SIX MONTHS IN AMERICA. (continued 2)

I crossed the north branch of the Susquehanna, and passed on to the town of Sunbury, on the bank of the main river, and about two miles distant from Northumberland. Sunbury is a very pretty country town, with a delightful promenade along the side of the river. In all parts of the vicinity there are some beautiful prospects: near it, a very large dam has been thrown across the stream, where, by the junction of its two branches, it spreads out, and forms a basin three quarters of a mile across. I observed some fishermen hauling their nets, and went up to them. They had taken some cat-fish, and several salmon. The cat-fish has obtained its name from its appearance: its head, which is out of all proportion to its body, is large and round, with the addition of two worm-like appendages projecting beneath the eyes, like the whiskers of a cat. It is altogether a dark, ugly-looking fish; but is eatable, with a flavour something like that of an eel, but inferior. In the larger western rivers it sometimes attains a weight of eighty or one hundred pounds. The fish improperly called the salmon, in no respects resembles the real salmon of Great Britain. It has none of the peculiarities of the salmo genus; and does not rise at a fly. In figure it is not remarkable; in colour it is more similar to the pike than to any fish I am acquainted with. The weight of those usually taken, is about a pound; but some of them are larger. A fly-fisher would have but moderate sport on the Susquehanna; but he might kill a great variety of fish, if he condescended to use a bait, and might occasionally take a large trout with a minnow. The river contains pike and eels, of immense size; trout, not numerous; rock-fish, cat-fish, suckers, common and silver perch—a beautiful fish; and a very small species of lamprey, that is only used as a bait. The shad is also found in great quantities in this and almost all the rivers of the Eastern States. It is excellent eating, and usually weighs about four pounds; but I thought the flavour of the Susquehanna salmon equal, if not superior, to any fish I tasted in the United States. I should almost presume that it was peculiar to that river, as I have frequently met with natives of other States who had never heard of it.

At Sunbury, I chanced to be told that three Yorkshiremen had just been taken up. I would bet three to one, said I to myself, that their crime is horse-stealing! and so it proved when I made inquiry.

I here turned my steps away from the Susquehanna, which for placid beauty surpassed in my opinion any other river in the States, and proceeded towards Philadelphia, by way of Pottsville and Reading. Scarcely more than a year ago there were but a few houses at the former place; but in consequence of the immediate vicinity of enormous beds of anthracite coal, and the improved means of conveyance to Philadelphia, its size and importance had increased in a most extraordinary manner.

The country around Philadelphia is very flat; so that I could not find a rising ground to take a sketch from, at what I considered the best distance. But, I think, in passing down the river, in my way to Baltimore, I perceived a small cliff on the left bank, that would have answered the purpose, being distant about two miles and a half. A view in a flat country requires great minuteness, if it be taken correctly, and would have occupied too much time; besides, before commencing a drawing of either of the larger cities in the Union, it really became a matter of consideration, that I had but one cake of “Newman’s light red” in my colour-box.

A fine steamer carried me down the Delaware. About thirty-five miles from Philadelphia, we passed Wilmington and Brandywine. We were then landed at the mouth of the Chesapeake and Delaware canal, and were towed onward, at a brisk trot, in one of the canal boats, and soon entered the Elk river, near the head waters of Chesapeake bay. The country was flat; and a great proportion of it was covered with forest. Here we went on board another steam-boat, that rattled us along at a tremendous pace down the Chesapeake, passing the mouth of the Susquehanna. The captain assured me that upon one occasion, during a camp-meeting, he had carried no less than fifteen hundred persons at a time; he landed them during the night, and about two hundred got away without paying their passage.

In an hour or two, the North Point, at the entrance of the Patapsco river, became visible. General Ross landed here, with the British force of 5000 men, on the 12th of September, 1814, and met his death in the skirmish that ensued shortly afterwards. I rode from Baltimore to the spot where he fell, marked by a small plain stone-monument, by the side of the road. The last four miles out of fourteen lay through a very pretty wood, affording a most grateful shade. When we were within two miles from the city, we passed Fort Mac Henry, which was bombarded upon the same occasion, almost from the extremity of the range of a shell. Some of them, where they fell, penetrated the ground to a depth of five or six feet.

Baltimore, when viewed from the Chesapeake, appears to be built over several low hills, or slopes, and surrounded by others that are considerably higher. Its situation is much finer than that of Philadelphia. It is not so fine as that of New York; but in some respects, is, I think, superior to Boston. When approached by water, the most conspicuous objects are—Washington’s monument, the shot-towers, the Roman Catholic cathedral, and the Unitarian church, all scattered in different parts of the city. Washington’s monument is a plain column of marble, raised on a square base, 175 feet in height, and surmounted by a colossal statue of Washington. It is seen from a great distance on every side, and commands the finest and most extensive prospect; but I am very much inclined to doubt the taste that placed any other than an allegorical object on the top of a lofty pillar. The size of the column, and its simplicity, are calculated to excite admiration; but in my humble judgment, it would have been much better to have had a really fine statue placed inside the base of the column, than to perch the General upon a height that would make a living Admiral feel giddy. Lord Hill’s monument, near Shrewsbury, and that to the memory of General Brock, at Queenstown, are, I think, objectionable, for the same reasons. The battle monument is much prettier, although it is somewhat florid in its ornaments: it is fifty-four feet in height. The column is a circular fasces, symbolical of the Union, twined round with fillets, bearing the names of those who fell on the 12th and 13th of September, 1814; and supporting an allegorical statue of a female, personifying the city of Baltimore, with a bald eagle, the United States’ emblem, at her side. The Archbishop of Maryland is the metropolitan of the States. The Catholic cathedral is a handsome building, with a dome in imitation of the Pantheon. The inside, which is divided into pews, contains two very good pictures from the French school: a descent from the cross, by Paul Guerin, presented by Louis XVI.; and St. Louis burying his dead officers and soldiers before Tunis, by Steaben, presented by Charles X. The descent from the cross is much and deservedly admired. It has the merit of being free from that tedious detail that is usually to be observed in the works of French artists, who paint every thing as it is, and not as it appears. It occurred to me, that the body of Christ did not sufficiently rest on the ground, as intended. The latter picture displays more of the French taste. I did not like it so well, but many prefer it to the other. At Baltimore, is the University of Maryland, which ranks very high as a medical school. The average expenses of a student are one hundred and twenty dollars per annum. It has also professors in law and divinity. St. Mary’s College and Baltimore College are also justly celebrated throughout the Union; the latter will accommodate one hundred and fifty students, who are instructed, by twelve professors, in the ancient and modern languages, mathematics, natural philosophy, &c. The city also contains a good museum, which I did, and many more public buildings, which I did not visit, as I could not learn that there was any thing in them particularly deserving of attention. The theatre was not open.

The waters of the Chesapeake and the Patapsco are the favourite resort of the canvas-back duck, which I had always been told was the greatest delicacy imaginable; and, “like nothing else, sir! I assure ye!” The sporting commences early in November, and affords most excellent sport. An experienced shot will sometimes kill three dozen in a morning with a single gun; and occasionally they are shot on the wing with a single rifle. The canvas-back duck very much resembles the red-headed wigeon, or common dun-bird. Lucien Bonaparte, who has so well continued Wilson’s work on American Ornithology, has successfully shown that it is quite a different bird. It is about half as large again, with a black and different formed bill and black legs. Those of the red-headed wigeon are of a dark lead colour. They breed on the borders of the great lakes, or about Hudson’s Bay; but in the winter months, they are found in prodigious quantities on the Chesapeake, the Patapsco, and the Potamac. Its flavour is owing to the root of the Vallissneria Americana, or wild celery, on which it feeds, and for which it will dive to a depth of eight or ten feet. The red-headed wigeon, when in company with the canvas-back, will often wait till it has risen from the bottom, and then snatch from it the hard-earned morsel. The bons vivants of America, talk of the canvas-back with an interest that borders on affection, and is sometimes very amusing. “Sir,” said an old fellow to me, “I wished to give a duck feast, and accordingly I bought nine couple of them, all fresh killed, and all of the right weight. I stuffed them into every corner of my gig; and would not suffer the cook to touch them, except in my presence. I dressed them all myself, in different ways, in my parlour, so as to have them all done according to figure, sir! Well, sir! all my company had arrived, except an old German; we could not wait, and sat down without him. When he came, he exclaimed, ‘What! noshing but duckhs!’ I started up in a rage, sir! a violent rage, sir! ‘Noshing but duckhs!’ I repeated after him: Why, you d——d old scoundrel, said I, your own Emperor of Austria never had such a dinner: he could not, sir, though he gave the best jewel in his crown for it.” I tasted these birds several times before I quitted America, and they certainly are extremely good. The meat is dark, and should be sent to table underdone, or what in America is called “rare.” I think the flavour might be imitated by a piece of common wild duck, and a piece of fine juicy venison, tasted at the same time. The word “rare” used in that sense, and which is given by Johnson, on the authority of Dryden, is no doubt one of many which have retained in America, a meaning in which they are not now used in England, but which was doubtless carried over the Atlantic by the settlers of a hundred years ago. I confess that I was for some time in error. I heard every one around me giving orders that his meat should be “rare,” and I thought it a mispronunciation of the word raw.

The environs of Baltimore are exceedingly pretty: almost every eminence is crowned with a country house, surrounded by gardens and pleasure grounds richly wooded, and laid out to the best advantage, so as generally to afford a peep through the trees at some part of the Patapsco, or the Chesapeake. They are admirably adapted for a fête champêtre, or a strawberry party, as it is called at Baltimore. I had the honour of an invitation to the only one that was given during my stay in that city. The company assembled about six o’clock. Quadrilles and waltzes were kept up with great spirit, first on the lawn, and then in the house till about eleven. In the mean time strawberries and cream, ices, pine apples, and champagne, were served up in the greatest profusion. I had understood, and am quite ready to admit, that Baltimore deservedly enjoys a high reputation for female beauty. I am speaking of the American ladies in general, when I remark that it is no injustice to them to maintain, that where you will see twenty pretty girls, you will not see one really handsome woman. I have frequently observed the prettiest features,—such as more reminded me of England, than of any other country; but I think that most Europeans who have formed a correct taste from the “stone ideal” of Greece, would agree with me that ladies with pretensions to that higher degree of beauty, are not so often to be met with in America as in England. There is one particular in which they would do well to imitate my fair countrywomen. They have great charms for the breakfast table; but yet, elegant and lady-like as many of them undoubtedly are, how often have I been compelled to wish, that the breakfast table had not quite so many charms for them. They must know that to eat is unfeminine; and that ladies should in the presence of gentlemen, appear very hungry, is a decided proof of a deficiency in national manners,—just as much, or even more so, than that men, be they who or what they may, should sit with their hats on in the dress circle at New York. The influence of a court would extend to, and would remedy all this. I should here again remark, that the first society is seldom seen at the theatre, and would not be guilty of such behaviour.

It is a matter of great surprise to a stranger, that there is not one single promenade at Baltimore. There are some very eligible situations immediately adjoining the city, and which to all appearance are so easily convertible into a public walk, that it is difficult to understand why the ladies do not insist upon its commencement. I would most humbly advise them to do so.

I was honoured with an invitation to “the Manor,” the country residence of Mr. Carroll, of Carrollton. The house was built long before the revolution, and is a curious specimen of Anglo-American architecture, somewhat resembling one of those large old parsonage houses which are to be seen in some parts of England. It stands in the midst of an extensive domain, in a high state of cultivation, and extremely well and neatly kept, considering that it is worked by slaves. I could have fancied myself in England, but for the loose zigzag fences of split logs, which offer to the eye but a poor apology for the English hedge row. Hedges of any kind would not, generally speaking, thrive well in the United States. It would be necessary, I was told, that they should be banked up, in order to keep them from being washed away by the heavy rains; and it is probable that during the extreme heat of the summer months, they could not obtain moisture sufficient to preserve them from being dried up entirely. They are, however, often to be seen close to a gentleman’s house, where they can be constantly attended to. I should conceive that the aloe hedges of Spain and Portugal, might succeed in the United States. It is neither a fault, nor a misfortune, that there is no water scenery at “the Manor.” The rivers and lakes of America are usually on a vast and magnificent scale, fitted either to bound or to deluge a continent; small streams are also common; but a lake for instance of a mile or two in length, is seldom to be seen, excepting in New England, where they are plentiful. Before I arrived there, I do not think that I had seen more than half a dozen ponds, and those all in Kentucky. Instead of being thought an advantage, a piece of water is avoided; no American, from choice, would build on its banks, as the exhalations in the hot weather render such a situation very unhealthy, excepting in the more northerly states.

At the manor I partook of that hospitality which is so kindly and universally extended to every foreigner who visits Baltimore with a proper letter of introduction. Mr. Carroll himself, is the most extraordinary individual in America. This venerable old gentleman is in his ninety-fifth year, is exceedingly cheerful, enjoys most excellent health, and is in good possession of his faculties. He is the only survivor of the patriots who signed the Declaration of Independence on the 4th of July, 1776. He has always adhered to the federal principles, and his valuable estate is one of the very few that have descended in a direct line from the first possessor. Mr. Carroll is the grandfather of the Ladies Wellesley and Caermarthen.

No one who visits Baltimore should omit seeing the vessels known by the name of clippers. They are uncommonly neat single-decked schooners usually, but sometimes are rigged like a brig. Their burden is commonly about 200 tons. They are cut remarkably sharp at the bows, with a great breadth of beam. When lying in the water, the head is considerably elevated above the stern, so that, although the masts are nearly at right angles with the hull, they appear to rake much more than they really do. They will sail on a wind at the rate of seven knots an hour, when other fast sailing vessels can make only five and a half, or six; but few of them are good sailers before the wind. They usually make a voyage to the Havannah, where they are sold for slave ships, or to South America, where they are bought by smugglers or pirates, for whose occupations they are admirably adapted. They are built nowhere so well as at Baltimore.

Two rail-roads had been commenced at Baltimore: one called the Baltimore and Ohio rail-road, because it was intended to join that river. The exact line of country through which it would pass, was as yet a secret with a select few, who would thus be able to secure from the owners a refusal of the land through which it passed without being obliged to pay an increased price. The other is called the Susquehanna rail-road, and was intended to join that river at York-haven, about sixty miles below Harrisburg. Deputations have been sent from Baltimore to Philadelphia, to obtain the necessary permission to carry it into the state of Pennsylvania; but their applications have been, I was informed, twice refused. The rail-road, however, is still continued, from a well-grounded persuasion that the inhabitants of the western parts of Pennsylvania, convinced of the advantages that will accrue to them by its affording them another means of carriage for their bituminous coal, iron, and timber, will ultimately succeed in obtaining a majority in Congress in favour of its completion. But does not a jealousy of this kind arise, after a contemplation, however distant, of the political horizon? Has it not a prospective reference to the interest of the State separately, when the federal government shall be no more?

By the constitution of Maryland the governor does not possess the right of a veto over the Acts of the general assembly.

More flour is annually inspected at Baltimore, than at any other port in the United States excepting New York. The amount for the year 1830, was 597,804 barrels; but by the returns made since the first of January, 1831, it is supposed that the quantity in this year will exceed 600,000 barrels. The wheat that is shipped, is sent almost exclusively to England; but it bears a very small proportion to the flour, although it sells better in the English market—about 70,000 bushels of wheat were shipped this year for England. The quality in general is good, excepting that a portion of it is sometimes tainted with garlick; a nuisance that is almost unavoidable, because the plant grows spontaneously in the wheat districts. It is said to have been first introduced by the Hessians, during the revolutionary war, and it has since increased so much, that it cannot be got rid of. The wheat exported from Baltimore is grown in the State of Maryland, and in many parts of Virginia and Pennsylvania. Money had been plentiful for the last two years, and investments that would produce five per cent. were not easily to be met with. A market overstocked with imports from Europe and India, was the assignable cause: trade was comparatively less brisk, and many capitalists withdrew their funds from active business, for the purpose of investment in the stock of bank insurance and rail-road companies. A great quantity of money was likewise lying in the market in consequence of the national debt being in a course of reduction by the payment of government loans. However, when I was there, money was more scarce, and worth more than six per cent.; the exchange on England had risen as high as eleven per cent. per annum, and a large quantity of specie had been exported to that country.

At Baltimore, I first saw the fire-fly. They begin to appear about sunset, after which they are sparkling in all directions. In some places ladies will wear them in their hair, and the effect is said to be very brilliant. Mischievous boys will sometimes catch a bull-frog, and fasten them all over him. They show to great advantage, while the poor frog, who cannot understand the “new lights” that are breaking upon him, affords amusement to his tormentors by hopping about in a state of desperation.

About thirty miles from Baltimore, on the western shore as it is termed, stands Annapolis the capital of Maryland. It is situated at the bottom of a fine bay, and contains several curious old houses, built long before the revolution. The most conspicuous object is the capitol, which is surmounted by a fine steeple. The general assembly of Maryland, hold their sittings there, and it was there that General Washington resigned to the federal congress the command he had so nobly used. It sat there for some time after the independence of the United States was established.

At Baltimore, I visited the studies of two very promising young artists: Mr. Hubard, an Englishman, is certainly the better painter; but has the advantage of four or five years of experience over Mr. Miller, who is an American, quite a boy; and whom, I think, at least an equal genius. He has had little or no instruction. If sent to Europe, as he certainly ought to be, I will venture to predict, that at some future period he will be an ornament to his native city; and which he certainly never will, or can be, if he does not leave it. Will it be credited, that in America, with all her pretensions to good sense and general encouragement of emulation and enterprise, the voice of public opinion is a bar to the advantage of drawing from a living model? Without it, historical painting cannot thrive, and sculpture must be out of the question.

I left Baltimore with regret: I had been kindly and hospitably treated there,—and in a few hours the mail carried me to Washington. This city of distances—this capital that is to be—is laid out upon an open piece of undulating down, on the north side of the Potomac. The capitol of the United States is built upon the most lofty part of it, which is ascended by a fine flight of steps, and altogether has a very imposing appearance, being visible at a great distance from almost every side. It is of free-stone, which is found on the river about thirty miles below the city. In front is a magnificent portico of Corinthian columns, and behind it there is another; in the same style, (though larger), as that at Wanstead House in Essex, or Wentworth Castle in Yorkshire, which is a copy of Wanstead. On the top are three domes; that in the centre would look a great deal better if it were deeply fluted, like the dome of St. Paul’s; at present it would be much better out of the way, as it gives a general appearance of heaviness, to what would otherwise be deservedly thought a very fine building. From the balustrade is obtained a delightful view of the river, and the surrounding country. The centre of the interior of the capitol, is occupied by a large open space under the dome, containing four pictures, that look very well at a little distance: the subjects are the Signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Surrender of General Burgoyne, the Surrender of Lord Cornwallis; and General Washington resigning his command at Annapolis. They are painted by Col. Trumbull. The remainder of the capitol is occupied by the apartments and offices connected with the senate, the house of representatives, and the supreme court of the United States. The pillars which support the roof of the chamber of representatives, are of breccia, or pudding-stone; perhaps the most singular formation of the kind that is to be found anywhere, not excepting that at Monserrat in Spain, which is entirely composed of breccia. Fragments of granite, quartz, limestone, and other rocks, have been pressed together in the most extraordinary manner, by some stupendous power, and from a little distance the composition might be mistaken for the verd antique. It is found on the Potomac, about thirty miles above Washington. The president’s house is a handsome building, with an Ionic portico; and the only one in the States that resembles the modern residence of a British nobleman. It is exactly at the distance of one mile and a half in a straight line from the capitol, and the houses are continued beyond it for nearly another. Numerous large streets radiate from the capitol and the president’s house, as centres—a method of laying out a city far handsomer than that which has been adopted at Philadelphia, where the streets cross each other at right angles. Who that has seen the “Perspective” at Petersburg, can ever forget it? where the principal streets are all pointed towards the beautifully gilt steeple of the Admiralty, that is seen glittering at the end of each of them. It must be allowed that this arrangement has its disadvantages in the shape of the houses, and apartments, one end of which, if they are regularly divided, must be larger than the other.

In the dock-yard at Washington, I saw a sixty-gun frigate in a state of forwardness, and a small schooner constructed on a plan that had never been applied to a vessel of war, being of the same shape fore and aft, and having no internal timbers. The blocks made there, are not all of one piece, as they are at our dock-yard at Portsmouth. A double block for instance, is composed of seven pieces of wood, exclusively of the sheave. They are, no doubt, much stronger when made in this manner; but a man can make but one in half an hour.

The college at George Town, adjoining the city, is a Catholic establishment; its members are Jesuits, and who, as usual, are increasing their influence, by purchasing lands, &c. Attached to the college, is the nunnery of the Sisters of Visitation, containing about fifty nuns. They tell there of a Hohenlohe miracle.

Washington, like most of the American cities, can boast of several beautiful rides and walks in its vicinity. Arlington, the seat of George Washington P. Castis, Esq., occupies a most conspicuous and commanding situation, on the south bank of the Potomac. It is visible for many miles, and in the distance has the appearance of a superior English country residence, beyond any place I had seen in the States: but as I came close to it, as usual, I was wofully disappointed. It contains a valuable portrait of Washington, when a Major in the British service, and wearing of course the blue-and-buff uniform.

Not far from the race ground, and about three miles from George Town, is the residence of a gentleman who has paid greater and more indefatigable attention to the culture of the vine than any other person in America. The vineyards around his house produce several different kinds of grapes; from which, considering how few years have elapsed since the attempt was first made, he may be said to have been very successful in producing some very good and palatable wines. Amongst others, the best is dignified by the very aristocratic name of “Tokay.” It is made from the “Catawba” grape, which he himself first found in a cottager’s garden, not far from a tavern bearing the sign of the Catawba Indians, distant about twenty miles from Washington. From this circumstance he called it the Catawba grape. The Catawba is a river of South Carolina, but no grape of the kind is found near it. The cottagers could give him no satisfactory account of it, and he never could find out whether it was indigenous, or, which is most likely the fact, imported. It is rather a large grape, thick-skinned, but at the same time very transparent, with a fine purple blush, and far more fit for making wine than to form part of a dessert. As yet it appears to thrive better than any kind of grape that has been tried in the United States; so much so, that at Pittsburgh, and Lancaster, and other places where there are vineyards, they have cleared away a large proportion of the European plants, in favour of the Catawba vine. He informed me that he had sent cuttings of it to every State in the Union excepting Florida, Arkansaw, and Kentucky. A long time, however, must elapse before the Americans can compete with the wines of Europe: as yet, comparatively speaking, little can be known there, either with reference to the best fruit, or to the soil and temperature necessary to bring it to perfection. Upwards of seventy kinds of the wild vine are found in the American forests, but not more than half of them bear fruit. At Boston I tasted a grape called the Isabella grape, whose flavour was still harsh, but was a great and decided improvement in every respect, upon the sourness of the fox-grape of the woods, from which, I was informed, it had been originally produced. I am, of course, speaking of the Catawba and other grapes, only in their wine-making capacity; the grapes raised in the United States for the table, are exceedingly good and very plentiful.

As a matter of course, I visited Mount Vernon. A steam-boat conveyed me to Alexandria in an hour. Alexandria was taken by the British squadron on the 29th of August, 1814, and the stores of flour, tobacco, and cotton, were carried off by them. It contains a population of 9000 persons, and carries on a trade in flour, tobacco, fish, and lumber, to the southern States and the West Indies, although Baltimore has run away with the greater part of its commerce. A ride of nine miles on a well-shaded road, conducted me to Mount Vernon, now in possession of John Augustine Washington, Esq., nephew to the General, and to the late Judge, whose worth and learning are recorded by an inscription in the court-house of Philadelphia. Of the house itself there is little to be said. I saw there a piece of an old mug, which bears upon it a small head of the General, said to be the best likeness of him that is known anywhere. From the lawn, there is a fine view of the Potomac with Fort Washington nearly opposite, which was abandoned at the approach of the British squadron in 1814. In passing Mount Vernon, the ships fired a salute it well deserved. I must confess that I was greatly disappointed at the sight of the tomb that contains the ashes of Washington. I did not expect grandeur, but I thought to have seen something more respectable than either the old, or the new tomb, to which the coffin was removed two years ago. But for the inscription, I should have taken them for a couple of ice-houses. An avoidance of every thing like pretension is desirable only so long as it is attended with neatness;—but there is not even what can be fairly called a path to either of them. Instead of feeling as I wished, whilst in contemplation of the last long-home of this really great, because good man, my mind was only occupied by intrusive reflections on the insignificant and pauper-like appearance of the whole scene before me. The tears of La Fayette, when visiting the tomb in 1825, might have partly flowed from other sources than the mere consciousness that he was standing in the presence of the mortal remains of his old friend and companion in arms. There has been some talk of removing the coffin to the centre of the hall in the capitol, and of a monument to be raised over it, but I have understood that it is not seriously contemplated. If it were placed there, it might one day be the means of saving the Union. How forcible, how effective, in a moment of danger, might be an eloquent appeal to its presence, made by the Judges of the supreme court, or the orators of the American congress!

I was never fortunate enough to hear a mocking bird in its wild state; I had frequently heard them in cages, but nowhere in such perfection as at Washington. This bird, one of the noblest in nature, is an inhabitant of the southern states only, and is thus described by Wilson, the celebrated Ornithologist. “The plumage of the mocking bird would scarcely entitle him to notice, but his figure is well proportioned, and even handsome. The ease, elegance, and rapidity of his movements—the animation of his eye, and the intelligence he displays in listening and laying up lessons from almost every species of the feathered race within his hearing, are really surprising, and mark the superiority of his genius. He has a voice capable of almost every modulation, from the clear mellow notes of the wood-thrush, to the savage scream of the bald-eagle. In measure and accent, he faithfully follows his originals; in force and sweetness of expression, he greatly improves upon them: his admirable song rises paramount over every competitor. His own native notes are bold and full, and varied beyond all limits. In the height of his song, his ardour and animation appear unbounded—he sweeps round with enthusiastic ecstasy—he mounts or descends as his song swells or dies away; and as my friend Mr. Bartram, (an American naturalist), has beautifully expressed it: “he bounds aloft with the rapidity of an arrow, as if to recover or recall his very soul, expired in the last elevated strain. While thus exerting himself, a by-stander destitute of sight would suppose, that the whole feathered tribe had assembled together, each striving to produce his utmost effort, so perfect are his imitations. He many times deceives the sportsman, and sends him in search of birds that are not within a mile of him, but whose notes he exactly imitates. Even birds themselves are imposed upon by his admirable music, and are decoyed by the fancied calls of their mates, or are driven with precipitation into the depths of the forest, at the screams of what they suppose to be the sparrow-hawk.” He is of a size between the thrush and the nightingale, but shaped like the latter bird. His plumage in general is of a cinerous brown colour, with a broad bar of white on the wing, which he is very fond of displaying. I am afraid that I never heard them in perfection; but to judge from what I did hear, I should suppose that although infinitely more varied, his natural notes were neither so full nor so rich as those of the nightingale. But there are many who think differently.”

One morning I was much amused by the debut of a new volunteer corps, calling themselves the Highlanders,—Washington being one of the flattest places in the States. The dress would have looked well enough had it been uniform, but I was told there was not plaid enough of the same pattern to be obtained in the city. The bonnet had a very theatrical appearance, and would not have been half so bad, had not the eye been attracted by the waistcoat and the broad lacings of the coat, all of which were of a very dark sky-blue. I have a great respect for the tartan; and I thought it might have looked decent, even when converted, as it was, into small-clothes, had they not been made extremely tight. Still, however, the costume of the nether man might have passed unnoticed, had not the enormous bows at the knees been composed of tri-coloured ribbon, and the general effect much heightened by the long nankeen gaiters, which covered the leg from the knee to the shoe.

In the capitol, as all the world knows, sit the senate, the house of representatives, and the supreme court of the United States. And here I may be permitted to remark, that when writing generally on such a subject as the United States, every candid person will make allowances for the impossibility of avoiding a repetition of things already well known and well described. Under the apprehension that I shall frequently be in error on this head, I think the safest mode is to apologise at once, and beforehand. None, however, is necessary for not entering at large upon a subject so tedious and so endless, as that of the courts of the different states in their separate capacity as to the federal judiciary. I may mention, that the United States are divided into seven judicial circuits, and thirty-two judicial districts. Each state is one district, with the exceptions of New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Alabama; which are each of them divided into two districts. There are three courts belonging to the general or federal government: the district court, the circuit court, and the supreme court. The district court possesses a civil and criminal admiralty and maritime jurisdiction, and also takes cognizance of all cases affecting the revenue, and all crimes and offences committed within the district, which are punishable by moderate corporal punishment, or fine and imprisonment. It is held by a district judge (there being one in each district), sitting alone, four times a year: his salary varies from 1000 to 3000 dollars a year. An appeal lies from his decision in cases where, exclusive of costs, the matter in dispute exceeds the sum or value of fifty dollars, to the “circuit court,” possessing an original jurisdiction, civil and criminal. The civil jurisdiction extends to all controversies between citizens of different states, and between a citizen and an alien. All offences against the penal laws of the United States, can be tried in this court. It is also a court of equity. The circuit court is held before the district judge, sitting twice a year with the judge of the supreme court. An appeal lies from its decisions to the supreme court of the United States, where the matter in dispute exceeds 2000 dollars. In criminal cases, a point may be reserved for the opinion of the judges of the supreme court, which is sent down to the circuit court to be proceeded upon afterwards. In six of the states, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri, there is no circuit court, because the judges of the supreme court could not find time to sit there twice a year; but the district courts possess the powers and jurisdiction of a circuit court.

The supreme court of the United States, is a very high and honourable tribunal, composed of a chief justice, with a salary of 5000 dollars (1125l.), and six associate justices, with a salary of 4500 dollars each, who hold a sitting once a year, at Washington, commencing on the second Monday in January. The court sits five hours every day for two months, deciding in that time usually about eighty causes, which are reported as those of the law courts in England used, and ought still to be, by an officer of the court. Its original jurisdiction is confined to all such cases, affecting ambassadors, consuls, and vice-consuls, as a court of law can exercise consistently with the law of nations; and it has original, but not exclusive jurisdiction of all suits brought by ambassadors, and other public ministers, in which a consul or vice-consul is a party. But its dignity rests chiefly on its appellate jurisdiction, which extends to all cases and appeals, and writs of error from the circuit courts: likewise in all cases where the constitution and laws of the federal government, or the construction of any treaty entered into by the federal government, or its validity, or any right or interest under a treaty, has been a subject of controversy in the state tribunals. Its decisions and opinions on the construction of the constitution, are the safeguard of the Union. But its appellate jurisdiction is defined, and extends to no cases but where the power is affirmatively given. In order to enable it to issue a mandamus, proof is required that it is an exercise, or necessary to an exercise, of its appellate jurisdiction. The supreme court has jurisdiction in all controversies where the United States shall be a party in controversies between two or more states; between a state and the citizens of another state; between citizens of different states; between citizens of the same state claiming lands under grants of different states; and between a state, or the citizens thereof, and foreign states, citizens, or subjects. A strict and admirable attention to justice, is observable in these arrangements. Every description of case which might be partially decided by the courts of the litigant states, is brought to the bar of the great national tribunal to be disposed of.

During the last sittings of the supreme court, a case of great constitutional interest was heard before it. It was entitled “The Cherokee Nation, versus the State of Georgia.” The Cherokee nation having been repeatedly harassed by the incursions and other unneighbourly proceedings of the inhabitants of Georgia, applied to the supreme court for an injunction to restrain the state, its governor, and other officers, from executing and enforcing the laws of Georgia within the Cherokee territory. The counsel for the Cherokees argued, that not being a state of the Union, the Cherokee nation was to be considered as a foreign state, and was rendered capable of suing in the supreme court by virtue of the clause I have mentioned above, in which the judicial power of the court is extended to controversies between a state and the citizens thereof, and foreign states’ citizens or subjects: but Chief Justice Marshall decided, that the relation of the Cherokees to the United States resembled that of guardian and ward; that they could not be considered either as a foreign state, or as a state of the Union; and that therefore they were rendered incapable of suing in that court. His judgment was strengthened by the wording of the articles of the constitution, in which Congress is empowered to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and the several states and the “Indian tribes,” who being in this manner specifically mentioned, could not have been considered as a foreign state or nation by the original framers of the constitution. Imagine the astonishment of the poor Cherokees upon being told, that the highest tribunal at the city of their Great Father could afford them no redress. The affair will, of course, come before congress. Chief Justice Marshall decided according to the letter of the constitution; but the opinion of Chancellor Kent, of New York, is surely deserving of the greatest attention, as containing an exposition apparently more agreeable to justice. He considers the Indian tribes “not only as states, but as foreign states, because they do not constitute any ingredient or essential part of our own body politic.” He considers the clause just referred to, may have contained the additional grant of power to regulate commerce with the “Indian tribes” out of abundant caution, and to prevent any possible doubt of the application to them of the power to regulate commerce with “foreign nations.” The last words, he apprehends, would have reached the Indians; but the constitution, in several other instances, has gone into a like specification of powers which were, by necessary implication, included in the more general grant. Thus, for instance, power is given to congress “to declare war,” and it is immediately subjoined “to grant letters of marque and reprisal.” They have power to “coin money,” and “to regulate the value thereof:” they have power “to raise armies,” and “to provide and maintain a navy:” and it is immediately subjoined “to make rules for the government” (and not government only, but it is added) “and regulation of the army and land force.”

All the judges in the American courts enjoy an immunity from wigs, and the judges of the supreme court alone are clothed in “silk attire.” Their robes are black, and fashioned according to the taste of the wearer. I examined four or five of them which were hanging up in the court, and found that although perfectly judicial, they displayed no small attention to taste in their cut and general appearance. A proper degree of dignity is required and observed in the supreme court; business is there conducted as it ought to be in every court of justice; but some of the state courts are remarkably deficient in this respect: even in the court-house at Philadelphia, during the sitting of the circuit court, I have seen a gentleman, a counsellor of eminence, coolly seat himself on the table whilst a judgment was being given, and in that attitude I have heard him address some interlocutory observations to the court, and press them upon its attention with great earnestness and ability. I cannot understand why more dignity, both judicial and forensic, should not be observed in the courts of the United States. I have often been in the company of American lawyers, who, as individuals, were men of gentlemanly manners, and excellent general information, which they have ever evinced a readiness to impart; but I do not remember one who ever mentioned the subject at all, without admitting that a proper want of the respect due to the time and the place is frequently but too visible in the American courts; and yet there is no improvement.

Silence, being indispensable, is well preserved; but counsel and attorneys may be occasionally seen with their legs dangling over the back of a chair, or possibly resting on the table. A corresponding carelessness of manner is of course exhibited by the spectators. I have even observed persons with their hats on in court, and upon inquiry have been told they were Quakers; but once or twice I remember having taken the liberty of doubting the information. I hope I shall not be supposed to mean, that no greater decorum is observed in the principal courts of the larger cities than in those held at places of minor importance; I am speaking of them generally as I found them when in travelling. I happened to arrive at some place where a court was sitting, and “just dropped in” for half an hour en passant; but still there is always a something even in the best of them which, to an English eye, appears undignified and indecorous; although there can be no doubt that their appearance is not mended by the total absence of wigs and gowns from all of them.

The spirit of equality renders it allowable, and the impossibility in distant towns of making the profession answer by any other arrangement, renders it necessary, that a barrister and solicitor should frequently commence business as partners, and play into each other’s hands. A judge will frequently travel from town to town unattended, in his gig, or on horseback, with his saddle-bags before him, or in the stage-coach, and dine at the village table d’hôte with shopkeepers, pseudo majors, and advertising attorneys. Human nature will out. In the absence of other titles, it is the pleasure of the Americans that they should be dignified by the rank of General, Colonel, or Aide-de-camp; but more especially I found by that of Major. An English gentleman assured me that, being on board a steamer on the Ohio river, he was first introduced by a friend as plain Mr., then as Captain; soon after he was addressed as Major, and before the end of the day he was formally introduced as a General. There is usually a Major, or an Aide, as they call themselves, in every stage-coach company. The captain of a steam-boat, who was presiding at the dinner table, happened to ask rather loudly, “General, a little fish!” and was immediately answered in the affirmative by twenty-five out of the thirty gentlemen who were present.

One would have imagined, that in the United States, where an equal partition of the rights of mankind is the boasted foundation of the government, Justice would have been treated with peculiar courtesy; but she is not properly honoured there. Justice is not exclusively a republican in principle, whatever the Americans may think. She must remain unaltered, whatever may be the form of government, as the value of the diamond is the same whether its possessor be a prince or a peasant. During my occasional visits to the courts of justice in the United States, I could not help thinking how fortunate it was that Justice was blind, and could not therefore be shocked by the want of decorum I observed there. What was my surprise on entering the supreme court in the capitol at Washington, to perceive her wooden figure with the eyes unfilleted, and grasping the scales like a groceress! With great deference, I would suggest that the whole of this unworthy group should be removed. The day may arrive, as I have said before, when the supreme court may be the means of saving the Union.

Any suggestions recommendatory of an amendment or additional clause in the constitution, emanate from the judges of this exalted tribunal. When it is thought necessary that the constitution of any particular state should be altered or amended, the legislature authorizes the people to express their opinions as to whether they are or are not in favour of calling a general convention. This is usually arranged at the time of a general election. If there be a majority in favour of the convention, the legislature then calls upon the people to elect persons to serve as members or delegates, and it fixes the time of meeting. If any amendments are made by the convention, they are submitted to the people for their approval; and if a majority decide upon their adoption, they forthwith become part of the constitution.

When it is considered that the supreme court has a federal jurisdiction extending over a union of twenty-four states, many of them as large or larger than England, whose humble and individual importance are increasing, and which are divided and subdivided by party, and by conflicting and annually arising interests, and which are becoming more and more democratic in every succeeding year, and consequently more and more opposed to the spirit in which the constitution was originally framed, some idea may be formed of the importance that is attached to the decisions of this court, whose authorities, from first to last, are intended as a safeguard to the Union. The independence of this court, and, in fact, of all the federal judiciary, may be termed the sheet anchor of the United States. Its power constitutes their chief hope; the abuse of it is the only medium of tyranny, and is therefore the principal source of apprehension. The judges of all the federal courts hold their offices during good behaviour, and are removable only by impeachment. It would reasonably be supposed that the individual states would follow the example of the general government in the appointment of their judges; but this is not the case. In seven of the states they are elected for a term of years only; in Rhode Island they are elected annually; in five of the states they are obliged to go out of office at sixty, sixty-five, or seventy years of age. This law in the enlightened state of New York has deprived it of the valuable services of Chancellor Kent, the author of the admirable Commentaries on the laws of America. There are many democrats who actually wish that the judges of the supreme court should be elected for a term of years only. This custom is notoriously productive of sufficient hardships in some of the more remote states, where, on account of the smallness of the salary, amounting to not more than two or three hundred pounds, the bench is sometimes filled by young and inexperienced men, who are the children of party, and whose decisions must be occasionally affected by the hope of re-election.

Entailed estates are but little known in the United States: in South Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana, not at all. In many of the states they are nothing in effect but an estate in fee; the limitation in tail being of no value, except it be in special tail. But in all cases estates tail may be barred by a simple deed of bargain and sale, and which is, in fact, the almost universal assurance; lease and release being but little known. In other respects the doctrine of the statutes of uses is in full operation, excepting in the state of New York, where it has been discontinued since the new code passed in 1829.

The proceedings of the courts of equity are for the most part similar to those practised in England. Many of the states have chancellors, whose offices are held like those of the other judges. The state of New York had just been obliged to appoint a vice-chancellor, on account of the increase of business. The duties of the chancellor, as far as they go, are the same as those of the lord chancellor of England; but in many of the states the jurisdiction in bankruptcy or insolvency is separate. The terms bankruptcy and insolvency are used indiscriminately, although the distinction is of course generally known and understood among lawyers. By the articles of the constitution, the general government is enabled to pass uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcy. No general bankrupt law has, however, been passed, although such a measure has been often contemplated. In the United States a proportion of the people, large beyond that of any other country, is engaged more or less in traffic of some kind or other in the course of the year, and the difficulty of coming to any equitable decision as to who may or may not be considered a bankrupt, has been the reason why no general law on the subject has been passed by the federal congress. The states likewise have the power of passing bankrupt laws; but they would only be productive of confusion, as they would not be allowed to have the effect of rescinding a contract between citizens of different states; the supreme court having decided that a discharge under the bankrupt or insolvent laws of one state, could not affect contracts made or to be executed in another. As a matter of necessity, the states have insolvent laws of their own, which are generally recognized and respected in all of them as far as they conveniently can be. In some cases the person only, not the debt, is released by them; in others, the debt is discharged, but future acquisitions by gift, devise, or descent, are liable, though not the produce of future industry. The whole law on the subject of bail in the United States is much the same as that of England. A debtor to the United States can only be released by obtaining a release under the United States’ insolvent law. In order to be enabled to apply for a release under the insolvent laws of any particular state, a debtor must have resided in that state for a certain period, generally one year; and on the surrender of all property (if he has any), he obtains a discharge from prison, which is also a discharge from the debt itself, and as a personal discharge, is respected throughout the Union; but as a discharge from the debt, it often operates as such only in the state that grants the discharge. Between citizens of the same state it releases the debt as well as the person; between citizens of different states, or between a citizen and a foreigner, or between foreigners, the discharge depends on circumstances. If the suit be brought in the courts of any particular state, and the party has been released by the laws of that state, the debt is considered equally cancelled as if the controversy had been between citizens of the same state. If the debtor to the United States has applied for, and obtained the benefit of the United States’ insolvent law, it can only be in cases where a judgment has been obtained against him, and he has been taken in execution. He must, however, remain in prison for thirty days, and surrender all his property, which he must swear does not exceed thirty dollars, over and above his necessary wearing apparel; for if he has property beyond that amount, he cannot obtain the benefit of this law. By this discharge, the person only is released, so that property subsequently obtained from any source is responsible. In all other cases of discharge, under the insolvent laws of individual states, before noticed, the person or the debt are discharged (as mentioned above), but still with the reservation, that all property acquired by descent, gift, or devise, shall be subjected to execution, but not the future acquisitions of the debtor by other means.

Fugitive debtors from other countries can be sued and imprisoned only as if they were citizens of America, that is, by exhibiting against them a bailable cause of action. They must remain in prison, if taken immediately on their arrival, until entitled by a residence in the state (usually for one year) to apply for the benefit of the insolvent laws. State citizenship is required only in a few of the states, the more general law being, that they may be discharged after a year’s residence in the state in which they happen to be sued, whether they have become citizens or not. Foreigners become citizens of the United States after five years’ residence. The acts of naturalization, the last of which was passed in 1816, require that an oath be taken before a state-court by a foreigner of good moral character three years before his admission, of his intention to become a citizen, and to renounce his native allegiance; and at the time of admission he must satisfy the court, that he has resided five or six years, at least, within the United States, and likewise take an oath to renounce and abjure his native allegiance, and to support the constitution of the United States.

America is in some respects, a laboratory for the rest of the world. It is the fittest region for experiment. From the first of January, 1832, imprisonment for debt has ceased in the state of New York; the fact is, there is so much more false capital in the United States than in England, that a creditor is not often one dollar the richer for having put his debtor into confinement. The example, if it succeed, will probably soon be followed in Massachusetts, where there is a strong party in favour of a similar experiment. Whilst I was in that state, a meeting was held at Boston, to consider of its propriety; but the united arguments of many speakers, tended to prove nothing more than what was most probably acknowledged beforehand, by three-fourths of those who heard them, and into which all that can be said on the subject must ultimately resolve itself, namely, that the sufferings of an innocent debtor are highly unjust, and much to be lamented; but that it would be very objectionable to have no means of confining one whose conduct had been fraudulent. By the constitution of the state of Illinois, imprisonment for debt is disallowed, except in cases of fraud, or the refusal of the debtor to deliver up his property for the benefit of his creditors.

The question as to the power of any court or officer to remove a child from his parents on account of their misconduct, remains unsettled; but if either of the parents were dead, and the survivor an unsuitable person to take care of the child, application would be made to the orphan’s court, which exists in every state. Its authority resembles that of the lord chancellor in cases of infants being wards of court. Wills, both of real and personal estate, are proved there; and all executors and administrators pass their accounts in this court, from whose decisions an appeal lies to the chancellor. All deeds are by law required to be registered. Wills are proved and witnessed as in England; and a similar law prevents a witness from taking a legacy. A case of fraud used in obtaining a will, the only fraud of which the English court of chancery does not take notice, is decided by the chancellor in some states; in others, it is usual to send it, as in England, to a jury.

The whole law of mortgage is, generally speaking, much the same as in England.

The proceedings in a chancery suit, differ only in the pleadings being a little more simple: a bill for instance, contains merely the stating and interrogating parts, and the prayer. Witnesses are examined, as in England, upon written interrogatories. The effect of an answer and the mode of using it in court, are also similar.

There is no such officer as an accountant-general. Masters in chancery are known only in some of the states. Their duties are somewhat similar; and matters are referred to any one of them whom the parties may agree upon. In New York, I observed that “Mr. A. master in chancery,” was almost as frequently to be seen on the door, as the names of a counsellor and solicitor. In those states where there are no masters in chancery, the court has a “Permanent Auditor,” who discharges nearly all the duties assigned to the masters in England.

The form of an action, the pleadings, and the method of obtaining evidence, are essentially the same as those used in England, generally. In some states the action of ejectment is unknown; in others, it has merely undergone some modification. Real actions, such as writs of right, writs of entry, are much used; the period of limitation has, however, been altered from that of England. The English law of prescription is acknowledged, with a very few necessarily constitutional exceptions. The period of limitation allowed in an action of assumpsit, also varies in different states; in some it is three years, in others it is six, as in England. Where the action of ejectment is in use, the period of limitation is in some states twenty years, as in England; in others, seven years is thought sufficient.

Juries are generally constituted as in England, with the exception of special juries, which are never formed.

Throughout the United States a counsellor is allowed to make a speech for the prisoner, and act generally in his behalf, as in a civil cause.

Every state in the Union has its rules for the admission of counsellors, solicitors, and attorneys. They generally require that a student shall have studied law with some counsellor for at least three years. On application for an admission as an attorney, the court usually appoints three gentlemen of the bar to examine into the moral and legal qualifications of the applicant. If he be previously and favourably known to them, the examination is almost nominal. If he be unknown, or be known, but with unfavourable impressions, the examination is proportionably more strict. When admitted as either counsellor or solicitor, he can generally practise in both characters, the distinction being nominal, excepting in the supreme court of the United States, where no person can be counsellor and solicitor at the same time. In the country particularly, it is usual for a lawyer to assume the duties of attorney, conveyancer, proctor, solicitor, and counsellor; but after having practised some time, he usually confines himself to the practice of a counsellor only. A barrister and solicitor are frequently partners: as I have before remarked, it would be impossible for any practitioner to obtain a livelihood, excepting in the larger towns, without exercising his abilities in both capacities. For the “materiel” of a great part of the foregoing remarks I am indebted to the kind and able assistance of a gentleman of the Baltimore bar, and I have endeavoured that their accuracy should not suffer under my pen.

It would be tedious to enter into any detail of the different state constitutions. It is sufficient to remark, that their affairs are usually administered by a governor, a senate, and a house of representatives. The executive authority is vested in the governor, who has in some states the benefit of a council. In some states he is elected for a period of four years, but more usually for two. The legislature consists of a senate, and house of representatives: both, or the latter, are usually elected annually; but sometimes for a longer period, with modifications. In the state of Rhode Island, whose government is founded on the provisions of the charter granted to the colony by Charles the Second in 1663, and which is the only state in the Union that has no written constitution; the governor, senate, and judges are elected annually; the members of the house of representatives are elected every six months, or semi-annually, as they term it. In general, no other qualifications are required of voters but those of colour, age, sex, and residence. In nearly all the states the right of suffrage is enjoyed by free white citizens, who have resided for one year in the state, and six months in the country. In some of the states, colour is no bar. As to age, that of twenty-one years is the usual requisition. Every voter must of course be a citizen of the United States.

Without entering at large upon the hackneyed subject of universal suffrage, it may be sufficient to remark, that the intrinsic evils of the system are more or less acknowledged by a very large proportion of the better class of Americans, although they of course diminish in the same ratio with the increase of virtue and intelligence; the objection is not merely, that the uncultivated and the ignorant part of the community should be allowed the unqualified right of suffrage; but it lies in the corrupt influence to which it is open. Both the rich and the poor man have rights to be protected; but it must be unreasonable, that the wealthy and enlightened should be controlled by the needy. The object of my charity goes to the poll; and not only exercises as much political liberty as myself, but a great deal more; because the poorer classes being the more numerous, the government is, in effect, under their direction. If in addition to this it be considered, that they must frequently vote in compliance with the wishes of a superior, it follows, that the most corrupt, or the most successful at intrigue, must enjoy the greatest share of political power. A person who does not in such a country as America, gain some sort of qualification by his industry is, surely, unworthy to be trusted with the right of suffrage. I was informed that votes were very rarely bought with money, and believed it; because where the voters and the candidates are so numerous, the disbursements must be very large, and the difficulty of concealment proportionately increased. They are rather commanded by considerations of place; and it is very evident, that a person who could be influenced by interest in one way, could easily be bribed in another, were it not for the fear of detection. The system of treating is common enough. “Why, Sir!” said an old woman to a gentleman of South Carolina, my informant, “I guess Mr. A. is the fittest man of the two, but t’other whiskies the best.” The influence of petty demagogues is very great; there being usually two or three in every village. Naturalized foreigners, as a body of voters, possess great power in some places: in New York, where there are said to be nearly 30,000 Irish, their influence over the elections is much complained of.

The house of representatives of the United States is composed of members chosen every second year, by the people of the several states. In Virginia and Kentucky they are voted for, vivâ voce, and not by ballot, as in the other states. At present, one member is returned for every forty thousand persons, five slaves in the slave states counting as three whites. The present number is 216. As the number of representatives might be too large, in consequence of the increasing population, the constitution provides that the number should not exceed one for every 30,000, but that no state shall be without a representative. As the minimum only is there mentioned, the federal congress has the power of extending the number of electors necessary for the return of a member.

The senate of the United States is composed of two members from each state. They are chosen by the legislature of the several states, for the term of six years; one-third of them being elected every two years. The only qualifications necessary for a senator are—that he be thirty years of age, in conformity with the age of the Roman senator; and that he have been for nine years a citizen of the United States, and an inhabitant of the state for which he is elected.

The qualifications required of a member of the house of representatives are—that he be twenty-five years of age; seven years a citizen of the United States, and an inhabitant of the state where he is chosen. No property qualification is required in either case; and the consequence is, that the house of representatives is half filled with young lawyers. The only privilege it enjoys in its legislative character, which is not shared by the senate, is, that it has the exclusive right of originating all money bills.

Chancellor Kent, in his Commentaries, observes, “that the great object of the separation of the legislature into two houses, acting separately, and with co-ordinate powers, is to destroy the evil effects of sudden and strong excitement; and of precipitate measures, springing from passion, caprice, prejudice, personal influence, and party intrigue, which have been found, by sad experience, to exercise a potent and dangerous sway in single assemblies.”

No one can, for a moment, doubt the force of these remarks. It is the best arrangement that can be adopted in a republic: still it is but splitting one pillar into two; the interests and inducements are co-extensive. The senate of the United States and the British house of lords are, or may be, equally influenced by the love of their country, and both are intended for its protection; but the one is little more than another house of representatives, the other a most essentially distinct part of the government: both are bound by the ties of honour, and the duties of both are defined and exacted by the constitution; but those of the house of lords are dictated by the further necessity of consulting their own security, by a proper and constant interposition between the throne and the people. The interests of the one are the same as those of the house of representatives, the only additional power they enjoy consisting of an association with the president, for the purpose of making treaties, and in the appointment of government officers. The interests of the house of lords are identified with those of the house of commons, not merely with reference to property up to an extent usually far exceeding the amount of the qualifications necessary for obtaining a seat in that house; but they purchase an additional security to the constitution, by obliging the peers of Great Britain to keep a watchful eye on every attempt at encroachment upon the dignity of the crown, their own rank in the country, and their rights as “hereditary lawgivers.” In these times, when speculation is afloat, not as to what they will do, but as to what they dare do, how true should they be to themselves. Their obligations are far more weighty than the “legal presumption” (to use the words of Chancellor Kent, when speaking of the senate with reference to the houses of representatives), “that the senate will entertain more enlarged views of public policy, will feel a higher and greater sense of national character, and a greater regard for stability in the administration of the government.”

The president of the United States must be a citizen of the United States, must have attained the age of twenty-one years, and have been fourteen years a resident in the United States. He holds his office for four years. He is elected at the same time as the vice-president, who is president of the senate, but who has no vote, unless the votes be equally divided. The president, vice-president, and all civil officers of the United States, are removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanours. The president is commander-in-chief of the army and navy: he has the power by, and with the advice and consent of the senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the senators present concur: he can convene both houses of congress, on extraordinary occasions; and adjourn them in case of their disagreement as to the time, to any time he may think proper: he appoints ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the supreme court, and all officers of the United States whose appointments are not otherwise provided for by the constitution, and which shall be established by law, &c. &c. The president and vice-president are elected by electors appointed in each state equal to the whole number of senators and representatives to which the state may be entitled to in congress; but no senator, or representative, or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be appointed an elector. The method of choosing these electors is threefold: by the state-legislatures; by general-ticket; and by districts. The two latter are more generally preferred, as the choice emanates more directly from the people. Four only of the states,—Delaware, South Carolina, Louisiana, and Tennessee, adopt the former. I think it would be tedious and unnecessary to give an analysis of these three methods; suffice it to remark, I have heard it regretted that the constitution did not limit the choice to one mode. Chancellor Kent says “there would be less opportunity for dangerous coalitions and combinations for party, or ambitious or selfish purposes, if the choice of electors were referred to the people at large; and this seems now to be the sense and expression of public opinion.” When the electors have made out the requisite lists, they are sent up to, and opened in the presence of the senate and house of representatives; and the president and vice-president are chosen in the manner prescribed by the twelfth article of the amendments to the constitution. In the year 1801, the federalist candidates for the presidency and vice-presidency were Mr. Adams and General Pinkney; the republican favourites were Mr. Jefferson and Colonel Barr. The two latter obtained a small, but equal majority over the former; and to decide between them was the allotted office of the house of representatives. Mr. Jefferson was chosen after no less than thirty-five trials. In the mean time the people were kept in suspense; the tranquillity of the Union was endangered; the possibility of a recurrence of similar difficulties was forcibly impressed upon the minds of Americans; and an alteration of the clause regulating the mode of election of the president and vice-president was resolved upon. The old clause contained these words, “The person having the greatest number of votes to be president, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such majority, and have an equal number of votes, then the house of representatives shall immediately choose by ballot one of them for a president, &c.” The mode of election was altered; but it may still happen that the vote of a single member of the house of representatives may decide it. In President Jackson’s Message of December, 1830, he says, that “the necessity for an amendment is made so clear to his mind by the observation of its evils, and by the many able discussions which they have elicited on the floor of congress, and elsewhere, that he should be wanting in his duty were he to withhold another expression of his deep solicitude on the subject. A contingency which sometimes places it in the power of a single member of the house of representatives to decide an election of so high and solemn a character, is unjust to the people; and becomes, when it occurs, a source of embarrassment to the individuals thus brought into power, and a cause of distrust of the representative body. Liable as the confederacy is, from its great extent, to parties founded upon sectional interests, and to a corresponding multiplication of candidates for the presidency, the tendency of the constitutional reference to the house of representatives is to devolve the election upon that body, in almost every instance; and whatever choice may thus be made among the candidates thus presented to them, to swell the influence of particular interests to a degree inconsistent with the general good.” The election of the president, immediately by the people, without the intervention of electors, is here hinted at. There is a levelling spirit abroad in the United States, that sheds its influence over new laws and institutions: if there be a possibility of a tendency towards either the federal or the democratical principles, that tendency is sure to be democratical; and it is by no means improbable, that such a mode of election may, at some future day, be contended for and adopted. Chancellor Kent says, “that the mode of appointment of the president, presented one of the most difficult and momentous questions that could have occupied the deliberations of the assembly which framed the constitution; and if ever the tranquillity of this nation is to be disturbed, and its peace jeopardised by a struggle for power among themselves, it will be upon this very subject of the choice of a president. It is the question that is eventually to attest the goodness and try the strength of the constitution, &c.” Should the mode of election be altered, as I have just supposed it may be, we may bid adieu to the Union forthwith. When we consider the increasing population of the United States, the immense variety of interests, and that every free inhabitant feels, I may say, personally concerned,—whether he be really so or not,—in the success of his favourite candidate, we can, in some measure, foresee even under the present mode of election, how violent, how convulsing, at no very distant period, will be the struggle and party-feeling exhibited at the election of an officer, whose opinions on the construction of the articles of the constitution, during his short ascendancy of four years, will affect millions with a sentiment of attachment or disgust. When General Jackson came into office, he immediately thought proper to turn out several hundred subordinate officers, whose places were filled up by his own party. The number of those who lost their places at the commencement of any preceding presidency was extremely small, bearing no proportion whatever to those dismissed by the General. The increasing weight and importance of the affairs of the United States rendered it partly a matter of expediency to do so; and, in all human probability, future presidents will find themselves obliged to follow the example. I make no remark on the late petticoat confusion in the United States’ cabinet; like the battle of Navarino, the best that can be said of it is, that it was an “untoward event.”

The salary of the president is 25,000 dollars (5625l.) a year, with the president’s house at Washington for his residence; but his expenses do not equal his income. Mr. Calhoun, the vice-president, receives but 5000 dollars (1125l.) a year. The secretaries for state, treasury, war, and navy, and the postmaster-general, receive a yearly salary of 6000 dollars (1350l.) each, and work very hard for it, their time and attention being fully occupied, and often till a late hour of the night.

In the Message of 1830, to which I have before referred, General Jackson invites the attention of congress to the propriety of promoting such an amendment of the constitution as will render the president ineligible after one term of service; and yet General Jackson is again a candidate, and most probably a successful candidate, for the office of president at the next election, on the first Wednesday in December, 1832, preparatory to his taking office for the twelfth presidential term of four years, commencing on the 3d of March, 1833.

The election of the next—and heaven knows how many future presidents!—will depend upon the known opinions of either candidate upon “the Cherokee case;” upon the question of the renewal of the charter of the United States’ Bank, to which I have before adverted; on Masonry; on whether there is or is not a power granted by the constitution to lay out the federal funds upon internal improvements throughout the Union; and lastly, on the still more important question as to the continuance or modification of the existing tariff. The candidates will most likely be General Jackson, the president of the day, Mr. Clay, Mr. Wirt, and Mr. Calhoun.

The opinions of General Jackson are in favour of the removal of the Cherokees: he is averse to the renewal of the charter of the United States’ Bank: he is a Freemason, and believes that the application of the federal funds to internal improvements would be unconstitutional. His opinions on the tariff question are oracular and uncertain.

Mr. Clay is opposed to the removal of the Cherokees; he is in favour of the renewal of the Bank charter; he is a Mason; is an advocate for internal improvements; and a staunch friend to the protecting, or, as it is called by its supporters, the American system.

Mr. Wirt, a gentleman of Maryland, was the counsel for the Cherokees before the supreme court. He has lately been started as a candidate by the Anti-masons. Since the abduction and supposed murder of William Morgan, who, a few years since, wrote a book revealing the secrets of Freemasonry, the Anti-masons have become gradually more and more numerous. They profess a hatred of all secret societies as dangerous and unconstitutional; and although they will not be able to secure the presidency to themselves, yet it is probable they will be sufficiently strong to defeat the election of either of the more obnoxious candidates. Mr. Wirt’s opinions are supposed to coincide with those of Mr. Clay generally; but with respect to the internal improvement system, and the tariff question, he is at present uncommitted.

Mr. Calhoun, the vice-president of the day, is the great champion of the interests of the southern states, the nullifiers, and the anti-tariff party; and in that character, if at all, he will be elected to the presidency. His opinions are in favour of the removal of the Cherokees, and of the existence of the United States’ Bank. On the subject of internal improvements his opinions are said to be changed, he having been originally an advocate of the system when secretary at war in 1819. He is a “Nullifier,” although his situation as vice-president has prevented him from showing himself in that character so uniformly as he would have done. The term “nullifier,” which, like the word “radical” in England, has now grown into common use, was first adopted by the members from South Carolina, in congress, about two years ago; the doctrine they profess was broached at the same time. A nullifier is a person who holds that the federal constitution is merely a compact or league between the several states; and that each state has a right to decide for itself concerning the infractions of that league by the federal government, and to nullify or declare void an act of the federal congress within its limits.

Whatever may be urged by the party who are opposed to the opinions of General Jackson, with reference to the advancement of prosperity in the United States by his internal policy merely, his administrations of the affairs of his country with regard to its relations with foreign powers, has certainly been generally successful. He has obtained for her the command of a profitable trade with the British West Indian and North American colonies, thereby settling a question which had already been the subject of six negociations. The president, in his Message, at the second sitting of congress, on the 7th of December, 1830, says, that this desirable result was promoted by the liberal provision of congress, in allowing the ports of the United States to be open to British shipping before the arrangement could be carried into effect on the part of Great Britain, thereby requiting a similar act of liberality on the part of the British government in 1825.

He has recovered claims upon the Brazils, Columbia, and Denmark, from which kingdom the payment of 650,000 dollars is secured to the citizens of the United States, for spoliations upon their commerce in the years 1808, 9, 10, and 11. Similar claims upon France, for injuries during the war, have also been lately adjusted with that power.

He has concluded a treaty of commerce with Mexico; and by another with Columbia, he has freed the American merchants from the discriminating duties which had been imposed upon them; and by another with Turkey he has secured a free passage for American merchantmen, without limitation of time, to and from the Black Sea, by which their trade with Turkey is placed on an equal footing with that of other nations.

By a compact made between the United States and the state of Georgia, on the 24th of April, 1802, and long before any gold mines were thought of, the United States engaged to extinguish for the use of Georgia, “as early as the same could be peaceably obtained on reasonable terms, the Indian title to the county of Talassee, and to all the other lands within the state of Georgia.” As gold mines, within two or three years, have been discovered in that state, it has naturally followed, that the inclination of the Indians to remain, and that of the Georgians to get rid of them, has become far more decided than formerly. The Indians (Cherokees) however, claim a voice in the affair of their removal from the land of their fathers; and that their assertions have other foundations than those of an appeal to common justice and humanity, is proved by the fact, that from the 28th of November, 1785, the general government has made with them no less than fifteen different treaties, thereby plainly acknowledging their independence, and their capacity and power to treat. Within the last two or three years, however, gold, as I have before remarked, has been discovered on the territories of the Indians; and the state of Georgia has applied to the general government to fulfil the contract, and rid them of the Cherokees. The general government would be willing to come to a proper arrangement with the Cherokees, but they are unwilling to go. The number now left is about 15,000; the remainder of the tribe, since the year 1809, having acceded to the offer of the United States, and removed to the lands provided for them beyond the Mississippi. When this part of the tribe petitioned to be allowed to remove, the answer of the president (Mr. Madison) contained the words, “those who are willing to remove may be assured of our patronage, our aid, and our good neighbourhood.” The Georgians, however, happen to think that this is just the time for them to go, and they forcibly prevent them from digging for gold on their own land, saying, that every year will but increase their anxiety to remain; and that they have no right to dig for gold when the reversion of the land is in the state. These disputes yet remain unsettled.

The Cherokees are far advanced in civilization; and have among them men of very superior abilities. They adopt in part the costume of Europeans; they have schools, and churches, and a printing press among them; and were fully competent to understand the following precious piece of humbug, forming part of President Jackson’s message to congress, in 1830. “Humanity has often wept over the fate of the aborigines of this country; and philanthropy has been long busily employed in devising means to avert it; but its progress has never for a moment been arrested, and one by one have many powerful tribes disappeared from the earth. To follow to the tomb the last of this race, and to tread on the graves of extinct nations, excites melancholy reflections. But true philanthropy reconciles the mind to these vicissitudes, as it does to the extinction of one generation to make room for another. In the monuments and fortresses of an unknown people spread over the extensive regions of the west, we behold the memorials of a once powerful race, which was exterminated, or has disappeared, to make room for the existing savage tribes, &c. &c. The tribes which occupied the countries now constituting the eastern states, were annihilated or have melted away to make room for the whites. The waves of population and civilization are rolling to the westward; and we now propose to acquire the countries occupied by the red men of the south and west, by a fair exchange, and at the expense of the United States, to send them to a land where their existence may be prolonged and perhaps made perpetual. Doubtless it will be painful to leave the graves of their fathers; but what do they more than our ancestors did, or than our children are now doing? To better their condition in unknown lands, our forefathers left all that was dear in earthly objects; our children by thousands yearly leave the land of their birth to seek new homes in distant regions. Does humanity weep at these painful separations from every thing animate and inanimate with which the young heart has become entwined? Far from it! It is rather a source of joy that our country affords scope where our young population may range unconstrained in body or in mind, developing the power and faculties of man in their highest perfection. These remove hundreds and almost thousands of miles at their own expense, purchase the lands they occupy, and support themselves at their new home from the moment of their arrival. Can it be cruel in this government, when, by events which it cannot control, the Indian is made discontented with his ancient home, to purchase his lands, to give him a new and extensive territory, to pay the expenses of his removal, and support him a year in his new abode? How many thousands of our own people would gladly embrace the opportunity of removing to the west on such conditions. If the offers made to the Indians were extended to them, they would be hailed with gratitude and joy.

“And is it supposed that the wandering savage has a stronger attachment to his home than the settled, civilized Christian? Is it more afflicting to him to leave the graves of his fathers, than it is to our brothers and children? Rightly considered, the policy of the general government towards the red man, is not only liberal but generous. He is unwilling to submit to the laws of the states, and to mingle with their population. To save him from this alternative, or, perhaps, utter annihilation, the general government kindly offers him a new home; and proposes to pay the whole expense of his removal and settlement.”

I will here introduce a few remarks on what is called the gold region in the United States, with the kind assistance of Mr. Damm, a Swedish gentleman resident at New York, and connected with the gold mines. I have selected them, with a very few alterations, from the reports on the subject lately published by the government. It is now about thirty years since gold was discovered in North Carolina; it was found in the sand and gravel of different water-courses, first in Cabarras county, soon afterwards in a county of Montgomery in that state. Until within a few years past, the process of washing for gold was principally confined to the two counties just named. The greater portion of the gold thus procured was found in small pieces, varying in size from one pennyweight down to particles of extreme minuteness; at most of the mines, however, it is not uncommon to find pieces of a much larger size; for example, at Cabarras, a single piece has been found weighing twenty-eight pounds avoirdupois, besides several other pieces varying from four to sixteen pounds. The proprietor of the same mine affirms, that about a hundred pounds avoirdupois have been found in pieces, about one pound in weight; these large pieces, however, compose but a small portion of the whole product of the mines.

At a mine in Montgomery county, a number of pieces of about one pound weight have been found. One of them weighed four pounds eleven ounces, and another three pounds. In Anson county, during the summer of 1828, a piece of gold weighing ten pounds, another of four pounds weight, together with a number of small pieces, were taken up out of the sands and gravel of Richardson’s creek. These discoveries have been chiefly made in or near beds of streams; but in some instances deposits of considerable extent have been found on the sides and tops of hills.