The great questions of peace and war are confided to the hands of those to whom the government of the nations has been intrusted. Their responsibility is as great as their power; and while the congress would earnestly pray that "The God of Peace" may deign to preside over their counsels, it would implore them, in the name of the dearest interests of humanity, civilization, and religion, promptly to adopt the most effective measures for preventing a return of the horrors of war, and for securing to all nations the blessings of a solid and lasting peace.

The substitution of arbitration for war would be an immense step towards this object, the principle and the means for giving it effect, might be embodied in special treaties, but the progress of sound political opinions leads still farther. The convening of a congress, composed of the most enlightened and eminent men of all countries, for the purpose of framing an international code, which shall place the relations between the different nations on a solid and intelligent basis; and the institution of a high court of nations, for the final adjudication of questions in accordance with the great and comprehensive principles of such a code, would not only remove the causes of war, but cement a noble and holy alliance between both government and people.

In anticipation of so great a result, it is desirable that the necessity of a general and simultaneous disarmament should take place, as such an act, without compromising the dignity or impairing the strength of governments, would be the surest guarantee for the preservation of general peace, and the advancement of public prosperity.

The congress is fully aware that the force of circumstances, the progress of modern industry and commerce, the greater facility and frequency of communication between the nations, the diffusion of knowledge, and the more elevated sentiments of humanity and religion, all tend to prevent the recurrence of war; but it is not less assured that it remains with the governments of the civilized world to put an end to that fatal and sanguinary custom, by adopting those wise and necessary measures which shall lead to so happy a result.

In submitting to statesmen the recommendations embodied in the resolutions, the congress entertains a just and legitimate confidence that they will not be disregarded; and that the governments of Europe and America, ani. mated by an ardent and sincere desire to promote the welfare of the great commonwealth of nations, will determine, as in the performance of a sacred 'duty, to give them a practical application, and thus aid in securing the peace of the world.

THE ARCTIC EXPEDITION.

LADY FRANKLIN'S LETTER TO PRESIDENT TAYLOR.

Bedford Place, London, April 4, 1849. SIR: I address myself to you as the head of a great nation, whose power to help me I cannot doubt, and in whose disposition to do so I have a confidence which I trust you will not deem presumptuous.

The name of my husband, Sir JOHN FRANKLIN, is probably not unknown to you. It is intimately connected with the northern part of that continent of which the American republic forms so vast and conspicuous a portion. When

I visited the United States, three years ago, among the many proofs I received of respect and courtesy, there was none which touched and even surprised me more than the appreciation every where expressed to me of his former services in geographical discovery, and the interest felt in the enterprise in which he was then known to be engaged.

The expedition fitted out by our government for the discovery of the northwest passage, (that question which for 300 years has engaged the interest and baffled the energies of the man of science and the navigator,) sailed under my husband's command in May, 1845. The two ships, "Erebus" and "Terror," contained 138 men, (officers and crews,) and were victualed for three years. They were not expected home, unless success had early rewarded their efforts, or some casualty hastened their return, before the close of 1847; nor were any tidings expected from them in the interval. But when the autumn of 1847 arrived, without any intelligence of the ships, the attention of her majesty's government was directed to the necessity of searching for and conveying relief to them, in case of their being imprisoned in ice or wrecked, and in want of provisions and means of transport. For this purpose, an expedition, in three divisions, was fitted out in the early part of last year, directed to three diffe rent quarters, simultaneously, namely:

First, to that by which, in case of success, the ships would come out of the Polar Sea to the westward, (or Behring's Strait.)

Second, to that by which they entered on their course of discovery on the eastern side, (or Davis's Strait.)

And third, to an intervening portion of the Arctic shore, approachable by land from the Hudson Bay Company's settlements, on which it was supposed the crews, if obliged to abandon their ships, might be found.

This last division of the expedition was placed under the command of my husband's faithful friend, the companion of his former travels, Dr. John Richardson, who landed at New York in April of last year, and hastened to join his men and boats, which were already in advance toward the Arctic shore. Of this portion of the expedition I may briefly say, that the absence of any intelligence from Sir John Richardson, at this season, proves he has been unsuccessful in the object of his search. The expedition intended for Behring's Strait has hitherto been a complete failure. It consisted of a single ship, the Plover, which owing to her setting off too late, and to her bad sailing properties, did not even approach her destination last year. The remaining and most important portion of the searching expedition consists of two ships, under the command of Sir James Ross, which sailed last May for Davis's Strait, but did not succeed, owing to the state of the ice, in getting into Lancaster Sound till the season for operations had nearly closed. These ships are now wintering in the ice, and a store-ship is about to be despatched hence with provisions and fuel to enable them to stay out another year; but one of these vessels, in a great degree, is withdrawn from active search, by the necessity of watching at the entrance of Lancaster Sound for the arrival of intelligence and instructions from England by the whalers.

I have entered into these details with a view of proving that, though the British government has not forgotten the duty it owes to the brave men whom it has sent on a perilous service, and has spent a very large sum in providing the means for their rescue, yet that, owing to various causes, the means actually in operation for this purpose are quite inadequate to meet the extreme exigency of the case; for it must be remembered that the missing ships were victualed for three years only, and that nearly four years have now elapsed, so that the survivors of so many winters in the ice must be at the last extremity; and also it must be borne in mind that the channels by which the ships may have attempted to force a passage to the westward, or which they may have been compelled by adverse circumstances to take, are very numerous

and complicated, and that one or two ships cannot possibly, in the course of the next short summer, explore them all.

The Board of Admiralty, under a conviction of the fact, has been induced to offer a reward of £20,000 sterling to any ship or ships of any country, or to any exploring party whatever, that shall render efficient assistance to the missing ships, or their crews, or to any portion of them. This announcement, which, even if the sum had been doubled or trebled, would have met with public approbation, comes, however, too late for our whalers, which had unfortunately sailed before it was issued, and which, even if the news should overtake them at their fishing-grounds, are totally unfitted for any prolonged adventure, having only a few months' provisions on board, and no additional clothing. To the American whalers, both in the Atlantic and Pacific, I look with more hope as competitors for the prize, being well aware of their numbers and strength, their thorough equipment, and the bold spirit of enterprise which animates their crews. But I venture to look even beyond these. I am not without hope that you will deem it not unworthy of a great and kindred nation to take up the cause of humanity, which I plead in a national spirit, and thus generously make it your own.

I must here, in gratitude, adduce the example of the imperial Russian government, which, as I am led to hope by his excellency, the Russian ambassador in London, who forwarded a memorial on the subject, will send out exploring parties this summer from the Asiatic side of Behring's Strait, northward, in search of the lost vessels. It would be a noble spectacle to the world if three great nations, possessed of the widest empires on the face of the globe, were thus to unite their efforts in the truly Christian work of saving their perishing fellow-men from destruction.

It is not for me to suggest the mode in which such benevolent efforts might best be made. I will only say, however, that if the conceptions of my own mind, to which I do not venture to give utterance, were realized, and that in the noble competition which followed, American seamen had the good fortune to wrest from us the glory, as might be the case, of solving the problem of the unfound passage, or the still greater glory of saving our adventurons navigators from a lingering fate which the mind sickens to dwell on, though I should in either case regret that it was not my own brave countrymen in those seas whose devotion was thus rewarded, yet should I rejoice that it was to America we owed our restored happiness, and should be for ever bound to her by ties of affectionate gratitude.

I am not without some misgivings while I thus address you. The intense anxieties of a wife and of a daughter may have led me to press too earnestly on your notice the trial under which we are suffering, (yet not we only, but hundreds of others,) and to presume too much on the sympathy which we are assured is felt beyond the limits of our own land. Yet, if you deem this to be the case, you will still find, I am sure, even in that personal intensity of feeling, an excuse for the fearlessness with which I have thrown myself on your generosity, and will pardon the homage I thus pay to your own high character, and to that of the people over whom you have the high distinction to preside.

I have the honour to be, sir, with great respect, your obedient servant, JANE FRANKLIN.

To this letter, Lady Franklin appends an explanatory notice of the plan of her husband's expedition, and of the routes taken by those who are in search of him. The following is Mr. Clayton's answer to the application of Lady Franklin:

Department of State, Washington, April 25, 1849. MADAM: Your letter to the president of the United States, dated April 4, 1849, has been received by him, and he has instructed me to make to you the following reply:

The appeal made in the letter with which you have honored him, is such as would strongly enlist the sympathy of the rulers and the people of any portion of the civilized world.

To the citizens of the United States, who share so largely in the emotions which agitate the public mind of your own country, the name of Sir John Franklin has been endeared by his heroic virtues, and the sufferings and sacrifices which he has encountered for the benefit of mankind. The appeal of his wife and daughter in their distress has been borne across the waters, asking the assistance of a kindred people to save the brave men who embarked in this unfortunate expedition; and the people of the United States, who have watched with the deepest interest that hazardous enterprise, will now respond to that appeal by the expression of their united wishes that every proper effort may be made by this government for the rescue of your husband and his companions.

To accomplish the object you have in view, the attention of American navigators, and especially of our whalers, will be immediately invoked. All the information in the possession of this government, to enable them to aid in discovering the missing ships, relieving their crews, and restoring them to their families, shall be spread far and wide among our people; and all that the executive government of the United States, in the exercise of its constitutional powers, can effect to meet this requisition on American enterprise, skill, and bravery, will be promptly undertaken.

The hearts of the American people will be deeply touched by your eloquent address to their chief magistrate, and they will join with you in an earnest prayer to Him whose Spirit is on the waters, that your husband and his companions may yet be restored to their country and their friends.

I have the honour to be your ladyship's friend and obedient servant, JOHN M. CLAYTON.

LADY JANE FRANKLIN, Bedford place, London.

MANIFESTO OF THE TURKISH GOVERNMENT.

The following is a copy of the manifesto of the Sublime Porte, explaining its motives for making military preparations. It is translated from the Turkish official gazette, the Tuevime of the 5th of March, 1849:

The extraordinary events which have succeeded each other in Europe, during the past year, are known to all the world. Notwithstanding the expectation hitherto entertained of the general restoration of perfect tranquillity, it is truly deplorable to find that hope still unrealized. We know and we perceive that the majority of governments, in the exercise of their vigi lance, keep an attentive eye on passing events, and maintain an attitude of armed peace.

In this state of things it would appear, at first sight, that the Sublime Porte ought also as a matter of necessity, to make great preparations; but as the preparations to be made have different degrees, it has been deemed wise and prudent well to weigh this consideration, as well as the internal necessities and the external difficulties of the state, and to adopt a resolution accordingly.

The sublime porte has, therefore, maturely reflected on the question of preparations, in order to ascertain how far it ought to proceed. Now, if, on the one hand, it has not been possible to discover motives sufficiently strong for the making of such preparations, it cannot be denied, on the other, that there is a real necessity for taking certain measures of precaution.

The disturbances that broke out towards the close of last summer in the province of Wallachia, have been quelled, by the grace of God and under the

auspices of the Sultan; and the tranquillity, which it was the object of the government to re-establish, is perfectly established. If the military force, which the Sublime Porte has despatched thither, has not yet been withdrawn thence, it does not follow that it has any secret object in view: it is a necessity, resulting from certain important questions relating to the province itself, and which are nearly arranged.

When, therefore, the state of affairs in Wallachia and Moldavia are taken into consideration, no motives are discernible for inducing the Sublime Porte to act on a large scale-no motive is discernible why it should act in such a manner, when the mere effect of this system, so full of justice and equity, which has been adopted by the Padichakh, our benefactor and master, who is under all circumstances the object of the divine favour, there are not discoverable, God be praised, in any other part of the empire any subjects of uneasiness or any sources of embarrassment to the government.

So much as regards the interior. As regards our relations abroad our ideas are as follows:

The frank, sincere, and friendly relations of the Sublime Porte with all the neighbouring and distant powers with which it has treaties are on a very good footing, and a reciprocal security exists between the Sublime Porte and every one of these powers. Such being the real state of the case, the slightest reflection will show, and common sense sufficiently point out, that there does not exist, either at home or abroad, any well-founded motive for going to an immense expense by adopting and undertaking vast measures.

At the same time, however, it cannot be denied by prudent and enlightened men that, in order to maintain internal tranquillity as it ought to be maintained in these times of general effervescence, and in order to observe the principle of neutrality adopted by the Porte, certain measures of precaution must absolutely be taken. Such has been the unanimous opinion of all, and his imperial Majesty has consequently given corresponding orders.

Thus, the imperial fleet will be prepared this year for the spring season as every other year; and, as a measure of precaution, there will be an assemblage of troops in certain convenient places; and in order that every one may be apprized of the real motive of these movements, and that no other interpretation may be admissible, we publish the present manifesto, &c.

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.

"In presence of God, and in the name of the French people, the National Assembly proclaims and decrees as follows:

DECLARATION OF DUTIES AND RIGHTS.

ART. 1. The duties of man in society are thus summed up-Respect to the constitution, obedience to the laws, defence of the country, the accomplishment of family duties, and the fraternal practice of the maxim, “Do not unto others what you would not wish others to do unto you; what you wish men to do for you, do unto them likewise."

ART. 2. The constitution guaranties to all citizens-Liberty, equality, safety, instruction, labour, property, assistance.

ART. 3. Liberty consists in the right of going and coming, of assembling peaceably and unarmed, of associating, of petitioning, of worship according to one's creed, of manifesting one's ideas and opinions by means of the press or otherwise. The exercise of these rights has no limits but the rights and liberty of others, or public security.

ART. 4. Equality consists in the exclusion of all titles and privileges of birth, class, or caste—in the admissibility of every one to all public employments with