The Irish standard., 1895-12-28
/ Z
5 ! 4 ,s.,s = 1

and against the irnpressnent Of seamen
i'm the nlids 0f these negotiations he was
directed to proceed to Iailrid as minister
sBxtraordinery ana plenipo tentiary to ad-
Just the c6HtroEersy between the United
States and Spain in relation to the bouil
diaries Of the new purchase of Louisiana.
/ In this, he tailed. and in 1906 was recalled
to England to act, with. Mr.. Pinckney in
further negot iations for the protection OF
neutral rights. On the last day Of that
4 year a treaty was concluded, but on ac-
count of the omission Of any provision
against the impressment of sealnen and
its ambiguity in relation to other vital
points the President sent it back fol-. re-
vision ,t,s .ts.gs:5 -.
All efforts to effect the changes failed
and Monroe returned to America. AS the
time was approaching for the election OF
a President q considerable body OF the
republicans brought Monroe's name for
ward, but the preference Of Jefferson for
Madison was we'll known. 4 This led 70 a
correspondents on the subject between
the President and Mr.. Monroe, who in
terpreted the preference as the result OF
feeling over the failure. OF the English
treaty. Jefferson convinced him, howeT-
er, that he was influenced by no other
consideration than party interests, and
that he preferred Madison only because
tiesVast majority Of the altlfedeTaifsts
were of the same mind. Thereupon Mon
roe withdrew from the contest, and in
1910 he was again elected to the general
assembly Of Virginia, the following year
he was recalled to the office OF governor,
and Immediately after was appointed
secretary Of state in the cabinet OF Presi-
dent Madison.
4 After the capture of Washington. in
1914 The functions OF the war department
: were added to his duties. The treasury
was exhausted and the public credit at
it's lowest ebb, but he set about the task
of infusing order and efficiency into the
departments under his charge, proposed
an Increase Of the army to the extent of
10000 men, and recomme conscrip-
lions to accomplish the result. In order
that the defenses at New Orleans might
be made more secure he pledged his pri-
vate means as subsidiary to the credit Of
the government, which enabled the city
10 successfully oppose the forces Of the
enemy. He became the confidential adj
wiser OF President Madison in the meas
ures for the establishment OF the pub
lie credit and the regulation Of the for
e,gn relations of the United States, and
continued to serve as secretary of state
until the close Of the administration, IN
1917, when he succeeded 70 the presi
deDcy by an electoral vote of 1873 out OF a
total of PIT, as the candidate of the demo
cratic party. 49,
Soon after his Inauguration President
Monroe made tour through the middle
and eastern states, during which he
thoroughly inspected the arsenais, naval
depots, fortifcations and garrisons, re-
Viewed military companies, corrected public,
abuses and studied the capabilities OF the
country with reference to future bostili-
ties. On this tour he wore the undress
uniform OF IA continental officer. From
every point OF view tine Journey was aus
picious. Parity lines seemed about to
disappear and the country to return to
It's past state of union and fraternity. The.
President was free in his assurances of a
strong desire on his part that such should
be the case; the course OF the admlnistra-
ton was in conformity with the assisr-
ances and received the support Of an oE~
erwhelming majority Of the people. Most
uf the Presdent's recommendations were
approved by congress, and what has since
been known as "the era Of good feeling
set in. .e =. 49,. -
Among the important events Of this pc
Rod were the admission into the union
$of the states OF Mississippi, Illinois and
Maine In 1918 a. treaty was concluded
between the United States and Great
Britain In relation to the Newfoundland
fisheries. the restoration of slaves and
other subjects; and in 1919 Spain coded
to the United States her possessions in.
east and west Florida, With the adjacent
islands. In 1920 Monroe was reelected
President by the unprecedented majority
OF 221 out of 232 electoral votes.
In 1921 Missouri was admitted to the
union on the famous compromise, which
prohibited slavery north OF the parallel
Of So degrees and 80 minutes In 1922 the
Independence of Mexico was recognized,
and the international policy over which
the present contention between England
and the United States is predjcated was
promulgated in his message of Dec. 2,
1928 and has ever since been known as
the, Monroe doctrine
On March 4, 1925, James Monroe re-
tired from Office and returned to his resi-
ilence at Oak Hill, Loudoun County Viz
gir.ia. where he Was SOON after chosen
Justice OF the peace. and as such, sat III
The county court. In 1929 he became q
member of the convention to revise the
constitution of Virginia, and presided ov-
pr. the deliberations of that body until
the impairment OF his health compelled
him to resign his seat in the convention
and return to his home. Pecuniary en-
harrasslnent supplemented bodily infirIn-
ity at this period of life, and in his old
age he was greatly harassed by debt. His
wife died in 1880, and in the summer Of
that year he took up his residence with
his son-in-law Samuel L. Gouverneur in
New York City, where he died July 4,
1881. In 1858 his remains were removed
with great ponap to Richmond, Va, and
.reinterred in the Hollywood cemetery
there On July s. ~r, ~s7 -!
James Monroe held the reins OF gov
er1mnellt at an important period, and adj
ministered it with discretion, ability and
patriotism. He went further than any Of
his predecessors in developing the re-
sources OF the country, and seems o have
had q, better conception OF the future than
any of his contemporaries. This fact is
proved alike in his PRONUNCIATION of the
two important ideas referred to in this
sketch, the investment in congress OF the
right to regulate commerce between the
states and the so-called Monroe doc
trine," now under consideration every
where. He encouraged the army, in
creased the navy, improved. the national
defenses, protected commerce and in
f,,eo7 1ri,r,,. o,,,J ,fH al; IN