiry is more easily disposed of. This turns -on a Spanish document entitled “A Relation of the Discovery of the -Strait of Anian, made by me, Captain Lorenzo Ferrer Maldonado, in the -Year 1588.”[5] If this early account of a northwest passage from the -Atlantic to the Pacific were authentic, the whole question would be -settled; but recent geographers indignantly discard it as a barefaced -imposture. Clearly Spain once regarded it otherwise; for her Government -in 1789 sent out an expedition “to discover the strait by which Laurent -Ferrer Maldonado was supposed to have passed, in 1588, from the coast -of Labrador to the Great Ocean.”[6] The expedition was unsuccessful, -and nothing more has been heard of any claim from this pretended -discovery. The story of Maldonado has taken its place in the same -category with that of Munchausen. - - -REASONS FOR CESSION BY RUSSIA. - -Turning from the question of title, which time and testimony have -already settled, I meet the inquiry, Why does Russia part with -possessions associated with the reign of her greatest ruler and filling -an important chapter of geographical history? Here I am without -information not open to others. But I do not forget that the first -Napoleon, in parting with Louisiana, was controlled by three several -considerations. First, he needed the purchase-money for his treasury; -secondly, he was unwilling to leave this distant unguarded territory -a prey to Great Britain, in the event of hostilities, which seemed -at hand; and, thirdly, he was glad, according to his own remarkable -language, “to establish forever the power of the United States, and -give to England a maritime rival that would sooner or later humble her -pride.”[7] Such is the record of history. Perhaps a similar record may -be made hereafter with regard to the present cession. There is reason -to imagine that Russia, with all her great empire, is financially poor; -so that these few millions may not be unimportant to her. It is by -foreign loans that her railroads have been built and her wars aided. -All, too, must see that in those “coming events” which now more than -ever “cast their shadows before” it will be for her advantage not to -hold outlying possessions from which thus far she has obtained no -income commensurate with the possible expense for their protection. -Perhaps, like a wrestler, she strips for the contest, which I trust -sincerely may be averted. Besides, I cannot doubt that her enlightened -Emperor, who has given pledges to civilization by an unsurpassed act of -Emancipation, would join the first Napoleon in a desire to enhance the -maritime power of the United States. - -These general considerations are reinforced, when we call to mind the -little influence which Russia has been able thus far to exercise in -this region. Though possessing dominion for more than a century, the -gigantic power has not been more genial or productive there than the -soil itself. Her government is little more than a name or a shadow. It -is not even a skeleton. It is hardly visible. Its only representative -is a fur company, to which has been added latterly an ice company. The -immense country is without form and without light, without activity and -without progress. Distant from the imperial capital, and separated from -the huge bulk of Russian empire, it does not share the vitality of a -common country. Its life is solitary and feeble. Its settlements are -only encampments or lodges. Its fisheries are only a petty perquisite, -belonging to local or personal adventurers rather than to the commerce -of nations. - -In these statements I follow the record. So little were these -possessions regarded during the last century that they were scarcely -recognized as a component part of the empire. I have now before me an -authentic map, published by the Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburg -in 1776, and reproduced at London in 1780, entitled “General Map -of the Russian Empire,”[8] where you will look in vain for Russian -America, unless we except the links of the Aleutian chain nearest to -the two continents. Alexander Humboldt, whose geographical insight was -unerring, in his great work on New Spain, published in 1811, after -stating that he is able from an official document to give the position -of the Russian factories on the American continent, says that they are -“for the most part mere collections of sheds and cabins, but serving as -store-houses for the fur-trade.” He remarks further that “the larger -part of these small Russian colonies communicate with each other only -by sea”; and then, putting us on our guard not to expect too much from -a name, he proceeds to say that “the new denomination of ‘Russian -America,’ or ‘Russian Possessions on the New Continent,’ must not lead -us to think that the coasts of Behring’s Basin, the peninsula of -Alaska, or the country of the Tchuktchi have become Russian provinces -in the sense given to this word in speaking of the Spanish provinces of -Sonora or New Biscay.”[9] Here is a distinction between the foothold of -Spain in California and the foothold of Russia in North America which -will at least illustrate the slender power of the latter in this region. - -In ceding possessions so little within the sphere of her empire, -embracing more than one hundred nations or tribes, Russia gives up no -part of herself; and even if she did, the considerable price paid, -the alarm of war which begins to fill our ears, and the sentiments of -friendship declared for the United States would explain the transaction. - - -THE NEGOTIATION, IN ITS ORIGIN AND COMPLETION. - -I am not able to say when the idea of this cession first took shape. I -have heard that it was as long ago as the Administration of Mr. Polk. -It is within my knowledge that the Russian Government was sounded on -the subject during the Administration of Mr. Buchanan. This was done -through Mr. Gwin, at the time Senator of California, and Mr. Appleton, -Assistant Secretary of State. For this purpose the former had more than -one interview with the Russian minister at Washington, some time in -December, 1859, in which, while professing to speak for the President -unofficially, he represented that “Russia was too far off to make the -most of these possessions, and that, as we were near, we could derive -more from them.” In reply to an inquiry of the Russian minister, Mr. -Gwin said that “the United States could go as high as $5,000,000 for -the purchase,” on which the former made no comment. Mr. Appleton, on -another occasion, said to the minister that “the President thought the -acquisition would be very profitable to the States on the Pacific; -that he was ready to follow it up, but wished to know in advance if -Russia was ready to cede; that, if she were, he would confer with his -Cabinet and influential members of Congress.” All this was unofficial; -but it was promptly communicated to the Russian Government, who seem -to have taken it into careful consideration. Prince Gortchakoff, in -a despatch which reached here early in the summer of 1860, said that -“the offer was not what might have been expected, but that it merited -mature reflection; that the Minister of Finance was about to inquire -into the condition of these possessions, after which Russia would be in -a condition to treat.” The Prince added for himself, that “he was by no -means satisfied personally that it would be for the interest of Russia -politically to alienate these possessions; that the only consideration -which could make the scales incline that way would be the prospect of -great financial advantages, but that the sum of $5,000,000 did not -seem in any way to represent the real value of these possessions”; -and he concluded by asking the minister to tell Mr. Appleton and -Senator Gwin that the sum offered was not considered “an equitable -equivalent.” The subject was submerged by the Presidential election -which was approaching, and then by the Rebellion. It will be observed -that this attempt was at a time when politicians who believed in the -perpetuity of Slavery still had power. Mr. Buchanan was President, -and he employed as his intermediary a known sympathizer with Slavery, -who shortly afterwards became a Rebel. Had Russia been willing, it -is doubtful if this controlling interest would have sanctioned any -acquisition too far north for Slavery. - -Meanwhile the Rebellion was brought to an end, and peaceful enterprise -was renewed, which on the Pacific coast was directed toward the Russian -possessions. Our people there, wishing new facilities to obtain fish, -fur, and ice, sought the intervention of the National Government. The -Legislature of Washington Territory, in the winter of 1866, adopted the -following memorial to the President of the United States, entitled “In -reference to the cod and other fisheries.” - - “TO HIS EXCELLENCY ANDREW JOHNSON, - “_President of the United States_. - - “Your memorialists, the Legislative Assembly of Washington - Territory, beg leave to show that abundance of codfish, - halibut, and salmon, of excellent quality, have been found - along the shores of the Russian possessions. Your memorialists - respectfully request your Excellency to obtain such rights - and privileges of the Government of Russia as will enable - our fishing vessels to visit the ports and harbors of its - possessions, to the end that fuel, water, and provisions may - be easily obtained, that our sick and disabled fishermen may - obtain sanitary assistance, together with the privilege of - curing fish and repairing vessels in need of repairs. Your - memorialists further request that the Treasury Department be - instructed to forward to the collector of customs of this - Puget Sound district such fishing licenses, abstract journals, - and log-books as will enable our hardy fishermen to obtain - the bounties now provided and paid to the fishermen in the - Atlantic States. Your memorialists finally pray your Excellency - to employ such ships as may be spared from the Pacific naval - fleet in exploring and surveying the fishing banks known - to navigators to exist along the Pacific coast from the - Cortés Bank to Behring Straits. And, as in duty bound, your - memorialists will ever pray. - - “Passed the House of Representatives January 10, 1866. - - “EDWARD ELDRIDGE, - “_Speaker, House of Representatives_. - - “Passed the Council January 13, 1866. - - “HARVEY K. HINES, - “_President of the Council_.” - -This memorial, on presentation to the President, in February, 1866, -was referred to the Secretary of State, by whom it was communicated to -Mr. de Stoeckl, the Russian minister, with remarks on the importance -of some early and comprehensive arrangement between the two powers to -prevent the growth of difficulties, especially from the fisheries in -that region. At the same time reports began to prevail of extraordinary -wealth in fisheries, especially the whale and cod, promising to become -an important commerce on the Pacific coast. - -Shortly afterwards another influence was felt. Mr. Cole, who had been -recently elected to the Senate from California, acting in behalf of -certain persons in that State, sought from the Russian Government -a license or franchise to gather furs in a portion of its American -possessions. The charter of the Russian American Company was about to -expire. This company had already underlet to the Hudson’s Bay Company -all its franchise on the main-land between 54° 40´ and Cape Spencer; -and now it was proposed that an American company, holding directly -from the Russian Government, should be substituted for the latter. -The mighty Hudson’s Bay Company, with headquarters in London, was -to give way to an American company, with headquarters in California. -Among letters on this subject addressed to Mr. Cole, and now before -me, is one dated San Francisco, April 10, 1866, in which the scheme is -developed:-- - - “There is at the present time a good chance to organize a - fur-trading company, to trade between the United States and the - Russian possessions in America; and as the charter formerly - granted to the Hudson’s Bay Company has expired, this would - be the opportune moment to start in.… I should think that by - a little management this charter could be obtained from the - Russian Government for ourselves, as I do not think they are - very willing to renew the charter of the Hudson’s Bay Company, - and I think they would give the preference to an American - company, especially if the company should pay to the Russian - Government five per cent. on the gross proceeds of their - transactions, and also aid in civilizing and ameliorating the - condition of the Indians by employing missionaries, if required - by the Russian Government. For the faithful performance of the - above we ask a charter for the term of twenty-five years, to be - renewed for the same length of time, if the Russian Government - finds the company deserving,--the charter to invest us with - the right of trading in all the country between the British - American line and the Russian Archipelago.… Remember, we wish - for the same charter as was formerly granted to the Hudson’s - Bay Company, and we offer in return more than they did.” - -Another correspondent of Mr. Cole, under date of San Francisco, -September 17, 1866, wrote:-- - - “I have talked with a man who has been on the coast and in the - trade for ten years past, and he says it is much more valuable - than I have supposed, and I think it very important to obtain - it, if possible.” - -The Russian minister at Washington, whom Mr. Cole saw repeatedly -upon the subject, was not authorized to act, and the latter, after -conference with the Department of State, was induced to address Mr. -Clay, minister of the United States at St. Petersburg, who laid the -application before the Russian Government. This was an important step. -A letter from Mr. Clay, dated at St. Petersburg as late as February 1, -1867, makes the following revelation. - - “The Russian Government has already ceded away its rights in - Russian America for a term of years, and the Russo-American - Company has also ceded the same to the Hudson’s Bay Company. - This lease expires in June next, and the president of the - Russo-American Company tells me that they have been in - correspondence with the Hudson’s Bay Company about a renewal - of the lease for another term of twenty-five or thirty years. - Until he receives a definite answer, he cannot enter into - negotiations with us or your California company. My opinion - is, that, if he can get off with the Hudson’s Bay Company, - he will do so, when we can make some arrangements with the - Russo-American Company.” - -Some time had elapsed since the original attempt of Mr. Gwin, also a -Senator from California, and it is probable that the Russian Government -had obtained information which enabled it to see its way more clearly. -It will be remembered that Prince Gortchakoff had promised an inquiry, -and it is known that in 1861 Captain-Lieutenant Golowin, of the -Russian navy, made a detailed report on these possessions. Mr. Cole -had the advantage of his predecessor. There is reason to believe, -also, that the administration of the fur company had not been entirely -satisfactory, so that there were well-founded hesitations with regard -to the renewal of its franchise. Meanwhile, in October, 1866, Mr. de -Stoeckl, who had long been the Russian minister at Washington, and -enjoyed in a high degree the confidence of our Government, returned -home on leave of absence, promising his best exertions to promote good -relations between the two countries. While he was at St. Petersburg, -the applications from the United States were under consideration; but -the Russian Government was disinclined to any minor arrangement of the -character proposed. Obviously something like a crisis was at hand with -regard to these possessions. The existing government was not adequate. -The franchises granted there were about to terminate. Something must -be done. As Mr. de Stoeckl was leaving for his post, in February, the -Archduke Constantine, brother and chief adviser of the Emperor, handed -him a map with the lines in our treaty marked upon it, and told him he -might treat for cession with those boundaries. The minister arrived -in Washington early in March. A negotiation was opened at once. Final -instructions were received by the Atlantic cable, from St. Petersburg, -on the 29th of March, and at four o’clock on the morning of the 30th of -March this important treaty was signed by Mr. Seward on the part of the -United States and by Mr. de Stoeckl on the part of Russia. - -Few treaties have been conceived, initiated, prosecuted, and completed -in so simple a manner, without protocol or despatch. The whole -negotiation is seen in its result, unless we except two brief notes, -which constitute all that passed between the negotiators. These have -an interest general and special, and I conclude the history of this -transaction by reading them. - - “DEPARTMENT OF STATE, WASHINGTON, March 23, 1867. - - “SIR,--With reference to the proposed convention between - our respective Governments for a cession by Russia of her - American territory to the United States, I have the honor to - acquaint you that I must insist upon that clause in the sixth - article of the draft which declares the cession to be free - and unincumbered by any reservations, privileges, franchises, - grants, or possessions by any associated companies, whether - corporate or incorporate, Russian or any other, &c., and must - regard it as an ultimatum. With the President’s approval, - however, I will add $200,000 to the consideration money on that - account. - - “I avail myself of this occasion to offer to you a renewed - assurance of my most distinguished consideration. - - “WILLIAM H. SEWARD. - - “MR. EDWARD DE STOECKL, &c., &c., &c.” - - [TRANSLATION.] - - “WASHINGTON, March 17 [29], 1867. - - “MR. SECRETARY OF STATE,--I have the honor to inform you, - that, by a telegram, dated 16th [28th] of this month, from St. - Petersburg, Prince Gortchakoff informs me that his Majesty the - Emperor of all the Russias gives his consent to the cession - of the Russian possessions on the American continent to the - United States, for the stipulated sum of $7,200,000 in gold, - and that his Majesty the Emperor invests me with full powers to - negotiate and sign the treaty. - - “Please accept, Mr. Secretary of State, the assurance of my - very high consideration. - - “STOECKL. - - “TO HON. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, - “_Secretary of State of the United States_.” - - -THE TREATY. - -The treaty begins with the declaration, that “the United States of -America and his Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias, being desirous -of strengthening, if possible, the good understanding which exists -between them,” have appointed plenipotentiaries, who have proceeded -to sign articles, wherein it is stipulated on behalf of Russia that -“his Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias agrees to cede to the -United States by this convention, immediately upon the exchange of the -ratifications thereof, all the territory and dominion now possessed -by his said Majesty on the continent of America and in the adjacent -islands, the same being contained within the geographical limits herein -set forth”; and it is stipulated on behalf of the United States, that, -“in consideration of the cession aforesaid, the United States agree -to pay at the Treasury in Washington, within ten months after the -exchange of the ratifications of this convention, to the diplomatic -representative or other agent of his Majesty the Emperor of all the -Russias duly authorized to receive the same, $7,200,000 in gold.” The -ratifications are to be exchanged within three months from the date of -the treaty, or sooner, if possible.[10] - -Beyond the consideration founded on the desire of “strengthening the -good understanding” between the two countries, there is the pecuniary -consideration already mentioned, which underwent a change in the -progress of the negotiation. The sum of seven millions was originally -agreed upon; but when it appeared that there was a fur company and also -an ice company enjoying monopolies under the existing government, it -was thought best that these should be extinguished, in consideration of -which our Government added two hundred thousand to the purchase-money, -and the Russian Government in formal terms declared “the cession of -territory and dominion to be free and unincumbered by any reservations, -privileges, franchises, grants, or possessions, by any associated -companies, whether corporate or incorporate, Russian or any other, or -by any parties, except merely private individual property-holders.” -Thus the United States receive the cession free of all incumbrances, -so far at least as Russia is in a condition to make it. The treaty -proceeds to say: “The cession hereby made conveys all the rights, -franchises, and privileges now belonging to Russia in the said -territory or dominion and appurtenances thereto.”[11] In other words, -Russia conveys all she has to convey. - - -QUESTIONS ARISING UNDER THE TREATY. - -There are questions, not unworthy of attention, which arise under the -treaty between Russia and Great Britain, fixing the eastern limits -of these possessions, and conceding certain privileges to the latter -power. By this treaty, signed at St. Petersburg, 28th February, -1825, after fixing the boundaries between the Russian and British -possessions, it is provided that “for the space of _ten years_ from the -signature of the present convention, the vessels of the two powers, -or those belonging to their respective subjects, shall mutually be at -liberty to frequent, without any hindrance whatever, all the inland -seas, the gulfs, havens, and creeks on the coast, for the purposes of -fishing and of trading with the natives”; and also that “the port of -Sitka, or Novo Archangelsk, shall be open to the commerce and vessels -of British subjects for the space of _ten years_ from the date of the -exchange of the ratifications of the present convention.”[12] In the -same treaty it is also provided that “the subjects of his Britannic -Majesty, from whatever quarter they may arrive, whether from the ocean -or from the interior of the continent, shall _forever_ enjoy the -right of navigating freely and without any hindrance whatever all the -rivers and streams which in their course towards the Pacific Ocean may -cross the line of demarcation.”[13] Afterwards a treaty of commerce -and navigation between Russia and Great Britain was signed at St. -Petersburg, 11th January, 1843, subject to be terminated on notice from -either party at the expiration of ten years, in which it is provided, -that, “in regard to commerce and navigation in the Russian possessions -on the northwest coast of America, the convention concluded at St. -Petersburg on the 16/28th February, 1825, continues in force.”[14] -Then ensued the Crimean War between Russia and Great Britain, effacing -or suspending treaties. Afterwards another treaty of commerce and -navigation was signed at St. Petersburg, 12th January, 1859, subject -to be terminated on notice from either party at the expiration of ten -years, which repeats the last provision.[15] - -Thus we have three different stipulations on the part of Russia: -one opening seas, gulfs, and havens on the Russian coast to British -subjects for fishing and trading with the natives; the second making -Sitka a free port to British subjects; and the third making British -rivers which flow through the Russian possessions forever free to -British navigation. Do the United States succeed to these stipulations? - -Among these I make a distinction in favor of the last, which by its -language is declared to be “forever,” and may have been in the nature -of an equivalent at the settlement of boundaries between the two -powers. But whatever its terms or its origin, it is obvious that it -is nothing but a declaration of public law, as always expounded by -the United States, and now recognized on the continent of Europe. -While pleading with Great Britain, in 1826, for the free navigation -of the St. Lawrence, Mr. Clay, then Secretary of State, said that -“the American Government did not mean to contend for any principle -the benefit of which in analogous circumstances it would deny to -Great Britain.”[16] During the same year, Mr. Gallatin, our minister -in London, when negotiating with Great Britain for the adjustment of -boundaries on the Pacific, proposed, that, “if the line should cross -any of the branches of the Columbia at points from which they are -navigable by boats to the main stream, the navigation of such branches -and of the main stream should be perpetually free and common to the -people of both nations.”[17] At an earlier day the United States made -the same claim with regard to the Mississippi, and asserted, as a -general principle, that, “if the right of the upper inhabitants to -descend the stream was in any case obstructed, it was an act of force -by a stronger society against a weaker, condemned by the judgment of -mankind.”[18] By these admissions our country is estopped, even if the -public law of the European continent, first declared at Vienna with -regard to the Rhine, did not offer an example which we cannot afford -to reject. I rejoice to believe that on this occasion we apply to Great -Britain the generous rule which from the beginning we have claimed for -ourselves. - -The two other stipulations are different in character. They are not -declared to be “forever,” and do not stand on any principle of public -law. Even if subsisting now, they cannot be onerous. I doubt much if -they are subsisting now. In succeeding to the Russian possessions, it -does not follow that the United States succeed to ancient obligations -assumed by Russia, as if, according to a phrase of the Common Law, -they were “covenants running with the land.” If these stipulations are -in the nature of _servitudes_, they depend for their duration on the -sovereignty of Russia, and are _personal_ or _national_ rather than -_territorial_. So, at least, I am inclined to believe. But it is hardly -profitable to speculate on a point of so little practical value. Even -if “running with the land,” these servitudes can be terminated at the -expiration of ten years from the last treaty by notice, which equitably -the United States may give, so as to take effect on the 12th of -January, 1869. Meanwhile, during this brief period, it will be easy by -Act of Congress in advance to limit importations at Sitka, so that this -“free port” shall not be made the channel or doorway by which British -goods are introduced into the United States free of duty. - - -GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS ON THE TREATY. - -From this survey of the treaty, as seen in its origin and the questions -under it, I might pass at once to a survey of the possessions which -have been conveyed; but there are other matters of a more general -character which present themselves at this stage and challenge -judgment. These concern nothing less than the unity, power, and -grandeur of the Republic, with the extension of its dominion and its -institutions. Such considerations, where not entirely inapplicable, are -apt to be controlling. I do not doubt that they will in a great measure -determine the fate of this treaty with the American people. They are -patent, and do not depend on research or statistics. To state them is -enough. - - * * * * * - -1. _Advantages to the Pacific Coast._--Foremost in order, if not -in importance, I put the desires of our fellow-citizens on the -Pacific coast, and the special advantages they will derive from this -enlargement of boundary. They were the first to ask for it, and will be -the first to profit by it. While others knew the Russian possessions -only on the map, they knew them practically in their resources. While -others were indifferent, they were planning how to appropriate Russian -peltries and fisheries. This is attested by the resolutions of the -Legislature of Washington Territory; also by the exertions at different -times of two Senators from California, who, differing in political -sentiments and in party relations, took the initial steps which ended -in this treaty. - -These well-known desires were founded, of course, on supposed -advantages; and here experience and neighborhood were prompters. -Since 1854 the people of California have received their ice from the -fresh-water lakes in the island of Kadiak, not far westward from Mount -St. Elias. Later still, their fishermen have searched the waters about -the Aleutians and the Shumagins, commencing a promising fishery. Others -have proposed to substitute themselves for the Hudson’s Bay Company -in their franchise on the coast. But all are looking to the Orient, -as in the time of Columbus, although like him they sail to the west. -To them China and Japan, those ancient realms of fabulous wealth, are -the Indies. To draw this commerce to the Pacific coast is no new idea. -It haunted the early navigators. Meares, the Englishman, whose voyage -in the intervening seas was in 1788, recounts a meeting with Gray, -the Boston navigator, whom he found “very sanguine in the superior -advantages which his countrymen from New England might reap from this -track of trade, and big with many mighty projects.”[19] He closes his -volumes with an essay entitled “Some Account of the Trade between the -Northwest Coast of America and China, &c.,” in the course of which[20] -he dwells on the “great and very valuable source of commerce” offered -by China as “forming a chain of trade between Hudson’s Bay, Canada, and -the Northwest Coast”; and then he exhibits on the American side the -costly furs of the sea-otter, still so much prized in China,--“mines -which are known to lie between the latitudes of 40° and 60° -north,”--and also ginseng “in inexhaustible plenty,” for which there -is still such demand in China, that even Minnesota, at the head-waters -of the Mississippi, supplies her contribution. His catalogue might be -extended now. - -As a practical illustration of this idea, it may be mentioned, that, -for a long time, most, if not all, the sea-otter skins of this coast -found their way to China. China was the best customer, and therefore -Englishmen and Americans followed the Russian Company in carrying these -furs to her market, so that Pennant, the English naturalist, impressed -by the peculiar advantages of the coast, exclaimed, “What a profitable -trade [with China] might not a colony carry on, was it possible to -penetrate to these parts of North America by means of the rivers and -lakes!”[21] Under the present treaty this coast is ours. - -The absence of harbors belonging to the United States on the Pacific -limits the outlets of the country. On that whole extent, from Panama -to Puget Sound, the only harbor of any considerable value is San -Francisco. Further north the harbors are abundant, and they are all -nearer to the great marts of Japan and China. But San Francisco itself -will be nearer by the way of the Aleutians than by Honolulu. The -projection of maps is not always calculated to present an accurate idea -of distances. From measurement on a globe it appears that a voyage -from San Francisco to Hong Kong by the common way of the Sandwich -Islands is 7,140 miles, but by way of the Aleutian Islands it is only -6,060 miles, being a saving of more than one thousand miles, with the -enormous additional advantage of being obliged to carry much less coal. -Of course a voyage from Sitka, or from Puget Sound, the terminus of the -Northern Pacific Railroad, would be shorter still. - -The advantages to the Pacific coast have two aspects,--one domestic, -and the other foreign. Not only does the treaty extend the coasting -trade of California, Oregon, and Washington Territory northward, but it -also extends the base of commerce with China and Japan. - -To unite the East of Asia with the West of America is the aspiration -of commerce now as when the English navigator recorded his voyage. -Of course, whatever helps this result is an advantage. The Pacific -Railroad is such an advantage; for, though running westward, it will -be, when completed, a new highway to the East. This treaty is another -advantage; for nothing can be clearer than that the western coast must -exercise an attraction which will be felt in China and Japan just in -proportion as it is occupied by a commercial people communicating -readily with the Atlantic and with Europe. This cannot be without -consequences not less important politically than commercially. Owing -so much to the Union, the people there will be bound to it anew, and -the national unity will receive another confirmation. Thus the whole -country will be a gainer. So are we knit together that the advantages -to the Pacific coast will contribute to the general welfare. - - * * * * * - -2. _Extension of Dominion._--The extension of dominion is another -consideration calculated to captivate the public mind. Few are so cold -or philosophical as to regard with insensibility a widening of the -bounds of country. Wars have been regarded as successful, when they -have given a new territory. The discoverer who had planted the flag -of his sovereign on a distant coast has been received as a conqueror. -The ingratitude exhibited to Columbus during his later days was -compensated by the epitaph, that he had “found a new world for Castile -and Leon.”[22] His discoveries were continued by other navigators, -and Spain girdled the earth with her possessions. Portugal, France, -Holland, England, each followed the example of Spain, and rejoiced in -extended empire. - -Territorial acquisitions are among the landmarks of our history. In -1803, Louisiana, embracing the valley of the Mississippi, was acquired -from France for fifteen million dollars. In 1819, Florida was acquired -from Spain for about three million dollars. In 1845, Texas was annexed -without purchase, but subsequently, under the compromises of 1850, -an allowance of twelve and three fourth million dollars was made to -her. In 1848, California, New Mexico, and Utah were acquired from -Mexico after war, and on payment of fifteen million dollars. In 1854, -Arizona was acquired from Mexico for ten million dollars. And now it is -proposed to acquire Russian America. - -The passion for acquisition, so strong in the individual, is not less -strong in the community. A nation seeks an outlying territory, as an -individual seeks an outlying farm. The passion shows itself constantly. -France, passing into Africa, has annexed Algeria. Spain set her face -in the same direction, but without the same success. There are two -great powers with which annexion has become a habit. One is Russia, -which from the time of Peter has been moving her flag forward in every -direction, so that on every side her limits have been extended. Even -now the report comes that she is lifting her southern landmarks in -Asia, so as to carry her boundary to India. The other annexionist is -Great Britain, which from time to time adds another province to her -Indian empire. If the United States have from time to time added to -their dominion, they have only yielded to the universal passion, -although I do not forget that the late Theodore Parker was accustomed -to speak of Anglo-Saxons as among all people remarkable for “greed of -land.” It was land, not gold, that aroused the Anglo-Saxon phlegm. -I doubt, however, if this passion be stronger with us than with -others, except, perhaps, that in a community where all participate in -government the national sentiments are more active. It is common to the -human family. There are few anywhere who could hear of a considerable -accession of territory, obtained peacefully and honestly, without a -pride of country, even if at certain moments the judgment hesitated. -With increased size on the map there is increased consciousness of -strength, and the heart of the citizen throbs anew as he traces the -extending line. - - * * * * * - -3. _Extension of Republican Institutions._--More than the extension -of dominion is the extension of republican institutions, which is a -traditional aspiration. It was in this spirit that Independence was -achieved. In the name of Human Rights our fathers overthrew the kingly -power, whose representative was George the Third. They set themselves -openly against this form of government. They were against it for -themselves, and offered their example to mankind. They were Roman in -character, and turned to Roman lessons. With cynical austerity the -early Cato said that kings were “carnivorous animals,” and probably at -his instance it was decreed by the Roman Senate that no king should be -allowed within the gates of the city. A kindred sentiment, with less -austerity of form, has been received from our fathers; but our city can -be nothing less than the North American continent, with its gates on -all the surrounding seas. - -John Adams, in the preface to his Defence of the American -Constitutions, written in London, where he resided at the time as -minister, and dated January 1, 1787, at Grosvenor Square, the central -seat of aristocratic fashion, after exposing the fabulous origin of -the kingly power in contrast with the simple origin of our republican -constitutions, thus for a moment lifts the curtain: “Thirteen -governments,” he says plainly, “thus founded on the natural authority -of the people alone, without a pretence of miracle or mystery, and -_which are destined to spread over the northern part of that whole -quarter of the globe_, are a great point gained in favor of the rights -of mankind.”[23] Thus, according to the prophetic minister, even at -that early day was the destiny of the Republic manifest. It was to -spread over the northern part of the American quarter of the globe, and -it was to help the rights of mankind. - -By the text of our Constitution, the United States are bound to -guaranty “a republican form of government” to every State in the -Union; but this obligation, which is applicable only at home, is an -unquestionable indication of the national aspiration everywhere. -The Republic is something more than a local policy; it is a general -principle, not to be forgotten at any time, especially when the -opportunity is presented of bringing an immense region within its -influence. Elsewhere it has for the present failed; but on this account -our example is more important. Who can forget the generous lament of -Lord Byron, whose passion for Freedom was not mitigated by his rank as -an hereditary legislator of England, when he exclaims, in memorable -verse,-- - - “The name of Commonwealth is past and gone - O’er the three fractions of the groaning globe”? - -Who can forget the salutation which the poet sends to the “one great -clime,” which, nursed in Freedom, enjoys what he calls the “proud -distinction” of not being confounded with other lands,-- - - “Whose sons must bow them at a monarch’s motion, - As if his senseless sceptre were a wand”? - -The present treaty is a visible step in the occupation of the whole -North American continent. As such it will be recognized by the world -and accepted by the American people. But the treaty involves something -more. We dismiss one other monarch from the continent. One by one they -have retired,--first France, then Spain, then France again, and now -Russia,--all giving way to the absorbing Unity declared in the national -motto, _E pluribus unum_. - - * * * * * - -4. _Anticipation of Great Britain._--Another motive to this -acquisition may be found in the desire to anticipate imagined schemes -or necessities of Great Britain. With regard to all these I confess -doubt; and yet, if we credit report, it would seem as if there were -already a British movement in this direction. Sometimes it is said that -Great Britain desires to buy, if Russia will sell. Sir George Simpson, -Governor-in-chief of the Hudson’s Bay Company, declared, that, without -the strip on the coast underlet to them by the Russian Company, the -interior would be “comparatively useless to England.”[24] Here, then, -is provocation to buy. Sometimes report assumes a graver character. -A German scientific journal, in an elaborate paper entitled “The -Russian Colonies on the Northwest Coast of America,” after referring -to the constant “pressure” upon Russia, proceeds to say that there are -already crowds of adventurers from British Columbia and California now -at the gold mines on the Stikine, which flows from British territory -through the Russian possessions, who openly declare their purpose of -driving the Russians out of this region. I refer to the “Archiv für -Wissenschaftliche Kunde von Russland,”[25] edited at Berlin as late as -1863, by A. Erman, and undoubtedly the leading authority on Russian -questions. At the same time it presents a curious passage bearing -directly on British policy, purporting to be taken from the “British -Colonist,” a newspaper of Victoria, on Vancouver’s Island. As this was -regarded of sufficient importance to be translated into German for the -instruction of scientific readers, I am justified in laying it before -you, restored from German to English. - - “The information which we daily publish from the Stikine - River very naturally excites public attention in a high - degree. Whether the territory through which the river flows - be regarded from a political, commercial, or industrial point - of view, it promises within a short time to awaken a still - more general interest. Not only will the intervention of the - royal jurisdiction be demanded in order to give it a complete - form of government, but, if the land proves as rich as there - is now reason to believe it to be, it is not improbable that - it will result in negotiations between England and Russia - for the cession of the sea-coast to the British Crown. It is - not to be supposed that a stream like the Stikine, which is - navigable for steamers from one hundred and seventy to one - hundred and ninety miles, which waters a territory so rich in - gold that it will attract myriads of men,--that the commerce - upon such a road can always pass through a Russian gateway of - thirty miles from the sea-coast to the interior. The English - population which occupies the interior cannot be so easily - managed by the Russians as the Stikine Indians of the coast - manage the Indians of the interior. Our business must be in - British hands. Our resources, our energies, our spirit of - enterprise cannot be employed in building up a Russian emporium - at the mouth of the Stikine. We must have for our merchandise a - depot over which the British flag waves. By the treaty of 1825 - the navigation of the river is secured to us. The navigation - of the Mississippi was also open to the United States before - the Louisiana purchase; but the growing strength of the North - made the acquisition of that territory, either by purchase or - by force of arms, an inevitable necessity. We look upon the - sea-coast of the Stikine region in the same light. The strip - of land which stretches along from Portland Canal to Mount St. - Elias, with a breadth of thirty miles, and which, according - to the treaty of 1825, forms a part of Russian America, _must - eventually become the property of Great Britain_, either as the - direct result of the gold discoveries, or from causes as yet - not fully developed, but whose operation is certain. For can we - reasonably suppose that the strip, three hundred miles long and - thirty miles wide, which is used by the Russians solely for the - collection of furs and walrus-teeth, will forever control the - entrance to our immense northern territory? It is a principle - of England to acquire territory only for purposes of defence. - Canada, Nova Scotia, Malta, the Cape of Good Hope, and the - greater part of our Indian possessions were all acquired for - purposes of defence. In Africa, India, and China the same rule - is followed by the Government to-day. With a power like Russia - it would perhaps be more difficult to arrange matters; but - if we need the sea-coast in order to protect and maintain our - commerce with an interior rich in precious metals, then we must - have it. The United States needed Florida and Louisiana, and - took them. We need the coast of New Norfolk and New Cornwall. - - “It is just as much the destiny of our Anglo-Norman race to - possess the whole of Russian America, however desolate and - inhospitable it may be, as it has been that of the Russian - Northmen to possess themselves of Northern Europe and Asia. As - the Wandering Jew and his phantom, so will the Anglo-Norman and - the Russian yet gaze at each other from the opposite sides of - Behring Strait. Between the two races the northern halves of - the Old and New World must be divided. America must be ours. - - “The recent discovery of the precious metals in our hyperborean - Eldorado will most probably hasten the annexation of the - territory in question. It can hardly be doubted that the gold - region of the Stikine extends away to the western affluents of - the Mackenzie. In this case the increase of the business and - of the population will exceed our most sanguine expectations. - Who shall reap the profit of this? The mouths of rivers, both - before and since the time of railroads, have controlled the - business of the interior. To our national pride the thought, - however, is intolerable, that the Russian griffin should - possess a point which is indebted to the British lion for its - importance. The mouth of the Stikine must be ours,--or at least - a harbor of export must be established on British soil from - which our steamers can pass the Russian belt. Fort Simpson, - Dundas Island, Portland Canal, or some other convenient point, - might be selected for this purpose. The necessity of speedy - measures, in order to secure the control of the Stikine, is - manifest. If we let slip the opportunity, we shall live to see - a Russian city arise at the gates of a British colony.” - -Thus, if we credit this colonial ejaculation, caught up and preserved -by German science, the Russian possessions were destined to round and -complete the domain of Great Britain on this continent. The Russian -“griffin” was to give way to the British “lion.” The Anglo-Norman was -to be master as far as Behring Strait, across which he might survey -his Russian neighbor. How this was to be accomplished is not precisely -explained. The promises of gold on the Stikine failed, and it is not -improbable that this colonial plan was as unsubstantial. Colonists -become excited easily. This is not the first time that Russian America -has been menaced in a similar way. During the Crimean War there seemed -to be in Canada a spirit not unlike that of the Vancouver journalist, -unless we are misled by the able pamphlet[26] of Mr. A. K. Roche, of -Quebec, where, after describing Russian America as “richer in resources -and capabilities than it has hitherto been allowed to be, either by the -English, who shamefully gave it up, or by the Russians, who cunningly -obtained it,” the author urges an expedition for its conquest and -annexion. His proposition fell on the happy termination of the war, but -it exists as a warning, with notice also of a former English title, -“shamefully” abandoned. - -This region is distant enough from Great Britain; but there is -an incident of past history which shows that distance from the -metropolitan government has not excluded the idea of war. Great -Britain could hardly be more jealous of Russia on these coasts than -was Spain in a former day, if we listen to the report of Humboldt. -I refer again to his authoritative work, “Essai Politique sur la -Nouvelle-Espagne,”[27] where it is recorded, that, as early as 1788, -even while peace was still unbroken, the Spaniards could not bear the -idea of Russians in this region, and when, in 1799, the Emperor Paul -declared war on Spain, the hardy project was formed of an expedition -from the Mexican ports of Monterey and San Blas against the Russian -colonies; on which the philosophic traveller remarks, in words which -are recalled by the Vancouver manifesto, that, “if this project had -been executed, the world would have witnessed two nations in conflict, -which, occupying the opposite extremities of Europe, found themselves -neighbors in the other hemisphere on the eastern and western boundaries -of their vast empires.” Thus, notwithstanding an intervening circuit of -half the globe, two great powers were about to encounter each other on -these coasts. But I hesitate to believe that the British of our day, in -any considerable numbers, have adopted the early Spanish disquietude at -the presence of Russia on this continent. - - * * * * * - -5. _Amity of Russia._--There is still another consideration concerning -this treaty not to be disregarded. It attests and assures the amity of -Russia. Even if you doubt the value of these possessions, the treaty is -a sign of friendship. It is a new expression of that _entente cordiale_ -between the two powers which is a phenomenon of history. Though unlike -in institutions, they are not unlike in recent experience. Sharers of -common glory in a great act of Emancipation, they also share together -the opposition or antipathy of other nations. Perhaps this experience -has not been without effect in bringing them together. At all events, -no coldness or unkindness has interfered at any time with their good -relations. - -The archives of the State Department show an uninterrupted cordiality -between the two Governments, dating far back in our history. More -than once Russia has proffered her good offices between the United -States and Great Britain; once also she was a recognized arbitrator. -She offered her mediation to terminate the War of 1812; and under her -arbitration questions with Great Britain arising under the Treaty of -Ghent were amicably settled in 1822. But it was during our recent -troubles that we felt more than ever her friendly sentiments, although -it is not improbable that the accident of position and of distance had -influence in preserving these undisturbed. The Rebellion, which tempted -so many other powers into its embrace, could not draw Russia from her -habitual good-will. Her solicitude for the Union was early declared. -She made no unjustifiable concession of _ocean belligerence_, with all -its immunities and powers, to Rebels in arms against the Union. She -furnished no hospitality to Rebel cruisers, nor was any Rebel agent -ever received, entertained, or encouraged at St. Petersburg,--while, -on the other hand, there was an understanding that the United States -should be at liberty to carry prizes into Russian ports. So natural -and easy were the relations between the two Governments, that such -complaints as incidentally arose on either side were amicably adjusted -by verbal explanations without written controversy. - -Positive acts occurred to strengthen these relations. As early as 1861, -the two Governments agreed to act together for the establishment of a -connection between San Francisco and St. Petersburg by an inter-oceanic -telegraph across Behring Strait; and this agreement was subsequently -sanctioned by Congress.[28] Meanwhile occurred the visit of the -Russian fleet in the winter of 1863, intended by the Emperor, and -accepted by the United States, as a friendly demonstration. This was -followed by a communication of the Secretary of State, dated 26th -December, 1864, inviting the Archduke Constantine to visit the United -States, where it was suggested that such a visit “would be beneficial -to us and by no means unprofitable to Russia,” but “forbearing to -specify reasons,” and assuring him, that, coming as a national guest, -he “would receive a cordial and most demonstrative welcome.”[29] -Affairs in Russia prevented the acceptance of this invitation. -Afterwards, in the spring of 1866, Congress by solemn resolution -declared the sympathies of the United States with the Emperor on his -escape from the madness of an assassin,[30] and Mr. Fox, at the time -Assistant Secretary of the Navy, was appointed to take the resolution -of Congress to the Emperor, and, in discharge of this trust, to declare -the friendly sentiments of our country for Russia. He was conveyed -to Cronstadt in the monitor Miantonomoh, the most formidable ship of -our navy, and thus this agent of war became a messenger of peace. -The monitor and the minister were received in Russia with unbounded -hospitality. - -In relations such as I have described, the cession of territory seems -a natural transaction, entirely in harmony with the past. It remains -to hope that it may be a new link in an amity which, without effort, -has overcome differences of institutions and intervening space on the -globe. - - -SHALL THE TREATY BE RATIFIED? - -Such are obvious considerations of a general character. The interests -of the Pacific States, the extension of the national domain, the -extension of republican institutions, the foreclosure of adverse -British possession, and the amity of Russia,--these are the points we -have passed in review. Most of these, if not all, are calculated to -impress the public mind; but I can readily understand a difference of -opinion with regard to the urgency of negotiation at this hour. Some -may think that the purchase-money and the annual outlay that must -follow might have been postponed another decade, while Russia continued -in possession as trustee for our benefit; and yet some of the reasons -for the treaty do not seem to allow delay. - -At all events, now that the treaty has been signed by plenipotentiaries -on each side duly empowered, it is difficult to see how we can refuse -to complete the purchase without putting to hazard the friendly -relations which happily subsist between the United States and Russia. -The overtures originally proceeded from us. After a delay of years, and -other intervening propositions, the bargain was at length concluded. -It is with nations as with individuals. A bargain once made must be -kept. Even if still open to consideration, it must not be lightly -abandoned. I am satisfied that the dishonoring of this treaty, after -what has passed, would be a serious responsibility for our country. As -an international question, it would be tried by the public opinion of -the world; and there are many who, not appreciating the requirement of -our Constitution by which a treaty must have “the advice and consent -of the Senate,” would regard its rejection as bad faith. There would -be jeers at us, and jeers at Russia also: at us for levity in making -overtures, and at Russia for levity in yielding to them. Had the Senate -been consulted in advance, before the treaty was signed or either power -publicly committed, as is often done on important occasions, it would -be under less constraint. On such a consultation there would have been -opportunity for all possible objections, and a large latitude for -reasonable discretion. Let me add, that, while forbearing objection -now, I hope that this treaty may not be drawn into a precedent, at -least in the independent manner of its negotiation. I would save to the -Senate an important power justly belonging to it. - - -A CAVEAT. - -There is one other point on which I file my _caveat_. This treaty must -not be a precedent for a system of indiscriminate and costly annexion. -Sincerely believing that republican institutions under the primacy of -the United States must embrace this whole continent, I cannot adopt -the sentiment of Jefferson, who, while confessing satisfaction in -settlements on the Pacific coast, saw there in the future nothing but -“free and independent Americans,” bound to the United States only by -“ties of blood and interest,” without political unity,[31]--or of -Webster, who in the same spirit said of settlers there, “They will -raise a standard for themselves, and they ought to do it.”[32] Nor am -I willing to restrict myself to the principle so tersely expressed by -Andrew Jackson, in his letter to President Monroe: “Concentrate our -population, confine our frontier to proper limits, until our country, -to those limits, is filled with a dense population.”[33] But I cannot -disguise my anxiety that every stage in our predestined future shall -be by natural processes, without war, and I would add even without -purchase. There is no territorial aggrandizement worth the price of -blood. Only under peculiar circumstances can it become the subject -of pecuniary contract. Our triumph should be by growth and organic -expansion in obedience to “preëstablished harmony,” recognizing always -the will of those who are to become our fellow-citizens. All this must -be easy, if we are only true to ourselves. Our motto may be that of -Goethe: “Without haste, without rest.” Let the Republic be assured in -tranquil liberty, with all equal before the law, and it will conquer by -its sublime example. More happy than Austria, who acquired possessions -by marriage, we shall acquire them by the attraction of republican -institutions. - - “Bella gerant alii; tu, felix Austria, nube; - Nam quæ Mars aliis, dat tibi regna Venus.”[34] - -The famous epigram will be just as applicable to us, inasmuch as our -acquisitions will be under the sanction of wedlock to the Republic. -There may be wedlock of a people as well as of a prince. Meanwhile -our first care should be to improve and elevate the Republic, whose -sway will be so comprehensive. Plant it with schools; cover it with -churches; fill it with libraries; make it abundant with comfort, so -that poverty shall disappear; keep it constant in the assertion of -Human Rights. And here we may fitly recall those words of Antiquity, -which Cicero quoted from the Greek, and Webster in our day quoted from -Cicero: “You have a Sparta; adorn it.”[35] - - -SOURCES OF INFORMATION UPON RUSSIAN AMERICA. - -I am now brought to consider the character of these possessions -and their probable value. Here I am obliged to confess a dearth of -authentic information easily accessible. Few among us read Russian, so -that works in this language are locked up from us. One of these, in -two large and showy volumes, is now before me, entitled “An Historical -Survey of the Formation of the Russian-American Company, and its -Progress to the Present Time, by P. Teshmeneff, St. Petersburg.” The -first volume appeared in 1860, and the second in 1863. Here, among -other things, is a tempting engraving of Sitka, wrapt in mists, with -the sea before and the snow-capped mountains darkened with forest -behind. Judging from the table of contents, which has been translated -for me by a Russian, the book ought to be instructive. There is also -another Russian work of an official character, which appeared in 1861 -at St. Petersburg, in the “Morskoi Sbornik,” or Naval Review, and is -entitled “Materials for the History of the Russian Colonies on the -Coasts of the Pacific.” The report of Captain-Lieutenant Golowin, -made to the Grand Duke Constantine in 1861, with which we have become -acquainted through a scientific German journal, appeared originally in -the same review. These are recent productions. After the early voyages -of Behring, first ordered by Peter and supervised by the Imperial -Academy, the spirit of geographical research seems to have subsided at -St. Petersburg. Other enterprises absorbed attention. And yet I would -not do injustice to the voyages of Billings, recounted by Sauer, or of -Lisiansky, or of Kotzebue, all under the auspices of Russia, the last -of which may compare with any as a contribution to science. I may add -Lütke also; but Kotzebue was a worthy successor to Behring and Cook. - -Beside these official contributions, most of them by no means fresh, -are materials derived from casual navigators, who, scudding these seas, -rested in the harbors as the water-fowl on its flight,--from whalemen, -who were there merely as Nimrods of the ocean, or from adventurers in -quest of the rich furs it furnished. There are also the gazetteers and -geographies; but they are less instructive on this head than usual, -being founded on information now many years old. - -Perhaps no region of equal extent on the globe, unless we except the -interior of Africa or possibly Greenland, is so little known. Here I -do not speak for myself alone. A learned German, whom I have already -quoted, after saying that the explorations have been limited to the -coast, testifies that “the interior, not only of the continent, but -even of the island of Sitka, is to this day unexplored, and is in -every respect _terra incognita_.”[36] The same has been repeated of -the other islands. Admiral Lütke, whose circumnavigation of the globe -began in 1826, and whose work bears date 1835-36, says of the Aleutian -Archipelago, that, although frequented for more than a century by -Russian vessels and those of other nations, it is to-day almost as -little known as in the time of Cook. Another writer of authority, the -compiler of the official work on the People of Russia, published as -late as 1862, speaks of the interior as “a mystery.” And yet another -says that our ignorance with regard to this region would make it a -proper scene for a chapter of Gulliver’s Travels. - -Where so little was known, invention found scope. Imagination was -made to supply the place of knowledge, and poetry pictured the savage -desolation in much admired verse. Campbell, in the “Pleasures of Hope,” -while exploring “Earth’s loneliest bounds and Ocean’s wildest shore,” -reaches this region, which he portrays:-- - - “Lo! to the wintry winds the pilot yields - His bark careering o’er unfathomed fields. - … - Now far he sweeps, where scarce a summer smiles, - On Behring’s rocks or Greenland’s naked isles; - Cold on his midnight watch the breezes blow - From wastes that slumber in eternal snow, - And waft across the waves’ tumultuous roar - _The wolf’s long howl from Oonalaska’s shore_.” - -All of which, so far at least as it describes this region, is -inconsistent with truth. The poet ignores the isothermal line, which -plays such a conspicuous part on the Pacific coast. Here the evidence -is positive. Portlock, the navigator, who was there toward the close -of the last century, after describing Cook’s Inlet, which is several -degrees north of Oonalaska, records his belief “that the climate here -is not so severe as has been generally supposed; for, in the course -of our traffic with the natives, they frequently brought berries of -several sorts, and in particular blackberries, equally fine with -those met with in England.”[37] Kotzebue, who was here later, says -that he found “the weather pretty warm at Oonalaska.”[38] South of the -Aleutians the climate is warmer still. The poet ignores natural history -also, as regards the distribution of animals. Curiously enough, it -does not appear that “wolves” exist on any of the Fox Islands. Coxe, -in his work on Russian Discoveries,[39] records that “reindeer, bears, -_wolves_, ice-foxes, are not to be found on these islands.” But he was -never there. Meares, who was in those seas, says, “_The only animals_ -on these islands are foxes, some of which are black.”[40] Cook, who -visited Oonalaska twice, and once made a prolonged stay, expressly -says, “Foxes and weasels were _the only quadrupeds_ we saw; but they -told us that they had hares also, and marmottas.”[41] But quadrupeds -like these hardly sustain the exciting picture. The same experienced -navigator furnishes a glimpse of the inhabitants, as they appeared to -him, which would make us tremble, if the “wolves” of the poet were -numerous. He says, “To all appearance, they are the most peaceable, -inoffensive people I ever met with”; and Cook had been at Otaheite. “No -such thing as an offensive or even defensive weapon was seen amongst -the natives of Oonalaska.”[42] Then, at least, the inhabitants did -not share the ferocity of the “wolves” and of the climate. Another -navigator fascinates us by a description of the boats, which struck -him “with amazement beyond expression”; and he explains: “If perfect -symmetry, smoothness, and proportion constitute beauty, they are -beautiful; to me they appeared so beyond anything that I ever beheld. -I have seen some of them as transparent as oiled paper.”[43] But these -are the very boats that buffet “the waves’ tumultuous roar,” while “the -breezes” waft “the wolf’s long howl.” The same reporter introduces -another feature. According to him, the sojourning Russians “seem to -have no desire to leave this place, where they enjoy that indolence so -pleasing to their minds.”[44] The lotus-eaters of Homer were no better -off. The picture is completed by another touch from Lütke. Admitting -the want of trees, the Admiral suggests that their place is supplied -not only by luxuriant grass, but by wood thrown upon the coast, -including trunks of camphor from Chinese and Japanese waters, and “a -tree which gives forth the odor of the rose.”[45] Such is a small -portion of the testimony, most of it in print before the poet sang.[46] - -Nothing has been written about this region, whether the coast or the -islands, more authentic or interesting than the narrative of Captain -Cook on his third and last voyage. He saw with intelligence, and his -editor has imparted to the description a clearness almost elegant. -The record of Captain Portlock’s voyage from London to the Northwest -Coast, in 1785-8, seems honest, and is instructive. Captain Meares, -whose voyage was contemporaneous, saw and exposed the importance of -trade between the Northwest Coast and China. Vancouver, who came a -little later, has described some parts of the coast. La Pérouse, the -unfortunate French navigator, has afforded another picture of it, -painted with French colors. Before him was Maurelle, an officer in the -Spanish expedition of 1779, a portion of whose journal is preserved in -the Introduction to the volumes of La Pérouse. After him was Marchand, -who, during a circumnavigation of the globe, stopped here in 1791. -The Voyage of the latter, published in three quartos, is accompanied -by an Historical Introduction, which is a mine of information on all -the voyages to this coast. Then came the successive Russian voyages -already mentioned, and in 1804-6 the “Voyage to the North Pacific” of -Captain John D’Wolf, one of our own enterprising countrymen. Later -came the “Voyage round the World” by Captain Sir Edward Belcher, with -a familiar sketch of life at Sitka, where he stopped in 1837, and an -engraving of the arsenal and light-house there. Then followed the -“Overland Journey round the World,” in 1841-2, by Sir George Simpson, -Governor-in-chief of the Hudson’s Bay Company, with an account of a -visit to Sitka and the hospitality of its governor. To these I add -the “Nautical Magazine” for 1849, Volume XVIII., which contains some -excellent pages about Sitka; the “Journal of the Royal Geographical -Society of London” for 1841, Volume XI., and for 1852, Volume XXII., -where this region is treated under the heads of “Observations on the -Indigenous Tribes of the Northwest Coast of America,” and “Notes on -the Distribution of Animals available as Food in the Arctic Regions”; -Burney’s “Northeastern Voyages”; the magnificent work entitled -“Description Ethnographique des Peuples de la Russie,” which appeared -at St. Petersburg in 1862, on the tenth centennial anniversary of -the foundation of the Russian Empire; the very recent work of Murray -on the “Geographical Distribution of Mammals”; the work of Sir John -Richardson, “Fauna Boreali-Americana”; Latham on “The Nationalities -of Europe,” in the chapters on the population of Russian America; -the “Encyclopædia Britannica,” and the admirable “Physical Atlas” -of Alexander Keith Johnston. I mention also an elaborate article by -Holmberg, in the Transactions of the Finland Society of Sciences -at Helsingfors, replete with information on the Ethnography of the -Northwest Coast.[47] - -Doubtless the most precise and valuable information has been -contributed by Germany. The Germans are the best of geographers; -besides, many Russian contributions are in German. Müller, who -recorded the discoveries of Behring, was a German. Nothing more -important on this subject has ever appeared than the German work of -the Russian Admiral Von Wrangell, “Statistische und Ethnographische -Nachrichten über die Russischen Besitzungen an der Nordwestküste von -Amerika,” first published by Baer in his “Beiträge zur Kenntniss des -Russischen Reiches,” in 1839. There is also the “Verhandlungen der -Russisch-Kaiserlichen Mineralogischen Gesellschaft zu St. Petersburg,” -1848 and 1849, which contains an elaborate article, in itself a volume, -on the Orography and Geology of the Northwest Coast and the adjoining -islands, at the end of which is a bibliographical list of works and -materials illustrating the discovery and history of the western half -of North America and the neighboring seas. I also refer generally -to the “Archiv für Wissenschaftliche Kunde von Russland,” edited by -Erman, but especially the volume for 1863, containing the abstract -of Golowin’s report on the Russian Colonies in North America, as it -appeared originally in the “Morskoi Sbornik.” Besides these, there are -Wappäus, “Handbuch der Geographie und Statistik von Nord-Amerika,” -published at Leipsic in 1855; Petermann, in his “Mittheilungen über -wichtige neue Erforschungen auf dem Gesammtgebiete der Geographie,” -for 1856, p. 486, for 1859, p. 41, and for 1863, pp. 70, 237, 277; -Kittlitz, “Denkwürdigkeiten einer Reise nach dem Russischen Amerika, -nach Mikronesien und durch Kamtschatka,” published at Gotha in 1858; -also, by the same author, “The Vegetation of the Coasts and Islands of -the Pacific,” translated from the German, and published at London in -1861. - -Much recent information has been derived from the great companies -possessing the monopoly of trade. Latterly there has been an unexpected -purveyor in the Russian American Telegraph Company, under the direction -of Captain Charles S. Bulkley; and here our own countrymen help us. -To this expedition we are indebted for authentic evidence with regard -to the character of the region, and the great rivers which traverse -it. The Smithsonian Institution and the Chicago Academy of Sciences -coöperated with the Telegraph Company in the investigation of the -natural history. Major Kennicott, a young naturalist, originally in -the service of the Institution, and Director of the Museum of the -Chicago Academy, was the enterprising chief of the Yukon division of -the expedition. While in the midst of his valuable labors, he died -suddenly, in the month of May last, at Nulato, on the banks of the -great river, the Kwichpak, which may be called the Mississippi of the -North, far away in the interior, and on the confines of the Arctic -Circle, where the sun was visible all night. Even after death he -was still an explorer. From this remote outpost, his remains, after -descending the unknown river in an Esquimaux boat of seal-skins, -steered by the faithful companion of his labors, were transported -by way of Panama to his home at Chicago, where he now lies buried. -Such an incident cannot be forgotten, and his name will always remind -us of courageous enterprise, before which distance and difficulty -disappeared. He was not a beginner, when he entered into the service -of the Telegraph Company. Already he had visited the Yukon country by -the way of the Mackenzie River, and contributed to the Smithsonian -Institution important information with regard to its geography and -natural history, some of which is found in their Reports. Nature in -novel forms was open to him. The birds here maintained their kingdom. -All about him was the mysterious breeding-place of the canvas-back -duck, whose eggs, never before seen by naturalist, covered acres. - -If we look to maps for information, here again we are disappointed. -Latterly the coast is outlined and described with reasonable -completeness; so also are the islands. This is the contribution of -navigators and of recent Russian charts. But the interior is little -more than a blank, calling to mind “the unhabitable downs,” where, -according to Swift, the old geographers “place elephants for want of -towns.” I have already referred to what purports to be a “General Map -of the Russian Empire,” published by the Academy of Sciences at St. -Petersburg in 1776, and republished at London in 1780, where Russian -America does not appear. I might mention also that Captain Cook -complained in his day of the Russian maps as “singularly erroneous.” On -the return of the expedition, English maps recorded his explorations -and the names he assigned to different parts of the coast. These were -reproduced in St. Petersburg, and the Russian copy was then reproduced -in London, so that geographical knowledge was very little advanced. -Some of the best maps of this region are by Germans, who excel in maps. -I mention an excellent one of the Aleutian Islands and the neighboring -coasts, especially to illustrate their orography and geology, which -will be found at the end of the volume of Transactions of the Imperial -Mineralogical Society at St. Petersburg to which I have already -referred. - -Late maps attest the tardiness of information. Here, for instance, is -an excellent map of North America, purporting to be published by the -Geographical Institute of Weimar as late as 1859, on which we have the -Yukon pictured, very much like the Niger in Africa, as a large river -meandering in the interior with no outlet to the sea. Here also is a -Russian map of this very region, as late as 1861, where the course of -the Yukon is left in doubt. On other maps, as in the Physical Atlas of -Keith Johnston, it is presented, under another name, entering into the -Frozen Ocean. But the secret is penetrated at last. Recent discovery, -by the enterprise of our citizens in the service of the Telegraph -Company, fixes that this river is an affluent of the Kwichpak, as the -Missouri is an affluent of the Mississippi, and enters into Behring -Sea by many mouths, between the parallels of 62° and 63°. After the -death of Major Kennicott, a division of his party, with nothing but a -skin boat, ascended the river to Fort Yukon, where it bifurcates, and -descended it again to Nulato, thus establishing the entire course from -its sources in the Rocky Mountains for a distance exceeding a thousand -miles. I have before me now an outline map just prepared by our Coast -Survey, where this correction is made. But this is only a harbinger of -the maturer labors of our accomplished bureau, when the coasts of this -region are under the jurisdiction of the United States. - -In closing this abstract of authorities, being the chief sources of -original information, I cannot forbear expressing my satisfaction, -that, with the exception of a single work, all these are found in -the Congressional Library, now so happily enriched by the rare -collection of the Smithsonian Institution. Sometimes individuals -are like libraries; and this seems to be illustrated in the case of -Professor Baird, of the Smithsonian Institution, who is thoroughly -informed on all questions connected with the natural history of Russian -America, and also of George Gibbs, Esq., now of Washington, who is -the depositary of valuable knowledge, the result of his own personal -studies and observations, with regard to the native races. - - -CHARACTER AND VALUE OF RUSSIAN AMERICA. - -I pass now to a consideration of the character and value of these -possessions, as seen under these different heads: first, Government; -secondly, Population; thirdly, Climate; fourthly, Vegetable Products; -fifthly, Mineral Products; sixthly, Furs; and, seventhly, Fisheries. -Of these I shall speak briefly in their order. There are certain words -of a general character, which I introduce by way of preface. I quote -from Blodget on the “Climatology of the United States and of the -Temperate Latitudes of the North American Continent.” - - “It is most surprising that so little is known of the great - islands and the long line of coast from Puget’s Sound to - Sitka, ample as its resources must be even for recruiting the - transient commerce of the Pacific, independent of its immense - intrinsic value. To the region bordering the Northern Pacific - the finest maritime positions belong throughout its entire - extent; and no part of the West of Europe exceeds it in the - advantages of equable climate, fertile soil, and commercial - accessibility of the coast. The western slope of the Rocky - Mountain system may be included as a part of this maritime - region, embracing an immense area, from the forty-fifth to the - sixtieth parallel and five degrees of longitude in width. The - cultivable surface of this district cannot be much less than - three hundred thousand square miles.”[48] - -From this sketch, which is in the nature of a picture, I pass to the -different heads. - - * * * * * - -1. _Government._--The Russian settlements were for a long time without -any regular government. They were little more than temporary lodgements -for purposes of trade, where the will of the stronger prevailed. -The natives, who had enslaved each other, became in turn the slaves -of these mercenary adventurers. Captain Cook records “the great -subjection”[49] of the natives at Oonalaska, when he was there in 1778; -and a Russian navigator, fourteen years later, describes the islands -generally as “under the sway of roving hunters more savage than any -tribes he had hitherto met with.”[50] At Oonalaska the Russians for -a long time employed all the men in the chase, “taking the fruits of -their labor to themselves.”[51] - -The first trace of government which I find was in 1790, at the -important island of Kadiak, or the Great Island, as it was called, -where a Russian company was established under direction of a Greek by -the name of Delareff, who, according to the partial report of a Russian -navigator, “governed with the strictest justice, as well natives as -Russians, and established a school, where the young natives were -taught the Russian language, reading and writing.”[52] Here were about -fifty Russians, including officers of the company, and another person -described as “there on the part of Government to collect tribute.”[53] -The establishment consisted of five houses after the Russian -fashion,--barracks laid out on either side, somewhat like the boxes -at a coffee-house, with different offices, represented as follows: -“An office of appeal, to settle disputes, levy fines, and punish -offenders by a regular trial; here Delareff presides, and I believe -that few courts of justice pass a sentence with more impartiality; an -office of receival and delivery, both for the company and for tribute; -the commissaries’ department, for the distribution of the regulated -portions of provision; counting-house, &c.: all in this building, at -one end of which is Delareff’s habitation.”[54] If this picture is not -overdrawn,--and it surely is,--affairs here did not improve with time. -But D’Wolf, who was there in 1805-6, reports “about forty houses of -various descriptions, including a church, school-house, store-house, -and barracks”; and he adds: “The school-house was quite a respectable -establishment, well filled with pupils.”[55] - -There were various small companies, of which that at Kadiak was the -most considerable, all finally fused into one large trading company, -known as the Russian American Company, organized in 1799, under a -charter from the Emperor Paul, with the power of administration -throughout the whole region, including coasts and islands. In this -respect it was not unlike the East India Company, which has played -such a part in English history; but it may be more properly compared -to the Hudson’s Bay Company, of which it was a Russian counterpart. -The charter was for a term of years, but it has been from time to time -extended, and, as I understand, is now about to expire. The powers of -the Company are sententiously described by the “Almanach de Gotha” for -1867, where, under the head of Russia, it says that “to the present -time Russian America has been the property of a company.” - -I know no limitation upon the Company, except that latterly it has been -bound to appoint its chief functionary, called “Administrator General,” -from the higher officers of the imperial navy, when he becomes invested -with what are declared the prerogatives of a governor in Siberia. This -requirement has doubtless secured the superior order of magistrates -since enjoyed. Among these have been Baron Wrangell, an admiral, -there at the time of the treaty with Great Britain in 1825; Captain -Kuprianoff, who had commanded the Azof, a ship of the line, in the -Black Sea, and spoke English well; Captain Etolin; Admiral Furuhelm, -who, after being there five years, was made governor of the province -of the Amoor; Admiral Woiwodsky; and Prince Maksutoff, an admiral -also, who is the present Administrator General. The term of service is -ordinarily five years. - -The seat of government is the town of New Archangel, better known by -its aboriginal name of Sitka, with a harbor as smooth and safe as a -pond. Its present population cannot be far from one thousand, although -even this is changeable. In spring, when sailors leave for the sea and -trappers for the chase, it has been reduced to as few as one hundred -and eighty. It was not without a question that Sitka at last prevailed -as the metropolis. Lütke sets forth reasons elaborately urged in favor -of St. Paul, on the island of Kadiak.[56] - -The first settlement there was in 1800, by Baranoff, the superintendent -of the Company, whose life was passed in this country, and whose name -has been given to the island. But the settlement made slow progress. -Lisiansky, who was there in 1804, records, that, “from his entrance -into Sitka Sound, there was not to be seen on the shore the least -vestige of habitation.”[57] The natives had set themselves against a -settlement. Meanwhile the seat of government was at Kadiak, of which -we have an early and friendly glimpse. I quote what Lisiansky says, as -exhibiting in a favorable light the beginning of the government, now -transferred to the United States. - - “The island of Kadiak, with the rest of the Russian settlements - along the northwest coast of America, are superintended by - a kind of governor-general or commander-in-chief, who has - agents under him, appointed, like himself, by the Company - at Petersburg. The smaller settlements have each a Russian - overseer. These overseers are chosen by the governor, and are - selected for the office in consequence of their long services - and orderly conduct. They have the power of punishing, to a - certain extent, those whom they superintend; but are themselves - amenable to the governor, if they abuse their power by acts - of injustice. The seat of government is the Harbor of St. - Paul, which has a barrack, different store-houses, several - respectable wooden habitations, and a church, the only one to - be found on the coast.”[58] - -From this time the Company seems to have established itself on the -coast. Lisiansky speaks of a single hunting party of nine hundred -men, gathered from different places, as Alaska, Kadiak, Cook’s Inlet, -Prince William Sound, and “commanded by thirty-six _toyons_, who are -subordinate to the Russians in the service of the American Company, and -receive from them their orders.”[59] From another source I learn that -the inhabitants of Kadiak and of the Aleutian Islands were regarded as -“immediate subjects of the Company,”--the males from eighteen to fifty -being bound to serve it for the term of three years each. They were -employed in the chase. The population of Alaska and of the two great -bays, Cook’s Inlet and Prince William Sound, were also subject to the -Company; but they were held to a yearly tax on furs, without regular -service, and they could trade only with the Company; otherwise they -were independent. This seems to have been before a division of the -whole into districts, all under the Company, which, though primarily -for the business of the Company, may be regarded as so many distinct -jurisdictions, each with local powers of government. - -Among these were two districts which I mention only to put aside, as -not included in the present cession: (1.) the Kurile Islands, being -the group nestling near the coast of Japan, on the Asiatic side of the -dividing line between the two continents; (2.) the Ross settlement in -California, now abandoned. - -There remain five other districts: (1.) the District of Atcha, with -the bureau at this island, embracing the two western groups of the -Aleutians known as the Andreanoffsky Islands and the Rat Islands, and -also the group about Behring’s Island, which is not embraced in the -present cession;--(2.) the District of Oonalaska, with the bureau at -this island, embracing the Fox Islands, the peninsula of Alaska to -the meridian of the Shumagin Islands, including these, and also the -Pribyloff Islands to the northwest of the peninsula;--(3.) the District -of Kadiak, embracing the peninsula of Alaska east of the meridian of -the Shumagin Islands, and the coast eastward to Mount St. Elias, with -adjacent islands, including Kadiak, Cook’s Inlet, and Prince William -Sound; then northward along the coast of Bristol Bay, and the country -watered by the Nushagak and Kuskokwim rivers; all of which is governed -from Kadiak, with redoubts or palisaded stations at Nushagak, Cook’s -Inlet, and Prince William Sound;--(4.) the Northern District, embracing -the country of the Kwichpak and of Norton Sound, under direction of -the commander of the redoubt at St. Michael’s; leaving the country -northward, with the islands St. Lawrence and St. Matthew, not included -in this district, but visited directly from Sitka;--(5.) the District -of Sitka, embracing the coast from Mount St. Elias, where the Kadiak -district ends, southward to the latitude of 54° 40´, with adjacent -islands. But this district has been curtailed by a lease of the Russian -American Company in 1839 for the space of ten years, and subsequently -renewed, where this Company, in consideration of the annual payment of -two thousand otter skins of Columbia River, under-lets to the Hudson -Bay Company all its franchise for the strip of continent between Cape -Spencer at the north and the latitude of 54° 40´, excluding adjacent -islands. - -The central government of all these districts is at Sitka, from which -emanate all orders and instructions. Here also is the chief factory, -the fountain of supplies and the store-house of proceeds. - -The operations of the Government are seen in receipts and expenditures, -including salaries and allowances. In the absence of a complete -series of such statistics to the present time, I mass together what I -have been able to glean in different fields, relating to particular -years, knowing well its unsatisfactory character. But each item has -instruction for us. - -The capital of the Company, in buildings, wares, vessels, &c., was -reported in 1833 at 3,658,577 rubles. In 1838 it possessed twelve -vessels, with an aggregate capacity of 1,556 tons, most of which -were built at Sitka. According to Wappäus, who follows Wrangell, the -pay of the officers and workmen in 1832 amounted to 442,877 rubles. -At that time the persons in its service numbered 1,025, of whom 556 -were Russians, 152 Creoles, and 317 Aleutians. In 1851 there were -one staff officer, three officers of the imperial navy, one officer -of engineers, four civil officers, thirty religious officers, and six -hundred and eighty-six servants. The expenses from 1826 to 1833, a -period of seven years, were 6,608,077 rubles. These become interesting, -when it is considered, that, besides what was paid on account of furs -and the support of persons in the service of the Company, were other -items incident to government, such as ship-building, navigation, -fortifications, hospitals, schools, and churches. From a later -authority it appears that the receipts reported at St. Petersburg for -the year 1855 were 832,749 rubles, against expenses, 683,892 rubles, -incurred for “administration in Russia and the colonies,” insurance, -transportation, and duties. The relative proportion of these different -expenses does not appear. - -These are explained by other statistics, which I am able to give from -the Report of Golowin, who furnishes the receipts and expenditures from -1850 to 1859, inclusive. The silver ruble, which is the money employed -in the table, is taken at our mint for seventy-five cents. - - _Receipts from 1850 to 1859, inclusive._ - - Silver Rubles. - - Tea traffic 4,145,869.76 - Sale of furs 1,709,149.00 - Commercial licenses 2,403,296.61 - Other traffics 170,235.76 - ------------ - Total 8,528,551.13 - - _Expenditures from 1850 to 1859, inclusive._ - - Silver Rubles. - - Sustenance of the colony 2,288,207.20 - Colony’s churches 71,723.18 - Benevolent institutions 143,366.23 - Principal administrative officers 1,536,436.49 - Tea duty 1,764,559.85 - Transportation and packing of tea 586,901.72 - Purchase and transportation of merchandise 213,696.29 - Insurance of tea and merchandise 217,026.55 - Loss during war and by shipwreck 132,820.20 - Reconstruction of Company’s house in St. Petersburg 76,976.00 - Capital for the use of the poor 6,773.02 - Revenue fund capital 135,460.40 - Dividends 1,354,604.00 - ------------ - Total 8,528,551.13 - -Analyzing this table, we arrive at a clearer insight into the affairs -of the Company. If its receipts have been considerable, they have been -subject to serious deductions. From the expenditures we also learn -something of the obligations we are about to assume. - -Another table shows that during this same period 122,006 rubles were -received for ice, mostly sent to California, 26,399 rubles for timber, -and 6,250 for coal. I think it not improbable that these items are -included in the list of “receipts” under the term “other traffics.” - -In Russia the churches belong to the Government, and this rule -prevails in these districts, where are four Greek churches and five -Greek chapels. There is also a Protestant church at Sitka. I am glad -to add that at the latter place there is a public library, which -some years ago contained seventeen hundred volumes, together with -journals, charts, atlases, mathematical and astronomical instruments. -In Atcha, Oonalaska, Kadiak, and Sitka schools are reported at the -expense of the Company, though not on a very comprehensive scale; -for Admiral Wrangell mentions only ninety boys as enjoying these -advantages in 1839. In Oonalaska and Kadiak there were at the same -time orphan asylums for girls, where there were in all about thirty; -but the Admiral adds, that “these useful institutions will, without -doubt, be improved to the utmost.” Besides these, which are confined -to particular localities, there is said to be a hospital near every -factory in all the districts. - -I have no means of knowing if these territorial subdivisions have -undergone recent modification. They will be found in the “Russischen -Besitzungen” of Wrangell, published in 1839, in the “Geographie” of -Wappäus in 1856, and in the “Archiv von Russland” of 1863, containing -the article on the Report of Golowin. I am thus particular with regard -to them from a double motive. Besides helping us to understand the -government, they afford suggestions of practical importance in any -future organization. - -The Company has not been without criticism. Pictures of it are by no -means rose color. These, too, furnish instruction. Early in the century -its administration was the occasion of open and repeated complaint. -It was pronounced harsh and despotic. Langsdorff is indignant that -“a free trading company should exist independent, as it were, of the -Government, not confined within any definite regulations, but who can -exercise their authority free and uncontrolled, nay, even unpunished, -over so vast an extent of country.” In stating the case, he adds, that -“the Russian subject here enjoys no protection of his property, lives -in no security, and, if oppressed, has no one to whom he can apply for -justice. The agents of the factories, and their subordinate officers, -influenced by humor or interest, decide everything arbitrarily.” -And this arbitrary power seems to have prevailed wherever a factory -was established. “The stewardship in each single establishment is -entirely despotic; though nominally depending upon the principal -factory at Kadiak, these stewards do just what they please, without -the possibility of their being called to account.” If such was the -condition of Russians, what must have been that of natives? Here the -witness answers: “I have seen the Russian fur-hunters dispose of the -lives of the natives solely according to their own arbitrary will, -and put these defenceless creatures to death in the most horrible -manner.”[60] Our own D’Wolf records Langsdorff’s remonstrance in -behalf of “the poor Russians,” and adds that it was “but to little -purpose.”[61] Krusenstern concurs in this testimony, and, if possible, -darkens the colors. According to him, “Every one must obey the iron -rule of the agent of the American Company; nor can there be either -personal property or individual security, where there are no laws. The -chief agent of the American Company is the boundless despot over an -extent of country which, comprising the Aleutian Islands, stretches -from 57° to 61° of latitude and from 130° to 190° of east longitude”; -and he adds, in a note, “There are no courts of justice in Kadiak, nor -any of the Company’s possessions.”[62] Chamisso, the naturalist of -Kotzebue’s expedition, while confessing incompetency to speak on the -treatment of the natives by the Company, declares “his wounded feelings -and his commiseration.”[63] It is too probable that the melancholy -story of our own aborigines has been repeated. As these criticisms were -by Russian officers, they must have had a certain effect. I cannot -believe that the recent government, administered by the enlightened -magistrates of whom we have heard, has been obnoxious to such terrible -accusations; nor must it be forgotten that the report of Lisiansky, -contemporaneous with those of Langsdorff and Krusenstern, is much less -painful. - -Baranoff, who had been so long superintendent, retired in 1818. He is -much praised by Langsdorff, who saw him in 1805-6, and by Lütke, who -was at Sitka in 1828. Both attribute to him a genius for his place, -and a disinterested devotion to the interests of the Company, whose -confidence he enjoyed to the end. D’Wolf says, “He possessed a strong -mind, easy manners and deportment,” and “commanded the greatest respect -from the Indians.”[64] Although administering affairs for more than a -generation without rendering accounts, he died poor. He was succeeded -by Captain Hagemeister. Since then, according to Lütke, an infinity of -reforms has taken place, by which order and system have been introduced. - -The Russian officer, Captain Golowin, who visited these possessions -in 1860, has recommended certain institutional reforms, which are not -without interest at this time. His recommendations concern the governor -and the people. According to him, the governor should be appointed by -the Crown with the concurrence of the Company, removable only when his -continuance is plainly injurious to the colony; he should be subject -only to the Crown, and his powers should be limited, especially in -regard to the natives; he should provide protection for the colonists -by means of cruisers, and should personally visit every district -annually; the colonists, Creoles, and subject natives, such as the -Aleutians, should be governed by magistrates of their own selection; -the name of “free Creole” should cease; all disputes should be settled -by the local magistrates, unless the parties desire an appeal to the -governor; schools should be encouraged, and, if necessary, provided at -the public expense. These suggestions, in the nature of a reform bill, -foreshadow a condition of self-government in harmony with republican -institutions. - -It is evident that these Russian settlements, distributed through an -immense region and far from any civilized neighborhood, have little -in common with those of European nations elsewhere, unless we except -the Danish on the west coast of Greenland. Nearly all are on the coast -or the islands. They are nothing but “villages” or “factories” under -protection of palisades. Sitka is an exception, due unquestionably -to its selection as headquarters of the Government, and also to the -eminent character of the governors who have made it their home. The -executive mansion and the social life there have been described by -recent visitors, who acknowledged the charms of politeness on this -distant northwestern coast. Lütke portrays life among its fogs, and -especially the attractions of the governor’s house. This was in the -time of Admiral Wrangell, whose wife, possessing a high education, -embellished the wilderness by her presence, and furnished an example -of a refined and happy household. His account of Sitkan hospitality -differs in some respects from that of English writers who succeeded. He -records that fish was the staple dish at the tables of functionaries -as well as of the poor, and that the chief functionary himself was -rarely able to have meat for dinner. During the winter, a species of -wild sheep, the Musmon or Argali, also known in Siberia, and hunted in -the forests, furnished an occasional supply. But a fish diet did not -prevent his house from being delightful,--as was that of Baranoff, at -an earlier day, according to D’Wolf, who speaks of “an abundance of -good cheer.”[65] - -Sir Edward Belcher, the English circumnavigator, while on his voyage -round the world, stopped there. From him we have an account of the -executive mansion and fortifications, which will not be out of place in -this attempt to portray the existing Government. The house is of wood, -described as “solid,” one hundred and forty feet in length by seventy -feet wide, of two stories, with lofts, capped by a light-house in the -centre of the roof, which is covered with sheet-iron. It is about sixty -feet above the sea-level, and completely commands all the anchorage in -the neighborhood. Behind is a line of picketed logs twenty-five feet in -height, flanked at the angles by block-houses, loopholed and furnished -with small guns and swivels. The fortifications, when complete, -“will comprise five sides, upon which forty pieces of cannon will be -mounted, principally old ship-guns, varying from twelve to twenty-four -pounders.” The arsenal is praised for the best of cordage in ample -store, and for the best of artificers in every department. The interior -of the Greek church was found to be “splendid, quite beyond conception -in such a place as this.” The school and hospital had a “comparative -cleanliness and comfort, and much to admire,--although a man-of-war’s -man’s ideas of cleanliness are perhaps occasionally acute.” But it -is the social life which seems to have most surprised the gallant -captain. After telling us that “on their Sunday all the officers of the -establishment, civil as well as military, dine at the governor’s,” he -introduces us to an evening party and dance, which the latter gave to -show his English guest “the female society of Sitka,” and records that -everything “passed most delightfully,” especially, that, “although the -ladies were almost self-taught, they acquitted themselves with all the -ease and elegance communicated by European instruction.” Sir Edward -adds, that “the society is indebted principally to the governor’s -elegant and accomplished lady--who is of one of the first Russian -families--for much of this polish”; and he describes sympathetically -her long journey through Siberia with her husband, “on horse-back or -mules, enduring great hardships, in a most critical moment, in order to -share with him the privations of this barbarous region.” But, according -to him, barbarism is disappearing; and he concludes by declaring that -“the whole establishment appears to be rapidly on the advance, and -at no distant period we may hear of a trip to Norfolk Sound through -America as little more than a summer excursion.”[66] Is not this time -near at hand? - -Four years afterward, Sir George Simpson, governor-in-chief of the -Hudson’s Bay Company, on his overland journey round the world, stopped -at Sitka. He had just crossed the continent by way of the Red River -settlements to Vancouver. He, too, seems to have been pleased. He shows -us in the harbor “five sailing vessels, ranging between two hundred -and three hundred and fifty tons, besides a large bark in the offing in -tow of a steamer”; and he carries us to the executive mansion, already -described, which reappears as “a suite of apartments, communicating, -according to the Russian fashion, with each other, all the public -rooms being handsomely decorated and richly furnished, commanding -a view of the whole establishment, which was in fact a little -village, while about half-way down the rock two batteries on terraces -frowned respectively over the land and the water.” There was another -Administrator-General since the visit of Sir Edward Belcher; but again -the wife plays her charming part. After portraying her as a native of -Helsingfors, in Finland, the visitor adds: “So that this pretty and -ladylike woman had come to this, her secluded home, from the farthest -extremity of the Empire.” Evidently in a mood beyond contentment, he -says: “We sat down to a good dinner in the French style, the party, -in addition to our host and hostess and ourselves, comprising twelve -of the Company’s officers”; and his final judgment seems to be given, -when he says: “The good folks of New Archangel appear to live well. -The surrounding country abounds in the chevreuil, the finest meat that -I ever ate, with the single exception of moose,” while “in a little -stream which is within a mile of the fort salmon are so plentiful at -the proper season, that, when ascending the river, they have been known -literally to embarrass the movements of a canoe.”[67] Such is the -testimony. - -With these concluding pictures I turn from the Government. - - * * * * * - -2. _Population._--I come now to the Population, which may be considered -in its numbers and in its character. In neither respect, perhaps, -can it add much to the value of the country, except so far as native -hunters and trappers are needed for the supply of furs. Professor -Agassiz touches this point in a letter which I have just received from -him, where he says: “To me the fact that there is as yet hardly any -population would have great weight, as this secures the settlement -to our race.” But we ought to know something, at least, of the -people about to become the subjects of our jurisdiction, if not our -fellow-citizens. - -_First._ In trying to arrive at an idea of their _numbers_, I begin -with Lippincott’s Gazetteer, as it is the most accessible, according to -which the whole population in 1851, aboriginal, Russian, and Creole, -was 61,000. The same estimate appears also in the London “Imperial -Gazetteer” and in the “Geographie” of Wappäus. Keith Johnston, in his -“Physical Atlas,” calls the population, in 1852, 66,000. McCulloch, in -the last edition of his “Geographical Dictionary,” puts it as high as -72,375. On the other hand, the “Almanach de Gotha” for the present year -calls it 54,000. This estimate seems to have been adopted substantially -from the great work, “Les Peuples de la Russie,” which I am disposed to -consider as the best authority. - -Exaggerations are common with regard to the inhabitants of newly -acquired possessions, and this distant region is no exception. An -enthusiastic estimate once placed its population as high as 400,000. -Long ago, Schelekoff, an early Russian adventurer, reported that he -had subjected to the Crown of Russia 50,000 persons in the island of -Kadiak alone.[68] But Lisiansky, who followed him there in 1804-5, -says: “The population of this island, when compared with its size, is -very small.” After “the minutest research,” he found that it amounted -only to 4,000 souls.[69] It is much less now,--probably not more than -1,500. - -It is easy to know the number of those within the immediate -jurisdiction of the Company. This is determined by a census. Even here -the aborigines are the most numerous. Then come the Creoles, and last -the Russians. But here you must bear in mind a distinction with regard -to the former. In Spanish America all of European parentage born there -are “Creoles”; in Russian America this term is applicable only to those -whose parents are European and native,--in other words, “half-breeds.” -According to Wrangell, in 1833, the census of dependants of the Company -in all its districts was 652 Russians, 991 Creoles, and 9,016 Aleutians -and Kadiaks, being in all 10,659. Of these, 5,509 were men and 5,150 -were women. In 1851, according to the report of the Company, there was -an increase of Creoles, with a corresponding diminution of Russians and -aborigines, being 505 Russians, 1,703 Creoles, and 7,055 aborigines, -in all 9,263. In 1857 there were 644 Russians, 1,903 Creoles, and -7,245 aborigines, in all 9,792, of whom 5,133 were men and 4,659 were -women. The increase from 1851 to 1857 was only 529, or about one per -cent. annually. In 1860 there were “some hundreds” of Russians, 2,000 -Creoles, and 8,000 aborigines, amounting in all to 10,540, of whom -5,382 were men and 5,158 were women. I am thus particular, that you -may see how stationary population has been even within the sphere of -the Company. - -The number of Russians and Creoles at the present time in the whole -colony cannot be more than 2,500. The number of aborigines under the -direct government of the Company may be 8,000. There remain also the -mass of aborigines outside the jurisdiction of the Company, and having -only a temporary or casual contact with it for purposes of trade. In -this respect they are not unlike the aborigines of the United States -while in their tribal condition, described so often as “Indians not -taxed.” For the number of these outside aborigines I prefer to follow -the authority of the recent work already quoted, “Les Peuples de la -Russie,” according to which they are estimated at between forty and -fifty thousand. - -_Secondly._ In speaking of _character_, I turn to a different class of -materials. The early Russians here were not Pilgrims. They were mostly -runaways, fleeing from justice. Langsdorff says, “The greater part of -the Promüschleniks and inferior officers of the different settlements -are Siberian criminals, malefactors, and adventurers of various -kinds.”[70] The single and exclusive business of the Promüschleniks was -the collection of furs. But the name very early acquired a bad odor. -Here again we have the same Russian authority, who, after saying that -the inhabitants of the distant islands are under the superintendence -of a Promüschlenik, adds,--“which is, in other words, under that of a -rascal, by whom they are oppressed, tormented, and plundered in every -possible way.”[71] It must be remembered that this authentic portrait -is not of our day. - -The aborigines are all, in common language, Esquimaux; but they differ -essentially from the Esquimaux of Greenland, and they also differ among -themselves. Though popularly known by this family name, they have as -many divisions and subdivisions, with as many languages and idioms, as -France once had. There are large groups, each with its own nationality -and language; and there are smaller groups, each with its tribal idiom. -In short, the great problem of Language is repeated here. Its forms -seem to be infinite. Scientific inquiry traces many to a single root, -but practically they are different. Here is that confusion of tongues -which yields only to the presence of civilization; and it becomes more -remarkable, as the idiom is often confined to so small a circle. - -Looking at them ethnographically, we find two principal groups or -races,--the first scientifically known as Esquimaux, and the second -as Indians. By another nomenclature, having the sanction of authority -and usage, they are divided into Esquimaux, Aleutians, Kenaians, and -Koloschians, being four distinct groups. The Esquimaux and Aleutians -are reported Mongolian in origin. According to doubtful theory, they -passed from Asia to America by the succession of islands beginning -on the coast of Japan and extending to Alaska, which for this -purpose became a bridge between the two continents. The Kenaians and -Koloschians are Indians, belonging to known American races. So that -these four groups are ethnographically resolved into two, and the two -are resolved popularly into one. - -There are general influences more or less applicable to all these -races. The climate is peculiar, and the natural features of the country -are commanding. Cool summers and mild winters are favorable to the -huntsman and fisherman. Lofty mountains, volcanic forms, large rivers, -numerous islands, and an extensive sea-coast constitute the great Book -of Nature for all to read. None are dull. Generally they are quick, -intelligent, and ingenious, excelling in the chase and in navigation, -managing a boat as the rider his horse, until man and boat seem to be -one. Some are very skilful with tools, and exhibit remarkable taste. -The sea is bountiful, and the land has its supplies. From these they -are satisfied. Better still, there is something in their nature which -does not altogether reject the improvements of civilization. Unlike our -Indians, they are willing to learn. By a strange superstition, which -still continues, these races derive descent from different animals. -Some are gentle and pacific; others are warlike. All, I fear, are -slaveholders; some are cruel task-masters; others, in the interior, are -reputed cannibals. But the country back from the sea-coast is still an -undiscovered secret. - -(1.) Looking at them in ethnographical groups, I begin with the -_Esquimaux_, who popularly give the name to the whole. They number -about 17,000, and stretch along the indented coast from its eastern -limit on the Frozen Ocean to the mouth of the Copper River, in 60° -north latitude, excluding the peninsula of Alaska, occupied by -Aleutians, and the peninsula of Kenai, occupied by Kenaians. More -powerful races, of Indian origin, following the courses of the great -rivers northward and westward, have gradually crowded the Esquimaux -from the interior, until they constitute a belt on the salt water, -including the islands of the coast, and especially Kadiak. Their -various dialects are traced to a common root, while the prevailing -language betrays an affinity with the Esquimaux of Greenland, and -the intervening country watered by the Mackenzie. They share the -characteristics of that extensive family, which, besides spreading -across the continent, occupies an extent of sea-coast greater than -any other people of the globe, from which their simple navigation has -sallied forth so as to give them the name of Phœnicians of the North. -Words exclusively belonging to the Esquimaux are found in the dialects -of other races completely strangers, as Phœnician sounds are observed -in the Celtic speech of Ireland. - -The most known of the Russian Esquimaux is the small tribe now -remaining on the island of Kadiak, which from the beginning has been a -centre of trade. Although by various intermixture they already approach -the Indians of the coast, losing the Asiatic type, their speech remains -a distinctive sign of race. They are Esquimaux, and I describe them in -order to present an idea of this people. - -The men are tall, with copper skins, small black eyes, flat faces, -and teeth of dazzling whiteness. Once the women pierced the nostrils, -the lower lip, and the ears, for ornaments; but now only the nostrils -suffer. The aboriginal costume is still preserved, especially out of -doors. Their food is mostly from the sea, without the roots or berries -which the island supplies. The flesh and oil of the whale are a special -luxury. The oil is drunk pure, or used to season other food. Accustomed -to prolonged abstinence, they exhibit at times an appetite amounting -to prodigy. In one night six men were able to devour the whole of -a large bear. A strong drink made from the strawberry and myrtle, -producing the effect of opium, has yielded to brandy. Sugar and tea -are highly esteemed; but snuff is a delight. Lisiansky records that -they would go out of the way twenty miles merely for a pinch.[72] They -have tools of their own, which they use with skill. Their baidars, or -canoes, are distinguished for completeness of finish and beauty of -form. Unlike those of the Koloschians, lower down on the coast, which -are hollowed from trunks of trees, they are of seal-skins stretched on -frames, with a single aperture in the covering to receive the person of -the master. The same skill appears in the carving of wood, whalebone, -and walrus-ivory. Their general mode of life is said to be like that -of other tribes on the coast. To all else they add knowledge of the -healing art and passion for gaming. - -Opposite Kadiak, on the main-land east, are the Tchugatchi, a kindred -tribe, speaking the same language, but a different dialect. Northward -is a succession of kindred tribes, differing in speech, and each with -local peculiarities, but all are represented as kind, courteous, -hospitable, and merry. It is a good sign, that merriment should -prevail. Their tribal names are derived from a neighboring river, or -some climatic circumstance. Thus, for instance, those on the mighty -Kwichpak have the name of Kwichpakmutes, or “inhabitants of the great -river.” Those on Bristol Bay are called by their cousins of Norton -Sound Achkugmutes, or “inhabitants of the warm country”; and the same -designation is applied to the Kadiaks. Warmth, like other things in -this world, is comparative; and to an Esquimaux at 64° north latitude -another five degrees further south is in a “warm country.” These -northern tribes have been visited lately by our Telegraphic Exploring -Expedition, which reports especially their geographical knowledge and -good disposition. As the remains of Major Kennicott descended the -Kwichpak, they were not without sympathy from the natives. Curiosity -also had its part. At a village where the boat rested for the night, -the chief announced that it was the first time white men had ever been -seen there. - -(2.) The _Aleutians_, sometimes called Western Esquimaux, number about -3,000. By a plain exaggeration, Knight, in his Cyclopædia of Geography, -makes them 20,000. Their home is the archipelago of volcanic islands -whose name they bear, and also a portion of the contiguous peninsula of -Alaska. The well-defined type has already disappeared; but the national -dress continues. This is a long shirt with tight sleeves, made from -the skins of birds, either the sea-parrot or the diver. This dress, -called the _parka_, is indispensable as clothing, blanket, and even as -habitation, during a voyage, being a complete shelter against wind and -cold. They, too, are fishermen and huntsmen; but they seem to excel as -artificers. The instruments and utensils of the Oonalaskans have been -noted for beauty. Their baidars were pronounced by Sauer “infinitely -superior to those of any other island,”[73] and another navigator -declares them “the best means yet discovered to go from place to place, -either upon the deepest or the shallowest water, in the quickest, -easiest, and safest manner possible.”[74] These illustrate their -nature, which is finer than that of their neighbors. They are at home -on the water, and excite admiration by the skill with which they manage -their elegant craft, so that Admiral Lütke recognized them as Cossacks -of the Sea. - -Oonalaska is the principal of these islands, and from the time they -were first visited seems to have excited a peculiar interest. Captain -Cook painted it kindly; so have succeeding navigators. And here have -lived the islanders who have given to navigators a new experience. -Alluding especially to them, the reporter of Billings’s voyage says: -“The capacity of the natives of these islands infinitely surpasses -every idea that I had formed of the abilities of savages.”[75] There is -another remark of this authority which shows how they had yielded, even -in their favorite dress, to the demands of commerce. After saying that -formerly they had worn garments of sea-otter, he pathetically adds, -“but not since the Russians have had any intercourse with them.”[76] -Poor islanders! Exchanging choice furs, once their daily wear, for -meaner skins! - -(3.) The _Kenaians_, numbering as many as 25,000, take their common -name from the peninsula of Kenai, with Cook’s Inlet on the west and -Prince William Sound on the east. Numerous beyond any other family in -Russian America, they belong to a widespread and teeming Indian race, -which occupies all the northern interior of the continent, stretching -from Hudson’s Bay in the east to the Esquimaux in the west. This is the -great nation called sometimes Athabascan, or, from the native name of -the Rocky Mountains, on whose flanks they live, Chippewyan, but more -properly designated as Tinneh, with branches in Southern Oregon and -Northern California, and then again with other offshoots, known as the -Apaches and Navajoes, in Arizona, New Mexico, and Chihuahua, thirty -degrees of latitude from the parent stem. Of this extended race, the -northwestern branch, known to travellers as Loucheux, and in their own -tongue as Kutchin, after occupying the inner portion of Russian America -on the Yukon and the Porcupine, reached the sea-coast at Cook’s Inlet, -where they appear under the name of Kenaians. The latter are said to -bear about the same relation, in language and intellectual development, -to the entire group, as the islanders of Kadiak bear to the Esquimaux. - -The Kenaians call themselves in their own dialect by yet another name, -Thnainas, meaning Men; thus, by a somewhat boastful designation, -asserting manhood. Their features and complexion associate them with -the red men of America, as does their speech. The first to visit them -was Cook, and he was struck by the largeness of their heads, which -seemed to him disproportioned to the rest of the body. They were -strong-chested also, with thick, short necks, spreading faces, eyes -inclined to be small, white teeth, black hair, and thin beard,--their -persons clean and decent, without grease or dirt. In dress they were -thought to resemble the people of Greenland. Their boats had a similar -affinity. But in these particulars they were not unlike the other races -already described. They were clothed in skins of animals, with the fur -outward, or sometimes in skins of birds, over which, for protection -against rain, was a frock made from the intestines of the whale, -“prepared so skilfully as almost to resemble our gold-beater leaf.”[77] -Their boats were of seal-skin stretched on frames, and of different -sizes. In one of these Cook counted twenty women and one man, besides -children. At that time, though thievish in propensity, they were not -unamiable. Shortly afterwards they were reported by Russian traders, -who had much to do with them, as “good people,” who behaved “in the -most friendly manner.”[78] I do not know that they have lost this -character since. - -Here, too, is the accustomed multiplicity of tribes, each with its -idiom, and sometimes differing in religious superstition, especially -on the grave question of descent from the dog or the crow. There is -also a prevailing usage for the men of one tribe to choose wives from -another tribe, when the tribal character of the mother attaches to the -offspring, which is another illustration of the Law of Slavery, _Partus -sequitur ventrem_. The late departure from this usage is quoted by the -old men as a sufficient reason for the mortality which has afflicted -the Kenaians, although a better reason is found in the ravages of the -small-pox, unhappily introduced by the Russians. In 1838, ten thousand -persons on the coast are reported victims to this disease. - -(4.) Last of the four races are the _Koloschians_, numbering about -4,000, who occupy the coast and islands from the mouth of the Copper -River to the southern boundary of Russian America, making about sixteen -settlements. They belong to an Indian group extending as far south as -the Straits of Fuca, and estimated to contain 25,000 souls. La Pérouse, -after considerable experience of the aborigines on the Atlantic coast, -asserts that those he saw here are not Esquimaux.[79] The name seems -to be of Russian origin, and is equivalent to Indian. Here again is -another variety of language, and as many separate nations. Near Mount -St. Elias are the Yakutats, who are the least known; then come the -Thlinkits, occupying the islands and coast near Sitka, and known in -Oregon under the name of Stikines; and then again we have the Kygans, -who, beginning on Russian territory, overlap Queen Charlotte’s Island, -beneath the British flag. All these, with their subdivisions, are -Koloschians; but every tribe or nation has four different divisions, -derived from four different animals, the whale, the eagle, the crow, -and the wolf, which are so many heraldic devices, marking distinct -groups. - -Points already noticed in the more northern groups are repeated here. -As among the Kenaians, husband and wife are of different animal -devices. A crow cannot marry a crow. There is the same skill in the -construction of canoes; but the stretched seal-skin gives place to the -trunk of a tree shaped and hollowed, so that it sometimes holds forty -persons. There are good qualities among Aleutians which the Koloschians -do not possess; but the latter have, perhaps, stronger sense. They -are of constant courage. As daring navigators they are unsurpassed, -sailing six or seven hundred miles in open canoes. Some are thrifty, -and show a sense of property. Some have developed an aptitude for trade -unknown to their northern neighbors, or to the Indians of the United -States, and will work for wages, whether in tilling the ground or other -employment. Their superior nature discards corporal punishment, even -for boys, as an ignominy not to be endured. They believe in a Creator, -and in the immortality of the soul. But here a mystic fable is woven -into their faith. The spirits of heroes dead in battle are placed in -the sky, and appear in the Aurora Borealis. Long ago a deluge occurred, -when the human family was saved in a floating vessel, which, after the -subsidence of the waters, struck on a rock and broke in halves. The -Koloschians represent one half of the vessel, and the rest of the world -the other half. Such is that pride of race which civilization does not -always efface. - -For generations they have been warriors, prompt to take offence, and -vindictive, as is the nature of the Indian race,--always ready to exact -an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. This character has not -changed. As was the case once in Italy, the dagger is an inseparable -companion. Private quarrels are common. The duel is an institution. So -is slavery still,--having a triple origin in war, purchase, or birth. -The slave is only a dog, and must obey his master in all things, even -to taking the life of another. He is without civil rights; he cannot -marry or possess anything; he can eat only offal; and his body, when -released by death, is thrown into the sea. A chief sometimes sacrifices -his slaves, and then another chief seeks to outdo his inhumanity. -All this is indignantly described by Sir Edward Belcher and Sir -George Simpson. But a slave once a freedman has all the rights of a -Koloschian. Here, too, are the distinctions of wealth. The rich paint -their faces daily; the poor renew the paint only when the colors begin -to disappear. - -These are the same people who for more than a century have been a -terror on this coast. It was Koloschians who received the two boats’ -crews of the Russian discoverer in 1741, as they landed in one of -its wooded coves, and no survivor returned to tell their fate. They -were actors in another tragedy at the beginning of the century, when -the Russian fort at Sitka was stormed and its defenders put to death, -some with excruciating torture. Lisiansky, whose visit was shortly -afterward, found them “a shrewd and bold, though a perfidious people,” -whose chiefs used “very sublime expressions,” and swore oaths, like -that of Demosthenes, “by their ancestors, by relatives living and dead, -and called heaven, earth, the sun, moon, and stars to witness for them, -particularly when they meant to deceive.”[80] According to D’Wolf, -“both sexes are expert in the use of fire-arms,” and he saw them -bathing in the sea with the thermometer below freezing, running over -the ice, and “performing all manner of antics with the same apparent -enjoyment as if it had been a warm spring.”[81] The fort has been -repeatedly threatened by these warriors, who multiply by reinforcements -from the interior, so that the governor in 1837 reported, that, -“although seven hundred only were now in the neighborhood, seven -thousand might arrive in a few hours.”[82] A little later their -character was recognized by Sir George Simpson, when he pronounced them -“numerous, treacherous, and fierce,” in contrast with Aleutians, whom -he describes as “peaceful even to cowardice.”[83] And yet this fighting -race is not entirely indocile, if we may credit recent report, that its -warriors are changing to traders. - - * * * * * - -3. _Climate._--From Population I pass to Climate, which is more -important, as it is a constant force. Climate is the key to this whole -region. It is the governing power which rules production and life, -for Nature and man must each conform to its laws. Here at last the -observations of science give to inquiry a solid support. - -Montesquieu has some famous chapters on the influence of climate -over customs and institutions.[84] Conclusions regarded in his day -as visionary or far-fetched are now unquestioned truth. Climate is a -universal master. But nowhere, perhaps, does it appear more eccentric -than in the southern portion of Russian America. Without a knowledge of -climatic laws, the weather here would seem like a freak of Nature. But -a brief explanation shows how all its peculiarities are the result of -natural causes which operate with a force as unerring as gravitation. -Heat and cold, rain and fog, to say nothing of snow and ice, which play -such a part, are not abnormal, but according to law. - -This law has been known only of late years. Even so ingenious an -inquirer as Captain Cook notices the mildness of the climate, without -attempting to account for it. He records, that, in his opinion, -“cattle might subsist in Oonalaska all the year round without being -housed”;[85] and this was in latitude 53° 52´, on the same parallel -with Labrador, and several degrees north of Quebec; but he stops -with a simple statement of the suggestive fact. This, however, was -inconsistent with the received idea at the time. A geographer, -who wrote a few years before Cook sailed, has a chapter in which, -assuming that the climate of Quebec continues across the continent, -he argues that America is colder than Asia. I refer to the “Mémoires -Géographiques” of Engel.[86] He would have been astonished, had he -seen the revelations of an isothermal map, showing precisely the -reverse: that the climate of Quebec does not continue across the -continent; that the Pacific coast of our continent is warmer than the -corresponding Atlantic coast; and that America is warmer than Asia, -so far at least as can be determined by the two opposite coasts. Such -is the truth, of which there are plentiful signs. The Flora on the -American side, even in Behring Strait, is more vigorous than that -on the Asiatic side, and the American mountains have less snow in -summer than their Asiatic neighbors. Among many illustrations of the -temperature, I know none more direct than that furnished by the late -Hon. William Sturgis, of Boston,--who was familiar with the Northwest -Coast at the beginning of the century,--in a lecture on the Oregon -question in 1845. After remarking that the climate there is “altogether -milder and the winter less severe than in corresponding latitudes on -this side the continent,” he proceeds to testify, that, as a proof of -its mildness, he had “passed seven winters between the latitudes of -51° and 57°, frequently lying so near the shore as to have a small -cable fast to the trees upon it, and only once was his ship surrounded -by ice sufficiently firm to bear the weight of a man.”[87] But this -intelligent navigator assigns no reason. To the common observer it -seemed as if the temperature grew milder, travelling with the sun until -it dipped in the ocean. - -Among authorities open before me I quote two, which show that this -difference of temperature between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts -was imagined, if not actually recognized, during the last century. -Portlock, the Englishman, who was on the coast in 1786, after saying -that during stormy and unsettled weather the air had been mild and -temperate, remarks that he is “inclined to think that the climate here -is not so severe as has been generally supposed.”[88] La Pérouse, -the Frenchman, whose visit was the same year, having been before in -Hudson’s Bay, on the other side of the continent, says still more -explicitly, “The climate of this coast seemed to me infinitely milder -than that of Hudson’s Bay, in the same latitude. We measured pines -six feet in diameter and a hundred and forty feet high; those of the -same species at Fort Prince of Wales and Fort York are of a dimension -scarcely sufficient for studding-sail booms.”[89] Langsdorff, when at -Sitka in 1805-6, was much with D’Wolf, the American navigator, and -records the surprise of the latter “at finding the cold less severe -in Norfolk Sound than at Boston, Rhode Island, and other provinces of -the United States, which lie more to the south.”[90] D’Wolf, in his -own work, says: “January brought cold, but not severe weather”; and in -February, the weather, though “rather more severe than the previous -month,” was “by no means so cold as in the United States, latitude -42°.”[91] - -All this is now explained by known forces in Nature. Of these the -most important is a thermal current in the Pacific, corresponding to -the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic. The latter, having its origin in the -heated waters of the Gulf of Mexico, flows as a river through the -ocean northward, encircling England, bathing Norway, and warming all -within its influence. A similar stream in the Pacific, sometimes called -the Japanese Current, having its origin under the equator near the -Philippines and the Moluccas, amid no common heats, after washing the -ancient empire of Japan, sweeps north, until, forming two branches, one -moves onward to Behring Strait, and the other bends east, along the -Aleutian Islands, and then south, along the coast of Sitka, Oregon, -and California. Geographers have described this “heater,” which in the -lower latitudes is as high as 81° of Fahrenheit, and even far to the -north as high as 50°. A chart in Findlay’s “Pacific Ocean Directory” -portrays its course, as it warms so many islands and such an extent -of coast. An officer of the United States Navy, Lieutenant Bent, in a -paper before the Geographical Society of New York, while exhibiting the -influence of this current in mitigating the climate of the Northwest -Coast, mentions that vessels on the Asiatic side, becoming unwieldy -with accumulations of ice on the hull and rigging, run over to the -higher latitude on the American side and “thaw out.” But the tepid -waters which melt the ice on a vessel must change the atmosphere, -wherever they flow. - -I hope you will not regard the illustration as too familiar, if I -remind you that in the economy of a household pipes of hot water are -sometimes employed in tempering the atmosphere by heat carried from -below to rooms above. In the economy of Nature these thermal currents -are only pipes of hot water, modifying the climate of continents by -carrying heat from the warm cisterns of the South into the most distant -places of the North. So also there are sometimes pipes of hot air, -having a similar purpose; and these, too, are found in this region. -Every ocean wind, from every quarter, traversing the stream of heat, -takes up the warmth and carries it to the coast, so that the oceanic -current is reinforced by an aërial current of constant influence. - -These forces are aided essentially by the configuration of the -Northwest Coast, with a lofty and impenetrable barricade of mountains, -by which its islands and harbors are protected from the cold of the -North. Occupying the Aleutian Islands, traversing the peninsula of -Alaska, and running along the margin of the ocean to the latitude of -54° 40´, this mountain-ridge is a climatic division, or, according to -a German geographer, a “climatic shed,” such as perhaps exists nowhere -else in the world. Here are Alps, some of them volcanic, with Mount -St. Elias higher than Mont Blanc, standing guard against the Arctic -Circle. So it seems even without the aid of science. Here is a dike -between the icy waters of Behring Sea and the milder Southern Ocean. -Here is a partition between the treeless northern coast and the wooded -shores of the Kenaians and Koloschians. Here is a fence which separates -the animal kingdom, having on one side the walrus and ice-fox from the -Frozen Ocean, and on the other side the humming-bird from the tropics. -I simply report the testimony of geography. And now you will not fail -to observe how by this configuration the thermal currents of ocean and -air are left to exercise their climatic power. - -One other climatic incident here is now easily explained. Early -navigators record the prevailing moisture. All are enveloped in fog. -Behring names an island Foggy. Another gives the same designation to -a cape at the southern extremity of Russian America. Cook records fog. -La Pérouse speaks of rain and continued fog in the month of August. And -now visitors, whether for science or business, make the same report. -The forests testify also. According to physical geography, it could not -be otherwise. The warm air from the ocean, encountering the snow-capped -mountains, would naturally produce this result. Rain is nothing -but atmosphere condensed and falling in drops to the earth. Fog is -atmosphere held in solution, but so far condensed as to become visible. -This condensation occurs, when the air is chilled by contact with a -colder atmosphere. These very conditions occur on the Northwest Coast. -The ocean air, coming in contact with the elevated range, is chilled, -until its moisture is set free. - -Add to these influences, especially at Sitka, the presence of mountain -masses and of dense forests, all tending to make the coast warmer in -winter and colder in summer than it would otherwise be. - -Practical observation verifies these conclusions of science. Any -isothermal map is enough for our purpose; but there are others which -show the relative conditions generally of different portions of the -globe. I ask attention to those of Keith Johnston, in his admirable -Atlas. But I am glad to present a climatic table of the Pacific -coast in comparison with the Atlantic coast, recently compiled, -at my request, from the archives of the Smithsonian Institution, -with permission of its learned secretary, by a collaborator of the -Institution, who visited Russian America under the auspices of the -Telegraph Company. By this table we are able to comprehend the relative -position of this region in the physical geography of the world. - - ------------+-----------------------------+----------------------------- - | Mean Temperature in | Precipitation in Rain or - | Degrees Fahrenheit. | Snow. Depth in Inches. - +-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+----- - | S | S | A | W | Y | S | S | A | W | Y - Places of | p | u | u | i | e | p | u | u | i | e - Observation.| r | m | t | n | a | r | m | t | n | a - | i | m | u | t | r | i | m | u | t | r - | n | e | m | e | . | n | e | m | e | . - | g | r | n | r | | g | r | n | r | - | . | . | . | . | | . | . | . | . | - ------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+----- - St. |28.75|52.25|27.00| 7.00|27.48| … | … | … | … | … - Michael’s, | | | | | | | | | | - Russ. Am. | | | | | | | | | | - Lat. 63° 28´| | | | | | | | | | - 45´´ N. | | | | | | | | | | - | | | | | | | | | | - Fort Yukon, |14.22|59.67|17.37-23.80|16.92| … | … | … | … | … - Russ. Am. | | | | | | | | | | - Lat. (near) | | | | | | | | | | - 67°. | | | | | | | | | | - | | | | | | | | | | - Ikogmut, |19.62|49.32|36.05| 0.95|24.57| … | … | … | … | … - Russ. Am. | | | | | | | | | | - Lat. 61° 47´| | | | | | | | | | - | | | | | | | | | | - Sitka, |39.65|53.37|43.80|32.30|42.28|18.32|15.75|32.10|23.77|89.94 - Russ. Am. | | | | | | | | | | - Lat. 57° 3´ | | | | | | | | | | - | | | | | | | | | | - Puget Sound,|48.88|63.44|51.30|39.38|50.75| 7.52| 3.68|15.13|20.65|46.98 - Wash. T. | | | | | | | | | | - Lat. 47° 7´ | | | | | | | | | | - | | | | | | | | | | - Astoria, |51.16|61.36|53.55|42.43|52.13|16.43| 4.85|21.77|44.15|87.20 - Oregon | | | | | | | | | | - Lat. 46° 11´| | | | | | | | | | - | | | | | | | | | | - San |55.39|58.98|58.29|50.25|55.73| 6.65| 0.09| 2.69|13.49|22.92 - Francisco, | | | | | | | | | | - Cal. | | | | | | | | | | - Lat. 37° 48´| | | | | | | | | | - | | | | | | | | | | - Nain, |23.67|48.57|33.65| 0.40|26.40| … | … | … | … | … - Labrador | | | | | | | | | | - Lat. 56° 10´| | | | | | | | | | - | | | | | | | | | | - Montreal, |41.20|68.53|44.93|16.40|42.77| 7.66|11.20| 7.42| 0.72|27.00 - Canada East | | | | | | | | | | - Lat. 45° 30´| | | | | | | | | | - | | | | | | | | | | - Portland, |40.12|63.75|45.75|21.52|42.78| … | … | … | … | … - Maine | | | | | | | | | | - Lat. 43° 39´| | | | | | | | | | - | | | | | | | | | | - Fort |47.84|71.35|55.79|32.32|51.82|11.69|11.64| 9.88|10.31|43.52 - Hamilton, | | | | | | | | | | - N. Y. | | | | | | | | | | - Lat. 40° 37´| | | | | | | | | | - | | | | | | | | | | - Washington, |54.19|73.07|53.91|33.57|53.69|10.48|10.53|10.16|10.06|41.23 - D. C. | | | | | | | | | | - Lat. 38° 54´| | | | | | | | | | - ------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+----- - -It is seen here that the winters of Sitka are relatively warm, not -differing much from those of Washington; but the summers are colder. -The mean temperature of winter is 32.30°, while that of summer is -53.37°. The Washington winter is 33.57°; the Washington summer is -73.07°. These points exhibit the peculiarities of this coast,--warm -winters and cool summers. - -The winter of Sitka is milder than that of many European capitals. -It is much milder than that of St. Petersburg, Moscow, Stockholm, -Copenhagen, Berlin, or Bern. It is milder even than that of Mannheim, -Stuttgart, Vienna, Sebastopol in the Crimea, or Turin. It is not much -colder than that of Padua. According to observations at Sitka in -1831, it froze only two days in December and seven days in January. -In February, the longest frost lasted five days; in March, it did not -freeze during the day at all, and rarely in the night. During the next -winter, the thermometer did not fall below 21° Fahrenheit; in January, -1834, it reached 11°. On the other hand, a temperature of 50° has been -noted in January. The roadstead is open throughout the year, and only a -few landlocked bays are frozen. - -The prevailing dampness at Sitka renders a residence there far from -agreeable, although it does not appear injurious to health. England -is also damp; but Englishmen boast that theirs is the best climate of -the world. At Sitka the annual fall of rain is about ninety inches. -The mean annual fall in all England is forty inches, although in -mountainous districts of Cumberland and Westmoreland the fall amounts -to ninety and even one hundred and forty inches. In Washington it is -forty-one inches. The forests at Sitka are so wet that they will not -burn, although frequent attempts have been made to set them on fire. -The houses, which are of wood, suffer from constant moisture. In 1828 -there were twenty days when it rained or snowed continuously; one -hundred and twenty when it rained or snowed part of the day, and only -sixty-six days of clear weather. Some years, only forty bright days -have been counted. Hinds, the naturalist, records only thirty-seven -“really clear and fine days.”[92] A scientific observer who was there -last year counted sixty. A visitor for fourteen days found only two -when nautical observations could be made; but these were as fine as he -had ever known in any country. - -The whole coast from Sitka to the peninsula of Alaska seems to have the -same continuous climate, whether in temperature or moisture. The island -of Kadiak and the recess of Cook’s Inlet are outside this climatic -curve, so as to be comparatively dry. Langsdorff reports winters -“frequently so mild in the low parts of Kadiak that the snow does -not lie upon the ground for any length of time, nor is anything like -severe cold felt.”[93] Belcher, on his passage between Montague and -Hinchinbrook Islands, found an “oppressively hot sun.”[94] The Aleutian -Islands, further west, are somewhat colder than Sitka, although the -difference is not great. The summer temperature is seldom above 66°; -the winter temperature is more seldom as low as 2° below zero. The -snow falls about the beginning of October, and is seen sometimes as -late as the end of April; but it does not remain long on the surface. -The mean temperature of Oonalaska is about 40°. Chamisso found the -temperature of spring-water at the beginning of the year 38.50°. There -are years when it rains on this island the whole winter. The fogs -prevail from April till the middle of July, when for the time they are -driven further north. The islands northward toward Behring Strait are -proportionately colder; but I remind you that the American coast is -milder than the opposite coast of Asia. - -From Mr. Bannister I have an authentic statement with regard to the -temperature north of the Aleutians, as observed by himself in the -autumn of 1865 and the months following. Even here the winter does not -seem so terrible as is sometimes imagined. During most of the time, -work could be done with comfort in the open air. Only when it stormed -the men were kept within doors. In transporting supplies from St. -Michael’s to Nulato, a distance of two hundred and fifty miles, they -found no hardship, even when obliged to bivouac in the open air. - -On Norton Sound and the Kwichpak River winter may be said to commence -at the end of September, although the weather is not severe till -the end of October. The first snow falls about the 20th or 25th of -September. All the small ponds and lakes were frozen early in October. -The Kwichpak was frozen solid about the 20th or 25th of this month. On -the 1st of November the harbor at St. Michael’s was still open, but on -the morning of the 4th it was frozen solid enough for sledges to cross -on the ice. In December there were two thaws, one accompanied by rain -for a day. The snow was about two feet deep at the end of the month. -January was uniformly cold, and it was said that at a place sixty-five -miles northeast of St. Michael’s the thermometer descended to 58° below -zero. February was usually mild all over the country. In the middle -of the month there was an extensive thaw, with showers of rain. About -half the snow disappeared, leaving much of the ground bare. March was -pleasant, without very cold weather. Its mean temperature was 20°; its -minimum was 3° below zero. Spring commences on the Kwichpak the 1st of -May, or a few days later, when the birds return and vegetation begins. -The ice did not entirely disappear from the river till after the 20th -of May. The sea-ice continued in the bay of St. Michael’s as late as -1st June. The summer temperature is much higher in the interior than -on the coast. Parties travelling on the Kwichpak in June complained -sometimes of heat. - -The river Yukon, which, flowing into the Kwichpak, helps to swell that -stream, is navigable for at least four, if not five, months in the -year. The thermometer at Fort Yukon is sometimes at 65° below zero -of Fahrenheit, and for three months of a recent winter it stood at -50° below zero without variation. In summer it rises above 80° in the -shade; but a hard frost occurs at times in August. The southwest wind -brings warmth; the northeast wind brings cold. Some years, there is -no rain for months; and then, again, showers alternate with sunshine. -The snow packs hard at an average of two and a half feet deep. The ice -is four or five feet thick; in a severe winter it is six feet thick. -Life at Fort Yukon, under these rigors of Nature, although far from -inviting, is not intolerable. - -Such is the climate of this extensive region, so far as known, along -its coast, among its islands, and on its great rivers, from its -southern limit to its most northern ice, with contrasts and varieties -such as Milton describes:-- - - “For hot, cold, moist, and dry, four champions fierce, - Strive here for mastery.” - - * * * * * - -4. _Vegetable Products._--Vegetable products depend upon climate. They -are determined by its laws. Therefore what has been already said upon -the one prepares the way for the consideration of the other; and here -we have the reports of navigators and the suggestions of science. - -From the time this coast was first visited, navigators reported the -aspects which Nature assumed. But their opportunities were casual, -and they necessarily confined themselves to what was most obvious. -As civilization did not exist, the only vegetable products were -indigenous to the soil. At the first landing, on the discovery of the -coast by Behring, Steller found among the provisions in one of the -Indian cabins “a sweet herb dressed for food in the same manner as -in Kamtchatka.” That “sweet herb” is the first vegetable production -of which we have record on this coast. At the same time, although -ashore only six hours, this naturalist “gathered herbs, and brought -such a quantity to the ship that the describing of them took him a -considerable time.” This description was afterwards adopted by Gmelin -in his “Flora Sibirica.”[95] - -Trees were noticed even before landing. They enter into descriptions, -and are often introduced to increase the savage wildness of the scene. -La Pérouse doubts “if the deep valleys of the Alps and the Pyrenees -present a scene so frightful, but at the same time so picturesque that -it would deserve to be visited by the curious, if it were not at one -of the extremities of the earth.”[96] Lisiansky, as he approached the -coast of Sitka, records that “nothing presented itself to the view -but impenetrable woods, reaching from the water-side to the very tops -of the highest mountains”; that he “never saw a country so wild and -gloomy; it appeared more adapted for the residence of wild beasts than -of men.”[97] Lütke portrays the “savage and picturesque aspect” of the -whole Northwest Coast.[98] - -As navigators landed, they saw Nature in detail; and here they were -impressed by the size of the trees. Cook finds at Prince William Sound -“Canadian and spruce pine, and some of them tolerably large.”[99] La -Pérouse describes pines measuring six feet in diameter and one hundred -and forty feet in height, and then again introduces us to “those superb -pines fit for the masts of our largest vessels.”[100] Portlock notices -in Cook’s Inlet “wood of different kinds in great abundance, such as -pine, black-birch, witch-hazel, and poplar; many of the pines large -enough for lower masts for a ship of four hundred tons burden”; and -then again at Prince William Sound “trees of the pine kind, some very -large; a good quantity of alder; a kind of hazel, but not larger than -will do for making handspikes.”[101] Meares reports “woods thick,” -also “the black-pine in great plenty, capable of making excellent -spars.”[102] Sauer, who was there a little later, in the expedition -of Billings, reports that they “took in a number of fine spars”; and -he proceeds to say: “The timber comprised a variety of pines of an -immense thickness and height, some extremely tough and fibrous, and -of these we made our best oars.”[103] Vancouver mentions, in latitude -60°, a “woodland country.”[104] Langsdorff describes trees in the -neighborhood of Sitka, many of them measuring six feet in diameter and -one hundred and fifty feet in height, “excellent wood for ship-building -and masts.”[105] Lisiansky says, that, at Kadiak, “for want of fir, -we made a new bowsprit of one of the pine-trees, which answered -admirably.”[106] Lütke testifies to the “magnificent pine and fir” at -Sitka, adding what seems an inconsistent judgment with regard to its -durability.[107] Belcher notices Garden Island, in latitude 60° 21´, as -“covered with pine-trees”; and then again, at Sitka, speaks of “a very -fine-grained, bright yellow cypress” as the most valuable wood, which, -besides being used in boats, was exported to the Sandwich Islands, in -return especially for Chinese goods.[108] - -Turning westward from Cook’s Inlet, the forests on the sea-line are -rarer, until they entirely disappear. The first settlement on the -island of Kadiak was on the southwestern coast; but the want of timber -caused its transfer to the northeastern coast, where are “considerable -forests of fine tall trees.”[109] But where trees are wanting, grass -seems to abound. This is the case with Kadiak, the peninsula of Alaska, -and the Aleutian Islands generally. Of these, Oonalaska, libelled in -the immortal verse of Campbell, has been the most described. This -well-known island is without trees; but it seems singularly adapted to -the growth of grass, which is often so high as to impede the traveller -and to overtop even the willows. The mountains themselves are for a -considerable distance clothed with rich turf. One of these scenes is -represented in a print you will find among the views of the vegetation -of the Pacific in the London reproduction of the work of Kittlitz. -This peculiarity was first noticed by Cook, who says, with a sailor’s -sententiousness, that he did not see there “a single stick of wood of -any size,” but “plenty of grass, which grows very thick and to a great -length.”[110] Lütke records, that, after leaving Brazil, he met nothing -so agreeable as the grass of this island. - -North of the peninsula of Alaska, on Behring Sea, the forests do not -approach the coast, except at the heads of bays and sounds, although -they abound in the interior, and extend even to within a short distance -of the Frozen Ocean. Such is the personal testimony of a scientific -observer recently returned from this region. In Norton Sound, Cook, -who was the first to visit it, reports “a coast covered with wood, an -agreeable sight,” and, on walking into the country, small spruce-trees, -“none of them above six or eight inches in diameter.” A few days -afterward “a party of men were sent on shore to cut brooms, and the -branches of spruce-trees for brewing beer.”[111] On the Kwichpak, and -its affluent, the Yukon, trees are sometimes as high as a hundred feet. -The supply of timber at St. Michael’s is from the drift-wood of the -river. Near Fort Yukon, at the junction of the Porcupine and Yukon, -are forests of pine, poplar, willow, and birch. The pine is the most -plentiful; but the small islands in the great river are covered with -poplar and willow. Immense trunks rolling under the fort show that -there must be large trees nearer the head-waters. - -But even in northern latitudes the American coast is not without -vegetation. Grass takes the place of trees. At Fort Yukon, in latitude -67°, there is “a thin, wiry grass.” Navigators notice the contrast -between the opposite coasts of the two continents. Kotzebue, while in -Behring Strait, where the two approach each other, was struck by black, -mossy rocks frowning with snow and icicles on the Asiatic side, while -on the American side “even the summits of the highest mountains were -free from snow,” and “the coast was covered with a green carpet.”[112] -But the contrast with the Atlantic coast of the continent is hardly -less. The northern limit of trees is full seven degrees higher in -Russian America than in Labrador. In point of fact, on the Atlantic -coast, in latitude 57° 58´, which is nearly that of Sitka, there are no -trees. All this is most suggestive. - -Next after trees, early navigators speak oftenest of berries, -which they found in profusion. Not a sailor lands who does not -find them. Cook reports “a variety of berries” at Norton Sound, -and “great quantities” at Oonalaska.[113] Portlock finds at -Prince William Sound “fruit-bushes in great abundance, such as -bilberry-bushes, raspberry-bushes, strawberries, elder-berry-bushes, -and currant-bushes, red and black,” and “any quantity of the berries -might be gathered for a winter’s stock.”[114] Meares saw there “a few -black-currant-bushes.”[115] Billings finds at Kadiak “several species -of berries, with currants and raspberries in abundance, the latter -white, but extremely large, being bigger than any mulberry he had -ever seen.”[116] Langsdorff notes most of these at Oonalaska, with -cranberries and whortleberries besides.[117] Belcher reports at Garden -Island “strawberries, whortleberries, blaeberries, pigeon-berries, and -a small cranberry, in tolerable profusion, without going in search of -them.”[118] These I quote precisely, and in the order of time. - -Next to berries were plants for food; and these were in constant -abundance. Behring, on landing at the Shumagin Islands, observed the -natives “to eat roots which they dug out of the ground, and scarce -shaked off the earth before they eat them.”[119] Cook reports at -Oonalaska “a great variety of plants, several of them such as we find -in Europe and in other parts of America, particularly in Newfoundland: -… all these we found very palatable, dressed either in soups or in -salads.”[120] La Pérouse, who landed in latitude 58° 37´, finds a -French bill of fare, including celery, chicory, sorrel, and “almost -all the pot-herbs of the meadows and mountains of France,” besides -“several kinds of grass suitable for forage.” Every day and each meal -the ship’s kettle was filled with these supplies, and all ate them in -soups, ragouts, and salads, much to the benefit of their health.[121] -Portlock mentions at Port Etches, besides “fine water-cresses,” “just -above the beach, between the bay and the lake, a piece of wild wheat, -about two hundred yards long and five yards wide, growing at least -two feet high,” which, “with proper care, might certainly be made an -useful article of food”; and at Cook’s Inlet he reports “ginseng and -snakeroot.”[122] Meares reports at the latter place “inexhaustible -plenty” of ginseng, and at Prince William Sound “snakeroot and ginseng, -some of which the natives have always with them as a medicine.” He -adds: “The ginseng of this part of America is far preferable to that of -the eastern side.”[123] Billings finds at Kadiak “ginseng, wild onions, -and the edible roots of Kamtchatka,” and then again at Prince William -Sound “plenty of ginseng and some snakeroot.”[124] Vancouver finds at -Port Mulgrave “wild vegetables in great abundance.”[125] Langsdorff -adds to the list, at Oonalaska, “that sweet plant, the Siberian -parsnip.”[126] These, too, I quote precisely, and in the order of time. - -Since the establishment of Europeans on this coast, an attempt has -been made to introduce the nutritious grains and vegetables known -to the civilized world, but without very brilliant success. Against -wheat and rye and against orchard fruits are obstacles of climate, -perhaps insuperable. These require summer heat; but here the summer -is comparatively cold. The northern limit of wheat is several degrees -below the southern limit of these possessions, so that this friendly -grain is out of the question. Rye flourishes further north, as do oats -also. The supposed northern boundary of these grains embraces Sitka and -grazes the Aleutian Islands. But other climatic conditions are wanting, -at least for rye. One of these is dry weather, which is required at the -time of its bloom. Possibly the clearing of the forest may produce a -modification of the weather. At present barley grows better, and there -is reason to believe that it may be cultivated successfully very far -to the north. It has ripened at Kadiak. Many garden vegetables have -become domesticated. Lütke reports potatoes at Sitka, so that all have -enough.[127] Langsdorff reports the same of Kadiak and Oonalaska.[128] -There are also at Sitka radishes, cabbages, cauliflowers, peas, and -carrots,--making a very respectable list. At Norton Sound I hear of -radishes, beets, and cabbages. Even as far north as Fort Yukon, on the -parallel of 67°, potatoes, peas, turnips, and even barley, have been -grown; but the turnips were unfit for the table, being rotten at the -heart. A recent resident reports that there are no fruit-trees, and not -even a raspberry-bush, and that he lost all his potatoes during one -season by a frost in the latter days of July; but do not forget that -these potatoes were the wall-flowers of the Arctic Circle. - -Thus it appears that the vegetable productions of the country are -represented practically by trees. The forests, overshadowing the coast -from Sitka to Cook’s Inlet, are all that can be shown under this head -out of which a revenue can be derived, unless we add ginseng, so much -prized by the Chinese, and perhaps also snakeroot. Other things may -contribute to the scanty support of a household; but timber will, in -all probability, be an article of commerce. It has been so already. -Ships from the Sandwich Islands have come for it, and there is reason -to believe that this trade may be extended indefinitely, so that -Russian America will be on the Pacific like Maine on the Atlantic, and -the lumbermen of Sitka vie with their hardy brethren of the East. - -These forests, as described, seem to afford all that can be desired. -The trees are abundant, and they are perfect in size, not unlike - - “the tallest pine - Hewn on Norwegian hills to be the mast - Of some great ammiral.” - -But a doubt has been raised as to their commercial value. Here we -have the inconsistent testimony of Lütke. According to him, the pines -and firs, which he calls “magnificent,” constitute an untried source -of commercial wealth. Not only California, but other countries, poor -in trees, like Mexico, the Sandwich Islands, and even Chili, will -need them. And yet he does not conceal an unfavorable judgment of -the timber, which, as seen in the houses of Sitka, suffering from -constant moisture, did not seem durable.[129] Sir Edward Belcher -differs from the Russian admiral, for he praises especially “the -timber of the higher latitudes, either for spars or plank.”[130] -Perhaps its durability may depend upon the climate where it is used; -so that, though failing amidst the damps of Sitka, it may be lasting -enough, when transported to another climate. In the rarity of trees -on the islands and main-land of the Pacific, the natural supply is -in Russian America. One of the early navigators even imagined that -China must look this way, and he expected that “the woods would yield -a handsome revenue, when the Russian commerce with China should be -established.”[131] American commerce with China is established. Perhaps -timber may become one of its staples. - -A profitable commerce in timber has already begun at Puget Sound. By -official returns of 1866 it appears that it was exported to a long list -of foreign countries and places, in which I find Victoria, Honolulu, -Callao, Tahiti, Canton, Valparaiso, Adelaide, Hong Kong, Sydney, -Montevideo, London, Melbourne, Shanghae, Peru, Coquimbo, Calcutta, -Hilo, Cape Town, Cork, Guaymas, and Siam; and in this commerce were -employed no less than eighteen ships, thirty barks, four brigs, -twenty-eight schooners, and ten steamers. The value of the lumber and -spars exported abroad was over half a million dollars, while more than -four times that amount was shipped coastwise. But the coasts of Russian -America are darker with trees than those further south. Pines, in which -they abound, do not flourish as low down as Puget Sound. Northward, -they are numerous and easily accessible. - -In our day the Flora of the coast has been explored with care. -Kittlitz, who saw it as a naturalist, portrays it with the enthusiasm -of an early navigator; but he speaks with knowledge. He, too, dwells on -the “surprising power and luxuriance” of the pine forests, describing -them with critical skill. The trees which he identifies are the -Pinus Canadensis, distinguished for its delicate foliage; the Pinus -Mertensiana, a new species, rival of the other in height; and the -Pinus Palustris, growing on swampy declivities, and not attaining -height. In the clearings or on the outskirts of thickets are shrubs, -being chiefly a species of Rubus, with flowers of carmine and aromatic -fruit. About and over all are mosses and lichens, invigorated by the -constant moisture, while colossal trees, undermined or uprooted, crowd -the surface, reminding the scientific observer of the accumulations of -the coal measures. Two different prints in the London reproduction of -the work of Kittlitz present pictures of these vegetable productions -grouped for beauty and instruction. I refer to these, and also to the -Essay of Hinds on “The Regions of Vegetation,” the latter to be found -at the end of the volumes containing Belcher’s Voyage. - -In turning from the vegetable products of this region, it will not be -out of place, if I refer for one moment to its domestic animals, for -these are necessarily associated with such products. Some time ago it -was stated that cattle had not flourished at Sitka, owing to the want -of proper pasturage, and the difficulty of making hay in a climate of -such moisture. Hogs are more easily sustained, but, feeding on fish, -instead of vegetable products, their flesh acquires a fishy taste, -which does not recommend it. Nor has there been great success with -poultry, for this becomes the prey of the crow, whose voracity here -is absolutely fabulous. A Koloschian tribe traces its origin to this -bird, which in this neighborhood might be a fit progenitor. Not content -with swooping upon hens and chickens, it descends upon swine to nibble -at their tails, and so successfully “that the hogs here are without -tails,” and then it scours the streets so well that it is called the -Scavenger of Sitka. But there are other places more favored. The grass -at Kadiak is well suited to cattle, and it is supposed that sheep would -thrive there. The grass at Oonalaska is famous, and Cook thought the -climate good for cattle, of which we have at least one illustration. -Langsdorff reports that a cow grazed here luxuriously for several -years, and then was lost in the mountains. That grazing animal is a -good witness. Perhaps also it is typical of the peaceful inhabitants. - - * * * * * - -5. _Mineral Products._--In considering the Mineral Products, I ask -attention first to the indications afforded by the early navigators. -They were not geologists. They saw only what was exposed. And yet, -during the long interval that elapsed, not very much has been added -to their conclusions. The existence of iron is hardly less uncertain -now than then. The existence of copper is hardly more certain now -than then. Gold, which is so often a dangerous _ignis-fatuus_, did -not appear to deceive them. But coal, which is much more desirable -than gold, was reported by several, and once at least with reasonable -certainty. - -The boat that landed from Behring, when he discovered the coast, found -among other things “a whetstone on which it appeared that copper knives -had been sharpened.” This was the first sign of the mineral wealth -which already excites such interest. At another point where Behring -landed, “one of the Americans had a knife hanging by his side, of which -his people took particular notice on account of its unusual make.”[132] -It has been supposed that this was of iron. Next came Cook, who, when -in Prince William Sound, saw “copper and iron.” In his judgment, the -iron came, “through the intervention of the more inland tribes, from -Hudson’s Bay, or the settlements on the Canadian lakes,” and his -editor refers in a note to the knife seen by Behring as from the same -quarter; but Cook thought that the copper was obtained near at home, as -the natives, when engaged in barter, gave the idea, “that, having so -much of this metal of their own, they wanted no more.”[133] Naturally -enough, for they were not far from the Copper River. Maurelle, in -1779, landed in sight of Mount St. Elias, and he reports Indians with -arrow-heads of copper, which “made the Spaniards suspect mines of this -metal there.”[134] La Pérouse, who was also in this neighborhood, after -mentioning that the naturalists of the expedition allowed no stone or -pebble to escape observation, reports ochre, copper pyrites, garnets, -schorl, granite, schist, horn-stone, very pure quartz, mica, plumbago, -coal, and then adds that some of these substances announce that the -mountains conceal mines of iron and copper. He reports further that -the natives had daggers of iron, and sometimes of red copper; that -the latter metal was common enough, serving for ornaments and for the -points of arrows; and he then states the very question of Cook with -regard to the acquisition of these metals. He insists also that “the -natives know how to forge iron and work copper.”[135] Spears and arrows -“pointed with bone or iron,” and also “an iron dagger” for each man, -appear in Vancouver’s account of the natives on the parallel of 55°, -just within the southern limit of Russian America.[136] Lisiansky saw -at Sitka “a thin plate made of virgin copper” found on Copper River, -three feet in length, and at one end twenty-two inches in breadth, with -various figures painted on one side, which had come from the possession -of the natives.[137] Meares reports “pure malleable lumps of copper -ore in the possession of the natives,”--one piece weighing as much -as a pound, said to have been obtained in barter with other natives -further north,--also necklaces and bracelets “of the purest ore.”[138] -Portlock, while in Cook’s Inlet, in latitude 59° 27´, at a place called -Graham’s Harbor, makes another discovery. Walking round the bay, he -saw “two veins of kennel coal situated near some hills just above the -beach, and with very little trouble several pieces were got out of the -bank nearly as large as a man’s head.” If the good captain did not -report more than he saw, this would be most important; for, from the -time when the amusing biographer of Lord Keeper North described that -clean flaky coal which he calls “candle,” because often used for its -light, but which is generally called “cannel,” no coal has been more of -a household favorite. He relates, further, that, returning on board in -the evening, he “tried some of the coal, and found it to burn clear -and well.”[139] Add to these different accounts the general testimony -of Meares, who, when dwelling on the resources of the country, boldly -includes “mines which are known to lie between the latitudes of 40° -and 60° north, and which may hereafter prove a most valuable source of -commerce between America and China.”[140] - -It is especially when seeking to estimate the mineral products that -we feel the want of careful explorations. We know more of the roving -aborigines than of these stationary tenants of the soil. We know more -of the trees. A tree is conspicuous; a mineral is hidden in the earth, -to be found by chance or science. Thus far it seems as if chance only -had ruled. The Russian Government handed over the country to a trading -company, whose exclusive interest was furs. The company followed its -business, when it looked to wild beasts with rich skins rather than -to the soil. Its mines were above ground, and not below. There were -also essential difficulties in the way of exploration. The interior -was practically inaccessible. The thick forest, saturated with rain -and overgrown with wet mosses, presented obstacles which nothing but -enlightened enterprise could overcome. Even at a short distance from -the port of Sitka all effort failed, and the inner recesses of the -island, only thirty miles broad, were never penetrated. - -The late Professor Henry D. Rogers, in his admirable paper on the -Physical Features of America, being part of his contribution to Keith -Johnston’s Atlas, full of knowledge and of fine generalization, says -of this northwest belt, that it is “little known in its topography -to any but the roving Indians and the thinly scattered fur-trappers.” -But there are certain general features which he proceeds to designate. -According to him, it belongs to what is known as the tertiary period -of geology, intervening between the cretaceous period and that now in -progress, but including also granite, gneiss, and ancient metamorphic -rocks. It is not known if the true coal measures prevail in any part, -although there is reason to believe that they exist on the coast of the -Arctic Ocean between Cape Lisburne and Point Barrow. - -Beginning at the south, we have Sitka and its associate islands, -composed chiefly of volcanic rocks, with limestone near. Little is -known even of the coast between Sitka and Mount St. Elias, which, -itself a volcano, is the beginning of a volcanic region occupying the -peninsula of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, and having no less than -thirty volcanoes, some extinct, but others still active. Most of the -rocks here are volcanic, and the only fossiliferous beds are of the -tertiary period. North of Alaska, and near the mouth of the Kwichpak, -the coast seems volcanic or metamorphic, and probably tertiary, with -a vein of lignite near the head of Norton Sound. At the head of -Kotzebue Sound the cliffs abound in the bones of elephants and mammals -now extinct, together with those of the musk-ox and other animals -still living in the same latitude. From Kotzebue Sound northward, the -coast has a volcanic character. Then at Cape Thompson it is called -subcarboniferous, followed by rocks of the carboniferous age, being -limestones, shales, and sandstones, which extend from Cape Lisburne -far round to Point Barrow. At Cape Beaufort, very near the seventieth -parallel of latitude, and north of the Arctic Circle, on a high ridge -a quarter of a mile from the beach is a seam of coal which appears to -be of the true coal measures. - -From this general outline, which leaves much in uncertainty, I come to -what is more important. - -It is not entirely certain that iron has been found, although -frequently reported. Evidence points to the south, and also to the -north. Near Sitka it was reported by the Russian engineer Doroschin, -although it does not appear that anything has been done to verify his -report. A visitor there, as late as last year, saw excellent iron, -said to be from a bed in the neighborhood, reported inexhaustible, and -with abundant wood for its reduction. Then again on Kotzebue Sound -specimens have been collected. At 66° 13´ Kotzebue found a false result -in his calculations, which he attributes to the disturbing influence of -“iron.”[141] A resident on the Yukon thinks that there is iron in that -neighborhood. - -Silver, also, has been reported at Sitka by the same Russian engineer -who reported iron, and, like the iron, in “sufficient quantity to pay -for the working.” - -Lead was reported by the Russian explorer, Lieutenant Zagoyskin, on -the lower part of the Kwichpak; but it is not known to what extent it -exists. - -Copper is found on the banks of the Copper River, called by the -Russians the Mjednaja, meaning copper, and of its affluent, the -Tchetchitno, in masses sometimes as large as forty pounds. Of this -there can be little doubt. It is mentioned by Golowin, in the “Archiv” -of Erman, as late as 1863. Undoubtedly from this neighborhood was -obtained the copper which arrested the attention of the early -navigators. Traces of copper are found in other places on the coast; -also in the mountains near the Yukon, where the Indians use it for -arrow-heads. - -Coal seems to exist all along the coast,--according to Golowin, -“everywhere, in greater or less quantity.” Traces are reported on the -islands of the Sitkan archipelago; and this is extremely probable, -for it has been worked successfully on Vancouver’s Island below. It -is also found on the Kenaian peninsula, Alaska, the island of Unga, -belonging to the Shumagin group, Oonalaska, and far to the north -at Cape Beaufort. At this last place it is “slaty, burning with a -pure flame and rapid consumption,” and it is supposed that there are -extensive beds in the neighborhood better in quality. For an account of -this coal I refer to the scientific illustrations of Beechey’s Voyage. -The natives also report coal in the interior on the Kwichpak. The coal -of Oonalaska, and probably of Alaska, is tertiary, and not adapted -for steamers. With regard to that of Unga scientific authorities -are divided. That of the Kenaian peninsula is the best and the most -extensive. It is found on the eastern side of Cook’s Inlet, half way -between Cape Anchor and the Russian settlement of St. Nicholas, in -veins three quarters of a yard or more in thickness, and ranging in -quality from mere carboniferous wood to anthracite. According to one -authority, these coal veins extend and spread far into the interior. -This coal has more than once been sent to California for trial, and -was there pronounced a good article. Since then it has been mined -by the Company, not only for their own uses, but also for export to -California. In making these statements, I rely particularly upon -Golowin, in the “Archiv” of Erman, and upon the elaborate work of -Grewingk, in the “Transactions of the Mineralogical Society of St. -Petersburg” for 1848 and 1849,[142] where is a special map of the -Kenaian peninsula. - -Gold is less important than coal, but its discovery produces more -excitement. The report of gold in any quarter stimulates the emigrant -or the adventurer hoping to obtain riches swiftly. Nor is this distant -region without such experience. Only a few years ago, the British -colony of Victoria was aroused by a rumor of gold in the mountains of -the Stikine River, not far in the interior from Sitka. At once there -was a race that way, and the solitudes of this river were penetrated by -hunters in quest of the glittering ore. Discomfiture ensued. Gold had -been found, but not in any sufficient quantities reasonably accessible. -Nature for the present had set up obstacles. But failure in one place -will be no discouragement in another, especially as there is reason -to believe that the mountains here contain a continuation of those -auriferous deposits which have become so famous further south. The -Sierra Nevada chain of California reaches here. - -Traces of gold have been observed at other points. One report places -a deposit not far from Sitka. The same writer who reports iron also -reports that during the last year he saw a piece of gold as large as -a marble, which was shown by an Indian. But the Russian engineer, -Doroschin, furnishes testimony more precise. He reports gold in -at least three different localities, each of considerable extent. -The first is the mountain range on the north of Cook’s Inlet and -extending into the peninsula of Alaska, consisting principally of -clay slate with permeating veins of diorite, the latter being known -as a gold-bearing rock. He observed this in the summer of 1851. About -the same time, certain Indians from the Bay of Yakutat, not far from -Mount St. Elias, brought him specimens of diorite found in their -neighborhood, making, therefore, a second deposit. In the summer of -1855, the same engineer found gold on the southern side of Cook’s -Inlet, in the mountains of the Kenay peninsula. Satisfying himself, -first, that the bank occupied by the redoubt of St. Nicholas, at the -mouth of the Kaknu River, was gold-bearing, he was induced to follow -the development of diorite in the upper valley of the river, and, as -he ascended, found a gold-bearing alluvion, gradually increasing, -with scales of gold becoming coarser and coarser, instead of scarcely -visible, as at first. - -It does not appear that the discoveries on Cook’s Inlet were pursued; -but it is reported that the Hudson’s Bay Company, holding the country -about the Bay of Yakutat under a lease from the Russian Company, have -found the diorite in that neighborhood valuable. This incident has -given rise to a recent controversy. Russian journals attacked the -engineer for remissness in not exploring the Yakutat country. He has -defended himself by setting out what he actually did in the way of -discovery, and the essential difficulty at the time in doing more: all -which will be found in a number, just received, of the work to which I -have so often referred, the “Archiv” of Erman, for 1867.[143] - -Thus much for the mineral resources of this new-found country, as -recognized at a few points on the extensive coast, leaving the vast -unknown interior without a word. - - * * * * * - -6. _Furs._--I pass now to Furs, which at times have vied with minerals -in value, although the supply is more limited and less permanent. -Trappers are “miners” of the forest, seeking furs as others seek gold. -The parallel continues also in the greed and oppression unhappily -incident to the pursuit. A Russian officer, who was one of the early -visitors on this coast, remarks that to his mind the only prospect of -relief for the suffering natives “consists in the total extirpation of -the animals of the chase,” which he thought, from the daily havoc, must -take place in a very few years.[144] This was at the close of the last -century. The trade, though essentially diminished, still continues an -important branch of commerce. - -Early in this commerce, desirable furs were obtained in barter for -a trifle; and when something of value was exchanged, it was much -out of proportion to the furs. This has been the case generally in -dealing with the natives, until their eyes have been slowly opened. In -Kamtchatka, at the beginning of the last century, half a dozen sables -were obtained in exchange for a knife, and a dozen for a hatchet; and -the Kamtchadales wondered that their Cossack conquerors were willing -to pay so largely for what seemed worth so little. Similar incidents -on the Northwest Coast are reported by the early navigators. Cook -mentions that in exchange for “beads” the Indians at Prince William -Sound “readily gave whatever they had, even their fine sea-otter -skins,” which they prized no more than other skins, until it appeared -how much they were prized by their visitors.[145] Where there was -no competition, prices rose slowly, and many years after Cook, the -Russians at Oonalaska, in return for “trinkets and tobacco,” received -twelve sea-otter skins, and fox skins of different kinds to the number -of near six hundred.[146] These instances show in a general way the -spirit of this trade even to our own day. On the coast, and especially -in the neighborhood of the factories, the difference in the value of -furs is recognized, and a proportionate price obtained, which Sir -Edward Belcher found in 1837 to be for “a moderately good sea-otter -skin from six to seven blankets, increasing to thirteen for the best,” -together with “sundry knick-knacks.”[147] But in the interior it is -otherwise. A recent resident in the region of the Yukon assures me that -he has seen skins worth several hundred dollars bartered for goods -worth only fifty cents. - -Beside whalers and casual ships, with which the Esquimaux are in the -habit of dealing, the commerce in furs, on both sides of the continent, -north of the United States, has for a long time been in the hands of -two corporations,--being the Hudson’s Bay Company, with directors -in London, and the Russian American Company, with directors in St. -Petersburg. The former is much the older of the two, and has been the -most flourishing. Its original members were none other than Prince -Rupert, the Duke of Albemarle, Earl Craven, Lord Ashley, and other -eminent associates, who received a charter from Charles the Second, -in 1670, to prosecute a search after a new passage to the South Sea, -and to establish a trade in furs, minerals, and other considerable -commodities in all those seas, and in the British possessions north -and west of Canada, with powers of government, the whole constituting -a colossal monopoly, which stretched from Labrador and Baffin’s Bay -to an undefined West. At present this great corporation is known only -as a fur company, to which all its powers are tributary. For some -time its profits were so considerable that it was deemed advisable to -hide them by nominal additions to the stock. With the extinction of -the St. Petersburg corporation under the present treaty, the London -corporation will remain the only existing fur company on the continent, -but necessarily restricted in its operation to British territory. It -remains to be seen into whose hands the commerce on the Pacific side -will fall, now that this whole region will be open to the unchecked -enterprise of our citizens. - -This remarkable commerce began before the organization of the Russian -Company. Its profits may be inferred from a voyage in 1772, described -by Coxe, between Kamtchatka and the Aleutians. The tenth part of the -skins being handed to the custom-house, the remainder were distributed -in fifty-five shares, consisting each of twenty sea-otters, sixteen -black and brown foxes, ten red foxes, and three sea-otter tails; -and these shares were sold on the spot at from eight hundred to one -thousand rubles each, so that the whole lading brought about fifty -thousand rubles.[148] The cost of these may be inferred from the -articles given in exchange. A Russian outfit, of which I find a -contemporary record, was, among other things, “about five hundred -weight of tobacco, one hundred weight of glass beads, perhaps a dozen -spare hatchets and a few superfluous knives of very bad quality, -an immense number of traps for foxes, a few hams, a little rancid -butter.”[149] With such imports against such exports, the profits must -have been considerable. - -From Langsdorff we have a general inventory of furs at the beginning -of the century in the principal magazine of the Russian Company on the -island of Kadiak, drawn from the islands, the peninsula of Alaska, -Cook’s Inlet, Prince William Sound, and the continent generally. -Here were “a great variety of the rarest kinds of fox skins,” black, -blackish, reddish, silver gray, and stone fox,--the last probably a -species of the Arctic; “brown and red bears, the skins of which are of -great value,” and also “the valuable black bear”; the zisel marmot, and -the common marmot; the glutton; the lynx, chiefly of whitish gray; the -reindeer; the beaver; the hairy hedgehog; “the wool of a wild American -sheep, whitish, fine, and very long,” but he could never obtain sight -of the animal that produced this wool; also sea-otters, once “the -principal source of wealth to the Company, now nearly extirpated, a few -hundreds only being annually collected.”[150] Many of the same furs -were reported by Cook on this coast in his day. They all continue to -be found,--except that I hear nothing of wild sheep, save at a Sitkan -dinner. - -There has been much exaggeration with regard to the profits of the -Russian corporation. An English writer of authority calls the produce -“immense,” and adds that “formerly it was much greater.” I refer to -the paper of Mr. Petermann, read before the Royal Geographical Society -of London, in 1852.[151] The number of skins at times is prodigious, -although this fails to reveal precisely the profits. For instance, -Pribyloff collected within two years, on the islands northwest of -Alaska which bear his name, the skins of 2,000 sea-otters, 40,000 -sea-bears or ursine seals, 6,000 dark ice-foxes, together with 1,000 -poods of walrus ivory.[152] The pood is a Russian weight of thirty-six -pounds. Lütke mentions that in 1803 no less than 800,000 skins of the -ursine seal were accumulated in the factory at Oonalaska, of which -700,000 were thrown into the sea, partly because they were badly -prepared, and partly to keep up the price,[153]--thus imitating the -Dutch, who for the same reason burned spices. Another estimate masses -the collection for a series of years. From 1787 to 1817, for only part -of which time the Company existed, the Oonalaska district yielded -upwards of 2,500,000 seal-skins; and from 1817 to 1838, during all -which time the Company was in power, the same district yielded 879,000 -seal-skins. Assuming, what is improbable, that these skins were sold -at twenty-five rubles each, some calculating genius has ciphered out -the sum-total of proceeds at more than 85,000,000 rubles,--or, calling -the ruble seventy-five cents, a sum-total of more than $63,000,000. -Clearly, the latter years can show no approximation to any such -doubtful result. - -Descending from these lofty figures, which, if not exaggerations, are -at least generalities, and relate partly to earlier periods, before -the existence of the Company, we shall have a better idea of the -commerce, if we look at authentic reports for special periods. Admiral -Von Wrangell, who was so long governor, must have been well informed. -According to statements in his work, adopted also by Wappäus in -his “Geographie,” the Company, from 1826 to 1833, a period of seven -years, exported to Russia the skins of the following animals: 9,853 -sea-otters, with 8,751 sea-otter tails, 39,981 river-beavers, 6,242 -river or land otters, 5,243 black foxes, 7,759 black-bellied foxes, -16,336 red foxes, 24,189 polar foxes, 1,093 lynxes, 559 wolverenes, -2,976 sables, 4,335 swamp-otters, 69 wolves, 1,261 bears, 505 -musk-rats, 132,160 seals; also 830 poods of whalebone, 1,490 poods -of walrus-teeth, and 7,121 pairs of castoreum.[154] Their value does -not appear. Sir George Simpson, the Governor-in-chief of the Hudson’s -Bay Company, who was at Sitka in 1841, represents the returns of the -Company for that year, 10,000 fur-seals, 1,000 sea-otters, 2,500 -land-otters, 12,000 beavers, and 20,000 walrus-teeth, without including -foxes and martens.[155] There is a report for the year 1852, as -follows: 1,231 sea-otters, 129 young sea-otters, 2,948 common otters, -14,486 fur-seals, 107 bears, 13,300 beavers, 2 wolves, 458 sables, 243 -lynxes, 163 mole-skins, 1,504 pairs of castoreum, 684 black foxes, -1,590 cross foxes, 5,174 red foxes, 2,359 blue Arctic foxes, 355 white -Arctic foxes, and also 31 foxes called white, perhaps albinos. - -Besides these reports for special years, I am enabled to present, from -the Russian tables of Captain Golowin, another, covering the period -from 1842 to 1860, inclusive,--being 25,602 sea-otters, 63,826 otters, -probably river-otters, 161,042 beavers, 73,944 foxes, 55,540 Arctic -foxes, 2,283 bears, 6,445 lynxes, 26,384 sables, 19,076 musk-rats, -2,536 ursine seals, 338,604 marsh-otters, 712 brace of hare, 451 -martens, 104 wolves, 46,274 castoreums, 7,309 beavers’ tails. Here is -an inexplicable absence of seal-skins. On the other hand are sables, -which belong to Asia, and not to America. The list is Russian, and -perhaps embraces furs from the Asiatic islands of the Company. - -From a competent source I learn that the value of skins at Sitka during -the last year was substantially as follows: Sea-otter, $50; marten, -$4; beaver, $2.50; bear, $4.50; black fox, $50; silver fox, $40; cross -fox, $25; red fox, $2. A recent price-current in New York gives the -following prices there in currency: Silver fox, $10 to $50; cross -fox, $3 to $5; red fox, $1 to $1.50; otter, $3 to $6; mink, $3 to $6; -beaver, $1 to $4; musk-rat, $0.20 to $0.50; lynx, $2 to $4; black bear, -$6 to $12; dark marten, $5 to $20. These New York prices vary from -those of Sitka. The latter are the better guide to a comprehension of -the proceeds at Sitka, subject to deduction for the expenses of the -Company. Of the latter I say nothing now, as I have considered them in -speaking of the existing Government. - -The skins are obtained in three different ways: first, through the -hunters employed by the Company; secondly, in payment of taxes imposed -by the Company; and, thirdly, by barter or purchase from independent -natives. But, with all these sources, it is certain that the Russian -Company has enjoyed no success comparable to that of its British rival; -and, still more, there is reason to believe that latterly its profits -have not been large. - -Amid all the concealment or obscurity which prevails with regard to -revenues, it is easy to see that for some time to come there must be a -large amount of valuable furs on this coast. The bountiful solitudes -of the forest and of the adjoining waters have not yet been exhausted; -nor will they be, until civilization has supplied substitutes. Such, -indeed, is part of that humane law of compensation which contributes -to the general harmony. For the present there will be trappers on the -land, who will turn aside only a little from prizes there to obtain -from the sea its otter, seal, and walrus. It cannot be irrelevant, -and may not be without interest, if I call attention briefly to those -fur-bearing animals which are about to be brought within the sphere of -republican government. If we cannot find their exact census, we may at -least learn something of their character and value. - -The comparative poverty of vegetation in the more northern parts of the -continent contrasts with the abundance of animal life, especially if -we embrace those tenants of the sea who seek the land for rest. These -northern parallels are hardly less productive than the tropics. The -lion, the elephant, and the hippopotamus find their counterpart in the -bear, the walrus, and the seal, without including the sables and the -foxes. Here again Nature, by unerring law, adapts the animal to the -climate, and in providing him with needful protection creates also a -needful supply for the protection of man; and this is the secret of -rich furs. Under the sun of the tropics such provision is as little -needed by man as by beast; and therefore Nature, which does nothing -inconsistent with wise economy, reserves it for other places. - -Among the furs most abundant in this commerce are those of the fox, -in its different species and under its different names. Its numbers -were noticed early, and gave the name to the eastern group of the -Aleutians, which were called Lyssie Ostrowa, or Fox Islands. Some of -its furs are among the very precious. The most plentiful is the red, -or, as sometimes called, American; but this is not highly prized. Then -comes the Arctic, of little value, and of different colors, sometimes -blue, and in full winter dress pure white, whose circumpolar home is -indicated by its name. The cross fox is less known, but much more -sought, from the fineness of its fur and its color. Its name is derived -from dark cruciform stripes, extending from the head to the back and -at right angles over the shoulders. It is now recognized to be a -variety of the red, from which it differs more in commercial value than -in general character. The black fox, which is sometimes entirely of -shining black with silver white at the tip of the tail, is called also -the silver fox, when the black hairs of the body are tipped with white. -They are of the same name in science, sometimes called _argentatus_, -although there seem to be two different names, if not different values, -in commerce. This variety is more rare than the cross fox. Not more -than four or five are taken during a season at any one post in the fur -countries, although the hunters use every art for this purpose. The -temptation is great, as we are told that “its fur fetches six times -the price of any other fur produced in North America.”[156] Sir John -Richardson, the authority for this statement, forgot the sea-otter, -of which he seems to have known little. Without doubt, the black fox -is admired for rarity and beauty. La Hontan, the French commander in -Canada under Louis the Fourteenth, speaks of its fur in his time as -worth its weight in gold.[157] - -Among the animals whose furs are less regarded are the wolverene, -known in science as _Gulo_, or glutton, and called by Buffon the -“quadruped vulture,” with a dark brown fur, becoming black in winter, -and resembling that of the bear, but not so long, nor of so much value. -There is also the lynx, belonging to the feline race, living north -of the Great Lakes and eastward of the Rocky Mountains, with a fur -moderately prized in commerce. There is also the musk-rat, which is -abundant in Russian America, as it is common on this continent, whose -fur enters largely into the cheaper peltries of the United States in so -many different ways, and with such various artificial colors that the -animal would not know his own skin. - -Among inferior furs I may include that very respectable animal, the -black bear, reported by Cook “in great numbers,” and “of a shining -black color.”[158] The grizzly bear is less frequent, and is inferior -in quality of fur to all other varieties of the bear. The brown bear -is supposed to be a variety of the black bear. The polar bear, which -at times is a formidable animal, leaving a footprint in the snow nine -inches long, was once said not to make an appearance west of the -Mackenzie River; but he has been latterly found on Behring Strait, so -that he, too, is included among our new population. The black bear, in -himself a whole population, inhabits every wooded district from the -Atlantic to the Pacific, and from Carolina to the ice of the Arctic, -being more numerous inland than on the coast. Langsdorff early remarked -that he did not appear on the Aleutians, but on the continent, about -Cook’s Inlet and Prince William Sound, which are well wooded.[159] He -has been found even on the Isthmus of Panama. Next to the dog, he is -the most cosmopolitan and perhaps the most intelligent of animals, and -among those of the forest he is the most known, even to the nursery. -His showy fur once enjoyed great vogue in hammer-cloths and muffs, and -it is still used in military caps and pistol-holsters; so that he is -sometimes called the Army bear. Latterly the fur has fallen in value. -Once it brought in London from twenty to forty guineas. It will now -hardly bring more than the same number of shillings. - -The beaver, amphibious and intelligent, has a considerable place in -commerce, and also a notoriety of its own as the familiar synonym -for the common covering of a man’s head; and here the animal becomes -historic. By royal proclamation, in 1638, Charles the First of England -commanded “that no beaver-makers whatsoever, from henceforth, shall -make any hats or caps but of pure beaver.”[160] This proclamation was -the death-warrant of beavers innumerable, sacrificed to the demands of -the trade. Wherever they existed over a wide extent of country, in the -shelter of forests or in lodges built by their extraordinary instinct, -they were pursued and arrested in their busy work. The importation of -their skins into Europe during the last century was enormous, and it -continued until one year it is said to have reached the unaccountable -number of 600,000. I give these figures as I find them. Latterly other -materials have been obtained for hats, so that this fur has become less -valuable. But the animal is still hunted. A medicine supplied by him, -and known as the castoreum, has a fixed place in the Materia Medica. - -The marten is perhaps the most popular of all the fur-bearing animals -belonging to our new possessions. An inhabitant of the whole wooded -region of the northern part of the continent, he finds a favorite home -in the forests of the Yukon, where he needs his beautiful fur, which is -not much inferior to that of his near relative, the far-famed Russian -sable. In the trade of the Hudson’s Bay Company the marten occupies the -largest place, his skins for a single district amounting to more than -fifty thousand annually, and being sometimes sold as sable. The ermine, -which is of the same weasel family, is of little value except for its -captivating name, although its fur finds a way to the English market -in enormous quantities. The mink, also of the same general family, was -once little regarded, but now, by freak of fashion in our country, this -animal has ascended in value above the beaver, and almost to the level -of the marten. His fur is plentiful on the Yukon and along the coast. -Specimens in the museum of the Smithsonian Institution attest its -occurrence at Sitka. - -The seal, amphibious, polygamous, and intelligent as the beaver, has -always supplied the largest multitude of furs to the Russian Company. -The early navigators describe its appearance and numbers. Cook -encountered them constantly. Excellent swimmers, ready divers, they -seek rocks and recesses for repose, where, though watchful and never -sleeping long without moving, they become the prey of the hunter. Early -in the century there was a wasteful destruction of them. Young and -old, male and female, were indiscriminately knocked on the head for -the sake of their skins. Sir George Simpson, who saw this improvidence -with an experienced eye, says that it was hurtful in two ways: first, -the race was almost exterminated; and, secondly, the market was glutted -sometimes with as many as two hundred thousand a year, so that prices -did not pay the expense of carriage.[161] The Russians were led to -adopt the plan of the Hudson’s Bay Company, killing only a limited -number of males who had attained their full growth, which can be done -easily, from the known and systematic habits of the animal. Under this -economy seals have multiplied again, vastly increasing the supply. - -Besides the common seal, there are various species, differing in -appearance, so as to justify different names, and yet all with a -family character,--including the sea-leopard, so named from his spots, -the elephant seal, from his tusks and proboscis, and the sea-lion, -with teeth, mane, and a thick cylindrical body. These are of little -value, although their skins are occasionally employed. The skin of the -elephant seal is strong, so as to justify its use in the harness of -horses. There is also the sea-bear, or ursine seal, very numerous in -these waters, whose skin, especially if young, is prized for clothing. -Steller speaks with grateful remembrance of a garment he made from one, -while on the desert island after the shipwreck of Behring. - -Associated with the seal, and belonging to the same family, is the -walrus, called by the British the sea-horse, the morse, or the sea-cow, -and by the French _bête à la grande dent_. His two tusks, rather than -his skin, are the prize of the hunter. Unlike the rest of the seal -family, he is monogamous, and not polygamous. Cook vividly describes -immense herds asleep on the ice, with some of their number on guard, -and, when aroused, roaring or braying very loud, while they huddled and -tumbled together like swine.[162] At times their multitude is so great, -that, before being aroused, several hundreds are slaughtered, as game -in a park. Their hide is excellent for carriage-braces, and is useful -about ship. But it is principally for their ivory that these hecatombs -are sacrificed. A single tooth sometimes weighs several pounds. Twenty -thousand teeth, reported as an annual harvest of the Russian Company, -must cost the lives of ten thousand walruses. The ivory compares with -that of the elephant, and is for some purposes superior. Long ago, in -the days of Saxon history, a Norwegian at the court of Alfred exhibited -to the king “teeth of great price and excellencie,” from what he called -a “horsewhale.”[163] Unquestionably, they were teeth of walrus. - -I mention the sea-otter last; but in beauty and value it is the first. -In these respects it far surpasses the river or land otter, which, -though beautiful and valuable, must yield the palm. It has also more -the manners of the seal, with the same fondness for sea-washed rocks, -and a maternal affection almost human. The sea-otter seems to belong -exclusively to the North Pacific. Its haunts once extended as far south -as the Bay of San Francisco, but long ago it ceased to appear in that -region. Cook saw it at Nootka Sound.[164] Vancouver reports in Chatham -Strait an “immense number about the shores in all directions,” so that -“it was easily in the power of the natives to procure as many as they -chose to be at the trouble of taking.”[165] D’Wolf, while at Sitka, -projected an expedition to California “for the purpose of catching -sea-otter, those animals being very numerous on that coast.”[166] -But these navigators, could they revisit this coast, would not find -it in these places now. Its present zone is between the parallels of -50° and 60° north latitude, on the American and Asiatic coasts, so -that its range is comparatively limited. Evidently it was Cook who -first revealed the sea-otter to Englishmen. In the table of contents -of his second volume are the words, “Description of a Sea-Otter,” and -in the text is a minute account of this animal, and especially of its -incomparable fur, “certainly softer and finer than that of any others -we know of.” Not content with description, the famous navigator adds, -in remarkable words, “Therefore the discovery of this part of the -continent of North America, where so valuable an article of commerce -may be met with, cannot be a matter of indifference.”[167] This account -stimulated the commercial enterprise of that day. Other witnesses -followed. Meares, describing his voyage, placed this fur high above all -other furs,--“the finest in the world, and of exceeding beauty”;[168] -and La Pérouse made it known in France as “the most precious and the -most common peltry” of those regions.[169] Shortly afterwards all -existing information with regard to it was elaborately set forth in the -Historical Introduction to the Voyage of Marchand, published at Paris -under the auspices of the Institute.[170] - -The sea-otter was known originally to the Russians in Kamtchatka, -where it was called the sea-beaver; but the discoveries of Behring -constitute an epoch in the commerce. His shipwrecked crew, compelled -to winter on the desert island now bearing his name, found this -animal in flocks, ignorant of men and innocent as sheep, so that they -were slaughtered without resistance, to the number of “near nine -hundred.”[171] Their value became known. Fabulous prices were paid -by the Chinese, sometimes, according to Coxe, as high as one hundred -and forty rubles.[172] At such a price a single sea-otter was more -than five ounces of gold, and a flock was a gold mine. The pursuit of -gold was renewed. It was the sea-otter that tempted the navigator, -and subsequent enterprise was under the incentive of obtaining the -precious fur. Müller, calling him a beaver, says, in his history of -Russian Discovery, “The catching of beavers in those parts enticed many -people to go to them, and they never returned without great quantities, -which always produced large profits.”[173] All that could be obtained -were sent to China, which was the objective point commercially for -this whole coast. The trade became a fury. The animal, with exquisite -purple-black fur, appeared only to be killed,--not always without -effort, for he had learned something of his huntsman, and was now -coy and watchful, so that the pursuit was often an effort; but his -capture was always a triumph. The natives, accustomed to his furs as -clothing, now surrendered them. Sometimes a few beads were the only -pay. All the navigators speak of the unequal barter,--“any sort of -beads,” according to Cook.[174] The story is best told by Meares: -“Such as were dressed in furs instantly stripped themselves, and in -return for a moderate quantity of large spike-nails we received sixty -fine sea-otter skins.”[175] Vancouver describes the “humble fashion” -of the natives in poor skins as a substitute for the beautiful furs -appropriated by “their Russian friends.”[176] The picture is completed -by the Russian navigator, when he confesses, that, after the Russians -had any intercourse with them, the natives ceased to wear sea-otter -skins.[177] In the growing rage the sea-otter nearly disappeared. -Langsdorff reports the race “nearly extirpated,” since “the high price -given for the skins induces the Russians, for the sake of a momentary -advantage, to kill all they meet with, both old and young; nor can -they see that by such a procedure they must soon be deprived of the -trade entirely.”[178] This was in 1805. Since then the indiscriminate -massacre has been arrested. - -Meanwhile our countrymen entered into this commerce, so that Russians, -Englishmen, and Americans were all engaged in slaughtering sea-otters, -and selling their furs to the Chinese, until the market of Canton -was glutted. Lisiansky, who was there in 1806, speaks of “immense -quantities imported by American ships,--during the present season no -less than twenty thousand.”[179] By-and-by the commerce was engrossed -by the Russians and English. At length it passes into the hands of -the United States, with all the other prerogatives belonging to this -territory. - - * * * * * - -7. _Fisheries._--I come now to the Fisheries, the last head of this -inquiry, and not inferior to any other in importance,--perhaps the -most important of all. What even are sea-otter skins, by the side of -that product of the sea, incalculable in amount, which contributes to -the sustenance of the human family? - -Here, as elsewhere, in the endeavor to estimate the resources of this -region, there is vagueness and uncertainty. Information is wanting; and -yet we are not entirely ignorant. Nothing is clearer than that fish in -great abundance are taken everywhere on the coast, around the islands, -in the bays, and throughout the adjacent seas. The evidence is constant -and complete. Here are oysters, clams, crabs, and a dainty little fish -of the herring tribe, called the oolachan, contributing to the luxury -of the table, and so rich in its oily nature that the natives are said -to use it sometimes as a “candle.” In addition to these, which I name -only to put aside, are those great staples of commerce and main-stays -of daily subsistence, the salmon, the herring, the halibut, the cod, -and, behind all, the whale. This short list is enough, for it offers a -constant feast, with the whale at hand for light. Here is the best that -the sea affords, for poor or rich,--for daily use, or the fast-days of -the Church. Here also is a sure support, at least, to the inhabitants -of the coast. - -To determine the value of this supply, we must go further, and -ascertain if these various tribes of fish, reputed to be in such -numbers, are found under such conditions and in such places as to -constitute a permanent and profitable fishery. This is the practical -question, which is still undecided. It is not enough to show that the -whole coast may be subsisted by its fish. It should be shown further -that the fish of this coast can be made to subsist other places, so -as to become a valuable article of commerce. And here uncertainty -begins. The proper conditions of an extensive fishery are not yet -understood. It is known that certain fisheries exist in certain waters -and on certain soundings, but the spaces of ocean are obscure, even to -the penetrating eye of science. Fishing-banks known for ages are still -in many respects a mystery, which is increased where the fishery is -recent or only coastwise. There are other banks which fail from local -incidents. Thus, very lately a cod-fishery was commenced on Rockall -Bank, one hundred and sixty-five miles northwest of the Hebrides, but -the deep rolling of the Atlantic and the intolerable weather compelled -its abandonment. - -Before considering the capacity of this region for an extensive -fishery, it is important to know such evidence as exists with regard to -the supply; and here again we must resort to the early navigators and -visitors. Their evidence, reinforced by modern reports, is an essential -element, even if it does not entirely determine the question. - -Down to the arrival of Europeans, the natives lived on fish. This -had been their constant food, with small additions from the wild -vegetation. In summer it was fish freshly caught; in winter it was fish -dried or preserved. At the first landing, on the discovery, Steller -found in the deserted cellar “store of red salmon,” and the sailors -brought away “smoked fishes that appeared like large carp and tasted -very well.”[180] This is the earliest notice of fish on this coast, -which are thus directly associated with its discovery. The next of -interest is the account of a Russian navigator, in 1768-9, who reports -at the Fox Islands, and especially Oonalaska, “cod, perch, pilchards, -smelts, roach.”[181] Thus early the cod appears. - -Repairing to Cook’s Voyage, we find the accustomed instruction; and -here I shall quote with all possible brevity. At Nootka Sound he -finds fish “more plentiful than birds,” of which the principal sorts, -in great numbers, are “the common herring, but scarcely exceeding -seven inches in length, and a smaller sort, the same with the anchovy -or sardine,” and now and then “a small brownish cod spotted with -white.”[182] Then again he reports at the same place “herrings and -sardines, and small cod,”--the former “not only eaten fresh, but -likewise dried and smoked.”[183] In Prince William Sound “the only -fish got were some torsk and halibut, chiefly brought by the natives -to sell.”[184] Near Kadiak he records, that, “having three hours’ -calm, our people caught upward of a hundred halibuts, some of which -weighed a hundred pounds, and none less than twenty pounds,”--and he -adds, naturally enough, “a very seasonable refreshment to us.”[185] -In Bristol Bay, on the northern side of the promontory of Alaska, he -reports “tolerable success in fishing, catching cod, and now and then -a few flat-fish.”[186] In Norton Sound, still further north, he tells -us, that, in exchange for four knives made from an old iron hoop, he -obtained of the natives “near four hundred pounds weight of fish, which -they had caught on this or the preceding day,--some trout, and the -rest in size and taste somewhat between a mullet and a herring.”[187] -On returning southward, stopping at Oonalaska, he finds “plenty of -fish, at first mostly salmon, both fresh and dried,--some of the fresh -salmon in high perfection”; also “salmon trout, and once a halibut -that weighed two hundred and fifty-four pounds”; and in describing the -habits of the islanders, he reports that “they dry large quantities of -fish in summer, which they lay up in small huts for winter use.”[188] -Such is the testimony of Captain Cook. - -No experience on the coast is more instructive than that of Portlock, -and from his report I compile a succinct diary. July 20, 1786, at -Graham’s Harbor, Cook’s Inlet, “The Russian chief brought me as a -present a quantity of fine salmon, sufficient to serve both ships for -one day.” July 21, “In several hauls caught about thirty salmon and -a few flat-fish”; also, further, “The Russian settlement had on one -side a small lake of fresh water, in which they catch plenty of fine -salmon.” July 22, “The boat returned deeply loaded with fine salmon.” -July 28, latitude 60° 9´, “Two small canoes came off from the shore; -they had nothing to barter except a few dried salmon.” July 30, “Plenty -of excellent fresh salmon, which we obtained for beads and buttons.” -August 5, “Plenty of fine salmon.” August 9, “The greatest abundance of -fine salmon.” August 13, off the entrance of Cook’s Inlet, “Hereabouts -would be a most desirable situation for carrying on a whale fishery, -the whales being on the coast and close in shore in vast numbers, -and there being convenient and excellent harbors quite handy for the -business.”[189] Soon after these entries the English navigator left the -coast for the Sandwich Islands. - -Returning during the next year, Portlock continued to record his -observations, which I abstract in brief. May 21, 1787, Port Etches, -latitude 60° 21´, “The harbor affords very fine crabs and muscles.” -June 4, “A few Indians came alongside, bringing some halibut and cod.” -June 20, “Plenty of flounders; crabs now very fine; some of the people, -in fishing alongside for flounders, caught several cod and halibut.” -June 22, “Sent the canoe out some distance into the bay, and it soon -returned with a load of fine halibut and cod; this success induced -me to send her out frequently with a fishing party, and they caught -considerably more than what was sufficient for daily consumption.” -June 30, “In hauling the seine, we caught a large quantity of herrings -and some salmon; the herrings, though small, were very good, and two -hogsheads of them were salted for sea-store.” July 7, “We daily caught -large quantities of salmon, but, the unsettled state of the weather not -permitting us to cure them on board, I sent the boatswain with a party -on shore to build a kind of house to smoke them in.” July 11, “The -seine was frequently hauled, and not less than two thousand salmon were -caught at each haul; the weather, however, preventing us from curing -them so well as could have been wished, we kept only a sufficient -quantity for present use, and let the rest escape. The salmon were now -in such numbers along the shores that any quantity whatever might be -caught with the greatest ease.”[190] All this testimony of the English -navigator is singularly explicit, while it is in complete harmony with -that of the Russian visitors, and of Cook, who preceded Portlock. - -The report of Meares is similar, although less minute. Speaking of the -natives generally, he says, “They live entirely upon fish, but of all -others they prefer the whale.”[191] Then again, going into more detail, -he says, “Vast quantities of fish are to be found, both on the coast -and in the sounds or harbors. Among these are the halibut, herring, -sardine, silver-bream, salmon, trout, cod, … all of which we have seen -in the possession of the natives, or have been caught by ourselves.” -The sardines he describes as taken in such numbers “that a whole -village has not been able to cleanse them.” At Nootka the salmon was -“of a very delicate flavor,” and “the cod taken by the natives were of -the best quality.”[192] - -Spanish and French testimony is not wanting, although less precise. -Maurelle, who was on the coast in 1779, remarks that “the fish most -abundant was the salmon and a species of sole or turbot.”[193] La -Pérouse, who was there in 1786, mentions a large fish weighing -sometimes more than a hundred pounds, and several other fish; but he -preferred “the salmon and trout, which the Indians sold in larger -numbers than could be consumed.”[194] A similar report was made in -1791 by Marchand, who finds the sea and rivers abounding in “excellent -fish,” particularly salmon and trout.[195] - -Meanwhile came the Russian navigator Billings, in 1790; and here we -have a similar report, only different in form. Describing the natives -of Oonalaska, the book in which this visit is recorded says, “They -dry salmon, cod, and halibut, for a winter’s supply.”[196] At Kadiak -it says, “Whales are in amazing numbers about the straits of the -islands and in the vicinity of Kadiak.” Then the reporter, who was the -naturalist Sauer, says, “I observed the same species of salmon here -as at Okhotsk, and saw crabs.” Again, “The halibuts in these seas are -extremely large, some weighing seventeen poods, or six hundred and -twelve pounds avoirdupois.… The liver of this fish, as also of cod, -the natives esteem unhealthy and never eat, but extract the oil from -them.”[197] Then, returning to Oonalaska the next year, the naturalist -says, “The other fish are halibut, cod, two or three species of salmon, -and sometimes a species of salmon very common in Kamtchatka, between -four and five feet long.”[198] - -From Lisiansky, the Russian navigator, who was on the coast in 1804, -and again in 1805, I take two passages. The first relates to the fish -of Sitka. “For some time,” he says, “we had been able to catch no fish -but the halibut. Those of this species, however, which we caught were -fine, some of them weighing eighteen stone, and were of an excellent -flavor. This fish abounds here from March to November, when it retires -from the coast till the winter is at an end.”[199] The other passage -relates to the subsistence of the inhabitants during the winter. -“They live,” he says, “on dried salmon, train oil, and the spawn of -fish, especially that of herrings, of which they always lay in a good -stock.”[200] - -Langsdorff, who was there in 1805-6, is more full and explicit. Of -Oonalaska he says: “The principal food consists of fish, sea-dogs, -and the flesh of whales. Among the fish, the most common and most -abundant are several sorts of salmon, cod, herrings, and holybutt. The -holybutts, which are the sort held in the highest esteem, are sometimes -of an enormous size, weighing even several hundred pounds.”[201] Of -Kadiak he says: “The most common fish, those which, fresh and dry, -constitute a principal article of food, are herrings, cod, holybutt, -and several sorts of salmon; the latter come up into the bays and -rivers at stated seasons and months, and are then taken in prodigious -numbers by means of nets or dams.”[202] Of Sitka he says: “We have -several sorts of salmon, holybutt, whitings, cod, and herrings.”[203] -A goodly variety. The testimony of Langsdorff is confirmed in general -terms by his contemporary, D’Wolf, who reports: “The waters of the -neighborhood abounded with numerous and choice varieties of the finny -tribe, which could be taken at all seasons of the year.”[204] - -Lütke, also a Russian, tells us that he found fish the standing dish -at Sitka, from the humblest servant to the governor; and he mentions -salmon, herring, cod, and turbot. Of salmon there were no less than -four kinds, which were eaten fresh when possible, but after June they -were sent to the fortress salted. The herring appeared in February -and March. The cod and turbot were caught in the straits during -winter.[205] Lütke also reports “fresh cod” at Kadiak.[206] - -I close this abstract of foreign testimony with two English -authorities often quoted. Sir Edward Belcher, while on the coast in -1837, records that “fish, halibut, and salmon of two kinds, were -abundant and moderate, of which the crews purchased and cured great -quantities.”[207] Sir George Simpson, who was at Sitka in 1841, says: -“Halibut, cod, herrings, flounders, and many other sorts of fish, are -always to be had for the taking, in unlimited quantities.… Salmon have -been known literally to embarrass the movements of a canoe. About -100,000 of the last-mentioned fish, equivalent to 1,500 barrels, are -annually salted for the use of the establishment.”[208] Nothing could -be stronger as statement, and, when we consider the character of its -author, nothing stronger as authority. - -Cumulative upon all this accumulation of testimony is that of recent -visitors. Nobody visits here without testifying. The fish are so -demonstrative in abundance that all remark it. Officers of the United -States navy report the same fish substantially which Cook reported, as -far north as the Frozen Ocean. Scientific explorers, prompted by the -Smithsonian Institution, report cod in Behring Strait, on the limits -of the Arctic Circle. One of these reports, that, while anchored near -Oonimak, in 1865, the ship, with a couple of lines, caught “a great -many fine cod, most of them between two and three feet in length.” -He supposes that there is no place on the coast where they are not -numerous. A citizen of Massachusetts, who has recently returned from -prolonged residence on this coast, writes me from Boston, under date -of March 8, 1867, that “the whale and cod fisheries of the North -Pacific are destined to form a very important element in the wealth -of California and Washington Territory, and that already numbers of -fishermen are engaged there, and more are intending to leave.” From all -this testimony there can be but one conclusion, with regard at least -to certain kinds of fish. - -Salmon exists in unequalled numbers, so that this fish, so aristocratic -elsewhere, becomes common. Not merely the prize of epicures, it is -the food of all. Not merely the pastime of gentle natures, like -Izaak Walton or Sir Humphry Davy, who employ in its pursuit an -elegant leisure, its capture is the daily reward of the humblest. On -Vancouver’s Island it is the constant ration given out by the Hudson’s -Bay Company to the men in service. At Sitka ships are gratuitously -supplied with it by the natives. By the side of the incalculable -multitudes swarming out of the Arctic waters, haunting this extended -coast, and peopling its rivers, so that at a single haul Portlock took -not less than two thousand, how small an allowance are the two hundred -thousand which the salmon fisheries of England annually supply! - -Herring seem not less multitudinous than the salmon. Their name, -derived from the German _Heer_, signifying an army, is amply verified, -as on the coast of Norway they move in such hosts that a boat at times -makes its way with difficulty through the compact mass. I do not speak -at a venture, for I have received this incident from a scientific -gentleman who witnessed it on the coast. This fish, less aristocratic -than the salmon, is a universal food, but here it would seem enough for -all. - -The halibut, so often mentioned for size and abundance, is less -generally known than the others. It is common in the fisheries of -Norway, Iceland, and Greenland. In our country its reputation is local. -Even at the seaport of Norfolk, in Virginia, it does not appear to -have been known before 1843, when its arrival was announced as that of -a distinguished stranger: “Our market yesterday morning was enriched -with a delicacy from the Northern waters, the halibut, a strange fish -in these parts, known only to epicures and naturalists.” The larger -fish are sometimes coarse and far from delicate, but they furnish a -substantial meal, while the smaller halibut is much liked. - -The cod is perhaps the most generally diffused and abundant of all, -for it swims in all the waters of the coast, from the Frozen Ocean -to the southern limit, sometimes in immense numbers. It is a popular -fish, and, when cured or salted, is an excellent food in all parts -of the world. Palatable, digestible, and nutritious, the cod, as -compared with other fish, is as beef compared with other meats; so that -its incalculable multitudes seem to be according to a wise economy -of Nature. A female cod is estimated to contain from three to nine -million eggs.[209] Talk of multiplication a hundred fold,--here it -is to infinity. Imagine these millions of eggs grown into fish, and -then the process of reproduction repeated, and you have numbers which, -like astronomical distances, are beyond human conception. But here the -ravenous powers of other fish are more destructive than any efforts of -the fisherman. - -Behind all these is the whale, whose corporal dimensions fitly -represent the space he occupies in the fisheries of the world, hardly -diminished by petroleum or gas. On this extended coast and in all -these seas he is at home. Here is his retreat and play-ground. This is -especially the case with the right-whale, or, according to whalers, -“the _right_ whale to catch,” with bountiful supply of oil and bone, -who is everywhere throughout this region, appearing at all points and -swarming its waters. D’Wolf says, “We were frequently surrounded by -them.”[210] Meares says, “Abundant as the whales may be in the vicinity -of Nootka, they bear no comparison to the numbers seen on the northern -part of the coast.”[211] At times they are very large. Kotzebue reports -them at Oonalaska of fabulous proportions, called by the natives -_Aliamak_, and so long “that the people engaged at the opposite ends -of the fish must halloo very loud to be able to understand each -other.”[212] Another whale, known as the bow-head, is so much about -Kadiak that it is sometimes called the Kadiak whale. The valuable -sperm-whale, whose head and hunch are so productive in spermaceti, -belongs to a milder sea, but he sometimes strays to the Aleutians. The -narwhal, with his long tusk of ivory, out of which was made the famous -throne of the early Danish kings, belongs to the Frozen Ocean; but he, -too, strays into the straits below. As no sea is now _mare clausum_, -all these may be pursued by a ship under any flag, except directly on -the coast and within its territorial limit. And yet the possession of -this coast as a commercial base must necessarily give to its people -peculiar advantages in the pursuit. What is done now under difficulties -will be done then with facilities, such at least as neighborhood -supplied to the natives even with their small craft. - -In our country the whale fishery has been a great and prosperous -commerce, counted by millions. It has yielded considerable gains, and -sometimes large fortunes. The town of New Bedford, one of the most -beautiful in the world, has been enriched by this fishery. And yet -you cannot fail to remark the impediments which the business has been -compelled to overcome. The ship was fitted on the Atlantic coast for a -voyage of two or three years, and all the crew entered into partnership -with regard to the oil. Traversing two oceans, separated by a stormy -cape, it reaches at last its distant destination in these northern -seas, and commences its tardy work, interrupted by occasional rest and -opportunity to refit at the Sandwich Islands. This now will be changed, -as the ship sallies forth from friendly harbors near the game which is -its mighty chase. - - * * * * * - -From the whale fishery I turn to another branch of inquiry. Undoubtedly -there are infinite numbers of fish on the coast; but to determine -whether they can constitute a permanent and profitable fishery, -there are at least three different considerations which must not be -disregarded: (1.) The existence of banks or soundings; (2.) Proper -climatic conditions for catching and curing fish; (3.) A market. - -(1.) The _necessity of banks or soundings_ is according to reason. -Fish are not caught in the deep ocean. It is their nature to seek the -bottom, where they are found in some way by the fisherman, armed with -trawl, seine, or hook. As among the ancient Romans private luxury -provided tanks and ponds for the preservation of fish, so Nature -provides banks, which are immense fish-preserves. Soundings attest -their existence in a margin along the coast; but it becomes important -to know if they actually exist to much extent away from the coast. On -this point our information is already considerable, if not decisive. - -The Sea and Strait of Behring, as far as the Frozen Ocean, have been -surveyed by a naval expedition of the United States under Commander -John Rodgers. From one of his charts, now before me, it appears, that, -beginning at the Frozen Ocean and descending through Behring Strait -and Behring Sea, embracing Kotzebue Sound, Norton Bay, and Bristol -Bay, to the peninsula of Alaska, a distance of more than twelve -degrees, there are constant uninterrupted soundings from twenty to -fifty fathoms,--thus presenting an immense extent proper for fishery. -South of the peninsula of Alaska another chart shows soundings along -the coast, with a considerable extent of bank in the neighborhood of -the Shumagins and Kadiak, being precisely where other evidence points -to the existence of cod. These banks, north and south of Alaska, taken -together, according to indications of the two charts, have an extent -unsurpassed by any in the world. - -There is another illustration full of instruction. It is a map of the -world, in the new work of Murray on “The Geographical Distribution -of Mammals,” “showing approximately the one hundred fathom line of -soundings,” prepared from information furnished by the Hydrographic -Department of the British Admiralty. Here are all the soundings of -the world. At a glance you discern the remarkable line on the Pacific -coast, beginning at 40° of north latitude, and constantly receding from -the shore in a northwesterly direction; then, with a gentle sweep, -stretching from Sitka to the Aleutians, which it envelops with a wide -margin; and, finally, embracing and covering Behring Strait to the -Frozen Ocean: the whole space, as indicated on the map, seeming like -an immense unbroken sea-meadow adjoining the land, and constituting -plainly the largest extent of soundings in length and breadth in the -known world,--larger even than those of Newfoundland added to those -of Great Britain. This map, prepared by scientific authority, in the -interest of science, is an unimpeachable and disinterested witness. - -Actual experience is better authority still. I learn that the people -of California have already found cod-banks in these seas, and have -begun to gather a harvest. Distance was no impediment; for they were -already accustomed to the Sea of Okhotsk, on the Asiatic coast. In 1866 -no less than seventeen vessels left San Francisco for cod-fishery in -the latter region. This was a long voyage, requiring eighty days in -going and returning. On the way better grounds were discovered among -the Aleutians, with better fish; and then again, other fishing-grounds, -better in every way, were discovered south of Alaska, in the -neighborhood of the Shumagins, with an excellent harbor at hand. Here -one vessel began its work on the 14th of May, and, notwithstanding -stormy weather, finished it on the 24th of July, having taken 52,000 -fish. The largest catch in a single day was 2,300. The average weight -of the fish dried was three pounds. Old fishermen compared the fish -in quality and method of taking with those of Newfoundland. Large -profits are anticipated. While fish from the Atlantic side bring at -San Francisco not less than twelve cents a pound, it is supposed that -Shumagin fish at only eight cents a pound will yield a better return -than the coasting-trade. These flattering reports have arrested the -attention of Petermann, the indefatigable geographical observer, who -recounts them in his journal.[213] - -From an opposite quarter is other confirmation. Here is a letter, which -I have just received from Charles Bryant, Esq., at present a member of -the Massachusetts Legislature, but for eighteen years acquainted with -these seas, where he was engaged in the whale fishery. After mentioning -the timber at certain places as a reason for the acquisition of these -possessions, he says:-- - - “But the chiefest value--and this alone is worth more than - the pittance asked for it--consists in its extensive cod - and halibut fish-grounds. To the eastward of Kadiak, or the - Aleutian Islands, are extensive banks, or shoals, nearly, if - not quite, equal in extent to those of Newfoundland, and as - well stocked with fish. Also west of the Aleutian Islands, - which extend from Alaska southwest half-way to Kamtchatka, and - inclosing that part of land laid down as Bristol Bay, and west - of it, is an extensive area of sea, varying from forty fathoms - in depth to twenty, where I have found the supply of codfish - and halibut unfailing. These islands furnish good harbors for - curing and preparing fish, as well as shelter in storm.” - -In another letter Mr. Bryant says that the shoals east of the entrance -to Cook’s Inlet widen as they extend southward to latitude 50°; and -that there are also large shoals south of Prince William Sound, and -again off Cross Sound and Sitka. The retired ship-master adds, that he -never examined these shoals to ascertain their exact limit, but only -incidentally, in the course of his regular business, that he might -know when and where to obtain fish, if he wished them. His report goes -beyond any chart of soundings I have seen, although, as far as they -go, the charts are coincident. Cook particularly notices soundings in -Bristol Bay, and in various places along the coast. Other navigators -have done the same. Careful surveys have accomplished so much that at -this time the bottom of Behring Sea and of Behring Strait, as far as -the Frozen Ocean, constituting one immense bank, is completely known in -depth and character. - -Add to all this the official report of Mr. Giddings, acting -surveyor-general of Washington Territory, made to the Secretary of the -Interior in 1865, where he says:-- - - “Along the coast, between Cape Flattery and Sitka, in the - Russian possessions, both cod and halibut are very plenty, and - of a much larger size than those taken at the Cape, or further - up the Straits and Sound. No one, who knows these facts, for - a moment doubts but that, if vessels similar to those used by - the Bank fishermen that sail from Massachusetts and Maine were - fitted out here, and were to fish on _the various banks along - this coast_, it would even now be a most lucrative business.… - The cod and halibut on this coast, up near Sitka, are fully - equal to the largest taken in the Eastern waters.”[214] - -From this concurring evidence, including charts and personal -experience, it is easy to see that the first condition of a -considerable fishery is not wanting. - -(2.) _Climatic conditions_ must exist also. The proverbial hardihood -of fishermen has limits. Elsewhere weather and storm have compelled -the abandonment of banks which promised to be profitable. On a portion -of this coast there can be no such rigors. South of Alaska and the -Aleutians, and also in Bristol Bay, immediately to the north of the -peninsula of Alaska, the fishing-grounds will compare in temperature -with those of Newfoundland or Norway. It is more important to know -if the fish, when taken, can be properly cured. This is one of the -privileges of northern skies. Within the tropics fish may be taken in -abundance, but the constant sun does not allow their preservation. -The constant rains of Sitka, with only a few bright days in the year, -must prevent the work of curing on any considerable scale. But the -navigators make frequent mention of dry or preserved fish on the coast, -and it is understood that fish are now cured at Kadiak. “Dried fish” -from this island is described by D’Wolf.[215] For a long time it was -customary there to dry seal flesh in the air, which could not be done -on the main-land. Thus the opportunity of curing the fish seems to -exist near the very banks where they are taken, or Fuca Straits may be -a “half-way house” for this purpose. The California fishermen carry -their fish home to be cured, in which they imitate the fishermen of -Gloucester. As the yearly fishing product of this port is larger than -that of any other in North America, perhaps in the world, this example -cannot be without weight. - -(3.) The _market_ also is of prime necessity. Fish are not caught -and cured except for a market. Besides the extended coast, where an -immediate demand must always prevail in proportion to increasing -population, there is an existing market in California, amply attested -by long voyages to Kamtchatka for fish, and by recent attempts to find -fishing-grounds. San Francisco at one time took from Okhotsk nine -hundred tons of fish, being about one eighth of the yearly fishing -product of Gloucester. Her fishing-vessels last year brought home -from all quarters fifteen hundred tons of dried fish and ten thousand -gallons of cod-liver oil. There is also a growing market in Washington -and Oregon. But beyond the domestic market, spreading from the coast -into the interior, there will be a foreign market of no limited amount. -Mexico, Central America, and the States of South America, all Catholic -in religion, will require this subsistence, and, being southern in -climate, they must look northward for a supply. The two best customers -of our Atlantic fisheries are Hayti and Cuba, Catholic countries under -a southern sun. The fishermen of Massachusetts began at an early day to -send cod to Portugal, Spain, and Italy, all Catholic countries under a -southern sun. Our “salt fish” became popular. The Portuguese minister -at London in 1785, in a conference with Mr. Adams on a commercial -treaty with the United States, mentioned “salt fish” among the objects -most needed in his country, and added, that “the consumption of this -article in Portugal was immense, and he would avow that the American -salt fish was preferred to any other, on account of its quality.”[216] -Such facts are more than curious. - -But more important than the Pacific States of the American continent -are the great empires of Japan and China, with uncounted populations -depending much on fish. In China one tenth subsist on fish. -Notwithstanding the considerable supplies at home, it does not seem -impossible for an energetic and commercial people to find a market here -of inconceivable magnitude, dwarfing the original fur-trade with China, -once so tempting. - -From this survey you can all judge the question of the fisheries, -which I only state, without assuming to determine. You can judge if -well-stocked fishing-banks have been found under such conditions of -climate and market as to supply a new and important fishery. Already -the people of California have anticipated the answer, and their -enterprise has arrested attention in Europe. The journal of Petermann, -the “Geographische Mittheilungen,” for the present year, which is the -authentic German record of geographical science, borrows from a San -Francisco paper to announce these successful voyages as the beginning -of a new commerce. If this be so, as there is reason to believe, these -coasts and seas will have unprecedented value. The future only can -disclose the form they may take. They may be a Newfoundland, a Norway, -a Scotland, or perhaps a New England, with another Gloucester and -another New Bedford. - - -INFLUENCE OF FISHERIES. - -An eminent French writer, an enthusiast on fishes, Lacepède, has -depicted the influence of fisheries, which he illustrates by the -herring, calling it “one of those natural products whose use decides -the destiny of empires.”[217] Without adopting these strong words, -it is easy to see that such fisheries as seem about to be opened on -the Pacific must exercise a wonderful influence over the population -there, while they give a new spring to commerce, and enlarge the -national resources. In these aspects it is impossible to exaggerate. -Fishermen are not as other men. They have a character of their own, -taking complexion from their life. In ancient Rome they had a peculiar -holiday, with games, known as _Piscatorii Ludi_. The first among us -in this pursuit were the Pilgrims, who, even before they left Leyden, -looked to fishing for support in their new home, giving occasion -to the remark of King James: “So God have my soul, ’tis an honest -trade; ’twas the Apostles’ own calling.”[218] As soon as they reached -Plymouth they began to fish, and afterwards appropriated the profits -of the fisheries at Cape Cod to found a free school. From this Pilgrim -origin are derived those fisheries which for a while were our chief -commerce, and still continue an important element of national wealth. -The cod fisheries of the United States are now valued at more than two -million dollars annually. Such an interest must be felt far and near, -commercially and financially, while it contributes to the comfort of -all. How soon it may prevail on the Pacific who can say? But this -treaty is the beginning. - -It is difficult to estimate what is so uncertain, or at least is -prospective only. Our own fisheries, now so considerable, were -small in the beginning; they were small, even when they inspired -the eloquence of Burke, in that most splendid page never equalled -even by himself.[219] But the Continental Congress, in its original -instructions to its commissioners for the negotiation of treaties of -peace and commerce with Great Britain, required, as a fundamental -condition, next to independence, that these fisheries should be -preserved unimpaired. While the proposition was under discussion, -Elbridge Gerry, who had grown up among the fishermen of Massachusetts, -repelled the attack upon their pursuit in words which are not out of -place here. “It is not so much fishing,” he said, “as enterprise, -industry, and employment. It is not fish merely; it is gold, the -produce of that avocation. It is the employment of those who would -otherwise be idle, the food of those who would otherwise be hungry, the -wealth of those who would otherwise be poor.”[220] After debate, it was -resolved by Congress that “the common right of fishing should in no -case be given up.”[221] For this principle the eldest Adams contended -with ability and constancy until it was fixed in the treaty of peace, -where it stands side by side with the acknowledgment of independence. - -In the discussions which ended thus triumphantly, the argument for the -fisheries was stated most compactly by Ralph Izard, of South Carolina, -in a letter to John Adams, dated at Paris, 24th September, 1778; and -this early voice from South Carolina may be repeated now. - - “Since the advantages of commerce have been well understood, - the fisheries have been looked upon by the naval powers of - Europe as an object of the greatest importance. The French - have been increasing their fishery ever since the Treaty of - Utrecht, which has enabled them to rival Great Britain at - sea. The fisheries of Holland were not only the first rise - of the Republic, but have been the constant support of all - her commerce and navigation. This branch of trade is of such - concern to the Dutch that in their public prayers they are - said to request the Supreme Being ‘that it would please Him - to bless the Government, the Lords, the States, and also their - fisheries.’ The fishery of Newfoundland appears to me to be - a mine of infinitely greater value than Mexico and Peru. It - enriches the proprietors, is worked at less expense, and is the - source of naval strength and protection.”[222] - -Captain Smith, the adventurous founder and deliverer of the colony -of Virginia, when appealing to Englishmen at home in behalf of the -feeble New England settlements, especially dwells upon the fisheries. -“Therefore,” he concludes, “honourable and worthy Country men, let not -the meannesse of the word fish distaste you, for it will afford as good -gold as the Mines of _Guiana_ or _Potassie_, with lesse hazard and -charge, and more certainty and facility.”[223] Doubtless for a long -time the neighboring fish-banks were the gold-mines of New England. - -I have grouped these allusions that you may see how the fisheries of -that day, though comparatively small, enlisted the energies of our -fathers. Tradition confirms the record. The sculptured image of a -cod pendent from the ceiling in the hall of the Massachusetts House -of Representatives, where it was placed during the last century, -constantly recalls this industrial and commercial staple, with the -great part it performed. And now it is my duty to remind you that these -fisheries, guarded so watchfully and vindicated with such conquering -zeal, had a value prospective rather than present, or at least small -compared with what it is now. Exact figures, covering the ten years -between 1765 and 1775, show that during this period Massachusetts -employed annually in the fisheries 665 vessels, measuring 25,630 tons, -with only 4,405 men.[224] In contrast with this interest, which seems -so small, although at the time considerable, are the present fisheries -of our country; and here again we have exact figures. The number of -vessels in the cod fishery alone, in 1861, just before the blight of -war reached this business, was 2,753, measuring 137,665 tons, with -19,271 men,--being more than four times as many vessels and men, and -more than five times as much tonnage, as for ten years preceding the -Revolution were employed annually by Massachusetts, representing at -that time the fishing interest of the country. - -Small beginnings, therefore, are no discouragement; I turn with -confidence to the future. Already the local fisheries on this coast -have developed among the generations of natives a singular gift in -building and managing their small craft so as to excite the frequent -admiration of voyagers. The larger fisheries there will naturally -exercise a corresponding influence on the population destined to build -and manage the larger craft. The beautiful baidar will give way to the -fishing-smack, the clipper, and the steamer. All things will be changed -in form and proportion; but the original aptitude for the sea will -remain. A practical race of intrepid navigators will swarm the coast, -ready for any enterprise of business or patriotism. Commerce will find -new arms, the country new defenders, the national flag new hands to -bear it aloft. - - -SUMMARY. - -MR. PRESIDENT,--I now conclude this examination. From a review of the -origin of the treaty, and the general considerations with regard to it, -we have passed to an examination of these possessions under different -heads, in order to arrive at a knowledge of their character and value. -And here we have noticed the existing government, which was found to -be nothing but a fur company, whose only object is trade; then the -population, where a very few Russians and Creoles are a scanty fringe -to the aboriginal races; then the climate, a ruling influence, with its -thermal current of ocean and its eccentric isothermal line, by which -the rigors of the coast are tempered to a mildness unknown in the same -latitude on the Atlantic side; then the vegetable products, so far as -observed, chief among which are forests of pine and fir waiting for -the axe; then the mineral products, among which are coal and copper, -if not iron, silver, lead, and gold, besides the two great products -of New England, “granite and ice”; then the furs, including precious -skins of the black fox and sea-otter, which originally tempted the -settlement, and remain to this day the exclusive object of pursuit; -and, lastly, the fisheries, which, in waters superabundant with animal -life beyond any of the globe, seem to promise a new commerce. All these -I have presented plainly and impartially, exhibiting my authorities as -I proceeded. I have done little more than hold the scales. If these -incline on either side, it is because reason or testimony on that side -is the weightier. - - -WHAT REMAINS TO BE DONE. - -As these extensive possessions, constituting a corner of the continent, -pass from the imperial government of Russia, they will naturally -receive a new name. They will be no longer Russian America. How shall -they be called? Clearly, any name borrowed from classical antiquity -or from individual invention will be little better than misnomer or -nickname unworthy of the historic occasion. Even if taken from our -own annals, it will be of doubtful taste. The name should come from -the country itself. It should be indigenous, aboriginal, one of the -autochthons of the soil. Happily such a name exists, as proper in sound -as in origin. It appears from the report of Cook, the illustrious -navigator, to whom I have so often referred, that the euphonious -designation now applied to the peninsula which is the continental link -of the Aleutian chain was the sole word used originally by the native -islanders, “when speaking of the American continent in general, which -they knew perfectly well to be a great land.”[225] It only remains, -that, following these natives, whose places are now ours, we, too, -should call this “great land” Alaska.[226] - -Another change should be made. As the settlements of this coast came -eastward from Russia, bringing with the Russian flag Western time, the -day is earlier by twenty-four hours with them than with us, so that -their Sunday is our Saturday, and the other days of the week are in -corresponding discord. This must be rectified according to the national -meridian, so that there shall be the same Sunday for all, and the other -days of the week shall be in corresponding harmony. Important changes -must follow, of which this is typical. All else must be rectified -according to the national meridian, so that within the sphere of our -common country there shall be everywhere the same generous rule and one -prevailing harmony. Of course, the unreformed Julian calendar, received -from Russia, will give place to ours,--Old Style yielding to New Style. - -An object of immediate practical interest will be the survey of the -extended and indented coast by our own officers, bringing it all -within the domain of science, and assuring to navigation much-needed -assistance, while the Republic is honored by a continuation of national -charts, where execution vies with science, and the art of engraving -is the beautiful handmaid. Associated with this survey, and scarcely -inferior in value, will be the examination of the country by scientific -explorers, so that its geological structure may become known, with its -various products, vegetable and mineral. But your best work and most -important endowment will be the Republican Government, which, looking -to a long future, you will organize, with schools free to all, and -with equal laws, before which every citizen will stand erect in the -consciousness of manhood. Here will be a motive power without which -coal itself is insufficient. Here will be a source of wealth more -inexhaustible than any fisheries. Bestow such a government, and you -will give what is better than all you can receive, whether quintals of -fish, sands of gold, choicest fur, or most beautiful ivory. - - - - -PRECAUTION AGAINST THE PRESIDENT. - -REMARKS IN THE SENATE, ON A RESOLUTION ASKING FOR COPIES OF OPINIONS -WITH REGARD TO THE TENURE-OF-OFFICE LAW AND APPOINTMENTS DURING THE -RECESS OF CONGRESS, APRIL 11, 1867. - - - Mr. Sumner moved the following resolution, and asked its - immediate consideration:-- - - “_Resolved_, That the President of the United States be - requested to furnish to the Senate, if in his opinion - not incompatible with the public interests, copies of - any official opinions which may have been given by the - Attorney-General, the Solicitor of the Treasury, or by any - other officer of the Government, on the interpretation of - the Act of Congress regulating the tenure of offices, and - especially with regard to appointments by the President - during the recess of Congress.” - - There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the - resolution. Mr. Sumner said:-- - -Before the vote is taken, allow me to make a statement. I understand -that opinions have been given by one or more officers of the Government -which go far to nullify a recent Act of Congress. In short, it seems -as if we are to have Nullification here in Washington in the Executive -branch of the Government. According to these opinions, the President, I -understand, is to exercise a power of appointment during the recess of -Congress, notwithstanding the recent Act which undertakes to regulate -the tenure of office. - -We all know the astuteness of lawyers. It is a proverb. And it is -sometimes said that a lawyer may drive a coach-and-six through an Act -of Parliament, or even an Act of Congress. The Administration is now -about to drive its coach-and-six through our recent legislation. In -other words, it is about to force upon the country officers who cannot -be officers according to existing law. It seems to me, that, before we -adjourn, we should know the precise state of this question. We should -understand if any such opinion has been given, and the reasons for it. -It is on this account that I have introduced the resolution now before -the Senate. - - The resolution was adopted. - - - - -FINISH OUR WORK BEFORE ADJOURNMENT. - -REMARKS IN THE SENATE, ON A MOTION TO ADJOURN WITHOUT DAY, APRIL 11 AND -12, 1867. - - - On the day after the adjournment of Congress the Senate was - convened for the transaction of Executive business. Treaties - and nominations were laid before it. - - April 11th, on motion of Mr. Williams, of Oregon, the Senate - considered a resolution for adjournment _sine die_ “the 13th - instant.” Debate ensued. Mr. Reverdy Johnson, of Maryland, - said: “We can fix the adjournment to-morrow or next day.” Mr. - Trumbull, of Illinois, said: “Let us fix it to-day.” Mr. Sumner - said:-- - -I do not think we can fix it to-day, and, further, I do not think we -ought to fix it to-day. It seems to me the calendar should be cleared -before we talk of going home. - -A Senator exclaims, “Wait until we get through.” So I say. Senators -are perfectly aware, that, owing to an interpretation recently put by -the Executive upon the Tenure-of-Office Bill, there is an increased -necessity for our staying. We have passed a law. We should see to its -enforcement. At any rate, we should manifest coöperation with the -Executive, so that there shall be no excuse for setting it aside. I -do not admit that he can in any way set it aside; but I wish to do -everything that can be done to prevent him from undertaking to set it -aside. We ought to stay until our work is fully done. There can be no -excuse for going home while any part of the Executive business remains -unfinished. Other Congresses have stayed here till midsummer, and even -into the month of September. If the necessities of the country require -it, I see no reason why we should not stay till then. - - April 12th, the subject was resumed, when Mr. Sumner said:-- - -I will say, that, just in proportion as we draw to the close of our -business, we shall be better prepared to determine when we can adjourn -finally. As we have not drawn to the close, I submit we are not in a -condition to fix the day. That time may come; but I may remind the -Senate that there is in Executive session unfinished business beyond -what we had reason to expect. I say “reason to expect,” because it is -well known that there are many offices still unfilled; and it is our -duty, before we leave, so far as it depends upon us, to see that they -are filled. - -… - -We should stay, it seems to me, until the offices are filled, rejecting -nominations that are bad and confirming the good,--doing, in short, -all we can, as a Senate, to secure good officers, and I insist, also, -officers on the right side, who agree with Congress, and will sustain -the policy which Congress has declared. - - The resolution was amended so as to make the adjournment 16th - April, and then adopted,--Yeas 26, Nays 11,--Mr. Sumner voting - in the negative. The time was afterwards extended, on motion of - Mr. Sumner, to 20th April, when the Senate adjourned without - day. - - - - -MEDIATION BETWEEN CONTENDING PARTIES IN MEXICO. - -RESOLUTION IN THE SENATE, PROPOSING THE GOOD OFFICES OF THE UNITED -STATES, APRIL 20, 1867. - - - Resolution proposing the good offices of the United States - between the contending parties of Mexico. - -Whereas the Republic of Mexico, though relieved from the presence of a -foreign enemy by the final withdrawal of the French troops, continues -to be convulsed by a bloody civil war, in which Mexicans are ranged on -opposite sides; - -And whereas the United States are bound by neighborhood and republican -sympathies to do all in their power for the welfare of the Mexican -people, and this obligation becomes more urgent from the present -condition of affairs, where each party is embittered by protracted -conflict: Therefore, - -_Be it resolved_, That it is proper for the Government of the United -States, acting in the interest of humanity and civilization, to tender -its good offices by way of mediation between the contending parties of -the Republic of Mexico, in order to avert a deplorable civil war, and -to obtain the establishment of republican government on a foundation of -peace and security. - - This was offered on the last day of the session. It was printed - and laid on the table. Other resolutions on the same subject - were offered by Mr. Henderson, of Missouri, and Mr. Reverdy - Johnson, of Maryland. - - - - -EQUAL SUFFRAGE AT ONCE BY ACT OF CONGRESS RATHER THAN CONSTITUTIONAL -AMENDMENT. - -LETTER TO THE NEW YORK INDEPENDENT, APRIL 20, 1867. - - - SENATE CHAMBER, April 20, 1867. - - MY DEAR SIR,--You wish to have the North “reconstructed,” so - at least that it shall cease to deny the elective franchise on - account of color. But you postpone the day by insisting on the - preliminary of a Constitutional Amendment. I know your vows to - the good cause; but I ask you to make haste. We cannot wait. - - Of course, we can always wait for the needful processes; but - there are present reasons why we should allow no time to be lost. - _This question must be settled forthwith_: in other words, it - must be settled before the Presidential election, now at hand. - Our colored fellow-citizens at the South are already electors. - They will vote at the Presidential election. But why should they - vote at the South, and not at the North? The rule of justice is - the same for both. Their votes are needed at the North as well - as the South. There are Northern States where their votes can - make the good cause safe beyond question. There are other States - where their votes will be like the last preponderant weight in - the nicely balanced scales. Let our colored fellow-citizens vote - in Maryland, and that State, now so severely tried, will be fixed - for Human Rights forever. Let them vote in Pennsylvania, and - you will give more than twenty thousand votes to the Republican - cause. Let them vote in New York, and the scales, which hang - so doubtful, will incline to the Republican side. It will be - the same in Connecticut. I mention these by way of example. But - everywhere the old Proslavery party will kick the beam. Let all - this be done, I say, before the next Presidential election. - - Among the proposed ways is a new Constitutional Amendment. But - this is too dilatory. It cannot become operative till after - the Presidential election. Besides, it is needless. Instead of - amending the Constitution, read it. - - Another way is by moving each State, and obtaining through - local legislation what is essentially _a right of citizenship_. - But this again is too dilatory, while it turns each State into - a political maelström, and submits a question of _National_ - interest to the chances of local controversy and the timidity of - local politicians. This will not do. Emancipation was a National - act, proceeding from the National Government, and applicable - to all the States. Enfranchisement, which is the corollary - and complement of Emancipation, must be a National act also, - proceeding from the National Government, and applicable to all - the States. If left to the States individually, the result, - besides being tardy, will be uncertain and fragmentary. - - There is another way, at once prompt, energetic, and - comprehensive. It is by Act of Congress, adopted by a majority of - two thirds, in spite of Presidential veto. The time has passed - when this power can be questioned. Congress has already exercised - it in the Rebel States. I do not forget its hesitations. Only - a year ago, when I insisted that it must do so, and introduced - a bill to this effect, I was answered that a Constitutional - Amendment was needed, and I was voted down. A change came, and - in a happy moment Congress exercised the power. What patriot - questions it now? But the power is unquestionable in the other - States also. It concerns the rights of citizenship, and this - subject is as essentially national as the army or the navy. - - Even without either of the recent Constitutional Amendments, - I am at a loss to understand how a denial of the elective - franchise simply on account of color can be otherwise than - unconstitutional. I cannot see how, under a National Constitution - which does not contain the word “white” or “black,” there can be - any exclusion on account of color. There is no such exclusion - in the Constitution. Out of what text is this oligarchical - pretension derived? But, putting aside this question, which will - be clearer to the jurists of the next generation than to us, - I vouch the authoritative words of the National Constitution, - making it our duty to guaranty a republican form of government - in the States. Now the greatest victory of the war, to which all - other victories, whether in Congress or on the bloody field, were - only tributary, was the definition of a republican government - according to the principles of the Declaration of Independence. - A government which denies the elective franchise on account of - color, or, in other words, sets up any “qualifications” of voters - in their nature insurmountable, cannot be republican; for the - first principle in a republican government is Equality of Rights, - according to the principles of the Declaration of Independence. - And this definition, I insist, is the crowning glory of the war - which beat down Rebellion under its feet. It only remains for - Congress to enforce it by appropriate legislation. - - There are two recent Constitutional Amendments, each of which - furnishes ample and cumulative power. - - There is, first, the Amendment abolishing Slavery, with its - clause conferring on Congress the power to enforce it by - appropriate legislation, in pursuance of which Congress has - already passed the Civil Rights Act, which is applicable to the - North as well as the South. Clearly, and most obviously beyond - all question, if it can pass a Civil Rights Act, it can also pass - a Political Rights Act; for each is appropriate to enforce the - abolition of Slavery, and to complete this work. Without it the - work is only half done. - - There is yet another Amendment, recently adopted by three - fourths of the loyal States, which is itself an abundant source - of power. After declaring that all persons born or naturalized - in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof - are “citizens,” this Amendment proceeds to provide that “no - State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the - privileges or immunities of _citizens_ of the United States”; and - Congress is empowered to enforce this provision by appropriate - legislation. Nothing can be plainer than this. - - Here, then, are three different sources of power in the - Constitution itself, each sufficient, the three together three - times sufficient,--each exuberant and overflowing, the three - together three times exuberant and overflowing. How, in the face - of these provisions, any person can doubt the power of Congress - I cannot understand. But, alas! there are doubters always. - - I have already sent you a copy of my bill to settle this question - by what I call “the short cut.” Give us your vote. Of course, you - will. Believe me, my dear Sir, - - Very faithfully yours, - - CHARLES SUMNER. - - THEODORE TILTON, Esq. - - This was followed by an editorial article sustaining and - vindicating Mr. Sumner’s bill. It began:-- - - “Yes. Mr. Sumner has our vote. He has always had it; he is - always likely to have it. ‘How did Roger Sherman vote?’ - asked our forefathers. They believed it was safe to vote - with Roger Sherman. It is just as safe to vote with Charles - Sumner.” - - After explanation and argument, the article proceeds:-- - - “Not only is Mr. Sumner right as to the power of Congress - in the present case, but long ago he was right as to the - power of Congress to govern the unconstitutional States - as conquered provinces. He then stood almost alone in the - Senate in an opinion which he has since seen adopted by his - brother Senators. We trust his compeers will agree to his - present bill. We happen to know that Thaddeus Stevens--who, - even when sick, is more well than most men--is preparing, - on his sick-bed, an argument in support of Mr. Sumner’s - plan. We happen to know, also, that Chief Justice Chase - agrees with Mr. Sumner’s view.” - - - - -CELEBRATION AT ARLINGTON, ON ASSUMING ITS NEW NAME. - -SPEECH AT A DINNER IN A TENT, JUNE 17, 1867. - - - West Cambridge, originally part of Cambridge, Massachusetts, - assumed the name of Arlington, with the consent of the - Legislature. The change was celebrated in the town by a public - dinner in a tent. - -MR. PRESIDENT AND FELLOW-CITIZENS OF ARLINGTON:-- - -In looking around me on this beautiful scene of hospitality, I am -reminded of that doge of Genoa, who, finding himself amid the splendors -of Versailles, in its incomparable palace, and being asked what about -him caused the most surprise, replied, “To find myself here.” And so to -me, coming from other scenes, and for many years absolutely unused to -such occasions, this spectacle is strange. But it is not less welcome -because strange. - -Coming here to take part in this interesting celebration, I am not -insensible to the kindness of good friends among you, through whom the -invitation was received. But I confess a neighborly interest in your -festival. Born in Boston, and educated in Cambridge, I am one of your -neighbors. Accept, then, if you please, the sympathies of a neighbor on -this occasion. - -Yours is not a large town; nor has it any extended history. But -what it wants in size and history it makes up in beauty. Yours is a -beautiful town. I know nothing among the exquisite surroundings of -Boston more charming than these slopes and meadows, with background -of hills and gleam of water. The elements of beauty are all here. -Hills are always beautiful; so is water. I remember hearing a woman -of genius, Mrs. Fanny Kemble, say more than once, that water in a -landscape is “like eyes in the human countenance,” without which the -countenance is lifeless. But water gleams, shines, sparkles in your -landscape. Here the water-nymphs might find a home. Gardens, beautiful -to the eye and bountiful in nourishing and luscious supplies, are also -yours. Surely it may be said of those who live here, that their lines -have fallen in a pleasant place. - -I go too far, when I suggest that you are without a history. West -Cambridge was part of that historic Cambridge so early famous in our -country, the seat of learning and the home of patriotism. The honor of -Cambridge is yours. West Cambridge adjoins Lexington, and was in the -war-path of the British soldiers on that 19th of April, which, perhaps, -as much as any day after the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers, determined -the fortunes of this continent. The shots of Concord and Lexington were -heard here before their echoes began the tour of the globe. Shots from -here followed, and your beautiful fields bore testimony in blood. The -road from Concord was a prolonged battleground, on which British troops -fell; there were patriots, also, who fell. - -Then came the Battle of Bunker Hill, on the very day we now celebrate, -followed soon by the arrival of Washington, who, on the 3d day of -July, 1775, drew his sword as Commander-in-Chief under the well-known -elm of Cambridge Common. Do not forget that you were of Cambridge -then. The first duty of the new commander-in-chief was to inspect his -forces. The mass of the British army, amounting to 11,500 men, occupied -Bunker Hill and Boston Neck, while their general with his light horse -was in Boston. The Patriot forces, amounting to about 16,000 men, were -so posted as to form a complete line around Boston and Charlestown, -from Mystic River to Dorchester, nearly twelve miles in circuit. -Regiments from New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Connecticut occupied -Winter Hill and Prospect Hill, where it is easy still to recognize -their earthworks; several of the Massachusetts regiments were at -Cambridge; and others from Connecticut and Massachusetts covered the -high grounds of Roxbury. This was the Siege of Boston. With all these -preparations, Washington was still provident of the future. And here -commences an association with the hills about your town, which must be -my justification for these details. - -Many years ago, when I first read the account of this period by -one of the early biographers of Washington, Rev. Dr. Bancroft, of -Worcester, the father of our distinguished historian, I was struck by -the statement, which I quote in his precise words, that, “in case of -an attack and defeat, the _Welsh Mountains in Cambridge_, and the rear -of the lines in Roxbury, were appointed as places of rendezvous.”[227] -Perhaps this association, and even the name of the mountains, may be -new to some whom I have the honor of addressing. “The Welsh Mountains” -are the hills which skirt your peaceful valley. Since then I have -never looked upon them, even at a distance, I have never thought of -them, without feeling that they are monumental. They testify to that -perfect prudence which made our commander-in-chief so great. In those -hours when undisciplined patriots were preparing for conflict with the -trained soldiers of England, the careful eye of Washington, calmly -surveying the whole horizon, selected your hills as the breastworks -behind which he was to retrieve the day. The hills still stand firm and -everlasting as when he looked upon them, but smiling now with fertility -and peace. They will never be needed as breastworks. There is no enemy -encamped in Boston and ready to sally forth for battle; nor is there -any siege. - -But you will allow me to remind you that the ideas of the Revolution -and the solemn promises of the Declaration of Independence are still -debated. There are some who have the hardihood to deny them. Here I -venture to bespeak from you the simple loyalty of those whose places -you occupy. Should an evil hour arrive, when these ideas and promises -are in peril, then let them find a breastwork, not in your hills, but -in your hearts. And may the rally extend until it embraces the whole -country, and the Revolution begun by our fathers is completed by the -establishment of all the rights of all! - - - - -POWERS OF THE TWO HOUSES OF CONGRESS IN THE ABSENCE OF A QUORUM. - -PROTEST IN THE SENATE, AT ITS OPENING, JULY 3, 1867. - - - July 3d, according to the provision in the resolution of - adjournment at the last session, Congress met at noon this day. - The Chief Clerk read the resolution.[228] Mr. Sumner then said - that he rose to a question of order on the resolution. - -The resolution under which Congress is to-day assembled, so far as it -undertakes to direct the adjournment of the two Houses of Congress -without day, in the absence of a quorum of the two Houses, is -unconstitutional and inoperative, inasmuch as the Constitution, after -declaring that “a majority of each House shall constitute a quorum to -do business,” proceeds to provide that “a smaller number may adjourn -from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of -absent members”; and therefore such resolution must not be regarded -by the Chair, so far as it undertakes to provide for an adjournment -without day. - -As, according to the view, there is a quorum already present, the -incident contemplated by the resolution will not arise; but I felt it -my duty, by way of precaution and _caveat_, to introduce this protest, -to the end that the resolution may not hereafter be drawn into a -precedent so as to abridge the rights of the two Houses of Congress -under the Constitution of the United States. - - Mr. Trumbull, of Illinois, differed from Mr. Sumner, and - entered his “protest against any such construction of the - Constitution as denies to the two Houses of Congress the right - to regulate their own adjournments.” After quoting the text of - the Constitution, that “a majority of each shall constitute a - quorum to do business, but a smaller number may adjourn from - day to day and may be authorized to compel the attendance of - absent members,” Mr. Sumner said:-- - -Here is a concurrent resolution providing for a future meeting of -Congress. To that extent it is unquestionably constitutional; but -when the resolution imposes shackles upon the two Houses of Congress -assembled by virtue of that resolution, then, I submit, it does -what, under the National Constitution, it cannot do,--its words are -powerless. Congress, when once assembled by virtue of that resolution, -has all the powers of a Congress of the United States under the -Constitution. That resolution cannot restrain it. Such, at any rate, -is my conclusion, after the best reflection that I have been able to -give to these words of the Constitution; and I feel it my duty to make -this protest, to the end that what we now do may not be drawn into an -example hereafter. It is well known that those words were introduced in -order to tie the hands of Congress, should it come together and there -be no quorum present,--in short, to despoil the Congress then assembled -of the prerogative secured to it by the National Constitution. To that -extent I suggest that the resolution hereafter shall be regarded as of -no value, and not be quoted as a precedent. - - After reply from Mr. Trumbull, the subject was dropped. - - - - -HOMESTEADS FOR FREEDMEN. - -RESOLUTION IN THE SENATE, JULY 3, 1867. - - -_RESOLVED_, That the reconstruction of the Rebel States would be -hastened, and the best interest of the country promoted, if the -President of the United States, in the exercise of the pardoning power, -would require that every landed proprietor who has been engaged in -the Rebellion, before receiving pardon therefor, should convey to the -freedmen, his former slaves, a certain portion of the land on which -they have worked, so that they may have a homestead in which their own -labor has mingled, and that the disloyal master may not continue to -appropriate to himself the fruits of their toil. - - On motion of Mr. Sumner, this was printed and laid on the - table. The rule limiting business during the present session - prevented him from calling it up. - - - - -LIMITATION OF THE BUSINESS OF THE SENATE. - -OBLIGATIONS OF SENATE CAUCUSES. - -SPEECHES IN THE SENATE, JULY 3, 5, AND 10, 1867. - - - Mr. Sumner had looked to this session not only for precautions - against the President, but for legislation on Suffrage. He had - never doubted that there would be a session. March 30th, just - before the final adjournment, he gave notice that on the first - Wednesday of July he should ask the Senate to proceed with his - bill to secure the elective franchise to colored citizens, - when Mr. Sherman, of Ohio, said, “The Senator had better add, - ‘or some subsequent day.’” [_Laughter._] Mr. Sumner said: “I - beg the Senate to take notice that there will be a session on - the first Wednesday of July, to proceed with business. I have - reason to believe that there will be a quorum here, for there - will be important public business that must be attended to.” - - On the completion of the organization, Mr. Sumner proceeded - to offer petitions, when he was interrupted by Mr. Fessenden, - of Maine, who said: “I desire to interpose an objection to - the reference of these petitions; and I may as well bring the - question up here now, before the Senator offers any more. I - do it for the reason that in my judgment it is not expedient - at the present session to act upon general business”; and he - referred to the course at the session of the Twenty-Seventh - Congress, called by President Harrison. Mr. Sumner said, in - reply:-- - -MR. PRESIDENT,--We are a Congress of the United States, assembled -under the National Constitution, and with all the powers belonging -to Congress,--ay, Sir, and with all the responsibilities also. We -cannot, by agreement or understanding, divest ourselves of these -responsibilities, being nothing less than to transact the public -business,--not simply one item or two items, but the public business -in its sum total, whatever it may be,--in one word, all that concerns -the welfare of this great Republic. Now the Senator limits us to one -item, which he has only alluded to, without characterizing. I suppose I -understand him; but he must know well that even that business has many -ramifications. But why are we to be restricted thus? Looking at past -usage, I need not remind you that we have habitually sat throughout -the summer into the month of August, and on one occasion into the -month of September. It is no new thing that Congress should be here -in July. It is an exception that Congress is not here in July, during -every alternate year. Therefore, in considering public business, even -under these heats, we are only doing what our predecessors before us -have done; we are following the usage of Congress, and not setting up -a new usage of our own. The motion of the Senator, if it be a motion, -or rather his suggestion, does set up a new usage. It is virtually -to declare, that, when admonished by the heats of July, we will fold -our hands, and will not even consider public business, except in one -particular case; that all the other vast interests of this country will -be left, without reference to a committee, without inquiry, unattended -to, neglected. - -The Senator from Maine says, that, when Congress adjourned at the -end of March, it was not supposed that there would be a session at -this time. He may not have supposed there would be a session. I never -doubted that there would be one. I saw full well that the public -interests would require a session in July, and I labored to bring it -about, feeling that in so doing I was only discharging a public duty. -Do you forget whom you have as President? A constant disturber, and a -mischief-maker. So long as his administration continues, it is the duty -of Congress to be on guard, perpetually on watch against him; and this -must have been obvious when Congress adjourned, as it is obvious now. -Senators may not have foreseen precisely what he would do; but I take -it that there were few who did not foresee that he would do something -making it important for Congress to be present. I did not doubt, then, -that it would be our duty to be here in our places to make adequate -provision against his misdeeds. He is President, and the head of the -Executive, invested with all the powers belonging to that department. -It is hard, I know, to provide against him; but nevertheless you must -do it. This Republic is too great, too vast, and too precious, to be -left in the hands of a bad man. - -One of the greatest masters in the art of war tells us, as the lesson -of his great military experience, that the good general always regards -that as probable which is possible. I know no better rule for the -statesman. Now, with a President such as we have, anything in the -nature of disturbance or interference with the public security is -possible through the Executive arm. Therefore you are to regard it -as probable, and make provision against it. So I argued last spring, -and was satisfied that it would be our duty to be in our seats at the -coming July. We are here, and I now insist that it is our duty to go -forward and discharge all our duties, without exception, under the -National Constitution. - - Mr. Fessenden replied, referring to the proceedings at the - called session of the Twenty-Seventh Congress on resolutions of - Mr. Clay to limit business. Mr. Sumner rejoined:-- - -I hope the Senate will pardon me, if I add one word to what I have -already said. The Senator from Maine introduces as a precedent -something which he will pardon me if I say is not a precedent. He -calls our attention to a session of Congress convened by virtue of a -summons of the President, being a called session. Why, Sir, this is no -called session. This is simply a continuing session, begun on the 4th -day of March. It is not a new session. It is a session already begun, -prolonged by adjournment into the midst of July. Were it such a session -as the Senator from Maine seems to imagine, his precedent might be -applicable. We might then search the message of the President to find -the subjects proper for consideration. It is, however, no such session. -We are here broadly, under all our powers as a Congress, our life as a -Congress having begun here on the 4th day of March at noon. Therefore, -allow me to say, the precedent is inapplicable. - -The practical question, then, is, What shall we do, being a Congress -assembled as any other Congress, with all powers and all duties? I -submit, proceed with the public business in due order, until such time -as by the reports of committees or by votes of the two bodies we shall -be satisfied that it is not advisable to proceed further. I think, -therefore, petitions should be presented and referred, bills introduced -and take their proper destinations, and business of all kinds be -brought before the Senate. - - At the suggestion of Senators, the petitions were laid on the - table to await formal action on the question. - - * * * * * - - July 5th, Mr. Anthony, of Rhode Island, moved the following - resolution, which had been agreed upon in a caucus of - Republican Senators:-- - - “_Resolved_, That the legislative business of this session - be confined to removing the obstructions which have been or - are likely to be placed in the way of the fair execution of - the Acts of Reconstruction heretofore adopted by Congress, - and to giving to said Acts the scope intended by Congress - when the same were passed; and that further legislation, at - this session, on the subject of Reconstruction, or on other - subjects, is not expedient.” - - Mr. Sumner at once appealed to Mr. Anthony:-- - -Before a resolution of such importance, so open to criticism, so -doubtful in point of order, so plainly contrary to the spirit of -the Constitution, is brought under consideration, I do think that -the Senator who brings it forward should enlighten us in regard to -its object, and the reasons in justification of so extraordinary a -proposition. - - Mr. Anthony made a brief statement, in which he said that - he “supposed the reason for this proposition was so evident - to every Senator who has conversed with the members of the - body, that it would require no explanation whatever”; that - “the public sentiment of the country demanded that there - should be some legislation in order to make the Reconstruction - Acts precisely what we intended them to be, and not as they - have been construed.” Mr. Sumner then moved the following - substitute:-- - - “That the Senate will proceed, under its rules, to the - despatch of the public business requiring attention, and - to this end all petitions and bills will be referred for - consideration to the appropriate committees, without - undertaking in advance to limit the action of Congress to - any special subject, and to deny a hearing on all other - subjects.” - - He then remarked:-- - -I object to the proposition of my friend from Rhode Island, which I -cannot but think he has introduced hastily and without sufficient -consideration, or at any rate under influences which I think his own -better judgment should have rejected. I am against it on several -grounds. If I said it was contrary to precedent, I should not err; for -the attempt made the other day to show that there was precedent for -such a proceeding, it seems to me, signally failed. Attention was then -called to a resolution adopted at a session of Congress convened by the -President of the United States for a declared purpose, announced at the -time in advance. I think the course taken by Congress was regarded as -questionable, even under the peculiar circumstances. But the two cases -are different. The present session is not like that. It is a continuing -session of a Congress begun on the 4th day of March last, being simply -a prolongation of that session; and the practical question is, whether -you will limit the business of Congress in a general session called -under a statute of the United States. Clearly there is no precedent for -any such proceeding. You plunge into darkness without a guide. - -But I go further, and I say, that, even if there were a precedent, I -would reject it; for I much prefer to follow the National Constitution. -I do not say that the text of the Constitution positively forbids the -proposition, but I cannot doubt that the spirit of the Constitution -is against it. How often, in other times, have we all throbbed with -indignation at the resolution in the other House, also in this Chamber, -to stifle discussion on a great question! You do not forget the odious -rule by the name of the “Gag,” attached to which was the name of its -author, beginning with the letter A.[229] I hope there will be no other -gag of a larger character to be classified with the letter A. That was -justly offensive, because it violated the right of petition; but you -propose not only to interfere with the right of petition, but also with -all possible measures concerning the public welfare, except as they may -relate to one single business, and that in its narrowest relations. - -I object to such a proposition as in its spirit unconstitutional. I -appeal to my associates to reject it, that it may not pass into history -as a precedent of evil example to be employed against Freedom. You may -see, Sir, how obstructive it is, if you will glance at certain matters -within my own knowledge, which, I submit, it is our duty to consider, -and my duty as a Senator to press upon your attention. No relations -with political associates can absolve me from official responsibility. - -Every Senator, doubtless, has within his own knowledge business which -in his judgment deserves attention, and other business which he does -not doubt must be acted on. There are Senators on the other side of -the Chamber who will plead the cause of the frontiers menaced by the -Indians. I have heard something of that peril from chance travellers -during these few weeks past; and yet, by the proposition of my friend -from Rhode Island, we are to abandon the frontiers, and I know no other -reason than that the weather is too hot. It may be hot in this Chamber; -but it is hotter there. The reports from the frontier show that danger -has begun. The sound of the war-whoop has broken even into this -Capitol. The corpses of fellow-countrymen lie unburied on the roadside, -and their memories haunt us. And yet we fold our hands, and decline to -supply the needed protection. - - Mr. Sumner then alluded to the necessity of legislation to - carry out a recent treaty with Venezuela, and also the treaty - with Russia. - -I mean that important treaty by which the Emperor of Russia has -ceded to the United States all his possessions on the North American -continent. The ratifications were exchanged only about a fortnight -ago. Yesterday, the 4th of July, I was honored by a visit from the -Minister of Russia, who put into my hand a cable despatch from St. -Petersburg, announcing that on the day before the Russian Commissioner -left St. Petersburg for Washington to make the formal surrender of that -vast region to the United States. To my inquiry when the Commissioner -would arrive the Minister replied, “In a fortnight.” In a fortnight, -then, final proceedings will be had for the establishment of your -jurisdiction over that region, and two questions arise: first, our -duty to complete the contract, in consideration of the cession, to -pay $7,200,000; and, secondly, our other duty to provide a proper -government. But the proposition of my friend from Rhode Island would -exclude these important topics from our consideration. - - MR. ANTHONY. Would the Senator have the Senate originate an - appropriation bill? - - MR. SUMNER. I would have the Senate originate a bill for the - government of this territory, and, if need be, originate a bill - for the payment of the money due. There is no objection in the - Constitution. - - MR. ANTHONY. It has never been done. - - MR. SUMNER. I beg the Senator’s pardon; it has been done again - and again. - - MR. ANTHONY. An appropriation bill originated in the Senate? - - MR. SUMNER. Oh, yes. - - MR. ANTHONY. I never knew that to be done but once; and then - the House rejected it, refused to consider it. - -MR. SUMNER. The Senator refers to what are called the general -appropriation bills. The Senate constantly makes appropriations for -individual cases and for carrying out treaties. Does it not appropriate -for private claims, for salaries, for other obligations? In principle, -the present case does not differ from an appropriation for an estate -adjoining the Capitol. Alaska is not an estate adjoining the Capitol; -but it is to be paid for. - -That I may make this clearer, I call attention to the very words of the -treaty with Russia:-- - - “His Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias shall appoint - with convenient despatch an agent or agents for the purpose - of formally delivering to a similar agent or agents appointed - on behalf of the United States the territory, dominion, - property, dependencies, and appurtenances which are ceded as - above, and for doing any other act which may be necessary in - regard thereto. But the cession, with the right of immediate - possession, is nevertheless to be deemed complete and absolute - on the exchange of ratifications, without waiting for such - formal delivery.”[230] - -So that, by the terms of the treaty, on the exchange of ratifications -you became possessors of this jurisdiction; and now, by the -approaching surrender, through an official agent, your jurisdiction -will be consummated. With this jurisdiction will be corresponding -responsibilities. You must govern the territory; you must provide -protection for the property and the other interests there. Already, -by the telegraph, we learn that a large ship is about to leave San -Francisco for Sitka, with merchandise of all kinds. There is also the -immense fur-trade, which has been the exclusive Russian interest ever -since the discovery of the country, which will be left open, without -regulation, unless you interfere by appropriate law. There is that -most important fur, the origin of wealth on that whole northwestern -coast, the sea-otter, which will be exposed to lawless and destructive -depredation, unless the Government supplies some regulations. Will you -not do something? Will you leave these interests without care? - -Senators exclaim, that they may be considered next winter. Do not -forget the distance between Washington and that far-away region; -you will then see how long you postpone the establishment of your -jurisdiction. Months must elapse after the meeting of Congress next -December, leaving this region without government. There should be -no delay; you should proceed at once. You certainly will not show -yourselves worthy to possess this country, unless you provide at once -a proper government. Leaving it a prey to lawless adventure, you will -only increase the difficulties of dealing with a region so vast and so -remote. - -But there is another obligation still. You receive the territory; you -ought to pay the money at the same time. A Senator before me cries out, -“It will not be appropriated at this session.” - - MR. EDMUNDS. It is not due yet. - -MR. SUMNER. I ask the Senator’s attention to the point. I understand, -as a matter of history, in this negotiation, that, while it was -proceeding, it was proposed that the payment should be on the exchange -of ratifications, so that, when the cession was completed, the -transaction on our part should be completed also; but as the treaty -was being drawn, it was understood that there would be no meeting -of Congress before next December, while the ratifications might be -exchanged before that time. To meet this case, a special provision was -introduced, extending the time of payment to a period of ten months -from the exchange of ratifications. This explains the article I now -read:-- - - “In consideration of the cession aforesaid, the United States - agree to pay at the Treasury in Washington, within ten months - after the exchange of the ratifications of this convention, to - the diplomatic representative or other agent of His Majesty - the Emperor of all the Russias, duly authorized to receive the - same, seven million two hundred thousand dollars in gold.”[231] - -By the letter of the treaty, you may, if you see fit, postpone the -payment to ten months from the exchange of ratifications; but I submit -to the Senator from Vermont, whether he is willing to do so,--whether, -since the transaction is consummated on the part of Russia, he is -not willing, nay, desirous also, that it shall be consummated on the -part of the United States in the spirit of the original negotiation? -I submit this as a question of sound policy,--I will not say of -integrity, but simply of sound policy on the part of our Government, -a republic representing republican institutions, by whose conduct -republican institutions are always judged. Surely you will not fail to -protect the national honor; nor will you stick at the letter of the -treaty. - - * * * * * - -I have alluded to two important matters under treaties; but there is -still another, more important than any treaty or any appropriation, -which dwarfs treaties and dwarfs appropriations, which is not less -important, certainly, than the protection of the frontier, now menaced -by Indians. I refer to a whole region of our Republic, embracing two -extensive States, now menaced by a foe more dangerous to the national -peace and welfare than any tribe of Indians. These are returning Rebels -in the States of Kentucky and Maryland. Provide against them. They are -Indians within your jurisdiction. You have the power; you have the -means. Give the ballot to the colored citizens in those States, as you -have given it already to colored citizens in the Rebel States, and you -will have an all-sufficient protection against these intruders. Here is -something to be done. Who doubts the power? Out of three fountains in -the Constitution it may be derived. It is your duty, then, to exercise -it. See to it that these States have a republican government. Fix in -your statute-book an authoritative definition of a republic. Enforce -the two Amendments of the Constitution,--one abolishing Slavery, and -the other declaring the rights of citizens. Any delay to exercise so -clear a power is a failure of duty; and it becomes more reprehensible, -when we consider the perils that may ensue. Communicate, if you please, -with Union citizens of those two States. Listen to what they say. Be -taught by their testimony. - -I have, for instance, a letter from an eminent citizen of Maryland, -written from Baltimore the 1st of July, which concludes:-- - - “I will only add, that the interest felt by the loyal people of - this State in the passage of this bill cannot be overstated.” - -Communicate with your late colleague upon this floor, that able and -patriotic Senator, Mr. Creswell. Listen to his testimony. There can be -no doubt that Unionists, whether black or white, in Maryland, require -your protection. Give it to them. Do not leave them a prey to Rebels. -In the same way they are exposed in Kentucky. Here is a letter from a -distinguished citizen of that State, dated July 1st: and I read these, -out of many others, simply because they are the latest; they have come -within a few hours:-- - - “I hope you will be able to do good at the extra session, and - extend and protect the rights of the freedmen, as they are - sadly in need of it in Kentucky. Reconstruct us; this is the - only loyal hope.” - -Such is the cry. Kentucky needs reconstruction, and it is your duty -to provide it. Put her on an equality with the Rebel States. Let her -colored citizens enjoy the full-blown rights of citizens, and let the -white Unionists there have the protection of their votes. You sent -muskets once; send votes now.[232] - -On your table is a bill “to enforce the several provisions of the -Constitution abolishing Slavery, declaring the immunities of citizens, -and guarantying a republican form of government by securing the -elective franchise to colored citizens.” Pass this bill, and you -furnish the needed protection in these semi-rebel States. Pass this -bill, and you supersede strife on this much-vexed and disturbing -question in other States of the Union. You at once bring to the -elective franchise thousands of good citizens, pledged by their -lives and inspired by their recently received rights to sustain the -good cause which you have so much at heart. Do this; help in this -way the final settlement of the national troubles; pass this bill -of peace,--for such it will be, giving repose in all the Northern -States,--and in this way help establish repose in all the rest of the -country. And yet I am told that even this important measure is to be -set aside. We are not to enter upon its consideration; we are not to -debate it; we are not to receive petitions in its favor. Is this right? -Is it not a neglect of duty? Is it not intolerable? - - * * * * * - -Mr. President, on these grounds I object to this proposition. I might -have objected to it, in the first place, as out of order, and asked -the ruling of the Chair, not doubting how the Chair, inspired always -by a generous love of human rights, must rule,--not doubting that -the Chair would say that a proposition of such a character was too -closely associated with one of the most odious measures of our history -to deserve welcome at this time. I have raised no such question. I -confine myself now to other objections. I object to it as a departure -from sound usage, as contrary to the spirit of the Constitution, and as -setting up an impediment and obstruction to the transaction of public -business of an urgent character, which you cannot neglect without -neglect of duty. I ask you to provide for the execution of recent -treaties with Venezuela and Russia, to assure protection to Unionists -in Maryland and Kentucky, and to give peace to the country. Above all, -do not make a bad precedent, to be quoted hereafter to the injury of -the Republic. - - Mr. Pomeroy, of Kansas, felt “embarrassed in voting against - the resolution offered by the Senator from Rhode Island,” - but he thought it “impracticable and unwise,” that it would - “subject us to censure, and that we ourselves should regret it - hereafter.” Mr. Yates, of Illinois, “was for a special session - for a special purpose.” In reply to a question of Mr. Yates, - Mr. Sumner said:-- - -I do not believe Congress would have come together, if they had had -faith in the President. I believe the session beginning on the 4th of -March had its origin in want of confidence in the President. I believe -my friend agrees in that. - - MR. YATES. Yes. - -MR. SUMNER. It was to counteract and watch the President that Congress -met on the 4th of March. When this session was about to adjourn, -provision was made for its renewal, or a continuation or a prolongation -of it, if you may so regard it. I take it in the same spirit with the -original enactment. - -It was to provide against the President, and to do such other -incidental business as the public interests might require. I never -doubted that there would be a session on the 3d of July.[233] I so -stated at the passage of the resolution. I have so stated constantly -since; and I have advised more than one gentleman connected with -Congress not to leave the country, because his post of duty was here. I -believe that I have answered the question of my friend. - -And now one word more. We are assembled under an Act of Congress -and the National Constitution. By the Constitution it is provided -that “each House may determine the rules of its proceedings.” That -is all it can do. It may not annihilate proceedings; it may not -forbid proceedings. It may provide rules for them; but it cannot, in -a just sense, prevent. Therefore I submit that the resolution, if -not positively unconstitutional, is contrary to the spirit of that -instrument. - - Mr. Ross, of Kansas, hoped “that either the proposition of the - Senator from Massachusetts or something similar to it would - carry.” Mr. Tipton, of Nebraska, was “embarrassed in regard - to voting for the original resolution.” After further debate, - the vote was taken on Mr. Sumner’s substitute, and it was - rejected,--Yeas 6, Nays 26. - - Mr. Ross then moved a substitute limiting business “to removing - the obstructions which have been or are likely to be placed in - the way of the fair execution of the Acts of Reconstruction,” - and “such as may be rendered necessary for the preservation of - the peace on the Western frontier.” Debate ensued, in which - Mr. Howe, of Wisconsin, said: “I did not suppose any gentleman - would insist that I was bound by the decision of that body, or - by the conclusion arrived at in that consultation.… I do not - know what penalties I subject myself to by disagreeing here - and now with the conclusions then arrived at.” Mr. Wade, of - Ohio, spoke vigorously against the original resolution. In his - judgment, “there are some questions about which a Senator has - no right to conform his view to that of the majority,” and he - took the original resolution to be of that class. “It sets a - precedent of the greatest danger in high party times.” He hoped - “that no such detriment to a minority will ever be successfully - urged here.” He judged Mr. Sumner’s “measure, which is to give - universal suffrage by Act of Congress, to be upon the subject - of Reconstruction, and one of the most efficient measures - to that end; and yet gentlemen seem to suppose that that is - within the scope of the excluding clause of this resolution.” - Mr. Fessenden was equally positive the other way. He referred - to the caucus of Republican Senators where the original - resolution was prepared, which he deemed “eminently proper.” - “When gentlemen go into consultation with their friends, and - make no protest whatever against having the result of that - consultation acted upon, they agree impliedly and expressly, - in my judgment, that they will be bound on that subject by the - decision which their friends come to, unless they give notice - to the contrary,--that is to say, in case they continue to act - on the subject to the end.” Mr. Sumner followed. - -MR. PRESIDENT,--I should not have said another word, but for topics -introduced by the Senator from Maine; yet before I allude to those -particularly, allow me to answer his argument, so far as I am able to -appreciate it. He will pardon me for saying that he confounds right and -power. Unquestionably the Senate has the power which he attributes to -it; but it has not the right. A jury, as we know, in giving a general -verdict, has power to say “Guilty” or “Not guilty,” disregarding the -instructions of the court; but I need not say that it is a grave -question among lawyers whether it has the right. Now, assuming that the -Senate has the power which the Senator from Maine claims, it seems to -me it has not the right. It has not the right to disregard the spirit -of the National Constitution; and the present proposition is of that -character. The Senator does not see it so, I know; for, if he did, he -could not give to it the weight of his character. Others do see it -so; and if they do, the Senator from Maine must pardon them, if they -act accordingly. The Senator would not vote for anything he regarded -as hostile to the spirit of the Constitution. I cannot attribute to -him any such conduct. Can he expect others to do what he would not do -himself? This is my answer to the argument, so far as I understand it. -Perhaps I do not do justice to it; yet I try. - -There was one other point of argument. The Senate, so the Senator -argues, may postpone an individual measure to the next session. Grant -it; does it follow that they may postpone, immediately on their -arrival, the whole business to another session? - - MR. FESSENDEN. They can adjourn on the next day, or on the day - they meet, if they please. - -MR. SUMNER. But so long as they continue in session as a Senate, then, -under the National Constitution, they must attend to the business -of the country. They cannot tie their hands in advance. To do so is -to violate the spirit of the Constitution. The Senator cannot have -forgotten the Atherton gag, to which I referred before, without -naming it, however. Was it not justly an offence and a stench in the -nostrils of every patriot citizen? Has it not left a bad name upon -the Congresses that recognized it? But this was simply a declaration -not to receive petitions on one subject; and now, under the lead of -the Senator, we are to continue in session an indefinite time, and -to receive no petition, no bill, nothing on anything except on one -specified subject. I submit, if the Atherton gag was unconstitutional, -if it was odious, if it was a bad precedent, then you are very rash in -establishing this much broader precedent. Do not condemn the offensive -legislation of the past; do not condemn those slave-masters once so -offensive in these Chambers. You go further than they. You impose a gag -not upon petitions merely, but upon the general business of the country. - -The Senator from Ohio [Mr. WADE] has, with unanswerable force, depicted -the offensive character of this precedent, and he has taught us how, -now that we are a majority, we should hesitate to set such an example -for the future. How should we feel, he has aptly reminded us, if, as a -minority, we had such a cup handed to our lips by a patriot Senator? -Doubtless, that for the time patriotism had departed. - -I should not have been betrayed into these remarks now, but for topics -introduced by the Senator from Maine. When I opened this debate, this -morning, Senators will bear me witness, I made no allusion to any -discussion elsewhere. I did not think a caucus a proper subject for -this Chamber; nor did I attribute to it anything of the character -which the Senator from Maine does. He makes it not merely sacred, but -a _sacro-sanct pact_, by which every one at the meeting is solemnly -bound. What authority is there for any such conclusion? Senators went -to that caucus, I presume, like myself, without knowing what was to -be considered; and let me confess, when the proposition, in its first -form, was presented, I was startled by its offensive character. I -could not believe that a Senator, knowing the responsibilities and -duties of a Senator, and under the oath of a Senator, could start such -a thing. Well, Sir, discussion went on. The proposition was amended, -modified, mitigated, losing something of its offensiveness in form, -but it still remained substantially offensive. I am not aware that any -Senator suggested that it should be adopted as a rule of the Senate. -If any one did, I did not hear it, though paying close attention to -the discussion. I do not think the Senator from Maine made any such -suggestion. I certainly never supposed that anybody would propose such -a rule. So far as it was to have any value, I supposed it was to be the -recorded result of the deliberations of political associates,--so far -as practicable, a guide for their action, but not a constraint embodied -in a perpetual record. At the last moment, after the vote had been -declared to which the Senator from Maine refers, and to which I should -make no allusion, if he had not brought it forward, I rose in the -caucus, and said, “I will not be bound by any such proposition.” When -it had arrived at the stage to which I refer,--the Senator from Maine -will not forget it, for he interposed a remark which I will not quote -now---- - - MR. FESSENDEN. You had better quote it. I said, “Then you - should not have voted on the subject, if you did not mean to be - bound by the decision of the majority.” - -MR. SUMNER. To which I replied, “I am a Senator of the United States.” - - MR. FESSENDEN. I did not hear the reply. - -MR. SUMNER. By that reply I meant that my obligations as a Senator were -above any vote in caucus; that I had no right to go into caucus and -barter away unquestioned rights on this floor. We are under obligations -here to discharge our duties as Senators. We cannot in advance tie our -hands. I have not said in so many words, “You violate the Constitution -in doing it.” Perhaps better reflection would lead me to adopt the -stronger language, and say, “You violate the National Constitution.” I -feel plainly, clearly, beyond doubt, that such is the character of the -National Constitution, and such are our obligations under it, that we -cannot, without a dereliction of duty, consent to such a proposition. -So I see it; I cannot see it otherwise. - -And now I submit to my associates in this body, with whom I am proud to -act, whose good opinion I value, whether they would have me, feeling as -I do regarding this resolution, act otherwise than as I do. Should I -not, as an associate in this Chamber, anxious for the good name of the -Senate to which we all belong, proud of this Republic whose honor we -hope to bear aloft, and anxious that no precedent should be established -which may hereafter be brought to our detriment, should I not enter my -frank protest? And, doing so, do I deserve the rude suggestions that -have been made to-day? Should I be told that one may not go into a -caucus and assist in the debate, and then appear in this Chamber only -with the bands of the caucus upon his hands? - -Nor is the duty changed by the time of the protest. Vote or no vote -makes no difference. No caucus could constrain a Senator on such a -question. It was our duty to stay and resist the offensive proposition -to the last, and then afterward resist it elsewhere. Senators, if they -choose, may take it in their hands and bear it into this Chamber, to -enshrine it in the rules of the Senate. If placed there, I know it will -do no good; it will stay there to the dishonor of the country, and as a -bad precedent for the future. - - Mr. Howe spoke again, beginning his remarks as follows: “I am - not so familiar with the history of this country as I wish I - was. I do not know whether it has ever happened hitherto in - the history of the country that a Senator has been arraigned - before the Senate for a violation of a duty to a partisan - caucus. If there ever has been such a trial before, I hope - there never will be such a trial again.” Mr. Yates concluded by - saying: “Now, Sir, there is one of two things, and it commences - this day: that the decisions of such consultations have to be - carried out, or this day begins the death of any consultations - by the majority in the Senate.” Mr. Sumner followed. - -MR. PRESIDENT,--It is evident that this debate has opened a broader -question than was imagined at first. Doctors disagree. The learned -Senator from Illinois differs from the learned Senator from Maine. One -expounds the caucus obligations in one way, and the other in another. -Now I am clear that this debate ought not to be closed without some -defined code of caucus, and it seems to me that the learned Senators, -so swift in judgment, ought to supply this code. It should be reduced -to a text. We should know to what extent one is bound, and to what -extent not bound: whether the Senator from Illinois, who refuses to be -bound by the caucus in one point, which was fully discussed, is a man -of honor; whether another Senator, who refuses to be bound on other -points, is a man of honor. That question could be settled by some -explicit code: for we have been admonished that we cannot differ from -the caucus without a departure from propriety, if not from duty; and I -do not know that stronger language has not been employed. If it has, I -will not quote it. It seems to me that this should lead to a practical -conclusion, and it is this: to have nothing to do with a proposition -which can be discussed only through such avenues, which requires such -refinement of detail, with regard to which the Senator from Illinois -makes one exception, and other Senators other exceptions, and to which -still other Senators entirely object. - -Now I am not going to complain of the Senator from Illinois. In -following his convictions he is doing right; but then I wish him to -understand that others on this floor may have the privilege he claims -for himself,--justly claims; it is his title. I recognize the Senator -as a man of honor, though he does refuse to carry out the decrees of -the caucus. I believe that every Senator here has responsibilities as -a Senator which are above any he can have to a caucus, which is only -a meeting of friends for consultation and for harmony, where each -gives up something with a view to a common result, but no man gives -up a principle, no man gives up anything vital. No Senator can expect -another Senator to give up anything vital; no Senator can expect -another Senator to sacrifice a principle. I will not imagine that any -Senator would sacrifice a principle. If a Senator expects another to -accord with him in the conclusions of a caucus, I know well it is -because he does not see it in the light of principle; but if another -Senator does see it in the light of principle, how can he be expected -to act otherwise than according to his light? It is not given to all to -see with the clearness of the caucus-defenders. Theirs is the pathway -of light; they see the obligation as complete. Others cannot see it -so. I am in that list. I cannot see it as a final obligation. I have -been present in many caucuses, and I believe, looking over the past, I -have harmonized reasonably with my associates. Sometimes I have been -constrained to differ, and have expressed that difference, and it has -generally been received with kindness. The other day I expressed the -same difference, little expecting, however, an arraignment on this -floor. - - Here followed a conversation, in which Mr. Sumner, Mr. Yates, - Mr. Howe, Mr. Grimes, of Iowa, and Mr. Thayer, of Nebraska, - took part. Mr. Yates was willing to except from the resolution - necessary legislation on the Western frontiers. Mr. Sumner - continued:-- - -Now I submit to my excellent friend, whether his conclusion does not -entirely impair the value of the caucus conclusion, except to this -extent, in which we all agree, that it is an expression of the opinion -of political associates, calculated to exercise a strong influence on -the course of public business, and to be received with respect, but not -to be imposed upon this Chamber as a rule. - - MR. YATES. Allow me to ask the Senator whether he did - not submit himself to the same sort of decision in the - Reconstruction measures. Those matters were before a caucus, - and acted upon. - -MR. SUMNER. In the caucus on Reconstruction I moved the amendment that -in the future constitutions of the Rebel States the ballot should be -required. A division was had. I allude to it now because interrogated -openly in the Senate. A division was had, and there were two stand-up -votes, when the motion was carried by a vote of 15 to 13. By 15 to 13 -in that caucus it was voted to require suffrage for all in the future -constitutions of the Rebel States. - - MR. EDMUNDS. And what would you have thought, if the thirteen - had repudiated that action? - -MR. SUMNER. To repudiate a proposition in favor of human liberty would -have been a very different thing from repudiating a proposition -against human liberty. - - MR. FESSENDEN. When the question is put to the Senator, what he - would have thought, if the thirteen had repudiated it, he says - that is a very different thing, being in favor of liberty. - -MR. SUMNER. Very well, does not the Senator say the same? - - MR. FESSENDEN. I say there is no difference, where a man - promises to do a thing with a full understanding; he has no - right to violate it, whether it is one way or the other. - -MR. SUMNER. The question is, whether the man does promise. There is the -point. - - MR. FESSENDEN. Very well, then, my reply is, that, if there was - no promise in the case of the thirteen to support the decision, - there is no promise here; if there was a promise in the case - of the thirteen to be bound by it and support it, as they - did, then there was a promise here. The Senator may make the - distinction, if he can. - -MR. SUMNER. I will make the distinction clear. I have never said there -was a promise in the case of the thirteen, as I insist there was no -promise in the recent caucus. Had the Senator felt it his duty to come -into the Senate and oppose the report, I should have been pained to -find him on the side of wrong; but I am not ready to say that he would -have been constrained by the caucus. But, plainly, the repudiation of -a caucus vote for Human Rights is to be judged differently from the -repudiation of a caucus vote adverse to Human Rights,--assuming, as I -do, that there is no promise in either case. - -… - -Sir, I am tired of this talk of honor, in connection with the public -business. This is too solemn; we are under too great responsibilities. -Every Senator acts with honor. The Senator from Maine acts with honor, -when he seeks to impose a rule which I think offensive to the spirit -of the Constitution. The Senator from Illinois acts with honor, when -he says that he will not be bound by the vote of this caucus in a -particular case. Other Senators act with honor, when they refuse to be -bound by the resolution in any of its terms. Every Senator acts with -honor. He only acts otherwise who makes injurious imputations upon his -associates. - -Yes, Sir, let us have this caucus code. If it is to be administered -with such severity, let us know it in advance, its terms and its -conditions,--what extent of dishonor is to be visited upon those who -do not adopt the caucus conclusions, and what extent of honor upon -those who so steadfastly and violently carry them forward. Let us have -the code. I believe, Sir, that the true code for the Senate is found -in the National Constitution, in the rules of this body, and in the -sentiments of right and wrong which animate every honest soul; and I -believe that no advantage can be taken of any Senator by reminding him -that he forbore at a particular moment to register his objection, just -as if we were all there on trial, to be saved by speaking promptly. -It was no such debate; we were there with friends and brothers, each -respecting the sensibilities and convictions of his associates, and, by -interchange of opinions, seeking harmony, but not submitting to a yoke. - - After further remarks from Mr. Fessenden and Mr. Tipton, the - substitute of Mr. Ross was rejected,--Yeas 15, Nays 19. The - resolution, was then adopted,--Yeas 23, Nays 9. - - * * * * * - - July 10th, Mr. Sumner called up the following, introduced by - him July 8th:-- - - “_Resolved_, That the resolution of the Senate, adopted the - 5th of July last, limiting the business of the Senate, be, - and hereby is, rescinded.” - - In remarks that followed, he showed the character of the - proceedings in the Twenty-Seventh Congress, which had been - adduced as a precedent for the limitation of business. In reply - to Mr. Fessenden, he said:-- - -I have simply done my duty, in calling attention to the past precedent -which had been introduced into the discussion. When it was introduced -by the Senator from Maine, I had no means of replying to it. I had not -the Journal or the Globe with me, and I supposed, from the statement -of the Senator, that it was a resolution practically adopted in this -Chamber. I was not aware of what followed. I was not aware of the -extent to which the whole spirit of the proposition was denounced. Nor -was I aware that its original mover, Mr. Clay, was obliged to abandon -his proposition,--that he magnanimously, justly, and considerately -abandoned it. That is the true precedent in this body; and that is the -precedent which, I submit, it would be better for the Senate to follow. -Nothing, surely, could be lost by following it. - -The resolution adopted by the Senate on Friday, while it remains, will -only be of evil example. If hereafter quoted as a precedent, it may be -at last for some purpose of oppression, when Senators will not all be -as just as those I now have the honor of addressing. It may be seized -then as an engine of tyranny. For one, Sir, I would leave no such -weapon in this Chamber to be grasped hereafter by any hand. - - The Senate refused to take up the resolution. - - * * * * * - - July 13th, Mr. Sumner made another attempt by the following - resolution:-- - - “_Resolved_, That the rule of the Senate limiting business - be suspended, so far as to allow the consideration of - the bill (S. No. 124) to enforce the several provisions - of the Constitution abolishing Slavery, declaring the - immunities of citizens, and guarantying a republican form - of government by securing the elective franchise to colored - citizens.” - - But he was not able to obtain a vote upon it, and the important - bill was left on the table. - - - - -RECONSTRUCTION ONCE MORE. - -PUBLIC SCHOOLS; OFFICERS AND SENATORS WITHOUT DISTINCTION OF COLOR. - -SPEECHES IN THE SENATE, ON THE THIRD RECONSTRUCTION BILL, JULY 11 AND -13, 1867. - - - July 8th, Mr. Trumbull, of Illinois, from the Committee on the - Judiciary, reported a “Bill to give effect to an Act entitled - ‘An Act to provide for the more efficient Government of the - Rebel States,’ passed March 2, 1867.” This was the third - Reconstruction measure of the present year. It was debated for - several days. July 11th, Mr. Sumner said:-- - -MR. PRESIDENT,--Before offering amendments which I have on my table, I -desire to call attention briefly to the character of this bill. - -The subject of Reconstruction has been before Congress for many years. -It first appeared in the Senate as a proposition of my own, as long ago -as February, 1862. From that time it has been constantly present. If at -any moment Congress has erred, it has been from inaction, and not from -action. And now the same danger is imminent. - -Mark, if you please, the stages. At every step there has been battle. -Nothing could be proposed which was not opposed, often with feeling, -sometimes even with animosity. I do not speak now of the other side, -but of friends on this side of the Chamber, some of whom have fought -every measure. - -To my mind nothing has been plainer from the beginning than the -jurisdiction of Congress. Obviously it was not for the Executive, but -for the Legislative. The President was commander-in-chief of the army; -that function was his. But he could not make States or constitutions, -or determine how States or constitutions should be made. All that -he did to this end was gross usurpation, aggravated by motives and -consequences. - -Unquestionably the jurisdiction was in Congress; and I shall never -cease to lament that it was not asserted promptly and courageously. Our -delay has postponed the establishment of peace and reconciliation. Much -as the President has erred, Congress has not been without error also. -The President erred from assuming powers which did not belong to him; -Congress erred from declining to assume powers which belonged to it. -The sins of the President were of commission; the sins of Congress were -of omission. The President did the things he ought not to have done; -Congress left undone the things it ought to have done. - -In the exercise of unquestioned jurisdiction, Congress should at once -have provided civil governments, through whose influence and agency -the Rebel States might have been shaped into republican forms. Such a -proceeding would have been more constitutional and more according to -the genius of our institutions than that which was adopted. It is hard -to reconcile a military government, or any government born of military -power, with the true idea of a republic. Tardily, too tardily, -Congress entered upon the work; and then began hesitations of another -character. Even when assuming jurisdiction, it halted. - -For a long time it refused to confer the suffrage upon the colored -race. At last this was done. - -Then it refused to exclude Rebels from the work of Reconstruction; -and when at last it attempted something, its rule of exclusion was so -little certain that an ingenious lawyer by a written opinion has set it -aside. - -There have been bills with riders, and after the passage of these bills -there has been a supplementary bill with riders. And still further -legislation is needed. - -Surely these successive failures have their lesson. They admonish us -now to make thorough work. - -If you will not establish civil governments, with the military power -simply as a support, then at least do not hesitate to vacate the -existing governments, which are so many roots and centres of sedition. -All the officers of these governments, from highest to lowest, exercise -an influence adverse to a just reconstruction. They are in the way of -peace and reconciliation. They increase the essential difficulties of -forming new governments. Through their influence a hostile spirit is -engendered and sustained. Such an obstacle should be removed. - -At the same time be careful that Rebel influence is not allowed to -prevail in the new governments. Of course this can be only by excluding -Rebels during this transition period, until the new governments are -formed. The rule of exclusion may be properly changed, when loyal -and republican governments are established. Attention has already -been called to cases deserving notice: as, for instance, naturalized -citizens who have taken an oath to support the National Constitution -and afterward became Rebels, but yet are not excluded; cadets at the -Military and Naval Academies; persons who have contributed to Rebel -loans or invested money in Rebel bonds or securities; contractors who -furnished Rebel supplies; also persons who, as authors, publishers, -editors, contributors, or as speakers or preachers, encouraged the -secession of any State or the waging of war against the United States. - -Considering what we hear with regard to the boards of -registration,--that in some States they are of doubtful principles, -that in others colored fellow-citizens are excluded, so that a large -proportion of the electors have no representation in the boards,--it -seems to me that we ought by positive words to provide that the boards -shall be constituted without distinction of color. Colored persons may -be chosen to office, and I cannot doubt that we shall soon welcome -colored Senators and Representatives to the National Capitol. Meanwhile -the boards of registration must be kept as open as these Chambers; and -no commanding general can be allowed to set up a rule adverse to the -rights of a race. - -A system of public schools without distinction of color should be -required. This important duty must not be left to caprice, or to the -triumph of truth through local influence. Its performance should be -enforced as essential to republican government. We have required -suffrage for all; we should require also education for all. - -Provision should be made to invalidate the decrees of court in the -Rebel States which have not been voluntarily executed. This is -necessary for the protection of loyal persons. Look, for instance, at -Texas, where, according to recent report, immense sums have been taken -by unjust decrees. If the remedy is not applied now, it is doubtful if -the opportunity will not be lost forever. - -In submitting a constitution to the people, it seems to me advisable -that it should not be complicated by any election of officers, State -or National, but that all elections should be postponed until after -approval of the constitution by Congress. - -There should also be penalties for the violation of the Act. The pardon -of the President must not be allowed to confer a title to vote; and -since officials have shown such a disposition to impair the efficacy -of an Act by interpretation, reducing it to a mere shadow, we ought to -provide that it shall be interpreted liberally. - -In making these propositions, I ask that you should not hesitate simply -because they may not be embraced within the terms of the original Acts. -I would do now all that we can to make this measure of Reconstruction -just and beneficent. I know no other rule worthy of the Senate or -adequate to the occasion. - -In carrying out these ideas, I propose to offer several amendments, -which I will send to the Chair in order. I begin by an amendment as an -additional section:-- - - “_And be it further enacted_, That every constitution in - the Rebel States shall require the Legislature to establish - and sustain a system of public schools open to all, without - distinction of race or color.” - - * * * * * - - Mr. Trumbull objected to the amendment as not in order under - the rule limiting the business of the session. The question of - order was submitted to the Senate, and the amendment was ruled - out of order,--Yeas 11, Nays 22. - - Mr. Sumner then moved the following amendment, which he was - sure must be in order, even under the stringent rule of the - Senate:-- - - “_Provided_, That no person shall be disqualified as member - of any board of registration by reason of race or color.” - - Mr. Conkling, of New York, inquired “whether there is any doubt - upon the law, as it stands now, that men otherwise qualified - are eligible, notwithstanding they are black.” Mr. Sumner - replied:-- - -I am accustomed to that class of questions on this floor. When, some -two or three years ago, I felt it my duty to move, on one bill after -another, that there should be no exclusion from the street cars on -account of color, I was encountered by learned lawyers, and by none -more constantly than my friend opposite, the Senator from Maryland [Mr. -JOHNSON], with precisely the suggestion which my friend from New York -now makes: that in point of law it was unnecessary; that under the -actual law, which was none other than the Common Law, there could be -no exclusion on account of color: and yet, in the face of that Common -Law, Senators all know that there was an exclusion from the cars on -account of color, and the grossest outrages committed. Colored persons -were precipitated into the streets, into the mud, under a pelting rain, -and they could obtain no redress; and when I asked for redress, grave -Senators said, “Let them apply to the courts”; and it was suggested -that perhaps I had better volunteer as counsel in court rather than -appear in this Chamber. Now the question of my friend from New York -is precisely in the same spirit. I cannot doubt, that, under the -existing Reconstruction law, there can be no exclusion on account of -color,--that nobody is for that reason disqualified from the exercise -of any function. What is there to prevent a colored person from being -a Senator of the United States? and who can doubt that within a very -few months it will be our business to welcome a colored Senator on this -floor? I cannot doubt it. - - MR. JOHNSON [of Maryland]. How many? - -MR. SUMNER. That I do not know. But I ask you who look to the colored -vote in these States as the means of security and peace, through -which you are to find protection for this Republic, and for white -fellow-citizens there as well as for the colored themselves, to see -that this stigma is not put upon them by any commanding general -pretending to act by virtue of our legislation. It is not enough -to tell me, that, under the actual law, colored persons may be -designated. To that I reply, in the State of Virginia they have not -been designated; and I wish now that Congress should declare that any -exclusion on account of color is without the sanction of law. - -And that brings me to the inquiry of my friend from Illinois, as to the -penalty, I think, or as to the extent of the remedy. - - MR. TRUMBULL. The question was, whether your proviso afforded - any remedy. - -MR. SUMNER. That I will answer. My proviso affords precisely the same -remedy that it afforded on the Railroad Bills. It is in nearly the same -terms. I followed those terms, because I know my friend likes good -precedents, and we have enough of those on the question of the street -cars. The Senate adopted that proviso at least half a dozen times. -There it is, without penalty, and yet it has been most efficacious, -not only in these streets, but as an example throughout the country. -Adopt this proviso now, and I am sure it will be most efficacious -with our generals even without any penalty. Should they exclude -fellow-citizens on account of color, it will be a violation of law and -a failure of duty; there can be no votes of thanks for them,--“no hope -of golden spurs to-day.” - - Mr. Conkling replied: “I do not wish, for one, to vote for an - amendment which I think carries nothing with it, but which - simply incumbers the bill with unnecessary, and I might say - verbose provisos.” - - The amendment was rejected by a tie-vote,--Yeas 18, Nays 18. - - At the next stage of the bill, Mr. Sumner renewed his - amendment. In reply to Mr. Edmunds, of Vermont, Mr. Sumner - said:-- - -I will not spend time. There has been an abuse which has come to our -knowledge. We know that in whole States colored persons are excluded -from the boards, and this justifies our intervention. - - On this second trial the amendment was adopted,--Yeas 21, Nays 8. - - Mr. Sumner offered the following:-- - - “_And be it further enacted_, That there shall be no - elections of State or National officers under any new - constitution until after the same has been approved by - Congress.” - - This was objected to by Mr. Trumbull, as out of order under the - rule, and so decided by the Senate. - - Mr. Sumner then moved the following amendment:-- - - “_And be it further enacted_, That in each of these - States all judgments and decrees of court which have not - been voluntarily executed, and which have been rendered - subsequently to the date of the Ordinance of Secession in - each State respectively, shall be subject to appeal to the - highest court in the State, organized after the State shall - be admitted again by Congress into the Union; but no such - appeal shall be allowed, unless the motion for the same - shall have been lodged in the court, or clerk’s office of - the court, in which the decree was rendered, within sixty - days after the governor appointed under this Act shall have - entered upon the discharge of the duties of his office, - and for all judgments rendered subsequently to such date, - within sixty days after the same have been rendered.” - - Mr. Trumbull objected to it as out of order under the rule. Mr. - Sumner said:-- - -My attention has often been called to the necessity of such a -provision, by gentlemen from the South, and especially by lawyers -there. They tell me that without some such provision the grossest -injustice will be done. Throughout the whole Rebellion the local -tribunals were sitting to administer justice; yet it was not justice, -but injustice, that they administered. Under their decrees private -rights were overthrown; and I doubt not that my friend from Illinois -has recently read the account of an extensive injustice in Texas, where -private property to an almost incalculable amount was taken away by -these unjust decrees. - -Should there not be a remedy? I think all will say that there should -be. This is, if I may so express myself, the last time of asking. If -those States are once organized as States and received into the Union, -I know not if we have the power of applying a remedy. That we have now -I am sure. I cannot doubt our constitutional power at this moment to -set aside all those decrees, so far as they have not been voluntarily -submitted to, or subject them, according to the provision of my -amendment, to appeal in a higher tribunal after the reorganization of -justice in these States. Is not the provision reasonable? Is it not -to serve the ends of justice? If you do not accept it now, can you -accept it at any time hereafter? And if you do not accept it now or -hereafter, will not these parties go without remedy? On that question I -do not pronounce dogmatically. I do not mean to say that they will be -absolutely without remedy; but I do not easily see their remedy. I see -difficulties in the way, while at this moment I see no difficulties in -the way. - -Then I encounter the objection that this is not in order. Why not? Is -it not to carry out your Reconstruction Bill, to smooth difficulties, -to remove wrong, to establish justice? It may not have been specially -foreshadowed in the original bill or the supplemental bill; but I -submit that it is entirely germane to both those bills. Besides, it is -commended by an intrinsic justice, which should make it acceptable at -any time. - - The amendment was decided to be out of order. - - Mr. Sumner then offered this amendment:-- - - “_And be it further enacted_, That all the provisions of - this Act, and of the Acts to which this is supplementary, - shall be construed liberally, to the end that all the - intents thereof may be fully and perfectly carried out.” - - There was no objection of order to this amendment, and it was - agreed to without a division. - - After further amendment the bill was ingrafted upon a House - bill on the same subject and passed,--Yeas 32, Nays 6. Being - referred to a Conference Committee, the report of the Committee - was adopted: in the Senate, Yeas 31, Nays 6,--and in the House, - Yeas 111, Nays 23. - - * * * * * - - July 13th, on the report of the Conference Committee in the - Senate, Mr. Sumner said:-- - -And now, as we are about to dismiss this subject for the present -session, I cannot forbear again expressing regret that the measure has -not been made more complete,--in one word, more radical. This is the -third bill of Reconstruction on which we have acted. We ought never -to have acted on more than one; and had the Senate been sufficiently -radical, had it founded its bill on clear, definite principle, there -would have been no occasion for more than one. Just so far as we have -failed to found ourselves on clear, definite principle, our bills have -failed; and should there be failure under the present bill, it will be -precisely on that account. - -I shall never cease to lament that Congress did not at once assume -jurisdiction of the whole region, and in the exercise of its plenary -authority establish civil governments, supplying ample military -support. Such a Reconstruction would have been founded on principles -to defy the criticism of history. I trust that what we have done will -be judged leniently hereafter. I know, however, that it is not above -criticism. Of course, such Reconstruction would have removed out of -sight all existing State governments and municipal governments set up -by Rebel authority, or by the President in the exercise of usurped -power. In my opinion, it is not too late to do this last work. Even -if you decline to establish civil governments, I think, that, under -the Military Bill, you should go forward and brush away all the -existing governments there. From information, private and public, out -of every one of the Rebel States, I am led to this conclusion. Those -governments, whether State or municipal, are just so many engines of -Rebel influence. They stand in the way of Reconstruction. They prevent -the beneficent operation of your work. But the Senate has declined that -path. I regret it, and now at this last moment record my regret. - -I am sorry to add that the Senate has declined to require of these -people conditions which I think essential to republican government. One -of these is a system of public education. I can never cease to mourn -the failure in this regard. Here is a paper from New Orleans, which -has come to me since I have been at my desk to-day, edited by colored -persons,--and an excellent paper it is,--“The New Orleans Tribune” of -July 9, 1867, which contains an article entitled “Public Schools,” from -which I will read a brief sentence:-- - - “Who will open the public schools to all children? We are of - opinion that it will only be done by a colored mayor with - colored members of the city council. This opinion is justified - by facts.” - -The article then sets forth the impediments in the way of public -schools. And yet, in the face of such intelligence from the Rebel -States, we decline to require a system of public education as an -essential element in these new governments. I lament it; and I desire -again to record this sentiment. - -I fear also, Mr. President, that in the operation of this bill you -will find that we have not been sufficiently explicit in the exclusion -of Rebel influence. I have made my best effort to remove doubts and -to enlarge the exclusion. But, in saying this, I desire to add, that, -in my judgment, all exclusions belong to what I call the transition -period. When Reconstruction is accomplished, the time will come for us -to open the gates,--but not till then. - - July 19th, the bill was vetoed by the President, and on the - same day it was re-passed by a two-thirds vote of both Houses: - in the Senate, Yeas 30, Nays 6,--and in the House, Yeas 109, - Nays 25; so that it became a law.[234] - - - - -SUFFRAGE WITHOUT DISTINCTION OF COLOR THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES BY -ACT OF CONGRESS. - -REMARKS IN THE SENATE, ON A BILL TO ENFORCE SEVERAL PROVISIONS OF THE -CONSTITUTION BY SECURING THE ELECTIVE FRANCHISE TO COLORED CITIZENS, -JULY 12, 1867. - - - March 26, 1867, Mr. Sumner asked, and by unanimous consent - obtained, leave to introduce a bill to enforce the several - provisions of the Constitution abolishing Slavery, declaring - the immunities of citizens, and guarantying a republican form - of government, by securing the elective franchise to colored - citizens, which was read twice by its title and printed. He - then remarked on the importance of the bill, and said that it - was intended to cut the Gordian knot of the Suffrage question - throughout the country. - - At the session beginning July 3d, he made constant efforts for - its consideration, challenging objection and argument. - - July 12th, he moved its consideration, calling it “the Capstone - of Reconstruction”; but the Third Reconstruction Bill was - pressed by Mr. Trumbull, of Illinois, to the exclusion of the - other. Mr. Sumner would not antagonize his bill with that. As - soon as the other measure was disposed of, he pressed his bill - again. It was objected to by Mr. Edmunds, of Vermont, as not in - order under the rule of the session limiting business,[235] and - the question of order was referred to the Senate. On this Mr. - Sumner said:-- - -My argument is precisely this, and I ask the attention of my friend -from Maryland [Mr. JOHNSON]. We all know his eminence at the bar of -the Supreme Court, and I submit to him this: We have already by -Reconstruction Acts conferred the suffrage upon colored persons in the -Rebel States; now is it not important that our legislation should be -completed and rounded by conferring the suffrage in the other States -as conferred in the Rebel States? You have conferred it in the Rebel -States. - - MR. JOHNSON. What has that to do with the other States? - -MR. SUMNER. Will you have the great right of suffrage depend upon Act -of Congress in one half of the Union, and not upon Act of Congress -in the other half? If you can pass an Act for one half, can you not -for the other half? I know the answer, that in the Rebel States the -fact of rebellion gives a power we have not in the other States. But -the present bill is founded not simply on the fact of rebellion, but -on the clause in the National Constitution by which we are bound to -guaranty a republican form of government throughout the whole country; -also on the other clause by which Slavery is abolished throughout the -whole country, and we are empowered by proper legislation to enforce -it; also that further clause by which the rights of citizens are -secured throughout the whole country, and we are empowered by proper -legislation to enforce it. Here are three sources of power, equally -applicable to all the States, Rebel or Loyal. And now I submit that -such an Act for the Loyal States is only the just complement to our -action in the Rebel States. - -How can you look the Rebel States in the face, when you have required -colored suffrage of them and fail to require it in the other States? Be -just; require it in the Loyal States as you have required it in the -Rebel States. There is an unanswerable argument, and I submit it on the -question of order. If we are privileged to consider only matters in -aid of the original Reconstruction measures, then do I say that this -bill is in aid of those measures, for it gives to them completeness and -roundness. Without this bill your original measures are imperfect, ay, -radically unjust. I know it is said there is one title to legislation -over the Rebel States which we have not with regard to the Loyal -States,--to wit, that they have been in rebellion. But the great -sources of power in the two cases are identical; they are one and the -same. - -There is the guaranty clause in the National Constitution, the sleeping -giant of the Constitution, never until this recent war awakened, but -now it comes forward with a giant’s power. There is no clause like it. -There is no text which gives to Congress such supreme power over the -States. Then, as I have so often said, are the two other clauses. Your -power under the Constitution is not less complete than beneficent. - -I am not to be betrayed into the constitutional argument. I am now on -the question of order. I say that this bill is essential to perfect -the original Reconstruction measures. You should not return to your -homes without this additional Act by which Reconstruction is finished. -If any Senator has any reason to bring against this bill, if any -one can suggest a doubt of its constitutionality, I should like to -hear the reason or the doubt, and I shall be ready to answer it. I -invite discussion. I challenge the expression of any reason against -it, or of any doubt with regard to its constitutionality; and I ask -Senators to look at it as a great measure of expediency as well as of -justice. How will you settle this question in the Loyal States? Here -are Delaware, Maryland,--my friend over the way will not be sensitive -when I allude to his State,--and Kentucky, in each of which this -measure will be the salvation of Union citizens. In other States, like -Pennsylvania, it will rally at once--I am speaking now on the question -of expediency--twenty thousand votes to the Union cause. In Indiana, -too, it will settle the Suffrage question. I say nothing of Iowa. There -is Wisconsin. - - MR. TRUMBULL. They all vote there now. - -MR. SUMNER. Under the decision of the Supreme Court. So much the -better. There is Connecticut. It would obtain three thousand votes -there for the good cause. A short Act of Congress will determine the -political fortunes of Connecticut for an indefinite period by securing -three thousand additional votes to the right side. There is New York, -also, where the bill would have the same excellent beneficent influence. - -Who, then, can hesitate? Look at it in any light you please. Regard it -as the completion of these Reconstruction measures, as a constitutional -enactment, or as a measure of expediency to secure results we all -desire at the approaching elections, and who can hesitate? There has -been no bill before you for a long time of more practical value than -this. I hope there will be no question about proceeding with it, and -that we may pass it before we separate to-night. - - MR. EDMUNDS. I agree with my friend from Massachusetts, that - the bill has very great merit. It has supreme moral merit. I - agree to every word of it. I am a little afraid, it is true, - that there is a higher law that will bind us not to pass it, - for want of power. - - MR. SUMNER. Want of power! Will the Senator be good enough to - state the reason? - - MR. EDMUNDS. No, not on this point, because it is not relevant - to this question of order. - - MR. SUMNER. But, as the Senator is going into the question of - the want of power, I really wish he would deign to enlighten us - upon that. - - MR. EDMUNDS. My friend will have to go without it, so far as I - am concerned, for I shall not make it. - - MR. SUMNER. Then I shall begin to think the Senator cannot. - - MR. EDMUNDS. That is not a very dangerous state of things; but - there are others who can. - - * * * * * - - The Senate decided the motion out of order,--Yeas 12, Nays 22. - - * * * * * - - July 13th, and again on the 15th, Mr. Sumner made another - effort, by a resolution suspending the rule limiting business, - so as to allow the consideration of this bill; but he could not - get a vote on the resolution. The Senate rose without touching - it. - - - - -OPENING OF OFFICES TO COLORED PERSONS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. - -REMARKS IN THE SENATE, ON A BILL FOR THE FURTHER SECURITY OF EQUAL -RIGHTS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, JULY 16, 1867. - - - July 16th, Mr. Sumner offered a petition from citizens of - Washington, setting forth, that, under the existing charter - of Washington, colored persons are excluded from office, and - praying relief. He supported the petition with the following - bill “for the further security of Equal Rights in the District - of Columbia”:-- - - “_Be it enacted, &c._, That in the District of Columbia - no person shall be excluded from any office by reason - of race or color, and all parts of laws making any such - discrimination are hereby repealed.” - - The bill was read, when Mr. Sumner asked unanimous consent to - proceed with its consideration. - -I think there can be no objection to this bill. It is simply to carry -out what is understood to be the effect of existing legislation, but -which practically does not seem to be its effect. At the late election -in the District it appeared that by the terms of the charter colored -persons could not be qualified as aldermen, as common-councilmen, or as -assessors; and on examining the charter, which I have now on my desk, I -find that by its terms, strictly construed, these offices are confined -to free white persons. By our legislation, all persons, without -distinction of color, can be voters, but nothing is said about being -office-holders. I cannot doubt, that, under the Constitution, and -particularly since the recent legislation, the discrimination adverse -to colored persons is void; but practically it is not so regarded. -I submit, therefore, that it is proper in Congress to remove this -grievance. - - Mr. Buckalew, of Pennsylvania, objected to its consideration, - when Mr. Sumner gave notice that he should endeavor to call it - up the next day. He gave further notice, that, if any objection - were made, he should move to suspend the rule limiting business - so far as to allow this bill to be considered. - - * * * * * - - July 17th, on motion of Mr. Sumner, the Senate proceeded to - consider the bill. Mr. Hendricks, of Indiana, then said:-- - - “The Senator from Massachusetts was the author of the - proposition that the colored people should vote. He made - the commencement of that policy with the District of - Columbia. He now claims--and I believe his party friends - have come up to his position--that that is to be made - universal throughout the States. I suppose he will be - frank enough to inform us whether it is intended as the - commencement of the policy that negroes shall be allowed - to become office-holders, to hold both Federal and State - offices throughout the country,--whether he regards this as - the inauguration of that policy. I suppose he does, from - the fact that he expressed with a great deal of warmth, the - other day, the desire that he might see colored Senators - here in a very short time. If we are to regard it as the - inauguration of the policy, it is well enough to know it.” - - Without any reply, Mr. Sumner asked for a vote, when the bill - was passed,--Yeas 25, Nays 5. - - * * * * * - - July 18th, in the other House, the bill was reported by Mr. - Wilson, of Iowa, from the Judiciary Committee, with the - following substitute, intended to avoid in legislation the - repetition of the phrase “race or color.” - - “The word ‘white,’ wherever it occurs in the laws relating - to the District of Columbia or in the charter or ordinances - of the city of Washington or Georgetown, and operates as - a limitation on the right of any elector of said District - or either of said cities to hold any office or to be - selected and to serve as a juror, be and the same is hereby - repealed; and it shall be unlawful for any person or - officer to enforce or attempt to enforce said limitation - after the passage of this Act.” - - The substitute was adopted, and the bill thus amended - passed,--Yeas 90, Nays 20. - - July 19th, the Senate concurred in the amendment, and, on - motion of Mr. Harlan, of Iowa, further amended the bill by an - additional section authorizing “the necessary grand and petit - jurors for the June term of the Criminal Court for the year - 1867.” This amendment, though not relating to Equal Rights, was - concurred in by the House. - - July 20th, the bill was duly enrolled and transmitted to the - President for his signature, but was not returned by him before - the adjournment, the same day, so that it failed to become a - law. Mr. Sumner complained that Senators “proposed to go home - and leave Equal Rights in the District without the protection - we owe them.” - - * * * * * - - November 21st, on the first day of the meeting of Congress - after the adjournment, Mr. Sumner introduced the same bill as - it had passed both Houses, and asked the Senate to proceed with - it at once; but this was prevented by the objection of Mr. - Davis, of Kentucky. Mr. Sumner forbore calling it up for eleven - consecutive days of the session, to see if within that time it - would be returned to Congress, with or without objections. It - was not returned, and on application at the Department of State - it was ascertained that it had not been received there. - - December 5th, the bill was taken up, on motion of Mr. Sumner, - discussed, and again passed,--Yeas 32, Nays 8. - - December 9th, it passed the House,--Yeas 104, Nays 39. - - December 11th it was presented to the President. - - December 20th, Congress adjourned for the holidays. - - The President, by a message, January 24, 1868, in reply to - an inquiry of the Senate, stated that it was presented for - his approval December 11, 1867, but that “Congress by their - adjournment [December 20th] prevented the return of the bill - within the time prescribed by the Constitution.” - - January 7th, Mr. Sumner a third time introduced the same bill. - Mr. Sherman, of Ohio, thought “we ought to consider whether - it is not already a law.” Mr. Edmunds, of Vermont, said that - “this bill has become a law, if it has not been returned with - a veto.” Under these circumstances, the bill was referred to - the Judiciary Committee to consider its true condition and the - question of further legislation. - - February 11, 1869, the bill being once more before the Senate, - Mr. Sumner moved it again, as appears by the following passage. - - MR. SUMNER. I move that the Senate proceed to the - consideration of Senate bill No. 228. - - MR. DRAKE [of Missouri]. What is it? - - MR. SUMNER. A bill for the further security of Equal Rights - in the District of Columbia. I will make one minute’s - explanation, and then the Senate will see that it ought to - be passed. This bill has already twice passed both Houses - of Congress, but immediately before recesses, and it has - fallen from the President failing to return it with his - veto, and from the unsettled condition of the practice or - law in such cases. - - THE PRESIDING OFFICER [Mr. MORGAN, of New York, in the - chair]. It requires the unanimous consent of the Senate to - consider the bill at this time. - - MR. DRAKE. I appeal to the honorable Senator from - Massachusetts on behalf of a poor and most worthy woman---- - - MR. SUMNER. Why should the Senator make that appeal to - me? I appeal on behalf of all the colored people in this - District, who ask the passage of this bill. - - MR. CONKLING [of New York]. Whether the objection should - be made or not depends perhaps upon this, which I should - like to inquire: Has not this bill not only passed twice, - I think three times, but has it not become a law certainly - once? - - MR. SUMNER. It has not become a law; at least, it has - not found place in the statute-book, and the courts have - declined to recognize it as law. Under the circumstances, - it has seemed the best and the shortest way for Congress to - pass it again, so as to remove all doubt. - - The bill passed the Senate without a division, and, March 2d, - it again passed the other House without a division. Again it - failed to receive the signature of the President, nor was it - returned with his objections. - - March 6th, at the opening of a new Congress, with a new - President, Mr. Sumner introduced it again, and asked unanimous - consent to proceed with its consideration; but Mr. Vickers, of - Maryland, objected. - - March 8th, it passed the Senate without a division; March 15th, - passed the other House,--Yeas 111, Nays 46; March 18th, was - approved by the President, and so at last became a law.[236] - - - - -NATURALIZATION WITHOUT DISTINCTION OF RACE OR COLOR. - -REMARKS IN THE SENATE, ON A BILL TO STRIKE OUT THE WORD “WHITE” IN THE -NATURALIZATION LAWS, JULY 19, 1867. - - - July 19th, Mr. Sumner introduced a bill to amend the several - Acts of Congress relating to Naturalization, by striking - out the word “white,” and he asked unanimous consent of the - Senate to consider the bill at once. Mr. Edmunds, of Vermont, - objected. Mr. Sumner then said:-- - -I hope the Senator will not object. I have received a letter from -Norfolk, calling attention to the case of a colored person there, -an inhabitant for more than twenty-five years, but unable to obtain -naturalization because of the words of color in our naturalization -laws. It is only reasonable that we should put an end to that -grievance. In short, I would punch the word “white” out of the -statute-book, wherever it appears. If the Senator from Vermont is -disposed to keep it in, then I can understand that he would object to -the bill. - - MR. EDMUNDS. I am not disposed to keep it in---- - -MR. SUMNER. I did not suppose the Senator was. - - MR. EDMUNDS. My punch is not quite so case-hardened as that of - my friend. - - And he insisted upon its reference to the Committee on the - Judiciary, “so that there may be that examination which will - make the bill perfect, if it is not now perfect, to answer the - end that my friend from Massachusetts and myself both want to - reach.” The bill was referred accordingly. - - February 17, 1869, Mr. Stewart, of Nevada, reported the bill - from the Committee adversely. In the few remaining days of the - session Mr. Sumner was unable to call it up. - - - - -THE PRESIDENT MUST BE WATCHED BY CONGRESS, OR REMOVED. - -SPEECH IN THE SENATE, ON THE RESOLUTION OF ADJOURNMENT, JULY 19, 1867. - - - July 19th, the Senate considered a resolution from the other - House to reassemble November 13th. Mr. Sherman, of Ohio, moved - to amend by making the day of meeting “the first Monday of - December next.” Mr. Sumner moved to amend the amendment by - substituting “the second Wednesday of October next.” He then - said:-- - -On that question I have a word to say, and I must speak frankly. -I cannot help it. How Congress, after listening to the message of -to-day,[237] which is only the logical consequence of other messages, -can quietly vote to go home and leave this post of duty until next -winter, passes my understanding. To me it is incomprehensible. The -message, from beginning to end, is a menace. Needless to quote its -precise language. Its defiant tone fills this Chamber, and will soon -fill the whole country. Listening to this appeal, so well calculated -to revive the dying Rebellion, I felt that one of two things was -needed,--the removal of its author from the Executive chair, or -Congress in permanent session to watch and counteract him. Such is the -alternative. One failing, the other must be. - -Now, Sir, when thus insisting, let it be understood that I am not -unmindful of any of my responsibilities in this Chamber. Other duties -may devolve upon me hereafter. For the present I speak as a Senator, -bound, in the discharge of official duty, to do what he can for the -public good. As a Senator, I must be plain; nor can I be constrained by -the possibility that hereafter I may be called to judge the President. -I am called to judge him now. The proposition that Congress should go -home compels me to judge him. - -Unquestionably it is for the other House to initiate the proceedings -which shall bring the President to your bar. But until then it is the -right and duty of every Senator to express himself freely with regard -to his conduct; nor can there be any limit to this latitude. It is as -broad as human thought. No future duty can be a strait-jacket now. -Because the President may be impeached, the Senate is not obliged to be -silent with regard to him. The National Constitution is guilty of no -such absurdity. Until a Senator is sworn on the trial of impeachment, -according to the requirement of the National Constitution, he is a -Senator, free to criticize any public functionary, from the President -to the humblest officer; and if either has so acted as to deserve -removal, there is no reason why he should not say so. This is only -according to the National Constitution and common sense. - -Now, since Andrew Johnson remains President and he is not yet at your -bar, I cannot doubt that we ought to stay in our seats to encounter the -evil proceeding from him. We must meet him constantly, and not leave -the field unoccupied. - -For this reason, simply and briefly stated, I object to the motion of -the Senator from Ohio. If I had powers of persuasion, I would use them -all to induce you to remain as a guard to the National Constitution -and a constabulary force for the Rebel States. Possibly you may not -like the office. But I doubt if any of us can be better employed -anywhere than in contributing to the success of Reconstruction, and in -preserving peace throughout that distressed region of country. Sitting -in our seats here, we are a mighty police, ready at the call of general -or citizen, and also a terror to the evil-doer. - -Senators wish to leave. So do I. Nobody can wish to leave more than -myself. I suffer much from these heats. I long to be at home. But I -feel that it is my duty to be here. All that I have felt before is now -intensified by the menace of this message. Hereafter no Senator can say -that he did not know what to expect. He will not be taken by surprise. -Here is distinct and open notice that the President will do all in his -power to thwart your legislation and to arrest a just Reconstruction. -There he stands, a constant impediment to peace, and an ally to the -Rebellion. And yet, knowing these things, it is proposed to go home and -leave him undisturbed master till winter. - - Mr. Sherman said: “It does seem to me a very strange thing - that a judge, by whose vote alone the President can be - removed, should declare that he must be removed. [Mr. Sumner - said, “Or Congress must stay here to watch him.”]… If the - House of Representatives desire to present an impeachment - of any officer of the Government, I am perfectly willing to - stay and try him. No such case is presented.” Mr. Buckalew, - of Pennsylvania, said: “The Senator from Massachusetts who - first spoke [Mr. SUMNER] maintains his usual position at the - end of this session. I do not remember any occasion when - that member supported a resolution of adjournment. I do not - remember an occasion when he did not vote for reassembling, - when the opportunity was afforded him, at an early date. In - fact, I suspect, that, if the truth were known, the Senator - from Massachusetts would be prepared with business the whole - three hundred and sixty-five days of the year, and that, if - we consulted his views, we should make a French revolutionary - assemblage of the two Houses of Congress,--we should be in - permanent session, without vacation and without recess.” He - insisted that “we should withhold ourselves from the expression - of judgment upon a question which is not here, and which - cannot come here, unless it be brought here by the House of - Representatives, over whose action we have no control.” This - brought up Mr. Sumner again. - -MR. PRESIDENT,--There is just the point. The Senator says the question -is not here,--in other words, that this is not the time to discuss -the President. He is mistaken; this is the very time. The question is -here at the instance of the Senator from Ohio, who gravely moves that -we leave our seats, and from this time forward till December abdicate -our constitutional guardianship of the public interests. To such a -proposition there is but one natural and logical reply. It is, that we -must not abdicate, so long as Andrew Johnson is in the Executive chair. -If he continues President, we must remain at our posts, precisely as -Grant remained before Richmond. - -Sir, if another person wielded the Executive powers of the nation, -if there was anybody in that high office mindful of the National -Constitution as interpreted by the Declaration of Independence, -and disposed to carry forward the Acts of Congress adopted by such -triumphant majorities, then I could vote with Senators to go home. -Unhappily, it is not so. Anything but this. Our President is a public -enemy, successor in spirit and opinion of Jefferson Davis, through whom -the Rebellion is once more on its legs. Does any Senator, accustomed -to vote with the Union party and to sustain the Union cause, question -this simple statement of fact? Does he believe it overdrawn? Let him -answer, if he does. Let him say where my language goes by a hair’s -breadth beyond the exact truth. - - Here Mr. Sumner stopped for answer, and then proceeded. - -Because we have the successor of Jefferson Davis in the Presidential -chair, therefore Congress must stay. That is my argument. A volume or -oration could not add to the force of this simple statement. - -The more I think of this duty, the more commanding it seems. The -President is the Executive; we are the Legislative. His influence is -great; but ours is greater. If we choose to say so, we can be masters. -We can apply the corrective to his mischief. Surely here is a motive. -Ten States are now exposed to his malign influence, all of which may -be arrested by our presence here. Let it be known that we are to -continue in our seats, and every Union man throughout the Rebel States -will feel stronger. He will be conscious at once of a panoply, which -the President, and the Rebel tail, of which he is the head, cannot -penetrate. - -There are the generals, also, who, as soon as we are gone, may be -his victims. The telegraph may flash to us, in the comfort of home, -that the gallant Sheridan, as true in government as he was skilful in -war, has been driven from his post by an enemy with whom he could not -contend. It may flash the removal of Pope, who has shown such talent -and thoroughness in the organization of his district, and also the -displacement of Sickles, who has carried into his new duties such -varied experience and patriotic purposes. All this may occur; for the -President is vindictive in his assault upon the upholders of Human -Rights. Is it not worth our care to provide against such calamity? But -you propose to go home and leave all, whether citizen or general, a -prey to the President. I protest against it. - - The amendment of Mr. Sumner was rejected. That of Mr. Sherman - was adopted, and the resolution as amended was then agreed - to,--Yeas 23, Nays 14. On the report of a Committee of - Conference, it was amended again by making the adjournment - to “the 21st day of November next,” which was adopted by the - Senate,--Yeas 17, Nays 14,--Mr. Sumner voting in the negative. - - - - -SYMPATHY WITH CRETE, AND AN APPEAL TO THE TURKISH GOVERNMENT. - -JOINT RESOLUTIONS IN THE SENATE, JULY 19, 1867, AND JULY 21, 1868. - - - July 19th, reported from the Committee on Foreign Relations by - Mr. Sumner:-- - -Resolution declaring sympathy with the suffering people of Crete. - -_RESOLVED by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United -States of America in Congress assembled_, That the people of the United -States feel a strong sympathy with the people of Crete, constituting a -part of the Greek family, to which civilization owes so much; that they -are pained by the report of the present sufferings of this interesting -people; and they unite in the hope that this declaration, which they -feel it their duty to make, will be favorably considered by the -Government of Turkey in determining its policy towards Crete. - -SEC. 2. _And be it further resolved_, That it shall be the duty of the -President of the United States to communicate this resolution to the -Government of Turkey. - - On the same day, this resolution was, by unanimous consent, - read three times, and passed both Houses, and on the next day - approved by the President.[238] - - July 21, 1868, the contest of the Cretans for independence - still continuing, Mr. Sumner reported from the Committee on - Foreign Relations the following joint resolution:-- - -Joint Resolution appealing to the Turkish Government in behalf of the -people of Crete. - -_Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United -States of America in Congress assembled_, That the people of the United -States renew the expression of their sympathy with the suffering people -of Crete, to whom they are bound by the ties of a common religion, -and by the gratitude due to the Greek race, of which the Cretans are -a part; that they rejoice to believe that the sufferings of this -interesting people may be happily terminated by a policy of forbearance -on the part of the Turkish Government; and they hereby declare their -earnest hope that the Turkish Government will listen kindly to this -representation, and will speedily adopt such generous steps as will -secure to Crete the much-desired blessings of peace, and the advantage -of autonomic government. - -SEC. 2. _And be it further resolved_, That religion, civilization, and -humanity require that the existing contest in Crete should be brought -to a close; and to accomplish this result, the civilized powers of the -world should unite in friendly influence with the Government of Turkey. - -SEC. 3. _And be it further resolved_, That it shall be the duty -of the President to instruct the minister of the United States at -Constantinople to coöperate with the ministers of other powers in all -good offices to terminate the sufferings of the people of Crete; and -that it shall be the further duty of the President to communicate a -copy of this resolution to the Government of Turkey. - - The resolution was considered on the same day, and passed - without a division. - - July 25th, it passed the other House without a division. - - July 27th, it was approved by the President.[239] - - * * * * * - - These two resolutions gave expression to the sentiments - of the American people, who sympathized strongly in the - Cretan struggle for independence. For a time the courage and - determination of the insurgents inspired confidence, and it - seemed as if they would prevail; but, after a protracted - struggle, they succumbed to superior force. The following - contemporary account is from the Washington correspondent of - the _Boston Journal_. - - “Mr. Sumner’s resolutions appealing to the Turkish - Government in behalf of Crete, which were passed by both - Houses of Congress, have been much spoken of in diplomatic - circles. Some think they were too late, as in their opinion - the Cretans are already vanquished. This is not the - opinion with the Greek Legation, who is very hopeful, and - insists that the Turks can never prevail. The resolutions - themselves, even among those who do not sympathize with - their object, are regarded as a masterpiece of composition, - inasmuch as, while very strong, they did not fail in - courtesy toward the Turkish Government. There was a great - pressure to have the independence of Crete acknowledged, - especially by the Greek Legation, and by friends of the - Cretans in Massachusetts; but Mr. Sumner took the ground - that independence was a fact to be determined by evidence, - and that, whatever might be the opinion of individuals with - regard to the future result, there was no official evidence - showing that independence was yet established.” - - - - -PRIVILEGES OF DEBATE IN THE SENATE ON OFFICERS LIABLE TO IMPEACHMENT. - -RESOLUTIONS IN THE SENATE, JULY 20, 1867. - - - The misconduct of the President, and his obstruction of - important legislation, naturally aroused judgment and - indignation. The question was then raised with regard to - the privileges of the Senate. July 20th, in the debate on - adjournment, Mr. Fessenden, of Maine, said: “The time has - come, undoubtedly, when there is a very serious difference of - opinion in Congress upon a very important question. With regard - to the Senate, I have considered that upon that question it - was not proper for a Senator to express an opinion, or even, - if he could avoid it, to form an opinion.” Mr. Sumner never - doubted the complete immunity of the Senate, and its duty to - consider these things in advance of impeachment, and he spoke - accordingly. On the day of Mr. Fessenden’s remarks he offered - the following resolutions, which were ordered to be printed. - -Resolutions declaring the privileges of debate in the Senate with -regard to civil officers liable to impeachment. - -Whereas it has been asserted that the conduct of a civil officer liable -to impeachment cannot be freely considered and condemned by Senators in -the course of legislative proceedings; - -And whereas such an opinion is calculated to impair the just privileges -of debate: Therefore, - -_Resolved_, That the Constitution, in providing for the impeachment -of “all civil officers” of the National Government, embracing the -President, members of the Cabinet, diplomatic representatives, and -other civil functionaries, did not intend to limit debate in the Senate -on the conduct of any civil officer, so far as the same may arise in -legislative proceedings; that any other interpretation is inconsistent -with the privileges of the Senate, and tends directly to shield -misconduct in civil office. - -_Resolved_, That the Constitution expressly declares, that, when -sitting to try an impeachment, the Senate “shall be on oath or -affirmation,” thus superadding a judicial oath to that already taken -as Senator; that from the taking of this oath the judicial character -of the Senate begins, and until then each Senator is free to express -himself openly on the conduct of any civil officer, and thereupon to -invite the judgment of the Senate and the country; that at times this -may be a duty, and is always a sacred right, which cannot be renounced -or abridged.[240] - - - - -PROPHETIC VOICES CONCERNING AMERICA. - -A MONOGRAPH. - - - I have another and a far brighter vision before my gaze. It - may be but a vision, but I will cherish it. I see one vast - confederation stretching from the frozen North in unbroken line - to the glowing South, and from the wild billows of the Atlantic - westward to the calmer waters of the Pacific main,--and I see - one people, and one language, and one law, and one faith, and, - over all that wide continent, the home of Freedom, and a refuge - for the oppressed of every race and of every clime.--JOHN - BRIGHT, _Speech at Birmingham_, December 18, 1862: _Speeches on - Questions of Public Policy_, ed. Rogers, (London, 1868,) Vol. - I. p. 225. - - * * * * * - - This monograph appeared originally in the “Atlantic Monthly” - for September, 1867. It is now revised and enlarged. In the - celebration of our hundredth birthday as a nation, now fast - approaching, these prophetic voices will be heard, teaching how - much of present fame and power was foreseen, also what remains - to be accomplished. - - C. S. - - MARCH, 1874. - - * * * * * - - History shows that the civilization to which we belong is - subject to a general law which makes it advance with halts, in - the manner of armies, in the direction of the Occident, making - the sceptre pass successively into the hands of nations more - worthy to hold it, more strong and more able to employ it for - the general good. - - So it seems that the supreme authority is about to escape - from Western and Central Europe, to pass to the New World. In - the northern part of that other hemisphere offshoots of the - European race have founded a vigorous society full of sap, - whose influence grows with a rapidity that has never yet been - seen anywhere. In crossing the ocean, it has left behind on - the soil of old Europe traditions, prejudices, and usages, - which, as _impedimenta_ heavy to carry, would have embarrassed - its movements and retarded its progressive march. In about - thirty years the United States will have, according to all - probability, a hundred millions of population, in possession - of the most powerful means, distributed over a territory which - would make France fifteen or sixteen times over, and of the - most wonderful disposition.… - - Vainly do the occidental and central nations of Europe - attribute to themselves a primacy, which, in their vanity, - they think sheltered from events and eternal: as if there were - anything eternal in the grandeur and prosperity of societies, - the works of men!--MICHEL CHEVALIER, _Rapports du Jury - International: Exposition Universelle de 1867 à Paris_, Tom. - I., Introduction, pp. DXIV-DXVI. - - * * * * * - - America, and especially Saxon America, with its immense - virgin territories, with its republic, with its equilibrium - between stability and progress, with its harmony between - liberty and democracy, is the continent of the Future,--the - immense continent stretched by God between the Atlantic and - Pacific, where mankind may plant, essay, and resolve all social - problems. [_Loud cheers._] Europe has to decide whether she - will confound herself with Asia, placing upon her lands old - altars, and upon the altars old idols, and upon the idols - immovable theocracies, and upon the theocracies despotic - empires,--or whether she will go by labor, by liberty, and - by the republic, to coöperate with America in the grand work - of universal civilization.--EMILIO CASTELAR, _Speech in the - Spanish Cortes_, June 22, 1871. - - -MONOGRAPH. - -The discovery of America by Christopher Columbus is the greatest event -of secular history. Besides the potato, the turkey, and maize, which -it introduced at once for the nourishment and comfort of the Old -World,[241] and also tobacco, which only blind passion for the weed -could place in the beneficent group, this discovery opened the door to -influences infinite in extent and beneficence. Measure them, describe -them, picture them, you cannot. While yet unknown, imagination invested -this continent with proverbial magnificence. It was the Orient, and -the land of Cathay. When afterwards it took a place in geography, -imagination found another field in trying to portray its future -history. If the Golden Age is before, and not behind, as is now happily -the prevailing faith, then indeed must America share, at least, if it -does not monopolize, the promised good. - -Before the voyage of Columbus in 1492, nothing of America was really -known. Scanty scraps from antiquity, vague rumors from the resounding -ocean, and the hesitating speculations of science were all that the -inspired navigator found to guide him. Foremost among these were the -well-known verses of Seneca, so interesting from ethical genius and a -tragical death, in the chorus of his “Medea,” which for generations had -been the finger-point to an undiscovered world:-- - - “Venient annis - Secula seris, quibus Oceanus - Vincula rerum laxet, et ingens - Pateat tellus, Tiphysque novos - Detegat orbes, nec sit terris - Ultima Thule.”[242] - -These verses are vague and lofty rather than specific; but Bacon, -after setting them forth, says of them, “A prophecy of the discovery -of America”; and this they may well be, if we adopt the translation of -Archbishop Whately, in his notes to the Essay on Prophecies: “There -shall come a time in later ages, when Ocean shall relax his chains and -a vast continent appear, and a pilot shall find new worlds, and Thule -shall be no more earth’s bound.”[243] Fox, turning from statesmanship -to scholarship, wrote to Wakefield: “The prophecy in Seneca’s ‘Medea’ -is very curious indeed.”[244] Irving says of it: “Wonderfully apposite, -and shows, at least, how nearly the warm imagination of a poet may -approach to prophecy. The predictions of the ancient oracles were -rarely so unequivocal.”[245] These verses were adopted by Irving as -a motto on the title-page of the revised edition of his “Life of -Columbus.” - -Two copies are extant in the undoubted handwriting of -Columbus,--precious autographs to tempt collectors,--both of them in -his book on the Prophecies.[246] By these the great admiral sailed. - -Humboldt gives the verses in the following form:-- - - “Venient annis sæcula seris, - Quibus Oceanus vincula rerum - Laxet, et ingens pateat tellus, - Tethysque novos detegat orbes, - Nec sit terris ultima Thule.”[247] - -This sympathetic and authoritative commentator, who has illustrated -the enterprise with all that classical or mediæval literature affords, -declares his conviction that the discovery of a new continent was more -completely foreshadowed in the simple geographical statement of the -Greek Strabo,[248] who, after a long life of travel, sat down in his -old age, during the reign of Augustus, to write the geography of the -world, including its cosmography. In this work, where are gathered the -results of ancient study and experience, the venerable author, after -alluding to the possibility of passing direct from Spain to India, and -explaining that the inhabited world is that which we inhabit and know, -thus lifts the curtain: “There may be in the same temperate zone _two -and indeed more inhabited lands_, especially near the parallel of Thinæ -or Athens, prolonged into the Atlantic Ocean.”[249] This was the voice -of ancient Science. - -Before the voyage of Columbus two Italian poets seem to have beheld -the unknown world. The first was Petrarca; nor was it unnatural that -his exquisite genius should reach behind the veil of Time, as where he -pictures - - “The daylight hastening with wingèd steps, - Perchance to gladden the expectant eyes - _Of far-off nations in a world remote_.”[250] - -The other was Pulci, who, in his “Morgante Maggiore,” sometimes called -the last of the romances and the earliest of Italian epics, reveals an -undiscovered world beyond the Pillars of Hercules:-- - - “Know that this theory is false; his bark - The daring mariner shall urge far o’er - The western wave, a smooth and level plain, - Albeit the earth is fashioned like a wheel. - Man was in ancient days of grosser mould, - And Hercules might blush to learn how far - Beyond the limits he had vainly set - The dullest sea-boat soon shall wing her way. - - “_Men shall descry another hemisphere_, - Since to one common centre all things tend; - So earth, by curious mystery divine - Well balanced, hangs amid the starry spheres. - _At our Antipodes are cities, states,_ - _And throngèd empires, ne’er divined of yore._ - But see, the sun speeds on his western path - To glad the nations with expected light.”[251] - -This translation is by our own eminent historian, Prescott, who first -called attention to the testimony,[252] which is not mentioned even by -Humboldt. Leigh Hunt referred to it at a later day.[253] Pulci was -born in 1431, and died about 1487, five years before Columbus sailed; -so that he was not aided by any rumor of the discovery he so distinctly -predicts. - - * * * * * - -Passing from the great event which gave a new world not only to Spain, -but to civilized man, it may not be uninteresting to collect some of -the prophetic voices concerning the future of America and the vast -unfolding of our continent. They will have a lesson also. Seeing what -has been fulfilled, we may better judge what to expect. I shall set -them forth in the order of time, prefacing each prediction with an -account of the author sufficient to explain its origin and character. -If some are already familiar, others are little known. Brought together -in one body, on the principle of our National Union, _E pluribus unum_, -they must give new confidence in the destinies of the Republic. - -Only what has been said sincerely by those whose words are important -deserves place in such a collection. Oracles had ceased before our -history began; so that we meet no responses paltering in a double -sense, like the deceptive replies to Crœsus and to Pyrrhus, nor any -sayings which, according to the quaint language of Sir Thomas Browne, -“seem quodlibetically constituted, and, like a Delphian blade, will -cut on both sides.”[254] In Bacon’s Essay on Prophecies there is a -latitude not to be followed. Not fable or romance, but history, is the -true authority; and here experience and genius are the lights by which -our prophets have walked. Doubtless there is a difference in human -faculties. Men who have lived much and felt strongly see further than -others. Their vision penetrates the future. Second-sight is little more -than clearness of sight. Milton tells us that - - “Old experience doth attain - To something like prophetic strain.” - -Sometimes this strain is attained even in youth. But here Genius with -divine power lifts the curtain and sweeps the scene. - -The elder Disraeli, in his “Curiosities of Literature,” has a chapter -on “Prediction,” giving curious instances, among which is that of -Rousseau, toward the end of the third book of “Émile,” where he says, -“We approach a condition of crisis and the age of revolutions.”[255] -Our own Revolution was then at hand, soon followed by that of France. -The settlement of America was not without auguries even at the -beginning. - - -A PROPHETIC GROUP. - -Before passing to the more serious examples, I bring into group a few -marking at least a poet’s appreciation of the newly discovered country, -if not a prophetic spirit. The Muse was not silent at the various -reports. As early as 1595, Chapman, famous as the translator of Homer, -in a poem on Guiana, thus celebrates and commends the unknown land:-- - - “Guiana, whose rich feet are mines of gold, - Whose forehead knocks against the roof of stars, - Stands on her tiptoes, at fair England looking, - Kissing her hand, bowing her mighty breast, - And every sign of all submission making, - To be her sister, and the daughter both - Of our most sacred Maid. - … - And there do palaces and temples rise - Out of the earth and kiss the enamored skies, - Where New Britannia humbly kneels to Heaven, - The world to her, and both at her blest feet - In whom the circles of all empire meet.”[256] - -In similar strain, Drayton, who flourished under James the First, says -of Virginia:-- - - “And ours to hold - Virginia, - Earth’s only paradise. - - “Where Nature hath in store - Fowl, venison, and fish, - And the fruitfull’st soil, - Without your toil, - Three harvests more, - All greater than your wish. - - … - - “To whose the Golden Age - Still Nature’s laws doth give, - No other cares that ’tend - But them to defend - From winter’s age, - That long there doth not live.”[257] - -Daniel, poet-laureate and contemporary, seemed to foresee the spread of -our English speech, anticipating our own John Adams:-- - - “And who (in time) knows whither we may vent - The treasure of our tongue? To what strange shores - This gain of our best glory shall be sent, - T’ enrich unknowing nations with our stores? - What worlds, in th’ yet unformèd Occident, - May come refined with th’ accents that are ours?”[258] - -The emigration prompted by conscience and for the sake of religious -liberty inspired the pious and poetical Herbert to famous verses:-- - - “Religion stands on tiptoe in our land, - Ready to pass to the American strand.”[259] - -The poet died in 1632, twelve years after the landing of the Pilgrims -at Plymouth, and only two years after the larger movement of the -Massachusetts Company, which began the settlement of Boston. The verses -saw the light with difficulty, being refused the necessary license; -but the functionary at last yielded, calling the author “a divine -poet,” and expressing the hope that “the world will not take him to -be an inspired prophet.”[260] Fuller, writing a little later, was -perhaps moved by Herbert, when he said: “I am confident that America, -though the youngest sister of the four, is now grown marriageable, -and daily hopes to get Christ to her husband by the preaching of the -Gospel.”[261] In a different vein, a contemporary poet, the favorite of -Charles the First, Thomas Carew, in a masque performed by the monarch -and his courtiers at Whitehall, February 18, 1633, made sport of New -England, saying that it had “purged more virulent humors from the -politic body than guaiacum and all the West Indian drugs have from the -natural bodies of this kingdom.”[262] But these words uttered at the -English Court were praise. - -Then came answering voices from the Colonies. Rev. William Morrell, of -the Established Church, a settler of 1623, said of New England, in a -Latin poem translated by himself:-- - - “_A grandchild to Earth’s paradise is born_, - Well-limbed, well-nerved, fair, rich, sweet, yet forlorn.”[263] - -“The Simple Cobbler of Agawam,” another name for Rev. Nathaniel Ward, -of Ipswich, Mass., at the close of his witty book, first published in -1647, and having four different editions in this single year, sends an -invitation to those at home:-- - - “So farewell, England Old! - If evil times ensue, - Let good men come to us, - We’ll welcome them to New.” - -Another witness we meet in the writings of Franklin. It is George Webb, -who, decamping from Oxford and the temptations of scholarship, indented -himself according to the usage of the times, and became what Franklin -calls “a bought servant” on our shores, where his genius flowered in -the prophetic couplet, written in 1727:-- - - “Europe shall mourn her ancient fame declined, - _And Philadelphia be the Athens of mankind_.”[264] - -Another, Gulian Verplanck, of New York, in verses written in England in -1773, foretells the repetition of British wealth, power, and glory in -the New World:-- - - “In other worlds another Britain see, - And what thou art America shall be.”[265] - -And yet another, Hugh Henry Brackenridge, born in Scotland, and a -graduate of our Princeton College in 1771, in a Commencement poem on -“The Rising Glory of America,” pictured the future of the continent, -adopting as a motto the verses of Seneca twice quoted by Columbus:-- - - “This is thy praise, America, thy power, - Thou best of climes by Science visited, - By Freedom blest, and richly stored with all - The luxuries of life! Hail, happy land, - The seat of empire, the abode of kings, - The final stage where Time shall introduce - Renownèd characters, and glorious works - Of high invention and of wondrous art, - Which not the ravages of Time shall waste, - Till he himself has run his long career!”[266] - -To these add Voltaire, who, in his easy verse, written in 1751, -represents God as putting fever in European climates, “and the remedy -in America.”[267] - -From this chorus, with only one discordant voice, I pass to a long line -of voices so distinct and full as to be recognized separately. - - -JOHN MILTON, 1641. - -The list opens with John Milton, whose lofty words are like an overture -to the great drama of emigration, with its multitudes in successive -generations. If not a prophet, he has yet struck a mighty key-note in -our history. - -The author of “Paradise Lost,” of “Comus,” and the heroic Sonnets, -needs no special mention beyond the two great dates of birth and -death. He was born 9th December, 1608, and died 8th November, 1674. The -treatise from which I quote was written in 1641. - - “What numbers of faithful and free-born Englishmen and good - Christians have been constrained to forsake their dearest - home, their friends and kindred, whom nothing but the wide - ocean and the savage deserts of America could hide and shelter - from the fury of the bishops! Oh, Sir, if we could but see the - shape of our dear mother England, as poets are wont to give - a personal form to what they please, how would she appear, - think ye, but in a mourning weed, with ashes upon her head and - tears abundantly flowing from her eyes, to behold so many of - her children exposed at once and thrust from things of dearest - necessity, because their conscience could not assent to things - which the bishops thought indifferent?… Let the astrologer be - dismayed at the portentous blaze of comets and impressions in - the air, as foretelling troubles and changes to states; I shall - believe there cannot be a more ill-boding sign to a nation - (God turn the omen from us!) than when the inhabitants, to - avoid insufferable grievances at home, are enforced by heaps to - forsake their native country.”[268] - -Here in a few words are the sacrifices made by our fathers, as they -turned from their English homes, and also the conscience which prompted -and sustained them. Begun in sacrifice and in conscience, their empire -grew and flourished with constant and increasing promise of future -grandeur. - - -ABRAHAM COWLEY, 1667. - -Contemporary with Milton, and at the time a rival for the palm of -poetry, was Abraham Cowley, born 1618, died 28th July, 1667. His -biography stands at the head of Johnson’s “Lives of the English Poets,” -the first in that instructive collection. The two poets were on -opposite sides,--Milton for the Commonwealth, Cowley for the King. - -His genius was recognized in his own time; and when he died, at the age -of forty-nine, after a night of exposure under the open sky, Charles -the Second said, “Mr. Cowley has not left a better man behind him in -England.” He was buried in Westminster Abbey, near Chaucer and Spenser. - -He composed, in much-admired Latin verse, six books on Plants: the -first and second in elegiac verse, displaying the qualities of herbs; -the third and fourth in various measures, on the beauties of flowers; -and the fifth and sixth in hexameters, like the Georgics, on the uses -of trees. The first two books, in Latin, appeared in 1662; the other -four, also in Latin, were not published till 1668, the year after his -death. They did not see the English light till near the close of the -century, when a translation was published by Tate, from which I quote. - -Two fruits of America are commemorated. The first is that which becomes -Chocolate:-- - - “Guatimala produced a fruit unknown - To Europe, which with pride she called her own: - Her Cacao-Nut, with double use endued, - (For Chocolate at once is drink and food,) - Does strength and vigor to the limbs impart, - Makes fresh the countenance and cheers the heart.”[269] - -The other is the Cocoa-Nut:-- - - “While she preserves this Indian palm alone, - America can never be undone; - Embowelled, and of all her gold bereft, - Her liberty and Coccus only left, - She’s richer than the Spaniard with his theft.”[270] - -The poet, addressing the New World, becomes prophetic:-- - - “To live by wholesome laws you now begin, - Buildings to raise, and fence your cities in, - To plough the earth, to plough the very main, - And traffic with the universe maintain. - Defensive arms, and ornaments of dress, - All implements of life, you now possess. - To you the arts of war and peace are known, - And whole Minerva is become your own. - Our Muses, to your sires an unknown band, - Already have got footing in your land. - - … - - “Long rolling years shall late bring on the times, - When, with your gold debauched and ripened crimes, - Europe, the world’s most noble part, shall fall, - Upon her banished gods and virtue call - In vain, while foreign and domestic war - At once shall her distracted bosom tear,-- - Forlorn, and to be pitied even by you. - _Meanwhile your rising glory you shall view;_ - _Wit, learning, virtue, discipline of war,_ - _Shall for protection to your world repair,_ - _And fix a long illustrious empire there._ - - … - - “Late Destiny shall high exalt your reign, - Whose pomp no crowds of slaves, a needless train, - Nor gold, the rabble’s idol, shall support, - Like Motezume’s or Guanapaci’s court, - But such true grandeur as old Rome maintained, - Where Fortune was a slave, and Virtue reigned.”[271] - -This prophecy, though appearing in English tardily, may be dated from -1667, when the Latin poem was already written. - - -SIR THOMAS BROWNE, 1682. - -Dr. Johnson called attention to a tract of Sir Thomas Browne entitled -“A Prophecy concerning the Future State of Several Nations,” where the -famous author “plainly discovers his expectation to be the same with -that entertained lately with more confidence by Dr. Berkeley, _that -America will be the seat of the fifth empire_.”[272] The tract is -vague, but prophetic. - -Sir Thomas Browne was born 19th October, 1605, and died 19th October, -1682. His tract was published two years after his death, in a -collection of Miscellanies, edited by Dr. Tenison. As a much-admired -author, some of whose writings belong to our English classics, his -prophetic prolusions are not unworthy of notice. Among them are the -following:-- - - “When New England shall trouble New Spain; - When Jamaica shall be lady of the isles and the main; - When Spain shall be in America hid, - And Mexico shall prove a Madrid; - - … - - _When Africa shall no more sell out their blacks,_ - _To make slaves and drudges to the American tracts;_ - - … - - _When America shall cease to send out its treasure,_ - _But employ it at home in American pleasure;_ - _When the New World shall the Old invade,_ - _Nor count them their lords, but their fellows in trade;_ - - … - - Then think strange things are come to light, - Whereof but few have had a foresight.”[273] - -Some of these words are striking, especially when we consider their -early date. In a commentary on each verse the author seeks to explain -it. New England is “that thriving colony which hath so much increased -in our days”; its people are already “industrious,” and when they have -so far increased “that the neighboring country will not contain them, -they will range still farther, and be able in time to set forth great -armies, seek for new possessions, or _make considerable and conjoined -migrations_.”[274] The verse touching Africa will be fulfilled “when -African countries shall no longer make it a common trade to sell away -their people.” And this may come to pass “whenever they shall be -well civilized, and acquainted with arts and affairs sufficient to -employ people in their countries: if also they should be converted to -Christianity, but especially unto Mahometism; for then they would never -sell those of their religion to be slaves unto Christians.”[275] The -verse concerning America is expounded thus:-- - - “That is, When America shall be better civilized, new policied, - and divided between great princes, it may come to pass that - they will no longer suffer their treasure of gold and silver to - be sent out to maintain the luxury of Europe and other parts; - but rather employ it to their own advantages, in great exploits - and undertakings, magnificent structures, wars, or expeditions - of their own.”[276] - -The other verse, on the invasion of the Old World by the New, is -explained:-- - - “That is, When America shall be so well peopled, civilized, and - divided into kingdoms, _they are like to have so little regard - of their originals as to acknowledge no subjection unto them_: - they may also have a distinct commerce between themselves, or - but independently with those of Europe, and may hostilely and - piratically assault them, even as the Greek and Roman colonies - after a long time dealt with their original countries.”[277] - -That these speculations should arrest the attention of Dr. Johnson is -something. They seem to have been in part fulfilled. An editor quietly -remarks, that, “to judge from the course of events since Sir Thomas -wrote, we may not unreasonably look forward to their more complete -fulfilment.”[278] - - -SIR JOSIAH CHILD AND DR. CHARLES DAVENANT, 1698. - -In contrast with the poets, but mingling with them in forecast, were -two writers on Trade, who saw the future through facts and figures, -or what one of them called “political arithmetic,” even discerning -colonial independence in the distance. These were Sir Josiah Child, -born 1630 and died 1699, and Dr. Charles Davenant, born 1656 and died -1714. - -Child is mentioned by De Foe as “originally a tradesman”; others speak -of him as “a Southwalk brewer”; and McCulloch calls him “one of the -most extensive, and, judging from his work, best-informed, merchants -of his time.”[279] He rose to wealth and consideration, founding a -family which intermarried with the nobility. His son was known as -Lord Castlemaine, Earl Tylney, of Ireland. Davenant was eldest son of -“rare Sir William,” the author of “Gondibert,” and, like his eminent -father, a dramatist. He was also member of Parliament, and wrote much -on commercial questions; but here he was less famous than Child, whose -“New Discourse of Trade,” so far as it concerned the interest of money, -first appeared in 1668, and since then has been often reprinted and -much quoted. There was an enlarged edition in 1694. That now before me -appeared in 1698, and in the same year Davenant published his kindred -“Discourses on the Public Revenues and on the Trade of England,” -among which is one “on the Plantation Trade.” The two authors treated -especially the Colonies, and in similar spirit. - - * * * * * - -The work of Child was brought to more recent notice by the voluminous -plodder, George Chalmers, particularly in his writings on the Colonies -and American Independence,[280] and then again by the elder Disraeli, -in his “Curiosities of Literature,” who places a prophecy attributed -to him in his chapter on “Prediction.” After referring to Harrington, -“who ventured to predict an event, not by other similar events, but by -a theoretical principle which he had formed,” and to a like error in De -Foe, Disraeli quotes Chalmers:-- - - “Child, foreseeing from experience that men’s conduct must - finally be decided [directed] by their principles, foretold the - colonial revolt. De Foe, allowing his prejudices to obscure - his sagacity, reprobated that suggestion, because he deemed - interest a more strenuous prompter than enthusiasm.” - -The pleasant hunter of curiosities then says:-- - - “The predictions of Harrington and De Foe are precisely such - as we might expect from a petty calculator,--a political - economist, who can see nothing farther than immediate results; - but the true philosophical predictor was Child, who had read - _the past_.”[281] - -Disraeli was more curious than accurate. His excuse is, that he -followed another writer.[282] The prediction attributed to Child -belongs to Davenant. - -The work of Child is practical rather than speculative, and shows a -careful student of trade. Dwelling on the “plantations” of England and -their value, he considers their original settlement, and here we find -a painful contrast between New England and Virginia.[283] Passing from -the settlement to the character, New England is described as “being a -more independent government from this kingdom than any other of our -plantations, and the people that went thither more one peculiar sort -or sect than those that went to the rest of our plantations.”[284] He -recognized in them “a people whose frugality, industry, and temperance, -and the happiness of whose laws and institution, do promise to -themselves long life, with _a wonderful increase of people, riches, and -power_.”[285] And then: “Of all the American plantations, his Majesty -hath none so apt for the building of shipping as New England, nor none -comparably so qualified for breeding of seamen, not only by reason of -the natural industry of that people, but principally by reason of their -cod and mackerel fisheries.”[286] On his last page are words more than -complimentary:-- - - “To conclude this chapter, and to do right to that most - industrious English colony, I must confess, that, though we - lose by their unlimited trade with our foreign plantations, yet - we are very great gainers by their direct trade to and from Old - England: our yearly exportations of English manufactures, malt, - and other goods, from hence thither, amounting, in my opinion, - to ten times the value of what is imported from thence.”[287] - -Here is keen observation, but hardly prophecy. - -Contrast this with Davenant:-- - - “As the case now stands, we shall show that they [the Colonies] - are a spring of wealth to this nation, that they work for us, - that their treasure centres all here, and that the laws have - tied them fast enough to us; so that it must be through our - own fault and misgovernment, _if they become independent of - England_.… Corrupt governors by oppressing the inhabitants - may hereafter provoke them to withdraw their obedience, and - by supine negligence or upon mistaken measures we may let - them grow, more especially New England, in naval strength and - power, _which if suffered, we cannot expect to hold them long - in our subjection_. If, as some have proposed, we should think - to build ships of war there, we may teach them an art which - will cost us some blows to make them forget. Some such courses - may, indeed, drive them, or put it into their heads, _to erect - themselves into independent Commonwealths_.”[288] - -Davenant then, following Child, remarks upon New England as “the most -proper for building ships and breeding seamen,” and adds:-- - - “So that, if we should go to cultivate among them the art of - navigation and teach them to have a naval force, _they may set - up for themselves and make the greatest part of our West India - trade precarious_.”[289] - -These identical words are quoted by Chalmers, who exclaims: “Of that -prophecy we have lived, alas! to see the fulfilment.”[290] - -Chalmers emigrated from Scotland to Maryland, and practised in the -colonial courts, but, disgusted with American independence, returned -home, where he wrote and edited much, especially on colonial questions, -ill concealing a certain animosity, and on one occasion stating that -among the documents in the Board of Trade and Paper Office were “the -most satisfactory proofs of the settled purpose of the revolted -colonies, from the epoch of the Revolution in 1688, to acquire direct -independence.”[291] But none of these proofs are presented. The same -allegation was also made by Viscount Bury in his “Exodus of the Western -Nations,”[292] but also without proofs. - -The name of De Foe is always interesting, and I cannot close this -article without reference to the saying attributed to him by Chalmers. -I know not where in his multitudinous writings it may be found, unless -in his “Plan of the English Commerce,” and here careful research -discloses nothing nearer than this:-- - - “What a glorious trade to England it would be to have those - colonies increased with a million of people, to be clothed, - furnished, and supplied with all their needful things, food - excepted, only from us, and _tied down forever to us by that - immortal, indissoluble bond of trade, their interest_!”[293] - -In the same work he says:-- - - “This is certain, and will be granted, that the product of our - improved colonies raises infinitely more trade, employs more - hands, and, I think I may say, by consequence, brings in more - wealth to this one particular nation or people, the English, - than all the mines of New Spain do to the Spaniards.”[294] - -In this vision the author of “Robinson Crusoe” was permitted to see the -truth with regard to our country, although failing to recognize future -independence. - - -BISHOP BERKELEY, 1726. - -It is pleasant to think that Berkeley, whose beautiful verses -predicting the future of America are so often quoted, was so sweet and -charming a character. Atterbury said of him: “So much understanding, -so much knowledge, so much innocence, and such humility I did not -think had been the portion of any but angels, till I saw this -gentleman.”[295] Swift said: “He is an absolute philosopher with regard -to money, titles, and power.”[296] Pope let drop a tribute which can -never die:-- - - “To Berkeley every virtue under Heaven.”[297] - -Such a person was naturally a seer. - -He is compendiously called an Irish prelate and philosopher. Born in -the County of Kilkenny, 1684, and dying in Oxford, 1753, he began as -a philosopher. While still young, he wrote his famous treatise on -“The Principles of Human Knowledge,” where he denies the existence of -matter, insisting that it is only an impression produced on the mind -by Divine power. After travel for several years on the Continent, -and fellowship with the witty and learned at home, among whom were -Addison, Swift, Pope, Garth, and Arbuthnot, he conceived the project of -educating the aborigines of America, which was set forth in a tract, -published in 1725, entitled “A Proposal for the better Supplying of -Churches in our Foreign Plantations, and for Converting the Savage -Americans to Christianity, by a College to be erected in the Summer -Islands, otherwise called the Isles of Bermuda.” Persuaded by his -benevolence, the Minister[298] promised twenty thousand pounds, and -there were several private subscriptions, to promote what was called -by the King “so pious an undertaking.” Berkeley possessed already -a deanery in Ireland, worth eleven hundred pounds a year. Turning -away from this residence, and refusing to be tempted by an English -mitre, offered by the Queen, he set sail for Rhode Island, “which lay -nearest to Bermuda,” where, after a tedious passage of more than four -months, he arrived 23d January, 1729. Here he lived on a farm back -of Newport, having been, according to his own report, “at very great -expense in purchasing land and stock.”[299] In familiar letters he -has recorded his impression of this place, famous since for fashion. -“The climate,” he says, “is like that of Italy, and not at all colder -in the winter than I have known it everywhere north of Rome.… This -island is pleasantly laid out in hills and vales and rising grounds, -hath plenty of excellent springs and fine rivulets, and many delightful -landscapes of rocks and promontories and adjacent islands.… The town of -Newport contains about six thousand souls, and is the most thriving, -flourishing place in all America for its bigness. It is very pretty, -and pleasantly situated. I was never more agreeably surprised than at -the first sight of the town and its harbor.”[300] He seems to have -been contented, and when his companions went to Boston stayed at home, -“preferring,” as he wrote, “quiet and solitude to the noise of a great -town, notwithstanding all the solicitations that have been used to draw -us thither.”[301] - -The money he had expected, especially from the King’s ministers, -failed, and after waiting in vain expectation two years and a half, -he returned to England, leaving an infant daughter buried in the -churchyard of Trinity, and bestowing upon Yale College a library of -eight hundred and eighty volumes, as well as his estate in Rhode -Island. During his residence at Newport he preached every Sunday, -and was indefatigable in pastoral duties, besides meditating, if not -composing, “The Minute Philosopher,” which was published shortly after -his return. - -In his absence he had not been forgotten at home; and shortly after -his return he became Bishop of Cloyne, in which place he was most -exemplary, devoting himself to his episcopal duties, to the education -of his children, and the pleasures of composition. - -It was while occupied with his plan of a college, especially as a -nursery for the colonial churches, shortly before sailing for America, -that the great future was revealed to him, and he wrote the famous -poem, the only one found among his works, entitled “Verses on the -Prospect of Planting Arts and Learning in America.”[302] The date may -be fixed at 1726. Such a poem was an historic event. I give the first -and last stanzas. - - “The Muse, disgusted at an age and clime - Barren of every glorious theme, - _In distant lands now waits a better time,_ - _Producing subjects worthy fame_. - - … - - _Westward the course of empire takes its way_; - The four first acts already past, - A fifth shall close the drama with the day; - Time’s noblest offspring is the last.” - -It is difficult to exaggerate the value of these verses, which have -been so often quoted as to have become a commonplace of literature and -politics. There is nothing from any oracle, there is very little from -any prophecy, which can compare with them. The biographer of Berkeley, -who wrote in the last century, was very cautious, when, after calling -them “a beautiful copy of verses,” he says that “another age perhaps -will acknowledge the old conjunction of the prophetic character with -that of the poet to have again taken place.”[303] The _vates_ of the -Romans was poet and prophet; and such was Berkeley. - -Mr. Webster calls this an “extraordinary prophecy,” and then says: -“It was an intuitive glance into futurity; it was a grand conception, -strong, ardent, glowing, embracing all time since the creation of the -world and all regions of which that world is composed, and judging -of the future by just analogy with the past. And the inimitable -imagery and beauty with which the thought is expressed, joined to the -conception itself, render it one of the most striking passages in our -language.”[304] - -The sentiment which prompted the prophetic verses of the excellent -Bishop was widely diffused, or perhaps it was a natural prompting.[305] -Of this illustration is afforded in the life of Benjamin West. On -his visit to Rome in 1760, the young artist encountered a famous -improvvisatore, who, learning that he was an American come to study the -fine arts in Rome, at once addressed him with the ardor of inspiration, -and to the music of his guitar. After singing the darkness which for so -many ages veiled America from the eyes of Science, and also the fulness -of time when the purposes for which this continent had been raised -from the deep would be manifest, he hailed the youth before him as an -instrument of Heaven to create there a taste for the arts which elevate -man, and an assurance of refuge to science and knowledge, when, in the -old age of Europe, they should have forsaken her shores. Then, in the -spirit of prophecy, he sang:-- - - “_But all things of heavenly origin, like the glorious sun, - move westward_; and Truth and Art have their periods of - shining and of night. Rejoice, then, O venerable Rome, in thy - divine destiny! for, though darkness overshadow thy seats, - and though thy mitred head must descend into the dust, _thy - spirit, immortal and undecayed, already spreads towards a new - world_.”[306] - -John Adams, in his old age, dwelling on the reminiscences of early -life, records that nothing in his reading was “more ancient in his -memory than the observation that arts, sciences, and empire had -travelled westward, and in conversation it was always added, since -he was a child, that their next leap would be over the Atlantic into -America.” With the assistance of an octogenarian neighbor, he recalled -a couplet which he had heard repeated “for more than sixty years”:-- - - “The Eastern nations sink, their glory ends, - And empire rises where the sun descends.” - -The tradition was, as his neighbor had heard it, that these lines came -from some of our early Pilgrims, by whom they had been “inscribed, or -rather drilled, into a rock on the shore of Monument [Manomet] Bay in -our Old Colony of Plymouth.”[307] - -Another illustration of this same sentiment is found in Burnaby’s -“Travels through the Middle Settlements in North America, in 1759 and -1760,” a work first published in 1775. In reflections at the close the -traveller remarks:-- - - “An idea, strange as it is visionary, has entered into the - minds of the generality of mankind, _that empire is travelling - westward; and every one is looking forward with eager and - impatient expectation to that destined moment when America is - to give law to the rest of the world_.”[308] - -The traveller is none the less an authority for the prevalence of this -sentiment because he declares it “illusory and fallacious,” and records -his conviction that “America is formed for happiness, but not for -empire.” Happy America! What empire can compare with happiness? Making -amends for this admission, the jealous traveller, in his edition of -1798, after the adoption of the National Constitution, announces “that -the present union of the American States will not be permanent, or last -for any considerable length of time,” and “that that extensive country -must necessarily be divided into separate states and kingdoms.”[309] -Thus far the Union has stood against all shocks, foreign or domestic; -and the prophecy of Berkeley is more than ever in the popular mind. - - -SAMUEL SEWALL, 1697-1727. - -Berkeley saw the sun of empire travelling westward. A contemporary -whose home was made in New England, Samuel Sewall, saw the New Heaven -and the New Earth. He was born at Bishop-Stoke, England, 28th March, -1652, and died at Boston, 1st January, 1730. A child emigrant in 1661, -he became a student and graduate of our Cambridge; in 1692, Judge of -the Supreme Court of Massachusetts; in 1718, Chief Justice. He was of -the court which condemned the witches, but afterwards, standing up -before the congregation of his church, made public confession of error, -and his secret diary bears testimony to his trial of conscience. In -harmony with this contrition was his early feeling for the enslaved -African, as witness his tract, “The Selling of Joseph,” so that he may -be called the first of our Abolitionists. - -Besides an “Answer to Queries respecting America,” in 1690, and -“Proposals touching the Accomplishment of Prophecies,” in 1713, he -wrote another work, with the following title:-- - - “Phænomena quædam Apocalyptica ad Aspectum Novi Orbis - configurata: Or, Some Few Lines towards a Description of the - New Heaven as it makes to those who stand upon the New Earth. - By Samuel Sewall, A. M., and sometime Fellow of Harvard College - at Cambridge in New England.” - -The copy before me is the second edition, with the imprint, -“Massachuset, Boston. Printed by Bartholomew Green, and sold by -Benjamin Eliot, Samuel Gerrish, and Daniel Henchman. 1727.” There is -a prophetic voice even in the title, which promises “some few lines -towards a description of the New Heaven as it makes to those who stand -upon the New Earth.” This is followed by verses from the Scriptures, -among which is Isaiah, xi. 14: “But they shall fly upon the shoulders -of the Philistines toward the west”; also, Acts, i. 8: “Ye shall be -witnesses unto me unto the uttermost part of the earth,”--quoting here -from the Spanish Bible, “_hasta lo ultimo de la tierra_.” - -Two different Dedications follow,--the first dated “Boston, N. E., -April 16th, 1697.” Here are words on the same key with the title:-- - - “For I can’t but think that either England or New England, or - both, (together is best,) is the only bridemaid mentioned by - name in David’s prophetical Epithalamium, to assist at the - great wedding now shortly to be made.… Angels incognito have - sometimes made themselves guests to men, designing thereby to - surprise them with a requital of their love to strangers. In - like manner the English nation, in showing kindness to the - aboriginal natives of America, may possibly show kindness to - Israelites unawares.… Instead of being branded for slaves with - hot irons in the face and arms, and driven by scores in mortal - chains, they shall wear the name of God in their foreheads, - and they shall be delivered into the glorious liberty of the - children of God.… Asia, Africa, and Europe have each of them - had a glorious Gospel-day. None, therefore, will be grieved at - any one’s pleading that America may be made coparcener with her - sisters in the free and sovereign grace of God.” - -In the second Dedication the author speaks of his book as “this -vindication of America.” - -Then comes, in black letter, what is entitled “Psalm 139, 7-10,” -containing this stanza:-- - - “Yea, let me take the morning wings, - And let me go and hide: - Even there where are the farthest parts, - Where flowing sea doth slide. - Yea, even thither also shall - Thy reaching hand me guide; - And thy right hand shall hold me fast, - And make me to abide.” - -Entering upon his subject, our prophet says:-- - - “Whereas New England, and Boston of the Massachusetts, have - this to make mention of, that they can tell their age, and - account it their honor to have their birth and parentage kept - in everlasting remembrance. And in very deed, the families - and churches which first ventured to follow Christ thorow the - Atlantic Ocean into a strange land full of wild men were so - religious, their end so holy, their self-denial in pursuing of - it so extraordinary, that I can’t but hope that the plantation - has thereby gained a very strong crasis, and that it will not - be of one or two or three centuries only, but by the grace of - God it will be very long lasting.”[310] - -Then again:-- - - “New Jerusalem will not straiten and enfeeble, but wonderfully - dilate and invigorate Christianity in the several quarters of - the world,--in Asia, in Africa, in Europe, and in America. - And one that has been born, or but lived in America more than - threescore years, it may be pardonable for him to ask, Why may - not that be the place of New Jerusalem?”[311] - -And here also:-- - - “Of all the parts of the world which do from this charter - entitle themselves to the government of Christ, America’s plea, - in my opinion, is the strongest. For when once Christopher - Columbus had added this fourth to the other three parts of the - foreknown world, they who sailed farther westward arrived but - where they had been before. The globe now failed of offering - anything new to the adventurous traveller,--or, however, - it could not afford another New World. And probably the - consideration of America’s being _the beginning of the East and - the end of the West_ was that which moved Columbus to call some - part of it by the name of Alpha and Omega. Now if the last Adam - did give order for the engraving of his own name upon this last - earth, ’twill draw with it great consequences, even such as - will in time bring the poor Americans out of their graves and - make them live.”[312] - -Again he says:-- - - “May it not with more or equal strength be argued: New - Jerusalem is not the same with Jerusalem; but as Jerusalem was - to the westward of Babylon, so New Jerusalem must be to the - westward of Rome, to avoid disturbance in the order of these - mysteries?”[313] - -Then quoting Latin verses of Cowley[314] and English verses of -Herbert,[315] he says: “Not doubting but that these authorities, being -brought to the king’s scales, will be over weight.”[316] - -Afterwards he adduces “learned Mr. Nicholas Fuller,” who “would fain -have it believed that America was first peopled by the posterity of -our great-grandfather Japheth, though he will not be very strict with -us as to the particular branch of that wide family.”[317] The extract -from this new authority is remarkable for its vindication to Columbus -of the name of the new continent: “Quam passim _Americam_ dicunt, vere -ac merito _Columbinam_ potius dicerent, a magnanimo heroë Christophoro -Columbo Genuensi, primo terrarum illarum investigatore atque inventore -plane divinitus constituto.”[318] This designation Fuller adopts: thus, -“Hinc ergo _Columbina_ primum”; and again, “Multo is quidem propior -est _Columbinæ_”; then again, “America, seu verius _Columbina_”; and -yet again, “Repertam fuisse _Columbinam_.”[319] This effort draws from -our prophet a comment:-- - - “But why should a learned man make all this _Dirige_ for - Columbus’s name? What matter is it how America be called? For - Flavio of Malphi in Naples hath in great measure applied the - virtues of the loadstone to the mariner’s compass in vain, - the Portugals have found the length of Africa’s foot in vain, - the Spaniards sent out the Italian dove in vain, Sir Francis - Drake hath sailed round the world and made thorow lights to - it in vain, and Hakluyt and Purchas have with endless labor - acquainted Englishmen with these things in vain, if, after - all, we go about to turn the American Euphrates into a Stygian - Lake. The breaking of this one instrument spoils us of the - long-expected and much-desired consort of music.”[320] - -Very soon thereafter he breaks forth in words printed in large Italic -type and made prophetic:-- - - “_Lift up your heads, O ye Gates_ [of Columbina], _and be ye - lift up, ye Everlasting Doors, and the KING of Glory shall come - in_.”[321] - - -MARQUIS D’ARGENSON, 1733. - -From the Puritan son of New England, pass now to a different character. -René Louis de Voyer, Marquis d’Argenson, a French noble, was born -18th October, 1694, and died 26th January, 1757; so that his life -lapped upon the prolonged reigns of Louis the Fourteenth and Louis -the Fifteenth. At college the comrade of Voltaire, he was ever -afterwards the friend and correspondent of this great writer. His own -thoughts, commended by the style of the other, would have placed him -among the most illustrious of French history. Notwithstanding strange -eccentricities, he was often elevated, far-sighted, and prophetic, -above any other Frenchman except Turgot. By the courtiers of Versailles -he was called “the Stupid” (_la Bête_), while Voltaire hailed one of -his productions, yet in manuscript, as the “work of Aristides,” and -pronounced him “the best citizen who had ever reached the ministry,” -and the Duc de Richelieu called him “Secretary of State for the -Republic of Plato.”[322] - -Except a brief subordinate service and two years of the Cabinet -as Minister of Foreign Affairs, his life was passed in meditation -and composition, especially on subjects of government and human -improvement. This was his great passion. “If I were in power,” he -wrote, “and knew a capable man, I would go on all fours and seek him, -to pray him to serve me as counsellor and tutor.”[323] Is not this a -lesson to the heedless partisan? - -In 1725 he became an active member of a small club devoted to hardy -speculation, and known, from its place of meeting at the apartment -of its founder, as _l’Entre-Sol_. It is to his honor that he mingled -here with the Abbé Saint-Pierre, and sympathized entirely with the -many-sided, far-sighted plans of this “good man.” In the privacy of his -journal he records his homage: “This worthy citizen is not known, and -he does not know himself.… He has much intelligence, and has devoted -himself to a kind of philosophy profound and abandoned by everybody, -which is the true politics destined to procure the greatest happiness -of men.”[324] In praising Saint-Pierre our author furnished a measure -of himself. - -His “Considérations sur le Gouvernement Ancien et Présent de la -France,” a work which excited the admiration both of Voltaire and -Rousseau, was read by the former as early as 1739, but did not see the -light till some years after the death of the author. It first appeared -at Amsterdam in 1764, and in a short time there were no less than -four editions in Holland. In 1784 a more accurate edition appeared in -France, and in 1787 another at the command and expense of the Assembly -of Notables. Here was a recognition of the people, and an inquiry how -far democracy was consistent with monarchical government. Believing -much in the people and anxious for their happiness, he had not ceased -to believe in kings. The book was contained in the epigraph from the -“Britannicus” of Racine:-- - - “Que dans le cours d’un règne florissant, - _Rome soit toujours libre_, et César tout-puissant.” - -Other works followed: “Essays in the Style of those of Montaigne”; -and the “Journal and Memoirs,” in nine volumes, published tardily. -There still remain in manuscript: “Remarks while Reading”; “Memoirs of -State”; “Foreign Affairs, containing Memoirs of my Ministry”; “Thoughts -since my Leaving the Ministry”; and especially, “Thoughts on the -Reformation of the State.” In all these there is a communicativeness -like that of Saint-Simon in his “Memoirs,” and of Rousseau in his -“Confessions,” without the wonderful talent of either. The advanced -ideas of the author are constantly conspicuous, making him foremost -among contemporaries in discerning the questions of the future. Even -of marriage he writes in the spirit of some modern reformers: “It is -necessary to press the people to marriage, _waiting for something -better_.”[325] This is an instance. His reforms embraced nothing -less than the suppression of feudal privileges and of the right of -primogeniture, uniformity of weights and measures, judges irremovable -and salaried by the State, the dismissal of foreign troops, and the -residence of the king and his ministers in the capital embellished by -vast squares, pierced by broad streets, “with the _Bois de Boulogne_ -for country.” This is the Paris of latter days. Add to this the -suppression of cemeteries, hospitals, and slaughter-houses in the -interior of Paris,--and many other things, not omitting omnibuses, -and even including balloons. “Here is something,” he records, “which -will be treated as folly. I am persuaded that one of the first famous -discoveries to make, and reserved perhaps for our age, is to find the -art of flying in the air.” And he proceeds to describe the balloon.[326] - -His large nature is manifest in cosmopolitan ideas, and the inquiry if -it were not well to consider one’s self “as citizen of the world” more -than is the usage. Here his soul glows:-- - - “What a small corner Europe occupies on the round earth! How - many lands remain to be inhabited! See this immense extent of - three parts of the world, and of undiscovered lands at the - North and South! If people went there with other views than - that tiresome exclusive property, all these lands would be - inhabited in two centuries. We shall not see this, but it will - come.”[327] - -And then, after coupling morals and well-being, he announces the true -rule: “An individual who shall do well will succeed, and who shall do -ill will fail: _it is the same with nations_.”[328] This is just and -lofty. In such a spirit he cherished plans of political reconstruction -in foreign nations, especially in Italy. The old Italian cry was his: -“The Barbarians must be driven from Italy”; and he contemplated “a -republic or eternal association of the Italian powers, as there was a -German, a Dutch, an Helvetic,” and he called this “the greatest affair -that had been treated in Europe for a long time.” The entry of Italy -was to be closed to the Emperor; and he adds: “For ourselves what a -happy privation, if we are excluded forever from the necessity of -sending thither our armies to triumph, but to perish!”[329] - -The intelligence that saw Italy so clearly saw France also, and her -exigencies, marking out “a national senate composed equally of all -the orders of the state, and which, on questions of peace and war, -would hold the kings in check by the necessity of obtaining supplies”; -also saw the approaching decay of Turkey, and wished to make Greece -flourishing once more, to acquire possession of the holy places, to -overcome the barbarians of Northern Africa by a union of Christian -powers, which, “once well united in a kind of Christian Republic, -according to the project of Henry the Fourth detailed by the Abbé -Saint-Pierre, would have something better to do than fighting to -destroy each other as they now do.”[330] Naturally this singular -precocious intelligence reached across the Atlantic, and here he became -one of our prophets:-- - - “Another great event to arrive upon the round earth is this. - The English have in North America domains great, strong, - rich, well regulated. There are in New England a parliament, - governors, troops, white inhabitants in abundance, riches, and, - what is worse, a marine. - - “I say that some fine morning these dominions may separate from - England, rise and erect themselves into an independent republic. - - “What will happen then? Do people think of this? A country - civilized by the arts of Europe, in a condition to communicate - with it by the present perfection of its marine, and which - will thus appropriate our arts in proportion to their - improvement,--patience! such a country in several centuries - will make great progress in population and in refinement; such - a country in a short time will render itself master of America, - and especially of the gold-mines.” - -Then, dwelling on the extension of commercial freedom and the -improvement of the means of communication, he exclaims, with lyrical -outburst:-- - - “And you will then see how beautiful the earth will be! what - culture! what new arts and new sciences! what safety for - commerce! Navigation will precipitate all nations towards each - other. A day will come when one will go about in a populous - and orderly city of California as one goes in the stage-coach - of Meaux.”[331] - -The published works of D’Argenson do not enable us to fix the precise -date of these remarkable words. They are from the “Thoughts on the -Reformation of the State,” and the first three paragraphs appear -to have been written as early at least as 1733, while his intimacy -with the Abbé Saint-Pierre was at its height; the fourth somewhat -later;[332] but all preceding Turgot and John Adams. Each, however, -spoke from his own soul, and without prompting. - - -TURGOT, 1750, 1770, 1776, 1778. - -Among the illustrious names of France few equal that of Turgot. He -was a philosopher among ministers, and a minister among philosophers. -Malesherbes said of him, that he had the heart of L’Hôpital and the -head of Bacon. Such a person in public affairs was an epoch for his -country and for the human race. Had his spirit prevailed, the bloody -drama of the French Revolution would not have occurred, or it would at -least have been postponed: I think it could not have occurred. He was -a good man, who sought to carry into government the rules of goodness. -His career from beginning to end was one continuous beneficence. Such a -nature was essentially prophetic, for he discerned the natural laws by -which the future is governed. - -He was of an ancient Norman family, whose name suggests the god Thor. -He was born at Paris, 1727, and died, 1781. Being a younger son, he -was destined for the Church, and began his studies as an ecclesiastic -at the ancient Sorbonne. Before registering an irrevocable vow, he -announced his repugnance to the profession, and turned aside to -other pursuits. Law, literature, science, humanity, government, now -engaged his attention. He associated himself with the authors of the -“Encyclopédie,” and became one of its contributors. In other writings -he vindicated especially the virtue of Toleration. Not merely a -theorist, he soon arrived at the high post of Intendant of Limoges, -where he developed talent for administration and sympathy with the -people. The potato came into Limousin through him. But he continued -to employ his pen, particularly on questions of political economy, -which he treated as a master. On the accession of Louis the Sixteenth -he was called to the Cabinet as Minister of the Marine, and shortly -afterwards gave up this place to be the head of the Finances. Here he -began a system of rigid economy, founded on curtailment of expenses -and enlargement of resources. The latter was obtained especially by -removal of disabilities from trade, whether at home or abroad, and the -substitution of a single tax on land for a complex multiplicity of -taxes. The enemies of progress were too strong at that time, and the -King dismissed the reformer. Good men in France became anxious for the -future; Voltaire, in his distant retreat, gave a shriek of despair, and -addressed to Turgot remarkable verses entitled “Épître à un Homme.” -Worse still, the good edicts of the minister were rescinded, and -society was put back. - -The discarded minister gave himself to science, literature, and -friendship. He welcomed Franklin to France and to immortality in -a Latin verse of marvellous felicity. He was already the companion -of the liberal spirits who were doing so much for knowledge and -for reform. By writing and by conversation he exercised a constant -influence. His “ideas” seem to illumine the time. We may be content -to follow him in saying, “The glory of arms cannot compare with the -happiness of living in peace.”[333] He anticipated our definition of -a republic, when he said “it was founded upon _the equality of all -the citizens_,”[334]--good words, not yet practically verified in all -our States. Such a government he, living under a monarchy, bravely -pronounced “the best of all”; but he added, that he “never had known -a constitution truly republican.”[335] With similar plainness he -announced that “the destruction of the Ottoman Empire would be a real -good for all the nations of Europe,” and he added, still further, -for humanity also, because it would involve the abolition of negro -slavery, and because “to despoil an oppressor is not to attack, but to -vindicate, the common rights of humanity.”[336] With such thoughts and -aspirations the prophet died. - -But I have no purpose of writing a biography, or even a character. All -that I intend is an introduction to Turgot’s prophetic words. When only -twenty-three years of age, while still an ecclesiastic at the Sorbonne, -the future minister delivered a discourse on the Progress of the Human -Mind, in which, after describing the commercial triumphs of the -ancient Phœnicians, covering the coasts of Greece and Asia with their -colonies, he lets drop these remarkable words:-- - - “Les colonies sont comme des fruits qui ne tiennent à l’arbre - que jusqu’à leur maturité: devenues suffisantes à elles-mêmes, - elles firent ce que fit depuis Carthage,--_ce que fera un jour - l’Amérique_.” - - “Colonies are like fruits, which hold to the tree only until - their maturity: when sufficient for themselves, they did that - which Carthage afterwards did,--_that which some day America - will do_.”[337] - -On this most suggestive declaration, Dupont de Nemours, the editor of -Turgot’s works in 1808, remarks in a note:-- - - “It was in 1750 that M. Turgot, being then only twenty-three - years old, and devoted in a seminary to the study of theology, - divined, foresaw, the revolution which has formed the United - States,--which has detached them from the European power - apparently the most capable of retaining its colonies under its - dominion.” - -At the time Turgot wrote, Canada was a French possession; but his words -are as applicable to this colony as to the United States. When will the -fruit be ripe? - - * * * * * - -In contrast with this precise prediction, and yet in harmony with it, -are the words of Montesquieu, in his ingenious work, which saw the -light in 1748, two years before the discourse of Turgot. In the famous -chapter, “How the laws contribute to form the manners, customs, and -character of a nation,” we have a much-admired picture of “a free -nation” “inhabiting an island,” where, without naming England, it is -easy to recognize her greatness and glory. And here we meet a Delphic -passage, also without a name, pointing to the British Colonies:-- - - “If this nation sent out colonies, it would do so more to - extend its commerce than its dominion. - - “As people like to establish elsewhere what is found - established at home, it would give to the people of its - colonies its own form of government; and this government - carrying with it prosperity, _we should see great peoples - formed in the very forests which it should send to - inhabit_.”[338] - -The future greatness of the Colonies is insinuated rather than -foretold, and here the prophetic voice is silent. Nothing is said of -the impending separation, and the beginning of a new nation; so that, -plainly, Montesquieu saw our future less than Turgot. - - * * * * * - -The youthful prophet did not lose his penetrating vision with years. -In the same spirit and with immense vigor he wrote to the English -philosopher, Josiah Tucker, September 12, 1770:-- - - “As a citizen of the world, I see with joy the approach of - an event which, more than all the books of the philosophers, - will dissipate the phantom of commercial jealousy. _I speak - of the separation of your colonies from the mother country_, - WHICH WILL SOON BE FOLLOWED BY THAT OF ALL AMERICA FROM EUROPE. - It is then that the discovery of this part of the world will - become truly useful to us. It is then that it will multiply our - enjoyments much more abundantly than when we purchased them - with torrents of blood. The English, the French, the Spaniards, - etc., will use sugar, coffee, indigo, and will sell their - products, precisely as the Swiss do to-day; and they will also, - like the Swiss people, have the advantage, that this sugar, - this coffee, this indigo will no longer serve as a pretext for - intriguers to precipitate their nation into ruinous wars and to - oppress them with taxes.”[339] - -It is impossible not to feel in this passage the sure grasp of our -American destiny. How clearly and courageously he announces the -inevitable future! But the French philosopher-statesman again took the -tripod. - -This was in the discharge of his duties as minister of the Crown, and -in reply to a special application. His noble opinion is dated 6th -April, 1776. Its character appears in a few sentences:-- - - “The present war will probably end in the absolute independence - of the Colonies, and that event will certainly be _the epoch of - the greatest revolution in the commerce and politics, not of - England only, but of all Europe_.… When the English themselves - shall recognize the independence of their colonies, _every - mother country will be forced_ in like manner to exchange - its dominion over its colonies for bonds of friendship and - fraternity.… When _the total separation of America_ shall have - cured the European nations of commercial jealousy, there will - exist among men one great cause of war the less; and it is very - difficult not to desire an event which is to accomplish this - good for the human race.”[340] - -His letter to the English Dr. Price, on the American Constitutions, -abounds in profound observations and in prophecy. It was written -just at the time when France openly joined against England in our -War of Independence, and is dated March 22, 1778, but did not see -the light until 1784, some years after the death of the author, when -it was published by Dr. Price.[341] Its criticism of the American -Constitutions aroused John Adams to his elaborate work in their -“Defence.”[342] - -Of our Union before the adoption of the National Constitution he -writes:-- - - “In the general union of the provinces among themselves I do - not see a coalition, a fusion of all the parts, making but one - body, one and homogeneous. It is only an aggregation of parts - always too much separated, and preserving always a tendency to - division, by the diversity of their laws, their manners, their - opinions,--by the inequality of their actual forces,--still - more by the inequality of their ulterior progress. It is only - a copy of the Dutch Republic: but this Republic had not to - fear, as the American Republic has, the possible enlargement of - some of its provinces. This whole edifice has been supported - hitherto on the false basis of the very ancient and very - vulgar policy: on the prejudice that nations and provinces, as - bodies, can have interests other than that which individuals - have to be free and to defend their property against brigands - and conquerors; a pretended interest to carry on more commerce - than others,--not to buy the merchandise of the foreigner, but - to force the foreigner to consume their productions and their - manufactures; a pretended interest to have a vaster territory, - to acquire such or such a province, such or such an island, - such or such a village; an interest to inspire fear in other - nations; an interest to surpass them in the glory of arms, and - in that of arts and sciences.”[343] - -Among the evils to be overcome are, in the Southern Colonies, too -great an inequality of fortunes, and especially the large number of -black slaves, whose slavery is incompatible with a good political -constitution, and who, even when restored to liberty, will cause -embarrassment by forming two nations in the same State. In all the -Colonies he deprecates prejudice, attachment to established forms, -a habit of certain taxes, fear of those which it might be necessary -to substitute, the vanity of the Colonies who deem themselves most -powerful, and the wretched beginning of national pride. Happily he -adds: “I think the Americans destined to aggrandizement, not by war, -but by husbandry.”[344] And he then proceeds to his aspirations:-- - - “It is impossible not to desire earnestly that this people may - attain to all the prosperity of which they are capable. They - are the hope of the human race. They can become its model. They - are to prove to the world, by the fact, that men can be free - and tranquil, and can dispense with the chains of all kinds - which the tyrants and charlatans of every cloth have pretended - to impose under the pretext of the public good. They are to - give the example of political liberty, of religious liberty, of - commercial and industrial liberty. The asylum which they open - to all the oppressed of all nations is to console the earth. - The facility thereby afforded for escape from a bad government - will force the European governments to be just and enlightened. - The rest of the world, little by little, will open their eyes - to the nothingness of the illusions in which politicians have - indulged. To this end it is necessary that America should guard - against them, and should not again become, as your ministerial - writers have so often repeated, an image of our Europe, _a mass - of divided powers_, disputing about territory or commercial - profits, and continually cementing the slavery of the peoples - with their own blood.”[345] - -After these admirable thoughts, so full of wisdom and prophecy, Turgot -alludes to the impending war between France and England:-- - - “Our two nations are going to do each other reciprocally much - evil, probably without either of them obtaining any real - advantage. The increase of debts and charges and the ruin of a - great many citizens will be, perhaps, the only result. England - seems to me even nearer to this than France. If instead of - this war you had been able to yield with good grace from the - first moment,--if it had been given to policy to do in advance - what infallibly it will be forced to do later,--if national - opinion could have permitted your Government to anticipate - events,--and, supposing that it had foreseen them, it had - been able to consent at once to the independence of America - without making war on anybody,--I firmly believe that your - nation would have lost nothing by this change. It will lose now - what it has already expended, and what it shall yet expend. - It will experience for some time a great falling off in its - commerce, great domestic disturbances, if it is forced to - bankruptcy, and, whatever may happen, a great diminution of - political influence abroad. But this last matter is of very - small importance to the real welfare of a people; and I am not - at all of the opinion of the Abbé Raynal in your motto.[346] I - do not believe that this will make you a contemptible nation, - and throw you into slavery. On the contrary, your troubles - will perhaps have the effect of a necessary amputation; they - are perhaps the only means of saving you from the gangrene - of luxury and corruption. If in your agitations you could - correct your Constitution by rendering the elections annual, - by apportioning the right of representation in a manner - more equal and more proportioned to the interests of those - represented, you would gain from this revolution as much, - perhaps, as America; for your liberty would remain to you, and - with this and by this your other losses would be very speedily - repaired.”[347] - -Reading such words, the heart throbs and the pulse beats. Government -inspired by such a spirit would become divine, nations would live at -peace together, and people everywhere be happy. - - -HORACE WALPOLE, 1754, 1774, 1777, 1779. - -Most unlike Turgot in character, but with something of the same spirit -of prophecy, and associated in time, was Horace Walpole, youngest son -of England’s remarkable Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole. With the -former, life was serious always, and human improvement the perpetual -passion; with the latter, there was a constant desire for amusement, -and the world was little more than a curious gimcrack. - -Horace Walpole was born 5th October, 1717, and died 2d March, -1797, being at his death Earl of Orford. According to his birth he -was a man of fashion; for a time a member of Parliament; a man of -letters always. To his various talents he added an aggregation of -miscellaneous tastes, of which his house at Strawberry Hill was an -illustration,--being an elegant “Old Curiosity Shop,” with pictures, -books, manuscripts, prints, armor, china, historic relics, and art in -all its forms, which he had collected at no small outlay of time and -money. Though aristocratic in life, he boasted that his principles were -not monarchical. On the two sides of his bed were hung engravings of -Magna Charta and the Sentence of Charles the First, the latter with the -inscription “_Major_ Charta.” Sleeping between two such memorials, he -might be suspected of sympathy with America, although the aristocrat -was never absent. His Memoirs, Journals, Anecdotes of Painting in -England, and other works, are less famous than his multifarious -correspondence, which is the best in English literature, and, according -to French judgment, nearer than any other in our language to that of -Madame de Sévigné, whom he never wearied in praising. It is free, easy, -gossipy, historic, and spicy. - -But I deal with him now only as a prophet. And I begin with his -“Memoires of the last Ten Years of the Reign of George the Second,” -where we find the record that the Colonists were seeking independence. -This occurs in his description of the Duke of Newcastle as Secretary -of State for the Colonies, during the long Walpole administration. -Illustrating what he calls the Duke’s “mercurial inattention,” he -says: “It would not be credited what reams of papers, representations, -memorials, petitions from that quarter of the world [the Colonies], lay -mouldering and unopened in his office”; and then, showing the Duke’s -ignorance, he narrates how, when it was hinted that there should be -some defence for Annapolis, he replied, with evasive, lisping hurry: -“Annapolis, Annapolis! Oh, yes, Annapolis must be defended,--to be -sure, Annapolis should be defended;--where is Annapolis?” But this -negligence did not prevent him from exalting the prerogative of the -Crown; and here the author says:-- - - “The instructions to Sir Danvers Osborn, a new governor of - New York, seemed better calculated for the latitude of Mexico - and for a Spanish tribunal than for a free, rich British - settlement, and in such opulence and of such haughtiness that - _suspicions had long been conceived of their meditating to - throw off their dependence on their mother country_.”[348] - -This stands in the “Memoires” under the date of 1754, and the editor -in a note observes, “If, as the author asserts, this was written at -the time, it is a very remarkable passage.” By direction of the author -the book was “to be kept unopened and unsealed” until a certain person -named should attain the age of twenty-five years. It was published in -1822. Perhaps the honesty of this entry will be better appreciated, -when it is noted, that, only a few pages later, Washington, whom the -author afterwards admired, is spoken of as “this brave braggart” who -“learned to blush for his rodomontade.”[349] - -As the difficulties with the Colonies increased, he became more -sympathetic and prophetic. In a letter to Sir Horace Mann, 2d February, -1774, he wrote:-- - - “We have no news, public or private; but there is an - ostrich-egg laid in America, where the Bostonians have canted - three hundred chests of tea into the ocean; for they will - not drink tea with our Parliament.… Lord Chatham talked of - conquering America in Germany. _I believe England will be - conquered some day or other in New England or Bengal._”[350] - -In May, 1774, his sympathies again appear:-- - - “Nothing was more shocking than the King’s laughing and saying - at his levee that _he had as lief fight the Bostonians as the - French_. It was only to be paralleled by James the Second - sporting on Jeffreys’s ‘campaign in the West.’”[351] - -And under date of 28th May, 1775, we have his record of the encounter -at Lexington, with the reflection:-- - - “Thus was the civil war begun, and a victory the first fruits - of it on the side of the Americans, whom Lord Sandwich had had - the folly and rashness to proclaim cowards.”[352] - -His letters to the Countess of Ossory, written during the war, show his -irrepressible sentiments. Thus, under date of 9th November, 1775:-- - - “I think this country undone almost beyond redemption. Victory - in any war but a civil one fascinates mankind with a vision of - glory. What should we gain by triumph itself? Would America - laid waste, deluged with blood, plundered, enslaved, replace - America flourishing, rich, and free? Do we want to reign over - it, as the Spaniards over Peru, depopulated? Are desolate - regions preferable to commercial cities?”[353] - -Then under date of 6th July, 1777:-- - - “My humble opinion is, that we shall never recover America, - and that France will take care that we shall never recover - ourselves.”[354] - -“Friday night, late,” 5th December, 1777, he breaks forth:-- - - “Send for Lord Chatham! They had better send for General - Washington, Madam,--or at least for our troops back.… No, - Madam, we do not want ministers that would protract our - difficulties. I look on them but as beginning now, and am - far from thinking that there is any man or set of men able - enough to extricate us. _I own there are very able Englishmen - left, but they happen to be on t’other side of the Atlantic._ - If his Majesty hopes to find them here, I doubt he will be - mistaken.”[355] - -“Thursday night,” 11th December, 1777, his feelings overflow in no -common language:-- - - “Was ever proud, insolent nation sunk so low? Burke and Charles - Fox told him [Lord North] the Administration thought of nothing - but keeping their places; and so they will, and the members - their pensions, and the nation its infamy. Were I Franklin, I - would order the Cabinet Council to come to me at Paris with - ropes about their necks, and then kick them back to St. James’s. - - “Well, Madam, as I told Lord Ossory t’other day, I am - satisfied: _Old England is safe,--that is, America, whither the - true English retired under Charles the First_: this is Nova - Scotia, and I care not what becomes of it.… Adieu, Madam! I am - at last not sorry you have no son; and your daughters, I hope, - will be married to Americans, and not in this dirty, despicable - island.”[356] - -All this is elevated by his letter of 17th February, 1779, where he -says:-- - - “Liberty has still a continent to exist in. I do not care a - straw who is Minister in this abandoned country. It is _the - good old cause of Freedom_ that I have at heart.”[357] - -Thus with constancy, where original principle was doubtless quickened -by party animosity, did Horace Walpole maintain the American cause and -predict a new home for Liberty. - - -JOHN ADAMS, 1755, 1765, 1776, 1780, 1785, 1787, 1813, 1818. - -Next in time among the prophets was John Adams, who has left on record -at different dates predictions showing a second-sight of no common -order. Of his life I need say nothing, except that he was born 19th -October, 1735, and died 4th July, 1826. I mention the predictions in -the order of utterance. - - * * * * * - -1. While teaching a school at Worcester, and when under twenty years of -age, he wrote a letter to one of his youthful companions, bearing date -12th October, 1755, which is a marvel of foresight. Fifty-two years -afterwards, when already much of its prophecy had been fulfilled, the -original was returned to its author by the son of his early comrade and -correspondent, Nathan Webb, who was at the time dead. After remarking -gravely on the rise and fall of nations, with illustrations from -Carthage and Rome, he proceeds:-- - - “England began to increase in power and magnificence, and - is now the greatest nation upon the globe. Soon after the - Reformation, a few people came over into this New World for - conscience’ sake. Perhaps this apparently trivial incident _may - transfer the great seat of empire into America_. _It looks - likely to me_: for, if we can remove the turbulent Gallics, our - people, according to the exactest computations, will in another - century become more numerous than England itself. Should this - be the case, since we have, I may say, all the naval stores of - the nations in our hands, it will be easy to obtain the mastery - of the seas; and then the united force of all Europe will not - be able to subdue us. The only way to keep us from setting up - for ourselves is to disunite us. _Divide et impera._ Keep us - in distinct colonies, and then some great men in each colony - desiring the monarchy of the whole, they will destroy each - other’s influence, and keep the country _in equilibrio_.[358] - -On this his son, John Quincy Adams, famous for important service and -high office, remarks:-- - - “Had the political part of it been written by the minister - of state of a European monarchy, at the close of a long - life spent in the government of nations, it would have been - pronounced worthy of the united penetration and experience of a - Burleigh, a Sully, or an Oxenstiern.… _In one bold outline he - has exhibited by anticipation a long succession of prophetic - history, the fulfilment of which is barely yet in progress, - responding exactly hitherto to his foresight_, but the full - accomplishment of which is reserved for the development - of after ages. The extinction of the power of France in - America, the union of the British North American Colonies, - the achievement of their independence, and the establishment - of their ascendency in the community of civilized nations by - the means of their naval power, are all foreshadowed in this - letter, with a clearness of perception and a distinctness of - delineation which time has hitherto done little more than to - convert into historical fact.”[359] - - * * * * * - -2. Another beautiful instance followed ten years later. In the -beginning of 1765, Jeremy Gridley, the eminent lawyer of Colonial days, -formed a law club, or Sodality, at Boston, for the mutual improvement -of its members. Here John Adams produced the original sketch of his -“Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law,” which appeared in the -“Boston Gazette” of August, 1765, was immediately and repeatedly -reprinted in London, and afterwards in Philadelphia.[360] The sketch -began:-- - - “This Sodality has given rise to the following speculation of - my own, which I commit to writing as hints for future inquiries - rather than as a satisfactory theory.”[361] - -In this Dissertation, the writer dwells especially upon the settlers of -British America, of whom he says:-- - - “After their arrival here, they began their settlement, and - formed their plan, both of ecclesiastical and civil government, - in direct opposition to the canon and the feudal systems.”[362] - -This excellent statement was followed, in the original sketch -communicated to the Sodality, by this passage, which does not appear in -the printed Dissertation:-- - - “I always consider the settlement of America with reverence - and wonder, as the opening of a grand scene and design in - Providence for the illumination of the ignorant and the - emancipation of the slavish part of mankind all over the - earth.”[363] - -On these prophetic words, his son, John Quincy Adams, remarks:-- - - “This sentence was perhaps omitted from an impression that - it might be thought to savor not merely of enthusiasm, but - of extravagance. Who now would deny that this magnificent - anticipation has been already to a great degree realized? Who - does not now see that the accomplishment of this great object - is already placed beyond all possibility of failure?”[364] - -His grandson, Charles Francis Adams, alluding to the changes which took -place in the original sketch, says:-- - - “As not infrequently happens, however, in this process, one - strong passage was lost by it, which at this time must be - regarded as the most deserving of any to be remembered.”[365] - -Thus again, at an early day, did this prophet discern the future. How -true it is that the mission of this Republic is “the illumination -of the ignorant,” and, still further, “the emancipation of the -slavish part of mankind all over the earth”! Universal enlightenment -and universal emancipation! And the first great stage was National -Independence. - - * * * * * - -3. The Declaration of Independence bears date 4th July, 1776, for on -that day it was signed; but the vote which determined it was on the 2d -July. On the 3d July, John Adams, in a letter to his wife, wrote:-- - - “Yesterday the greatest question was decided which ever was - debated in America; and a greater, perhaps, never was nor - will be decided among men.… I am surprised at the suddenness - as well as greatness of this revolution. Britain has been - filled with folly, and America with wisdom. At least this is - my judgment. Time must determine. _It is the will of Heaven - that the two countries should be sundered forever.…_ The day - is passed. The second day of July, 1776, will be the most - memorable epocha in the history of America. _I am apt to - believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as - the great anniversary festival._ It ought to be commemorated, - as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God - Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with - shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, - from one end of this continent to the other, from this time - forward, forevermore. You will think me transported with - enthusiasm, but I am not. I am well aware of the toil and blood - and treasure that it will cost us to maintain this Declaration, - and support and defend these States. _Yet, through all the - gloom, I can see the rays of ravishing light and glory. I - can see that the end is more than worth all the means, and - that posterity will triumph in that day’s transaction_, even - although we should rue it, which I trust in God we shall - not.”[366] - -Here is a comprehensive prophecy, first, that the two countries would -be separated forever; secondly, that the anniversary of Independence -would be celebrated as a great annual festival; and, thirdly, that -posterity would triumph in this transaction, where, through all the -gloom, shone rays of ravishing light and glory: all of which has -been fulfilled to the letter. Recent events give to the Declaration -additional importance. For a long time its great premises, that all men -are equal, and that rightful government stands only on the consent of -the governed, were disowned by our country. Now that at last they are -beginning to prevail, there is increased reason to celebrate the day -on which the mighty Declaration was made, and new occasion for triumph -in the rays of ravishing light and glory. - - * * * * * - -4. Here is another prophetic passage, in a letter dated at Paris, 13th -July, 1780, and addressed to the Comte de Vergennes of France, pleading -the cause of the Colonists:-- - - “The United States of America are a great and powerful people, - whatever European statesmen may think of them. If we take into - our estimate the numbers and the character of her people, the - extent, variety, and fertility of her soil, her commerce, and - her skill and materials for ship-building, and her seamen, - excepting France, Spain, England, Germany, and Russia, there is - not a state in Europe so powerful. Breaking off such a nation - as this from the English so suddenly, and uniting it so closely - with France, is one of the most extraordinary events that ever - happened among mankind.”[367] - -Perhaps this may be considered statement rather than prophecy; but it -illustrates the prophetic character of the writer. - - * * * * * - -5. While at Amsterdam, in 1780, Mr. Adams met a gentleman whom he calls -“the giant of the law,” Mr. Calkoen. After an unsatisfactory attempt -at conversation, where neither spoke the language of the other, it -was arranged that the latter should propound a series of questions in -writing, which the American minister undertook to answer. The questions -were in Dutch, the answers in English. Among the questions was this: -“Whether America in and of itself, by means of purchasing or exchanging -the productions of the several provinces, would be able to continue -the war for six, eight, or ten years, even if they were entirely -deprived of the trade with Europe, or their allies, exhausted by the -war and forced to make a separate peace, were to leave them?” To this -question our prophet replied:-- - - “This is an extreme case.… Why, then, should we put cases that - we know can never happen? However, I can inform you that the - case was often put before this war broke out; and I have heard - the common farmers in America reasoning upon these cases seven - years ago. I have heard them say, if Great Britain could build - a wall of brass a thousand feet high all along the sea-coast, - at low-water mark, we can live and be happy. _America is most - undoubtedly capable of being the most independent country upon - earth._ It produces everything for the necessity, comfort, and - conveniency of life, and many of the luxuries too. So that, if - there were an eternal separation between Europe and America, - the inhabitants of America would not only live, but multiply, - and, for what I know, be wiser, better, and happier than they - will be as it is.”[368] - -Here is an assertion of conditions essential to independence of -“the most independent country upon earth,” with a promise that the -inhabitants will multiply. - - * * * * * - -6. In an official letter to the President of Congress, dated at -Amsterdam, 5th September, 1780, the same writer, while proposing an -American Academy “for refining, correcting, improving, and ascertaining -the English language,” predicts the extension of this language:-- - - “_English is destined to be in the next and succeeding - centuries more generally the language of the world than Latin - was in the last or French is in the present age._ The reason of - this is obvious,--because the increasing population in America, - and their universal connection and correspondence with all - nations, will, aided by the influence of England in the world, - whether great or small, force their language into general use, - in spite of all the obstacles that may be thrown in their way, - if any such there should be.”[369] - -In another letter, of unofficial character, dated at Amsterdam, 23d -September, 1780, he thus repeats his prophecy:-- - - “You must know _I have undertaken to prophesy that English will - be the most respectable language in the world; and the most - universally read and spoken, in the next century, if not before - the close of this_. American population will in the next age - produce a greater number of persons who will speak English than - any other language, and these persons will have more general - acquaintance and conversation with all other nations than any - other people.”[370] - -David Hume, in a letter to Gibbon, 24th October, 1767, had already -written:-- - - “Our solid and increasing establishments in America, where - we need less dread the inundation of Barbarians, _promise a - superior stability and duration to the English language_.”[371] - -But these more moderate words, which did credit to the discernment of -the philosopher-historian, were then unpublished. - -The prophecy of John Adams is already accomplished. Of all the European -languages, English is most extensively spoken. Through England and the -United States it has become the language of commerce, which sooner -or later must embrace the globe. The German philologist, Grimm, has -followed our American prophet in saying that it “seems chosen, like its -people, to rule in future times in a still greater degree in all the -corners of the earth.”[372] - - * * * * * - -7. Another field was opened by a European correspondent, John Luzac, -who writes from Leyden, under date of 14th September, 1780, that, -in pleading the cause of American Independence, he has twenty times -encountered, from sensible and educated people, an objection which he -sets forth as follows:-- - - “Yes, but if America becomes free, she will some day give the - law to Europe. She will take our islands, and our colonies - at Guiana; she will seize all the Antilles; she will absorb - Mexico, even Peru, Chili, and Brazil; she will carry off - our freighting commerce; she will pay her benefactors with - ingratitude.”[373] - -To this Mr. Adams replied, in a letter from Amsterdam, 15th September, -1780:-- - - “I have met often in Europe with the same species of reasoners - that you describe; but I find they are not numerous. Among - men of reflection the sentiment is generally different, and - that no power in Europe has anything to fear from America. - The principal interest of America for many centuries to - come will be landed, and her chief occupation agriculture. - Manufactures and commerce will be but secondary objects, and - always subservient to the other. America will be the country - to produce raw materials for manufactures, but Europe will be - the country of manufactures; and the commerce of America can - never increase but in a certain proportion to the growth of its - agriculture, until its whole territory of land is filled up - with inhabitants, which will not be in some hundreds of years.” - -After referring to tar, iron, and timber as American articles, he -says:-- - - “In fact, the Atlantic is so long and difficult a navigation, - that the Americans will never be able to afford to carry to the - European market great quantities of these articles.” - -If the prophet fails here, he is none the less wise in the suggestion -with which he closes:-- - - “If Europe cannot prevent, or rather if any particular nations - of Europe cannot prevent, the independence of America, then - the sooner her independence is acknowledged, the better,--the - less likely she will be to become warlike, enterprising, and - ambitious. The truth is, however, that America can never unite - in any war but a defensive one.”[374] - -Had the prophet foreseen the increasing facilities of commerce, the -triumphs of steam, the floating masses of transportation, the wonders -of navigation, quickened and guided by the telegraph, and to these had -he added the diversified industry of the country, extending, expanding, -and prevailing, his remarkable vision, which already saw so much, would -have viewed other glories in assured certainty. - - * * * * * - -8. There is another prophecy, at once definite and broad, from the -same eminent quarter. In a letter dated London, 17th October, 1785, and -addressed to John Jay, at the time Secretary for Foreign Affairs under -the Confederation, John Adams reveals his conviction of the importance -of France to us, “while England held a province in America”;[375] -and then, in another letter, dated 21st October, 1785, reports the -saying of people about him, “_that Canada and Nova Scotia must soon be -ours_; there must be a war for it,--they know how it will end,--but -the sooner, the better; this done, we shall be forever at peace,--till -then, never.”[376] These intimations foreshadow the prophecy found in -the Preface to his “Defence of the American Constitutions,” written in -London, while minister there, and dated Grosvenor Square, 1st January, -1787:-- - - “The United States of America have exhibited, perhaps, the - first example of governments erected on the simple principles - of Nature.… Thirteen governments thus founded on the natural - authority of the people alone, without a pretence of miracle or - mystery, and _which are destined to spread over the northern - part of that whole quarter of the globe_, are a great point - gained in favor of the rights of mankind. The experiment is - made, and has completely succeeded.”[377] - -Here is foretold nothing less than that our system of government is to -embrace the whole continent of North America. - - * * * * * - -9. This series may be concluded by other words, general in character, -but deeply prophetic, showing a constant sense of the unfolding -grandeur and influence of the Republic. - -The first is from the concluding chapter of the work last cited, and in -harmony with the Preface:-- - - “A prospect into futurity in America is like contemplating the - heavens through the telescopes of Herschel. Objects stupendous - in their magnitudes and motions strike us from all quarters, - and fill us with amazement.”[378] - -Thus, also, he writes to Thomas Jefferson, November 15, 1813:-- - - “Many hundred years must roll away before we shall be - corrupted. _Our pure, virtuous, public-spirited, federative - Republic will last forever, govern the globe, and introduce the - perfection of man._”[379] - -Then, again, in a letter to Hezekiah Niles, 13th February, 1818:-- - - “The American Revolution was not a common event. Its effects - and consequences have already been awful over a great part of - the globe. _And when and where are they to cease?_”[380] - -The prophetic spirit which filled the “visions” of youth continued -in the “dreams” of age. Especially was he constant in foreseeing the -widening reach of the great Revolution he had helped at its beginning; -and this arrested the attention of his eloquent eulogist at Faneuil -Hall.[381] - - -MARQUIS DE MONTCALM, 1758, 1759. - -If I enter the name of the Marquis de Montcalm on this list, it is -because prophetic words have been attributed to him which at different -periods have attracted no small attention. He was born near Nismes, in -France, 1712, and died at Quebec, 14th September, 1759, being at the -time commander of the French forces in Canada. As a soldier he was the -peer of his opponent, Wolfe, who perished in the same battle, and they -have since enjoyed a common fame. - -In 1777, amidst the heats of our Revolutionary contest, a publication -was put forth by Almon, the pamphleteer, in French and English on -opposite pages, entitled “Letters from the Marquis de Montcalm, -Governor-General of Canada, to Messrs. De Berryer and De la Molé, in -the Years 1757, 1758, and 1759,” and the soldier reappeared as prophet. - -The first letter is addressed to M. de Berryer, First Commissioner of -the Marine of France, and purports to be dated at Montreal, 4th April, -1757. It contains the copy of an elaborate communication from “S. -J.” of Boston, proposing a scheme for undermining the power of Great -Britain in the Colonies by free trade with France through Canada, and -predicting that “all our colonies in less than ten years will catch -fire.”[382] In transmitting this letter Montcalm did little more than -indorse its sentiments; but in his second letter to the same person, -dated at Montreal, 1st October, 1758, he says:-- - - “All these informations, which I every day receive, confirm me - in my opinion that _England will one day lose her colonies on - the continent of America_; and if Canada should then be in the - hands of an able governor who understands his business, he will - have a thousand opportunities of hastening the event: this is - the only advantage we can reap for all it has cost us.”[383] - -In the third letter, addressed to M. Molé, First President of the -Parliament of Paris, and dated at the camp before Quebec, 24th August, -1759, on the eve of the fatal battle in which both commanders fell, -Montcalm mounts the tripod:-- - - “They are in a condition to give us battle, which I must not - refuse, and which I cannot hope to gain.… The event must - decide. But of one thing be certain, that I probably shall not - survive the loss of the Colony.[384] … I shall at least console - myself on my defeat, and on the loss of the Colony, by the - full persuasion that this defeat will one day serve my country - more than a victory, and that the conqueror, in aggrandizing - himself, will find his tomb the country he gains from us.[385]… - All the English Colonies would long since have shaken off the - yoke, each province would have formed itself into a little - independent republic, if the fear of seeing the French at their - door had not been a check upon them.[386]… Canada, once taken - by the English, would in a few years suffer much from being - forced to be English.… They would soon be of no use to England, - and perhaps they would oppose her.”[387] - -At once, on their appearance, these letters played an important part -in the “high life” of politics. The “Monthly Review”[388] called them -“genuine.” The “Gentleman’s Magazine”[389] said that “the sagacity of -this accomplished general was equal to his bravery,” and quoted what -it characterized as a “remarkable prediction.” In the House of Lords, -30th May, 1777, during a debate begun by Lord Chatham, and flashing -with great names, Lord Shelburne said that they “had been discovered to -be a forgery”;[390] but Lord Mansfield, the illustrious Chief Justice, -relied upon the letters, “which he insisted were not spurious.”[391] -In another important debate in the House of Lords, 5th March, 1778, -Earl Temple observed that “the authenticity of those letters had been -often disputed; but he could affirm that he saw them in manuscript, -among the papers of a minister now deceased, long before they made -their appearance in print, and at a time when American independency -was in the contemplation of a very few persons indeed.”[392] Such was -the contemporary testimony; but the pamphlet shared the fate of the -numerous brood engendered by the war. - -Oblivion seemed to have settled on these letters, when their -republication at Gibraltar, as late as 1858, by an author who treated -them as genuine,[393] attracted the attention of Thomas Carlyle, who -proceeded to make them famous again, by introducing them as an episode -in his Life of Frederick, sometimes called “the Great.” Montcalm -appears once more as prophet, and the readers of the career of the -Prussian monarch turn with wonder to the inspired Frenchman, with “his -power of faithful observation, his sagacity and talent of prophecy, so -considerable.”[394] Then, quoting a portion of the last letter, the -great author exclaims at different points: “Prediction first”; “This is -a curiously exact prediction”; “Prediction second, which is still more -curious.”[395] - -If the letter quoted by Carlyle were genuine, as he accepted it, -(also as it was evidently accepted by Lord John Russell,)[396] and -as the family of Montcalm seem to believe, it would indicate for the -soldier all that was claimed by his descendant, when, after speaking -of his “political foresight,” he added that it “was proved by one -of his letters, in which he made a remarkable prophecy concerning -the American Revolution.”[397] Certainly,--if the letter is not an -invention; but such is the present impression. On the half-title of -the original pamphlet, in the Library of Harvard University, Sparks, -whose judgment is of great weight, has written: “The letters are -unquestionably spurious.” Others unite with him. It is impossible to -read the papers in the “Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical -Society,” already quoted, and the pungent note of Henry Stevens, in his -“Bibliotheca Historica,” under the title of the much-debated pamphlet, -without feeling, that, whatever may have been the merits of Montcalm -as a soldier, his title as a prophet cannot be accepted. His name is -introduced here that I may not omit an instance which has attracted -attention in more than one generation. - - -DUC DE CHOISEUL, 1767, 1768. - -Another Frenchman in this far-sighted list was the Comte de Stainville, -afterwards Duc de Choiseul, born 28th June, 1719, and died 8th May, -1785. His brilliant career as diplomatist and statesman was preceded -by a career of arms with rapid promotion, so that at the age of forty -he became lieutenant-general. Meanwhile he was ambassador at Rome and -then at Vienna, the two pinnacles of diplomatic life. In 1758 he became -Minister of Foreign Affairs, also duke and peer; then Minister of War, -and of the Marine; but in 1766 he resumed the Foreign Office, which -he held till 1770, when he was disgraced. The King could not pardon -the contempt with which, although happy in the smiles of Madame de -Pompadour, the Prime-Minister rejected the advances of her successor, -the ignoble Du Barry; and he was exiled from court to live in his -château of Chanteloup, in the valley of the Loire, where, dispensing a -magnificent hospitality, he was consoled by a loving wife and devoted -friends. - -He had charm of manner rather than person, with a genius for -statesmanship recognized and commemorated in contemporary writings. -Madame du Deffant speaks of him often in her correspondence, and -depicts him in her circle when Franklin was first presented there. -Horace Walpole returns to him in letters and in his memoirs, -attributing to him “great parts,” calling him “very daring, dashing, -and whose good-nature would not have checked his ambition from doing -any splendid mischief.”[398] The Abbé Barthélemy, in his “Travels of -Anacharsis,” portrays him under the character of Arsame. Frederick of -Prussia, so often called the Great, hailed him “Coachman of Europe.” -And our own historian Bancroft, following Chatham, does not hesitate -to call him “the greatest minister of France since Richelieu.” - -The two volumes of Memoirs purporting to be written by himself, and -printed under his eyes in his cabinet in 1778, were accidental pieces, -written, but never collected by him, nor intended as memoirs.[399] -In the French treasure-house of these productions they are of little -value, if not unworthy of his fame. - -Besides a brilliant and famous administration of affairs, are several -acts not to be forgotten. At Rome his skill was shown in bringing -Benedict the Fourteenth to a common understanding on the bull -_Unigenitus_. Through him in 1764 the Jesuits were suppressed in -France, or were permitted only on condition of fusing with the secular -clergy. But nothing in his career was more memorable than his foresight -and courage with regard to the English Colonies. American Independence -was foreseen and helped by him. - -The Memoirs of Choiseul have little of the elevation recognized in his -statesmanship, nor are they anywhere prophetic. Elsewhere his better -genius was manifest, especially in his diplomacy. This was recognized -by Talleyrand, who, in a paper on the “Advantages to be derived from -New Colonies,” read before the Institute toward the close of the last -century, characterized him as “one of the men of our age who had the -most forecast of mind,--_who already in 1769 foresaw the separation -of America from England_, and feared the partition of Poland”; and he -adds that “from this epoch he sought to prepare by negotiations the -cession of Egypt to France, that on the day our American colonies -should escape from us, he might be ready to replace them with the same -productions and a more extended commerce.”[400] - -Bancroft, whose work shows unprecedented access to original documents, -recognizes the prevision of the French minister at an earlier -date, as attested by the archives of the French Foreign Office. -In 1766 he received the report of a special agent who had visited -America. In 1767 he sent Baron de Kalb, afterwards an officer in our -Revolution,--sparing no means to obtain information, and drawing even -from New England sermons, of which curious extracts are preserved -among the State Papers of France.[401] In August of this year, writing -to his plenipotentiary at London, the Minister says with regard to -England and her Colonies: “Let her but attempt to establish taxes in -them, and those countries, greater than England in extent, and perhaps -becoming more populous, having fisheries, forests, shipping, corn, -iron, and the like, will easily and fearlessly separate themselves -from the mother country.”[402] In the next year Du Châtelet, son -of her who was the companion of Voltaire and the French translator -of Newton, becomes his most sympathetic representative. To him the -Minister wrote, 15th July, 1768: “According to the prognostications of -sensible men, who have had opportunity to study the character of the -Americans, and to measure their progress from day to day in the spirit -of independence, this separation of the American Colonies from the -metropolis sooner or later must come.… I see all these difficulties, -and do not dissemble their extent; but I see also the controlling -interest of the Americans to profit by the opportunity of a rupture -to establish their independence.”[403] Again he wrote, 22d November, -1768: “The Americans will not lose out of their view their rights and -their privileges; and next to fanaticism for religion, the fanaticism -for liberty is the most daring in its measures and the most dangerous -in its consequences.”[404] That the plenipotentiary was not less -prompt in forecast appears in a letter of 9th November, 1768: “Without -exaggerating the projects or the union of the Colonies, the time of -their independence is very near.… Three years ago the separation of -the English Colonies was looked upon as an object of attention for the -next generation; the germs were observed, but no one could foresee that -they would be so speedily developed. This new order of things, this -event which will necessarily have the greatest influence on the whole -political system of Europe, will probably be brought about within a -very few years.”[405] The Minister replied, 20th December, 1768: “Your -views are as subtle as they are comprehensive and well-considered. The -King is perfectly aware of their sagacity and solidity, and I will -communicate them to the Court of Madrid.”[406] - -These passages show a persistency of view, which became the foundation -of French policy; so that the Duke was not merely a prophet, but a -practical statesman, guided by remarkable foresight. He lived long -enough to witness the National Independence he had foretold, and to -meet Franklin at Paris, while saved from witnessing the overthrow of -the monarchy he had served, and the bloody harvest of the executioner, -where a beloved sister was among the victims. - - -ABBÉ RAYNAL, 1770-1780. - -Guillaume Thomas François Raynal, of France, was born 11th March, 1711, -and died 6th March, 1796, thus spanning, with his long life, from the -failing years of Louis the Fourteenth to the Reign of Terror, and -embracing the prolonged period of intellectual activity which prepared -the Revolution. Among contemporary “philosophers” his place was -considerable. But he was a philosopher with a cross of the adventurer -and charlatan. - -Beginning as Jesuit and as priest, he somewhat tardily escaped the -constraints of the latter to employ the education of the former in -literary enterprise. A long list of acknowledged works attests the -activity of his pen, while others were attributed to him. With these -avocations, yielding money, mingled jobbing and speculation, where even -the slave-trade, afterwards furiously condemned, became a minister of -fortune. In the bright and audacious circles of Paris, especially with -Diderot and D’Holbach, he found society. The remarkable fame which he -reached during life has ceased, and his voluminous writings slumber -in oblivion, except, perhaps, a single one, which for a while played -a great part, and by its prophetic spirit vindicates a place in our -American gallery. - -Only the superficial character of this work appears in its -title,--“Philosophical and Political History of the Establishments and -of the Commerce of the Europeans in the two Indies,”[407] being in six -volumes. It was a frame for pictures and declamations, where freedom of -thought was practically illustrated. Therefore it was published without -the name of the author, and at Amsterdam. This was as early as 1770. -Edition followed edition. The “Biographie Universelle” reports more -than twenty regular and nearly fifty pirated. At least twelve editions -of an English translation saw the light. It was translated, abridged, -and reprinted in nearly all the languages of Europe. The subject was -interesting at the time, but the peculiar treatment and the open -assault upon existing order gave the work zest and popularity. Though -often vicious in style, it was above the author in force and character, -so that it was easy to believe that important parts were contributed -by others. Diderot, who passed his life in helping others, is said -to have supplied nearly a third of the whole. The work at last drew -down untimely vengeance. Inspired by its signal success, the author, -in 1780, after the lapse of a decade, put forth an enlarged edition, -with frontispiece and portrait, the whole reinforced with insertions -and additions, where Christianity and even the existence of a God -were treated with the license already applied to other things. The -Parliament of Paris, by a decree dated May 21, 1781, handed the work to -the public executioner to be burned, and condemned the author in person -and goods. Several years of exile followed. - -The Revolution in France found the Abbé Raynal mellowed by time, -and with his sustaining philosophers all dead. Declining active -participation in the great conflict, he reappeared at last, so far -as to address the President of the National Assembly a letter, where -he pleaded for moderation and an active government. The ancient -assailant of kings now called for “the tutelary protection of the royal -authority.” The early _cant_ was exchanged for _recant_. - -The concluding book of the enlarged edition of his famous work contains -a chapter entitled “Reflections upon the Good and the Evil which the -Discovery of America has done to Europe.”[408] A question of similar -import, “Has the Discovery of America been hurtful or useful to the -Human Race?” he presented as the subject for a prize of twelve hundred -livres, to be awarded by the Academy of Lyons. Such a question reveals -a strange confusion, inconsistent with all our prophetic voices, but -to be pardoned at a time when the course of civilization was so little -understood, and Buffon had announced, as the conclusion of science, -that the animal creation degenerated on the American Continent. In his -admirable answer to the great naturalist, Jefferson repels with spirit -the allegation of the Abbé Raynal that “America has not yet produced -one good poet, one able mathematician, one man of genius in a single -art or science.”[409] But he does not seem aware that the author in -his edition of 1780 had already beaten a retreat from his original -position.[410] This is more noteworthy as the edition appeared before -the criticism. - -It was after portraying the actual condition of the English Colonies -in colors which aroused the protest of Jefferson that the French -philosopher surrendered to a vision of the future. In reply to doubts, -he invokes time, civilization, education, and breaks forth:-- - - “Perhaps then it will be seen that America is favorable to - genius, to the creative arts of peace and of society. A new - Olympus, an Arcadia, an Athens, a new Greece, on the Continent, - or in the archipelago which surrounds it, will give birth, - perhaps, to Homers, Theocrituses, and, above all, Anacreons. - Perhaps another Newton will rise in the new Britain. It is from - English America, no doubt, that the first ray of the sciences - will shoot forth, if they are to appear at last under a sky so - long clouded. By a singular contrast with the ancient world, - where the arts passed from the South toward the North, in the - new we shall see the North enlighten the South. Let the English - clear the land, purify the air, change the climate, meliorate - Nature; _a new universe will issue from their hands for the - glory and happiness of humanity_.”[411] - -Then, speculating on the dissensions prevailing between the Colonies -and the mother country, he announces separation, but without advantage -to the European rivals of England:-- - - “Break the knot which binds the ancient Britain to the new; - soon the Northern Colonies will have more strength alone than - they possessed in their union with the mother country. That - great continent, set free from all compact with Europe, will - be unhampered in all its movements.… The colonies of our - absolute monarchies, … following the example of the English - colonies, will break the chain which binds them shamefully to - Europe.”[412] - -The New World opens before the prophet:-- - - “So everything conspires to the great dismemberment, of which - it is not given to foresee the moment. Everything tends to - that,--both the progress of good in the new hemisphere, and the - progress of evil in the old. - - “Alas! the sudden and rapid decline of our morals and our - strength, the crimes of kings and the woes of peoples, will - render even universal that fatal catastrophe which is to - detach one world from the other. The mine is prepared beneath - the foundations of our rocking empires.… In proportion as our - peoples are growing weak and all succumbing one to another, - population and agriculture are increasing in America. The - arts transported by our care will quickly spring up there. - That country, risen from nothing, burns to figure in its turn - upon the face of the globe and in the history of the world. O - posterity! thou wilt be more happy, perhaps, than thy sad and - contemptible ancestors!”[413] - -The edition of 1780 exhibits his sympathies with the Colonies. In -considering the policy of the House of Bourbon, he recognizes the -grasp of the pending revolution. “The United States,” he says, “have -shown openly the project of drawing to their confederation _all North -America_”; and he mentions especially _the invitation to the people of -Canada_. While questioning the conduct of France and Spain, he adds:-- - - “_The new hemisphere is to detach itself some day from the - old._ This great disruption is prepared in Europe by the - fermentation and the clashing of our opinions,--by the - overthrow of our rights, which made our courage,--by the - luxury of the court and the misery of the country,--by the - everlasting hate between the effeminate men, who possess all, - and the strong, even virtuous men, who have nothing to lose but - life. It is prepared in America by the growth of population, - of agriculture, of industry, and of enlightenment. _Everything - tends to this scission._”[414] - -In a sketch which follows are pictured the resources of “the thirteen -confederate provinces” and their future development. While confessing -that the name of Liberty is sweet,--that it is the cause of the -entire human race,--that revolutions in its name are a lesson to -despots,--that the spirit of justice, which compensates past evils -by future happiness, is pleased to believe that this part of the New -World cannot fail to become one of the most flourishing countries of -the globe,--and that some go so far as to fear _that Europe may some -day find its masters in its children_, he proceeds to facts which may -mitigate anxiety.[415] - -The prophetic words of Raynal differ from others already quoted. -Instead of letters or papers buried in secrecy or disclosed to a few -only, they were open proclamations circulated throughout Europe, and -their influence began as early as 1770. A prompt translation made -them known in England. In 1777 they were quoted by an English writer -pleading for us.[416] Among influences coöperating with the justice of -our cause, they were of constant activity, until at last France, Spain, -and Holland openly united with us. - - -JONATHAN SHIPLEY, BISHOP OF ST. ASAPH, 1773. - -Not without heartfelt emotion do I write this name, never to be -mentioned by an American without a sentiment of gratitude and love. -Such goodness and ability, dedicated so firmly to our cause, make -Shipley conspicuous among his contemporaries. In beauty of character -and in prophetic spirit he resembles Berkeley. And yet biographical -dictionaries make little mention of him, and in our country he is known -chiefly through the friendship of Franklin. He was born about 1714, and -died 9th December, 1788. - -His actual preferments in the Church attest a certain success, arrested -at last by his sympathy for us. At an early day John Adams spoke of -him as “the best bishop that adorns the bench.”[417] And we learn from -Wraxall, that it was through the hostility of the King, that, during -the short-lived Coalition Ministry, Fox was prevented from making him -Archbishop of Canterbury.[418] But his public life was better than any -prelacy. It is impossible to read his writings without discovering the -stamp of superiority, where accuracy and clearness go hand in hand with -courage and truth. - -The relations of Franklin with the good Bishop are a beautiful episode -in our Revolutionary history. Two men, one English and the other -American, venerable with years, mingled in friendship warm as that -of youth, but steady to the grave, joining identity of sentiment on -important public questions with personal affection. While Franklin -remained in England, as Colonial representative, watching the -currents, he was a frequent guest at the Englishman’s country home; -and there he entered upon his incomparable autobiography, leaving -behind such pleasant memories that afterwards the family never walked -in the garden “without seeing Dr. Franklin’s room and thinking of the -work that was begun in it.”[419] One of the daughters, in a touching -letter to him, then at his own home in Philadelphia, informed him of -her father’s death,[420] and in reply to his “dear young friend,” he -expressed his sense of the loss, “not to his family and friends only, -but to his nation, and to the world,” and then, after mentioning that -he was in his eighty-fourth year and considerably enfeebled, added, -“You will, then, my dear friend, consider this as probably the last -line to be received from me, and as a taking leave.”[421] - - * * * * * - -This brief story prepares the way for the two productions illustrating -his service to us. The first has the following title: “A Sermon -preached before the Incorporated Society for the Propagation of -the Gospel in Foreign Parts, at their Anniversary Meeting in the -Parish Church of St. Mary-le-Bow, on Friday, February 19, 1773.” Of -this discourse several editions appeared in London, New York, and -Boston.[422] Lord Chatham, after confessing himself “charmed and -edified” by it, wrote: “This noble discourse speaks the preacher not -only fit to bear rule in the Church, but in the State; indeed, it -does honor to the Right Reverend Bench.”[423] Franklin, coupling it -with another of his productions relating to America, wrote: “Had his -counsels in those pieces been attended to by the Ministers, how much -bloodshed might have been prevented, and how much expense and disgrace -to the nation avoided!”[424] - -This discourse was from the text, “Glory to God in the highest, and on -earth peace, good-will toward men.”[425] After announcing that “perhaps -the annals of history have never afforded a more grateful spectacle to -a benevolent and philosophic mind than the growth and progress of the -British Colonies in North America,” the preacher becomes prophet, and -here his words are memorable:-- - - “The Colonies in North America have not only taken root and - acquired strength, but seem hastening with an accelerated - progress to such a powerful state _as may introduce a new and - important change in human affairs_.”[426] - -Then picturing the Colonies as receiving “by inheritance all the -improvements and discoveries of their mother country,”--commencing -“their flourishing state at a time when the human understanding has -attained to the free use of its powers, and has learned to act with -vigor and certainty,” and being in such a situation that “they may -avail themselves not only of the experience and industry, but even of -the errors and mistakes of former days,” the prophet proceeds:-- - - “The vast continent itself, over which they are gradually - spreading, may be considered as a treasure yet untouched of - natural productions _that shall hereafter afford ample matter - for commerce and contemplation_. And if we reflect what a stock - of knowledge may be accumulated by the constant progress of - industry and observation, … _it is difficult even to imagine to - what height of improvement their discoveries may extend_.”[427] - -The prophet opens another vista: “And perhaps they may make as -considerable _advances in the arts of civil government_ and the conduct -of life.” Then, exhibiting the excellences of the British Constitution -with its “equal representation,” which he calls “the best discovery of -political wisdom,” and inquiring anxiously if they “must rest here, -as in the utmost effort of human genius,” the preacher becomes again -prophetic:-- - - “May they not possibly be more successful than their mother - country has been in preserving that reverence and authority - which is due to the laws,--to those who make, and to those - who execute them? May not a method be invented of procuring - some tolerable share of the comforts of life to those inferior - useful ranks of men to whose industry we are indebted for the - whole? _Time and discipline may discover some means to correct - the extreme inequalities of condition between the rich and - the poor, so dangerous to the innocence and the happiness of - both._”[428] - -Beautiful words! And in the same spirit the prophet discerns increasing -opportunities of progress:-- - - “The diversity of new scenes and situations, which so many - growing states must necessarily pass through, _may introduce - changes in the fluctuating opinions and manners of men which - we can form no conception of_. And not only the gracious - disposition of Providence, but the visible preparation of - causes, _seems to indicate strong tendencies towards a general - improvement_.”[429] - -To a spirit so elevated the obligations of duty are the same for -nations as for individuals, and he nobly vindicates the duty of the -Christian preacher “to point out the laws of justice and equity -which must ultimately regulate the happiness of states as well as of -individuals,” and which he declares “are no other than those benevolent -Christian morals which it is the province of this Society to teach, -transferred from the duties of private life to the administration of -public affairs.”[430] Then again he declares amazement, in which all -but hardened politicians will unite, at seeing “how slowly in all -countries the principles of natural justice, which are so evidently -necessary in private life, have been admitted into the administration -of public affairs.” And, in the same spirit, he announces:-- - - “A time, I doubt not, will come, in the progressive improvement - of human affairs, when the checks and restraints we lay on the - industry of our fellow-subjects and the jealousies we conceive - at their prosperity will be considered as the effects of a - mistaken policy, prejudicial to all parties, but chiefly to - ourselves.”[431] - -Then, after presenting it as “a noble effort of virtuous ambition … to -make our country great and powerful and rich, not by force or fraud, -but by justice, friendship, and humanity,” this remarkable sermon -concludes with calling attention to “the plain good rules so often -repeated to us in Scripture,” which “lie before the eyes of men like -medicinal herbs in the open field.”[432] - -In the course of his remarks, the preacher lets drop words often quoted -since, and doubtless considered much in conversation with Franklin. -After setting forth that the Colonies had “been trusted in a good -measure with the entire management of their affairs,” he proceeds -to say: “And the success they have met with ought to be to us an -ever-memorable proof that _the true art of government consists in not -governing too much_.”[433] - -In similar spirit the good Bishop came to the defence of Massachusetts, -in the crisis which followed the nullification of the Tea-Tax,--as -witness an able pamphlet, printed in 1774, entitled “A Speech intended -to have been spoken on the Bill for altering the Charters of the Colony -of Massachusetts Bay.” In this most vigorous production, reported -by Franklin as “a masterpiece of eloquence,”[434] where he pleads -for reconciliation, after announcing that England had drawn from the -Colonies, by commerce, “more clear profit than Spain has drawn from all -its mines,”[435] he says: “Let them continue to enjoy the liberty our -fathers gave them. Gave them, did I say? They are coheirs of liberty -with ourselves; and their portion of the inheritance has been much -better looked after than ours.”[436] Then again: “My Lords, I look upon -North America as the only great nursery of freemen now left upon the -face of the earth.”[437] And yet once more: “But whatever may be our -future fate, the greatest glory that attends this country, a greater -than any other nation ever acquired, is to have formed and nursed up -to such a state of happiness those Colonies whom we are now so eager to -butcher.”[438] Thanks, perpetual thanks, to the good friend who stood -so well by our country in its beginning, and discerned so clearly its -exalted future! - - -DEAN TUCKER, 1774. - -In contrast with Shipley was his contemporary, Josiah Tucker, also of -the Church, who was born 1712, and died 4th November, 1799. - -The contrast is more curious, when it is considered that Tucker, -like Shipley, was for the peaceful separation of the Colonies from -the mother country; but the former was biting and cynical, while the -latter was sympathetic and kind. The former sent forth a succession of -criticisms as from the tub of Diogenes, while the latter, with genial -power, vindicated America and predicted its future. The former was a -carping censor and enemy of Franklin; the latter, his loving friend. - -Tucker was rector of a church in Bristol and Dean of Gloucester, and he -announces that he had “written near three hundred sermons, and preached -them all again and again”;[439] but it was by political essays that he -made his name known and became a conspicuous gladiator. - -Here it is easy to recognize industry, facility, boldness. He was not -afraid to speak out, nor did he shrink from coping with those who -commanded the public attention,--joining issue directly with Burke, -“in answer to his printed speech, _said to be spoken_ in the House of -Commons on the 22d of March, 1775,”[440] being that famous masterpiece, -on “Conciliation with America,” so much read, so often quoted, and so -highly placed among the efforts of human genius. The Dean used plain -language, charging the great orator with excelling “in the art of -ambiguous expressions,” and at all times having one general end in -view, “to amuse with tropes and figures and great swelling words,” and -hoping, that, while emulating the freedom of Burke in examining the -writings and opinions of others, he should do it “with more decency and -good manners.”[441] More than once the Dean complains that the orator -had classed him by name with what he called “court vermin.”[442] - -As early as 1766, in the heats of the Stamp Act, he entered the lists -by an unamiable pamphlet, entitled “A Letter from a Merchant in London -to his Nephew in North America, relative to the Present Posture of -Affairs in the Colonies.” Here appears the vigorous cynicism of -his nature. The mother country is vindicated, and the Colonies are -told that “the complaint of being unrepresented is entirely false -and groundless,” inasmuch as every member of Parliament, when once -chosen, becomes “the equal guardian of all,” and “_our_ Birminghams, -Manchesters, Leeds, Halifaxes, &c., and _your_ Bostons, New Yorks, and -Philadelphias are all as _really_, though not so nominally, represented -as any part whatsoever of the British Empire.”[443] In the same spirit -he ridiculed the pretensions of the Colonists, putting into their -mouths the words: “What! an Island! a spot such as this to command the -great and mighty Continent of North America! Preposterous! A Continent, -whose inhabitants double every five-and-twenty years! who, therefore, -within a century and an half will be upwards of an hundred and twenty -millions of souls! Forbid it, Patriotism, forbid it, Politics, that -such a great and mighty Empire as this should be held in subjection by -the paltry Kingdom of Great Britain! _Rather let the seat of empire -be transferred; and let it be fixed where it ought to be, namely, in -Great America!_”[444] And then declaring “the calculations themselves -both false and absurd,” taunting the Colonists with inability to make -the mother country “a province of America,” and depicting the evils -that will ensue to them from separation, he announces, that, “having -been surfeited with the bitter fruits of American Republicanism, they -will heartily wish and petition to be again united to the mother -country.”[445] - -As the conflict approached, the Dean became more earnest and incessant. -In 1774 he published a book entitled “Four Tracts on Political -and Commercial Subjects,” of which the third was a reprint of the -“Letter from a Merchant in London,” and the fourth was a new appeal, -entitled “The True Interest of Great Britain set forth in regard to -the Colonies, and the only Means of Living in Peace and Harmony with -them,”--“including Five different Plans for effecting this Desirable -Event.”[446] Here he openly proposed separation, and predicted -its advantage to England. On general grounds he was persuaded that -extensive colonies were an evil rather than an advantage, especially to -a commercial nation, while he was satisfied of a present alienation on -the part of America, which it would be unprofitable, if not perilous, -to combat. England was in no mood for such truth, and the author was -set down as madman or quack. Evidently he was a prophet. - -A few passages will show the character of this remarkable production. - - “It is the nature of them all [colonies] to aspire after - independence, and to set up for themselves as soon as ever they - find that they are able to subsist without being beholden to - the mother country.”[447] - -True enough, and often said by others. In dealing with the different -plans the Dean shows originality. To the idea of compulsion by arms he -exclaimed: “But, alas! victory alone is but a poor compensation for all -the blood and treasure which must be spilt.”[448] The scheme numbered -Fourth was nothing less than “to consent that America should become -the general seat of empire, and that Great Britain and Ireland should -be governed by viceroys sent over from the court residences either at -Philadelphia or New York, or at some other American imperial city,”--to -which the indefatigable Dean replies:-- - - “Now, wild as such a scheme may appear, there are certainly - some Americans who seriously embrace it; and the late - prodigious swarms of emigrants encourage them to suppose that a - time is approaching when the seat of empire must be changed. - But, whatever events may be in the womb of Time, or whatever - revolutions may happen in the rise and fall of empires, there - is not the least probability that this country should ever - become a province to North America: … unless, indeed, we should - add one extravagance to another, by supposing that these - American heroes are to conquer all the world; and in that case - I do allow that England must become a province to America.”[449] - -Then comes the Fifth Scheme, which was, “To propose to separate -entirely from the North American Colonies, by declaring them to be -a free and independent people, over whom we lay no claim, and then -by offering to guaranty this freedom and independence against all -foreign invaders whatever.”[450] And he proceeds to show that by such -separation the mother country would not lose the trade of the Colonies. -His unamiable nature flares out in the suggestions, that, “the moment -a separation takes effect, intestine quarrels will begin,” and that, -“in proportion as their factious republican spirit shall intrigue -and cabal, shall split into parties, divide and subdivide, in the -same proportion shall we be called in to become their general umpires -and referees,”[451] while his confidence in the result is declared: -“And yet I have observed, and have myself had some experience, that -measures evidently right will prevail at last”; therefore he had “not -the least doubt” but that a separation would take place “within half a -century.”[452] Though seeing the separation so clearly, he did not see -how near at hand it then was. - -The Dean grew more earnest. Other pamphlets followed: for instance, in -1775, “An Humble Address and Earnest Appeal, … whether a Connection -with or a Separation from the Continental Colonies of America be most -for the National Advantage and the Lasting Benefit of these Kingdoms.” -Here he says openly:-- - - “My scheme, which Mr. Burke, in his last speech, of March 22, - 1775, is pleased to term a _childish_ one, is, To separate - totally from the Colonies, and to reject them from being - fellow-members and joint partakers with us in the privileges - and advantages of the British Empire, because they refuse - to submit to the authority and jurisdiction of the British - legislature,--offering at the same time to enter into alliances - of friendship and treaties of commerce with them, as with any - other sovereign, independent state.”[453] - -Then, insisting that his scheme “most infallibly cuts off all the -present causes of dispute and contention between the two countries, so -that they never can revive again,”[454] he establishes that commercial -intercourse with the Americans would not cease, inasmuch as it cannot -be shown that they “will no longer adhere to their own interest when -they shall be disunited from us.”[455] - -Among subsequent tracts was one entitled “_Cui Bono?_ or, An Inquiry, -What Benefits can arise either to the English or the Americans, the -French, Spaniards, or Dutch, from the Greatest Victories or Successes -in the Present War? Being a Series of Letters addressed to Monsieur -Necker, late Controller-General of the Finances of France. London, -1782.” Here was the same ardor for separation, with the same bitter -words for the Colonies. - -Tardily the foresight of the Dean was recognized, until at last -Archbishop Whately, in his annotations upon Bacon’s Essay on Honor -and Reputation, commemorates it as an historic example. According -to him, “the whole British nation were in one particular manifestly -_puzzle-headed_, except _one_ man, who was accordingly derided by -all.” Then mentioning the dispute between the mother country and her -colonies, he says: “But Dean Tucker, standing quite alone, wrote a -pamphlet to show that the separation would be no loss at all, and that -we had best give them the independence they coveted at once and in a -friendly way. Some thought he was writing in jest; the rest despised -him, as too absurd to be worth answering. But now, and for above half -a century, every one admits that he was quite right, and regrets that -his view was not adopted.”[456] Unquestionably this is a remarkable -tribute. Kindred to it was that of the excellent Professor Smyth, who, -in exhibiting the “American War,” dwells on “the superior and the -memorable wisdom of Tucker.”[457] - -The bad temper shooting from his writings interfered, doubtless, with -their acceptance. His spirit, so hostile to us, justified his own -characterization of himself as “the author of these tracts against the -rebel Americans.” As the war drew to a close, his bad temper still -prevailed, heightened by antipathy to republicanism, so that, after -picturing the Colonies, separated at last from the mother country, -as having “gained a general disappointment mixed with anger and -indignation,”[458] he thus predicts their terrible destiny:-- - - “As to the future grandeur of America, and its being a rising - empire under one head, whether republican or monarchical, it - is one of the idlest and most visionary notions that ever was - conceived, even by writers of romance. For there is nothing - in the genius of the people, the situation of their country, - or the nature of their different climates, which tends to - countenance such a supposition.… Above all, when those immense - inland regions beyond the back settlements, which are still - unexplored, are taken into the account, they form the highest - probability that the Americans never can be united into one - compact empire, under any species of government whatever. - Their fate seems to be--_a disunited people till the end of - time_.”[459] - -Alas! But evidently the Dean saw the future of our continent no better -than the Ministry saw their duty with regard to it. - - * * * * * - -Unlike in spirit was Matthew Robinson, a contemporary friend of -America, whose able and elaborate tracts[460] in successive editions -are now forgotten, except so far as revived by the notice of Professor -Smyth.[461] His vindication of the Colonies, at the time of the Boston -Port Bill, was complete, without the harshness of Tucker, and he did -not hesitate to present the impossibility of conquering them. “What -expectation or probability,” he asks, “can there be of sending from -hence armies capable to conquer and subdue so great a force of men -defending and defended by such a continent?”[462] Then, while depicting -English mastery of the sea, he says: “We may do whatever a fleet can. -Very true; but it cannot sail all over North America.”[463] The -productions of this enlightened author cannot have been without effect. -Doubtless they helped the final acknowledgment of independence. When -will the “Old Mortality” appear, to discover and restore his monument? - -The able annotator of Lord Bacon was too sweeping, when he said that on -the great American question all England was wrong, “except _one_ man.” -Robinson was as right as the Dean, and there were others also. The -“Monthly Review,” in an article on the Dean’s appeal for separation, -said: “This, however, is not a new idea. It has frequently occurred -to others.”[464] Even Soame Jenyns, a life-long member of Parliament, -essayist, poet, defender of Christianity, while upholding the right -to tax the Colonies, is said to have accepted the idea of “total -separation”:-- - - “Let all who view th’ instructive scene, - And patronize the plan, - Give thanks to Gloucester’s honest Dean, - For, Tucker, thou’rt the man.”[465] - -In a better spirit, and with affecting earnestness, John Cartwright, -once of the Royal Navy, and known as Major from his rank in the -Nottinghamshire Militia, followed the Dean, in 1774, with a series of -letters collected in a pamphlet entitled “American Independence the -Interest and Glory of Great Britain,” where he insists upon separation, -and thenceforward a friendly league, “that the true and lasting welfare -of both countries can be promoted.”[466] In enforcing his conclusion -the author says: “When we talk of asserting our sovereignty over the -Americans, do we foresee to what fatal lengths it will carry us? Are -not those nations increasing with astonishing rapidity? _Must they not, -in the nature of things, cover in a few ages that immense continent -like a swarm of bees?_”[467] Then again: “We may, indeed, by means of -fleets and armies, maintain a precarious tyranny over the Americans for -a while; but the most shallow politicians must foresee what this would -end in.”[468] Then, in reply to the Dean: “’Tis a pity so able a writer -had not discovered that the Americans have a right to choose their own -governors, and thence enforced the necessity of his proposed separation -as a religious duty, no less than a measure of national policy.”[469] -Cartwright continued at home the conflicts of principle involved in our -War of Independence, and became an English Reformer. Honor to his name! - - -DAVID HARTLEY, 1775, 1776, 1777, 1785. - -Another English friend was David Hartley. He was constant and even -pertinacious on our side, although less prophetic than Pownall, with -whom he coöperated in purpose and activity. His father was Hartley -the metaphysician, and author of the ingenious theory of sensation, -who predicted the fate of existing governments and hierarchies in -two simple sentences: “It is probable that all the present Civil -Governments will be overturned”; “It is probable that the present -forms of Church Government will be dissolved.”[470] Many were alarmed. -Lady Charlotte Wentworth asked the prophet when these terrible things -would happen. The answer was: “I am an old man, and shall not live to -see them; but you are a young woman, and probably will see them.”[471] - -The son was born in 1729, and died at Bath in 1813. During our -Revolution he sat in Parliament for Kingston-upon-Hull. He was also -the British plenipotentiary in negotiating the Definitive Treaty -of Peace with the United States. He has dropped out of sight. The -biographical dictionaries afford him a few lines only. But he deserves -a considerable place in the history of our Independence. - -John Adams was often austere, and sometimes cynical, in his judgments. -Evidently he did not like Hartley. In one place he speaks of him -as “a person of consummate vanity”;[472] then, as “talkative and -disputatious, and not always intelligible”;[473] and in still another -place remarks, “Mr. Hartley was as copious as usual;”[474] and when -appointed to sign the Definitive Treaty, “It would have been more -agreeable to have finished with Mr. Oswald.”[475] And yet, when writing -most elaborately to the Comte de Vergennes on the state of affairs -previous to the final campaign, he introduces opinions of Hartley -at length, saying that he was “more for peace than any man in the -kingdom.”[476] Such testimony may well outweigh the other expressions, -especially as nothing of the kind appears in the correspondence of -Franklin, with whom Hartley was much more intimate. - -The “Parliamentary History” is a sufficient monument for Hartley. He -was a frequent speaker, and never missed an opportunity of pleading our -cause. Although without the immortal eloquence of Burke, he was always -clear and full. Many of his speeches seem written out by himself. He -was not a tardy convert, but began as “a new member” by supporting -an amendment favorable to the Colonies, 5th December, 1774. Then, in -March, 1775, he brought forward “Propositions for Conciliation with -America,” which he sustained in an elaborate speech, where he avowed -that the American question had occupied him for some time:-- - - “Though I have so lately had the honor of a seat in this House, - yet I have for many years turned my thoughts and attention to - matters of public concern and national policy. This question of - America is now of many years’ standing.”[477] - -In this speech he acknowledges the services of New England at -Louisburg:-- - - “In that war too, Sir, they took Louisburg from the French, - single-handed, without any European assistance: as mettled - an enterprise as any in our history; an everlasting memorial - of the zeal, courage, and perseverance of the troops of New - England. The men themselves dragged the cannon over a morass - which had always been thought impassable, where neither - horses nor oxen could go; and they carried the shot upon their - backs. And what was their reward for this forward and spirited - enterprise,--for the reduction of this American Dunkirk? Their - reward, Sir, you know very well: it was given up for a barrier - to the Dutch.”[478] - -All his various propositions were negatived; but he was not -disheartened. Constantly he spoke,--now on the Budget, then on the -Address, and then on specific propositions. At this time he asserted -the power of Parliament over the Colonies, and he proposed, on the -2d November, 1775, that a test of submission by the Colonists should -be the recognition of an Act of Parliament enacting “that all the -slaves in America should have the trial by jury.”[479] Shortly -afterwards, on the 7th December, 1775, he brought forward a second set -of “Propositions for Conciliation with America,” where, among other -things, he embodied the test on slavery, which he put forward as a -compromise; and here his language belongs not only to the history of -our Revolution, but to the history of Antislavery. While declaring that -in his opinion Great Britain was “the aggressor in everything,”[480] -he sought to bring the two countries together on a platform of human -rights, which he thus explained:-- - - “The act to be proposed to America, _as an auspicious beginning - to lay the first stone of universal liberty to mankind_, should - be what no American could hesitate an instant to comply with, - namely, that every slave in North America should be entitled to - his trial by jury in all criminal cases. America cannot refuse - to accept and to enroll such an act as this, and thereby to - reëstablish peace and harmony with the parent state. _Let us - all be reunited in this, as a foundation to extirpate slavery - from the face of the earth. Let those who seek justice and - liberty for themselves give that justice and liberty to their - fellow-creatures._ With respect to the idea of putting a final - period to slavery in North America, it should seem best that - when this country had led the way by the act for jury, that - each Colony, knowing their own peculiar circumstances, should - undertake the work in the most practicable way, and that they - should endeavor to establish some system by which slavery - should be in a certain term of years abolished. _Let the only - contention henceforward between Great Britain and America be, - which shall exceed the other in zeal for establishing the - fundamental rights of liberty to all mankind._”[481] - -How grand and beautiful!--not to be read without gratitude! The motion -was rejected; but among the twenty-three in its favor were Fox and -Burke. - -During this same month the unwearied defender of our country came -forward again, declaring that he could not be “an adviser or a -well-wisher to any of the vindictive operations against America, -because he thought the cause unjust; but at the same time he must be -equally earnest to secure British interests from destruction”; and he -thus prophesies:-- - - “The fate of America is cast. You may bruise its heel, but you - cannot crush its head. It will revive again. _The New World - is before them. Liberty is theirs._ They have possession of a - free government, their birthright and inheritance, derived to - them from their parent state, which the hand of violence cannot - wrest from them. If you will cast them off, my last wish is to - them, May they go and prosper!”[482] - -Again, on the 10th May, 1776, he vindicated anew his original -proposition; and here again he testifies for peace and against -slavery:-- - - “For the sake of peace, therefore, I did propose a test of - compromise, by an acceptance, on the part of the Colonists, - of an Act of Parliament which should lay _the foundation for - the extirpation of the horrid custom of slavery in the New - World_.… My motion was … simply as an act of compromise and - reconciliation; and, as far as it was a legislative act, it was - still to have been applied in correcting the laws of slavery - in America, which I considered as repugnant to the laws of the - realm of England, and to the fundamentals of our Constitution. - Such a compromise would at the same time have saved the - national honor.”[483] - -All gratitude to the hero who at this early day vowed himself to the -abolition of slavery! Hartley is among the first of Abolitionists, -with hardly a predecessor except Granville Sharp, and in Parliament -absolutely the first. Clarkson was at this time fifteen years old, -Wilberforce sixteen. Only in 1785 Clarkson obtained the prize for the -best Latin essay on the question, “Is it right to make men slaves -against their will?”[484] It was not until 1791 that Wilberforce moved -for leave to bring in a bill for the abolition of the slave-trade. It -is no small honor for one man to have come forward in Parliament as -an avowed abolitionist, while at the same time a vindicator of our -independence. - -Again, on the 15th May, 1777, Hartley pleaded for us:-- - - “At sea, which has hitherto been our prerogative element, they - rise against us at a stupendous rate; and if we cannot return - to our old mutual hospitalities towards each other, a very few - years will show us a most formidable hostile marine, ready to - join hands with any of our enemies.… I will venture to prophesy - that the principles of a federal alliance are the only terms of - peace that ever will and that ever ought to obtain between the - two countries.”[485] - -On the 5th of June, three weeks afterwards, the “Parliamentary History” -reports briefly:-- - - “Mr. Hartley went upon the cruelties of slavery, and urged the - Board of Trade to take some means of mitigating it. He produced - a pair of handcuffs, which he said was a manufacture they were - now going to establish.”[486] - -Thus again the abolitionist reappeared in the vindicator of our -independence. On the 22d June, 1779, he brought forward another formal -motion “for reconciliation with America,” and, in the course of a -well-considered speech, denounced the ministers for “headstrong and -inflexible obstinacy in prosecuting a cruel and destructive American -war.”[487] On the 3d December, 1779, in what is called “a very long -speech,” he returned to his theme, inveighing against ministers for -“the favorite, though wild, Quixote, and impracticable measure of -coercing America.”[488] These are only instances. - -During this time he maintained relations with Franklin, as appears in -the “Diplomatic Correspondence of the Revolution,” all of which attests -a desire for peace. In 1778 he arrived at Paris on a confidential -errand, especially to confer with Franklin. On this occasion John -Adams met him and judged him severely. In 1783 he was appointed a -commissioner to sign the Definitive Treaty of Peace. - - * * * * * - -These things belong to history. Though perhaps not generally known, -they are accessible. I have presented them for their intrinsic value -and prophetic character, but also as the introduction to an unpublished -letter from Hartley, which I received some time ago from an English -friend, who has since been called away from important labors. The -letter concerns _emigration to our country, and the payment of the -national debt_. The following indorsement explains its character:-- - - “NOTE. This is a copy of the material portion of a long letter - from D. Hartley, the British Commissioner in Paris, to Lord - Sydenham, January, 1785. The original was sold by C. Robinson, - of 21 Bond Street, London, on the 6th April, 1859, at a sale - of Hartley’s MSS. and papers, chiefly relating to the United - States of America. It was Hartley’s copy, in his own hand. - - “The lot was No. 82 in the sale catalogue. It was bought by J. - R. Smith, the London bookseller, for £2 6_s._ 0_d._ - - “I had a copy made before the sale. - - “JOSEPH PARKES. - - “LONDON, 18 July, ’59.” - -The letter is as follows:-- - - “MY LORD,--In your Lordship’s last letter to me, just before - my leaving Paris, you are pleased to say that any information - which I might have been able to collect of a nature to promote - the mutual and reciprocal interests of Great Britain and the - United States of America would be extremely acceptable to his - Majesty’s government.… Annexed to this letter I have the honor - of transmitting to your Lordship some papers and documents - which I have received from the American ministers. One of them - (No. 5) is a Map of the Continent of North America, in which - the land ceded to them by the late treaty of peace is divided - by parallels of latitude and longitude into fourteen new States. - - “The whole project, in its full extent, would take many years - in its execution, and therefore it must be far beyond the - present race of men to say, ‘This shall be so.’ Nevertheless, - _those who have the first care of this New World will probably - give it such directions and inherent influences as may guide - and control its course and revolutions for ages to come_. But - these plans, being beyond the reach of man to predestinate, - are likewise beyond the reach of comment or speculation to - say what may or may not be possible, or to predict what - events may hereafter be produced by time, climates, soils, - adjoining nations, or by the unwieldy magnitude of empire, _and - the future population of millions superadded to millions_. - The sources of the Mississippi may be unknown; the lines - of longitude and latitude may be extended into unexplored - regions; and the plan of this new creation may be sketched out - by a presumptuous compass, if all its intermediate uses and - functions were to be suspended until the final and precise - accomplishment, without failure or deviation, of this unbounded - plan. But this is not the case; the immediate objects in view - are limited and precise; they are of prudent thought, and - within the scope of human power to measure out and to execute. - The principle, indeed, is indefinite, and will be left to the - test of future ages to determine its duration or extent. - - “I take the liberty to suggest thus much, lest we should be led - away to suppose that the councils which have produced these - plans have had no wiser or more sedate views than merely the - amusement of drawing meridians of ambition and high thoughts. - There appear to me to be two solid and rational objects in - view: the first is, by the sale of lands nearly contiguous - to the present States, (receiving Congress paper in payment - according to its scale of depreciation,) _to extinguish the - present national debt_, which I understand might be discharged - for about twelve millions sterling.… - - “It is a new proposition to be offered to the numerous common - rank of mankind in all the countries of the world, to say that - there are in America fertile soils and temperate climates - in which an acre of land may be purchased for a trifling - consideration, which may be possessed in freedom, together with - all the natural and civil rights of mankind. The Congress have - already proclaimed this, and that no other qualification or - name is necessary but to become settlers, without distinction - of countries or persons. The European peasant, who toils for - his scanty sustenance in penury, wretchedness, and servitude, - will eagerly fly to this asylum for free and industrious labor. - The tide of emigration may set strongly outward from Scotland, - Ireland, and Canada to this new land of promise. - - “A very great proportion of men in all the countries of the - world are without property, and generally are subject to - governments of which they have no participation, and over - whom they have no control. The Congress have now opened to - all the world a sale of landed settlements where the liberty - and property of each individual is to be consigned to his own - custody and defence.… These are such propositions of free - establishments as have never yet been offered to mankind, and - cannot fail of producing great effects in the future progress - of things. The Congress have arranged their offers in the most - inviting and artful terms; and lest individual peasants and - laborers should not have the means of removing themselves, - they throw out inducements to moneyed adventurers to purchase - and to undertake the settlement by commission and agency, - without personal residence, by stipulating that the lands of - proprietors being absentees shall not be higher taxed than the - lands of residents. This will quicken the sale of lands, which - is their object. - - “For the explanation of these points, I beg leave to refer - your Lordship to the documents annexed, Nos. 5 and 6,--namely, - the Map, and Resolutions of Congress, dated April, 1784. - Another circumstance would confirm that it is the intention - of Congress to invite moneyed adventurers to make purchases - and settlements, which is the precise and mathematical mode - of dividing and marking out for sale the lands in each new - proposed State. These new States are to be divided by parallel - lines running north and south, and by other parallels running - east and west. They are to be divided into hundreds of ten - geographical miles square, and then again into lots of one - square mile. The divisions are laid out as regularly as the - squares upon a chessboard, and all to be formed into a Charter - of Compact. - - “They may be purchased by purchasers at any distance, and - the titles may be verified by registers of such or such - numbers, north or south, east or west: all this is explained - by the document annexed, No. 7, namely, _The Ordinance for - ascertaining the mode of locating and disposing of lands in the - Western Territory. This is their plan and means for paying off - their national debt, and they seem very intent upon doing it._ - I should observe that their debt consists of two parts, namely, - domestic and foreign. The sale of lands is to be appropriated - to the former. - - “The domestic debt may perhaps be nine or ten millions, and - the foreign debt two or three. For payment of the foreign debt - it is proposed to lay a tax of five per cent. upon all imports - until discharged, which, I am informed, has already been agreed - to by most of the States, and probably will soon be confirmed - by the rest. Upon the whole, it appears that this plan is as - prudently conceived and as judiciously arranged, as to the - end proposed, as any experienced cabinet of European ministers - could have devised or planned any similar project. - - “The second point which appears to me to be deserving of - attention, respecting the immense cession of territory to - the United States at the late peace, is a point _which will - perhaps in a few years become an unparalleled phenomenon in the - political world_. As soon as the national debt of the United - States shall be discharged by the sale of one portion of those - lands, we shall then see the Confederate Republic in a new - character, as a proprietor of lands either for sale or to let - upon rents. While other nations may be struggling under debts - too enormous to be discharged either by economy or taxation, - and while they may be laboring to raise ordinary and necessary - supplies by burdensome impositions upon their own persons and - properties, _here will be a nation possessed of a new and - unheard-of financial organ of stupendous magnitude, and in - process of time of unmeasured value, thrown into their lap as a - fortuitous superfluity, and almost without being sought for_. - - “When such an organ of revenue begins to arise into produce and - exertion, what public uses it may be applicable to, or to what - abuses and perversions it might be rendered subservient, is far - beyond the reach of probable discussion now. Such discussions - would only be visionary speculations. However, thus far it - is obvious, and highly deserving of our attention, that it - cannot fail becoming to the American States a most important - instrument of national power, the progress and operation of - which must hereafter be _a most interesting object of attention - to the British American dominions which are in close vicinity - to the territories of the United States; and I should hope that - these considerations would lead us, inasmuch as we value those - parts of our dominions, to encourage conciliatory and amicable - correspondence between them and their neighbors_.” - -This private communication, now for the first time seeing the light, is -full of prophecy, or of that remarkable discernment and forecast which -mark the prophetic spirit, whether in announcing “the future population -of millions superadded to millions,” or in the high estimate of the -National Territory, destined to become in a few years “an unparalleled -phenomenon in the political world,” “a new and unheard-of _financial -organ_ of stupendous magnitude.” How few at home saw the Public Lands -with as clear a vision as Hartley! - - -GALIANI, 1776, 1778. - -Among the most brilliant in this extending list is the Abbé Galiani, -the Neapolitan, who was born 1728, and died at Naples 1787. Although -Italian by birth, yet by the accident of official residence he became -for a while domesticated in France, wrote the French language, and now -enjoys a French reputation. His writings in French and his letters have -the wit and ease of Voltaire. - -Galiani was a genius. Whatever he touched shone at once with his -brightness, in which there was originality as well as knowledge. -He was a finished scholar, and very successful in lapidary verses. -Early in life, while in Italy, he wrote a grave essay on Money, which -contrasted with another of rare humor suggested by the death of the -public executioner. Other essays followed; and then came the favor -of the congenial pontiff, Benedict the Fourteenth. In 1760 he found -himself at Paris as Secretary of the Neapolitan Embassy. Mingling -with courtiers officially, according to the duties of his position, -he fraternized with the liberal and adventurous spirits who exercised -such influence over society and literature. He was recognized as one -of them, and inferior to none. His petty stature was forgotten when -he conversed with inexhaustible faculties of all kinds, so that he -seemed an Encyclopædia, Harlequin, and Machiavelli all in one. The -atheists at the Thursday dinner of D’Holbach were confounded while he -enforced the existence of God. Into the questions of political economy -occupying attention at the time he entered with a pen which seemed -borrowed from the French Academy. His “Dialogues sur le Commerce des -Blés” had the success of a romance: ladies carried this book on Corn in -their work-baskets. Returning to Naples, he continued to live in Paris -through his correspondence, especially with Madame d’Épinay, the Baron -d’Holbach, Diderot, and Grimm.[489] - -Among later works, after his return to Naples, was a solid volume--not -to be forgotten in the History of International Law--on the Duties -of Neutrals, where a difficult subject is treated with such mastery, -that, more than half a century later, D’Hautefeuille, in his elaborate -treatise, copies from it at length. Galiani was the predecessor of this -French writer in the extreme assertion of neutral rights. Other works -were left at his death in manuscript, some grave and some humorous; -also letters without number. The letters preserved from Italian -_savans_ filled eight large volumes; those from _savans_, ministers, -and sovereigns abroad filled fourteen. His Parisian correspondence did -not see the light till 1818, although some of the letters may be found -in the contemporary correspondence of Grimm. - -In his Parisian letters, which are addressed chiefly to that clever -individuality, Madame d’Épinay, the Neapolitan abbé shows not only -the brilliancy and nimbleness of his talent, but the universality of -his knowledge and the boldness of his speculations. Here are a few -words from a letter dated at Naples, 12th October, 1776, in which he -brings forward the idea of “races,” so important in our day, with an -illustration from Russia:-- - - “_All depends upon races._ The first, the most noble of races, - comes naturally from the North of Asia. The Russians are the - nearest to it, and this is the reason why they have made more - progress in fifty years than can be got out of the Portuguese - in five hundred.”[490] - -Belonging to the Latin race, Galiani was entitled to speak thus freely. - -In another letter to Madame d’Épinay, dated at Naples, 18th May, 1776, -he had already foretold the success of our Revolution. Few prophets -have been more explicit than he was in the following passage:-- - - “Livy said of his age, which so strongly resembled ours, ‘_Ad - hæc tempora ventum est, quibus nec vitia nostra nec remedia - pati possumus_,’--‘We are in an age when the remedies hurt - at least as much as the vices.’[491] Do you know how matters - stand? _The epoch has come of the total downfall of Europe, - and of transmigration to America._ Everything here is falling - into rottenness,--religion, laws, arts, sciences,--and - everything is going to be rebuilt anew in America. This is no - joke; nor is it an idea drawn from the English quarrels; I - have said, announced, preached it, for more than twenty years, - and I have always seen my prophecies fulfilled. _Do not buy - your house, then, in the Chaussée d’Antin; you must buy it - in Philadelphia._ My trouble is, that there are no abbeys in - America.”[492] - -This letter was written some months before the Declaration of -Independence. - -In another, dated at Naples, 7th February, 1778, the Abbé alludes to -the great numbers of English men and women who have come to Naples -“for shelter from the American tempests,” and adds, “Meanwhile the -Washingtons and Hancocks will be fatal to them.”[493] In still another, -dated at Naples, 25th July, 1778, he renews his prophecies in language -still more explicit:-- - - “You will at this time have decided the greatest revolution of - the globe,--namely, _if it is America which is to reign over - Europe, or if it is Europe which is to continue to reign over - America_. I would wager in favor of America, for the reason, - merely physical, that for five thousand years genius has turned - opposite to the diurnal motion, and travelled from East to - West.”[494] - -Here again is the idea of Berkeley which has been so captivating. - - -ADAM SMITH, 1776. - -In contrast with the witty Italian is the illustrious philosopher and -writer of Scotland, Adam Smith, who was born 5th June, 1723, and died -17th July, 1790. His fame is so commanding that any details of life or -works would be out of place. He was thinker and inventor, through whom -mankind was advanced in knowledge. - -I say nothing of his “Theory of Moral Sentiments,” constituting an -important contribution to the science of Ethics, but come at once to -his great work of political economy, entitled “An Inquiry into the -Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations,” which first appeared in -1776. Its publication marks an epoch described by Mr. Buckle, when -he says that Adam Smith, “by the publication of this single work, -contributed more towards the happiness of man than has been effected -by the united abilities of all the statesmen and legislators of whom -history has preserved an authentic account.”[495] The work is full -of prophetic knowledge, and especially with regard to the British -Colonies. Writing while the debate with the mother country was still -pending, Adam Smith urged that they should be admitted to Parliamentary -representation in proportion to taxation, so that their representation -would enlarge with their growing resources; and here he predicts -nothing less than the transfer of empire:-- - - “The distance of America from the seat of government, the - natives of that country might flatter themselves, with - some appearance of reason too, would not be of very long - continuance. Such has hitherto been the rapid progress of that - country in wealth, population, and improvement, that, in the - course of little more than a century, perhaps, the produce of - American might exceed that of British taxation. _The seat of - the empire would then naturally remove itself to that part of - the empire which contributed most to the general defence and - support of the whole._”[496] - -In these tranquil words of assured science the great author carries the -seat of government across the Atlantic. - -Did Adam Smith in this remarkable passage do more than follow a hint -from our own prophet? The prophecy of the great economist first -appeared in 1776. In the course of 1774, and down to April 19, 1775, -John Adams published in the “Boston Gazette” a series of weekly -articles, under the signature of “Novanglus,” which were abridged in -Almon’s “Remembrancer” for 1775, with the following title: “History of -the Dispute with America, from its Origin in 1754 to the Present Time.” -Although this abridged edition stops before the prophetic passage, it -is not impossible that the whole series was known to Adam Smith. After -speculating, as the latter did afterwards, on the extension of the -British Constitution and Parliamentary representation to the outlying -British dominions, our prophet says:-- - - “If in twenty years more America should have six millions of - inhabitants, as there is a boundless territory to fill up, she - must have five hundred representatives. Upon these principles, - if in forty years she should have twelve millions, a thousand; - and if the inhabitants of the three kingdoms remain as they - are, being already full of inhabitants, what will become of - your supreme legislative? _It will be translated, crown and - all, to America._ This is a sublime system for America. It will - flatter those ideas of independency which the Tories impute - to them, if they have any such, more than any other plan of - independency that I have ever heard projected.”[497] - -Thus plainly was John Adams precursor of Adam Smith. - -In 1784 these papers were reprinted from the “Remembrancer,” by -Stockdale, in London, bearing the same title, substantially, as before, -“History of the Dispute with America, from its Origin in 1754,” with -the addition, “Written in the Year 1774, by John Adams, Esq.” The -“Monthly Review,” in a notice of the publication, after speaking of -“the inauspicious system of American taxation,” says, “Mr. Adams -foretold the consequence of obstinately adhering to it, and the event -hath too well verified his predictions. They were, however, predictions -which required no inspiration.”[498] So that his wise second-sight was -recognized in England much beyond the prevision of Adam Smith. - -The idea of transferring the seat of government to America was often -attributed to Franklin by Dean Tucker. The former, in a letter, as -early as 25th November, 1767, reports the Dean as saying, “That is his -constant plan.”[499] In one of his tracts, the Dean attributes it not -only to Franklin, but also to our people. With strange exaggeration he -says: “It has been the unanimous opinion of the North Americans for -these fifty years past, that the seat of empire ought to be transferred -from the lesser to the greater country,--that is, from England to -America, or, as Dr. Franklin elegantly phrased it, from the cock-boat -to the man-of-war.”[500] It is impossible to say how much of this was -from the excited brain of the Dean. - - -RICHARD PRICE, 1776, 1777, 1778, 1784. - -A true and solid ally of our country at a critical period was Dr. -Price, dissenting clergyman, metaphysician, political writer, and -mathematician, who was born in Wales, 23d February, 1723, and died in -London, 19th April, 1791. - -His earliest labors were “A Review of the Principal Questions and -Difficulties in Morals,” by which he was recognized as a metaphysician, -and “Observations on Reversionary Payments,” by which he was recognized -as an authority on a large class of financial questions. At the same -time his sermons were regarded as excellent. Amidst these various -labors he was moved to enlist as a pamphleteer in defence of the -American Colonies. This service, prompted by a generous devotion to -just principles, awakened grateful sentiments on both sides of the -ocean. - -The Aldermen and Common Council of London marked their sympathy by -voting him the freedom of the city in a gold box of fifty pounds value. -The American Congress sent him a different testimonial, officially -communicated to him, being a solemn resolution declaring “the desire of -Congress to consider him a citizen of the United States, and to receive -his assistance in regulating their finances.”[501] In reply, under -date of 18th January, 1779, while declining the invitation, he offered -“assurances that Dr. Price feels the warmest gratitude for the notice -taken of him, and that he looks to the American States as _now_ the -hope and likely _soon_ to become the refuge of mankind.”[502] Franklin -and Adams contracted with him relations of friendship. The former, -under date of 6th February, 1780, wrote him: “Your writings, after all -the abuse you and they have met with, begin to make serious impressions -on those who at first rejected the counsels you gave”;[503] and 24th -October, 1788, he wrote to another: “Remember me affectionately to good -Dr. Price.”[504] The latter, in correspondence many years afterwards, -recorded the intimacy he enjoyed with Dr. Price, “at his own house, at -my house, and at the houses and tables of many friends.”[505] - -The first of his American tracts was in 1776, being “Observations on -the Nature of Civil Liberty, the Principles of Government, and the -Justice and Policy of the War with America.” The sale of sixty thousand -copies in a few months shows the extensive acceptance of the work. -The general principles so clearly exhibited are invoked for America. -Occasionally the philosopher becomes prophet, as when he predicts the -growth of population:-- - - “They are now but little short of half our number. To this - number they have grown, from a small body of original settlers, - by a very rapid increase. The probability is that they will go - on to increase, and that in fifty or sixty years they will be - _double our number, and form a mighty empire, consisting of a - variety of States, all equal or superior to ourselves in all - the arts and accomplishments which give dignity and happiness - to human life_.”[506] - -Nothing less than “a vast continent” seems to him the sphere of this -remarkable development, and he revolts at the idea of this being held -“at the discretion of a handful of people on the other side of the -Atlantic.”[507] In the measures which brought on the war he saw “the -hand of Providence _working to bring about some great ends_.”[508] And -the vast continent was to be dedicated to Liberty. The excellent man -saw even the end of Slavery. Speaking of “the negroes of the Southern -Colonies,” he said that they “probably will now either soon become -extinct or _have their condition changed into that of freemen_.”[509] -Years and battle intervened before this precious result. - -This production was followed in 1777 by “Additional Observations on -the Nature and Value of Civil Liberty, and the War with America,”--to -which was added “Observations on Public Loans, the National Debt, and -the Debts and Resources of France.” In all this variety of topics, his -concern for America breaks forth in the inquiry, “Must not humanity -shudder at such a war?”[510] And he sees untold loss to England, which, -with the Colonies, “might be the greatest and happiest nation that ever -existed”; but without them “we are no more a people; … our existence -depends on keeping them.”[511] This patriotic gloom is checked by -another vision:-- - - “These measures have, in all probability, hastened that - disruption of the New from the Old World, _which will begin a - new era in the annals of mankind_, and produce a revolution - more important, perhaps, than any that has happened in human - affairs.”[512] - -Thus was American Independence heralded, and its influence foretold. - -Constantly sympathizing with America, and impressed by the magnitude of -the issue, his soul found another utterance, in 1778, in what he called -“The General Introduction and Supplement to the Two Tracts on Civil -Liberty, the War with America, and the Finances of the Kingdom.” Here -again he sees a vision:-- - - “A great people, likely to be formed, in spite of all our - efforts, into free communities, under governments which have no - religious tests and establishments. A new era in future annals, - and a new opening in human affairs, beginning, among the - descendants of Englishmen, in a new world. _A rising empire, - extended over an immense continent, without bishops, without - nobles, and without kings._”[513] - -After the recognition of Independence and the establishment of peace, -Dr. Price appeared with another tract: “Observations on the Importance -of the American Revolution and the Means of making it a Benefit to the -World.” This was in 1784. And here he repeated the exultation of an -earlier day:-- - - “With heartfelt satisfaction I see the revolution in favor - of universal liberty which has taken place in America,--_a - revolution which opens a new prospect in human affairs_, and - begins a new era in the history of mankind.… Perhaps I do not - go too far, when I say, that, next to the introduction of - Christianity among mankind, the American Revolution may prove - the most important step in the progressive course of human - improvement.”[514] - -Thus announcing the grandeur of the epoch, he states that it “may -produce a general diffusion of the principles of humanity,” and may -lead mankind to see and know “that all legitimate government consists -in the dominion of _equal laws_, made with common consent,” which -is another expression of the primal truth of the Declaration of -Independence. Then, referring to the “community or confederacy” of -States, he says, “I can almost imagine that it is not impossible but -that by such means _universal peace_ may be produced, and all war -excluded from the world”; and he asks, “Why may we not hope to see this -begun in America?”[515] May America be true to this aspiration! There -is also a longing for Equality, and a warning against Slavery, with -the ejaculation, in harmony with earlier words, “Let the United States -continue forever what it is now their glory to be, a confederation of -States, prosperous and happy, _without lords, without bishops, and -without kings_.”[516] In the midst of the bloody conflict this vision -had appeared, and he had sought to make it a reality. - -His true friendship for our country and his devotion to humanity, -with the modesty of his nature, appear in a letter to Franklin, 12th -July, 1784, communicating a copy of the last production. After saying -that “it is intended entirely for America,” the excellent counsellor -proceeds:-- - - “I hope the United States will forgive my presumption in - supposing myself qualified to advise them.… The consciousness - which I have that it is well intended, and that my address - to them is the effusion of a heart that wishes to serve the - best interests of society, helps to reconcile me to myself - in this instance, and it will, I hope, engage the candor of - others.”[517] - -The same sentiments which proved his sympathies with our country -reappeared with fresh fires at the outbreak of the French Revolution, -arousing, in opposition, the immortal eloquence of Burke. A discourse -“On the Love of our Country,” preached at the Old Jewry, 4th November, -1789, in commemoration of the English Revolution, with friendly glances -at what was then passing across the Channel, prompted the “Reflections -on the Revolution in France.” The personal denunciation which is the -beginning of that remarkable performance is the perpetual witness to -the position of the preacher, whose prophetic soul did not hesitate to -accept the French Revolution side by side with ours in glory and in -promise. - - -GOVERNOR POWNALL, 1777, 1780, 1783. - -Among the best friends of our country abroad during the trials of the -Revolution was Thomas Pownall, called by one biographer “a learned -antiquary and politician,” and by another “an English statesman and -author.” Latterly he has so far dropped out of sight that there are -few who recognize in him either of these characters. He was born -1722, and died at Bath 1805. During this long period he held several -offices. As early as 1745 he became secretary to the Commissioners -for Trade and Plantations. In 1753 he crossed the ocean. In 1755, as -Commissioner for Massachusetts Bay, he had a share in the negotiations -with New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, in union with New England, -which resulted in the confederated expedition against Crown Point. He -was afterwards Governor of Massachusetts Bay, New Jersey, and South -Carolina, successively. Returning to England, he was appointed, in -1762, Comptroller-General of the army in Germany, with the military -rank of colonel. He sat in two successive Parliaments until 1780, when -he passed into private life. Hildreth gives a glimpse of his personal -character, when, admitting his frank manners and liberal politics, -he describes his habits as “rather freer than suited the New England -standard.”[518] - -Pownall stands forth conspicuous for championship of our national -independence, and especially for foresight with regard to our national -future. In both these respects his writings are unique. Other -Englishmen were in favor of independence, and saw our future also; but -I doubt if any one can be named who was his equal in strenuous action, -or in minuteness of foresight. While the war was still proceeding, as -early as 1780, he openly announced, not only that independence was -inevitable, but that the new nation, “founded in Nature and built up in -truth,” would continually expand; that its population would increase -and multiply; that a civilizing activity beyond what Europe could ever -know would animate it; and that its commercial and naval power would -be found in every quarter of the globe.[519] All this he set forth at -length with argument and illustration, and he called his prophetic -words “the _stating of the simple fact_, so little understood in the -Old World.” Treated at first as “unintelligible speculation” and as -“unfashionable,” the truth he announced was “neglected where it was not -rejected, but in general rejected as inadmissible,” and the author, -according to his own language, “was called by the wise men of the -British Cabinet _a Wild Man_, unfit to be employed.”[520] But these -writings are a better title now than any office. In manner they are -diffuse and pedantic; but they hardly deserve the cold judgment of John -Adams, who in his old age said of them that “a reader who has patience -to search for good sense in an uncouth and disgusting style will find -in those writings proofs of a thinking mind.”[521] - -He seems to have written a good deal. But the works which will be -remembered the longest are not even mentioned by several of his -biographers. Rose, in his Biographical Dictionary, records works by -him, entitled “Antiquities of the Provincia Romana of Gaul”; “Roman -Antiquities dug up at Bath”; “Observations on the Currents in the -Atlantic Ocean”; “Intellectual Physics”; and contributions to the -“Archæologia”: nothing more. To this list Gorton, in his Biographical -Dictionary, adds briefly, “besides many political tracts,” but without -particular reference to the works on America. This is another instance -where the stone rejected by the builders becomes the head of the corner. - -At an early date Pownall comprehended the position of our country, -geographically. He saw the wonderful means of internal communication -supplied by its inland waters, and also the opportunities of external -commerce afforded by the Atlantic Ocean. On the former he dwells, in a -Memorial drawn up in 1756 for the Duke of Cumberland.[522] Nobody in -our own day, after the experience of more than a century, has portrayed -more vividly the two vast aqueous masses,--one composed of the Great -Lakes and their dependencies, and the other of the Mississippi and -its tributaries. The Great Lakes are described as “a wilderness of -waters, spreading over the country by an infinite number and variety of -branchings, bays, straits, &c.”[523] The Mississippi, with its eastern -branch, called the Ohio, is described as having, “as far as we know, -but two falls,--one at a place called by the French St. Antoine, high -up on the west or main branch”; and all its waters “run to the ocean -with a still, easy, and gentle current.”[524] The picture is completed -by exhibiting the two masses in combination:-- - - “The waters of each respective mass--not only the lesser - streams, but the main general body of each going through - this continent in every course and direction--have, by their - approach to each other, by their interlacing with each other, - by their communication to every quarter and in every direction, - an alliance and unity, and form one mass, a one whole.”[525] - -And he remarks, that it is thus seen - - “how the watery element claims and holds dominion over this - extent of land: that the great lakes which lie upon its bosom - on one hand, and the great river Mississippi and the multitude - of waters which run into it, form there a communication,--an - alliance or dominion of the watery element, that commands - throughout the whole; that these great lakes appear to be - _the throne_, the _centre of a dominion_, whose influence, - by an infinite number of rivers, creeks, and streams, extends - itself through all and every part of the continent, supported - by the communication of, and alliance with, the waters of - Mississippi.”[526] - -If these means of internal commerce were vast, those afforded by the -Atlantic Ocean were not less extensive. The latter were developed -in the treatise on “The Administration of the Colonies,” the fourth -edition of which, published in 1768, is now before me. This was after -the differences between the Colonies and the mother country had begun, -but before the idea of independence had shown itself. Pownall insisted -that the Colonies ought to be considered as parts of the realm, -entitled to representation in Parliament. This was a constitutional -unity. But he portrayed a commercial unity also, which he represented -in attractive forms. The British Isles, and the British possessions in -the Atlantic and in America, were, according to him, “a grand marine -dominion,” and ought, therefore, by policy, to be united into one -empire, with one centre. On this he dwells at length, and the picture -is presented repeatedly.[527] It was incident to the crisis in the -world produced by the predominance of the commercial spirit already -beginning to rule the powers of Europe. It was the duty of England to -place herself at the head of this great movement:-- - - “As the rising of this crisis above described forms precisely - the _object_ on which Government should be employed, so the - taking leading measures towards the forming all those Atlantic - and American possessions into one empire, of which Great - Britain should be the commercial and political centre, is the - _precise duty_ of Government at this crisis.”[528] - -This was his desire. But he saw clearly the resources as well as the -rights of the Colonies, and was satisfied, that, if power were not -consolidated under the constitutional auspices of England, it would -be transferred to the other side of the Atlantic. Here his words are -prophetic:-- - - “The whole train of events, the whole course of business, must - perpetually bring forward into practice, and necessarily in - the end into establishment, _either an American or a British - union_. There is no other alternative.”[529] - -The necessity for union is enforced in a manner which foreshadows our -National Union:-- - - “The Colonial Legislature does certainly not answer all - purposes,--is incompetent and inadequate to many purposes. - Something, therefore, more is necessary,--_either a - common union amongst themselves_, or a one common union - of subordination under the one general legislature of the - state.”[530] - -Then, again, in another place of the same work, after representing the -declarations of power over the Colonies as little better than mockery, -he prophesies:-- - - “Such is the actual state of the really existing system of our - dominions, that _neither the power of government over these - various parts can long continue under the present mode of - administration_, nor the great interest of commerce extended - throughout the whole long subsist under the present system of - the laws of trade.”[531] - -Recent events may give present interest to his views, in this same -work, on the nature and necessity of a paper currency, where he follows -Franklin. The principal points of his plan were: That bills of credit, -to a certain amount, should be printed in England for the use of the -Colonies; that a loan-office should be established in each Colony, -to issue bills, take securities, and receive the payments; that the -bills should be issued for ten years, bearing interest at five per -cent.,--one tenth part of the sum borrowed to be paid annually, with -the interest; and that they should be a legal tender.[532] - -When the differences had flamed forth in war, then the prophet became -more earnest. His utterances deserve to be rescued from oblivion. -He was open, almost defiant. As early as 2d December, 1777, some -months before our treaty with France, he declared, from his place in -Parliament, that “the sovereignty of this country over America is -abolished and gone forever”; that “they are determined at all events -to be independent, _and they will be so_”; and that “all the treaty -that this country can ever expect with America is federal, and that, -probably, only commercial.” In this spirit he said to the House:-- - - “Until you shall be convinced that you are no longer sovereigns - over America, but that the United States are an independent, - sovereign people,--until you are prepared to treat with them as - such,--it is of no consequence at all what schemes or plans of - conciliation this side the House or that may adopt.”[533] - -The position taken in Parliament he maintained by writings; and here he -depicted the great destinies of our country. He began with “A Memorial -to the Sovereigns of Europe,” published early in 1780, and afterwards, -through the influence of John Adams, while at the Hague, abridged and -translated into French. In this remarkable production independence was -the least that he claimed for us. Thus he foretells our future:-- - - “North America is become a new primary planet in the system of - the world, which, while it takes its own course, in its own - orbit, must have effect on the orbit of every other planet, - and shift the common centre of gravity of the whole system of - the European world. North America is _de facto_ an independent - power, which has taken its equal station with other powers, and - must be so _de jure_.… The independence of America is fixed as - Fate. She is mistress of her own fortune, knows that she is - so, and will actuate that power which she feels she hath, so - as to establish her own system _and to change the system of - Europe_.”[534] - -Not only is the new power to take an independent place, but it is -“to change the system of Europe.” For all this its people are amply -prepared. “Standing on that high ground of improvement up to which -the most enlightened parts of Europe have advanced, like eaglets -they commence the first efforts of their pinions from a towering -advantage.”[535] This same conviction appears in another form:-- - - “North America has advanced and is every day advancing to - growth of state with a steady and continually accelerating - motion, of which there has never yet been any example in - Europe.”[536] “It is a vitality, liable indeed to many - disorders, many dangerous diseases; but it is young and strong, - and will struggle, by the vigor of internal healing principles - of life, against those evils, and surmount them.… Its strength - will grow with its years.”[537] - -He then dwells in detail on “the progressive population” of the -country; on its advantage in lying “on another side of the globe, -where it has no enemy”; on the products of the soil, among which is -“bread-corn to a degree that has wrought it to a staple export for -the supply of the Old World”; on the fisheries, which he calls “mines -producing more solid riches to those who work them than all the silver -of Potosi”; on the inventive spirit of the people; and on their -commercial activity.[538] Of such a people it is easy to predict great -things; and our prophet announces,-- - -1. That the new state will be “a great naval power,” exercising a -peculiar influence on commerce, and, through commerce, on the political -system of the Old World,--becoming the arbitress of commerce, and -perhaps the mediatrix of peace.[539] - -2. That ship-building and the science and art of navigation have made -such progress in America that her people will be able to build and -navigate cheaper than any country in Europe, even Holland, with all her -economy.[540] - -3. That the peculiar articles to be had from America only, and so -much sought in Europe, must give Americans a preference in those -markets.[541] - -4. That a people “whose empire stands singly predominant in a great -continent” can hardly “suffer in their borders the establishment of -such a monopoly as the European Hudson’s Bay Company”; that it cannot -be stopped by Cape Horn or the Cape of Good Hope; that before long -“they will be found trading in the South Sea and in China”; and that -“the Dutch will hear of them in Spice Islands.”[542] - -5. That by constant intercommunion of business and correspondence, and -by increased knowledge with regard to the ocean, “America will seem -every day to approach nearer and nearer to Europe”; that “a thousand -attractive motives will … become the irresistible cause of _an almost -general emigration to that New World_”; and that “many of the most -useful, enterprising spirits, and much of the active property, will go -there also.”[543] - -6. That “North America will become a _free port_ to all the nations of -the world indiscriminately, and will expect, insist on, and demand, -in fair reciprocity, a _free market_ in all those nations with whom -she trades”; and that, adhering to this principle, she must be, “in -the course of time, the chief carrier of the commerce of the whole -world.”[544] - -7. That America must avoid complication with European politics, or “the -entanglement of alliances,” having no connections with Europe “other -than merely commercial”;[545]--all of which at a later day was put -forth by Washington in his Farewell Address, when he said: “The great -rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is, in extending -our commercial relations, to have with them as little political -connection as possible”; and also when he asked: “Why, by interweaving -our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and -prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, interest, -humor, or caprice?”[546] - -8. That “the similar modes of living and thinking, the same manners -and same fashions, the same language, and old habits of national love, -impressed in the heart and not yet effaced, _the very indentings of -the fracture whereat North America stands broken off from England, all -conspire naturally to a rejuncture by alliance_.”[547] - -9. That the sovereigns of Europe, who “have despised the unfashioned, -awkward youth of America,” and have neglected to interweave their -interests with the rising States, when they find the system of the new -empire not only obstructing, but superseding, the old system of Europe, -and crossing all their settled maxims, will call upon their ministers -and wise men, “Come, curse me this people, for they are too mighty for -me.”[548] - -This remarkable appeal was followed by two Memorials, “drawn up solely -for the King’s use, and designed solely for his eye,”[549] dated at -Richmond, January 2, 1782, where the author most persuasively urges his -Majesty to “treat with the Americans as with free states _de facto_, -under a truce.”[550] And on the signature of the treaty of peace he -wrote a private letter to Franklin, dated at Richmond, 28th February, -1783, where he testifies to the magnitude of the event:-- - - “MY OLD FRIEND,--I write this to congratulate you on the - establishment of your country as a free and sovereign power, - taking its equal station amongst the powers of this world. - I congratulate you, in particular, as chosen by Providence - to be a principal instrument of this great Revolution,--_a - Revolution that has stronger marks of Divine interposition, - superseding the ordinary course of human affairs, than any - other event which this world has experienced_.”[551] - -The prophet closes his letter by allusion to a proposed tour of -America, adding, that, “if there ever was an object worth the -travelling to see, and worthy of the contemplation of a philosopher, -it is that in which he may see the beginnings of a great empire at -its foundation.” He communicated this purpose also to John Adams, who -answered him, that “he would be received respectfully in every part of -America, that he had always been considered as friendly to America, and -that his writings had been useful to our cause.”[552] - -Then came another work, first published in 1783, entitled “A Memorial -addressed to the Sovereigns of America,” of which he gave the -mistaken judgment to a private friend, that it was “the best thing -he ever wrote.”[553] Here for the first time American citizens are -called “sovereigns.” At the beginning he explains, and indicates the -simplicity with which he addresses them:-- - - “Having presumed to address to the Sovereigns of Europe a - Memorial, … permit me now to address this Memorial to you - Sovereigns of America. I shall not address you with the court - titles of Gothic Europe, nor with those of servile Asia. I - will neither address your Sublimity or Majesty, your Grace or - Holiness, your Eminence or Highmightiness, your Excellence or - Honors. What are titles, where things themselves are known and - understood? What title did the Republic of Rome take? The - state was known to be sovereign, and the citizens to be free. - What could add to this glory? Therefore, United States and - Citizens of America, I address you as you are.”[554] - -Here again are the same constant sympathy with Liberty, the same -confidence in our national destinies, and the same aspirations for our -prosperity, mingled with warnings against disturbing influences. He -exhorts that all our foundations should be “laid in Nature”; that there -should be “no contention for, nor acquisition of, unequal domination in -men”; and that union should be established on the attractive principle -by which all are drawn to a common centre.[555] He fears difficulty in -making the line of frontier between us and the British Provinces “a -line of peace,” as it ought to be; he is anxious lest something may -break out between us and Spain; and he suggests that possibly, “in the -cool hours of unimpassioned reflection,” we may learn the danger of our -“alliances,”[556]--referring plainly to that original alliance with -France which at a later day was the occasion of such trouble. Two other -warnings occur. One is against Slavery,[557] which is more memorable, -because in an earlier Memorial he enumerates among articles of commerce -“African slaves, carried by a circuitous trade in American shipping -to the West India markets.”[558] The other warning is thus strongly -expressed:-- - - “Every inhabitant of America is, _de facto_ as well as _de - jure_, equal, in his essential, inseparable rights of the - individual, to any other individual,--is, in these rights, - independent of any power that any other can assume over him, - over his labor, or his property. This is a principle in act and - deed, and not a mere speculative theorem.”[559] - -This strange and striking testimony, all from one man, is enhanced -by his farewell words to Franklin. As Pownall heard that the great -philosopher and negotiator was about to embark for the United States, -he wrote to him from Lausanne, 3d July, 1785:-- - - “Adieu, my dear friend. You are going to a New World, formed to - exhibit a scene which the Old World never yet saw. You leave me - here in the Old World, which, like myself, begins to feel, as - Asia hath felt, that it is wearing out apace. We shall never - meet again on this earth; but there is another world where we - shall meet, and _where we shall be understood_.”[560] - -The correspondence was continued across the intervening ocean. In a -letter to Franklin, dated at Bristol, 8th April, 1788, the same devoted -reformer refers to the Congress at Albany in 1754, “when the events -which have since come into fact first began to develop themselves, as -ready to burst into bloom, and to bring forth the fruits of Liberty -which you in America at present enjoy.” He is cheered in his old age -by the proceedings in the Convention to frame a Constitution, with -Franklin’s “report of a system of sovereignty founded in law, and -above which law only was sovereign”; and he begins “to entertain hopes -for the liberties of America, and for what will be an asylum one day -or other to a remnant of mankind who wish and deserve to live with -political liberty.” His disturbance at the Presidential term breaks -out: “I have some fears of mischief from _the orbit of four years’ -period_ which you give to the rotation of the office of President. -It may become the ground of intrigue.”[561] Here friendly anxiety is -elevated by hope, where America appears as the asylum of Liberty. - -Clearly Pownall was not understood in his time; but it is evident that -he understood our country as few Englishmen since have been able to -understand it. - -How few of his contemporaries saw America with his insight and courage! -The prevailing sentiment was typified in the conduct of George the -Third, so boldly arraigned in the Declaration of Independence. -Individual opinions also attest the contrast, and help to glorify -Pownall. Thus, Shirley, like himself a Massachusetts governor, in -advising the King to strengthen Louisburg, wrote, under date of July -10, 1745:-- - - “It would, by its vicinity to the British Colonies, and being - the key of ’em, give the Crown of Great Britain a most absolute - hold and command of ’em, if ever there should come a time - when they should go restiff and disposed to shake off their - dependency upon their mother country, _the possibility of which - seems some centuries further off than it does to some gentlemen - at home_.”[562] - -Nothing of the prophet here. Nor was Hume more penetrating in his -History first published, although he commemorates properly the early -settlement of the country:-- - - “What chiefly renders the reign of James memorable is the - commencement of the English colonies in America, colonies - established on the noblest footing that has been known in any - age or nation.… - - “Speculative reasoners during that age raised many objections - to the planting those remote colonies, and foretold, that, - after draining their mother country of inhabitants, they would - soon shake off her yoke, and erect an independent government - in America; but time has shown that the views entertained by - those who encouraged such generous undertakings were more - just and solid. _A mild government and great naval force have - preserved, and may long preserve, the dominion of England over - her colonies._”[563] - -In making the reign of James chiefly memorable by the Colonies, the -eminent historian shows a just appreciation of events; but he seems to -have written hastily, and rather from imagination than evidence, when -he announces contemporary prophecy, “that, after draining their mother -country of inhabitants, they would soon shake off her yoke, and erect -an independent government in America,” and is plainly without prophetic -instinct with regard to “the dominion of England over her colonies.” - - -CÉRISIER, 1778, 1780. - -Again a Frenchman appears on our list, Antoine Marie Cérisier, who was -born at Châtillon-les-Dombes, 1749, and died 1st July, 1828, after a -checkered existence. Being Secretary of the French Legation at the -Hague, he early became interested in the history of Holland and her -heroic struggle for independence. An elaborate work in ten volumes on -the “General History of the United Provinces,”[564] appearing first -in French and afterwards translated into Dutch, attests his industry -and zeal, and down to this day is accepted as the best in French -literature on this interesting subject. Naturally the historian of the -mighty effort to overthrow the domination of Spain sympathized with the -kindred effort in America. In a series of works he bore his testimony -to our cause. - -John Adams was received at the Hague as American Minister, 19th April, -1782. In his despatch to Secretary Livingston, 16th May, 1782, he -wrote: “How shall I mention another gentleman, whose name, perhaps, -Congress never heard, but who, in my opinion, has done more decided -and essential service to the American cause and reputation, within -these last eighteen months, than any other man in Europe?” Then, -after describing him as “beyond all contradiction one of the greatest -historians and political characters in Europe, … possessed of the -most genuine principles and sentiments of liberty, and exceedingly -devoted by principle and affection to the American cause,” our minister -announces: “His pen has erected a monument to the American cause more -glorious and more durable than brass or marble. His writings have been -read like oracles, and his sentiments weekly echoed and reëchoed in -gazettes and pamphlets.”[565] And yet these have passed out of sight. - -First in time was an elaborate work in French, purporting to be -translated from the English, which appeared at Utrecht in 1778, -entitled, “History of the Founding of the Colonies of the Ancient -Republics, adapted to the present Dispute of Great Britain with her -American Colonies.”[566] Learning and philosophy were elevated by -visions of the future. With the representation of the Colonies in -Parliament, he foresees the time when “the influence of America will -become preponderant in Parliament, and _able, perhaps, to transfer -the seat of empire_ to their country, and so, without danger and -without convulsive agitation, render this immense continent, already -so favorably disposed by Nature to that end, the theatre of one of the -greatest and freest governments that have ever existed.”[567] Then -indulging in another vision, where French emigrants and Canadians, -already invited to enter the Confederacy, mingle with English -colonists, he beholds at the head of the happy settlements “men known -for their superior genius, their politics friendly to humanity, and -their enthusiasm for liberty,” and he catches the strains of ancient -dramatists, “whose masterpieces would breathe and inspire a hatred of -tyrants and despots.” Then touching a practical point in government, -he exclaims: “The human species there would not be debased, outraged -by that odious and barbarous distinction of nobles and plebeians, as -if anybody could be more or less than a man.” And then again: “Could -not that admirable democracy which I have so often pleased myself in -tracing be established there?”[568] - -This was followed in the same year by another publication, also -in French, entitled “Impartial Observations of a True Hollander, -in Answer to the Address of a self-styled Good Hollander to his -Countrymen.”[569] Here there is no longer question of Colonial -representation in Parliament, or of British empire transferred to -America, but of separation, with its lofty future:-- - - “This revolution is, then, the most fortunate event which could - happen to the human species in general and to all the States - in particular. In short, tender souls see with transport that - reparation at last is to be made for the crime of those who - discovered and devastated this immense continent, and recognize - the United States of North America as replacing the numerous - nations which European cruelty has caused to disappear from - South America.”[570] - -Addressing Englishmen directly, the Frenchman thus counsels:-- - - “Englishmen! you must needs submit to your destiny, and - renounce a people who do not wish longer to recognize you. To - avoid giving them any uneasiness, and to prevent all dispute - in the future, _have the courage to abandon to them all the - neighboring countries which have not yet shaken off your - yoke_.”[571] - -Then turning to his own countrymen:-- - - “_Let Canada make a fourteenth confederate State._ What glory - for you to have labored first for this interesting revolution! - What glory for you that these settlements, sprung from your - bosom, should be associated with a powerful confederation, and - govern themselves as a Republic!”[572] - -The idea of Canada as “a fourteenth confederate State” was in unison -with the aspiration and invitation of the Continental Congress. - -Another friendly work in French, pretending to be from the English, -saw the light in 1780, and is entitled “The Destiny of America; or, -Picturesque Dialogues.”[573] Among the parties to the colloquies are -Lord North, with other English personages, and a Philosopher, who must -be the author. Among the topics considered are the causes of current -events, the policy of European powers relative to the war, and the -influence it must have on the happiness of mankind. In answer to Lord -North, who asks, “What are these precious means [of saving our honor -and interests]?” the Philosopher replies: “Commence by proclaiming -the independence of the thirteen revolted Colonies, of Florida, _and -of Canada_; … then, in a manner not less solemn, renounce Jamaica, -Barbadoes, and all your Windward Islands.”[574] This is to be followed -by the freedom of the Spanish and French colonies,--also of the -Dutch, the Portuguese, and the Danish. Then, rising in aspiration, -the Philosopher, exalting the good of humanity over that of any -nation, proclaims that the root of future wars must be destroyed, -that the ocean may not be reddened with blood; but this destiny will -be postponed, “if America does not become entirely free.”[575] Then, -looking forward to the time when nations will contend on the ocean only -in commercial activity, and man will cease to be the greatest enemy of -man, he declares: “If Perpetual Peace could be more than the dream of -honest men, what event could accelerate it more than the independence -of the two Americas?”[576] Confessing that he does not expect the -applause of the present age, he concludes, “My heart tells me that I -shall have the acknowledgment of all free and tender souls, and the -suffrage of posterity.”[577] Most surely he has mine. Nothing can be -happier than the thought that Perpetual Peace would be accelerated by -American freedom, thus enhancing even this great boon. - - -SIR WILLIAM JONES, 1781. - -I am glad to enter upon our list the name of this illustrious scholar, -who was born in London, 28th September, 1746, and died in Calcutta, -27th April, 1794. - -If others have excelled Sir William Jones in different departments -of human activity, no Englishman has attained equal eminence in so -many, and at the same time borne the priceless crown of character. His -wonderful attainments and his various genius excite admiration, but -his goodness awakens love. It is pleasant to know that his benediction -rests upon our country. - -From boyhood to his last breath he was always industrious, thus -helping the generous gifts of Nature,--and it is not easy to say where -he was most eminent. As a jurist, he is memorable for the “Essay on -the Law of Bailments,” undoubtedly at the time it appeared the most -complete and beautiful contribution to the science of jurisprudence -in the English language. As a judge, he was the voice of the law and -of justice, so that his appointment to a high judicial station in -India was called “the greatest blessing ever conferred by the British -Government on the inhabitants of the East.”[578] As a linguist, knowing -no less than twenty-eight languages, he was the predecessor of Baron -William Humboldt, and the less scholarly prodigy, Mezzofanti, while -as a philologist he will find a parallel in the former rather than -the latter. As an Orientalist, he was not only the first of his time, -but the pioneer through whom the literature of the East was opened to -European study and curiosity. As a poet, he is enshrined forever by his -Ode modestly called “An Ode in Imitation of Alcæus,”[579] and doubtless -inspired by sympathy with the American cause:-- - - “What constitutes a State? - Not high-raised battlement or labored mound, - Thick wall or moated gate; - Not cities proud with spires and turrets crowned; - Not bays and broad-armed ports, - Where, laughing at the storm, rich navies ride; - Not starred and spangled courts, - Where low-browed Baseness wafts perfume to Pride: - No; MEN, high-minded MEN, - … - Men, who their _duties_ know, - But know their _rights_, and, knowing, dare maintain; - _Prevent the long-aimed blow,_ - _And crush the tyrant while they rend the chain_: - _These_ constitute a State.”[580] - -To all these accomplishments add the glowing emotions of his noble -nature, his love of virtue, his devotion to freedom, his sympathy for -the poor and downtrodden. His biographer records as “a favorite opinion -of Sir William Jones, that all men are born with _an equal capacity -for improvement_,”[581] and also reports him as saying: “I see chiefly -under the sun the two classes of men whom Solomon describes, the -oppressor and the oppressed.… I shall cultivate my fields and gardens, -and think as little as possible of monarchs or oligarchs.”[582] With -these declarations it is easy to credit Dr. Paley, who said of him, -“He was a great republican when I knew him.”[583] Like seeks like, and -a long intimacy in the family of the good Bishop of St. Asaph,[584] -ending in a happy marriage with his eldest daughter, shows how he must -have sympathized with the American cause and with the future of our -country. - -Our author had been the tutor of Lord Althorp, the same who, as Earl -Spencer, became so famous a bibliophile and a patron of Dibdin, and -on the marriage of his pupil with Miss Lavinia Bingham, he was moved -to commemorate it in a poem, entitled “The Muse Recalled: an Ode -on the Nuptials of Lord Viscount Althorp and Miss Lavinia Bingham, -eldest Daughter of Charles Lord Lucan, March 6, 1781,”[585] which his -critic, Wraxall, calls “one of the most beautiful lyric productions in -the English language, … emulating at once the fame of Milton and of -Gray.”[586] But beyond the strain of personal sympathy, congenial to -the occasion, was a passion for America, and the prophetic spirit which -belongs to the poet. Lamenting that Freedom and Concord are repudiated -by the sons of Albion, all the Virtues disappear,-- - - “Truth, Justice, Reason, Valor, with them fly - To seek a purer soil, a more congenial sky.” - -But the soil and sky which they seek are of the Delaware:-- - - “Beyond the vast Atlantic deep - A dome by viewless genii shall be raised, - The walls of adamant, compact and steep, - The portals with sky-tinctured gems emblazed: - There on a lofty throne shall Virtue stand; - To her the youth of Delaware shall kneel; - And when her smiles reign plenty o’er the land, - Bow, tyrants, bow beneath the avenging steel! - _Commerce with fleets shall mock the waves,_ - _And Arts, that flourish not with slaves,_ - _Dancing with every Grace and every Muse,_ - _Shall bid the valleys laugh and heavenly beams diffuse._” - -Wraxall remarks, that “here, in a fine frenzy of inspiration,” the -poet “seems to behold, as in a vision, the modern Washington and the -Congress met, after successfully throwing off all subjection to Great -Britain,” while “George the Third is pretty clearly designated in -the line apostrophizing tyrants.”[587] But to an American the most -captivating verses are those which open the vista of peaceful triumphs, -where Commerce and the Arts unite with every Grace and every Muse. - -Kindred in sentiment were other contemporary verses by the anonymous -author of the “Heroic Epistle to Sir William Chambers,” now understood -to be the poet Mason,[588] which Wraxall praises for their beauty, but -condemns for their politics.[589] After describing the corruption of -the House of Commons under Lord North, the poet declares that it will -augment in enormity and profligacy,-- - - “Till, mocked and jaded with the puppet play, - Old England’s genius turns with scorn away, - Ascends his sacred bark, the sails unfurled, - _And steers his state to the wide Western World_. - High on the helm majestic Freedom stands; - In act of cold contempt she waves her hands: - ‘Take, slaves,’ she cries, ‘the realms that I disown, - Renounce your birthright, and destroy my throne!’”[590] - -The two poets united in a common cause. One transported to the other -side of the Atlantic the virtues which had been the glory of Britain, -and the other carried there nothing less than the sovereign genius of -the great nation itself. - - -COUNT ARANDA, 1783. - -The Count Aranda was one of the first of Spanish statesmen and -diplomatists, and one of the richest subjects of Spain in his day; born -at Saragossa, 1718, and died 1799. He, too, is one of our prophets. -Originally a soldier, he became ambassador, governor of a province, and -prime-minister. In this last post he displayed character as well as -ability, and was the benefactor of his country. He drove the Jesuits -from Spain, and dared to oppose the Inquisition. He was a philosopher, -and, like Pope Benedict the Fourteenth, corresponded with Voltaire. -Such a liberal spirit was out of place in Spain. Compelled to resign -in 1773, he found a retreat at Paris as ambassador, where he came into -communication with Franklin, Adams, and Jay, and finally signed the -Treaty of 1783, by which Spain recognized our independence. Shortly -afterwards he returned to Spain, and in 1792 took the place of Florida -Blanca as prime-minister for the second time. He was emphatically a -statesman, and as such did not hesitate to take responsibility even -contrary to express orders. An instance of this civic courage was -when, for the sake of peace between Spain and England, he accepted the -Floridas instead of Gibraltar, on which the eminent French publicist, -M. Rayneval, remarks that “history furnishes few examples of such a -character and such self-devotion.”[591] - -Franklin, on meeting him, records, in his letter to the Secret -Committee of Correspondence, that he seemed “well disposed towards -us.”[592] Some years afterwards he had another interview with him, -which he thus chronicles in his journal:-- - - “_Saturday, June 29th_ [1782].--We went together to the - Spanish Ambassador’s, who received us with great civility and - politeness. He spoke with Mr. Jay on the subject of the treaty - they were to make together.… On our going out, he took pains - himself to open the folding-doors for us, which is a high - compliment here, and told us he would return our visit (_rendre - son devoir_), and then fix a day with us for dining with - him.”[593] - -Adams, in his Diary,[594] describes a Sunday dinner at his house, -then a new building in “the finest situation in Paris,” being part of -the incomparable palace, with its columnar front, still admired as it -looks on the Place de la Concorde. Jay also describes a dinner with the -Count, who was living “in great splendor,” with an “assortment of wines -perhaps the finest in Europe,” and was “the ablest Spaniard he had ever -known”; showing by his conversation “that his court is in earnest,” -and appearing “frank and candid, as well as sagacious.”[595] These -hospitalities have a peculiar interest, when it is known, as it now -is, that Count Aranda regarded the acknowledgment of our independence -with “grief and dread.” But these sentiments were disguised from our -ministers. - -After signing the Treaty of Paris, by which Spain recognized our -independence, Aranda addressed a Memoir secretly to King Charles -the Third, in which his opinions on this event are set forth. This -prophetic document slumbered for a long time in the confidential -archives of the Spanish crown. Coxe, in his “Memoirs of the Kings of -Spain of the House of Bourbon,” which are founded on a rare collection -of original documents, makes no allusion to it. It was first brought -to light in a French translation of Coxe’s work by Don Andres Muriel, -published at Paris in 1827.[596] An abstract of the Memoir appears in -one of the historical dissertations of the Mexican authority, Alaman, -who said of it that it has “a just celebrity, because results have made -it pass for a prophecy.”[597] I give the material portions, translated -from the French of Muriel. - - “_Memoir communicated secretly to the King by his Excellency - the Count Aranda, on the Independence of the English Colonies, - after having signed the Treaty of Paris of 1783._ - - “The independence of the English Colonies has been - acknowledged. This is for me an occasion of grief and dread. - France has few possessions in America; but she should have - considered that Spain, her intimate ally, has many, and - that she is left to-day exposed to terrible shocks. From the - beginning, France has acted contrary to her true interests in - encouraging and seconding this independence: I have often so - declared to the ministers of this nation. What could happen - better for France than to see the English and the Colonists - destroy each other in a party warfare which could only augment - her power and favor her interests? The antipathy which reigns - between France and England blinded the French Cabinet; it - forgot that its interest consisted in remaining a tranquil - spectator of this conflict; and, once launched in the arena, - it dragged us, unhappily, and by virtue of the Family Compact, - into a war entirely contrary to our proper interest. - - “I will not stop here to examine the opinions of some - statesmen, our own countrymen as well as foreigners, which I - share, on _the difficulty of preserving our power in America. - Never have so extensive possessions, placed at a great distance - from the metropolis, been long preserved._ To this cause, - applicable to all colonies, must be added others peculiar to - the Spanish possessions: namely, the difficulty of succoring - them, in case of need; the vexations to which the unhappy - inhabitants have been exposed from some of the governors; the - distance of the supreme authority to which they must have - recourse for the redress of grievances, which causes years to - pass before justice is done to their complaints; the vengeance - of the local authorities to which they continue exposed while - waiting; the difficulty of knowing the truth at so great a - distance; finally, the means which the viceroys and governors, - from being Spaniards, cannot fail to have for obtaining - favorable judgments in Spain: all these different circumstances - will render the inhabitants of America discontented, and make - them attempt efforts to obtain independence as soon as they - shall have a propitious occasion. - - “Without entering into any of these considerations, I shall - confine myself now to that which occupies us from the dread of - seeing ourselves exposed to dangers from the new power which - we have just recognized in a country where there is no other - in condition to arrest its progress. _This Federal Republic is - born a pygmy_, so to speak. It required the support and the - forces of two powers as great as Spain and France in order to - attain independence. _A day will come when it will be a giant, - even a colossus, formidable in these countries._ It will then - forget the benefits which it has received from the two powers, - and will dream of nothing but to aggrandize itself. _Liberty of - conscience, the facility for establishing a new population on - immense lands, as well as the advantages of the new government, - will draw thither agriculturists and artisans from all the - nations: for men always run after Fortune. And in a few years - we shall see with true grief the tyrannical existence of this - same colossus of which I speak._ - - “The first movement of this power, when it has arrived at its - aggrandizement, will be to obtain possession of the Floridas, - in order to dominate the Gulf of Mexico. After having rendered - commerce with New Spain difficult for us, it will aspire to the - conquest of this vast empire, which it will not be possible - for us to defend against a formidable power established on - the same continent, and in its neighborhood. These fears are - well founded, Sire; they will be changed into reality in a - few years, if, indeed, there are not other disorders in our - Americas still more fatal. This observation is justified by - what has happened in all ages, and with all nations which have - begun to rise. Man is the same everywhere; the difference of - climate does not change the nature of our sentiments; he who - finds the opportunity of acquiring power and of aggrandizing - himself profits by it always. How, then, can we expect the - Americans to respect the kingdom of New Spain, when they - shall have the facility of possessing themselves of this rich - and beautiful country? A wise policy counsels us to take - precautions against evils which may happen. This thought has - occupied my whole mind, since, as Minister Plenipotentiary - of your Majesty, and conformably to your royal will and - instructions, I signed the Peace of Paris. I have considered - this important affair with all the attention of which I am - capable, and, after much reflection, drawn from the knowledge, - military as well as political, which I have been able to - acquire in my long career, I think, that, in order to escape - the great losses with which we are threatened, there remains - nothing but the means which I am about to have the honor of - exhibiting to your Majesty. - - “Your Majesty must relieve yourself of all your possessions on - the continent of the two Americas, _preserving only the islands - of Cuba and Porto Rico_ in the northern part, and some other - convenient one in the southern part, to serve as a seaport or - trading-place for Spanish commerce. - - “In order to accomplish this great thought in a manner becoming - to Spain, three Infantes must be placed in America,--one as - king of Mexico, another as king of Peru, and the third as - king of the Terra Firma. Your Majesty will take the title of - Emperor.” - -I have sometimes heard this remarkable Memoir called apocryphal, but -without reason, except because its foresight is so remarkable. The -Mexican historian Alaman treats it as genuine, and, after praising -it, informs us that the project of Count Aranda was not taken into -consideration, but that “the results have shown how advantageous it -would have been to all, and especially to the people of America, -who in this way would have obtained independence without revolution -and enjoyed it without anarchy.”[598] Meanwhile all the American -possessions of the Spanish crown, except Cuba and Porto Rico, have -become independent, as predicted, and the new power, known as the -United States, which at that time was a “pygmy,” is a “colossus.” - -In proposing a throne for Spanish America, Aranda was preceded by no -less a person than the great French engineer and fort-builder, Marshal -Vauban, who, during the reverses of the War of the Spanish Succession, -submitted to the court of France that Philip the Fifth should be sent -to reign in America; and that prince is said to have consented.[599] - -Aranda was not alone in surprise at the course of Spain. The English -traveller Burnaby, in his edition of 1798, mentions this as one of the -reasons for the success of the Colonists, and declares that he had -not supposed, originally, “that Spain would join in a plan inevitably -leading, though by slow and imperceptible steps, to the final loss -of all her rich possessions in South America.”[600] This was not an -uncommon idea. The same anxieties appeared in one of Mr. Adams’s Dutch -correspondents, whose report of fearful prophecies has been already -mentioned.[601] John Adams also records in his Diary, under date of -14th December, 1779, on landing at Ferrol in Spain, that, according -to the report of various persons, “the Spanish nation in general have -been of opinion that the Revolution in America was of bad example to -the Spanish colonies, and dangerous to the interests of Spain, as the -United States, if they should become ambitious, and be seized with the -spirit of conquest, might aim at Mexico and Peru.”[602] All this is -entirely in harmony with the Memoir of the Spanish statesman. - - -WILLIAM PALEY, 1785. - -With the success of the American Revolution prophecy entered other -spheres, and here we welcome a remarkable writer, the Rev. William -Paley, an English divine, who was born July, 1743, and died 25th May, -1805. He is known for various works of great contemporary repute, all -commended by a style of singular transparency, and admirably adapted to -the level of opinion at the time. If they are gradually vanishing from -sight, it is because other works, especially in philosophy, are more -satisfactory and touch higher chords. - -His earliest considerable work, and for a long period a popular -text-book of education, was the well-known “Principles of Moral and -Political Philosophy,” which first appeared in 1785. Here, with grave -errors and a reprehensible laxity on certain topics, he did much for -truth. The clear vision with which he saw the enormity of Slavery was -not disturbed by any prevailing interest at home, and he constantly -testified against it. American Independence furnished occasion for a -prophetic aspiration of more than common value, because embodied in a -work of morals especially for the young:-- - - “The great revolution which seems preparing in the Western - World may probably conduce (and who knows but that it is - designed?) _to accelerate the fall of this abominable tyranny_: - and when this contest, and the passions that attend it, are - no more, there will succeed a season for reflecting whether - a legislature which had so long lent its assistance to the - support of an institution replete with human misery was fit to - be trusted with an empire the most extensive that ever obtained - in any age or quarter of the world.”[603] - -In thus associating Emancipation with American Independence, the -philosopher became an unconscious associate of Lafayette, who, on -the consummation of peace, invited Washington to this beneficent -enterprise,[604]--alas! in vain. - -Paley did not confine his testimony to the pages of philosophy, but -openly united with the Abolitionists of the day. To help the movement -against the slave-trade, he encountered the _claim of pecuniary -compensation_ for the partakers in the traffic, by a brief essay, in -1789, entitled “Arguments against the Unjust Pretensions of Slave -Dealers and Holders to be indemnified by Pecuniary Allowances at the -Public Expense, in Case the Slave Trade should be abolished.”[605] -This was sent to the Abolition Committee, by whom the substance was -presented to the public; but unhappily the essay was lost or mislaid. - -His honorable interest in the cause was attested by a speech at a -public meeting of the inhabitants of Carlisle, over which he presided, -9th February, 1792. Here he denounced the slave-trade as “this -diabolical traffic,” and by a plain similitude, as applicable to -slavery as to the trade in slaves, held it up to judgment:-- - - “None will surely plead in favor of scalping. But suppose - scalps should become of request in Europe, and a trade in them - be carried on with the American Indians; might it not be - justly said, that the Europeans, by their trade in scalps, did - all they could to perpetuate amongst the natives of America the - inhuman practice of scalping?”[606] - -Strange that the philosopher who extenuated Duelling should have been -so true and lofty against Slavery! For this, at least, he deserves our -grateful praise. - - -ROBERT BURNS, 1788. - -From Count Aranda to Robert Burns,--from the rich and titled minister, -faring sumptuously in the best house of Paris, to the poor ploughboy -poet, struggling in a cottage,--what a contrast! And there is contrast -also between him and the philosopher nestling in the English Church. Of -the poet I say nothing, except that he was born 25th January, 1759, and -died 21st July, 1796, in the thirty-eighth year of his age. - -There is only a slender thread of Burns to be woven into this web, and -yet, coming from him, it must not be neglected. In a letter dated 8th -November, 1788, after a friendly word for the unfortunate House of -Stuart, he prophetically alludes to American Independence:-- - - “I will not, I cannot, enter into the merits of the case, but - I dare say the American Congress in 1776 will be allowed to be - as able and as enlightened as the English Convention was in - 1688, _and that their posterity will celebrate the centenary - of their deliverance from us as duly and sincerely as we do - ours from the oppressive measures of the wrong-headed House of - Stuart_.”[607] - -The year 1788, when these words were written, was a year of -commemoration, being the hundredth from the famous Revolution by -which the Stuarts were excluded from the throne of England. The -“centenary” of our Independence is not yet completed; but long ago the -commemoration began. On the coming of that hundredth anniversary, the -prophecy of Burns will be more than fulfilled. - -This aspiration is in harmony with the address to George the Third in -the “Dream,” after the loss of the Colonies:-- - - “Your royal nest, beneath your wing, - Is e’en right reft and clouted,”[608]-- - -meaning broken and patched; also with the obnoxious toast he gave at -a supper, “May our success in the present war be equal to the justice -of our cause”;[609] and also with an “Ode on the American War,” -beginning,-- - - “No Spartan tube, no Attic shell, - No lyre Eolian I awake; - ’Tis Liberty’s bold note I swell; - Thy harp, Columbia, let me take.”[610] - -How natural for the great poet who had pictured the sublime brotherhood -of man!-- - - “Then let us pray that come it may, - As come it will for a’ that, - … - That man to man, the warld o’er, - Shall brothers be for a’ that.”[611] - - -RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN, 1794. - -Sheridan was a genius who united the palm of eloquence in Parliament -with that other palm won at the Theatre. His speeches and his plays -excited equal applause. The House of Commons and Drury Lane were the -scenes of his famous labors, while society enjoyed his graceful wit. He -was born in Dublin, September, 1751, and died in London, July 7th, 1816. - -I quote now from a speech in the House of Commons, 21st January, 1794. - - “America remains neutral, prosperous, and at peace. America, - with a wisdom, prudence, and magnanimity which we have - disdained, thrives at this moment in a state of envied - tranquillity, and _is hourly clearing the paths to unbounded - opulence_. America has monopolized the commerce and the - advantages which we have abandoned. Oh! turn your eyes to her; - view her situation, her happiness, her content; observe her - trade and her manufactures, adding daily to her general credit, - to her private enjoyments, and to her public resources,--_her - name and government rising above the nations of Europe with a - simple, but commanding dignity, that wins at once the respect, - the confidence, and the affection of the world_.”[612] - -Here are true respect and sympathy for our country, with a forecast of -increasing prosperity, and an image of her attitude among the nations. -It is pleasant to enroll the admired author of “The Rivals” and “The -School for Scandal” in this catalogue. - - -CHARLES JAMES FOX, 1794. - -In quoting from Charles James Fox, the statesman, minister, and orator, -I need add nothing, except that he was born 24th January, 1749, and -died 13th September, 1806, and that he was an early friend of our -country. - -Many words of his, especially during our Revolution, might be -introduced here; but I content myself with a single passage, of later -date, which, besides its expression of good-will, is a prophecy of our -power. It is found in a speech in the House of Commons, on his motion -for putting an end to war with France, 30th May, 1794. - - “It was impossible to dissemble that we had a serious dispute - with America, and although we might be confident that the - wisest and best man of his age, who presided in the government - of that country, would do everything that became him to avert - a war, it was impossible to foresee the issue. America had no - fleet, no army; but in case of war she would find various means - to harass and annoy us. Against her we could not strike a blow - that would not be as severely felt in London as in America, so - identified were the two countries by commercial intercourse. - _To a contest with such an adversary he looked as the greatest - possible misfortune._ If we commenced another crusade against - her, we might destroy her trade, and check the progress of - her agriculture, but we must also equally injure ourselves. - Desperate, therefore, indeed, must be that war in which each - wound inflicted on our enemy would at the same time inflict one - upon ourselves. He hoped to God that such an event as a war - with America would not happen.”[613] - -All good men on both sides of the ocean must join with Fox, who thus -early deprecated war between the United States and England, and -portrayed the fearful consequences. Time, which has enlarged and -multiplied the relations between the two countries, makes his words -more applicable now than when first uttered. - - -ABBÉ GRÉGOIRE, 1808. - -Henri Grégoire, of France, Curate, Deputy to the States General, -Constitutional Bishop, Member of the Convention, also of the Council -of Five Hundred, and Senator, sometimes called Bishop, more frequently -Abbé, was born 4th December, 1750, and died 28th April, 1831. To these -titles add Abolitionist and Republican. - -His character and career were unique, being in France what Clarkson -and Wilberforce were in England, and much more, for he was not only -an Abolitionist. In all history no hero of humanity stands forth -more conspicuous for instinctive sympathy with the Rights of Man and -constancy in their support. As early as 1788 he signalized himself -by an essay, crowned by the Academy of Metz, upholding tolerance -for the Jews.[614] His public life began, while yet a curate, as a -representative of the clergy of Lorraine in the States General, but -his sympathies with the people were at once manifest. In the engraving -by which the oath in the Tennis Court is commemorated he appears in -the foreground. His votes were always for the enfranchisement of the -people and the improvement of their condition, his hope being “to -Christianize the Revolution.”[615] In the night session of 4th August, -1789, he declared for the abolition of privileges. He was the first -to give adhesion to the civil constitution of the clergy, and himself -became a constitutional bishop. The decree abolishing royalty was -drawn by him, and he avows that for many days thereafter the excess -of joy took from him appetite and sleep. In the discussion on the -execution of the King he called for the suppression of the punishment -of death. At his instance the Convention abolished African slavery. -With similar energy he sustained public libraries, botanical gardens, -and experimental farms. He was a founder of the Bureau of Longitudes, -the _Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers_, and of the National Institute. -More than any other person he contributed to prevent the destruction of -public monuments, and was the first to call this crime “Vandalism,”--an -excellent term, since adopted in all European languages. With similar -vigor he said, in words often quoted, “Kings are in the moral order -what monsters are in the physical order”; and, “The history of kings -is the martyrology of nations.” He denounced “the oligarchs of all -countries and all the crowned brigands who pressed down the people,” -and, according to his own boast, “spat upon” duellists. “Better a loss -to deplore than an injustice to reproach ourselves with,” was his -lofty solace as he turned from the warning that the Colonies might be -endangered by the rights he demanded. - -Such a man could not reconcile himself to the Empire or to Napoleon; -nor could he expect consideration under the Restoration. But he was -constant always to his original sentiments. In 1826 he wrote a work -with the expressive title, “The Nobility of the Skin, or the Prejudice -of Whites against the Color of Africans and that of their Black -and Mixed Descendants.”[616] His life was prolonged to witness the -Revolution of 1830, and shortly after his remains were borne to the -cemetery of Mont Parnasse by young men, who took the horses from the -hearse.[617] - -This brief account of one little known is an introduction to signal -prophecies concerning America. - -As early as 8th January, 1791, in a document addressed to citizens of -color and free negroes of the French islands, he boldly said:-- - - “A day will come when deputies of color will traverse the ocean - to come and sit in the national diet, and to swear with us - to live and die under our laws. A day will come when the sun - will not shine among you except upon freemen,--when the rays - of the light-spreading orb will no longer fall upon irons and - slaves.… It is according to the irresistible march of events - and the progress of intelligence, that all people dispossessed - of the domain of Liberty will at last recover this indefeasible - property.”[618] - -These strong and confident words, so early in date, were followed by -others more remarkable. At the conclusion of his admirable work “De -la Littérature des Nègres,” first published in 1808, where, with -equal knowledge and feeling, homage is done to a people wronged and -degraded by man, he cites his prediction with regard to the sun shining -only upon freemen, and then, elevated by the vision, declares that -“this American Continent, asylum of Liberty, is on its way towards an -order of things which will be common to the Antilles, and _the course -of which all the powers combined will not be able to arrest_.”[619] -This vigorous language is crowned by a prophecy of singular extent -and precision, where, after dwelling on the influences at work to -accelerate progress, he foretells the eminence of our country:-- - - “When an energetic and powerful nation, to which everything - presages high destinies, stretching its arms over the two - oceans, the Atlantic and Pacific, shall dispatch its vessels - from one to the other _by a shortened route,--whether by - cutting the Isthmus of Panama, or by forming a canal of - communication, as has been proposed, by the River St. John - and the Lake of Nicaragua,--it will change the face of the - commercial world and the face of empires_. Who knows if America - will not then avenge the outrages she has received, and if our - old Europe, placed in the rank of a subaltern power, will not - become a colony of the New World?”[620] - -Thus resting on the two oceans with a canal between, so that the early -“secret of the strait” shall no longer exist, the American Republic -will change the face of the world, and perhaps make Europe subaltern. -Such was the vision of the French Abolitionist, lifted by devotion to -Humanity. - - -THOMAS JEFFERSON, 1824. - -Small preface is needed for the testimony of Jefferson, whose life -belongs to the history of his country. He was born 2d April, 1743, and -died 4th July, 1826. - -Contemporary and rival of Adams, the author of the Declaration of -Independence surpassed the other in sympathetic comprehension of -the Rights of Man, as the other surpassed him in the prophetic -spirit. Jefferson’s words picturing Slavery were unequalled in the -prolonged discussion of that terrible subject, and his two Inaugural -Addresses are masterpieces of political truth. But with clearer eye -Adams foresaw the future grandeur of the Republic, and dwelt on its -ravishing light and glory. The vision of our country coextensive -and coincident with the North American Continent was never beheld -by Jefferson. While recognizing that our principles of government, -traversing the Rocky Mountains, would smile upon the Pacific coast, -his sight did not embrace the distant communities there as parts of -a common country. This is apparent in a letter to John Jacob Astor, -24th May, 1812, where, referring to the commencement of a settlement -by the latter on Columbia River, and declaring the gratification with -which he looked forward to the time when its descendants should have -spread through the whole length of that coast, he adds, “covering it -with free and independent Americans, _unconnected with us but by the -ties of blood and interest_, and employing, like us, the rights of -self-government.”[621] In another letter to Mr. Astor, 9th November, -1813, he characterizes the settlement as “the germ of a great, free, -and _independent empire on that side of our continent_,”[622] thus -carefully announcing political dissociation. - -But Jefferson has not been alone in blindness to the mighty -capabilities of the Republic, inspired by his own Declaration of -Independence. Daniel Webster, in a speech at Faneuil Hall, as late as -7th November, 1845, pronounced that the Pacific coast could not be -governed from Europe, or from the Atlantic side of the Continent; and -he pressed the absurdity of anything different:-- - - “Where is Oregon? On the shores of the Pacific, three thousand - miles from us, and twice as far from England. Who is to - settle it? Americans mainly; some settlers undoubtedly from - England; but all Anglo-Saxons; all, men educated in notions of - independent government, and all self-dependent. And now let me - ask if there be any sensible man in the whole United States who - will say for a moment, that, when fifty or a hundred thousand - persons of this description shall find themselves on the shores - of the Pacific Ocean, they will long consent to be under the - rule either of the American Congress or the British Parliament. - They will raise a standard for themselves, and they ought to do - it.”[623] - -Such a precise and strenuous protest from such a quarter mitigates -the distrust of Jefferson. But after the acquisition of California -the orator said, “I willingly admit, my apprehensions have not been -realized.”[624] - -On the permanence of the National Union, and its influence throughout -the world, Jefferson prophesied thus, in a letter to Lafayette, 14th -February, 1815:-- - - “The cement of this Union is in the heart-blood of every - American. I do not believe there is on earth a government - established on so immovable a basis. Let them in any State, - even in Massachusetts itself, raise the standard of separation, - and its citizens will rise in mass and do justice themselves on - their own incendiaries.”[625] - -Unhappily the Rebellion shows that he counted too much on the -patriotism of the States against “their own incendiaries.” In the same -hopeful spirit he wrote to Edward Livingston, the eminent jurist, 4th -April, 1824:-- - - “You have many years yet to come of vigorous activity, and I - confidently trust they will be employed in cherishing every - measure which may foster our brotherly union and perpetuate a - constitution of government _destined to be the primitive and - precious model of what is to change the condition of man over - the globe_.”[626] - -In these latter words he takes his place on the platform of John Adams, -and sees the world changed by our example. But again he is anxious -about the Union. In another letter to Livingston, 25th March, 1825, -after saying of the National Constitution, that “it is a compact of -many independent powers, every single one of which claims an equal -right to understand it and to require its observance,” he prophesies:-- - - “However strong the cord of compact may be, there is a point of - tension at which it will break.”[627] - -Thus, in venerable years, while watching with anxiety the fortunes of -the Union, the patriarch did not fail to see the new order of ages -instituted by the American Government. - - -GEORGE CANNING, 1826. - -George Canning was a successor of Fox, in the House of Commons, as -statesman, minister, and orator. He was born 11th April, 1770, and died -8th August, 1827, in the beautiful villa of the Duke of Devonshire, -at Chiswick, where Fox had died before. Unlike Fox in sentiment for -our country, he is nevertheless associated with a leading event of our -history, and is the author of prophetic words. - -The Monroe Doctrine, as now familiarly called, proceeded from Canning. -He was its inventor, promoter, and champion, at least so far as it -bears against European intervention in American affairs. Earnestly -engaged in counteracting the designs of the Holy Alliance for the -restoration of the Spanish colonies to Spain, he sought to enlist the -United States in the same policy; and when Mr. Rush, our minister at -London, replied, that any interference with European politics was -contrary to the traditions of the American Government, he argued, -that, however just such a policy might have been formerly, it was no -longer applicable,--that the question was new and complicated,--that -it was “full as much American as European, to say no more,”--that “it -concerned the United States under aspects and interests as immediate -and commanding as it did or could any of the States of Europe,”--that -“they were the first power established on that continent, and now -confessedly the leading power”; and he then asked: “Was it possible -that they could see with indifference their fate decided upon by -Europe?… Had not a new epoch arrived in the relative position of the -United States towards Europe, which Europe must acknowledge? _Were the -great political and commercial interests_ which hung upon the destinies -of the new continent to be canvassed and adjusted in this hemisphere, -without the coöperation, or even knowledge, of the United States?”[628] -With mingled ardor and importunity the British Minister pressed his -case. At last, after much discussion in the Cabinet at Washington, -President Monroe, accepting the lead of Mr. Canning, and with the -counsel of John Quincy Adams, put forth his famous declaration, where, -after referring to the radical difference between the political systems -of Europe and America, he says, that “we should consider any attempt -on their part to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere -as _dangerous to our peace and safety_,” and that, where governments -have been recognized by us as independent, “we could not view any -interposition for the purpose of oppressing them, or controlling in any -other manner their destiny, by any European power, in any other light -than as _the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition towards the -United States_.”[629] - -The message of President Monroe was received in England with -enthusiastic congratulations. It was upon all tongues; the press was -full of it; the securities of Spanish America rose in the market; -the agents of Spanish America were happy.[630] Brougham exclaimed in -Parliament, that “no event had ever dispersed greater joy, exultation, -and gratitude over all the freemen in Europe.”[631] Mackintosh -rejoiced in the coincidence of England and the United States, “the -two great English commonwealths,--for so he delighted to call them; -and he heartily prayed that they might be forever united in the cause -of justice and liberty.”[632] The Holy Alliance abandoned their -purposes on this continent, and the independence of Spanish America -was established. Some time afterwards, on the occasion of assistance -to Portugal, when Mr. Canning felt called to review and vindicate his -foreign policy, he assumed the following lofty strain: this was in the -House of Commons, 12th December, 1826:-- - - “It would be disingenuous not to admit that the entry of - the French army into Spain was, in a certain sense, a - disparagement, an affront to the pride, a blow to the feelings - of England.… But I deny, that, questionable or censurable as - the act might be, it was one which necessarily called for - our direct and hostile opposition. Was nothing, then, to be - done?… If France occupied Spain, was it necessary, in order - to avoid the consequences of that occupation, that we should - blockade Cadiz? No. I looked another way. I sought materials of - compensation in another hemisphere. Contemplating Spain, such - as our ancestors had known her, I resolved, that, if France - had Spain, it should not be Spain ‘with the Indies.’ _I called - the New World into existence, to redress the balance of the - Old._”[633] - -If the republics of Spanish America, thus summoned into independent -existence, have not contributed the weight thus vaunted, the growing -power of the United States is ample to compensate deficiencies on this -continent. There is no balance of power it cannot redress. - - -ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE, 1835. - -With De Tocqueville we come among contemporaries removed by death. He -was born at Paris, 29th July, 1805, and died at Cannes, 16th April, -1859. Having known him personally, and seen him at his castle-home in -Normandy, I cannot fail to recognize the man in his writings, which on -this account have a double charm. - -He was the younger son of noble parents, his father being of ancient -Norman descent, and his mother granddaughter of Malesherbes, the -venerated defender of Louis the Sixteenth; but his aristocratic birth -had no influence to check the generous sympathies with which his -heart always palpitated. In 1831 he came to America as a commissioner -from the French Government to examine our prisons, but with a larger -commission from his own soul to study republican institutions. His -conscientious application, rare probity, penetrating thought, and -refinement of style all appeared in his work, “De la Démocratie en -Amérique,” first published in 1835, whose peculiar success is marked -by the fourteenth French edition now before me, and the translations -into other languages. At once he was famous, and his work classical. -The Academy opened its gates. Since Montesquieu there had been no -equal success in the same department, and he was constantly likened -to the illustrious author of “The Spirit of Laws.” Less epigrammatic, -less artful, and less French than his prototype, he was more simple, -truthful, and prophetic. A second publication in 1840, with the same -title, the fruit of mature studies, presented American institutions in -another aspect, exhibiting his unimpaired faith in Democracy, which -with him was Equality as “first principle and symbol.”[634] - -Entering the French Chambers, he became eminent for character, -discussing chiefly those measures in which civilization is most -concerned,--the reform of prisons, the abolition of slavery, penal -colonies, and the pretensions of socialism. His work, “L’Ancien Régime -et la Révolution,” awakens admiration, while his correspondence is -among the most charming in literature, exciting love as well as delight. - -His honest and practical insight made him philosopher and prophet, -which he was always. A speech in the Chambers, 27th January, 1848, was -memorable as predicting the Revolution which occurred one month later. -But his foresight with regard to America brings him into our procession. - -His clearness of vision appears in the distinctness with which he -recognized the peril from Slavery and from the pretensions of the -States. And in Slavery he saw also the prolonged and diversified -indignity to the African race. This was his statement:-- - - “The most formidable of all the evils which menace the future - of the United States springs from _the presence of the - blacks on their soil_. When we seek the cause of the present - embarrassments and of the future dangers of the Union, from - whatever point we set out, we almost always come upon this - primary fact.”[635] - -Then with consummate power he depicts the lot of the unhappy African, -even when free: oppressed, but with whites for judges; shut out -from the jury; his son excluded from the school which receives the -descendant of the European; unable with gold to buy a place at the -theatre “by the side of him who was his master”; in hospitals separated -from the rest; permitted to worship the same God as the whites, but not -to pray at the same altar; and when life is passed, the difference of -condition prevailing still even over the equality of the grave.[636] - -Impressed by the menace from Slavery, he further pictures the Union -succumbing to the States:-- - - “Either I strangely deceive myself, or the Federal Government - of the United States is tending every day to grow weaker. It - is withdrawing gradually from affairs; it is contracting more - and more the circle of its action. Naturally feeble, it is - abandoning even the appearance of force.”[637] - -Such was the condition when De Tocqueville wrote; and so it continued -until the Rebellion broke forth, and the country rose to save the -Union. Foreseeing this peril, he did not despair of the Republic, -which, in his judgment, was “the natural state of the Americans,”[638] -with roots more profound than the Union. - -In describing the future he becomes a prophet. Accepting the conclusion -that the number of inhabitants doubles in twenty-two years, and not -recognizing any causes to arrest this progressive movement, he foresees -the colossal empire:-- - - “The Americans of the United States, whatever they do, will - become one of the greatest people of the world; they will - cover with their offshoots almost all North America. The - continent which they inhabit is their domain; it cannot escape - them.”[639] - -Then, declaring that the “English race,” not stopping within the limits -of the Union, will advance much beyond towards the Northeast,--that -at the Northwest they will encounter only Russian settlements without -importance,--that at the Southwest the vast solitudes of Mexican -territory will be appropriated,--and dwelling on the fortunate -geographical position of “the English of America,” with their climate, -their interior seas, their great rivers, and the fertility of their -soil, he is ready to say:-- - - “So, in the midst of the uncertainty of the future, there is - at least one event which is certain. At an epoch which we can - call near, since the question here is of the life of a people, - the Anglo-Americans alone will cover all the immense space - comprised between the polar ice and the tropics; they will - spread from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean even to the coasts - of the South Sea.”[640] - -Then, declaring that the territory destined to the Anglo-American race -equals three fourths of Europe, that many centuries will pass before -the different offshoots of this race will cease to present a common -physiognomy, that no epoch can be foreseen when in the New World there -will be any permanent inequality of conditions, and that there are -processes of association and of knowledge by which the people are -assimilated with each other and with the rest of the world, the prophet -speaks:-- - - “There will then come a time when there will be seen in North - America one hundred and fifty millions of men, equal among - themselves, who will all belong to the same family, who will - have the same point of departure, the same civilization, the - same language, the same religion, the same habits, the same - manners, and among whom thought will circulate in the same form - and paint itself in the same colors. All else is doubtful, but - this is certain. Now here is a fact entirely new in the world, - of which imagination itself cannot grasp the import.”[641] - -No American can fail to be strengthened in the future of the Republic -by the testimony of De Tocqueville. Honor and gratitude to his memory! - - -RICHARD COBDEN, 1849. - -Coming yet nearer to our own day, we meet a familiar name, now -consecrated by death,--Richard Cobden, born 3d June, 1804, and died 2d -April, 1865. In proportion as truth prevails among men, his character -will shine with increasing glory until he is recognized as the first -Englishman of his time. Though thoroughly English, he was not insular. -He served mankind as well as England. - -His masterly faculties and his real goodness made him a prophet -always. He saw the future, and strove to hasten its promises. The -elevation and happiness of the human family were his daily thought. -He knew how to build as well as to destroy. Through him disabilities -upon trade and oppressive taxes were overturned; also a new treaty -was negotiated with France, quickening commerce and intercourse. He -was never so truly eminent as when bringing his practical sense -and enlarged experience to commend the cause of Permanent Peace in -the world by the establishment of a refined system of International -Justice, and the disarming of the nations. To this great consummation -all his later labors tended. I have before me a long letter, dated -at London, 7th November, 1849, where he says much on this absorbing -question, from which, by an easy transition, he passes to speak of the -proposed annexation of Canada to the United States. As what he says on -the latter topic concerns America, and is a prophetic voice, I have -obtained permission to copy it for this collection. - - “Race, religion, language, traditions, are becoming bonds - of union, and not the parchment title-deeds of sovereigns. - These instincts may be thwarted for the day, but they are too - deeply rooted in Nature and in usefulness not to prevail in - the end. I look with less interest to these struggles of races - to live apart for what they want to undo than for what they - will prevent being done in future. _They will warn rulers that - henceforth the acquisition of fresh territory by force of arms - will only bring embarrassments and civil war_, instead of that - increased strength which in ancient times, when people were - passed, like flocks of sheep, from one king to another, always - accompanied the incorporation of new territorial conquests. - - “This is the secret of the admitted doctrine, that we shall - have no more wars of conquest or ambition. In this respect - _you_ are differently situated, having vast tracts of unpeopled - territory to tempt that cupidity which, in respect of landed - property, always disposes individuals and nations, however rich - in acres, to desire more. This brings me to the subject of - Canada, to which you refer in your letters. - - “I agree with you, that _Nature has decided that Canada and - the United States must become one, for all purposes of free - intercommunication_. Whether they also shall be united in the - same federal government must depend upon the two parties to the - union. I can assure you that there will be no repetition of - the policy of 1776, on our part, to prevent our North American - colonies from pursuing their interest in their own way. If the - people of Canada are tolerably unanimous in wishing to sever - the very slight thread which now binds them to this country, - I see no reason why, if good faith and ordinary temper be - observed, it should not be done amicably. I think it would be - far more likely to be accomplished peaceably, _if the subject - of annexation were left as a distinct question_. I am quite - sure that _we_ should be gainers, to the amount of about a - million sterling annually, if our North American colonists - would set up in life for themselves and maintain their own - establishments; and I see no reason to doubt that they also - might be gainers by being thrown upon their own resources. - - “The less your countrymen mingle in the controversy, the - better. It will only be an additional obstacle in the path - of those in this country who see the ultimate necessity of a - separation, but who have still some ignorance and prejudice - to contend against, which, if used as political capital - by designing politicians, may complicate seriously a very - difficult piece of statesmanship. It is for you and such as - you, who love peace, to guide your countrymen aright in this - matter. You have made the most noble contributions of any - modern writer to the cause of Peace; and as a public man I hope - you will exert all your influence to induce Americans to hold a - dignified attitude and observe a ‘masterly inactivity’ in the - controversy which is rapidly advancing to a solution between - the mother country and her American colonies.” - -A prudent patriotism among us will appreciate the wisdom of this -counsel, more needed now than when written. The controversy which -Cobden foresaw “between the mother country and her American colonies” -is yet undetermined. The recent creation of what is somewhat grandly -called “The Dominion of Canada” marks one stage in its progress. - - -LUCAS ALAMAN, 1852. - -From Canada I pass to Mexico, and close this list with Lucas Alaman, -the Mexican statesman and historian, who has left on record a most -pathetic prophecy with regard to his own country, intensely interesting -to us at this moment. - -Alaman was born in the latter part of the last century, and died June -2, 1855. He was a prominent leader of the monarchical party, and -Minister of Foreign Affairs under Presidents Bustamente and Santa Aña. -In this capacity he inspired the respect of foreign diplomatists. One -of these, who had occasion to know him officially, says of him, in -answer to my inquiries, that he “was the greatest statesman Mexico has -produced since her independence.”[642] He was one of the few in any -country who have been able to unite literature with public life, and -obtain honors in each. - -His first work was “Dissertations on the History of the Mexican -Republic,”[643] in three volumes, published at Mexico, 1844-49. In -these he considers the original conquest by Cortés, its consequences, -the conqueror and his family, the propagation of the Christian religion -in New Spain, the formation of the city of Mexico, the history of -Spain and the House of Bourbon. All these topics are treated somewhat -copiously. Then followed the “History of Mexico, from the First -Movements which prepared its Independence in 1808 to the Present -Epoch,”[644] in five volumes, published at Mexico, the first bearing -date 1849, and the fifth 1852. From the Preface to the first volume it -appears that the author was born in Guanajuato, and witnessed there -the beginning of the Mexican Revolution in 1810, under Don Miguel -Hidalgo, the curate of Dolores; that he was personally acquainted with -the curate, and with many who had a principal part in the successes of -that time; that he was experienced in public affairs, as Deputy and as -member of the Cabinet; and that he had known directly the persons and -things of which he wrote. His last volume embraces the government of -Iturbide as Emperor, and also his unfortunate death, ending with the -establishment of the Mexican Federal Republic, in 1824. The work is -careful and well considered. The eminent diplomatist already mentioned, -who had known the author officially, writes that “no one was better -acquainted with the history and causes of the incessant revolutions -in his unfortunate country, and that his work on this subject is -considered by all respectable men in Mexico a _chef-d’œuvre_ for purity -of sentiments and patriotic convictions.” - -It is on account of the valedictory words of this History that I -introduce the name of Alaman, and nothing more striking appears in this -gallery. Behold!-- - - “Mexico will be, without doubt, a land of prosperity from its - natural advantages, _but it will not be so for the races which - now inhabit it_. As it seemed the destiny of the peoples who - established themselves therein at different and remote epochs - to perish from the face of it, leaving hardly a memory of - their existence; even as the nation which built the edifices - of Palenque, and those which we admire in the peninsula of - Yucatan, was destroyed without its being known what it was or - how it disappeared; _even as the Toltecs perished by the hands - of barbarous tribes coming from the North_, no record of them - remaining but the pyramids of Cholula and Teotihuacan; and, - finally, even as the ancient Mexicans fell beneath the power of - the Spaniards, _the country gaining infinitely by this change - of dominion, but its ancient masters being overthrown_;--so - likewise its present inhabitants shall be ruined and hardly - obtain the compassion they have merited, and the Mexican - nation of our days shall have applied to it what a celebrated - Latin poet said of one of the most famous personages of Roman - history, STAT MAGNI NOMINIS UMBRA,[645]--Nothing more remains - than the shadow of a name illustrious in another time. - - “May the Almighty, in whose hands is the fate of nations, - and who by ways hidden from our sight abases or exalts them - according to the designs of His providence, be pleased to grant - unto ours the protection by which He has so often deigned to - preserve it from the dangers to which it has been exposed!”[646] - -Most affecting words of prophecy! Considering the character of the -author as statesman and historian, it could have been only with -inconceivable anguish that he made this terrible record for the land -whose child and servant he was. Born and reared in Mexico, honored by -its important trusts, and writing the history of its independence, it -was his country, having for him all that makes country dear; and yet -thus calmly he consigns the present people to oblivion, while another -enters into those happy places where Nature is so bountiful. And so a -Mexican leaves the door open to the foreigner. - - -CONCLUSION. - -Such are prophetic voices, differing in character and importance, -but all having one augury, and opening one vista, illimitable in -extent and vastness. Farewell to the narrow thought of Montesquieu, -that a republic can exist only in a small territory![647] Through -representation and federation a continent is not too much for practical -dominion, nor is it beyond expectation. Well did Webster say, “The -prophecies and the poets are with us”; and then again, “In regard to -this country there is no poetry like the poetry of events, and all the -prophecies lag behind their fulfilment.”[648] But my purpose is not -with the fulfilment, except as it stands forth visible to all. - -Ancient prophecy foretold another world beyond the ocean, which in the -mind of Christopher Columbus was nothing less than the Orient with -its inexhaustible treasures. The continent was hardly known when the -prophets began: poets like Chapman, Drayton, Daniel, Herbert, Cowley; -economists like Child and Davenant; New-Englanders like Morrell, Ward, -and Sewall; and, mingling with these, that rare genius, Sir Thomas -Browne, who, in the reign of Charles the Second, while the settlements -were in infancy, predicted their growth in power and civilization; -and then that rarest character, Bishop Berkeley, who, in the reign -of George the First, while the settlements were still feeble and -undeveloped, heralded a Western empire as “Time’s noblest offspring.” - -These voices are general. Others more precise followed. Turgot, the -philosopher and minister, saw in youth, with the vision of genius, that -all colonies must at their maturity drop from the parent stem, like -ripe fruit. John Adams, one of the chiefs of our own history, in a -youth illumined as that of Turgot, saw the predominance of the Colonies -in population and power, followed by the transfer of empire to America; -then the glory of Independence, and its joyous celebration by grateful -generations; then the triumph of our language; and, finally, the -establishment of our republican institutions over all North America. -Then came the Abbé Galiani, the Neapolitan Frenchman, who, writing from -Naples while our struggle was still undecided, gayly predicts the total -downfall of Europe, the transmigration to America, and the consummation -of the greatest revolution of the globe by establishing the reign -of America over Europe. There is also Adam Smith, the illustrious -philosopher, who quietly carries the seat of government across the -Atlantic. Meanwhile Pownall, once a Colonial governor and then a -member of Parliament, in successive works of great detail, foreshadows -independence, naval supremacy, commercial prosperity, immigration from -the Old World, and a new national life, destined to supersede the -systems of Europe and arouse the “curses” of royal ministers. Hartley, -also a member of Parliament, and the British negotiator who signed the -definitive treaty of Independence, bravely announces in Parliament that -the New World is before the Colonists, and that liberty is theirs; and -afterwards, as diplomatist, instructs his Government, that, through -the attraction of our public lands, immigration will be quickened -beyond precedent, and the national debt cease to be a burden. Aranda, -the Spanish statesman and diplomatist, predicts to his king that the -United States, though born a “pygmy,” will some day be a “colossus,” -under whose influence Spain will lose all her American possessions -except only Cuba and Porto Rico. Paley, the philosopher, hails our -successful revolution as destined to accelerate the fall of Slavery, -which he denounces as an “abominable tyranny.” Burns, the truthful -poet, who loved mankind, looks forward a hundred years, and beholds -our people rejoicing in the centenary of their independence. Sheridan -pictures our increasing prosperity, and the national dignity winning -the respect, confidence, and affection of the world. Fox, the liberal -statesman, foresees the increasing might and various relations of the -United States, so that a blow aimed at them must have a rebound as -destructive as itself. The Abbé Grégoire, devoted to the slave, whose -freedom he predicts, describes the power and glory of the American -Republic, resting on the two great oceans, and swaying the world. -Tardily, Jefferson appears with anxiety for the National Union, and -yet announcing our government as the primitive and precious model to -change the condition of mankind. Canning, the brilliant orator, in a -much-admired flight of eloquence, discerns the New World, with its -republics just called into being, redressing the balance of the Old. -De Tocqueville, while clearly foreseeing the peril from Slavery, -proclaims the future grandeur of the Republic, covering “almost all -North America,” and making the continent its domain, with a population, -equal in rights, counted by the hundred million. Cobden, whose fame -will be second only to that of Adam Smith among all in this catalogue, -calmly predicts the separation of Canada from the mother country by -peaceable means. Alaman, the Mexican statesman and historian, announces -that Mexico, which has already known so many successive races; will -hereafter be ruled by yet another people, taking the place of the -present possessors; and with these prophetic words, the patriot draws a -pall over his country. - -All these various voices, of different times and lands, mingle and -intertwine in representing the great future of our Republic, which from -small beginnings has already become great. It was at first only a grain -of mustard-seed, “which, indeed, is the least of all seeds; but when it -is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that -the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.” Better -still, it was only a little leaven, but it is fast leavening the whole -continent. Nearly all who have prophesied speak of “America” or “North -America,” and not of any limited circle, colony, or state. It was so, -at the beginning, with Sir Thomas Browne, and especially with Berkeley. -During our Revolution, the Colonies struggling for independence -were always described by this continental designation. They were -already “America,” or “North America,” (and such was the language of -Washington,) thus incidentally foreshadowing that coming time when the -whole continent, with all its various states, shall be a Plural Unit, -with one Constitution, one Liberty, and one Destiny. The theme was -also taken up by the poet, and popularized in the often quoted lines,-- - - “No pent-up Utica contracts your powers, - But the whole boundless continent is yours.”[649] - -Such grandeur may justly excite anxiety rather than pride, for duties -are in corresponding proportion. There is occasion for humility also, -as the individual considers his own insignificance in the transcendent -mass. The tiny polyp, in unconscious life, builds the everlasting -coral. Each citizen is little more than the industrious insect. The -result is reached by the continuity of combined exertion. Millions of -citizens, working in obedience to Nature, can accomplish anything. - -Of course, war is an instrumentality which true civilization disowns. -Here some of our prophets have erred. Sir Thomas Browne was so much -overshadowed by his own age, that his vision was darkened by “great -armies,” and even “hostile and piratical assault” on Europe. It was -natural that Aranda, schooled in worldly life, should imagine the -new-born power ready to seize the Spanish possessions. Among our own -countrymen, Jefferson looked to war for the extension of dominion. The -Floridas, he says on one occasion, “are ours in the first moment of -the first war, and until a war they are of no particular necessity to -us.”[650] Happily they were acquired in another way. Then again, while -declaring that no constitution was ever before so calculated as ours -for extensive empire and self-government, and insisting upon Canada as -a component part, he calmly says that this “would be, of course, in -the first war.”[651] Afterwards, while confessing a longing for Cuba, -“as the most interesting addition which could ever be made to our -system of States,” he says that he is “sensible that this can never be -obtained, even with her own consent, but by war.”[652] Thus at each -stage is the baptism of blood. In much better mood the poet Bishop -recognized empire as moving gently in the pathway of light. All this is -much clearer now than when he prophesied. - -It is easy to see that empire obtained by force is unrepublican, and -offensive to the first principle of our Union, according to which all -just government stands only on the consent of the governed. Our country -needs no such ally as war. Its destiny is mightier than war. Through -peace it will have everything. This is our talisman. Give us peace, and -population will increase beyond all experience; resources of all kinds -will multiply infinitely; arts will embellish the land with immortal -beauty; the name of Republic will be exalted, until every neighbor, -yielding to irresistible attraction, seeks new life in becoming part of -the great whole; and the national example will be more puissant than -army or navy for the conquest of the world. - - - - -FOOTNOTES - - -[1] Conférences Américaines, p. 143. - -[2] Müller’s Voyages from Asia to America, tr. Jefferys, (London, -1764,) p. 45. - -[3] Articles XV., XVI.: Billings’s Expedition, Appendix, No. V., pp. -41, 42. - -[4] Voyage, Tom. II. p. 147. - -[5] A translation of this document is given in Barrow’s Arctic Voyages, -Appendix, No. II., pp. 24, seqq. - -[6] Voyage of Malaspina: Barrow, p. 127. - -[7] Barbé-Marbois, Histoire de la Louisiane, (Paris, 1829,) p. 335. - -[8] Prefixed to Coxe’s Russian Discoveries (London, 1780). - -[9] Essai Politique sur le Royaume de la Nouvelle-Espagne, Tom. I. pp. -344-346. - -[10] United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XV. pp. 539-543. - -[11] Article VI. - -[12] Articles VII., VIII.: Hertslet’s Commercial Treaties, Vol. III. p. -365. - -[13] Art. VI.: Ibid. - -[14] Art. XII.: Ibid., Vol. VI. p. 767. - -[15] Ibid., Vol. X. p. 1063. - -[16] Wheaton’s Elements of International Law, ed. Lawrence, (Boston, -1863,) Part II. ch. 4, § 19, p. 359. - -[17] Greenhow, History of Oregon and California, p. 346. Executive -Documents, 20th Cong. 1st Sess., H. of R., No. 199, pp. 23, 44. - -[18] Wheaton, Part II. ch. 4, § 18, p. 353. - -[19] Voyages from China to the Northwest Coast of America, (London, -1791,) Vol. I. p. 354. - -[20] Ibid., Vol. II. pp. 283-291. - -[21] Arctic Zoölogy (London, 1792), Vol. I. p. 104. - -[22] - - “Por Castilla y por Leon - Nuevo mundo halló Colon.” - -[23] Works, Vol. IV. p. 293. - -[24] Journey round the World, Vol. I. p. 209. - -[25] Band XXII. pp. 47-70. - -[26] Russian America and the Present War. - -[27] Tom. I. p. 345. - -[28] Act of July 1, 1864: Statutes at Large, Vol. XIII. pp. 340, 341. - -[29] Diplomatic Correspondence, 1865-66: Executive Documents, 39th -Cong. 1st Sess., H. of R., No. 1, p. 366. - -[30] Joint Resolution, May 16, 1866: Statutes at Large, Vol. XIV. p. -355. - -[31] Letters to John Jacob Astor, May 24, 1812, and November 9, 1813: -Writings, Vol. VI. pp. 55, 248. See also Letter to Mr. Breckenridge, -August 12, 1803: Ibid., Vol. IV. pp. 498-501. - -[32] Speech at Faneuil Hall, November 7, 1845: Boston Daily Advertiser, -November 10th. - -[33] Letter on the Florida Treaty, June 20, 1820: Parton’s Life of -Jackson, Vol. II. p. 585. - -[34] Attributed to Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary. See Coxe, -History of the House of Austria, (London, 1820,) Ch. XXV., Vol. II. p. -89. - -[35] Cicero, Epist. ad Atticum, IV. 6. - -[36] Erman, Die Russischen Colonien an der Nordwestküste von Amerika: -Archiv, Band XXII. p. 48. - -[37] Voyage, p. 118. - -[38] Voyage, Vol. I. p. 275. - -[39] Part I. ch. 11, p. 148. - -[40] Voyages, Vol. I. p. xvi. - -[41] Voyage, Vol. II. p. 518. - -[42] Ibid., pp. 509, 515. - -[43] Billings’s Expedition, p. 157. - -[44] Ibid., p. 161. - -[45] Voyage, Tom. I. p. 232. - -[46] Captain D’Wolf, whose little book was not printed till 1861, says -there was “little or no game but foxes,” and he adds that in fact he -“was the only Wolf ever known upon the island.”--_Voyage to the North -Pacific_, pp. 69, 70. - -[47] Ethnographische Skizzen über die Völker des Russischen Amerika, -von H. J. Holmberg: Acta Societatis Scientiarum Fennicæ, 1856, Tom. IV. -Fasc. 2, pp. 281, seqq. - -[48] Blodget, Climatology, p. 532. - -[49] Voyage to the Pacific (London, 1784), Vol. II. p. 509. - -[50] Billings’s Expedition, p. 274. - -[51] Ibid., Appendix, p. 55. - -[52] Ibid., p. 171. - -[53] Ibid., p. 172. - -[54] Ibid., p. 173. - -[55] Voyage to the North Pacific, pp. 63, 64. - -[56] Voyage, Tom. I. p. 153. - -[57] Voyage, p. 145. - -[58] Voyage, pp. 214, 215. - -[59] Ibid., p. 153. - -[60] Voyages and Travels, Vol. II. pp. 69, 70. - -[61] Voyage, p. 54. - -[62] Voyage, Vol. II. p. 107. - -[63] Voyage, Vol. III. p. 314. - -[64] Voyage, p. 22. - -[65] Voyage, p. 51. - -[66] Voyage round the World, Vol. I. pp. 95-106. - -[67] Journey round the World, Vol. I. pp. 218, 219, 220, 227. - -[68] Voyage, 1783-87: Coxe’s Russian Discoveries (4th edit.), p. 219. - -[69] Voyage, pp. 192, 193. - -[70] Voyages and Travels, Vol. II. pp. 67, 68. - -[71] Ibid., pp. 69, 70. - -[72] Voyage, p. 179, note. - -[73] Billings’s Expedition, p. 157. - -[74] Langsdorff, Voyages and Travels, Vol. II. p. 43. - -[75] Billings’s Expedition, p. 273. - -[76] Ibid., p. 155. - -[77] Cook, Voyage to the Pacific, Vol. II. p. 362. - -[78] Billings’s Expedition, p. 197. - -[79] Voyage, Tom. II. p. 205. - -[80] Voyage, p. 167, note. - -[81] Voyage, pp. 48, 49. - -[82] Belcher, Voyage, Vol. I. p. 94. - -[83] Journey round the World, Vol. I. p. 225. - -[84] De l’Esprit des Lois, Liv. XIV. - -[85] Voyage to the Pacific Ocean, Vol. II. p. 520. - -[86] Part. III. § 6, pp. 196, 197. - -[87] The Oregon Question, p. 28. - -[88] Voyage, p. 118. - -[89] Voyage, Tom. II. p. 187. - -[90] Voyages and Travels, Vol. II. pp. 101, 102. - -[91] Voyage, pp. 52, 53. - -[92] Belcher’s Voyage round the World, Appendix, Vol. II. p. 332. - -[93] Voyages and Travels, Vol. II. p. 61. - -[94] Voyage, Vol. I. p. 70. - -[95] Müller, Voyages from Asia to America (London, 1764), p. 85. - -[96] Voyage, Tom. II. p. 191. - -[97] Voyage, p. 145. - -[98] Voyage, Tom. I. p. 101. - -[99] Voyage, Vol. II. p. 379. - -[100] Voyage, Tom. II. pp. 187, 188. - -[101] Voyage, pp. 102, 251. - -[102] Voyages, Vol. I. pp. lxiv, lxv. - -[103] Expedition, pp. 197, 198. - -[104] Voyage, Vol. III. p. 95. - -[105] Voyages and Travels, Vol. II. p. 103. - -[106] Voyage, p. 191, note. - -[107] Voyage, Tom. I. p. 105. - -[108] Voyage, Vol. I. pp. 73, 97. - -[109] Langsdorff, Voyages and Travels, Vol. II. p. 65. - -[110] Voyage, Vol. II pp. 425, 520. - -[111] Voyage, Vol. II. pp. 476, 480, 482. - -[112] Voyage, Vol. I. p. 249. - -[113] Voyage, Vol. II. pp. 478, 494. - -[114] Voyage, pp. 251, 252. - -[115] Voyages, Vol. I. p. lxv. - -[116] Expedition, p. 182. - -[117] Voyages and Travels, Vol. II. p. 34. - -[118] Voyage, Vol. I. p. 74. - -[119] Müller, Voyages, p. 90. - -[120] Voyage, Vol. II. pp. 519, 520. - -[121] Voyage, Tom. II. p. 188. - -[122] Voyage, pp. 118, 242. - -[123] Voyages, Vol. I. p. lxiv; II. p. 287. - -[124] Expedition, pp. 182, 198. - -[125] Voyage, Vol. III. p. 233. - -[126] Voyages and Travels, Vol. II. p. 34. - -[127] Voyage, Tom. I. p. 118. - -[128] Voyages and Travels, Vol. II. pp. 35, 62. - -[129] Voyage, Tom. I. pp. 105, 151. - -[130] Voyage, Vol. I. p. 300. - -[131] Lisiansky, Voyage, p. 236. - -[132] Müller, Voyages from Asia to America, pp. 85, 90. - -[133] Voyage, Vol. II. pp. 379, 380. - -[134] La Pérouse, Voyage, Introduction, Tom. I. p. 340. - -[135] Voyage, Tom. II. pp. 151, 152, 192, 207. - -[136] Voyage, Vol. II. pp. 335, 339. - -[137] Voyage, p. 150. - -[138] Voyages, Vol. II. pp. 33, 34. - -[139] Voyage, p. 108. - -[140] Voyages, Vol. II. p. 291. - -[141] Voyage, Vol. I. p. 214. - -[142] Page 112. - -[143] Band XXV. pp. 229, seqq. - -[144] Sauer, Billings’s Expedition, p. 274. - -[145] Voyage, Vol. II. pp. 357, 358. - -[146] Billings’s Expedition, p. 277. - -[147] Voyage, Vol. I. p. 101. - -[148] Coxe, Russian Discoveries, (3d edit.,) pp. 11, 12. - -[149] Billings’s Expedition, p. 275. - -[150] Voyages and Travels, Vol. II. pp. 66, 73-75. - -[151] Journal, Vol. XXII. p. 120. - -[152] Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, Vol. XXII. p. 120. - -[153] Voyage, Tom. I. p. 256. - -[154] Wrangell, Nachrichten über die Russischen Besitzungen, pp. 23, -24. Wappäus, Geographie, p. 302. - -[155] Journey round the World, Vol. I. pp. 221, 222. - -[156] Richardson, Fauna Boreali-Americana, Part I. p. 94. - -[157] Ibid., pp. 94, 95. - -[158] Voyage, Vol. II. p. 293. - -[159] Voyages and Travels, Vol. II. p. 74. - -[160] Rymer, Fœdera, Vol. XX. p. 231. - -[161] Journey round the World, Vol. I. p. 222. - -[162] Voyage, Vol. II. p. 458. - -[163] Hakluyt (London, 1599), Vol. I. p. 5. - -[164] Voyage, Vol. II. p. 295. - -[165] Voyage, Vol. III. p. 294. - -[166] Voyage, p. 29. - -[167] Voyage, Vol. II. pp. 295, 296. - -[168] Voyages, Vol. II. p. 23. - -[169] Voyage, Tom. II. p. 190. - -[170] Tom. I. pp. lxxiii, seqq. - -[171] Müller, Voyages from Asia to America, p. 101. - -[172] Russian Discoveries (3d edit.), p. 14. - -[173] Voyages from Asia to America, p. 108. - -[174] Voyage, Vol. II. p. 357. - -[175] Voyages, Vol. I. p. xxvii. - -[176] Voyage, Vol. III. p. 151. - -[177] Billings’s Expedition, p. 155. - -[178] Voyages and Travels, Vol. II. pp. 73, 74. - -[179] Voyage, p. 281. - -[180] Müller, Voyages from Asia to America, pp. 85, 86. - -[181] Levascheff: Coxe’s Russian Discoveries (3d edit.), p. 211. - -[182] Voyage, Vol. II. p. 298. - -[183] Ibid., p. 320. - -[184] Ibid., p. 379. - -[185] Ibid., p. 417. - -[186] Ibid., p. 432. - -[187] Ibid., p. 481. - -[188] Voyage, Vol. II. pp. 495, 511. - -[189] Voyage, pp. 100-123. - -[190] Voyage, pp. 229-241. - -[191] Voyages, Vol. I. p. lxv. - -[192] Ibid., Vol. II. pp. 29-32. - -[193] La Pérouse, Voyage, Introd., Tom. I. p. 333. - -[194] Voyage, Tom. II. p. 189. - -[195] Voyage, Tom. I. p. 235. - -[196] Expedition, p. 161. - -[197] Expedition, pp. 181, 182. - -[198] Ibid., p. 264. - -[199] Voyage, p. 164. - -[200] Ibid., p. 239. - -[201] Voyages and Travels, Vol. II. p. 33. - -[202] Ibid., p. 76. - -[203] Ibid., p. 108. - -[204] Voyage, p. 53. - -[205] Voyage, Tom. I. p. 116. - -[206] Ibid., p. 148. - -[207] Voyage, Vol. I. p. 85. - -[208] Journey round the World, Vol. I. p. 227. - -[209] London Philosophical Transactions, 1767, pp. 280, 291. Cuvier, -Animal Kingdom, (London, 1827-35,) Vol. X. p. 508. - -[210] Voyage, p. 63. - -[211] Voyages, Vol. II. p. 23. - -[212] Voyage, Vol. I. p. 264. - -[213] Geographische Mittheilungen, 1867, p. 120. - -[214] Executive Documents, 39th Cong. 1st Sess., H. of R., No. 1, Vol. -2, p. 161. - -[215] Voyage, p. 50. - -[216] John Adams to Secretary Jay, November 5, 1785: Works, Vol. VIII. -p. 339. - -[217] Histoire Naturelle des Poissons, Tom. V. p. 429. - -[218] Winslow’s Brief Narration: Young’s Chronicles of the Pilgrims, p. -383. - -[219] Speech on Conciliation with America, March 22, 1775: Works -(Boston, 1865-67), Vol. II. pp. 116-118. - -[220] Austin’s Life of Gerry, Vol. I. p. 289. - -[221] Secret Journals, Vol. II. pp. 161, 230. - -[222] Works of John Adams, Vol. VII. pp. 45, 46. - -[223] The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer -Isles, (London, 1626,) p. 248. - -[224] Sabine, Report on the Fisheries, p. 174. - -[225] Voyage, Vol. II. pp. 505, 506, October, 1778. - -[226] The word Alaska was not improved when spelt Alas_h_ka, and the -dropping of the letter _h_ in Oon_alaska_ seemed to show the better and -more natural spelling. The following communication, more than a year -after the Speech, was in answer to an inquiry about the spelling with -an _i_, as Al_i_aska, which was adopted by several journals. - - “SENATE CHAMBER, May 8, 1868. - - “DEAR MR. BARNEY,--I have your note of the 8th in reference to - the spelling of Alaska. - - “I think ‘Aliaska’ is a mistake, for which the Coast Survey, - in the first map of this country, are partly responsible. On - inquiry, I found there was no particular authority for this - spelling, and at my suggestion it was altered to Alaska in a - subsequent edition. - - “When called to consider the purchase of this territory, I - found that it had the general name of ‘Russian Possessions in - America,’ or ‘Russian America.’ In the event of transfer to the - United States, this was evidently improper. Looking for a name, - my attention was arrested by the designation of the promontory - stretching to the Aleutian Islands, called by Captain Cook, - the first Englishman who visited the region, Alaska, without - an _i_, as the large and neighboring island was called - Oon_alaska_. This is the first time, so far as I am aware, - that the name appears. Though at a later day it was sometimes - written ‘Aliaska,’ it seemed to me that the earlier designation - was historically more just, while in itself a better word. On - this account, at the close of my speech I ventured to propose - it as a name for the whole country. - - “While I was doing this in Washington, General Halleck, in San - Francisco, was writing an elaborate letter to the Government - about the new territory, in which he proposed the same name, - with, as I understand, the same spelling. - - “Yours truly, - - “CHARLES SUMNER. - - “HON. HIRAM BARNEY, New York.” - -A new edition of the map appeared with the pamphlet edition of the -Speech, on which Mr. Hilgard, of the Coast Survey, in a letter dated -May 25th, wrote to Mr. Sumner:-- - - “As this edition will make its first appearance appended to - your speech, I have ventured to put on it the name Alaska, - proposed by you, as I have no doubt it will be generally - adopted.” - -[227] Bancroft’s Life of Washington (Worcester, 1807), p. 47. - -[228] _Ante_, Vol. XIV. p. 355. - -[229] Hon. Charles G. Atherton, Representative from New -Hampshire,--author of the resolutions of December 11, 1838, on which -was based the notorious 21st Rule of the House, providing that “No -petition, memorial, resolution, or other paper, praying the abolition -of slavery in the District of Columbia or any State or Territory, or -the slave-trade between the States or Territories of the United States -in which it now exists, shall be received by this House, or entertained -in any way whatever.” - -[230] Article IV.: United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XV. p. 542. - -[231] Article VI. - -[232] The allusion to Kentucky drew from Mr. Davis, of that State, some -days later, a vehement Philippic, where, among other things, he said: -“The Senator from Massachusetts himself has been complicated in the -crime of treason” (alluding to his opposition to the Fugitive Slave -Bill).… “Massachusetts now is in high feather. Why? She feels conscious -and proud that the Constitution of the United States is prostrate at -her feet, and that she is leading the whole Radical host of America -to execute her wild, oppressive, and unconstitutional behests.… The -Senator from Massachusetts pretends to be a statesman, and gets up -to speak in this Chamber, not only to the Senate, not only to the -people of the United States, but to the legislators and statesmen -and publicists of Europe, … as if he fancied himself the autocratic -lawgiver of the whole land,--as though he was a great Colossus in -wisdom and power, bestriding Government, Constitution, and country.… -The people of the South are enslaved; they are enslaved by the usurped -power of the Senator from Massachusetts, in part, and he knows it.… If -justice could overtake the States of this Union, Massachusetts would be -reconstructed and brought to greater shame than even South Carolina. -The honorable Senator was almost in an ecstasy, a few days ago, when he -foretold the advent of negro Senators into this body. He was jubilant.… -We see the fell purpose of the honorable Senator from Massachusetts. -We know with what persistence he pursues his objects.” Mr. Sumner, in -reply, simply read extracts from speeches by Judge Goodloe, Willard -Davis, G. H. Graham, and General Brisbin, all of Kentucky, at a recent -celebration, on the 4th of July, at Lexington, in that State.[A] - - [A] Congressional Globe, 40th Cong. 1st Sess., July 13, 1867, - pp. 631-633. - -[233] See, _ante_, p. 190. - -[234] Statutes at Large, Vol. XV. pp. 14-16. - -[235] _Ante_, p. 193. - -[236] Statutes at Large, Vol. XVI. p. 3. - -[237] The Veto of the Third Reconstruction Act. - -[238] Statutes at Large, Vol. XV. p. 31. - -[239] Statutes at Large, Vol. XV. pp. 263, 264. - -[240] The character of the Senate as a court of impeachment was -discussed by Mr. Sumner in his Opinion on the Impeachment of President -Johnson. - -[241] In the Description of England, prefixed to Holinshed’s -Chronicles, and dated 1586, one of these gifts is mentioned: “Of -the potato and such venerous roots as are brought out of Spaine, -Portingale, and the Indies to furnish vp our bankets, I speake not.” -Book II. Ch. VI., Vol. I. p. 281 (London, 1807). - -[242] Act. II. 374-379. - -[243] Bacon’s Essays, annot. Whately, (London, 1858,) p. 379. - -[244] June 20, 1800. Memorials and Correspondence, ed. Russell, Vol. -IV. p. 393. - -[245] Life of Columbus, Appendix, No. XXIV., Author’s Revised Edition, -(New York, 1860,) Vol. III. p. 402. - -[246] Navarrete, Coleccion de los Viages y Descubrimientos, Tom. II. -pp. 264, 272. Humboldt, Examen Critique de l’Histoire de la Géographie -du Nouveau Continent, Tom. I. p. 101. - -[247] Examen Critique, Tom. I. p. 162. - -[248] Ibid., pp. 152, 165. - -[249] Geographica, Lib. I. p. 65, C. Comp. Lib. II. p. 118, C. See -Humboldt, Examen Critique, Tom. I. pp. 147, seqq.; Cosmos, tr. Otté, -Vol. II. pp. 516, 556, 557, 645. - -[250] - - “… che ’l dì nostro vola - A gente, che di là forse l’aspetta.” - -_Rime_, Part. I. Canzone V. - -[251] Canto XXV. st. 229, 230. - -[252] History of Ferdinand and Isabella, Vol. II. pp. 117, 118. - -[253] Stories from the Italian Poets, (London, 1846,) Vol. I. p. 295. - -[254] Christian Morals, Part II. Sec. 3: Works, ed. Wilkin, (London, -1835,) Vol. IV. p. 81. - -[255] Œuvres, (Paris, 1821-23,) Tom. VIII. p. 336. Curiosities of -Literature, (London, 1849,) Vol. III. p. 301, note. - -[256] De Guiana Carmen Epicum: Hakluyt, Voyages, (London, 1600,) Vol. -III. pp. 668-672. - -[257] To the Virginian Voyage: Anderson’s British Poets, Vol. III. p. -583. - -[258] Musophilus: Ibid., Vol. IV. p. 217. - -[259] The Church Militant, 239, 240. - -[260] Life, by Izaak Walton. - -[261] The Holy State, Book III. Ch. 16: _Of Plantations_. - -[262] Cœlum Britannicum: Anderson’s British Poets, Vol. III. p. 716. - -[263] Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc., Vol. I. p. 126. - -[264] Griswold’s Poets and Poetry of America, (Philadelphia, 1856,) p. -22. - -[265] Ibid., p. 29.--Mr. Webster, quoting these lines, attributes them -to an anonymous “English poet.” Speech at the Festival of the Sons of -New Hampshire, November 7, 1849: Works, Vol. II. p. 510. - -[266] Duyckinck’s Cyclopædia of American Literature, Vol. I. p. 299. - -[267] - - “Il met la fièvre en nos climats, - _Et le remède en Amérique_.” - -_Épître_ LXXV., _Au Roi de Prusse_: Œuvres, (edit. 1784,) Tom. XIII. p. -170. - -[268] Of Reformation touching Church Discipline in England, Book II.: -Works, (London, 1851,) Vol. III. pp. 44, 45. - -[269] Book V. 874-879. - -[270] Book V. 955-959. - -[271] Ibid., 1202-1237. - -[272] Life of Sir Thomas Browne: Works, (Oxford, 1825,) Vol. VI. p. 490. - -[273] Works, ed. Wilkin, (London, 1835,) Vol. IV. pp. 232, 233. - -[274] Works, ed. Wilkin, Vol. IV. p. 233. - -[275] Ibid., p. 235. - -[276] Ibid., p. 236. - -[277] Works, ed. Wilkin, Vol. IV. pp. 236, 237. - -[278] Ibid., p. 231, note. - -[279] The Literature of Political Economy, p. 42. - -[280] See Opinions on Interesting Subjects of Public Law and Commercial -Policy arising from American Independence, p. 108. A motto on the -reverse of the title-page is from Child. - -[281] Curiosities of Literature, (London, 1849,) Vol. III. p. 303. - -[282] Chalmers, Life of De Foe, p. 68. - -[283] A New Discourse of Trade, (London, 1698,) p. 183. - -[284] Ibid., p. 201. - -[285] Ibid., p. 212. - -[286] Ibid., p. 215. - -[287] A New Discourse of Trade, (London, 1698,) p. 216. - -[288] Discourses on the Public Revenues, (London, 1698,) Part II. pp. -204, 205. - -[289] Discourses on the Public Revenues, (London, 1698,) Part II. p. -206. - -[290] Opinions on Interesting Subjects, p. 108. - -[291] Opinions of Eminent Lawyers on Various Points of English -Jurisprudence, chiefly concerning the Colonies, etc., Preface, p. xvi. - -[292] Vol. II. pp. 295, seqq. - -[293] A Plan of the English Commerce, (London, 1728,) pp. 360, 361. - -[294] Ibid., pp. 306, 307. See also The Complete English Tradesman, -Chap. XXVI.: Miscellaneous Works, (Oxford, 1841,) Vol. XVII. pp. 254, -seqq. - -[295] Letters by Several Eminent Persons, ed. Duncombe, (London, 1773,) -Vol. I. p. 107, note. - -[296] Letter to Lord Carteret, September 3, 1724: Works, ed. Scott, -(Edinburgh, 1824,) Vol. XVI. p. 441. - -[297] Epilogue to the Satires, Dialogue II. 73. - -[298] Sir Robert Walpole. - -[299] Letter to Thomas Prior, May 7, 1730: Works, (Dublin, 1784,) Vol. -I. p. lvii. - -[300] Letter to Thomas Prior, April 24, 1729: Works, Vol. I. p. liii. - -[301] To Same, March 9, 1730: Ibid., p. lv. - -[302] Works, Vol. II. pp. 441-444. - -[303] Bp. Stock, Life of Berkeley, prefixed to Works, Vol. I. p. xv. - -[304] Address at the Laying of the Corner-Stone of the Addition to the -Capitol, July 4, 1851: Works, Vol. II. p. 596. See also p. 510. - -[305] Grahame, History of the United States, Vol. IV. pp. 136, 448. - -[306] Galt’s Life of West, Part I. pp. 116, 117. - -[307] Letter to Benjamin Rush, May 23, 1807: Works, Vol. IX. pp. 599, -600. - -[308] Travels, (London, 1775, 4to,) p. 89. - -[309] Preface, p. xi. - -[310] Page 1. - -[311] Pages 1, 2. - -[312] Pages 2, 3. - -[313] Page 31. - -[314] - - “At tu præteritas tandem obliviscere clades: - Nam tanti non parva Deus tibi, America, vindex, - Et dedit et majora dabit solatia damni. - Gaude sorte tua: pars omnis amara vorata est - Jam dudum; dulcis superest.… - Ingenium, Pietas, Artes, ac Bellica Virtus - Huc profugæ venient, et regna illustria condent. - … - Et domina his Virtus erit, et Fortuna ministra.” - -_Plantarum_, Lib. V. 1137-1200. - -[315] - - “Then shall Religion to America flee: - They have their times of Gospel, even as we.” - -_The Church Militant_, 247, 248. - -[316] Page 34. - -[317] Pages 49, 51. - -[318] “Which everywhere they call _America_; truly and deservedly they -should say rather _Columbina_, from the magnanimous hero Christopher -Columbus, the Genoese, first explorer, and plainly divinely appointed -discoverer of those lands.”--_Miscellanea Sacra_, Lib. II. cap. 4, _in -fine_. Sewall, p. 49. - -[319] Fuller, _in loc. cit._ Sewall, pp. 49, 50. - -[320] Pages 50, 51. - -[321] Page 52. - -[322] Voltaire à d’Argenson, 21 Juin, 1739, 13 Mars, 1750; à Richelieu, -4 Février, 1757: Œuvres de Voltaire, (1784-89,) Tom. LIII. p. 246; LIV. -p. 225; LV. p. 406. - -[323] Journal et Mémoires, Introduction, Tom. I. p. xlvii. - -[324] Journal et Mémoires, Février, 1734, Tom. I. p. 185. - -[325] Journal et Mémoires, Introduction, Tom. I. p. xxvii. - -[326] Ibid., p. liv, note. - -[327] Journal et Mémoires, Introduction, Tom. I. p. xxxiii. - -[328] Ibid., p. xxxiv. - -[329] Sainte-Beuve, Causeries du Lundi, Tom. XII. p. 105: _Le Marquis -d’Argenson_. Journal et Mémoires, Introduction, Tom. I. p. xxxvii. - -[330] Journal et Mémoires, Tom. I., Introduction, p. xliii; Appendice, -p. 363. - -[331] Pensées sur la Réformation de l’État: Journal et Mémoires, -Introduction, Tom. I. pp. lv, lvi. - -[332] Ibid. Compare p. lvi, notes 1 and 2; p. iv, note 2; and p. xvii, -note. - -[333] Letter to Dr. Price, March 22, 1778: Price’s Observations on the -Importance of the American Revolution, (London, 1785,) App., p. 98. - -[334] Ibid., p. 93. - -[335] Condorcet, Vie de Turgot: Œuvres, éd. O’Connor et Arago, (Paris, -1847-49,) Tom. V. p. 209. - -[336] Ibid., p. 213. - -[337] Œuvres, éd. Dupont de Nemours, (Paris, 1808-11,) Tom. II. p. 66. -Ibid., éd. Daire, (Paris, 1844,) Tom. II. p. 602. - -[338] De l’Esprit des Lois, Liv. XIX. ch. 27. - -[339] Œuvres, éd. Daire, Tom. II. p. 802. - -[340] Ibid., pp. 557, 581, 564. Bancroft, History of the United States, -Vol. VIII. pp. 337, 338. - -[341] Observations on the Importance of the American Revolution, -Appendix. - -[342] Works, Vols. IV.-VI., where (IV. 278-281) is found the larger -part of the letter of Turgot. - -[343] Price, Observations on the Importance of the American Revolution, -App., pp. 96, 97. Turgot, Œuvres, éd. Daire, Tom. II. p. 808. - -[344] Price, Observations on the Importance of the American Revolution, -App., p. 100. Turgot, Œuvres, éd. Daire, Tom. II. p. 809. - -[345] Price, Observations on the Importance of the American Revolution, -App., pp. 102, 103. Turgot, Œuvres, éd. Daire, Tom. II. pp. 809, 810. - -[346] “Should the morals of the English be perverted by luxury, -should they lose their colonies by restraining them, &c., they will -be enslaved, they will become insignificant and contemptible; and -Europe will not be able to show the world one nation in which she can -pride herself.”--Motto on title-page of Price’s second tract on Civil -Liberty, from Raynal, _Histoire Philosophique et Politique_, Liv. XIX. - -[347] Price, Observations on the Importance of the American Revolution, -App., pp. 103-105. Turgot, Œuvres, éd. Daire, Tom. II. p. 810. - -[348] Memoires, Vol. I. p. 344. - -[349] Ibid., p. 347. See also Letter to Sir Horace Mann, October 6, -1754: Letters, ed. Cunningham, Vol. II. p. 398. - -[350] Letters, ed. Cunningham, Vol. VI. p. 57. - -[351] Journal of the Reign of George III. from 1771 to 1783, ed. Doran, -Vol. I. p. 366. - -[352] Ibid., p. 491. See Speech of Earl of Sandwich in the House of -Lords, March 15, 1775: Hansard’s Parliamentary History, Vol. XVIII. -col. 446. - -[353] Letters, ed. Cunningham, Vol. VI. p. 279. - -[354] Letters, ed. Cunningham, Vol. VI. p. 450. - -[355] Ibid., Vol. VII. pp. 12, 13. - -[356] Ibid., pp. 14, 15. - -[357] Letters, ed. Cunningham, Vol. VII. pp. 176, 177. - -[358] Works, Vol. I. pp. 23, 24. See also Vol. IX. pp. 591-593. - -[359] Works, Vol. I. pp. 24-26. - -[360] Ibid., Vol. III. p. 447. - -[361] Ibid., Vol. I. p. 66. - -[362] Ibid., Vol. III. p. 451. - -[363] Ibid., Vol. I. p. 66; Vol. III. p. 452. - -[364] Works, Vol. I. p. 66. - -[365] Ibid., Vol. III. p. 448. - -[366] Works, Vol. I. pp. 230, 232. - -[367] Works, Vol. VII. pp. 226, 227. - -[368] Twenty-Six Letters upon Interesting Subjects respecting the -Revolution of America, written in Holland in the Year 1780: Works, Vol. -VII. pp. 274, 275. - -[369] Works, Vol. VII. p. 250. - -[370] Letter to Edmund Jenings: Ibid., Vol. IX. pp. 509, 510. - -[371] Gibbon, Life, ed. Milman, (London, 1839,) p. 231, Chap. VII., -Notes and Additions. - -[372] Alexander Keith Johnston, Physical Atlas, (edit. 1856,) p. 114, -note. - -[373] Works of John Adams, Vol. VII. p. 254. - -[374] Works, Vol. VII. pp. 255, 256. - -[375] Works, Vol. VIII. p. 322. - -[376] Ibid., p. 333. - -[377] Ibid., Vol. IV. pp. 292, 293. - -[378] Works, Vol. VI. p. 218. - -[379] Writings of Jefferson, Vol. VI. p. 258. - -[380] Works, Vol. X. p. 282. - -[381] Webster, Discourse in Commemoration of the Lives and Services of -John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, delivered in Faneuil Hall, Boston, -August 2, 1826: Works, Vol. I. p. 139. - -[382] Page 8. - -[383] Page 18. - -[384] Page 21. - -[385] Page 22. - -[386] Page 24. - -[387] Page 27. - -[388] April, 1777. - -[389] July, 1777. - -[390] Hansard’s Parliamentary History, Vol. XIX. col. 346. - -[391] Ibid., col. 351. - -[392] Ibid., col. 847. - -[393] The Plains of Abraham, Notes Original and Selected, by -Lieutenant-Colonel R. E. Beatson. - -[394] History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, (London, 1858-65,) Vol. V. -p. 557. - -[395] History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Vol. V. p. 558. - -[396] Speech in the House of Commons, February 8, 1850: Hansard’s -Parliamentary Debates, 3d Ser., Vol. CVIII. col. 537. - -[397] Remarks of Mr. Parkman: Proceedings of the Massachusetts -Historical Society, 1869-70, p. 113. - -[398] Letter to the Countess of Ossory, November 8, 1789: Letters, ed. -Cunningham, Vol. IX. p. 234. - -[399] Mémoires de M. le Duc de Choiseul, écrits par lui-même, et -imprimés sous ses Yeux dans son Cabinet à Chanteloup en 1778. 2 Tom. -Chanteloup et Paris, 1790. - -[400] Essai sur les Avantages à retirer de Colonies nouvelles dans les -Circonstances présentes, par le Citoyen Talleyrand, lu à la Séance -publique de l’Institut National, le 25 Messidor, An V. See Historical -Characters, by Sir Henry Lytton Bulwer, Vol. I. p. 461, Appendix. - -[401] Bancroft, History of the United States, Vol. V. p. 193; VI. pp. -25, 67. - -[402] Ibid., Vol. VI. pp. 95, 96. - -[403] Bancroft, History of the United States, Vol. VI. pp. 169, 170. - -[404] Ibid., p. 237. - -[405] Ibid., pp. 244, 245. - -[406] Ibid., p. 245. - -[407] Histoire Philosophique et Politique des Établissemens et du -Commerce des Européens dans les deux Indes. - -[408] Histoire Philosophique et Politique, (Genève, 1780,) Liv. XIX. -ch. 15. - -[409] Notes on Virginia, Query VI.: Writings, Vol. VIII. p. 312. - -[410] Liv. XVIII. ch. 32. - -[411] Histoire Philosophique et Politique, (Amsterdam, 1772,) Liv. -XVIII. Tom. VI. p. 379. - -[412] Ibid., pp. 426, 427. - -[413] Histoire Philosophique et Politique, (Amsterdam, 1772,) Liv. -XVIII. Tom. VI. pp. 427, 428. - -[414] Histoire Philosophique et Politique, (Genève, 1780,) Liv. XVIII. -ch. 51, Tom. IX. pp. 369, 370. - -[415] Ibid., Liv. XVIII. ch. 52, pp. 373, seqq. - -[416] Dr. Price, in his second tract, “Additional Observations on the -Nature and Value of Civil Liberty and the War with America,” (London, -1777,) pp. 87, 88, note. - -[417] Novanglus, or a History of the Dispute with America, written in -1774: Works, Vol. IV. p. 37. - -[418] Historical Memoirs of his own Time, (London, 1836,) Vol. III. p. -347. - -[419] Letter of Miss Catherine Louisa Shipley, August 2, 1785: -Franklin’s Works, ed. Sparks, Vol. X. p. 220. - -[420] Letter of Same, December 24, 1788: Ibid., pp. 379, 380. - -[421] Letter to Same, April 27, 1789: Ibid., p. 391. - -[422] One of London and another of New York are in the Congressional -Library. The New York copy has the pencil lines of Mr. Webster, marking -what he calls “remarkable passages,” used by him in his “Address at the -Laying of the Corner-Stone of the Addition to the Capitol, 4th July, -1851”: Works, Vol. II. p. 597. - -[423] Letter to the Earl of Shelburne, October 24, 1773: -Correspondence, Vol. IV. p. 302. - -[424] Letter to Miss C. L. Shipley, April 27, 1789: Works, ed. Sparks, -Vol. X. p. 391. - -[425] Luke, ii. 14. - -[426] Sermon, (Boston, 1773,) p. 5. - -[427] Sermon, pp. 7, 8. - -[428] Ibid., pp. 8, 9. - -[429] Sermon, p. 9. - -[430] Ibid., p. 14. - -[431] Ibid., pp. 15, 16. - -[432] Ibid., p. 16. - -[433] Sermon, p. 11. - -[434] Letter to Mr. Coombe, July 22, 1774: Works, ed. Sparks, Vol. -VIII. p. 124. - -[435] Speech, (London, 1774,) p. 15. - -[436] Ibid., p. 27. - -[437] Ibid., p. 31. - -[438] Speech, pp. 32, 33. - -[439] Chalmers, Biographical Dictionary, art. TUCKER. - -[440] Tucker’s Letter to Burke, (Glocester, 1775, 2d edit.,) title-page. - -[441] Ibid., p. 6. - -[442] See Letter to Burke, 1775, 2d edit., p. 5; Humble Address, 1775, -2d edit., p. 8; and Series of Answers to Popular Objections, 1776, pp. -xii, 97. For the matter thus repeatedly and long complained of, see -Burke’s Speech on American Taxation, April 19, 1774: Works, (Boston, -1865-67,) Vol. II. pp. 56, 57. - -[443] Letter from a Merchant in London, (London, 1766,) pp. 19, 20. - -[444] Letter from a Merchant in London, p. 42. - -[445] Ibid., pp. 43, 54. - -[446] The Fourth Tract was published separately in Philadelphia, in -1776, with this addition to the title. - -[447] True Interest of Great Britain: Four Tracts, (3d edit., -Glocester, 1776,) pp. 161, 162. - -[448] Ibid., pp. 196, 197. - -[449] True Interest of Great Britain: Four Tracts, (3d edit.,) pp. 201, -202. - -[450] Ibid., pp. 202, 203. - -[451] Ibid., pp. 218, 219. - -[452] Ibid., p. 221. - -[453] Humble Address, (2d edit.,) p. 5. - -[454] Ibid., p. 29. - -[455] Ibid., p. 47. - -[456] Bacon’s Essays, ed. Whately, (London, 1858,) pp. 548, 549. - -[457] Lectures on Modern History, ed. Sparks, (Cambridge, 1841,) -Lecture XXXII., Vol. II. p. 377. - -[458] Cui Bono? (3d edit.,) p. 96. - -[459] Cui Bono? (3d edit.,) pp. 117-119. - -[460] Considerations on the Measures carrying on with respect to the -British Colonies in North America (1774). A Further Examination of our -Present American Measures, and of the Reasons and the Principles on -which they are founded (1776). Peace the Best Policy (1777). - -[461] Lectures on Modern History, ed. Sparks, Lecture XXXII., Vol. II. -pp. 380-383. - -[462] Considerations, (2d edit.,) p. 66. - -[463] Considerations, (2d edit.,) p. 72. - -[464] February, 1774, Vol. L. p. 135. - -[465] The American Coachman: Works, Vol. I. p. 205. The editor, not -regarding this little poem as a jest, says of it: “The author, with -that conciseness as to the matter and humor in the manner so peculiar -to himself, recommends and supports the Dean’s plan.” - -[466] American Independence, (Philadelphia, 1776,) title-page. - -[467] Ibid., Letter VI., March 27, 1774, p. 65. - -[468] Ibid., p. 66. - -[469] Ibid., p. 68. - -[470] Observations on Man, Part II., Propositions 81, 82. - -[471] Disraeli’s Curiosities of Literature, (Boston, 1859,) Vol. IV. p. -174: _Prediction_. - -[472] Diary, April 19, 1778: Works, Vol. III. p. 137. - -[473] Letter to Arthur Lee, April 12, 1783: Ibid., Vol. IX. p. 517. - -[474] Diary, April 27, 1783: Ibid., Vol. III. p. 363. - -[475] Letter to Secretary Livingston, April 14, 1783: Ibid., Vol. VIII. -p. 54. - -[476] Letter, July 13, 1780: Ibid., Vol. VII. p. 226. - -[477] Speech, March 27, 1775: Hansard’s Parliamentary History, Vol. -XVIII. col. 553. - -[478] Hansard’s Parliamentary History, Vol. XVIII. col. 556. - -[479] Ibid., col. 846. - -[480] Ibid., col. 1050. - -[481] Hansard’s Parliamentary History, Vol. XVIII. col. 1049. - -[482] Speech on the American Prohibitory Bill, December 21, 1775: -Ibid., col. 1104, 1105. - -[483] Hansard’s Parliamentary History, Vol. XVIII. col. 1356. - -[484] Clarkson’s History of the Abolition of the African Slave-Trade, -(Philadelphia, 1808,) Vol. I. pp. 167, 170. - -[485] Hansard’s Parliamentary History, Vol. XIX. col. 258-260. - -[486] Ibid., Vol. XIX. col. 315. - -[487] Ibid., Vol. XX. col. 904. - -[488] Ibid., Vol. XX. col. 1190. - -[489] Biographie Universelle (Michaud). Biographie Générale (Didot). -Louis Blanc, Histoire de la Révolution Française, Tom. I. pp. 390, -545-551. - -[490] Correspondance Inédite, (Paris, 1818,) Tom. II. p. 221. See also -Grimm, Correspondance, (Paris, 1812-14,) Tom. IX. p. 282. - -[491] “On est dans un siècle où les remèdes nuisent au moins autant que -les vices.” - -[492] Correspondance Inédite, Tom. II. pp. 202, 203. Grimm, Tom. IX. -pp. 284, 285. - -[493] Correspondance Inédite, Tom. II. p. 275. - -[494] Ibid., p. 280. - -[495] History of Civilization in England, (London, 1857-61,) Chap. IV., -Vol. I. p. 197. - -[496] Wealth of Nations, (London, 1789,) Book IV. Ch. VII. Part 3, Vol. -II. p. 458. - -[497] Novanglus, No. VII.: Works of John Adams, Vol. IV. pp. 101, 102. - -[498] Monthly Review, June, 1784, Vol. LXX. p. 478. - -[499] Letter to William Franklin, November 25, 1767: Works, ed. Sparks, -Vol. VII. p. 367. - -[500] A Series of Answers to certain Popular Objections against -separating from the Rebellious Colonies and discarding them entirely, -(Glocester, 1776,) pp. 58, 59. See also Cui Bono? (London, 1782,) p. 87. - -[501] Secret Journals of Congress, October 6, 1778, Vol. II. p. 101. -The Commissioners to Dr. Price, December 7, 1778: Works of John Adams, -Vol. VII. p. 71. - -[502] Franklin’s Works, ed. Sparks, Vol. VIII. p. 355, note. - -[503] Ibid., p. 417. - -[504] Letter to Benjamin Vaughan: Ibid., Vol. X. p. 365. - -[505] Letter to Jefferson, September 14, 1813: Works, Vol. X. p. 68. - -[506] Observations on Civil Liberty, (London, 1776,) pp. 43, 44. - -[507] Ibid., p. 44. - -[508] Ibid., p. 97. - -[509] Ibid., p. 70, note. - -[510] Additional Observations, (London, 1777,) p. 71. - -[511] Ibid., p. 73. - -[512] Additional Observations, p. 87. - -[513] General Introduction, (London, 1778,) pp. xv, xvi. - -[514] Observations on the American Revolution, (London, 1785,) pp. 1-6. - -[515] Ibid., pp. 6, 14, 15. - -[516] Ibid., p. 72. - -[517] Franklin’s Works, ed. Sparks, Vol. X. p. 105. - -[518] History of the United States, Vol. II. p. 476. - -[519] See Memorial to the Sovereigns of Europe (London, 1780). - -[520] Memorial to the Sovereigns of America, (London, 1783,) pp. 73, 74. - -[521] Letter to William Tudor, February 4, 1817: Works, Vol. X. p. 241. - -[522] Administration of the Colonies, (4th edit., London, 1768,) -Appendix, pp. 2, seqq. - -[523] Ibid., pp. 6, 7. - -[524] Ibid., p. 6. - -[525] Ibid., p. 7. - -[526] Administration of the Colonies, (4th edit.,) Appendix, p. 9. - -[527] Administration of the Colonies, pp. 9, 10, 164. - -[528] Ibid., p. 10. - -[529] Administration of the Colonies, Dedication, p. xviii. - -[530] Ibid., p. 165. - -[531] Ibid., p. 164. - -[532] Administration of the Colonies, pp. 240, 241. See also Franklin’s -Works, ed. Sparks, Vol. II. pp. 353, 354, note. - -[533] Hansard’s Parliamentary History, Vol. XIX. col. 527, 528. See -also col. 1137. - -[534] Memorial to the Sovereigns of Europe, (London, 1780, 2d edit.,) -pp. 4, 5. - -[535] Ibid., p. 43. - -[536] Ibid., p. 56. - -[537] Memorial to the Sovereigns of Europe, (2d edit.,) pp. 68, 69. - -[538] Ibid., pp. 56-63, 69, 70. - -[539] Ibid., pp. 74, 77. - -[540] Ibid., p. 82. - -[541] Ibid., p. 83. - -[542] Memorial to the Sovereigns of Europe, (2d edit.,) p. 85. - -[543] Ibid., pp. 86, 87. - -[544] Ibid., p. 80. - -[545] Ibid., p. 78. - -[546] Writings, ed. Sparks, Vol. XII. pp. 231, 232. - -[547] Memorial to the Sovereigns of Europe, (2d edit.,) p. 93. - -[548] Ibid., p. 91. - -[549] Two Memorials, (London, 1782,) Preface, p. 1. - -[550] Ibid., pp. 20, 33. - -[551] Franklin’s Works, ed. Sparks, Vol. IX. p. 491. - -[552] Letter to the President of Congress, February 10, 1784: Works, -Vol. VIII. p. 179. - -[553] Letter to John Nichols, February 8, 1788: Nichols’s Literary -Anecdotes, Vol. VIII. p. 112, note. - -[554] Memorial to the Sovereigns of America,(London, 1783,) pp. 5-7. - -[555] Ibid., pp. 16, 21, 22, 37. - -[556] Ibid., p. 41. - -[557] Ibid., pp. 108-110. - -[558] Memorial to the Sovereigns of Europe, p. 83. - -[559] Memorial to the Sovereigns of America, p. 55. - -[560] Franklin’s Works, ed. Sparks, Vol. X. p. 200. - -[561] Franklin’s Works, ed. Sparks, Vol. X. pp. 343, 344. - -[562] Palfrey’s Compendious History of New England, 1728-65, p. 180. - -[563] History of England, (London, 1763, 4to,) Vol. V. pp. 126, 127, -Appendix to Reign of James I., _Colonies_. - -[564] Tableau de l’Histoire Générale des Provinces-Unies (Utrecht, -1777-84). - -[565] Works, Vol. VII. pp. 589, 590. - -[566] Histoire de la Fondation des Colonies des Anciennes Républiques, -adaptée à la Dispute présente de la Grande-Bretagne avec ses Colonies -Américaines (Utrecht, 1778). - -[567] Ibid., p. 155. - -[568] Ibid., p. 176. - -[569] Observations Impartiales d’un Vrai Hollandois, pour servir de -Réponse au Discours d’un soi-disant Bon Hollandois à ses Compatriotes -(Arnheim, Amsterdam, etc., 1778). - -[570] Ibid., p. 15. - -[571] Ibid., p. 58. - -[572] Ibid. - -[573] Le Destin de l’Amérique, ou Dialogues Pittoresques (Londres, -1780). - -[574] Ibid., p. 109. - -[575] Ibid., p. 112. - -[576] Ibid., pp. 113, 114. - -[577] Le Destin de l’Amérique, p. 115. - -[578] Meadley’s Memoirs of Paley, (2d edit., Edinburgh, 1810,) p. 221. - -[579] Dated Abergavenny, March 31, 1781. - -[580] Works, (London, 1807,) Vol. X. p. 389. - -[581] Teignmouth, Life of Sir William Jones, prefixed to Works, Vol. -II. p. 299, note. - -[582] Letter to Teignmouth, October, 1793: Ibid., p. 229. - -[583] Meadley’s Memoirs of Paley, (2d edit.,) p. 221. - -[584] Dr. Jonathan Shipley. See, _ante_, pp. 82, seqq. - -[585] Works, Vol. X. pp. 381, seqq. - -[586] Historical Memoirs of his own Time, (London, 1836,) March, 1781, -Vol. II. p. 378. - -[587] Historical Memoirs, March, 1781, Vol. II. p. 379. - -[588] Walpole’s Journal of the Reign of George III., March, 1773, Vol. -I. p. 187, note. - -[589] Historical Memoirs, March, 1781, Vol. II. p. 377. - -[590] An Epistle to Dr. Shebbeare, by the Author of “An Heroic Epistle -to Sir William Chambers,” (London, 1777,) 214-221. See Poems of William -Mason, in Chalmers’s English Poets, Vol. XVIII. pp. 416-418. - -[591] Institutions du Droit de la Nature et des Gens, (Paris, 1851,) -Tom. II. p. 311. - -[592] Paris, January 4, 1777: Works, ed. Sparks, Vol. VIII. p. 194. - -[593] Ibid., Vol. IX. pp. 350, 351. - -[594] June 1, 1783: Works, Vol. III. pp. 378, 379. - -[595] Life of John Jay, by his Son, Vol. I. p. 140; Vol. II. p. 101. - -[596] L’Espagne sous les Rois de la Maison de Bourbon, ou Mémoires -relatifs à l’Histoire de cette Nation, depuis l’Avénement de Philippe -V. en 1700 jusqu’à la Mort de Charles III. en 1788. Écrits en Anglais -sur des Documens originaux inédits, par William Coxe; traduits en -Français, avec des Notes et des Additions, par Don Andres Muriel. -Paris, 1827. Tom. VI. pp. 45-54, Chap. III. additionnel.--The document -in question is cited as a manuscript in the “Collection de M. le duc de -San Fernando.” - -[597] Disertaciones sobre la Historia de la República Mejicana, -(Méjico, 1849,) Tom. III. p. 351. - -[598] Disertaciones, Tom. III. p. 353. - -[599] Voltaire, Siècle de Louis XIV., Chap. XXI.: Œuvres, (édit. 1784,) -Tom. XXI. p. 19. - -[600] Travels through the Middle Settlements in North America, Preface, -p. x. - -[601] _Ante_, p. 314. - -[602] Works, Vol. III. p. 234. - -[603] Moral and Political Philosophy, (London, 1785, 4to,) Book III. -Part 2, Ch. 31, _Slavery_, p. 197. - -[604] Letter, February 5, 1783: Correspondence of the American -Revolution: Letters to Washington, ed. Sparks, Vol. III. p. 547. - -[605] Meadley, Memoirs of Paley, (2d edit.,) p. 151. - -[606] Meadley, Memoirs of Paley, (2d edit.,) Appendix G, p. 383. - -[607] To the Editor of the Star: Life and Works of Burns, ed. Chambers, -(Edinburgh, 1851-52,) Vol. II. p. 295. Grahame’s History of the United -States, (London, 1836,) Appendix, Note XXI., Vol. IV. p. 462. - -[608] Life and Works, ed. Chambers, Vol. I. p. 259. - -[609] See Burns’s Letter to Mr. Samuel Clarke, Jun., Dumfries: Ibid., -Vol. IV. p. 57. - -[610] Autograph MS., in the possession of Henry Stevens, cited in his -Bibliotheca Geographica, (London, 1872,) Part I. p. 57. - -[611] Béranger reproduced the same life-giving cosmopolitan sentiment:-- - - “Peuples, formez une sainte-alliance, - Et donnez-vous la main.”--_La Sainte-Alliance des Peuples._ - -[612] Hansard’s Parliamentary History, Vol. XXX. col. 1219. - -[613] Hansard’s Parliamentary History, Vol. XXXI. col. 627. - -[614] Essai sur la Régénération Physique, Morale et Politique des Juifs. - -[615] “Bourdon de l’Oise le caractérisa parfaitement, lorsqu’il -lui reprocha, au club des Jacobins, de vouloir _christianiser la -révolution_.”--CARNOT, _Notice Historique sur Grégoire_: Mémoires de -Grégoire, (Paris, 1840,) Tom. I. p. 7. - -[616] De la Noblesse de la Peau, ou du Préjugé des Blancs contre la -Couleur des Africains et celle de leurs Descendants noirs et sang-mêlés. - -[617] The leading events of his life will be found in the two French -biographical dictionaries,--Biographie Universelle (Michaud) and -Biographie Générale (Didot),--where his name occupies considerable -space. - -[618] Lettre aux Citoyens de Couleur et Nègres Libres de -Saint-Domingue, et des autres Isles Françaises de l’Amérique, p. 12. - -[619] Littérature des Nègres, p. 282. - -[620] Ibid., p. 283. - -[621] Writings, Vol. VI. p. 55. - -[622] Writings, Vol. VI. p. 248. - -[623] Boston Daily Advertiser, 10th November, 1845. This speech is not -found in the collected works of Mr. Webster. - -[624] Speech at Pilgrim Festival, New York, 1850: Works, Vol. II. p. -526. - -[625] Writings, Vol. VI. p. 426. - -[626] Ibid., Vol. VII. p. 344. - -[627] Ibid., p. 404. - -[628] Rush, Residence at the Court of London from 1819 to 1825, 2d -Series, (London, 1845,) Vol. II. pp. 44, 45. - -[629] Annual Message, December 2, 1823: State Papers, 18th Cong. 1st -Sess., Doc. No. 2, p. 14. - -[630] Rush, Residence at the Court of London, 2d Series, Vol. II. p. -73. Wheaton’s Elements of International Law, ed. Dana, pp. 97-112, note. - -[631] Speech, February 3, 1824: Hansard’s Parliamentary Debates, N. S., -Vol. X. col. 68. - -[632] Speech, June 15, 1824: Ibid., Vol. XI. col. 1361. - -[633] Hansard’s Parliamentary Debates, N. S., Vol. XVI. col. 397. - -[634] Démocratie en Amérique, (Paris, 1864,) Tom. III. Part. IV. Ch. 7, -p. 527. - -[635] Ibid., Tom. II. Ch. 10, p. 302. - -[636] Démocratie en Amérique, Tom. II. Ch. 10, p. 307. - -[637] Ibid., p. 397. - -[638] Ibid., p. 399. - -[639] Démocratie en Amérique, Tom. II. Ch. 10, pp. 378, 379. - -[640] Ibid., p. 428. - -[641] Démocratie en Amérique, Tom. II. Ch. 10, p. 430. - -[642] The excellent Baron von Gerolt, for so long a period at -Washington as Minister of Prussia and of the German Empire. - -[643] Disertaciones sobre la Historia de la República Megicana. - -[644] Historia de Méjico, desde los primeros Movimientos que prepararon -su Independencia en al Año de 1808 hasta la Época presente. - -[645] In the original text of Alaman this is printed in large capitals, -and explained in a note as said by Lucan of Pompey (Pharsalia, I. 135). - -[646] Historia, Tom. V. pp. 954, 955. - -[647] L’Esprit des Lois, Liv. VIII. Ch. 16. - -[648] Speech at the Festival of the Sons of New Hampshire, November 7, -1849: Works, Vol. II. pp. 510, 511. - -[649] By Jonathan M. Sewall, in an epilogue to Addison’s Tragedy of -“Cato,” written in 1778 for the Bow Street Theatre, Portsmouth, N. H. - -[650] Letter to President Madison, April 27, 1809: Writings, Vol. V. p. -444. - -[651] Letter to President Madison, April 27, 1809: Writings, Vol. V. p. -444. - -[652] Letter to President Monroe, October 24, 1823: Ibid., Vol. VII. -pp. 316, 317. See also letters to same, dated June 11 and 23, 1823: -Ibid., pp. 288, 299. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Charles Sumner; his complete works, -volume 15 (of 20), by Charles Sumner - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHARLES SUMNER: COMPLETE WORKS, 15 *** - -***** This file should be named 50161-0.txt or 50161-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/1/6/50161/ - -Produced by Mark C. 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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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Charles Sumner; his complete works, volume 15 (of 20) - -Author: Charles Sumner - -Editor: George Frisbie Hoar - -Release Date: October 8, 2015 [EBook #50161] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHARLES SUMNER: COMPLETE WORKS, 15 *** - - - - -Produced by Mark C. Orton and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 432px;"> -<img src="images/frontispiece.jpg" width="432" height="600" alt="William Pitt Fessenden" /> -<p class="caption"><small>A. W. Elson & Co. Boston</small></p> -<p class="caption">WILLIAM PITT FESSENDEN</p> -</div> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<h1 style="visibility: hidden;">Charles Sumner; his complete works, volume 15 (of 20)</h1> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[Pg i]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="400" height="650" alt="Cover page" /> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[Pg ii]</a></span></p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Copyright</span>, 1875 <span class="smcap">and</span> 1877,<br /> -<small>BY</small><br /> -FRANCIS V. BALCH, <span class="smcap">Executor</span>.</p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Copyright</span>, 1900,<br /> -<small>BY</small><br /> -LEE AND SHEPARD.</p> - -<p class="center">Statesman Edition.</p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Limited to One Thousand Copies.</span></p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Of which this is</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 100px;"> -<img src="images/issuenumber.jpg" width="100" height="21" alt="No. 259" /> -</div> - -<p class="center">Norwood Press:<br /> -<span class="smcap">Norwood, Mass.,</span> U.S.A.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CONTENTS OF VOLUME XV.</h2> - -<table summary="Contents" class="contents"> - <tr> - <td></td><td class="tdr">PAGE</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="hanging"><a href="#THE_CESSION_OF_RUSSIAN_AMERICA_TO"><span class="smcap">The Cession of Russian America to the United States.</span> -Speech in the Senate, on the Ratification of the Treaty -between the United States and Russia, April 9, 1867</a></td><td class="tdr">1</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="hanging"><a href="#PRECAUTION_AGAINST_THE_PRESIDENT"><span class="smcap">Precaution against the President.</span> Remarks in the Senate, -on a Resolution asking for Copies of Opinions with -regard to the Tenure-of-Office Law and Appointments -during the Recess of Congress, April 11, 1867</a></td><td class="tdr">170</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="hanging"><a href="#FINISH_OUR_WORK_BEFORE_ADJOURNMENT"><span class="smcap">Finish our Work before Adjournment.</span> Remarks in the -Senate, on a Motion to adjourn without Day, April 11 -and 12, 1867</a></td><td class="tdr">172</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="hanging"><a href="#MEDIATION_BETWEEN_CONTENDING_PARTIES_IN"><span class="smcap">Mediation between contending Parties in Mexico.</span> Resolution -in the Senate, proposing the Good Offices of the -United States, April 20, 1867</a></td><td class="tdr">174</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="hanging"><a href="#EQUAL_SUFFRAGE_AT_ONCE_BY_ACT_OF_CONGRESS"><span class="smcap">Equal Suffrage at Once by Act of Congress rather -than Constitutional Amendment.</span> Letter to the New -York Independent, April 20, 1867</a></td><td class="tdr">176</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="hanging"><a href="#CELEBRATION_AT_ARLINGTON_ON_ASSUMING"><span class="smcap">Celebration at Arlington, on assuming its New Name.</span> -Speech at a Dinner in a Tent, June 17, 1867</a></td><td class="tdr">181</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="hanging"><a href="#POWERS_OF_THE_TWO_HOUSES_OF_CONGRESS"><span class="smcap">Powers of the Two Houses of Congress in the absence -of a Quorum.</span> Protest in the Senate, at its Opening, -July 3, 1867</a></td><td class="tdr">185</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="hanging"><a href="#HOMESTEADS_FOR_FREEDMEN"><span class="smcap">Homesteads for Freedmen.</span> Resolution in the Senate, -July 3, 1867</a></td><td class="tdr">188</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="hanging"><a href="#LIMITATION_OF_THE_BUSINESS_OF_THE_SENATE"><span class="smcap">Limitation of the Business of the Senate. Obligations -of Senate Caucuses.</span> Speeches in the Senate, July 3, -5, and 10, 1867</a></td><td class="tdr">189</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="hanging"><a href="#RECONSTRUCTION_ONCE_MORE"><span class="smcap">Reconstruction once More. Public Schools; Officers -and Senators without Distinction of Color.</span> Speeches -in the Senate, on the Third Reconstruction Bill, July 11 -and 13, 1867</a></td><td class="tdr">217</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="hanging"><a href="#SUFFRAGE_WITHOUT_DISTINCTION_OF_COLOR_THROUGHOUT"><span class="smcap">Suffrage without Distinction of Color throughout -the United States by Act of Congress.</span> Remarks -in the Senate, on a Bill to enforce Several Provisions of -the Constitution by securing the Elective Franchise to -Colored Citizens, July 12, 1867</a></td><td class="tdr">229</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="hanging"><a href="#OPENING_OF_OFFICES_TO_COLORED_PERSONS"><span class="smcap">Opening of Offices to Colored Persons in the District -of Columbia.</span> Remarks in the Senate, on a Bill for the -further Security of Equal Rights in the District of -Columbia, July 16, 1867</a></td><td class="tdr">234</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="hanging"><a href="#NATURALIZATION_WITHOUT_DISTINCTION_OF"><span class="smcap">Naturalization without Distinction of Race or Color.</span> -Remarks in the Senate, on a Bill to strike out the Word -“White” in the Naturalization Laws, July 19, 1867</a></td><td class="tdr">238</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="hanging"><a href="#THE_PRESIDENT_MUST_BE_WATCHED_BY_CONGRESS"><span class="smcap">The President must be watched by Congress, or removed.</span> -Speech in the Senate, on the Resolution of -Adjournment, July 19, 1867</a></td><td class="tdr">240</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="hanging"><a href="#SYMPATHY_WITH_CRETE_AND_AN_APPEAL_TO"><span class="smcap">Sympathy with Crete, and an Appeal to the Turkish -Government.</span> Joint Resolutions in the Senate, July 19, -1867, and July 21, 1868</a></td><td class="tdr">246</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="hanging"><a href="#PRIVILEGES_OF_DEBATE_IN_THE_SENATE_ON"><span class="smcap">Privileges of Debate in the Senate on Officers liable -to Impeachment.</span> Resolutions in the Senate, July 20, -1867</a></td><td class="tdr">249</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="hanging"><a href="#PROPHETIC_VOICES_CONCERNING"><span class="smcap">Prophetic Voices concerning America.</span> A Monograph</a></td><td class="tdr">251</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="THE_CESSION_OF_RUSSIAN_AMERICA_TO" id="THE_CESSION_OF_RUSSIAN_AMERICA_TO"></a>THE CESSION OF RUSSIAN AMERICA TO -THE UNITED STATES.</h2> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/line.png" width="80" height="16" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="plabeln"><span class="smcap">Speech in the Senate, on the Ratification of the Treaty between -the United States and Russia, April 9, 1867.</span></p> - -<div class="blockquote medium"> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<p>Thirteen governments founded on the natural authority of the people -alone, without a pretence of miracle or mystery, and <em>which are destined -to spread over the northern part of that whole quarter of the globe</em>, are -a great point gained in favor of the rights of mankind.—<span class="smcap">John Adams</span>, -<em>Preface to his Defence of the American Constitutions</em>, dated Grosvenor -Square, London, January 1, 1787: Works, Vol. IV. p. 293.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span></p> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<p>Barbarous and stupid Xerxes, how vain was all thy toil to cover the -Hellespont with a floating bridge! Thus rather wise and prudent princes -join Asia to Europe; they join and fasten nations together, not with boards -or planks or surging brigandines, not with inanimate and insensible bonds, -but by the ties of legitimate love, chaste nuptials, and the infallible gage -of progeny.—<span class="smcap">Plutarch</span>, <i>Morals</i>, ed. Goodwin, Vol. I. p. 482.</p> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span></p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>Late in the evening of Friday, March 29, 1867, Mr. Sumner, on reaching -home, found this note from Mr. Seward awaiting him: “Can you -come to my house this evening? I have a matter of public business -in regard to which it is desirable that I should confer with you at -once.” Without delay he hurried to the house of the Secretary of -State, only to find that the latter had left for the Department. His -son, the Assistant Secretary, was at home, and he was soon joined -by Mr. de Stoeckl, the Russian Minister. From the two Mr. Sumner -learned for the first time that a treaty was about to be signed for the -cession of Russian America to the United States. With a map in his -hand, the Minister, who had just returned from St. Petersburg, explained -the proposed boundary, according to verbal instructions from -the Archduke Constantine. After a brief conversation, when Mr. -Sumner inquired and listened without expressing any opinion, they -left together, the Minister on his way to the Department, where the -treaty was copying. The clock was striking midnight as they parted, -the Minister saying with interest, “You will not fail us.” The treaty -was signed about four o’clock in the morning of March 30th, being -the last day of the current session of Congress, and on the same day -transmitted to the Senate, and referred to the Committee on Foreign -Relations.</p> - -<p>April 1st, the Senate was convened in Executive session by the -proclamation of the President of the United States, and the Committee -proceeded to the consideration of the treaty. The Committee -at the time was Messrs. Sumner (Chairman), Fessenden, of Maine, -Cameron, of Pennsylvania, Harlan, of Iowa, Morton, of Indiana, Patterson, -of New Hampshire, and Reverdy Johnson, of Maryland. Carefully -and anxiously they considered the question, and meanwhile it -was discussed outside. Among friendly influences was a strong pressure -from Hon. Thaddeus Stevens, the acknowledged leader of the other -House, who, though without constitutional voice on the ratification of -a treaty, could not restrain his earnest testimony. Mr. Sumner was -controlled less by desire for more territory than by a sense of the -amity of Russia, manifested especially during our recent troubles, and -by an unwillingness to miss the opportunity of dismissing another -European sovereign from our continent, predestined, as he believed, -to become the broad, undivided home of the American people; and -these he developed in his remarks before the Senate.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span></p> - -<p>April 8th, the treaty was reported by Mr. Sumner without amendment, -and with the recommendation that the Senate advise and consent -thereto. The next day it was considered, when Mr. Sumner spoke -on the negotiation, its origin, and the character of the ceded possessions. -A motion by Mr. Fessenden to postpone its further consideration -was voted down,—Yeas 12, Nays 29. After further debate, the -final question of ratification was put and carried on the same day by -a vote of Yeas 37, Nays 2,—the Nays being Mr. Fessenden, and -Mr. Morrill, of Vermont. The ratifications were exchanged June 20th, -and the same day the treaty was proclaimed.</p> - -<p>The debate was in Executive session, and no reporters were present. -Senators interested in the question invited Mr. Sumner to write out -his remarks and give them to the public. For some time he hesitated, -but, taking advantage of the vacation, he applied himself to -the work, following precisely in order and subdivision the notes of -a single page from which he spoke.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The speech was noticed at home and abroad. At home, the Boston -<i>Journal</i>, which published it at length, remarked:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“This speech, it will be remembered, coming from the Chairman of the -Committee on Foreign Affairs, and abounding in a mass of pertinent information -not otherwise accessible to Senators, exerted a most marked, -if not decisive, effect in favor of the ratification of the treaty. Since then, -the rumors of Mr. Sumner’s exhaustive treatment of the subject, together -with the increasing popular interest in our new territory, have stimulated -a general desire for the publication of the speech, which we are now enabled -to supply. As might be expected, the speech is a monument of -comprehensive research, and of skill in the collection and arrangement of -facts. It probably comprises about all the information that is extant concerning -our new Pacific possessions, and will prove equally interesting to -the student of history, the politician, and the man of business.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>A Russian translation, by Mr. Buynitzky, appeared at St. Petersburg, -with an introduction, whose complimentary character is manifest -in its opening:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Senator Charles Sumner, of Massachusetts, appears, since the election -of Lincoln, as one of the most eloquent and conspicuous representatives -of the Republican party. His name stands in the first rank of the -zealous propagators of Abolitionism, and all his political activity is directed -toward one object,—the completion of the glorious act of enfranchisement -of five millions of citizens by a series of laws calculated to -secure to freedmen the actual possession of civil and political rights. As -Chairman of the Senate Committee upon Foreign Relations, Mr. Sumner -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span>attentively watches the march of affairs in Europe generally; but, in the -course of the present decade, his particular attention was attracted by the -reforms which took place in Russia. The emancipation of the peasants -in our country was viewed with the liveliest sympathy by the American -statesman, and this sympathy expressed itself eloquently in his speeches, -delivered on various occasions, as well in Congress as in the State conventions -of Massachusetts.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>A French writer, M. Cochin, whose work on Slavery is an important -contribution to the literature of Emancipation, in a later -work thus characterizes this speech:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“All that is known on Russian America has just been presented in a -speech, abundant, erudite, eloquent, poetic, pronounced before the Congress -of the United States by the great orator, Charles Sumner.”<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>On the appearance of the speech, May 24th, Professor Baird, the accomplished -naturalist of the Smithsonian Institution, wrote, expressing -the hope that some Boston or New York publisher would reprint what -he called the “Essay” in a “book-form,” adding: “It deserves some -more permanent dress than that of a speech from the <i>Globe</i> office.” -This is done for the first time in the present publication.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>These few notices, taken from many, are enough to show the contemporary -reception of the speech.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span></p> - -<h3>SPEECH.</h3> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/line.png" width="80" height="16" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="dropcap">MR. PRESIDENT,—You have just listened to the -reading of the treaty by which Russia cedes to -the United States all her possessions on the North -American continent and the adjacent islands in consideration -of $7,200,000 to be paid by the United States. -On the one side is the cession of a vast country, with -its jurisdiction and resources of all kinds; on the other -side is the purchase-money. Such is the transaction -on its face.</p> - -<h4>BOUNDARIES AND CONFIGURATION.</h4> - -<p>In endeavoring to estimate its character, I am glad to -begin with what is clear and beyond question. I refer -to the boundaries fixed by the treaty. Commencing at -the parallel of 54° 40´ north latitude, so famous in our -history, the line ascends Portland Canal to the mountains, -which it follows on their summits to the point of -intersection with the meridian of 141° west longitude, -which it ascends to the Frozen Ocean, or, if you please, -to the north pole. This is the eastern boundary, separating -the region from the British possessions, and it -is borrowed from the treaty between Russia and Great -Britain in 1825, establishing the relations between these -two powers on this continent. It is seen that this -boundary is old; the rest is new. Starting from the -Frozen Ocean, the western boundary descends Behring<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> -Strait, midway between the two islands of Krusenstern -and Ratmanoff, to the parallel of 65° 30´, just below -where the continents of America and Asia approach -each other the nearest; and from this point it proceeds -in a course nearly southwest through Behring Strait, -midway between the island of St. Lawrence and Cape -Chukotski, to the meridian of 172° west longitude, and -thence, in a southwesterly direction, traversing Behring -Sea, midway between the island of Attoo on the east -and Copper Island on the west, to the meridian of -193° west longitude, leaving the prolonged group of -the Aleutian Islands in the possessions transferred to -the United States, and making the western boundary -of our country the dividing line which separates Asia -from America.</p> - -<p>Look at the map and observe the configuration of -this extensive region, whose estimated area is more -than five hundred and seventy thousand square miles. -I speak by authority of our own Coast Survey. Including -the Sitkan Archipelago at the south, it takes a -margin of the main-land fronting on the ocean thirty -miles broad and five hundred miles long to Mount -St. Elias, the highest peak of the continent, when it -turns with an elbow to the west, and along Behring -Strait northerly, then rounding to the east along the -Frozen Ocean. Here are upwards of four thousand -statute miles of coast, indented by capacious bays and -commodious harbors without number, embracing the -peninsula of Alaska, one of the most remarkable in the -world, twenty-five miles in breadth and three hundred -miles in length; piled with mountains, many volcanic -and some still smoking; penetrated by navigable rivers, -one of which is among the largest of the world; studded<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> -with islands standing like sentinels on the coast, and -flanked by that narrow Aleutian range which, starting -from Alaska, stretches far away to Kamtchatka, as if -America were extending a friendly hand to Asia. This -is the most general aspect. There are details specially -disclosing maritime advantages and approaches to the -sea which properly belong to this preliminary sketch. -According to accurate estimate, the coast line, including -bays and islands, is not less than eleven thousand two -hundred and seventy miles. In the Aleutian range, besides -innumerable islets and rocks, there are not less -than fifty-five islands exceeding three miles in length; -there are seven exceeding forty miles, with Oonimak, -which is the largest, exceeding seventy-three miles. -In our part of Behring Sea there are five considerable -islands, the largest of which is St. Lawrence, being -more than ninety-six miles long. Add to all these the -group south of the peninsula of Alaska, including the -Shumagins and the magnificent island of Kadiak, and -then the Sitkan group, being archipelago added to archipelago, -and the whole together constituting the geographical -complement to the West Indies, so that the -northwest of the continent answers to the southeast, -archipelago for archipelago.</p> - -<h4>DISCOVERY OF RUSSIAN AMERICA BY BEHRING, UNDER -INSTRUCTIONS FROM PETER THE GREAT.</h4> - -<p>The title of Russia to all these possessions is derived -from prior discovery, being the admitted title by -which all European powers have held in North and -South America, unless we except what England acquired -by conquest from France; but here the title<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> -of France was derived from prior discovery. Russia, -shut up in a distant interior and struggling with barbarism, -was scarcely known to the other powers at the -time they were lifting their flags in the western hemisphere. -At a later day the same powerful genius which -made her known as an empire set in motion the enterprise -by which these possessions were opened to her dominion. -Peter, called the Great, himself ship-builder and -reformer, who had worked in the ship-yards of England -and Holland, was curious to know if Asia and America -were separated by the sea, or if they constituted one -undivided body with different names, like Europe and -Asia. To obtain this information, he wrote with his -own hand the following instructions, and ordered his -chief admiral to see them carried into execution:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“One or two boats with decks to be built at Kamtchatka, -or at any other convenient place, with which inquiry -should be made in relation to the northerly coasts, to -see whether they were not contiguous with America, since -their end was not known. And this done, they should see -whether they could not somewhere find an harbor belonging -to Europeans or an European ship. They should likewise -set apart some men who were to inquire after the name -and situation of the coasts discovered. Of all this an exact -journal should be kept, with which they should return to -Petersburg.”<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>The Czar died in the winter of 1725; but the Empress -Catharine, faithful to the desires of her husband, -did not allow this work to be neglected. Vitus Behring, -Dane by birth, and navigator of experience, was -made commander. The place of embarkation was on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> -the other side of the Asiatic continent. Taking with -him officers and ship-builders, the navigator left St. -Petersburg by land, 5th February, 1725, and commenced -the preliminary journey across Siberia, Northern Asia, -and the Sea of Okhotsk, to the coast of Kamtchatka, -which they reached only after infinite hardships and -delays, sometimes with dogs for horses, and sometimes -supporting life by eating leather bags, straps, and shoes. -More than three years were consumed in this toilsome -and perilous journey. At last, on the 20th of July, -1728, the party was able to set sail in a small vessel, -called the Gabriel, and described as “like the packet-boats -used in the Baltic.” Steering in a northeasterly -direction, Behring passed a large island, which he -called St. Lawrence, from the saint on whose day it -was seen. This island, which is included in the present -cession, may be considered as the first point in -Russian discovery, as it is also the first outpost of the -North American continent. Continuing northward, and -hugging the Asiatic coast, Behring turned back only -when he thought he had reached the northeastern extremity -of Asia, and was satisfied that the two continents -were separated from each other. He did not penetrate -further north than 67° 30´.</p> - -<p>In his voyage Behring was struck by the absence of -such great and high waves as in other places are common -to the open sea, and he observed fir-trees swimming -in the water, although they were unknown on -the Asiatic coast. Relations of inhabitants, in harmony -with these indications, pointed to “a country at -no great distance towards the east.” His work was -still incomplete, and the navigator, before returning -home, put forth again for this discovery, but without<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> -success. By another dreary land journey he made his -way back to St. Petersburg in March, 1730, after an -absence of five years. Something was accomplished for -Russian discovery, and his own fame was engraved on -the maps of the world. The strait through which he -sailed now bears his name, as also does the expanse of -sea he traversed on his way to the strait.</p> - -<p>The spirit of discovery continued at St. Petersburg. -A Cossack chief, undertaking to conquer the obstinate -natives on the northeastern coast, proposed also “to -discover the pretended country in the Frozen Sea.” He -was killed by an arrow before his enterprise was completed. -Little is known of the result; but it is stated -that the navigator whom he had selected, by name -Gwosdeff, in 1730 succeeded in reaching “a strange -coast” between sixty-five and sixty-six degrees of north -latitude, where he saw people, but could not speak with -them for want of an interpreter. This must have been -the coast of North America, and not far from the group -of islands in Behring Strait, through which the present -boundary passes, separating the United States from -Russia, and America from Asia.</p> - -<p>The Russian desire to get behind the curtain increased. -Behring volunteered to undertake the discoveries -yet remaining. He was created Commodore, and -his old lieutenants were created captains. The Senate, -the Admiralty, and the Academy of Sciences at St. -Petersburg, all united in the enterprise. Several academicians -were appointed to report on the natural history -of the coasts visited, among whom was Steller, -the naturalist, said to be “immortal” from this association. -All of these, with a numerous body of officers, -journeyed across Siberia, Northern Asia, and the Sea<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> -of Okhotsk, to Kamtchatka, as Behring had journeyed -before. Though ordered in 1732, the expedition was -not able to leave the eastern coast until 4th June, -1741, when two well-appointed ships set sail in company -“to discover the continent of America.” One of -these, called the St. Peter, was under Commodore Behring; -the other, called the St. Paul, was under Captain -Tschirikoff. For some time the two kept together, but -in a violent storm and fog they were separated, when -each continued the expedition alone.</p> - -<p>Behring first saw the continent of North America -18th July, 1741, in latitude 58° 28´. Looking at it from -a distance, “the country had terrible high mountains -that were covered with snow.” Two days later, he anchored -in a sheltered bay near a point, which he called, -from the saint’s day on which he saw it, Cape St. Elias. -He was in the shadow of Mount St. Elias. Landing, -he found deserted huts, fireplaces, hewn wood, household -furniture, arrows, “a whetstone on which it appeared -that copper knives had been sharpened,” and -“store of red salmon.” Here also birds unknown in Siberia -were noticed by the faithful Steller, among which -was the blue-jay, of a peculiar species, now called by -his name. At this point, Behring found himself constrained -by the elbow in the coast to turn westward, -and then in a southerly direction. Hugging the shore, -his voyage was constantly arrested by islands without -number, among which he zigzagged to find his way. -Several times he landed. Once he saw natives, who -wore “upper garments of whales’ guts, breeches of seal-skins, -and caps of the skins of sea-lions, adorned with -various feathers, especially those of hawks.” These -“Americans,” as they are called, were fishermen, without<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> -bows and arrows. They regaled the Russians with -“whale’s flesh,” but declined strong drink. One of -them, on receiving a cup of brandy, “spit the brandy -out again as soon as he had tasted it, and cried aloud, -as if he was complaining to his countrymen how ill he -had been used.” This was on one of the Shumagin -Islands, near the southern coast of the peninsula of -Alaska.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the other solitary ship, proceeding on its -way, had sighted the same coast 15th July, 1741, in the -latitude of 56°. Anchoring at some distance from the -steep and rocky cliffs before him, Tschirikoff sent his -mate with the long-boat and ten of his best men, provided -with small-arms and a brass cannon, to inquire -into the nature of the country and to obtain fresh water. -The long-boat disappeared behind a headland, and was -never seen again. Thinking it might have been damaged -in landing, the captain sent his boatswain with -the small boat and carpenters, well armed, to furnish -necessary assistance. The small boat disappeared also, -and was never seen again. At the same time a great -smoke was observed continually ascending from the -shore. Shortly afterwards, two boats filled with natives -sallied forth and lay at some distance from the vessel, -when, crying, “<i>Agai, Agai</i>,” they put back to the -shore. Sorrowfully the Russian navigator turned away, -not knowing the fate of his comrades, and unable to -help them. This was not far from Sitka.</p> - -<p>Such was the first discovery of these northwestern -coasts, and such are the first recorded glimpses of the -aboriginal inhabitants. The two navigators had different -fortunes. Tschirikoff, deprived of his boats, and -therefore unable to land, hurried home. Adverse winds<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> -and storms interfered. He supplied himself with fresh -water by distilling sea-water or pressing rain-water from -the sails. But at last, on the 9th of October, he reached -Kamtchatka, with his ship’s company of seventy diminished -to forty-nine. During this time Behring was -driven, like Ulysses, on the uncertain waves. A single -tempest raged for seventeen days, so that Andrew Hasselberg, -the ancient pilot, who had known the sea for -fifty years, declared that he had seen nothing like it in -his life. Scurvy came with disheartening horrors. The -Commodore himself was a sufferer. Rigging broke; -cables snapped; anchors were lost. At last the tempest-tossed -vessel was cast upon a desert island, then without -a name, where the Commodore, sheltered in a ditch, -and half covered with sand as a protection against cold, -died, 8th December, 1741. His body, after his decease, -was “scraped out of the ground” and buried on this -island, which is called by his name, and constitutes -an outpost of the Asiatic continent. Thus the Russian -navigator, after the discovery of America, died in Asia. -Russia, by the recent demarcation, does not fail to retain -his last resting-place among her possessions.</p> - -<h4>TITLE OF RUSSIA.</h4> - -<p>For some time after these expeditions, by which -Russia achieved the palm of discovery, imperial enterprise -in those seas slumbered. The knowledge already -acquired was continued and confirmed only by -private individuals, who were led there in quest of -furs. In 1745 the Aleutian Islands were discovered -by an adventurer in search of sea-otters. In successive -voyages all these islands were visited for similar<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> -purposes. Among these was Oonalaska, the principal -of the group of Fox Islands, constituting a continuation -of the Aleutian Islands, whose inhabitants and productions -were minutely described. In 1768 private enterprise -was superseded by an expedition ordered by the -Empress Catharine, which, leaving Kamtchatka, explored -this whole archipelago and the peninsula of -Alaska, which to the islanders stood for the whole continent. -Shortly afterwards, all these discoveries, beginning -with those of Behring and Tschirikoff, were -verified by the great English navigator, Captain Cook. -In 1778 he sailed along the northwestern coast, “near -where Tschirikoff anchored in 1741”; then again in -sight of mountains “wholly covered with snow from -the highest summit down to the sea-coast,” with “the -summit of an elevated mountain above the horizon,” -which he supposed to be the Mount St. Elias of Behring; -then by the very anchorage of Behring; then -among the islands through which Behring zigzagged, -and along the coast by the island of St. Lawrence, until -arrested by ice. If any doubt existed with regard -to Russian discoveries, it was removed by the authentic -report of this navigator, who shed such a flood of -light upon the geography of the whole region.</p> - -<p>Such from the beginning is the title of Russia, dating -at least from 1741. I have not stopped to quote volume -and page, but I beg to be understood as following -approved authorities, and I refer especially to the -Russian work of Müller, already cited, on the “Voyages -from Asia to America,” the volume of Coxe on “Russian -Discoveries,” with its supplement on the “Comparative -View of the Russian Discoveries,” the volume of Sir -John Barrow on “Voyages into the Arctic Regions,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span>” -Burney’s “Northeastern Voyages,” and the third voyage -of Captain Cook, unhappily interrupted by his tragical -death from the natives of the Sandwich Islands, -but not until after the exploration of this coast.</p> - -<p>There were at least four other Russian expeditions, -by which this title was confirmed, if it needed any -confirmation. The first was ordered by the Empress -Catharine, in 1785. It was under the command of -Commodore Billings, an Englishman in the service of -Russia, and was narrated from the original papers by -Martin Sauer, secretary of the expedition. In the instructions -from the Admiralty at St. Petersburg the -Commodore was directed to take possession of “such -coasts and islands as he shall first discover, whether -inhabited or not, that cannot be disputed, and are not -yet subject to any European power, with consent of -the inhabitants, if any”; and this was to be accomplished -by setting up “posts marked with the arms of -Russia, with letters indicating the time of discovery, -a short account of the people, their voluntary submission -to the Russian sovereignty, and that this was done -under the glorious reign of the great Catharine the Second.”<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> -The next was in 1803-6, in the interest of the -Russian American Company, with two ships, one under -the command of Captain Krusenstern, and the other of -Captain Lisiansky, of the Russian navy. It was the -first Russian voyage round the world, and lasted three -years. During its progress, Lisiansky visited the northwest -coast of America, and especially Sitka and the -island of Kadiak. Still another enterprise, organized -by the celebrated minister Count Romanzoff, and at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> -his expense, left Russia in 1815, under the command -of Lieutenant Kotzebue, an officer of the Russian navy, -and son of the German dramatist, whose assassination -darkened the return of the son from his long voyage. -It is enough for the present to say of this expedition -that it has left its honorable traces on the coast even -as far as the Frozen Ocean. There remains the enterprise -of Lütke, at the time captain, and afterward admiral -in the Russian navy, which was a voyage of circumnavigation, -embracing especially the Russian possessions, -commenced in 1826, and described in French -with instructive fulness. With him sailed the German -naturalist Kittlitz, who has done so much to illustrate -the natural history of this region.</p> - -<h4>A FRENCH ASPIRATION ON THIS COAST.</h4> - -<p>So little was the Russian title recognized for some -time, that, when the unfortunate expedition of La Pérouse, -with the frigates Boussole and Astrolabe, stopped -on this coast in 1786, he did not hesitate to consider -the friendly harbor, in latitude 58° 36´, where he was -moored, as open to permanent occupation. Describing -this harbor, which he named Port des Français, as -sheltered behind a breakwater of rocks, with a calm -sea and a mouth sufficiently large, he announces that -Nature seemed to have created at the extremity of -America a port like that of Toulon, but vaster in plan -and accommodations; and then, considering that it -had never been discovered before, that it was situated -thirty-three leagues northwest of Los Remedios, the -limit of Spanish navigation, about two hundred and -twenty-four leagues from Nootka, and a hundred leagues<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> -from Prince William Sound, the mariner records his -judgment, that, “if the French Government had any -project of a factory on this part of the coast of America, -no nation could pretend to have the slightest right to -oppose it.”<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> Thus quietly was Russia dislodged. The -frigates sailed further on their voyage, and never returned -to France. Their fate was unknown, until, after -fruitless search and the lapse of a generation, some relics -from them were accidentally found on an obscure -island of the Southern Pacific. The unfinished journal -of La Pérouse, recording his visit to this coast, had been -sent overland, by way of Kamtchatka and Siberia, to -France, where it was published by a decree of the National -Assembly, thus making known his supposed discovery -and his aspiration.</p> - -<h4>EARLY SPANISH CLAIM.</h4> - -<p>Spain also has been a claimant. In 1775, Bodega, -a Spanish navigator, seeking new opportunities to plant -the Spanish flag, reached the parallel of 58° on this -coast, not far from Sitka; but this supposed discovery -was not followed by any immediate assertion of dominion. -The universal aspiration of Spain had embraced -this whole region even at an early day, and -shortly after the return of Bodega another enterprise -was equipped to verify the larger claim, being nothing -less than the original title as discoverer of the strait -between America and Asia, and of the conterminous -continent, under the name of Anian. This curious episode -is not out of place in the present brief history. -It has two branches: one concerning early maps, on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> -which straits are represented between America and Asia -under the name of Anian; the other concerning a pretended -attempt by a Spanish navigator at an early day -to find these straits.</p> - -<p>There can be no doubt that early maps exist with -northwestern straits marked Anian. There are two in -the Congressional Library, in atlases of the years 1680 -and 1717; but these are of a date comparatively modern. -Engel, in his “Mémoires Géographiques,” mentions -several earlier, which he believes genuine. There -is one purporting to be by Zaltieri, and bearing date -1566, an authentic pen-and-ink copy of which is now -before me, from the collection of our own Coast Survey. -On this very interesting map, which is without latitude -or longitude, the western coast of the continent is delineated -with a strait separating it from Asia not unlike -Behring’s in outline, and with the name in Italian, -<i>Stretto di Anian</i>. Southward the coast has a certain -conformity with what is now known to exist. Below -is an indentation corresponding to Bristol Bay; then a -peninsula somewhat broader than that of Alaska; then -the elbow of the coast; then, lower down, three islands, -not unlike Sitka, Queen Charlotte, and Vancouver; and -then, further south, is the peninsula of Lower California. -Sometimes the story of Anian is explained by the -voyage of the Portuguese navigator Gaspar de Cortereal, -in 1500, when, on reaching Hudson Bay in quest -of a passage round America, he imagined that he had -found it, and proceeded to name his discovery “in honor -of two brothers who accompanied him.” Very soon maps -began to record the Strait of Anian; but this does not -explain the substantial conformity of the early delineation -with the reality, which seems truly remarkable.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span></p> - -<p>The other branch of inquiry is more easily disposed -of. This turns on a Spanish document entitled “A Relation -of the Discovery of the Strait of Anian, made -by me, Captain Lorenzo Ferrer Maldonado, in the Year -1588.”<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> If this early account of a northwest passage -from the Atlantic to the Pacific were authentic, the -whole question would be settled; but recent geographers -indignantly discard it as a barefaced imposture. -Clearly Spain once regarded it otherwise; for her Government -in 1789 sent out an expedition “to discover -the strait by which Laurent Ferrer Maldonado was supposed -to have passed, in 1588, from the coast of Labrador -to the Great Ocean.”<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> The expedition was unsuccessful, -and nothing more has been heard of any claim -from this pretended discovery. The story of Maldonado -has taken its place in the same category with that of -Munchausen.</p> - -<h4>REASONS FOR CESSION BY RUSSIA.</h4> - -<p>Turning from the question of title, which time and -testimony have already settled, I meet the inquiry, -Why does Russia part with possessions associated with -the reign of her greatest ruler and filling an important -chapter of geographical history? Here I am without -information not open to others. But I do not forget -that the first Napoleon, in parting with Louisiana, was -controlled by three several considerations. First, he -needed the purchase-money for his treasury; secondly, -he was unwilling to leave this distant unguarded territory<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> -a prey to Great Britain, in the event of hostilities, -which seemed at hand; and, thirdly, he was glad, according -to his own remarkable language, “to establish -forever the power of the United States, and give to England -a maritime rival that would sooner or later humble -her pride.”<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> Such is the record of history. Perhaps a -similar record may be made hereafter with regard to -the present cession. There is reason to imagine that -Russia, with all her great empire, is financially poor; so -that these few millions may not be unimportant to her. -It is by foreign loans that her railroads have been built -and her wars aided. All, too, must see that in those -“coming events” which now more than ever “cast their -shadows before” it will be for her advantage not to -hold outlying possessions from which thus far she has -obtained no income commensurate with the possible -expense for their protection. Perhaps, like a wrestler, -she strips for the contest, which I trust sincerely may -be averted. Besides, I cannot doubt that her enlightened -Emperor, who has given pledges to civilization -by an unsurpassed act of Emancipation, would join -the first Napoleon in a desire to enhance the maritime -power of the United States.</p> - -<p>These general considerations are reinforced, when we -call to mind the little influence which Russia has been -able thus far to exercise in this region. Though possessing -dominion for more than a century, the gigantic -power has not been more genial or productive there -than the soil itself. Her government is little more -than a name or a shadow. It is not even a skeleton. -It is hardly visible. Its only representative is a fur -company, to which has been added latterly an ice company.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> -The immense country is without form and without -light, without activity and without progress. Distant -from the imperial capital, and separated from the -huge bulk of Russian empire, it does not share the vitality -of a common country. Its life is solitary and feeble. -Its settlements are only encampments or lodges. Its -fisheries are only a petty perquisite, belonging to local -or personal adventurers rather than to the commerce of -nations.</p> - -<p>In these statements I follow the record. So little -were these possessions regarded during the last century -that they were scarcely recognized as a component -part of the empire. I have now before me an -authentic map, published by the Academy of Sciences -at St. Petersburg in 1776, and reproduced at London -in 1780, entitled “General Map of the Russian Empire,”<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> -where you will look in vain for Russian America, -unless we except the links of the Aleutian chain -nearest to the two continents. Alexander Humboldt, -whose geographical insight was unerring, in his great -work on New Spain, published in 1811, after stating -that he is able from an official document to give the -position of the Russian factories on the American continent, -says that they are “for the most part mere collections -of sheds and cabins, but serving as store-houses -for the fur-trade.” He remarks further that “the larger -part of these small Russian colonies communicate with -each other only by sea”; and then, putting us on our -guard not to expect too much from a name, he proceeds -to say that “the new denomination of ‘Russian America,’ -or ‘Russian Possessions on the New Continent,’ -must not lead us to think that the coasts of Behrin<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span>g’s -Basin, the peninsula of Alaska, or the country of the -Tchuktchi have become Russian provinces in the sense -given to this word in speaking of the Spanish provinces -of Sonora or New Biscay.”<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> Here is a distinction between -the foothold of Spain in California and the foothold -of Russia in North America which will at least illustrate -the slender power of the latter in this region.</p> - -<p>In ceding possessions so little within the sphere of -her empire, embracing more than one hundred nations -or tribes, Russia gives up no part of herself; and even -if she did, the considerable price paid, the alarm of -war which begins to fill our ears, and the sentiments -of friendship declared for the United States would explain -the transaction.</p> - -<h4>THE NEGOTIATION, IN ITS ORIGIN AND COMPLETION.</h4> - -<p>I am not able to say when the idea of this cession -first took shape. I have heard that it was as long ago -as the Administration of Mr. Polk. It is within my -knowledge that the Russian Government was sounded -on the subject during the Administration of Mr. Buchanan. -This was done through Mr. Gwin, at the time -Senator of California, and Mr. Appleton, Assistant Secretary -of State. For this purpose the former had more -than one interview with the Russian minister at Washington, -some time in December, 1859, in which, while -professing to speak for the President unofficially, he -represented that “Russia was too far off to make the -most of these possessions, and that, as we were near, we -could derive more from them.” In reply to an inquiry<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> -of the Russian minister, Mr. Gwin said that “the United -States could go as high as $5,000,000 for the purchase,” -on which the former made no comment. Mr. Appleton, -on another occasion, said to the minister that “the -President thought the acquisition would be very profitable -to the States on the Pacific; that he was ready to -follow it up, but wished to know in advance if Russia -was ready to cede; that, if she were, he would confer -with his Cabinet and influential members of Congress.” -All this was unofficial; but it was promptly communicated -to the Russian Government, who seem to have -taken it into careful consideration. Prince Gortchakoff, -in a despatch which reached here early in the -summer of 1860, said that “the offer was not what -might have been expected, but that it merited mature -reflection; that the Minister of Finance was about to -inquire into the condition of these possessions, after -which Russia would be in a condition to treat.” The -Prince added for himself, that “he was by no means -satisfied personally that it would be for the interest -of Russia politically to alienate these possessions; that -the only consideration which could make the scales incline -that way would be the prospect of great financial -advantages, but that the sum of $5,000,000 did not -seem in any way to represent the real value of these -possessions”; and he concluded by asking the minister -to tell Mr. Appleton and Senator Gwin that the sum -offered was not considered “an equitable equivalent.” -The subject was submerged by the Presidential election -which was approaching, and then by the Rebellion. -It will be observed that this attempt was at a -time when politicians who believed in the perpetuity -of Slavery still had power. Mr. Buchanan was President,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> -and he employed as his intermediary a known -sympathizer with Slavery, who shortly afterwards became -a Rebel. Had Russia been willing, it is doubtful -if this controlling interest would have sanctioned -any acquisition too far north for Slavery.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the Rebellion was brought to an end, and -peaceful enterprise was renewed, which on the Pacific -coast was directed toward the Russian possessions. Our -people there, wishing new facilities to obtain fish, fur, -and ice, sought the intervention of the National Government. -The Legislature of Washington Territory, in -the winter of 1866, adopted the following memorial to -the President of the United States, entitled “In reference -to the cod and other fisheries.”</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p class="noindent">“<span class="smcap">To his Excellency Andrew Johnson</span>,<br /> -“<i>President of the United States</i>.</p> - -<p>“Your memorialists, the Legislative Assembly of Washington -Territory, beg leave to show that abundance of codfish, -halibut, and salmon, of excellent quality, have been found -along the shores of the Russian possessions. Your memorialists -respectfully request your Excellency to obtain such -rights and privileges of the Government of Russia as will -enable our fishing vessels to visit the ports and harbors of -its possessions, to the end that fuel, water, and provisions -may be easily obtained, that our sick and disabled fishermen -may obtain sanitary assistance, together with the privilege -of curing fish and repairing vessels in need of repairs. -Your memorialists further request that the Treasury Department -be instructed to forward to the collector of customs of -this Puget Sound district such fishing licenses, abstract journals, -and log-books as will enable our hardy fishermen to -obtain the bounties now provided and paid to the fishermen -in the Atlantic States. Your memorialists finally pray your -Excellency to employ such ships as may be spared from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> -Pacific naval fleet in exploring and surveying the fishing -banks known to navigators to exist along the Pacific coast -from the Cortés Bank to Behring Straits. And, as in duty -bound, your memorialists will ever pray.</p> - -<p>“Passed the House of Representatives January 10, 1866.</p> - -<p class="sig">“<span class="smcap">Edward Eldridge</span>,<br /> -“<i>Speaker, House of Representatives</i>.</p> - -<p>“Passed the Council January 13, 1866.</p> - -<p class="sig">“<span class="smcap">Harvey K. Hines</span>,<br /> -“<i>President of the Council</i>.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>This memorial, on presentation to the President, in -February, 1866, was referred to the Secretary of State, -by whom it was communicated to Mr. de Stoeckl, the -Russian minister, with remarks on the importance of -some early and comprehensive arrangement between the -two powers to prevent the growth of difficulties, especially -from the fisheries in that region. At the same -time reports began to prevail of extraordinary wealth -in fisheries, especially the whale and cod, promising to -become an important commerce on the Pacific coast.</p> - -<p>Shortly afterwards another influence was felt. Mr. -Cole, who had been recently elected to the Senate from -California, acting in behalf of certain persons in that -State, sought from the Russian Government a license -or franchise to gather furs in a portion of its American -possessions. The charter of the Russian American -Company was about to expire. This company had -already underlet to the Hudson’s Bay Company all its -franchise on the main-land between 54° 40´ and Cape -Spencer; and now it was proposed that an American -company, holding directly from the Russian Government, -should be substituted for the latter. The mighty -Hudson’s Bay Company, with headquarters in London,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> -was to give way to an American company, with headquarters -in California. Among letters on this subject -addressed to Mr. Cole, and now before me, is one dated -San Francisco, April 10, 1866, in which the scheme is -developed:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“There is at the present time a good chance to organize -a fur-trading company, to trade between the United States -and the Russian possessions in America; and as the charter -formerly granted to the Hudson’s Bay Company has expired, -this would be the opportune moment to start in.… -I should think that by a little management this charter -could be obtained from the Russian Government for ourselves, -as I do not think they are very willing to renew the -charter of the Hudson’s Bay Company, and I think they -would give the preference to an American company, especially -if the company should pay to the Russian Government -five per cent. on the gross proceeds of their transactions, -and also aid in civilizing and ameliorating the condition -of the Indians by employing missionaries, if required -by the Russian Government. For the faithful performance -of the above we ask a charter for the term of twenty-five -years, to be renewed for the same length of time, if the -Russian Government finds the company deserving,—the -charter to invest us with the right of trading in all the -country between the British American line and the Russian -Archipelago.… Remember, we wish for the same charter -as was formerly granted to the Hudson’s Bay Company, and -we offer in return more than they did.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>Another correspondent of Mr. Cole, under date of -San Francisco, September 17, 1866, wrote:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“I have talked with a man who has been on the coast -and in the trade for ten years past, and he says it is much -more valuable than I have supposed, and I think it very -important to obtain it, if possible.”</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span></p> - -<p>The Russian minister at Washington, whom Mr. Cole -saw repeatedly upon the subject, was not authorized to -act, and the latter, after conference with the Department -of State, was induced to address Mr. Clay, minister -of the United States at St. Petersburg, who laid -the application before the Russian Government. This -was an important step. A letter from Mr. Clay, dated -at St. Petersburg as late as February 1, 1867, makes -the following revelation.</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“The Russian Government has already ceded away its -rights in Russian America for a term of years, and the -Russo-American Company has also ceded the same to the -Hudson’s Bay Company. This lease expires in June next, -and the president of the Russo-American Company tells me -that they have been in correspondence with the Hudson’s -Bay Company about a renewal of the lease for another term -of twenty-five or thirty years. Until he receives a definite -answer, he cannot enter into negotiations with us or your -California company. My opinion is, that, if he can get off -with the Hudson’s Bay Company, he will do so, when we -can make some arrangements with the Russo-American Company.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>Some time had elapsed since the original attempt of -Mr. Gwin, also a Senator from California, and it is -probable that the Russian Government had obtained information -which enabled it to see its way more clearly. -It will be remembered that Prince Gortchakoff had -promised an inquiry, and it is known that in 1861 -Captain-Lieutenant Golowin, of the Russian navy, made -a detailed report on these possessions. Mr. Cole had -the advantage of his predecessor. There is reason to -believe, also, that the administration of the fur company -had not been entirely satisfactory, so that there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> -were well-founded hesitations with regard to the renewal -of its franchise. Meanwhile, in October, 1866, -Mr. de Stoeckl, who had long been the Russian minister -at Washington, and enjoyed in a high degree the -confidence of our Government, returned home on leave -of absence, promising his best exertions to promote good -relations between the two countries. While he was at -St. Petersburg, the applications from the United States -were under consideration; but the Russian Government -was disinclined to any minor arrangement of the character -proposed. Obviously something like a crisis was -at hand with regard to these possessions. The existing -government was not adequate. The franchises granted -there were about to terminate. Something must be -done. As Mr. de Stoeckl was leaving for his post, in -February, the Archduke Constantine, brother and chief -adviser of the Emperor, handed him a map with the -lines in our treaty marked upon it, and told him he -might treat for cession with those boundaries. The -minister arrived in Washington early in March. A negotiation -was opened at once. Final instructions were -received by the Atlantic cable, from St. Petersburg, on -the 29th of March, and at four o’clock on the morning -of the 30th of March this important treaty was signed -by Mr. Seward on the part of the United States and -by Mr. de Stoeckl on the part of Russia.</p> - -<p>Few treaties have been conceived, initiated, prosecuted, -and completed in so simple a manner, without protocol -or despatch. The whole negotiation is seen in its -result, unless we except two brief notes, which constitute -all that passed between the negotiators. These -have an interest general and special, and I conclude -the history of this transaction by reading them.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span></p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p class="right medium">“<span class="smcap">Department of State, Washington</span>, March 23, 1867.</p> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">Sir</span>,—With reference to the proposed convention between -our respective Governments for a cession by Russia -of her American territory to the United States, I have the -honor to acquaint you that I must insist upon that clause -in the sixth article of the draft which declares the cession -to be free and unincumbered by any reservations, privileges, -franchises, grants, or possessions by any associated companies, -whether corporate or incorporate, Russian or any other, -&c., and must regard it as an ultimatum. With the President’s -approval, however, I will add $200,000 to the consideration -money on that account.</p> - -<p>“I avail myself of this occasion to offer to you a renewed -assurance of my most distinguished consideration.</p> - -<p class="sig">“<span class="smcap">William H. Seward.</span></p> - -<p class="noindent medium">“<span class="smcap">Mr. Edward de Stoeckl</span>, &c., &c., &c.”</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p class="center medium">[TRANSLATION.]</p> - -<p class="right medium">“<span class="smcap">Washington</span>, March 17 [29], 1867.</p> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">Mr. Secretary of State</span>,—I have the honor to inform -you, that, by a telegram, dated 16th [28th] of this month, -from St. Petersburg, Prince Gortchakoff informs me that -his Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias gives his consent -to the cession of the Russian possessions on the American -continent to the United States, for the stipulated sum -of $7,200,000 in gold, and that his Majesty the Emperor invests -me with full powers to negotiate and sign the treaty.</p> - -<p>“Please accept, Mr. Secretary of State, the assurance of -my very high consideration.</p> - -<p class="sig">“<span class="smcap">Stoeckl.</span></p> - -<p class="noindent medium">“<span class="smcap">To Hon. William H. Seward</span>,<br /> -“<i>Secretary of State of the United States</i>.”</p> - -</div> - -<h4>THE TREATY.</h4> - -<p>The treaty begins with the declaration, that “the -United States of America and his Majesty the Emperor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> -of all the Russias, being desirous of strengthening, -if possible, the good understanding which exists -between them,” have appointed plenipotentiaries, who -have proceeded to sign articles, wherein it is stipulated -on behalf of Russia that “his Majesty the Emperor of -all the Russias agrees to cede to the United States -by this convention, immediately upon the exchange of -the ratifications thereof, all the territory and dominion -now possessed by his said Majesty on the continent of -America and in the adjacent islands, the same being -contained within the geographical limits herein set -forth”; and it is stipulated on behalf of the United -States, that, “in consideration of the cession aforesaid, -the United States agree to pay at the Treasury in -Washington, within ten months after the exchange of -the ratifications of this convention, to the diplomatic -representative or other agent of his Majesty the Emperor -of all the Russias duly authorized to receive the -same, $7,200,000 in gold.” The ratifications are to be -exchanged within three months from the date of the -treaty, or sooner, if possible.<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a></p> - -<p>Beyond the consideration founded on the desire of -“strengthening the good understanding” between the -two countries, there is the pecuniary consideration already -mentioned, which underwent a change in the -progress of the negotiation. The sum of seven millions -was originally agreed upon; but when it appeared -that there was a fur company and also an ice company -enjoying monopolies under the existing government, it -was thought best that these should be extinguished, in -consideration of which our Government added two hundred -thousand to the purchase-money, and the Russian<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> -Government in formal terms declared “the cession of -territory and dominion to be free and unincumbered -by any reservations, privileges, franchises, grants, or -possessions, by any associated companies, whether corporate -or incorporate, Russian or any other, or by any -parties, except merely private individual property-holders.” -Thus the United States receive the cession free -of all incumbrances, so far at least as Russia is in a -condition to make it. The treaty proceeds to say: “The -cession hereby made conveys all the rights, franchises, -and privileges now belonging to Russia in the said territory -or dominion and appurtenances thereto.”<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> In -other words, Russia conveys all she has to convey.</p> - -<h4>QUESTIONS ARISING UNDER THE TREATY.</h4> - -<p>There are questions, not unworthy of attention, which -arise under the treaty between Russia and Great Britain, -fixing the eastern limits of these possessions, and conceding -certain privileges to the latter power. By this -treaty, signed at St. Petersburg, 28th February, 1825, -after fixing the boundaries between the Russian and -British possessions, it is provided that “for the space -of <em>ten years</em> from the signature of the present convention, -the vessels of the two powers, or those belonging -to their respective subjects, shall mutually be at liberty -to frequent, without any hindrance whatever, all the -inland seas, the gulfs, havens, and creeks on the coast, -for the purposes of fishing and of trading with the -natives”; and also that “the port of Sitka, or Novo -Archangelsk, shall be open to the commerce and vessels -of British subjects for the space of <em>ten years</em> from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> -the date of the exchange of the ratifications of the present -convention.”<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> In the same treaty it is also provided -that “the subjects of his Britannic Majesty, from whatever -quarter they may arrive, whether from the ocean -or from the interior of the continent, shall <em>forever</em> enjoy -the right of navigating freely and without any hindrance -whatever all the rivers and streams which in -their course towards the Pacific Ocean may cross the -line of demarcation.”<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> Afterwards a treaty of commerce -and navigation between Russia and Great Britain -was signed at St. Petersburg, 11th January, 1843, subject -to be terminated on notice from either party at -the expiration of ten years, in which it is provided, -that, “in regard to commerce and navigation in the -Russian possessions on the northwest coast of America, -the convention concluded at St. Petersburg on the -16/28th February, 1825, continues in force.”<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> Then ensued -the Crimean War between Russia and Great Britain, -effacing or suspending treaties. Afterwards another -treaty of commerce and navigation was signed at -St. Petersburg, 12th January, 1859, subject to be terminated -on notice from either party at the expiration -of ten years, which repeats the last provision.<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a></p> - -<p>Thus we have three different stipulations on the part -of Russia: one opening seas, gulfs, and havens on the -Russian coast to British subjects for fishing and trading -with the natives; the second making Sitka a free -port to British subjects; and the third making British -rivers which flow through the Russian possessions -forever free to British navigation. Do the United States -succeed to these stipulations?</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span></p> - -<p>Among these I make a distinction in favor of the -last, which by its language is declared to be “forever,” -and may have been in the nature of an equivalent at -the settlement of boundaries between the two powers. -But whatever its terms or its origin, it is obvious that -it is nothing but a declaration of public law, as always -expounded by the United States, and now recognized -on the continent of Europe. While pleading with Great -Britain, in 1826, for the free navigation of the St. Lawrence, -Mr. Clay, then Secretary of State, said that “the -American Government did not mean to contend for -any principle the benefit of which in analogous circumstances -it would deny to Great Britain.”<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> During -the same year, Mr. Gallatin, our minister in London, -when negotiating with Great Britain for the adjustment -of boundaries on the Pacific, proposed, that, “if -the line should cross any of the branches of the Columbia -at points from which they are navigable by boats -to the main stream, the navigation of such branches -and of the main stream should be perpetually free and -common to the people of both nations.”<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> At an earlier -day the United States made the same claim with regard -to the Mississippi, and asserted, as a general principle, -that, “if the right of the upper inhabitants to descend -the stream was in any case obstructed, it was an act of -force by a stronger society against a weaker, condemned -by the judgment of mankind.”<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> By these admissions -our country is estopped, even if the public law of the -European continent, first declared at Vienna with regard<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> -to the Rhine, did not offer an example which we cannot -afford to reject. I rejoice to believe that on this occasion -we apply to Great Britain the generous rule which -from the beginning we have claimed for ourselves.</p> - -<p>The two other stipulations are different in character. -They are not declared to be “forever,” and do not stand -on any principle of public law. Even if subsisting now, -they cannot be onerous. I doubt much if they are subsisting -now. In succeeding to the Russian possessions, -it does not follow that the United States succeed to -ancient obligations assumed by Russia, as if, according -to a phrase of the Common Law, they were “covenants -running with the land.” If these stipulations are in -the nature of <em>servitudes</em>, they depend for their duration -on the sovereignty of Russia, and are <em>personal</em> or <em>national</em> -rather than <em>territorial</em>. So, at least, I am inclined -to believe. But it is hardly profitable to speculate -on a point of so little practical value. Even if -“running with the land,” these servitudes can be terminated -at the expiration of ten years from the last treaty -by notice, which equitably the United States may give, -so as to take effect on the 12th of January, 1869. Meanwhile, -during this brief period, it will be easy by Act -of Congress in advance to limit importations at Sitka, -so that this “free port” shall not be made the channel -or doorway by which British goods are introduced into -the United States free of duty.</p> - -<h4>GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS ON THE TREATY.</h4> - -<p>From this survey of the treaty, as seen in its origin -and the questions under it, I might pass at once to a -survey of the possessions which have been conveyed;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> -but there are other matters of a more general character -which present themselves at this stage and challenge -judgment. These concern nothing less than the unity, -power, and grandeur of the Republic, with the extension -of its dominion and its institutions. Such considerations, -where not entirely inapplicable, are apt to -be controlling. I do not doubt that they will in a -great measure determine the fate of this treaty with -the American people. They are patent, and do not -depend on research or statistics. To state them is -enough.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>1. <i>Advantages to the Pacific Coast.</i>—Foremost in -order, if not in importance, I put the desires of our -fellow-citizens on the Pacific coast, and the special advantages -they will derive from this enlargement of -boundary. They were the first to ask for it, and will -be the first to profit by it. While others knew the -Russian possessions only on the map, they knew them -practically in their resources. While others were indifferent, -they were planning how to appropriate Russian -peltries and fisheries. This is attested by the resolutions -of the Legislature of Washington Territory; also -by the exertions at different times of two Senators from -California, who, differing in political sentiments and in -party relations, took the initial steps which ended in -this treaty.</p> - -<p>These well-known desires were founded, of course, on -supposed advantages; and here experience and neighborhood -were prompters. Since 1854 the people of -California have received their ice from the fresh-water -lakes in the island of Kadiak, not far westward from -Mount St. Elias. Later still, their fishermen have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> -searched the waters about the Aleutians and the Shumagins, -commencing a promising fishery. Others have -proposed to substitute themselves for the Hudson’s Bay -Company in their franchise on the coast. But all are -looking to the Orient, as in the time of Columbus, although -like him they sail to the west. To them China -and Japan, those ancient realms of fabulous wealth, are -the Indies. To draw this commerce to the Pacific coast -is no new idea. It haunted the early navigators. Meares, -the Englishman, whose voyage in the intervening seas -was in 1788, recounts a meeting with Gray, the Boston -navigator, whom he found “very sanguine in the superior -advantages which his countrymen from New England -might reap from this track of trade, and big with -many mighty projects.”<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a> He closes his volumes with -an essay entitled “Some Account of the Trade between -the Northwest Coast of America and China, &c.,” in -the course of which<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> he dwells on the “great and -very valuable source of commerce” offered by China -as “forming a chain of trade between Hudson’s Bay, -Canada, and the Northwest Coast”; and then he exhibits -on the American side the costly furs of the sea-otter, -still so much prized in China,—“mines which are -known to lie between the latitudes of 40° and 60° north,”—and -also ginseng “in inexhaustible plenty,” for which -there is still such demand in China, that even Minnesota, -at the head-waters of the Mississippi, supplies her -contribution. His catalogue might be extended now.</p> - -<p>As a practical illustration of this idea, it may be -mentioned, that, for a long time, most, if not all, the -sea-otter skins of this coast found their way to China.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> -China was the best customer, and therefore Englishmen -and Americans followed the Russian Company in carrying -these furs to her market, so that Pennant, the -English naturalist, impressed by the peculiar advantages -of the coast, exclaimed, “What a profitable trade [with -China] might not a colony carry on, was it possible to -penetrate to these parts of North America by means of -the rivers and lakes!”<a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a> Under the present treaty this -coast is ours.</p> - -<p>The absence of harbors belonging to the United States -on the Pacific limits the outlets of the country. On that -whole extent, from Panama to Puget Sound, the only -harbor of any considerable value is San Francisco. Further -north the harbors are abundant, and they are all -nearer to the great marts of Japan and China. But -San Francisco itself will be nearer by the way of the -Aleutians than by Honolulu. The projection of maps -is not always calculated to present an accurate idea of -distances. From measurement on a globe it appears -that a voyage from San Francisco to Hong Kong by the -common way of the Sandwich Islands is 7,140 miles, but -by way of the Aleutian Islands it is only 6,060 miles, -being a saving of more than one thousand miles, with -the enormous additional advantage of being obliged to -carry much less coal. Of course a voyage from Sitka, or -from Puget Sound, the terminus of the Northern Pacific -Railroad, would be shorter still.</p> - -<p>The advantages to the Pacific coast have two aspects,—one -domestic, and the other foreign. Not only does -the treaty extend the coasting trade of California, Oregon, -and Washington Territory northward, but it also -extends the base of commerce with China and Japan.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span></p> - -<p>To unite the East of Asia with the West of America -is the aspiration of commerce now as when the English -navigator recorded his voyage. Of course, whatever -helps this result is an advantage. The Pacific -Railroad is such an advantage; for, though running -westward, it will be, when completed, a new highway -to the East. This treaty is another advantage; for -nothing can be clearer than that the western coast -must exercise an attraction which will be felt in China -and Japan just in proportion as it is occupied by a -commercial people communicating readily with the Atlantic -and with Europe. This cannot be without consequences -not less important politically than commercially. -Owing so much to the Union, the people there -will be bound to it anew, and the national unity will -receive another confirmation. Thus the whole country -will be a gainer. So are we knit together that the -advantages to the Pacific coast will contribute to the -general welfare.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>2. <i>Extension of Dominion.</i>—The extension of dominion -is another consideration calculated to captivate -the public mind. Few are so cold or philosophical as -to regard with insensibility a widening of the bounds -of country. Wars have been regarded as successful, -when they have given a new territory. The discoverer -who had planted the flag of his sovereign on a -distant coast has been received as a conqueror. The -ingratitude exhibited to Columbus during his later days -was compensated by the epitaph, that he had “found a -new world for Castile and Leon.”<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a> His discoveries were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> -continued by other navigators, and Spain girdled the -earth with her possessions. Portugal, France, Holland, -England, each followed the example of Spain, and rejoiced -in extended empire.</p> - -<p>Territorial acquisitions are among the landmarks of -our history. In 1803, Louisiana, embracing the valley -of the Mississippi, was acquired from France for fifteen -million dollars. In 1819, Florida was acquired from -Spain for about three million dollars. In 1845, Texas -was annexed without purchase, but subsequently, under -the compromises of 1850, an allowance of twelve and -three fourth million dollars was made to her. In 1848, -California, New Mexico, and Utah were acquired from -Mexico after war, and on payment of fifteen million -dollars. In 1854, Arizona was acquired from Mexico -for ten million dollars. And now it is proposed to acquire -Russian America.</p> - -<p>The passion for acquisition, so strong in the individual, -is not less strong in the community. A nation -seeks an outlying territory, as an individual seeks -an outlying farm. The passion shows itself constantly. -France, passing into Africa, has annexed Algeria. Spain -set her face in the same direction, but without the same -success. There are two great powers with which annexion -has become a habit. One is Russia, which from -the time of Peter has been moving her flag forward in -every direction, so that on every side her limits have -been extended. Even now the report comes that she -is lifting her southern landmarks in Asia, so as to carry -her boundary to India. The other annexionist is Great -Britain, which from time to time adds another province to -her Indian empire. If the United States have from -time to time added to their dominion, they have only<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> -yielded to the universal passion, although I do not forget -that the late Theodore Parker was accustomed to -speak of Anglo-Saxons as among all people remarkable -for “greed of land.” It was land, not gold, that -aroused the Anglo-Saxon phlegm. I doubt, however, if -this passion be stronger with us than with others, except, -perhaps, that in a community where all participate -in government the national sentiments are more -active. It is common to the human family. There are -few anywhere who could hear of a considerable accession -of territory, obtained peacefully and honestly, without -a pride of country, even if at certain moments the -judgment hesitated. With increased size on the map -there is increased consciousness of strength, and the -heart of the citizen throbs anew as he traces the extending -line.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>3. <i>Extension of Republican Institutions.</i>—More than -the extension of dominion is the extension of republican -institutions, which is a traditional aspiration. It was -in this spirit that Independence was achieved. In the -name of Human Rights our fathers overthrew the kingly -power, whose representative was George the Third. -They set themselves openly against this form of government. -They were against it for themselves, and offered -their example to mankind. They were Roman in character, -and turned to Roman lessons. With cynical austerity -the early Cato said that kings were “carnivorous -animals,” and probably at his instance it was decreed -by the Roman Senate that no king should be allowed -within the gates of the city. A kindred sentiment, -with less austerity of form, has been received from our -fathers; but our city can be nothing less than the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> -North American continent, with its gates on all the -surrounding seas.</p> - -<p>John Adams, in the preface to his Defence of the -American Constitutions, written in London, where he -resided at the time as minister, and dated January 1, -1787, at Grosvenor Square, the central seat of aristocratic -fashion, after exposing the fabulous origin of -the kingly power in contrast with the simple origin -of our republican constitutions, thus for a moment lifts -the curtain: “Thirteen governments,” he says plainly, -“thus founded on the natural authority of the people -alone, without a pretence of miracle or mystery, and -<em>which are destined to spread over the northern part of -that whole quarter of the globe</em>, are a great point gained -in favor of the rights of mankind.”<a name="FNanchor_23_23" id="FNanchor_23_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a> Thus, according -to the prophetic minister, even at that early day was -the destiny of the Republic manifest. It was to spread -over the northern part of the American quarter of the -globe, and it was to help the rights of mankind.</p> - -<p>By the text of our Constitution, the United States -are bound to guaranty “a republican form of government” -to every State in the Union; but this obligation, -which is applicable only at home, is an unquestionable -indication of the national aspiration everywhere. -The Republic is something more than a local -policy; it is a general principle, not to be forgotten -at any time, especially when the opportunity is presented -of bringing an immense region within its influence. -Elsewhere it has for the present failed; but -on this account our example is more important. Who -can forget the generous lament of Lord Byron, whose -passion for Freedom was not mitigated by his rank as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> -an hereditary legislator of England, when he exclaims, -in memorable verse,—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“The name of Commonwealth is past and gone</div> -<div class="verse">O’er the three fractions of the groaning globe”?</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">Who can forget the salutation which the poet sends to -the “one great clime,” which, nursed in Freedom, enjoys -what he calls the “proud distinction” of not being -confounded with other lands,—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“Whose sons must bow them at a monarch’s motion,</div> -<div class="verse">As if his senseless sceptre were a wand”?</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The present treaty is a visible step in the occupation -of the whole North American continent. As such -it will be recognized by the world and accepted by the -American people. But the treaty involves something -more. We dismiss one other monarch from the continent. -One by one they have retired,—first France, -then Spain, then France again, and now Russia,—all -giving way to the absorbing Unity declared in the national -motto, <i>E pluribus unum</i>.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>4. <i>Anticipation of Great Britain.</i>—Another motive -to this acquisition may be found in the desire to -anticipate imagined schemes or necessities of Great -Britain. With regard to all these I confess doubt; -and yet, if we credit report, it would seem as if there -were already a British movement in this direction. -Sometimes it is said that Great Britain desires to buy, -if Russia will sell. Sir George Simpson, Governor-in-chief -of the Hudson’s Bay Company, declared, that, -without the strip on the coast underlet to them by -the Russian Company, the interior would be “comparatively -useless to England.”<a name="FNanchor_24_24" id="FNanchor_24_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> Here, then, is provocation<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> -to buy. Sometimes report assumes a graver character. -A German scientific journal, in an elaborate -paper entitled “The Russian Colonies on the Northwest -Coast of America,” after referring to the constant -“pressure” upon Russia, proceeds to say that there are -already crowds of adventurers from British Columbia -and California now at the gold mines on the Stikine, -which flows from British territory through the Russian -possessions, who openly declare their purpose of driving -the Russians out of this region. I refer to the “Archiv -für Wissenschaftliche Kunde von Russland,”<a name="FNanchor_25_25" id="FNanchor_25_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a> edited at -Berlin as late as 1863, by A. Erman, and undoubtedly -the leading authority on Russian questions. At the -same time it presents a curious passage bearing directly -on British policy, purporting to be taken from the -“British Colonist,” a newspaper of Victoria, on Vancouver’s -Island. As this was regarded of sufficient -importance to be translated into German for the instruction -of scientific readers, I am justified in laying -it before you, restored from German to English.</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“The information which we daily publish from the Stikine -River very naturally excites public attention in a high degree. -Whether the territory through which the river flows -be regarded from a political, commercial, or industrial point -of view, it promises within a short time to awaken a still -more general interest. Not only will the intervention of -the royal jurisdiction be demanded in order to give it a complete -form of government, but, if the land proves as rich as -there is now reason to believe it to be, it is not improbable -that it will result in negotiations between England and Russia -for the cession of the sea-coast to the British Crown. It -is not to be supposed that a stream like the Stikine, which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> -is navigable for steamers from one hundred and seventy to -one hundred and ninety miles, which waters a territory so -rich in gold that it will attract myriads of men,—that the -commerce upon such a road can always pass through a Russian -gateway of thirty miles from the sea-coast to the interior. -The English population which occupies the interior cannot -be so easily managed by the Russians as the Stikine Indians -of the coast manage the Indians of the interior. Our business -must be in British hands. Our resources, our energies, -our spirit of enterprise cannot be employed in building up a -Russian emporium at the mouth of the Stikine. We must -have for our merchandise a depot over which the British flag -waves. By the treaty of 1825 the navigation of the river -is secured to us. The navigation of the Mississippi was also -open to the United States before the Louisiana purchase; -but the growing strength of the North made the acquisition -of that territory, either by purchase or by force of arms, an -inevitable necessity. We look upon the sea-coast of the Stikine -region in the same light. The strip of land which -stretches along from Portland Canal to Mount St. Elias, -with a breadth of thirty miles, and which, according to the -treaty of 1825, forms a part of Russian America, <em>must eventually -become the property of Great Britain</em>, either as the direct -result of the gold discoveries, or from causes as yet not -fully developed, but whose operation is certain. For can we -reasonably suppose that the strip, three hundred miles long -and thirty miles wide, which is used by the Russians solely -for the collection of furs and walrus-teeth, will forever -control the entrance to our immense northern territory? It -is a principle of England to acquire territory only for purposes -of defence. Canada, Nova Scotia, Malta, the Cape of -Good Hope, and the greater part of our Indian possessions -were all acquired for purposes of defence. In Africa, India, -and China the same rule is followed by the Government to-day. -With a power like Russia it would perhaps be more<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> -difficult to arrange matters; but if we need the sea-coast in -order to protect and maintain our commerce with an interior -rich in precious metals, then we must have it. The United -States needed Florida and Louisiana, and took them. We -need the coast of New Norfolk and New Cornwall.</p> - -<p>“It is just as much the destiny of our Anglo-Norman -race to possess the whole of Russian America, however desolate -and inhospitable it may be, as it has been that of the -Russian Northmen to possess themselves of Northern Europe -and Asia. As the Wandering Jew and his phantom, so will -the Anglo-Norman and the Russian yet gaze at each other -from the opposite sides of Behring Strait. Between the two -races the northern halves of the Old and New World must -be divided. America must be ours.</p> - -<p>“The recent discovery of the precious metals in our hyperborean -Eldorado will most probably hasten the annexation -of the territory in question. It can hardly be doubted that -the gold region of the Stikine extends away to the western -affluents of the Mackenzie. In this case the increase of the -business and of the population will exceed our most sanguine -expectations. Who shall reap the profit of this? The -mouths of rivers, both before and since the time of railroads, -have controlled the business of the interior. To our -national pride the thought, however, is intolerable, that the -Russian griffin should possess a point which is indebted to -the British lion for its importance. The mouth of the Stikine -must be ours,—or at least a harbor of export must be -established on British soil from which our steamers can pass -the Russian belt. Fort Simpson, Dundas Island, Portland -Canal, or some other convenient point, might be selected for -this purpose. The necessity of speedy measures, in order -to secure the control of the Stikine, is manifest. If we let -slip the opportunity, we shall live to see a Russian city arise -at the gates of a British colony.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>Thus, if we credit this colonial ejaculation, caught up<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> -and preserved by German science, the Russian possessions -were destined to round and complete the domain -of Great Britain on this continent. The Russian “griffin” -was to give way to the British “lion.” The Anglo-Norman -was to be master as far as Behring Strait, across -which he might survey his Russian neighbor. How this -was to be accomplished is not precisely explained. The -promises of gold on the Stikine failed, and it is not improbable -that this colonial plan was as unsubstantial. -Colonists become excited easily. This is not the first -time that Russian America has been menaced in a similar -way. During the Crimean War there seemed to be -in Canada a spirit not unlike that of the Vancouver -journalist, unless we are misled by the able pamphlet<a name="FNanchor_26_26" id="FNanchor_26_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a> -of Mr. A. K. Roche, of Quebec, where, after describing -Russian America as “richer in resources and capabilities -than it has hitherto been allowed to be, either by the -English, who shamefully gave it up, or by the Russians, -who cunningly obtained it,” the author urges an expedition -for its conquest and annexion. His proposition fell -on the happy termination of the war, but it exists as -a warning, with notice also of a former English title, -“shamefully” abandoned.</p> - -<p>This region is distant enough from Great Britain; but -there is an incident of past history which shows that -distance from the metropolitan government has not excluded -the idea of war. Great Britain could hardly be -more jealous of Russia on these coasts than was Spain -in a former day, if we listen to the report of Humboldt. -I refer again to his authoritative work, “Essai Politique -sur la Nouvelle-Espagne,”<a name="FNanchor_27_27" id="FNanchor_27_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_27_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a> where it is recorded, that, as -early as 1788, even while peace was still unbroken, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> -Spaniards could not bear the idea of Russians in this -region, and when, in 1799, the Emperor Paul declared -war on Spain, the hardy project was formed of an expedition -from the Mexican ports of Monterey and San Blas -against the Russian colonies; on which the philosophic -traveller remarks, in words which are recalled by the -Vancouver manifesto, that, “if this project had been -executed, the world would have witnessed two nations -in conflict, which, occupying the opposite extremities of -Europe, found themselves neighbors in the other hemisphere -on the eastern and western boundaries of their -vast empires.” Thus, notwithstanding an intervening -circuit of half the globe, two great powers were about -to encounter each other on these coasts. But I hesitate -to believe that the British of our day, in any considerable -numbers, have adopted the early Spanish disquietude -at the presence of Russia on this continent.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>5. <i>Amity of Russia.</i>—There is still another consideration -concerning this treaty not to be disregarded. It -attests and assures the amity of Russia. Even if you -doubt the value of these possessions, the treaty is a sign -of friendship. It is a new expression of that <i>entente -cordiale</i> between the two powers which is a phenomenon -of history. Though unlike in institutions, they are -not unlike in recent experience. Sharers of common -glory in a great act of Emancipation, they also share -together the opposition or antipathy of other nations. -Perhaps this experience has not been without effect in -bringing them together. At all events, no coldness or -unkindness has interfered at any time with their good -relations.</p> - -<p>The archives of the State Department show an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> -uninterrupted cordiality between the two Governments, -dating far back in our history. More than once Russia -has proffered her good offices between the United -States and Great Britain; once also she was a recognized -arbitrator. She offered her mediation to terminate -the War of 1812; and under her arbitration questions -with Great Britain arising under the Treaty of -Ghent were amicably settled in 1822. But it was during -our recent troubles that we felt more than ever her -friendly sentiments, although it is not improbable that -the accident of position and of distance had influence -in preserving these undisturbed. The Rebellion, which -tempted so many other powers into its embrace, could -not draw Russia from her habitual good-will. Her solicitude -for the Union was early declared. She made -no unjustifiable concession of <em>ocean belligerence</em>, with all -its immunities and powers, to Rebels in arms against -the Union. She furnished no hospitality to Rebel cruisers, -nor was any Rebel agent ever received, entertained, -or encouraged at St. Petersburg,—while, on the other -hand, there was an understanding that the United -States should be at liberty to carry prizes into Russian -ports. So natural and easy were the relations between -the two Governments, that such complaints as incidentally -arose on either side were amicably adjusted by -verbal explanations without written controversy.</p> - -<p>Positive acts occurred to strengthen these relations. -As early as 1861, the two Governments agreed to act -together for the establishment of a connection between -San Francisco and St. Petersburg by an inter-oceanic -telegraph across Behring Strait; and this agreement -was subsequently sanctioned by Congress.<a name="FNanchor_28_28" id="FNanchor_28_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_28_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a> Meanwhile<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> -occurred the visit of the Russian fleet in the winter -of 1863, intended by the Emperor, and accepted by the -United States, as a friendly demonstration. This was -followed by a communication of the Secretary of State, -dated 26th December, 1864, inviting the Archduke -Constantine to visit the United States, where it was -suggested that such a visit “would be beneficial to us -and by no means unprofitable to Russia,” but “forbearing -to specify reasons,” and assuring him, that, coming -as a national guest, he “would receive a cordial and -most demonstrative welcome.”<a name="FNanchor_29_29" id="FNanchor_29_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_29_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a> Affairs in Russia prevented -the acceptance of this invitation. Afterwards, -in the spring of 1866, Congress by solemn resolution -declared the sympathies of the United States with the -Emperor on his escape from the madness of an assassin,<a name="FNanchor_30_30" id="FNanchor_30_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_30_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a> -and Mr. Fox, at the time Assistant Secretary of the -Navy, was appointed to take the resolution of Congress -to the Emperor, and, in discharge of this trust, to declare -the friendly sentiments of our country for Russia. -He was conveyed to Cronstadt in the monitor Miantonomoh, -the most formidable ship of our navy, and thus -this agent of war became a messenger of peace. The -monitor and the minister were received in Russia with -unbounded hospitality.</p> - -<p>In relations such as I have described, the cession of -territory seems a natural transaction, entirely in harmony -with the past. It remains to hope that it may -be a new link in an amity which, without effort, has -overcome differences of institutions and intervening -space on the globe.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span></p> - -<h4>SHALL THE TREATY BE RATIFIED?</h4> - -<p>Such are obvious considerations of a general character. -The interests of the Pacific States, the extension -of the national domain, the extension of republican -institutions, the foreclosure of adverse British possession, -and the amity of Russia,—these are the points -we have passed in review. Most of these, if not all, -are calculated to impress the public mind; but I can -readily understand a difference of opinion with regard -to the urgency of negotiation at this hour. Some may -think that the purchase-money and the annual outlay -that must follow might have been postponed another -decade, while Russia continued in possession as trustee -for our benefit; and yet some of the reasons for -the treaty do not seem to allow delay.</p> - -<p>At all events, now that the treaty has been signed -by plenipotentiaries on each side duly empowered, it -is difficult to see how we can refuse to complete the -purchase without putting to hazard the friendly relations -which happily subsist between the United States -and Russia. The overtures originally proceeded from -us. After a delay of years, and other intervening propositions, -the bargain was at length concluded. It is -with nations as with individuals. A bargain once made -must be kept. Even if still open to consideration, it -must not be lightly abandoned. I am satisfied that the -dishonoring of this treaty, after what has passed, would -be a serious responsibility for our country. As an international -question, it would be tried by the public -opinion of the world; and there are many who, not -appreciating the requirement of our Constitution by -which a treaty must have “the advice and consent of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> -the Senate,” would regard its rejection as bad faith. -There would be jeers at us, and jeers at Russia also: -at us for levity in making overtures, and at Russia for -levity in yielding to them. Had the Senate been consulted -in advance, before the treaty was signed or either -power publicly committed, as is often done on important -occasions, it would be under less constraint. On -such a consultation there would have been opportunity -for all possible objections, and a large latitude for reasonable -discretion. Let me add, that, while forbearing -objection now, I hope that this treaty may not be -drawn into a precedent, at least in the independent -manner of its negotiation. I would save to the Senate -an important power justly belonging to it.</p> - -<h4>A CAVEAT.</h4> - -<p>There is one other point on which I file my <i>caveat</i>. -This treaty must not be a precedent for a system of -indiscriminate and costly annexion. Sincerely believing -that republican institutions under the primacy of the -United States must embrace this whole continent, I -cannot adopt the sentiment of Jefferson, who, while -confessing satisfaction in settlements on the Pacific -coast, saw there in the future nothing but “free and -independent Americans,” bound to the United States -only by “ties of blood and interest,” without political -unity,<a name="FNanchor_31_31" id="FNanchor_31_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_31_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a>—or of Webster, who in the same spirit said -of settlers there, “They will raise a standard for themselves, -and they ought to do it.”<a name="FNanchor_32_32" id="FNanchor_32_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_32_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a> Nor am I willing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> -to restrict myself to the principle so tersely expressed -by Andrew Jackson, in his letter to President Monroe: -“Concentrate our population, confine our frontier -to proper limits, until our country, to those limits, is -filled with a dense population.”<a name="FNanchor_33_33" id="FNanchor_33_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_33_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a> But I cannot disguise -my anxiety that every stage in our predestined -future shall be by natural processes, without war, and -I would add even without purchase. There is no territorial -aggrandizement worth the price of blood. Only -under peculiar circumstances can it become the subject -of pecuniary contract. Our triumph should be by -growth and organic expansion in obedience to “preëstablished -harmony,” recognizing always the will of -those who are to become our fellow-citizens. All this -must be easy, if we are only true to ourselves. Our -motto may be that of Goethe: “Without haste, without -rest.” Let the Republic be assured in tranquil liberty, -with all equal before the law, and it will conquer -by its sublime example. More happy than Austria, -who acquired possessions by marriage, we shall acquire -them by the attraction of republican institutions.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“Bella gerant alii; tu, felix Austria, nube;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Nam quæ Mars aliis, dat tibi regna Venus.”<a name="FNanchor_34_34" id="FNanchor_34_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_34_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a></div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">The famous epigram will be just as applicable to us, -inasmuch as our acquisitions will be under the sanction -of wedlock to the Republic. There may be wedlock -of a people as well as of a prince. Meanwhile -our first care should be to improve and elevate the -Republic, whose sway will be so comprehensive. Plant -it with schools; cover it with churches; fill it with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> -libraries; make it abundant with comfort, so that poverty -shall disappear; keep it constant in the assertion -of Human Rights. And here we may fitly recall those -words of Antiquity, which Cicero quoted from the Greek, -and Webster in our day quoted from Cicero: “You have -a Sparta; adorn it.”<a name="FNanchor_35_35" id="FNanchor_35_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_35_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a></p> - -<h4>SOURCES OF INFORMATION UPON RUSSIAN AMERICA.</h4> - -<p>I am now brought to consider the character of these -possessions and their probable value. Here I am -obliged to confess a dearth of authentic information -easily accessible. Few among us read Russian, so that -works in this language are locked up from us. One of -these, in two large and showy volumes, is now before -me, entitled “An Historical Survey of the Formation -of the Russian-American Company, and its Progress to -the Present Time, by P. Teshmeneff, St. Petersburg.” -The first volume appeared in 1860, and the second -in 1863. Here, among other things, is a tempting engraving -of Sitka, wrapt in mists, with the sea before -and the snow-capped mountains darkened with forest -behind. Judging from the table of contents, which -has been translated for me by a Russian, the book -ought to be instructive. There is also another Russian -work of an official character, which appeared in -1861 at St. Petersburg, in the “Morskoi Sbornik,” or -Naval Review, and is entitled “Materials for the History -of the Russian Colonies on the Coasts of the -Pacific.” The report of Captain-Lieutenant Golowin, -made to the Grand Duke Constantine in 1861, with -which we have become acquainted through a scientific<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> -German journal, appeared originally in the same review. -These are recent productions. After the early -voyages of Behring, first ordered by Peter and supervised -by the Imperial Academy, the spirit of geographical -research seems to have subsided at St. Petersburg. -Other enterprises absorbed attention. And yet I would -not do injustice to the voyages of Billings, recounted -by Sauer, or of Lisiansky, or of Kotzebue, all under -the auspices of Russia, the last of which may compare -with any as a contribution to science. I may add -Lütke also; but Kotzebue was a worthy successor to -Behring and Cook.</p> - -<p>Beside these official contributions, most of them by -no means fresh, are materials derived from casual navigators, -who, scudding these seas, rested in the harbors -as the water-fowl on its flight,—from whalemen, who -were there merely as Nimrods of the ocean, or from -adventurers in quest of the rich furs it furnished. There -are also the gazetteers and geographies; but they are -less instructive on this head than usual, being founded -on information now many years old.</p> - -<p>Perhaps no region of equal extent on the globe, unless -we except the interior of Africa or possibly Greenland, -is so little known. Here I do not speak for myself -alone. A learned German, whom I have already -quoted, after saying that the explorations have been -limited to the coast, testifies that “the interior, not -only of the continent, but even of the island of Sitka, -is to this day unexplored, and is in every respect -<i>terra incognita</i>.”<a name="FNanchor_36_36" id="FNanchor_36_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_36_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a> The same has been repeated of the -other islands. Admiral Lütke, whose circumnavigation<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> -of the globe began in 1826, and whose work bears date -1835-36, says of the Aleutian Archipelago, that, although -frequented for more than a century by Russian -vessels and those of other nations, it is to-day almost as -little known as in the time of Cook. Another writer of -authority, the compiler of the official work on the People -of Russia, published as late as 1862, speaks of the -interior as “a mystery.” And yet another says that our -ignorance with regard to this region would make it a -proper scene for a chapter of Gulliver’s Travels.</p> - -<p>Where so little was known, invention found scope. -Imagination was made to supply the place of knowledge, -and poetry pictured the savage desolation in much -admired verse. Campbell, in the “Pleasures of Hope,” -while exploring “Earth’s loneliest bounds and Ocean’s -wildest shore,” reaches this region, which he portrays:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“Lo! to the wintry winds the pilot yields</div> -<div class="verse">His bark careering o’er unfathomed fields.</div> -<div class="verse center">…</div> -<div class="verse">Now far he sweeps, where scarce a summer smiles,</div> -<div class="verse">On Behring’s rocks or Greenland’s naked isles;</div> -<div class="verse">Cold on his midnight watch the breezes blow</div> -<div class="verse">From wastes that slumber in eternal snow,</div> -<div class="verse">And waft across the waves’ tumultuous roar</div> -<div class="verse"><em>The wolf’s long howl from Oonalaska’s shore</em>.”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">All of which, so far at least as it describes this region, -is inconsistent with truth. The poet ignores the isothermal -line, which plays such a conspicuous part on -the Pacific coast. Here the evidence is positive. Portlock, -the navigator, who was there toward the close of -the last century, after describing Cook’s Inlet, which -is several degrees north of Oonalaska, records his belief -“that the climate here is not so severe as has been -generally supposed; for, in the course of our traffic with -the natives, they frequently brought berries of several<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> -sorts, and in particular blackberries, equally fine with -those met with in England.”<a name="FNanchor_37_37" id="FNanchor_37_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_37_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a> Kotzebue, who was here -later, says that he found “the weather pretty warm at -Oonalaska.”<a name="FNanchor_38_38" id="FNanchor_38_38"></a><a href="#Footnote_38_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a> South of the Aleutians the climate is -warmer still. The poet ignores natural history also, as -regards the distribution of animals. Curiously enough, -it does not appear that “wolves” exist on any of the -Fox Islands. Coxe, in his work on Russian Discoveries,<a name="FNanchor_39_39" id="FNanchor_39_39"></a><a href="#Footnote_39_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a> -records that “reindeer, bears, <em>wolves</em>, ice-foxes, are -not to be found on these islands.” But he was never -there. Meares, who was in those seas, says, “<em>The only -animals</em> on these islands are foxes, some of which are -black.”<a name="FNanchor_40_40" id="FNanchor_40_40"></a><a href="#Footnote_40_40" class="fnanchor">[40]</a> Cook, who visited Oonalaska twice, and once -made a prolonged stay, expressly says, “Foxes and weasels -were <em>the only quadrupeds</em> we saw; but they told -us that they had hares also, and marmottas.”<a name="FNanchor_41_41" id="FNanchor_41_41"></a><a href="#Footnote_41_41" class="fnanchor">[41]</a> But -quadrupeds like these hardly sustain the exciting picture. -The same experienced navigator furnishes a -glimpse of the inhabitants, as they appeared to him, -which would make us tremble, if the “wolves” of the -poet were numerous. He says, “To all appearance, they -are the most peaceable, inoffensive people I ever met -with”; and Cook had been at Otaheite. “No such -thing as an offensive or even defensive weapon was -seen amongst the natives of Oonalaska.”<a name="FNanchor_42_42" id="FNanchor_42_42"></a><a href="#Footnote_42_42" class="fnanchor">[42]</a> Then, at -least, the inhabitants did not share the ferocity of the -“wolves” and of the climate. Another navigator fascinates -us by a description of the boats, which struck -him “with amazement beyond expression”; and he explains: -“If perfect symmetry, smoothness, and proportion -constitute beauty, they are beautiful; to me they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> -appeared so beyond anything that I ever beheld. I -have seen some of them as transparent as oiled paper.”<a name="FNanchor_43_43" id="FNanchor_43_43"></a><a href="#Footnote_43_43" class="fnanchor">[43]</a> -But these are the very boats that buffet “the waves’ -tumultuous roar,” while “the breezes” waft “the wolf’s -long howl.” The same reporter introduces another feature. -According to him, the sojourning Russians “seem -to have no desire to leave this place, where they enjoy -that indolence so pleasing to their minds.”<a name="FNanchor_44_44" id="FNanchor_44_44"></a><a href="#Footnote_44_44" class="fnanchor">[44]</a> The lotus-eaters -of Homer were no better off. The picture is -completed by another touch from Lütke. Admitting -the want of trees, the Admiral suggests that their place -is supplied not only by luxuriant grass, but by wood -thrown upon the coast, including trunks of camphor -from Chinese and Japanese waters, and “a tree which -gives forth the odor of the rose.”<a name="FNanchor_45_45" id="FNanchor_45_45"></a><a href="#Footnote_45_45" class="fnanchor">[45]</a> Such is a small -portion of the testimony, most of it in print before the -poet sang.<a name="FNanchor_46_46" id="FNanchor_46_46"></a><a href="#Footnote_46_46" class="fnanchor">[46]</a></p> - -<p>Nothing has been written about this region, whether -the coast or the islands, more authentic or interesting -than the narrative of Captain Cook on his third and -last voyage. He saw with intelligence, and his editor -has imparted to the description a clearness almost elegant. -The record of Captain Portlock’s voyage from -London to the Northwest Coast, in 1785-8, seems honest, -and is instructive. Captain Meares, whose voyage -was contemporaneous, saw and exposed the importance -of trade between the Northwest Coast and China. -Vancouver, who came a little later, has described some<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> -parts of the coast. La Pérouse, the unfortunate French -navigator, has afforded another picture of it, painted -with French colors. Before him was Maurelle, an officer -in the Spanish expedition of 1779, a portion of -whose journal is preserved in the Introduction to the -volumes of La Pérouse. After him was Marchand, -who, during a circumnavigation of the globe, stopped -here in 1791. The Voyage of the latter, published -in three quartos, is accompanied by an Historical Introduction, -which is a mine of information on all the -voyages to this coast. Then came the successive Russian -voyages already mentioned, and in 1804-6 the -“Voyage to the North Pacific” of Captain John D’Wolf, -one of our own enterprising countrymen. Later came -the “Voyage round the World” by Captain Sir Edward -Belcher, with a familiar sketch of life at Sitka, where -he stopped in 1837, and an engraving of the arsenal and -light-house there. Then followed the “Overland Journey -round the World,” in 1841-2, by Sir George Simpson, -Governor-in-chief of the Hudson’s Bay Company, -with an account of a visit to Sitka and the hospitality -of its governor. To these I add the “Nautical Magazine” -for 1849, Volume XVIII., which contains some -excellent pages about Sitka; the “Journal of the Royal -Geographical Society of London” for 1841, Volume XI., -and for 1852, Volume XXII., where this region is -treated under the heads of “Observations on the Indigenous -Tribes of the Northwest Coast of America,” -and “Notes on the Distribution of Animals available -as Food in the Arctic Regions”; Burney’s “Northeastern -Voyages”; the magnificent work entitled “Description -Ethnographique des Peuples de la Russie,” which -appeared at St. Petersburg in 1862, on the tenth centennial<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> -anniversary of the foundation of the Russian -Empire; the very recent work of Murray on the “Geographical -Distribution of Mammals”; the work of Sir -John Richardson, “Fauna Boreali-Americana”; Latham -on “The Nationalities of Europe,” in the chapters on -the population of Russian America; the “Encyclopædia -Britannica,” and the admirable “Physical Atlas” -of Alexander Keith Johnston. I mention also an -elaborate article by Holmberg, in the Transactions -of the Finland Society of Sciences at Helsingfors, replete -with information on the Ethnography of the -Northwest Coast.<a name="FNanchor_47_47" id="FNanchor_47_47"></a><a href="#Footnote_47_47" class="fnanchor">[47]</a></p> - -<p>Doubtless the most precise and valuable information -has been contributed by Germany. The Germans are -the best of geographers; besides, many Russian contributions -are in German. Müller, who recorded the discoveries -of Behring, was a German. Nothing more -important on this subject has ever appeared than the -German work of the Russian Admiral Von Wrangell, -“Statistische und Ethnographische Nachrichten über -die Russischen Besitzungen an der Nordwestküste von -Amerika,” first published by Baer in his “Beiträge zur -Kenntniss des Russischen Reiches,” in 1839. There -is also the “Verhandlungen der Russisch-Kaiserlichen -Mineralogischen Gesellschaft zu St. Petersburg,” 1848 -and 1849, which contains an elaborate article, in itself -a volume, on the Orography and Geology of the Northwest -Coast and the adjoining islands, at the end of -which is a bibliographical list of works and materials -illustrating the discovery and history of the western<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> -half of North America and the neighboring seas. I also -refer generally to the “Archiv für Wissenschaftliche -Kunde von Russland,” edited by Erman, but especially -the volume for 1863, containing the abstract of Golowin’s -report on the Russian Colonies in North America, -as it appeared originally in the “Morskoi Sbornik.” Besides -these, there are Wappäus, “Handbuch der Geographie -und Statistik von Nord-Amerika,” published -at Leipsic in 1855; Petermann, in his “Mittheilungen -über wichtige neue Erforschungen auf dem Gesammtgebiete -der Geographie,” for 1856, p. 486, for 1859, p. 41, -and for 1863, pp. 70, 237, 277; Kittlitz, “Denkwürdigkeiten -einer Reise nach dem Russischen Amerika, nach -Mikronesien und durch Kamtschatka,” published at Gotha -in 1858; also, by the same author, “The Vegetation -of the Coasts and Islands of the Pacific,” translated -from the German, and published at London in 1861.</p> - -<p>Much recent information has been derived from the -great companies possessing the monopoly of trade. Latterly -there has been an unexpected purveyor in the -Russian American Telegraph Company, under the direction -of Captain Charles S. Bulkley; and here our -own countrymen help us. To this expedition we are -indebted for authentic evidence with regard to the character -of the region, and the great rivers which traverse -it. The Smithsonian Institution and the Chicago Academy -of Sciences coöperated with the Telegraph Company -in the investigation of the natural history. Major -Kennicott, a young naturalist, originally in the service -of the Institution, and Director of the Museum of the -Chicago Academy, was the enterprising chief of the -Yukon division of the expedition. While in the midst -of his valuable labors, he died suddenly, in the month of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> -May last, at Nulato, on the banks of the great river, the -Kwichpak, which may be called the Mississippi of the -North, far away in the interior, and on the confines of -the Arctic Circle, where the sun was visible all night. -Even after death he was still an explorer. From this -remote outpost, his remains, after descending the unknown -river in an Esquimaux boat of seal-skins, steered -by the faithful companion of his labors, were transported -by way of Panama to his home at Chicago, -where he now lies buried. Such an incident cannot -be forgotten, and his name will always remind us of -courageous enterprise, before which distance and difficulty -disappeared. He was not a beginner, when he -entered into the service of the Telegraph Company. -Already he had visited the Yukon country by the way -of the Mackenzie River, and contributed to the Smithsonian -Institution important information with regard -to its geography and natural history, some of which is -found in their Reports. Nature in novel forms was -open to him. The birds here maintained their kingdom. -All about him was the mysterious breeding-place -of the canvas-back duck, whose eggs, never before seen -by naturalist, covered acres.</p> - -<p>If we look to maps for information, here again we -are disappointed. Latterly the coast is outlined and -described with reasonable completeness; so also are -the islands. This is the contribution of navigators and -of recent Russian charts. But the interior is little more -than a blank, calling to mind “the unhabitable downs,” -where, according to Swift, the old geographers “place -elephants for want of towns.” I have already referred -to what purports to be a “General Map of the Russian -Empire,” published by the Academy of Sciences at St.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> -Petersburg in 1776, and republished at London in 1780, -where Russian America does not appear. I might mention -also that Captain Cook complained in his day of -the Russian maps as “singularly erroneous.” On the -return of the expedition, English maps recorded his explorations -and the names he assigned to different parts -of the coast. These were reproduced in St. Petersburg, -and the Russian copy was then reproduced in London, -so that geographical knowledge was very little advanced. -Some of the best maps of this region are by Germans, -who excel in maps. I mention an excellent one of the -Aleutian Islands and the neighboring coasts, especially -to illustrate their orography and geology, which will -be found at the end of the volume of Transactions of -the Imperial Mineralogical Society at St. Petersburg to -which I have already referred.</p> - -<p>Late maps attest the tardiness of information. Here, -for instance, is an excellent map of North America, purporting -to be published by the Geographical Institute -of Weimar as late as 1859, on which we have the Yukon -pictured, very much like the Niger in Africa, as a -large river meandering in the interior with no outlet -to the sea. Here also is a Russian map of this very region, -as late as 1861, where the course of the Yukon -is left in doubt. On other maps, as in the Physical -Atlas of Keith Johnston, it is presented, under another -name, entering into the Frozen Ocean. But the -secret is penetrated at last. Recent discovery, by the -enterprise of our citizens in the service of the Telegraph -Company, fixes that this river is an affluent of the -Kwichpak, as the Missouri is an affluent of the Mississippi, -and enters into Behring Sea by many mouths, -between the parallels of 62° and 63°. After the death<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> -of Major Kennicott, a division of his party, with nothing -but a skin boat, ascended the river to Fort Yukon, -where it bifurcates, and descended it again to Nulato, -thus establishing the entire course from its sources in -the Rocky Mountains for a distance exceeding a thousand -miles. I have before me now an outline map just -prepared by our Coast Survey, where this correction is -made. But this is only a harbinger of the maturer -labors of our accomplished bureau, when the coasts of -this region are under the jurisdiction of the United -States.</p> - -<p>In closing this abstract of authorities, being the chief -sources of original information, I cannot forbear expressing -my satisfaction, that, with the exception of a single -work, all these are found in the Congressional Library, -now so happily enriched by the rare collection of the -Smithsonian Institution. Sometimes individuals are -like libraries; and this seems to be illustrated in the -case of Professor Baird, of the Smithsonian Institution, -who is thoroughly informed on all questions connected -with the natural history of Russian America, and also -of George Gibbs, Esq., now of Washington, who is the -depositary of valuable knowledge, the result of his own -personal studies and observations, with regard to the -native races.</p> - -<h4>CHARACTER AND VALUE OF RUSSIAN AMERICA.</h4> - -<p>I pass now to a consideration of the character and -value of these possessions, as seen under these different -heads: first, Government; secondly, Population; -thirdly, Climate; fourthly, Vegetable Products; fifthly, -Mineral Products; sixthly, Furs; and, seventhly, Fisheries.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> -Of these I shall speak briefly in their order. -There are certain words of a general character, which -I introduce by way of preface. I quote from Blodget on -the “Climatology of the United States and of the Temperate -Latitudes of the North American Continent.”</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“It is most surprising that so little is known of the great -islands and the long line of coast from Puget’s Sound to -Sitka, ample as its resources must be even for recruiting the -transient commerce of the Pacific, independent of its immense -intrinsic value. To the region bordering the Northern -Pacific the finest maritime positions belong throughout its -entire extent; and no part of the West of Europe exceeds it -in the advantages of equable climate, fertile soil, and commercial -accessibility of the coast. The western slope of the -Rocky Mountain system may be included as a part of this -maritime region, embracing an immense area, from the forty-fifth -to the sixtieth parallel and five degrees of longitude in -width. The cultivable surface of this district cannot be -much less than three hundred thousand square miles.”<a name="FNanchor_48_48" id="FNanchor_48_48"></a><a href="#Footnote_48_48" class="fnanchor">[48]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>From this sketch, which is in the nature of a picture, -I pass to the different heads.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>1. <i>Government.</i>—The Russian settlements were for -a long time without any regular government. They -were little more than temporary lodgements for purposes -of trade, where the will of the stronger prevailed. -The natives, who had enslaved each other, became in -turn the slaves of these mercenary adventurers. Captain -Cook records “the great subjection”<a name="FNanchor_49_49" id="FNanchor_49_49"></a><a href="#Footnote_49_49" class="fnanchor">[49]</a> of the natives -at Oonalaska, when he was there in 1778; and a Russian -navigator, fourteen years later, describes the islands<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> -generally as “under the sway of roving hunters more -savage than any tribes he had hitherto met with.”<a name="FNanchor_50_50" id="FNanchor_50_50"></a><a href="#Footnote_50_50" class="fnanchor">[50]</a> At -Oonalaska the Russians for a long time employed all -the men in the chase, “taking the fruits of their labor -to themselves.”<a name="FNanchor_51_51" id="FNanchor_51_51"></a><a href="#Footnote_51_51" class="fnanchor">[51]</a></p> - -<p>The first trace of government which I find was in -1790, at the important island of Kadiak, or the Great -Island, as it was called, where a Russian company was -established under direction of a Greek by the name -of Delareff, who, according to the partial report of a -Russian navigator, “governed with the strictest justice, -as well natives as Russians, and established a school, -where the young natives were taught the Russian language, -reading and writing.”<a name="FNanchor_52_52" id="FNanchor_52_52"></a><a href="#Footnote_52_52" class="fnanchor">[52]</a> Here were about fifty -Russians, including officers of the company, and another -person described as “there on the part of Government -to collect tribute.”<a name="FNanchor_53_53" id="FNanchor_53_53"></a><a href="#Footnote_53_53" class="fnanchor">[53]</a> The establishment consisted of five -houses after the Russian fashion,—barracks laid out on -either side, somewhat like the boxes at a coffee-house, -with different offices, represented as follows: “An office -of appeal, to settle disputes, levy fines, and punish offenders -by a regular trial; here Delareff presides, and -I believe that few courts of justice pass a sentence -with more impartiality; an office of receival and delivery, -both for the company and for tribute; the commissaries’ -department, for the distribution of the regulated -portions of provision; counting-house, &c.: all in this -building, at one end of which is Delareff’s habitation.”<a name="FNanchor_54_54" id="FNanchor_54_54"></a><a href="#Footnote_54_54" class="fnanchor">[54]</a> -If this picture is not overdrawn,—and it surely is,—affairs -here did not improve with time. But D’Wolf,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> -who was there in 1805-6, reports “about forty houses -of various descriptions, including a church, school-house, -store-house, and barracks”; and he adds: “The school-house -was quite a respectable establishment, well filled -with pupils.”<a name="FNanchor_55_55" id="FNanchor_55_55"></a><a href="#Footnote_55_55" class="fnanchor">[55]</a></p> - -<p>There were various small companies, of which that -at Kadiak was the most considerable, all finally fused -into one large trading company, known as the Russian -American Company, organized in 1799, under a charter -from the Emperor Paul, with the power of administration -throughout the whole region, including coasts -and islands. In this respect it was not unlike the East -India Company, which has played such a part in English -history; but it may be more properly compared -to the Hudson’s Bay Company, of which it was a Russian -counterpart. The charter was for a term of years, -but it has been from time to time extended, and, as I -understand, is now about to expire. The powers of the -Company are sententiously described by the “Almanach -de Gotha” for 1867, where, under the head of Russia, -it says that “to the present time Russian America has -been the property of a company.”</p> - -<p>I know no limitation upon the Company, except that -latterly it has been bound to appoint its chief functionary, -called “Administrator General,” from the higher -officers of the imperial navy, when he becomes invested -with what are declared the prerogatives of a governor -in Siberia. This requirement has doubtless secured the -superior order of magistrates since enjoyed. Among -these have been Baron Wrangell, an admiral, there at -the time of the treaty with Great Britain in 1825; Captain -Kuprianoff, who had commanded the Azof, a ship<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> -of the line, in the Black Sea, and spoke English well; -Captain Etolin; Admiral Furuhelm, who, after being -there five years, was made governor of the province of -the Amoor; Admiral Woiwodsky; and Prince Maksutoff, -an admiral also, who is the present Administrator -General. The term of service is ordinarily five years.</p> - -<p>The seat of government is the town of New Archangel, -better known by its aboriginal name of Sitka, -with a harbor as smooth and safe as a pond. Its present -population cannot be far from one thousand, although -even this is changeable. In spring, when sailors -leave for the sea and trappers for the chase, it has -been reduced to as few as one hundred and eighty. It -was not without a question that Sitka at last prevailed -as the metropolis. Lütke sets forth reasons elaborately -urged in favor of St. Paul, on the island of Kadiak.<a name="FNanchor_56_56" id="FNanchor_56_56"></a><a href="#Footnote_56_56" class="fnanchor">[56]</a></p> - -<p>The first settlement there was in 1800, by Baranoff, -the superintendent of the Company, whose life was -passed in this country, and whose name has been given -to the island. But the settlement made slow progress. -Lisiansky, who was there in 1804, records, that, “from -his entrance into Sitka Sound, there was not to be seen -on the shore the least vestige of habitation.”<a name="FNanchor_57_57" id="FNanchor_57_57"></a><a href="#Footnote_57_57" class="fnanchor">[57]</a> The natives -had set themselves against a settlement. Meanwhile -the seat of government was at Kadiak, of which -we have an early and friendly glimpse. I quote what -Lisiansky says, as exhibiting in a favorable light the -beginning of the government, now transferred to the -United States.</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“The island of Kadiak, with the rest of the Russian settlements -along the northwest coast of America, are superintended<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> -by a kind of governor-general or commander-in-chief, -who has agents under him, appointed, like himself, by -the Company at Petersburg. The smaller settlements have -each a Russian overseer. These overseers are chosen by the -governor, and are selected for the office in consequence of -their long services and orderly conduct. They have the -power of punishing, to a certain extent, those whom they -superintend; but are themselves amenable to the governor, -if they abuse their power by acts of injustice. The seat of -government is the Harbor of St. Paul, which has a barrack, -different store-houses, several respectable wooden habitations, -and a church, the only one to be found on the -coast.”<a name="FNanchor_58_58" id="FNanchor_58_58"></a><a href="#Footnote_58_58" class="fnanchor">[58]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>From this time the Company seems to have established -itself on the coast. Lisiansky speaks of a single -hunting party of nine hundred men, gathered from -different places, as Alaska, Kadiak, Cook’s Inlet, Prince -William Sound, and “commanded by thirty-six <i>toyons</i>, -who are subordinate to the Russians in the service of -the American Company, and receive from them their -orders.”<a name="FNanchor_59_59" id="FNanchor_59_59"></a><a href="#Footnote_59_59" class="fnanchor">[59]</a> From another source I learn that the inhabitants -of Kadiak and of the Aleutian Islands were -regarded as “immediate subjects of the Company,”—the -males from eighteen to fifty being bound to serve -it for the term of three years each. They were employed -in the chase. The population of Alaska and -of the two great bays, Cook’s Inlet and Prince William -Sound, were also subject to the Company; but -they were held to a yearly tax on furs, without regular -service, and they could trade only with the Company; -otherwise they were independent. This seems -to have been before a division of the whole into districts,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> -all under the Company, which, though primarily -for the business of the Company, may be regarded as -so many distinct jurisdictions, each with local powers -of government.</p> - -<p>Among these were two districts which I mention -only to put aside, as not included in the present cession: -(1.) the Kurile Islands, being the group nestling -near the coast of Japan, on the Asiatic side of the -dividing line between the two continents; (2.) the -Ross settlement in California, now abandoned.</p> - -<p>There remain five other districts: (1.) the District -of Atcha, with the bureau at this island, embracing -the two western groups of the Aleutians known as -the Andreanoffsky Islands and the Rat Islands, and -also the group about Behring’s Island, which is not -embraced in the present cession;—(2.) the District -of Oonalaska, with the bureau at this island, embracing -the Fox Islands, the peninsula of Alaska to the meridian -of the Shumagin Islands, including these, and -also the Pribyloff Islands to the northwest of the -peninsula;—(3.) the District of Kadiak, embracing the -peninsula of Alaska east of the meridian of the Shumagin -Islands, and the coast eastward to Mount St. -Elias, with adjacent islands, including Kadiak, Cook’s -Inlet, and Prince William Sound; then northward along -the coast of Bristol Bay, and the country watered by -the Nushagak and Kuskokwim rivers; all of which -is governed from Kadiak, with redoubts or palisaded -stations at Nushagak, Cook’s Inlet, and Prince William -Sound;—(4.) the Northern District, embracing -the country of the Kwichpak and of Norton Sound, -under direction of the commander of the redoubt at -St. Michael’s; leaving the country northward, with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> -the islands St. Lawrence and St. Matthew, not included -in this district, but visited directly from Sitka;—(5.) -the District of Sitka, embracing the coast -from Mount St. Elias, where the Kadiak district ends, -southward to the latitude of 54° 40´, with adjacent -islands. But this district has been curtailed by a lease -of the Russian American Company in 1839 for the -space of ten years, and subsequently renewed, where -this Company, in consideration of the annual payment -of two thousand otter skins of Columbia River, under-lets -to the Hudson Bay Company all its franchise for -the strip of continent between Cape Spencer at the -north and the latitude of 54° 40´, excluding adjacent -islands.</p> - -<p>The central government of all these districts is at -Sitka, from which emanate all orders and instructions. -Here also is the chief factory, the fountain of supplies -and the store-house of proceeds.</p> - -<p>The operations of the Government are seen in receipts -and expenditures, including salaries and allowances. -In the absence of a complete series of such -statistics to the present time, I mass together what I -have been able to glean in different fields, relating to -particular years, knowing well its unsatisfactory character. -But each item has instruction for us.</p> - -<p>The capital of the Company, in buildings, wares, vessels, -&c., was reported in 1833 at 3,658,577 rubles. In -1838 it possessed twelve vessels, with an aggregate -capacity of 1,556 tons, most of which were built at -Sitka. According to Wappäus, who follows Wrangell, -the pay of the officers and workmen in 1832 -amounted to 442,877 rubles. At that time the persons -in its service numbered 1,025, of whom 556 were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> -Russians, 152 Creoles, and 317 Aleutians. In 1851 -there were one staff officer, three officers of the imperial -navy, one officer of engineers, four civil officers, -thirty religious officers, and six hundred and eighty-six -servants. The expenses from 1826 to 1833, a -period of seven years, were 6,608,077 rubles. These -become interesting, when it is considered, that, besides -what was paid on account of furs and the support -of persons in the service of the Company, were -other items incident to government, such as ship-building, -navigation, fortifications, hospitals, schools, and -churches. From a later authority it appears that the -receipts reported at St. Petersburg for the year 1855 -were 832,749 rubles, against expenses, 683,892 rubles, -incurred for “administration in Russia and the colonies,” -insurance, transportation, and duties. The relative -proportion of these different expenses does not -appear.</p> - -<p>These are explained by other statistics, which I am -able to give from the Report of Golowin, who furnishes -the receipts and expenditures from 1850 to -1859, inclusive. The silver ruble, which is the money -employed in the table, is taken at our mint for seventy-five -cents.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Receipts from 1850 to 1859, inclusive.</i></p> - -<table summary="Receipts" class="small"> - <tr> - <td></td><td class="tdr">Silver Rubles.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Tea traffic</td><td class="tdr">4,145,869.76</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Sale of furs</td><td class="tdr">1,709,149.00</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Commercial licenses</td><td class="tdr">2,403,296.61</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Other traffics</td><td class="tdr">170,235.76</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="indent">Total</td><td class="tdr total">8,528,551.13</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span></p> - -<p class="center"><i>Expenditures from 1850 to 1859, inclusive.</i></p> - -<table summary="Expenditures" class="small"> - <tr> - <td></td><td class="tdr">Silver Rubles.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Sustenance of the colony</td><td class="tdr">2,288,207.20</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Colony’s churches</td><td class="tdr">71,723.18</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Benevolent institutions</td><td class="tdr">143,366.23</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Principal administrative officers</td><td class="tdr">1,536,436.49</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Tea duty</td><td class="tdr">1,764,559.85</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Transportation and packing of tea</td><td class="tdr">586,901.72</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Purchase and transportation of merchandise</td><td class="tdr">213,696.29</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Insurance of tea and merchandise</td><td class="tdr">217,026.55</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Loss during war and by shipwreck</td><td class="tdr">132,820.20</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Reconstruction of Company’s house in St. Petersburg</td><td class="tdr">76,976.00</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Capital for the use of the poor</td><td class="tdr">6,773.02</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Revenue fund capital</td><td class="tdr">135,460.40</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Dividends</td><td class="tdr">1,354,604.00</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="indent">Total</td><td class="tdr total">8,528,551.13</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>Analyzing this table, we arrive at a clearer insight -into the affairs of the Company. If its receipts have -been considerable, they have been subject to serious -deductions. From the expenditures we also learn something -of the obligations we are about to assume.</p> - -<p>Another table shows that during this same period -122,006 rubles were received for ice, mostly sent to -California, 26,399 rubles for timber, and 6,250 for -coal. I think it not improbable that these items are -included in the list of “receipts” under the term -“other traffics.”</p> - -<p>In Russia the churches belong to the Government, -and this rule prevails in these districts, where are four -Greek churches and five Greek chapels. There is also -a Protestant church at Sitka. I am glad to add that -at the latter place there is a public library, which some -years ago contained seventeen hundred volumes, together -with journals, charts, atlases, mathematical and -astronomical instruments. In Atcha, Oonalaska, Kadiak,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> -and Sitka schools are reported at the expense -of the Company, though not on a very comprehensive -scale; for Admiral Wrangell mentions only ninety boys -as enjoying these advantages in 1839. In Oonalaska and -Kadiak there were at the same time orphan asylums for -girls, where there were in all about thirty; but the -Admiral adds, that “these useful institutions will, without -doubt, be improved to the utmost.” Besides these, -which are confined to particular localities, there is said -to be a hospital near every factory in all the districts.</p> - -<p>I have no means of knowing if these territorial subdivisions -have undergone recent modification. They -will be found in the “Russischen Besitzungen” of -Wrangell, published in 1839, in the “Geographie” of -Wappäus in 1856, and in the “Archiv von Russland” -of 1863, containing the article on the Report of Golowin. -I am thus particular with regard to them from a -double motive. Besides helping us to understand the -government, they afford suggestions of practical importance -in any future organization.</p> - -<p>The Company has not been without criticism. Pictures -of it are by no means rose color. These, too, furnish -instruction. Early in the century its administration -was the occasion of open and repeated complaint. -It was pronounced harsh and despotic. Langsdorff is -indignant that “a free trading company should exist -independent, as it were, of the Government, not confined -within any definite regulations, but who can exercise -their authority free and uncontrolled, nay, even -unpunished, over so vast an extent of country.” In -stating the case, he adds, that “the Russian subject -here enjoys no protection of his property, lives in no -security, and, if oppressed, has no one to whom he can<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> -apply for justice. The agents of the factories, and their -subordinate officers, influenced by humor or interest, decide -everything arbitrarily.” And this arbitrary power -seems to have prevailed wherever a factory was established. -“The stewardship in each single establishment -is entirely despotic; though nominally depending upon -the principal factory at Kadiak, these stewards do just -what they please, without the possibility of their being -called to account.” If such was the condition of Russians, -what must have been that of natives? Here -the witness answers: “I have seen the Russian fur-hunters -dispose of the lives of the natives solely according -to their own arbitrary will, and put these defenceless -creatures to death in the most horrible manner.”<a name="FNanchor_60_60" id="FNanchor_60_60"></a><a href="#Footnote_60_60" class="fnanchor">[60]</a> -Our own D’Wolf records Langsdorff’s remonstrance in -behalf of “the poor Russians,” and adds that it was -“but to little purpose.”<a name="FNanchor_61_61" id="FNanchor_61_61"></a><a href="#Footnote_61_61" class="fnanchor">[61]</a> Krusenstern concurs in this -testimony, and, if possible, darkens the colors. According -to him, “Every one must obey the iron rule of the -agent of the American Company; nor can there be -either personal property or individual security, where -there are no laws. The chief agent of the American -Company is the boundless despot over an extent of country -which, comprising the Aleutian Islands, stretches -from 57° to 61° of latitude and from 130° to 190° of -east longitude”; and he adds, in a note, “There are no -courts of justice in Kadiak, nor any of the Company’s -possessions.”<a name="FNanchor_62_62" id="FNanchor_62_62"></a><a href="#Footnote_62_62" class="fnanchor">[62]</a> Chamisso, the naturalist of Kotzebue’s -expedition, while confessing incompetency to speak on -the treatment of the natives by the Company, declares -“his wounded feelings and his commiseration.”<a name="FNanchor_63_63" id="FNanchor_63_63"></a><a href="#Footnote_63_63" class="fnanchor">[63]</a> It is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> -too probable that the melancholy story of our own aborigines -has been repeated. As these criticisms were by -Russian officers, they must have had a certain effect. -I cannot believe that the recent government, administered -by the enlightened magistrates of whom we -have heard, has been obnoxious to such terrible accusations; -nor must it be forgotten that the report of Lisiansky, -contemporaneous with those of Langsdorff and -Krusenstern, is much less painful.</p> - -<p>Baranoff, who had been so long superintendent, retired -in 1818. He is much praised by Langsdorff, who -saw him in 1805-6, and by Lütke, who was at Sitka -in 1828. Both attribute to him a genius for his place, -and a disinterested devotion to the interests of the -Company, whose confidence he enjoyed to the end. -D’Wolf says, “He possessed a strong mind, easy manners -and deportment,” and “commanded the greatest -respect from the Indians.”<a name="FNanchor_64_64" id="FNanchor_64_64"></a><a href="#Footnote_64_64" class="fnanchor">[64]</a> Although administering -affairs for more than a generation without rendering -accounts, he died poor. He was succeeded by Captain -Hagemeister. Since then, according to Lütke, an -infinity of reforms has taken place, by which order and -system have been introduced.</p> - -<p>The Russian officer, Captain Golowin, who visited -these possessions in 1860, has recommended certain institutional -reforms, which are not without interest at -this time. His recommendations concern the governor -and the people. According to him, the governor should -be appointed by the Crown with the concurrence of -the Company, removable only when his continuance is -plainly injurious to the colony; he should be subject -only to the Crown, and his powers should be limited,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> -especially in regard to the natives; he should provide -protection for the colonists by means of cruisers, and -should personally visit every district annually; the colonists, -Creoles, and subject natives, such as the Aleutians, -should be governed by magistrates of their own -selection; the name of “free Creole” should cease; all -disputes should be settled by the local magistrates, unless -the parties desire an appeal to the governor; schools -should be encouraged, and, if necessary, provided at the -public expense. These suggestions, in the nature of a -reform bill, foreshadow a condition of self-government -in harmony with republican institutions.</p> - -<p>It is evident that these Russian settlements, distributed -through an immense region and far from any civilized -neighborhood, have little in common with those -of European nations elsewhere, unless we except the -Danish on the west coast of Greenland. Nearly all -are on the coast or the islands. They are nothing but -“villages” or “factories” under protection of palisades. -Sitka is an exception, due unquestionably to its selection -as headquarters of the Government, and also to -the eminent character of the governors who have made -it their home. The executive mansion and the social -life there have been described by recent visitors, who -acknowledged the charms of politeness on this distant -northwestern coast. Lütke portrays life among its fogs, -and especially the attractions of the governor’s house. -This was in the time of Admiral Wrangell, whose wife, -possessing a high education, embellished the wilderness -by her presence, and furnished an example of a refined -and happy household. His account of Sitkan hospitality -differs in some respects from that of English writers -who succeeded. He records that fish was the staple<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> -dish at the tables of functionaries as well as of the -poor, and that the chief functionary himself was rarely -able to have meat for dinner. During the winter, a species -of wild sheep, the Musmon or Argali, also known -in Siberia, and hunted in the forests, furnished an occasional -supply. But a fish diet did not prevent his -house from being delightful,—as was that of Baranoff, -at an earlier day, according to D’Wolf, who speaks of -“an abundance of good cheer.”<a name="FNanchor_65_65" id="FNanchor_65_65"></a><a href="#Footnote_65_65" class="fnanchor">[65]</a></p> - -<p>Sir Edward Belcher, the English circumnavigator, -while on his voyage round the world, stopped there. -From him we have an account of the executive mansion -and fortifications, which will not be out of place -in this attempt to portray the existing Government. -The house is of wood, described as “solid,” one hundred -and forty feet in length by seventy feet wide, of -two stories, with lofts, capped by a light-house in the -centre of the roof, which is covered with sheet-iron. It -is about sixty feet above the sea-level, and completely -commands all the anchorage in the neighborhood. Behind -is a line of picketed logs twenty-five feet in height, -flanked at the angles by block-houses, loopholed and -furnished with small guns and swivels. The fortifications, -when complete, “will comprise five sides, upon -which forty pieces of cannon will be mounted, principally -old ship-guns, varying from twelve to twenty-four -pounders.” The arsenal is praised for the best of -cordage in ample store, and for the best of artificers in -every department. The interior of the Greek church -was found to be “splendid, quite beyond conception in -such a place as this.” The school and hospital had -a “comparative cleanliness and comfort, and much to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> -admire,—although a man-of-war’s man’s ideas of cleanliness -are perhaps occasionally acute.” But it is the -social life which seems to have most surprised the gallant -captain. After telling us that “on their Sunday -all the officers of the establishment, civil as well as -military, dine at the governor’s,” he introduces us to -an evening party and dance, which the latter gave -to show his English guest “the female society of Sitka,” -and records that everything “passed most delightfully,” -especially, that, “although the ladies were almost self-taught, -they acquitted themselves with all the ease and -elegance communicated by European instruction.” Sir -Edward adds, that “the society is indebted principally -to the governor’s elegant and accomplished lady—who -is of one of the first Russian families—for much of -this polish”; and he describes sympathetically her long -journey through Siberia with her husband, “on horse-back -or mules, enduring great hardships, in a most critical -moment, in order to share with him the privations -of this barbarous region.” But, according to him, barbarism -is disappearing; and he concludes by declaring -that “the whole establishment appears to be rapidly -on the advance, and at no distant period we may hear -of a trip to Norfolk Sound through America as little -more than a summer excursion.”<a name="FNanchor_66_66" id="FNanchor_66_66"></a><a href="#Footnote_66_66" class="fnanchor">[66]</a> Is not this time -near at hand?</p> - -<p>Four years afterward, Sir George Simpson, governor-in-chief -of the Hudson’s Bay Company, on his overland -journey round the world, stopped at Sitka. He -had just crossed the continent by way of the Red River -settlements to Vancouver. He, too, seems to have been -pleased. He shows us in the harbor “five sailing vessels,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> -ranging between two hundred and three hundred -and fifty tons, besides a large bark in the offing in tow -of a steamer”; and he carries us to the executive mansion, -already described, which reappears as “a suite of -apartments, communicating, according to the Russian -fashion, with each other, all the public rooms being -handsomely decorated and richly furnished, commanding -a view of the whole establishment, which was in -fact a little village, while about half-way down the rock -two batteries on terraces frowned respectively over the -land and the water.” There was another Administrator-General -since the visit of Sir Edward Belcher; but -again the wife plays her charming part. After portraying -her as a native of Helsingfors, in Finland, the -visitor adds: “So that this pretty and ladylike woman -had come to this, her secluded home, from the farthest -extremity of the Empire.” Evidently in a mood beyond -contentment, he says: “We sat down to a good -dinner in the French style, the party, in addition to -our host and hostess and ourselves, comprising twelve -of the Company’s officers”; and his final judgment -seems to be given, when he says: “The good folks of -New Archangel appear to live well. The surrounding -country abounds in the chevreuil, the finest meat that -I ever ate, with the single exception of moose,” while -“in a little stream which is within a mile of the fort -salmon are so plentiful at the proper season, that, when -ascending the river, they have been known literally to -embarrass the movements of a canoe.”<a name="FNanchor_67_67" id="FNanchor_67_67"></a><a href="#Footnote_67_67" class="fnanchor">[67]</a> Such is the -testimony.</p> - -<p>With these concluding pictures I turn from the Government.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span></p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>2. <i>Population.</i>—I come now to the Population, -which may be considered in its numbers and in its -character. In neither respect, perhaps, can it add -much to the value of the country, except so far as -native hunters and trappers are needed for the supply -of furs. Professor Agassiz touches this point in -a letter which I have just received from him, where -he says: “To me the fact that there is as yet hardly -any population would have great weight, as this secures -the settlement to our race.” But we ought to -know something, at least, of the people about to become -the subjects of our jurisdiction, if not our fellow-citizens.</p> - -<p><i>First.</i> In trying to arrive at an idea of their <em>numbers</em>, -I begin with Lippincott’s Gazetteer, as it is the -most accessible, according to which the whole population -in 1851, aboriginal, Russian, and Creole, was -61,000. The same estimate appears also in the London -“Imperial Gazetteer” and in the “Geographie” of -Wappäus. Keith Johnston, in his “Physical Atlas,” -calls the population, in 1852, 66,000. McCulloch, in -the last edition of his “Geographical Dictionary,” puts -it as high as 72,375. On the other hand, the “Almanach -de Gotha” for the present year calls it 54,000. -This estimate seems to have been adopted substantially -from the great work, “Les Peuples de la Russie,” which -I am disposed to consider as the best authority.</p> - -<p>Exaggerations are common with regard to the inhabitants -of newly acquired possessions, and this distant -region is no exception. An enthusiastic estimate once -placed its population as high as 400,000. Long ago, -Schelekoff, an early Russian adventurer, reported that he -had subjected to the Crown of Russia 50,000 persons<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> -in the island of Kadiak alone.<a name="FNanchor_68_68" id="FNanchor_68_68"></a><a href="#Footnote_68_68" class="fnanchor">[68]</a> But Lisiansky, who followed -him there in 1804-5, says: “The population of -this island, when compared with its size, is very small.” -After “the minutest research,” he found that it amounted -only to 4,000 souls.<a name="FNanchor_69_69" id="FNanchor_69_69"></a><a href="#Footnote_69_69" class="fnanchor">[69]</a> It is much less now,—probably -not more than 1,500.</p> - -<p>It is easy to know the number of those within the -immediate jurisdiction of the Company. This is determined -by a census. Even here the aborigines are the -most numerous. Then come the Creoles, and last the -Russians. But here you must bear in mind a distinction -with regard to the former. In Spanish America -all of European parentage born there are “Creoles”; -in Russian America this term is applicable only to -those whose parents are European and native,—in -other words, “half-breeds.” According to Wrangell, in -1833, the census of dependants of the Company in all -its districts was 652 Russians, 991 Creoles, and 9,016 -Aleutians and Kadiaks, being in all 10,659. Of these, -5,509 were men and 5,150 were women. In 1851, -according to the report of the Company, there was an -increase of Creoles, with a corresponding diminution -of Russians and aborigines, being 505 Russians, 1,703 -Creoles, and 7,055 aborigines, in all 9,263. In 1857 -there were 644 Russians, 1,903 Creoles, and 7,245 aborigines, -in all 9,792, of whom 5,133 were men and -4,659 were women. The increase from 1851 to 1857 -was only 529, or about one per cent. annually. In -1860 there were “some hundreds” of Russians, 2,000 -Creoles, and 8,000 aborigines, amounting in all to -10,540, of whom 5,382 were men and 5,158 were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> -women. I am thus particular, that you may see how -stationary population has been even within the sphere -of the Company.</p> - -<p>The number of Russians and Creoles at the present -time in the whole colony cannot be more than 2,500. -The number of aborigines under the direct government -of the Company may be 8,000. There remain also the -mass of aborigines outside the jurisdiction of the Company, -and having only a temporary or casual contact -with it for purposes of trade. In this respect they are -not unlike the aborigines of the United States while in -their tribal condition, described so often as “Indians -not taxed.” For the number of these outside aborigines -I prefer to follow the authority of the recent work already -quoted, “Les Peuples de la Russie,” according to -which they are estimated at between forty and fifty -thousand.</p> - -<p><i>Secondly.</i> In speaking of <em>character</em>, I turn to a different -class of materials. The early Russians here were -not Pilgrims. They were mostly runaways, fleeing from -justice. Langsdorff says, “The greater part of the Promüschleniks -and inferior officers of the different settlements -are Siberian criminals, malefactors, and adventurers -of various kinds.”<a name="FNanchor_70_70" id="FNanchor_70_70"></a><a href="#Footnote_70_70" class="fnanchor">[70]</a> The single and exclusive -business of the Promüschleniks was the collection of -furs. But the name very early acquired a bad odor. -Here again we have the same Russian authority, who, -after saying that the inhabitants of the distant islands -are under the superintendence of a Promüschlenik, -adds,—“which is, in other words, under that of a -rascal, by whom they are oppressed, tormented, and -plundered in every possible way.”<a name="FNanchor_71_71" id="FNanchor_71_71"></a><a href="#Footnote_71_71" class="fnanchor">[71]</a> It must be remembered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> -that this authentic portrait is not of our -day.</p> - -<p>The aborigines are all, in common language, Esquimaux; -but they differ essentially from the Esquimaux -of Greenland, and they also differ among themselves. -Though popularly known by this family name, they -have as many divisions and subdivisions, with as many -languages and idioms, as France once had. There are -large groups, each with its own nationality and language; -and there are smaller groups, each with its -tribal idiom. In short, the great problem of Language -is repeated here. Its forms seem to be infinite. Scientific -inquiry traces many to a single root, but practically -they are different. Here is that confusion of -tongues which yields only to the presence of civilization; -and it becomes more remarkable, as the idiom is -often confined to so small a circle.</p> - -<p>Looking at them ethnographically, we find two principal -groups or races,—the first scientifically known -as Esquimaux, and the second as Indians. By another -nomenclature, having the sanction of authority and -usage, they are divided into Esquimaux, Aleutians, -Kenaians, and Koloschians, being four distinct groups. -The Esquimaux and Aleutians are reported Mongolian -in origin. According to doubtful theory, they passed -from Asia to America by the succession of islands beginning -on the coast of Japan and extending to Alaska, -which for this purpose became a bridge between the -two continents. The Kenaians and Koloschians are -Indians, belonging to known American races. So that -these four groups are ethnographically resolved into -two, and the two are resolved popularly into one.</p> - -<p>There are general influences more or less applicable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> -to all these races. The climate is peculiar, and the -natural features of the country are commanding. Cool -summers and mild winters are favorable to the huntsman -and fisherman. Lofty mountains, volcanic forms, -large rivers, numerous islands, and an extensive sea-coast -constitute the great Book of Nature for all to read. -None are dull. Generally they are quick, intelligent, -and ingenious, excelling in the chase and in navigation, -managing a boat as the rider his horse, until man -and boat seem to be one. Some are very skilful with -tools, and exhibit remarkable taste. The sea is bountiful, -and the land has its supplies. From these they -are satisfied. Better still, there is something in their -nature which does not altogether reject the improvements -of civilization. Unlike our Indians, they are -willing to learn. By a strange superstition, which still -continues, these races derive descent from different animals. -Some are gentle and pacific; others are warlike. -All, I fear, are slaveholders; some are cruel task-masters; -others, in the interior, are reputed cannibals. -But the country back from the sea-coast is still an undiscovered -secret.</p> - -<p>(1.) Looking at them in ethnographical groups, I begin -with the <i>Esquimaux</i>, who popularly give the name -to the whole. They number about 17,000, and stretch -along the indented coast from its eastern limit on the -Frozen Ocean to the mouth of the Copper River, in 60° -north latitude, excluding the peninsula of Alaska, occupied -by Aleutians, and the peninsula of Kenai, occupied -by Kenaians. More powerful races, of Indian origin, -following the courses of the great rivers northward -and westward, have gradually crowded the Esquimaux -from the interior, until they constitute a belt on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> -salt water, including the islands of the coast, and especially -Kadiak. Their various dialects are traced to a -common root, while the prevailing language betrays an -affinity with the Esquimaux of Greenland, and the intervening -country watered by the Mackenzie. They -share the characteristics of that extensive family, which, -besides spreading across the continent, occupies an extent -of sea-coast greater than any other people of the -globe, from which their simple navigation has sallied -forth so as to give them the name of Phœnicians of -the North. Words exclusively belonging to the Esquimaux -are found in the dialects of other races completely -strangers, as Phœnician sounds are observed in the -Celtic speech of Ireland.</p> - -<p>The most known of the Russian Esquimaux is the -small tribe now remaining on the island of Kadiak, -which from the beginning has been a centre of trade. -Although by various intermixture they already approach -the Indians of the coast, losing the Asiatic type, -their speech remains a distinctive sign of race. They -are Esquimaux, and I describe them in order to present -an idea of this people.</p> - -<p>The men are tall, with copper skins, small black -eyes, flat faces, and teeth of dazzling whiteness. Once -the women pierced the nostrils, the lower lip, and the -ears, for ornaments; but now only the nostrils suffer. -The aboriginal costume is still preserved, especially out -of doors. Their food is mostly from the sea, without -the roots or berries which the island supplies. The -flesh and oil of the whale are a special luxury. The -oil is drunk pure, or used to season other food. Accustomed -to prolonged abstinence, they exhibit at times an -appetite amounting to prodigy. In one night six men<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> -were able to devour the whole of a large bear. A strong -drink made from the strawberry and myrtle, producing -the effect of opium, has yielded to brandy. Sugar and -tea are highly esteemed; but snuff is a delight. Lisiansky -records that they would go out of the way twenty -miles merely for a pinch.<a name="FNanchor_72_72" id="FNanchor_72_72"></a><a href="#Footnote_72_72" class="fnanchor">[72]</a> They have tools of their -own, which they use with skill. Their baidars, or canoes, -are distinguished for completeness of finish and -beauty of form. Unlike those of the Koloschians, lower -down on the coast, which are hollowed from trunks of -trees, they are of seal-skins stretched on frames, with -a single aperture in the covering to receive the person -of the master. The same skill appears in the carving -of wood, whalebone, and walrus-ivory. Their general -mode of life is said to be like that of other tribes on -the coast. To all else they add knowledge of the healing -art and passion for gaming.</p> - -<p>Opposite Kadiak, on the main-land east, are the -Tchugatchi, a kindred tribe, speaking the same language, -but a different dialect. Northward is a succession -of kindred tribes, differing in speech, and each -with local peculiarities, but all are represented as kind, -courteous, hospitable, and merry. It is a good sign, -that merriment should prevail. Their tribal names are -derived from a neighboring river, or some climatic circumstance. -Thus, for instance, those on the mighty -Kwichpak have the name of Kwichpakmutes, or “inhabitants -of the great river.” Those on Bristol Bay are -called by their cousins of Norton Sound Achkugmutes, -or “inhabitants of the warm country”; and the same -designation is applied to the Kadiaks. Warmth, like -other things in this world, is comparative; and to an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> -Esquimaux at 64° north latitude another five degrees -further south is in a “warm country.” These northern -tribes have been visited lately by our Telegraphic -Exploring Expedition, which reports especially their -geographical knowledge and good disposition. As the -remains of Major Kennicott descended the Kwichpak, -they were not without sympathy from the natives. Curiosity -also had its part. At a village where the boat -rested for the night, the chief announced that it was -the first time white men had ever been seen there.</p> - -<p>(2.) The <i>Aleutians</i>, sometimes called Western Esquimaux, -number about 3,000. By a plain exaggeration, -Knight, in his Cyclopædia of Geography, makes -them 20,000. Their home is the archipelago of volcanic -islands whose name they bear, and also a portion -of the contiguous peninsula of Alaska. The well-defined -type has already disappeared; but the national -dress continues. This is a long shirt with tight sleeves, -made from the skins of birds, either the sea-parrot or -the diver. This dress, called the <i>parka</i>, is indispensable -as clothing, blanket, and even as habitation, during a -voyage, being a complete shelter against wind and cold. -They, too, are fishermen and huntsmen; but they seem -to excel as artificers. The instruments and utensils of -the Oonalaskans have been noted for beauty. Their -baidars were pronounced by Sauer “infinitely superior -to those of any other island,”<a name="FNanchor_73_73" id="FNanchor_73_73"></a><a href="#Footnote_73_73" class="fnanchor">[73]</a> and another navigator -declares them “the best means yet discovered to go -from place to place, either upon the deepest or the shallowest -water, in the quickest, easiest, and safest manner -possible.”<a name="FNanchor_74_74" id="FNanchor_74_74"></a><a href="#Footnote_74_74" class="fnanchor">[74]</a> These illustrate their nature, which is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> -finer than that of their neighbors. They are at home -on the water, and excite admiration by the skill with -which they manage their elegant craft, so that Admiral -Lütke recognized them as Cossacks of the Sea.</p> - -<p>Oonalaska is the principal of these islands, and from -the time they were first visited seems to have excited -a peculiar interest. Captain Cook painted it kindly; -so have succeeding navigators. And here have lived -the islanders who have given to navigators a new experience. -Alluding especially to them, the reporter of -Billings’s voyage says: “The capacity of the natives of -these islands infinitely surpasses every idea that I had -formed of the abilities of savages.”<a name="FNanchor_75_75" id="FNanchor_75_75"></a><a href="#Footnote_75_75" class="fnanchor">[75]</a> There is another -remark of this authority which shows how they had -yielded, even in their favorite dress, to the demands of -commerce. After saying that formerly they had worn -garments of sea-otter, he pathetically adds, “but not -since the Russians have had any intercourse with -them.”<a name="FNanchor_76_76" id="FNanchor_76_76"></a><a href="#Footnote_76_76" class="fnanchor">[76]</a> Poor islanders! Exchanging choice furs, once -their daily wear, for meaner skins!</p> - -<p>(3.) The <i>Kenaians</i>, numbering as many as 25,000, -take their common name from the peninsula of Kenai, -with Cook’s Inlet on the west and Prince William -Sound on the east. Numerous beyond any other -family in Russian America, they belong to a widespread -and teeming Indian race, which occupies all the -northern interior of the continent, stretching from Hudson’s -Bay in the east to the Esquimaux in the west. -This is the great nation called sometimes Athabascan, -or, from the native name of the Rocky Mountains, on -whose flanks they live, Chippewyan, but more properly -designated as Tinneh, with branches in Southern Oregon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> -and Northern California, and then again with other -offshoots, known as the Apaches and Navajoes, in Arizona, -New Mexico, and Chihuahua, thirty degrees of -latitude from the parent stem. Of this extended race, -the northwestern branch, known to travellers as Loucheux, -and in their own tongue as Kutchin, after occupying -the inner portion of Russian America on the -Yukon and the Porcupine, reached the sea-coast at -Cook’s Inlet, where they appear under the name of -Kenaians. The latter are said to bear about the same -relation, in language and intellectual development, to -the entire group, as the islanders of Kadiak bear to the -Esquimaux.</p> - -<p>The Kenaians call themselves in their own dialect by -yet another name, Thnainas, meaning Men; thus, by a -somewhat boastful designation, asserting manhood. Their -features and complexion associate them with the red men -of America, as does their speech. The first to visit them -was Cook, and he was struck by the largeness of their -heads, which seemed to him disproportioned to the rest -of the body. They were strong-chested also, with thick, -short necks, spreading faces, eyes inclined to be small, -white teeth, black hair, and thin beard,—their persons -clean and decent, without grease or dirt. In dress they -were thought to resemble the people of Greenland. Their -boats had a similar affinity. But in these particulars -they were not unlike the other races already described. -They were clothed in skins of animals, with the fur outward, -or sometimes in skins of birds, over which, for -protection against rain, was a frock made from the intestines -of the whale, “prepared so skilfully as almost to -resemble our gold-beater leaf.”<a name="FNanchor_77_77" id="FNanchor_77_77"></a><a href="#Footnote_77_77" class="fnanchor">[77]</a> Their boats were of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> -seal-skin stretched on frames, and of different sizes. In -one of these Cook counted twenty women and one man, -besides children. At that time, though thievish in propensity, -they were not unamiable. Shortly afterwards -they were reported by Russian traders, who had much -to do with them, as “good people,” who behaved “in -the most friendly manner.”<a name="FNanchor_78_78" id="FNanchor_78_78"></a><a href="#Footnote_78_78" class="fnanchor">[78]</a> I do not know that they -have lost this character since.</p> - -<p>Here, too, is the accustomed multiplicity of tribes, -each with its idiom, and sometimes differing in religious -superstition, especially on the grave question of descent -from the dog or the crow. There is also a prevailing -usage for the men of one tribe to choose wives from -another tribe, when the tribal character of the mother -attaches to the offspring, which is another illustration -of the Law of Slavery, <i>Partus sequitur ventrem</i>. The -late departure from this usage is quoted by the old -men as a sufficient reason for the mortality which has -afflicted the Kenaians, although a better reason is found -in the ravages of the small-pox, unhappily introduced -by the Russians. In 1838, ten thousand persons on the -coast are reported victims to this disease.</p> - -<p>(4.) Last of the four races are the <i>Koloschians</i>, numbering -about 4,000, who occupy the coast and islands -from the mouth of the Copper River to the southern -boundary of Russian America, making about sixteen -settlements. They belong to an Indian group extending -as far south as the Straits of Fuca, and estimated -to contain 25,000 souls. La Pérouse, after considerable -experience of the aborigines on the Atlantic coast, asserts -that those he saw here are not Esquimaux.<a name="FNanchor_79_79" id="FNanchor_79_79"></a><a href="#Footnote_79_79" class="fnanchor">[79]</a> The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> -name seems to be of Russian origin, and is equivalent -to Indian. Here again is another variety of language, -and as many separate nations. Near Mount St. Elias -are the Yakutats, who are the least known; then come -the Thlinkits, occupying the islands and coast near Sitka, -and known in Oregon under the name of Stikines; -and then again we have the Kygans, who, beginning -on Russian territory, overlap Queen Charlotte’s Island, -beneath the British flag. All these, with their subdivisions, -are Koloschians; but every tribe or nation has -four different divisions, derived from four different animals, -the whale, the eagle, the crow, and the wolf, which -are so many heraldic devices, marking distinct groups.</p> - -<p>Points already noticed in the more northern groups -are repeated here. As among the Kenaians, husband -and wife are of different animal devices. A crow cannot -marry a crow. There is the same skill in the construction -of canoes; but the stretched seal-skin gives -place to the trunk of a tree shaped and hollowed, so that -it sometimes holds forty persons. There are good qualities -among Aleutians which the Koloschians do not -possess; but the latter have, perhaps, stronger sense. -They are of constant courage. As daring navigators -they are unsurpassed, sailing six or seven hundred miles -in open canoes. Some are thrifty, and show a sense of -property. Some have developed an aptitude for trade -unknown to their northern neighbors, or to the Indians -of the United States, and will work for wages, whether -in tilling the ground or other employment. Their superior -nature discards corporal punishment, even for boys, -as an ignominy not to be endured. They believe in a -Creator, and in the immortality of the soul. But here a -mystic fable is woven into their faith. The spirits of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> -heroes dead in battle are placed in the sky, and appear -in the Aurora Borealis. Long ago a deluge occurred, -when the human family was saved in a floating vessel, -which, after the subsidence of the waters, struck on a -rock and broke in halves. The Koloschians represent -one half of the vessel, and the rest of the world the -other half. Such is that pride of race which civilization -does not always efface.</p> - -<p>For generations they have been warriors, prompt to -take offence, and vindictive, as is the nature of the Indian -race,—always ready to exact an eye for an eye -and a tooth for a tooth. This character has not changed. -As was the case once in Italy, the dagger is an inseparable -companion. Private quarrels are common. The duel -is an institution. So is slavery still,—having a triple -origin in war, purchase, or birth. The slave is only a -dog, and must obey his master in all things, even to -taking the life of another. He is without civil rights; -he cannot marry or possess anything; he can eat only -offal; and his body, when released by death, is thrown -into the sea. A chief sometimes sacrifices his slaves, -and then another chief seeks to outdo his inhumanity. -All this is indignantly described by Sir Edward Belcher -and Sir George Simpson. But a slave once a freedman -has all the rights of a Koloschian. Here, too, are -the distinctions of wealth. The rich paint their faces -daily; the poor renew the paint only when the colors -begin to disappear.</p> - -<p>These are the same people who for more than a century -have been a terror on this coast. It was Koloschians -who received the two boats’ crews of the Russian discoverer -in 1741, as they landed in one of its wooded -coves, and no survivor returned to tell their fate. They<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> -were actors in another tragedy at the beginning of the -century, when the Russian fort at Sitka was stormed -and its defenders put to death, some with excruciating -torture. Lisiansky, whose visit was shortly afterward, -found them “a shrewd and bold, though a perfidious -people,” whose chiefs used “very sublime expressions,” -and swore oaths, like that of Demosthenes, “by their ancestors, -by relatives living and dead, and called heaven, -earth, the sun, moon, and stars to witness for them, particularly -when they meant to deceive.”<a name="FNanchor_80_80" id="FNanchor_80_80"></a><a href="#Footnote_80_80" class="fnanchor">[80]</a> According to -D’Wolf, “both sexes are expert in the use of fire-arms,” -and he saw them bathing in the sea with the thermometer -below freezing, running over the ice, and “performing -all manner of antics with the same apparent enjoyment -as if it had been a warm spring.”<a name="FNanchor_81_81" id="FNanchor_81_81"></a><a href="#Footnote_81_81" class="fnanchor">[81]</a> The fort has -been repeatedly threatened by these warriors, who multiply -by reinforcements from the interior, so that the -governor in 1837 reported, that, “although seven hundred -only were now in the neighborhood, seven thousand -might arrive in a few hours.”<a name="FNanchor_82_82" id="FNanchor_82_82"></a><a href="#Footnote_82_82" class="fnanchor">[82]</a> A little later their -character was recognized by Sir George Simpson, when -he pronounced them “numerous, treacherous, and fierce,” -in contrast with Aleutians, whom he describes as “peaceful -even to cowardice.”<a name="FNanchor_83_83" id="FNanchor_83_83"></a><a href="#Footnote_83_83" class="fnanchor">[83]</a> And yet this fighting race is -not entirely indocile, if we may credit recent report, that -its warriors are changing to traders.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>3. <i>Climate.</i>—From Population I pass to Climate, -which is more important, as it is a constant force. -Climate is the key to this whole region. It is the -governing power which rules production and life, for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> -Nature and man must each conform to its laws. Here -at last the observations of science give to inquiry a solid -support.</p> - -<p>Montesquieu has some famous chapters on the influence -of climate over customs and institutions.<a name="FNanchor_84_84" id="FNanchor_84_84"></a><a href="#Footnote_84_84" class="fnanchor">[84]</a> Conclusions -regarded in his day as visionary or far-fetched -are now unquestioned truth. Climate is a universal -master. But nowhere, perhaps, does it appear more eccentric -than in the southern portion of Russian America. -Without a knowledge of climatic laws, the weather -here would seem like a freak of Nature. But a brief -explanation shows how all its peculiarities are the result -of natural causes which operate with a force as unerring -as gravitation. Heat and cold, rain and fog, to -say nothing of snow and ice, which play such a part, -are not abnormal, but according to law.</p> - -<p>This law has been known only of late years. Even so -ingenious an inquirer as Captain Cook notices the mildness -of the climate, without attempting to account for it. -He records, that, in his opinion, “cattle might subsist in -Oonalaska all the year round without being housed”;<a name="FNanchor_85_85" id="FNanchor_85_85"></a><a href="#Footnote_85_85" class="fnanchor">[85]</a> -and this was in latitude 53° 52´, on the same parallel -with Labrador, and several degrees north of Quebec; -but he stops with a simple statement of the suggestive -fact. This, however, was inconsistent with the received -idea at the time. A geographer, who wrote a few -years before Cook sailed, has a chapter in which, assuming -that the climate of Quebec continues across the -continent, he argues that America is colder than Asia. -I refer to the “Mémoires Géographiques” of Engel.<a name="FNanchor_86_86" id="FNanchor_86_86"></a><a href="#Footnote_86_86" class="fnanchor">[86]</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> -He would have been astonished, had he seen the revelations -of an isothermal map, showing precisely the -reverse: that the climate of Quebec does not continue -across the continent; that the Pacific coast of our continent -is warmer than the corresponding Atlantic coast; -and that America is warmer than Asia, so far at least -as can be determined by the two opposite coasts. Such -is the truth, of which there are plentiful signs. The -Flora on the American side, even in Behring Strait, is -more vigorous than that on the Asiatic side, and the -American mountains have less snow in summer than -their Asiatic neighbors. Among many illustrations of -the temperature, I know none more direct than that -furnished by the late Hon. William Sturgis, of Boston,—who -was familiar with the Northwest Coast at -the beginning of the century,—in a lecture on the Oregon -question in 1845. After remarking that the climate -there is “altogether milder and the winter less -severe than in corresponding latitudes on this side the -continent,” he proceeds to testify, that, as a proof of its -mildness, he had “passed seven winters between the -latitudes of 51° and 57°, frequently lying so near the -shore as to have a small cable fast to the trees upon -it, and only once was his ship surrounded by ice sufficiently -firm to bear the weight of a man.”<a name="FNanchor_87_87" id="FNanchor_87_87"></a><a href="#Footnote_87_87" class="fnanchor">[87]</a> But this -intelligent navigator assigns no reason. To the common -observer it seemed as if the temperature grew milder, -travelling with the sun until it dipped in the ocean.</p> - -<p>Among authorities open before me I quote two, which -show that this difference of temperature between the -Atlantic and Pacific coasts was imagined, if not actually -recognized, during the last century. Portlock, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> -Englishman, who was on the coast in 1786, after saying -that during stormy and unsettled weather the air had -been mild and temperate, remarks that he is “inclined -to think that the climate here is not so severe as has -been generally supposed.”<a name="FNanchor_88_88" id="FNanchor_88_88"></a><a href="#Footnote_88_88" class="fnanchor">[88]</a> La Pérouse, the Frenchman, -whose visit was the same year, having been before -in Hudson’s Bay, on the other side of the continent, -says still more explicitly, “The climate of this -coast seemed to me infinitely milder than that of Hudson’s -Bay, in the same latitude. We measured pines -six feet in diameter and a hundred and forty feet high; -those of the same species at Fort Prince of Wales and -Fort York are of a dimension scarcely sufficient for -studding-sail booms.”<a name="FNanchor_89_89" id="FNanchor_89_89"></a><a href="#Footnote_89_89" class="fnanchor">[89]</a> Langsdorff, when at Sitka in -1805-6, was much with D’Wolf, the American navigator, -and records the surprise of the latter “at finding -the cold less severe in Norfolk Sound than at Boston, -Rhode Island, and other provinces of the United -States, which lie more to the south.”<a name="FNanchor_90_90" id="FNanchor_90_90"></a><a href="#Footnote_90_90" class="fnanchor">[90]</a> D’Wolf, in his -own work, says: “January brought cold, but not severe -weather”; and in February, the weather, though -“rather more severe than the previous month,” was -“by no means so cold as in the United States, latitude -42°.”<a name="FNanchor_91_91" id="FNanchor_91_91"></a><a href="#Footnote_91_91" class="fnanchor">[91]</a></p> - -<p>All this is now explained by known forces in Nature. -Of these the most important is a thermal current -in the Pacific, corresponding to the Gulf Stream -in the Atlantic. The latter, having its origin in the -heated waters of the Gulf of Mexico, flows as a river -through the ocean northward, encircling England, bathing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> -Norway, and warming all within its influence. A -similar stream in the Pacific, sometimes called the Japanese -Current, having its origin under the equator near -the Philippines and the Moluccas, amid no common -heats, after washing the ancient empire of Japan, sweeps -north, until, forming two branches, one moves onward -to Behring Strait, and the other bends east, along the -Aleutian Islands, and then south, along the coast of Sitka, -Oregon, and California. Geographers have described -this “heater,” which in the lower latitudes is as high -as 81° of Fahrenheit, and even far to the north as high -as 50°. A chart in Findlay’s “Pacific Ocean Directory” -portrays its course, as it warms so many islands and -such an extent of coast. An officer of the United States -Navy, Lieutenant Bent, in a paper before the Geographical -Society of New York, while exhibiting the influence -of this current in mitigating the climate of the -Northwest Coast, mentions that vessels on the Asiatic -side, becoming unwieldy with accumulations of ice on -the hull and rigging, run over to the higher latitude -on the American side and “thaw out.” But the tepid -waters which melt the ice on a vessel must change the -atmosphere, wherever they flow.</p> - -<p>I hope you will not regard the illustration as too -familiar, if I remind you that in the economy of a -household pipes of hot water are sometimes employed -in tempering the atmosphere by heat carried from below -to rooms above. In the economy of Nature these -thermal currents are only pipes of hot water, modifying -the climate of continents by carrying heat from -the warm cisterns of the South into the most distant -places of the North. So also there are sometimes pipes -of hot air, having a similar purpose; and these, too,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> -are found in this region. Every ocean wind, from every -quarter, traversing the stream of heat, takes up the -warmth and carries it to the coast, so that the oceanic -current is reinforced by an aërial current of constant -influence.</p> - -<p>These forces are aided essentially by the configuration -of the Northwest Coast, with a lofty and impenetrable -barricade of mountains, by which its islands -and harbors are protected from the cold of the North. -Occupying the Aleutian Islands, traversing the peninsula -of Alaska, and running along the margin of the -ocean to the latitude of 54° 40´, this mountain-ridge is -a climatic division, or, according to a German geographer, -a “climatic shed,” such as perhaps exists nowhere -else in the world. Here are Alps, some of them -volcanic, with Mount St. Elias higher than Mont Blanc, -standing guard against the Arctic Circle. So it seems -even without the aid of science. Here is a dike between -the icy waters of Behring Sea and the milder -Southern Ocean. Here is a partition between the treeless -northern coast and the wooded shores of the Kenaians -and Koloschians. Here is a fence which separates -the animal kingdom, having on one side the walrus -and ice-fox from the Frozen Ocean, and on the other -side the humming-bird from the tropics. I simply report -the testimony of geography. And now you will -not fail to observe how by this configuration the thermal -currents of ocean and air are left to exercise their -climatic power.</p> - -<p>One other climatic incident here is now easily explained. -Early navigators record the prevailing moisture. -All are enveloped in fog. Behring names an -island Foggy. Another gives the same designation to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> -a cape at the southern extremity of Russian America. -Cook records fog. La Pérouse speaks of rain and continued -fog in the month of August. And now visitors, -whether for science or business, make the same report. -The forests testify also. According to physical geography, -it could not be otherwise. The warm air from -the ocean, encountering the snow-capped mountains, -would naturally produce this result. Rain is nothing -but atmosphere condensed and falling in drops to the -earth. Fog is atmosphere held in solution, but so far -condensed as to become visible. This condensation occurs, -when the air is chilled by contact with a colder -atmosphere. These very conditions occur on the Northwest -Coast. The ocean air, coming in contact with the -elevated range, is chilled, until its moisture is set free.</p> - -<p>Add to these influences, especially at Sitka, the presence -of mountain masses and of dense forests, all tending -to make the coast warmer in winter and colder in -summer than it would otherwise be.</p> - -<p>Practical observation verifies these conclusions of science. -Any isothermal map is enough for our purpose; -but there are others which show the relative conditions -generally of different portions of the globe. I ask attention -to those of Keith Johnston, in his admirable -Atlas. But I am glad to present a climatic table of -the Pacific coast in comparison with the Atlantic coast, -recently compiled, at my request, from the archives of -the Smithsonian Institution, with permission of its -learned secretary, by a collaborator of the Institution, -who visited Russian America under the auspices of the -Telegraph Company. By this table we are able to comprehend -the relative position of this region in the physical -geography of the world.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span></p> - -<table summary="Climate" class="climate"> - <tr> - <th rowspan="2" class="first-col">Places of Observation.</th> - <th colspan="5">Mean Temperature in <br />Degrees Fahrenheit.</th> - <th colspan="5" class="border-double">Precipitation in Rain or <br />Snow. Depth in Inches.</th> - </tr> - <tr> - <th>Spring.</th> - <th>Summer.</th> - <th>Autumn.</th> - <th>Winter.</th> - <th>Year.</th> - <th class="border-double">Spring.</th> - <th>Summer.</th> - <th>Autumn.</th> - <th>Winter.</th> - <th>Year.</th> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">St. Michael’s, Russ. Am. <br />Lat. 63° 28´ 45´´ N.</td><td class="tdr">28.75</td><td class="tdr">52.25</td><td class="tdr">27.00</td><td class="tdr">7.00</td><td class="tdr">27.48</td><td class="tdc border-double">…</td><td class="tdc">…</td><td class="tdc">…</td><td class="tdc">…</td><td class="tdc">…</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">Fort Yukon, Russ. Am. <br />Lat. (near) 67°.</td><td class="tdr">14.22</td><td class="tdr">59.67</td><td class="tdr">17.37</td><td class="tdr">-23.80</td><td class="tdr">16.92</td><td class="tdc border-double">…</td><td class="tdc">…</td><td class="tdc">…</td><td class="tdc">…</td><td class="tdc">…</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">Ikogmut, Russ. Am. <br />Lat. 61° 47´</td><td class="tdr">19.62</td><td class="tdr">49.32</td><td class="tdr">36.05</td><td class="tdr">0.95</td><td class="tdr">24.57</td><td class="tdc border-double">…</td><td class="tdc">…</td><td class="tdc">…</td><td class="tdc">…</td><td class="tdc">…</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">Sitka, Russ. Am. <br />Lat. 57° 3</td><td class="tdr">39.65</td><td class="tdr">53.37</td><td class="tdr">43.80</td><td class="tdr">32.30</td><td class="tdr">42.28</td><td class="tdr border-double">18.32</td><td class="tdr">15.75</td><td class="tdr">32.10</td><td class="tdr">23.77</td><td class="tdr">89.94</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">Puget Sound, Wash. T. <br />Lat. 47° 7´</td><td class="tdr">48.88</td><td class="tdr">63.44</td><td class="tdr">51.30</td><td class="tdr">39.38</td><td class="tdr">50.75</td><td class="tdr border-double">7.52</td><td class="tdr">3.68</td><td class="tdr">15.13</td><td class="tdr">20.65</td><td class="tdr">46.98</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">Astoria, Oregon <br />Lat. 46° 11´</td><td class="tdr">51.16</td><td class="tdr">61.36</td><td class="tdr">53.55</td><td class="tdr">42.43</td><td class="tdr">52.13</td><td class="tdr border-double">16.43</td><td class="tdr">4.85</td><td class="tdr">21.77</td><td class="tdr">44.15</td><td class="tdr">87.20</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">San Francisco, Cal. <br />Lat. 37° 48´</td><td class="tdr">55.39</td><td class="tdr">58.98</td><td class="tdr">58.29</td><td class="tdr">50.25</td><td class="tdr">55.73</td><td class="tdr border-double">6.65</td><td class="tdr">0.09</td><td class="tdr">2.69</td><td class="tdr">13.49</td><td class="tdr">22.92</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">Nain, Labrador <br />Lat. 56° 10´</td><td class="tdr">23.67</td><td class="tdr">48.57</td><td class="tdr">33.65</td><td class="tdr">0.40</td><td class="tdr">26.40</td><td class="tdc border-double">…</td><td class="tdc">…</td><td class="tdc">…</td><td class="tdc">…</td><td class="tdc">…</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">Montreal, Canada East <br />Lat. 45° 30´</td><td class="tdr">41.20</td><td class="tdr">68.53</td><td class="tdr">44.93</td><td class="tdr">16.40</td><td class="tdr">42.77</td><td class="tdr border-double">7.66</td><td class="tdr">11.20</td><td class="tdr">7.42</td><td class="tdr">0.72</td><td class="tdr">27.00</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">Portland, Maine <br />Lat. 43° 39´</td><td class="tdr">40.12</td><td class="tdr">63.75</td><td class="tdr">45.75</td><td class="tdr">21.52</td><td class="tdr">42.78</td><td class="tdc border-double">…</td><td class="tdc">…</td><td class="tdc">…</td><td class="tdc">…</td><td class="tdc">…</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col">Fort Hamilton, N. Y. <br />Lat. 40° 37´</td><td class="tdr">47.84</td><td class="tdr">71.35</td><td class="tdr">55.79</td><td class="tdr">32.32</td><td class="tdr">51.82</td><td class="tdr border-double">11.69</td><td class="tdr">11.64</td><td class="tdr">9.88</td><td class="tdr">10.31</td><td class="tdr">43.52</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="first-col last-row">Washington, D. C. <br />Lat. 38° 54´</td><td class="tdr last-row">54.19</td><td class="tdr last-row">73.07</td><td class="tdr last-row">53.91</td><td class="tdr last-row">33.57</td><td class="tdr last-row">53.69</td><td class="tdr border-double last-row">10.48</td><td class="tdr last-row">10.53</td><td class="tdr last-row">10.16</td><td class="tdr last-row">10.06</td><td class="tdr last-row">41.23</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>It is seen here that the winters of Sitka are relatively -warm, not differing much from those of Washington; -but the summers are colder. The mean temperature -of winter is 32.30°, while that of summer is -53.37°. The Washington winter is 33.57°; the Washington -summer is 73.07°. These points exhibit the peculiarities -of this coast,—warm winters and cool summers.</p> - -<p>The winter of Sitka is milder than that of many -European capitals. It is much milder than that of St. -Petersburg, Moscow, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Berlin, or -Bern. It is milder even than that of Mannheim, Stuttgart, -Vienna, Sebastopol in the Crimea, or Turin. It -is not much colder than that of Padua. According to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> -observations at Sitka in 1831, it froze only two days -in December and seven days in January. In February, -the longest frost lasted five days; in March, it did not -freeze during the day at all, and rarely in the night. -During the next winter, the thermometer did not fall -below 21° Fahrenheit; in January, 1834, it reached 11°. -On the other hand, a temperature of 50° has been noted -in January. The roadstead is open throughout the year, -and only a few landlocked bays are frozen.</p> - -<p>The prevailing dampness at Sitka renders a residence -there far from agreeable, although it does not appear injurious -to health. England is also damp; but Englishmen -boast that theirs is the best climate of the world. -At Sitka the annual fall of rain is about ninety inches. -The mean annual fall in all England is forty inches, -although in mountainous districts of Cumberland and -Westmoreland the fall amounts to ninety and even one -hundred and forty inches. In Washington it is forty-one -inches. The forests at Sitka are so wet that they -will not burn, although frequent attempts have been -made to set them on fire. The houses, which are of -wood, suffer from constant moisture. In 1828 there -were twenty days when it rained or snowed continuously; -one hundred and twenty when it rained or -snowed part of the day, and only sixty-six days of -clear weather. Some years, only forty bright days have -been counted. Hinds, the naturalist, records only thirty-seven -“really clear and fine days.”<a name="FNanchor_92_92" id="FNanchor_92_92"></a><a href="#Footnote_92_92" class="fnanchor">[92]</a> A scientific observer -who was there last year counted sixty. A visitor -for fourteen days found only two when nautical -observations could be made; but these were as fine as -he had ever known in any country.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span></p> - -<p>The whole coast from Sitka to the peninsula of -Alaska seems to have the same continuous climate, -whether in temperature or moisture. The island of -Kadiak and the recess of Cook’s Inlet are outside this -climatic curve, so as to be comparatively dry. Langsdorff -reports winters “frequently so mild in the low -parts of Kadiak that the snow does not lie upon the -ground for any length of time, nor is anything like -severe cold felt.”<a name="FNanchor_93_93" id="FNanchor_93_93"></a><a href="#Footnote_93_93" class="fnanchor">[93]</a> Belcher, on his passage between -Montague and Hinchinbrook Islands, found an “oppressively -hot sun.”<a name="FNanchor_94_94" id="FNanchor_94_94"></a><a href="#Footnote_94_94" class="fnanchor">[94]</a> The Aleutian Islands, further -west, are somewhat colder than Sitka, although the -difference is not great. The summer temperature is seldom -above 66°; the winter temperature is more seldom -as low as 2° below zero. The snow falls about the beginning -of October, and is seen sometimes as late as -the end of April; but it does not remain long on the -surface. The mean temperature of Oonalaska is about -40°. Chamisso found the temperature of spring-water -at the beginning of the year 38.50°. There are years -when it rains on this island the whole winter. The -fogs prevail from April till the middle of July, when -for the time they are driven further north. The islands -northward toward Behring Strait are proportionately -colder; but I remind you that the American coast is -milder than the opposite coast of Asia.</p> - -<p>From Mr. Bannister I have an authentic statement -with regard to the temperature north of the Aleutians, -as observed by himself in the autumn of 1865 and the -months following. Even here the winter does not seem -so terrible as is sometimes imagined. During most of -the time, work could be done with comfort in the open<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> -air. Only when it stormed the men were kept within -doors. In transporting supplies from St. Michael’s to -Nulato, a distance of two hundred and fifty miles, they -found no hardship, even when obliged to bivouac in the -open air.</p> - -<p>On Norton Sound and the Kwichpak River winter -may be said to commence at the end of September, although -the weather is not severe till the end of October. -The first snow falls about the 20th or 25th of September. -All the small ponds and lakes were frozen -early in October. The Kwichpak was frozen solid about -the 20th or 25th of this month. On the 1st of November -the harbor at St. Michael’s was still open, but on -the morning of the 4th it was frozen solid enough for -sledges to cross on the ice. In December there were -two thaws, one accompanied by rain for a day. The -snow was about two feet deep at the end of the month. -January was uniformly cold, and it was said that at a -place sixty-five miles northeast of St. Michael’s the thermometer -descended to 58° below zero. February was -usually mild all over the country. In the middle of the -month there was an extensive thaw, with showers of -rain. About half the snow disappeared, leaving much of -the ground bare. March was pleasant, without very cold -weather. Its mean temperature was 20°; its minimum -was 3° below zero. Spring commences on the Kwichpak -the 1st of May, or a few days later, when the birds -return and vegetation begins. The ice did not entirely -disappear from the river till after the 20th of May. The -sea-ice continued in the bay of St. Michael’s as late as -1st June. The summer temperature is much higher in -the interior than on the coast. Parties travelling on the -Kwichpak in June complained sometimes of heat.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span></p> - -<p>The river Yukon, which, flowing into the Kwichpak, -helps to swell that stream, is navigable for at least -four, if not five, months in the year. The thermometer -at Fort Yukon is sometimes at 65° below zero of -Fahrenheit, and for three months of a recent winter it -stood at 50° below zero without variation. In summer -it rises above 80° in the shade; but a hard frost -occurs at times in August. The southwest wind brings -warmth; the northeast wind brings cold. Some years, -there is no rain for months; and then, again, showers -alternate with sunshine. The snow packs hard at an -average of two and a half feet deep. The ice is four -or five feet thick; in a severe winter it is six feet thick. -Life at Fort Yukon, under these rigors of Nature, although -far from inviting, is not intolerable.</p> - -<p>Such is the climate of this extensive region, so far -as known, along its coast, among its islands, and on its -great rivers, from its southern limit to its most northern -ice, with contrasts and varieties such as Milton describes:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“For hot, cold, moist, and dry, four champions fierce,</div> -<div class="verse">Strive here for mastery.”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>4. <i>Vegetable Products.</i>—Vegetable products depend -upon climate. They are determined by its laws. Therefore -what has been already said upon the one prepares -the way for the consideration of the other; and here -we have the reports of navigators and the suggestions -of science.</p> - -<p>From the time this coast was first visited, navigators -reported the aspects which Nature assumed. But their -opportunities were casual, and they necessarily confined -themselves to what was most obvious. As civilization<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> -did not exist, the only vegetable products were indigenous -to the soil. At the first landing, on the discovery -of the coast by Behring, Steller found among the -provisions in one of the Indian cabins “a sweet herb -dressed for food in the same manner as in Kamtchatka.” -That “sweet herb” is the first vegetable production -of which we have record on this coast. At the same -time, although ashore only six hours, this naturalist -“gathered herbs, and brought such a quantity to the -ship that the describing of them took him a considerable -time.” This description was afterwards adopted -by Gmelin in his “Flora Sibirica.”<a name="FNanchor_95_95" id="FNanchor_95_95"></a><a href="#Footnote_95_95" class="fnanchor">[95]</a></p> - -<p>Trees were noticed even before landing. They enter -into descriptions, and are often introduced to increase -the savage wildness of the scene. La Pérouse doubts -“if the deep valleys of the Alps and the Pyrenees present -a scene so frightful, but at the same time so picturesque -that it would deserve to be visited by the curious, -if it were not at one of the extremities of the -earth.”<a name="FNanchor_96_96" id="FNanchor_96_96"></a><a href="#Footnote_96_96" class="fnanchor">[96]</a> Lisiansky, as he approached the coast of Sitka, -records that “nothing presented itself to the view but -impenetrable woods, reaching from the water-side to the -very tops of the highest mountains”; that he “never -saw a country so wild and gloomy; it appeared more -adapted for the residence of wild beasts than of men.”<a name="FNanchor_97_97" id="FNanchor_97_97"></a><a href="#Footnote_97_97" class="fnanchor">[97]</a> -Lütke portrays the “savage and picturesque aspect” -of the whole Northwest Coast.<a name="FNanchor_98_98" id="FNanchor_98_98"></a><a href="#Footnote_98_98" class="fnanchor">[98]</a></p> - -<p>As navigators landed, they saw Nature in detail; and -here they were impressed by the size of the trees. Cook -finds at Prince William Sound “Canadian and spruce -pine, and some of them tolerably large.”<a name="FNanchor_99_99" id="FNanchor_99_99"></a><a href="#Footnote_99_99" class="fnanchor">[99]</a> La Pérouse<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> -describes pines measuring six feet in diameter and one -hundred and forty feet in height, and then again introduces -us to “those superb pines fit for the masts of -our largest vessels.”<a name="FNanchor_100_100" id="FNanchor_100_100"></a><a href="#Footnote_100_100" class="fnanchor">[100]</a> Portlock notices in Cook’s Inlet -“wood of different kinds in great abundance, such as -pine, black-birch, witch-hazel, and poplar; many of the -pines large enough for lower masts for a ship of four -hundred tons burden”; and then again at Prince William -Sound “trees of the pine kind, some very large; a -good quantity of alder; a kind of hazel, but not larger -than will do for making handspikes.”<a name="FNanchor_101_101" id="FNanchor_101_101"></a><a href="#Footnote_101_101" class="fnanchor">[101]</a> Meares reports -“woods thick,” also “the black-pine in great plenty, -capable of making excellent spars.”<a name="FNanchor_102_102" id="FNanchor_102_102"></a><a href="#Footnote_102_102" class="fnanchor">[102]</a> Sauer, who was -there a little later, in the expedition of Billings, reports -that they “took in a number of fine spars”; and -he proceeds to say: “The timber comprised a variety -of pines of an immense thickness and height, some -extremely tough and fibrous, and of these we made -our best oars.”<a name="FNanchor_103_103" id="FNanchor_103_103"></a><a href="#Footnote_103_103" class="fnanchor">[103]</a> Vancouver mentions, in latitude 60°, a -“woodland country.”<a name="FNanchor_104_104" id="FNanchor_104_104"></a><a href="#Footnote_104_104" class="fnanchor">[104]</a> Langsdorff describes trees in the -neighborhood of Sitka, many of them measuring six feet -in diameter and one hundred and fifty feet in height, -“excellent wood for ship-building and masts.”<a name="FNanchor_105_105" id="FNanchor_105_105"></a><a href="#Footnote_105_105" class="fnanchor">[105]</a> Lisiansky -says, that, at Kadiak, “for want of fir, we made -a new bowsprit of one of the pine-trees, which answered -admirably.”<a name="FNanchor_106_106" id="FNanchor_106_106"></a><a href="#Footnote_106_106" class="fnanchor">[106]</a> Lütke testifies to the “magnificent pine -and fir” at Sitka, adding what seems an inconsistent -judgment with regard to its durability.<a name="FNanchor_107_107" id="FNanchor_107_107"></a><a href="#Footnote_107_107" class="fnanchor">[107]</a> Belcher notices -Garden Island, in latitude 60° 21´, as “covered with -pine-trees”; and then again, at Sitka, speaks of “a very<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> -fine-grained, bright yellow cypress” as the most valuable -wood, which, besides being used in boats, was exported -to the Sandwich Islands, in return especially for -Chinese goods.<a name="FNanchor_108_108" id="FNanchor_108_108"></a><a href="#Footnote_108_108" class="fnanchor">[108]</a></p> - -<p>Turning westward from Cook’s Inlet, the forests on -the sea-line are rarer, until they entirely disappear. The -first settlement on the island of Kadiak was on the -southwestern coast; but the want of timber caused its -transfer to the northeastern coast, where are “considerable -forests of fine tall trees.”<a name="FNanchor_109_109" id="FNanchor_109_109"></a><a href="#Footnote_109_109" class="fnanchor">[109]</a> But where trees are -wanting, grass seems to abound. This is the case with -Kadiak, the peninsula of Alaska, and the Aleutian -Islands generally. Of these, Oonalaska, libelled in -the immortal verse of Campbell, has been the most -described. This well-known island is without trees; -but it seems singularly adapted to the growth of grass, -which is often so high as to impede the traveller and -to overtop even the willows. The mountains themselves -are for a considerable distance clothed with rich -turf. One of these scenes is represented in a print -you will find among the views of the vegetation of -the Pacific in the London reproduction of the work -of Kittlitz. This peculiarity was first noticed by Cook, -who says, with a sailor’s sententiousness, that he did -not see there “a single stick of wood of any size,” -but “plenty of grass, which grows very thick and to -a great length.”<a name="FNanchor_110_110" id="FNanchor_110_110"></a><a href="#Footnote_110_110" class="fnanchor">[110]</a> Lütke records, that, after leaving -Brazil, he met nothing so agreeable as the grass of -this island.</p> - -<p>North of the peninsula of Alaska, on Behring Sea, -the forests do not approach the coast, except at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> -heads of bays and sounds, although they abound in the -interior, and extend even to within a short distance -of the Frozen Ocean. Such is the personal testimony -of a scientific observer recently returned from this region. -In Norton Sound, Cook, who was the first to -visit it, reports “a coast covered with wood, an agreeable -sight,” and, on walking into the country, small -spruce-trees, “none of them above six or eight inches -in diameter.” A few days afterward “a party of men -were sent on shore to cut brooms, and the branches of -spruce-trees for brewing beer.”<a name="FNanchor_111_111" id="FNanchor_111_111"></a><a href="#Footnote_111_111" class="fnanchor">[111]</a> On the Kwichpak, -and its affluent, the Yukon, trees are sometimes as -high as a hundred feet. The supply of timber at St. -Michael’s is from the drift-wood of the river. Near -Fort Yukon, at the junction of the Porcupine and Yukon, -are forests of pine, poplar, willow, and birch. The -pine is the most plentiful; but the small islands in -the great river are covered with poplar and willow. -Immense trunks rolling under the fort show that there -must be large trees nearer the head-waters.</p> - -<p>But even in northern latitudes the American coast is -not without vegetation. Grass takes the place of trees. -At Fort Yukon, in latitude 67°, there is “a thin, wiry -grass.” Navigators notice the contrast between the opposite -coasts of the two continents. Kotzebue, while in -Behring Strait, where the two approach each other, was -struck by black, mossy rocks frowning with snow and -icicles on the Asiatic side, while on the American side -“even the summits of the highest mountains were free -from snow,” and “the coast was covered with a green -carpet.”<a name="FNanchor_112_112" id="FNanchor_112_112"></a><a href="#Footnote_112_112" class="fnanchor">[112]</a> But the contrast with the Atlantic coast of -the continent is hardly less. The northern limit of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> -trees is full seven degrees higher in Russian America -than in Labrador. In point of fact, on the Atlantic -coast, in latitude 57° 58´, which is nearly that of Sitka, -there are no trees. All this is most suggestive.</p> - -<p>Next after trees, early navigators speak oftenest of -berries, which they found in profusion. Not a sailor -lands who does not find them. Cook reports “a variety -of berries” at Norton Sound, and “great quantities” -at Oonalaska.<a name="FNanchor_113_113" id="FNanchor_113_113"></a><a href="#Footnote_113_113" class="fnanchor">[113]</a> Portlock finds at Prince William -Sound “fruit-bushes in great abundance, such as bilberry-bushes, -raspberry-bushes, strawberries, elder-berry-bushes, -and currant-bushes, red and black,” and “any -quantity of the berries might be gathered for a winter’s -stock.”<a name="FNanchor_114_114" id="FNanchor_114_114"></a><a href="#Footnote_114_114" class="fnanchor">[114]</a> Meares saw there “a few black-currant-bushes.”<a name="FNanchor_115_115" id="FNanchor_115_115"></a><a href="#Footnote_115_115" class="fnanchor">[115]</a> -Billings finds at Kadiak “several species of -berries, with currants and raspberries in abundance, the -latter white, but extremely large, being bigger than any -mulberry he had ever seen.”<a name="FNanchor_116_116" id="FNanchor_116_116"></a><a href="#Footnote_116_116" class="fnanchor">[116]</a> Langsdorff notes most of -these at Oonalaska, with cranberries and whortleberries -besides.<a name="FNanchor_117_117" id="FNanchor_117_117"></a><a href="#Footnote_117_117" class="fnanchor">[117]</a> Belcher reports at Garden Island “strawberries, -whortleberries, blaeberries, pigeon-berries, and -a small cranberry, in tolerable profusion, without going -in search of them.”<a name="FNanchor_118_118" id="FNanchor_118_118"></a><a href="#Footnote_118_118" class="fnanchor">[118]</a> These I quote precisely, and in -the order of time.</p> - -<p>Next to berries were plants for food; and these were -in constant abundance. Behring, on landing at the -Shumagin Islands, observed the natives “to eat roots -which they dug out of the ground, and scarce shaked -off the earth before they eat them.”<a name="FNanchor_119_119" id="FNanchor_119_119"></a><a href="#Footnote_119_119" class="fnanchor">[119]</a> Cook reports at -Oonalaska “a great variety of plants, several of them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> -such as we find in Europe and in other parts of America, -particularly in Newfoundland: … all these we -found very palatable, dressed either in soups or in salads.”<a name="FNanchor_120_120" id="FNanchor_120_120"></a><a href="#Footnote_120_120" class="fnanchor">[120]</a> -La Pérouse, who landed in latitude 58° 37´, finds -a French bill of fare, including celery, chicory, sorrel, and -“almost all the pot-herbs of the meadows and mountains -of France,” besides “several kinds of grass suitable -for forage.” Every day and each meal the ship’s -kettle was filled with these supplies, and all ate them -in soups, ragouts, and salads, much to the benefit of -their health.<a name="FNanchor_121_121" id="FNanchor_121_121"></a><a href="#Footnote_121_121" class="fnanchor">[121]</a> Portlock mentions at Port Etches, besides -“fine water-cresses,” “just above the beach, between -the bay and the lake, a piece of wild wheat, -about two hundred yards long and five yards wide, -growing at least two feet high,” which, “with proper -care, might certainly be made an useful article of food”; -and at Cook’s Inlet he reports “ginseng and snakeroot.”<a name="FNanchor_122_122" id="FNanchor_122_122"></a><a href="#Footnote_122_122" class="fnanchor">[122]</a> -Meares reports at the latter place “inexhaustible -plenty” of ginseng, and at Prince William Sound -“snakeroot and ginseng, some of which the natives have -always with them as a medicine.” He adds: “The ginseng -of this part of America is far preferable to that of -the eastern side.”<a name="FNanchor_123_123" id="FNanchor_123_123"></a><a href="#Footnote_123_123" class="fnanchor">[123]</a> Billings finds at Kadiak “ginseng, -wild onions, and the edible roots of Kamtchatka,” and -then again at Prince William Sound “plenty of ginseng -and some snakeroot.”<a name="FNanchor_124_124" id="FNanchor_124_124"></a><a href="#Footnote_124_124" class="fnanchor">[124]</a> Vancouver finds at Port Mulgrave -“wild vegetables in great abundance.”<a name="FNanchor_125_125" id="FNanchor_125_125"></a><a href="#Footnote_125_125" class="fnanchor">[125]</a> Langsdorff -adds to the list, at Oonalaska, “that sweet plant, -the Siberian parsnip.”<a name="FNanchor_126_126" id="FNanchor_126_126"></a><a href="#Footnote_126_126" class="fnanchor">[126]</a> These, too, I quote precisely, -and in the order of time.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span></p> - -<p>Since the establishment of Europeans on this coast, -an attempt has been made to introduce the nutritious -grains and vegetables known to the civilized world, but -without very brilliant success. Against wheat and rye -and against orchard fruits are obstacles of climate, perhaps -insuperable. These require summer heat; but here -the summer is comparatively cold. The northern limit -of wheat is several degrees below the southern limit of -these possessions, so that this friendly grain is out of -the question. Rye flourishes further north, as do oats -also. The supposed northern boundary of these grains -embraces Sitka and grazes the Aleutian Islands. But -other climatic conditions are wanting, at least for rye. -One of these is dry weather, which is required at the -time of its bloom. Possibly the clearing of the forest -may produce a modification of the weather. At present -barley grows better, and there is reason to believe -that it may be cultivated successfully very far to the -north. It has ripened at Kadiak. Many garden vegetables -have become domesticated. Lütke reports potatoes -at Sitka, so that all have enough.<a name="FNanchor_127_127" id="FNanchor_127_127"></a><a href="#Footnote_127_127" class="fnanchor">[127]</a> Langsdorff reports -the same of Kadiak and Oonalaska.<a name="FNanchor_128_128" id="FNanchor_128_128"></a><a href="#Footnote_128_128" class="fnanchor">[128]</a> There are -also at Sitka radishes, cabbages, cauliflowers, peas, and -carrots,—making a very respectable list. At Norton -Sound I hear of radishes, beets, and cabbages. Even -as far north as Fort Yukon, on the parallel of 67°, potatoes, -peas, turnips, and even barley, have been grown; -but the turnips were unfit for the table, being rotten at -the heart. A recent resident reports that there are no -fruit-trees, and not even a raspberry-bush, and that he -lost all his potatoes during one season by a frost in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> -latter days of July; but do not forget that these potatoes -were the wall-flowers of the Arctic Circle.</p> - -<p>Thus it appears that the vegetable productions of -the country are represented practically by trees. The -forests, overshadowing the coast from Sitka to Cook’s -Inlet, are all that can be shown under this head out of -which a revenue can be derived, unless we add ginseng, -so much prized by the Chinese, and perhaps also -snakeroot. Other things may contribute to the scanty -support of a household; but timber will, in all probability, -be an article of commerce. It has been so already. -Ships from the Sandwich Islands have come -for it, and there is reason to believe that this trade -may be extended indefinitely, so that Russian America -will be on the Pacific like Maine on the Atlantic, and -the lumbermen of Sitka vie with their hardy brethren -of the East.</p> - -<p>These forests, as described, seem to afford all that can -be desired. The trees are abundant, and they are perfect -in size, not unlike</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse indent8">“the tallest pine</div> -<div class="verse">Hewn on Norwegian hills to be the mast</div> -<div class="verse">Of some great ammiral.”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">But a doubt has been raised as to their commercial -value. Here we have the inconsistent testimony of -Lütke. According to him, the pines and firs, which -he calls “magnificent,” constitute an untried source of -commercial wealth. Not only California, but other -countries, poor in trees, like Mexico, the Sandwich -Islands, and even Chili, will need them. And yet he -does not conceal an unfavorable judgment of the timber, -which, as seen in the houses of Sitka, suffering -from constant moisture, did not seem durable.<a name="FNanchor_129_129" id="FNanchor_129_129"></a><a href="#Footnote_129_129" class="fnanchor">[129]</a> Sir<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> -Edward Belcher differs from the Russian admiral, for -he praises especially “the timber of the higher latitudes, -either for spars or plank.”<a name="FNanchor_130_130" id="FNanchor_130_130"></a><a href="#Footnote_130_130" class="fnanchor">[130]</a> Perhaps its durability -may depend upon the climate where it is used; -so that, though failing amidst the damps of Sitka, it -may be lasting enough, when transported to another climate. -In the rarity of trees on the islands and main-land -of the Pacific, the natural supply is in Russian -America. One of the early navigators even imagined -that China must look this way, and he expected that -“the woods would yield a handsome revenue, when the -Russian commerce with China should be established.”<a name="FNanchor_131_131" id="FNanchor_131_131"></a><a href="#Footnote_131_131" class="fnanchor">[131]</a> -American commerce with China is established. Perhaps -timber may become one of its staples.</p> - -<p>A profitable commerce in timber has already begun -at Puget Sound. By official returns of 1866 it appears -that it was exported to a long list of foreign countries -and places, in which I find Victoria, Honolulu, Callao, -Tahiti, Canton, Valparaiso, Adelaide, Hong Kong, Sydney, -Montevideo, London, Melbourne, Shanghae, Peru, -Coquimbo, Calcutta, Hilo, Cape Town, Cork, Guaymas, -and Siam; and in this commerce were employed no -less than eighteen ships, thirty barks, four brigs, twenty-eight -schooners, and ten steamers. The value of the -lumber and spars exported abroad was over half a million -dollars, while more than four times that amount -was shipped coastwise. But the coasts of Russian -America are darker with trees than those further south. -Pines, in which they abound, do not flourish as low -down as Puget Sound. Northward, they are numerous -and easily accessible.</p> - -<p>In our day the Flora of the coast has been explored<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> -with care. Kittlitz, who saw it as a naturalist, portrays -it with the enthusiasm of an early navigator; but he -speaks with knowledge. He, too, dwells on the “surprising -power and luxuriance” of the pine forests, describing -them with critical skill. The trees which he -identifies are the Pinus Canadensis, distinguished for -its delicate foliage; the Pinus Mertensiana, a new species, -rival of the other in height; and the Pinus Palustris, -growing on swampy declivities, and not attaining -height. In the clearings or on the outskirts of -thickets are shrubs, being chiefly a species of Rubus, -with flowers of carmine and aromatic fruit. About and -over all are mosses and lichens, invigorated by the constant -moisture, while colossal trees, undermined or uprooted, -crowd the surface, reminding the scientific observer -of the accumulations of the coal measures. Two -different prints in the London reproduction of the work -of Kittlitz present pictures of these vegetable productions -grouped for beauty and instruction. I refer to -these, and also to the Essay of Hinds on “The Regions -of Vegetation,” the latter to be found at the end of the -volumes containing Belcher’s Voyage.</p> - -<p>In turning from the vegetable products of this region, -it will not be out of place, if I refer for one moment -to its domestic animals, for these are necessarily -associated with such products. Some time ago it was -stated that cattle had not flourished at Sitka, owing -to the want of proper pasturage, and the difficulty of -making hay in a climate of such moisture. Hogs are -more easily sustained, but, feeding on fish, instead of -vegetable products, their flesh acquires a fishy taste, -which does not recommend it. Nor has there been -great success with poultry, for this becomes the prey<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> -of the crow, whose voracity here is absolutely fabulous. -A Koloschian tribe traces its origin to this bird, which -in this neighborhood might be a fit progenitor. Not -content with swooping upon hens and chickens, it descends -upon swine to nibble at their tails, and so successfully -“that the hogs here are without tails,” and -then it scours the streets so well that it is called the -Scavenger of Sitka. But there are other places more -favored. The grass at Kadiak is well suited to cattle, -and it is supposed that sheep would thrive there. -The grass at Oonalaska is famous, and Cook thought -the climate good for cattle, of which we have at least -one illustration. Langsdorff reports that a cow grazed -here luxuriously for several years, and then was lost -in the mountains. That grazing animal is a good witness. -Perhaps also it is typical of the peaceful inhabitants.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>5. <i>Mineral Products.</i>—In considering the Mineral -Products, I ask attention first to the indications afforded -by the early navigators. They were not geologists. -They saw only what was exposed. And yet, during the -long interval that elapsed, not very much has been -added to their conclusions. The existence of iron is -hardly less uncertain now than then. The existence of -copper is hardly more certain now than then. Gold, -which is so often a dangerous <i>ignis-fatuus</i>, did not appear -to deceive them. But coal, which is much more -desirable than gold, was reported by several, and once -at least with reasonable certainty.</p> - -<p>The boat that landed from Behring, when he discovered -the coast, found among other things “a whetstone -on which it appeared that copper knives had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> -been sharpened.” This was the first sign of the mineral -wealth which already excites such interest. At another -point where Behring landed, “one of the Americans had -a knife hanging by his side, of which his people took -particular notice on account of its unusual make.”<a name="FNanchor_132_132" id="FNanchor_132_132"></a><a href="#Footnote_132_132" class="fnanchor">[132]</a> It -has been supposed that this was of iron. Next came -Cook, who, when in Prince William Sound, saw “copper -and iron.” In his judgment, the iron came, “through -the intervention of the more inland tribes, from Hudson’s -Bay, or the settlements on the Canadian lakes,” -and his editor refers in a note to the knife seen by -Behring as from the same quarter; but Cook thought -that the copper was obtained near at home, as the natives, -when engaged in barter, gave the idea, “that, having -so much of this metal of their own, they wanted -no more.”<a name="FNanchor_133_133" id="FNanchor_133_133"></a><a href="#Footnote_133_133" class="fnanchor">[133]</a> Naturally enough, for they were not far -from the Copper River. Maurelle, in 1779, landed in -sight of Mount St. Elias, and he reports Indians with -arrow-heads of copper, which “made the Spaniards -suspect mines of this metal there.”<a name="FNanchor_134_134" id="FNanchor_134_134"></a><a href="#Footnote_134_134" class="fnanchor">[134]</a> La Pérouse, who -was also in this neighborhood, after mentioning that -the naturalists of the expedition allowed no stone or -pebble to escape observation, reports ochre, copper pyrites, -garnets, schorl, granite, schist, horn-stone, very -pure quartz, mica, plumbago, coal, and then adds that -some of these substances announce that the mountains -conceal mines of iron and copper. He reports further -that the natives had daggers of iron, and sometimes -of red copper; that the latter metal was common -enough, serving for ornaments and for the points<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> -of arrows; and he then states the very question of -Cook with regard to the acquisition of these metals. -He insists also that “the natives know how to forge -iron and work copper.”<a name="FNanchor_135_135" id="FNanchor_135_135"></a><a href="#Footnote_135_135" class="fnanchor">[135]</a> Spears and arrows “pointed -with bone or iron,” and also “an iron dagger” for -each man, appear in Vancouver’s account of the natives -on the parallel of 55°, just within the southern -limit of Russian America.<a name="FNanchor_136_136" id="FNanchor_136_136"></a><a href="#Footnote_136_136" class="fnanchor">[136]</a> Lisiansky saw at Sitka “a -thin plate made of virgin copper” found on Copper -River, three feet in length, and at one end twenty-two -inches in breadth, with various figures painted on -one side, which had come from the possession of the -natives.<a name="FNanchor_137_137" id="FNanchor_137_137"></a><a href="#Footnote_137_137" class="fnanchor">[137]</a> Meares reports “pure malleable lumps of copper -ore in the possession of the natives,”—one piece -weighing as much as a pound, said to have been obtained -in barter with other natives further north,—also -necklaces and bracelets “of the purest ore.”<a name="FNanchor_138_138" id="FNanchor_138_138"></a><a href="#Footnote_138_138" class="fnanchor">[138]</a> Portlock, -while in Cook’s Inlet, in latitude 59° 27´, at a -place called Graham’s Harbor, makes another discovery. -Walking round the bay, he saw “two veins of kennel -coal situated near some hills just above the beach, -and with very little trouble several pieces were got out -of the bank nearly as large as a man’s head.” If the -good captain did not report more than he saw, this -would be most important; for, from the time when the -amusing biographer of Lord Keeper North described -that clean flaky coal which he calls “candle,” because -often used for its light, but which is generally called -“cannel,” no coal has been more of a household favorite. -He relates, further, that, returning on board in the -evening, he “tried some of the coal, and found it to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> -burn clear and well.”<a name="FNanchor_139_139" id="FNanchor_139_139"></a><a href="#Footnote_139_139" class="fnanchor">[139]</a> Add to these different accounts -the general testimony of Meares, who, when dwelling -on the resources of the country, boldly includes “mines -which are known to lie between the latitudes of 40° -and 60° north, and which may hereafter prove a most -valuable source of commerce between America and -China.”<a name="FNanchor_140_140" id="FNanchor_140_140"></a><a href="#Footnote_140_140" class="fnanchor">[140]</a></p> - -<p>It is especially when seeking to estimate the mineral -products that we feel the want of careful explorations. -We know more of the roving aborigines than -of these stationary tenants of the soil. We know more -of the trees. A tree is conspicuous; a mineral is hidden -in the earth, to be found by chance or science. -Thus far it seems as if chance only had ruled. The -Russian Government handed over the country to a -trading company, whose exclusive interest was furs. -The company followed its business, when it looked to -wild beasts with rich skins rather than to the soil. Its -mines were above ground, and not below. There were -also essential difficulties in the way of exploration. -The interior was practically inaccessible. The thick -forest, saturated with rain and overgrown with wet -mosses, presented obstacles which nothing but enlightened -enterprise could overcome. Even at a short distance -from the port of Sitka all effort failed, and the -inner recesses of the island, only thirty miles broad, -were never penetrated.</p> - -<p>The late Professor Henry D. Rogers, in his admirable -paper on the Physical Features of America, being -part of his contribution to Keith Johnston’s Atlas, full -of knowledge and of fine generalization, says of this -northwest belt, that it is “little known in its topography<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> -to any but the roving Indians and the thinly -scattered fur-trappers.” But there are certain general -features which he proceeds to designate. According to -him, it belongs to what is known as the tertiary period -of geology, intervening between the cretaceous period -and that now in progress, but including also granite, -gneiss, and ancient metamorphic rocks. It is not known -if the true coal measures prevail in any part, although -there is reason to believe that they exist on the coast -of the Arctic Ocean between Cape Lisburne and Point -Barrow.</p> - -<p>Beginning at the south, we have Sitka and its associate -islands, composed chiefly of volcanic rocks, with -limestone near. Little is known even of the coast between -Sitka and Mount St. Elias, which, itself a volcano, -is the beginning of a volcanic region occupying -the peninsula of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, and -having no less than thirty volcanoes, some extinct, but -others still active. Most of the rocks here are volcanic, -and the only fossiliferous beds are of the tertiary period. -North of Alaska, and near the mouth of the Kwichpak, -the coast seems volcanic or metamorphic, and probably -tertiary, with a vein of lignite near the head of Norton -Sound. At the head of Kotzebue Sound the cliffs -abound in the bones of elephants and mammals now -extinct, together with those of the musk-ox and other -animals still living in the same latitude. From Kotzebue -Sound northward, the coast has a volcanic character. -Then at Cape Thompson it is called subcarboniferous, -followed by rocks of the carboniferous age, -being limestones, shales, and sandstones, which extend -from Cape Lisburne far round to Point Barrow. At -Cape Beaufort, very near the seventieth parallel of latitude,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> -and north of the Arctic Circle, on a high ridge -a quarter of a mile from the beach is a seam of coal -which appears to be of the true coal measures.</p> - -<p>From this general outline, which leaves much in uncertainty, -I come to what is more important.</p> - -<p>It is not entirely certain that iron has been found, -although frequently reported. Evidence points to the -south, and also to the north. Near Sitka it was reported -by the Russian engineer Doroschin, although it -does not appear that anything has been done to verify -his report. A visitor there, as late as last year, saw excellent -iron, said to be from a bed in the neighborhood, -reported inexhaustible, and with abundant wood for its -reduction. Then again on Kotzebue Sound specimens -have been collected. At 66° 13´ Kotzebue found a false -result in his calculations, which he attributes to the disturbing -influence of “iron.”<a name="FNanchor_141_141" id="FNanchor_141_141"></a><a href="#Footnote_141_141" class="fnanchor">[141]</a> A resident on the Yukon -thinks that there is iron in that neighborhood.</p> - -<p>Silver, also, has been reported at Sitka by the same -Russian engineer who reported iron, and, like the iron, -in “sufficient quantity to pay for the working.”</p> - -<p>Lead was reported by the Russian explorer, Lieutenant -Zagoyskin, on the lower part of the Kwichpak; -but it is not known to what extent it exists.</p> - -<p>Copper is found on the banks of the Copper River, -called by the Russians the Mjednaja, meaning copper, -and of its affluent, the Tchetchitno, in masses sometimes -as large as forty pounds. Of this there can be little -doubt. It is mentioned by Golowin, in the “Archiv” -of Erman, as late as 1863. Undoubtedly from this neighborhood -was obtained the copper which arrested the attention -of the early navigators. Traces of copper are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> -found in other places on the coast; also in the mountains -near the Yukon, where the Indians use it for -arrow-heads.</p> - -<p>Coal seems to exist all along the coast,—according -to Golowin, “everywhere, in greater or less quantity.” -Traces are reported on the islands of the Sitkan archipelago; -and this is extremely probable, for it has been -worked successfully on Vancouver’s Island below. It is -also found on the Kenaian peninsula, Alaska, the island -of Unga, belonging to the Shumagin group, Oonalaska, -and far to the north at Cape Beaufort. At this last -place it is “slaty, burning with a pure flame and rapid -consumption,” and it is supposed that there are extensive -beds in the neighborhood better in quality. For -an account of this coal I refer to the scientific illustrations -of Beechey’s Voyage. The natives also report coal -in the interior on the Kwichpak. The coal of Oonalaska, -and probably of Alaska, is tertiary, and not adapted -for steamers. With regard to that of Unga scientific -authorities are divided. That of the Kenaian peninsula -is the best and the most extensive. It is found -on the eastern side of Cook’s Inlet, half way between -Cape Anchor and the Russian settlement of St. Nicholas, -in veins three quarters of a yard or more in thickness, -and ranging in quality from mere carboniferous -wood to anthracite. According to one authority, these -coal veins extend and spread far into the interior. -This coal has more than once been sent to California -for trial, and was there pronounced a good article. -Since then it has been mined by the Company, not -only for their own uses, but also for export to California. -In making these statements, I rely particularly -upon Golowin, in the “Archiv” of Erman, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> -upon the elaborate work of Grewingk, in the “Transactions -of the Mineralogical Society of St. Petersburg” -for 1848 and 1849,<a name="FNanchor_142_142" id="FNanchor_142_142"></a><a href="#Footnote_142_142" class="fnanchor">[142]</a> where is a special map of the -Kenaian peninsula.</p> - -<p>Gold is less important than coal, but its discovery -produces more excitement. The report of gold in any -quarter stimulates the emigrant or the adventurer hoping -to obtain riches swiftly. Nor is this distant region -without such experience. Only a few years ago, the -British colony of Victoria was aroused by a rumor of -gold in the mountains of the Stikine River, not far in -the interior from Sitka. At once there was a race that -way, and the solitudes of this river were penetrated by -hunters in quest of the glittering ore. Discomfiture -ensued. Gold had been found, but not in any sufficient -quantities reasonably accessible. Nature for the present -had set up obstacles. But failure in one place will -be no discouragement in another, especially as there is -reason to believe that the mountains here contain a -continuation of those auriferous deposits which have -become so famous further south. The Sierra Nevada -chain of California reaches here.</p> - -<p>Traces of gold have been observed at other points. -One report places a deposit not far from Sitka. The -same writer who reports iron also reports that during -the last year he saw a piece of gold as large as a marble, -which was shown by an Indian. But the Russian engineer, -Doroschin, furnishes testimony more precise. He -reports gold in at least three different localities, each -of considerable extent. The first is the mountain range -on the north of Cook’s Inlet and extending into the -peninsula of Alaska, consisting principally of clay slate<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> -with permeating veins of diorite, the latter being known -as a gold-bearing rock. He observed this in the summer -of 1851. About the same time, certain Indians -from the Bay of Yakutat, not far from Mount St. Elias, -brought him specimens of diorite found in their neighborhood, -making, therefore, a second deposit. In the -summer of 1855, the same engineer found gold on the -southern side of Cook’s Inlet, in the mountains of the -Kenay peninsula. Satisfying himself, first, that the -bank occupied by the redoubt of St. Nicholas, at the -mouth of the Kaknu River, was gold-bearing, he was -induced to follow the development of diorite in the -upper valley of the river, and, as he ascended, found -a gold-bearing alluvion, gradually increasing, with scales -of gold becoming coarser and coarser, instead of scarcely -visible, as at first.</p> - -<p>It does not appear that the discoveries on Cook’s -Inlet were pursued; but it is reported that the Hudson’s -Bay Company, holding the country about the Bay -of Yakutat under a lease from the Russian Company, -have found the diorite in that neighborhood valuable. -This incident has given rise to a recent controversy. -Russian journals attacked the engineer for remissness -in not exploring the Yakutat country. He has defended -himself by setting out what he actually did in the way -of discovery, and the essential difficulty at the time in -doing more: all which will be found in a number, just -received, of the work to which I have so often referred, -the “Archiv” of Erman, for 1867.<a name="FNanchor_143_143" id="FNanchor_143_143"></a><a href="#Footnote_143_143" class="fnanchor">[143]</a></p> - -<p>Thus much for the mineral resources of this new-found -country, as recognized at a few points on the extensive -coast, leaving the vast unknown interior without -a word.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span></p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>6. <i>Furs.</i>—I pass now to Furs, which at times have -vied with minerals in value, although the supply is more -limited and less permanent. Trappers are “miners” of -the forest, seeking furs as others seek gold. The parallel -continues also in the greed and oppression unhappily -incident to the pursuit. A Russian officer, who -was one of the early visitors on this coast, remarks that -to his mind the only prospect of relief for the suffering -natives “consists in the total extirpation of the animals -of the chase,” which he thought, from the daily havoc, -must take place in a very few years.<a name="FNanchor_144_144" id="FNanchor_144_144"></a><a href="#Footnote_144_144" class="fnanchor">[144]</a> This was at the -close of the last century. The trade, though essentially -diminished, still continues an important branch of commerce.</p> - -<p>Early in this commerce, desirable furs were obtained -in barter for a trifle; and when something of value was -exchanged, it was much out of proportion to the furs. -This has been the case generally in dealing with the -natives, until their eyes have been slowly opened. In -Kamtchatka, at the beginning of the last century, half -a dozen sables were obtained in exchange for a knife, -and a dozen for a hatchet; and the Kamtchadales wondered -that their Cossack conquerors were willing to -pay so largely for what seemed worth so little. Similar -incidents on the Northwest Coast are reported by -the early navigators. Cook mentions that in exchange -for “beads” the Indians at Prince William Sound -“readily gave whatever they had, even their fine sea-otter -skins,” which they prized no more than other -skins, until it appeared how much they were prized -by their visitors.<a name="FNanchor_145_145" id="FNanchor_145_145"></a><a href="#Footnote_145_145" class="fnanchor">[145]</a> Where there was no competition,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> -prices rose slowly, and many years after Cook, the -Russians at Oonalaska, in return for “trinkets and tobacco,” -received twelve sea-otter skins, and fox skins -of different kinds to the number of near six hundred.<a name="FNanchor_146_146" id="FNanchor_146_146"></a><a href="#Footnote_146_146" class="fnanchor">[146]</a> -These instances show in a general way the spirit of -this trade even to our own day. On the coast, and -especially in the neighborhood of the factories, the difference -in the value of furs is recognized, and a proportionate -price obtained, which Sir Edward Belcher -found in 1837 to be for “a moderately good sea-otter -skin from six to seven blankets, increasing to thirteen -for the best,” together with “sundry knick-knacks.”<a name="FNanchor_147_147" id="FNanchor_147_147"></a><a href="#Footnote_147_147" class="fnanchor">[147]</a> -But in the interior it is otherwise. A recent resident -in the region of the Yukon assures me that he has seen -skins worth several hundred dollars bartered for goods -worth only fifty cents.</p> - -<p>Beside whalers and casual ships, with which the Esquimaux -are in the habit of dealing, the commerce in -furs, on both sides of the continent, north of the United -States, has for a long time been in the hands of two -corporations,—being the Hudson’s Bay Company, with -directors in London, and the Russian American Company, -with directors in St. Petersburg. The former is -much the older of the two, and has been the most -flourishing. Its original members were none other than -Prince Rupert, the Duke of Albemarle, Earl Craven, -Lord Ashley, and other eminent associates, who received -a charter from Charles the Second, in 1670, to -prosecute a search after a new passage to the South -Sea, and to establish a trade in furs, minerals, and other -considerable commodities in all those seas, and in the -British possessions north and west of Canada, with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> -powers of government, the whole constituting a colossal -monopoly, which stretched from Labrador and Baffin’s -Bay to an undefined West. At present this great -corporation is known only as a fur company, to which -all its powers are tributary. For some time its profits -were so considerable that it was deemed advisable to -hide them by nominal additions to the stock. With -the extinction of the St. Petersburg corporation under -the present treaty, the London corporation will remain -the only existing fur company on the continent, but -necessarily restricted in its operation to British territory. -It remains to be seen into whose hands the commerce -on the Pacific side will fall, now that this whole -region will be open to the unchecked enterprise of our -citizens.</p> - -<p>This remarkable commerce began before the organization -of the Russian Company. Its profits may be inferred -from a voyage in 1772, described by Coxe, between -Kamtchatka and the Aleutians. The tenth part -of the skins being handed to the custom-house, the remainder -were distributed in fifty-five shares, consisting -each of twenty sea-otters, sixteen black and brown -foxes, ten red foxes, and three sea-otter tails; and these -shares were sold on the spot at from eight hundred to -one thousand rubles each, so that the whole lading -brought about fifty thousand rubles.<a name="FNanchor_148_148" id="FNanchor_148_148"></a><a href="#Footnote_148_148" class="fnanchor">[148]</a> The cost of these -may be inferred from the articles given in exchange. -A Russian outfit, of which I find a contemporary record, -was, among other things, “about five hundred weight -of tobacco, one hundred weight of glass beads, perhaps -a dozen spare hatchets and a few superfluous knives of -very bad quality, an immense number of traps for foxes,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> -a few hams, a little rancid butter.”<a name="FNanchor_149_149" id="FNanchor_149_149"></a><a href="#Footnote_149_149" class="fnanchor">[149]</a> With such imports -against such exports, the profits must have been -considerable.</p> - -<p>From Langsdorff we have a general inventory of furs -at the beginning of the century in the principal magazine -of the Russian Company on the island of Kadiak, -drawn from the islands, the peninsula of Alaska, Cook’s -Inlet, Prince William Sound, and the continent generally. -Here were “a great variety of the rarest kinds -of fox skins,” black, blackish, reddish, silver gray, and -stone fox,—the last probably a species of the Arctic; -“brown and red bears, the skins of which are of great -value,” and also “the valuable black bear”; the zisel -marmot, and the common marmot; the glutton; the -lynx, chiefly of whitish gray; the reindeer; the beaver; -the hairy hedgehog; “the wool of a wild American -sheep, whitish, fine, and very long,” but he could never -obtain sight of the animal that produced this wool; -also sea-otters, once “the principal source of wealth -to the Company, now nearly extirpated, a few hundreds -only being annually collected.”<a name="FNanchor_150_150" id="FNanchor_150_150"></a><a href="#Footnote_150_150" class="fnanchor">[150]</a> Many of the -same furs were reported by Cook on this coast in his -day. They all continue to be found,—except that I -hear nothing of wild sheep, save at a Sitkan dinner.</p> - -<p>There has been much exaggeration with regard to -the profits of the Russian corporation. An English -writer of authority calls the produce “immense,” and -adds that “formerly it was much greater.” I refer to -the paper of Mr. Petermann, read before the Royal Geographical -Society of London, in 1852.<a name="FNanchor_151_151" id="FNanchor_151_151"></a><a href="#Footnote_151_151" class="fnanchor">[151]</a> The number of -skins at times is prodigious, although this fails to reveal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> -precisely the profits. For instance, Pribyloff collected -within two years, on the islands northwest of Alaska -which bear his name, the skins of 2,000 sea-otters, -40,000 sea-bears or ursine seals, 6,000 dark ice-foxes, -together with 1,000 poods of walrus ivory.<a name="FNanchor_152_152" id="FNanchor_152_152"></a><a href="#Footnote_152_152" class="fnanchor">[152]</a> The pood -is a Russian weight of thirty-six pounds. Lütke mentions -that in 1803 no less than 800,000 skins of the -ursine seal were accumulated in the factory at Oonalaska, -of which 700,000 were thrown into the sea, partly -because they were badly prepared, and partly to keep -up the price,<a name="FNanchor_153_153" id="FNanchor_153_153"></a><a href="#Footnote_153_153" class="fnanchor">[153]</a>—thus imitating the Dutch, who for the -same reason burned spices. Another estimate masses -the collection for a series of years. From 1787 to -1817, for only part of which time the Company existed, -the Oonalaska district yielded upwards of 2,500,000 -seal-skins; and from 1817 to 1838, during all which -time the Company was in power, the same district -yielded 879,000 seal-skins. Assuming, what is improbable, -that these skins were sold at twenty-five rubles -each, some calculating genius has ciphered out the sum-total -of proceeds at more than 85,000,000 rubles,—or, -calling the ruble seventy-five cents, a sum-total of more -than $63,000,000. Clearly, the latter years can show -no approximation to any such doubtful result.</p> - -<p>Descending from these lofty figures, which, if not exaggerations, -are at least generalities, and relate partly -to earlier periods, before the existence of the Company, -we shall have a better idea of the commerce, if we look -at authentic reports for special periods. Admiral Von -Wrangell, who was so long governor, must have been -well informed. According to statements in his work,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> -adopted also by Wappäus in his “Geographie,” the -Company, from 1826 to 1833, a period of seven years, -exported to Russia the skins of the following animals: -9,853 sea-otters, with 8,751 sea-otter tails, 39,981 river-beavers, -6,242 river or land otters, 5,243 black foxes, -7,759 black-bellied foxes, 16,336 red foxes, 24,189 polar -foxes, 1,093 lynxes, 559 wolverenes, 2,976 sables, 4,335 -swamp-otters, 69 wolves, 1,261 bears, 505 musk-rats, -132,160 seals; also 830 poods of whalebone, 1,490 -poods of walrus-teeth, and 7,121 pairs of castoreum.<a name="FNanchor_154_154" id="FNanchor_154_154"></a><a href="#Footnote_154_154" class="fnanchor">[154]</a> -Their value does not appear. Sir George Simpson, the -Governor-in-chief of the Hudson’s Bay Company, who -was at Sitka in 1841, represents the returns of the -Company for that year, 10,000 fur-seals, 1,000 sea-otters, -2,500 land-otters, 12,000 beavers, and 20,000 -walrus-teeth, without including foxes and martens.<a name="FNanchor_155_155" id="FNanchor_155_155"></a><a href="#Footnote_155_155" class="fnanchor">[155]</a> -There is a report for the year 1852, as follows: 1,231 -sea-otters, 129 young sea-otters, 2,948 common otters, -14,486 fur-seals, 107 bears, 13,300 beavers, 2 wolves, -458 sables, 243 lynxes, 163 mole-skins, 1,504 pairs of -castoreum, 684 black foxes, 1,590 cross foxes, 5,174 red -foxes, 2,359 blue Arctic foxes, 355 white Arctic foxes, -and also 31 foxes called white, perhaps albinos.</p> - -<p>Besides these reports for special years, I am enabled -to present, from the Russian tables of Captain Golowin, -another, covering the period from 1842 to 1860, inclusive,—being -25,602 sea-otters, 63,826 otters, probably -river-otters, 161,042 beavers, 73,944 foxes, 55,540 Arctic -foxes, 2,283 bears, 6,445 lynxes, 26,384 sables, 19,076 -musk-rats, 2,536 ursine seals, 338,604 marsh-otters, 712 -brace of hare, 451 martens, 104 wolves, 46,274 castoreums,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> -7,309 beavers’ tails. Here is an inexplicable -absence of seal-skins. On the other hand are sables, -which belong to Asia, and not to America. The list -is Russian, and perhaps embraces furs from the Asiatic -islands of the Company.</p> - -<p>From a competent source I learn that the value of -skins at Sitka during the last year was substantially -as follows: Sea-otter, $50; marten, $4; beaver, $2.50; -bear, $4.50; black fox, $50; silver fox, $40; cross fox, -$25; red fox, $2. A recent price-current in New York -gives the following prices there in currency: Silver fox, -$10 to $50; cross fox, $3 to $5; red fox, $1 to $1.50; -otter, $3 to $6; mink, $3 to $6; beaver, $1 to $4; -musk-rat, $0.20 to $0.50; lynx, $2 to $4; black bear, -$6 to $12; dark marten, $5 to $20. These New York -prices vary from those of Sitka. The latter are the better -guide to a comprehension of the proceeds at Sitka, -subject to deduction for the expenses of the Company. -Of the latter I say nothing now, as I have considered -them in speaking of the existing Government.</p> - -<p>The skins are obtained in three different ways: first, -through the hunters employed by the Company; secondly, -in payment of taxes imposed by the Company; -and, thirdly, by barter or purchase from independent -natives. But, with all these sources, it is certain that -the Russian Company has enjoyed no success comparable -to that of its British rival; and, still more, there -is reason to believe that latterly its profits have not -been large.</p> - -<p>Amid all the concealment or obscurity which prevails -with regard to revenues, it is easy to see that for -some time to come there must be a large amount of -valuable furs on this coast. The bountiful solitudes of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> -the forest and of the adjoining waters have not yet -been exhausted; nor will they be, until civilization has -supplied substitutes. Such, indeed, is part of that humane -law of compensation which contributes to the -general harmony. For the present there will be trappers -on the land, who will turn aside only a little from -prizes there to obtain from the sea its otter, seal, and -walrus. It cannot be irrelevant, and may not be without -interest, if I call attention briefly to those fur-bearing -animals which are about to be brought within -the sphere of republican government. If we cannot -find their exact census, we may at least learn something -of their character and value.</p> - -<p>The comparative poverty of vegetation in the more -northern parts of the continent contrasts with the abundance -of animal life, especially if we embrace those -tenants of the sea who seek the land for rest. These -northern parallels are hardly less productive than the -tropics. The lion, the elephant, and the hippopotamus -find their counterpart in the bear, the walrus, and the -seal, without including the sables and the foxes. Here -again Nature, by unerring law, adapts the animal to the -climate, and in providing him with needful protection -creates also a needful supply for the protection of man; -and this is the secret of rich furs. Under the sun of the -tropics such provision is as little needed by man as by -beast; and therefore Nature, which does nothing inconsistent -with wise economy, reserves it for other places.</p> - -<p>Among the furs most abundant in this commerce -are those of the fox, in its different species and under -its different names. Its numbers were noticed early, -and gave the name to the eastern group of the Aleutians, -which were called Lyssie Ostrowa, or Fox Islands.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> -Some of its furs are among the very precious. The -most plentiful is the red, or, as sometimes called, American; -but this is not highly prized. Then comes the -Arctic, of little value, and of different colors, sometimes -blue, and in full winter dress pure white, whose circumpolar -home is indicated by its name. The cross -fox is less known, but much more sought, from the -fineness of its fur and its color. Its name is derived -from dark cruciform stripes, extending from the head -to the back and at right angles over the shoulders. It -is now recognized to be a variety of the red, from which -it differs more in commercial value than in general -character. The black fox, which is sometimes entirely -of shining black with silver white at the tip of the tail, -is called also the silver fox, when the black hairs of the -body are tipped with white. They are of the same -name in science, sometimes called <i>argentatus</i>, although -there seem to be two different names, if not different -values, in commerce. This variety is more rare than the -cross fox. Not more than four or five are taken during -a season at any one post in the fur countries, although -the hunters use every art for this purpose. The temptation -is great, as we are told that “its fur fetches -six times the price of any other fur produced in North -America.”<a name="FNanchor_156_156" id="FNanchor_156_156"></a><a href="#Footnote_156_156" class="fnanchor">[156]</a> Sir John Richardson, the authority for this -statement, forgot the sea-otter, of which he seems to -have known little. Without doubt, the black fox is -admired for rarity and beauty. La Hontan, the French -commander in Canada under Louis the Fourteenth, -speaks of its fur in his time as worth its weight in -gold.<a name="FNanchor_157_157" id="FNanchor_157_157"></a><a href="#Footnote_157_157" class="fnanchor">[157]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span></p> - -<p>Among the animals whose furs are less regarded are -the wolverene, known in science as <i>Gulo</i>, or glutton, -and called by Buffon the “quadruped vulture,” with a -dark brown fur, becoming black in winter, and resembling -that of the bear, but not so long, nor of so much -value. There is also the lynx, belonging to the feline -race, living north of the Great Lakes and eastward of -the Rocky Mountains, with a fur moderately prized in -commerce. There is also the musk-rat, which is abundant -in Russian America, as it is common on this continent, -whose fur enters largely into the cheaper peltries -of the United States in so many different ways, -and with such various artificial colors that the animal -would not know his own skin.</p> - -<p>Among inferior furs I may include that very respectable -animal, the black bear, reported by Cook “in great -numbers,” and “of a shining black color.”<a name="FNanchor_158_158" id="FNanchor_158_158"></a><a href="#Footnote_158_158" class="fnanchor">[158]</a> The grizzly -bear is less frequent, and is inferior in quality of fur to -all other varieties of the bear. The brown bear is supposed -to be a variety of the black bear. The polar bear, -which at times is a formidable animal, leaving a footprint -in the snow nine inches long, was once said not -to make an appearance west of the Mackenzie River; -but he has been latterly found on Behring Strait, so -that he, too, is included among our new population. -The black bear, in himself a whole population, inhabits -every wooded district from the Atlantic to the Pacific, -and from Carolina to the ice of the Arctic, being -more numerous inland than on the coast. Langsdorff -early remarked that he did not appear on the Aleutians, -but on the continent, about Cook’s Inlet and -Prince William Sound, which are well wooded.<a name="FNanchor_159_159" id="FNanchor_159_159"></a><a href="#Footnote_159_159" class="fnanchor">[159]</a> He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> -has been found even on the Isthmus of Panama. Next -to the dog, he is the most cosmopolitan and perhaps -the most intelligent of animals, and among those of -the forest he is the most known, even to the nursery. -His showy fur once enjoyed great vogue in hammer-cloths -and muffs, and it is still used in military caps -and pistol-holsters; so that he is sometimes called the -Army bear. Latterly the fur has fallen in value. Once -it brought in London from twenty to forty guineas. It -will now hardly bring more than the same number of -shillings.</p> - -<p>The beaver, amphibious and intelligent, has a considerable -place in commerce, and also a notoriety of its -own as the familiar synonym for the common covering -of a man’s head; and here the animal becomes historic. -By royal proclamation, in 1638, Charles the First -of England commanded “that no beaver-makers whatsoever, -from henceforth, shall make any hats or caps -but of pure beaver.”<a name="FNanchor_160_160" id="FNanchor_160_160"></a><a href="#Footnote_160_160" class="fnanchor">[160]</a> This proclamation was the death-warrant -of beavers innumerable, sacrificed to the demands -of the trade. Wherever they existed over a wide -extent of country, in the shelter of forests or in lodges -built by their extraordinary instinct, they were pursued -and arrested in their busy work. The importation of -their skins into Europe during the last century was -enormous, and it continued until one year it is said to -have reached the unaccountable number of 600,000. I -give these figures as I find them. Latterly other materials -have been obtained for hats, so that this fur has -become less valuable. But the animal is still hunted. -A medicine supplied by him, and known as the castoreum, -has a fixed place in the Materia Medica.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span></p> - -<p>The marten is perhaps the most popular of all the -fur-bearing animals belonging to our new possessions. -An inhabitant of the whole wooded region of the northern -part of the continent, he finds a favorite home in -the forests of the Yukon, where he needs his beautiful -fur, which is not much inferior to that of his near -relative, the far-famed Russian sable. In the trade of -the Hudson’s Bay Company the marten occupies the -largest place, his skins for a single district amounting -to more than fifty thousand annually, and being sometimes -sold as sable. The ermine, which is of the same -weasel family, is of little value except for its captivating -name, although its fur finds a way to the English -market in enormous quantities. The mink, also of -the same general family, was once little regarded, but -now, by freak of fashion in our country, this animal -has ascended in value above the beaver, and almost to -the level of the marten. His fur is plentiful on the -Yukon and along the coast. Specimens in the museum -of the Smithsonian Institution attest its occurrence at -Sitka.</p> - -<p>The seal, amphibious, polygamous, and intelligent as -the beaver, has always supplied the largest multitude -of furs to the Russian Company. The early navigators -describe its appearance and numbers. Cook encountered -them constantly. Excellent swimmers, ready -divers, they seek rocks and recesses for repose, where, -though watchful and never sleeping long without moving, -they become the prey of the hunter. Early in -the century there was a wasteful destruction of them. -Young and old, male and female, were indiscriminately -knocked on the head for the sake of their skins. Sir -George Simpson, who saw this improvidence with an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> -experienced eye, says that it was hurtful in two ways: -first, the race was almost exterminated; and, secondly, -the market was glutted sometimes with as many as -two hundred thousand a year, so that prices did not -pay the expense of carriage.<a name="FNanchor_161_161" id="FNanchor_161_161"></a><a href="#Footnote_161_161" class="fnanchor">[161]</a> The Russians were led to -adopt the plan of the Hudson’s Bay Company, killing -only a limited number of males who had attained their -full growth, which can be done easily, from the known -and systematic habits of the animal. Under this economy -seals have multiplied again, vastly increasing the -supply.</p> - -<p>Besides the common seal, there are various species, -differing in appearance, so as to justify different names, -and yet all with a family character,—including the -sea-leopard, so named from his spots, the elephant seal, -from his tusks and proboscis, and the sea-lion, with -teeth, mane, and a thick cylindrical body. These are of -little value, although their skins are occasionally employed. -The skin of the elephant seal is strong, so as -to justify its use in the harness of horses. There is -also the sea-bear, or ursine seal, very numerous in these -waters, whose skin, especially if young, is prized for -clothing. Steller speaks with grateful remembrance of -a garment he made from one, while on the desert island -after the shipwreck of Behring.</p> - -<p>Associated with the seal, and belonging to the same -family, is the walrus, called by the British the sea-horse, -the morse, or the sea-cow, and by the French -<i>bête à la grande dent</i>. His two tusks, rather than his -skin, are the prize of the hunter. Unlike the rest of -the seal family, he is monogamous, and not polygamous. -Cook vividly describes immense herds asleep on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> -ice, with some of their number on guard, and, when -aroused, roaring or braying very loud, while they huddled -and tumbled together like swine.<a name="FNanchor_162_162" id="FNanchor_162_162"></a><a href="#Footnote_162_162" class="fnanchor">[162]</a> At times their -multitude is so great, that, before being aroused, several -hundreds are slaughtered, as game in a park. Their -hide is excellent for carriage-braces, and is useful about -ship. But it is principally for their ivory that these -hecatombs are sacrificed. A single tooth sometimes -weighs several pounds. Twenty thousand teeth, reported -as an annual harvest of the Russian Company, -must cost the lives of ten thousand walruses. The -ivory compares with that of the elephant, and is for -some purposes superior. Long ago, in the days of Saxon -history, a Norwegian at the court of Alfred exhibited -to the king “teeth of great price and excellencie,” -from what he called a “horsewhale.”<a name="FNanchor_163_163" id="FNanchor_163_163"></a><a href="#Footnote_163_163" class="fnanchor">[163]</a> Unquestionably, -they were teeth of walrus.</p> - -<p>I mention the sea-otter last; but in beauty and value -it is the first. In these respects it far surpasses the -river or land otter, which, though beautiful and valuable, -must yield the palm. It has also more the manners -of the seal, with the same fondness for sea-washed -rocks, and a maternal affection almost human. The -sea-otter seems to belong exclusively to the North Pacific. -Its haunts once extended as far south as the -Bay of San Francisco, but long ago it ceased to appear -in that region. Cook saw it at Nootka Sound.<a name="FNanchor_164_164" id="FNanchor_164_164"></a><a href="#Footnote_164_164" class="fnanchor">[164]</a> Vancouver -reports in Chatham Strait an “immense number -about the shores in all directions,” so that “it was -easily in the power of the natives to procure as many -as they chose to be at the trouble of taking.”<a name="FNanchor_165_165" id="FNanchor_165_165"></a><a href="#Footnote_165_165" class="fnanchor">[165]</a> D’Wolf,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> -while at Sitka, projected an expedition to California -“for the purpose of catching sea-otter, those animals -being very numerous on that coast.”<a name="FNanchor_166_166" id="FNanchor_166_166"></a><a href="#Footnote_166_166" class="fnanchor">[166]</a> But these navigators, -could they revisit this coast, would not find it -in these places now. Its present zone is between the -parallels of 50° and 60° north latitude, on the American -and Asiatic coasts, so that its range is comparatively -limited. Evidently it was Cook who first revealed -the sea-otter to Englishmen. In the table of -contents of his second volume are the words, “Description -of a Sea-Otter,” and in the text is a minute account -of this animal, and especially of its incomparable -fur, “certainly softer and finer than that of any others -we know of.” Not content with description, the famous -navigator adds, in remarkable words, “Therefore the discovery -of this part of the continent of North America, -where so valuable an article of commerce may be met -with, cannot be a matter of indifference.”<a name="FNanchor_167_167" id="FNanchor_167_167"></a><a href="#Footnote_167_167" class="fnanchor">[167]</a> This account -stimulated the commercial enterprise of that -day. Other witnesses followed. Meares, describing his -voyage, placed this fur high above all other furs,—“the -finest in the world, and of exceeding beauty”;<a name="FNanchor_168_168" id="FNanchor_168_168"></a><a href="#Footnote_168_168" class="fnanchor">[168]</a> -and La Pérouse made it known in France as “the most -precious and the most common peltry” of those regions.<a name="FNanchor_169_169" id="FNanchor_169_169"></a><a href="#Footnote_169_169" class="fnanchor">[169]</a> -Shortly afterwards all existing information with -regard to it was elaborately set forth in the Historical -Introduction to the Voyage of Marchand, published at -Paris under the auspices of the Institute.<a name="FNanchor_170_170" id="FNanchor_170_170"></a><a href="#Footnote_170_170" class="fnanchor">[170]</a></p> - -<p>The sea-otter was known originally to the Russians -in Kamtchatka, where it was called the sea-beaver; but -the discoveries of Behring constitute an epoch in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> -commerce. His shipwrecked crew, compelled to winter -on the desert island now bearing his name, found -this animal in flocks, ignorant of men and innocent as -sheep, so that they were slaughtered without resistance, -to the number of “near nine hundred.”<a name="FNanchor_171_171" id="FNanchor_171_171"></a><a href="#Footnote_171_171" class="fnanchor">[171]</a> Their value -became known. Fabulous prices were paid by the Chinese, -sometimes, according to Coxe, as high as one hundred -and forty rubles.<a name="FNanchor_172_172" id="FNanchor_172_172"></a><a href="#Footnote_172_172" class="fnanchor">[172]</a> At such a price a single sea-otter -was more than five ounces of gold, and a flock -was a gold mine. The pursuit of gold was renewed. -It was the sea-otter that tempted the navigator, and -subsequent enterprise was under the incentive of obtaining -the precious fur. Müller, calling him a beaver, -says, in his history of Russian Discovery, “The catching -of beavers in those parts enticed many people to go -to them, and they never returned without great quantities, -which always produced large profits.”<a name="FNanchor_173_173" id="FNanchor_173_173"></a><a href="#Footnote_173_173" class="fnanchor">[173]</a> All that -could be obtained were sent to China, which was the -objective point commercially for this whole coast. The -trade became a fury. The animal, with exquisite purple-black -fur, appeared only to be killed,—not always -without effort, for he had learned something of his -huntsman, and was now coy and watchful, so that the -pursuit was often an effort; but his capture was always -a triumph. The natives, accustomed to his furs -as clothing, now surrendered them. Sometimes a few -beads were the only pay. All the navigators speak of -the unequal barter,—“any sort of beads,” according to -Cook.<a name="FNanchor_174_174" id="FNanchor_174_174"></a><a href="#Footnote_174_174" class="fnanchor">[174]</a> The story is best told by Meares: “Such as -were dressed in furs instantly stripped themselves, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> -in return for a moderate quantity of large spike-nails -we received sixty fine sea-otter skins.”<a name="FNanchor_175_175" id="FNanchor_175_175"></a><a href="#Footnote_175_175" class="fnanchor">[175]</a> Vancouver describes -the “humble fashion” of the natives in poor -skins as a substitute for the beautiful furs appropriated -by “their Russian friends.”<a name="FNanchor_176_176" id="FNanchor_176_176"></a><a href="#Footnote_176_176" class="fnanchor">[176]</a> The picture is completed -by the Russian navigator, when he confesses, that, after -the Russians had any intercourse with them, the natives -ceased to wear sea-otter skins.<a name="FNanchor_177_177" id="FNanchor_177_177"></a><a href="#Footnote_177_177" class="fnanchor">[177]</a> In the growing -rage the sea-otter nearly disappeared. Langsdorff reports -the race “nearly extirpated,” since “the high price -given for the skins induces the Russians, for the sake -of a momentary advantage, to kill all they meet with, -both old and young; nor can they see that by such a -procedure they must soon be deprived of the trade entirely.”<a name="FNanchor_178_178" id="FNanchor_178_178"></a><a href="#Footnote_178_178" class="fnanchor">[178]</a> -This was in 1805. Since then the indiscriminate -massacre has been arrested.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile our countrymen entered into this commerce, -so that Russians, Englishmen, and Americans -were all engaged in slaughtering sea-otters, and selling -their furs to the Chinese, until the market of Canton -was glutted. Lisiansky, who was there in 1806, -speaks of “immense quantities imported by American -ships,—during the present season no less than twenty -thousand.”<a name="FNanchor_179_179" id="FNanchor_179_179"></a><a href="#Footnote_179_179" class="fnanchor">[179]</a> By-and-by the commerce was engrossed -by the Russians and English. At length it passes into -the hands of the United States, with all the other prerogatives -belonging to this territory.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>7. <i>Fisheries.</i>—I come now to the Fisheries, the last -head of this inquiry, and not inferior to any other in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> -importance,—perhaps the most important of all. What -even are sea-otter skins, by the side of that product of -the sea, incalculable in amount, which contributes to -the sustenance of the human family?</p> - -<p>Here, as elsewhere, in the endeavor to estimate the -resources of this region, there is vagueness and uncertainty. -Information is wanting; and yet we are not -entirely ignorant. Nothing is clearer than that fish in -great abundance are taken everywhere on the coast, -around the islands, in the bays, and throughout the adjacent -seas. The evidence is constant and complete. -Here are oysters, clams, crabs, and a dainty little fish -of the herring tribe, called the oolachan, contributing -to the luxury of the table, and so rich in its oily nature -that the natives are said to use it sometimes as -a “candle.” In addition to these, which I name only -to put aside, are those great staples of commerce and -main-stays of daily subsistence, the salmon, the herring, -the halibut, the cod, and, behind all, the whale. This -short list is enough, for it offers a constant feast, with -the whale at hand for light. Here is the best that the -sea affords, for poor or rich,—for daily use, or the fast-days -of the Church. Here also is a sure support, at -least, to the inhabitants of the coast.</p> - -<p>To determine the value of this supply, we must go -further, and ascertain if these various tribes of fish, -reputed to be in such numbers, are found under such -conditions and in such places as to constitute a permanent -and profitable fishery. This is the practical -question, which is still undecided. It is not enough -to show that the whole coast may be subsisted by its -fish. It should be shown further that the fish of this -coast can be made to subsist other places, so as to become<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> -a valuable article of commerce. And here uncertainty -begins. The proper conditions of an extensive -fishery are not yet understood. It is known that -certain fisheries exist in certain waters and on certain -soundings, but the spaces of ocean are obscure, even to -the penetrating eye of science. Fishing-banks known -for ages are still in many respects a mystery, which -is increased where the fishery is recent or only coastwise. -There are other banks which fail from local -incidents. Thus, very lately a cod-fishery was commenced -on Rockall Bank, one hundred and sixty-five -miles northwest of the Hebrides, but the deep rolling -of the Atlantic and the intolerable weather compelled -its abandonment.</p> - -<p>Before considering the capacity of this region for an -extensive fishery, it is important to know such evidence -as exists with regard to the supply; and here again we -must resort to the early navigators and visitors. Their -evidence, reinforced by modern reports, is an essential -element, even if it does not entirely determine the question.</p> - -<p>Down to the arrival of Europeans, the natives lived -on fish. This had been their constant food, with small -additions from the wild vegetation. In summer it was -fish freshly caught; in winter it was fish dried or preserved. -At the first landing, on the discovery, Steller -found in the deserted cellar “store of red salmon,” -and the sailors brought away “smoked fishes that appeared -like large carp and tasted very well.”<a name="FNanchor_180_180" id="FNanchor_180_180"></a><a href="#Footnote_180_180" class="fnanchor">[180]</a> This is -the earliest notice of fish on this coast, which are thus -directly associated with its discovery. The next of interest -is the account of a Russian navigator, in 1768-9,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> -who reports at the Fox Islands, and especially Oonalaska, -“cod, perch, pilchards, smelts, roach.”<a name="FNanchor_181_181" id="FNanchor_181_181"></a><a href="#Footnote_181_181" class="fnanchor">[181]</a> Thus -early the cod appears.</p> - -<p>Repairing to Cook’s Voyage, we find the accustomed -instruction; and here I shall quote with all possible -brevity. At Nootka Sound he finds fish “more plentiful -than birds,” of which the principal sorts, in great -numbers, are “the common herring, but scarcely exceeding -seven inches in length, and a smaller sort, the -same with the anchovy or sardine,” and now and then -“a small brownish cod spotted with white.”<a name="FNanchor_182_182" id="FNanchor_182_182"></a><a href="#Footnote_182_182" class="fnanchor">[182]</a> Then -again he reports at the same place “herrings and sardines, -and small cod,”—the former “not only eaten -fresh, but likewise dried and smoked.”<a name="FNanchor_183_183" id="FNanchor_183_183"></a><a href="#Footnote_183_183" class="fnanchor">[183]</a> In Prince -William Sound “the only fish got were some torsk and -halibut, chiefly brought by the natives to sell.”<a name="FNanchor_184_184" id="FNanchor_184_184"></a><a href="#Footnote_184_184" class="fnanchor">[184]</a> Near -Kadiak he records, that, “having three hours’ calm, -our people caught upward of a hundred halibuts, some -of which weighed a hundred pounds, and none less -than twenty pounds,”—and he adds, naturally enough, -“a very seasonable refreshment to us.”<a name="FNanchor_185_185" id="FNanchor_185_185"></a><a href="#Footnote_185_185" class="fnanchor">[185]</a> In Bristol -Bay, on the northern side of the promontory of Alaska, -he reports “tolerable success in fishing, catching cod, -and now and then a few flat-fish.”<a name="FNanchor_186_186" id="FNanchor_186_186"></a><a href="#Footnote_186_186" class="fnanchor">[186]</a> In Norton Sound, -still further north, he tells us, that, in exchange for -four knives made from an old iron hoop, he obtained -of the natives “near four hundred pounds weight of -fish, which they had caught on this or the preceding -day,—some trout, and the rest in size and taste somewhat -between a mullet and a herring.”<a name="FNanchor_187_187" id="FNanchor_187_187"></a><a href="#Footnote_187_187" class="fnanchor">[187]</a> On returning<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> -southward, stopping at Oonalaska, he finds “plenty of -fish, at first mostly salmon, both fresh and dried,—some -of the fresh salmon in high perfection”; also -“salmon trout, and once a halibut that weighed two -hundred and fifty-four pounds”; and in describing the -habits of the islanders, he reports that “they dry large -quantities of fish in summer, which they lay up in -small huts for winter use.”<a name="FNanchor_188_188" id="FNanchor_188_188"></a><a href="#Footnote_188_188" class="fnanchor">[188]</a> Such is the testimony of -Captain Cook.</p> - -<p>No experience on the coast is more instructive than -that of Portlock, and from his report I compile a succinct -diary. July 20, 1786, at Graham’s Harbor, Cook’s -Inlet, “The Russian chief brought me as a present a -quantity of fine salmon, sufficient to serve both ships -for one day.” July 21, “In several hauls caught about -thirty salmon and a few flat-fish”; also, further, “The -Russian settlement had on one side a small lake of -fresh water, in which they catch plenty of fine salmon.” -July 22, “The boat returned deeply loaded with -fine salmon.” July 28, latitude 60° 9´, “Two small canoes -came off from the shore; they had nothing to barter -except a few dried salmon.” July 30, “Plenty of -excellent fresh salmon, which we obtained for beads and -buttons.” August 5, “Plenty of fine salmon.” August -9, “The greatest abundance of fine salmon.” August -13, off the entrance of Cook’s Inlet, “Hereabouts would -be a most desirable situation for carrying on a whale -fishery, the whales being on the coast and close in -shore in vast numbers, and there being convenient and -excellent harbors quite handy for the business.”<a name="FNanchor_189_189" id="FNanchor_189_189"></a><a href="#Footnote_189_189" class="fnanchor">[189]</a> Soon -after these entries the English navigator left the coast -for the Sandwich Islands.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span></p> - -<p>Returning during the next year, Portlock continued -to record his observations, which I abstract in brief. -May 21, 1787, Port Etches, latitude 60° 21´, “The harbor -affords very fine crabs and muscles.” June 4, “A -few Indians came alongside, bringing some halibut and -cod.” June 20, “Plenty of flounders; crabs now very -fine; some of the people, in fishing alongside for flounders, -caught several cod and halibut.” June 22, “Sent -the canoe out some distance into the bay, and it soon -returned with a load of fine halibut and cod; this success -induced me to send her out frequently with a fishing -party, and they caught considerably more than what -was sufficient for daily consumption.” June 30, “In -hauling the seine, we caught a large quantity of herrings -and some salmon; the herrings, though small, were very -good, and two hogsheads of them were salted for sea-store.” -July 7, “We daily caught large quantities of -salmon, but, the unsettled state of the weather not permitting -us to cure them on board, I sent the boatswain -with a party on shore to build a kind of house to smoke -them in.” July 11, “The seine was frequently hauled, -and not less than two thousand salmon were caught at -each haul; the weather, however, preventing us from -curing them so well as could have been wished, we -kept only a sufficient quantity for present use, and let -the rest escape. The salmon were now in such numbers -along the shores that any quantity whatever might -be caught with the greatest ease.”<a name="FNanchor_190_190" id="FNanchor_190_190"></a><a href="#Footnote_190_190" class="fnanchor">[190]</a> All this testimony -of the English navigator is singularly explicit, while it -is in complete harmony with that of the Russian visitors, -and of Cook, who preceded Portlock.</p> - -<p>The report of Meares is similar, although less minute.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> -Speaking of the natives generally, he says, “They live -entirely upon fish, but of all others they prefer the -whale.”<a name="FNanchor_191_191" id="FNanchor_191_191"></a><a href="#Footnote_191_191" class="fnanchor">[191]</a> Then again, going into more detail, he says, -“Vast quantities of fish are to be found, both on the -coast and in the sounds or harbors. Among these are -the halibut, herring, sardine, silver-bream, salmon, trout, -cod, … all of which we have seen in the possession -of the natives, or have been caught by ourselves.” The -sardines he describes as taken in such numbers “that -a whole village has not been able to cleanse them.” -At Nootka the salmon was “of a very delicate flavor,” -and “the cod taken by the natives were of the best -quality.”<a name="FNanchor_192_192" id="FNanchor_192_192"></a><a href="#Footnote_192_192" class="fnanchor">[192]</a></p> - -<p>Spanish and French testimony is not wanting, although -less precise. Maurelle, who was on the coast -in 1779, remarks that “the fish most abundant was the -salmon and a species of sole or turbot.”<a name="FNanchor_193_193" id="FNanchor_193_193"></a><a href="#Footnote_193_193" class="fnanchor">[193]</a> La Pérouse, -who was there in 1786, mentions a large fish weighing -sometimes more than a hundred pounds, and several -other fish; but he preferred “the salmon and trout, -which the Indians sold in larger numbers than could -be consumed.”<a name="FNanchor_194_194" id="FNanchor_194_194"></a><a href="#Footnote_194_194" class="fnanchor">[194]</a> A similar report was made in 1791 -by Marchand, who finds the sea and rivers abounding -in “excellent fish,” particularly salmon and trout.<a name="FNanchor_195_195" id="FNanchor_195_195"></a><a href="#Footnote_195_195" class="fnanchor">[195]</a></p> - -<p>Meanwhile came the Russian navigator Billings, in -1790; and here we have a similar report, only different -in form. Describing the natives of Oonalaska, the -book in which this visit is recorded says, “They dry -salmon, cod, and halibut, for a winter’s supply.”<a name="FNanchor_196_196" id="FNanchor_196_196"></a><a href="#Footnote_196_196" class="fnanchor">[196]</a> At -Kadiak it says, “Whales are in amazing numbers about<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> -the straits of the islands and in the vicinity of Kadiak.” -Then the reporter, who was the naturalist Sauer, says, -“I observed the same species of salmon here as at -Okhotsk, and saw crabs.” Again, “The halibuts in -these seas are extremely large, some weighing seventeen -poods, or six hundred and twelve pounds avoirdupois.… -The liver of this fish, as also of cod, the -natives esteem unhealthy and never eat, but extract -the oil from them.”<a name="FNanchor_197_197" id="FNanchor_197_197"></a><a href="#Footnote_197_197" class="fnanchor">[197]</a> Then, returning to Oonalaska the -next year, the naturalist says, “The other fish are halibut, -cod, two or three species of salmon, and sometimes -a species of salmon very common in Kamtchatka, between -four and five feet long.”<a name="FNanchor_198_198" id="FNanchor_198_198"></a><a href="#Footnote_198_198" class="fnanchor">[198]</a></p> - -<p>From Lisiansky, the Russian navigator, who was on -the coast in 1804, and again in 1805, I take two passages. -The first relates to the fish of Sitka. “For some -time,” he says, “we had been able to catch no fish but -the halibut. Those of this species, however, which we -caught were fine, some of them weighing eighteen stone, -and were of an excellent flavor. This fish abounds here -from March to November, when it retires from the -coast till the winter is at an end.”<a name="FNanchor_199_199" id="FNanchor_199_199"></a><a href="#Footnote_199_199" class="fnanchor">[199]</a> The other passage -relates to the subsistence of the inhabitants during the -winter. “They live,” he says, “on dried salmon, train -oil, and the spawn of fish, especially that of herrings, -of which they always lay in a good stock.”<a name="FNanchor_200_200" id="FNanchor_200_200"></a><a href="#Footnote_200_200" class="fnanchor">[200]</a></p> - -<p>Langsdorff, who was there in 1805-6, is more full -and explicit. Of Oonalaska he says: “The principal -food consists of fish, sea-dogs, and the flesh of whales. -Among the fish, the most common and most abundant -are several sorts of salmon, cod, herrings, and holybutt.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> -The holybutts, which are the sort held in the highest -esteem, are sometimes of an enormous size, weighing -even several hundred pounds.”<a name="FNanchor_201_201" id="FNanchor_201_201"></a><a href="#Footnote_201_201" class="fnanchor">[201]</a> Of Kadiak he -says: “The most common fish, those which, fresh and -dry, constitute a principal article of food, are herrings, -cod, holybutt, and several sorts of salmon; the latter -come up into the bays and rivers at stated seasons and -months, and are then taken in prodigious numbers by -means of nets or dams.”<a name="FNanchor_202_202" id="FNanchor_202_202"></a><a href="#Footnote_202_202" class="fnanchor">[202]</a> Of Sitka he says: “We have -several sorts of salmon, holybutt, whitings, cod, and herrings.”<a name="FNanchor_203_203" id="FNanchor_203_203"></a><a href="#Footnote_203_203" class="fnanchor">[203]</a> -A goodly variety. The testimony of Langsdorff -is confirmed in general terms by his contemporary, -D’Wolf, who reports: “The waters of the neighborhood -abounded with numerous and choice varieties -of the finny tribe, which could be taken at all seasons -of the year.”<a name="FNanchor_204_204" id="FNanchor_204_204"></a><a href="#Footnote_204_204" class="fnanchor">[204]</a></p> - -<p>Lütke, also a Russian, tells us that he found fish the -standing dish at Sitka, from the humblest servant to -the governor; and he mentions salmon, herring, cod, and -turbot. Of salmon there were no less than four kinds, -which were eaten fresh when possible, but after June -they were sent to the fortress salted. The herring appeared -in February and March. The cod and turbot -were caught in the straits during winter.<a name="FNanchor_205_205" id="FNanchor_205_205"></a><a href="#Footnote_205_205" class="fnanchor">[205]</a> Lütke also -reports “fresh cod” at Kadiak.<a name="FNanchor_206_206" id="FNanchor_206_206"></a><a href="#Footnote_206_206" class="fnanchor">[206]</a></p> - -<p>I close this abstract of foreign testimony with two -English authorities often quoted. Sir Edward Belcher, -while on the coast in 1837, records that “fish, halibut, -and salmon of two kinds, were abundant and moderate, -of which the crews purchased and cured great<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> -quantities.”<a name="FNanchor_207_207" id="FNanchor_207_207"></a><a href="#Footnote_207_207" class="fnanchor">[207]</a> Sir George Simpson, who was at Sitka in 1841, -says: “Halibut, cod, herrings, flounders, and many other -sorts of fish, are always to be had for the taking, in -unlimited quantities.… Salmon have been known literally -to embarrass the movements of a canoe. About -100,000 of the last-mentioned fish, equivalent to 1,500 -barrels, are annually salted for the use of the establishment.”<a name="FNanchor_208_208" id="FNanchor_208_208"></a><a href="#Footnote_208_208" class="fnanchor">[208]</a> -Nothing could be stronger as statement, and, -when we consider the character of its author, nothing -stronger as authority.</p> - -<p>Cumulative upon all this accumulation of testimony -is that of recent visitors. Nobody visits here without -testifying. The fish are so demonstrative in abundance -that all remark it. Officers of the United States navy -report the same fish substantially which Cook reported, -as far north as the Frozen Ocean. Scientific explorers, -prompted by the Smithsonian Institution, report cod -in Behring Strait, on the limits of the Arctic Circle. -One of these reports, that, while anchored near Oonimak, -in 1865, the ship, with a couple of lines, caught -“a great many fine cod, most of them between two -and three feet in length.” He supposes that there is -no place on the coast where they are not numerous. -A citizen of Massachusetts, who has recently returned -from prolonged residence on this coast, writes me from -Boston, under date of March 8, 1867, that “the whale -and cod fisheries of the North Pacific are destined to -form a very important element in the wealth of California -and Washington Territory, and that already -numbers of fishermen are engaged there, and more are -intending to leave.” From all this testimony there can<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> -be but one conclusion, with regard at least to certain -kinds of fish.</p> - -<p>Salmon exists in unequalled numbers, so that this -fish, so aristocratic elsewhere, becomes common. Not -merely the prize of epicures, it is the food of all. Not -merely the pastime of gentle natures, like Izaak Walton -or Sir Humphry Davy, who employ in its pursuit -an elegant leisure, its capture is the daily reward of the -humblest. On Vancouver’s Island it is the constant -ration given out by the Hudson’s Bay Company to the -men in service. At Sitka ships are gratuitously supplied -with it by the natives. By the side of the incalculable -multitudes swarming out of the Arctic waters, -haunting this extended coast, and peopling its rivers, -so that at a single haul Portlock took not less than two -thousand, how small an allowance are the two hundred -thousand which the salmon fisheries of England annually -supply!</p> - -<p>Herring seem not less multitudinous than the salmon. -Their name, derived from the German <i>Heer</i>, signifying -an army, is amply verified, as on the coast of -Norway they move in such hosts that a boat at times -makes its way with difficulty through the compact -mass. I do not speak at a venture, for I have received -this incident from a scientific gentleman who witnessed -it on the coast. This fish, less aristocratic than the -salmon, is a universal food, but here it would seem -enough for all.</p> - -<p>The halibut, so often mentioned for size and abundance, -is less generally known than the others. It is -common in the fisheries of Norway, Iceland, and Greenland. -In our country its reputation is local. Even at -the seaport of Norfolk, in Virginia, it does not appear<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> -to have been known before 1843, when its arrival was -announced as that of a distinguished stranger: “Our -market yesterday morning was enriched with a delicacy -from the Northern waters, the halibut, a strange -fish in these parts, known only to epicures and naturalists.” -The larger fish are sometimes coarse and far -from delicate, but they furnish a substantial meal, while -the smaller halibut is much liked.</p> - -<p>The cod is perhaps the most generally diffused and -abundant of all, for it swims in all the waters of the -coast, from the Frozen Ocean to the southern limit, -sometimes in immense numbers. It is a popular fish, -and, when cured or salted, is an excellent food in all -parts of the world. Palatable, digestible, and nutritious, -the cod, as compared with other fish, is as beef -compared with other meats; so that its incalculable -multitudes seem to be according to a wise economy of -Nature. A female cod is estimated to contain from three -to nine million eggs.<a name="FNanchor_209_209" id="FNanchor_209_209"></a><a href="#Footnote_209_209" class="fnanchor">[209]</a> Talk of multiplication a hundred -fold,—here it is to infinity. Imagine these millions -of eggs grown into fish, and then the process of -reproduction repeated, and you have numbers which, -like astronomical distances, are beyond human conception. -But here the ravenous powers of other fish are -more destructive than any efforts of the fisherman.</p> - -<p>Behind all these is the whale, whose corporal dimensions -fitly represent the space he occupies in the fisheries -of the world, hardly diminished by petroleum or -gas. On this extended coast and in all these seas he -is at home. Here is his retreat and play-ground. This -is especially the case with the right-whale, or, according<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> -to whalers, “the <em>right</em> whale to catch,” with bountiful -supply of oil and bone, who is everywhere throughout -this region, appearing at all points and swarming -its waters. D’Wolf says, “We were frequently surrounded -by them.”<a name="FNanchor_210_210" id="FNanchor_210_210"></a><a href="#Footnote_210_210" class="fnanchor">[210]</a> Meares says, “Abundant as the -whales may be in the vicinity of Nootka, they bear no -comparison to the numbers seen on the northern part -of the coast.”<a name="FNanchor_211_211" id="FNanchor_211_211"></a><a href="#Footnote_211_211" class="fnanchor">[211]</a> At times they are very large. Kotzebue -reports them at Oonalaska of fabulous proportions, -called by the natives <i>Aliamak</i>, and so long “that the -people engaged at the opposite ends of the fish must -halloo very loud to be able to understand each other.”<a name="FNanchor_212_212" id="FNanchor_212_212"></a><a href="#Footnote_212_212" class="fnanchor">[212]</a> -Another whale, known as the bow-head, is so much -about Kadiak that it is sometimes called the Kadiak -whale. The valuable sperm-whale, whose head and -hunch are so productive in spermaceti, belongs to a -milder sea, but he sometimes strays to the Aleutians. -The narwhal, with his long tusk of ivory, out of which -was made the famous throne of the early Danish kings, -belongs to the Frozen Ocean; but he, too, strays into -the straits below. As no sea is now <i>mare clausum</i>, -all these may be pursued by a ship under any flag, -except directly on the coast and within its territorial -limit. And yet the possession of this coast as a commercial -base must necessarily give to its people peculiar -advantages in the pursuit. What is done now -under difficulties will be done then with facilities, such -at least as neighborhood supplied to the natives even -with their small craft.</p> - -<p>In our country the whale fishery has been a great -and prosperous commerce, counted by millions. It has<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> -yielded considerable gains, and sometimes large fortunes. -The town of New Bedford, one of the most beautiful -in the world, has been enriched by this fishery. And -yet you cannot fail to remark the impediments which -the business has been compelled to overcome. The -ship was fitted on the Atlantic coast for a voyage of -two or three years, and all the crew entered into partnership -with regard to the oil. Traversing two oceans, -separated by a stormy cape, it reaches at last its distant -destination in these northern seas, and commences -its tardy work, interrupted by occasional rest and opportunity -to refit at the Sandwich Islands. This now -will be changed, as the ship sallies forth from friendly -harbors near the game which is its mighty chase.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>From the whale fishery I turn to another branch -of inquiry. Undoubtedly there are infinite numbers -of fish on the coast; but to determine whether they -can constitute a permanent and profitable fishery, there -are at least three different considerations which must -not be disregarded: (1.) The existence of banks or -soundings; (2.) Proper climatic conditions for catching -and curing fish; (3.) A market.</p> - -<p>(1.) The <i>necessity of banks or soundings</i> is according -to reason. Fish are not caught in the deep ocean. It -is their nature to seek the bottom, where they are found -in some way by the fisherman, armed with trawl, seine, -or hook. As among the ancient Romans private luxury -provided tanks and ponds for the preservation of -fish, so Nature provides banks, which are immense fish-preserves. -Soundings attest their existence in a margin -along the coast; but it becomes important to know if -they actually exist to much extent away from the coast.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span> -On this point our information is already considerable, if -not decisive.</p> - -<p>The Sea and Strait of Behring, as far as the Frozen -Ocean, have been surveyed by a naval expedition of the -United States under Commander John Rodgers. From -one of his charts, now before me, it appears, that, beginning -at the Frozen Ocean and descending through Behring -Strait and Behring Sea, embracing Kotzebue Sound, -Norton Bay, and Bristol Bay, to the peninsula of Alaska, -a distance of more than twelve degrees, there are -constant uninterrupted soundings from twenty to fifty -fathoms,—thus presenting an immense extent proper -for fishery. South of the peninsula of Alaska another -chart shows soundings along the coast, with a considerable -extent of bank in the neighborhood of the Shumagins -and Kadiak, being precisely where other evidence -points to the existence of cod. These banks, north and -south of Alaska, taken together, according to indications -of the two charts, have an extent unsurpassed by -any in the world.</p> - -<p>There is another illustration full of instruction. It -is a map of the world, in the new work of Murray on -“The Geographical Distribution of Mammals,” “showing -approximately the one hundred fathom line of -soundings,” prepared from information furnished by the -Hydrographic Department of the British Admiralty. -Here are all the soundings of the world. At a glance -you discern the remarkable line on the Pacific coast, -beginning at 40° of north latitude, and constantly receding -from the shore in a northwesterly direction; -then, with a gentle sweep, stretching from Sitka to the -Aleutians, which it envelops with a wide margin; and, -finally, embracing and covering Behring Strait to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> -Frozen Ocean: the whole space, as indicated on the -map, seeming like an immense unbroken sea-meadow -adjoining the land, and constituting plainly the largest -extent of soundings in length and breadth in the known -world,—larger even than those of Newfoundland added -to those of Great Britain. This map, prepared by scientific -authority, in the interest of science, is an unimpeachable -and disinterested witness.</p> - -<p>Actual experience is better authority still. I learn -that the people of California have already found cod-banks -in these seas, and have begun to gather a harvest. -Distance was no impediment; for they were already -accustomed to the Sea of Okhotsk, on the Asiatic coast. -In 1866 no less than seventeen vessels left San Francisco -for cod-fishery in the latter region. This was a -long voyage, requiring eighty days in going and returning. -On the way better grounds were discovered among -the Aleutians, with better fish; and then again, other -fishing-grounds, better in every way, were discovered -south of Alaska, in the neighborhood of the Shumagins, -with an excellent harbor at hand. Here one vessel -began its work on the 14th of May, and, notwithstanding -stormy weather, finished it on the 24th of July, -having taken 52,000 fish. The largest catch in a single -day was 2,300. The average weight of the fish dried -was three pounds. Old fishermen compared the fish in -quality and method of taking with those of Newfoundland. -Large profits are anticipated. While fish from -the Atlantic side bring at San Francisco not less than -twelve cents a pound, it is supposed that Shumagin -fish at only eight cents a pound will yield a better return -than the coasting-trade. These flattering reports -have arrested the attention of Petermann, the indefatigable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> -geographical observer, who recounts them in his -journal.<a name="FNanchor_213_213" id="FNanchor_213_213"></a><a href="#Footnote_213_213" class="fnanchor">[213]</a></p> - -<p>From an opposite quarter is other confirmation. Here -is a letter, which I have just received from Charles -Bryant, Esq., at present a member of the Massachusetts -Legislature, but for eighteen years acquainted with these -seas, where he was engaged in the whale fishery. After -mentioning the timber at certain places as a reason for -the acquisition of these possessions, he says:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“But the chiefest value—and this alone is worth more -than the pittance asked for it—consists in its extensive cod -and halibut fish-grounds. To the eastward of Kadiak, or the -Aleutian Islands, are extensive banks, or shoals, nearly, if -not quite, equal in extent to those of Newfoundland, and -as well stocked with fish. Also west of the Aleutian Islands, -which extend from Alaska southwest half-way to Kamtchatka, -and inclosing that part of land laid down as Bristol Bay, -and west of it, is an extensive area of sea, varying from forty -fathoms in depth to twenty, where I have found the supply -of codfish and halibut unfailing. These islands furnish good -harbors for curing and preparing fish, as well as shelter in -storm.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>In another letter Mr. Bryant says that the shoals east -of the entrance to Cook’s Inlet widen as they extend -southward to latitude 50°; and that there are also large -shoals south of Prince William Sound, and again off -Cross Sound and Sitka. The retired ship-master adds, -that he never examined these shoals to ascertain their -exact limit, but only incidentally, in the course of his -regular business, that he might know when and where -to obtain fish, if he wished them. His report goes beyond -any chart of soundings I have seen, although, as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> -far as they go, the charts are coincident. Cook particularly -notices soundings in Bristol Bay, and in various -places along the coast. Other navigators have done the -same. Careful surveys have accomplished so much that -at this time the bottom of Behring Sea and of Behring -Strait, as far as the Frozen Ocean, constituting one immense -bank, is completely known in depth and character.</p> - -<p>Add to all this the official report of Mr. Giddings, acting -surveyor-general of Washington Territory, made to -the Secretary of the Interior in 1865, where he says:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Along the coast, between Cape Flattery and Sitka, in -the Russian possessions, both cod and halibut are very plenty, -and of a much larger size than those taken at the Cape, or -further up the Straits and Sound. No one, who knows these -facts, for a moment doubts but that, if vessels similar to those -used by the Bank fishermen that sail from Massachusetts and -Maine were fitted out here, and were to fish on <em>the various -banks along this coast</em>, it would even now be a most lucrative -business.… The cod and halibut on this coast, up near -Sitka, are fully equal to the largest taken in the Eastern -waters.”<a name="FNanchor_214_214" id="FNanchor_214_214"></a><a href="#Footnote_214_214" class="fnanchor">[214]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>From this concurring evidence, including charts and -personal experience, it is easy to see that the first condition -of a considerable fishery is not wanting.</p> - -<p>(2.) <i>Climatic conditions</i> must exist also. The proverbial -hardihood of fishermen has limits. Elsewhere -weather and storm have compelled the abandonment of -banks which promised to be profitable. On a portion -of this coast there can be no such rigors. South of -Alaska and the Aleutians, and also in Bristol Bay, immediately<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> -to the north of the peninsula of Alaska, the -fishing-grounds will compare in temperature with those -of Newfoundland or Norway. It is more important to -know if the fish, when taken, can be properly cured. -This is one of the privileges of northern skies. Within -the tropics fish may be taken in abundance, but the -constant sun does not allow their preservation. The -constant rains of Sitka, with only a few bright days -in the year, must prevent the work of curing on any -considerable scale. But the navigators make frequent -mention of dry or preserved fish on the coast, and it is -understood that fish are now cured at Kadiak. “Dried -fish” from this island is described by D’Wolf.<a name="FNanchor_215_215" id="FNanchor_215_215"></a><a href="#Footnote_215_215" class="fnanchor">[215]</a> For a -long time it was customary there to dry seal flesh in -the air, which could not be done on the main-land. -Thus the opportunity of curing the fish seems to exist -near the very banks where they are taken, or Fuca -Straits may be a “half-way house” for this purpose. -The California fishermen carry their fish home to be -cured, in which they imitate the fishermen of Gloucester. -As the yearly fishing product of this port is larger -than that of any other in North America, perhaps in -the world, this example cannot be without weight.</p> - -<p>(3.) The <i>market</i> also is of prime necessity. Fish are -not caught and cured except for a market. Besides -the extended coast, where an immediate demand must -always prevail in proportion to increasing population, -there is an existing market in California, amply attested -by long voyages to Kamtchatka for fish, and by recent -attempts to find fishing-grounds. San Francisco at one -time took from Okhotsk nine hundred tons of fish, being -about one eighth of the yearly fishing product of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> -Gloucester. Her fishing-vessels last year brought home -from all quarters fifteen hundred tons of dried fish and -ten thousand gallons of cod-liver oil. There is also -a growing market in Washington and Oregon. But -beyond the domestic market, spreading from the coast -into the interior, there will be a foreign market of no -limited amount. Mexico, Central America, and the -States of South America, all Catholic in religion, will -require this subsistence, and, being southern in climate, -they must look northward for a supply. The two best -customers of our Atlantic fisheries are Hayti and Cuba, -Catholic countries under a southern sun. The fishermen -of Massachusetts began at an early day to send -cod to Portugal, Spain, and Italy, all Catholic countries -under a southern sun. Our “salt fish” became popular. -The Portuguese minister at London in 1785, in a conference -with Mr. Adams on a commercial treaty with -the United States, mentioned “salt fish” among the -objects most needed in his country, and added, that -“the consumption of this article in Portugal was immense, -and he would avow that the American salt fish -was preferred to any other, on account of its quality.”<a name="FNanchor_216_216" id="FNanchor_216_216"></a><a href="#Footnote_216_216" class="fnanchor">[216]</a> -Such facts are more than curious.</p> - -<p>But more important than the Pacific States of the -American continent are the great empires of Japan and -China, with uncounted populations depending much on -fish. In China one tenth subsist on fish. Notwithstanding -the considerable supplies at home, it does not -seem impossible for an energetic and commercial people -to find a market here of inconceivable magnitude, -dwarfing the original fur-trade with China, once so -tempting.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span></p> - -<p>From this survey you can all judge the question of -the fisheries, which I only state, without assuming to -determine. You can judge if well-stocked fishing-banks -have been found under such conditions of climate and -market as to supply a new and important fishery. Already -the people of California have anticipated the -answer, and their enterprise has arrested attention in -Europe. The journal of Petermann, the “Geographische -Mittheilungen,” for the present year, which is the authentic -German record of geographical science, borrows -from a San Francisco paper to announce these successful -voyages as the beginning of a new commerce. If -this be so, as there is reason to believe, these coasts -and seas will have unprecedented value. The future -only can disclose the form they may take. They may -be a Newfoundland, a Norway, a Scotland, or perhaps -a New England, with another Gloucester and another -New Bedford.</p> - -<h4>INFLUENCE OF FISHERIES.</h4> - -<p>An eminent French writer, an enthusiast on fishes, -Lacepède, has depicted the influence of fisheries, which -he illustrates by the herring, calling it “one of those -natural products whose use decides the destiny of empires.”<a name="FNanchor_217_217" id="FNanchor_217_217"></a><a href="#Footnote_217_217" class="fnanchor">[217]</a> -Without adopting these strong words, it is -easy to see that such fisheries as seem about to be -opened on the Pacific must exercise a wonderful influence -over the population there, while they give a new -spring to commerce, and enlarge the national resources. -In these aspects it is impossible to exaggerate. Fishermen -are not as other men. They have a character -of their own, taking complexion from their life. In<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> -ancient Rome they had a peculiar holiday, with games, -known as <i>Piscatorii Ludi</i>. The first among us in this -pursuit were the Pilgrims, who, even before they left -Leyden, looked to fishing for support in their new home, -giving occasion to the remark of King James: “So God -have my soul, ’tis an honest trade; ’twas the Apostles’ -own calling.”<a name="FNanchor_218_218" id="FNanchor_218_218"></a><a href="#Footnote_218_218" class="fnanchor">[218]</a> As soon as they reached Plymouth they -began to fish, and afterwards appropriated the profits -of the fisheries at Cape Cod to found a free school. -From this Pilgrim origin are derived those fisheries -which for a while were our chief commerce, and still -continue an important element of national wealth. The -cod fisheries of the United States are now valued at -more than two million dollars annually. Such an interest -must be felt far and near, commercially and financially, -while it contributes to the comfort of all. How -soon it may prevail on the Pacific who can say? But -this treaty is the beginning.</p> - -<p>It is difficult to estimate what is so uncertain, or at -least is prospective only. Our own fisheries, now so -considerable, were small in the beginning; they were -small, even when they inspired the eloquence of Burke, -in that most splendid page never equalled even by himself.<a name="FNanchor_219_219" id="FNanchor_219_219"></a><a href="#Footnote_219_219" class="fnanchor">[219]</a> -But the Continental Congress, in its original instructions -to its commissioners for the negotiation of -treaties of peace and commerce with Great Britain, required, -as a fundamental condition, next to independence, -that these fisheries should be preserved unimpaired. -While the proposition was under discussion, -Elbridge Gerry, who had grown up among the fishermen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> -of Massachusetts, repelled the attack upon their -pursuit in words which are not out of place here. “It -is not so much fishing,” he said, “as enterprise, industry, -and employment. It is not fish merely; it is gold, -the produce of that avocation. It is the employment -of those who would otherwise be idle, the food of those -who would otherwise be hungry, the wealth of those -who would otherwise be poor.”<a name="FNanchor_220_220" id="FNanchor_220_220"></a><a href="#Footnote_220_220" class="fnanchor">[220]</a> After debate, it was -resolved by Congress that “the common right of fishing -should in no case be given up.”<a name="FNanchor_221_221" id="FNanchor_221_221"></a><a href="#Footnote_221_221" class="fnanchor">[221]</a> For this principle -the eldest Adams contended with ability and constancy -until it was fixed in the treaty of peace, where -it stands side by side with the acknowledgment of independence.</p> - -<p>In the discussions which ended thus triumphantly, -the argument for the fisheries was stated most compactly -by Ralph Izard, of South Carolina, in a letter -to John Adams, dated at Paris, 24th September, 1778; -and this early voice from South Carolina may be repeated -now.</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Since the advantages of commerce have been well understood, -the fisheries have been looked upon by the naval -powers of Europe as an object of the greatest importance. -The French have been increasing their fishery ever since the -Treaty of Utrecht, which has enabled them to rival Great -Britain at sea. The fisheries of Holland were not only the -first rise of the Republic, but have been the constant support -of all her commerce and navigation. This branch of -trade is of such concern to the Dutch that in their public -prayers they are said to request the Supreme Being<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> ‘that it -would please Him to bless the Government, the Lords, the -States, and also their fisheries.’ The fishery of Newfoundland -appears to me to be a mine of infinitely greater value than -Mexico and Peru. It enriches the proprietors, is worked at -less expense, and is the source of naval strength and protection.”<a name="FNanchor_222_222" id="FNanchor_222_222"></a><a href="#Footnote_222_222" class="fnanchor">[222]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Captain Smith, the adventurous founder and deliverer -of the colony of Virginia, when appealing to Englishmen -at home in behalf of the feeble New England settlements, -especially dwells upon the fisheries. “Therefore,” -he concludes, “honourable and worthy Country -men, let not the meannesse of the word fish distaste -you, for it will afford as good gold as the Mines of -<i>Guiana</i> or <i>Potassie</i>, with lesse hazard and charge, and -more certainty and facility.”<a name="FNanchor_223_223" id="FNanchor_223_223"></a><a href="#Footnote_223_223" class="fnanchor">[223]</a> Doubtless for a long -time the neighboring fish-banks were the gold-mines of -New England.</p> - -<p>I have grouped these allusions that you may see -how the fisheries of that day, though comparatively -small, enlisted the energies of our fathers. Tradition -confirms the record. The sculptured image of a cod -pendent from the ceiling in the hall of the Massachusetts -House of Representatives, where it was placed -during the last century, constantly recalls this industrial -and commercial staple, with the great part it performed. -And now it is my duty to remind you that -these fisheries, guarded so watchfully and vindicated -with such conquering zeal, had a value prospective -rather than present, or at least small compared with -what it is now. Exact figures, covering the ten years -between 1765 and 1775, show that during this period<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> -Massachusetts employed annually in the fisheries 665 -vessels, measuring 25,630 tons, with only 4,405 men.<a name="FNanchor_224_224" id="FNanchor_224_224"></a><a href="#Footnote_224_224" class="fnanchor">[224]</a> -In contrast with this interest, which seems so small, -although at the time considerable, are the present fisheries -of our country; and here again we have exact -figures. The number of vessels in the cod fishery alone, -in 1861, just before the blight of war reached this business, -was 2,753, measuring 137,665 tons, with 19,271 -men,—being more than four times as many vessels -and men, and more than five times as much tonnage, -as for ten years preceding the Revolution were employed -annually by Massachusetts, representing at that -time the fishing interest of the country.</p> - -<p>Small beginnings, therefore, are no discouragement; -I turn with confidence to the future. Already the local -fisheries on this coast have developed among the -generations of natives a singular gift in building and -managing their small craft so as to excite the frequent -admiration of voyagers. The larger fisheries there will -naturally exercise a corresponding influence on the population -destined to build and manage the larger craft. -The beautiful baidar will give way to the fishing-smack, -the clipper, and the steamer. All things will be changed -in form and proportion; but the original aptitude for -the sea will remain. A practical race of intrepid navigators -will swarm the coast, ready for any enterprise -of business or patriotism. Commerce will find new -arms, the country new defenders, the national flag new -hands to bear it aloft.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span></p> - -<h4>SUMMARY.</h4> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. President</span>,—I now conclude this examination. -From a review of the origin of the treaty, and the general -considerations with regard to it, we have passed -to an examination of these possessions under different -heads, in order to arrive at a knowledge of their character -and value. And here we have noticed the existing -government, which was found to be nothing but a -fur company, whose only object is trade; then the population, -where a very few Russians and Creoles are a -scanty fringe to the aboriginal races; then the climate, -a ruling influence, with its thermal current of ocean -and its eccentric isothermal line, by which the rigors -of the coast are tempered to a mildness unknown in -the same latitude on the Atlantic side; then the vegetable -products, so far as observed, chief among which -are forests of pine and fir waiting for the axe; then -the mineral products, among which are coal and copper, -if not iron, silver, lead, and gold, besides the two great -products of New England, “granite and ice”; then the -furs, including precious skins of the black fox and sea-otter, -which originally tempted the settlement, and remain -to this day the exclusive object of pursuit; and, -lastly, the fisheries, which, in waters superabundant -with animal life beyond any of the globe, seem to -promise a new commerce. All these I have presented -plainly and impartially, exhibiting my authorities as -I proceeded. I have done little more than hold the -scales. If these incline on either side, it is because -reason or testimony on that side is the weightier.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span></p> - -<h4>WHAT REMAINS TO BE DONE.</h4> - -<p>As these extensive possessions, constituting a corner -of the continent, pass from the imperial government of -Russia, they will naturally receive a new name. They -will be no longer Russian America. How shall they be -called? Clearly, any name borrowed from classical -antiquity or from individual invention will be little -better than misnomer or nickname unworthy of the -historic occasion. Even if taken from our own annals, -it will be of doubtful taste. The name should -come from the country itself. It should be indigenous, -aboriginal, one of the autochthons of the soil. -Happily such a name exists, as proper in sound as in -origin. It appears from the report of Cook, the illustrious -navigator, to whom I have so often referred, -that the euphonious designation now applied to the -peninsula which is the continental link of the Aleutian -chain was the sole word used originally by the native -islanders, “when speaking of the American continent -in general, which they knew perfectly well to be a -great land.”<a name="FNanchor_225_225" id="FNanchor_225_225"></a><a href="#Footnote_225_225" class="fnanchor">[225]</a> It only remains, that, following these -natives, whose places are now ours, we, too, should call -this “great land” Alaska.<a name="FNanchor_226_226" id="FNanchor_226_226"></a><a href="#Footnote_226_226" class="fnanchor">[226]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span></p> - -<p>Another change should be made. As the settlements -of this coast came eastward from Russia, bringing with -the Russian flag Western time, the day is earlier by -twenty-four hours with them than with us, so that their -Sunday is our Saturday, and the other days of the week -are in corresponding discord. This must be rectified -according to the national meridian, so that there shall -be the same Sunday for all, and the other days of the -week shall be in corresponding harmony. Important -changes must follow, of which this is typical. All else -must be rectified according to the national meridian, so -that within the sphere of our common country there -shall be everywhere the same generous rule and one -prevailing harmony. Of course, the unreformed Julian -calendar, received from Russia, will give place to ours,—Old -Style yielding to New Style.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span></p> - -<p>An object of immediate practical interest will be the -survey of the extended and indented coast by our own -officers, bringing it all within the domain of science, and -assuring to navigation much-needed assistance, while -the Republic is honored by a continuation of national -charts, where execution vies with science, and the art of -engraving is the beautiful handmaid. Associated with -this survey, and scarcely inferior in value, will be the -examination of the country by scientific explorers, so -that its geological structure may become known, with -its various products, vegetable and mineral. But your -best work and most important endowment will be the -Republican Government, which, looking to a long future, -you will organize, with schools free to all, and -with equal laws, before which every citizen will stand -erect in the consciousness of manhood. Here will be -a motive power without which coal itself is insufficient. -Here will be a source of wealth more inexhaustible -than any fisheries. Bestow such a government, and -you will give what is better than all you can receive, -whether quintals of fish, sands of gold, choicest fur, or -most beautiful ivory.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="PRECAUTION_AGAINST_THE_PRESIDENT" id="PRECAUTION_AGAINST_THE_PRESIDENT"></a>PRECAUTION AGAINST THE PRESIDENT.</h2> - -<p class="plabeln"><span class="smcap">Remarks in the Senate, on a Resolution asking for Copies Of -Opinions with regard to the Tenure-of-Office Law and Appointments -during the Recess of Congress, April 11, 1867.</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/line.png" width="80" height="16" alt="" /> -</div> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>Mr. Sumner moved the following resolution, and asked its immediate -consideration:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“<i>Resolved</i>, That the President of the United States be requested to -furnish to the Senate, if in his opinion not incompatible with the public -interests, copies of any official opinions which may have been given -by the Attorney-General, the Solicitor of the Treasury, or by any other -officer of the Government, on the interpretation of the Act of Congress -regulating the tenure of offices, and especially with regard to appointments -by the President during the recess of Congress.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the resolution. -Mr. Sumner said:—</p> - -</div> - -<p class="dropcap">Before the vote is taken, allow me to make a statement. -I understand that opinions have been given -by one or more officers of the Government which go far -to nullify a recent Act of Congress. In short, it seems -as if we are to have Nullification here in Washington in -the Executive branch of the Government. According to -these opinions, the President, I understand, is to exercise -a power of appointment during the recess of Congress, -notwithstanding the recent Act which undertakes -to regulate the tenure of office.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span></p> - -<p>We all know the astuteness of lawyers. It is a proverb. -And it is sometimes said that a lawyer may drive -a coach-and-six through an Act of Parliament, or even -an Act of Congress. The Administration is now about -to drive its coach-and-six through our recent legislation. -In other words, it is about to force upon the country -officers who cannot be officers according to existing law. -It seems to me, that, before we adjourn, we should -know the precise state of this question. We should -understand if any such opinion has been given, and -the reasons for it. It is on this account that I have -introduced the resolution now before the Senate.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>The resolution was adopted.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="FINISH_OUR_WORK_BEFORE_ADJOURNMENT" id="FINISH_OUR_WORK_BEFORE_ADJOURNMENT"></a>FINISH OUR WORK BEFORE ADJOURNMENT.</h2> - -<p class="plabeln"><span class="smcap">Remarks in the Senate, on a Motion to adjourn without Day, -April 11 and 12, 1867.</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/line.png" width="80" height="16" alt="" /> -</div> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>On the day after the adjournment of Congress the Senate was convened -for the transaction of Executive business. Treaties and nominations -were laid before it.</p> - -<p>April 11th, on motion of Mr. Williams, of Oregon, the Senate considered -a resolution for adjournment <i>sine die</i> “the 13th instant.” Debate -ensued. Mr. Reverdy Johnson, of Maryland, said: “We can fix -the adjournment to-morrow or next day.” Mr. Trumbull, of Illinois, -said: “Let us fix it to-day.” Mr. Sumner said:—</p> - -</div> - -<p class="dropcap">I do not think we can fix it to-day, and, further, I -do not think we ought to fix it to-day. It seems -to me the calendar should be cleared before we talk -of going home.</p> - -<p>A Senator exclaims, “Wait until we get through.” -So I say. Senators are perfectly aware, that, owing to -an interpretation recently put by the Executive upon -the Tenure-of-Office Bill, there is an increased necessity -for our staying. We have passed a law. We should -see to its enforcement. At any rate, we should manifest -coöperation with the Executive, so that there shall -be no excuse for setting it aside. I do not admit that -he can in any way set it aside; but I wish to do -everything that can be done to prevent him from undertaking<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span> -to set it aside. We ought to stay until our -work is fully done. There can be no excuse for going -home while any part of the Executive business remains -unfinished. Other Congresses have stayed here till midsummer, -and even into the month of September. If the -necessities of the country require it, I see no reason -why we should not stay till then.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>April 12th, the subject was resumed, when Mr. Sumner said:—</p> - -</div> - -<p>I will say, that, just in proportion as we draw to -the close of our business, we shall be better prepared -to determine when we can adjourn finally. As we have -not drawn to the close, I submit we are not in a condition -to fix the day. That time may come; but I -may remind the Senate that there is in Executive session -unfinished business beyond what we had reason -to expect. I say “reason to expect,” because it is well -known that there are many offices still unfilled; and it -is our duty, before we leave, so far as it depends upon -us, to see that they are filled.</p> - -<p class="center">…</p> - -<p>We should stay, it seems to me, until the offices are -filled, rejecting nominations that are bad and confirming -the good,—doing, in short, all we can, as a Senate, -to secure good officers, and I insist, also, officers on the -right side, who agree with Congress, and will sustain -the policy which Congress has declared.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>The resolution was amended so as to make the adjournment 16th -April, and then adopted,—Yeas 26, Nays 11,—Mr. Sumner voting -in the negative. The time was afterwards extended, on motion of Mr. -Sumner, to 20th April, when the Senate adjourned without day.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="MEDIATION_BETWEEN_CONTENDING_PARTIES_IN" id="MEDIATION_BETWEEN_CONTENDING_PARTIES_IN"></a>MEDIATION BETWEEN CONTENDING PARTIES IN -MEXICO.</h2> - -<p class="plabeln"><span class="smcap">Resolution in the Senate, proposing the Good Offices of the -United States, April 20, 1867.</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/line.png" width="80" height="16" alt="" /> -</div> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p class="hanging">Resolution proposing the good offices of the United States -between the contending parties of Mexico.</p> - -</div> - -<p class="dropcap">Whereas the Republic of Mexico, though relieved -from the presence of a foreign enemy -by the final withdrawal of the French troops, continues -to be convulsed by a bloody civil war, in which -Mexicans are ranged on opposite sides;</p> - -<p>And whereas the United States are bound by neighborhood -and republican sympathies to do all in their -power for the welfare of the Mexican people, and this -obligation becomes more urgent from the present condition -of affairs, where each party is embittered by protracted -conflict: Therefore,</p> - -<p><i>Be it resolved</i>, That it is proper for the Government -of the United States, acting in the interest of humanity -and civilization, to tender its good offices by way -of mediation between the contending parties of the Republic -of Mexico, in order to avert a deplorable civil -war, and to obtain the establishment of republican government -on a foundation of peace and security.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span></p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>This was offered on the last day of the session. It was printed and -laid on the table. Other resolutions on the same subject were offered -by Mr. Henderson, of Missouri, and Mr. Reverdy Johnson, of Maryland.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="EQUAL_SUFFRAGE_AT_ONCE_BY_ACT_OF_CONGRESS" id="EQUAL_SUFFRAGE_AT_ONCE_BY_ACT_OF_CONGRESS"></a>EQUAL SUFFRAGE AT ONCE BY ACT OF CONGRESS -RATHER THAN CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.</h2> - -<p class="plabeln"><span class="smcap">Letter to the New York Independent, April 20, 1867.</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/line.png" width="80" height="16" alt="" /> -</div> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p class="right medium"><span class="smcap">Senate Chamber</span>, April 20, 1867.</p> - -<p class="dropcap">MY DEAR SIR,—You wish to have the North -“reconstructed,” so at least that it shall cease to -deny the elective franchise on account of color. But -you postpone the day by insisting on the preliminary -of a Constitutional Amendment. I know your vows -to the good cause; but I ask you to make haste. We -cannot wait.</p> - -<p>Of course, we can always wait for the needful processes; -but there are present reasons why we should -allow no time to be lost. <em>This question must be settled -forthwith</em>: in other words, it must be settled before -the Presidential election, now at hand. Our colored -fellow-citizens at the South are already electors. They -will vote at the Presidential election. But why should -they vote at the South, and not at the North? The -rule of justice is the same for both. Their votes are -needed at the North as well as the South. There are -Northern States where their votes can make the good -cause safe beyond question. There are other States -where their votes will be like the last preponderant -weight in the nicely balanced scales. Let our colored<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> -fellow-citizens vote in Maryland, and that State, now -so severely tried, will be fixed for Human Rights forever. -Let them vote in Pennsylvania, and you will -give more than twenty thousand votes to the Republican -cause. Let them vote in New York, and the -scales, which hang so doubtful, will incline to the Republican -side. It will be the same in Connecticut. -I mention these by way of example. But everywhere -the old Proslavery party will kick the beam. Let all -this be done, I say, before the next Presidential election.</p> - -<p>Among the proposed ways is a new Constitutional -Amendment. But this is too dilatory. It cannot become -operative till after the Presidential election. Besides, -it is needless. Instead of amending the Constitution, -read it.</p> - -<p>Another way is by moving each State, and obtaining -through local legislation what is essentially <em>a right -of citizenship</em>. But this again is too dilatory, while it -turns each State into a political maelström, and submits -a question of <em>National</em> interest to the chances of -local controversy and the timidity of local politicians. -This will not do. Emancipation was a National act, -proceeding from the National Government, and applicable -to all the States. Enfranchisement, which is the -corollary and complement of Emancipation, must be -a National act also, proceeding from the National Government, -and applicable to all the States. If left to -the States individually, the result, besides being tardy, -will be uncertain and fragmentary.</p> - -<p>There is another way, at once prompt, energetic, and -comprehensive. It is by Act of Congress, adopted by -a majority of two thirds, in spite of Presidential veto.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> -The time has passed when this power can be questioned. -Congress has already exercised it in the Rebel -States. I do not forget its hesitations. Only a year -ago, when I insisted that it must do so, and introduced -a bill to this effect, I was answered that a Constitutional -Amendment was needed, and I was voted down. -A change came, and in a happy moment Congress exercised -the power. What patriot questions it now? -But the power is unquestionable in the other States -also. It concerns the rights of citizenship, and this -subject is as essentially national as the army or the -navy.</p> - -<p>Even without either of the recent Constitutional -Amendments, I am at a loss to understand how a denial -of the elective franchise simply on account of -color can be otherwise than unconstitutional. I cannot -see how, under a National Constitution which does -not contain the word “white” or “black,” there can -be any exclusion on account of color. There is no -such exclusion in the Constitution. Out of what text -is this oligarchical pretension derived? But, putting -aside this question, which will be clearer to the jurists -of the next generation than to us, I vouch the authoritative -words of the National Constitution, making it -our duty to guaranty a republican form of government -in the States. Now the greatest victory of the war, -to which all other victories, whether in Congress or -on the bloody field, were only tributary, was the definition -of a republican government according to the -principles of the Declaration of Independence. A government -which denies the elective franchise on account -of color, or, in other words, sets up any “qualifications” -of voters in their nature insurmountable, cannot be republican;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> -for the first principle in a republican government -is Equality of Rights, according to the principles -of the Declaration of Independence. And this definition, -I insist, is the crowning glory of the war which -beat down Rebellion under its feet. It only remains -for Congress to enforce it by appropriate legislation.</p> - -<p>There are two recent Constitutional Amendments, each -of which furnishes ample and cumulative power.</p> - -<p>There is, first, the Amendment abolishing Slavery, -with its clause conferring on Congress the power to -enforce it by appropriate legislation, in pursuance of -which Congress has already passed the Civil Rights -Act, which is applicable to the North as well as the -South. Clearly, and most obviously beyond all question, -if it can pass a Civil Rights Act, it can also pass -a Political Rights Act; for each is appropriate to enforce -the abolition of Slavery, and to complete this -work. Without it the work is only half done.</p> - -<p>There is yet another Amendment, recently adopted by -three fourths of the loyal States, which is itself an abundant -source of power. After declaring that all persons -born or naturalized in the United States and subject to -the jurisdiction thereof are “citizens,” this Amendment -proceeds to provide that “no State shall make or enforce -any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities -of <em>citizens</em> of the United States”; and Congress -is empowered to enforce this provision by appropriate -legislation. Nothing can be plainer than this.</p> - -<p>Here, then, are three different sources of power in -the Constitution itself, each sufficient, the three together -three times sufficient,—each exuberant and overflowing, -the three together three times exuberant and -overflowing. How, in the face of these provisions, any<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> -person can doubt the power of Congress I cannot understand. -But, alas! there are doubters always.</p> - -<p>I have already sent you a copy of my bill to settle -this question by what I call “the short cut.” Give us -your vote. Of course, you will. Believe me, my dear -Sir,</p> - -<p class="sig">Very faithfully yours,</p> - -<p class="sig2"><span class="smcap">Charles Sumner</span>.</p> - -<p class="noindent medium"><span class="smcap">Theodore Tilton</span>, Esq.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>This was followed by an editorial article sustaining and vindicating -Mr. Sumner’s bill. It began:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Yes. Mr. Sumner has our vote. He has always had it; he is always -likely to have it. ‘How did Roger Sherman vote?’ asked our forefathers. -They believed it was safe to vote with Roger Sherman. It is just as safe -to vote with Charles Sumner.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>After explanation and argument, the article proceeds:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Not only is Mr. Sumner right as to the power of Congress in the present -case, but long ago he was right as to the power of Congress to govern -the unconstitutional States as conquered provinces. He then stood almost -alone in the Senate in an opinion which he has since seen adopted by his -brother Senators. We trust his compeers will agree to his present bill. -We happen to know that Thaddeus Stevens—who, even when sick, is -more well than most men—is preparing, on his sick-bed, an argument in -support of Mr. Sumner’s plan. We happen to know, also, that Chief Justice -Chase agrees with Mr. Sumner’s view.”</p> - -</div> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="CELEBRATION_AT_ARLINGTON_ON_ASSUMING" id="CELEBRATION_AT_ARLINGTON_ON_ASSUMING"></a>CELEBRATION AT ARLINGTON, ON ASSUMING -ITS NEW NAME.</h2> - -<p class="plabeln"><span class="smcap">Speech at a Dinner in a Tent, June 17, 1867.</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/line.png" width="80" height="16" alt="" /> -</div> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>West Cambridge, originally part of Cambridge, Massachusetts, assumed -the name of Arlington, with the consent of the Legislature. -The change was celebrated in the town by a public dinner in a tent.</p> - -</div> - -<p class="noindent"><span class="smcap">Mr. President and Fellow-Citizens of Arlington</span>:—</p> - -<p class="dropcap">In looking around me on this beautiful scene of hospitality, -I am reminded of that doge of Genoa, who, -finding himself amid the splendors of Versailles, in its -incomparable palace, and being asked what about him -caused the most surprise, replied, “To find myself here.” -And so to me, coming from other scenes, and for many -years absolutely unused to such occasions, this spectacle -is strange. But it is not less welcome because -strange.</p> - -<p>Coming here to take part in this interesting celebration, -I am not insensible to the kindness of good -friends among you, through whom the invitation was -received. But I confess a neighborly interest in your -festival. Born in Boston, and educated in Cambridge, -I am one of your neighbors. Accept, then, if you please, -the sympathies of a neighbor on this occasion.</p> - -<p>Yours is not a large town; nor has it any extended<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> -history. But what it wants in size and history it -makes up in beauty. Yours is a beautiful town. I -know nothing among the exquisite surroundings of -Boston more charming than these slopes and meadows, -with background of hills and gleam of water. The elements -of beauty are all here. Hills are always beautiful; -so is water. I remember hearing a woman of -genius, Mrs. Fanny Kemble, say more than once, that -water in a landscape is “like eyes in the human countenance,” -without which the countenance is lifeless. -But water gleams, shines, sparkles in your landscape. -Here the water-nymphs might find a home. Gardens, -beautiful to the eye and bountiful in nourishing and -luscious supplies, are also yours. Surely it may be said -of those who live here, that their lines have fallen in -a pleasant place.</p> - -<p>I go too far, when I suggest that you are without -a history. West Cambridge was part of that historic -Cambridge so early famous in our country, the seat of -learning and the home of patriotism. The honor of -Cambridge is yours. West Cambridge adjoins Lexington, -and was in the war-path of the British soldiers -on that 19th of April, which, perhaps, as much as any -day after the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers, determined -the fortunes of this continent. The shots of -Concord and Lexington were heard here before their -echoes began the tour of the globe. Shots from here -followed, and your beautiful fields bore testimony in -blood. The road from Concord was a prolonged battleground, -on which British troops fell; there were patriots, -also, who fell.</p> - -<p>Then came the Battle of Bunker Hill, on the very -day we now celebrate, followed soon by the arrival of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> -Washington, who, on the 3d day of July, 1775, drew his -sword as Commander-in-Chief under the well-known -elm of Cambridge Common. Do not forget that you -were of Cambridge then. The first duty of the new -commander-in-chief was to inspect his forces. The mass -of the British army, amounting to 11,500 men, occupied -Bunker Hill and Boston Neck, while their general -with his light horse was in Boston. The Patriot forces, -amounting to about 16,000 men, were so posted as to -form a complete line around Boston and Charlestown, -from Mystic River to Dorchester, nearly twelve miles -in circuit. Regiments from New Hampshire, Rhode -Island, and Connecticut occupied Winter Hill and Prospect -Hill, where it is easy still to recognize their earthworks; -several of the Massachusetts regiments were at -Cambridge; and others from Connecticut and Massachusetts -covered the high grounds of Roxbury. This was -the Siege of Boston. With all these preparations, Washington -was still provident of the future. And here commences -an association with the hills about your town, -which must be my justification for these details.</p> - -<p>Many years ago, when I first read the account of -this period by one of the early biographers of Washington, -Rev. Dr. Bancroft, of Worcester, the father of our -distinguished historian, I was struck by the statement, -which I quote in his precise words, that, “in case of an -attack and defeat, the <em>Welsh Mountains in Cambridge</em>, -and the rear of the lines in Roxbury, were appointed -as places of rendezvous.”<a name="FNanchor_227_227" id="FNanchor_227_227"></a><a href="#Footnote_227_227" class="fnanchor">[227]</a> Perhaps this association, and -even the name of the mountains, may be new to some -whom I have the honor of addressing. “The Welsh -Mountains” are the hills which skirt your peaceful valley.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> -Since then I have never looked upon them, even -at a distance, I have never thought of them, without -feeling that they are monumental. They testify to that -perfect prudence which made our commander-in-chief -so great. In those hours when undisciplined patriots -were preparing for conflict with the trained soldiers of -England, the careful eye of Washington, calmly surveying -the whole horizon, selected your hills as the breastworks -behind which he was to retrieve the day. The -hills still stand firm and everlasting as when he looked -upon them, but smiling now with fertility and peace. -They will never be needed as breastworks. There is -no enemy encamped in Boston and ready to sally forth -for battle; nor is there any siege.</p> - -<p>But you will allow me to remind you that the ideas -of the Revolution and the solemn promises of the Declaration -of Independence are still debated. There are -some who have the hardihood to deny them. Here I -venture to bespeak from you the simple loyalty of those -whose places you occupy. Should an evil hour arrive, -when these ideas and promises are in peril, then let -them find a breastwork, not in your hills, but in your -hearts. And may the rally extend until it embraces -the whole country, and the Revolution begun by our -fathers is completed by the establishment of all the -rights of all!</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="POWERS_OF_THE_TWO_HOUSES_OF_CONGRESS" id="POWERS_OF_THE_TWO_HOUSES_OF_CONGRESS"></a>POWERS OF THE TWO HOUSES OF CONGRESS -IN THE ABSENCE OF A QUORUM.</h2> - -<p class="plabeln"><span class="smcap">Protest in the Senate, at its Opening, July 3, 1867.</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/line.png" width="80" height="16" alt="" /> -</div> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>July 3d, according to the provision in the resolution of adjournment -at the last session, Congress met at noon this day. The Chief -Clerk read the resolution.<a name="FNanchor_228_228" id="FNanchor_228_228"></a><a href="#Footnote_228_228" class="fnanchor">[228]</a> Mr. Sumner then said that he rose to -a question of order on the resolution.</p> - -</div> - -<p class="dropcap">The resolution under which Congress is to-day assembled, -so far as it undertakes to direct the adjournment -of the two Houses of Congress without day, -in the absence of a quorum of the two Houses, is unconstitutional -and inoperative, inasmuch as the Constitution, -after declaring that “a majority of each House -shall constitute a quorum to do business,” proceeds to -provide that “a smaller number may adjourn from day -to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance -of absent members”; and therefore such resolution -must not be regarded by the Chair, so far as -it undertakes to provide for an adjournment without -day.</p> - -<p>As, according to the view, there is a quorum already -present, the incident contemplated by the resolution<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span> -will not arise; but I felt it my duty, by way of precaution -and <i>caveat</i>, to introduce this protest, to the -end that the resolution may not hereafter be drawn -into a precedent so as to abridge the rights of the -two Houses of Congress under the Constitution of the -United States.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>Mr. Trumbull, of Illinois, differed from Mr. Sumner, and entered -his “protest against any such construction of the Constitution as -denies to the two Houses of Congress the right to regulate their -own adjournments.” After quoting the text of the Constitution, that -“a majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do business, but a -smaller number may adjourn from day to day and may be authorized -to compel the attendance of absent members,” Mr. Sumner said:—</p> - -</div> - -<p>Here is a concurrent resolution providing for a future -meeting of Congress. To that extent it is unquestionably -constitutional; but when the resolution -imposes shackles upon the two Houses of Congress -assembled by virtue of that resolution, then, I submit, -it does what, under the National Constitution, it -cannot do,—its words are powerless. Congress, when -once assembled by virtue of that resolution, has all -the powers of a Congress of the United States under -the Constitution. That resolution cannot restrain it. -Such, at any rate, is my conclusion, after the best reflection -that I have been able to give to these words -of the Constitution; and I feel it my duty to make -this protest, to the end that what we now do may -not be drawn into an example hereafter. It is well -known that those words were introduced in order to -tie the hands of Congress, should it come together -and there be no quorum present,—in short, to despoil -the Congress then assembled of the prerogative -secured to it by the National Constitution. To that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> -extent I suggest that the resolution hereafter shall be -regarded as of no value, and not be quoted as a precedent.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>After reply from Mr. Trumbull, the subject was dropped.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="HOMESTEADS_FOR_FREEDMEN" id="HOMESTEADS_FOR_FREEDMEN"></a>HOMESTEADS FOR FREEDMEN.</h2> - -<p class="plabeln"><span class="smcap">Resolution in the Senate, July 3, 1867.</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/line.png" width="80" height="16" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="dropcap"><i>RESOLVED</i>, That the reconstruction of the Rebel -States would be hastened, and the best interest -of the country promoted, if the President of the United -States, in the exercise of the pardoning power, would -require that every landed proprietor who has been engaged -in the Rebellion, before receiving pardon therefor, -should convey to the freedmen, his former slaves, a -certain portion of the land on which they have worked, -so that they may have a homestead in which their own -labor has mingled, and that the disloyal master may -not continue to appropriate to himself the fruits of -their toil.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>On motion of Mr. Sumner, this was printed and laid on the table. -The rule limiting business during the present session prevented him -from calling it up.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="LIMITATION_OF_THE_BUSINESS_OF_THE_SENATE" id="LIMITATION_OF_THE_BUSINESS_OF_THE_SENATE"></a>LIMITATION OF THE BUSINESS OF THE SENATE.<br /> -<small>OBLIGATIONS OF SENATE CAUCUSES.</small></h2> - -<p class="plabeln"><span class="smcap">Speeches in the Senate, July 3, 5, and 10, 1867.</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/line.png" width="80" height="16" alt="" /> -</div> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>Mr. Sumner had looked to this session not only for precautions -against the President, but for legislation on Suffrage. He had never -doubted that there would be a session. March 30th, just before the -final adjournment, he gave notice that on the first Wednesday of July -he should ask the Senate to proceed with his bill to secure the elective -franchise to colored citizens, when Mr. Sherman, of Ohio, said, -“The Senator had better add, ‘or some subsequent day.’” [<i>Laughter.</i>] -Mr. Sumner said: “I beg the Senate to take notice that there will -be a session on the first Wednesday of July, to proceed with business. -I have reason to believe that there will be a quorum here, for there -will be important public business that must be attended to.”</p> - -<p>On the completion of the organization, Mr. Sumner proceeded to -offer petitions, when he was interrupted by Mr. Fessenden, of Maine, -who said: “I desire to interpose an objection to the reference of these -petitions; and I may as well bring the question up here now, before -the Senator offers any more. I do it for the reason that in my judgment -it is not expedient at the present session to act upon general -business”; and he referred to the course at the session of the Twenty-Seventh -Congress, called by President Harrison. Mr. Sumner said, in -reply:—</p> - -</div> - -<p class="dropcap">MR. PRESIDENT,—We are a Congress of the United -States, assembled under the National Constitution, -and with all the powers belonging to Congress,—ay, -Sir, and with all the responsibilities also. We cannot, -by agreement or understanding, divest ourselves of these<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> -responsibilities, being nothing less than to transact the -public business,—not simply one item or two items, -but the public business in its sum total, whatever it may -be,—in one word, all that concerns the welfare of this -great Republic. Now the Senator limits us to one item, -which he has only alluded to, without characterizing. I -suppose I understand him; but he must know well that -even that business has many ramifications. But why -are we to be restricted thus? Looking at past usage, -I need not remind you that we have habitually sat -throughout the summer into the month of August, and -on one occasion into the month of September. It is no -new thing that Congress should be here in July. It is -an exception that Congress is not here in July, during -every alternate year. Therefore, in considering public -business, even under these heats, we are only doing -what our predecessors before us have done; we are following -the usage of Congress, and not setting up a new -usage of our own. The motion of the Senator, if it be -a motion, or rather his suggestion, does set up a new -usage. It is virtually to declare, that, when admonished -by the heats of July, we will fold our hands, and will -not even consider public business, except in one particular -case; that all the other vast interests of this country -will be left, without reference to a committee, without -inquiry, unattended to, neglected.</p> - -<p>The Senator from Maine says, that, when Congress -adjourned at the end of March, it was not supposed that -there would be a session at this time. He may not have -supposed there would be a session. I never doubted -that there would be one. I saw full well that the -public interests would require a session in July, and I -labored to bring it about, feeling that in so doing I was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> -only discharging a public duty. Do you forget whom -you have as President? A constant disturber, and a -mischief-maker. So long as his administration continues, -it is the duty of Congress to be on guard, perpetually -on watch against him; and this must have been -obvious when Congress adjourned, as it is obvious now. -Senators may not have foreseen precisely what he would -do; but I take it that there were few who did not foresee -that he would do something making it important for -Congress to be present. I did not doubt, then, that it -would be our duty to be here in our places to make -adequate provision against his misdeeds. He is President, -and the head of the Executive, invested with all -the powers belonging to that department. It is hard, I -know, to provide against him; but nevertheless you -must do it. This Republic is too great, too vast, and too -precious, to be left in the hands of a bad man.</p> - -<p>One of the greatest masters in the art of war tells us, -as the lesson of his great military experience, that the -good general always regards that as probable which -is possible. I know no better rule for the statesman. -Now, with a President such as we have, anything in the -nature of disturbance or interference with the public security -is possible through the Executive arm. Therefore -you are to regard it as probable, and make provision -against it. So I argued last spring, and was satisfied -that it would be our duty to be in our seats at the -coming July. We are here, and I now insist that it -is our duty to go forward and discharge all our duties, -without exception, under the National Constitution.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>Mr. Fessenden replied, referring to the proceedings at the called -session of the Twenty-Seventh Congress on resolutions of Mr. Clay to -limit business. Mr. Sumner rejoined:—</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span></p> - -<p>I hope the Senate will pardon me, if I add one word -to what I have already said. The Senator from Maine -introduces as a precedent something which he will pardon -me if I say is not a precedent. He calls our attention -to a session of Congress convened by virtue -of a summons of the President, being a called session. -Why, Sir, this is no called session. This is simply a -continuing session, begun on the 4th day of March. It -is not a new session. It is a session already begun, prolonged -by adjournment into the midst of July. Were -it such a session as the Senator from Maine seems to -imagine, his precedent might be applicable. We might -then search the message of the President to find the -subjects proper for consideration. It is, however, no -such session. We are here broadly, under all our powers -as a Congress, our life as a Congress having begun -here on the 4th day of March at noon. Therefore, allow -me to say, the precedent is inapplicable.</p> - -<p>The practical question, then, is, What shall we do, -being a Congress assembled as any other Congress, with -all powers and all duties? I submit, proceed with the -public business in due order, until such time as by the -reports of committees or by votes of the two bodies we -shall be satisfied that it is not advisable to proceed further. -I think, therefore, petitions should be presented -and referred, bills introduced and take their proper destinations, -and business of all kinds be brought before -the Senate.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>At the suggestion of Senators, the petitions were laid on the table to -await formal action on the question.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>July 5th, Mr. Anthony, of Rhode Island, moved the following resolution, -which had been agreed upon in a caucus of Republican Senators:—</p> - -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“<i>Resolved</i>, That the legislative business of this session be confined to -removing the obstructions which have been or are likely to be placed in -the way of the fair execution of the Acts of Reconstruction heretofore -adopted by Congress, and to giving to said Acts the scope intended by -Congress when the same were passed; and that further legislation, at this -session, on the subject of Reconstruction, or on other subjects, is not expedient.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>Mr. Sumner at once appealed to Mr. Anthony:—</p> - -</div> - -<p>Before a resolution of such importance, so open to -criticism, so doubtful in point of order, so plainly contrary -to the spirit of the Constitution, is brought under -consideration, I do think that the Senator who brings it -forward should enlighten us in regard to its object, and -the reasons in justification of so extraordinary a proposition.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>Mr. Anthony made a brief statement, in which he said that he -“supposed the reason for this proposition was so evident to every -Senator who has conversed with the members of the body, that it -would require no explanation whatever”; that “the public sentiment -of the country demanded that there should be some legislation in order -to make the Reconstruction Acts precisely what we intended them to -be, and not as they have been construed.” Mr. Sumner then moved -the following substitute:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“That the Senate will proceed, under its rules, to the despatch of the -public business requiring attention, and to this end all petitions and bills -will be referred for consideration to the appropriate committees, without -undertaking in advance to limit the action of Congress to any special subject, -and to deny a hearing on all other subjects.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>He then remarked:—</p> - -</div> - -<p>I object to the proposition of my friend from Rhode -Island, which I cannot but think he has introduced -hastily and without sufficient consideration, or at any -rate under influences which I think his own better -judgment should have rejected. I am against it on -several grounds. If I said it was contrary to precedent, -I should not err; for the attempt made the other<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span> -day to show that there was precedent for such a proceeding, -it seems to me, signally failed. Attention was then -called to a resolution adopted at a session of Congress -convened by the President of the United States for -a declared purpose, announced at the time in advance. -I think the course taken by Congress was regarded as -questionable, even under the peculiar circumstances. -But the two cases are different. The present session is -not like that. It is a continuing session of a Congress -begun on the 4th day of March last, being simply a -prolongation of that session; and the practical question -is, whether you will limit the business of Congress in -a general session called under a statute of the United -States. Clearly there is no precedent for any such proceeding. -You plunge into darkness without a guide.</p> - -<p>But I go further, and I say, that, even if there were -a precedent, I would reject it; for I much prefer to -follow the National Constitution. I do not say that the -text of the Constitution positively forbids the proposition, -but I cannot doubt that the spirit of the Constitution -is against it. How often, in other times, have -we all throbbed with indignation at the resolution in -the other House, also in this Chamber, to stifle discussion -on a great question! You do not forget the odious -rule by the name of the “Gag,” attached to which was -the name of its author, beginning with the letter A.<a name="FNanchor_229_229" id="FNanchor_229_229"></a><a href="#Footnote_229_229" class="fnanchor">[229]</a> -I hope there will be no other gag of a larger character -to be classified with the letter A. That was justly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span> -offensive, because it violated the right of petition; but -you propose not only to interfere with the right of petition, -but also with all possible measures concerning the -public welfare, except as they may relate to one single -business, and that in its narrowest relations.</p> - -<p>I object to such a proposition as in its spirit unconstitutional. -I appeal to my associates to reject it, that -it may not pass into history as a precedent of evil example -to be employed against Freedom. You may see, -Sir, how obstructive it is, if you will glance at certain -matters within my own knowledge, which, I submit, it is -our duty to consider, and my duty as a Senator to press -upon your attention. No relations with political associates -can absolve me from official responsibility.</p> - -<p>Every Senator, doubtless, has within his own knowledge -business which in his judgment deserves attention, -and other business which he does not doubt must -be acted on. There are Senators on the other side of -the Chamber who will plead the cause of the frontiers -menaced by the Indians. I have heard something of -that peril from chance travellers during these few weeks -past; and yet, by the proposition of my friend from -Rhode Island, we are to abandon the frontiers, and I -know no other reason than that the weather is too hot. -It may be hot in this Chamber; but it is hotter there. -The reports from the frontier show that danger has begun. -The sound of the war-whoop has broken even -into this Capitol. The corpses of fellow-countrymen lie -unburied on the roadside, and their memories haunt us. -And yet we fold our hands, and decline to supply the -needed protection.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>Mr. Sumner then alluded to the necessity of legislation to carry out -a recent treaty with Venezuela, and also the treaty with Russia.</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span></p> - -<p>I mean that important treaty by which the Emperor -of Russia has ceded to the United States all his -possessions on the North American continent. The ratifications -were exchanged only about a fortnight ago. -Yesterday, the 4th of July, I was honored by a visit -from the Minister of Russia, who put into my hand a -cable despatch from St. Petersburg, announcing that -on the day before the Russian Commissioner left St. -Petersburg for Washington to make the formal surrender -of that vast region to the United States. To my -inquiry when the Commissioner would arrive the Minister -replied, “In a fortnight.” In a fortnight, then, -final proceedings will be had for the establishment of -your jurisdiction over that region, and two questions -arise: first, our duty to complete the contract, in consideration -of the cession, to pay $7,200,000; and, secondly, -our other duty to provide a proper government. -But the proposition of my friend from Rhode Island -would exclude these important topics from our consideration.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Anthony.</span> Would the Senator have the Senate originate -an appropriation bill?</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Sumner.</span> I would have the Senate originate a bill -for the government of this territory, and, if need be, originate -a bill for the payment of the money due. There is -no objection in the Constitution.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Anthony.</span> It has never been done.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Sumner.</span> I beg the Senator’s pardon; it has been -done again and again.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Anthony.</span> An appropriation bill originated in the -Senate?</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Sumner.</span> Oh, yes.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Anthony.</span> I never knew that to be done but once; -and then the House rejected it, refused to consider it.</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Sumner.</span> The Senator refers to what are called -the general appropriation bills. The Senate constantly -makes appropriations for individual cases and for carrying -out treaties. Does it not appropriate for private -claims, for salaries, for other obligations? In principle, -the present case does not differ from an appropriation -for an estate adjoining the Capitol. Alaska -is not an estate adjoining the Capitol; but it is to -be paid for.</p> - -<p>That I may make this clearer, I call attention to -the very words of the treaty with Russia:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“His Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias shall appoint -with convenient despatch an agent or agents for the -purpose of formally delivering to a similar agent or agents -appointed on behalf of the United States the territory, dominion, -property, dependencies, and appurtenances which -are ceded as above, and for doing any other act which may -be necessary in regard thereto. But the cession, with the -right of immediate possession, is nevertheless to be deemed -complete and absolute on the exchange of ratifications, without -waiting for such formal delivery.”<a name="FNanchor_230_230" id="FNanchor_230_230"></a><a href="#Footnote_230_230" class="fnanchor">[230]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>So that, by the terms of the treaty, on the exchange -of ratifications you became possessors of this jurisdiction; -and now, by the approaching surrender, through -an official agent, your jurisdiction will be consummated. -With this jurisdiction will be corresponding responsibilities. -You must govern the territory; you must provide -protection for the property and the other interests -there. Already, by the telegraph, we learn that a large -ship is about to leave San Francisco for Sitka, with -merchandise of all kinds. There is also the immense -fur-trade, which has been the exclusive Russian interest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> -ever since the discovery of the country, which will -be left open, without regulation, unless you interfere -by appropriate law. There is that most important fur, -the origin of wealth on that whole northwestern coast, -the sea-otter, which will be exposed to lawless and destructive -depredation, unless the Government supplies -some regulations. Will you not do something? Will -you leave these interests without care?</p> - -<p>Senators exclaim, that they may be considered next -winter. Do not forget the distance between Washington -and that far-away region; you will then see how -long you postpone the establishment of your jurisdiction. -Months must elapse after the meeting of Congress -next December, leaving this region without government. -There should be no delay; you should proceed -at once. You certainly will not show yourselves -worthy to possess this country, unless you provide at -once a proper government. Leaving it a prey to lawless -adventure, you will only increase the difficulties -of dealing with a region so vast and so remote.</p> - -<p>But there is another obligation still. You receive -the territory; you ought to pay the money at the same -time. A Senator before me cries out, “It will not be -appropriated at this session.”</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Edmunds.</span> It is not due yet.</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Sumner.</span> I ask the Senator’s attention to the -point. I understand, as a matter of history, in this -negotiation, that, while it was proceeding, it was proposed -that the payment should be on the exchange of -ratifications, so that, when the cession was completed, -the transaction on our part should be completed also; -but as the treaty was being drawn, it was understood<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> -that there would be no meeting of Congress before next -December, while the ratifications might be exchanged -before that time. To meet this case, a special provision -was introduced, extending the time of payment to a -period of ten months from the exchange of ratifications. -This explains the article I now read:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“In consideration of the cession aforesaid, the United -States agree to pay at the Treasury in Washington, within -ten months after the exchange of the ratifications of this -convention, to the diplomatic representative or other agent -of His Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias, duly authorized -to receive the same, seven million two hundred thousand -dollars in gold.”<a name="FNanchor_231_231" id="FNanchor_231_231"></a><a href="#Footnote_231_231" class="fnanchor">[231]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>By the letter of the treaty, you may, if you see fit, -postpone the payment to ten months from the exchange -of ratifications; but I submit to the Senator from Vermont, -whether he is willing to do so,—whether, since -the transaction is consummated on the part of Russia, -he is not willing, nay, desirous also, that it shall be -consummated on the part of the United States in the -spirit of the original negotiation? I submit this as a -question of sound policy,—I will not say of integrity, -but simply of sound policy on the part of our Government, -a republic representing republican institutions, -by whose conduct republican institutions are always -judged. Surely you will not fail to protect the national -honor; nor will you stick at the letter of the -treaty.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>I have alluded to two important matters under treaties; -but there is still another, more important than any -treaty or any appropriation, which dwarfs treaties and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> -dwarfs appropriations, which is not less important, certainly, -than the protection of the frontier, now menaced -by Indians. I refer to a whole region of our Republic, -embracing two extensive States, now menaced by a foe -more dangerous to the national peace and welfare than -any tribe of Indians. These are returning Rebels in -the States of Kentucky and Maryland. Provide against -them. They are Indians within your jurisdiction. You -have the power; you have the means. Give the ballot -to the colored citizens in those States, as you have given -it already to colored citizens in the Rebel States, and -you will have an all-sufficient protection against these -intruders. Here is something to be done. Who doubts -the power? Out of three fountains in the Constitution -it may be derived. It is your duty, then, to exercise -it. See to it that these States have a republican government. -Fix in your statute-book an authoritative -definition of a republic. Enforce the two Amendments -of the Constitution,—one abolishing Slavery, and the -other declaring the rights of citizens. Any delay to -exercise so clear a power is a failure of duty; and it -becomes more reprehensible, when we consider the perils -that may ensue. Communicate, if you please, with -Union citizens of those two States. Listen to what -they say. Be taught by their testimony.</p> - -<p>I have, for instance, a letter from an eminent citizen -of Maryland, written from Baltimore the 1st of July, -which concludes:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“I will only add, that the interest felt by the loyal people -of this State in the passage of this bill cannot be overstated.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>Communicate with your late colleague upon this -floor, that able and patriotic Senator, Mr. Creswell.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span> -Listen to his testimony. There can be no doubt that -Unionists, whether black or white, in Maryland, require -your protection. Give it to them. Do not leave -them a prey to Rebels. In the same way they are -exposed in Kentucky. Here is a letter from a distinguished -citizen of that State, dated July 1st: and -I read these, out of many others, simply because they -are the latest; they have come within a few hours:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“I hope you will be able to do good at the extra session, -and extend and protect the rights of the freedmen, as they -are sadly in need of it in Kentucky. Reconstruct us; this -is the only loyal hope.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>Such is the cry. Kentucky needs reconstruction, and -it is your duty to provide it. Put her on an equality -with the Rebel States. Let her colored citizens enjoy the -full-blown rights of citizens, and let the white Unionists -there have the protection of their votes. You sent -muskets once; send votes now.<a name="FNanchor_232_232" id="FNanchor_232_232"></a><a href="#Footnote_232_232" class="fnanchor">[232]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span></p> - -<p>On your table is a bill “to enforce the several provisions -of the Constitution abolishing Slavery, declaring -the immunities of citizens, and guarantying a republican -form of government by securing the elective franchise -to colored citizens.” Pass this bill, and you furnish -the needed protection in these semi-rebel States. -Pass this bill, and you supersede strife on this much-vexed -and disturbing question in other States of the -Union. You at once bring to the elective franchise -thousands of good citizens, pledged by their lives and -inspired by their recently received rights to sustain -the good cause which you have so much at heart. Do -this; help in this way the final settlement of the national -troubles; pass this bill of peace,—for such it -will be, giving repose in all the Northern States,—and -in this way help establish repose in all the rest -of the country. And yet I am told that even this important -measure is to be set aside. We are not to enter -upon its consideration; we are not to debate it; we -are not to receive petitions in its favor. Is this right? -Is it not a neglect of duty? Is it not intolerable?</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Mr. President, on these grounds I object to this proposition. -I might have objected to it, in the first place, -as out of order, and asked the ruling of the Chair, not -doubting how the Chair, inspired always by a generous -love of human rights, must rule,—not doubting that -the Chair would say that a proposition of such a character<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> -was too closely associated with one of the most -odious measures of our history to deserve welcome at -this time. I have raised no such question. I confine -myself now to other objections. I object to it as a -departure from sound usage, as contrary to the spirit -of the Constitution, and as setting up an impediment -and obstruction to the transaction of public business of -an urgent character, which you cannot neglect without -neglect of duty. I ask you to provide for the execution -of recent treaties with Venezuela and Russia, to -assure protection to Unionists in Maryland and Kentucky, -and to give peace to the country. Above all, -do not make a bad precedent, to be quoted hereafter -to the injury of the Republic.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>Mr. Pomeroy, of Kansas, felt “embarrassed in voting against the -resolution offered by the Senator from Rhode Island,” but he thought -it “impracticable and unwise,” that it would “subject us to censure, -and that we ourselves should regret it hereafter.” Mr. Yates, of -Illinois, “was for a special session for a special purpose.” In reply to -a question of Mr. Yates, Mr. Sumner said:—</p> - -</div> - -<p>I do not believe Congress would have come together, -if they had had faith in the President. I believe the -session beginning on the 4th of March had its origin -in want of confidence in the President. I believe my -friend agrees in that.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Yates.</span> Yes.</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Sumner.</span> It was to counteract and watch the -President that Congress met on the 4th of March. -When this session was about to adjourn, provision was -made for its renewal, or a continuation or a prolongation -of it, if you may so regard it. I take it in the -same spirit with the original enactment.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span></p> - -<p>It was to provide against the President, and to do -such other incidental business as the public interests -might require. I never doubted that there would be -a session on the 3d of July.<a name="FNanchor_233_233" id="FNanchor_233_233"></a><a href="#Footnote_233_233" class="fnanchor">[233]</a> I so stated at the passage -of the resolution. I have so stated constantly -since; and I have advised more than one gentleman -connected with Congress not to leave the country, because -his post of duty was here. I believe that I have -answered the question of my friend.</p> - -<p>And now one word more. We are assembled under -an Act of Congress and the National Constitution. By -the Constitution it is provided that “each House may -determine the rules of its proceedings.” That is all it -can do. It may not annihilate proceedings; it may -not forbid proceedings. It may provide rules for them; -but it cannot, in a just sense, prevent. Therefore I -submit that the resolution, if not positively unconstitutional, -is contrary to the spirit of that instrument.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>Mr. Ross, of Kansas, hoped “that either the proposition of the Senator -from Massachusetts or something similar to it would carry.” Mr. -Tipton, of Nebraska, was “embarrassed in regard to voting for the -original resolution.” After further debate, the vote was taken on -Mr. Sumner’s substitute, and it was rejected,—Yeas 6, Nays 26.</p> - -<p>Mr. Ross then moved a substitute limiting business “to removing -the obstructions which have been or are likely to be placed in the -way of the fair execution of the Acts of Reconstruction,” and “such -as may be rendered necessary for the preservation of the peace on the -Western frontier.” Debate ensued, in which Mr. Howe, of Wisconsin, -said: “I did not suppose any gentleman would insist that I was bound -by the decision of that body, or by the conclusion arrived at in that -consultation.… I do not know what penalties I subject myself to by -disagreeing here and now with the conclusions then arrived at.” Mr. -Wade, of Ohio, spoke vigorously against the original resolution. In his -judgment, “there are some questions about which a Senator has no -right to conform his view to that of the majority,” and he took the original<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> -resolution to be of that class. “It sets a precedent of the greatest -danger in high party times.” He hoped “that no such detriment to -a minority will ever be successfully urged here.” He judged Mr. Sumner’s -“measure, which is to give universal suffrage by Act of Congress, -to be upon the subject of Reconstruction, and one of the most -efficient measures to that end; and yet gentlemen seem to suppose -that that is within the scope of the excluding clause of this resolution.” -Mr. Fessenden was equally positive the other way. He referred -to the caucus of Republican Senators where the original resolution -was prepared, which he deemed “eminently proper.” “When -gentlemen go into consultation with their friends, and make no protest -whatever against having the result of that consultation acted -upon, they agree impliedly and expressly, in my judgment, that they -will be bound on that subject by the decision which their friends come -to, unless they give notice to the contrary,—that is to say, in case -they continue to act on the subject to the end.” Mr. Sumner followed.</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. President</span>,—I should not have said another -word, but for topics introduced by the Senator from -Maine; yet before I allude to those particularly, allow -me to answer his argument, so far as I am able to -appreciate it. He will pardon me for saying that he -confounds right and power. Unquestionably the Senate -has the power which he attributes to it; but it has -not the right. A jury, as we know, in giving a general -verdict, has power to say “Guilty” or “Not guilty,” disregarding -the instructions of the court; but I need not -say that it is a grave question among lawyers whether it -has the right. Now, assuming that the Senate has the -power which the Senator from Maine claims, it seems -to me it has not the right. It has not the right to disregard -the spirit of the National Constitution; and the -present proposition is of that character. The Senator -does not see it so, I know; for, if he did, he could not -give to it the weight of his character. Others do see it -so; and if they do, the Senator from Maine must pardon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span> -them, if they act accordingly. The Senator would -not vote for anything he regarded as hostile to the spirit -of the Constitution. I cannot attribute to him any such -conduct. Can he expect others to do what he would -not do himself? This is my answer to the argument, -so far as I understand it. Perhaps I do not do justice -to it; yet I try.</p> - -<p>There was one other point of argument. The Senate, -so the Senator argues, may postpone an individual -measure to the next session. Grant it; does it follow -that they may postpone, immediately on their arrival, -the whole business to another session?</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Fessenden.</span> They can adjourn on the next day, or -on the day they meet, if they please.</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Sumner.</span> But so long as they continue in session -as a Senate, then, under the National Constitution, -they must attend to the business of the country. -They cannot tie their hands in advance. To do so is -to violate the spirit of the Constitution. The Senator -cannot have forgotten the Atherton gag, to which I -referred before, without naming it, however. Was it -not justly an offence and a stench in the nostrils of -every patriot citizen? Has it not left a bad name upon -the Congresses that recognized it? But this was simply -a declaration not to receive petitions on one subject; -and now, under the lead of the Senator, we are -to continue in session an indefinite time, and to receive -no petition, no bill, nothing on anything except on one -specified subject. I submit, if the Atherton gag was -unconstitutional, if it was odious, if it was a bad precedent, -then you are very rash in establishing this much -broader precedent. Do not condemn the offensive legislation<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> -of the past; do not condemn those slave-masters -once so offensive in these Chambers. You go further -than they. You impose a gag not upon petitions merely, -but upon the general business of the country.</p> - -<p>The Senator from Ohio [Mr. <span class="smcap">Wade</span>] has, with unanswerable -force, depicted the offensive character of -this precedent, and he has taught us how, now that -we are a majority, we should hesitate to set such an -example for the future. How should we feel, he has -aptly reminded us, if, as a minority, we had such a -cup handed to our lips by a patriot Senator? Doubtless, -that for the time patriotism had departed.</p> - -<p>I should not have been betrayed into these remarks -now, but for topics introduced by the Senator from -Maine. When I opened this debate, this morning, Senators -will bear me witness, I made no allusion to any -discussion elsewhere. I did not think a caucus a proper -subject for this Chamber; nor did I attribute to it anything -of the character which the Senator from Maine -does. He makes it not merely sacred, but a <em>sacro-sanct -pact</em>, by which every one at the meeting is solemnly -bound. What authority is there for any such conclusion? -Senators went to that caucus, I presume, like -myself, without knowing what was to be considered; -and let me confess, when the proposition, in its first -form, was presented, I was startled by its offensive -character. I could not believe that a Senator, knowing -the responsibilities and duties of a Senator, and -under the oath of a Senator, could start such a thing. -Well, Sir, discussion went on. The proposition was -amended, modified, mitigated, losing something of its -offensiveness in form, but it still remained substantially -offensive. I am not aware that any Senator<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> -suggested that it should be adopted as a rule of the -Senate. If any one did, I did not hear it, though paying -close attention to the discussion. I do not think -the Senator from Maine made any such suggestion. I -certainly never supposed that anybody would propose -such a rule. So far as it was to have any value, I -supposed it was to be the recorded result of the deliberations -of political associates,—so far as practicable, -a guide for their action, but not a constraint embodied -in a perpetual record. At the last moment, after the -vote had been declared to which the Senator from -Maine refers, and to which I should make no allusion, -if he had not brought it forward, I rose in the caucus, -and said, “I will not be bound by any such proposition.” -When it had arrived at the stage to which I -refer,—the Senator from Maine will not forget it, for he -interposed a remark which I will not quote now——</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Fessenden.</span> You had better quote it. I said, “Then -you should not have voted on the subject, if you did not -mean to be bound by the decision of the majority.”</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Sumner.</span> To which I replied, “I am a Senator -of the United States.”</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Fessenden.</span> I did not hear the reply.</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Sumner.</span> By that reply I meant that my obligations -as a Senator were above any vote in caucus; -that I had no right to go into caucus and barter away -unquestioned rights on this floor. We are under obligations -here to discharge our duties as Senators. We -cannot in advance tie our hands. I have not said in -so many words, “You violate the Constitution in doing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span> -it.” Perhaps better reflection would lead me to adopt -the stronger language, and say, “You violate the National -Constitution.” I feel plainly, clearly, beyond -doubt, that such is the character of the National Constitution, -and such are our obligations under it, that -we cannot, without a dereliction of duty, consent to -such a proposition. So I see it; I cannot see it otherwise.</p> - -<p>And now I submit to my associates in this body, -with whom I am proud to act, whose good opinion I -value, whether they would have me, feeling as I do -regarding this resolution, act otherwise than as I do. -Should I not, as an associate in this Chamber, anxious -for the good name of the Senate to which we all belong, -proud of this Republic whose honor we hope to -bear aloft, and anxious that no precedent should be -established which may hereafter be brought to our detriment, -should I not enter my frank protest? And, -doing so, do I deserve the rude suggestions that have -been made to-day? Should I be told that one may -not go into a caucus and assist in the debate, and then -appear in this Chamber only with the bands of the -caucus upon his hands?</p> - -<p>Nor is the duty changed by the time of the protest. -Vote or no vote makes no difference. No caucus -could constrain a Senator on such a question. It -was our duty to stay and resist the offensive proposition -to the last, and then afterward resist it elsewhere. -Senators, if they choose, may take it in their hands and -bear it into this Chamber, to enshrine it in the rules -of the Senate. If placed there, I know it will do no -good; it will stay there to the dishonor of the country, -and as a bad precedent for the future.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span></p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>Mr. Howe spoke again, beginning his remarks as follows: “I am -not so familiar with the history of this country as I wish I was. I -do not know whether it has ever happened hitherto in the history -of the country that a Senator has been arraigned before the Senate -for a violation of a duty to a partisan caucus. If there ever has been -such a trial before, I hope there never will be such a trial again.” -Mr. Yates concluded by saying: “Now, Sir, there is one of two -things, and it commences this day: that the decisions of such consultations -have to be carried out, or this day begins the death of any -consultations by the majority in the Senate.” Mr. Sumner followed.</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. President</span>,—It is evident that this debate has -opened a broader question than was imagined at first. -Doctors disagree. The learned Senator from Illinois -differs from the learned Senator from Maine. One expounds -the caucus obligations in one way, and the other -in another. Now I am clear that this debate ought not -to be closed without some defined code of caucus, and -it seems to me that the learned Senators, so swift in -judgment, ought to supply this code. It should be reduced -to a text. We should know to what extent one -is bound, and to what extent not bound: whether the -Senator from Illinois, who refuses to be bound by the -caucus in one point, which was fully discussed, is a -man of honor; whether another Senator, who refuses to -be bound on other points, is a man of honor. That -question could be settled by some explicit code: for we -have been admonished that we cannot differ from the -caucus without a departure from propriety, if not from -duty; and I do not know that stronger language has -not been employed. If it has, I will not quote it. It -seems to me that this should lead to a practical conclusion, -and it is this: to have nothing to do with a -proposition which can be discussed only through such -avenues, which requires such refinement of detail, with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span> -regard to which the Senator from Illinois makes one -exception, and other Senators other exceptions, and to -which still other Senators entirely object.</p> - -<p>Now I am not going to complain of the Senator from -Illinois. In following his convictions he is doing right; -but then I wish him to understand that others on this -floor may have the privilege he claims for himself,—justly -claims; it is his title. I recognize the Senator -as a man of honor, though he does refuse to carry out -the decrees of the caucus. I believe that every Senator -here has responsibilities as a Senator which are above -any he can have to a caucus, which is only a meeting -of friends for consultation and for harmony, where -each gives up something with a view to a common result, -but no man gives up a principle, no man gives up -anything vital. No Senator can expect another Senator -to give up anything vital; no Senator can expect -another Senator to sacrifice a principle. I will not imagine -that any Senator would sacrifice a principle. If -a Senator expects another to accord with him in the -conclusions of a caucus, I know well it is because he -does not see it in the light of principle; but if another -Senator does see it in the light of principle, how can -he be expected to act otherwise than according to his -light? It is not given to all to see with the clearness -of the caucus-defenders. Theirs is the pathway of light; -they see the obligation as complete. Others cannot see -it so. I am in that list. I cannot see it as a final obligation. -I have been present in many caucuses, and I -believe, looking over the past, I have harmonized reasonably -with my associates. Sometimes I have been -constrained to differ, and have expressed that difference, -and it has generally been received with kindness. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span> -other day I expressed the same difference, little expecting, -however, an arraignment on this floor.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>Here followed a conversation, in which Mr. Sumner, Mr. Yates, Mr. -Howe, Mr. Grimes, of Iowa, and Mr. Thayer, of Nebraska, took part. -Mr. Yates was willing to except from the resolution necessary legislation -on the Western frontiers. Mr. Sumner continued:—</p> - -</div> - -<p>Now I submit to my excellent friend, whether his -conclusion does not entirely impair the value of the -caucus conclusion, except to this extent, in which we -all agree, that it is an expression of the opinion of political -associates, calculated to exercise a strong influence -on the course of public business, and to be received -with respect, but not to be imposed upon this -Chamber as a rule.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Yates.</span> Allow me to ask the Senator whether he -did not submit himself to the same sort of decision in the -Reconstruction measures. Those matters were before a caucus, -and acted upon.</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Sumner.</span> In the caucus on Reconstruction I -moved the amendment that in the future constitutions -of the Rebel States the ballot should be required. A -division was had. I allude to it now because interrogated -openly in the Senate. A division was had, and -there were two stand-up votes, when the motion was -carried by a vote of 15 to 13. By 15 to 13 in that -caucus it was voted to require suffrage for all in the -future constitutions of the Rebel States.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Edmunds.</span> And what would you have thought, if -the thirteen had repudiated that action?</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Sumner.</span> To repudiate a proposition in favor -of human liberty would have been a very different<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> -thing from repudiating a proposition against human -liberty.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Fessenden.</span> When the question is put to the Senator, -what he would have thought, if the thirteen had repudiated -it, he says that is a very different thing, being in favor -of liberty.</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Sumner.</span> Very well, does not the Senator say -the same?</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Fessenden.</span> I say there is no difference, where a man -promises to do a thing with a full understanding; he has no -right to violate it, whether it is one way or the other.</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Sumner.</span> The question is, whether the man does -promise. There is the point.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Fessenden.</span> Very well, then, my reply is, that, if -there was no promise in the case of the thirteen to support -the decision, there is no promise here; if there was a promise -in the case of the thirteen to be bound by it and support it, -as they did, then there was a promise here. The Senator -may make the distinction, if he can.</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Sumner.</span> I will make the distinction clear. I -have never said there was a promise in the case of the -thirteen, as I insist there was no promise in the recent -caucus. Had the Senator felt it his duty to come into -the Senate and oppose the report, I should have been -pained to find him on the side of wrong; but I am not -ready to say that he would have been constrained by -the caucus. But, plainly, the repudiation of a caucus -vote for Human Rights is to be judged differently from -the repudiation of a caucus vote adverse to Human -Rights,—assuming, as I do, that there is no promise -in either case.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span></p> - -<p class="center">…</p> - -<p>Sir, I am tired of this talk of honor, in connection -with the public business. This is too solemn; we are -under too great responsibilities. Every Senator acts -with honor. The Senator from Maine acts with honor, -when he seeks to impose a rule which I think offensive -to the spirit of the Constitution. The Senator -from Illinois acts with honor, when he says that he -will not be bound by the vote of this caucus in a -particular case. Other Senators act with honor, when -they refuse to be bound by the resolution in any of -its terms. Every Senator acts with honor. He only -acts otherwise who makes injurious imputations upon -his associates.</p> - -<p>Yes, Sir, let us have this caucus code. If it is to -be administered with such severity, let us know it in -advance, its terms and its conditions,—what extent of -dishonor is to be visited upon those who do not adopt -the caucus conclusions, and what extent of honor upon -those who so steadfastly and violently carry them forward. -Let us have the code. I believe, Sir, that the -true code for the Senate is found in the National Constitution, -in the rules of this body, and in the sentiments -of right and wrong which animate every honest -soul; and I believe that no advantage can be taken of -any Senator by reminding him that he forbore at a -particular moment to register his objection, just as if -we were all there on trial, to be saved by speaking -promptly. It was no such debate; we were there with -friends and brothers, each respecting the sensibilities -and convictions of his associates, and, by interchange -of opinions, seeking harmony, but not submitting to a -yoke.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span></p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>After further remarks from Mr. Fessenden and Mr. Tipton, the substitute -of Mr. Ross was rejected,—Yeas 15, Nays 19. The resolution, -was then adopted,—Yeas 23, Nays 9.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>July 10th, Mr. Sumner called up the following, introduced by him -July 8th:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“<i>Resolved</i>, That the resolution of the Senate, adopted the 5th of July -last, limiting the business of the Senate, be, and hereby is, rescinded.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>In remarks that followed, he showed the character of the proceedings -in the Twenty-Seventh Congress, which had been adduced as a -precedent for the limitation of business. In reply to Mr. Fessenden, -he said:—</p> - -</div> - -<p>I have simply done my duty, in calling attention -to the past precedent which had been introduced into -the discussion. When it was introduced by the Senator -from Maine, I had no means of replying to it. -I had not the Journal or the Globe with me, and I -supposed, from the statement of the Senator, that it -was a resolution practically adopted in this Chamber. -I was not aware of what followed. I was not aware -of the extent to which the whole spirit of the proposition -was denounced. Nor was I aware that its original -mover, Mr. Clay, was obliged to abandon his proposition,—that -he magnanimously, justly, and considerately -abandoned it. That is the true precedent in this -body; and that is the precedent which, I submit, it -would be better for the Senate to follow. Nothing, -surely, could be lost by following it.</p> - -<p>The resolution adopted by the Senate on Friday, while -it remains, will only be of evil example. If hereafter -quoted as a precedent, it may be at last for some purpose -of oppression, when Senators will not all be as just -as those I now have the honor of addressing. It may -be seized then as an engine of tyranny. For one, Sir, -I would leave no such weapon in this Chamber to be -grasped hereafter by any hand.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span></p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>The Senate refused to take up the resolution.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>July 13th, Mr. Sumner made another attempt by the following resolution:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“<i>Resolved</i>, That the rule of the Senate limiting business be suspended, -so far as to allow the consideration of the bill (S. No. 124) to enforce the -several provisions of the Constitution abolishing Slavery, declaring the -immunities of citizens, and guarantying a republican form of government -by securing the elective franchise to colored citizens.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>But he was not able to obtain a vote upon it, and the important bill -was left on the table.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="RECONSTRUCTION_ONCE_MORE" id="RECONSTRUCTION_ONCE_MORE"></a>RECONSTRUCTION ONCE MORE.<br /> -<small>PUBLIC SCHOOLS; OFFICERS AND SENATORS WITHOUT -DISTINCTION OF COLOR.</small></h2> - -<p class="plabeln"><span class="smcap">Speeches in the Senate, on the Third Reconstruction Bill, July -11 and 13, 1867.</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/line.png" width="80" height="16" alt="" /> -</div> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>July 8th, Mr. Trumbull, of Illinois, from the Committee on the Judiciary, -reported a “Bill to give effect to an Act entitled ‘An Act to -provide for the more efficient Government of the Rebel States,’ passed -March 2, 1867.” This was the third Reconstruction measure of the -present year. It was debated for several days. July 11th, Mr. Sumner -said:—</p> - -</div> - -<p class="dropcap">MR. PRESIDENT,—Before offering amendments -which I have on my table, I desire to call attention -briefly to the character of this bill.</p> - -<p>The subject of Reconstruction has been before Congress -for many years. It first appeared in the Senate -as a proposition of my own, as long ago as February, -1862. From that time it has been constantly present. -If at any moment Congress has erred, it has been from -inaction, and not from action. And now the same danger -is imminent.</p> - -<p>Mark, if you please, the stages. At every step there -has been battle. Nothing could be proposed which was -not opposed, often with feeling, sometimes even with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span> -animosity. I do not speak now of the other side, but -of friends on this side of the Chamber, some of whom -have fought every measure.</p> - -<p>To my mind nothing has been plainer from the beginning -than the jurisdiction of Congress. Obviously -it was not for the Executive, but for the Legislative. -The President was commander-in-chief of the army; -that function was his. But he could not make States -or constitutions, or determine how States or constitutions -should be made. All that he did to this end -was gross usurpation, aggravated by motives and consequences.</p> - -<p>Unquestionably the jurisdiction was in Congress; -and I shall never cease to lament that it was not -asserted promptly and courageously. Our delay has -postponed the establishment of peace and reconciliation. -Much as the President has erred, Congress has -not been without error also. The President erred from -assuming powers which did not belong to him; Congress -erred from declining to assume powers which belonged -to it. The sins of the President were of commission; -the sins of Congress were of omission. The -President did the things he ought not to have done; -Congress left undone the things it ought to have done.</p> - -<p>In the exercise of unquestioned jurisdiction, Congress -should at once have provided civil governments, -through whose influence and agency the Rebel States -might have been shaped into republican forms. Such -a proceeding would have been more constitutional and -more according to the genius of our institutions than -that which was adopted. It is hard to reconcile a military -government, or any government born of military -power, with the true idea of a republic. Tardily, too<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span> -tardily, Congress entered upon the work; and then began -hesitations of another character. Even when assuming -jurisdiction, it halted.</p> - -<p>For a long time it refused to confer the suffrage upon -the colored race. At last this was done.</p> - -<p>Then it refused to exclude Rebels from the work of -Reconstruction; and when at last it attempted something, -its rule of exclusion was so little certain that -an ingenious lawyer by a written opinion has set it -aside.</p> - -<p>There have been bills with riders, and after the passage -of these bills there has been a supplementary bill -with riders. And still further legislation is needed.</p> - -<p>Surely these successive failures have their lesson. -They admonish us now to make thorough work.</p> - -<p>If you will not establish civil governments, with the -military power simply as a support, then at least do not -hesitate to vacate the existing governments, which are -so many roots and centres of sedition. All the officers -of these governments, from highest to lowest, exercise -an influence adverse to a just reconstruction. They are -in the way of peace and reconciliation. They increase -the essential difficulties of forming new governments. -Through their influence a hostile spirit is engendered -and sustained. Such an obstacle should be removed.</p> - -<p>At the same time be careful that Rebel influence is -not allowed to prevail in the new governments. Of -course this can be only by excluding Rebels during this -transition period, until the new governments are formed. -The rule of exclusion may be properly changed, when -loyal and republican governments are established. Attention -has already been called to cases deserving notice: -as, for instance, naturalized citizens who have taken<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span> -an oath to support the National Constitution and afterward -became Rebels, but yet are not excluded; cadets -at the Military and Naval Academies; persons who have -contributed to Rebel loans or invested money in Rebel -bonds or securities; contractors who furnished Rebel -supplies; also persons who, as authors, publishers, editors, -contributors, or as speakers or preachers, encouraged -the secession of any State or the waging of war -against the United States.</p> - -<p>Considering what we hear with regard to the boards -of registration,—that in some States they are of doubtful -principles, that in others colored fellow-citizens are -excluded, so that a large proportion of the electors have -no representation in the boards,—it seems to me that -we ought by positive words to provide that the boards -shall be constituted without distinction of color. Colored -persons may be chosen to office, and I cannot -doubt that we shall soon welcome colored Senators and -Representatives to the National Capitol. Meanwhile -the boards of registration must be kept as open as these -Chambers; and no commanding general can be allowed -to set up a rule adverse to the rights of a race.</p> - -<p>A system of public schools without distinction of -color should be required. This important duty must -not be left to caprice, or to the triumph of truth through -local influence. Its performance should be enforced as -essential to republican government. We have required -suffrage for all; we should require also education for -all.</p> - -<p>Provision should be made to invalidate the decrees -of court in the Rebel States which have not been voluntarily -executed. This is necessary for the protection -of loyal persons. Look, for instance, at Texas, where,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span> -according to recent report, immense sums have been -taken by unjust decrees. If the remedy is not applied -now, it is doubtful if the opportunity will not be lost -forever.</p> - -<p>In submitting a constitution to the people, it seems -to me advisable that it should not be complicated by -any election of officers, State or National, but that all -elections should be postponed until after approval of the -constitution by Congress.</p> - -<p>There should also be penalties for the violation of the -Act. The pardon of the President must not be allowed -to confer a title to vote; and since officials have shown -such a disposition to impair the efficacy of an Act by -interpretation, reducing it to a mere shadow, we ought -to provide that it shall be interpreted liberally.</p> - -<p>In making these propositions, I ask that you should -not hesitate simply because they may not be embraced -within the terms of the original Acts. I would do now -all that we can to make this measure of Reconstruction -just and beneficent. I know no other rule worthy of -the Senate or adequate to the occasion.</p> - -<p>In carrying out these ideas, I propose to offer several -amendments, which I will send to the Chair in order. -I begin by an amendment as an additional section:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“<i>And be it further enacted</i>, That every constitution in the -Rebel States shall require the Legislature to establish and -sustain a system of public schools open to all, without distinction -of race or color.”</p> - -</div> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>Mr. Trumbull objected to the amendment as not in order under the -rule limiting the business of the session. The question of order was -submitted to the Senate, and the amendment was ruled out of order,—Yeas -11, Nays 22.</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span> -<p>Mr. Sumner then moved the following amendment, which he was -sure must be in order, even under the stringent rule of the Senate:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“<i>Provided</i>, That no person shall be disqualified as member of any board -of registration by reason of race or color.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>Mr. Conkling, of New York, inquired “whether there is any doubt -upon the law, as it stands now, that men otherwise qualified are eligible, -notwithstanding they are black.” Mr. Sumner replied:—</p> - -</div> - -<p>I am accustomed to that class of questions on this -floor. When, some two or three years ago, I felt it -my duty to move, on one bill after another, that there -should be no exclusion from the street cars on account -of color, I was encountered by learned lawyers, and -by none more constantly than my friend opposite, the -Senator from Maryland [Mr. <span class="smcap">Johnson</span>], with precisely -the suggestion which my friend from New York now -makes: that in point of law it was unnecessary; that -under the actual law, which was none other than the -Common Law, there could be no exclusion on account -of color: and yet, in the face of that Common Law, Senators -all know that there was an exclusion from the -cars on account of color, and the grossest outrages committed. -Colored persons were precipitated into the -streets, into the mud, under a pelting rain, and they -could obtain no redress; and when I asked for redress, -grave Senators said, “Let them apply to the courts”; -and it was suggested that perhaps I had better volunteer -as counsel in court rather than appear in this -Chamber. Now the question of my friend from New -York is precisely in the same spirit. I cannot doubt, -that, under the existing Reconstruction law, there can -be no exclusion on account of color,—that nobody is -for that reason disqualified from the exercise of any<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span> -function. What is there to prevent a colored person -from being a Senator of the United States? and who -can doubt that within a very few months it will be our -business to welcome a colored Senator on this floor? -I cannot doubt it.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Johnson</span> [of Maryland]. How many?</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Sumner.</span> That I do not know. But I ask you -who look to the colored vote in these States as the -means of security and peace, through which you are to -find protection for this Republic, and for white fellow-citizens -there as well as for the colored themselves, to -see that this stigma is not put upon them by any commanding -general pretending to act by virtue of our -legislation. It is not enough to tell me, that, under -the actual law, colored persons may be designated. To -that I reply, in the State of Virginia they have not -been designated; and I wish now that Congress should -declare that any exclusion on account of color is without -the sanction of law.</p> - -<p>And that brings me to the inquiry of my friend from -Illinois, as to the penalty, I think, or as to the extent -of the remedy.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Trumbull.</span> The question was, whether your proviso -afforded any remedy.</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Sumner.</span> That I will answer. My proviso affords -precisely the same remedy that it afforded on the -Railroad Bills. It is in nearly the same terms. I followed -those terms, because I know my friend likes good -precedents, and we have enough of those on the question -of the street cars. The Senate adopted that proviso -at least half a dozen times. There it is, without penalty,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> -and yet it has been most efficacious, not only in these -streets, but as an example throughout the country. -Adopt this proviso now, and I am sure it will be most -efficacious with our generals even without any penalty. -Should they exclude fellow-citizens on account of color, -it will be a violation of law and a failure of duty; -there can be no votes of thanks for them,—“no hope -of golden spurs to-day.”</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>Mr. Conkling replied: “I do not wish, for one, to vote for an -amendment which I think carries nothing with it, but which simply -incumbers the bill with unnecessary, and I might say verbose provisos.”</p> - -<p>The amendment was rejected by a tie-vote,—Yeas 18, Nays 18.</p> - -<p>At the next stage of the bill, Mr. Sumner renewed his amendment. -In reply to Mr. Edmunds, of Vermont, Mr. Sumner said:—</p> - -</div> - -<p>I will not spend time. There has been an abuse -which has come to our knowledge. We know that -in whole States colored persons are excluded from the -boards, and this justifies our intervention.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>On this second trial the amendment was adopted,—Yeas 21, Nays 8.</p> - -<p>Mr. Sumner offered the following:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“<i>And be it further enacted</i>, That there shall be no elections of State -or National officers under any new constitution until after the same has -been approved by Congress.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>This was objected to by Mr. Trumbull, as out of order under the -rule, and so decided by the Senate.</p> - -<p>Mr. Sumner then moved the following amendment:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“<i>And be it further enacted</i>, That in each of these States all judgments -and decrees of court which have not been voluntarily executed, and which -have been rendered subsequently to the date of the Ordinance of Secession -in each State respectively, shall be subject to appeal to the highest court in -the State, organized after the State shall be admitted again by Congress -into the Union; but no such appeal shall be allowed, unless the motion -for the same shall have been lodged in the court, or clerk’s office of -the court, in which the decree was rendered, within sixty days after the -governor appointed under this Act shall have entered upon the discharge -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span>of the duties of his office, and for all judgments rendered subsequently to -such date, within sixty days after the same have been rendered.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>Mr. Trumbull objected to it as out of order under the rule. Mr. -Sumner said:—</p> - -</div> - -<p>My attention has often been called to the necessity -of such a provision, by gentlemen from the South, and -especially by lawyers there. They tell me that without -some such provision the grossest injustice will be done. -Throughout the whole Rebellion the local tribunals -were sitting to administer justice; yet it was not justice, -but injustice, that they administered. Under their -decrees private rights were overthrown; and I doubt -not that my friend from Illinois has recently read the -account of an extensive injustice in Texas, where private -property to an almost incalculable amount was -taken away by these unjust decrees.</p> - -<p>Should there not be a remedy? I think all will -say that there should be. This is, if I may so express -myself, the last time of asking. If those States -are once organized as States and received into the -Union, I know not if we have the power of applying -a remedy. That we have now I am sure. I cannot -doubt our constitutional power at this moment to set -aside all those decrees, so far as they have not been -voluntarily submitted to, or subject them, according to -the provision of my amendment, to appeal in a higher -tribunal after the reorganization of justice in these -States. Is not the provision reasonable? Is it not -to serve the ends of justice? If you do not accept -it now, can you accept it at any time hereafter? And -if you do not accept it now or hereafter, will not these -parties go without remedy? On that question I do -not pronounce dogmatically. I do not mean to say<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span> -that they will be absolutely without remedy; but I -do not easily see their remedy. I see difficulties in -the way, while at this moment I see no difficulties -in the way.</p> - -<p>Then I encounter the objection that this is not in -order. Why not? Is it not to carry out your Reconstruction -Bill, to smooth difficulties, to remove wrong, -to establish justice? It may not have been specially -foreshadowed in the original bill or the supplemental -bill; but I submit that it is entirely germane to both -those bills. Besides, it is commended by an intrinsic -justice, which should make it acceptable at any time.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>The amendment was decided to be out of order.</p> - -<p>Mr. Sumner then offered this amendment:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“<i>And be it further enacted</i>, That all the provisions of this Act, and -of the Acts to which this is supplementary, shall be construed liberally, -to the end that all the intents thereof may be fully and perfectly carried -out.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>There was no objection of order to this amendment, and it was -agreed to without a division.</p> - -<p>After further amendment the bill was ingrafted upon a House bill -on the same subject and passed,—Yeas 32, Nays 6. Being referred to -a Conference Committee, the report of the Committee was adopted: in -the Senate, Yeas 31, Nays 6,—and in the House, Yeas 111, Nays 23.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>July 13th, on the report of the Conference Committee in the Senate, -Mr. Sumner said:—</p> - -</div> - -<p>And now, as we are about to dismiss this subject -for the present session, I cannot forbear again expressing -regret that the measure has not been made more -complete,—in one word, more radical. This is the -third bill of Reconstruction on which we have acted. -We ought never to have acted on more than one; and -had the Senate been sufficiently radical, had it founded -its bill on clear, definite principle, there would have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span> -been no occasion for more than one. Just so far as -we have failed to found ourselves on clear, definite principle, -our bills have failed; and should there be failure -under the present bill, it will be precisely on that account.</p> - -<p>I shall never cease to lament that Congress did not -at once assume jurisdiction of the whole region, and in -the exercise of its plenary authority establish civil governments, -supplying ample military support. Such a -Reconstruction would have been founded on principles -to defy the criticism of history. I trust that what we -have done will be judged leniently hereafter. I know, -however, that it is not above criticism. Of course, such -Reconstruction would have removed out of sight all existing -State governments and municipal governments -set up by Rebel authority, or by the President in the -exercise of usurped power. In my opinion, it is not -too late to do this last work. Even if you decline to -establish civil governments, I think, that, under the -Military Bill, you should go forward and brush away -all the existing governments there. From information, -private and public, out of every one of the Rebel -States, I am led to this conclusion. Those governments, -whether State or municipal, are just so many engines -of Rebel influence. They stand in the way of Reconstruction. -They prevent the beneficent operation of -your work. But the Senate has declined that path. -I regret it, and now at this last moment record my -regret.</p> - -<p>I am sorry to add that the Senate has declined to -require of these people conditions which I think essential -to republican government. One of these is a -system of public education. I can never cease to mourn<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span> -the failure in this regard. Here is a paper from New -Orleans, which has come to me since I have been at -my desk to-day, edited by colored persons,—and an -excellent paper it is,—“The New Orleans Tribune” -of July 9, 1867, which contains an article entitled -“Public Schools,” from which I will read a brief sentence:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Who will open the public schools to all children? We -are of opinion that it will only be done by a colored mayor -with colored members of the city council. This opinion is -justified by facts.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>The article then sets forth the impediments in the way -of public schools. And yet, in the face of such intelligence -from the Rebel States, we decline to require -a system of public education as an essential element -in these new governments. I lament it; and I desire -again to record this sentiment.</p> - -<p>I fear also, Mr. President, that in the operation of -this bill you will find that we have not been sufficiently -explicit in the exclusion of Rebel influence. I -have made my best effort to remove doubts and to enlarge -the exclusion. But, in saying this, I desire to add, -that, in my judgment, all exclusions belong to what I -call the transition period. When Reconstruction is accomplished, -the time will come for us to open the gates,—but -not till then.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>July 19th, the bill was vetoed by the President, and on the same -day it was re-passed by a two-thirds vote of both Houses: in the -Senate, Yeas 30, Nays 6,—and in the House, Yeas 109, Nays 25; so -that it became a law.<a name="FNanchor_234_234" id="FNanchor_234_234"></a><a href="#Footnote_234_234" class="fnanchor">[234]</a></p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="SUFFRAGE_WITHOUT_DISTINCTION_OF_COLOR_THROUGHOUT" id="SUFFRAGE_WITHOUT_DISTINCTION_OF_COLOR_THROUGHOUT"></a>SUFFRAGE WITHOUT DISTINCTION OF COLOR THROUGHOUT -THE UNITED STATES BY ACT OF CONGRESS.</h2> - -<p class="plabeln"><span class="smcap">Remarks in the Senate, on a Bill to enforce several Provisions -of the Constitution by securing the Elective Franchise -to Colored Citizens, July 12, 1867.</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/line.png" width="80" height="16" alt="" /> -</div> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>March 26, 1867, Mr. Sumner asked, and by unanimous consent -obtained, leave to introduce a bill to enforce the several provisions -of the Constitution abolishing Slavery, declaring the immunities of -citizens, and guarantying a republican form of government, by securing -the elective franchise to colored citizens, which was read twice by its -title and printed. He then remarked on the importance of the bill, -and said that it was intended to cut the Gordian knot of the Suffrage -question throughout the country.</p> - -<p>At the session beginning July 3d, he made constant efforts for its -consideration, challenging objection and argument.</p> - -<p>July 12th, he moved its consideration, calling it “the Capstone of -Reconstruction”; but the Third Reconstruction Bill was pressed by -Mr. Trumbull, of Illinois, to the exclusion of the other. Mr. Sumner -would not antagonize his bill with that. As soon as the other -measure was disposed of, he pressed his bill again. It was objected -to by Mr. Edmunds, of Vermont, as not in order under the rule of -the session limiting business,<a name="FNanchor_235_235" id="FNanchor_235_235"></a><a href="#Footnote_235_235" class="fnanchor">[235]</a> and the question of order was referred -to the Senate. On this Mr. Sumner said:—</p> - -</div> - -<p class="dropcap">My argument is precisely this, and I ask the attention -of my friend from Maryland [Mr. <span class="smcap">Johnson</span>]. -We all know his eminence at the bar of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span> -Supreme Court, and I submit to him this: We have -already by Reconstruction Acts conferred the suffrage -upon colored persons in the Rebel States; now is it -not important that our legislation should be completed -and rounded by conferring the suffrage in the other -States as conferred in the Rebel States? You have -conferred it in the Rebel States.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Johnson.</span> What has that to do with the other -States?</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Sumner.</span> Will you have the great right of suffrage -depend upon Act of Congress in one half of the -Union, and not upon Act of Congress in the other half? -If you can pass an Act for one half, can you not for -the other half? I know the answer, that in the Rebel -States the fact of rebellion gives a power we have not -in the other States. But the present bill is founded not -simply on the fact of rebellion, but on the clause in -the National Constitution by which we are bound to -guaranty a republican form of government throughout -the whole country; also on the other clause by which -Slavery is abolished throughout the whole country, and -we are empowered by proper legislation to enforce it; -also that further clause by which the rights of citizens -are secured throughout the whole country, and we are -empowered by proper legislation to enforce it. Here -are three sources of power, equally applicable to all the -States, Rebel or Loyal. And now I submit that such -an Act for the Loyal States is only the just complement -to our action in the Rebel States.</p> - -<p>How can you look the Rebel States in the face, when -you have required colored suffrage of them and fail to -require it in the other States? Be just; require it in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span> -the Loyal States as you have required it in the Rebel -States. There is an unanswerable argument, and I submit -it on the question of order. If we are privileged -to consider only matters in aid of the original Reconstruction -measures, then do I say that this bill is in -aid of those measures, for it gives to them completeness -and roundness. Without this bill your original -measures are imperfect, ay, radically unjust. I know -it is said there is one title to legislation over the Rebel -States which we have not with regard to the Loyal -States,—to wit, that they have been in rebellion. But -the great sources of power in the two cases are identical; -they are one and the same.</p> - -<p>There is the guaranty clause in the National Constitution, -the sleeping giant of the Constitution, never -until this recent war awakened, but now it comes forward -with a giant’s power. There is no clause like -it. There is no text which gives to Congress such supreme -power over the States. Then, as I have so often -said, are the two other clauses. Your power under the -Constitution is not less complete than beneficent.</p> - -<p>I am not to be betrayed into the constitutional argument. -I am now on the question of order. I say that -this bill is essential to perfect the original Reconstruction -measures. You should not return to your homes -without this additional Act by which Reconstruction -is finished. If any Senator has any reason to bring -against this bill, if any one can suggest a doubt of its -constitutionality, I should like to hear the reason or -the doubt, and I shall be ready to answer it. I invite -discussion. I challenge the expression of any reason -against it, or of any doubt with regard to its constitutionality; -and I ask Senators to look at it as a great<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span> -measure of expediency as well as of justice. How will -you settle this question in the Loyal States? Here are -Delaware, Maryland,—my friend over the way will -not be sensitive when I allude to his State,—and Kentucky, -in each of which this measure will be the salvation -of Union citizens. In other States, like Pennsylvania, -it will rally at once—I am speaking now on -the question of expediency—twenty thousand votes to -the Union cause. In Indiana, too, it will settle the -Suffrage question. I say nothing of Iowa. There is -Wisconsin.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Trumbull.</span> They all vote there now.</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Sumner.</span> Under the decision of the Supreme -Court. So much the better. There is Connecticut. It -would obtain three thousand votes there for the good -cause. A short Act of Congress will determine the political -fortunes of Connecticut for an indefinite period -by securing three thousand additional votes to the right -side. There is New York, also, where the bill would -have the same excellent beneficent influence.</p> - -<p>Who, then, can hesitate? Look at it in any light -you please. Regard it as the completion of these Reconstruction -measures, as a constitutional enactment, or -as a measure of expediency to secure results we all -desire at the approaching elections, and who can hesitate? -There has been no bill before you for a long -time of more practical value than this. I hope there -will be no question about proceeding with it, and that -we may pass it before we separate to-night.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Edmunds.</span> I agree with my friend from Massachusetts, -that the bill has very great merit. It has supreme -moral merit. I agree to every word of it. I am a little<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span> -afraid, it is true, that there is a higher law that will bind us -not to pass it, for want of power.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Sumner.</span> Want of power! Will the Senator be -good enough to state the reason?</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Edmunds.</span> No, not on this point, because it is not -relevant to this question of order.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Sumner.</span> But, as the Senator is going into the question -of the want of power, I really wish he would deign to -enlighten us upon that.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Edmunds.</span> My friend will have to go without it, so -far as I am concerned, for I shall not make it.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Sumner.</span> Then I shall begin to think the Senator -cannot.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Edmunds.</span> That is not a very dangerous state of -things; but there are others who can.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The Senate decided the motion out of order,—Yeas 12, Nays 22.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>July 13th, and again on the 15th, Mr. Sumner made another effort, -by a resolution suspending the rule limiting business, so as to allow -the consideration of this bill; but he could not get a vote on the resolution. -The Senate rose without touching it.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="OPENING_OF_OFFICES_TO_COLORED_PERSONS" id="OPENING_OF_OFFICES_TO_COLORED_PERSONS"></a>OPENING OF OFFICES TO COLORED PERSONS -IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.</h2> - -<p class="plabeln"><span class="smcap">Remarks in the Senate, on a Bill for the further Security of -Equal Rights in the District of Columbia, July 16, 1867.</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/line.png" width="80" height="16" alt="" /> -</div> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>July 16th, Mr. Sumner offered a petition from citizens of Washington, -setting forth, that, under the existing charter of Washington, -colored persons are excluded from office, and praying relief. He supported -the petition with the following bill “for the further security -of Equal Rights in the District of Columbia”:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“<i>Be it enacted, &c.</i>, That in the District of Columbia no person shall -be excluded from any office by reason of race or color, and all parts of -laws making any such discrimination are hereby repealed.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>The bill was read, when Mr. Sumner asked unanimous consent to -proceed with its consideration.</p> - -</div> - -<p class="dropcap">I think there can be no objection to this bill. It -is simply to carry out what is understood to be the -effect of existing legislation, but which practically does -not seem to be its effect. At the late election in the -District it appeared that by the terms of the charter -colored persons could not be qualified as aldermen, as -common-councilmen, or as assessors; and on examining -the charter, which I have now on my desk, I find that -by its terms, strictly construed, these offices are confined -to free white persons. By our legislation, all -persons, without distinction of color, can be voters, but -nothing is said about being office-holders. I cannot<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span> -doubt, that, under the Constitution, and particularly -since the recent legislation, the discrimination adverse -to colored persons is void; but practically it is not -so regarded. I submit, therefore, that it is proper in -Congress to remove this grievance.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>Mr. Buckalew, of Pennsylvania, objected to its consideration, when -Mr. Sumner gave notice that he should endeavor to call it up the -next day. He gave further notice, that, if any objection were made, -he should move to suspend the rule limiting business so far as to -allow this bill to be considered.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>July 17th, on motion of Mr. Sumner, the Senate proceeded to consider -the bill. Mr. Hendricks, of Indiana, then said:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“The Senator from Massachusetts was the author of the proposition -that the colored people should vote. He made the commencement of -that policy with the District of Columbia. He now claims—and I believe -his party friends have come up to his position—that that is to be -made universal throughout the States. I suppose he will be frank enough -to inform us whether it is intended as the commencement of the policy -that negroes shall be allowed to become office-holders, to hold both Federal -and State offices throughout the country,—whether he regards this -as the inauguration of that policy. I suppose he does, from the fact that -he expressed with a great deal of warmth, the other day, the desire that -he might see colored Senators here in a very short time. If we are to regard -it as the inauguration of the policy, it is well enough to know it.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>Without any reply, Mr. Sumner asked for a vote, when the bill -was passed,—Yeas 25, Nays 5.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>July 18th, in the other House, the bill was reported by Mr. Wilson, -of Iowa, from the Judiciary Committee, with the following substitute, -intended to avoid in legislation the repetition of the phrase -“race or color.”</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“The word ‘white,’ wherever it occurs in the laws relating to the District -of Columbia or in the charter or ordinances of the city of Washington -or Georgetown, and operates as a limitation on the right of any elector -of said District or either of said cities to hold any office or to be selected -and to serve as a juror, be and the same is hereby repealed; and it shall -be unlawful for any person or officer to enforce or attempt to enforce said -limitation after the passage of this Act.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>The substitute was adopted, and the bill thus amended passed,—Yeas -90, Nays 20.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span></p> -<p>July 19th, the Senate concurred in the amendment, and, on motion -of Mr. Harlan, of Iowa, further amended the bill by an additional section -authorizing “the necessary grand and petit jurors for the June -term of the Criminal Court for the year 1867.” This amendment, though -not relating to Equal Rights, was concurred in by the House.</p> - -<p>July 20th, the bill was duly enrolled and transmitted to the President -for his signature, but was not returned by him before the adjournment, -the same day, so that it failed to become a law. Mr. Sumner -complained that Senators “proposed to go home and leave Equal -Rights in the District without the protection we owe them.”</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>November 21st, on the first day of the meeting of Congress after -the adjournment, Mr. Sumner introduced the same bill as it had -passed both Houses, and asked the Senate to proceed with it at once; -but this was prevented by the objection of Mr. Davis, of Kentucky. -Mr. Sumner forbore calling it up for eleven consecutive days of the -session, to see if within that time it would be returned to Congress, -with or without objections. It was not returned, and on application -at the Department of State it was ascertained that it had not -been received there.</p> - -<p>December 5th, the bill was taken up, on motion of Mr. Sumner, discussed, -and again passed,—Yeas 32, Nays 8.</p> - -<p>December 9th, it passed the House,—Yeas 104, Nays 39.</p> - -<p>December 11th it was presented to the President.</p> - -<p>December 20th, Congress adjourned for the holidays.</p> - -<p>The President, by a message, January 24, 1868, in reply to an inquiry -of the Senate, stated that it was presented for his approval December -11, 1867, but that “Congress by their adjournment [December -20th] prevented the return of the bill within the time prescribed by the -Constitution.”</p> - -<p>January 7th, Mr. Sumner a third time introduced the same bill. -Mr. Sherman, of Ohio, thought “we ought to consider whether it is -not already a law.” Mr. Edmunds, of Vermont, said that “this bill -has become a law, if it has not been returned with a veto.” Under -these circumstances, the bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee -to consider its true condition and the question of further legislation.</p> - -<p>February 11, 1869, the bill being once more before the Senate, Mr. -Sumner moved it again, as appears by the following passage.</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Sumner.</span> I move that the Senate proceed to the consideration of -Senate bill No. 228.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Drake</span> [of Missouri]. What is it?</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span> -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Sumner.</span> A bill for the further security of Equal Rights in the -District of Columbia. I will make one minute’s explanation, and then -the Senate will see that it ought to be passed. This bill has already twice -passed both Houses of Congress, but immediately before recesses, and it -has fallen from the President failing to return it with his veto, and from -the unsettled condition of the practice or law in such cases.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">The Presiding Officer</span> [Mr. <span class="smcap">Morgan</span>, of New York, in the chair]. -It requires the unanimous consent of the Senate to consider the bill at -this time.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Drake.</span> I appeal to the honorable Senator from Massachusetts -on behalf of a poor and most worthy woman——</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Sumner.</span> Why should the Senator make that appeal to me? I -appeal on behalf of all the colored people in this District, who ask the -passage of this bill.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Conkling</span> [of New York]. Whether the objection should be made -or not depends perhaps upon this, which I should like to inquire: Has -not this bill not only passed twice, I think three times, but has it not -become a law certainly once?</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Sumner.</span> It has not become a law; at least, it has not found place -in the statute-book, and the courts have declined to recognize it as law. -Under the circumstances, it has seemed the best and the shortest way for -Congress to pass it again, so as to remove all doubt.</p> - -</div> - -<p>The bill passed the Senate without a division, and, March 2d, it -again passed the other House without a division. Again it failed -to receive the signature of the President, nor was it returned with -his objections.</p> - -<p>March 6th, at the opening of a new Congress, with a new President, -Mr. Sumner introduced it again, and asked unanimous consent to proceed -with its consideration; but Mr. Vickers, of Maryland, objected.</p> - -<p>March 8th, it passed the Senate without a division; March 15th, -passed the other House,—Yeas 111, Nays 46; March 18th, was approved -by the President, and so at last became a law.<a name="FNanchor_236_236" id="FNanchor_236_236"></a><a href="#Footnote_236_236" class="fnanchor">[236]</a></p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="NATURALIZATION_WITHOUT_DISTINCTION_OF" id="NATURALIZATION_WITHOUT_DISTINCTION_OF"></a>NATURALIZATION WITHOUT DISTINCTION OF -RACE OR COLOR.</h2> - -<p class="plabeln"><span class="smcap">Remarks in the Senate, on a Bill to strike out the Word -“White” in the Naturalization Laws, July 19, 1867.</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/line.png" width="80" height="16" alt="" /> -</div> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>July 19th, Mr. Sumner introduced a bill to amend the several -Acts of Congress relating to Naturalization, by striking out the word -“white,” and he asked unanimous consent of the Senate to consider -the bill at once. Mr. Edmunds, of Vermont, objected. Mr. Sumner -then said:—</p> - -</div> - -<p class="dropcap">I hope the Senator will not object. I have received -a letter from Norfolk, calling attention to -the case of a colored person there, an inhabitant for -more than twenty-five years, but unable to obtain naturalization -because of the words of color in our naturalization -laws. It is only reasonable that we should -put an end to that grievance. In short, I would punch -the word “white” out of the statute-book, wherever it -appears. If the Senator from Vermont is disposed to -keep it in, then I can understand that he would object -to the bill.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Edmunds.</span> I am not disposed to keep it in——</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Sumner.</span> I did not suppose the Senator was.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Edmunds.</span> My punch is not quite so case-hardened -as that of my friend.</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span> -<p>And he insisted upon its reference to the Committee on the Judiciary, -“so that there may be that examination which will make the -bill perfect, if it is not now perfect, to answer the end that my friend -from Massachusetts and myself both want to reach.” The bill was -referred accordingly.</p> - -<p>February 17, 1869, Mr. Stewart, of Nevada, reported the bill from -the Committee adversely. In the few remaining days of the session -Mr. Sumner was unable to call it up.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="THE_PRESIDENT_MUST_BE_WATCHED_BY_CONGRESS" id="THE_PRESIDENT_MUST_BE_WATCHED_BY_CONGRESS"></a>THE PRESIDENT MUST BE WATCHED BY CONGRESS, -OR REMOVED.</h2> - -<p class="plabeln"><span class="smcap">Speech in the Senate, on the Resolution of Adjournment, July -19, 1867.</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/line.png" width="80" height="16" alt="" /> -</div> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>July 19th, the Senate considered a resolution from the other House -to reassemble November 13th. Mr. Sherman, of Ohio, moved to amend -by making the day of meeting “the first Monday of December next.” -Mr. Sumner moved to amend the amendment by substituting “the -second Wednesday of October next.” He then said:—</p> - -</div> - -<p class="dropcap">On that question I have a word to say, and I must -speak frankly. I cannot help it. How Congress, -after listening to the message of to-day,<a name="FNanchor_237_237" id="FNanchor_237_237"></a><a href="#Footnote_237_237" class="fnanchor">[237]</a> which is only -the logical consequence of other messages, can quietly -vote to go home and leave this post of duty until next -winter, passes my understanding. To me it is incomprehensible. -The message, from beginning to end, is a -menace. Needless to quote its precise language. Its -defiant tone fills this Chamber, and will soon fill the -whole country. Listening to this appeal, so well calculated -to revive the dying Rebellion, I felt that one -of two things was needed,—the removal of its author -from the Executive chair, or Congress in permanent -session to watch and counteract him. Such is the alternative. -One failing, the other must be.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span></p> - -<p>Now, Sir, when thus insisting, let it be understood -that I am not unmindful of any of my responsibilities -in this Chamber. Other duties may devolve upon me -hereafter. For the present I speak as a Senator, bound, -in the discharge of official duty, to do what he can for -the public good. As a Senator, I must be plain; nor -can I be constrained by the possibility that hereafter -I may be called to judge the President. I am called -to judge him now. The proposition that Congress -should go home compels me to judge him.</p> - -<p>Unquestionably it is for the other House to initiate -the proceedings which shall bring the President to your -bar. But until then it is the right and duty of every -Senator to express himself freely with regard to his -conduct; nor can there be any limit to this latitude. -It is as broad as human thought. No future duty can -be a strait-jacket now. Because the President may -be impeached, the Senate is not obliged to be silent -with regard to him. The National Constitution is guilty -of no such absurdity. Until a Senator is sworn on the -trial of impeachment, according to the requirement of -the National Constitution, he is a Senator, free to criticize -any public functionary, from the President to the -humblest officer; and if either has so acted as to deserve -removal, there is no reason why he should not -say so. This is only according to the National Constitution -and common sense.</p> - -<p>Now, since Andrew Johnson remains President and -he is not yet at your bar, I cannot doubt that we ought -to stay in our seats to encounter the evil proceeding -from him. We must meet him constantly, and not leave -the field unoccupied.</p> - -<p>For this reason, simply and briefly stated, I object<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span> -to the motion of the Senator from Ohio. If I had -powers of persuasion, I would use them all to induce -you to remain as a guard to the National Constitution -and a constabulary force for the Rebel States. Possibly -you may not like the office. But I doubt if any -of us can be better employed anywhere than in contributing -to the success of Reconstruction, and in preserving -peace throughout that distressed region of country. -Sitting in our seats here, we are a mighty police, -ready at the call of general or citizen, and also a terror -to the evil-doer.</p> - -<p>Senators wish to leave. So do I. Nobody can wish -to leave more than myself. I suffer much from these -heats. I long to be at home. But I feel that it is -my duty to be here. All that I have felt before is now -intensified by the menace of this message. Hereafter -no Senator can say that he did not know what to expect. -He will not be taken by surprise. Here is distinct -and open notice that the President will do all -in his power to thwart your legislation and to arrest -a just Reconstruction. There he stands, a constant impediment -to peace, and an ally to the Rebellion. And -yet, knowing these things, it is proposed to go home -and leave him undisturbed master till winter.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>Mr. Sherman said: “It does seem to me a very strange thing that -a judge, by whose vote alone the President can be removed, should -declare that he must be removed. [Mr. Sumner said, “Or Congress -must stay here to watch him.”]… If the House of Representatives -desire to present an impeachment of any officer of the Government, I -am perfectly willing to stay and try him. No such case is presented.” -Mr. Buckalew, of Pennsylvania, said: “The Senator from Massachusetts -who first spoke [Mr. <span class="smcap">Sumner</span>] maintains his usual position at the -end of this session. I do not remember any occasion when that member -supported a resolution of adjournment. I do not remember an occasion -when he did not vote for reassembling, when the opportunity<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span> -was afforded him, at an early date. In fact, I suspect, that, if the -truth were known, the Senator from Massachusetts would be prepared -with business the whole three hundred and sixty-five days of the year, -and that, if we consulted his views, we should make a French revolutionary -assemblage of the two Houses of Congress,—we should be in -permanent session, without vacation and without recess.” He insisted -that “we should withhold ourselves from the expression of judgment -upon a question which is not here, and which cannot come here, unless -it be brought here by the House of Representatives, over whose -action we have no control.” This brought up Mr. Sumner again.</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. President</span>,—There is just the point. The Senator -says the question is not here,—in other words, -that this is not the time to discuss the President. He -is mistaken; this is the very time. The question is here -at the instance of the Senator from Ohio, who gravely -moves that we leave our seats, and from this time forward -till December abdicate our constitutional guardianship -of the public interests. To such a proposition -there is but one natural and logical reply. It is, that -we must not abdicate, so long as Andrew Johnson is -in the Executive chair. If he continues President, we -must remain at our posts, precisely as Grant remained -before Richmond.</p> - -<p>Sir, if another person wielded the Executive powers -of the nation, if there was anybody in that high office -mindful of the National Constitution as interpreted by -the Declaration of Independence, and disposed to carry -forward the Acts of Congress adopted by such triumphant -majorities, then I could vote with Senators -to go home. Unhappily, it is not so. Anything but -this. Our President is a public enemy, successor in -spirit and opinion of Jefferson Davis, through whom -the Rebellion is once more on its legs. Does any Senator, -accustomed to vote with the Union party and to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span> -sustain the Union cause, question this simple statement -of fact? Does he believe it overdrawn? Let him answer, -if he does. Let him say where my language goes -by a hair’s breadth beyond the exact truth.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>Here Mr. Sumner stopped for answer, and then proceeded.</p> - -</div> - -<p>Because we have the successor of Jefferson Davis -in the Presidential chair, therefore Congress must stay. -That is my argument. A volume or oration could not -add to the force of this simple statement.</p> - -<p>The more I think of this duty, the more commanding -it seems. The President is the Executive; we are -the Legislative. His influence is great; but ours is -greater. If we choose to say so, we can be masters. -We can apply the corrective to his mischief. Surely -here is a motive. Ten States are now exposed to his -malign influence, all of which may be arrested by our -presence here. Let it be known that we are to continue -in our seats, and every Union man throughout -the Rebel States will feel stronger. He will be conscious -at once of a panoply, which the President, and -the Rebel tail, of which he is the head, cannot penetrate.</p> - -<p>There are the generals, also, who, as soon as we are -gone, may be his victims. The telegraph may flash to -us, in the comfort of home, that the gallant Sheridan, -as true in government as he was skilful in war, has -been driven from his post by an enemy with whom he -could not contend. It may flash the removal of Pope, -who has shown such talent and thoroughness in the -organization of his district, and also the displacement -of Sickles, who has carried into his new duties such varied -experience and patriotic purposes. All this may<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span> -occur; for the President is vindictive in his assault upon -the upholders of Human Rights. Is it not worth our -care to provide against such calamity? But you propose -to go home and leave all, whether citizen or general, -a prey to the President. I protest against it.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>The amendment of Mr. Sumner was rejected. That of Mr. Sherman -was adopted, and the resolution as amended was then agreed -to,—Yeas 23, Nays 14. On the report of a Committee of Conference, -it was amended again by making the adjournment to “the 21st day -of November next,” which was adopted by the Senate,—Yeas 17, -Nays 14,—Mr. Sumner voting in the negative.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="SYMPATHY_WITH_CRETE_AND_AN_APPEAL_TO" id="SYMPATHY_WITH_CRETE_AND_AN_APPEAL_TO"></a>SYMPATHY WITH CRETE, AND AN APPEAL TO -THE TURKISH GOVERNMENT.</h2> - -<p class="plabeln"><span class="smcap">Joint Resolutions in the Senate, July 19, 1867, and July 21, -1868.</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/line.png" width="80" height="16" alt="" /> -</div> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>July 19th, reported from the Committee on Foreign Relations by -Mr. Sumner:—</p> - -</div> - -<p class="center">Resolution declaring sympathy with the suffering people of -Crete.</p> - -<p class="dropcap"><i>RESOLVED by the Senate and House of Representatives -of the United States of America in Congress -assembled</i>, That the people of the United States feel a -strong sympathy with the people of Crete, constituting -a part of the Greek family, to which civilization owes -so much; that they are pained by the report of the -present sufferings of this interesting people; and they -unite in the hope that this declaration, which they feel -it their duty to make, will be favorably considered by -the Government of Turkey in determining its policy -towards Crete.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Sec. 2.</span> <i>And be it further resolved</i>, That it shall be -the duty of the President of the United States to communicate -this resolution to the Government of Turkey.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>On the same day, this resolution was, by unanimous consent, read -three times, and passed both Houses, and on the next day approved -by the President.<a name="FNanchor_238_238" id="FNanchor_238_238"></a><a href="#Footnote_238_238" class="fnanchor">[238]</a></p> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span> -<p>July 21, 1868, the contest of the Cretans for independence still -continuing, Mr. Sumner reported from the Committee on Foreign Relations -the following joint resolution:—</p> - -</div> - -<p class="center">Joint Resolution appealing to the Turkish Government in -behalf of the people of Crete.</p> - -<p><i>Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of -the United States of America in Congress assembled</i>, That -the people of the United States renew the expression -of their sympathy with the suffering people of Crete, to -whom they are bound by the ties of a common religion, -and by the gratitude due to the Greek race, of which -the Cretans are a part; that they rejoice to believe that -the sufferings of this interesting people may be happily -terminated by a policy of forbearance on the part of -the Turkish Government; and they hereby declare their -earnest hope that the Turkish Government will listen -kindly to this representation, and will speedily adopt -such generous steps as will secure to Crete the much-desired -blessings of peace, and the advantage of autonomic -government.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Sec. 2.</span> <i>And be it further resolved</i>, That religion, civilization, -and humanity require that the existing contest -in Crete should be brought to a close; and to accomplish -this result, the civilized powers of the world -should unite in friendly influence with the Government -of Turkey.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Sec. 3.</span> <i>And be it further resolved</i>, That it shall be -the duty of the President to instruct the minister of -the United States at Constantinople to coöperate with -the ministers of other powers in all good offices to -terminate the sufferings of the people of Crete; and -that it shall be the further duty of the President to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span> -communicate a copy of this resolution to the Government -of Turkey.</p> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>The resolution was considered on the same day, and passed without -a division.</p> - -<p>July 25th, it passed the other House without a division.</p> - -<p>July 27th, it was approved by the President.<a name="FNanchor_239_239" id="FNanchor_239_239"></a><a href="#Footnote_239_239" class="fnanchor">[239]</a></p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>These two resolutions gave expression to the sentiments of the American -people, who sympathized strongly in the Cretan struggle for independence. -For a time the courage and determination of the insurgents -inspired confidence, and it seemed as if they would prevail; but, after -a protracted struggle, they succumbed to superior force. The following -contemporary account is from the Washington correspondent of the -<i>Boston Journal</i>.</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Mr. Sumner’s resolutions appealing to the Turkish Government in behalf -of Crete, which were passed by both Houses of Congress, have been -much spoken of in diplomatic circles. Some think they were too late, -as in their opinion the Cretans are already vanquished. This is not the -opinion with the Greek Legation, who is very hopeful, and insists that -the Turks can never prevail. The resolutions themselves, even among -those who do not sympathize with their object, are regarded as a masterpiece -of composition, inasmuch as, while very strong, they did not fail -in courtesy toward the Turkish Government. There was a great pressure -to have the independence of Crete acknowledged, especially by the -Greek Legation, and by friends of the Cretans in Massachusetts; but Mr. -Sumner took the ground that independence was a fact to be determined -by evidence, and that, whatever might be the opinion of individuals with -regard to the future result, there was no official evidence showing that -independence was yet established.”</p> - -</div> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="PRIVILEGES_OF_DEBATE_IN_THE_SENATE_ON" id="PRIVILEGES_OF_DEBATE_IN_THE_SENATE_ON"></a>PRIVILEGES OF DEBATE IN THE SENATE ON -OFFICERS LIABLE TO IMPEACHMENT.</h2> - -<p class="plabeln"><span class="smcap">Resolutions in the Senate, July 20, 1867.</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/line.png" width="80" height="16" alt="" /> -</div> - -<div class="medium"> - -<p>The misconduct of the President, and his obstruction of important -legislation, naturally aroused judgment and indignation. The question -was then raised with regard to the privileges of the Senate. July -20th, in the debate on adjournment, Mr. Fessenden, of Maine, said: -“The time has come, undoubtedly, when there is a very serious difference -of opinion in Congress upon a very important question. With -regard to the Senate, I have considered that upon that question it -was not proper for a Senator to express an opinion, or even, if he -could avoid it, to form an opinion.” Mr. Sumner never doubted the -complete immunity of the Senate, and its duty to consider these things -in advance of impeachment, and he spoke accordingly. On the day of -Mr. Fessenden’s remarks he offered the following resolutions, which -were ordered to be printed.</p> - -</div> - -<p class="center">Resolutions declaring the privileges of debate in the Senate -with regard to civil officers liable to impeachment.</p> - -<p class="dropcap">Whereas it has been asserted that the conduct -of a civil officer liable to impeachment cannot -be freely considered and condemned by Senators in the -course of legislative proceedings;</p> - -<p>And whereas such an opinion is calculated to impair -the just privileges of debate: Therefore,</p> - -<p><i>Resolved</i>, That the Constitution, in providing for the -impeachment of “all civil officers” of the National -Government, embracing the President, members of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span> -Cabinet, diplomatic representatives, and other civil functionaries, -did not intend to limit debate in the Senate -on the conduct of any civil officer, so far as the same -may arise in legislative proceedings; that any other -interpretation is inconsistent with the privileges of the -Senate, and tends directly to shield misconduct in civil -office.</p> - -<p><i>Resolved</i>, That the Constitution expressly declares, -that, when sitting to try an impeachment, the Senate -“shall be on oath or affirmation,” thus superadding a -judicial oath to that already taken as Senator; that -from the taking of this oath the judicial character of -the Senate begins, and until then each Senator is free -to express himself openly on the conduct of any civil -officer, and thereupon to invite the judgment of the -Senate and the country; that at times this may be a -duty, and is always a sacred right, which cannot be -renounced or abridged.<a name="FNanchor_240_240" id="FNanchor_240_240"></a><a href="#Footnote_240_240" class="fnanchor">[240]</a></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="PROPHETIC_VOICES_CONCERNING" id="PROPHETIC_VOICES_CONCERNING"></a>PROPHETIC VOICES CONCERNING -AMERICA.<br /> -<small>A MONOGRAPH.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquote medium"> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<p>I have another and a far brighter vision before my gaze. It may be but -a vision, but I will cherish it. I see one vast confederation stretching from -the frozen North in unbroken line to the glowing South, and from the wild -billows of the Atlantic westward to the calmer waters of the Pacific main,—and -I see one people, and one language, and one law, and one faith, and, -over all that wide continent, the home of Freedom, and a refuge for the -oppressed of every race and of every clime.—<span class="smcap">John Bright</span>, <i>Speech at Birmingham</i>, -December 18, 1862: <i>Speeches on Questions of Public Policy</i>, -ed. Rogers, (London, 1868,) Vol. I. p. 225.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a><br /><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span></p> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>This monograph appeared originally in the “Atlantic -Monthly” for September, 1867. It is now revised and -enlarged. In the celebration of our hundredth birthday as -a nation, now fast approaching, these prophetic voices will -be heard, teaching how much of present fame and power -was foreseen, also what remains to be accomplished.</p> - -<p class="right">C. S.</p> - -<p class="noindent"><span class="smcap">March, 1874.</span></p> - -</div> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span></p> - -<p>History shows that the civilization to which we belong is subject to a -general law which makes it advance with halts, in the manner of armies, -in the direction of the Occident, making the sceptre pass successively into -the hands of nations more worthy to hold it, more strong and more able -to employ it for the general good.</p> - -<p>So it seems that the supreme authority is about to escape from Western -and Central Europe, to pass to the New World. In the northern part of -that other hemisphere offshoots of the European race have founded a vigorous -society full of sap, whose influence grows with a rapidity that has -never yet been seen anywhere. In crossing the ocean, it has left behind -on the soil of old Europe traditions, prejudices, and usages, which, as -<i>impedimenta</i> heavy to carry, would have embarrassed its movements and -retarded its progressive march. In about thirty years the United States -will have, according to all probability, a hundred millions of population, in -possession of the most powerful means, distributed over a territory which -would make France fifteen or sixteen times over, and of the most wonderful -disposition.…</p> - -<p>Vainly do the occidental and central nations of Europe attribute to themselves -a primacy, which, in their vanity, they think sheltered from events -and eternal: as if there were anything eternal in the grandeur and prosperity -of societies, the works of men!—<span class="smcap">Michel Chevalier</span>, <i>Rapports du -Jury International: Exposition Universelle de 1867 à Paris</i>, Tom. I., Introduction, -pp. <span class="smcapuc">DXIV-DXVI</span>.</p> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -<p>America, and especially Saxon America, with its immense virgin territories, -with its republic, with its equilibrium between stability and progress, -with its harmony between liberty and democracy, is the continent of -the Future,—the immense continent stretched by God between the Atlantic -and Pacific, where mankind may plant, essay, and resolve all social problems. -[<i>Loud cheers.</i>] Europe has to decide whether she will confound -herself with Asia, placing upon her lands old altars, and upon the altars old -idols, and upon the idols immovable theocracies, and upon the theocracies -despotic empires,—or whether she will go by labor, by liberty, and by the -republic, to coöperate with America in the grand work of universal civilization.—<span class="smcap">Emilio -Castelar</span>, <i>Speech in the Spanish Cortes</i>, June 22, 1871.</p> - -<hr class="r15" /> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span></p> - -<h3>MONOGRAPH.</h3> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/line.png" width="80" height="16" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="dropcap">The discovery of America by Christopher Columbus -is the greatest event of secular history. Besides -the potato, the turkey, and maize, which it introduced -at once for the nourishment and comfort of the Old -World,<a name="FNanchor_241_241" id="FNanchor_241_241"></a><a href="#Footnote_241_241" class="fnanchor">[241]</a> and also tobacco, which only blind passion for -the weed could place in the beneficent group, this discovery -opened the door to influences infinite in extent -and beneficence. Measure them, describe them, picture -them, you cannot. While yet unknown, imagination -invested this continent with proverbial magnificence. -It was the Orient, and the land of Cathay. When afterwards -it took a place in geography, imagination found -another field in trying to portray its future history. If -the Golden Age is before, and not behind, as is now -happily the prevailing faith, then indeed must America -share, at least, if it does not monopolize, the promised -good.</p> - -<p>Before the voyage of Columbus in 1492, nothing of -America was really known. Scanty scraps from antiquity, -vague rumors from the resounding ocean, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span> -hesitating speculations of science were all that the inspired -navigator found to guide him. Foremost among -these were the well-known verses of Seneca, so interesting -from ethical genius and a tragical death, in the chorus -of his “Medea,” which for generations had been the -finger-point to an undiscovered world:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse indent8">“Venient annis</div> -<div class="verse">Secula seris, quibus Oceanus</div> -<div class="verse">Vincula rerum laxet, et ingens</div> -<div class="verse">Pateat tellus, Tiphysque novos</div> -<div class="verse">Detegat orbes, nec sit terris</div> -<div class="verse">Ultima Thule.”<a name="FNanchor_242_242" id="FNanchor_242_242"></a><a href="#Footnote_242_242" class="fnanchor">[242]</a></div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>These verses are vague and lofty rather than specific; -but Bacon, after setting them forth, says of them, “A -prophecy of the discovery of America”; and this they -may well be, if we adopt the translation of Archbishop -Whately, in his notes to the Essay on Prophecies: -“There shall come a time in later ages, when Ocean -shall relax his chains and a vast continent appear, and -a pilot shall find new worlds, and Thule shall be no -more earth’s bound.”<a name="FNanchor_243_243" id="FNanchor_243_243"></a><a href="#Footnote_243_243" class="fnanchor">[243]</a> Fox, turning from statesmanship -to scholarship, wrote to Wakefield: “The prophecy -in Seneca’s ‘Medea’ is very curious indeed.”<a name="FNanchor_244_244" id="FNanchor_244_244"></a><a href="#Footnote_244_244" class="fnanchor">[244]</a> Irving -says of it: “Wonderfully apposite, and shows, at least, -how nearly the warm imagination of a poet may approach -to prophecy. The predictions of the ancient -oracles were rarely so unequivocal.”<a name="FNanchor_245_245" id="FNanchor_245_245"></a><a href="#Footnote_245_245" class="fnanchor">[245]</a> These verses -were adopted by Irving as a motto on the title-page -of the revised edition of his “Life of Columbus.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span></p> - -<p>Two copies are extant in the undoubted handwriting -of Columbus,—precious autographs to tempt collectors,—both -of them in his book on the Prophecies.<a name="FNanchor_246_246" id="FNanchor_246_246"></a><a href="#Footnote_246_246" class="fnanchor">[246]</a> By -these the great admiral sailed.</p> - -<p>Humboldt gives the verses in the following form:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“Venient annis sæcula seris,</div> -<div class="verse">Quibus Oceanus vincula rerum</div> -<div class="verse">Laxet, et ingens pateat tellus,</div> -<div class="verse">Tethysque novos detegat orbes,</div> -<div class="verse">Nec sit terris ultima Thule.”<a name="FNanchor_247_247" id="FNanchor_247_247"></a><a href="#Footnote_247_247" class="fnanchor">[247]</a></div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>This sympathetic and authoritative commentator, who -has illustrated the enterprise with all that classical or -mediæval literature affords, declares his conviction that -the discovery of a new continent was more completely -foreshadowed in the simple geographical statement of -the Greek Strabo,<a name="FNanchor_248_248" id="FNanchor_248_248"></a><a href="#Footnote_248_248" class="fnanchor">[248]</a> who, after a long life of travel, sat -down in his old age, during the reign of Augustus, to -write the geography of the world, including its cosmography. -In this work, where are gathered the results of -ancient study and experience, the venerable author, after -alluding to the possibility of passing direct from Spain -to India, and explaining that the inhabited world is -that which we inhabit and know, thus lifts the curtain: -“There may be in the same temperate zone <em>two and indeed -more inhabited lands</em>, especially near the parallel of -Thinæ or Athens, prolonged into the Atlantic Ocean.”<a name="FNanchor_249_249" id="FNanchor_249_249"></a><a href="#Footnote_249_249" class="fnanchor">[249]</a> -This was the voice of ancient Science.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span></p> - -<p>Before the voyage of Columbus two Italian poets -seem to have beheld the unknown world. The first -was Petrarca; nor was it unnatural that his exquisite -genius should reach behind the veil of Time, as where -he pictures</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“The daylight hastening with wingèd steps,</div> -<div class="verse">Perchance to gladden the expectant eyes</div> -<div class="verse"><em>Of far-off nations in a world remote</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_250_250" id="FNanchor_250_250"></a><a href="#Footnote_250_250" class="fnanchor">[250]</a></div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">The other was Pulci, who, in his “Morgante Maggiore,” -sometimes called the last of the romances and the earliest -of Italian epics, reveals an undiscovered world beyond -the Pillars of Hercules:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Know that this theory is false; his bark</div> -<div class="verse">The daring mariner shall urge far o’er</div> -<div class="verse">The western wave, a smooth and level plain,</div> -<div class="verse">Albeit the earth is fashioned like a wheel.</div> -<div class="verse">Man was in ancient days of grosser mould,</div> -<div class="verse">And Hercules might blush to learn how far</div> -<div class="verse">Beyond the limits he had vainly set</div> -<div class="verse">The dullest sea-boat soon shall wing her way.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“<em>Men shall descry another hemisphere</em>,</div> -<div class="verse">Since to one common centre all things tend;</div> -<div class="verse">So earth, by curious mystery divine</div> -<div class="verse">Well balanced, hangs amid the starry spheres.</div> -<div class="verse"><em>At our Antipodes are cities, states,</em></div> -<div class="verse"><em>And throngèd empires, ne’er divined of yore.</em></div> -<div class="verse">But see, the sun speeds on his western path</div> -<div class="verse">To glad the nations with expected light.”<a name="FNanchor_251_251" id="FNanchor_251_251"></a><a href="#Footnote_251_251" class="fnanchor">[251]</a></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>This translation is by our own eminent historian, -Prescott, who first called attention to the testimony,<a name="FNanchor_252_252" id="FNanchor_252_252"></a><a href="#Footnote_252_252" class="fnanchor">[252]</a> -which is not mentioned even by Humboldt. Leigh<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span> -Hunt referred to it at a later day.<a name="FNanchor_253_253" id="FNanchor_253_253"></a><a href="#Footnote_253_253" class="fnanchor">[253]</a> Pulci was born in -1431, and died about 1487, five years before Columbus -sailed; so that he was not aided by any rumor of the -discovery he so distinctly predicts.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Passing from the great event which gave a new world -not only to Spain, but to civilized man, it may not be -uninteresting to collect some of the prophetic voices -concerning the future of America and the vast unfolding -of our continent. They will have a lesson also. -Seeing what has been fulfilled, we may better judge -what to expect. I shall set them forth in the order -of time, prefacing each prediction with an account of -the author sufficient to explain its origin and character. -If some are already familiar, others are little known. -Brought together in one body, on the principle of our -National Union, <i>E pluribus unum</i>, they must give new -confidence in the destinies of the Republic.</p> - -<p>Only what has been said sincerely by those whose -words are important deserves place in such a collection. -Oracles had ceased before our history began; so that we -meet no responses paltering in a double sense, like the -deceptive replies to Crœsus and to Pyrrhus, nor any -sayings which, according to the quaint language of Sir -Thomas Browne, “seem quodlibetically constituted, and, -like a Delphian blade, will cut on both sides.”<a name="FNanchor_254_254" id="FNanchor_254_254"></a><a href="#Footnote_254_254" class="fnanchor">[254]</a> In Bacon’s -Essay on Prophecies there is a latitude not to be -followed. Not fable or romance, but history, is the true -authority; and here experience and genius are the lights -by which our prophets have walked. Doubtless there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span> -is a difference in human faculties. Men who have lived -much and felt strongly see further than others. Their -vision penetrates the future. Second-sight is little more -than clearness of sight. Milton tells us that</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse indent4">“Old experience doth attain</div> -<div class="verse">To something like prophetic strain.”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">Sometimes this strain is attained even in youth. But -here Genius with divine power lifts the curtain and -sweeps the scene.</p> - -<p>The elder Disraeli, in his “Curiosities of Literature,” -has a chapter on “Prediction,” giving curious instances, -among which is that of Rousseau, toward the end of -the third book of “Émile,” where he says, “We approach -a condition of crisis and the age of revolutions.”<a name="FNanchor_255_255" id="FNanchor_255_255"></a><a href="#Footnote_255_255" class="fnanchor">[255]</a> -Our own Revolution was then at hand, soon followed -by that of France. The settlement of America was not -without auguries even at the beginning.</p> - -<h4>A PROPHETIC GROUP.</h4> - -<p>Before passing to the more serious examples, I bring -into group a few marking at least a poet’s appreciation -of the newly discovered country, if not a prophetic -spirit. The Muse was not silent at the various reports. -As early as 1595, Chapman, famous as the translator of -Homer, in a poem on Guiana, thus celebrates and commends -the unknown land:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“Guiana, whose rich feet are mines of gold,</div> -<div class="verse">Whose forehead knocks against the roof of stars,</div> -<div class="verse">Stands on her tiptoes, at fair England looking,</div> -<div class="verse">Kissing her hand, bowing her mighty breast,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span> -<div class="verse">And every sign of all submission making,</div> -<div class="verse">To be her sister, and the daughter both</div> -<div class="verse">Of our most sacred Maid.</div> -<div class="verse center">…</div> -<div class="verse">And there do palaces and temples rise</div> -<div class="verse">Out of the earth and kiss the enamored skies,</div> -<div class="verse">Where New Britannia humbly kneels to Heaven,</div> -<div class="verse">The world to her, and both at her blest feet</div> -<div class="verse">In whom the circles of all empire meet.”<a name="FNanchor_256_256" id="FNanchor_256_256"></a><a href="#Footnote_256_256" class="fnanchor">[256]</a></div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>In similar strain, Drayton, who flourished under James -the First, says of Virginia:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent2">“And ours to hold</div> -<div class="verse">Virginia,</div> -<div class="verse">Earth’s only paradise.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Where Nature hath in store</div> -<div class="verse">Fowl, venison, and fish,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And the fruitfull’st soil,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Without your toil,</div> -<div class="verse">Three harvests more,</div> -<div class="verse">All greater than your wish.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse center">…</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“To whose the Golden Age</div> -<div class="verse">Still Nature’s laws doth give,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">No other cares that ’tend</div> -<div class="verse indent2">But them to defend</div> -<div class="verse">From winter’s age,</div> -<div class="verse">That long there doth not live.”<a name="FNanchor_257_257" id="FNanchor_257_257"></a><a href="#Footnote_257_257" class="fnanchor">[257]</a></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Daniel, poet-laureate and contemporary, seemed to -foresee the spread of our English speech, anticipating -our own John Adams:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“And who (in time) knows whither we may vent</div> -<div class="verse">The treasure of our tongue? To what strange shores</div> -<div class="verse">This gain of our best glory shall be sent,</div> -<div class="verse">T’ enrich unknowing nations with our stores?</div> -<div class="verse">What worlds, in th’ yet unformèd Occident,</div> -<div class="verse">May come refined with th’ accents that are ours?”<a name="FNanchor_258_258" id="FNanchor_258_258"></a><a href="#Footnote_258_258" class="fnanchor">[258]</a></div> -</div> -</div> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span></p> -<p>The emigration prompted by conscience and for the -sake of religious liberty inspired the pious and poetical -Herbert to famous verses:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“Religion stands on tiptoe in our land,</div> -<div class="verse">Ready to pass to the American strand.”<a name="FNanchor_259_259" id="FNanchor_259_259"></a><a href="#Footnote_259_259" class="fnanchor">[259]</a></div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The poet died in 1632, twelve years after the landing -of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, and only two years after -the larger movement of the Massachusetts Company, -which began the settlement of Boston. The verses saw -the light with difficulty, being refused the necessary -license; but the functionary at last yielded, calling -the author “a divine poet,” and expressing the hope -that “the world will not take him to be an inspired -prophet.”<a name="FNanchor_260_260" id="FNanchor_260_260"></a><a href="#Footnote_260_260" class="fnanchor">[260]</a> Fuller, writing a little later, was perhaps -moved by Herbert, when he said: “I am confident -that America, though the youngest sister of the four, -is now grown marriageable, and daily hopes to get -Christ to her husband by the preaching of the Gospel.”<a name="FNanchor_261_261" id="FNanchor_261_261"></a><a href="#Footnote_261_261" class="fnanchor">[261]</a> -In a different vein, a contemporary poet, the -favorite of Charles the First, Thomas Carew, in a -masque performed by the monarch and his courtiers -at Whitehall, February 18, 1633, made sport of New -England, saying that it had “purged more virulent -humors from the politic body than guaiacum and all -the West Indian drugs have from the natural bodies -of this kingdom.”<a name="FNanchor_262_262" id="FNanchor_262_262"></a><a href="#Footnote_262_262" class="fnanchor">[262]</a> But these words uttered at the -English Court were praise.</p> - -<p>Then came answering voices from the Colonies. Rev. -William Morrell, of the Established Church, a settler<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span> -of 1623, said of New England, in a Latin poem translated -by himself:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“<em>A grandchild to Earth’s paradise is born</em>,</div> -<div class="verse">Well-limbed, well-nerved, fair, rich, sweet, yet forlorn.”<a name="FNanchor_263_263" id="FNanchor_263_263"></a><a href="#Footnote_263_263" class="fnanchor">[263]</a></div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>“The Simple Cobbler of Agawam,” another name for -Rev. Nathaniel Ward, of Ipswich, Mass., at the close of -his witty book, first published in 1647, and having four -different editions in this single year, sends an invitation -to those at home:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“So farewell, England Old!</div> -<div class="verse indent2">If evil times ensue,</div> -<div class="verse">Let good men come to us,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">We’ll welcome them to New.”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Another witness we meet in the writings of Franklin. -It is George Webb, who, decamping from Oxford and -the temptations of scholarship, indented himself according -to the usage of the times, and became what Franklin -calls “a bought servant” on our shores, where his -genius flowered in the prophetic couplet, written in -1727:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“Europe shall mourn her ancient fame declined,</div> -<div class="verse"><em>And Philadelphia be the Athens of mankind</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_264_264" id="FNanchor_264_264"></a><a href="#Footnote_264_264" class="fnanchor">[264]</a></div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Another, Gulian Verplanck, of New York, in verses -written in England in 1773, foretells the repetition of -British wealth, power, and glory in the New World:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“In other worlds another Britain see,</div> -<div class="verse">And what thou art America shall be.”<a name="FNanchor_265_265" id="FNanchor_265_265"></a><a href="#Footnote_265_265" class="fnanchor">[265]</a></div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>And yet another, Hugh Henry Brackenridge, born<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span> -in Scotland, and a graduate of our Princeton College -in 1771, in a Commencement poem on “The Rising -Glory of America,” pictured the future of the continent, -adopting as a motto the verses of Seneca twice -quoted by Columbus:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“This is thy praise, America, thy power,</div> -<div class="verse">Thou best of climes by Science visited,</div> -<div class="verse">By Freedom blest, and richly stored with all</div> -<div class="verse">The luxuries of life! Hail, happy land,</div> -<div class="verse">The seat of empire, the abode of kings,</div> -<div class="verse">The final stage where Time shall introduce</div> -<div class="verse">Renownèd characters, and glorious works</div> -<div class="verse">Of high invention and of wondrous art,</div> -<div class="verse">Which not the ravages of Time shall waste,</div> -<div class="verse">Till he himself has run his long career!”<a name="FNanchor_266_266" id="FNanchor_266_266"></a><a href="#Footnote_266_266" class="fnanchor">[266]</a></div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>To these add Voltaire, who, in his easy verse, written -in 1751, represents God as putting fever in European -climates, “and the remedy in America.”<a name="FNanchor_267_267" id="FNanchor_267_267"></a><a href="#Footnote_267_267" class="fnanchor">[267]</a></p> - -<p>From this chorus, with only one discordant voice, I -pass to a long line of voices so distinct and full as to -be recognized separately.</p> - -<h4>JOHN MILTON, 1641.</h4> - -<p>The list opens with John Milton, whose lofty words -are like an overture to the great drama of emigration, -with its multitudes in successive generations. If not -a prophet, he has yet struck a mighty key-note in our -history.</p> - -<p>The author of “Paradise Lost,” of “Comus,” and the -heroic Sonnets, needs no special mention beyond the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span> -two great dates of birth and death. He was born 9th -December, 1608, and died 8th November, 1674. The -treatise from which I quote was written in 1641.</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“What numbers of faithful and free-born Englishmen and -good Christians have been constrained to forsake their dearest -home, their friends and kindred, whom nothing but the -wide ocean and the savage deserts of America could hide and -shelter from the fury of the bishops! Oh, Sir, if we could -but see the shape of our dear mother England, as poets are -wont to give a personal form to what they please, how would -she appear, think ye, but in a mourning weed, with ashes -upon her head and tears abundantly flowing from her eyes, -to behold so many of her children exposed at once and -thrust from things of dearest necessity, because their conscience -could not assent to things which the bishops thought -indifferent?… Let the astrologer be dismayed at the portentous -blaze of comets and impressions in the air, as foretelling -troubles and changes to states; I shall believe there -cannot be a more ill-boding sign to a nation (God turn the -omen from us!) than when the inhabitants, to avoid insufferable -grievances at home, are enforced by heaps to forsake -their native country.”<a name="FNanchor_268_268" id="FNanchor_268_268"></a><a href="#Footnote_268_268" class="fnanchor">[268]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Here in a few words are the sacrifices made by our -fathers, as they turned from their English homes, and -also the conscience which prompted and sustained them. -Begun in sacrifice and in conscience, their empire grew -and flourished with constant and increasing promise of -future grandeur.</p> - -<h4>ABRAHAM COWLEY, 1667.</h4> - -<p>Contemporary with Milton, and at the time a rival -for the palm of poetry, was Abraham Cowley, born<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span> -1618, died 28th July, 1667. His biography stands at -the head of Johnson’s “Lives of the English Poets,” -the first in that instructive collection. The two poets -were on opposite sides,—Milton for the Commonwealth, -Cowley for the King.</p> - -<p>His genius was recognized in his own time; and when -he died, at the age of forty-nine, after a night of exposure -under the open sky, Charles the Second said, “Mr. -Cowley has not left a better man behind him in England.” -He was buried in Westminster Abbey, near -Chaucer and Spenser.</p> - -<p>He composed, in much-admired Latin verse, six books -on Plants: the first and second in elegiac verse, displaying -the qualities of herbs; the third and fourth -in various measures, on the beauties of flowers; and -the fifth and sixth in hexameters, like the Georgics, on -the uses of trees. The first two books, in Latin, appeared -in 1662; the other four, also in Latin, were not -published till 1668, the year after his death. They -did not see the English light till near the close of -the century, when a translation was published by Tate, -from which I quote.</p> - -<p>Two fruits of America are commemorated. The first -is that which becomes Chocolate:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“Guatimala produced a fruit unknown</div> -<div class="verse">To Europe, which with pride she called her own:</div> -<div class="verse">Her Cacao-Nut, with double use endued,</div> -<div class="verse">(For Chocolate at once is drink and food,)</div> -<div class="verse">Does strength and vigor to the limbs impart,</div> -<div class="verse">Makes fresh the countenance and cheers the heart.”<a name="FNanchor_269_269" id="FNanchor_269_269"></a><a href="#Footnote_269_269" class="fnanchor">[269]</a></div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The other is the Cocoa-Nut:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“While she preserves this Indian palm alone,</div> -<div class="verse">America can never be undone;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Embowelled, and of all her gold bereft,</div> -<div class="verse">Her liberty and Coccus only left,</div> -<div class="verse">She’s richer than the Spaniard with his theft.”<a name="FNanchor_270_270" id="FNanchor_270_270"></a><a href="#Footnote_270_270" class="fnanchor">[270]</a></div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The poet, addressing the New World, becomes prophetic:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“To live by wholesome laws you now begin,</div> -<div class="verse">Buildings to raise, and fence your cities in,</div> -<div class="verse">To plough the earth, to plough the very main,</div> -<div class="verse">And traffic with the universe maintain.</div> -<div class="verse">Defensive arms, and ornaments of dress,</div> -<div class="verse">All implements of life, you now possess.</div> -<div class="verse">To you the arts of war and peace are known,</div> -<div class="verse">And whole Minerva is become your own.</div> -<div class="verse">Our Muses, to your sires an unknown band,</div> -<div class="verse">Already have got footing in your land.</div> -<div class="verse center">…</div> -<div class="verse">“Long rolling years shall late bring on the times,</div> -<div class="verse">When, with your gold debauched and ripened crimes,</div> -<div class="verse">Europe, the world’s most noble part, shall fall,</div> -<div class="verse">Upon her banished gods and virtue call</div> -<div class="verse">In vain, while foreign and domestic war</div> -<div class="verse">At once shall her distracted bosom tear,—</div> -<div class="verse">Forlorn, and to be pitied even by you.</div> -<div class="verse"><em>Meanwhile your rising glory you shall view;</em></div> -<div class="verse"><em>Wit, learning, virtue, discipline of war,</em></div> -<div class="verse"><em>Shall for protection to your world repair,</em></div> -<div class="verse"><em>And fix a long illustrious empire there.</em></div> -<div class="verse center">…</div> -<div class="verse">“Late Destiny shall high exalt your reign,</div> -<div class="verse">Whose pomp no crowds of slaves, a needless train,</div> -<div class="verse">Nor gold, the rabble’s idol, shall support,</div> -<div class="verse">Like Motezume’s or Guanapaci’s court,</div> -<div class="verse">But such true grandeur as old Rome maintained,</div> -<div class="verse">Where Fortune was a slave, and Virtue reigned.”<a name="FNanchor_271_271" id="FNanchor_271_271"></a><a href="#Footnote_271_271" class="fnanchor">[271]</a></div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>This prophecy, though appearing in English tardily, -may be dated from 1667, when the Latin poem was -already written.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span></p> - -<h4>SIR THOMAS BROWNE, 1682.</h4> - -<p>Dr. Johnson called attention to a tract of Sir Thomas -Browne entitled “A Prophecy concerning the Future -State of Several Nations,” where the famous author -“plainly discovers his expectation to be the same with -that entertained lately with more confidence by Dr. -Berkeley, <em>that America will be the seat of the fifth empire</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_272_272" id="FNanchor_272_272"></a><a href="#Footnote_272_272" class="fnanchor">[272]</a> -The tract is vague, but prophetic.</p> - -<p>Sir Thomas Browne was born 19th October, 1605, -and died 19th October, 1682. His tract was published -two years after his death, in a collection of Miscellanies, -edited by Dr. Tenison. As a much-admired -author, some of whose writings belong to our English -classics, his prophetic prolusions are not unworthy of -notice. Among them are the following:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“When New England shall trouble New Spain;</div> -<div class="verse">When Jamaica shall be lady of the isles and the main;</div> -<div class="verse">When Spain shall be in America hid,</div> -<div class="verse">And Mexico shall prove a Madrid;</div> -<div class="verse center">…</div> -<div class="verse"><em>When Africa shall no more sell out their blacks,</em></div> -<div class="verse"><em>To make slaves and drudges to the American tracts;</em></div> -<div class="verse center">…</div> -<div class="verse"><em>When America shall cease to send out its treasure,</em></div> -<div class="verse"><em>But employ it at home in American pleasure;</em></div> -<div class="verse"><em>When the New World shall the Old invade,</em></div> -<div class="verse"><em>Nor count them their lords, but their fellows in trade;</em></div> -<div class="verse center">…</div> -<div class="verse">Then think strange things are come to light,</div> -<div class="verse">Whereof but few have had a foresight.”<a name="FNanchor_273_273" id="FNanchor_273_273"></a><a href="#Footnote_273_273" class="fnanchor">[273]</a></div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Some of these words are striking, especially when we -consider their early date. In a commentary on each<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span> -verse the author seeks to explain it. New England is -“that thriving colony which hath so much increased -in our days”; its people are already “industrious,” and -when they have so far increased “that the neighboring -country will not contain them, they will range still -farther, and be able in time to set forth great armies, -seek for new possessions, or <em>make considerable and conjoined -migrations</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_274_274" id="FNanchor_274_274"></a><a href="#Footnote_274_274" class="fnanchor">[274]</a> The verse touching Africa will be -fulfilled “when African countries shall no longer make -it a common trade to sell away their people.” And -this may come to pass “whenever they shall be well -civilized, and acquainted with arts and affairs sufficient -to employ people in their countries: if also they should -be converted to Christianity, but especially unto Mahometism; -for then they would never sell those of their -religion to be slaves unto Christians.”<a name="FNanchor_275_275" id="FNanchor_275_275"></a><a href="#Footnote_275_275" class="fnanchor">[275]</a> The verse concerning -America is expounded thus:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“That is, When America shall be better civilized, new -policied, and divided between great princes, it may come to -pass that they will no longer suffer their treasure of gold -and silver to be sent out to maintain the luxury of Europe -and other parts; but rather employ it to their own advantages, -in great exploits and undertakings, magnificent structures, -wars, or expeditions of their own.”<a name="FNanchor_276_276" id="FNanchor_276_276"></a><a href="#Footnote_276_276" class="fnanchor">[276]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>The other verse, on the invasion of the Old World -by the New, is explained:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“That is, When America shall be so well peopled, civilized, -and divided into kingdoms, <em>they are like to have so -little regard of their originals as to acknowledge no subjection -unto them</em>: they may also have a distinct commerce between<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span> -themselves, or but independently with those of Europe, and -may hostilely and piratically assault them, even as the Greek -and Roman colonies after a long time dealt with their original -countries.”<a name="FNanchor_277_277" id="FNanchor_277_277"></a><a href="#Footnote_277_277" class="fnanchor">[277]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>That these speculations should arrest the attention of -Dr. Johnson is something. They seem to have been -in part fulfilled. An editor quietly remarks, that, “to -judge from the course of events since Sir Thomas wrote, -we may not unreasonably look forward to their more -complete fulfilment.”<a name="FNanchor_278_278" id="FNanchor_278_278"></a><a href="#Footnote_278_278" class="fnanchor">[278]</a></p> - -<h4>SIR JOSIAH CHILD AND DR. CHARLES DAVENANT, 1698.</h4> - -<p>In contrast with the poets, but mingling with them -in forecast, were two writers on Trade, who saw the -future through facts and figures, or what one of them -called “political arithmetic,” even discerning colonial -independence in the distance. These were Sir Josiah -Child, born 1630 and died 1699, and Dr. Charles Davenant, -born 1656 and died 1714.</p> - -<p>Child is mentioned by De Foe as “originally a -tradesman”; others speak of him as “a Southwalk -brewer”; and McCulloch calls him “one of the most -extensive, and, judging from his work, best-informed, -merchants of his time.”<a name="FNanchor_279_279" id="FNanchor_279_279"></a><a href="#Footnote_279_279" class="fnanchor">[279]</a> He rose to wealth and consideration, -founding a family which intermarried with -the nobility. His son was known as Lord Castlemaine, -Earl Tylney, of Ireland. Davenant was eldest son of -“rare Sir William,” the author of “Gondibert,” and, -like his eminent father, a dramatist. He was also -member of Parliament, and wrote much on commercial<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span> -questions; but here he was less famous than Child, -whose “New Discourse of Trade,” so far as it concerned -the interest of money, first appeared in 1668, -and since then has been often reprinted and much -quoted. There was an enlarged edition in 1694. That -now before me appeared in 1698, and in the same -year Davenant published his kindred “Discourses on -the Public Revenues and on the Trade of England,” -among which is one “on the Plantation Trade.” The -two authors treated especially the Colonies, and in -similar spirit.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The work of Child was brought to more recent notice -by the voluminous plodder, George Chalmers, particularly -in his writings on the Colonies and American -Independence,<a name="FNanchor_280_280" id="FNanchor_280_280"></a><a href="#Footnote_280_280" class="fnanchor">[280]</a> and then again by the elder Disraeli, -in his “Curiosities of Literature,” who places a prophecy -attributed to him in his chapter on “Prediction.” -After referring to Harrington, “who ventured to predict -an event, not by other similar events, but by a theoretical -principle which he had formed,” and to a like error -in De Foe, Disraeli quotes Chalmers:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Child, foreseeing from experience that men’s conduct -must finally be decided [directed] by their principles, foretold -the colonial revolt. De Foe, allowing his prejudices to -obscure his sagacity, reprobated that suggestion, because he -deemed interest a more strenuous prompter than enthusiasm.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>The pleasant hunter of curiosities then says:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“The predictions of Harrington and De Foe are precisely -such as we might expect from a petty calculator,—a political<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span> -economist, who can see nothing farther than immediate -results; but the true philosophical predictor was Child, who -had read <em>the past</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_281_281" id="FNanchor_281_281"></a><a href="#Footnote_281_281" class="fnanchor">[281]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Disraeli was more curious than accurate. His excuse -is, that he followed another writer.<a name="FNanchor_282_282" id="FNanchor_282_282"></a><a href="#Footnote_282_282" class="fnanchor">[282]</a> The prediction -attributed to Child belongs to Davenant.</p> - -<p>The work of Child is practical rather than speculative, -and shows a careful student of trade. Dwelling -on the “plantations” of England and their value, he -considers their original settlement, and here we find a -painful contrast between New England and Virginia.<a name="FNanchor_283_283" id="FNanchor_283_283"></a><a href="#Footnote_283_283" class="fnanchor">[283]</a> -Passing from the settlement to the character, New -England is described as “being a more independent -government from this kingdom than any other of our -plantations, and the people that went thither more -one peculiar sort or sect than those that went to the -rest of our plantations.”<a name="FNanchor_284_284" id="FNanchor_284_284"></a><a href="#Footnote_284_284" class="fnanchor">[284]</a> He recognized in them “a -people whose frugality, industry, and temperance, and -the happiness of whose laws and institution, do promise -to themselves long life, with <em>a wonderful increase -of people, riches, and power</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_285_285" id="FNanchor_285_285"></a><a href="#Footnote_285_285" class="fnanchor">[285]</a> And then: “Of all the -American plantations, his Majesty hath none so apt -for the building of shipping as New England, nor -none comparably so qualified for breeding of seamen, -not only by reason of the natural industry of that people, -but principally by reason of their cod and mackerel -fisheries.”<a name="FNanchor_286_286" id="FNanchor_286_286"></a><a href="#Footnote_286_286" class="fnanchor">[286]</a> On his last page are words more than -complimentary:—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span></p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“To conclude this chapter, and to do right to that most -industrious English colony, I must confess, that, though we -lose by their unlimited trade with our foreign plantations, -yet we are very great gainers by their direct trade to and -from Old England: our yearly exportations of English -manufactures, malt, and other goods, from hence thither, -amounting, in my opinion, to ten times the value of what -is imported from thence.”<a name="FNanchor_287_287" id="FNanchor_287_287"></a><a href="#Footnote_287_287" class="fnanchor">[287]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Here is keen observation, but hardly prophecy.</p> - -<p>Contrast this with Davenant:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“As the case now stands, we shall show that they [the -Colonies] are a spring of wealth to this nation, that they -work for us, that their treasure centres all here, and that -the laws have tied them fast enough to us; so that it -must be through our own fault and misgovernment, <em>if they -become independent of England</em>.… Corrupt governors by -oppressing the inhabitants may hereafter provoke them to -withdraw their obedience, and by supine negligence or upon -mistaken measures we may let them grow, more especially -New England, in naval strength and power, <em>which if suffered, -we cannot expect to hold them long in our subjection</em>. -If, as some have proposed, we should think to build ships -of war there, we may teach them an art which will cost -us some blows to make them forget. Some such courses -may, indeed, drive them, or put it into their heads, <em>to erect -themselves into independent Commonwealths</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_288_288" id="FNanchor_288_288"></a><a href="#Footnote_288_288" class="fnanchor">[288]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Davenant then, following Child, remarks upon New -England as “the most proper for building ships and -breeding seamen,” and adds:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“So that, if we should go to cultivate among them the -art of navigation and teach them to have a naval force, <i>they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span> -may set up for themselves and make the greatest part of our -West India trade precarious</i>.”<a name="FNanchor_289_289" id="FNanchor_289_289"></a><a href="#Footnote_289_289" class="fnanchor">[289]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>These identical words are quoted by Chalmers, who -exclaims: “Of that prophecy we have lived, alas! to -see the fulfilment.”<a name="FNanchor_290_290" id="FNanchor_290_290"></a><a href="#Footnote_290_290" class="fnanchor">[290]</a></p> - -<p>Chalmers emigrated from Scotland to Maryland, and -practised in the colonial courts, but, disgusted with -American independence, returned home, where he wrote -and edited much, especially on colonial questions, ill -concealing a certain animosity, and on one occasion -stating that among the documents in the Board of -Trade and Paper Office were “the most satisfactory -proofs of the settled purpose of the revolted colonies, -from the epoch of the Revolution in 1688, to acquire -direct independence.”<a name="FNanchor_291_291" id="FNanchor_291_291"></a><a href="#Footnote_291_291" class="fnanchor">[291]</a> But none of these proofs are -presented. The same allegation was also made by -Viscount Bury in his “Exodus of the Western Nations,”<a name="FNanchor_292_292" id="FNanchor_292_292"></a><a href="#Footnote_292_292" class="fnanchor">[292]</a> -but also without proofs.</p> - -<p>The name of De Foe is always interesting, and I -cannot close this article without reference to the saying -attributed to him by Chalmers. I know not where -in his multitudinous writings it may be found, unless -in his “Plan of the English Commerce,” and here careful -research discloses nothing nearer than this:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“What a glorious trade to England it would be to have -those colonies increased with a million of people, to be -clothed, furnished, and supplied with all their needful -things, food excepted, only from us, and <i>tied down forever<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span> -to us by that immortal, indissoluble bond of trade, their interest</i>!”<a name="FNanchor_293_293" id="FNanchor_293_293"></a><a href="#Footnote_293_293" class="fnanchor">[293]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>In the same work he says:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“This is certain, and will be granted, that the product of -our improved colonies raises infinitely more trade, employs -more hands, and, I think I may say, by consequence, brings -in more wealth to this one particular nation or people, the -English, than all the mines of New Spain do to the Spaniards.”<a name="FNanchor_294_294" id="FNanchor_294_294"></a><a href="#Footnote_294_294" class="fnanchor">[294]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>In this vision the author of “Robinson Crusoe” was -permitted to see the truth with regard to our country, -although failing to recognize future independence.</p> - -<h4>BISHOP BERKELEY, 1726.</h4> - -<p>It is pleasant to think that Berkeley, whose beautiful -verses predicting the future of America are so often -quoted, was so sweet and charming a character. Atterbury -said of him: “So much understanding, so much -knowledge, so much innocence, and such humility I did -not think had been the portion of any but angels, till I -saw this gentleman.”<a name="FNanchor_295_295" id="FNanchor_295_295"></a><a href="#Footnote_295_295" class="fnanchor">[295]</a> Swift said: “He is an absolute -philosopher with regard to money, titles, and power.”<a name="FNanchor_296_296" id="FNanchor_296_296"></a><a href="#Footnote_296_296" class="fnanchor">[296]</a> -Pope let drop a tribute which can never die:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“To Berkeley every virtue under Heaven.”<a name="FNanchor_297_297" id="FNanchor_297_297"></a><a href="#Footnote_297_297" class="fnanchor">[297]</a></div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">Such a person was naturally a seer.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span></p> - -<p>He is compendiously called an Irish prelate and -philosopher. Born in the County of Kilkenny, 1684, -and dying in Oxford, 1753, he began as a philosopher. -While still young, he wrote his famous treatise on “The -Principles of Human Knowledge,” where he denies the -existence of matter, insisting that it is only an impression -produced on the mind by Divine power. After -travel for several years on the Continent, and fellowship -with the witty and learned at home, among whom -were Addison, Swift, Pope, Garth, and Arbuthnot, he -conceived the project of educating the aborigines of -America, which was set forth in a tract, published in -1725, entitled “A Proposal for the better Supplying -of Churches in our Foreign Plantations, and for Converting -the Savage Americans to Christianity, by a -College to be erected in the Summer Islands, otherwise -called the Isles of Bermuda.” Persuaded by his -benevolence, the Minister<a name="FNanchor_298_298" id="FNanchor_298_298"></a><a href="#Footnote_298_298" class="fnanchor">[298]</a> promised twenty thousand -pounds, and there were several private subscriptions, -to promote what was called by the King “so pious an -undertaking.” Berkeley possessed already a deanery in -Ireland, worth eleven hundred pounds a year. Turning -away from this residence, and refusing to be tempted -by an English mitre, offered by the Queen, he set sail -for Rhode Island, “which lay nearest to Bermuda,” -where, after a tedious passage of more than four -months, he arrived 23d January, 1729. Here he lived -on a farm back of Newport, having been, according -to his own report, “at very great expense in purchasing -land and stock.”<a name="FNanchor_299_299" id="FNanchor_299_299"></a><a href="#Footnote_299_299" class="fnanchor">[299]</a> In familiar letters he has recorded -his impression of this place, famous since for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span> -fashion. “The climate,” he says, “is like that of Italy, -and not at all colder in the winter than I have known -it everywhere north of Rome.… This island is pleasantly -laid out in hills and vales and rising grounds, -hath plenty of excellent springs and fine rivulets, and -many delightful landscapes of rocks and promontories -and adjacent islands.… The town of Newport contains -about six thousand souls, and is the most thriving, -flourishing place in all America for its bigness. It -is very pretty, and pleasantly situated. I was never -more agreeably surprised than at the first sight of -the town and its harbor.”<a name="FNanchor_300_300" id="FNanchor_300_300"></a><a href="#Footnote_300_300" class="fnanchor">[300]</a> He seems to have been -contented, and when his companions went to Boston -stayed at home, “preferring,” as he wrote, “quiet and -solitude to the noise of a great town, notwithstanding -all the solicitations that have been used to draw us -thither.”<a name="FNanchor_301_301" id="FNanchor_301_301"></a><a href="#Footnote_301_301" class="fnanchor">[301]</a></p> - -<p>The money he had expected, especially from the -King’s ministers, failed, and after waiting in vain expectation -two years and a half, he returned to England, -leaving an infant daughter buried in the churchyard -of Trinity, and bestowing upon Yale College a -library of eight hundred and eighty volumes, as well as -his estate in Rhode Island. During his residence at -Newport he preached every Sunday, and was indefatigable -in pastoral duties, besides meditating, if not -composing, “The Minute Philosopher,” which was published -shortly after his return.</p> - -<p>In his absence he had not been forgotten at home; -and shortly after his return he became Bishop of -Cloyne, in which place he was most exemplary, devoting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span> -himself to his episcopal duties, to the education -of his children, and the pleasures of composition.</p> - -<p>It was while occupied with his plan of a college, especially -as a nursery for the colonial churches, shortly -before sailing for America, that the great future was -revealed to him, and he wrote the famous poem, the -only one found among his works, entitled “Verses on the -Prospect of Planting Arts and Learning in America.”<a name="FNanchor_302_302" id="FNanchor_302_302"></a><a href="#Footnote_302_302" class="fnanchor">[302]</a> -The date may be fixed at 1726. Such a poem was an -historic event. I give the first and last stanzas.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“The Muse, disgusted at an age and clime</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Barren of every glorious theme,</div> -<div class="verse"><em>In distant lands now waits a better time,</em></div> -<div class="verse indent2"><em>Producing subjects worthy fame</em>.</div> -<div class="verse center">…</div> -<div class="verse"><em>Westward the course of empire takes its way</em>;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The four first acts already past,</div> -<div class="verse">A fifth shall close the drama with the day;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Time’s noblest offspring is the last.”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>It is difficult to exaggerate the value of these verses, -which have been so often quoted as to have become -a commonplace of literature and politics. There is -nothing from any oracle, there is very little from any -prophecy, which can compare with them. The biographer -of Berkeley, who wrote in the last century, was -very cautious, when, after calling them “a beautiful -copy of verses,” he says that “another age perhaps will -acknowledge the old conjunction of the prophetic character -with that of the poet to have again taken place.”<a name="FNanchor_303_303" id="FNanchor_303_303"></a><a href="#Footnote_303_303" class="fnanchor">[303]</a> -The <i>vates</i> of the Romans was poet and prophet; and -such was Berkeley.</p> - -<p>Mr. Webster calls this an “extraordinary prophecy,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span>” -and then says: “It was an intuitive glance into futurity; -it was a grand conception, strong, ardent, glowing, -embracing all time since the creation of the world -and all regions of which that world is composed, and -judging of the future by just analogy with the past. -And the inimitable imagery and beauty with which -the thought is expressed, joined to the conception itself, -render it one of the most striking passages in our -language.”<a name="FNanchor_304_304" id="FNanchor_304_304"></a><a href="#Footnote_304_304" class="fnanchor">[304]</a></p> - -<p>The sentiment which prompted the prophetic verses -of the excellent Bishop was widely diffused, or perhaps -it was a natural prompting.<a name="FNanchor_305_305" id="FNanchor_305_305"></a><a href="#Footnote_305_305" class="fnanchor">[305]</a> Of this illustration is -afforded in the life of Benjamin West. On his visit to -Rome in 1760, the young artist encountered a famous -improvvisatore, who, learning that he was an American -come to study the fine arts in Rome, at once addressed -him with the ardor of inspiration, and to the music -of his guitar. After singing the darkness which for so -many ages veiled America from the eyes of Science, and -also the fulness of time when the purposes for which -this continent had been raised from the deep would be -manifest, he hailed the youth before him as an instrument -of Heaven to create there a taste for the arts -which elevate man, and an assurance of refuge to science -and knowledge, when, in the old age of Europe, -they should have forsaken her shores. Then, in the -spirit of prophecy, he sang:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“<em>But all things of heavenly origin, like the glorious sun, -move westward</em>; and Truth and Art have their periods of -shining and of night. Rejoice, then, O venerable Rome,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span> -in thy divine destiny! for, though darkness overshadow thy -seats, and though thy mitred head must descend into the -dust, <em>thy spirit, immortal and undecayed, already spreads -towards a new world</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_306_306" id="FNanchor_306_306"></a><a href="#Footnote_306_306" class="fnanchor">[306]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>John Adams, in his old age, dwelling on the reminiscences -of early life, records that nothing in his reading -was “more ancient in his memory than the observation -that arts, sciences, and empire had travelled westward, -and in conversation it was always added, since he was -a child, that their next leap would be over the Atlantic -into America.” With the assistance of an octogenarian -neighbor, he recalled a couplet which he had heard repeated -“for more than sixty years”:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“The Eastern nations sink, their glory ends,</div> -<div class="verse">And empire rises where the sun descends.”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">The tradition was, as his neighbor had heard it, that -these lines came from some of our early Pilgrims, by -whom they had been “inscribed, or rather drilled, into -a rock on the shore of Monument [Manomet] Bay in -our Old Colony of Plymouth.”<a name="FNanchor_307_307" id="FNanchor_307_307"></a><a href="#Footnote_307_307" class="fnanchor">[307]</a></p> - -<p>Another illustration of this same sentiment is found -in Burnaby’s “Travels through the Middle Settlements -in North America, in 1759 and 1760,” a work first published -in 1775. In reflections at the close the traveller -remarks:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“An idea, strange as it is visionary, has entered into the -minds of the generality of mankind, <em>that empire is travelling -westward; and every one is looking forward with eager and -impatient expectation to that destined moment when America -is to give law to the rest of the world</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_308_308" id="FNanchor_308_308"></a><a href="#Footnote_308_308" class="fnanchor">[308]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span></p> - -<p>The traveller is none the less an authority for the -prevalence of this sentiment because he declares it “illusory -and fallacious,” and records his conviction that -“America is formed for happiness, but not for empire.” -Happy America! What empire can compare with happiness? -Making amends for this admission, the jealous -traveller, in his edition of 1798, after the adoption of -the National Constitution, announces “that the present -union of the American States will not be permanent, -or last for any considerable length of time,” and “that -that extensive country must necessarily be divided into -separate states and kingdoms.”<a name="FNanchor_309_309" id="FNanchor_309_309"></a><a href="#Footnote_309_309" class="fnanchor">[309]</a> Thus far the Union -has stood against all shocks, foreign or domestic; and -the prophecy of Berkeley is more than ever in the -popular mind.</p> - -<h4>SAMUEL SEWALL, 1697-1727.</h4> - -<p>Berkeley saw the sun of empire travelling westward. -A contemporary whose home was made in New England, -Samuel Sewall, saw the New Heaven and the -New Earth. He was born at Bishop-Stoke, England, -28th March, 1652, and died at Boston, 1st January, -1730. A child emigrant in 1661, he became a student -and graduate of our Cambridge; in 1692, Judge of the -Supreme Court of Massachusetts; in 1718, Chief Justice. -He was of the court which condemned the -witches, but afterwards, standing up before the congregation -of his church, made public confession of error, -and his secret diary bears testimony to his trial of conscience. -In harmony with this contrition was his early -feeling for the enslaved African, as witness his tract,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span> -“The Selling of Joseph,” so that he may be called the -first of our Abolitionists.</p> - -<p>Besides an “Answer to Queries respecting America,” -in 1690, and “Proposals touching the Accomplishment -of Prophecies,” in 1713, he wrote another work, with -the following title:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Phænomena quædam Apocalyptica ad Aspectum Novi -Orbis configurata: Or, Some Few Lines towards a Description -of the New Heaven as it makes to those who stand -upon the New Earth. By Samuel Sewall, A. M., and sometime -Fellow of Harvard College at Cambridge in New England.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>The copy before me is the second edition, with the -imprint, “Massachuset, Boston. Printed by Bartholomew -Green, and sold by Benjamin Eliot, Samuel Gerrish, -and Daniel Henchman. 1727.” There is a prophetic -voice even in the title, which promises “some -few lines towards a description of the New Heaven as -it makes to those who stand upon the New Earth.” -This is followed by verses from the Scriptures, among -which is Isaiah, xi. 14: “But they shall fly upon the -shoulders of the Philistines toward the west”; also, -Acts, i. 8: “Ye shall be witnesses unto me unto the -uttermost part of the earth,”—quoting here from the -Spanish Bible, “<i>hasta lo ultimo de la tierra</i>.”</p> - -<p>Two different Dedications follow,—the first dated -“Boston, N. E., April 16th, 1697.” Here are words -on the same key with the title:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“For I can’t but think that either England or New England, -or both, (together is best,) is the only bridemaid mentioned -by name in David’s prophetical Epithalamium, to -assist at the great wedding now shortly to be made<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span>.… -Angels incognito have sometimes made themselves guests to -men, designing thereby to surprise them with a requital of -their love to strangers. In like manner the English nation, -in showing kindness to the aboriginal natives of America, -may possibly show kindness to Israelites unawares.… -Instead of being branded for slaves with hot irons in the face -and arms, and driven by scores in mortal chains, they shall -wear the name of God in their foreheads, and they shall be -delivered into the glorious liberty of the children of God.… -Asia, Africa, and Europe have each of them had a -glorious Gospel-day. None, therefore, will be grieved at any -one’s pleading that America may be made coparcener with -her sisters in the free and sovereign grace of God.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>In the second Dedication the author speaks of his -book as “this vindication of America.”</p> - -<p>Then comes, in black letter, what is entitled “Psalm -139, 7-10,” containing this stanza:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“Yea, let me take the morning wings,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And let me go and hide:</div> -<div class="verse">Even there where are the farthest parts,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Where flowing sea doth slide.</div> -<div class="verse">Yea, even thither also shall</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Thy reaching hand me guide;</div> -<div class="verse">And thy right hand shall hold me fast,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And make me to abide.”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Entering upon his subject, our prophet says:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Whereas New England, and Boston of the Massachusetts, -have this to make mention of, that they can tell their -age, and account it their honor to have their birth and -parentage kept in everlasting remembrance. And in very -deed, the families and churches which first ventured to follow -Christ thorow the Atlantic Ocean into a strange land full -of wild men were so religious, their end so holy, their self-denial -in pursuing of it so extraordinary, that I can’t but hope<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span> -that the plantation has thereby gained a very strong crasis, -and that it will not be of one or two or three centuries only, -but by the grace of God it will be very long lasting.”<a name="FNanchor_310_310" id="FNanchor_310_310"></a><a href="#Footnote_310_310" class="fnanchor">[310]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Then again:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“New Jerusalem will not straiten and enfeeble, but wonderfully -dilate and invigorate Christianity in the several -quarters of the world,—in Asia, in Africa, in Europe, and -in America. And one that has been born, or but lived in -America more than threescore years, it may be pardonable for -him to ask, Why may not that be the place of New Jerusalem?”<a name="FNanchor_311_311" id="FNanchor_311_311"></a><a href="#Footnote_311_311" class="fnanchor">[311]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>And here also:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Of all the parts of the world which do from this charter -entitle themselves to the government of Christ, America’s -plea, in my opinion, is the strongest. For when once Christopher -Columbus had added this fourth to the other three -parts of the foreknown world, they who sailed farther westward -arrived but where they had been before. The globe -now failed of offering anything new to the adventurous -traveller,—or, however, it could not afford another New -World. And probably the consideration of America’s being -<em>the beginning of the East and the end of the West</em> was -that which moved Columbus to call some part of it by the -name of Alpha and Omega. Now if the last Adam did give -order for the engraving of his own name upon this last earth, -’twill draw with it great consequences, even such as will in -time bring the poor Americans out of their graves and make -them live.”<a name="FNanchor_312_312" id="FNanchor_312_312"></a><a href="#Footnote_312_312" class="fnanchor">[312]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Again he says:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“May it not with more or equal strength be argued: New -Jerusalem is not the same with Jerusalem; but as Jerusalem -was to the westward of Babylon, so New Jerusalem must be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span> -to the westward of Rome, to avoid disturbance in the order -of these mysteries?”<a name="FNanchor_313_313" id="FNanchor_313_313"></a><a href="#Footnote_313_313" class="fnanchor">[313]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Then quoting Latin verses of Cowley<a name="FNanchor_314_314" id="FNanchor_314_314"></a><a href="#Footnote_314_314" class="fnanchor">[314]</a> and English -verses of Herbert,<a name="FNanchor_315_315" id="FNanchor_315_315"></a><a href="#Footnote_315_315" class="fnanchor">[315]</a> he says: “Not doubting but that -these authorities, being brought to the king’s scales, -will be over weight.”<a name="FNanchor_316_316" id="FNanchor_316_316"></a><a href="#Footnote_316_316" class="fnanchor">[316]</a></p> - -<p>Afterwards he adduces “learned Mr. Nicholas Fuller,” -who “would fain have it believed that America was -first peopled by the posterity of our great-grandfather -Japheth, though he will not be very strict with us as -to the particular branch of that wide family.”<a name="FNanchor_317_317" id="FNanchor_317_317"></a><a href="#Footnote_317_317" class="fnanchor">[317]</a> The -extract from this new authority is remarkable for its -vindication to Columbus of the name of the new continent: -“Quam passim <em>Americam</em> dicunt, vere ac merito -<em>Columbinam</em> potius dicerent, a magnanimo heroë Christophoro -Columbo Genuensi, primo terrarum illarum investigatore -atque inventore plane divinitus constituto.”<a name="FNanchor_318_318" id="FNanchor_318_318"></a><a href="#Footnote_318_318" class="fnanchor">[318]</a> -This designation Fuller adopts: thus, “Hinc ergo<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span> -<em>Columbina</em> primum”; and again, “Multo is quidem propior -est <em>Columbinæ</em>”; then again, “America, seu verius -<em>Columbina</em>”; and yet again, “Repertam fuisse <em>Columbinam</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_319_319" id="FNanchor_319_319"></a><a href="#Footnote_319_319" class="fnanchor">[319]</a> -This effort draws from our prophet a comment:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“But why should a learned man make all this <i>Dirige</i> for -Columbus’s name? What matter is it how America be -called? For Flavio of Malphi in Naples hath in great measure -applied the virtues of the loadstone to the mariner’s compass -in vain, the Portugals have found the length of Africa’s -foot in vain, the Spaniards sent out the Italian dove in vain, -Sir Francis Drake hath sailed round the world and made -thorow lights to it in vain, and Hakluyt and Purchas have -with endless labor acquainted Englishmen with these things -in vain, if, after all, we go about to turn the American Euphrates -into a Stygian Lake. The breaking of this one instrument -spoils us of the long-expected and much-desired -consort of music.”<a name="FNanchor_320_320" id="FNanchor_320_320"></a><a href="#Footnote_320_320" class="fnanchor">[320]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Very soon thereafter he breaks forth in words printed -in large Italic type and made prophetic:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“<i>Lift up your heads, O ye Gates</i> [of Columbina], <i>and -be ye lift up, ye Everlasting Doors, and the KING of -Glory shall come in</i>.”<a name="FNanchor_321_321" id="FNanchor_321_321"></a><a href="#Footnote_321_321" class="fnanchor">[321]</a></p> - -</div> - -<h4>MARQUIS D’ARGENSON, 1733.</h4> - -<p>From the Puritan son of New England, pass now to -a different character. René Louis de Voyer, Marquis -d’Argenson, a French noble, was born 18th October, -1694, and died 26th January, 1757; so that his life<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span> -lapped upon the prolonged reigns of Louis the Fourteenth -and Louis the Fifteenth. At college the comrade -of Voltaire, he was ever afterwards the friend and -correspondent of this great writer. His own thoughts, -commended by the style of the other, would have placed -him among the most illustrious of French history. Notwithstanding -strange eccentricities, he was often elevated, -far-sighted, and prophetic, above any other Frenchman -except Turgot. By the courtiers of Versailles he -was called “the Stupid” (<i>la Bête</i>), while Voltaire hailed -one of his productions, yet in manuscript, as the “work -of Aristides,” and pronounced him “the best citizen who -had ever reached the ministry,” and the Duc de Richelieu -called him “Secretary of State for the Republic of -Plato.”<a name="FNanchor_322_322" id="FNanchor_322_322"></a><a href="#Footnote_322_322" class="fnanchor">[322]</a></p> - -<p>Except a brief subordinate service and two years of -the Cabinet as Minister of Foreign Affairs, his life was -passed in meditation and composition, especially on subjects -of government and human improvement. This -was his great passion. “If I were in power,” he wrote, -“and knew a capable man, I would go on all fours and -seek him, to pray him to serve me as counsellor and tutor.”<a name="FNanchor_323_323" id="FNanchor_323_323"></a><a href="#Footnote_323_323" class="fnanchor">[323]</a> -Is not this a lesson to the heedless partisan?</p> - -<p>In 1725 he became an active member of a small club -devoted to hardy speculation, and known, from its place -of meeting at the apartment of its founder, as <i>l’Entre-Sol</i>. -It is to his honor that he mingled here with the -Abbé Saint-Pierre, and sympathized entirely with the -many-sided, far-sighted plans of this “good man.” In -the privacy of his journal he records his homage: “This<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span> -worthy citizen is not known, and he does not know -himself.… He has much intelligence, and has devoted -himself to a kind of philosophy profound and -abandoned by everybody, which is the true politics destined -to procure the greatest happiness of men.”<a name="FNanchor_324_324" id="FNanchor_324_324"></a><a href="#Footnote_324_324" class="fnanchor">[324]</a> In -praising Saint-Pierre our author furnished a measure -of himself.</p> - -<p>His “Considérations sur le Gouvernement Ancien et -Présent de la France,” a work which excited the admiration -both of Voltaire and Rousseau, was read by the -former as early as 1739, but did not see the light till -some years after the death of the author. It first appeared -at Amsterdam in 1764, and in a short time there -were no less than four editions in Holland. In 1784 a -more accurate edition appeared in France, and in 1787 -another at the command and expense of the Assembly -of Notables. Here was a recognition of the people, and -an inquiry how far democracy was consistent with monarchical -government. Believing much in the people and -anxious for their happiness, he had not ceased to believe -in kings. The book was contained in the epigraph from -the “Britannicus” of Racine:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse indent4">“Que dans le cours d’un règne florissant,</div> -<div class="verse"><em>Rome soit toujours libre</em>, et César tout-puissant.”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Other works followed: “Essays in the Style of those -of Montaigne”; and the “Journal and Memoirs,” in nine -volumes, published tardily. There still remain in manuscript: -“Remarks while Reading”; “Memoirs of State”; -“Foreign Affairs, containing Memoirs of my Ministry”; -“Thoughts since my Leaving the Ministry”; and especially, -“Thoughts on the Reformation of the State.” In -all these there is a communicativeness like that of Saint-Simon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span> -in his “Memoirs,” and of Rousseau in his “Confessions,” -without the wonderful talent of either. The -advanced ideas of the author are constantly conspicuous, -making him foremost among contemporaries in discerning -the questions of the future. Even of marriage he -writes in the spirit of some modern reformers: “It is -necessary to press the people to marriage, <em>waiting for -something better</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_325_325" id="FNanchor_325_325"></a><a href="#Footnote_325_325" class="fnanchor">[325]</a> This is an instance. His reforms -embraced nothing less than the suppression of feudal -privileges and of the right of primogeniture, uniformity -of weights and measures, judges irremovable and salaried -by the State, the dismissal of foreign troops, and -the residence of the king and his ministers in the capital -embellished by vast squares, pierced by broad streets, -“with the <i>Bois de Boulogne</i> for country.” This is the -Paris of latter days. Add to this the suppression of -cemeteries, hospitals, and slaughter-houses in the interior -of Paris,—and many other things, not omitting -omnibuses, and even including balloons. “Here is -something,” he records, “which will be treated as folly. -I am persuaded that one of the first famous discoveries -to make, and reserved perhaps for our age, is to find the -art of flying in the air.” And he proceeds to describe -the balloon.<a name="FNanchor_326_326" id="FNanchor_326_326"></a><a href="#Footnote_326_326" class="fnanchor">[326]</a></p> - -<p>His large nature is manifest in cosmopolitan ideas, -and the inquiry if it were not well to consider one’s self -“as citizen of the world” more than is the usage. Here -his soul glows:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“What a small corner Europe occupies on the round earth! -How many lands remain to be inhabited! See this immense -extent of three parts of the world, and of undiscovered lands<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span> -at the North and South! If people went there with other -views than that tiresome exclusive property, all these lands -would be inhabited in two centuries. We shall not see this, -but it will come.”<a name="FNanchor_327_327" id="FNanchor_327_327"></a><a href="#Footnote_327_327" class="fnanchor">[327]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>And then, after coupling morals and well-being, he -announces the true rule: “An individual who shall do -well will succeed, and who shall do ill will fail: <em>it is -the same with nations</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_328_328" id="FNanchor_328_328"></a><a href="#Footnote_328_328" class="fnanchor">[328]</a> This is just and lofty. In -such a spirit he cherished plans of political reconstruction -in foreign nations, especially in Italy. The old -Italian cry was his: “The Barbarians must be driven -from Italy”; and he contemplated “a republic or eternal -association of the Italian powers, as there was a -German, a Dutch, an Helvetic,” and he called this “the -greatest affair that had been treated in Europe for a -long time.” The entry of Italy was to be closed to -the Emperor; and he adds: “For ourselves what a -happy privation, if we are excluded forever from the -necessity of sending thither our armies to triumph, but -to perish!”<a name="FNanchor_329_329" id="FNanchor_329_329"></a><a href="#Footnote_329_329" class="fnanchor">[329]</a></p> - -<p>The intelligence that saw Italy so clearly saw France -also, and her exigencies, marking out “a national senate -composed equally of all the orders of the state, and -which, on questions of peace and war, would hold the -kings in check by the necessity of obtaining supplies”; -also saw the approaching decay of Turkey, and wished -to make Greece flourishing once more, to acquire possession -of the holy places, to overcome the barbarians of -Northern Africa by a union of Christian powers, which,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span> -“once well united in a kind of Christian Republic, according -to the project of Henry the Fourth detailed by -the Abbé Saint-Pierre, would have something better to -do than fighting to destroy each other as they now do.”<a name="FNanchor_330_330" id="FNanchor_330_330"></a><a href="#Footnote_330_330" class="fnanchor">[330]</a> -Naturally this singular precocious intelligence reached -across the Atlantic, and here he became one of our -prophets:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Another great event to arrive upon the round earth is -this. The English have in North America domains great, -strong, rich, well regulated. There are in New England a -parliament, governors, troops, white inhabitants in abundance, -riches, and, what is worse, a marine.</p> - -<p>“I say that some fine morning these dominions may separate -from England, rise and erect themselves into an independent -republic.</p> - -<p>“What will happen then? Do people think of this? A -country civilized by the arts of Europe, in a condition to -communicate with it by the present perfection of its marine, -and which will thus appropriate our arts in proportion to -their improvement,—patience! such a country in several -centuries will make great progress in population and in refinement; -such a country in a short time will render itself -master of America, and especially of the gold-mines.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>Then, dwelling on the extension of commercial freedom -and the improvement of the means of communication, -he exclaims, with lyrical outburst:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“And you will then see how beautiful the earth will be! -what culture! what new arts and new sciences! what safety -for commerce! Navigation will precipitate all nations towards -each other. A day will come when one will go about<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span> -in a populous and orderly city of California as one goes in the -stage-coach of Meaux.”<a name="FNanchor_331_331" id="FNanchor_331_331"></a><a href="#Footnote_331_331" class="fnanchor">[331]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>The published works of D’Argenson do not enable us -to fix the precise date of these remarkable words. They -are from the “Thoughts on the Reformation of the -State,” and the first three paragraphs appear to have -been written as early at least as 1733, while his intimacy -with the Abbé Saint-Pierre was at its height; the -fourth somewhat later;<a name="FNanchor_332_332" id="FNanchor_332_332"></a><a href="#Footnote_332_332" class="fnanchor">[332]</a> but all preceding Turgot and -John Adams. Each, however, spoke from his own soul, -and without prompting.</p> - -<h4>TURGOT, 1750, 1770, 1776, 1778.</h4> - -<p>Among the illustrious names of France few equal that -of Turgot. He was a philosopher among ministers, and -a minister among philosophers. Malesherbes said of -him, that he had the heart of L’Hôpital and the head -of Bacon. Such a person in public affairs was an epoch -for his country and for the human race. Had his spirit -prevailed, the bloody drama of the French Revolution -would not have occurred, or it would at least have been -postponed: I think it could not have occurred. He was -a good man, who sought to carry into government the -rules of goodness. His career from beginning to end -was one continuous beneficence. Such a nature was -essentially prophetic, for he discerned the natural laws -by which the future is governed.</p> - -<p>He was of an ancient Norman family, whose name -suggests the god Thor. He was born at Paris, 1727, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span> -died, 1781. Being a younger son, he was destined for -the Church, and began his studies as an ecclesiastic at -the ancient Sorbonne. Before registering an irrevocable -vow, he announced his repugnance to the profession, and -turned aside to other pursuits. Law, literature, science, -humanity, government, now engaged his attention. He -associated himself with the authors of the “Encyclopédie,” -and became one of its contributors. In other -writings he vindicated especially the virtue of Toleration. -Not merely a theorist, he soon arrived at the -high post of Intendant of Limoges, where he developed -talent for administration and sympathy with the people. -The potato came into Limousin through him. But he -continued to employ his pen, particularly on questions -of political economy, which he treated as a master. On -the accession of Louis the Sixteenth he was called to -the Cabinet as Minister of the Marine, and shortly afterwards -gave up this place to be the head of the Finances. -Here he began a system of rigid economy, founded on -curtailment of expenses and enlargement of resources. -The latter was obtained especially by removal of disabilities -from trade, whether at home or abroad, and the -substitution of a single tax on land for a complex multiplicity -of taxes. The enemies of progress were too -strong at that time, and the King dismissed the reformer. -Good men in France became anxious for the -future; Voltaire, in his distant retreat, gave a shriek of -despair, and addressed to Turgot remarkable verses entitled -“Épître à un Homme.” Worse still, the good -edicts of the minister were rescinded, and society was -put back.</p> - -<p>The discarded minister gave himself to science, literature, -and friendship. He welcomed Franklin to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span> -France and to immortality in a Latin verse of marvellous -felicity. He was already the companion of the -liberal spirits who were doing so much for knowledge -and for reform. By writing and by conversation he -exercised a constant influence. His “ideas” seem to -illumine the time. We may be content to follow him -in saying, “The glory of arms cannot compare with the -happiness of living in peace.”<a name="FNanchor_333_333" id="FNanchor_333_333"></a><a href="#Footnote_333_333" class="fnanchor">[333]</a> He anticipated our definition -of a republic, when he said “it was founded upon -<em>the equality of all the citizens</em>,”<a name="FNanchor_334_334" id="FNanchor_334_334"></a><a href="#Footnote_334_334" class="fnanchor">[334]</a>—good words, not yet -practically verified in all our States. Such a government -he, living under a monarchy, bravely pronounced -“the best of all”; but he added, that he “never had -known a constitution truly republican.”<a name="FNanchor_335_335" id="FNanchor_335_335"></a><a href="#Footnote_335_335" class="fnanchor">[335]</a> With similar -plainness he announced that “the destruction of the -Ottoman Empire would be a real good for all the nations -of Europe,” and he added, still further, for humanity -also, because it would involve the abolition of -negro slavery, and because “to despoil an oppressor is -not to attack, but to vindicate, the common rights of -humanity.”<a name="FNanchor_336_336" id="FNanchor_336_336"></a><a href="#Footnote_336_336" class="fnanchor">[336]</a> With such thoughts and aspirations the -prophet died.</p> - -<p>But I have no purpose of writing a biography, or -even a character. All that I intend is an introduction -to Turgot’s prophetic words. When only twenty-three -years of age, while still an ecclesiastic at the Sorbonne, -the future minister delivered a discourse on the Progress -of the Human Mind, in which, after describing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span> -the commercial triumphs of the ancient Phœnicians, -covering the coasts of Greece and Asia with their -colonies, he lets drop these remarkable words:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Les colonies sont comme des fruits qui ne tiennent à -l’arbre que jusqu’à leur maturité: devenues suffisantes à -elles-mêmes, elles firent ce que fit depuis Carthage,—<em>ce -que fera un jour l’Amérique</em>.”</p> - -<p>“Colonies are like fruits, which hold to the tree only until -their maturity: when sufficient for themselves, they did that -which Carthage afterwards did,—<em>that which some day America -will do</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_337_337" id="FNanchor_337_337"></a><a href="#Footnote_337_337" class="fnanchor">[337]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>On this most suggestive declaration, Dupont de Nemours, -the editor of Turgot’s works in 1808, remarks in -a note:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“It was in 1750 that M. Turgot, being then only twenty-three -years old, and devoted in a seminary to the study of -theology, divined, foresaw, the revolution which has formed -the United States,—which has detached them from the -European power apparently the most capable of retaining -its colonies under its dominion.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>At the time Turgot wrote, Canada was a French possession; -but his words are as applicable to this colony -as to the United States. When will the fruit be ripe?</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>In contrast with this precise prediction, and yet in -harmony with it, are the words of Montesquieu, in his -ingenious work, which saw the light in 1748, two years -before the discourse of Turgot. In the famous chapter, -“How the laws contribute to form the manners, customs, -and character of a nation,” we have a much-admired<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span> -picture of “a free nation” “inhabiting an -island,” where, without naming England, it is easy to -recognize her greatness and glory. And here we meet -a Delphic passage, also without a name, pointing to the -British Colonies:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“If this nation sent out colonies, it would do so more to -extend its commerce than its dominion.</p> - -<p>“As people like to establish elsewhere what is found established -at home, it would give to the people of its colonies -its own form of government; and this government carrying -with it prosperity, <em>we should see great peoples formed in the -very forests which it should send to inhabit</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_338_338" id="FNanchor_338_338"></a><a href="#Footnote_338_338" class="fnanchor">[338]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>The future greatness of the Colonies is insinuated -rather than foretold, and here the prophetic voice is -silent. Nothing is said of the impending separation, -and the beginning of a new nation; so that, plainly, -Montesquieu saw our future less than Turgot.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The youthful prophet did not lose his penetrating -vision with years. In the same spirit and with immense -vigor he wrote to the English philosopher, Josiah -Tucker, September 12, 1770:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“As a citizen of the world, I see with joy the approach of -an event which, more than all the books of the philosophers, -will dissipate the phantom of commercial jealousy. <em>I speak -of the separation of your colonies from the mother country</em>, -<span class="smcap">which will soon be followed by that of all America -from Europe</span>. It is then that the discovery of this part of -the world will become truly useful to us. It is then that it -will multiply our enjoyments much more abundantly than -when we purchased them with torrents of blood. The English, -the French, the Spaniards, etc., will use sugar, coffee,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span> -indigo, and will sell their products, precisely as the Swiss do -to-day; and they will also, like the Swiss people, have the -advantage, that this sugar, this coffee, this indigo will no -longer serve as a pretext for intriguers to precipitate their -nation into ruinous wars and to oppress them with taxes.”<a name="FNanchor_339_339" id="FNanchor_339_339"></a><a href="#Footnote_339_339" class="fnanchor">[339]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>It is impossible not to feel in this passage the sure -grasp of our American destiny. How clearly and courageously -he announces the inevitable future! But the -French philosopher-statesman again took the tripod.</p> - -<p>This was in the discharge of his duties as minister of -the Crown, and in reply to a special application. His -noble opinion is dated 6th April, 1776. Its character -appears in a few sentences:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“The present war will probably end in the absolute independence -of the Colonies, and that event will certainly be <em>the -epoch of the greatest revolution in the commerce and politics, not -of England only, but of all Europe</em>.… When the English -themselves shall recognize the independence of their colonies, -<em>every mother country will be forced</em> in like manner to exchange -its dominion over its colonies for bonds of friendship and fraternity.… -When <em>the total separation of America</em> shall have -cured the European nations of commercial jealousy, there -will exist among men one great cause of war the less; and it -is very difficult not to desire an event which is to accomplish -this good for the human race.”<a name="FNanchor_340_340" id="FNanchor_340_340"></a><a href="#Footnote_340_340" class="fnanchor">[340]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>His letter to the English Dr. Price, on the American -Constitutions, abounds in profound observations and in -prophecy. It was written just at the time when France -openly joined against England in our War of Independence, -and is dated March 22, 1778, but did not see the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span> -light until 1784, some years after the death of the author, -when it was published by Dr. Price.<a name="FNanchor_341_341" id="FNanchor_341_341"></a><a href="#Footnote_341_341" class="fnanchor">[341]</a> Its criticism -of the American Constitutions aroused John Adams to -his elaborate work in their “Defence.”<a name="FNanchor_342_342" id="FNanchor_342_342"></a><a href="#Footnote_342_342" class="fnanchor">[342]</a></p> - -<p>Of our Union before the adoption of the National -Constitution he writes:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“In the general union of the provinces among themselves -I do not see a coalition, a fusion of all the parts, making but -one body, one and homogeneous. It is only an aggregation -of parts always too much separated, and preserving always a -tendency to division, by the diversity of their laws, their -manners, their opinions,—by the inequality of their actual -forces,—still more by the inequality of their ulterior progress. -It is only a copy of the Dutch Republic: but this -Republic had not to fear, as the American Republic has, the -possible enlargement of some of its provinces. This whole -edifice has been supported hitherto on the false basis of the -very ancient and very vulgar policy: on the prejudice that -nations and provinces, as bodies, can have interests other -than that which individuals have to be free and to defend -their property against brigands and conquerors; a pretended -interest to carry on more commerce than others,—not to buy -the merchandise of the foreigner, but to force the foreigner -to consume their productions and their manufactures; a pretended -interest to have a vaster territory, to acquire such or -such a province, such or such an island, such or such a village; -an interest to inspire fear in other nations; an interest -to surpass them in the glory of arms, and in that of arts and -sciences.”<a name="FNanchor_343_343" id="FNanchor_343_343"></a><a href="#Footnote_343_343" class="fnanchor">[343]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Among the evils to be overcome are, in the Southern<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span> -Colonies, too great an inequality of fortunes, and especially -the large number of black slaves, whose slavery -is incompatible with a good political constitution, and -who, even when restored to liberty, will cause embarrassment -by forming two nations in the same State. In -all the Colonies he deprecates prejudice, attachment to -established forms, a habit of certain taxes, fear of those -which it might be necessary to substitute, the vanity of -the Colonies who deem themselves most powerful, and -the wretched beginning of national pride. Happily he -adds: “I think the Americans destined to aggrandizement, -not by war, but by husbandry.”<a name="FNanchor_344_344" id="FNanchor_344_344"></a><a href="#Footnote_344_344" class="fnanchor">[344]</a> And he then -proceeds to his aspirations:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“It is impossible not to desire earnestly that this people -may attain to all the prosperity of which they are capable. -They are the hope of the human race. They can become its -model. They are to prove to the world, by the fact, that -men can be free and tranquil, and can dispense with the -chains of all kinds which the tyrants and charlatans of every -cloth have pretended to impose under the pretext of the public -good. They are to give the example of political liberty, -of religious liberty, of commercial and industrial liberty. -The asylum which they open to all the oppressed of all nations -is to console the earth. The facility thereby afforded -for escape from a bad government will force the European -governments to be just and enlightened. The rest of the -world, little by little, will open their eyes to the nothingness -of the illusions in which politicians have indulged. To this -end it is necessary that America should guard against them, -and should not again become, as your ministerial writers -have so often repeated, an image of our Europe, <em>a mass of -divided powers</em>, disputing about territory or commercial profits,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span> -and continually cementing the slavery of the peoples with -their own blood.”<a name="FNanchor_345_345" id="FNanchor_345_345"></a><a href="#Footnote_345_345" class="fnanchor">[345]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>After these admirable thoughts, so full of wisdom and -prophecy, Turgot alludes to the impending war between -France and England:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Our two nations are going to do each other reciprocally -much evil, probably without either of them obtaining any -real advantage. The increase of debts and charges and the -ruin of a great many citizens will be, perhaps, the only result. -England seems to me even nearer to this than France. If -instead of this war you had been able to yield with good -grace from the first moment,—if it had been given to policy -to do in advance what infallibly it will be forced to do later,—if -national opinion could have permitted your Government -to anticipate events,—and, supposing that it had foreseen -them, it had been able to consent at once to the independence -of America without making war on anybody,—I firmly -believe that your nation would have lost nothing by this -change. It will lose now what it has already expended, and -what it shall yet expend. It will experience for some time a -great falling off in its commerce, great domestic disturbances, -if it is forced to bankruptcy, and, whatever may happen, a -great diminution of political influence abroad. But this last -matter is of very small importance to the real welfare of a -people; and I am not at all of the opinion of the Abbé -Raynal in your motto.<a name="FNanchor_346_346" id="FNanchor_346_346"></a><a href="#Footnote_346_346" class="fnanchor">[346]</a> I do not believe that this will make -you a contemptible nation, and throw you into slavery. On -the contrary, your troubles will perhaps have the effect of a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span> -necessary amputation; they are perhaps the only means of -saving you from the gangrene of luxury and corruption. If -in your agitations you could correct your Constitution by -rendering the elections annual, by apportioning the right of -representation in a manner more equal and more proportioned -to the interests of those represented, you would gain from -this revolution as much, perhaps, as America; for your liberty -would remain to you, and with this and by this your -other losses would be very speedily repaired.”<a name="FNanchor_347_347" id="FNanchor_347_347"></a><a href="#Footnote_347_347" class="fnanchor">[347]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Reading such words, the heart throbs and the pulse -beats. Government inspired by such a spirit would become -divine, nations would live at peace together, and -people everywhere be happy.</p> - -<h4>HORACE WALPOLE, 1754, 1774, 1777, 1779.</h4> - -<p>Most unlike Turgot in character, but with something -of the same spirit of prophecy, and associated in time, -was Horace Walpole, youngest son of England’s remarkable -Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole. With the -former, life was serious always, and human improvement -the perpetual passion; with the latter, there was -a constant desire for amusement, and the world was -little more than a curious gimcrack.</p> - -<p>Horace Walpole was born 5th October, 1717, and -died 2d March, 1797, being at his death Earl of Orford. -According to his birth he was a man of fashion; -for a time a member of Parliament; a man of letters -always. To his various talents he added an aggregation -of miscellaneous tastes, of which his house at -Strawberry Hill was an illustration,—being an elegant<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span> -“Old Curiosity Shop,” with pictures, books, manuscripts, -prints, armor, china, historic relics, and art in all its -forms, which he had collected at no small outlay of time -and money. Though aristocratic in life, he boasted that -his principles were not monarchical. On the two sides -of his bed were hung engravings of Magna Charta and -the Sentence of Charles the First, the latter with the -inscription “<em>Major</em> Charta.” Sleeping between two such -memorials, he might be suspected of sympathy with -America, although the aristocrat was never absent. His -Memoirs, Journals, Anecdotes of Painting in England, -and other works, are less famous than his multifarious -correspondence, which is the best in English literature, -and, according to French judgment, nearer than any -other in our language to that of Madame de Sévigné, -whom he never wearied in praising. It is free, easy, -gossipy, historic, and spicy.</p> - -<p>But I deal with him now only as a prophet. And -I begin with his “Memoires of the last Ten Years of -the Reign of George the Second,” where we find the -record that the Colonists were seeking independence. -This occurs in his description of the Duke of Newcastle -as Secretary of State for the Colonies, during -the long Walpole administration. Illustrating what he -calls the Duke’s “mercurial inattention,” he says: “It -would not be credited what reams of papers, representations, -memorials, petitions from that quarter of the -world [the Colonies], lay mouldering and unopened in -his office”; and then, showing the Duke’s ignorance, he -narrates how, when it was hinted that there should be -some defence for Annapolis, he replied, with evasive, -lisping hurry: “Annapolis, Annapolis! Oh, yes, Annapolis -must be defended,—to be sure, Annapolis<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span> -should be defended;—where is Annapolis?” But this -negligence did not prevent him from exalting the prerogative -of the Crown; and here the author says:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“The instructions to Sir Danvers Osborn, a new governor -of New York, seemed better calculated for the latitude of -Mexico and for a Spanish tribunal than for a free, rich British -settlement, and in such opulence and of such haughtiness -that <em>suspicions had long been conceived of their meditating to -throw off their dependence on their mother country</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_348_348" id="FNanchor_348_348"></a><a href="#Footnote_348_348" class="fnanchor">[348]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>This stands in the “Memoires” under the date of -1754, and the editor in a note observes, “If, as the -author asserts, this was written at the time, it is a very -remarkable passage.” By direction of the author the -book was “to be kept unopened and unsealed” until a -certain person named should attain the age of twenty-five -years. It was published in 1822. Perhaps the -honesty of this entry will be better appreciated, when -it is noted, that, only a few pages later, Washington, -whom the author afterwards admired, is spoken of as -“this brave braggart” who “learned to blush for his -rodomontade.”<a name="FNanchor_349_349" id="FNanchor_349_349"></a><a href="#Footnote_349_349" class="fnanchor">[349]</a></p> - -<p>As the difficulties with the Colonies increased, he -became more sympathetic and prophetic. In a letter -to Sir Horace Mann, 2d February, 1774, he wrote:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“We have no news, public or private; but there is an -ostrich-egg laid in America, where the Bostonians have -canted three hundred chests of tea into the ocean; for they -will not drink tea with our Parliament.… Lord Chatham -talked of conquering America in Germany. <i>I believe England<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span> -will be conquered some day or other in New England or -Bengal.</i>”<a name="FNanchor_350_350" id="FNanchor_350_350"></a><a href="#Footnote_350_350" class="fnanchor">[350]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>In May, 1774, his sympathies again appear:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Nothing was more shocking than the King’s laughing and -saying at his levee that <em>he had as lief fight the Bostonians as -the French</em>. It was only to be paralleled by James the Second -sporting on Jeffreys’s ‘campaign in the West.’”<a name="FNanchor_351_351" id="FNanchor_351_351"></a><a href="#Footnote_351_351" class="fnanchor">[351]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>And under date of 28th May, 1775, we have his -record of the encounter at Lexington, with the reflection:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Thus was the civil war begun, and a victory the first -fruits of it on the side of the Americans, whom Lord Sandwich -had had the folly and rashness to proclaim cowards.”<a name="FNanchor_352_352" id="FNanchor_352_352"></a><a href="#Footnote_352_352" class="fnanchor">[352]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>His letters to the Countess of Ossory, written during -the war, show his irrepressible sentiments. Thus, under -date of 9th November, 1775:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“I think this country undone almost beyond redemption. -Victory in any war but a civil one fascinates mankind with -a vision of glory. What should we gain by triumph itself? -Would America laid waste, deluged with blood, plundered, -enslaved, replace America flourishing, rich, and free? Do -we want to reign over it, as the Spaniards over Peru, depopulated? -Are desolate regions preferable to commercial -cities?”<a name="FNanchor_353_353" id="FNanchor_353_353"></a><a href="#Footnote_353_353" class="fnanchor">[353]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Then under date of 6th July, 1777:—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span></p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“My humble opinion is, that we shall never recover -America, and that France will take care that we shall never -recover ourselves.”<a name="FNanchor_354_354" id="FNanchor_354_354"></a><a href="#Footnote_354_354" class="fnanchor">[354]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>“Friday night, late,” 5th December, 1777, he breaks -forth:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Send for Lord Chatham! They had better send for -General Washington, Madam,—or at least for our troops -back.… No, Madam, we do not want ministers that -would protract our difficulties. I look on them but as beginning -now, and am far from thinking that there is any -man or set of men able enough to extricate us. <em>I own -there are very able Englishmen left, but they happen to be -on t’other side of the Atlantic.</em> If his Majesty hopes to find -them here, I doubt he will be mistaken.”<a name="FNanchor_355_355" id="FNanchor_355_355"></a><a href="#Footnote_355_355" class="fnanchor">[355]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>“Thursday night,” 11th December, 1777, his feelings -overflow in no common language:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Was ever proud, insolent nation sunk so low? Burke -and Charles Fox told him [Lord North] the Administration -thought of nothing but keeping their places; and so they -will, and the members their pensions, and the nation its infamy. -Were I Franklin, I would order the Cabinet Council -to come to me at Paris with ropes about their necks, and -then kick them back to St. James’s.</p> - -<p>“Well, Madam, as I told Lord Ossory t’other day, I am -satisfied: <em>Old England is safe,—that is, America, whither -the true English retired under Charles the First</em>: this is -Nova Scotia, and I care not what becomes of it.… -Adieu, Madam! I am at last not sorry you have no son; -and your daughters, I hope, will be married to Americans, -and not in this dirty, despicable island.”<a name="FNanchor_356_356" id="FNanchor_356_356"></a><a href="#Footnote_356_356" class="fnanchor">[356]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span></p> - -<p>All this is elevated by his letter of 17th February, -1779, where he says:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Liberty has still a continent to exist in. I do not care -a straw who is Minister in this abandoned country. It is -<em>the good old cause of Freedom</em> that I have at heart.”<a name="FNanchor_357_357" id="FNanchor_357_357"></a><a href="#Footnote_357_357" class="fnanchor">[357]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Thus with constancy, where original principle was -doubtless quickened by party animosity, did Horace -Walpole maintain the American cause and predict a -new home for Liberty.</p> - -<h4>JOHN ADAMS, 1755, 1765, 1776, 1780, 1785, 1787, 1813, 1818.</h4> - -<p>Next in time among the prophets was John Adams, -who has left on record at different dates predictions -showing a second-sight of no common order. Of his -life I need say nothing, except that he was born 19th -October, 1735, and died 4th July, 1826. I mention -the predictions in the order of utterance.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>1. While teaching a school at Worcester, and when -under twenty years of age, he wrote a letter to one of -his youthful companions, bearing date 12th October, -1755, which is a marvel of foresight. Fifty-two years -afterwards, when already much of its prophecy had -been fulfilled, the original was returned to its author -by the son of his early comrade and correspondent, -Nathan Webb, who was at the time dead. After remarking -gravely on the rise and fall of nations, with -illustrations from Carthage and Rome, he proceeds:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“England began to increase in power and magnificence, -and is now the greatest nation upon the globe. Soon after<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span> -the Reformation, a few people came over into this New -World for conscience’ sake. Perhaps this apparently trivial -incident <em>may transfer the great seat of empire into America</em>. -<em>It looks likely to me</em>: for, if we can remove the turbulent -Gallics, our people, according to the exactest computations, -will in another century become more numerous than England -itself. Should this be the case, since we have, I may -say, all the naval stores of the nations in our hands, it will -be easy to obtain the mastery of the seas; and then the -united force of all Europe will not be able to subdue us. -The only way to keep us from setting up for ourselves is to -disunite us. <i>Divide et impera.</i> Keep us in distinct colonies, -and then some great men in each colony desiring the -monarchy of the whole, they will destroy each other’s influence, -and keep the country <i>in equilibrio</i>.<a name="FNanchor_358_358" id="FNanchor_358_358"></a><a href="#Footnote_358_358" class="fnanchor">[358]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>On this his son, John Quincy Adams, famous for -important service and high office, remarks:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Had the political part of it been written by the minister -of state of a European monarchy, at the close of a long life -spent in the government of nations, it would have been pronounced -worthy of the united penetration and experience of a -Burleigh, a Sully, or an Oxenstiern.… <em>In one bold outline -he has exhibited by anticipation a long succession of prophetic -history, the fulfilment of which is barely yet in progress, -responding exactly hitherto to his foresight</em>, but the full accomplishment -of which is reserved for the development of after -ages. The extinction of the power of France in America, the -union of the British North American Colonies, the achievement -of their independence, and the establishment of their -ascendency in the community of civilized nations by the -means of their naval power, are all foreshadowed in this -letter, with a clearness of perception and a distinctness of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span> -delineation which time has hitherto done little more than -to convert into historical fact.”<a name="FNanchor_359_359" id="FNanchor_359_359"></a><a href="#Footnote_359_359" class="fnanchor">[359]</a></p> - -</div> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>2. Another beautiful instance followed ten years -later. In the beginning of 1765, Jeremy Gridley, the -eminent lawyer of Colonial days, formed a law club, or -Sodality, at Boston, for the mutual improvement of its -members. Here John Adams produced the original -sketch of his “Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal -Law,” which appeared in the “Boston Gazette” of -August, 1765, was immediately and repeatedly reprinted -in London, and afterwards in Philadelphia.<a name="FNanchor_360_360" id="FNanchor_360_360"></a><a href="#Footnote_360_360" class="fnanchor">[360]</a> -The sketch began:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“This Sodality has given rise to the following speculation -of my own, which I commit to writing as hints for future -inquiries rather than as a satisfactory theory.”<a name="FNanchor_361_361" id="FNanchor_361_361"></a><a href="#Footnote_361_361" class="fnanchor">[361]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>In this Dissertation, the writer dwells especially upon -the settlers of British America, of whom he says:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“After their arrival here, they began their settlement, -and formed their plan, both of ecclesiastical and civil government, -in direct opposition to the canon and the feudal -systems.”<a name="FNanchor_362_362" id="FNanchor_362_362"></a><a href="#Footnote_362_362" class="fnanchor">[362]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>This excellent statement was followed, in the original -sketch communicated to the Sodality, by this passage, -which does not appear in the printed Dissertation:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“I always consider the settlement of America with reverence -and wonder, as the opening of a grand scene and -design in Providence for the illumination of the ignorant -and the emancipation of the slavish part of mankind all -over the earth.”<a name="FNanchor_363_363" id="FNanchor_363_363"></a><a href="#Footnote_363_363" class="fnanchor">[363]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span></p> - -<p>On these prophetic words, his son, John Quincy -Adams, remarks:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“This sentence was perhaps omitted from an impression -that it might be thought to savor not merely of enthusiasm, -but of extravagance. Who now would deny that this magnificent -anticipation has been already to a great degree realized? -Who does not now see that the accomplishment of -this great object is already placed beyond all possibility of -failure?”<a name="FNanchor_364_364" id="FNanchor_364_364"></a><a href="#Footnote_364_364" class="fnanchor">[364]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>His grandson, Charles Francis Adams, alluding to -the changes which took place in the original sketch, -says:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“As not infrequently happens, however, in this process, -one strong passage was lost by it, which at this time must -be regarded as the most deserving of any to be remembered.”<a name="FNanchor_365_365" id="FNanchor_365_365"></a><a href="#Footnote_365_365" class="fnanchor">[365]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Thus again, at an early day, did this prophet discern -the future. How true it is that the mission of this Republic -is “the illumination of the ignorant,” and, still -further, “the emancipation of the slavish part of mankind -all over the earth”! Universal enlightenment and -universal emancipation! And the first great stage was -National Independence.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>3. The Declaration of Independence bears date 4th -July, 1776, for on that day it was signed; but the vote -which determined it was on the 2d July. On the 3d -July, John Adams, in a letter to his wife, wrote:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Yesterday the greatest question was decided which ever -was debated in America; and a greater, perhaps, never was -nor will be decided among men.… I am surprised at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span> -suddenness as well as greatness of this revolution. Britain -has been filled with folly, and America with wisdom. At -least this is my judgment. Time must determine. <em>It is the -will of Heaven that the two countries should be sundered forever.…</em> -The day is passed. The second day of July, -1776, will be the most memorable epocha in the history of -America. <em>I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by -succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival.</em> It -ought to be commemorated, as the day of deliverance, by -solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be -solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, -guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this -continent to the other, from this time forward, forevermore. -You will think me transported with enthusiasm, but I am -not. I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure -that it will cost us to maintain this Declaration, and support -and defend these States. <em>Yet, through all the gloom, I -can see the rays of ravishing light and glory. I can see that -the end is more than worth all the means, and that posterity -will triumph in that day’s transaction</em>, even although we -should rue it, which I trust in God we shall not.”<a name="FNanchor_366_366" id="FNanchor_366_366"></a><a href="#Footnote_366_366" class="fnanchor">[366]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Here is a comprehensive prophecy, first, that the two -countries would be separated forever; secondly, that -the anniversary of Independence would be celebrated -as a great annual festival; and, thirdly, that posterity -would triumph in this transaction, where, through all -the gloom, shone rays of ravishing light and glory: all -of which has been fulfilled to the letter. Recent events -give to the Declaration additional importance. For a -long time its great premises, that all men are equal, -and that rightful government stands only on the consent -of the governed, were disowned by our country. -Now that at last they are beginning to prevail, there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span> -is increased reason to celebrate the day on which the -mighty Declaration was made, and new occasion for -triumph in the rays of ravishing light and glory.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>4. Here is another prophetic passage, in a letter -dated at Paris, 13th July, 1780, and addressed to the -Comte de Vergennes of France, pleading the cause of -the Colonists:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“The United States of America are a great and powerful -people, whatever European statesmen may think of them. -If we take into our estimate the numbers and the character -of her people, the extent, variety, and fertility of her -soil, her commerce, and her skill and materials for ship-building, -and her seamen, excepting France, Spain, England, -Germany, and Russia, there is not a state in Europe -so powerful. Breaking off such a nation as this from the -English so suddenly, and uniting it so closely with France, -is one of the most extraordinary events that ever happened -among mankind.”<a name="FNanchor_367_367" id="FNanchor_367_367"></a><a href="#Footnote_367_367" class="fnanchor">[367]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Perhaps this may be considered statement rather than -prophecy; but it illustrates the prophetic character of -the writer.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>5. While at Amsterdam, in 1780, Mr. Adams met a -gentleman whom he calls “the giant of the law,” Mr. -Calkoen. After an unsatisfactory attempt at conversation, -where neither spoke the language of the other, it -was arranged that the latter should propound a series -of questions in writing, which the American minister -undertook to answer. The questions were in Dutch, -the answers in English. Among the questions was -this: “Whether America in and of itself, by means of -purchasing or exchanging the productions of the several<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span> -provinces, would be able to continue the war for -six, eight, or ten years, even if they were entirely deprived -of the trade with Europe, or their allies, exhausted -by the war and forced to make a separate -peace, were to leave them?” To this question our -prophet replied:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“This is an extreme case.… Why, then, should we -put cases that we know can never happen? However, I -can inform you that the case was often put before this -war broke out; and I have heard the common farmers in -America reasoning upon these cases seven years ago. I -have heard them say, if Great Britain could build a wall -of brass a thousand feet high all along the sea-coast, at -low-water mark, we can live and be happy. <em>America is -most undoubtedly capable of being the most independent country -upon earth.</em> It produces everything for the necessity, -comfort, and conveniency of life, and many of the luxuries -too. So that, if there were an eternal separation between -Europe and America, the inhabitants of America would not -only live, but multiply, and, for what I know, be wiser, -better, and happier than they will be as it is.”<a name="FNanchor_368_368" id="FNanchor_368_368"></a><a href="#Footnote_368_368" class="fnanchor">[368]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Here is an assertion of conditions essential to independence -of “the most independent country upon -earth,” with a promise that the inhabitants will multiply.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>6. In an official letter to the President of Congress, -dated at Amsterdam, 5th September, 1780, the same -writer, while proposing an American Academy “for refining, -correcting, improving, and ascertaining the English -language,” predicts the extension of this language:—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span></p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“<em>English is destined to be in the next and succeeding centuries -more generally the language of the world than Latin -was in the last or French is in the present age.</em> The reason -of this is obvious,—because the increasing population in -America, and their universal connection and correspondence -with all nations, will, aided by the influence of England in -the world, whether great or small, force their language into -general use, in spite of all the obstacles that may be thrown -in their way, if any such there should be.”<a name="FNanchor_369_369" id="FNanchor_369_369"></a><a href="#Footnote_369_369" class="fnanchor">[369]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>In another letter, of unofficial character, dated at -Amsterdam, 23d September, 1780, he thus repeats his -prophecy:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“You must know <em>I have undertaken to prophesy that English -will be the most respectable language in the world; and -the most universally read and spoken, in the next century, -if not before the close of this</em>. American population will in -the next age produce a greater number of persons who will -speak English than any other language, and these persons -will have more general acquaintance and conversation with -all other nations than any other people.”<a name="FNanchor_370_370" id="FNanchor_370_370"></a><a href="#Footnote_370_370" class="fnanchor">[370]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>David Hume, in a letter to Gibbon, 24th October, -1767, had already written:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Our solid and increasing establishments in America, -where we need less dread the inundation of Barbarians, -<em>promise a superior stability and duration to the English -language</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_371_371" id="FNanchor_371_371"></a><a href="#Footnote_371_371" class="fnanchor">[371]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>But these more moderate words, which did credit to -the discernment of the philosopher-historian, were then -unpublished.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span></p> - -<p>The prophecy of John Adams is already accomplished. -Of all the European languages, English is most extensively -spoken. Through England and the United States -it has become the language of commerce, which sooner -or later must embrace the globe. The German philologist, -Grimm, has followed our American prophet in -saying that it “seems chosen, like its people, to rule -in future times in a still greater degree in all the corners -of the earth.”<a name="FNanchor_372_372" id="FNanchor_372_372"></a><a href="#Footnote_372_372" class="fnanchor">[372]</a></p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>7. Another field was opened by a European correspondent, -John Luzac, who writes from Leyden, under -date of 14th September, 1780, that, in pleading the -cause of American Independence, he has twenty times -encountered, from sensible and educated people, an objection -which he sets forth as follows:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Yes, but if America becomes free, she will some day give -the law to Europe. She will take our islands, and our -colonies at Guiana; she will seize all the Antilles; she will -absorb Mexico, even Peru, Chili, and Brazil; she will carry -off our freighting commerce; she will pay her benefactors -with ingratitude.”<a name="FNanchor_373_373" id="FNanchor_373_373"></a><a href="#Footnote_373_373" class="fnanchor">[373]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>To this Mr. Adams replied, in a letter from Amsterdam, -15th September, 1780:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“I have met often in Europe with the same species of -reasoners that you describe; but I find they are not numerous. -Among men of reflection the sentiment is generally -different, and that no power in Europe has anything to fear -from America. The principal interest of America for many -centuries to come will be landed, and her chief occupation<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span> -agriculture. Manufactures and commerce will be but secondary -objects, and always subservient to the other. America -will be the country to produce raw materials for manufactures, -but Europe will be the country of manufactures; and -the commerce of America can never increase but in a certain -proportion to the growth of its agriculture, until its whole -territory of land is filled up with inhabitants, which will not -be in some hundreds of years.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>After referring to tar, iron, and timber as American -articles, he says:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“In fact, the Atlantic is so long and difficult a navigation, -that the Americans will never be able to afford to carry to -the European market great quantities of these articles.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>If the prophet fails here, he is none the less wise in -the suggestion with which he closes:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“If Europe cannot prevent, or rather if any particular nations -of Europe cannot prevent, the independence of America, -then the sooner her independence is acknowledged, the better,—the -less likely she will be to become warlike, enterprising, -and ambitious. The truth is, however, that America can -never unite in any war but a defensive one.”<a name="FNanchor_374_374" id="FNanchor_374_374"></a><a href="#Footnote_374_374" class="fnanchor">[374]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Had the prophet foreseen the increasing facilities of -commerce, the triumphs of steam, the floating masses -of transportation, the wonders of navigation, quickened -and guided by the telegraph, and to these had he added -the diversified industry of the country, extending, expanding, -and prevailing, his remarkable vision, which -already saw so much, would have viewed other glories -in assured certainty.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>8. There is another prophecy, at once definite and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span> -broad, from the same eminent quarter. In a letter -dated London, 17th October, 1785, and addressed to -John Jay, at the time Secretary for Foreign Affairs -under the Confederation, John Adams reveals his conviction -of the importance of France to us, “while -England held a province in America”;<a name="FNanchor_375_375" id="FNanchor_375_375"></a><a href="#Footnote_375_375" class="fnanchor">[375]</a> and then, in -another letter, dated 21st October, 1785, reports the -saying of people about him, “<em>that Canada and Nova -Scotia must soon be ours</em>; there must be a war for it,—they -know how it will end,—but the sooner, the -better; this done, we shall be forever at peace,—till -then, never.”<a name="FNanchor_376_376" id="FNanchor_376_376"></a><a href="#Footnote_376_376" class="fnanchor">[376]</a> These intimations foreshadow the -prophecy found in the Preface to his “Defence of the -American Constitutions,” written in London, while minister -there, and dated Grosvenor Square, 1st January, -1787:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“The United States of America have exhibited, perhaps, -the first example of governments erected on the simple -principles of Nature.… Thirteen governments thus -founded on the natural authority of the people alone, without -a pretence of miracle or mystery, and <em>which are destined -to spread over the northern part of that whole quarter of -the globe</em>, are a great point gained in favor of the rights -of mankind. The experiment is made, and has completely -succeeded.”<a name="FNanchor_377_377" id="FNanchor_377_377"></a><a href="#Footnote_377_377" class="fnanchor">[377]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Here is foretold nothing less than that our system -of government is to embrace the whole continent of -North America.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>9. This series may be concluded by other words, -general in character, but deeply prophetic, showing a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</a></span> -constant sense of the unfolding grandeur and influence -of the Republic.</p> - -<p>The first is from the concluding chapter of the work -last cited, and in harmony with the Preface:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“A prospect into futurity in America is like contemplating -the heavens through the telescopes of Herschel. Objects -stupendous in their magnitudes and motions strike us from -all quarters, and fill us with amazement.”<a name="FNanchor_378_378" id="FNanchor_378_378"></a><a href="#Footnote_378_378" class="fnanchor">[378]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Thus, also, he writes to Thomas Jefferson, November -15, 1813:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Many hundred years must roll away before we shall -be corrupted. <em>Our pure, virtuous, public-spirited, federative -Republic will last forever, govern the globe, and introduce the -perfection of man.</em>”<a name="FNanchor_379_379" id="FNanchor_379_379"></a><a href="#Footnote_379_379" class="fnanchor">[379]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Then, again, in a letter to Hezekiah Niles, 13th February, -1818:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“The American Revolution was not a common event. -Its effects and consequences have already been awful over -a great part of the globe. <em>And when and where are they -to cease?</em>”<a name="FNanchor_380_380" id="FNanchor_380_380"></a><a href="#Footnote_380_380" class="fnanchor">[380]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>The prophetic spirit which filled the “visions” of -youth continued in the “dreams” of age. Especially -was he constant in foreseeing the widening reach of -the great Revolution he had helped at its beginning; -and this arrested the attention of his eloquent eulogist -at Faneuil Hall.<a name="FNanchor_381_381" id="FNanchor_381_381"></a><a href="#Footnote_381_381" class="fnanchor">[381]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</a></span></p> - -<h4>MARQUIS DE MONTCALM, 1758, 1759.</h4> - -<p>If I enter the name of the Marquis de Montcalm -on this list, it is because prophetic words have been -attributed to him which at different periods have attracted -no small attention. He was born near Nismes, -in France, 1712, and died at Quebec, 14th September, -1759, being at the time commander of the French -forces in Canada. As a soldier he was the peer of his -opponent, Wolfe, who perished in the same battle, and -they have since enjoyed a common fame.</p> - -<p>In 1777, amidst the heats of our Revolutionary contest, -a publication was put forth by Almon, the pamphleteer, -in French and English on opposite pages, -entitled “Letters from the Marquis de Montcalm, Governor-General -of Canada, to Messrs. De Berryer and -De la Molé, in the Years 1757, 1758, and 1759,” and -the soldier reappeared as prophet.</p> - -<p>The first letter is addressed to M. de Berryer, First -Commissioner of the Marine of France, and purports to -be dated at Montreal, 4th April, 1757. It contains the -copy of an elaborate communication from “S. J.” of Boston, -proposing a scheme for undermining the power of -Great Britain in the Colonies by free trade with France -through Canada, and predicting that “all our colonies in -less than ten years will catch fire.”<a name="FNanchor_382_382" id="FNanchor_382_382"></a><a href="#Footnote_382_382" class="fnanchor">[382]</a> In transmitting -this letter Montcalm did little more than indorse its -sentiments; but in his second letter to the same person, -dated at Montreal, 1st October, 1758, he says:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“All these informations, which I every day receive, confirm -me in my opinion that <em>England will one day lose her -colonies on the continent of America</em>; and if Canada should<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</a></span> -then be in the hands of an able governor who understands -his business, he will have a thousand opportunities of hastening -the event: this is the only advantage we can reap for all -it has cost us.”<a name="FNanchor_383_383" id="FNanchor_383_383"></a><a href="#Footnote_383_383" class="fnanchor">[383]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>In the third letter, addressed to M. Molé, First President -of the Parliament of Paris, and dated at the camp -before Quebec, 24th August, 1759, on the eve of the -fatal battle in which both commanders fell, Montcalm -mounts the tripod:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“They are in a condition to give us battle, which I must -not refuse, and which I cannot hope to gain.… The event -must decide. But of one thing be certain, that I probably -shall not survive the loss of the Colony.<a name="FNanchor_384_384" id="FNanchor_384_384"></a><a href="#Footnote_384_384" class="fnanchor">[384]</a> … I shall at -least console myself on my defeat, and on the loss of the -Colony, by the full persuasion that this defeat will one day -serve my country more than a victory, and that the conqueror, -in aggrandizing himself, will find his tomb the country -he gains from us.<a name="FNanchor_385_385" id="FNanchor_385_385"></a><a href="#Footnote_385_385" class="fnanchor">[385]</a>… All the English Colonies would -long since have shaken off the yoke, each province would -have formed itself into a little independent republic, if the -fear of seeing the French at their door had not been a check -upon them.<a name="FNanchor_386_386" id="FNanchor_386_386"></a><a href="#Footnote_386_386" class="fnanchor">[386]</a>… Canada, once taken by the English, would -in a few years suffer much from being forced to be English.… -They would soon be of no use to England, and perhaps -they would oppose her.”<a name="FNanchor_387_387" id="FNanchor_387_387"></a><a href="#Footnote_387_387" class="fnanchor">[387]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>At once, on their appearance, these letters played -an important part in the “high life” of politics. The -“Monthly Review”<a name="FNanchor_388_388" id="FNanchor_388_388"></a><a href="#Footnote_388_388" class="fnanchor">[388]</a> called them “genuine.” The “Gentleman’s -Magazine”<a name="FNanchor_389_389" id="FNanchor_389_389"></a><a href="#Footnote_389_389" class="fnanchor">[389]</a> said that “the sagacity of this -accomplished general was equal to his bravery,” and -quoted what it characterized as a “remarkable prediction.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</a></span>” -In the House of Lords, 30th May, 1777, during -a debate begun by Lord Chatham, and flashing with -great names, Lord Shelburne said that they “had been -discovered to be a forgery”;<a name="FNanchor_390_390" id="FNanchor_390_390"></a><a href="#Footnote_390_390" class="fnanchor">[390]</a> but Lord Mansfield, the -illustrious Chief Justice, relied upon the letters, “which -he insisted were not spurious.”<a name="FNanchor_391_391" id="FNanchor_391_391"></a><a href="#Footnote_391_391" class="fnanchor">[391]</a> In another important -debate in the House of Lords, 5th March, 1778, Earl -Temple observed that “the authenticity of those letters -had been often disputed; but he could affirm that he -saw them in manuscript, among the papers of a minister -now deceased, long before they made their appearance -in print, and at a time when American independency -was in the contemplation of a very few persons -indeed.”<a name="FNanchor_392_392" id="FNanchor_392_392"></a><a href="#Footnote_392_392" class="fnanchor">[392]</a> Such was the contemporary testimony; but -the pamphlet shared the fate of the numerous brood -engendered by the war.</p> - -<p>Oblivion seemed to have settled on these letters, -when their republication at Gibraltar, as late as 1858, -by an author who treated them as genuine,<a name="FNanchor_393_393" id="FNanchor_393_393"></a><a href="#Footnote_393_393" class="fnanchor">[393]</a> attracted -the attention of Thomas Carlyle, who proceeded to -make them famous again, by introducing them as an -episode in his Life of Frederick, sometimes called “the -Great.” Montcalm appears once more as prophet, and -the readers of the career of the Prussian monarch turn -with wonder to the inspired Frenchman, with “his -power of faithful observation, his sagacity and talent -of prophecy, so considerable.”<a name="FNanchor_394_394" id="FNanchor_394_394"></a><a href="#Footnote_394_394" class="fnanchor">[394]</a> Then, quoting a portion -of the last letter, the great author exclaims at -different points: “Prediction first”; “This is a curiously<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</a></span> -exact prediction”; “Prediction second, which is -still more curious.”<a name="FNanchor_395_395" id="FNanchor_395_395"></a><a href="#Footnote_395_395" class="fnanchor">[395]</a></p> - -<p>If the letter quoted by Carlyle were genuine, as he -accepted it, (also as it was evidently accepted by Lord -John Russell,)<a name="FNanchor_396_396" id="FNanchor_396_396"></a><a href="#Footnote_396_396" class="fnanchor">[396]</a> and as the family of Montcalm seem to -believe, it would indicate for the soldier all that was -claimed by his descendant, when, after speaking of his -“political foresight,” he added that it “was proved by -one of his letters, in which he made a remarkable -prophecy concerning the American Revolution.”<a name="FNanchor_397_397" id="FNanchor_397_397"></a><a href="#Footnote_397_397" class="fnanchor">[397]</a> Certainly,—if -the letter is not an invention; but such is -the present impression. On the half-title of the original -pamphlet, in the Library of Harvard University, -Sparks, whose judgment is of great weight, has written: -“The letters are unquestionably spurious.” Others unite -with him. It is impossible to read the papers in the -“Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society,” -already quoted, and the pungent note of Henry Stevens, -in his “Bibliotheca Historica,” under the title of the -much-debated pamphlet, without feeling, that, whatever -may have been the merits of Montcalm as a soldier, -his title as a prophet cannot be accepted. His name is -introduced here that I may not omit an instance which -has attracted attention in more than one generation.</p> - -<h4>DUC DE CHOISEUL, 1767, 1768.</h4> - -<p>Another Frenchman in this far-sighted list was the -Comte de Stainville, afterwards Duc de Choiseul, born<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[Pg 322]</a></span> -28th June, 1719, and died 8th May, 1785. His brilliant -career as diplomatist and statesman was preceded -by a career of arms with rapid promotion, so that at the -age of forty he became lieutenant-general. Meanwhile -he was ambassador at Rome and then at Vienna, the -two pinnacles of diplomatic life. In 1758 he became -Minister of Foreign Affairs, also duke and peer; then -Minister of War, and of the Marine; but in 1766 he -resumed the Foreign Office, which he held till 1770, -when he was disgraced. The King could not pardon -the contempt with which, although happy in the smiles -of Madame de Pompadour, the Prime-Minister rejected -the advances of her successor, the ignoble Du Barry; -and he was exiled from court to live in his château -of Chanteloup, in the valley of the Loire, where, dispensing -a magnificent hospitality, he was consoled by -a loving wife and devoted friends.</p> - -<p>He had charm of manner rather than person, with -a genius for statesmanship recognized and commemorated -in contemporary writings. Madame du Deffant -speaks of him often in her correspondence, and depicts -him in her circle when Franklin was first presented -there. Horace Walpole returns to him in letters and -in his memoirs, attributing to him “great parts,” calling -him “very daring, dashing, and whose good-nature -would not have checked his ambition from doing any -splendid mischief.”<a name="FNanchor_398_398" id="FNanchor_398_398"></a><a href="#Footnote_398_398" class="fnanchor">[398]</a> The Abbé Barthélemy, in his -“Travels of Anacharsis,” portrays him under the character -of Arsame. Frederick of Prussia, so often called -the Great, hailed him “Coachman of Europe.” And -our own historian Bancroft, following Chatham, does<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</a></span> -not hesitate to call him “the greatest minister of France -since Richelieu.”</p> - -<p>The two volumes of Memoirs purporting to be written -by himself, and printed under his eyes in his cabinet -in 1778, were accidental pieces, written, but never -collected by him, nor intended as memoirs.<a name="FNanchor_399_399" id="FNanchor_399_399"></a><a href="#Footnote_399_399" class="fnanchor">[399]</a> In the -French treasure-house of these productions they are of -little value, if not unworthy of his fame.</p> - -<p>Besides a brilliant and famous administration of affairs, -are several acts not to be forgotten. At Rome -his skill was shown in bringing Benedict the Fourteenth -to a common understanding on the bull <i>Unigenitus</i>. -Through him in 1764 the Jesuits were suppressed -in France, or were permitted only on condition -of fusing with the secular clergy. But nothing in his -career was more memorable than his foresight and -courage with regard to the English Colonies. American -Independence was foreseen and helped by him.</p> - -<p>The Memoirs of Choiseul have little of the elevation -recognized in his statesmanship, nor are they anywhere -prophetic. Elsewhere his better genius was manifest, -especially in his diplomacy. This was recognized by -Talleyrand, who, in a paper on the “Advantages to be -derived from New Colonies,” read before the Institute -toward the close of the last century, characterized him -as “one of the men of our age who had the most forecast -of mind,—<em>who already in 1769 foresaw the separation -of America from England</em>, and feared the partition of -Poland”; and he adds that “from this epoch he sought to -prepare by negotiations the cession of Egypt to France,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</a></span> -that on the day our American colonies should escape -from us, he might be ready to replace them with the -same productions and a more extended commerce.”<a name="FNanchor_400_400" id="FNanchor_400_400"></a><a href="#Footnote_400_400" class="fnanchor">[400]</a></p> - -<p>Bancroft, whose work shows unprecedented access -to original documents, recognizes the prevision of the -French minister at an earlier date, as attested by the -archives of the French Foreign Office. In 1766 he received -the report of a special agent who had visited -America. In 1767 he sent Baron de Kalb, afterwards -an officer in our Revolution,—sparing no means to -obtain information, and drawing even from New England -sermons, of which curious extracts are preserved -among the State Papers of France.<a name="FNanchor_401_401" id="FNanchor_401_401"></a><a href="#Footnote_401_401" class="fnanchor">[401]</a> In August of this -year, writing to his plenipotentiary at London, the Minister -says with regard to England and her Colonies: -“Let her but attempt to establish taxes in them, and -those countries, greater than England in extent, and -perhaps becoming more populous, having fisheries, forests, -shipping, corn, iron, and the like, will easily and -fearlessly separate themselves from the mother country.”<a name="FNanchor_402_402" id="FNanchor_402_402"></a><a href="#Footnote_402_402" class="fnanchor">[402]</a> -In the next year Du Châtelet, son of her who -was the companion of Voltaire and the French translator -of Newton, becomes his most sympathetic representative. -To him the Minister wrote, 15th July, 1768: -“According to the prognostications of sensible men, -who have had opportunity to study the character of -the Americans, and to measure their progress from day -to day in the spirit of independence, this separation<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</a></span> -of the American Colonies from the metropolis sooner -or later must come.… I see all these difficulties, -and do not dissemble their extent; but I see also the -controlling interest of the Americans to profit by the -opportunity of a rupture to establish their independence.”<a name="FNanchor_403_403" id="FNanchor_403_403"></a><a href="#Footnote_403_403" class="fnanchor">[403]</a> -Again he wrote, 22d November, 1768: “The -Americans will not lose out of their view their rights -and their privileges; and next to fanaticism for religion, -the fanaticism for liberty is the most daring in its -measures and the most dangerous in its consequences.”<a name="FNanchor_404_404" id="FNanchor_404_404"></a><a href="#Footnote_404_404" class="fnanchor">[404]</a> -That the plenipotentiary was not less prompt in forecast -appears in a letter of 9th November, 1768: “Without -exaggerating the projects or the union of the Colonies, -the time of their independence is very near.… -Three years ago the separation of the English Colonies -was looked upon as an object of attention for the next -generation; the germs were observed, but no one could -foresee that they would be so speedily developed. This -new order of things, this event which will necessarily -have the greatest influence on the whole political system -of Europe, will probably be brought about within -a very few years.”<a name="FNanchor_405_405" id="FNanchor_405_405"></a><a href="#Footnote_405_405" class="fnanchor">[405]</a> The Minister replied, 20th December, -1768: “Your views are as subtle as they are comprehensive -and well-considered. The King is perfectly -aware of their sagacity and solidity, and I will communicate -them to the Court of Madrid.”<a name="FNanchor_406_406" id="FNanchor_406_406"></a><a href="#Footnote_406_406" class="fnanchor">[406]</a></p> - -<p>These passages show a persistency of view, which -became the foundation of French policy; so that the -Duke was not merely a prophet, but a practical statesman, -guided by remarkable foresight. He lived long -enough to witness the National Independence he had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</a></span> -foretold, and to meet Franklin at Paris, while saved -from witnessing the overthrow of the monarchy he -had served, and the bloody harvest of the executioner, -where a beloved sister was among the victims.</p> - -<h4>ABBÉ RAYNAL, 1770-1780.</h4> - -<p>Guillaume Thomas François Raynal, of France, -was born 11th March, 1711, and died 6th March, -1796, thus spanning, with his long life, from the failing -years of Louis the Fourteenth to the Reign of Terror, -and embracing the prolonged period of intellectual -activity which prepared the Revolution. Among -contemporary “philosophers” his place was considerable. -But he was a philosopher with a cross of the -adventurer and charlatan.</p> - -<p>Beginning as Jesuit and as priest, he somewhat tardily -escaped the constraints of the latter to employ -the education of the former in literary enterprise. A -long list of acknowledged works attests the activity of -his pen, while others were attributed to him. With -these avocations, yielding money, mingled jobbing and -speculation, where even the slave-trade, afterwards furiously -condemned, became a minister of fortune. In -the bright and audacious circles of Paris, especially -with Diderot and D’Holbach, he found society. The -remarkable fame which he reached during life has -ceased, and his voluminous writings slumber in oblivion, -except, perhaps, a single one, which for a while -played a great part, and by its prophetic spirit vindicates -a place in our American gallery.</p> - -<p>Only the superficial character of this work appears -in its title,—“Philosophical and Political History of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</a></span> -the Establishments and of the Commerce of the Europeans -in the two Indies,”<a name="FNanchor_407_407" id="FNanchor_407_407"></a><a href="#Footnote_407_407" class="fnanchor">[407]</a> being in six volumes. It -was a frame for pictures and declamations, where freedom -of thought was practically illustrated. Therefore -it was published without the name of the author, and -at Amsterdam. This was as early as 1770. Edition -followed edition. The “Biographie Universelle” reports -more than twenty regular and nearly fifty pirated. -At least twelve editions of an English translation saw -the light. It was translated, abridged, and reprinted -in nearly all the languages of Europe. The subject -was interesting at the time, but the peculiar treatment -and the open assault upon existing order gave the work -zest and popularity. Though often vicious in style, it -was above the author in force and character, so that it -was easy to believe that important parts were contributed -by others. Diderot, who passed his life in -helping others, is said to have supplied nearly a third -of the whole. The work at last drew down untimely -vengeance. Inspired by its signal success, the author, in -1780, after the lapse of a decade, put forth an enlarged -edition, with frontispiece and portrait, the whole reinforced -with insertions and additions, where Christianity -and even the existence of a God were treated with the -license already applied to other things. The Parliament -of Paris, by a decree dated May 21, 1781, handed -the work to the public executioner to be burned, and -condemned the author in person and goods. Several -years of exile followed.</p> - -<p>The Revolution in France found the Abbé Raynal -mellowed by time, and with his sustaining philosophers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[Pg 328]</a></span> -all dead. Declining active participation in the great -conflict, he reappeared at last, so far as to address the -President of the National Assembly a letter, where he -pleaded for moderation and an active government. The -ancient assailant of kings now called for “the tutelary -protection of the royal authority.” The early <em>cant</em> was -exchanged for <em>recant</em>.</p> - -<p>The concluding book of the enlarged edition of his -famous work contains a chapter entitled “Reflections -upon the Good and the Evil which the Discovery of -America has done to Europe.”<a name="FNanchor_408_408" id="FNanchor_408_408"></a><a href="#Footnote_408_408" class="fnanchor">[408]</a> A question of similar -import, “Has the Discovery of America been hurtful or -useful to the Human Race?” he presented as the subject -for a prize of twelve hundred livres, to be awarded -by the Academy of Lyons. Such a question reveals a -strange confusion, inconsistent with all our prophetic -voices, but to be pardoned at a time when the course -of civilization was so little understood, and Buffon had -announced, as the conclusion of science, that the animal -creation degenerated on the American Continent. In -his admirable answer to the great naturalist, Jefferson -repels with spirit the allegation of the Abbé Raynal -that “America has not yet produced one good poet, one -able mathematician, one man of genius in a single art -or science.”<a name="FNanchor_409_409" id="FNanchor_409_409"></a><a href="#Footnote_409_409" class="fnanchor">[409]</a> But he does not seem aware that the -author in his edition of 1780 had already beaten a retreat -from his original position.<a name="FNanchor_410_410" id="FNanchor_410_410"></a><a href="#Footnote_410_410" class="fnanchor">[410]</a> This is more noteworthy -as the edition appeared before the criticism.</p> - -<p>It was after portraying the actual condition of the -English Colonies in colors which aroused the protest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</a></span> -of Jefferson that the French philosopher surrendered to -a vision of the future. In reply to doubts, he invokes -time, civilization, education, and breaks forth:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Perhaps then it will be seen that America is favorable -to genius, to the creative arts of peace and of society. A -new Olympus, an Arcadia, an Athens, a new Greece, on -the Continent, or in the archipelago which surrounds it, -will give birth, perhaps, to Homers, Theocrituses, and, above -all, Anacreons. Perhaps another Newton will rise in the -new Britain. It is from English America, no doubt, that -the first ray of the sciences will shoot forth, if they are to -appear at last under a sky so long clouded. By a singular -contrast with the ancient world, where the arts passed -from the South toward the North, in the new we shall see -the North enlighten the South. Let the English clear the -land, purify the air, change the climate, meliorate Nature; -<em>a new universe will issue from their hands for the glory and -happiness of humanity</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_411_411" id="FNanchor_411_411"></a><a href="#Footnote_411_411" class="fnanchor">[411]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Then, speculating on the dissensions prevailing between -the Colonies and the mother country, he announces -separation, but without advantage to the European -rivals of England:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Break the knot which binds the ancient Britain to the -new; soon the Northern Colonies will have more strength -alone than they possessed in their union with the mother -country. That great continent, set free from all compact with -Europe, will be unhampered in all its movements.… -The colonies of our absolute monarchies, … following -the example of the English colonies, will break the chain -which binds them shamefully to Europe.”<a name="FNanchor_412_412" id="FNanchor_412_412"></a><a href="#Footnote_412_412" class="fnanchor">[412]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[Pg 330]</a></span></p> - -<p>The New World opens before the prophet:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“So everything conspires to the great dismemberment, of -which it is not given to foresee the moment. Everything -tends to that,—both the progress of good in the new hemisphere, -and the progress of evil in the old.</p> - -<p>“Alas! the sudden and rapid decline of our morals and -our strength, the crimes of kings and the woes of peoples, -will render even universal that fatal catastrophe which is -to detach one world from the other. The mine is prepared -beneath the foundations of our rocking empires.… In -proportion as our peoples are growing weak and all succumbing -one to another, population and agriculture are increasing -in America. The arts transported by our care will -quickly spring up there. That country, risen from nothing, -burns to figure in its turn upon the face of the globe -and in the history of the world. O posterity! thou wilt -be more happy, perhaps, than thy sad and contemptible -ancestors!”<a name="FNanchor_413_413" id="FNanchor_413_413"></a><a href="#Footnote_413_413" class="fnanchor">[413]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>The edition of 1780 exhibits his sympathies with the -Colonies. In considering the policy of the House of -Bourbon, he recognizes the grasp of the pending revolution. -“The United States,” he says, “have shown -openly the project of drawing to their confederation -<em>all North America</em>”; and he mentions especially <em>the -invitation to the people of Canada</em>. While questioning -the conduct of France and Spain, he adds:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“<em>The new hemisphere is to detach itself some day from -the old.</em> This great disruption is prepared in Europe by -the fermentation and the clashing of our opinions,—by the -overthrow of our rights, which made our courage,—by the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[Pg 331]</a></span> -luxury of the court and the misery of the country,—by the -everlasting hate between the effeminate men, who possess all, -and the strong, even virtuous men, who have nothing to lose -but life. It is prepared in America by the growth of population, -of agriculture, of industry, and of enlightenment. <em>Everything -tends to this scission.</em>”<a name="FNanchor_414_414" id="FNanchor_414_414"></a><a href="#Footnote_414_414" class="fnanchor">[414]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>In a sketch which follows are pictured the resources -of “the thirteen confederate provinces” and their future -development. While confessing that the name of Liberty -is sweet,—that it is the cause of the entire human -race,—that revolutions in its name are a lesson to despots,—that -the spirit of justice, which compensates past -evils by future happiness, is pleased to believe that this -part of the New World cannot fail to become one of the -most flourishing countries of the globe,—and that some -go so far as to fear <em>that Europe may some day find its -masters in its children</em>, he proceeds to facts which may -mitigate anxiety.<a name="FNanchor_415_415" id="FNanchor_415_415"></a><a href="#Footnote_415_415" class="fnanchor">[415]</a></p> - -<p>The prophetic words of Raynal differ from others -already quoted. Instead of letters or papers buried in -secrecy or disclosed to a few only, they were open proclamations -circulated throughout Europe, and their influence -began as early as 1770. A prompt translation -made them known in England. In 1777 they were -quoted by an English writer pleading for us.<a name="FNanchor_416_416" id="FNanchor_416_416"></a><a href="#Footnote_416_416" class="fnanchor">[416]</a> Among -influences coöperating with the justice of our cause, -they were of constant activity, until at last France, -Spain, and Holland openly united with us.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</a></span></p> - -<h4>JONATHAN SHIPLEY, BISHOP OF ST. ASAPH, 1773.</h4> - -<p>Not without heartfelt emotion do I write this name, -never to be mentioned by an American without a sentiment -of gratitude and love. Such goodness and ability, -dedicated so firmly to our cause, make Shipley conspicuous -among his contemporaries. In beauty of character -and in prophetic spirit he resembles Berkeley. And yet -biographical dictionaries make little mention of him, and -in our country he is known chiefly through the friendship -of Franklin. He was born about 1714, and died -9th December, 1788.</p> - -<p>His actual preferments in the Church attest a certain -success, arrested at last by his sympathy for us. At -an early day John Adams spoke of him as “the best -bishop that adorns the bench.”<a name="FNanchor_417_417" id="FNanchor_417_417"></a><a href="#Footnote_417_417" class="fnanchor">[417]</a> And we learn from -Wraxall, that it was through the hostility of the King, -that, during the short-lived Coalition Ministry, Fox was -prevented from making him Archbishop of Canterbury.<a name="FNanchor_418_418" id="FNanchor_418_418"></a><a href="#Footnote_418_418" class="fnanchor">[418]</a> -But his public life was better than any prelacy. It is -impossible to read his writings without discovering the -stamp of superiority, where accuracy and clearness go -hand in hand with courage and truth.</p> - -<p>The relations of Franklin with the good Bishop are -a beautiful episode in our Revolutionary history. Two -men, one English and the other American, venerable -with years, mingled in friendship warm as that of youth, -but steady to the grave, joining identity of sentiment -on important public questions with personal affection. -While Franklin remained in England, as Colonial representative,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[Pg 333]</a></span> -watching the currents, he was a frequent guest -at the Englishman’s country home; and there he entered -upon his incomparable autobiography, leaving behind -such pleasant memories that afterwards the family never -walked in the garden “without seeing Dr. Franklin’s -room and thinking of the work that was begun in it.”<a name="FNanchor_419_419" id="FNanchor_419_419"></a><a href="#Footnote_419_419" class="fnanchor">[419]</a> -One of the daughters, in a touching letter to him, then -at his own home in Philadelphia, informed him of her -father’s death,<a name="FNanchor_420_420" id="FNanchor_420_420"></a><a href="#Footnote_420_420" class="fnanchor">[420]</a> and in reply to his “dear young friend,” -he expressed his sense of the loss, “not to his family and -friends only, but to his nation, and to the world,” and -then, after mentioning that he was in his eighty-fourth -year and considerably enfeebled, added, “You will, then, -my dear friend, consider this as probably the last line to -be received from me, and as a taking leave.”<a name="FNanchor_421_421" id="FNanchor_421_421"></a><a href="#Footnote_421_421" class="fnanchor">[421]</a></p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>This brief story prepares the way for the two productions -illustrating his service to us. The first has the -following title: “A Sermon preached before the Incorporated -Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in -Foreign Parts, at their Anniversary Meeting in the Parish -Church of St. Mary-le-Bow, on Friday, February 19, -1773.” Of this discourse several editions appeared in -London, New York, and Boston.<a name="FNanchor_422_422" id="FNanchor_422_422"></a><a href="#Footnote_422_422" class="fnanchor">[422]</a> Lord Chatham, after -confessing himself “charmed and edified” by it, wrote: -“This noble discourse speaks the preacher not only fit<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[Pg 334]</a></span> -to bear rule in the Church, but in the State; indeed, it -does honor to the Right Reverend Bench.”<a name="FNanchor_423_423" id="FNanchor_423_423"></a><a href="#Footnote_423_423" class="fnanchor">[423]</a> Franklin, -coupling it with another of his productions relating -to America, wrote: “Had his counsels in those pieces -been attended to by the Ministers, how much bloodshed -might have been prevented, and how much expense -and disgrace to the nation avoided!”<a name="FNanchor_424_424" id="FNanchor_424_424"></a><a href="#Footnote_424_424" class="fnanchor">[424]</a></p> - -<p>This discourse was from the text, “Glory to God -in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will toward -men.”<a name="FNanchor_425_425" id="FNanchor_425_425"></a><a href="#Footnote_425_425" class="fnanchor">[425]</a> After announcing that “perhaps the annals of -history have never afforded a more grateful spectacle -to a benevolent and philosophic mind than the growth -and progress of the British Colonies in North America,” -the preacher becomes prophet, and here his words are -memorable:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“The Colonies in North America have not only taken root -and acquired strength, but seem hastening with an accelerated -progress to such a powerful state <em>as may introduce a -new and important change in human affairs</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_426_426" id="FNanchor_426_426"></a><a href="#Footnote_426_426" class="fnanchor">[426]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Then picturing the Colonies as receiving “by inheritance -all the improvements and discoveries of their -mother country,”—commencing “their flourishing state -at a time when the human understanding has attained -to the free use of its powers, and has learned to act with -vigor and certainty,” and being in such a situation that -“they may avail themselves not only of the experience -and industry, but even of the errors and mistakes of former -days,” the prophet proceeds:—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[Pg 335]</a></span></p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“The vast continent itself, over which they are gradually -spreading, may be considered as a treasure yet untouched of -natural productions <em>that shall hereafter afford ample matter -for commerce and contemplation</em>. And if we reflect what a -stock of knowledge may be accumulated by the constant -progress of industry and observation, … <em>it is difficult -even to imagine to what height of improvement their discoveries -may extend</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_427_427" id="FNanchor_427_427"></a><a href="#Footnote_427_427" class="fnanchor">[427]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>The prophet opens another vista: “And perhaps they -may make as considerable <em>advances in the arts of civil -government</em> and the conduct of life.” Then, exhibiting -the excellences of the British Constitution with its -“equal representation,” which he calls “the best discovery -of political wisdom,” and inquiring anxiously if -they “must rest here, as in the utmost effort of human -genius,” the preacher becomes again prophetic:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“May they not possibly be more successful than their -mother country has been in preserving that reverence and -authority which is due to the laws,—to those who make, -and to those who execute them? May not a method be -invented of procuring some tolerable share of the comforts -of life to those inferior useful ranks of men to whose industry -we are indebted for the whole? <em>Time and discipline -may discover some means to correct the extreme inequalities -of condition between the rich and the poor, so dangerous to -the innocence and the happiness of both.</em>”<a name="FNanchor_428_428" id="FNanchor_428_428"></a><a href="#Footnote_428_428" class="fnanchor">[428]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Beautiful words! And in the same spirit the prophet -discerns increasing opportunities of progress:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“The diversity of new scenes and situations, which so -many growing states must necessarily pass through, <em>may -introduce changes in the fluctuating opinions and manners of -men which we can form no conception of</em>. And not only the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[Pg 336]</a></span> -gracious disposition of Providence, but the visible preparation -of causes, <em>seems to indicate strong tendencies towards a -general improvement</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_429_429" id="FNanchor_429_429"></a><a href="#Footnote_429_429" class="fnanchor">[429]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>To a spirit so elevated the obligations of duty are the -same for nations as for individuals, and he nobly vindicates -the duty of the Christian preacher “to point out -the laws of justice and equity which must ultimately -regulate the happiness of states as well as of individuals,” -and which he declares “are no other than those -benevolent Christian morals which it is the province -of this Society to teach, transferred from the duties of -private life to the administration of public affairs.”<a name="FNanchor_430_430" id="FNanchor_430_430"></a><a href="#Footnote_430_430" class="fnanchor">[430]</a> -Then again he declares amazement, in which all but -hardened politicians will unite, at seeing “how slowly -in all countries the principles of natural justice, which -are so evidently necessary in private life, have been admitted -into the administration of public affairs.” And, -in the same spirit, he announces:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“A time, I doubt not, will come, in the progressive improvement -of human affairs, when the checks and restraints -we lay on the industry of our fellow-subjects and the jealousies -we conceive at their prosperity will be considered as -the effects of a mistaken policy, prejudicial to all parties, -but chiefly to ourselves.”<a name="FNanchor_431_431" id="FNanchor_431_431"></a><a href="#Footnote_431_431" class="fnanchor">[431]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Then, after presenting it as “a noble effort of virtuous -ambition … to make our country great and powerful -and rich, not by force or fraud, but by justice, -friendship, and humanity,” this remarkable sermon concludes -with calling attention to “the plain good rules -so often repeated to us in Scripture,” which “lie before -the eyes of men like medicinal herbs in the open -field.”<a name="FNanchor_432_432" id="FNanchor_432_432"></a><a href="#Footnote_432_432" class="fnanchor">[432]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[Pg 337]</a></span></p> - -<p>In the course of his remarks, the preacher lets drop -words often quoted since, and doubtless considered -much in conversation with Franklin. After setting -forth that the Colonies had “been trusted in a good -measure with the entire management of their affairs,” -he proceeds to say: “And the success they have met -with ought to be to us an ever-memorable proof that -<em>the true art of government consists in not governing too -much</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_433_433" id="FNanchor_433_433"></a><a href="#Footnote_433_433" class="fnanchor">[433]</a></p> - -<p>In similar spirit the good Bishop came to the defence -of Massachusetts, in the crisis which followed -the nullification of the Tea-Tax,—as witness an able -pamphlet, printed in 1774, entitled “A Speech intended -to have been spoken on the Bill for altering -the Charters of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay.” In -this most vigorous production, reported by Franklin as -“a masterpiece of eloquence,”<a name="FNanchor_434_434" id="FNanchor_434_434"></a><a href="#Footnote_434_434" class="fnanchor">[434]</a> where he pleads for reconciliation, -after announcing that England had drawn -from the Colonies, by commerce, “more clear profit than -Spain has drawn from all its mines,”<a name="FNanchor_435_435" id="FNanchor_435_435"></a><a href="#Footnote_435_435" class="fnanchor">[435]</a> he says: “Let -them continue to enjoy the liberty our fathers gave -them. Gave them, did I say? They are coheirs of -liberty with ourselves; and their portion of the inheritance -has been much better looked after than ours.”<a name="FNanchor_436_436" id="FNanchor_436_436"></a><a href="#Footnote_436_436" class="fnanchor">[436]</a> -Then again: “My Lords, I look upon North America -as the only great nursery of freemen now left upon -the face of the earth.”<a name="FNanchor_437_437" id="FNanchor_437_437"></a><a href="#Footnote_437_437" class="fnanchor">[437]</a> And yet once more: “But -whatever may be our future fate, the greatest glory -that attends this country, a greater than any other -nation ever acquired, is to have formed and nursed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[Pg 338]</a></span> -up to such a state of happiness those Colonies whom -we are now so eager to butcher.”<a name="FNanchor_438_438" id="FNanchor_438_438"></a><a href="#Footnote_438_438" class="fnanchor">[438]</a> Thanks, perpetual -thanks, to the good friend who stood so well by our -country in its beginning, and discerned so clearly its -exalted future!</p> - -<h4>DEAN TUCKER, 1774.</h4> - -<p>In contrast with Shipley was his contemporary, Josiah -Tucker, also of the Church, who was born 1712, -and died 4th November, 1799.</p> - -<p>The contrast is more curious, when it is considered -that Tucker, like Shipley, was for the peaceful separation -of the Colonies from the mother country; but the -former was biting and cynical, while the latter was -sympathetic and kind. The former sent forth a succession -of criticisms as from the tub of Diogenes, while -the latter, with genial power, vindicated America and -predicted its future. The former was a carping censor -and enemy of Franklin; the latter, his loving friend.</p> - -<p>Tucker was rector of a church in Bristol and Dean of -Gloucester, and he announces that he had “written near -three hundred sermons, and preached them all again -and again”;<a name="FNanchor_439_439" id="FNanchor_439_439"></a><a href="#Footnote_439_439" class="fnanchor">[439]</a> but it was by political essays that he -made his name known and became a conspicuous gladiator.</p> - -<p>Here it is easy to recognize industry, facility, boldness. -He was not afraid to speak out, nor did he shrink -from coping with those who commanded the public attention,—joining -issue directly with Burke, “in answer -to his printed speech, <em>said to be spoken</em> in the House of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[Pg 339]</a></span> -Commons on the 22d of March, 1775,”<a name="FNanchor_440_440" id="FNanchor_440_440"></a><a href="#Footnote_440_440" class="fnanchor">[440]</a> being that famous -masterpiece, on “Conciliation with America,” so -much read, so often quoted, and so highly placed among -the efforts of human genius. The Dean used plain language, -charging the great orator with excelling “in the -art of ambiguous expressions,” and at all times having -one general end in view, “to amuse with tropes and figures -and great swelling words,” and hoping, that, while -emulating the freedom of Burke in examining the writings -and opinions of others, he should do it “with more -decency and good manners.”<a name="FNanchor_441_441" id="FNanchor_441_441"></a><a href="#Footnote_441_441" class="fnanchor">[441]</a> More than once the Dean -complains that the orator had classed him by name with -what he called “court vermin.”<a name="FNanchor_442_442" id="FNanchor_442_442"></a><a href="#Footnote_442_442" class="fnanchor">[442]</a></p> - -<p>As early as 1766, in the heats of the Stamp Act, he -entered the lists by an unamiable pamphlet, entitled -“A Letter from a Merchant in London to his Nephew -in North America, relative to the Present Posture of -Affairs in the Colonies.” Here appears the vigorous -cynicism of his nature. The mother country is vindicated, -and the Colonies are told that “the complaint of -being unrepresented is entirely false and groundless,” -inasmuch as every member of Parliament, when once -chosen, becomes “the equal guardian of all,” and “<em>our</em> -Birminghams, Manchesters, Leeds, Halifaxes, &c., and -<em>your</em> Bostons, New Yorks, and Philadelphias are all as -<em>really</em>, though not so nominally, represented as any part -whatsoever of the British Empire.”<a name="FNanchor_443_443" id="FNanchor_443_443"></a><a href="#Footnote_443_443" class="fnanchor">[443]</a> In the same spirit<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[Pg 340]</a></span> -he ridiculed the pretensions of the Colonists, putting -into their mouths the words: “What! an Island! a -spot such as this to command the great and mighty -Continent of North America! Preposterous! A Continent, -whose inhabitants double every five-and-twenty -years! who, therefore, within a century and an half -will be upwards of an hundred and twenty millions -of souls! Forbid it, Patriotism, forbid it, Politics, that -such a great and mighty Empire as this should be held -in subjection by the paltry Kingdom of Great Britain! -<em>Rather let the seat of empire be transferred; and let it be -fixed where it ought to be, namely, in Great America!</em>”<a name="FNanchor_444_444" id="FNanchor_444_444"></a><a href="#Footnote_444_444" class="fnanchor">[444]</a> -And then declaring “the calculations themselves both -false and absurd,” taunting the Colonists with inability -to make the mother country “a province of America,” -and depicting the evils that will ensue to them from -separation, he announces, that, “having been surfeited -with the bitter fruits of American Republicanism, they -will heartily wish and petition to be again united to -the mother country.”<a name="FNanchor_445_445" id="FNanchor_445_445"></a><a href="#Footnote_445_445" class="fnanchor">[445]</a></p> - -<p>As the conflict approached, the Dean became more -earnest and incessant. In 1774 he published a book -entitled “Four Tracts on Political and Commercial -Subjects,” of which the third was a reprint of the -“Letter from a Merchant in London,” and the fourth -was a new appeal, entitled “The True Interest of Great -Britain set forth in regard to the Colonies, and the only -Means of Living in Peace and Harmony with them,”—“including -Five different Plans for effecting this Desirable -Event.”<a name="FNanchor_446_446" id="FNanchor_446_446"></a><a href="#Footnote_446_446" class="fnanchor">[446]</a> Here he openly proposed separation,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[Pg 341]</a></span> -and predicted its advantage to England. On general -grounds he was persuaded that extensive colonies were -an evil rather than an advantage, especially to a commercial -nation, while he was satisfied of a present alienation -on the part of America, which it would be unprofitable, -if not perilous, to combat. England was in -no mood for such truth, and the author was set down -as madman or quack. Evidently he was a prophet.</p> - -<p>A few passages will show the character of this remarkable -production.</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“It is the nature of them all [colonies] to aspire after independence, -and to set up for themselves as soon as ever -they find that they are able to subsist without being beholden -to the mother country.”<a name="FNanchor_447_447" id="FNanchor_447_447"></a><a href="#Footnote_447_447" class="fnanchor">[447]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>True enough, and often said by others. In dealing -with the different plans the Dean shows originality. -To the idea of compulsion by arms he exclaimed: -“But, alas! victory alone is but a poor compensation -for all the blood and treasure which must be spilt.”<a name="FNanchor_448_448" id="FNanchor_448_448"></a><a href="#Footnote_448_448" class="fnanchor">[448]</a> -The scheme numbered Fourth was nothing less than “to -consent that America should become the general seat -of empire, and that Great Britain and Ireland should -be governed by viceroys sent over from the court residences -either at Philadelphia or New York, or at some -other American imperial city,”—to which the indefatigable -Dean replies:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Now, wild as such a scheme may appear, there are certainly -some Americans who seriously embrace it; and the -late prodigious swarms of emigrants encourage them to suppose -that a time is approaching when the seat of empire<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[Pg 342]</a></span> -must be changed. But, whatever events may be in the -womb of Time, or whatever revolutions may happen in the -rise and fall of empires, there is not the least probability -that this country should ever become a province to North -America: … unless, indeed, we should add one extravagance -to another, by supposing that these American heroes -are to conquer all the world; and in that case I do allow -that England must become a province to America.”<a name="FNanchor_449_449" id="FNanchor_449_449"></a><a href="#Footnote_449_449" class="fnanchor">[449]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Then comes the Fifth Scheme, which was, “To propose -to separate entirely from the North American Colonies, -by declaring them to be a free and independent people, -over whom we lay no claim, and then by offering to -guaranty this freedom and independence against all foreign -invaders whatever.”<a name="FNanchor_450_450" id="FNanchor_450_450"></a><a href="#Footnote_450_450" class="fnanchor">[450]</a> And he proceeds to show -that by such separation the mother country would not -lose the trade of the Colonies. His unamiable nature -flares out in the suggestions, that, “the moment a separation -takes effect, intestine quarrels will begin,” and -that, “in proportion as their factious republican spirit -shall intrigue and cabal, shall split into parties, divide -and subdivide, in the same proportion shall we be called -in to become their general umpires and referees,”<a name="FNanchor_451_451" id="FNanchor_451_451"></a><a href="#Footnote_451_451" class="fnanchor">[451]</a> while -his confidence in the result is declared: “And yet I -have observed, and have myself had some experience, -that measures evidently right will prevail at last”; -therefore he had “not the least doubt” but that a separation -would take place “within half a century.”<a name="FNanchor_452_452" id="FNanchor_452_452"></a><a href="#Footnote_452_452" class="fnanchor">[452]</a> -Though seeing the separation so clearly, he did not see -how near at hand it then was.</p> - -<p>The Dean grew more earnest. Other pamphlets followed: -for instance, in 1775, “An Humble Address<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[Pg 343]</a></span> -and Earnest Appeal, … whether a Connection with or -a Separation from the Continental Colonies of America -be most for the National Advantage and the Lasting -Benefit of these Kingdoms.” Here he says openly:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“My scheme, which Mr. Burke, in his last speech, of -March 22, 1775, is pleased to term a <em>childish</em> one, is, To -separate totally from the Colonies, and to reject them from -being fellow-members and joint partakers with us in the -privileges and advantages of the British Empire, because -they refuse to submit to the authority and jurisdiction of -the British legislature,—offering at the same time to enter -into alliances of friendship and treaties of commerce with -them, as with any other sovereign, independent state.”<a name="FNanchor_453_453" id="FNanchor_453_453"></a><a href="#Footnote_453_453" class="fnanchor">[453]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Then, insisting that his scheme “most infallibly cuts -off all the present causes of dispute and contention between -the two countries, so that they never can revive -again,”<a name="FNanchor_454_454" id="FNanchor_454_454"></a><a href="#Footnote_454_454" class="fnanchor">[454]</a> he establishes that commercial intercourse with -the Americans would not cease, inasmuch as it cannot -be shown that they “will no longer adhere to their own -interest when they shall be disunited from us.”<a name="FNanchor_455_455" id="FNanchor_455_455"></a><a href="#Footnote_455_455" class="fnanchor">[455]</a></p> - -<p>Among subsequent tracts was one entitled “<i>Cui Bono?</i> -or, An Inquiry, What Benefits can arise either to -the English or the Americans, the French, Spaniards, -or Dutch, from the Greatest Victories or Successes in -the Present War? Being a Series of Letters addressed -to Monsieur Necker, late Controller-General of the Finances -of France. London, 1782.” Here was the same -ardor for separation, with the same bitter words for the -Colonies.</p> - -<p>Tardily the foresight of the Dean was recognized, -until at last Archbishop Whately, in his annotations -upon Bacon’s Essay on Honor and Reputation, commemorates<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[Pg 344]</a></span> -it as an historic example. According to -him, “the whole British nation were in one particular -manifestly <em>puzzle-headed</em>, except <em>one</em> man, who was accordingly -derided by all.” Then mentioning the dispute -between the mother country and her colonies, he -says: “But Dean Tucker, standing quite alone, wrote -a pamphlet to show that the separation would be no -loss at all, and that we had best give them the independence -they coveted at once and in a friendly way. -Some thought he was writing in jest; the rest despised -him, as too absurd to be worth answering. But now, -and for above half a century, every one admits that -he was quite right, and regrets that his view was not -adopted.”<a name="FNanchor_456_456" id="FNanchor_456_456"></a><a href="#Footnote_456_456" class="fnanchor">[456]</a> Unquestionably this is a remarkable tribute. -Kindred to it was that of the excellent Professor -Smyth, who, in exhibiting the “American War,” -dwells on “the superior and the memorable wisdom -of Tucker.”<a name="FNanchor_457_457" id="FNanchor_457_457"></a><a href="#Footnote_457_457" class="fnanchor">[457]</a></p> - -<p>The bad temper shooting from his writings interfered, -doubtless, with their acceptance. His spirit, so -hostile to us, justified his own characterization of himself -as “the author of these tracts against the rebel -Americans.” As the war drew to a close, his bad temper -still prevailed, heightened by antipathy to republicanism, -so that, after picturing the Colonies, separated -at last from the mother country, as having “gained a -general disappointment mixed with anger and indignation,”<a name="FNanchor_458_458" id="FNanchor_458_458"></a><a href="#Footnote_458_458" class="fnanchor">[458]</a> -he thus predicts their terrible destiny:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“As to the future grandeur of America, and its being a -rising empire under one head, whether republican or monarchical,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[Pg 345]</a></span> -it is one of the idlest and most visionary notions -that ever was conceived, even by writers of romance. For -there is nothing in the genius of the people, the situation of -their country, or the nature of their different climates, which -tends to countenance such a supposition.… Above all, -when those immense inland regions beyond the back settlements, -which are still unexplored, are taken into the account, -they form the highest probability that the Americans never -can be united into one compact empire, under any species of -government whatever. Their fate seems to be—<em>a disunited -people till the end of time</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_459_459" id="FNanchor_459_459"></a><a href="#Footnote_459_459" class="fnanchor">[459]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Alas! But evidently the Dean saw the future of -our continent no better than the Ministry saw their -duty with regard to it.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Unlike in spirit was Matthew Robinson, a contemporary -friend of America, whose able and elaborate -tracts<a name="FNanchor_460_460" id="FNanchor_460_460"></a><a href="#Footnote_460_460" class="fnanchor">[460]</a> in successive editions are now forgotten, except -so far as revived by the notice of Professor Smyth.<a name="FNanchor_461_461" id="FNanchor_461_461"></a><a href="#Footnote_461_461" class="fnanchor">[461]</a> -His vindication of the Colonies, at the time of the Boston -Port Bill, was complete, without the harshness of -Tucker, and he did not hesitate to present the impossibility -of conquering them. “What expectation or probability,” -he asks, “can there be of sending from hence -armies capable to conquer and subdue so great a force -of men defending and defended by such a continent?”<a name="FNanchor_462_462" id="FNanchor_462_462"></a><a href="#Footnote_462_462" class="fnanchor">[462]</a> -Then, while depicting English mastery of the sea, he -says: “We may do whatever a fleet can. Very true;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[Pg 346]</a></span> -but it cannot sail all over North America.”<a name="FNanchor_463_463" id="FNanchor_463_463"></a><a href="#Footnote_463_463" class="fnanchor">[463]</a> The productions -of this enlightened author cannot have been -without effect. Doubtless they helped the final acknowledgment -of independence. When will the “Old -Mortality” appear, to discover and restore his monument?</p> - -<p>The able annotator of Lord Bacon was too sweeping, -when he said that on the great American question all -England was wrong, “except <em>one</em> man.” Robinson was -as right as the Dean, and there were others also. The -“Monthly Review,” in an article on the Dean’s appeal -for separation, said: “This, however, is not a new idea. -It has frequently occurred to others.”<a name="FNanchor_464_464" id="FNanchor_464_464"></a><a href="#Footnote_464_464" class="fnanchor">[464]</a> Even Soame -Jenyns, a life-long member of Parliament, essayist, poet, -defender of Christianity, while upholding the right to -tax the Colonies, is said to have accepted the idea of -“total separation”:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“Let all who view th’ instructive scene,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And patronize the plan,</div> -<div class="verse">Give thanks to Gloucester’s honest Dean,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">For, Tucker, thou’rt the man.”<a name="FNanchor_465_465" id="FNanchor_465_465"></a><a href="#Footnote_465_465" class="fnanchor">[465]</a></div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>In a better spirit, and with affecting earnestness, -John Cartwright, once of the Royal Navy, and known -as Major from his rank in the Nottinghamshire Militia, -followed the Dean, in 1774, with a series of letters collected -in a pamphlet entitled “American Independence -the Interest and Glory of Great Britain,” where he -insists upon separation, and thenceforward a friendly -league, “that the true and lasting welfare of both countries<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[Pg 347]</a></span> -can be promoted.”<a name="FNanchor_466_466" id="FNanchor_466_466"></a><a href="#Footnote_466_466" class="fnanchor">[466]</a> In enforcing his conclusion -the author says: “When we talk of asserting our sovereignty -over the Americans, do we foresee to what fatal -lengths it will carry us? Are not those nations increasing -with astonishing rapidity? <em>Must they not, in the -nature of things, cover in a few ages that immense continent -like a swarm of bees?</em>”<a name="FNanchor_467_467" id="FNanchor_467_467"></a><a href="#Footnote_467_467" class="fnanchor">[467]</a> Then again: “We may, -indeed, by means of fleets and armies, maintain a precarious -tyranny over the Americans for a while; but the -most shallow politicians must foresee what this would -end in.”<a name="FNanchor_468_468" id="FNanchor_468_468"></a><a href="#Footnote_468_468" class="fnanchor">[468]</a> Then, in reply to the Dean: “’Tis a pity -so able a writer had not discovered that the Americans -have a right to choose their own governors, and -thence enforced the necessity of his proposed separation -as a religious duty, no less than a measure of -national policy.”<a name="FNanchor_469_469" id="FNanchor_469_469"></a><a href="#Footnote_469_469" class="fnanchor">[469]</a> Cartwright continued at home the -conflicts of principle involved in our War of Independence, -and became an English Reformer. Honor -to his name!</p> - -<h4>DAVID HARTLEY, 1775, 1776, 1777, 1785.</h4> - -<p>Another English friend was David Hartley. He was -constant and even pertinacious on our side, although -less prophetic than Pownall, with whom he coöperated -in purpose and activity. His father was Hartley the -metaphysician, and author of the ingenious theory of -sensation, who predicted the fate of existing governments -and hierarchies in two simple sentences: “It is -probable that all the present Civil Governments will<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[Pg 348]</a></span> -be overturned”; “It is probable that the present forms -of Church Government will be dissolved.”<a name="FNanchor_470_470" id="FNanchor_470_470"></a><a href="#Footnote_470_470" class="fnanchor">[470]</a> Many were -alarmed. Lady Charlotte Wentworth asked the prophet -when these terrible things would happen. The answer -was: “I am an old man, and shall not live to see -them; but you are a young woman, and probably will -see them.”<a name="FNanchor_471_471" id="FNanchor_471_471"></a><a href="#Footnote_471_471" class="fnanchor">[471]</a></p> - -<p>The son was born in 1729, and died at Bath in 1813. -During our Revolution he sat in Parliament for Kingston-upon-Hull. -He was also the British plenipotentiary -in negotiating the Definitive Treaty of Peace with the -United States. He has dropped out of sight. The biographical -dictionaries afford him a few lines only. But -he deserves a considerable place in the history of our -Independence.</p> - -<p>John Adams was often austere, and sometimes cynical, -in his judgments. Evidently he did not like Hartley. -In one place he speaks of him as “a person of -consummate vanity”;<a name="FNanchor_472_472" id="FNanchor_472_472"></a><a href="#Footnote_472_472" class="fnanchor">[472]</a> then, as “talkative and disputatious, -and not always intelligible”;<a name="FNanchor_473_473" id="FNanchor_473_473"></a><a href="#Footnote_473_473" class="fnanchor">[473]</a> and in still another -place remarks, “Mr. Hartley was as copious as -usual;”<a name="FNanchor_474_474" id="FNanchor_474_474"></a><a href="#Footnote_474_474" class="fnanchor">[474]</a> and when appointed to sign the Definitive -Treaty, “It would have been more agreeable to have -finished with Mr. Oswald.”<a name="FNanchor_475_475" id="FNanchor_475_475"></a><a href="#Footnote_475_475" class="fnanchor">[475]</a> And yet, when writing -most elaborately to the Comte de Vergennes on the -state of affairs previous to the final campaign, he introduces -opinions of Hartley at length, saying that he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[Pg 349]</a></span> -was “more for peace than any man in the kingdom.”<a name="FNanchor_476_476" id="FNanchor_476_476"></a><a href="#Footnote_476_476" class="fnanchor">[476]</a> -Such testimony may well outweigh the other expressions, -especially as nothing of the kind appears in the -correspondence of Franklin, with whom Hartley was -much more intimate.</p> - -<p>The “Parliamentary History” is a sufficient monument -for Hartley. He was a frequent speaker, and -never missed an opportunity of pleading our cause. -Although without the immortal eloquence of Burke, -he was always clear and full. Many of his speeches -seem written out by himself. He was not a tardy -convert, but began as “a new member” by supporting -an amendment favorable to the Colonies, 5th December, -1774. Then, in March, 1775, he brought forward -“Propositions for Conciliation with America,” which -he sustained in an elaborate speech, where he avowed -that the American question had occupied him for some -time:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Though I have so lately had the honor of a seat in this -House, yet I have for many years turned my thoughts and -attention to matters of public concern and national policy. -This question of America is now of many years’ standing.”<a name="FNanchor_477_477" id="FNanchor_477_477"></a><a href="#Footnote_477_477" class="fnanchor">[477]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>In this speech he acknowledges the services of New -England at Louisburg:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“In that war too, Sir, they took Louisburg from the -French, single-handed, without any European assistance: as -mettled an enterprise as any in our history; an everlasting -memorial of the zeal, courage, and perseverance of the -troops of New England. The men themselves dragged the -cannon over a morass which had always been thought impassable,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[Pg 350]</a></span> -where neither horses nor oxen could go; and they -carried the shot upon their backs. And what was their reward -for this forward and spirited enterprise,—for the reduction -of this American Dunkirk? Their reward, Sir, you know -very well: it was given up for a barrier to the Dutch.”<a name="FNanchor_478_478" id="FNanchor_478_478"></a><a href="#Footnote_478_478" class="fnanchor">[478]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>All his various propositions were negatived; but he -was not disheartened. Constantly he spoke,—now on -the Budget, then on the Address, and then on specific -propositions. At this time he asserted the power of -Parliament over the Colonies, and he proposed, on the -2d November, 1775, that a test of submission by the -Colonists should be the recognition of an Act of Parliament -enacting “that all the slaves in America should -have the trial by jury.”<a name="FNanchor_479_479" id="FNanchor_479_479"></a><a href="#Footnote_479_479" class="fnanchor">[479]</a> Shortly afterwards, on the -7th December, 1775, he brought forward a second set -of “Propositions for Conciliation with America,” where, -among other things, he embodied the test on slavery, -which he put forward as a compromise; and here his -language belongs not only to the history of our Revolution, -but to the history of Antislavery. While declaring -that in his opinion Great Britain was “the aggressor in -everything,”<a name="FNanchor_480_480" id="FNanchor_480_480"></a><a href="#Footnote_480_480" class="fnanchor">[480]</a> he sought to bring the two countries together -on a platform of human rights, which he thus -explained:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“The act to be proposed to America, <em>as an auspicious -beginning to lay the first stone of universal liberty to mankind</em>, -should be what no American could hesitate an instant -to comply with, namely, that every slave in North America -should be entitled to his trial by jury in all criminal cases. -America cannot refuse to accept and to enroll such an act -as this, and thereby to reëstablish peace and harmony with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[Pg 351]</a></span> -the parent state. <em>Let us all be reunited in this, as a foundation -to extirpate slavery from the face of the earth. Let those -who seek justice and liberty for themselves give that justice and -liberty to their fellow-creatures.</em> With respect to the idea of -putting a final period to slavery in North America, it should -seem best that when this country had led the way by the act -for jury, that each Colony, knowing their own peculiar circumstances, -should undertake the work in the most practicable -way, and that they should endeavor to establish some -system by which slavery should be in a certain term of years -abolished. <em>Let the only contention henceforward between Great -Britain and America be, which shall exceed the other in zeal -for establishing the fundamental rights of liberty to all mankind.</em>”<a name="FNanchor_481_481" id="FNanchor_481_481"></a><a href="#Footnote_481_481" class="fnanchor">[481]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>How grand and beautiful!—not to be read without -gratitude! The motion was rejected; but among the -twenty-three in its favor were Fox and Burke.</p> - -<p>During this same month the unwearied defender of -our country came forward again, declaring that he could -not be “an adviser or a well-wisher to any of the vindictive -operations against America, because he thought -the cause unjust; but at the same time he must be -equally earnest to secure British interests from destruction”; -and he thus prophesies:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“The fate of America is cast. You may bruise its heel, -but you cannot crush its head. It will revive again. <em>The -New World is before them. Liberty is theirs.</em> They have -possession of a free government, their birthright and inheritance, -derived to them from their parent state, which the hand -of violence cannot wrest from them. If you will cast them -off, my last wish is to them, May they go and prosper!”<a name="FNanchor_482_482" id="FNanchor_482_482"></a><a href="#Footnote_482_482" class="fnanchor">[482]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[Pg 352]</a></span></p> - -<p>Again, on the 10th May, 1776, he vindicated anew -his original proposition; and here again he testifies for -peace and against slavery:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“For the sake of peace, therefore, I did propose a test of -compromise, by an acceptance, on the part of the Colonists, -of an Act of Parliament which should lay <em>the foundation for -the extirpation of the horrid custom of slavery in the New -World</em>.… My motion was … simply as an act of compromise -and reconciliation; and, as far as it was a legislative -act, it was still to have been applied in correcting the -laws of slavery in America, which I considered as repugnant -to the laws of the realm of England, and to the fundamentals -of our Constitution. Such a compromise would at the same -time have saved the national honor.”<a name="FNanchor_483_483" id="FNanchor_483_483"></a><a href="#Footnote_483_483" class="fnanchor">[483]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>All gratitude to the hero who at this early day vowed -himself to the abolition of slavery! Hartley is among -the first of Abolitionists, with hardly a predecessor except -Granville Sharp, and in Parliament absolutely the -first. Clarkson was at this time fifteen years old, Wilberforce -sixteen. Only in 1785 Clarkson obtained the -prize for the best Latin essay on the question, “Is it -right to make men slaves against their will?”<a name="FNanchor_484_484" id="FNanchor_484_484"></a><a href="#Footnote_484_484" class="fnanchor">[484]</a> It was -not until 1791 that Wilberforce moved for leave to -bring in a bill for the abolition of the slave-trade. It -is no small honor for one man to have come forward -in Parliament as an avowed abolitionist, while at the -same time a vindicator of our independence.</p> - -<p>Again, on the 15th May, 1777, Hartley pleaded for -us:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“At sea, which has hitherto been our prerogative element, -they rise against us at a stupendous rate; and if we cannot<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[Pg 353]</a></span> -return to our old mutual hospitalities towards each other, a -very few years will show us a most formidable hostile marine, -ready to join hands with any of our enemies.… I will -venture to prophesy that the principles of a federal alliance -are the only terms of peace that ever will and that ever ought -to obtain between the two countries.”<a name="FNanchor_485_485" id="FNanchor_485_485"></a><a href="#Footnote_485_485" class="fnanchor">[485]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>On the 5th of June, three weeks afterwards, the “Parliamentary -History” reports briefly:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Mr. Hartley went upon the cruelties of slavery, and -urged the Board of Trade to take some means of mitigating -it. He produced a pair of handcuffs, which he said -was a manufacture they were now going to establish.”<a name="FNanchor_486_486" id="FNanchor_486_486"></a><a href="#Footnote_486_486" class="fnanchor">[486]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Thus again the abolitionist reappeared in the vindicator -of our independence. On the 22d June, 1779, he -brought forward another formal motion “for reconciliation -with America,” and, in the course of a well-considered -speech, denounced the ministers for “headstrong -and inflexible obstinacy in prosecuting a cruel and -destructive American war.”<a name="FNanchor_487_487" id="FNanchor_487_487"></a><a href="#Footnote_487_487" class="fnanchor">[487]</a> On the 3d December, -1779, in what is called “a very long speech,” he returned -to his theme, inveighing against ministers for -“the favorite, though wild, Quixote, and impracticable -measure of coercing America.”<a name="FNanchor_488_488" id="FNanchor_488_488"></a><a href="#Footnote_488_488" class="fnanchor">[488]</a> These are only instances.</p> - -<p>During this time he maintained relations with Franklin, -as appears in the “Diplomatic Correspondence of -the Revolution,” all of which attests a desire for peace. -In 1778 he arrived at Paris on a confidential errand, -especially to confer with Franklin. On this occasion<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[Pg 354]</a></span> -John Adams met him and judged him severely. In -1783 he was appointed a commissioner to sign the Definitive -Treaty of Peace.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>These things belong to history. Though perhaps not -generally known, they are accessible. I have presented -them for their intrinsic value and prophetic character, -but also as the introduction to an unpublished letter -from Hartley, which I received some time ago from an -English friend, who has since been called away from -important labors. The letter concerns <em>emigration to our -country, and the payment of the national debt</em>. The following -indorsement explains its character:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">Note.</span> This is a copy of the material portion of a long -letter from D. Hartley, the British Commissioner in Paris, -to Lord Sydenham, January, 1785. The original was sold -by C. Robinson, of 21 Bond Street, London, on the 6th -April, 1859, at a sale of Hartley’s MSS. and papers, chiefly -relating to the United States of America. It was Hartley’s -copy, in his own hand.</p> - -<p>“The lot was No. 82 in the sale catalogue. It was bought -by J. R. Smith, the London bookseller, for £2 6<i>s.</i> 0<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>“I had a copy made before the sale.</p> - -<p class="sig">“<span class="smcap">Joseph Parkes.</span></p> - -<p class="noindent medium">“<span class="smcap">London</span>, 18 July, ’59.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>The letter is as follows:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">My Lord</span>,—In your Lordship’s last letter to me, just -before my leaving Paris, you are pleased to say that any -information which I might have been able to collect of a -nature to promote the mutual and reciprocal interests of -Great Britain and the United States of America would be -extremely acceptable to his Majesty’s government.… -Annexed to this letter I have the honor of transmitting to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[Pg 355]</a></span> -your Lordship some papers and documents which I have -received from the American ministers. One of them (No. -5) is a Map of the Continent of North America, in which -the land ceded to them by the late treaty of peace is divided -by parallels of latitude and longitude into fourteen -new States.</p> - -<p>“The whole project, in its full extent, would take many -years in its execution, and therefore it must be far beyond -the present race of men to say, ‘This shall be so.’ Nevertheless, -<em>those who have the first care of this New World will -probably give it such directions and inherent influences as may -guide and control its course and revolutions for ages to come</em>. -But these plans, being beyond the reach of man to predestinate, -are likewise beyond the reach of comment or speculation -to say what may or may not be possible, or to predict -what events may hereafter be produced by time, climates, -soils, adjoining nations, or by the unwieldy magnitude of -empire, <em>and the future population of millions superadded to -millions</em>. The sources of the Mississippi may be unknown; -the lines of longitude and latitude may be extended into -unexplored regions; and the plan of this new creation may -be sketched out by a presumptuous compass, if all its intermediate -uses and functions were to be suspended until the -final and precise accomplishment, without failure or deviation, -of this unbounded plan. But this is not the case; the -immediate objects in view are limited and precise; they are -of prudent thought, and within the scope of human power -to measure out and to execute. The principle, indeed, is -indefinite, and will be left to the test of future ages to determine -its duration or extent.</p> - -<p>“I take the liberty to suggest thus much, lest we should -be led away to suppose that the councils which have produced -these plans have had no wiser or more sedate views -than merely the amusement of drawing meridians of ambition -and high thoughts. There appear to me to be two<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[Pg 356]</a></span> -solid and rational objects in view: the first is, by the sale -of lands nearly contiguous to the present States, (receiving -Congress paper in payment according to its scale of depreciation,) -<em>to extinguish the present national debt</em>, which I understand -might be discharged for about twelve millions sterling.…</p> - -<p>“It is a new proposition to be offered to the numerous -common rank of mankind in all the countries of the world, -to say that there are in America fertile soils and temperate -climates in which an acre of land may be purchased for a -trifling consideration, which may be possessed in freedom, -together with all the natural and civil rights of mankind. -The Congress have already proclaimed this, and that no -other qualification or name is necessary but to become -settlers, without distinction of countries or persons. The -European peasant, who toils for his scanty sustenance in -penury, wretchedness, and servitude, will eagerly fly to this -asylum for free and industrious labor. The tide of emigration -may set strongly outward from Scotland, Ireland, -and Canada to this new land of promise.</p> - -<p>“A very great proportion of men in all the countries of -the world are without property, and generally are subject -to governments of which they have no participation, and -over whom they have no control. The Congress have now -opened to all the world a sale of landed settlements where -the liberty and property of each individual is to be consigned -to his own custody and defence.… These are such -propositions of free establishments as have never yet been -offered to mankind, and cannot fail of producing great effects -in the future progress of things. The Congress have -arranged their offers in the most inviting and artful terms; -and lest individual peasants and laborers should not have -the means of removing themselves, they throw out inducements -to moneyed adventurers to purchase and to undertake -the settlement by commission and agency, without<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[Pg 357]</a></span> -personal residence, by stipulating that the lands of proprietors -being absentees shall not be higher taxed than the -lands of residents. This will quicken the sale of lands, -which is their object.</p> - -<p>“For the explanation of these points, I beg leave to refer -your Lordship to the documents annexed, Nos. 5 and 6,—namely, -the Map, and Resolutions of Congress, dated April, -1784. Another circumstance would confirm that it is the -intention of Congress to invite moneyed adventurers to make -purchases and settlements, which is the precise and mathematical -mode of dividing and marking out for sale the lands -in each new proposed State. These new States are to be -divided by parallel lines running north and south, and by -other parallels running east and west. They are to be divided -into hundreds of ten geographical miles square, and -then again into lots of one square mile. The divisions are -laid out as regularly as the squares upon a chessboard, and -all to be formed into a Charter of Compact.</p> - -<p>“They may be purchased by purchasers at any distance, -and the titles may be verified by registers of such or such -numbers, north or south, east or west: all this is explained -by the document annexed, No. 7, namely, <em>The Ordinance for -ascertaining the mode of locating and disposing of lands in -the Western Territory. This is their plan and means for paying -off their national debt, and they seem very intent upon -doing it.</em> I should observe that their debt consists of two -parts, namely, domestic and foreign. The sale of lands is -to be appropriated to the former.</p> - -<p>“The domestic debt may perhaps be nine or ten millions, -and the foreign debt two or three. For payment of the foreign -debt it is proposed to lay a tax of five per cent. upon all -imports until discharged, which, I am informed, has already -been agreed to by most of the States, and probably will soon -be confirmed by the rest. Upon the whole, it appears that -this plan is as prudently conceived and as judiciously arranged,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[Pg 358]</a></span> -as to the end proposed, as any experienced cabinet -of European ministers could have devised or planned any -similar project.</p> - -<p>“The second point which appears to me to be deserving -of attention, respecting the immense cession of territory to -the United States at the late peace, is a point <em>which will -perhaps in a few years become an unparalleled phenomenon -in the political world</em>. As soon as the national debt of the -United States shall be discharged by the sale of one portion -of those lands, we shall then see the Confederate Republic -in a new character, as a proprietor of lands either for sale -or to let upon rents. While other nations may be struggling -under debts too enormous to be discharged either by economy -or taxation, and while they may be laboring to raise -ordinary and necessary supplies by burdensome impositions -upon their own persons and properties, <em>here will be a nation -possessed of a new and unheard-of financial organ of -stupendous magnitude, and in process of time of unmeasured -value, thrown into their lap as a fortuitous superfluity, and -almost without being sought for</em>.</p> - -<p>“When such an organ of revenue begins to arise into -produce and exertion, what public uses it may be applicable -to, or to what abuses and perversions it might be rendered -subservient, is far beyond the reach of probable discussion -now. Such discussions would only be visionary speculations. -However, thus far it is obvious, and highly deserving -of our attention, that it cannot fail becoming to the American -States a most important instrument of national power, -the progress and operation of which must hereafter be <em>a most -interesting object of attention to the British American dominions -which are in close vicinity to the territories of the United -States; and I should hope that these considerations would lead -us, inasmuch as we value those parts of our dominions, to encourage -conciliatory and amicable correspondence between them -and their neighbors</em>.”</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[Pg 359]</a></span></p> - -<p>This private communication, now for the first time -seeing the light, is full of prophecy, or of that remarkable -discernment and forecast which mark the prophetic -spirit, whether in announcing “the future population -of millions superadded to millions,” or in the -high estimate of the National Territory, destined to -become in a few years “an unparalleled phenomenon -in the political world,” “a new and unheard-of <em>financial -organ</em> of stupendous magnitude.” How few at -home saw the Public Lands with as clear a vision as -Hartley!</p> - -<h4>GALIANI, 1776, 1778.</h4> - -<p>Among the most brilliant in this extending list is -the Abbé Galiani, the Neapolitan, who was born 1728, -and died at Naples 1787. Although Italian by birth, -yet by the accident of official residence he became -for a while domesticated in France, wrote the French -language, and now enjoys a French reputation. His -writings in French and his letters have the wit and -ease of Voltaire.</p> - -<p>Galiani was a genius. Whatever he touched shone -at once with his brightness, in which there was originality -as well as knowledge. He was a finished scholar, -and very successful in lapidary verses. Early in life, -while in Italy, he wrote a grave essay on Money, which -contrasted with another of rare humor suggested by the -death of the public executioner. Other essays followed; -and then came the favor of the congenial pontiff, Benedict -the Fourteenth. In 1760 he found himself at Paris -as Secretary of the Neapolitan Embassy. Mingling with -courtiers officially, according to the duties of his position,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[Pg 360]</a></span> -he fraternized with the liberal and adventurous -spirits who exercised such influence over society and -literature. He was recognized as one of them, and inferior -to none. His petty stature was forgotten when -he conversed with inexhaustible faculties of all kinds, -so that he seemed an Encyclopædia, Harlequin, and -Machiavelli all in one. The atheists at the Thursday -dinner of D’Holbach were confounded while he enforced -the existence of God. Into the questions of political -economy occupying attention at the time he entered -with a pen which seemed borrowed from the French -Academy. His “Dialogues sur le Commerce des Blés” -had the success of a romance: ladies carried this book -on Corn in their work-baskets. Returning to Naples, -he continued to live in Paris through his correspondence, -especially with Madame d’Épinay, the Baron -d’Holbach, Diderot, and Grimm.<a name="FNanchor_489_489" id="FNanchor_489_489"></a><a href="#Footnote_489_489" class="fnanchor">[489]</a></p> - -<p>Among later works, after his return to Naples, was -a solid volume—not to be forgotten in the History of -International Law—on the Duties of Neutrals, where -a difficult subject is treated with such mastery, that, -more than half a century later, D’Hautefeuille, in his -elaborate treatise, copies from it at length. Galiani -was the predecessor of this French writer in the extreme -assertion of neutral rights. Other works were -left at his death in manuscript, some grave and some -humorous; also letters without number. The letters -preserved from Italian <i>savans</i> filled eight large volumes; -those from <i>savans</i>, ministers, and sovereigns -abroad filled fourteen. His Parisian correspondence -did not see the light till 1818, although some of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[Pg 361]</a></span> -letters may be found in the contemporary correspondence -of Grimm.</p> - -<p>In his Parisian letters, which are addressed chiefly -to that clever individuality, Madame d’Épinay, the -Neapolitan abbé shows not only the brilliancy and -nimbleness of his talent, but the universality of his -knowledge and the boldness of his speculations. Here -are a few words from a letter dated at Naples, 12th -October, 1776, in which he brings forward the idea of -“races,” so important in our day, with an illustration -from Russia:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“<em>All depends upon races.</em> The first, the most noble of -races, comes naturally from the North of Asia. The Russians -are the nearest to it, and this is the reason why they -have made more progress in fifty years than can be got out -of the Portuguese in five hundred.”<a name="FNanchor_490_490" id="FNanchor_490_490"></a><a href="#Footnote_490_490" class="fnanchor">[490]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Belonging to the Latin race, Galiani was entitled to -speak thus freely.</p> - -<p>In another letter to Madame d’Épinay, dated at -Naples, 18th May, 1776, he had already foretold the -success of our Revolution. Few prophets have been -more explicit than he was in the following passage:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Livy said of his age, which so strongly resembled ours, -‘<i>Ad hæc tempora ventum est, quibus nec vitia nostra nec -remedia pati possumus</i>,’—‘We are in an age when the -remedies hurt at least as much as the vices.’<a name="FNanchor_491_491" id="FNanchor_491_491"></a><a href="#Footnote_491_491" class="fnanchor">[491]</a> Do you -know how matters stand? <em>The epoch has come of the total -downfall of Europe, and of transmigration to America.</em> -Everything here is falling into rottenness,—religion, laws,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[Pg 362]</a></span> -arts, sciences,—and everything is going to be rebuilt anew -in America. This is no joke; nor is it an idea drawn from -the English quarrels; I have said, announced, preached it, -for more than twenty years, and I have always seen my -prophecies fulfilled. <em>Do not buy your house, then, in the -Chaussée d’Antin; you must buy it in Philadelphia.</em> My -trouble is, that there are no abbeys in America.”<a name="FNanchor_492_492" id="FNanchor_492_492"></a><a href="#Footnote_492_492" class="fnanchor">[492]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>This letter was written some months before the -Declaration of Independence.</p> - -<p>In another, dated at Naples, 7th February, 1778, -the Abbé alludes to the great numbers of English men -and women who have come to Naples “for shelter from -the American tempests,” and adds, “Meanwhile the -Washingtons and Hancocks will be fatal to them.”<a name="FNanchor_493_493" id="FNanchor_493_493"></a><a href="#Footnote_493_493" class="fnanchor">[493]</a> -In still another, dated at Naples, 25th July, 1778, -he renews his prophecies in language still more explicit:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“You will at this time have decided the greatest revolution -of the globe,—namely, <em>if it is America which is to -reign over Europe, or if it is Europe which is to continue to -reign over America</em>. I would wager in favor of America, for -the reason, merely physical, that for five thousand years -genius has turned opposite to the diurnal motion, and travelled -from East to West.”<a name="FNanchor_494_494" id="FNanchor_494_494"></a><a href="#Footnote_494_494" class="fnanchor">[494]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Here again is the idea of Berkeley which has been -so captivating.</p> - -<h4>ADAM SMITH, 1776.</h4> - -<p>In contrast with the witty Italian is the illustrious -philosopher and writer of Scotland, Adam Smith, who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[Pg 363]</a></span> -was born 5th June, 1723, and died 17th July, 1790. -His fame is so commanding that any details of life or -works would be out of place. He was thinker and -inventor, through whom mankind was advanced in -knowledge.</p> - -<p>I say nothing of his “Theory of Moral Sentiments,” -constituting an important contribution to the science of -Ethics, but come at once to his great work of political -economy, entitled “An Inquiry into the Nature and -Causes of the Wealth of Nations,” which first appeared -in 1776. Its publication marks an epoch described by -Mr. Buckle, when he says that Adam Smith, “by the -publication of this single work, contributed more towards -the happiness of man than has been effected by -the united abilities of all the statesmen and legislators -of whom history has preserved an authentic account.”<a name="FNanchor_495_495" id="FNanchor_495_495"></a><a href="#Footnote_495_495" class="fnanchor">[495]</a> -The work is full of prophetic knowledge, and especially -with regard to the British Colonies. Writing while the -debate with the mother country was still pending, Adam -Smith urged that they should be admitted to Parliamentary -representation in proportion to taxation, so that -their representation would enlarge with their growing -resources; and here he predicts nothing less than the -transfer of empire:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“The distance of America from the seat of government, -the natives of that country might flatter themselves, with -some appearance of reason too, would not be of very long -continuance. Such has hitherto been the rapid progress of -that country in wealth, population, and improvement, that, -in the course of little more than a century, perhaps, the -produce of American might exceed that of British taxation.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">[Pg 364]</a></span> -<em>The seat of the empire would then naturally remove itself to -that part of the empire which contributed most to the general -defence and support of the whole.</em>”<a name="FNanchor_496_496" id="FNanchor_496_496"></a><a href="#Footnote_496_496" class="fnanchor">[496]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>In these tranquil words of assured science the great -author carries the seat of government across the Atlantic.</p> - -<p>Did Adam Smith in this remarkable passage do more -than follow a hint from our own prophet? The prophecy -of the great economist first appeared in 1776. In -the course of 1774, and down to April 19, 1775, John -Adams published in the “Boston Gazette” a series of -weekly articles, under the signature of “Novanglus,” -which were abridged in Almon’s “Remembrancer” for -1775, with the following title: “History of the Dispute -with America, from its Origin in 1754 to the -Present Time.” Although this abridged edition stops -before the prophetic passage, it is not impossible that -the whole series was known to Adam Smith. After -speculating, as the latter did afterwards, on the extension -of the British Constitution and Parliamentary -representation to the outlying British dominions, our -prophet says:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“If in twenty years more America should have six millions -of inhabitants, as there is a boundless territory to -fill up, she must have five hundred representatives. Upon -these principles, if in forty years she should have twelve -millions, a thousand; and if the inhabitants of the three -kingdoms remain as they are, being already full of inhabitants, -what will become of your supreme legislative? <em>It will -be translated, crown and all, to America.</em> This is a sublime -system for America. It will flatter those ideas of independency<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[Pg 365]</a></span> -which the Tories impute to them, if they have any -such, more than any other plan of independency that I have -ever heard projected.”<a name="FNanchor_497_497" id="FNanchor_497_497"></a><a href="#Footnote_497_497" class="fnanchor">[497]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Thus plainly was John Adams precursor of Adam -Smith.</p> - -<p>In 1784 these papers were reprinted from the “Remembrancer,” -by Stockdale, in London, bearing the same -title, substantially, as before, “History of the Dispute -with America, from its Origin in 1754,” with the addition, -“Written in the Year 1774, by John Adams, -Esq.” The “Monthly Review,” in a notice of the publication, -after speaking of “the inauspicious system of -American taxation,” says, “Mr. Adams foretold the consequence -of obstinately adhering to it, and the event -hath too well verified his predictions. They were, however, -predictions which required no inspiration.”<a name="FNanchor_498_498" id="FNanchor_498_498"></a><a href="#Footnote_498_498" class="fnanchor">[498]</a> So -that his wise second-sight was recognized in England -much beyond the prevision of Adam Smith.</p> - -<p>The idea of transferring the seat of government to -America was often attributed to Franklin by Dean -Tucker. The former, in a letter, as early as 25th November, -1767, reports the Dean as saying, “That is -his constant plan.”<a name="FNanchor_499_499" id="FNanchor_499_499"></a><a href="#Footnote_499_499" class="fnanchor">[499]</a> In one of his tracts, the Dean -attributes it not only to Franklin, but also to our -people. With strange exaggeration he says: “It has -been the unanimous opinion of the North Americans -for these fifty years past, that the seat of empire ought -to be transferred from the lesser to the greater country,—that -is, from England to America, or, as Dr. Franklin -elegantly phrased it, from the cock-boat to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[Pg 366]</a></span> -man-of-war.”<a name="FNanchor_500_500" id="FNanchor_500_500"></a><a href="#Footnote_500_500" class="fnanchor">[500]</a> It is impossible to say how much of this -was from the excited brain of the Dean.</p> - -<h4>RICHARD PRICE, 1776, 1777, 1778, 1784.</h4> - -<p>A true and solid ally of our country at a critical -period was Dr. Price, dissenting clergyman, metaphysician, -political writer, and mathematician, who was -born in Wales, 23d February, 1723, and died in London, -19th April, 1791.</p> - -<p>His earliest labors were “A Review of the Principal -Questions and Difficulties in Morals,” by which he was -recognized as a metaphysician, and “Observations on -Reversionary Payments,” by which he was recognized -as an authority on a large class of financial questions. -At the same time his sermons were regarded as excellent. -Amidst these various labors he was moved to -enlist as a pamphleteer in defence of the American -Colonies. This service, prompted by a generous devotion -to just principles, awakened grateful sentiments -on both sides of the ocean.</p> - -<p>The Aldermen and Common Council of London -marked their sympathy by voting him the freedom -of the city in a gold box of fifty pounds value. The -American Congress sent him a different testimonial, -officially communicated to him, being a solemn resolution -declaring “the desire of Congress to consider -him a citizen of the United States, and to receive his -assistance in regulating their finances.”<a name="FNanchor_501_501" id="FNanchor_501_501"></a><a href="#Footnote_501_501" class="fnanchor">[501]</a> In reply,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_367" id="Page_367">[Pg 367]</a></span> -under date of 18th January, 1779, while declining the -invitation, he offered “assurances that Dr. Price feels -the warmest gratitude for the notice taken of him, and -that he looks to the American States as <em>now</em> the hope -and likely <em>soon</em> to become the refuge of mankind.”<a name="FNanchor_502_502" id="FNanchor_502_502"></a><a href="#Footnote_502_502" class="fnanchor">[502]</a> -Franklin and Adams contracted with him relations of -friendship. The former, under date of 6th February, -1780, wrote him: “Your writings, after all the abuse -you and they have met with, begin to make serious -impressions on those who at first rejected the counsels -you gave”;<a name="FNanchor_503_503" id="FNanchor_503_503"></a><a href="#Footnote_503_503" class="fnanchor">[503]</a> and 24th October, 1788, he wrote -to another: “Remember me affectionately to good Dr. -Price.”<a name="FNanchor_504_504" id="FNanchor_504_504"></a><a href="#Footnote_504_504" class="fnanchor">[504]</a> The latter, in correspondence many years -afterwards, recorded the intimacy he enjoyed with Dr. -Price, “at his own house, at my house, and at the -houses and tables of many friends.”<a name="FNanchor_505_505" id="FNanchor_505_505"></a><a href="#Footnote_505_505" class="fnanchor">[505]</a></p> - -<p>The first of his American tracts was in 1776, being -“Observations on the Nature of Civil Liberty, the Principles -of Government, and the Justice and Policy of -the War with America.” The sale of sixty thousand -copies in a few months shows the extensive acceptance -of the work. The general principles so clearly -exhibited are invoked for America. Occasionally the -philosopher becomes prophet, as when he predicts the -growth of population:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“They are now but little short of half our number. To -this number they have grown, from a small body of original -settlers, by a very rapid increase. The probability is -that they will go on to increase, and that in fifty or sixty<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_368" id="Page_368">[Pg 368]</a></span> -years they will be <em>double our number, and form a mighty -empire, consisting of a variety of States, all equal or superior -to ourselves in all the arts and accomplishments which give -dignity and happiness to human life</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_506_506" id="FNanchor_506_506"></a><a href="#Footnote_506_506" class="fnanchor">[506]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Nothing less than “a vast continent” seems to him -the sphere of this remarkable development, and he revolts -at the idea of this being held “at the discretion -of a handful of people on the other side of the Atlantic.”<a name="FNanchor_507_507" id="FNanchor_507_507"></a><a href="#Footnote_507_507" class="fnanchor">[507]</a> -In the measures which brought on the war -he saw “the hand of Providence <em>working to bring about -some great ends</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_508_508" id="FNanchor_508_508"></a><a href="#Footnote_508_508" class="fnanchor">[508]</a> And the vast continent was to be -dedicated to Liberty. The excellent man saw even -the end of Slavery. Speaking of “the negroes of the -Southern Colonies,” he said that they “probably will -now either soon become extinct or <em>have their condition -changed into that of freemen</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_509_509" id="FNanchor_509_509"></a><a href="#Footnote_509_509" class="fnanchor">[509]</a> Years and battle intervened -before this precious result.</p> - -<p>This production was followed in 1777 by “Additional -Observations on the Nature and Value of Civil Liberty, -and the War with America,”—to which was added -“Observations on Public Loans, the National Debt, and -the Debts and Resources of France.” In all this variety -of topics, his concern for America breaks forth in the -inquiry, “Must not humanity shudder at such a war?”<a name="FNanchor_510_510" id="FNanchor_510_510"></a><a href="#Footnote_510_510" class="fnanchor">[510]</a> -And he sees untold loss to England, which, with the -Colonies, “might be the greatest and happiest nation -that ever existed”; but without them “we are no more a -people; … our existence depends on keeping them.”<a name="FNanchor_511_511" id="FNanchor_511_511"></a><a href="#Footnote_511_511" class="fnanchor">[511]</a> -This patriotic gloom is checked by another vision:—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_369" id="Page_369">[Pg 369]</a></span></p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“These measures have, in all probability, hastened that -disruption of the New from the Old World, <em>which will begin -a new era in the annals of mankind</em>, and produce a revolution -more important, perhaps, than any that has happened -in human affairs.”<a name="FNanchor_512_512" id="FNanchor_512_512"></a><a href="#Footnote_512_512" class="fnanchor">[512]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Thus was American Independence heralded, and its -influence foretold.</p> - -<p>Constantly sympathizing with America, and impressed -by the magnitude of the issue, his soul found -another utterance, in 1778, in what he called “The -General Introduction and Supplement to the Two -Tracts on Civil Liberty, the War with America, and -the Finances of the Kingdom.” Here again he sees a -vision:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“A great people, likely to be formed, in spite of all our -efforts, into free communities, under governments which -have no religious tests and establishments. A new era in -future annals, and a new opening in human affairs, beginning, -among the descendants of Englishmen, in a new -world. <em>A rising empire, extended over an immense continent, -without bishops, without nobles, and without kings.</em>”<a name="FNanchor_513_513" id="FNanchor_513_513"></a><a href="#Footnote_513_513" class="fnanchor">[513]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>After the recognition of Independence and the establishment -of peace, Dr. Price appeared with another -tract: “Observations on the Importance of the American -Revolution and the Means of making it a Benefit -to the World.” This was in 1784. And here he repeated -the exultation of an earlier day:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“With heartfelt satisfaction I see the revolution in favor -of universal liberty which has taken place in America,—<em>a -revolution which opens a new prospect in human affairs</em>, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_370" id="Page_370">[Pg 370]</a></span> -begins a new era in the history of mankind.… Perhaps -I do not go too far, when I say, that, next to the introduction -of Christianity among mankind, the American Revolution -may prove the most important step in the progressive -course of human improvement.”<a name="FNanchor_514_514" id="FNanchor_514_514"></a><a href="#Footnote_514_514" class="fnanchor">[514]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Thus announcing the grandeur of the epoch, he states -that it “may produce a general diffusion of the principles -of humanity,” and may lead mankind to see and -know “that all legitimate government consists in the -dominion of <em>equal laws</em>, made with common consent,” -which is another expression of the primal truth of the -Declaration of Independence. Then, referring to the -“community or confederacy” of States, he says, “I can -almost imagine that it is not impossible but that by -such means <em>universal peace</em> may be produced, and all -war excluded from the world”; and he asks, “Why -may we not hope to see this begun in America?”<a name="FNanchor_515_515" id="FNanchor_515_515"></a><a href="#Footnote_515_515" class="fnanchor">[515]</a> -May America be true to this aspiration! There is also -a longing for Equality, and a warning against Slavery, -with the ejaculation, in harmony with earlier words, -“Let the United States continue forever what it is now -their glory to be, a confederation of States, prosperous -and happy, <em>without lords, without bishops, and without -kings</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_516_516" id="FNanchor_516_516"></a><a href="#Footnote_516_516" class="fnanchor">[516]</a> In the midst of the bloody conflict this vision -had appeared, and he had sought to make it a reality.</p> - -<p>His true friendship for our country and his devotion -to humanity, with the modesty of his nature, appear in -a letter to Franklin, 12th July, 1784, communicating a -copy of the last production. After saying that “it is -intended entirely for America,” the excellent counsellor -proceeds:—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_371" id="Page_371">[Pg 371]</a></span></p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“I hope the United States will forgive my presumption in -supposing myself qualified to advise them.… The consciousness -which I have that it is well intended, and that my -address to them is the effusion of a heart that wishes to serve -the best interests of society, helps to reconcile me to myself in -this instance, and it will, I hope, engage the candor of others.”<a name="FNanchor_517_517" id="FNanchor_517_517"></a><a href="#Footnote_517_517" class="fnanchor">[517]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>The same sentiments which proved his sympathies -with our country reappeared with fresh fires at the outbreak -of the French Revolution, arousing, in opposition, -the immortal eloquence of Burke. A discourse “On the -Love of our Country,” preached at the Old Jewry, 4th -November, 1789, in commemoration of the English Revolution, -with friendly glances at what was then passing -across the Channel, prompted the “Reflections on -the Revolution in France.” The personal denunciation -which is the beginning of that remarkable performance -is the perpetual witness to the position of the preacher, -whose prophetic soul did not hesitate to accept the -French Revolution side by side with ours in glory and -in promise.</p> - -<h4>GOVERNOR POWNALL, 1777, 1780, 1783.</h4> - -<p>Among the best friends of our country abroad during -the trials of the Revolution was Thomas Pownall, called -by one biographer “a learned antiquary and politician,” -and by another “an English statesman and author.” -Latterly he has so far dropped out of sight that there -are few who recognize in him either of these characters. -He was born 1722, and died at Bath 1805. During -this long period he held several offices. As early as -1745 he became secretary to the Commissioners for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_372" id="Page_372">[Pg 372]</a></span> -Trade and Plantations. In 1753 he crossed the ocean. -In 1755, as Commissioner for Massachusetts Bay, he -had a share in the negotiations with New York, New -Jersey, and Pennsylvania, in union with New England, -which resulted in the confederated expedition against -Crown Point. He was afterwards Governor of Massachusetts -Bay, New Jersey, and South Carolina, successively. -Returning to England, he was appointed, in -1762, Comptroller-General of the army in Germany, -with the military rank of colonel. He sat in two successive -Parliaments until 1780, when he passed into -private life. Hildreth gives a glimpse of his personal -character, when, admitting his frank manners and liberal -politics, he describes his habits as “rather freer -than suited the New England standard.”<a name="FNanchor_518_518" id="FNanchor_518_518"></a><a href="#Footnote_518_518" class="fnanchor">[518]</a></p> - -<p>Pownall stands forth conspicuous for championship -of our national independence, and especially for foresight -with regard to our national future. In both these -respects his writings are unique. Other Englishmen -were in favor of independence, and saw our future -also; but I doubt if any one can be named who was -his equal in strenuous action, or in minuteness of foresight. -While the war was still proceeding, as early -as 1780, he openly announced, not only that independence -was inevitable, but that the new nation, -“founded in Nature and built up in truth,” would continually -expand; that its population would increase -and multiply; that a civilizing activity beyond what -Europe could ever know would animate it; and that -its commercial and naval power would be found in -every quarter of the globe.<a name="FNanchor_519_519" id="FNanchor_519_519"></a><a href="#Footnote_519_519" class="fnanchor">[519]</a> All this he set forth at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_373" id="Page_373">[Pg 373]</a></span> -length with argument and illustration, and he called -his prophetic words “the <em>stating of the simple fact</em>, so -little understood in the Old World.” Treated at first -as “unintelligible speculation” and as “unfashionable,” -the truth he announced was “neglected where it was -not rejected, but in general rejected as inadmissible,” -and the author, according to his own language, “was -called by the wise men of the British Cabinet <em>a Wild -Man</em>, unfit to be employed.”<a name="FNanchor_520_520" id="FNanchor_520_520"></a><a href="#Footnote_520_520" class="fnanchor">[520]</a> But these writings are a -better title now than any office. In manner they are -diffuse and pedantic; but they hardly deserve the cold -judgment of John Adams, who in his old age said of -them that “a reader who has patience to search for -good sense in an uncouth and disgusting style will -find in those writings proofs of a thinking mind.”<a name="FNanchor_521_521" id="FNanchor_521_521"></a><a href="#Footnote_521_521" class="fnanchor">[521]</a></p> - -<p>He seems to have written a good deal. But the -works which will be remembered the longest are not -even mentioned by several of his biographers. Rose, -in his Biographical Dictionary, records works by him, -entitled “Antiquities of the Provincia Romana of Gaul”; -“Roman Antiquities dug up at Bath”; “Observations -on the Currents in the Atlantic Ocean”; “Intellectual -Physics”; and contributions to the “Archæologia”: -nothing more. To this list Gorton, in his Biographical -Dictionary, adds briefly, “besides many political tracts,” -but without particular reference to the works on America. -This is another instance where the stone rejected -by the builders becomes the head of the corner.</p> - -<p>At an early date Pownall comprehended the position -of our country, geographically. He saw the wonderful -means of internal communication supplied by its inland<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_374" id="Page_374">[Pg 374]</a></span> -waters, and also the opportunities of external commerce -afforded by the Atlantic Ocean. On the former he dwells, -in a Memorial drawn up in 1756 for the Duke of Cumberland.<a name="FNanchor_522_522" id="FNanchor_522_522"></a><a href="#Footnote_522_522" class="fnanchor">[522]</a> -Nobody in our own day, after the experience -of more than a century, has portrayed more vividly the -two vast aqueous masses,—one composed of the Great -Lakes and their dependencies, and the other of the Mississippi -and its tributaries. The Great Lakes are described -as “a wilderness of waters, spreading over the -country by an infinite number and variety of branchings, -bays, straits, &c.”<a name="FNanchor_523_523" id="FNanchor_523_523"></a><a href="#Footnote_523_523" class="fnanchor">[523]</a> The Mississippi, with its eastern -branch, called the Ohio, is described as having, “as -far as we know, but two falls,—one at a place called -by the French St. Antoine, high up on the west or main -branch”; and all its waters “run to the ocean with a -still, easy, and gentle current.”<a name="FNanchor_524_524" id="FNanchor_524_524"></a><a href="#Footnote_524_524" class="fnanchor">[524]</a> The picture is completed -by exhibiting the two masses in combination:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“The waters of each respective mass—not only the lesser -streams, but the main general body of each going through -this continent in every course and direction—have, by their -approach to each other, by their interlacing with each other, -by their communication to every quarter and in every direction, -an alliance and unity, and form one mass, a one whole.”<a name="FNanchor_525_525" id="FNanchor_525_525"></a><a href="#Footnote_525_525" class="fnanchor">[525]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>And he remarks, that it is thus seen</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p class="noindent">“how the watery element claims and holds dominion over -this extent of land: that the great lakes which lie upon its -bosom on one hand, and the great river Mississippi and the -multitude of waters which run into it, form there a communication,—an -alliance or dominion of the watery element, that -commands throughout the whole; that these great lakes appear -to be <em>the throne</em>, the <em>centre of a dominion</em>, whose influence,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_375" id="Page_375">[Pg 375]</a></span> -by an infinite number of rivers, creeks, and streams, -extends itself through all and every part of the continent, -supported by the communication of, and alliance with, the -waters of Mississippi.”<a name="FNanchor_526_526" id="FNanchor_526_526"></a><a href="#Footnote_526_526" class="fnanchor">[526]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>If these means of internal commerce were vast, those -afforded by the Atlantic Ocean were not less extensive. -The latter were developed in the treatise on “The Administration -of the Colonies,” the fourth edition of which, -published in 1768, is now before me. This was after -the differences between the Colonies and the mother -country had begun, but before the idea of independence -had shown itself. Pownall insisted that the Colonies -ought to be considered as parts of the realm, entitled -to representation in Parliament. This was a constitutional -unity. But he portrayed a commercial unity also, -which he represented in attractive forms. The British -Isles, and the British possessions in the Atlantic and -in America, were, according to him, “a grand marine -dominion,” and ought, therefore, by policy, to be united -into one empire, with one centre. On this he dwells at -length, and the picture is presented repeatedly.<a name="FNanchor_527_527" id="FNanchor_527_527"></a><a href="#Footnote_527_527" class="fnanchor">[527]</a> It was -incident to the crisis in the world produced by the predominance -of the commercial spirit already beginning to -rule the powers of Europe. It was the duty of England -to place herself at the head of this great movement:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“As the rising of this crisis above described forms precisely -the <em>object</em> on which Government should be employed, -so the taking leading measures towards the forming all those -Atlantic and American possessions into one empire, of which -Great Britain should be the commercial and political centre, -is the <em>precise duty</em> of Government at this crisis.”<a name="FNanchor_528_528" id="FNanchor_528_528"></a><a href="#Footnote_528_528" class="fnanchor">[528]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_376" id="Page_376">[Pg 376]</a></span></p> - -<p>This was his desire. But he saw clearly the resources -as well as the rights of the Colonies, and was satisfied, -that, if power were not consolidated under the constitutional -auspices of England, it would be transferred -to the other side of the Atlantic. Here his words are -prophetic:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“The whole train of events, the whole course of business, -must perpetually bring forward into practice, and necessarily -in the end into establishment, <em>either an American or a British -union</em>. There is no other alternative.”<a name="FNanchor_529_529" id="FNanchor_529_529"></a><a href="#Footnote_529_529" class="fnanchor">[529]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>The necessity for union is enforced in a manner -which foreshadows our National Union:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“The Colonial Legislature does certainly not answer all -purposes,—is incompetent and inadequate to many purposes. -Something, therefore, more is necessary,—<em>either a -common union amongst themselves</em>, or a one common union -of subordination under the one general legislature of the -state.”<a name="FNanchor_530_530" id="FNanchor_530_530"></a><a href="#Footnote_530_530" class="fnanchor">[530]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Then, again, in another place of the same work, after -representing the declarations of power over the Colonies -as little better than mockery, he prophesies:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Such is the actual state of the really existing system -of our dominions, that <em>neither the power of government over -these various parts can long continue under the present mode of -administration</em>, nor the great interest of commerce extended -throughout the whole long subsist under the present system -of the laws of trade.”<a name="FNanchor_531_531" id="FNanchor_531_531"></a><a href="#Footnote_531_531" class="fnanchor">[531]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Recent events may give present interest to his views, -in this same work, on the nature and necessity of a -paper currency, where he follows Franklin. The principal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_377" id="Page_377">[Pg 377]</a></span> -points of his plan were: That bills of credit, to a -certain amount, should be printed in England for the -use of the Colonies; that a loan-office should be established -in each Colony, to issue bills, take securities, and -receive the payments; that the bills should be issued -for ten years, bearing interest at five per cent.,—one -tenth part of the sum borrowed to be paid annually, -with the interest; and that they should be a legal -tender.<a name="FNanchor_532_532" id="FNanchor_532_532"></a><a href="#Footnote_532_532" class="fnanchor">[532]</a></p> - -<p>When the differences had flamed forth in war, then -the prophet became more earnest. His utterances deserve -to be rescued from oblivion. He was open, almost -defiant. As early as 2d December, 1777, some months -before our treaty with France, he declared, from his -place in Parliament, that “the sovereignty of this country -over America is abolished and gone forever”; that -“they are determined at all events to be independent, -<em>and they will be so</em>”; and that “all the treaty that this -country can ever expect with America is federal, and -that, probably, only commercial.” In this spirit he said -to the House:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Until you shall be convinced that you are no longer sovereigns -over America, but that the United States are an independent, -sovereign people,—until you are prepared to treat -with them as such,—it is of no consequence at all what -schemes or plans of conciliation this side the House or that -may adopt.”<a name="FNanchor_533_533" id="FNanchor_533_533"></a><a href="#Footnote_533_533" class="fnanchor">[533]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>The position taken in Parliament he maintained by -writings; and here he depicted the great destinies of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_378" id="Page_378">[Pg 378]</a></span> -our country. He began with “A Memorial to the -Sovereigns of Europe,” published early in 1780, and -afterwards, through the influence of John Adams, while -at the Hague, abridged and translated into French. In -this remarkable production independence was the least -that he claimed for us. Thus he foretells our future:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“North America is become a new primary planet in the -system of the world, which, while it takes its own course, in -its own orbit, must have effect on the orbit of every other -planet, and shift the common centre of gravity of the whole -system of the European world. North America is <i>de facto</i> -an independent power, which has taken its equal station with -other powers, and must be so <i>de jure</i>.… The independence -of America is fixed as Fate. She is mistress of her own -fortune, knows that she is so, and will actuate that power -which she feels she hath, so as to establish her own system -<em>and to change the system of Europe</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_534_534" id="FNanchor_534_534"></a><a href="#Footnote_534_534" class="fnanchor">[534]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Not only is the new power to take an independent -place, but it is “to change the system of Europe.” For -all this its people are amply prepared. “Standing on -that high ground of improvement up to which the most -enlightened parts of Europe have advanced, like eaglets -they commence the first efforts of their pinions from a -towering advantage.”<a name="FNanchor_535_535" id="FNanchor_535_535"></a><a href="#Footnote_535_535" class="fnanchor">[535]</a> This same conviction appears -in another form:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“North America has advanced and is every day advancing -to growth of state with a steady and continually accelerating -motion, of which there has never yet been any example in -Europe.”<a name="FNanchor_536_536" id="FNanchor_536_536"></a><a href="#Footnote_536_536" class="fnanchor">[536]</a> “It is a vitality, liable indeed to many disorders, -many dangerous diseases; but it is young and strong, and -will struggle, by the vigor of internal healing principles of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_379" id="Page_379">[Pg 379]</a></span> -life, against those evils, and surmount them.… Its strength -will grow with its years.”<a name="FNanchor_537_537" id="FNanchor_537_537"></a><a href="#Footnote_537_537" class="fnanchor">[537]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>He then dwells in detail on “the progressive population” -of the country; on its advantage in lying “on -another side of the globe, where it has no enemy”; on -the products of the soil, among which is “bread-corn to -a degree that has wrought it to a staple export for the -supply of the Old World”; on the fisheries, which he -calls “mines producing more solid riches to those who -work them than all the silver of Potosi”; on the inventive -spirit of the people; and on their commercial -activity.<a name="FNanchor_538_538" id="FNanchor_538_538"></a><a href="#Footnote_538_538" class="fnanchor">[538]</a> Of such a people it is easy to predict great -things; and our prophet announces,—</p> - -<p>1. That the new state will be “a great naval power,” -exercising a peculiar influence on commerce, and, through -commerce, on the political system of the Old World,—becoming -the arbitress of commerce, and perhaps the -mediatrix of peace.<a name="FNanchor_539_539" id="FNanchor_539_539"></a><a href="#Footnote_539_539" class="fnanchor">[539]</a></p> - -<p>2. That ship-building and the science and art of navigation -have made such progress in America that her -people will be able to build and navigate cheaper than -any country in Europe, even Holland, with all her -economy.<a name="FNanchor_540_540" id="FNanchor_540_540"></a><a href="#Footnote_540_540" class="fnanchor">[540]</a></p> - -<p>3. That the peculiar articles to be had from America -only, and so much sought in Europe, must give Americans -a preference in those markets.<a name="FNanchor_541_541" id="FNanchor_541_541"></a><a href="#Footnote_541_541" class="fnanchor">[541]</a></p> - -<p>4. That a people “whose empire stands singly predominant -in a great continent” can hardly “suffer in -their borders the establishment of such a monopoly as -the European Hudson’s Bay Company”; that it cannot<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_380" id="Page_380">[Pg 380]</a></span> -be stopped by Cape Horn or the Cape of Good Hope; -that before long “they will be found trading in the -South Sea and in China”; and that “the Dutch will -hear of them in Spice Islands.”<a name="FNanchor_542_542" id="FNanchor_542_542"></a><a href="#Footnote_542_542" class="fnanchor">[542]</a></p> - -<p>5. That by constant intercommunion of business and -correspondence, and by increased knowledge with regard -to the ocean, “America will seem every day to -approach nearer and nearer to Europe”; that “a thousand -attractive motives will … become the irresistible -cause of <em>an almost general emigration to that New -World</em>”; and that “many of the most useful, enterprising -spirits, and much of the active property, will go -there also.”<a name="FNanchor_543_543" id="FNanchor_543_543"></a><a href="#Footnote_543_543" class="fnanchor">[543]</a></p> - -<p>6. That “North America will become a <em>free port</em> to -all the nations of the world indiscriminately, and will -expect, insist on, and demand, in fair reciprocity, a <em>free -market</em> in all those nations with whom she trades”; -and that, adhering to this principle, she must be, “in -the course of time, the chief carrier of the commerce -of the whole world.”<a name="FNanchor_544_544" id="FNanchor_544_544"></a><a href="#Footnote_544_544" class="fnanchor">[544]</a></p> - -<p>7. That America must avoid complication with European -politics, or “the entanglement of alliances,” having -no connections with Europe “other than merely commercial”;<a name="FNanchor_545_545" id="FNanchor_545_545"></a><a href="#Footnote_545_545" class="fnanchor">[545]</a>—all -of which at a later day was put forth -by Washington in his Farewell Address, when he said: -“The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign -nations, is, in extending our commercial relations, to -have with them as little political connection as possible”; -and also when he asked: “Why, by interweaving -our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_381" id="Page_381">[Pg 381]</a></span> -our peace and prosperity in the toils of European -ambition, rivalship, interest, humor, or caprice?”<a name="FNanchor_546_546" id="FNanchor_546_546"></a><a href="#Footnote_546_546" class="fnanchor">[546]</a></p> - -<p>8. That “the similar modes of living and thinking, -the same manners and same fashions, the same language, -and old habits of national love, impressed in the heart -and not yet effaced, <em>the very indentings of the fracture -whereat North America stands broken off from England, -all conspire naturally to a rejuncture by alliance</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_547_547" id="FNanchor_547_547"></a><a href="#Footnote_547_547" class="fnanchor">[547]</a></p> - -<p>9. That the sovereigns of Europe, who “have despised -the unfashioned, awkward youth of America,” and have -neglected to interweave their interests with the rising -States, when they find the system of the new empire -not only obstructing, but superseding, the old system -of Europe, and crossing all their settled maxims, will -call upon their ministers and wise men, “Come, curse -me this people, for they are too mighty for me.”<a name="FNanchor_548_548" id="FNanchor_548_548"></a><a href="#Footnote_548_548" class="fnanchor">[548]</a></p> - -<p>This remarkable appeal was followed by two Memorials, -“drawn up solely for the King’s use, and designed -solely for his eye,”<a name="FNanchor_549_549" id="FNanchor_549_549"></a><a href="#Footnote_549_549" class="fnanchor">[549]</a> dated at Richmond, January 2, -1782, where the author most persuasively urges his -Majesty to “treat with the Americans as with free states -<i>de facto</i>, under a truce.”<a name="FNanchor_550_550" id="FNanchor_550_550"></a><a href="#Footnote_550_550" class="fnanchor">[550]</a> And on the signature of the -treaty of peace he wrote a private letter to Franklin, -dated at Richmond, 28th February, 1783, where he testifies -to the magnitude of the event:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">My old Friend</span>,—I write this to congratulate you on -the establishment of your country as a free and sovereign -power, taking its equal station amongst the powers of this -world. I congratulate you, in particular, as chosen by Providence -to be a principal instrument of this great<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_382" id="Page_382">[Pg 382]</a></span> -Revolution,—<em>a Revolution that has stronger marks of Divine interposition, -superseding the ordinary course of human affairs, than -any other event which this world has experienced</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_551_551" id="FNanchor_551_551"></a><a href="#Footnote_551_551" class="fnanchor">[551]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>The prophet closes his letter by allusion to a proposed -tour of America, adding, that, “if there ever was -an object worth the travelling to see, and worthy of the -contemplation of a philosopher, it is that in which he -may see the beginnings of a great empire at its foundation.” -He communicated this purpose also to John -Adams, who answered him, that “he would be received -respectfully in every part of America, that he had always -been considered as friendly to America, and that -his writings had been useful to our cause.”<a name="FNanchor_552_552" id="FNanchor_552_552"></a><a href="#Footnote_552_552" class="fnanchor">[552]</a></p> - -<p>Then came another work, first published in 1783, -entitled “A Memorial addressed to the Sovereigns of -America,” of which he gave the mistaken judgment to -a private friend, that it was “the best thing he ever -wrote.”<a name="FNanchor_553_553" id="FNanchor_553_553"></a><a href="#Footnote_553_553" class="fnanchor">[553]</a> Here for the first time American citizens -are called “sovereigns.” At the beginning he explains, -and indicates the simplicity with which he addresses -them:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Having presumed to address to the Sovereigns of Europe -a Memorial, … permit me now to address this Memorial -to you Sovereigns of America. I shall not address you with -the court titles of Gothic Europe, nor with those of servile -Asia. I will neither address your Sublimity or Majesty, -your Grace or Holiness, your Eminence or Highmightiness, -your Excellence or Honors. What are titles, where things -themselves are known and understood? What title did the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_383" id="Page_383">[Pg 383]</a></span> -Republic of Rome take? The state was known to be sovereign, -and the citizens to be free. What could add to this -glory? Therefore, United States and Citizens of America, I -address you as you are.”<a name="FNanchor_554_554" id="FNanchor_554_554"></a><a href="#Footnote_554_554" class="fnanchor">[554]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Here again are the same constant sympathy with -Liberty, the same confidence in our national destinies, -and the same aspirations for our prosperity, mingled -with warnings against disturbing influences. He exhorts -that all our foundations should be “laid in Nature”; -that there should be “no contention for, nor -acquisition of, unequal domination in men”; and that -union should be established on the attractive principle -by which all are drawn to a common centre.<a name="FNanchor_555_555" id="FNanchor_555_555"></a><a href="#Footnote_555_555" class="fnanchor">[555]</a> He fears -difficulty in making the line of frontier between us and -the British Provinces “a line of peace,” as it ought to -be; he is anxious lest something may break out between -us and Spain; and he suggests that possibly, “in the -cool hours of unimpassioned reflection,” we may learn -the danger of our “alliances,”<a name="FNanchor_556_556" id="FNanchor_556_556"></a><a href="#Footnote_556_556" class="fnanchor">[556]</a>—referring plainly to -that original alliance with France which at a later day -was the occasion of such trouble. Two other warnings -occur. One is against Slavery,<a name="FNanchor_557_557" id="FNanchor_557_557"></a><a href="#Footnote_557_557" class="fnanchor">[557]</a> which is more memorable, -because in an earlier Memorial he enumerates -among articles of commerce “African slaves, carried by -a circuitous trade in American shipping to the West -India markets.”<a name="FNanchor_558_558" id="FNanchor_558_558"></a><a href="#Footnote_558_558" class="fnanchor">[558]</a> The other warning is thus strongly -expressed:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Every inhabitant of America is, <i>de facto</i> as well as <i>de -jure</i>, equal, in his essential, inseparable rights of the individual, -to any other individual,—is, in these rights, independent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_384" id="Page_384">[Pg 384]</a></span> -of any power that any other can assume over him, -over his labor, or his property. This is a principle in act -and deed, and not a mere speculative theorem.”<a name="FNanchor_559_559" id="FNanchor_559_559"></a><a href="#Footnote_559_559" class="fnanchor">[559]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>This strange and striking testimony, all from one -man, is enhanced by his farewell words to Franklin. -As Pownall heard that the great philosopher and negotiator -was about to embark for the United States, -he wrote to him from Lausanne, 3d July, 1785:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Adieu, my dear friend. You are going to a New World, -formed to exhibit a scene which the Old World never yet -saw. You leave me here in the Old World, which, like myself, -begins to feel, as Asia hath felt, that it is wearing out -apace. We shall never meet again on this earth; but there -is another world where we shall meet, and <em>where we shall be -understood</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_560_560" id="FNanchor_560_560"></a><a href="#Footnote_560_560" class="fnanchor">[560]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>The correspondence was continued across the intervening -ocean. In a letter to Franklin, dated at Bristol, -8th April, 1788, the same devoted reformer refers -to the Congress at Albany in 1754, “when the events -which have since come into fact first began to develop -themselves, as ready to burst into bloom, and to bring -forth the fruits of Liberty which you in America at -present enjoy.” He is cheered in his old age by the -proceedings in the Convention to frame a Constitution, -with Franklin’s “report of a system of sovereignty -founded in law, and above which law only was sovereign”; -and he begins “to entertain hopes for the liberties -of America, and for what will be an asylum one -day or other to a remnant of mankind who wish and -deserve to live with political liberty.” His disturbance<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_385" id="Page_385">[Pg 385]</a></span> -at the Presidential term breaks out: “I have some fears -of mischief from <em>the orbit of four years’ period</em> which -you give to the rotation of the office of President. It -may become the ground of intrigue.”<a name="FNanchor_561_561" id="FNanchor_561_561"></a><a href="#Footnote_561_561" class="fnanchor">[561]</a> Here friendly -anxiety is elevated by hope, where America appears as -the asylum of Liberty.</p> - -<p>Clearly Pownall was not understood in his time; but -it is evident that he understood our country as few Englishmen -since have been able to understand it.</p> - -<p>How few of his contemporaries saw America with his -insight and courage! The prevailing sentiment was -typified in the conduct of George the Third, so boldly -arraigned in the Declaration of Independence. Individual -opinions also attest the contrast, and help to -glorify Pownall. Thus, Shirley, like himself a Massachusetts -governor, in advising the King to strengthen -Louisburg, wrote, under date of July 10, 1745:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“It would, by its vicinity to the British Colonies, and -being the key of ’em, give the Crown of Great Britain a -most absolute hold and command of ’em, if ever there should -come a time when they should go restiff and disposed to -shake off their dependency upon their mother country, <em>the -possibility of which seems some centuries further off than it -does to some gentlemen at home</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_562_562" id="FNanchor_562_562"></a><a href="#Footnote_562_562" class="fnanchor">[562]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Nothing of the prophet here. Nor was Hume more -penetrating in his History first published, although he -commemorates properly the early settlement of the -country:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“What chiefly renders the reign of James memorable is -the commencement of the English colonies in America, colonies<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_386" id="Page_386">[Pg 386]</a></span> -established on the noblest footing that has been known -in any age or nation.…</p> - -<p>“Speculative reasoners during that age raised many objections -to the planting those remote colonies, and foretold, -that, after draining their mother country of inhabitants, they -would soon shake off her yoke, and erect an independent -government in America; but time has shown that the views -entertained by those who encouraged such generous undertakings -were more just and solid. <em>A mild government and -great naval force have preserved, and may long preserve, the -dominion of England over her colonies.</em>”<a name="FNanchor_563_563" id="FNanchor_563_563"></a><a href="#Footnote_563_563" class="fnanchor">[563]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>In making the reign of James chiefly memorable by -the Colonies, the eminent historian shows a just appreciation -of events; but he seems to have written hastily, -and rather from imagination than evidence, when he -announces contemporary prophecy, “that, after draining -their mother country of inhabitants, they would -soon shake off her yoke, and erect an independent -government in America,” and is plainly without prophetic -instinct with regard to “the dominion of England -over her colonies.”</p> - -<h4>CÉRISIER, 1778, 1780.</h4> - -<p>Again a Frenchman appears on our list, Antoine -Marie Cérisier, who was born at Châtillon-les-Dombes, -1749, and died 1st July, 1828, after a checkered existence. -Being Secretary of the French Legation at the -Hague, he early became interested in the history of -Holland and her heroic struggle for independence. An -elaborate work in ten volumes on the “General History<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_387" id="Page_387">[Pg 387]</a></span> -of the United Provinces,”<a name="FNanchor_564_564" id="FNanchor_564_564"></a><a href="#Footnote_564_564" class="fnanchor">[564]</a> appearing first in French -and afterwards translated into Dutch, attests his industry -and zeal, and down to this day is accepted as the -best in French literature on this interesting subject. -Naturally the historian of the mighty effort to overthrow -the domination of Spain sympathized with the -kindred effort in America. In a series of works he -bore his testimony to our cause.</p> - -<p>John Adams was received at the Hague as American -Minister, 19th April, 1782. In his despatch to Secretary -Livingston, 16th May, 1782, he wrote: “How -shall I mention another gentleman, whose name, perhaps, -Congress never heard, but who, in my opinion, -has done more decided and essential service to the -American cause and reputation, within these last eighteen -months, than any other man in Europe?” Then, -after describing him as “beyond all contradiction one -of the greatest historians and political characters in -Europe, … possessed of the most genuine principles -and sentiments of liberty, and exceedingly devoted -by principle and affection to the American cause,” our -minister announces: “His pen has erected a monument -to the American cause more glorious and more durable -than brass or marble. His writings have been read like -oracles, and his sentiments weekly echoed and reëchoed -in gazettes and pamphlets.”<a name="FNanchor_565_565" id="FNanchor_565_565"></a><a href="#Footnote_565_565" class="fnanchor">[565]</a> And yet these have passed -out of sight.</p> - -<p>First in time was an elaborate work in French, purporting -to be translated from the English, which appeared -at Utrecht in 1778, entitled, “History of the -Founding of the Colonies of the Ancient Republics,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_388" id="Page_388">[Pg 388]</a></span> -adapted to the present Dispute of Great Britain with -her American Colonies.”<a name="FNanchor_566_566" id="FNanchor_566_566"></a><a href="#Footnote_566_566" class="fnanchor">[566]</a> Learning and philosophy -were elevated by visions of the future. With the -representation of the Colonies in Parliament, he foresees -the time when “the influence of America will -become preponderant in Parliament, and <em>able, perhaps, -to transfer the seat of empire</em> to their country, -and so, without danger and without convulsive agitation, -render this immense continent, already so favorably -disposed by Nature to that end, the theatre of -one of the greatest and freest governments that have -ever existed.”<a name="FNanchor_567_567" id="FNanchor_567_567"></a><a href="#Footnote_567_567" class="fnanchor">[567]</a> Then indulging in another vision, -where French emigrants and Canadians, already invited -to enter the Confederacy, mingle with English -colonists, he beholds at the head of the happy settlements -“men known for their superior genius, their politics -friendly to humanity, and their enthusiasm for -liberty,” and he catches the strains of ancient dramatists, -“whose masterpieces would breathe and inspire -a hatred of tyrants and despots.” Then touching a -practical point in government, he exclaims: “The human -species there would not be debased, outraged by -that odious and barbarous distinction of nobles and -plebeians, as if anybody could be more or less than a -man.” And then again: “Could not that admirable -democracy which I have so often pleased myself in -tracing be established there?”<a name="FNanchor_568_568" id="FNanchor_568_568"></a><a href="#Footnote_568_568" class="fnanchor">[568]</a></p> - -<p>This was followed in the same year by another publication, -also in French, entitled “Impartial Observations -of a True Hollander, in Answer to the Address<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_389" id="Page_389">[Pg 389]</a></span> -of a self-styled Good Hollander to his Countrymen.”<a name="FNanchor_569_569" id="FNanchor_569_569"></a><a href="#Footnote_569_569" class="fnanchor">[569]</a> -Here there is no longer question of Colonial representation -in Parliament, or of British empire transferred -to America, but of separation, with its lofty future:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“This revolution is, then, the most fortunate event which -could happen to the human species in general and to all the -States in particular. In short, tender souls see with transport -that reparation at last is to be made for the crime of -those who discovered and devastated this immense continent, -and recognize the United States of North America as replacing -the numerous nations which European cruelty has caused -to disappear from South America.”<a name="FNanchor_570_570" id="FNanchor_570_570"></a><a href="#Footnote_570_570" class="fnanchor">[570]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Addressing Englishmen directly, the Frenchman thus -counsels:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Englishmen! you must needs submit to your destiny, -and renounce a people who do not wish longer to recognize -you. To avoid giving them any uneasiness, and to prevent -all dispute in the future, <em>have the courage to abandon to them -all the neighboring countries which have not yet shaken off -your yoke</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_571_571" id="FNanchor_571_571"></a><a href="#Footnote_571_571" class="fnanchor">[571]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Then turning to his own countrymen:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“<em>Let Canada make a fourteenth confederate State.</em> What -glory for you to have labored first for this interesting revolution! -What glory for you that these settlements, sprung -from your bosom, should be associated with a powerful confederation, -and govern themselves as a Republic!”<a name="FNanchor_572_572" id="FNanchor_572_572"></a><a href="#Footnote_572_572" class="fnanchor">[572]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>The idea of Canada as “a fourteenth confederate -State” was in unison with the aspiration and invitation -of the Continental Congress.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_390" id="Page_390">[Pg 390]</a></span></p> - -<p>Another friendly work in French, pretending to be -from the English, saw the light in 1780, and is entitled -“The Destiny of America; or, Picturesque Dialogues.”<a name="FNanchor_573_573" id="FNanchor_573_573"></a><a href="#Footnote_573_573" class="fnanchor">[573]</a> -Among the parties to the colloquies are Lord North, -with other English personages, and a Philosopher, who -must be the author. Among the topics considered are -the causes of current events, the policy of European -powers relative to the war, and the influence it must -have on the happiness of mankind. In answer to Lord -North, who asks, “What are these precious means [of -saving our honor and interests]?” the Philosopher replies: -“Commence by proclaiming the independence of -the thirteen revolted Colonies, of Florida, <em>and of Canada</em>; -… then, in a manner not less solemn, renounce -Jamaica, Barbadoes, and all your Windward Islands.”<a name="FNanchor_574_574" id="FNanchor_574_574"></a><a href="#Footnote_574_574" class="fnanchor">[574]</a> -This is to be followed by the freedom of the Spanish -and French colonies,—also of the Dutch, the Portuguese, -and the Danish. Then, rising in aspiration, the -Philosopher, exalting the good of humanity over that of -any nation, proclaims that the root of future wars must -be destroyed, that the ocean may not be reddened with -blood; but this destiny will be postponed, “if America -does not become entirely free.”<a name="FNanchor_575_575" id="FNanchor_575_575"></a><a href="#Footnote_575_575" class="fnanchor">[575]</a> Then, looking forward -to the time when nations will contend on the ocean -only in commercial activity, and man will cease to be -the greatest enemy of man, he declares: “If Perpetual -Peace could be more than the dream of honest men, -what event could accelerate it more than the independence -of the two Americas?”<a name="FNanchor_576_576" id="FNanchor_576_576"></a><a href="#Footnote_576_576" class="fnanchor">[576]</a> Confessing that he does -not expect the applause of the present age, he concludes, -“My heart tells me that I shall have the acknowledgment<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_391" id="Page_391">[Pg 391]</a></span> -of all free and tender souls, and the suffrage of -posterity.”<a name="FNanchor_577_577" id="FNanchor_577_577"></a><a href="#Footnote_577_577" class="fnanchor">[577]</a> Most surely he has mine. Nothing can -be happier than the thought that Perpetual Peace would -be accelerated by American freedom, thus enhancing -even this great boon.</p> - -<h4>SIR WILLIAM JONES, 1781.</h4> - -<p>I am glad to enter upon our list the name of this -illustrious scholar, who was born in London, 28th September, -1746, and died in Calcutta, 27th April, 1794.</p> - -<p>If others have excelled Sir William Jones in different -departments of human activity, no Englishman has -attained equal eminence in so many, and at the same -time borne the priceless crown of character. His wonderful -attainments and his various genius excite admiration, -but his goodness awakens love. It is pleasant to -know that his benediction rests upon our country.</p> - -<p>From boyhood to his last breath he was always industrious, -thus helping the generous gifts of Nature,—and -it is not easy to say where he was most eminent. -As a jurist, he is memorable for the “Essay on the Law -of Bailments,” undoubtedly at the time it appeared the -most complete and beautiful contribution to the science -of jurisprudence in the English language. As a judge, -he was the voice of the law and of justice, so that his -appointment to a high judicial station in India was -called “the greatest blessing ever conferred by the British -Government on the inhabitants of the East.”<a name="FNanchor_578_578" id="FNanchor_578_578"></a><a href="#Footnote_578_578" class="fnanchor">[578]</a> As a -linguist, knowing no less than twenty-eight languages, -he was the predecessor of Baron William Humboldt, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_392" id="Page_392">[Pg 392]</a></span> -the less scholarly prodigy, Mezzofanti, while as a philologist -he will find a parallel in the former rather than -the latter. As an Orientalist, he was not only the first -of his time, but the pioneer through whom the literature -of the East was opened to European study and curiosity. -As a poet, he is enshrined forever by his Ode modestly -called “An Ode in Imitation of Alcæus,”<a name="FNanchor_579_579" id="FNanchor_579_579"></a><a href="#Footnote_579_579" class="fnanchor">[579]</a> and doubtless -inspired by sympathy with the American cause:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse indent2">“What constitutes a State?</div> -<div class="verse">Not high-raised battlement or labored mound,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Thick wall or moated gate;</div> -<div class="verse">Not cities proud with spires and turrets crowned;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Not bays and broad-armed ports,</div> -<div class="verse">Where, laughing at the storm, rich navies ride;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Not starred and spangled courts,</div> -<div class="verse">Where low-browed Baseness wafts perfume to Pride:</div> -<div class="verse indent2">No; <span class="smcap">Men</span>, high-minded <span class="smcap">Men</span>,</div> -<div class="verse center">…</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Men, who their <em>duties</em> know,</div> -<div class="verse">But know their <em>rights</em>, and, knowing, dare maintain;</div> -<div class="verse indent2"><em>Prevent the long-aimed blow,</em></div> -<div class="verse"><em>And crush the tyrant while they rend the chain</em>:</div> -<div class="verse indent2"><em>These</em> constitute a State.”<a name="FNanchor_580_580" id="FNanchor_580_580"></a><a href="#Footnote_580_580" class="fnanchor">[580]</a></div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>To all these accomplishments add the glowing emotions -of his noble nature, his love of virtue, his devotion -to freedom, his sympathy for the poor and downtrodden. -His biographer records as “a favorite opinion -of Sir William Jones, that all men are born with <em>an -equal capacity for improvement</em>,”<a name="FNanchor_581_581" id="FNanchor_581_581"></a><a href="#Footnote_581_581" class="fnanchor">[581]</a> and also reports him -as saying: “I see chiefly under the sun the two classes -of men whom Solomon describes, the oppressor and the -oppressed.… I shall cultivate my fields and gardens, -and think as little as possible of monarchs or oligarchs.”<a name="FNanchor_582_582" id="FNanchor_582_582"></a><a href="#Footnote_582_582" class="fnanchor">[582]</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_393" id="Page_393">[Pg 393]</a></span> -With these declarations it is easy to credit Dr. Paley, -who said of him, “He was a great republican when I -knew him.”<a name="FNanchor_583_583" id="FNanchor_583_583"></a><a href="#Footnote_583_583" class="fnanchor">[583]</a> Like seeks like, and a long intimacy in -the family of the good Bishop of St. Asaph,<a name="FNanchor_584_584" id="FNanchor_584_584"></a><a href="#Footnote_584_584" class="fnanchor">[584]</a> ending in -a happy marriage with his eldest daughter, shows how -he must have sympathized with the American cause and -with the future of our country.</p> - -<p>Our author had been the tutor of Lord Althorp, the -same who, as Earl Spencer, became so famous a bibliophile -and a patron of Dibdin, and on the marriage of -his pupil with Miss Lavinia Bingham, he was moved -to commemorate it in a poem, entitled “The Muse Recalled: -an Ode on the Nuptials of Lord Viscount Althorp -and Miss Lavinia Bingham, eldest Daughter of Charles -Lord Lucan, March 6, 1781,”<a name="FNanchor_585_585" id="FNanchor_585_585"></a><a href="#Footnote_585_585" class="fnanchor">[585]</a> which his critic, Wraxall, -calls “one of the most beautiful lyric productions in the -English language, … emulating at once the fame of -Milton and of Gray.”<a name="FNanchor_586_586" id="FNanchor_586_586"></a><a href="#Footnote_586_586" class="fnanchor">[586]</a> But beyond the strain of personal -sympathy, congenial to the occasion, was a passion -for America, and the prophetic spirit which belongs to -the poet. Lamenting that Freedom and Concord are -repudiated by the sons of Albion, all the Virtues disappear,—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“Truth, Justice, Reason, Valor, with them fly</div> -<div class="verse">To seek a purer soil, a more congenial sky.”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>But the soil and sky which they seek are of the -Delaware:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“Beyond the vast Atlantic deep</div> -<div class="verse indent2">A dome by viewless genii shall be raised,</div> -<div class="verse">The walls of adamant, compact and steep,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The portals with sky-tinctured gems emblazed:</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_394" id="Page_394">[Pg 394]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent2">There on a lofty throne shall Virtue stand;</div> -<div class="verse indent4">To her the youth of Delaware shall kneel;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And when her smiles reign plenty o’er the land,</div> -<div class="verse indent4">Bow, tyrants, bow beneath the avenging steel!</div> -<div class="verse indent6"><em>Commerce with fleets shall mock the waves,</em></div> -<div class="verse indent6"><em>And Arts, that flourish not with slaves,</em></div> -<div class="verse indent2"><em>Dancing with every Grace and every Muse,</em></div> -<div class="verse"><em>Shall bid the valleys laugh and heavenly beams diffuse.</em>”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Wraxall remarks, that “here, in a fine frenzy of inspiration,” -the poet “seems to behold, as in a vision, -the modern Washington and the Congress met, after -successfully throwing off all subjection to Great Britain,” -while “George the Third is pretty clearly designated -in the line apostrophizing tyrants.”<a name="FNanchor_587_587" id="FNanchor_587_587"></a><a href="#Footnote_587_587" class="fnanchor">[587]</a> But to an -American the most captivating verses are those which -open the vista of peaceful triumphs, where Commerce -and the Arts unite with every Grace and every Muse.</p> - -<p>Kindred in sentiment were other contemporary verses -by the anonymous author of the “Heroic Epistle to Sir -William Chambers,” now understood to be the poet -Mason,<a name="FNanchor_588_588" id="FNanchor_588_588"></a><a href="#Footnote_588_588" class="fnanchor">[588]</a> which Wraxall praises for their beauty, but -condemns for their politics.<a name="FNanchor_589_589" id="FNanchor_589_589"></a><a href="#Footnote_589_589" class="fnanchor">[589]</a> After describing the corruption -of the House of Commons under Lord North, -the poet declares that it will augment in enormity and -profligacy,—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“Till, mocked and jaded with the puppet play,</div> -<div class="verse">Old England’s genius turns with scorn away,</div> -<div class="verse">Ascends his sacred bark, the sails unfurled,</div> -<div class="verse"><em>And steers his state to the wide Western World</em>.</div> -<div class="verse">High on the helm majestic Freedom stands;</div> -<div class="verse">In act of cold contempt she waves her hands:</div> -<div class="verse">‘Take, slaves,’ she cries, ‘the realms that I disown,</div> -<div class="verse">Renounce your birthright, and destroy my throne!’”<a name="FNanchor_590_590" id="FNanchor_590_590"></a><a href="#Footnote_590_590" class="fnanchor">[590]</a></div> -</div> -</div> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_395" id="Page_395">[Pg 395]</a></span></p> -<p>The two poets united in a common cause. One transported -to the other side of the Atlantic the virtues -which had been the glory of Britain, and the other -carried there nothing less than the sovereign genius -of the great nation itself.</p> - -<h4>COUNT ARANDA, 1783.</h4> - -<p>The Count Aranda was one of the first of Spanish -statesmen and diplomatists, and one of the richest subjects -of Spain in his day; born at Saragossa, 1718, and -died 1799. He, too, is one of our prophets. Originally -a soldier, he became ambassador, governor of a province, -and prime-minister. In this last post he displayed -character as well as ability, and was the benefactor of -his country. He drove the Jesuits from Spain, and -dared to oppose the Inquisition. He was a philosopher, -and, like Pope Benedict the Fourteenth, corresponded -with Voltaire. Such a liberal spirit was out of place -in Spain. Compelled to resign in 1773, he found a retreat -at Paris as ambassador, where he came into communication -with Franklin, Adams, and Jay, and finally -signed the Treaty of 1783, by which Spain recognized -our independence. Shortly afterwards he returned to -Spain, and in 1792 took the place of Florida Blanca as -prime-minister for the second time. He was emphatically -a statesman, and as such did not hesitate to take -responsibility even contrary to express orders. An -instance of this civic courage was when, for the sake -of peace between Spain and England, he accepted the -Floridas instead of Gibraltar, on which the eminent -French publicist, M. Rayneval, remarks that “history<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_396" id="Page_396">[Pg 396]</a></span> -furnishes few examples of such a character and such -self-devotion.”<a name="FNanchor_591_591" id="FNanchor_591_591"></a><a href="#Footnote_591_591" class="fnanchor">[591]</a></p> - -<p>Franklin, on meeting him, records, in his letter to -the Secret Committee of Correspondence, that he seemed -“well disposed towards us.”<a name="FNanchor_592_592" id="FNanchor_592_592"></a><a href="#Footnote_592_592" class="fnanchor">[592]</a> Some years afterwards -he had another interview with him, which he thus -chronicles in his journal:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“<i>Saturday, June 29th</i> [1782].—We went together to the -Spanish Ambassador’s, who received us with great civility -and politeness. He spoke with Mr. Jay on the subject of -the treaty they were to make together.… On our going -out, he took pains himself to open the folding-doors for us, -which is a high compliment here, and told us he would return -our visit (<i>rendre son devoir</i>), and then fix a day with us -for dining with him.”<a name="FNanchor_593_593" id="FNanchor_593_593"></a><a href="#Footnote_593_593" class="fnanchor">[593]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Adams, in his Diary,<a name="FNanchor_594_594" id="FNanchor_594_594"></a><a href="#Footnote_594_594" class="fnanchor">[594]</a> describes a Sunday dinner at -his house, then a new building in “the finest situation -in Paris,” being part of the incomparable palace, with -its columnar front, still admired as it looks on the Place -de la Concorde. Jay also describes a dinner with the -Count, who was living “in great splendor,” with an “assortment -of wines perhaps the finest in Europe,” and -was “the ablest Spaniard he had ever known”; showing -by his conversation “that his court is in earnest,” -and appearing “frank and candid, as well as sagacious.”<a name="FNanchor_595_595" id="FNanchor_595_595"></a><a href="#Footnote_595_595" class="fnanchor">[595]</a> -These hospitalities have a peculiar interest, when it is -known, as it now is, that Count Aranda regarded the -acknowledgment of our independence with “grief and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_397" id="Page_397">[Pg 397]</a></span> -dread.” But these sentiments were disguised from our -ministers.</p> - -<p>After signing the Treaty of Paris, by which Spain recognized -our independence, Aranda addressed a Memoir -secretly to King Charles the Third, in which his opinions -on this event are set forth. This prophetic document -slumbered for a long time in the confidential archives -of the Spanish crown. Coxe, in his “Memoirs -of the Kings of Spain of the House of Bourbon,” which -are founded on a rare collection of original documents, -makes no allusion to it. It was first brought to light -in a French translation of Coxe’s work by Don Andres -Muriel, published at Paris in 1827.<a name="FNanchor_596_596" id="FNanchor_596_596"></a><a href="#Footnote_596_596" class="fnanchor">[596]</a> An abstract of the -Memoir appears in one of the historical dissertations of -the Mexican authority, Alaman, who said of it that it -has “a just celebrity, because results have made it pass -for a prophecy.”<a name="FNanchor_597_597" id="FNanchor_597_597"></a><a href="#Footnote_597_597" class="fnanchor">[597]</a> I give the material portions, translated -from the French of Muriel.</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p class="hanging">“<i>Memoir communicated secretly to the King by his Excellency -the Count Aranda, on the Independence of the English Colonies, -after having signed the Treaty of Paris of 1783.</i></p> - -</div> - -<p>“The independence of the English Colonies has been -acknowledged. This is for me an occasion of grief and -dread. France has few possessions in America; but she -should have considered that Spain, her intimate ally, has<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_398" id="Page_398">[Pg 398]</a></span> -many, and that she is left to-day exposed to terrible shocks. -From the beginning, France has acted contrary to her true -interests in encouraging and seconding this independence: I -have often so declared to the ministers of this nation. What -could happen better for France than to see the English and -the Colonists destroy each other in a party warfare which -could only augment her power and favor her interests? The -antipathy which reigns between France and England blinded -the French Cabinet; it forgot that its interest consisted in -remaining a tranquil spectator of this conflict; and, once -launched in the arena, it dragged us, unhappily, and by virtue -of the Family Compact, into a war entirely contrary to -our proper interest.</p> - -<p>“I will not stop here to examine the opinions of some -statesmen, our own countrymen as well as foreigners, which -I share, on <em>the difficulty of preserving our power in America. -Never have so extensive possessions, placed at a great distance -from the metropolis, been long preserved.</em> To this cause, applicable -to all colonies, must be added others peculiar to the -Spanish possessions: namely, the difficulty of succoring them, -in case of need; the vexations to which the unhappy inhabitants -have been exposed from some of the governors; the -distance of the supreme authority to which they must have -recourse for the redress of grievances, which causes years to -pass before justice is done to their complaints; the vengeance -of the local authorities to which they continue exposed while -waiting; the difficulty of knowing the truth at so great a -distance; finally, the means which the viceroys and governors, -from being Spaniards, cannot fail to have for obtaining -favorable judgments in Spain: all these different circumstances -will render the inhabitants of America discontented, -and make them attempt efforts to obtain independence as -soon as they shall have a propitious occasion.</p> - -<p>“Without entering into any of these considerations, I shall -confine myself now to that which occupies us from the dread<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_399" id="Page_399">[Pg 399]</a></span> -of seeing ourselves exposed to dangers from the new power -which we have just recognized in a country where there is -no other in condition to arrest its progress. <em>This Federal -Republic is born a pygmy</em>, so to speak. It required the -support and the forces of two powers as great as Spain and -France in order to attain independence. <em>A day will come -when it will be a giant, even a colossus, formidable in these -countries.</em> It will then forget the benefits which it has received -from the two powers, and will dream of nothing but to -aggrandize itself. <em>Liberty of conscience, the facility for establishing -a new population on immense lands, as well as the advantages -of the new government, will draw thither agriculturists -and artisans from all the nations: for men always run after -Fortune. And in a few years we shall see with true grief the -tyrannical existence of this same colossus of which I speak.</em></p> - -<p>“The first movement of this power, when it has arrived -at its aggrandizement, will be to obtain possession of the -Floridas, in order to dominate the Gulf of Mexico. After -having rendered commerce with New Spain difficult for us, -it will aspire to the conquest of this vast empire, which it -will not be possible for us to defend against a formidable -power established on the same continent, and in its neighborhood. -These fears are well founded, Sire; they will be -changed into reality in a few years, if, indeed, there are not -other disorders in our Americas still more fatal. This observation -is justified by what has happened in all ages, and -with all nations which have begun to rise. Man is the same -everywhere; the difference of climate does not change the -nature of our sentiments; he who finds the opportunity of -acquiring power and of aggrandizing himself profits by it -always. How, then, can we expect the Americans to respect -the kingdom of New Spain, when they shall have the facility -of possessing themselves of this rich and beautiful country? -A wise policy counsels us to take precautions against evils -which may happen. This thought has occupied my whole<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_400" id="Page_400">[Pg 400]</a></span> -mind, since, as Minister Plenipotentiary of your Majesty, and -conformably to your royal will and instructions, I signed the -Peace of Paris. I have considered this important affair with -all the attention of which I am capable, and, after much reflection, -drawn from the knowledge, military as well as political, -which I have been able to acquire in my long career, I -think, that, in order to escape the great losses with which we -are threatened, there remains nothing but the means which I -am about to have the honor of exhibiting to your Majesty.</p> - -<p>“Your Majesty must relieve yourself of all your possessions -on the continent of the two Americas, <em>preserving only -the islands of Cuba and Porto Rico</em> in the northern part, and -some other convenient one in the southern part, to serve as -a seaport or trading-place for Spanish commerce.</p> - -<p>“In order to accomplish this great thought in a manner -becoming to Spain, three Infantes must be placed in America,—one -as king of Mexico, another as king of Peru, and -the third as king of the Terra Firma. Your Majesty will -take the title of Emperor.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>I have sometimes heard this remarkable Memoir -called apocryphal, but without reason, except because -its foresight is so remarkable. The Mexican historian -Alaman treats it as genuine, and, after praising it, informs -us that the project of Count Aranda was not taken -into consideration, but that “the results have shown -how advantageous it would have been to all, and especially -to the people of America, who in this way would -have obtained independence without revolution and enjoyed -it without anarchy.”<a name="FNanchor_598_598" id="FNanchor_598_598"></a><a href="#Footnote_598_598" class="fnanchor">[598]</a> Meanwhile all the American -possessions of the Spanish crown, except Cuba and -Porto Rico, have become independent, as predicted, and -the new power, known as the United States, which at -that time was a “pygmy,” is a “colossus.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_401" id="Page_401">[Pg 401]</a></span></p> - -<p>In proposing a throne for Spanish America, Aranda -was preceded by no less a person than the great French -engineer and fort-builder, Marshal Vauban, who, during -the reverses of the War of the Spanish Succession, submitted -to the court of France that Philip the Fifth -should be sent to reign in America; and that prince -is said to have consented.<a name="FNanchor_599_599" id="FNanchor_599_599"></a><a href="#Footnote_599_599" class="fnanchor">[599]</a></p> - -<p>Aranda was not alone in surprise at the course of -Spain. The English traveller Burnaby, in his edition -of 1798, mentions this as one of the reasons for the -success of the Colonists, and declares that he had not -supposed, originally, “that Spain would join in a plan -inevitably leading, though by slow and imperceptible -steps, to the final loss of all her rich possessions in -South America.”<a name="FNanchor_600_600" id="FNanchor_600_600"></a><a href="#Footnote_600_600" class="fnanchor">[600]</a> This was not an uncommon idea. -The same anxieties appeared in one of Mr. Adams’s -Dutch correspondents, whose report of fearful prophecies -has been already mentioned.<a name="FNanchor_601_601" id="FNanchor_601_601"></a><a href="#Footnote_601_601" class="fnanchor">[601]</a> John Adams also -records in his Diary, under date of 14th December, -1779, on landing at Ferrol in Spain, that, according to -the report of various persons, “the Spanish nation in -general have been of opinion that the Revolution in -America was of bad example to the Spanish colonies, -and dangerous to the interests of Spain, as the United -States, if they should become ambitious, and be seized -with the spirit of conquest, might aim at Mexico and -Peru.”<a name="FNanchor_602_602" id="FNanchor_602_602"></a><a href="#Footnote_602_602" class="fnanchor">[602]</a> All this is entirely in harmony with the -Memoir of the Spanish statesman.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_402" id="Page_402">[Pg 402]</a></span></p> - -<h4>WILLIAM PALEY, 1785.</h4> - -<p>With the success of the American Revolution prophecy -entered other spheres, and here we welcome a remarkable -writer, the Rev. William Paley, an English -divine, who was born July, 1743, and died 25th May, -1805. He is known for various works of great contemporary -repute, all commended by a style of singular -transparency, and admirably adapted to the level -of opinion at the time. If they are gradually vanishing -from sight, it is because other works, especially -in philosophy, are more satisfactory and touch higher -chords.</p> - -<p>His earliest considerable work, and for a long period -a popular text-book of education, was the well-known -“Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy,” which -first appeared in 1785. Here, with grave errors and a -reprehensible laxity on certain topics, he did much for -truth. The clear vision with which he saw the enormity -of Slavery was not disturbed by any prevailing -interest at home, and he constantly testified against -it. American Independence furnished occasion for a -prophetic aspiration of more than common value, because -embodied in a work of morals especially for the -young:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“The great revolution which seems preparing in the Western -World may probably conduce (and who knows but that -it is designed?) <em>to accelerate the fall of this abominable tyranny</em>: -and when this contest, and the passions that attend -it, are no more, there will succeed a season for reflecting -whether a legislature which had so long lent its assistance -to the support of an institution replete with human misery<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_403" id="Page_403">[Pg 403]</a></span> -was fit to be trusted with an empire the most extensive that -ever obtained in any age or quarter of the world.”<a name="FNanchor_603_603" id="FNanchor_603_603"></a><a href="#Footnote_603_603" class="fnanchor">[603]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>In thus associating Emancipation with American -Independence, the philosopher became an unconscious -associate of Lafayette, who, on the consummation of -peace, invited Washington to this beneficent enterprise,<a name="FNanchor_604_604" id="FNanchor_604_604"></a><a href="#Footnote_604_604" class="fnanchor">[604]</a>—alas! -in vain.</p> - -<p>Paley did not confine his testimony to the pages of -philosophy, but openly united with the Abolitionists -of the day. To help the movement against the slave-trade, -he encountered the <em>claim of pecuniary compensation</em> -for the partakers in the traffic, by a brief essay, -in 1789, entitled “Arguments against the Unjust Pretensions -of Slave Dealers and Holders to be indemnified -by Pecuniary Allowances at the Public Expense, -in Case the Slave Trade should be abolished.”<a name="FNanchor_605_605" id="FNanchor_605_605"></a><a href="#Footnote_605_605" class="fnanchor">[605]</a> This -was sent to the Abolition Committee, by whom the -substance was presented to the public; but unhappily -the essay was lost or mislaid.</p> - -<p>His honorable interest in the cause was attested by -a speech at a public meeting of the inhabitants of -Carlisle, over which he presided, 9th February, 1792. -Here he denounced the slave-trade as “this diabolical -traffic,” and by a plain similitude, as applicable to slavery -as to the trade in slaves, held it up to judgment:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“None will surely plead in favor of scalping. But suppose -scalps should become of request in Europe, and a trade -in them be carried on with the American Indians; might<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_404" id="Page_404">[Pg 404]</a></span> -it not be justly said, that the Europeans, by their trade in -scalps, did all they could to perpetuate amongst the natives -of America the inhuman practice of scalping?”<a name="FNanchor_606_606" id="FNanchor_606_606"></a><a href="#Footnote_606_606" class="fnanchor">[606]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Strange that the philosopher who extenuated Duelling -should have been so true and lofty against Slavery! -For this, at least, he deserves our grateful praise.</p> - -<h4>ROBERT BURNS, 1788.</h4> - -<p>From Count Aranda to Robert Burns,—from the -rich and titled minister, faring sumptuously in the best -house of Paris, to the poor ploughboy poet, struggling -in a cottage,—what a contrast! And there is contrast -also between him and the philosopher nestling in the -English Church. Of the poet I say nothing, except that -he was born 25th January, 1759, and died 21st July, -1796, in the thirty-eighth year of his age.</p> - -<p>There is only a slender thread of Burns to be woven -into this web, and yet, coming from him, it must not be -neglected. In a letter dated 8th November, 1788, after -a friendly word for the unfortunate House of Stuart, he -prophetically alludes to American Independence:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“I will not, I cannot, enter into the merits of the case, but -I dare say the American Congress in 1776 will be allowed to -be as able and as enlightened as the English Convention was -in 1688, <em>and that their posterity will celebrate the centenary -of their deliverance from us as duly and sincerely as we do -ours from the oppressive measures of the wrong-headed House -of Stuart</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_607_607" id="FNanchor_607_607"></a><a href="#Footnote_607_607" class="fnanchor">[607]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_405" id="Page_405">[Pg 405]</a></span></p> - -<p>The year 1788, when these words were written, was a -year of commemoration, being the hundredth from the -famous Revolution by which the Stuarts were excluded -from the throne of England. The “centenary” of our -Independence is not yet completed; but long ago the -commemoration began. On the coming of that hundredth -anniversary, the prophecy of Burns will be more -than fulfilled.</p> - -<p>This aspiration is in harmony with the address to -George the Third in the “Dream,” after the loss of the -Colonies:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“Your royal nest, beneath your wing,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Is e’en right reft and clouted,”<a name="FNanchor_608_608" id="FNanchor_608_608"></a><a href="#Footnote_608_608" class="fnanchor">[608]</a>—</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">meaning broken and patched; also with the obnoxious -toast he gave at a supper, “May our success in the -present war be equal to the justice of our cause”;<a name="FNanchor_609_609" id="FNanchor_609_609"></a><a href="#Footnote_609_609" class="fnanchor">[609]</a> -and also with an “Ode on the American War,” beginning,—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“No Spartan tube, no Attic shell,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">No lyre Eolian I awake;</div> -<div class="verse">’Tis Liberty’s bold note I swell;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Thy harp, Columbia, let me take.”<a name="FNanchor_610_610" id="FNanchor_610_610"></a><a href="#Footnote_610_610" class="fnanchor">[610]</a></div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">How natural for the great poet who had pictured the -sublime brotherhood of man!—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“Then let us pray that come it may,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">As come it will for a’ that,</div> -<div class="verse center">…</div> -<div class="verse">That man to man, the warld o’er,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Shall brothers be for a’ that.”<a name="FNanchor_611_611" id="FNanchor_611_611"></a><a href="#Footnote_611_611" class="fnanchor">[611]</a></div> -</div> -</div> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_406" id="Page_406">[Pg 406]</a></span></p> - -<h4>RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN, 1794.</h4> - -<p>Sheridan was a genius who united the palm of eloquence -in Parliament with that other palm won at the -Theatre. His speeches and his plays excited equal applause. -The House of Commons and Drury Lane were -the scenes of his famous labors, while society enjoyed -his graceful wit. He was born in Dublin, September, -1751, and died in London, July 7th, 1816.</p> - -<p>I quote now from a speech in the House of Commons, -21st January, 1794.</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“America remains neutral, prosperous, and at peace. -America, with a wisdom, prudence, and magnanimity which -we have disdained, thrives at this moment in a state of -envied tranquillity, and <em>is hourly clearing the paths to unbounded -opulence</em>. America has monopolized the commerce -and the advantages which we have abandoned. Oh! turn -your eyes to her; view her situation, her happiness, her -content; observe her trade and her manufactures, adding -daily to her general credit, to her private enjoyments, and -to her public resources,—<em>her name and government rising -above the nations of Europe with a simple, but commanding -dignity, that wins at once the respect, the confidence, and the -affection of the world</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_612_612" id="FNanchor_612_612"></a><a href="#Footnote_612_612" class="fnanchor">[612]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Here are true respect and sympathy for our country, -with a forecast of increasing prosperity, and an image -of her attitude among the nations. It is pleasant to -enroll the admired author of “The Rivals” and “The -School for Scandal” in this catalogue.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_407" id="Page_407">[Pg 407]</a></span></p> - -<h4>CHARLES JAMES FOX, 1794.</h4> - -<p>In quoting from Charles James Fox, the statesman, -minister, and orator, I need add nothing, except that -he was born 24th January, 1749, and died 13th September, -1806, and that he was an early friend of our -country.</p> - -<p>Many words of his, especially during our Revolution, -might be introduced here; but I content myself with -a single passage, of later date, which, besides its expression -of good-will, is a prophecy of our power. It -is found in a speech in the House of Commons, on -his motion for putting an end to war with France, -30th May, 1794.</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“It was impossible to dissemble that we had a serious -dispute with America, and although we might be confident -that the wisest and best man of his age, who presided in -the government of that country, would do everything that -became him to avert a war, it was impossible to foresee -the issue. America had no fleet, no army; but in case of -war she would find various means to harass and annoy us. -Against her we could not strike a blow that would not be -as severely felt in London as in America, so identified were -the two countries by commercial intercourse. <em>To a contest -with such an adversary he looked as the greatest possible misfortune.</em> -If we commenced another crusade against her, we -might destroy her trade, and check the progress of her agriculture, -but we must also equally injure ourselves. Desperate, -therefore, indeed, must be that war in which each -wound inflicted on our enemy would at the same time inflict -one upon ourselves. He hoped to God that such an -event as a war with America would not happen.”<a name="FNanchor_613_613" id="FNanchor_613_613"></a><a href="#Footnote_613_613" class="fnanchor">[613]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_408" id="Page_408">[Pg 408]</a></span></p> - -<p>All good men on both sides of the ocean must join -with Fox, who thus early deprecated war between the -United States and England, and portrayed the fearful -consequences. Time, which has enlarged and multiplied -the relations between the two countries, makes his -words more applicable now than when first uttered.</p> - -<h4>ABBÉ GRÉGOIRE, 1808.</h4> - -<p>Henri Grégoire, of France, Curate, Deputy to the -States General, Constitutional Bishop, Member of the -Convention, also of the Council of Five Hundred, -and Senator, sometimes called Bishop, more frequently -Abbé, was born 4th December, 1750, and died 28th -April, 1831. To these titles add Abolitionist and Republican.</p> - -<p>His character and career were unique, being in -France what Clarkson and Wilberforce were in England, -and much more, for he was not only an Abolitionist. -In all history no hero of humanity stands -forth more conspicuous for instinctive sympathy with -the Rights of Man and constancy in their support. -As early as 1788 he signalized himself by an essay, -crowned by the Academy of Metz, upholding tolerance -for the Jews.<a name="FNanchor_614_614" id="FNanchor_614_614"></a><a href="#Footnote_614_614" class="fnanchor">[614]</a> His public life began, while yet -a curate, as a representative of the clergy of Lorraine -in the States General, but his sympathies with the -people were at once manifest. In the engraving by -which the oath in the Tennis Court is commemorated -he appears in the foreground. His votes were always -for the enfranchisement of the people and the improvement -of their condition, his hope being “to Christianize<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_409" id="Page_409">[Pg 409]</a></span> -the Revolution.”<a name="FNanchor_615_615" id="FNanchor_615_615"></a><a href="#Footnote_615_615" class="fnanchor">[615]</a> In the night session of 4th -August, 1789, he declared for the abolition of privileges. -He was the first to give adhesion to the civil -constitution of the clergy, and himself became a constitutional -bishop. The decree abolishing royalty was -drawn by him, and he avows that for many days thereafter -the excess of joy took from him appetite and -sleep. In the discussion on the execution of the King -he called for the suppression of the punishment of -death. At his instance the Convention abolished African -slavery. With similar energy he sustained public -libraries, botanical gardens, and experimental farms. -He was a founder of the Bureau of Longitudes, the -<em>Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers</em>, and of the National -Institute. More than any other person he contributed -to prevent the destruction of public monuments, and -was the first to call this crime “Vandalism,”—an excellent -term, since adopted in all European languages. -With similar vigor he said, in words often quoted, -“Kings are in the moral order what monsters are in -the physical order”; and, “The history of kings is the -martyrology of nations.” He denounced “the oligarchs -of all countries and all the crowned brigands who -pressed down the people,” and, according to his own -boast, “spat upon” duellists. “Better a loss to deplore -than an injustice to reproach ourselves with,” was his -lofty solace as he turned from the warning that the -Colonies might be endangered by the rights he demanded.</p> - -<p>Such a man could not reconcile himself to the Empire<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_410" id="Page_410">[Pg 410]</a></span> -or to Napoleon; nor could he expect consideration -under the Restoration. But he was constant always -to his original sentiments. In 1826 he wrote a work -with the expressive title, “The Nobility of the Skin, or -the Prejudice of Whites against the Color of Africans -and that of their Black and Mixed Descendants.”<a name="FNanchor_616_616" id="FNanchor_616_616"></a><a href="#Footnote_616_616" class="fnanchor">[616]</a> His -life was prolonged to witness the Revolution of 1830, -and shortly after his remains were borne to the cemetery -of Mont Parnasse by young men, who took the -horses from the hearse.<a name="FNanchor_617_617" id="FNanchor_617_617"></a><a href="#Footnote_617_617" class="fnanchor">[617]</a></p> - -<p>This brief account of one little known is an introduction -to signal prophecies concerning America.</p> - -<p>As early as 8th January, 1791, in a document addressed -to citizens of color and free negroes of the -French islands, he boldly said:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“A day will come when deputies of color will traverse -the ocean to come and sit in the national diet, and to swear -with us to live and die under our laws. A day will come -when the sun will not shine among you except upon freemen,—when -the rays of the light-spreading orb will no -longer fall upon irons and slaves.… It is according to -the irresistible march of events and the progress of intelligence, -that all people dispossessed of the domain of Liberty -will at last recover this indefeasible property.”<a name="FNanchor_618_618" id="FNanchor_618_618"></a><a href="#Footnote_618_618" class="fnanchor">[618]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>These strong and confident words, so early in date, -were followed by others more remarkable. At the -conclusion of his admirable work “De la Littérature<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_411" id="Page_411">[Pg 411]</a></span> -des Nègres,” first published in 1808, where, with equal -knowledge and feeling, homage is done to a people -wronged and degraded by man, he cites his prediction -with regard to the sun shining only upon freemen, -and then, elevated by the vision, declares that “this -American Continent, asylum of Liberty, is on its way -towards an order of things which will be common to -the Antilles, and <em>the course of which all the powers -combined will not be able to arrest</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_619_619" id="FNanchor_619_619"></a><a href="#Footnote_619_619" class="fnanchor">[619]</a> This vigorous -language is crowned by a prophecy of singular extent -and precision, where, after dwelling on the influences -at work to accelerate progress, he foretells the eminence -of our country:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“When an energetic and powerful nation, to which everything -presages high destinies, stretching its arms over -the two oceans, the Atlantic and Pacific, shall dispatch -its vessels from one to the other <em>by a shortened route,—whether -by cutting the Isthmus of Panama, or by forming a -canal of communication, as has been proposed, by the River -St. John and the Lake of Nicaragua,—it will change the -face of the commercial world and the face of empires</em>. Who -knows if America will not then avenge the outrages she -has received, and if our old Europe, placed in the rank of -a subaltern power, will not become a colony of the New -World?”<a name="FNanchor_620_620" id="FNanchor_620_620"></a><a href="#Footnote_620_620" class="fnanchor">[620]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Thus resting on the two oceans with a canal between, -so that the early “secret of the strait” shall -no longer exist, the American Republic will change -the face of the world, and perhaps make Europe subaltern. -Such was the vision of the French Abolitionist, -lifted by devotion to Humanity.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_412" id="Page_412">[Pg 412]</a></span></p> - -<h4>THOMAS JEFFERSON, 1824.</h4> - -<p>Small preface is needed for the testimony of Jefferson, -whose life belongs to the history of his country. -He was born 2d April, 1743, and died 4th July, 1826.</p> - -<p>Contemporary and rival of Adams, the author of -the Declaration of Independence surpassed the other -in sympathetic comprehension of the Rights of Man, -as the other surpassed him in the prophetic spirit. -Jefferson’s words picturing Slavery were unequalled in -the prolonged discussion of that terrible subject, and -his two Inaugural Addresses are masterpieces of political -truth. But with clearer eye Adams foresaw the -future grandeur of the Republic, and dwelt on its ravishing -light and glory. The vision of our country coextensive -and coincident with the North American -Continent was never beheld by Jefferson. While recognizing -that our principles of government, traversing -the Rocky Mountains, would smile upon the Pacific -coast, his sight did not embrace the distant communities -there as parts of a common country. This is -apparent in a letter to John Jacob Astor, 24th May, -1812, where, referring to the commencement of a settlement -by the latter on Columbia River, and declaring -the gratification with which he looked forward to the -time when its descendants should have spread through -the whole length of that coast, he adds, “covering it -with free and independent Americans, <em>unconnected with -us but by the ties of blood and interest</em>, and employing, -like us, the rights of self-government.”<a name="FNanchor_621_621" id="FNanchor_621_621"></a><a href="#Footnote_621_621" class="fnanchor">[621]</a> In another -letter to Mr. Astor, 9th November, 1813, he characterizes -the settlement as “the germ of a great, free, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_413" id="Page_413">[Pg 413]</a></span> -<em>independent empire on that side of our continent</em>,”<a name="FNanchor_622_622" id="FNanchor_622_622"></a><a href="#Footnote_622_622" class="fnanchor">[622]</a> thus -carefully announcing political dissociation.</p> - -<p>But Jefferson has not been alone in blindness to the -mighty capabilities of the Republic, inspired by his -own Declaration of Independence. Daniel Webster, in -a speech at Faneuil Hall, as late as 7th November, -1845, pronounced that the Pacific coast could not be -governed from Europe, or from the Atlantic side of -the Continent; and he pressed the absurdity of anything -different:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Where is Oregon? On the shores of the Pacific, three -thousand miles from us, and twice as far from England. -Who is to settle it? Americans mainly; some settlers undoubtedly -from England; but all Anglo-Saxons; all, men -educated in notions of independent government, and all -self-dependent. And now let me ask if there be any sensible -man in the whole United States who will say for a -moment, that, when fifty or a hundred thousand persons -of this description shall find themselves on the shores of -the Pacific Ocean, they will long consent to be under the -rule either of the American Congress or the British Parliament. -They will raise a standard for themselves, and they -ought to do it.”<a name="FNanchor_623_623" id="FNanchor_623_623"></a><a href="#Footnote_623_623" class="fnanchor">[623]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Such a precise and strenuous protest from such a -quarter mitigates the distrust of Jefferson. But after -the acquisition of California the orator said, “I willingly -admit, my apprehensions have not been realized.”<a name="FNanchor_624_624" id="FNanchor_624_624"></a><a href="#Footnote_624_624" class="fnanchor">[624]</a></p> - -<p>On the permanence of the National Union, and its -influence throughout the world, Jefferson prophesied -thus, in a letter to Lafayette, 14th February, 1815:—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_414" id="Page_414">[Pg 414]</a></span></p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“The cement of this Union is in the heart-blood of every -American. I do not believe there is on earth a government -established on so immovable a basis. Let them in any State, -even in Massachusetts itself, raise the standard of separation, -and its citizens will rise in mass and do justice themselves -on their own incendiaries.”<a name="FNanchor_625_625" id="FNanchor_625_625"></a><a href="#Footnote_625_625" class="fnanchor">[625]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Unhappily the Rebellion shows that he counted too -much on the patriotism of the States against “their -own incendiaries.” In the same hopeful spirit he wrote -to Edward Livingston, the eminent jurist, 4th April, -1824:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“You have many years yet to come of vigorous activity, -and I confidently trust they will be employed in cherishing -every measure which may foster our brotherly union and -perpetuate a constitution of government <em>destined to be the -primitive and precious model of what is to change the condition -of man over the globe</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_626_626" id="FNanchor_626_626"></a><a href="#Footnote_626_626" class="fnanchor">[626]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>In these latter words he takes his place on the platform -of John Adams, and sees the world changed by -our example. But again he is anxious about the Union. -In another letter to Livingston, 25th March, 1825, after -saying of the National Constitution, that “it is a compact -of many independent powers, every single one of -which claims an equal right to understand it and to -require its observance,” he prophesies:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“However strong the cord of compact may be, there is -a point of tension at which it will break.”<a name="FNanchor_627_627" id="FNanchor_627_627"></a><a href="#Footnote_627_627" class="fnanchor">[627]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Thus, in venerable years, while watching with anxiety -the fortunes of the Union, the patriarch did not -fail to see the new order of ages instituted by the -American Government.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_415" id="Page_415">[Pg 415]</a></span></p> - -<h4>GEORGE CANNING, 1826.</h4> - -<p>George Canning was a successor of Fox, in the -House of Commons, as statesman, minister, and orator. -He was born 11th April, 1770, and died 8th August, -1827, in the beautiful villa of the Duke of Devonshire, -at Chiswick, where Fox had died before. Unlike -Fox in sentiment for our country, he is nevertheless -associated with a leading event of our history, and is -the author of prophetic words.</p> - -<p>The Monroe Doctrine, as now familiarly called, proceeded -from Canning. He was its inventor, promoter, -and champion, at least so far as it bears against European -intervention in American affairs. Earnestly engaged -in counteracting the designs of the Holy Alliance -for the restoration of the Spanish colonies to Spain, he -sought to enlist the United States in the same policy; -and when Mr. Rush, our minister at London, replied, -that any interference with European politics was contrary -to the traditions of the American Government, -he argued, that, however just such a policy might have -been formerly, it was no longer applicable,—that the -question was new and complicated,—that it was “full -as much American as European, to say no more,”—that -“it concerned the United States under aspects and -interests as immediate and commanding as it did or -could any of the States of Europe,”—that “they were -the first power established on that continent, and now -confessedly the leading power”; and he then asked: -“Was it possible that they could see with indifference -their fate decided upon by Europe?… Had not a -new epoch arrived in the relative position of the United -States towards Europe, which Europe must acknowledge?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_416" id="Page_416">[Pg 416]</a></span> -<em>Were the great political and commercial interests</em> -which hung upon the destinies of the new continent -to be canvassed and adjusted in this hemisphere, without -the coöperation, or even knowledge, of the United -States?”<a name="FNanchor_628_628" id="FNanchor_628_628"></a><a href="#Footnote_628_628" class="fnanchor">[628]</a> With mingled ardor and importunity the -British Minister pressed his case. At last, after much -discussion in the Cabinet at Washington, President -Monroe, accepting the lead of Mr. Canning, and with -the counsel of John Quincy Adams, put forth his -famous declaration, where, after referring to the radical -difference between the political systems of Europe -and America, he says, that “we should consider any -attempt on their part to extend their system to any -portion of this hemisphere as <em>dangerous to our peace -and safety</em>,” and that, where governments have been -recognized by us as independent, “we could not view -any interposition for the purpose of oppressing them, -or controlling in any other manner their destiny, by -any European power, in any other light than as <em>the -manifestation of an unfriendly disposition towards the -United States</em>.”<a name="FNanchor_629_629" id="FNanchor_629_629"></a><a href="#Footnote_629_629" class="fnanchor">[629]</a></p> - -<p>The message of President Monroe was received in -England with enthusiastic congratulations. It was upon -all tongues; the press was full of it; the securities -of Spanish America rose in the market; the agents of -Spanish America were happy.<a name="FNanchor_630_630" id="FNanchor_630_630"></a><a href="#Footnote_630_630" class="fnanchor">[630]</a> Brougham exclaimed in -Parliament, that “no event had ever dispersed greater -joy, exultation, and gratitude over all the freemen in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_417" id="Page_417">[Pg 417]</a></span> -Europe.”<a name="FNanchor_631_631" id="FNanchor_631_631"></a><a href="#Footnote_631_631" class="fnanchor">[631]</a> Mackintosh rejoiced in the coincidence of -England and the United States, “the two great English -commonwealths,—for so he delighted to call them; and -he heartily prayed that they might be forever united -in the cause of justice and liberty.”<a name="FNanchor_632_632" id="FNanchor_632_632"></a><a href="#Footnote_632_632" class="fnanchor">[632]</a> The Holy Alliance -abandoned their purposes on this continent, and -the independence of Spanish America was established. -Some time afterwards, on the occasion of assistance to -Portugal, when Mr. Canning felt called to review and -vindicate his foreign policy, he assumed the following -lofty strain: this was in the House of Commons, 12th -December, 1826:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“It would be disingenuous not to admit that the entry -of the French army into Spain was, in a certain sense, a -disparagement, an affront to the pride, a blow to the feelings -of England.… But I deny, that, questionable or censurable -as the act might be, it was one which necessarily -called for our direct and hostile opposition. Was nothing, -then, to be done?… If France occupied Spain, was it -necessary, in order to avoid the consequences of that occupation, -that we should blockade Cadiz? No. I looked another -way. I sought materials of compensation in another hemisphere. -Contemplating Spain, such as our ancestors had -known her, I resolved, that, if France had Spain, it should -not be Spain ‘with the Indies.’ <em>I called the New World into -existence, to redress the balance of the Old.</em>”<a name="FNanchor_633_633" id="FNanchor_633_633"></a><a href="#Footnote_633_633" class="fnanchor">[633]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>If the republics of Spanish America, thus summoned -into independent existence, have not contributed the -weight thus vaunted, the growing power of the United<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_418" id="Page_418">[Pg 418]</a></span> -States is ample to compensate deficiencies on this continent. -There is no balance of power it cannot redress.</p> - -<h4>ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE, 1835.</h4> - -<p>With De Tocqueville we come among contemporaries -removed by death. He was born at Paris, 29th July, -1805, and died at Cannes, 16th April, 1859. Having -known him personally, and seen him at his castle-home -in Normandy, I cannot fail to recognize the man -in his writings, which on this account have a double -charm.</p> - -<p>He was the younger son of noble parents, his father -being of ancient Norman descent, and his mother granddaughter -of Malesherbes, the venerated defender of Louis -the Sixteenth; but his aristocratic birth had no influence -to check the generous sympathies with which his -heart always palpitated. In 1831 he came to America -as a commissioner from the French Government to examine -our prisons, but with a larger commission from -his own soul to study republican institutions. His conscientious -application, rare probity, penetrating thought, -and refinement of style all appeared in his work, “De -la Démocratie en Amérique,” first published in 1835, -whose peculiar success is marked by the fourteenth -French edition now before me, and the translations into -other languages. At once he was famous, and his work -classical. The Academy opened its gates. Since Montesquieu -there had been no equal success in the same -department, and he was constantly likened to the illustrious -author of “The Spirit of Laws.” Less epigrammatic, -less artful, and less French than his prototype, -he was more simple, truthful, and prophetic. A second<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_419" id="Page_419">[Pg 419]</a></span> -publication in 1840, with the same title, the fruit of -mature studies, presented American institutions in another -aspect, exhibiting his unimpaired faith in Democracy, -which with him was Equality as “first principle -and symbol.”<a name="FNanchor_634_634" id="FNanchor_634_634"></a><a href="#Footnote_634_634" class="fnanchor">[634]</a></p> - -<p>Entering the French Chambers, he became eminent -for character, discussing chiefly those measures in which -civilization is most concerned,—the reform of prisons, -the abolition of slavery, penal colonies, and the pretensions -of socialism. His work, “L’Ancien Régime et la -Révolution,” awakens admiration, while his correspondence -is among the most charming in literature, exciting -love as well as delight.</p> - -<p>His honest and practical insight made him philosopher -and prophet, which he was always. A speech -in the Chambers, 27th January, 1848, was memorable -as predicting the Revolution which occurred one month -later. But his foresight with regard to America brings -him into our procession.</p> - -<p>His clearness of vision appears in the distinctness -with which he recognized the peril from Slavery and -from the pretensions of the States. And in Slavery -he saw also the prolonged and diversified indignity to -the African race. This was his statement:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“The most formidable of all the evils which menace the -future of the United States springs from <em>the presence of the -blacks on their soil</em>. When we seek the cause of the present -embarrassments and of the future dangers of the Union, -from whatever point we set out, we almost always come -upon this primary fact.”<a name="FNanchor_635_635" id="FNanchor_635_635"></a><a href="#Footnote_635_635" class="fnanchor">[635]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_420" id="Page_420">[Pg 420]</a></span></p> - -<p>Then with consummate power he depicts the lot -of the unhappy African, even when free: oppressed, -but with whites for judges; shut out from the jury; -his son excluded from the school which receives the -descendant of the European; unable with gold to buy -a place at the theatre “by the side of him who was -his master”; in hospitals separated from the rest; permitted -to worship the same God as the whites, but -not to pray at the same altar; and when life is passed, -the difference of condition prevailing still even over -the equality of the grave.<a name="FNanchor_636_636" id="FNanchor_636_636"></a><a href="#Footnote_636_636" class="fnanchor">[636]</a></p> - -<p>Impressed by the menace from Slavery, he further -pictures the Union succumbing to the States:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Either I strangely deceive myself, or the Federal Government -of the United States is tending every day to grow -weaker. It is withdrawing gradually from affairs; it is contracting -more and more the circle of its action. Naturally -feeble, it is abandoning even the appearance of force.”<a name="FNanchor_637_637" id="FNanchor_637_637"></a><a href="#Footnote_637_637" class="fnanchor">[637]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Such was the condition when De Tocqueville wrote; -and so it continued until the Rebellion broke forth, and -the country rose to save the Union. Foreseeing this -peril, he did not despair of the Republic, which, in his -judgment, was “the natural state of the Americans,”<a name="FNanchor_638_638" id="FNanchor_638_638"></a><a href="#Footnote_638_638" class="fnanchor">[638]</a> -with roots more profound than the Union.</p> - -<p>In describing the future he becomes a prophet. Accepting -the conclusion that the number of inhabitants -doubles in twenty-two years, and not recognizing any -causes to arrest this progressive movement, he foresees -the colossal empire:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“The Americans of the United States, whatever they do, -will become one of the greatest people of the world; they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_421" id="Page_421">[Pg 421]</a></span> -will cover with their offshoots almost all North America. -The continent which they inhabit is their domain; it cannot -escape them.”<a name="FNanchor_639_639" id="FNanchor_639_639"></a><a href="#Footnote_639_639" class="fnanchor">[639]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Then, declaring that the “English race,” not stopping -within the limits of the Union, will advance much beyond -towards the Northeast,—that at the Northwest -they will encounter only Russian settlements without -importance,—that at the Southwest the vast solitudes -of Mexican territory will be appropriated,—and dwelling -on the fortunate geographical position of “the English -of America,” with their climate, their interior seas, -their great rivers, and the fertility of their soil, he is -ready to say:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“So, in the midst of the uncertainty of the future, there -is at least one event which is certain. At an epoch which -we can call near, since the question here is of the life of -a people, the Anglo-Americans alone will cover all the immense -space comprised between the polar ice and the tropics; -they will spread from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean even -to the coasts of the South Sea.”<a name="FNanchor_640_640" id="FNanchor_640_640"></a><a href="#Footnote_640_640" class="fnanchor">[640]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Then, declaring that the territory destined to the -Anglo-American race equals three fourths of Europe, -that many centuries will pass before the different offshoots -of this race will cease to present a common -physiognomy, that no epoch can be foreseen when in -the New World there will be any permanent inequality -of conditions, and that there are processes of association -and of knowledge by which the people are -assimilated with each other and with the rest of the -world, the prophet speaks:—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_422" id="Page_422">[Pg 422]</a></span></p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“There will then come a time when there will be seen -in North America one hundred and fifty millions of men, -equal among themselves, who will all belong to the same -family, who will have the same point of departure, the same -civilization, the same language, the same religion, the same -habits, the same manners, and among whom thought will circulate -in the same form and paint itself in the same colors. -All else is doubtful, but this is certain. Now here is a -fact entirely new in the world, of which imagination itself -cannot grasp the import.”<a name="FNanchor_641_641" id="FNanchor_641_641"></a><a href="#Footnote_641_641" class="fnanchor">[641]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>No American can fail to be strengthened in the future -of the Republic by the testimony of De Tocqueville. -Honor and gratitude to his memory!</p> - -<h4>RICHARD COBDEN, 1849.</h4> - -<p>Coming yet nearer to our own day, we meet a -familiar name, now consecrated by death,—Richard -Cobden, born 3d June, 1804, and died 2d April, 1865. -In proportion as truth prevails among men, his character -will shine with increasing glory until he is recognized -as the first Englishman of his time. Though -thoroughly English, he was not insular. He served -mankind as well as England.</p> - -<p>His masterly faculties and his real goodness made -him a prophet always. He saw the future, and strove -to hasten its promises. The elevation and happiness of -the human family were his daily thought. He knew -how to build as well as to destroy. Through him disabilities -upon trade and oppressive taxes were overturned; -also a new treaty was negotiated with France, -quickening commerce and intercourse. He was never -so truly eminent as when bringing his practical sense<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_423" id="Page_423">[Pg 423]</a></span> -and enlarged experience to commend the cause of Permanent -Peace in the world by the establishment of a -refined system of International Justice, and the disarming -of the nations. To this great consummation -all his later labors tended. I have before me a long -letter, dated at London, 7th November, 1849, where he -says much on this absorbing question, from which, by -an easy transition, he passes to speak of the proposed -annexation of Canada to the United States. As what -he says on the latter topic concerns America, and is a -prophetic voice, I have obtained permission to copy it -for this collection.</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Race, religion, language, traditions, are becoming bonds -of union, and not the parchment title-deeds of sovereigns. -These instincts may be thwarted for the day, but they are -too deeply rooted in Nature and in usefulness not to prevail -in the end. I look with less interest to these struggles of -races to live apart for what they want to undo than for -what they will prevent being done in future. <em>They will -warn rulers that henceforth the acquisition of fresh territory -by force of arms will only bring embarrassments and civil war</em>, -instead of that increased strength which in ancient times, -when people were passed, like flocks of sheep, from one king -to another, always accompanied the incorporation of new territorial -conquests.</p> - -<p>“This is the secret of the admitted doctrine, that we shall -have no more wars of conquest or ambition. In this respect -<em>you</em> are differently situated, having vast tracts of unpeopled -territory to tempt that cupidity which, in respect of landed -property, always disposes individuals and nations, however -rich in acres, to desire more. This brings me to the subject -of Canada, to which you refer in your letters.</p> - -<p>“I agree with you, that <i>Nature has decided that Canada -and the United States must become one, for all purposes of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_424" id="Page_424">[Pg 424]</a></span> -free intercommunication</i>. Whether they also shall be united -in the same federal government must depend upon the two -parties to the union. I can assure you that there will be -no repetition of the policy of 1776, on our part, to prevent -our North American colonies from pursuing their interest -in their own way. If the people of Canada are tolerably -unanimous in wishing to sever the very slight thread which -now binds them to this country, I see no reason why, if -good faith and ordinary temper be observed, it should not -be done amicably. I think it would be far more likely to -be accomplished peaceably, <em>if the subject of annexation were -left as a distinct question</em>. I am quite sure that <em>we</em> should -be gainers, to the amount of about a million sterling annually, -if our North American colonists would set up in life -for themselves and maintain their own establishments; and -I see no reason to doubt that they also might be gainers by -being thrown upon their own resources.</p> - -<p>“The less your countrymen mingle in the controversy, -the better. It will only be an additional obstacle in the -path of those in this country who see the ultimate necessity -of a separation, but who have still some ignorance and -prejudice to contend against, which, if used as political capital -by designing politicians, may complicate seriously a very -difficult piece of statesmanship. It is for you and such as -you, who love peace, to guide your countrymen aright in -this matter. You have made the most noble contributions -of any modern writer to the cause of Peace; and as a public -man I hope you will exert all your influence to induce -Americans to hold a dignified attitude and observe a ‘masterly -inactivity’ in the controversy which is rapidly advancing -to a solution between the mother country and her -American colonies.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>A prudent patriotism among us will appreciate the -wisdom of this counsel, more needed now than when<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_425" id="Page_425">[Pg 425]</a></span> -written. The controversy which Cobden foresaw “between -the mother country and her American colonies” -is yet undetermined. The recent creation of what is -somewhat grandly called “The Dominion of Canada” -marks one stage in its progress.</p> - -<h4>LUCAS ALAMAN, 1852.</h4> - -<p>From Canada I pass to Mexico, and close this list -with Lucas Alaman, the Mexican statesman and historian, -who has left on record a most pathetic prophecy -with regard to his own country, intensely interesting -to us at this moment.</p> - -<p>Alaman was born in the latter part of the last century, -and died June 2, 1855. He was a prominent -leader of the monarchical party, and Minister of Foreign -Affairs under Presidents Bustamente and Santa -Aña. In this capacity he inspired the respect of foreign -diplomatists. One of these, who had occasion to know -him officially, says of him, in answer to my inquiries, -that he “was the greatest statesman Mexico has produced -since her independence.”<a name="FNanchor_642_642" id="FNanchor_642_642"></a><a href="#Footnote_642_642" class="fnanchor">[642]</a> He was one of the -few in any country who have been able to unite literature -with public life, and obtain honors in each.</p> - -<p>His first work was “Dissertations on the History of -the Mexican Republic,”<a name="FNanchor_643_643" id="FNanchor_643_643"></a><a href="#Footnote_643_643" class="fnanchor">[643]</a> in three volumes, published at -Mexico, 1844-49. In these he considers the original -conquest by Cortés, its consequences, the conqueror and -his family, the propagation of the Christian religion in -New Spain, the formation of the city of Mexico, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_426" id="Page_426">[Pg 426]</a></span> -history of Spain and the House of Bourbon. All these -topics are treated somewhat copiously. Then followed -the “History of Mexico, from the First Movements -which prepared its Independence in 1808 to the Present -Epoch,”<a name="FNanchor_644_644" id="FNanchor_644_644"></a><a href="#Footnote_644_644" class="fnanchor">[644]</a> in five volumes, published at Mexico, the -first bearing date 1849, and the fifth 1852. From the -Preface to the first volume it appears that the author -was born in Guanajuato, and witnessed there the beginning -of the Mexican Revolution in 1810, under Don -Miguel Hidalgo, the curate of Dolores; that he was -personally acquainted with the curate, and with many -who had a principal part in the successes of that time; -that he was experienced in public affairs, as Deputy -and as member of the Cabinet; and that he had known -directly the persons and things of which he wrote. His -last volume embraces the government of Iturbide as -Emperor, and also his unfortunate death, ending with -the establishment of the Mexican Federal Republic, in -1824. The work is careful and well considered. The -eminent diplomatist already mentioned, who had known -the author officially, writes that “no one was better -acquainted with the history and causes of the incessant -revolutions in his unfortunate country, and that his -work on this subject is considered by all respectable -men in Mexico a <i>chef-d’œuvre</i> for purity of sentiments -and patriotic convictions.”</p> - -<p>It is on account of the valedictory words of this History -that I introduce the name of Alaman, and nothing -more striking appears in this gallery. Behold!—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“Mexico will be, without doubt, a land of prosperity -from its natural advantages, <i>but it will not be so for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_427" id="Page_427">[Pg 427]</a></span> -races which now inhabit it</i>. As it seemed the destiny of the -peoples who established themselves therein at different and -remote epochs to perish from the face of it, leaving hardly -a memory of their existence; even as the nation which built -the edifices of Palenque, and those which we admire in the -peninsula of Yucatan, was destroyed without its being known -what it was or how it disappeared; <em>even as the Toltecs perished -by the hands of barbarous tribes coming from the North</em>, -no record of them remaining but the pyramids of Cholula -and Teotihuacan; and, finally, even as the ancient Mexicans -fell beneath the power of the Spaniards, <em>the country gaining -infinitely by this change of dominion, but its ancient masters -being overthrown</em>;—so likewise its present inhabitants shall -be ruined and hardly obtain the compassion they have merited, -and the Mexican nation of our days shall have applied -to it what a celebrated Latin poet said of one of the -most famous personages of Roman history, STAT MAGNI -NOMINIS UMBRA,<a name="FNanchor_645_645" id="FNanchor_645_645"></a><a href="#Footnote_645_645" class="fnanchor">[645]</a>—Nothing more remains than the -shadow of a name illustrious in another time.</p> - -<p>“May the Almighty, in whose hands is the fate of nations, -and who by ways hidden from our sight abases or exalts -them according to the designs of His providence, be pleased -to grant unto ours the protection by which He has so often -deigned to preserve it from the dangers to which it has been -exposed!”<a name="FNanchor_646_646" id="FNanchor_646_646"></a><a href="#Footnote_646_646" class="fnanchor">[646]</a></p> - -</div> - -<p>Most affecting words of prophecy! Considering the -character of the author as statesman and historian, it -could have been only with inconceivable anguish that -he made this terrible record for the land whose child -and servant he was. Born and reared in Mexico, honored -by its important trusts, and writing the history<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_428" id="Page_428">[Pg 428]</a></span> -of its independence, it was his country, having for -him all that makes country dear; and yet thus calmly -he consigns the present people to oblivion, while another -enters into those happy places where Nature is -so bountiful. And so a Mexican leaves the door open -to the foreigner.</p> - -<h4>CONCLUSION.</h4> - -<p>Such are prophetic voices, differing in character and -importance, but all having one augury, and opening one -vista, illimitable in extent and vastness. Farewell to -the narrow thought of Montesquieu, that a republic can -exist only in a small territory!<a name="FNanchor_647_647" id="FNanchor_647_647"></a><a href="#Footnote_647_647" class="fnanchor">[647]</a> Through representation -and federation a continent is not too much for -practical dominion, nor is it beyond expectation. Well -did Webster say, “The prophecies and the poets are -with us”; and then again, “In regard to this country -there is no poetry like the poetry of events, and all -the prophecies lag behind their fulfilment.”<a name="FNanchor_648_648" id="FNanchor_648_648"></a><a href="#Footnote_648_648" class="fnanchor">[648]</a> But my -purpose is not with the fulfilment, except as it stands -forth visible to all.</p> - -<p>Ancient prophecy foretold another world beyond the -ocean, which in the mind of Christopher Columbus was -nothing less than the Orient with its inexhaustible -treasures. The continent was hardly known when the -prophets began: poets like Chapman, Drayton, Daniel, -Herbert, Cowley; economists like Child and Davenant; -New-Englanders like Morrell, Ward, and Sewall; and, -mingling with these, that rare genius, Sir Thomas -Browne, who, in the reign of Charles the Second, while<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_429" id="Page_429">[Pg 429]</a></span> -the settlements were in infancy, predicted their growth -in power and civilization; and then that rarest character, -Bishop Berkeley, who, in the reign of George the -First, while the settlements were still feeble and undeveloped, -heralded a Western empire as “Time’s noblest -offspring.”</p> - -<p>These voices are general. Others more precise followed. -Turgot, the philosopher and minister, saw in -youth, with the vision of genius, that all colonies must -at their maturity drop from the parent stem, like ripe -fruit. John Adams, one of the chiefs of our own -history, in a youth illumined as that of Turgot, saw -the predominance of the Colonies in population and -power, followed by the transfer of empire to America; -then the glory of Independence, and its joyous celebration -by grateful generations; then the triumph of our -language; and, finally, the establishment of our republican -institutions over all North America. Then came -the Abbé Galiani, the Neapolitan Frenchman, who, -writing from Naples while our struggle was still undecided, -gayly predicts the total downfall of Europe, -the transmigration to America, and the consummation -of the greatest revolution of the globe by establishing -the reign of America over Europe. There is also Adam -Smith, the illustrious philosopher, who quietly carries -the seat of government across the Atlantic. Meanwhile -Pownall, once a Colonial governor and then a -member of Parliament, in successive works of great detail, -foreshadows independence, naval supremacy, commercial -prosperity, immigration from the Old World, -and a new national life, destined to supersede the -systems of Europe and arouse the “curses” of royal -ministers. Hartley, also a member of Parliament, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_430" id="Page_430">[Pg 430]</a></span> -the British negotiator who signed the definitive treaty -of Independence, bravely announces in Parliament that -the New World is before the Colonists, and that liberty -is theirs; and afterwards, as diplomatist, instructs his -Government, that, through the attraction of our public -lands, immigration will be quickened beyond precedent, -and the national debt cease to be a burden. Aranda, -the Spanish statesman and diplomatist, predicts to his -king that the United States, though born a “pygmy,” -will some day be a “colossus,” under whose influence -Spain will lose all her American possessions except -only Cuba and Porto Rico. Paley, the philosopher, -hails our successful revolution as destined to accelerate -the fall of Slavery, which he denounces as an “abominable -tyranny.” Burns, the truthful poet, who loved -mankind, looks forward a hundred years, and beholds -our people rejoicing in the centenary of their independence. -Sheridan pictures our increasing prosperity, and -the national dignity winning the respect, confidence, -and affection of the world. Fox, the liberal statesman, -foresees the increasing might and various relations of -the United States, so that a blow aimed at them must -have a rebound as destructive as itself. The Abbé Grégoire, -devoted to the slave, whose freedom he predicts, -describes the power and glory of the American Republic, -resting on the two great oceans, and swaying the -world. Tardily, Jefferson appears with anxiety for the -National Union, and yet announcing our government -as the primitive and precious model to change the condition -of mankind. Canning, the brilliant orator, in -a much-admired flight of eloquence, discerns the New -World, with its republics just called into being, redressing -the balance of the Old. De Tocqueville, while<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_431" id="Page_431">[Pg 431]</a></span> -clearly foreseeing the peril from Slavery, proclaims the -future grandeur of the Republic, covering “almost all -North America,” and making the continent its domain, -with a population, equal in rights, counted by the -hundred million. Cobden, whose fame will be second -only to that of Adam Smith among all in this catalogue, -calmly predicts the separation of Canada from -the mother country by peaceable means. Alaman, the -Mexican statesman and historian, announces that Mexico, -which has already known so many successive races; -will hereafter be ruled by yet another people, taking -the place of the present possessors; and with these prophetic -words, the patriot draws a pall over his country.</p> - -<p>All these various voices, of different times and lands, -mingle and intertwine in representing the great future -of our Republic, which from small beginnings has already -become great. It was at first only a grain of -mustard-seed, “which, indeed, is the least of all seeds; -but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, -and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come -and lodge in the branches thereof.” Better still, it was -only a little leaven, but it is fast leavening the whole -continent. Nearly all who have prophesied speak of -“America” or “North America,” and not of any limited -circle, colony, or state. It was so, at the beginning, -with Sir Thomas Browne, and especially with Berkeley. -During our Revolution, the Colonies struggling for independence -were always described by this continental -designation. They were already “America,” or “North -America,” (and such was the language of Washington,) -thus incidentally foreshadowing that coming time when -the whole continent, with all its various states, shall be -a Plural Unit, with one Constitution, one Liberty, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_432" id="Page_432">[Pg 432]</a></span> -one Destiny. The theme was also taken up by the -poet, and popularized in the often quoted lines,—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“No pent-up Utica contracts your powers,</div> -<div class="verse">But the whole boundless continent is yours.”<a name="FNanchor_649_649" id="FNanchor_649_649"></a><a href="#Footnote_649_649" class="fnanchor">[649]</a></div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Such grandeur may justly excite anxiety rather than -pride, for duties are in corresponding proportion. There -is occasion for humility also, as the individual considers -his own insignificance in the transcendent mass. -The tiny polyp, in unconscious life, builds the everlasting -coral. Each citizen is little more than the -industrious insect. The result is reached by the continuity -of combined exertion. Millions of citizens, -working in obedience to Nature, can accomplish anything.</p> - -<p>Of course, war is an instrumentality which true civilization -disowns. Here some of our prophets have -erred. Sir Thomas Browne was so much overshadowed -by his own age, that his vision was darkened by “great -armies,” and even “hostile and piratical assault” on -Europe. It was natural that Aranda, schooled in -worldly life, should imagine the new-born power ready -to seize the Spanish possessions. Among our own -countrymen, Jefferson looked to war for the extension -of dominion. The Floridas, he says on one occasion, -“are ours in the first moment of the first war, and until -a war they are of no particular necessity to us.”<a name="FNanchor_650_650" id="FNanchor_650_650"></a><a href="#Footnote_650_650" class="fnanchor">[650]</a> Happily -they were acquired in another way. Then again, -while declaring that no constitution was ever before so -calculated as ours for extensive empire and self-government, -and insisting upon Canada as a component<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_433" id="Page_433">[Pg 433]</a></span> -part, he calmly says that this “would be, of course, in -the first war.”<a name="FNanchor_651_651" id="FNanchor_651_651"></a><a href="#Footnote_651_651" class="fnanchor">[651]</a> Afterwards, while confessing a longing -for Cuba, “as the most interesting addition which could -ever be made to our system of States,” he says that he -is “sensible that this can never be obtained, even with -her own consent, but by war.”<a name="FNanchor_652_652" id="FNanchor_652_652"></a><a href="#Footnote_652_652" class="fnanchor">[652]</a> Thus at each stage is -the baptism of blood. In much better mood the poet -Bishop recognized empire as moving gently in the pathway -of light. All this is much clearer now than when -he prophesied.</p> - -<p>It is easy to see that empire obtained by force is -unrepublican, and offensive to the first principle of our -Union, according to which all just government stands -only on the consent of the governed. Our country -needs no such ally as war. Its destiny is mightier -than war. Through peace it will have everything. -This is our talisman. Give us peace, and population -will increase beyond all experience; resources of all -kinds will multiply infinitely; arts will embellish the -land with immortal beauty; the name of Republic will -be exalted, until every neighbor, yielding to irresistible -attraction, seeks new life in becoming part of the -great whole; and the national example will be more -puissant than army or navy for the conquest of the -world.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>FOOTNOTES</h2> - -<div class="footnotes"> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Conférences Américaines, p. 143.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Müller’s Voyages from Asia to America, tr. Jefferys, (London, 1764,) -p. 45.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Articles XV., XVI.: Billings’s Expedition, Appendix, No. V., pp. 41, -42.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> Voyage, Tom. II. p. 147.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> A translation of this document is given in Barrow’s Arctic Voyages, -Appendix, No. II., pp. 24, seqq.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Voyage of Malaspina: Barrow, p. 127.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> Barbé-Marbois, Histoire de la Louisiane, (Paris, 1829,) p. 335.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> Prefixed to Coxe’s Russian Discoveries (London, 1780).</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> Essai Politique sur le Royaume de la Nouvelle-Espagne, Tom. I. pp. 344-346.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XV. pp. 539-543.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> Article VI.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> Articles VII., VIII.: Hertslet’s Commercial Treaties, Vol. III. p. 365.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> Art. VI.: Ibid.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> Art. XII.: Ibid., Vol. VI. p. 767.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> Ibid., Vol. X. p. 1063.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> Wheaton’s Elements of International Law, ed. Lawrence, (Boston, -1863,) Part II. ch. 4, § 19, p. 359.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> Greenhow, History of Oregon and California, p. 346. Executive Documents, -20th Cong. 1st Sess., H. of R., No. 199, pp. 23, 44.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> Wheaton, Part II. ch. 4, § 18, p. 353.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> Voyages from China to the Northwest Coast of America, (London, -1791,) Vol. I. p. 354.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> Ibid., Vol. II. pp. 283-291.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> Arctic Zoölogy (London, 1792), Vol. I. p. 104.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“Por Castilla y por Leon</div> -<div class="verse">Nuevo mundo halló Colon.”</div> -</div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_23_23" id="Footnote_23_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> Works, Vol. IV. p. 293.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_24_24" id="Footnote_24_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> Journey round the World, Vol. I. p. 209.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_25_25" id="Footnote_25_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25_25"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> Band XXII. pp. 47-70.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_26_26" id="Footnote_26_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26_26"><span class="label">[26]</span></a> Russian America and the Present War.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_27_27" id="Footnote_27_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27_27"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> Tom. I. p. 345.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_28_28" id="Footnote_28_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28_28"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> Act of July 1, 1864: Statutes at Large, Vol. XIII. pp. 340, 341.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_29_29" id="Footnote_29_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29_29"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> Diplomatic Correspondence, 1865-66: Executive Documents, 39th -Cong. 1st Sess., H. of R., No. 1, p. 366.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_30_30" id="Footnote_30_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_30_30"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> Joint Resolution, May 16, 1866: Statutes at Large, Vol. XIV. p. 355.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_31_31" id="Footnote_31_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_31_31"><span class="label">[31]</span></a> Letters to John Jacob Astor, May 24, 1812, and November 9, 1813: -Writings, Vol. VI. pp. 55, 248. See also Letter to Mr. Breckenridge, August -12, 1803: Ibid., Vol. IV. pp. 498-501.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_32_32" id="Footnote_32_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32_32"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> Speech at Faneuil Hall, November 7, 1845: Boston Daily Advertiser, -November 10th.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_33_33" id="Footnote_33_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_33_33"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> Letter on the Florida Treaty, June 20, 1820: Parton’s Life of Jackson, -Vol. II. p. 585.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_34_34" id="Footnote_34_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_34_34"><span class="label">[34]</span></a> Attributed to Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary. See Coxe, History -of the House of Austria, (London, 1820,) Ch. XXV., Vol. II. p. 89.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_35_35" id="Footnote_35_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_35_35"><span class="label">[35]</span></a> Cicero, Epist. ad Atticum, IV. 6.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_36_36" id="Footnote_36_36"></a><a href="#FNanchor_36_36"><span class="label">[36]</span></a> Erman, Die Russischen Colonien an der Nordwestküste von Amerika: -Archiv, Band XXII. p. 48.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_37_37" id="Footnote_37_37"></a><a href="#FNanchor_37_37"><span class="label">[37]</span></a> Voyage, p. 118.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_38_38" id="Footnote_38_38"></a><a href="#FNanchor_38_38"><span class="label">[38]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. I. p. 275.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_39_39" id="Footnote_39_39"></a><a href="#FNanchor_39_39"><span class="label">[39]</span></a> Part I. ch. 11, p. 148.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_40_40" id="Footnote_40_40"></a><a href="#FNanchor_40_40"><span class="label">[40]</span></a> Voyages, Vol. I. p. xvi.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_41_41" id="Footnote_41_41"></a><a href="#FNanchor_41_41"><span class="label">[41]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. II. p. 518.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_42_42" id="Footnote_42_42"></a><a href="#FNanchor_42_42"><span class="label">[42]</span></a> Ibid., pp. 509, 515.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_43_43" id="Footnote_43_43"></a><a href="#FNanchor_43_43"><span class="label">[43]</span></a> Billings’s Expedition, p. 157.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_44_44" id="Footnote_44_44"></a><a href="#FNanchor_44_44"><span class="label">[44]</span></a> Ibid., p. 161.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_45_45" id="Footnote_45_45"></a><a href="#FNanchor_45_45"><span class="label">[45]</span></a> Voyage, Tom. I. p. 232.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_46_46" id="Footnote_46_46"></a><a href="#FNanchor_46_46"><span class="label">[46]</span></a> Captain D’Wolf, whose little book was not printed till 1861, says there -was “little or no game but foxes,” and he adds that in fact he “was the -only Wolf ever known upon the island.”—<i>Voyage to the North Pacific</i>, -pp. 69, 70.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_47_47" id="Footnote_47_47"></a><a href="#FNanchor_47_47"><span class="label">[47]</span></a> Ethnographische Skizzen über die Völker des Russischen Amerika, von -H. J. Holmberg: Acta Societatis Scientiarum Fennicæ, 1856, Tom. IV. -Fasc. 2, pp. 281, seqq.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_48_48" id="Footnote_48_48"></a><a href="#FNanchor_48_48"><span class="label">[48]</span></a> Blodget, Climatology, p. 532.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_49_49" id="Footnote_49_49"></a><a href="#FNanchor_49_49"><span class="label">[49]</span></a> Voyage to the Pacific (London, 1784), Vol. II. p. 509.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_50_50" id="Footnote_50_50"></a><a href="#FNanchor_50_50"><span class="label">[50]</span></a> Billings’s Expedition, p. 274.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_51_51" id="Footnote_51_51"></a><a href="#FNanchor_51_51"><span class="label">[51]</span></a> Ibid., Appendix, p. 55.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_52_52" id="Footnote_52_52"></a><a href="#FNanchor_52_52"><span class="label">[52]</span></a> Ibid., p. 171.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_53_53" id="Footnote_53_53"></a><a href="#FNanchor_53_53"><span class="label">[53]</span></a> Ibid., p. 172.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_54_54" id="Footnote_54_54"></a><a href="#FNanchor_54_54"><span class="label">[54]</span></a> Ibid., p. 173.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_55_55" id="Footnote_55_55"></a><a href="#FNanchor_55_55"><span class="label">[55]</span></a> Voyage to the North Pacific, pp. 63, 64.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_56_56" id="Footnote_56_56"></a><a href="#FNanchor_56_56"><span class="label">[56]</span></a> Voyage, Tom. I. p. 153.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_57_57" id="Footnote_57_57"></a><a href="#FNanchor_57_57"><span class="label">[57]</span></a> Voyage, p. 145.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_58_58" id="Footnote_58_58"></a><a href="#FNanchor_58_58"><span class="label">[58]</span></a> Voyage, pp. 214, 215.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_59_59" id="Footnote_59_59"></a><a href="#FNanchor_59_59"><span class="label">[59]</span></a> Ibid., p. 153.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_60_60" id="Footnote_60_60"></a><a href="#FNanchor_60_60"><span class="label">[60]</span></a> Voyages and Travels, Vol. II. pp. 69, 70.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_61_61" id="Footnote_61_61"></a><a href="#FNanchor_61_61"><span class="label">[61]</span></a> Voyage, p. 54.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_62_62" id="Footnote_62_62"></a><a href="#FNanchor_62_62"><span class="label">[62]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. II. p. 107.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_63_63" id="Footnote_63_63"></a><a href="#FNanchor_63_63"><span class="label">[63]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. III. p. 314.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_64_64" id="Footnote_64_64"></a><a href="#FNanchor_64_64"><span class="label">[64]</span></a> Voyage, p. 22.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_65_65" id="Footnote_65_65"></a><a href="#FNanchor_65_65"><span class="label">[65]</span></a> Voyage, p. 51.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_66_66" id="Footnote_66_66"></a><a href="#FNanchor_66_66"><span class="label">[66]</span></a> Voyage round the World, Vol. I. pp. 95-106.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_67_67" id="Footnote_67_67"></a><a href="#FNanchor_67_67"><span class="label">[67]</span></a> Journey round the World, Vol. I. pp. 218, 219, 220, 227.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_68_68" id="Footnote_68_68"></a><a href="#FNanchor_68_68"><span class="label">[68]</span></a> Voyage, 1783-87: Coxe’s Russian Discoveries (4th edit.), p. 219.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_69_69" id="Footnote_69_69"></a><a href="#FNanchor_69_69"><span class="label">[69]</span></a> Voyage, pp. 192, 193.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_70_70" id="Footnote_70_70"></a><a href="#FNanchor_70_70"><span class="label">[70]</span></a> Voyages and Travels, Vol. II. pp. 67, 68.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_71_71" id="Footnote_71_71"></a><a href="#FNanchor_71_71"><span class="label">[71]</span></a> Ibid., pp. 69, 70.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_72_72" id="Footnote_72_72"></a><a href="#FNanchor_72_72"><span class="label">[72]</span></a> Voyage, p. 179, note.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_73_73" id="Footnote_73_73"></a><a href="#FNanchor_73_73"><span class="label">[73]</span></a> Billings’s Expedition, p. 157.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_74_74" id="Footnote_74_74"></a><a href="#FNanchor_74_74"><span class="label">[74]</span></a> Langsdorff, Voyages and Travels, Vol. II. p. 43.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_75_75" id="Footnote_75_75"></a><a href="#FNanchor_75_75"><span class="label">[75]</span></a> Billings’s Expedition, p. 273.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_76_76" id="Footnote_76_76"></a><a href="#FNanchor_76_76"><span class="label">[76]</span></a> Ibid., p. 155.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_77_77" id="Footnote_77_77"></a><a href="#FNanchor_77_77"><span class="label">[77]</span></a> Cook, Voyage to the Pacific, Vol. II. p. 362.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_78_78" id="Footnote_78_78"></a><a href="#FNanchor_78_78"><span class="label">[78]</span></a> Billings’s Expedition, p. 197.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_79_79" id="Footnote_79_79"></a><a href="#FNanchor_79_79"><span class="label">[79]</span></a> Voyage, Tom. II. p. 205.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_80_80" id="Footnote_80_80"></a><a href="#FNanchor_80_80"><span class="label">[80]</span></a> Voyage, p. 167, note.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_81_81" id="Footnote_81_81"></a><a href="#FNanchor_81_81"><span class="label">[81]</span></a> Voyage, pp. 48, 49.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_82_82" id="Footnote_82_82"></a><a href="#FNanchor_82_82"><span class="label">[82]</span></a> Belcher, Voyage, Vol. I. p. 94.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_83_83" id="Footnote_83_83"></a><a href="#FNanchor_83_83"><span class="label">[83]</span></a> Journey round the World, Vol. I. p. 225.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_84_84" id="Footnote_84_84"></a><a href="#FNanchor_84_84"><span class="label">[84]</span></a> De l’Esprit des Lois, Liv. XIV.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_85_85" id="Footnote_85_85"></a><a href="#FNanchor_85_85"><span class="label">[85]</span></a> Voyage to the Pacific Ocean, Vol. II. p. 520.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_86_86" id="Footnote_86_86"></a><a href="#FNanchor_86_86"><span class="label">[86]</span></a> Part. III. § 6, pp. 196, 197.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_87_87" id="Footnote_87_87"></a><a href="#FNanchor_87_87"><span class="label">[87]</span></a> The Oregon Question, p. 28.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_88_88" id="Footnote_88_88"></a><a href="#FNanchor_88_88"><span class="label">[88]</span></a> Voyage, p. 118.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_89_89" id="Footnote_89_89"></a><a href="#FNanchor_89_89"><span class="label">[89]</span></a> Voyage, Tom. II. p. 187.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_90_90" id="Footnote_90_90"></a><a href="#FNanchor_90_90"><span class="label">[90]</span></a> Voyages and Travels, Vol. II. pp. 101, 102.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_91_91" id="Footnote_91_91"></a><a href="#FNanchor_91_91"><span class="label">[91]</span></a> Voyage, pp. 52, 53.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_92_92" id="Footnote_92_92"></a><a href="#FNanchor_92_92"><span class="label">[92]</span></a> Belcher’s Voyage round the World, Appendix, Vol. II. p. 332.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_93_93" id="Footnote_93_93"></a><a href="#FNanchor_93_93"><span class="label">[93]</span></a> Voyages and Travels, Vol. II. p. 61.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_94_94" id="Footnote_94_94"></a><a href="#FNanchor_94_94"><span class="label">[94]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. I. p. 70.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_95_95" id="Footnote_95_95"></a><a href="#FNanchor_95_95"><span class="label">[95]</span></a> Müller, Voyages from Asia to America (London, 1764), p. 85.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_96_96" id="Footnote_96_96"></a><a href="#FNanchor_96_96"><span class="label">[96]</span></a> Voyage, Tom. II. p. 191.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_97_97" id="Footnote_97_97"></a><a href="#FNanchor_97_97"><span class="label">[97]</span></a> Voyage, p. 145.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_98_98" id="Footnote_98_98"></a><a href="#FNanchor_98_98"><span class="label">[98]</span></a> Voyage, Tom. I. p. 101.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_99_99" id="Footnote_99_99"></a><a href="#FNanchor_99_99"><span class="label">[99]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. II. p. 379.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_100_100" id="Footnote_100_100"></a><a href="#FNanchor_100_100"><span class="label">[100]</span></a> Voyage, Tom. II. pp. 187, 188.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_101_101" id="Footnote_101_101"></a><a href="#FNanchor_101_101"><span class="label">[101]</span></a> Voyage, pp. 102, 251.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_102_102" id="Footnote_102_102"></a><a href="#FNanchor_102_102"><span class="label">[102]</span></a> Voyages, Vol. I. pp. lxiv, lxv.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_103_103" id="Footnote_103_103"></a><a href="#FNanchor_103_103"><span class="label">[103]</span></a> Expedition, pp. 197, 198.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_104_104" id="Footnote_104_104"></a><a href="#FNanchor_104_104"><span class="label">[104]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. III. p. 95.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_105_105" id="Footnote_105_105"></a><a href="#FNanchor_105_105"><span class="label">[105]</span></a> Voyages and Travels, Vol. II. p. 103.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_106_106" id="Footnote_106_106"></a><a href="#FNanchor_106_106"><span class="label">[106]</span></a> Voyage, p. 191, note.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_107_107" id="Footnote_107_107"></a><a href="#FNanchor_107_107"><span class="label">[107]</span></a> Voyage, Tom. I. p. 105.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_108_108" id="Footnote_108_108"></a><a href="#FNanchor_108_108"><span class="label">[108]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. I. pp. 73, 97.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_109_109" id="Footnote_109_109"></a><a href="#FNanchor_109_109"><span class="label">[109]</span></a> Langsdorff, Voyages and Travels, Vol. II. p. 65.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_110_110" id="Footnote_110_110"></a><a href="#FNanchor_110_110"><span class="label">[110]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. II pp. 425, 520.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_111_111" id="Footnote_111_111"></a><a href="#FNanchor_111_111"><span class="label">[111]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. II. pp. 476, 480, 482.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_112_112" id="Footnote_112_112"></a><a href="#FNanchor_112_112"><span class="label">[112]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. I. p. 249.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_113_113" id="Footnote_113_113"></a><a href="#FNanchor_113_113"><span class="label">[113]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. II. pp. 478, 494.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_114_114" id="Footnote_114_114"></a><a href="#FNanchor_114_114"><span class="label">[114]</span></a> Voyage, pp. 251, 252.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_115_115" id="Footnote_115_115"></a><a href="#FNanchor_115_115"><span class="label">[115]</span></a> Voyages, Vol. I. p. lxv.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_116_116" id="Footnote_116_116"></a><a href="#FNanchor_116_116"><span class="label">[116]</span></a> Expedition, p. 182.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_117_117" id="Footnote_117_117"></a><a href="#FNanchor_117_117"><span class="label">[117]</span></a> Voyages and Travels, Vol. II. p. 34.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_118_118" id="Footnote_118_118"></a><a href="#FNanchor_118_118"><span class="label">[118]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. I. p. 74.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_119_119" id="Footnote_119_119"></a><a href="#FNanchor_119_119"><span class="label">[119]</span></a> Müller, Voyages, p. 90.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_120_120" id="Footnote_120_120"></a><a href="#FNanchor_120_120"><span class="label">[120]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. II. pp. 519, 520.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_121_121" id="Footnote_121_121"></a><a href="#FNanchor_121_121"><span class="label">[121]</span></a> Voyage, Tom. II. p. 188.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_122_122" id="Footnote_122_122"></a><a href="#FNanchor_122_122"><span class="label">[122]</span></a> Voyage, pp. 118, 242.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_123_123" id="Footnote_123_123"></a><a href="#FNanchor_123_123"><span class="label">[123]</span></a> Voyages, Vol. I. p. lxiv; II. p. 287.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_124_124" id="Footnote_124_124"></a><a href="#FNanchor_124_124"><span class="label">[124]</span></a> Expedition, pp. 182, 198.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_125_125" id="Footnote_125_125"></a><a href="#FNanchor_125_125"><span class="label">[125]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. III. p. 233.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_126_126" id="Footnote_126_126"></a><a href="#FNanchor_126_126"><span class="label">[126]</span></a> Voyages and Travels, Vol. II. p. 34.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_127_127" id="Footnote_127_127"></a><a href="#FNanchor_127_127"><span class="label">[127]</span></a> Voyage, Tom. I. p. 118.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_128_128" id="Footnote_128_128"></a><a href="#FNanchor_128_128"><span class="label">[128]</span></a> Voyages and Travels, Vol. II. pp. 35, 62.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_129_129" id="Footnote_129_129"></a><a href="#FNanchor_129_129"><span class="label">[129]</span></a> Voyage, Tom. I. pp. 105, 151.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_130_130" id="Footnote_130_130"></a><a href="#FNanchor_130_130"><span class="label">[130]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. I. p. 300.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_131_131" id="Footnote_131_131"></a><a href="#FNanchor_131_131"><span class="label">[131]</span></a> Lisiansky, Voyage, p. 236.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_132_132" id="Footnote_132_132"></a><a href="#FNanchor_132_132"><span class="label">[132]</span></a> Müller, Voyages from Asia to America, pp. 85, 90.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_133_133" id="Footnote_133_133"></a><a href="#FNanchor_133_133"><span class="label">[133]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. II. pp. 379, 380.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_134_134" id="Footnote_134_134"></a><a href="#FNanchor_134_134"><span class="label">[134]</span></a> La Pérouse, Voyage, Introduction, Tom. I. p. 340.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_135_135" id="Footnote_135_135"></a><a href="#FNanchor_135_135"><span class="label">[135]</span></a> Voyage, Tom. II. pp. 151, 152, 192, 207.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_136_136" id="Footnote_136_136"></a><a href="#FNanchor_136_136"><span class="label">[136]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. II. pp. 335, 339.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_137_137" id="Footnote_137_137"></a><a href="#FNanchor_137_137"><span class="label">[137]</span></a> Voyage, p. 150.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_138_138" id="Footnote_138_138"></a><a href="#FNanchor_138_138"><span class="label">[138]</span></a> Voyages, Vol. II. pp. 33, 34.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_139_139" id="Footnote_139_139"></a><a href="#FNanchor_139_139"><span class="label">[139]</span></a> Voyage, p. 108.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_140_140" id="Footnote_140_140"></a><a href="#FNanchor_140_140"><span class="label">[140]</span></a> Voyages, Vol. II. p. 291.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_141_141" id="Footnote_141_141"></a><a href="#FNanchor_141_141"><span class="label">[141]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. I. p. 214.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_142_142" id="Footnote_142_142"></a><a href="#FNanchor_142_142"><span class="label">[142]</span></a> Page 112.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_143_143" id="Footnote_143_143"></a><a href="#FNanchor_143_143"><span class="label">[143]</span></a> Band XXV. pp. 229, seqq.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_144_144" id="Footnote_144_144"></a><a href="#FNanchor_144_144"><span class="label">[144]</span></a> Sauer, Billings’s Expedition, p. 274.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_145_145" id="Footnote_145_145"></a><a href="#FNanchor_145_145"><span class="label">[145]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. II. pp. 357, 358.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_146_146" id="Footnote_146_146"></a><a href="#FNanchor_146_146"><span class="label">[146]</span></a> Billings’s Expedition, p. 277.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_147_147" id="Footnote_147_147"></a><a href="#FNanchor_147_147"><span class="label">[147]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. I. p. 101.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_148_148" id="Footnote_148_148"></a><a href="#FNanchor_148_148"><span class="label">[148]</span></a> Coxe, Russian Discoveries, (3d edit.,) pp. 11, 12.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_149_149" id="Footnote_149_149"></a><a href="#FNanchor_149_149"><span class="label">[149]</span></a> Billings’s Expedition, p. 275.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_150_150" id="Footnote_150_150"></a><a href="#FNanchor_150_150"><span class="label">[150]</span></a> Voyages and Travels, Vol. II. pp. 66, 73-75.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_151_151" id="Footnote_151_151"></a><a href="#FNanchor_151_151"><span class="label">[151]</span></a> Journal, Vol. XXII. p. 120.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_152_152" id="Footnote_152_152"></a><a href="#FNanchor_152_152"><span class="label">[152]</span></a> Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, Vol. XXII. p. 120.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_153_153" id="Footnote_153_153"></a><a href="#FNanchor_153_153"><span class="label">[153]</span></a> Voyage, Tom. I. p. 256.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_154_154" id="Footnote_154_154"></a><a href="#FNanchor_154_154"><span class="label">[154]</span></a> Wrangell, Nachrichten über die Russischen Besitzungen, pp. 23, 24. -Wappäus, Geographie, p. 302.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_155_155" id="Footnote_155_155"></a><a href="#FNanchor_155_155"><span class="label">[155]</span></a> Journey round the World, Vol. I. pp. 221, 222.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_156_156" id="Footnote_156_156"></a><a href="#FNanchor_156_156"><span class="label">[156]</span></a> Richardson, Fauna Boreali-Americana, Part I. p. 94.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_157_157" id="Footnote_157_157"></a><a href="#FNanchor_157_157"><span class="label">[157]</span></a> Ibid., pp. 94, 95.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_158_158" id="Footnote_158_158"></a><a href="#FNanchor_158_158"><span class="label">[158]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. II. p. 293.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_159_159" id="Footnote_159_159"></a><a href="#FNanchor_159_159"><span class="label">[159]</span></a> Voyages and Travels, Vol. II. p. 74.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_160_160" id="Footnote_160_160"></a><a href="#FNanchor_160_160"><span class="label">[160]</span></a> Rymer, Fœdera, Vol. XX. p. 231.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_161_161" id="Footnote_161_161"></a><a href="#FNanchor_161_161"><span class="label">[161]</span></a> Journey round the World, Vol. I. p. 222.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_162_162" id="Footnote_162_162"></a><a href="#FNanchor_162_162"><span class="label">[162]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. II. p. 458.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_163_163" id="Footnote_163_163"></a><a href="#FNanchor_163_163"><span class="label">[163]</span></a> Hakluyt (London, 1599), Vol. I. p. 5.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_164_164" id="Footnote_164_164"></a><a href="#FNanchor_164_164"><span class="label">[164]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. II. p. 295.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_165_165" id="Footnote_165_165"></a><a href="#FNanchor_165_165"><span class="label">[165]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. III. p. 294.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_166_166" id="Footnote_166_166"></a><a href="#FNanchor_166_166"><span class="label">[166]</span></a> Voyage, p. 29.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_167_167" id="Footnote_167_167"></a><a href="#FNanchor_167_167"><span class="label">[167]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. II. pp. 295, 296.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_168_168" id="Footnote_168_168"></a><a href="#FNanchor_168_168"><span class="label">[168]</span></a> Voyages, Vol. II. p. 23.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_169_169" id="Footnote_169_169"></a><a href="#FNanchor_169_169"><span class="label">[169]</span></a> Voyage, Tom. II. p. 190.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_170_170" id="Footnote_170_170"></a><a href="#FNanchor_170_170"><span class="label">[170]</span></a> Tom. I. pp. lxxiii, seqq.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_171_171" id="Footnote_171_171"></a><a href="#FNanchor_171_171"><span class="label">[171]</span></a> Müller, Voyages from Asia to America, p. 101.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_172_172" id="Footnote_172_172"></a><a href="#FNanchor_172_172"><span class="label">[172]</span></a> Russian Discoveries (3d edit.), p. 14.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_173_173" id="Footnote_173_173"></a><a href="#FNanchor_173_173"><span class="label">[173]</span></a> Voyages from Asia to America, p. 108.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_174_174" id="Footnote_174_174"></a><a href="#FNanchor_174_174"><span class="label">[174]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. II. p. 357.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_175_175" id="Footnote_175_175"></a><a href="#FNanchor_175_175"><span class="label">[175]</span></a> Voyages, Vol. I. p. xxvii.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_176_176" id="Footnote_176_176"></a><a href="#FNanchor_176_176"><span class="label">[176]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. III. p. 151.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_177_177" id="Footnote_177_177"></a><a href="#FNanchor_177_177"><span class="label">[177]</span></a> Billings’s Expedition, p. 155.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_178_178" id="Footnote_178_178"></a><a href="#FNanchor_178_178"><span class="label">[178]</span></a> Voyages and Travels, Vol. II. pp. 73, 74.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_179_179" id="Footnote_179_179"></a><a href="#FNanchor_179_179"><span class="label">[179]</span></a> Voyage, p. 281.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_180_180" id="Footnote_180_180"></a><a href="#FNanchor_180_180"><span class="label">[180]</span></a> Müller, Voyages from Asia to America, pp. 85, 86.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_181_181" id="Footnote_181_181"></a><a href="#FNanchor_181_181"><span class="label">[181]</span></a> Levascheff: Coxe’s Russian Discoveries (3d edit.), p. 211.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_182_182" id="Footnote_182_182"></a><a href="#FNanchor_182_182"><span class="label">[182]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. II. p. 298.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_183_183" id="Footnote_183_183"></a><a href="#FNanchor_183_183"><span class="label">[183]</span></a> Ibid., p. 320.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_184_184" id="Footnote_184_184"></a><a href="#FNanchor_184_184"><span class="label">[184]</span></a> Ibid., p. 379.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_185_185" id="Footnote_185_185"></a><a href="#FNanchor_185_185"><span class="label">[185]</span></a> Ibid., p. 417.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_186_186" id="Footnote_186_186"></a><a href="#FNanchor_186_186"><span class="label">[186]</span></a> Ibid., p. 432.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_187_187" id="Footnote_187_187"></a><a href="#FNanchor_187_187"><span class="label">[187]</span></a> Ibid., p. 481.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_188_188" id="Footnote_188_188"></a><a href="#FNanchor_188_188"><span class="label">[188]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. II. pp. 495, 511.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_189_189" id="Footnote_189_189"></a><a href="#FNanchor_189_189"><span class="label">[189]</span></a> Voyage, pp. 100-123.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_190_190" id="Footnote_190_190"></a><a href="#FNanchor_190_190"><span class="label">[190]</span></a> Voyage, pp. 229-241.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_191_191" id="Footnote_191_191"></a><a href="#FNanchor_191_191"><span class="label">[191]</span></a> Voyages, Vol. I. p. lxv.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_192_192" id="Footnote_192_192"></a><a href="#FNanchor_192_192"><span class="label">[192]</span></a> Ibid., Vol. II. pp. 29-32.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_193_193" id="Footnote_193_193"></a><a href="#FNanchor_193_193"><span class="label">[193]</span></a> La Pérouse, Voyage, Introd., Tom. I. p. 333.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_194_194" id="Footnote_194_194"></a><a href="#FNanchor_194_194"><span class="label">[194]</span></a> Voyage, Tom. II. p. 189.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_195_195" id="Footnote_195_195"></a><a href="#FNanchor_195_195"><span class="label">[195]</span></a> Voyage, Tom. I. p. 235.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_196_196" id="Footnote_196_196"></a><a href="#FNanchor_196_196"><span class="label">[196]</span></a> Expedition, p. 161.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_197_197" id="Footnote_197_197"></a><a href="#FNanchor_197_197"><span class="label">[197]</span></a> Expedition, pp. 181, 182.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_198_198" id="Footnote_198_198"></a><a href="#FNanchor_198_198"><span class="label">[198]</span></a> Ibid., p. 264.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_199_199" id="Footnote_199_199"></a><a href="#FNanchor_199_199"><span class="label">[199]</span></a> Voyage, p. 164.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_200_200" id="Footnote_200_200"></a><a href="#FNanchor_200_200"><span class="label">[200]</span></a> Ibid., p. 239.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_201_201" id="Footnote_201_201"></a><a href="#FNanchor_201_201"><span class="label">[201]</span></a> Voyages and Travels, Vol. II. p. 33.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_202_202" id="Footnote_202_202"></a><a href="#FNanchor_202_202"><span class="label">[202]</span></a> Ibid., p. 76.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_203_203" id="Footnote_203_203"></a><a href="#FNanchor_203_203"><span class="label">[203]</span></a> Ibid., p. 108.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_204_204" id="Footnote_204_204"></a><a href="#FNanchor_204_204"><span class="label">[204]</span></a> Voyage, p. 53.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_205_205" id="Footnote_205_205"></a><a href="#FNanchor_205_205"><span class="label">[205]</span></a> Voyage, Tom. I. p. 116.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_206_206" id="Footnote_206_206"></a><a href="#FNanchor_206_206"><span class="label">[206]</span></a> Ibid., p. 148.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_207_207" id="Footnote_207_207"></a><a href="#FNanchor_207_207"><span class="label">[207]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. I. p. 85.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_208_208" id="Footnote_208_208"></a><a href="#FNanchor_208_208"><span class="label">[208]</span></a> Journey round the World, Vol. I. p. 227.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_209_209" id="Footnote_209_209"></a><a href="#FNanchor_209_209"><span class="label">[209]</span></a> London Philosophical Transactions, 1767, pp. 280, 291. Cuvier, Animal -Kingdom, (London, 1827-35,) Vol. X. p. 508.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_210_210" id="Footnote_210_210"></a><a href="#FNanchor_210_210"><span class="label">[210]</span></a> Voyage, p. 63.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_211_211" id="Footnote_211_211"></a><a href="#FNanchor_211_211"><span class="label">[211]</span></a> Voyages, Vol. II. p. 23.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_212_212" id="Footnote_212_212"></a><a href="#FNanchor_212_212"><span class="label">[212]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. I. p. 264.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_213_213" id="Footnote_213_213"></a><a href="#FNanchor_213_213"><span class="label">[213]</span></a> Geographische Mittheilungen, 1867, p. 120.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_214_214" id="Footnote_214_214"></a><a href="#FNanchor_214_214"><span class="label">[214]</span></a> Executive Documents, 39th Cong. 1st Sess., H. of R., No. 1, Vol. 2, -p. 161.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_215_215" id="Footnote_215_215"></a><a href="#FNanchor_215_215"><span class="label">[215]</span></a> Voyage, p. 50.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_216_216" id="Footnote_216_216"></a><a href="#FNanchor_216_216"><span class="label">[216]</span></a> John Adams to Secretary Jay, November 5, 1785: Works, Vol. VIII. -p. 339.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_217_217" id="Footnote_217_217"></a><a href="#FNanchor_217_217"><span class="label">[217]</span></a> Histoire Naturelle des Poissons, Tom. V. p. 429.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_218_218" id="Footnote_218_218"></a><a href="#FNanchor_218_218"><span class="label">[218]</span></a> Winslow’s Brief Narration: Young’s Chronicles of the Pilgrims, p. 383.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_219_219" id="Footnote_219_219"></a><a href="#FNanchor_219_219"><span class="label">[219]</span></a> Speech on Conciliation with America, March 22, 1775: Works (Boston, -1865-67), Vol. II. pp. 116-118.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_220_220" id="Footnote_220_220"></a><a href="#FNanchor_220_220"><span class="label">[220]</span></a> Austin’s Life of Gerry, Vol. I. p. 289.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_221_221" id="Footnote_221_221"></a><a href="#FNanchor_221_221"><span class="label">[221]</span></a> Secret Journals, Vol. II. pp. 161, 230.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_222_222" id="Footnote_222_222"></a><a href="#FNanchor_222_222"><span class="label">[222]</span></a> Works of John Adams, Vol. VII. pp. 45, 46.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_223_223" id="Footnote_223_223"></a><a href="#FNanchor_223_223"><span class="label">[223]</span></a> The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles, -(London, 1626,) p. 248.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_224_224" id="Footnote_224_224"></a><a href="#FNanchor_224_224"><span class="label">[224]</span></a> Sabine, Report on the Fisheries, p. 174.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_225_225" id="Footnote_225_225"></a><a href="#FNanchor_225_225"><span class="label">[225]</span></a> Voyage, Vol. II. pp. 505, 506, October, 1778.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_226_226" id="Footnote_226_226"></a><a href="#FNanchor_226_226"><span class="label">[226]</span></a> The word Alaska was not improved when spelt Alas<i>h</i>ka, and the dropping -of the letter <i>h</i> in Oon<i>alaska</i> seemed to show the better and more -natural spelling. The following communication, more than a year after -the Speech, was in answer to an inquiry about the spelling with an <i>i</i>, as -Al<i>i</i>aska, which was adopted by several journals.</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p class="right medium">“<span class="smcap">Senate Chamber</span>, May 8, 1868.</p> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">Dear Mr. Barney</span>,—I have your note of the 8th in reference to the spelling of -Alaska.</p> - -<p>“I think ‘Aliaska’ is a mistake, for which the Coast Survey, in the first map of -this country, are partly responsible. On inquiry, I found there was no particular -authority for this spelling, and at my suggestion it was altered to Alaska in a subsequent -edition.</p> - -<p>“When called to consider the purchase of this territory, I found that it had the -general name of ‘Russian Possessions in America,’ or ‘Russian America.’ In the -event of transfer to the United States, this was evidently improper. Looking for a -name, my attention was arrested by the designation of the promontory stretching -to the Aleutian Islands, called by Captain Cook, the first Englishman who visited -the region, Alaska, without an <i>i</i>, as the large and neighboring island was called -Oon<i>alaska</i>. This is the first time, so far as I am aware, that the name appears. -Though at a later day it was sometimes written ‘Aliaska,’ it seemed to me that -the earlier designation was historically more just, while in itself a better word. On -this account, at the close of my speech I ventured to propose it as a name for the -whole country.</p> - -<p>“While I was doing this in Washington, General Halleck, in San Francisco, was -writing an elaborate letter to the Government about the new territory, in which -he proposed the same name, with, as I understand, the same spelling.</p> - -<p class="sig">“Yours truly,</p> - -<p class="sig2">“<span class="smcap">Charles Sumner</span>.</p> - -<p class="noindent medium">“<span class="smcap">Hon. Hiram Barney</span>, New York.”</p> - -</div> - -<p>A new edition of the map appeared with the pamphlet edition of the -Speech, on which Mr. Hilgard, of the Coast Survey, in a letter dated May -25th, wrote to Mr. Sumner:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“As this edition will make its first appearance appended to your speech, I have -ventured to put on it the name Alaska, proposed by you, as I have no doubt it -will be generally adopted.”</p> - -</div> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_227_227" id="Footnote_227_227"></a><a href="#FNanchor_227_227"><span class="label">[227]</span></a> Bancroft’s Life of Washington (Worcester, 1807), p. 47.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_228_228" id="Footnote_228_228"></a><a href="#FNanchor_228_228"><span class="label">[228]</span></a> <i>Ante</i>, Vol. XIV. p. 355.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_229_229" id="Footnote_229_229"></a><a href="#FNanchor_229_229"><span class="label">[229]</span></a> Hon. Charles G. Atherton, Representative from New Hampshire,—author -of the resolutions of December 11, 1838, on which was based the -notorious 21st Rule of the House, providing that “No petition, memorial, -resolution, or other paper, praying the abolition of slavery in the District -of Columbia or any State or Territory, or the slave-trade between the -States or Territories of the United States in which it now exists, shall be -received by this House, or entertained in any way whatever.”</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_230_230" id="Footnote_230_230"></a><a href="#FNanchor_230_230"><span class="label">[230]</span></a> Article IV.: United States Statutes at Large, Vol. XV. p. 542.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_231_231" id="Footnote_231_231"></a><a href="#FNanchor_231_231"><span class="label">[231]</span></a> Article VI.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_232_232" id="Footnote_232_232"></a><a href="#FNanchor_232_232"><span class="label">[232]</span></a> The allusion to Kentucky drew from Mr. Davis, of that State, some -days later, a vehement Philippic, where, among other things, he said: -“The Senator from Massachusetts himself has been complicated in the -crime of treason” (alluding to his opposition to the Fugitive Slave Bill).… -“Massachusetts now is in high feather. Why? She feels conscious -and proud that the Constitution of the United States is prostrate at her -feet, and that she is leading the whole Radical host of America to execute -her wild, oppressive, and unconstitutional behests.… The Senator from -Massachusetts pretends to be a statesman, and gets up to speak in this -Chamber, not only to the Senate, not only to the people of the United -States, but to the legislators and statesmen and publicists of Europe, … -as if he fancied himself the autocratic lawgiver of the whole land,—as -though he was a great Colossus in wisdom and power, bestriding Government, -Constitution, and country.… The people of the South are enslaved; -they are enslaved by the usurped power of the Senator from Massachusetts, -in part, and he knows it.… If justice could overtake the -States of this Union, Massachusetts would be reconstructed and brought -to greater shame than even South Carolina. The honorable Senator was -almost in an ecstasy, a few days ago, when he foretold the advent of -negro Senators into this body. He was jubilant.… We see the fell purpose -of the honorable Senator from Massachusetts. We know with what -persistence he pursues his objects.” Mr. Sumner, in reply, simply read -extracts from speeches by Judge Goodloe, Willard Davis, G. H. Graham, -and General Brisbin, all of Kentucky, at a recent celebration, on the 4th -of July, at Lexington, in that State.[A]</p> - -<p class="blockquote noindent">[A] Congressional Globe, 40th Cong. 1st Sess., July 13, 1867, pp. 631-633.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_233_233" id="Footnote_233_233"></a><a href="#FNanchor_233_233"><span class="label">[233]</span></a> See, <i>ante</i>, p. 190.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_234_234" id="Footnote_234_234"></a><a href="#FNanchor_234_234"><span class="label">[234]</span></a> Statutes at Large, Vol. XV. pp. 14-16.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_235_235" id="Footnote_235_235"></a><a href="#FNanchor_235_235"><span class="label">[235]</span></a> <i>Ante</i>, p. 193.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_236_236" id="Footnote_236_236"></a><a href="#FNanchor_236_236"><span class="label">[236]</span></a> Statutes at Large, Vol. XVI. p. 3.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_237_237" id="Footnote_237_237"></a><a href="#FNanchor_237_237"><span class="label">[237]</span></a> The Veto of the Third Reconstruction Act.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_238_238" id="Footnote_238_238"></a><a href="#FNanchor_238_238"><span class="label">[238]</span></a> Statutes at Large, Vol. XV. p. 31.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_239_239" id="Footnote_239_239"></a><a href="#FNanchor_239_239"><span class="label">[239]</span></a> Statutes at Large, Vol. XV. pp. 263, 264.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_240_240" id="Footnote_240_240"></a><a href="#FNanchor_240_240"><span class="label">[240]</span></a> The character of the Senate as a court of impeachment was discussed -by Mr. Sumner in his Opinion on the Impeachment of President Johnson.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_241_241" id="Footnote_241_241"></a><a href="#FNanchor_241_241"><span class="label">[241]</span></a> In the Description of England, prefixed to Holinshed’s Chronicles, -and dated 1586, one of these gifts is mentioned: “Of the potato and such -venerous roots as are brought out of Spaine, Portingale, and the Indies to -furnish vp our bankets, I speake not.” Book II. Ch. VI., Vol. I. p. 281 -(London, 1807).</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_242_242" id="Footnote_242_242"></a><a href="#FNanchor_242_242"><span class="label">[242]</span></a> Act. II. 374-379.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_243_243" id="Footnote_243_243"></a><a href="#FNanchor_243_243"><span class="label">[243]</span></a> Bacon’s Essays, annot. Whately, (London, 1858,) p. 379.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_244_244" id="Footnote_244_244"></a><a href="#FNanchor_244_244"><span class="label">[244]</span></a> June 20, 1800. Memorials and Correspondence, ed. Russell, Vol. IV. -p. 393.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_245_245" id="Footnote_245_245"></a><a href="#FNanchor_245_245"><span class="label">[245]</span></a> Life of Columbus, Appendix, No. XXIV., Author’s Revised Edition, -(New York, 1860,) Vol. III. p. 402.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_246_246" id="Footnote_246_246"></a><a href="#FNanchor_246_246"><span class="label">[246]</span></a> Navarrete, Coleccion de los Viages y Descubrimientos, Tom. II. pp. -264, 272. Humboldt, Examen Critique de l’Histoire de la Géographie du -Nouveau Continent, Tom. I. p. 101.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_247_247" id="Footnote_247_247"></a><a href="#FNanchor_247_247"><span class="label">[247]</span></a> Examen Critique, Tom. I. p. 162.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_248_248" id="Footnote_248_248"></a><a href="#FNanchor_248_248"><span class="label">[248]</span></a> Ibid., pp. 152, 165.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_249_249" id="Footnote_249_249"></a><a href="#FNanchor_249_249"><span class="label">[249]</span></a> Geographica, Lib. I. p. 65, C. Comp. Lib. II. p. 118, C. See Humboldt, -Examen Critique, Tom. I. pp. 147, seqq.; Cosmos, tr. Otté, Vol. II. -pp. 516, 556, 557, 645.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_250_250" id="Footnote_250_250"></a><a href="#FNanchor_250_250"><span class="label">[250]</span></a></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“… che ’l dì nostro vola</div> -<div class="verse">A gente, che di là forse l’aspetta.”</div> -<p class="right"><i>Rime</i>, Part. I. Canzone V.</p> -</div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_251_251" id="Footnote_251_251"></a><a href="#FNanchor_251_251"><span class="label">[251]</span></a> Canto XXV. st. 229, 230.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_252_252" id="Footnote_252_252"></a><a href="#FNanchor_252_252"><span class="label">[252]</span></a> History of Ferdinand and Isabella, Vol. II. pp. 117, 118.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_253_253" id="Footnote_253_253"></a><a href="#FNanchor_253_253"><span class="label">[253]</span></a> Stories from the Italian Poets, (London, 1846,) Vol. I. p. 295.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_254_254" id="Footnote_254_254"></a><a href="#FNanchor_254_254"><span class="label">[254]</span></a> Christian Morals, Part II. Sec. 3: Works, ed. Wilkin, (London, 1835,) -Vol. IV. p. 81.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_255_255" id="Footnote_255_255"></a><a href="#FNanchor_255_255"><span class="label">[255]</span></a> Œuvres, (Paris, 1821-23,) Tom. VIII. p. 336. Curiosities of Literature, (London, -1849,) Vol. III. p. 301, note.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_256_256" id="Footnote_256_256"></a><a href="#FNanchor_256_256"><span class="label">[256]</span></a> De Guiana Carmen Epicum: Hakluyt, Voyages, (London, 1600,) Vol. III. pp. -668-672.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_257_257" id="Footnote_257_257"></a><a href="#FNanchor_257_257"><span class="label">[257]</span></a> To the Virginian Voyage: Anderson’s British Poets, Vol. III. p. 583.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_258_258" id="Footnote_258_258"></a><a href="#FNanchor_258_258"><span class="label">[258]</span></a> Musophilus: Ibid., Vol. IV. p. 217.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_259_259" id="Footnote_259_259"></a><a href="#FNanchor_259_259"><span class="label">[259]</span></a> The Church Militant, 239, 240.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_260_260" id="Footnote_260_260"></a><a href="#FNanchor_260_260"><span class="label">[260]</span></a> Life, by Izaak Walton.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_261_261" id="Footnote_261_261"></a><a href="#FNanchor_261_261"><span class="label">[261]</span></a> The Holy State, Book III. Ch. 16: <i>Of Plantations</i>.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_262_262" id="Footnote_262_262"></a><a href="#FNanchor_262_262"><span class="label">[262]</span></a> Cœlum Britannicum: Anderson’s British Poets, Vol. III. p. 716.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_263_263" id="Footnote_263_263"></a><a href="#FNanchor_263_263"><span class="label">[263]</span></a> Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc., Vol. I. p. 126.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_264_264" id="Footnote_264_264"></a><a href="#FNanchor_264_264"><span class="label">[264]</span></a> Griswold’s Poets and Poetry of America, (Philadelphia, 1856,) p. 22.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_265_265" id="Footnote_265_265"></a><a href="#FNanchor_265_265"><span class="label">[265]</span></a> Ibid., p. 29.—Mr. Webster, quoting these lines, attributes them to an -anonymous “English poet.” Speech at the Festival of the Sons of New -Hampshire, November 7, 1849: Works, Vol. II. p. 510.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_266_266" id="Footnote_266_266"></a><a href="#FNanchor_266_266"><span class="label">[266]</span></a> Duyckinck’s Cyclopædia of American Literature, Vol. I. p. 299.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_267_267" id="Footnote_267_267"></a><a href="#FNanchor_267_267"><span class="label">[267]</span></a></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“Il met la fièvre en nos climats,</div> -<div class="verse"><i>Et le remède en Amérique</i>.”</div> -<p class="right"><i>Épître</i> LXXV., <i>Au Roi de Prusse</i>: Œuvres,<br /> -(edit. 1784,) Tom. XIII. p. 170.</p> -</div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_268_268" id="Footnote_268_268"></a><a href="#FNanchor_268_268"><span class="label">[268]</span></a> Of Reformation touching Church Discipline in England, Book II.: -Works, (London, 1851,) Vol. III. pp. 44, 45.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_269_269" id="Footnote_269_269"></a><a href="#FNanchor_269_269"><span class="label">[269]</span></a> Book V. 874-879.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_270_270" id="Footnote_270_270"></a><a href="#FNanchor_270_270"><span class="label">[270]</span></a> Book V. 955-959.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_271_271" id="Footnote_271_271"></a><a href="#FNanchor_271_271"><span class="label">[271]</span></a> Ibid., 1202-1237.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_272_272" id="Footnote_272_272"></a><a href="#FNanchor_272_272"><span class="label">[272]</span></a> Life of Sir Thomas Browne: Works, (Oxford, 1825,) Vol. VI. p. 490.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_273_273" id="Footnote_273_273"></a><a href="#FNanchor_273_273"><span class="label">[273]</span></a> Works, ed. Wilkin, (London, 1835,) Vol. IV. pp. 232, 233.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_274_274" id="Footnote_274_274"></a><a href="#FNanchor_274_274"><span class="label">[274]</span></a> Works, ed. Wilkin, Vol. IV. p. 233.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_275_275" id="Footnote_275_275"></a><a href="#FNanchor_275_275"><span class="label">[275]</span></a> Ibid., p. 235.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_276_276" id="Footnote_276_276"></a><a href="#FNanchor_276_276"><span class="label">[276]</span></a> Ibid., p. 236.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_277_277" id="Footnote_277_277"></a><a href="#FNanchor_277_277"><span class="label">[277]</span></a> Works, ed. Wilkin, Vol. IV. pp. 236, 237.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_278_278" id="Footnote_278_278"></a><a href="#FNanchor_278_278"><span class="label">[278]</span></a> Ibid., p. 231, note.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_279_279" id="Footnote_279_279"></a><a href="#FNanchor_279_279"><span class="label">[279]</span></a> The Literature of Political Economy, p. 42.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_280_280" id="Footnote_280_280"></a><a href="#FNanchor_280_280"><span class="label">[280]</span></a> See Opinions on Interesting Subjects of Public Law and Commercial -Policy arising from American Independence, p. 108. A motto on the reverse -of the title-page is from Child.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_281_281" id="Footnote_281_281"></a><a href="#FNanchor_281_281"><span class="label">[281]</span></a> Curiosities of Literature, (London, 1849,) Vol. III. p. 303.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_282_282" id="Footnote_282_282"></a><a href="#FNanchor_282_282"><span class="label">[282]</span></a> Chalmers, Life of De Foe, p. 68.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_283_283" id="Footnote_283_283"></a><a href="#FNanchor_283_283"><span class="label">[283]</span></a> A New Discourse of Trade, (London, 1698,) p. 183.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_284_284" id="Footnote_284_284"></a><a href="#FNanchor_284_284"><span class="label">[284]</span></a> Ibid., p. 201.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_285_285" id="Footnote_285_285"></a><a href="#FNanchor_285_285"><span class="label">[285]</span></a> Ibid., p. 212.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_286_286" id="Footnote_286_286"></a><a href="#FNanchor_286_286"><span class="label">[286]</span></a> Ibid., p. 215.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_287_287" id="Footnote_287_287"></a><a href="#FNanchor_287_287"><span class="label">[287]</span></a> A New Discourse of Trade, (London, 1698,) p. 216.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_288_288" id="Footnote_288_288"></a><a href="#FNanchor_288_288"><span class="label">[288]</span></a> Discourses on the Public Revenues, (London, 1698,) Part II. pp. 204, -205.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_289_289" id="Footnote_289_289"></a><a href="#FNanchor_289_289"><span class="label">[289]</span></a> Discourses on the Public Revenues, (London, 1698,) Part II. p. 206.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_290_290" id="Footnote_290_290"></a><a href="#FNanchor_290_290"><span class="label">[290]</span></a> Opinions on Interesting Subjects, p. 108.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_291_291" id="Footnote_291_291"></a><a href="#FNanchor_291_291"><span class="label">[291]</span></a> Opinions of Eminent Lawyers on Various Points of English Jurisprudence, -chiefly concerning the Colonies, etc., Preface, p. xvi.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_292_292" id="Footnote_292_292"></a><a href="#FNanchor_292_292"><span class="label">[292]</span></a> Vol. II. pp. 295, seqq.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_293_293" id="Footnote_293_293"></a><a href="#FNanchor_293_293"><span class="label">[293]</span></a> A Plan of the English Commerce, (London, 1728,) pp. 360, 361.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_294_294" id="Footnote_294_294"></a><a href="#FNanchor_294_294"><span class="label">[294]</span></a> Ibid., pp. 306, 307. See also The Complete English Tradesman, Chap. -XXVI.: Miscellaneous Works, (Oxford, 1841,) Vol. XVII. pp. 254, seqq.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_295_295" id="Footnote_295_295"></a><a href="#FNanchor_295_295"><span class="label">[295]</span></a> Letters by Several Eminent Persons, ed. Duncombe, (London, 1773,) -Vol. I. p. 107, note.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_296_296" id="Footnote_296_296"></a><a href="#FNanchor_296_296"><span class="label">[296]</span></a> Letter to Lord Carteret, September 3, 1724: Works, ed. Scott, (Edinburgh, -1824,) Vol. XVI. p. 441.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_297_297" id="Footnote_297_297"></a><a href="#FNanchor_297_297"><span class="label">[297]</span></a> Epilogue to the Satires, Dialogue II. 73.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_298_298" id="Footnote_298_298"></a><a href="#FNanchor_298_298"><span class="label">[298]</span></a> Sir Robert Walpole.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_299_299" id="Footnote_299_299"></a><a href="#FNanchor_299_299"><span class="label">[299]</span></a> Letter to Thomas Prior, May 7, 1730: Works, (Dublin, 1784,) Vol. I. -p. lvii.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_300_300" id="Footnote_300_300"></a><a href="#FNanchor_300_300"><span class="label">[300]</span></a> Letter to Thomas Prior, April 24, 1729: Works, Vol. I. p. liii.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_301_301" id="Footnote_301_301"></a><a href="#FNanchor_301_301"><span class="label">[301]</span></a> To Same, March 9, 1730: Ibid., p. lv.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_302_302" id="Footnote_302_302"></a><a href="#FNanchor_302_302"><span class="label">[302]</span></a> Works, Vol. II. pp. 441-444.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_303_303" id="Footnote_303_303"></a><a href="#FNanchor_303_303"><span class="label">[303]</span></a> Bp. Stock, Life of Berkeley, prefixed to Works, Vol. I. p. xv.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_304_304" id="Footnote_304_304"></a><a href="#FNanchor_304_304"><span class="label">[304]</span></a> Address at the Laying of the Corner-Stone of the Addition to the Capitol, -July 4, 1851: Works, Vol. II. p. 596. See also p. 510.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_305_305" id="Footnote_305_305"></a><a href="#FNanchor_305_305"><span class="label">[305]</span></a> Grahame, History of the United States, Vol. IV. pp. 136, 448.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_306_306" id="Footnote_306_306"></a><a href="#FNanchor_306_306"><span class="label">[306]</span></a> Galt’s Life of West, Part I. pp. 116, 117.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_307_307" id="Footnote_307_307"></a><a href="#FNanchor_307_307"><span class="label">[307]</span></a> Letter to Benjamin Rush, May 23, 1807: Works, Vol. IX. pp. 599, 600.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_308_308" id="Footnote_308_308"></a><a href="#FNanchor_308_308"><span class="label">[308]</span></a> Travels, (London, 1775, 4to,) p. 89.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_309_309" id="Footnote_309_309"></a><a href="#FNanchor_309_309"><span class="label">[309]</span></a> Preface, p. xi.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_310_310" id="Footnote_310_310"></a><a href="#FNanchor_310_310"><span class="label">[310]</span></a> Page 1.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_311_311" id="Footnote_311_311"></a><a href="#FNanchor_311_311"><span class="label">[311]</span></a> Pages 1, 2.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_312_312" id="Footnote_312_312"></a><a href="#FNanchor_312_312"><span class="label">[312]</span></a> Pages 2, 3.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_313_313" id="Footnote_313_313"></a><a href="#FNanchor_313_313"><span class="label">[313]</span></a> Page 31.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_314_314" id="Footnote_314_314"></a><a href="#FNanchor_314_314"><span class="label">[314]</span></a></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“At tu præteritas tandem obliviscere clades:</div> -<div class="verse">Nam tanti non parva Deus tibi, America, vindex,</div> -<div class="verse">Et dedit et majora dabit solatia damni.</div> -<div class="verse">Gaude sorte tua: pars omnis amara vorata est</div> -<div class="verse">Jam dudum; dulcis superest.…</div> -<div class="verse">Ingenium, Pietas, Artes, ac Bellica Virtus</div> -<div class="verse">Huc profugæ venient, et regna illustria condent.</div> -<div class="verse center">…</div> -<div class="verse">Et domina his Virtus erit, et Fortuna ministra.”</div> -<p class="right"><i>Plantarum</i>, Lib. V. 1137-1200.</p> -</div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_315_315" id="Footnote_315_315"></a><a href="#FNanchor_315_315"><span class="label">[315]</span></a></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“Then shall Religion to America flee:</div> -<div class="verse">They have their times of Gospel, even as we.”</div> -<p class="right"><i>The Church Militant</i>, 247, 248.</p> -</div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_316_316" id="Footnote_316_316"></a><a href="#FNanchor_316_316"><span class="label">[316]</span></a> Page 34.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_317_317" id="Footnote_317_317"></a><a href="#FNanchor_317_317"><span class="label">[317]</span></a> Pages 49, 51.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_318_318" id="Footnote_318_318"></a><a href="#FNanchor_318_318"><span class="label">[318]</span></a> “Which everywhere they call <em>America</em>; truly and deservedly they -should say rather <em>Columbina</em>, from the magnanimous hero Christopher -Columbus, the Genoese, first explorer, and plainly divinely appointed -discoverer of those lands.”—<i>Miscellanea Sacra</i>, Lib. II. cap. 4, <i>in fine</i>. -Sewall, p. 49.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_319_319" id="Footnote_319_319"></a><a href="#FNanchor_319_319"><span class="label">[319]</span></a> Fuller, <i>in loc. cit.</i> Sewall, pp. 49, 50.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_320_320" id="Footnote_320_320"></a><a href="#FNanchor_320_320"><span class="label">[320]</span></a> Pages 50, 51.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_321_321" id="Footnote_321_321"></a><a href="#FNanchor_321_321"><span class="label">[321]</span></a> Page 52.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_322_322" id="Footnote_322_322"></a><a href="#FNanchor_322_322"><span class="label">[322]</span></a> Voltaire à d’Argenson, 21 Juin, 1739, 13 Mars, 1750; à Richelieu, -4 Février, 1757: Œuvres de Voltaire, (1784-89,) Tom. LIII. p. 246; -LIV. p. 225; LV. p. 406.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_323_323" id="Footnote_323_323"></a><a href="#FNanchor_323_323"><span class="label">[323]</span></a> Journal et Mémoires, Introduction, Tom. I. p. xlvii.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_324_324" id="Footnote_324_324"></a><a href="#FNanchor_324_324"><span class="label">[324]</span></a> Journal et Mémoires, Février, 1734, Tom. I. p. 185.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_325_325" id="Footnote_325_325"></a><a href="#FNanchor_325_325"><span class="label">[325]</span></a> Journal et Mémoires, Introduction, Tom. I. p. xxvii.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_326_326" id="Footnote_326_326"></a><a href="#FNanchor_326_326"><span class="label">[326]</span></a> Ibid., p. liv, note.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_327_327" id="Footnote_327_327"></a><a href="#FNanchor_327_327"><span class="label">[327]</span></a> Journal et Mémoires, Introduction, Tom. I. p. xxxiii.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_328_328" id="Footnote_328_328"></a><a href="#FNanchor_328_328"><span class="label">[328]</span></a> Ibid., p. xxxiv.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_329_329" id="Footnote_329_329"></a><a href="#FNanchor_329_329"><span class="label">[329]</span></a> Sainte-Beuve, Causeries du Lundi, Tom. XII. p. 105: <i>Le Marquis -d’Argenson</i>. Journal et Mémoires, Introduction, Tom. I. p. xxxvii.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_330_330" id="Footnote_330_330"></a><a href="#FNanchor_330_330"><span class="label">[330]</span></a> Journal et Mémoires, Tom. I., Introduction, p. xliii; Appendice, -p. 363.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_331_331" id="Footnote_331_331"></a><a href="#FNanchor_331_331"><span class="label">[331]</span></a> Pensées sur la Réformation de l’État: Journal et Mémoires, Introduction, -Tom. I. pp. lv, lvi.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_332_332" id="Footnote_332_332"></a><a href="#FNanchor_332_332"><span class="label">[332]</span></a> Ibid. Compare p. lvi, notes 1 and 2; p. iv, note 2; and p. xvii, note.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_333_333" id="Footnote_333_333"></a><a href="#FNanchor_333_333"><span class="label">[333]</span></a> Letter to Dr. Price, March 22, 1778: Price’s Observations on the Importance -of the American Revolution, (London, 1785,) App., p. 98.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_334_334" id="Footnote_334_334"></a><a href="#FNanchor_334_334"><span class="label">[334]</span></a> Ibid., p. 93.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_335_335" id="Footnote_335_335"></a><a href="#FNanchor_335_335"><span class="label">[335]</span></a> Condorcet, Vie de Turgot: Œuvres, éd. O’Connor et Arago, (Paris, -1847-49,) Tom. V. p. 209.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_336_336" id="Footnote_336_336"></a><a href="#FNanchor_336_336"><span class="label">[336]</span></a> Ibid., p. 213.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_337_337" id="Footnote_337_337"></a><a href="#FNanchor_337_337"><span class="label">[337]</span></a> Œuvres, éd. Dupont de Nemours, (Paris, 1808-11,) Tom. II. p. 66. -Ibid., éd. Daire, (Paris, 1844,) Tom. II. p. 602.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_338_338" id="Footnote_338_338"></a><a href="#FNanchor_338_338"><span class="label">[338]</span></a> De l’Esprit des Lois, Liv. XIX. ch. 27.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_339_339" id="Footnote_339_339"></a><a href="#FNanchor_339_339"><span class="label">[339]</span></a> Œuvres, éd. Daire, Tom. II. p. 802.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_340_340" id="Footnote_340_340"></a><a href="#FNanchor_340_340"><span class="label">[340]</span></a> Ibid., pp. 557, 581, 564. Bancroft, History of the United States, Vol. -VIII. pp. 337, 338.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_341_341" id="Footnote_341_341"></a><a href="#FNanchor_341_341"><span class="label">[341]</span></a> Observations on the Importance of the American Revolution, Appendix.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_342_342" id="Footnote_342_342"></a><a href="#FNanchor_342_342"><span class="label">[342]</span></a> Works, Vols. IV.-VI., where (IV. 278-281) is found the larger part -of the letter of Turgot.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_343_343" id="Footnote_343_343"></a><a href="#FNanchor_343_343"><span class="label">[343]</span></a> Price, Observations on the Importance of the American Revolution, -App., pp. 96, 97. Turgot, Œuvres, éd. Daire, Tom. II. p. 808.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_344_344" id="Footnote_344_344"></a><a href="#FNanchor_344_344"><span class="label">[344]</span></a> Price, Observations on the Importance of the American Revolution, -App., p. 100. Turgot, Œuvres, éd. Daire, Tom. II. p. 809.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_345_345" id="Footnote_345_345"></a><a href="#FNanchor_345_345"><span class="label">[345]</span></a> Price, Observations on the Importance of the American Revolution, -App., pp. 102, 103. Turgot, Œuvres, éd. Daire, Tom. II. pp. 809, 810.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_346_346" id="Footnote_346_346"></a><a href="#FNanchor_346_346"><span class="label">[346]</span></a> “Should the morals of the English be perverted by luxury, should they -lose their colonies by restraining them, &c., they will be enslaved, they will -become insignificant and contemptible; and Europe will not be able to show -the world one nation in which she can pride herself.”—Motto on title-page -of Price’s second tract on Civil Liberty, from Raynal, <i>Histoire Philosophique -et Politique</i>, Liv. XIX.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_347_347" id="Footnote_347_347"></a><a href="#FNanchor_347_347"><span class="label">[347]</span></a> Price, Observations on the Importance of the American Revolution, -App., pp. 103-105. Turgot, Œuvres, éd. Daire, Tom. II. p. 810.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_348_348" id="Footnote_348_348"></a><a href="#FNanchor_348_348"><span class="label">[348]</span></a> Memoires, Vol. I. p. 344.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_349_349" id="Footnote_349_349"></a><a href="#FNanchor_349_349"><span class="label">[349]</span></a> Ibid., p. 347. See also Letter to Sir Horace Mann, October 6, 1754: -Letters, ed. Cunningham, Vol. II. p. 398.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_350_350" id="Footnote_350_350"></a><a href="#FNanchor_350_350"><span class="label">[350]</span></a> Letters, ed. Cunningham, Vol. VI. p. 57.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_351_351" id="Footnote_351_351"></a><a href="#FNanchor_351_351"><span class="label">[351]</span></a> Journal of the Reign of George III. from 1771 to 1783, ed. Doran, Vol. -I. p. 366.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_352_352" id="Footnote_352_352"></a><a href="#FNanchor_352_352"><span class="label">[352]</span></a> Ibid., p. 491. See Speech of Earl of Sandwich in the House of Lords, -March 15, 1775: Hansard’s Parliamentary History, Vol. XVIII. col. 446.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_353_353" id="Footnote_353_353"></a><a href="#FNanchor_353_353"><span class="label">[353]</span></a> Letters, ed. Cunningham, Vol. VI. p. 279.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_354_354" id="Footnote_354_354"></a><a href="#FNanchor_354_354"><span class="label">[354]</span></a> Letters, ed. Cunningham, Vol. VI. p. 450.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_355_355" id="Footnote_355_355"></a><a href="#FNanchor_355_355"><span class="label">[355]</span></a> Ibid., Vol. VII. pp. 12, 13.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_356_356" id="Footnote_356_356"></a><a href="#FNanchor_356_356"><span class="label">[356]</span></a> Ibid., pp. 14, 15.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_357_357" id="Footnote_357_357"></a><a href="#FNanchor_357_357"><span class="label">[357]</span></a> Letters, ed. Cunningham, Vol. VII. pp. 176, 177.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_358_358" id="Footnote_358_358"></a><a href="#FNanchor_358_358"><span class="label">[358]</span></a> Works, Vol. I. pp. 23, 24. See also Vol. IX. pp. 591-593.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_359_359" id="Footnote_359_359"></a><a href="#FNanchor_359_359"><span class="label">[359]</span></a> Works, Vol. I. pp. 24-26.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_360_360" id="Footnote_360_360"></a><a href="#FNanchor_360_360"><span class="label">[360]</span></a> Ibid., Vol. III. p. 447.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_361_361" id="Footnote_361_361"></a><a href="#FNanchor_361_361"><span class="label">[361]</span></a> Ibid., Vol. I. p. 66.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_362_362" id="Footnote_362_362"></a><a href="#FNanchor_362_362"><span class="label">[362]</span></a> Ibid., Vol. III. p. 451.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_363_363" id="Footnote_363_363"></a><a href="#FNanchor_363_363"><span class="label">[363]</span></a> Ibid., Vol. I. p. 66; Vol. III. p. 452.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_364_364" id="Footnote_364_364"></a><a href="#FNanchor_364_364"><span class="label">[364]</span></a> Works, Vol. I. p. 66.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_365_365" id="Footnote_365_365"></a><a href="#FNanchor_365_365"><span class="label">[365]</span></a> Ibid., Vol. III. p. 448.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_366_366" id="Footnote_366_366"></a><a href="#FNanchor_366_366"><span class="label">[366]</span></a> Works, Vol. I. pp. 230, 232.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_367_367" id="Footnote_367_367"></a><a href="#FNanchor_367_367"><span class="label">[367]</span></a> Works, Vol. VII. pp. 226, 227.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_368_368" id="Footnote_368_368"></a><a href="#FNanchor_368_368"><span class="label">[368]</span></a> Twenty-Six Letters upon Interesting Subjects respecting the Revolution -of America, written in Holland in the Year 1780: Works, Vol. VII. -pp. 274, 275.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_369_369" id="Footnote_369_369"></a><a href="#FNanchor_369_369"><span class="label">[369]</span></a> Works, Vol. VII. p. 250.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_370_370" id="Footnote_370_370"></a><a href="#FNanchor_370_370"><span class="label">[370]</span></a> Letter to Edmund Jenings: Ibid., Vol. IX. pp. 509, 510.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_371_371" id="Footnote_371_371"></a><a href="#FNanchor_371_371"><span class="label">[371]</span></a> Gibbon, Life, ed. Milman, (London, 1839,) p. 231, Chap. VII., Notes -and Additions.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_372_372" id="Footnote_372_372"></a><a href="#FNanchor_372_372"><span class="label">[372]</span></a> Alexander Keith Johnston, Physical Atlas, (edit. 1856,) p. 114, note.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_373_373" id="Footnote_373_373"></a><a href="#FNanchor_373_373"><span class="label">[373]</span></a> Works of John Adams, Vol. VII. p. 254.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_374_374" id="Footnote_374_374"></a><a href="#FNanchor_374_374"><span class="label">[374]</span></a> Works, Vol. VII. pp. 255, 256.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_375_375" id="Footnote_375_375"></a><a href="#FNanchor_375_375"><span class="label">[375]</span></a> Works, Vol. VIII. p. 322.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_376_376" id="Footnote_376_376"></a><a href="#FNanchor_376_376"><span class="label">[376]</span></a> Ibid., p. 333.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_377_377" id="Footnote_377_377"></a><a href="#FNanchor_377_377"><span class="label">[377]</span></a> Ibid., Vol. IV. pp. 292, 293.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_378_378" id="Footnote_378_378"></a><a href="#FNanchor_378_378"><span class="label">[378]</span></a> Works, Vol. VI. p. 218.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_379_379" id="Footnote_379_379"></a><a href="#FNanchor_379_379"><span class="label">[379]</span></a> Writings of Jefferson, Vol. VI. p. 258.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_380_380" id="Footnote_380_380"></a><a href="#FNanchor_380_380"><span class="label">[380]</span></a> Works, Vol. X. p. 282.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_381_381" id="Footnote_381_381"></a><a href="#FNanchor_381_381"><span class="label">[381]</span></a> Webster, Discourse in Commemoration of the Lives and Services of -John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, delivered in Faneuil Hall, Boston, -August 2, 1826: Works, Vol. I. p. 139.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_382_382" id="Footnote_382_382"></a><a href="#FNanchor_382_382"><span class="label">[382]</span></a> Page 8.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_383_383" id="Footnote_383_383"></a><a href="#FNanchor_383_383"><span class="label">[383]</span></a> Page 18.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_384_384" id="Footnote_384_384"></a><a href="#FNanchor_384_384"><span class="label">[384]</span></a> Page 21.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_385_385" id="Footnote_385_385"></a><a href="#FNanchor_385_385"><span class="label">[385]</span></a> Page 22.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_386_386" id="Footnote_386_386"></a><a href="#FNanchor_386_386"><span class="label">[386]</span></a> Page 24.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_387_387" id="Footnote_387_387"></a><a href="#FNanchor_387_387"><span class="label">[387]</span></a> Page 27.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_388_388" id="Footnote_388_388"></a><a href="#FNanchor_388_388"><span class="label">[388]</span></a> April, 1777.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_389_389" id="Footnote_389_389"></a><a href="#FNanchor_389_389"><span class="label">[389]</span></a> July, 1777.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_390_390" id="Footnote_390_390"></a><a href="#FNanchor_390_390"><span class="label">[390]</span></a> Hansard’s Parliamentary History, Vol. XIX. col. 346.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_391_391" id="Footnote_391_391"></a><a href="#FNanchor_391_391"><span class="label">[391]</span></a> Ibid., col. 351.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_392_392" id="Footnote_392_392"></a><a href="#FNanchor_392_392"><span class="label">[392]</span></a> Ibid., col. 847.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_393_393" id="Footnote_393_393"></a><a href="#FNanchor_393_393"><span class="label">[393]</span></a> The Plains of Abraham, Notes Original and Selected, by Lieutenant-Colonel -R. E. Beatson.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_394_394" id="Footnote_394_394"></a><a href="#FNanchor_394_394"><span class="label">[394]</span></a> History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, (London, 1858-65,) Vol. V. p. 557.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_395_395" id="Footnote_395_395"></a><a href="#FNanchor_395_395"><span class="label">[395]</span></a> History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Vol. V. p. 558.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_396_396" id="Footnote_396_396"></a><a href="#FNanchor_396_396"><span class="label">[396]</span></a> Speech in the House of Commons, February 8, 1850: Hansard’s Parliamentary -Debates, 3d Ser., Vol. CVIII. col. 537.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_397_397" id="Footnote_397_397"></a><a href="#FNanchor_397_397"><span class="label">[397]</span></a> Remarks of Mr. Parkman: Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical -Society, 1869-70, p. 113.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_398_398" id="Footnote_398_398"></a><a href="#FNanchor_398_398"><span class="label">[398]</span></a> Letter to the Countess of Ossory, November 8, 1789: Letters, ed. Cunningham, -Vol. IX. p. 234.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_399_399" id="Footnote_399_399"></a><a href="#FNanchor_399_399"><span class="label">[399]</span></a> Mémoires de M. le Duc de Choiseul, écrits par lui-même, et imprimés -sous ses Yeux dans son Cabinet à Chanteloup en 1778. 2 Tom. Chanteloup -et Paris, 1790.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_400_400" id="Footnote_400_400"></a><a href="#FNanchor_400_400"><span class="label">[400]</span></a> Essai sur les Avantages à retirer de Colonies nouvelles dans les Circonstances -présentes, par le Citoyen Talleyrand, lu à la Séance publique de -l’Institut National, le 25 Messidor, An V. See Historical Characters, by -Sir Henry Lytton Bulwer, Vol. I. p. 461, Appendix.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_401_401" id="Footnote_401_401"></a><a href="#FNanchor_401_401"><span class="label">[401]</span></a> Bancroft, History of the United States, Vol. V. p. 193; VI. pp. 25, 67.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_402_402" id="Footnote_402_402"></a><a href="#FNanchor_402_402"><span class="label">[402]</span></a> Ibid., Vol. VI. pp. 95, 96.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_403_403" id="Footnote_403_403"></a><a href="#FNanchor_403_403"><span class="label">[403]</span></a> Bancroft, History of the United States, Vol. VI. pp. 169, 170.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_404_404" id="Footnote_404_404"></a><a href="#FNanchor_404_404"><span class="label">[404]</span></a> Ibid., p. 237.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_405_405" id="Footnote_405_405"></a><a href="#FNanchor_405_405"><span class="label">[405]</span></a> Ibid., pp. 244, 245.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_406_406" id="Footnote_406_406"></a><a href="#FNanchor_406_406"><span class="label">[406]</span></a> Ibid., p. 245.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_407_407" id="Footnote_407_407"></a><a href="#FNanchor_407_407"><span class="label">[407]</span></a> Histoire Philosophique et Politique des Établissemens et du Commerce -des Européens dans les deux Indes.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_408_408" id="Footnote_408_408"></a><a href="#FNanchor_408_408"><span class="label">[408]</span></a> Histoire Philosophique et Politique, (Genève, 1780,) Liv. XIX. ch. 15.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_409_409" id="Footnote_409_409"></a><a href="#FNanchor_409_409"><span class="label">[409]</span></a> Notes on Virginia, Query VI.: Writings, Vol. VIII. p. 312.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_410_410" id="Footnote_410_410"></a><a href="#FNanchor_410_410"><span class="label">[410]</span></a> Liv. XVIII. ch. 32.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_411_411" id="Footnote_411_411"></a><a href="#FNanchor_411_411"><span class="label">[411]</span></a> Histoire Philosophique et Politique, (Amsterdam, 1772,) Liv. XVIII. -Tom. VI. p. 379.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_412_412" id="Footnote_412_412"></a><a href="#FNanchor_412_412"><span class="label">[412]</span></a> Ibid., pp. 426, 427.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_413_413" id="Footnote_413_413"></a><a href="#FNanchor_413_413"><span class="label">[413]</span></a> Histoire Philosophique et Politique, (Amsterdam, 1772,) Liv. XVIII. -Tom. VI. pp. 427, 428.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_414_414" id="Footnote_414_414"></a><a href="#FNanchor_414_414"><span class="label">[414]</span></a> Histoire Philosophique et Politique, (Genève, 1780,) Liv. XVIII. ch. -51, Tom. IX. pp. 369, 370.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_415_415" id="Footnote_415_415"></a><a href="#FNanchor_415_415"><span class="label">[415]</span></a> Ibid., Liv. XVIII. ch. 52, pp. 373, seqq.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_416_416" id="Footnote_416_416"></a><a href="#FNanchor_416_416"><span class="label">[416]</span></a> Dr. Price, in his second tract, “Additional Observations on the Nature -and Value of Civil Liberty and the War with America,” (London, 1777,) -pp. 87, 88, note.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_417_417" id="Footnote_417_417"></a><a href="#FNanchor_417_417"><span class="label">[417]</span></a> Novanglus, or a History of the Dispute with America, written in 1774: -Works, Vol. IV. p. 37.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_418_418" id="Footnote_418_418"></a><a href="#FNanchor_418_418"><span class="label">[418]</span></a> Historical Memoirs of his own Time, (London, 1836,) Vol. III. p. 347.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_419_419" id="Footnote_419_419"></a><a href="#FNanchor_419_419"><span class="label">[419]</span></a> Letter of Miss Catherine Louisa Shipley, August 2, 1785: Franklin’s -Works, ed. Sparks, Vol. X. p. 220.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_420_420" id="Footnote_420_420"></a><a href="#FNanchor_420_420"><span class="label">[420]</span></a> Letter of Same, December 24, 1788: Ibid., pp. 379, 380.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_421_421" id="Footnote_421_421"></a><a href="#FNanchor_421_421"><span class="label">[421]</span></a> Letter to Same, April 27, 1789: Ibid., p. 391.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_422_422" id="Footnote_422_422"></a><a href="#FNanchor_422_422"><span class="label">[422]</span></a> One of London and another of New York are in the Congressional Library. -The New York copy has the pencil lines of Mr. Webster, marking -what he calls “remarkable passages,” used by him in his “Address at the -Laying of the Corner-Stone of the Addition to the Capitol, 4th July, 1851”: -Works, Vol. II. p. 597.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_423_423" id="Footnote_423_423"></a><a href="#FNanchor_423_423"><span class="label">[423]</span></a> Letter to the Earl of Shelburne, October 24, 1773: Correspondence, -Vol. IV. p. 302.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_424_424" id="Footnote_424_424"></a><a href="#FNanchor_424_424"><span class="label">[424]</span></a> Letter to Miss C. L. Shipley, April 27, 1789: Works, ed. Sparks, -Vol. X. p. 391.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_425_425" id="Footnote_425_425"></a><a href="#FNanchor_425_425"><span class="label">[425]</span></a> Luke, ii. 14.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_426_426" id="Footnote_426_426"></a><a href="#FNanchor_426_426"><span class="label">[426]</span></a> Sermon, (Boston, 1773,) p. 5.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_427_427" id="Footnote_427_427"></a><a href="#FNanchor_427_427"><span class="label">[427]</span></a> Sermon, pp. 7, 8.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_428_428" id="Footnote_428_428"></a><a href="#FNanchor_428_428"><span class="label">[428]</span></a> Ibid., pp. 8, 9.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_429_429" id="Footnote_429_429"></a><a href="#FNanchor_429_429"><span class="label">[429]</span></a> Sermon, p. 9.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_430_430" id="Footnote_430_430"></a><a href="#FNanchor_430_430"><span class="label">[430]</span></a> Ibid., p. 14.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_431_431" id="Footnote_431_431"></a><a href="#FNanchor_431_431"><span class="label">[431]</span></a> Ibid., pp. 15, 16.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_432_432" id="Footnote_432_432"></a><a href="#FNanchor_432_432"><span class="label">[432]</span></a> Ibid., p. 16.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_433_433" id="Footnote_433_433"></a><a href="#FNanchor_433_433"><span class="label">[433]</span></a> Sermon, p. 11.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_434_434" id="Footnote_434_434"></a><a href="#FNanchor_434_434"><span class="label">[434]</span></a> Letter to Mr. Coombe, July 22, 1774: Works, ed. Sparks, Vol. VIII. -p. 124.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_435_435" id="Footnote_435_435"></a><a href="#FNanchor_435_435"><span class="label">[435]</span></a> Speech, (London, 1774,) p. 15.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_436_436" id="Footnote_436_436"></a><a href="#FNanchor_436_436"><span class="label">[436]</span></a> Ibid., p. 27.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_437_437" id="Footnote_437_437"></a><a href="#FNanchor_437_437"><span class="label">[437]</span></a> Ibid., p. 31.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_438_438" id="Footnote_438_438"></a><a href="#FNanchor_438_438"><span class="label">[438]</span></a> Speech, pp. 32, 33.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_439_439" id="Footnote_439_439"></a><a href="#FNanchor_439_439"><span class="label">[439]</span></a> Chalmers, Biographical Dictionary, art. <span class="smcap">Tucker</span>.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_440_440" id="Footnote_440_440"></a><a href="#FNanchor_440_440"><span class="label">[440]</span></a> Tucker’s Letter to Burke, (Glocester, 1775, 2d edit.,) title-page.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_441_441" id="Footnote_441_441"></a><a href="#FNanchor_441_441"><span class="label">[441]</span></a> Ibid., p. 6.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_442_442" id="Footnote_442_442"></a><a href="#FNanchor_442_442"><span class="label">[442]</span></a> See Letter to Burke, 1775, 2d edit., p. 5; Humble Address, 1775, 2d -edit., p. 8; and Series of Answers to Popular Objections, 1776, pp. xii, 97. -For the matter thus repeatedly and long complained of, see Burke’s Speech -on American Taxation, April 19, 1774: Works, (Boston, 1865-67,) Vol. II. -pp. 56, 57.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_443_443" id="Footnote_443_443"></a><a href="#FNanchor_443_443"><span class="label">[443]</span></a> Letter from a Merchant in London, (London, 1766,) pp. 19, 20.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_444_444" id="Footnote_444_444"></a><a href="#FNanchor_444_444"><span class="label">[444]</span></a> Letter from a Merchant in London, p. 42.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_445_445" id="Footnote_445_445"></a><a href="#FNanchor_445_445"><span class="label">[445]</span></a> Ibid., pp. 43, 54.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_446_446" id="Footnote_446_446"></a><a href="#FNanchor_446_446"><span class="label">[446]</span></a> The Fourth Tract was published separately in Philadelphia, in 1776, -with this addition to the title.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_447_447" id="Footnote_447_447"></a><a href="#FNanchor_447_447"><span class="label">[447]</span></a> True Interest of Great Britain: Four Tracts, (3d edit., Glocester, 1776,) -pp. 161, 162.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_448_448" id="Footnote_448_448"></a><a href="#FNanchor_448_448"><span class="label">[448]</span></a> Ibid., pp. 196, 197.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_449_449" id="Footnote_449_449"></a><a href="#FNanchor_449_449"><span class="label">[449]</span></a> True Interest of Great Britain: Four Tracts, (3d edit.,) pp. 201, 202.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_450_450" id="Footnote_450_450"></a><a href="#FNanchor_450_450"><span class="label">[450]</span></a> Ibid., pp. 202, 203.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_451_451" id="Footnote_451_451"></a><a href="#FNanchor_451_451"><span class="label">[451]</span></a> Ibid., pp. 218, 219.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_452_452" id="Footnote_452_452"></a><a href="#FNanchor_452_452"><span class="label">[452]</span></a> Ibid., p. 221.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_453_453" id="Footnote_453_453"></a><a href="#FNanchor_453_453"><span class="label">[453]</span></a> Humble Address, (2d edit.,) p. 5.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_454_454" id="Footnote_454_454"></a><a href="#FNanchor_454_454"><span class="label">[454]</span></a> Ibid., p. 29.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_455_455" id="Footnote_455_455"></a><a href="#FNanchor_455_455"><span class="label">[455]</span></a> Ibid., p. 47.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_456_456" id="Footnote_456_456"></a><a href="#FNanchor_456_456"><span class="label">[456]</span></a> Bacon’s Essays, ed. Whately, (London, 1858,) pp. 548, 549.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_457_457" id="Footnote_457_457"></a><a href="#FNanchor_457_457"><span class="label">[457]</span></a> Lectures on Modern History, ed. Sparks, (Cambridge, 1841,) Lecture -XXXII., Vol. II. p. 377.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_458_458" id="Footnote_458_458"></a><a href="#FNanchor_458_458"><span class="label">[458]</span></a> Cui Bono? (3d edit.,) p. 96.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_459_459" id="Footnote_459_459"></a><a href="#FNanchor_459_459"><span class="label">[459]</span></a> Cui Bono? (3d edit.,) pp. 117-119.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_460_460" id="Footnote_460_460"></a><a href="#FNanchor_460_460"><span class="label">[460]</span></a> Considerations on the Measures carrying on with respect to the British -Colonies in North America (1774). A Further Examination of our Present -American Measures, and of the Reasons and the Principles on which they -are founded (1776). Peace the Best Policy (1777).</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_461_461" id="Footnote_461_461"></a><a href="#FNanchor_461_461"><span class="label">[461]</span></a> Lectures on Modern History, ed. Sparks, Lecture XXXII., Vol. II. -pp. 380-383.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_462_462" id="Footnote_462_462"></a><a href="#FNanchor_462_462"><span class="label">[462]</span></a> Considerations, (2d edit.,) p. 66.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_463_463" id="Footnote_463_463"></a><a href="#FNanchor_463_463"><span class="label">[463]</span></a> Considerations, (2d edit.,) p. 72.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_464_464" id="Footnote_464_464"></a><a href="#FNanchor_464_464"><span class="label">[464]</span></a> February, 1774, Vol. L. p. 135.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_465_465" id="Footnote_465_465"></a><a href="#FNanchor_465_465"><span class="label">[465]</span></a> The American Coachman: Works, Vol. I. p. 205. The editor, not regarding -this little poem as a jest, says of it: “The author, with that conciseness -as to the matter and humor in the manner so peculiar to himself, -recommends and supports the Dean’s plan.”</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_466_466" id="Footnote_466_466"></a><a href="#FNanchor_466_466"><span class="label">[466]</span></a> American Independence, (Philadelphia, 1776,) title-page.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_467_467" id="Footnote_467_467"></a><a href="#FNanchor_467_467"><span class="label">[467]</span></a> Ibid., Letter VI., March 27, 1774, p. 65.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_468_468" id="Footnote_468_468"></a><a href="#FNanchor_468_468"><span class="label">[468]</span></a> Ibid., p. 66.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_469_469" id="Footnote_469_469"></a><a href="#FNanchor_469_469"><span class="label">[469]</span></a> Ibid., p. 68.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_470_470" id="Footnote_470_470"></a><a href="#FNanchor_470_470"><span class="label">[470]</span></a> Observations on Man, Part II., Propositions 81, 82.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_471_471" id="Footnote_471_471"></a><a href="#FNanchor_471_471"><span class="label">[471]</span></a> Disraeli’s Curiosities of Literature, (Boston, 1859,) Vol. IV. p. 174: -<i>Prediction</i>.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_472_472" id="Footnote_472_472"></a><a href="#FNanchor_472_472"><span class="label">[472]</span></a> Diary, April 19, 1778: Works, Vol. III. p. 137.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_473_473" id="Footnote_473_473"></a><a href="#FNanchor_473_473"><span class="label">[473]</span></a> Letter to Arthur Lee, April 12, 1783: Ibid., Vol. IX. p. 517.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_474_474" id="Footnote_474_474"></a><a href="#FNanchor_474_474"><span class="label">[474]</span></a> Diary, April 27, 1783: Ibid., Vol. III. p. 363.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_475_475" id="Footnote_475_475"></a><a href="#FNanchor_475_475"><span class="label">[475]</span></a> Letter to Secretary Livingston, April 14, 1783: Ibid., Vol. VIII. -p. 54.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_476_476" id="Footnote_476_476"></a><a href="#FNanchor_476_476"><span class="label">[476]</span></a> Letter, July 13, 1780: Ibid., Vol. VII. p. 226.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_477_477" id="Footnote_477_477"></a><a href="#FNanchor_477_477"><span class="label">[477]</span></a> Speech, March 27, 1775: Hansard’s Parliamentary History, Vol. XVIII. -col. 553.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_478_478" id="Footnote_478_478"></a><a href="#FNanchor_478_478"><span class="label">[478]</span></a> Hansard’s Parliamentary History, Vol. XVIII. col. 556.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_479_479" id="Footnote_479_479"></a><a href="#FNanchor_479_479"><span class="label">[479]</span></a> Ibid., col. 846.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_480_480" id="Footnote_480_480"></a><a href="#FNanchor_480_480"><span class="label">[480]</span></a> Ibid., col. 1050.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_481_481" id="Footnote_481_481"></a><a href="#FNanchor_481_481"><span class="label">[481]</span></a> Hansard’s Parliamentary History, Vol. XVIII. col. 1049.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_482_482" id="Footnote_482_482"></a><a href="#FNanchor_482_482"><span class="label">[482]</span></a> Speech on the American Prohibitory Bill, December 21, 1775: Ibid., -col. 1104, 1105.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_483_483" id="Footnote_483_483"></a><a href="#FNanchor_483_483"><span class="label">[483]</span></a> Hansard’s Parliamentary History, Vol. XVIII. col. 1356.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_484_484" id="Footnote_484_484"></a><a href="#FNanchor_484_484"><span class="label">[484]</span></a> Clarkson’s History of the Abolition of the African Slave-Trade, (Philadelphia, -1808,) Vol. I. pp. 167, 170.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_485_485" id="Footnote_485_485"></a><a href="#FNanchor_485_485"><span class="label">[485]</span></a> Hansard’s Parliamentary History, Vol. XIX. col. 258-260.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_486_486" id="Footnote_486_486"></a><a href="#FNanchor_486_486"><span class="label">[486]</span></a> Ibid., Vol. XIX. col. 315.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_487_487" id="Footnote_487_487"></a><a href="#FNanchor_487_487"><span class="label">[487]</span></a> Ibid., Vol. XX. col. 904.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_488_488" id="Footnote_488_488"></a><a href="#FNanchor_488_488"><span class="label">[488]</span></a> Ibid., Vol. XX. col. 1190.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_489_489" id="Footnote_489_489"></a><a href="#FNanchor_489_489"><span class="label">[489]</span></a> Biographie Universelle (Michaud). Biographie Générale (Didot). Louis -Blanc, Histoire de la Révolution Française, Tom. I. pp. 390, 545-551.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_490_490" id="Footnote_490_490"></a><a href="#FNanchor_490_490"><span class="label">[490]</span></a> Correspondance Inédite, (Paris, 1818,) Tom. II. p. 221. See also -Grimm, Correspondance, (Paris, 1812-14,) Tom. IX. p. 282.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_491_491" id="Footnote_491_491"></a><a href="#FNanchor_491_491"><span class="label">[491]</span></a> “On est dans un siècle où les remèdes nuisent au moins autant que -les vices.”</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_492_492" id="Footnote_492_492"></a><a href="#FNanchor_492_492"><span class="label">[492]</span></a> Correspondance Inédite, Tom. II. pp. 202, 203. Grimm, Tom. IX. pp. -284, 285.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_493_493" id="Footnote_493_493"></a><a href="#FNanchor_493_493"><span class="label">[493]</span></a> Correspondance Inédite, Tom. II. p. 275.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_494_494" id="Footnote_494_494"></a><a href="#FNanchor_494_494"><span class="label">[494]</span></a> Ibid., p. 280.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_495_495" id="Footnote_495_495"></a><a href="#FNanchor_495_495"><span class="label">[495]</span></a> History of Civilization in England, (London, 1857-61,) Chap. IV., -Vol. I. p. 197.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_496_496" id="Footnote_496_496"></a><a href="#FNanchor_496_496"><span class="label">[496]</span></a> Wealth of Nations, (London, 1789,) Book IV. Ch. VII. Part 3, Vol. II. -p. 458.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_497_497" id="Footnote_497_497"></a><a href="#FNanchor_497_497"><span class="label">[497]</span></a> Novanglus, No. VII.: Works of John Adams, Vol. IV. pp. 101, 102.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_498_498" id="Footnote_498_498"></a><a href="#FNanchor_498_498"><span class="label">[498]</span></a> Monthly Review, June, 1784, Vol. LXX. p. 478.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_499_499" id="Footnote_499_499"></a><a href="#FNanchor_499_499"><span class="label">[499]</span></a> Letter to William Franklin, November 25, 1767: Works, ed. Sparks, -Vol. VII. p. 367.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_500_500" id="Footnote_500_500"></a><a href="#FNanchor_500_500"><span class="label">[500]</span></a> A Series of Answers to certain Popular Objections against separating -from the Rebellious Colonies and discarding them entirely, (Glocester, 1776,) -pp. 58, 59. See also Cui Bono? (London, 1782,) p. 87.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_501_501" id="Footnote_501_501"></a><a href="#FNanchor_501_501"><span class="label">[501]</span></a> Secret Journals of Congress, October 6, 1778, Vol. II. p. 101. The -Commissioners to Dr. Price, December 7, 1778: Works of John Adams, -Vol. VII. p. 71.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_502_502" id="Footnote_502_502"></a><a href="#FNanchor_502_502"><span class="label">[502]</span></a> Franklin’s Works, ed. Sparks, Vol. VIII. p. 355, note.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_503_503" id="Footnote_503_503"></a><a href="#FNanchor_503_503"><span class="label">[503]</span></a> Ibid., p. 417.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_504_504" id="Footnote_504_504"></a><a href="#FNanchor_504_504"><span class="label">[504]</span></a> Letter to Benjamin Vaughan: Ibid., Vol. X. p. 365.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_505_505" id="Footnote_505_505"></a><a href="#FNanchor_505_505"><span class="label">[505]</span></a> Letter to Jefferson, September 14, 1813: Works, Vol. X. p. 68.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_506_506" id="Footnote_506_506"></a><a href="#FNanchor_506_506"><span class="label">[506]</span></a> Observations on Civil Liberty, (London, 1776,) pp. 43, 44.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_507_507" id="Footnote_507_507"></a><a href="#FNanchor_507_507"><span class="label">[507]</span></a> Ibid., p. 44.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_508_508" id="Footnote_508_508"></a><a href="#FNanchor_508_508"><span class="label">[508]</span></a> Ibid., p. 97.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_509_509" id="Footnote_509_509"></a><a href="#FNanchor_509_509"><span class="label">[509]</span></a> Ibid., p. 70, note.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_510_510" id="Footnote_510_510"></a><a href="#FNanchor_510_510"><span class="label">[510]</span></a> Additional Observations, (London, 1777,) p. 71.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_511_511" id="Footnote_511_511"></a><a href="#FNanchor_511_511"><span class="label">[511]</span></a> Ibid., p. 73.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_512_512" id="Footnote_512_512"></a><a href="#FNanchor_512_512"><span class="label">[512]</span></a> Additional Observations, p. 87.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_513_513" id="Footnote_513_513"></a><a href="#FNanchor_513_513"><span class="label">[513]</span></a> General Introduction, (London, 1778,) pp. xv, xvi.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_514_514" id="Footnote_514_514"></a><a href="#FNanchor_514_514"><span class="label">[514]</span></a> Observations on the American Revolution, (London, 1785,) pp. 1-6.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_515_515" id="Footnote_515_515"></a><a href="#FNanchor_515_515"><span class="label">[515]</span></a> Ibid., pp. 6, 14, 15.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_516_516" id="Footnote_516_516"></a><a href="#FNanchor_516_516"><span class="label">[516]</span></a> Ibid., p. 72.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_517_517" id="Footnote_517_517"></a><a href="#FNanchor_517_517"><span class="label">[517]</span></a> Franklin’s Works, ed. Sparks, Vol. X. p. 105.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_518_518" id="Footnote_518_518"></a><a href="#FNanchor_518_518"><span class="label">[518]</span></a> History of the United States, Vol. II. p. 476.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_519_519" id="Footnote_519_519"></a><a href="#FNanchor_519_519"><span class="label">[519]</span></a> See Memorial to the Sovereigns of Europe (London, 1780).</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_520_520" id="Footnote_520_520"></a><a href="#FNanchor_520_520"><span class="label">[520]</span></a> Memorial to the Sovereigns of America, (London, 1783,) pp. 73, 74.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_521_521" id="Footnote_521_521"></a><a href="#FNanchor_521_521"><span class="label">[521]</span></a> Letter to William Tudor, February 4, 1817: Works, Vol. X. p. 241.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_522_522" id="Footnote_522_522"></a><a href="#FNanchor_522_522"><span class="label">[522]</span></a> Administration of the Colonies, (4th edit., London, 1768,) Appendix, -pp. 2, seqq.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_523_523" id="Footnote_523_523"></a><a href="#FNanchor_523_523"><span class="label">[523]</span></a> Ibid., pp. 6, 7.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_524_524" id="Footnote_524_524"></a><a href="#FNanchor_524_524"><span class="label">[524]</span></a> Ibid., p. 6.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_525_525" id="Footnote_525_525"></a><a href="#FNanchor_525_525"><span class="label">[525]</span></a> Ibid., p. 7.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_526_526" id="Footnote_526_526"></a><a href="#FNanchor_526_526"><span class="label">[526]</span></a> Administration of the Colonies, (4th edit.,) Appendix, p. 9.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_527_527" id="Footnote_527_527"></a><a href="#FNanchor_527_527"><span class="label">[527]</span></a> Administration of the Colonies, pp. 9, 10, 164.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_528_528" id="Footnote_528_528"></a><a href="#FNanchor_528_528"><span class="label">[528]</span></a> Ibid., p. 10.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_529_529" id="Footnote_529_529"></a><a href="#FNanchor_529_529"><span class="label">[529]</span></a> Administration of the Colonies, Dedication, p. xviii.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_530_530" id="Footnote_530_530"></a><a href="#FNanchor_530_530"><span class="label">[530]</span></a> Ibid., p. 165.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_531_531" id="Footnote_531_531"></a><a href="#FNanchor_531_531"><span class="label">[531]</span></a> Ibid., p. 164.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_532_532" id="Footnote_532_532"></a><a href="#FNanchor_532_532"><span class="label">[532]</span></a> Administration of the Colonies, pp. 240, 241. See also Franklin’s -Works, ed. Sparks, Vol. II. pp. 353, 354, note.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_533_533" id="Footnote_533_533"></a><a href="#FNanchor_533_533"><span class="label">[533]</span></a> Hansard’s Parliamentary History, Vol. XIX. col. 527, 528. See also -col. 1137.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_534_534" id="Footnote_534_534"></a><a href="#FNanchor_534_534"><span class="label">[534]</span></a> Memorial to the Sovereigns of Europe, (London, 1780, 2d edit.,) pp. 4, 5.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_535_535" id="Footnote_535_535"></a><a href="#FNanchor_535_535"><span class="label">[535]</span></a> Ibid., p. 43.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_536_536" id="Footnote_536_536"></a><a href="#FNanchor_536_536"><span class="label">[536]</span></a> Ibid., p. 56.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_537_537" id="Footnote_537_537"></a><a href="#FNanchor_537_537"><span class="label">[537]</span></a> Memorial to the Sovereigns of Europe, (2d edit.,) pp. 68, 69.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_538_538" id="Footnote_538_538"></a><a href="#FNanchor_538_538"><span class="label">[538]</span></a> Ibid., pp. 56-63, 69, 70.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_539_539" id="Footnote_539_539"></a><a href="#FNanchor_539_539"><span class="label">[539]</span></a> Ibid., pp. 74, 77.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_540_540" id="Footnote_540_540"></a><a href="#FNanchor_540_540"><span class="label">[540]</span></a> Ibid., p. 82.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_541_541" id="Footnote_541_541"></a><a href="#FNanchor_541_541"><span class="label">[541]</span></a> Ibid., p. 83.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_542_542" id="Footnote_542_542"></a><a href="#FNanchor_542_542"><span class="label">[542]</span></a> Memorial to the Sovereigns of Europe, (2d edit.,) p. 85.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_543_543" id="Footnote_543_543"></a><a href="#FNanchor_543_543"><span class="label">[543]</span></a> Ibid., pp. 86, 87.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_544_544" id="Footnote_544_544"></a><a href="#FNanchor_544_544"><span class="label">[544]</span></a> Ibid., p. 80.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_545_545" id="Footnote_545_545"></a><a href="#FNanchor_545_545"><span class="label">[545]</span></a> Ibid., p. 78.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_546_546" id="Footnote_546_546"></a><a href="#FNanchor_546_546"><span class="label">[546]</span></a> Writings, ed. Sparks, Vol. XII. pp. 231, 232.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_547_547" id="Footnote_547_547"></a><a href="#FNanchor_547_547"><span class="label">[547]</span></a> Memorial to the Sovereigns of Europe, (2d edit.,) p. 93.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_548_548" id="Footnote_548_548"></a><a href="#FNanchor_548_548"><span class="label">[548]</span></a> Ibid., p. 91.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_549_549" id="Footnote_549_549"></a><a href="#FNanchor_549_549"><span class="label">[549]</span></a> Two Memorials, (London, 1782,) Preface, p. 1.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_550_550" id="Footnote_550_550"></a><a href="#FNanchor_550_550"><span class="label">[550]</span></a> Ibid., pp. 20, 33.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_551_551" id="Footnote_551_551"></a><a href="#FNanchor_551_551"><span class="label">[551]</span></a> Franklin’s Works, ed. Sparks, Vol. IX. p. 491.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_552_552" id="Footnote_552_552"></a><a href="#FNanchor_552_552"><span class="label">[552]</span></a> Letter to the President of Congress, February 10, 1784: Works, Vol. -VIII. p. 179.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_553_553" id="Footnote_553_553"></a><a href="#FNanchor_553_553"><span class="label">[553]</span></a> Letter to John Nichols, February 8, 1788: Nichols’s Literary Anecdotes, -Vol. VIII. p. 112, note.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_554_554" id="Footnote_554_554"></a><a href="#FNanchor_554_554"><span class="label">[554]</span></a> Memorial to the Sovereigns of America,(London, 1783,) pp. 5-7.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_555_555" id="Footnote_555_555"></a><a href="#FNanchor_555_555"><span class="label">[555]</span></a> Ibid., pp. 16, 21, 22, 37.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_556_556" id="Footnote_556_556"></a><a href="#FNanchor_556_556"><span class="label">[556]</span></a> Ibid., p. 41.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_557_557" id="Footnote_557_557"></a><a href="#FNanchor_557_557"><span class="label">[557]</span></a> Ibid., pp. 108-110.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_558_558" id="Footnote_558_558"></a><a href="#FNanchor_558_558"><span class="label">[558]</span></a> Memorial to the Sovereigns of Europe, p. 83.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_559_559" id="Footnote_559_559"></a><a href="#FNanchor_559_559"><span class="label">[559]</span></a> Memorial to the Sovereigns of America, p. 55.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_560_560" id="Footnote_560_560"></a><a href="#FNanchor_560_560"><span class="label">[560]</span></a> Franklin’s Works, ed. Sparks, Vol. X. p. 200.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_561_561" id="Footnote_561_561"></a><a href="#FNanchor_561_561"><span class="label">[561]</span></a> Franklin’s Works, ed. Sparks, Vol. X. pp. 343, 344.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_562_562" id="Footnote_562_562"></a><a href="#FNanchor_562_562"><span class="label">[562]</span></a> Palfrey’s Compendious History of New England, 1728-65, p. 180.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_563_563" id="Footnote_563_563"></a><a href="#FNanchor_563_563"><span class="label">[563]</span></a> History of England, (London, 1763, 4to,) Vol. V. pp. 126, 127, Appendix -to Reign of James I., <i>Colonies</i>.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_564_564" id="Footnote_564_564"></a><a href="#FNanchor_564_564"><span class="label">[564]</span></a> Tableau de l’Histoire Générale des Provinces-Unies (Utrecht, 1777-84).</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_565_565" id="Footnote_565_565"></a><a href="#FNanchor_565_565"><span class="label">[565]</span></a> Works, Vol. VII. pp. 589, 590.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_566_566" id="Footnote_566_566"></a><a href="#FNanchor_566_566"><span class="label">[566]</span></a> Histoire de la Fondation des Colonies des Anciennes Républiques, -adaptée à la Dispute présente de la Grande-Bretagne avec ses Colonies -Américaines (Utrecht, 1778).</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_567_567" id="Footnote_567_567"></a><a href="#FNanchor_567_567"><span class="label">[567]</span></a> Ibid., p. 155.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_568_568" id="Footnote_568_568"></a><a href="#FNanchor_568_568"><span class="label">[568]</span></a> Ibid., p. 176.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_569_569" id="Footnote_569_569"></a><a href="#FNanchor_569_569"><span class="label">[569]</span></a> Observations Impartiales d’un Vrai Hollandois, pour servir de Réponse -au Discours d’un soi-disant Bon Hollandois à ses Compatriotes (Arnheim, -Amsterdam, etc., 1778).</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_570_570" id="Footnote_570_570"></a><a href="#FNanchor_570_570"><span class="label">[570]</span></a> Ibid., p. 15.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_571_571" id="Footnote_571_571"></a><a href="#FNanchor_571_571"><span class="label">[571]</span></a> Ibid., p. 58.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_572_572" id="Footnote_572_572"></a><a href="#FNanchor_572_572"><span class="label">[572]</span></a> Ibid.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_573_573" id="Footnote_573_573"></a><a href="#FNanchor_573_573"><span class="label">[573]</span></a> Le Destin de l’Amérique, ou Dialogues Pittoresques (Londres, 1780).</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_574_574" id="Footnote_574_574"></a><a href="#FNanchor_574_574"><span class="label">[574]</span></a> Ibid., p. 109.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_575_575" id="Footnote_575_575"></a><a href="#FNanchor_575_575"><span class="label">[575]</span></a> Ibid., p. 112.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_576_576" id="Footnote_576_576"></a><a href="#FNanchor_576_576"><span class="label">[576]</span></a> Ibid., pp. 113, 114.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_577_577" id="Footnote_577_577"></a><a href="#FNanchor_577_577"><span class="label">[577]</span></a> Le Destin de l’Amérique, p. 115.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_578_578" id="Footnote_578_578"></a><a href="#FNanchor_578_578"><span class="label">[578]</span></a> Meadley’s Memoirs of Paley, (2d edit., Edinburgh, 1810,) p. 221.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_579_579" id="Footnote_579_579"></a><a href="#FNanchor_579_579"><span class="label">[579]</span></a> Dated Abergavenny, March 31, 1781.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_580_580" id="Footnote_580_580"></a><a href="#FNanchor_580_580"><span class="label">[580]</span></a> Works, (London, 1807,) Vol. X. p. 389.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_581_581" id="Footnote_581_581"></a><a href="#FNanchor_581_581"><span class="label">[581]</span></a> Teignmouth, Life of Sir William Jones, prefixed to Works, Vol. II. -p. 299, note.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_582_582" id="Footnote_582_582"></a><a href="#FNanchor_582_582"><span class="label">[582]</span></a> Letter to Teignmouth, October, 1793: Ibid., p. 229.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_583_583" id="Footnote_583_583"></a><a href="#FNanchor_583_583"><span class="label">[583]</span></a> Meadley’s Memoirs of Paley, (2d edit.,) p. 221.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_584_584" id="Footnote_584_584"></a><a href="#FNanchor_584_584"><span class="label">[584]</span></a> Dr. Jonathan Shipley. See, <i>ante</i>, pp. 82, seqq.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_585_585" id="Footnote_585_585"></a><a href="#FNanchor_585_585"><span class="label">[585]</span></a> Works, Vol. X. pp. 381, seqq.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_586_586" id="Footnote_586_586"></a><a href="#FNanchor_586_586"><span class="label">[586]</span></a> Historical Memoirs of his own Time, (London, 1836,) March, 1781, Vol. II. -p. 378.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_587_587" id="Footnote_587_587"></a><a href="#FNanchor_587_587"><span class="label">[587]</span></a> Historical Memoirs, March, 1781, Vol. II. p. 379.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_588_588" id="Footnote_588_588"></a><a href="#FNanchor_588_588"><span class="label">[588]</span></a> Walpole’s Journal of the Reign of George III., March, 1773, Vol. I. p. 187, note.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_589_589" id="Footnote_589_589"></a><a href="#FNanchor_589_589"><span class="label">[589]</span></a> Historical Memoirs, March, 1781, Vol. II. p. 377.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_590_590" id="Footnote_590_590"></a><a href="#FNanchor_590_590"><span class="label">[590]</span></a> An Epistle to Dr. Shebbeare, by the Author of “An Heroic Epistle to Sir -William Chambers,” (London, 1777,) 214-221. See Poems of William Mason, in -Chalmers’s English Poets, Vol. XVIII. pp. 416-418.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_591_591" id="Footnote_591_591"></a><a href="#FNanchor_591_591"><span class="label">[591]</span></a> Institutions du Droit de la Nature et des Gens, (Paris, 1851,) Tom. II. -p. 311.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_592_592" id="Footnote_592_592"></a><a href="#FNanchor_592_592"><span class="label">[592]</span></a> Paris, January 4, 1777: Works, ed. Sparks, Vol. VIII. p. 194.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_593_593" id="Footnote_593_593"></a><a href="#FNanchor_593_593"><span class="label">[593]</span></a> Ibid., Vol. IX. pp. 350, 351.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_594_594" id="Footnote_594_594"></a><a href="#FNanchor_594_594"><span class="label">[594]</span></a> June 1, 1783: Works, Vol. III. pp. 378, 379.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_595_595" id="Footnote_595_595"></a><a href="#FNanchor_595_595"><span class="label">[595]</span></a> Life of John Jay, by his Son, Vol. I. p. 140; Vol. II. p. 101.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_596_596" id="Footnote_596_596"></a><a href="#FNanchor_596_596"><span class="label">[596]</span></a> L’Espagne sous les Rois de la Maison de Bourbon, ou Mémoires relatifs -à l’Histoire de cette Nation, depuis l’Avénement de Philippe V. en 1700 -jusqu’à la Mort de Charles III. en 1788. Écrits en Anglais sur des Documens -originaux inédits, par William Coxe; traduits en Français, avec des -Notes et des Additions, par Don Andres Muriel. Paris, 1827. Tom. VI. -pp. 45-54, Chap. III. additionnel.—The document in question is cited as -a manuscript in the “Collection de M. le duc de San Fernando.”</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_597_597" id="Footnote_597_597"></a><a href="#FNanchor_597_597"><span class="label">[597]</span></a> Disertaciones sobre la Historia de la República Mejicana, (Méjico, 1849,) -Tom. III. p. 351.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_598_598" id="Footnote_598_598"></a><a href="#FNanchor_598_598"><span class="label">[598]</span></a> Disertaciones, Tom. III. p. 353.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_599_599" id="Footnote_599_599"></a><a href="#FNanchor_599_599"><span class="label">[599]</span></a> Voltaire, Siècle de Louis XIV., Chap. XXI.: Œuvres, (édit. 1784,) -Tom. XXI. p. 19.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_600_600" id="Footnote_600_600"></a><a href="#FNanchor_600_600"><span class="label">[600]</span></a> Travels through the Middle Settlements in North America, Preface, -p. x.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_601_601" id="Footnote_601_601"></a><a href="#FNanchor_601_601"><span class="label">[601]</span></a> <i>Ante</i>, p. 314.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_602_602" id="Footnote_602_602"></a><a href="#FNanchor_602_602"><span class="label">[602]</span></a> Works, Vol. III. p. 234.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_603_603" id="Footnote_603_603"></a><a href="#FNanchor_603_603"><span class="label">[603]</span></a> Moral and Political Philosophy, (London, 1785, 4to,) Book III. Part 2, -Ch. 31, <i>Slavery</i>, p. 197.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_604_604" id="Footnote_604_604"></a><a href="#FNanchor_604_604"><span class="label">[604]</span></a> Letter, February 5, 1783: Correspondence of the American Revolution: -Letters to Washington, ed. Sparks, Vol. III. p. 547.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_605_605" id="Footnote_605_605"></a><a href="#FNanchor_605_605"><span class="label">[605]</span></a> Meadley, Memoirs of Paley, (2d edit.,) p. 151.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_606_606" id="Footnote_606_606"></a><a href="#FNanchor_606_606"><span class="label">[606]</span></a> Meadley, Memoirs of Paley, (2d edit.,) Appendix G, p. 383.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_607_607" id="Footnote_607_607"></a><a href="#FNanchor_607_607"><span class="label">[607]</span></a> To the Editor of the Star: Life and Works of Burns, ed. Chambers, -(Edinburgh, 1851-52,) Vol. II. p. 295. Grahame’s History of the United -States, (London, 1836,) Appendix, Note XXI., Vol. IV. p. 462.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_608_608" id="Footnote_608_608"></a><a href="#FNanchor_608_608"><span class="label">[608]</span></a> Life and Works, ed. Chambers, Vol. I. p. 259.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_609_609" id="Footnote_609_609"></a><a href="#FNanchor_609_609"><span class="label">[609]</span></a> See Burns’s Letter to Mr. Samuel Clarke, Jun., Dumfries: Ibid., Vol. IV. p. 57.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_610_610" id="Footnote_610_610"></a><a href="#FNanchor_610_610"><span class="label">[610]</span></a> Autograph MS., in the possession of Henry Stevens, cited in his Bibliotheca -Geographica, (London, 1872,) Part I. p. 57.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_611_611" id="Footnote_611_611"></a><a href="#FNanchor_611_611"><span class="label">[611]</span></a> Béranger reproduced the same life-giving cosmopolitan sentiment:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“Peuples, formez une sainte-alliance,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Et donnez-vous la main.”—<i>La Sainte-Alliance des Peuples.</i></div> -</div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_612_612" id="Footnote_612_612"></a><a href="#FNanchor_612_612"><span class="label">[612]</span></a> Hansard’s Parliamentary History, Vol. XXX. col. 1219.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_613_613" id="Footnote_613_613"></a><a href="#FNanchor_613_613"><span class="label">[613]</span></a> Hansard’s Parliamentary History, Vol. XXXI. col. 627.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_614_614" id="Footnote_614_614"></a><a href="#FNanchor_614_614"><span class="label">[614]</span></a> Essai sur la Régénération Physique, Morale et Politique des Juifs.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_615_615" id="Footnote_615_615"></a><a href="#FNanchor_615_615"><span class="label">[615]</span></a> “Bourdon de l’Oise le caractérisa parfaitement, lorsqu’il lui reprocha, -au club des Jacobins, de vouloir <em>christianiser la révolution</em>.”—<span class="smcap">Carnot</span>, -<i>Notice Historique sur Grégoire</i>: Mémoires de Grégoire, (Paris, 1840,) Tom. I. -p. 7.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_616_616" id="Footnote_616_616"></a><a href="#FNanchor_616_616"><span class="label">[616]</span></a> De la Noblesse de la Peau, ou du Préjugé des Blancs contre la Couleur -des Africains et celle de leurs Descendants noirs et sang-mêlés.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_617_617" id="Footnote_617_617"></a><a href="#FNanchor_617_617"><span class="label">[617]</span></a> The leading events of his life will be found in the two French biographical -dictionaries,—Biographie Universelle (Michaud) and Biographie Générale -(Didot),—where his name occupies considerable space.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_618_618" id="Footnote_618_618"></a><a href="#FNanchor_618_618"><span class="label">[618]</span></a> Lettre aux Citoyens de Couleur et Nègres Libres de Saint-Domingue, -et des autres Isles Françaises de l’Amérique, p. 12.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_619_619" id="Footnote_619_619"></a><a href="#FNanchor_619_619"><span class="label">[619]</span></a> Littérature des Nègres, p. 282.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_620_620" id="Footnote_620_620"></a><a href="#FNanchor_620_620"><span class="label">[620]</span></a> Ibid., p. 283.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_621_621" id="Footnote_621_621"></a><a href="#FNanchor_621_621"><span class="label">[621]</span></a> Writings, Vol. VI. p. 55.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_622_622" id="Footnote_622_622"></a><a href="#FNanchor_622_622"><span class="label">[622]</span></a> Writings, Vol. VI. p. 248.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_623_623" id="Footnote_623_623"></a><a href="#FNanchor_623_623"><span class="label">[623]</span></a> Boston Daily Advertiser, 10th November, 1845. This speech is not -found in the collected works of Mr. Webster.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_624_624" id="Footnote_624_624"></a><a href="#FNanchor_624_624"><span class="label">[624]</span></a> Speech at Pilgrim Festival, New York, 1850: Works, Vol. II. p. 526.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_625_625" id="Footnote_625_625"></a><a href="#FNanchor_625_625"><span class="label">[625]</span></a> Writings, Vol. VI. p. 426.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_626_626" id="Footnote_626_626"></a><a href="#FNanchor_626_626"><span class="label">[626]</span></a> Ibid., Vol. VII. p. 344.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_627_627" id="Footnote_627_627"></a><a href="#FNanchor_627_627"><span class="label">[627]</span></a> Ibid., p. 404.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_628_628" id="Footnote_628_628"></a><a href="#FNanchor_628_628"><span class="label">[628]</span></a> Rush, Residence at the Court of London from 1819 to 1825, 2d Series, -(London, 1845,) Vol. II. pp. 44, 45.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_629_629" id="Footnote_629_629"></a><a href="#FNanchor_629_629"><span class="label">[629]</span></a> Annual Message, December 2, 1823: State Papers, 18th Cong. 1st Sess., -Doc. No. 2, p. 14.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_630_630" id="Footnote_630_630"></a><a href="#FNanchor_630_630"><span class="label">[630]</span></a> Rush, Residence at the Court of London, 2d Series, Vol. II. p. 73. -Wheaton’s Elements of International Law, ed. Dana, pp. 97-112, note.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_631_631" id="Footnote_631_631"></a><a href="#FNanchor_631_631"><span class="label">[631]</span></a> Speech, February 3, 1824: Hansard’s Parliamentary Debates, N. S., -Vol. X. col. 68.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_632_632" id="Footnote_632_632"></a><a href="#FNanchor_632_632"><span class="label">[632]</span></a> Speech, June 15, 1824: Ibid., Vol. XI. col. 1361.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_633_633" id="Footnote_633_633"></a><a href="#FNanchor_633_633"><span class="label">[633]</span></a> Hansard’s Parliamentary Debates, N. S., Vol. XVI. col. 397.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_634_634" id="Footnote_634_634"></a><a href="#FNanchor_634_634"><span class="label">[634]</span></a> Démocratie en Amérique, (Paris, 1864,) Tom. III. Part. IV. Ch. 7, -p. 527.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_635_635" id="Footnote_635_635"></a><a href="#FNanchor_635_635"><span class="label">[635]</span></a> Ibid., Tom. II. Ch. 10, p. 302.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_636_636" id="Footnote_636_636"></a><a href="#FNanchor_636_636"><span class="label">[636]</span></a> Démocratie en Amérique, Tom. II. Ch. 10, p. 307.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_637_637" id="Footnote_637_637"></a><a href="#FNanchor_637_637"><span class="label">[637]</span></a> Ibid., p. 397.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_638_638" id="Footnote_638_638"></a><a href="#FNanchor_638_638"><span class="label">[638]</span></a> Ibid., p. 399.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_639_639" id="Footnote_639_639"></a><a href="#FNanchor_639_639"><span class="label">[639]</span></a> Démocratie en Amérique, Tom. II. Ch. 10, pp. 378, 379.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_640_640" id="Footnote_640_640"></a><a href="#FNanchor_640_640"><span class="label">[640]</span></a> Ibid., p. 428.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_641_641" id="Footnote_641_641"></a><a href="#FNanchor_641_641"><span class="label">[641]</span></a> Démocratie en Amérique, Tom. II. Ch. 10, p. 430.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_642_642" id="Footnote_642_642"></a><a href="#FNanchor_642_642"><span class="label">[642]</span></a> The excellent Baron von Gerolt, for so long a period at Washington as -Minister of Prussia and of the German Empire.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_643_643" id="Footnote_643_643"></a><a href="#FNanchor_643_643"><span class="label">[643]</span></a> Disertaciones sobre la Historia de la República Megicana.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_644_644" id="Footnote_644_644"></a><a href="#FNanchor_644_644"><span class="label">[644]</span></a> Historia de Méjico, desde los primeros Movimientos que prepararon su -Independencia en al Año de 1808 hasta la Época presente.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_645_645" id="Footnote_645_645"></a><a href="#FNanchor_645_645"><span class="label">[645]</span></a> In the original text of Alaman this is printed in large capitals, and -explained in a note as said by Lucan of Pompey (Pharsalia, I. 135).</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_646_646" id="Footnote_646_646"></a><a href="#FNanchor_646_646"><span class="label">[646]</span></a> Historia, Tom. V. pp. 954, 955.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_647_647" id="Footnote_647_647"></a><a href="#FNanchor_647_647"><span class="label">[647]</span></a> L’Esprit des Lois, Liv. VIII. Ch. 16.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_648_648" id="Footnote_648_648"></a><a href="#FNanchor_648_648"><span class="label">[648]</span></a> Speech at the Festival of the Sons of New Hampshire, November 7, -1849: Works, Vol. II. pp. 510, 511.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_649_649" id="Footnote_649_649"></a><a href="#FNanchor_649_649"><span class="label">[649]</span></a> By Jonathan M. Sewall, in an epilogue to Addison’s Tragedy of “Cato,” -written in 1778 for the Bow Street Theatre, Portsmouth, N. H.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_650_650" id="Footnote_650_650"></a><a href="#FNanchor_650_650"><span class="label">[650]</span></a> Letter to President Madison, April 27, 1809: Writings, Vol. V. p. 444.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_651_651" id="Footnote_651_651"></a><a href="#FNanchor_651_651"><span class="label">[651]</span></a> Letter to President Madison, April 27, 1809: Writings, Vol. V. p. 444.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_652_652" id="Footnote_652_652"></a><a href="#FNanchor_652_652"><span class="label">[652]</span></a> Letter to President Monroe, October 24, 1823: Ibid., Vol. VII. pp. 316, -317. See also letters to same, dated June 11 and 23, 1823: Ibid., pp. 288, -299.</p> - -</div> - -</div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Charles Sumner; his complete works, -volume 15 (of 20), by Charles Sumner - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHARLES SUMNER: COMPLETE WORKS, 15 *** - -***** This file should be named 50161-h.htm or 50161-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/1/6/50161/ - -Produced by Mark C. 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