Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1861-07-13
Presidents Message.

Fetto,o Citizens Of The Senate and House OF
Representatives
Having been convened in an extraordina-
nary convention as authorized by the Con.
stitution, your attention is not called to any
ordinary subject of Legislation At the
beginning of the present Presidential term,
four months ago, the functions of the Fed
eral Government were found to be generally
suspended within theSeveral States of South
Carolina, Georgia, Alabama Mississippi,
Louisiana, and Florida, excepting those on
ly Of the Post Office Department within
these States. All the forts, arsenals, dock
yards, Custom Houses, &c, including all the
movable and stationary property in and
about them, had been seized and held in
open hostility to this Government, except.
ing only Fort Pickens, Taylor and Jeffer,
son, on and near the Florida coast, and
Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. The
forts thus seized have been put in improved
condition new ones have been built, and
armed forces had been organized and were
organizing, all avowedly for the same hos
tile purpose.
The forts remaining in the Federal pos.
session in and near by those States were
either basieged or menaced by warlike pre-
parations. Especially Fort Sumter was
nearly surrounded by we'll protected hostile
batteries, with guns equal in quality to the
best of its own, and outnumberng the lat
ter perhaps ten to one. A disproportionate
share of the Federal muSkets and rifles had
somehow found their way into these States
and had been seized to be used against the
Government. Accumulations of the public
revenue lying within them had been seized
for the same object. The navy was scat,
cred in distant seas, leaving but very small
part of it within the immediate reach of the
Government, officers of the Federal army
had resigned ingreat numbers, and of those
resigned great portion had taken up arms
against the Government. Simultaneously,
and in connection with all this, the purpose
to sever the Federal Union was openly
avowed In accordance with this purpose
an ordinance had been adopted in each Of
these States declaring the States respective
Iy to be separated from the National Union;
the formula for instituting combined gov
erument for these States had been promal-
gated aud this illegal organization in the
character of the Confederate States, was al
ready invoking recognition, aid aud inter
vention from the foreign powers.
Finding this condition of things, and be-
lieving it to be an imperative duty upon the
incoming executive to prevent, If possible,
the consumation of such attempt to destroy
the Federal Union, choice Of means to
that end became indispensable. This choice
was made an declared in the Inaugural ad'
dress. The policy chosen looked to the ex-
haustion of all peaceable measures before a
resort to any stronger ones. 1t sought only
to hold the public places and property not
already wrested from the government, aud
to collect the revenue relying for the rest on
time, discussion aud the ballot box. 1t
promised the continuance of the mails at the
Governments expense to the very people
who were resisting the Government, and
gave repeated pledges against any distur.
bance to any of the people or any Of their,
rights, all of that which President might
constitutioually and justidably do in such q
case. Everything was foreborne, without