tion was made to the President of the United States, but with no decisive effect, to grant belligerent rights to the insurgents, and to interfere in behalf of naturalized citizens of the United States in British prisons. In the latter part of May the projected invasion of Canada again attracted public attention. Buffalo, N. Y., and Detroit, Mich., became the principal points of interest, and at those places recruiting of men and drilling were vigorously prosecuted. St. Albans, Vt., and Ogdensburg, N.Y., were spoken of as depots for the accumulation of arms and stores, or as points of departure for different branches of the expedition. The vigilance of the United States Government, however, to which may probably be added the lack of preparation on the part of the Fenian leaders, prevented any thing being accomplished; and the excitement attending their demonstrations against Canada so far subsided, that orders issued to the United States districtattorneys and marshals on the 30th of July, directing them to make arrests for violations of the neutrality laws, were all the extra exertion which the emergency seemed to call for. The Congress of the Brotherhood assembled at Cleveland, Ohio, early in September, and sat with closed doors. Their proceedings were of a stormy character throughout. Notwithstanding strict injunctions of secrecy, detailed reports of what transpired found their way to the public. President Roberts gave to the congress an account of his conference at Paris (France), during his late visit to that capital, with the representatives of the Irish revolutionary brotherhood, and claimed to have effected a reunion of that body with the Fenian brotherhood in America. This was accomplished on the 4th of July, 1867. He denounced the agents of the Stephens party, who had been sent to work for the cause in Europe; accused them of wasting in dissipation the funds intrusted to them, and of causing the failure of the expedition against Canada in 1866, in consequence of which the brotherhood in Ireland had been greatly discouraged. The acting secretary of war, General Spear, also reported to the congress. Ile estimated the force of the Fenian brigade at 9,300 enlisted men, and about 20,000 stand of arms. The Stephens wing claimed to have in addition 15,000 stand of arms, 15,000 sabres, a large quantity of ammunition, and a vessel in New York harbor. The congress adopted further measures for raising and organizing troops. Arrangements were also concluded to unite the Roberts with the Stephens party, the latter of whom had requested a conference upon the subject; and to place the Fenians in America and Ireland under one organization, to be known as the Irish Republic. The time and place of the next campaign were left to the decision of the military officers. A declaration of independence was issued, reciting the oppressions of the British Government, setting forth the claims of the Irish to a separate nationality, and invoking the aid of the American people to accomplish it. Colonel Roberts was reclected President, and the congress adjourned September 9th. Among the earliest of the recent violent proceedings of the Fenians which have produced so much alarm throughout Great Britain, was the riot at Manchester, occurring in August. Funeral processions, instituted in honor of O'Brien, Allen, and Larkin, executed for their participation in the riot, were in most instances suppressed throughout the kingdom; but on November 28th an imposing one took place in the city of New York. The excitement and indignation against the brotherhood were renewed and increased by the blowing-up of the wall of Clerkenwell Prison, in London, in December, whereby the lives of many innocent men, women, and children were sacrificed. (See Great Britain.) The effect of these and other acts of violence, while it has stimulated the fears and hatred of the Irish people, has nevertheless led the British press and Parliament to consider the necessity of ameliorating their condition. The negotiations for a union between the Roberts and Stephens parties were consummated December 19th, and John Savage was elected chief executive of the united organizations, the office having been previously tendered to, and declined by, John Mitchel. The Fenian senate published an address, December 31st, in which they declare that the blowing-up of the wall of the Clerkenwell Prison in London, the firing of post-offices and gas-works, the sending of explosive or deadly missiles to individuals through the mails, and other recent outrages, "are neither authorized, approved, nor encouraged by the authorities whom the brotherhood recognize: but, on the contrary, are regarded by then as the work of secret agents of the English Government, endeavoring to bring odium upon the national cause by the perpetration of crimes foreign both to the genius, the instincts, and the religious training of the Irish people." At no previous period, probably, have the numerous adherents to the Fenian organization felt more encouraged with hopes of ultimate success than they do at the present. Their claim of "Ireland for the Irish" is thought to be in sympathy with the efforts for indepen dent nationalities so successfully made by the people of Italy, of Hungary, of Poland, of Candia, of Mexico, and so warmly approved by the liberal party in every country of Chris tendom, not excepting England. Writers in English periodicals have even proclaimed this in the ears of Englishmen, and accused them of inconsistency in encouraging freedom everywhere abroad, and suppressing it in the case of Ireland. With the tendencies of the age and the course of events in their favor, sooner or later, they declare, the Fenians are destined to succeed in achieving independence for Ireland. Whether these predictions are well cr ill founded, it is at least highly probable that the English Government will soon be led to make such concessions toward Ireland, and to secure such a reformation of existing abuses, as will everywhere gain the approbation of the friends of good government. FIELD, DAVID Dudley, D. D., an American Congregational clergyman and author, born in East Guilford (now Madison), Conn., May 20, 1781; died in Stockbridge, Mass., April 15, 1867. He was a son of Captain Timothy Field, an officer of the War of the Revolution. He was fitted for college under the instruction of Rev. Dr. John Elliott, pastor of the Congregational Church in Guilford, and one of the most remarkable men of the last century in New England, and entered Yale College at the age of seventeen, graduating in the class of 1802. He prosecuted his theological studies under Dr. Backus, of Somers, one of the most eminent New England divines of his day, and was licensed to preach by the New Haven East Association, in September, 1803. He was soon invited to preach as a candidate at Haddam, Conn., the result of which was that, after a few months, he received a call, and was ordained and installed there on the 11th of April, 1804. Here he remained till 1818-just fourteen years-and then resigned his charge, and spent the next five months on a missionary tour in Western New York. On his return to New England, he accepted a call from the Congregational Church in Stockbridge, Mass., then lately rendered vacant by the death of the venerable Dr. Stephen West, and was installed as its pastor on the 25th of August, 1819. With this church his connection continued nearly eighteen years, when, owing to a singular concurrence of circumstances, he received and accepted an invitation to return to his former parish in Haddam, and was actually installed there the second time on the 11th of April, 1837, just thirty-three years from the date of his first settlement. That year the degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon him by Williams College. In 1844 the parish which he had served, being very large, was divided, and he took charge of the new society formed at Higganum, two miles north of the old church, where he continued to preach some years longer. During his residence here, in 1848, he crossed the ocean with one of his sons, and spent several months, much to his satisfaction, in Great Britain and France. In the spring of 1851, having reached the age of seventy, he yielded to the wishes of his children that he should retire from public labor and return to Stockbridge, which they regarded as the family home. Here he lived in dignifel retirement for sixteen years. During the greater part of this time, his faculties, mental as well as bodily, continued in a good degree of vigor; but for some time previous to his death there had been a gradual waning of the powers of his mind, and his memory particularly had become well-nigh a blank. On the day on which he died (the 15th of April), he rode out and called upon several of his old parishioners, and to one of them who said, "Dr. Field, I am glad to see you so well," he replied, "I was never better in my life." He had a little great-granddaughter on the seat with him, and had his arm around her, as he drove through the village to his home. On entering his room, he took off the scarf from his neck, and, on sitting down, his head fell back, his body and limbs became rigid, and the next moment he was dead. Dr. Field had a natural fondness for historical research, and, notwithstanding his manifold professional engagements, he found considerable time to devote to it. He published a "History of Middlesex County;" a "History of Berkshire County," in a volume of nearly 500 pages; an "Historical Address" at Middletown, forming, with its appendix, a book of 300 pages; and a "Genealogy of the Brainerd Family," of about the same size with the last-mentioned volume. A considerable number of his occasional sermons have also been published. Dr. Field was married in October, 1803, to Miss Submit Dickinson, of Somers-a lady of highly respectable parentage, and every way worthy of the place she was designed to occupy. The relation thus formed continued fifty-seven years. They had ten children, of whom seven were born in Haddam, and three in Stockbridge. Two sons and two daughters have died. Six sons are now living. David Dudley, the oldest son, is one of the leading members of the New York bar, and author of the "Revised Codes of Law of the State of New York," a work on which he was engaged for nearly twenty years. Matthew D. is an engineer, and has been a member of the Senate of Massachusetts for Hampden County; Jonathan E. has been repeatedly a member of the same Senate, and was three times chosen its president; Stephen J. is one of the Judges of the Supreme Court of the United States; Cyrus W. has a worldwide fame as the originator of the Atlantic Telegraph; and Henry M., the youngest son, is the editor of the New York Evangelist, and the author of several books. One of his daughters married Rev. Josiah Brewer, a missionary in the East; and the other, Mr. Joseph F. Stone, a partner of her brother Cyrus. Dr. Field occupied a prominent place among the excellent ministers of the last generation. With a mind naturally vigorous, clear, and exact, and withal trained to diligent and patient research, and with the most scrupulous regard to order and principle, he united a kindly and generous spirit, and with it a tone of vigorous and elevated piety. In all his relations he was a model of firmness, conscientiousness, discretion, and punctuality. As a preacher, he was eminently judicious and instructive; and his manner, though calm and deliberate, was evidently marked by great sincerity. He had uncommon executive power and was always ready to exert it in helping to carry out every benevolent project that came in his way. Wherever he lived, his exalted virtues drew around him a large circle of friends. FINANCES OF THE UNITED STATES. The aspect of the fiscal affairs of the United States was much improved at the close of the year. An increased consolidation of the public debt, and a reduction of its amount, had been made. An expansion of credits, usually excited by an excessive and depreciated currency, was prevented by the tendency to contraction maintained by the Government. Industry began to turn to more healthy channels, and freedom from financial embarrassment existed. Thus improvement took place in the general condition of the country. A statement of the receipts and expenditures of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1867, was made by the Secretary of the Treasury in his annual report of December, 1866. This statement consisted of the actual receipts and expenditures for the first quarter of the fiscal year, ending September 30, 1866, and an estimate for the remaining three quar ters. The estimates of the Secretary for the remaining three quarters of the fiscal year, ending June 30, 1867, gave a surplus of estimated receipts over estimated expenditures of $79,330,856. This amount was somewhat exceeded by the actual surplus at the close of the year, as may be seen by the following statement of the actual receipts and expenditures to June 30, 1867: 4.200,238 70 266,027,537 43 42,824,852 50 $490,634,010 27 The expenditures, during the same year, were: $51,110.027 27 25,579,083 48 95,224,415 63 143,781,591 91 Pensions and Indians War Department. Navy Department.. Interest on Public Debt.. 81,034,011 04 $346,729,124 33 $1,000,000 00 Leaving a surplus of estimated receipts over A change took place during the year in the Thus making the actual surplus from the or- $746,850,525 96 $105,923,615 65 The actual receipts and expenditures for the first quarter of the fiscal year ending June 30, 1868, were as follows: Receipts from Customs. Lands.. Direct Tax. .$48,081.907 61 257,460 07 Internal Revenue.... 53.784,027 49 Miscellaneous sources 18,361,462 62 Expenditures for Civil Service. $18,152,848 08 Pensions and Indians. 10,484,476 11 War Department.... 80.587.056 35 Navy Department... 5,579,704 67 Int. on Public Debt.. 88,515,640 47 The following is a statement of the indebt$65,078,086 34 edness of the United States on June 30, 1867 The following is a summary statement of the in his report to Congress in December, 1866, public debt on November 1, 1867: $198,845,350 00 283,676,600 00 $1,778,110,991 80 Debt bearing currency interest. $18,042,000 00 11,560,000 00 $426,768,640 00 .$357,164,844 00 30.706,633 39 14,514,200 00 he had expressed the opinion that specie payments ought to be resumed as early as July 1, 1868. But these anticipations were not fully realized. The grain crops of 1866 were barely sufficient for home consumption. The expenses of the War Department, by reason of İndian hostilities and the establishment of military governments in the Southern States, greatly exceeded the estimates. The Government was also defrauded of a large part of the revenue upon distilled liquors, and the condition of the South continued disturbed and unsatisfactory. An apprehension was also created, by some $18,237,538 83 public speakers on finance and taxation, that the public faith might not be maintained. All these facts indicated a postponement of the time when specie payments might be resumed. Much, however, had been done to effect that object, and in the opinion of the Secretary, as expressed in his last annual report, no insuperable difficulty in the way of an early and permanent resumption existed. "But with favorable crops in 1868," he says, "and with no legislation unfavorable to contraction, resumption ought not to be delayed beyond January 1, or, at the farthest, July 1, 1869." To make this restoration of the specie standard permanent, the Secretary regarded it as of the highest importance, that the funding or payment of the balance of interest-bearing notes and a continued contraction of the paper currency should be made; also that the public faith with regard to the public debt should be maintained; and that the Southern States should be restored to their proper relations to the Federal Government. $402,385,677 39 $2,625,502,848 02 183,998,398 02 .$2,491,504,450 00 The outstanding notes of the United States, including the fractional currency, as above stated, have been reduced $71,633,834.12 since the close of the war, which has been so much progress in a contraction of the currency, and toward the resumption of specie payments. Still that there is an excess of currency, the Secretary concludes, because coin commands a premium of some forty per cent. over legaltender notes; a high tariff has proved powerless to prevent excessive importations; capitalists hesitate in regard to the uses to which they shall put their surplus means; business is speculative and uncertain; expenses of living are driving thousands into crime, and making dishonesty excusable, while honorable men of limited means are indignantly and justly complaining that they cannot live on incomes that formerly gave them a handsome support. A difference of views existed in the public mind relative to an excess of currency, and Congress by a considerable majority had limited the power of the Secretary to contract it. On April 12, 1866, an act was passed authorizing the Secretary to receive treasury notes and other obligations of the Government, whether bearing interest or not, in exchange for bonds, with a proviso, that of United States notes not more than ten millions of dollars should be cancelled within six months from the passage of the act, and thereafter not more than four millions of dollars in any one month. This proviso, while it fixed a limit to the amount of notes which should be retired per month, so far from indicating an abandonment of the policy of contraction which had been maintained since the war, confirmed and established it. So favorable had been the general tendency of the measures adopted by the Secretary, that To aid in consolidating the debt, Congress, on March 2, 1867, authorized and directed the Secretary to issue three per cent. loan certificates to the amount of fifty millions of dollars for the purpose of redeeming and retiring compound-interest notes. Of the certificates, $11560,000 had been issued during the year for the redemption of notes becoming due in October and December. The remainder of these notes, then outstanding, he expected to take up with certificates, or pay at maturity. Indeed, all the interest-bearing notes, at the close of the year outstanding, were, by their terms of contract, to be paid or converted within eleven months. As has already been stated, a difference of opinion existed in the public mind respecting a contraction of the currency, and this embraced the further question as to which of the two kinds of the currency-the United States notes, or the notes of the national banks-should bear the contraction. In favor of a contraction generally, it was urged that an increase of money beyond what was needed for a circulating medium, not only inflated prices, but diminished labor, and coin flows from the country in which the excess exists, to some other where labor is more active, and prices are lower; to flow back again when the loss by |