The weekly pioneer and Democrat., 1860-01-06

any representative to the present Congress.
! Had Congress been called together immediate.
ly, these States would have been virtually dis.
| franchised. II an intermediate period had been
selected, several ofthe States would have been
| compelled to hold extra sessions of their Legis
| latures, at great inconvenience and expense, to
| provide for elections at an earlier day than
| previously fixed by law. In the regular course,
ten of these States would not elect until after
| the beginning of August, and five of these ten
not until October and November.
On the other hand, when l came to examine
| carefully the condition of the Post Office De-
| partment. did not meet as many or as great
difficulties as had apprehended. Had the bill
which failed been confined to appropriations
for the fiscal year ending on the 30th of June
next, there would have been no reason of
pressing Importance for the call of on extra
session. Nothing would become due on con.
tracts Chose with railroad companies only eX-
cepted) for carrying the mail for the first quar-
ter Of the present fiscal year, commencing on
the first of July to the 1st of December-less
than one week before the meeting of the pres
ent Congress. The reason IS that the mail
contractors for this the current year did not
complete their first quarters service until the
30th September last; and by the terms of taeir
contracts sixty days more are allowed for the
settlement of their accounts before the depart
ment could be called upon for payment.
The great difficulty and the great hardship
consisted in the failure to provide for the pay
ment of the deficiency in the fiscal year ending
on the 30th June, 1859. The Department had
entered into contracts, in obedience to existing
laws, for the service of that fiscal year, and
the contractors were fairly entitled to their
compensation as it became due. The defici
ency as stated in the bill amounted to $3,838,
728, but after careful settlement of all these
accounts. it has been ascertained that it
amounts to 81, 100000. With the scanty means
at his command, the Postmaster General has
managed to pay that portion of this deficiency
which occurred in the first two quarters of the
past fiscal year, ending on the 3lst of Decem
ber last. In the meantime the contractors
themselves, under these trying circumstances,
have behaved in manner worthy of all COM
mendatOn, They had one resource in the
midst of their embarrassments. After the
amount due to each of them cad been ascer.
tanned and finally settled according to law, this
became specific debt of record against the
United States, which enabled them to borrow
money on this unquestionable security. Still
they were obliged to pay interest in conse
quence of the default of Congress-, and on every
principle of justice ought to receive interest
from the Government. This interest should
commence from the date when a warrant
would have issued for the payment of the prn.
cipal had an appropriation been made for this
purpose. Calculated up to lst December, it
will not exceed 6,660-a sum not to be taken
into account when cOntrasted with the great
difficulties and embarrassments of public and
private character, both to the people and the
States, which would have resulted from con-
vening and holding a special session of Con-
gress.
For these reasons recommend the passage
of bill, at as early day as may be practica'
BILE, to provide for the payment of the amount,
with interest, due to these last mentioned con-
tractors. as we'll as to make necessary apprO.
priatons for the service of the Post Office De.
par.ment for the current fiscal year.
ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.
The failure to pass the Post Office bill neces
sarily gives birth to serious reflections. Con-
gress, by refusing to pass the general appro'
priatiOn bills necessary to carry on the govern
ment, may not only arrest its action, but might
even destroy its existence. The army, the
navy, the judiciary-is short, every department
of government-can no longer perform their
functions if Congress refuses the money neces.
sary for their support. If this failure should
teach the country the necessity of electing a
full Congress in sufficient time to enable the
President to convene them in any emergency.
even Immediately after the old Congress has
expired, it will have been productive of great
great good In time of sudden and alarming
danger, foreign or domestic, which all nations
| must expect to encounter iE their progress, the
very salvation of our institutions may be staked
upon the assembling of Congress without de-
lay. If, under the circumstances, the Pres-
dent should find himself in the condition in
which he was placed at the close Of the last
Congress. with nearly half the States of the
Union destitute of representatives, the conse-
quences might be disastrous. l, therefore, re-
commend TO Congress to carry into effect the
provisions of the Constitution on this subject,
and to pass law appointing some day previ:
Gus to the 4th of March in each year of odd
number for the election of representatives
throughout all the States. They have already
appointed day for the election of electors for
President and Vice President. and this measure
has been approved by the country.
PACIFIC RAILROAD.
would again express most decided opinion
| In favor OF the construction OF Pacific rail
| road, for the reasons stated in my two last an
nual Messages When 1 reflect upon what
| would be the defenceleSs condition of our
States and Territories west of the Rocky Noun
| tains in case of war with a naval power suf
fciently strong to interrupt all intercourse with
them across the Isthmus, am still more than
| ever convinced of the vast Importance of this
railroad. have never doubted the constitu
| tiOnal competency of Congress to provide for
its construction, but this exclusively under the
| war.making power. Besides, the Constitution
| expressly requires, as an imperative duty, that
| "the United States shall protect each of them
| (the States) against invasion" am at loss to
conceive how this protection can be afforded
| to California and Oregon against such naval
| power by any other means. / repeat the
| opinion contained in my last annual message,
that it would be inexpedent for the Govern
ment to undertake this great work by agents
of its own appointment, and under its direct
| and exclusive control. This would increase
| the patronage of the Executive to a dangerous
| extent, and would foster system of jObbing
and corruption which no vigilance on the part
OF the federal officials could prevent. The
construction of this road, ought, therefore, to
be entrusted to incorporated companies, or
other agencies, who would exercise that active
and vigilant supervision over it, which can be
inspired alone by sense of corporate and iD
dividual interest. venture to assert that the
additional cost of transporting troops, muni-
tions of war, and necessary supplies for the
across the vast intervening plains to our pos
sessions on the Pacific coast, would be greater
in such war than the whole amount required
to construct the road. And yet this resort
would, after all, be inadequate for their defence
and protection.
FINANCES AND EXPENDITURES.
We have yet scarcely recovered from the
habits of extravagant expenditure, produced
by our overlooking treasury, during several
years prior to the commencement Of my ad.
mnstration. The financial reverses which
we have since experience, ought to teach US
all to scrutinize our expenditures with the
greatest vigilance and to reduce them to the