The Press. — London, England, 1857-12-26 00:00:00

1246 PRESIDENT BUCHANAN'S MESSAGE. THE first Message of Mr. Buchanan was antici pated in this country with a considerable and a very natural degree of expectation. Congress as sembled on the oth inst., when the President delivered his Message. The following are the principal points of interest .—Mr. Buchanan, alluding first to the great commercial crash, attributes it to the power en joyed by the 1,400 State banks, acting independently of each other, to regulate their paper issues " almost exclusively by a regard to the present interest of their stockholders "—Government exercising the sovereign power of providing a paper currency, in • stead of coin, for the country. Mr. Buchanan declares himself in favour of the convertible note theory, as the only true touchstone, the only efficient regulator, of a paper currency, the only one which can guard the public against over-issues and bank suspensions. Of the actual position of the banks, Mr. Buchanan quotes the Treasury Report : In a recent report made by the Treasury department on the condition of the banks throughout the different States, according to returns dated nearest to Jannury, 1857, the aggregate amount of actual specie in their vaults was 58,349,838 dollars ; of their circulation, 214,778,822 dollars; and of their deposits, 230,351,352 dollars. Thus it appears that these banks in the aggregate have consider ably less than one dollar in seven of gold and silver, com pared with their circulation and deposits. It was palpable, therefore, that the very first pressure must drive them to suspension, and deprive the people of a convertible cur rency, with all its disastrous consequences. It is truly wonderful that they should have so long continued to pre serve their credit, when a demand for the payment of on& seventh of their immediate liabilities would have driven them into insolvency. And this is the condition of the banks, notwithstanding that four hundred millions of gold from California have flowed in upon us within the last eight years, and the tide still continues to flow. In deed, such has been the extravagance of bank credits that the banks now nold a considerably less amount of specie, either in proportion to their capital or to the circulation and deposits combined, than they did before the discovery of gold in California. Deploring the crisis, and acknowledging that it is the duty of the Government to aid in alleviating the sufferings of the people, Mr. Buchanan thinks that, after all, the country must mainly rely " upon the patriotism and wisdom of the States " for the pre vention and redress of the evil, and states as his opinion that the State 'Legislature must compel the banks to provide a bullion reserve adequate to meet its general liabilities : If they will effort' us a real specie basis for our circula tion, by increasing the denomination of bank-notes, first to twenty and afterwards to fifty dollars ; if they will re quire that the banks shall at all times keep on hand at least one dollar of gold and silver for every three dollars of their circulation and deposits ; and if they will provide by a self executing enactment, which nothing can arrest, that the moment they suspend they shall go into liquidation, I believe that such provisions, with weekly publication by each bank of a statement of its condition, would go far to secure us against future suspensions of specie payments. Congress, in my opinion, possesses the power to pass a uniform bankrupt law, applicable to all banking institu tions throughout the United States, and 1 strongly re• commend its exercise lf experience shall . . _ prove it to be impossible to enjoy the facilities which well regulated banks might afford, without, at the setae time, suffering the calamities which the excesses of the banks have hitherto inflicted upon the country, it would then be far the lesser evil to deprive them altogether of the power to issue a paper currency and confine them to the functions of banks of deposit and discount. Passing, then, to the foreign relations of the United States, Mr. Buchanan pronounces them to be," upon the whole," in a " satisfactory condition." Mr. Buchanan notes the termination of the " diplomatic difficulties" with England by the appointment of a British Minister, " who has been cordially received." At the same time, he remarks that, in spite of this mutual desire for friendship, "it has been our mis fortune almost always to have had some irritating, if not dangerous, outstanding question with Great Britain ": Since the origin of the Government we have been em ployed in negotiating treaties with that power, and after. wards in discussing their true intent and meaning; in this respect the convention of April the 10th, 1850, commonly called the Clayton and Bulwer Treaty. has been the most unfortunate of all, because the two Governments placed directly opposite and contradictory constructions upon its first and most important article. While in the United States we believed that this treaty would place both powers upon an exact equality, by the full stipulation that neither will ever " occupy, or fortify, or colonise, or assume or exercise any dominion" over any part of Central America, it is contended by the British Government that the true construetion of this language has left them iu the rightful possession of all that portion of Central America which. was in their occupancy at the date of the treaty ; in fact, that the treaty is a virtual recognition on the part of the United States of the right of Great Britain, either as owner or protector, to the whole extensive coast of Central America, sweeping round from the Rio Honda to the port and harbour of San Juan de Nicaragua, together with the adjacent Bay Islands, except the comparatively small poi% tion of this between the Sarstoon and Cape Honduras. According to their construction the treaty does no more than simpl prohibit them from extending their positions THE PRESS, DECEMBER 26, 1857. in Central America beyond the present limits. It is not too much to assert that if in the United States the treaty had been considered susceptible of such a construction, it never would have been negotiated under the authority of the President, nor would it have received the approbation of the Senate. The universal conviction in the United States was that when our Government consented to violate its traditional a.►d time-honoured policy, and to stipulate with a foreign Government never to occupy or acquire territory in the Central American portion of our own continent, the consideration for this sacrifice was that Great Britain should in this respect at least be placed to the same position with ourselves. While we have no right to doubt the sincerity of the British Government in their construction of the treaty, it is at the same time my de liberate conviction that this construction is in opposition both to its letter and its spirit. Mr. Buchanan then enters into a lengthened detail of the different negotiations between England and the United States with reference to Honduras and the Bay Islands, and concludes as follows : The fact is that when two nations like Great Britain and the United States, mutually desirous as they are—and I trust ever may be—of maintaining the most friendly rela tions with each other, have unfortunately concluded a treaty which they understand in senses directly opposite, the wisest course is to abrogate such a treaty by mutual con sent, and to commence anew. lied this been done promptly all difficulties in Central America would most probably ere this have been adjusted to the satisfaction of both parties. The time spent in discussing the meaning of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty would have been devoted to this praiseworthy purpose, and the task would have been the more easily accomplished, because the interest of the two countries in Central America is identical, being con fined to securing safe transits over all the routes across the isthmus. Whilst entertaining these sentiments, I shall nevertheless not refuse to contribute to any reasonable adjustment of the Central American questions which is not practically inconsistent with the American interpreta tion of the treaty. Overtures for this purpose have been recently made by the British Government in a friendly spirit, which I cordially reciprocate ; but whether this renewed effort will result in success I am not prepared to express an opinion. A brief period will determine. With all other European Governments, excepting Spain, the relations are stated to be as cordial as could be desired. Mention is made of the treaty of friend ship and commerce recently concluded at Constanti nople between the United States and Persia, and an appropriation is asked from Congress to cover the expense of sending a representative to Teheran. With respect to Spain, Mr. Buchanan regrets that no progress has been made to arrange the questions in dispute, but as the present Minister at Madrid has asked for his recall, Mr. Buchanan observes," it is my purpose to send out a new Minister to Spain, with special instructions on all questions pending between the two Governments, and with a deter mination to have them speedily and amicably ad justed, if this be possible." Of China, the Message says,— While our Minister has been instructed to occupy a neutral position in reference to the existing hostilities at Canton, and will cordially co-operate with the British and French Ministers in all peaceful measures to secure by treaty stipulations those just concessions to commerce which the nations of the world have a right to expect, and which China cannot long be permitted to withhold, from assurances received I entertain no doubt that the three Ministers will act in harmonious concert to obtain similar commercial treaties for each of the powers they represent. Passing then to Central America, be points out tha vital necessity of peace in those countries, and re commends to the States to carry out in full the provisions of the treaty with New Granada of 1846, whereby the neutrality of the Isthmus of Panama is guaranteed : Under these circumstances (says Mr. Buchanan) I recommend to Congress the passage of an act authorising the President, in case of necessity, to employ the land and naval forces of the United States to carry into effect this guarantee of neutrality and protection. I also re commend similar legislation for the security of any other route across the isthmus in which we may acquire an interest by treaty. Against the filibustering expeditions Mr. Bucha nan speaks strongly : Such enterprises can do no possible good to the country, but have already inflicted much injury both on its interests and its character. They have prevented peaceful emigra tion from the United Stater to the States of Central America, which could not fail to prove highly beneficial to all the parties concerned; in a pecuniary point of view alone our citizens have sustained heavy losses from the seizure and closing of the transit route by the San Juan between the two seas. The leader of the recent expedition was arrested at New Orleans, but was discharged on giving a bill for his appearance in the insufficient sum of 2,000 dole. I commend the whole subject to the serious atten tion of Congress, believing that our duty and our interests, as well as our national character, require that we should adopt such measures as will be effectual in restraining our citizens from committing such outrages. The President then announces his intention of demanding satisfaction from Paraguay for certain ' insults, and passing at once to the Kansas que3tion. discusses at length the Kansas imbroglio, pleads the legality of the Lecompton Convention, and argues that, while his instructions to Governor Walker covered the submission of the whole Constitution to the people, the Lecompton programme, under the circumstances, will still answer the purpose, inas much as it does refer to the people the only really important party issue involved in the Constitution— the slavery question : Whether Kansas shall be a free or a slave State must, even under some authority, be decided by an election, and the question can never be more clearly or distinctly pre sented to the people than it is at the present moment. Should this opportunity be neglected she may be involved for years in domestic discord, and possibly in civil war, before she can make up the issue now so fortunately ten dered, and again reach the point she has already attained. Kansas has for some years occupied too much of the pub lic attention. It is high time this should be directed to far more important objects. When once admitted into the Union, whether with or without slavery, the excitement beyond her own limits will speedily pass away, and she will for the first time be left, as she ought to have been long since, to manage her own affairs in her own way. If her Constitution on the subject of slavery or any other subject be displeasing to a majority of the people, no human power can prevent them from clinging it within a brief period. Under these circumstances, it may well be ques• tioned whether the peace and quiet of the whole country are not of greaser importance than the mere temporary triumph of either political party in Kansas. Passing on to the Mormon question, the President pronounces in favour of vigorous action. " This is the first rebellion," be says, " which has existed in our territories, and humanity itself requires that we should put it down in such a measure that it shall be the last" : To trifle with it would be to encourage it, and so render it formidable. We ought to go there with such an im posing force as to convince these deluded people that resistance would be in vain, and thus spare the effusion of blood. We can in this manner best convince them that we are their friends, and not their enemies. In order to accomplish this object it will be necessary, according to the estimates of the War Department, to raise four addi tional regiments, and this I earnestly recommend to Congress. At the present moment of depression in the revenue of the country I am sorry to be obliged to recom mend such a measure, but I feel confident of the support of Congress, cost what it may, in suppressing the insur rection, and in restoring and maintaining the sovereignty of the constitution and laws in the territory of Utah. The President recommends additions to the mili tary and naval forces of the States to the extent of four additional regiments to the army and the con struction of a squadron of ten light-draught but heavily-armed war-steamers—for coast defences os tensibly—really for special serviles in China. The President then refers to the state of the public lands, and speaks favourably of the experiment of educating the Indian tribes : So far as the experiment has been tiied it has worked well in practice, and it will doubtless prove to be less expensive than the present system. The whole number of Indians within our territorial limits is believed to be from the best data in the interior department about 325,000. The tribes of Cherokees, Choctaws, Chicksaws, and Creeks settled in the territory set apart for them west of Arkansas are rapidly advancing in education and in all the arts of civilisation and self-government ; and we may indulge the agreeable anticipation that at no very distant day they will be incorporated into the Union as one of the sovereign States. Some recommendations to Congress on matters of routine and detail conclude this, the first Massage of President Buchanan. THE CROWN JEWELS. THE following curious statement in a letter from Hanover, of December 10th, appeared in the Morn ing Star of Tuesday : The hearts of the King and Royal Family of this country have been much rejoiced by intelligence which has just reached them through the Hanoverian Minister at the Court of St. James's, that the long dispute between the King of Hanover and the Queen of England respecting the right to certain jewels of enormous value, in the pos session of the Sovereign of England, and forming no inconsiderable portion of what have been hitherto called the British Crown jewels, has been decided in favour of Hanover. Many of your readers are no doubt aware that when the kingdom of Hanover was severed from the United Kingdom by the accession of Queen Victoria to the throne, a claim was made by the late King of Hanover, formerly the Duke of Cumberland, to nearly the whole of the jewels usually worn on State occasions by the English Sovereign, on the ground that part of them, which had been taken over to England by George 1., belonged inalien ably to the Crown of Hanover; and that the remainder had been purchased by George 111. out of his privy purse, and had been left by him and his Queen Charlotte to the Royal Family of Hanover. As the jewels thus claimed are supposed to be worth considerably more than 100,0001., a single stone having cost nearly 20,0001., they were not to be relinquished without a struggle; and I am assured that every possible expedient was resorted to in England to baffie the claimant. Ultimately, in the lifetime of the late King, the importunity of the Hano verian Minister in London drove the English Ministry of the day to consent that the rights of the two Sovereigns snonld be submitted to a commission composed of three English judges; but the proceedings of the commission were so ingeniously protracted that all the commissioners died without arriving at any decision ; and until Lord Clarendon received the seals of the British Foreign-office all the efforts of the Court of Hanover to obtain a fresh