done so, if he could have induced another first-class power to join him. In the next place, the French emperor wished to amuse the French nation with a foreign conquest which might recall the military exploits of the great Napoleon in Egypt and constitute what he expected to palm off on a too-credulous people as "the most brilliant page in the history of his reign." Again, as an outcome of his tortuous political intrigues, he desired to please the emperor of Austria by removing from Europe his rival brother, the arch-duke Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph, and placing him, as an individual whom he should himself have to support without assistance from Austria but in return could always manage as his own creature, on the throne of the new empire.

To carry out these plans, there were some delays of time and some negotiations and political manipulations necessary. The so-called Conservative party in Mexico, including the clergy which had been defeated by Juarez but was plotting for restoration, had to be induced to pronounce for an empire and offer the imperial office to the Austrian arch-duke. This, with the assistance of Miramon and others of his class, was easily accomplished; and in October, 1863, the crown, by a so-called "assembly of notables," was formally tendered and in 1864 formally accepted. The new sovereign or rather victim, thenceforth known by his second name of Maximilian, assumed the title of emperor of Mexico and forthwith began the vain and idle ceremonies of distributing titles, honors and decorations to his supporters. On the other hand he was obliged, much against his will, for the shadow of this Mexican crown of which he knew little or nothing, to relinquish his substantial right, under possible and perhaps probable contingencies, to the succession to the Austrian crown. After some further preliminaries all histrionic in character, the principal of which was a visit to Rome and the reception of the papal blessing, he embarked for America and arrived with his wife Carlota, a daughter of Belgium, at Vera Cruz on May 28, 1864.

The French forces, which had landed at Vera Cruz in 1861, had meanwhile advanced into the interior and in June, 1863, entered the capital. Constituting as they did a force of some

forty thousand men and being joined by the defeated Conservatives and the clergy, it was impossible for Juarez to make headway against them; and the constitutional president and patriot was compelled to retire to the extreme northern departments of the country; and for some years, though persistent and unyielding in his efforts for the republic, he accomplished in substance nothing, but was compelled, something like a modern Alfred, to lurk on the borders and bide his time. His condition, except for his own strength of character and indomitable will, was low enough; but it was in many respects preferable to that of his opponent Maximilian. That unfortunate dupe of presumption on his own part and fraud on that of his supporters had barely landed, and been carried under bowers of roses and triumphal arches to the capital, before he found that he had been completely deceived by his pretended friends; that he could not trust them; that he was not wanted by the Mexican nation, and in a word that his empire was a complete delusion.

Possibly with ability and management he might still have accomplished something and maintained his government; but, though not a vicious man, he was certainly a very weak and very imprudent one. Without the wisdom of appreciating his real situation and adhering to those who had placed him in his position and who alone were interested in retaining him, wicked as they were, he petulantly broke away from them and attempted the impracticable task of forming a coalition with those who were fundamentally opposed to his pretensions and even to his presence in Mexico. The result was a dismal failure; he lost the support of all parties and was left to depend almost exclusively upon the uncertain and unreliable aid of Louis Napoleon. This individual, in a comparatively short time after launching his Mexican empire, found that he had made a very great mistake; the southern Confederacy upon whose support he confidently counted had collapsed and come to an end; the United States government almost immediately afterwards, at the instance of William H. Seward, the secretary of state, in a calm and quiet but decided manner, had informed him that it could not look with indifference upon his interference with Mexico and suggested that he should withdraw his troops. The suggestion did not

need to be repeated; the Mexican empire had been and continued to be a great burden to him; it had cost vast sums; it was now certain that the Mexican people would not accept it; after the fall of secession and slavery there was no hope to maintain it; and Louis Napoleon, apparently glad of the opportunity to get out of a bad bargain and a losing enterprise, acceded to the suggestion and agreed to withdraw.

Maximilian was notified of the proposed withdrawal of the French troops and an opportunity was offered him to return to Europe, whither he had already sent Carlota to solicit aid from other sovereigns. He was also advised to abdicate; and it seems that he at one time thought of doing so. However this may have been, and whether he intended to abdicate and leave for Europe or leave for Europe without abdicating or not to do either one thing or the other, it is certain that he proceeded in October, 1866, as far towards Vera Cruz, where a vessel was waiting for him, as Orizaba. There, if he had had an intention of going further, he found that he had a new cause of indignation against the French general, François Achille Bazaine, with whom he had previously quarreled; or, possibly, he first began to realize what a sorry figure he would make if he should return to Europe; and, changing his mind, he determined to remain. Though by this time the French forces had withdrawn and the Republican forces had followed and taken possession of almost all the towns on their route, the capital and a few other cities, one of which was Querétaro, still remained in the hands of the Conservatives. With characteristic instability Maximilian now threw himself entirely and unreservedly into the hands of the church party, which he had previously treated with disdain and contempt; and, on its promise to supply money and support, he returned to the city of Mexico. A small army to replace the French was hastily collected and placed under the command of Generals Miramon, Leonardo Marquez and Tomas Mejia; and, as the now triumphant Republicans under Juarez were on every side advancing and threatening them, Maximilian and his army under Miramon and Mejia, leaving Marquez in the capital, retired to and shut themselves up in Querétaro.

In a short time afterwards, the Republicans appeared before

27 VOL. IV.

Querétaro; and, after a siege of some months, on May 15, 1867, it was taken and Maximilian and his generals Miramon and Mejia captured. They were at once subjected to trial by martial law; in a few weeks were convicted of capital offenses against the independence and sovereignty of Mexico, and sentenced to be shot. Great efforts were made by representatives of the United States, France and England to save Maximilian's life; but in vain. Juarez would undoubtedly have spared him if he could have obeyed his own feelings. But he had a duty to perform. The future of the country demanded the sacrifice, and Juarez was therefore deaf to prayers. Nor could Maximilian complain of being treated worse than he had treated many others. On October 3, 1865, he had issued an infamous edict, ordering the execution as bandits of all Republican officers who should be taken prisoners; and under it a number of brave defenders of their country were ruthlessly deprived of life. But, whatever may have been his conduct before, he manifested a courageous spirit at the last and met his fate bravely. On the morning of June 19, 1867, he with Miramon and Mejia was taken to the place of execution at Cerro de las Campanas near Querétaro and placed before a file of armed soldiers. Maximilian, who had been placed in the center, after taking leave of his companions, turned to Miramon and, saying that he deserved the place of honor, stepped aside and placed him in the middle. The fatal fire was then delivered; and Mexico so far was avenged.

The other historical event of great importance to California, which took place in 1867 and was forcibly recalled by Shaw's extraordinary resolution to acquire the northern part of Mexico, was the purchase from the Russian government of the Russian possessions in America or what has been since known as the territory of Alaska. This was consummated by a treaty of cession, signed at Washington on March 30, 1867, and proclaimed June 20, 1867. The negotiator on the part of the United States was William H. Seward, the Republican secretary of state, and the price paid was seven million two hundred thousand dollars. The territory acquired consisted of all that immense portion of the continent west of the one hundred and forty-first meridian of longitude west of Greenwich, including the

Aleutian Islands and all the coast and islands north of Queen Charlotte's Island. Its extreme length north and south is about eleven hundred miles; its greatest breadth east and west about eight hundred; its coast line, counting those of islands and inlets, nearly eight thousand miles, and its area a little over five hundred and eighty thousand square miles.

It is perhaps possible that Shaw's proposition for the United States to acquire all of Mexico north of the twenty-sixth degree of north latitude may have been intended by him as a sort of Democratic off-set to the purchase of Alaska by a Republican or Union administration. On the other hand, Shaw may have really supposed his project a wise and humane one in view of the troubles that had for so many years afflicted Mexico. But if he so thought, he certainly knew nothing of the subject which he was thus attempting so freely to deal with. Had he had any adequate conception of the struggle, which had just been brought to a successful termination, or anything like a correct idea of the character of Juarez who was then at the head of Mexican affairs, he would never have seriously thought of such a proposition as he made. But though he was seriously in ernest, and became incensed when a motion was facetiously made to refer his project to the committee on public morals, he, as before stated, failed to convince or even interest anybody else; and his resolution after several postponements died of inanition.

On December 20, 1867, Eugene Casserly was elected by the two houses of the legislature in joint convention United States senator for a full term to succeed John Conness. He was chosen as a Democrat on the third ballot, receiving sixty-nine votes as against forty-five, including a majority of the senate, thrown for Thomas A. Brown. Though this may not have been, and doubtless was not, the first senatorial election in which votes were directly purchased for money, it was the first at which charges of that kind of corruption made very much noise. On December 17, the day on which the voting commenced, William J. Shaw, the same Democratic senator who had introduced the remarkable resolution about acquiring Mexican territory, gave notice of an act to punish the offense of bribing a legislator to vote for a particular person for United States senator, with