treated there,—and in a few hours the mail carried me to Washington.
This city of distances—this capital that is to be—is laid out upon
an open piece of undulating down, on the north side of the Potomac.
The capitol of the United States is built upon the most lofty part
of it, which is ascended by a fine flight of steps, and altogether
has a very imposing appearance, being visible at a great distance
from almost every side. It is of free-stone, which is found on the
river about thirty miles below the city. In front is a magnificent
portico of Corinthian columns, and behind it there is another; in the
same style, (though larger), as that at Wanstead House in Essex, or
Wentworth Castle in Yorkshire, which is a copy of Wanstead. On the top
are three domes; that in the centre would look a great deal better
if it were deeply fluted, like the dome of St. Paul’s; at present it
would be much better out of the way, as it gives a general appearance
of heaviness, to what would otherwise be deservedly thought a very
fine building. From the balustrade is obtained a delightful view of
the river, and the surrounding country. The centre of the interior
of the capitol, is occupied by a large open space under the dome,
containing four pictures, that look very well at a little distance:
the subjects are the Signing of the Declaration of Independence, the
Surrender of General Burgoyne, the Surrender of Lord Cornwallis;
and General Washington resigning his command at Annapolis. They are
painted by Col. Trumbull. The remainder of the capitol is occupied
by the apartments and offices connected with the senate, the house
of representatives, and the supreme court of the United States. The
pillars which support the roof of the chamber of representatives, are
of breccia, or pudding-stone; perhaps the most singular formation of
the kind that is to be found anywhere, not excepting that at Monserrat
in Spain, which is entirely composed of breccia. Fragments of granite,
quartz, limestone, and other rocks, have been pressed together in the
most extraordinary manner, by some stupendous power, and from a little
distance the composition might be mistaken for the _verd antique_.
It is found on the Potomac, about thirty miles above Washington. The
president’s house is a handsome building, with an Ionic portico; and
the only one in the States that resembles the modern residence of
a British nobleman. It is exactly at the distance of one mile and a
half in a straight line from the capitol, and the houses are continued
beyond it for nearly another. Numerous large streets radiate from the
capitol and the president’s house, as centres—a method of laying out a
city far handsomer than that which has been adopted at Philadelphia,
where the streets cross each other at right angles. Who that has
seen the “Perspective” at Petersburg, can ever forget it? where the
principal streets are all pointed towards the beautifully gilt steeple
of the Admiralty, that is seen glittering at the end of each of them.
It must be allowed that this arrangement has its disadvantages in the
shape of the houses, and apartments, one end of which, if they are
regularly divided, must be larger than the other.
In the dock-yard at Washington, I saw a sixty-gun frigate in a state of
forwardness, and a small schooner constructed on a plan that had never
been applied to a vessel of war, being of the same shape fore and aft,
and having no internal timbers. The blocks made there, are not all of
one piece, as they are at our dock-yard at Portsmouth. A double block
for instance, is composed of seven pieces of wood, exclusively of the
sheave. They are, no doubt, much stronger when made in this manner; but
a man can make but one in half an hour.
The college at George Town, adjoining the city, is a Catholic
establishment; its members are Jesuits, and who, as usual, are
increasing their influence, by purchasing lands, &c. Attached to the
college, is the nunnery of the Sisters of Visitation, containing about
fifty nuns. They tell there of a Hohenlohe miracle.
Washington, like most of the American cities, can boast of several
beautiful rides and walks in its vicinity. Arlington, the seat of
George Washington P. Castis, Esq., occupies a most conspicuous and
commanding situation, on the south bank of the Potomac. It is visible
for many miles, and in the distance has the appearance of a superior
English country residence, beyond any place I had seen in the States:
but as I came close to it, as usual, I was wofully disappointed. It
contains a valuable portrait of Washington, when a Major in the British
service, and wearing of course the blue-and-buff uniform.
Not far from the race ground, and about three miles from George
Town, is the residence of a gentleman who has paid greater and more
indefatigable attention to the culture of the vine than any other
person in America. The vineyards around his house produce several
different kinds of grapes; from which, considering how few years have
elapsed since the attempt was first made, he may be said to have been
very successful in producing some very good and palatable wines.
Amongst others, the best is dignified by the very aristocratic name of
“Tokay.” It is made from the “Catawba” grape, which he himself first
found in a cottager’s garden, not far from a tavern bearing the sign
of the Catawba Indians, distant about twenty miles from Washington.
From this circumstance he called it the Catawba grape. The Catawba
is a river of South Carolina, but no grape of the kind is found near
it. The cottagers could give him no satisfactory account of it, and
he never could find out whether it was indigenous, or, which is most
likely the fact, imported. It is rather a large grape, thick-skinned,
but at the same time very transparent, with a fine purple blush, and
far more fit for making wine than to form part of a dessert. As yet it
appears to thrive better than any kind of grape that has been tried
in the United States; so much so, that at Pittsburgh, and Lancaster,
and other places where there are vineyards, they have cleared away
a large proportion of the European plants, in favour of the Catawba
vine. He informed me that he had sent cuttings of it to every State
in the Union excepting Florida, Arkansaw, and Kentucky. A long time,
however, must elapse before the Americans can compete with the wines
of Europe: as yet, comparatively speaking, little can be known there,
either with reference to the best fruit, or to the soil and temperature
necessary to bring it to perfection. Upwards of seventy kinds of the
wild vine are found in the American forests, but not more than half
of them bear fruit. At Boston I tasted a grape called the Isabella
grape, whose flavour was still harsh, but was a great and decided
improvement in every respect, upon the sourness of the fox-grape of the
woods, from which, I was informed, it had been originally produced. I
am, of course, speaking of the Catawba and other grapes, only in their
wine-making capacity; the grapes raised in the United States for the
table, are exceedingly good and very plentiful.
As a matter of course, I visited Mount Vernon. A steam-boat conveyed me
to Alexandria in an hour. Alexandria was taken by the British squadron
on the 29th of August, 1814, and the stores of flour, tobacco, and
cotton, were carried off by them. It contains a population of 9000
persons, and carries on a trade in flour, tobacco, fish, and lumber, to
the southern States and the West Indies, although Baltimore has run
away with the greater part of its commerce. A ride of nine miles on a
well-shaded road, conducted me to Mount Vernon, now in possession of
John Augustine Washington, Esq., nephew to the General, and to the late
Judge, whose worth and learning are recorded by an inscription in the
court-house of Philadelphia. Of the house itself there is little to be
said. I saw there a piece of an old mug, which bears upon it a small
head of the General, said to be the best likeness of him that is known
anywhere. From the lawn, there is a fine view of the Potomac with Fort
Washington nearly opposite, which was abandoned at the approach of the
British squadron in 1814. In passing Mount Vernon, the ships fired a
salute it well deserved. I must confess that I was greatly disappointed
at the sight of the tomb that contains the ashes of Washington. I
did not expect grandeur, but I thought to have seen something more
respectable than either the old, or the new tomb, to which the coffin
was removed two years ago. But for the inscription, I should have
taken them for a couple of ice-houses. An avoidance of every thing
like pretension is desirable only so long as it is attended with
neatness;—but there is not even what can be fairly called a path to
either of them. Instead of feeling as I wished, whilst in contemplation
of the last long-home of this really great, because good man, my mind
was only occupied by intrusive reflections on the insignificant and
pauper-like appearance of the whole scene before me. The tears of La
Fayette, when visiting the tomb in 1825, might have partly flowed from
other sources than the mere consciousness that he was standing in the
presence of the mortal remains of his old friend and companion in
arms. There has been some talk of removing the coffin to the centre of
the hall in the capitol, and of a monument to be raised over it, but
I have understood that it is not seriously contemplated. If it were
placed there, it might one day be the means of saving the Union. How
forcible, how effective, in a moment of danger, might be an eloquent
appeal to its presence, made by the Judges of the supreme court, or the
orators of the American congress!
I was never fortunate enough to hear a mocking bird in its wild
state; I had frequently heard them in cages, but nowhere in such
perfection as at Washington. This bird, one of the noblest in nature,
is an inhabitant of the southern states only, and is thus described
by Wilson, the celebrated Ornithologist. “The plumage of the mocking
bird would scarcely entitle him to notice, but his figure is well
proportioned, and even handsome. The ease, elegance, and rapidity
of his movements—the animation of his eye, and the intelligence he
displays in listening and laying up lessons from almost every species
of the feathered race within his hearing, are really surprising, and
mark the superiority of his genius. He has a voice capable of almost
every modulation, from the clear mellow notes of the wood-thrush,
to the savage scream of the bald-eagle. In measure and accent, he
faithfully follows his originals; in force and sweetness of expression,
he greatly improves upon them: his admirable song rises paramount
over every competitor. His own native notes are bold and full, and
varied beyond all limits. In the height of his song, his ardour and
animation appear unbounded—he sweeps round with enthusiastic ecstasy—he
mounts or descends as his song swells or dies away; and as my friend
Mr. Bartram, (an American naturalist), has beautifully expressed it:
“he bounds aloft with the rapidity of an arrow, as if to recover or
recall his very soul, expired in the last elevated strain. While thus
exerting himself, a by-stander destitute of sight would suppose, that
the whole feathered tribe had assembled together, each striving to
produce his utmost effort, so perfect are his imitations. He many times
deceives the sportsman, and sends him in search of birds that are not
within a mile of him, but whose notes he exactly imitates. Even birds
themselves are imposed upon by his admirable music, and are decoyed
by the fancied calls of their mates, or are driven with precipitation
into the depths of the forest, at the screams of what they suppose
to be the sparrow-hawk.” He is of a size between the thrush and the
nightingale, but shaped like the latter bird. His plumage in general
is of a cinerous brown colour, with a broad bar of white on the wing,
which he is very fond of displaying. I am afraid that I never heard
them in perfection; but to judge from what I did hear, I should suppose
that although infinitely more varied, his natural notes were neither so
full nor so rich as those of the nightingale. But there are many who
think differently.”
One morning I was much amused by the debut of a new volunteer corps,
calling themselves the Highlanders,—Washington being one of the
flattest places in the States. The dress would have looked well enough
had it been uniform, but I was told there was not plaid enough of
the same pattern to be obtained in the city. The bonnet had a very
theatrical appearance, and would not have been half so bad, had not
the eye been attracted by the waistcoat and the broad lacings of the
coat, all of which were of a very dark sky-blue. I have a great respect
for the tartan; and I thought it might have looked decent, even when
converted, as it was, into small-clothes, had they not been made
extremely tight. Still, however, the costume of the nether man might
have passed unnoticed, had not the enormous bows at the knees been
composed of tri-coloured ribbon, and the general effect much heightened
by the long nankeen gaiters, which covered the leg from the knee to the
shoe.
In the capitol, as all the world knows, sit the senate, the house
of representatives, and the supreme court of the United States. And
here I may be permitted to remark, that when writing generally on
such a subject as the United States, every candid person will make
allowances for the impossibility of avoiding a repetition of things
already well known and well described. Under the apprehension that I
shall frequently be in error on this head, I think the safest mode is
to apologise at once, and beforehand. None, however, is necessary for
not entering at large upon a subject so tedious and so endless, as
that of the courts of the different states in their separate capacity
as to the federal judiciary. I may mention, that the United States
are divided into seven judicial circuits, and thirty-two judicial
districts. Each state is one district, with the exceptions of New
York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Alabama; which
are each of them divided into two districts. There are three courts
belonging to the general or federal government: the district court,
the circuit court, and the supreme court. The district court possesses
a civil and criminal admiralty and maritime jurisdiction, and also
takes cognizance of all cases affecting the revenue, and all crimes
and offences committed within the district, which are punishable by
moderate corporal punishment, or fine and imprisonment. It is held by
a district judge (there being one in each district), sitting alone,
four times a year: his salary varies from 1000 to 3000 dollars a year.
An appeal lies from his decision in cases where, exclusive of costs,
the matter in dispute exceeds the sum or value of fifty dollars, to
the “circuit court,” possessing an original jurisdiction, civil and
criminal. The civil jurisdiction extends to all controversies between
citizens of different states, and between a citizen and an alien. All
offences against the penal laws of the United States, can be tried in
this court. It is also a court of equity. The circuit court is held
before the district judge, sitting twice a year with the judge of
the supreme court. An appeal lies from its decisions to the supreme
court of the United States, where the matter in dispute exceeds 2000
dollars. In criminal cases, a point may be reserved for the opinion
of the judges of the supreme court, which is sent down to the circuit
court to be proceeded upon afterwards. In six of the states, Alabama,
Mississippi, Louisiana, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri, there is no
circuit court, because the judges of the supreme court could not find
time to sit there twice a year; but the district courts possess the
powers and jurisdiction of a circuit court.
The supreme court of the United States, is a very high and honourable
tribunal, composed of a chief justice, with a salary of 5000 dollars
(1125_l._), and six associate justices, with a salary of 4500 dollars
each, who hold a sitting once a year, at Washington, commencing on
the second Monday in January. The court sits five hours every day for
two months, deciding in that time usually about eighty causes, which
are reported as those of the law courts in England used, and ought
still to be, by an officer of the court. Its original jurisdiction
is confined to all such cases, affecting ambassadors, consuls, and
vice-consuls, as a court of law can exercise consistently with the law
of nations; and it has original, but not exclusive jurisdiction of all
suits brought by ambassadors, and other public ministers, in which a
consul or vice-consul is a party. But its dignity rests chiefly on its
appellate jurisdiction, which extends to all cases and appeals, and
writs of error from the circuit courts: likewise in all cases where the
constitution and laws of the federal government, or the construction of
any treaty entered into by the federal government, or its validity, or
any right or interest under a treaty, has been a subject of controversy
in the state tribunals. Its decisions and opinions on the construction
of the constitution, are the safeguard of the Union. But its appellate
jurisdiction is defined, and extends to no cases but where the power is
affirmatively given. In order to enable it to issue a mandamus, proof
is required that it is an exercise, or necessary to an exercise, of
its appellate jurisdiction. The supreme court has jurisdiction in all
controversies where the United States shall be a party in controversies
between two or more states; between a state and the citizens of another
state; between citizens of different states; between citizens of the
same state claiming lands under grants of different states; and between
a state, or the citizens thereof, and foreign states, citizens, or
subjects. A strict and admirable attention to justice, is observable
in these arrangements. Every description of case which might be
partially decided by the courts of the litigant states, is brought to
the bar of the great national tribunal to be disposed of.
During the last sittings of the supreme court, a case of great
constitutional interest was heard before it. It was entitled “The
Cherokee Nation, _versus_ the State of Georgia.” The Cherokee
nation having been repeatedly harassed by the incursions and other
unneighbourly proceedings of the inhabitants of Georgia, applied to the
supreme court for an injunction to restrain the state, its governor,
and other officers, from executing and enforcing the laws of Georgia
within the Cherokee territory. The counsel for the Cherokees argued,
that not being a state of the Union, the Cherokee nation was to be
considered as a foreign state, and was rendered capable of suing in
the supreme court by virtue of the clause I have mentioned above, in
which the judicial power of the court is extended to controversies
between a state and the citizens thereof, and foreign states’ citizens
or subjects: but Chief Justice Marshall decided, that the relation of
the Cherokees to the United States resembled that of guardian and ward;
that they could not be considered either as a foreign state, or as a
state of the Union; and that therefore they were rendered incapable
of suing in that court. His judgment was strengthened by the wording
of the articles of the constitution, in which Congress is empowered
to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and the several states and
the “Indian tribes,” who being in this manner specifically mentioned,
could not have been considered as a foreign state or nation by the
original framers of the constitution. Imagine the astonishment of the
poor Cherokees upon being told, that the highest tribunal at the city
of their Great Father could afford them no redress. The affair will, of
course, come before congress. Chief Justice Marshall decided according
to the letter of the constitution; but the opinion of Chancellor
Kent, of New York, is surely deserving of the greatest attention, as
containing an exposition apparently more agreeable to justice. He
considers the Indian tribes “not only as states, but as foreign states,
because they do not constitute any ingredient or essential part of our
own body politic.” He considers the clause just referred to, may have
contained the additional grant of power to regulate commerce with the
“Indian tribes” out of abundant caution, and to prevent any possible
doubt of the application to them of the power to regulate commerce
with “foreign nations.” The last words, he apprehends, would have
reached the Indians; but the constitution, in several other instances,
has gone into a like specification of powers which were, by necessary
implication, included in the more general grant. Thus, for instance,
power is given to congress “to declare war,” and it is immediately
subjoined “to grant letters of marque and reprisal.” They have power
to “coin money,” and “to regulate the value thereof:” they have power
“to raise armies,” and “to provide and maintain a navy:” and it is
immediately subjoined “to make rules for the government” (and not
government only, but it is added) “and regulation of the army and land
force.”
All the judges in the American courts enjoy an immunity from wigs, and
the judges of the supreme court alone are clothed in “silk attire.”
Their robes are black, and fashioned according to the taste of the
wearer. I examined four or five of them which were hanging up in the
court, and found that although perfectly judicial, they displayed
no small attention to taste in their cut and general appearance. A
proper degree of dignity is required and observed in the supreme
court; business is there conducted as it ought to be in every court
of justice; but some of the state courts are remarkably deficient in
this respect: even in the court-house at Philadelphia, during the
sitting of the circuit court, I have seen a gentleman, a counsellor of
eminence, coolly seat himself on the table whilst a judgment was being
given, and in that attitude I have heard him address some interlocutory
observations to the court, and press them upon its attention with
great earnestness and ability. I cannot understand why more dignity,
both judicial and forensic, should not be observed in the courts
of the United States. I have often been in the company of American
lawyers, who, as individuals, were men of gentlemanly manners, and
excellent general information, which they have ever evinced a readiness
to impart; but I do not remember one who ever mentioned the subject
at all, without admitting that a proper want of the respect due to
the time and the place is frequently but too visible in the American
courts; and yet there is no improvement.
Silence, being indispensable, is well preserved; but counsel and
attorneys may be occasionally seen with their legs dangling over the
back of a chair, or possibly resting on the table. A corresponding
carelessness of manner is of course exhibited by the spectators. I
have even observed persons with their hats on in court, and upon
inquiry have been told they were Quakers; but once or twice I remember
having taken the liberty of doubting the information. I hope I shall
not be supposed to mean, that no greater decorum is observed in the
principal courts of the larger cities than in those held at places
of minor importance; I am speaking of them generally as I found them
when in travelling. I happened to arrive at some place where a court
was sitting, and “just dropped in” for half an hour _en passant_; but
still there is always a something even in the best of them which, to an
English eye, appears undignified and indecorous; although there can be
no doubt that their appearance is not mended by the total absence of
wigs and gowns from all of them.
The spirit of equality renders it allowable, and the impossibility
in distant towns of making the profession answer by any other
arrangement, renders it necessary, that a barrister and solicitor
should frequently commence business as partners, and play into each
other’s hands. A judge will frequently travel from town to town
unattended, in his gig, or on horseback, with his saddle-bags before
him, or in the stage-coach, and dine at the village table d’hôte with
shopkeepers, pseudo majors, and advertising attorneys. Human nature
will out. In the absence of other titles, it is the pleasure of the
Americans that they should be dignified by the rank of General,
Colonel, or Aide-de-camp; but more especially I found by that of Major.
An English gentleman assured me that, being on board a steamer on the
Ohio river, he was first introduced by a friend as plain Mr., then as
Captain; soon after he was addressed as Major, and before the end of
the day he was formally introduced as a General. There is usually
a Major, or an Aide, as they call themselves, in every stage-coach
company. The captain of a steam-boat, who was presiding at the dinner
table, happened to ask rather loudly, “General, a little fish!” and
was immediately answered in the affirmative by twenty-five out of the
thirty gentlemen who were present.
One would have imagined, that in the United States, where an equal
partition of the rights of mankind is the boasted foundation of the
government, Justice would have been treated with peculiar courtesy;
but she is not properly honoured there. Justice is not exclusively a
republican in principle, whatever the Americans may think. She must
remain unaltered, whatever may be the form of government, as the value
of the diamond is the same whether its possessor be a prince or a
peasant. During my occasional visits to the courts of justice in the
United States, I could not help thinking how fortunate it was that
Justice was blind, and could not therefore be shocked by the want of
decorum I observed there. What was my surprise on entering the supreme
court in the capitol at Washington, to perceive her wooden figure with
the eyes unfilleted, and grasping the scales like a groceress! With
great deference, I would suggest that the whole of this unworthy group
should be removed. The day may arrive, as I have said before, when the
supreme court may be the means of saving the Union.