of Virginia. He published a pamphlet containing a review of Judge Story's work on the Constitution of the United States, and contributed many articles to the newspapers on the topics of the day. On the reorganization of the judicial system of Virginia, under the new Constitution, he was reappointed, April 18, 1831, to a seat on the bench of the General Court, and was assigned to the third judicial circuit. This office he continued to fill until the 13th of September, 1841, when he was appointed by President Tyler, Secretary of the Navy. On the 24th of July, 1843, he was transferred, under the same administration, to the office of Secretary of State, which station he held at the time of his death.

April 23. At Vicksburg, Miss., Maj. B. Vick, aged 83, a native of Virginia, who removed to Mississippi in 1807.

June 8. At Geneseo, N. Y., Hon. James Wadsworth, aged 76, a distinguished and wealthy citizen of the western part of New York. He was a native of Durham, Ct., and graduated at Yale College, in 1787. In company with his brother, he purchased a large tract of land on the Genesee River, about the close of the last century. The rise in value of this property made him very rich, and he made a generous use of his large fortune in promoting the diffusion of knowledge and encouraging science. He established and endowed the first Normal school in the State, and assisted in perfecting the system of common school libraries. He was in every respect the architect of his own fortune and fame, and the reputation and influence which he enjoyed were fairly earned, and wisely and generously used.

Jan. 22. In Boston, Ms., William Whitaker, Esq., aged 56, a member of the Massachusetts Senate from the Franklin district, a man of high character and honorable feelings.

July 10.At Elizabethtown, N. J., Hon. Isaac H. Williamson, aged 67. He was Governor and Chancellor of the State from 1817 to 1829. After 1829, he retired from public life, except in 1844, when he was called to preside over the convention that revised the constitution of New Jersey. He was an able jurist, an excellent public officer, and as a citizen, highly respected and beloved.

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July 22. In Washington, D. C., Tully R. Wise, Esq., first Auditor of the Treasury, aged 47.

May 11. In Miami, Ohio, Dr. Stephen Wood, aged 82. He was the last survivor of the band of pioneers who were associated with John Cleves Symmes in the settlement of North Bend, in 1789, and at the period of his death had resided longer in the State, probably, than any individual living.

CHRONICLE OF EVENTS.

1843.

July 31. The Sandwich Islands, a surrender of which to the British crown had been effected a few months before by the violent proceedings of Lord G. Paulet, were ceded back to their native Prince by Rear Admiral Thomas.

Aug. 26. The U. S. steam frigate Missouri, Captain John T. Newton, while lying at anchor in the Bay of Gibraltar, took fire, and was entirely destroyed, the officers and crew being saved.

Sept. 15. A revolution took place in Greece, the troops at Athens revolting, and, under the command of Col. Calergis, assisted by the people, compelling King Otho to dismiss his ministers, and accept a constitutional form of government.

Sept. 15. A hurricane did great injury to the towns of Port Leon and St. Marks in Florida, nearly every building in them being prostrated, and, in the former, 14 lives were lost.

Sept. 19.

A dreadful accident occurred on board the steamboat Clipper, at Bayou Sara, Louisiana, from the bursting of her boiler, by which about 20 persons were killed, and many others seriously wounded. Oct. 14. A check was put on the progress of "Irish Agitation" by the arrest of Mr. Daniel O'Connell and his son, on a charge of "conspirracy and other misdemeanors." They were held to bail in the sum of £2,000.

Oct. 24.- A very destructive fire occurred at Canton, China, by which more than 1,400 houses were burnt, including the Danish Factory, Turner's Factory, and part of the French Factory.

Nov. 9. A French squadron, under the command of Admiral Du Petit Thouars, took possession by force of the Society Islands, deposing the native sovereign, Queen Pomare. The transaction was afterwards disavowed by the French government, and the sovereignty restored to the native princess.

Dec. 24. A fearful crime was committed on Staten Island, N. Y., the house of Capt. Houseman being broken open and pillaged, his wife and infant child murdered, and the house set on fire.

Dec. 31. Amasa Sprague, Esq., a very respectable merchant of Crans

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ton, R. I., was murdered on his own farm, in the day time, by some persons unknown.

1844.

Jan. 4. The steamboat Shepherdess, in ascending the Mississippi, a little below St. Louis, struck a snag and was lost, twenty or thirty of the passengers being drowned.

Jan. 14. A convention was ratified between the authorities of Yucatan and Mexico, by which peace was declared, and the former country again annexed to the latter.

Jan. 25. A disgraceful affray took place in the hall of the House of Representatives, at Washington. Mr. Weller, a member from Ohio, attacked Mr. Shriver, a correspondent of one of the newspapers, and gave him a severe beating.

Feb. 3. Continued cold weather, throughout the northern part of the United States, closed up most of the harbors with ice, and obstructed the passage of the mails for more than a week. Long Island Sound was frozen over a few miles above New York, and at Boston, a canal, seven miles long, was cut through the ice, to allow the English steamer to go

out to sea.

Feb. 12.

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After a protracted trial at Dublin, Daniel O'Connell, and the other persons indicted for conspiracy with him, were found guilty. Feb. 16.- A duel was fought near Washington, D. C., between Mr. Julian May and Mr. Joseph Cochrane, with rifles, and at the first fire, the latter was shot though the head, and survived but a few hours.

Feb. 21. The poor-house at Nantucket took fire in the night, and ten of the inmates perished in the flames.

Feb. 28. - A terrible accident occurred on board the U. S. steamer Princeton, Capt. Stockton, during an excursion on the Potomac, a large party of distinguished persons being on board. One of the very large guns, made of wrought iron, under the superintendence of Capt. Stockton, on being fired the third time, burst, and the explosion instantly killed Mr. Upshur, Secretary of State, Mr. Gilmer, Secretary of the Navy, Com. Kennon, chief of one of one of the naval bureaus, Virgil Maxcy, Esq., recently Chargé d'Affaires to the Hague, Hon. David Gardiner, of New York, and two or three domestics, besides wounding ten or twelve of the crew. The President of the United States, the other members of the Cabinet, and many ladies were on board, all of whom fortunately escaped without injury.

March 1.-The steamers De Soto and Buckeye ran against each other on the Mississippi river, and the latter almost immediately sunk, by which accident more than 60 persons were drowned.

March 3. A destructive fire occurred at Manchester, England, by

which a large block of warehouses was destroyed, and a loss incurred of over £100,000.

March 30. The General Assembly of Rhode Island made a formal protest against the right of Congress to interfere with the domestic affairs of that State, by inquiring into the manner in which the present government of it was established.

March 31.- - A frightful accident occurred at Felantix, in the Balearic Islands. A crowd of people were assembled in an old cemetery to hear a sermon, when an old wall adjoining the place of assembly, suddenly fell down, and killed nearly four hundred persons.

April 12. A treaty of annexation between the United States and Texas was signed by President Tyler, and it was announced that it would soon be sent for confirmation to the Senate of the United States.

April 23. A personal encounter took place in the House of Representatives of the United States, between two of the members, Mr. White, of Kentucky, and Mr. Rathbun, of New York; rough words passed, which were followed with blows. Another person, named Moore, not a member, attempting to interfere, and being repulsed, fired a pistol at the member who thrust him back, and the ball seriously wounded one of the officers of the House.

April 29. The tax bill, which had passed in both branches of the Pennsylvania legislature, received the signature of the Governor, and became a law. Its effect is to raise money enough to pay the interest on the public debt, and restore the credit of the State.

May 1. - A convention of the Whig party assembled at Baltimore, and nominated Henry Clay for President, and Theodore Frelinghuysen for Vice President of the United States. It was supposed that 50,000 persons were present on the occasion.

May 4. A serious accident occurred on the Philadelphia and Baltimore Railroad, near Havre de Grace. Two trains proceeding in opposite directions came in contact, and three or four persons were killed, and about a dozen wounded.

May 6-8.- Fearful riots took place in Philadelphia, and continued for three days, growing out of a quarrel between the Native American party and the Irish residents of the city. Thirty dwelling houses, a seminary, and three churches were burned, fire-arms were used, and fourteen persons were killed, and about forty wounded. The disturbances were at last put down by the military.

May 17. A schooner was upset in Chesapeake Bay, and two men and five women were drowned, only the master, Wm. Flowers, and his brother, escaping with their lives.

May 18. - Great freshets took place on the Arkansas and Red rivers, by which some lives were lost, and much property destroyed.

May 18. A great fire took place in New Orleans, La., by which about

200 buildings were burnt, and property to the amount of a quarter of a million of dollars destroyed.

May 27-29.- A convention of the Democratic party was held at Baltimore, Md., when James K. Polk of Tennessee, was nominated for President of the United States, and George M. Dallas of Pennsylvania, for Vice President.

May 30. Daniel O'Connell was sentenced at Dublin to 12 months imprisonment, a fine of £2,000, and to give security in the sum of £5,000 for his good behavior for seven years. The persons convicted with him were sentenced to 9 months imprisonment, and a fine of £50 each.

June 8. The treaty for the annexation of Texas to the United States was rejected by the U. S. Senate, by a vote of 35 to 16.

June 11.- The Eastern Harbor Bill, which had been passed by both Houses of Congress, was returned with President Tyler's objections, and being sustained only by a vote of 103 to 84, not two thirds, was lost.

June 17.- Congress adjourned, after a session of six months and a half, having passed 66 public laws, 102 private acts, and 20 joint resolutions. June 18. Great floods about this time in the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, making them overflow their banks and do great damage.

June 25. A destructive fire broke out in Groton street, Boston, by which about 20 buildings were burned, and property to the amount of $100,000 destroyed.

June 27. Joe Smith, the Mormon prophet, and his brother Hiram, who had been arrested by Gov. Ford, and were in jail at Carthage, Ill., were murdered by a mob of a hundred persons in disguise, who broke into the prison.

July 7.. - A renewal of the disgraceful riots at Philadelphia, attended with great excitement and loss of life. A battle was fought between the mob and the military, musketry and artillery being used on both sides, and forty or fifty persons were killed or wounded. A military force of 5,000 men was assembled under the orders of the Governor, and the disturbances were at last quelled.

July 25. Mehemet Ali abdicated the sovereign power of Egypt, în favor of his son, Prince Ibrahim, and left the country on a pilgrimage to Mecca. He changed his mind, however, and returned to Cairo and to the government, after an absence of only four days.

July 26. An attempt was made to assassinate the King of Prussia by a man named Tscheck, supposed to be insane, who fired two pistol shots into the royal carriage, neither of which took effect.

July 27. A destructive fire at Brooklyn, N. Y., by which twenty-six houses were burned, and property to the amount of $100,000 destroyed. Aug. 6. - Another Prince was born to the royal family of England, being the second son and the fourth child of the present Queen, and her consort Prince Albert.