an increase of over 2,000,000 acres since 1850. The population of the State in 1860 was 1,350,428. It is estimated that the ninth census will show an increase of at least 28 per cent., which would make the present population 1,736,261.

Indiana is bounded on the west by Illinois and the Wabash River; on the south by Kentucky, from which it is separated by the Ohio River; on the east by Ohio, and on the north by Michigan and Lake Michigan. The surface of Indiana is mostly level and gently undulating, forming continuous slopes of great extent, which gradually sink toward the Mississippi. The most prominent elevation of land occurs along the southern end of Lake Michigan, which is about 1,000 feet above the sea level. The difference of elevation between the highest land in the State and the Ohio River is not over 600 feet, so that the average fall per mile from its northern extremity to its southern border would not be over two and a half feet. In the northern and northwestern portions of the State the lands are chiefly prairie, interspersed with groves of excellent timber. The table lands extending north of the White River bear heavy growths of various timber, such as walnut, beech, maple, oak, and ash; large prairies, some of them barren and marsh lands, present entirely different features from the more southern and southwestern portions of the State, which are very broken, rugged, and sometimes inconveniently hilly. A few miles from the Ohio there is a range of hills, running nearly parallel with it, which is noted for its commanding views and imposing scenery.

The soil of Indiana is generally of a highly fertile character. The val leys of the Ohio and the Wabash, as well as most of the other rivers, have rich alluvial bottoms, the most productive lands in the State, which yield from 100 to 125 bushels of corn per acre. Though the elevated lands are not so luxuriantly fertile as the river bottoms, yet the drift formation in the northern and central portions of the State, consisting of deposits of clay, sand, gravel, and boulders, and overlying the coal and limestone formation to a depth varying from ten to two hundred feet, supplies the soil with all the elements necessary to a high degree of fertility and durability. The soil of this State, being thus made up of a great variety of material, is exceedingly well adapted to the growth of the heaviest cereals as well as the most delicate fibers. Besides the corn crops, the bottom lands produce also good crops of wheat, which formerly, on account of the great amount of vegetable matter the soil then contained, would have been an impossibility. In the southern part of the State the vine flourishes excellently. Wine was first sucessfully manufactured in the United States at Vevay, on the Ohio, by a Swiss colony. Corn, wheat, and oats are the three staple products. The following are the aggregates of the principal crops raised for the year 1868: Corn, 90,832,000 bushels; wheat, 17,366,000; buckwheat, 370,000; oats, 11,285,000; potatoes, 3,100,000; tobacco, 7,237,000 pounds; hay, 1,280,000 tons. The average yield per acre of the above crops for 1868 was as follows: Corn, 34 bushels; wheat, 11.2; buckwheat, 19.3; oats, 26.5; potatoes, 88; tobacco, 705 pounds; hay, 1.35 ton.

The climate of Indiana possesses the general characteristics of the other Western States; the winters are somewhat severe, but healthy and invigorating, while the summers are comparatively mild, pleasant, and refreshing. There is considerable diversity of climate between the northern and southern portions of the State, which, lying between the thirty-eighth and forty second parallels, furnishes a great variety of temperatures. In the southern portion cotton may be cultivated, and wheat harvested in the month of June; on the other hand, the northern por

tion and the country of higher elevation are snow-covered frequently for three months of the year.

The Wabash, the principal river flowing into the Ohio, having a length of 600 miles, 400 of which are navigable, drains, with its tributaries, more than three-fourths of the surface of the State. The White, Tippecanoe, Eel, Mississinewa Rivers, the most important tributaries of the Wabash, originating in the interior of the State, at an elevation of about 500 feet, have a rapid descent, which is distributed along the course of the streams, thus affording an immense amount of water-power, which can readily be made available for the propulsion of machinery for manufacturing or other purposes. The other principal rivers in the State are the Maumee, Kankakee, St. Joseph, and Whitewater. Most of the principal rivers of Indiana fall into the Ohio, which borders the State on the south from the Miami to the Wabash, a distance, by the river's course, of 380 miles.

The coal district of Indiana, lying west of a line running northwardly from the northeast corner of Perry County to Burton County, embraces an area of about 7,000 square miles, or more than one-fifth part of the whole surface. The coals of Indiana are all bituminous, are divided into "dry" and "fat" coal, in consequence of the difference in the quantity of bitumen they contain. The "dry" coal, generally known as the Brazil or block coal, retains its hardness when heated, and, possessing sufficient bitumen in the form of an inflammable gaseous matter, burns until the whole is consumed. This property renders it highly valuable for smelting iron ores. It is generally found in the lower seams of the coal beds, which have a thickness of from three to five feet. On White River the seams are upward of six feet thick, and in some other localities seams of eight feet in thickness have been found. The fat bituminous coking coals swell and run together, and therefore cannot be used for smelting iron ore, but are nevertheless very valuable for steam purposes. This coal is found in great abundance within the limits of the coal district, the seams varying from one to eight feet in thickness. Geological surveys have been made in the counties of Clay, Green, Park, Fountain, Warren, Owen, Vermillion, and Franklin. These counties are very rich in their coal deposits, and accompanying the coal measures valuable deposits of iron are found. Clay County has five furnaces manufacturing bar and other rolled iron. These furnaces have their own collieries, giving employment to a great number of men engaged in mining block coal. The most valuable and extensive iron ore is found associated with the lower coal measures, and in some localities, where the seam of the coal measures thins, the iron exists in large masses from ten to twenty feet in depth, capable of furnishing a supply of ore for a large number of blast furnaces. The only thing required to insure success in this branch of industry is suitable transportation. In consequence of this want of transportation, 90 per cent. of the iron ore used by the furnaces is brought from without the State, mostly from Lake Superior and Missouri, leaving the extensive beds of iron ore but little worked.

East of the second principal meridian exists the limestone formation, which furnishes building material in the shape of clay and building stone of a variety of colors, and of great durability. On the Wabash, Flatrock, Sand Creek, Muscatack, the blue limestone of the upper silurian is found from three inches to three feet in thickness, and is admirably suited for building purposes. Other varieties of lime and sandstone occur in different portions of the State, all of which furnish the

best of building material. Large shipments are made of this building stone to St. Louis, Cincinnati, Louisville, &c.

In manufacturing facilities Indiana possesses more than ordinary advantages. The central position of the State, with her great mineral wealth of coal, her many natural means for communication, added to her internal improvements, her abundance of water-power, and the fact that iron of the best quality can be produced with block coal at a less cost than it can be made in any other part of the United States, are considerations which must bring about a rapid development of her manufacturing industry. The cotton fields of the South and the wool-growing prairies of the West, situated in close proximity to this State, will soon give it unsurpassed facilities for the manufacture of cotton and woolen fabrics.

The railroad system has been rapidly progressing; there are over 2,700 miles of railroad completed, costing more than $124,000,000, and affording the most excellent facilities for a profitable traffic. In addition to this, there are about 200 miles of railroad under construction, and about 1,000 miles have been projected. Indiana has also included within her limits 453 miles of canals, viz, the Wabash and Erie Canal, connecting Evansville with Toledo, 379 miles in length, and the Whitewater Canal, 74 miles long, connecting Cambridge with Lawrenceburg, on the Ohio. Its commercial facilities are of the first order. The Ohio, connecting the State with the Mississippi, enables it to carry on an active trade with New Orleans and the various places on the Mississippi. Lake Michigan gives it a direct navigation with New York. The exports consist chiefly of cattle, hogs, and other live stock, pork, beef, lard, corn, wheat, wool, and iron. The total valuation of real and personal property for the year 1869 is estimated at $937,201,283, currency value; cash value of farms, $535,068,262; annual productions, $164,869,460. In the number of live stock raised, the State is one of the first in the Union. The total number of live stock for 1868 was 5,732,746, representing a value of $64,147,227.

The common school system of the State has greatly improved in the last few years, and has been steadily growing both in popularity and power. In consequence of the increase of the school fund, and a wise distribution of the income, much has been done to advance the general standard of knowledge.

Indianapolis, the capital of the State, situated near its geographical center, has a population of over 50,000. It is quite a prominent railroad center, no less than seven railroads connecting it with the principal points in the United States. New Albany, Evansville, Jeffersonville, Madison, Lawrenceburg, the most prominent commercial cities on the Ohio, have populations varying from ten to twenty thousand. Terre Haute, Richmond, Cambridge, Columbus, Covington, Fort Wayne, La Fayette, some of the principal interior towns, are nearly all situated on lines of railroads and have a large trade with the surrounding country. The public land is mostly appropriated, and there remain but few tracts undisposed of. The only land office within the State for the entry of public lands is located at Indianapolis.

ILLINOIS.

One of the most populous as well as one of the most important agricultural and commercial States of the Union, embraces within its boundaries 55,410 square miles, or 55,462,400 acres. The decennial census of 1870 exhibits a population in this State of 2,567,032, which is

solde de l'étranger, menaçant les armes à la main les frontières de la patrie, elle acheva de se séparer de la nation, qui ne vit plus en elle que des ennemis et des transfuges. Par là elle exalta jusqu'à la frénésie les haines populaires; par là elle compromit la royauté qu'elle croyait servir et qu'elle abandonnait sans défense; par là elle livra aux bourreaux le roi, qu'elle ne savait protéger que par de lointaines menaces, et tous ceux des royalistes qui n'avaient pas quitté la France. Qu'il y ait eu dans les rangs de la noblesse d'innombrables exemples de dévouement et d'héroïsme, on ne saurait le nier. Ces gentilshommes que les paysans de la Vendée mirent à leur tête furent peut-être les caractères les plus purs et les plus grands de la Révolution, et sur tous les échafauds dont elle couvrit la France, il n'a pas coulé de sang plus généreux que celui de la noblesse. L'émigration elle-même entraina une foule d'hommes dévoués qui croyaient sincèrement servir le roi et la France, et ce sont bien des gens de cœur, de vrais et dignes chevaliers qui dorment autour de Sombreuil dans les champs voisins de Quiberon. A Dieu ne plaise que j'afflige leur mémoire, que j'ai été accoutumé à chérir d'une affection presque filiale! Alors la mêlée était engagée de telle sorte que les crimes les plus monstrueux prétendaient s'excuser par le danger de la patrie, et que sous le glaive des proscriptions, les citoyens les plus recommandables croyaient pouvoir attendre leur salut et celui même du pays de l'intervention étrangère. Il en a été ainsi dans tous les temps de révolution : au XVIe siècle, les huguenots appelaient les Anglais et les Allemands à leur secours, tandis que la Ligue acceptait celui des Espagnols; et nos démocrates d'aujourd'hui, si chatouilleux sur le point d'honneur national, si violents dans leurs anathèmes contre l'émigration, ne cessent de prêcher une sorte de ligue ou de croisade des peuples contre les rois, c'est-à-dire l'intervention étrangère partout où elle favoriserait leurs desseins. Ne poussons pas le sentiment patriotique jusqu'à l'idolâtrie; si sacré qu'il soft, le cœur de l'homme en renferme de plus puissants et de plus sacrés encore. Il y a d'ailleurs tant de diversités dans les points de vue ! Le fils le plus respectueux peut s'aider d'un étranger pour contenir sa mère dans un accès de démence furieuse c'est ce que pensaient faire les émigrés sans pour cela manquer à leur amour pour la France.

Ne calomnions donc pas des intentions qui furent loyales et des infortunes courageusement supportées. Mais si l'histoire doit indul

TIM

gence et parfois admiration aux actes des individus, elle ne doit que la vérité au rôle public de toute une classe de citoyens; et elle peut dire que par son opposition aveugle aux réclamations les mieux fondées de l'opinion, par son obstination dans des préjugés séculaires, par ses fautes successives, et surtout par son intraitable orgueil, la noblesse française a précipité la Révolution, et se l'est rendue irréconciliable.

Aussi, la Révolution a cruellement assouvi sa vengeance, et dans le traité de paix dont elle a dicté presque toutes les stipulations, dans cette Charte où elle a rendu à la royauté tant d'avantages, c'est à peine si un dédaigneux article, confondant l'illustration des plus vieilles souches historiques avec le blason moderne des parvenus de l'Empire, a permis de reprendre ou de conserver de vains titres auxquels n'est plus attachée aucune prérogative. Tout ce qui tendait à reconstituer une noblesse, le droit d'aînesse, les majorats, les substitutions, a été repoussé de la législation ou bien vite effacé; la pairie elle-même a été contrainte de faire à la démocratie triomphante l'humiliant sacrifice de son hérédité, et pour compléter l'œuvre de destruction, on est allé jusqu'à abroger la loi qui interdisait l'usurpation des titres, les estimant de trop peu de valeur pour qu'il fût de la dignité du législateur de les protéger. L'institution de la noblesse, qui est presque contemporaine du monde, et que l'histoire nous montre sous diverses formes dans toutes les sociétés, est donc complétement bannie de la nôtre. Cette exclusion est-elle définitive? Un grand peuple peut-il, sans inconvénients graves, se passer longtemps d'une classe constituée par l'hérédité, gardienne des traditions, et qui serve de contre-poids aux agitations aventureuses de la démocratie? Sans prétendre trancher cette question, qui préoccupe des esprits élevés, il est permis d'affirmer que dans l'état de nos mœurs et de nos opinions, elle n'a d'intérêt que pour l'avenir, et que toute tentative de reconstruction rencontrerait quant à présent d'invincibles résistances. Nous sommes trop voisins de la lutte, et la haine des vainqueurs fume encore. Il faut surtout que la noblesse en soit bien persuadée; car cette noblesse, abolie par les lois, n'est pas détruite. Malgré les massacres, les proscriptions, les spoliations, elle subsiste, enracinée au sol, dont elle possède la plus grande partie; elle excite la jalousie des uns, elle inspire le respect aux autres, et en dépit des lois qui l'annulent, elle conserve une valeur d'opinion dont té