the Barbary pirates was a mere question of expense. It was cheaper to seize Louisiana than to await the settlement of doubtful points. Commercial warfare was to be avoided because of the cost. All wars were bad, but if they could not be evaded it was less extrava- gant to be ready than to rush to arms unprepared. Amid many difficulties, and thwarted even by Jefferson himself in the matter of the_navy, Gallatin pushed on ; and after six years the debt was as far as possible paid, a large surplus was on hand, a compre- hensive and benctieent scheme of internal improvements was ready for execution, and the promised land seemed in sight. Then came the stress of war in Europe, a wretehed neutrality at home, fierce outbreaks of human passions, and the fair structure of government by a priori theories based on the goodness of unoppressed humanity came to the ground. Gallatin was thrown helplessly back upon the rejected Federalist doctrine of government according to circum- stances. He uttered no vain regrets, but the position was at trying one. The sworn foe of strong government, he was compelled, in pursuance of J efl'erson's policy, to put into execution the embargo and the most stringent measures ever taken by an American legislature. He did his best, but all was in vain. Commercial warfare failed, the embargo was repealed, and Jefferson, having hopelessly entangled foreign relations and brought the country to the verge of civil war, retired to private life defeated and broken, and leaving to his suc- cessor Madison, and to Gallatin, the task of extricating the nation from its difficulties. From 1809 the. new administration, drifting steadily towards war, struggled on from one abortive and exasper- ating negotiation to another. It was a period of sore trial to Gallatin. The peace policy had failed, and nothing else replaced it. He had lost his hold upon Pennsylvania and his support: in the House. while a cabal in the senate, bitterly and personally hostile to the treasury, crippled the administration and reduced every Govern- ment measure to mere inanity. At last, however, one of their blun- dering acts struck Napoleon in a vital spot. To escape its effects, he set himself to hoodwink the administration and trick the United States into war with England. The deception was successful, and was powerfully aided by a war party, violent and ignorant, but with plenty of fresh ability, full of the new spirit of nationality, and determined to fight at all hazards. The result was inevitable, and Madison was forced to take the lead in June 1812, in declaring war against England.
Gallatin never wasted time in futile complaints. His cherished schemes were shattered. “'ar and extravagant expenditure had come, and he believed both to be fatal to the prosperity and pro- gress of America. He therefore put the finances in the best order he could, and set himself to mitigate the evil effects of the war by obtaining an early peace. \Vith this end in view be grasped eagerly at the proffered mediation of Russia, and without resigning the treasury sailed for Europe in May 1813.
Russian mediation proved barren, but Gallatin persevered, catch- ing at every opportunity for negotiation. In the midst of his labours came the news that his old foes in the senate had refused to confirm his appointment. He still toiled on unofficially until, Madison having filled the treasury, his nomination for the second time met the approval of the senate, and he was able to proceed with direct negotiations. The English and American commissioners finally met at Ghent, and in the tedious and irritating discussions which ensued Gallatin took the leading part. He dealt easily with his antagonists, who were all second-rate and obstinate persons, and drove them by quiet persistence and firmness from their first arrogant and impossible demands. His great difficulty lay in man- aging his own colleagues, who were, especially Henry Clay and John Quincy Adams, able men of strong wills and jarring tempers. He succeeded in preserving harmony, and thus established his own reputation as an able diplomat. Peace was his reward, and, after visiting Geneva for the first time since his boyhood, and nego~ tiating a commercial convention with England, Gallatin returned to America.
He received an immediate offer of the treasury, which he declined, but accepted the mission to France (1816), where he remained for the next seven years, which were in all probability the pleasantcst of his life. He passed his time in thoroughly congenial society, seeing everybody of note or merit in Europe. He did not neglect the duties of his official position, but strove assiduously and with his wontcd patience to settle the commercial relations of his adopted country with the nations of Europe.
In 1823 he resigned his post and returned to the United States, when he found himself plunged at once in the bitter struggle then in progress for the presidency. His favourite candidate was his personal friend William II. Crawford, whom be regarded as the true hcir and representative of the old J effeisonian principles. With these feelings he consented to run for thc vice-presidency on the Crawford ticket. But Gallatin had come home to new scenes and new actors, and he did not fully appreciate the situation. The contest was bitter, personal, factious, and full of intrigue. Van Buren, then in the Crawford interest, came to the conclusion that the candidate for the second place, by his foreign origin, weakened the ticket, and Gallatin therefore withdrew his name and retired from the contest without reluctance. The election, unde- cided by the popular vote, was thrown into the house, and resulted in the choice of J. Quincy Adams, who in 1826 drew Gallatin from his retirement and sent him as minister to England to conduct another complicated and arduous negotiation with that power. Gallatin worked at his new task with his usual industry, tact, and patience, but the results were meagre, although an open breach was successfully avoided. In 1828 he once more returned to the United States, and bade farewell to public life.
Accepting a business position in New York which gave him a suffi- cient income, Gallatin turned his attention to the congenial pursuits of science and literature. In both fields be displayed great talent, and his book upon Indian languages laid the foundations of the ethnology of the American aborigines. He continued, of course, to interest himself in public affairs, although no longer an active participant, and in all financial questions, especially in regard to the bank charter, the resumption of specie payments, and the panic of 1837, he exerted a wide and beneficial influence. The rise of the slavery question touched him nearly. Gallatin had always been a consistent opponent of slavery, and in the early days of the Government had boldly attacked that institution when unable to find a dozen men of any party to side with him. He felt kecnly, therefore, the attempts of the South to extend the slave power and confirm its existence, and the remnant of his strength was devoted in his last days to writing and distributing two able pamphlets against the war with Mexico. Almost his last public act was a speech against the annex- ation of Texas; and, although more than eighty years old, be con- fronted a bowling New York mob with the same cool, unflinching couragethich he had displayed half a century before when he faced the armed frontiersmen of Redstone Old Fort.
During the winter of 1848—9 his health failed, and on the 12th of August 1849 he passed peacefully away.
Gallatin was twice married. His second wife was Miss Hannah Nicholson, of New York, by whom he had three children, two Sons and a daughter, all of whom survived him. In personal appearance he was above middle height, with strongly-marked features, indi- cating great strength of intellect and character. He was reserved and extremely reticent, cold in manner and not sympathetic. There was, too, a certain Calvinistic austerity about him, but he was much beloved by his family. He was never a popular man, nor did he ever have a strong personal following, or many attached friends. He stood with Jefferson and Madison at the head of his party, and won his place by force of character, courage, application, and great intellectual power. His eminent and manifold services to his adopted country, his great abilities and upright character, assure him a high position in the history of the United States.
southern province of Ceylon, on the south-western coast, about 72 miles S. of Colombo, with which it is connected by a good carriage road. It was made a municipality in 1865, and divided into the five districts of the Fort, Callowelle, Galopiaddc, Hirimburc, and Cumbalwalla. The fort, which is more than a mile in circumference, commands the whole harbour, but is commanded by a range of hills. Within its enclosure are not only several Government buildings, but an old church erected by the Dutch East India Company, a mosque, a Wesleyan chapel, a hospital, and a considerable number of houses occupied by Europeans. The old Dutch building known as the queen’s house or governor's residence, which dated from the year 1687, was in such a dilapidated state that it was sold by Governor Gregory in 1873. Elsewhere there are few buildings of individual note, but the general style of domestic architecture is pleasant and comfortable, though not pretentious. One of the most delightful features of the place is the profusion of trees, even within the town, and along the edge of the shore—suriyas, palms, cocoa-nut trees, and bread-fruit trees. The ramparts towards the sca furnish fine promenades. In the harbour deep water is found close to the shore, and the outer roads are spacious ; but the south-west monsoon renders entrance difficult, and not unfrequently drives vessels from their moorings. Galle is an important point on the lines of communication between Calcutta and Australia, and between Suez and Singapore. The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, the ilfessageries Alfaritimcs, and the British India Steam Navigation Company have agencies at the port. The trade is mainly in the productions of the surrounding
country, of which in 1873 there was shipped 11,477 cwts.