26 PALMERSTON PALMETTO the house of commons censured his China pol- icy, but, the house having been dissolved, the new elections were in his favor. The defeat of the " conspiracy to murder bill," intro- duced with reference to the attempt of Or- sini against Napoleon III., in February, 1858, occasioned his retirement. In June, 1859, he was once more premier, and held the post till his death. In 1861 he was appointed lord warden of the cinque ports, and governor of Dover castle. In 1862 he received the degree of D. C. L. from Oxford, and was elected lord rector of the university of Glasgow. He mar- ried the widow of Earl Oowper in 1839, but the union was without issue, and the title is extinct. He was buried in Westminster abbey, Oct. 27, 1865. A bronze statue of him was unveiled at Eomsey in 1868, and another in Parliament square, London, in 1874. Politi- cally, from his accession to office in the whig ministry in 1830 till his death, he was a promi- nent leader of the liberal party. He had pre- viously supported Catholic emancipation. He was opposed to the settlement with the United States of the N". E. boundary, and stigmatized the treaty as the " Ashburton capitulation." In 1845 he declared in favor of the absolute re- peal of the corn laws, though previously he was for a fixed duty for revenue. As minister of foreign affairs he directed the diplomacy of the country in many difficult and delicate questions, such as the troubles in Portugal, the Swiss troubles, the revolutionary movements of 1848, the Greek imbroglio (1847-'50), the Hungarian war and the protection of the refugee chiefs, and in securing the recognition of Napoleon III. and the subsequent coalition with France. Personally he was a man of extraordinary ac- tivity of mind and body, indefatigable in busi- ness, fond of the pleasures of society, and of great culture. He preserved his health and strength almost to the close of his life. His last illness resulted from exposure to sudden cold weather, and was brief and nearly pain- less. His views and opinions are to be found in detail in parliamentary reports and in his occasional addresses. Multitudes of disserta- tions on the foreign policy of Lord Palmers- ton have been published, among the chief of which are the publications and speeches of David Urquhart accusing him of being se- cretly in the service of Russia and of betraying the interests of England in the eastern ques- tion, and Count Ficquelmont's Lord Palmers- ton, V Angleterre et le continent (1852). More elaborate works are : " Opinions and Policy of the Right Hon. Viscount Palmerston as Min- ister, Diplomatist, and Statesman, with a Me- moir by G. H. Francis" (1852), made up chiefly of extracts from his speeches ; " Thirty Years of Foreign Policy, a History of the Secretary- ships of the Earl of Aberdeen and Lord Pal- merston" (1855) ; and " Life of Viscount Pal- merston, with selections from his Diaries and Correspondence," by Henry Lytton Bulwer (3 vols., 1870-74). PALMETTO, the common name of the four species of palm indigenous to the United States, belonging to two genera of the tribe coryphi- nece. (See PALM.) The largest species is the tall palmetto or cabbage palmetto, sabal pal- metto ; the meaning of the generic name does not seem to be understood. This grows from 20 to 50 ft. high and 12 to 15 in. in diameter ; it is found along the coast from North Carolina to Florida, not far from salt water ; its leaves are from 5 to 8 ft. long, fan-shaped, recurved at the summit, and usually shorter than the smooth concave petiole ; the divisions are deep- ly cleft with thread-like filaments among the divisions ; the flowers are perfect, followed by a small black drupe, less than half an inch in Cabbage Palmetto (Sabal palmetto). diameter. This tree is the emblem of the state of South Carolina. Its principal use is in the construction of wharves, for which in south- ern waters it is superior to all other wood, as it resists the attacks of the ship worm (teredo navalis), which so soon riddles and renders useless piles of other material ; the logs do not splinter, and have been employed in the con- struction of forts, such as that on Sullivan's island. As with many other palms, the bud of this is eaten, and is by some highly esteem- ed, while others do not regard it as desirable where other vegetables can be obtained ; how- ever great a delicacy it may be, it should only be indulged in when the tree is felled for its timber, as the removal of the " cabbage " causes the death of the tree ; palm wine or toddy has
