, 1856-10-03
Presidents Message


vened on the 2lst ult Thirty-eight Sena-
tors and one hundred and seventy-nine mem
bers of the House were in attendance
After the usual preliminary business, the
following message from the President was
read:-
Fliow-citi-ens of the Senate and House of
RePresentdtiues:-
In consequence of the failure of Congress
at its recent session to make provision for
the support of the army, it became impera-
lively incumbent on me to exercise the pow
er which the Constitution confers on the
Executive for extraordinary occasions, and
promptly to convene the two Houses, in
order to afford them an opportunity OF re-
considering a subject of such vital interest
to the peace and welfare of the Union
With the exception of partial authority
vested by law in the Secretary of War, to
contract for supply of clothing and sub.
sistence, the army is wholly dependentton ON
the appropriations annually made by Con
grcss. The omission of Congress to act in
this respect before the termination Of the
fiscal year, had already caused embarrass-
ments to the service, which were overcome
only in expectation of appropriations before
the close of the present month. If the re-
quisite funds be not speedily provided, the
executive will be no longer able to furnish
for transportation the equipments and mu-
nitions which are essential to the effective
ness of O military force in the field With
no provision for the pay of the troops, the
contracts Of enlistment would be broken,
and the army must in effect be disbanded
the consequence of such would be so dis
astrous as to demand all possible efforts to
avert the calamity. 1t is not merely that
the officers and enlisted men of the army
ore to be thus deprived Of tue pay and emol-
uments to which they are entitled by stand
ing laws, but that the construction Of arms
at the public armories, the repair and con-
struction of ordnance at the arsenals, and
the manufacture of military clothing and
camp equipage must be discontinued, and
the persons connected with this branch Of
the public service thus, be deprived sudden
ly of the employment essential to their sub
sstence. Nor is it merely the waste con-
sequent on the forced abandonment of the
seaboard Notifications, and of the interior
military posts, and other establishments,
and the enormous expense Of recruiting and
recognizing the army, and again distrlbu-
ting it over the vast regions which it now
occupies. These are evils, which may, it is
true, be repaired hereafter by taxes impos-
ed on the country, but other evils are in
volved which no expenditures, however Law
ish, could remedy, in comparison with which
local and personal injuries or interests sink
into insignifcance. A great part of the
army is situated on the remote frontier, or
in the deserts and mountains Of the interi-
or. To discharge large bodies Of men in
such places, without the means Of regain
ing their homes, and where few, if any,
could obtain subsistence by honest industry,
would be to subject them to suffering and
temptation with disregard of justice and
right, most derogatory to the Government.
In the Territories of Washington and Or
egon, numerous bands of Indians are in
arms, and are waging war Of extermina-
ton against the white inhabitants. Altho'
our troops are actively carrying on the cam
paign, we have no intelligence as yet of
successful result On the western plains,
notwithstanding the imposing display Of
military force recently made there, and the
chastisement inflicted on the rebelous tribes,
Others, far from being dismayed, have man
ifested hostile intentions, and been guilty Of
outrages, which, if not designed to provoke
a conflict, serve to show that the apprehen-
sion Of it is insufficient wholly to restrain
their vicious propensities. A strong force
in the State Of Texas has produced the
temporary suspension Of hostilities there;
but in New Mexico incessant vigilance on
the part Of the troops is required, to keep
in check the marauding tribes which infest
that Territory. The hostile Indians have
not been removed from the State Of Flori-
da, and the withdrawal of the troops there
from, leaving that object unaccomplished,
would be most injurious to the inhabitants,
and breach of the positive engagement Of
the general government To refuse supplies
to the army, therefore, is to compel the
complete cessation of all its operations, and
practical disbandment, and thus to invite
hOANNo VI pASuukOAg ooNubOS iOAh WV "SSN
ern plains agd Rocky mountains, to spread
devastation along frontier of more than
four thousd nd mile in extent, and to deliver
up the sparse pol bulatjOa Of vast tract Of
country to rapine md murSer. Such, in
substance, would be the direct and immedi-
ate effects of the refusal Of Congress, for
the FIRST time in the history of the govern
ment, to grant supples-the inevitable
waste of millions Of public treasure-the
inaiction Of extreme wrong upon all per-
sons connected with the military establish
ment, by service, employment, or contracts
the recall of our forces from the field
the fearful sacrifice of life, aud incalculable
destruction Of property on the remote from
tiers-the striking Of our national flag on
the battlements Of the fortresses which de-
fend our maritime cities against foreign in-
vasion-the violation Of the public honor