Demoine courier., 1856-01-10
Presidents Message.


~ oaAs " to ~ 49, 80
provides that Congress shall assemble
annually on the first Monday of Dscem.
Der. and IL has been usual for the presi
dent to make no communicarIon of a pub
lie character TO The Senate and House o
Representatives until advised Of thei,
readiness TO receive il. I have deferred
to tbs usage until the close Of the liis'
month Of the session. bnt my o ~virtions
OF duty will not permit me longer to
postpone the discharge Of The obligation
ehjoined upon the President by the con
s,im,ion, Of giving 10 Congress informa-
tion upon the state of the Union, and
recommending TO their consideration such
measures as he shall Judge niece ssary end
expediens.
1t is a matter Of coparatulasion tina,
the republic is tranqniity advancing Ia a
career Of prosperity and peace.
Whilst relations of ami,y continue to
exis, between the United States and all
foreign powers, with some Of them grave
questions are depending, which may re-
quire the consideration of Congress-
OF such questions, the mos, important is
that which has arisen out of the nego
cations with Great Britain iE reference
10 Central Americas BY the convention
concluded between le, Two governments
on The l0ih Of April, 1850, both parties
averred that neither will ever occupy, OF
for'ify, or colonize, OF assume, or exer
else anv dominion over Nicafagua, Cos
Ia Rica, the Mosquito Coast, or any par
OF Central hmrrici. ltwas h,e under
standing Of the United States. ia making
The treaty. shas all the presen, States. o'
The former republic Of Central America
and The entire territory Of each, would
,hcnceforth enjoy complete independents
and that both contracting parties engaged
equally aud to The same extent for the
present aud far the lu,uie. that if ethics
Of them had any claim OF right in Cen
tral America, such claim, AMI all occu
patton aud authority under il were unre-
servedly relinquished by the s;ipula,lons
of the convention, and that no dominion
was thereafter to be exeried or assumed
in any partof Central America by Grea'
Bri,ainor The United States. This GOV.
ernnen, consented TO restrictions in re-
CART 10 a region Of country wherein we
had apecific and peculiar interests, only
upon the conviction that the like resiric
lions were in the came sense obligatory
on Great Britain. Blu, for this under
s,anding OF the farce and effect OF the
con venion, nwould never have been
.coRcludedb by US. So elea was the un-
Outstanding on the par, of The United
States tha, iE core ,pondence coniempo-
rancous with the ratification Of the con
vention, il was distinctly expressed thai
The mutual covenants OF Eonoccupa,ion
were not intended TO apply 10 the Brit
Iish established at the Baiize. This quail
ica,ion is TO be ascribed TO the fact tina
IN The course Of successive treaties with
previous sovereigns OF the country
Grea, Britain had obtained a concession
Of the right 10 cut mahogany OF dye
woods a, the Balize. bur with positive
exclusion Of oil domain or sovereignty;
and thus i, confirms The natural consuuc
,ioa and understood import Of the treaty
as 10 all the resi- OF the region 10 which
the stipulation applied. II however be.
came apparent al an early day after en-
,oriug upon the discharge OF my psesent
functions, that Urea, Brnain still continue
in the exercise Of large authority In al
tina, par, Of Central America commonly
called the Mosquito Coast, and covering
The entire length OF the State of Nicara,
qua snd q para OF Costa R,ca; THAI she
regarded the BaIIzs as her absolute do
main. and was gradually extending lie
limits al ihe expense OF the Stale OF tlon-
duras and thar she bad formally colo
nized a considerable insular group,known
as the Bay Islands and belonging OF righI
10 that State. All these acts or prelen
siors Of Great Britain being contrary to
,he rights to the States Of Central Amer
lea, aad 10 The manifest tenor oil her sup
uJalious with the United States, as un-
deretoud by This government. have been
made the subject OF negotiations through
the American Minister in LonGvn.
transmit herewith the instructions TO hin,
on the suhjec;. and The correspondence
between him and The British Secretary
for Foreign Affairs. by which you will
perceive thai the government diiier wide
~ and irrecunciicbly as 10 the constrpc-
ton Of the conventions, anu lis effects on
their respective relations TO Central a
merica. Great Britain SO -construes ME
convention as 10 maintain unchanged oil
her previous pre,ensl0ns over the Mos
quito coast, aud in different paris Of Cen
irai America. These pre.ensions as to
The Mosquito coast are formed on the as
sumption of political relatlous between
Greal Britain and the remnant OF a tribe
Of Indians on that coast. entered into al
a line when the whole coun,Ty was a
colonial possession Of Spain. II caanol
be successfully c%on,roveried that. by the
public law Of Amrriea no possible &C
of such Indians or their predecessors
could confer on Great britain any politl-
cal rights. Grea, Britain does aoa al
Iege lie assent Of Spain as the origin Of
her claims of the Mosquito coass. She
has, on The contrary. BY repeated and
successive irea,ies. renounced and reiin'
pushed all preiensions Of hsr " and
racog,izad ,ha foll and soyereiun RIO In ri