Semien. South Africa June 4, 1842 – In South Africa, hunter Dick King rides into a British military base in Grahamstown to warn that the Boers have besieged Durban (he had left 11 days earlier). The British army dispatches a relief force. December 13, 1843 – Basutoland becomes a British protectorate. Morocco August 14, 1844 – Abdelkader El Djezairi is defeated at Isly in Morocco; the sultan of Morocco soon repudiates his ally. Liberia July 26, 1847 – Liberia gains independence. January 3, 1848 – Joseph Jenkins Roberts is sworn in as the first president of the independent African Republic of Liberia. North America Canada In the prior decade, the desire for responsible government resulted in the abortive Rebellions of 1837–1838. The Durham Report subsequently recommended responsible government and the assimilation of French Canadians into English culture. The Act of Union 1840 merged the Canadas into a united Province of Canada and responsible government was established for all British North American provinces by 1849. The signing of the Oregon Treaty by Britain and the United States in 1846 ended the Oregon boundary dispute, extending the border westward along the 49th parallel. This paved the way for British colonies on Vancouver Island (1849) and in British Columbia (1858). March 11, 1848 – Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine and Robert Baldwin became the first Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada to be democratically elected under a system of responsible government. April 25, 1849 – James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin, the Governor General of Canada, signs the Rebellion Losses Bill, outraging Montreal's English population and triggering the Montreal Riots. United States January 18, 1840 – The Electro-Magnetic and Mechanics Intelligencer was the first newspaper in American that used electricity for power of the press to print it. February 18, 1841 – The first ongoing filibuster in the United States Senate begins and lasts until March 11. August 16, 1841 – U.S. President John Tyler vetoes a bill which called for the re-establishment of the Second Bank of the United States. Enraged Whig Party members riot outside the White House in the most violent demonstration on White House grounds in U.S. history. March – Commonwealth v. Hunt: the Massachusetts Supreme Court makes strikes and unions legal in the United States. May 19, 1842 – Dorr Rebellion: Militiamen supporting Thomas Wilson Dorr attack the arsenal in Providence, Rhode Island, but are repulsed. January 23, 1845 –