The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1856-08-27
P-REsIpENT,s MESSAGE.

WASHINGTON. Aug. 2l.-The Prcsi
dents message was then received anG
read, it is as follows:
Fellow citizens of the Senate anc
House Of Representatives,, In conse
quence of the failure of Congress at it
present session to make provisions fol
the support of the Army, it became i'm
~peratively incumbept on me to exercise
the power which the Constitution con
fers on the Executive on this extraordi
nary occasion, AID promptly to convene
the TWO Houses in order to afford them
an opportunity of reconsidering a sub
ject of such vital interest to the peace
and welfare of the Uriou, with the ex-
ception of a partial authority, vested
by law in the secretary of war, to con.
tract for a supply of clothing aud sub.
s~istence, the Army is wholly dependent
on the approx ~riations annually made by
Congress. Tbe omission of Congress to
act in this respect before the Termination
of tho fscalyear. has already caused en-
barrassments, which were overcome only
Interpretation of appropriations before
the close of the present month. If the
requisite funds be not speedily provided
the executive will no longer be able to
furnish for transportation the equip
inents and munitions which are essential
to effectiveness of a military force in
the field. With no provision for the pay
of the trool S, the contracts of enlist
Klent would be broken, aud the army
must be in effect disbanded. The cor
sequences Of which would be so disas-
trous as to eommard all possible efforts
to avert the calamity.
It is not merely that the officers and
enlisted men of the army are to be thus
deprived Ct their pay, enolumerts 20
which they are entitled by standing laws,
but that the construction of arms, at the
prbiie arnofics. the repairs and con-
struction of ordinance at The arsenais,
and the manufacture of military cloth
ing and camp equipage must be discon-
tinued, ard the person s connected with
this branch Of the Public service, thus
b~e..deprired suddenly Of employment
essential to their Subsistence; nor is 1t
~saefelSfhe waste corss GueEt upon the
forced abandonment OF tie seaboard for
fi6catiors AID of the interior military
posts and other Establishments, and the
enormous cxPerse Ct recruiting aid re-
~srganfzi"e the army, a''d again d'stribu-
ting over The vast regions waicL | now
occupies. Fhase are evils which, it is
true, may hc rcraI.ed hereafter hy taxes
imposed upoa ihr country, but other
evils are ilssolycd w!r;3h no expenditure,
however iavishea, could rem .dy, in com
parison with viii, b local and personal
~injsrIes or interests silk iuto irsignii-
GAUGE. 4 great part of tie army is
situated oa tie remote frontier or III the
deserts AID IDnuntaiLs of the interior.
Fe d~isc4isrge large bodies of men in
eueh Itaces, without tic mans of re-
gaining their ipemes, and where few, If
any, coiiG vbtaiB subsistence by honest
iodussry, @cuid be TO subject them to
snfffering aud temptation, with disregard
of justice and right NEST dcrogatoFy to
the government. In the Territories of
w ashi" gtoi. aud Oregon EuRier"us bands
of indians al in arms, a4id are waglng
a war of determination agsits- the whit
inhabitants; and although our troops
are actively carrying on the campaign,
We have 10 Intelligence az yet OF ii sue
cessful result. u the Western plains,
notwithstanding The imposing display of
military force recently made there, AID
the chastissmcut Inflicted OF the rcbe,-
li6us ITibas. Others fer from EeiI 2 dis
mayed, have manifested hc stiie iuten-
t ons, and been guilty Of outrages which
IF not desiened TO provoke q conflict,
serve to show that the apprehension of
1t is sufficient wholly 20 rtstruin their
vicious proper s ties. A strong force i'll
the State Of Texas has produced the
Temporary suspension of hostilitics there;
but H. New Mtx;co incessant exertiuus
on the part CT she troops are required
to keep IN cheek Ctc I~raraudirg tribes
which irfest that Territory. The hos
tile indians have not been removed from
the State of Fiorida, and the with
drawal of the trool S therefrom, leaving
that object uuaccouIplished would be
most luxurious to the Inhabitants, and a
breach of the positive engagement of the
general government.
To refuse supplies to the army, here
fore, is to Sompei the complete cessation
of all its operations, and practical dis
bardmenf; and illus to invite hordes Of
predatory savages from the Western
plains aud Rocky Mountains to spread
devastation along a frontier of moro
than foaT thousa..d miles in extent, and
to deliver up the sparse population Of IA
vast tract Of country to rapine AID
murder. Such. Ii substance, would be
the direct aud immediate effects of the
refusal of Congress, for the First time i'll
the history of the government, to grant
supplies: the inevitable waste of mill:
joins of public treasure-the infection
of extreme wrong upon all persons con-
neeted with the military establishment
by service, employment or contracts
the recall of Our forces from the field
the fearful sacrifice of life, and n~.calcu-
liable destruction of property on the re-
mote frnntiers-ihe striking OF our ma
tionalfog on the .battlements of the for
fresses which defend eur maratime cities
against foreign invasion-the violation
of the public honor and good faith, and
the discredit of the United States in
the eyes of the civilized world.
I confidently trust that these consider
atoms, and Others appertainiug to the
domestic peace of the country, which
cannot fail to suggest themselves to
every patriotic mind, will, on reflection,
be duly appreciated by both houses of
sGongress, and induce the enactment of
the requisite provisions of law for the
support of the army of the q. States.
FRANKLIN PIERCE.
/" er,rgc-on Au0 81 1S56