Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1856-01-02
WASHINGTON, ID. G.
vESPAsIAN ELLIS, | pd;,o,.
SAMUEL G. BUsEY, EDITORS.
The Presidents Me ssage.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2. 1856.

was read and ordered to be printed by the
Senate, and laid upon the table without being
read, by the House of Representatives, on the
ground that this last-named body was not duly
organized for the transaction Of business.
We see nothing in the message which rem
dered departure from usage necessary, by its
transmission to the House of Representatives
before that branch Of the government had mo-
titled the Executive of its readiness to receive
its communications There isno recommen-
dation in the message of the adoption of any
urgent measure of legislation, and therefore
there could have been no adequate motive for
this departure from a long-established custom
No harm, it is true, has been done, by this
movement, except that aliment for the agita-
tons of sectional issues has been furnished,
which had far better been withheld for the
present il not forever. Two columns Of dis
sertation upon the Z" Constitutional relations
Of slavery" have been given to Congress and
the country, by an Executive whose friends
and adherents profess that their purpose is TO
quiet agitation, and restore peace to the Union !!
Ho'0 quiet agitation? BY forcing upon the
country the adoption of the doctrines Of
"squatter sovereignty" in the Territories, un
der which doctrine the escaped convict from
Botany bay, and the loathsome vermin-
cd pauper from an European aims house, is the
equal, in political privileges, with the Ameri-
can born citizen2 Preposterous
Whilst there are portions of Gen. Pierce's
present dissertation upon the constitutional
relations of slavery" which, if delivered in
harangue upon the hustings, we might APP
prove, there are other portions of it which not
eSSn political stump-speaker should have ut
tered; and there is no portion Of it suited to
the occasion of Presidential Message. We
hold that in the present excited state of public
sentiment at the North and South, on this
question, no attempt should be made to coe,ce
an acquiescence by either section, in the views
Of the other Such attempts are mischievous
in the extreme and least of all should they be
made in IN Executive communication to Con-
gress, which by custom, and with obvious pro-
priety elicits debate, between those who sus-
tain, and those who oppose the measure pre-
sented.
Indeed, it is the very purpose Of the Execu-
tive in recommending measures to the con-
sideration of Congress, to bring about discus
sion and action upon his propositions. Where
fore, then, has the President devoted so large
a space in his message to the discussion and
enforcement of his views upon slavery, unless
it be to arouse an angry sectional debate ?
5" Ca bono" has he essayed, at such length, to
enforce the present views of the adminstra-
tisnf 1t should be the desire and the purpose
OF every friend of the Union, to discourage and
discountenance such discussion. But Franklin
Pierce had a purpose in view in this move
msnt, and that purpose was to fasten himself
upon the South as its candidate for the Presi-
dency in 1856! A Democratic convention meets
in this city on the 9Th instant to "cut and
dry" the proceedings for the future conven-
ton at Cincinnati, and it was important that
he should occupy ultra Southern ground on
the slave question now without delay, and
take the wind out of the sails of his Southern
competitorsl
General Pierce doubtless thinks that the
Northern Democrats win yield under pressure
of the caucus screws, and that il the South
present bold and compact front in urging his
claims, the game is his! 1t must be confessed
that he has manifested more than his usual po-
iitical ssgacity during the last few weeks in
bis manoeuyres The proceedings, public and
pirate, Of the recent meeting Of the jackson
Association in-this city, by which the merits
Of the Hon. James Buchanan were signalls
ignored, and in which Gen. Pierce is made the
beda ideal of patriot, and statesman, and
raised head and shoulders above any morta
who has lived since the days of jefferson
these proceedings 1--WE say have signifcan
ey-and perhaps they nay have their intend
ed influence.
But the message We do not hesitate to lie
nounce the attempt Of President Pierce in thi,
message TO excite sectional discussion and de
bate, as wicked effort to obtain Southern sup
port at the hazard Of the peace and safety o
the Union. We can find no words which ade
qustely express our contempt for the demagog
uism, contained in this portion Of the Presi
dents Message
We do not propose to examine the messag,
of the President in detail, but we advert t
another portion of it with less regret than w
have felt in examining that upon which w
have thus made comment
Under the head of Foreign Relations
CsnraS 4merico," the President has spokel
truly and properly Of the differences betwee
the United States and Great Britain tn
construction due to the Clsy.pn-Bulwer treaty
and Of the reciprocal obligations imposed b,
that treaty upon the two countries.
The positions taken by our government OF