provision in the first
article. The article commenced as follows:--

"The commanders and commissioned officers of each of the two high
contracting parties, duly authorized, under the regulations and
instructions of their respective Governments, to cruise on the coasts of
Africa, of America, and of the West Indies, for the suppression of the
slave trade, shall be empowered, under the conditions, limitations, and
restrictions hereinafter specified," &c.

The Senate struck out the words "of America." This amendment the British
Government would not assent to. Thus the negotiation on the slave trade,
so near a consummation, fell to the ground.

Mr. Monroe's administration closed on the 3rd of March, 1825. It was a
period of uninterrupted prosperity to the country. Our foreign commerce,
recovering from the paralysis caused by the embargo, the non-intercourse
act, and the war, spread forth its wings and whitened every sea and ocean
on the globe. The domestic condition of the Union was thriving beyond the
precedent of many former years. Improvements in agriculture were
developed; domestic manufactures received a fair protection and
encouragement; internal improvements, gaining more and more the attention
and confidence of the people, had been prosecuted to the evident benefit
of all branches of business and enterprize.

Another characteristic of the administration of Mr. Monroe is worthy of
note. So judiciously and patriotically had he exercised the powers
entrusted to him, that he disarmed opposition. Divisions, jealousies and
contentions were destroyed, and a thorough fusion of all political parties
took place. At his re-election for the second term of the presidency,
there was no opposing candidate. There was but one party, and that was the
great party of the American people. His election was unanimous.

In all these measures, Mr. Adams was the coadjutor and confidential
adviser of Mr. Monroe. It is no derogation from the well-merited
reputation of the latter to say, that many of the most striking and
praiseworthy features of his administration were enstamped upon it by the
labor and influence of the former. His success in maturing and carrying
into execution his most popular measures must be attributed, in no small
extent, to the ability and faithfulness of his eminent Secretary of State.
And the historian may truly record that to John Quincy Adams, in an
eminent degree, belongs a portion of the honor and credit which