judges of the Supreme Court hold office eight years, and those of the inferior courts six years. They are appointed by the governor, with the consent of the senate. The present constitution of this State was adopted in 1868, and contained a provision that the paramount allegiance of every citizen is due to the federal government, in the exercise of all its constitutional powers, as these may be defined by the Supreme Court of the United States; and that neither the people of this State, nor of any other of the United States, has the power to dissolve their connection therewith, or do any act tending to impair, subvert, or resist the supreme authority of the United States. This State was a portion of the Territory of Louisiana, purchased under the administration of Thomas Jefferson. It remained a part of this territory until 1812, when Louisiana was admitted as a State, and the remainder was organized as the Missouri Territory. This continued until 1821, when Missouri was admitted as a State, and Arkansas was made a territory under that name. This territory was admitted as a State in 1836.

This State has some manufactures, but not many, and is essentially agricultural. Its soil is very various; but most of it is fertile, and the river bottoms exceedingly so. There are large tracts of land which might be brought under culture by drainage, and would then be of inexhaustible fertility. The climate is too cold for the culti vation of sugar; but both soil and climate are well adapted for cotton, of which the production is very large. The State is rich in minerals; iron, coal, zinc, and lead abound in many parts of it, and it is said to contain more of manganese and gypsum, the latter especially, than any other State.

MICHIGAN.

This State is bounded north by Lake Superior, east by Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake St. Clair, south by Ohio and Indiana, and west by Lake Michigan. It contains 56,243 square miles, or 35,995,520 acres.

By its constitution the governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, attorney-general, commissioner of the land-office, and superintendent of public instruction, are chosen for two years. The senate consists of thirty-two members, and the house of representatives of not less than sixty-four, nor more than one hundred members; both are chosen for two years. Judges of the Supreme Court hold office eight years, and those of the Circuit Courts for six years. The judges are chosen by the people.

French missionaries and fur traders were the first discoverers and settlers of this territory. But it was not largely colonized. It

was transferred to Great Britain with other French possessions in 1763, and afterwards it underwent its full share of those Indian troubles which involved almost all the English settlements in this country. It was a part of the north-western territory, for which was made the ordinance of 1787, before referred to. It was organized as territory in 1805; and in 1818 the public lands were surveyed and offered for sale. A large immigration began, and has continued to the present time. In 1835 a controversy arose with Ohio concerning land claimed by the territory and also by the State; but in 1836 Congress passed an act of conditional admission of Michigan into the Union, requiring her to renounce her claim to the disputed territory, the upper peninsula being given to her by way of compensation. In accordance therewith, in 1837 the territory was admitted as a State. This State has large agricultural, manufacturing, mining, and commercial industries. Of these the agricultural are most important, for this is one of the great grain States of the West. Its manufactures are chiefly flouring-mills, breweries, distilleries, and oilmills. Its fisheries are very large. Of its mining products, copper is much the most valuable; and in the northern peninsula there is found, in the remains of ancient mines and tools, evidence that the country was once occupied by a race of which the Indians found there had no tradition whatever.

The commerce of Michigan is extensive, and is mainly with Canada, although there has been some effort to establish a direct foreign commerce, by ships sailing from Detroit. The home trade by the many railroads in the State is very large, and rapidly growing.

FLORIDA.

This State, situated at the southern extremity of the Union, 18 bounded north by Alabama and Georgia, south by the Gulf of Mexico, west by the same and Alabama, and east by the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 59,268 square miles, or 37,931,520 acres.

The governor and lieutenant-governor are chosen by the people for four years. The secretary of state, treasurer, comptroller, attorney-general, superintendent of public instruction, adjutant-general, and commissioners of immigration, are appointed by the governor, with the consent of the senate, for four years. The senators number twenty-four, and are chosen for a term of four years, onehalf thereof being elected biennially. The members of the assembly, fifty-three in number, are elected for two years. The Seminole Indians send one member to each branch of the legislature; he must be a member of the tribe, and be elected by Indians

qualified to vote. The judges are appointed by the governor, with the consent of the council. Those of the Supreme Court hold their office for life, or during good behavior. Judges of the Circuit Courts hold their office for eight years.

This State has a peculiar history of its own. It was first visited by Ponce de Leon, the Spaniard. He had been to America repeatedly, and was at one time governor of Hispaniola. In 1512 he was an old man, and had heard that somewhere in the islands of the newly discovered America there was a fountain which could restore youth and strength and beauty. Age had not subdued his spirit of adventure; and he sailed at the head of an expedition, fitted out at his own expense, in search of this fountain. He visited island after island, but sought for it in vain. In the course of his voyage he discovered Florida, on Easter Day, which is called in the Spanish language Pascua Florida [flowery passover]. From this circumstance, aided perhaps by the beautiful vegetation around him, he gave to the country the name of Florida. The next year, arriving in Spain and reporting his discovery, he was appointed governor of Florida, and required to colonize the country. Not, however, until 1521 did he go with two ships to take possession of his province. The natives resisted him with the most resolute hostility, and drove the Spaniards to their ships; and in the battle Ponce de Leon was mortally wounded, receiving his death-blow in the country where he had hoped to find the fountain of immortality. The Indians continued to resist the further efforts of the Spaniards to colonize the country; but its settlement made considerable progress.

In the middle of the sixteenth century many French Protestants, persecuted at home, fled to Florida, only to find themselves still worse treated. The Spaniards attacked them, and hung many on trees, with an inscription to the effect that they were put to death not as Frenchmen, but as heretics. A French party attacked and took the Spanish fort, and hung the Spanish soldiers on the same trees, with an inscription that they were put to death not as Spaniards, but as cut-throats and murderers. The Spaniards, however, persisted in their efforts to gain possession of the country. The English claimed it, and captured the Spanish fort of St. Augustine in 1586. But little is known of what happened there for the next century. In 1696 the French settled in Pensacola. In 1702 English colonists from Carolina and Georgia attacked the Spanish settlers. In 1763 Great Britain relinquished to Spain, Cuba, which it had recently taken, and received Florida in exchange. In 1783 Florida was ceded by England to Spain, and in 1819 Spain ceded the whole province, which had been divided into two by the British, to the United States, and possession was taken in 1821. The Territory

of Florida was organized in 1823. There was then a considerable immigration into the country; but in 1835 the Seminole war broke out, and it raged with great violence for some years, until in 1842 a treaty was made, by which most of the Indians consented to their removal west of the Mississippi. The State was admitted into the Union in 1845, and in 1858 all the remaining Indians were removed from the State.

There is a considerable immigration into this State, both from the Northern States and from Europe. There are some manufactures, and a valuable coasting trade; but the State is essentially agricultural. Cotton, sugar, rice, and corn are largely raised, and, with vegetables and fruits for the northern markets, bring large returns into the State. The warm climate and favorable soil permit kinds of cultivation scarcely known in any other part of the United States. Not only do oranges, lemons, and citrons grow well everywhere, but in the southern regions pineapples, bananas, and dates are raised easily, and ripen perfectly. A third part of the acreage consists of public lands not yet sold, and remaining to be disposed of to immigrants.

TEXAS.

This State is bounded north by New Mexico, Arkansas, and the Indian Territory, east by Louisiana and Arkansas, south-west and west by Mexico, and south and south-east by the Gulf of Mexico. It is the largest State in the Union, and contains 274,356 square miles, or 175,587,840 acres.

The governor, lieutenant-governor, comptroller, treasurer, commissioner of the general land office, and attorney-general, are elected by the people, biennially, and hold office for two years. The secretary of state is appointed by the governor, and holds office during the term of that governor. Senators hold office for four years; they must be citizens resident within the State for five years next before their election, the last year thereof in their district. They are thirty-one in number, divided by lot into two classes, one of which is chosen at each biennial election. The representatives must be citizens resident within the State two years, and in their district one year, and are chosen for two years. They must not be in number more than one hundred and fifty. Salaried officers under the government of the United States, and collectors of taxes who have not obtained a discharge from their collections, are not eligible to the State legislature or to State offices. The legislature cannot grant divorces by a special act, and must prohibit the establishment of lotteries in the State, and the sale of tickets in lotteries or other

evasions involving the lottery principle existing in other States. The judges of the Supreme and District Courts are elected by the people; the former for six years, and the latter for four years.

The Territory of Texas was first visited by the French, who endeavored to settle there; but they were driven off by the Spaniards, and a second attempt of the French was equally ineffectual. Texas attained no prosperity under its Spanish rulers. In fact, while it remained under the Spanish government, and afterwards a part of Mexico, its history is one of perpetual conflict. Still, the population grew considerably, mainly by immigration from the United States. In 1835 the people of the territory declared their independence, and succeeded in driving out the Mexicans for a time. But they returned under Santa Anna, and war was renewed and raged with much violence, and with alternate success. At length the Mexican forces were defeated, and Santa Anna taken prisoner. In 1836 the independent republic of Texas was established. In 1837 it was acknowledged by the government of the United States, and in 1840 by England, France, and Belgium. The Mexican government did not cease its efforts to recover Texas, and sent, not so much armies as marauding expeditions into the republic. In 1843 President Tyler made to the President of Texas propositions looking to the annexation of the republic to the United States. They were favorably received, and a treaty made in 1844, which was rejected by the senate. In the next year, however, joint resolutions for the annexation of Texas passed the house of representatives and the senate, by small majorities, and were approved by President Tyler the same day. After the admission of the State, Congress voted to pay to her ten millions of dollars in compensation for her relinquishment of a part of her territory, and of all her claims against the United States. By the resolutions of annexation, it was provided that four new States might hereafter be formed out of the territory thereof. But no such States have as yet been formed, and Texas remains quite unequalled in point of magnitude.

This State has great facilities for internal and foreign commerce. Railroads are numerous, and all inducements are held out to immigrants, by the healthiness of the State, the cheapness of the land, and its extreme fertility. It has already a considerable commerce; and the production of cotton, corn, and wheat is large: and though the State at present is but thinly peopled, the promise it holds out of ultimate prosperity is very great. As a stock-raising State, it is now one of the first in the Union.