This amicable termination of the differences

between the two countries, which took place by
the signature of the treaty of peace at Ghent, on
the 24th of December, 1814, was probably, in
some measure, owing, on the side of Great Bri-
tain, to the want of success which had attended
her armies, even after reinforcements had been
sent out from the peninsula; to the enormous
expense of sending troops to Canada, and keep-
ing them there; to the critical state of the public
finances; and to the apprehension, that if the
war were not speedily terminated, some of the

European powers might make common cause with America on the point of maritime rights. On the side of the United States, the government was disposed to peace from the deranged situation of their commerce; from the alarming augmentation of their national expenditure, and the consequent embarrasment of their finances ;* from the imperfect organization of their military system; and above all, from the devastations to which their coasts and frontiers had become exposed.

In both countries the termination of the war was hailed with unfeigned satisfaction; but the force of this feeling was considerably diminished by the reflection that all the blood and treasure expended in the prosecution of the contest had been lavished in vain, and that the questions in dispute remained altogether unadjusted.+

* EXPENDITURE OF THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT: In 1811-5,592,604 dollars; in 1812-11,760,292 dollars; in 1813-26,611,404 dollars; in 1814-30,170,664 dollars; estimated expenditure of 1815 (on a war establishment)56,000,000 dollars.-Official Statements presented to Congress.

†The Treaty of Peace between Great Britain and America, which was signed at Ghent on the 24th of December, 1814, and finally ratified at Washington, on the 17th of February, 1815, consists of eleven articles, and is substantially as follows:

Article 1. Provides that there shall be a firm and universal peace between his Britannic Majesty and the United States; and that all territory, places, and possessions whatsover taken from either party by the other during the war, shall be restored without delay.

Article 2. Prescribes the times within which hostilities shall cease in certain latitudes.

Article 3. Directs that all prisoners of war taken on either side, as well by land as by sea, shall be restored as soon as practicable after the ratification of the treaty.

Articles 4, 5, 6, 7, & 8. Regard the appointment of commissioners, for the purpose of deciding upon the boundary lines between the North American dominions of his Britannic Majesty and the United States, and the functions of which commissioners are explained to be,

1. To decide which of the islands in the Bay of Passamaquoddy, which is part of the Bay of Fundy, belong to the re

spective claimants.

2. To make a survey from the source of the river St. Croix to the river Iroquois or Chateaugay, for the purpose of ascertaining with precision the boundary line of the two powers.

3. To designate the boundary line through the river Chateaugay, and through the Lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron, and Superior, as well as through the water communications from each of the said lakes, and to decide to which of the contracting parties the several islands, lying within the said river, lakes, and water communications, do respectively belong.

4. To fix and determine that part of the boundary between the dominions of the two powers which extends from the water communication between Lake Huron and Lake Superior, to the most north-western part of the lake of the woods, and to decide to which of the two parties the several islands, lying in the lakes, water communications, and rivers, forming the said boundary, respectively belong.

Each separate question to be referred to two commissioners, one of whom to be appointed by his Britannic Majesty, and the other by the President of the United States. The commissioners so appointed to be sworn impartially to examine and decide upon the relative claims, according to the evidence laid before them by the claimants, and conformable to the treaty of 1783. Should the commissioners agree on the points submitted to their consideration, and report accordingly, both governments bind themselves to abide by their decision; but in the event of their disagreement, the point at issue to be referred to the decision of some friendly sovereign or state, whose decision shall be considered conclusive.

By article 9, His Britannic Majesty and the government of the United States engage to put an end, immediately after the ratification of the present treaty, to hostilities with all the tribes or nations of Indians, with whom they may be at war at the time of the ratification, and forthwith to restore to them all the possessions, rights, and privileges, which they enjoyed before the war; provided, that such tribes or nations of Indians agree on their part to desist from hostilities.

Article 10, declares the traffic in slaves irreconcilable with the principles of humanity and justice; and both the contracting parties agree to use their best efforts to promote its entire abolition.

The 11th and last Article provides that this treaty shall be binding on both parties, and that the ratifications shall be exchanged in the space of four months from the 24th of December, 1814, or sooner if practicable.

CHAPTER IV.

FRENCH HISTORY: Difficulties of the Situation of Louis XVIII. at the Commencement of his
Reign-Sketch of his Ministry-Opening of the First Session after the Restoration-Speech
of the King-Royal Constitutional Charter-Restrictions on the Liberty of the Press-Ex-
position of the State of the French Notion at the Period of the Restoration-Budget-King's
Debts and Civil List-Prince Talleyrand's Contrast between the Public Burthens of France,
England, and America-Establishment of the Legion of Honour confirmed-The Sale of
Emigrant Property declared irrevocable-Restoration of the unsold Estates of the Emi-
grants-The Duke of Tarentum's Plan for indemnifying the Emigrants, and securing the
Endowments of the Military-Corn Laws-Establishment of Ecclesiastical Schools-Of a
National Penitentiary for Young Criminals-Expedition against the French Part of the
Island of St. Domingo abandoned-Close of the First Session of the Restoration Parlia-
ment-State of Parties in France-Disinterment of Louis XVI. and his Queen-Ominous
Aspect of Public Affairs.

LOUIS XVIII. on ascending the throne
of his ancestors, found himself surrounded by
difficulties. The splendid military despotism,
which had for several years dazzled his country,
had hushed, but not extinguished the revolu-
tionary parties, and the circumstances of the
restoration gave to the conflicting views and
interests of his subjects new life and vitality. It
is one of the baneful consequences of a long con-
tinued state of warfare, that it gives to a large
portion of the population habits of living, and
modes of thinking, very adverse to a state of
peace. The military life, notwithstanding all
its hardships, by its varied scenes and licentious
indulgences, seldom fails to prove alluring to
the youthful mind in the lower ranks of society;
while in the higher a great number are profes-
sionally devoted to it, whose sole hopes of future
advancement depend upon the subsisting de-
mand for their services. Modern history scarcely
affords an instance in which the causes of a
fondness for war have concurred more effica-
ciously than in France, which, from the period
of its revolution, had almost continually been
involved in hostilities; and which, during many
years, had submitted to the despotic rule of a
man of unbounded ambition, and of talents
peculiarly adapted to military enterprise. The
astonishing success attending his schemes of
aggrandizement, had raised the power and glory
of the nation to an elevation greatly beyond
those of its proudest days; and the armies which
he led into the field surpassed in magnitude
those of any period in French history. It is
true, his gigantic plans had ultimately wrought
their own subversion, and he had been the author
of a more extensive and tragical waste of lives

1814

to his own troops than can be paralleled in BOOK V. modern times; still, however, a great mass of past glory adhered to his name, and his troops CHAP. IV. had no difficulty in finding reasons for his failures, in unforeseen circumstances, and in the perfidious desertion of his former allies. The pride of the nation, co-operating with this feeling, spurned at the idea of being conquered; and to escape from this reproach, they willingly cherished the notion, that if treachery had not prevented Napoleon from executing his military combinations, he would in the last campaign have driven the allied armies in disgrace from the French territory. As soon, therefore, as the joy of present relief from danger had subsided, a spirit of discontent manifested itself in animosity against the allies, and in disaffection to a government considered as imposed upon them by the triumph of foreign arms. The party thus formed soon became strong and audacious in the capital, and in some of the departments; and it required all the prudence and vigilance of the government to prevent its breaking out in acts of violence and insurrection.

The great body of the French nation, however, found themselves exhausted with the pressure of war, and anxious to enjoy that repose which they hoped to find under the reign of a benign monarch, supported by the friendship and alliance of all the powers of Europe. The French marshals, no matter how strongly influenced by self-interest, had all sent in their adhesion to the new government, and while the soldiers were without leaders, their murmurs and discontent presented no subject of serious alarm.

It was on this principle that the king endea

4