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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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