our country to its former state of peace, happiness, and prosperity; and

Whereas, we believe that our stern advocacy of the principles for which we conscientiously struggled during a period of four years will be rather a recommendation of our sincerity and honorable purposes to the brave soldiers of the Union; therefore, Resolved, That we have seen with pleasure the movements made by the soldiers and sailors of the Union, for the preservation of which they have so long fought; and that we have no fears that wrong or injustice will be done to us by those we have learned on the battle-field to respect as "foemen worthy of our steel."

Resolved, That we tender to them a soldier's pledge of our fidelity to the Government, of our assistance in the maintenance of law and order, and our earnest desire for the return of that day when the American people can say with truth they "know no North, no South, no East, and no West."

Resolved, That the charge that the life, liberty, or property of Northern men is unsafe or unprotected in the South is a slander which could only have emanated from the cowardly fears of "fireside heroes," or from the corrupt machinations of reckless officeholders, grown desperate at the approach of retributive justice, and the loss of power and place.

On September 25th a convention of soldiers and sailors who sustained the measures adopted by Congress for the restoration of the Union, assembled at Pittsburg, Pa., and organized by the election of Major-General J. D. Cox, of Ohio, as president. A wigwam had been constructed for the occasion, and the attendance was large. A series of resolutions was reported by Major-General B. E. Butler, and adopted unanimously. The following are two of the

series:

Resolved, That the President, as an executive officer, has no right to a policy as against the legislative department of the Government. That his attempt to fasten his scheme of reconstruction upon the country is as dangerous as it is unwise; his acts in sustaining it have retarded the restoration of peace and unity; they have converted conquered rebels into impudent claimants to rights which they have forfeited, and places which they have desecrated. If consummated it would render the sacrifices of the nation useless, the loss of the lives of our buried comrades vain, and the war in which we have so

gloriously triumphed, what his present friends at Chicago, in 1864, declared it to be, a failure.

Resolved, That the right of the conqueror to legislate for the conquered has been recognized by the public law of all civilized nations. By the operation of that law for the conservation of the good of the whole country, Congress had the undoubted right to establish measures for the conduct of the revolted States, and to pass all acts of legislation that are necessary for the complete restoration of the

Union.

A convention of working-men was assembled at Baltimore, on August 21st, to consult upon measures suitable to promote the interests of working-men. An important object was to make eight hours the length of a day's labor. The disposal of the public lands, and foreign pauper labor and convict labor, were also subjects of discussion.

The State elections, which were held in the months of September, October, and November, resulted in favor of the Republicans, by increased majorities, as will be seen by reference to the States respectively.

The financial condition of the Government, its system of taxation and revenue, are presented under the title FINANCES, etc.; the foreign relations under DIPLOMATIC INTERCOURSE, etc. (See also COMMERCE, CONGRESS, ARMY, NAVY, and the Southern States respectively.) During the year the Constitutional Amendment, known as article 14, was ratified by Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Tennessee, New Jersey, Oregon, and Vermont. In January, 1867, it was brought before the Legislatures of several other States.

The

UNIVERSALISTS. The General Convention of the Universalists of the United States met at Galesburg, Illinois, on the 18th of September. A larger attendance had been anticipated at this Convention than at any previous one; bat these anticipations were not realized. total number of ministers present was sixty-six. The assembly organized by electing the Hon. Sidney Perham, Member of Congress from Maine, President. The trustees of the miswhich last year's Convention had resolved to sionary fund reported that, of the $100,000 raise, about $17,000 had been raised, nearly all by subscription and in the State of New York. A resolution to extend to the Unitarians cordial sympathy in their efforts to promote the spread of liberal Christianity in our country, and to cooperate with Unitarians, in all practical ways, express the willingness of the Universalists to for the Christianizing of the world, was adopted by a large majority. The Convention also unanimously adopted a series of resolutions on the state of the country, deeply regretting the manifest sympathy of purpose" existing between President Andrew Johnson and the late Confederates, deploring "the reproach which has been cast upon the people of this land by the disgraceful personal conduct of the President," commending the policy of Congress, bat earnestly protesting "against any final reconstruction which fails to do the amplest justice to all the loyal defenders of the country," and declaring that "no policy can meet the approval of the Universalist denomination, which does not embrace impartial suffrage." It was also resolved that the council was in hearty sympathy with all organizations whose object it may be to promote the cause of temperance.

The Boston Universalist makes a statement of the work done by this denomination during the past year. The result is regarded by the Universalist as satisfactory. "The denomination," it says, "has done more during the year 1866 than in any year; we may, perhaps, say any decade of years before. For educational institutions, in the form of bequests, we have raised $300,000, and by subscription and donations, $272,000. For missionary funds, etc., $33,000. For church edifices dedicated during the year, $435,000. Total, $1,040,000, or in round numbers, $1,000,000, as the year's addition to the permanent resources of the denomination. The transient contributions for the year, or annual expenditures, are estimated as

follows: ministers' salaries, $287,000; incidental church expenses, $140,000; periodicals, $90,000; Sunday-school and other denominational books, $40,000; salaries of teachers in our schools and colleges, $53,000; incidental expenses of the same, $15,000. Total, $625,000. Added to the above, this sum makes $1,665,000-over one million and a half paid or contributed for Universalism during the year just closed."

URUGUAY (“The Oriental Republic of Uruguay "), a republic in South America. Provisional President, since November, 1865, Venancio Flores. Area, 73,538 square miles; population, in 1860, according to the official census, 250,965; in 1864, according to a circular from the Minister of the Interior, 350,000; among whom

were 150,000 foreigners. The army was composed, in 1864, as follows: garrison of the capital, 1,300; garrisons in the provinces, 1,500; national guard, 20,000. The contingent furnished by Uruguay in the war against Paraguay was stated to be 3,500. The exports to the chief foreign countries were, in 1865, valued as follows: United States, $11,777,241; France, $3,781,686; Great Britain, $3,091,639; Spain, $971,538; Italy, $1,016,660; Brazil, $799,538. The active participation of Uruguay in the war against Paraguay ceased in the latter part of the year, as the government was unable to make up for the losses suffered during the war. The election of a President was postponed to 1867.

VAN BUREN, JOHN, an American lawyer and politician, born at Hudson, N. Y., February, 1810; died on the Scotia, on her passage between Liverpool and New York, October 13, 1866. He was the second son of President Martin Van Buren; graduated at Yale College in 1828, studied law with Benjamin F. Butler at Albany, and the Hon. Aaron Vanderpool at Kinderhook, and was admitted to the bar in 1830. Though an able lawyer and an eloquent advocate, he was less distinguished at the bar than in political life. He was the attendant of his father at the court of St. James, England, in 1332, and in 1845 was elected Attorney-General of New York. At the conclusion of his term of office in January, 1847, he settled in New York, and devoted himself for the most part to the duties of his profession, seldom accepting of any office, though occasionally taking an active part in State canvasses. During the presidential campaign of 1848 he distinguished himself as a popular advocate of the Free-Soil party, and of the exclusion of slavery from the Federal territories. He did not, how ever, adhere to the principles which were subsequently developed by that party, but during the latter years of his life acted with the Democracy, often taking an active part in the political canvass. In May, 1866, he left New York for a European tour, travelling extensively during the summer in Sweden, Norway, and Russia, and spending a few weeks, previous to his embarkation for home, in the Highlands of Scotland, and it was not until about a fortnight before his death that his health gave signs of failure.

As an advocate he exerted a powerful influence, carrying the jury with him almost irresistibly. He was always an eloquent and interesting speaker, genial and agreeable in society, and possessed of fine social qualities. He had very little ambition for preferment, and, while more than once almost any position in the gift of the people of his State was at his command,

he not only did not seek but generally refused office.

VENEZUELA, a republic in South America. President, Marshal Juan Crisostomo Falcon, since March 18, 1865. Area, 426,712 square miles; population, in 1858, about 1,565,000 inhabitants. The public debt amounted, in 1849, to $22,865,620; the revenue, in 1852, was $8,248,031; and the expenditure only $2,705,055. The number of entrances and clearances in the ports of the republic was, in 1854, 1,158, with an aggregate burden of 172,055 lasts.

VERMONT. This inland State presents less change than any other in the Union during successive years. Nearly stationary in population, its wealth slowly increases.

A Republican convention assembled at Montpelier, June 20th, to nominate candidates for officers in the State government.

Paul Dillingham was nominated for Governor, A. B. Gardner for Lieutenant-Governor, and John A. Page for Treasurer.

The committee on resolutions then reported the following, which were adopted:

1. That justice to all, as well as the commonest considerations of prudence and security, demand that no scheme of restoration of the rebel States and

people should be tolerated, which does not by legis fative enactment or constitutional amendment place the powers of the Government beyond contingency in the control of the loyal people of the States, and secure the Government against disloyal control or check.

2. That, while approving the constitutional amendment lately proposed by Congress as a present practical measure toward securing just ends, we yet insist that every scheme of restoration is imperfect that is not based upon equal and exact justice to all, and the equal rights, personal, civil, and practical, of all loyal citizens, irrespective of color or race; that we desire the speedy restoration of the seceding States to all their functions as States in our reconstructed and purified Union-the sooner the better, so it be done severally and justly upon the basis of an assured loyalty of the people and the equal rights of all; but we insist that the loyal should be backed by a loyal constituency; that, as our institutions were saved by the loyal, to them belong their re

modelling and future preservation, and that loyalty should not be made odious by placing it upon a level with treason in the rewards and trusts of the Government; that all honor and thanks are due to the soldiers of the country who rushed to its defence when assailed by conspiracy and armed treason, and by their heroism saved the life of the nation, and to maintain a republic purified and regenerated-a service which should not be forgotten.

The following resolution was also adopted: Resolved, That, while we hope and believe the amendment to the Constitution just proposed by Congress will advance the nation in its progress toward impartial suffrage and equal rights for all, we do not yet count the victory won; but, cooperating with the great party of liberty and progress through out the country, we mean to fight the battle through with every refuge of caste and oppression, until every form of aristocracy and oligarchy, and every citadel of the undemocratic and barbarous slave civilization, is overthrown, and the nation becomes one great, homogeneous, free people, loving liberty, and building its future upon the rock of exact justice to all men in the distribution of official honors.and

emoluments.

The convention was well attended and harmonious in all its proceedings.

The Democratic State Convention met June 29th, and made the following nominations: for Governor, Charles N. Davenport; for Lieutenant-Governor, Charles D. Lindsley; for Treasurer, L. II. Noyes. The following resolutions were adopted:

Resolved, That we express renewed confidence in the Democratic party and its principles, and pledge

to them the honest devotion of men who feel the inestimable blessings which they have conferred upon the country, and the woes from which they would have saved it if its principles had not been departed from.

Resolved, That the paramount issue now is, whether a hypocritical faction, accidentally in power, shall be successful in depriving eleven States of their places in the Union, contrary to their constitutional rights, and against the efforts of the President, for the purpose of perpetuating their party power.

Resolved, That as Democrats now, as in the past, we are in favor of the whole Union, and that we will never relax our efforts to perpetuate it as its founders made it; and for the efforts in this behalf of Andrew Johnson, rising above and beyond party, we tender to him our appreciation and approval and our fervent gratitude.

Resolved, That it is the duty of the President to execute the laws, and that it is dishonest and hypocritical to censure the President for executing the neutrality laws, when the party which censures him has the power to repeal them, and does not exercise it.

Resolved, That all property should bear its proportion of the burdens of taxation, and we are opposed to exempting the bonds and other evidences of indebtedness of the United States from taxation.

Resolved, That we appreciate the valuable services of the soldiers of our armies in suppressing the late rebellion, and tender to them our gratitude for the faithfulness and bravery with which they have fought the battles of our country, and that we are in favor of their receiving offices of trust, emolument, and profit, at the hands of the people and Government.

The Legislature met October 11th, and continued in session till November 19th. The legislation was chiefly of a local character, and possesses no general interest. An act was passed establishing a State normal school, to

be controlled by the Board of Education other act increases the pay of the members of the Legislature from two Collars to three dol lars per day. Deserters from the military or naval service of the United States were dis franchised. An act was also passed providing for the registration of voters in all election districts, and another for the preservation of fish in the waters of the State.

The Legislature changed the distribution of the school-funds, by which one-third, instead of one-fourth, as heretofore, will be divided equally between the common-school districts, and the remainder in proportion to the average daily attendance of scholars. A law was passed allowing parties in court to testify in their own behalf. An act was passed limiting the liability of the State banks (now closing under the operation of the national law) for the redemption of their currency to the period of one year, commencing from the publication of due notice, which publication must continue through the year. The salaries of the judges of the Supreme Court were increased by $500, making thera $2,500.

The following resolutions relating to impartial suffrage were adopted:

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives, That laws ought to be in force in all of the United States, guaranteeing equal and impartial suffrage, without respect to color.

laws giving this right in all places where it can be Resolved, That it is the duty of Congress to pass done constitutionally.

Resolved, That we hereby request our Senators and Representatives in Congress to use their influence for the passage of a law, giving equal and impartial suffrage in the District of Columbia as early as pos sible at the next session of Congress.

The finances of the State are in an easy ce dition. The total receipts into the treasury during the fiscal year ending September 1024 including the balance of the previous year. were $996,558.49. The disbursements for the same period were $967,981.82. The liabilities of the State are as follows:

State bonds outstanding, due June 1, 1871..

due December 1, 1574.. due December 1, 1576.. due December 1, 1575..

Total number of men furnished by the State..... 84,238

Under the act of November 9, 1865, a Reform School has been established at Waterbury for the correction of juvenile delinquents. Hitherto there has been no institution of the kind in the State. Suitable buildings for the school, with sixty-seven acres of land, have been purchased. Quite a number of scholars have already been received, and the school gives good promise of accomplishing all that is expected from such an institution.

A "Home for Destitute Children" has also been established at Burlington, by private charity, which has commenced operations, and will probably be liberally sustained.

At the election for Governor in September, 45,412 votes were cast, of which Paul Dillingham, Republican, received 34,117. Three Republican members of Congress were also choThe Legislature is divided as follows:

sen.

VIRGINIA. The message of Governor Peirpont to the Legislature in December, 1866, is a long document, and treats nearly all the local and Federal questions of interest very fully. With regard to labor and immigration he expressed the following views:

The subject of labor is attracting great attention in the State. We must first depend upon the native labor now in the State, white and colored. This is to be encouraged by the repeal of oppressive laws, by. the encouragement of common schools, and by fair wages and kind treatment. The colored man has great odds against him. In many instances he is paid less wages than the white man in the same field, and required to do the same amount of work. If he does not, he is denounced as worthless; he has the theories of politicians and the dogmas of divines against him; the one class maintaining that the true theory of the organization of society is, that capital should own labor; and the other, proving to their own satisfaction, from the sacred record, that God in his wisdom made the negro for a slave-that he is the laborer to be owned and worked for his own

amelioration and advancement, and the general good

of the few who should own slaves. Men are attached to their theories-by these kings rule by divine right. The negro has to progress, if progress he shall, against theories. In some sections of the State he has done well this year. He ought to have a fair chance; and it may be, when he shall have as many inducements to work as the white man, he will work. There are few who toil all day but cast a wistful eye at the setting sun. The negro should be tried hopefully; and I am pleased to find that a large number of the best men of the State are willing to encourage the freedman to work, and give him a fair chance, as regards wages and education.

Great efforts are being made to induce the Legisla ture to appropriate money to immigration societies. I do not think that it would be good policy to make these appropriations, nor would I favor any organization to which the State shall be a party, where money is to be paid out of the public treasury in proportion to the number of immigrants imported. It will certainly lead to filling the State with a pauper population. The inducement for the better class of immigration must be left, to a great extent, to individual enterprise. Last winter the Legislature authorized the appointment of three commissioners of immigra tion. They have been appointed, and the board is organized. It is believed that this board may be made the channel through which individuals may lands. But it will require active cooperation on the procure tenants, laborers, and purchasers for their part of individuals to effect this object. In the of fice of the board will be kept a faithful registry of all the lands in the State offered for sale, on the prescribed conditions. Parties in the State, desiring fands carefully laid off with plats, showing the purchasers through this channel, should have their amount of land in each lot proposed to be sold, designating the county in which it is located, its distance from the county seat, proximity to railroads or navigable water-courses, and the distance from the nearest general market; the amount and quality of timber, the amount of cleared land, the character and productiveness of the soil, and whether best fitted for agriculture, horticulture, or grazing; and the price per acre at which it is offered. In all cases the clerk of the county court to that effect should be protitle should be unencumbered, and a certificate of the duced, with a certificate of the county surveyor, as to the reasonableness of the price compared with other lands in the same section, and the truthfulness of the description. These descriptions should be recorded in the bocks kept by the commissioners, and printed from time to time in the languages of the countries in which they are designed to be used.

The Governor urged, by elaborate arguments, the adoption of the Constitutional Amendment as a measure not involving dishonor to the people of the State, but one which would greatly improve their condition.

The State militia is reported to comprise 136 regiments of the line, of which number 107 have been organized, and the others are in process of organization.

The public debt, with the interest funded, amounted on the 1st of January, 1867, to $43,383,679.27. Deduct from this the amount held by the sinking and literary funds, and there remains as a balance for which interest is to be paid, $41,005,997.67. The estimated income to the State treasury for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1867, is $1,228,679.30, to which should be added the amount on hand October 1, 1866, $334,607.56, making a total of $1,563,286.86. The estimated expense of carrying on the government of the State for

the ensuing fiscal year is $510,000, which would leave a balance in the treasury of $1,053,286.86 on the 1st of October, 1867. In the estimate of expenses are included an appropriation to supply artificial limbs to disabled soldiers, the balance due on the statues for the Washington monument, and appropriations for the benevolent and penal institutions of the State. The Governor attaches no value, for revenue purposes, to the stock held by the State in the James River Canal, turnpike, and bridges, and in railroads commenced but not completed. The State owns about $15,000,000 in stocks and bonds of railroads in active operation. He thinks that, with prudent management, these roads ought to yield dividends, which in a few years would suffice to pay the interest on that amount of the public debt; but he advises the sale of stocks and bonds of the Virginia and Tennessee, the Southside, Norfolk, and Petersburg, the Richmond and Danville, and York River roads, and the Orange and Alexandria, and Virginia Central roads.

The literary fund of the State amounts to $1,618,057.05. It is all invested in old James River stock, old military six per cents., bank loan of 1814, loan to the Commonwealth, and internal improvement loan, none of which are dividend-paying. Up to 1861, between $200,000 and $300,000 were invested in bank stocks, which yielded a dividend; of the remainder, the payment was indorsed by the State, and the people were taxed for it. At the present time, in the language of the Governor, the "literary fund is a myth;" and he takes the opportunity in his message to recommend taxation for the support of common schools, which benefit the masses of the people, instead of colleges, which are intended for the few.

Some progress was made in the education of freedmen during the year. Considerable sums of money were raised by benevolent societies in the North, and schools for teaching the freedmen were opened in Richmond and other parts of the State, and are reported to be in successful operation. The Soldiers' Aid Society of the North has founded in Richmond schools for white children, at which three hundred are now taught, without charge.

At the session of the Legislature in March, 1866, a law was passed staying the collection of debts for a limited period. The reasons why the passage of such an enactment was regarded as necessary were set forth in the following pre

amble:

Whereas, The war which has been recently waged for several years in the State of Virginia, in its progress and results swept out of existence the property in slaves, which constituted a very large proportion of the wealth of the people, as well as a very large amount of other personal property, and, at the same time, annihilated the only currency which had circulated for over three years, together with the stocks and securities growing out of the war, in which the people had made large investments, and either destroyed or greatly impaired the value of all other stocks and securities, so that but little is now left to the people,

except their lands, which, for want of efficient labor, and, in many large districts, for want of stock, imple ments, horses, and buildings, cannot be successfully cultivated, and, as a consequence of this condition of things, there exists an unprecedented scarcity of. money among the people of the State; and whereas, it cannot be questioned that this state of general em barrassment and distress presents the strongest appeal for legislative interference to prevent the unjust and ruinous sacrifice of property that would inevit bly result from forced sales under such circumstances; and while this General Assembly recognize their imperative duty to respect and obey the constitutional provisions which prohibit the enactment of any law impairing the obligations of contracts, they believe that, when construed with reference to the objects of those provisions, and in the light of principles recognized and acted upon by the courts of justice at the time of the adoption of the Constitution of the United States, as well as before and since that time, those provisions do not forbid them from granting a temporary suspension of remedies, in such a state of things as the present, in order to prevent the cruel and ruinous results which would only requires that creditors, while their right to ult.ensue without such interposition, and especially as it mate payment is held inviolate, shall submit to a course to which they might well be constrained by the instincts of natural justice and humanity.

January, 1868, no execution, venditioni exponer The law provided that up to the 1st day of attachment upon a decree or order, or other process to compel the payment of money, or the should be proceeded with; nor should there be sale of property, should be issued, or it issued any sale under a deed of trust, mortgage, or other security; nor under any judgment, decree, of this law came before Judge Meredith, of the or order. A case involving the constitutionality Circuit Court of Richmond, in November, 1886, and he decided that the law was unconstituin his annual message, said: tional. The Governor, alluding to this subject

You cannot pass any law to impair the obligation of contracts. Devices have been resorted to in other States to shield property from sale by having valuations made, and forbidding the sale, unless the property should sell for one-half or two-thirds of the val uation. These laws have all been declared uncon stitutional by the highest courts of the United States. All laws that have for their object the postponemezt of the collection of debts, are odious to creditors; and it is doubtful how far a law would be sustained by the courts, that exempted specified amounts of real and personal property from execution for debts contracted before the passage of the law; and there is

danger in passing stay-laws that look to long postponements of executions, that they may be cos strued by the courts to come under the constitutional prohibition against impairing the obligation of contracts. I believe the Legislature has full power over the subject of priority of liens, and I think the great error in the law of last winter was, in failing to abolish the priority of judgment liens and placing all creditors upon an equal footing. The law, as it stands, has only provoked suits by the more impor tunate creditors. But we must now look to the future, and it strikes me that it would be wise, and perhaps the courts and creditors would concur in the measure, to direct the further stay of executions upon the payment by the debtor of the interest ard twenty-five percentum of the principal within ninetr days from the first day of January, 1868, and a like sum, with the interest, each ensuing year.

During the year a colony of twenty-five