PARLEY TELLS ABOUT THE UNITED STATES.
The English settlements in America grew very rapidly into power and
importance. The French settlements also increased in extent and
influence, and a rivalry between the French and English, fostered and
nourished by the "_natural enmity_" which was said to subsist between
the Gauls and the Britons, broke out at last in terrible warfare. War is
very frightful under any circumstances. It looks very much like murder;
and, even at the best of times, a battle-field reminds us of Cain and
Abel. Brother slaughters brother, and the conqueror rejoices and
describes his sanguinary work as "a glorious victory." In the war
between the English and French settlers in America, a new and atrocious
feature was introduced. The Indians were engaged, for pay and powder,
on either side, to commit the most hideous cruelties; and things were
done which must not be told here, but the very thought of which should
make us shudder and turn pale.
The English got the better of the French, and they took Quebec, a strong
city in Canada. General Wolfe, a young man and an excellent soldier,
captured the city; but it cost him his life. During the heat of the
engagement, Wolfe was shot. "Support me," said he to an officer near
him; "do not let my brave fellows see my face!" He was removed to the
rear, and water was brought to quench his thirst. Just then a cry was
heard, "They run! they run!" "Who runs?" exclaimed Wolfe, faintly
raising himself. "The enemy!" was the reply. "Then," said he, "I die
content," and expired.
The result of the war in which General Wolfe perished, left a vast
amount of debt as a heavy weight upon the country. The English settlers
had fought very bravely all through the war, and they thought that the
English at home ought to pay the debt, and not tax them for its payment.
But the king and the parliament thought differently. They taxed the
American settlers very heavily; they would listen to no remonstrance;
and, when some signs were given of resistance, they were threatened with
punishment, like so many unruly schoolboys. Certain privileges which had
been granted them were taken away, and troops sent out to enforce
obedience. One very objectionable tax to the Americans was a stamp duty
on newspapers. Another was a tax on tea. They urged that it was unfair
for the British government to tax them without they were allowed to send
members to Parliament to look after their interests; but remonstrance
only tended to make the British government more determined; and so at
last they came to what somebody has called gunpowder law, that is to
say, fighting.
I need not enter on the events of the war. It ended in the triumph of
the American settlers, and in the declaration of American independence
and the formation of the United States. The foremost man, both as a
statesman and a soldier, in the conduct of the war, on the part of the
Americans, was George Washington. He was elected three times to the
presidency, and no name is more revered than his by the Americans.
Since the separation of America from England, more than one quarrel has
occurred between them. That which most vitally touches the future
prosperity of the states is the warfare which now rages between the
northern and southern sections of the republic. Most of you are aware
that slavery prevails to a great extent in America. The negroes or
blacks (the word _negro_ means _black_) are more particularly found in
the southern states. The northern states do not _hold_ slaves, but they
have so far _held_ with slavery as to give up runaways, and tolerate the
laws which make a man--because he was black--a mere beast of burden. A
quarrel, however, on this question, and others of minor importance, has
at last broken out between the north and south. The southerners have
separated from the northerners, and established a new republic of their
own. Their _right_ to do this has been denied by the north, and a civil
war has commenced in consequence. What may be the final result it is
impossible for any one to predict. The quarrel threatened at one time to
involve a war with England; but this is no longer apprehended. It seems
a very sad thing that a people so clever, so enterprising, so prosperous
as the Americans, should, by a quarrel and separation among themselves,
endanger--if they do not entirely overthrow--one of the most important
states in the world. We cannot forget what it is that lies at the bottom
of the mischief--SLAVERY.
"O execrable crime! so to aspire
Above our brethren, to ourselves assuming
Authority usurped from God, not given.
He gave us only over beast, fish, fowl,
Dominion absolute; that right we hold
By his donation: but man over man
He made not lord--such title to himself
Reserving, human left from human free."
I may now tell you something about some of the chief cities in the
United States.
New York is the principal seaport and commercial metropolis of the
States. It is situated at the southern extremity of an island called
Manhattan Island, near the mouth of the Hudson river. Its progress has
been very rapid, and its population is more than double that of any
other city in the new world. The approach to the city is very fine--the
shores of the bay being wooded down to the water's edge, and thickly
studded with farms, villages, and country seats. New York measures about
ten miles round. It is triangular in form. The principal street is
Broadway, a spacious thoroughfare extending in a straight line through
the centre of the city. The houses have a clean, fresh, cheerful
appearance; many of the stores or shops are highly decorated; the public
buildings, including the churches, while they can make no pretension to
grandeur, are good of their kind; the university is probably the finest
building in the city. The hotels in New York are far more extensive
than anything of the kind in Europe, and they are fitted up and
conducted on a scale of princely grandeur. The city of New York was
founded by the Dutch in 1621, and called New Amsterdam; but it was given
to the Duke of York (afterwards James II.) in 1604, and was henceforth
called by his name. The first congress of the United States was held
there in 1789.
Washington is the government capital of the States, and is so called in
honour of the distinguished man--the father of the Republic--to whom I
have already alluded. The entrance to the city by the Pennsylvanian
avenue is 100 feet wide, and planted with some of the trees. The
president's residence is called the "White House." The chief public
offices and halls for the assembly of congress are contained in one
building known as the Capitol. It stands on a hill, and is said to be
the finest building in the Union. It is surrounded by ornamental
grounds, and overlooks the river Potomac.
BOSTON is a maritime city, and a great place of trade; it is
situated on an extensive bay, and is connected with the interior of the
country by canals, railways, and river navigation. It is the great seat
of the American ice trade. In the history of the war of independence it
occupies a conspicuous place, as the Bostonians displayed great energy
in asserting popular rights. At Boston, when the "taxed tea" was sent
over by the British government, a number of the citizens disguised
themselves as Mohawk Indians, boarded the ships in which it had been
brought over, seized upon and staved the chests, and threw their
contents into the sea. This affair was known as the Boston tea party.
Boston is the birth-place of Dr. Benjamin Franklin--the "Poor Richard"
of whom I have no doubt you have often heard, and whose excellent advice
cannot be too well remembered nor too carefully applied.
CHARLESTON is another of the principal sea-ports of the States.
It is the largest town in South Carolina, and is situated at a low point
of land at the confluence of two rivers. It is the stronghold of
slavery. One of the most recent events connected with it is that of the
Northerners blocking up the harbour by sinking several ships, laden with
stones, at the entrance. This is a very barbarous act, as it
closes--perhaps for ever--one of the first ports in America.
PHILADELPHIA is the last city I shall mention. It is the great
Quaker city; its streets are remarkable for their regularity, and the
houses and stores for the peculiar air of cleanness which they exhibit.
The public buildings are nearly all of white marble. It is distinguished
for its vast number of charitable institutions and religious edifices,
and it is a thriving place of business. The city was founded by William
Penn in 1682. There is a monument marking the site of the signing of
Penn's famous treaty with the Indians. With some little account of this
treaty I shall conclude my notice of America.
King Charles II. made a grant of land to Penn, but this good man would
not enter upon its possession until after he had arranged a treaty with
those to whom he justly thought it more fairly belonged than to the
King of England--namely, with the Indians. He consequently convened a
meeting--under the wide spreading branches of an elm tree, the Indian
chiefs assembled. They were unarmed; the old men sat in a half-moon upon
the ground, the middle aged in the same figure, at a little distance
from them; the younger men formed a third semicircle in the rear. Before
them stood William Penn,--a light blue sash, the only mark which
distinguished him from his friends, bound round his waist.
"'Thou'lt find,' said the quaker, 'in me and mine,
But friends and brothers to thee and thine,
Who above no power, admit no line,
Twixt the red man and the white.'
And bright was the spot where the quaker came,
To leave his hat, his drab, and his name,
That will sweetly sound from the trumpet of fame,
Till its final blast shall die."
It is to be regretted that the speeches of the Indians on this memorable
day have not come down to us. It is only known that they solemnly
pledged themselves to live with William Penn and his people in peace and
amity so long as the sun and moon should endure. This was the only
treaty, it has been said, between these people and the Christians that
was _not_ ratified by an oath, and that was _never_ broken.
AUSTRALIA.