1695 Messages and Papers of the Presidents an opportunity may be afforded for the expression of an opinion, if it shall pe deemed necessary, on the exercise of such a power by the Executive without applying to the Senate for its approbation and consent. In debate it has been sometimes asserted that this power, frequently exer- cised without question or complaint, and leading to no practical evil, as no arrangement made under such circumstances can be obligatory upon the United States without being submitted to the apptobation of the Senate, is an encroachment upon its rightful authority. It appears to have been considered that the annual appropriation of a gross sum for the expenses of foreign intercourse is intended, among other objects, to provide for the cost of such agencies, and that the authority granted is the same as that frequently given to the Secretary of State to form treaties with the repre- sentatives or agents of foreign governments, upon the granting of which the Senate never have been consulted. Desiring in this and in all other instances to act with the most cautious respect to the claims of other branches of the Government, IF bring this subject to the notice of the Senate that if it shall be deemed proper to raise any question it may be discussed and decided before and not after , WASHINGTON Crrv, June rr, 1838. To the Senate of the United States: I submit herewith, for consideration and action, a communication from the Secretary of War and the treaty with the Otoe, Missouria, and Omaha Indians therein referred to. M. VAN BUREN. Wasurineton, June 20, 1838. To the House of Representatives of the United States: I transmit, in compliance with a resolution of the House of Represent- atives of the 11th instant, reports from the Secretaries of State, Treas- ury, and War, with the documents referred to by them respectively. It will be seen that the outrage committed on the steataboat Sv Robert Peel, under the British flag, within the waters of the United States, and on the steamboat 7éelegraph, under the American flag, at Brockville, in Upper Canada, have not been followed by any demand by either Government on the other for redress. ‘These acts have been so far treated on each side as criminal offenses committed within the jurisdiction of tribunals competent to inquire into the facts and to punish the persons concerned in them. Investigations have been made, some of the individuals incul- pated have been arrested, and prosecutions are in progress, the result of which can not be doubted. The excited state of public feeling on the borders of Canada on both sides of the line has occasioned the most painful anxiety to this Government. Every effort has been and will be made to prevent the success of the design, apparently formed and in
Martin Van Buren 1696 the course of execution by Canadians who have found a refuge within the territory, aided by a few reckless persons of our own country, to involve the nation in a war with a neighboring and friendly power. Such design, can not succeed while the two Governments appreciate and confidently rely upon the good faith of each other in the performance of their respec- tive duties. With a fixed determination to use all the means in my power to put a speedy and satisfactory termination to these border trou- bles, I have the most confident assurances of the cordial couperation of the British authorities, at home and in the North American possessions, in the accomplishment of a purpose so sincerely and earnestly desired by the Governments and people both of the United States and Great Britain. M. VAN BUREN. WASHINGTON, June 28, 1838. To the House of Representatives of the United States: In compliance with a resolution passed by the House of Representa- tives on the 23d instant, in respect to the new Treasury building, I sub- mit the inclosed report from the commissioners charged with a general superintendence of the work, and which, with the documents annexed, is believed to contain all the information desired. M. VAN BUREN. WASHINGTON, June 28, 1838. To the Senate of the United States: ‘ I nominate Lieutenant-Colonel Thayer, of the Corps of Engineers, for the brevet of colonel in the Army, agreeably to the recommendation of the Secretary of War. M. VAN BUREN War DEPARTMENT, June 28, 1838. The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. Srr: In submitting the name of Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel S. Thayer, of the Corps of Engineers, for the brevet of colonel for ten years’ faithful service in one grade it may be proper to state the circumstances of his case. When the law of 1812 regulating brevets was repealed by the act of June 30, 1834, all the officers of the Army who were known to be entitled to the ordinary brevet pro- motion for ten years’ faithful service in one grade received on that day, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, the brevet promotion to which they were respectively entitled. The regulation which governed the subject under the law had reference only to service with regularly organized bodies of troops, and valid claim» arising under it were generally known and easily understood at the Adjutant- General’s Office. If incidental cases occurred for which the written regulations could not provide the rule, although equally valid, such, nevertheless, may not ir every instance have been known at the War Department until specially represerted by the party interested. The case of Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel Thayer happened to be cne of those incidental claims, and as soon as it was submitted for considera- tion its validity was clearly seen and acknowledged. Had it been submitted to the Department when the list was made out in June, 1834, it may not be doubted that this highly meritorious and. deserving officer would at the time have received the brevet
1697 Messages and Papers of the Presidents of colonel for “having served faithfully as brevet lieutenant-colonel and performed the appropriate duties of that grade for ten years,” which, it may be seen, was due more than a year before the passage of the act repealing the law. In presenting now this deferred case for your favorable consideration justice requires that I should advert to the valuable services rendered to the Army and the country by Lieutenant-Colonel Thayer as Superintendent of the Military Academy at West Point. In 1817 he found that institution defective in all its branches, and without order; in 1833 he left it established upon a basis alike honorable to himself and useful tothe nation. These meritorious services constitute another claim which entitles this officer tothe notice of the Government, and as they come fairly within one of the conditions of the law which yet open the way to brevet promotion, the incentive it provides is fully realized by the services that have been rendered. I am, sir, with great respect, your obedient servant, J. R. POINSETT. WASHINGTON, July 2, 18378. To the House of Representatives of the United States: I herewith transmit to the House of Representatives a report* from the Secretary of State, together with the documents therein referred to in answer to their resolution of the 28th of May last. M. VAN BUREN. Wasuincton, July 3, 1838. To the House of Representatives of the United States: I transmit a report from the War Department, in relation to the inves- tigations of the allegations of fraud committed on the Creek Indians in the sales of their reservations authorized by the resolution of that body of the rst of July, 1836. M. VAN BUREN WASHINGTON, July 4, 1838. To the House of Representatives of the United States: In further compliance with the resolution of the House of Representa- tives of the 21st of March last, requesting papers on the subject of the relations between the United States and Mexico, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, to whom the resolution was referred, supplemen- tary to the report of that officer communicated with my message to the House of Representatives of the 27th of April last. M. VAN BUREN. WasHINGTON, /uly 7, 1838. The PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE. Srr: In conformity with the resolution of the Senate, I transmit here- with the report of Major-General Jesup,} together with a letter from the Secretary of War. M. VAN BUREN. *Transmitting reports of the commissioners appointed under the sixth and seventh articles of the treaty of Ghent to ascertain and fix the boundary between the United States and the British possessions in North America. etc. t Relating to operations while commanding the army in Florida.
Martin Van Buren 1698 PROCLAMATIONS. [From Statutes at Large (Little, Brown & Co.), Vol. XI, p. 784.) By THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas information having been received of a dangerous excitement on the northern frontier of the United States in consequence of the civil wai begun in Canada, and instructions having been given to the United States officers on that frontier and applications having been made to the governors of the adjoining States to prevent any unlawful interference on the part of our citizens in the contest unfortunately commenced ‘in the British Provinces, additional information has just been received that, notwithstanding the proclamations of the governors of the States of New York and Vermont exhorting their citizens to refrain from any unlaw- ful acts within the territory of the United States, and notwithstanding the presence of the civil officers of the United States, who by my direc- tions have visited the scenes of commotion with a view of impressing the citizens with a proper sense of their duty, the excitement, instead of being appeased, is every day increasing in degree; that arms and muni- tions of war and other supplies have been procured by the insurgents in the United States; that a military force, consisting in part, at least, of citizens of the United States, had been actually organized, had con- gregated at Navy Island, and were still in arms under the command of a citizen of the United States, and that they were constantly receiving accessions and aid: Now, therefore, to the end that the authority of the laws may be maintained and the faith of treaties observed, I, Martin Van Buren, do ‘most earnestly exhort all citizens of the United States who have thus violated their duties to return peaceably to their respective homes; and I hereby warn them that any persons who shall compromit the neutral- ity of this Government by interfering in an unlawful manner with the affairs of the neighboring British Provinces will render themselves liable to arrest and punishment under the laws of the United States, which will be rigidly enforced; and, also, that they will receive no aid or counte- nance from their Government, into whatever difficulties they may be thrown by the violation of the laws of their country and the territory of a neighboring and friendly nation. Given under my hand, at the city of Washington, the 5th day of Jan- uary, A. D. 1838, and the sixty-second of the Independence of the United States. M. VAN BUREN. By the President: Joun ForsyT, Serretary of State. (SEAL. ]
1699 Messages and Papers of the Presidents [From Statutes at Large (Little, Brown & Co.), Vol. XL, p. 785.) By THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas there is too much reason to believe that citizens of the United States, in disregard to the solemn warning heretofore given to them by the proclamations issued by the Executive of the General Government and by some of the governors of the States, have combined to disturb the peace of the dominions of a neighboring and friendly nation; and Whereas information has been given to me, derived from official and other sources, that many citizens in different parts of the United States are associated or associating for the same purpose; and Whereas disturbances have actually broken out anew in different parts of the two Canadas; and Whereas a hostile invasion has been made by citizens of the United States, in conjunction with Canadians and others, who, after forcibly seizing upon the property of their peaceful neighbor for the purpose of effecting their unlawful designs, are now in arms against the authorities of Canada, in perfect disregard of their obligations as American citizens and of the obligations of the Government of their country to foreign nations: ; . Now, therefore, I have thought it necessary and proper to issue this proclamation, calling upon every citizen of the United States neither to give countenance nor encouragement of any kind to those who have thus forfeited their claim to the protection of their country; upon those mis- guided or deluded persons who are engaged in them to abandon projects dangerous to their own country, fatal to those whom they profess a desire to relieve, impracticable of execution without foreign aid, which they can not rationally expect to obtain, and giving rise to imputations (how- ever unfounded) upon the honor and good faith of their own Govern- ment; upon every officer, civil or military, and upon every citizen, by the veneration due by all freemen to the laws which they have assisted to enact for their own government, by his regard for the honor and reputation of his country, by his love of order and respect for the sacred code of laws by which national intercourse is regulated, to use every effort in his power to arrest for trial and punishment every offender against the laws providing for the performance of our obligations to the other powers of the world. And I hereby warn all those who have engaged in these criminal enterprises, if persisted in, that, whatever may be the condition to which they may be reduced, they must not expect the interference of this Government in any form on their behalf, but will be left, reproached by every virtuous fellow-citizen, to be dealt with accord- ing to the policy and justice of that Government whose dominions they.
Martin Van Buren 1700 have, in defiance of the known wishes of their own Government and without the shadow of justification or excuse, nefariously invaded. Given under my hand, at the city of Washington, the 21st day of November, A. D. 1838, and the sixty-third of the Independ- [smar.] ence of the United States, M. VAN BUREN. By the President: . Joun Forsyts, Secretary of State. SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. WasuHincton, December 3, 1838. Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives: I congratulate you on the favorable circumstances in the condition of our country under which you reassemble for the performance of yout official duties. Though the anticipations of an abundant harvest have not everywhere been realized, yet on the whole the labors of the hus- bandman are rewarded with a bountiful return ; industry prospers in its various channels of business and enterprise; general health again pre- vails through our vast diversity of climate; nothing threatens from abroad the continuance of external peace; nor has anything at home impaired the strength of those fraternal and domestic ties which consti- tute the only guaranty to the success and permanency of our happy Union, and which, formed in the hour of peril, have hitherto been honorably sustained through every vicissitude in our national affairs, These blessings, which evince the care and beneficence of Providence, call for our devout and fervent gratitude. We have not less reason to be grateful for other bounties bestowed by the same munificent hand, and more exclusively our own. The present year closes the first half century of our Federal institu- tions, and our system, differing from all others in the acknowledged practical and unlimited operation which it has for so long a period given to the sovereignty of the people, has now been fully tested by experience. The Constitution devised by our forefathers as the framework and bond of that system, then untried, has become a settled form of government; not only preserving and protecting the great principles upon which it was founded, but wonderfully promoting individual happiness and private interests. ‘Though subject to change and entire revocation whenever deemed inadequate to all these purposes, yet such is the wisdom of its construction and so stable has been the public sentiment that it remains unaltered except in matters of detail comparatively unimportant. It has proved amply sufficient for the various emergencies incident to our
1701 Messages and Papers of the Presidents condition as a nation. A formidable foreign war; agitating collisions between domestic, and in some respects rival, sovereiguties; temptations to interfere in the intestine commotions of neighboring countries; the dangerous influences that arise in periods of excessive prosperity, and the antirepublican tendencies of associated wealth—these, with other trials not less formidable, have all been encountered, and thus far suc- cessfully resisted. It was reserved for the American Union to test the advantages of a government entirely dependent on the continual exercise of the popular will, and our experience has shown that it is as beneficent in practice as it is justintheory. Each successive change made in our local institutions has contributed to extend the right of suffrage, has increased the direct influence of the mass of the community, given greater freedom to individ- ual exertion, and restricted more and more the powers of Government; yet the intelligence, prudence, and patriotism of the people have kept pace with this augmented responsibility. Inno country has education been so widely diffused. Domestic peace has nowhere so largely reigned. The close bonds of social intercourse have in no instance prevailed with such harmony over a space so vast. All forms of religion have united for the first time to diffuse charity and piety, because for the first time in the his- tory of nations all have been totally untrammeled and absolutely free. The deepest recesses of the wilderness have been penetrated; yet instead of the rudeness in the social condition consequent upon such adventures elsewhere, numerous communities have sprung up, already unrivaled in prosperity, general intelligence, internal tranquillity, and the wisdom of their political institutions. Internal improvement, the fruit of individual enterprise, fostered by the protection of the States, has added new links to the Confederation and fresh rewards to provident industry. Doubtful questions of domestic policy have been quietly settled by mutual for- bearance, and agriculture, commerce, and manufactures minister to each other. Taxation and public debt, the burdens which bear so heavily upon all other countries, have pressed with comparative lightness upon us. Without one entangling alliance, our friendship is prized by every nation, and the rights of our citizens are everywhere respected, because they are known to be guarded by a united, sensitive, and watchful people. To this practical operation of our institutions, so evident and success- ful, we owe that increased attachment to them which is among the most cheering exhibitions of popular sentiment and will prove their best secu- rity in time to come against foreign or domestic assault. This review of the results of our institutions tor half a century, with- out exciting a spirit of vain exultation, should serve to impress upon us the great principles from which they have sprung—constant and direct supervision by the people over every public measure. strict forbearance on the part of the Government from exercising any doubtful or disputed powers, and a cautious abstinence from all interference with concerns
Martin Van Buren 1702 which properly belong and are best left to State regulations and indi- vidual enterprise. Full information of the state of our foreign affairs having ‘been recently on different occasions submitted to Congress, I deem it necessary now to bring to your notice only such events as have subsequently occurred or are of such importance as to require particular attention. The most amicable dispositions continué to be exhibited by all the nations with whom the Government and citizens of the United States have an habitual intercourse. At the date of my last annual message Mexico was the only nation which could not be included in so gratifying a reference to our foreign relations. I am happy to be now able to inform you that an advance has been made toward the adjustment of our differences with that Republic and the restoration of the customary good feeling between the two nations. This important change has been effected by conciliatory negotiations that have resulted in the conclusion of a treaty between the two Govern- ments, which, when ratified, will refer to the arbitrament of a friendly power all the subjects of ‘controversy between us growing out of injuries to individuals. ‘There is at present also reason to believe that an equi- table settlement of all disputed points will be attained without further difficulty or unnecessary delay, and thus authorize the free resumption of diplomatic intercourse with our sister Republic. With respect to the northeastern boundary of the United States, no official correspondence between this Government and that of Great Britain has passed since that communicated to Congress toward the close of their last session. The offer to negotiate a convention for the appointment of a joint commission of survey and exploration I am, however, assured will be met by Her Majesty’s Government in a con- ciliatory and friendly spirit, and instructions to enable the British min- ister here to conclude such an arrangement will be transmitted to him without needless delay. It is hoped and expected that these instruc- tions will be of a liberal character, and that this negotiation, if success- ful, will prove to be an important step toward the satisfactory and final adjustment of the controversy. I had hoped that the respect for the laws and regard for the peace and honor of their own country which have ever characterized the citizens of the United States would have prevented any portion of thein from using any means to promote insurrection in the territory of a power with which we are at peace, and with which the United States are desirous of main- taining the most friendly relations. I regret deeply, however, to be obliged to inform you that this has not been the case. Information has been given to me, derived from official and other sources, that many citi- zens of the United States have associated together to make hostile incur- sions from our territory into Canada and to aid and abet insurrection there, in violation of the obligations and laws of the United States and
1703 Messages and Papers of the Presidents in open disregard of their own duties as citizens. This information has been in part confirmed by a hostile invasion actually made by citizens of the United States, in conjunction with Canadians and others, and accompanied by a forcible seizure of the property of our citizens and an application thereof to the prosecution of military operations against the authorities and people of Canada. The results of these crimmal assaults upon the peace and order of a neighboring country have been, as was to be expected, fatally destructive to the misguided or deluded persons engaged in them and highly injuri- ous to those in whose behalf they are professed to have been undertaken. The authorities in Canada, from intelligence received of such intended movements among our citizens, have felt themselves obliged to take pre- cautionary measures against them; have actually embodied the militia and assumed an attitude to repel the invasion to which they believed the colonies were exposed from the United States. A state of feeling on both sides of the frontier has thus been produced which called for prompt and vigorous interference. If an insurrection existed in Canada, the amicable dispositions of the United States toward Great Britain, as well as their duty to themselves, would lead them to maintain a strict neutral- ity and to restrain their citizens from all violations of the laws which have been passed for its enforcement. But this Government recognizes a still higher obligation to repress all attempts on the part of its citizens to disturb the peace of a country where order prevails or has been rees- tablished. Depredations by our citizens upon nations at peace with the United States, or combinations for committing them, have at all times been regarded by the American Government and people with the great- est abhorrence. Military incursions by our citizens into countries so situated, and the commission of acts of violence on the members thereof, in order to effect a change in their government, or under any pretext - whatever, have from the commencement of our Government been held equally criminal on the part of those engaged in them, and as much deserving of punishment as would be the disturbance of the public peace by the perpetration of similar acts within our own territory. By no country or persons have these invaluable principles of interna- tional law—principles the strict observance of which is so indispensable to the preservation of social order in the world—been more earnestly cherished or sacredly respected than by those great and good men who first declared and finally established the independence of ov'r own country. They promulgated and maintained them at an .early and critical period in our history; they were subsequently embodied in legislative enact- ments of a highly penal character, the faithful enforcement of which has hitherto been, and will, I trust, always continue to be, regarded asa duty inseparably associated with the maintenance of our national honor. That the people of the United States should feel an interest in the spread of political institutions as free as they regard their own to be is natural,
Martin Van Buren 17O4 nor can a sincere solicitude for the success of all those who are at any time in good faith struggling for their acquisition be imputed to our citi- zens as a crime. With the entire freedom of opinion and an undisguised expression thereof on their part the Government has neither the right nor, I trust, the disposition to interfere. But whether the interest or the honor of the United States requires that they should be made a party to any such struggle, and by inevitable conseqtence to the war which is waged in its support, is a question which by our Constitution is wisely left to Congress alone to decide. It is by the laws already made criminal in our citizens to embarrass or anticipate that decision by unauthorized military operations on their part. Offenses of this character, in addition to their criminality as violations of the laws of our country, have a direct tendency to draw down upon our own citizens at large the multiplied evils of a foreign war and expose to injurious imputations the good faith and honor of the country. As such they deserve to be put down with prompt- itude and decision. I can not be mistaken, I am confident, in counting on the cordial and general concurrence of our fellow-citizens in this sen- timent. .A copy of the proclamation which I have felt it my duty to issue is herewith communicated. I can not but hope that the good sense and patriotism, the regard for the honor and reputation of their country, the respect for the laws which they have themselves enacted for their own government, and the love of order for which the mass of our people have been so long and so justly distinguished will deter the compara- tively few who are engaged in them from a further prosecution of such desperate enterprises. In the meantime the existing laws have been and will continue to be faithfully executed, and every effort will be made to carry them out in their full extent. Whether they are sufficient or not to meet the actual state of things on the Canadian frontier it is for Congress to decide. ; It will appear from the correspondence herewith submitted that the Government of Russia declines a renewal of the fourth article of the con- vention of April, 1824, between the United States and His Imperial Majesty, by the third article of which it is agreed that ‘‘hereafter there shall not be formed by the citizens of the United States or under the authority of the said States any establishment upon the northwest coast of America, nor in any of the islands adjacent, to the north of 54° 40’ of north latitude, and that in the same manner there shall be none formed by Russian subjects or under the authority of Russia south of the same parallel;’’ and by the fourth article, ‘‘that during a term of ten years, counting from the signature of the present convention, the ships of both powers, or which belong to their citizens or subjects, respectively, may reciprocally frequent, without any hindrance whatever, the interior seas, gulfs, harbors, and creeks upon the coast mentioned in the preceding article, for the purpose of fishing and trading with the natives of the coun- try.’ The reasons assigned for declining to renew the provisions of this
1705 Messages and Papers of the Presidents article are, briefly, that the only use made by our citizens of the privi- ieges it secures to them has been to supply the Indians with spirituous liquors, ammunition, and firearms; that this traffic has.been excluded from the Russian trade; and as the supplies furnished from the United States are injurious to the Russian establishments on the northwest coast and calculated to produce complaints between the two Governments, His Imperial Majesty thinks it for the interest of both countries not to accede to the proposition made by the American Government for the renewal of the article last referred to. The correspondence herewith communicated will show the grounds upon which we contend that the citizens of the United States have, inde- pendent of the provisions of the convention of 1824, a right to trade with the natives upon the coast in question at unoccupied places, liable, however, it is admitted, to be at any time extinguished by the creation of Russian establishments at such points. This right is denied by the Russian Government, which asserts that by the operation of the treaty of 1824 each party agreed to waive the general right to land on the vacant coasts on the respective sides of the degree of latitude referred to, and accepted in lieu thereof the mutual privileges mentioned in the fourth article. The capital and tonnage employed by our, citizens in their trade with the northwest coast of America will, perhaps, on adverting to tbe official statements of the commerce and navigation of the United States for the last few years, be deemed too inconsiderable in amount to attract much attention; yet the subject may in other respects deserve the careful consideration of Congress. I regret to state that the blockade of the principal ports on the east- ern coast of Mexico, which, in consequence of differences between that Republic and France, was instituted in May last, unfortunately still con- tinues, enforced by a competent French naval armament, and is neces- sarily embarrassing to eur own trade in the Gulf, in common with that of other nations. Every disposition, however, is believed to exist on the part of the French Government to render this measure as little onerous as practicable to the interests of the citizens of the United States and to those of neutral commerce, and it is to be hoped that an early settlement of the difficulties between France and Mexico will soon reestablish the harmonious relations formerly subsisting between them and again open the ports of that Republic to the vessels of all friendly nations. A convention for marking that part of the boundary between the United States and the Republic of Texas which extends from the mouth of the Sabine to the Red River was concluded and signed at this city on the 25th of April last. It has since been ratified by both Governments, and sea- sonable measures will be taken to carry it into effect on the part of the United States. The application of that Republic for admission into this Union, made in August. 1837, and which was declined for reasons already made known
Martin Van Buren 1700 to you, has been formally withdrawn, as will appear from the accompa- nying copy of the note of the minister plenipotentiary of Texas, which was presented to the Secretary of State on the occasion of the exchange of the ratifications of the convention above mentioned. Copies of the convention with Texas, of a commercial treaty concluded with the King of Greece, and of a similar treaty with the Peru-Bolivian Confederation, the ratifications of which have been recently exchanged, accompany this message, for the information of Congress and for such legislative enactments as may be found necessary or expedient in relation to either of them. To watch over and foster the interests of a gradually increasing and widely extended commerce, to guard the rights of American citizens whom business or pleasure or other motives may tempt into distant climes, and at the same time to cultivate those sentiments of mutual respect and good will which experience has proved so beneficial in international inter- course, the Government of the United States has deemed it expedient from time to time to establish diplomatic connections with different for- eign states, by the appointment of representatives to reside within their ‘respective territories. I am gratified to be enabled to announce to you that since the close of your last session these relations have been opened under the happiest auspices with Austria and the Two Sicilies, that new nominations have been made in the respective missions of Russia, Brazil, Belgium, and Sweden and Norway in this country, and that a minister extraordinary has been received, accredited to this Government, from the Argentine Confederation. An exposition of the fiscal affairs of the Government and of their condition for the past year will be made to ‘you by the Secretary of the Treasury. The available balance in the Treasury on the 1st of January next is estiinated at $2,765,342. The receipts of the year from customs and lands will probably amount to $20,615,598. ‘These usual sources of rev- enue have been increased by an issue of Treasury notes, of which less than $8,000,000, including interest and principal, will be outstanding at the end of the year, and by the sale of one of the bonds of the Bank of the United States for $2,254,871. ‘Theaggregate of means from these and other sources, with the balance on hand on the rst of January last, has been applied to the payment of appropriations by Congress. The whole expenditure for the year on their account, including the redemp- tion of more than eight millions of Treasury notes, constitutes an aggre- gate of about $40,000,000, and will still leave in the Treasury the bal- ance before stated. Nearly $8,000,000 of Treasury notes are to be paid during the coming year in addition to the ordinary appropriations for the support of Gov- ernment. For both these purposes the resources of the Treasury will undoubtedly be sufficient if the charges upon it are not increased beyond
1707 Messages-and Papers of the Presidents the annual estimates. No excess, however, is likely to exist. Nor can the postponed instailment of the surplus revenue be deposited with the States nor any considerable appropriations beyond the estimates be made withouf causing a deficiency in the Treasury. The great caution, advis- able at all times, of limiting appropriations to the wants of the public service is rendered necessary at present by the prospective and rapid reduction of the tariff, while the vigilant jealousy evidently excited among the people by the occurrences of the last few years assures us that they expect from their representatives, and will sustain them in the exercise of, the most rigid economy. Much can be effected by postponing appropriations not immediately required for the ordinary public service or for any pressing emergency, and much by reducing the expenditures where the entire and immediate accomplishment of the objects in view is not indispensable. When we call to mind the recent and extreme embarrassments pro- duced by excessive issues of bank paper, aggravated by the unforeseen withdrawal of much foreign capital and the inevitable derangement arising from the distribution of the surplus revenue among the States as required by Congress, and consider the heavy expenses incurred by the removal of Indian tribes, by the military operations in Florida, and on account of the unusually large appropriations made at the last two annual sessions of Congress for other objects, we have striking evidence in the present efficient state of our finances of the abundant resources of the country to fulfill all its obligations. Nor is it less gratifying to find that the general business of the community, deeply affected as it has been, is reviving with additional vigor, chastened by the lessons of the past and animated by the hopes of the future. By the curtailment of paper issues, by curbing the sanguine and adventurous spirit of specula- tion, and by the honorable appiication of all available means to the ful- fillment of obligations, confidence has been restored both at home and abroad, and ease and facility secured to all the operations of trade. The agency of the Government in producing these results has been as efficient as its powers and means permitted. By withholding from the States the deposit of the fourth installment, and leaving several millions at long credits with the banks, principally in one section of the country, and more immediately beneficial to it, and at the same time aiding the banks and commercial communities in other sections by postponing the payment of bonds for duties to the amount of between four and five mil- lions of dollars; by an issue of Treasury notes as a means to enable the Government to meet the consequences of their indulgences, but affording at the same time facilities for remittance and exchange; and by steadily declining to employ as general depositories of the public revenues, or receive the notes of, all banks which refused to redeem them with specie— by these measures, aided by the favorable action of some of the banks and by the support and cooperation of a large portion of the community,
Martin Van Buren 1708 we have witnessed an early resumption of specie payments in our great commercial capital, promptly followed in almost every part of the United States. This result has been alike salutary to the true interests of agri- culture, commerce, and manufactures; to public morals, respect for the laws, and that confidence between man and man which is so essential in ’ all our social relations. The contrast between the suspension of 1814 and that of 1837 is most striking. The short duration of the latter, the prompt restoration of business, the evident benefits resulting from an adherence by the Gov- ernment to the constitutional standard of value instead of sanctioning the suspension by the receipt of irredeemable paper, and the advantages derived from the large amount of specie introduced into the country previous to 1837 afford a valuable illustration of the true policy of the Government in such a crisis. Nor can the comparison fail to remove the impression that a national bank is necessary in such emergencies. Not only were specie payments resumed without its aid, but exchanges have also been more rapidly restored than when it existed, thereby show- ing that private capital, enterprise, and prudence are fully adequate to these ends. On all these points experience seems to have confirmed the views heretofore submitted to Congress. We have been saved the mortifi- cation of seeing the distresses of the community for the third time seized on to fasten upon the country so dangerous an institution, and we may also hope that the business of individuals will hereafter be relieved from the injurious effects of a continued agitation of that disturbing subject. The limited influence of a national bank in averting derangement in the exchanges of the country or in compelling the resumption of specie payments is now not less apparent than its tendency to increase inordi- nate speculation by sudden expansions and contractions; its disposition to create panic and embarrassment for the promotion of its own designs; its interference with politics, and its far greater power for evil than for good, either in regard to the local institutions or the operations of Government itself. What was in these respects but apprehension or opinion when a national bank was first established now stands confirmed ’ by humiliating experience. The scenes through which we have passed conclusively prove how little our commerce, agriculture, manufactures, or finances require such an institution, and what dangers are attendant on its power—a power, I trust, never to be conferred by the Ameri- can people upon their Government, and still less upon individuals not responsible to them for its unavoidable abuses. My conviction of the necessity of further legislative provisions for the” safe-keeping and disbursement of the public moneys and my opinion in regard to the measures best adapted to the accomplishment of those objects have been already submitted to you. These have been strength- ened by recent events, and in the full conviction that time and experi- ence must still further demonstrate their propriety I feel it my duty, with
1709 Messages and Papers of the Presidents respectful deference to the conflicting views of others, again to invite your attention to them. ‘With the exception of limited sums deposited in the few banks still employed under the act of 1836, the amounts received for duties, and, with very inconsiderable exceptions, those accruing from lands also, have since the general suspension of specie payments by the deposit banks been kept and disbursed by the Treasurer under his general legal pow- ers, subject to the superintendence of the Secretary of the Treasury. The propriety of defining more specifically and of regulating by law the exercise of this wide scope of Executive discretion has been already submitted to Congress. A change it the office of collector at one of our principal ports has brought to light a defalcation of the gravest character, the particulars ot which will be laid before you in a special report from the Secretary of the Treasury. By his report and the accompanying documents it will be seen that the weekly returns of the defaulting officer apparently exhib- ited throughout a faithful administration of the affairs intrusted to hie management. It, however, now appears that he commenced abstracting the public moneys shortly after his appointment and continued to do so, progressively increasing the amount, for the term of more than seven years, embracing a portion of the period during which the public moneys were deposited in the Bank of the United States, the whole of that of the State bank deposit system, and concluding only on his retirement from office, after that system had substantially failed in consequence of the suspension of specie payments. The way in which this defalcation was so long concealed and the steps taken to indemnify the United States, as far as practicable, against loss will also be presented to you. The case is oue which imperatively claims the attention of Congress and furnishes the strongest motive for the establishment of a more severe and secure system for the safe-keeping and disbursement of the public moneys than any that has heretofore existed. It seems proper, at all events, that by an early enactment similar to that of other countries the application of public money by an officer of Government to private uses should be made a felony and visited with severe and ignominious punishment. ‘This is already in effect the law in respect to the Mint, and has been productive of the most salutary results, Whatever system is adopted, such an enactment would be wise as an independent measure, since much of the public moneys must in their collection and ultimate disbursement pass twice through the hands of public officers, in whatever manner they are intermediately kept. The Government, it must be admitted, has been from its commencement com- paratively fortunate in this respect. But the appointing power can not always be well advised in its selections, and the experience of every country has shown that public officers are not at all times proof against
Martin Van Buren 1710 temptation. It isa duty, therefore, which the Government owes, as well to the interests committed to its care as to the officers themselves, to provide every guard against transgressions of this character that is con- sistent with reason and humanity. Congress can not be too jealous of the conduct of those who are intrusted with the public money, and I shall at all times be disposed to encourage a watchful discharge of this duty. If a more direct cooperation on the part of Congress in the supervi- sion of the conduct of the officers intrusted with the custody and appli- cation of the public money is deemed desirable, it will give me pleasure to assist in the establishment of any judicious and constitutional plan by which that object may be accomplished. You will in your wisdom deter- mine upon the propriety of adopting such a plan and upon the measures necessary to its effectual execution. When the late Bank of the United States was incorporated and made the depository of the public moneys, a right was reserved to Congress to inspect at its pleasure, by a committee of that body, the books and the proceedings of the bank. In one of the States, whose banking institutions are supposed to rank amongst the first in point of stability, they are subjected to constant examination by com- missioners appointed for that purpose, and much of the success of its banking system is attributed to this watchful supervision. The same course has also, in view of its beneficial operation, been adopted by an adjoining State, favorably known for the care it has always bestowed upon whatever relates to its financial concerns. I sub- mit to your consideration whether a committee of Congress might not be profitably employed in inspecting, at such intervals as might be deemed proper, the affairs and accounts of officers intrusted with the custody of the public moneys. The frequent performance of this duty might be made obligatory on the committee in respect to those officers who have large sums in their possession, and left discretionary in respect to others. They might report to the Executive such defalcations as were found to exist, with a view to a prompt removal from office unless the default was satisfactorily accounted for, dnd report also to Congress, at the com- mencement of each session, the result of their examinations and proceed- ings. It does appear to me that with a subjection of this class of public officers to the general supervision of the Executive, to examinations by a committee of Congress at periods of which they should have no previous notice, and to prosecution and punishment as for felony for every breach of trust, the safe-keeping of the public moneys might under the system proposed be placed on a surer foundation than it has ever occupied since the establishment of the Government. The Secretary of the Treasury will lay before you additional informa- tion containing new details on this interesting subject. To these I ask your early attention. That it should have given rise to great diversity of opinion can not be a subject of surprise. After the collection and
1711 Messages and Papers of the Presidents custody of the public moneys had been for so many years connected with and made subsidiary to the advancement of private ifterests, a return to the simple self-denying ordinances of the Constitution could not but be difficult. But time and free discussion, eliciting the sentiments of the people, and aided by that conciliatory spirit which has ever characterized their course on great emergencies, were relied upon for a satisfactory set- tlement of the question. Already has this anticipation, on one important point at least—the impropriety of diverting public money to private pur- poses—been fully realized. Thereis no reason to suppose that legislation upon that branch of the subject would now be embarrassed by a difference of opinion, or fail to receive the cordial support of a large majority of our constituents. The connection which formerly existed between the Government and banks was in reality injurious to both, as well as to the general interests of the community at large. It aggravated the disasters of trade and the derangements of commercial intercourse, and administered new excite- ments and additional means to wild and reckless speculations, the disap- pointment. of which threw the country into convulsions of panic, and all but produced violence and bloodshed. The imprudent expansion of bank credits, which was the natural result of the command of the revenues of the State, furnished the resources for unbounded license in every species of adventure, seduced industry from its regular and salutary occupations by the hope of abundance without labor, and deranged the social state by tempting all trades and professions into the vortex of speculation on remote contingencies. The same wide-spreading influence impeded also the resources of the Government, curtailed its useful operations, embarrassed the fulfillment of its obligations, and seriously interfered with the execution of the laws. Large appropriations and oppressive taxes are the natural consequences of such a connection, since they increase the profits of those who are allowed to use the public funds, and make it their interest that money should be accumulated and expenditures multiplied. It is thus that a concentrated money power is tempted to become an active agent in political affairs; and all past experience has shown on which side that influence will be arrayed. We deceive ourselves if we suppose that it will ever be found asserting and supporting the rights of the community at large in opposition to the claims of the few. In a government whose distinguishing characteristic should be a diffu- sion and equalization of its benefits and burdens the advantage of indi- viduals will be augmented at the expense of the community at large. Nor is it the nature of combinations for the acquisition of legislative influ- ence to confine their interference to the single object for which they were originally formed. The temptation to extend it to other matters is, on the contrary, not unfrequently too strong to be resisted. The right- ful influence in the direction of public affairs of the mass of the people is
‘ Martin Van Buren 1712 therefore in no slight danger of being sensibly and injuriously affected by giving to a comparatively small but very efficient class a direct and exclusive personal interest in so important a portion of the legislation of Congress as that which relates to the custody of the public moneys. If laws acting upon private interests can not always be avoided, they should be confined within the narrowest limits, and left wherever possible to the legislatures of the States. When not thus restricted they lead to combinations of powerful associations, foster an influence necessarily selfish, and turn the fair course of legislation to sinister ends rather than to objects that advance public liberty and promote the general good. The whole subject now rests with you, and I can not but express a hope that some definite measure will be adopted at the present session. It will not, I am sure, be deemed out of place for me here to remark that the declaration of my views in opposition to the policy of employing banks as depositories of the Government funds can not justly be construed as indicative of hostility, official or personal, to those institutions; or to repeat in this form and in connection with this subject opinions which I have uniformly entertained and on all proper occasions expressed. Though always opposed to their creation in the form of exclusive privi- leges, and, as a State magistrate, aiming by appropriate legislation to secure the community against the consequences of their occasional mis- management, I have yet ever wished to see them protected in the exer- cise of rights conferred by law, and have never doubted their utility when properly managed in promoting the interests of trade, and through that channel the other interests of the community. To the General Govern- ment they present themselves merely as State institutions, having no necessary connection with its legislation or its administration. Like other State establishments, they may be used or not in conducting the © affairs of the Government, as public policy and the general interests of the Union may seem to require. The only safe or proper principle upon which their intercourse with the Government can be regulated is that which regulates their intercourse with the private citizen—the con- ferring of mutual benefits. When the Government can accomplish a financial operation better with the aid of the banks than without it, it should be at liberty to seek that aid as it would the services of a private banker or other capitalist or agent, giving the preference to those who will serve it on the best terms. Nor can.there ever exist an interest in the officers of the General Government, as such, inducing them to embarrass or annoy the State banks any more than to incur the hostility of any other class of State institutions or of private citizens. It is not in the nature of things that hostility to these institutions can spring from this source, or any opposition to their course of business, except when they themselves depart from the objects of their creation and attempt to usurp powers not conferred upon them or to subvert the standard of value established by the Constitution. While opposition tc
1713 Messages and Papers of the Presidents their regular operdtions can not exist in this quarter, resistance to any attempt to make the Government dependent upon them for the success- ful administration of public affairs is a matter of duty, as I trust it ever will be of inclination, no matter from what motive or consideration the attempt may originate. It is no more than just to the banks to say that in the late emergency most of them firmly resisted the strongest temptations to extend their - paper issues when apparently sustained in a suspension of specie pay- ments by public opinion, even though in some cases invited by legisla- tive enactments. To this honorable course, aided by the resistance of the General Government, acting in. obedience to the Constitution and laws of the United States, to the introduction of an irredeemable paper medium, may be attributed in a great degree the speedy restoration of our currency to a sound state and the business of the country to its wonted prosperity. The banks have but to continue in the same safe course and be content in their appropriate sphere to avoid alk interference from the General Government and to derive from it all the protection and benefits which it bestows on other State establishments, on the people of the States, and on the States themselves. In this, their true position, they can not but secure the confidence and good will of the people and the Government, which they can only lose when, leaping from their legitimate sphere, they attempt to contro] the legislation of the country and pervert the opera- tions of the Government to their own purposes. Our experience under the act, passed at the last session, to grant preemption rights to settlers on the public lands has as yet been too limited to enable us to pronounce with safety upon the efficacy of its pro- visions to carry out the wise and liberal policy of the Government in that respect. There is, however, the best reason to anticipate favorable results from its operation. The recommendations formerly submitted to you in respect to a graduation of the price of the public lands remain to be finally acted upon. Having found no reason to change the views then expressed, your attention to them is again respectfully requested. Every proper exertion has been made and will be continued to carry ° out the wishes of Congress in relation to the topacco trade, as indicated in the several resolutions of the House of Representatives and the legis- lation of the two branches. A favorable impression has, I trust, been made in the different foreign countries to which particular attention has been directed; and although we can not hope for an early change in their policy, as in many of them a convenient and large revenue is derived from monopolies in the fabrication and sale of this article, yet, as these monopolies are really injurious to the people where they are established, and the revenue derived from them may be less injuriously and with equal facility obtained from another and a liberal system of administra- tion, we can not doubt that our efforts will be eventually crowned witb
SaIMD0a AHL NO OVTA ONIDVId LNOWAAA i ae ~ _
FREMONT, THE PATHFINDER. Under the authority of the United States Government, John Charles Frémont, in 1842, began the exploration of an overland route to the Pacific Ocean. When the discovery of gold in 1849 precipitated the great emigra- tion westward, his pathfinding was of incalculable value. The picture represents him scaling Frémont’s Peak in the Rocky Moun- tains, the highest point in the Wind River Range. In his Journal he says: “I sprang upon the summit and another step would have precipitated me into an immense snowfall 500 feet below. To the edge of this field was a sheer icy precipice. I stood on a narrow crest about 3 feet in width. We unfurled the national flag to wave in the breeze where never flag waved before. We had climbed the loftiest peak of the Rocky Mountains and looked down upon the snow 1,000 feet below, and, standing where never human foot had stood before, felt the exultation of first explorers.” In the Biographic Index, there are several references to presidential remarks ‘concerning Frémont. References to the headings “California” and “Oregon” will provide interesting reading, both in the Encyclopedic Index articles and in presidential discussions concerning those sections.
Martin Van Buren 1714 success if persisted in with temperate firmness and sustained by prudent legislation. In recommending to Congress the adoption of the necessary pro- visions at this session for taking the next census of enumeration of the inhabitants of the United States, the suggestion presents itself whether the scope of the measure might not be usefully extended by causing it to embrace authentic statistical returns of the great interests specially intrusted to or necessarily affected by the legislation of Con- gress. The accompanying report of the Secretary of War presents a satisfac- tory account of the state of the Army and of the several branches of the public service confided to the superintendence of that officer. The law increasing and organizing the military establishment of the United States has been nearly carried into effect, and the Army has been extensively and usefully employed during the past season. I would again call to your notice the subjects connected with and essential to the military defenses of the country which were submitted to you at the last session, but which were not acted upon, as is supposed, for want of time. The most important of them is the organization of the militia on the maritime and inland frontiers. ‘This measure is deemed important, as it is believed that it will furnish an effective volunteer force in aid of the Regular Army, and may form the basis of a general system of organization for the entire militia of the United States. The erection of a national foundry and gunpowder manufactory, and one for making small arms, the latter to be situated at some point west of the Allegany Mountains, all appear to be of sufficient importance to be again urged upon your attention. The plan proposed by the Secretary of War for the distribution of the forces of the United States in time of peace is well calculated to promote regularity and economy in the fiscal administration of the service, to preserve the discipline of the troops, and to render them available for the maintenance of the peace and tranquillity of the country. With this view, likewise, I recommend the adoption of the plan presented by that officer for the defense of the western frontier. The preservation of the lives and property of our fellow-citizens who are settled upon that bor-, der country, as well as the existence of the Indian population, which might be.tempted by our want of preparation to rush on their own destruction and attack the white settlements, all seem to require that this subject should be acted upon without delay, and the War Depart- ment authorized to place that country in a state of complete defense against any assault from the numerous and warlike tribes which are congregated on that border. It affords me sincere pleasure to be able to apprise you of the entire removal of the Cherokee Nation of Indiahs to their new homes west of the Mississippi. The measures authorized by Congress at its last session.
1715 Messuges and Kapers of the Presidents with a view to the long-standing controversy with them, have had the happiest effects. By an agreement concluded with them by the com- manding general in that country, who has performed the duties assigned to him on the occasion with commendable energy and humanity, their removal has been principally under the conduct of their own chiefs, and they have emigrated without any apparent reluctance. The successful accomplishment of this important object, the removal also of the entire Creek Nation with the exception of a small number of fugitives amongst the Seminoles in Florida, the progress already made toward a speedy completion of the removal of the Chickasaws, the Choc- taws, the Pottawatamies, the Ottawas, and the Chippewas, with the exten- sive purchases of Indian lands during the present year, have rendered the speedy and successful result of the long-established policy of the Government upon the subject of Indian affairs entirely certain. The occasion is therefore deemed a proper one to place this policy in such a point of view as will exonerate the Government of the United States ’ from the undeserved reproach which has been cast upon it through sev- eral successive Administrations. That a mixed occupancy of the same territory by the white and red man is incompatible with the safety or happiness of either is a position in respect to which there has long since ceased to be room for a difference of opinion. Reason and experience have alike demonstrated its impracticability. The bitter fruits of every attempt heretofore to overcome the barriers interposed by nature have only been destruction, both physical and moral, to the Indian, dangerous conflicts of authority between the Federal and State Governments, and detriment to the individual prosperity of the citizen as well as to the general improvement of the country. The remedial policy, the principles of which were settled more than thirty years ago under the Administra- tion of Mr. Jefferson, consists in an extinction, for a fair consideration, of the title to all the lands still occupied by the Indians within the States and Territories of the United States; their removal to a country west of the Mississippi much more extensive and better adapted to their condi- tion than that on which they then resided; the guarantee to them by the United States of their exclusive possession of that country forever, exempt from all intrusions by white men, with ample provisions for their security against external violence and internal dissensions, and the extension to them of suitable facilities for their advancement in civilization. This has not been the policy of particular Administrations only, but of each in succession since the first attempt to carry it out under that of Mr. Monroe. All have labored for its accomplishment, only with different degrees of success. The manner of its execution has, it is true, from time to time given rise to conflicts of opinion and unjust imputations; but in respect to the wisdom and necessity of the policy itself there has not from the beginning existed a doubt in the mind of any calm, judi- cious, disinterested friend of the Indian race accustomed to reflection and enlightened by experience.
Martn Van Buren 1716 Occupying the double character of contractor on its own account and guardian for the parties contracted with, it was hardly to be expected that the dealings of the Federal Government with the Indian tribes would escape misrepresentation. That there occurred in the early set- tlement of this country, as in all others where the civilized race has succeeded to the possessions of the savage, instances of oppression and fraud on the part of the former there is too much reason to believe. No such offenses can, however, be justly charged upon this Government since it became free to pursue its own course. Its dealings with the Indian tribes have been just and friendly throughout; its efforts for their civilization constant, and directed by the best feelings of humanity; its watchfulness in protecting them from individual frauds unremitting; its forbearance under the keenest provocations, the deepest injuries, and the most flagrant outrages may challenge at least a comparison with any nation, ancient or modern, in similar circumstances; and if in future times a powerful, civilized, and happy nation of Indians shall be found to exist within the limits of this northern continent it will be owing to the consummation of that policy which has been so unjustly assailed. Only a very brief reference to facts in confirmation of this assertion can in this form be given, and you are therefore necessarily referred to the report of the Secretary of War for further details. To the Cherokees, whose case has perhaps excited the greatest share of attention and sym- pathy, the United States have granted in fee, with a perpetual guaranty of exclusive and peaceable possession, 13,554,135 acres of land on the west side of the Mississippi, eligibly situated, in a healthy climate, and in _ all respects better suited to their condition than the country they have left, in exchange for only 9,492,160 acres on the east side of the same river. The United States have in addition stipulated to pay them $5,600,000 for their interest in and improvements on the lands thus relinquished, and $1,160,000 for subsistence and other beneficial pur- poses, thereby putting it in their power to become one of the most wealthy and independent separate communities of the same extent in the world. By the treaties made and ratified with the Miamies, the Chippewas, the Sioux, the Sacs and Foxes, and the Winnebagoes during the last year the Indian title to 18,458,000 acrvs has been extinguished. These pur- chases have been much more extensive than those of any previous year, and have, with other Indian expenses, borne very heavily upon the Treas- ury. They leave, however, but a small quantity of unbought Indian lands within the States and Territories, and the Legislature and Executive were equally sensible of the propriety of a final and more speedy extinc- tion of Indian titles within those limits. The treaties, which were with a single exception made in pursuance of previous appropriations for defraying the expenses, have subsequently been ratified by the Senate, and received the sanction of Congress by the appropriations necessary to
1717 Messages and Papers of the Presidents carry them into effect. . Of the terms upon which these important nego- tiations were concluded I can speak from direct knowledge, and I feel no difficulty in affirming that the interest of the Indians in the extensive territory embraced by them is to be paid for at its fair value, and that ho more favorable terms have been granted to the United States than would have been reasonably expected in a negotiation with civilized men fully capable of appreciating and protecting their own rights. For the Indian title to 116,349,897 acres acquired since the 4th of March, 1829, the United States have paid $72,560,056 in permanent annuities, lands, reservations for Indians, expenses of removal and subsistence, merchan- dise, mechanical and agricultural establishments and implements. When the heavy expenses incurred by the United States and the circumstance that so large a portion of the entire territory will be forever unsalable are considered, and this price is compared with that for which the United States sell their own lands, no one can doubt that justice has been done to the Indians in these purchases also. Certain it is that the transactions of the Federal Government with the Indians have been uniformly char- acterized by a sincere and paramount desire to promote their welfare; and it must be a source of the highest gratification to every friend to justice and humanity to learn that notwithstanding the obstructions from time to time thrown in its way and the difficulties which have arisen from the peculiar and impracticable nature of the Indian charac- ter, the wise, humane, and undeviating policy of the Government in this the most difficult of all our relations, foreign or domestic, has at length been justified to the world in its near approach to a happy and certain consummation. The condition of the tribes which occupy the country set apart for them in the West is highly prosperous, and encourages the hope of their early civilization. They have for the most part abandoned the hunter state and turned their attention to agricultural pursuits. All those who have been éstablished for any length of time in that fertile region main- tain themselves by their own industry. There are among them traders of no inconsiderable capital, and planters exporting cotton to some extent, but the greater number are small agriculturists, living in comfort upon the produce of their farms. The recent emigrants, although they have in some instances removed reluctantly, have readily acquiesced in their unavoidable destiny. They have found at once a recompense for past sufferings and an incentive to industrious habits in the abundance and comforts around them. There is reason to believe that all these tribes are friendly in their feelings toward the United States; and it is to be hoped that the acquisition of individual wealth, the pursuits of agricul- ture, and habits of industry will gradually subdue their warlike propen- sities and incline them to maintain peace among themselves. ‘To effect this desirable object the attention of Congress is solicited to the measures recommended by the Secretary of War for their future government and
Martin Van Buren ; 1718 protection, as well from each other as from the hostility of the warlike tribes around them and the intrusions of the whites. The policy of the - Government has given them a permanent home and guaranteed to them its peaceful and undisturbed possession. It only remains to give them a government and laws which will encourage industry and secure to them the rewards of their exertions. The importance of some form of gov- ernment can not be too much insisted upon. The earliest effects will be to diminish the causes and occasions for hostilities among the tribes, to inspire an interest in the observance of laws to which they will have themselves assented, and to multiply the securities of property and the motives for self-improvement. Intimately connected with this subject is the establishment of the military defenses recommended by the Secre- © tary of War, which have been already referred to. Without them the Government will be powerless to redeem its pledge of protection to the emigrating Indians against the numerous warlike tribes that surround them and to provide for the safety of the frontier settlers of the bordering States. ° The case of the Seminoles constitutes at present the only exception to the successful efforts of the Government to remove the Indians to the komes assigned them west of the Mississippi. Four hundred of this tribe emigrated in 1836 and 1,500 in 1837 and 1838, leaving in the coun- try, it is supposed, about 2,000 Indians. The continued treacherous conduct of these people; the savage and unprovoked murders they have lately committed, butchering whole families of the settlers of the Terri- tory without distinction of age or sex, and making their way into the very center and heart of the country, so that no part of it is free from their ravages; their frequent attacks on the light-houses along that dan- gerous coast, and the barbarity with which they have murdered the pas- sengers and crews of such vessels as have been wrecked upon the reefs and keys which border the Gulf, leave the Government no alternative but to continue the military operations against them until they are totally expelled from Florida. There are other motives which would urge the Government to pursue this course toward the Seminoles. The United States have fulfilled in good faith all their treaty stipulations with the Indian tribes, and have in every other instance insisted upon a like per- formance of their obligations. To relax from this salutary rule because the Seminoles have maintained themselves so long in the territory they had relinquished, and in defiance of their frequent and solemn engage- ments still continue to wage a ruthless war against the United States, would not only evince a want of constancy on our part, but be of evil example in our intercourse with other tribes. Experience has shown that but little is to be gained by the march of armies through a country so intersected with inaccessible swamps and marshes, and which, from the fatal character of the climate, must be abandoned at the end of the winter. I recommend, therefore, to your attention the plan submitted
1719 _ Messages and Papers of the Presidents by the Secretary of War in the accompanying report, for the permanent occupation of the portion of the Territory freed from the Indians and the more efficient protection of the people of Florida from their inhuman warfare. . From the report of the Secretary of the Navy herewith transmitted it will appear that a large portion of the disposable naval force is either actively employed or in a state of preparation for the purposes of experi: ence and discipline and the protection of-our commerce. So effectual has been this protection that so far as the information of Government extends not a single outrage has been attempted on a vessel carrying the flag of the United States within the present year, in any quarter, how- ' ever distant or exposed. The exploring expedition sailed from Norfolk on the r9th of August last, and information has been received of its safe arrival at the island of Madeira. The best spirit animates the officers and crews, and there is every reason to anticipate from its efforts results beneficial to commerce and honorable to the nation. : It will also be seen that no reduction of the force now in commission is contemplated. The unsettled state of a portion of South America renders it indispensable that our commerce should receive protection in that quarter; the vast and increasing interests embarked in the trade of the Indian and China seas, in the whale fisheries of the Pacific Ocean, and in the Gulf of Mexico require equal attention to their safety, and a small squadron may be employed to great advantage on our Atlantic coast in meeting sudden demands for the reenforcement of other sta- tions, in aiding merchant vessels in distress, in affording active service to an additional number of officers, and in visiting the different ports of the United States, an accurate knowledge of which is obviously of the highest importance. The attention of Congress is respectfully called to that portion of the report recommending an increase in the number of smaller vessels, and to other suggestions contained in that document. ‘The rapid increase and wide expansion of our commerce, which is every day seeking new avenues of profitable adventure; the absolute necessity of a naval force for its protection precisely in the degree of its extension; a due regard to the national rights and honor; the recollection of its former exploits, and the anticipation of its future triumphs whenever opportunity pre- sents itself, which we may rightfully indulge from the experience of - the past—all seem to point to the Navy as a most efficient arm of our national defense and a proper object of legislative encouragement. The progress and condition of the Post-Office Department will be seen by reference to the report of the Postmaster-General. The extent of post-roads covered by mail contracts is stated to be 134,818 miles, and the annual transportation upon them 34,580,202 miles. The number of post-offices in the United States is 12,553, and rapidly increasing. The
Martin Van Buren 1720 gross reveniie for the year ending on the 3oth day of June last was $4,262,145; the accruing expenditures, $4,680,068; excess of expendi- tures, $417,923. This has been made up out of the surplus previously on hand. The cash on hand on the rst instant was $314,068. The revenue for the year ending June 30, 1838, was $161,540 more than that for the year ending June 30, 1837. The expenditures of the Depart- ment had been graduated upon the anticipation of a largely increased revenue. A moderate curtailment of mail service consequently became necessary, and has been effected, to shield the Department against the danger of embarrassment. Its revenue is now improving, and it will soon resume its onward course in the march of improvement. Your particular attention is requested to so much of the Postmaster- General’s report as relates to the transportation of the mails upon rail- roads. The laws on that subject do not seem adequate to secure that service, now become almost essential to the public interests, and at the same time protect the Department from combinations and unreasonable demands. Nor can I too earnestly request your attention to the necessity of pro- viding a more secure building for this Department. The danger of destruction to which its important books and papers are continually exposed, as well from the highly combustible character of the building occupied as from that of others in the vicinity, calls loudly for prompt action. Your attention is again earnestly invited to the suggestions and rec- ommendations submitted at the last session in respect to the District of Columbia. I feel it my duty also to bring to your notice certain proceedings at law which have recently been prosecuted in this District in the name of the United States, on the relation of Messrs. Stockton & Stokes, of the State of Maryland, against the Postmaster-General, and which have resulted in the payment of money out of the National Treasury, for the first time since the establishment of the Government, by judicial compul- sion exercised by the common-law writ of mandamus issued by the cir- cuit court of this District. The facts of the case and the grounds of the proceedings will be found fully stated in the report of the decision, and any additional information which you may desire will be supplied by the proper Department. No interference in the particular case is contemplated. The money has been paid, the claims of the prosecutors have been satisfied, and the whole subject, so far as they are concerned, is finally disposed of; but it is on the supposition that the case may be regarded as an authoritative exposition of the law as it now stands that I have thought it necessary to present it to your consideration. The object of the application to the circuit court was to compel the Postmaster-General to carry into effect an award made by the Solicitor
1721 Messages and Papers of the Presidents of the Treasury, under a special act of Congress for the settlement of cer- tain claims of the relators on the Post-Office Department, which award the Postmaster-General declined to execute in full until he should receive further legislative direction on the subject. If the duty imposed on the Postmaster-General by that law was to be regarded as one of an official nature, belonging to his office as a branch of the executive, then it is obvious that the constitutional competency of the judiciary to direct and control him in its discharge was necessarily drawn in question; and if the duty so imposed on the Postmaster-General was to be considered as merely ministerial, and not executive, it yet remained to be shown that the circuit court of this District had authority to interfere by mandamus, such a power having never before been asserted or claimed by that court. With a view to the settlement of these important questions, the judgment of the circuit court was carried by a writ of error to the Supreme Court of the United States. In the opinion of that tribunal the duty imposed on the Postmaster-General was not an official executive duty, but one of a merely ministerial nature. The grave constitutional questions which had been discussed were therefore excluded from the decision of the case, the court, indeed, expressly admitting that with powers and duties properly belonging to the executive no other department can inter- fere by the writ of mandamus; and the question therefore resolved itself into this: Has Congress conferred upon the circuit court of this District the power to issue such a writ to an officer of the General Government commanding him to perform a ministerial act? A majority of the court have decided that it has, but have founded their decision upon a process of reasoning which in my judgment renders further legislative provision indispensable to the public interests and the equal administration of justice. It has long since been decided by the Supreme Court that neither that tribunal nor the circuit courts of the United States, held within the respective States, possess the power in question; but it is now held that this power, denied to both of these high tribunals (to the former by the Constitution and to the latter by Congress), has been by its legislation vested in the circuit court of this District.. No such direct grant of power to the circuit court of this District is claimed, but it has been held to result by necessary implication from several sections of the law estab- lishing the court. One of these sections declares that the laws of Mary- land, as tney existed at the time of the cession, should be in force in that part of the District ceded by that State, and by this provision the common law in civil and criminal cases, as it prevailed in Maryland in 1801, was established in that part of the District. In England the court of king’s bench—because the Sovereign, who, according to the theory of the constitution, is the fountain of justice, originally sat there in person, and is still deemed to be present in con- struction of law—alone possesses the high power of issuing the writ of
Martin Van Buren 1722 - mandamus, not only to inferior jurisdictions and corporations, but also to magistrates and others, commanding them in the King’s name to do what their duty requires in cases where there is a vested right and no other specific remedy. It has been held in the case referred to that as the Supreme Court of the United States is by the Constitution rendered incompetent to exercise this power, and as the circuit court of this Dis- trict is a court of general jurisdiction in cases at common law, and the highest court of original jurisdiction in the District, the right to issue the writ of mandamus is incident to its common-law powers, Another ground relied upon to maintain the power in question is that it was included by fair construction in the powers granted to the circuit courts of the United States by the act ‘‘to provide for the more convenient organization of the courts of the United States,’’ passed 13th February, 1801; that the act establishing the circuit court of this District, passed the 27th day of February, 1801, conferred upon that court and the judges thereof the same powers as were by law vested in the circuit courts of the United States and in the judges of the said courts; that the repeal of the first-mentioned act, which took place in the next year, did not divest the circuit court of this District of the authority in dispute, but left it still clothed with the powers over the subject which, it is con- ceded, were taken away from the circuit courts of the United States by the repeal of the act of 13th February, 1801. Admitting that the aduption of the laws of Maryland for a portion of this District confers on the circuit court thereof, in that portion, the transcendent extrajudicial prerogative powers of the court of king’s bench in England, or that either @f the acts of Congress by necessary implication authorizes the former court to issue a writ of mandamus to an officer of the United States to compel him to perform a ministerial duty, the consequences are in one respect the same. The result in either case is that the officers of the United States stationed in different parts of the United States are, in respect to the performance of their official duties, subject to different laws and a different supervision—those in the States to one rule, and those in the District of Columbia to another and avery different one. In the District their official conduct is subject toa judicial control from which in the States they are exempt. Whatever difference of opinion may exist as to the expediency of vest- ing such a power in the judiciary in a system of government constituted like that of the United States, all must agree that these disparaging dis- crepancies in the law and in the administration of justice ought not to be permitted to continue; and as Congress alone can provide the remedy, the subject is unavoidably presented to your consideration. M. VAN BUREN.
1723 Messages and Papers of the Presidents SPECIAL MESSAGES. Wasuincteon, December 6, 1838. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: “The act of the rst July, 1836, to enable the Executive to assert and prosecute with effect the claim of the United States to the legacy be- queathed to them by James Smithson, late of London, having received its entire execution, and the amount recovered and paid into the Treasury having, agreeably to an act of the last session, been invested in State stocks, I deem it proper to invite the attention of Congress to the obli- gation now devolving upon the United States to fulfill the object of the bequest. In order to obtain such information as might serve to facilitate its attainment, the Secretary of State was directed in July last to apply to persons versed in science and familiar with the subject of public edu- cation for their views as to the mode of disposing of the fund best cal- culated to meet the intentions of the testator and prove most beneficial to mankind. Copies of the circular letter written in compliance with these directions, and of the answers to it received at the Department of State, are herewith communicated for the consideration of Congress. M. VAN BUREN. WasHINGTON, December 7, 1838. To the House of Representatives of the Unita! States: . I herewith transmit to the House of Representatives reports * from the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury, with accompany- ing documents, in answer to the resolution of the House of the oth of July last. M. VAN BUREN. Wasuincron, December 8, 1838. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I herewith transmit a special report made to me by the Secretary of the Treasury, for your consideration, in relation to the recently discovered default of Samuel Swartwout, late collector of the customs at the port of New York. I would respectfully invite the early attention of Congress to the adop- tion of the legal provisions therein suggested, or such other measures as may appear more expedient, for increasing the public security against similar defalcations hereafter. M. VAN BUREN. *Transmitting communications, papers, documents, etc., elucidating the origin and objects of the Smithsonian bequest and the origi«, progress, and consummation of the process by which that bequest was recovered, etc. ——rar
Martin Van Buren 1724 WASHINGTON, December 14, 1838. To the Senate of the Untied States: With the accompanying communication of the Secretary of War I transmit, for the consideration and constitutional action of the Senate. a treaty concluded with the Miami tribe of Indians on the 6th ultimo. Your attention is invited to that section which reserves a tract of land for the tse of certain Indians, and to other reservations contained in the treaty. All such reservations are objectionable, but for the reasons given by the Secretary of War I submit to your consideration whether the circumstances attending this negotiation, and the great importance of removing the Miamies from the State of Indiana, will warrant a depar- ture in this instance from the salutary rule of excluding all reservations from Indian treaties. M. VAN BUREN. War Depantwent, December 14, 1838. The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED SraTEs. Srr: I have the honor to lay before you, for submission to the Senate for its action if approved by you, a treaty with the Miami tribe of Indians concluded on the 6th ultimo, In doing so I beg to call your attention to that section which reserves from the cession made by the Miamies a tract of land supposed to contain 1osquare miles, and to other reservations according to a schedule appended to the treaty. The com- missioner who negotiated this treaty is of opinion that it could not have been concluded if he had not so far departed from his instructions as to admit these res- ervations. And it is to be feared that if the rules adopted by the Department in this particular be insisted upon on this occasion it will very much increase the difficulty, if it does not render it impracticable to acquire this land and remove these Indians— objects of so much importance to the United States and especially to the State of Very respectfully, your most obedient servant, J. R. POINSETT. . Wasuincton, December 18, 1838. To the House of Representatives of the United States: I transmit the accompanying documents, marked from 1 to §,* in reply to a resolution of yesterday’s date, calling for copies of correspondence between the Executive of the General Government and the governor of Pennsylvania in relation to ‘‘a call of the latter for an armed force of United States troops since the present session of Congress,’’ and requiring information ‘‘whether any officer of the United States insti- gated or participated ’’ in the riotous proceedings referred to in the resolu- tion, and ‘‘what measures, if any, the President has taken to investigate and punish the said acts, and whether any such officer still remains in the service of the United States.’’ ° M. VAN BUREN. © Relating to the Buckshot war.”
1725 Messages and Papers of the Presidents Wasxuincton, December 20, 1838. To the House of Representatives: I have the honor to transmit herewith additional letters and docu- ments* embraced in the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 17th instant. M. VAN BUREN. WASHINGTON, December 20, 1838. To the House of Representatives: ' An important difference of opinion having arisen concerning the con- struction of an act of Congress making a grant of land to the State of Indiana, and in which she feels a deep interest, I deem it proper to sub- mit all the material facts to your consideration, with a view to procure such additional legislation as the facts of the case may appear to render proper. The report of the Secretary of the Treasury and the documents annexed from the General Land Office will disclose all the circumstances deemed material in relation to the subject, and are herewith presented. M. VAN BUREN. Wasuincton, December 26, 1838. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I transmit for your consideration the inclosed communication and accompanying documents from the Secretary of War, relative to the present state of the Pea Patch Island, in the Delaware River, and of the operations going on there for the erection of defenses for that impor- tant channel of commerce. It will be seen from these documents that a complete stop has been put to those operations in consequence of the island having been taken pos- session of by the individual claimant under the decision, in his favor, of the United States district court for the district of New Jersey, and that unless early measures are taken to bring the island within the jurisdic- tion of the Government great loss and injury will result to the future operations for carrying on the works. The importance of the subject would seem to render it worthy of the early attention of Congress. M. VAN BUREN. Wasuincton, December, 1838. To the Senate: I transmit a letter from the Secretary of War, accompanied by a com- munication from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, on the subject of granting to the Chickasaw Indians subsistence for the further term of * Relating to the “ Buckshot war.” tin aid of the construction of the Wabash and Erie Canal.
Martin Van Buren 1726 seven months. Should it be the pleasure of the Senate to give its sanc- tion to the measure suggested by the Commissioner for this purpose, my own will not be withheld, ' ‘ M. VAN BUREN. WaAsHInctTon, Janua , 1829. Zo the Senate of the United States: January 7, 1839 In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 20th December last, I communicate to the Senate reports from the several Executive Departments, containing the information * called for by said resolution. M. VAN BUREN, — WASHINGTON, January 9, 1839. The PRESIDENT oF THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. Sir: I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the Navy, in answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 3d instant, calling for infor- mation.in regard to the examinations of inventions designed to prevent the calamities resulting from the explosion of steam boilers, directed by the acts of Congress of the 28th of June and the oth of July last. M. VAN BUREN. ‘ WASHINGTON, January ro, 1839. To the House of Representatives: I communicate to the House of Representatives, in compliance with its resolution of the 3d instant, reportst from the Secretaries of State and War, containing all the information called for by said resolution now in possession of the Executive. M. VAN BUREN. WasHINcTon, January 11, 1839.: To the Senate of the United States: I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of War, in reply to the resolution of the Senate of yesterday’s date, calling for information respecting the agreement between him and the United States Bank of Pennsylvania on the subject of the sale or payment of certain bonds of that institution held by the United States, and respecting the dis- position made of the proceeds thereof. M. VAN BUREN. *Copies of orders and instructions issued since April 14, 1836, relative to the kind of money and bank notes to be paid out on account of the United States. {Relating to the invasion of the southwestern frontier of the United States by fan ‘armed force from the Republic of Texas.
1727 Messages and Papers of the Presidents WASHINGTON, January 15, 1839. To the Senate of the United States: In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the gth of July last, I transmit reports* from the several Departments of the Government to which that resolution was referred. M. VAN BUREN. WASHINGTON, January 16, 1839. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I lay before you a communication from the Secretary of War, which is accompanied by one from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, suggesting the propriety of setting apart a tract of country west of the Mississippi for the Seminole Indians, so that they may be separate from the Creeks, and representing the necessity of a small appropriation for supplying the immediate wants of those who have been removed; and:‘I respectfully recommend these subjects for the early consideration and favorable action of Congress, M. VAN BUREN. JANUARY 17, 1839. To the Senate and House of Representatives: I herewith communicate to Congress a letter from the Secretary of the Treasury, in respect to the Florida claims under the treaty of 1819 and the subsequent acts of Congress passed to enforce it. The propriety of some additional legislation on this subject seems obvious. The period when the evidence on the claims shall be closed ought, in my opinion, to be limited, as they are already of long stand- ing, and, as a general consequence, the proof of their justice every day becoming more and more unsatisfactory. It seems also that the task of making the final examination into the justice of the awards might advantageously be devolved upon some other officer or tribunal than the Secretary of the Treasury, considering the other responsible, laborious, and numerous duties imposed on him at the present juncture. M. VAN BUREN. WASHINGTON, January 17, 1839. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Treas- ury, which presents for the consideration of Congress the propriety of so changing the second section of the act of March 2, 1837, as that the * Transmitting statements of cases in which a per centum has been allowed to public officers on disbursements of public moneys.
Martin Van Buren 1728 existing humane provisions of the laws for the relief of certain insolvent debtors of the United States may be extended to such cases of insolvency as shall have occurred on or before the 1st day of January, 1839 M. VAN BUREN. WASHINGTON, January rz, 18379. The SPEAKER OF THE HovusE oF REPRESENTATIVES: In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 14th instant, calling for information as to the proceedings under the act of Congress of the 28th of June last, providing for examinations of inventions designed to prevent the explosion of steam boilers, I transmit herewith a copy of a report of the Secretary of the Navy, which was made to the Senate in answer to a similar call from that body, as con- taining the information called for. M. VAN BUREN. WASHINGTON, January 18, 1839. To the House of Representatives: In addition to the information contained in a report from the Secre- tary of State communicated with my message of the 30th April, 1838, I transmit to the House of Representatives a report* from the Secretary of War, dated the 16th instant, in answer to a resolution of the House of the 19th March last, and containing so much of the information called for by said resolution as could be furnished by his Department. M. VAN BUREN. \ WASHINGTON, January 21, 1839. To the Senate of the United States: I transmit herewith to the Senate, for their consideration in reference to its ratification, a treaty of commerce and navigation between the United States of America and His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, signed at this place on the roth instant by the Secretary of State and the chargé d’ affaires of the Netherlands in the United States. M. VAN BUREN. WASHINGTON, January 21, 1839. To the Senate of the United States: I transmit for the consideration of the Senate with a view to its ratifi- cation a convention for the adjustment of claims of citizens of the United States upon the Government of the Mexican Republic, concluded and *Relating to the intermeddling of any foreign government, or subjects or officers thereof, with the Indian tribes in Michigan, Wisconsin, the territory beyond the Rocky Mountains, or else- where within the limits of the United States, etc.
17290 Messages and Papers of the Presidents signed in this city on the roth of September last by John Forsyth, Sec- retary of State of the United States, and Francisco Pizarro Martinez, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the Mexican Repub- lic, on the part of their respective Governments. M. VAN BUREN. WASHINGTON, January 21, 1839. To the Senate of the United States: I transmit a treaty negotiated with the New York Indians, which was submitted to your body in June last and amended. ‘The amendments have, in pursuance of the requirement of the Senate, been submitted to each of the tribes, assembled in council, for their free and voluntary assent or dissent thereto. In respect to all the tribes except the Senecas the result of this application has been entirely satisfactory. It will be seen by the accompanying papers that of this tribe, the most important of those concerned, the assent of only 42 out of 81 chiefs has been obtained. I deem it advisable under these circumstances to submit the treaty in its modified form to the Senate, for its advice in regard of the sufficiency of the assent of the Senecas to the amendments proposed. M. VAN BUREN. \ WASHINGTON, January 24, 1839. To the Senate of the United States: I transmit herewith to the Senate, for their consideration in reference to its ratification, a treaty of commerce and navigation between the United States of America and His Majesty the King of Sardinia, signed at Genoa on the 26th of November last by the plenipotentiaries of the contracting parties. M. VAN BUREN. WASHINGTON, January 25, 1839. To the Senate of the United States: I herewith transmit to the Senate a report * from the Secretary of State, in answer to their resolution of the 22d instant. M. VAN BUREN. WASHINGTON, January 26, 1839. To the Senate of the United States: I lay before you, for your consideration, a treaty concluded with the Omaha, Ioway, and Otoe tribes of Indians, and sanctioned by the Yanc- ton and Santie bands of Sioux, by which a tract of land situated on the *Stating that there has been no correspondence with Great Britain in relation to the northeast- _ern boundary since December 3, 1838,
Martin Van Buren 1730 south side of the Missouri between the Great and Little Nemahaw rivers has been ceded to the United States. ' It appears that the consent of the half-breeds of the above-mentioned tribes and bands is wanting to perfect the treaty. This tract of land was ceded by the treaty of 15th July, 1830, to them by the above-mentioned tribes and bands of Indians, and can not be taken from them, even for such a valuable consideration as will relieve their wants, without their assent. In order to avoid unnecessary delay, I submit it to your con- sideration in order to receive an expression of your opinion as to the manner of obtaining the assent of the minors, whereby all unnecessary delay in the final action upon the treaty will be avoided. M. VAN BUREN. JANUARY 28, 1839. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I transmit herewith a communication received from the Secretary of the Treasury, on the subject of the balances reported on the books of the Treasury against collecting and disbursing agents of the Government, to which I beg leave to invite the early attention of Congress. | M. VAN BUREN. WASHINGTON, January 30, 1839. To the Senate and House of Representatives: I herewith transmit a report from the Secretary of the Treasury, on the subject of commissions claimed by agents or officers employed by the General Government. The propriety of new legislation regulating the whole matter by express laws seems very apparent, and is urgently recommended to the early attention of Congress. . M. VAN BUREN. WaAsHINGTON, February 2, 1839. To the Senate of the United States: I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, assigning reasons which render it probable that the time limited for the exchange of the ratifi- cations of the convention for the adjustment of claims of citizens of the United States on the Government of the Mexican Republic may expire before that exchange can be effected, and suggesting that the consent of the Senate be requested for an extension of that time. The object of this communication, accordingly, is to solicit the approval by the Senate of such an extension upon the conditions mentioned in the report of the Secretary of State. M. VAN BUREN.
1731 Messages and Papers of the Prestdents DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, February 2, 1839. The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Secretary of State has the honor to report to the President that, according to his instructions, Mr, Martinez, the Mexican minister plenipotentiary, was invited to the Department of State in order to ascertain if he had any recent information on the subject of the convention between the United States and Mexico, transmitted by him to Mexico for ratification by his Government. Mr. Martinez called yesterday and stated that he was without definite information, but expected daily to receive it. He supposed the delay was occasioned by the troubled condition of Mexican affairs, and hoped we would make all due allowances for unavoidable delays. When asked if he had power to enlarge the time for the exchange of ratifications, he said that all his instructions had been fulfilled on the signature of the treaty. The Secretary called his attention to information just received at the Department from Mexico that the treaty was about to be submitted to the Mexican Congress, and he was requested to state what had changed the views of his Government on the question of ratifying the convention, he himself having stated, pending the negotiation, that the Presi- dent, Bustamente, believed he had full power under the decree of the 20th of May, 1837, to ratify the convention without a reference of it to Congress. He replied that he did not know the causes which had produced this change of opinion. Mr. Marti- nez appeared to be very solicitous to have it understood that he had done everything in his power to hasten the exchange of ratifications, and to have every allowance made in consequence of the disturbed state of Mexico and her pending war with France. From this corversation and the accompanying extracts from two letters from the consul of the United States at Mexico the President will see that it is by no means improbable, if the ratification of the convention should have been decreed by the Congress of Mexico, that the ratification may not reach the city of “Washington until after the roth of February. The Secretary therefore respectfully represents to the President whether it is not advisable to ask the consent of the Sen- ate to the exchange of the ratifications after the expiration of the time limited, if such exchange shall be offered by the Mexican Government by their agent duly authorized for that purpose. Unless this authority can be granted, a new convention will have to be negotiated and the whole subject passed over until after the next session of Congress. All which is submi' ; respectfully Hed. JOHN FORSYTH. [Extract of a letter from the consul of the United States at Mexico, dated November 17, 1838.) On the 13th Mr. Basave did me the honor to call on me, and informed me that he was requested by his excellency the minister of foreign relations, Mr. Cuevas, to inform me that in consequence of his having to go to Jalapa to meet Admiral Baudin, the French minister plenipotentiary, he could not attend to the matters relating to the American question in time for Mr. Basave to go back in the Woodbury, and wished, therefore, that she might not be detained, as was intended, for the purpose of conveying to the United States Messrs. Basave and Murphy. {Extract of a letter from the consul of the United States at Mexico, dated December 31, 1838.] On a visit to the minister of foreign relations yesterday he informed me that he was writing a friendly letter to the President of the United States and another to Mr. Forsyth, and said he was about to lay the convention entered into between the two Governments before the new Congress, and if ratified should request of me to procure for it a conveyance to the United States by one of our men-of-war, the time for its ratification being nearly expired.
Martin Van Buren — 1732 WasnHIncTon, D. C., February 6, 1839. fo the House of Representatives of the United States: I transmit to the House of Representatives a report* from the Secre- tary of State, with accompanying documents, in answer to a resolution of that body bearing date on the 28th ultimo. M. VAN BUREN. Wasuincton, February 6, 1839. To the Senate of the United States: In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the r9th December Jast, I communicate to the Senate a report t frdm the Secretary of State, aceompanying copies of the correspondence called for by said resolution. M. VAN BUREN. WasHINGTon, February 6, 1839. The SPEAKER OF THE HovUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. Str: I transmit herewith the report of the commissioners appointed under the act of 28th of June last and the supplementary act of July following to test the usefulness of inventions to improve and render safe the boilers of steam engines against explosions. , . '  M. VAN BUREN. Wasnincton, D. C., February 9, 1839. To the House of Representatives of the United States: I transmit herewith to the House of Representatives a report from the Secretary of State, together with the documents which accompanied it, in answer to the resolution of the 28th ultimo, requesting information touching certain particulars in the territorial relations of the United States and Great Britain on this continent. M. VAN BUREN. . Wasuincton, February 13, 1839. To the Senate of the United States: I herewith transmit to the Senate a report{ from the Secretary of State, with accompanying documents, in answer to their resolution of the rst instant. : M. VAN BUREN. * Relating to the demand upon the British Government for satisfaction for the burning of the steamboat Caroline and murdering of unarmed citizens on board, at Schlosser, N. Y., December 29, (837. t Relating to the commerce and navigation carried on within the Turkish dominions and in the Pashalic of Egypt. } Relating to compensation by Great Britain in the cases of the brigs Exterprise, Encomium, and Comet, slaves on board which were forcibly seized and detained by local authorities of Bermuda and Bahama islands.
1733 Messages and Papers of the Presidents Wasurincton, February 16, 1839. To the Senate: I transmit for the constitutional action of the Senate treaties recently concluded with the Creek, Osage, and Iowa tribes of Indians, with com- munications from the Department of War. M. VAN BUREN. Wasuincton, February 19, 1839. To the House of Representatives: I transmit a report from the War Department in relation to the inves- tigations had by*the commissioners under the resolution of 1st July, 1836, on the sales of reservations of deceased Creek Indians. ~ M. VAN BUREN. Wasnincton, February 21, 1839. Zo the Senate of the United States: I transmit for the constitutional action of the Senate articles suppie- mentary to the treaty with the Chippewas, for the purchase of 40 acres of land at the mouth of the Saginaw River, which are esteemed necessary in the erection and use of a light-house at that point. M. VAN BUREN. WasHINGTON, February 22, 1839. The SPRAKER oF THE House oF REPRESENTATIVES: I herewith transmit a report from the Secretary of State, with accom- ‘panying documents, on the subject of the blockades of the Mexican coast and of the Rio de la Plata, in answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 11th instant. M. VAN BUREN. WasHINGTON, February 25, 1839. Zo the Senate: I transmit for the constitutional action of the Senate a supplemental article to the treaty with the Chippewas of Saganaw, which accompanied my communication of the 21st instant, and explanatory papers from the War Department. M. VAN BUREN. WasnHrinoton, February 26, 1839. Zo the Senate and House of Representatives: I lay before Congress several dispatches from his excellency the gov- ernor of Maine, with inclosures, communicating certain proceedings of
Martin Van Buren 1734 the legislature of that State, and a copy of the reply of the Secretary of State, made by my direction, together with a note from H. S. Fox, esq., envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of Great Britain, with the answer of the Secretary of State to the same. It will appear from those documents that a numerous band of lawless and desperate men, chiefly from the adjoining British Provinces, but with- out the authority or sanction of the provincial government, had trespassed upon that portion of the territory in dispute between the United States and Gre.t Britain which is watered by the river Aroostook and claimed to belo. g to the State of Maine, and that they had committed extensive depredaiions there by cutting and destroying a very large quantity of timber. It will further appear that the governor of Maine, having been officially apprised of the circumstance, had communicated it to the leg- islature with a recommendation of such provisions in addition to those already existing by law as would enable him to arrest the course of said depredations, disperse the trespassers, and secure the timber which they were about carrying away; that, in compliance with a resolve of the legis- lature passed in pursuance of his recommendation, his excellency had dispatched the land agent of the State, with a force deemed adequate to that purpose, to the scene of the alleged depredations, who, after accom- plishing a part of his duty, was seized by a band of the trespassers at a house claimed to be within the jurisdiction of Maine, whither he had repaired for the purpose of meeting and consulting with the land agent of the Province of New Brunswick, and conveyed as a prisoner to Fred- erickton, in that Province, together with two other citizens of the State who were assisting him in the discharge of his duty. It will also appear that the governor and legislature of Maine, satisfied that the trespassers had acted in defiance of the laws of both countries, learning that they were in possession of arms, and anticipating (cor- rectly, as the result has proved) that persons of their reckless and des- perate character would set at naught the authority of the magistrates without the aid of a strong force, had authorized the sheriff and the officer appointed in the place of the land agent to employ, at the expense of the State, an armed posse, who had proceeded to the scene of these depredations with a view to the entire dispersion or arrest of the tres- passers and the protection of the public property. , In the correspondence between the governor of Maine and Sir John Harvey, lieutenant-governor of the Province of New Brunswick, which has grown out of these occurrences and is likewise herewith communi- cated, the former is requested to recall the armed party advanced into the disputed territory for the arrest of trespassers, and is informed that a strong body of British troops is to be held in readiness to support and protect the authority and subjects of Great Britain in said territory. In answer to that request the provincial governor is informed of the determination of the State of Maine to support the land agent and his
1735 Messages and Papers of the Presidents party in the performance of their duty, and the same determination, for the execution of which provision is made by a resolve of the State legis- lature, is communicated by the governor to the General Government. The lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick, in callmg upon the gov- ernor of Maine for the recall of the land agent and his party from the disputed territory, and the British mimster, in making a similar demand upon the Government of the United States, proceed upon the assumption that an agreement exists between the two nations conceding to Great Britain, until the final settlement of the boundary question, *xclusive pos- session of and jurisdiction over the territory in dispute. Th important bearing which such an agreement, if it existed, would have uron the condition and interests of the parties, and the influence it might have upon the adjustment of the dispute, are too obvious to allow the error upon which this assumption seems to rest to pass for a moment without cor- rection. The answer of the Secretary of State to Mr. Fox’s note will show the ground taken by the Government of the United States upon this point. It is believed that all the correspondence which has passed between the two Governments upon this subject has already been com- municated to Congress and is now on their files. An abstract of it, how- ever, hastily prepared, accompanies this communication. It is possible that in thus abridging a voluminous correspondence, commencing in 1825 and continuing to a very recent period, a portion may have been accidentally overlooked; but it is believed that nothing has taken place which would materially change the aspect of the question as therein presented. Instead of sustaining the assumption of the British function- aries, that correspondence disproves the existence of any such agreement. It shows that the two Governments have differed not only in regard to the main question of title to the territory in dispute, but with reference also to the right of jurisdiction and the fact of the actual exercise of it in different portions thereof. Always aiming at an amicable adjustment of the dispute, both par- ties have entertained and repeatedly urged upon each other a desire that each should exercise its rights, whatever it considered them to be, in such a manner as to avoid collision and allay to the greatest prac- ticable extent the excitement likely to grow out of the controversy. It was in pursuance of such an understanding that Maine and Massa- chusetts, upon the remonstrance of Great Britain, desisted from making sales of lands, and the General Government from the construction of a projected military road in a portion of the territory of which they claimed to have enjoyed the exclusive possession; and that Great Britain on her part, in deference to a similar remonstrance from the United States, suspended the issue of licenses to cut timber in the territory in controversy and also the survey and location of a railroad through a section of country over which she also claimed to have exercised exclu: sive jurisdiction.
Martin Van Buren 1736 The State of Maine had a right to arrest the depredations complhined of, It belonged to her to judge of the exigency of the occasion calling for her interference, and it is presumed that had the lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick been correctly advised of the nature of the proceed- ings of the State of Maine he would not have regarded the transaction as requiring on his part any resort to force. Each party claiming a right to the territory, and hence to the exclusive jurisdiction over it, it is mani- fest that to prevent the destruction of the timber by trespassers, acting against the authority of both, and at the same time avoid forcible colli- sion between the contiguous governments during the pendency of nego- tiations concerning the title, resort must be had to the mutual exercise of jurisdiction in such extreme cases or to an amicable and temporary arrangement as to the limits within which it should be exercised by each party. The understanding supposed to exist between the United States and Great Britain has been found heretofore sufficient for that pur- pose, and I believe will prove so hereafter if the parties on the frontier directly interested in the question are respectively governed by a just spirit of conciliation and forbearance. If it shall be found, as there is now reason to apprehend, that there is, in the modes of construing that understanding by the two Governments, a difference not to be reconciled, I shall not hesitate to propose to Her Britannic Majesty’s Government a distinct arrangement for the temporary and mutual exer- cise of jurisdiction by means of which similar difficulties may in future be prevented. But between an effort on the part of Maine to preserve the property in dispute from destruction by intruders and a military occupation by that State of the territory with a view to hold it by force while the set- tlement is a subject of negotiation between the two Governments there is an essential difference, as well in respect to the position of the State as to the duties of the General Government. In a letter addressed by the Secretary of State to the governor of Maine on the 1st of March last, giving a detailed statement of the steps which had been taken by the Federal Government to bring the controversy to a termination, and designed to apprise the governor of that State of the views of the Fed- eral Executive in respect to the future, it was stated that while the obligations of the Federal Government to do all in its power to effect the settlement of the boundary question were fully recognized, it had, in the event of being unable to do so specifically by mutual consent, no other means to accomplish that object amicably than by another arbitra- tion, or by a commission, with an umpire, in the nature of an arbitration; and that in the event of all other measures failing the President would feel it his duty to submit another proposition to the Government of Great Britain to refer the decision of the question to a third power. - These are still my views upon the subject, and until this step shall have been taken I can not think it proper to invoke the attention of Congress
1737 Messages and Papers of the Presidents to other than amicable means for the settlement of the controversy, or to cause the military power of the Federal Government to be brought in aid of the State of Maine in any attempt to effect that object. by a resort to force. On the other hand, if the authorities of New Brunswick should attempt to enforce the claim of exclusive jurisdiction set up by them by means of a military occupation on their part of the disputed territory, I shall feel myself bound to consider the contingency provided by the Constitution as having occurred, on the happening of which a State has the right to call for the aid of the Federal Government to repel invasion. I have expressed to the British minister near this Government a confi- dent expectation that the agents of the State of Maine, who have been arrested under an obvious misapprehension of the object of their mission, will be promptly released, and to the governor of Maine that a similar course will be pursued in regard to the agents of the Province of New Brunswick. I have also recommended that any militia that may have been brought together by the State of Maine from an apprehension of a collision with the government or people of the British Province will be voluntarily and peaceably disbanded. I can not allow myself to doubt that the results anticipated from these representations will be seasonably realized. The parties more immedi- ately interested can not but perceive that an appeal to arms under exist- ing circumstances will not only prove fatal to their present interests, but would postpone, if not defeat, the attainment of the main objects which they have in view. The very incidents which have recently occurred will necessarily awaken the Governments to the importance of promptly adjusting a dispute by which it is now made manifest that the peace of the two nations is daily and imminently endangered. This expectation is further warranted by the general forbearance which has hitherto char- acterized the conduct of the Government and people on both sides of the line. In the uniform patriotism of Maine, her attachment to the Union, her respect for the wishes of the people of her sister States (of whose interest in her welfare she can not be unconscious), and in the solicitude felt by the country at large for the preservation of peace with our neighbors, we have a strong guaranty that she will not disregard the request that has been made of her. As, however, the session of Congress is about to terminate and the agency of the Executive may become necessary during the recess, it is, important that the attention of the Legislature should be drawn to the consideration of such measures as may be calculated to obviate the neces- sity of a call for an extra session. With that view I have thought it my duty to lay the whole matter before you and to invite such action thereon as you may think the occasion requires. M. VAN BUREN.
Martin Van Buren 1738 Wasuincton, D. C., February 27, 1839. To the House of Representatives of the United States: I herewith transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to their resolution of the 26th instant, a report from the Secretary of State, with the document* therein referred to. M. VAN BUREN. To the House of Representatives: In further compliance with the resolution of the House of Represent- atives of the 28th of January last, I communicate a report{ from the Secretary of War, which, with its inclosures, contains additional infor- mation called for by said resolution. WasHInctTon, February 27, 1839. M. VAN BUREN. WaAsuHIncton, February 27, 1839. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: - I transmit to Congress copies of various other documents received from the governor of Maine, relating to the dispute, between that State and the Province of New Brunswick, which formed the subject of my message of the 26th instant, and also a copy of a memorandum, signed by the Secretary of State of the United States and Her Britannic Majesty’s envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary near the United States, of the terms upon which it is believed that all hostile col- lision can be avoided on the frontier consistently with and respecting the claims on either side. As the British minister acts without specific authority from his Gov- ernment, it will be observed that this memorandum has but the force of recommendation on the provincial authorities and on the government of the State. . M. VAN BUREN. EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, His Excellency M. VAN BUREN, Augusta, February 22, 1839. President United States. Srp: I have the honor to inclose herewith copies of letter from the lieutenant. governor of New Brunswick, under date of February 18, with my reply thereto; letter from the solicitor-general of the Province of New Brunswick to the Hon. Charles Jarvis, temporary land agent, under date of the 17th instant, with Mr. Jarvis’s reply; parole of honor given by Messrs. McIntire, Cushman, Bartlett, and Webster, dated 18th February; my message to the legislature of the 21st instant. * Letter of Mr. Stevenson, minister to England, relative to the duties and restrictions imposed by Great Britain upon the tobacco trade of the United States. T Relating to troubles in the British Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada and to alleged viola- tions of neutrality on the part of the United States or Great Britain, ‘and whether the authorities of Upper Canada have undertaken to interdict or restrict the ordinary intercourse between said Province and the United States, inconsistent with subsisting treaties.
1739 Messages and Papers of the Presidents These papers will give Your Excellency all the additional information of any importance not heretofore communicated that has been received in relation to the state of affairs upon our eastern frontier. I can not but persuade myself that Your Excellency will see that an attack upon the citizens of this State by a British armed force is in all human probability inevitable, and that the interposition of the General Government at this momentous crisis should be promptly afforded. I have the honor to be, with high respect, Your Excellency’s obedient servant, JOHN FAIRFIELD, Governor of Maine. GOVERNMENT HOvUsE, Frederickion, New Brunswick, February 18, 1839. His Excellency the GovERNOR OF MAINE. \ Srp: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt, by the hands of Hon. Mr. Rog- ers, of your excellency’s letter of the 15th instant. Mr. McIntire and the gentlemen with him have been subjected to an examination before Her Majesty’s attorney- general of this Province, who has reported to me that the offense of which they stand charged is one rather against the law of nations and of treaties than against those of this Province. They must accordingly be regarded as ‘‘state offenders.”’ In this view, their disposal rests exclusively with Her Majesty’s Government, to which I shall accordingly report the case. In the meantime I have had pleasure in directing that they shall immediately be allowed to return to the State of Maine upon pledg- ing their parole of honor to present themselves to the Government of this Province whenever Her Majesty’s decision may be received, or when required to do so. The high respectability of their characters and situations and my desire to act in all matters relating to the disputed territory in such a manner as may evince the utmost forbearance consistent with the fulfillment of my instructions have influenced me in my conduct toward these gentlemen; but it is necessary that I should upon this occasion distinctly state to your excellency— First. That if it be the desire of the State of Maine that the friendly relations sub- sisting between Great Britain and the United States should not be disturbed, it is indispensable that the armed force from that State now understood to be within the territory in dispute be immediately withdrawn, as otherwise I have no alternative but to take military occupation of that territory, with a view to protect Her Majesty’s sujects and to support the civil authorities in apprehending all persons claiming to exercise jurisdiction within it. Second. That it is my duty to require that all persons subjects of Her Majesty who may have been arrested in the commission of acts of trespass within the dis- puted territory be given up to the tribunals of this Province, there to be proceeded against according to law. Third. That in the event of the rumor which has just reached me relative to the arrest, detention, or interruption of James Maclauchlan, esq., the warden of the dis- puted territory, being correct, that that officer be enlarged and the grounds of his detention explained. Mr. Rogers takes charge of this letter, of which a duplicate will be placed in the hands of the Hon. Mr. McIntire, with both of whom I have conversed and communi- cated to them my views in regard to the actual position in which I shall be placed and the measures which will be forced upon me if the several demands contained in this letter be not complied with; and I have reason to believe that Mr. McIntire leaves me fully impressed with the anxious desire which I feel to be spared the necessity of acting as the letter of my instructions would both warrant and prescribe. With regard to trespasses upon the lands of the disputed territory, I beg to assure you that the extent to which those trespasses appear to have been carried, as brought
Martin Van Buren 1740 to my knowledge by recent occurrences, will lead me to adopt without any delay the strongest and most effectual measures which may be in my power for putting a stop to and preventing the recurrence of such trespasses. With high respect, I have the honor to be, your excellency’s most obedient servant, J. HARVEY, Major-General, Lieutenant-Governor. ! EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, His Excellency Srrk JoHN HARVEY, Augusta, February 21, 1839. Lieutenant-Governor New Brunswick. Sr: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your excellency’s communi- cation of the 18th instant, by the hand of Colonel J. P. Rogers. To your demand for the discharge of the persons arrested by the authorities of this State for being engaged in acts of trespass upon the public lands of this State I have to say that the persons named are now in the custody of the law. With that custody I have neither the disposition nor the authority to interfere. In regard to James Maclauchlan, esq., provincial land agent, and Mr. Tibbets, his assistant, I have advised that they be released upon the same terms upon which the Hon. Rufus McIntire and his assistants were released, to wit, upon their parole of honor to return to Bangor whenever they should be thereto required by the executive government of this State, to answer to any charges that may be brought against them for their acts and proceedings upon what your excellency is pleased to call ‘‘the disputed territory.” For a reply to the remainder of your excellency’s communication I must refer you to my letter of the 18th instant, which you will receive hy the hand of R. English, esq. I have the honor to be, with high respect, your excellency’s obedient servant, JOHN FAIRFIELD, Governor of Maine. AY THE MOUTH OF THE ARESTUOK, RIVER St. JOHN, Province of New Brunswick, February 17, 1839. The OrvickR COMMANDING THE ARMED FORCE ON THE DISPUTED TERRITORY. Sir: I am directed by His Excellency Major-General Sir John Harvey, lieutenant- governor and commander in chief of this Province, to express to you his great sur- prise at the very extraordinary occurrence of an armed force of the description now with you having entered upon the disputed territory (90 called) and attempted to exercise a jurisdiction there foreign to the British Government, seizing upon and mal- treating British subjects and retaining many of them prisoners without having in the first instance given any notice or made any communication whatever to the govern- ment authorities of this Province of such your intention, or the causes which have led to these acts of aggression. If you are acting under any authority from your own gor- 2rnment the proceedings are still more unjustifiable, being in direct defiance and breach of th : existing treaties between the Central Government of the United States and England. If you have not any such authority, you and those with you have placed yourselves in a situation to be treated by both Governments as persons rebel- ling against the laws of either country. But be that as it may, I am directed by his excellency tu give you notice that unless you immediately remove with the force you have with you from any part of the disputed territory (so called) and discharge al) British subjects whom yon have taken prisoners and at once cease attempting to exer. cise any authority in the said territory not authorized by the British Government every person of your party that can be found or laid hold of will be taken by the
’ 1741 Messages and Papers of the Presidents British authorities in this Province and detained as prisoners to answer for this offense, as his excellency is expressly commanded by his Sovereign tc hold this ter- ritory inviolate and to defend it from any foreign aggression whatever until the two Governments have determined the question of to whom it shall belong; and to enable him to carry these commands into full effect, a large military force is now assem- bling at this place, part of which has already arrived, and will be shortiy completed to any extent that the service’ may require. In doing this his excellency is very desirous to avoid any collision between Her Majesty’s troops and any of the citizens of the United States that might lead to bloodshed, and if you remove from the territory peaceably and quietly without further opposition such collision will be avoided, as in that case his excellency will not think it necessary to move the Brit- ish troops farther; but if you do not he will, in the execution of the commands of the British Government, find it necessary to take military possession of the territory in order to defend it from such innovation; and the consequences must be upon your own heads or upon the authority, if any, under which you act. The three gentlemen who were with you, and were taken prisoners by some of our people, have been for- warded on to Frederickton by the magistrates of the country and will be detained (as all persons heretofore have been who on former occasions were found endeavoring to set up or exercise any foreign jurisdiction or authority in the territory in question). They will, however, be well treated and every necessary attention paid to their com- fort; but I have nodoubt they will be detained as prisoners, to be disposed of as may hereafter be directed by the British Government. The warden of the disputed terri- tory, Mr. Maclauchlan, went out, I understood, a few days since to explain all this to you; but he not having returned we are led to suppose you have still further violated the laws and treaties of the two nations by detaining him, who was a mere messenger of communication, together with Mr. Tibbets, the person who was employed to convey him. But as Mr. Maclauchlan was an accredited officer, acknowledged by the American Government as well as the British, and appointed for the very purpose of looking after this territory, I trust you will on reflection see the great impropriety and risk you run, even with your own government, by detain- ing him or his attendant, Mr. Tibbets, any longer. I shall await at this place to receive your answer to this. I am, sir, your most obedient, humble servant, GEO. FRED’K STREET, Solicitor-General of the Provinces. CONFLUENCE OF THE St. Crorx, STREAM ARESTOOK RIVER, Township No. 10, State of Maine, February 19, 1839. Gxo. FRED. STREET, Esq., Solicitor-General of Province New Brunswick. Sir: Your communication of the 17th instant has been this moment received. The solicitor-general of the Provinces must have been misinformed as to the place where the force under my direction is now located, or he would have been spared the impropriety of addressing such a communication to me, a citizen of the State of Maine, one of the North American Confederacy of United States. It is also to be hoped, for the honor of the British Empire, that when Major-Gen- eral Sir John Harvey, lieutenant-governor and commander in chief of the Province of New Brunswick, is made acquainted with the place where the Hon. Rufus McIn- tire, land agent of the State of Maine, and the two other gentlemen with him were forcibly arrested by a lawless mob, that he will direct their immediate discharge and bring the offenders to justice. The officer to whom you allude and the person in company with him were arrested for serving a precept on acitizen of Maine. He was sent on immediately to Augusta,
Martin Van Buren 1742 the seat of government, to be dealt with by the authorities of the State. Their per- sons are not, therefore, in my power, and application for their discharge must be made to the government of the State. If, however, I have been in error as to your being under a mistake as to the place where I am now stationed, on land which was run out into townships by the State of Massachusetts and covered by grants from that State before Maine was separated from Massachusetts, and which has therefore been under the jurisdiction of Maine since she has taken her rank among the independent States of the North American Union, therefore, as a citizen of Maine, in official capacity, I have but one answer to return to the threat conveyed: I am here under the direction of the executive of the State, and must remain until otherwise ordered by the only authority recognized by me; and deeply as I should regret a conflict between our respective countries, I shall consider the approach to my station by an armed force as an act of hostility, which will be met by me to the best of my ability. { am, sir, your most obedient servant, CHARLES JARVIS, Land Agent, FREDERICKTON, NEw BRUNSWICK, February 18, 1839. Hon. Rurus McIN?TIRE, Gustavus G. CUSHMAN, THOMAS BARTLETT, and EBENE- ZER WEBSTER, Esqs.: Whereas the offense wherewith you stand charged has been pronounced by the law officers of this Province as one rather against the law of nations and of treaties than against the municipal laws of this country, and as such must be referred for the . decision of Her Majesty’s Government, you are hereby required to pledge your parole of honor to present yourselves at Frederickton, in this Province of New Brunswick, whenever such decision shall be communicated, or you shall be otherwise required by or on the part of this government; and for this purpose you shall make known the place or places to which such requisition shall be sent. J. HARVEY. FEBRUARY 18, 1839. We have no hesitation in giving, and hereby do give, the parole of honor above referred to. Witness: W. Fart, Councrr, CHampeEr, February 21, 1839. To the House of Representatives: Under the order of the House of Representatives of the 19th instant, I herewitk lay before you certain correspondence since had with the lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick, and the correspondence between Geo. Frederick Street, esq., solicitor- general for the Province of New Brunswick, and Charles Jarvis, esq., provisional land agent of this State. The reply of Mr. Jarvis to the inadmissible and preposterous claims and preten- sions of Her Majesty’s solicitor-general for the Province of New Brunswick must, I think, command the unqualified approbation of everyone having a just regard for the honor of his State. It is in the true spirit, and I have every reason to believe that the same spirit animates the whole body of our citizens. While it prevails, though success will be deserved, defeat can bring no disgrace. You will see by the accompanying papers (and I take great pleasure in communi- cating the fact) that Mr. McIntire and his assistants have been released. It was, however, upon their parole of honor to return when thereto required by the govern- ment of that Province. Immediately upon the receipt of this information I advised
1743 Messages and Papers of the Presidents the release of James Maclauchlan, esq., provincial land agent, and his assistant, upon the same terms. Since my last communication the land agent’s forces at the Aroostook have been reenforced by about 600 good and effective men, making the whole force now about 750. I have a letter from Mr. Jarvis dated the 19th, before the reenforcement had arrived, and when his company consisted of only too men. “He says he found the men in good spirits and that they had been.active in making temporary but most effectual defenses of logs, etc. After describing his defenses, he says: ‘‘ By to-morrow noon a force of roo men would make good our position against 500. Retreating, therefore, ts out of the question. We shall make good our stand against any force that we can reasonably expect would be brought against us.” He says further: ‘‘I take pleasure in saying to you that a finer looking set of men I never saw than those now with me, and that the honor of our State, so far as they are concerned, is in safe-keeping.”’ The draft of 1,000 men from the third division has been made with great dispatch. The troops, I understand, arrived promptly at the place of rendezvous at the time appointed in good spirits and anxious for the order to march to the frontier. The detachment from this second division will be ordered to march at the earliest con- venient day—probably on Monday next. Other military movements will be made, which it is unnegessary to communicate to you at this time. The mission of Colonel Rogers to the lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick has resulted successfully so far as relates to the release of the land agent and his assist- _ ants, and has been conducted in a manner highly satisfactory. JOHN FAIRFIELD. (Memorandum.) Wasuincron, February 27, 1839. Her Majesty's authorities consider it to have been understood and agreed upon by the two Governments that the territory in dispute between Great Britain and the United States on the northeastern frontier should remain exclusively under British jurisdiction until the final settlement of the boundary question. The United States Government have not understood the above agreement in the same sense, but consider, on the contrary, that there has been no agreement what- ever for the exercise by Great Britain of exclusive jurisdiction over the disputed territory or any portion thereof, but.a mutual understanding that pending the nego- tiation the jurisdiction then exercised by either party over small portions of the territory in dispute should not be enlarged, but be continued merely for the preser- vation of local tranquillity and the-public property, both forbearing, as far as prac- ticable, to exert any authority, and when any should be exercised by either placing upon the conduct of each other the most favorable construction. A complete understanding upon the question trus placed at issue of present juris- diction can only be arrived at by friendly discussion between the Governments of the United States and Great Britain, and as it is confidently hoped that there will be an early settlement of the general question, this subordinate point of difference can be of but little moment. In the meantime the government of the Province of New Brunswick and the gov- ernmerit of the State of Maine will act as follows: Her Majesty's officers will not seek to expel by military force the armed party which has been sent by Maine into the district bordering on the Restook River, but the government of Maine will volun- tarily and without needless delay withdraw beyond the bounds of the disputed territory any armed force now within them ; and if future necessity shall arise for dispersing notorious trespassers or protecting public property from depredation k
Martin Van Buren 1744 armed force, the operation shall be conducted by concert, jointly or separately, accord ing to agreement between the governments of Maine and New Brunswick. The civil officers in the service, respectively, of New Brunswick and Maine who have been taken into custody by the opposite parties shall be released. Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to fortify or to weaken in any respect whatever the claim of either party to the ultimate possession of the disputed The minister plenipotentia vy of Her Britannic Majesty having no specific authority to make any arrangement on this subject, the undersigned can only recommend, as they now earnestly do, to the governments of New Brunswick and Maine to regulate their future proceedings according to the terms hereinbefore set forth until the final settlement of the territorial dispute or until the Governments of the United States and Great Britain shall come to some definite conclusion on the subordinate point upon which they are now at issue. JOHN FORSYTH, Secretary of Stat of the United States of North America, H. S. FOX, Her Britannic Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary. WasuIncton, February 27, 1839. To the House of Representatives of the United States: In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 22d instant, requesting information on the subject of the existing relations between the United States and the Mexican Republic, I trans- mit a report from the Secretary of State, to whom the resolution was referred, and the documents by which the report was accompanied. M. VAN BUREN. WASHINGTON, February 28, 7839. To the House of Representatives: I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the Treasury, accompanied by a letter from the Commissioner of the General Land Office, and other documents therein referred to, touching certain infor- mation directed to be communicated to the House of Representatives by a resolution dated the 7th of July last.* M. VAN BUREN. Wasuincton, February 28, 1839. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of War, respecting the importance of requiring the officers who may be employed to take the next general census to make a return of the names and ages of pensioners, and, for the reasons given by the Secretary of War, I rec- ommend the subject for your favorable consideration. M. VAN BUREN. * Relating to attempts to keep down the price of public lands,
1745 Messages and Papers of the Presidents Wasuineton, March 1, 1839. To the Senate of the United States: ; Understanding from the decision of the Senate that the regulation of the Navy Department requiring that a commander ‘‘shall serve in active employ as such one year before he can be promoted to a captain’’ does not under the circumstances of the case constitute an objection to the pro- motion of Commander Robert F. Stockton, I nominate him to be a cap- tain in the Navy from the 8th of December, 1838, at the same time renominating Commanders Isaac McKeever and John P. Zantzingers to be captains in the Navy, the former from the 8th of December, 1838, and the latter from the 22d of December, 1838, and withdrawing the nomi- nation of Commander William D. Salter. M. VAN BUREN. , WasHINGTON, March 1, 1839. To the Senate of the United States: I have received the resolution of the Senate of this day, upon the sub- ject of a communication made to you by the Postmaster-General on the 27th ultimo,* and have the satisfaction-of laying before the Senate the accompanying letter from that officer, in which he fully disclaims any intended disrespect to the Senate in the communication referred to. M. VAN BUREN. WasuHIncton, March 2, 1839. The SPEAKER OF THE Housk OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES. I transmit herewith reports of the Secretaries of the State, Treasury, War, and Navy Departments, in reply to a resolution of the 28th ultimo, calling for information respecting the amounts paid to persons concerned in negotiating treaties with the Indians since the year 1829, and in regard to the disbursement of public money by clerks in the above Departments and the bureaus and offices thereof. M. VAN BUREN. VETO MESSAGE+ Marca 5, 1839. The annexed joint resolution was presented to me by Messrs. Foster and Merrick, of the Senate, on the 4th of March at half past 3 o’clock a.m. at the President’s house, after a joint committee had informed me at the Capitol that the two Houses had completed their business and *Stating that the only reason ‘he had not sent an answer to a resolution of the Senate was because it was not ready, which was considered disrespectful. t Pocket veto.
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS—BRIDGES The question of appropriating money out of the Federal Treasury to be used in improving roads, building bridges, digging canals and deepening streams in the States is no longer a political issue. The article “ Internal Improvements” in the Encyclopedic Index, relates how prominent an issue it used to be in the days before the Civil War. In our day the annual Rivers and Harbors Bill covering the matter is voted through with little or no discussion. Under the authority of Congress some notable works of public improvement have been performed by the engineers of the army in recent years. These tasks include the irrigation and reclamation projects in the West, the constant curbing of the unruly Mississippi, the construction of breakwaters in harbors of both the Atlantic and Pacific seaboards, and nu- merous enterprises on the Great Lakes. Although the sphere in which the Federal Government can operate is so well defined as to remove the question from politics, the country is profoundly interested in these benevolent activ- ities, which promote commerce, agriculture and industry in all their branches. The evolution of the policy is revealed in the Presidents’ state papers on the pages mentioned by the index. The Annual Rivers and Harbors Bill is so notorious an example of log-rolling that it is called ‘the pork barrel,” referring, of course, to the fact that it is passed at the last moment and that members who have faithfully obeyed their party managers, receive enough ‘‘pork” for their constituencies to grease their way to re-election, while mutineers are correspondingly punished.
Martin Van Buren 1746 ‘were ready to adjourn, and had communicated my answer that I had no further communication to make to them. ‘The committee of the Senate, on presenting the joint resolution for my signature, stated in explana- tion of the circumstance that they were not attended by the Committee on Enrolled Bills of the House of Representatives (as is required by the joint rules of the two Houses); that that body had adjourned about two hours before. The joint resolution is not certified by the clerk of the House in which it originated, as is likewise required by the joint rules. Under these circumstances, and without reference to its provisions, I withheld my approval from the joint resolution. M. VAN BUREN. To be placed on file in the State Department. M. V. B. A. RESOLUTION for the distsibution in part of the Madison Papers. Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United Siates of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Senate and Clerk of the House of Representatives be, and they are hereby, directed to distribute by mail, or otherwise, to each member of the Senate and House of Representatives and Dele- gates of the Twenty-fifth Congress one copy of the compilation now in progress of execution under the act entitled ‘‘An act authorizing the printing of the Madison Papers,’’ when the same shall have been completed; and that of the said compila- tion there be deposited in the Library of Congress ten copies, in the Library of the House of Representatives twenty copies, and in the office of the Secretary of the Sen- ate ten copies, and one copy in each of the committee rooms of the Senate; and that the residue of said copies shall remain under the care of the said officers subject to the future disposition of Congress. ’ JAMES K. POLK, Speaker of the House of Representatives. W. R. KING, President of the Senate pro tempore. I certify that this resolution did originate in the Senate. Secretary. THIRD ANNUAL MESSAGE. WasHINGTON, December 2, 1839. Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives: I regret that I can not on this occasion congratulate you that the past year has been one of unalloyed prosperity. The ravages of fire and dis. ease have painfully afflicted otherwise flourishing portions of our country, and serious embarrassments yet derange the trade of many of our cities. But notwithstanding these adverse circumstances, that general prosper- ity which has been heretofore so bountifully bestowed upon us by the
3747 Messages and Papers of the Presidents Author of All Good still continues to call for our warmest gratitude. Especially have we reason to rejoice in the exuberant harvests which have lavishly recompensed well-directed industry and given to it that sure reward which is vainly sought in visionary speculations. I can not, indeed, view without peculiar satisfaction the-evidences afforded by the past season of the benefits that spring from the steady devotion of the husbandman to his honorable pursuit. No means of individual comfort is more certain and no source of national prosperity is so sure. Nothing can compensate a people for a dependence upon others for the bread they eat, and that cheerful abundance on which the happiness of everyone so much depends is to be looked for nowhere with such sure reliance as in the industry of the agriculturist and the bounties of the earth. With foreign countries our relations exhibit the same favorable aspect which was presented in my last annual message, and afford continued proof of the wisdom of the pacific, just, and forbearing policy adopted by the first Administration of the Federal Government and pursued by its successors. ‘The extraordinary powers vested in me by an act of Con- gress for the defense of the country in an emergency, considered so far probable as to require that the Executive should possess ample means to meet it, have not been exerted. They have therefore been attended with no other result than to increase, by the confidence thus reposed in me, my obligations to maintain with religious exactness the cardinal principles that govern our intercourse with other nations. Happily, in our pending questions with Great Britain, out of which this unusual grant of author- ity arose, nothing has occurred to require its exertion, and as it is about to return to the Legislature I trust that no future necessity may call for its exercise by them or its delegation to another Department of the Government. For the settlement of our northeastern boundary the proposition prom- ised by Great Britain for a commission of exploration and survey has been received, and a counter project, including also a provision for the certain and final adjustment of the limits in dispute, is now before the British Government for its consideration. A just regard to the delicate state of this question and a proper respect for the natural impatience of the State of Maine, not less than a conviction that the negotiation has been already protracted longer than is prudent on the part of either Government, have led me to believe that the present favorable moment should on no account be suffered to pass without putting the question forever at rest. I feel confident that the Government of Her Britannic Majesty will take the same view of this subject, as I am persuaded it is governed by desires equally strong and sincere for the amicable termination of the controversy. To the intrinsic difficulties of questions of boundary lines, especially those described in regions unoccupied and. but partially known, is to be added in our country the embarrassment necessarily arising out of our Constitution by which the General Government is made the organ of
Martin Van Buren 1748 negotiating and deciding upon the particular interests of the States on ° whose frontiers these lines are to be traced. To avoid another contro- versy in which a State government might rightfully claim to have her wishes consulted previously to the conclusion of conventional arrange- ments concerning her rights of jurisdiction or territory, I have thought _it necessary to call the attention of the Government of Great Britain to another portion of our conterminous dominion of which the division - still remains to be adjusted I refer to the line from the entrance of Lake Superior to the most northwestern point of the Lake of the Woods, stipulations for the settlement of which are to be found in the seventh article of the treaty of Ghent. The commissioners appointed under that article by the two Governments having differed in their o inions, made separate reports, according to its stipulations, upon the}; ints of disagreement, and these differences are now to be submitted to 1e arbi- tration of some friendly sovereign or state. The disputed points should be settled and the line designated before the Territorial government of which it is one of the boundaries takes its place in the Union as a State, and I rely upon the cordial cooperation of the British Government to. effect that object. There is every reason to believe that disturbances like those which lately agitated the neighboring British Provinces will not again prove the sources of border contentions or interpose obstacles to the continu- ance of that good understanding which it is the mutual interest of Great Britain and the United States to preserve and maintain. Within the Provinces themselves tranquillity is restored, and on our frontier that misguided sympathy in favor of what was presumed to be a general effort in behalf of popular rights, and which in some instances misled a few of our more inexperienced citizens, has subsided into a rational conviction strongly opposed to all intermeddling with the inter- nal affairs of our neighbors. The people of the United States feel, as it is hoped they always will, a warm solicitude for the success of all who are sincerely endeavoring to improve the political condition of mankind. This generous feeling they cherish toward the most distant nations, and it was natural, therefore, that it should be awakened with more than common warmth in behalf of their immediate neighbors; but it does not belong to their character as a community to seek the gratification of those feelings in acts which violate their duty as citizens, endanger the peace of their country, and tend to bring upon it the stain of a violated faith toward foreign nations. If, zealous to confer benefits on others, they appear for a moment to lose sight of the permanent obligations imposed upon them as citizens, they are seldom long misled. From all the information I receive, confirmed to some extent by personal obser- vation, I am satisfied that no one can now hope to engage in such enterprises without encountering public indignation, in addition to the severest penalties of the law.
1749 Messages and Papers of the Presidents 4 Recent information also leads me to hope that the emigrants from Her Majesty’s Provinces who have sought refuge within our boundaries are disposed to become peaceable residents and to abstain from all attempts to endanger the peace of that country which has afforded them an asylum. On a review of the occurrences on both sides of the line it is satisfactory to reflect that in almost every complaint against our country the offense ‘may be traced to emigrants from the Provinces who have sought refuge here. In the few instances in which they were aided by citizens of the United States the acts of these misguided men were not only in direct contravention of the laws and well-known wishes of their own Govern- ment, but met with the decided disapprobation of the people of the United States. I regret to state the appearance of a different spirit among Her Maj- esty’s Subjects in the Canadas. The sentiments of hostility to our people and institutions which have been so frequently expressed there, and the disregard of our rights which has been manifested on some occasions, have, I am sorry to say, been applauded and encouraged by the people, and even by some of the subordinate local authorities, of the Provinces. The chief officers in Canada, fortunately, have not entertained the same feeling, and have probably prevented excesses that must have been fatal to the peace of the two countries, I look forward anxiously to a period when all the transactions which have grown out of this condition of our affairs, and which have been made the subjects of complaint and remonstrance by the two Govern- ments, respectively, shall be fully examined, and the proper satisfaction given where it is due from either side. Nothing has occurred to disturb the harmony of our intercourse with Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Naples, Portugal, Prussia, Russia, or Sweden. ‘The internal state of Spain has sensibly improved, and a well-grounded ‘hope exists that the return of peace will restore to the people of that country their former prosperity and enable the Govern- ment to fulfill all its obligations at home and abroad. The Government of Portugal, I have the satisfaction to state, has paid in full the eleventh and last installment due to our citizens for the claims embraced in the settlement made with it on the 3d of March, 1837. _ I lay before you treaties of commerce negotiated with the Kings of Sardinia and of the Netherlands, the ratifications of which have been exchanged since the adjournment of Congress. The liberal principles of these treaties will recommend them to your approbation. That with Sardinia is the first treaty of commerce formed by that Kingdom, and it will, I trust, answer the expectations of the present Sovereign by aiding the development of the resources of his country and stimulating the enterprise of his people. That with the Netherlands happily tenmi- nates a long-existing subject of dispute and removes from our future commercial intercourse all apprehension of embarrassment. The King
Martin Van Buren 1750 of the Netherlands has also, in further illustration of his character for- justice and of his desire to remove every cause of dissatisfaction, made compensation for an American vessel captured in 1800 by a French pri- vateer, and carried into Curagoa, where the proceeds were appropriated to the use of the colony, then, and for a short time after, under the dominion of Holland. The death of the late Sultan has produced no alteration in our rela- tions with Turkey. Our newly appointed minister resident has reached Constantinople, and I have received assurances from the present ruler that the obligations of our treaty and those of friendship will be fulfilled by himself in the same spirit that actuated his illustrious father. I regret to be obliged to inform you that no convention for the settle- ment of the claims of our citizens upon Mexico has yet been ratified by the Government of that country. The first convention formed for that purpose was not presented by the President of Mexico for the approba- tion of its Congress, from a belief that the King of Prussia, the arbitra- tor in case of disagreement in the joint commission to be appointed by the United States and Mexico, would not consent to take upon himself that friendly office. Although not entirely satisfied with the course pur- sued by Mexico, I felt no hesitation in receiving in the most conciliatory spirit the explanation offered, and also cheerfully consented to a new convention, in order to arrange the payments proposed to be made to our citizens in a manner which, while equally just to them, was deemed less onerous and inconvenient to the Mexican Government. Relying con- fidently upon the intentions of that Government, Mr. Ellis was directed to repair to Mexico, and diplomatic intercourse has been resumed between the two countries. The new convention has, he informs us, been recently submitted by the President of that Republic to its Congress under cir- cumstances which promise a speedy ratification, a result which I can not allow myself to doubt. Instructions have been given to the commissioner of the United States under our convention with Texas for the demarcation of the line which separates us from that Republic. The commissioners of both Govern- ments met in New Orleans in August last. The joint commission was organized, and adjourned to convene at the same place on the 12th of October. It is presumed to be now in the performance of its duties. ‘The new Government of Texas has shown its desire to cultivate friendly relations with us by a prompt reparation for injuries complained of in the cases of two vessels of the United States. With Central America a convention has been concluded for the renewal of its former treaty with the United States. This was not ratified be- fore the departure of our late chargé d’affaires from that country, and the copy of it brought by him was not received before the adjournment - of the Senate at the last session. In the meanwhile, the period limited for the exchange of ratifications having expired, I deemed it expedient,
751 Alessages and Papers of the Presidents in consequence of the death of the chargé d'affaires, to send a special agent to Central America to close the affairs of our mission there and to arrange with the Government an extension of the time for the exchange of ratifications. The commission created by the States which formerly composed the Republic of Colombia for adjusting the claims against that Government has by a very unexpected construction of the treaty under which it acts decided that no provision was made for those claims of citizens of the United States which arose from captures by Colombian privateers and were adjudged against the claimants in the judicial tribunals. This decision will compel the United States to apply to the several Gov- ernments formerly united for redress. With all these—New Granada, Venezuela, and Ecuador—a perfectly good understanding exists. Our treaty with Venezuela is faithfully carried into execution, and that country, in the enjoyment of tranquillity, is gradually advancing in prosperity under the guidance of its present distinguished President, General Paez. With Ecuador a liberal commercial convention has lately been concluded, which will be transmitted to the Senate at an early day. With the great American Empire of Brazil our relations continue unchanged, as does our friendly intercourse with the other Governments of South America—the Argentine Republic and the Republics of Uru- guay, Chili, Peru, and Bolivia. The dissolution of the Peru-Bolivian Confederation may occasion some temporary inconvenience to our citi- zens in that quarter, but the obligations on the new Governments which have arisen out of that Confederation to observe its treaty stipulations will no doubt be soon understood, and it is presumed that no indisposi- tion will exist to fulfill those which it contracted with the United States. The financial operations of the Government during the present year have, I am happy to say, been very successful. The difficulties under which the Treasury Department has labored, from known defects in the existing laws relative to the safe-keeping of the public moneys, aggra- vated by the suspension of specie payments by several of the banks hold- ing public deposits or indebted to public officers for notes received in payment of public dues, have been surmounted to a very gratifying extent. The large current expenditures have been punctually met, and the faith of the Government in all its pecuniary concerns has been scru- pulously maintained. The nineteen millions of Treasury notes authorized by the act of Con- gress of 1837, and the modifications thereof with a view to the indul- gence of merchants on their duty bonds and of the deposit banks in the payment of public moneys held by them, have been so punctually redeemed as to leave less than the original ten millions outstanding at any ote time, and the whole amount unredeemed now falls short of three millions. Of these the chief portion is not due till next year, and the whole would have been already extinguished could the Treasury have
Martin Van Buren 1752 realized the payments due to it from the banks. If those due from them during the next year shall be punctually made, and if Congress shall keep the appropriations within the estimates, there is every reason to believe that all the outstanding Treasury notes can be redeemed and the ordinary expenses defrayed without imposing on the people any addi- tional burden, either of loans or increased taxes. To avoid this and to keep the expenditures within reasonable bounds is a duty second only in importance to the preservation of our national character and the protection of our citizens in their civil and political rights. The creation in time of peace of a debt likely to become per- manent is an evil for which there is no equivalent. The rapidity with which many of the States are apparently approaching to this condition admonishes us of our own duties in a nianner too impressive to be disre- garded. One, not the least important, is to keep the Federal Govern- tment always in a condition to discharge with ease and vigor its highest functions should their exercise be required by any sudden conjuncture of public affairs—a condition to which we are always exposed and which may occur when it is least expected. To this end it is indispensable that its finances should be untrammeled and its resources as far as prac- ticable unencumbered. No circumstance could present greater obstacles to the accomplishment of these vitally important objects than the crea- tion of an onerous national debt. Our own experience and also that of other nations have demonstrated the unavoidable and fearful rapidity with which a public debt is increased when the Government has once surrendered itself to the ruinots practice of supplying its supposed neces- sities by new loans. The struggle, therefore, on our part to be success- ful must be made at the threshold. To make our efforts effective, severe economy is necessary. This is the surest provision for the national wei fare, and it is at the same time the best preservative of the principles on which our institutions rest. Simplicity and economy in the affairs of state have never failed to chasten and invigorate republican principles, while these have been as surely subverted by national prodigality, under whatever specious pretexts it may have been introduced or fostered. These considerations can not be lost upon a people who have never been inattentive to the effect of their policy upon the institutions they have created for themselves, but at the present moment their force is augmented by the necessity which a decreasing revenue must impose. The check lately given to importations of articles subject to duties, the derangements in the operations of internal trade, and especially the reduc- tion gradually taking place in our tariff of duties, all tend materially to lessen our receipts; indeed, it is probable that the diminution resulting from the last cause alone will not fall short of $5,000,000 in the year 1842, as the final reduction of all duties to 20 per cent then takes effect. The whole revenue then accruing from the customs and from the sales of public lands, if not more, will undoubtedly be wanted to defray the
1753 Messages and Papers of the Presidents necessary expenses of the Government under the most prudent adminis- tration of its affairs. These are circumstances that impose the necessity of rigid economy and require its prompt and constant exercise. With the Legislature rest the power and duty of so adjusting the public expendi- ture as to promote this end. By the provisions of the Constitution it is only in consequence of appropriations made by jaw that money can be drawn from the Treasury. No instance has occurred since the establish- ment of the Government in which the Executive, though a component part of the legislative power, has interposed an objection to an appropria- tion bill on the sole ground of itsextravagance. His duty in this respect has been considered fulfilled by requesting such appropriations only as the public service may be reasonably expected to require. In the present earnest direction of the public mind toward this subject both the Execu- tive and the Legislature have evidence of the strict responsibility to which they will be held; and while I am conscious of my own anxious efforts to perform with fidelity this portion of my public functions, it is a satis- faction to me to be able to count on a cordial cooperation from you. At the time I entered upon my present duties our ordinary disburse- ments, without including those on account of the public debt, the Post- Office, and the trust funds in charge of the Government, had been largely increased by appropriations for the removal of the Indians, for repelling Indian hostilities, and for other less urgent expenses which grew out of an overflowing Treasury. Independent of the redemption of the public debt and trusts, the gross expenditures of seventeen and eighteen millions in 1834 and 1835 had by these causes swelled to twenty-nine millions in 1836, and the appropriations for 1837, made previously to the 4th of March, caused the expenditure to rise to the very large amount of thirty-three millions. We were enabled during the year 1838, notwithstanding the continuance of our Indian embar- rassments, somewhat to reduce this amount, and that for the present year (1839) will not in all probability exceed twenty-six millions, or six millions less than it was last year. With a determination, so far as depends on me, to continue this reduction, I have directed the estimates for 1840 to be subjected to the severest scrutiny and to be limited to the absolute requirements of the public service. They will be found less than the expenditures of 1839 by over $5,000,000. The precautionary measures which will be recommended by the Sec- retary of the Treasury to protect faithfully the public credit under the fluctuations and contingencies to which our receipts and expenditures are exposed, and especially in a commercial crisis like the present, are commended to your early attention. On a former occasion your attention was invited to various considera- tions in support of a preemption law in behalf of the settlers on the pub- lic lands, and also of a law graduating the prices for such lands as had long been in the market unsold in consequence of their inferior quality.
Martin Van Buren 1754 The execution of the act which was passed on the first subject has been attended with the happiest consequences in quieting titles and securing improvements to the industrious, and it has also to a very gratifying extent been exempt from the frauds which were practiced under previous preemption laws. It has at the same time, as was anticipated, con- tributed liberally during the present year to the receipts of the Treasury. The passage of a graduation law, with the guards before recom- mended, would also, I am persuaded, add considerably to the revenue for several years, and prove in other respects just and beneficial. Your early consideration of the subject is therefore once more ear- nestly requested. The present condition of the defenses of our principal seaports and navy-yards, as represented by the accompanying report of the Secretary of War, calls for the early and serious attention of Congress; and, as connecting itself intimately with this subject, I can not recommend too strongly to your consideration the plan submitted by that officer for the organization of the militia of the United States. In conformity with the expressed wishes of Congress, an attempt was made in the spring to terminate the Florida war by negotiation. It is to be regretted that these humane intentions should have been frustrated and that the effort to bring these unhappy difficulties to a satisfactory conclusion should have failed; but after entering into solemn engage- ments with the commanding general, the Indians, without any provoca- tion, recommenced their acts of treachery and murder. The renewal of | hostilities in that Territory renders it necessary that I should recommend to your favorable consideration the plan which will be submitted to you by the Secretary of War, in order to enable that Department to conduct them to a successful issue. Having had an opportunity of personally inspecting a portion of the troops during the last summer, it gives me pleasure to bear testimony to the success of the effort to improve their discipline by keeping them together in as large bodies as the nature of our service will permit. I recommend, therefore, that commodious and permanent barracks be con- structed at the several posts designated by the Secretary of War. Not- w:hstanding the high state of their discipline and excellent police, the eviis resulting to the service from the deficiency of company officers were very apparent, and I recommend that the staff officers be permanently separated from the line. The Navy has been usefully and honorably employed in protecting the rights and property of our citizens wherever the condition of affairs seemed to require its presence. With the exception of one instance, where an outrage, accompanied by murder, was committed on a vessel of the United States while engaged in a lawful commerce, nothing is known to have occurred to impede or molest the enterprise of our citi- zens on that element, where it is so signally displayed. On learning this
1755 Messages and Papers of the Presidents daring act of piracy, Commodore Reed proceeded immediately to the spot, and receiving no satisfaction, either in the surrender of the mur- derers or the restoration of the plundered property, inflicted severe and merited chastisement on the barbarians. It will be seen by the report of the Secretary of the Navy respecting the disposition of our ships of war that it has been deemed necessary to station a competent force on the coast of Africa to prevent a fraudulent use of our flag by foreigners. Recent experience has shown that the provisions in our existing laws which relate to the sale and transfer of American vessels while abroad are extremely defective. Advantage has been taken of these defects to give to vessels wholly belonging to foreigners and navigating the ocean an apparent American ownership. This character has been so well sim- ulated as to afford them comparative security in prosecuting the slave trade—a traffic emphatically denounced in our statutes, regarded with abhorrence by our citizens, and of which the effectual suppression is nowhere more sincerely desired than in the United States. ‘These cir- cumstances make it proper to recommend to your early attention a care- ful revision of these laws, so that without impeding the freedom and facilities of our navigation or impairing an important branch of our indus- try connected with it the integrity and honor of our flag may be carefully preserved. Information derived from our consul at Havana showing the necessity of this was communicated to a committee of the Senate near the close of the last session, but too late, as it appeared, to be acted upon. It will be brought to your notice by the proper Department, with additional communications from other sources. The latest accounts from the exploring expedition represent it as pro- ceeding successfully in its objects and promising results no less useful to trade and navigation than to science. The extent of post-roads covered by mail service on the 1st of July last was about 133,999 miles and the rate of annual transportation upon them 34,496,878 miles. The number of post-offices on that day was 12,780 and on the 3oth ultimo 13,028. The revenue of ‘the Post-Office Department for the year ending with the 30th of June last was $4,476,638, exhibiting an increase over the preceding year of $241,560. The engagements and liabilities of the Department for the same period are $4,624,117. ‘The excess of liabilities over the revenue for the last two years has been met out of the surplus which had previously accumulated. The cash on hand on the 30th ultimo was about $206,701.95, and the cur- rent income of the Department varies very little from the rate of current expenditures. Most of the service suspended last year has been restored, and most of the new routes established by the act of 7th July, 1838, have been set in operation, at an annual cost of $136,963. Notwith- standing the pecuniary difficulties of the country, the ‘revenue of the
Martin Van Buren 1756 Department appears to be increasing, and unless it shall be seriously checked by the recent suspension of payment by so many of the banks it will be able not only to maintain the present mail service, but in a short time to extend it. It is gratifying to witness the { omptitude and fidelity with which the agents of this Department in general perform their public duties. Some difficulties have arisen in relation to contracts for the transporta- tion of the mails by railroad and steamboat companies. It appears that the maximum of compensation provided by Congress for the transpor- tation of the mails upon railroads is not sufficient to induce some of the companies to convey them at such hours as are required for the accom- modation of the public. It is one of the most important duties of the General Government to provide and maintain for the use of the people of the States the best practicable mail establishment. To arrive at that end it is indispensable that the Post-Office Department shall be enabled to control the hours at which the mails shall be carried over railroads, as it now does over all other roads. Should serious inconveniences arise from the inadequacy of the compensation now provided by law, or from unreasonable demands by any of the railroad companies, the subject is of such general importance as to require the prompt attention of Congress. In relation to steamboat lines, the most efficient remedy is obvious and has been suggested by the Postmaster-General. The War and Navy Departments already employ steamboats in their service; and although it is by no means desirable that the Government should undertake the transportation of passengers or freight as a business, there can be no reasonable objection to running boats, temporarily, whenever it may be necessary to put down attempts at extortion, to be discontinued as soon as reasonable contracts can be obtained. The suggestions of the Postmaster-General relative to the inadequacy of the legal allowance to witnesses in cases of prosecutions for mail dep-. redations merit your serious consideration. The safety of the mails requires that such prosecutions shall be efficient, and justice to the citi- zen whose time is required to be given to the public demands not only that his expenses shall be paid, but that he shall receive a reasonable compensation. The reports from the War, Navy, and Post-Office Departments will accompany this communication, and one from the Treasury Department will be presented to Congress in a few days. For various details in respect to the matters in charge of these Depart- ments I would refer you to those important documents, satisfied that you will find in them many valuable suggestions which will be found well deserving the attention of the Legislature. From a report made in December of last year by the Secretary of State to the Senate, showing the trial docket of each of the circuit courts and the number of miles each judge has to travel in the performance of
1757 Messages and Papers of the Presidents his duties, a great inequality appears in the amount of labor assigned to each judge. The number of terms to be held in each of the courts com- posing the ninth circuit, the distances between the places at which they sit and from thence to the seat of Government, are represented to be such as to render it impossible for the judge of that circuit to perform in a manner corresponding with the public exigencies his term and cir- cuit duties. A revision, therefore, of the present arrangement of the circuit seems to be called for and is recommended to your notice. I think it proper to call your attention to the power assumed by Terri- torial legislatures to authorize the issue of bonds by corporate companies on the guaranty of the Territory. Congress passed a law in 1836 pro- viding that no act of a Territorial legislature incorporating banks should have the force of law until approved by Congress, but acts of a very exceptionable character previously passed by the legislature of Florida were suffered to remain in force, by virtue of which bonds may be issued to a very large amount by those institutions upon the faith of the Terri- tory. A resolution, intending to be a joint one, passed the Senate at the same session, expressing the sense of Congress that the laws in question ought not to be permitted to remain in force unless amended in many material respects; but it failed in the House of Representatives for want of time, and the desired amendments have not been made. The interests involved are of great importance, and the subject deserves your early and careful attention. The continued agitation of the question relative to the best mode of keeping and disbursing the public money stilf injuriously affects the busi- ness of the country. ‘The suspension of specie payments in 1837 rendered the use of deposit banks as prescribed by the act of 1836 a source rather of embarrassment than aid, and of necessity placed the custody of most of the public money afterwards collected in charge of the public officers, The new securities for its safety which this required were a principal cause of my convening an extra session of Congress, but in consequence of a disagreement between the two Houses neither then nor at any sub- sequent period has there been any legislation on the subject. The effort made at the last session to obtain the authority of Congress to punish the use of public money for private purposes as a crime—a measure attended under other governments with signal advantage—was also unsuccessful, from diversities of opinion in that body, notwithstanding the anxiety doubtless felt by it to afford every practicable security. The result of this is still to leave the custody of the public money without those safe- guards which have been for several years earnestly desired by the Execu- tive, and as the remedy is only to be found in the action of the Legislature it imposes on me the duty of again submitting to you the propriety of passing a law providing for the safe-keeping of the public moneys, and especially to ask that its use for private purposes by any officers intrusted with it may be declared to be a felony, punishable with penalties propor- tioned to the magnitude of the offense.
Martin Van Buren 1758 These circumstances, added to known defects in the existing laws and unusual derangement in the general operations of trade, have during the last three years much increased the difficulties attendant on the collection, keeping, and disbursement of the revenue, and called forth corresponding exertions from those having them in charge. Happily these have been successful beyond expectation. Vast sums have been collected and dis- bursed by the several Departments with unexpected cheapness and ease, transfers have been readily made to every part of the Union, however distant, and defalcations have been far less than might have been antici- pated from the absence of adequate legal restraints. Since the officers of the Treasury and Post-Office Departments were charged with the cus- tody of most of the public moneys received by them there have been collected $66,000,000, and, excluding the case of the late collector at New York, the aggregate amount of losses sustained in the collection can not, it is believed, exceed $60,000. The defalcation of the late collector at that city, of the extent and circumstances of which Congress have been fully informed, ran through all the modes of keeping the public money that have been hitherto in use, and was distinguished by an aggravated disregard of duty that broke througl: the restraints of every system, and can not, therefore, be usefully referred to as a test of the comparative safety of either. Additional information will also be furnished by the report of the Secretary of the Treasury, in reply to a call made upon that officer by the House of Representatives at the last session requiring detailed information on the subject of defaults by public officers or agents under each Administration from 1789 to 1837. This document will be submitted to you in a few days. The general results (independent of the Post-Office, which is kept separately and will be stated by itself), so far as they bear upon this subject, are that the losses which have been and are likely to be sustained by any class of agents have been the greatest by banks, including, as required in the resolution, their depre- ciated paper received for public dues; that the next largest have been by disbursing officers, and the least by collectors and receivers. If the losses on duty bonds are included, they alone will be threefold those by both collectors and receivers. Our whole experience, therefore, furnishes the strongest evidence that the desired legislation of Congress is alone wanting to insure in those operations the highest degree of security and facility. Such also appears to have been the experience of other nations. From the results of inquiries made by the Secretary of the Treasury in regard to the practice among them I am enabled to state that in twenty-two out of twenty-seven foreign governments from which undoubted infor- mation has been obtained the public moneys are kept in charge of public officers. This concurrence of opinion in favor of that system is perhaps as great as exists on any question of internal administration. In the modes of business and official restraints on disbursing officers no legal change was produced by the suspension of specie payments.
1759 Messages and Papers of the Presidents The report last referred to will be found to contain also much useful information in relation to this subject. I have heretofore assigned to Congress my reasons for believing that the establishment of an independent National Treasury, as contemplated by the Constitution, is necessary to the safe action of the Federal Gov- ernment. The suspension of specie payments in 1837 by the banks hav- ing the custody of the public money showed in so alarming a degree our dependence on those institutions for the performance of duties required by law that I then recommended the entire dissolution of that connection. This recommendation has been subjected, as I desired it should be, to severe scrutiny and animated discussion, and I allow myself to believe that notwithstanding the natural diversities of opinion which may be anticipated on all subjects involving such important considerations, it has secured in its favor as general a concurrence of public sentiment as could be expected on one of such magnitude. ‘Recent events have also continued to develop new objections to such a a connection. Seldom is any bank, under the existing system and prac- tice, able to meet on demand all its liabilities for deposits and notes in circulation. It maintains specie payments and transacts a profitable business only by the corifidence of the public in its solvency, and when- ever this is destroyed the demands of its depositors and note holders, pressed more rapidly than it can make collections from its debtors, force it to stop payment. ‘This loss of confidence, with its consequences, occurred in 1837, and afforded the apology of the banks for their suspen- sion. The public then acquiesced in the validity of the excuse, and while the State legislatures did not exact from them their forfeited charters, Congress, in accordance with the recommendation of the Executive, allowed them time to pay over the public money they held, although compelled to issue Treasury notes to supply the deficiency thus created. It now appears that there are other motives than a want of public confidence under which the banks seek to justify themselves in a refusal to meet their obligations. Scarcely were the country and Government relieved in a degree from the difficulties occasioned by the general sus- pension of 1837 when a partial one, occurring within thirty months of the former, produced new and serious embarrassments, though it had no palliation in such circumstances as were alleged in justification of that which had previously taken place. There was nothing in the condition of the country to endanger a well-managed banking institution; com- merce was deranged by no foreign war; every branch of manufacturing industry was crowned with rich rewards, and the more than usual abun- dance of our harvests, after supplying our domestic wants, had left our granaries and storehouses filled with a surplus for exportation. It is in the midst of this that an irredeemable and depreciated paper currency is entailed upon the people by a large portion of the banks. ‘They are not driven to it by the exhibition of a loss of public confidence or of a
Martin Van Buren 1760 sudden pressure from their depositors or note holders, but they excuse themselves by alleging that the current of business and exchange with foreign countries, which draws the precious metals from their vaults, would require in order to meet it a larger curtailment of their loans to a comparatively small portion of the community than it will be convenient for them to bear or perhaps safe for the banks to exact. The plea has ceased to be one of necessity. Convenience and policy are now deemed sufficient to warrant these institutions in disregarding their solemn obli- gations. Such conduct is not merely an injury to individual creditors, but it is a wrong to the whole community, from whose liberality they hold most valuable privileges, whose rights they violate, whose business they derange, and the value of whose property they render unstable and inse- cure. It must be evident that this new ground for bank suspensions, in reference to which their action is not only disconnected with, but wholly independent of, that of the public, gives a character to their suspen- sions more alarming than any which they exhibited before, and greatly increases the impropriety of relying on the banks in the transactions of the Government. A large and highly respectable portion of our banking institutions are, it affords me unfeigned pleasure to state, exempted from all blame on account of this second delinquency. ‘They have, to their great credit, not only continued to meet their engagements, but have even repudiated the grounds of suspension now resorted to. It is only by such a course that the confidence and good will of the community can be preserved, and in the sequel the best interests of the institutions themselves promoted New dangers to the banks are also daily disclosed from the extension of that system of extravagant credit of which they are the pillars. For- merly our foreign commerce was principally founded on an exchange of commodities, including the precious metals, and leaving in its transac- tions but little foreign debt. Such is not now the case. Aided by the facilities afforded by the banks, mere credit has become too commonly the basis of trade. Many of the banks themselves, not content with largely stimulating this system among others, have usurped the business, while they impair the stability, of the mercantile community; they have become borrowers instead of lenders; they establish their agencies abroad; they deal largely in stocks and merchandise; they encourage the issue of State securities until the foreign market is glutted with them; and, unsatisfied with the legitimate use of their own capital and the exercise of their lawful privileges, they raise by large loans additional means for every variety of speculation. The disasters attendant on this deviation from the former course of business in this country are now shared alike ‘by banks and individuals to an extent of which there is perhaps no pre- vious example in the annals of our country. So long as a willingness of the foreign lender and a sufficient export of our productions to meet any necessary partial payments leave the flowof credit undisturbed all appears