ASPINWALL, WILLIAM H. 



insults of the foreign population and even of 

 foreign embassadors. Difficulties between the 

 Chinese and British Governments led to the 

 presentation of a British ultimatum. (See 

 CHINA.) 



The attention of Japan is chiefly directed to 

 the introduction of a constitution, and con- 

 siderable progress was made in this direction 

 during the past year. The endeavors of the 

 Government to learn from the great civilized 

 nations of the present age are zealously con- 

 tinued, and the work of reform is steadily going 

 forward. (See JAPAN.) 



The Government of Holland has not yet suc- 

 ceeded in completing the subjection of Acheen. 

 The military operations during the year 1875 

 have never exceeded the proportion of skir- 

 mishes, and the Dutch troops appear not to have 

 always been victorious. No effort has been 

 made to strike a decisive blow. (See NETHER- 

 LANDS.) 



Afghanistan continues to be in a very disor- 

 ganized condition. The Amir, Shere Ali, is un- 

 able to enforce his authority against rebellious 

 chieftains, and is maintained on the throne 

 only by the mutual jealousies of Eussia and 

 Great Britain. (See AFGHANISTAN.) 



The Government of Persia still promises, but 

 fails to execute, the reforms which were ex- 

 pected from the visit of the Shah- to Europe. 

 The hopes for a better future still rest on an 

 unsafe basis. (See PERSIA.) 



In regard to Kashgar, England pursues the 

 policy to prevent at all hazards the establish- 

 ment of a Eussian protectorate in Eastern 

 Toorkistan. It appears to be satisfied with 

 the result of its diplomatic movements, for the 

 ruler of Kashgar is generally believed to be 

 more friendly to English than to Eussian pol- 

 icy. (See KASHGAR.) 



ASPINWALL, WILLIAM H., an eminent 

 merchant of New York City, was born in New 

 York, December 16, 1807, and died there, Jan- 

 uary 18, 1875. Being a nephew of Gardner 

 and Samuel Howland, he was at an early age 

 taken into their house as clerk, and in 1832 

 he became partner in the firm. In 1850 he 

 left the active management of the affairs of the 

 firm in order to embark in the enterprise of 

 building and managing the Panama Eailroad, 

 for which he formed a partnership with his 

 brother, Mr. J. Lloyd Aspinwall, and Mr. Sam- 

 uel W. Comstock. The business afterward 

 became more banking than mercantile in char- 

 acter. The founding of the Panama Eailroad 

 and the Pacific Mail Steamship Company were 

 the master-efforts of Mr. Aspinwall's life. The 

 Isthmus of Darien was for many years a bar- 

 rier to commerce seriously felt. The necessity 

 of breaking it down seemed imperative ; yet, 

 from the magnitude of the undertaking, it was 

 deemed almost impossible. England and 

 France had entertained the project, but the 

 wellnigh impenetrable condition of the isth- 

 mus defied skill and physical endurance. The 

 war with Mexico, which added California to 



the United States, finally turned the attention 

 of Americans to the enterprise. Congress, in 

 1850, in order to render California more ac- 

 cessible to immigrants, authorized contracts to 

 be entered into for the establishment of two 

 mail lines of steamships, the one from New 

 York and New Orleans to Chagres, and the 

 other to connect with this, by the isthmus, 

 from Panama to California. The inducements 

 did not attract capitalists, and the contracts 

 were purchased by persons who for a long 

 time unsuccessfully offered them for sale. 

 Finally, William H. Aspinwall secured the line 

 on the Pacific side, and George Law that on 

 the Atlantic. The latter contract was consid- 

 ered a safe one, but the Pacific contract, it was 

 thought, would certainly sink a large amount 

 of money, with little prospect of remunera- 

 tion, and there was general surprise that a 

 man so sound in business judgment as Mr. As- 

 pinwall should have engaged in it. But it was 

 soon perceived that this was only a portion of 

 the stupendous plan which he had laid out, 

 the other part being the building of a railway 

 across the Isthmus of Darien. With Henry 

 Chauncey and John L. Stephens, Mr. Aspin- 

 wall entered into a contract with the Govern- 

 ment of New Granada for the construction of 

 the work. Mr. Stephens, who had had exten- 

 sive experience in the country, made with an 

 engineer an exploration of the route, and de- 

 cided that the plan was entirely feasible. At 

 this time (the Litter part of 1848), the discov- 

 ery of gold in California, with its accompany- 

 ing tide of immigration, changed the prospects 

 of the road, and it promised immediate returns. 

 A charter was granted by the Legislature of 

 New York for the formation of a stock com- 

 pany, under which $1,000,000 of stock was 

 taken, the original grantees transferring their 

 contract into the hands of the company. John 

 L. Stephens was elected president of the com- 

 pany. Early in 1849 a contract was entered 

 into with George M. Totten and John C. 

 Trautwine for the construction of the road. 

 With a small party, these engineers began in 

 May, 1850, the great work at Manzanilla Isl- 

 and, on Navy Bay, which was to be the At- 

 lantic terminus of the road. The work con- 

 tinued for two years amid great discourage- 

 ments. Up to 1851 the settlement about the 

 terminus at Navy Bay had no distinctive name, 

 and it was in that year proposed, by Mr. 

 Stephens, that it should commemorate the 

 services of the originator of the road. Ac- 

 cordingly, on February 2, 1852, the place was 

 formally named Aspinwall. The road was 

 formally opened to the city of Panama on 

 February 17, 1855, being forty-nine miles in 

 length, though cars were run, as the road ad- 

 vanced, from December, 1852. The returns of 

 the road over the running expenses for the 

 seven years ending in 1859 were $5,971,728.66. 

 In 1847 Arnold Harris was awarded a con- 

 tract by the United States for a monthly mail 

 service on the Pacific Ocean, but, on account 



