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

' meats of Denmark and of Naples have been recently reminded of those yet esittins agatost them ; nor will, any of them be forgotten. while Atop, may be intielitenl of obtaining justice, by the meatts•vrithin the cosistatu liana' powefof the ens-Wive, and without resorting.to those Measures of self-redie,s l - Which, 'as well as he tithe, eircutustance, and occasion, which may require them, are within the exclusive competency of the Legislature. "It is with great sati'faction that I am enabled to bear witness to the liberal spirit with which the Republic 'of Colombia ha' made satisfaction for well-established claims of a similar character; and among the doen• meats now crmmunicated to Congress, will be dis. tinguished a Treaty of Commerce and Navigation with that Republic, the ratifications of which bate been ex changed since the last recess of the Legislature. The negotiation of similar Treaties with all the independent Soath Americau States has been contemplated, and Dray yet be accomplished. The basis of them all, as. [ proposed by the United States, has been laid in two principles; the one of entire an d unqualified reciprocity ; the other, the mutual obligation of the parties, to place each other permanently upon the footing of the most favoured nations. These principle. are, indeed, indis pensable to the effectual emancipation of the American hemisphere from the thraldom of colonizing monopolies and exclusions ; an event rapidly realizing in the pro gress of human affairs, and which the resistance still opposed in certa;n parts of Europe to the acknowledge ment of Southern American Republics as independent States, will. it is believed, contribute more effectually to accompli.h. The time has been, and that not remote, when some of tho,e States might, in their anxious desire to obtain a nominal recognition, have accepted of a no minal independence, clogged with burthensome con ditions, and exclusive commercial privileges granted to the nation froth which they have separated, to the disadvantage of all other. They are now well aware that such concessions to any European nation, would be incompatible with that independence which they have declared and maintained. 's Among the measures which have been suggested to them by the new relations with one another, resulting from the recent changes of their condition, is, that of assembling at the Isthmus of Parsons; a Congress at which each of them should be represented, to deliberate upon objects important to the Welfare of all. Tha Republics of Colombia, of Mexico, and of Central America, have already deputed Plenipotentiaries to such a meeting, and they have invited the United States to be also represented there by their Ministers. The invitation has ben accepted, and Ministers oh the ! part of the United States will be commissioned to at tend at those deliberations, and to take part in them, so far as may be compatible with that neutrality from which it is neither our intention, nor the desire of the other American States, that we should depart. "The Commissioners under the seventh article of the Treaty of Ghent, have so nearly completed their labours, that by the report recently received from the Agent on the part of the United States, there is reason to expect that the Commission will be closed at their next Session, appointed for the 22d of May, of the ensuing year. " The other Commission, appointed to ascertain the indemnities due for slaves carried away front the United States, after the close of the late war, have met with .some difficulty, which has delayed the progress of the inquiry. A reference has been made to the British .Government on the subject, which, it may be hoped, will tend to hasten the decision of the Commissioners, or serve as a substitute for it. THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE. MESSAGE or rot PRESTD ENT or rim UNITED STATE COMMUNICATED TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRE SEPITATIVES, AT THE COMMENCEMENT Or THE VULST SES.-1 N OP THE NINETEENTH CONGRESS. " FELLOW CITIZENS OF THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRE-ENTATIvEs—In taking a general survey of the concerns of our beloved country, with reference to silbjects iuteresting lo the common welfare, the first sentiment which impresses itself upon the mind is,_ of gratitude to the Omnipotent DISPENSER of Goon, for the cuntinuance of the signal blessings of his provi dence, and especially for that health which, to an un usual extent, has prevailed within our border, and fur that abundance which, in the vicissitudes of the seasons, has been scanned with profusion over our land. Nor ought we less to ascribe to Htx the glory, that we. are let mined to enjoy the bounties of Hii hand in peace and tranquillity; in peace with all the other nations of the earth, in tranquillity among ourselves. Therehas, indeed, rarely been a period in the history of civilized man, in which the general condition of the Christian Nations has been marked so extensively by peace and prosperity. Europe, with a few partial and unhappy exceptions, has enjoyed ten years of peace, during which all her Governments, whatever the theory of their Constitutions May have been, are successively taught to feel that the end of their institution is the hap piness of the people, and that the exercise of power among men can be justified only by the blessings it' confers upon those over whom it is extended. " During the same period, our intercourse with all those nations has been pacific and friendly—it so con tinue,. Since the close of your last Session, no material variation has occurred in our relations with any of diem. In the commercial and navigation system of Great Britain, important changes of municipal regulation have recently been sanctioned by Acts of Parliament, the effect of which, upon the interests of other nations, and particularly upon ours, has not yet been fully developed. In the recent renewal of the diplomatic missions on both sides. between the two Governments, assurances have been given and received of the continuance and increase of the mutual confidence and cordiality by which the adjustment of many points of 'difference bad already , been effected, and which afford the surest pledge for the ultimate satisfactory adjustment of those which still remain open or m sy hereafter arise. " The policy of the United States, in their commercial intercourse with other nations, has always been of the most libe:al character. In the mutual exchange of their 'respective productions, they have abstained alto gether from prohibitions—they have interdicted them selves the poster of laying taxes upon exports, and whenever they have (*rooted their own shipping, by special preference, or exclusive privileges iu their own ports, it has been only with a view to countervail simi lar favours and exclusions granted by the nations with whom we have been engaged in traffic, to their own people or shipping, and to the disadvantage of ours. Immediately after the close of the last war, a proposal was fairly made by the Act of Congress of the of March, 1815, to all the maritime nations, to lay aside the system of retaliating restrictions and exclusions, and to place the shipping of both parties to the common trek ) on a footiqg of equalty, in respect to the duties of tonnage and impost. This offer was pat tially and successively accepted by Great Britain, Sweden. the Netherlands, the Hanseatic cities, Prussia, Sardinia, the Duke of Oldenburg, and Russia. It was also adopted, under twain modifications, in our late commercial convention with once. And, by die Act of Congress of the Bth of Januai y, 1824, it has received a new con firmation, with all the nations who had acceded to it, and has been offered again to all those who are, or may hereafter be, willing to abide in reciprocity by it. But all these regulations, whether established by treaty or municipal enactmLnts, are still subject to one important restriction. The removal of discriminating dudes of tonnage and impost is limited to articles of the growthel produce, or manufacture of the country to which the vessel belongs, or to such ankles as are most usually first shipped 'from her ports. h will deserve the serious consideration of Congress, whether even this remnant, of resuiction may not be safely abandoned, and whether the general tenderof equal competition,- made in the Ait of the fish of January, 1824, may not be extended to include all articles of merchandise not prohibited, of tellat country soe • ver they may be the produce or manu facture? Propositions to this effect have already been made to us by more than one European Governtneat ; aria * it is probable that if once established by legislation or compact with any distinguished maritime State. it would recommend itself by the experience of its advan 44 Among the powers specifically granted to Congress' by. the Constitution, ate those of establishing uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States, and of providing for organizing, arming, and disciplining the Militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States. The magnitude and complexity of the interests affected by legislation upon these subjects, may account for the fact, that long and often as both of them have occupied the attention, and animated the debates of Congress, no systems have yet been devised for ful filling, to the satisfaction of the community, the duties prescribed by these grants of power. To conciliate the claim of the individual citizen to the enjoyment of per sonal liberty, with the effective obligation of private contracts, is the difficult problem to be solved by a law of bankruptcy. Toese ate objects of the deepest interest to society ; affecting all that is precious in the existence id multitudes of persons, many of them in the clasies [essentially dependent and helpless ; of the age re. ariniting nurture, and of the sex entitled to protection, from the free agency of the parent and the hu,sband.— The organization of the Militia is yet more indispen sable to the liberties of the country. It is only by an effective Militia that we can at once enjoy the repose of peace, and bid di fiance to foregn aggression; it is by the Militia that we are constituted an armed nation, standing in perpetual panoply of defence in the presence of all the nations of the earth. To this end, it would he n. cessary so to shape its orgvnisation, as to give it A more united and active energy. There are laws for establishing an uniform Mi.ina throughout the United and fi --A‘ine and • • - its whole bod tare to the general accession II The Couto:o4Rn of Commerce and Navigation be. tWeen thn United Sitter and France, concluded cn the 24th of June, 1882 was, is the understanding and intent of both parties, as appears upon its face, only a temppracy arrapgentent of the points of difference betereen them, of the most immediate and pressing urgency. It was limited, in the first instance, to two years, from ;heist of October, 1822, but with a pro ver, that it :lipoid further continue in force till the toncluiion of general and definitive treaty of tom- Inert.; unless terminated by a notice, six months in sidvittice, of either of the parties to the other. Its operations, so far as it extended, have been mutually 1 advantageous ; end it still continues in force by com mon consent. But it left unadjusted several objects of sleet interest to the citizens and subjects of both countries, and particularly - a mass of claims, to con siderable amount, of citixeos of the United States upon the Government of France, of indemnity for property taken or destroyed under circumstances of the mo st aggravated and outrageous character. In the long period during which continual and earnest appeals have been made to the equity and magnenim;ty of France, in behalf of these claims, their justice has not been, as it could not be, denied. It was hoped, that the accession of a new S,vereign to the Throne would have afforded a favourable opportunity for . presenting them to the consideration of his Government. They have been pre sented and urged, hitherto withouteffect. " The repeated and earnest representations of our Minister at the Court of France, teniain as )et even without an answer. Were the demands of nations upon . the justice of each other susceptible of adjucation by the sentence of an impartial tribunal, those to which I now refer would long since have been settled, and adequate indemnity would have been obtained. There are large amounts of similar claims upon the Netherlands, Naples, and Denmark. For those upon Spein, prior to 1819, indemnity was, after many years of patient torbearance, obtained; and those upon Sweden have been lately compromised by a private settlement, in which the claimants themselves have acquiesced. The Govern States, for arming and equipping its _ But it is a body of dislocated members, with Out the vigour of unity, and baying little of uniformity but the name. To infuse into this most important institution the power of which it is susceptible, and to make it available for the defence ut the [Lion, ac the shortest notice, and at the smallest expense of time, of life, and of treasure, are among the benefits to be expected from the persevering deliberations of Congress. " Amon the unequivocal indications of our national prosperity, is the flourishing state of our finances. The revenues of the present year, from all the principal sources, will exceed the anticipations of the last. The balance in the Treasury, on the Ist of January last, was a little short of two millions and a half, bring the moiety of the loan of five millions, authorised by the Act of 20th May, 132,. The receipts in the Treasury Isom the Ist of January to the 13th of 'Seprecuber, exclusive of the other moiety of the same loan, ate estimated at 16,500,000 dollars, and it i, expeettal that those of the current (lower will exceed five millions of dollars; forming au aggregate of receipts of nearly twenty-two millions, imisqamtdoet of the loan. The expendituie of the year wilt not .exeeed that sum mole than too mil lions. • By thisc expenditures nearly *eight mil ions of tl.epriccipal of the public debt have been dischalged. Mote than x million and a half has beer. devoted tp the jects of internal improvement, authorised by'Spec ial et etsitf the last Coogess. If we add to thew, four.itail. : tof , .. doliart for payment of inieresibpon the.,pub-, .110 there remains a sum .of about seven millions , t aye defrayed tlm whole expenses of the admi lifiltation of Government, inAts Legislative, Executive, Add Judiciary Departments, including die sapport of the Military and Naval Establishments, and all the occa sional centingencies of a Government co-extensive with the Union. " The amount of duties secured on merchandise im ported, from the commencement of the year, is about twenty-five millions and a half; and that which will act, tie during the current quarter is estimated at five millions and a half: from these thirty-one millions, deducting the drawbacks, estimated at less than seven. millions, a sum exceeding twenty-four millions will constitute the revenue of the year, and will exceed the whole expenditure of the year. The entire amount of public debt remaining due on the first of January next, will be short of eighty-one millions of dollars. II By an Act of Congress of the third of March last, a loan of twelve millions of dollars was authorised, at four and a half per cent. or an exchange of stock to that amount of four and a half per cent. for stock of six per cent. to create a fund for extinguishing an equal amount of the public debt, bearing an interest of six per cent. redeemable in 1826. An account of the mea sures taken to give effect to this Act, will be laid before you by the Secretary of the Treasury. As the object which it had in v.ew has been but partially accom plished, it will be for the consideration of C ingress, whether the power with which it clothed the Executive should not be renewed at an early day of the present Session, and under what inodificatim ? " The Act ok Congress of the Sti of March last, dit acting the Sect etary of the Treasury to subscribe, in the name and f , r the use of the United States, far one thousand five,hundred shares of the capital st ck of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal Company, has been executed by the actual subscription for the amount spe. cified, and such other measures have been adopted by , that officer, under the Act, as the fulfilment of its intentisns require. The latest accounts received of this important undertaking, authorise the belief that it is in successful progress. The payment into the Treasury from proceeds of the sale of the Public Lands during the present year, were' estimated at one million of dollars. The actual receipts of the first two quarters have fallen very little short of that sum ; it is not expected that the second half of the year will be equally productive; but the income of the year from that source may now be safely estimated at a million and a half. The Act of Congress of 18th May, 1824, to provide for the extinguishment of the debt due to the United States by the purchasers of public lands, was limited, in its operation of relief to the purchaser, to the 10th of April last. Its effect, at the end of the quarter during which it expired, was to reduce the debt from ten to seven millions. By the operation of similar prior laws of relief, from and since that of the 2d of March, 1821, the debt has been reduced, from upwards of 22 millions to ten. It is exceedingly desirable that it should be extinguished altogether ; and to facilitate that consummation, I recommend to Congress the revival, for one year more, of the Acts of 18th May, 1824, with iech provisional modifications as may be necessary to sward the public interests against fraudulent practice 'm the resale of the relinquished land. The purchasers of public lands are amongst the most useful of our fel low citizens, and, since the system of sales for cash alone has been introduced, great indulgence has been justly extended to those who had previously purchased upon had credit. The. debt which , been contracted under the credit sales, had become unwieldy, and its extinction was alike advantageous to the purchaser and the public. Under the system of sales, matured, as it has been, by experience, and adapted to the exigencies of the times, die lands will clntinue, as they have become, an abun dant source of revenue ; and when the pledge of them to the public creditor shall be redeemed by the entire discharge of the national debt, the swelling tide of wealth with which they replenish the common treasury, may be made to reilow in unfailing streams of improve ment from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. " The condition of the vari 'us branches of the pub lic service resorting from the Department of War, and their administration during the current year, will be exhibited in the Report from the Secretary of War, and the accompanying documents herewith communicated. The organization and discipline of the army are effec tive and satisfactory. To counteract the prevalence of desertion among the troops, it has been suggested to withhold from the men a small portion of their monthly pay until the period of their discharge; and some ex pedient appears to be necessary to preserve and main tain among the officers so much of the art of horseman ship as could scarcely fail to be found wanting, on the possible sudden eruption of a war, which should not overtake us unproyided with a single corps of cavalry. The Military Academy at West Point, under the re strictions of a severe but parental superintendance, re commends i:self more and more to the patronage of the nation; and the number of meritorious officers which it forms and introduces to the public service, furnishes the means of multiplying the undertakings of public im . provements, to which their acquirements at that insti tution a'e peculiarly. adapted. The school of artillery pract cc, established at Furness Monroe, is well suited to the same purpose, and may need the aid of further legislative provisions to Y e same end. The reports trout the various officers at the head of the administra- tive branches of the militar y service, connected with the quarte. ing, clothing, subsistence, health, and pay of the army, exhibit the assiiuous vigilance of those officers in the performance of their respective duties, and the faith tul a•countability' which has pervaded every part of the sy stern. " Our relations with the numerous tribesof aboriginal natives of this country, scam.. red over its extensive sur face, and so dependent, even for their existence, upon our power, have been, during the present year, highly interestiug. An Act of Congress of the 25th of May, 1824, made an appropriation to defray the expenses of making 'Treaties, of Trade. and Friendship with the Indian Tribes beyond art Mississippi. An Act of Sd March, 1b 1 25. authorised Treaties to be made with the Indians for their consent to the Making of a road from saran frontier of Maslow ito that of New Mexico. And another Act of the same date provided for defraying the expen,es of holding Treaties with the Sioux, Chip peway, Menomenee,, &mks, Foxes, &c. tar the parr- be of gratitude tothe warriors . the ltrvolu kit; a posc tit ng bounditiies, and promoting peace Mai ly equal sum to the constiuction of tortitications, between the said vibes. The ,first and the last objects and the acquisition of ordnance, and otter pet mituent of these Acts have been accomplished; and the second ptcpar At ives of national siefcnce. Half a mitlion to the is yct in api (h ets a.l execution. The Treaties which,, gradual inciease of the Navy; an equal suut for the bitige the last Se;tion.of Coligre s s, have been concluded porchases niterritoty from the Indians, and payment , with ti.e .ever .1 ti ibvs, w,ll be laidbelore the Sen Ate for of Annuities to them ; and upwards of a million tur of-1 their conswiri unti)ll so the Constitution. Tl•ey comprise large and valuable aegiii.i.iong or terni. tory; and they secure an adjustment of boundaries, a n d give pledges of permanent peace between several t►ib s which had been long waging bloody wars against each other. _ " On the 12th of February last, a treaty was signed the Indian Springs, between Commissioners sp . pointed on the part of the United State, and certain Chiefs and individuals of the treek Nation of Indians; which was received at the seat of Government only a few days before the close of the last Session of Congress,. and of.the late .Administration. The advice and eon: sent of the Se sate was given to it on the 3d of March, too late to receive the sanction of the then President of the United States ; it was ratified on theith of March, under the unsuspecting impression that it had been negotiated in good faith, and in the confidence inspired by the recommendation of the Senate. The subsequent • transactions in relation to this treaty, will form the subject of a separate message. " The appropriations made by Congress, for public works, as well in the construction of fortifications, as for purposes of internal improvement, as far as they kart bee% expended, have been faithfully appied. Their progress has been delayed for want of suitable officers for superintending them. An increase of both the Corps of Engineers, Military and Topogr +Oka!, was • recommended by my predecessor, at the last Session of Congress. The reasons upon which that recommenda. lion was founded subsist in all their force, and have acquired additional urgency since that time. it may also be expedient to organise the Topographical Eni. .neers into a corps similar to the e-talslishment of t..e Corps of Engineers. The Military Academy at Wets Point will furnish. from the Cadets annua.ly graduated there, Officers well qualified for c arying this nitta,u:e into effect. " The Board of Engineers for Internal Improvemera, appointed for tarrying into execution the Act of Con gress, of the 801 of April, 1824, to procure the necessary surveys, plans, and estimates, on the 64i bject of roads and canals,' have been actively engaged in that service from the close of the last Session or Con gress. They have completed the surveys necessary for ascertaining the practicability of a canal from the Chesapeake Bay to the Ohio River, and are preparing a full Report on that subject; which, when completed - , will be laid before you. The s.me c b.ervation is to be made with regard to the two other objects ot national importance upon which the Board have been occupied, namely, the accomplishment of a national road from this city to New Orleans, and the practicability of uniting the waters of Lake Mempliramagog with Con necticut River, and the improvement of the navigation of that River. The surveys have been made, and are nearly completed. The Report may be expected at an early period during the present Session of Congress. " The Acts of Congress of the last Session relative to the surveying, marking, or laying out roads in the ter. ritories of Florida, Arkansas, Michigan, from Missouri to Mexico, and for the continuation of the Cumberland road, are some of them fully executed, and others in the process of execution. Those for completing or com mencing fortifications, have been delayed only so far as the corps of engineers has been inadequate to furnish officers for the necessary superintendence of the works. Under the Act confirming the statutes of Virginia and Maryland, incorporating the Chesapeake and Ohio Ca nal Company, three Commissioners on the part of the United States have been appointed fur opening books and receiving subscriptions, in concert with a like num ber of Commissioners appointed on the part of each o 4 those States. A meeting of the Commissioners has been postponed to await the definitive report of the Board of. engineers. The light-houses and monument. for the safety of our commerce and mariners; the works for the security of the Plymouth Beach, and for the preserva tion of the Islands in Boston Harbour, have received the attention required by the laws relating to those ob jects respectively. Tile continuation of the Cumber land road, the most important of them all, after sur mounting na inconsiderable difficulty in fixing upon the. direction of the road,• has commenced under the most promising auspices, with the improvements of recent intention in the mode of construction, and with the ad- • vantage of a great reduction in the comparative cost of the work. " The operation of the laws relating to Revolts-. tionary Pensioners may deserve the renewed considera tion of Congress. The Act of March 18, 1818, wlule it made provision for many meritorious and indigent citizens, will had served in the war of independence; opened a door to numerous abuses and impositions.. To remedy this, the Act, Ist May, 1820, exacted proofs of absolute indigence, which many teAlly in want, were unable, and all, susceptible of that delicacy which is allied to many virtues, must be deeply reluctant to give. The result 'has been, that some amongst the least deserving have been retined, and some in whom • the requisites both of worth and want were combined, have been stricken from the list. As the number 'of. these venerable relics of an age gone by diminish, .as the decays of body, mind, and estate of those who sur vive must, in the common course .of nature increase, should net a more liberal portion of indulgence be dealt out to them? " May not the want, in most instances, be inferred from the demand, when the service can be duly proved? and may not the last days of human infirmity be spared the mortification of purchasing a pittance .of relief only by the exposure of its own necessities? submit to Congress the expediency either of providing for individual cases of this descripti , n by special enact meat, or of revising the Act of Ist May, 1820, with a view to mitigate the rigour of its exclusions, in favour of persons to whom chalky, now bestowed, san scarcely discharge the debt of justice. " The portion of the naval force of the Union in actual service has been chiefly employed on three sta tions : the Mediterranean, the coasts et South America bordering on the Pacific - Ocean, and the West Indies. An occasional cruizer has been sent to range along the Mikan shores most polluted by the traffic in sl.ives; one at med vessel has been stationed on the coast of Oar eastern boundary, to cruise along the fishing grounds in Hudson's Bay, and on the coast of Labrador ; and the first service of a new frigate has been performed I') returning to his native soil, and domestic enjoymenti , the veteran hero whose youthful blood and treasure had freely flowed in the cause of our. count y's inde2in,l ence, and whose whole life had been a series of sac:'• fires—and sacrifices to the improvement of his fellow men. The visit of General Lafayette, alike honourable to himself and to our country, closed, a it had com menced, 'wig) the most affecting testimonials of devoted attachment on his part, and ot unbounded granitic. this people to him in return. It w ill furor, hereafter, a pleasing leallibtoryilie intense .ntelest Of romance, uJ tigna incident in the annals a our U , giving t,