New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-01-18

lie was now approaching the period of the
| Revolution in his work. and his residence in Lon
| don as the American Minister gave him great
| facilities for the prosecution of his task. The
! Earl of Aberdeen, Viscount PalmerstOn Earl
! Grey and the Duke of Newcastle aided him in OBJ
! tanning access 10 the Government archives. The
| State Paper Office, with its vast array Of civil
! and military correspondence, was opened 10 him.
| Lord John Russell admitted him to the records Of
! the Treasury, including its minutes and letter
boots, and in re British Museum and in tie col
lcctons of private families among the nobility he
| found stores of information. Among the private
papers TO which he had access those Of Earl
| Chatham, the Earl Of Shelburnc the Duke of
Grafton and the Earl of Dartmouth, and several
hundred notes that passed between George the
Third and Lord North. lie carried similar
researches in PARIS, with the aid of Gu2ot. De
| TocGuevie, Mignet and Lamartinc While at
! the Court of St James he secured the adoption
of navigation laws more favorable 10 American
commerce. and also compelled the British Govern
ment to release certain IriShmcn who had been
arrested and who claimed the. protection of the
United States Government naturaZed citizens.
lie received the degree Of ID. c. l.. from Oxford,
an honor then still more rarely conferred upon
Americans, however distinguished, than at the
present day After three years in England he re-
tNFnCu 10 lnlS country, lOOh up HIS ItsI"cHOt III
Ncw-York and prepared the fourth and fifth vol
umes of his history, which were published in
1852 The sixth volume was published in S54.
the seventh four years later and the eighth soon
followed lie became president of the American
Geographical Society and also of the Ncwiorll
Historical Society.
HIS EULOGY OF LINCOLN.
In 1865 MIR Bancroft delivered the address
at the reception of Lincoln's body in New
York on its long funeral march T. Spring
field Ill., and in the following year, hy invitation,
lie delivered before Congress cu'o-y of Lincoln
which ranks with his other historical writings.
The structures in this address upon the course OF
ENGLAND during the Civil War created some cX-
element The English newspapers were much
incensed. II was understood AT the time that the
British Minister. who was present. bad received
friendly intimation from Mir. Bancroft IN al
vance that this passage in tie address might nov
he pleasing TO him. In the same year. s6G-the
ninth volume of the history was published. In
My. 1867, Mr. Bancroft was appointed Minister
to Prussia and lie held the place for seven years,
being accredited 10 the North German Confcdcra'
ton in 1s6S and in ISL 10 the German Empire.
The chief diplomatic event of his service in Ger
many was the conclusion of wha' is still
known as the Bancroft Treaty, by which
the German Government was brought TO
acknowledge the changed allegiance of German
subjects who had become natural7ed as American
citizens His lahOrs in securing IN" arbitration
by the Emperor Of Germany by which the bound
arv line between Vancouver'S Island and Wash
inrton Territory WAS established through ilaro
Channel were especially recognized by President
| Grant in his Message Of 1872. Mr. Bancroft was
| a member of the Cabinet al the date Of the treaty
! which gave rise to the dispute and was Minister
to Great Britain when the construction against
which the Emperor decided was first advanced.
and 20 was peculiarly qualified 10 urge the views
of this Government before tho umpire. These
interesting facts were noted in the Message, which
commended him for his patriotic zeal and earnest
| ness" and said that he entitled TO much
| credit" for the success achieved During his STAY
| in Germany he received the honorary degree of
Doctor of Laws from the University of Bonn at
| its semi-centennal Jubilee his name standing ncN'
In the list TO that Of the King, and in company
with scholars like Ferdinand Grimm, Charles Oar
win. John Stuart Mill and Frederick Muller
In 1870 he celebrated the ffieth anniversary OF
receiving his first degree at Gottngcn. He was
congratulated on this occasion 10y many German
! societies and universities, and by many distIn-
enshcd men in different countries. lie returned
TO America in 1874 and prepared his tenth and
last volume for the press The Great work was
COMPLETED in tine for the author to issue revised
edition in 1876 known rs the Centennial edition.
! He made Washington his winter residence. pass
/ ing his summers at Newport as before. lie turned
| his back upon New-NOrk, saying il was an en-
campment of dollar hunters, with few scholars.
! He gave a remarkable proof Of his intellectual
| and physical vitality by issuing n brilliant Work
| in TWO volumes. somewhat in the nature Of a sup
PIGMENT to his history upon the formation oi the
Constitution of the United States. This was in
..Irttt q
age The last revised edition Of tne whole work
appeared in six volumes Il SS4-s3).
HIGH RANK OF HIS HISTORY.
IT. is in his history, Of course, that Mr.. Ban
crofts name will live This work has held, and
will continue to hold high place not only IN
American literature but in that of the world,
as its authority is recognized every
where, and it he READ III many
languages Its great merit is that II is III reality
ophica discussion of the causes that worked
out the changes in the early history of the coun-
! try and not ii mere narrative. While II Is crowded
with incident and great skill is shown In the
picturesque massing of details gathered from widely
different sources Ito chief function IS 10 trace the
development Of underlying principles and ideas that
moved men and made events. The mann idea oi
the history is the development OF the principle OF
human liberty, showing that the American people
became free from the necessity OF the human con
stItutiOn. The history OF America Is Ihc history
Of liberty" The style is neutrality-suspicious.
50 much 50 as TO be almost hbored-but IT. is
| diguiied and is adorned with passages OF mucn
DDptica beauty. The work Il Il monument oil
! patient research ard invcst CATION, and In us
| later editions, of patient revision also The Cen
tennial tditsn already referred 10 was a reNlsl0n'
and in parts "A condensation Of the original work,
| bringing its price down u more popular hguIc.
But still the author not SATISFIED, ana l.! lSS%
was issued the first vOum" of second revision, OF
| which fine author said in the preface that II must
| be the last. 4 single fact in connection WIN thiS
revision illus rates Mr. Bbnorofts trcicSN industry
and stern scli-udgmcnt Inc whole subject OF
| ImGi,n cthnology had been revealed within the
preceding fifteen o. twenty years. Nhe he wrote
| his history almost nothing was known OF me man
i l.. LIZ. Ii