poses itself; and that way, too, the road happens actually to lead. You cross the Potomac above the junction; pass along its side through the base of the mountain for three miles, its terrible precipices hanging in fragments over you; and, within about twenty miles, reach Fredericktown, and the fine country round it. This scene is worth a voyage across the Atlantic; yet here, as in the neighbourhood of the Natural Bridge, are people who have passed their lives within half-a-dozen miles, and have never been to survey these monuments of a war between rivers and mountains, which must have shaken the earth itself to its centre."

The products of the soil are wheat, Indian corn, rye, oats, buck-wheat, flax, hemp, &c. The timbers are-white and black oaks, hickory, locust, poplar, pine, chestnut, cherry, walnut, &c. Fruits of all kinds grow in great abundance; many of them wild, such as apples, pears, plums, cherries, mulberries, &c. The whortleberries, strawberries, raspberries, grapes, &c., grow wild and in great abundance. The farms are under a high state of cultivation, and the people are comparatively wealthy.

Virginia is called the mother of presidents; having furnished, of her native sons, Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Harrison, Tyler, and Taylor. Upon its escutcheon are inscribed the most brilliant orators and statesmen of America.

In the preceding we have briefly described the early history of Virginia, its topographical features, and its productions. We will now add a few remarks respecting its government. Virginia was the first republic of the world.

"It was composed of separate boroughs, diffused over an extensive surface, where the government was organised on the principles of universal suffrage. All freemen, without exception, were entitled to vote." It continued, however, loyal to the British crown, until the people felt oppressed by severe legislation. This colony was among the foremost to rebel and resist British authority, and was the first state that organised an independent sovereignty -a constitutional government.

On the 12th of June, 1776, a convention of delegates adopted a constitution, organising a government which was, and has been, a model for the other and succeeding states. In 1829, and again in 1850, conventions assembled to revise the organic instrument of the state; the first readopted it, but the latter added to it a few alterations. The first part of the instrument contains a declaration of rights, such as―"That all power is vested in, and consequently derived from, the people; that magistrates are their trustees and servants, and at all times amenable to them." The preamble recites the causes that impelled Virginia to separate from the British dominion. The powers of government are to be exercised by three departments-the legislative, executive, and judiciary. Every white male citizen, over twenty-one years of age, is a voter; the legislature is called the General Assembly, and is divided into two branches-the senate and house of delegates; the former consisting of fifty members, and the latter of 152, elected by the people biennially, each from a given district apportioned according to population. The general assembly meets once in every two years,

and can continue in session ninety days, but not longer, without the concurrence of three-fifths of all the members elected to each house.

The chief executive power of the state is vested in a governor, whose term of office is four years. He is elected by the people. A lieutenant-governor is elected at the same time, who is the president of the senate; and in case of death, or removal of the governor, the duties of the executive devolve upon him. The judiciary department consists of a Supreme Court of Appeals, district courts, and circuit courts; and the state is divided into twenty-one judicial circuits, ten districts, and five sections. In each circuit a judge is elected, for the term of eight years, b, the voters thereof. A circuit court is held, at least twice a year, by the judge of each circuit; and a district court is held, at least once a year, in every district, by the judges of the circuits constituting the section, and the judge of the Supreme Court of Appeals for the section of which the district forms a part; any three of whom may hold a court. The Court of Appeals is composed of five judges, one for each section, elected by the voters of the respective sections. The term of the supreme judges is twelve years. This court has appellate jurisdiction only, except in cases of habeas corpus, mandamus, and prohibition.

NEW YORK.

Verrazzani, the Florentine navigator, it is believed, landed upon the American coast, within the present state of New York, in the year 1524. In 1609, the English navigator, Henry Hudson, in the service of

the Dutch, entered the harbour of New York; and he ascended the beautiful river that bears his name, as far up as where Albany is situated. Some four years subsequently, a trading station and a fort were established at Fort Orange, on the banks of the Hudson, where Albany is situated. About the same time, New Amsterdam (now New York) was established on the south-west point of Manhattan Island. A fort and trading station were erected; and the fur business was carried on under a patent, procured from the Dutch states-general. These settlements were considered as forming a colony, and was styled New Netherlands. In 1625, Peter Minuet was created the first governor of New Netherlands. At that time successful efforts were made to extend the settlements by emigration. In 1647, Peter Stuyvesant arrived at Fort Amsterdam, as governor. The present New York was then called New Amsterdam. Stuyvesant was a man well fitted for the station to which he had been appointed. He had much experience as an executive, and his administration was efficient. He laid claim to all the lands between Cape Henlopen and Cape Cod. The right of the Dutch to these lands was subsequently disputed by the English; and, through an arbitration, considerably reduced in extent. Charles II., king of England, disregarded the claims of the Dutch to New Netherlands; and, in 1664, granted to his brother, the Duke of York and Albany, all the mainland of New England, from the St. Croix to the Connecticut and Hudson rivers, " together with the said river, called Hudson River; and all the lands from the west side of Connecticut River to the east

side of Delaware Bay." This grant included all of the present state of New Jersey. At this time, the settlement on Manhattan Island was changed, in name, from New Amsterdam to New York, in honour of the Duke of York. There were about 3,000 inhabitants: many of them, on account of the change in proprietorship, returned to Holland. Colonel Nichols was the deputy-governor; and, through his efforts, many English emigrants were induced to join the new colony. Difficulties then arose between the Dutch and the English, and they continued for some years; but they were ultimately settled by the Dutch separating themselves, and fixing their homes at other places upon the Hudson river. The English, a more commercial people, held to New York. About 1678, the province of New York contained twenty-four towns, villages, and parishes. The annals of New York, as a province, abound with incidents of great interest: it increased in wealth and inhabitants to an extraordinary degree; and it soon became imperial as to population and wealth.

During the century preceding the war of 1775, New York had to contend with great difficulties. The French and Indian wars required her fullest energies of defence. Besides these, the government was in a continual contest with respect to her boundaries. The present state of Vermont was claimed by New York and New Hampshire; and both states pressed their titles to the same domain. The question was finally settled by the organisation of a new state in 1791. The territory between the Hudson river and the Delaware bay, became the state of New Jersey. After the relinquishment of its title to Vermont,

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