Star. — London, England, 1826-01-04 00:00:00

r acking the unpnrchaseable tribute of a great nation's affestions to. the disinterested champion of the 115ert;es of human kind. The constant maintenance of . a small squadron in ite Meiiterranean was a necessary substitute for the alternative of paying tribute for the secu rity of our commerce in that.sea, and for a precarious peace at the mercy of every caprice of four Barbary States, by whom it was liable to be violated. An addi tio-al motive for keeping a respectable force stationed there at this time, is f and in the maritime war raging letween the Greeks and the Turks, and in which the neutral navigation of this Union is always in danger of 1 opi . rar and.depredarifm. A few instances have oc- 1 tarred olantli depredations upon our merchant vessels by privateers or pirates wearing the Grecian flag, but v i!hout real authority from the Greek or any other Government. The heroic • struggles of the Greeks themselves, in which our warmest sympathies as free men and Christians have been engaged, have continued !a be maintained with vicissitudes of success adverse and favourable. _ _ _ " Similar motives have rendered expedient the keep ing a like force on the coasts of Pern and Chili, on the Pacific. The irregular and convulsive character of the war upon our shores has been extended to the conflicts upon the ocean. An active warfare has been kept up for years with alternate success, though generally to the advantage of the American Patriots ; but their naval forces have not been always under the controul of their own Governments. Blockades, unjustifiable upon any acknowledged principles of international law, have been proclaimed by officers in command; and though dis avowed by the supreme aethorities, the protection of our own commerce against them has been made ground of complaint and of erroneous imputation upon some of the most gallant officers of our navy. Complaints equally groundless have been made by the Comman ders of the Spanish Royal forces in those seas; but the most effective protection to our commerce has been the flag and the firmness of our own Commanding Officers. The cessation of the war by the complete triumph of the Patriot cause, has removed,-it is hoped, all cause of dissention with one party, and all vestige of force of the other. But an unsettled coast of many degrees of latitude, forming a part of our own territory, and a fleutishing commerce and fishery, extending to the islands of the Pacific and to China, still require that the protecting power of the Union should be displayed under its flag as well upon the ocean as upon the land. " The objects of the'West India squadron have been to carry into execution the laws for the suppression of the African Slave Trade; for the protection of our commerce against vessels of piratical character, though i bearing commissions from either of the belligerent par ties ; for their protection against open and unequivocal pirates. These objects during the present year have been accomplished more effectually than at any former period. The African Slave Trade has long been ex cluded from the use of our flag; and if some few citi zens of our country have continued to set the laws of the Union, as well as those of nature and humanity, at defiance, by persevering in that abominable traffic, it has been only by sheltering themselves under the banners of other nations, less earnest for the total ex tinction of the trade than ours. The irregular priva teers have, within the last year, been in a great measure banished from those seas ; and the pirates for months past appear to have been almost entirely swept away from the borders and the shores of the two Spanish islands in those regions. The active, persevering, and unremisted energy of Captain' Witringeon, and of the officers and men under his command, on that trying and perilous service, have been crowned with signal success, and are entitled to the approbation of their country. But experience has :hewn, that not even a temporary suspension or relaxation from assiduity can be indulged on that station,without reproducing piracy and murder in all their horrors; nor is it probable that for years to come our immensely valuable commerce in these seas can navigate its security, without the steady continuance of an armed force devoted to its protection. " It were indeed a vain and dangerous illusion to' believe, that in the present or probable condition of human society, a commerce so extensive and so rich as ours could exist, and be pursued in safety, without the continual support of a military marine: the only arm by which the power of this Confederacy can be esti mated or felt by foreign nations, and the only stand ing military force which can never be dangerous to our own liberties at home. A permanent naval peace esta blishment, therefore,. adapted to our present condition, and adaptable to that gigantic growth with which the nation is advancing in its career, is among the subjects which have already occupied the -foresight of the last Congress, and which will deserve your serious delibera tions. Our navy, commenced at an early period of our present' political organization, upon a scale commensu rate with til t incipient energies, the scanty resources, and the comparative indigence of our infancy, was even then found adequate to cope with all the Powers of Barbary, save the first, and with one of the principal maritime Powers of Europe. At a period of further advancement, but with little accession of strength, it not only sustained with honour the most unequal of conflicts, but coveted itself and country with unfading glory. But it is only since the close of the late war, that by the number and force of ships of which it was composed, it could deserve the name of a navy. Yet it retains nearly the same organization as when it con sisted only of five frigates. The rules and regulations by which it is governed, urgently call for revision, and the want of a Naval School of Instruction, correspond ing with the Military Academy at West Point, for the tormation of scientific and accomplished Officers, is felt with daily increasing aggravation. " The Act of Congress of 26th May, 1824, autho rising an examination and survey of the harbour of Charleston, in South Carolina, of .St. Mary's, in Geor. gia, and of the Ooast of Florida, and for other pur -I,oses•hos been executed so far as the appropriation could pet mit. Those of the 8d of March last, autho rising the establishment of a Navy Yard and Depot on the Coast of Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico, and authorising the building of ten sloops of war, and for other purposes, are in the course of execution ; for the nal Oculars of which, and other objects connected with •iiis department, I refer to the report of the Secretary of the Navy, herewith communicated. " A report from the PustmasterGeneral is also sub, :tatted, exhibiting the present flourishing copclition of that department. - For the first time for many years, rte tece pis for the year ending the lst of July last, ex ceeded the expenditures during the same period, to the amount of mote than 45,000 dollars. Other fact:, squally creditable to the administration of the depart ti,trt, are, that in two years, from the first of July, 1813, an troprovemeillfof more titan 185,000 dollars 'in its pecuniary affairs has been realised ; that in the same interval the increase of the transportation of the mail has exceeded one mitlion five hundred thousand miles, annually ; and that one thousand and forty new post offices have been established. It hence appeals, that under judicious management, the income from this establishment may be relied on as fully adequate to defray its expense,; and that by the discontinuance of post roads, altogether unproductive, others of a more useful character may be opened, till the circulation of the mail shall keep pace with the spread of our popula tion, and the comforts of fliendly correspondence, the exchanges of internal traffic, and the lights of the pe riodical press, shall be distributed to the remotest cor ners of 'the Union, at a charge scarcely perceptible to any individual, and without the cost of a dollar to the public treasury. " Upon the first occasion of addressing the Legisla ture of the Union, with which I have been honoured, in presenting to their view the execution, so far as it has been effected, of the measures sanctioned by them, for promoting the internal improvement of our country, I cannot close the communication without recommend ing to their calm and persevering consideration, the general principle in a more enlarged extent. The great object of the institution of civil government is the im provement of the condition of those who are parties to the social compact ; and no Government, in whatever form constituted, can accomplish the lawful ends of its institution, but in proportion as it improves the c<,ndi• tion of those over whom it is established. Roads and' canals, by multiplying and facilitating the cornmuni ,cations and intercourse between distant regions, and multitudes of 'men, are among the most important means of improvement, Rut moral, political, intellec tual improvement, are duties assigned by the AUTHOR of our existence, to social, no less than to individual man. For the fulfilment of those duties Governments are in vested with power, and to the attainment of the end, the progressive improvement of the condition of the governed, the exercise of delegated power is a duty as sacred and indispensable as the usurpation of power not granted is criminal and odious. Alrnolt the first, per haps the very first, instrument for the improvement of the condition of men is knowledge ; and to the - acqui , sition of much of the knowledge ad .pted to the wants, the comforts, and enjoyments of human life, public institutions and seminaries of learning are essential.— So convinced of this was the first if my predecessors in this office, now first in the memory, as, living, he was first its the hearts of our country, that once and again in his addresses to the Congresses with whom he co-ope rated in the public service, he earnestly recommended the establishment of seminaries of learning, to prepare for all the emergencies of peace and war—a National University and a Military Academy. With respect to the latter, had he lived to the present day, in turning his eyes to the institution at West Point, he would have enjoyed the gratification of his most earnest wishes.-- But, in surveying the city which has been honoured with his name, he would have seen the spot of earth , which he had destined and bequeathed to the use and , benefit of his country, as the site for an University, still bare and barren. " In assuming her station among the civilized nations of the earth, it would seem that our country had con tracted the engagement to contribute her share of mind, of labour, and of expense, to the improvement of those parts of knowledge which lie beyond the reach of in dividual acquisition ; and particularly to geegraehical _ and astronomical science. Looting back to the history only of the half century since the declaration of our independence, and observing the generous emulation with which the Governments of France, Great Britain, and Russia, have devoted the genius, the intelligence, the treasures of their respective nations, to the common improvement of the species in these branches of science, is it not incumbent upon us to inquire, whether we are not bound by obligations of a high and honourable character, to contribute our portion of energy and ex ertion to the common stock? The voyages of discovery, prosecuted in the course of that time, at the expense of those nations, have not only redounded to their glory, but to the improvement of human knowledge. We have been partakers of that improvement, and owe for it a sacred debt, not only of gratitude, but of equal or proportional exertion in the same common cause. Of the cost of these undertakings, if the mere expenditure of outfit, equipment, and completion of the expedi tions, were to be considered the only charges, k would be unworthy of a great and. generous nation to take a second thought. One hundred expeditions of circum navigation, like those of Cook and La Perouse, .would not burthen the exchequer of the nation fitting them out, so much as the ways and means of defraying a single campaign in war. But, if we take into the account the lives of those benefactors of 'mankind, of which their services in the cause of their species were the purchase, how shall the cost of those heroic enter prises be estimated ? And what compensation can be made to them, or to their countries for them ? Is it not by bearing them in affectionate remembrance? Is it nrit still more by imitating their example . ? By err' abling countrymen of our own to pursue the..same career, and to hazard their lives in the same tanse? In inviting the attention of Congress to the subject of internal improvements upon a view thus enlarged, it is not my deign to recommend the equipment of an ex pedition for circumnavigating the globe for the purpose of scientific research and inquiry. We have objects of useful investigation nearer home, and to which our cares may be more beneficially applied. The interior of our own territories has yet been very imperfectly ex plored. Our coasts along many degrees of latitude upon the shores of the Pacific Ocean, though much frequented lay our spirited commercial navigators, have been barely visited by our public ships.lnc River of the West, first fully discovered and navigated by a countryman of our own, still bears the name of the ship in which he ascended its waters, and claims the protection of our armed national flag at its mouth. With the establiih meat of a military post there, or at some other point on that coast, recommended by my predecessor, and already matured in the deliberations of the last Congress, I would suggest the expediency of connecting the equip ment of a public ship for the exploration of the whole noith.west coast of this contihent. " The establishment Of • an uniform standard of weights and me a sures was one of the specific object contemplated in the formation of our Constitution, and to fix that standard was one of the powers delegated by express terms, in that instrument, to Congress. The Governments of Great Britain and France have scarcely ceased to be occupied Nirh inquiries and spe culations on the same subject, since the existence of our Constitution, and with them ithas expanded into profound, laborious, and expenswe. researches into the figure of the eat th, and the comp:inkjet Length of the' pendulum vibrating teconis in sat ious latitlides from the Equator to the Pole. These researches have re- , sylted in the composition and publication of several works highly interesting to the cause of science. The , experiments are yet in the process , of performance. Some of them have recently been made on our own shores, •within the walls of one of our own colleges, and partly by one of our own fellow-citiz-nv. It would be hon-nirable to our country, if the sequel of the same experiment should he countenanced by the pa -1 rronage of our Government as they have hitherto • been by those of France and Britain. . , " Connected with the establishinentof an University, or separate from it, might be undertaken the erection of an as•roaomical observatory, with pvivi-ion for the support of an astronomer, to be in constant attendance and observation upon the phenomena of the Heavens; and f•ir the periodical publication of his observations. It is with no freling of pride, as an American, that the remark may be made, that on the comparatively small territoi.il surface of Europe, there are existing upwards of one hundred and thirty of these light houses of the skies ; while throughout the whole American hemisphere there is not one. If we reflect a moment upon the dis coveries, which, in the last four centuries have been male in the physical constitu:ion of the universe, by means of these buildings, and of observers stationed in them, shall we doubt of their usefulness toevery nation? And while scarcely a year passes over our heads with out bringing some new astronomical discovery to ligly, which we must fain receive at second hani from Eu rope, are , we not cutting ourselves off from the means of returning light for light, while we have neither ob servatory nor observer upon our half of toe globe, and the earth revolves in perpetual darkness to our un ! searching eyes? " When, on the 25th of October, 4791, the first Pre sident to the United States announced to Congress the result of the first enumeration , of the inhabitants of this Union, he informed them .that the population of the United States bordered on four millions. At the dis tance of thirty years from that time, the last enumera tion, five years since completed, presented a population bordering upon ten millions. Perhaps, of all the evi dences of a prosperous and happy condition of human - society the rapidity of the increase of population is the most unequivocal. But the demonstration of our pros perity rests not alone upon this indication. Otar cons- mei ce, our wealth, and the extent of our territories, have increased in corresponding proportions ; and the number of independent communities associated in our Federal Union, has, since that time, nearly doubled. The legislative representation of the States and people. in the two Houses of Congress, has grown with the growth of their constituent bodies. The House, which then consisted of 65 Member;, now numbers upwards of two hundred. The Senate,. which consisted of '26 Members, has now 48. But the Executive, and still more the Judici try Department. are yet in a great measure confined to their primitive organisation, and are now not adequate to the urgent wants of a still growing community. " The naval armaments which, at an early period forced themselves upon the necessities of the Union, soon led to the establishment of a Department of the Navy. But the Department of Foreign Affairs, and of the Interior, which,. early after the formation of the Government, had been united in one, continue united at this time, to the unquestionable detriment, of the public service. The multiplication of our relations with .the nations and .Governments of the old world, has tept pace with that of our population and commerce, vibilet svithile these last ten years, a new family of mittens; in our own hemisphere, has arisen among the inha bitants of the earth, with whom our intercourte, commercial and political, would of itself furnish oc cupation to an active and industrious Department.— The constitution of the Judiciary, experimental and imperfect as it was, even in the infancy of our existing Government, is yet more inadequate to the administra tion of national justice at our present maturity. .Nine years have elapsed since a predecessor in this office,.now not the last, the citizen who perhaps of all others throughout the Union, contributed most to the forma tion and establishment of our Con-titution, in his vale dictory address to Congress immediately preceding his retirement from public life, urgently recommended the revision of the Judiciary, and the establishment of an additional Executive Department. " The exigencies of the public service, and its un, avoidable deficiencies, as now in exercise, have added yearly cumulative weight to the considerations presented by him as persuasive to the measure; and in iecom mending it to your deliberations, I am happy to have Ole influence of his high authority, in aid of the un doubted convictions of my own experience. " The laws relating to the administration of the Patent Mice are deserving of much considerstion, and, perhaps, susceptible of. ming improvement.. .The grant of power to regulate the action of Congress on this subjeit has specified both the end to be attained, lad the means by which it is to be effected—to promote the progress Of science had useful iris, by securing for limited times to authors And inventors the exclusive riglarto their respective writings and discoveries. If an honest pride might be indulged in the reflection, that on the records of thit office are already found inventions the Usefulness of which has scarcely been transcended in the annals of human ingenuity. would not its exultation be allayed by the inquiry, ihether the laws have effectively insured to the inventors the re. Ward destined to them by the Constitution, even a limited term of exclusive right to their discoveries? " On the iteth.of December, 1799, it was resolved by Congress that a marble monument should be erected by the United States in the Capitol, at the City of Washington ; that the family of General Washington should be requested to permit his body to be deposited under it; and.that the monument be so designed as to, commemorate the great events of his military and political life.— Ia reminding Congress of this resolution, and that the monument contemplated by u remains ytt without execution, I shall indulge only the remark, that the wrks in the Capitol are approaching to completicin. That the • consent of the family desired by the reso. Woo was requested and obtained. That a monument has been recently erected in the city, it the expense of the nation, over the remains of another distingu shed Patriot of the Revolution ; and that a spot has been reserved within the walls where you are deli berating for the benefit of this and future ages, in which the mor tal remains may be deposited of him whose spirit hovers oier you, land listens with delight to every act of the Representatives of his Nation, which can tend to exalt and adorn his and their cannery. " Th e Constitution 'sutler which you are assembled is a charter of limited powers ; after full and solemn deliberation . upon all or any of the objects which, urged by an irresistible sense of my own duty, I have recommended to your attention, should you come to the , conclusion that. however desirable in themselves, the enact ment of laws for effecting them would transcend the powers comm.tted to you by that venerable instrument which we are all bound to support • let no consideration induce you to assume the powers not granted to you by the People. But if the power to exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever over the district of Colombia, if the power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts, and provide for the cuminua defence and general welfare of the United States ; if the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the several States, amt with the Indian tribes; to fix the standard of weights and treasures; to establish postodficee and post-roads; to de clarewar ; to taise and support armies; to provide and maintain a navy; to dispose of,atiti tusk, all needtul rules and regulations respect ing the territory or other property belonging to the United States; and to make all laws which will shall be necessary sod proper for carrying these powers into execution—if these powers, sad others e numerated its the Constitution, may be arttaany bruoght into, action by laws promoting the improvement of Agriculture, Com move, and Manufactures, the cultivation and enco of the /Ifeclianie and the elegant Arts, the advancentellt of titre. and the progress of the Sciences, ornamental ani "refound—to retrain front exercising •them for the benefit of the people'thern selves would be to hide in the earth the talent committed to our charge, would be treachery to the most sacred of trusts. " The spirit of improvement is abroad upon'the earth; it stimu lates thehearts and sharpens the faculties, not of ourTellow-cill a e ns alone, but of the nationrof Europe, and of their listen. While dwelling with pleasing satisfaction upot the superior excellence of our political inn itutions,let us not be unmindful that liberty is power; that the nation blessed with the largest portion of liberty, must, in proportion to its numbers, be the most powerful nation upon earth ; and that the tenure of power by man is, in the moral purposes of his Canavoa, upon condition that it shall be eaereised to ends of benefi. cence,to improve the condition of himself and his fellow men. While foreign nations, less blened with that freedom which is power than ourselies, are advancing with gigantic strides in the career of public improvement, Tete we to slumber in indolence, or fold up our arms, and proclaim to the world that we were palsied by the will of our constituents, would It not be to cast away the bounties of Paovinanos and doom ourselves to perpetual inferiorky ? In th e course of the year now-dtawing to its close, we have beheld, under the auspices, and at the expense of one State of this Union, a new University unfolding its portals to the sons of tcitaee , andlsolding up the torch of human improvement to eyes that seek the light.— We have seen, under the persevering and enlightened enterprisers' another State, the waters of our western lakes mingled with those of the ocean. If undertakings like these have been accomplished in the compass of a few years, can we, the Representative Autho •ritks of the whole Union, fall behind our fellow-servants in the exercise of the trust committed to us for the benefit of our common sovereign, by the accomplishment of works important to the whole, and to which neither the authority nor the resources of any ono State can be adequate? " Finally, fellow-citizens, I shall await with 'cheering hope and faithful co-operation, the result of your deliberations; assured that, without encroaching upon the powers reserved to the authorities of the respective States, or to the people, you will, with a due sense of your obligations to your country, and of the high res. ponsibilities weighing upon yourselves, give efficacy to the mesas committed to you toe the common good. And may Ha who searches the hearts of the children of men, prosper your exertions to secure the blessings of peat*, and promote the highest wet. ' fare of our country. JOHN IaULNCY ADAMS." i I E.\ I nrAtt. LONDON. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4, 1826. STUCK EXCHANGE, TWELVE OCLOCK. Consols opened at 821 for the Account, and continue at the above price up to the present time; the only dill:fence is, they are buyers. The Speech of the American President his not haAl any impression on the Funds. Consols are new 821 a. Nothing doing as yet in Exchequer Bills. ONE O'CLOCK. Consols have been done at 82} in consequence of the Fres& Funds coming higher. Nothing is doing in the Foreign . Market. All South Americas Securities remain as yesterday. Ctirrent Prices: Colombian an 66, Mexican St per Cents. 69* 70, Danish Three per Cents. 621 63, Portutoese 77'18, Ramis% 811, Old Spanish 121 13, Greek Scrip 13 disc. Pi:ICR OF STOCKS AT TWO u'CLOCIL Bank Stock 220 1 / 4 219 1 ,4 3 per Cent. Rea. 81% 82 1 / 4 Si per Cent: 90 1 / 4 1 1 4 per Cent. Red. 90 1 / 4 91 Long Ann. 20 1 / 4 1-16 3.16 India Bonds 14 12 Old Annuities 81 1 k $2 MAX) Exciieq. Bill. 2 4. 1 3 preen. £5OO ditto 2 4 2 prem. Lloxo and £2OO ditto 4 6 2 prem. . Bank for Acct. 221 Cons. ior Account 82 3 /s 7 % EZCHANGg& Daa.lll.--4letaillques errl. Bank Shares 1114. .22.—bletalliques 891. Bank Sham 11511. FRENCH FUNDS, Roos, JANuaar 2. Five per Cents. ; . 961. 70c. Three per Cents. . 65f. 66c. bisarlitan live per Cents. . . 76f. 50c. Royal Spanish Loan, 1823 . . 464 f. It gives us much pleasure to be enabled to set at rest the many unfounded reports which•have appeared in • the English and foreign Journals, respecting the death . of the late Emperor ALIXANDZIL Through the kind ness of an eminent merchant in the City, we have be fore us a letter (not a copy), written at Taganrog on the 30th of November, the day before the Euratton.. died, which clearly states the commencement and.pro- . gress of the fatal malady. The letter is written by .a Gentleman residing at Taganrog, who is intimately. known to the merchant who has so kindly handed it to us, and we pledge ourselves to its authenticity. Of this letter, which was received yesterday, the following is a copy : m TAsowzoo, Nov. le (so), 1 etS. " Dean Sin— I bad the honour of addressing you on the 4th (1 6th) inst. giving you some details on trade, and would not hive ' disturbed you again se quick were it not for a very important mo tive, which interests all Europe. Our Emperor, one of the best kvereigns in Europe, is very ill, and all the physicians have lost hopes of his recovery ; we are expecting every moment to bear be is no more. On the sth inst.(old style) he returned from a trip hi the Crimea, and during the journey, near Perelop, he Mt the first ' symptoms of the fever. On his return here it appeared that the . malady was the ague, which afterwards became a bilious nervous fever of the most dangerous nature. The malady gradually in creased, and there remained hardly any hopes, although the physicians attending upon his Majesty have done all they could to lave hint. Yesterday all the inhabitants were rejoiced on hearing' he had get a little better, and the hopes of the Doctors somewhat revived, when this morning we have learnt that his Majesty is much worse, and Goa knows if there will be any hopes of r:co very. I ►ave no words to express the desolation of the inhabitants, • In seeing theit great Protector in this dangerous state. Should we feel the misfortune of lining him, all the hopes of the town are over, and will fall in its former state." This forenoon we received the Austria's Observer of the 22d and 23J nit. and the Allgemeine Zeitung the 27th of Dec. They contain some further particu lars respecting the death of the Emperor ALEXAIIDER,. the interest of which is, however, greatly superseded by the important letter from Taganrog, which we insert. The Austrian Observer, which did not publish a line on the subject of the death of the Emperor of Russia, until the Court of Vienna had been officially informed of it s tinier date of the gist December, states, that just as the paper was going to press, at 9 o'clock, P.m. the official news of the death of the Emperor Amtnennaa had been received from St. Petersburgh by an express, which left •that Capital on the 9th, on wi icb day the hews,of th , s melancholy event had be,a received in the Capital. The time Journal adds, that the oath of allegiance was immediately taken by the guards and tke civil Au