without cost or charge. Favorable reports were made upon this plan in both Houses, and in each a bill to establish such a board was introduced; but the plan was not adopted by Congress. mutual extradition of fugitives from justice, and the taking of measures for the more effectual suppression of the slave trade. On On the 9th of August, 1842, four months after the arrival of Lord Ashburton, the labors of the negotiators were brought to a successful conclusion, and the treaty of Washington signed. By this treaty the boundary between the State of Maine and the British provinces was at length definitely settled. the whole, though more or less objection was made to the final arrangement, it was regarded as fair and just by sensible and reasonable men on both sides the Atlantic. The navigation of the River St. John was declared free; all grants of lands, on whichever side of the boundary line they might be, were to be held valid; and the United States agreed to satisfy the claims of the States of Maine and Massachusetts, out of its share of the "disputed territory" fund. 1842. Before Congress adjourned, the Senate was called upon to ratify a very important treaty, usually known as the treaty of Washington. Daniel Webster was the negotiator on the part of the United States, and in behalf of Great Britain, Lord Ashburton arrived at Washington, as special minister, on the 4th of April, 1842. Besides the boundary question, which had been so long in dispute, there were other matters of no small moment to be discussed, and if possible settled now; one, the indemnification or "atonement" due on the ground of the violation of the United States' territory when the Caroline was destroyed, and for that vessel, if it were not proved that its owner had acted in conjunction with the insurgents on Navy Island; and another, the right of search claimed and enforced by the British cruisers, as to ships sus-lated, that Great Britain and America pected of being slavers, which arose near the end of the preceding year.* By the eighth article, it was stipu should each maintain on the coast of Africa, a sufficient squadron or naval force, carrying not less than eighty guns, for the purpose of enforcing separately and respectively the laws, rights, and obligations of the two countries for the suppression of the slave trade. Another article of the treaty provided for the reciprocal extradition of the fugitives from justice, an arrangement evidently of importance to the welfare of both countries. The Senate ratified this treaty by a majority of thirty-nine against nine, Senator Benton being one of the minority; and the bill for car CH. IV.] OPENING OF THE OREGON QUESTION. rying the treaty into effect passed, in the following session, with the equally emphatic assent of both Houses of Con gress. Rhode Island, having become restive under its ancient charter, granted by Charles II., passed an act, in January, 1841, calling a convention in the following November, in order to frame a state constitution. This had been attempted in 1824 and 1834, without success. The "suffrage party," composed of those who advocated the right of suffrage without regard to the legal right under the old charter (which required possession of a freehold estate, valued at $134), held a meeting at Providence, and framed what was called the "people's constitution," which was duly ratified in the manner provided by it. The other convention met at the time appointed; framed a constitution in February, 1842, which, on being submitted to the people, was rejected by a small majority. The suffrage party, in April, chose Thomas W. Dorr, governor, and elected a legislature. The "law and order party," as it was called, elected Samuel W. King, governor, and resisted the proceedings of Mr. Dorr and his supporters. Great excitement was the consequence, and a bloody struggle seemed to be at hand. Dorr escaped arrest and left the state; but, returning in May, 1843, he entrenched himself, with about seven hundred men, on a hill in Chepachet, with five pieces of artillery. A large force was called out; the insurgents deserted Dorr, who was taken and convicted of treason; a new constitution was duly adopted; and Dorr, who had 421 been sent to state's prison, was released in 1845. 1842. On the 5th of December, the last session of the twenty-seventh Congress commenced. In his message, after congratulations on the completion of the treaty of Washington, Mr. Tyler said: "It would have furnished additional cause for congratulation, if the treaty could have embraced all subjects calculated in future to lead to a misunderstanding between the two governments. The territory of the United States, commonly called the Oregon Territory, lying on the Pacific Ocean, north of the forty-second degree of latitude, to a portion of which Great Britain lays claim, begins to attract the attention of our fellow-citizens; and the tide of population, which has reclaimed what was so lately an unbroken wilderness in more contiguous regions, is preparing to flow over these vast districts, which stretch from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. In advance of the requirement of individual rights to these lands, sound policy dictates that every effort should be resorted to by the two governments, to settle their respective claims." This is the first public notice of the "Oregon question," although for twenty years past it had been more or less before the eyes and in the thoughts of statesmen, at home and abroad. A continued deficit of $5,000,000 was announced, in speaking of the finances. The remedying of the defects of the tariff act was urged upon Congress, and it was suggested, that the warehousing system might be advantageously adopted. The exchequer plan was again commended to the notice of the legislature, and expounded at great length; and the embarrassed state of the public credit, which arose from the deficit, from "the utter and disastrous failure of the United States Bank of Pennsylvania," and from the "repudiation" of their debts by several states, was appealed to as a reason for immediate attention to the subject. 1843. The proceedings of this session were not of much moment. Considerable excitement arose out of the question relative to Oregon, and it was attempted to be used largely for the purpose of making political capital. The president informed Congress, that he was about to enter into negotiations with Great Britain for the purpose of terminating the joint occupation, and fixing the boundary on mutually satisfactory terms; yet a bill was brought into the Senate, and carried by a majority of one, for taking possession of the whole of the disputed territory, the title of the United States to which it declared was certain, and would not be abandoned. The House, however, refused its concurrence. On the 3d of March, 1843, the session closed; having provided the means of future intercourse between the United States and the government of China,* and having also passed an act to test the practicability of establishing a system of electro-magnetic telegraphs. In May, Mr. Webster, resigned his * Mr. Caleb Cushing was appointed, in May, 1843, commissioner, for the purpose of proceeding to China, and opening negotiations with its government. He did so, and succeeded in arranging and settling with the emperor of China, a very valuable treaty. post, which led to other changes in the cabinet. The elections during the autumn proved generally adverse to the administration, and seemed to presage a return of the tide in favor of the democrats; and when the twenty-eighth Congress assembled, on the 4th of December, although the whigs were in a majority in the Senate, the opposition elected their candidate for speaker by a vote of a hundred and twenty-eight to fifty-nine.* Mr. Tyler, in his message, asserted the American claim, in respect to Oregon, to the parallel of 54° 40' north latitude, but stated that no effort would be spared to effect a mutually satisfactory settlement of the question with Great Britain. The position of matters in regard to Texas was discussed at length; the finances were spoken of quite fully; a disquisition on currency in its various ramifications was furnished; and a number of recommendations on subjects of moment were made. 1843. There was not, however, much business of general interest transacted during the session. A number of private and local acts were passed; appropriations were made for carrying on the government, for internal improvements, and the like; laws regulating the management of the territories were enacted, etc. John Tyler, anxious to distinguish * The whig members protested against the right to seats of the members elected from New Hampshire, Georgia, Mississippi, and Missouri, on the ground that they had not been elected in conformity with the act of the last Congress. The majority would not allow the protest to be read, and the members claiming seats took them accordingly. CH. IV.] 1844. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 423 1844. The national whig convention met at Baltimore on the 1st of May, and with great enthusiasm nominated Henry Clay and Theodore Frelinghuysen for president and vice-president. The democratic convention met at the same place, on the 27th of May, and after a number of ballotings between the names of Van Buren, Cass, Johnson, Calhoun, took a new man, James K. Polk, who received the nomination for the presidency. George M. Dallas was placed on the same ticket for vice-president. The annexation of Texas and the claim to the 54° 40' parallel for the boundary of Oregon, were among the chief issues presented in connection with the approaching contest. Mr. Tyler was nominated by some friends for re-election; but soon after finding his prospects hopeless, he withdrew, and published an address, which concluded by saying: "I appeal from the vituperation of the present day to the pen of impartial history, in the full confidence that neither a base, wicked, confidence that neither my motives nor my acts will bear the interpretation which has, for sinister purposes, been placed upon them." himself by something of moment to the country, had sought with eagerness to bring about the annexation of Texas; and a treaty to this effect was arranged, in April, 1844, between the secretary of state and the commissioners on the part of the republic of Texas. The Senate, however, rejected this treaty, on the 8th of June, by a vote of thirty-five to sixteen. Mr. Benton, immediately after the rejection of the treaty, introduced into the Senate | a bill for the annexation of Texas, provided the consent of Mexico were first obtained; and the president sent a message to the House, announcing the refusal of the Senate to ratify his treaty, in a manner which indicated his desire that some measure would be devised there to accomplish his object. But the House did not gratify him in his wish; and Senator Benton took occasion to express a rather general feeling, when he denounced John Tyler's effort in this wise to grasp at a chance of reelection, as "a fraud," "a base, wicked, miserable presidential intrigue," "originating in the most vicious purpose," and prosecuted for the most knavish conclusions;" whilst the appeal from the decision of the Senate, involved in Tyler's Message, he regarded as an insulting violation of the Constitution, which deserved impeachment.* * The rise and progress of that strange abomination, Mormonism, deserves fuller consideration than we can here give it. Joseph Smith, with his band of one thousand two hundred followers, in 1833, in Missouri; with his thousands in Illinois, in 1840; the murder of Smith and his brother in prison by a mob, in July, 1844; and the expulsion of the hated sect from Illinois, and their emigration beyond the Rocky Mountains; where now (1857) they present a front of armed The canvass was animated and excit ing to a high degree, and the result was as follows; Mr. Polk and Mr. Dallas received one hundred and seventy electoral votes; Mr. Clay and Mr. Frelinghuysen, one hundred and five;* rebellion and resistance suggestive of no light evils in the future; these are points which the reader may look into with advantage. It is a strange thing that a vile imposture like this should prevail in our day. * The whigs charged, that their defeat was owing to the fact of a large and scandalous amount of illegal voting in various parts of the country by their opponents. consequently the former were declared duly elected president and vice-president of the United States. 1845. Congress met, for its closing session, on the 2d of December, 1844. The principal topic of the last message of Mr. Tyler was the annexation of Texas, respecting which he said: "a controlling majority of the people, and a large majority of the states, have| declared in favor of immediate annexation. Instructions have thus come up to both branches of Congress, from their respective constituents, in terms the most emphatic. It is the will of both the people and the states, that Texas shall be annexed to the Union promptly and immediately." The finan- | cial statement showed a great improvement, it being estimated that a surplus of $7,000,000 would remain in the treasury at the close of the fiscal year. The message closed with some self-congratulatory words on account of his repeated use of the veto power, and the approbation which he believed the people to have manifested in his behalf. On the 25th of January, 1845, the House of Representatives, by a vote of a hundred and twenty to ninety-eight, passed a series of resolutions, to the effect that Congress consented to the property to the general government were made; and it was provided, that other states might be formed out of the territory, as was customary with areas of considerable extent when first admitted into the Confederation. The Senate, some weeks later, adopted the joint resolutions, by a vote of twentyseven to twenty-five; and on the 1st of March, they received the approval of the president. Texas thus became an integral part of the United States, although necessarily the final arrangements, and the settlement of the difficulty growing out of the complaints and menaces of Mexico, were left for future consideration. All diplomatic attempts thus far to induce Mexico quietly to yield to the necessity of the case had failed, and there was room to expect hostilities on the south-western frontier. How the succeeding administration dealt with this whole matter, we shall see in our next chapter. Other proceedings of the session we need not dwell upon. Various Various appropriations were made; an act was passed by which Florida was admitted into the Union; a bill (vetoed by Mr. Tyler) forbidding him to build revenue cutters at his discretion, was passed by more than a two-thirds vote, and thus became a law; and an appropriation bill for certain harbors and rivers, sent to the president just at the close of the session was retained by him, and thus disposed of by what was styled a "pocket-veto." On the 3d of March, the twenty-eighth Congress terminated, and Mr. Tyler also retired from the office, which he had attained by one |