The Sun. — London, England, 1827-01-02 00:00:00

• nation which shall not, upon the same terms, be granted to each other ; nod that neither party will impose, upon articles of mer chandise the produce or manufacture of the other, any other or 'higher duties than upon the like articles, being the produce of manufacture of any other country. To these principles there is, in the convention with Denmark, an exception with regard to the . colonies of that kingdom in the Arctic Seas, but none with regard to her colonies in the West Indies. In the course of the last summer, the term to which our last commercial treaty with'Sweden was limited, has expired. A continuation of it is in the contemplation of the Swedish Go vernment, and is believed to be desirable on the part of the . United States. It has been proposed by the King of Sweden, that, .pending the negociation of renewal, the expired treaty should ben mutually considered as still in force—a measure which will require the sanction of Congress to be carried into effect on our part, and which I, therefore, recommend to your consideration. With Prussia, Spain, Portugal, and, in general, all the Euro pean Powers, between whom and the United States relations of friendly intercourse have existed, their condition has not materially varied sinTT the fast session of Congress. I regret not to he able to say. the same of our commercial intercourse with the colonial possessions of Greit Britain in . America. Negotiations of the highest importance to our cotnmon interests have been for several years in discU4sion between the two Governments ; and, on the part of the United States, have been invariably pursued in the spirit of candour and conciliation. Interests of great -magnitude and delicacy had been adjusted by the conventions of 1815 and ISIS, while that of 182.2, meditated by the late Emperor Alex ander, had promised a satisfactory compromise of claims which the Government of the United States, in justice to the rights of a numerous class of their citizens, was bound to sustain. But with regard to the commercial intercourse between the United States and the British colonies in America, it has been hitherto found. impracticable to bring the parties to an understanding satisfactory le both. The relative geographical position, and the respective products of nature cultivated by human industry, had constituted the elements of a commercial intercourse between the United States and British America, insular slid continental, important to the inhabitants of both countries. But it had been interdicted by Great Britain, upon a principle heretofore practised upon by the colonizing notions of Europe, of holding the trade of theirecolo 'lies, each in exclusive monopoly to herself. After the termina- • time of of the late war, this interdiction had been revived, and the British Government declined including this portion of our inter soerse with her possessions in the negotiation of the conven tion of 1815. The trade was then carried on exclusively in . British vessels, till the Act of Congress coneetining navigation, of ISIS, anti the supplementary act Of IQ2O, met the interdict by a corresponding measure on the part of the United States. These measures, - not of retaliation, but of 'necessary self--de fence, where soon succeeded by an Act of Parliament, open ing ciertaitt colonial ports to, the weeds of the United States teraiirig:directly from • them, and to the importation from them •tsertam articles of our produce, burdened with heavy ditties, anti 'excbsiting sonie of the most valuable articles 'of 'obi- ex ports,-/The United States opened their ports to British yes leis from the rialonies, upon terms at eieadly corresponding with those of the Act of Parliament, as, in the relative position of the parties, could be made. Anti a negotiation was commenced by mutual consent, wish the hope, on our part, that a reciprocal spirit of accommodation and a common sentiment of the importance of the trade to the interest of the inhabitants of the two countries, It between whom it must be carried on, would ultimately bring the, parties to a compromise, with which Inith Might be satisfied.— With this view, the Government tif the United States bad determined to sacrifice nornething of that entire reciprocity which in all noinmerciel arrangements with foreign powers they are entitled to demand, and to acquiesce in some ine nualities dissidnantageous to ourselves, rather than to forego the beneiltsa a final 'and permanent adjustment of this inte rest; the _satisfaction of Great Britain herself. The tregoti -4slnni repeatedly staspendsA by accidental circumstances, was, I Sowever, by mutual agreement and express assent, considered as pending, Aid to be speedily resumed. In the mean time, another. Act of Parliament, sodoubtfril and ambiguous in. its import, as to 'have been misunderstood by the officers in the colonies who were to carry it into execution, opens again certain colonial ports, upon bewsconditions and terms, with a threat to close them against any nation which may not accept those terms as prescribed by the British Government. This Act passed in July, 1825, not com municated to the Government of the United States, not under stood by the British officers of the Customsin the colonies where it we; to be enforced, was, nevertheless, submitted to the coeside netion of Congress, at their last session. With the knowledge that a negociation upon the subject had long been in progress, and pledges given of its resumption at an early day, it was deemed ex ' nedient to await the result of that negociation, rather than to sub- Scribe implicitly to terms, the import of which was not clear, and which the British authorities themselves, in this hemisphere, were Sint prepared to explain. Immediately after the close of the last session of Congress, one • of our most distinguished citizens was despatched, as nvoy Ex traordinary and 'Minister, Plenipotentiary, to Great Britain, fur bished with instructions which we could not doubt would lead to a conclusion of this long-controverted interest, upon terms ac septable to Great Britain. Upon his arrival, and before he had deliver( d his letters of credence, he was met by an order of the British Council, excluding, from and after the Ist of December now current, the vessels of the United States from all the colo nial British ports, exceptirig those immediately bordering upon our 'territories. In answer to his expostulations upon a measure thus unexpected, he is informed that, according to the ancient maxims of policy of European nations, having colonies, their trade is an exclusive possession of the mother country. That all participation in it by other nations is a boon or favour, not form ing a subject of negociation, but to be regulated by the legisla tive acts of the power owning the colony. That the British Go vernment therefore declines negotiating concerning it; and that, as the United States did not forthwith accept purely and simply the terms offered by the Act of Parliament of July, 1825, Great Britain would not now admit the vessels of the United States even upon the terms on which she has opened them to the navi gation of other nations, We - have been accustomed to consider the trade which we have enjoyed with the British Colonies, rather as an interchange of mutual . benefits, than as a mere favour received : that, under every circumstance, we have given an ample equivalent. N . Ve have Seen every other nation, holding colonies, negotiate with - other nations, and grant them, freely,_ admission to the colonies by treaty ; and, so far are the other colonizing nations of Europe now, from refusing to negotiate for trade with other colonies, that we ourselves have secured access to the colonies of more than one of them by treaty. The refusal, howevers of Great Britain to negotiate, leaves to the United States no other alter native 'than that of regulating, or interdicting altogether, the trade on their part, - according as either measure may affect the intetests of our country; and, with that exclusive object, I would recommend the whole subject to your calm and candid delibera tions. It is hoped 'that our unavailing exertions to accomplish a cordial" good understanding on this interest, will not have an 'unpropitious effect upon the other great topics of discussion between the two Governments. . Our north-eastern and north western boundaries are still unadjusted. The Coutroissionent under the 7th article of the treaty of Ghent have, meetly come to the close bf their labours; nor can we renounce the expec tation, enfeebled as it is, that they may agree upon their report, to the satisfaction or acquiescence of both parties. The commission for liquidating the claims for indemnity for slaves, carried away after the close of the war, has been sitting with doubtful prospects of success. Propositions of compromise have -however, passed between the two Governments, the results of which, we flatter ourselves, may yet prove satisfactory. Our own dispositions and purpo:sei towards Great Britain are all friendly and conciliatory ; nor can we abandon, but with strong reluct ance, the belief that they _will ultimately meet a return, not of favours, which see neither ask nor desire, but of equal reciprocity altd good will. With the American Governments of this hemisphere we coati nuelo m a intain an intercourse altogether friendly, and between their nations arid ours that commercial interchange, of which mu tual benefit is the source, and mutual comfort and harmony the re sult, is in a continual - state of improvement. The war between Spain and them, since the total expulsion of the Spanish military force from their continental territories, has been little more than nominal; and their internal tranquillity, though occasionally me naced by the agitations which civil wars never fail to leave behind thew, has not been affected by any serious calamity. The Congress of Ministers front several of those nations which assembled at Panama, after a short session there, adjourned to meet again; at a more favourable season, in the neighbourhood of Mexico. The decease Of one of our Ministers on his way to the Isthmus, and the impediments of the season, which delayed the departure of the other, deprived us of the advantage of being re esentetf at the first meeting of the Congress. There is, how ever, no reason to believe that any of the transactions of the Con gress- we reof a nature to affect injuriously the interests of the United Skates, or to require the interposition of our Ministers, had they been present. Their absence has, indeed, deprived us of the opporttittity - of possessing precise and authentic information of the treaties which were concluded at Panama ; and the whole result `has confirmed me in the convieion of. the expediency to the United States of being represented at the Congress. The sum viv ing member of the mission, appointec) wring your last session, has accordingly proceeded to his destination, and a successor to his distinguished and lamented essociate will be nominated to the Senate. A treaty of amity, navigation, and commerce, has, in the course of the last summer, been concluded by our Minister Pleni potentiary at Mexico, with the United States of that confederacy, which will also be laid before the Senate, for their advice With regard to itz ratification. Jr. adverting to the present condition of our fiscal concerns, and to the prospects Of one revenue, the first remark that calls our attention, it, that they are less exuberantly prosperous than they were at the corresponding period of ' the last yeet. The se•- vere shock so extensively sustained by the commercial and manu facturing interests in Great Britain, has not been without a per ceptible recoil iipOn ourselves. A 'reduced iinportation from abroad is necessarily succeeded by a reduced return to the Treasury at home. The net revenue of the present year will not equal that of the last. And the receipts of that which is to come will fall short of those in the current yell'. The diminution, however, is in part attributable to the flourishing condition of some of our do mestic manufactures, and so far is compensated by an equivalent more profitable .to the nation. It is also highly gratifying to per ceive, that the deficiency in the revenue, while it scarcely exceeds the anticipations of the last year's estimates from the Treasury, has not interrupted the application of more than 11,000,00 dollars during the present year to the discharge of 'the principal and interest of the debt, nor the reduction of 7,000,000 of dollars of the capital debt itself. The balance in the Treasury on the Ist of January last, was 5,201,65(1 dollars 43 cents. The receipts from that time to the 30th of September last, were 19,585,932 dollars 50 cents. The receipts of the current quarter; estimated at 6,000,000 of dollars, yield, with the sums already received, a revenue of about 25 millions and a half for the year. The expen ditures for the three first quarters of the year have amounted to 18,714,226 clonal* 66 cents. The expenditures of the current quarter ,are expected, including the 2,000,000 of the principal debt to he paid, to balance the receipt. So that the expencea of the year, amounting to upwards of 1,000,000 less than its in come, will leave a proportionally increased balance of the Treasury, of the.lst of January, 1827, over that of the Ist of January last. Instead of 5,200,000, there will be 6,400,000 dollars. The amount of duties secured on merchandise imported from the commencement of the year until the 30th of September, is estimated at 21,250,000 dollars ; and the amount that will pro bably accrue durilig the present quarter, is estimated at 4,250,000, making for the whole year 25,500,000 dollars, from which the drawbacks being deducted; will letti.e a clear revenue from the customs, receivable in the year 1827, of 20,400,000 dollars, which, with the tinnt to be received from the proceeds of public lands, the bank dividends, and other incidental receipts will form an aggregate of about 23,000,000 dollars—a stun falling short of the whole expcnees of the present year, little more than the por tion of those expenditures applied to the discharge of the public debt, beyond the annual appropriation of 10,000,000 of dollars, by the act of the 3d of March, 1817. At the passage of that act the public debt amounted to 123,500,000 dollars. On the Ist of January .next, it will be short of 74,000,000 dollars. In the lapse of these ten years, 50,000,000 of dollars of public debt, with the anuual charge of upwards of 3,000,000 dollars of in terest upon them, have been extinguished. At the passage of that act, of the annual appropriation of the 10,000,000, seven were absorbed in the payment of interest, and not more than 3,000,000 went to reduce the capital of the debt. Of the same 10,000,000 at this time, scarcely four are applicable to the interest, and up ards of six are effective in melting down the capital. Yet our experience has proved that a revenue consisting so largely of im posts and tonnage, ebbs and flows to an extraordinary extent, with all the fluctuations incident to the general commerce of the world. It is within our recollection that even in the com pass of the same last ten years, the receipts of the Treasury were not adequate to the expenditures of the year; and that in two successive years it was found necessary to resort to loans to meet the engagements of the nation. The returning tides of the succeeding years replenished the public coffers, until they have again begun to feel the vicissitude of a decline. To produce these alternations of fullness and exhaustion, the relative operation of abundant or of unfruitful seasons, the regulations of foreign Go vernments, political revolutions, the prosperous or decaying con dition of manufactures, commercial speculations, a::'1 many other causes not always to be traced, variously combine; we have found the alternate swells and diminutions embracing periods of from two to three years. The last period of depression to us was from 1819 to 1822. The corresponding revival was from 1823 to the commencement of the present year. Still we have no cause to apprehend a depression comparable to that of the former period, or even to anticipate a deficiency which will intrench upon the ability to apply the arnimaY 10,000,000 dollars to the reduction , of the debt. -It is well for us, however,' to be admonished of the necessity of abiding by the maxims of the most vigilant economy, and of reaorting to all' honourable and useful expedients for pur suing with steady and inflexible perseverance the total discharge of the debt. Besides the '7,000,000 of dollars of the loans of 1823, which will have been discharged in the course of the present year, there are 9,000,000, which, by the terms of the contracts, would have been, and are now redeemable. Thirteen millions more of the loan of 1814 will heroine redeemable from and after the expiration of the present month ; and nine other millions from and after the close of the ensuing year. They constitute a mass of 31,000,000, of dollars, all bearing an interest of six per cent., more than 20,000,000 of which will be immediately redeemable, and the rest within a little more than a year. Leaving of this amount, 15,000,000 of dollars to tontine at the interest of six per cent., but to be, as tiir as shall be found practicable, paid off in the years 1827 and 1828, there is scarcely a doubt that the remain ing 16,000,000 might, within a few months, be discharged by a loan at not exceeding five per cent. redeemable in the years 1529 and 1830. By this operation, a sum of nearly half a mil lion of dollars may be saved to the nation ; and the discharge of the whole 31,000,000 of doltars within the four years may be greatly facilitated, if not wholly accomplished. By an act of Congress of 3d March, 1825,' a loan, for the purpose now referred to, or a subscription to stock, was autho rized, at an interest not exceeding four and a half per cent. But at that time so large a portion of the floating capital of the coun try was absorbed in commercial speculations, and so little was left for investment in the stocks, that the measure was but partially successful. At the last Session of Congress, the condition of the funds was still unpropitious to the measure ; but the change so soon afterwards occurred, that had the authority existed to redeem the 9,000,000 now redeemable by an exchange of stocks, or a loan at five per cent., it is morally certain that it might have been effected, and with it a yearly saving of 90,000 dollars. With regard to the collection of revenue of impost, certain oc currences have within the last year been disclosed in one or two of our principal ports, which engaged the attention of Congress at their last session, and may hereafter require further considera tion. Until within a very few years, the execution of the laws for raising the revenue, like that of all our other laws; has been ensured more by the moral sense of our community than by the rigours of a jealous precaution, or by penal sanctions. Confid ing in the exemplary punctuality and unsullied integrity of our importing merchants, a gradual relaxation from the provisions of the collection laws, a close adherence to which would have caused inconvenience and expense to them, had long become habitual : and indulgences had been extended universally, because they had never been abused. It may be worthy of your serious con sideration, whether some further legislative provision may not be necessary to come in aid of this state of unguarded security. From the reports herewith communicated of the secretaries of war and of the navy, with the subsidiary documents annex ed to them, will be discovered the present condition and adminis tration of our military establishment on the land and on the sea. The organization of the army having undergone no change since its reduction to the present peace establishment in 1821, it re mains only to observe, that it is yet found adequate to all the pur poses for which a permanent armed force in time of peace can be needed or useful. It may be proper to add, that, from a differ ence of opinion between the late President of the United States and the Senate, with regard to the construction of the act of Con gress of the 2d of March, 1821, to reduce and fix the military peace establishment of the United States, it remains hitherto so far without execution, that no Colonel has been appointed to command one of the regiments of artillery. A supplementary or explanatory act of the Legislature appears to be the only expedient practi cable, for removing the dif f iculty of this appointment. In a period of profound peace the conduct of the mere military establishment forms but a very ir,:.onsiderable portion of the duties devolving upon the administration of the Department of War. It will he seen by the refill us from the subordinate departments of the army, that every branch of the service is marked with order, regularity, and discipline—that from the Commanding General, through all the gradations of superintendence, the offi cers feel themselves to have been citizens before they were soldiers, and that the glory of a republican army must consist in the spirit of freedom by which it is animated, and of patriotism by which it is impelled. It may be confidently stated, that the moral cha racter of the army is in a state of continual improvement, and that all the arrangements for the disposal of its parts have a con stant reference to that end. But to the War Department are attributed other duties, having indeed relation to a future possible condition of war, hut being purely defensive, and in their tendency contributing rather to the security and permanency of peace. The erection of the fortifica tions provided for by Congress, and adapted to secure our shore= from hostile invasion; the distribution of the fund of public gra titude and justice to the pensioners of the revolutionary war ; the maintenance of our relations of peace and of protection with the Indian tribes; and the internal improvements and surveys for the location of roads and canals, which- during the last three sessions of Congress have engaged so much of their attention, and may engross so large a share of their future benefactions to our country. By the act of the 30th of April, 18.14-, suggested and approved by my predecessor, the stun of 80,000 dollars was appropriated for the purpose of causing to be made the necessary surveys, plans, and estimates, of the routes of such roads and canals as the Presi dent of the United States might deem of national importance in a commercial or military point of view, or necessary for the trans portation of the public mail : the surveys, pl ans , and estimates, for each, when completed, to be laid before Congress. In execution of this Act, a Board of Engineers was immediately instituted, and have since been most assiduously and constantly oc cupied in carrying it into effect. The first object to which their la bours Were directed, by order of the late President, was the exa inination of the country between the tide-waters of the Potomac, the Ohio, and Lake Erie, to ascertain the practicability of a com munication between them, to designate the most suitable route for the same, and to form plans and iestitnates in detail of the ex- , pence of execution. On the 3d of Fe7..ruary, 182, they made their first report, which was immediately communicated to Congress, and in which they declared that, having maturely considered the circumstances observed by them . personally, and carefully studied the results of such of the preliminary surveys as were then completed, they were decidedly of opinion that the Jminunication was prac ticable. At the last session of Congress, before the board of Engineers were enabled to make up their second report, containing a gene ral plan, and preparatory estimate for the work, the Committee tit . the House of Representatives upon roads and canals, closed the season with a report, ex/massing the hope that the plan and estimate of the Board of Engineers might at this time he pre _ _ pared, and that the subject be referred Co the early and favour consideration of Con g ress, at tl.eir present session. That expected report of the Board of Enginecrs is prepared, and will forthwith be laid before you. Under the resolution of Congress authorizing the Secretary of War to have prepared a complete system of - cavalry tactics of the United States, to he reported to Congress at the present session, a board of distinguished officers of :the army and of the militia, has been convened, whose report. will be submitted to you with that of the Secretary of War. The occasion was thought favour able for consulting the same board, aided by the results of a cor respondence with-the governors of the several states and territo ries, and other citizens of intelligence and experience, upon the acknowledged defective condition of c ►r militia system, and upon the improvements of which it is susceptible. The report or the board upon this subject- is also submitted for your consi deration. In the estimates of appropriations for the ensuing year, up wards of 5,000,000 of dollars will be submitted for the expendi tures to be paid from the Department of War. Less than two tiftbs of this will be applicable to the maintenance and support of the army. A million and a half, in the form of pensions, goes as a scarcely adequate tribute to the set vices and sacrifices of a former age; and a more than equal sum, invested in fortifications, or for the preparations of internal improvement, provides for the quiet, the comfort, and the happier existence of the ages to come. The appropriations to indemnify those unfortunate remnants of another race, unable alike to share in the enjoyments, and to exist in the presence of civilization, though swelling in recent years to a mag nitude burdensome to the Treasury, are generally not without their equivalents, in profitable value; or serve to discharge the Union from engagements more burdensome than debt. In like manner, the estimate of appropriations for the navy de partment will present an aggregate sum of upwards of 3,000,000 of dollars. About one.half of those, however, cover the current expenditures of the navy in actual service, and one-half constitutes a fundof national property, the pledge of our future glory and de fence. It was scarcely one short year after the close of the late war, and when the burden of its expenses and charges was weigh ing heaviest upon the country, that Congress, by the act of the 29th of April, 1816, appropriated 1,000,000 of dollars annually, for eight years, to the graduci increase of the navy. At a subee qnent period, this annual appropriation was reduced to half a mil lion for six years, of which the present year is the last. A "yet more recent appropriation the last two years, for building ten sloops of war, has nearly restored the original appropriation of 1616, of a million for every year. The result is before us all. We have,twellualine loatakehipesoo - frieotes, and, stoops of war in proportion ; which, with a few months of preparation, may present a line of floating fortifications along the whole range of our coast, ready to meet any invader who might attempt to set foot upon our shores ; combining with a system of fortifi cations upon the choice themselves, commenced about the same time, under the auspices of my immediate predecessor, and hi. therto systematically pursued, it has placed in our poss,ssion the most effective sinews of war, and *has left us at once an example and a lesson from which our own duties may he inferred. The gradual increase of the navy was the principle of which tlt, act of the 29th April, 1816, was the first development. It was the introduction of a system to act upon the character and history of our country for an indefinite series of ages. It was a declaration of that Congress to their constituents and to posterity, that it was the destiny and the duty of these confederated states to become, in regular process of time, and by no petty advances, a great naval power. That which they proposed to accomplish in eight years, is rather to be considered as the measure of their means, than the limitation of their design. They looked forward for a term of years sufficient for the accomplishment of a definite por tion of their purpose; and they left to their successors to fill up the canvass of which they had traced the large and prophetic out line. The ships of the line, and frigates, which they had in con - templation, will be shortly completed. The time which they had allotted for the accomplishment of the work has more than elapsed. It remains for your consideration, how their successors may contribute their portion of toil and of treasure for the benefit of the succeeding age, in the gradual increase of our navy. There is, perhaps, no part of the exercise of the constitutional .. powers of the federal Government, which has given more general satis faction to the people of the Union than this. The system has not been thus vigorously introduced, and hitherto sustained, to be now departed from, or abandoned. In continuing to provide for the gradual increase of the navy, it may not be necessary or ex pedient to add for the present any more to the number of our ships; lout should you deem it advisable to continue the yearly appropriation of half a million to the same objects, it may be profitably expended, in providing a supply of timber to be season ed, and other materials for future use ; in the construction of docks, or in laying the foundations of a school for naval educa tion, as, to The wisdom._ of Congress, either of these measures may appear to claim the preference. Of the small portions of this navy engaged in actual service during the peace, squadrons have continued to he maintained in the Pacific Ocean, in the West India Seas, in the Mediterranean; to which has been added a small armament to cruise on the eastern coast of .F,:tith America. In all, they have afforded pro tection to our commerce, have contributed to make our country advantageously known to foreign nations, have honourably em ployed multitudes of our seamen in the. service of their country, and have enured numbers of youths of the rising generation to lives of manly hardihood and of nautit al experience and skill.— The piracies for which the West India seas were for several years infested, have been totally suppressed ; but in the Mediterranean they have increased in a manner afflictive to other nations, and but for the continued presence of our squadron, would probably have been distressing to our own. The war which has unfortunately broken out between the Republic of Buenos Ayres and the Mardian Government has given rise to very great irregularities among the naval officers of the latter, by whom principles in relation to blockades, and to neutral navi gation, have been brought forward, to which we cannot sub scribe, and which our own commanders have found it neces sary to resist. From the friendly disposition towards the United States constantly manifested by the Emperor of Brazil, and the very useful and friendly commercial intercourse between the United States and his dominions, we have reason to believe that the just reparation demanded for the injuries sustained by several of our citizens from some of their officers, will not be withheld. Abstracts from the recent despatches of the commanders of our several squadrons are communicated with the report of the Se cretary of the Isavy, to Congress. A report from the Postmaster-General is likewise communi cated, presenting, in a highly satisfactory manner, the result of a vigorous, efficient, and economical administration of that depart meat. The revenue of the office, even of the year including the latter half of 1824, and the first half of 1825, had exceeded its expenditures by a sum of more than 45,000 dollars. That of the succeeding year has been still more productive. The in crease of the receipts in the year preceding the first of July last, over that of the year before, exceeds 136,000 dollars; and the excess of the receipts over the expenditures of the year has swol len from 45,000 to nearly 80,000 dollars. During the same •period, contracts for additional transportation of the mail, in stages, for about 60,000 miles, have been made, and for 70,000 miles, annually on horseback : 714 new post-offices have been established within the year ; and the increase of revenue within the last three years, as well as the augmentation of the transpor tation by mail, is more than equal to the whole amount of re eeipts, and of inail-conveyanec, at the eommencetnent of the pre sent century, when the seat of General Government was removed to this place. When we reflect that the objects effected by the transportation of the mail are among the choicest comforts and enjoyments of social life, it is pleasing to observe that the dis semination of them to every corner of par country has outstripped in their increase even the rapid march of our population. By the treaties with France and Spain, respectively ceding Louisiana and the Floridas to the United States, provision was made for the security of land titles derived from the Governments of those nations. some progress has been made under the au thority of various Acts of Congress, in the ascertainment and es tablishment of those titles ; but claims to a very large extent remain unadjusted. The public faith, no less than the just rights of individuals, and the interest of the community itself, seems to require further provision for the speedy settlement of these claims, which I therefore recommend to the care and attention of the Le gislature. In conformity wits the provisions of the Act of the 20th of May last, to provide for erecting a penitentiary in the district of Colombia, and for other purposes, three Commissioners were ap pointed to select a site for the erection of a penitentiary for the district, and also a site in the county of Alexandria for a county gaol; both of which objects have been effected. The building of the penitentiary has been commenced, and is in such a degree of forwardness as to promise that it will be completed before the meeting of the next Congress. This consideration points to the expediency of maturing, at the present session, a system for the regulation and government of the penitentiary, and of defining the class of offences which shall be punishable by confinement in this edifice. In closing this communication, I trust that it will not be deemed inappropriate to the occasion and purposes upon which we are here assembled, to indulge a momentary retrospect, combining in a single glance the period of our origin as a National Confede tion, with that of our present existence, at the precise interval of half a century from each other. Since your last meeting at this place, the fiftieth anniversary of the day when our independence was declared has been celebrated throughout our land ; and on that day, when every heart was bounding with joy, and every voice was tuned to gratulation, amid the blessings of freedom and independence, which the sires of a former age had handed down to their children, two of the principal actors in that solemn scene, the hand that penned that ever-memorable declaration, and the voice that sustained it in debate, were by one summons, at the distance of seven hundred miles, from each other, called before the Judge of all, to account for their deeds done upon earth. Tlnsy departed, cheered by the benedictions of their country, to whom they left the inheritance of their fame, and the memory of their bright example. If we turn our thoughts to the con dition of their country, in the contrast of the first and last day of that half century, how resplendent and sublime is the transition from gloom to glory. Then, glancing through the same lapse of time, in the condition of the individuals, we see the first day toarked with the fulness and vigour of youth, in the pledge of their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honour, to the cause of freedom and of mankind ; and on the last, ex tended on the bed of death, with but sense and sensibility left to breathe a last aspiration of Heaven of blessing upon their country ; may we not humbly hope that to them, too, it was a pledge of transition from gloom to glory; and that, while their mortal vest ments were sinking into the clod of the valley, their emancipated spirits were ascending to the bosom of their God! Washington, Dec. 5, 1826. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. PRICE OF IRISH Rank Stock Gov. Stock. 3!.¢ per cent....8530i% Ditto, New 4 per Cent. Gov. Deb. :N per cent BB Cowob:, 3 per cent 7834 !!pralCanalStock Gr; . tod Canal Stock City Deb. 4 per cent. Banast.Office Del•. 1 per cent. - CONGRESS. A quorum of both Houses was formed on Monday, and the usual messages interchanged, and the usual standing order agreed to. The :Members of the Senate, to testify their respect to the memory of Nicholas Van Dyke, late a senator from Delaware, and Joseph Wllvaine, late a senator from New Jersey, resolved to wear crape on the left arm for one month. Mr. Hayne gave notice, that on Wednesday (this day) he should ask leave to introduce a bill to establish a uniform system of bankruptcy throughout the United States. On Tuesday the President's message was delivered. LISBON. (FROM A COR.RESTONDZST.) LISBON, DEC. 25.—1 t was the Pyramus, and not the Romney frigate, which arrived from England on Saturday. She brought out 84 men of the tth Foot, but no Officer of rank, nor in fact any men of importance. The ships with the British troops have not yet appeared, though several false announcements of their arrival have been made. Until the Commander of the Army comes, it being yet unknown whether that honour will devolve upon Lord Bereafurd or not, the orders - are, that the men by the Pyramus are not to be landed. In the meantime, the Govern ment have made ample provisions fur the reception of our troops. The bread is baked, the cattle are in store, the wines drawn, and beds laid down. for 5,000 men. The. Portuguese Commissariat re quested our Officers of the same depattment not to interfere with them in the market, as British hard money would spoil their pur chases at twelve months' credit. This has induced a belief, that it is the intention of Portugal to provide our army at its expense; but those who know the system better, conclude that it is only a pretext to keep the various intermediate profits in the usual hands, and that in the proper time the whole amount of charge will be demanded of our Treasury. Intelligence from the interior to the 221 has just been received. I have seen private letters confirming the accounts which are made known by the Government. The rebels, under the Marquis of Chaves, have left Lamego, after sacking that town, and have abandoned the province of Beira altogether, to reeross into their old territory of Tras-os-Montes. They have done so, frightened by the conjoint operations of Clandino, who was coming on them from the north-west, and Villaflor from the south. It is also stated that the determination of the British Cabinet has been, cir culated among the rebels, and that it has had the effect of causing them to desert in large numbers. Indeed, the calculations here to day are, that there will be no occasion for the marching of the English army up the country. This being Christmas Day there is no journal published, so that I have it not in my power to send you the Government accounts of their operations ; and still more annoying, the Exchange is shut, and I can neither give you the best information, which is most probably to be found there, nor the state of the Exchange or the funds. The Sir Edward Bunke. steam-packet, with dispatches from Sir William A'Court, starts to-day for Portsmouth. This vessel is retained for the purposes of Government. She has hitherto made her passages in four or five days, between that port and this. Late this evening another signal was made that four sail of the British fleet are in eight of St. Julien. Monday Night, Dec. 25, Half-past Eleven. An Express has been just received 'from Mr. Lamb, our Mini ster at Madrid, announcing that the Spanish Cabinet had at length consented to withdraw all assistance from the Refugees; and that it also consented to recognize the Portuguese Constitu tion—the resignation of Don Pedro—and the Regency. The Spanish Ambassador here, the Count Las Caias, has claimed permission to be again presented to the Court, which is determined to be agreed upon at this late hour. The Ministers are now together, and the steam-boat Sir Edward Banks starts with despatches from Sir William A'Court at midnight. LISBON, Dec. 25, 1826.—80th Chambers closed on the 23d. In the Deputies a motion was made, and carried with loud acela mations—to return the most grateful thanks of the Deputies, on behalf of the Portuguese nation, to the King of Great Britain — the Government, the Parliament, and the British People gene rally, for affording the Portuguese such efficient help in the time of need. According to the Charter, the Chamber of Deputies was obliged to he closed on that day, and they had not had suffi cient time to draw up such a Congratulatory address, as would sufficiently convey their high sense of the obligation under which they were to Great Britain. On the opening again of the Cham bers, the motion would be renewed, when a proper address would . be presented for the approval of the Chamber. LISBON, Dec. 26, 1826.—1 herewith send you the paper of this day, by which you will me that it contains only the speech of Mr. Canning, with the comments thereon. Such has been the demand for it, that 6,000 copies have been sold in a very short space of time. The price, however, is only 3id. I understand, that they could scarcely be printed fast enough to supply the de mand, so eager was every body to read this famous speech ; but then our presses do not print with any thing like the rapidity of your's. On the arrival, however, of the speech in this country, it was immediately translated, and sent up into all parts of the kingdom, in what you would call hand bills. The general opinion here is decidedly in favour of the Constitution—that is among all the su perior description of people in the mercantile and middle classes; the opposers of it are the Monks and Friars, but the Bishops and other orders of the Clergy are in general in favour of it. It is the universal opinion that the arrival of the British troops will put a stop to the in4ch of the rebels, and that for the present, at least, things will settle- quiet'y down in Portugal ; and if you should let the troops remain here for two or three yeurs, it is pro bable that things would be so firmly settled, that we should not have much chance of a recurrence of events such as we have lately witnessed. As to the Portuguese troops they cannot be depended on at all. If your Government had not been so prompt, it is very likely the rebels would have succeeded. STOCKS, DEC. 50. St. Patrick 111 511 r. (pet share) Royal Irish Ditto Natienal Ditto Patriotic Ditto Hibernian Bank Provincial Ditto Royal Irish Mine Imperial Mine Mining Co. of Ireland , Commercial Buildings MAILS. Arrived. Due. Arrived. Due. 0 Americr o 1 Guernsey & Jersey. 0, 0 Brazil 0 0 Hamburgh g 0 Buenos Ayres 0 Donaghadee o 0 Jamaica 1 1 Dublin 1 Flanders o o Lisbon 0 1 France 0 Gottenburgh 1 I Waterford 0 HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE TO-MORROW. Morning...—. El minutes after 3. I Evening ....... 5 minutes after 6, f. s . i.: 44 , '\- . , . . '' , .. i. ~, -.. 1) t '-‘,' ~..„-- --r . ..'rf.',4 '4' , :.i )' A. - , , A , .2,11 4 14 4 ,,, 2 ,1 , • : dip ...-. i ll vitt t.. LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, JA2ITUARY 2, 1827. The French Papers of Saturday reached us lash night, but their contents have been anticipated by the Etoile of Sunday, from which we published some extracts yesterday ; and by the intelligence from Lis bon, which refutes the speculations indulged in by the Quotidienne. The Pilotc mentions that letters from Malta posi tively announce that the 60-gun ship built at New York for the Greek Government, anchored there on the 29th November, and sailed on the Ist December, for Napoli di Romania. The crew consisted of 200 men. The Constitutionnd affirms that M. VILLA HER mosA, Ambassador from Spain, has transmitted to M. DE DAMAS , the Minister for Foreign Aff a i rs , a Note complaining of the spee c h d e livered by th e l a tt er in the Chamber of Peers, and requiring an expl a n a ti o n of those p,s,sagcs in whi c h h e cons id ers t h at hi s Go vernment was seriously inculpated. AmericanBth inst. reached Town last night. Their general contents are un i nterest i ng, Papers to th e but they put us in possession of the Message of the PRESIDENT to Congress on the sth Dec., a docu ment of the highest importance, both as containing a general exposition of the affairs of th e U n it e d St a t es in their foreign and domestic relati ons , an d as explain ing the stat e of the discussions with thi s coun t r y on the question of intercourse wi th is British described esc bed a Colonies. great, li ePr Z s t P w e i r t i l t l Y sta o n f di t n h g the ed effects State s of th e s h oc k e United sus tained by the Commercial and Manufacturing Interests in Great Britain, which has recoiled on them and oc casioned a diminution of public Revenue. They have, it is stated, paid off .50 out of 1231 millions Df Dollars, which formed their Debt on the Ist of January, 1817 ; and they have, during this period, by the annual ap propriation of a considerable sum for the gradual in crease of their. Navy, constructed twelve line of battle ships, twenty frigates, and sloops in proportion. The friendly relations of the United States with other powers are adverted to with satisfaction, though it is admitted " that this pacific condition is qualified, in several important instances, by collisions of interest, and by unsatisfied claims of justice, to the settlement of which the constitutional interposition of the Legisla tive authority may become ultimately indispensable." On the great question of discussion between the United States and Great Britain, a hope is expressed that their unavailing exertions to accomplish a cordial good understanding, will not have an unpropitious effect upon the .„her great topics of discussion be tween the two Governments, namely, the Boundary Line in Canada, and the claims for slaves carried away at the close of the war. Propositions of com 7 _ promise have, however, it is stated, passed between the two Governments, the result of which, they flatter themselves, may yet prove satisfactory. Their own dispositions and purposes towards Great Britain are, they say, " all friendly and conciliatory, nor can they abandon but with strong reluctance the belief that they will ultimately meet a return not of favours, which they neither ask nor desire, but of equal reciprocity and good-will. The length of this important document, and the us to content our selveslire press s ofv with this some of its most pro minent topics, and to defer our observations upon it t t o another day. iNmatter brief to -clay, -d notice of b . ge y, oblige We subjoin a few extracts from the American Papers:— (RECEIVED LAST NIGHT.) (From the New York Gazette of Dec. 2.) FROAI PERNAMMICO. —By the shooner Taadenz, C aptain Adams, arrived at New York on W e dnesdaY evening , in go days from Pernambuco, we learn th a t the Americ an hous e of Ray aid Bryan, stopped payment abo u t th e middle of Au g us t. MA VA NNA ii.—A letter received from New Orleans of October g v h l t oy eights." h t is s. 21, mentions, "that four h un dred thousan d doll a r s had been put at the disposal of the N av y department , to r epair the Spanish fleet, which is to be r ea dy t o start at th e earli est possible time ; to accomplish whi c h, t wo t h ousa nd caulke rs and shipwrights, an d three thousand sail ors , were e mployed constan tly , Sundays, and moon-light somewhat \%re suspectovcrrtalitn.at the number of persons said to be - . - - pEIW el C iva ongreso," The following are extracts f rom a letter to the Lima an d Chili news matter fora f ore i gn reader, the edit or o f th e Bcdtintore G aze tt e , d a t e d Lima , Au g . 5, 1826 . It appears to 111, from the gener a l tenor of th e letters of our c ountrymen in the Pacific, th a t muc h di ss atisfactio n is ex p ressed in Peru with the conduct of B o li var . He $ l oo ked upon with a j ea l ous eye, and must be cautious : Sims, of Philid e l- V ppn hao pri L ae : lr A ls, t .i. : :.l , e tT A hhhea u yev g y: . s 5 c osoe . nnl — ott aniyg B n.o y aivise r t at h yh e el fiel il te teo i p Rebecca, press is under th e eon tr ou l of the of Government. The people of Peru g enerally feel dissatisfied with the proceed ings of General Bolivar ; he has dissolved their Cong r e ss , and has taken near 5,000 of t he Peruvian troops to Pan ama, leaving his Colombian troops in ever y vi l lage of the countr y to keep the peo ple in awe, and to m aintain his authorit y . W ithin the last month some divisions of tr oo p s in. the neighb our h ood of Hun &Tanga, have revolted—cr t, Yiug , &e. ; and within these few days past, General Bolivar has arreste d nearly all of the provincial Peruvian and Buenos Ayrean Officers, which causes considerable agitation among the peopl e . The Government will undoubtedly endeavour to make it appear that they are concerned with the troops who have revolted, and try the whole of them Ihr the crime of high treason. It is hinted that Bolivar wishes to unite the Governments o f Colombia, P e ru, and Bolivia, in one, and to attain which, by his emissaries, has caused One of his favourite Generals to the north of Colombia, to revolt against the established Government. The new Constitution sent to the Government of Bolivia is not ple a s_ ing to the people generally, particularly that part which elects a President for life) without responsibility, and the right of naming his s uccessor. If we can judge by th e present movements of )3olivar, he will form an alliance with the Emperor of Brazil ; after Which endea