Arizona weekly miner., 1876-12-15
THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.
WAsHrSGToy. December 9th.

that l should refer to, and in some degre
 recapitulate, the events of my official acts O the past eight years.
 } RETRosPECTIoS.
 It was my fortune, or my misfortune, t'
 be called to the office of Chief Executive
 without any previous political training
 From the age of IT, 1 had never even wit
 messed the excitement attending Presiden
 tial campaign but twice antecedcnt to my
 own candidacy, and at but one of them wa:
 eligible as voter. Under such circum
 stances it is but reasonable to suppose that
 errors of judgment must have occurred Even had they not. differences of opinion
 between the Executive bound by an oath tC
 the strict performance of his duty, and wri
 ters and debaters, must have arisen. It Is
 not necessarily evidence of blunder on the part of an Executive because in these differ ences of views mistakes have been made, as
 all candid men admit, but it seems to me
 oftener in seIections made of assistants ap- pointed to aid in carrying out the various l duties of administering the Governmental
 nearly every case selected without personal
 acquaintance with the appointee, but upon
 the recommendation of the Representatives
 chosen directly by the people. It is impos- slble, where so many trusts are to be allot-
 ted, that the right parties should be chosen
 in every instance. History shows that no | administration, from the time of Washing | ton to the present, has been free from these
 mistakes but l leave comparisons to his tory, claiming only that 1 have acted in every instance from a conscientious desire to do what was right and constitutional within the law, or for the best interests of the whole people. Failures have been CT TOTS of judgment, not of intent. My civil career commenced, too, at most critical and difficult time. Less than four years be- fore the country had emerged from con flict such as no other nation had ever sur vived. Nearly one-half of the States had revolted against the Government, and of those remaining faithful to the Union a large percentage of the population sympa- thiZed with the Rebellion, and made an enemy Tn the rear, almost as dangerous as the more honorable enemy in the front The latter committed errors of judgment they maintained them openly and courage ously. The former received the protection of the Government they would see destroy ed, and reaped all the pecuniary advanta- ges to be gained out of the then existing state of affairs, many of them by obtaining contracts and by swindling the Government Tn the delivery of their goods. Immediately upon the cessation of hostiities the then noble President, who had carried the coun- try so far through its perils, fetl martyr to hls patriotism at the hands of an assassin. The intervening time to my inauguration was filled up with wrangling between Con- gress anG the new Executive as to the best method of
 RECONSTRUCTION Or, to speak plainly, as to whether the con trolof the Government should be thrown 1 into the hands of those who so | recently and consistently tried to destroy it, or whether the victorS should continue to | have an equal voice with them in this con- trol. Reconstruction, as finally agreed | upon, meant this, and only this except that the late slave was enfranchised, giving an increase, as was supposed, to the Union. votes. If free, in the full sense of the word, they would not disappoint this expectation. Hence at the beginnning of my first administration the work of recon Struction was much embarrassed by the long delay before it was virtually commenced. approved those acts, and aided most heart fly in urging the Legislatures of States that Iad not done so to ratify the Fifteenth
  ny was laboring under an enormous debt contracted in the suppression of the rebel ion; taxation was so oppressive as to dis courage production. Another danger also threatened us-a foreign war The last lifiiculty had to be adjusted, and was ad- usted without a war, and in a manner high y honorable to all parties concerned.
 TAXES AND THE DEBT.
 Taxes have been reduced within the last even years nearly three hundred millions of IollarS, and the national debt has been re- luced in the same time over one hundred nd thirty-fve millions of dollars By re- unding the 6 per cent. bonded debt, for 'onds bearing , and 2 per cent. interest the annual interest has been educed from over one hundred and thirty millions of dollars in 1869 to a little over ne hundred millions of dollars in 1876 The balance of trade has been changed from yer one hundred and thirty millions against he United States in 1869, to more than one undred and twenty millions of dollars in 7 UT favor in 1876 It is confidently be- eved that the balance of trade in favor of he United States will increase, not dimin- 'h, and the pledge of. Congress to resume !. pecie payments in 1879 will be easily ac- even in the absence of the much . esired legislation on the subject. !;
 THE NATIONS INDIAN POLICY. A policy has been adopted toward the In I ian tribes inhabiting large portion of , le territory of the United States which has cen humane, and subsequently, ended h. ian hostilities in the whole land. except in portion of Nebraska and Dakota, Wyo- q ing snd Montana, the Black Hills region, . ld approaches thereto. Hostilities there ' ave grown out of the white man who has . olated our treaty Stipulations in his searchi :; IT gold. The question might be asked why . Ie Government has not enforced obedience ,' the terms of the treaty prohibiting the T of the Black Hills region by z hitesl The answer is simple-the first em- ' rants to the Hills were removed by troops, . 1t rumorS and fresh discoveries of gold I; ok into that region increased numbers. . old has been found in paying quantities, . Id an effort to remove the miners would Y fly result in the assertion of the bulk of T e troops that might be sent there to re- :, owe them. All difficulties in this matter ' Lyp baen rarnnva1 suhiact fn tha aDpro,.al p