with millions of his countrymen. There was a large party in the country only too glad to bring down a man of such high standing in the ranks of the Republicans, because their chances must needs be improved by the defeat of their political opponents, and for that reason it was deemed advisable to substitute the name of Henry Wilson as vice-president in the second nomination of Gen. Grant.

15. Oakes Ames, son of a blacksmith in Easton, Mass., and himself brought up to the same trade, having become wealthy as a manufacturer of agricultural implements, was in great repute as a financier in Congress, where he sat for eleven years, from 1862 to 1873. When the Union Pacific Railroad was to be constructed, Mr. Ames was one of the manipulators of the Credit Mobilier, and when, later than this, there was a congressional investigation as to his proceedings among his fellowmembers, he appears to have either wantonly, or by inadvertence, cast a stigma on Mr. Colfax, by exhibiting in his writing, upon a check for a considerable sum, the initials of "S. C.," which he construed to mean Schuyler Colfax. There was, however, no evidence that the money went into the hands of the vice-president, and there is positive evidence that the check never went through his account. Oakes Ames died May 8, 1873, while the public mind was still undecided as to his share in the transaction.

16. Henry Wilson, the successor of Schuyler Colfax, commenced life as a New Hampshire farm lad, with the barest rudiments of an education, to which he added all that lay in his power after arriving at man's estate. Not a great man himself, it was his good fortune to be born at an era when simple fortitude and honesty secured him associations with some of the foremost minds of his time, after he had made his way upward from the humble occupation in which he began life. Mr. Wilson was one of the fastest friends of Charles Sumner, and after the shameful assault upon that gentleman by Preston S. Brooks, his remarks in Congress had the effect of concentrating upon him the hatred of the pro-slavery party for a time. During his term of office he was distinguished by his kind and conciliatory tone towards every section of the community, and he died before his term of office had expired. He appears to have been one of the stockholders in the "Credit Mobilier" organization, but to have gone into the venture as a mere business speculation, without any knowledge of a current purpose being entertained by any of the parties. Unfortunately, so

many schemes of personal aggrandizement have been traced to Congress within the past few years, in the fearless investigations originated by the Republican party, irrespective of persons, place, or associations, that the public have become censorious and suspicious, and for that reason the record of Henry Wilson was very narrowly scanned by friends and foes, but no damaging fact could be discovered.

17. GENERAL INCREASE. There was a proposal that St. Domingo, forming part of the island of Hayti, should be annexed to the United States, and a committee of eminent men, nominated by the president to visit the island and report upon the proposition, was very favorably impressed in 1871; but Congress was not convinced by the report submitted, and the application was not acceded to. Nebraska came into the Union, thirty-seve nth in the list of States, on the 1st of March, 1867, having been organized as a territory, under the same act as Kansas, in the year 1854. The first-named State had not the same charms for a slave-holding proprietary as Kansas, and therefore it grew more slowly than its neighbor, and was saved

PRESIDENT HAYES.

from the terrible warfare that distracted Kansas for years. The State will advance by slow degrees to very considerablo importance; but, for many reasons, does not seem likely to keep pace with Kansas, which has advantages as to soil, and a very considerable start in population. Colorado has also been admitted as a State.

At the expiration of Gen. Grant's second term, the Republicans put in nomination Rutherford B. Hayes, of Ohio; and the Democrats Samuel J. Tilden, of New York. Mr. Wheeler, of New York, was the candidate for vice-president on the Republican ticket, and Mr. Hendricks, of Indiana, filled the second place on the Democratic side. The election took place on the 7th of November, giving Mr. Tilden a popular majority of one hundred and fifty-seven thousand three hundred and ninety-four. The votes of Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina, giving Hayes a majority, were disputed by the friends of Mr. Tilden. The Constitution of the United States makes it the duty of Congress to canvass the electoral votes and to declare the name of the person elected; but as the lower house of Congress was Democratic by a large

majority, and the senate Republican, and as the Democrats of the house denied the correctness of the returns from the three States mentioned, it became probable that the house would not agree in declaring the result; therefore neither candidate could hold the office of president as the result of the election. To avoid the uncertainties and excitement of the country in prospect, an arrangement was made, under the legislation of Congress, which resulted in uniting the two houses in declaring Rutherford B. Hayes as the successful candidate.

CHAPTER XLV.

ENGLAND FROM 1856 TO 1866

THE REVOLT IN INDIA — AN ACCOUNT OF THE INSURRECTION — DOMESTIC AFFAIRS -THE FENIAN OUTBREAK.

1. In the beginning of 1857 England had already nearly forgotten the great war in the East, in which Russia had been humbled, and time was afforded for the discussion of domestic questions. A fight was made to weaken the government, but it was without effect. The revolt in India, the great event of 1857-8, for a long while threatened the very existence of the queen's empire in the East. On the first report of the revolt in England, the people were slow to appreciate the great magnitude of the disaster. The first outbreak occurred in May, but July had commenced before the atrocities of Meerut and Delhi were understood. In India itself, although the alarm commenced at an earlier period, the catastrophe was no less sudden and unforeseen. After the lapse of several months, with the aid of unlimited discussion, those who were best informed confessed their inability to explain the causes of the revolt. It was probable that the conduct of the Sepoys was influenced by many motives, and that, like the great part of human actions, it was ultimately decided by circumstances. There were suspicions of princely intrigues, strong indications of Mussulman conspiracy, and abundant proofs of Hindoo fanaticism; but it was uncertain whether the mutiny was inevitable, and there was reason to believe that the plot exploded

prematurely. One of the most characteristic features of the outbreak consisted in the blind submission of the soldiery to any casual impulse. Many regiments wavered; some retained their allegiance for a time. In several instances the final defection was postponed until success had become virtually hopeless; but throughout the army, as soon as a few ringleaders had committed themselves to the cause of rebellion, their comrades followed their example like a flock of sheep after their leader. It seems that no familiarity can enable the European to understand all the windings of Asiatic character. Among the immediate causes of the mutiny it would be strange if no place could be assigned to the errors of those in power. Supineness, irresolution, and ill-timed severity were undoubtedly displayed on different occasions. The first agitation with reference to the greased cartridges occurred during the month of January in the immediate neighborhood of Calcutta. Early in February Gen. Hearsey reported the existence of a plot in the ranks of the 34th regiment, stationed at Barrackpore; but the first open display of mutiny consisted in the refusal of the 19th, at Berhampore, to receive the suspected cartridges. The delinquent regiment was ordered for punishment to Barrackpore, where, before the sentence was executed, a Sepoy and a native officer of the 34th had been guilty of open violence. The scandalous backwardness of a commanding officer, more solicitous for the conversion of his men than for the discharge of his duty, would probably have led to an immediate outbreak but for the ready gallantry of Gen. Hearsey. Two days afterwards the 19th and 34th regiments were publicly disbanded, and general orders were issued for the purpose of removing any genuine alarm which might have been felt as to the obnoxious cartridges. At a subsequent period the remainder of the native troops at Barrackpore were gradually disarmed without any actual disaster. The governor-general continued for many months to surround himself with his usual body-guard of Mahomedan cavalry, and the garrison of Dinapore, in defiance of repeated remonstrances, remained in possession of the means of offence. It must not forgotten that at the last moment the disarmament of these troops could have been successfully effected if the commanding officer of the station had done his duty; but the government, which continued an incompetent general in command, was in some degree responsible for the mischief which resulted from the escape of the Dinapore mutineers.

2. The commander-in-chief, a holiday soldier, who had

never seen service either in peace or war, was in the mean time enjoying the pleasant climate of Simla. He approved the sentence of a court-martial by which eighty-five men of the Meerut garrison had been condemned to hard labor for ten years on account of a refusal to receive the cartridges. The prisoners had been fettered in the presence of their comrades, and they were confined in the common prison. This punishment was the immediate provocation to the decisive outbreak which occurred at Meerut on the 10th of May, 1857. If the crisis had been met with ordinary vigor and ability, the mutiny might have been crushed at its commencement. The Third Light Cavalry and the Eleventh and Twentieth Regiments of Infantry first began the series of murders and brutalities which rendered the Bengal Sepoy infamous throughout the world. All the officers within reach were cut down, the helpless population of the cantonment were outraged or massacred, while Gen. Hewitt, with fifteen hundred European troops, was unable either to protect the station or to impede the flight of the mutineers. The revolted regiments at once marched to Delhi, where a great arsenal had been entrusted to the exclusive care of native troops. The garrison instantly joined the mutineers; the atrocities of Meerut were repeated, and the descendant of the mogul was openly proclaimed as King or Emperor of India. The pensioned princes of the royal house took an active part in the unspeakable brutalities which were perpetrated upon English women in the streets of the capital; some of the miscreants suffered for their unpardonable crime.

3. On the 27th of May Gen. Anson died of cholera during his advance upon Delhi. Sir H. Barnard, who took the command of the besieging force, afterwards fell a victim to the same disease. Gen. Reed was forced by bad health to resign the command, and the honor of capturing the rebellious capital was reserved for Gen. Wilson. When the siege had scarcely commenced, the mutiny rapidly spread over the whole of Hindostan. By the end of June fifty thousand men had deserted their standards and turned their arms against the government. At many stations the crimes of Delhi were imitated, and in one fearful instance they were surpassed. Nana Sahib, an adopted son of the ex-peishwa of the Mahrattas, offered the services of his troops to protect the English treasury at Cawnpore, and then placed himself at the head of the mutineers. Soon afterwards, in violation of his plighted faith, he slaughtered the garrison of Cawnpore, and on the victorious advance of Have