The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1869-12-17
COLUMBIA, TENNESSEE FRIDAY, DECEMBER Il, 1865

| prove harsh and unnecessary, are probabl,
! all that are required. The third cannO
be attained by special legislation. bu
must be regarded as fixed BY the Constitu
ton itself, and gradually acquiesced II
by force of public opinion.
From the foundation of the Government
to the present, the management of th'
original inhabitants of this continent, tn,
Indians, has been the subject of embcr
rassment and expense, and has been at
tended with continuous robberies, mur
ders and wars. From my own experienc.
upon the frontiers and Indian countries,
do not hold either legislation or the conduc
of the whites who come most in cOntac
| with Indians blameless for their hostilities
The last, however, cannot be undone
and the question must be met as we nov
find it. ] have adopted new policy to
ward these wards of the nation--theJ
cannot be regarded in any other light thar
as wards-with fair results 80 far as tried
and which I hope will be attended ulti
mately with great success. The society o
Friends is well known as having succeed
ed in living in peace with the Indians IL
the early settlement of Pennsylvania
when their white neighbors of other secti
| in other sections were constantly cmbroil
| ed. They are also known for their op
position to all strife, violence and war
and are generally noted for their stricl
| integrity and fair dealings. These con
siderations induced me to give the manage
ment of a few reservations of Indians tC
them, and to throw the burden of the
selection of agents upon the society itself
and the result: t:hasproven most satisfactory
1t will be found more fully set forth in the
report of the Commissioner of Indian
Affairs. For Superintendent and In.
dian agents not on reservations, officers
of the. army were selected. The reasons
for thisAre numerous. When Indianagents
are sent there or near there, troops must
be sent also The agent and the COM
mander of the troops are independent Of
each other, and are subject to orders from
the different departments of the govern
ment. The army officer holds position
for life, the agent one at the will Of the
President. The fermer is personally in
terested in living In harmony with the
Indian and the establishment of per-
manent peace, to the end that some portion
of his life may be spent within the limits
of a civilized section; the latter has no
such personal interest. Another reason
is an economic one, and still another hold
which the government has upon a
life officer to secure q faithful dis
charge of duties in carrying out given
policy. The buildingof railroads and the
access thereby given to all the agricultural
and mineral regions of their country is
rapidly bringing civilized settlements in
contact with all tribes of Indians. No mat
ter what ought to be the relations between
such settlements and the aborigines, the
fact is they do not harmonize well, and
one or the other has to give way in the
end. A system which looks to the exter-
mination of q race Is too horrible for ma
ton to adopt without entailing upon itself
the wrath of all Christendom and engen-
dering in the citizen Q disregard for hu-
man life and the rights of others danger
GUS to society. / see no substitute for
such system except in placing all the
Indians on large reservations as rapidly as
can be done, and giving them absolute
protection there as soon as they are fitted
for it. They should be induced to take
their lands in general and to set up terri
torial governments for their own protec-
ton. For full details on this subject l
call your special attention to the reports
of the Secretary of Interior and the Com
missioner of Indian Affairs
The report of the Secretary of War
shows the expenditures of the War De-
partment for the year ending the Both of
June, 1859, to be $50, ,644, ,042, of which
$23, ,SS2, ,301 was disbursed in the payment
of debts contracted during the war, and
is not chargeable to the current army ex-
penses. The estimate of $34, ,5S1 ,031 for
the expenses of the army for the next fis-
cal wear is as low as it is believed can be
relied on. The estimates of Bureau Of
ficers have been carefully serutinized and
reduced wherever it has been demed prac-
ticable. If, however, the condition OF the
country should be such by the beginning
of the next fiscal year as to admit OF a
greater concentration of troops, the appro-
Driation asked for will not be expended.
The appropriation estimate for river and
harbor improvements and for Notifications,
are submitted separately. Whatever
amount Congress may deem proper to ap-
propriate for these purposes will be
expended. The Recommendation OF the
General of the Army that appropriations
be made for the forts at Boston, Portland,
New York, Philadelphia, New Orleans
and San Francisco, if for no other, is con-
cured in. also ask your special atten-
tion to the recommendation of the Gene
raj commanding the military division of
the Pacific for the sale of the seal islands
of st. Paul and St. George, Alaska Terri
tory. and suggest that 1t either be COM
piled with, OF that legislation be had for
the protection of the seal fisheries, from
which q revenue should be derived.
The report of the Secretary Of War
contains a synopsis of the heads Of bu-
reaus of the commanders of military
divisions, and of the districts of Virginia,
Mississippl and Texas, and the report OF
the General Of the Army in full. The
recommendations therein contained have
been well considered, and are submitted
for your action. /, however, call special
attention to the recommendation of the
Chief of Ordnance for the sale of arsenals
and lands no longer of use to the govern
ment; also to the recommendation of the
Secretary of War that the act of the ID OF
March, 1869, prohibiting the promotions
and appointment of staff corps of the
army. be repealed The extent of country
to be garrisoned and the number of mill
tary posts to be occupied, is the same with
q reduced army as with large one. The
number of staff officers required is more
dependent upon the latter than upon the
former condition.
The report Of the Secretary Of the Navy
accompanying this shows the condition
of the navy when this administration
came into Office, and the changes made
since.
Strenuous efforts have been made to
place as many vessels in commission or
render them fit for service, if required, as
soon as possible, and to substitute the sail
for steam while cruising, thus reducing
the expenses of the navy and adding
greatly to its efficiency, and looking to our
future, rscsmmsnd . liberal though not
an extravagant policy toward this branch
of the public service.
The report of the Postmaster General
furnishes clear and comprehensive ex-
hibit of the operations of the postal ser
vice, and of the financial condition Of this
part of theP office department. The or
dinsry postal revenues for the year end
ing the 30th of June, 1859, amounted to
SIS, ,344, $40, and the expenditures to $685.
6S3,131, showing an excess of expendi-
lures over receipts of $685., $40. The ex-
cess of expenditures over receipts for the
previous year amounted to $6, 437, ,992; the
increase of revenues for 1869 over those of
1858 was $2,05l 800, and the increase OF
expenditures was $685., ,538. The increased
revenue in 1859 exceeds the increased rev
enue in 1868 by $685., ,336, and the increase
of expenditures in 1869 was 1882, $40
less than the increased expenditures In
1867, showing by comparison this gratify-
ing feature of improvement that while
the increase of expenditures over the in
crease of receipts in 1858 was 81, 439, ,5S5,
the increase of receipts over the in
crease of expenditures in 1869
was 81, 4,371. Your attention is res