The International Monthly, Volume 3, No. 1, April, 1851

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, Chargé to Nicaragua; John S. Pendleton, of Virginia, Chargé to the Argentine Republic; Mr. Markoe, of the State Department, Chargé to Denmark; Y. P. King, of Georgia, Chargé 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 Hülsemann, the Austrian Chargé 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° 22' N., on the Rio Grande, a point conjectured to be about 20 miles north of El Paso. The line will run thence 3° 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.