Lansmere was situated in the county adjoining that which contained the
village of Hazeldean. Late at noon the Parson crossed the little stream
which divided the two shires, and came to an inn, which was placed at an
angle, where the great main road branched off into two directions--the
one leading towards Lansmere, the other going more direct to London. At
this inn the pad stopped, and put down both ears with the air of a pad
who has made up her mind to bait. And the Parson himself, feeling very
warm and somewhat sore, said to the pad benignly, "It is just--thou
shall have corn and water!"
Dismounting therefore, and finding himself very stiff, as soon as he had
reached _terra firma_, the Parson consigned the pad to the ostler, and
walked into the sanded parlor of the inn, to repose himself on a very
hard Windsor chair.
He had been alone rather more than half-an-hour, reading a county
newspaper which smelt much of tobacco, and trying to keep off the flies
that gathered round him in swarms, as if they had never before seen a
Parson, and were anxious to ascertain how the flesh of him tasted,--when
a stage-coach stopped at the inn. A traveller got out with his
carpet-bag in his hand, and was shown into the sanded parlor.
The Parson rose politely, and made a bow.
The traveller touched his hat, without taking it off--looked at Mr. Dale
from top to toe--then walked to the window, and whistled a lively
impatient tune, then strode towards the fire-place and rang the bell;
then stared again at the Parson; and that gentleman having courteously
laid down the newspaper, the traveller seized it, threw himself on a
chair, flung one of his legs over the table, tossed the other up on the
mantel-piece, and began reading the paper, while he tilted the chair on
its hind legs with so daring a disregard to the ordinary position of
chairs and their occupants, that the shuddering Parson expected every
moment to see him come down on the back of his skull.
Moved, therefore, to compassion, Mr. Dale said mildly--
"Those chairs are very treacherous, sir. I'm afraid you'll be down."
"Eh," said the traveller, looking up much astonished. "Eh, down?--oh,
you're satirical, sir."
"Satirical, sir? upon my word, no!" exclaimed the Parson earnestly.
"I think every free-born man has a right to sit as he pleases in his own
house," resumed the traveller with warmth; "and an inn is his own house,
I guess, so long as he pays his score. Betty, my dear."
For the chambermaid had now replied to the bell.
"I han't Betty, sir; do you want she?"
"No, Sally--cold brandy and water--and a biscuit."
"I han't Sally either," muttered the chambermaid; but the traveller
turning round, showed so smart a neckcloth and so comely a face, that
she smiled, colored, and went her way.
The traveller now rose, and flung down the paper. He took out a
pen-knife, and began paring his nails. Suddenly desisting from this
elegant occupation, his eye caught sight of the Parson's shovel-hat,
which lay on a chair in the corner.
"You're a clergyman, I reckon, sir," said the traveller, with a slight
sneer.
Again Mr. Dale bowed--bowed in part deprecatingly--in part with dignity.
It was a bow that said, "No offence, sir, but I _am_ a clergyman, and
I'm not ashamed of it."
"Going far?" asked the traveller.
_Parson._--"Not very."
_Traveller._--"In a chaise or fly? If so, and we are going the same
way--halves."
_Parson._--"Halves?"
_Traveller._--"Yes, I'll pay half the damage--pikes inclusive."
_Parson._--"You are very good, sir. But," (_spoken with pride_) "I am on
horseback."
_Traveller._--"On horseback! Well, I should not have guessed that! You
don't look like it. Where did you say you were going?"
"I did _not_ say where I was going, sir," said the Parson drily, for he
was much offended at that vague and ungrammatical remark applicable to
his horsemanship, that "he did not look like it."
"Close!" said the traveller laughing: "an old traveller, I reckon."
The Parson made no reply, but he took up his shovel-hat, and, with a bow
more majestic than the previous one, walked out to see if his pad had
finished her corn.
The animal had indeed finished all the corn afforded to her, which was
not much, and in a few minutes more Mr. Dale resumed his journey. He had
performed about three miles, when the sound of wheels behind made him
turn his head, and he perceived a chaise driven very fast, while out of
the windows thereof dangled strangely a pair of human legs. The pad
began to curvet as the post horses rattled behind, and the Parson had
only an indistinct vision of a human face supplanting these human legs.
The traveller peered out at him as he whirled by--saw Mr. Dale tossed up
and down on the saddle, and cried out, "How's the leather?"
"Leather!" soliloquised the Parson, as the pad recomposed herself. "What
does he mean by that? Leather! a very vulgar man. But I got rid of him
cleverly."
Mr. Dale arrived without farther adventure at Lansmere. He put up at the
principal inn--refreshed himself by a general ablution--and sate down
with a good appetite to his beef-steak and pint of port.
The Parson was a better judge of the physiognomy of man than that of the
horse; and after a satisfactory glance at the civil smirking landlord,
who removed the cover and set on the wine, he ventured on an attempt at
conversation. "Is my lord at the park?"
_Landlord_, still more civilly than before: "No, sir, his lordship and
my lady have gone to town to meet Lord L'Estrange."
"Lord L'Estrange! He is in England, then?"
"Why, so I heard," replied the landlord, "but we never see him here now.
I remember him a very pretty young man. Every one was fond of him, and
proud of him. But what pranks he did play when he was a lad! We hoped he
would come in for our boro' some of these days, but he has taken to
foren parts--more's the pity. I am a reg'lar Blue, sir, as I ought to
be. The Blue candidate always does me the honor to come to the Lansmere
Arms. 'Tis only the low party puts up with the Boar," added the landlord
with a look of ineffable disgust. "I hope you like the wine, sir?"
"Very good, and seems old."
"Bottled these eighteen years, sir. I had in the cask for the great
election of Dashmore and Egerton. I have little left of it, and I never
give it but to old friends like--for, I think, sir, though you be grown
stout, and look more grand, I may say that I've had the pleasure of
seeing you before."
"That's true, I dare say, though I fear I was never a very good
customer."
_Landlord._--"Ah, it is Mr. Dale, then! I thought so when you came into
the hall. I hope your lady is quite well, and the Squire too; fine
pleasant-spoken gentleman; no fault of his if Mr. Egerton went wrong.
Well, we have never seen him--I mean Mr. Egerton--since that time. I
don't wonder he stays away; but my lord's son, who was brought up
here,--it an't nat'ral like that he should turn his back on us!"
Mr. Dale made no reply, and the landlord was about to retire, when the
Parson, pouring out another glass of the port, said--"There must be
great changes in the parish. Is Mr. Morgan, the medical man, still
here?"
"No, indeed; he took out his ploma after you left, and became a real
doctor; and a pretty practice he had too, when he took, all of a sudden,
to some new-fangled way of physicking--I think they calls it
homysomething----"
"Homoeopathy!"
"That's it--something against all reason: and so he lost his practice
here and went up to Lunnun. I've not heard of him since."
"Do the Avenels keep their old house?"
"Oh, yes!--and are pretty well off, I hear say. John is always poorly;
though he still goes now and then to the Odd Fellows, and takes his
glass; but his wife comes and fetches him away before he can do himself
any harm."
"Mrs. Avenel is the same as ever?"
"She holds her head higher, I think," said the landlord, smiling. "She
was always--not exactly proud like, but what I calls gumptious."
"I never heard that word before," said the Parson, laying down his knife
and fork. "Bumptious, indeed, though I believe it is not in the
dictionary, has crept into familiar parlance, especially amongst young
folks at school and college."
"Bumptious is bumptious, and gumptious is gumptious," said the landlord,
delighted to puzzle a Parson. "Now the town beadle is bumptious, and
Mrs. Avenel is gumptious."
"She is a very respectable woman," said Mr. Dale, somewhat rebukingly.
"In course, sir, all gumptious folks are; they value themselves on their
respectability, and looks down on their neighbors."
_Parson_, still philologically occupied. "Gumptious--gumptious. I think
I remember the substantive at school--not that my master taught it to
me. 'Gumption,' it means cleverness."
_Landlord_, (doggedly.)--"There's gumption and gumptious! Gumption is
knowing; but when I say that sum un is gumptious, I mean--though that's
more vulgar like--sum un who does not think small beer of hisself. You
take me, sir!"
"I think I do," said the Parson, half-smiling. "I believe the Avenels
have only two of their children alive still--their daughter, who married
Mark Fairfield, and a son who went off to America?"
"Ah, but he made his fortune there, and has come back."
"Indeed! I'm very glad to hear it. He has settled at Lansmere?"
"No, sir. I hear as he's bought a property a long way off. But he comes
to see his parents pretty often--so John tells me--but I can't say that
I ever see him, I fancy Dick doesn't like to be seen by folks who
remember him playing in the kennel."
"Not unnatural," said the Parson indulgently; "but he visits his
parents: he is a good son, at all events, then?"
"I've nothing to say against him. Dick was a wild chap before he took
himself off. I never thought he would make his fortune; but the Avenels
are a clever set. Do you remember poor Nora--the Rose of Lansmere, as
they called her? Ah, no, I think she went up to Lunnun afore your time,
sir."
"Humph!" said the Parson drily. "Well, I think you may take away now. It
will be dark soon, and I'll just stroll out and look about me."
"There's a nice tart coming, sir."
"Thank you, I've dined."
The Parson put on his hat and sallied forth into the streets. He eyed
the houses on either hand with that melancholy and wistful interest with
which, in middle life, we revisit scenes familiar to us in
youth--surprised to find either so little change or so much, and
recalling, by fits and snatches, old associations and past emotions. The
long High Street which he threaded now began to change its bustling
character, and slide, as it were gradually, into the high road of a
suburb. On the left, the houses gave way to the moss-grown pales of
Lansmere Park: to the right, though houses still remained, they were
separated from each other by gardens, and took the pleasing appearance
of villas--such villas as retired tradesmen or their widows, old maids,
and half-pay officers, select for the evening of their days.
Mr. Dale looked at these villas with the deliberate attention of a man
awakening his power of memory, and at last stopped before one, almost
the last on the road, and which faced the broad patch of sward that lay
before the lodge of Lansmere Park. An old pollard oak stood near it, and
from the oak there came a low discordant sound; it was the hungry cry of
young ravens, awaiting the belated return of the parent bird. Mr. Dale
put his hand to his brow, paused a moment, and then, with a hurried
step, passed through the little garden and knocked at the door. A light
was burning in the parlor, and Mr. Dale's eye caught through the window
a vague outline of three forms. There was an evident bustle within at
the sound of the knocks. One of the forms rose and disappeared. A very
prim, neat, middle-aged maid-servant now appeared at the threshold, and
austerely inquired the visitor's business.
"I want to see Mr. or Mrs. Avenel. Say that I have come many miles to
see them; and take in this card."
The maid-servant took the card, and half-closed the door. At least three
minutes elapsed before she reappeared.
"Missis says it's late, sir; but walk in."
The Parson accepted the not very gracious invitation, stepped across the
little hall, and entered the parlor.
Old John Avenel, a mild-looking man, who seemed slightly paralytic, rose
slowly from his arm-chair. Mrs. Avenel, in an awfully stiff, clean, and
Calvinistical cap, and a gray dress, every fold of which bespoke
respectability and staid repute--stood erect on the floor, and, fixing
on the Parson a cold and cautious eye, said:
"You do the like of us great honor, Mr. Dale--take a chair! You call
upon business?"
"Of which I have apprised you by letter, Mr. Avenel."
"My husband is very poorly."
"A poor creature!" said John feebly, and as if in compassion of himself,
"I can't get about as I used to do. But it ben't near election time, be
it, sir?"
"No, John," said Mrs. Avenel, placing her husband's arm within her own.
"You must lie down a bit, while I talk to the gentleman."
"I'm a real good blue," said poor John; "but I an't quite the man I
was;" and leaning heavily on his wife, he left the room, turning round
at the threshold, and saying, with great urbanity--"Any thing to oblige,
sir?"
Mr. Dale was much touched. He had remembered John Avenel the comeliest,
the most active, and the most cheerful man in Lansmere; great at glee
club and cricket, (though then stricken in years,) greater in vestries;
reputed greatest in elections.
"Last scene of all," murmured the Parson; "and oh well, turning from the
poet, may we cry with the disbelieving philosopher, 'Poor, poor
humanity!'"[U]
In a few minutes Mrs. Avenel returned. She took a chair at some distance
from the Parson's, and, resting one hand on the elbow of the chair,
while with the other she stiffly smoothed the stiff gown, she said--
"Now, sir."
That "Now, sir," had in its sound something sinister and warlike. This
the shrewd Parson recognized with his usual tact. He edged his chair
nearer to Mrs. Avenel, and placing his hand on hers--
"Yes, now then, and as friend to friend."
FOOTNOTES:
[T] It need scarcely be observed, that Jackeymo, in his conversations
with his master or Violante, or his conferences with himself, employs
his native language, which is therefore translated without the blunders
that he is driven to commit when compelled to trust himself in the
tongue of the country in which he is a sojourner.
From Fraser's Magazine.
AN INEDITED LETTER OF EDWARD GIBBON.
The following is an inedited letter of the celebrated author of _The
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire_. It is addressed to his friend M.
D'Eyverdun (who was at that time at Leipsig), and has lately been found
among a mass of papers in the house which M. D'Eyverdun possessed at
Lausanne, and where Mr. Gibbon resided several years.
_To M. D'Eyverdun, at Leipsig._
London, May 7th, 1776.
My long silence towards you has been occasioned (if I have properly
analyzed what has lately passed in my mind) by different reasons. During
the Summer there was indolence and procrastination; since the opening of
parliament the necessity of finishing my book, and at the same time of
subduing America. I have been involved in a multitude of public,
private, and literary business, such as I had never experienced in the
whole course of my life. The materials of my correspondence I have
gradually accumulated, and despairing of being able to say any thing, I
have wisely finished by saying nothing. Meantime, it is not necessary to
inform my dear reader that I love him just as much as if I had written
to him every week.
Where, then, shall I begin this letter? Can this question be put to a
man who has just published his book? I shall speak of myself, and I
shall enjoy the pleasure which renders the conversation of friends so
delightful,--the pleasure of talking of one's self with somebody who
will take an interest in the subject. It is true I should greatly prefer
conversing with you, walking backwards and forwards in my library, where
I could, without blushing, make to you all the confessions which my
vanity might prompt. But at this lamentable distance from London to
Leipsig we cannot do without a confidant, and the paper might one day
disclose the little secrets which I am obliged to confide to you.
You know that the first volume of _The History of the Decline and Fall
of the Roman Empire_ has had the most complete success, and the most
flattering to the author. But I must take up the matter a little further
back. I do not know whether you recollect that I had agreed with my
bookseller for an edition of 500 copies. This was a very moderate
number; but I wished to learn the taste of the public, and to reserve to
myself the opportunity of soon making, in a second edition, all the
changes which the observations of critics and my own reflections might
suggest. We had come, perhaps, to the twenty-fifth sheet, when my
publisher and my printer, men of sense and taste, began to perceive that
the work in question might be worth something, and that the said 500
copies would not suffice for the demands of the British readers. They
stated their reasons to me, and very humbly, but very earnestly, begged
me to permit 500 more to be printed. I yielded to their entreaties, not,
however, without fearing that the younger brothers of my numerous family
might be condemned to an inglorious old age, in the obscurity of some
warehouse. Meantime the printing went on; and, in spite of paternal
affection, I sometimes cursed the attention which I was obliged to pay
to the education of my children, to cure them of the little defects
which the negligence of their preceptors had suffered to pass without
correcting them.
At length, in the month of February, I saw the decisive hour arrive, and
I own to you that it was not without some sort of uneasiness. I knew
that my book was good, but I would have had it excellent; I could not
rely on my own judgment, and I feared that of the public,--that tyrant
who often destroys in an instant the fruit of ten years' labor. At
length, on the 16th of February, I gave myself to the universe, and the
universe--that is to say, a small number of English readers--received me
with open arms. In a fortnight the whole edition was so completely
exhausted that not a single copy was left. Mr. Cadell (my publisher)
proposed to me to publish a second edition of 1000 copies, and in a few
days he saw reason to beg me to allow him to print 1500 copies. It will
appear at the beginning of next month; and he already ventures to
promise me that it will be sold before the end of the year, and that he
shall be obliged to importune me a third time. The volume--a handsome
quarto--costs a guinea in boards; it has sold, as my publisher expresses
it, like a sixpenny pamphlet on the affairs of the day.
I have hitherto contented myself with stating the fact, which is the
least equivocal testimony in favor of the _History_. It is said that a
horse alone does not flatter kings when they think fit to mount him;
might we not add, that the bookseller is the only person who does not
flatter authors when they take it into their heads to appear in print?
But you conceive that from a small number of eager readers one always
finds means to catch praises, and for my part, I own to you that I am
very fond of these praises; those of women of rank, especially when they
are young and handsome, though not of the greatest weight, amuse me
infinitely. I have had the good fortune to please some of these persons,
and the ancient _History_ of your learned friend has succeeded with them
like a fashionable novel. Now hear what Robertson says in a letter which
was not designed to fall into my hands:--
"I have read (says he) Mr. Gibbon's _History_ with great
attention, and with singular pleasure. It is a work of great
merit. We find in it that sagacity of research, without which
an author does not merit the name of an historian. His
narrative is clear and interesting; his style is elegant and
vigorous, sometimes rather too labored, and, perhaps, studied:
but these defects are amply compensated by the beauty of the
language, and sometimes by a rare felicity of expression."
Now listen attentively to poor David Hume:
"After having read with impatience and avidity the first volume
of your _History_, I feel the same impatience to thank you for
your interesting present; and to express to you the
satisfaction which this production has afforded me, under the
several points of view, of the dignity of the style, the extent
of your researches, the profound manner in which the subject is
treated. This work is entitled to the highest esteem. You will
feel pleasure, as I do myself, from hearing that all the men of
letters in this city (Edinburgh) agree in admiring your work,
and in desiring the continuation of it."
Do you know, too, that the Tacitus and Livy of Scotland have been useful
to me in more ways than one. Our good English folk had long lamented the
superiority which these historians had acquired; and as national
prejudices are kept up at a small expense, they have eagerly raised
their unworthy countrymen by their acclamations to a level with these
great men. Besides, I have had the good fortune to avoid the shoal which
is the most dangerous in this country. A historian is always to a
certain degree a political character, and every reader according to his
private opinion seeks in the most remote ages the sentiments of the
historian upon kings and governments. A minister who is a great friend
to the prerogatives of the crown has complimented me, on my having
everywhere professed the soundest doctrines.
Mr. Walpole, on the other hand, and my Lord Camden, both partisans of
liberty, and even of a republic, are persuaded that I am not far from
their ideas. This is a proof, at least, that I have observed a fair
neutrality.
Let us now look at the reverse of the medal, and inspect the means which
Heaven has thought fit to employ to humble my pride. Would you think, my
dear sir, that injustice has been carried so far as to attack the purity
of my faith? The cry of the bishops and of a great number of ladies,
equally respectable for their age and understanding, has been raised
against me. It has been maintained, that the last two chapters of my
pretended _History_ are only a satire on the Christian religion--a
satire the more dangerous as it is concealed under a veil of moderation
and impartiality: and that the emissary of Satan, after having long
amused his readers with a very agreeable tale, insensibly leads them
into the infernal snare. You perceive all the horror of this accusation,
and will easily understand that I shall oppose only a respectful silence
to the clamors of my enemies?
And the Translation? Will you soon cause me to be read and burnt in the
rest of Europe? After a short suspension, the reasons for which it is
useless to detail, I re-commenced sending the sheets as they issued from
the press. They went regularly by way of Gottingen, where M. Sprengel
has, doubtless, taken care to forward them to you; so that the whole of
the English original must have been long since in your hands. What use
have you made of it? Is the translation finished? When and where do you
intend it shall appear? I cannot help fearing accidents that may have
happened by the way, and still more apprehending your indolence or
forgetfulness; and the more so, as I have learned from several quarters
that you are engaged in the translation of some German work.
Notwithstanding my silence, you might have informed me of the state of
things; at all events you have not a moment to lose, for the Duke de
Choiseul, who is quite delighted with my work, has signified to Mr.
Walpole his intentions to have it translated as soon as possible. I
believe I have put a stop to this design by assuring him that your
translation was in the press at Leipsig; but we cannot long answer for
events, and it would be equally unpleasant to be anticipated by a _bel
esprit_ of Paris, or by a manoeuvre of an Amsterdam bookseller.
This is a pretty decent letter; I know, however, that you ought not to
give me credit for it, because it is all about myself. I have a thousand
other things to tell you, and as many questions to ask you. Depend on
another letter in a week. Fear nothing, I swear by holy friendship; and
my oath will not remain without effect.
Ever yours,
ED. GIBBON.
FOOTNOTES:
[U] Mr. Dale probably here alludes to Lord Bolingbroke's ejaculation as
he stood by the dying Pope; but his memory does not serve him with the
exact words.
* * * * *
RELICS OF MADISON.
Among the household effects of Mrs. Madison, sold in Washington lately,
were an original portrait of Washington by Stuart, and others of
Jefferson, Madison, and Mrs. M. by the same artist; one of John Adams,
by Col. Trumbull, and one of Monroe, by Vanderlyn, all originals,
painted especially for Mr. Madison, and never out of the possession of
the family. Besides these there were portraits of three discoverers,
Vespucius, Columbus, and Cabot, and many other very valuable paintings.
From Leigh Hunt's Journal.
THE FIRST SHIP IN THE NIGER.
BY WILLIAM ALLAN RUSSELL.
'Tis tropic noon! and not a single sound
Breathes on the eternal stillness all around;
'Tis tropic noon! and yet the sultry time
Seems like the twilight of some fairy clime.
Spreading in lone luxuriance round is seen
The mangrove's tangled maze of sombre green;
Thro' mists that dwell those baneful fens upon
Large orbed and pale peers out the shrouded Sun,
And struggling sickly thro' the vaporous day,
Dull on the windless waters falls the pallid ray.
So slumb'ringly the glassy river goes,
The water-lily dips not as it flows;
The swallow, haunter of the charmed spot,
Skims through the silence, and awakes it not;
Perch'd as in sleep, the gray kingfisher broods,
A sentinel among the solitudes;
And faints the breeze beneath the heavy sky,
Nor bends the bulrush, as it loiters by
Thro' long green walls of forest trees, that throw
Unwavering shadows in the flood below;
And droops from topmost boughs (like garlands dight
By elfin hands) the gaudy parasite:
Crowning the wave with flow'rs; and high above,
The tall acacia moves, or seems to move
Its feathery foliage in the enamor'd air,
That seems, tho' all unheard, to linger there:
Might'st fancy all, the earth, the air, the stream,
Still unawaken'd from Creation's dream.
When, hark! there sounds along the lonely shore
A voice those wilds had never heard before;
The wild bird dipp'd--the diamond-eye'd gazelle
Started and paused,--then fled into the dell;
Stirr'd by no breeze, the tree-tops seem'd to sigh--
When, lo! again the still repeated cry;
Hark! 'tis the leadsman, chanting loud and clear
The changing fathoms, as a ship draws near,--
And all at once rings out the Briton's hearty cheer!
_Historical Review of the Month._
THE UNITED STATES.
The Thirty-first American Congress, after a session of a little more
than three months, closed on the 4th of March. The conclusion of the
session was much more interesting and important than its commencement.
Our record of the previous month closed with the passage by the Senate,
on the 13th of February, of the joint resolution authorizing the
President to confer the brevet rank of Lieutenant-General on General
Scott. Mr. Benton, on the following day, attempted to revive his bill
paying to Missouri two per cent. on her sales of public lands, but was
unsuccessful. The River and Harbor Bill was taken up in the House on the
13th, and debated for several days; it finally passed on the 18th, by a
vote of 114 to 75. During the debate an altercation took place between
Mr. Inge of Alabama and Mr. Stanley of North Carolina, which resulted in
a duel. The parties met in Maryland, beyond the jurisdiction of the
District of Columbia, and after an ineffectual exchange of shots, agreed
to a reconciliation.
Several exciting debates arose in the Senate, in relation to the
Fugitive Slave Law, growing out of the following circumstances: On
Saturday, February 21st, an alleged fugitive slave, named Shadrach, was
arrested in Boston by the U.S. Marshal, and taken before the U.S.
Commissioner for examination. The counsel for defence asked for a
postponement of the case for two days, which was granted, Shadrach
remaining in the U. S. Court Room, in custody of the U. S. Deputy
Marshal, since, by a law of the state, the use of the jail is forbidden
for the confinement of a fugitive slave. Soon after the adjournment of
the Court the doors were suddenly burst open by a mob of negroes, the
officers overpowered, and the prisoner carried off. After being hurried
rapidly through the streets, he was secreted in a remote part of the
city, and in the evening made his escape to Canada. The announcement of
this case produced much excitement in Washington. A conference of the
Cabinet was immediately called, and on the following Tuesday the
President issued a proclamation calling on the commanders of the U. S.
military and naval forces at Boston to aid the government officers with
their troops, if need be, in the discharge of their duty. In reply to a
resolution offered by Mr. Clay, and unanimously adopted by the Senate,
the President addressed to that body a special message on the subject.
He regards the rescue of the slave as an act of sudden violence,
unexpected by the authorities, and not as proceeding from or sanctioned
by the general feeling of the citizens of Boston. He quotes the laws of
Congress, of 1789 and 1799, in relation to the safe-keeping of prisoners
committed under the authority of the United States, and the
Massachusetts state law of 1843, making it a penal offence for any
officer of the commonwealth to aid in the arrest or detention of a
fugitive slave: considering that, though such state legislation may
create embarrassment, it cannot impair the constitutional provision for
the delivery of fugitives bound to labor in another state. He recommends
a modification of the general law, enabling the President to call upon
the militia, and place them under the control of any civil officer of
the government, without requiring any previous proclamation, in cases
where the civil authority is menaced.
The California Duties Bill, giving the new state $300,000 out of the
duties collected while she was a territory, to defray the expenses of
the state government up to the time of her admission, passed the Senate
February 25th. The Cheap Postage Bill, as amended, passed the following
day, by a vote of 39 to 15. This bill provides a rate of three cents
when pre-paid, five cents when not pre-paid, on letters less than half
an ounce, and for any distance exceeding three thousand miles double
these rates. Instead of a uniform rate of one cent on newspapers, it
provides a tariff postage from five to twenty-five cents per quarter for
weekly papers, according to distances; semi-weeklies to pay double,
tri-weeklies triple, and dailies five times these rates. The House
afterwards added an amendment providing for the coinage of three-cent
pieces, which was concurred in by the Senate. The law will take effect
on the 1st of July next.
On Saturday, February 22d, Mr. Rantoul, of Massachusetts, appeared and
took his seat for the remaining ten days of his term. The bill
abolishing constructive mileage on the part of the Senate passed both
houses. The River and Harbor Bill, appropriating between two and three
millions of dollars for the improvement of the harbors of the coast and
the lakes, and the river navigation of the interior, was taken up in the
Senate, on Saturday, March 1st, by a vote of 31 to 25. The debate
continued until past midnight, when the Senate adjourned. The subject
was resumed on Monday morning, the opponents of the bill, who were in
the minority, exercising their ingenuity in order to prevent a vote.
There being now but a few hours of the session remaining, the utmost
activity and excitement prevailed in both houses. The indispensable
Appropriation Bills were yet to be passed, the Postage Bill was waiting
its final vote, and a number of important measures, disposed of by one
house, were waiting the action of the other. The discussion in the
Senate was continued through the whole of Monday night, until four
o'clock on Tuesday morning, when the majority yielded to a motion
postponing its consideration for four hours, in order to allow the
necessary Appropriation Bills to be acted on.
In the House, on Monday, the Senate's Joint Resolution requesting the
President to authorize one of our vessels in the Mediterranean to bring
Kossuth and his companions to this country, was passed by a large
majority. The resolution relieving Mr. Ritchie from the terms of his
printing contract, and giving him one-half the proceeds fixed by the law
of 1819, passed the House by a majority of five, and was taken up in the
Senate about half an hour before the close of the session, but was lost
for want of time. Among the last acts of the house were, the passage of
the Senate bill paying $40,000 to the American Colonization Society for
expenses incurred in supporting the Africans recaptured from the bark
Pons; the defeat of the resolution creating the rank of
Lieutenant-General; and the act founding a Military Asylum for the
relief of disabled soldiers. The French Spoliation Bill, the bill making
Land Warrants Assignable, the bill granting ten million acres of the
public lands to the states for the relief of the indigent insane, and
all the proposals for new steamship lines, as well as Mr. Collins's
application for an additional appropriation to his Liverpool line, were
lost for want of time. In the Senate, after the River and Harbor Bill
was dropped, the Army and Navy and Civil and Diplomatic Appropriation
Bills, the Post Route Bill, and the Light House Bill, were all passed.
Both houses adjourned at noon, on Tuesday, March 4th.
After an interval of twenty minutes, the Senate was again called to
order, a Special Session having been ordered by the President to
consider Executive business. Messrs. Bright, Bayard, Cass, Jefferson
Davis, Hamilton, Mason, Pratt, Rusk, and Dodge of Wisconsin, Senators
elect, appeared and were qualified. Mr. Foote, of Vermont, appeared on
the 8th and was sworn in. Mr. Yulee presented a communication, claiming
to have been elected by the Legislature of Florida, he having received
29 votes when the remainder were blank. The Judiciary Committee reported
against allowing the California Senators mileage by the Panama route,
but the discussion of the subject was postponed till the next session.
On Friday, the 7th, the Senate ratified the treaties lately negotiated
with Portugal, with Switzerland, and the treaty with Mexico respecting
the Tehuantepec route from the Gulf to the Pacific. The treaty of
extradition with Mexico was rejected. The treaty with Switzerland was
amended in some particulars.
A message was received in reply to a resolution calling on the State
Department to furnish copies of the correspondence with Turkey regarding
Kossuth. In addition to the correspondence which has already appeared,
Mr. Webster in February, addressed a letter to J. P. Brown, Dragoman of
the Legation at Constantinople, concerning the probable intentions of
Turkey; to which Mr. Brown replied that in May, 1851, the year for which
the Sultan promised Austria to retain the Hungarians will expire. Mr.
Webster thereupon addressed a letter to Mr. Marsh, U. S. minister to
Constantinople, in relation to the approaching release of Kossuth and
his companions, and the offer to be made to them and to the Sublime
Porte, in accordance with the joint resolution of Congress. Mr. Webster
requests our minister to state that though the United States has no
intention to interfere in any manner with the international relations of
other Governments, yet, in this case, it hopes that suggestions
proceeding from no other motives than friendship and respect for the
Porte, and sympathy for the unhappy exiles, may be received as a proof
of national good-will. He alludes in terms of high commendation to the
course of the Porte in refusing to deliver the exiles into the hands of
their pursuers, and while acknowledging the force of the considerations
through which they have been detained up to the present time, urges that
their transportation to this country cannot longer be reasonably
opposed. The tone of Mr. Webster's letter is humane, eloquent and
dignified; it will be read with earnest satisfaction by the friends of
Liberty throughout the Globe.
The action of the Executive Session of the Senate was chiefly upon
nominations made by the President. These having been completed and some
resolutions adopted, calling for information on various subjects, to be
communicated to the next session, the Senate adjourned on the 13th of
March. The following are the principal nominations: Hon. Robert F.
Schenck, of Ohio, Minister to Brazil; John B. Kerr, of Maryland, Charge
to Nicaragua; John S. Pendleton, of Virginia, Charge to the Argentine
Republic; Mr. Markoe, of the State Department, Charge to Denmark; Y. P.
King, of Georgia, Charge to New-Granada; Samuel G. Goodrich, of
Massachusetts, Consul at Paris; John Howard Payne, Consul to Tunis; Mr.
Easby, of Washington, Commissioner of Public Buildings; Grafton Baker,
of Mississippi, Chief Justice of New-Mexico; Ogden Hoffman, Jr., of San
Francisco, District Judge for California; George G. Baker, of Ohio,
Consul to Genoa; Henry A. Homer, of Massachusetts, Dragoman to the
Turkish Legation; H. Jones Brooke, of Penn., Consul at Belfast; and
Charles Russell, Collector at Santa Barbara, California. Jacob B. Moore,
of New-York, was confirmed as Post-Master, and T. Butler King, of
Georgia, as Collector, at San Francisco.
M. Marcoleta, Minister Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Nicaragua,
arrived in this country from Europe, and was officially presented to the
President on Saturday, Feb. 22. The addresses on both sides were of the
most cordial character. Commodore Jones, whose trial by Court Martial
has been going on at Washington for some time past, has been found
guilty of speculating in gold dust with the public funds, and is
suspended from his command for five years, half of the time without pay.
The Superintendent of the Census has published a table, compiled from
the returns of the Marshals, which are complete in all the principal
States. From this it appears that the entire population of the United
States will be about 23,200,000, of which 8,070,734 are slaves. The
entire representative population will be 21,710,000, and the ratio of
representation 93,170, the law of May, 22, 1850, determining the number
of representatives at 233. The States which gain, in all, are as
follows: Arkansas 1, Indiana 1, Illinois 2, Massachusetts 1, Mississippi
1, Michigan 1, Missouri 2, Pennsylvania 1--10. The following States
lose, viz; Maine 1, New Hampshire 1, New-York 1, North Carolina 2, South
Carolina 2, Vermont 1, Virginia 2. The free States gain six members and
lose four; the slave States gain four and lose six.
No Senator has yet been elected in the State of Massachusetts. On the
eighteenth ballot, Mr. Sumner lacked nine votes of an election, after
which the matter was postponed to the 2d of April. In the New-York
Legislature, a joint resolution providing for the election of a U. S.
Senator finally passed at 2 A. M. on the 19th, and the Hon. Hamilton
Fish, ex-Governor of the State, was then elected. In the Ohio
Legislature, an election was finally reached on the 15th of March,
Benjamin F. Wade, the Whig candidate, receiving a majority of three. The
New Jersey Legislature has chosen Commodore Robert F. Stockton, on the
27th ballot, by a majority of one, three of the members being absent.
Commodore Stockton resigned his place in the Navy last year.
The one hundred and nineteenth anniversary of Washington's birthday was
celebrated throughout the United States with more than the usual honors.
In New-York City, a large military and civic procession was arranged,
under the direction of the Common Council, succeeded by a brilliant
illumination in the evening. An oration was delivered at the celebration
instituted by the Union Committee, by the Hon. Mr. Foote, of
Mississippi. At the dinner which succeeded, the Hon. Edward Everett made
an eloquent speech on the American Constitution.
Considerable excitement has arisen in different localities of the Free
States, on account of the seizure of colored persons claimed as fugitive
slaves. The Boston case has become exceedingly complicated, through a
series of counter-arrests, on the parts of State and U. S. officers. Mr.
Elizur Wright, editor of the Boston _Commonwealth_, and six other
persons, mostly negroes, are held for trial on a charge of aiding in the
escape of the slave Shadrach. On the other hand, the U. S. District
Attorney, Commissioner and Deputy Marshal, were arrested and held to
bail in the sum of $10,000 each, on charge of arresting the fugitive,
the suits being brought on the ground that the Fugitive Slave law is
unconstitutional, and that the officers acted without authority. Several
arrests of fugitive slaves have been made in various parts of
Pennsylvania, but there has been no violent resistance to the law. The
Governor of Pennsylvania lately made a requisition on the Governor of
Maryland, for the delivery of a man charged with kidnapping a free black
child five years old, born in Pennsylvania of a fugitive slave, and
reclaimed with her. The Governor of Maryland refused to surrender the
accused, and replied in a long letter sustaining his course by the
authority of the Attorney General.
Few measures of interest have been passed by the several State
Legislatures, during the past month. The State of New Jersey has
abolished the freehold qualification. In the Legislature of Wisconsin a
land limitation bill, fixing the limit at 640 acres, passed the Senate,
but was defeated in the House. The Maryland Convention for the revision
of the State Constitution, has adopted a clause abolishing imprisonment
for debt, by a vote of 60 to 5. The Indiana Convention has completed a
revised Constitution for that State, which will be submitted to the
votes of the people. The Legislature of Pennsylvania has passed a joint
resolution of thanks to the Hon. Daniel Webster, for his letter to
Huelsemann, the Austrian Charge d'Affaires.
Several severe storms have been experienced in the Western States. The
town of Fayetteville, Tenn., was nearly destroyed by a tornado, on the
24th of February. The place was enveloped in impenetrable darkness, and
many lives were lost in the crash of the falling buildings. Forty-two
houses were blown down. A terrific gale passed over Pittsburg, tearing
the steamers from their moorings, and injuring a great number of
buildings.
The family of Mr. William Cosden, in Kent Co., Md.,--including himself,
his wife, sister, sister-in-law, and a black servant, were murdered on
the 25th of February. A small boy made his escape and gave the alarm.
The murderers have not yet been taken.
The trials of the Cuban invaders at New Orleans have at last been
brought to an end. After three unsuccessful attempts to procure a
verdict in the case of Gen. Henderson, the jury in each instance being
unable to agree, the prosecution was withdrawn. The trial of Gen.
Quitman and the other persons who had been arraigned, was also
relinquished, and the matter will be suffered to drop.
Jenny Lind has reached St. Louis, on her tour of triumph in the West.
The proceeds of her thirteen concerts in New Orleans amounted to
$200,000. On the 13th of March, she gave a concert at Natchez which
produced $6,600, $1,000 of which was devoted to charitable objects.--A
great meeting in favor of railroads in the Mississippi Valley, was held
in New Orleans on the 24th of February.--The cholera has appeared in a
mild form on some of the Western rivers. In the town of Franklin, Tenn.,
there have been already fourteen deaths from it.
Henry Clay sailed from New-York for Havana, on the 11th of March. He
intends remaining a few weeks in that city to rest from the fatigues of
the late session. He was received in New-York with great enthusiasm;
thousands of persons crowded the docks to witness his departure.
The steamer Oregon, while on her passage from Louisville to New Orleans,
burst her boiler near Vicksburg, killing and wounding about seventy
persons. The boat afterwards took fire and burned to the water's edge.
The surviving passengers were taken off by the steamer Iroquois, which
fortunately happened to be in the vicinity. A steam-ferry boat at St.
Louis burst her boiler on the 23d of February, killing about twenty
persons. Several other slight explosions and collisions have occurred on
the Western rivers.
A notorious person, named Wm. H. Thompson, (better known as "One-Eyed
Thompson,") who was supposed to have been a confederate of various gangs
of counterfeiters and burglars, was arrested on the 1st of March, on a
charge of counterfeiting, and committed suicide the next day in his
cell. He left a letter addressed to the Coroner and another to his wife,
written in a style which shows him to have been a man of more than
ordinary intellect. He stated that, being of no farther use to his
family, he felt it his duty to die. He had always cherished a
disposition to commit suicide, as he had no means of solving the mystery
of life, and desired death, either as an explanation or as an eternal
sleep.
The latest accounts from Texas, represent that State as being in a most
flourishing condition. Emigrants are continually arriving from all
quarters, and especially from Germany. The subject of Popular Education
is beginning to attract attention, and the agricultural interest is
receiving the support of many gentlemen of wealth and intelligence. The
Indians still continue their depredations in the neighborhood of Rio
Grande City, and all along the Mexican frontier. Several engagements
between them and the U. S. troops, have taken place in the vicinity of
Laredo. Gen. Brooke is organizing an expedition against the Camanches,
and as soon as the spring opens, a campaign will be made directly into
their hunting grounds. A singular being, known as the Wild Woman of
Navidad, who has baffled the search of the hunters for several years,
has lately been caught by a party who were out after deer. It appears
that she was a negress who fled to the wilderness after Fannin's defeat,
fifteen years ago, since which time she has lived in the woods,
subsisting on acorns and other wild fruits.
News from El Paso to the 31st of December, state that the Boundary
Commissioners have fixed the initial point of their survey at the
parallel of 32 deg. 22' N., on the Rio Grande, a point conjectured to be
about 20 miles north of El Paso. The line will run thence 3 deg. westward,
and then due north, to the Gila River. From two to three years will be
required to complete the survey. The American Commission, numbering more
than one hundred persons, is divided into three companies, and located
at El Paso, Socorro, and the Mission of San Elizario.
The last mail from the Salt Lake, Utah Territory, reaches to the
beginning of December. The settlement was then in a very prosperous
condition, the weather being remarkably mild. Grain and vegetables of
all kinds were very abundant, 200,000 bushels of wheat having been
gathered the past season. Several saw and grist mills were in active
operation, and a woollen factory and brewery were in course of erection.
Large supplies of coal and iron have been discovered in the Valley of
the Little Salt Lake, about 350 miles to the south-west of the Mormon
settlement, and a colony has been sent there. The snows in the Timpanozu
and Bear River Mountains have greatly retarded the mails between the
Salt Lake and Missouri.
We have news from California to the 1st of February. The amount of gold
dust shipped from San Francisco on that day and the 15th of January, was
about $3,500,000. The Legislature of California convened on the 6th of
January. Gov. Burnett's Message, which was transmitted on the following
day, gives a general review of State affairs. A reduction of fees and
salaries is recommended, and an increase of the tax on real and personal
estate, in order to keep up the financial credit of the State, without
recourse to foreign loans. The Governor also favors the passage of laws
excluding negroes from the State, and extending the punishment of death
to the crime of grand larceny. A few days subsequent to the meeting of
the Legislature, Gov. Burnett tendered his resignation, and Lieut. Gov.
McDougal was inaugurated as Governor the following day. A bill to remove
to capital of the State from San Jose to Vallejo, has passed the Senate,
and will probably pass the House. A bill appointing the 3d of February
for the election of a U. S. Senator, has passed the House. The total
debt of the State on the 15th of December last, was $485,460. If the
proposed reductions in the expenses are made, the estimated balance in
the Treasury at the end of June, will be $220,346, nearly half the total
debt.
California has again been excited with the rumored discovery of a gold
placer, far surpassing any previous account. The steamer Chesapeake, it
appears, sailed from San Francisco for the Klamath River with a company
of adventurers, and after an absence of two weeks, returned with news of
the discovery of a beach of golden sand, on the coast, twenty-seven
miles north of the mouth of Trinity River. From the fact of this beach
being bounded by a bluff from one to four hundred feet in height, the
name of "Gold Bluff" was given to the locality. The beach extends for a
distance of six miles and is from twenty to fifty yards in width. It is
a mixture of gray and black sand, through which the gold is disseminated
in particles so fine that it cannot be separated with ordinary washing.
This sand is constantly shifting, under the action of the waves, and at
times the ocean covers the entire beach, breaking against the bluffs.
The amount of gold in the sand is variously represented, at from ten
cents to ten dollars. A constant surf breaks along the shore, rendering
the landing in the boats impracticable except in very calm weather,
while it is almost equally difficult to reach the spot by land.
An Association called the "Pacific Mining Company" was immediately
formed, with a stock of 12,000 shares at $100 each. One thousand shares
were sold immediately, and several vessels were put up at once for the
Gold Bluff, the miners flocking from all parts of the diggings, to join
in the adventure. The original stockholders, however,--about thirty in
number--lay claim to the best parts of the beach, and have erected log
cabins and laid in a large store of provisions, preparatory to washing
the sand on an extensive scale. The reports of the richness of this
locality are doubtless very greatly exaggerated.
Business in San Francisco and the inland towns and trading communities
of the mountains, was remarkably dull. Goods had been sold at very low
rates, in some instances lower than the first cost. The winter has been
so remarkably clear and fine, that the miners--who had removed to the
dry diggings, in anticipation of rain--have been greatly embarrassed in
their operations. They have occupied themselves in throwing up dirt, and
only await a week's rain to wash out sufficient gold to restore the
trade of the country. New discoveries of gold in quartz rock continue to
be made, and some of the specimens, which have been assayed, are of
almost incredible richness. The mining region in the north, on the
Klamath, Shaste, and Umpqua Rivers, is yielding a rich return. The
agricultural capacities of this region are also highly commended.
The difficulties between the miners and the Indians continue to
increase, and a general war with all the tribes of the Sierra Nevada, is
threatened. The principal depredations have been committed on the
Mariposa and the American Fork. The Indians are supposed to be leagued
together, and to have their head-quarters near the source of the Cattee
river. In consequence of a murder on Fresno Creek, a company of
seventy-five Americans, under the command of Capt. Barney, attacked one
of their strongholds. It was a fortified village, built on the summit of
a mountain, and accessible only at one point. The battle lasted three
hours, the Indians being finally driven off with the loss of sixty men.
It was reported in San Jose that the Indians had surprised a company of
seventy-two men, on Rattlesnake Creek, and murdered them all. In
consequence of these occurrences, the Governor dispatched Col. Johnson
to the scene of disturbance, ordered out 200 men, and applied to Gen.
Smith for the assistance of the United States troops.
A large business is now done in bringing droves of sheep from New Mexico
and Sonora into California. The expedition dispatched for the purpose of
exploring the Colorado River has reached a point thirty miles from its
mouth. Several meetings have been held in favor of constructing a
railroad between San Francisco and San Jose, and half the stock was
subscribed at the last accounts.
We have dates from Oregon to Jan. 25th. The papers speak with enthusiasm
of the climate and agricultural capacities of the country. On the
coldest day of January, at Portland, Oregon, the thermometer only fell
to 23 deg.. A large steamer, named the "Lot Whitcomb," has been built at
Milwaukie, and was launched on Christmas Day with great ceremony, Gov.
Gaines giving her the christening. She is 160 feet in length, and is to
run on the Willamette River.
EUROPE.
England presents a history of more than usual interest for the past
month. Parliament was opened on the 3d of February. The Queen's speech
contained no decided feature beyond recommending a reform in the
administration of the Courts of Equity. An excited address arose on the
Parliamentary address in reply to the speech. Lord John Russell took
strong grounds against the acts of the Pope, and proposed that the most
stringent measures, regulating the conduct of all Catholic
functionaries, should be adopted. On the 17th of February, the
Chancellor of the Exchequer laid before the Commons the budget for the
current year. It appears that the surplus of last year was L2,500,000,
half of which the Chancellor proposed to apply to the national debt. He
also proposed to abolish the window-tax, but to introduce a house-tax in
its stead. Several other modifications were made, but unfavorably
received; and on the 20th, on the question of a bill giving the
franchise to every householder paying L10 taxes, the Ministry was left
in a minority of 48 votes. After this reverse, the Cabinet, which for
some time previous had been rapidly losing ground, had no alternative
but to resign. It entered upon office in July, 1846, and consequently
ruled for nearly five years. The resignation took effect on Saturday,
Feb. 22d. The Queen at once accepted it, and sent for Lord Stanley, who
declined undertaking the construction of a new Government. Her Majesty
then returned to Lord John Russell, who tried unsuccessfully to induce
Sir James Graham to enter the Ministry. Lord Aberdeen was then summoned
and Lord Stanley a second time, but no arrangement could be made.
Finally, a meeting of the resigned Ministry was held on the 28th, and it
was rumored that a new Cabinet would be formed from the old one,
substituting Sir James Graham in the place of Lord John Russell. Another
report is, that the Queen intends to advise with the Duke of Wellington,
in relation to the crisis.
During this interregnum, very little has been done in Parliament. On a
motion of D'Israeli, involving the principle of free trade, the
Government only carried its point by a majority of 14 in a full House.
The House of Lords has rejected the bill allowing marriage with a
deceased wife's sister, its principal opponents being the Bishops, who
resisted it on religious grounds. The anti-papal agitation is still kept
up, but in a less violent form. The great Crystal Palace in Hyde Park is
now completed, and the throng of visitors is very great. Contributions
are continually arriving from all quarters of the world.
In France the President's influence appears to be on the decline. Having
sent into the National Assembly his demand for a donation of $360,000 in
addition to the salary provided for him in the Constitution, it was lost
after a sharp debate, by a majority of 102. A national subscription to
relieve the President from his pecuniary embarrassments, was proposed,
but this he declined, preferring to reduce his private expenses. A sale
of his horses, however, did not bring more than half their cost.
A number of Diplomatic changes have been made. Among the appointments
are: Gen. Aupick, Ambassador to England; Lavalette, to Constantinople;
M. de Sartiges, to the United States; M. Bourboulon, to China; M. de
Saint-Georges, to Brazil, &c. The National Assembly has accomplished
nothing of importance. The subjects of Labor and Agriculture have been
discussed, but without reaching any conclusion. The third anniversary of
the Republic was celebrated throughout all parts of France, with the
greatest enthusiasm. The manifestations of republican sentiment were so
sincere and so universal, that the Orleanists and Legitimists were
struck dumb. At the latest dates, it was rumored that they were about
forming a union, on the basis of the restoration of Henry V.,
acknowledging the Count de Paris as his successor. The Ex-Queen is said
to have joined this movement, though the Duchess of Orleans will not
consent to postpone the claims of her son.
Germany is still in a fog. The Dresden Conference has not yet been able
to bring order out of the chaos. The reconstitution of the Central
German Power was partly agreed on, each Government taking the Presidency
by turns. Austria, however, claimed the Presidency without alternation.
Prussia thereupon refused to sanction the installation of a Central
Power until all the German Governments have stated their views
concerning the revision of the Constitution of the Diet. A return to the
old form of the Diet is recommended in many quarters, as the sole means
of restoring harmony; but the prospect of a settlement which shall be
generally acceptable, is as far off as ever. The Prussian Assembly was,
at the last accounts, engaged in discussing a new law for the censorship
of the Press.
Switzerland is menaced with a war on the part of the German Powers, for
the purpose of recovering for Prussia the Canton of Neufchatel. It is
stated that the Confederation will shortly march an army to the Swiss
frontier: they have been restrained, up to the present time, by the fear
of exposing themselves to revolution at home. England it is rumored will
strongly oppose such a movement. The Federal Council of Switzerland has
issued a decree, prohibiting French refugees from residing in the
cantons on the French frontiers. The number of political refugees in the
country amounts to about 500, large numbers having been sent to England
and the United States, at the expense of the Federal Government.
ITALY is in a state of great alarm, in relation to Mazzini and his
revolutionary designs. It is stated that he has raised a loan of more
than two millions of francs, and is maturing his plan for an outbreak
which shall sweep the whole Italian peninsula. Garibaldi (who is at
present on Staten Island, near New-York) is reported to be on the coast
with a large naval force. These rumors are made the pretext of an
increase of the Austrian force in Italy. The forces of Piedmont are
being put upon a war footing, in order to be ready for any emergency. It
was stated, in Turin, on the 24th of February, that the German Powers
have demanded of the Piedmontese government, the suppression of the
liberty of the press, and reconciliation of the Court of Rome.
The bands of robbers which infest the mountains, in the Papal States,
have been dislodged from some of their strongholds, by the united
Austrian and Roman forces. A party of thirty of these brigands took
possession of the town of Forlini-Popoli, and plundered the inhabitants,
who were at the time congregated in the theatre of the place. In the
island of Corsica, a robber named Mazoni has, for 18 months past, held
possession of a fortified town called Ile-Rousse, with a population of
1,000 inhabitants. He communicates with the agents of the Government,
his dispatches being drawn up in regular style, and signed "Mazoni,
Bandit." Archbishop Hughes is still preaching in Rome, and it is said
that he either has been or shortly will be made Cardinal.
The Government of NAPLES has completed its work of persecution. From
twenty to thirty men, some of noble rank, some formerly Ministers of
State, have been condemned to the prison or the galley. Of 140 Deputies,
eighty-five are in various ways victims: twenty-four have been shut up
in prison, unheard of for two years; and sixty-one are refugees.
The thirteenth Storthing (National Congress) of NORWAY, was opened on
the 11th of February by King Oscar in person. Among other things, he
recommended the construction of a railroad from the City of Christiana
to Lake Mioesen.
From TURKEY we learn that Gen. Dembinski has reached Constantinople. All
the refugees have left Shumla, and 240 persons, chiefly Poles, had
sailed from Constantinople on their way to America. Kossuth, with 300
Hungarians, still remains at Kutahya, where a very strict guard is
maintained over all his movements. He is not allowed to communicate with
his friends. A sale of Gen. Bem's effects was held at Aleppo on the 23d
of January, and enormous prices were paid for trifles of all kinds, as
relics. The troubles at Bagdad and Aleppo have been subdued. A
difficulty arose between the Porte and Abbas Pacha, Viceroy of Egypt, in
relation to a retrenchment of the expenditures of the latter. At one
time a war was anticipated, but our latest dates announce that the
difference has been adjusted.
BRITISH AMERICA.