Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1856-08-29
Congress-.

see-D0ily Journal 22nd inst
Congress.
Both Houses met Thursday, organized and re-
ported their organization and readiness to receive any
executive communication, upon which the following
Message was received from the President read IN bo1h
Houses and ordered to be printed
FelZo,c.citizen of the Senate and House Of Represen-
t1t1GeS:
In consequence of the failure of Congress, at IFS
recent session. to make provision for the support OF
the army, it became imperatively incumbent on me
to exercise the power which the constitution conters
on the Executive for extraordinary occasions, and
promptly to the two houses In order to AFFORD
Them ali opportunity Of reconsiderlng subject OF
such vital interest to the peace and welfare OF the
Union.
With exception of partial authority vested by
law in the Secretary of War to contract for supply
of clothing and subsistence, the army is wholly dePen'
dent on the appropriations annually MADE ny Con-
oress The omission of Congress to act in this re-
Dect before the termination of the fiscal year had
already caused embarassmentS to the survive, which
were ovet only in expectation OF appropriations
before the close of the present month Ii the requisite
! funds be not speedily provided, the Executive will
not longer be able 10 furnish the transportation equip
ments and munitions which essential 10 the Ell
fec1yeness of military force in the field With no
nroysion for the pay of troops the contracts OF en-
| Iistment would be broken, and the army must IN
effect be dsbandpd the consequence OF which would
be disastrous as 10 demanu all posslole enorIs 10
avert the calamity.
II is not merely that the officers and enlisted men
of the army are to be thus deprived of the pay and
emolumens to which they are entitled by standing
! laws that the construction of at the public
armories the repair and construction of 0Idinace at
the arsenas and the manufacture of military clothing
and camp tuuipage, must be discontinued, and the
persons connected with this branch OF the public
service thus be deprived suddenly OF the employment
essential tc their subsistence; nor is it merely the
waste consequent on the forced abandonment OF the
seaboard Notifications, and of the interior military
posts and other establishments, and the enormous
3 expense of recruiting and recognizing the army,
and again distributing 1t over the vast regions which
it now occupies. These are evils which may, it is
true, be repaired hereafter by taxes imposed on the
county.
/ But other evils are involved which no expenditures,
however lavish, could remedy, in comparison with
which local and personal iD uries or interests sink
into insignhcanCe.
great part of the army is situated on the remote
frontier or IN the deserts and mountains of the inte
ror To discharge large bodies of men in such places
without the means of regainlng 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 Oregon hume
roGs bands of Indians are in arms, and are waging
war of determination against the white inhabitants );
and although our troops are actively carrying the
campaign, have no intelligence as yet of
full result. On the western plains, notwithstanding
the imposing display of military force recently made
there and the chaslsement inflicted the rebellious
tribes, others, far from being dismayed, have mani
tested hostile Intentions and been guilty of outrages
which, if not designed to provoke conflict, serve TO
show that the apprehension of it s insufficient wholly
to restrain their vicious propensities. strong force
in the State of Texas has produced the temporary
suspension Of hostiIities there; but in New Mexico
incessant activity on the part of the troops is re-
quired to keep in check the maraudng tribes which
nest that Territory. The hostile Indians have not
been removed from the State of Florida; and the
Withdrawal of the troops therefrom leaving that OBJ
ject unaccomplished, would be most furious to the
inhabants 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 it's practical disbandment, and thus to invite
hOrdes of predatory savages from the western plains
and the Rocky mountains 10 spread devastation along
frontier of more than four thousand miles in extent
and to deliver up the sparse population of vast tract
OF country to rapne and murder
Such, in substance, would be the direct and imme.
diae effects of the refusal of Congress, for the first
time in the history of the government, 10 grant sup
plies for the maintenance of the army the inevitable
waste of millions of public treasurer the inficton of
extreme wrong upon all persons connected with the
military establishment by service, employment, or
contracts; the recall of forces from the field the
fearful sacrifice of life and incalculable destruction
national flag the battlements of the ortresses
which defend our maritime cities against fore gn in
vason and the discredt of the United States in the
eyes of the civilized world.
| confidently trust that these considerations and
others appertainng to the domestic peace of the
country, which cannot fail to suggest themselves to
every patriotic mind will, reflection be duly ap-
precated by both houses of Congress, and induce the
enactment of the requisite provisions of law for the
support of the army of the United States.
! WASHINGTON, Aug. 81, 1856.
In the Senate, Mr.. Hunter submitted resolution
to suspend the joint rule of both Houses, which re-
qures undetermined business of the last session to lie
over six days from the commencement of this before
it can be taken up, far relates to the bill max.
ing appropriations for the support of the Army for the
year ending June 30th, 1857. The resolution was
agreed to-yeas IS, nays 6.
The Standing Committees of the last session were
all re-appointed.
message was received from the House of Repre-
sentatives by Mr.. Collum their clerk, announcing
that the House had passed a resolution Che Senate
concurrng,} that such bills passed both Houses at
the last session. and for want of time not pre-
scented to the two Houses for the signatures of their
presiding officers or, having been thus signed were
not presented to the President for approval be now
reported presented TO the President if no ad.
Ijournment had taken place The House resolution
was concurred in.
The Speaker called the House to order at IL o.
clock, and stated that the House of Representatives
was convened in pursuance of the proclamation of
A Of fho