leges. Now the dispute arose as to whether the line should be drawn from one headland to another so as to give all the bays and inlets to England, or whether it should be made to conform to the irregularities of the coast. Under the latter construction American fishingvessels would have equal claims in the bays and harbors; but this privilege was denied by Great Britain, and the quarrel rose to such a height that both nations sent men-of-war to the contested waters. But reason triumphed over passion, and in 1854 the difficulty was happily settled by negotiation; the right to take fish in any of the bays of the British possessions was conceded to American fishermen. During the summer of 1852 the celebrated Hungarian patriot Louis Kossuth made the tour of the United States. Austria and Russia had united against his native land and overthrown her liberties. He came to plead the cause of Hungary before the American people, and to obtain such aid as might be privately furnished to his oppressed countrymen. Every-where he was received with expressions of sympathy and good-will. His mission was successful, though the long-established policy of the United States forbade the government to interfere on behalf of the Hungarian patriots. About this time the attention of the American people was directed in a special manner to explorations in the Arctic Ocean. In 1845 Sir John Franklin, one of the bravest of English seamen, went on a voyage of discovery to the extreme North. He believed in the possibility of passing through an open polar sea into the Pacific. Years went by, and no tidings came from the daring sailor. It was only known that he had passed the country of Esquimaux. Other expeditions were despatched in search, but returned without success. Henry Grinnell, a wealthy merchant of New York, fitted out several vessels at his own expense, put them under command of Lieutenant De Haven, and sent them to the North; but in vain. The government came to Mr. Grinnell's aid. In 1853 a new Arctic squadron was equipped; the command of which was given to Dr. Elisha Kent Kane; but the expedition, though rich in scientific results, returned without the discovery of Franklin. During the administrations of Taylor and Fillmore the country was called to mourn the loss of many distinguished men. On the 31st of March, 1850, Senator John C. Calhoun of South Carolina passed away. His death was much lamented, especially in his own State, to whose interests he had devoted the energies of his life. His earnestness and zeal and powers of debate have placed him in the front rank of American orators. At the age of sixty-eight he fell from his place like a scarred oak of the forest never to rise again. Then followed the death of the President; and then, on the 28th of June, 1852, Henry Clay, having fought his last battle, sank to rest. On the 24th of the following October the illustrious Daniel Webster died at his JOHN C. CALHOUN, home at Marshfield, Massachusetts. The place of secretary of State, made vacant by his death, was conferred on Edward Everett. In Europe the news of Lopez's ridiculous invasion of Cuba created great excitement. Notwithstanding a distinct disavowal of the whole proceeding on the part of the Federal government, notwithstanding the immediate dismissal of the officer at New Orleans who had allowed the expedition of Lopez to escape from that port,-the governments of Great Britain and France affected to believe that the covert aim and purpose of the United States was to acquire Cuba by conquest. Acting upon this presumption the British and French ministers proposed to the American government to enter into a Tripartite Treaty-so called-in which each of the contracting nations was to disclaim then and forever all intention of possessing Cuba. To this proposal Mr. Everett replied in one of the most masterly State papers on record. Great Britain and France were informed that the annexation of Cuba was regarded by the United States as a measure hazardous and impolitic; that entire good faith would be kept with Spain and with all nations; but that the Federal government did not recognize in any European power the right to meddle with affairs purely American, and that, in accordance with the doctrine set forth by President Monroe, any such interference would be resented as an affront to the sovereignty of the United States. As Fillmore's administration drew to a close the political parties again marshaled their forces. Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire appeared as the candidate of the Democratic party, and General Winfield Scott as the choice of the Whigs. The question at issue before the country was the Compromise Act of 1850. But the parties, instead of being divided, were for once agreed as to the wisdom of that measure. Both the Whig and Democratic platforms stoutly reaffirmed the justice of the Omnibus Bill, by which the dissensions of the country had been quieted. A third party arose, however, whose members, both Whigs and Democrats, doubted the wisdom of the compromise of 1850, and declared that all the Territories of the United States ought to be free. John P. Hale of New Hampshire was put forward as the candidate of this Free Soil party. Mr. Pierce was elected by a large majority, and William R. King of Alabama was chosen VicePresident. CHAPTER LIX. PIERCE'S ADMINISTRATION, 1853–1857. THE of Bowdoin College, a lawyer, a politician, a general in the Mexican War, a statesman of considerable abilities. Mr. King, the Vice-President, had for a long time represented Alabama in the Senate of the United States. On account of failing health he was sojourning in the island of Cuba at the time of the inauguration, and there he received the oath of office. Growing still more feeble, he returned to his own State, where he died on the 18th of April, 1853. As secretary of state under the new administration William L. Marcy of New York was chosen. In the summer of 1853 the first corps of engineers was sent out by the government to explore the route for A PACIFIC RAILROAD. The enterprise was at first regarded as visionary, then believed in as possible, and finally undertaken and accomplished. In the same year that marked the beginning of the project the disputed boundary between New Mexico and Chihuahua was satisfactorily settled. The maps on which the former treaties with Mexico had been based were found to be erroneous. Santa Anna, who had again become president of the Mexican republic, attempted to take advantage of the error, and sent an army to occupy the territory between the true and the false boundary. This action was resisted by the authorities of New Mexico and the United States, and a second Mexican war seemed imminent. The difficulty was adjusted, however, by the purchase of the doubtful claim of Mexico. This transaction, known as THE GADSDEN PURCHASE, led to the erection of the new Territory of Arizona. The first year of Pierce's administration was signalized by the opening of intercourse between the United States and the great empire of Japan. Hitherto the Japanese ports had been closed against the vessels of Christian nations. In order to remove this foolish and injurious restriction Commodore Perry, a son of Oliver H. Perry of the war of 1812, sailed with his squadron into the Bay of Yeddo. When warned to depart, he explained to the Japanese officers the sincere desire of the United States to enter into a commercial treaty with the emperor. After much delay and hesitancy consent was obtained to hold an interview with that august personage. Accordingly, on the 14th of July, the commodore with his officers obtained an audience with the dusky monarch of the East, and presented a letter from the President of the United States. Still the government of Japan was wary of accepting the proposition, and it was not until the spring of 1854 that a treaty could be concluded. The privileges of commerce were thus conceded to American merchant vessels, and two ports of entry were designated for their use. On the very day of Commodore Perry's introduction to the emperor of Japan the Crystal Palace was opened in the city of New York for the second WORLD'S FAIR. The palace itself was a marvel in architecture, being built exclusively of iron and glass. Thousands of specimens of the arts and manufactures of all civilized nations were put on exhibition within the spacious building. The enterprise and inventive genius of the whole country were quickened into a new life by the beautiful and instructive display. International exhibitions are among the happiest fruits of an enlightened age. During the administration of Pierce the country was frequently disturbed by the filibustering expeditions of General William Walker into Central America. This audacious and unscrupulous adventurer began his operations in 1853 by escaping with a band of followers from the port of San Francisco and making a descent on La Paz in Lower California. In the spring of 1854 he marched overland with a' hundred men and raised the standard of revolt in the state of Sonora; but the company was dispersed and himself made prisoner. In May of the same year he was tried by the authorities of San Francisco and acquitted. But not satisfied with his previous experience, he again raised a band of sixty-two followers and proceeded to Central America. Being joined by a regiment of natives he fought and gained a battle at Rivas, on the 29th of June, 1855. In a second battle at Virgin Bay he was also successful. Fighting continued until the following summer when his influence had become so powerful that he was elected president of Nicaraugua. Then came a change in his fortunes. A great insurrection ensued; and the other Central American states, assisted by the Vanderbilt steam-ship company, whose rights he had violated, combined against him and on the 1st of May, 1857, he was again made prisoner. But in a short time he was foot-loose at New Orleans, where he organized a third company of adventurers-men who had everything to gain and nothing to lose-and on the 25th of November succeeded in reaching Punta Arenas, Nicaraugua. Within less than a month, however, he was again obliged to surrender to Commodore Paulding of the United States navy. For a while the great filibuster was a prisoner at New York; but getting his liberty, he continued his scheming, and in June of 1860 a third time reached Central America at the head of a considerable force. This time the descent was made at Truxillo, Honduras. But the president of that state, assisted by a British man-of-war, soon overpowered and captured the whole band. On the 3d of September Walker was tried by a court-martial at Truxillo, condemned, and shot. The courage with which he met his fate has half redeemed his forfeited fame and left after times in doubt whether he shall be called fanatic or hero.* To this period also belongs the history of what is known in American diplomacy as THE MARTIN KOSZTA AFFAIR. Martin Koszta was a leader in the Hungarian revolt against Austria, in 1849. After the rebellion was suppressed he fled to Turkey whence he was demanded by the Austrian government as a refugee and traitor. The Turkish authorities, however, refused to give him up but agreed that he should be sent into exile to some foreign land never to return. Koszta chose the United States as his asylum, came hither, and took out partial but not complete papers of naturalization. In 1854 he returned to Turkey, contrary-as it was alleged-to his former promise. At the city of Smyrna he received a passport from the American consul residing there, and went ashore. But the Austrian consul at Smyrna, hearing * It will be observed that the narrative of Walker's exploits and end, extends nearly to the conclusion of Buchanan's administration. |