A History of the Nineteenth Century, Year by Year Part 16

[Sidenote: Reforms in India]

[Sidenote: f.a.n.n.y Kemble]

[Sidenote: Humphry Davy]

[Sidenote: Thomas Young]

The precarious position of Wellington's Ministry at home was offset by a firm policy abroad. In British India the new Governor-General, Lord Bentinck, upheld British prestige by his firm abolition of the native custom of burning widows and by his extermination of the roving gangs of Thugs. In regard to the Eastern Question and the war in the Balkans, England came to an agreement with Austria to frustrate Russia's plans with respect to Constantinople. Thanks to this _entente cordiale_ between the two countries, enterprising English capitalists and engineers were allowed to put into operation the first line of steamboats that plied the waters of the Danube. Among other minor events of interest to Englishmen during this year, may be mentioned the first public appearance of f.a.n.n.y Kemble, the actress, and the earliest boat race between student crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. England lost two of her famous scientists during this year--Sir Humphry Davy and Thomas Young. Davy was born in 1778 and died in Geneva. Besides inventing the miner's safety lamp, with which his name will be forever a.s.sociated, he made valuable experiments in photography; discovered that the causes of chemical and electrical attraction are identical; produced pota.s.sium and sodium by the electric current; proved the transformation of energy into heat; formulated a theory of the properties of particles of matter (or atoms); and made remarkable experiments which led to the theory of the binary composition of chemical compounds. Young was born in 1773. At Cambridge they called him "Phenomenon Young," because he was said to know everything. In truth, Young developed into the most profound English scientist of the century. When only twenty he was asked to read papers before the Royal Society. In 1801 he delivered the Bakerian lecture, his subject being "The Theory of Light and Colors." That lecture marks an epoch in physical science; for it brought forward for the first time convincing proof of the correctness of the undulatory theory of light. The intangible substance which pulsates and undulates to produce light, Young christened the "luminiferous ether."

And the term is still to be found in our scientific vocabulary.

[Ill.u.s.tration: AMERICAN INVENTORS Painted by C. Schussele

1 Dr Morton, Etherization 2 Bogardus, Iron Architecture 3 Colt, Revolvers 4 McCormick, Reapers 5 Saxton, Coast Survey Machinery 6 Goodyear, Vulcanizing Gum Elastic 7 Cooper, Gelatine 8 Prof Henry, Electricity as a Motor 9 Mott, Works in Iron 10 Dr Nott, Management of Heat 11 Ericsson, Caloric Engine Monitors, etc.

12 Sickles, Steam Cut off, etc.

13 Morse, Telegraph 14 Burden, Horseshoe Machine 15 Hoe, Rotary Press 16 Bigelow, Carpet Loom 17 Jennings, Friction Matches 18 Blanchard, Eccentric Lathe 19 Howe, Sewing Machine]

[Sidenote: War in the Balkans]

[Sidenote: Battle of Kulevtcha]

[Sidenote: Fall of Adrianople]

[Sidenote: Powers save Turkey]

[Sidenote: Russia's hold on Turkey]

In the Balkans Russia's war with Turkey was waged with vigor. The winter months had been spent in bringing up reserves. The Czar withdrew from interference at headquarters, and Wittgenstein was superseded by General Diebitsch, a trained Prussian soldier. This general made preparations to cross the Balkans as soon as Silistria should have fallen, without waiting for the fall of Shumla. On the other side of the Balkans the Russian fleet made a diversion so as to prepare the way for joining forces on the banks of the Black Sea. In accordance with these plans Diebitsch sent a strong force against Silistria. Before anything had been effected in front of Silistria, Reshid Pasha, the Turkish Grand Vizier, moved eastward from Shumla and took the field against the weak Russian forces at Varna. He lost time, however, and suffered himself to be held at bay by the Russians.

Diebitsch hurried across Bulgaria in forced marches. Coming up in Reshid's rear he could either fall upon Shumla or force the Turks to open battle. He chose the latter course. The Turks, harried in their rear, attempted to regain the roads to Shumla. On June 10, the two forces met in a pitched battle at Kulevtcha. Reshid was badly defeated, losing 5,000 men and forty-three guns, but made good his retreat to Shumla. Diebitsch had to lay siege to Shumla. Soon after this, Silistria fell into the hands of the Russians. Turning Varna over to the Bulgarians, and leaving a blockading force before Shumla, Diebitsch boldly crossed the Balkans. The resistance of the Turks was weak. On August 19, the Russians appeared before Adrianople. In the Black Sea the Russian frigate "Mercury" defeated two Turkish men-of-war. The Turks were seized with terror. Adrianople surrendered without a blow. In the Morea the Turks evacuated Tripolitza and Missolonghi and acknowledged the independence of Greece. The ports of the Black Sea, almost as far south as the Bosphorus, fell into Russian hands.

Flying columns of the Russian army penetrated down to the aegean coast and as far as the Euxine. Yet the Russians were so weak in numbers that anything like determined resistance could easily have checked them. As it was, all Turkish resistance collapsed before the Russian onward march toward Constantinople. The Sultan appealed to the Powers for help. England and Austria intervened, and peace was forced upon Russia. The treaty of Adrianople, signed on September 14, confirmed to Russia its protectorate over the Danubian princ.i.p.alities. No Mussulman was to be permitted to stay within the princ.i.p.alities, and all Turkish lands were to be sold within eighteen months. No fortified point on the left bank of the Danube was left to Turkey. Territory in Asia was ceded to Russia, as well as the ports of Poti and Anapa on the Black Sea. The waters of this sea were thrown open to international navigation; and the straits of Constantinople and the Dardanelles were declared open to the merchant ships of all powers at peace with the Porte. The payment of a money indemnity of 2,000,000 roubles to Russia was deferred, thus leaving to Russia the means for exerting pressure on the Yildiz Kiosk.

[Sidenote: French ambitions]

[Sidenote: Polignac Prime Minister]

[Sidenote: Liberal opposition]

Russia's acceptance of foreign mediation at Adrianople brought disappointment to France. Reverting to Napoleonic ambitions, King Charles's Ministers had proposed a part.i.tion of the Ottoman Empire on the basis of a general rearrangement of Europe. Russia was to have the Danubian provinces near the Austrian empire, Bosnia and Servia; Prussia was to have Saxony and Holland; Belgium and the Rhine provinces were to fall to France, and the King of Holland was to be installed in the Sultan's divan at Constantinople. It was a chimerical project which it was hoped might avert the impending troubles at home by dazzling acquisitions abroad. A formidable majority had been raised up against the government by its persistent encroachments upon the freedom of speech and of the press.

Martignac's Ministry resigned and Prince Polignac, a crony of the King, was put in his place. In August, the "Journal des Debats" thundered against him: "Now again is broken that bond of love and confidence which joined the people to the monarch. The people pay a million of taxes to the law; they will not pay two millions on the orders of the Minister. What will he do then? Will he bring to his a.s.sistance the force of the bayonet? Bayonets in these days have become intelligent. They know how to defend the law.

Unhappy France, unhappy King!" The Bertins were prosecuted for that article and condemned. It only made matters worse. Societies were formed throughout France to refuse the payment of taxes should the government attempt to raise them without the consent of the Chambers. In the face of this growing popular opposition, the King and his Minister resolved to prepare an expedition against Algiers. As Guizot put it, "They hope to get rid of their difficulties through conquest abroad and a resulting majority at home." The death of Paul Barras about this time served to revive revolutionary memories in France.

[Sidenote: The Schlegels]

The memory of Madame de Stael and her struggle for freedom of speech and of literary opinion against Napoleon were recalled by the death of her long-time friend and biographer, Karl Friedrich Wilhelm von Schlegel, brother of August Wilhelm, the German poet. Karl studied at Gottingen and Leipzig, devoting most of his time to the cla.s.sics. It was his ideal to become the "Winckelmann of Greek Literature." Schlegel's first publication was "Greeks and Romans." In 1798 he wrote "Lucinda," an unfinished romance, and "Alarcos," a tragedy. In 1803 he joined the Roman Church, and several years later was appointed an imperial secretary at Vienna. He served as Consul of Legation for Austria in the German Diet at Frankfort. Besides his published lectures, Schlegel's chief works are: "History of the Old and New Literature" (1815), "Philosophies of Life" (1828), "Philosophy of History"

(1829), and the posthumous work "Philosophy of Language." His wife, a daughter of Moses Mendelssohn, was the author of several works published under Schlegel's name. During the same year Pope Leo XII. died at Rome and was succeeded by Pius VIII.

[Sidenote: Andrew Jackson inaugurated]

In the United States of North America, John Quincy Adams was succeeded by Andrew Jackson. Calhoun was re-elected Vice-President. A motley crowd of backwoodsmen and mountaineers, who had supported Jackson, crushed into the White House shouting for "Old Hickory." For the first time the outgoing President absented himself from the inauguration of his successor. He had remained at his desk until midnight of the previous day signing appointments which would deprive Jackson of so much more patronage. Jackson took his revenge by the instant removal of 167 political opponents. His remark, "To the victor belong the spoils," became a byword of American politics. The system of rotation in office dates from his administration.

[Sidenote: "The Kitchen Cabinet"]

[Sidenote: "Pocket Vetoes"]

[Sidenote: Peggy O'Neill]

Jackson's first Cabinet was headed by Van Buren, with Samuel D. Ingham for Secretary of the Treasury. The President also encouraged a set of confidential advisers, among whom Kendall, Lewis and Hill were the most influential. They came to be known as the "Kitchen Cabinet." The regular members of the Cabinet were treated as mere head clerks. In one week Jackson vetoed more bills than any of his predecessors had done in four years. Other bills he held back until after the adjournment of Congress, and then failed to sign them. The bills remained, as it were, in the President's pocket. This new method of vetoing became notorious as the "Pocket Veto." In other respects Jackson's first administration was stormy.

International relations were repeatedly threatened by the long-standing controversy over the indemnity for French spoliations. An adjustment of the indemnity claims with Denmark was likewise forced to an issue. At home, Jackson's abandonment of the principle of extreme protection and his hostility to the United States Bank lost him the support of the loose constructionists. As a Freemason, the President was likewise opposed by the new anti-Masonic party in politics. In a quarrel over the character of the wife of Secretary Eaton, the beautiful Peggy O'Neill, all Washington was involved. It was commonly believed that the subsequent break-up of Jackson's Cabinet was caused by the social bickerings among the wives of the members. Van Buren was the first to resign. Soon he was appointed Minister to England, but the Senate rejected him through the vote of Vice-President Calhoun. Jackson afterward took his revenge by defeating Calhoun's aspirations to the Presidency through Van Buren. The new Cabinet consisted of Livingston, McLean, Ca.s.s, Woodbury, Tracy and Berry. By reason of the new protective tariff, the States of Georgia and South Carolina, toward the close of 1829, returning to the Kentucky Resolutions of 1799, affirmed the right of any State to declare null and void any act of Congress which the State Legislature deemed unconst.i.tutional. This was the doctrine of nullification which grew to secession in 1860.

[Sidenote: American development]

The industrial progress of the United States was little affected by the political dissensions during Jackson's first Presidential year. On July 4, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was opened. The first trip of an American locomotive was made on the Carbondale and Honesdale road. Throughout the country many ca.n.a.ls were opened; to wit, the Delaware and Chesapeake Ca.n.a.l, the Delaware and Hudson, and the Oswego in New York; the Farmington in Connecticut, and the c.u.mberland and Oxford Ca.n.a.l in Maine. Among the literary productions of the year were a collection of minor poems by Edgar Allan Poe, Parkman's earlier essays, Cooper's "Wept of the Wish-ton-Wish,"

Sparks's "John Ledyard," and Washington Irving's "Granada."

[Sidenote: Early automobile vehicles]

In England the first successful experiments with steam-propelled stage coaches were made by Sir Goldsworth Gurney. These machines were the precursors of the latter-day automobile vehicle. This account of a ride in the Gurney stage coach was published by the "United Service Journal":

[Sidenote: A contemporary description]

"We numbered four in a coach attached to the steam carriage, and we had travelled without difficulty or mishap as far as Longford, where they were repairing the bridge over the Cambria. On this was a large pile of bricks, so high as to conceal what was happening on the other side. Precisely at the moment we began to cross the bridge the mail-coach from Bath arrived on the other end. As soon as we perceived it we shouted to the driver to take care; but, as he was not aware of the extraordinary vehicle he was going to meet, he did not slacken speed. To avoid a collision, Mr. Gurney guided our steam carriage into the pile of bricks. Some damage to our apparatus resulted, but was repaired in less than a quarter of an hour. As to the horses of the coach, they had taken the bit between their teeth and had to be cut loose.

"Upon our arrival at Melksham, we found that there was a fair in progress, and the streets were full of people. Mr. Gurney made the carriages travel as slowly as possible, in order to injure no one. Unfortunately, in that town the lower cla.s.ses are strongly opposed to the new method of transportation. Excited by the postilions, who imagined that the adoption of Mr. Gurney's steam carriage would compromise their means of livelihood, the mult.i.tude that enc.u.mbered the streets arose against us, heaped us with insults, and attacked us with stones. The chief engineer and another man were seriously injured. Mr. Gurney feared we could not pursue our journey, as two of his best mechanics had need of surgical aid. He turned the carriage into the court of a brewer named Ales, and during the night it was guarded by constables."

[Sidenote: Jobard]

[Sidenote: Jobard's impressions]

To have a.s.sisted at the experiment of Gurney's steam carriage was, in those days, almost a t.i.tle to glory. These carriages became speedily one of the curiosities of London. Foreign travellers who printed accounts of their journeys, did not fail to devote a chapter to the new means of locomotion.

Jobard, the Belgian savant and economist, was of the number, and so were Cuchette, St. Germain Leduc and C.G. Simon, three prominent scientific writers of that time. Jobard's impressions noted down at the time are worthy of record: "My first visit in England was to the starting station of Sir Goldsworth Gurney's steam omnibus, running between London and Bath.

This carriage does not differ materially from other stage-coaches, nor has it had any serious mishap as yet. For my benefit it manoeuvred back and forth over the street pavement and later on the smooth macadam of the highway, without any apparent difficulties of guiding. The drivers of other stage-coaches are agreed that the thing is a success, and that before long it will do them much harm."

[Sidenote: Lamarck]

Jean Baptiste de Lamarck, a forerunner of Charles Darwin died in this year.

As early as 1801 Lamarck had outlined his ideas of the trans.m.u.tation of species and attempted to explain the manner in which that trans.m.u.tation had been brought about. There is no such thing as a "species," he held; there are only individuals descended from a common stock and modified in structure to suit their environment. Lamarck was scoffed at in his own time; he was respected as a naturalist, but unrecognized as a prophet.

1830

[Sidenote: First sewing machine]

Early in the year, Bartholemy Thimonnier, a French tailor, took out a patent for his invention of a sewing machine. It was an invention destined to revolutionize the manufacture of clothing and the matter of dress in all civilized countries. Thimonnier's device was a chain st.i.tch sewing machine worked with a treadle. It had taken the inventor, ignorant as he was of mechanics, four years of painful application to perfect it. The first to recognize the real value of the invention was M. Beunier, supervisor of mines at Paris. He took Thimonnier to Paris and installed him as a partner and manager of a large clothing firm that manufactured army uniforms. They set up eighty machines and did so well with them that the workmen of Paris, profiting by the revolutionary disturbances of the times, wreaked their vengeance on the new labor-saving device by wrecking the establishment. The inventor was compelled to flee for life. During the same year, another Frenchman, Charles Barbier, invented the system of raised printing for the blind.

[Sidenote: Sir Thomas Lawrence]