US Presidency
1859

Now, if this conditional and contingent power could be constitutionally conferred upon the President in the case of Paraguay, why may it not be conferred for the purpose of protecting the lives and property of American citizens in the event that they may be violently and unlawfully attacked in passing over the transit routes to and from California or assailed by the seizure of their vessels in a foreign port? To deny this power is to render the Navy in a great degree useless for the protection of the lives and property of American citizens in countries where neither protection nor redress can be otherwise obtained. The Thirty-fifth Congress terminated on the 3d of March, 1859, without having passed the act making appropriations for the service of the Post-Office Department during the fiscal year ending the 30th of June, 1860, This act also contained an appropriation to supply deficiencies in the revenue of the Post-Office Department for the year ending 30th June, 1859.