Ohio was represented in the lower house of congress in 1839, and on the thirtieth of June, 1840, when the Independent Treasury bill became a law, by Alexander Duncan, John B. Weller, Patrick G. Goode, Thomas Corwin, Jeremiah Morrow, William Doane, Calvary Morris, William Key Bond, Joseph Ridgway, William Medill, Samson Mason, Isaac Parrish, Jonathan Taylor, Daniel P. Leadbetter, George Sweney, John W. Allen, Joshua R. Giddings, John Hastings, David Starkweather and Henry Swearengen.

A majority of Ohio's members in the Twenty-fifth congress were opposed to the bill to organize the sub-treasury, and a majority in the Twenty-sixth favored it. Ohio apparently changed position several times on the sub-treasury question while it was pending in congress. General Joseph Vance, a Whig, was governor of Ohio in 1837-38. In October, 1838, he was superseded by Wilson Shannon, a Democrat, who himself was defeated at the state election in October, 1840, by Thomas Corwin, a Whig, which was followed in November of the same year by casting the vote of the state by a large majority for General William H. Harrison for President of the United States.

That Ohio was rather inclined to "change front" frequently on the subtreasury question is further corroborated by the fact that the Whigs had control of the legislature in 1837-38, the Democrats in 1838-39, and the Whigs again in 184041; and the Democrats were again successful in 1842.

historical, literary and philosophical so-* ciety, became one of its members, attended some of its meetings and became personally acquainted with many of its members; gentlemen they were for the most part, of literary and scholarly attainments

heard some of their addresses read, their lectures delivered, and became somewhat familiar, and have remained so since, with whatever productions of a literary, historical and philosophical character the above-named society had then issued, and also as well as with those subsequently published.

The Philosophical and Historical Society of Ohio was incorporated in 1831, and organized in December of said year. Fifty years ago the institution, as it then existed, was in its palmy days. It was an instrumentality that then was and through many subsequent years continued to be, as it had been in previous years, a valuable and convenient agency or medium for keeping up communion and an interchange of views on current topics of interest between the historians, literarians, philosophers and scientists, as well as statesmen of Ohio.

Judge Benjamin Tappan of Steubenville, who was a member of the state senate of Ohio as early as 1803, was the first president of this society, elected in 1832, and delivered the first annual address before the members in December, 1832, to their very general acceptance; and there were but few if any of its members more capable of imparting information or instruction to his fellow-members than the honored president of the society, Judge

a paper to the society, and they adopted it by publication as a portion of its literature, at the annual meeting held at Columbus in 1836. The author of this address, Judge Nye, was an early settler of Ohio, and identified with the legislation of the state many years before this time, both as senator and representative, and with the judiciary of the state in after years.

Judge Jacob Burnet of Cincinnati became president of the society in 1838. He wrote a series of seven letters or papers of a historical nature for the society which were published, and probably made him the largest contributor to its literature, as he was one of its most honored members. His letters bore date in 1837-38. Judge Burnet was a New Jerseyman, settled in Cincinnati in 1796, and soon acquired an excellent reputation as a lawyer, served three years as a member of the territorial council, some years as a member of the state legislature, was supreme judge, and in 1828-31 served as United States senator.

General William H. Harrison wrote one of the most elaborate papers ever read before the society. It was written about half a century ago, under the title of "The Aborigines of the Valley of the Ohio." It occupied fifty pages of a volume of the society's publications. General William H. Harrison first identified himself with the "territory northwest of the River Ohio" as an aid to the commander-inchief in the Northwestern army, commanded by General Anthony Wayne, in 1793-4. He was afterwards secretary in 1798-99; in 1800 delegate to congress

Timothy Walker, an eminent lawyer, member of the Cincinnati bar, delivered the annual discourse before the society in December, 1837 ; and James H. Perkins, esq., of Cincinnati, also delivered an address to the society near the close of the same year, to which I listened with much pleasure.

General James T. Worthington, a son of one of the early-time governors of Ohio, on the night of the twenty-second of December, 1837, read an essay to the Historical and Philosophical Society of Ohio on "The Origin and Progress of Political Communities," which I distinctly remember hearing read, although it was an event that transpired in "Ohio fifty years ago."

Honorable Thomas Ewing of Lancaster was probably Ohio's most distinguished lawyer and statesman "fifty years ago." He had served a full term in the United States senate, commencing March 4, 1831, and ending on March 4, 1837. An address, in pamphlet form, delivered by him some time after the close of his senatorial term, as included between the above dates, came under my eye, as did also one in pamphlet form delivered by his immediate successor in the United

States senate, Colonel William Allen, before the Calliopean Society of the Granville college, now Denison university, late in 1836.

As Ohio literary pointers fifty years ago, permit me to mention other addresses in pamphlet form delivered by Ohio men fifty years ago or more. I recall one by John H. James, a state senator, which was read before the Historical and Philosophical society on the twenty-fifth of December, 1835, containing strictures on the prevailing systems of education.

Another was an address delivered before the graduates of the Union Literary Society of Miami university, in 1837, by Samuel Galloway, afterwards secretary of state and a member of congress.

Still another I recall, delivered as an introductory lecture at the Willoughby university in October, 1837, by Ralph Granger, esq.

I name another, that of William Johnston, delivered at Columbus, February, 1838, a few months more than fifty years ago! The author (Mr. Johnston) was then a member of the legislature from Carroll county, and afterwards became a judge.

A pamphlet appeared in Ohio, almost a half century ago, which carried on its title page a no less responsible and influential name than that of John McLean, a judge of the supreme court of the United States, being a "charge" delivered by him to the grand jury of the United States circuit court at a term of said court held in 1838, being an admonition to our northern border patriots to refrain from all officious intermeddling with Canadian affairs, and especially not to emancipate the oppressed

patriots of Canada until they manifest an unmistakable desire for outside sympathy and kind offices, in that regard, from the Ohio side of Lake Erie !

Dr. S. P. Hildreth of Marietta wrote a paper for the society in 1835, which was subsequently published as a pamphlet.

Mr. John W. Van Cleve, a historian of Dayton, wrote the next paper for the Historical and Philosophical society, and this was succeeded by one of a historical character by a member of the society from Washington county.

The next paper was written by Mr. James McBride, an early settler in the Great Miami valley, an author and an archæologist, and he soon followed it up with an elaborate paper on the ancient fortifications, embankments and moundbuilders' works generally, in Butler county, Ohio, which took the form of a pamphlet, fifty years ago.

To the era of half a century ago belong three very important and valuable Ohio pamphlets, whose authors were Rev. Lyman Beecher, D. D., Honorable Thomas S. Grimke, LL. D., and Dr. Daniel Drake. Dr. Beecher was president of Lane seminary in Cincinnati; Mr. Grimke was a South Carolina philanthropist and scholar, but died in Ohio; and Dr. Drake was an eminent physician in Cincinnati for a half century, and was most of that time connected with medical colleges in Cincinnati and elsewhere, and engaged many years as editor of medical journals and also in authorship generally. In 1834 an address that he delivered at the forty-fifth anniversary of the first settlement of Cincinnati appeared in pamphlet form and is now before me. He was also the author

of an address delivered at the Miami university near the date of the one above named. It also appeared in pamphlet form and had an extensive circulation in Ohio about the period or era above mentioned. He was very entertaining and scholarly-instructive as a platform lecturer and effective as a writer. I heard an address delivered in the hall of the house of representatives, at Columbus, by Dr. Daniel Drake, late in December, 1837, but do not remember now whether it was by invitation of the Ohio Historical and Philosophical society, or in answer to a call from the legislature, which was then in session, or in response to the citizens generally. Members from those classes were present, but I do not know that this address appeared in pamphlet form.

But there is now before me an address in pamphlet form, delivered in the Medical College of Ohio, on chemistry and geology, in 1838, by Professor John Locke, M. D., who was a scholarly gentleman and of acknowledged scientific attainments. He was a professor in the Medical College of Ohio, and afterwards a state geologist. A eulogy on Harvey D. Little, delivered at Columbus by Warren Jenkins in 1833, and a college address delivered in 1836 by Rev. L. L. Hamline (afterwards Bishop Hamline), are now under my eye, both pamphlets bearing date more than half a century ago!

Reference might be appropriately made in this connection to the board of geologists of Ohio of 1837, and to their reports as contributions to the literature of our

state half a century ago. The board was composed for that year of Principal W. W. Mather, Dr. S. P. Hildreth, Dr. Jared P.

Kirtland, Professor C. Briggs, jr., and Colonel Charles Whittlesey, topographical surveyor.

The writer hereof had some acquaintance with members of three generations of descendants of Governor St. Clair, more than half a century ago, and being also somewhat acquainted that long ago with Judge Burnet, and having had opportunities of conversation with him, hour after hour, while he was engaged in writing his letters to the Historical and Philosophical society, he being then its president, I found him communicative and entertaining in conversing about Governor St. Clair's administration of affairs in the Northwest territory, which was also the subject of his letters to the society. Judge Burnet, as a member of the territorial council and personally, had been a very warm friend of the governor, made himself a very affable and attractive conversationalist to me.

My acquaintance, though limited and brief in some cases, extends into the past full fifty years, with Judge Tappan, Thomas Ewing, William Allen, Judge McLean, General Harrison, Thomas Corwin, William Stanbery, Governors Lucas, Vance, Medill, Bartley, Shannon, and other oldtime statesmen, judges, legislators, politicians and fellow-members during the first decade of the Ohio Historical and Philosophical society; and other pioneer acquaintances of the long ago, seem to af ford the writer some justification for drawing upon his memory while preparing a magazine article like the present.

The writer witnessed some oratorical displays fity years ago, more or less, on the part of nearly all the above named

gentlemen, having heard Thomas Ewing and William Stanbery at the bar as early as 1830; General William H. Harrison on the stump in 1836; Colonel William Allen on the stump also in 1837; William Medill and Alfred Kelley in the legislative halls in the same year, and Wilson Shannon and John Brough in 1838.

I close by asking, by way of remembrance of a friend of half a century ago, the re-publication of a little specimen of Ohio early-time poetical literature—a gem of Ohio poetry-written in Ohio by an Ohio poet, by one that was a native and to the manor born"—and was written just fifty years ago! It has a history, very brief, and I will give it as briefly, and ask you to make the poem the closing pages of this, a semi-centennial paper, on Ohio semi-centennial history!

Otway Curry, one of the earliest of Ohioborn poets, was elected in 1837 a member of the Ohio legislature by the counties of Marion, Crawford and Union. Dr. Stephen Fowler was his colleague.

While quietly occupying his seat one day, in temper most genial, as Christmas was approaching, an inspiration came upon him, while his thoughts might have been on "affairs of state intent;" he was in truth wooing the Muses and destined soon to come under the influence of the sacred nine, a condition into which he was quite liable to fall, and when thus poetically overcome would soon be soaring among the

stars.

Before adjournment for the day my poetical friend brought to me for friendly criticism the "Armies of the Eve," as the product of his day's wooing of the Muses, just before Christmas, fifty years ago!

THE ARMIES OF THE EVE.

Not in the golden morning,

Shall faded forms return, For languidly and dimly then The lights of memory burn:

Nor when the noon unfoldeth

Its sunny light and smile, For these unto their bright repose The wondering spirit wile:

But when the stars are wending
Their radiant way on high,
And gentle winds are whispering back
The music of the sky-

Oh, then those starry millions

Their streaming banners weave, To marshal on their wildering way The Armies of the Eve:

The dim and shadowy armies
Of our unquiet dreams,
Whose footsteps brush the feathery fern,
And print the sleeping streams.

We meet them in the calmness

Of high and holier climes; We greet them with the blessed names Of old and happier times.

And marching in the starlight
Above the sleeping dust,
They freshen all the fountain springs,
Of our undying trust.

Around our every pathway,

In beauteous ranks they roam, To guide us to the dreamy rest Of our eternal home.

Anterior to the earlier years of the semicentennial epoch (1837-87), which is the subject of this paper, it was the writer's pleasure to send his youthful magazine contributions to the Western Monthly Magazine, published and edited by Judge James Hall in Cincinnati, Ohio, and now while near the end of the closing year of said semi-centennial epoch, it is his pleasure to select, by your leave, the MAGAZINE OF WESTERN HISTORY as the medium through which to communicate with the reading public.

ISAAC SMUCKER.