never been made. If the. French had been allowed to take peaceful possession of the banks of the Mississippi, and to become masters of the outlets of the Gulf of Mexico, we should soon have lost all the blessings of our neutrality. With the English, who are in possession of the northern lakes, and of the St. Lawrence, they would have waged harassing and perpetual warfare. We should have been enclosed on all sides, except that of the Atlantic Ocean, (and perhaps even there by the opposing navies,) by two of the most powerful nations of Europe, deadly hostile to each other. With one or the other we must have been allied: our national existence would have been constantly endangered; and, confined within our original limits, we should have seen the rich valleys of the west desolated by that enmity, which had destroyed towns and villages in Europe; instead of beholding, as we now behold, our empire extended over the Rocky Mountains, and stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, perpetuated and blest under the glorious advantages of peace and civilization.

After this most important treaty had been ratified, and an adjustment of certain claims of American citizens upon France had been made, in a convention, which was held at Paris, in April, 1803, Mr. Monroe, in the same month, proceeded to England, where he was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary, to succeed Rufus King; who, after having faithfully discharged his mission for seven years, was, at his own request, returning to his own country. With the revival of the war with France, England began anew to exercise those odious impressments and unprovoked outrages upon the persons and vessels of neutral powers, which, prior to the treaty concluded by Mr. Jay, had brought us to the verge of war; but which had not been exercised since that time. It seems to us that the measures proposed by President Jefferson to obtain from the British 'government a convention for the protection of our seamen, and for the observance of neutral rights, were both feeble and impolitic. Our Minister should not have been instructed to solicit what he had the right most imperiously to demand, viz. a total cessation of the rapine and plunder, committed on our ships, and a full remuneration for the wrongs which had already been inflicted. If such a peaceful remedy had been extended to the British Minister in one hand, with a declaration of war in the other, it is highly probable that, harassed as he was with the new French war, the former would have been accepted. The convention having failed, in which the British government abandoned the right to impress seamen, by a captious exception for the narrow seas, made by the head of the admiralty, Mr. Monroe, in the same conciliatory spirit with Mr. King, was endeavoring to adjust these difficulties, when he was summoned to discharge his extraordinary mission to Spain.

When Buonaparte ceded Louisiana to this country, he took care to use, in his grant to us, the very words in which it had been conveyed to him by Spain. He was not particular to have the exact boundaries specified by Spain; but intended to set his own landmarks wherever he pleased. But, when Louisiana passed from his possession, he very conveniently forgot that he intended to comprehend all the country, from the Perdido east, to the Rio Bravo west, of the Mississippi; but discovered

that West Florida formed no part of the ceded territory; that the district of Mobile was not to be included; and agreed with Spain in reducing the province of Louisiana to little more than the island of New Orleans.

For the purpose of settling this disputed question of boundary, and to purchase the remnant of Spain's title to the territory of Florida, Mr. Monroe was called upon to join Mr. Charles Pinckney at Madrid. On his way thither he remained at Paris a short time to remind the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Talleyrand, of a promise, which had been made at the time of the cession of Louisiana, that France would exert her influence with Spain in a negotiation for the acquisition of Florida by the United States. The answer from that ever-changing Minister was not satisfactory and after having seen the self-anointed Emperor place with his own hands upon his own brows the imperial diadem of France, in the presence of the venerable Roman Pontiff, and surrounded by the congregated magnificence of the European courts, Mr. Monroe proceeded to Madrid. Here he remained, with his colleague, Mr. Pinckney, for the space of five months, and made constant and vigorous, but unavailing efforts, to establish the claims of his country. The state papers, which passed at this stage of our controversy with Spain, and which, after having for many years been buried in the archives of government, were at last published at Washington, are ranked by a writer, who is eminently qualified to judge, in the highest order; and concerning them he remarks that "they deserve the close and scrutinizing attention of every American statesman, and will remain solid, however unornamented, monuments of intellectual power, applied to national claims of right, in the land of our fathers and the age which has now passed away."

In the mean while, affairs in Great Britain had assumed such a menacing aspect towards this country, that Mr. Monroe, on his return thither, in June, 1805, had to contend with great difficulties. Mr. Pitt was at the head of the British government; and pursued the interested and base policy of destroying the commerce of neutrals with France and Spain, to compel its enemies to traffic with the subjects of Great Britain. To effect this, the British cruisers seized many of our vessels, and procured their condemnation in the courts of admiralty. There seems to be no excuse for this gross violation of the law of nations. During the space of two years, the commerce and navigation of this country had been unmolested, and, upon the rekindling of war in Europe, were still pursuing their course of success, never suspecting that their right to trade with neutral ports would be disputed, when suddenly our enterprising mariners were astonished at the seizure and confiscation of their ships and cargoes by the British. Mr. Monroe, upon being informed of these acts of injustice, remonstrated with the Earl of Mulgrave, then Minister for Foreign Affairs, but received only an equivocal answer. The death of Mr. Pitt, which happened at this time, brought in a new ministry, at the head of which was Charles James Fox. This liberal and high-minded, but prejudiced man, instantly countermanded the order for the capture of neutral vessels, and released those which had already been captured, but could not make any compensation to the owners of those vessels which had been detained and condemned by Sir William

Scott.* When these facts became known in this country, the excitement was almost terrific. War! War! War! was the cry. Petition upon petition, complaint upon complaint, remonstrance after remonstrance, were presented to Congress by plundered merchants and ruined ship-owners. To still the dark and angry waters of commotion, and to obtain some redress for such flagrant injuries, Mr. William Pinckney, the most eloquent orator in the United States, was sent as Minister Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary to join Mr. Monroe in London. On Mr. Pinckney's arrival, negotiations were immediately commenced, and a treaty was made, by which, with proper modifications on our part, peace and harmony might have been restored; but upon its transmission to President Jefferson, he reviewed and returned it with the design that some securer provisions might be added with regard to the impressment of seamen. But the British Ministry had undergone another change. George Canning had succeeded to Fox as Prime Minister, and, with his daring and unyielding temper, refused to negotiate further on the ratification of the treaty; the mission therefore of Monroe and Pickney was at an end. The former, had some time previous obtained permission to return home. After having suffered some short detention in consequence of the unparalleled outrage of Admiral Berkley on the Chesapeake, he returned at the close of the year 1807.

From this period Mr. Monroe never went abroad; but was employed till the expiration of his Presidential term, in offices of the highest importance and trust in his own country.

In the cursory view which we have taken of the incidents of his eventful life, we have thus far beheld him, first appear upon the stage of public action, as a private soldier, fighting the battles of freedom and wounded in her cause; following the glorious leader of the revolutionary armies through disheartening misfortunes and elevating success, and, after continuing for a time to serve in the staff of a valiant general, still volunteering to repel the invaders of his native land. We have next beheld him, while resolutely pursuing the study of the laws, under the direction of the illustrious Jefferson, appointed a military commissioner to the southern army; then upon his return home elected to the legislature of Virginia, and to the Congress of the United States; then a member of that celebrated convention of his native state, which met to deliberate upon the Federal Constitution; and then chosen a Senator of the United States. We have next beheld the commencement of his diplomatic career as Minister Plenipotentiary to France under the administration of President Washington. By his conscientious and sincere, though impolitic and unadvised, conduct in the discharge of the duties of this mission, having given such displeasure to the general government as to produce his recall, we have seen him, once more in his native state, elected to the legislature, and then to the exalted office of Governor of

* In what treatise of international law, Sir W. Scott found precedents for his equitable adjudications, it remains for the curious to investigate; but the British government has been wonderfully successful, with the stubborn exception of Lord Coke and some others, in pouring light into the minds of its learned and incorruptible judges.

Virginia, in the full enjoyment of the unimpaired confidence and high respect of his fellow-citizens. After the expiration of his constitutional term as governor, we have witnessed, in 1803, his appointment by Mr. Jefferson, as Minister Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary, both to France and Spain, and shortly afterwards to Great Britain; and, during his four years' residence in these countries, his employment in the most interesting and important diplomatic negotiations, in which the United States had been engaged since the revolution.

We are now to regard him again receiving the highest honors of Virginia, and about to enter upon a loftier and broader field of action. We have mentioned his return home in 1807. For a few months, he was permitted to rest from his labor, and to enjoy that quiet happiness, which always blooms under the shade of private, domestic tranquillity. He was now forty-eight years of age, that period when the intellect has arrived at its noblest strength and perfect stature, and when, aided by wisdom and long experience, it becomes able to exert its powers, with the greatest effect, to enter upon magnificent enterprises, and to overthrow, as with the arm of a giant, the obstacles which may arise in its path. With a consciousness of having faithfully performed the tasks which had been allotted to him, and surrounded by all those home-blessings, which give a value to existence-an affectionate wife and beloved childrenMr. Monroe was enjoying that otium cum dignitate, which is so delightful to a great mind after great exertions, when he was once more summoned to appear in the legislative chambers of his own Virginia; and was again re-elected to the executive chair. Mr. Monroe acted as governor one more term, and in the spring of 1811, he was appointed by President Madison, Secretary of State. But, before entering upon the consideration of his faithful performance of the duties of the high offices, to which he was successively elevated, let us pause to consider the condition of these United States at this eventful period.

The war, which soon broke out between Great Britain and this country, was resting, like a dark cloud, over the brightest prospects of the land. British depredations upon American commerce had been continued to such an extent, and our demands for reparation and restitution had been so unheeded, that to have tamely submitted in silence would have been the height of pusillanimity. There were many different opinions, however, about the expediency of declaring war; and many distracting dissensions took place, which have not been healed even at this distance of time. The voice of one part of the country was heard shouting, in angry accents, for war, instant and desolating war-while the thoughts of another part were turned on the consideration of some method of dure, by which we could still enjoy the blessings of peace. It was indeed an awful and an important crisis. The Federal Constitution, though nearly established in the affections of the people, by its excellent adaptation to the state of their country, and to the perpetuity of the union, had never before been subjected to the ordeal of a formidable foreign war. It was now to undergo this test: and great indeed must have been the weight of the responsibility, which was thrown upon those, who were intrusted with the protection of this sacred charter of American rights, and who

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were to conduct the vessel of state, in safety, through the many rocks and quicksands by which she was surrounded. Yet, with the star banner of liberty nailed to her mast, and by the guidance of the sacred charter of the constitution, that noble ship was at last skilfully and manfully rescued from her threatening dangers, and even rode proudly on the top of the wave, with every rag of her canvas given to the gale. Mr. Monroe came on board just before the vessel plunged into the midst of her perils. As he had been among the first of those gallant men, who joined the army of the revolution, when disasters and difficulties frowned on every side; so was he called to the councils of government when they were harassed and distracted by the impending necessity of a second war, which it was in vain to attempt to avoid, and which, though not so hopeless as that of the revolution, wanted the spirit and unanimity which inspired our first great contest, for its prosecution and support.

Appointed Secretary of State by President Madison, in the spring of 1811, Mr. Monroe discharged the high duties of that important station in the cabinet with zeal and fidelity. In the ensuing year, on the nineteenth of June, war was publicly proclaimed against Great Britain. A few days previous, the President laid before Congress the correspondence which had been carried on between Mr. Monroe, as Secretary of State, and the Ministry of Great Britain. These letters plainly demonstrated the impossibility of effecting an adjustment concerning the two principal points of contention-the orders in council, and the subject of impressment. We have already alluded to the differing opinions which prevailed in the country concerning the war. On the issuing of the proclamation of the nineteenth of June, it was received with any thing but demonstrations of joy in the New England States. Indeed, the opposition of this section of the union was strenuously persevered in, till the perpetration of shameful ou rages by the British troops, and more particularly the disgraceful capture of Washington, kindled the blaze of vindictive resentment in every bosom, and created a unanimity of sentiment in favor of active hostilities, which caused the war to be prosecuted with vigor, and finally terminated with success. As this subject has been fully treated in our life of President Madison, and as the events of this war, previous to the sacking of Washington, were not directly connected with Mr. Monroe's part in the administration, we shall make no further mention of them.

At

After this melancholy event, which at first exasperated the feelings of the people against the government, and afterwards so drew down the whole weight of popular indignation on the Secretary of War, as to cause his voluntary resignation, the history of Mr. Monroe, until the end of the war, becomes intimately involved with its important circumstances. the request of Mr. Madison, without resigning his office as Secretary of State, he discharged all the duties of the War Department; and with such effectual vigilance and judicious foresight, as to give general satisfaction, and produce the most fortunate results. Indeed, a great politician has hazarded the conjecture, that had his appointment to the Department of War preceded, by six months, its actual date, the heaviest disaster of the war-heaviest, because its remembrance must be coupled with a blush of shame-would have been spared, as a blotted page, in the annals of our union.