The Placer herald., 1872-12-07
THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.

message. he document Is quite lengthy,
and we can only refer to the leading ques-
tions treated. On the Alabama and other
privateer claims settled by th3 treaty of
Washington and the Geneva Arbitration,
the President affects to be pleased, and gives
credit to his administration for its action in
the matter. lie has a short memory, or
thinks the people very forgetful. All men
know that Grant and his friends blowed all
over the country that be would make Eng
land pay vast millions as consequential
damages or fight, and yet when the British
lion shook his name and growled in Grants
face the sand was not in his craw, he, like a
coward and poltroon, crawhshed took it all
| back, and said in the face Of the world / am
braggart and pretender, and ANONYMOUSLY
accepted the paltry sum of fifteen and half
millions of dollars instead of the hundreds that
he was to scare or whip England out Of. In
1916 President Polk and Bancroft, one of
bis Cabinet Ministers, made a treaty with
| England about the northwestern boundary,
and now the German Emperor, King VIII
| liam, to whom the matter was referred, has
decided that Polk 5 and Bancrofi's interpre-
tation of the treaty was correct, and for this
Grant has the cheek to puff his own admin
stration, which had no more TO do in the
matter than the man in the moon. He rec
| I / L
boundary line between Alaska and the Brit
ish Possessions. Cameron, Morton and
Conklin should be sent out to do this job.
He wants more money to run the line be-
tween British America and the United States,
and eso more legislation on the Fishery ques
tons. He asks for money and ships ior
Tom Van Buren to splurge on at the Vienna
International Exposition. The Mexican
murders and robberies committed on the
Texas trontie" is apoogctically referred to-
and more money asked to make more inyes-
tig tions. He wants men claiming Amcr-
can citizenship to be deprived of holding
slaves in Cuba or be denatonalized. In this
we are with Grant, or whoever wrote his
message. Oar relations are promising with
the South American governments. He calls
China and Japan progressive governments
and people, and wants money to take at least
eight American boys there and educate them
in these languages. They are about the
Oldest governments in The world, and Of all
others outside tribal hcathenism the most
tyrannical, superstitious, unprogressive and
besotted governments in the universe and
where Grant got his ideas Of their progress
sveness from is more than we can imagine.
He asks for appropriations of money that
our Consuls all over the world may relieve
citizens found abro d. Our seamen are now
provided for, and we say let shoddy stay at
home or provide for its expenses when abroad.
His figures under the head of "Fmancial,
are mixed, confused and evidently intended to
mislead the general reader but the fact stands
out that the admin 'stration is collecting and
expending of the people $ money fully $780,
600, 900 annually, which is double what it
ought to cost the country, and Grant protests
against any further reduction Of taxes. On the
franking privilege, Grant strikes out the Re-
publican platform and only recommends some
restrictions on its privileges. He squints at
the purchase of all telegraph lines and incor-
Grating them with The mail service. lie is
in favor of subsidizing steamship lines He
mourns over our lost commerce, and can
thinl, of nothing to replace it but expeudng
money out Of the treasury for this purpose.
The message shows that within the fiscal
year ,020, 234 acres of land have been given
to wagon and railroads, and yet the President
has no word of condemnation of this accursed
policy of giving our lands to monopolies in
stead of saving them for the poor settler and
andess. The President recommends that
census be again taken in 1875, notwith-
standing the Constitution forbids it. He
thinks more Of a chance to bestow patronage
and spend money on his friends than he docs
of his oath and the Constitution. On tie
Civil Service rules his only suggestion is
that Congress provide some way by which
his appointees can be kept in Office cternally,
in defiance of the desires of his successor
The message is a most common place docu-
mert throughout, and does the country no
honor among States anywhere in the world
unless ii be in Japan and China
LEGAL HoLDAY.-By the Civil Code,
section 1874, says an exchange, it is pro-
vided that "IIolidays, within the meaning of
this Code, are, every Sunday, the lst day Of
January, the 22d day of February, the 4th of
July, the 25th day of December, every day