Republican vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1857, 1856-08-30
M essagc of the Pesldent of the United
| EtntPs

dlt0 H0HSe OF representatives:
In consequence of the failure Of Congress
at its recent session. to make provision fol
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, an6
promptly to convene the two houses in order
to afford them an opportunity of reconsider
ating subject df such vital interest 70 tic
peace and welfare of the Union.
With exception Of partial authority YES
ted by law III the Secretary of War to con
tract for supply of clothing and subsistence,
the army is wholly dependent on the appro-
priatiops annually made By Congress- The
omission of Congress to act, in this respect,
before the termination of the fiscal year, had
already caused embarrassmcnts to the SER
vice, which were overcome only in expecta-
ton 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 the transported ion,
equipments and munitions, which are essen
tial to the effectiveness of a military force in
the field With no provision for the pay Of
troops, the contracts Of enlistment would | c
broken, and The army must in effect be dis
banded; the consequence Of which would be
SO disastrous as to demand ali possible e.
forts to avert the calamity
1t is not merely that the officers and en-
listed men OF the army are to be thus depriy-
ed Of the pay and eroluments to which they
are entitled by standing laws; that the con
strueiion Of arms at the public arlnories, the
md 81. : L..
arsenals, AID the manufacture Of military
clothing and camp equipage must be discon-
tlnued, and the persons connected With this
branch of the public service thus be deprived
suddenly of the employment Essential % their
Subsistence. Nor is it merely the waste con-
sequent o. the forced abandonlaent of the
seaboard Notifications, and q Tie Interior
military posts and other establishments, and
the enormous expense of recruiting aud re-
organizing the army, and again distributing
it over the vast regions which it now occu-
pies. These are evils, which may, tbs true,
be repaired hereafter by taxes imposed ell
the country.
But other evils are involved, which no c.
penditnres however lavish, could remedy
in comparison with which local and person
al injuries or interests SINK into insienif-
cance.
a great part of the army Is situated on
the remote frontier of in the deserts and
mountains Of the interior To discharge
large bodies Of ned in such places, without
the means of remaining their horses. and
where few Il airy, coald ohGa6 subsistence
by honest industry, rosid be To subject them
to suffering aud temptation, wig'f disregard
ofiustiee and right most derogatory 70 the
/ Government
In the Territories Of Naslingtep and Or
egon, numerous bands of indians areiu Ataas,
and are waging a war of extennipatioI,
against the white inhabitants; and although
our troops are actively carving an The cam
paign, we have no intelligence as yet Of a
successful result. On the Western plains,
Notwithstanding the imposing display OF mill
j itafy force recently made there, and the
chastisement inflicted on the rebelIious tribes,
others, far froia' being dismayea, have mani
tested hostile intentions, and beer guilty Of
eutrages, which, if not designed to provoke
conflict, serve to show that the apprehcn-
sion Of it is insufficient who'if 10 restrain
their vicious propensities. 4 strong force
in the State of Texas has produced the tenn
porary suspension Of hostilites there; but in
New Mexico, incessint activity Oh the part
Of the troops is required T. keep in check
/ the marauding tribes which intcst that Terri
tory. The hostile indians have not been re-
moved from the State Of Florida and the
Withdrawal Of tie troops thcfelrom, leaving
that object unaecmnplishcd, 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 it,
operations and lis practical dsbandment,
and thus to invite hordes of predatory saya-
ees from the Western plains and Rocky
Mountains to spread devastation along q
frontier Of more than four thousand miles il
extent and to deliver up the sparse popula,
ton of a vast tract Of country to rapine ant
murder
Such; in substance, would be the direct
and immediate effects Of the refusal Of Con
gress for the first time in the history of the
Government, to grant supplies for the main
tenanee of the arny:-ths inevitable waste
Of millions ofpnblic teasure--thc inflictioi
Of extreme wrong upon all persons connec
ted With the military establishments by ser
vice, employment 81 contracts tho recall o
our forces from the field, the fearful saer
fee of life and incalculable destruction o
property ON the remote froniers-the Sui
king of our national flag on the hattlemonf
of fortresses which defend our maratime cit
les against FOREIGN UNREASONABLE violation