The American Quarterly Review, No. 17, March 1831

by Various

FOOTNOTES:

[16] Epistolæ Hoelianæ, p. 405.

[17] Critical and Historical Dictionary, article Thorius.

[18] Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy, fol. p. 235.

[19] King James's Works, fol. p. 214.

[20] Hist. North America, vol. i. p. 322.—See also Hennepin's Voyages, p. 93 et seq.

[21] Stith's Hist. of Virginia, p. 19.

[22] Sloan's Nat. Hist. Jamaica, vol. i. p. 147.

[23] This hiatus we are in some measure able to supply from a note in the Appendix to Mrs. Thomson's Life of Ralegh, (Note B. Notices concerning Tobacco by Dr. Thomson,) p. 458. "In the Mexican or Aztuk tongue, it is called yetle; in Algonkin, sema; in the Huron, ayougoua; in the Peruvian, it is sayri; in Chiquito, pais; in Vilela, tusup; Albaja, nalodagadi; Moxo, sabare; Omagua, potema; Tumanac, cavai; Mayhure, jema; and in the Cabre, sena. The other synonymes are, tabac, in French; tabak, in German, Dutch, and Polish; tobak, in Swedish and Danish; tobaco, Spanish and Portuguese; and tobacco in the Italian. In the Oriental languages,—it is tambacu, in Hindostanee; tamracutta, in Sanscrit; pogheielly, in Tamool; tambracco, in the Malay tongue; tambracco, in Javanese; doorkoole, in Cingalese; and bujjerhony, in Arabic."

[24] Nat. Hist. Jam. vol. i. p. 147.

[25] Dr. Tobias Venner, in his "Treatise of Tobacco," at the end of his curious old work, entitled, "Via recta ad longam vitam," says humorously, that petum is the "fittest name that both we and other nations may call it by, deriving it of peto, for it is far-fetched and much desired." p. 386.

[26] This Harriot, or Herriot, was a distinguished mathematician, and the instructer of Ralegh, in whom both himself and the celebrated Richard Hakluyt, the industrious and indefatigable compiler of voyages, found a liberal friend and patron.—Mrs. A. T. Thomson's Life of Sir W. Ralegh, pp. 46 and 48.

[27] Stith, p. 17.

[28] "Le Cardinal de Sainte Croix, nonce en Portugal, et Nicholas Tornabon, legat en France, l'introduisent en Italie ou elle reçut les noms d'herbe de Sainte Croix, et de Tornabonne; elle a encore porté d'autres noms fondés sur des proprietés vraies ou supposées, ou sur la haute idée qu'on avait de ses vertus: c'est ainsi qu'on l'a appelée Buglose ou Panacée Antarctique, Herbe Sainte ou Sacrée, Herbe a tous maux, Jusquiame du Peron," &c. &c. Dictionnaire des Sciences Medicales, Art. Tabac, par Mons. Merat.

[29] Article Santa Croce, where they are attributed to Victor Duranti.

[30] M. Merat ut supra.

[31] Jefferson's Notes on Virginia, p. 62.

[32] Robertson's Hist. of America, vol. iv. p. 97.

[33] It is said that Ralegh used to give smoking parties at his house, where his guests were treated with nothing but a pipe, a mug of ale, and a nutmeg.—Thomson's Life of Ralegh, p. 471.

[34] Ralph Lane was lieutenant of the fleet of Sir Richard Grenville, which had been sent to Virginia by Sir Walter Ralegh, in 1585, where he was made governor.—Hakluyt's Voyages, vol. iii. p. 251.

[35] Camden has the following passage: "Et hi reduces," speaking of those survivers who were carried home by Drake, "Indicam illam plantam, quam tabaccam vocant et nicotiam, qua contra cruditates, ab Indis edocti, usi erant, in Angliam primi quod sciam, intulerunt. Ex illo sane tempore usu cœpit esse creberrimo, et magno pretio, dum quamplurimi graveolentem illius fumum, alii lascivientes, alii valetudini consulentes, per tubulum testaceum inexplebili aviditate passim hauriunt et mox e naribus efflant; adeo ut tabernæ tabacanæ non minus quam cervisiariæ et vinariæ," beer-houses and grog-shops, we presume, "passim per oppida habeantur. Ut Anglorum corpora (quod salse ille dixit) qui hac planta tantopere delectantur in barbarorum naturam degenerasse videantur; cum iisdem quibus barbari delectentur et sanari se posse credant."—Camdeni Ann. Rer. Anglican. p. 415.

[36] These valuables are thus described in a note to Cayley's Life of Sir Walter Ralegh, vol. i. p. 81. "Among Thoresby's artificial curiosities, we have Sir W. Ralegh's tobacco-box, as it was called, but is rather the case for the glass wherein it was preserved, which was surrounded with small wax candles of various colours. This is of gilded leather, like a muff-case, about half a foot broad and thirteen inches high, and hath cases for sixteen pipes in it.—Ducatus Leodensis, fol. 1715, p. 485."

[37] Ralegh is believed to have introduced the culture of the potato, as well as tobacco, into Ireland. The latter on his own estate at Youghal, in the county of Cork.

[38] Universal Geography, vol. iii. p. 223.

[39] Appendix, p. 466.

[40] King James's Works, fol. from page 214 to 222.

[41] Naturall and Morall Historie of the Indies, p. 289.

[42] Silva Silvarum—Lassitude.

[43] History of life and death. Lord Bacon's Works, vol. iii. p. 377.

[44] Howell's Epist. Hoel. or Familiar Letters, p. 405.

[45] In the TEXNODAMIA or Marriage of the Arts, by Barten Holiday, 1680, there is a singular poem on the subject of Tobacco, where, in successive stanzas, if is compared to a musician, a lawyer, a physician, a traveller, a crittike, an ignis fatuus, and a whyffler. Beloe's Sketches, vol. ii. p. 10.

[46] Notes on Virginia, pp. 278, 279.

[47] Davies' Hist. of the Carriby Islands, fol. p. 192.

[48] Ramazzini also says that the breath of those who labour at tobacco is intolerably offensive, "efficit, ut tabacariarum semper fœteant animæ."

[49] "Tanta enim ex illâ tritura partium tenuim," says Ramazzini, "æstate præsertim, diffunditur exhalatio, ut tota vicinia tabaci odorem, non sine querimonia, et nausea persentiat."

[50] Puellam hebræam novi, quæ tota die explicandas placentas istas ex tabaco incumbens, magnum ad vomitum irritamentum sentiebat, et frequenter alvi subductiones patiebatur, mihique narrabat, vasa hemorroidalia multum sanguinis profudisse, cum super placentas illas sederet.

[51] Tourtel, in his Elémens d'Hygiène tom. ii. p. 410, assures us it is very dangerous to sleep in tobacco magazines. He cites an observation of Buchoz, who says that a little girl, five years old, was seized with frightful vomitings, and expired in a very short time from this sole cause.

[52] This memoir is entitled "Influence du tabac sur la santé des ouvriers," and is published in the "Annales d'hygiène publique et de medecine legale," first volume, April, 1829—p. 169.

[53] Mather's Christian Philosopher, p. 128.

[54] M. Merat.

[55] Rush's Essays, p. 261.

[56] Flore Medicale, tom. six. p. 205.

[57] Journey from Constantinople to England, p. 4.

[58] Dictionnaire des Sciences Medicales. Art. Tabac.

[59] Essays, p. 267.

[60] Brodie, Macartney, &c. See also Nancrede's Orfila, p. 289.

[61] Materia Medica, vol. ii. p. 197.

[62] Mat. Med. vol. ii. p. 198.

[63] Essays, p. 271.

[64] Hist. N. America, vol. i. p. 322.

[65] Rush's Works, vol. i. p. 167.

[66] Essays, p. 270.

[67] Macnish's Anatomy of Drunkenness, p. 83.

[68] "Qu'on ne pense pas, malgré l'usage immense et presque general du tabac, qu'il n'y ait aucun inconvenient a s'en servir. Les auteurs rapportent des faits qui prouvent le contraire, et sans ajouter foi a ce que raconte Borrichius (dans un lettre ecrite a Bartholin) d'une personne qui s'etait tellement desséché le cerveau a force de prendre du tabac, qu'aprés sa mort, on ne lui trouva dans le crâne, au lieu d'encephale, qu'un petit grumeau noir; ni meme à ce que dit Simon Pauli, que ceux qui fument trop de tabac ont le cerveau et la crâne tout noirs, nonplus qu'a l'assertion de Van Helmont qui a vu, affirme-t-il, un estomac teint enjaune par la vapeur du tabac; tout le monde sait qu'il affaiblit l'odorat par suite de ses irritations répétées sur la membrane olfactive, qu'il nuit a l'integrité du gout, parce qu'il en passe toujours un peu dans la bouche et jusque sur la langue. Ce que l'on n'ignore pas nonplus c'est qu'il dérange la memoire, la rends moins nette, moins entière; il produit de plus des vertiges, des céphalées et meme l'apoplexie."—Dictionnaire des Sciences Medicales, art. Tabac.

[69] Orfila's Toxicology, p. 291.

[70] Essays, p. 265.

[71] M. Merat.

[72] Sketches of Literature and Scarce books, vol. ii. p. 130.

[73] Mr. Brodigan, in his treatise on the tobacco plant, quotes Herodotus, Strabo, Pomponius Mela, and Solinus, to prove that tobacco was smoked in very ancient times, but the passages merely go to show that the smoking of herbs was common.

[74] Venner gives ten precepts on the manner in which tobacco is to be used, and afterwards summarily rehearses the consequences to all who use it contrary to the order and way he sets down; viz. that "it drieth the brain, dimmeth the sight, vitiateth the smell, dulleth and dejecteth both the appitite and stomach, destroyeth the concoction, disturbeth the humours and spirits, corrupteth the breath, induceth a trembling of the limbs, exsiccateth the wind-pipe, lungs, and liver, annoyeth the milt, scorcheth the heart, and causeth the blood to be adusted. Moreover it eliquateth the pinguie substance of the kidneys, and absumeth the geniture. In a word, it overthroweth the spirits, perverteth the understanding, and confoundeth the sences with a sudden astonishment and stupiditie of the whole body." Via recta ad longam vitam. p. 404.

[75] Christian Philosopher, p. 136.

[76] Materia Medica, vol. ii. p. 196.

[77] In many parts of Europe it is almost impossible for a tobacco chewer to be regarded as a gentleman.

[78] The fashionable snuff-taker was formerly accustomed to dip up the snuff with a little spoon or ladle, "which ever and anon he gave his nose."

[79] Natural Hist. Jam. vol. i. p. 147.

---

Art. VII.—Voyages and Discoveries of the Companions of Columbus. By Washington Irving: Philadelphia: Carey & Lea: 1831.

When we noticed, three years since, a former production of Mr. Irving, we took occasion to express an opinion of its merits, which has been fully confirmed. No work of the present era appears to have afforded more general and unmingled gratification to its readers, than his Life of Columbus; and he has received, in the approbation, not only of his own countrymen, but of Europeans, the most gratifying reward an author can desire. The fame which he had acquired, and that most justly, by the happy works of fiction in which he was introduced to the public, is now changed into one of higher character; and he becomes entitled to take his stand among those writers who have done more than amuse the fancy, or even gratify the heart. He is to be classed with the historians of great events; for if the period of which he has treated is limited, or the persons whose actions he has described are not numerous, yet the one included within it, short as it was, circumstances that have produced an effect which long ages have not always surpassed in importance or wonderful consequences; and the others embrace individuals whose actions have more deeply affected the human race than many of the revolutions of great and populous nations.

Having these feelings in regard to the former work of Mr. Irving, we open the present volume with mingled apprehension and pleasure. We rejoice that we are to follow again the same guide in adventurous voyages among the clustering Antilles; but we almost fear that the narrative may want much of that interest, novelty, and beauty, which make the story of Columbus among the most attractive ever recorded. The followers of the Admiral were, it is true, brave, adventurous, gallant men; the skies beneath which they sailed were as blue, clear, and tranquil as when he first admired their delightful serenity; the islands they visited were as flowery and as fertile as when they first blessed the sight of the enterprising sailor; if the iron hand of Christian civilization had, here and there, broken down the gentle and benevolent spirit of the naked beings who wandered through a life of inglorious bliss, in their remote and peaceful regions, there were yet haunts undiscovered where they might roam in undisturbed security—there were yet bays over which they might dart unobstructed their light canoes—green and shady forests beneath which they might chant their songs, and rich valleys not yet searched for gold. But yet with all this, he, the master spirit, is no longer among the voyagers. There is no longer the novelty of a vast discovery. The way has been opened by the daring pioneer, and we are now only to follow in the plain track his genius conceived, discovered, and marked out. We can merely watch the footsteps of those who followed the triumphal chariot; the hero of the ovation has already passed along, and our eyes are still dazzled with his splendour—our minds are still filled with admiration of his genius, his enterprise, his undaunted and noble spirit. We are to turn from those loftier efforts of human intellect and perseverance, which mark, now and then, a human being, as a beacon in the midst of his fellow men, to the more common, though it is true, the bold and spirited adventures which attend the fortunes of many in the career of life. The story of these adventures is indeed full of interest, but it is an interest less in degree; and we can no more venture to compare it with that which attends the actions and fortunes of him who seeks and finds a new world, than we can compare the patient inquirer, who nightly searches through his telescope for new stars in the vast firmament, with him who proclaimed and proved the theory of the universe—than we can see in every military exploit of Parmenio and Seleucus, the master spirit that planned and effected the subjugation of the world.

Yet the pen which has described with so much felicity the life of Columbus, cannot fail to impart great attraction to an account of those who followed in the career they had commenced with him; who were emboldened by the energy they had witnessed, and the success in which they had partaken; and who completed the discovery of those regions, which he was permitted scarcely to see, and of whose vast extent he had no conception. While they were yet his associates, these voyagers had become acquainted with the pearl fisheries of Paria and Cubaga; they learned to believe that they had approached the confines of the golden regions of the east, described by the ancients in glowing colours; and they had heard something of a vast ocean to the south, in which they expected to find the oriental islands of spice and perfumes. All that they thus collected from tradition or partial observation, they treasured up to form the groundwork of schemes for future adventures, which they might pursue for the purposes of individual gain, or from motives of individual ambition, when no longer sailing under the ensign of their great commander. The more selfish objects of these exploits, their want of connexion with the lofty views that inspired Columbus, the comparatively small scale on which they were conducted, gave to them a sort of daring and chivalrous character, which much resembles the warfare of the predatory nobles of Europe during the middle ages. While they were as far removed from the treacherous rapine of the buccaneers, as the inroads of the armed bands of knights were from the secret attacks of the robber and assassin; they were yet the offspring of personal interest, and were distinguished by innumerable incidents of personal valour. They offered new fields where the burning desire for romantic achievement might be gratified; and the old spirit of Castile, which no longer found scope among the fastnesses of Andalusia, or the rich valleys of Granada, was delighted to embark on the waves of an ocean scarcely known, and to seek beyond it wealth and glory in golden regions, of which the discovery had already made one man the object of unmingled admiration and applause.

Of these voyagers, the first to whom Mr. Irving directs our attention is Alonzo de Ojeda—a man whose daring exploits, enterprising spirit, and headlong valour, cannot be forgotten by those who have already read the History of Columbus. He was his companion in the second voyage, and, it may be remembered, attracted the admiration of the bold cacique Caonabo, who paid that reverence to his undaunted prowess, which he refused to the superior rank of Columbus. Whether his restless and ambitious spirit could not bear the control of a superior, or whether he had formed, during the voyage he had made, some plan of individual enterprise, he did not accompany the admiral in his subsequent expeditions. He could not, however, long endure the irksome life of a courtier; and he could less bear to hear, without desiring to partake of the discoveries which were announced by every returning vessel, of new coasts and islands, abounding with drugs, spices, precious stones, and pearls, said to surpass in size and clearness those gathered in the East. Through the influence of a relative, he obtained the patronage of the bishop Don Juan Rodriguez Fonseca, who had the chief management of the affairs of the Indies, and was permitted to fit out an expedition to visit any territories in the new world, except such as appertained to Portugal, or such as had been discovered in the name of Spain previous to the year 1495. The latter part of the exception being craftily intended to leave open to him the coast and pearl fisheries of Paria, notwithstanding the rights reserved to Columbus. Destitute of wealth, the young adventurer contrived, by his reputation for boldness and enterprise, and by his confident promises of rich rewards, to obtain money from the merchants of Seville. He united with him as associates, Juan de la Cosa, a hardy veteran who had already navigated the new seas with the admiral, and Amerigo Vespucci, who seems then to have been distinguished by little but a roving disposition and a broken fortune, but who is now known from the accident which has forever attached his name to the discoveries of Columbus.

Ojeda sailed from Port St. Mary on the 20th of May 1499; he reached land on the coast of Surinam; thence he steered along the shore of South America, passed and beheld with wonder the mouths of the mighty rivers that there flow into the Atlantic, and first landed among the natives on the island of Trinidad. He then kept his course along the coast of Terra Firma, until he arrived at Maracapana, where he unloaded and careened his vessels, and built a small brigantine. He found the natives hospitable and well disposed, but differing greatly in character from the gentle and peaceful inhabitants of the islands within the gulf. They were tall, well made, and vigorous; expert with the bow, the lance, and the buckler, and ready for the wars in which they delighted to engage. The martial spirit of Ojeda was soon roused, and he readily proffered his aid to the savages, in an expedition against a hostile tribe of cannibals, in a neighbouring island. As soon as his ships were refitted, he attacked and defeated, with great slaughter, the savage warriors, who, decorated with coronets of gaudy plumes, their bodies painted, and armed with bows, arrows, and lances, gallantly met and resolutely fought him on the beach. He then pursued his voyage along the coast, passed the island of Curacoa, and penetrated into the deep gulf to the south. On the eastern shore he found an Indian village which struck him with surprise. The houses were built on piles, and the communication was carried on in canoes. From these resemblances to the Italian city, he called it Venezuela, or little Venice, a name it still bears, and which is now extended to the bay and the province around. The natives made a treacherous attack on Ojeda, but manning his boats, the gallant Spaniard charged among the thickest of the enemy, and soon drove them to the shore, whence they fled into the woods. Not desiring to cause useless irritation, he continued his voyage as far as the port of Maracaibo, which still retains its Indian name. In the territory beyond, called Coquibacoa, he found a gentler race of inhabitants, who received the Spaniards with delight, and solicited them to visit their towns.

"Ojeda, in compliance with their entreaties, sent a detachment of twenty-seven Spaniards on a visit to the interior. For nine days they were conducted from town to town, and feasted and almost idolized by the Indians, who regarded them as angelic beings, performing their national dances and games, and chanting their traditional ballads for their entertainment.

"The natives of this part were distinguished for the symmetry of their forms; the females in particular appeared to the Spaniards to surpass all others that they had yet beheld in the new world for grace and beauty; neither did the men evince, in the least degree, that jealousy which prevailed in other parts of the coast.

"By the time the Spaniards set out on their return to the ship, the whole country was aroused, pouring forth its population, male and female, to do them honour. Some bore them in litters or hammocks, that they might not be fatigued with the journey, and happy was the Indian who had the honour of bearing a Spaniard on his shoulders across a river. Others loaded themselves with the presents that had been bestowed on their guests, consisting of rich plumes, weapons of various kinds, and tropical birds and animals. In this way they returned in triumphant procession to the ships, the woods and shores resounding with their songs and shouts.

"Many of the Indians crowded into the boats that took the detachment to the ships; others put off in canoes, or swam from shore, so that in a little while the vessels were thronged with upwards of a thousand wondering natives. While gazing and marvelling at the strange objects around them, Ojeda ordered the cannon to be discharged, at the sound of which, says Vespucci, the Indians 'plunged into the water like so many frogs from a bank.' Perceiving, however, that it was done in harmless mirth, they returned on board, and passed the rest of the day in great festivity. The Spaniards brought away with them several of the beautiful and hospitable females from this place, one of whom, named by them Isabel, was much prized by Ojeda, and accompanied him in a subsequent voyage."

Leaving these friendly Indians, Ojeda pursued his way along the coast to the westward, until he reached cape de la Vela. During his long voyage he had been disappointed in finding the ready treasures of gold and pearls which he had expected, and now, wearied with his fruitless efforts, and embarrassed by the crazy state of his vessels, he resolved reluctantly to return to Spain. On his way, he stopped, in spite of the clause in his commission, at Hispaniola, to cut dye-wood, but was prevented by the governor, and obliged to set sail. He then cruised among the islands, and seizing the natives, carried them home to sell for slaves. He reached Cadiz in June, 1500, but so unproductive was his expedition, that it is said, after the expenses were paid, but five hundred ducats remained to be divided among fifty-five adventurers.

The private enterprise of Ojeda did not fail to excite the same spirit among other followers of Columbus, who remained in Spain. He had been scarcely a month gone, before Pedro Alonzo Niño, who had been the pilot of the admiral on his first voyage, set out from Palos with Christoval Guerra, the brother of a Sevillian merchant who supplied the outfit. The vessel of these bold adventurers was but a bark of fifty tons, the crew but thirty-three men—yet with the daring spirit of the Spanish sailors of those days, they embarked fearlessly and joyfully to explore barbarous shores and unknown seas. Reaching the coasts of Paria and Cumana, they carried on for some time a profitable commerce with the natives, from whom they obtained pearls and gold in exchange for glass beads and other trinkets; but falling in at length with tribes less peaceful, and not, like Ojeda, enjoying warlike renown as much as profitable traffic, they returned to Spain after an absence of ten months, and making fewer discoveries but more profit than had yet resulted from any voyage across the Atlantic.

In the month of December of the same year, 1499, Vicente, Yañez Pinzon, one of the three brave men of that family who aided Columbus in his first voyage, but who had since remained in Spain, owing to the difference that arose between his brother and the admiral, embarked with two of his nephews, sons of Martin Alonzo, in an armament consisting of four caravels, from the port of Palos, the cradle of American discovery. Carried by a storm south of the equator, they were perplexed with the new aspect of the heavens, and it was not till the 28th of January, 1500, that they were consoled by the sight of land. The headland they saw, now known as cape St. Augustin, the most prominent point of Brazil, they named Santa Maria de la Consolacion. They found the natives warlike and inhospitable, treating with haughty contempt the hawks' bills and trinkets which were exhibited to them; and Pinzon and his weary messmates were fain to pursue their voyages, amid occasional conflicts whenever they landed, along the shores that stretched to the north. He discovered the mouth of the vast river of the Amazons, visited a number of fresh and verdant islands lying within it, and thence passing the gulf of Paria, made his way directly to Hispaniola. From there, sailing to the Bahamas, he encountered a violent storm, and sustained so much damage that he returned to Spain.

Scarcely had Pinzon sailed from Palos, when he was followed by his townsman Diego de Lepe. Of his voyage, however, but little is known, except that he doubled cape St. Augustin, and enjoyed for ten years the reputation of having extended his discoveries farther south than any other voyager.

In October following, soon after the return of Ojeda, a wealthy notary of Seville, by name Rodrigo de Bastides, desirous of speculating in the new El Dorado, engaged the services of the veteran pilot and companion of Ojeda, Juan de la Cosa, and set out with two caravels in quest of gold and pearls. They continued the discoveries along Terra Firma, from cape de la Vela, where Ojeda had stopped, to the port afterwards called Nombre de Dios; they treated the natives kindly, and acquired rich cargoes; but unfortunately their vessels were cast away on the coast of Hispaniola, and the crews were forced to travel on foot to the city of St. Domingo, provided only with a small store of trinkets and other articles of Indian traffic, with which to buy provisions on the road. The moment Bastides made his appearance, he was seized as an illicit trader by the governor Bobadilla, the oppressor and superseder of Columbus, and sent for trial to Spain. He was there acquitted, and his voyage was so lucrative, that he had considerable profit after all his misfortunes.

The reports of these successive adventures were not heard by Ojeda, who had continued to linger about the bishop of Fonseca, without reanimating his bold spirit. He found numbers ready to listen to his wonderful stories, and embark in his wild expeditions; he found others who desired to increase their wealth, by aiding him with the means to renew them. The king made him governor of the province of Coquibacoa, which he had discovered; and in 1502 he again set sail, with four vessels well fitted out. Arriving at his new government, he selected a bay which he named Santa Cruz, but which is supposed to be that now called Bahia Honda, as the site of a settlement, and commenced at once the erection of a fortress. Before long, however, dissensions broke out between him and some of his principal companions, which ended in his being seized by the latter, accused as a defaulter to the crown of Spain, and thrown into irons. The whole community then set sail with their former chief for St. Domingo. They arrived at the island of Hispaniola, and while at anchor within a stone's throw of the land, Ojeda, confident of his strength and skill as a swimmer, let himself quietly down the side of the ship during the night, and tried to gain the shore. His arms were free, but his feet were shackled, and the weight of the irons threatened to sink him. He was obliged to call for help; a boat was sent from the ship; and the unfortunate governor, half drowned, was restored to captivity. He was tried at San Domingo and condemned, but appealing to the sovereign, was afterwards acquitted. The long litigation, however, exhausted his fortune, and he again found himself a ruined man.

If ruined, however, he was yet in the vigour of his years, and his spirit was undaunted. He still yearned for the gold of Terra Firma. All he wanted was money to fit out an armament. In this difficulty he was aided by an old and tried friend. Juan de la Cosa, the hardy pilot of Columbus, and the companion of Ojeda in his first voyage, and subsequently of Rodrigo de Bastides, had remained in Hispaniola, and contrived to fill his purse in subsequent cruises among the islands. The friends united together, and applied to the crown of Spain for a grant of territory and command on Terra Firma. A similar application was made about the same time by Diego de Nicuesa, an accomplished courtier of noble birth.—

"Nature, education, and habit, seemed to have combined to form Nicuesa as a complete rival of Ojeda. Like him he was small of stature, but remarkable for symmetry and compactness of form, and for bodily strength and activity; like him he was master at all kinds of weapons, and skilled, not merely in feats of agility, but in those graceful and chivalrous exercises, which the Spanish cavaliers of those days had inherited from the Moors; being noted for his vigour and address in the jousts or tilting matches after the Moresco fashion. Ojeda himself could not surpass him in feats of horsemanship, and particular mention is made of a favourite mare, which he could make caper and carricol in strict cadence to the sound of a viol; beside all this, he was versed in the legendary ballads or romances of his country, and was renowned as a capital performer on the guitar! Such were the qualifications of this candidate for a command in the wilderness, as enumerated by the reverend Bishop Las Casas. It is probable, however, that he had given evidence of qualities more adapted to the desired post; having already been out to Hispaniola in the military train of the late Governor Ovando."

King Ferdinand found some difficulty in deciding between the claims of candidates whose merits were so singularly balanced; he ultimately divided that part of the continent lying along the isthmus, and extending from cape de la Vela to cape Gracias à Dios, into two provinces, separated by the bay of Uraba, which is at the head of the gulf of Darien. Of these provinces, the eastern was assigned to Ojeda, the western to Nicuesa.

The armaments of the rival governors met in the port of St. Domingo. It was not long before cause of collision arose between two men, both possessed of such swelling spirits. They quarrelled about the boundaries of their governments, and the province of Darien was boldly claimed by each.—

"Their disputes on these points ran so high, that the whole place resounded with them. In talking, however, Nicuesa had the advantage; having been brought up in the court, he was more polished and ceremonious, had greater self-command, and probably perplexed his rival governor in argument. Ojeda was no great casuist, but he was an excellent swordsman, and always ready to fight his way through any question of right or dignity which he could not clearly argue with the tongue; so he proposed to settle the dispute by single combat. Nicuesa, though equally brave, was more a man of the world, and saw the folly of such arbitrament. Secretly smiling at the heat of his antagonist, he proposed as a preliminary to the duel, and to furnish something worth fighting for, that each should deposit five thousand castillanos, to be the prize of the victor. This, as he foresaw, was a temporary check upon the fiery valour of his rival, who did not possess a pistole in his treasury; but probably was too proud to confess it."

How long the poverty of Ojeda could have kept down his fiery spirit, we may doubt. Fortunately he had in his companion, the brave Juan de la Cosa, a friend who could control him, as well as follow and support him. Juan reconciled, at least for a time, the quarrel of the rival governors, and it was agreed that the river Darien should be the boundary of their provinces. Things being thus arranged, Ojeda was anxious to set sail; he still, however, wanted pecuniary assistance to complete his equipment; though careless of money himself, he seems to have had a facility in commanding the purses of his neighbours; and on this occasion he found, in a quarter, where perhaps he could scarce have expected it, both personal and pecuniary aid. There lived at San Domingo, the bachelor Martin Fernandez de Enciso, a shrewd lawyer, who had contrived to accumulate a considerable fortune by the litigation which already flourished in the New World. He was dazzled by the visions of unbounded wealth, he was promised the lofty office and title of Alcalde Mayor, and in an evil hour the worthy bachelor united in the enterprise of Ojeda, in search of fame and fortune. It was determined that he should stay at St. Domingo till he could collect a larger store of provisions and more men; and then follow his partner, who set sail without delay. The armament of Nicuesa still remained in port; for that gallant cavalier, notwithstanding his challenge to his rival, had exhausted all the money he could raise; he was even threatened with a prison; and it was not till some time after his rival had sailed, that he was enabled by unexpected assistance to embark.

In the month of November 1509, Ojeda reached the harbour of Cartagena, in his new province. In addition to Juan de la Cosa, he had as a companion Francisco Pizarro, who afterwards conquered Peru. The former, knowing from previous voyages the savage character of the natives, advised Ojeda not to stop there, but to proceed to the bay of Uraba. Such advice was useless to a proud warrior, who despised a naked and a savage foe. Having failed to keep his commander from danger, the faithful Juan could only stand by to aid him. Ojeda, who was a good Catholic, thought that he performed a pious duty in reducing the savages to the dominion of the king and the knowledge of the true faith. He carried as a protecting relic a small painting of the Holy Virgin; he summoned the Indians in the name of the Pope, and he assured them in the most solemn terms that they were the lawful subjects of the sovereigns of Castile.

"On landing, he advanced towards the savages, and ordered the friars to read aloud a certain formula, which had recently been digested by profound jurists and divines in Spain. It began in stately form. 'I, Alonzo de Ojeda, servant of the most high and mighty sovereigns of Castile and Leon, conquerors of barbarous nations, their messenger and captain, do notify unto you, and make you know, in the best way I can, that God our Lord, one and eternal, created the heaven and the earth, and one man and one woman, from whom you and we, and all the people of the earth proceeded, and are descendants, as well as all those who shall come hereafter.' The formula then went on to declare the fundamental principles of the Catholic Faith; the supreme power given to St. Peter over the world and all the human race, and exercised by his representative the pope; the donation made by a late pope of all this part of the world and all its inhabitants, to the Catholic sovereigns of Castile; and the ready obedience which had already been paid by many of its lands and islands and people to the agents and representatives of those sovereigns. It called upon those savages present, therefore, to do the same, to acknowledge the truth of the Christian doctrines, the supremacy of the pope, and the sovereignty of the Catholic King, but, in case of refusal, it denounced upon them all the horrors of war, the desolation of their dwelling, the seizure of their property, and the slavery of their wives and children. Such was the extraordinary document, which, from this time forward, was read by the Spanish discoverers to the wondering savages of any newly-found country, as a prelude to sanctify the violence about to be inflicted on them."

The pious manifesto was uttered in vain to the warlike savages: they brandished their weapons, and Ojeda, after a short prayer to the Virgin, had to discard the parchment, brace up his armour, and charge the foe at the head of his followers. He was not long in defeating his naked enemies, who fled into the forests. Juan de la Cosa again tried his influence with his commander, and urged him to desist from pursuit. It was in vain. Ojeda, with Juan faithfully at his side, rushed madly on through the mazes of unknown woods. The Indians rallied and waylaid the imprudent Spaniards. It was in vain that Ojeda inspired them with fresh courage by the example of his undaunted prowess. Numbers prevailed; the weapons of the savages were steeped in a deadly poison; and one after one the invaders were left dead. Among those who fell was the brave Juan de la Cosa; and a Spaniard, who was near him when he died, was the only surviver of seventy that had followed Ojeda in his rash and headlong inroad.

For days those who remained at the ships waited the arrival of their companions. They searched the woods and shouted along the shore, but they could hear no signal from them. What was their surprise one day, at catching in a thicket of mangrove trees, a glimpse of a man in Spanish attire. They entered, and found the unfortunate Ojeda; he lay on the matted roots of the trees; he was speechless, wan, and wasted; but his hand still grasped his sword. They restored him with wine and a warm fire; he recounted the story of his rash expedition; of his struggles among rocks and forests to reach the shore; and he bitterly reproached himself with the death of his faithful companion. While the crowd of Spaniards were yet on the beach administering to the recovery of their commander, they beheld steering into the harbour, a squadron of ships, which they soon recognised as that of Nicuesa. Ojeda recollected at once his quarrel; his valiant spirit was quelled by the hardships he had suffered; he feared to meet his rival; and he directed his followers to leave him concealed in the woods until the disposition of Nicuesa should be known.—

"As the squadron entered the harbour, the boats sallied forth to meet it. The first inquiry of Nicuesa was concerning Ojeda. The followers of the latter replied, mournfully, that their commander had gone on a warlike expedition into the country, but days had elapsed without his return, so that they feared some misfortune had befallen him. They entreated Nicuesa, therefore, to give his word, as a cavalier, that should Ojeda really be in distress, he would not take advantage of his misfortunes to revenge himself for their late disputes.

"Nicuesa, who was a gentleman of noble and generous spirit, blushed with indignation at such a request. 'Seek your commander instantly,' said he; 'bring him to me if he be alive; and I pledge myself not merely to forget the past, but to aid him as if he were a brother.'

"When they met, Nicuesa received his late foe with open arms. 'It is not,' said he, 'for Hidalgos, like men of vulgar souls, to remember past differences when they behold one another in distress. Henceforth, let all that has occurred between us be forgotten. Command me as a brother. Myself and my men are at your orders, to follow you wherever you please, until the deaths of Juan de la Cosa and his comrades are revenged.'

"The spirits of Ojeda were once more lifted up by this gallant and generous offer. The two governors, no longer rivals, landed four hundred of their men and several horses, and set off with all speed for the fatal village. They approached it in the night, and, dividing their forces into two parties, gave orders that not an Indian should be taken alive."

Dreadful indeed was the carnage, and fierce the vengeance the two commanders wreaked upon the natives. Having sacked the village, they left it a smoking ruin, and returned in triumph to their ships. The spoil, which was great, was divided among the followers of each governor, and they now parted with many expressions of friendship, Nicuesa proceeding westward to his province.

Ojeda did not long continue at a spot so fatal. He proceeded along the coast, and at length selected a height on the east side, at the entrance of the gulf of Darien, as the place for his town, which he named St. Sebastian. He immediately erected a fortress to defend himself against the natives, and considering this as his permanent seat of government, despatched a ship to Hispaniola, with a letter to the bachelor Enciso, requesting him to join the colony with the provisions and men he had collected. In the meanwhile, those who remained soon exhausted the stores they had, and were reduced to great want. They were fortunately relieved by the arrival of a vessel commanded by Bernardo de Talavera, a reckless adventurer, who being threatened with imprisonment by his creditors in St. Domingo, had persuaded a set of men, as reckless as himself, to seize by force a vessel, lying off shore loaded with provisions, and join the new colony. While the supply brought by Talavera lasted, Ojeda was able to pacify his murmuring companions, and to persuade them peacefully to await the arrival of Enciso. When this however was exhausted, and famine threatened them, they became outrageous in their clamours, and Ojeda was compelled, as the only means of appeasing them, to agree to go himself to St. Domingo for aid, leaving those who stayed under the command of Francisco Pizarro, as his lieutenant. Talavera, already tired of the hardships he had encountered, was willing enough to return, and set sail with the commander in his vessel. The ill luck which had attended Ojeda during this expedition still continued. The vessel was cast on the island of Cuba, and completely wrecked; and the unhappy Spaniards had no choice but to perish on the beach, or to traverse the wide morasses that spread along the coast, until they reached some place where they could obtain aid. These morasses, as they proceeded, became deeper and deeper, the water sometimes reaching to their girdles; and when they slept, they had to creep up among the twisted roots of the mangrove trees, which grew in clusters in the waters. Of all the party, Ojeda alone kept up his spirit undaunted. He cheered his companions; he shared his food among them; whenever he stopped to repose in the mangrove trees, he took out his treasured picture of the Virgin, which he had carefully preserved through all his troubles, and placing it before him, commended himself to the Holy Mother; and by persuading his companions to join him, he renewed their patience and courage. It was on one of these occasions that he made a vow to erect a chapel and leave his relic in the first Indian town to which he came. At length, after incredible sufferings, they reached a village; the natives gathered round the poor wanderers, and gazed at them with wonder; they treated them with humanity, and after restoring them to health and strength, aided and accompanied them till they reached the point of land nearest Jamaica. At that spot they procured canoes, arrived at a settlement of their countrymen, and thence returned to St. Domingo.

Ojeda was too pious a Catholic to forget the vow he had made in his distress, though it must have sorely grieved him to part with the relic to which he attributed his safety in so many perils. At the village, however, where he had been so kindly succoured, he faithfully performed it.

"He built a little hermitage or oratory in the village, and furnished it with an altar, above which he placed the picture. He then summoned the benevolent cacique, and explained to him, as well as his limited knowledge of the language, or the aid of interpreters would permit, the main points of the Catholic faith, and especially the history of the Virgin, whom he represented as the mother of the Deity that reigned in the skies, and the great advocate for mortal man.

"The worthy cacique listened to him with mute attention, and though he might not clearly comprehend the doctrine, yet he conceived a profound veneration for the picture. The sentiment was shared by his subjects. They kept the little oratory always swept clean, and decorated it with cotton hangings, laboured by their own hands, and with various votive offerings. They composed couplets or areytos in honour of the Virgin, which they sang to the accompaniment of rude musical instruments, dancing to the sound under the groves which surrounded the hermitage.

"A further anecdote concerning this relique may not be unacceptable. The venerable Las Casas, who records these facts, informs us that he arrived at the village of Cuebás some time after the departure of Ojeda. He found the oratory preserved with the most religious care, as a sacred place, and the picture of the Virgin regarded with fond adoration. The poor Indians crowded to attend mass, which he performed at the altar; they listened attentively to his paternal instructions, and at his request brought their children to be baptized. The good Las Casas having heard much of this famous relique of Ojeda, was desirous of obtaining possession of it, and offered to give the cacique in exchange, an image of the Virgin which he had brought with him. The chieftain made an evasive answer, and seemed much troubled in mind. The next morning he did not make his appearance.

"Las Casas went to the oratory to perform mass, but found the altar stripped of its precious relique. On inquiring, he learnt that in the night the cacique had fled to the woods, bearing off with him his beloved picture of the Virgin. It was in vain that Las Casas sent messengers after him, assuring him that he should not be deprived of the relique, but, on the contrary, that the image should likewise be presented to him. The cacique refused to venture from the fastnesses of the forest, nor did he return to his village and replace the picture in the oratory, until after the departure of the Spaniards."

The fate of Ojeda was that of a ruined man. He lingered for some time at San Domingo, but he no longer appeared there as the governor of a province. He was a needy wanderer. His health was broken down by wounds and hardships, and he died at last so poor that he did not leave money enough to pay for his interment; and so broken in spirit, that he entreated with his last breath, that his body might be buried at the portal of the Monastery of St. Francisco, in humble expiation of his past pride, "so that every one who entered might tread upon his grave."

When the gallant and generous minded Nicuesa left Ojeda, he sailed to the west to encounter perils still greater than his rival endured. His squadron arrived safely on the coast of Veragua. He there embarked himself in a small caravel belonging to it, that he might the better explore the inlets and places along the shore, committing the charge of the other vessels to his lieutenant Lope de Olano. One night, shortly after making this arrangement, a violent storm came on, and when day dawned, Nicuesa was left without one of the squadron in sight. Taking refuge in a river, his caravel was wrecked, and the unfortunate commander was left on the desert shore with the crew of the vessel, and nothing remaining to them but the boat, which was accidentally cast on the beach. Day after day they hoped for the arrival of their companions, until they began to suspect that the lieutenant had determined to profit by the absence of Nicuesa, assume his power, and leave him to perish. They wandered along shore, in the direction, as they supposed, of the place where they had been separated from the squadron. They crossed the rivers and sailed to the islands near the coast in their boat. At length, to complete their misfortunes, at one of the latter, four of the party deserted, took with them the boat, and left their commander and the rest of the party, without food, assistance, or means to regain the land. In this sad situation they remained for weeks; many of them died, and those who lived envied, instead of mourning over, their fate. At length one of the brigantines of the squadron appeared; it had been sent by Lope de Olano, who had been found by the four mariners in the boat; and Nicuesa and the survivers were conveyed to their companions, who had made a settlement at the mouth of the river Belen. Finding that spot unhealthy, Nicuesa broke up the settlement, and established the remnant of his once large colony, now reduced to a hundred emaciated wretches, at "El Nombre de Dios." "Here let us stop," exclaimed the weary commander to his companions, "in the name of God (en el nombre de Dios,)"—whence the port derived its name.

While the two governors were thus struggling to establish their colonies, the bachelor Enciso, whom we have mentioned as having enlisted with Ojeda, set out from St. Domingo to join that adventurer with the men and provisions he had collected. Among his recruits was Vasco Nuñez de Balboa, another name destined to become famous on these seas. The bachelor had hardly reached Terra Firma before he fell in with Francisco Pizarro, and the small remains of the colony left by Ojeda at St. Sebastian. He heard the story of their misfortunes and the departure of their commander, but nothing daunted, the worthy gentleman of the robe assumed the courageous bearing of a knight errant, and determined to pursue the adventures on which he had embarked. Having heard of a great sepulchre not far in the interior, where the natives were said to be buried with all their ornaments of gold, he determined at once to pounce on so valuable a mine. He held it no sacrilege to plunder the graves of pagans and infidels, and he took care to secure the law on his side, by causing to be read and interpreted to all the caciques, a declaration, informing them of the nature of the Deity, the supremacy of the pope, and the undoubted validity of his grant of their country to the Catholic sovereigns.

"The caciques listened to the whole very attentively, and without interruption, according to the laws of Indian courtesy. They then replied, that, as to the assertion that there was but one God, the sovereign of heaven and earth, it seemed to them good, and that such must be the case; but as to the doctrine that the pope was regent of the world in place of God, and that he had made a grant of their country to the Spanish king, they observed that the pope must have been drunk to give away what was not his, and the king must have been somewhat mad to ask at his hands what belonged to others. They added, that they were lords of those lands, and needed no other sovereign, and if this king should come to take possession, they would cut off his head and put it on a pole; that being their mode of dealing with their enemies.—As an illustration of this custom, they pointed out to Enciso the very uncomfortable spectacle of a row of grisly heads impaled in the neighbourhood."

On hearing this answer, the bachelor at once discarded the legal, and assumed the warlike character. He charged the Indians, and routed them with ease. He forthwith plundered the sepulchres, but whether he obtained the expected booty is not recorded. After this exploit, the worthy bachelor set about establishing the provincial government as Alcalde Mayor of Ojeda. St. Sebastian being in ruins, and the scene of so many misfortunes, was speedily deserted, and by the advice of Vasco Nuñez he seized on the village of Darien, drove out the inhabitants, collected at it great quantities of food and golden ornaments, and established his capital under the sounding title of Santa Maria de la Antigua del Darien.

It so happened that this new town was on the western shore of the river Darien, and consequently within the province of Nicuesa, not of Ojeda. Some discontented or ambitious persons in the colony took advantage of this, and attacked the alcalde in his own way, with legal weapons, questioning his right to rule. Among these Vasco Nuñez and one Zamudio were the leaders, and aspired to the bachelor's post. It was however at last determined to seek for the rightful head of the colony, Nicuesa; and bring him to the new capital. That woe-worn commander accepted with delight the unexpected proffer; foolishly however he assumed at once the haughty airs of a governor, and before he had seen his new colony, spoke of the punishment he would inflict on the disturbers of its harmony. The inhabitants of Darien heard of this language, and repented of their hasty measure. Placing Vasco Nuñez at their head, they awaited the arrival of Nicuesa on the beach, and when they saw his vessel enter the bay, refused him permission to land. It was in vain that the unfortunate cavalier entreated, promised, and explained. Even Vasco Nuñez, who was of a generous spirit, supplicated for his reception as a private individual, without effect. The determination of the populace was made up; and sad to tell, Nicuesa was driven to sea in his crazy bark, and never heard of more.

The bachelor Enciso now again claimed his right to command the colony. The people, however, were all on the side of Vasco Nuñez; he had become a great favourite, from his frank and fearless character, and his winning affability; in fact, he was peculiarly calculated to manage the fiery and the factious, yet generous and susceptible nature of his countrymen, and in addition to this he was in the vigour of his age, tall, well formed and hardy. After a fruitless struggle, Enciso left the colony, and Vasco Nuñez, well aware of the appeal he would make to the Spanish government, sent at the same time Zamudio to represent and defend him before the same tribunal. Vasco Nuñez at once exerted himself to prove his capacity as governor. His first expedition was against Careta, the neighbouring cacique of Coyba, for the purpose of obtaining supplies. By a stratagem he made captives of the cacique, his wives, and children, and many of his people. He discovered also their store of provisions, and returned with his booty and his captives to Darien.

"When the unfortunate cacique beheld his family in chains, and in the hands of strangers, his heart was wrung with despair; 'What have I done to thee,' said he to Vasco Nuñez, 'that thou shouldst treat me thus cruelly? None of thy people ever came to my land that were not fed, and sheltered, and treated with loving kindness. When thou camest to my dwelling, did I meet thee with a javelin in my hand? Did I not set meat and drink before thee, and welcome thee as a brother? Set me free therefore, with my family and people, and we will remain thy friends. We will supply thee with provisions, and reveal to thee the riches of the land. Dost thou doubt my faith? Behold my daughter, I give her to thee as a pledge of friendship. Take her for thy wife, and be assured of the fidelity of her family and her people!'

"Vasco Nuñez felt the force of these words, and knew the importance of forming a strong alliance among the natives. The captive maid, also, as she stood trembling and dejected before him, found great favour in his eyes, for she was young and beautiful. He granted, therefore, the prayer of the cacique, and accepted his daughter, engaging, moreover, to aid the father against his enemies, on condition of his furnishing provisions to the colony.

"Careta remained three days at Darien, during which time, he was treated with the utmost kindness. Vasco Nuñez took him on board of his ships and showed him every part of them. He displayed before him also the war horses, with their armour and rich caparisons, and astonished him with the thunder of artillery. Lest he should be too much daunted by these warlike spectacles, he caused the musicians to perform a harmonious concert on their instruments, at which the cacique was lost in admiration. Thus having impressed him with a wonderful idea of the power and endowments of his new allies, he loaded him with presents and permitted him to depart.

"Careta returned joyfully to his territories, and his daughter remained with Vasco Nuñez, willingly for his sake giving up her family and native home. They were never married, but she considered herself his wife, as she really was, according to the usages of her own country, and he treated her with fondness, allowing her gradually to acquire great influence over him. To his affection for this damsel, his ultimate ruin is, in some measure, to be ascribed."

Vasco Nuñez did not neglect the favourable occasion these circumstances offered, of extending his power among the neighbouring Indians. Those who were hostile he attacked; those who were friendly he conciliated. From all he obtained supplies of provisions and gold, to support and enrich his colony. It was in one of his excursions to a friendly chief, the cacique of Comagre, that he obtained the information which gave greater scope to his adventurous spirit, and enabled him to place himself in the same degree with Pizarro and Cortez among the discoverers who succeeded the great admiral. The cacique had made a present or tribute of a large quantity of gold, and the followers of Vasco Nuñez quarrelled as they were dividing among them their respective shares in the presence of the Indian chief.

"The high minded savage was disgusted at this sordid brawl among beings whom he had regarded with such reverence. In the first impulse of his disdain he struck the scale with his fist, and scattered the glittering gold about the porch. Before the Spaniards could recover from their astonishment at this sudden act, he thus addressed them: 'Why should you quarrel for such a trifle? If this gold is indeed so precious in your eyes, that for it alone you abandon your homes, invade the peaceful lands of others, and expose yourselves to such sufferings and perils, I will tell you of a region where you may gratify your wishes to the utmost.—Behold those lofty mountains,' continued he, pointing to the south; 'beyond these lies a mighty sea, which may be discerned from their summit. It is navigated by people who have vessels almost as large as yours, and furnished, like them, with sails and oars. All the streams which flow down the southern side of those mountains into that sea abound in gold; and the kings who reign upon its borders eat and drink out of golden vessels. Gold, in fact, is as plentiful and common among those people of the south as iron is among you Spaniards.'

"Struck with this intelligence, Vasco Nuñez inquired eagerly as to the means of penetrating to this sea and to the opulent regions on its shores. 'The task,' replied the prince, 'is difficult and dangerous. You must pass through the territories of many powerful caciques, who will oppose you with hosts of warriors. Some parts of the mountains are infested by fierce and cruel cannibals, a wandering lawless race: but, above all, you will have to encounter the great cacique Tubanamá, whose territories are at the distance of six days journey, and more rich in gold than any other province; this cacique will be sure to come forth against you with a mighty force. To accomplish your enterprise, therefore, will require at least a thousand men armed like those who follow you."

The effect of this intelligence, on the enterprising spirit of Vasco Nuñez, may be well imagined. The Pacific ocean and its golden realms seemed to be at his feet. He beheld within his power an enterprise which would at once elevate him from a wandering and desperate man, to a rank among the great captains and discoverers of the earth. He lost no time in making every preparation to realize the splendid vision. With this object he sent for aid to Don Diego Columbus, who then governed at St. Domingo; and in the mean time endeavoured to strengthen himself with the surrounding tribes of natives, and to quiet the spirit of insubordination which would occasionally break out at Darien. At length, on the 1st of September, 1513, he set out with one hundred and ninety Spaniards, and a number of Indians. At Coyba he left half his company with the cacique Careta, to await his return, and with the residue, on the sixth of the month, struck off towards the mountains. By some of the Indian tribes he was kindly received, by others hostile intentions were displayed. These were soon overcome by the use of fire arms and blood hounds, which terrified the natives and put them at once to flight. On the evening of the 25th of September, the party, now reduced to sixty-seven Spaniards, arrived at the foot of the last mountain, from whose top they were told they would command the long sought prospect. Vasco Nuñez obtained fresh Indian guides, and ordered his men to retire early to repose, that they might be ready to set off at the cool and fresh hour of daybreak, so as to reach the summit of the mountain before the noontide heat.

"The day had scarcely dawned, when Vasco Nuñez and his followers set forth from the Indian village and began to climb the height. It was a severe and rugged toil for men so wayworn, but they were filled with new ardour at the idea of the triumphant scene that was so soon to repay them for all their hardships.

"About ten o'clock in the morning they emerged from the thick forests through which they had hitherto struggled, and arrived at a lofty and airy region of the mountain. The bald summit alone remained to be ascended, and their guides pointed to a moderate eminence from which they said the southern sea was visible.

"Upon this Vasco Nuñez commanded his followers to halt, and that no man should stir from his place. Then, with a palpitating heart, he ascended alone the bare mountain-top. On reaching the summit the long-desired prospect burst upon his view. It was as if a new world were unfolded to him, separated from all hitherto known by this mighty barrier of mountains. Below him extended a vast chaos of rock and forest, and green savannahs and wandering streams, while at a distance the waters of the promised ocean glittered in the morning sun.

"At this glorious prospect Vasco Nuñez sank upon his knees, and poured out thanks to God for being the first European to whom it was given to make that great discovery. He then called his people to ascend: 'Behold, my friends,' said he, 'that glorious sight which we have so much desired. Let us give thanks to God that he has granted us this great honour and advantage. Let us pray to him that he will guide and aid us to conquer the sea and land which we have discovered, and in which Christian has never entered to preach the holy doctrine of the Evangelists. As to yourselves, be as you have hitherto been, faithful and true to me, and by the favour of Christ you will become the richest Spaniards that have ever come to the Indies; you will render the greatest services to your king that ever vassal rendered to his lord; and you will have the eternal glory and advantage of all that is here discovered, conquered, and converted to our holy Catholic faith.'

"The Spaniards answered this speech by embracing Vasco Nuñez, and promising to follow him to death. Among them was a priest, named Andres de Vara, who lifted up his voice and chanted Te Deum laudamus—the usual anthem of Spanish discoverers. The people, kneeling down, joined in the strain with pious enthusiasm and tears of joy; and never did a more sincere oblation rise to the Deity from a sanctified altar than from that wild mountain summit. It was indeed one of the most sublime discoveries that had yet been made in the New World, and must have opened a boundless field of conjecture to the wondering Spaniards. The imagination delights to picture forth the splendid confusion of their thoughts. Was this the great Indian Ocean, studded with precious islands, abounding in gold, in gems, and spices, and bordered by the gorgeous cities and wealthy marts of the East? Or was it some lonely sea, locked up in the embraces of savage uncultivated continents, and never traversed by a bark, excepting the light pirogue of the Indian? The latter could hardly be the case, for the natives had told the Spaniards of golden realms, and populous and powerful and luxurious nations upon its shores. Perhaps it might be bordered by various people, civilized in fact, but differing from Europe in their civilization; who might have peculiar laws and customs and arts and sciences; who might form, as it were, a world of their own, intercommuning by this mighty sea, and carrying on commerce between their own islands and continents; but who might exist in total ignorance and independence of the other hemisphere.

"Such may naturally have been the ideas suggested by the sight of this unknown ocean. It was the prevalent belief of the Spaniards, however, that they were the first Christians who had made the discovery. Vasco Nuñez, therefore, called upon all present to witness that he took possession of that sea, its islands, and surrounding lands, in the name of the sovereigns of Castile, and the notary of the expedition made a testimonial of the same, to which all present, to the number of sixty-seven men, signed their names. He then caused a fair and tall tree to be cut down and wrought into a cross, which was elevated on the spot from whence he had at first beheld the sea. A mound of stones was likewise piled up to serve as a monument, and the names of the Castilian sovereigns were carved on the neighbouring trees. The Indians beheld all these ceremonials and rejoicings in silent wonder, and, while they aided to erect the cross and pile up the mound of stones, marvelled exceedingly at the meaning of these monuments, little thinking that they marked the subjugation of their land."

From the summit of the mountain Vasco Nuñez cheerfully pursued his journey to the coast; when he tasted the water and found it salt, he felt assured that he had indeed discovered an ocean; he again returned thanks to God, and drawing his dagger from his girdle, marked three trees with crosses in honour of the Trinity and in token of possession.

He remained on the shore of the Pacific ocean till the 3d of November. In the interval, he conciliated by his good management the kind feelings of the natives; he visited some of the neighbouring islands; he was shown the valuable pearl fisheries; and was loaded when he left there with pearls and gold. On his return he had several hostile rencounters with the natives, and reached Darien on the 19th of January, 1514.

"Thus ended one of the most remarkable expeditions of the early discoverers. The intrepidity of Vasco Nuñez in penetrating, with a handful of men, far into the interior of a wild and mountainous country, peopled by warlike tribes; his skill in managing his band of rough adventurers, stimulating their valour, enforcing their obedience, and attaching their affections, show him to have possessed great qualities as a general. We are told that he was always foremost in peril, and the last to quit the field. He shared the toils and dangers of the meanest of his followers, treating them with frank affability; watching, fighting, fasting and labouring with them; visiting and consoling such as were sick or infirm, and dividing all his gains with fairness and liberality. He was chargeable at times with acts of bloodshed and injustice, but it is probable that these were often called for as measures of safety and precaution; he certainly offended less against humanity than most of the early discoverers; and the unbounded amity and confidence reposed in him by the natives, when they became intimately acquainted with his character, speak strongly in favour of his kind treatment of them.

"The character of Vasco Nuñez had, in fact, risen with his circumstances, and now assumed a nobleness and grandeur from the discovery he had made, and the important charge it had devolved upon him. He no longer felt himself a mere soldier of fortune, at the head of a band of adventurers, but a great commander conducting an immortal enterprise. 'Behold,' says old Peter Martyr, 'Vasco Nuñez de Balboa, at once transformed from a rash royster to a politic and discreet captain:' and thus it is that men are often made by their fortunes; that is to say, their latent qualities are brought out, and shaped and strengthened by events, and by the necessity of every exertion to cope with the greatness of their destiny."

While Vasco Nuñez was thus exulting in his successful expedition, fortune was preparing for him a sad reverse. The bachelor Enciso had arrived in Spain, and notwithstanding the statements of Zamudio, had made an unfavourable impression in regard to Vasco Nuñez. The result was, that a new governor of Darien was appointed, in the person of Pedro Arias Davila, commonly called Pedrarias, a brave warrior, but little fitted to command in a colony such as that to which he was sent. A number of young Spanish nobles and gentlemen determined to accompany him, having heard wild stories of the wealth and adventures which the new world offered. Pedrarias was also attended by his heroic wife, Doña Isabella de Bobadilla, and by the bishop Quevedo, a just and benevolent priest. Scarcely had the new expedition left the shores of Spain, when news arrived there of the splendid discoveries of Vasco Nuñez, and the king repented that he had so hastily superseded him.

In the month of June, the squadron of Pedrarias anchored before Darien. When the hardy veterans of the colony heard that their beloved commander was to be thus removed, they were loud in their murmurs, and eagerly desired to resist the newly arrived governor. Not so Vasco Nuñez; he bowed at once to the mandates of the king, and acknowledged the authority of Pedrarias. This frank and honourable conduct was ill repaid by the new chief; he took advantage of the unsuspecting confidence of Vasco Nuñez, and directed him to be prosecuted for usurpation and tyrannical abuse of power. Fortunately, the bishop was opposed to the conduct of the governor, and even his wife ventured to express her respect and sympathy for the discoverer. This alone saved him from being sent in irons to Spain. In the mean time, the gallant Spanish cavaliers sunk beneath the fatal climate, to which they were unaccustomed, and the affairs of the colony became distracted. Pedrarias, to engage them, fitted out an expedition for the Pacific, but it ended in disappointment and disaster, and had little result but to change some of the friendly Indian tribes into implacable enemies.

While things were in this state, despatches arrived from Spain. In a letter addressed to Vasco Nuñez, the king expressed his high sense of his merits and services, and constituted him adelantado of the South Sea, though subordinate to the general command of Pedrarias. That governor, still envious of the renown of his rival, refused to confer on him the powers belonging to his new office, and all that Vasco Nuñez could obtain was the recognition of the title. Still further to thwart the honourable plans of the discoverer, he determined to explore, under his own auspices, the pearl fisheries and islands discovered by Vasco Nuñez on the Pacific, and for this purpose fitted out an expedition under the command of his own relative Morales; he sent with him, however, Francisco Pizarro, who had accompanied Vasco Nuñez on his first expedition. These explorers were kindly received by the caciques, who willingly gave them pearls for hatchets, beads, and hawks' bills, which they valued much more. An incident occurred on their visit to Isla Rica, which, connected with the future history of Pizarro, was singularly interesting.

"Finding that pearls were so precious in the eyes of the Spaniards, the cacique took Morales and Pizarro to the summit of a wooden tower, commanding an unbounded prospect. 'Behold before you,' said he, 'the infinite sea, which extends even beyond the sun-beams. As to these islands which lie to the right and left, they are all subject to my sway. They possess but little gold, but the deep places of the sea around them are full of pearls. Continue to be my friends, and you shall have as many as you desire; for I value your friendship more than pearls, and, as far as in me lies, will never forfeit it.'

"He then pointed to the main land, where it stretched away towards the east, mountain beyond mountain, until the summit of the last faded in the distance, and was scarcely seen above the watery horizon. In that direction, he said, there lay a vast country of inexhaustible riches, inhabited by a mighty nation. He went on to repeat the vague but wonderful rumours which the Spaniards had frequently heard about the great kingdom of Peru. Pizarro listened greedily to his words, and while his eye followed the finger of the cacique, as it ranged along the line of shadowy coast, his daring mind kindled with the thought of seeking this golden empire beyond the waters."

On their way back through the mountains, the Spaniards were attacked by the savages with great ferocity; and when they reached Darien their party was greatly diminished, though the spoil they brought with them was great.

In the mean time, the disagreement between Pedrarias and Vasco Nuñez continued, to the great regret of the bishop Quevedo, and the mortification of Doña Isabella. At length a plan was suggested by the former which had the fortunate effect of producing a reconciliation. It was agreed that Vasco Nuñez should marry the daughter of the governor, then in Spain, and he was accordingly betrothed at once. Pedrarias now looked upon the exploits of his rival as those of one of his own family, and no longer thwarted him. He cheerfully aided him in a new expedition which was planned for transporting timber across the isthmus, building brigantines on the Pacific, and exploring the country farther to the south. When Vasco Nuñez found himself floating in large vessels, on the waves of the vast ocean he had discovered, he felt an honourable pride, and a thousand visions of discoveries yet to be made crowded on his fancy. Alas! they were not destined to be realized. A person who had a private pique against him, insinuated himself into the confidence of Pedrarias; declared that Vasco Nuñez had schemes of boundless ambition; that he would soon throw off his connexion with the governor, and above all, that such was his devotion to the Indian damsel, the daughter of Careta, that he would never wed her to whom he was betrothed. All the ancient enmity of Pedrarias was renewed; he determined at once to put an end to the rivalry of Vasco Nuñez; by fair promises he induced him unsuspectingly to return; and as soon as he arrived within his power had him arrested and tried for treason. His condemnation was to be expected, but deep was the emotion and surprise among the colonists when they learned that it was to be followed by the immediate death of the unfortunate soldier. No entreaties, however, could induce the governor to relent. He had his victim now in his power and he determined he should not escape.

"It was a day of gloom and horror at Acla, when Vasco Nuñez and his companions were led forth to execution. The populace were moved to tears at the unhappy fate of a man, whose gallant deeds had excited their admiration, and whose generous qualities had won their hearts. Most of them regarded him as the victim of a jealous tyrant; and even those who thought him guilty, saw something brave and brilliant in the very crime imputed to him. Such, however, was the general dread inspired by the severe measures of Pedrarias, that no one dared to lift up his voice, either in murmur or remonstrance.

"The public crier walked before Vasco Nuñez, proclaiming, 'This is the punishment inflicted by command of the king, and his lieutenant Don Pedrarias Davila, on this man, as a traitor and an usurper of the territories of the crown.'

"When Vasco Nuñez heard these words, he exclaimed, indignantly, 'It is false! never did such a crime enter my mind. I have ever served my king with truth and loyalty, and sought to augment his dominions.'

"These words were of no avail in his extremity, but they were fully believed by the populace.

"Thus perished, in his forty-second year, in the prime and vigour of his days and the full career of his glory, one of the most illustrious and deserving of the Spanish discoverers—a victim to the basest and most perfidious envy.

"How vain are our most confident hopes, our brightest triumphs! When Vasco Nuñez, from the mountains of Darien, beheld the Southern ocean revealed to his gaze, he considered its unknown realms at his disposal. When he had launched his ships upon its waters, and his sails were in a manner flapping in the wind, to bear him in quest of the wealthy empire of Peru, he scoffed at the prediction of the astrologer, and defied the influence of the stars. Behold him interrupted at the very moment of his departure; betrayed into the hands of his most invidious foe; the very enterprise that was to have crowned him with glory wrested into a crime; and himself hurried to a bloody and ignominious grave, at the foot, as it were, of the mountain from whence he had made his discovery! His fate, like that of his renowned predecessor Columbus, proves, that it is sometimes dangerous even to discern too greatly!"

There yet remain in this interesting volume the history of Valdivia and his companions, and of the bold Juan Ponce de Leon. Each contains scenes and incidents scarcely less interesting than those we have rapidly noticed; but the termination of the story of Vasco Nuñez affords us a place to pause, and we are recalled from the agreeable task of narrating to that of expressing some opinion on the merits of the work which has so delightfully detained us. We may add that there is also an appendix, containing a narrative of a visit or pilgrimage, truly American, made by the author to the little port of Palos, where Columbus and so many of his followers embarked for America; it is in the happiest style, and cannot be read without the strongest emotions; we can scarcely refrain, notwithstanding its length, from presenting it entire to the reader.

The copious quotations we have made, and the abstract of some of the more interesting parts of the narrative, will be sufficient to relieve us in a great degree from the necessity of criticism. Our readers will, themselves, be able to form a just estimate of the power and skill of the writer, and of the pleasure to be derived from the story he has recorded. We venture to say, that by none will that estimate be otherwise than favourable, either to the talents of the author, or the interest of the work.

The style of Mr. Irving has been objected to as somewhat elaborate, as sacrificing strength and force of expression, to harmony of periods and extreme correctness of language. We cannot say that we have been inclined to censure him for this. If he assumed a style more than usually refined, it was in those works of fiction, those short but agreeable narratives, in which he desired to win the fond attention of the reader, but in which he never endeavoured to call up violent emotions, to engage in the wild speculations of a discursive fancy, or to treat topics requiring logical or historical correctness. For such works as the Sketch Book, we believe the style adopted by Mr. Irving to be eminently well fitted, and we do not hesitate to attribute much of the success of those charming tales to this very circumstance. We believe so the more readily, because we find him adopting in the Life of Columbus, and in the volume before us, a different manner, but one equally well suited to the different nature of the subject he treats. Without losing the elegance and general purity by which it has been always characterized, it seems to us to have acquired more freshness, more vivacity; to flow on more easily with the course of the spirited narrative; to convey to the reader that exquisite charm in historical writing—an unconsciousness of any elaboration on the part of the writer, yet a quick and entire understanding of every sentiment he desires to convey.

But connected with this, the writing of Mr. Irving possesses another characteristic, which has never been more strongly and beautifully exhibited than in the present volume. We mean that lively perception of all those sentiments and incidents, which excite the finest and the pleasantest emotions of the human breast. As he leads us from one savage tribe to another—as he paints successive scenes of heroism, perseverance, and self-denial—as he wanders among the magnificent scenes of nature—as he relates with scrupulous fidelity the errors, and the crimes, even of those whose lives are for the most part marked with traits to command admiration, and perhaps esteem—every where we find him the same undeviating, but beautiful moralist, gathering from all lessons to present, in striking language, to the reason and the heart. Where his story leads him to some individual, or presents some incident which raises our smiles, it is recorded with a naive humour, the more effective from its simplicity; where he finds himself called on to tell some tale of misfortune or wo—and how often must he do so when the history of the gentle and peaceful natives of the Antilles is his subject—the reader is at a loss whether most to admire the beauty of the picture he paints, or the deep pathos which he imperceptibly excites.

Nor has he shown less judgment in the selection of his subject. To all persons the discovery of this continent is one which cannot fail to engage and reward attention—to him who loves to speculate on the changes and progress of society, to him who loves to trace the paths of science and knowledge, to him who loves to dwell on bold adventures and singular accidents, to him who loves carefully to ascertain historical truth. We scarcely know any topics at the present day, explored and exhausted as so many fields have been, that afford a richer harvest than those which Mr. Irving has now selected. We trust that many more works are yet to be the fruits of his most fortunate visit to the peninsula. The sources of information so liberally opened to him, and already so judiciously used—and which have contributed to add new reputation to so many names honourable to Spain—must yet furnish ample materials to illustrate other men, to disclose the incidents attending other adventures; and we trust that three years more may not elapse, before we again sail with our author over the newly discovered billows of the Pacific, or explore the plains of Mexico and Peru, or wander with some of the hardy adventurers who first dared to penetrate the defiles of the Andes.

We have already mentioned, in the notice of the Life of Columbus, the circumstances which led Mr. Irving to the investigation of this period of Spanish history, and the facilities afforded him in the prosecution of his labours. The materials for this volume were procured during the same visit. In addition to the historical collections of Navarrete, Las Casas, Herrera, and Peter Martyr, he profited by the second volume of Oviedo's history, of which he was shown a manuscript copy in the Columbian library of the cathedral of Seville, and by the legal documents of the law case between Diego Columbus and the crown, which are deposited in the Archives of the Indies.

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Art. VIII.—The History of Louisiana, from the earliest period. By François-Xavier Martin: 2 vols. 8vo. New-Orleans: Lyman and Beardslee. 1827.

It is about a year and a half since a very good translation of the History of Louisiana by Barbé Marbois, was laid before the public. Another work on the same subject, by Francis Xavier Martin, has recently come to our knowledge. We use this expression, because, although the title page shows a publication of the book in 1827, we neither saw it nor heard of it until the close of the last year; and, even now, we know of no copy but that in our possession. It may be that the honourable author, (for he is a Judge of the Supreme Court of the state whose history he has written,) was satisfied with collecting and preserving his materials by printing them, and cared not for the fame or profit of an extensive circulation and sale of his work. His philosophy may make him as indifferent to the one as his fortune does to the other, or his modesty may be greater than either. We think we shall perform an acceptable service by introducing the stranger to our readers, who will not fail to derive from him many things which will reward the time and trouble given to acquire them.

History has seldom appeared under the sanction of names better entitled to credit and respect than those we have mentioned. M. Marbois is known to us by his residence in the United States, as the secretary of the French legation, and Consul General of France, during the revolutionary war; and, afterwards, as Chargé d' Affaires; in which situations he was distinguished for his extraordinary capacity in the business of diplomacy, as well as for the integrity of his principles, and the frankness and amenity of his manners. By living long among us, he seems to have acquired not only an affection and respect for the American people, but an ardent admiration of our political institutions, which have adhered to him with undiminished strength through the various fortunes he has since encountered. He has prefixed to his History, an "Introduction," which is, as it professes to be, "An Essay on the Constitution and Government of the United States of America;" and although the venerable author had passed his eightieth year, he had lost none of the freshness of his attachment to our republic and its citizens, or of the vigour of his pen in portraying them. No foreigner has ever understood us so well, and few Americans better.

That part of his history which relates to the cession of Louisiana to the United States, is particularly entitled to attention from its curious details, and will be received with implicit belief, as M. Marbois was the negotiator on the part of France in that extraordinary transaction, fraught with consequences so momentous. He relates nothing but what was in his personal knowledge. We will not anticipate our notice of this event, but we cannot suppress the remark, that the acquisition of this vast region by the United States, now so prosperous, so loyal and efficient a portion of our grand confederacy, by which we were not only saved from a war, but liberty, happiness, and wealth have been spread over a country, before that time neglected, mismanaged, and unproductive, and dispensed to an intelligent and industrious people, who had for a century been struggling with oppression and innumerable difficulties, changing with their repeated changes of masters, was owing to the keen sagacity and prompt decision of Napoleon. It is thus that the destinies of mankind wait upon the fortunes, the caprice, the foresight, and the blunders of the great, and are determined, for weal or wo, by causes and accidents in which those who are most affected by them have no agency. The people of Louisiana, and their fertile territory, which from their first settlement had been a subject of barter among the powers of Europe, to make a peace, to round off a treaty, or answer some policy or interest of a distant sovereign, are now irrevocably fixed as a member of a great republic, never again to be a helpless and degraded makeweight in the bargains of foreign princes.

F. X. Martin, the author of the work now in our review, has held for many years the high station of a Judge of the Supreme Court of Louisiana; respected for the learning and integrity with which he discharges the duties of his office, and equally so, in all his public and private relations. He, also, is at once the historian and the witness of some of the interesting transactions he narrates; and the veracity of his testimony is unquestionable, as to those matters of which he speaks from his personal knowledge. Being as independent in his circumstances as he is in his principles, and having no resentments, of which we have heard, to gratify, by calumniating any man, there is nothing to draw him from the line of rectitude, and we presume that no errors, at least of intention, will be imputed to him.

With this acquaintance with the character of the author, and his means of information, we may open his book with more than the confidence usually due to similar productions.

Before we introduce our readers to the materials of which these volumes are composed, we would say a word, and do it frankly, upon the plan adopted by the author in presenting them to the world. We speak not of the language or style of the composition, which is sufficiently clear and correct to be secure from criticism, especially under the apology of the writer, that "as he does not write in his vernacular tongue, elegance of style is beyond his hope, and consequently without the scope of his ambition." We are not so well satisfied with his reasons for the wide range he has taken over time and space in a "History of Louisiana." He has commenced, as every annalist of an American village has done, with the discoveries of Columbus; he has given us, with considerable detail, the circumstances which attended the settlements of the English and French provinces in this hemisphere; and has drawn "the attention of his readers to transactions on the opposite side of the Atlantic," which have no apparent connexion with his subject. The "chronological order" which he has adopted, is not confined to the affairs of Louisiana, but comprehends occurrences in every part of the globe, and sometimes brings together on the same page such a heterogeneous mass, as to force a smile from us in spite of the official gravity which belongs to the office of a reviewer. The assemblages of events are often so unexpected and grotesque, that we should believe a joke was intended, if they had not been brought together on the summons of a Judge of a Supreme Court. Assuredly nothing like them was ever seen in a jury-box, even in the mixed population of Louisiana. A few references will explain the nature and meaning of our criticism.

The "Discovery of America" being disposed of, the reader of the History of Louisiana has his recollection recalled to the reigns of Charles VIII. in France; of Henry VII. of England; and Ferdinand and Isabella, of course; with notices of various movements in those countries in their several reigns. The second chapter is got up in the same manner, taking a zigzag course over our continent, north, south, east, and west, with occasional excursions to Europe to keep up the variety. This procedure often produces an assemblage of events, as we have said, on the same page, rather startling to themselves as well as to us.—Thus on page 48 of the first volume—"On the 20th of December, a ship from England landed one hundred and twenty men near Cape Cod, who laid the foundation of a colony, which, in course of time, became greatly conspicuous in the annals of the northern continent. They called their first town Plymouth. Philip III. on the 21st of March of the following year, the forty-third of his age, transmitted the crown of Spain to his son Philip IV. This year James I. of England granted to Sir William Alexander, all the country taken by Argal from the French in America. The Iroquois, apprehending that if the French were suffered to gain ground in America." So on page 157—"Iberville returned to France in the fleet—William III. of England died on the 16th of March, in consequence of a fall from his horse, in the fifty-third year of his age. Mary, his queen, had died in 1694; neither left issue. Anne, her sister, succeeded her." Can we avoid to ask what has all this to do with Louisiana? In page 234—John Law's well known scheme is thus abruptly introduced. "Another Guinea-man landed three hundred negroes a few days after. John Law, of Lauriston in North Britain, was a celebrated financier," &c.

The work abounds with such odd combinations, nor have we selected the most singular, arising from the "chronological order" adopted by the author, which, while it has advantages in narrations confined to one object, will not do in a history extended over half of the world. We have presented to us, in the same incongruous manner, the settlement of Maryland—of Nova Scotia—sketches of English history under Oliver Cromwell—an account of the hooping cough in Quebec—and an earthquake in Canada. The cough was supposed to be the effect of enchantment,—"and many of the faculty did, or affected to believe it." "It was said a fiery crown had been observed in the air at Montreal; lamentable cries heard at Trois Rivieres, in places in which there was not any person; that, at Quebec, a canoe, all on fire, had been seen on the river, with a man armed cap-a-pie, surrounded by a circle of the same element." On the subject of the earthquake, the account of which is taken from Charlevoix, it was indeed a fearful visitation, if the truth be not exaggerated by terror and superstition.—

"A dreadful earthquake was felt in Canada, on the fifth of February, 1663. The first shock is said by Charlevoix, to have lasted half an hour; after the first quarter of an hour, its violence gradually abated. At eight o'clock in the evening, a like shock was felt; some of the inhabitants said they had counted as many as thirty-two shocks, during the night. In the intervals between the shocks, the surface of the ground undulated as the sea, and the people felt, in their houses, the sensations which are experienced in a vessel at anchor. On the sixth, at three o'clock in the morning, another most violent shock was felt. It is related that at Tadoussac, there was a rain of ashes for six hours. During this strange commotion of nature, the bells of the churches were kept constantly ringing, by the motion of the steeples; the houses were so terribly shaken, that the eaves, on each side, alternately touched the ground. Several mountains altered their positions; others were precipitated into the river, and lakes were afterwards found in the places on which they stood before. The commotion was felt for nine hundred miles from east to west, and five hundred from north to south.

"This extraordinary phenomenon was considered as the effect of the vengeance of God, irritated at the obstinacy of those, who, neglecting the admonitions of his ministers, and contemning the censures of his church, continued to sell brandy to the Indians. The reverend writer, who has been cited, relates it was said, ignited appearances had been observed in the air, for several days before; globes of fire being seen over the cities of Quebec and Montreal, attended with a noise like that of the simultaneous discharge of several pieces of heavy artillery; that the superior of the nuns, informed her confessor some time before, that being at her devotions, she believed 'she saw the Lord irritated against Canada, and she involuntarily demanded justice from him for all the crimes committed in the country; praying the souls might not perish with the bodies: a moment after, she felt conscious the divine justice was going to strike; the contempt of the church exciting God's wrath. She perceived almost instantaneously four devils, at the corners of Quebec, shaking the earth with extreme violence, and a person of majestic mien alternately slackening and drawing back a bridle, by which he held them.' A female Indian, who had been baptized, was said to have received intelligence of the impending chastisement of heaven. The reverend writer concludes his narration by exultingly observing, 'none perished, all were converted.'"

The fourth chapter still keeps us at a distance from the "promised land." The discontents and disturbances which agitated Canada, are minutely narrated, and, in some respects, not without considerable interest. One of the causes of the commotion, was an arbitrary act of power of the Count de Frontenac, who "had imprisoned the Abbe de Fenelon, then a priest of the seminary of St. Sulpice at Montreal, who afterwards became archbishop of Cambray." Thus were the genius, the learning, and the virtues of this great and good man, laid prostrate at the feet of a petty tyrant; and might have been for ever lost to the world. It is by such abuses of power that men learn and feel the value of a government of laws, supreme and superior to the influence of office and the power of the sword. In this chapter we are introduced to the name of Robert C. Lasalle, afterwards so conspicuous for his courage and perseverance in the settlement of these regions. Some interesting details of his life and adventures, which may be called romantic, are given, for which we refer to the book.

As the character and conduct of the Founder of Pennsylvania has been lately assailed, with exceeding injustice, by a Pennsylvanian, and a judge too, it will add something to the testimony already so abundant in his behalf, to quote the following extract—

"The year 1680 is remarkable for the grant of Charles the Second, to William Penn, of the territory that now constitutes the states of Pennsylvania and Delaware. The grantee, who was one of the people called Quakers, imitating the example of Gulielm Usseling and Roger Williams, disowned a right to any part of the country included within his charter, till the natives voluntarily yielded it on receiving a fair consideration. There exists not any other example of so liberal a conduct towards the Indians of North America, on the erection of a new colony. The date of Penn's charter is the twentieth of February."

We follow our author into his fifth chapter, which we find occupied with a variety of matters, sufficiently interesting in themselves, but having no relation to the professed subject of our history; and which have been collected from works of no difficult access to any body. We notice, however, an occurrence, especially worthy of our attention at this time, when a project is entertained of introducing a government paper currency into the United States.—

"Louis the Fourteenth having approved the emission of card money made in Canada, during the preceding year, another emission was now prepared in Paris, in which pasteboard was used instead of cards. An impression was made on each piece, of the coin of the kingdom, of the corresponding value.

"Pasteboard proving inconvenient, cards were again resorted to. Each had the flourish which the intendant usually added to his signature. He signed all those of the value of four livres and upwards, and those of six livres and above were also signed by the governor.

"Once a year, at a fixed period, the cards were required to be brought to the colonial treasury, and exchanged for bills on the treasurer-general of the marine, or his deputy at Rochefort. Those which appeared too ragged for circulation were burnt, and the rest again paid out of the treasury.

"For a while the cards were thus punctually exchanged once a year; but in course of time bills ceased to be given for them. Their value, which till then had been equal to gold, now began to diminish; the price of all commodities rose proportionably, and the colonial government was compelled, in order to meet the increased demands on its treasury, to resort to new and repeated emissions; and the people found a new source of distress in the means adopted for their relief."

This subject is frequently referred to, and always as a source of distress; as a disastrous measure of policy.—

"Louisiana suffered a great deal from the want of a circulating medium. Card money had caused the disappearance of the gold and silver circulating in the colony before its emission, and its subsequent depreciation had induced the commissary ordonnateur to have recourse to an issue of ordonances, a kind of bills of credit, which although not a legal tender, from the want of a metallic currency, soon became an object of commerce. They were followed by treasury notes, which being receivable in the discharge of all claims of the treasury, soon got into circulation. This cumulation of public securities in the market, within a short time threw them all into discredit, and gave rise to an agiotage, highly injurious to commerce and agriculture."

"The province was at this time inundated by a flood of paper money. The administration, for several years past, had paid in due bills all the supplies they had obtained, and they had been suffered to accumulate to an immense amount. A consequent depreciation had left them almost without any value. This had been occasioned, in a great degree, by a belief that the officers who had put these securities afloat, had, at times, attended more to their own than to the public interest, and that the French government, on the discovery of this, would not perhaps be found ready to indemnify the holders against the misconduct of its agents. With a view, however, to prepare the way for the redemption of the paper, the colonial treasurer was directed to receive all that might be presented, and to give in its stead certificates, in order that the extent of the evil being known, the remedy might be applied."

"The province laboured under great difficulties, on account of a flood of depreciated paper, which, inundating it, annihilated its industry, commerce, and agriculture. So sanguine were the inhabitants of their appeal to the throne, that they instructed their emissary, after having accomplished the principal object of his mission, to solicit relief in this respect."

We turn also to Marbois, on this subject, and trust we shall be excused for giving so much of our time to it, by the interest the people of the United States now have in it. We have had our own experience of the fatal consequences of such schemes; let us also listen to the experience of others, which points to the distress and ruin that attend such experiments. Speaking of Law's great scheme of finance, this wise and venerable statesman says—"A foreigner of an eccentric mind, though a skilful calculator, had engaged the regent in operations the most disastrous to the finances of the state. John Law, after having persuaded credulous people that paper money might advantageously take the place of specie, drew from this false principle the most extravagant consequences. They were adopted by ignorance and cupidity." This writer, with the experience of more than half a century in public affairs, adds—"These chimeras, called by the name of system, do not differ much from the schemes that are brought forward in the present age, under the name of credit."

Speaking of the paper money created for Louisiana, M. Marbois tells us—

"The expenses resulting from want of order had no limits: in no condition to provide for them, the heads of the government had recourse to paper money, the desperate resource of financiers without capacity. The following remarks on this subject are from a despatch of M. Rouillé, minister of marine.

"'The disorder, which has for some time prevailed in the finances and trade of Louisiana, principally arises from pouring into the province treasury orders and other kinds of paper money; all of which soon fell into discredit, and occasioned a depreciation of the currency, which has been the more injurious to the colony and its trade, as the prices of all things, and particularly of manual labour, have increased in proportion to the fall in the treasury notes.'

"It was on the 30th of November, 1744, that this minister thus expressed himself with regard to the chimerical systems of credit, which have never been more in vogue than in our time."

We pass over the sixth chapter of our book, without any particular notice of its contents. It is occupied with miscellaneous transactions in other provinces; with Indian wars; the abdication of James II., and the accession of William and Mary to the throne of England; which, in pursuance of the chronological order, we find snugly deposited between the census of Canada and some affairs in Fort Louis. These things, with the peace made between the Marquess de Denonville and some Indians, and some other matters, cover one page.

The seventh chapter of this volume brings us again in sight of Louisiana; and we thought our author was a little like Louis XIV., who, it is said, "seemed to have lost sight of Louisiana in the prosecution of the war," &c. Some interesting details are here given of the early attempts to plant a French colony in this territory, interrupted by hostilities with the Indians, and other impediments not unusual to enterprises of this kind. The northern provinces, however, are not neglected; and we are specially informed of the determination of the British cabinet to attack Montreal and Quebec—this was in 1710.

In tracing the history of a country which has attained the strength and importance of Louisiana, it is gratifying, occasionally, to look back to the days of its weakness, and particularly so when the advance has been surprisingly rapid, and may be fairly traced to the freedom of the government under which it was made. Our author has, from time to time, exhibited the population, agriculture, production, and trade of this province, at various periods, and under different circumstances.

"In 1713, there were in Louisiana two companies of infantry of fifty men each, and seventy-five Canadian volunteers in the king's pay. The rest of the population consisted of twenty-eight families; one half of whom were engaged, not in agriculture, but in horticulture: the heads of the others were shop and tavern keepers, or employed in mechanical occupations. A number of individuals derived their support by ministering to the wants of the troops. There were but twenty negroes in the colony: adding to these the king's officers and clergy, the aggregate amount of the population was three hundred and eighty persons. A few female Indians and children were domesticated in the houses of the white people, and groups of the males were incessantly sauntering or encamped around them.

"The collection of all these individuals, on one compact spot, could have claimed no higher appellation than that of a hamlet; yet they were dispersed through a vast extent of country, the parts of which were separated by the sea, by lakes, and wide rivers. Five forts, or large batteries, had been erected for their protection at Mobile, Biloxi, on the Mississippi, and at Ship and Dauphine Islands.

"Lumber, hides, and peltries, constituted the objects of exportation, which the colony presented to commerce. A number of woodsmen, or coureurs de bois, from Canada, had followed the missionaries, who had been sent among the nations of Indians, between that province and Louisiana. These men plied within a circle, of a radius of several hundred miles, of which the father's chapel was the centre, in search of furs, peltries, and hides. When they deemed they had gathered a sufficient quantity of these articles, they floated down the Mississippi, and brought them to Mobile, where they exchanged them for European goods, with which they returned. The natives nearer to the fort, carried on the same trade. Lumber was easily obtained around the settlement: of late, vessels, from St. Domingo and Martinique, brought sugar, coffee, molasses, and rum, to Louisiana, and took its peltries, hides, and lumber, in exchange. The colonists procured some specie from the garrison of Pensacola, whom they supplied with vegetables and fowls. Those who followed this sort of trade, by furnishing also the officers and troops, obtained flour and salt provisions from the king's stores, which were abundantly supplied from France and Vera Cruz. Trifling but successful essays had shown, that indigo, tobacco, and cotton, could be cultivated to great advantage: but hands were wanting. Experience had shown, that the frequent and heavy mists and fogs were unfavourable to the culture of wheat, by causing it to rust."

What a change have a few years of good government and undisturbed industry and enterprise made in this country; for up to the time of its cession to the United States, its improvement was slow, uncertain, and by no means remarkable! Who can now recognise in this rich and prosperous state, the member of a great confederation, of a powerful republic, known and respected by every nation of the earth, the desolate wilds, the miserable and scattered habitations, "few and far between," with a population half savage and half civilized, of various bloods and colours, and scarcely able to support a pinched and comfortless existence, by excessive toil and a constant exposure to hardships and peril!

After the charter of Crouzat, in September 1712, and a subsequent charter to a new corporation five years after, the settlement of the colony was better attended to, and measures taken to advance its prosperity. Unfortunately for humanity, and perhaps for the ultimate happiness of the province, it was found, or thought, to be necessary, to introduce the negroes of Africa, for the cultivation of the soil. This species of labour was resorted to in Louisiana in the year 1719.

"Experience had shown the great fertility of the land in Louisiana, especially on the banks of the Mississippi, and its aptitude to the culture of tobacco, indigo, cotton, and rice; but the labourers were very few, and many of the new comers had fallen victims to the climate. The survivers found it impossible to work in the field during the great heats of the summer, protracted through a part of the autumn. The necessity of obtaining cultivators from Africa, was apparent; the company yielding thereto, sent two of its ships to the coast of Africa, from whence they brought five hundred negroes, who were landed at Pensacola. They brought thirty recruits to the garrison."

Whatever may hereafter be the consequences of this determination to employ slave-labour, its immediate effects were beneficial to the planters; and in the next year, it is said that the company represented to the king that "the planters had been enabled, by the introduction of a great number of negroes, to clear and cultivate large tracts of land." It will be observed, that at this time the cultivation of sugar was not thought of.

The discursive manner of our author frequently furnishes us with anecdotes of interest, sometimes relating to habits of the Indians, and sometimes to other persons and subjects. In this class we reckon an account of a female adventurer who appeared in Louisiana so early as the year 1721.—

"There came, among the German new comers, a female adventurer. She had been attached to the wardrobe of the wife of the Czarowitz Alexius Petrowitz, the only son of Peter the Great. She imposed on the credulity of many persons, but particularly on that of an officer of the garrison of Mobile, (called by Bossu, the Chevalier d'Aubant, and by the king of Prussia, Maldeck) who having seen the princess at St. Petersburg, imagined he recognised her features in those of her former servant, and gave credit to the report which prevailed, that she was the Duke of Wolfenbuttle's daughter, whom the Czarowitz had married, and who, finding herself treated with great cruelty by her husband, caused it to be circulated that she had died, while she fled to a distant seat, driven by the blows he had inflicted on her—that the Czarowitz had given orders for her private burial, and she had travelled incog. into France, and had taken passage at L'Orient, in one of the company's ships, among the German settlers.

"Her story gained credit, and the officer married her. After a long residence in Louisiana, she followed him to Paris and the Island of Bourbon, where he had a commission of major. Having become a widow in 1754, she returned to Paris, with a daughter, and went thence to Brunswick, when her imposture was discovered; charity was bestowed on her, but she was ordered to leave the country. She died in 1771, at Paris, in great poverty.

"A similar imposition was practised for a while with considerable success, in the southern British provinces, a few years before the declaration of their independence. A female, driven for her misconduct from the service of a maid of honour of Princess Matilda, sister to George the Third, was convicted at the Old Bailey, and transported to Maryland. She effected her escape before the expiration of her time, and travelled through Virginia and both the Carolinas, personating the princess, and levying contributions on the credulity of planters and merchants; and even some of the king's officers. She was at last arrested in Charleston, prosecuted, and whipped."

When we read the account of New-Orleans, a century ago, we can hardly credit that it is the same New-Orleans which we now know.—

"New-Orleans, (according to his account,) consisted at that time of one hundred cabins, placed without much order, a large wooden warehouse, two or three dwelling houses, that would not have adorned a village, and a miserable storehouse, which had been at first occupied as a chapel; a shed being now used for this purpose. Its population did not exceed two hundred persons."

In the enormous increase of population and wealth which this highly favoured city exhibits, a Pennsylvanian may feel pride in observing, that the industrious Germans, who have never failed to improve and enrich the soil they inhabit, have had their share. John Randolph once said on the floor of Congress, that the land on which a slave set his foot was cursed with barrenness. The reverse of this may be truly asserted of the German settlers. To their persevering industry, patient labour, and habitual economy, every difficulty yields, and every soil becomes fertile. An accident brought them to New-Orleans, with no intention of remaining; and their usefulness was felt and encouraged.

"Since the failure of Law, and his departure from France, his grant at the Arkansas had been entirely neglected, and the greatest part of the settlers, whom he had transported thither from Germany, finding themselves abandoned and disappointed, came down to New-Orleans, with the hope of obtaining a passage to some port of France, from which they might be enabled to return home. The colonial government being unable or unwilling to grant it, small allotments of land were made to them twenty miles above New-Orleans, on both sides of the river, on which they settled in cottage farms. The Chevalier d'Arensbourg, a Swedish officer, lately arrived, was appointed commandant of the new post. This was the beginning of the settlement, known as the German coast, or the parishes of St. Charles and St. John the Baptist. These laborious men supplied the troops and the inhabitants of New-Orleans with garden stuff. Loading their pirogues with the produce of their week's work, on Saturday evening, they floated down the river, and were ready to spread at sun-rise, on the first market that was held on the banks of the Mississippi, their supplies of vegetables, fowls, and butter. Returning, at the close of the market, they reached their homes early in the night, and were ready to resume their work at sun-rise; having brought the groceries and other articles needed in the course of the week."

A few years later, the Jesuit and Ursuline nuns arrived at New-Orleans, and began the improvement of a tract of land immediately above the city. They erected a house and chapel; they planted the front of their land with the myrtle wax shrub. Soon after, the foundation was laid for a large nunnery, into which the ladies removed in 1730, and occupied it until 1824. On every side the work of improvement proceeded gradually, but effectually. Among other expedients to hasten the progress of population, "a company ship brought out a number of poor girls, shipped by the company. They had not been taken, as those whom it had transported before, in the houses of correction in Paris. It had supplied each of them with a small box, cassette, containing a few articles of clothing. From this circumstance, and to distinguish them from those who had preceded them, they were called girls de la cassette. Till they could be disposed of in marriage, they remained under the care of the nuns."

The fig tree was introduced from Provence, and the orange from Hispaniola, both now so abundant and so excellent at New-Orleans.

Injustice to the aborigines seems to have marked the march of the white man in all its stages; nor were the victims of his cupidity slow in their revenge, or wanting in courage and ingenuity in prosecuting it. We have an instance of this, which we think interesting enough to be extracted.—

"The indiscretion and ill conduct of Chepar, who commanded at Fort Rosalie, in the country of the Natchez, induced these Indians to become principals, instead of auxiliaries, in the havock.

"This officer, coveting a tract of land in the possession of one of the chiefs, had used menaces to induce him to surrender it, and unable to intimidate the sturdy Indian, had resorted to violence. The nation, to whom the commandant's conduct had rendered him obnoxious, took part with its injured member—and revenge was determined on. The suns sat in council to devise the means of annoyance, and determined not to confine chastisement to the offender; but, having secured the co-operation of all the tribes hostile to the French, to effect the total overthrow of the settlement, murder all white men in it, and reduce the women and children to slavery. Messengers were accordingly sent to all the villages of the Natchez and the tribes in their alliance, to induce them to get themselves ready, and come on a given day to begin the slaughter. For this purpose bundles of an equal number of sticks were prepared and sent to every village, with directions to take out a stick everyday, after that of the new moon, and the attack was to be on that on which the last stick was taken out.

"This matter was kept a profound secret among the chiefs and the Indians employed by them, and particular care was taken to conceal it from the women. One of the female suns, however, soon discovered that a momentous measure, of which she was not informed, was on foot. Leading one of her sons to a distant and retired spot, in the woods, she upbraided him with his want of confidence in his mother, and artfully drew from him the details of the intended attack. The bundle of sticks for her village had been deposited in the temple, and to the keeper of it, the care had been intrusted of taking out a stick daily. Having from her rank access to the fane at all times, she secretly, and at different moments, detached one or two sticks, and then threw them into the sacred fire. Unsatisfied with this, she gave notice of the impending danger to an officer of the garrison, in whom she placed confidence. But the information was either disbelieved or disregarded."

This well concerted plan of revenge was carried into a terrible execution; and the aggressor who had caused it was among the victims.

A circumstance, purely accidental, and, in itself, altogether insignificant, was the beginning of an agricultural experiment in Louisiana, which, long afterwards, was followed by a success, important not only to that territory, but to these United States.

"Two hundred recruits arrived from France on the 17th of April, for the completion of the quota of troops allotted to the province. The king's ships, in which they were embarked, touched at the cape, in the Island of Hispaniola, where, with a view of trying with what success the sugar cane could be cultivated on the banks of the Mississippi, the Jesuits of that island were permitted to ship to their brethren in Louisiana, a quantity of it. A number of negroes, acquainted with the culture and manufacture of sugar, came in the fleet. The canes were planted on the land of the fathers immediately above the city, in the lower part of the spot now known as the suburb St. Mary. Before this time, the front of the plantation had been improved in the raising of the myrtle wax shrub; the rest was sown with indigo."

In this humble manner was the sugar cane introduced into Louisiana, which has now become a principal source of its wealth. We will here advance upon our work in order to trace, in a connected manner, the various attempts which were made to fix the cultivation of this plant, with their failures and success, for many years vibrating in uncertainty. The experiment we have just alluded to was made in 1751; eight years afterwards, our author tells us:—

"Although the essay, which the Jesuits had made in 1751, to naturalize the sugar cane in Louisiana, had been successful, the culture of it, on a large scale, was not attempted till this year, when Dubreuil erected a mill for the manufacture of sugar, on his plantation, immediately adjoining the lower part of New-Orleans—the spot now covered by the suburb Marigny."

In 1769, the project seems to have been given up, as we are then informed that—"the indigo of Louisiana was greatly inferior to that of Hispaniola, the planters being quite unskilful and inattentive in the manufacture of it; that of sugar had been abandoned, but some planters near New-Orleans raised a few canes for the market."

No explanation is given of the causes of the abandonment of this most valuable product, which subsequent experience has shown is so admirably adapted to the soil and climate of Louisiana. It is the more unaccountable, as a large capital had been embarked in it, for the purchase of slaves principally. It may be that it did not receive the protection from jealous rivals, which is indispensable for the success of every new enterprise of this kind, even under the most favourable circumstances; at least until it is firmly established; its expenditures secured or reimbursed; and its capacity brought into full development and operation.

From the period we have last spoken of, 1769, until 1796, we hear, from our author, of no effort to resume the cultivation of the sugar cane; although we may presume it was not absolutely extinguished; for in the record of the events of this year, (1796) he tells us—"Boré's success, in his first attempt to manufacture sugar, was very great, and he sold his crop for ten thousand dollars. His example induced a number of other planters to plant cane." In the transactions of 1794, we are indeed informed upon this point; and of the origin of Boré's undertaking this culture.

"Since the year 1766, the manufacture of sugar had been entirely abandoned in Louisiana. A few individuals had, however, contrived to plant a few canes in the neighbourhood of the city: they found a vent for them in the market. Two Spaniards, Mendez and Solis, had lately made larger plantations. One of them boiled the juice of the cane into syrup, and the other had set up a distillery, in which he made indifferent taffia.

"Etienne Boré, a native of the Illinois, who resided about six miles above the city, finding his fortune considerably reduced by the failure of the indigo crops for several successive years, conceived the idea of retrieving his losses by the manufacture of sugar. The attempt was considered by all as a visionary one. His wife, (a daughter of Destrehan, the colonial treasurer under the government of France, who had been one of the first to attempt, and one of the last to abandon, the manufacture of sugar) remembering her father's ill success, warned him of the risk he ran of adding to instead of repairing his losses, and his relations and friends joined their remonstrances to hers. He, however, persisted; and, having procured a quantity of canes from Mendez and Solis, began to plant."

So that in two years after Boré began to plant, he was able to make a crop which sold for ten thousand dollars. From this time the culture of the cane may be considered as established in Louisiana, constantly and rapidly increasing in its importance, until it has become a principal product of its soil, in which an immense capital is embarked. We have before us a copy of a "Letter of Mr. Johnston of Louisiana, to the secretary of the treasury, in reply to his circular of the 1st July 1830, relative to the culture of the sugar cane." This interesting document contains a mass of authentic information, which leaves no doubt of the importance of the culture of the cane, not only to those regions of the United States which are suitable to it, but to all or most of the other states; and the inference he justly draws from it is, that it deserves and still requires all the protection it now receives from the government. If it should be discontinued or diminished so as to affect materially the sugar planter, the injury will not stop there, but be extended to thousands of our citizens, who may not have reflected upon the direct interest they have in this question. We deem it to be so important, that we believe our readers, many of whom may not see the letter of the honourable senator, will not find a page or two unprofitably given to some extracts from it. In the introduction of his subject he says:

"When Louisiana was acquired by the United States, there was a duty on brown sugar of two and a half cents a pound, levied for revenue. The people of that state, who had already made some experiments in the culture of the cane, saw that the duty afforded them some protection from foreign competition, and secured the benefit of the home market, which was then of considerable extent, and rapidly increasing. This induced them, within the region then considered adapted to the cane, to turn their attention to the production of sugar. They embarked their whole fortunes, and for a long time struggled, under very discouraging circumstances, against the effects of the climate, the vicissitudes of seasons, the deficiency of capital, the want of skill, and all the difficulties incident to the commencement of such an enterprise. It was for many years a doubtful experiment and hazardous undertaking, but they persevered.

"The cane gradually adapted itself to the climate. Different kinds of cane were introduced, skill was acquired by experience, capital increased, machinery and steam power applied, improvements adopted, and expenses diminished.

"At the close of the war, Congress, for the purpose of increasing the revenue, and of protecting the domestic industry, increased the rate of duty on sugar half a cent a pound, as a part of a general system. This had a most decisive effect in bringing this great national interest to its present state, and they have now finally triumphed over every obstacle.

"It was more than twenty years before they could produce 40,000 hogsheads; and during the greater part of that time very little profit was made upon the capital employed.

"The increase of capital, the introduction of machinery, the diversion of labour from other less profitable pursuits, the acquisition of skill, and, above all, the confidence of the people in the protection of the government, have vastly augmented the means of production. It now promises an ample supply for the consumption of the country, and a steady but moderate profit. They are in a course of experiment, that will in a short period establish this great interest upon a scale adequate to the wants of the people.

"Under the faith of the laws, they have embarked their capital in the production of one of the great necessaries of life, and in support of a national system, which they understood it was the object of the government to establish. They have opened a new and extensive field of agricultural industry; directed labour to more profitable employment; maintained the value of slaves; and increased the internal commerce of the country. They have contributed their full share to all the duties paid on other articles. They came into this Union, charged with an immense public debt, which was greatly increased by the war, in which they suffered in common: they have freely contributed their portion to its payment."

He proceeds to show that the value of lands and slaves "is predicated upon the value of the sugar, and that depends upon the rate of duty established by the laws." The effects of a reduction of the duty is thus detailed.

"The present price of sugar, at 5-1/2 cents, is sustained by a duty of 3 cents a pound. If that duty was removed, foreign sugar would be sold 3 cents less, and ours would fall in the same proportion. That reduction would bring sugar below the actual cost, and therefore it could not be made, even if slaves and lands cost nothing. A reduction of 2 cents would bring the price to the exact amount of 3-1/2 cents a pound, the precise cost of the sugar, independent of the capital, and therefore would yield nothing to the cultivator. A reduction of 1 cent would bring sugar to 4-1/2 cents, which would leave only 1 cent profit to pay for the capital—that is, the lands and slaves. That would diminish the present profit one half, and the value of the slaves in the same proportion. This reduction of duty operates entirely upon the profit; and a reduction of one-third of the duty operates a reduction of one-half of the profit, and thereby one-half of the value of the capital, and one-half of the slaves. Capital has been invested in Louisiana by the present standard of value. A reduction in that standard would produce a corresponding reduction in the value of all property. A reduction of one-third of the duty would sink half the value of property in the state, and ruin all those who have made engagements upon the faith of the laws."

The writer subsequently presents very precise and satisfactory statements, to show the capital required for this branch of agriculture, and the prices which are necessary to sustain it; with some calculated anticipations of its increase, if not crushed by foreign competition. Should it be asked, what interest have the other states of the Union in this concern? It may be a very profitable employment of the money and slaves of the rich planters of Louisiana; but is this a fair reason for imposing heavy duties on a necessary of life, thus enhancing its cost to those who consume it? To meet this inquiry, and remove the objection contained in it; to show that the citizens of the states who consume the sugar have an immediate participation in the profits of its cultivator, Mr. Johnston says—

"It is said that this is a local concern, interesting only to Louisiana. The slaves are taken, as beforementioned, from cotton and tobacco, and are furnished by the Southern States.

"The provisions and animals come from the Western States.

"The clothing from the North.

"The engines, machinery, &c. come from the different foundries in the United States—principally from the West.

"One-third of the capital comes from the South—and more than three-fifths of the whole production goes either in sugar or money to the other states, as their portion of the contribution in making it. The remaining two-fifths, being the profit on the capital, goes back chiefly to Virginia and Maryland, to purchase more slaves.

"There are estimated now, 35,000 slaves: it will require 26,000 more to supply the consumption of 1835.

"There are estimated 725 plantations, which, when brought into operation, will yield an average of 300 hogsheads, sufficient for the consumption of 1836.

"These have required 725 mills for grinding, as many sets of kettles, &c. There are now about 100 steam engines—there will be required in addition, upwards of 600 steam engines.

"These plantations require also a large amount of horses, mules, and oxen; carts, wagons, ploughs, tools, iron, &c.

"The present consumption for the slaves, is 35,000 barrels of pork.

"Which will be increased in 1835 to—say 60,000 " "

"They purchase now about ... 50,000 barrels of corn.

"Each mill, with steam engine and kettles, &c. will cost $5,000.

"There are employed on the sugar plantations (independent of the cotton estates) 22,000 horses—value $1,500,000. These are to be renewed every seven years, or it will require $200,000 a year to supply the market. There were purchased in 1827-8, 2,500 horses—in 1828-9, 2,800—in 1829-30, 3,000 horses.

"Of the 100,000 hogsheads of sugar made in Louisiana, 50,000 hogsheads are transported up the Mississippi in steam-boats, for the supply of the Western States, who obtain it in exchange for their productions. Here, then, there is an internal trade of five millions, created in the Western States.

"The remainder of the sugar is transported coastwise by our vessels, to the North, to restore the balance of trade with that quarter, as well as with foreign nations.

"Thus every interest of agriculture, manufactures, commerce, and navigation, connects itself intimately with this object.

"The sugar is indeed made in Louisiana, but a portion of the money on which the establishments are founded, the whole of the labour by which it is produced, the chief supply of food, and the entire amount of clothing, and the transportation of the article, are furnished from the different states."

A prospect is reasonably held out of the reduction of the price of the article, by continuing the protection, to a point as low as need be desired, or could be obtained if we were to depend upon a foreign supply.

"When the estates are paid for, and the general diminution of value in other things takes place, with the improvements in machinery and other causes, sugar will be profitably made at 4 cents, and that is about the price at which we purchase it now in the islands: at that price we can, after supplying this country, enter into the general market of the Baltic, Mediterranean, and Black Seas."

On this part of the case a more satisfactory ground is taken; and it is made manifest, by authentic documents, that since the production of sugar in Louisiana, with the duties by which it is protected, a reduction has taken place in the price of the article, of one-half. The results of the tables annexed to the letter are thus given.

"The protecting duty on sugar, besides opening a new field of industry, diverting a large portion of labour from other objects, maintaining the value of all the slave property in the country, and supplying the people with an article of general use and prime necessity, has actually diminished the price one-half in twelve years.

"In paper A, it will be seen that the prices in 1818 ranged from $14 to 15, and that in 1829 they had fallen to $7.50.

"In paper marked B, it will be seen, that the brown of Havana has fallen 3 cents in 6 years, from 10 to 7 cents, while the sugar of Louisiana has varied from 8-1/2 to 6-1/2. The price of sugar has in that time depreciated more than the duty, and will produce still greater effect. The general average of Havana brown, for six years, is 9-3/4, which now sells at from 7 to 8. The general average of Louisiana for the same period is 8-1/4; the present price ranges from 6-1/2 to 7-1/2. The sugar of Louisiana now sells in New-Orleans at 5-1/2; freight, &c. will bring it to 6-1/2 in the Atlantic ports."

Mr. Johnston has no doubt of the capacity of the sugar region of the United States to supply all our demands for it, for a long period to come.

"Without entering into any exact calculation, I can with confidence assure you, that Louisiana alone can produce enough for the consumption of the country for twenty-five or thirty years, and including Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia south of the 32d degree, will supply it for twice that period.

"It thus appears, that the people of Louisiana, under a confidence in the permanency of the policy of the government, have embarked their fortunes in the production of an article of extensive use; that they are now in the course of successful experiment, which promises, in a few years, to supply the consumption of the country; that they have opened a new field of agricultural industry and enterprise, requiring a vast amount of labour and capital; that they have actually reduced the price of the article one-half, and have saved the country an expense of six or seven millions a-year, and will reduce the price still lower, when the experiment is complete."

Having found in our "History of Louisiana," the feeble commencement of the culture of the sugar cane in that country, we thought it not beside our purpose, and likely to be agreeable to our readers, to trace it to its present strong and flourishing condition; to show the causes of its increase, and its immense value to those who have embarked their fortunes in it; to those by whom its produce is consumed, and finally to the revenue of the government. All these matters, doubtless, will be carefully examined and considered by the public councils whose right and duty it is to decide upon them.

We return to our history; the colony seems now to have attracted the attention of the mother country, and liberal assistance was given to advance its population.

"The ships landed also sixty poor girls, who were brought over at the king's expense. They were the last succour of this kind, which the mother country supplied. They were given in marriage to such soldiers whose good conduct entitled them to a discharge. Land was allotted to each couple, with a cow and calf, a cock and five hens; a gun, axe, and hoe. During the three first years, rations were allowed them, with a small quantity of powder, shot, and grain for seed."

This was in 1751.

An anecdote is recorded, exhibiting at once a feature of aboriginal justice, and the strength of parental affection in the "poor Indian."

"In a quarrel between a Choctaw and a Colapissa, the former told the latter his countrymen were the dogs of the French—meaning their slaves. The Colapissa, having a loaded musket in his hands, discharged its contents at the Choctaw, and fled to New-Orleans. The relations of the deceased came to the Marquis de Vaudreuil to demand his surrender: he had in the mean while gone to the German coast. The Marquis, having vainly tried to appease them, sent orders to Renaud, the commandant of that post, to have the murderer arrested; but he eluded the pursuit. His father went to the Choctaws and offered himself a willing victim: the relations of the deceased persisted in their refusal to accept any compensation in presents. They at last consented to allow the old man to atone, by the loss of his own life, for the crime of his son. He stretched himself on the trunk of an old tree, and a Choctaw severed his head from the body, at the first stroke. This instance of paternal affection was made the subject of a tragedy by Leblanc de Villeneuve, an officer of the troops lately arrived from France. This performance is the only dramatic work which the republic of letters owes to Louisiana."

In the same year the white men furnished a subject for a tragedy far more cruel and vindictive than the self-immolation of an Indian father, and far less just and amiable.

"During the summer, some soldiers of the garrison of Cat Island, rose upon and killed Roux, who commanded there. They were exasperated at his avarice and cruelty. He employed them in burning coal, of which he made a traffic, and for trifling delinquencies had exposed several of them, naked and tied to trees in a swamp, during whole nights, to the stings of musquetoes. Joining some English traders in the neighbourhood of Mobile, they started in the hope of reaching Georgia, through the Indian country. A party of the Choctaws, then about the fort, was sent after and overtook them. One destroyed himself; the rest were brought to New-Orleans, where two were broken on the wheel—the other, belonging to the Swiss regiment of Karrer, was, according to the law of his nation, followed by the officers of the Swiss troops in the service of France, sawed in two parts. He was placed alive in a kind of coffin, to the middle of which two sergeants applied a whip saw. It was not thought prudent to make any allowance for the provocation these men had received."

The removal of the Acadians from their country; stripping them of their lands and goods; permitting them to carry nothing away but their household furniture and money, of which they had but little; laying waste their fields and their dwellings, and consuming their fences by fire, was another awful tragedy performed by civilized man upon the weak and defenceless, upon the pretences of policy. It was an act of British inhumanity; the sufferings of these miserable outcasts and wanderers are described by our author.

"Thus beggared, these people were, in small numbers and at different periods, cast on the sandy shores of the southern provinces, among a people of whose language they were ignorant, and who knew not theirs, whose manners and education were different from their own, whose religion they abhorred, and who were rendered odious to them, as the friends and countrymen of those who had so cruelly treated them, and whom they considered as a no less savage foe, than he who wields the tomahawk and the scalping knife.

"It is due to the descendants of the British colonists, to say, that their sires received with humanity, kindness, and hospitality, those who so severely smarted under the calamities of war. In every province the humane example of the legislature of Pennsylvania was followed, and the colonial treasury was opened to relieve the sufferers; and private charity was not outdone by the public. Yet but a few accepted the proffered relief, and sat down on the land that was offered them.

"The others fled westerly, from what appeared to them a hostile shore—wandering till they found themselves out of sight of any who spoke the English language. They crossed the mighty spine, and wintered among the Indians. The scattered parties, thrown off on the coast of every colony from Pennsylvania to Georgia, united, and trusting themselves to the western waters, sought the land on which the spotless banner waved, and the waves of the Mississippi brought them to New-Orleans."

The practice of shipping off individuals who were obnoxious to the dominant party, seems to have obtained in Louisiana at a very early period; and, as we shall see, became a favourite process in the administration of justice. A pretty strong case of this employment of physical force, without any consultation with the officers of the law, or any regard to the civil rights of the people, occured in 1759. We shall give it to our readers.

"Diaz Anna, a Jew from Jamaica, came to New-Orleans, on a trading voyage. We have seen, that by an edict of the month of March, 1724, that of Louis the Thirteenth, of the 13th of April, 1615, had been extended to Louisiana. The latter edict declared, that Jews, as enemies of the Christian name, should not be allowed to reside in Louisiana; and if they staid in spite of the edict, their bodies and goods should be confiscated: Rochemore had the vessel of the Israelite and her cargo seized. Kerlerec sent soldiers to drive away the guard put on board the vessel, and had her restored to the Jew. Imagining he had gone too far to stop there, he had Belot, Rochemore's secretary, and Marigny de Mandeville, de Lahoupe, Bossu, and some other officers, whom he suspected to have joined the ordonnateur's party, arrested, and a few days after shipped them for France."

Thus far we have seen this province under the dominion of France, and gradually ameliorating its condition under her government. We come now to the period when a new master was to be given to it, or rather, when it was to be given to a new master. It is thus that kings have used territories and their people, their industry and their wealth, as subjects of diplomatic traffic and political accommodation. "On the 3d of November 1763, a secret treaty was signed between the French and Spanish kings, by which the former ceded to the latter the part of the province of Louisiana which lies on the western side of the Mississippi, with the city of New-Orleans, and the island on which it stands." When the rumours of this cession reached the colonists, it produced the deepest distress; they had a dread of passing "under the yoke of Spain." Official intelligence of the event was not received until October 1764, when an order came from the king to deliver possession of the ceded territory to the governor of the Catholic king. "This intelligence plunged the inhabitants in the greatest consternation;" especially as it estranged them from their kindred and friends in the eastern part of the province—transferring them to a foreign potentate. Every effort was made by meetings and memorials to avert the calamity. The actual delivery was delayed; and a hope was entertained that the cession might be rescinded, for two years had elapsed since the direction had been given to surrender the province to Spain. In the summer of 1766, intelligence was received that Don Ulloa had arrived at Havana, to take the possession, for Spain, of Louisiana. Soon after he landed at New-Orleans, and was received "with dumb respect." He declined exhibiting his powers, and of course delayed to receive the possession of the country. In 1768 the council insisted that Don Ulloa should produce his powers or depart from the province; he chose the latter alternative, and sailed for Havana, and from thence to Spain. In the following year a governor of a different temperament was sent from Spain, attended by a strong military force, with a large supply of arms and ammunition. On the 24th of July, Don Alexander O'Reilly landed on the levee. "The inhabitants immediately came to a resolution to choose three gentlemen to wait on him, and inform him that the people of Louisiana were determined to abandon the colony, and had no other favour to ask from him, but that he would allow them two years to remove themselves and their effects." O'Reilly received the deputies with great politeness; made professions of his desire to promote the interests of the colonists, and said every thing he thought would flatter the people. At this time the Spanish armament had not reached the city; it cast anchor on the 16th of August. In the afternoon of the 18th, the Spaniards disembarked; the French flag was lowered, and the Spanish was seen flying in its place in the middle of the square. We have been thus particular in narrating these events, because they were the precursors of a proceeding of military violence, astonishing even for that day, and under circumstances of open disaffection and opposition to the government; for some of the planters had taken up arms on the arrival of O'Reilly.

One of the first acts of O'Reilly's administration was to take a census of the inhabitants of New-Orleans. The aggregate population was 3190, of every age, sex, and colour; of these 1902 were free; 1225 slaves, and sixty domesticated Indians; the number of houses was 468; the whole province contained but 13,538 inhabitants.

We have seen that the cession of the province had created the utmost discontent; and the arrival of O'Reilly was considered as a general calamity. The transfer had been impeded and resisted by all the means in the power of the colonists. Although Don Ulloa had not ventured to execute his commission with the force at his command, he had, nevertheless, "set about building forts and putting troops into them." On the other side, plans of resistance were contemplated by the people; and assistance looked for from their English neighbours in West Florida; and in the fall of 1768 Don Ulloa was, as we have seen, ordered away. By this brief retrospect, the temper of the colonists, on the arrival of O'Reilly, will be understood, and will serve as a key to his proceedings. He resolved to lose nothing by timidity and hesitation. In the reckless pride and unbridled passions of military despotism, he disdained to temporize, or endeavour to sooth the irritated feelings of the people, or to conciliate their confidence, or calm their fears. He had been accustomed to rely upon no power but that of the sword, and to respect no authority but a military commission. To him the law was a subject of scorn, and the civil rights of citizens or subjects an idle tale. He looked upon his five thousand troops, with their arms and ammunition, and he saw there the only power be respected, or would condescend to use to maintain his government. Such principles led or drove him to a course of desperate violence, having then no parallel in any country pretending to a government of laws, or any civil rights. We shall give his proceedings in the language of our historian.

"Towards the last day of August, the people were alarmed by the arrest of Foucault, the commissary-general and ordonnateur, De Noyant and Boisblanc, two members of the superior council; La Freniere, the attorney-general, and Braud, the king's printer. These gentlemen were attending O'Reilly's levé, when he requested them to step into an adjacent apartment, where they found themselves immediately surrounded by a body of grenadiers, with fixed bayonets, the commanding officer of whom informed them they were the king's prisoners. The two first were conveyed to their respective houses, and a guard was left there: the others were imprisoned in the barracks.

"It had been determined to make an example of twelve individuals; two from the army, and an equal number from the bar; four planters, and as many merchants. Accordingly, Marquis and De Noyant, officers of the troop; La Freniere, the attorney-general, and Doucet, (lawyers,) Villere, Boisblanc, Mazent, and Petit, (planters,) and John Milhet, Joseph Milhet, Caresse and Poupet, (merchants,) had been selected.

"Within a few days, Marquis, Doucet, Petit, Mazant, the two Milhets, Caresse, and Poupet, were arrested and confined.

"Villere, who was on his plantation at the German coast, had been marked as one of the intended victims; but his absence from the city rendering his arrest less easy, it had been determined to release one of the prisoners on his being secured. He had been apprized of the impending danger, and it had been recommended to him to provide for his safety by seeking the protection of the British flag waving at Manshac. When he was deliberating on the step it became him to take, he received a letter from Aubry, the commandant of the French troops, assuring him he had nothing to apprehend, and advising him to return to the city. Averse to flight, as it would imply a consciousness of guilt, he yielded to Aubry's recommendation, and returned to New-Orleans; but as he passed the gate, the officer commanding the guard arrested him. He was immediately conveyed on board of a frigate that lay at the levee. On hearing of this, his lady, a grand daughter of La Chaise, the former commissary-general and ordonnateur, hastened to the city. As her boat approached the frigate, it was hailed and ordered away. She made herself known, and solicited admission to her husband, but was answered she could not see him, as the captain was on shore, and had left orders that no communication should be allowed with the prisoner. Villere recognised his wife's voice, and insisted on being permitted to see her. On his being refused, a struggle ensued, in which he fell, pierced by the bayonets of his guards. His bloody shirt thrown into the boat, announced to the lady that she had ceased to be a wife; and a sailor cut the rope that fastened the boat to the frigate.

"O'Reilly's assessors heard and recorded the testimony against the prisoners, and called on them for their pleas.

"The prosecution was grounded on a statute of Alfonso the eleventh, which is the first law of the seventh title of the first partida, and denounces the punishment of death and confiscation of property against those who excite any insurrection against the king or state, or take up arms under pretence of extending their liberty or rights, and against those who give them any assistance.

"Foucault pleaded he had done nothing, except in his character of commissary-general and ordonnateur of the king of France in the province, and to him alone he was accountable for the motives that had directed his official conduct. The plea was sustained; he was not, however, released; and a few days afterwards, he was transported to France.

"Brand offered a similar plea, urging he was the king of France's printer in Louisiana. The only accusation against him, was that he had printed the petition of the planters and merchants to the superior council, soliciting that body to require Ulloa to exhibit his powers or depart. He concluded that he was bound, by his office, to print whatever the ordonnateur sent to his press; and he produced that officer's order to print the petition. His plea was sustained and he was discharged.

"The other prisoners declined also the jurisdiction of the tribunal before which they were arraigned: their plea was overruled. They now denied the facts with which they were charged, contended that if they did take place, they did so while the flag of France was still waving over the province, and the laws of that kingdom retained their empire in it, and thus the facts did not constitute an offence against the laws of Spain; that the people of Louisiana could not bear the yokes of two sovereigns; that O'Reilly could not command the obedience, nor even the respect of the colonists, until he made known to them his character and powers; and that the Catholic king could not count on their allegiance, till he extended to them his protection.

"It had been determined at first, to proceed with the utmost rigour of the law against six of the prisoners; but, on the death of Villere, it was judged sufficient to do so against five only. The jurisprudence of Spain authorizing the infliction of a less severe punishment than that denounced by the statute, when the charge is not proved by two witnesses to the same act, but by one with corroborating circumstances.—Accordingly two witnesses were produced against De Noyant, La Freniere, Marquis, Joseph Milhet, and Caresse. They were convicted; and O'Reilly, by the advice of his assessor, condemned them to be hanged, and pronounced the confiscation of their estates.

"The most earnest and pathetic entreaties were employed by persons in every rank of society, to prevail on O'Reilly to remit or suspend the execution of his sentence till the royal clemency could be implored. He was inexorable; and the only indulgence that could be obtained, was, that death should be inflicted by shooting, instead of hanging. With this modification, the sentence was carried into execution on the twenty-eighth of September.

"On the morning of that day, the guards, at every gate and post of the city, were doubled, and orders were given not to allow any body to enter it. All the troops were under arms, and paraded the streets or were placed in battle array along the levee and on the public square. Most of the inhabitants fled into the country. At three o'clock of the afternoon, the victims were led, under a strong guard, to the small square in front of the barracks, tied to stakes, and an explosion of musketry soon announced to the few inhabitants who remained in the city, that their friends were no more.

"Posterity, the judge of men in power, will doom this act to public execration. No necessity demanded, no policy justified it. Ulloa's conduct had provoked the measures to which the inhabitants had resorted. During nearly two years, he had haunted the province as a phantom of dubious authority. The efforts of the colonists, to prevent the transfer of their natal soil to a foreign prince, originated in their attachment to their own, and the Catholic king ought to have beheld in their conduct a pledge of their future devotion to himself. They had but lately seen their country severed, and a part of it added to the dominion of Great Britain; they had bewailed their separation from their friends and kindred; and were afterwards to be alienated, without their consent, and subjected to a foreign yoke. If the indiscretion of a few of them needed an apology, the common misfortune afforded it.

"A few weeks afterwards, the proceedings against the six remaining prisoners were brought to a close. One witness only deposing against any of them, and circumstances corroborating the testimony, Boisblanc was condemned to imprisonment for life; Doucet, Mazent, John Milhet, Petit, and Poupet, were condemned to imprisonment for various terms of years. All were transported to Havana, and cast into the dungeons of the Moro Castle."

O'Reilly was not satisfied with this bloody vengeance on the individuals who had incurred his resentment and offended his pride. The "Superior council" in a body must be prostrated by his power.

"A proclamation of O'Reilly, on the twenty-first of November, announced to them that the evidence received during the late trials, having furnished full proof of the part the superior council had in the revolt during the two preceding years, and of the influence it had exerted in encouraging the leaders, instead of using its best endeavours to keep the people in the fidelity and subordination they owed to the sovereign, it had become necessary to abolish that tribunal, and to establish, in Louisiana, that form of government and mode of administering justice prescribed by the laws of Spain, which had long maintained the Catholic king's American colonies in perfect tranquillity, content, and subordination."

A year after these deeds of military heroism, O'Reilly took passage for Europe. But what said his royal master, the King of Spain, for such outrages upon the lives and liberty of his newly acquired subjects? We are told in one short paragraph—"Charles III. disapproved of O'Reilly's conduct, and he received on his landing at Cadiz, an order prohibiting his appearance at court." Well, it is something that his conduct was disapproved of, and not rewarded with new honours and powers. Some sovereigns might have done this.

We pass from these distressing and disgraceful scenes, and find nothing of peculiar interest in our History, until we come to the period of our revolution. Although in 1778, the people of Louisiana could have had no prophetic vision to warn them that they would become a member of the American Republic, they felt and manifested a friendly disposition toward us, and rendered us efficient aid in the struggle then carrying on for our independence.

"During the month of January, Captain Willing made a second visit to New-Orleans. Oliver Pollock now acted openly as the agent of the Americans, with the countenance of Galvez, who now, and at subsequent periods, afforded them an aid of upwards of seventy thousand dollars out of the royal treasury. By this means, the posts occupied by the militia of Virginia on the Mississippi, and the frontier inhabitants of the state of Pennsylvania, were supplied with arms and ammunition."

Now that we have become one people, and our Independence has made the independence of Louisiana, it is gratifying to recall to our recollection every testimony that may draw us closer together in our affections, as we are in our interests and common welfare. We take pleasure also in presenting an instance of American enterprise and gallantry, which ought not to be forgotten.

"Colonel Hamilton, who commanded at the British post at Detroit, came this year to Vincennes, on the Wabash, with about six hundred men, chiefly Indians, with a view to an expedition against Kaskaskia, and up the Ohio as far as Fort Pitt, and the back settlements of Virginia. Colonel Clark heard, from a trader who came down from Vincennes to Kaskaskia, that Hamilton, not intending to take the field until spring, had sent most of his force to block up the Ohio, or to harass the frontier settlers, keeping at Vincennes sixty soldiers only, with three pieces of cannon and some swivels. The resolution was immediately taken to improve the favourable opportunity for averting the impending danger; and Clark accordingly despatched a small galley, mounting two four pounders and four swivels, on board of which he put a company of soldiers, with orders to pursue her way up the Wabash, and anchor a few miles below Vincennes, suffering nothing to pass her. He now sat off with one hundred and twenty men, the whole force he could command, and marched towards Vincennes. They were five days in crossing the low lands of the Wabash, in the neighbourhood of Vincennes, after having spent sixty in crossing the wilderness, wading for several nights up to their breasts in water. Appearing suddenly before the town, they surprised and took it. Hamilton for a while defended the fort, but was at last compelled to surrender."

We now approach a period in the History of Louisiana when her direct communication and commerce with the United States began; and from this moment she became an object of great and growing interest to us. The commencement of this intercourse is of a singular character, and was conducted with singular address.

"The foundation was now laid of a commercial intercourse, through the Mississippi, between the United States and New-Orleans, which has been continued, with but little interruption, to this day, and has increased to an immense degree; and, to the future extent of which, the imagination can hardly contemplate any limit. Hitherto, the boats of the western people, venturing on the Mississippi, were arrested by the first Spanish officer who met them; and confiscation ensued, in every case; all communication between the citizens of the United States and the Spaniards being strictly prohibited. Now and then, an emigrant, desirous of settling in the district of Natchez, by personal entreaty and the solicitations of his friends, obtained a tract of land, with permission to settle on it with his family, slaves, farming utensils, and furniture. He was not allowed to bring any thing to sell without paying an enormous duty. An unexpected incident changed the face of affairs in this respect.

"The idea of a regular trade was first conceived by General Wilkinson, who had served with distinction as an officer in the late war, and whose name is as conspicuous in the annals of the west, as any other. He had connected with it a scheme for the settlement of several thousand American families in that part of the present state of Louisiana, now known as the parishes of East and West Feliciana, and that of Washita, and on White river, and other streams of the present territory of Arkansas. For these services to the Spanish government, he expected to obtain the privilege of introducing, yearly, a considerable quantity of tobacco into the Mexican market.

"With a view to the execution of his plan, Wilkinson descended the Mississippi, with an adventure of tobacco, flour, butter, and bacon. He stopped at Natchez while his boat was floating down the stream to New-Orleans, the commandant at the former place having been induced to forbear seizing it, from an apprehension that such a step would be disapproved by Miro, who might be desirous of showing some indulgence to a general officer of a nation with whom his was at peace—especially as the boat and its owner were proceeding to New-Orleans, where he could act towards them as he saw fit.

"Wilkinson having stopped at a plantation on the river, the boat reached the city before him. On its approaching the levee, a guard was immediately sent on board, and the revenue officers were about taking measures for its seizure, when a merchant, who was acquainted with Wilkinson, and had some influence with Miro, represented to him that the step Navarro was about to take might be attended with unpleasant consequences; that the people of Kentucky were already much exasperated at the conduct of the Spaniards in seizing all the property of those who navigated the Mississippi, and if this system was pursued, they would probably, in spite of Congress, take means themselves to open the navigation of the river by force. Hints were, at the same time, thrown out, that the general was a very popular character among those who were capable of inflaming the whole of the western people, and that, probably, his sending a boat before him, that it might be seized, was a scheme laid by the government of the United States, that he might, on his return, influence the minds of his countrymen; and, having brought them to the point he wished, induce them to choose him for their leader, and, spreading over the country, carry fire and desolation from one part of Louisiana to the other.

"On this, Miro expressed his wish to Navarro that the guard might be removed. This was done; and Wilkinson's friend was permitted to take charge of the boat, and sell the cargo, without paying any duty.

"On his first interview with Miro, Wilkinson, that he might not derogate from the character his friend had given him, by appearing concerned in so trifling an adventure as a boat-load of tobacco, flour, &c. observed that the cargo belonged to several of his fellow-citizens in Kentucky, who wished to avail themselves of his visit to New-Orleans to make a trial of the temper of the colonial government. On his return he could then inform the United States government, of the steps taken under his eye; so that, in future, proper measures might be adopted. He acknowledged with gratitude the attention and respect manifested towards himself, and the favour shown to the merchant who had been permitted to take care of the boat; adding, he did not wish that the intendant should expose himself to the anger of the court, by forbearing to seize the boat and cargo, if such were his instructions, and he had no authority to depart from them when circumstances might require it.

"Miro supposed, from this conversation, that Wilkinson's object was to produce a rupture rather than to avoid one. He became more and more alarmed. For two or three years before, particularly since the commissioners of the state of Georgia came to Natchez to claim the country, he had been fearful of an invasion at every rise of the water; and the rumour of a few boats having been seen together on the Ohio, was sufficient to excite his apprehensions. At his next interview with Wilkinson, having procured further information of the character, number, and disposition of the western people, and having revolved, in his mind, what measures he could take, consistently with his instructions, he concluded that he could do no better than to hold out a hope to Wilkinson, in order to secure his influence in restraining his countrymen from an invasion of Louisiana, till further instructions could be received from Madrid. The general sailed in September for Philadelphia."

In 1788, Don Martin Navarro, the intendant, left the province for Spain, and we cannot deny him the credit of sagacity, in his last communication to the king.

"Navarro's last communication to the king was a memorial which he had prepared, by order of the minister, on the danger to be apprehended by Spain, in her American colonies, from the emancipation of the late British provinces on the Atlantic. In this document, he dwells much on the ambition of the United States, and their thirst for conquest; whose views he states to be an extension of territory to the shores of the Pacific ocean; and suggests the dismemberment of the western country, by means of pensions and the grant of commercial privileges, as the most proper means, in the power of Spain, to arrest the impending danger. To effect this, was not, in his opinion, very difficult. The attempt was therefore strongly recommended, as success would greatly augment the power of Spain, and forever arrest the progress of the United States to the west.

"It would not have been difficult for the King of Spain, at this period, to have found, in Kentucky, citizens of the United States ready to come into his views. The people of that district met, this year, in a second convention, and agreed on a petition to congress for the redress of their grievances—the principal of which was, the occlusion of the Mississippi. Under the apprehension that the interference of congress could not be obtained, or might be fruitless, several expedients were talked of, no one of which was generally approved; the people being divided into no less than five parties, all of which had different, if not opposite, views.

"The first was for independence of the United States, and the formation of a new republic, unconnected with them, who was to enter into a treaty with Spain.

"Another party was willing that the country should become a part of the province of Louisiana, and submit to the admission of the laws of Spain.

"A third desired a war with Spain, and the seizure of New-Orleans.

"A fourth plan was to prevail on congress, by a show of preparation for war, to extort from the cabinet of Madrid, what it persisted in refusing.

"The last, as unnatural as the second, was to solicit France to procure a retrocession of Louisiana, and extend her protection to Kentucky."

We think the Don's scheme, for preventing the evils he anticipated, altogether chimerical; but our author has more faith in it, and believes "it would not have been difficult for the King of Spain, at this period, to find, in Kentucky, citizens of the United States ready to come into his views." We trust this is a mistake. The occlusion of the Mississippi was the grievance they deplored. It is, however, worthy of our special attention, that at the period when these matters were agitated in our western country, our states were held together by the weak and inefficient bonds of the old confederation, under which, state selfishness and state pride, now called state rights, predominated over the great and general interests of the Union; and the weaker members were neglected, having no superintending, supreme federal power to give an equal care and protection to every part. Our author distinctly says, that "it was in the western part of the United States that the inefficacy of the power of Congress was most complained of." The present strength and prosperity of the west, are the fruits of our "more perfect union," and the wisdom and gratitude of the west will forever make it the friend and support of that Union.

We are now introduced to the Baron de Carondelet, a name which afterwards became conspicuous in the History of Louisiana, and familiar to the citizens of the United States. He was appointed governor of the province, and entered upon his duties in 1792. "The sympathies and partialities of the people of Louisiana began to manifest themselves strongly in favour of the French patriots, principally in New-Orleans." The Baron thought it to be his duty, especially as he was a native of France, "to restrain excesses against monarchical government." He began by stopping "the exhibition of certain martial dances and revolutionary airs" at the theatre. He afterwards thought it necessary to adopt stronger measures to suppress the growing inclination to popular doctrines, and betook himself to the custom of the country, the New-Orleans common law, or rather the law of its governors, to ship off the obnoxious persons, without any form of trial or condemnation. He caused six individuals to be arrested and confined in the fort, and soon afterwards, "shipped them for Havana, where they were detained a twelve month." This may be a very pretty military mode of getting rid of disagreeable or troublesome people—the summary arrest—the fort—the ship and banishment; but we cannot reconcile it to our notions of liberty and law.

We pass over, as matters well known, the plans of Genet at this period, and the proceedings of the Baron to defeat them.—The Baron also followed up, with great perseverance, "his favourite plan for the separation of the western people from the Union," and he continued to do so, subsequent to the ratification of the treaty between the United States and Spain. The report made by Power, the Baron's agent, of the dispositions of the western people, was altogether unpropitious to his design. He, however, delayed the delivery of the posts, to which the United States were entitled, under various pretences; still having the separation in view. His proceedings to effect this object are detailed, and will be read with interest. It is needless to say, that no ray of success shone upon his enterprise. Power, the active agent of the mischief, came very near to be tarred and feathered at Louisville, and was afterwards arrested by General Wilkinson, at Detroit. The Baron must have opened his eyes in astonishment at his egregious miscalculation of the dispositions of the West, when Wilkinson informed him, "that the people of Kentucky had proposed to him to raise an army of ten thousand men to take New-Orleans in case of a rupture with Spain."

Our author gives a concise account of the cession of Louisiana by Spain to France, and again by France to the United States. The negotiator by whom the latter transfer was conducted, on the part of France, was M. Marbois, and his work is the most satisfactory authority for the curious details of that extraordinary proceeding. The general character of the transaction, and the terms of purchase, are sufficiently known; but M. Marbois lets us into some of the secrets of the negotiation, and of the reasons which induced the first consul to part with this valuable territory as soon as he had acquired it. We will be brief with them.

The cession of Louisiana by France to Spain in 1763, was not only, as we have seen, a cause of violent discontent to the inhabitants of that province, but was considered in all the maritime and commercial cities of France, as impolitic and injurious; and a general wish prevailed to recover the colony. This did not escape Bonaparte, who did not delay to renew with the court of Madrid, a negotiation on the subject; having also in view a diminution of the power of England, which was never out of his mind. Profiting by the ascendancy he acquired by the victory of Marengo, he easily persuaded the Prince of Peace to restore Louisiana to France. This was done by a treaty made in October 1800. It was stipulated that the surrender should be made six months after. The treaty of 21st March 1801, renews these dispositions; but Louisiana continued for some time longer under the dominion of Spain. The differences between the United States and the French republic were terminated by a convention at Paris, on 30th of September 1800; and on the next day the treaty above mentioned with Spain was concluded at St. Ildephonso. As the war between France and England still continued, the cession of Louisiana to France was not made public; nor was possession taken. This difficulty was not removed for some time. In October 1801, preliminaries of peace were signed at London, followed up by the treaty of Amiens in March 1802. In the following September General Victor was appointed governor general of Louisiana; and Laussat the prefect sailed for New-Orleans in January.

The retrocession of the province to France created much uneasiness and alarm in the United States. The free navigation of the Mississippi became daily of more importance, and it was apprehended that the French would not be found as peaceable neighbours as the Spaniards. Every one remembers the short and uneasy existence of the insincere peace of Amiens. A renewal of the war was seen to be inevitable, and the American cabinet perceived that, in such an event, France would postpone the occupation of Louisiana. This state of things was justly thought to be favourable to an arrangement with France on the subject of the deposit at New-Orleans and the navigation of the river. Mr. Monroe was sent to that country for this purpose, where Mr. Livingston, our minister, had been pursuing it for many months; his overtures received little or no attention. The debates in our senate are not forgotten, on the motion of Mr. Ross; nor the prospect then in view of our taking by force of arms what it was believed would never be gained by treaty. In the spring of 1803, war was clearly inevitable between France and England; and Bonaparte knew that Louisiana, in that event, would be at the mercy of his enemy. He at once determined to change his policy in regard to that province, and to part with it, as the only means of saving it from England. On the 10th of April 1803, he entered upon the execution of his design, and called two counsellors to him, and addressed them "with that vehemence and passion which he particularly manifested in political affairs." He said he knew the full value of Louisiana, and had been desirous of repairing the fault by which it was lost—that "a few lines of a treaty have restored it to me, and I have scarcely recovered it when I must expect to lose it." Looking to the strength it would give to the United States, he said: "But if it escapes from me, it shall one day cost dearer to those who oblige me to strip myself of it, than to those to whom I wish to deliver it." After some remarks upon the naval strength in the Gulf of Mexico, and the ease with which they might take Louisiana, he added;—

"I think of ceding it to the United States. I can scarcely say that I cede it to them, for it is not yet in our possession. If, however, I leave the least time to our enemies, I shall only transmit an empty title to those republicans whose friendship I seek. They only ask of me one town in Louisiana, but I already consider the colony as entirely lost, and it appears to me that in the hands of this growing power, it will be more useful to the policy and even to the commerce of France, than if I should attempt to keep it."

The counsellors differed in their opinions, diametrically, each giving his reasons at large. The first consul decided the question immediately; he promptly declared, that

"Irresolution and deliberation are no longer in season. I renounce Louisiana. It is not only New-Orleans that I will cede, it is the whole colony without any reservation. I know the price of what I abandon, and I have sufficiently proved the importance that I attach to this province, since my first diplomatic act with Spain had for its object the recovery of it. I renounce it with the greatest regret. To attempt obstinately to retain it would be folly. I direct you to negotiate this affair with the envoys of the United States. Do not even await the arrival of Mr. Monroe: have an interview this very day with Mr. Livingston."

We hope and believe that one of the predictions of this luminous mind will not be fulfilled, although we have lately seen some appearances of its accomplishment.

"Perhaps it will also be objected to me, that the Americans may be found too powerful for Europe in two or three centuries: but my foresight does not embrace such remote fears. Besides, we may hereafter expect rivalries among the members of the Union. The confederations, that are called perpetual, only last till one of the contracting parties finds it to its interest to break them, and it is to prevent the danger, to which the colossal power of England exposes us, that I would provide a remedy."

"The conferences began the same day between Mr. Livingston and M. Barbé Marbois, to whom the first consul confided the negotiation." Pending the preliminary discussions, Mr. Monroe arrived at Paris; but even then Mr. Livingston despaired of success, and said to Mr. Monroe, "I wish that the resolution offered by Mr. Ross in the senate had been adopted. Only force can give us New-Orleans; we must employ force; let us first get possession of the country and negotiate afterwards." Mr. Livingston, however, was happily mistaken. "The first difficulties," says M. Marbois, "were smoothed by a circumstance which is rarely met with in congresses and diplomatic conferences. The plenipotentiaries having been long acquainted, were disposed to treat each other with confidence." The negotiation, under such auspices, proceeded rapidly, but not without some distrust on our part.

"Mr. Monroe, still affected by the distrust of his colleague, did not hear without surprise the first overtures that were frankly made by M. de Marbois. Instead of the cession of a town and its inconsiderable territory, a vast portion of America was in some sort offered to the United States. They only asked for the mere right of navigating the Mississippi, and their sovereignty was about to be extended over the largest rivers of the world. They passed over an interior frontier to carry their limits to the great Pacific ocean."

The termination of this important negotiation was as speedy and satisfactory, as it has been and will be important in its consequences. M. Marbois truly observes, "the cession of Louisiana was a certain guarantee of the future greatness of the United States; and opposed an insurmountable obstacle to any design formed by the English of becoming predominant in America." In relation to the stipulations in the treaty, that the inhabitants should be incorporated in the Union, and, in due time, be admitted as a state, &c. M. Marbois records.

"The first consul, left to his natural disposition, was always inclined to an elevated and generous justice. He himself prepared the article which has been just recited. The words which he employed on the occasion are recorded in the journal of the negotiation, and deserve to be preserved. 'Let the Louisianians know that we separate ourselves from them with regret; that we stipulate in their favour every thing that they can desire, and let them hereafter, happy in their independence, recollect that they have been Frenchmen, and that France, in ceding them, has secured for them advantages which they could not have obtained from a European power, however paternal it might have been. Let them retain for us sentiments of affection; and may their common origin, descent, language, and customs, perpetuate the friendship.'"

The arrangement being completed, M. Marbois says—"the following words sufficiently acquaint us with the reflections which then influenced the first consul. This accession of territory, said he, strengthens forever the power of the United States, and I have just given to England a maritime rival, that will sooner or later humble her pride."

We return to the History of Judge Martin, who describes the ceremonies of delivering the colony to the United States. Some citizens of the United States waved their hats, but "no emotion was manifested by any other part of the crowd. The colonists did not appear conscious that they were reaching the Latium sedes ubi fata quietas ostendunt."

We pass on to the year 1806, when the celebrated plot of Aaron Burr is introduced. The president had received information of it, but not at first with such certainty as warranted any steps to be taken against the accused. General Wilkinson, then commanding in the west, afterwards made communications to the president, "involving men distinguished for integrity and patriotism; men of talents, honoured by the confidence of the government, in the flagitious plot." The designs of Burr and his associates were fully developed on his trial, and we need not repeat them here; but the proceedings of General Wilkinson are not so generally understood, and it is well that they should be. Nobody can be better qualified than our historian to give the information, nor to obtain implicit belief of all he narrates. We shall here see again that the old practice of shipping off obnoxious individuals was resorted to by a military commander; as if there was something in the climate of New-Orleans to excite men in power to this mode of punishment or revenge. We cannot present these transactions better than in the language of our author.

"On Sunday, the fourteenth, Dr. Erick Bollman was arrested by order of Wilkinson, and hurried to a secret place of confinement, and on the evening of the following day application was made on his behalf, for a writ of habeas corpus, to Sprigg, one of the territorial judges, who declined acting, till he could consult Mathews, who could not then be found. On the sixteenth, the writ was obtained from the superior court; but Bollman was, in the meanwhile, put on board of a vessel and sent down the river. On the same day, application was made to Workman, the judge of the county of Orleans, for a writ of habeas corpus, in favour of Ogden and Swartwout, who had been arrested a few days before, by order of Wilkinson, at Fort Adams, and were on board of a bomb ketch of the United States lying before the city. Workman immediately granted the writ, and called on Claiborne to inquire whether he had assented to Wilkinson's proceedings: Claiborne replied he had consented to the arrest of Bollman, and his mind was not made up as to the propriety of that of Ogden and Swartwout. Workman then expatiated on the illegality and evil tendency of such measures, beseeching Claiborne not to permit them, but to use his own authority, as the constitutional guardian of his fellow-citizens, to protect them; but he was answered that the executive had no authority to liberate those persons, and it was for the judiciary to do it, if they thought fit. Workman added, that he had heard that Wilkinson intended to ship off his prisoners, and if this was permitted, writs of habeas corpus would prove nugatory.

"From the alarm and terror prevalent in the city, the deputy sheriff could procure no boat to take him on board of the ketch, on the day the writ issued. This circumstance was made known early on the next morning, to Workman, who thereupon directed the deputy sheriff to procure a boat by the offer of a considerable sum of money, for the payment of which he undertook the county would be responsible. The writ was served soon afterwards, and returned at five in the evening by Commodore Shaw, and the commanding officer of the ketch, Lieutenant Jones; Swartwout had been taken from the ketch before the service of the writ. Ogden was produced and discharged, as his detention was justified on the order of Wilkinson only.

"On the eighteenth of December, Wilkinson returned the writ of habeas corpus into the superior court, stating that, as commander in chief of the army of the United States, he took on himself all responsibility for the arrest of Erick Bollman, charged with misprison of treason against the government of the United States, and he had adopted measures for his safe delivery to the government of the United States: that it was after several conversations with the governor and one of the judges of the territory, that he had hazarded this step for the national safety, menaced to its basis by a lawless band of traitors, associated under Aaron Burr, whose accomplices were extended from New-York to New-Orleans: that no man held in higher reverence the civil authorities of his country, and it was to maintain and perpetuate the holy attributes of the constitution, against the uplifted arm of violence, that he had interposed the force of arms in a moment of the utmost peril, to seize upon Bollman, as he should upon all others, without regard to standing or station, against whom any proof might arise of a participation in the lawless combination.

"This return was, afterwards, amended, by an averment that, at the time of the service of the writ, Bollman was not in the possession or power of the person to whom it was addressed.

"On the following day Ogden was arrested a second time by the commanding officer of a troop of cavalry of the militia of the territory, in the service of the United States, by whom Alexander was also taken in custody; on the application of Livingston, Workman issued writs of habeas corpus for both prisoners.

"Instead of a return, Wilkinson sent a written message to Workman, begging him to accept his return to the superior court, as applicable to the two traitors, who were the subjects of his writs. On this, Livingston procured from the court, a rule that Wilkinson make a further and more explicit return to the writs, or show cause why an attachment should not issue against him.

"Workman now called again on Claiborne, and repeated his observations, and recommended, that Wilkinson should be opposed by force of arms. He stated, that the violent measures of that officer had produced great discontent, alarm, and agitation, in the public mind; and, unless such proceeding were effectually opposed, all confidence in government would be at an end. He urged Claiborne to revoke the order, by which he had placed the Orleans volunteers under Wilkinson's command, and to call out and arm the rest of the militia force, as soon as possible. He stated it as his opinion, that the army would not oppose the civil power, when constitutionally brought forth, or that, if they did, the governor might soon have men enough to render the opposition ineffectual. He added, that, from the laudable conduct of Commodore Shaw and Lieutenant Jones, respecting Ogden, he not only did not apprehend any resistance to the civil authority from the navy, but thought they might be relied on. Similar representations were made to Claiborne by Hall and Mathews; but they were unavailing.

"On the twenty-sixth, Wilkinson made a second return to the writ of habeas corpus, stating that the body of neither of the prisoners was in his possession or control. On this, Livingston moved for process of attachment.

"Workman now made an official communication to Claiborne. He began by observing, that the late extraordinary events, which had taken place within the territory, had led to a circumstance, which authorized the renewal, in a formal manner, of the request he had so frequently urged in conversation, that the executive would make use of the constitutional force placed under his command, to maintain the laws, and protect his fellow-citizens against the unexampled tyranny exercised over them.

"He added, it was notorious that the commander in chief of the military forces had, by his own authority, arrested several citizens for civil offences, and had avowed on record, that he had adopted measures to send them out of the territory, openly declaring his determination to usurp the functions of the judiciary, by making himself the only judge of the guilt of the persons he suspected, and asserting in the same manner, and as yet without contradiction, that his measures were taken, after several consultations with the governor.

"He proceeded to state, that writs of habeas corpus had been issued from the court of the county of New-Orleans: on one of them, Ogden had been brought up and discharged, but he had been, however, again arrested, by order of the general, together with an officer of the court, who had aided professionally in procuring his release. The general had, in his return to a subsequent writ, issued on his behalf, referred the court to a return made by him to a former writ of the superior court, and in the further return which he had been ordered to make, he had declared that neither of the prisoners was in his power, possession, or custody; but he had not averred what was requisite, in order to exempt him from the penalty of a contempt of court, that these persons were not in his power, possession, or custody, at the time when the writs were served, and, in consequence of the deficiency, the court had been moved for an attachment.

"The judge remarked, that although a common case would not require the step he was taking, yet, he deemed it his duty, before any decisive measure was pursued against a man, who had all the regular force, and in pursuance of the governor's public orders, a great part of that of the territory, at his disposal, to ask whether the executive had the ability to enforce the decrees of the court of the county, and if he had, whether he would deem it expedient to do it, in the present instance, or whether the allegation by which he supported these violent measures was well founded?

"Not only the conduct and power of Wilkinson, said the judge, but various other circumstances, peculiar to our present situation, the alarm excited in the public mind, the description and character of a large part of the population of the country, might render it dangerous, in the highest degree, to adopt the measure usual in ordinary cases, of calling to the aid of the sheriff, the posse comitatus, unless it were done with the assurance of being supported by the governor in an efficient manner.

"The letter concluded by requesting a precise and speedy answer to the preceding inquiries, and an assurance that, if certain of the governor's support, the judge should forthwith punish, as the law directs, the contempt offered to his court: on the other hand, should the governor not think it practicable or proper to afford his aid, the court and its officers would no longer remain exposed to the contempt or insults of a man, whom they were unable to punish or resist.

"The legislature met on the twelfth of January. Two days after, General Adair arrived in the city, from Tennessee, and reported he had left Burr at Nashville, on the twenty-second of December, with two flat boats, destined for New-Orleans. In the afternoon of the day of Adair's arrival, the hotel at which he had stopped was invested by one hundred and twenty men, under Lieutenant Colonel Kingsbury, accompanied by one of Wilkinson's aids. Adair was dragged from the dining table, and conducted to head quarters, where he was put in confinement. They beat to arms through the streets; the battalion of the volunteers of Orleans, and a part of the regular troops, paraded through the city, and Workman, Kerr, and Bradford, were arrested and confined. Wilkinson ordered the latter to be released, and the two former were liberated on the following day, on a writ of habeas corpus, issued by the district judge of the United States. Adair was secreted until an opportunity offered to ship him away."

We approach a very interesting portion of our history, in which certain transactions are detailed, with great precision, for some of which General Jackson has obtained, and deserved, a brilliant crown of military glory, and for others has been visited with deep and indignant reproaches; whether justly or not, the reader will decide by the facts of the case.

On the 2d of December 1814, General Jackson reached New-Orleans; and on the next day commenced his operations to put the city in a state of defence against the attack expected to be made upon it. A large naval force of the enemy was off the port of Pensacola; and it was understood that New-Orleans was their object. The force in New-Orleans consisted of seven hundred men of the United States regiments; one thousand state militia, and some sailors and marines. Reinforcements from Tennessee and Kentucky were looked for. It is not to our purpose, and must be unnecessary, to recapitulate all the interesting occurrences which took place at this alarming crisis; all evincing the gallantry and patriotism of our countrymen. In this early stage of the contest, our author, with great warmth and strong testimony, asserts the unshaken fidelity and active efficient attachment of the people of New-Orleans to the government of the United States, and repels with an honest indignation the charges of disaffection and treason which were on various occasions made upon them, to justify the tyrannical violence of certain proceedings against them. He says, "although the population of New-Orleans was composed of individuals of different nations, it was as patriotic as that of any city in the Union." We believe him most sincerely; and who does not? Can any just and candid man doubt it after a sober perusal of his details, having a particular relation to this question? To suppose that they had any sympathies with the invading foe; any treasonable correspondence with them; any desire for their success; is to calumniate a people as deeply and dearly interested in our independence, as devotedly attached to our institutions, as any portion of the republic. We therefore not only excuse, but applaud, the feelings of resentment with which Judge Martin, himself one of the people of Louisiana, and honoured by her confidence, meets every assertion and insinuation of treachery or disaffection cast upon her. He assures us, that "Claiborne (the governor) was sincerely attached to the government of his country, and the legislature was prepared to call forth and place at Jackson's disposal, all the resources of the state." Again he says, "If some, in the beginning, doubted whether General Jackson's military experience had been of a kind to fit him for this service, his conduct very soon dispelled the doubt."

"The want of an able military chief was sensibly felt, and notwithstanding any division of sentiment on any other subject, the inclination was universal to support Jackson, and he had been hailed on his arrival by all. There were some, indeed, who conceived that the crisis demanded a general of some experience in ordinary warfare; that one whose military career had begun with the current year, and who had never met with any but an Indian force, was ill calculated to meet the warlike enemy who threatened; but all were willing to make a virtue of necessity, and to take their wishes for their opinions, and manifested an unbounded confidence in him. All united in demonstrations of respect and reliance, and every one was ready to give him his support. His immediate and incessant attention to the defence of the country, the care he took to visit every vulnerable point, his unremitted vigilance, and the strict discipline enforced, soon convinced all that he was the man the occasion demanded."

The general had, however, imbibed strong prejudices against the inhabitants of the city, infused into him by bad advisers who surrounded him.

"Unfortunately he had been surrounded, from the moment of his arrival, by persons from the ranks of the opposition to Claiborne, Hall, and the state government, and it was soon discovered that he had become impressed with the idea, that a great part of the population of Louisiana was disaffected, and the city full of traitors and spies. It appears such were his sentiments as early as the 8th of September; for in a letter of Claiborne, which he since published, the governor joins in the opinion, and writes to him, 'I think with you, that our country is full of spies and traitors.'"

The interest we feel to vindicate the people of Louisiana from the suspicions that were long entertained of their loyalty, and may not be yet wholly eradicated, induces us to trouble our readers with further extracts on this subject.

"The legislature was in session, since the beginning of the preceding month. We have seen that Claiborne, at the opening of the session, had offered them his congratulations on the alacrity with which the call of the United States for a body of militia had been met, which, with the detail of the proceedings of that body, is the best refutation of the charges which have been urged against them. It will show, that in attachment to the Union, in zeal for the defence of the country, in liberality in furnishing the means of it, and in ministering to the wants of their brave fellow-citizens who came down to assist them in repelling the foe, the general assembly of Louisiana does not suffer by a comparison of its conduct with that of any legislative body in the United States. The assertion, that any member of it entertained the silly opinion, that a capitulation, if any became necessary, was to be brought about or effected by the agency of the houses, any more than by that of a court of justice, or the city council of New-Orleans, is absolutely groundless."

A proposition was made by the governor to the legislature, to suspend the writ of habeas corpus, in order that men might be pressed for the service, particularly naval, of the United States: the legislature knew it to be a dangerous measure, and thought it unnecessary.

"Coming from every part of the state, the representatives had witnessed the universal alacrity with which Jackson's requisitions for a quota of the militia of the state had been complied with; they knew their constituents could be depended on; they knew that Jackson, Claiborne, and many of the military, were incessantly talking of sedition, disaffection, and treason; but better acquainted with the people of Louisiana, than those who were vociferating against it, they were conscious, that no state was more free from sedition, disaffection, and treason, than their own; they thought the state should not outlaw her citizens, when they were rushing to repel the enemy. They dreaded the return of those days, when Wilkinson filled New-Orleans with terror and dismay, arresting and transporting whom he pleased. They recollected that in 1806 Jefferson had made application to congress for a suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, but that the recommendation of the president was not deemed sufficient to induce the legislature of the Union to suspend it: that of Claiborne, as far as it concerned Jackson, was not therefore acted on. The members had determined not to adjourn during the invasion, and thought they would suspend the writ when they deemed the times required it, but not till then."

That the refusal to put an uncontrouled power over the persons of the citizens, to withdraw from them the protection of the law, did not proceed from an unwillingness to obtain for the service the force required, is made manifest by the substitute adopted. "A sum of five thousand dollars was placed at the disposal of the commodore, to be expended in bounties; and, to remove the opportunity of seamen being tempted to decline entering the service of the United States, by the hope of employment on board of merchant vessels, an embargo was passed."

The general does not seem to have been satisfied with the reasons of the legislature for denying the power he desired, nor with their substitute for it.

"The suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, and adjournment of the houses, were measures which Jackson anxiously desired. There was a great inclination in the members of both houses to gratify him, in every instance in which they could do it with safety: in these two only, they were of opinion it would be unsafe to adopt his views."

General Carroll, with a brigade of Tennessee militia, arrived on the 19th, and the legislature were indefatigable in preparing for the expected attack.

"At this period the forces at New-Orleans amounted to between six and seven thousand men. Every individual exempted from militia duty on account of age, had joined one of the companies of veterans, which had been formed for the preservation of order. Every class of society was animated with the most ardent zeal; the young, the old, women, children, all breathed defiance to the enemy, firmly disposed to oppose to the utmost the threatened invasion. There were in the city a very great number of French subjects, who from their national character could not have been compelled to perform military duty; these men, however, with hardly any exception, volunteered their services. The Chevalier Tousard, the Consul of France, who had distinguished himself, and had lost an arm in the service of the United States, during the revolutionary war, lamenting that the neutrality of his nation did not allow him to lead his countrymen in New-Orleans to the field, encouraged them to flock to Jackson's standard. The people were preparing for battle as cheerfully as if for a party of pleasure: the streets resounded with martial airs: the several corps of militia were constantly exercising, from morning to night: every bosom glowed with the feelings of national honour: every thing showed nothing was to be apprehended from disaffection, disloyalty, or treason."

On the 21st, the enemy landed with a strong force, and a proud one, confident of an easy victory. They looked upon all the wealth and comforts of New-Orleans as already their own. The battle that shortly after ensued, sought for and won by the Americans, can never be forgotten. The promptitude, decision, and skill, with which General Jackson took his measures; the bravery with which they were executed; and the glorious success which crowned the bold attack upon an enemy greatly superior in numbers, discipline, and experience, will be ranked among the most gallant achievements of military history. Our author assures us that the invading army "had a force of very near five thousand men; that which opposed him was not above two thousand." Preparations against the grand attack upon the city continued with unceasing vigilance and labour. The members of the legislature—the suspected legislature—old and young, joined some of the military corps; but lest their legislative aid might also be required, they continued their sessions; when a most extraordinary proceeding occurred.

"Every day, towards noon, three or four of the members of each house, who served among the veterans or on the committees, attended in their respective halls to effect an adjournment, in order that, if any circumstance rendered the aid of the legislature necessary, it might be instantly afforded. On going for this purpose to the government house, Skipwith, the speaker of the senate, and two of its members, found a sentinel on the staircase, who, presenting his bayonet, forbade them to enter the senate chamber. They quietly retired, and proceeded to the hall of the sessions of the city council, where an adjournment took place. The members of the other house, who attended for the same purpose, were likewise prevented from entering its hall, and acted like those of the senate."

A committee was appointed to wait upon the general, and inquire into the reasons of these violent measures against the legislature. The general gave his reasons, which, in short, were, that he had received information "that the assembly were about to give up the country to the enemy." The author goes into a full examination of this charge; and the refutation of it is entirely satisfactory.

The spirit of defence even entered the walls of the prisons.

"A number of debtors, who had taken the benefit of the acts establishing the prison bounds, were anxious to join in the defence of the city, but were apprehensive of exposing their sureties. On this being represented to the legislature, an act was passed, extending the prison bounds, until the first of May following, so as to include Jackson's line."

The last effort of the invader was made by the battle of the 8th of January, and is described in our book with much effect. Long may it be read and remembered with an unextinguishable glow of pride and patriotism! The contest was ended; the foe hastily abandoned our shores, on which they left nothing but memorials of their defeat and shame, in the melancholy monuments of their slaughtered companions. Our author concludes his narrative of these eventful days, with an eloquent tribute to the general, by whose indefatigable activity and fearless gallantry a rich and populous city was saved.

"If the vigilance, the activity, and the intrepidity of the general had been conspicuous during the whole period of the invasion, his prudence, moderation, and self-denial, on the departure of the enemy, deserves no less commendation and admiration. An opportunity was then presented to him of acquiring laurels by a pursuit, which few, elated as he must have been by success, could have resisted. But, he nobly reflected that those who fled from him were mercenaries—those who surrounded his standard, his fellow-citizens, almost universally fathers of families;—sound policy, to use his own expressions, neither required nor authorized him to expose the lives of his companions in arms, in a useless conflict. He thought the lives of ten British soldiers would not requite the loss of one of his men. He had not saved New-Orleans to sacrifice its inhabitants."

On his return to the city, he was greeted with "tears of gratitude"—why were they not perpetual? His cruel suspicions; his unjust accusations of treason and disaffection, were forgotten or forgiven, and no sentiment remained in the hearts of the people of Louisiana, but admiration of his conduct in the day of trial, and gratitude for his services; why was not this perpetual? We shall see.

"By a communication of the 13th of January, from Admiral Cochrane, Jackson was informed that the Admiral had just received a bulletin from Jamaica, (a copy of which was enclosed) proclaiming that a treaty of peace had been signed by the respective plenipotentiaries of Great Britain and the United States, at Ghent, on the 24th of December. The despatch did not arrive till the 21st, by way of Balize; but the intelligence had been brought to the city by one of Jackson's aids, who had returned from the British fleet with a flag of truce." As in canvassing the subsequent proceedings of the General at New-Orleans, his advocates have pretended that he had no information of the peace to which he ought to have trusted, that point must not be overlooked in our inquiries. What was the evidence at this period, that is, on the 21st of January? A communication directly addressed to him, by and under the name of the British Admiral, with every sanction that honour and good faith could give it. This communication, so vouched, was accompanied by a copy of a bulletin which the Admiral declared he had just received from Jamaica, too distant to have been fabricated there for the occasion; and all this was confirmed by the intelligence brought by one of the General's aids from the fleet. Is there any degree of military caution that would have doubted the truth of this information, in the manner and for the purposes for which the doubts, real or pretended, were used by the General? We will not say that he should, on such intelligence, have exposed himself to an attack from the enemy; that he should have disbanded his army, or thrown by his guards and defence, as if the intelligence had been authentic from his own government; but, assuredly there was that in the information he received, on which a strong reliance might reasonably and safely have been placed; at least enough to have suspended military operations against his own fellow-citizens. He must have imputed fraud, falsehood, and forgery, to an officer, who, although an enemy, was entitled to a more just and respectful consideration. No usage of modern warfare would have justified such practices, and therefore they ought not to have been presumed. With no disposition to "set down aught in malice" against the General, we cannot refrain from saying, that, whatever he may have found it convenient to believe or disbelieve, to justify the extravagance of ungovernable passions inflamed by evil counsellors, in his moments of sober thoughts, if any such happened to him, he could not reject the testimony before him, of the termination of the war. He certainly, at least, thought it worthy to be announced to the people, although he "forewarned them from being thrown into security by hopes that might be delusive." This was a prudent caution, and sufficient. "On the 22d, the gladsome tidings were confirmed, and a Gazette of Charleston was received, announcing the ratification of the Treaty by the Prince Regent." We assume then, that on the 22d of January, such intelligence was received of the Peace at New-Orleans, as might, and should have satisfied the most sceptical military caution, of its truth, at least to the extent required for our examination into the General's subsequent conduct.

It seems that a discontent had arisen, which led to serious consequences. The French subjects resident at New-Orleans, "had flocked round Jackson's standard, determined to leave it with the necessity that called them to it, and not till then." They endured much privation, toil, and danger; their families also were in a state of suffering, to whose relief they were anxious to return after the enemy had left the state. A few solicited a discharge; but the General insisted on their being retained. Some then demanded of the French consul, certificates of their national character, which were presented to the General, who countersigned them, and the bearers were permitted to return home. So many, however, applied for this indulgence, that the General believed that the consul too easily granted his certificates, "and considering a compliance with his duty, as evidence of his adhesion to the enemy, ordered him out of the city."

We now come to a false step, of more importance, made by the General, to which he was led by that which has overthrown many men placed in elevated stations. It has been the misfortune and ruin of great men who were high; and, more frequently so, of high men who were not great; weak and evil counsellors.

"Yielding to the advice of many around him, who were constantly filling his ears with their clamours about the disloyalty, disaffection, and treason of the people of Louisiana, and particularly the state officers and the people of French origin, Jackson, on the last day of February, issued a general order, commanding all French subjects, possessed of a certificate of their national character, subscribed by the consul of France, and countersigned by the commanding general, to retire into the interior, to a distance above Baton Rouge:—a measure, which was stated to have been rendered indispensable by the frequent applications for discharges. The names were directed to be taken of all persons of this description, remaining in the city, after the expiration of three days.

"Time has shown this to have been a most unfortunate step; and those by whose suggestions it was taken, soon found themselves unable to avert from the general the consequences to which it exposed him. The people against whom it was directed were loyal—many of them had bled, all had toiled and suffered in the defence of the state. Need, in many instances, improvidence in several, had induced the families of these people to part with the furniture of their houses to supply those immediate wants, which the absence of the head of the family occasioned. No exception, no distinction was made. The sympathetic feelings of every class of inhabitants were enlisted in favour of these men; they lacked the means of sustaining themselves on the way, and must have been compelled, on their arrival at Baton Rouge, then a very insignificant village, to throw themselves on the charity of the inhabitants. Another consideration rendered the departure of these men an evil to be dreaded. The apprehension of the return of the enemy was represented, as having had much weight with Jackson in issuing his order. Their past conduct was a sure pledge that, in case of need, their services would again be re-offered; there were among them a number of experienced artillery-men; a description of soldiers, which was not easily to be found among the brave who had come down from Kentucky, or Tennessee, or even in the army of the United States. These considerations induced several respectable citizens to wait on Jackson, for the purpose of endeavouring to induce him to reconsider a determination, which was viewed as productive of flagrant injustice and injury to those against whom it was directed, without any possible advantage, and probably very detrimental, to those for whose benefit it was intended."

To quiet and console this distressed and injured people under this wanton decree of military power; this cruel exile; it was recommended to them to submit without resistance to the order.

"They were assured, that the laws of the country would protect them, and punish, even in a successful general, a violation of the rights of, or a wanton injury to, the meanest individual, citizen or alien. They were referred to the case of Wilkinson, against whom an independent jury of the Mississippi territory had given a verdict in favour of Adair, who had been illegally arrested and transported, during the winter of 1806."

It must be recollected, that this order was issued and executed on the last day of February, six weeks after the Charleston Gazette had announced at New-Orleans, the ratification of the treaty of peace, as above stated. During all this period, there had not been an appearance of the enemy, or a movement by them, or the slightest occurrence or rumour, to raise a doubt of the truth of this intelligence. Not a doubt of it was expressed by any body or from any quarter. On the 14th of February, two weeks after the sentence of banishment upon the French subjects, "the mail brought northern Gazettes, announcing the arrival of the treaty at Washington." Was this also a British trick and delusion, not to be trusted even by a relaxation of the severest military discipline, or a mitigation of the dangerous predominance of martial law? Our author says, "the hope that had been entertained that Jackson would now allow these unfortunate people to stay with their families, was disappointed."

Louallier, a member of the House of Representatives, had been conspicuous in bringing forth the energies of the state for its defence. His activity and usefulness were properly appreciated by his fellow-citizens. An opinion prevailed, that Jackson was unfriendly to the French citizens, and to the officers of the state government.

"A report, which now was afloat, that those who surrounded Jackson were labouring to induce him to arrest some individuals, alluded to in the general orders of the 28th of February, roused his indignation, to which (perhaps more honestly than prudently) he gave vent in a publication, of which the following is a translation, in the Courier de la Louisiane of the 3d of March."

The publication is of considerable length, and written with warmth and ability. Our author, after giving it at large, proceeds—

"Man bears nothing with more impatience, than the exposure of his errors, and the contempt of his authority. Those who had provoked Jackson's violent measure against the French subjects, availed themselves of the paroxysms of the ire which the publication excited: they threw fuel into the fire, and blew it into a flame. They persuaded him Louallier had been guilty of an offence, punishable with death, and he should have him tried by a court martial, as a spy. Yielding to this suggestion, and preparatory to such a trial, he ordered the publication of the second section of the rules and articles of war, which denounces the punishment of death against spies, and directed Louallier to be arrested and confined. Eaton is mistaken when he asserts that the section had been published before. The adjutant's letter to Leclerc, the printer of the Ami des Lois, requesting him to publish it, bears date of the fourth of March, the day after Louallier's publication made its appearance. The section was followed by a notice that 'the city of New-Orleans and its environs, being under martial law, and several encampments and fortifications within its limits, it was deemed necessary to give publicity to the section, for the information of all concerned.'

"Great, indeed, must have been Jackson's excitement, when he suffered himself to be persuaded, that Louallier could successfully be prosecuted as a spy. Eaton informs us, Louallier was prosecuted as one owing allegiance to the United States. The very circumstance of his owing that allegiance, prevented his being liable to a prosecution as a spy. He was a citizen of the United States: his being a member of the legislature, was evidence of this. If he, therefore, committed any act, which would constitute an alien a spy, he was guilty of high treason, and ought to have been delivered to the legitimate magistrate, to be prosecuted as a traitor."

Judge Martin goes into a short, but satisfactory argument, to prove that a citizen cannot be prosecuted as a spy under the articles of war. Whether, however, the General and his advisers considered Louallier as a spy, or a traitor, he "was arrested on Sunday the 5th of March, at noon, near the Exchange Coffee-house." He applied to a gentleman of the bar for legal relief. An application for this purpose was made to Judge Martin, (our author) one of the members of the Supreme Court of the state. The judge thought he had no jurisdiction over the case, and could not interfere. Hall, the District Judge of the United States, was then called upon for a writ of habeas corpus, which was granted. The attorney was directed by the Judge to inform the General of his application for the writ and the order for issuing it.—This was in courtesy.

"On receiving Morel's communication, the ebullition of Jackson's anger was such, that reason appeared to have lost its control. Those who had suggested the harsh measure against the French citizens, and the still more harsh one against Louallier, imagined the moment was come, when their enmity towards Hall might be gratified. We have seen that a number of individuals, who had hitherto sustained a fair character, were now known as accomplices of the Barrataria pirates. Prosecutions had been commenced against some of them, and Hall manifested that stern severity of character, which appals guilt. The counsel of these men had conceived the idea that he did not view their efforts to screen their clients, with the liberality and indulgence they deserved. The opportunity now offered of humbling this worthy magistrate, was not suffered to remain unimproved; and Jackson was assured that Hall, like Louallier, was guilty of an offence punishable with death.

"The general's attention was drawn to the seventh section of the rules and articles of war, which denounces the last punishment against persons aiding or abetting mutiny; and he was pressed to prosecute the judge before a court martial. As a preparatory step, with that promptitude of decision, which Eaton says is a leading trait in his character, he signed an instrument at once, the warrant for the arrest, and the mittimus for the imprisonment of Hall. He wrote to Colonel Arbuckle, who commanded at the barracks, that having received proof that Dominick A. Hall had been aiding, abetting, and exciting mutiny in his camp, he desired that a detachment might be ordered forthwith, to arrest and confine him; and that a report might be made as soon as he was arrested. 'You will,' as it is said in the conclusion of this paper, 'be vigilant; as the agents of our enemy are more numerous than we expected. You will be guarded against escapes.'

"The prosecution of the judge was intended to be grounded on the seventh section of the articles of war, which is in these words:—'Any officer or soldier, who shall begin, cause, excite, or join in, any mutiny or sedition, in any troop or company, in the service of the United States, or in any post, detachment, or guard, shall suffer death, or any other punishment, as by a court martial shall be inflicted.'

"Hall was not an officer, in the sense of the act of Congress—he was not a soldier, in the ordinary meaning of that word; but, according to the jurisprudence of head quarters, the proclamation of martial law had transformed every inhabitant of New-Orleans into a soldier, and rendered him punishable under the articles of war.

"The judge was accordingly arrested in his own house, at nine o'clock, and confined in the same apartment with Louallier, in the barracks.

"As soon as this was reported at head quarters, Major Chotard was despatched to demand from Claiborne, the clerk of the district court of the United States, the surrender of Louallier's petition, on the back of which Hall had written the order for issuing the writ of habeas corpus. It has been seen that there was not any officer of the state government, nor of the United States, out of the army, who imagined that a proclamation of martial law gave the general any right, nor imposed on others any obligation, which did not exist before. The clerk accordingly answered that there was a rule of court, which forbade him to part with any original paper lodged in his office; and he was ignorant of any right, in the commander of the army, to interfere with the records of the court. He however was, after much solicitation, prevailed on to take the document in his pocket, and accompany Chotard to head quarters.

"In the meanwhile, an express from the department of war had arrived, with the intelligence that the President of the United States had ratified the treaty, and an exchange of the ratifications had taken place at Washington, on the 17th of February, the preceding month. By an accident, which was not accounted for, a packet had been put into the hands of the messenger, instead of the one containing the official information of the exchange of the ratifications. But the man was bearer of an open order of the postmaster, to all his deputies on the road, to expedite him with the utmost celerity, as he carried information of the recent peace. He declared he had handed an official notice of this event to the governor of the state of Tennessee.

"On the arrival of the clerk at head quarters, Jackson asked him whether it was his intention to issue the writ: he replied it was his bounden duty to do so, and he most assuredly would. He was threatened with an arrest, but persisted in his asseveration that he would obey the judge's order. He had handed Louallier's petition to Jackson, and, before he retired, demanded the return of it; this was peremptorily refused, and the paper was withheld. It appears the date of the fifth of March had been originally on this document, and that being Sunday, Hall changed it to that of the following day, the sixth. The idea had been cherished, that this alteration might support an additional article, in the charges against Hall. It is not extraordinary, that those who imagined that, as Louallier might be tried for a libel, in a court martial, Hall might for forgery. Thus one inconsistency almost universally leads to another.

"Duplessis, the marshal of the United States, had volunteered his services, as an aid to Jackson; a little after midnight he visited head quarters. The imprisonment of Hall, and the accounts from Washington, had brought a great concourse of people near the general; who, elated by the success of the evening, met the marshal at the door, and announced to him, he had shopped the judge. Perceiving that Duplessis did not show his exultation, he inquired whether he would serve Hall's writ. The marshal replied, he had ever done his duty, which obliged him to execute all writs directed to him by the court, whose ministerial officer he was; and, looking sternly at the person who addressed him, added, he would execute the court's writ on any man. A copy of the proclamation of martial law, that lay on the table, was pointed to him, and Jackson said, he also would do his duty.

"A large concourse of people had been drawn to the Exchange coffee-house, during the night, by the passing events, which were not there, as at head quarters, a subject of exultation and gratulation. The circumstances were not unlike those of the year 1806, which Livingston describes as 'so new in the history of our country, that they will not easily gain belief, at a distance, and can scarcely be realized by those who beheld them. A dictatorial power, assumed by the commander of the American army—the military arrest of citizens, charged with a civil offence—the violation of the sanctuary of justice—an attempt to overawe, by denunciations, those who dared, professionally, to assert the authority of the laws—the unblushing avowal of the employment of military force, to punish a civil offence, and the hardy menace of persevering in the same course, were circumstances that must command attention, and excite the corresponding sentiments of grief, indignation, and contempt.'"

We have made our extract so copiously of this dangerous and extravagant proceeding, because we wish it to be represented in the language of the author, and not by any abridgment of ours. General Jackson having received intelligence of the treaty which he chose to agree that he relied upon, addressed a despatch to the British commander "to anticipate the happy return of peace." We again take up our author.

"Jackson now paused to deliberate, whether these circumstances did not require him, by a cessation of all measures of violence, to allow his fellow-citizens in New-Orleans, to anticipate this happy return of peace, the account of which, the first direct intelligence was to bring to him, in an official form—the untoward arrival of an orderly sergeant, with a message from Arbuckle, to whom the custody of Hall had been committed, prevented Jackson coming to that conclusion, which his unprejudiced judgment would have suggested. The prisoner had requested, that a magistrate might be permitted to have access to him, to receive an affidavit, which he wished to make, in order to resort to legal measures, for his release. Arbuckle desired to know the general's pleasure, on this application. Naturally impatient of any thing like control or restraint, the idea of a superior power to be employed against his decisions, threw Jackson into emotions of rage. Before they had sufficiently subsided to allow him to act on the message, some of his ordinary advisers came in, to recommend the arrest of Hollander, a merchant of some note. What was the offence of this man, has never been known; but Jackson's temper of mind was favourable to the views of his visiters. He ordered the arrest of the merchant, and forbade the access of the magistrate to Hall; the idea of allowing his fellow-citizens to anticipate the happy return of peace was abandoned, and measures were directed to be taken for the trial of Louallier."

The boasted "promptitude and decision" of the General's character, admirable qualities in their proper places and under proper regulation, carried him on, deeper and deeper, into the violation of the most sacred rights of a free citizen, and of the immunities of the officers of the law in the administration of the laws.

"Dick, the attorney of the United States, made application to Lewis, one of the district judges of the state, who was serving as a subaltern officer, in the Orleans rifle company, and whose conduct during the invasion, had received Jackson's particular commendation. Believing that his duty as a military man, did not diminish his obligation, as a judge, to protect his fellow-citizens from illegal arrest, Lewis, without hesitation, on the first call of Dick, laid down his rifle, and allowed the writ.

"Information of this having been carried to head quarters, Jackson immediately ordered the arrest of Lewis and Dick.

"Arbuckle, to whom Lewis's writ, in favour of Hall, was directed, refused to surrender his prisoner, on the ground he was committed by Jackson, under the authority of the United States.

"The orders for the arrest of Lewis and Dick were countermanded."

The effect of such proceedings, without parallel in a free government, and without apology any where, may be well imagined.

"The irritation of the public mind manifested itself, in the evening, by the destruction of a transparent painting, in honour of Jackson, which the proprietor of the Exchange coffee-house displayed, in the largest hall."

This brought the military in support of their General.

"A number of officers had compelled the proprietor of the Exchange coffee-house, to exhibit a new transparent painting, and to illuminate the hall in a more than usual manner. They attended in the evening, and stood near the painting, with the apparent intention of indicating a determination, to resist the attempt of taking down the painting. It was reported, a number of soldiers were in the neighbourhood, ready to march to the coffee-house, at the first call. This was not calculated to allay the excitement of the public mind. The prostration of the legitimate government; the imprisonment of the district judge of the United States, the only magistrate, whose interference could be successfully invoked, on an illegal arrest, under colour of the authority of the United States, the ascendency assumed by the military, appeared to have dissolved all the bands of social order in New-Orleans."

The good sense, we are told, of some of the most influential characters in the city, prevented the extremities to which these proceedings were fast approaching. The injured and the irritated were assured, "that Jackson's day of reckoning would arrive; that Hall, with the authority (though now without the power) of chastising the encroachments of the military, possessed the resolution, and would soon have the power to punish the violators of the law." The court martial, by whom Louallier was tried, acquitted him.

"Jackson was greatly disappointed at the conclusion to which the court martial had arrived; he, however, did not release either of his prisoners, and on the tenth issued the following general order:—

"'The commanding general disapproves of the sentence of the court martial, of which Major-general Gaines is president, on the several charges and specifications exhibited against Mr. Louallier; and is induced by the novelty and importance of the matters submitted to the decision of that court, to assign the reasons of this disapproval.'"

He gave his reasons at length, which only show how hard it is for certain tempers to acknowledge a wrong, or return to the right.

"The court martial consoled themselves, by the reflection, that their sentence, though disapproved by Jackson, was in perfect conformity with decisions of the President of the United States, and of the supreme court of the state of New-York, in similar cases."

There is something in the name and character of a Court, which assures us of its respect for justice and the law.

"The independent stand, taken by the court martial, had left no glimpse of hope, at head quarters, that the prosecution of Hall, on the charge of mutiny, on which he had been imprisoned, could be attempted with any prospect of success—the futility of any further proceedings against Louallier was evident—Jackson, therefore, put an end to Hall's imprisonment on Saturday, the 11th of March. The word imprisonment is used, because Eaton assures his readers, that 'Judge Hall was not imprisoned; it was merely an arrest.' Hall had been taken from his bed chamber, on the preceding Sunday, at 9 o'clock in the evening, by a detachment of about one hundred men, dragged through the streets, and confined in the same apartment with Louallier, in the barracks. Three days after, it had been officially announced to the inhabitants of New-Orleans, that Jackson was in possession of persuasive evidence, that a state of peace existed, and the militia had been discharged, the door of Hall's prison was thrown open, but not for his release. He was put under a guard, who led him several miles beyond the limits of the city, where they left him, with a prohibition to return, 'till the ratification of the treaty was regularly announced, or the British shall have left the southern coast.'

"This last, and useless display of usurped power, astonished the inhabitants. They thought, that, if the general feared the return of the British, the safety of New-Orleans would be better insured, by his recall of the militia, than by the banishment of the legitimate magistrate. It was the last expansion of light, and momentary effulgence, that precedes the extinguishment of a taper.

"At the dawn of light, on Monday, the 13th, an express reached head quarters, with the despatch which had accidentally been misplaced, in the office of the secretary of war, three weeks before. The cannon soon announced the arrival of this important document, and Louallier was indebted for his liberation, to the precaution, which Eaton says, the President of the United States had taken, to direct Jackson to issue a proclamation for the pardon of all military offences."

Judge Hall had suffered indignity without being disgraced; he had submitted to physical force without yielding his spirit to debasement; or surrendering one of his official or personal rights. His reward awaited him, and it is eloquently recorded by our historian.

"Hall's return to the city was greeted by the acclamations of the inhabitants. He was the first judge of the United States they had received, and they had admired in him the distinguishing characteristics of an American magistrate—a pure heart, clean hands, and a mind susceptible of no fear, but that of God. His firmness had, eight years before, arrested Wilkinson in his despotic measures. He was now looked upon to show, that if he had been unable to stop Jackson's arbitrary steps, he would prevent him from exulting, in the impunity of his trespass."

Dick, the District Attorney, has a fair claim to a participation in these honours.

"He was anxious to lose no time, in calling the attention of the district court of the United States, to the violent proceedings, during the week that had followed the arrival of the first messenger of peace; but Hall insisted on a few days being exclusively given to the manifestation of the joyous feelings, which the termination of the war excited. He did not yield to Dick's wishes till the 21st. The affidavits of the clerk of the district court, of the marshal of the United States, of the attorney of Louallier, and of the commander at the barracks, were then laid before the court."

The case presented to the court, was substantially such as appears in the foregoing narrative. Hall was as resolute in his court, as Jackson at the head of an army; the Judge was as fearless in maintaining the law, as the General had been in trampling upon it. "On motion of the Attorney of the United States, a rule to show cause, why process of attachment should not issue against Jackson, was granted."

On the return day, the General, accompanied by one of his aids, appeared before the court, and presented his answer to the rule. Some legal questions were discussed and decided on the propriety of admitting the answer. Finally, the rule was made absolute, that is, the attachment was ordered. The General is still haunted by bad advisers.

"Jackson's advisers now found he could not be defended on the merits, with the slightest hope of success, as the attorney of the United States would probably draw from him by interrogatories, the admission, that both Louallier and the judge were kept in prison, long after persuasive evidence had been received at head quarters, of the cessation of the state of war. They therefore recommended to him not to answer the interrogatories, which would authorize the insinuation that he had been condemned unheard.

"It appears that some of his party, at this period, entertained the hope that Hall could be intimidated, and prevented from proceeding further. A report was accordingly circulated, that a mob would assemble in and about the court-house—that the pirates of Barataria, to whom the judge had rendered himself obnoxious before the war, by his zeal and strictness, in the prosecution that had been instituted against several of their ringleaders, would improve this opportunity of humbling him. Accordingly, groups of them took their stands, in different parts of the hall, and gave a shout when Jackson entered it. It is due to him to state, that it did not appear that he had the least intimation that a disturbance was intended, and his influence was honestly exercised to prevent disorder."

When the General was called, "he addressed a few words to the court, expressive of his intention not to avail himself of the faculty to answer interrogatories." The District Attorney then addressed the court, with firmness, but good temper. In conclusion he said,—

"That credulity itself could not admit the proposition, that persuasive evidence that the war had ceased, and belief that necessity required that violent measures should be persisted in to prevent the exercise of the judicial power of the legitimate tribunal, could exist, at the same time, in the defendant's mind."

The defendant—General Jackson—resorted to a strange equivocation to extricate himself.

"The general made a last effort to avert the judgment of the court against him, by an asseveration, he had imprisoned Dominick A. Hall, and not the judge: his attention was drawn to the affidavit of the marshal, in which he swore Jackson had told him, 'I have shopped the judge.'

We come, with unaffected gratification, to the final triumph of the law, in this contest with military power.

"The court, desirous of manifesting moderation, in the punishment of the defendant for the want of it, said that, in consideration of the services the general had rendered to his country, imprisonment should make no part of the sentence, and condemned him to pay a fine of one thousand dollars and costs, only."

We should indeed regret, if our history terminated these memorable transactions here. Every reader will be anxious to learn—How did the impetuous spirit of the General, inflamed by his recent triumphs and glories in the field, receive the condemnation of the law? What bursts of passionate violence did he exhibit? What terrible explosion followed the sentence of the court? Not a symptom or movement of the kind. He seemed to awaken, as from a tempestuous dream, "the helm of reason lost," and to fall into the character of a good citizen with dignity and grace.

"On Jackson's coming out of the court-house, his friends procured a hack, in which he entered, and they dragged it to the Exchange coffee-house, where he made a speech, in the conclusion of which he observed, that, 'during the invasion, he had exerted every faculty in support of the constitution and laws—on that day, he had been called on to submit to their operation, under circumstances, which many persons might have deemed sufficient to justify resistance. Considering obedience to the laws, even when we think them unjustly applied, as the first duty of the citizen, he did not hesitate to comply with the sentence they had heard pronounced;' and he entreated the people, to remember the example he had given them, of respectful submission to the administration of justice."

We heartily wish that the scene had closed here, and the General had appeared no more on that stage. But there was that within him which forbade a quiet and unresisting resignation to his discomfiture and humiliation.

"A few days after, he published, in the Ami des Lois, the answer he had offered to the district court, preceded by an exordium, in which he complained, that the court had refused to hear it. He added, that the judge 'had indulged himself, on his route to Bayou Sarah, in manifesting apprehensions as to the fate of the country, equally disgraceful to himself, and injurious to the interest and safety of the state,' and concluded—'should Judge Hall deny this statement, the general is prepared to prove it, fully and satisfactorily.'

"The gauntlet did not long remain on the ground, and the following piece appeared in the Louisiana Courier:

"'It is stated in the introductory remarks of General Jackson,' that 'on the judge's route to Bayou Sarah, he manifested apprehensions as to the safety of the country, disgraceful to himself, and injurious to the state.' Judge Hall knows full well, how easy it is for one, with the influence and patronage of General Jackson, to procure certificates and affidavits. He knows that men, usurping authority, have their delators and spies: and that, in the sunshine of imperial or dictatorial power, swarms of miserable creatures are easily generated, from the surrounding corruption, and rapidly changed into the shape of buzzing informers. Notwithstanding which, Judge Hall declares, that on his route to Bayou Sarah, he uttered no sentiment disgraceful to himself, or injurious to the state. He calls upon General Jackson, to furnish that full and satisfactory evidence of his assertion, which he says he is enabled to do.' The pledge was never redeemed."

Judge Martin's book is here brought to a conclusion, with some appropriate and forcible reflections upon the duties and uses of History, in affording lessons to men, high in authority, to bridle their passions; to select capable and honest advisers; with other wise and wholesome admonitions.

We heartily unite with the Judge in his just and patriotic aspirations in behalf of the Judiciary.

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Note.—In quoting from our history the anecdote respecting the residence and imprisonment of Fenelon in Canada, we do not intend to express a belief in its authenticity. It is the first time we have heard that the celebrated author of Telemachus had ever been in this country; and, as Judge Martin does not inform us of the authority on which the story is related, we know not what credit it is entitled to.

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Art. IX.—A Full and Accurate Method of Curing Dyspepsia, Discovered and Practised by O. Halsted. New-York: 1830.

Every era has possessed its false prophet in religion, from the days of Mahomet to those of Joanna Southcot and Fanny Wright; not that the race commenced with the former, or has terminated with the latter; the records of history supply us with examples of "lying augurs," in every period previously to the career of the Impostor of Mecca, and our daily experience furnishes us with proofs that the tribe is by no means extinct. As in religion, so has it been, and still continues, in philosophy, and the whole circle of science: pretenders to excellence have started up in every age, and although their efforts in the cause of imposition have not been so splendid as the exertions of those who have made religion their tool, they have yet been sufficiently remarkable to excite the eager attention of mankind, and sufficiently profitable to reward themselves. Medical science in particular may boast of a numerous host of these worthies: it would far exceed the limits of this publication to trace the progress of the charlatan, through the records of ancient history; for the sake of brevity, a retrospective glance must not be directed beyond the fifteenth century, when the arch priest of "modern quackery" made his appearance upon the medical stage. In the year 1493, Phillippus Aureolus Theophrastus Paracelsus Bombastus de Hohenheim, was ushered into existence, and at a very early age announced his discovery, that the recognised principles of medical science were erroneous, and that in him alone was vested "the art divine, to heal each lurking ill." Possessing a panacea capable, as he boasted, of curing all diseases, and even of prolonging life to an indefinite period, this empiric made war upon the health of mankind, and at last, after a life of the most infamous debauchery, he died, in the forty-eighth year of his age, with a bottle of the "Elixir Vitæ" in his pocket. The mantle of Paracelsus has been left behind, and a rich inheritance of ignorance, insolence, and vanity, bequeathed to a multitude of heirs; the value of the legacy, however, would have been trifling, but for the credulity of mankind, which renders these worthless possessions of inestimable importance: during the last century, in particular, these descendants have attained an eminence truly astonishing. Medicine is admitted to be one of the noblest sciences, as tending, in its practice, to relieve the most irksome restraints upon existence; it is acknowledged to be a science founded upon close observation, and so nearly allied to other sciences, that its pursuit is impracticable without them; that it requires years of patient toil to fathom its mysteries, and the undivided efforts of a mind to comprehend its purposes; and yet we are daily told of the most extraordinary cures, and of the discovery of sovereign remedies, in all cases and descriptions of disease, by individuals who have never

"Toil'd an hour in physic's cause,
Or giv'n one thought to Nature's laws:"

By men, in short, who are incapable of forming one rational opinion upon the subject, and unprepared, by previous study or information, to detect or remove one symptom.

It is an old and apt saying, that "the wilder the tale, the wider the ear;" and experience proves, that from the nursery to the tomb, no legend is too marvellous for the faith of the credulous, and that in many instances, the more incomprehensible the story, the more confirmed is the belief.

In the numerous newspapers daily published in the United States, a list of cures are detailed with sufficient precision to satisfy the sceptical, and sufficient plausibility to convince the ignorant, while a string of medicines is set forth, of such unrivalled excellence, that no disease is protected from their action; the panacea of Paracelsus is rivalled, and every calamity that can afflict the body, from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot, is at once relieved. "Vegetable Powders," "Botanical Syrup," "Bilious Pills," "Jaundice Bitters," "Eye Waters," ointments, &c. &c. are proclaimed as veritable specifics by these veritable physic-mongers: no disease is too subtle, no train of symptoms too severe, for them to contend with; they only meet the foe to conquer, and confer an immortality on suffering humanity and themselves. Thus they flourish, the quacks of the day, the impostors of the multitude, and, perhaps, the dupes of themselves! But if Reason, that plain and simple attribute, in its uncontrouled state, unfettered either by prejudice or wilfulness, can be brought to bear on the question between them and mankind, how little will their claims appear! Reason, in the exertion of a capable authority, is taught to discriminate fairly, and test candidly, and must therefore refuse the evidence tendered by folly, or something worse, by which ignorance is bewitched. Will the man of reflecting mind, and of candid judgment, admit the claims of these pretenders, and match the speculations of avarice and ignorance with the conclusions of science? Impossible! Safety consorts with skill in every path of life; he would not trust himself on the wide ocean with a man ignorant of navigation; nay, he would not trust a bale of merchandise with him; and surely he will not abandon his bark of existence to the command of a charlatan, who knows nothing of the principles of the art he professes, and is altogether incompetent to steer clear of the numerous rocks and quicksands in the course of life; but a man of reflection and judgment is not a very common character; he is surrounded by hundreds who examine not for themselves; and are easily deluded, by the fairest promises, to surrender their opinions to another's guidance: these are the supporters of quackery, and the encouragers of those needy plunderers, who would render medicine a farce, that they might practice jugglery the better.

If the system of man resembled a machine, which, once in motion, continued an unvaried power, and retained an equality of force, merely requiring, when deranged, the tightening of a screw, the readjustment of a strap, or the addition of a quantity of oil, little knowledge would be required in the regulation of its functions; but when we find the constitutions of men as varied as their countenances, the affections of the body, numerous and diversified, never preserving identically the same characters in two cases, or requiring the same exact treatment in diseases, apparently of the same nature, we discover that something more than the artifice of the quack is necessary in their government and repair.

It would indeed be a Herculean task to administer the rod of correction to all the advertizing medical gentry of the day: it could be done, and with justice to the community; but it would be wearisome. A champion, however, has recently entered the medical arena, with whom we would fain contend, not only in the hope of conquest, but in the expectation that others may take warning by his defeat. With him we will now alone engage, and thus throw down our gauntlet.

A work has very lately appeared, professing to be a "New Method of Curing Dyspepsia, discovered and practised by O. Halsted of New-York." This publication sails in the wake of a tolerably successful practice amongst the dyspeptics of the day, who have resorted to the temple of our author "with faith sufficient to promote a cure." So long as this continued, all interference was of course out of the question, as every individual possesses an undoubted right to tamper either with his judgment or his money; but when this aspirer after dyspeptic fame leaves his concealment, and issues his discoveries and practices to the world, he invites the battery of opinion, and renders himself at once amenable to remark and investigation. A few words, however, on the subject of dyspepsia, may not be amiss, before we take leave to reply to Mr. Halsted.

This much abused term, is a compound of two Greek words, signifying "bad concoction," or bad digestion, alias indigestion, and sufficiently expressive of a condition in which the aliments supplied to the stomach are not met by a vigorous and sufficient action for the purposes of health; but this definition, however just, is not comprehensive enough for the genius of mankind. That genius, which, in former times, has sanctioned the appellations of nervous disorders, and bilious complaints, as comprising nearly all others, has now selected the term of dyspepsia, as the covering for a multitude of real and imaginary woes; so that when an invalid approaches with a variety of symptoms, and a host of pains or whimsies, he is at once pronounced to be a Dyspeptic.

The book before us, commences with a short account of the organs engaged in the process of digestion, copied from a periodical work of the day, very good as far as it goes, and leaving nothing to be desired on the score of brevity: our author then pursues his task, by a detail of the symptoms of what he calls dyspepsia; from what work he procured these, or from what unhappy wretch he could gain such a list of grievances, as he describes arising from indigestion, does not appear; if they be in existence now, the sooner the one is burnt and the other buried, the better. It is evident that Mr. Halsted is unaware that dyspepsia occurs, in one of two ways; either as a primary affection, or as a symptom of other diseases; that he is unacquainted with the share the liver, with its biliary apparatus, the pancreas, the spleen, the mesentery, the omentum, &c. take in digestion, and of the symptoms occasioned by an affection of these organs; it may therefore be adviseable to devote a few lines to the consideration of these points, as well for the satisfaction of the public, as for his instruction and the improvement of his second edition. Dyspepsia, or indigestion in its simple form, occurs either as a disease of debility, or as a consequence of excess: the first arises from numerous causes, and seldom exists alone: the secretion of the gastric juice is not only impaired, for the office of no organ continues in a state of activity, all alike feeling the result of that general depression affecting the system at large: the second may be referred to the stomach itself, as a natural effect from over-feeding, or indulgence in spirituous liquors. Dyspepsia, occurring as a symptom in other diseases, appears under numerous characters, either from the effects of sympathy, or from an extension of the malady to the stomach itself. It may be readily granted that all the symptoms described by Mr. Halsted, take place, in consequence of an affection of the stomach, either primarily or secondarily; but to assert that they are the results of a bad concoction of the viands we eat and drink, and to act accordingly, is to misunderstand the meaning of a term, as well as the treatment of a disorder.

It is stated, in this work, that dyspepsia is Protean in its symptoms, but single and uniform in its nature; the very reverse is the fact; its symptoms are of a single character, and of an uniform attack, while its nature is variable and inconstant. A dyspeptic will complain of a want of appetite, a degree of squeamishness and irritability, eructations, heart-burn, pain in the head, stomach, and bowels, with costiveness; his tongue will be furred, and his pulse a little increased in strength and quickness. To use the language of Dr. Armstrong, "the most constant symptoms of dyspepsia, are a furred tongue, flatulence of the stomach, and fretfulness, or depression of spirits;" he goes on to say, "these may arise primarily from disorder or disease in the stomach itself, or they may depend upon an affection of the brain, liver, bowels, or some other remote or adjacent part." The nature of dyspepsia depends totally upon its cause, and where so many circumstances may occasion it, it is difficult to imagine one more variable. The important organs before alluded to, so necessary to the economy of life, are all liable to the most severe visitations of disease. Not to be too prolix, take, for the sake of example, the first on the list, the liver: both in the acute and chronic forms of inflammation of this viscus, how important a change is wrought in the digestive functions, how enfeebled does the system become during its continuance, and how futile would be the attempt to relieve the malady by merely attacking one of its symptoms! And so, of the other viscera, all marked when in a morbid state by peculiar characteristics, not only affecting their own action, but all the parts in their neighbourhood, the stomach as one of the great centres of the system in particular; and yet, with all these facts in review, are we presented with a list of ailments as dependant upon an impropriety in digestion, which may in all probability (at least the greater part of them) be traced to a source totally different. A careful discrimination of the origin of disease is as necessary as any after treatment, which can never, indeed, be applied with a reasonable chance of success without it.

Mr. Halsted recommends a change to a more temperate climate, travelling, regular exercise, particularly on horseback, and above all, moderation in eating and drinking; asserting, that if these means of recovery be neglected, things will inevitably go on from bad to worse. Astonishing! These new precepts, from the pen of such a distinguished practitioner, cannot be too highly extolled, and should be classed with the recommendation of old Parr; "keep your head cool by temperance, your feet warm by exercise; never eat but when you are hungry, nor drink but when nature requires it." Had the author stopped here, there would have been no occasion for a rejoinder to his work; for directions so admirable could only have obtained a ready compliance. In addition, however, to these usual modes of recovering health and appetite, we are put in possession of a few others, as purely original as can be imagined—but of these anon.

Mr. Halsted arranges dyspepsia in three stages; he has the incipient, the confirmed, and the complicated; in other words, dyspepsia in its commencement, in its continuance, and in its union with other affections. The two first may undoubtedly belong to dyspepsia, but the last, or complicated stage, is the one to which we must object; it is said, that this occurs when other organs are deranged, and a double set of symptoms produced; "when the patient will be said to die of liver complaint, an affection of the lungs, marasmus, dysentery, diarrhœa, or some anomalous complication of all these affections, conveniently classed by the Doctor when he renders his account to the sexton, under the sweeping term, consumption." The medical profession will doubtless appreciate the value of the connexion which Mr. Halsted is anxious to establish between the physician and the respectable officer who acts as the last gentleman-usher to mankind, and duly estimate the candid and gentlemanly mode of introduction of both parties to the public.

Dyspepsia, Mr. H. continues, is the original fountain from whence all this mischief, described in his third stage, proceeds; thus, according to him, a catarrh, pneumonia, and the numerous diseases attacking the respiratory organs, as "affections of the lungs," are occasioned by dyspepsia; the liver cannot be affected but by dyspepsia; marasmus proceeds from dyspepsia; dysentery depends on dyspepsia; and even diarrhœa must own dyspepsia as its parent. The effects of cold and damp, of obstructed perspiration, of scrofulous tendencies, and a thousand other causes, pass for nought; dyspepsia rears its head as the sole parent of ill, and little doubt can be entertained, that in the event of a man, a little weakened by sickness, falling and breaking his leg, this dyspeptic monitor would call the case dyspeptic fracture. Well may the poor patient who peruses the pages of his work be called "an unhappy dyspeptic;" and if he be not so already, he cannot read long, if his attention and conviction go hand in hand, before the discovery of such an accumulation of horrors, and all referred to his own person, will render him a fit subject for the author's experiments. Some of these symptoms are of too extraordinary a character to be passed over without notice: coldness in the head, ears, and eyes, difficulty of speech, and a jarring through the chest, numbness and coldness at the stomach, and sometimes a weight as if a lump of lead were there: if this be the case—

"Who breathes, must suffer; and who thinks, must mourn,
And he alone is bless'd, who ne'er was born."

Then again, our author has been told by a sufferer, that he felt as if a number of wires passed up from the stomach to the brain, and there ramifying into small branches, communicated a sort of jarring or vibrating sensation to each particular nerve. This is a perfect musical case of a dyspeptic, who has a sort of piano-forte stomach; we might fancy him exclaiming in the language of Shakspeare,—

"This music mads me; let it sound no more;
For though it have help'd madmen to their wits,
In me, it seems, it will make wise men mad."

Then come "pains between the shoulders and in the small of the back, cramps, stitches, pains in joints, with universal soreness and weariness." This is as bad as the plague, a very wilderness of agonies. Heaven guard us from them! To crown all, the sufferings of Caliban under the magical touches of Prospero are applied to the wretched dyspeptic, who has "cramps by night, and side-stitches to pen his breath up; old cramps (one attack is not sufficient) shall rack him and fill his bones with aches, making him roar so loud, that beasts shall tremble at his din;" this is the very climax of bodily suffering—long may we all be preserved from the Halsted Dyspepsia!

Error in diet, and want of proper exercise, are correctly assigned as two great causes of this disease; the former as respects the quantity, quality, time and manner of taking food, and the latter as it affects persons of a sedentary habit. These causes lead to actual dyspepsia, or a bad concoction of the food in the stomach, from whence the evils described arise; and which are sufficient of themselves, without adding to the list those affections, dependant upon diseases of other organs, although occupying the stomach as their seat, and all of which our author has indiscriminately classed under his sweeping term, dyspepsia. A very common error of diet, as respects the time and manner of taking food, is not treated of with sufficient force, when its baneful tendency is considered:—the custom that prevails, of dining within a very short period, sometimes only a few minutes, and returning immediately to the avocations of the day; the food is sent to the stomach only half masticated, and the system directly subjected to exertion, during which, the process of digestion cannot take place. If we make a hearty meal, and at once proceed to labour of any kind, the food remains for hours in an unaltered state; whereas, if we give a short repose to our bodies, by assuming an easy posture, and partially dismissing the remembrance of past, and the prospect of future cares, allowing, in fact, the whole business of life a short rest, as far as may be, the stomach will perform its office with ease and certainty. Mr. Halsted devotes one section to the consideration "of the particular condition of the stomach in dyspepsia;" and as he confesses that doctors differ on this subject, he kindly lends his assistance to relieve their indecision, by roundly asserting "that it consists mainly, in a debility or loss of power of action, in the muscular coat of the stomach." That a feebleness of the system may affect the muscular coat of the stomach, is far from a novel doctrine; but the idea that dyspepsia mainly depends upon this cause, is certainly as new as it is startling: the very meaning of the word would dispose us to consider that any want of action in the stomach, preventing the due concoction, or the breaking down of aliment for the purposes of nourishment to the frame, would apply to it, and, strictly speaking, it would; not that the muscular coat is alone, or the most powerful agent, in reducing the food to pulp or chyme; it is one of the many forces in the service of nature. It must be remembered that digestion, however well commenced in the stomach, is not perfected there; that, in the words of Dr. Mason Good, "it ranges through a wide spread of organs closely sympathizing with each other, and each, when disordered, giving rise to dyspepsia." After the formation of chyme, and the food has passed the pyloric orifice of the stomach, it undergoes a new process in the duodenum, when it is converted into chyle, probably by the action of the bile, although this is a point not absolutely determined by physiological experiment; even now, digestion is only half finished, the lacteals (a class of absorbing vessels particularly numerous in the duodenum, and also existing in the larger intestines) take up this fluid, for the purpose of conveying it into the thoracic duct, which terminates in the left subclavian vein, nor is the total process of digestion completed, until, in the language of the author above quoted, "it has been exposed to the action of the atmosphere, travelling, for this purpose, through the lungs, when it becomes completely assimilated with the vital fluids." Hence, although the meaning of dyspepsia must be restricted, as its derivations demand; the term, digestion, bears a much more extensive signification than it generally receives, and any error in its process may be properly denominated indigestion; however, Mr. Halsted regards the term dyspepsia as equivalent to indigestion, and we may, for once, adopt the same phraseology. Now, as digestion is of so complicated a nature, how will Mr. H. explain his reference to the muscular coat of the stomach as a chief cause of its derangement? Is he so admirable a pathologist as to discriminate, when called to a case of dyspepsia, whether, to use his own words, "it consists in a diminished quantity or vitiated state of the gastric fluid, in a morbid secretion from the inner coats of the stomach, or from a peculiar acid generated there; whether chronic inflammation of the mucous membrane of that organ, or a torpid state of the liver and a deficient secretion of the bile occasion it: it would appear that such conditions may exist, and then produce their different symptoms, requiring a modified treatment;" but it frequently happens that these cases, slight in themselves, determine principally to the stomach, and are not apparent to the keenest eye in any other organ upon the first attack. Besides, it is the practice of Mr. Halsted, when he discovers that the digestive apparatus is not originally in fault, but that a chronic inflammation of the stomach, or a torpor of the liver, prevails, to modify his treatment; this, at all events, is new doctrine, to treat inflammation and torpor upon modified principles. If, however, diagnosis is so slight an affair in his hands, let him, without delay, inform his countrymen at what college he studied, and what were his plans of improvement.—Pathology is a difficult science, and needs mentors to point out the best paths for its attainment.

The muscular coat of the stomach has undoubtedly its proper office to perform, and, failing in its functions, it may, in conjunction with other causes, lead to dyspepsia; but to fix upon this, in particular, is to negative the effects of other organs, and to deceive both your patient and yourself.

One of the most important discoveries in this work appears under the title of "the state of the abdominal muscles during dyspepsia;" which is pronounced to be a very characteristic feature of the disease, never yet noticed by writers on the subject, or particularly attended to by physicians. It would certainly have been somewhat strange for medical writers to enlarge upon a symptom of one disease, which absolutely belongs to another; or for physicians to attend to what they could not detect; and it is equally singular, that this very characteristic feature should only have favoured Mr. Halsted and his patients with a visitation. Whenever the muscles of the abdomen are in a state of constriction, as described by him, the usual cause is spasm of some part of the intestinal canal, produced by colic, either of an accidental nature, arising from some acrid ingesta, which irritate the bowels without producing diarrhœa, attended with griping pains and distention, and spasmodic contraction of the abdominal muscles, with costiveness; or of a bilious form, closely allied to bilious diarrhœa and cholera (Gregory.) These are the varieties of colic which have been confounded with dyspepsia, particularly the first described; the symptom alluded to has little or nothing to do with the office of the stomach, but depends chiefly upon acrid substances, which have passed from that organ, to exercise their pernicious qualities upon the intestines; the sufferings of Mr. Halsted, so pathetically described, may at once be referred to a fit of the colic, which a due want of care rendered very frequent.

Pass we now to the treatment, premising that a ride in a stage-coach led to the discovery of its advantages, and taking care, at the same time, of our abdominal muscles, lest the exertion of laughter should occasion one of the muscular spasms so much dreaded by our author. The plan is divided into four compartments; tickling, pickling, ironing, and throwing up the bowels. The tickling is performed by gentle taps and slight pushes in the pit of the stomach. (Who could bear it? It would throw nine patients out of ten into convulsions!) The pickling, by wrapping up the patient from the chest to the hips with flannel cloths, wrung out in a mixture of equal parts of hot vinegar and water. (This at all events tends to keep him.) The ironing, by spreading a coarse dry towel on the bowels, and passing over them "a bottle filled with boiling water, or, what is better, a common flat-iron, such as is used in smoothing linen, heated as warm as can well be borne, for fifteen or twenty minutes." Make an ironing-board of a patient's bowels! This is worse than all: a man might consent to be tickled and pickled—but to iron him for twenty minutes—mercy on us! the very thought is sudorific.

The throwing up of the bowels comes the last: fancy Mr. Halsted seated on the right side of his patient, and facing him; then placing his right hand upon the lower part of the abdomen, in such a manner, as to effect a lodgment (we quote his words) as it were, under the bowels, suffering them to rest directly upon the edge of the extended palm, and then, by a quick but not violent motion of the hand, in an upward direction, the bowels are thrown up much in the same manner as in riding on horseback, a sensation being communicated like that produced by a slight blow. (It is difficult to imagine who is entitled to the greatest admiration, the practitioner or the patient.) This treatment, it is said, will generally effect an increase in the strength of the pulse, a warmth in the extremities, and a gentle perspiration. So we should imagine: if such a mode of riding, with one's bowels in another man's hands, will not produce perspiration, what will? The position of the sufferer, during the last most remarkable process, may be occasionally altered, the practitioner taking his station behind him; or he may be placed with his back against the wall, whilst all these freedoms are taken with his bowels. Nay, more,—he may be instructed to perform the operation on his own person.

"Wer't not for laughing, I should pity him."

This, then, is the Halstedian treatment!

The former rules of quackery, reduced to the administration of sundry pills or elixirs, must be abandoned in favour of the manipulating and scouring process of the great medical wizard of the day, who relieves by a tap, and cures by a flat-iron; and although it may be difficult to conceive the chain of ideas by which the imagination can connect the bumpings of a stage-coach with the operations we have described, we may exclaim,—

"Your art
As well may teach an ass to scour the plain,
And bend obedient to the forming rein,"

as cure dyspepsia; still, we must yield our admiration to the novelty of invention, and to the ingenuity of application of these stomach and bowel working wonders.

It unfortunately happens sometimes, that the dyspepsia is connected with inflamed stomach, in which case the punching practice is death. We have heard from eminent physicians, that several lives have, within their knowledge, been endangered by it. Moreover, the real indecency of the Halstedian process, particularly in the case of women, has greatly shocked even the medical observers.

Before we dismiss this book from actual review, we will devote a short space to its probable effect upon the public, and upon the best means of counteracting its tendency.

Man, like a child, is amused by a novelty, and "tickled by a straw." His "reason too often stoops not" to inquiry before a ready surrender, and what is least comprehensible will occasionally receive the readiest credence: bare assertion is admitted without proof, the rhodomontade of enthusiasts passes for gospel, and the "leather and prunella" of impostors are regarded as commodities of sterling value. No wonder, then, that success attends a certain race, who are willing to prey upon the infirmity of reason; that the mountebanks of former days are emulated by the quacks of the present time; that Mr. Halsted has met with abundance of patients, and a ready sale for his work: a hope of relief from disease acts as a stimulant to faith, but "Hope is a cur-tail dog in some affairs."

It is said of Dr. Cameron, one of the most remarkable charlatans of his day, that when reproached by a physician concerning his deception on the public, he replied, "Out of twenty persons who pass this house in an hour, nineteen are fools who come to me, whilst the one wise man applies to you—which has the better practice? Believe me, doctor, that although the wise seek the wise in your person, the fools will find me out." How exactly is this assertion fulfilled in the present day! The wise man, who values his health as his greatest earthly blessing, scorns to resign it to the care of one who knows not the value of the trust; who cannot comprehend the principles upon which it depends, the cause which deranges it; or discover the particular organ requiring assistance: common sense interposes a bar to any communication between a wise man and a charlatan; while the multitude will flock to the snare, or swallow the bait; first the gulls, and then the victims; the nostrums, injurious or poisonous as they may be, find ready mouths for their reception; the dogmas, willing ears; and the system of Mr. Halsted, ready sufferers. Is it not to be lamented, that a man who claims a caste above this multitude, will sometimes forget himself so far as to follow their route, heedless of the lines of Horace?—

"When in a wood we leave the certain way
One error fools us, though we various stray."

He madly leaves the track of reason to tread in the steps of folly; but he may perhaps retrace them, and if an injured, yet a wiser man. Not so the generality,—they pursue an ignis fatuus, which, dazzling their perceptions as it lures them on, at last leaves them in the mire (from which no skill perhaps can extricate them) to curse themselves and their deceiver.

The exertion of medical science is sufficient for the removal of diseases capable of cure, and is unaccompanied by the risk of leaving others in their place: quackery, on the contrary, attempts what it cannot, from ignorance, perform, and frequently establishes a malady of more serious character than the one it professed to relieve. The medical man, aware of the structure of the human form, of the disposition and arrangement of its several parts in a state of health, is gradually led to a consideration of their condition in disease: that grand master, experience, enables him to discriminate between the cause and effect of morbid action; a long attention to the detail of practice gives him power over a list of remedies whose properties he has ascertained by observation; and in addition to all this, his daily thoughts are engaged in the investigation of sickness in its many forms, and, frequently, his midnight oil expended, while he peruses the observations, and profits by the researches of others. Again, the advertising quack is frequently an unlettered, never a well-informed man, at least on medical topics: his education, his habits, his purposes, are all foreign to science; the first has not been devoted to the accomplishment of a particular duty; the second have not received that polish, or acquired that delicacy so necessary in the hour of sickness and distress; and the third are directed solely to the purposes of gain, rather than to the noble aim of assisting his fellow-creatures; and yet such a character finds support. To the individual who can depend upon his abilities we may exclaim, "tibi seris, tibi metis," and so dismiss him to his fate.

After all that has been said of the exertions of the charlatan to abuse the confidence of mankind, particularly as far as dyspepsia is concerned, it is due to the medical profession, to state what claims they may fairly advance, to entitle them to the good opinion of the public, in the cure of this much talked of affection.

A physician, who understands what he is about, knows very well, when a case of this nature comes before him, that it may proceed from a variety of causes; that it may arise in the stomach from a want of digestive power, from the small intestines by a partial failure in the process of chymification; that it may depend upon the morbid action of the large intestines, or exist merely as a symptom of an affection in other organs. Sedentary habits, or irregularities of diet, are causes which may be supposed to act locally on the digestive organs themselves; but the history of a case will generally show that the derangement of the digestive organs is secondary. When it arises from local irritation, it can only be produced through the medium of the sensorium; when it is idiopathic, it frequently originates in causes which affect the nervous system primarily; such as anxiety, too great exertion of body and mind, and impure air; in many instances, the nervous irritation which has induced the disease, being trivial, is only kept up by the reaction of its effects. Thus says Abernethy, one of the luminaries of modern medical science.

The first duty of a physician, therefore, is to ascertain from what source indigestion proceeds, and to frame his treatment accordingly. To act upon one system of cure, like our friend Mr. Halsted, in a disease arising from such a variety of circumstances, would be as reasonable as applying splints to an arm, when the thigh happens to be fractured; but enough, we would hope, has been said to disabuse the mind of the public of a predilection for these pretenders. Dyspepsia is a disease that has existed for ages, and through ages has it readily been cured. In its simple form there is no mystery about it, and when it becomes complicated, it requires more than the knowledge of a quack to master it. Confidence in a medical attendant, and an adherence to his directions, will surely suffice now, as in former times; and if the public will restrain a longing after novelty, and abandon those "who rather talk than act, and rather kill than cure," in short, who work upon their prejudices by artifice, we shall hear less of dyspepsia, simply because it exists too frequently but in their own fancies. True, there is a certain class, with such mental, as well as bodily infirmities, who, worn down by depraved habits, or suffering under weakened intellects, will permit the wildest chimeras to haunt them; hypochondriacs may be met with every day, and these may be fit patients for the charlatan, or legally subjected to the tickling, pickling, and ironing of Mr. Halsted: extraordinary maladies may justify extraordinary experiments.

The absurd and improper treatment proposed in the work we have noticed, can afford but little hope to any but the hypochondriacal dyspeptic; he may fly to any measures, however desperate or ludicrous; for "a mind diseased no medicine can cure." Let others, however, who cannot plead a malady of the mind as an excuse for resorting to such practice, be informed, that in most of the affections arising from, or confounded with dyspepsia, it is unavailing, and may prove injurious. There are many diseases which it is impossible that Mr. Halsted can distinguish from dyspepsia, and to which he would apply his irons and bottles, towels and vinegar, at the risk of his patient's safety.

His views may be sound if adapted to the animal economy of a horse, but are certainly unsuitable to the constitution of a man.

We would say, then, to the public, in conclusion; be cautious how you trust your health and lives with those who neither comprehend the nature of the one, nor the value of the other—and who would exclaim behind your backs, with Shakspeare's Autolycus, merely altering the description of his wares:—

"Ha! ha! what a fool Honesty is! and Trust, his sworn brother, a very simple gentleman! I have sold all my trumpery; not a counterfeit stone, not a riband, glass, pomander, brooch, table-book, ballad, knife, tape, glove, shoe-tie, bracelet, horn-ring, to keep my pack from fasting: they throng who should buy first, as if my trinkets had been hallowed, and brought a benediction to the buyer; by which means, I saw whose purse was best in picture, and, what I saw, to my good use I remembered."

To the gentle pretenders themselves, we have but a few words to say at parting:—

"Out you impostors,
Quack-salving cheating mountebanks—your skill
Is to make sound men sick, and sick men, kill."

---

Art. X.—BANK OF THE UNITED STATES.

1.—Report of the Committee of Ways and Means of the House of Representatives of the United States, to which was referred so much of the President's Message as relates to the Bank of the United States. April 13th, 1830: pp. 31. 8vo.

2.—Message of the President of the United States to both Houses of Congress. December 8th, 1830.

When the President first presented the question of re-chartering the Bank of the United States to the national legislature, at the opening of the session of 1829-30, the measure was viewed very differently by different men. We do not speak of the vulgar herd of politicians, great and small, who approve or condemn indiscriminately all measures of the government, but of that more elevated and independent class, who ask nothing of any administration than that it shall do its duty; and who judge of its acts as they seem to be legal, useful, and wise. To some the president's course appeared to be highly objectionable. The bank charter had then six years to run, and, consequently, they said, neither this congress nor the next had any control over the subject. Nor could it furnish matter of legislation, they added, whilst president Jackson remained in office, unless he should, by being elected for a second term, give his sanction to a principle which he had pronounced impolitic and dangerous. To have brought forward the subject, under these circumstances, with no very doubtful intimation of his own wishes, was as unnecessary as it was unusual, and implied a want of confidence in those who were ultimately to decide the question.

To others, however, this early notice of the subject seemed to be justified by its importance, and they thought that the public could not be too soon engaged in discussing the merits of a question which in so many ways concerned the general welfare. Of this opinion seemed to be the committee of the house of representatives, to which this part of the message was referred, and which, after giving the subject a full consideration, reported in favour of renewing the charter of the present bank, and against the substitute for it which the president had ventured to suggest.

The subject being thus fairly before the people, and in fact undergoing a very thorough investigation in the public journals, it was expected that the president would be contented with having done his duty on the occasion, and, if not silenced by the gentle dissuasive of the senate, or the bold and uncompromising logic of the house, he would merely regret that truth should be so hoodwinked by prejudice, or that error should have found so many apologists and supporters in those august bodies, and that he would leave the question where it properly belonged, and where he himself had placed it—with "the legislature and the people." It was, then, with no little surprise, perceived, that the succeeding annual message, which is at the head of this article, had brought the same subject to the notice of the legislature, consisting precisely of the same individuals as before, when nothing was pretended to have occurred to induce them to change their former opinion, and when the only reason which had been given, at the preceding session, for inviting the consideration of what neither required nor admitted immediate legislation, no longer existed. Public attention had been fully drawn to the subject. The stockholders of the bank, who are profiting by the good management of the institution, and who naturally wish the charter renewed, had taken the alarm, and, trusting to the omnipotence of truth, had every where invited investigation and discussion—and all those who hoped to profit by the new national bank, or who felt themselves bound to second the wishes of the administration, had opposed the renewal of the charter, through the prints devoted to the same cause.

When the avowed purpose of the president had been thus completely answered, by his first communication to congress, it is natural to ask what could have prompted the second? Were the majorities in both houses of congress personally hostile to the president, or unfriendly to his administration; and was it necessary for him to defend himself from party prejudice by an appeal to the people? That could not be; for it is notorious that the president's friends, personal or political, are most numerous in both houses, and this advantage is a daily theme of party boast and congratulation. Were the chairmen of the respective committees his political opponents, and did they insidiously endeavour to bring his party into discredit for the purpose of advancing their own? But they were among his most zealous adherents—nay, it may be questioned whether there was a single individual in the United States to whom the president was more indebted for the vindication of his character before the people, than to Mr. M'Duffie, who wrote one of the reports;—unless it might be to Mr. Adams, when secretary of state. Was it then expected, that the house of representatives, which had disregarded his recommendation, would now approve his project? It is impossible that the president or his advisers could have believed they would carry their complaisance so far. They must have known that the subject would be referred to the same committee, composed of the same persons, as that of the preceding year, and who would be likely, if they reported at all, not only to support their first opinions by further arguments, but to express their disapprobation of a course so wanting in respect to the legislature, and so little calculated to promote harmony between the different branches of the government. As, then, we are compelled to give the negative to all these suppositions, we must infer that the object of this extraordinary course has been to influence public opinion. It seems essential to the views of the present executive of the United States, to put down the present national bank, and to erect another on its ruins; and this favourite purpose it hopes to attain by bringing the president's personal and official influence to bear on the question; and, under the forms of the constitution, to appeal from his party in congress, to his party in the nation.

On the dignity or good faith of this course we will not make any comment; but since the question is thus brought before the people, we will cheerfully meet it, and inquire how far the measure recommended by the president, against the opinions of the immediate representatives of the people, seems calculated to advance the public interest, or to promote a distinct and peculiar interest. We shall fearlessly, though temperately, examine the president's propositions, both as to the existing national bank and its proposed substitute; and we shall look at the subject with a single eye to the public good, for we have no other interest in the question than what is common to every citizen of the United States. We know that there is much good sense in this nation, and although there is a full share of prejudice too, yet no one need despair, that the former, if properly addressed, will eventually prevail.

That part of the Message which relates to the bank is in these words,—

"The importance of the principles involved in the inquiry, whether it will be proper to re-charter the Bank of the United States, requires that I should again call the attention of congress to the subject. Nothing has occurred to lessen, in any degree, the dangers which many of our citizens apprehended from that institution, as at present organized. In the spirit of improvement and compromise which distinguishes our country and its institutions, it becomes us to inquire whether it be not possible to secure the advantages afforded by the present bank through the agency of a bank of the United States, so modified in its principles and structure as to obviate constitutional and other objections.

"It is thought practicable to organize such a bank, with the necessary officers, as a branch of the treasury department, based on the public and individual deposits, without power to make loans or purchase property, which shall remit the funds of the government, and the expenses of which may be paid, if thought advisable, by allowing its officers to sell bills of exchange to private individuals at a moderate premium. Not being a corporate body, having no stockholders, debtors, or property, and but few officers, it would not be obnoxious to the constitutional objections which are urged against the present bank; and having no means to operate on the hopes, fears, or interests, of large masses of the community, it would be shorn of the influence which makes that bank formidable. The states would be strengthened by having in their hands the means of furnishing the local paper currency through their own banks; while the bank of the United States, though issuing no paper, would check the issues of the state banks, by taking their notes in deposit, and for exchange, only so long as they continue to be redeemed with specie. In times of public emergency, the capacities of such an institution might be enlarged by legislative provisions.

"These suggestions are made, not so much as a recommendation, as with a view of calling the attention of congress to the possible modifications of a system, which cannot continue to exist in its present form without occasional collisions with the local authorities, and perpetual apprehensions and discontent on the part of the states and the people."

When the president's views, as here disclosed, are analyzed, they seem to involve the following propositions, to each of which we will give a separate consideration.

1. That the present Bank of the United States is unconstitutional.

2. That it exercises a dangerous influence.

3. That it creates discontent with the people, and collisions with the states.

4. That such a bank as is proposed in its place, is free from all these objections.

1. On the constitutionality of the bank, we have little to add to the remarks made on the subject in our last number. The arguments then urged having received no answer, and being, as we conceive, unanswerable, we must consider that the more the question is investigated, the more it will be found that a power which has been recognised by every branch of the government, and at some time or other, by every party that has administered the affairs of the nation, will be found to be correct. We cannot, however, forbear to add one other, because of its peculiar fitness to the present occasion.

It is known, that the power of the general government to establish a national bank, mainly turns on that clause of the Constitution of the United States, which gives congress the power "to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution" the powers specifically granted—one party deducing the constitutionality of the bank from a liberal interpretation of the word "necessary," and the other drawing the opposite inference from their interpreting the same word in a narrower sense; both reasoning justly from their respective premises, and both agreeing, that on the true meaning of that term, rest the merits of the controversy.

Whenever a doubt occurs about the meaning of a phrase in a written instrument, it has always been considered a good rule of interpretation, to refer to the use of the same phrase in other parts of the same instrument, for the purpose of discovering the sense attached to it by those who used it. Applying this rule, we find in the article concerning the duties and powers of the president, (3d section) that "he shall, from time to time, give to the congress information of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." It is by virtue of this power thus granted, and of this alone, that the president has recommended the creation of a new bank to the legislature. Now, it will not be pretended that he could have judged this recommendation to be necessary, in the strictest sense of the term, but at most, that it was highly useful and important. It must then be admitted, either that the narrow interpretation of the word "necessary," relied on by those who deny the constitutionality of the bank, is erroneous, or that the president himself has violated the constitution in the recommendation he has made. If it be insisted, that he had the constitutional right to recommend a measure, which both houses of congress had pronounced highly inexpedient, because he believed it prudent, and politic, and salutary—the ground on which he himself places it—then the same liberal interpretation of the term "necessary," which we admit to be the true one, will make the bank constitutional. We have resorted to this rule, not so much because it furnishes an argument ad hominem which is irresistible, as for the higher purpose of throwing light on one of the most controverted parts of the constitution.

But admitting, for the sake of argument, the constitutionality of the bank to be one of those difficult and complicated questions about which men's minds may always be divided, and that there are reasons on either side, sufficient, if not to convince, to perplex and bewilder, and to afford pretexts for those who seek some sinister or selfish ends—and of such character are most constitutional questions—we would ask, if this is never to have a termination? Are questions of this kind to be always unsettled, so that no length of time, however sufficient to quiet private controversies, shall put an end to those which most nearly concern the tranquillity and permanence of the Union?

On this subject of constitutional questions generally, we would trespass awhile on the patience of our readers. It involves far higher considerations than whether this or that individual shall be president—this party or that shall exert a transient sway over the destinies of the country. Our remarks are independent of men, or times, or circumstances; and they are addressed to men of no party—to the intelligent and patriotic of all parties—to that fund of good sense which has ever characterized this nation.

As every officer of the government takes an oath to support the constitution, his conscience is appealed to, and that which he honestly and truly believes to be the meaning of the obligation he has incurred, must influence his votes and acts under the constitution. It is seriously and earnestly maintained by many of our citizens, that every man's own interpretation of the constitution must be his guide; and no matter what the public tribunals have determined—no matter for what length of time, or by what degree of unanimity a particular interpretation may have prevailed, it is to weigh as nothing with him, so far as it seems contrary to the conviction of his own mind. But is this a true understanding of the character of a written constitution, and of the oath which it enjoins? If so, would not the means devised to secure its more faithful observance be the most likely to defeat its provisions; and would it not make such a constitution the most impracticable and absurd form of government that human folly ever devised? Let us consider the consequences of this doctrine.

In the first place, let us call to mind the great number of constitutional questions which have arisen during the short period of little more than forty years, since the Federal government went into operation. In General Washington's administration, the most prominent of those questions were suggested by the establishment of a national bank—by the carriage tax—the proclamation of neutrality—and the appropriations to carry the British treaty into effect: in that of Mr. Adams, the elder, the alien and sedition laws: in Mr. Jefferson's, the repeal of the Judiciary law—the embargo for an indefinite period—the purchase of Louisiana: in Mr. Madison's, the United States Bank again, the power of the federal government over the militia of a state—the right of that government to construct roads: in Mr. Monroe's, the right in congress to pass the bankrupt law—to lay a duty on imports for the encouragement of manufactures—to appropriate money for the relief of the poor of the district of Columbia: and in Mr. John Quincy Adams's, the Cherokee treaty—the nullification doctrine—the power of appointing public officers, together with several of the others previously mentioned.

To these questions we might add many of minor importance or interest, and that multitude which have arisen and been decided in the Supreme Court of the United States. But if the number is already so great, what will it be a century or two hence? Let it be remembered, too, that each of these legislative questions may give rise to many others connected with them, and that each one may be multiplied to infinity in the courts of justice. Thus, if protecting duties for the encouragement of manufactures are unconstitutional, the duty claimed on every bale of imported goods may be called in question.

Whenever, then, any of these constitutional questions can be made, it would be competent for the party interested, by the doctrines of these political puritans, to make them. So that in every controversy, public or private, every conflict of right or interest, as the question of constitutionality would be completely open to the judge, and in criminal cases, to the jury, either party may take his chance of success by urging that interpretation of the constitution which best suits him, and the same question would, of course, be decided one way in one place, and another way in another. One man would be convicted for an offence for which another would go unpunished; and one citizen, or one state, be subjected to taxes under the constitution, from which others would be shielded by the same instrument.

Does any one doubt, that if a constitution is left to the unrestricted interpretation of every one who swears to support it, there would be this diversity? Let him look at the various commentaries on the same text in the New Testament. Let him look at the various interpretations of the same decrees of the Senate by the Edicts of the Pretors in Roman jurisprudence—to say nothing of those countless decisions of the civil law, by which, before the time of Justinian, it was buried beneath its own rubbish. Let him look at the voluminous reports in our own language on the written, as well as common law—on the infinite number of questions that have arisen, and are yet arising on a single statute, or even one of its sections,—let him consider these apposite examples, and ask whether our constitution is likely to share a different fate? Such, indeed, is the indefinite nature of language, the ever-varying character of human concerns, and the subtlety of the human intellect, that it is utterly impossible to pen a constitution on which numerous questions would not arise, which no sagacity of man could foresee, and which his language is too vague to provide for.

Constitutional questions then must arise, and the true point of inquiry is, whether our constitution meant that they should be finally settled, or whether they are to remain suspended between heaven and earth, until they are compelled to make their appearance by the necromancy of legal subtlety, or occasionally laid in the Red Sea.

But the evil would not stop with the federal government. We know that each state has also its own constitution, and that if their legislatures or executives transcend their powers, their acts, by the doctrines we are considering, are utterly void. They cannot exceed the limits of their charter, and those limits they have no exclusive right to define. Who that has attended the deliberations of a state legislature, and remarked the frequent recurrence of constitutional questions about their powers, but must see that there is scarcely any law concerning property, or office, or crime, on which ingenuity may not raise a doubt respecting either the letter or spirit of the constitution? And the same uncertainty and want of uniformity which would arise in the federal government, would arise in a much greater ratio in that of a state; so that no man could say certainly what were his duties or his rights. If such a state of things may now ensue, how would it be when the population of a single state should amount to several millions, and when the spirit of litigation, united with the extension of legal science, would give more than Norman acuteness to our constitutional lawyers? When that era shall arrive, if this quibbling spirit that is now so rife, shall not receive a timely check, where is the law, whose authority may not be questioned? Now is the time to arrest it, before our habits become indurated, and while our national character has that ductility which the changes our country is ever undergoing, naturally produces. Whoever is capable of taking a wide survey of human affairs, and of comparing ages and nations, must perceive that every generation of the civilized world is becoming more and more metaphysical—that the understanding is more appealed to, and has greater sway than formerly, and the imagination less. The age of magic, and witches, and ghosts, has passed away. That of poetry is on the wane. Speculation has taken the place of taste. What once passed unheeded, or was perceived only as it was felt, must now be analyzed, and sifted, and decompounded, until we have reached its elements, and a reason is required for every thing. Such is the spirit of the age, and it is eminently favourable to constitutional doubts and scruples.

We may already perceive the progress of this captious, inquisitive, hair-splitting spirit, in the brief chronicle of the federal government. When congress met, immediately after the formation of the constitution, in laying an impost, they endeavoured so to lay it, as to give encouragement to those species of industry for which the country seemed best suited, and their successors continued the same policy for about thirty years, when it was discovered, (we think by a member from Maine) that the policy was contrary to the constitution. The discovery was soon welcomed by many of the politicians of the South, and it has since been so cordially embraced by them, that the opposite opinion is now looked upon as downright political heresy.

A bankrupt law was passed during the first Mr. Adams's administration, by virtue of the express power given to congress on that subject. When Mr. Jefferson came into power, the law was repealed as inexpedient, because it was believed to produce as much fraud and mischief in some ways as it prevented in others. But nobody had then discovered that the law was unconstitutional. Yet in 1822, that doctrine was broached and zealously maintained by three or four members from the South, so as to induce Mr. Lowndes, who was himself opposed to a bankrupt law, to disavow the doctrines of his associates. That exemplary man, the character of whose mind was sufficiently inclined to refined speculation, if it had not been so tempered by candour and sound practical sense, never lost sight of the end of government, in his view of the means; and he believed that in interpreting the constitution, we ought not to look at it through a microscope, for this plain reason, if for no other, because those who are finally to decide on it look at it with their ordinary eyes. Accordingly, in the first half of his speech, he aimed to show that congress had the power to pass the law, and in the last, that they ought not to exercise it.

Again: Mr. Jefferson gave his sanction to the Cumberland road, to be made at the national expense, provided the states through which it would pass gave their express assent to it. The states of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, did pass laws giving such consent. It was not then considered that congress had not the power of appropriating the money in the treasury to all purposes of general utility, provided they did not assume any other power, in the exercise of this; and it is clear that Mr. Jefferson did not think that the construction of a road, with the consent of the states through which it passed, was such an exercise of power. Yet after the road was made, by this growing disposition to strict construction, it was discovered that congress had no power to make such appropriations, under the constitution, and if the power could not be derived from that instrument, the consent of the states interested could not give it. It is here worthy of remark, that many of those who maintained that the general government possessed the power of making roads, independently of the states, concurred in the preceding position; and thus a majority was obtained who agreed that congress could use the public money for no purpose, which they had not the independent power of executing. Each party hoped to derive strength by this decision. The one, because it advanced a step forward in strict construction; and the other, looking to the influence of the practical benefits to be derived from the exercise of the power of making roads and canals, flattered themselves that many, when they found themselves not able to attain their object by mere appropriations, would, rather than forego the promised benefits altogether, support a still more enlarged construction of the constitution; and the issue seems so far to have justified their expectations.

We will give one more example. It had been supposed that the vice-president, as presiding officer of the senate, had, by the force of the term itself, the power of keeping order and regulating the debate; yet three or four years ago, it was discovered by that officer, or some of his friends, that he did not possess that power, in certain cases, and he accordingly forbore to exercise it.

These remarks are made in no invidious spirit. We do not mean to give any opinions on these questions. In some of them, indeed, we scarcely know whether, in this age of nice discrimination, our impressions deserve to be called opinions. But we merely meant to refer to facts which are a part of the history of the country. They go to show, that constitutional doubts and difficulties are continually increasing, not only from the new positions and aspects of things in the endless vicissitudes of human affairs, but also by the progress of refinement in reasoning; because much is now considered unconstitutional that was not deemed so formerly.

If this doubting, disputatious spirit—this habit of questioning every thing whenever a quibble can be raised—should continue to advance, where is the law, which, after fighting its way through both houses of the legislature, and, perhaps, escaping the veto, may not be eventually contested and defeated? We know that in many of the states there are Bills of Rights, which are considered to have equal authority with their constitutions. Some, indeed, regard them as settling the principles of primordial law, which the constitution itself cannot countervail. These, then, may also be appealed to for the purpose of proving the unconstitutionality of a state law; and in the inferences which ingenuity, or even stupidity, may draw from such broad and indefinite principles, the clearest right may be disputed, and the most atrocious crime defended. The right of a community to take the life of any one of its citizens has been gravely denied, and the argument rests for its support on the imprescriptible and immutable rights of man. If the net-work of the laws shall be thus chafed and frittered away, little fish, as well as big ones, may break through it when and where they please.

We are aware, that, in the ordinary concerns of life, nature and reason will often assert their empire. They cannot be altogether cheated out of their rights by sophisms and quibbling. But the latter will but too often prevail. They have prevailed, are yet prevailing; and, if a barrier is to be presented to their further progress, it must be by the common sense of the nation, frowning into contempt this constitutional casuistry, which would degrade our legislative halls into schools of sophists—would employ the best powers of the human mind, not in clearing up doubts, but in creating them—which considers that the most obvious and direct meaning of the constitution is always the wrong one, and that what the convention made the people say by that instrument, can be understood but by one man in ten thousand, who cannot show he is right, but by a commentary a hundred times as large as the text. It must be by going further, and saying that after a question has been fully discussed and solemnly decided—after it has been recognised by every department of the government—and acquiesced in by the people, it should be considered as the best exposition the constitution is capable of, and as no longer open to controversy: and if the decision was wrong, according to a maxim of the common law, and which became common law only because it was common sense, the universality of the error makes it right.

Let it not be supposed, that if a false or inconvenient construction is put on the constitution, or its meaning is considered doubtful and uncertain, the evil may be corrected by an amendment. Supposing it to take place, may we not, like bad tinkers, in stopping one hole, make two? We can judge of the probable success of this course, by the various laws passed to alter, or amend, or repeal, previous emendatory acts. But if the remedy were effectual when attained, is it attainable? What probability is there that three-fourths of the states will concur in any amendment, or that motives of interest—of party sympathy—of delusive argument—or the mere nonchalance of men about evils which are not immediately pressing, would not unite more than one-fourth of the states? Besides, if the constitution were always to be changed whenever a serious question of its construction arose, and amendments were as practicable as they are difficult, the time required for the operation would leave us nothing else to do. A century would scarcely suffice to settle the questions which may occur in a single year.

There is another mischief, of no insignificant character, which results from these excessive refinements in interpreting the constitution, and from the doctrine that no length of time can settle its meaning. They afford ready pretexts to cunning and timid politicians for screening their real motives from the people. When they wish to evade responsibility for their votes, they have nothing more to do than to plead scruples of conscience, and the sacred obligation of an oath. Where is the measure which a moderate degree of ingenuity may not show—we may almost say—has not shown to be against the words, or the meaning and spirit of the constitution? It is true, if the people distrust the sincerity of this plea of conscience, or disapprove it, they may remove their representative. But that remedy may come too late, and may not always be applied. The people have always shown great indulgence and forbearance towards this plea: besides, before the time of re-election comes about, these inconvenient scruples may, in the din of new contests, be forgotten, or remembered only to be forgiven, and, by the hocus pocus of party, even metamorphosed into a recommendation. When, then, it is so easy to take shelter behind the ark of the constitution, ought we to enlarge the limits of this place of refuge for cunning and cowardice?

One more argument in favour of a fair, liberal, manly construction of the constitution. There would be a certain degree of inconvenience incident to every written constitution, if there were no difficulties in its interpretation, and its language was always understood in the same sense by all men. In making that distribution of its various powers which is deemed most likely to secure a safe and healthy action, the hands of its functionaries must often be tied up from doing that which particular circumstances may make highly expedient. Some imperative claim of humanity, some yet more pressing emergency of state, may call for powers which the constitution has withheld. Mr. Jefferson considered the acquisition of Louisiana to be a case of that character. He questioned the power of acquiring foreign territory under the constitution. But when he reflected that France could not retain possession of Louisiana, and that hither the constitution must be stretched, (his letter to W. C. Nicholas might almost justify a stronger expression,) or we must submit to having the greatest commercial nation in Europe—our most active rival in peace, our most powerful enemy in war—posted on our right and left flank, and, by and by, in our rear,—he sacrificed his opinions to the safety of the republic. The present president was no doubt actuated by similar considerations, when he pursued the Seminoles into the Spanish territory, and made war on the country in which they had taken refuge—the occasion not appearing to him to admit of the delay of a formal declaration by congress. Commodore Porter may be presumed to have acted on the same principle in Cuba. No one regards these as fit cases for precedents. All agree, that if we have a constitution, its mandates should be obeyed, and that we must be content to put up with its partial inconvenience, for the sake of its general benefits. But surely we ought not to go to the other extreme, and so fetter the constituted authorities of the nation, by a spirit of interpretation which will deprive them of all salutary power, except by usurping it. Let us not lose sight of "the expedient," in discussing "the right;" but rather, as the common sense of mankind dictates in ordinary cases of conscience or morality, be liberal in construing the constitution, when its power is to be used for the good of the people, and captious and astute only when its exercise may be pernicious.

On these grounds, we earnestly beseech those who are friendly to our political institutions—who believe that no other than the complex government we have adopted can unite the adaptation of laws to local circumstances with the strength and security of a great empire, to discountenance the pestilent and absurd doctrine that the constitution is to be on all points forever unsettled. We beseech them to save this monument of our country's wisdom—this instrument of its safety, its liberty, and its future greatness, from the peril and reproach to which it is thus exposed. It is in their power to protect it from an evil which would convert a government intended to secure domestic peace, into one of perpetual civil strife, and which would confide the destinies of the country to sophists, and quibblers, and casuists—or rather to those political managers who would use them as tools to persuade the people that a good measure was unconstitutional, that they might pursue a bad one with impunity.

2. The next objection is, that the bank possesses a "formidable" influence on the community. It must be admitted, that this complaint of bank influence is not now brought forward for the first time. It was a favourite theme of the demagogue, from the time the first Bank of the United States was established, until its charter expired, when it appeared that its influence was not equal to its own preservation.

If, indeed, no other corporation had the right to issue notes of circulation, then the power of enlarging or contracting the common currency at pleasure would be a very great one—greater than ought to be put into the hands of any others than persons chosen by the people, or their representatives, and responsible to them. But as the bank and its offices are every where surrounded by competitors, some of which have a yet larger capital than themselves, they have no such exclusive control over the amount of money in circulation, and their influence, whatever it may be, can be exerted only as to its quality. It is precisely on this last influence that the friends of the bank mainly rely for the public favour.

Let us inquire a little further into the extent of the bank's influence. The principal functions of this institution, except the services it renders the government, consist in discounting promissory notes, selling or buying bills of exchange, and receiving deposits of coin, or of its own notes, for safe keeping. It has no exclusive privilege of doing either of these acts, as every state bank may do, and actually does the same. But by means of its superior capital, and consequently its superior credit and resources, it can, in some of its operations, either undersell the other banks, or command a preference in the market;—aye, there's the rub. The banks in some of the large cities have persuaded themselves that if this "formidable" rival was out of the way, they would be able to buy and sell more bills, and upon better terms than at present. But if this consideration should make them an object of dread and dislike to the state banks, it should also recommend them to the favour of the public. Their notes, too, are generally preferred by travellers, and for distant remittances. But neither does this fact furnish any ground of dread to the community, whatever it may to their rivals.

It thus appears that they have the same advantage over other banks, which one tradesman or mechanic occasionally has over others of the same calling. He who does his work best, and sells it cheapest, will always get the most and best custom; and it would be just as reasonable for his rivals in business to complain of his making better wares, of being more accommodating, and of underselling them, as for the other banks to complain of the Bank of the United States. It is clear, that if the rival banks are losers, the public is a gainer, unless they can succeed in persuading the people, that competition, which is so salutary and beneficial to the public in every other business, should be mischievous only in this. The argument thus used against the Bank of the United States, is precisely that which might have been used, and, we presume, was used, by the owners of the Albany sloops against steam-boats; and which might be used against canals and rail-roads, by those who would find employment for their wagons in the former more expensive modes of conveyance.

But by an influence which is supposed to be so "formidable," is meant, perhaps, a political and corrupt influence. If there be such a one, it must be seen and felt; and we would ask in what way does it exert itself? Does the bank use its money in the elections? If so, its accounts must show it; and as there are men of all parties who own, or may own, shares in the stock, let those who suspect this abuse scrutinize those accounts for the purpose of detecting it. But those who manage the banks, know very well, and so do those who accuse them, that nine-tenths, or rather ninety-nine hundredths of the stockholders, would not have given a five dollar note to get the president elected, or to get him turned out. Your office-seekers, indeed, might pay pretty liberally for such service, but they are seldom stockholders. These are, for the most part, thrifty, cautious men, who choose to vest their money in some fund which gives them regular returns; and they are content that they shall be small, provided they be certain. The rest are widows, guardians of orphan children, trustees of public institutions, and merchants who have more capital than they can safely and profitably employ. Now, who of these would allow a president and directors to squander their money in a matter in which they felt little interest, and that probably a divided one. No body believes this, and yet it is not easy to say in what other mode they could exercise a corrupt influence.

But if the stockholders were disposed to spend their money in electioneering, can they be prevented from acting so foolishly by putting down the bank? If the charter is not renewed, their money will be returned to them, and they would then have both the power and the inducement to use it for political purposes, which they cannot have while it is supplying a currency to the country, and invigorating its industry and commerce. But, in truth, it is well known, that those persons do not make ducks and drakes of their money now, and are not likely to do it then.

It is true, that in case of an extraordinary demand for money, beyond the means of supply by the state banks, the Bank of the United States may sometimes prefer discounting the note of one man to that of another—the paper of A to that of B; and that some of the directors might have given the preference to A, because he was a neighbour—others by his being a friend or relative, and others again by mere party sympathies. But we believe that none of these things go very far at bank. The object of its directors being to make money, they prefer the paper of a rich man they hate, to that of a poor friend. Nor do they widely differ from the rest of the world in this particular. But granting that moral and political considerations do influence the bank in its loans, who does not see that they could have no effect, except when the supply of money for loan was not equal to the demand, and that the mischief would be increased by putting down the richest and most substantial bank in the country?

Upon the whole, this cry against the influence of the bank, resolves itself into that of wealth and property. These do exert a certain influence in the community on some occasions, and it is more than counteracted on others, by the jealousy and ill will it engenders. Whatever influence wealth may have, it is inseparable from our present condition, as we presume the United States are not yet prepared for the Agrarian system, and every man will be permitted to enjoy the fruits of his own industry, or that of his ancestors; but be it little or much, we cannot reasonably expect to see it exerted more harmlessly or more beneficially than in a solid, well managed bank. If, however, in spite of all these considerations, the power of these institutions be thought too great, and too liable to abuse, then there is no more effectual way of weakening it than by diffusion. As most of the state banks are more or less under the control of the state authorities, who may use the influence of these banks for political purposes, it must be desirable to all those who wish the public mind as free and unbiassed as possible, to see this influence weakened, if not neutralized; and there seems no more effectual mode of doing this than establishing a rival bank, over which the state politicians could exercise no sort of authority. Let us, for example, suppose that a system of banking was adopted for a state, by which, under the colour of guarding the public against their insolvency, those institutions were subjected to a surveillance and control which were calculated to make them feel their dependence on the state government, and when the plan was matured, to make them obsequious to its will. Would not every friend to the political purity of the state, and the independent spirit of its citizens, wish to see a scheme of this character frustrated? and what means so conducive to this end as the Bank of the United States, which, in the first place, by bringing so much capital into the market for loans, lessens the influence of all banks, and, in the next, may perform its several functions without regard to the smiles or frowns of any politicians whatever.

This is probably the influence which is really objected to in the Bank of the United States, that of disenthralling the people from an utter dependence on the state banks for the various accommodations those institutions afford—an influence which it appears to us no true friend to his country should wish to see diminished, however inconvenient it may be to those who would make banks and every thing else subservient to their purposes.

3. But the Bank of the United States, it seems, must be brought into collision with the local authorities, and occasion perpetual apprehensions and discontent on the part of the states and the people. We know not upon what facts the president or his advisers have made this statement. It is in direct contradiction to that made by the committee of ways and means, who say—

"It is due to the persons, who for the last ten years, have been concerned in the administration of the bank, to state, that they have performed the delicate and difficult trust committed to them, in such a manner as, at the same time, to accomplish the great national ends for which it was established, and promote the permanent interest of the stockholders, with the least practicable pressure upon the local banks. As far as the committee are enabled to form an opinion, from careful inquiry, the bank has been liberal and indulgent in its dealings with these institutions, and, with scarcely an exception, now stands in the most amicable relation to them. Some of those institutions have borne the most disinterested and unequivocal testimony in favour of the bank.

"It is but strict justice also to remark, that the direction of the mother bank appears to have abstained, with scrupulous care, from bringing the power and influence of the bank to bear upon political questions, and to have selected, for the direction of the various branches, business men in no way connected with party politics. The Committee advert to this part of the conduct of the directors, not only with a view to its commendation, but for the purpose of expressing their strong and decided conviction that the usefulness and stability of such an institution will materially depend upon a steady and undeviating adherence to the policy of excluding party politics and political partisans from all participation in its management. It is gratifying to conclude this branch of the subject by stating, that the affairs of the present bank, under the able, efficient, and faithful guidance of its two last presidents and their associates, have been brought from a state of great embarrassment into a condition of the highest prosperity. Having succeeded in restoring the paper of the local banks to a sound state, its resources are now such as to justify the directors in extending the issue and circulation of this paper so as to satisfy the wants of the community, both as it regards bank accommodations and a circulating medium."

The committee, coming immediately from the people, are somewhat more likely to have accurate information on this subject than the president. We have heard of no recent collisions between any state and the bank; and those which formerly took place with the states of Ohio and Maryland, respectively, have been long since settled in the Supreme Court. The people of Tennessee, too, once objected, through their representatives, to the location of a branch bank in that state; but a subsequent legislature, believing that they better understood the interests or wishes of their constituents, withdrew their opposition, and the branch bank which was therefore established, is now in successful operation. The legislature of Mississippi, in like manner, has, within a few months, repealed a hostile act passed two years ago, and invited the establishment of a branch. The executive council of Florida, has recently requested a branch, and we understand that there are numerous applications for branches from all parts of the Western and Southern states. Surely the people of these and the neighbouring states cannot seriously object, that a portion of the moneyed capital which has been accumulated in the Atlantic states should be brought among them, to encourage their industry and facilitate their trade—to enable their own merchants to give them ready money, and a somewhat higher price for their cotton—to furnish one man with the means of building a mill—another a manufactory—and a third a steam-boat. We cannot believe that they are such novices in political economy. If their citizens do not want the money, they need not borrow it; and if they do, it is better to find it at home, than to be dependant on New-York, Philadelphia, or Boston, for it. In the state of Alabama, if we are to believe the public prints, the United States Bank there has afforded great and most seasonable aid to the state bank. Nor do we know of a single state, in which there are any manifestations of popular discontent with the bank, notwithstanding the pains taken by some of the friends of the president to excite them.

Perhaps the apprehensions mentioned in the message may refer to the state banks rather than the people; and the president has presumed, that, as some of the states are interested in the stock of these institutions, and as their interests may conflict with those of the Bank of the United States, the people would be likely to side with their own institutions. The presumption is far from being unfounded. The sympathies of the people will always be with the states, rather than the general government, when the two are in conflict—a fact of which politicians are sufficiently apt to avail themselves. Thus, when the present Bank of the United States first went into operation, fears were entertained by the state banks and their friends, that the United States Bank and its branches would prove troublesome and dangerous neighbours. Their strength to oppress, and even crush, a rival, was supposed to be in proportion to their capital; and, comparing them with things with which they had no sort of analogy, it was argued, that a state bank, in the neighbourhood of a branch of the national bank, would be not more likely to thrive, than a delicate shrub under the shade of a spreading oak, or to find safety, than a light armed brig under the battery of a seventy-four. These arguments prevailed for a season in some of the states; but at length the experiment was made, in spite of these gloomy predictions, and it was found, as well it might be, that a small capital, if prudently managed, is as independent of the attacks of a rival, in banking, as in any other business. And why should there be a difference? A tailor or shoemaker who employs but two or three journeymen, may do as safe, though not so profitable a business, as he who employs twenty or thirty—in the same way as a small vessel may navigate the ocean as safely as a large one, and may be even less likely to overset in a storm, if it carry less sail in proportion to its ballast.

We do not mean to deny, that a bank with a superior capital, if it were disposed to injure a rival at all hazards, might prove an inconvenient neighbour, and greatly curtail its business. If it were to put itself to the trouble of procuring the paper of the other, as soon as it was issued, and convert it immediately into specie, the loans of that other might be restricted to the amount of its specie capital. But this could not be effected without a degree of trouble and expense which would make it impracticable. What means does such a bank possess of drawing in the paper of the other bank, except so far as the debtors of the one institution chance to be the debtors of the other, or it choose to give a premium for the notes of its rival? It is not likely, that the same individuals would be the debtors to both banks, to a great extent; and as to a premium, such sacrifices seldom take place in individual competition, much less in that of banks. Besides, as soon as the bank which was thus assailed found that a premium was given for its paper, it would issue notes for the purpose of obtaining it, and the faster its notes were bought up and returned for specie, the more would be found in the market—a new swarm being attracted by the premium as soon as the first disappeared—until in a few months its hostile rival would share the fate of those who attempt to break another sort of banks—its own coffers would be exhausted.

The means then which a bank possesses of narrowing the sphere of circulation of a rival's paper, are much more limited than is commonly imagined; and such as they are, it will be cautious of exerting, lest the same game should be played on itself. A combination of the state banks, or even a single one of respectable capital, may practise the same means of annoyance against a Bank of the United States, as that could put in operation against them. But if both parties were wise, or rather not utterly foolish, they would each pursue their own business; and one not otherwise interfere with the other, than by occasionally exchanging notes, and receiving the difference in specie. This course might indeed prove a check to extravagant issues by either, but it is precisely that check which the public is interested in maintaining.

There is a further security against the wanton and bootless mischief which fear or design has imputed to the Bank of the United States. Public opinion would cry out against its illiberal course, and would fully avenge the wrong. Some of their best customers would desert them. They would lose most of their deposits. Their notes would be industriously collected and prematurely returned to them, and they would thus not only lessen their present profits, but furnish their enemies with arguments against the renewal of their charter. The supposition of such a course presumes the bank to be utterly regardless of their own interests, as well as of all sense of fairness and liberality—considerations which still have some weight with some men—and it is at variance with all that we have ever heard of the officers of that institution. As a proof that no fears or jealousies against the Bank of the United States are entertained by safe and substantial banks, we may remind our readers, that Mr. Girard, the greatest banker we have, was one of the most efficient supporters of the present national bank. No other individual in the United States would be so much affected as he, if its competition and neighbourhood were pernicious, and yet no one subscribed so largely to its stock, and no one, we have reason to believe, deplores more strongly the confusion in the moneyed concerns of the country, which he thinks would be inevitable on the destruction of the bank.

It is probable enough, that although these alleged causes of jealousy and alarm are known to be groundless by the state banks, the proposition against re-chartering the bank addresses itself to those institutions in another way. They have been led to believe that the benefits of the business now done by the bank, and of the government deposits, would be apportioned among them. But let them not flatter themselves with profiting by a division of this spoil. That great void in the circulation which the withdrawal of the capital of the bank would occasion, would immediately and imperatively call for new banks, which the states would be sure to establish; and when once they began to meet the demand, it would not be strange if the supply sometimes exceeded it, according to the common occurrence of a scarcity being followed by a glut. In that event, the present state banks might find too late that they had exchanged one old and liberal rival for two or more new ones, of a different character, who would be their competitors not only for the profits of banking, but also for the favour or forbearance of the state politicians. What the community at large is likely to regret or to wish after the change, it is not difficult to conjecture.

One of the complaints against the Bank of the United States has been, that the notes issued by any one of its offices were not payable at every other indiscriminately; and to this the president must have referred, when, in his first message, he said that the bank "had failed in the great end of establishing a uniform and sound currency." As the same objection is not repeated in the last message, we are left at a loss to decide whether he has been convinced, by the very lucid and satisfactory views of Mr. Lowndes and Mr. M'Duffie, that the complaint was unfounded, or whether he means to comprehend this among the causes of discontent on the part of the states and the people.

As this subject has received so thorough an investigation in the report of the committee, and in our last number, it cannot be necessary to say more on it. It is there shown, as we think conclusively, that the Bank of the United States has done in this matter all that a bank can do—more, indeed, than could have been reasonably expected of it—towards furnishing the community with a sound and uniform currency: that its notes, at the places where they are issued, are, for all purposes, worth as much as gold and silver, and for distant payments something more: that if its notes are sometimes worth, in one place, a trifle less than specie, it is because they have been worth, at another place, more than specie, since no one would transfer them to a great distance from the place of emission, unless he found them more convenient than specie: that as every bank has a direct interest in giving its notes as great a credit and as wide a circulation as it can, this institution will, for its own sake, redeem its notes at par, wherever issued, when it can safely do so; and that in most cases, it has actually done this; but that to make this obligatory would not only be unjust to the bank, but would be highly impolitic, by counteracting the natural and most efficient corrective of the over issues of banks, and the overtrading of individuals; and would be moreover impracticable.

To these irrefragable positions we may add, that the public has quite as much interest as the bank in keeping this matter on its present footing. One of the greatest benefits which a community derives from banking institutions, is the substitution for a part of its currency of the cheap article of paper for the costly one of specie, by which the capital that would otherwise have been used as money, may be employed for other useful purposes. But if the Bank of the United States, and each of its offices, were obliged, as a matter of right, to redeem the notes of every other, it would require an increase of specie which would deprive the country of the benefits of this substitution, as well as the bank of its profits. The same remark applies to their demanding a small premium for their drafts on each other. For each of the offices to be prepared not only to redeem its own paper, but to meet the drafts which others may draw on it, it is obliged to keep on hand an extra supply of specie; but if the check of the premium were removed, and it was no longer a matter of discretion, a much larger amount would be necessary, and nothing but experience could determine whether any thing short of the whole capital of the bank, or even that, would be sufficient for the purpose, under extraordinary circumstances, and great fluctuations of trade. So that upon the whole this complaint against the bank seems to be pretty much of the same character as these—that rivers do not run upwards as well as downwards—or that the same season which gives us ice does not also give us melons and peaches—or that a rail-road or a canal, which reduces the expense of carriage to one-tenth, does not reduce it to nothing.

4. Having thus noticed all the objections which the president has made to the bank, let us now turn our attention to the substitute that he has proposed. This is a national bank, at the seat of government, which is to be a branch of the treasury department, and which is, we presume, to have subordinate offices distributed among the several states. Its business will be to receive the public revenue from the collectors of the customs, receivers of the land offices, and postmasters, together with such deposits as individuals choose to make, and to give drafts, from time to time, on distant offices, for a premium.

According to this project, the funds of the treasury, instead of being, as now, deposited in the several banks convenient to the receiving offices, are to be in the immediate keeping of the new corps of the treasury to be levied for the purpose, by which means the public is to lose one of its present checks on the malversation of its agents. It is known that there are in most banks various officers, each with his appropriate duty—as—one or more to keep accounts—another to receive money—another to pay it away—another to be its general depositary—and that they are all placed under the superintendence of a president, whose character and station in society give assurance for the faithful discharge of his duty. That there is, moreover, a board of directors, who hold their offices only for a year, and who, once a month or oftener, appoint a committee to examine the affairs of the bank, and especially to ascertain whether the amount of notes, securities, and specie, correspond with the accounts of the institution. Yet, with all these safeguards, it is found, now and then, that men who had previously been above all suspicion, have not been able to withstand the temptation to use the money thus placed in their charge, and that, occasionally, these frauds and peculations are practised a long time without detection. If this is the case, when there is such strict accountability, and unremitted vigilance, how would it be when there was neither, and when those who received the public money, instead of being compelled to deposit it in a bank, as soon as they received it, and to check for it when they paid it over, might use it as they pleased, provided they were always ready to meet the drafts of the government. At many places they might do this, and yet, in consequence of the large sum which is always lying idle, or rather unappropriated in the treasury, they might have the use of the excess, to a considerable amount, as long as they remained in office. For several years the amount in the treasury has never been less than five millions, and sometimes considerably more; and of this, according to the ordinary current of business, one-third or upwards would commonly be in the city of New-York, if it were not transferred to Washington; and this money, which is now invigorating industry and trade, it is proposed to consign either to utter idleness, or to the exclusive use of the officers of the treasury. In addition to that aversion to change which is felt by all office-holders, this plan might furnish them with no ordinary means of effecting their object.

But if for the sake of guarding against such strong temptation to speculate with the public funds, and against such an encouragement to corruption, by affording materials for it, the public money were required, as now, to be deposited in the banks; though that plan would be free from the objection we have just made, it would be liable to another quite as great—the very one of influence which the president has made to the bank of the United States—with this difference, however, that the influence derived from the government funds is now exercised by the Bank of the United States, and is a salutary check upon that exercised by the state banks, but then, it would be added to that patronage which is already thought sufficiently great for every desirable purpose, and sometimes for purposes not desirable. The large receipts of public money in our chief importing cities, would be distributed among those banks which were most in favour with the government, by which is always meant those that were its most zealous and efficient supporters; and thus the revenue of the nation, that is, the use of it, would be set up at auction, to be purchased by the obsequious devotion of the state banks to the existing administration. In a division of parties, not more equal than that we often witness in our country, the vote of a single state may decide that of the Union, and the vote of its principal city may decide that of the state. All this is perfectly well known to some of the friends of the scheme, but it is not so to those who are to pay for it, and who are less familiar with the workings of the political wires.

There is another part of this notable scheme, (we mean no pun,) which merits our attention. This new bank and its offices are to sell drafts on each other for a premium, and as the bank itself is to issue no paper, the drafts may be paid for in the notes of the state banks, "only so long as they continue to be redeemed in specie,"—such are the President's words. But suppose the very common case of a bank paying specie to-day, and not paying it, and not being able to pay it, to-morrow, what becomes of the public revenue then? To be placed no doubt first to the account of "unavailable funds," and then, to the credit of the treasury. When these new bureaux of finance are distributed over the Union, and having no paper of their own, must carry on their operations altogether in gold and silver, and the paper of the banks in their vicinity, it is impossible that, with the highest degree of vigilance, prudence, impartiality, and firmness, united, they would always avoid loss. But does any one believe that this delicate and important trust would always be exercised with impartiality and firmness? To believe it, would be to disregard all experience, and to shut our eyes to what is passing before them every day. When the officers of the government—themselves dependant more or less directly on popular favour—were to have the power of discriminating between what paper they would take and what refuse, how many motives would be for ever presenting themselves for exercising it improperly? To reject the paper of a substantial bank, that was hostile to the administration, if there were any such, and to take that of a tottering one, which was friendly. Let us suppose, by way of illustration, that some orator, or political manager, no matter which, being about to set out for congress, should apply to one of the treasury banks for a draft on Washington for a few thousand dollars, and should offer in payment of it the paper, not of a substantial bank, but of one which though poorer, was more patriotic,—this being the best he could get—is it probable that his application would be rejected? or that the officer would do more than inquire whether the bank then paid specie, without troubling his head to ascertain whether it merely made a show of paying it, and whether it would not be insolvent in a month. Let it not be said, that if doubts were entertained of the solidity of the bank, its paper might be immediately converted into specie; for, in the first place, the bank may be some hundreds of miles distant; and though it were in the immediate vicinity, payment of specie would not always be demanded before it was too late. Besides, the very demand of specie may, like a new weight breaking down an overloaded packhorse, make it stop payment at once. The bill now before congress, for allowing the treasury credit for certain "unavailable funds," received some years since, would form an excellent precedent for such occurrences, and it is one to which there would be frequent occasions of appealing. And this mode of managing the public revenue is proposed to take the place of that which now exists through the Bank of the United States, by which the government has not lost a dollar; and it is next to impossible can lose one. Verily, if the nation were to suffer itself to be gulled by such a scheme as this, they would deserve to suffer the loss they would be sure to incur.

But pecuniary loss may be but a small part of the price which the nation would pay for this new treasury bank. It may be made to pay, in addition, the richest jewel it possesses—its political purity. The influence which the national executive exercises over the present Bank of the United States, is moderate, and not more than is salutary. It annually appoints a part of its directors, and, at stated periods, may, moreover, exercise its right, of having the government funds transferred from one part of the Union to the other, in a more or less accommodating way. But here its influence stops. The law, in pursuance of the charter, directs that the public money shall be deposited in the Bank of the United States or its branches, and in these it must be deposited, whether the president or his secretaries have good will or ill will to the bank, or whether the bank is willing to give any thing in return for their favour or not. These public deposits are valuable to the bank; and, for the benefit, they have paid, and we presume are yet willing to pay, a fair price. But the compensation is not paid to any officer of the government; it goes into the national treasury, and it consists of gold and silver, and not in the base metal of political influence.

We are well aware that many of the state banks are under the management of high-minded and honourable men, who would not be bidders at this auction, and who would scorn to purchase a share of the public deposits, at the price of their independence. But such might not prove to be the character of the greater number. Besides, in some of these cases, a majority of the stockholders might not sit idly by, and see the bank deprived of its share of government favour by the squeamishness of its officers, and might therefore either coerce them into compliance, or remove them.

If so much has been said about the influence attached to the office of the secretary of state, arising from the paltry patronage of printing the laws of the United States, what should be thought of that privilege of giving the permanent and uncompensated use of many millions of dollars to such powerful corporations as the state banks—embracing some thousands of directors, and some tens, nay, hundreds of thousands of stockholders and borrowers? We would appeal to that intelligent class of our citizens, who are quietly pursuing their occupations or professions at home, by which they secure to themselves independence and respectability, and who see, in the purity of our political institutions, their country's present happiness and future greatness, to take these things into consideration, and say whether they are willing to give to any administration such powerful means of exercising an influence of the worst sort over the minds of the people—whether they will take the money now gained or saved to the nation by means of the Bank of the United States, to enable a president and his cabinet to buy golden opinions of that numerous class who have them to sell.

The president lays some stress on the circumstance that his proposed treasury bank would not be a corporation, as is the Bank of the United States. But the lawyers tell us that there are two kinds of corporations—aggregate and sole—and the question is, whether influence is likely to be less extensive, or less dangerous, when it is transferred from the corporation aggregate, (the bank) to the corporation sole, (the executive). In the first case, the influence of the bank has checks from its charter—from its stockholders—from its directors—from public opinion—and, lastly, from the legislature. In the last, the influence would be added to that which is already deemed by many too great for the public tranquillity or safety. Whatever means the Bank of the United States possesses, of operating "on the hopes, fears, or interests of large masses of the community," the state banks possess, to a far greater extent; and it would always be in the power of the government to act on these corporations, either by the treasury bank "checking their issues," as the president proposes; or, in case that monstrous scheme should be rejected, by means of the public deposits; so that, in any event, if the charter of the present bank is not renewed, the influence of the executive will receive a most formidable increase.

Nor could the proposed national bank answer the same useful purposes to the commercial world, as the present Bank of the United States. And, first, as to transmitting values from one part of the Union to another, by means of bills of exchange. The president informs us the new bank might sell these at a moderate premium. But its means of doing so would be evidently far more limited than those of the present bank, since the latter, in addition to all the means possessed by the treasury bank, has its own large capital and credit. In the year 1829, the amount of drafts on each other which the bank and its offices sold, was upwards of twenty-four millions, and the amount of its transfers of public money, by means of treasury drafts, amounted to upwards of nine millions; making, in all, more than thirty-three millions. Now, although the annual public revenue is about twenty-four millions, yet as the expenditures of the nation are going on at the same time as its receipts, the money on hand, at any one time, seldom exceeds six or seven millions. According to the monthly statement of the bank, for the 1st of January of the present year, the amount of deposits on account of the treasury of the United States, was, after deducting over drafts, 6,940,628 dollars. But as this sum would be distributed very unequally over the United States, there would be in some places more money than the government had occasion for, and in others less, so that it would be compelled to draw on the former, to meet the public exigencies, without regard to the state of the exchange market, by reason of which, it would not only not be able to afford the public that general accommodation which the Bank of the United States now does, but be sometimes obliged to sell its drafts for a discount, instead of a premium. Thus, suppose the government has a large sum lying in New-York, (it sometimes has more than two millions there,) and it has occasion for 200,000 dollars in Maine, as much in Missouri, &c. Although it might have found a ready sale in these places for its drafts, for a small amount, at par, or even at a premium, yet the amount offered exceeding the demands of the market, the government must either sell its drafts at a discount, or be at the expense of transmitting the specie. In the mean while, the drafts which are thus sold at one place at a loss, might be in demand at another, but that demand the government cannot meet, because it must give its money another direction. We therefore think that this part of the scheme cannot be of much utility to the public, or of profit to the treasury.

It must be recollected, too, that the Bank of the United States is a buyer as well as a seller of bills of exchange, to the great advantage of the commercial community. Its purchases, during the same year, 1829, amounted to upwards of twenty-nine millions of dollars; and that in this business, the treasury bank, according to the president's programme, could not engage.

But besides the want of the accommodation now afforded by the purchase or sale of inland bills to all parts of the Union, there is a large further arrear of utility which the treasury bank would owe to the public. In what way would it make amends for the immense amount of currency withdrawn from circulation? The notes of the United States Bank in actual circulation, commonly amount to fourteen or fifteen millions, exclusive of its drafts, which, to a certain extent, perform the office of currency. As the new bank is to issue no paper, the chasm must be filled, either with the paper of the state banks, or not filled at all. If with the former, whence are they to derive their increased means of circulation, seeing that nearly all of them have carried their issues to the extreme verge of safety, and some of them, perhaps, beyond it? It will, however, be said, that there will be new banks established—the capital that is vested in the Bank of the United States will not be annihilated by the termination of that establishment, but will seek employment in new banks. Let it be so. In that case what becomes of the increased profits of which many of the state banks have been dreaming, and the hope of obtaining which has been so artfully appealed to?

But an addition to the state banks would fall far short of filling the void. Much of the capital of the present bank was obtained from Europe. We are told in the report of the committee, that foreigners own stock to the amount of seven millions. Is it probable that these capitalists will be as ready to venture their money in the state banks, as in one chartered by the general government? Would they even venture it again in a national bank, after we had shown so vacillating a policy? We establish a bank of that description in 1791—we put it down in 1811, as unconstitutional—we charter another, five years afterwards, 1816, and discontinue that in 1836. Assuredly, after this experience, they would prefer a somewhat smaller interest nearer home, rather than risk their money in a country exhibiting so little stability, and where what had been long determined to be legal by the highest authorities of the country, is liable to be revoked on the first revolution of parties.

There are persons who will consider the withdrawal of seven millions from our circulation, as no source of regret; and who think the money paid for the use of foreign capital, is so much lost to the country; for the truths of political economy are not obvious to all. But no one who is acquainted with the elements of that science, will doubt, that a nation, not having as much capital as it can advantageously employ, may be improved and enriched by foreign capital as well as its own; and the benefit of these seven millions in stimulating the productive industry of the country—in building ships, and wharves, and mills, and manufactories, and steam-boats, is precisely the same as if they were domestic capital, with the single difference of the interest. Ask the owner of a thriving manufactory of woollens in Cincinnati, or of iron in Pittsburg, if he had been assisted in his enterprise by a loan of 10,000, or 20,000 dollars from the Bank of the United States—and he might answer, that, by the use of the money, in a few years, he had, besides paying the interest, realized the sum borrowed. Ask him further whether he would gain more by keeping the money longer, or returning it to the European stockholder, and he would laugh at you, thinking your question conveyed its own answer, as he had not chosen to return the money.

The president's project then of a treasury bank, seems to be liable to all the objections he makes to the present Bank of the United States, in a tenfold degree, as to influence, by adding so enormously to the executive patronage. It offers a far inferior substitute for the safety, and the easy transmission of the revenue; and no substitute at all for much of the accommodation now afforded to commerce, and the large amount of active capital it would throw out of circulation.

In making this comparison, we have had no reference to the former services of the Bank of the United States in restoring the currency of the country to a sound state, or to its power of so preserving it, if the country should be again involved in war. We have contented ourselves with refuting the objections which have been brought forward against that institution, under the sanction of the chief magistrate of the country, and with pointing out to the unprejudiced mind the inconveniences and serious mischiefs attendant on the scheme which has been proposed in its stead. In our last number, we asserted that the resumption of specie payments by the state banks, in 1817, was to be probably attributed to the establishment of the Bank of the United States, and we stated the facts upon which that opinion was founded. It was, then, with some surprise, that we saw the position roundly denied in a quarter (the North American Review) where we have been accustomed to look for just views on all commercial affairs; and the resumption of cash payments imputed to the resolution of congress, forbidding the officers of the government from receiving the notes of any banks which were not redeemable in specie. The question is not one of primary importance, yet as it may affect our future policy, and concerns our present justice, we will add a few remarks on the subject. When we see that the measure of the government alluded to was not immediately followed by the desired effect, but that as soon as the Bank of the United States was about to go into operation, an arrangement was voluntarily entered into with it by the banks of New-York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Virginia, by which they all agreed to resume cash payments at the same time, it seems to afford prima facie evidence, that it is to the Bank of the United States, and not to the legislature, that the resumption is directly attributable. Whether the state banks might not, at some subsequent time, have paid specie, and at what time, must now remain a matter of conjecture; but we think it quite as likely, that the banks, making extraordinary profits as they were, so long as they were not compelled to redeem their notes in specie, would have procured a repeal of the resolution of congress, as that that measure would have operated coercively on them. In some of the states, the resumption of specie payments was discountenanced by the state legislatures; and in Virginia, if we mistake not, after the measure had been enjoined on the banks by the legislature, it afterwards retraced its steps, on the ground, that if they ventured to pay specie, the Bank of the United States, then about to go into operation, would immediately draw every dollar from their vaults. The banks of that state thus had the express sanction of its legislature for continuing the suspension; nor was it until after the meeting of the convention, mentioned in our last number, that they paid specie.

But in what way, it may be asked, could the Bank of the United States have compelled the state banks to resume specie payments, if they had not been so disposed? We answer, by giving the public the option of a better currency than theirs, and presenting an easy and ready standard in every part of the Union, by which the depreciation of their notes would have been manifest. As soon as the paper of the national bank had been put into circulation, it would command, by its convertibility into specie, a preference in the market over the paper of the state banks, and the difference would have been shown by the reduced rate at which the latter would have passed. The public then having such a standard of comparison, could no longer be deceived, and every one would have seen the depreciation, and known the extent of it. What would have been the natural consequence? The paper of the state banks, thus depreciated in the market, would have been bought up by their more prudent and substantial borrowers, and returned to them in discharge of their debts; and thus they would have had no notes in circulation except what was represented by the paper of their most straitened and doubtful customers, nor would any others have continued to borrow of them. Thus, with a business decreased in amount and impaired in character, they would have found it impossible to make a profit equal to defraying their expenses and yielding a dividend to the stockholders.

All this the state banks distinctly foresaw, and not wishing to be compelled to resume specie payments, by which their profits would be diminished, they generally opposed the establishment of a national bank. But when they found that all opposition had been ineffectual, and that the bank was about to go into operation, and to pay specie, they immediately saw that they must follow the example, or that their gains were at an end—that the public, which took their paper, during the war and immediately after the peace, when there was no other currency, would not continue to take it, when they had the choice of a better—and thus the compact which has been mentioned was formed.

It is said, however, that the depreciated paper of the Baltimore banks would have circulated so long as the government received it at the custom-house, and that it was only after the government decided to receive it no longer, that those banks found themselves compelled to pay specie. But would this measure have been effectual without a national bank? We have already intimated that we thought not. It would have been vehemently attacked in congress and out, and all the states, except perhaps Massachusetts, might have instructed their representatives that the measure was premature, oppressive, and detrimental to the public interests. But after the Bank of the United States went into operation, the question was at an end. The government, whether the resolution of congress had been passed or not, could not with decency have taken, or been asked to take, any more than an individual, depreciated paper for its dues, when there was good paper and specie in circulation; and the Baltimore banks, as well as all others, must have followed suit, or given up the game.

For these reasons we must continue to think, that the claim urged by the friends of the Bank of the United States, that it operated, by its example, a salutary coercion on the state banks in their return to specie payments, is as well established as a question of its character can be, and that the same means by which it proved that remedy for the mischiefs of an unsound currency—its solid capital—unquestionable credit—and practical skill in business—would operate, on future occasions, as a preventive of similar mischiefs.

The same distinguished critic differs from the chairman of the committee of ways and means, as to the effect of an increase of money in producing depreciation. The proposition controverted is thus stated by Mr. M'Duffie in the Report.

"No proposition is better established than that the value of money, whether it consists of specie or paper, is depreciated in exact proportion to the increase of its quantity, in any given state of the demand for it. If, for example, the banks, in 1816, doubled the quantity of the circulating medium by their excessive issues, they produced a general degradation of the entire mass of the currency, including gold and silver, proportioned to the redundancy of the issues, and wholly independent of the relative depreciation of bank paper at different places as compared with specie. The nominal money price of every article was of course one hundred per cent. higher than it would have been, but for the duplication of the quantity of the circulating medium. Money is nothing more nor less than the measure by which the relative value of all articles of merchandise is ascertained. If, when the circulating medium is fifty millions, an article should cost one dollar, it would certainly cost two, if, without any increase of the uses of a circulating medium, its quantity should be increased to one hundred millions. This rise in the price of commodities, or depreciation in the value of money, as compared with them, would not be owing to the want of credit in the bank bills, of which the currency happened to be composed. It would exist, though these bills were of undoubted credit, and convertible into specie at the pleasure of the holder, and would result simply from the redundancy of their quantity. It is important to a just understanding of the subject, that the relative depreciation of bank paper at different places, as compared with specie, should not be confounded with this general depreciation of the entire mass of the circulating medium, including specie."

Although the principle appears to us to be laid down somewhat too broadly by Mr. M'Duffie, as we shall presently state, yet he is supported in his position, to the letter, by Hume, by Mr. Jefferson, and virtually by Adam Smith, if we suppose that from any cause the excess of gold and silver, which causes the depreciation, cannot be exported. They all agree in this, that the amount of money which can circulate, and which does in fact circulate in any country, depends upon the number and value of its exchanges, and that, as its quantity increases, its value diminishes. But Hume and Smith, concurring in this general principle, drew very different inferences from it as to the paper currency of banks. Hume thought that the equilibrium between the money required for the country and that in circulation, was effected by depreciation; while Smith considered, that it was maintained by an exportation of the precious metals in proportion to the increase of paper. And the general principle thus ably supported by authority, was all, no doubt, that Mr. M'Duffie meant to assert. There is then probably no real difference between him and his reviewer in the North American.

We conceive that Mr. M'Duffie, in his application of the principle to our own situation, twelve or fifteen years since, has not greatly overrated the depreciation, if we regard the effect of the increase of money on every species of exchangeable value; but that it was very different with the different kinds. This difference requires explanation; but first, of the general principle itself, which, it seems to us, must be received with some qualification.

The effect of an increase of money is certainly to diminish its value; but the extent of the diminution is one of those nice problems in political economy which has never been accurately settled. It has not yet been adjusted to a formula which will explain all the facts attending such increase. Although the quantity of money required in a country mainly depends upon the number and value of its purchases in a given time, yet with the same amount of these, much less money may be in circulation at one time than another. There are various expedients and substitutes for supplying a temporary deficiency of currency, which make the quantity of money in a commercial country a variable one, capable of considerable contraction or expansion. The actual money can be more or less aided by credit. A farmer, a horse-dealer, a shopkeeper, a mechanic—will all wait with a substantial purchaser for their money, rather than lose the sale of their commodities; and a sudden rise in the price of the staples of the country, such as our own often experience, while it increases the demand for money, proportionally improves the credit of individuals, and fits it as a substitute for cash. Money too may be much more active at one time than another; and when there has been a considerable increase of it, the greater comparative idleness of a part of it, in the strong boxes or pocket-books of individuals, may prevent or lessen its depreciation. These circumstances, and others which might be added, all inappreciable except by approximations, prevent the value of money from either rising or falling, in exact proportion to its increase or decrease in quantity.

To this qualification of the general principle, we would add another. When the money of a country has been considerably increased, and the excess cannot be exported, as was the case with our paper currency during the suspension of cash payments, the depreciation is much greater upon some articles than others. Its effect is least upon those commodities which find a market abroad, because the price there regulates the price here. It is by reason of this irregularity that depreciation is often so disguised as not to be perceptible to all, and that sometimes it is a matter of dispute whether it exists or not; as was the case in England in the controversy between the bullionists and their opponents, concerning the fact of the depreciation of their bank paper during the suspension of cash payments.

But if the increase of the currency has little effect on the prices of some articles, it has the greater on those for the estimation of which there is no such definite standard—as lands, town lots, and houses—and those domestic products which look exclusively to domestic consumption for a market, as butchers' meat, game, &c. All these took a prodigious rise in all parts of the Union, and most men mistaking the effect of a redundancy of money for a real rise of price consequent on our increased population and capital, believed that real estate was the best investment they could make of their money, and purchased it accordingly—looking for remuneration, not to the rent or immediate profit, but to that future rise in value which was inferred from the past. This erroneous opinion brought capitalists into the market for real estate, and the competition created by their money, and that which others borrowed from the banks, raised the price extravagantly high. A natural though singular result of this state of things was, that those who had sold lands or lots at these factitious prices, could have made no use of their money that would have been so profitable as not using it at all; and the policy of hoarding, usually as unwise as it is odious, would have been, on this occasion, the most rational and gainful that could have been pursued.

If, then, we take the prices of every species of merchandise among us, together with that of real estate, we believe it will be found that such average of prices then, is very near double of what it is now; and consequently that Mr. M'Duffie's estimate of the late depreciation of our currency was not extravagant. But granting that it was exaggerated, he appears to us to have taken juster views than his critic, of its pernicious effects, as well as of the agency of the bank in arresting them; and we must think that he is the safer physician, who merely overrates the danger of a disease, than he, who, though he rightly judges it not mortal, mistakes both its cause and its remedy.

We think, too, that the report of the committee was correct in supposing, that the depreciation would not have taken place, if the Bank of the United States had then been in existence. At any rate it would have been postponed, and if not prevented altogether, under the disadvantages of having neither a navy to protect our commerce, nor manufactures to supply its place, it would have been greatly mitigated. It is probable that the suspension of cash payments would not have taken place at all, if the bank had followed the prudent course of the banks of Boston, and not lent its money to the government; but though it had, its paper would have been more nearly at par and more uniform than that of the state banks, which varied in value according to the public opinion of their prudence and solidity, as well as of the varying quantity of notes thrown into circulation in different places. It is possible that the national bank, being conducted with greater skill and knowledge of banking, would have seen that they could not safely accommodate the government with any large loan, and that when they were reduced to the dilemma of either suspending cash payments and having a depreciated currency, or of maintaining the currency sound, by withholding assistance to the government, they would have preferred the latter; and that the government would have been thereby induced to resort sooner than they did to a system of taxation to support the war. It is indeed impossible to say, at this time, what would have been the precise result if we had possessed a national bank, but we think that this much may be affirmed with confidence, that the depreciation of its notes would have been far less, would have been uniform, and would have taken the place of much paper which had no solid foundation for the short-lived credit it obtained.

It remains for us now to see what will be the extent of the immediate pecuniary cost to the nation for pulling down the Bank of the United States, and building up the Treasury Bank on its ruins. This view is intelligible to all, and there are minds who will give more weight to this objection than that of increasing executive influence.

We know that it is an important function of every government to regulate its money, weights, and measures, not from any mystical notions of sovereignty, but because uniformity in these several standards is of the greatest utility in saving time and trouble, and in preventing frauds and disputes, and there is no effectual way of attaining uniformity except by the legislative power. It is, therefore, that these subjects were placed under the control of the general government, by the constitution, and it is in the exercise of the powers thus granted that it coins money of gold and silver, and determines their relative value.

But as among the inventions of commerce, it is found that such metallic money can be, to a considerable extent, substituted by paper, and thus a measure of value which costs nothing, can be made and is made to answer the same, and even a better purpose, than that which would cost a great deal, the same reasons which made the regulation of the coin by the government, necessary and proper, apply to the regulation of its substitute. The government thus having control over the subject, is furnished with the ready means of making a great profit by the substitution; and this it may do in two ways. It may either become a banker itself, and issue notes of circulation, having currency as money, in return for the notes of individuals bearing interest, or it may transfer the right of doing this to such a set of men as it deems worthy of the trust, and make them pay a fair price for the valuable privilege thus conferred.

Of these two modes of profiting by the substitution of paper for specie, the last is by far the best, for the same reason that it is best for the government to sell its public lands, rather than to cultivate them. It is incapable of commanding agents who will practise the same economy, industry, and skill, in the management of the public concerns, as their own. It must always pay higher than individuals for the same work, and the various peculations to which it is exposed, besides the costly apparatus of superintendents, would make banking, carried on by itself, a bad measure of economy, to say nothing of the objections arising from its disturbing the distribution of political power, by affording the means of influence, patronage, and corruption.

But the scheme which the president has been persuaded to recommend, proposes, that the government should give up the advantages of both plans: that it should forego both the profit of issuing paper itself, and that of disposing of it to a corporate body, in which the community had entire confidence, and which has proved, by its previous unexampled success, its fitness for the duty—and in lieu of these plans, to let the valuable privilege evaporate into a sort of electioneering material, for whomsoever may hold the office of president, or may rule his cabinet. And what is it which the people of the United States are thus asked to surrender? Let us estimate it.

According to the bank charter, the government takes stock to the amount of seven millions of dollars, on which it pays to the bank an interest of 5 per cent., and it now receives on this stock an interest of 7 per cent, making a clear profit of 140,000 dollars a year, equal to a gross capital of 2,800,000 dollars, all of which must be lost on the proposed plan. But this is not all. The bank keeps the money of the government—keeps its accounts—keeps its officers out of temptation—and transfers the money from one part of the Union to another with promptitude and certainty, without the loss of a single dollar. We have seen that for some of these operations the treasury bank would be obliged to pay.

We do not mean to say that these various services of the bank are gratuitous. On the contrary, it is fairly remunerated for them by the privileges it enjoys, and by the public deposits; but still they are valuable services, and in this way the government obtains a fair equivalent for what it surrenders. Nor let it be supposed that as good a bargain could be made with the state banks. The general government could not be interested in their stock, nor could they afford to give as much for the privileges, because they would be more local. Being connected only by voluntary compacts, they could not do the business of the government to the same advantage as a single corporation. They could not circulate as much paper with the same safety, nor could they sell or buy bills at as small a profit. The superior advantages which the Bank of the United States enjoys in capital, in banking skill, and in the greater credit and wider circulation of its notes, enables it to give a liberal price for its charter, and the government would be false to the people to surrender this benefit.

But it would not become the government to attempt to extort, or to be illiberal, but to act on the principle of justice to the public and the bank. The legislature should not furnish the bank with either the temptation or excuse of an Irish middle man, who grinds his sub-tenants in proportion as his landlord has pressed him. Upon these principles, we think the government should, by way of bonus, charge the bank a moderate interest on its deposits, and pay a small commission for the services of the bank. An adjustment of these several claims, by some general estimate, might leave to the nation the clear annual gain of perhaps 200,000 dollars, or a gross capital of four millions, instead of giving it away for the improvement of the machinery of our political wire-workers.

There is yet another mode by which the government might derive a profit from the bank, and which has this further recommendation, that it would not be at the expense of the stockholders, and it would be a value saved to the nation that would be otherwise lost. It is now a favourite object both with the people and the government to pay off the national debt; and from the novelty of the phenomenon it will give great eclat to the administration in which it takes place. It is known that upwards of thirteen millions of this debt bears an interest of but 3 per cent. This part of the public funds is held chiefly in Europe by large capitalists, it being preferred by them, because it could not be redeemed but at par, unless with the consent of the holders, and it was hardly expected that the government would choose to redeem it at par rather than pay so low an interest on it. They thus thought that the owners of the stock had the means of postponing its redemption in their own hands. For these reasons this stock has always been something higher in the market than any other, and it now sells at 93 dollars a share of 100 dollars, which is about 3-1/4 per cent. At the price at which the commissioners of the sinking fund are limited, they cannot buy this stock; but when all the rest of the debt is paid, this must come next, and as soon as the government offers to purchase, it will rise still higher, perhaps to par. In that event, the government will have to pay upwards of thirteen millions of dollars, drawn from the pockets of the poor as well as the rich, which they might keep for ever, by paying an annual interest of 3 per cent, or 390,000 dollars.

Now the use of this money, has been of immense advantage to this country, and may continue to be so, considering how inadequately many parts of it are supplied with real capital. It will build ships—erect mills and manufactories—salt works and iron works—and help to make rail roads and canals, by which our free and industrious population will be able to improve the condition of the country in bettering their own. This money, too, does not consist of paper which we can create at will, but of gold and silver, or their equivalents, which we must send out of the country. Had it not better remain here? Every good economist will say yes. It will be not difficult, we should presume, for the government to make an arrangement with the bank to pay this 390,000 dollars, and release us from our obligations, and to receive a less sum than the thirteen millions. Their capital may be enlarged, and the rapid growth of our country will soon require its enlargement. The holders of this stock will indeed have a right to look to the United States for their money, but that would make only a nominal difference, and they might be offered stock of the bank in exchange on advantageous terms. Thus the money which would be appropriated to the payment of this debt, might be kept in the country and be vested in banking capital, by which it would give vigour to commerce, manufactures, and navigation, and, through them, render benefit to the whole nation.