Historical Review of the Month.

An increasing activity is observable in whatever points to the next Presidential election, and several eminent persons have recently defined their relations to the most exciting and important questions to be affected in that contest. Among others, ex-Vice President Dallas, ex-Secretary of the Navy Paulding, and Mr. Henry Clay, have written letters on the state of the nation as respects the slavery question. Meantime, the people of South Carolina have repudiated the doctrine and policy of secession by electing only two members in the whole state favorable to their views in the Convention called for the consideration of that subject; Georgia and Mississippi have given overwhelming majorities on the same side; and Pennsylvania appears to have asserted not less unquestionably her attachment to the Union and the Compromise, in electing Mr. Bigler governor.

The affairs of the several states are without special significance except in the matter of elections, of which we have indicated the general results as altogether favorable to the Union and the enforcement of the laws of Congress. Returns, however, are at the time when we go to press so imperfect, that we attempt no particular details respecting candidates or majorities. In Pennsylvania and Ohio, as in the Southern States, the democrats have a perfect ascendency; in Maryland the whigs have been successful; in California it appears to be doubtful as to the Governor, but the democrats have a control in the Legislature.

The most important news from California relates to the movement for dividing the state, and making that part of it lying south of the thirty-seventh degree of north latitude a separate commonwealth. If this project should be carried into effect, slavery would, no doubt, be introduced into Southern California; but there is not much prospect of its being successful. A convention of delegates from the southern counties, to be held at Los Angelos, Santa Barbara, or Monterey, is called for the purpose of interchanging sentiments on the subject, so that the Legislature may take the matter into consideration. The accounts from the mining districts continue to be favorable; improvements are in successful progress in various gold-bearing districts; and the yield of the precious metal is such as to reward the enterprise and industry of the miner. San Francisco and Sacramento have again been disgraced by the conduct of scoundrel bands usurping the functions of government and putting to death such persons as were obnoxious to their prejudices or guilty of offences which the law officers might have punished.

From the Mormon City at Salt Lake, intelligence is received of continued prosperity. Mr. Bernheisel, last year agent for the territory in this city to obtain a library for Utah, is chosen territorial delegate to Congress.

After a protracted contest for Provisional Bishop of the diocese of New-York, Dr. Creighton, of Tarrytown, has been elected to that office. He is a native of this city, and graduated in Columbia College in 1812, afterwards officiated in Grace Church, was next appointed Rector of St. Mark's, Bowery, whence he was called to Tarrytown, where he now resides.

Louis Kossuth, having been set at liberty by the Turkish government, will very soon arrive in the United States, where extraordinary demonstrations of respect will be offered to him in several of the principal cities. About nine months ago Kossuth committed to the care of Mr. Frank Taylor, a young American visiting Broussa, the MS. of an address to the people of this country, which was published in a translation, at New-York, on the 18th of October—having been withheld until that time lest its earlier appearance should affect injuriously the interests of its author in Europe. The friends of liberty will rejoice that Kossuth is free, and in a land of liberty; but it is not improbable that future events will demonstrate, that the Austrian government was not altogether unreasonable in protesting against his enlargement. Kossuth and Mazzini are scarcely less terrible to tyrants, as writers, than as the leaders of armies and the masters of cabinets.

Although extraordinary prosperity in a state may sometimes lead to arrogance and injustice, the position of this country toward several European powers who intimate an intention of compelling a certain policy on our part in regard to Spain, must insure a triumphant consideration of the Union, in which we have a strength that may laugh their leagues to scorn. The details of an arrangement between Spain, France, and Great Britain, are not yet perfectly understood in the United States, but it is generally known that some plan has been adopted which will be likely to draw from the Secretary of State a sequel to his letter to Mr. Hulseman, the Austrian chargé d'Affaires, whose experiences were made known a year ago.

The vessels of the American exploring expedition in search of Sir John Franklin returned—the Advance on the 30th of September, and the Rescue, which had separated from her on the banks of Newfoundland, a few days after. It is probable that a full account of this heroic enterprise, so honorable to its authors and to all engaged in it, will soon be given to the public, by Dr. Kane, or one of the other officers; and as any such brief statement as we could present of its history would be unsatisfactory, we shall not now go further into details than to say no traces of Sir John Franklin, except such as we have already noticed, were discovered, and that the crews came home after a year's absence in excellent health. The nearly simultaneous return of the British expedition has caused considerable discussion in England. It appears to be felt very generally that it is not justifiable to abandon the pursuit until the fate of Sir John Franklin has been demonstrated by actual observation. Such satisfaction is due to science and to humanity. Proposals are now, we believe, before the Admiralty, for sending into the Arctic seas one or more steamers, with which alone the search can be advantageously prosecuted further.

A New-York ship, the Flying Cloud, made the passage round the Horn to San Francisco in ninety days—shorter than any voyage on record. Her fastest day's run was 374 miles, beating the fleetest of Collins's steamers by fifty miles. In three successive days she made 992 miles. At this rate she would cross the Atlantic in less than nine days.

Discouraging accounts have been received respecting the whale fleet in the North Pacific Ocean. After wintering in the gulf of Anadir, the fleet attempted to pass into the Arctic Ocean, when it became surrounded with fields of ice, by which not less than eight vessels are known to have been destroyed, and it was supposed that upwards of sixty others had experienced the same fate. Some of the crews of the lost ships reached the main land, but afterwards got into difficulty with the natives and in consequence many of them were killed. The whale fishing, during the season, is said to have been an entire failure, and a number of vessels were on their return to the northwest coast, in the hope of retrieving their ill fortune.

Several disastrous "accidents" have recently happened in various parts of the country. On the 21st September, the steamer James Jackson, exploded near Shawneetown in Illinois, killing and wounding 35. On the 26th September, the Brilliant exploded near Bayou Sara, killing a yet larger number; and many such events of less importance, but probably involving more or less criminality, have occurred on steamboats and railroads in various parts of the country. The most destructive fire since the completion of our last number was one at Buffalo, commencing on the 25th September, and continuing until 200 buildings, on more than 30 acres, were destroyed, and an immense number of poor families were made homeless. The fire extended over the meanest part of the town, but the loss is estimated at $300,000. For several days a destructive gale prevailed along the eastern coast, producing an immense loss of life; a large number of dead bodies were taken from the holds of vessels. Great excitement has prevailed in Gloucester, Newburyport and other towns, a large portion of whose populations were exposed to the fury of the storm. Further east, on the coast of Nova-Scotia, the remains of sixty persons, lost during the storm, are said to have been buried in one grave. No less than 160 vessels, of all kinds, are reported to have been wrecked.

The Grand Jury sitting at Philadelphia have found bills of indictment against four white men and twenty-seven negroes, for treason, in participating in the outrage at Christiana, in the state of Pennsylvania. At Syracuse on the 1st of October an attempt was made to rescue a slave, but he was captured and his abettors arrested and conveyed to Auburn for examination.

The jury in the case of Margaret Garrity, who was tried at Newark for the murder of a man named Drum, who seduced her under a promise of marriage, and afterwards deserted her for another, rendered a verdict of not guilty, on the ground of insanity, on the 13th ult. This disgraceful proceeding had precedents in New Jersey, and it appears to have excited but little of the indignation which it deserved. Margaret Garrity murdered her paramour under extraordinary circumstances, which, doubtless, would have had proper weight with the pardoning power. It is evidently absurd to say, that she, more than any murderess, was insane, and the jury were altogether unjustifiable in rendering a verdict which is unsupported by evidence; and of an assumption of the authority of the Governor of the State, in setting at liberty a criminal for whose conduct there appeared to be merely some sort of extenuation or excuse in the conduct of her victim. It would be as well to have no juries as juries so ignorant or reckless of their obligations.

A general council of the once grand confederacy of the Five Nations of Indians, the Mohawks, Onondagas, Oneidas, Cayugas, Senecas, and Tuscaroras—was held at Tonawanda on Friday, September 19th, to celebrate the funeral rites of their last Grand Sachem, John Blacksmith, deceased, and of electing a Grand Sachem in his place, electing Chiefs, &c. Ely S. Parker (Do-ne-ha-ga-wa), was proclaimed Grand Sachem of the Six Nations. He was invested with the silver medal presented by Washington to the celebrated war-chief Red Jacket, and worn by him until his death.

The new Canadian Ministry, so far as formed, is as follows: Inspector-General, Mr. Hincks; President of the Council, Dr. Rolph; Postmaster-General, Malcolm Cameron; Commissioner of Crown Lands, William Morris; Attorney-General for Canada West, W. B. Richards; Attorney-General for Canada East, Mr. Drummond; Provincial Secretary, Mr. Morin. Three appointments are yet to be made. The government will be eminently liberal.

A revolution set on foot in Northern Mexico promises to be successful. The chief causes alleged by the conspirators are the enormous duties upon imports, and too severe punishment for smuggling, the excessive authority of the Central Government over the individual States, the quartering of regular troops upon citizens, the mal-administration of the national finances, the bad system of military government inherited from the Spanish establishment, and the want of a system of public education. The insurgents declare that they lay aside all idea of secession or annexation, yet it is not impossible that the movement will soon have such an end. The revolution commenced at Camargo, where the insurgents attacked the Mexicans, and came off victorious, having taken the town by storm, with a loss on the side of the Mexicans of 60. The Government troops were intrenched in a church with artillery. The revolutionists are commanded by Carvajal, who has also with him two companies of Texans. At our last dates, the 9th of September, they had taken the town of Reynosa, meeting but little resistance. One field-piece and a quantity of other arms fell into their hands. General Canales, the Governor of Tamaulipas, was approaching Metamoras, and General Avalajos was on the way to meet him, whether as friend or foe is uncertain. It was supposed that Canales would assume the chief command of the revolutionists.

From New Grenada we learn that General Herrara has entirely subdued the revolt lately undertaken, and that the country is quiet. A revolt has broken out in Chili (a country remarkable in South America for the stability of its affairs), and in several towns the troops had declared in favor of a new man for the Presidency: the disorganizers were sweeping all before them, and the country was in a most excited condition. From Montevideo the latest intelligence is so confused that we can arrive at no definite conclusion, except that the domestic war is prosecuted with unusual savageness. An insurrection has broken out in the states of San Salvador and Guatemala. General Carrera, with a force of 1,500 men, had attacked the enemy in San Salvador, who mustered 4,000 strong, and defeated them with a loss of four men killed. He then evacuated the country.

From Great Britain we have no political news of importance. The royal family were still in the north. The whig politicians appear to be agitating new schemes of parliamentary reform, and several distinguished persons have recently made addresses to their constituents. Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton is before his county as a protectionist candidate for the House of Commons, with fair prospects. The submarine telegraph to France has been completed. The great cable which was intended to reach the whole distance proved too short by half a mile, owing to the irregularity of the line in which it was laid down. It was pieced out with a coil of wire coated with gutta percha. This will, however, have to be taken up and supplied with cable. The connection is complete with France, and messages are sent across with perfect success. Mr. Lawrence, the American minister, having gone to Ireland, for the purpose of seeing the scenery of the country, has been embarrassed with honors; public addresses have been presented to him, banquets given to him, railway directors and commissioners of harbors have attended him in his journeys, a steamboat was specially fitted up to carry him down the Shannon, and in every way such demonstrations of interest and honor were offered as were suitable for a people's reception of a messenger from the home of their children. The visit of Mr. Lawrence promises some happy results in directing attention to projects for a steam communication directly with the United States. The differences between the government of Calcutta and the court of Hyderabad, have been arranged for the present without any actual confiscation of the Nizam's territory. A considerable sum has been lodged in the hands of the Resident, and security offered for the partial liquidation of the remainder. Moolraj, the ex-Dewan of Mooltan, expired on the 11th August, while on his journey to the fortress of Allahabad, and the Vizier Yar Mohammed Khan, of Herat, died on the 4th of June. The eldest son of the latter, Seyd Mahommed Khan, has succeeded to the throne of Herat. Dost Mohammed is resolved to oppose him, and, for that purpose, has placed his son, Hyder Khan, at the head of a large army, with orders to invade Herat. The Admiralty have advertised for tenders for a monthly mail line of screw-steamers to and from England and the west coast of Africa. The ports to be touched at are Goree, Bathurst, Sierra Leone, Monrovia (Liberia), Cape Coast Castle, Accra, Whydah Badagry, Lagos, Bonny, Old Calabar, Cameroons, and Fernando Po. The whole range of the slave coast will thus be included; and it is understood that the object of the line, which, in the first instance, of course will carry scarcely any passengers or letters, is to promote the extinction of that traffic, not only by cultivating commerce with the natives, but by the rapid and regular information it will convey from point to point. Of the Caffre war, we have intelligence by an arrival at Boston direct from the Cape of Good Hope, later than has been received by way of England. There appeared to be some prospect of the war being brought to a close; reinforcements of troops had arrived, and Sir Harry Smith, the Governor, was in excellent spirits. In the mean time, however, the Caffres and Hottentots continued making sad havoc on the settlements, and the people were suffering from a lack of provisions, and cattle and stock were starving to death. Efficient measures however had in England been taken for their relief.

From France, in the recess of the Assembly, there is no news of general importance. The persecution of the press, by which more than one ruler of that country has heretofore lost his place, is persevered in, and a large number of editors (including two sons of Victor Hugo) have been imprisoned and fined. All foreigners intending to reside permanently in Paris, or exercise any calling there, must henceforth present themselves personally to the authorities, and obtain permission to remain. This new and stringent police-regulation is, it is said, to be extended to every department of France. Such fear of foreigners contrasts strangely with the unsuspicious welcome which they receive in America and England. The President is evidently not willing his "subjects" should know what the world says of his administration.

The Government of Naples has caused to be published a formal reply to Mr. Gladstone's letters to Lord Palmerston in respect to its unjustifiable severity to political prisoners, particularly the ex-minister Poerio. It mainly consists of an exposure of some inaccuracies of detail on the part of Mr. Gladstone, such as an exaggeration of the number of political prisoners at present confined in Naples, the alleged innocence of Poerio, the unhealthy state of the prisons, &c.; but it does not do away with the charge of savage severity in the punishment of Poerio and his fellow-prisoners, which formed the main accusation advanced by Mr. Gladstone against the Neapolitan Government, and it is not likely in any considerable degree to affect the opinion of the world on the subject. The Papal Court has addressed a note to the French Government, complaining of the toleration, by the latter, of incendiary writings against Italian states. The note observes that if the French journals were not to publish these writings, the demagogues would be at a loss for organs of circulation, because the English newspapers are much less read in Italy. The Emperor of Austria has been making a tour through his Italian provinces, in which he has been received with "respectful silence" in streets deserted by all except the military and ungoverned children.

From a diplomatic correspondence between the representatives of Austria and Turkey, in regard to the liberation of Kossuth and his companions, it is very evident that Austria feels very keenly the discomfiture she has sustained, and that she will be very likely to resent this disregard of her wishes, by seeking cause of war with Turkey. She is stirring up rebellion in the Bosnian provinces, and concentrating her troops upon that frontier, to take advantage of any contingency that may arise. The authorities in Hungary have been absurd enough to evince the spleen of the Austrians in hanging effigies of Kossuth and his associates, condemned for treason in contumace.

In Portugal vigorous preparations were being made for elections, in which it was expected that Saldanha's friends would generally be defeated. At the Cape de Verde Islands a terrible disease, described as a black plague, was very fatal.

The differences between the governments of Turkey and Egypt are still unsettled, and the fate of the Egyptian railroad therefore remains doubtful.