28 



AMERICA. 



soon attracted public attention. He shortly 

 after became the Democratic candidate for Con- 

 gress in a strong opposition district, and had 

 an ex - Governor for a competitor. He was 

 elected by one majority, and was the youngest 

 member in the House of the Twenty -third 

 Congress. At the next election Mr. Allen was 

 defeated by a small majority, but obtained fif- 

 teen hundred more votes than the rest of the 

 ticket. In 1837, when only thirty-one years 

 of age, he was elected to the United States 

 Senate and took his seat March 4th, where he 

 became a leader. Just before the expiration 

 of his term he went directly before the people 

 of Ohio as a candidate for reelection. The re- 

 sult was that the Democrats had a handsome 

 majority in the Legislature, and Mr. Allen was 

 reflected without opposition. In the Demo- 

 cratic National Convention of 1848, which met 

 in Baltimore, so bitter was the contest between 

 the friends of Cass and Van Buren, the leading 

 candidates, that, to prevent a division, a com- 

 mittee, composed of men from both factions, 

 waited on Senator Allen in "Washington and 

 urged him to accept the nomination for the 

 Presidency ; but he persistently refused to 

 allow his name to be used, taking the ground 

 that, as he had been an earnest advocate of 

 Cass's nomination, to accept a nomination 

 himself would be a betrayal of his friend. He 

 afterward made a canvass of New York and 

 Pennsylvania in favor of Mr. Cass. Mr. Allen 

 then retired from public life, from which he 

 did not emerge again until 1873, when he ran 

 as the Democratic candidate for Governor of 

 Ohio, and was elected by about 1,000 majori- 

 ty, his associates on the State ticket all suffer- 

 ing defeat. Mr. Allen was again the Demo- 

 cratic nominee for Governor in 1875, but after 

 a vigorous contest was defeated by General 

 Rutherford B. Hayes, who was in the next 

 year the Republican Presidential candidate. 

 Thus closed his political career. He continued 

 in excellent health until the morning of July 

 10th, when he complained of being unwell, but 

 did not regard his illness of sufficient importance 

 to receive attention until the afternoon. At 

 six o'clock he retired to bed, and was up and 

 down several times during the night. His son- 

 in-law and daughter sat up in an adjoining 

 room. A little before one o'clock she was 

 startled by seeing her father arise from the 

 bed, stagger to a chair, and fall into it. Be- 

 fore they could reach him he was dead. His 

 death was instantaneous. 



AMERICA. The prominent change in the 

 administration of affairs in the Dominion of 

 Canada during the year has been the adoption 

 of a system of high protection for home man- 

 ufactures. It remains to be seen whether this 

 policy, to which the Canadians have commit- 

 ted themselves almost irrevocably, may not 

 prove too burdensome to a people so largely 

 engaged in agricultural and similar pursuits. 

 The general depression of trade had, however, 

 disposed them to welcome any innovation in 



their commercial policy, and the large increase 

 in imports from the United States during sev- 

 eral years, with a decrease from Great Britain, 

 had awakened discontent in all classes. A con- 

 stitutional question arose out of the dismis- 

 sal of Lieutenant-General Letellier of Quebec, 

 which became complicated by later events un- 

 til it involved the Dominion Government, the 

 Governor, and the British Government in a 

 controversy. (See DOMINION OF CANADA.) The 

 extension of railway communications has been 

 one of the prominent Canadian questions of 

 late years, and especially the construction of 

 the Pacific Railroad. During the year a sec- 

 tion from Lake Superior to the Province of 

 Manitoba, about 185 miles in length, has been 

 put under contract, and the line has been ex- 

 tended west of the Red River to a point south 

 of Lake Manitoba. The work is also connected 

 at St. Vincent with the system of the North- 

 western States. 



In the United States, the 1st of January, 

 1879, was fixed for the resumption of specie 

 payments by the Federal Government at its 

 place of deposits in New York City. This 

 seems to have taken place without producing 

 the slightest unfavorable impression. The 

 enormous exportation and diminished impor- 

 tation of the previous year still continued, and 

 soon enlivened the stagnant trade that had 

 prevailed during the larger part of 1878. The 

 consequence has been a state of remarkable 

 and increasing prosperity during 1879. 



The political affairs of the country have been 

 quiet. The only agitation was that produced 

 in Congress by the efforts of the majority to 

 remove from the statutes every appearance of 

 authority for military interference at the elec- 

 tions, while the President vetoed all such bills, 

 although they contained the appropriations ne- 

 cessary for the expenses of the Government. 

 In this conflict between the legislative and 

 the executive departments no conclusion was 

 reached. 



The results of the State elections were gen- 

 erally in favor of the Republicans, although 

 the total vote was somewhat reduced. The 

 elections attracted much interest, as they were 

 held in some of the large States, which occupy 

 an important position in a close Presidential 

 election, such as is anticipated in 1880. 



Some disturbances occurred with roving 

 bands of Indians on the frontier, by which a 

 few lives were lost on each side. The hostile 

 condition was promptly suppressed, and peace 

 has uniformly prevailed throughout the coun- 

 try. 



In Mexico and the Central American States 

 no event of political importance transpired dur- 

 ing the year. In the first-named country, dem- 

 onstrations hostile to the Diaz Administration 

 were for a time apprehended ; but, with con- 

 tinued tranquillity, confidence was restored, in 

 the belief that no change would take place in 

 the existing order of things before the elections 

 for a new President in 1880. 



