The Express.
London, England, 1861-12-16 00:00:00

PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S MESSAGE TO THE
FEDERAL CONGRESS.

WASHINGTON, DEC. 4.
The following is a summary of the M deli-
vered to-day by President Lincoln to the Federal
Congress.

Referring to the foreign policy of the government,
the President says :
" You will not be surprised to hear that in the
peculiar exigencies of the times our intercourse with
foreigu nations has been attended with profound
solicitude, chiefly turning upon our own domestic
affairs. A nation which endures factions and
domestic divisions is exposed to disrespect abroad,
and one party, if not both, is sure sooner or later
to invoke foreign intervention. The disloyal citi-
zens of the United States, who have offered the ruin
of our country in return for the aid and comfort
which they have invoked abroad, have received less
patronage and encouragement than they probably
expected. The insurgents have seemed to
assume that foreign nations in this ease (discarding
all moral, social, and treaty obligations) would act
solely and selfishly for the most y restore-
Von of commerce, including es • y the acquisi-
tion of cotton ; but those nations appear as yet not
to have seen their way to their object more directly
or clearly through the destruction than through the
preservation of the Union. lam quite sure a second
( sound) argument could be made to show them that
they can reach their aim much more readily and
easily by aiding to crush this rebellion than by giving
encouragement to it. The principal lever relied on
by the insurgents for exciting foreign nations to hos-
tilities &gametes is the embarrassment of commerce.
Theme nations, however, not improbably saw from
the first that it was the Union which made se well
our foreign u our domestic commerce. They wan
scarcely have failed to perceive that the efforts for
disunion produced the existing difficulty, and that
one strong nation promises more durable peace,
and a more extensive more valuable, and more
reliable commerce, duet can the same na-
'ion broken into hostile fragments. It is
not my purpose to review our discussion
with foreign states, because, whatever might
be their wishes or dispositions, the integrity of
oar country and the stability of our government
mainly depend not upon them, but on the loyalty,
virtue, patriotism, and allegiance of the American
people. Sim*, however it is apparent that foreign
danger*. necessarily attend domestic difficulties, I
recommend that adequate and ample mimeses be
adopted for maintaining the public defence on
every aide, and also that provision be made for
defending our mut-line."
The Message recommends an appropriation to
satisfy the legal demands of the owners of the
British ship Perthabire, detained under a misap-
prehension by the United States steamer Massa-
chusetts. It also recommends that authority be
given to the commanders al sailing vessels to re-
capture United States vessels or cargoes taken by
pirates, and that the consular courts in eastern
countries should adjudicate the cases, but only with
the permission of the local authorities.
The President cannot see any reason for further
withholding the recognition of the inderoil
memos of
Hayti and Liberia. He urges upon the
reconstruction of the supreme courts, sad
Sion of a system for the of debbel4
Northern men in district' where, the in-
surrection, the civil tribunals me suppressed. He
suggests the restoration of the original boundaries
of the district of Columbia, including that portion
on the Virginia aide of the Potomac, and continues :
"The efforts of the government to suppress the
slave trade have been recently unusually success-
ful. Under the Confiscation Act the legal claims
of certain persons to slaves are forfeited, and num-
bers thus Inmate& are dependent woe the
Federal government, and meet be protected, for
it is possible that some Mates will pees similar
I- pain