The mountain sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1844-1853, 1852-12-09
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.
Fello1c citizens Of the Senate


close of your last session has been marked by
10 extraordinary political event The quadren
NAL election of Chief Magistrate has passed OF
with less than the usual excitelr ellt However
individuals and parties may have been disap-
pointed in the result. it is never tieless subject
/ Of natioual congratuatiOn that the choice hat
been effected BY the independeIt suffrages of ;
free people, undsturbed by those influences
which III other countries have too often affected
the purity Of popular elections.
| Our grateful thanks are due to an A1-merci
| fu! Providence, not only for staying the pesti
lence which IL different FIRMS has desolated some
of our cities, but for crownin the labors of the
husbandman with an abundant harvest, and the
nation generally with the BILE Ssings of peace anC
prosperity.
Within a few weeks the p, ,blic mind has been
deeply affected by the death of Daniel Webster
filling at his decease the of ice of Secretary OF
State. His associates in tn Executive govern
ment have sincerely sympatl lized with his fami-
ly and the public generally on this mournful oc
casion. His commanding ts lents, his great po
litical and profe essional emf nence, his welltried
patriotism, and his long an d faithful services
in the most important publ trusts, have caus
ed his death to be lamented throughout the coun.
try, and have earned for him a lasting place IL
our history.
In the course of the last summer considerable
anxiety was caused for short time by official
intimation from the goveI of Great Bri-
tain that orders had been given for the protec-
ton of the fisheries upon the coasts of the Brit
ish provinces in North Am erica against the allie
ged encroachments of the fishing vessels of the
United States and France. The shortness OF
this notice and the season Of the year seemed to
make it matter of urge Mt importance. 1t was
at first appFehended that an increased naval
force had been ordered to the fishing grounds to
carry into effect the British Interpretation Of
those provisions in the convention of 1918. in
reference to the true intent of which the two
governments differ 1t was soon discovered that
such was not the design of Great Britain, and
satisfactory explanations of the real objects of
the measur. have been given both here and in
London.
The unadjusted difference, however, between
the TWO governments as to the Interpretation of
the first article of the convention OF 1918 is still
IN alter of Importance. American fishing YES
sells within nine or ten years have been exclud-
ed from waters to which they had free access
fol twenty-five years after the negotiation of the
trea ty. In 1915 this exclusion was relaxed so
fan as concerns the Bay of Fundy, but the just
and liberal intention of the Home government,
III compliance with what think the true con-
stu :tion of the convention, to open all the other
Ou ter bays TO our fishermen, abandoned, in
cons equence of the opposition of the colonies
No tvfithstanding this, the United States have,
fishermen in 1845, pursued the most liberal
cours toward the colonial fishing interests
By the revenue law of 1916, the duties colo
NAL ish entering our ports were very greatly
red uC ed, and by the warehousing act it is allow
ed to be entered in bond without payment of
duty. In this way colonial fish has acquired the
mono poly of the export trade in our market and
is ent ering to some extent into the home con-
sump ton These facts were among those which
ncrea .sed the sensibity of our fishing interest,
at the movement in question.
The sc circumstances and the incidents above
alluie to have led me to think the moment IA
vora bl e for a reconsideration of the entire sub
ect of the fisheries on the coasts of the British
proVin' ces, with a view to place them upon a
more, beral footing of reciprocal privilege
A will ngness to meet us in some arrangement
of this kind is understood to exist, on the part
of Great Britain, with a desire on her part to
include In one comprehensive settlement, as
well this subject as the commercial intercourse
betwe en- the United States and the British pro-
vincesI. l have thought that whatever arrange
ments m ny be made on these two subjects, ii is
exped ent that they should be embraced in sep
arate oD yentions. The illness and death of the
late Seer etary of State prevented the commence
lnent of ,the contemplated negotiation. Pains
have be en- taken TO collect the information re-
quired for the details of such arrangement
The subject is attended with considerable diff
Guilty. If it is found practicable to come to an
agreement mutually acceptable to the two par
ties, cOnren tions may be concluded in the course
of the present winter The control of Congress
over all the provisions of such arrangement,
affecting the revenue will of course be reserved.
The affairs of Cuba formed prominent top
ic in my last annual message. They remain IN |
an uneasy co ndition, and feeling of alarm and
irritation on the part of the Cuban authorities !
appears to xist. This feeling has interfered
with the regular commercial intercourse between
the United States and the island, and led to |
some acts of W hich we have right to complain.
But the Captain General of Cuba is clothed with
no power to tire at with foreign governments, nor
is he in any degree under the control of the
Spanish Minister at Washington. Any commu-
nication which b may hold with an agent of a
foreign power is informal and matter of courte- |
Sy. Anxious TO put end to the existing in |
Nv hich seemed 10 rest on a mis-
[ directed the newly-appointed
Minister to Mexico to visit Havana, his way
to Vera Cruz He respectfully received by I
the Captain General, who conferred with him
freely on the recent occurrences but no perma-
nent arrangement was effected.
In the mean time, the refusal of the Captain
General to allow passengers and the mail to be
landed in certain cases, for reason which does
not furnish in the opinion of this Government
even good presumptive ground for such pro-
hibition, has been made the subject of serious
at Madrid !; and have no reason
to doubt that due respect will be paid by the
government of Her Catholic Majesty to the repre-
sentations which our Minister has been instruc
ted to make on the subject
1t is but justice to the Captain General to add,
hat his cond uct toward the steamers employed
% carry the mails of the United States to Ha-
5ana has, with the exceptions above alluded to,
Id ~ l..