It is the very fervor of the noon-day sun, in the cloudless atmosphere of a summer sky, which breeds

"the sweeping whirlwind's sway,

That, hush'd in grim repose, expects his evening prey."

You have insured the gallant ship, which ploughs the waves, freighted with your wives and your children's fortunes, from the fury of the tempest above, and from the treachery of the wave beneath. Beware of the danger against which you can alone insure yourselves-the latent defect of the gallant ship herself. Pass but a few short days, and forty years will have elapsed since the voice of him, who addresses you, speaking to your fathers, from this hallowed spot, gave for you, in the face of Heaven, the solemn pledge, that if, in the course of your career upon earth, emergencies should arise, calling for the exercise of those energies and virtues which, in times of tranquility and peace, remain, by the will of Heaven dormant in the human bosom, you would prove yourselves not unworthy of the sires who had toiled and fought and bled, for the independence of their country. Nor has that pledge been unredeemed. You have maintained, through times of trial and danger, the inheritance of freedom, of union, of independence, bequeathed you by your forefathers. It remains for you only to transmit the same peerless legacy, unimpaired, to your children of the next succeeding age. To this end, let us join in humble supplication to the Founder of empires and the Creator of all worlds,

that he would continue to your posterity, the smiles which his favor has been bestowed upon you and since "it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps," that he would enlighten and lead the advancing generation in the way they should go. That in all the perils and all the mischances which may threaten or befall our United Republic, in after times, he would raise up from among your sons, deliverers to enlighten her Councils, to defend her freedom, and if need be to lead her armies to victory. And should the gloom of the year of Independence ever again overspread the sky, or the metropolis of your empire be once more destined to smart under the scourge of an invader's hand, that there never may be found wanting among the children of your country a warrior to bleed, a statesman to counsel, a chief to direct and govern, inspired with all the virtues, and endowed with all the faculties, which have been so signally displayed in the life of James Monroe.

4

MONROE'S ADMINISTRATION.

WHILE the possession of brilliant genius or talents, will not be claimed for James Monroe, even by his warmest admirers, it will not, on the other hand, be denied, that he carefully improved the varied and numerous advantages he enjoyed, during a protracted public career; and that, as the acquisitions of a long experience, he added, to his natural prudence and good sense, a tact, and a knowledge of men, which eminently fitted him for a successful politician. When, therefore, he proposed, in 1814, as Secretary of War, his measure for the increase of the army, to which the term of "conscription" was opprobriously, yet unjustly applied, he foresaw that it might seriously affect his popularity; and, inasmuch as his name had been proposed as the successor of Mr. Madison, he came to the deliberate determination, after consultation with his confidential friends, to which he would unquestionably have adhered, to decline standing as a candidate, in the event of the continuance of the war. The peace, however, relieved him from this position of embarrassment, and his friends at once began, openly and zealously, to advocate his selection as the candidate of the republican party.

Other candidates for the nomination were likewise

proposed by their respective friends. In November, 1815, Aaron Burr suggested to Joseph Alston, his sonin-law, and ex-governor of South Carolina, the propriety of bringing forward General Andrew Jackson, of Tennessee. Had this been done, and had due advantage been taken of the enthusiastic attachment of the people of the South and West to the hero of the Creek war, and the brave defender of New Orleans, the movement might have been successful; but, in consequence of severe domestic afflictions, though concurring with Colonel Burr in opinion, Mr. Alston was not disposed to take any active part in the canvass, and therefore nothing was done to further the project.

Daniel D. Tompkins, the governor of New York, was also urged, with some pertinacity at first, by the citizens of his own state; but on discovering that his chances were hopeless, they no longer pressed his name; and the opposition to Mr. Monroe, within the pale of the republican party, finally centered on William H. Crawford, of Georgia, who had succeeded the former in the charge of the War Department.

The congressional caucus was held on the 16th day of March, 1816; and upon balloting for a candidate for president, Mr. Monroe received sixty-five votes, and Mr. Crawford fifty-four; whereupon, the former was declared duly nominated. The opposing candidates for the nomination for the vice-presidency were Daniel D. Tompkins of New York, and Simon Snyder of Pennsylvania, both governors of their respective

states. On the ballot, the former received eightyfive votes, and the latter thirty.

Disheartened as were the federalists as a party; and conscious, as they must have been, that their opposition to the war of 1812, and their unwise exultation over the reverses sustained by the American troops, prompted rather by their anxiety to witness the disgrace of Mr. Madison than by any sympathy for the British cause, had greatly diminished the number of their friends, and increased that of their opponents; they were, nevertheless, not yet disposed quite to abandon the field. It was thought best to select a candidate for the presidency, in order to keep up the party organization, though they, of course did not anticipate success. They regarded this as important, because they endeavored to console themselves with the hope, that divisions, by which they might profit if they remained together, would soon arise in the ranks of the dominant party. Aware, however, that it would not do to exhibit their weakness, by putting forward, as the leader of their forlorn hope, one of the ultra opponents of the war, they selected as their candidate, by general consent, Rufus King, of New York, and formerly of Massachusetts, who, though he had originally voted against the declaration of war, had distinguished himself by his patriotic exertions in providing for the defence of his adopted state, and in assisting to raise and equip her volunteer regiments and militia quotas.

But little opposition was offered to the election of