The Sun. — London, England, 1869-12-25 00:00:00

CONGRESS. The Forty-first Congress, composed as follows, met on Monday, Dec. 6, the Republicans of all shades numbering 157; the Democrats, marked with an asterisk, 71. Covode's seat in Pennsylvania is contested, which, with the Georgia, Mississippi, and Texas members, make 17 vacancies in the House of Representatives. In the Senate the Republicans are 59, Democrats, similarly marked, 11, leaving four vacancies, those of Mississippi and Texas ; while those of Virginia and Georgia, though elected, have not been admitted, the full House consisting of 74 members. Term expires. THE SENATE. Term expires. 1 Alabama. Mississippi. Willard Warner 1871 (Vacant) - George E. Spencer 1873 Missouri. Arkansas. . Charles D. Drake 1873 Alex. :NI-Donald 1871 Carl Schurz 1875 Benjam:n F. Rice 1873 Nebraska. California. John M. Thayer 1871 Corn-fins Cole 1873 Thomas W. Tipton 1875 *Eugene Casserly 1875 Nevada. Connecticut. James W. Nye...... 1873 Orris S. Ferry 1873 William M. Stewart 1875 Wm. A. Buckingham...lB7s I New Hampshire. Delaware. ' Aaron H. Cragiu 1871 *ViTillard Satilsba.y ...1871 James W. Patterson 1873 *Thomas F. Bayard ...1875 New J.•rsey. Florida. Alexander G. Cattail lB7l Thomas W. Osborn ...1873 *John P. Stockton 1875 Abijah Gilbert 1875 , New York. Georgia. Roscoe Conkling 1873 *.:lomer V. M. Miller ...1871 Reuben E. Fenton 1875 Joshua Hill 1873 North Carolina. Illinois. ' Joseph G. Abbott 1871 Richard Yates 1871 John Pool 1873 Lyman Trumbull .....1873 Ohio. I Indiana. John Sherman 1873 Oliver P. Mort on 1873 *Allen G. Thurman 1875 Daniel D. Pratt 1875 Oregon. lowa, Geo. 11. Williams 1871 James W. Grimes lB7l Henry W. Corbett 1873 James Harlan 1873 I Pennsylvania. Kansas, 1 Simon Cameron 1873 Edmund G. Ross 1871' John Scott 1875 Samuel C. Pomeroy 1873 I Rhode Island. Kentucky. Henry B. Anthony 1871 *Thos. C. M'Creery ...1871 William Sprague 1875 *Garrett Davis 1873 South Carolina. Louisiat a. Thos. J. Robertson 1871 John S. Harris 1871 Frederick A. Sawyer ...1873 Wm. Pitt Kellogg 1873 Tennessee. Maine. Joseph S. Fowler lB7l Lot M. Morrill 113znibal Hamlin 1875 Texas. Maryland. (Vacant) - *George Vickers 1873 Vermont. *Wm. T. Hamilton 1875 Justin S. Morrill 1873 Massachusetts. Geo. F. Edmunds 187 5 Henry Wilson 1871 Virginia. Charles Sumner 1875 John F. Lewis - Michigan. John W. Johnston - Jacob M. froward lB7l West Virginia. Zachariah Chandler 1875 Waltman T. Willey ...1871 Minnesota. Arthur I. Boreman 1875 niel S. Norton 1"71 Wisconsin. sander Ramsay 1875; Timothy 0. Howe 1873 I Matt. 11. Carpenter 1875 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Alabama. Alfred E. Buck Charles W. Buckley Robert S. Heflin it. Charles Hays 5. *— Cox 6. *Sherman Arkansas. 1. Logan H. Root 2. *Anthony A. C. Rogers 3. Thomas Boles 3. *John T. Bird 4. John Hill 5. *Orestes Cleveland New Yonr. 1. *Henry A. Reeves 2. *John G. Schumaker 3. *Henry W. Slocum 4. *John Fox 5. *John Morrissey 6. *Samuel S. Cox 7. *Hervey C. Calkin 8: *James Brooks 9. *Fernando Wood 10. *Clarkson N. Potter IL *George W. Greene 12. John 11. Ketcham 13. *John A. Griswold 14. *Stephen L, Mayhem 15: Adolphus 11. Tanner 10. Orange Ferriss 17. William A. Wheeler lg. Stephen Sanford 19. Charles Knapp 20. Addison 11. Laflin 21. Alex. IL Bailey 22. John C. Churchill 23. Dennis M'Carthy 21. George W. Cowles 25. William If. Kels e y 26. Giles W. Hotchkiss 27. Hamilton Ward 28. Noah Davis, jun. 9. John Fisher 30. David S. Bennett 31. Porter Sheldon North Carolina. 1. Clinton L. Cobb 2. David Holton 3. Oliver H. Dockery 4. John T. Daweese 5. Israel G. Lash 6. *Francis E Shober 7. *Plato Durham Ohio. 1. *Peter W. Strader 2. Job E. Stevenson 3. Robert C. Schenck 4. William Lawrence 5. * William Mungen 6. John A. Smith 7. James J. Winans 8. John Beatty 9. *Edw. F. Dickinson 10. *Truman H. Hoag 11. John T. Wilson 12. *Phil. Van Trump 13. *George W. Morgan 14. Martin Walker 15. Edward H. Moore 16. John A. Bingham 17. Jacob A. Ambler 18. William H. Upson 19. James A. Garfield Oregon. 1. *Joseph S. Smith Pennsylvania.. 1. *Samuel J. Randall 2. Charles O'Neill 3.1.J0hn Moffet 4. William D. Kelley 5. *John R. Reading 6. *John D. Stiles 7. Wash. Townsend 8. *J. Lawrence Getz 9. Oliver J. Dicaey 10. Henry L. Cake 11. *Daniel M. Van Auken 12. *Geo. W. Woodward 13. Uly.ses Mercur 14. John B. Packer 15. *Richard J. Haldeman 16. John Cessna 17. Daniel J. Morrell 18. Wm. H. Armstrong 19. Glenni W. Scofield 20. Calvin W. Gilfillan 21. (Contested.) 22. James S. Negley 23. Darwin Phelps 24 Joseph B. Donley Rhode Island. 1. Thomas A. Jenckes 2. Nathan F. Dixon South Carolina. 1. Benj. F. Whittemore 2. C. C. Bowen 3. Solomon D. Hodge 4. *W. D. Simpson California. 1. •Samuel B. Axtol 2. Aaron A. Sargent 3. *James A. Johnson Connecticut. 1. Julius Strong 2. Stephen W. Kellogg 3. IL 11. Starkwenther 4. *William 11. Barnum Delaware. '"Benjamin T. Biggs Florida. Charles M. Hamilton Georgia. 1. J. W. Clift 2. *Nelson Tift 3. 'William P. Edwards 4. Samuel E. Govo 5. Charles H. Prince C. [Vacancy] 7. *P. 31._13, Young Illinois. - At Large—John A. Logan 1. Norman B. Judd 2. John F. Farnsworth 3. H. C. Burchard 4. John B. Hawley 5. Ebon C. Ingersoll 6. Burton C. Cooke 7. Jesse A. Moore 8. Shelby M. Cullom 9. *Thornton W. MbNeely 10. *Albert G. Burr 11. *Samuel S. Marshall 12. John B. Hay 13. *John M. Crebs Indiana. 1. *Wm. E. Niblack 2. *Michael C. Kerr 3. *Wm. S. Ilolman 4. Gen. W. Julian 5. John Coburn ri . B. *Daniel W. Voorhees 7. Godlove S. Orth Jas. N. Tyner 9. John P. C. Shanks 10. Win. Williams 11. Jasper Packard lowa. 1. George W. M'Crary 2. William Smyth 3. Wm. B. Allison 4. Wm. Loughridge 5. Francis W Palmer 6. Charles Pomeroy Kansas. 1. Sidney Clarke Ice itucky. 1. *Lawrence S. Trimble 2. *Wm. M. Sweeney 3. *Jacob S. Golladay 4. *J. Proctor Knott *Boyd Winchester 6. *Thomas L. Jones 7. *James B. Beck 8. *G4 orge M. Adams 9. *John M. Rico Louisiana. 1. *Louis St. Martin 2. Lewis A. Sheldon 3. *Adolphe Bailey 4. *Michael Ryan 5. *George W. M'Crainie Maine. 1. John Lynch 2. Samuel P. Morrill 3. James G. Blaine 4. John A. Peters 5. Eugene Hale - Maryland. 1. *Samuel Hambloton 2. *Stevenson Archer 3. *Thomas Swann 4. *Patrick Hamill 5. *Frederick Stone Massachusetts. 1. James Buffington 2. Oakes Ames 3. Giuery Twitchell 4. Samuel Hooper 5. Benjamin F. Butler 6. Nathaniel P. Banks 7. George M. Brooks 8. George F. Hoar 9. Wm. B. Washburn 10. Henry L. Dawes Michigan. 1. Fernando C. Beaman 2. Wm. L. Stoughton 3. Austin Blair 4. Thomas W. Ferry 5. Omer D. Con ;er 6. Randolph Strickland 11.nnesota. 1. Morton S. Wilkinson 2. *Eugene M. Wilson [This State will be en-1 titled to five members by the presont apportionment. The returns of the election just held have not been received.' Missouri. 1. *Erastus Wells. 2. Gustavus A. Finkelburg 3. *James It. M'Cormick 4. Sempionius H. Boyd 5. Samuel S. Burdett 6. Robert T. Van Horn 7. Joel F. Asper 8. John F. Benjamin 9. David P. Dyer Nebraska. 1. John Taffo Nevada. 1. Thomas Fitch New Hampshire. 1. Jacob H. Eta 2. Aaron F. Stevens 3. Jacob Bon ton New Jersey. 1. William Moore 2. *Charles Haight Tennessee. At Largo—John B. Rogers. 1. Roderick R. Butler 2. Horace Maynard 3. William B. Stokes 4. Lewis Tillman 5. William F. Prosser 6. Samuel M. Arnell 7. Isaac R. Hawkins . 8. William J. Smith Texas. (This State will be en titled to four members. The election has just been held, but the result is not yet known.] Vermont. 1. Charles W. Willard 2. Luke P. Poland 3. Worthington C. Smith Virginia. 1. Richard S. Ayer 2. James H. Platt 3. Charles H. Porter 4. Charles W. Booker 5. ,Robert Ridgway 6. Wm. Milnes, jun. 7. Len is Mackenzie 8. J. K. Gibson. At Large—Joseph Segar. West Virginia. 1. k,apc H. Duvall 2. James C. MiGrow 3. John S. Witcher [The Virginia members are divided into three Radi cal and six Conservative Re publicans. They have not been admitted to Congress.' Wisconsin. 1. Halbert E. Payne 2. Ben. F. Hopkins 3. Amasa Cobb 4. *Charles A. Eldridge 5. Philetus Sawyer 6. Cad. C. Washburn THE SENATE. Dec. G.—Lot M. Morrill was sworn in as suc cessor to Mr. Fessenden, and the resignation of Senator Grimes, of lowa, was presented. The credentials of the Virginia Senators elect were tabled. Mr. Cameron presented a petition of, Pennsylvanians, asking the recognition of Cubs, which, on the motion of Mr. Sumner, was tabled. Messrs. Drake awl Sumner introduced bills restrict ing t he apt) llate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the United States in cL.rtain cases affecting the cors!itutionality of Acts of Congress. Mr. Morton introduced a bill to reconstruct the State of Ger. , r,i 1, and Mr. ElltnnnaB called up the bi!l to eofurce tie Fourteenth Amendment in that State, and " restore to it a Republi'lln form of govern ment." Mr. Edmunds' bill was made the order for Wednesday. Mr. Stewart offered a resolution direct ing the Judiciary Committee to inquire whether any States are denying to any class of persons equal protection of the laws, and to report what action may be necessary in the matter. The resolution was ta'ded. The President's Message was read, and the Senate, biter an Executive session, adjourned. Dec. were introduced as follows : Dy Mr. Spencer, of Alabama, to amend the Civil Rights Act, by making coloured persons competent to tes tify in State Courts, &c. ; by Mr. Carpenter, of Wisconsin, to secure freedom of transit in the United States; by Mr. Corbett, of Oregon, ex empting canned and preserved fish from internal tax ; by Mr. Patterson, of N. H., to promote the International Exhibition at Washington, in 1871 ; by Mr. Thayer, requiring the planting of trees on homestead settlements ; by Mr. Sumner, to amend the Banking Act and promote a return to specie payments ; and by Mr. Trumbull, to relieve Con gressmen from the importunity of office seekers, by making it a misdemeanour for them to recommend applicants for office. Mr. Morton, of Indiana, offered a joint resolution for the admission of Vir ginia, and the Chair presented a memorial from the Radical Convention of that State, held recently at Richmond, against admission. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 6.—Several new members were sworn in. Messrs. Sherman and Cox, of Alabama, being ob jected to, were not sworn, and their credentials were referred to the Election Committee. The Pre sideut's Message was read. The Census Bill was reported, and made the order for Wednesday. Mr. Farnsworth offered a joint resolution, declaring Virginia entitled to representation in Congress, which was referred to the Reconstruction Com mittee. On the motion of Mr. Paine. the credentials of all persons claiming seats from Virginia or Mis sissippi were directed to be referred, when pre sented, to the Election Committee. Bills estab• lishing a free banking system and exempting pork and beef packing from being classed as manufacturing, were intro3uced by Messrs. In gersoll and Judd, and referred.—Adjourned. Dec. 7.—The portions of the President's Message relating to the finances, our foreign relations, &c., were referred to the various committees. Bills were introduced by Mr. Dawes, of Massachusetts, reorganizing the Treasury Department ; Mr. Butler, of Massachusetts, repealing the Tenure of Office Act ; Mr. Hill, of New Jersey, abolishing the Franking Privilege ; Mr. Williams, of Indiana, repealing the duty on coffee, tea, salt, and writing and printing paper ; Mr. Finckelburg, of Mobile, relating to naturalization ; Mr. Wood, of New York, to prevent Congressmen from holding office under the .President ; and by Mr. Ingersoll, of Illinois, to prohibit Treasury sales of coin, and pro vide for redemption of greenbacks in coin, at par. The credentials of Messrs. Hays, Sherman, Helfin, and Cox, of Alabama, were reported back from the Election Committee, and those gentlemen were sworn in. The credentials of the Virginia mem bers were presented and referred. A Bill to extend the patent for Hoe's printing press was reported and tabled. On motion of Mr. Butler, the Post master-General was directed to report upon the practicability of paying pensions through the postal money order system.—Adjourned. THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE. To the Senate and House of Represent ant:es. In coming before you for the first time as Chief Magis trate of this great nation, it is with grataude to the Giver of all Good for the many benefits we enjoy. We are blessed with peace at home, and are without entangling alliances abroad to forbode trouble ; with a territory unsurpassed in fertility, of an area equal to the abundant support of 500,000,000 of people, and abounding in every variety of useful minerals, in quantity sufficient to supply the world for generations; with exuberant crops ; with a variety of climate, adapted to the production of every species of earth's riches, and suited to the habits, tastes, and require ments of every living thing; with a population of 10,000,000 of free people, all speaking one language; with facilities for every mortal to acquire an education ; with institutions closing to none the avenues to fame or any blessing of fortune that may be coveted ; with freedom of the pulpit, the press, and the school ; with a revenue flow ing into the National Treasury beyond the requirements of the Government. Happily, harmony is being rapidly re stored within our own borders. Manufactures hitherto unknown in our country are springing up in all directions, producing a degree of National independence unequalled by that of any other power. These blessings, and countless others, are intrusted to your care and mine for safe keeping, for the brief period of our tenure of office. In a short time we must each of us return to the ranks of the people who have conferred upon us our honours, and account to them for our stewardship. I earnestly desire that neither you nor I may be condemned by a free and enlightened constituency, nor by our consciences. RETROSPECTIVE-THE CASE OF GEORGIA. Emerging from a rebollion of gigantic magnitude, aided as it was by the sympathy and assistance of nations with which we were at peace, eleven States of the Union were four years ago left without legal State Government; a na tional debt had been contracted ; American commerce was almost driven from the seas; the industry of one-half of the country bad been taken from the control of the capi talist and placed where all labour rightfully belongs—in the keeping of the labourer. The work of restoring State Governments loyal to the Union, of protecting and foster ing free labour and providing means for paying the inte rest on the public debt, has received ample attention from Congress, although your efforts have not met with the success in all particulars that might have been desired yet, on the whole, they have been more successful than: could have been reasonably anticipated. Seven States which 'wised ordinances of secession have been fully re stored to their places in the Union ; the eighth (Georgia) held an election at which she ratified her Constitution, republican in form, elected a Governor, members of Congress, a State Legislature, and all other officers re quired. The Governor was duly installed and the Legis lature met and performed all the acts then required of them by the Reconstruction Acts of Congress. Sub sequently, however, in vialation of the Constitution which they had just ratified, as since decided by the Su l-I'omo Court of the State, they unseated the coloured members of the Legislature and admitted to seats some members who aro disqualified by the third clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution —an article which they themselves had contributed to ratify. Under these circumstances I would submit to you whether it would not be wise, without delay, to enact a law anthem ' ising the Governor of Georgia to convene the members originally elected to the Legislature, requiring each mem ber to take the oath proscribed by the Reconstruction Acts, and none to be admitted who are ineligible under the third clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The freedmen under the protection which they have received aro making rapid progress in learning, and no complaints aro heard of lack of industry on their part when they received fair remuneration for their labour. The means provided for paying the interest on the public debt with all other expenses of tie Government are more than ample. The loss of our commerce is the only result of the late rebellion which has not received sufficient at tention from you. To this subject I call your earnest at tention. I will not now suggest plans by which this ob ject may be effected, but will, if necessary, make it the subject of especial Message during the session of Congress VIRGINIA, MISSISSIPPI, AND TEXAS. - . . At the March term, Congress, by joint resolution, autho thorised the Executive to order elections in the States of Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas, to submit to them the Constitutions which each had previously in Convention framed, and to subm!t the Constitutions, either entire or in separate parts, to be voted upon at the discretion of the Executive. Under this authority elections were called In Virginia the election took place on the 6th of July, 1869 ; the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor elected have been installed ; the Leisli.ture met, and did all required by this resolution and by all the Reconstruction Acts of Congress, and abstained from all doubtful authority. I recommend that her Senators and Representatives, and the State be fully restored to its place in the family of States: Elections were called in Mississippi ant Texas, to commence on the 30th of November, 1869, and to last two days in Mississippi and four days in Texas. The elections have taken place, but the result is not known. It is to be hoped that the acts of the Legislatures of these States, when they meet, will be such as to receive your approval, and thus close the work of reconstruction. TILE CURILENCY -- TILE NATIONAL DEBT. Among tho evils growing ont of the Rebellion, and not yet referred to, is that of an irredeemable currency. It is an evil which I hope will receive your most earnest at tention. It is a duty, and one of the highest duties of Government, to secure to the citizens a medium of ex change of fixed unvarying value. This implies a return to a specie basis, and no substitute for it can be devised. It should be commenced now, and reached at the earliest practicable moment consistent with a fair regard to the interests of the debtor class. Immediate resumption, if practicable, would not be desirable. It would compel the debtor class to pay beyond their contracts the premium on gold at the date of their purchase, and would bring bankruptcy and ruin to thousands. Fluctuation, how ever, on the paper value of the measure of all values, gold, is detrimental to the interests of trade. It makes the man of business an involuntary gambler, for in all sales where future payment is to be made both parties speculate as to what will be the value of the currency to be paid and received. I earnestly recommend to you, then, such legislation as will insure a gradual return to specie payments, and put an immediate stop to fluctuation in the value of currency. The methods to secure the former of these are as nume rous as are the speculations on political economy. To se cure the latter I see but ono way, and that is to authorize the Treasury to redeem its own paper, at a fixed price, whenever presented, and to withhold f►onm circulation all currency so reduced until sold again for gold. 1 The vast resources of the nation, both develop. d and undeveloped, ought to make our credit the best ou earth, with a loss burden of taxation than the citizen has en dured for six years past. The entire public debt could be paid in ten years ; but it is not desirable that the people should be taxed to pay it in that time. Year by year the ability to pay it increases in a rapid ratio. lint the bur den of interest ought to be reduced as rapidly as can be done without the violation of contracts. The public debt IS represented, in great part, by bonds having from Ave THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 25, 1869. to twenty, and from ten to forty years to run, bearing in terest at the rate of six per cent. and five per cent. re spectively. It is optional with the Government to pay these bonds at any period after the expiration of the last time mentioned upon their face. The time has already expired when a great part of them may be taken up, and is rapidly approaching when all may be. It is believed that all which are now due may be replaced by bonds bearing a rate of interest not exceeding four and one-half per cont., and as rapidly as the remainder becomes duo that they may be replaced in the same way. To accomplish this it may be necessary to authorise the interest to be paid at either of the three or four money centres of Europe, or by any Assistant Treasurer of the United States at the option of the holder of the bond. I suggest this subject for the consideration of Congress, and also simultaneously with this the propriety of redeeming our currency as before suggested at its market value at the time the law goes into effect, increasing the rate at which currency will be bought and sold from day to day, or week to week, at the same rate of interest as Govern ment pays upon its bonds. mere Executive order, the matter 113 been referred to the Courts to decide. The conduct of tho war botwon the Allies and the Republic of Paraguay has made Ulf intercourse with that country so difficult that it has bees deemed advisable to withdraw our representative from here. THE ALABAMA CIUMS. Toward the close of the last Aslninistmtion a conven tion was signed at London for thf settlement of all out- standing claims between Great Jritain and the United States, which failed to receive tla advice and consent of the Senate to its ratification. T,O time and the circum- stances attending the negotia'in of that treaty were favourable to its acceptance by tle people of the United States, but its provisions were wiolly inadequate for the settlement of the grave wrongs tlat had been sustained by this Government as well as bj its citizens. The injuries resulting to the :hilted States by reason of the course adopted by Great Britain during our late Civil War in the increased rates of insurance, in the di minution of exports and imports. and other obstructions to domestic industry and prodttion, in its effect upon the foreign commerce of the comtry, in the decrease and transfer to Great Britain of oir commercial marine, in the prolongation of the war and the increased cost, both in treasure and in the lives of is suppression, could not be adjusted and satisfied as oreinary commercial claims which continually arise between commercial nations ; and yet the convention treated hem simply as such ordi nary claims, from which they differ more widely in the gravity of their character thanin the magnitude of their amount. Great even as is ttat difference not a word was found in the treaty, and not an inference could be drawn from it to remelt, the sense of the un friendliness of the course .f Great Britain in our struggle for existence which had so deeply and uni versally impressed itself upon the people of this coun try. Believing that a convention thus misconceived in its scope and inadequate in its provisions would not have produced the hearty, cordial settlement of the pending question which akne is consistent with the relations which 1 desire to have established between the United States and Gnat Britain, I regarded the action of the Senate in rejecting the treaty to have been wisely taken in the interest of peace, and as a neces- nary step in the direction of a perfect and cordial friend ship t etween the two countries. A sensitive people, conscious of their powers, are more at ease under a great wrong wholly unatoned than under the restraint of nottlarnont svh;oh aatica.a vuxitkor their jam/2 of ins- tico nor their grave sense of the grievance they have sustained. The rejection of the treaty was followed by a state of public feeling on both sides which I thought not favourable to an immediate attempt at renewed nego tiations. I accordingly so instructed the Minister of the United States to Great Britain, and found that my views in this regard were shared by her Majesty's Minister. I hope that the time may soon arrive when the two Govern ments can approach the solution of this momentous ques tion with an appreciation of what is due to the rights, dignity, and honour of each, and with the determination not only to remove the cause of complaint in the past, but to lay the foundation of a broad principle of public law which will prevent future differences and tend to firm and continued peace and friendship. This is now the only grave question which the United States has with any foreign nation. THE RECIPROCITY TREATY WITH CANADA. - _ The question of renewing a treaty for reciprocal trade between ths United States and the British Provinces on this continent has not been favourably considered by the Ad ministration. The advantages of such a treaty would be wholly in favour of the British producer, except possibly a few engaged in the trade between the two sections. No citizen of the United States would be benefited by reci procity. Our internal taxation would prove a protection to the British producer almost equal to the protection which our manufacturers now receive from the tariff. Some arrangements, however, for the regulation of com mercial intercourse b e t we en the United States and the Dominion of Canada may be desirable. The Commission for adjusting the claims of the "Hud son Bay and Puget's Sound Agricultural Company" upon the United States has terminated its labours. The award of $650,000 has been made, and all rights and titles of the Company on the territory of the United States have been extinguished. Deeds for the property of the Company have been delivered; an appropriation by Congress to meet this sum is asked. The Commissioners for determining the North Western land boundary between the United States and the British Possessions under the treaty of 1856, have completed their labours, and the Commission has been dissolved. In conformity with the recommendation of Congress, a prokosition was early made to the British Government to abolish the mixed courts created under the treaty of April 7, 1862, for the suppression of the slave trade. The subject is still under negociation. TELEGRAPH CABLES. It having come to my knowledge that a corporate com pany, organized under British laws, proposed to hind upon the shores of the United States, end to operate there a submarine cable, under a concession from his Majesty the Emperor of the French, of an exclusive right for twenty years of telegraphic communication between the shores of Franco and the United States, with the very objectionable feature of subjecting all messages con veyed thereby to the scrutiny and control of the French Government, L caused the French and British Legations at Washington to be made acquainted with the probable policy of Congress on the subject, as foreshadowed by the bill which passed the Senate in March hest. This drew from the representatives of the company an agreement to accept as the basis of their operations I,lle provisions of that bill, or of such other enactment on the subject as might be passed during the approaching session of Con gram Also to use their influence to secure from the French Government a modification of thoir oonoesolion, :;co as to permit the landing of any cable belonging to any Company incorporated by the authority of the United States, or of any State of the Union ; and, ou their part, not to oppose the establishment of any such cable. In consideration of this agreement I directed the with- drawal of all opposition by United States authorities to the landing of the cable, and to the working of it, lawn the meeting of Congress. I regret to say that there has been no modification made in the Company's concession; nor, so far as I can learn, have they attempted to secure one. Their concession excludes the capital and the citi zens of the United States from competition upon the shores of France. I recommend legislation to protect the rights of citizens of the United States, as well as the dig nity and sovereignty of the nation, against such an as sumption. I shall also endeavour to secure, by negotiation, an abandonment of the principle of monopolies in ocean telegraphic cables. Copies of the correspondence are herewith furnished. The unsettled political condition of other countries, less fortunate than our own, sometimes induces their citizens to come to the United States for the sole purpose of being naturalized. Having secured this, they return to their native country and reside there without disclosing this change of allegiance. They accept official positions of trust or honour which can only be held by citizens of their native land. They journey under passports describing them as such citizens ; and it is only when civil discord, after years perhaps of quiet, threatens their persons or their property, or when their native State drafts into its military service, that the fact of their change of allegiance is made known. They reside permanently away from the United States, they contribute nothing to its revenues, they avoid the duties of its citizenship, and they only make themselves known by a claim of protection. I have directed the diplomatic and consular officers of the United States to scrutinize carefully all such claims of protection. The citizen of the United States, whether native or adopted, is entitled to its complete protection. While I have a voice in the direction of affairs, I shall not consent to imperil the sacred right by conferring it upon fictitious or fraudulent claimants. THE PROTECTION OF EMIGRANT I'ASSENGERS. On the accession of the present Administration it was found that the Minister for North Germany had made propositions for the negotiation of a convention for the protection of emigrant p tssengers, to which no response had been given. It was concluded that to be effectual all the maritime powers engaged in the trade should join in such a measure. Invitations have been extended to the Cabinets of London, Paris, Florence, Berlin, Brussels, The Hague, Copenhagen, and Stockholm, to empawer their representatives at Washington to simultaneously enter into negotiations and to conclude with the United States conventions, identical in form, making uniform regulations as to the construction of the parts of vessels to be devoted to the use of emigrant passengers; as to the quality and quantity of food; as to the medical treatment of the sick, and as to the rules to be observed during tint voyage, in order to secure ventilation to promote health, to prevent intrusion, and to protect the females, and pro viding for the establishment of tribunals in the several countries for enforcing such regulations by summary process. Your attention is respectfully called to the law regulat ing the tariff on Russian homp,and to the question whether to fix the charges on Russian hemp higher than they aro fixed upon manilla is not a violation of our treaty with Russia, placing her products upon the same footing with tit difirn=raurt;7lOincreasitk.'will--wonderful ra pidity under the encouragement which they now receive w:th the improvements in machinery already effected, and still increasing, causing machinery to take the place of skilled labour. To a large extent our imports of many articles may fall off largely within a very few years. For nately, too, manufactures are not confined to a few locali ties as formerly, and it is to be hoped will become more and more diffused, making the interest in them equal in all sections. They give employment and support to hun dreds of thousands of people at home, and retain with us the means which otherwise would bo shipped abroad. The extension of railroads in Europe and the East is bringing into competition with our agricultural products like products of other countries. Self-interest, if not self preservation, therefore, dictates caution against disturb. iug any industrial interest of the country. It teaches us also the necessity of looking to the other markets for the sale of our surplus. Our neighbours south of us, and China and Japan,should receive our special attention. It will be the endeavour of the Administration to cultivate such relations with these nations as to entitle us to their confidence, and make it their interest, as well as ours, to establish better com mercial relations. OUR RELATIONS WITH CHINA. Through the agency of a more enlightened policy than that heretofore pursued towards Cnina, largely due to the sagacity and efforts of one of our own distinguished citizens, the world is about to commence largely increased relations with that populous and hitherto exclusive na tion. As the United States have been the initiators in this new policy, so they should ha the m .)st earnest in showing their good faith in making it a success. In this connection I advise such legislation as will for over pre clude the enslavement of the Chinese upon our soil, under the name of Coolies, and also prevent American vessels from engaging in the transportation of Coolies to any country tolerating the system. I also recommend that tho mission to China be raised to one of the first 110 W PEACE AND PROSPERITY ARE 10 DE SECURED. Upon my assuming the responsibilities of Chief Magis trate of the United States, it was with the conviction that three things were essential to its pence, prospvrity, and fullest development. First among these is strict integrity in fulfilling all our obligations. Second, to secure protec tion to the person and property of the citizens of the United States in each and every portion of our common ::ouutry, wherever ho may choose to move, without re ference to original nationality, religion, colour, or poli tics, demanding of him only obedience to the laws, and proper respect for the rights of others. Third, Union of all the States, with equal rights, indestructible by any constitutional means. To secure the first of these Con gress has taken two essential steps—First: In declaring by joint resolution that the public debt should be paid, principal and interest, in coin; and Second: by providing the means for paying. Providing the means, however, could not secure the object desired without a proper ad ministration of the laws for the collection of the revenues, and an economical disbursement of them. To this subject the Administration has most earnestly addressed itself, with results, I hope, satisfactory to the country. There has been no hesitation in changing officials in order to secure an efficient execution of the laws, sometimes, too, where, in a mere party view, undesirable political results were likely to follow . , nor any hesitation in sustaining officials against remonstrances wholly political. It may bo well to mention hero the embarrassment possible to arise from leaving on the statute books the so called "Tenure-of-Office Act," and to earnestly recommend its total repeal. It could not have been the intention of the framers of the Constitution, when providing that appoint ments made by tha President should receive the consent of the Senate, that the latter should have the power to retain in office persons placed there by Federal appoint ment against the will of the President. The law is con sistent with a faithful and efficient administration of the Government. What faith can an Executive put in officials forced upon him, in those, too, whom he has suspended for reasons? How will such officials be likely to servo au administration which they know does not trust them ? For the second requisite to our growth and prosperity, . . time, and a firm but humane admiuLtration Of existing laws, amended from time to time as they may prove in effective or prove harsh and unnecessary, are probably all the more required. The third cannot be obtained by special legislation, but must be regarded as fixed by the Constitution itself, and gradually acquiescel iu by force of public opinion. THE TARIFF -INTERNAL REVENUE. The subject of Tariff and Internal Taxation will neces- I sarily receive your attention. The revenues of the country are greater than the requirements, and may with safety bo reduced ; but as the funding of the debt in a 4 or a 41 per cent. loan would reduce the annual current expenses largely, thus, after funding, justifying a greater reduc tion of taxation than would be now expedient, I sug gest the postponement of this question until the next meeting of Congress. It may be advisable to modify taxation and tariff in instances where unjust or burdensome discriminations are made by the present laws regulating the subject. I recommend the postponement of it for the present. I also suggest the renewal of the tax on income, but at reduced rate, say of three per cent., and this tax to expire in three years. With the funding of the National Debt as here suggested, I feel safe in saying that taxes and the revenue from imports maybe reduced safely from sixty to eighty millions per annum at once, and may be still further reduced from year to year, as the resources of •the country are developed. The report of the Secretary of the Treasury shows the receipts of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1869, to be $370,943,747,and the expenditures, including interest, bounties, dm., to be $321,490,597. The estmates for the ensuing year are more favourable to the Government, and will no doubt show a much larger decrease of the public debt. The receipts in the Treasury beyond expenditures have exceeded the amount necessary to place to the credit of the Sinking Fund as provided b 5 law. To lock up the surplus in the Treasury, and withhold it from circulation, would lead to such a contraction of the currency as to cripple trade and seriously affect the prosperity of the country. Under these circumstances, the Secretary of the Treasury and myself heartily concurred in the propriety of using all the surplus currency in the Treasury in the purchase of Government Bonds, thus reducing the interest-bearing debt of the country, and of submitting to Congress the question of the disposition to be made of the bonds so pur chased. The bonds now held by the Treasury amount to about $75,000,000, including those belonging to the Sink ing Fund. 1 recommend that the whole be placed to the credit of the Sinking Fund. Your attention is respectfully invited to the recommen dations of the Secretary of the Treasury for the creation of the office of Commissioner of Customs Revenue, for 'ae increase of salary to certain classes of officials, and the substitution of increased national bank circulation to replace the outstanding three per cent. certificates, and most especially to his recommendation for the repeal of laws allowing shares of fines, penalties, forfeitures, to officers of the Government or to informers. The office of Commissioner of Internal Revenue is one of the moat arduous and responsible under the Govern ment. It falls but little, if any, short of a Cabinet position in its importance and responsibilities. I would ask for it, therefore, such legislation as in your judgment will place the office on a footing of dignity commensurate with its importance, and with the character and qualifications of the class of men requisite to fill it properly. THE CASE OF CUBA. As the United States is the freest of all nations, so, too, the people sympathise with all peoples struggling for liberty and self-government. But while so sympathising, it is due to our honour that we should so abstain from en forcing our views upon unwilling nations, and from tak ing an interested part without invitation. In the quarrels between different nations, or between Governments and their subjects, our course should always be in confor mity with strict justice and law, international and local. Such has been the policy of the Administration in dealing with these questions. For more than a year a valuable province of Spain and a near neighbour of ours, in whom all our people cannot but feel a deep interest, has been struggling for independence and freedom. The people and Government of the United States entertain the same warm feelings and sympathies for the people of Cuba in their pending struggle that they manifested throughout the previous struggles between Spain and her former colo nies in behalf of the latter. But the contest has at no time assumed the conditions which amount to a war in the sense of international law, or which would show the exis tence of ade facto political organiz ttion of the insurgents sufficient to justify a recognition of belligerency. The principle is maintained, however, that this nation is its own judge when to accord the rights of belligerency either to a people struggling to free themselves Lem a Govern ment they believe to be oppressive, or to independent na tions at war with each other. The United States have no disposition to interfere with the existing relations of Spain to her Colonial possessions on this Continent. They believe that in doe time Spain and other European powers will find their interest in terminating those relzoious, and establishing their present dependencies as independent powers—members of the family qt nations. The depen dencies are no longer regarded as subject to transfer from one European power to asother. When the present rela tion of Colonies ceases they are to become independent powers, exercising the right of choice and of self-control in the determination of their future condition and relations with other powers. The United States, in order to put a stop to bloodshed in Cuba, and in the interest of a neigh bouring people, proposed their good offices to bring the _ _ existing contest to a termination. The offer not being accepted by Spain on a basis which we believed c)uld be received by Cuba, was withdrawn. It is hoped that the good offices of the United States may yet prove advanta geous for the settlement of this unhappy strife. Meanwhile a number of illegal expeditions against Cuba have b3en broken up. It has been the endeavour of the Admihistra tion to execute the neutrality laws in good faith, no mat ter how unpleasant the task, made so by the suffering wo have endured from lack of like good faith towards us by other nations. On the 26th of March last the United States schooner Lizzie Major was arrested on the high seas by a Spanish frigate, and two passengers were taken from it and carried as prisoners to Cuba. Representations of these facts were made to the Spanish Government as soon as sufficient information of them reached Washington The two passengers were set at liberty, and the Spanish Government assured the United States that the captain of the frigate, in making the capture, had acted without law; that he had been reprimanded for the irregularity of his conduct ; and that the Spanish authorities in Cuba would not sanction any act that could violate the rights or treat with disrespect tho sovereignty of this nation. The question of the seizure of the brig Mary Lowell at one of the Bahama Islands by Spanish authorities is now the subject of correspondence between the Government and those of Spain and Great Britain. The Captain-Gene ral of Cuba, about May last, issued a proclamation autho rizing search to be made of vessels on the high seas. Im mediate remonstrance was made against this, whereupon the Captain-General issued a new proclamation limiting the right of search to vassals of the United States, so far as authorised under the treaty of 1795. This proclama tion, however, was immediately withdrawn. I have always felt that the m )st intimate relations should be cultivated between the Republic of the United States and all independent nations on this continent. It may be well worth considering whether new treaties between the unicea atu►..- them may not 1)3 nroflta 6, v .rtrprml into to secure more intimate relations, friendly, commer cial, and otherwise. TUB DARIEN CANAL. Tho subject of the interoceanic canal to connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Isthmus of Darien is one in which commerce is greatly interested. Instructions have been given to our Minister to the Re public of the United States of Colombia to endeavour to obtain authority for a survey by the Government in order to determine the practicability of such an undertaking, and a charter icr the right of way to build by private en terprise such a work if the survey proves it to be practi- cable. In order to comply with the agreement of the United States as to a mixed commission at Lima for the adjust ment of claims, it became necessary to send a Commis sioner and a Secretary to Litna in August last. No appro priation having been made by Congress for this purpose, it is now asked that one be made covering the past and future expenses of the Commission. The good offices of the United States to bring about a peace between Spain and the South American Republics, with which she is at war, having been accepted by Spain, Peru, and Chili, a Congress has been invited to be held in Washington during the present winter. A grant has been given to Europeans of an exclusive right of transit over the territory of Nicaragua, to which Costa Rica has given its assent, which, it is alleged, con flicts with vested rights of citizens of • the United States. The Department of State has now this subject under consideration. mix AND THE SPANISH GUNBOATS. The Bliuibter of Peru having made representations that there was a state of war between Peru and Spain, and that Spain was constructing in and near Now York 30 gunboats, which might ho used by Spain in such a way as to relieve the naval force at Cuba so as to operate against Peru, orders were given to prevent their departure. No further steps having been taken by the representative of the Peruvian Government to prevent the departure of these vessels, and I not feeling authorized to detain the property et V. nation with which we are at peace, on a THE INDIAN QUESTION. From the foundation of the Government to the present the management of tho original inhabitants of this con tinent—the Indians—has ben a subject of embarrassment and expense, and has been attended with continuous rob beries, murders, and wars. From my own experience upon the frontiers and in Indian countries, I do not hold either the legislation or the conduct of the whites who come most in contact with the Indian blameless for these hostilities. The past, however, cannot be undone, and the question must be met as we now find it. .1 have attempted a new policy toward these wards of the nation (they can not be regarded in any other light than as wards) with fair results, so far as tried, and which, I hope, will be at . . tended ultitnately with great success. Tlie 'Society of Friends is well known as having succeeded in living in peace with the Indians in the early settlement of Pennsylvania, while their white neighbours of other sects in other sections were constantly embroiled. They are also known for their opposition to all strife , violence, and war, and are generally noted for their strict integrity and fair dealings. These considerations induced me to give the management of a few reservations of Indians to them, and to throw the burden of selection of agents upon the Society itself. Tho result has proved most satisfactory. It will be found more fully set forth in the report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. For Superintendents and Indian Agents not on the reservations, officers of the army were selected. The reasons for this were numerous. Where Indian Agents are sent, there or near there troops must be sent also. The agent and the com mander of troops are independent of each other, and are subject to orders from different departments of the Go vernment. The army officer holds a position for life; the agent one at the will of the President. The former is per sonally interested in living in harmony with the Indian, and in the establishment of permanent peace, to tie end that some portion of his life may be epent within the limits of civilized society. The latter has no such per sonal interest. Another reason is an economk one ; and still another, the hold which the Government has upon a life offices to secure a faithful discharge of duties in carrying out a given policy. The building of railroads and the access thereby given to all the agricultural and mineral regions of the country is rapidly bringing civil ized settlements into contact with all the tribes of In dians. No matter what ought to be the relations between such settlements and the aborigines, the fact is they do not harmonize well, and one or the other has to give way in the end. A systt3m which looks to the extinction Of race is too horrible for a nation to adopt without entailing upon itself the wrath of all Christendom and engendering in the citizen a disregard for human life and the rights of others dangerous to society; I see no substitute for such a system except in placing all the Indians on large reserva tions as rapidly as can be done, and giving them absolute protection there as soon as they are fitted for it. They should be induced to take their lands in severally, and set up territorial government for their own protection. For full details on this subject, I call your special attention to the report of the Secretary of the Interior and the Com missioner of Indian Affairs. TILE WAR DEPARTMENT. The report of the Secretary of War shows the expendi tures of the War Department for the year ending the 13th of June, 1869, to be $80,614,042, of which $23,882,310 was disbursed in the payment of debts contracted during the war, and is not chargeable to current army expenses. Pis estimate of $34,531,031 for the expenses of the army for the next fiscal year is as low as it is believed can be re lied on. The estimates of Bureau officers have been scru tinised and reduced wherever it has been deemed practic able. lf, however, the condition of the country should be such by the beginning of the next fiscal year as to admit of a greater concentration of troops, the appropriation asked for will not be expended. The appropriations esti mated for river and harbour improvements and for forti fications are submitted separately. Whatever amount Con gress may deem proper to appropriate for these purposes will be expended. -The recommendation of the General of the Army that appropriations be made for the forts at Boston, Portland, New York, Philadelphia, New Orleans, and San Francisco, if for no others, is concurred in. I also ask your special attention to the recommendation of the General command ing the Military Division of the Pacific for sale of tho Seal Islands of St. Paul and St. George, Alaska Territory, and suggest that it either be complied with or that legislation bo had for the protection of the seal fisheries from which a re ienue ghoul 1 bo derived. The report of the Secretary of War contains a synopsis of the reports of heads of bureaus, of the commanders of ndt;thry atvi.tons, anti of the Digtrlet3 of mio.;” sippi, and Texas, and the report of the Goneral of the Army in full. The recommendations therein contained have been well considered, and are submitted for your action. I however call special attention to the recommen dation of the Chief of Ordnance for the sale of arsenals and lands no longer of use to the Government; also to the recommendation of the Secretary of War, that tit act of the 3d of March, 1869, prohibiting promotions and appoint ments on the Staff Corps of the army be repealed. The extent of the country to be garrisoned and the number of military posts to be occupied are the same-with a rod need army as with a largo one. Tho number of staff officers required is more dependent upon the latter than the for mer condition. NATAL MATTERS. The Report of the Secretary of the Navy, accompany ing this, shows the condition of the Navy when this Administration came into office, and the changes made since. Strenuous efforts have been made to place as many vessels in commission, or render them fit f o r service, if required, as possible, and to substitute the sail for steam while cruising, thus materially reducing the expenses of the navy, and adding greatly to its efficiency. Looking to our future, I recommend a liberal though not extravagant policy towards this branch of the public service. The report of the Postmaster-General furnishesa clear and comprehensive exhibit of the operations of the postal service and of the financial condition of the Post office Department. Tne ordinary postal revenues for the year endine. the 30th of June, 1869, amounted to $18,314,510 and the expenditures to $23,698,131, showing au excess of expenditures over receipts of $5,353,620. The excess of expenditures o - ver receipts for the previous year amounted to $6,437,992. The increase of revenues for 1869 over those of 1868 was $2,051,909, and the increase of ex penditures was $967,538. The increased revenue in 1869 exceeded the increased revenue in 1868 by $996,336, and the increased expenditure in 1869 was $2,527,570 less than tho increased expenditure in 1868, showing by com parison this gratifying feature of improvement —that while the increase of expenditure over the increase of receipts in 1868 was $2,439,535, the increase of re .ceipts over the increase of expenditures in 1869 was $1,081,371. Your attention is respectfully called to the recommenda tions made by the Postmaster-General for authority to change thereto of compensation to the main trunk railroad lines for their services in carrying the mails ; for having post-route maps executed; for reorganizing and increas ing the efficiency of the Special Agency service ; for the increase of the mail service on the Pacific, and for estab lishing mail service under the flag of the Union on the At lantic; and Most especially do I call your attention to his recommendation for the total abolition of the franking privilege. This is an abuse from which no ono receives commensurate advantage; it reduces the receipts for the postal service from 25 to 30 per cent., and largely increases the service to be performed. The method by which postage sbould be paid upon public matter is set forth fully in the report of the Postmaster-General. The report of the Secretary of the Interior shows that the quantity of public lauds disposed of . during the year ending time 30th of Juno, 1869 , was 7,666,102 acres, exceed ing that of the preceding year by 1,010,409 acres. Of tit's amount 2,899,511 acres were sold for cash, and 2,737,365 acres entered under the homestead laws. The remainder was granted to aid in the construction of works of inter naln improvement, approved to the 1.5 41. VA m Itmla :eh and scrip. the cash receipts ?rem all sources were $4,472,886, exceeding those of the preceding year $2,840,140. During the lest fiscal year 23,196 names were added to the pension rolls, 4,876 dropped therefrom, leaving at its close 187,963. The amount paid tb pensioners, including the compensation of disbursingagents, was 828,422884, an increase of $4,411,902 on that of the previous year. The munificence of Congress has been conspicuously manifested in its legislation for the soldiers and sailors who suffered in the recent struggle to maintain that unity of government which makes us ono people. The addi tions to the pension rolls of each successive year since the conclusion of hostilities result in a groat degree from the repeated amendments of the Act of the 14th of July, 1862, which extended its provisions to cases not falling within its original scope. The large outlay which is thus occasioned is further increased by the more liberal allow ance bestowed since that date upon those who, in the line of duty, were wholly or permanently disabled. Public opinion has given an emphatic sanction to these measures of Congress, and it will he conceded that no part of our public burden is more cheerfully borne than that which is imposed by this branch of the service. It necessitates the next fiscal year, in addition to the amount justly charge able to the Naval Pension Fund, an appropriation of $30,000,000. During the year 1869 the Patent Office issued 13,762 patents, and its receipts we re 8681 , 389 , being $213926 more than the expenditures. I would respectfully call your attention to the recom mendation of the Secretary of the Interior for uniting the duties of supervising th e e d uca ti on of free dmanwith the other duties devolving upon the Commissioner of Education. If it is thc, desire of Congress to make the census which must be taken during the year 1870, more complete and perfect than heretofore, I would suggest early action upon any plan that may be agreed upon. As Congress at its last session appointed a committee to take into consideration such measures as might be deemed proper in reference to the census au•t to report a plan, I desist from saying more. I recommend to your favourable consideration the claims of the Agricultural Bureau for liberal appropriations in a country so diversified in climate and soil as ours and with a population so largely dependent upon agriculture. The benefits that can be conferred by properly fostering this Bureau are incalculable. I desire respectfully to call the attention of Congress to the inadequate salaries of a number of the most impor tant officers of the Government. lu this Message I will not enumerate them, but will specify only the Justices of the Supreme Court. No change has been made is their salaries for 15 years, and within that time the labours of the Court have largely increased, and the expenses ofJiv ing have at least doubled during the same time. Congress has twice found it necessary to increase largely the com pensation of its own members, and the duty which it owes to another department of Government deserves, and will undoubtedly receive, its due consideration. There are many subjects not alluded to in this Message which might with propriety be introduced, but I abstain, believing that your patriotism and statesmanship will suggest the topics of the legislation most conducive to the interests of the whole people. On my part I promise a rigid adherence to the laws, and their strict enforcement. U. S. GRANT. SECRETARY OF THE INrbRIOR. The Report of the Secretary of the Interior is dated Nov. 15, 1869, and opens with a statement of the public lands disposed of during the fiscal year, as follows : PUBLIC LANDS DISPOSED OF. Acres. Sales Homesteads Grants to Railroads, Sce. "746;769.51 . . Swamps to States 445,768.49 Military Warrants College Scrip 352,664.86 Indian Scrip Tt.tal increase over past year Inert ase under the Homestead Act Surveys in 15'distriets 10,822,896.00 Cash receipts, all sources 51,472,886.28 Increase, cash receipts over 1868 52,810,1.40.38 Total exp , nises Goner,l Land Office and 737 )is trict Offices PATENT OFFICE. Applications for Patents $153,816.43 19,360 3,693 (3:l%;eat3 filed Applications for Extonsion 153 13,762 125 899 Patents issued Patents extended Patents allowed, not issued Balance appropriation on hand Oct. 1, 1863 Appropriation since made 722,013 00 Total Expenditures since Oct. 1, 1863 Balance on hand Fees in excess of expenditures Expenditure in excess of fees, 1868 ... 171 64 Apropriation asked for 564,420 00 The office now publishes a weekly list of claims, which is furnished to subscribers at five dollars per annum. It is believed that by the ensuing year the receipts will cover the entire cost of the work. This list, published simultaneously with the issue of the patents, serves all the purposes of the annual report, which is not issued until two years later. In order that the public and the examining corps may have access to the drawings of the office, I recommend kn appropriation for pr;nting copies. The expense so occasioned can be reimbursed, if the Com missioner be authorized to make sale of them and apply so much of the proceeds thereof as may be necessary. If he could sell copies of the patents and of the drawings at cheap rates to those who desire them, and place copies in the State capitals and great commercial centres, more complete informatiou of the action of the bureau than is now furnished by the report would be promptly dissemi nated, and an annual expenditure of 8200,000 of the public money avoided. My immediate predecessor, in each of his annual re ports, urged the repeal of all laws which authorized an appeal horn the decision of the Commissioner of Patents on applications for letters patent and in interference cases. The reasons he presented are, in my opinion, clear and unanswerable. It is, indeed, believed that it was the intention of Congress to abolish such an appeal by the Act of 1861. No mention is made of it in the provision for appeals, or in the new schedule of fees thereby estab lished. It has, however, been held that prior Acts which authorised such an appeal are still in force, and that the right thereto still exists. If their purpose was to secure uniformity in the administration of the patent laws, it has Signally failed. The appellants may select either of the four members of the Supremo Court of the District to boar and determine the case, and from his decision no appeal lies to the court in bane. The Commissioner, in a paper addressed to me, represents that, as a natural consequence of the appeal and of the fee claimed for acting upon it, the judges have, without authority from Congress, assumed to extend their jurisdiction to his purely ministerial duties, and to interfere with the discharge of them. Decisions have been made on the proper date of letters patent, the allowance of amendments, the issue of double patents to an inventor and his assignee, and on other questions of a like character. The practical working of this asserted supervisory control over the doings of the Commissioner has been upon the whole injurious. Consistency of deci sions and 3f administration has not been attained. Con troversies and litigation as to the extent of relative juris diction have arisen, and the usefulness of the office, in its attempts to protect the public against imposition has been essentially impaired. PENSIONS. At the date of the last annual report the name of but ono revolutionary soldier, Daniel F. Rakeman, remqined on the pension rolls. He has since died. Of the pensioned widows of soldiers in the Revolutionary War there survive—One of those married prior to 1783, M of those married between 1783 and 1791, 38 of those married betweAn 1791 and 1800, and 795 of those married since 1800-4 88 in all, and only one less than ihe preceding year. There are on the rolls the names of 1,298 widows and children of soldiers who served in the wars subsequent to the Revolution and prior to that of 1861, a decrease of five since the last annual re port. The number of invalid pensioners who served in said wars is 2,350: New applications for invalid pensions of soldiers Aggregate annual rate . .... $463,114 40 Applications for increased pensions Aggregate annual rate Pensions to widows, orphans, &c., allowed 15,695 Aggregate annual rate 51,577,281 53 Applications by widows, &c., for increased PtY Total annual rate . 11,986 $784,549_70 Invalid milit wy pensioners, Juno 30, 1869 81,579 Yearly pensions to same . Widows, &e.; receiving pensions, June 30, 180 a 103,546 Yearly pensions to samo 513,567,679 19 Whole number of army pensioners Annual rate army pension Amount paid to In - Valid militarypensioners $9,383,714 43 Amount paid to widows, Lir,c 5t8,609,153 56 Total amount paid for military pensions, applications for expenses, do 527,992,868 04 Navy invalid pensioners admitted 172 Annual rata Applications for invalid navy pensions ad- witted Aggregate annual rate Applications of widows, &c., admitted Aggregate annual rate Pensions of widows, &c., increased Annual rate of increase $2,606 50 - . 209 $27,510 00 - . 101 $1,728 00 1,280 $118,171 10 Navy pensioners, June 30, 1869 Annually paid to these . . Widows, (Sic.. receiving pensions Annually paid to these Amount paid to navy invalids Amount paid to widows, &c., of seamen 1,558 $256,330 00 $125,640 51 $304,375 53 $430,0.6 04 Total navy pensions Increase of pensions of all classes during year . . 23,196 Dropped from rolls On rolls Juno 30, 1869 187,963 Amount paid for pensions of all classes__ $78,422,88 i 00 Increase over last year 54,411,902 09 Bounty laud warrants issued 1,650 Number of acres 260,040 Amount required during next year, ex clusive of amount chargeable to navy pension fund Investigations made during the past summer have proven the commission of very numerous frauds in pro curing false testimony, by means of which certificates have been wrongfully obtained. Diligent effort is being made to bring the offenders to justice, bid the mode of ap pointing and paying pension agents and medical ex aminers should be changed, with a view increasing their efficiency as aids to the office in protecting the Go vernment against fraudulent claims. The pension agents are now entitled to a percentage upon the amount of money disbursed by them. In my judgm ent this is the exact opposite of the true rule in such cases. The Go vernment may be benefited by paying collecting officers a percentage on their co llections, since their vigilance i s stimulated in that way ; but to increase the officer's com pensation in the ratio of the amount disbursed, is to make it his interest to be blind to frauds which tend to increase the payments to be made by him, and his own consequent profit. I would recommend, therefore, that the salaries of the several pension agents be fixed at the amount actually paid them during the past fiscal year, and that the sliding scale, dependent upon disbur s ements,i be abolished. Under the present laws examining surgeons are ap pointed from the medical men resident in the various districts of the country. They examine the applicants for pension in their own neighbourhood, such applicants paying the fee therefor, which is repaid to the applicant if the pension is finally granted. Under this rule the feelings of good neighbourhood, the disposition to favour a friend, and the desire to extend his own practice by in creasing his popularity, all tempt the examiner to be lax, and there is conclusive evidence that such laxity has greatly and improp er ly i ncrease d the pensiov-roll, and the consequent burdens of taxation 1 therefore recom mend that a sufficent number of medical officers be per manently attached to the Pension Office, to make the re quired examinations of invalid pensioners as well as of applicants for invalid pensions, or an increase of rate, and that the fees now paid for such examinations be turned into a fund for paying proper salaries to such medical ex aminers. INDIAN AFFAIRS. The problems presented by our relations to the Indian tribes which still inhabit portions of the Western States and Territories aro every year making more imperative demands for a fixed general policy that shall give some reasonable probability of ,an early and satisfactory solu tion. The completion of one of the great lines of rail way to the Pacific coast has totally changed the condi tions under which the civilized population Of the country come in contact with the wild trihes.. Instead of a slowly advancing tide of migration, making its gradual inroads upon the circumfetence of the great interior wilderness, the very centre of the desert has been pierced. Every station upon the railway has become a nucleus for a civilized settlement., and a base from which lines of ex ploration for both mineral and agricultural wealth .ro . pushed in e v e ry di rect i on. Daily trains are carrying thousands of our citizens and untold values of merchan dise across the continent, and must be protected from the dagger of having hostile tribes on either side of the route. The tango of the buffalo is b...ing rapidly re stricted,i and the chase is becoming an uncertam , re i mice to the Indian for the sustenance of his f . amil). if 11, he is in want he will rob, as white men . do the L.() circumstance'', and robbery is but the beginning of war,. in which savage baibarities and retaliations so.in cause a cry of extermination to be raised along the whole frontier. It has long been the policy of the Government to re quire of the tithes most nearly in contact with white settlements that they should lix their abode upon definite reservations and abandon the wandering life to which they had been accustom , d. To encourage them in civili sation, large expenditures have berm made in furnishing them with the means of agriculture and with clothiii4 adapted to their new mode of life. A new policy is not so much needed as ao enlarged and more enlightened applica tion of the general principles of the old one. We are now in contact with all the aboriginal tribes within our bor ders, and can ni longer assume that we may, even for a time, leave a part of them out of the operation of our sys tem. I understand this policy to look t o t wo o bj ects: First, the location of the Indians upon fixed reservations, so that the pioneera and settlers may be freed from the ~,~.~ r terrors of wandering hostile tribes; and, second, an earnest effort at their civilisation, so that they may themselves be elevated in the scale of humanity, and our obligation tl them as fellow-men be dischar ge d. I n carr ying out this lolicy a great practical difficulty has arisen from the fact that in most instances a separate reservation was given to each tribe. These reservations have been surrounded and gradually invaded by the while settlers, and the In dians crowded out of their homes and forced to negotiate for a new settlement, because their presence, their habits, and their manners were distasteful to their now and more powerful neighbours. It is believed that the only remedy for this condition of things is to encourage the Indians to assemble upon larger reservations, where their numbers will be aggregated, and whore the more civilised of them will iefineuce the others in striving to progress in the arts of peace. Congress has already passed an act to enable the civilised Indians of the Indian Territory, properly so called, to form a general organisation, with most of the elements of a territorial go vernment; but the requisite appropriations of money have not been made to carry the plan into effect. I would earnestly recommend that no further delay be made in this matter. The ass-elated tribes, of which the Cherokees have taken the lead, aro those best fitted for a fuller experi ment in self-government. They are already familiar with most of the forma of executive, legislative, and judicial ac tion in use among us, and I believe them well prepared to dispense with the tutelage of our agents, if they may have a delegate of their own upon the floor of the House of 11e preselltatives to speak for them. Beth they and wo are suf fering for the lack of such direct representation. The white constituencies which are nearest to them are the ones of all the nation whose interests are most in opposition,and whose personal tendencies arc most hostile to theirs.,'! be representatives of such constituencies would be more than human if they were not influenced by this fact. Eepre sentation chosen by the tribes themselves,- and responsible to themselves, is the only mode of making the country acquainted with their condition and with our obligations to them. In such a territory the tribal organization would easily merge into the country, and the territorial legisla ture would not be very different from the grand councils at resent in vogue among them. The Indians north of the Platte River aro not yet prepared for a similar concen tration ; but the time cannot be far distant when two or three principal Indian tribes may properly embrace all the tribes east of the Rocky Mountains. Without such a system they will inevitably go through the old process of being first surrounded and then overwhelmed and de stroyed by the white immigration. As they advance in in telligence they will need no urging to adopt this plan, for they will see as plainly as we that the existence of their race depends upon it. The same policy of concentrating the tribes will apply to the country west of the IlockY Mountains, and will be equally necessary whenever and wherever the feuds existing among them can be so far settled that they can live together in peaceful neigh bourhc od. Upon such permanent reservations fa, nts should- be allotted in severalty as soon as any disposi tion to ,agriculture is awakened, and every inducement offered to stimulate the desire for property of a flied character. The late Peace Commission negotiated treaties With all the principal tribes east of the Rocky Mountains, and wore guided in their action by the general views stated above, which, indeed, may be said to have been accepted by all disinterested persons who have had any opportunity 0 , examining the subject. The treaties woro duly ratified, and so became the solemn contract between the United States and those tribes. It is deeply to be regrett"d that specific appropriations were not made to carry out strictly the terms of the trestle., for, although the general appro priation of two millions has been used asfar as possible in the fulfilment of the obligations incurred, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs has been met at every step by distrust of the good faith.of the Government, and all promises regarding the future have been doubtingly received and answered by the inquiry, what agreement could be more binding. than that made under the authority of Congress by so distinguished personages as the Ambassadors of the United States ? Everything attending the Peace Commis sion was of a nature to excite the imaginations of the Indians, and to impress them with the. belief that no', more than ever before, we were thoroughly in earnest in our negotiations. The disappointment is proportionally great, and the comparative qpiet which has been maintained throughout the year could only have been secured by greatly increased care and untiring effort on the part of the officers of the Indian Bureau and of the army officers, who have co-operated with the greatest zeal in carrying out a peaceful policy. A savage is the last person with whom any doubt of our exact good faith should be allowed to remain. In deal ing with him it seems quite essential that he should find both our promises and our threats absolutely certain, and so learn to invest the Government with something of the divine attributes of justice and omnipotence. In the organization of the Indian Bureau itself, at the beginning of your administration, it was deemed advis able to depart from the usual mode of selecting and .ap pointing the superintendents and agents. The tribes iu Nebraska and Kansns, and some of those most recently placed upon reservations in the Indian Territory,. were placed under control of members of the Society of Friends; the others were given in charge of military officers, who were waiting orders under the laws for the reduction of the army. These sweeping changes were made because it was believed that the public opinion of the country demanded a radical reorganization of this branch of the service. The selection of the officers of the army was made partly for economical reasons, as they were on pay though not on duty, and the salaries of many civil officers could thus be saved, and partly because it was believed they furnished a corps of public servants whose integrity and faithfulness could be relied upon, and in whom the public wore pre pared to have' confidence. The Friends were appointed not because they were believed to have any monopoly of honesty or of good-will toward the Indians, but because their selection would of itself be understood by the country to indicate the policy adopted, namely, the sincere cultiva tion of peaceful relations with the tribes, and the choice of agents who did not, for personal profit, seek the service, but were sought for it because they were at least deemed fit for its duties. The two yearly meetings of "Frien ds were asked to select men in whom they had confidence , and who might become at once the business agents of the Government and zealous missionaries of civilization. persons so selected were appointed by you, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and although it was somewhat into in the season when they were sent to their pasts, enough has been seen of their labours to make it certain that the mode of selection was not a mistake. Pis due to these soci• ties to say that they have at their own cost sent officers of their own body to inspect the wok of the agents as far as it aimed at the civilizatio n and instruction of the Indians. The moral support and encouragement thus given to the agents must be valu able. In accordance with the same general plan of bring rig moral influence to bear upon the conduct of Indian affairs, the present Congress authorized you to appoint 3 commission of philanthropic citizens, to serve without paYr in such supervisory and visitorial duty as might be as signed to them. No difficulty was found in securing the services of men of the highest character and known bene volence. By an executive order they were authorized to inspect all the accounts and records of the Bureau, to be present at the purchases of Indian goods and advise as to the conduct of the same, and to visit and inspect the tribes in their reservations and examine the business of all the agencies. The officers of the department were also directed to give respectful heed to the suggestions and reports of the Commission. No direct responsibility , either pecuniary or administrative, was put upon this Coin mission, because it was believed that their usefulness would not be increased thereby. They now constitute an entirely disinterested body of intelligent advisers, with full power to throw the light of the most searching scru tiny upon the conduct of our relations with the Indiana, and to give the public, through their reports, the most re liable knowledge of the condition and progress of the several tribes. It is believed, also, that their efforts cannot fail to stimulate the public conscience, and to give greater unity and vigour to the voluntary effor ts made throughout the country in the cause of In ;ism lization—a result desirable in itself, and certain to ma ke easier and more satisfactory the duties of the officers of th e Bureau. • CI VI- The administrative efforts of the department in this re gard have therefore been directed, first, to the substitutio n of new officers in the ageicies, selected by a new rule, and one which it was believed would inspire public confidence; and second, to organize a reliable mode of visitation and supervision, which would give the purifying influence of the most public scrutiny, and the great advantage of in telligent and philanthroptic advice as to the affairs of tribes of fellow-men, who have no more direct representation or more satisfactory way of making their condition and wants known to the country. The experience of the last sum mer, imperfect as it has necessarily been, warrants confi deuce in the system adopted. The report of the Commis sioner, with the reports of the inspecting committees sue, other documents appended, show that the general condi tion of the tribes is much more peaceful than we had reason to expect. No general or formidable hostilities bsv e broken out, and it is believed that the influen. e of nearly all the older and more experienced chiefs has been in favour of peace and of friendly appeals to us to carry out our trea ties with them. Sinai! bands of several tribes have been. guilty of pillage and murder, and have been severely a nd _ justly punished by the troops ; but even these collisio ns have not disturbed the quiet of the greater portion of the Indian country. 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