The Sun.
London, England, 1865-12-16 00:00:00

THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.

-
The following is the full text of President John-
son's Message to Congress :
Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Repre-
sentatives—
To express gratitude to God, in the name of the people,
for the preservation of the United States, is my first duty
in addressing you. Our thoughts next revert to the death
of the late President by an act of parricidal treason. The
grief of the nation is still fresh; it finds some solace in the
consideration that he lived to enjoy the highest proof of
its confidence by entering on the renewed term of the chief
magistracy, to which he had been elected ; that he brought
the civil war subsequently to a close ; that his loss was
deplored in all parts of the Union; and that foreign nations
have rendered justice to his memory. His removal cast
upon me a heavier weight of cares than ever devolved upon
any one of his predecessors. To fulfil my trust I need the
support and confidence of all who are associated with me
in the various departments of Government, and the support
and confidence of the people. There is but one way in
which I can hope to gain their necessary aid; it is to state
with frankness the principles whichguide my conduct, and
their application to the present state of affairs, well aware
that the efficiency of my labours will, in a great measure,
depend on your and their undivided approbation.
The Union of the United States of America was intended
by its authors to last as long as the States themselves shall
last. " The Union shall be perpetual" are the words of the
Confederation. "To form a more perfect Union," by an
ordinance of the people of the United States, is the de-
clared purpose of the constitution. The hand of Divine
Providence was never more plainly visible in the affairs of
men than in the framing and the adopting of that instru-
ment. It is, beyond comparison, the greatest event in
American history; and indeed is it not, of all events
in modern times, the most pregnant with conse-
quences for every people of the earth ? The mem-
bers of the Convention which prepared it, brought to
their work the experience of the confederation of their
several States, and of other Republican Governments, old
and new; but they needed and they obtained a wisdom
superior to experience. And when for its validity it re-
quired the approval of a people that occupied a large part
of a continent and acted separately in many distinct con-
ventions, what is more wonderful than that, after earnest
contention and long discussion, all feelings and all opi-
nions were ultimately drawn in one way to its support ?
The constitution to which life was thus imparted con-
tains within itself ample resources for its own preservation.
It has power to enforce the laws, punish treason, and . in-
sure domestic tranquillity. In the case of the usurpation
of the Government of a State by one man, or an oligarchy,
it becomes a duty of the United States to make good the
guarantee to that State of a republican form of government,
and so to maintain the homogeneousness of all. Does the
lapse of time reveal defects? A simple mode of amend-
ment is provided in the constitution itself, so that its con-
ditions can always be made to conform to the requirements
of advancing civilisation. No room is allowed even for the
thought of a possibility of its coming to an end. And these
powers of self-preservation have always been asserted in
their complete integrity by every patriotic Chief Magis-
trate—by Jefferson and Jackson, not less than by Wash-
ington and Madison. The parting advice of the Father of
his Country, while yet President, to the people of the
United States, was, that " the free constitution, which was
the work of their hands, might be sacredly maintained ;"
and the inaugural words of President Jefferson held up
" the preservation of the general government, in its con-
stitutional vigour, as the sheet anchor of our peace at
home and safety abroad." The constitution is the work of
the people of the United States, and it should be as inde-
structible
as the people.
Is it not strange that the framers of the constitution, which
had no model in the past, should not have fully compre-
hended the excellence of their own work. Fresh from a
struggle against arbitrary power, many patriots suffered
from harassing fears of an absorption of the State Govern-
ments by the General Government, and many from a
dread that the States would break away from their orbits.
But the very greatness of our country should allay the
apprehensions of encroachments by the general govern-
ment. The subjects that come unquestionably within its
jurisdiction are so numerous that it must ever naturally
refuse to be embarrassed by questions that lie beyond it.
Were it otherwise, the Executive would sink beneath the
burden; the channels of justice would be choked; legis-
lation would be obstructed by excess ; so that there is
greater temptation to exercise some of the functions of the
general government through the States than to trespass
on their rightful sphere. "The absolute acquiescence in
the decisions of the majority" was, at the beginning of the
century, enforced by Jefferson "as the vital principle of
republics," and the events of the last four years have esta-
blished, we will hope for ever, that there lies no appeal to
force.

The maintenance of the Union brings with it " the sup-
port of the State governments in all their rights ;" but it is
not one of the rights of any State government to renounce
its own place in the Union, or to nullify the laws of the
Union. The largest liberty is to be maintained in the dis-
cussion of the acts of the Federal Government ; but there
is no appeal from its laws, except to the various branches
of that government itself, or to the people, who grant to
the members of /the Legislative and of the Executive De-
partments no tenure but a limited one, and in that manner
always retain the power of redress.

" Tho sovereignty of the States" is the language of the
Confederacy, and not the language of the Constitution.
The latter contains the emphatic words : " The Constitu-
tion, and the laws of tho United States which shall be
made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made or which
shall be made under the authority of the United States,
shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in
every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the Con-
stitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwith-
standing."
Certainly the Government of the United States is a limited
government; and so is every State government a limited
government. With us, -this idea of limitation spreads
through every form of administration, general, State, and
municipal, and rests on the great distinguishing principle
of the recognition of the rights of man. The ancient re-
publics absorbed the individual in the State, prescribed his
religion, and controlled his activity. The American system
rests on the assertion of the equal right of every man to
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;; to freedom of
conscience, to the culture and exercise of all his faculties.
As a consequence, the State Government is limited, as to
the General Government in the interests of Union, as to
individual citizen in the interest of freedom.

States, with proper limitations of power, are essential to
the existence of the Constitution of the United States. At
the very commencement, when we assume a place among
the powers of the earth, the declaration of independence
was adopted by states; so also were the Articles of Con-
federation ; and when "the People of the United States "
ordained and established the constitution, it was the assent
of the States, one by one, which gave it vitality. In the
event, too, of any amendment to the constitution, the pro-
position of Congress needs the confirmation of States.
Without States one great branch of the legislative go-
vernment would be wanting. And, if we look beyond the
letter of the constitution to the character of our country,
its capacity for comprehending within its jurisdiction a
vast continental empire is due to the system of States. The
best security for the perpetual existence of the
states is the "supreme authority" of the constitu-
tion of the States. The perpetuity of the constitution
brings with it the perpetuity of the States; their mutual
relation makes us what -we are, and in our political system
their connection is indissoluble. The whole cannot exist
without the parts, nor the parts without the whole. So
long as the constitution of the United States endures, the
States. will endure ; the destruction of the one is the de-
struction of the other ; the preservation of the one is the
preservation of the other.
I have thus explained my views of the mutual relations
of the Constitution y
and the States, because they unfold the
principles on which I have sought to solve the
momentous
questions and overcome the appalling difficulties that met
me at the very commencement of my administration. It
has been lay steadfast object to escape from the sway of
momentary passions, and to derivo a healing policy for the
fundamental and unchanging principles of the constitution.
I found the States suffering from the effects of a civil
war. Resistance to the general government appeared to
have exhausted itself. The United States had recovered
possession of their forts and arsenals, and theirarmies were
in the occupation of every State which had attempted to
secede. Whether the territory within the limits of those
States should be hold as conquered territory, under military
authority emanating from the President as the head of the
army, was the first question that presented itself for de-
cision.

Now, military governments, established for an indefinite
period, would have offered no security for the early sup-
pression of discontent ; would have divided the people into
vanquishers and vanquished; and would have envenomed
hatred rather than restored affection. Once established, no
pvroeuicisde lhireavit, e tothck continuance was conceivable. They
occasioned an incalculable and exhausting
expense. Peaceful ul ' ration to and from that portion of
the country is one
oeftilf°
harmony
best means that can be thought
of for the restoration of and that emigration
would have been prevented for; what emigrant from
abroad, what industrious citizen at home, would place him-
self willingly under military rule? The chief persons who
would have followed in the train
ooe
f v the army would have
g been dependents on the general ?lament, or who ex-
pected profit from the miseries of their erring fen
ow-citi-
zens. The powers of patronage and rulgre
ewhich would
have been exercised, under the President, over a
a vast,t and
populous, and naturally wealthy region, are than,
unless under extreme necessity, I should be willing.
t
for nlyBelf, ?could
never, to any one man ; they are such as,
never, unless on occasions of great emergency, consent I
to exercise. The wilful use of such powers, if continued
through a period of years, would have endangered the
purity of the general administration and the liberties of
the States which remained loyal.
Besides, the policy of military rule over a conquered
territorytaats would have implied that the States whose inhabi-
tants
rasea7have taken part in the rebellion had, by the act
tho
inhabitants, ceased to exist. But the true theory
P. , that all pretended acts of secession were, from the be-

ginning, null and void. The States cannot commit
treason, nor screen the individual citizens who may have
committed treason, any more than they can nu ke valid
treaties or engage in lawful commerce with any foreign
Power. The States attemptitg to secede paced them-
selves in a condition where their vitality was impaired, but
not extinguished—their functions suspended, but not de-
stroyed.

But if any State neglects or refuses to perform its offices,
there is themore need that the General Government should
maintain all its authority, and, as soon as practicable, re-
sume the exercise of all its functions. On this principle I
have acted, and have gradually and quietly and by almost
imperceptible steps, sought to restore the rightful energy
of the General Government and of the States. To that end
provisional governors have been appointed for the States,
conventions called, governors elected, Legislatures as-
sembled, and senators and representatives chosen to the
Congress of the United States. At the same time, the
courts of the United States, as far as could be done, have
been re-opened, so that the laws of the United States may
be enforced through their agency. The blockade has been
removed and the custom houses re-established in ports of
entry, so that the revenue of the United States may be
collected. The Post-office department renews itsceaseless
activity, and the General Government is thereby enabled
to communicate promptly with its officers and agents. The
courts bring security to persons and property ; the open-
ing of the ports invites the restoration of industry and
commerce, the post-office renews the facilities of social in-
tercourse and of business. And is it not happy for us all
that the restoration of each one of these functions of the
General Government brings with it a blessing to the State
over which they aro extended? Is it not a sure promise
of harmony and renewed attachment to the Union that,
after all that has happened, the return of the General
Government is known only as a beneficence ?
I know very well that the policy is attended with some
risk; that for its success it requires at least the acquies-
cence of the States which it concerns ; that it implies an
invitation to those States, by renewing their allegiance to
the United States, to resume their functions as States of
the Union. But it is a risk that must be taken ; in the
choice of difficulties it is the smallest risk ; and to dimi-
nish, and, if possible, to remove all danger, I have felt it
incumbent upon me to assert one other power of the gene-
ral government—the power of pardon. As no State can
throw a defence over the crime of treason, the power of
pardon is exclusively vested in the Executive Government
of the United States. In exercising that power, I have
taken every precaution to connect it with the clearest re-
cognition of the binding force of the laws of the United
States, and an unqualified acknowledgment of the great
social change of condition in regard to slavery which has
grown out of the war.

The next step which I have taken to restore the consti-
tutional relations of the States has been an invitation to
them to participate in the high office of amending the con-
stitution. Every patriot must wish for a general amnesty
at the earliest epoch consistent with public safety. For
this great end there is need of a concurence of all opinions,
and the spirit of mutual conciliation. All parties in the
late terrible conflict must work together in harmony. It
is not much to ask, in the name of the whole people, that
on the one side the plin of restoration shall proceed with
a willingness to cast the disorders of the past into oblivion;
and that, on the other, the evidence of sincerity in the fu-
ture maintenance of the Union shall be put beyond any
doubt by the ratification of the proposed amendment to the
constitution which provides for the abolition of slavery
for ever within the limits of our country. So long as the
adoption of this amendment is delayed, so long will
doubt, and jealousy, and uncertainty prevail. This is the
measure which will efface the sad memory of the
past ; this is the measure which will most cer-
tainly call population, and capital, and security to
those parts of the Union that have the most need of
them. Indeed, it is not too much to ask of the
States which are now resuming their places in the family
of the Union to give this pledge of perp&ual loyalty and
peace. Until it is done, the past, however much we may
desire it, will not be forgotten. The adoption of the
amendment reunites us beyond all power of disruption. It
heals the wound that is still imperfectly closed ; it re-
moves slavery, the element which has so long perplexed
and divided the country; it makes of us once more a
united people, renewed and strengthened, bound more
than ever to mutual affection and support.
The amendment in the constitution being adopted, it
would remain for the States, whose powers have been so
long in abeyance, to resume their places in the two
branches of the National Legislature, and thereby com-
plete the work of restoration. Hero it is for you, fellow-
citizens of the Senate, and for you, fellow-citizens of the
House of Representatives, to judge, each of you for your-
selves, of the elections, returns, and qualifications of your
own members.

The full assertion of the powers of the General Govern-
ment requires the holding of Circuit Courts of the United
States within the districts where their authority has been
interrupted. In the present posture of our public affairs,
strong objections have been urged to holding those courts
in any of the States where the rebellion has existed ; and
it was ascertained, by inquiry, that the Circuit Court of
the United States would not be held within the district of
Virginia during the autumn or early winter, nor until
Congress should have "an opportunity to consider and
act on the whole subject." To your deliberations the re-
storation of this branch of the civil authority of the United
States is therefore necessarily referred, with the early
hope that early proTision will be made for the resumption
of all its functions. It is manifest that treason, most flagrant
in character, has been committed. Persons who are
charged with its commission should have fair and im-
partial trials in the highest civil tribunals of the country,
in order that the constitution and the laws may be fully
vindicated ; the truth clearly established and affirmed
that treason is a crime, that traitors should be
punished, and the offence made infamous ; and,
at the same time, that the question may be judicially set-
tled, finally and for ever, that no State of its own will has
the right to renounce its place in the Union.
_ _

The relations of the General Government towards the
four millions of inhabitants whom the war has called into
freedom, have engaged my most serious consideration. On
the propriety of attempting to make the freedmen electors
by the proclamation of the Executive, I took for my counsel
the Constitution itself, the interpretation of that instrument
by its authors and their contemporaries, and recent legisla-
tion by Congress. When, at the first movement towards
independence, the Congress of the United States instructed
the several States to institute governments of their own,
they left each State to decide for itself the conditions for
the enjoyment of the elective franchise. During the period
of the Confederacy, there continued to exist a very great
diversity in the qualifications of electors in the several
States; and even within a State a distinction of qualifica-
tions prevailed with regard to the officers who were to be
chosen. The Constitution of the United States recog-
nises these diversities when it enjoins that, in the choice
of members of the House of Representatives of the United
States, "the electors in each State shall have the qualifi-
cations requisite for electors of the most numerous branch
of the State Legislature." After the formation of the Con-
stitution it remained, as before, the uniform usage for each
State to enlarge the body of its electors, according to its
own judgment ; and, under this system, one State after
another has proceeded to increase the number of its elec-
tors, until now universal suffrage, or something very near
it, is the general rule. So fixed was this reservation of
power in the habits of the people, find so unquestioned has
been the interpretation of the Constitution, that during the
civil war the late President never harbored the purpose—
certainly never avowed the purpose —of disregarding it ;
and in the acts of Congress, during that period, nothing can
be found which, during the continuance of hostilities, much
less after their close, would have sanctioned any depar-
ture aby the Executive from a policy which has so
uniformly obtained. Moreover, a concession of the elec-
tive franchise to the freedmen, by act of the President of
the United States, must have been extended to all coloured
men, wherever found, and so must have established a
change of suffrage in the Northern, Middle, and Western
States, not less than in the Southern and South-Western.
Such an act would have created a new class of voters, and
would have been an assumption of power by the President
which nothing in the constitution or laws of the United
States would have warranted.

On the other hand, every danger of conflict is avoided
when the settlement of the question is referred to the seve-
ral States. They can, each for itself, decide on the mea-
sure, and whether it is to be adopted at once and absolutely
or introduced gradually and with conditions. In my judg-
eonb,taifhtihaevyaerhtiooiwpaptiaotnie
tmueens,t,wthilel
sooner
n l yf
rvaiur
--
in net
haenelective
m a
chise through the States than through
Go-
vernment, even if it had
powor
tointervene.the General
tumult of emotions that have been raised by
When the
tthe sudden-
ness of the social change shall have subsided, i
that they will receive the kindliest usage
from some
prove
those on whom they have heretofore most some
of
closely de-
pended.
But while I have no doubt that now, after the close of
the war, it is not competent for the General Government
to extend the elective franchise in the several States, it is
equally clear that good faith
requires the security of the
freedmen in their liberty and their property, their right to
labour, and their right to claim the just return of
their labour. I cannot too strongly urge a dispas-
sionate treatment of this subject, which should be
We must
carefully kept aloof from all party strife •
equally avoid hasty assumptions of any natural impossi-
bility
for the two rases to live side by side, in a state of
mutual benefit and good-will. The experiment involves
us in no inconsistency; let us, then, go on and make that
experiment in good faith, and not be too easily disheartened.
The country is in need of labour, and the freedmen are in
need of employment, culture, and protection. While their
right of voluntary migration and expatriation is not to be
questioned, I would not advise their forced removal and
colonisation. Let us rather encourage them to honourable
and useful industry, where it may be beneficial to them-
selves and to the country ; and, instead of hasty anticipa-
tions of the certainty of failure, let there be nothing
wanting to the fair trial of the experiment. The change
in their condition is the substitution of labour by contract
for the status of slavery. The freedman cannot fairly be
accused of unwillingness to work, so long as a doubt re-

mains about his freedom of choice in his pursuits, and the
certainty of his recovering his stipulated wages. In this
the interests of the employer and the employed coincide.
The employer desires in his workman spirit and alacrity,
and these can be permanently secured in no other way.
And if the one ought to be able to enforce the con-
tract, so ought the other. The public interest will be best
promoted, if the several States will provide adequate pro-
tection and remedies for the freedmen. Until this is in
some way accomplished, there is no chance for the advan-
tageous use of their labour ; and the blame of ill-success
will not rest on them.

I know that sincere philanthropy is earnest for the im-
mediate realisation of its remotest aims; but time is always
an element in reform. It is one of the greatest acts on re-
cord to have brought four millions of people into freedom.
The career of free industry must be fairly opened to them;
and then their future prosperity and condition must, after
all, rest mainly on themselves. ' If they fail, and so perish
away, let us be careful that the failure shall not be attri-
butable to any denial of justice. In all that relates to the
destiny of the freedmen, we need not be too anxious to read
the future ; many incidents which, from a speculative point
of view, might raise alarm, will quietly settle themselves.
Now that slavery is at an end, the greatness of its evil,
in the point of view of public economy, becomes more and
more apparent. Slavery was essentially a monopoly of la-
bour, and as such locked the States where it prevailed
against the incoming of free industry. Where labour was
the property of the capitalist, the white man was excluded
from employment, or had but the second best• chance of
finding it; and the foreign emigrant turned‘away from the
region where his condition would be so precarious. With
tho destruction of the monopoly, free labour will hasten
from all parts of the civilised world to assist in de-
veloping various and immeasurable resources which
have hitherto lain dormant. The eight or nine States
nearest the Gulf of Mexico have a soil of exuberant
fertility, a climate friendly to long life, and can sustain a
denser population than is found as yet in any part of our
country. And the future influx of population to them will
be mainly from the North, or from the most cultivated
nations in Europe. From the sufferings that have attended
them during our late struggle, let us look away to the
future, which is sure to be laden for them with greater
prosperity than has ever before been known. The removal
of the monopoly of slave labour is a pledge that those
regions will be peopled. by a numerous and enterprising
population, which will vie with any in the Union in com-
pactness, inventive genius, wealth, and industry.
Our Government springs from and was made for the
people—not the people for the Government. To them it
owes allegiance ; from them it must derive its courage,
strength, and wisdom. But, while the Government is thus
bound to defer to the people, from whom it derives its
existence, it should, from the very consideration of its
origin, be strong in its power of resistance to the establish-
ment of inequalities. Monopolies, perpetuities, and clas
legislation are contrary to the genius of free government
and ought not to be allowed. Here, there is no room for
favoured classes or monopolies; the principle of our Go-
vernment is that of equal laws and freedom of industry.
Wherever monopoly obtains a foothold, it is sure to be a
source of danger, discord, and trouble. We shall
but fulfil our duties as legislators by according
"equal and exact justice to all men," special privileges
to none. The Government is subordinate to the
people ; but, as the agent and representative of the
people, it must be held superior to monopolies, which,
in themselves, ought never to be granted, and which
where they exist, must be subordinate and yield to the
government.
The constitution confers on Congress the right to regu-
late commerce among the several states. It is of the first
necessity, for the maintenance of the Union, that that
commerce should be free and unobstructed. No state can
be justified in any device to tax the transit of travel and
commerce between states. The position of many states
is such that, if they were allowed to take advantage of it
for purposes of local revenue, the commerce between
states might be injuriously burdened, or even virtually
prohibited. It is best, while the country is still young,
and while the tendency to dangerous monopolies of this
kind is still feeble, to use the power of Congress so as to
prevent any selfish impediment to the free circulation of
men and merchandise. A tax on travel and merchandise,
in their transit, constitutes one of the worst forms of
monopoly, and the evil is increased if coupled with a de-
nial of the choice of route. When the vast extent of our
country is considered, it is plain that every obstacle to the
free circulation of commerce between the States ought to
be sternly guarded against by appropriate legislation,
within the limits of the constitution.

The report of the Secretary of the Interior explains the
condition of thepubliclands, the transactions of the Patent-
office and the Pension-bureau, the management of our
Indian affairs, the progress made in the construction of the
Pacific Railroad, and furnishes information in reference to
matters of local interest in the district of Columbia. It also
presents evidence of the successful operation of the home-
stead Act, under the provisions of which 1,160,535 acres of
the public lands were entered during the last fiscal year—
more than one-fourth of the whole number of acres sold
or otherwise disposed of during that period. It is esti-
mated that the receipts derived from this source are suffi-
cient to cover the expenses incident to the survey and
disposal of the lands entered under this Act, and that pay-
ments in cash to the extent of from forty to fifty per cent.
will be made by settlers, who may thus at any tiro acquire
title before the expiration of the period at which it would
otherwise rest. The homestead policy was established
only after long and earnest resistance ; experience proves
its wisdom. The lands, in the hands of industrious
settlers, whose labour creates wealth and contributes to
the public resources, are worth more to the United States
than if they had been reserved as a solitude for future
purchasers.
The lamentable events of the last four years, and the
sacrifices made by the gallant men of our Army and Navy,
have swelled the records of the Pension Bureau to an un-
precedented extent. On the 30th day of June last, the
total number of pensioners was 85,986, requiring for their
annual pay, exclusive of expenses, the sum of $8,023,445.
The number of applications that have been allowed since
that debt will require a large increase of this amount for
the next fiscal year. The means for the payment of the
stipends due, under existing laws, to our disabled soldiers
and sailors, and to the families of such as have perished
in the service of the country, will no doubt be cheerfully
and promptly granted. A grateful people will not hesitate
to sanction any measures having for their object the relief
of soldiers mutilated and families made fatherless in the
efforts to preserve our national existence.
The report of the Postmaster-General presents an encou-
raging exhibit of the operations of the Post-office depart-
ment during the year. The revenues of the past year from
the loyal States alone exceeded the maximum annual re-
ceipts from all the States previous to the rebellion in the
sum of $6,038,091; and the annual average increase of re-
venue during the last four years, compared with the
revenues of the four years immediately preceding the re-
bellion, was $3,533,845. The revenues of the last fiscal
year amounted to $14,556,158, and the expenditure to
$13,694,728, leaving a surplus of receipts over expenditure
of $861,430. Progress has been made in restoring the
postal service in the Southern States. The views presented
by the Postmaster-General against the policy of granting
subsidies to ocean mail steamship lines upon established
routes, and in favour of continuing the present system,
which limits the compensation for ocean service to the
postage earnings, are recommended to the careful consi-
deration of Congress.
It appears from the report of the Secretary of the Navy
that, while at the commencement of the present year there
were in commission 530 vessels of all classes and descrip-
tions, armed with 3,000 guns and manned by 51,000 men,
the number of vessels at present in commission is 117, with
830 guns and 12,128 men. By this prompt reduction of
the naval forces the expenses of the Government have
been largely diminished, and a number of vessels, pur-
chased for naval purposes from the merchant marine, have
been returned to the peaceful pursuits of commerce. -Since
the suppression of active hostilities our foreign squadrons
have been re-established, and consist of vessels much more
efficient than those employed on similar service previous to
the rebellion. The suggestion for the enlargement of the
navy yards, and especially for the establishment of one in
fltrfo.ayrrenpoo.osiodmrhukp:-)water for iron-clad vessels, is deserving of considera-
tion, as is also the recommendation for a different location
and more ample grounds for the Naval Academy.
In the report of the Secretary of War, a general summary
is given of the military campaigns of 1864 and 1865, end-
ing in the suppression of the armed resistance to the na-
tional authority in the insurgent States. The operations
of the general administrative Bureau of the War Depart-
ment during the past year are detailed, and an estimate
made of the appropriations that will be required for mili-
tary purposes in the fiscal year coraraencing the 30th day
of June, 1866. The national military force on the Ist of
May, 1865, numbered 1,000,516 men. It is proposed to re-
duce the military establishment to a peace footing, com-
prehending 50,000 troops of all arms, organised so as to
admit of an enlargement by filling up the ranks to 82,600,
if the circumstances of the country should require an aug-
mentation of the army. The volunteer force has already
been reduced by the discharge from service of over 800,000
opinion
nafsanlfnoc6nd:
:2.
ttoti
oee therf
hl3e .dsee reduction.
tprova department,ii
em3e3e nBhiltTis4b,
:ai
i4setd6eapwl;dauoilircav etheeesiedetnf
estimates
omtnr
egaactamroe ansoppouai
economy
peace
yt:e wii nos
rt
worthy
reducedtt
hhhb
yee-
lishment. The measures of retrenchment in each bureau
of commendation. Reference is also diligent
in the report
y
the necessity of providing for a uniform militia system,
stem and
to the propriety of making suitable provision for wounded
and disabled officers and soldiers.

The revenue system of the country is a subject of vital
interest to its honor and prosperity, and should command
the earnest consideration of Congress. The Secretary
the Treasury will lay before you a full and detailed report of
thereceipts
off
thereceipts and disbursements of the last fiscal year, of the
first quarter of the present fiscal year, of the probable re-
ceipts and expenditures for the other three quarters, and
the estimates for the year following the 30th of June,lB66.
I might content myself with a reference to that report, in
which you will find all the information required for your
deliberation and decision. But the paramount importance
of the subject so presses itself on my own mind, that I
cannot but lay before you my views of the measure which