The Russellville Democrat., 1876-12-14

E
 knowledge of tito enable them to study the institutions aand laws ofl our country intelligently. ! would not confer upon them the right to mak q and enact slaws sno or ~seleet. those wiio do. asA A4&0 sxH
 MrscELLANrous.
 Fs Hae sas essg ego F ss4 aA < A ,a so xs. w Iappend to the message, for convenient refcfence, a synopsis of administrative events and of all recommendations to congress by me duringst the last seven years. Time may show some of those rec umendat.ons mot to- have been wisely conceived, but believe the larger part will be no tliscsedit to the aolninistration. One. of these, recommendations met with tlle uni ted opposition of one political par ty in the senate, and with q strong opposition from the other, namely: the treaty for the annex ation of Santo Domingo to the United States, to which l shall especially refer, maintaining, asI do, that if my views had been con. cured in the country would be m q more prosperous condition to day, both politically and financial, iy. Santo Domingo is fertile, and upon it's soil may be grown just those tropical products of which the United States use so much, and which are produced or pre- pared for market now by slave labor almost exclusively, namely: sugar, coffee, dye woods, mahog any, tropical fruits. tobacco, etc. About seventy-five per cent. of the exports of Cuba are consumed in the United States. A large per centage of the exports of Brazil also find the same market. These are paid for almost exclusively in coin, legislation, particularly in Cuba, belng unf;.vorable tomutu. al exchange of the products of each country. Flour shipped from the Mississippi river to Ha- vana can pass by the very on trance to the city on its way to a pert of Spain, and then pays a duty fixed upon artictes to be re exported and transferred to a Spanish vessel and brought back almost to the point of starting, paying second duty, and still leave profit over what would be received by direct shipment. All that is produced in Cuba could be produced in Santo Domingo, and being a part of the United States, commerce between the island and the mainland would be free, there would be no export duties on her shipments, nor import duties on those coming here; there would be no import duties upon the sup. plies, machinery etc, going from the United States. The effect that would have been produced upon Cuba commerce, with these advantages to America is ohsery- able 9, a glarce. The Cuban 1 question would have been settled long ago, in favor of free Cuba; hundreds of American vessels would now De advantageously used in transporting the valua- be goods and other products of the soil of the island to market, and in carrying supplies and emi- grants to it. The island is but sparsely settled, while it has an area sufficient for the pio !uction and em- ployment of several millions of peo- pie. the soil would have soon fallen to the hands of our capitalists. The products are so valuable In com- merce that emigration there would
 have been encouraged; the emanci- ' pated race of the south would have found there congenial home, where their civil rights could not be dis.
 puted, and where their labor would
 be much sought alter. The poorest among them could have found means to go there. In cases of great op-
 pression and cruelties, such as have l been practiced upon them in many
 places within the last clever years, I the whole communities would have
 sought refuge ill San Domingo. I do not suppose the who.e race l wou d have gone, nor is It desirable
 that they should go. Their labor Is
 desirable, indispensable almost
 where they now are, but the posses
 sion of this territory would have
 left the negro master of the situa'
 tion by enabling him to demand his
 rights at home on pain of securing
 them elsewhere. do not present
 these views now as a recommenda
 tion for a renewal of the subject o } annexation, but refer to it to win dieate my previous action in regare f to it. With the present congress my of ficial life terminates. It is not prob able that public affairs will evel , again. receive attention rom me further than as a citizen of the re public, always taking a deep inter est in the honor and integrity ant nrosperity of the whole land.