A8IIMUN, GEORGE. 



lie was !'(: tod a member of the Massachusetts 

 .. l Representatives in 1838, 1885, 1836, 

 :iii<l 1841, and was a State Senator in 1838 and 

 hi 1845 ho was elected to the national 

 ross, and reClpcted for the two following 

 . ixviipN ing his seat till 1851. Few mera- 

 .f tin- House have ever equalled him in 

 valuable service to the nation. Though pos- 

 ig fine oratorical powers, ho was, in Con- 

 j^iv-;*, rather a debater than an orator. His 

 knowledge of human nature, adroitness in 

 in et ing unexpected circumstances, and in deal- 

 ing with the prejudices and passions of polit- 

 ical enemies, rendered him a valuable man to 

 t'u.' Whig party upon the floor of the House, 

 ami he was frequently put forward by his 

 friends to manage a difficult case, or confront 

 a clamorous opponent. Mr. Ashmun was a 

 warm personal friend and ardent admirer of 

 Daniel Webster. It is thought by many that 

 this intimacy and admiration tended to inter- 

 rupt his advancement in public life; though he 

 did not follow Mr. Webster in his abandon- 

 ment of the " Wilmot Proviso," and was, in 

 fact, surprised and disappointed at the position 

 assumed by the great statesman in his famous 

 "Seventh of March Compromise Speech," Mr. 

 Ashmun still defended Webster in the ensuing 

 quarrels. His replies to Charles J. Ingersoll, 

 of Pennsylvania, and Charles Allen, of Massa- 

 chusetts, when they assailed Webster with per- 

 sonal and political bitterness, were among the 

 strongest efforts of his career in Congress. 

 He could not sustain, however, the position he 

 had assumed, and retired from official political 

 life. When he went to Chicago in 1860, he 

 was heartily welcomed by the representatives 

 of the new Republican party, and was elected 

 chairman of the convention without much con- 

 troversy. His fine manner and personal pres- 

 ence commanded order throughout the exciting 

 proceedings. He was heartily a patriot, and his 

 wonderful magnetic power over men was exert- 

 ed, whenever occasion required, in his country's 

 cause. A notable instance of this occurred in 

 April, 1861, just after the surrender of Fort 

 Sumter, when, in a conversation of extraordi- 

 nary tact and earnestness, he convinced Senator 

 Douglas, of Illinois, by his eloquent appeals and 

 his conclusive arguments, that it was his duty 

 to bring his great abilities and his extensive in- 

 fluence to the support of the Administration and 

 the Union. The great Illinois Senator, never 

 greater than then, was won by his irresistible 

 magnetism, and rose up superior to partisanship, 

 superior to disappointment and to rivalry, and 

 took his stand with the country. " Now," said 

 Mr. Ashmun, although it was very late in the 

 night, "let us go up to the White House and 

 talk with Mr. Lincoln. I want you to say to 

 him what you have said to me, and then I 

 want the results of this night's deliberations 

 to be telegraphed to the country." That inter- 

 view at the White House between these three 

 men Lincoln, Douglas, and Ashmun wa< one 

 of the most important events of that critical 



ASIA. 



37 



time. Then and there, Mr. Douglas gave in, 

 most eloquently and vehemently, hia adhesion 

 to the Administration and the country. Mr. 

 Ashmun himself briefly epitomized the story, 

 and it went by telegraph that night all over 

 the country, to electrify and encourage every 

 one on the morrow. Mr. Ashmun retired 

 from public life soon after this event, and, 

 though his pen and voice were always at 

 his country's service in every time of danger, 

 he mingled in public affairs only on extraordi- 

 nary occasions. His health has been precari- 

 ous for some years. Few men possessed so 

 wide a range of general knowledge, or manners 

 so felicitous in its use. He was at home in 

 every department of physical science, and a 

 complete connoisseur in all art topics; yet 

 there was nothing assuming or pedantic in his 

 manner of communicating his knowledge. He 

 charmed alike the simplest and the most high- 

 ly-cultivated ijjtellects. 



ASIA. The*governrnent of Russia, during 

 the year 1870, was more intent upon consoli- 

 dating and organizing than upon enlarging its 

 conquests in Central Asia. A considerable por- 

 tion of what was formerly Independent Tar- 

 tary has now been fully reduced to the condi- 

 tion of a Russian province. 



The hopes of the establishment of closer and 

 more friendly relations between China and the 

 civilized countries of Europe and America were 

 sadly disappointed by the death of Mr. Burlin- 

 game. The Chinese Government did not find 

 one capable of carrying forward his work. On 

 the contrary, the greatest excesses were com- 

 mitted in several cities of China against for- 

 eigners, and, in particular, against the Christian 

 missionaries and institutions, and it required 

 the most earnest remonstrances on the part of 

 the European Governments, especially those of 

 France and Great; Britain, to obtain redress for 

 the outrages committed. 



Japan, on the other hand, is making steady 

 progress in civilization, and does not hesitate 

 to adopt important reforms. The year 1870 is 

 remarkable for the opening of several new 

 schools, for the laying of railroads, and the 

 appointment of ambassadors to the courts of 

 Europe. 



While Independent Tartary is becoming 

 more and more dependent upon Russia, Chi- 

 nese Toorkistan and Soongaria, which for many 

 years have been in a state of revolt against the 

 Chinese Government, are consolidating their in- 

 dependence. As early as July 13, 1869, the offi- 

 cial gazette of Peking admitted the loss of 

 Toorkistan. Mohammed Jakub Khan, Khush- 

 bejri, who bears the title Atalik Ghasi (Protector 

 of the Combatants for the Crescent), has become 

 the ruler of Cashgar and Yarkand, and sub- 

 sequently conquered Khotan, and extended his 

 power so far northward that Jli and Turumtse 

 have become tributary to him. Thus Thian- 

 shan-pelu, and the inhabited parts of Thian- 

 shan - nanlu, the so - called Alty - Shehr, are 

 lost to China and constitute an independent 



