New Orleans daily crescent., 1856-08-29
The Presidents Nfessa-e,

The Presidents Message.
As soon as Congress had organized in extra session
on the 2lst inst, the President sent in the following
message:
Fe1o,c- -cfe,s Senate and House Of Representatives.
In consequence Of the failure of Congress at its re-
cent session to make provision for the support of the
army, it became imperatvely incumbent on me to
exercise the power which the Constitution coners on
the Executive for extraordinary occasions and
promptly to convene the two Houses in order to give
them an opportunity Of reconsidering subject of
such vital interest to the peace and welfare of the
Union. With the exception Of q partial authority
vested by law in the Secretary Of War to contract for
a supply of clothing and subsistence, the army is
wholly dependent on the appropriations annually made
by Congress The omission of Congress to act in this
respect before the termination of the fiscal year had
already caused emharrassments to the service, which
were overcome only in expectation of the appropra
tions before the close of the present month"; If the
requisite funds are 1lotspeedy provided the Execu-
tive will no longer be able to furnish for transporta
ton the equipment and munitions which are essential
to the effectiveness of military force in the field
With provision for the pay Of the troops the con
tracts of enlistment woud be broken, and the army
| must in effect be disbanded-the consequences Of
which would be so disastrous as to demand all posi-
Bile efforts to avert the calamity not merely that
the officers and enlisted men Of the army are to be
/ thus deprived of the pay and emoluments to which
thew thew are entitled by standing laws, but that the CON
Il stlctio of arms at the public arnores the repair
and construction of ordnance at the arsenals and the
manufacture Of military clothing and camp equipage
must be discontinued and the persons connected with
Il this branch of the public service thus be deprived,
suddenly, Of the employment essential to their sub
sistence.
Nor is it merely the waste consequent on the forced
abandonment of the sea-board fortica and Of
the interior military posts and other establishments,
and the enormous expense of recruiting and reOrgan-
zing the army and again distributing it the vast
regions which it now occupies. 1heseare evils which
nav it is true be repaired hereafter by taxes imposed
| tho arni lvn6 pyh n
expenditures, however lavish, could remedy, in com
parson with which local and personal injuries or in
terests sink into insgniicance. great part Of the
army is situated the remote frontier or in the des
, erts and mountains Of the interior. To discharge
large bodies of men in such places without the
Of regaining their homes, and where few, If any
could obtain subsistence by honest industry, would be
to subject them to suffering and temptation with dis
regard of Justice and right most derogatory to the
Government. In the Territories of Washington and
Oregon, numerous bands of Indians are in arms and
are Waging of determination against the white
Inhabitants, and although troops actively car
rying on the campaign we have no intelligence as ye
. of successful result. On the Western Plains, not
withstanding the imposing display of military force
recently made there and the chastisement inflicted
on the rehellious tribes, Others far from being dis
mayed, have manifested hostile intentions, and beer
guilty of outrages which, if not designed to promote
conflict serve to show that the apprehension of
= is insufficient wholly to restrain their vicious propen
sities strong force in the State of Texas has pro
duced the temporary suspension of hostlities there
but in New Mexico, ncessant activity the part o
the troops is required to keep in check the maradnl
tribes which infest that Territory. The hostile In
y, dians have not been removed from the State 0
Florida and the withdrawal of the troops therefron
. leaving that object unaccomplshed, would be mos
injurious to the inhabitants and breach of the pos
o tive engagement of the general Government.
n To refuse supplies to the army therefore, is to com
pei the complete cessation of all its operations, ant
practical disbandment, and thus to invite hordes Q
II predatory savages from the Western plains an
t, Rocky mountains to spread devastation along
If frontier of more than four thousand miles in extent
% and to deliver up the sparse population of a vas
ractof country to rapine and murder. Such, in sui
y stance would be the direct and immediate effects
the refusal of Congress- for the first time in the his
tory of the Government to grant supplies-the inev
u table waste of millions Of public treasure-the nit
~ ton of extreme wrong upon all persons connecte
c with the military establishment by service, employ
:" ment or contracts-he recall of forces from tn
ii feld-the fearful sacrifice of life and incalculab
;; destruction Of property the remote frontiersth
striking Of national flag on the battements of tn
W fortresses which defend maratime cities again
foreign invason-the violation of the public hone
mr. and good aith and the scredit of the United State
in the ewes OF the civilized world s5=T
confidently trust that these considerations, an
n others appertaining to the domestic peace of I'll
ed country, which cannot fail to suggest themselves
e every patriotic mind, will, reflection be duly
b precated by both Houses of Congress, and induce Il
~ enactment of the requisite provisions of law for tt
a support of the army Of the United States.
ed FRANKLIN PIERCE.
w w Washington, August 81, 1856.