A History of the Nineteenth Century, Year by Year Part 34

In emulation of the new provisions for copyright in France, a bill was brought in to extend English copyright from twenty-eight to forty-two years. Among the considerations which prompted Parliament to perform this long delayed act of justice was the recent lamented death of Sir Walter Scott. The royalties on his works were the only resource left to his family, and the copyright on the most important of them, the Waverley Novels, was about to expire. Southey, the Poet Laureate, before his recent illness, it was stated, had been deterred from undertaking a projected great work by the unsatisfactory copyright provisions. Wordsworth was about to lose the fruits of some of his earliest and most patriotic poems. Among those who actively pressed the measure were Charles d.i.c.kens and Thomas Carlyle. The sixty years' copyright demanded in Carlyle's pet.i.tion was not obtained; but authors were allowed to retain the property of their works during life, while their heirs could possess it for seven years after their death. Coincident with this literary victory came other triumphs in literature. Thomas B. Macaulay published his "Lays of Ancient Rome"; Alfred Tennyson brought out "Locksley Hall" and other poems; Bulwer Lytton finished "Zanoni"; the new Shakespeare Society issued some twenty volumes of researches. A new impetus to the making of books and printing was given by Woolwich's new system of electrotyping, and Charles Young's new device of a type-setting machine, first employed on the "Family Herald."

It was then, too, that Dr. Julius Robert Meyer, an obscure physician in Heilbronn, published a paper in Liebig's "Annalen," ent.i.tled "The Force of Inorganic Nature." Not merely the mechanical theory of heat, but the entire doctrine of the conservation of energy was clearly formulated. It is true that he was antic.i.p.ated in a measure by Mohr, and that Helmholtz more exhaustively demonstrated the truth of the hypothesis of the conservation of energy; but Helmholtz himself hailed Meyer as the rightful claimant of the honor of having first clearly formulated the doctrine.

[Sidenote: Second Charter pet.i.tion]

[Sidenote: The "Sacred Month"]

A great gain for humanity was made in Lord Ashley's successful bill for the restriction of work done by women and children in mines and collieries.

Under the leadership of O'Connell's former Irish rival, Feargus O'Connor, the agitation for a People's Charter was revived. On May 2, another monster pet.i.tion, containing nearly three and a half million signatures, was rolled into Parliament. Too voluminous to pa.s.s through the doors, it had to be cut up and carried into the hall by sixteen men. A motion to consider it was violently opposed by Macaulay. Once more the pet.i.tion was rejected by 287 over 49 votes. Now followed one of the most singular labor strikes of England. This was the so-called sacred month, or thirty days' idleness to be enforced throughout the United Kingdom. Within a few days the Chartists could boast that for fifty miles round Manchester every loom was still. The attempt to extend the strike to London was followed by the arrest of O'Connor and nearly a hundred of his a.s.sociates. They were tried and convicted, but owing to a flaw in the indictment sentence could not be carried out. The agitation was made to appear more serious by two attempts to a.s.sa.s.sinate the Queen in May and July, but the young Queen was not deterred thereby from making her first visit to Scotland.

[Sidenote: Chinese opium war]

[Sidenote: Fall of Chapoo]

[Sidenote: Shanghai occupied]

[Sidenote: a.s.sault of c.h.i.n.kiangfoo]

[Sidenote: China brought to terms]

[Sidenote: Treaty ports designated]

[Sidenote: Opium forced upon China]

In August, the Duke of Wellington was reinstated as commander-in-chief of the British army. Among the military reforms undertaken was the general introduction of the percussion-cap musket in the infantry, and the use of the carbine in the artillery. The war in China was brought to a close. The long period of inaction following the occupation of Ningpo had been broken in March by Chinese attempts to recapture Ningpo, Chinhai and Chusan. In all three places the British beat off their a.s.sailants. At Ningpo the Chinese succeeded in breaking through the south and west gates, and reached the centre of the city only to be mowed down there by the British artillery. At Tszeki a strong Chinese camp was captured by the British. The Chinese losses on this occasion were over a thousand killed, including many of the Imperial Guards. The British casualties did not exceed forty. A naval expedition next attacked Chapoo, China's port of trade with j.a.pan.

The main body of the Chinese was routed, but 300 of their soldiers shut themselves up in a walled inclosure, and held their ground until three-fourths of their number were slain. As heretofore, the British casualties were small. The important city of Shanghai was captured without appreciable resistance. The most serious affair of the war was the attack on c.h.i.n.kiangfoo on the southern bank of the Yangtse-Kiang at one of the entrances of the great ca.n.a.l. A part of the Manchu garrison held out there until shot down to the last man. The inner Tartar city was only taken after the Manchus had first killed the women and children and then themselves.

The immediate losses of the British were nearly two hundred. Owing to the intense heat, they failed to bury the bodies of the Chinese. Pestilence and cholera broke out, and caused more serious losses than befell the main force sent against Nanking. On August 5, the British fleet appeared before Nanking, the second city of the empire. It was then that Minister Elepoo, the leader of the Chinese peace party, prevailed upon Emperor Taouk-w.a.n.g to give in. On August 26, peace was concluded on board the British flagship "Cornwallis." China paid an indemnity of $21,000,000, and confirmed the cession of Hong Kong to England. The English opium factory at Canton was to be reinstalled, and, in addition to this, foreign trading was to be allowed at the ports of Shanghai, Ningpo, Amhoy and Foochow, after a tariff should have been agreed upon and consular officers appointed. The final ceremonies of peace were marred by barbarous injuries inflicted upon the famous porcelain tower of Nanking by a party of British officers and soldiers. In the words of a British historian: "The only weak point in the commercial treaty was that it contained no reference to opium. Sir Henry Pottinger failed to obtain the a.s.sent of the Chinese government to its legalization."

In reply to Sir Henry Pottinger's final demand for legalization of the opium trade in China, Emperor Taouk-w.a.n.g delivered this ultimatum: "True, I cannot prevent the introduction of the poison; but nothing will induce me to raise revenue from the vice and misery of my people." The emperor, himself a reformed opium smoker, had lost three sons by this vice. All this time American, Dutch and Russian trade with China had been continued.

President Tyler made it the subject of his message to the American Congress during this year. From the first any American traffic in opium was discouraged.

[Sidenote: Webster-Ashburton agreement]

[Sidenote: "Battle of the Maps"]

[Sidenote: American interests in Hawaii]

[Sidenote: Daniel Webster resigns]

The Webster-Ashburton treaty, regulating the northeastern boundary between the United States and Canada, was signed on August 9. A strip of territory claimed by the State of Maine was ceded to Canada, while a more important strip was yielded to Vermont and New York. The treaty also provided for a joint repressive action against the slave trade, and for the extradition of criminals. It was Webster's greatest achievement in diplomacy, as was indicated by the fact that the American Senate, notwithstanding its hostility to President Tyler, ratified it by a three-fourths vote. In England more serious opposition was encountered. In Parliament the treaty was termed "Ashburton's Capitulation," and Lord Palmerston went so far as to attribute its concessions to Ashburton's partiality toward his American wife. The ratification of the treaty was followed by an international controversy known as "The Battle of the Maps." An early map found by Jared Sparks, the American historian, in the Library of Paris, had been used in the Senate to insure the ratification of the treaty without the knowledge of Lord Ashburton. When this became known in England it was denounced as underhand dealing. Frantic search in the archives of the British Museum brought to light another map, bearing the autograph indors.e.m.e.nt of King George III. As it turned out, this only sustained the American contentions, and was used in Parliament to vindicate Lord Ashburton, just as Sparks's map had been used in behalf of Webster. Credit also belongs to Webster for his strong stand made at the time the Hawaiian Islands were threatened by a French expedition. It was then stated, as reiterated by President Tyler to Congress, that, in view of the preponderant intercourse of the United States with those islands, the American government would insist that no European nation should colonize or possess them, nor subvert the native governments. After a settlement of these international questions, Daniel Webster was permitted to resign his secretaryship to join the Whig opposition on the floor of the House. His resignation was the more readily accepted since he was known to be out of harmony with the Administration's designs against Mexico. As the son of President Tyler has recorded: "The time had come when it was necessary to have in the office of the Secretary of State one who would go the full length of the Texas question. Certainly, that man was not Webster." In the Senate, Henry Clay resigned his seat, the better to carry on his canva.s.s as a candidate for the Presidency.

[Sidenote: First American submarine cable]

At the time that Charles d.i.c.kens paid his first visit to America the agitation for a better copyright law was renewed, and was in a measure successful. d.i.c.kens's early impressions of the United States, as published later in England, were distinctly unfavorable to the American people. Had he lingered longer he might have witnessed the laying of the first submarine telegraph between Governor's Island and New York City. In the extreme West another outlet toward the Pacific Ocean was found by Fremont and Kit Carson in the south pa.s.s of the Rocky Mountains.

[Sidenote: Latin-American affairs]

In Central America, General Morazan invaded Costa Rica to re-establish by force the federation of the Central American States. At first he was welcomed by the population and recognized as President of Costa Rica. But later, as the guerilla war dragged itself out, the opposition gained ground. Jose Maria Alfaro was recognized as President. In South America, General Rosas made another attempt to subject Montevideo. Gold was discovered in Uruguay. In the West Indies, the restoration of peace in Cuba was followed by educational, far-reaching reforms. Another revolution in Hayti provoked French interference.

[Sidenote: French-Algerian campaign]

The French squadron that had made demonstrations in the Caribbean Sea presently descended upon the Marqueso Islands in the southern Pacific. The islands were annexed to France. In Africa, the war against Abd-el-Kader was pushed forward. The Arabs attacked Mostaganem and Arzee and lured Yussuf, the commander of the new French corps of native Spahis, into an ambush.

General Valle, with a division of 9,000 men, drove Abd-el-Kader from an intrenched pa.s.s between Medah and Muzaia; but the French lost heavily. The Algerian war during this year alone cost 12,000 lives and 50,000,000 francs. Valle was superseded by Bugeaud.

The French general elections had just resulted in favor of the government, when, on July 13, the Duke of Orleans was killed by a fall from his carriage. After this event the Chambers fixed the succession to the throne upon the Duke of Nemours, until the children of the Duke of Orleans should be of age.

[Sidenote: Louis Blanc]

[Sidenote: Proudhon]

[Sidenote: Eugene Sue]

[Sidenote: "Stendhal"]

By this time the socialistic theories of Saint Simon and Fourier were exploited still further by Louis Blanc and Proudhon. Blanc's writings had an immense vogue among the workmen of Paris. This was especially true of his "Organisation du Travail," published this year, wherein he proclaimed the opportunity to work as a social right. Proudhon carried Etienne Cadet's "Icarian" theories so far that in his famous book, "What is Property?"

after describing the conditions under which property is held according to the Napoleonic Code, he delivered the categorical dictum, "If this be property, then property is theft." Other popular books of the day were Eugene Sue's "The Mysteries of Paris," "Le Morne au Diable," and Georges Sand's famous novel "Consuelo." Marie Henri Beyle, known better under his pseudonym, "Stendhal," died during this year. As a novelist he was the precursor of the naturalistic school of romance in France, and was later acknowledged as such by Balzac, Flaubert and Emile Zola. His powers of prose were most ably demonstrated in the novel "Rouge et Noir," treating of the adventures of a worldly Abbe.

[Sidenote: Cherubini]

Another notable figure in Paris pa.s.sed away with Luigi Cherubini, the great Italian composer. Cherubini, many of whose works were brought out during the previous century was so popular by the beginning of the Nineteenth Century, that he was esteemed above Beethoven. A Viennese critic who ventured to say that Beethoven's "Fidelio" was of equal merit with Cherubini's "Fanisca" was laughed to scorn. Cherubini's best opera, "The Water Carrier," was brought out in Paris and London in 1800 and 1801. Owing to his disregard of Napoleon's musical opinions, Cherubini found himself out of favor throughout the First Empire in France. He retired to the estate of his friend, Prince de Chimay, and would have given up music but for the latter's request to write a Ma.s.s for his chapel. The result was the celebrated three-part Ma.s.s in F, which proved such a success that Cherubini thenceforward devoted himself to sacred music. After Napoleon's fall he received an appointment at the Paris Conservatory of Music, from the directorship of which he did not retire until 1841. Cherubini's voluminous compositions reveal him as one of the great modern masters of counterpoint.

His great skill and erudition show to the best advantage in his sacred music.

[Sidenote: Bunsen]

[Sidenote: Gervinus]

[Sidenote: Forecasts of German union]

Germany about this same time lost her great Oriental scholar, F.W.

Genesius. Bunsen invented his carbon battery. Gervinus, the banished Hanoverian professor, brought out his History of German Literature, which ended with a stirring appeal for political unity. The same ideal, in a measure, was voiced during the ceremonies commemorating the resumption of work on the great Cathedral of Cologne. King Frederick William IV. of Prussia, fresh from the riots of Berlin, declared: "The spirit that builds this cathedral is the same that has broken our chains, and the disgrace of foreign domination over this German river--it is the spirit of German strength and unity." Even Archduke John, the uncle of the Emperor of Austria, proposed this toast: "No Austria, no Prussia; but a great united Germany--firm-rooted as her mountains."

[Sidenote: Reforms in Russia]

[Sidenote: Gogol]

[Sidenote: Turgenyev]

In Russia, a concession to modern ideas was made by Czar Nicholas, in his ukase of April 14, permitting the great landholders to liberate their serfs. Another imperial ukase deprived the Roman as well as the Greek clergy of all church lands upon condemnation proceedings and money payments by the government. Russian literature, notwithstanding the strict censorship, flourished during this period. A new source of poetry was discovered by Koltsov in the Slavic folk songs. Griboyodov's new comedy, "Gore Ot Ouma" (Too Clever by Half), had already become one of the stock pieces. The success of this play was rivalled by Gogol's comedy, "The Revisor." In 1842, this same writer brought out his celebrated romance, "Dead Souls." Ivan Turgenyev was just entering upon his career.

Toward the close of the year new troubles broke out in Spain. In November, a popular insurrection at Barcelona was joined by the National Guards.

Following upon a bitter fight in the streets of the city, on November 15, the Guards retired into the citadel, where they held their ground. After one month's stubborn resistance there, they were subjected to such heavy artillery fire that they were glad to surrender to Espartero's government forces on Christmas Eve.

1843

[Sidenote: Napier's desert march]