PREFACE. THIS little volume has its origin in a belief that, at the present time, when the condition of the American Republic is creating such intense interest, some account of the Slavery Question, which has led to the great events going on there, and of the Parliament of the Union, might be welcome to English readers. To these I have added a few sketches of various points of interest that have come under my notice in North America. Our American friends need not be surprised that British writers should mark particularly those points in which we may suppose that their institutions are not working satisfactorily. We have a tendency in the same direction; and it is very important for us to gather any indications we can of where that direction leads. There are spots on the sun; and there is so much genius, greatness, and goodness in the people of the United States, that they can well afford to admit a few defects mingling with these. Desirous of avoiding exaggeration or misrepre |