The Express.
London, England, 1851-12-15 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, MONDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 15, 1851.

of our people. Four-fifths of our active population are i
employed in the cultivation of the soil, and the rapid ex-'
pension of our settlements over new territory is daily adding
to the number of those engaged in that vocation. Justice
and sound policy, th.,refore, alike require that the govern-
went should, use all the means authorised by the constitution
to promote the interests and welfare of that important class
of our fellow citizens. And yet it is a singular fact that,
while the manufacturing and commercial interests have en.
gaged the attention of Congress during a large portion of
every session, and our statutes abound in provisions
for their protection and encouragement, little has yet been
done directly for the advancemant of agriculture. It is
time tha this repro--ch to one legislation should be re-
moved; and I sincerely hope that the present Congress
will not close their labours without adopting efficient means
to supply the omissions of those who have preceded them.
An Agricultural Bureau, charged with the duty of col-
lecting and disseminuting correct information as to the best
mode of cultivation, and of the most effectual means of pee-
r serving and restoring t`,.e fertility of the soil, and of procur
in; and distributing seeds and plants and other vegetable
productions, with instructions in regard to the soil, climate,
and treatment hest adapted to their growth, (cull not fail
to be, in the lenge of Washington, in his last annual
message t s Congres., a " very cheap instruraent of immense
national benefit."

Rrgard;tig the act of Congress approred 2Sth Sept tuber,
18.50, granting bounty lends to persor.s who had been en-
gaged in the military service of the cauwry, as a great mea-
sure of national ju-ace and munificence, an anxious desire
has been felt, by the officers entrust.d with its immediate
execution, to give pranpt (fret to its provisions. .111 the
means within their control were, therefore, brought into
reqoisitiou to ex;vetlite the adjudication of claims, and I am
gratified to be able to stave that near one hundred thousand
applications have been considered, and about seventy thou-
s Intl warrants is tied e ithin the short space of nine rronths.
If adequate provision be made by law to carry into effect the
rveommendativiasuf the department, it is confidently ex•
peeled that, before the close of the next fiscal year, all who
arc entitled to the bean tits of the act will la Ice r,:eivcd their
wirrints.

The &::t- tart' of the Interior has suggested in his report
various amendments of the laws relating to p:itsione and
bourty lands, for the purpose of more etLetually guarding
agninq abuses and frauds on the gorcmmuit, to all of
wltieh I invite your particular attention.
The large acccakioni to our Indian pvulation consequent
upon the acquisition of New Mexico and California, and the
extension of our Fct dements into Ut di and Or• gun. hare
given increased interist and importance to our rinatMns
with the abo:i.inal race.

No mab•rial change has taken place within the last year
in the condition and prospects of the Indian tribes who re-
side in the north western t rritory, and west of the Mis-
sissippi river. We arc at peace with all of them ; end it
will be a .pnrce of pleasure to you to learn that th, y are
lolly advancing in civilisation and the pursuits of social

Along the Mexican frontier, and in Califeamia and Ore-
ther, have Men occasional nratifestations of un-
friendly feeling, and some depredations committed. I act
satisfied, kowevcr, that they resulted mole from the desti-
tute and starring condition of the ludi.ais than fr^m any
settled hostility towards the whites. As the settliments of
our citizens progress toward them the game upon which
they mainly rely for subsistence is deism elf or destroyed,
aim the only alternative left to them is starvation or plun-
der. It becomes us to consider, in view of this condition of
things, whether justice and humanity, as will us an en-
lightened economy, do nut require that, instead of seeking
to punish them for isees which are the result of our own
policy toward them, we should nut provide for their imme.
diate and (moorage them to engage in agriculture,
and to rely on their labour, ill.tcad 01 the chase, fur the
means of support.
. .

• •
Varn i a': mportant treaties hare been negneiated with
diff:rent tribes during the year, by which their title to
large and VAluable trazts of country has been extinguished,
all of which will, at the proper ume, be submitted to the
senate for ratification.

The joint commission under the treaty of Guadalupe
Hi.ialgo has been actively engaged in running and marking
the boundary fine between the United States and 31, sire,.
It was stated in the laat 'mama insert of the Secretary of
the Interior that the initial point on the Pacific and the'
point of the junction of the Gila with the Colorado River
had been determined, and the intervening line, about 1.10
miles in length, run and marked by temporary monuments.
Since that time a monument of marble !us been treeted at
the initial point, and permanent landmarks of iron had
bet a placed at suitable distances along the line.
The initial point on the Hie Grande has also been fixed
by the cominisetoners at latitude 32 deg. 22 min., and at
the date of the lust communication the survey of the line
had been made thence westward about 130 miles to the
neighbourhood of the copper mines.
The commission on our part was at first organised on a
scale which espi rience proved to be unwieldy and attended
with unnecessary expense. Orders have, therefore, been
issued for the reduction of the number or persons employed
within the small, st limits, consistent with the safety of those
engaged in the service, and the prompt and efficient execu-
tion of their important duties.
Returns hare been received front all the officers engaged
in taking the census in the states and terr:tories, except
California. The superintendent employed to make the
enumeration in that state has not yet mode his full repent,
from causes, as lie alleges, beyond his control. rids
failure is much to be regretted, as it has prevented the
Secretary of the Interior (rim making the decennial ap-
portionment of representatives 6.11011 g the states, as re-
quired by the act approved May 23, lh3iu. It is hoped, how-
ever, that the returns will soon be received, and no time will
then be lost in making the necessary arrangements, and in
transmitting the certificates required by the law. The
Superintendent of the Seventh Census is diligently em-
ployed, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior,
in classifying and arranging, in tabular farm, all the stalls
tical information derived from the returns of the marshals,
and it is believed that when the work shall be completed it
will exhibit a more perfect view of the population, wealth,
occupation!, and social condition of a Freat country, than
has ever been presented to the world. lite value of such a
work, as the basis of enlightened legislation, can hardly be
overestimated ; and I earnestly hope that Congress will lose
no time in making the appropriation. necessary to complete
the elassilieitions, and to publish the results iu a style
worthy of the subject and of our national character.
The want of a uniferin fee bill, prescribing the compen-
sation to be allowed to district attorneys, clerks, marshals,
and commsssioners in civil and criminal cases, is the cause

of much vexation, injustice and complaint. I would re-
commend a thorough revision of the laws on the whole
subject, and the adoption of 4 tariff of fees which, as far
as practicable, should ho uniform, and prescribe a specific
cumpensati..n for every service which the officer may he
required to perform. Phis subject will be fully presented
in the report of the Secretary of the Interior.
In my last anneal message I gave briefly my reasons for
believing that you possessed the constitutional power to i
improve the harbours of our great lakes and sea coast, and
the navig.tion of our principal rivers, and recommended
that appropriations should ba made for completing such
works as had already bees commenced, and forcommeucing
such others as might seem to tile wisdom of Congress to be
of public and general importance. Without repeating the
' reasons then urged, I deem it my duty again to call your
attention to this important subject. The works on many of
the harbours were left in an unfinished state, and conse-
quently exposed to the action of the elements, which is fast
destroying them. Great numbers of lives and vast amounts
of property are annualy lost for want of safe and convenient
harbours on the lakes. None but those who have been ex-
posed to that dangerous navigation can fully appreciate the
importance at this subject. 'f he whole north-west appeals
to you for relief, and I trust their appeal will receive due
consideration at your hands.
'she same is in a measure true in regard to some of the
harbours and inlets on the sea-coast.

The unobstructed navigation of our large rivers is of
I equal importance. Our settlements are now extending to
' the sources of the great rivers which empty into, and form
a part of the Mississippi, and the value of the public lands
in these regions would be greatiy enhanced by freeing the
navigation of those waters from obstructions. In view,
therefore, of this great interest, I deem it my duty again to
urge upon Congress to make such appropriations fur those
improvements as they may deem necessary.
The survey of the delta of the Mississippi, with a view
to the prevention of the overflows that have proved so disas-
trous to that region of country, have been nearly com-
pleted, and the reports thereof are now in course of pre-
paration, and will shortly be laid before you.
The protection of our south-western frontier, and of the
adjacent Mexican States, against the Indian tribes within
our borders has claimed my earnest and constant attention.
Congress having failed, at the last session, to adopt any re-
commendation that an additional regiment of mounted men
specially adapted to that service should be raised, all that
remained to be done was to make the best use of the means
at my disposal. Accordingly, all the troops adapted to that
service that could properly bo spared from other quarters
have been concentrated on that frontier, and officers of high
reputation selected to command them. A new arrangement
of the military posts has also been made, whereby the
troops are brought nearer to the Mexican frontier and to
the tribes they are intended to overawe.
Sufficient time has not yet elapsed to realise all the bene-
fits that are expected to result from these arrangements,
but I have every reason to hope that they wdl effectually
check their marauding expeditions. The nature of the
country, which furnishes little for the suppo-t of an army,
and abounds in places of refuge and concealment, is cc
nuirlusbly well adapted to this predatory warfare ; and we
can scarcely hope that any military force, combined with
the greatest vigilance, can entirely suppress it.
By the treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo we are bound to
protect the territory of Mexico against the incursions of
the savage tribes within our border "with equal diligence
and energy" as if the same were made within our territory
or against our citizens. I have endeavoured to comply, as
far as possible with this provision of the treaty. Orders have
been given to the officer, commanding on that frontier to
consider the Mexican territory and its inhabitants equally
with our own entitled to their protection; and to make all
their plans and arrangements with a view to the attainment
of this object. Instructions have also been given to the
Indian Commissioners and agents among these tribes, in all
treaties, to make the clauses designed for the protection of
our own citizens apply also to those of Mexico. I have no
reason to doubt that these instructions hare been fully car
ricd into effect. Nevertheless, it is probable that, in spite of
all our efforts, some of the neighbouring states of Mexico
may have safferel, as our own have, from depredations by
the Indians._

To the difficulties of defending our own territory, as
shove mentioned, are superadded, in defending that of
Mexico, those that arise from its remoteness, from the fact
that we have no right to station our troops within her
limits, and that then: is no efficient military force on the
Maim side to co-operate with our own. So long as thu