The Portsmouth inquirer. [volume] (Portsmouth, O. [Ohio]) 1849-1855, 1851-12-05

tue causes, q. turtner c0mmunlcatlon Will
be made on that subject.
In my last annual Communication to
Congress | recommended the establish
ment of an Agricultural Bureau, and
take this occasion again to invoke your
favorable consideration Of the subject.
Agriculture may justly be regarded as
the great interest Of our people. Four
fitths OF our active population are em-
ployed in the cultivation of the soil, and
the rapid expansion of our settlements
over new territory is daily adding to the
number of those engaged in that vocation.
Justice and sound policy, therefore, alike
REQUIRE that the Government should use
all the means authorized by the Consti-
tution to promote the interests and vel
fare Of that important class of our fellow
citizens. And yet it is singular fact
that, whilst the manufacturing and com
mercial interests have engaged the atten-
ton Of Congress during large portion
of every session, and our statutes abound
in provisions for their protection and en-
couragement, little has yet been done for
the advancement of agriculture. 1t is
time that this reproach to our legislation
should be remove; and sincerely hope
that the present Congress will not close
their labors without adopting efficient
means to supply the omissions Of those
who have preceded them. t4
An Agricultural Bureau, charged with
the duty of collecting and disseminating
correct information as to the best modes
Of cultivation, and Of the most efectual
means Of preserving and restoring the fer
tility of the soil, and Of procuring and
distributing the seeds of plants and other
vegetable productions, with Instructions
in regard to the soil, climate, and treatment
best adapted to their growth, could not
fail to be, in the language of Washington,
in his last annual message to Congress, a
every cheap instrument of immense ma
tional benefit.
Regarding the act of Congress ap-
proved 28th September, 1850, granting
bounty lands to persons who had been en-
gagged in the military service of the coun-
try, as great measure Of national JUS
tice and muni6cence, an anxious desire
has been felt by the officers entrusted with
its immediate execution, to give prompt
effect to its provisions. All the means
within their control were, therefore,
brought into requisition to expedite the
adjudication of claims, andI am grati6ed
to be able to state that near one hundred
thousand applications have been consid-
cred, and about seventy thousand war
rants issued within the shortspace of nine
months. If adequate provision be made
by law to carry into effect the recommen-
dations OF the Department, tits confident
ly expected that, before the close of the
next fiscal year, all who are entitled to the
benefits of the act will have received their
warrants.
The Secretary Of the Interior has sug-
gested in his report various amendments
Of the laws relating to pensions and boun-
ty lands, for the purpose Of more effectu-
ally guarding against abuses and frauds
on the Government, to all Of which in
vite your particular attention.
The large accessions to our Indian pop
ulation consequent upon the acquisition
of New Mexico and California, and the
extension of our settlements into Utah
and Oregon, have given increased in
terest and importance to our relations
with the aboriginal race.
No material change has taken place,
within the last year, in the condition and
prospects of the Indian tribes who reside
in the Northwestern Territory and west
of the Mississippi river. We are at peace
with all of them, and it will be a source
of pleasure to you to learn that they are
gradually advancing in civilization and the
pursuits of social life.
Along the Mexican frontier, and in
California, and Oregon, there have been
occasional manifestations of unfriendly
feeling, and some depredations commit
ted. / am satisfied, however, that they
resulted more from the destitute and star
wing condition of the Indians than from
any settled hostility toward the whites.
AS the settlements of our citizens progress
towards them, the game upon which they
mainly rely for subsistence is driven of
or destroyed, and the only alternative left
to them is starvation or plumber. 1t be-
comes us to consider, in'view of this con-
dition of things, whether justice and hu-
manity, as we'll as an enlightened econo-
my, do not require that, instead of seek
ing to punish them for offences which are
the. result of our own policy towards
them, we should not provide for their
immediate wants and encourage them to
engage in agriculture, and to rely on their
labor, instead Of the chase, for The means
of support. tff aa1
Various important treaties have been
negotiated with different tribes during the
year, by which their title to large and
valuable tracts Of country has been ex-
tinguished, all of which will, at the pro
per time, be submitted to the Senate fol
ratification. se
The Joint commission under the treaty
of Guadalupe Hidalgo has been actively
engaged in running and marking the
boundary line between the United States
and Mexico. 1t was stated, in the last
e A. Con.oto,,, sc tLo T..