did it appear that any combined plan of attack had been concerted; but on the 24th, there was a slight skirmish between a party of Turks, who had concealed themselves in one of the trenches, and the troops of the garrison, in which the former suffered some loss. On the 26th, the Grecian fleet, consisting of about 30 sail, under the command of Miaoulis, appeared, and began to engage the Turks, who were awaiting them between Zante, Cephalonia, and Chiarenza; a desultory action ensued, which lasted, with little intermission, two days and nights. The Greeks, as usual, with their small, stout-built merchant brigs, sought by the dexterity of their movements to cut off and destroy isolated vessels, or to direct fire-ships against the enemy's larger men of war; but on this occasion they were not successful. The Turks had the advantage of the wind blowing fresh from the eastward, which, increasing on the 28th to a strong gale, put a stop to further action, and obliged the Greek fleet to retire to sea-ward. The Turks affected to consider this as a victory; and, in fact, as they remained in the Gulf, Missolonghi was in a state of blockade for several days. On the 29th, another naval skirmish took place; partial engagements occurred on the two following days; and, on the 2nd of December, the Greeks compelled the enemy to return for shelter within the Gulf. Shortly afterward, Miaoulis returned to the Archipelago. By this time, the whole of the southern shore of the Gulf of Lepanto had been reduced by Ibrahim, who had placed a garrison of Arabs in Patras. On the 10th of August, a bold but unsuccessful attempt was made to burn the Turkish fleet in the VOL. LXVII. port of Alexandria. At four in the afternoon, four small vessels, bearing European flags, appeared in sight of the port, three of which advanced to the opening of the harbour, the fourth remaining tacking off and on. The pilots went out to bring them into the roads. At half-past five, the first entered, and soon afterwards the second. It was then perceived, that the first of these strange vessels was endeavouring to penetrate between the Turkish ships of war; and as some suspicion arose that it might be a fire-ship, it was ordered to stop. The captain, however, still advanced, and would probably have succeeded but for a sudden change of the wind. Then, finding himself discovered, he set fire to his vessel and abandoned it, while the whole crew got into their long-boat, and by dint of rowing escaped from the port. The second, seeing what had happened, tacked about, and followed the boat. Seven cannon shot were fired at this second ship, three others were fired at it by a French man of war, but without doing it any injury. The fire-ship, which was abandoned, was towed to a part of the harbour where its explosion could do no mischief. In August, the insurrection broke out anew in Candia; and the insurgents obtained possession of the fortresses of Grambouses and Kissamos. The distress, into which the Greeks were driven by the invasion of Ibrahim Pacha, induced the Senate and Executive body, towards the end of July, to propose to place the country under the protection of Great Britain; and a formal manifesto to that effect [see Public Documents, p. 106*] was issued by them, and transmitted to our government. The offer [0] was not accepted. It excited, however, the zeal of two private individuals, Messrs. Roche and Washington, to such a degree, that, forgetting that they were not in vested with any public character, they presented a strong protest against a step which they conceived to be disrespectful to France and America. CHAP. XIV. The UNITED STATES Election of a President—Mr. Adams chosen by the House of Representatives-His Inauguration-Discontent in Georgia -Opening of the Session of Congress-MEXICO-Opening of the Constitutional Federal Congress Speech of the President. Finances Treaty with Great Britain-Close of the Session of Congress-Extraordinary Session of the Congress-Surrender of two Spanish Ships of War-Surrender of the Castle of Juan de UlloaGUATEMALA-Election of a President-Expenditure-COLOMBIA PERU-Military Operations-Battle of Ayacucho-Capitulation of Conterac-Resistance of Callao-Olaneta defeated and slain-Independence of Upper Peru-Conduct of Bolivar-UNITED PROVINCES OF RIO DE LA PLATA-Constituent Congress-Executive AuthorityDisturbances at Cordova, Mendoza, and San Juan-Proceedings at Tarija-Intended General Congress at Panama-Deliberations on that subject-PARAGUAY-CHILE-Plots-Convention of a Constituent Congress-Disturbances-State of the Finances. I attention ted election of a President more than history, devolved upon the house of representatives: who in this case vote by ballot, the delegation of each state having one vote. Mr. Clay, it was understood, transferred his votes to Mr. Adams, upon an agreement, that, if Mr. Adams obtained the presidency, Mr. Clay should be secretary of state; and by this union of strength, Mr. Adams was enabled to triumph. The 9th of February was the day appointed for the determination of the contest: and, contrary to all previous expectation, the election was decided by the first balloting, Mr. Adams having received the votes of thirteen states, general Jackson the votes of seven, and Mr. Crawford the votes of four. The states who voted for Mr. Adams, were-Maine, New Hampshire, * The former instance in which this happened, was in the election of 1801, when the electoral votes were 73 for Mr. Jefferson, and 73 for Mr. Burr. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New York, Maryland, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Louisiana: for general Jackson, New Jersey Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Indiana for Mr. Crawford, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia. The division in the different colleges was very unequal. In the New York college, for example, Mr. Adams received 18 votes, Mr. Crawford 14, and general Jackson 2. In the Kentucky college, Mr. Adams received 8, general Jackson 4: in Ohio, Mr. Adams had 10, general Jackson 2, Mr. Crawford 2. In the Maryland college, Mr. Adams received 5 out of 9 votes. In the North Carolina college, Mr. Crawford received 10, general Jackson 2, and Mr. Adams 1 vote. * As Jackson counted among his partisans the whole rabble of the country, their rage at their defeat was extreme; and it was the more violent, because their candidate had unquestionably a vast majority of the people on his side, and must have succeeded, if the choice had been by the direct votes of the electors. On the 4th of March, the inauguration of Mr. Adams took place. Preceded by the vice-president Mr. Calhoun, with a number of members of the House of Repre sentatives, followed by the expresident and family, by the judges of the supreme court, in their robes of office, and by the members of the senate, Mr. Adams, in a plain suit of black, advanced to the speaker's chair, and took his seat. The chief justice was placed in front of the clerks' table, having before him another table, on the floor of the hall, on the opposite side of which sat the remaining judges, with their faces towards the chair. Silence having been proclaimed, Mr. Adams rose, and read, with a clear and deliberate articulation, his inaugural address, [see Public Documents p. 109*]. As soon as the last sentence was pronounced, a general plaudit throughout the whole assembly continued for some minutes. The president elect then descended from the chair, and placing himself on the right hand of the judges' table, received from the chief justice a volume of the laws of the United States, from which he read, in a loud and clear voice, the oath of office: the close of which was followed by repeated plaudits, and by the discharge of a salute of artillery. Congratulations poured in from every side; and general Jackson was among the first of those who took the hand of the president. A convention made with Colombia relative to the slave trade, The following statement purports to exhibit the relative popularity of the two prominent candidates for the Presidency : : Number of votes, as far as ascertained, taken in all the States Number of electors chosen Number of electors chosen by the people Number of States by which the second choice of the people has been expressed, by their votes for electors, and other unequivocal evidence Number of States preferring each Jackson. 150,800 Adams. 98,169 shared the same fate as the treaty with Great Britain had experienced in the preceding year. Being laid before the senate for rejection or approval, the first article of the treaty (giving the mutual right of search on the seas and coasts of Africa and the West Indies) was struck out by a vote of 28 to 12: the treaty was rejected unanimously. The state of Georgia and the Creek nation of Indians mutually claim certain lands in the neighbourhood of that province. Of these the state had long sought to possess itself; but the general government of the United States had refused to allow Georgia to acquire them otherwise than by amicable negotiation. A short time since, a pretended cession of the disputed territory was procured from M'Intosh, one of the chiefs; but soon afterwards the other chiefs of the Creek Indians assembled together, and (as they urge, according to the custom of their tribes) put him to death for executing such an instrument without the assent, previously obtained, of the majority of the chiefs of the nation. Under these circumstances, the governor of Georgia contended that, the cession having been made, the general government of the United States had no further right of interference; whilst the latter insisted, that it was their duty and their right to ascertain whether the act was by Indian custom legal, or whether the rest of the chiefs of the Creek nation refused to confirm the transfer. This conduct on the part of the government, and the steps which had been taken or were in contemplation relative to slavery, produced high displeasure in the provincial authorities; and the governor, in a message, called the attention of the House of Representatives to the disposition, which latterly had so often evinced itself in the different branches of the general government, to control the domestic affairs, and to intermeddle with and to endanger the peace, repose, and union of the southern states. The House of Representatives referred the subject to a com mittee, who soon afterwards presented a very vehement and blustering report. "The hour," they said, "is come, or is rapidly approaching, when the states from Virginia to Georgia, from Missouri to Louisiana, must confederate, and as one man say to the Union, 'We will no longer submit our constitutional rights to bad men in congress or on judicial benches-we disclaim the principle of unlimited submission to the general government." The powers necessary to the protection of the confederated states from enemies without, and from enemies within, alone were confided to the United government; all others were retained to the several states separate and sovereign. The states of the south will convey their products to the markets of the world. The world will open wide its arms to receive them. Let our northern brethren, then, if there is no peace in union, if the compact has become too heavy to be longer borne, in the name of all the mercies find peace among themselves. Let them continue to rejoice in their self-righteousness, let them bask in their own meridian, while they depict the South as a hideous reverse. Athens, as Sparta, as Rome was, we will be: they held slaves, we hold them. In the simplicity of the patriarchal government, we would still remain master and servant, under our own vine, and As |