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early youth his father moved to New York. He was a graduate of Union College. He taught school for a time, and from 1860 to 1863 he was engineer-in-chief on Governor Morgan's staff and after 1852 inspector-general as well. From 1871 to 1878 he was Collector of the Port of New York. In 1880 he was elected Vice-President of the United States under Garfield, and on the death of the latter in September, 1881, he became President. He was a Republican. During his administration the famous Star Route Trials took place. Although mistrusted by a portion of the country on first assuming the office, he disappointed his enemies. by acquitting himself creditably. He was a member of the Stalwart faction of the Republican party before his accession to the Presidency. He died in New York City on November 18, 1886.

Ashburton Treaty, The, was drawn up by Lord Ashburton, Commissioner from Great Britain, and Daniel Webster, Secretary of State under Tyler. It was signed at Washington, August 9, 1842, ratified by the Senate on the 20th of the same month, and proclaimed by the President on the 10th of the following November. Besides settling the northeast boundary (which see), it provided that the United States should make common cause with Great Britain in suppressing the slave trade, and also provided for the extradition of persons charged with certain crimes.

Ask Nothing but What is Right, Submit to Nothing Wrong. This was Andrew Jackson's conception of what our foreign policy should be, as embodied in instructions to our ministers abroad.

Assay Offices are establishments maintained by the Government in which gold and silver bullion may be deposited by citizens, they receiving its value, less charges in return. There are five, namely: at New York City, Boisé City, Idaho; Helena, Montana; Charlotte, North Carolina; St. Louis, Missouri. The total of their operations for the year ending July 1, 1887, was 4,483,651,897 standard ounces of gold, and 45,921,882,657 standard ounces of silver.

Assembly. (See Legislature.)

Assembly, Right of.-The right of the people peaceably to assemble for discussion and mutual support in lawful actions is implied in the republican form of Government. The first amendment to the Constitution protects the right of assembly and petition for a redress of grievances, so far as the National Government is concerned. The State constitutions generally, if not always, protect the right, so far as it comes within their scope. But the right of the people to assemble to discuss matters of a public or private nature is to be distinguished from the assembly with intent to commit violence on persons or property, to resist the execution of the laws, to disturb the public order or for the perpetration of acts creating public terror or alarm. Such unlawful assemblies are not protected by State or National Constitutions.

Assessments, Political. (See Civil Service Reform.) Associated Youth was a name given in 1798 to associations of young Federalists, who drew up addresses in favor of the Federalist party and its principles, and in other ways supported and aided it. They were largely instrumental in spreading the custom of wearing black cockades.

Asylum of the Oppressed of Every Nation.— This phrase is used in the Democratic National Platform of 1856, referring to the United States.

Athens of America, or Modern Athens.-A name by which Boston, Massachusetts, is sometimes known in recognition of its intellectual character.

Atherton Gag Laws. (See Gag Laws.)
Atherton Resolutions. (See Gag Laws.)

Attainder is the extinction of civil rights and privileges in an individual, and the forfeiture of his property to the government. In England, under the common law, it followed as a matter of course on a conviction and sentence to death for treason, and to some extent on sentence for other crimes. A Bill of Attainder is a legislative conviction of crime, with a sentence of death. The accused may or may not be given a trial. Foreign governments have employed this method of disposing of

political offenders without giving them the opportunity of a regular judicial trial. The crime against which Bills of Attainder are usually directed is treason. Attainder following on sentence of death for treason formerly worked forfeiture of the condemned person's estate to the government, and by corruption of blood, as it is called, prevented his heirs from inheriting. Legislative convictions which impose punishments less than death are called Bills of Pains and Penalties; they are included in the meaning of the words, "Bill of Attainder," used in the Constitution of the United States. That document prohibits the passage of Bills of Attainder by Congress or any State (Article 1, section 9, clause 3), and further provides, concerning judicial convictions of treason (Article 3, section 3, clause 2), that "no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood or forfeiture except during the life of the person attainted." The Supreme Court has decided unconstitutional, as coming within the prohibitions of the Constitution, an act of Congress aimed at those who had engaged on the Confederate side in the Civil War, requiring all persons to take an oath negativing any such disloyal action before they should be allowed to practice in the United States Courts. (See Treason.) Attorney General of the United States. (See Justice, Department of.)

Bachelor President.-James Buchanan was the only unmarried President of the United States, and was consequently called as above. President Cleveland was at the time of his inauguration unmarried, but he married during his term of office, June 2, 1886.

Balance of Trade of a country is the difference in value between its exports and its imports. The notion long prevailed that an excess of exports over imports was desirable, and this led to such a balance being termed a balance in favor of the country, while a balance of imports over exports was considered unfavorable or against it. This notion was based on the mistaken idea that the balance of trade must be settled by imports or exports of specie, the importation of which was regarded as desirable. This view has, however, been entirely dis

carded by political economists. It is now known that in healthy and profitable trade imports must of necessity exceed exports. A given quantity of merchandise exported from a country must, in order to yield a profit, be sold in a foreign market at a price which includes cost, insurance and freight to the foreign market and reasonable profit to the merchants; if this increased sum be invested in merchandise to be returned to the original country its value there must of necessity be greater than that of the exported articles. Not that transactions can be thus traced except in isolated cases; we may indeed assume a case of exports exclusively to England and of imports exclusively from France, the trade between. these countries equalizing the transaction; for bills of exchange and the other instruments of commerce render very simple in practice even the cases most difficult to trace in theory; the desire for gain leads every article to find the market in which it is most valuable; in this sense gold and silver are articles of commerce, and they will not be exported unless their value in the other country is greater than at home.

Ballot is any vote taken in such manner as to keep secret the choice of each individual voting; it is distinguished from the viva voce or open vote. In most of the States vote by ballot is an old custom in popular elections. In many States it was made obligatory by constitutions adopted in 1776. In New York it came into partial use in 1778, and after 1787 it was universally adopted there. Many of the Southern States voted openly, but in all States except Kentucky this has been superseded by the ballot; but even in that State the vote for members of the House of Representatives must be by ballot in accordance with Federal laws. In eleven of the States provisions in the constitution prescribe the open vote for all proceedings of the Legislature. Where there is no such provision the House may determine for itself its method of voting.

Ballot-Box Stuffing is a method of election fraud and consists in arranging several ballots so as to appear as but one, thus enabling an individual to cast several votes.

Bank Notes are obligations issued by a bank, by which it binds itself to pay a certain specified sum to the bearer on demand. These notes will be taken wherever the standing of the bank is known. Our National bank notes are taken everywhere because protected by government bonds deposited with the Treasurer of the United States. Long experience has shown banks what percentage of the amount of bank notes issued must be kept on hand in actual specie to meet all demands likely to be made on that score.

Bank of North America was the name of the first bank of a national character incorporated in this country. It had a charter for ten years from 1781 from the Confederation, but doubts as to its legality lead the bank to seek and obtain a charter from the State of Pennsylvania in 1783. In 1785 this latter charter was revoked, but in 1787 it was renewed. It was located at Philadelphia.

Bank of the United States.-There have, in the history of this country, been two such banks, the first from 1791 to 1811, the second from 1816 to 1836. The incorporation of the first of these was a part of Hamilton's financial scheme, and it aroused great opposition. Jefferson, Madison and others that subsequently formed and became the leaders of the Republican party were foremost in the opposition, which was based on the lack of power on the part of Congress to charter any such institution. The attitude of public men on this measure was among the first indications of the direction in which party lines would tend. Jefferson and the future Republicans demanded a strict construction of the Constitution, and denied the grant of any such power to Congress in that instrument. Hamilton maintained that the right to charter a corporation was one of the inherent privileges of a sovereign power, that the Federal government was a sovereign power, and need not therefore have such authority specifically granted, and that the step was "within the sphere of the specified powers" of the government enumerated by the Constitution. The bill incorporating the bank became

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