e House of Re

A.

t of the

November

. B

gree of unanimity prevailed, not only in the legislature, but among the people of Texas

ith Mexico seem now happily overcome by the wisdom of Congress. Within that territory there already exists one State, respectable for the amount of her population, distinguished for singular activity and enterprise, and remarkable in many respects from

well as for the proper government of these so distant parts of the country. But the same legislative wisdom which has triumphed over the principal difficulties and accomplished the main end may safely be relied on for whatever measures may yet be foun

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ptember last, were submitted the questions proposed therein, relative to the expediency and necessity of creating additional grades of commissioned officers in the Army and of ena

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eir resolution of the 26th instant, a report from

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se of Repr

orm this work; consequently, I employed Benjamin F. Hall, esq., a counselor at law, on the 9th day of September last, to execute it, and requested him to commence it immediately. I informed him that I was not authorized to give any other assurances as to compensation than that it rested with Congress to provide and fix it. I believ

, with a letter from Mr. Hall to me indicating the mode in which he thinks the work should be

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bject of the discipline of the Navy, suggesting such amendments of the law as may be necessary in consequenc

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N, Januar

epresentatives of

mand among officers of the Army and officers of the Navy, respectively, and of relative rank between officers of the Army and Navy when brought into cooperation, I caused to be convened a

t copies of them, together with bills drafted substantially in accor

that it should be settled by legislative authority and with as

rank between officers of the Army and Navy are not esteemed of very great practical import

ate rank, precedence, and command in the Army and Navy as separate branches of service may receive the san

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retary of State, with accompanying papers,4 in

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of State, with accompanying documents,5 in answe

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the 25th day of November last by Mr. A. Dudley Mann on the part of the United States and by Messrs. Druey and Frey-Hérosée on the part of the Swiss Confederation. I com

pecial attention to the first and fifth articles. These articles appear to contain provisions quit

f the first article

treated in each State upon the same footing and upon the same conditions as ci

ot supposed to be a power properly to be exercised by the President and Senate in concluding and ratifying a treaty with a foreign state. The authority naturally belongs to the State within whose limits the land may lie. The naturalization of foreigners is provided for by the laws of the United States, in pur

s, and alienate personal and real estate, and the fifth article grants them the power of disposing of their real estate, which, perhaps, would

ourth clause. An amendment similar to the last here suggested was made by the Senate in the convention between the United States a

ion, arising from the last clause in the f

oyment of the privileges guaranteed by the present article in the Swiss Cantons. But said Cantons are not pr

ent of privileges guaranteed by the first article, although the Cantons themselves are not prohibite

ligious beliefs. Any benefit or privilege conferred by law or treaty on one must be common to all, and we are not at liberty, on a question of such vital interest and plain constitutional duty, to consider whether the particula

his article extends to Christians. It is indispensable not only that every privilege granted to any of the citizens of the United States should be granted to all, but

e thought it not improper to send the present convention to the Senate, inviting its attention to such amendments as appeared to me to be important, although I have entertained

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ative to a contract alleged to have been made by Mr. I.D. Marks with the Mexican Governmen

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herewith reports from the Secretary of State and Secretary of the Treasury, giving the required correspon

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smit to the Senate a report from the Secretary of State, with acco

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t8 from the Secretary of State, in answer

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DENT OF T

ance with its resolution of the 28th ultimo, I have the honor herewit

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to an alleged recent case of a forcible resistance to the execution of the laws of the United States in the city of Boston, and to communicate to the Senate, under the above conditions, wha

onday in the city of Boston, and in the very temple of justice. I regard this flagitious proceeding as being a surprise not unattended by some degree of negligence; nor do I doubt that if any such act of violence had been apprehended thousands of the good citizens of Boston would have presented themselves voluntarily and promptly to prevent it. But the danger does not seem to have been timely made known or duly appreciated by those who were concerned in the execution of the process. In a community distinguished for its love of order and respect for the laws, among a people whose sentiment is liberty and law, and not liberty without law nor above the law, such an outrage

ate, in answer to its resolution, some important f

gress of September

l they shall be discharged by the course of the laws thereof, under the like penalties as in the case of prisoners committed under the authority of such States respectively; the United States to pay for the use and keeping of such jails at

Congress, of the 3d of M

ce- Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in case any State shall not have complied with the said recommendation the marshal in such State, under the direction of the judge of the district, be authorized to hire a convenient place to serve as a temporary jail,

Congress of March 3,

ty of the United States, the marshal in such State or States, under the direction of the judge of the district, shall be, and hereby is, authorized and required to hire a convenient place to serve as a temporary jail, and to make the necessary provision for the safe-keeping

isions of the law

e counties were to be used for the detention of any persons detained or committed by the authority of the courts of the United States, as well as by the cou

t decla

may arise under the third section of an act of Congress passed February 12, 1793, and entitled "An act respecting fugitives from justice and persons e

rther dec

or detain, or aid in the arrest or detention or imprisonment, in any jail or other building belonging to this Commo

rther dec

directly or indirectly, under the power conferred by the third section of the act of Congress aforementioned shall forfeit a sum not exceeding $1,000 for

of Congress of the 12th of February, 1793, entitled "An act respecting fugitives from justice and persons escaping from the service of their masters," and which powers they were fully c

the authority of Congress to carry out fully and fairly the plain and imperative constitutional provision for the delivery of persons bound to labor in one State and escaping into another to the party to whom such labor may be due. It is quite clear that by the resolution of Congress of March 3, 1821, the marshal of the United States in any State in which the use of the jails of the State has been withdrawn, in whole or in part, from the purpose of the detention of persons committed under the authority of the United States is not only empowered, but expressly required, under the direction of the judge of the district, to hire a convenient place for the safe-keeping of prisoners committed under authority of the United States. It will be se

y to see how the prisoner could have been safely and conveniently detained during an adjournment of the hearing for some days without such place of con

ther with copies of instructions from the Departments of War and Navy relative to the general subject. And I communicate also copies of telegraphic dispatches

ed by law, then the Constitution itself gives the command to the President. Acting on this principle, Congress, by the act of February 28, 1795, authorized the President to call forth the militia to repel invasion and "suppress insurrections against a State government, and to suppress combinations against the laws of the United States, and cause the laws to be faithfully executed." But the act proceeds to declare that whenever it may be necessary, in the judgment of the President, to use the military force thereby directed to be called forth, the President shall forthwith, by proclamation, command such insurgents to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes within a limited time. These words are broad enough to require a proclamation in all cases where militia are called out under that act, whether to repel invasion or suppress an insurrection or to aid in executing the laws. This section has consequently created some doubt whether the militia could be called forth to aid in executing the laws without a previous proclamation. But yet the proclamation

general and positive; and the act of 1807 ought not to be construed as evincing any disposition in Congress to limit or restrain this constitutional authority. For greater certainty, however, it may be well that Congress should modify or explain this act in regard to its provisions for the employment of the Army and Navy of the United States, as well as that in regard to calling forth the militia. It is supposed not to be doubtful that all citizens, wh

llest extent. I am fully persuaded that the great majority of the people of this country are warmly and strongly attached to the Constitution, the preservation of the Union, the just support of the Government, and the maintenance of the authority of law. I am persuaded that their earn

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ion between the United States and the Mexican Republic for the protection of a transit

d acceptance of the terms of its provisions. There is also an abstract of title to him from the original grantee and copies of the several powers and conveya

22d of June last, because the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth articles of the present treaty contain exactly the same provisions as tho

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certain claims of citizens of the United States against Her Most Faithful Majesty's Government

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ate, with accompanying documents,11 in compliance w

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on touching the difficulties between the British authorities and San Salvador, I t

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ON, Marc

Howel

e House of Re

presentatives manuscript No. 2 of the opinions of the At

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ON, Marc

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ction of any citizen of the United States from the Territory of New Mexico and his conveyance within the limits

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LAMA

OF THE UNITED S

CLAMA

r to said boundaries and of all her claims upon the United States, and to establish a Territorial government for New Mexico," it was provided that the following propositions should be, and the same were thereby, offered to the State of Texas, which, when agreed to by t

llel of 36° 30' north latitude, and shall run from said point due west to the meridian of 103° west from Greenwich; thence her boundary shall run due south to the thirty-sec

claim to territory exterior to the limits and boundaries which

r indemnity for the surrender to the United States of her ships, forts, arsenals, custom-houses, custom-house revenue, arms and mun

relinquishment of claims, will pay to the State of Texas the sum of $10,000,000 in a stock bearing 5 per cent interes

sued until the creditors of the State holding bonds and other certificates of stock of Texas for which duties on imports were specially pledged shall first file at the Treasury of the United States releases of all claim against the United States for or on account of said bonds or certificates in such form as shall be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury and approved by t

ereby, suspended until the boundary between the United States and the State of Texas shall be adjusted, and when such adjustment shall ha

roposing to the State of Texas the establishment of her northern and western boundaries, the relinquishment by the said State of all territory claimed by her exterior to said boundaries and of all her claims upon the United States, and to establish a Territorial government for New Mexico,'" of which

ica, do hereby declare and proclaim that the said act of the Congress of th

EA

is 13th day of December, A.D. 1850, and the sevent

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. WE

ary of

DENT OF THE

CLAMA

in Massachusetts, on the 15th of this month, make a violent assault on the marshal or deputy marshals of the United States for the district of Massachusetts, in the court-house, and did overcome the said officers, and did by force

hall be found within the vicinity of this outrage, to be aiding and assisting by all means in their power in quelling this and other such combinations and assisting the marshal and his deputies in recapturing the above-mentioned prisoner; and I do especially direct that prosecutions be commenced against all persons who shall have made themselves aiders or abettors in or to this flagitious offen

seal of the United States th

EA

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ary of

rnal of the Senate,

ON, Marc

f the United Stat

aordinary occasion requiring that the Senate be convened, you are therefore requested, as a member of that body, t

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of, I hereby nominate anew each person so nominated at the last session whose nomination was not finally a

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te, with the accompanying documents,12 in compliance

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DENT OF THE

CLAMA

to be fitted out in the United States with intention to invade the isla

t a friendly power and seek by falsehood and misrepresentation to seduce our own citizens, especially the young and inconsiderate, into their wicked schemes-an ungrateful return for

own. Our statutes declare "that if any person shall, within the territory or jurisdiction of the United States, begin or set on foot or provide or prepare the means for any military expedition or enterprise to be carried on from thence against the territory or domini

to the protection of this Government or any interference on their behalf, no matter to what extremities they may be reduced in consequence of their illegal conduct. And therefore I exhort all good citizens, as they regard our national reputation, as they respect their own laws and the laws of nations, as they value

il, A.D. 1851, and the seventy-fifth of

EA

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e Pre

DER

ecretary

DENT OF THE

CLAMA

bout to be fitted out in the United States for the purpose of inva

e of this country, regardless of their duties as good citizens,

cter of the United States in the opinion of the ci

the United States that they will thereby subject themselves to the heavy penalties denounced against such offenses; that if they should be captured within the jurisdiction of the

ard for its laws, its peace, and its welfare to discountenance and by all lawful means prevent any such enterprise; and I call u

ber, A.D. 1851, and the seventy-sixth o

EA

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e Pre

CRITT

ecretary

ANNUAL

N, Decemb

Senate and of the Hou

ns which make us one people is fast subsiding, and a year of general prosperity and health has crowned the nation with unusual blessings. None can look back to the dangers which are passed or forward to the bright prospect before us witho

h designs were entertained, I lost no time in issuing such instructions to the proper officers of the United States as seemed to be called for by the occasion. By the proclamation a copy of which is herewith submitted I also warned those who might be in danger of being inveigled into this scheme of its unlawful character and of the penalties which they would incur. For some time there was reason to hope that these measures had sufficed to prevent any such attempt. This hope, however, proved to be d

ountry that these adventurers seem to have been led to believe that the Creole population of the island not only desired to throw off the authority of the mother country, but had resolved upon that step and had begun a well-concerted enterprise for effecting it. The persons engaged in the expedition were gen

body, and having proceeded about 4 leagues into the country, were attacked on the morning of the 13th by a body of Spanish troops, and a bloody conflict ensued, after which they retreated to the place of disembarkation, where about 50 of them obtained boats and reembarked therein. The

nd inquire into the charges against the persons executed, the circumstances under which they were taken, and whatsoever referred to their tr

anish subjects. After the lapse of some days, being overcome by the Spanish troops, they dispersed on the 24th of August. Lopez, their leader, was captured some days after, and executed on the 1st of September. Many of his remaining followers were killed or died of hunger and fatigue, a

tations of assisting to accomplish political revolutions in other states, and have lost their lives in the undertaking. Too severe a judgment can hardly be passed by the indignant sense of the community upon those who, being

ll be spared to procure the release of such citizens of the United States engaged in this unlawful enterprise as are now in confinement in Spain; but it is to be hoped that such interposition with the Government of that country may not be considered as affording any ground of expectation that the Government of the United States will hereafter feel itself under any obligation of duty to intercede for

f Cuba, of whatever kind, and the fiscal resources of the people and government of that island, from whatever source to be derived, were pledged, as well as the good faith of the government expected to be established. All these means of payment, it is evident, were only to be obtained by a process of bloodshed, war, and revolution. None will deny that those who set on foot military expeditions against foreign states by means like these are far more culp

ments of this Government, it may be added that every independent nation must be presumed to be able to defend its possessions against unauthorized individuals banded together to attack them. The Government of the United States at all times since its establishment has abstained and has sought to restrain the citizens of the country from e

terprise to be carried on from thence against the territory or dominions of any foreign prince or state, or of any colony, district, or people, with whom the United Stat

orced to the full extent of the power

if he wished for a guide in a system of neutrality he should take that laid down by America in the days of Washington and the secretaryship of Jefferson;" and we see, in fact, that the act of Congress of 1818 was followed the succeeding year by an act of the Parliament of England substantially the same in its general provisions. Up to that time there had

0 or 4,000 miles of seacoast, with an infinite number of ports and harbors and small inlets, from some of which unlaw

s of free institutions. Let every people choose for itself and make and alter its political institutions to suit its own condition and convenience. But while we avow and maintain this neutral policy ourselves, we are anxious to see the same forbearance on the part of other nations whose forms of government are different from our own. The deep in

nd with the apprehensions, which this Government could not fail to entertain, that such interposition, if carried into effect, might lead to abuses in derogation of the maritime rights of the United States. The maritime rights of the United States are founded on a firm, secure, and well-defined basis; they stand upon the ground of national independence and public law, and will be maintained in all their full and just extent. The principle which this Government has heretofore solemnly announced it still adheres to, and will maintain under all circumstances and at all hazards. That principle is that in every regularly documented merchant vessel the crew who navigate it and those on board of it will find their protection in the flag whic

by the French Government that in the orders given to the French naval forces they were expressly instructed, in any operations they might engage in,

by the laws of the country in which they reside. And what is due to our own public functionaries residing in foreign nations is exactly the measure of what is due to the functionaries of other governments residing here. As in war the bearers of flags of truce are sacred, or else wars would be interminable, so in peace ambassadors, public ministers, and consuls, charged with friendly national intercourse, are objects of especial respect and protection, each according to the rights belonging to his rank and station. In view of these important principles, it is with deep mortification and regret I announce to you that during the excitement growing out of the executions at Havana the office of Her Catholic Majesty's consul at New Orleans was assailed by a mob, his

ors, ministers, and consuls. I think the legislation of the country is deficient in not providing sufficiently eithe

subject have been received from Her Britannic Majesty's minister plenipotentiary, but it seems to be in many respects preferable that the matter should be regulated by reciprocal legislatio

is desirous that a part of the boundary line between Oregon and the British possessions should be authoritatively marked out, and that an intention was expressed to apply to Congr

l has been concluded and the ratifications have been exchanged. The first installment of t

the case of the General Armstrong, and has signified that he accepts the trust and the high satisfaction he feels i

he Secretary of State to Mr. Marsh, the American minister at Constantinople, instructing him to ask of the Turkish Government permission for the Hungarians then imprisoned within the dominions of the Sublime Porte to remove to

ongress. Governor Kossuth left the Mississippi at Gibraltar for the purpose of making a visit to England, and may shortly be expected in New York. By communications to the Department of State he has expressed his grateful acknowledgments for the interposition of this Government in behalf of himself and h

mparted so much importance to the possessions of the United States on the Pacific we acknowledged the independence of the Hawaiian Government. This Government was first in taking that step, and several of the leading powers of Europe immediately followed. We were influenced in this measure by the exist

so be accessible and useful to the commerce of all nations. I need not say that the importance of these considerations has been greatly enhanced by the sudden and vast devel

so to all who favor the progress of knowledge and the diffusion of religion, to see a commun

se, however, have been thwarted by the recent outbreak in the State of Tamaulipas, on the right bank of the Rio Bravo. Having received information that persons from the United States had taken part in the insurrection, and apprehending that their example might be followed by others, I caused orders to be issued for the purpose of

f Tehuantepec, under a grant of the Mexican Government to a citizen of that Republic, and that this enterprise would probably be prosecuted with energy whenever Mexico shou

of that end has been ratified by this Government, and only await

Mexico, but it is to be presumed that her decision will be governed by just and enlightened

the world. It has sought to obtain no territorial acquisition, nor any advantages peculiar to itself; and it would see with the greatest regret that Mexico should oppose any obstacle to the accomplishment of an enterprise which promises so much convenience to the whole commer

eneral prosperity and social progress of the States of Central America have so often and so severely suffered. Until quiet shall have been restored and a

it and merchandise has been transported over it, and when the canal shall have been completed according to the original plan the means of communication will be further improved

s on the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico and our coast on the Pacific, there is little reason to doubt that all of them will be useful to t

it is hoped, upon a durable basis. Such is the extent of our commercial relations with th

is no provision for any outfit. I earnestly recommend the consideration of this subject to Congress. Our commerce with China is highly important, and is becoming more and more so in consequence of the increasing intercourse between our ports on the Pacific Coast and eastern A

receipts for the last fiscal year amounted to $52,312,979.87, which, with the balance in the Tr

1, were $215,725,995, of which there were in specie $4,967,901. The exports for the same period were $217,517,130,

r, includes the sum of $3,242,400, paid under the twelfth article of the treaty with Mexico, and the further sum of $2,591,213.45, being the amount of

the stock authorized to be issued to Texas by t

the probable unappropriated balance in the Treasury on the 30th June next, wil

ry from Mexico, that the estimates for the next fiscal year should be laid before Congress in such mann

equent upon the acquisition of our new territories, and deducting the payments on account of the public debt, the sum of $33,343,198.08, and for the purposes connected, direc

, and appropriations made in accordance therewith, there will be an estimated unappropriated balance in the Treasury on the 30th June, 1853, of $20,366,443.90 wherewith t

will concur with me in the desire that a liberal course of policy may be pursued toward them, and that every obligation, express

with foreign nations would seem to present the most flattering hopes of its future prosperity. An examination of the details of our exports, however, will show that the increased val

tations from abroad would have greatly augmented, has fallen from $68,701,921 in 1847 to $26,051,373 in 1850 and to $21,948

ar, also exhibit a decrease, amounting to $460,917, which, with a decline in the values of the expo

e who promoted and established it, would tend to benefit the farming population of this count

hstanding the repeal of the restrictive corn laws in England, the foreign demand for the products of the American farmer has steadily declined

to any increased general demand for that article, but to the short crop of the preceding year, which created an increased demand and an augmented price for the crop of last year. Should the cotton crop now going forward to market be only equal in quant

already partially disclosed in the enhancement of prices and a rising spirit of speculation and adventure, tending to overtrading, as well at home as abroad. Unless some salutary check shall be given to these tendencies it is to be feared that importati

of specie during the first quarter of the present fiscal year have been $14,651,827. Should specie continue to be exported at this rate for the rema

ublic debt. If the present and anticipated surplus in the Treasury should not be absorbed by appropriations of an extraordinary character, thi

r, 1850, it will be seen that, in consideration of certai

a stock bearing 5 per cent interest and redeemable at the end of fourteen

n of the law it is

ch duties on imports were specially pledged, shall first file at the Treasury of the United States releases of all claims against the United States for or on

and all persons holding claims of the kind specified in the foregoing proviso were required to file their releases (in the form thus prescribed) in the Treasury of the United States on or before the 1st

y, have furnished a schedule of the public debt of that State created prior to her ad

rmined the classes of claims which in my judgment fall within th

are to be issued unconditionally, bearing an interest of 5 per cent from the 1st day of January, 1851, have been for some time ready to be delivered to the State of Texas

t been issued. This last amount of the stock will be withheld from Texas until the conditions upon which it is to be delivere

ariff by converting the ad valorem into a specific duty wherever the article imported was of such a character as to permit it, and that such a discr

howing the custom-house valuation of articles imported under a former law, subject to specific duties, when there was no inducement to undervaluation, and the custom-house valuations of the same articles under the present system of ad valorem duties, so greatly reduced as to leave no doubt of the existence of the most flagrant abuses under the existing laws. This

s this communication, will present a condensed statement of t

ill further increase, notwithstanding the large donations which have been made to many of the States and the liberal grants to individu

zed and some progress has been made in establishing the principal base and meridian lines. But further legislation and additional appropriatio

uence of the inadequacy of the compensation. Others were promptly selected, who for the same reason also declined, and it was not until late in the season that the services of suitable persons could be secured. A majority of the commissioners

ll your attention to the propriety of increasing the compensation of the commissioners. The office is one of great labor and respo

ation, and in deference to the opinions of persons familiar with the subject, I am inclined to change that recommendation and to advise that they be permitted to remain as at present, a common field, open to the enterprise and industry of all our citizens, until further experience shall have de

nhabitants stimulated to make permanent improvements and enter on the ordinary pursuits of life. To effect these objects it is desirable that the necessar

s of New Mexico and Utah, and when more accurate information shall be ob

establishment of an agricultural bureau, and I take this occas

rnment should use all the means authorized by the Constitution to promote the interests and welfare of that important class of our fellow-citizens. And yet it is a singular fact that whilst the manufacturing and commercial interests have engaged the attention of Congress during a large portion of every session and our statutes abound in provis

nd restoring the fertility of the soil and of procuring and distributing seeds and plants and other vegetable productions, with instructions in regard to the soil, climate, and trea

xecution to give prompt effect to its provisions. All the means within their control were therefore brought into requisition to expedite the adjudication of claims, and I am gratified to be able to state that near 100,000 applications have been considered and about 70,000 warrants issued

relating to pensions and bounty lands for the purpose of more effectually guarding agains

Mexico and California and the extension of our settlements into Utah and Oregon hav

e in the Northwestern Territory and west of the Mississippi River. We are at peace with all of them, and it will be a

. As the settlements of our citizens progress toward them, the game, upon which they mainly rely for subsistence, is driven off or destroyed, and the only alternative left to them is starvation or plunder. It becomes us to consider, in view of this condition of things, whether justice and humanity, as well

r, by which their title to large and valuable tracts of country has been extinguishe

of the Secretary of the Interior that the initial point on the Pacific and the point of junction of the Gila with the Colorado River had been determined and the intervening line, about 150 miles in leng

titude 32° 22', and at the date of the last communication the purvey of the line ha

sary expense. Orders have therefore been issued for the reduction of the number of persons employed within the smallest limit

rt, from causes, as he alleges, beyond his control. This failure is much to be regretted, as it has prevented the Secretary of the Interior from making the decennial apportionment of Representatives among the States, as req

ed that when the work shall be completed it will exhibit a more perfect view of the population, wealth, occupations, and social condition of a great country than has ever been presented to the world. The value of such a work as the basis of enlightened l

ion, injustice, and complaint. I would recommend a thorough revision of the laws on the whole subject and the adoption of a tariff of fees which, as far as practicable, should be uniform

ght seem to the wisdom of Congress to be of public and general importance. Without repeating the reasons then urged, I deem it my duty again to call your attention to this important subject. The works on many of the harbors were left in an unfinished state, and consequently exposed to the action of the elements, which is fast destroying them. Great n

in regard to some of the harbo

a part of the Mississippi, and the value of the public lands in those regions would be greatly enhanced by freeing the navigation of those waters from obstructions.

s that have proved so disastrous to that region of country, have been nearly completed, an

iment of mounted men specially adapted to that service should be raised, all that remained to be done was to make the best use of the means at my disposal. Accordingly, all the troops adapted to that service that could properly be spared from other quarters have

ctually check their marauding expeditions. The nature of the country, which furnishes little for the support of an army and abounds in places of refuge and concealment,

to the officers commanding on that frontier to consider the Mexican territory and its inhabitants as equally with our own entitled to their protection, and to make all their plans and arrangements with a view to the attainment of this object. Instructions have also been given to the Indian commissioners and agents among these tribes in all treaties to

is no efficient military force on the Mexican side to cooperate with our own. So long as this shall continue to be the case the number and activity of our troops will rather increase than diminish the evil, as the Indians will naturally turn to

hostility. As a large portion of the reenforcements sent to the Mexican frontier were drawn from the Pacific, the military force now stationed there is considered entirely inad

his subject and on others connected with his De

June next were reduced far below the estimate submitted by the Department. The consequen

$9,060,268.58. The estimates for the year commencing 1st July next and end

e act of 3d March last was intrusted have selected a site for the establishment of an asylum in the v

nt year has been actively and usefully employed in giving protection to our widely extended and increasing commerce and interests in the various quarters of the globe, an

the rigors of a northern climate, without any satisfactory information of the objects of their search, but with new contributions to science and navigation from the unfrequented polar regions. The officers and men of the expedition having been all volunteers for this service and having so co

higher grades of the Navy having reference to merit and capacity rather than seniority or date of entry into the service, and for retiring from the effective list upon reduced pay those who may be

ave had an injurious effect upon the discipline and efficiency of the service. To moderate punishment from one grade to another is among the humane reforms of the age, but to abolish one of severity, which applied so generally to offenses on shipboard, and provide nothing in its stead is to suppose a progress of improvement in every individual among seamen which is not assumed by the Legislature in respect to any other class o

he Government. That at Portsmouth, N.H., is also nearly ready for delivery; and a contract has been concluded, agreeably to the act of Congress at its last session, for a floating sectional dock on the Bay of San Francisco. I invite your attention to the recommendation of the Department touching the

fessional improvement, to those enjoyed by the cadets in the Military Academy. A large class of acting midshipmen was received at the commencement of the last academic term, and a practice

f the Navy Department, that by means of the wind and current charts projected and prepared by Lieutenant Maury, the Superintendent

ps the ensuing fiscal year will be found to be $5,856,47

increase being occasioned by the additional mail service on the Pacific Coast and the construction of the dock in California, authorized at

re separation of the appropriations for the support of the naval service proper from those for permanent improvements at navy

municated, presents an interesting view of the pro

he United States was 196,290 miles, the annual transportation thereon 5

ion thereon at 615,206 miles. The annual cost of this service is $1,472,187, of which $448,93

egon, which is now for the first time reported and embraced in the tabular statements of the D

he 30th day of June last was 19,796. There were 1,698 post

franked matter of Congress, of the Departments, and officers of Government, and excluding the f

for mail service on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers in 1832 and 1833, and the amount paid to the British post-office for foreign postages collect

for and payable to the British post-office, amounted to $6,345,747.21, being an incr

timate of the receipts for the present year can yet be made. It is believed, however, that they will fall far short of those of the last year. The surplus of the revenues now on hand is, however, so large that no further appropriation from the Treasury in aid

support of the Department a sum more than equivalent to the mail services performed by it for the Government. The recommendations of the Postmaster-General in respect to letter postage, except on letters from and to

ender them more simple and more uniform in their operation upon all classes of print

hat there is no "common law" of the United States to supply the defects of their legislation, it is most important that that legislation should be as perfect as possible, defining every power intended to be conferred, every crime intended to be made punishable, and prescribing the punishment to be inflicted. In addition to some particular cases spoken of more at length, the whole criminal

ontinues in force. It has also frequently happened that enactments and provisions of law have been introduced into bills with the title or general subject of which they have little or no connection or relatio

be understood by all and arranged in such method as to give perspicuity to every subject. Many of the States have revised their public acts with great and manifest benefit, and I recommend that provision be made by law for the

0,000 to be expended under his direction by such architect as he should appoint to execute the same. On examining the various plans which had been submitted by different architects in pur

nt structure, which, as a specimen of architecture, is so universally admired. Keeping these objects in view, I concluded to make the addition by wings, detached from the present building, yet connected with it by corridors. This mode of enlargement will leave the present Capitol uninjured and afford great advantages for ventilation and the admission of light, and will

although its inhabitants have no voice in the choice of Representatives in Congress, they are not the less entitled to a just an

t, to which I again invite your special attention. I allude to the recommendation for the appointment of a commission to settle private claims against the United States

n one case such resistance resulted in the death of an estimable citizen, and in others serious injury ensued to those officers and to individuals who were using their endeavors to sustain the laws. Prosecutions have been instituted against the alleged offend

ives from labor is one required and demande

tution dec

, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or l

e legislative, the executive, and judicial departments of t

as that clause which provides for the return of fugitives from justice, or that which declares that no bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed, or that which provides for an equality of taxation according to the census, or the clause declaring that all duties shall be uniform throughout the United States, or the important provision that the trial of all crimes shall be by jury. These several articles and clauses of the Constitution, all resting on the same authority, must stand or fall together. Some objections have been urged against the details of the act for t

eme law of the land, and that those acts of Congress were repugnant to that instrument; but nullification is now aimed not so much against particular laws as being inconsistent with the Constitution as agai

e perfect. Wide differences and jarring opinions can only be reconciled by yielding something on all sides, and this result had been reached after an angry conflict of many months, in which one part of the country was arrayed against another, and violent convulsion seemed to be imminent. Looking at the interests of the whole country, I felt it to be my duty to seize upon this compromise as the best that could be obtained amid conflicting interests and to insist upon it as a final settlement, to be adhered to by all who value the peace and welfare of the country. A year has now elapsed since that recommendation was made

RD FI

AL ME

, December

te of the U

a treaty of friendship, commerce, and navigation between the United States an

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, December

te of the U

the Secretary of State, in answer to th

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, December

te of the U

the Senate, adopted on the 12th

Executive may have received respecting the firing into and seizure of the American steamship Prometheus by a British vessel of war in November last near Greyto

communication addressed to the Department of State by Mr. Joseph L. White, as co

s such as the occasion seemed to demand were immediately dispatched to the minister of the United States in London. Sufficient time has not elapsed for the return of any answer to this dispatch from him, and in my judgment it would at the presen

anding the Home Squadron, a copy of which, so far as they relate t

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, December

te of the U

rmation in regard to the imprisonment of John S. Thrasher at Havana, I transm

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, December

te of the U

ch14 addressed to the Department of State by Mr. Niles, late chargé d'affaires of the United States at

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, December

se of Repr

wer to the first part15 of a resolution of the 15th December, 1851, and also a report f

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, December

se of Repr

rmation in regard to the imprisonment, trial, and sentence of John S. Thrasher in the island o

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, December

and House of R

ntractors for paying the next installment due to Mexico pursuant to the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, repr

RD FI

N, Januar

se of Repr

mo, calling for information respecting the imprisonment, trial, and sentence of John S

RD FI

N, Januar

epresentatives of

ith the copy of the note by which the resolution was communicated to this Government, expressing the satisfaction of that Co

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ed January 6, 1852, wa

N, Januar

te of the U

Echota on the 29th day of December, 1835, to adjudicate the claim of David Taylor for 640 acres of land, which has been duly appraised in accordance with the term

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N, Januar

se of Repr

ners in Cuba and afterwards sent to Spain, and who have now been pardoned and released by Her Catholic Majesty. The appropriation the expediency of which is sug

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age was sent t

N, Januar

se of Repr

mo, requesting information in regard to the Territory of Utah, I transmit

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N, Januar

se of Repr

ves of the 5th instant, I herewith transmit to it a repo

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N, Januar

se of Repr

Territory of Utah since my recent message to the House of Representatives in answer

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N, Januar

se of Representatives

letter to him from the contractors for paying the installment of Mexican indem

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N, Januar

se of Representatives

of the correspondence which has taken place between that Department and the minister of the Unit

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N, Januar

te of the U

he Secretary of War, containing information in regard to the claims of citizens of California for serv

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N, Januar

se of Repr

hich accompanied it, upon the subject of a resolution of the House

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N, Januar

se of Repr

n respecting the seizure and confiscation of the bark Georgiana, of Maine, and brig Susan Loud, of Ma

RD FI

N, Januar

se of Repr

er, 1851, requesting information touching the claims of citizens of the United States on the Government

RD FI

N, Februa

te of the U

treaty of friendship, commerce, and navigation between the United States and

nited States at Lima, to the Secretary of State, bearing date the 6th

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, February

and House of R

ck on the United States steamer Prometheus in the harbor of San Juan de Nicaragua by the British brig of war Express, and also a copy of the dispatches of

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IVE CH

City, Febru

se of Representatives

the Interior, containing a report from Thomas U.

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, February

se of Repr

ing information in regard to the seizure of the brig Arve19 at Jeremie, in the island of St. Domi

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, February

te of the U

upon the subject of the mission of Mr. Balistier, late consul at Singapore, to eastern As

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, February

te of the U

ith certain Indian tribes at Traverse des Sioux, Mendota, Pembina, and Fort Laramie, together w

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, February

se of Repr

and difficulty in making the apportionment among the several States of the Representatives in the Thirty-third Congress, as required by the act of 23d M

ce, and I earnestly commend it to t

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age was sent t

, February

se of Representatives

ssioner of the United States under the convention with Brazil, setting forth the

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, February

te of the U

tates at Constantinople with the chargé d'affaires of the Shah of Persia at the same place. The treaty is in the Persian and French languages, but is accompanied by an English

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, February

se of Repr

ting an alleged misunderstanding between Captain Long, of the Navy of the United States, and Louis Kossut

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ON, Marc

se of Representatives

oner ad interim of the United States at Canton, together with the copy of certain rules and regulations for masters, officers, and seamen of vessel

RD FI

ON, Marc

epresentatives of

erewith a report from the Secretary of the Navy and a report from the Solicitor of the Treasury De

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ON, Marc

se of Representatives

the statements to which it refers, of the disbursements up to the 1st of January last of the money a

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ON, Marc

se of Representatives

ers and soldiers of the United States who died or were killed in that vicinity during the late war, and for such citizens of the United States as may hereafter die there. A copy of the report of the agent who was sent for the purpose of superintending the work is also herewith transmitted.

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N, March

se of Repr

r Britannic Majesty's secretary of state for colonial affairs in respect to the encouragement of the emigration of colored laborers from the United St

RD FI

N, March

se of Representatives

s to be carefully arranged and deposited for safe-keeping in the Department of State. I deemed all this necessary as well for the interest of the claimants as to secure the Government against fraudulent claims which might be preferred hereafter. A few days since I was surprised to learn that some

of fraudulently abstracting or mutilating the papers and public documents in the several Departments of this Government. It appears to me that the protection of the public records and papers requires that such

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N, March

se of Repr

nstant, I transmit a copy of the correspondence with John P. Gaines, governor o

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N, March

te of the U

e extension of the Capitol, I have the honor to submit herewith a report from the S

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CITY, Mar

te of the U

I had signed the commission to Mr. Laurason and transmitted it to the Secretary of the Treasury, to whom your resolution was immediately referred; and I have the honor now to transmit his reply, by which it will be seen that the commission, after having been duly executed, was sent to the First Comptroller, where it still remains. I suppose, according to the doctrine laid down in the case of Marbury v. Madison (1 Cranc

RD FI

CITY, Apr

se of Repr

tary of War, accompanied by the original manuscript report of Captain Thomas J. Crane, dated February 3, 1844, on the best mode

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ON, Apri

te of the U

eir resolution of the 4th ultimo, a report from t

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N, April

se of Representatives

s of Congress approved the 14th August, 1848, and 11th June, 1850, the former entitled "An act to establish a Territorial government of Oregon," and the latter entitled "An act to make further appropriations f

1, 1851, entitled "An act to provide for the selection of places for th

e to the legislative assemb

ted States of 23d April, in regard to the act of

e court of Oregon, pronounce

f the 15th December, 1851, d

tter to the President o

al of the United States on that

eemed objectionable, in order to appease the strife upon the subject which seems to have arisen in that Territory I recommend that the seat of government be either permanently or temporarily ordained by act of Congress, and that that body should in

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ON, May

te of the U

eatic Republics of Hamburg, Bremen, and Lubeck, signed in this city by their respective plenipotentiaries on the 30th day of April, A.D. 1852, for the mut

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ON, May

te of the U

the ratification of this Government to be exchanged for the ratification of the Government of Guatemala at any time prior to the 1st of April, 1851. I accordingly ratified the convention on the 14th of November, 1850, but there was then no person in this country authorized to effect the exchange of ratifications on the part of the Guatemalan Government, and the United States had no diplomatic representative there. When, however, in the summer of 1851, Mr. J. Bozman Kerr proceeded to Nicaragua as the chargé

that the convention may go into operation. It is presumed that if this recommendation should be adopted a few weeks from the

RD FI

ON, May

te of the U

the heads of those Departments, and the documents herewith transmitted have been reported to me from the Department of State as comprising all on the files of that Department called for by the resolution, with the exception of those of a diplomatic character. As the claim referred to is a subject of negotiation with the Mexican Government, it is not deemed

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ON, June

te of the U

in California, as described in the accompanying letter of the Secretary of the Interior, dated the 22d ultimo, with a copy of

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ON, June

te of the U

nment, one dated the 22d of April and the other the 24th June, 1851, is also transmitted for the information of the Senate. As the period limited for the exchange of the ratifications, which is to be effected at Bruni, will expire on the 23d instant, I recommend that if the Senate should approve the c

RD FI

ON, June

and House of R

end the legislation which it suggests, in order that the duties and obligations of this Government occasioned thereby may be more e

RD FI

ON, June

and House of R

hat city consequent upon hearing the news of the execution of those persons who unlawfully invaded Cuba in August, 1851. My own views of the national liability upon this subject were expressed in the note of the Secretary of State to Mr. Calderon of the 13th November, 1851, and I do not understand that Her Catholic Majesty's minister controverts the correctness of

licit the favor, granted a free pardon to all the persons who had so unjustifiably invaded her dominions and murdered her subjects in Cuba, in violation of her own laws as well as those of the United States and the public law of nations. Such an act of mercy, which restored many misguided and unfortunate youth of this country to their parents and friends, seems to me to merit some corresponding act of magnanimity and generosity on the part of the Government of this country, and I think

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ON, June

te of the U

te, with the accompanying documents,21 in compliance w

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ON, June

te of the U

very of criminals fugitives from justice in certain cases between the United States on the one part and Pruss

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ON, June

te of the U

State, with the accompanying documents,22 in compli

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ON, June

te of the U

n between the United States and the Mexican Republic for the mutual extradition of fugitives from justice in certain c

RD FI

MENT O

on, June

NT OF THE U

treaty was concluded in this city between the United States and the Mexican Republic, which,

been returned to this Department the Sen

minous, afford great facilities for wrongdoers in the one to screen themselves from punishment by seeking

tter, in order that if the treaty before them should be deemed objectionable another, embodying

fully s

. WE

ON, June

te of the U

ween the United States and Great Britain and between the United States and the Republics of Nicaragua and Costa Rica, respectively. Any information which may be in the possession of the Exec

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ON, June

te of the U

ry respecting supposed propositions of the King of the Sandwich Islands to convey the sovereignty of those

have arrived is that the public interest would not be promoted, but, on the contrary, might unde

RD FI

CITY, Jul

te of the U

lution of the Senate, passed in exec

ations hereafter to be maintained between said Republics themselves, or either of them, and the said Indians concerning their territorial boundaries or other matters thereto appertaining. And if there be any such convention or compact, then that the President be requested to communicate the same, or a copy thereof, to the Senate, and to inform the Senate whether the same was made at the request or invitation of either of said Republics or of said Indians, or with their privity, approbation, or consent. And that the President be further requested to communicate to the Senate copies of all correspondence between the Executive and Great Britain, or with either of said Republics of Central America, touching said convention, and of all documents connected therewith. And if

rned the following ans

ween the United States and Great Britain and between the United States and the Republics of Nicaragua and Costa Rica, respectively. Any information which may be in the possession of the Exec

made into the origin of this highly improper publication, and shall omit no proper or legal means for bringing it to light. Whether it shall turn out to have been caused by unfaithfulness or breach of duty in any officer of this Government, high or low, or by a violation of diplomatic confidence, the appropriate remedy will be immediately applied, as be

he confidence necessary always to be reposed in the representatives of other nations. An occurrence of this kind can not but weaken the faith

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CITY, Jul

te of the U

sent of the Senate, a treaty recently negot

y explained by the report of Mr. Harper, who

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ON, July

and House of R

Government. It will be observed that no provision was made for such foreigners or aliens as were engaged in the Cuban expedition, and who had shared the fate of American citizens, for whose relief the said act was intended to provide. I now transmit a report from the First Comptroller, with accompanying papers, from which it will be perceived that fifteen foreigners

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ON, July

se of Repr

elative to the policy of the Government in regard to the island of Cuba, I transmit

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IVE MA

City, Jul

te of the U

2, I have the honor herewith to communicate a report23 from the Secretary

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ON, July

te of the U

ernment of the United States and that of the Mexican Republic respecting a right of way across the Isthmus o

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ON, July

te of the U

instant, I transmit the copy of the notes24 of Mr. Luis de

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ON, July

te of the U

commissioners on the part of the United States with various tribes of Indians in the Territory of Oregon, acc

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N, August

te of the U

erica, I transmit a report from the Acting Secretary of State and the documents by which it was accompanied. Commodore M.C. Perry, with the United States steam fri

RD FI

N, August

epresentatives of

ubject of the fisheries, and state for the information of that House that the United States steam frigate Mississippi has been dispatched to the fishing grounds on the coasts of the Briti

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N, August

te of the U

he Republic of San Salvador, signed at Leon, in Nicaragua, on the 2d of January, 1850. It will be seen that the exchange was not effected until the 2d of June last, but that

tember, 1850, authorized the exchange to take p

d to make the exchange on the part of this Government, was unavoidably detained in that Repub

by Mr. Kerr, and of authorizing the convention to go into effec

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N, August

te of the U

d to controversies between the consul of the United States at Acapulco and the Mexican authoriti

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N, August

te of the U

United States and the Republics of Nicaragua and Costa Rica, in Central America, which has b

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N, August

te of the U

sovereignty of these islands to the United States, and to communicate to the Senate all the official information on that subject in my possession;" in reply to which I have to state that on or about the 12th day of June last I received a similar resolution from the Senate adopted in executive or secret sessio

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N, August

te of the U

I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the documents by which it was accompanied. The instructions t

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N, August

te of the U

of Mr. R.M. Walsh while he was employed as a special agent of this Government in the island of St. D

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N, August

te of the U

ands. This report is accompanied by a copy of the orders of the Navy Department t

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N, August

te of the U

a copy of which is herewith transmitted, should be published at this t

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N, August

te of the U

, a supplementary convention relative to commerce and navigation between th

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N, August

te of the U

a convention between the United States and Belgium for regulating the right o

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N, August

te of the U

in respect to foreign postal arrangements, and especially cheap ocean postage, I tra

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TIVE

NGTON

17,

RETARY

awful expedition that may be attempted to be fitted out within his district, and I have given him power to call upon any military and naval officers that may

r obedien

RD FI

NGTON

29, 1852-12.

yet the painful bereavement could never be fully realized. I am sure all hearts are too sad at this moment to att

r to be, your o

RD FI

, Septembe

Jos. G

ill cause the necessary surveys, projects, and estimates for determining the best means of affording the cities of W

ectfully, your

RD FI

ional Intelligencer

IVE MA

day Morning, Oc

ARIES OF THE TREASURY, INTERIOR, WAR, NAVY,

ng to the Executive Departments the death of the Secretary of State. Daniel Webster died at Mars

ect wherever civilization has nurtured men who find in transcendent intellect and faithful, patriotic service a theme for praise, it will

ot less than its utterance has enlightened the present. He has bequeathed to posterity the richest fruits of the experience and judgment of a great mind c

e Departments in the common grief which

overnment will be careful to manifest every observance of honor which custom has established as ap

ntelligence to the diplomatic corps near this Government

rther testimony of respect for the deceased, to w

en, your obed

RD FI

NNUAL M

N, Decemb

Senate and of the Hou

f with less than the usual excitement. However individuals and parties may have been disappointed in the result, it is, nevertheless, a subject of national congratulation that the ch

ich in different forms has desolated some of our cities, but for crowning the labors of the husba

t have sincerely sympathized with his family and the public generally on this mournful occasion. His commanding talents, his great political and professional eminence, his well-tried patriot

of the fishing vessels of the United States and France. The shortness of this notice and the season of the year seemed to make it a matter of urgent importance. It was at first apprehended that an increased naval force had been ordered to the fishing grounds to carry into effect the British interp

d liberal intention of the home Government, in compliance with what we think the true construction of the convention, to open all the other outer bays to our fishermen was abandoned in consequence of the opposition of the colonies. Notwithstanding this, the United States have, since the Bay of Fundy was reopened to our fishermen in 1845, pursued the most liberal course toward the colonial fishing interests. By the revenue la

include in one comprehensive settlement as well this subject as the commercial intercourse between the United States and the British Provinces. I have thought that, whatever arrangements may be made on these two subjects, it is expedient that they should be embraced in separate conventions. The illness and death of the late Secretary of State prevented the commencement of the contemplated negotiation. Pains have b

ts of which we have a right to complain. But the Captain-General of Cuba is clothed with no power to treat with foreign governments, nor is he in any degree under the control of the Spanish minister at Washington. Any communication which he may hold with an agent of a foreign power is informal and matter of courtesy. Anxious t

ion of this Government, even a good presumptive ground for such prohibition, has been made the subject of a serious remonstrance at Madrid, and I have no reason to

nited States to Havana has, with the exceptions above alluded to, been marked with kindness and liberality, and indicates

of the island of Cuba, and should bind themselves to discountenance all attempts to that effect on the part of any power or individual whatever. This invitation has been respectfully declined, for reasons which it would occupy too much space in this communication to state in detail, but which led me to think that the proposed measure would be of doub

on into our Union as a very hazardous measure. It would bring into the Confederacy a population of a different national stock, speaking a different language, and not likely to harmonize with the other members. It would probably affect in

ho had become proprietors of the rights which Mexico had conferred on one of her own citizens in regard to that transit has thrown a serious obstacle in the way of the attainment of a very desirable national object. I am still willing to hope that the diff

ddressed to the two Governments in that quarter and to the Mosquito Indians, was agreed to in April last by the Secretary of State and the minister of Her Britannic Majesty. Besides the wish to aid in reconciling the differences of the two Republics, I engaged in the negotiation from a desire to place the great work of a ship canal between the two oceans under one jurisdiction and to establish the important port of San Juan de Ni

izens of the United States which have for many years past been urged by our chargé d'affaires at Caracas. It is hope

tered by the tributaries of the La Plata; and they gave a friendly notice of this purpose to the United States, that we might, if we thought proper, pursue the same course. In compliance with this invitation, our minister at Rio Janeiro and our chargé d'affaires at Buenos Ayres have been fully authorized to concl

ore the Senate. Should this convention go into operation, it will open to the commercial enterprise of our citizens a country

session. Since that time, on further investigation of the subject, the doubts which had been entertained of the title of Peru to those islands have been removed, and I have d

shington, her minister of foreign affairs had authorized our chargé d'affaires at Lima to announce to the American vessels which had gone to the Lobos for guano that the Peruvian Government was wi

e opposite regions of Asia to a mutually beneficial intercourse. It is obvious that this attempt could be made by no power to so great advantage as by the United States, whose constitutional system excludes every idea of distant colonial dependencies. I have accordingly been led to order an appropriate naval force to Japan, under the command of a discreet and intelligent officer of the highest rank known to our service. He is instructed to endeavor to obtain from the Government of that country some relaxation of the inhospitable and antisocial system which it has pursued for about two centuries. He has been directed particularly to remonstrate in the strongest language against the cruel treatment to which our shipwrecked mariners have often been subjected and to insist that they shall be treated with humanity. He is instructe

rtment of the Interior been relieved of some portion of the domestic business. If the residue of the business of that kind-such as the distribution of Congressional documents, the keeping, publishing, and distribution of the laws of the United States, the execution of the copyright law, the subject of reprieves and pardons, and some other subjects relating to interior administration-should be transferred from the Department of State, it would unquestionably be for the benefit of the

y is exhibited in the annual

ccount of the principal and interest of the public debt, including the last installment of the indemnity to Mexico under the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, leaving a balance of $14,632,136.37 in the Treasury on the 1st day of July last. Since this latter period

s exported was $149,861,911, besides $17,204,026 of foreign merchandise exported, making the aggregate of the entire exports

nt tariff, and recommended such modifications as in my judgment were best adapted to remedy its evils and pro

t competition in our market, and he consequently raises the price of the article sent here for sale, as is now seen in the increased cost of iron imported from England. The prosperity and wealth of every nation must depend upon its productive industry. The farmer is stimulated to exertion by finding a ready market for his surplus products, and benefited by being able to exchange them without loss of time or expense of transportation for the manufactures which his comfort or convenience requires. This is always done to the best advantage where a portion of the community in which he lives is engaged in other pursuits. But most manufactures require an amount of capital and a practical skill which can not be commanded unless they be protected for a time from ruinous competition from abroad. Hence the nece

. It is impossible that the revenue officers at the port where the goods are entered and the duties paid should know with certainty what they cost in the foreign country. Yet the law requires that they should levy the duty according to such cost. They are therefore compelled to resort to very unsatisfactory evidence to ascertain what that cost was. They take the invoice of the importer, attested by his oath, as the best evidence of which the nature of the case admits. But everyone must see that the invoice may be fabricated and the oath by which it is supported false, by reason of which the dishonest importer pays a part only of the duties which are paid by the honest one, and thus indirectly receives from

duty upon the raw material imported than upon the article manufactured from it, the consequence of which i

ion of our Indian affairs, I respectfully refer you to the report

been negotiated with the tribes of Indians in California and Oregon, ou

ithin those limits has been acknowledged and respected. But in California and Oregon there has been no recognition by the Government of the exclusive right of

r their support. This provision, more than any other, it is believed, led to their rejection; and as no substitute for it has been adopted by Congress, it has not been deemed

e settlements of the whites, it will be proper to set apart by law the territory which they are to occupy and to provide the means necess

ted to the tribes who were parties to them, and have received their assent. A large tract of valuable territory has thus been op

military force, resort has been had to conciliatory measures. By the invitation of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, several of the principal chiefs recently visited Washington, and whilst here acknowledged in writing the obligation of their tribe to remove with the least po

of the northern boundary of Iowa has been completed with unexampled dispatch. Within the last

re

ar there were sold...

and warrants.........

ertificates.........

---

.....................

tion th

land grants..........

ents, railroads, etc.

---

f....................

and located under land warrants of

nternal improvements exceeds that of the previous year by 3,342,372 acres; and the sales would without doubt

re

ending 30th Sept

ld.....

and warrants.........

ertificates.........

land grants..........

---

or the quarter of....

ecessary provision for the publication of the results in such form as shall be deemed best. The apportionment of representation on the basis of the new census has been

of all the patents which have been or may hereafter be granted for useful inventions and discoveries, with such descriptions and illustrations as may be necessary to present an intelligible view of their nature an

e erection, furnishing, and fitting up of an asylum for the insane of the District of Columbia and of the Army a

ith the western line of New Mexico has been completed. The survey of the Rio Grande has also been finished from the point agreed on by the commissioners as "the point where

session of Congress for the continuation of t

sident of the United States that the southern boundary of New Mexico is not established by the commissioner and surveyor of the U

Department. Orders were immediately issued by him to the commissioner and surveyor to make no further requisitions on the Department, as they could not be paid, and to discontinue all operations on the southern line of New Mexico. But as the Department had no exact information as to the amount of provisions and money which remained unexpended in the hands of the commissioner and surveyor, it was left discretionary with them to conti

s hardly to be supposed that there could be any objection to that part of the line which extends along the channel of the Rio Grande. But the terms of the law are so broad as to

proviso, so as to enable the Department to use as much of the appropriation as will be necessary to disch

he fulfillment of our treaty with Mexico for running and mark

e interests of the District of Columbia, which are

f a copious supply of water into the city of Washington and the construction of suitable bridges across

for determining the best means of affording an unfailing supply of good and wholesome water. Some pr

and paving the streets and avenues and inclosing and emb

with the charitable institutions of

he defense of the newly acquired territory (including Texas) and of emigrants proceeding thereto. I am gratified to say that these efforts have been unusually successful. With the exception of some partial outbreaks

stood, has assigned no portion of her territory to the Indians, but as fast as her settlements advance lays it off into counties and proceeds to survey and sell it. This policy manifestly tends not only to alarm and irritate the Indians, but to compel them to resort to plunder for subsistence. It also deprives this Government of that influence and control over them without which no durable peace can ever exist between them and the whites. I trust, therefore, that a due regard for her own interests, apart from considerations

. The cause of this omission is probably to be found in a growing belief that the s

n commenced, some of them nearly completed, designed to protect our principal seaports from Boston to New Orleans and a few other important points. In regard to the necessity

t and on others connected with his Department contain

gard to many of the works beyond making the necessary preparations. With respect to a few of the improvements, the sums already appropriated will suffice to complete them; but most of them will require additional appropriations. I trust that these appropriations will be made, and that this wise and beneficent policy, so auspiciously

r. The preparations for the Japan expedition, to which I have already alluded; the arrangements made for the exploration and survey of the China Seas, the Northern Pacific, and Behrings Straits; the incipient measures taken toward a reconnaissance of the continent of Africa eastward of Liberia; the preparation for an early exami

placed in the possession of the Government an interesting and valuable account of the character and resources of a country abounding in the materials of commerce, and whi

in view of its connection with the interests of the Navy, the plan submitted by him for the establishment of

ps. It is believed that any change which proposes permanently to dispense with this mode of punishment should be preceded by a system of enlistment which shall supply the Navy with seamen of the most meritorious class, whose good deportment and pride of character may preclude all occasion for a resort to penalties of a harsh or degrading nature. The safety of a ship and her crew is often dependent upon immediate obedience to a command, and the authority to enforce it must be equally ready. The arrest of a refractory seaman in such moments not only deprives the ship of indispensable aid, but imposes a necessity for double service on others, whose

lations as the Navy Department may devise, as proposed in the report, I cordially approve and commend to your consideration; and I also concu

y-I recommend to your attention as a project worthy of your encouragement and support. The valuable

his Department during the last fiscal year, from which it will be seen that the receipts from postages for

es of postage made by the act of March 3, 1851, which reduc

eless, question the policy of returning to higher rates. Experience warrants the expectation that as the community becomes accustomed to cheap postage correspondence will increase. It is believed that from this cause and fro

the Pacific Ocean; for the establishment of a bureau of agriculture for the promotion of that interest, perhaps the most important in the country; for the prevention of frauds upon the Government in applications for pensions and bounty lands; for the establishment of a uniform fee bill, prescribing a specific compensation for every service required of clerks, district attorneys, and marshals; for authorizing an additional regiment of mounted men for the defense of our frontiers against the Indians and for fulfilling our treaty stipulations with Mexico to defend her citizens against the Indians "with equal diligence and energy as our own;" for determining the relative rank between the naval and civil officers in our public ships and between the officers of the Army and Navy in the various grades of each; for reorganizing th

and adjustment of claims and accounts. I am gratified to believe that they have generally performed their duties faithfully and well. They are appointed to guard the approaches to the public Treasury, and they occupy positions that expose them to all the temptations and seductions which the cupidity of peculators and fraudulent claimants can prompt them to employ. It will be but a wise precaution to protect the Government against that source of mischief and corruption, as far as i

tion. During the terrific contest of nation against nation which succeeded the French Revolution we were enabled by the wisdom and firmness of President Washington to maintain our neutrality. While other nations were drawn into this wide-sweeping whirlpool, we sat quiet and unmoved upon our own shores. While the flower of their numerous armies was wasted by disease or perished by hundreds of thousands upon the battlefield, the youth of this favored land were permitted to enjoy t

hould join the fraternity of potentates who have for ages lavished the blood and treasure of their subjects in maintaining "the balance of power," yet it is said that we ought to interfere between contending sovereigns and their subjects for the purpose of overthrowing the monarchies of Europe and establishin

onal justice, by a statesmanlike prudence and a far-seeing wisdom, looking not merely to the present necessities but to the permanent safety and interest of the country. They knew that the world is governed less by sympathy than by reason and force; that it was not possible for this nation to become a "propagandist" of free principles without arraying against it the combined powers of Europe, and that the result was more likely to be the overthrow of republican liberty here than its establishment there. History has been written in vain for those who can doubt this. France had no sooner established a republican form of government than she manifested a desire to force its blessings on all the world. Her own historian informs us that, hearing of some petty acts of tyranny in a neighboring principality, "the National Convention declared that she would afford succor and fraternity to all nations who wished to recover their liberty, and she gave it in charge to the executive power to give orders to the generals of the French armies to aid all citizens who might have been or should be oppressed in the cause of liberty." Here was the false step which led to her subsequent misfortunes. She soon found herself involved in war with all the rest

ide and that of another has annihilated distance in the transmission of intelligence. The whole country is full of enterprise. Our common schools are diffusing intelligence among the people and our industry is fast accumulating the comforts and luxuries of life. This is in part owing to our peculiar position, to our fertile soil and comparatively sparse population; but much of it is also owing to the popular institutions under which we live, to the freedom which every man feels to engage in any useful pursuit according to his taste or inclination, and to the entire confidence that his person and property will b

oring people, regardless of the justice of the enterprise and without looking at the fatal consequences to ourselves and to the cause of popular government. Such expeditions, however, are often stimulated by mercenary individuals, who expect to share the plunder or profit of the enterprise without exposing themselves to danger, and are led on by some irresponsible foreigner, who abuses the hospitality of our own Gover

ity so exerted as to advance the prosperity and honor of the nation, whilst he will watch with jealousy any attempt to mutilate this charter of our liberties or pervert its powers to acts of aggression or injustice. Thus shall conser

respected, and its high place in the family of nations cheerfully recognized. At home we enjoy an amount of happiness, public and private, which has probably never fallen to the lot of any other people. Besides affordi

tion and privilege to have been chosen by the people to bear a part in the administration of such a Government. Called by an unexpected dispensation to its highest trust at a season of embarrassment and alarm, I entered upon its arduous duties wi

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AL ME

N, Decemb

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treaty of friendship, commerce, and navigation, between the United States and t

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N, Decemb

te of the U

h ultimo, to the convention for the mutual delivery of criminals fugitives from justice in certain cases between the United States

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te of the U

in regard to the establishment of a new British colony in Central America, I transm

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te of the U

e to a proposed tripartite convention on the subject of the island of Cuba, I transmit

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te of the U

ewith transmit a recommendation from the Secretary of the Treasury for the investment of a portion of the funds belonging to

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te of the U

5th instant, I herewith communicate a report of the Sec

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gard to the imprisonment of the United States consul and of other American citizens in the castle at

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RY 17

N, Januar

and House of R

mmunication reference is had to former letters addressed by him to the Department of State on the same subject, copies of which are herewith transmitted, and an earnest wish is expressed that a final settlement of this long-pending claim should be made

e. In an elaborate letter of the latter, addressed to the Chevalier d'Argais on the 1st of September, 1841, the opinion is confidently maintained that the claim is unfounded. The Administration of President Polk took a different vi

d be candidly and impartially weighed. If Congress should be of opinion that the claim is just, every consideration points to the propriety of its prompt recogniti

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N, Januar

se of Representatives

Mississippi have been entirely unsuccessful. The only alternative that now remains is either to compel them by force to comply with the treaty made with the tribe in May, 1832, by which they agreed to migrate within three years from that date, or

ever since the arrangement above referred to, the Indians have manifested a desire to remain at peace with the whites, the presence of a people who may at

moted by their removal from a territory where frequent collisions between

ign to remove them by force or to take possession of the territory allotted to them

tioned to their numbers would be necessary to capture them, or even to protect the white settlements from their incursions. The military force now stationed in that State would be inadequate to these objects, and if it should be determined to enforce thei

r to submit the whole matter to Congress

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N, Januar

se of Repr

formation relative to the claims on Spain in the cases of the bark Georgiana and the brig Sus

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te of the U

ting certain correspondence relative to Central America, I transmit a repor

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N, Januar

epresentatives of

nformation; and in answer to the seventh interrogatory, asking "whether in my opinion further legislation is necessary or advisable either to protect the Treasury from unjust claims or to secure to the claimants their just rights," I would stat

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the Emperor Louis Napoleon, of France, in the case of the brig General Armstrong, I tran

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ce and other documents relative to Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and the territory claimed by the Mosqu

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N, Januar

se of Repr

stant [27th ultimo?], in reference to the compensation of weighers and gangers, further communications on that subject have been received fr

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N, Februa

te of the U

1, it was considered by the Senate of the United States, whose assent was given to it with certain amendments, as will appear from the Journal of the Senate of that day. The convention was sent back to Switz

ents made by the Senate of the United States and the articles affected by them are not inconsistent with the

instrument taken into a continuous draft, as well the portions-by far the greater part-already assented to by the Senate as the modifications proposed by the Government of th

e in its present form, it will be immediately transmitted

f the United States at Berne, and are among the reasons for which an appropriation for a chargé d'affaires to that Government has recently, b

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N, Februa

te of the U

ith regard to the execution of the postal convention between the United States and Great Bri

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N, Februa

and House of R

the fisheries and commercial reciprocity with the British American Provinces, I transmit for the information of Congress the accompanying report from the Departme

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N, Februa

and House of R

f Lieutenant Herndon's report of the exploration of the valley of the Amazon and its tributaries, m

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, February

te of the U

tion on the subject of the extradition of fugitives from justice between the United States and Be

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, February

and House of R

ct of the interoceanic canal by the Nicaragua route, which formed the chief object of the treaty between the United States and Great Britain of the 19th April, 1850, and the relations

n. The whole subject is one of so much delicacy and importance that I should have preferred, so near the close of my Administration, not to make it the subject of an Executive communication. But inasmuch as the measure proposed can not, even if deemed expedient by my successor, take e

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, February

te of the U

nvention which was yesterday concluded between the United States

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, February

te of the U

e to the fisheries on the coasts of Florida, I transmit herewith a rep

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, February

te of the U

cretary of War, containing the report of Lieutenant Meigs, of the Engineer Corps, on the surveys, projects, and

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, February

te of the U

to the reinvestment of certain moneys belonging to the Chickasaw Nation of Indians which will come into the Treasury

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, February

te of the U

he British Government and of British subjects on the Government of the United States, signed in London on the 8th instant. Although it is stipulated by the terms of the first article of the convention that the commiss

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, February

te of the U

cation, a consular convention concluded in this city on the 23d insta

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, February

te of the U

h I deemed it advisable to issue, relative to an extra

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, February

te of the U

tion in regard to the fisheries on the coasts of the British North American Provinces,

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, February

te of the U

New Mexico by Colonel Stunner and Mr. Greiner, acting on behalf of the United States, together with the letter of Colonel Sum

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LAMA

OF THE UNITED S

CLAMA

s that the constitutional term of that body was held not to have expired until 12 o'clock at noon of that day, and a notice having been issued, agreeably to

tates, have considered it to be my duty to issue this my proclamation, revoking said call and hereby declaring that an extraordinary occasion requires the Senate of the United States to convene for the transaction of business at

EA

Washington, this 25th day of February, A.D. 1853, and of

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e Pre

D EVE

ary of

TNO

ary

n of reciprocity and equality in the laws of navigation, and contemplating the o

nish consul a

s and tariff on B

lifornia

rom the United Stat

rd Fi

ed States minister to Turkey r

e United States upon the popu

nt or proceedings of the agent sent to examine and report upon the condition

possessory rights of the Britis

e owners of the schooner Amistad for compensation on ac

tates by Mexico on account of indemnity due that Gover

e relative to the seizure

citizens when in transitu across the Isthmus of Panama,

seizure of the B

ortu

d by Spanish authorities at or near the island

minister at Constantinople respecting the

John, and other large rivers, and to the free enjoyment of t

hip canal between the At

aty between Spain, France, and Great B

States squadrons in the West India seas, and whether additional appropri

sh colonial department relative to the employment in the British West In

anish or Cub

ytien au

lations between the U

ubject of the apprehension and imprisonment by the Austrian

drawal of Mr. Hülsemann, chargé d'affa

dary line between the U

the American and Mexi

e United States in the

eads of the several E

the Mexican bou