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[Illustration:
G.T. Vigne delṭ
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]
SIX MONTHS
IN
AMERICA.
SIX MONTHS
IN
AMERICA.
BY
GODFREY T. VIGNE, ESQ.
OF LINCOLN’S INN, BARRISTER AT LAW.
VOL. I.
LONDON:
WHITTAKER, TREACHER, & CO.
AVE MARIA LANE.
1832.
LONDON:
Manning and Co., Printers, 4, London House Yard,
St. Pauls.
SIX MONTHS IN AMERICA.
READER,
I will not inflict upon you the penalty of preface or dedication, being
fully persuaded that you would care for neither; and therefore if
you are disposed to follow me to America, I will inform you at once,
that after having seen the greater part of Europe, I went on board
the packet, George Canning, on the 24th of March, 1831, and sailed
from Liverpool for New York, with my note-book, sketch-book, gun, and
fishing rod—alone, unbewifed and unbevehicled, as a man ought to
travel, and with the determination of being, as far as an Englishman
can be, unprejudiced; and of seeing all I could of the United States in
the space of about six months.
Having said this, I beg of you to remember that I do not profess to
tell you what may be seen in a year. I may be allowed to mention,
that the George Canning is one of the best of the twenty-six packets
that sail from Liverpool to different parts of North America. Every
possible comfort and every reasonable luxury is at the command of the
passenger; and, whether he be confined to his state-room from the
effects of sea-sickness, or indulging a most Atlantic appetite, and
quaffing champagne to the memory of Columbus, he cannot fail at the end
of his voyage to be loud in the praises of her excellent commander,
Captain Allyn. We saw an average number of young whales, but contrived
to miss the icebergs and the sea-serpent; and after an excellent
passage of twenty-three-days (the voyage from Liverpool, at this season
of the year, being scarcely ever less than thirty), we sailed through
the Narrows into the splendid bay of New York. The passage so named is
about three quarters of a mile in width, and defended by four or five
hundred pieces of cannon. The most prominent object is a diamond-shaped
fort, which appears to rise out of the water, and is called Fort La
Fayette, because it fired its first salute in honour of that General,
upon his arrival on the shores of America in 1824. The fort on the New
Jersey side, as if in opposition to its French-named antagonist, is
known by the very English name of Fort Tomkins.
On the Long Island beach is seen New Utrecht, a small sea-bathing
place, and celebrated as the spot where the British troops, under
the command of Sir Henry Clinton, were landed without opposition,
previously to their attack of New York in 1776. Numerous vessels of
different sizes that had been detained outside by contrary winds, were
working their way through the Narrows at the same time, and presented
a most animating spectacle. They were from all parts of the world; the
sun shone full upon their white sails; the broad bright pine-streak
reddened beneath his declining rays, and added a characteristic
elegance to the appearance of the American ships, which taken as a
class, are certainly handsomer than those of any other nation. That the
trim and figure of a British merchantman are usually inferior to those
of America, is owing to the circumstance of there being no tonnage-duty
in America; and therefore, their ships are constructed for the
carriage of a given number of tons with the greatest speed; but by the
British method of rating their ships, a merchantman can be constructed
so as to carry more than her legal tonnage without paying for it; of
which John Bull very properly takes advantage by swelling out his ships
as much as possible, so long as he can avoid the liability of being
charged at a higher rate.
We had scarcely entered the bay when the wind dropped; steam-boats
were plying in all directions, and one of them coming alongside, I
was glad to avail myself of her assistance, and arrived at New York
before sunset. Within two minutes after I had landed I found myself
in the Broadway, the principal street and promenade in the city. At
two o’clock on every fine day, all the fashion and too-gaily dressed
beauty of New York are to be seen there. It contains the finest shops,
and altogether has a very lively and city-like appearance, which,
nevertheless, suffers considerably on account of the houses being
mostly built of red brick. Its width, I should say, is about the same
as that of Oxford-street; in length it is, or rather will be when
finished, about three miles. The courts of justice hold their sittings
in the city-hall, a large and handsome building of Massachusetts white
marble and brown free-stone, which stands in the centre of what is
called the Park, a green open space on the side of the Broadway. The
prison, a gloomy-looking structure, is too conspicuous, and exceedingly
handy, being so near to it that a “ponte de ’i sospiri” might be thrown
across from one to the other with great effect. But it is not in the
contemplation of the most refined and magnificent works of art, that
the European traveller in the United States must expect to derive
his principal gratification. The public buildings in New York for
the different purposes of charity, education, and commerce, are very
numerous; but there are none that can lay claim to his particular
attention: in a few hours, with a little assistance from a cabriolet
or an omnibus, he might see all that is worth his notice in the city,
considered merely as a collection of buildings, containing 200,000
inhabitants. It is the extraordinary energy and urgency of commerce
that will chiefly attract his attention. The wharfs on the North
river are flanked by superb steam-boats, daily and hourly employed
in the conveyance of thousands; those on the East river, by double
and triple lines of the most beautiful merchantmen; while the three
streets which run successively parallel to them might be taken for
one enormous warehouse, the pavement being nearly blocked up with
merchandise from every country, and exhibiting a rattling and somewhat
dangerous confusion of carts and cranes, that is quite beyond a
“private gentleman’s belief,” till he has seen it. Although the actual
numerical tonnage of the trade of New York is four times less than that
of Liverpool, yet the appearance of bustle and business is far more
striking at New York: the reason is, that there is so much more retail
trade carried on in the latter city than in Liverpool, or any other
city in the world. Innumerable boats descend the North river, laden
with timber, or live and dead stock, and provisions for the markets of
New York, and carry back a petty and varied cargo of wearing apparel
and other necessaries that are wanted in the interior.
Although Philadelphia is a larger place, the balance of trade between
New York and that city is usually, if not always, in favour of New
York. Imported goods sold at Philadelphia, on account of the New York
merchants, are paid for in bills made payable at Philadelphia. The
banks at New York discount these bills, which as they become due are
satisfied on demand by payment in specie; so that there is a constant
flow of hard dollars from Philadelphia to New York.
In order to see the city in perfection, the North river must be
crossed, and a fine view is obtained from any of the rising grounds
on the opposite bank. But to include a distant view of the city and
the bay in the same drawing, I should recommend a station on Staten
Island, or on the opposite heights about Gowanus. On this head the
British public will soon be satisfied. Before I quitted America, I was
favoured with a sight of the most exact and admirable drawings to be
used as materials for the next view at the Colosseum in the Regent’s
Park, which I understood was to be that of New York and its environs.
It is singular that, as in London, they should all have been taken from
the top of St. Paul’s church. Unless I were anxious to write either an
almanack or a guide-book, I think I need not here say more about New
York; reserving for another place any remarks that apply generally to
one city as well as another. I will merely add, that I should strongly
recommend every one to visit the Museum before he commences a tour;
and that the city contains two excellent theatres, of which that in
the Park is the more fashionable: I heard the English version of the
“Cenerentola” performed in very good style: I was delighted with the
singing of our countrywoman. Mrs. Austin, and I laughed heartily at
the drolleries of Mr. Hackett, who is an unrivalled mimic of the
eccentricities of his countrymen. An Italian opera is confidently
expected by the next season. At present the first society in New
York, which is very good, is seldom to be seen at the theatre. In my
ignorance, I was very much astonished the first evening I went there,
at seeing a multitude of persons, who would have thought it a gross
mistake not to have been taken for gentlemen, sitting occasionally in
the front and almost always in the back seats of the dress circle,
with their hats on, in the presence of ladies, who were scattered in
different parts of the same box.
Now, New York, if not the most refined, is certainly, strictly
speaking, the most fashionable place in the Union, and it is not to be
wondered at, that foreigners who have just landed from Europe and who
very probably go to the theatre on the first evening of their arrival,
should thence imbibe strange and unjust ideas of the best American
manners. I have heard that common sense is the characteristic of the
Americans; and I think there is great truth in the remark; but I do not
like it when it is so _very_ common. These republican De Courcys are
very fond of wearing their hats: I never was at church in the United
States, without observing individuals (I do not say many), who would
evidently have been very sorry to have been thought guilty of any
impropriety, putting their hats on when the service was over, in the
very body of the church. These are no trifles when considered as part
of the national manners. But in the United States there is no standard
for manners: their political independence is oftentimes imperceptibly
identified with independence of behaviour that procures for individuals
an unfavourable opinion, of which the men and their minds are alike
unworthy.
It was the twenty-third of April, St. George’s day, when I left New
York to commence my tour; the members of the St. George’s Society were
going to dine together, and the huge banner of the saint was waving
from one of the upper windows of the City-hotel, as I emerged from
the gloomy recesses, in enormous establishments ycleped single-bedded
rooms, and proceeded to the wharf where the New Brunswick steamers are
to be found, and where it is coolly and most intelligibly intimated to
the traveller, in very large letters, that he can have “Transportation
to Philadelphia,” at a very trifling expense. These steam-boats are
necessarily very large; being frequently destined to carry three or
even four hundred passengers: they are constructed in the best manner
for obtaining the greatest proportionate space and a free circulation
of air. They may fairly be said to be three-deckers. The working-beam
is usually placed at a great height above the upper-deck, and the whole
of the engine is so much raised that no inconvenience arises from the
heat of the boilers. When one of these steamers is seen approaching
from a distance, the confusion of green and white galleries gives
it very much the appearance of a moving summer-house. The rapidity
with which we moved across the bay procured me a constant change of
scene: the banks were dotted with small villages, but I observed but
few gentlemen’s seats. At a distance, on the right, stands the town
of Newark, a considerable place, discernible by its white steeples.
We passed Perth Amboy at the mouth of the Rariton river; the first
British settlement in New Jersey. The governor’s house, the picquet and
guard-house, can be seen from the river. The governor’s house resembles
a Gloucestershire spinning mill. I was landed at New Brunswick, where
I found conveyances awaiting the arrival of the steamer in order to
carry its passengers across the country to Bordentown. Notwithstanding
that this road is one of the principal thoroughfares between New
York and Philadelphia, yet I was fairly and quickly jolted into the
conviction that although it was probable I should travel over many that
were as bad, yet that I could not by any possibility find one that was
worse. Allowances are to be made for the roads I afterwards saw, in the
back settlements; but the condition of this one was really disgraceful.
There was a great deal of wood on every side; but it can hardly be
called forest, being what is here termed second-growth wood. A great
part of these lands had been cleared by the earlier settlers, but were
allowed to remain uncultivated, and to be overgrown whenever a soil
of greater fertility and sufficiently protected, was discovered in the
interior of the country.
Bordentown, is a small, but neat and pretty, village on the banks of
the Delaware. On the outskirts is a large and rather irregular brick
building at the extremity of a court-yard, which is flanked by stabling
and other outhouses, with extensive gardens and pleasure grounds
behind them, laid out a l’Anglais. This is the residence of the Count
Survilliers, better known, in England at least, as Joseph Buonaparte.
I was provided with an introduction to his Excellency, and paid him
a morning visit. His reception of me was exceedingly courteous. The
instant he appeared, I was most forcibly struck with the very strong
resemblance he bore to the later portraits of Napoleon. His person, I
should say, was rather larger; the expression of the eye was the same,
though more subdued; the same hair, the same shaped head, and the same
contour of feature generally, with a darker complexion, and a good
set of teeth. I should say, the principal difference was observable
in the mouth, which seemed more inclinable to the jocose than the
sanguinary. After some conversation, which was carried on in French,
and turned chiefly on the subject of European travel, his Excellency
showed me his pictures, which are numerous and interesting. He has
several fine Murillos, and a most beautiful Madonna by Vandyke. He has
many portraits of his own family; among these is one of Napoleon in
his coronation robes, and the well-known picture of the First Consul
on horseback, crossing the Alps. I felt an emotion which I will not
attempt to describe, when, as we passed round the room, he paused
before the latter picture, and drew my attention to it, remarking
that it was the original, by David. The cabinet of statues and
mosaics is also very fine, and the collection altogether by far the
best in America. His Excellency occasionally mixes in society both at
New York and Philadelphia, and talks without reserve of his former
situation, “Quand j’etais roi d’Espagne.” “Dans mes belles affaires,”
are occasionally introduced in his conversation. By his advice I
subsequently mounted the observatory in his grounds. Thence I enjoyed
a very fine view of the country on the opposite side of the Delaware,
whose broad and rapid stream was flowing beneath me; on the left, the
river seemed to lose itself among the distant woods of Pennsylvania; on
the right, at a distance of about six miles, is Trenton, made notorious
by the daring passage of the Delaware, and the subsequent defeat and
capture, of a body of Hessians, by General Washington, on the night
of the 25th of December, 1776, during a violent storm, and when the
danger of the revolutionists was at its crisis.
Bordentown is about twenty-six miles from Philadelphia. The next day I
proceeded to that city in a steam-boat, which stopped for passengers
at every considerable village on the well-wooded, but flat and
uninteresting, banks of the river. At length Philadelphia makes its
appearance, stretching for nearly three miles along the western side of
a bend or angle of the river. This view is certainly a fine one, but
it would be much improved by the appearance of a few more steeples or
lofty structures. From the water two or three only are visible above
this immense assemblage of red houses; and yet the city contains nine
episcopal churches, a great number of public buildings, and charitable
institutions without end.
Great attention is paid to the education of the poorer classes: the
constitution of Pennsylvania declaring, “That the legislature shall, as
soon as convenient, provide by law for the establishment of schools, in
such manner that the poor may be educated without expense.”
Philadelphia has been often described. The streets cross each other
at right angles: those running parallel with the river are numbered,
second, third, fourth, &c.; the others usually bear the name of some
fruit or tree. The word street is usually omitted: in describing the
way, a person would tell you that the place you were looking for was in
Walnut, below fifth; Sassafras, above second; Mulberry, between seventh
and eighth, &c. These streets run over a distance of two miles, from
the Delaware to the Schuyllkill river, which enters the Delaware about
nine miles to the south of Philadelphia. The Bank of Pennsylvania is a
small building, but elegantly designed from the Temple of the Muses,
on the Ilyssus, near Athens.
The new Mint of the United States was unfinished, but promised to be a
chaste and beautiful building, on a larger scale, from the same model.
On the 4th of July, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed,
and afterwards read from the steps of the State-house, where the state
courts of justice are now held. The room in which this took place had
been fitted up for La Fayette in 1824, as the most appropriate place
for levee tenure; but when I saw it, it was occupied by workmen, who
had instructions to replace every thing as it was when it acquired its
present reputation.
The Academy of Fine Arts much exceeded my expectations. Although the
most conspicuous pictures were those of American academicians, yet here
and there the eye was attracted by a Vandyke, a Rubens, a Guercino,
and a Salvator Rosa, or some good copies from them. There were a few
landscapes by Ruysdael, and a fine Murillo: the subject was the Roman
daughter. The productions from the English school, were portraits
of John H. Powell, Esq. by Sir Thomas Lawrence, of John Kemble by
Sir M. A. Shee, and another of Dugald Stuart by Sir H. Raeburn. Any
person conversant with the pictures of this latter artist, would have
recognised this, by the usual green colouring in the back-ground. There
were five admirable portraits by Mr. Stewart, the American artist, of
the Presidents Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe. The
best full-length portrait of Washington is that in the Fauneuil Hall
at Boston; but as a half-length this is, I believe, considered the
original. They were all remarkable for their easy and unsophisticated
attitudes. Mr. Stewart has been dead about five years. Mr. Hardinge
has also very great merit as a portrait painter; but Mr. Sully has the
reputation of being the first in America. A portrait of Sir Thomas
Lawrence, by that gentleman, is a most successful imitation of the
style of the late president. He exhibited also an excellent full-length
portrait of General La Fayette; and Mr. Tuman, a scarcely inferior
artist, is at present employed in painting another, of Mr. Penn, which
will occupy a place beside the General in the Hall of Independence. I
also observed a composition-landscape, by Mr. Fisher, which had very
great merit. It was well remarked in the preface to the catalogue,
that so many of the pictures did not need indulgence, in comparison
with that which had heretofore been cheerfully, and with justice,
conceded to them. This was very true of a large proportion of them,
but some nevertheless, needed it not a little; and in fact had no
business there. It is a pity that the Americans do not take warning
by the constant outcry that for so many years has been justly raised
against the swarm of portraits that annually cluster on the walls of
Somerset-house. They might well devote more of their time and talent to
historical painting. With the exception of the “Sortie from Gibraltar,”
by Colonel Trumbull, and another very indifferent picture, there were,
I think, no historical pieces in the room appropriated to modern
events. The Americans cannot plead a want of subjects: the revolution
is not half illustrated; besides, they may depend upon it, portrait
painting is a very aristocratical thing after all, and should not be
generally encouraged, on that account. In running over the walls of a
modern exhibition-room, the eye is fatigued by its endeavours to avoid
an encounter with the features of individuals in a new character, to
which many of them never had the slightest pretensions, except upon
canvass.
The water-works on the Schuyllkill are probably the finest in the
world: they can scarcely be praised too highly for beauty of design,
simplicity of construction, and real usefulness. A dam, sixteen hundred
feet in length, is thrown across the river, by which the stream is
backed up for several miles, and an enormous water-power thus created.
The solid rock has been excavated, in order to obtain what is termed a
race; and by means of huge double-forcing pumps, worked by four immense
wheels, the water is thrown up into an ample reservoir, fifty-six
feet above the highest ground in the city. It is calculated that each
wheel and pump could raise one million two hundred and fifty thousand
gallons in twenty-four hours, if allowed to play without intermission.
The rising ground in the neighbourhood of the water-works affords
the best and nearest general view of the city. Thence I visited the
botanical gardens of Mr. Pratt, containing a very fine orangery and
a choice collection of exotics, and delightfully situated on the
east side of the Schuyllkill, which spreads out to a great extent
immediately beneath them, with banks wooded to the water’s edge. In a
very few years this fine scene is destined to be unnatured. By this
time a rail-road is commenced, which will run from Philadelphia to
Columbia, a distance of eighty-two miles: it will there join the great
Pennsylvanian canal, which has been finished nearly all the way from
the eastern side of the Alleghany mountains. In order to pass these, a
rail-road on inclined planes, will be constructed; by which the rich
mineral productions on the western slope of the mountains, consisting
chiefly of iron and bituminous coal of the finest quality, will be
quickly forwarded to Philadelphia in any quantity. The greatest height
of the Alleghany mountains in Pennsylvania, is thirteen hundred feet.
The rail-road I have mentioned, will pass at a short distance from the
water-works; and therefore, in all probability, no very long period
will elapse before the vicinity will become a coal-yard.
The porcelain manufactory is not far off. I was told that the material
was little inferior to that of Sevres, but I found the painting
indifferent. French China is still preferred, and superiority cannot
yet be expected in this department.
In my way back to the city, I visited the Penitentiary of Pennsylvania.
This is the most extensive building in the United States. The front
is 670 feet in length—very handsome, and bearing a baronial and gloomy
appearance, in the style of our old English castles. Its area is a
square, with a tower at each angle of the prison wall. It is intended
that eight corridors should radiate from an observatory in the centre
of the area, but only three are in use at present. These contain the
cells, and command a free circulation of air, and a plentiful supply
of water. The only punishment adopted, is solitary confinement.
This Penitentiary is too young an establishment to afford a perfect
confidence in the opinions of those who are favourable to its system.
The reports of the inspectors are, however, extremely encouraging.
The first and present warder (Mr. Samuel R. Wood) was only appointed
in June 1829. This gentleman, who is well known as a kind of second
Howard in his way, has visited many of the principal prisons in
Europe; and now finds employment for his talents and his humanity
in, I believe, his native city. Every crime committed in the state
of Pennsylvania, on this side of the Alleghany mountains, that is
punishable by imprisonment at all for the space of one year or more, is
to be expiated by solitary confinement within this Penitentiary. That
at Pittsburg, on the Ohio, receives those whose crimes are committed
on the western side of the Alleghany. Every prisoner is allowed to
work at his trade; or if he have none, or one that he cannot follow
in his cell, he is allowed to choose one, and is instructed by one
of the overseers, who are all masters of different trades. Mr. Wood,
in his last report, gives it as his opinion, that a prisoner who
has two years or upwards to remain in prison, can, in his solitary
cell, earn sufficient to clear all his expenses from his admission
till his discharge. The Philadelphia system differs from that at
Sing-sing, in the state of New York. At Sing-sing, the prisoners are
brought out to work together, but are not allowed to speak to each
other. At Philadelphia they never work together; and from the time
of his admission, one prisoner never sees, or speaks with, another.
My English ideas were not a little startled at first, when I found
that high treason is expiable by solitary confinement for not less
than three, nor more than six years; and that the punishment for the
second offence was solitary confinement for ten years. Treason against
the state of Pennsylvania is here alluded to. By the articles of the
constitution, treason against the United States shall consist only in
levying war against them; or in adhering to their enemies, giving them
aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on
the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession
in open court. Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of
treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood or
forfeiture, except during the life of the person attainted. Treason
against the United States is a capital offence. Murder, in the second
degree, that is, murder committed in a sudden quarrel, but without
malice prepense, is punished by solitary confinement at labour for
three, and not more than six years; for the second offence, for a
period not exceeding ten years. The punishment for burglary is solitary
confinement for not less than two, nor more than ten years; for the
second offence, for a period not exceeding fifteen years. For robbery,
or being accessory thereto before the fact, the period is for not less
than one, nor more than seven years; for the second offence, for a
period not exceeding twelve years. Mayhem, kidnapping, horsestealing,
perjury, &c. are all punished by solitary confinement for different
periods. Almost every species of forgery, or aiding, abetting, or
commanding the perpetration of a forgery, whether it be of the coin
of the state, or have reference to the sale, utterance, or delivery,
or having in possession the metallic plate used in the forging of
any note of any bank incorporated in the state of Pennsylvania; or
forging, defacing, corrupting, or embezzling any charters, gifts,
grants, bonds, bills, wills, conveyances, or contracts; or defacing,
or falsifying any enrolment, registry, or record; or forging any
entry of the acknowledgment, certificate, or endorsement, whereby the
freehold or inheritance of any person or persons may be charged; or of
counterfeiting the hand or seal of another with intent to defraud; or
the privy or great seal of the state of Pennsylvania, is punished with
solitary confinement for a period of not less than one, nor more than
seven years; and for the second offence, for a period not exceeding ten
years. It is expected that few offenders will run the risk of solitary
confinement for a second time.
When first received, the prisoner is left alone, and it seldom happens
that he does not ask for a Bible, and work, after the lapse of a
few hours. A Bible and a few other religious books are allowed him.
In a few days the withdrawal of his employment is felt, and adopted
as a punishment, with the most obstinate and hardened. The chaplain
occasionally visits the prisoners, and on Sundays he takes a station
whence the words of prayer and exhortation can be heard by every
prisoner in his cell, as they echo along the vaulted roof of the
corridor.
If any punishment can be said to be dignified, that of solitary
confinement has a claim to that epithet. Justice to society is nobly
done, not only in the removal of the prisoner in the first instance,
but, secondly, by enabling him to return, as it were, to the world,
a wiser and a better man. The end of solitary confinement is the
reformation of the criminal, by obliging him to think who never thought
before. If reflection can be awakened, and conscience can obtain a
hearing, its advantages will be readily acknowledged. The prisoner is
forced to commune with his own soul: the all-powerful voice of ridicule
is absent and unheard; remorse is not stifled, and penitence is not
put to flight, by the sneers of a dissolute companion: with no one to
admire, and applaud his resolution to be “game”—to submit, is the only
alternative.
In England the system could not, generally, I think, succeed. The
effect of solitary confinement might be the same on the moral character
of the prisoner, but unless something like a permanent means of getting
a livelihood be secured to him, after his removal from the prison, the
principal and best object of the punishment would not be obtained.
This would be extremely difficult in a country of small extent, with
a superabundant population, and a supply of labour far exceeding
the demand. The regenerated offender might, perhaps, contrive to
avoid observation; but if necessity compelled him to labour for his
subsistence, it is probable that he would not find employment; and the
necessary consequence would be, that all his good resolutions would
vanish at the approach of want.
No country is so well adapted for the experiment as the United States
of America. Enterprise is abroad in every direction, and labour is
well paid. When the period of confinement is at an end, the criminal
may wander to any corner of that vast continent,—and go where he will,
the wages of industry are always at his command. He is in little fear
of being recognised by his fellow-prisoners, because no prisoner is
allowed to see another. His former associates in crime are dispersed,
or in prison, or in the grave; and the hope that attended him in his
cell is realised, by the facility of gaining a new character, and
friends who are ignorant of his crime. It should be added to this
notice of the Penitentiary, that every cell opens into a small paved
court-yard, in which the prisoner can take exercise; and that the
system has not been found prejudicial to health of mind or body, as had
been anticipated.
I visited the Museum at Philadelphia, which is said to be the best
in the United States. It contains a skeleton of the mammoth; a fine
collection of Indian curiosities and American animals: the most
extraordinary of these is, perhaps, a specimen of the gigantic raya
or ray, or devil-fish, measuring twelve feet in length, by fifteen in
breadth; and weighing more than 2000 lbs. In the gallery are arranged a
number of portraits, chiefly of distinguished Americans, which are said
to be admirable likenesses; but certainly not valuable as paintings.
I was much better pleased altogether with the museum belonging to the
Academy of Natural Sciences. It is much smaller than the other, but far
more scientifically arranged.
The Dock-yard at Philadelphia contained, when I visited it, a sixty-gun
frigate, nearly finished; and the Pennsylvania, a four decker, with
a round stern, also in an unfinished state, and destined to carry
one hundred and forty-four guns. This enormous vessel is two hundred
and twenty feet in length, and fifty-eight across the main-beam.
Her timbers seemed light, in proportion to her immense size; they
certainly do not appear to be thicker than those of an ordinary British
seventy-four. The great strength of the knees, however, are said to
compensate for the apparent weakness of her other timbers. There were
no workmen employed upon her, and saltpetre was strewed over her
wherever it would lie. She is larger than the old Santissima Trinidad,
destroyed at Trafalgar; but not so large as a Turkish ship of the line,
launched, I believe, since the battle of Navarino. All the guns of the
Pennsylvania will be thirty-two-pound carronades on the spar-deck, and
long guns on the others. Her anchor weighs more than 11,000 lbs. With
such a tremendous weight of metal, it is probable that she would not be
able to stand the wear and tear of the long blockades in which many of
our ships were employed during the war.
The timber of the live-oak, so called from its being an evergreen, is
supposed to be imperishable. This tree grows almost exclusively in the
Southern States; but is annually becoming more scarce and valuable, as
the extreme slowness of its growth cannot keep pace with the demand:
the Americans will probably find themselves obliged to plant it, before
another quarter of a century has elapsed.
The following treatment of the different kinds of timber used in the
American navy is recommended in the report of the Secretary of the Navy
for 1829. Live-oak should be immersed for twelve months in water, then
taken up and placed under cover to protect it against sun, rain, and
high winds. Its immersion is recommended by the fact that it renders
it less liable to split. White-oak which is inferior to the British
white, or navy-oak, should be docked about eighteen months in fresh,
or two years in salt water; then taken up and sawed into such sizes
as may be required, then placed under cover for about two or three
years. Yellow pine should be docked about twelve months; then taken up,
sawed, and covered for two years. Mast timber should be immersed and
covered in mud till wanted for use. All timber ought to be cut when
the greatest portion of sap is in circulation, at some time from the
first of November to the end of February; it should then be immersed in
water, and never taken out but early in the spring: and it was given as
an opinion, that if all timber underwent this process, the ships might
last double the time they otherwise would.
I went to both the principal theatres, but did not think that either
they or the performances were as good as at New York. I saw Mr.
Cooper, the famed American actor, in some old play, of which I forget
the name. His voice is extremely good: I remember that I thought him
dignified, but rather stiff, without however being the least awkward in
his acting. I also saw young Burke, as Doctor Pangloss. His acting I
thought admirable, and most humourous; and his violin playing is quite
extraordinary for his age. His tragedy is very little inferior to his
comedy.
* * * * *
The United States’ bank at Philadelphia is a beautiful building, being
a copy from the Parthenon, with such alterations as were absolutely
indispensable in order to render it fit for purposes of business. It
has no side columns; but the portico is a splendid specimen of the
Doric. The Ionic pillars in the interior, were brought from Italy.
The present United States’ bank, was incorporated by Act of Congress
on the 10th of April, 1816, and is chartered till the 3d of March,
1836. It paid a bonus to Government of 1,500,000 dollars. Its capital
is 35,000,000 dollars, divided into 350,000 shares of 100 dollars
each; 70,000 shares were subscribed by government, which therefore
became a proprietor of one fifth. After a thorough investigation of
the right of Congress to pass an act of incorporation, this bank was
first called into existence in the year 1791, when General Washington
was president; and its charter expired in the year 1811. The two
opposing parties of Federalist and Democrat had in effect began to
show themselves, though not exactly by those names, in 1787. In 1790,
Mr. Hamilton, the secretary of the treasury, made his celebrated report
on the state of the public debts contracted during the revolutionary
war. He proposed that the debts of the continental Congress and those
incurred by the States individually, should be funded by the general
government, and that the interest should be paid by taxes on articles
of luxury and on ardent spirits. This, it was thought, would give too
much power to the Federal government, in opposition to the rights
of the States separately considered; and it was on account of their
conflicting opinions respecting this federal measure, that the two
parties who supported or opposed the new constitution, first acquired
the names of Federalist and Democrat. Their first differences under
these appellations, were on the bank question, which afterwards
became, and is now to a certain extent, a test of political principle.
Its establishment had been opposed on constitutional grounds by Mr.
Jefferson and Mr. Madison; by the former in the executive cabinet,
and by the latter in congress, and both distinguished Democrats. It
was asserted that congress had no power to create corporations. The
Federalist was in favour of a liberal construction of the articles of
the constitution, and an extension of the powers thereby vested in
the federal assembly or congress of the United States, in opposition
to what are termed state rights, or powers claimed separately by the
states in their individual capacity. The federalist was said to be
friendly to Great Britain, and to be indifferent to the principles of
the French revolution. He was in favour of the Alien law, by which the
president was enabled to compel suspected foreigners to leave the
country; and of the Sedition law, which provided for the prosecution
and punishment of false and malicious accusations against the president
and members of congress. In fact, these measures were passed by
congress during the administration of John Adams, who succeeded General
Washington, and was the second and last of the federal party elected to
the office of president. The democrat regarded the principles of the
federalist as far too aristocratical for the atmosphere of America.
He was a strict interpreter of the articles of the constitution, and
kept a careful watch, lest the federal government, in its united
capacity, should usurp any powers which he considered as the rights and
privileges of individual states. Under the overwhelming influence of
the democrat principles, which have been on the increase more and more
from the first year of Mr. Jefferson’s presidency, the federalist party
have experienced a great decrease in number, and their principles have
lost much of their rigidity. In fact, the two parties may be said to be
nearly extinct, even in name; the terms Federalist and Democrat being
rarely mentioned now.
The federalist was always the enemy of universal suffrage. He was for
imposing a substantial qualification on every voter; on the principle
that property, and not persons, should be represented. In Pennsylvania
for instance, the right of suffrage is possessed by every freeman of
the age of twenty-one years, who has resided in the state for two years
next preceding, and who within that time, has paid a state or county
tax, assessed at least six months before the election: and a poll tax
of fifty cents per annum, confers this right upon individuals who are
not in circumstances to pay any other. That corruption to a great
extent is generated by this system, is admitted on all hands; it is
obviously a matter of course that it should be so. Even in democratic
America there are to be found thousands who readily acknowledge the
real causes of their prosperity to be identified with those that have
prevented this system from figuring in its real colours; and who
freely admit that it proceeds from a comparative exemption from taxes;
an unbounded extent of country; an admirable spirit of enterprise; a
population not too large, and a consequent abundance of employment—not
from the existence of a peculiar political system.
But to return to the subject of the United States’ bank. When Mr.
Jefferson and the democrats came into power, the renewal of the bank
charter was discussed as a party question. At this period excitement
was at its height; and the federalists made themselves so conspicuous
by their indiscriminating opposition to those measures of commercial
restriction adopted by the democrats in power, against Great Britain,
in compliance with the policy of the new French government, that they
were considered by a large proportion of the American nation, as
the apologists for the conduct of a country already regarded in the
light of a public enemy. Yet such was the general opinion of the good
that had been diffused throughout the Union by the bank, that the
question of the renewal of its charter, was only lost by the casting
vote of the president of the senate, and by one vote in the house of
representatives. In less than three years after the expiration of the
charter in 1811, the war with Great Britain having taken place in the
mean time, the finances were in a state of incredible embarrassment;
and the re-establishment of the United States’ bank recommended by Mr.
Dallas, who was then secretary to the treasury, received the sanction
of Mr. Madison; and the measure passed both branches of congress during
the ascendency of that very party which was previously opposed to it.
In consequence of the non-renewal of the bank charter, bank credit
to the amount of 15,000,000 of dollars was withdrawn from the public
service, and a number of local banks immediately sprang up.
Freed from the salutary control of the United States’ bank, they
commenced a system of imprudent trading, and excessive issues, which
speedily disordered the currency of the country; and notwithstanding
all her resources, and all her patriotism, in the last year of the
last war, the United States were on the eve of bankruptcy, solely for
the want of some national institution that would have assisted the
exigences of government, and supported a circulating medium of general
credit throughout the Union. The loss of the United States during
the three years when there was no bank, was estimated at not less
than 46,000,000 of dollars, sustained exclusively by want of a sound
currency and an efficient system of finance.
The United States’ bank has established branch banks at twenty-two of
the principal commercial cities of the Union. When it was first opened
there were, as we have seen, but two parties in the country, both
acting from motives purely patriotic. The number is now increased, and
interest is not now, as it was then, left out of the question. The bank
charter does not expire till 1836; but the sentiments of the president
on the subject of its renewal, which so deeply involves the commercial
happiness of the Union, cannot but be speculated upon with peculiar
interest, even at this distance of time.
It is said that General Jackson is unfavourable to its renewal. In
his message of 1830 he expressed an opinion, that the bank had failed
in the great end of establishing an uniform and sound currency. This
is supposed to have reference merely to the circumstance of the
bank, not in all cases redeeming the bills issued by any one of its
branches indiscriminately at all the others. But it would be an obvious
injustice to oblige the bank to any such measure: the attempt would be
quite incompatible with its existence; as it is evident, that if the
exchange were unfavourable in one State, and favourable in another,
the flow of notes from the State where it is unfavourable, would
soon suspend or contract all the operations of the bank; and the very
evil of an inequality of the currency, which the establishment was
designed to remedy, would be increased by a vain attempt to perform
impossibilities. I need not, however, pursue this subject further;
but will only add, that all reasoning and experience seem to favour a
belief in the advantages which the banking establishment has conferred
on the country. It is, besides, in possession of a considerable surplus
fund, after deducting seven per cent., which will enable it to meet
any contingences that may arise. In lieu of the United States’ bank,
an establishment to be termed a national bank, founded on the credit
of the government and its revenues, has been proposed by General
Jackson and others. Five hundred agents are employed at the present
moment in transacting the affairs of the United States’ bank; but the
enormous increase of patronage which would accrue to the government
by the establishment of the proposed National bank, would be nothing
in comparison with the power that would be vested in it, from its
having under its control the dispensation of bank accommodations to
the amount of at least 50,000,000 of dollars. When these consequences
are considered, it is difficult to conceive how such a plan could find
support among the subjects of a government professing to be thoroughly
democratical.
The society of Philadelphia is, taken all together, the best in the
United States. The gay season is during the winter months. Balls and
concerts are then frequent and well attended: in this respect I was
unfortunate, as I was in that city in May—but I was partly recompensed
for my loss, by the promenade in Washington Square, which, although
shady enough, and prettily laid out, is not what the most fashionable
promenade in Philadelphia ought to be;—and I could not but remark, that
the display of beauty and elegance to be seen there about six o’clock
on the afternoon of a fine day, was most richly deserving of a better
place of parade. I cannot in conscience assert that, as far as it went,
I thought it equal, and yet I am scarcely willing to pronounce it
inferior, to the splendid cortège of Kensington gardens.
* * * * *