Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 16.djvu/791

Rh M O N M O N 761 to succeed Rufus King, who had resigned. In 1804 he undertook a mission to Madrid, with the object of negotiating the purchase of the Floridas ; but in this he was unsuccessful, and returned to London in 1805. The next year he was joined in a commission with William Pinkney to negotiate a treaty with England to take the place of the Jay treaty, which expired in that year. Lords Auckland and Howick having been appointed on the part of England, a treaty was concluded on the last day of the year, which was perhaps more favourable to the United States than the Jay treaty ; but, like the latter, it contained no provision against the impressment of Ameri can seamen. For this reason President Jefferson refused to submit it to the Senate for ratification, but sent it back for revision. In the meantime Canning had become foreign secretary in place of Fox, and refused to re open the negotiation. Monroe returned to the United States in 1807, and, as in the case of his first French mission, he drew up a defence of his diplomatic conduct in England. In 1808 certain disaffected Republicans attempted to put Monroe forward as the candidate for the presidency, but as Virginia declared in favour of Madison Monroe withdrew his name. In 1810 he was again in the legislature of his native State, and the next year its governor. But in this year he was called from the state to the national councils, superseding Robert Smith as secretary of state in Madison s cabinet, and took an active part in precipitating the war against England in 1812. On the retirement of Armstrong, after the capture of Washington in 1814, Monroe assumed the duties of the war department in addition to those of the state depart ment, and by his energy and decision infused something of vigour into the conduct of the war. He was elected president in 1816, and was re-elected in 1820 without opposition. The period of his administration (1817-25) has been called &quot; the era of good feeling,&quot; for the reason that the party issues of the past were mostly dead, and new issues had not yet arisen. In the formation of his cabinet Monroe showed the soundness of his judg ment, selecting for the leading positions J. Q. Adams, J. C. Calhoun, W. H. Crawford, and William Wirt. With these able advisers he devoted himself to the economic development of the country, which had been so long retarded by foreign complications. As president, more over, he was able to accomplish in 1819 the acquisi tion of the Floridas, which as minister to Spain he had failed to do in 1804, and to define the boundary of Louis iana, which he had been the agent in purchasing in 1803. But Monroe is best known to later generations as the author of the so-called &quot; Monroe doctrine,&quot; a declaration inserted in his seventh annual message, 2d December 1823. It was the formulation of the sentiment, then beginning to prevail, that America was for Americans. One of the principles of the neutral policy of the country, which had been established with much difficulty, had been that the United States would not interfere in European politics ; and now this policy was held to include the converse as a necessary corollary that is, that Europe should not inter fere in American politics, whether in North America or South America. The occasion of proclaiming this doctrine was the rumoured intervention of the Holy Alliance to aid Spain in the reconquest of her American colonies. President Monroe believed that such a policy entered upon by the allied continental powers of Europe would be dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States ; he therefore declared that &quot;we would not view any intervention for the purpose of oppressing them (the Spanish American states) or controlling in any manner their destiny, by any European power, in any other light than as the manifesta tion of an unfriendly disposition towards the United States.&quot; This declaration, together with the known hos tility of England to such a project, was sufficient to prevent further action on the part of the Alliance. On the expiration of his presidential term Monroe re tired to Oak Hill, his residence in London county, Vir ginia ; but at the time of his death, 4th July 1831, he was residing in New York. He was married about 1786, and left two daughters. He was a man of spotless character ; and, though not possessing ability of the first order, he ranks high as a wise and prudent statesman. His Life has been written by D. C. Gilman. (r. SN.) MONROE, a city of the United States, county seat of Monroe county, Michigan, lies 32 miles south-south-west of Detroit, on both banks of the Raisin river, 3 miles inland from Lake Erie, with which it has been connected by a ship-canal since 1843. It is a station on the Canada Southern, the Flint and Pere Marquette, and the Detroit division of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Rail ways. Agricultural implement factories, a spoke and hub factory, foundries and engineering-works, carriage-works, grist-mills, paper-mills, and fruit-drying establishments are in operation. From 400 to 500 tons of grapes are shipped yearly from the neighbouring vineyards, and over 100,000 gallons of wine are made here. The population in 1880 was 4928. Settled as Frenchtown by a body of Canadians in 1784, Monroe received its present name, in honour of President Monroe, in 1817. Its city charter dates from 1837. It was the scene of the battle of the river Raisin, 22d January 1813. MONROVIA. See LIBERIA, vol. xiv. p. 508. MONS, a town of Belgium, the capital of the province of Hainault, on the rivers Haine and Trouille, and 31 miles south-west of Brussels. The population in 1880 was 25,600. Mons is divided by the river Trouille into an upper and lower town, the first built on rising ground in the shape of an amphitheatre, the second extending into the plain ; four bridges connect the two. The place is pleasing and cheerful of aspect, having broad well-paved streets and handsome squares. The fortifications, once among the strongest of the Continent, have quite recently been razed, their site being now occupied by an extensive avenue or boulevard. Among the monuments worthy of mention are the church of St Waudru, one of the best types of original architecture to be found in Belgium ; the church of St Elizabeth, a combination of the Gothic style and the Corinthian; the town-hall, erected in 1458; and the belfry tower, next to which formerly rose the old castle of the counts of Hainault, the demolition of which led, a few years ago, to the discovery of some curious mural paintings belonging to the 12th century. Mons possesses a military arsenal, a school of engineering, and a public library of importance ; the administration of law and government for the province is concentrated there. It contains manufactures of cotton, velvet, cloth, muslin, soap, and clay pipes ; also brass-foundries, tan-yards, and breweries, and a market of some note for agricultural produce, cattle, horses, and tobacco. The main source of the wealth and prosperity of Mons is derived from the collieries which exist in its vicinity, and yield annually between two and three million tons of first-class coal, the greater part of which is carried into France ; in the imme diate neighbourhood of the town are the large and important villages of Jemmapes, Quaregnon, Frameries, Paturages, Wasmes, and Dour, each with a population of from ten to twelve thousand inhabitants ; these localities, together with many others somewhat less peopled, form an agglomeration called the Borinage, rich in coal-mines, in iron-foundries, in stone and marble quarries, and may be considered as one of the busiest centres in the world. Mons is built on the site of a Roman camp erected by Julius XVI. 96