The Sun.
London, England, 1850-12-18 00:00:00

THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC CANAL.

A convention was negotiated between the United
States and Great Britain, in April last, for facilitating
and protecting the construction of a ship canal between
the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and for other purposes.
This instrument has since been ratified by the con-
tracting parties, the exchange of ratifications has been
effected, and proclamation thereof has been duly made.
In addition to the stipulations contained in this con-
vention, two other objects remain to be accomplished
betAyeen the contracting powers.

„ First, the designationand establishment of a free port
at each end of the canal.

Second, an cgreement fixing the distance from the
shore within which belligerent maratime operations shall
not be carried on. On these points there is little
doubt that the two Governments will come to an under-
standing.

THE NICARAGUA QUESTION.
The company of citizens of the United States who
have acquired from the State of Nicaragua the privilege
of constructing a ship canal Leta een the two oceans,
through the territory of that state, have made progress
in their preliminary arrangements. The treaty between
the United States and Great Britain of the 19th of April
list above referred to being now in operation, it is to be
hoped that the guarantees which it offers will be suffi-
cient to secure the completion of the work with all prac-
ticable expedition. it is obvious that this result would
be indefinitely postponed if any other than peaceful mea-
sures, for the purpose of harmonising conflicting claims
to territory in that quarter should be adopted. It will
consequently be my endeavour to cause any further ne-
gotiations on the part of this Government, which may be
requisite for this purpose, to be so conducted as to bring
them to a speedy and successful close.
Some unavoidable delay has occurred arising from
distance and the difficulty of intercourse between this
Government and that of Nicaragua, but as intelligence
has just been received of the appointment of an envoy
extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of that Go-
vernment to reside et 'Washington, whose arrival may
soon be expected, it is hoped that no further impedi-
ments will be experienced in the prompt transaction of
business between the two Governments.

RAILROAD ACROSS THE ISTHMUS OF
TE HUAN TE PEC.
Citimens of the United States have undertaken the
connexion of the two oceans by means of a railroad
across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, under grants of the
Mexican Government to a citizen of that republic. It
is understood that a thorough survey of the course of
the communication is in preparation, and there is every
reason to expect that it will be prosecuted with charac-
teristic energy, especially when that Government shall
have consented to such stipulations with the Govern-
ment of the United States as may be necessary to impart
a feeling of security to those who may embark their pro-
perty in the enterprise. Negotiations are pending for
the accomplishment of that object, and a hope is con-
fidently entertained that when the Government of
Mexico shall become duly sensible of the advantages
which that country cannot fail to derive from the work,
and learn that the Government of the United States de-
sires that the right of sovereignty of Mexico in the
Isthmus shall remain unimpaired, the stipulations re-
ferred to will be agreed to with alacrity.
By the last ad vices from Mexico it would appear, how-
ever, that that Government entertains strong objections
to some of the stipulations which the parties concerned
in the project of the railroad deem necessary for their
protection and security. Further considerrtion, it is
hoped, or some modification of terms, may yet reconcile
the differences existing between the two Governments in
this respect.
Fresh instructions have recently been given to the
Minister of the United States in Mexico, who is prose-
cuting the subject with promptitude and ability.
Although the negotiations with Portugal for the pay-
ment of claims of the citizens of the United States
against that Government have net yet resulted in a
formal treaty, yet a proposition made by the Govern-
ment of Portugal for the final adjustment and payment
of those claims has recently been accepted on the part of
the United States. It gives me pleasure to say that
Mr. Clay, to whom the negotiation on the part of the
United States has been entrusted, discharged the duties
of his appointment with ability and discretion, acting
always within the instructions of his Government.
It is expected that a regular convention will be imme-
diately negotiated for carrying the agreement between
the two Governments into effect.

CONVENTION WITH BRAZIL.
The Commissioner appointed under the Act of Con-
gress for carrying into effect the convention with Brezil,
of Jan. 27, 1849, has entered upon the performances of
the duties imposed upon him by that Act. It is hoped
that these duties may be completed within the time which
it prescribes. The documents, however, which the
Government, by the third article of the conven-
tion, stipulates to furnish to the Government of the
United States, have not yet been received. As it is
presumed that these documents will be essential for the
correct disposition of the claims, it may become necessary
for Congress to extend the period limited for the dura-
tion of the commission. The sum stipulated by the fourth
article of the convention to be paid to this Government
has been received.
PORT DUES ON VESSELS OF CHILI, Fie.
The collection in the ports of the United States of
discriminating duties upon the vessels of Chili and their
cargoes has been suspended, pursuant to the provisions
of the Act of Congress of the 24th of May, 1828. It is
to be hoped that this measure will impart a fresh im-
pulse to the commerce between the two countries, which
of late, and especially since our acquisition of California,
has, to the mutual advantage of the parties, become so
augmented.
Peruvian guano has become so desirable an article to
the agricultural interests of the United States, that it
is the duty of the Government to employ all the
means properly in its power for the purpose of caus-
ing that article to be imported into the country at a
reasonable price. Nothing will be omitted on my part
towards accomplishing this desirable end. I am per-
suaded that in removing any restraints on this
traffic, the Peruvian Government will promote its own
best interest, while it will afford a proof of a friendly
disposition towards this country, which will be duly
appreciated.
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS AND ST. DOMINGO.
The treaty between the United States and his Majesty
the King of the Hawaiian Islands, which has recently
been made public, will, it is believed, have a beneficial
effect upon the relations between the two countries.
The relations between the parts of the island of St.
Domingo, which were formerly colonies of Spain and
France, respectively, are still in an unsettled condition.
The proximity of that island to the United States, and
the delicate questions involved in the existing contro-
versy there, render it desirable that it should be perma-
nently and speedily adjusted. The interests of humanity
and of general commerce also demand this; and, as inti-
mations of the same sentiments have been received from
other Governments, it is hoped that some plan may be
devised to effect the object in a manner likely to give
general satisfaction. The Government of the United
States will not fail, by the exercise of all proper friendly
offices, to put an end to the destructive war which has
raged between the different parts of the island, and to
secure to them both the benefits of peace and commerce.
THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT.
I refer you to the report of the Secretary of the
Treasury for a detailed statement of the finances.
The total receipts into the Treasury, for the year
ending 30th of June last, was forty-seven millions four
hundred and twenty-one thousand seven hundred and
forty-eight dollars and ninety cents (d 0115.47,421,748,90).
The total expenditures during the same period were
forty-three millions two thousand one hundred and sixty-
eight dollars and ninety cents (dolls. 43,002,168 90).
The public debt has been reduced since the last annual
report from the Treasury department four hundred and
ni❑ety-five thousand two hundred and seventy-six dol-
lers and seventy-nine cents (dolls. 495,276 79).
By the 19th section of the Act of 28th of January,
1847, the proceeds of the sales of the public lands were
pledged for the interest and principal of the public debt.
The great amount of those subsequently granted by
Congress for military bounties will, it is believed, very
nearly supply the public demand for several years to
come, and but little reliance can, therefore, be placed on
that hitherto fruitful source of revenue.
Aside from the permanent annual expenditures, which
have necessarily largely increased, a portion of the public
debt, amounting to 8,075,986 dolls. 59c., must be pro•
vided for within the next two fiscal years. It is most
desirable that these accruing demands should be met
without resorting to new loans.
THE TARIFF QUESTION.

All experience has demonstrated the wisdom end
policy of raising a large portion of revenue, for the sup-
port of Government, from duties on goods imported. The
power to levy those duties is unquestionable, and its
chief object, of course, is to replenish the treasury. But
if in doing this an incidental advantage may be gained
by encouraging the industry of our own citizens, it is our
duty to avail ourselves of that advantage.
A duty laid upon an article which cannot be produced
in this country—such as tea or coffee—adds to the cost
of the article, and is chiefly or wholly paid by the con-
sumer. But a duty laid upon an article which may be
produced here stimulates the skill and industry of our
own country to produce the same article, which is
brought into the market in competition with the foreign
article, and the importer is thus compelled to reduce his
price to that at which the domestic article can be sold,
thereby throwing a part of the duty upon the producer
of the foreign article. The continuance of this process
creates the skill, and invites the capital, which finally
enables us to produce the article much cheaper than it
could have been produced from abroad, thereby benefit-
ing both the producer and the consumer at home. The
consequence of this is, that the artisan and the agricul-
turist are brought together, each affords a ready market
for the produce of the other, the whole country becomes
prosperous; and the ability to produce every necessary
of life renders us independent in war as well as in peace.
A high tariff can never be permanent. It will cause
dissatisfaction and will be changed; it excludes compe-
tition, and thereby invites the investment of capital in
manufactures to such excess that when changed it
brings distress, bankruptcy, and ruin, upon all who
have been misled by its faithless protection. What
the manufacturer wants is uniformity and permanency,
that he may feel a confidence that he is not to be ruined
by sudden changes. But to make a tariff uniform and
permanent, it is not only necessary that the law should
sot be altered, but that the duty phould ;ot fluctuate.

To effect this all duties should be specific, wherever the
nature of the article is such as to admit of it. Ad va-
lorem duties fluctuate with the price. and offer strong
temptations to fraud and perjury. Specific duties, on
the contrary, are equal and uniform in all ports, and at
all times, and offer a strong inducement to the importer
to bring the best article, as he pays no more duty upon
that than upon one o` infer or quality. I therefore
strongly recommend a modification of the present tariff,
which has prostrated some of our most important and
necessary manufactures, and that specific duties be im-
posed sufficient to raise the requisite revenue, nsakiug
such discrimination in favcur of the industrial pursuits
of our own country as to encourage home production
without excluding foreign competition. It is also im-
portant that an unfortunate provision in the present
tariff, which imposes a much higher duty upon the raw
material that enters into our manufactures than upon the
manufactured article, should be remedied.
The papers accompanying the report of the Secretary
of the Treasury will disclose frauds attempted upon the
revenue,in variety a❑d amount so great, as to justify the
conclusion that it is impossible, under any system of ad
eateeoze duties levied upon the foreign cost or ♦alue of
the article, to secure an honest observance and an ef-
fectual administration of the laws. The fraudulent de-
vices to evade the law, which have been detected by the
vigilance of the appraisers, leave no room to doubt that
similar impositions, not discovered, to a large amount,
have been successfully practised since the enactment of
the law now in force. This state of things has already
had a prejudicial influence upon those engaged in foreign
commerce. It has a tendency to drive the honest trader
from the business of importing, and to throw that im-
portant branch of employment into the hands of unscru-
pulous and dishonest men, who are alike regardless of
law and the obligations of an oath. By these means
the plain intentions of Congres, as expressed in the law,
are daily defeated. Every motive of policy and duty,
therefore, impel me to ask the earnest attention of Con-
gress to this subject. If Congress should deem it un-
wise to attempt any important changes in the system of
levying duties at this season, it will become indispensa-
ble to the protection of the revenue that such remedies,
as in the judgment of Congress may mitigate the evils
complained of, should be at once applied.
As before stated, specific duties would, in my opi-
nion, afford the most perfect remedy for this evil; but
if you should not concur in this view, then, as a partial
remedy, I beg leave respectfully to recommend that, in- '
stead of taking the invoice of the article abroad as a
means of determining its value here, the correctness of
which invoice it is in many cases impossible to verify,
the law be so changed as to require a home valuation,
or appraisal, to be regulated in such manner as to give,
as far as practicable, uniformity in the several ports.

ESTABLISHMENT OF A MINT IN CALI-

1 The two brigantines accepted by the Government from
a generous citizen of New York, and placed nader the
command of an ofa!er of the navy to proceed to the
Arctic seas in quest of the British commander, Sir John
Franklin, and his companions,in compliance with the Act
of Congress, approved in May last, had, when last \,',`
heard from, penetrated into a nigh northern latitude;
but the success of this noble and humane enterprise is
3 et uncertain.

I invite your attention to the view of our present naval
establishment and resources presented in the report of
the Secretary of the Navy, and the suggestions therein
made for its improvement, together with the naval policy
@commended for the security of our Pacific coast, and
the protection and extension of our commerce with East-
ern Asia. Our facilities for ft larger participation in the
trade of the east, by means of our recent settlements on
the shores of the Pacific, are too obvious to be over-
looked or disregarded.

The questions in relation to rank in the army and
navy, and relative rank between officers of the two
branches of the service, presented to the Executive by
certain rerolutions of the House of Representatives, at
the last session of Congress, have been stabmitted to a
board of officers in each branch of the service, and their
report may be expected at an early day.
I also earnestly recommend the enactment of a law
authorising officers of the army and navy to be retired
from the service, when incompetent for its vigorous
and active duties, taking care to make suitable pro.
vision for those who have faithfully served their coun-
try, and awarding distinctions, by retaining in appro-
priate commands those who have been particularly
conspicuous for gallantry and good conduct. While
feeling the obligation of the country to maintain and
honour those who, to the exclusion of other pursuits,
have devoted themselves to its hazardous service, this
obligation should not be permitted to interfere with the
efficiency of the service itself.
I am gratified in being able to state that the estimate'
of expenditure for the navy in the ensuing year are less,
by more than one million of dollars, than those of the
present, excepting the appropriation which may become
necessary for the construction of a dock on the coast of
the Pacific, propositions for which are now being con-
sidered, and on which a special report may be expected
early in your present session.
There is an evident justness in the suggestion of the
same report, that appropriations for the naval service
proper should be separated from those for fixed and per-
monent objects, such as building docks and navy yards,
and the fixtures attached; and from the extraordinary
objects under the care of the department which, how-
ever important, are not essentially naval.
A revision of the code for the government of the nary
seems to require the immediate consideration of Con-
gress. Its system of crimes and punishments had under-
gone no change for half a century until last session,
though its defects have been often and duly pointed out,
and the abolition of a particular species of corporal
punishment, which then took place, without providing
any substitute, has left the service in a state of defec-
tiveness, which calls for prompt correction. I therefore
recommend that the whole subject be revised without
delay, and such a system established for the enforcement
of discipline as shall be at once humane and effectual.
THE POST- OFFICE.
The accompanying report of the Postmaster-General
presents a satisfactory view of
.the operations and con-
dition of that department.

At the close of the last fiscal year the length of the
inland mail routes in the United States (not embracing
the service in Oregon and California) was 178,672
miles; the annual transportation thereon 46,541,423
miles; and the annual cost of such transportation
2,724,426 dollars.

The incresso of the annual transportation over that of
the preceding year was 3,997,354 miles; and the increase
in cost was 342,440 dollars.

The number of post•of&ces in the United States, on
the Ist day of July last, was 18,417—being an increase
of 1,670 during the preceding year.
The gross revenues of the department for the fiscal
year ending June 30, 1850, amounted to 5,552,971 dolls.
4S cents, including the annual appropriation 200,000
dolls. for the franked matter of the departments, and ex.
eluding the foreign portages collected for and payable to
the British Government.

The expenditures for the same period were 5,212,953
dolls. and 43 cents, leaving a balance of revenue over ex-
penditures of 340,018 dolls. and 5 cents.
I am happy to find that the fiscal condition of the de-
partment is such as to justify the Postmaster-General
in recommending the reduction of our inland letter post-
age to 3 cents the single letter when prepaid, and i cents
when not prepaid. He also recommends that the pre-
paid rate shall be reduced to 2 cents whenever
the revenues of the department, after the reduction,
shall exceed its expenditures by more tha❑ 5 per cent.
for two consecutive years; that the postage upon Cali-
fornia and other letters sent by our ocean steamers shall
be mush reduced, and that the rates of postage on news-
papers, pamphlets, periodicals, and other printed matter,
shall be modified, and some reduction thereon made.

It cannot be doubted that the proposed reductions
will for the present diminish the revenues of the depart-
ment. It is believed that the deficiency, after the sur-
plus already accumulated shall be exhausted, may be
almost wholly met either by abolishing the existing pri-
vileges of sending free matter through the mails, or by
paying out of the Treasury to the Post-office department
a sum equivalent to the postage of which it is deprived
by such privileges. The last is supposed to be the pre-
ferable mode, and will, if not entirely, so nearly supply
that deficiency as to make any further appropriat,on that
may be found necessary so inconsiderable as to form no
obstacle to the proposed reductions.

PUBLIC WORKS.
I entertain no doubt of the authority of Congress to
make appropriations for leading objects in that class of
public work, comprising what are usually called works
of internal improvement. This authority I suppose to
be derived chiefly from the power of regulating com-
merce with foreign nations, and among the states, and
the power of laying and collecting imposts. Where
commerce is to be carried on and imposts collected, there
must be ports and harbours, as well as wharfs and cut-

tom-houses. If ships, laden with valuable cargoes, ap-
proach the shore, or sail along the coast, light-houses
are necessary at suitable points for the protection of life
and property. Ocher facilities and securities for com-
merce and navigation are hardly less important; and
those clauses of the constitution, therefore, to which
I have referred, have received from the origin of
the Government a liberal and beneficial construc-
tion. Not only have light-houses, buoys, end bea-
cons been established, and floating lights main-
tained, but harbours have been cleared and improved,
piers constructed, and even breakwaters for the safety of
shipping, and sea walls to protect harbours from being
filled up, and rendered useless by the action of the
ocean, have been erected at very great expense. And
this construction of the constitution appears the more
reasonable from the consideration, that if these works,
of such evident importance and utility, are not to be ac-
complished by Congress, they cannot be accomplished
at all. By the adoption of the constitution, the several
states voluntarily carted with the power of collecting
duties of impost in their own ports, and it is not to bo
expected that they should raise money, by internal taxa-
tion, direct or indirect, for the benefit of that commerce,
the revenues derived from which do not, either in whole
or in part, go into their ow❑ treasuries.
Nor dol perceive any difference between the power of
Congress to make appropriations for objects of this kind
o❑ the ocean and the power to make appropria-
tions for similar objects on lakes and rivers,
wherever they are large enough to bear on their
waters an extensive traffic. The magnificent Mississippi
and its tributaries, and the vast lakes of the north and
north-west, appear to me to fall within the exercise of
the power, as justly and as clearly as the ocean and the
Gult of Mexico. It is a mistake to regard expenditures
judiciously made for these objects as expenditures for
local purposes. The position or site of the work is
necessarily local; but its utility is general. A ship canal
aroend the falls cf St. Mary, of less than a mile in
length, though local in its construction, would yet be
national in its purpose and its benefits; as it would re-
move the only obstruction to a navigation of more than
a thousand miles, affecting several states, as well as our
commercial relations with Canade. So, too, the break-
water at the mouth of the Delaware is erected, not for
the exclusive benefit of the states bordering on the bay
and river of that name, but for that of the whole
coastwise navigation of the United States, and, to a
considerable extent, also, of foreign commerce. If a
ship be lost on the bar, at the entrance of a southern port,
for want of sufficient depth of water, it is very likely to
be a northern ship; and if a steam-boat be sunk in any
part of the Mis.sissioi, on account of its channel not hav-
ing been properly cleared cf obstructions, it may be a
boat belonging to either of eight or ten states. I may
add, as somewhat remarkable, that among all the 31
states there is none that is not, to a greater or less ex-
tent, bounded on the ocean, or the Gulf of Mexico, or
one of the great lakes, or some navigable river.
In fulfilling our constitutional duties, fellow citizens,
on this subject, as in carrying into effect all other
powers conferred by the constitution, we should consider
ourselves as deliberating and acting for oee and the
same country, and bear constantly in mind that our re-
gard and our duty are due, not to a particular part only,
but to the whole.
I therefore recommend that appropriations be made
for completing such works as have been already begun,
and for commencing such others as may seem to the wis-
dom of Congress to be.of public and general important-a.
SETTLEMENT OF PRIVATE CLAIMS.

Tgrheesrse, aims oru enatsoofn in
h
The difficulties and delays incident to the settlement
ot
of par idveant iea lclaims
u sbtiy
c eCon
.
that many unfortunate creditors
ment have thereby been unavoidablye Govern-
meat ruined.
of a
Congress has so much business publio
character that it is impossible it should give much
tt oaP many
P a
r e c
heane ad
attention to mere private claims, and their accumulation
is now so great that many claimants must despair of
ever being able to obtain a hearing. It may well b•
doubted whether Congress, from the nature of its organ-
ization, is properly constituted to decide upon such
cases. It is impossible that each member should ex-
amine the merits of every claim on which he is com-
pelled to vote; and it is preposterous to ask a judge to
decide a case which he has never heard. Such deci-
sions may, and frequently must, do injustice either to
the claimant or the Government, and I perceive no
better remedy for this growing evil than the establish-
ment of some tribunal to adjudicate upon such claims.
I beg leave, therefore, most respectfully to recommend
that provision be made by law for the appointment of a
commission to settle all private claims against the
United States; and as au cx parte hearing must in all
contested oases be very unsatisfactory, I also recommend
the appointment of a solicitor, whose duty it shall be to
represent the Government before such commission, and
protect it against all illegal, fraudulent, or unjust claims,
' which may he presented for their adjudication.
iTbia district, which has neither voice not; vats to rmv
deliberatiow, looks to you for prolootiou tad aid, yid :