The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1859-03-02
FRIDAY, FEpReAnY Is, 1869.
IN SENATE.

calendar be temporarily. laid aside in order to
hear a special message from the President,
which had just been sent inj which was agreed
to.
TKe Message was then read as follows:
WAsHINeToS, FEBRUARY Is, 1859.
To the Senate, and House of Representatives,
The brief period which remains of your
present session, and the great urgency and
Importance of Legislative action, before its ter
mination, for the protection of American citi-
zens and their property whilst in transit across
the lsthmus routes between our Atlantic and
Pacific possessions, render it my duty again to
recall this subject osyour notice. / have here
tofore presented it in my annual messages, both
of December, 1857and 1858, to which 1 beg
leave to refer. In the latter 1 state that "the
Executive Government of this Country, in its
intercourse with foreign nations, is limited to
the employment of diplomacy alone. When
this fails it can proceed no further. 1t cannot
f~legitimately resort to force without the direct
authority OF Congress, except in resisting and
frepelling hostile attacks. It would have no
Authority to enter the Territories of nicaragua,
'even to prevent the destruction of the transit
and protect the lives and property of our own
'citizens on their passage. 1t is true that on a
Sudden emergency Of this character the Presi-
'd.nt would direct any armed force in the
vicinity to march to their relief, but in doing
this he would act upon his own responsibility.
Under these circumstances [ earnestly recon-
mend to Congress the passage of an act author
'izing the President, under such restrictions as
they may deem proper, to employ the land and
naval forces of the United States in preventing
'the transit from being INSTRUCTED or closed by
Flawless violence, and in protecting the lives
and property of American citizens travelling
'thereupon, requiring at the same time that
these forces shall be withdrawn the moment
the danger shall have passed away. Without
such a provision our citizens will be constantly
Exposed to interruption in their progress, and
'to lawless violence. A similar necessity exists
for the passage of such an act for the protec-
3 ton of the Panama and Tehuantepec routes
Another subject, equally important, CON-
manded the attention of the Senate at. the last
session of Congress. The Republics south of
theYUnited States on this continent have, unfor-
t~unately, been frequently in a state of revo-
luton ana civil war eyer since they achieved
their independence. As one or the other party
has prevailed and obtained possession of the
ports open to foreign commerce, they have
seized and confscated American vessels and
their cargoes in an arbitrary and lawless manner,
and exacted money from American citizens by
forced loans, and other violent proceedings, to
enable them to carry on hostilities. The Exc
cutive Governmentslof Great Britain, France,
and other countries possessing the war making
power, can promptly employ the necessa-iyy
mCdlS 10 enforce immaculate TcuTeSS LOT SlmlEaT
outrages upon their subjects. Not SO the Exc
cutive Government of the United States. IF
the President orders a vesselof-war to any of
these ports to demand prompt redress for outra-
ges committed, the offending parties are we'll
aware that in case Of refusal the commander can
do no more than demonstrate. He can resort
to no hostile act. The question must then be
referred to diplomacy, and in many cases ade-
quate redress can never be obtained. Thus
American citizens are deprived of the same
protection, under the. flag of their country,
which the subjects of other nations enjoy
The remedy for this state of things can only be
supplied by Congress, since the Constitution
has confded to that body alone the power to
make war. Without the authority of Congress,
the Executive cannot lawfully direct any force,
however near it may be to the scene of difficulty,
to enter the territory of Mexico, Nicaragua, or
New Granada, for the purpose of defending
the persons ssand property of American citizens,
even though they may be violently assailed
whilst passing in peaceful transit over the
Tehuantepec, Nicaragua, or Panama routes.-
He cannot, without taanscending his c%onstitu-
tional power, direct a gun to be fred into a port,
or land a seaman or marine to protect the lives
of our countrymen on shore, or to obtain redress
for a recent outrage on their property. The
banditti which infest our neighboring Republic
of Mexico, always claiming to belong to one
or the other of the hostile parties, might make
a sudden descent on Vera Cruz or on the
Tehuantepec route, and he would have no
power to employ the force on the ship-board in
the vicinity for their relief, either to prevent
plumber of. our merchants OF the destruction
of the transit.
In reference to countries where the local au-
thorities are strong enough to enforce the laws
the difficulty here indicated can seldom happen;
but where this is not the case, and the local
authorities do not possess the physical power,
even if they possess the will, to protect our
citizens within their limits, recent experience
has shown that the American Executive should
itself be authorized to render this protection.
Such a grant of authority, thus limited in its
extent, could in no just sense be regarded as a
transfer of the war-making power to the Exc
~cutive, but only as an appropriate exercise OF
that power by the body to whom it exclusively
belongs. The riot at Panamain 1856, in which
q great number of our citizens lost their lives,
furnished a pointed illustration of the necessi-
ty which may arise for The exertion OF this au-
thority.
Therefore earnestly recommend to Congress, ]
on whom the responsibility exclusively rests,
to pass a law before their adjournment confer
ing on the President the power to protect the
lives and property of American citizens in the
cases which 1 have indicated, under such re-
.4-ia.inns and conditions as they may deem. add
visable. The knowledge tHaU sucn a law exists
WOuiu VI itSeh W al " pleNeHt me oueAaSSol
which it is intended to redress, and to render
the employment of, force unnecessary. With
out this the president may be placed in a pain
full position before the meeting of the next
Congress. In the present disturbed condition
of Mexico, and one or more of the other Re
publics south of US. no person can foresee what
occurrences may take place before that period.
In case of emergency, our citizens, seeing that
they do not enjoy the same protection with
Suhiects of Euronaap GovarnmpntS- will have
just cause to complain. On the other hand,
should the Executive interpose, and especially
should the result prove disastrous, and valuable
lives be lost, he might subject himself to Sc
we're censure for having assumed a power not
confded to him by the Constitution. 1t is to
guard against this contingency that 1 now ap-
peal to Congress.