treaties which were negotiated between the United States and North Germany and Bavaria for the regulation of the rights of naturalized citizens have been duly ratified and exchanged, and similar treaties have been entered into with the Kingdoms of Belgium and Würtemberg and with the Grand Duchies of Baden and Hesse-Darmstadt. I hope soon to be able to submit equally satisfactory Conventions of the same character, now in the course of negotiation, with the respective Governments of Spain, Italy, and the Ottoman Empire.

"Examination of claims against the United States by the Hudson's Bay Company and the Puget Sound Agricultural Company, on account of certain possessory rights in the State of Oregon and territory of Washington, alleged by those companies in virtue of provisions of the treaty between the United States and Great Britain, of June 15, 1846, has been diligently prosecuted, under the direction of the joint International Commission to which they were submitted for adjudication by treaty between the two Governments of July 1, 1863, and will, it is expected, be concluded at an early day.

No practical regulation concerning colonial trade and the fisheries can be accomplished by treaty between the United States and Great Britain until Congress shall have expressed their judgment concerning the principles involved. Three other questions, however, between the United States and Great Britain remain open for adjustment. These are the mutual rights of naturalized citizens, the boundary question, involving the title to the island of San Juan on the Pacific coast, and mutual claims arising since the year 1853 of the citizens and subjects of the two countries for injuries and depredations committed under the authority of their respective Governments. Negotiations upon these subjects are pending, and I am not without hope of being able to lay before the Senate, for its consideration during the present Session, protocols calculated to bring to an end these justly exciting and long-existing controversies.

"We are not advised of the action of the Chinese Government upon the liberal and auspicious treaty which was recently celebrated with its Plenipotentiaries at this capital.

"Spain having recently undergone a revolution marked by extraordinary unanimity and preservation of order, the Provisional Government established at Madrid has been recognized, and the friendly intercourse which has so long happily existed between the two countries remains unchanged.

66 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION RECOMMENDED.

"I renew the recommendation contained in my communication to Congress dated the 18th of July last-a copy of which accompanies this message that the judgment of the people shall be taken on the propriety of so amending the Federal Constitution that it shall provide :

"First,--For an election of President and Vice-President by a

direct vote of the people, instead of through the agency of electors, and making them ineligible for re-election to a second term.

Second,-For a distinct designation of the person who shall discharge the duties of President in the event of a vacancy in that office by the death, resignation, or removal of both the President and Vice-President.

"Third,-For the election of Senators of the United States directly by the people of the several States, instead of by the Legislatures; and

"Fourth,-For the limitation to a period of years of the terms of Federal Judges.

"Profoundly impressed with the propriety of making these important modifications in the Constitution, I respectfully submit them for the early and mature consideration of Congress. We should as far as possible remove all pretext for violations of the organic law, by remedying such imperfections as time and experience may develope, ever remembering that the Constitution which at any time exists, until changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all.'

"CONCLUSION.

"In the performance of a duty imposed upon me by the Constitution, I have thus communicated to Congress information of the state of the Union, and recommended for their consideration such measures as have seemed to me necessary and expedient. If carried into effect, they will hasten the accomplishment of the great and beneficent purposes for which the Constitution was ordained, and which it comprehensively states were to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.' In Congress are vested all legislative powers, and upon them devolves the responsibility as well for framing unwise and excessive laws as for neglecting to devise and adopt measures absolutely demanded by the wants of the country. Let us earnestly hope that before the expiration of our respective terms of service, now rapidly drawing to a close, an all-wise Providence will so guide our counsels as to strengthen and preserve the Federal Union, inspire reverence for the Constitution, restore prosperity and happiness to our whole people, and promote 'on earth peace, good-will towards men.' "ANDREW JOHNSON.

Washington, Dec. 9, 1868." Almost immediately after the delivery of the Message the House of Representatives, in consequence of the paragraph relating to the Public Debt, passed, by a majority of 154 votes to 6, a resolution declaring all forms of repudiation of the national indebtedness odious to the American people, whose representatives would not offer to the national creditor a less amount than the Government had contracted to pay.

RETROSPECT

OF

LITERATURE, ART, AND SCIENCE IN 1868.

IN the Retrospect we propose to lay before our readers of the principal points of interest to be found in the Literature, Art, and Science of the last year, we propose arranging each branch under separate heads, so as to keep more vividly before the eye the progress that has been made during 1868 in these, the main instruments of civilization: we shall not attempt to give a catalogue raisonnée of all the books published or of all the works performed in furtherance of this object; but shall simply select such matters as seem to us deserving of notice, believing that, by this method, it will be more easy to form a true judgment of the Literary, Artistic, and Scientific character of the year just past, than could be obtained from unclassified lists such as Publishers' Circulars and Sale Catalogues place before us.

Now Literature may be divided-sufficiently for our purpose-into, 1. Works of History strictly so called, including under them Public Records, Reports of Societies, &c.; 2. Biographies of eminent personages deceased; 3. Miscellaneous, comprising Travels, Poetry, Novels (or, as people love to designate such productions, "light literature "), Translations, New Editions of Works, and the like. Works purely scientific in their character and object would seem to be most appropriately arranged under the science to which they refer. To take

1. WORKS CONNECTED WITH OR RELATING TO HISTORY.

Many records of great interest, and having an important bearing on our knowledge of English History, have been published during the last year. Of these we may specify Mr. Brewer's arrangement and catalogue of the "Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, in the reign of Henry VIII., A.D. 1519— 1523, preserved in the Public Record Office, the British Museum, and elsewhere in England;" the Calendar of State Papers relating to Ireland of the reign of Elizabeth, A.D. 1574-1585, preserved in Her Majesty's Public Record Office," by H. C. Hamilton; "The Calendar of the Carew MSS., preserved in the Archiepiscopal Library at Lambeth, A.D. 1575–1588," by J. S. Brewer and W. Bullen; the "Munimenta Academica; or Documents illustrative of Academical Life and Studies at Oxford," by the Rev. Henry Anstey, M.A., in 2 vols., 8vo,

some other works of a similar class to which we shall refer presently, and a small collection of very curious books, edited for the Early English Text Society by F. J. Furnivall.

Of these, the first is unquestionably the most important, and the fulness of it is quite extraordinary, as may readily be judged when we state that for the historical illustration of the four years A.D. 1519-1523, Mr. Brewer gives summaries of nearly 4000 documents, with catalogues and indices occupying about 2000 pages, and an introduction besides of 400 pages. The period to which these documents refer was, indeed, one of the gravest importance, both for the events actually performed during it, and for the preparations made in it for the great drama of the later years of Henry's life. Then it was that the monarchs of England and France met on the Field of the Cloth of Gold, to exchange hollow civilities. Then it was that rival candidates bribed to gain the rank and part of Emperor, and that he who bribed most won the prize. Then it was that Wolsey, as Papal Legate, in the zenith of his power, caused the imposition of taxes so heavy as had well nigh driven the people into open rebellion. Then it was that Henry obtained from Leo X. a Bull (still preserved in the British Museum) giving him the title, since maintained by all our English Sovereigns, of "Defender of the Faith," for writing an answer to Luther. Mr. Brewer is too skilful a workman to put forth as true metal any thing which has not the right ring. Hence our readers may be well assured that this bulky volume contains an immense mass of material, all of which has been diligently sifted and sorted by his zeal and intelligence; material which will be invaluable to all future students of this portion of English history, and which would, we suspect, modify considerably some of the too hasty statements or deductions made by Mr. Froude in his generally excellent history. Inter alia, we may note that many details are given with respect to the old custom of giving salaries to members of Parliament, a practice which is said to have lasted till the time of Andrew Marvell, who was, traditionally at all events, the last recipient of such payments.

The explanation of this custom is easy when we remember how far greater the labour and cost must have been for the member for Chester or Exeter who had to travel Londonwards from these cities than it would have been either now or during any part of the last one hundred years. Our ancestors thought, we will not say unwisely, that if they taxed a man's time so seriously, they ought at least to make good actual pecuniary loss. These payments were first made in the reign of Edward I., and in the reign of Edward IV. city members received 28. and county members received 4s., no inconsiderable sum when we remember that a shilling, temp. Edward IV., was worth from 18s. to 20s. of our present money.

The Calendars, edited respectively by Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Brewer, are of much interest to those historical students who care to know what was the real state of Ireland during the period to which they respectively refer. Thus we find the head of the O'Neils exerted himself as energetically against England for the aid of the Spanish Armada as could any of his descendants for the Repeal of the Union or the destruction of the English Church in Ireland; this chieftain at the same time expressly declaring that his real object was to become himself King of Ireland, if only for an hour. In a pedigree which is given of his race it is quaintly remarked that "the names of Shane O'Neil's sons are Henry Con Shane, Hugh, Art, Turlough, and Brien, two of whom were by his wife!” The chief difficulty an English reader experiences in the examination of these, and of

most other documents of early Irish history, is to find out, with any sense of satisfaction, on which side the truth really lies. The desire of each party to put the best possible face on all done by his own side, often renders it all but impossible to strike a fair balance between the severe line of truth and the ever-varying kaleidoscope created by the mind of poetic and imaginative Irishmen.

Another of the valuable documents we owe to the energy of the present Master of the Rolls-the account of medieval University life at Oxford, entitled "Munimenta Academica, Parts I. and II.: Documents illustrative of Life and Studies at Oxford "-has been edited with great care and judgment by the Rev. H. Anstey, M.A. This work consists of the publication of various MSS. hitherto but partially known, and never before brought together, of which the first is known by the title of the "Chancellor's Book," the date of which is probably not later than A.D. 1530. This book contains the patent letters of various sovereigns, with charters, Papal Bulls, the assize of measures, the price of wheat, &c. Though much injured, as the editor thinks, about the time of Archbishop Laud, when the whole Statute Book was revised, much still remains, and is of the highest interest. The next MS. is called "The Southern Proctor's Book," the date of which is known to be A.D. 1477, as the cost of its production is preserved in the accounts of the University for that year. A third is the "Junior or Northern Proctor's Book," which was written by the order of Richard Fleming, afterward Bishop of Lincoln, during his Proctorship in A.D. 1407. Besides these, are the Acts of the Chancellor's Court from A.D. 1434 to A.D. 1469-with the exception of the years 1440 and 1441; a book called Farley's Register, the chief interest of which consists in its containing a large number of miscellaneous letters written to and from the University in the fifteenth century, together with two catalogues of the books given to the University by Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester. It is not a little remarkable, that of the 300 volumes, mentioned in these lists with sufficient minuteness for their present recognition if in existence, it is all but certain, that one only now exists in the Bodleian Library which can with any show of reason be held to be one of the volumes from the library of the famous Duke of Gloucester. There can be little doubt that the gift of these books was one of the most valuable donations the University received during its earlier days, and we may well wonder at the singular want of care which can have allowed of its nearly complete loss.

It is difficult to overrate the value of this series of the early annals and mediæval life of the University of Oxford, which may be traced by them to the very first period when it became in any real sense an University. Many curious matters are related in them, and last, not least, the establishment and practical working of an institution almost identical with modern pawn-broking, moreover, established and recognized by the chief authorities of the University, and used for the benefit chiefly of the poorer scholars. The institution of what were called "chests" seems to have been the earliest form of corporate property possessed by the University, and was, it would appear, created by Robert Grosteste, the famous Bishop of Lincoln. The preamble of the ordinance for founding a "chest" set forth the name of the founder, the sum given, and the object for which it was given, which was always eleemosynary. From these "chests" every scholar had the privilege of borrowing, a pledge for the full amount of or above the value borrowed being in each case deposited by the borrower. The University stationer attended at fixed hours to appraise the value of each pledge, and two guardians, usually a north and a south countryman, were appointed to ensure a