1850]

CUBAN EXPEDITIONS OF LOPEZ.

449

lating the neutrality laws of the land by engaging in any such enterprise; but his warning was disregarded, and an armed expedition was secretly organized under General Lo'-pez. Six hundred men, having eluded the U. S. authorities, sailed for the island, and effected a landing at Cardenas [kar'-da-nas] on the 19th of May, 1850. They took the place, but finding that neither the Cubans nor any of the Spanish troops were disposed to join them, as had been represented, they deemed it best to reembark, and made their way to Key West, Florida, closely pursued by a Spanish war-steamer. The following year, the excitement was renewed. Lopez organized another company of 480 men, with which he succeeded in getting off from New Orleans and landed on the northern coast of Cuba. The Spanish authorities were not unprepared to receive him, 40,000 troops having been concentrated on the island. Lopez was attacked and defeated; his army was dispersed, and he himself, with a number of his followers, was executed at Havana.

594. Great anxiety was felt at this time, both in England and the United States, respecting the fate of Sir John Franklin, an English navigator who had sailed in the spring of 1845 to explore the Arctic seas and find a northern passage to the Pacific. No tidings having been received of his party, it was feared that they might be suffering for want of succor. Several expeditions were sent in search of the missing navigators, one of which, fitted out by Henry Grinnell, a N. Y. merchant, at his own expense, started for the north in May, 1850, under Lieut. De Haven, of the U. S. navy. The search was prosecuted for more than a year, but neither Sir John Franklin nor the long-sought passage round America on the north was discovered. Another expedition, undertaken for the same humane purpose by the U. S. government in connection with Mr. Grinnell, left New York in May, 1853, under

attracted attention? What was proposed by some? What proclamation was issued by Pres. Taylor? Notwithstanding this, who secretly organized an expedition? Give an account of it. What was its fate? Give an account of the invasion of Cuba by Lopez, the following year. 594. On what subject was great anxiety felt at this time? What is told respecting Sir John Franklin? Give an account of the first expedition sent out from the U. S. to search for him. Give an

Dr. E. K. Kane, one of the most resolute and scientific explorers of the age; but Sir John and his brave men could not be found, and it has since been ascertained beyond doubt that they perished in the far north.

In

595. In 1852, America was bereaved of two of her greatest men, Henry Clay and Daniel Webster. Clay was born in 1777 in Virginia, near a region known as the Slashes, whence in political campaigns he was often called "the mill-boy of the Slashes". He was admitted to the Richmond bar at the age of twenty, and soon afterwards removed to Lexington, Kentucky, where he practised with eminent success. 1806, he was sent to the U. S. senate; and both in that body and in all the public stations he was called to occupy, he proved himself a practical statesman of liberal views and farreaching sagacity. On three separate occasions he was the means of settling complicated questions which threatened the very existence of the Union. In private life no man was more beloved; and when on the 28th of June, 1852, it was announced that Henry Clay was no more, tears burst from many an eye unused to weeping.-Webster, another man of giant intellect and the author of some of the finest state papers on record, died at Marshfield, Mass., on the 24th of October, in the same year. Born in New Hampshire in 1782, he was sent to Congress at the age of thirty-one; and from that time much of his life was devoted to the public service. "I still live," he said, as anxious friends pressed round his dying bed: they were his last words. His memory, with that of his illustrious compeers, Clay and Calhoun, will ever be kept green.

596. During 1852, different parts of the country were visited by Louis Kossuth [kosh-shoot'], who arrived at New York in the preceding December. Kossuth had attempted, with many of his countrymen, to establish the independence of Hungary; but, defeated in his efforts by the combined armies of Austria and Russia, he had been compelled to seek

account of the second. What was no doubt the fate of Franklin ? 595. How was America bereaved in 1852? Give a sketch of the life of Henry Clay. When did he die? When and where did Webster die? What is told respecting his life? What were his last words? 596. Who visited the United States in 1851 ? Who

safety in flight. His object in visiting the United States was to obtain aid for further efforts in behalf of Hungarian independence. This he succeeded in obtaining to a considerable extent from private individuals; but government, though it sympathized with his cause, refused to depart from its long-established policy of not interfering in the affairs of foreign nations.

597. A temporary difficulty with Great Britain occurred in the summer of 1852. American citizens enjoyed, by treaty, the right of fishing on the Banks of Newfoundland, except within three miles of shore. In the case of bays, the British construed this clause to mean within three miles of a line drawn from headland to headland; while the Americans claimed the right of entering within headlands, provided they kept three miles from shore. Both parties sent ships-of-war to the Banks to enforce their views, but happily the question was soon settled by negotiation.

598. The attempts that had been made on Cuba rendered France and England anxious lest the United States should seek to annex that island to her domain. They accordingly asked her to unite with them in a "tripartite treaty", by which each power should disclaim all intention of seizing upon Cuba, and guarantee its possession to Spain. This called forth a masterly reply from Edward Everett, of Massachusetts, who since Webster's decease had held the office of secretary of state. In rejecting the proposal, Mr. Everett took occasion to set forth the Monroe doctrine in the strongest terms, declaring that, while the United States had no intention of violating her good faith towards Spain, she did not recognize in any European power the right of interfering in questions that were purely American.

599. At the presidential election of 1852, the democrats brought forward Franklin Pierce, of New Hampshire; the whigs, Gen. Winfield Scott. The former was elected by a

was Kossuth? What was his object? With what success did he meet? 597. What gave rise to a difficulty with Great Britain in 1852? How was it settled? 598. What proposal did France and England make to the United States? What led them to make it? What answer was returned by Mr. Everett? 599. Who were the candidates at the next presidential election? Who was elected president? Who, vice-president?

large majority, and with him William R. King, of Alabama, as vice-president. Pierce was inaugurated on the 4th of March, 1853.

CHAPTER XV.

PIERCE'S ADMINISTRATION, 1853-1857.

600. A NATIVE of Hillsborough, New Hampshire, and a graduate of Bowdoin College, Franklin Pierce commenced life as a lawyer. Having become a successful practitioner, he was sent to the legislature of his native state, and thence to the lower house of Congress. In 1837, he was elected to the U. S. senate, being then but thirty-three years of age. After five years' service in this body, he returned to private life. The commencement of hostilities in Mexico called him into the field as a volunteer. He received from President Polk a commission as brigadier-general, and conducted himself creditably in several of the most trying battles fought during the advance upon Mexico.-Mr. King, the vice-president, was one of the senators first elected by Alabama in 1819, and had retained his seat ever since by successive elections except for four years, during which he had been U. S. minister at the French court. Declining health led him to visit Cuba early in 1853, and on that island he took the oath of office as vice-president. His recovery proving hopeless, he returned to Alabama, where he died April 18th, 1853.William L. Marcy, of New York, became secretary of state under the new administration.

601. Shortly after his inauguration, Gen. Pierce was called to take part in the opening ceremonies of an exhibition of the industry of all nations", or World's Fair. England had set the example in 1851 by erecting a magnificent building, and inviting the different nations to contribute specimens of

600. Give a sketch of the previous life of President Pierce. Give an account of Vice-president King's previous career. When and where did Mr. King die? Who was appointed secretary of state? 601. What exhibition opened in the summer of 1853? Where was the first world's fair held? What were the different nations

1853]

RESCUE OF MARTIN KOSZTA,

453

their inventions, manufactures, agricultural products, and works of art. A similar enterprise was projected in the United States. A Crystal Palace, the frame of which was composed exclusively of iron and glass, was constructed by a stock company in the city of New York, filled with the choicest products of foreign and domestic labor, and opened to the public on the 14th of July, 1853. Thousands visited it, from all parts of the country; and though in a pecuniary point of view the enterprise was unsuccessful, it had a most happy effect on the industrial interests of the new world, by producing a spirit of generous emulation, and diffusing correct ideas of the advance of art and industry abroad.

602. Difficulties with several foreign nations occurred early in Pierce's administration. The first of these was with Mexico, and grew out of the incorrectness of the maps on which the treaty with that country had been based. The boundary of the territory ceded to the United States thus became a matter of question; and Santa Anna, whom another revolution had placed at the head of affairs, proceeded to ocupy the disputed district. War was averted by negotiation, and the separating line between the two countries was clearly defined.-About the same time, a diplomatic question arose with Austria. Martin Koszta [koz'-tah], a Hungarian who had been concerned in the revolution of 1848, had taken refuge in the United States, and formally declared his intention of becoming an American citizen. Having occasion to visit Smyrna, on the Mediterranean coast, he placed himself under the protection of the U. S. consul, but was seized by a lawless band and carried on board of an Austrian ship to answer for his previous conduct. Just at this time, Captain Ingraham, of the American sloop-of-war St. Louis, fortunately arrived in port. After investigating the case, and satisfying himself that Koszta was entitled to the protection of his government, he demanded his surrender, which was obtained, invited to contribute? What provision was made for a similar enterprise in the United States? On what day did it open? What was the success of the enterprise? What was its effect? 602. Give an account of the difficulty with Mexico early in Pierce's administration. With what other country did a difficulty arise? State the case of Koszta. Who arrived in port about the time of this occurrence?