FOOTNOTES:[R]The Emperor Diocletian.[S]The title of Excellency does not, in Italian, necessarily express any exalted rank: but it is often given by servants to their masters.
[R]The Emperor Diocletian.
[R]The Emperor Diocletian.
[S]The title of Excellency does not, in Italian, necessarily express any exalted rank: but it is often given by servants to their masters.
[S]The title of Excellency does not, in Italian, necessarily express any exalted rank: but it is often given by servants to their masters.
In this number of theInternational, copying the example of the oldest magazine in the world,The Gentleman's, which for a hundred years has found its account in such a department, we present a carefully prepared and succinct summary of the history of the world, as it has come to our knowledge during the past month. It is intended hereafter to continue this feature in theInternational, devoting to it such attention that our pages shall always be deserving of consultation as an authority in regard to contemporary events. In the general characteristics of this department we shall offer nothing very original; the examples of our English contemporaries will be generally adhered to; but the utmost care and candor will be evinced in everyresuméof affairs or opinions admitted to our pages.
As the session of Congress draws near to its close, its proceedings become more animated and interesting. It is already evident, however, that but few of the questions recommended for its consideration can be disposed of before its adjournment. One of its most important acts was the passage of the Cheap Postage Bill, in the House, on the seventeenth of January, by a vote of 130 to 75. This bill provides for a uniform rate of three cents per half-ounce, on letters, and a material reduction in the rates charged for newspapers and periodicals. The Senate Committee to whom the bill was referred, have reported amendments raising the postage to five cents on unpaid letters, striking out the provision allowing newspapers to go free within thirty miles of their place of publication, and reducing postage on magazines fifty per cent when prepaid. The French Spoliation Bill, after considerable discussion, passed the Senate on Friday, January 24th. The bill provides for the payment of claims based on the detention of vessels in the port of Bordeaux, the forcible capture and detention of American citizens, and depredations on American commerce in the West Indies, to the amount of $5,000,000.
The bill to ascertain and settle Private Land Claims in California, introduced by Mr. Fremont towards the close of last session, was called up by Mr. Gwin, his colleague, on the twenty-seventh of January. Mr. Gwin offered a substitute, which was agreed to in Committee of the Whole, when the bill was reported to the Senate. After a most animated debate, in which the bill was strongly opposed by Mr. Benton, it finally passed the Senate on the sixth of February.
The bill introduced in the House for the establishment of Branch Mints in New-York and San Francisco gave rise to an exciting debate. The bill was discussed for several days, the Pennsylvania members opposing it in a body. Its defeat was finally accomplished on Wednesday, February 5th. Since then Mr. Gwin has introduced in the Senate a separate bill for the establishment of a Branch Mint in San Francisco. A joint resolution, reported to the Senate by Mr. Rusk, providing that dead letters remaining in the post-offices of California and Oregon shall be opened at the post-office in San Francisco, under care of a special agent, was adopted.
In the Senate, February 5th, the Committee on Foreign Relations, of which Mr. Foote is chairman, reported a resolution that in all future treaties by the United States, provisions should be made for settling difficulties by arbitration, before resorting to war. The Judiciary Committee also reported in favor of Messrs. Winthrop and Ewing (senators appointed by the governors of Massachusetts and Ohio to fill vacancies) holding their seats till their regularly-elected successors appear to claim their places. Mr. Winthrop, however, on Friday, February 7th, presented the credentials of his successor, Mr. Rantoul, (who had not yet arrived,) and vacated his seat. The credentials of Mr. Bright, as senator from Indiana for the ensuing term, were presented on the twenty-eighth of January.
A bill for the relief of Mrs. Charlotte Lynch, mother of Miss Anne C. Lynch, the poetess, passed the House by a majority of 11. It had previously passed the Senate. Mrs. Lynch is the only surviving child of Colonel Ebenezer Gray, of the Connecticut line, who served in the army of the Revolution. The bill provides five years' full pay, as an equivalent for the losses sustained by him through the substitution of the commutation certificates issued in 1783.
The American Minister at Rio Janeiro has transmitted some important information to the Government in regard to the Brazilian traffic in slaves under the American flag. A considerable portion of the infamous trade, by which from forty to fifty thousand negroes are annually imported into Brazil, is carried on in American-built vessels, under the protection of our flag. It has been found impossible to enforce the Brazilian statutes on the subject, the authorities charged with their execution, almost without exception, conniving at the traffic. In spite of the exertions of the American Minister, our flag is still used as a protection, and its influence is given to the support of the slave-dealer. The communications of the American Minister have been referred by the Senate to the Committee on Commerce. Mr. Clay spoke at some length in favor of adopting more efficient measures to prevent American vessels and seamen from engaging in the slave-trade.
The project of establishing a line of steamers between several American ports and the coast of Africa, Gibraltar, and England,—familiarly known as the "Ebony Line,"—has been strongly recommended to Congress by petitions from all quarters. The Legislature of Virginia, and the Constitutional Convention of the same State, now in session, have both passed resolutions in its favor. Several other States have done, or are about to do the same thing. The session is already so far advanced, however, that the subject will probably be left without action for the next Congress.
The Senate Committee on the Post-office has reported in favor of granting to a company the right of way and subscription to the stock of an Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company.
Mr. Kaufman, a member of the House, from Texas, died very suddenly on the thirty-first of January. His funeral took place on the Monday following, February 3d. Mr. Kaufman was born in Pennsylvania in 1813, graduated in Princeton College in 1833, practiced law in Louisiana, and removed to Texas in 1835.
The subject of most general interest in the political world is the election of United States Senator, in a number of the States, for the term commencing on the 4th of March. Several elections have taken place, and others have not been accomplished in spite of repeated ballots. In New-York, the Constitution provides for an election on the first Wednesday of February. On that day the Whig candidate, ex-Governor Hamilton Fish, received a majority of 37 in the House: the Senate, after two ineffectual ballots, adjourned. A special law will therefore be required to elect a senator. In Massachusetts, the Democratic candidate, Robert Rantoul, Jr., was elected to fill the vacancy occasioned by Mr. Webster's acceptance of a place in the Cabinet. All attempts to elect a senator for the ensuing term have failed up to this period. Mr. Sumner, the Free Soil candidate, lacked but two votes of an election on the twelfth ballot, but afterwards lost. It was finally postponed to the twenty-seventh of February. In the Ohio Legislature, ten successive ballots were cast without arriving at an election, after which the subject was indefinitely postponed. In Rhode Island, General Charles T. James, the Democratic candidate, was elected; in Florida, Stephen R. Mallory, in place of Hon. D. L. Yulee, both Democrats; and in Delaware, James A. Bayard, Democrat, in the place of Mr. Wales, the present Whig senator. Hon. Henry Dodge was reelected by the Legislature of Wisconsin, by a majority of one, on the fifth vote. In Pennsylvania, Hon. Richard Brodhead was elected in place of Mr. Sturgeon, both members of the Democratic party. Henry S. Geyer, Whig, has been elected by the State of Missouri, as United States Senator, in place of Col. Thomas H. Benton, who is superseded after an uninterrupted service of thirty years.
William H. Ross, the new Governor of Delaware, was inaugurated at Dover, on the twenty-first of January. The most important feature of his address was the recommendation of a revision of the State Constitution. George F. Fort, the new Governor of New Jersey, has been inaugurated. His address takes ground in favor of the compromise measures passed by Congress. He also advocates the Free School System, and the election of Judges by the people. Governor French, of Illinois, in his annual message, representsthe State as being in a prosperous condition, the revenue being sufficient to meet the demands upon the treasury. He recommends a geological survey of the State, and the passage of a Homestead Exemption Law. The schools of the State are in a flourishing condition. The message of Governor Dewey, of Wisconsin, also shows an improved condition of State affairs. The finances are represented as being sound, and the credit of the State relieved from all fear of bankruptcy. Apprehensions of danger to the citizens residing north of Wisconsin river, from the return of the Winnebagoes, have been quieted by the appointment of an agent to confer with that tribe. The message of Governor Ramsey to the second Legislative Assembly of Minnesota Territory is an interesting document. Among other subjects recommended to the attention of the Assembly are the agricultural interests of the Territory, and the improvement of the Mississippi river, both above and below the Falls of St. Anthony. The extinction of the Indian title at Pembina will admit of the laws of the Territory being extended over the half-breeds at that place. It is said that there are hundreds of half-breed hunters on the British side of the line, who are only waiting the extinction of the Indian title to change their homes and allegiance. The assessed value of property in the five principal counties of Minnesota is $805,417.48.
The returns of the Seventh Census will shortly be completed. A number of States have recently sent in their full reports, among which are the following: New-York 3,099,000, being an increase of 670,029 since 1840; Virginia 1,428,863, an increase of 189,066; Maryland 580,633, an increase of 111,401; New Hampshire 317,999, an increase of 33,425; Missouri 681,547, an increase of 297,845; Ohio 1,981,940, an increase of 462,473; Kentucky 993,344, an increase of 213,516; Indiana, 990,000; New Jersey 490,763, an increase of 117,874; and Wisconsin, 305,556. The entire population of the United States in 1850 is estimated at 23,500,000.
A warrant for the arrest of Governor Quitman of Mississippi, for participation in the Cuban Expedition, was issued by Judge Gholson in New Orleans, early in January. Governor Quitman at first resisted the authority, but afterwards resigned his office as Governor, and on the seventh of February reached New Orleans, under arrest. He appeared in court, and gave bail for future appearance, asking a speedy trial.
Several diplomatic appointments have recently been made. Hon. Richard H. Bayard, who was appointed Chargé d'Affaires to Belgium, has departed for his mission. Hon. Robert C. Schenck, of Ohio, has been appointed Minister to Brazil, and Hon. J. S. Pendleton, of Virginia, Chargé d'Affaires to New Grenada. The Chevalier Gomez, Special Envoy to Rome from the states of Guatemala and San Salvador, has arrived at Washington, and assumed, provisionally, the office of Chargé from those states. He has addressed a letter to the Secretary of State in relation to the present condition of the Central American States.
General Mosquera, ex-President of New Grenada, is now travelling in this country, and was lately in Washington, where he received distinguished attentions. General Paez, the distinguished exile from Venezuela, is also in Washington. Dr. Frank Taylor, of Pennsylvania, who has recently returned from Constantinople and Asia Minor, has received letters from the illustrious Kossuth, addressed to the Secretary of State, and soliciting the intervention of the United States with the Turkish Government, to procure the release of himself and his compatriots, and their transportation to the United States. Mr. Webster immediately complied with the request, and has dispatched instructions to Mr. Marsh, the American Minister at Constantinople, to procure from the Turkish Government the release of the Hungarians.
The frigate St. Lawrence has sailed from New-York for Southampton, with articles for the World's Fair. She carries out between four and five hundred articles, embracing nearly all branches of manufacture, and the principal mineral and agricultural productions of the country. The contributions are in charge of Charles F. Stansbury, Esq., agent of the Central Committee of Washington. The tender of the authorities of Southampton, offering the use of that port, with free transportation of the goods to Vauxhall, London, has been accepted by the Secretary of State.
There have been several serious wrecks, with loss of life, on the Atlantic coast and the Mississippi river. The steamboat America, which left Wilmington, N.C., on the fourteenth of January, for Mobile, foundered on the 29th. The schooner Champion, of Boston, picked up one boat's crew, containing six men. A second boat, containing ten men, was picked up by the schooner Star, and taken to Washington. A third boat, containing six men, has not been heard from. The steamer John Adams, on her way from New Orleans to Cincinnati, struck on a snag in the Mississippi river, on the morning of January 27th. The cabin parted from the hull, which went down in sixty feet water. Out of 230 cabin and deck passengers, firemen, and crew, 123 were lost, of whom 82 were German and Irish emigrants, and returning Californians. On the ninth of February, the steamer Autocrat, from New Orleans to Memphis, came in contact with the steamer Magnolia, coming down the river, and sank instantly. Thirty lives were lost.
A calamitous fire took place at New Orleans, on the eighteenth of January, destroying the magnificent St. Charles Hotel, together with two churches and several other buildings. The total loss is about $500,000, less than half of which was covered by insurance. Jenny Lind arrived at New Orleans from Havana on the 8th of February. Her reception was in the highest degree enthusiastic. Her first concert took place on the 10th, the receipts therefrom amounting to $20,000. The first ticket was purchased for $240 by a New Orleans hatter, the fortunate drawer of Powers' Greek Slave in the Cincinnati Art Union.
Two more of the unfortunate Hungarian refugees have reached this city: Captain Eduard Becsey, who served during the war as adjutant to General Bern, and Lieutenant Aurel Kiring. Captain Becsey was taken prisoner by the Russians, and carried to Kiev, on the Dneiper, where he was detained a year. After being released, he made his way to the Mediterranean, and obtained a passage to New-York.
Our latest news from Eagle Harbor, the port of the mining region on Lake Superior, state that the propeller Independence, which had just takenon board her last cargo of copper for the season, was blown on shore by a heavy gale, and imbedded in the sand, where she must remain till Spring. The Napoleon had arrived from Saut St. Mary, with provisions and stores for the winter.
Texas papers of the thirty-first of January state that Judge Rollins, the United States Agent, had effected a treaty with the Indians, providing for a cessation of hostilities, and the restoration of all stolen property and prisoners. Lieuts. Smith and Mechler had completed a survey of the Rio Grande from its mouth to a point about four hundred and fifty miles above Camargo. They report that the river can be made navigable for boats of light draught to a short distance above Loredo for several months in the year. Col. Anderson, of the corps of Topographical Engineers has received orders to make a survey of the Brazos and Guadalupe rivers. A fight had occurred between Lieutenant King, with seven men, of the Texan volunteers, and a body of Indians, who were driving off a number of stolen horses. They were pursued for fifteen or twenty miles, when they abandoned the horses, and escaped with the loss of three or four of their number. The total vote on the Pierce Boundary Bill, as officially reported, is 9,250 ayes, 3,366 noes.
On the eighteenth of December the whole of the American Boundary Commission had arrived at Paso del Norte, with the exception of an ox-train carrying supplies. The military escort, under the command of Col. Craig, was encamped on the American side of the Rio del Norte, but was soon to start for the copper-mines near the headwaters of the Gila. The Mexican Commissioner, General Conde, with his escort, was quartered in the town of El Paso. Several conferences took place between the Commissioners before they could agree on the starting-point for the boundary, the existing maps being as inconsistent with the terms of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo as with the topography of the country itself. The winter, throughout the valley of the Del Norte has been very severe. The thermometer fell to six degrees at El Paso on the sixth of December, and the Rio Grande was frozen over for the first time in the memory of the inhabitants.
The settlements of New Mexico are threatened with scarcity. On the tenth of January corn was selling at three dollars the bushel, and vegetables not to be had at any price. The appearance of the agents for taking the census of New-Mexico had occasioned great alarm among the pueblos or villages. They feared that the account of their property was taken by the Government for the purpose of extortion and seizure. The Apaches have committed no depredations of late, but the Navajoes have broken their treaty by stealing several thousand sheep from the settlements on the Rio del Norte.
In the Utah Territory the Mormons have temporarily settled the question of slavery, by leaving it to the choice of the slaves themselves. If the slave chooses to leave his master, there is no power to retain him; if he chooses to stay, no one is allowed to interfere.
Our news from California is to the first of January. The steamers Carolina and Columbus sailed from San Francisco on that day, with 330 passengers and about $1,500,000 in gold dust. Business was very dull, both in the ports and inland towns of California, and the trading communities among the mines. The immense shipments of goods which had arrived from the Atlantic States had produced a complete stagnation in the market, bringing many kinds of merchandise below cost prices. After the first showers of the rainy season, early in December, the miners withdrew to the dry diggings, when the rains ceased, and three or four weeks of clear and delightful weather left them without employment. The richest localities are very thickly populated, the miners having built themselves log-cabins and organized communities for the winter. On parts of Feather river, the American Fork, and the Mokelumne, Tuolumne, and Mariposa rivers, the diggings were still yielding a good return. New discoveries of rich veins of quartz-bearing gold continue to be made. A mine of silver ore, of a very rich quality, is reported to have been discovered in the neighborhood of Monterey. A company is being formed at that place for the purpose of working the mine upon an extensive scale. The Sacramento papers state that a large mine of lead, in an almost pure state, exists near Johnson's Ranche, about thirty miles from that city. The ore is represented to lie on the surface of the earth, in heavy masses, so that vast quantities could be obtained without sinking a shaft.
On the evening of December 14th another fire broke out in San Francisco, in a large zinc building owned by Cooke, Baker & Co. By the exertions of the firemen and the citizens the conflagration was subdued, after consuming this building and three or four others of less value. The large building belonging to the Pacific Mail Steamship Company was in the utmost danger, having been greatly scorched by the flames. The total loss by this fire was $75,000. The city, on the first of January, was fully prepared for the rainy season. By the enterprise of the inhabitants, upward of seven and a half miles of street had been graded and four miles planked, while capacious piers and wharves were built far out into the bay, so that vessels were enabled to load and unload without the use of lighters. The cholera had entirely disappeared, not only from San Francisco, but from all parts of California. Its ravages have been much lighter than was anticipated, a fact which speaks well for the health of the country.
ThePacific Newscontains some interesting statistics of the condition of San Francisco at the close of the year 1850. The population of the city is estimated at 35,000. One hundred and seven miles of street are already laid out, one quarter of which is built upon and occupied. The business streets are substantially built of brick or iron. In addition to seventeen large auction firms and eight express companies, the city boasts of ten first class hotels and seven daily papers. The amount of gold-dust regularly shipped and entered for exportation during the year 1850 was $30,000,000; the estimated amount taken away by passengers, $12,000,000. The amount of bullion received was $1,722,600. The number of vessels which arrived during the year was 1,743 bringing 35,333 male and 1,248 female passengers; the number of clearances amounts to 1,461 vessels, carrying away 26,593 male and eight female passengers. The total value of the merchandise received by foreign and domestic vessels during the year was between four and five millions of dollars. In addition to 14 steamersrunning regularly between San Francisco and Panama, and three on the Oregon route, there are 45 steamers and 270 other craft of various kinds on the bay and inland streams.
We have news from Oregon to the middle of December, at which time the Legislature was in session. The message of Governor Gaines recommends the establishment of a liberal system of education, and asks for the passage of a law for protection against the Indian tribes. It also maintains the importance of a liberal policy on the part of the General Government in the donation of lands to actual settlers. The country appears to be in a highly prosperous condition; all the towns on the Columbia and its tributaries are growing rapidly. The news from the gold placers on the Klamath and Umpqua rivers, near the borders of California, is encouraging as to the yield of dust, but the Oregonians place their main reliance on their agricultural interests. The yield of wheat is said to be not only double per acre that of the Atlantic States, but it is a never-failing crop. The people in Oregon City are agitating the subject of a railroad to connect the Willamette Valley with the Columbia river, at some point accessible to large vessels. It is estimated that the whole cost will only be about $500,000, which it is proposed to raise in one thousand shares of $500 each. Twelve months, it is believed, will complete the work.
On the first of February, England was in a tranquil condition, the anti-Papal agitation having almost entirely subsided. The journals were engaged in discussing law reform, the New-York Revised Code being commended as a model in many quarters. In the Queen's speech at the opening of Parliament—an advance copy having been forwarded to this country—a thorough reform of the Equity courts is recommended, as well as the introduction of an act for the registration of deeds, equally applicable to each of the three kingdoms. Her Majesty alludes in terms of comparative mildness to the Wiseman affair, commending the question to the attention of Parliament. Public opinion is strongly in favor of a large reduction in taxation, and it is anticipated that the window tax will be abolished. The quarterly returns of the revenue have been highly satisfactory, since, notwithstanding the abolition of the tax on bricks and the reduction of the stamp duty, the income exceeds that of the previous year by about £165,000.
The great crystal palace in Hyde Park is rapidly advancing towards its completion. The immense structure is exciting the wonder and admiration of the metropolis, and the opening of the fair is anticipated with great interest. The strength of the building has been amply tested by a severe storm of hail and wind, which passed over without breaking a pane of glass. All quarters of the world are sending specimens of their manufactures and natural productions. South Africa, Australia, and the islands of the sea will be represented, while Cashmere shawls, robes of pearl, and Runjeet Singh's golden saddle, will be sent from India.
The U.S. Mail steamer Atlantic, which sailed from Liverpool on the twenty-eighth of December, arrived in the harbor of Cork on the twenty-second of January, having been at sea twenty-five days. When in lat. 46° 12', lon. 41° 30', about midway between Cape Clear and New-York, her main shaft broke, rendering the engines useless. After running westward two days under sail, a heavy gale arose, when Captain West put her head about, and made for Cork, a distance of 1400 miles, which she made in eleven days. The steamer Cambria was instantly chartered to take her place, but most of her passengers left Liverpool in the Africa, on February 1st. It is stated on the authority of Earl Monteagle, that the British Government have resolved to make Holyhead the port of arrival and departure for the transatlantic mail steamers.
In France, a ministerial revolution has taken place, resulting in widening the breach between President Napoleon and the National Assembly. Several general orders of General Changarnier to the army of Paris having been published in one of the journals, in which he commands the troops to pay no attention to any orders but those of the Lieutenant-General. Changarnier was called upon in the Assembly for explanation. He denied that these instructions were meant to be permanent, but only to be put in force when an emeute was apprehended. His conduct was approved by the Assembly, but Louis Napoleon, who had long regarded Changarnier with fear and jealousy, withdrew from him the command of the army at Paris, which he divided between two or three generals of lower rank. This gave rise to a most excited debate in the National Assembly, in which Lamartine made a speech in the President's defence. Baroche, Minister of the Interior, General Changarnier, M. Thiers, and General Cavaignac followed, the three latter speakers taking strong ground against the ministry. After several days of stormy discussion, the resolution of M. de St. Beuve, that the Assembly "declares that it has no confidence in the ministry," was carried by a majority of 139. The ministers tendered their resignation to the President the same evening. A ministerial interregnum followed, which was terminated on the twenty-fourth of January by a message of the President, appointing a "transition ministry," composed of employées from the different departments, not one of them having a seat in the Assembly. The following is the list, as given in theMoniteur:
Public InstructionM. Giraud, (de l'Institute.)InteriorM. Vaisse.Foreign AffairsM. Brennier.WarGeneral Randon.MarineAdmiral Levaillant.CommerceM. Schneider.FinancesM. de Germiny.Public WorksM. Magne.JusticeM. de Royer.
Lamartine, it is stated, was urged by Louis Napoleon to accept an appointment in the ministry, but declined on account of his being bound to furnish his publishers with two volumes a month, under heavy penalties.
The Conference of the German States at Dresden was opened with much ceremony early in January. All the states were represented, but the negotiations were kept profoundly secret. It has transpired, however, that the formation of the new Diet agreed upon gives two votes to Prussia, two to Austria, one each to Bavaria, Saxony, Hanover, and Wurtemberg, and three more portioned among the smaller principalities, making eleven in all. It is also understood that a Provisional Central Power will be proclaimed, Prussia and Austria retaining to themselves exclusivelythe right of deciding for the Confederation all questions of peace and war.
Austria still labors under financial embarrassments of an almost hopeless character. As a measure of temporary relief, the Government has contracted two loans, one from Russia, of fifty millions of florins, and the other, of one hundred millions, on state obligations, at six per cent. The manufacturers of Austria strongly oppose the proposed compromise of the Zollverein, and advocate a tariff of a decidedly protective character. Great dissatisfaction has been manifested in Hungary, on account of the newly imposed tax on tobacco, which is one of the principal productions of the country. In consequence of this opposition the excise corps has been greatly enlarged, and serious difficulties are apprehended.
The smaller German states are now completely overruled by the Austrian and Prussian troops. The Elector of Hesse Cassel has returned to his Capital, with his Prime Minister, Hassenpflug, under their protection. The Constitution is virtually abolished by their presence, and those who supported it are subjected to the most shameful persecutions. Many of the best citizens are obliged to leave the country. Schleswig Holstein has been 'pacified' in a similar manner. Through the instrumentality of the Austrian and Prussian Commissioners, backed by a military force, the army of Schleswig Holstein has been disbanded, and the country occupied by the troops of Denmark. On the sixteenth of January, the proclamation of the King of Denmark, administering the oath of fidelity to the military, was read in the marketplace of Rendsburg. Hamburgh has been occupied by 4000 Austrian troops.
A treaty of amity and commerce has been concluded with the Swiss Diet, by Mr. Dudley Mann, Diplomatic Agent of the United States. Its provisions are of the most liberal and friendly character. The entire reciprocity and equality of the citizens of both countries, is guaranteed, so far as the right of establishment is concerned; a citizen of the United States being allowed to settle in one of the Swiss Cantons upon the same conditions as a citizen born in another Canton. Entire and unconditional liberty in disposing of property is mutually stipulated, as well as equal taxation of the individuals established, their exemption from military duties, and the grant of indemnity for damages in case of war. The commercial intercourse of the two countries is also arranged upon the most liberal and advantageous basis. Switzerland has remained tranquil, with the exception of a riot in the Canton of Berne, occasioned by the attempted extradition, on the part of the Government, of a Prussian Jew, a noted socialist, residing at St. Imier. This person was very popular among the poor, who resisted the authorities, whereupon the troops were ordered to be in readiness to support them. The Swiss Government has determined to forward a beautiful stone from the Alps, to be placed in the National Monument to Washington.
Italyis still in an unquiet state. There seems to be a growing apprehension and uneasiness among all classes in the Papal States, and it is rumored that Pope Pius, wearied with the anxieties of his situation, wishes to resign the Pontificate, and retire to a Convent.
InNaples, the Government, alarmed by rumors of Mazzini's revolutionary designs, has made many arrests, and instituted a more vigorous police system. All cafes and places of public amusement are strictly watched. The army is to be increased by 18,000 men, and as English opinions are assigned to be dangerous, those Neapolitans who intended to visit the Great Exhibition in London, have been refused their passports.
Austrian Italyis even in a worse condition. Several conspiracies have been discovered, and a large number of arrests made in consequence. A large number of persons have been executed, in the Lombardo-Venetian provinces.
The most interesting news fromSpainis that of another resignation of the Ministry. The resignation of General Narvaez was not accepted by the Queen, whereupon that gentleman assembled his colleagues, and commissioned them to inform the Queen that unless she released him at once from his office, he should blow his brains out! This threat had the desired effect, and the following Cabinet was then appointed:
President of the Council and Minister of FinanceBravo Murillo.Foreign OfficeBertran de Lys.Grace and JusticeGonzales Romero.Home DepartmentArteta.WarCount Mirasol.MarineBustillos.Commerce, &c.Fernandez Negrete.
The project of a revision of the Constitution, which has been so warmly agitated in Sweden, has entirely failed. The proposition of the King has been rejected by two of the four chambers constituting the Legislative Assembly, three being required in its favor, to form a constitutional majority. Sweden will therefore preserve her present system of a separate representation of the nobility, clergy, citizens, and peasants.
InTurkey, the subjection of the rebellious Bosnians was consummated on the seventeenth of December, when Omar Pasha made his triumphal entry into Bosna Serai. The captive Pashas and Cadis marched on foot in the procession. It is rumored that the Porte has at length agreed to accept the offer of the British and American Governments to transport the Hungarian refugees to America, and will order their immediate release. Three hundred Polish refugees, who arrived at Constantinople from Varna, on the thirty-first of December, were to be sent to Liverpool at the expense of the Turkish Government. Two Commissioners, Ismet Pasha and Sami Pasha, have been appointed to travel through Asiatic and European Turkey, for the purpose of noting whether the new reforms in favor of the Christians have been carried out.
There is nothing fromGreece, but accounts of the depredations of the robbers which now infest all parts of the country. In the provinces of Acarnania, Levadia and Attica, several villages have been sacked, and the inhabitants put to the torture.
The Mexican Congress assembled in the Capital on the first of January, when General Herrera, the President, made his annual address. He dwelt with satisfaction on the relations existing between the United States and Mexico, considering them much more harmonious and mutually advantageous than was anticipated at the close of the war. The financial condition of the country has been somewhat improved by the retrenchment of the Government expenses and the consolidation of the Interior Debt: a revision of the Revenue Lawsis strongly advocated as a still further reform in this direction. President Herrera favors the colonization of the public lands by immigrants from Europe; he also alludes with satisfaction to the increase of manufactures and the improved prospects of the silver mines, which last year yielded upwards of $30,000,000.
The two branches of Congress met on the eighth, to count the votes for the election of the President of the Republic. The votes of twelve States were found to be in favor of General Arista. He was consequently declared to be duly elected. On the fifteenth, in the Chamber of Deputies, in the presence of the Mexican Congress, he took the oath of office and made a short inaugural address, in which he alluded to the maintenance of the federal system as necessary to the prosperity of the country, and pledged himself to preserve peace and order at all hazards. The President of Congress, Don Mariano Yañez, replied in a short address of congratulation. Te Deum was chanted in the Cathedral in the presence of the new President, and in the evening the German residents honored him with a serenade and torch light procession. Arista's Cabinet is composed as follows: Minister of Foreign Affairs, Don Mariano Yañez; Minister of Justice, Don Jose Maria Aguirre; Minister of Finance, Don Manuel Payno; Minister of War and Marine, Don Manuel Robles.
Early in January a rebellion broke out in the State of Guanajuato. The insurgents, headed by two brothers named Liceagas, obtained possession of the city of Guanajuato, with the Government arms and ammunition, but were defeated on the night of the 13th by the Government troops under Generals Bustamente and Uraga. Several of the chiefs were executed, and the movement, which was in favor of Santa Anna, was entirely crushed.
The Tehuantepec treaty was ratified on the 25th of January. On the following day, Mr. Letcher, the American Minister, left the capital for the United States, on leave of absence. Señor Lacunza, the Ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs, has been appointed Minister to England, and Señor Valdiviesco Minister to France. The Mexican Government has ceded in perpetuity to Don Gayetano Rubio, Don Eustace Barron, Señor Garay, and the firm of Yecker, Torre & Co., the whole of the public lands in the State of Sonora, including the mines, between lat. 30° N. and the Gila River. This grant embraces several millions of acres, and the richest mineral land of the Republic. It is said to have been intended to smooth the passage of a bill abolishing all tariff prohibitions, which have hitherto operated greatly to the advantage of the parties named.
Maj. Barnard's Company for surveying the Isthmus of Tehuantepec reached the town of Minatitlan, on the Coatzocoalcos River, in the steamer Alabama, on the 25th of December. At the last accounts, one party had penetrated a distance of sixty miles into the country, a second was engaged in an examination of the river, and a third had set out for Tehuantepec, on the Pacific Coast.
The lawyers in Lower Canada have been making strikes and holding meetings to protest against the imposition of the new tariff regulating their fees. The Bar of Quebec and of Trois Rivières have struck, declining to serve their clients until the legality of the tariff shall be decided by the Court of Appeals. It has been decided to admit American reprints of English copyright works into Canada, on paying 20 per cent. duty, which is to be paid over by the Custom House to the English authors or proprietors of copyright, who are required to furnish a list of their works. Under this law, American reprints will still be much cheaper than English editions, and popular English authors may therefore look forward to some increase of their revenue. The Imperial Cabinet has also assented to the Post-Office Law, enacted at the last Session of the Canadian Legislature, and establishing a uniform rate of three pence for single letters throughout the British Provinces.
Meetings have been held in Toronto, protesting against the intended removal of the Seat of Government from that city, while, on the other hand, the French members have resolved not to vote the supplies unless it is removed to Quebec in the spring. Lord Elgin, however, has stated that the Seat of Government will be transferred to Quebec at the completion of its two years in Toronto.
We have news from Havana to the 3d of February. The administration of Gen. Concha appears to be more liberal and energetic than that of his predecessor, and gives very general satisfaction.
Jenny Lind gave but four concerts in Havana, only the first and last of which were well attended. Her Italian songs produced much more effect than her Swedish ballads. The proceeds of the last concert, amounting to $5000, was devoted to objects of charity. A grand ball was given in her honor by the Count de Peñalver, after which she visited Matanzas and the extensive sugar plantations in its neighborhood. Señor Salvi, the great tenor, was engaged by Mr. Barnum to sing at her concerts in New-York, in April. On the 1st February, Frederika Bremer reached Havana, and the two renowned Swedes met, for the first time in the new world.
News from Jamaica to the 1st of February state that the cholera was still prevailing in many localities, although it had decreased in some and entirely disappeared in others.
In the State of Nicaragua, the elections have taken place and Don José Sacasa has been chosen Director, from the 1st of May, on which the term of Director Raminez expires. The National Convention of Delegates from the States of Nicaragua, Honduras and San Salvador, met at Chinandega on the 21st of December, and organized by choosing as President Don José Barrundia, the author of the Central-American Constitution of 1820. The little steamer Director, belonging to the Nicaraguan Company, passed the rapids of Machuca, on San Juan River, and entered Lake Nicaragua on the 1st of January. She is now running between Granada and San Carlos, a distance of 95 miles, at $20 a passenger. The engineers employed to survey the route of the proposed ship canal, were at work between Granada and San Juan del Sur, on the Pacific. By the 1st of January, upwards of four thousand returning Californians had passed through Nicaragua, on their way to the United States.
Disturbances have broken out in some of the mountain provinces of Guatemala, growing out of the refusal of the inhabitants to concur in thepolicy adopted by the Government at the instance of the English consul, Mr. Chatfield. The insurgents declared in favor of a Federal Union of all the Central-American States. The Government troops, under Gen. Carrera, in attempting to put down this opposition, were defeated at Chiquimula. A blockade of the ports of San Salvador has been ordered by Mr. Chatfield, who threatens Honduras and Nicaragua with a similar blow, unless they accede to certain demands. In a letter to the Nicaraguan Minister of Foreign Affairs, he arbitrarily lays down the boundary line between Honduras, Nicaragua and Musquitia—an assumed kingdom, under cover of which the British authorities have taken possession of the port of San Juan. Mr. Chatfield states that unless these boundaries are accepted, no canal or other improved method of transit across the Isthmus can be established. There is much excitement in Central America, on account of his arbitrary course.
The winter rains are at an end on the Isthmus of Panama, and the roads are in good condition. Upwards of 800 workmen are employed on the Panama Railroad, and the track is already prepared for the rails from Navy Bay, the Atlantic terminus, to Gatun, on the Chagres River, a distance of three and a half miles.
The Congress ofVenezuelamet on 20th of January, all the members being present. It had previously been feared that the Executive Power would be violently seized by Guzman, Vice-President of the Republic, who was one of the unsuccessful candidates in the electoral colleges, in case there should not be a quorum in Congress. Gen. Monagas, brother of the present Executive, lacked only two or three votes of the two-thirds required by the Constitution in the electoral colleges, and having received sixty-five out of the eighty votes of Congress, was declared elected President of Venezuela. Guzman, who had used all his power to defeat Monagas, notwithstanding he was indebted to the latter for his life, met him upon the steps of the Government House after the election, and begged pardon, in tears, for the injuries he had done him. Monagas forgave him, and the happiest results for Venezuela are anticipated from an administration commenced under such circumstances.
The Presidential Election inPerutook place on the 20th of December. The prominent candidates were Generals Echinique and San Ramon, and at the last accounts it was believed the former was elected.
Boliviais entirely tranquil, the health of Gen. Belzu having been completely restored since his attempted assassination, and the conspirators against him, Ballivian and Linares, having fled from the country. The partisans of Ballivian were totally routed in the southern provinces, where they attempted to make a stand, and their leader fled in disguise to Copiape, in Chili. Linares escaped into the Argentine Republic, and a requisition for his delivery was about to be issued.
InChili, the extra session of Congress convened on the 16th of December. In his message calling the session, the President recommended to legislative attention, the subjects of reform in the customs and the coinage system, appropriations for the current year, the regulation of the standing army, and a revision of the taxes.
Early in December a destructive fire broke out in Valparaiso, which was finally quelled through the labors of the sailors from the English and French vessels of war lying in the harbor, after destroying $250,000 worth of property. On the 5th of the month, the volcano of Portillo, near Santiago, which had been quiet since 1845, suddenly broke out into violent eruption. The following day a very severe shock of an earthquake was felt, lasting twenty seconds, but fortunately doing little damage. Since then, however, a more violent earthquake has entirely destroyed the city of Conception, in the southern part of Chili.
Hon. Bailey Peyton, the American Minister, left Valparaiso on the 27th of December, in the U.S. ShipVincennes, on a visit to Talcuhuana, the province of Conception and the island of Juan Fernandez. Henri Herz, the distinguished pianist, has been giving concerts in Santiago.
At the latest dates fromBrazil, nothing of political importance had transpired. Accounts from Buenos Ayres to Dec. 12th, state that there was a prospect of an amicable settlement of the difficulties between that country and Brazil. There had been a conflict between the forces of Paraguay and those of Buenos Ayres, relative to the occupancy of some neutral lands, by the forces of the latter. The finances of the State were said to be in an encouraging condition.
The Monitor, a paper published at Cape Town, South Africa, gives an account of a dreadful massacre committed by the noted Namagua chief, Yonker Afrikaner, on the neophytes of the German Missionary station at New-Barmen, in Damaraland, between South Africa and the Kingdom of Loango.
A curious piece of history has made its way to us from the island of Madagascar. Rainharo, the Prime Minister of the reigning Queen of the island, determined, in June last, to exterminate all the Christians in the province of Imirena. Accordingly, when they were all assembled one evening at their religious exercises, the various communities were suddenly arrested, to the number of eight thousand, and condemned to death. Eighteen of them had already been executed, when the rest escaped, and surrounding the palace of the young Prince, the heir to the throne of Madagascar, implored his protection. The Queen sent orders through the Prime Minister that they should be given up. The Prince refused, and in the dispute which followed, drew his sword and aimed a blow at the Minister's head, cutting off one of his ears. When the Queen heard of this, fearing a revolt in the province of Imirena, to sustain the Prince, she suffered the Christians to return to their homes and worship as usual. They have since been visited by the Prince, who declares his intention to protect them.
The Republic ofLiberiawas in a flourishing condition at the commencement of the year. Several explorations of the interior have been made, to the distance of two or three hundred miles from the coast. The parties brought back enthusiastic accounts of the richness and beauty of the country and the salubrity of the climate. President Roberts had sent his message to the Liberian Congress, giving a very favorable account of the condition and prospects of the country. The agricultural operations at Bassa Cove and Bexley have produced very satisfactory results. The slave trade is said to be almost destroyed in the neighborhood of Gallinas and Ambrize.
The Rev. Walter Coltonwas born in Rutland, Vermont, about the year 1797. When sixteen years of age he determined to acquire a liberal education, and commenced with industrious energy his preparatory studies. In 1818 he entered Yale College, where he received the Berkleyan Prize in Latin and Greek, and delivered the valedictory poem, when he graduated, in 1822. He soon afterwards entered the Theological Seminary at Andover, where he remained three years, giving much of his tune to literature, and writing, besides various moral and critical dissertations, aSacred Drama, which was acted by the students at one of their rhetorical exhibitions, and an elaborate poem pronounced when his class received their diplomas. On being ordained an evangelist, according to the usage of the Congregational Church, he became Professor of Moral Philosophy and Belles-Lettres in the Scientific and Military Academy at Middletown, then under the presidency of Captain Alden Partridge. Besides attending to the more immediate duties of his position, he wrote while here a prizeEssay on Duelling; aDiscussion of the Genius of Coleridge;The Moral Power of the Poet, Painter, and Sculptor, contrasted, and many contributions in verse and prose to the public journals, under the signature of "Bertram." In 1828 he resigned his professorship, and settled in Washington, as editor of theAmerican Spectator, a weekly gazette which he conducted with industry, and such tact and temper, that he preserved the most intimate relations with the leaders of the political party to which it was most decidedly opposed. He was especially a favorite with President Jackson, who was accustomed to send for him two or three times in a week to sit with him in his private chamber, and when Mr. Colton's health declined, so that a sea voyage was recommended by his physicians, the President offered him without solicitation a consulship or a chaplaincy in the Navy. The latter was accepted, and from 1830 till the end of his life, he continued as a chaplain in the naval service.
His first appointment was to the West India squadron, where his reputation was increased by several incidents illustrative of his personal character. On one occasion a murderous affray had taken place between a boat's crew of American sailors and a party of Spaniards belonging to Pensacola, in which several sailors were killed. Mr. Colton drew up the official report of the outrage, in which he handled the police with just severity. The mayor, himself a Spaniard, and a man of desperate character, was greatly enraged, and swore he would take ample vengeance. He watched his opportunity, and attempted to rush on the chaplain with his long knife before he could protect himself. But the latter, drawing his pistols at the instant, levelled one of them at his breast, and told the mayor if he stirred his hand except to return his knife to its belt, he would put a ball through his heart. The Spaniard hesitated for a few minutes, and reluctantly complied.
Returning from the West Indies Mr. Colton was appointed to the Constellation frigate, and sailed for the Mediterranean, and in the three years during which he was connected with this station, he travelled through Spain, Italy, Greece, and Asia Minor; visited Constantinople, and made his way to Paris and London. The results of his observations he partially gave to the public in volumes entitledShip and Shore, andA Visit to Constantinople and Athens. Soon after the publication of these works, he was appointed Historiographer to the South Sea Surveying and Exploring Expedition; but the ultimate reduction of the force designed for the Pacific squadron, and the resignation of his associates, induced him to forego the advantages of this office, for which he had made very careful preparations in ethnographical studies.
He was now stationed at Philadelphia, where he was chaplain successively of the Navy Yard and of the Naval Asylum. In this city we became acquainted with him, and for several years enjoyed his frequent society and intimate friendship, so that few have had more ample opportunities of judging of his character. In 1841 and 1842, with the consent of the Government, he added to his official duties the editorship of the PhiladelphiaNorth American, and in these and the following years he wrote much upon religious and literary subjects for other journals. We believe it was in 1844 that he delivered before the literary societies of the University of Vermont, a poem entitledThe Sailor, which has not yet been published. In the summer of 1846 he was married, and we were selected by him for that occasion to fill the office commonly falling to the nearest friend. A few months afterward he was ordered to the Congress, the flag-ship of the Pacific squadron, in which he arrived off the western coast of America soon after the commencement of the late war with Mexico. The incidents of the voyage round Cape Horn are detailed with more than his usual felicity in his book,Deck and Port, published last summer in this city by Barnes & Co.
Soon after the arrival of the squadron at Monterey, he was appointed alcalde, or chief magistrate of that city, an office of difficult duties and large responsibilities, demanding the most untiring industry, zeal, and fortitude. These were discharged with eminent faithfulness and ability, so that he won as much the regard of the conquered inhabitants of the country, as the respect of his more immediate associates. In addition to the ordinary duties of his place, Mr. Colton established the first newspaper printed in California,The Californian, now published in San Francisco, under the title of the "Alta California;" he built the firstschool-housein California; and also a large hall for public meetings—said to be the finest building in the state, which the citizens called "Colton Hall," in honor of his public spirit and enterprise. It was during his administration of affairs at Monterey that the discovery of gold in the Sacramento Valley was first made; and, considering the vast importance which this discovery has since assumed, it may not be uninteresting to state that the honor of first making it publicly known in the Atlantic States, whether by accident or otherwise, belongs properly to him. It was first announced in a letter bearing his initials, which appeared in the PhiladelphiaNorth American, and the next day in a letter also written by him, in the New-YorkJournal of Commerce.
Mr. Colton returned to his home early last summer, with anticipations of years of undisturbed happiness. With a family deeply attached to him, a large circle of friends, good reputation, and a fortune equal to his desires, he applied himself leisurely to the preparation of his MS. journalsfor the press, and the revision of his earlier publications. He had published, besidesDeck and Port, already mentioned,Three Years in California, and had nearly ready for the printer a much enlarged and improved edition ofShip and Shore, which was to be followed byA Visit to Constantinople, Athens, and the Ægean, a collection of hisPoems, and a volume ofMiscellanies of Literature and Religion. His health however began to decline, and a cold, induced by exposure during a late visit to Washington, ended in granular dropsy, which his physician soon discovered to be incurable. Being in Philadelphia on the 22d of January, we left our hotel to pay him an early visit, and found the death signs upon his door; he had died at two o'clock that morning, surrounded by his relations, and in the presence of his friends the Rev. Albert Barnes and the Rev. Dr. Herman Hooker—died very calmly, without mortal enemies and at peace with God.
Mr. Colton was of an eminently genial nature, fond of society, and with such qualities as made him always a welcome associate. His extensive and various travel had left upon his memory a thousand delightful pictures, which were reflected in his conversation so distinctly and with such skilful preparation of the mind, that his companions lived over his life with him as often as he chose to summon its scenes before them. We believe him to have been very sincere in all the professions of honor and religion, and fully deserving of the respectful regrets with which he will be remembered during the lives of his contemporaries.
Auguste d'Avezac, descended from an illustrious French family, was born in the island of St. Domingo, about the year 1787. He was educated at the celebrated college of La Flèche, in France; emigrated to the United States; studied medicine at Edenton, North Carolina; and on the acquisition of Louisiana removed to New Orleans. Here his sister was married to Chancellor Livingston, and he himself became a successful lawyer. When General Jackson arrived in New Orleans, d'Avezac became one of his aid-de-camps, and he served with him to the end of the war, and remained all his life among his most devoted friends. When General Jackson became President he appointed Major d'AvezacChargé d'Affaires to Naples, and afterwards to the Netherlands, whence he was recalled by Mr. Van Buren, but under circumstances which did not prevent his hearty support of the President's administration. He then took up his residence in New-York, and in 1841 and 1843 was elected from this city to the Legislature. In 1845, he was appointedChargé d'Affairesto the Hague, and he remained there until superseded last year by Mr. Folsom, when he again returned to New-York, where he died on the 16th ultimo. He was an eminently agreeable man in society, and wrote in French and English with ease and vivacity, upon literature, art, politics, and history.
At the Hague, acortègeof upwards of three thousand persons have just accompanied to the grave, at the premature age of forty-two,M. Asser, a judge of high reputation in that city, and author of various works on comparative legislation.
France has lost one of her geographical celebrities, M.Pierre Lapie, from whose hand have issued a multitude of valuable maps.
Dr. Heinrich Frederick Link, Professor of Botany in the University of Berlin, and Director of the Royal Botanic Garden of that city, died on the first of January, in the eighty-second year of his age. His literary career extends back for more than half a century, his first botanical essay, consisting of some observations on the plants of the Botanic Garden at Rostock, having been published in 1795. He was contemporary with Linnæus, having been eighteen years old when the great author of the "Systema Naturæ" died, and, from his botanical tastes, was probably acquainted with that naturalist's writings long before his decease.
He graduated at Gottingen in 1789, having read on that occasion an inaugural thesis on the Flora of Gottingen, referring more particularly to those found in calcareous districts. Shortly afterwards he was appointed Professor of Botany at Rostock; subsequently he held the same chair at Breslau; but the latter and larger portion of his scientific life was spent at Berlin. He practised at Berlin as a physician among an extensive circle of friends, who had a high opinion of his medical skill. Although the name of Link fills a large space in the literature of botany, his mind was not of the highest order, and his contributions to science are not likely to make a very permanent impression. Still, he was an energetic, active man, with an observant mind, a retentive memory, and with considerable power of systematic arrangement. Hence his works, like those of Linnæus, have been among the most valuable of the contributions to the botany of the century in which he lived. Of these, his "Elementa Philosophiæ Botanicæ" may be quoted as the most useful. This work, which was published in 1824, has served as the basis of most of our manuals and introductions to botany since that period. He devoted considerable time and attention to the description of new species of plants, most of which he published in a continuation of Willdenow's "Species Plantarum." With Count Hoffmansegg, he commenced a Flora of Portugal, and he also published a memoir on the plants of Greece. He contributed several valuable papers on physiological botany to the Transactions of the Natural History Society of Berlin; but he has done more service for vegetable physiology in his annual reports than in any other of his writings. They comprise a summary of all that had been published in botany during the year, accompanied with many valuable remarks and sound criticisms of his own. In these reports he had to defend himself and others from the heavy artillery directed against them by Schleiden, who, whilst claiming for himself a large margin for liberty of opinion, is most unscrupulous and pertinaciously offensive towards those who differ from him. In these literary contests, however, Link showed that the experience of above fifty years had not been lost upon him, and he was not unfrequently more than a match for the vigor and logic of his youthful and more precipitate adversary. According to custom, a funeral oration was pronounced over his grave; but unfortunately the clergyman selected being a strictly orthodox person, and not being able to approve of the spirit of the whole of the writings of the deceased, censured them, it is said, in most unbecoming language, to the indignation of the numerous friends present.
The Italian poetLuigi Carrer, died at Venice on the twenty-third of December.
General Don Jose de San Martin, formerly the "Protector of Peru," and one of the most deservedly eminent of the public men of the Spanish American States, died in August, 1850, at Bologna, in the seventy-second year of his age. His death has but recently been announced, and we receive the information now, not from Europe or from South America, but by way of the Sandwich Islands. The HonoluluPolynesianof December fourteenth, translating from thePanameno, gives us the following particulars of his life. General San Martin was a native of one of the Provinces of Buenos Ayres, but previous to the war of independence, passed over to Spain, where he entered into the army, and distinguished himself at the battle of Baylen. In the Spanish army, he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. After his native country, Buenos Ayres, had declared itself independent of the mother country, he returned from Spain, and fought with great bravery, against Artigas, and in other military contests. He thereby gained so much reputation with his countrymen, that when an expedition to liberate Chile was determined upon, he was the chief chosen to organize and command it. He fulfilled that trust, in an admirable manner, at Mendoza—carried his small army successfully across the Andes, through an able piece of strategy, confided to a brave young Chilian, Don Manuel Rodriguez, at a point where the Spanish forces did not expect the invading army, and signally defeated them, on the plains ofChacabuco, near the Capital of Chile. The defeated Spaniards had to retire and concentrate themselves in the South. San Martin occupied the whole country and shut them up inTalcachuano. Expecting that the Spaniards would be soon reinforced from Peru, San Martin, with the aid of several foreign officers, French and English, recruited his forces in Chile, and raised his army to about 9000 men. A strong reinforcement having arrived from Peru, at Talcahuano, under the command of General Ossioro, the Spaniards regained possession of the Province of Concepcion, took the offensive, and advanced towards the Capital. San Martin, with forces numerically superior, advanced to drive them back. The two armies met at"Cancha Rayada,"where, on San Martin's birth day, in 1819, the Spaniards attacked his army at night, signally defeated and dispersed them. The only division that retired unbroken, was that commanded by General Don Gregorio de las Heras, and the army of the Andes left on the field its whole artillery, excepting only one piece which was saved by the personal exertions and cool intrepidity of Captain Miller, of that army, now H. B. M. Consul General for these Islands. After that unexpected defeat, the greatest consternation prevailed in the Capital of Chile, the cause of the Republic was considered desperate, but the Supreme Director, General Don Bernardo Ohiggins, made immense exertions to reunite the scattered army and to strengthen it, by new levies; the patriotism of the Chilians roused itself with an energy equal to the emergency; resident foreign merchants, wishing well to the country and alarmed by a report that it was the intention of the Spanish Commander in Chief to shoot them all and confiscate their property (it being then contrary to the laws of Spain that foreigners should reside in or trade with her Colonies without special license), supplied money, arms and accoutrements. An army was thus reformed with extraordinary expedition; its confidence was restored by a troop of cavalry sent to reconnoitre, headed by Major Vial, a brave French officer, who gallantly charged and routed a superior force of the enemy, and, under the command of General San Martin, on the 5th of April, 1850, on the plain ofMaypu, it defeated the Spanish army so completely, that only a few of the fugitives reached Talcahuano.
But experience having shown that the independence of Chile could never be considered secure so long as the Spaniards retained their hold on Peru, it was resolved to make an attempt to liberate that Vice-Royalty. Colonel Miller, whose promotion after the affair ofCancha Rayaduhad been rapid, was sent with a small but active force to land atAricaand operate in the Southern Provinces, where by astute strategy and several brilliant successes he confirmed his high reputation. San Martin soon after followed with the main army, escorted by the Chilian squadron under command of Lord Cochran; in running down the coast, he took in Colonel Miller with his troops, and knowing the powerful diversion that the latter had made in the South, he proceeded northward to Pisco, where a force was landed under the command of Colonel Charles and Colonel Miller, that made itself master of the place, after a bloody combat, in which the former gallantly fell while cheering on his troops, and the latter received several musket balls, one of which passed through his liver.
According to the plan of General San Martin, the force landed to the South of Lima, advanced into the interior to the silver mines of Pasco under the command of General Arenales, where it defeated the Spanish forces under General Oreilly, while San Martin himself, with the main body, effected his landing near Huacho to the North of Lima. By this plan, ably conceived and no less ably executed, the Spaniards were reduced to the Capital and Callao, which port at the same time was strictly blockaded by Lord Cochran's squadron. The fall of both Lima and Callao was only a question of time; it was retarded for some months owing to the great sickness that weakened San Martin's ranks; but these were filled up by desertions from the enemy; the whole regiment ofNumanciapassed over to the Patriot side, and at last San Martin entered the Capital at the head of his troops, amidst the acclamations of the inhabitants. He was soon after declared Protector of Peru, and General-in-Chief of the Army. Having now a Peruvian character, and having come to liberate—not to conquer the country, he considered it right to create a Peruvian Army. As anucleusfor its formation, thePeruvian Legion(intended to consist of several Batallions), was raised, and placed under the command of Colonel Miller. But Lima and its luxuries proved theCapuaof San Martin's army—national jealousies arose between the Buenos Ayrean and the Chilian chiefs—San Martin's confidence in foreign officers and his endeavors to create a national army in Peru gave great umbrage to both; a secret political Lodge was formed among the leading chiefs of corps, and he was openly charged with latent designs to make himself the King or Perpetual Dictator of Peru.
The Spanish army, which had evacuated the Capital unbroken, profiting by these dissensions and the delay of the Patriot army in the Capital,had largely recruited itself in the valley of Jauja; they were every day gaining more strength, while the Patriot army was becoming daily weaker both physically and morally; under these circumstances General San Martin sought an interview withBolivar, at Guayaquil, and shortly after his return to Lima, in 1822, he resigned his high post of Protector and General-in-chief, and embarked for Europe. On his arrival in Europe, after a short visit to the East of Fife, San Martin passed his time chiefly in Brussels and Paris, so much respected by all who knew him, and so esteemed for his probity, thatSor Aguado, the rich Spanish Banker, on his death-bed, named San Martin his Executor.
It is believed that he retired from Peru, disgusted with the false charges that were brought against him, and after having obtained a promise from his great rival, Bolivar, that he would finish the war, which it would have been much for San Martin's own glory to have concluded himself. If so, he had themagnanimityto prefer the good of Peru to his own glory, a virtue never found except amongst men of great nobleness of soul. San Martin may have even thought that under the circumstances, his great rival was fitter to conclude the war than he was himself; and if he did so, the result proved at once his modesty and the soundness of his judgment, for when the Peruvian Government had fairly intrusted their destinies to Bolivar, in rapid succession, he fought the bloody battles of Junin and Ayacucho, the result of which was the final and total liberation of Peru.
Nor was Bolivar less just to foreign officers of merit than San Martin. Amongst his Generals and Aid-de-camps ranked General Brawn, General Oleary, Colonel Wilson, and many others; and Colonel Miller (who had been raised to the rank of General), as the reward of his gallant conduct in the last hard-fought fields of Junin and Ayacucho, received the further honor of being declared aMarescal de Agacucho. To other officers of Peru, of Chile and of Buenos Ayres, Bolivar was equally just, thus showing that he was superior to any petty jealousy of those chiefs with whose aid San Martin, his illustrious predecessor, had made those great achievements which a weaker mind might have looked upon with envy as, in some respects, overwhelming his own.
Frederick Bastiat, the political economist, whose health had been very feeble for nearly a year, and of whose death last summer in Italy a report was copied into theInternational, died in Rome on the 24th of December. He was born at Bayonne in 1801, and after completing his education, he retired to a quiet village in the department of Landes, to pursue his favorite studies of trade and society. He was successively called to various offices of the department, and to the present National Assembly he was chosen by a vote of 56,000, being the second in the list of seven representing the Landes. His first book, we believe, wasCobden et la Ligue, published in 1844, from which period he was an industrious writer. Without being a discoverer of new truths, he possessed in an eminent degree the faculty of expanding, with clearness and vigor, the grounds and the effects of complex natural laws already developed by the technical processes of philosophy. His writings have been exceedingly popular. The whole or nearly the whole, of the tracts written by him under the generic title of 'Sophismes Economiques,' originally appeared in theJournal des Economistes—a periodical of which for the last six years he had been a principal supporter. The disease of which he died was a very painful and peculiar affection of the throat. He had suffered from it more or less, for some years; and the hard work of the last session of the Assembly brought the disorder to a crisis which the strength of the patient did not enable him to overcome. He may be regarded as the virtual leader of the Free Trade party in France. He aided with all his energies the Association Française pour la Liberté des Échanges, and he did his utmost to spread among his countrymen that new philosophy of trade. His last and most important work,Les Harmonies Economiques, we lately noticed in these pages. HisSophismes Economiqueswere translated a few years ago by a daughter of Langdon Cheves, of South Carolina, and published in this city by Mr. Putnam. The extent to which M. Bastiat was indebted to our countryman, Henry C. Carey, may be inferred from a note in the February number of theInternational, page 402.