A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents: Ulysses S. Grant
by
James D. Richardson
Part 7 out of 13
ultimate extinguishment of polygamy.
Since the establishment of a Territorial government for the District of
Columbia the improvement of the condition of the city of Washington and
surroundings and the increased prosperity of the citizens are observable
to the most casual visitor. The nation, being a large owner of property
in the city, should bear, with the citizens of the District, its just
share of the expense of these improvements.
I recommend, therefore, an appropriation to reimburse the citizens for
the work done by them along and in front of public grounds during the
past year, and liberal appropriations in order that the improvements and
embellishments of the public buildings and grounds may keep pace with
the improvements made by the Territorial authorities.
AGRICULTURE.
The report of the Commissioner of Agriculture gives a very full and
interesting account of the several divisions of that Department--the
horticultural, agricultural, statistical, entomological, and
chemical--and the benefits conferred by each upon the agricultural
interests of the country. The whole report is a complete history, in
detail, of the workings of that Department in all its branches, showing
the manner in which the farmer, merchant, and miner is informed, and
the extent to which he is aided in his pursuits.
The Commissioner makes one recommendation--that measures be taken by
Congress to protect and induce the planting of forests--and suggests
that no part of the public lands should be disposed of without the
condition that one-tenth of it should be reserved in timber where it
exists, and where it does not exist inducements should be offered for
planting it.
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
In accordance with the terms of the act of Congress approved March 3,
1871, providing for the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of
American independence, a commission has been organized, consisting of
two members from each of the States and Territories. This commission
has held two sessions, and has made satisfactory progress in the
organization and in the initiatory steps necessary for carrying out
the provisions of the act, and for executing also the provisions of
the act of June 1, 1872, creating a centennial board of finance.
A preliminary report of progress has been received from the president
of the commission, and is herewith transmitted. It will be the duty
of the commission at your coming session to transmit a full report of
the progress made, and to lay before you the details relating to the
exhibition of American and foreign arts, products, and manufactures,
which by the terms of the act is to be held under the auspices of the
Government of the United States in the city of Philadelphia in the
year 1876.
This celebration will be looked forward to by American citizens with
great interest, as marking a century of greater progress and prosperity
than is recorded in the history of any other nation, and as serving a
further good purpose in bringing together on our soil peoples of all
the commercial nations of the earth in a manner calculated to insure
international good feeling.
CIVIL SERVICE.
An earnest desire has been felt to correct abuses which have grown
up in the civil service of the country through the defective method
of making appointments to office. Heretofore Federal offices have been
regarded too much as the reward of political services. Under authority
of Congress rules have been established to regulate the tenure of office
and the mode of appointments. It can not be expected that any system
of rules can be entirely effective and prove a perfect remedy for the
existing evils until they have been thoroughly tested by actual practice
and amended according to the requirements of the service. During my
term of office it shall be my earnest endeavor to so apply the rules
as to secure the greatest possible reform in the civil service of the
Government, but it will require the direct action of Congress to render
the enforcement of the system binding upon my successors; and I hope
that the experience of the past year, together with appropriate
legislation by Congress, may reach a satisfactory solution of this
question and secure to the public service for all time a practical
method of obtaining faithful and efficient officers and employees.
U.S. GRANT.
SPECIAL MESSAGES.
WASHINGTON, _December 2, 1872_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_
I transmit herewith a report, dated the 2d instant, received from the
Secretary of State, supplementary to the report submitted by him under
date of the 8th of November, 1871, with reference to the expenditures
authorized by the fourth and fifth paragraphs of the act of March 3,
1871, and by the act of May 18, 1872, making appropriations for the
increased expenses and compensation for extraordinary services of
certain diplomatic and consular officers of the United States by reason
of the late war between France and Prussia. These expenditures have been
made on my approval.
U.S. GRANT.
WASHINGTON, _December 3, 1872_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_
I transmit herewith to Congress a report, dated the 2d instant, with
the accompanying papers,[69] received from the Secretary of State, in
compliance with the requirements of the eighteenth section of the act
entitled "An act to regulate the diplomatic and consular systems of
the United States," approved August 18, 1856.
U.S. GRANT.
[Footnote 69: Report of fees collected, etc., by consular officers of
the United States for 1871, and tariff of consular fees.]
WASHINGTON, _December 3, 1872_.
_To the Senate of the United States:_
I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
ratification, a convention between the United States of America and the
United States of Mexico, signed in this city on the 27th ultimo, further
extending the time fixed by the convention between the same parties of
the 4th of July, 1868, for the duration of the joint commission on the
subject of claims.
U.S. GRANT.
WASHINGTON, _December 3, 1872_.
_To the Senate of the United States:_
I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
ratification, a treaty between the United States of America and the
Republic of Ecuador, providing for the mutual surrender of fugitive
criminals, signed at Quito on the 28th of June last.
U.S. GRANT.
WASHINGTON, _December 3, 1872_.
_To the Senate of the United States:_
I transmit, for the consideration of the Senate with a view to
ratification, a convention between the United States and His Majesty
the King of Denmark, relating to naturalization.
U.S. GRANT.
WASHINGTON, _December 9, 1872_.
_To the Senate of the United States:_
In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 5th instant, I transmit
herewith a report[70] from the Secretary of State.
U.S. GRANT.
[Footnote 70: Stating that the correspondence relative to the existence
of slavery on the coast of Africa and to the action taken by Great
Britain and other countries for its suppression was transmitted with the
annual message of the President on the 2d instant.]
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 12, 1872_.
_To the House of Representatives:_
In compliance with section 2 of the act making appropriations for the
consular and diplomatic expenses of the Government for the year ended
June 30, 1871, and for other purposes, I herewith transmit a report
received from the Secretary of the Treasury, giving the name of, the
report made by, and the amount paid to the single consular agent of
the United States.[71]
U.S. GRANT.
[Footnote 71: De B. Randolph Keim.]
WASHINGTON, _December 16, 1872_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_
I transmit to Congress a report from the Secretary of State, accompanied
by that of the commissioners for inquiring into depredations upon the
frontier of the State of Texas, appointed pursuant to the joint
resolution of the 7th of May last.
U.S. GRANT.
WASHINGTON, _January 5, 1873_.
_To the Senate of the United States:_
I transmit, for the consideration of the Senate with a view to
ratification, a convention for the surrender of criminals between the
United States of America and the Republic of Honduras, which was signed
at Comayagua on the 4th day of June, 1873.
U.S. GRANT.
WASHINGTON, _January 13, 1873_.
_To the House of Representatives:_
In answer to resolution of the House of Representatives of the 16th
of December last, calling for information relative to the condition of
affairs in Louisiana, and what, if any, action has been taken in regard
thereto, I herewith transmit the report of the Attorney-General and the
papers by which it is accompanied.
U.S. GRANT.
WASHINGTON, _January 22, 1873_.
_To the Senate of the United States:_
I transmit herewith to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
ratification, an additional article to the treaty between the United
States and Her Britannic Majesty of the 8th of May, 1871.
U.S. GRANT.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 31, 1873_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_
In compliance with section 2 of the act approved July 11, 1870, entitled
"An act making appropriations for the consular and diplomatic expenses
of the Government for the year ending June 30, 1871, and for other
purposes," I have the honor to submit herewith a letter of the Secretary
of the Treasury relative to the consular agent[72] appointed under
authority of said act, together with the amounts paid such agent, and to
transmit the report of the said agent upon the consular service of the
United States.
U.S. GRANT.
[Footnote 72: De B. Randolph Keim.]
WASHINGTON, _February 8, 1873_.
_To the House of Representatives:_
In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 29th
of January, requesting information in relation to the case of Bernhard
Bernstein,[73] I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State
upon that subject, with accompanying documents.
U.S. GRANT.
[Footnote 73: Claim against Russia for illegal arrest and imprisonment.]
WASHINGTON, _February 13, 1873_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_
I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State and
accompanying papers.[74]
U.S. GRANT.
[Footnote 74: Report of the United States commissioner to the
International Penitentiary Congress of London, and appendix containing
summary of proceedings of the National Prison Congress of Baltimore.]
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 14, 1873_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_
I consider it my duty to call the attention of Congress to the condition
of affairs in the Territory of Utah, and to the dangers likely to arise
if it continues during the coming recess, from a threatened conflict
between the Federal and Territorial authorities.
No discussion is necessary in regard to the general policy of Congress
respecting the Territories of the United States, and I only wish now to
refer to so much of that policy as concerns their judicial affairs and
the enforcement of law within their borders.
No material differences are found in respect to these matters in the
organic acts of the Territories, but an examination of them will show
that it has been the invariable policy of Congress to place and keep
their civil and criminal jurisdiction, with certain limited exceptions,
in the hands of persons nominated by the President and confirmed by the
Senate, and that the general administration of justice should be as
prescribed by Congressional enactment. Sometimes the power given to the
Territorial legislatures has been somewhat larger and sometimes somewhat
smaller than the powers generally conferred. Never, however, have powers
been given to a Territorial legislature inconsistent with the idea that
the general judicature of the Territory was to be under the direct
supervision of the National Government.
Accordingly, the organic law creating the Territory of Utah, passed
September 9, 1850, provided for the appointment of a supreme court, the
judges of which are judges of the district courts, a clerk, marshal, and
an attorney, and to these Federal officers is confided jurisdiction in
all important matters; but, as decided recently by the Supreme Court,
the act requires jurors to serve in these courts to be selected in such
manner as the Territorial legislature sees fit to prescribe. It has
undoubtedly been the desire of Congress, so far as the same might be
compatible with the supervisory control of the Territorial government,
to leave the minor details connected with the administration of law to
regulation by local authority; but such a desire ought not to govern
when the effect will be, owing to the peculiar circumstances of the
case, to produce a conflict between the Federal and the Territorial
authorities, or to impede the enforcement of law, or in any way to
endanger the peace and good order of the Territory.
Evidently it was never intended to intrust the Territorial legislature
with power which would enable it, by creating judicatures of its
own or increasing the jurisdiction of courts appointed by Territorial
authority, although recognized by Congress, to take the administration
of the law out of the hands of the judges appointed by the President
or to interfere with their action.
Several years of unhappy experience make it apparent that in both of
these respects the Territory of Utah requires special legislation by
Congress.
Public opinion in that Territory, produced by circumstances too
notorious to require further notice, makes it necessary, in my opinion,
in order to prevent the miscarriage of justice and to maintain
the supremacy of the laws of the United States and of the Federal
Government, to provide that the selection of grand and petit jurors for
the district courts, if not put under the control of Federal officers,
shall be placed in the hands of persons entirely independent of those
who are determined not to enforce any act of Congress obnoxious to them,
and also to pass some act which shall deprive the probate courts, or any
court created by the Territorial legislature, of any power to interfere
with or impede the action of the courts held by the United States
judges.
I am convinced that so long as Congress leaves the selection of jurors
to the local authorities it will be futile to make any effort to enforce
laws not acceptable to a majority of the people of the Territory, or
which interfere with local prejudices or provide for the punishment of
polygamy or any of its affiliated vices or crimes.
I presume that Congress, in passing upon the subject, will provide all
reasonable and proper safeguards to secure honest and impartial jurors,
whose verdicts will command confidence and be a guaranty of equal
protection to all good and law-abiding citizens, and at the same time
make it understood that crime can not be committed with impunity.
I have before said that while the laws creating the several Territories
have generally contained uniform provisions in respect to the judiciary,
yet Congress has occasionally varied these provisions in minor details,
as the circumstances of the Territory affected seemed to demand;
and in creating the Territory of Utah Congress evidently thought that
circumstances there might require judicial remedies not necessary in
other Territories, for by section 9 of the act creating that Territory
it is provided that a writ of error may be brought from the decision
of any judge of the supreme or district court of the Territory to the
Supreme Court of the United States upon any writ of _habeas corpus_
involving the question of personal freedom--a provision never inserted
in any other Territorial act except that creating the Territory of
New Mexico.
This extraordinary provision shows that Congress intended to mold
the organic law to the peculiar necessities of the Territory, and the
legislation which I now recommend is in full harmony with the precedent
thus established.
I am advised that United States courts in Utah have been greatly
embarrassed by the action of the Territorial legislature in
conferring criminal jurisdiction and the power to issue writs of _habeas
corpus_ on the probate courts in the Territory, and by their consequent
interference with the administration of justice. Manifestly the
legislature of the Territory can not give to any court whatever the
power to discharge by _habeas corpus_ persons held by or under process
from the courts created by Congress, but complaint is made that persons
so held have been discharged in that way by the probate courts. I can
not doubt that Congress will agree with me that such a state of things
ought not longer to be tolerated, and that no class of persons anywhere
should be allowed to treat the laws of the United States with open
defiance and contempt.
Apprehensions are entertained that if Congress adjourns without any
action upon this subject turbulence and disorder will follow, rendering
military interference necessary--a result I should greatly deprecate;
and in view of this and other obvious considerations, I earnestly
recommend that Congress, at the present session, pass some act which
will enable the district courts of Utah to proceed with independence
and efficiency in the administration of law and justice.
U.S. GRANT.
WASHINGTON, _February 17, 1873_.
_To the Senate of the United States:_
In answer to a resolution of the Senate of the 14th instant, adopted
in executive session, requiring of the Secretary of State information
touching the business before the late mixed commission on claims under
the convention with Mexico, I transmit a report from the Secretary of
State and the papers by which it was accompanied.
U.S. GRANT.
WASHINGTON, _February 24, 1873_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_
In my annual message to Congress at the opening of the second session of
the present Congress, in December, 1871, I recommended the legislation
necessary on the part of the United States to bring into operation the
articles of the treaty of Washington of May 8, 1871, relative to the
fisheries and to other matters touching the relations of the United
States toward the British North American possessions, to become
operative so soon as the proper legislation should be had on the part of
Great Britain and its possessions. That legislation on the part of Great
Britain and its possessions had not then been had.
Having, prior to the meeting of Congress in December last, received
official information of the consideration by Great Britain and its
possessions of the legislation necessary on their part to bring those
articles into operation, I communicated that fact to Congress in my
annual message at the opening of the present session, and renewed the
recommendation for your early adoption of the legislation in the same
direction necessary on the part of this Government.
The near approach of the end of the session induces me again to urgently
call your attention to the importance of this legislation on the part of
Congress.
It will be remembered that the treaty of Washington resulted from an
overture on the part of Great Britain to treat with reference to the
fisheries on the coast of Her Majesty's possessions in North America
and other questions between them affecting the relations of the United
States toward these possessions. To this overture a reply was made on
the part of this Government that while appreciating the importance of
a friendly and complete understanding between the two Governments with
reference to the subject specially suggested by the British Government,
it was thought that the removal of the differences growing out of
what were generically known as the Alabama claims was essential to
the restoration of cordial and amicable relations between the two
Governments, and the assent of this Government to treat on the subject
of the fisheries was made dependent on the assent of Great Britain
to allow the joint commission which it had prepared on the questions
suggested by that Government to treat also and settle the differences
growing out of the Alabama claims.
Great Britain assented to this, and the treaty of Washington proposed
a settlement of both classes of questions.
Those relating to the Alabama claims and to the northwestern water
boundary, commonly known as the San Juan question, have been disposed
of in pursuance of the terms of the treaty.
Those relating to the fisheries were made by the terms of the treaty to
depend upon the legislation which the constitutions of the respective
Governments made necessary to carry those provisions into effect.
Great Britain and her possessions have on their part enacted the
necessary legislation.
This Government is now enjoying the advantages of those provisions of
the treaty which were the result of the condition of its assent to treat
upon the questions which Great Britain had submitted.
The tribunal at Geneva has made an award in favor of the United States
on the Alabama claims, and His Majesty the Emperor of Germany has
decided in favor of the contention of the United States on the
northwestern boundary line.
I can not urge too strongly the importance of your early consideration
of the legislation that may be necessary on the part of this Government.
In addition to the claim that Great Britain may have upon the good faith
of this Government to consider the legislation necessary in connection
with the questions which that Government presented as the subject of a
negotiation which has resulted so favorably to this Government upon the
other questions in which the United States felt so much interest, it is
of importance that the rights of the American fishermen, as provided
for under the treaty, should be determined before the now approaching
fishing season opens, and that the serious difficulties to the fishing
interests and the grave questions between the two Governments that may
arise therefrom be averted.
U.S. GRANT.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 25, 1873_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_
Your attention is respectfully invited to the condition of affairs in
the State of Louisiana.
Grave complications have grown out of the election there on the 6th of
November last, chiefly attributable, it is believed, to an organized
attempt on the part of those controlling the election officers and
returns to defeat in that election the will of a majority of the
electors of the State. Different persons are claiming the executive
offices, two bodies are claiming to be the legislative assembly of the
State, and the confusion and uncertainty produced in this way fall with
paralyzing effect upon all its interests.
Controversy arose as soon as the election occurred over its proceedings
and results, but I declined to interfere until suit involving this
controversy to some extent was brought in the circuit court of the
United States under and by virtue of the act of May 31, 1870, entitled
"An act to enforce the right of citizens of the United States to vote
in the several States of the Union, and for other purposes."
Finding that resistance was made to judicial process in that suit,
without any opportunity, and, in my judgment, without any right, to
review the judgment of the court upon the jurisdictional or other
questions arising in the case, I directed the United States marshal to
enforce such process and to use, if necessary, troops for that purpose,
in accordance with the thirteenth section of said act, which provides
that "it shall be lawful for the President of the United States to
employ such part of the land or naval forces of the United States or of
the militia as shall be necessary to aid in the execution of judicial
process under this act."
Two bodies of persons claimed to be the returning board for the State,
and the circuit court in that case decided that the one to which Lynch
belonged, usually designated by his name, was the lawful returning
board; and this decision has been repeatedly affirmed by the district
and supreme courts of the State. Having no opportunity or power to
canvass the votes, and the exigencies of the case demanding an immediate
decision, I conceived it to be my duty to recognize those persons as
elected who received and held their credentials to office from what then
appeared to me to be, and has since been decided by the supreme court
of the State to be, the legal returning board.
Conformably to the decisions of this board, a full set of State officers
has been installed and a legislative assembly organized, constituting,
if not a _de jure_, at least a _de facto_ government, which, since
some time in December last, has had possession of the offices and been
exercising the usual powers of government; but opposed to this has been
another government claiming to control the affairs of the State, and
which has to some extent been _pro forma_ organized.
Recent investigation into said election has developed so many frauds
and forgeries as to make it doubtful what candidates received a majority
of the votes actually cast, and in view of these facts a variety of
action has been proposed. I have no specific recommendation to make
upon the subject, but if there is any practicable way of removing these
difficulties by legislation, then I earnestly request that such action
may be taken at the present session of Congress.
It seems advisable that I should state now what course I shall feel
bound to pursue in reference to the matter in the event of no action by
Congress at this time. Subject to any satisfactory arrangement that may
be made by the parties to the controversy, which of all things is the
most desirable, it will be my duty, so far as it may be necessary for
me to act, to adhere to that government heretofore recognized by me.
To judge of the election and qualifications of its members is the
exclusive province of the Senate, as it is also the exclusive province
of the House to judge of the election and qualifications of its members;
but as to State offices, filled and held under State laws, the decisions
of the State judicial tribunals, it seems to me, ought to be respected.
I am extremely anxious to avoid any appearance of undue interference
in State affairs, and if Congress differs from me as to what ought
to be done I respectfully urge its immediate decision to that effect;
otherwise I shall feel obliged, as far as I can by the exercise of
legitimate authority, to put an end to the unhappy controversy which
disturbs the peace and prostrates the business of Louisiana, by the
recognition and support of that government which is recognized and
upheld by the courts of the State.
U.S. GRANT.
VETO MESSAGES.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 6, 1873_.
_To the House of Representatives:_
I return herewith, for the further consideration of Congress, House bill
No. 2291, entitled "An act for the relief of Edmund Jussen," to which
I have not appended my approval, for the following reasons:
The bill directs the accounting officers to transfer from Mr. Jussen's
account to that of his successor all indebtedness arising from the
loss or destruction or nontaking of warehouse bonds on certain spirits
destroyed by fire. This provision would be wholly ineffective in so far
as it proposes to increase the liability of Mr. Jussen's successor, he
having been appointed subsequently to the destruction of the spirits.
It might operate to relieve Mr. Jussen, but it seems probable that
he is already relieved by the act of May 27, 1872, passed since the
introduction of this bill. That act provides for the rebatement of taxes
on distilled spirits destroyed by fire, except in cases where the owners
of such spirits may be indemnified against tax by a valid claim of
insurance. The relief of the taxpayers of course includes the relief
of collectors from liability caused by failure to take bonds. It does
not appear whether there was any insurance in this case. If not, the
applicant is already relieved; but if there was an insurance the effect
of this bill, if it became a law, might be to except Mr. Jussen from the
operation of the general rule established by the proviso of the act of
May 27, 1872. If such exception be proper, it should not be confined to
an individual case, but extended to all. If there was an insurance, this
bill would relieve Mr, Jussen from the liability with which it is very
doubtful if his successor could be legally charged, or with which he
ought to be charged.
U.S. GRANT.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 22, 1873_.
The SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
SIR: I herewith return to the House of Representatives, in which it
originated, H.R. No. 630, entitled "An act in relation to new trials
in the Court of Claims," without my approval.
The object of the bill is to reduce from two years to six months the
time in which a new trial, upon motion of the United States, may be
granted in the Court of Claims.
Great difficulties are now experienced in contesting fraudulent and
unjust claims against the Government prosecuted in said court, and the
effect of this bill, if it becomes a law, will be to increase those
difficulties. Persons sue in this court generally with the advantage
of a personal knowledge of the circumstances of the case, and are
prompted by personal interest to activity in its preparation for trial,
which consists sometimes in the production of false testimony and the
suppression of the truth, while the United States are dependent for
defense upon such inquiries as the officers of the Government, generally
strangers to the transaction, are enabled to make, not infrequently in
remote parts of the country and among those not averse to depredations
upon the National Treasury. Instances have occurred where the existing
opportunities for a new trial have enabled the Government to discover
and defeat claims that ought not to have been allowed, after judgments
thereon had been rendered by the Court of Claims.
By referring to the act which it is proposed to modify it will be seen
that the payment of judgments recovered is not necessarily suspended
for two years; but where the proofs are doubtful or suspicious the
Government may appeal to the Supreme Court, and in the meantime may
avail itself of any discovery or revelation of new evidence touching
the facts of the case.
I fail to see the necessity or advantages of the proposed change in
the law, and whatever may be the purposes of the bill, its effect,
if passed, I am apprehensive will be to facilitate the prosecution of
fraudulent claims against the United States. Believing that justice can
and will be done to honest claimants in the Court of Claims as the law
now stands, and believing also that the proposed change in the law will
remove a valuable safeguard to the Treasury, I must for these reasons
respectfully withhold my assent to the bill.
U.S. GRANT.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 29, 1873_.
_To the Senate of the United States:_
I have the honor to return herewith Senate bill No. 490, entitled
"An act for the relief of the East Tennessee University," without
my approval.
This claim, for which $18,500 are appropriated out of the moneys of the
United States, arises in part for the destruction of property by troops
in time of war, and therefore the same objections attach to it as were
expressed in my message of June 1, 1872, returning the Senate bill
awarding $25,000 to J. Milton Best.
If the precedent is once established that the Government is liable for
the ravages of war, the end of demands upon the public Treasury can not
be forecast.
The loyalty of the people of the section in which the university
is located, under circumstances of personal danger and trials, thus
entitling them to the most favorable construction of the obligation of
the Government toward them, is admitted, and nothing but regard for my
duty to the whole people, in opposing a principle which, if allowed,
will entail greater burdens upon the whole than the relief which will be
afforded to a part by allowing this bill to become a law, could induce
me to return it with objections.
Recognizing the claims of these citizens to sympathy and the most
favorable consideration of their claims by the Government, I would
heartily favor a donation of the amount appropriated by this bill for
their relief.
U.S. GRANT.
WASHINGTON, _February 8, 1873_.
_To the House of Representatives:_
I have the honor to return herewith House bill (H.R. 2852) entitled
"An act for the relief of James A. McCullah, late collector of the fifth
district of Missouri," without my approval, for the following reasons:
It is provided in section 34 of the act of June 30, 1864, as amended by
the act of July 13, 1866, that it shall be proved to the satisfaction
of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue that due diligence was used by
the collector, who shall certify the facts to the First Comptroller.
This bill, should it become a law, clearly excuses Mr. McCullah, late
collector, from showing that he used due diligence for the collection
of the tax in question while the lists remained in his hands.
U.S. GRANT.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 11, 1873_.
_To the Senate of the United States:_
I return herewith without my approval Senate bill No. 161, entitled
"An act for the relief of those suffering from the destruction of salt
works near Manchester, Ky., pursuant to the order of Major-General
Carlos Buell."
All the objections made by me to the bill for the relief of J. Milton
Best, and also of the East Tennessee University, apply with equal force
to this bill.
According to the official report of Brigadier-General Craft, by whose
immediate command the property in question was destroyed, there was a
large rebel force in the neighborhood, who were using the salt works and
had carried away a considerable quantity of salt, and were preparing to
take more as soon as the necessary transportation could be procured; and
he further states "that the leaders of the rebellion calculated upon
their supply of salt to come from these works," and that in his opinion
their destruction was a military necessity. I understand him to say, in
effect, that the salt works were captured from the rebels; that it was
impracticable to hold them, and that they were demolished so as to be of
no further use to the enemy.
I can not agree that the owners of property destroyed under such
circumstances are entitled to compensation therefor from the United
States. Whatever other view may be taken of the subject, it is
incontrovertible that these salt works were destroyed by the Union Army
while engaged in regular military operations, and that the sole object
of their destruction was to weaken, cripple, or defeat the armies of the
so-called Southern Confederacy.
I am greatly apprehensive that the allowance of this claim could and
would be construed into the recognition of a principle binding the
United States to pay for all property which their military forces
destroyed in the late war for the Union. No liability by the Government
to pay for property destroyed by the Union forces in conducting a battle
or siege has yet been claimed, but the precedent proposed by this bill
leads directly and strongly in that direction, for it is difficult upon
any ground of reason or justice to distinguish between a case of that
kind and the one under consideration. Had General Craft and his command
destroyed the salt works by shelling out the enemy found in their actual
occupancy, the case would not have been different in principle from the
one presented in this bill. What possible difference can it make in
the rights of owners or the obligations of the Government whether the
destruction was in driving the enemy out or in keeping them out of the
possession of the salt works?
This bill does not present a case where private property is taken for
public use in any sense of the Constitution. It was not taken from the
owners, but from the enemy; and it was not then used by the Government,
but destroyed. Its destruction was one of the casualties of war, and,
though not happening in actual conflict, was perhaps as disastrous to
the rebels as would have been a victory in battle.
Owners of property destroyed to prevent the spread of a conflagration,
as a general rule, are not entitled to compensation therefor; and for
reasons equally strong the necessary destruction of property found in
the hands of the public enemy, and constituting a part of their military
supplies, does not entitle the owner to indemnity from the Government
for damages to him in that way.
I fully appreciate the hardship of the case, and would be glad if my
convictions of duty allowed me to join in the proposed relief; but I can
not consent to the doctrine which is found in this bill, as it seems to
me, by which the National Treasury is exposed to all claims for property
injured or destroyed by the armies of the United States in the late
protracted and destructive war in this country.
U.S. GRANT.
PROCLAMATION.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas objects of interest to the United States require that the Senate
should be convened at 12 o'clock on the 4th of March next, to receive
and act upon such communications as may be made to it on the part of the
Executive:
Now, therefore, I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States,
have considered it to be my duty to issue this my proclamation,
declaring that an extraordinary occasion requires the Senate of the
United States to convene for the transaction of business at the Capitol,
in the city of Washington, on the 4th day of March next, at 12 o'clock
at noon on that day, of which all who shall at that time be entitled to
act as members of that body are hereby required to take notice.
Given under my hand and the seal of the United States, at Washington,
the 21st day of February, A.D. 1873, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the ninety-seventh.
[SEAL.]
U.S. GRANT.
By the President:
HAMILTON FISH,
_Secretary of State_.
EXECUTIVE ORDERS.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
EXECUTIVE ORDER.
WASHINGTON, _January 17, 1873_.
Whereas it has been brought to the notice of the President of the United
States that many persons holding civil office by appointment from him or
otherwise under the Constitution and laws of the United States, while
holding such Federal positions, accept offices under the authority of
the States and Territories in which they reside, or of municipal
corporations under the charters and ordinances of such corporations,
thereby assuming the duties of the State, Territorial, or municipal
office at the same time that they are charged with the duties of the
civil office held under Federal authority; and
Whereas it is believed that, with few exceptions, the holding of two
such offices by the same person is incompatible with a due and faithful
discharge of the duties of either office; that it frequently gives rise
to great inconvenience, and often results in detriment to the public
service, and, moreover, is not in harmony with the genius of the
Government:
In view of the premises, therefore, the President has deemed it proper
thus and hereby to give public notice that from and after the 4th day
of March, A.D. 1873 (except as herein specified), persons holding any
Federal civil office by appointment under the Constitution and laws of
the United States will be expected, while holding such office, not to
accept or hold any office under any State or Territorial government
or under the charter or ordinances of any municipal corporation; and
further, that the acceptance or continued holding of any such State,
Territorial, or municipal office, whether elective or by appointment,
by any person holding civil office as aforesaid under the Government
of the United States, other than judicial offices under the Constitution
of the United States, will be deemed a vacation of the Federal office
held by such person, and will be taken to be and will be treated as a
resignation by such Federal officer of his commission or appointment
in the service of the United States.
The offices of justices of the peace, of notaries public, and of
commissioners to take the acknowledgment of deeds, of bail, or to
administer oaths shall not be deemed within the purview of this order,
and are excepted from its operation and may be held by Federal officers.
The appointment of deputy marshal of the United States may be conferred
upon sheriffs or deputy sheriffs; and deputy postmasters the emoluments
of whose office do not exceed $600 per annum are also excepted from the
operations of this order, and may accept and hold appointments under
State, Territorial, or municipal authority, provided die same be found
not to interfere with the discharge of their duties as postmaster.
Heads of Departments and other officers of the Government who have the
appointment of subordinate officers are required to take notice of this
order, and to see to the enforcement of its provisions and terms within
the sphere of their respective Departments or offices and as relates to
the several persons holding appointments under them, respectively.
By order of the President:
HAMILTON FISH,
_Secretary of State_.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE, _Washington, January 28, 1873_.
Inquiries having been made from various quarters as to the application
of the Executive order issued on the 17th January, relating to the
holding of State or municipal offices by persons holding civil offices
under the Federal Government, the President directs the following reply
to be made:
It has been asked whether the order prohibits a Federal officer from
holding also the office of an alderman or of a common councilman in a
city, or of a town councilman of a town or village, or of appointments
under city, town, or village governments. By some it has been suggested
that there may be distinction made in case the office be with or without
salary or compensation. The city or town offices of the description
referred to, by whatever names they may be locally known, whether held
by election or by appointment, and whether with or without salary or
compensation, are of the class which the Executive order intends not
to be held by persons holding Federal offices.
It has been asked whether the order prohibits Federal officers from
holding positions on boards of education, school committees, public
libraries, religious or eleemosynary institutions incorporated or
established or sustained by State or municipal authority. Positions and
service on such boards or committees and professorships in colleges are
not regarded as "offices" within the contemplation of the Executive
order, but as employments or service in which all good citizens may be
engaged without incompatibility, and in many cases without necessary
interference with any position which they may hold under the Federal
Government. Officers of the Federal Government may therefore engage in
such service, provided the attention required by such employment does
not interfere with the regular and efficient discharge of the duties of
their office under the Federal Government. The head of the Department
under whom the Federal office is held will in all cases be the sole
judge whether or not the employment does thus interfere.
The question has also been asked with regard to officers of the
State militia. Congress having exercised the power conferred by the
Constitution to provide for organizing the militia, which is liable to
be called forth to be employed in the service of the United States, and
is thus in some sense under the control of the General Government, and
is, moreover, of the greatest value to the public, the Executive order
of the 17th January is not considered as prohibiting Federal officers
from being officers of the militia in the States and Territories.
It has been asked whether the order prohibits persons holding office
under the Federal Government being members of local or municipal fire
departments; also whether it applies to mechanics employed by the day
in the armories, arsenals, and navy-yards, etc., of the United States.
Unpaid service in local or municipal fire departments is not regarded as
an office within the intent of the Executive order, and may be performed
by Federal officers, provided it does not interfere with the regular and
efficient discharge of the duties of the Federal office, of which the
head of the Department under which the office is held will in each case
be the judge. Employment by the day as mechanics and laborers in the
armories, arsenals, navy-yards, etc., does not constitute an office of
any kind, and those thus employed are not within the contemplation of
the Executive order. Master workmen and others who hold appointments
from the Government or from any Department, whether for a fixed time
or at the pleasure of the appointing power, are embraced within the
operation of the order.
By order of the President:
HAMILTON FISH,
_Secretary of State_.
SECOND INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
FELLOW-CITIZENS: Under Providence I have been called a second time to
act as Executive over this great nation. It has been my endeavor in the
past to maintain all the laws, and, so far as lay in my power, to act
for the best interests of the whole people. My best efforts will be
given in the same direction in the future, aided, I trust, by my four
years' experience in the office.
When my first term of the office of Chief Executive began, the country
had not recovered from the effects of a great internal revolution, and
three of the former States of the Union had not been restored to their
Federal relations.
It seemed to me wise that no new questions should be raised so long as
that condition of affairs existed. Therefore the past four years, so far
as I could control events, have been consumed in the effort to restore
harmony, public credit, commerce, and all the arts of peace and
progress. It is my firm conviction that the civilized world is tending
toward republicanism, or government by the people through their chosen
representatives, and that our own great Republic is destined to be the
guiding star to all others.
Under our Republic we support an army less than that of any European
power of any standing and a navy less than that of either of at least
five of them. There could be no extension of territory on the continent
which would call for an increase of this force, but rather might such
extension enable us to diminish it.
The theory of government changes with general progress. Now that the
telegraph is made available for communicating thought, together with
rapid transit by steam, all parts of a continent are made contiguous for
all purposes of government, and communication between the extreme limits
of the country made easier than it was throughout the old thirteen
States at the beginning of our national existence.
The effects of the late civil strife have been to free the slave and
make him a citizen. Yet he is not possessed of the civil rights which
citizenship should carry with it. This is wrong, and should be
corrected. To this correction I stand committed, so far as Executive
influence can avail.
Social equality is not a subject to be legislated upon, nor shall I ask
that anything be done to advance the social status of the colored man,
except to give him a fair chance to develop what there is good in him,
give him access to the schools, and when he travels let him feel assured
that his conduct will regulate the treatment and fare he will receive.
The States lately at war with the General Government are now happily
rehabilitated, and no Executive control is exercised in any one of them
that would not be exercised in any other State under like circumstances.
In the first year of the past Administration the proposition came up for
the admission of Santo Domingo as a Territory of the Union. It was not
a question of my seeking, but was a proposition from the people of Santo
Domingo, and which I entertained. I believe now, as I did then, that
it was for the best interest of this country, for the people of Santo
Domingo, and all concerned that the proposition should be received
favorably. It was, however, rejected constitutionally, and therefore
the subject was never brought up again by me.
In future, while I hold my present office, the subject of acquisition of
territory must have the support of the people before I will recommend
any proposition looking to such acquisition. I say here, however, that
I do not share in the apprehension held by many as to the danger of
governments becoming weakened and destroyed by reason of their extension
of territory. Commerce, education, and rapid transit of thought and
matter by telegraph and steam have changed all this. Rather do I believe
that our Great Maker is preparing the world, in His own good time, to
become one nation, speaking one language, and when armies and navies
will be no longer required.
My efforts in the future will be directed to the restoration of good
feeling between the different sections of our common country; to the
restoration of our currency to a fixed value as compared with the
world's standard of values--gold--and, if possible, to a par with it;
to the construction of cheap routes of transit throughout the land, to
the end that the products of all may find a market and leave a living
remuneration to the producer; to the maintenance of friendly relations
with all our neighbors and with distant nations; to the reestablishment
of our commerce and share in the carrying trade upon the ocean; to the
encouragement of such manufacturing industries as can be economically
pursued in this country, to the end that the exports of home products
and industries may pay for our imports--the only sure method of
returning to and permanently maintaining a specie basis; to the
elevation of labor; and, by a humane course, to bring the aborigines of
the country under the benign influences of education and civilization.
It is either this or war of extermination. Wars of extermination,
engaged in by people pursuing commerce and all industrial pursuits,
are expensive even against the weakest people, and are demoralizing
and wicked. Our superiority of strength and advantages of civilization
should make us lenient toward the Indian. The wrong inflicted upon him
should be taken into account and the balance placed to his credit. The
moral view of the question should be considered and the question asked,
Can not the Indian be made a useful and productive member of society by
proper teaching and treatment? If the effort is made in good faith, we
will stand better before the civilized nations of the earth and in our
own consciences for having made it.
All these things are not to be accomplished by one individual, but they
will receive my support and such recommendations to Congress as will in
my judgment best serve to carry them into effect. I beg your support and
encouragement.
It has been, and is, my earnest desire to correct abuses that have grown
up in the civil service of the country. To secure this reformation rules
regulating methods of appointment and promotions were established and
have been tried. My efforts for such reformation shall be continued to
the best of my judgment. The spirit of the rules adopted will be
maintained.
I acknowledge before this assemblage, representing, as it does, every
section of our country, the obligation I am under to my countrymen for
the great honor they have conferred on me by returning me to the highest
office within their gift, and the further obligation resting on me to
render to them the best services within my power. This I promise,
looking forward with the greatest anxiety to the day when I shall be
released from responsibilities that at times are almost overwhelming,
and from which I have scarcely had a respite since the eventful firing
upon Fort Sumter, in April, 1861, to the present day. My services were
then tendered and accepted under the first call for troops growing out
of that event.
I did not ask for place or position, and was entirely without influence
or the acquaintance of persons of influence, but was resolved to perform
my part in a struggle threatening the very existence of the nation.
I performed a conscientious duty, without asking promotion or command,
and without a revengeful feeling toward any section or individual.
Notwithstanding this, throughout the war, and from my candidacy for my
present office in 1868 to the close of the last Presidential campaign,
I have been the subject of abuse and slander scarcely ever equaled in
political history, which to-day I feel that I can afford to disregard
in view of your verdict, which I gratefully accept as my vindication.
MARCH 4, 1873.
PROCLAMATIONS.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas, under the pretense that William P. Kellogg, the present
executive of Louisiana, and the officers associated with him in the
State administration were not duly elected, certain turbulent and
disorderly persons have combined together with force and arms to resist
the laws and constituted authorities of said State; and
Whereas it has been duly certified by the proper local authorities and
judicially determined by the inferior and supreme courts of said State
that said officers are entitled to hold their offices, respectively, and
execute and discharge the functions thereof; and
Whereas Congress, at its late session, upon a due consideration of the
subject, tacitly recognized the said executive and his associates, then
as now in office, by refusing to take any action with respect thereto;
and
Whereas it is provided in the Constitution of the United States that the
United States shall protect every State in this Union, on application of
the legislature, or of the executive when the legislature can not be
convened, against domestic violence; and
Whereas it is provided in the laws of the United States that in all
cases of insurrection in any State or of obstruction to the laws
thereof it shall be lawful for the President of the United States, on
application of the legislature of such State, or of the executive when
the legislature can not be convened, to call forth the militia of any
other State or States, or to employ such part of the land and naval
forces as shall be judged necessary, for the purpose of suppressing
such insurrection or causing the laws to be duly executed; and
Whereas the legislature of said State is not now in session, and can not
be convened in time to meet the present emergency, and the executive of
said State, under section 4 of Article IV of the Constitution of the
United States and the laws passed in pursuance thereof, has therefore
made application to me for such part of the military force of the United
States as may be necessary and adequate to protect said State and the
citizens thereof against domestic violence and to enforce the due
execution of the laws; and
Whereas it is required that whenever it may be necessary, in the
judgment of the President, to use the military force for the purpose
aforesaid, he shall forthwith, by proclamation, command such insurgents
to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective homes within a
limited time:
Now, therefore, I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States,
do hereby make proclamation and command said turbulent and disorderly
persons to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes
within twenty days from this date, and hereafter to submit themselves to
the laws and constituted authorities of said State; and I invoke the aid
and cooperation of all good citizens thereof to uphold law and preserve
the public peace.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.
[SEAL.]
Done at the city of Washington, this 22d day of May, A.D. 1873, and of
the Independence of the United States the ninety-seventh.
U.S. GRANT.
By the President:
J.C. BANCROFT DAVIS,
_Acting Secretary of State_.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas by the thirty-third article of a treaty concluded at Washington
on the 8th day of May, 1871, between the United States and Her Britannic
Majesty it was provided that--
Articles XVIII to XXV, inclusive, and Article XXX of this treaty shall
take effect as soon as the laws required to carry them into operation
shall have been passed by the Imperial Parliament of Great Britain,
by the parliament of Canada, and by the legislature of Prince Edwards
Island on the one hand, and by the Congress of the United States on
the other.
And whereas by the first section of an act entitled "An act to carry
into effect the provisions of the treaty between the United States and
Great Britain signed in the city of Washington the 8th day of May, 1871,
relating to the fisheries," it is provided--
That whenever the President of the United States shall receive
satisfactory evidence that the Imperial Parliament of Great Britain, the
parliament of Canada, and the legislature of Prince Edwards Island have
passed laws on their part to give full effect to the provisions of the
treaty between the United States and Great Britain signed at the city
of Washington on the 8th day of May, 1871, as contained in articles
eighteenth to twenty-fifth, inclusive, and article thirtieth of said
treaty, he is hereby authorized to issue his proclamation declaring that
he has such evidence.
And whereas the Secretary of State of the United States and Her
Britannic Majesty's envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary at
Washington have recorded in a protocol a conference held by them at the
Department of State, in Washington, on the 7th day of June, 1873, in the
following language:
PROTOCOL OF A CONFERENCE HELD AT WASHINGTON ON THE 7TH DAY OF JUNE, 1873.
Whereas it is provided by Article XXXIII of the treaty between Her
Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
and the United States of America signed at Washington on the 8th of
May, 1871, as follows:
"Article XXXIII.
"The foregoing Articles XVIII to XXV, inclusive, and Article XXX of this
treaty shall take effect as soon as the laws required to carry them into
operation shall have been passed by the Imperial Parliament of Great
Britain, by the parliament of Canada, and by the legislature of Prince
Edwards Island on the one hand, and by the Congress of the United States
on the other. Such assent having been given, the said articles shall
remain in force for the period of ten years from the date at which they
may come into operation, and, further, until the expiration of two years
after either of the high contracting parties shall have given notice
to the other of its wish to terminate the same; each of the high
contracting parties being at liberty to give such notice to the other at
the end of the said period of ten years or at any time afterwards;" and
Whereas, in accordance with the stipulations of the above-recited
article, an act was passed by the Imperial Parliament of Great Britain
in the thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth years of the reign of Queen
Victoria, intituled "An act to carry into effect a treaty between Her
Majesty and the United States of America;" and
Whereas an act was passed by the senate and house of commons of Canada
in the fifth session of the first parliament held in the thirty-fifth
year of Her Majesty's reign and assented to in Her Majesty's name by
the Governor-General on the 14th day of June, 1872, intituled "An act
relating to the treaty of Washington, 1871;" and
Whereas an act was passed by the legislature of Prince Edwards Island
and assented to by the lieutenant-governor of that colony on the 29th
day of June, 1872, intituled "An act relating to the treaty of
Washington, 1871;" and
Whereas an act was passed by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, and approved on the
1st day of March, 1873, by the President of the United States, intituled
"An act to carry into effect the provisions of the treaty between the
United States and Great Britain signed in the city of Washington the
8th day of May, 1871, relating to fisheries:"
The undersigned, Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State of the United
States, and the Right Hon. Sir Edward Thornton, one of Her Majesty's
most honorable privy council, knight commander of the most honorable
Order of the Bath, Her Britannic Majesty's envoy extraordinary and
minister plenipotentiary to the United States of America, duly
authorized for this purpose by their respective Governments, having
met together at Washington, and having found that the laws required
to carry the Articles XVIII to XXV, inclusive, and Article XXX of
the treaty aforesaid into operation have been passed by the Imperial
Parliament of Great Britain, by the parliament of Canada, and by the
legislature of Prince Edwards Island on the one part, and by the
Congress of the United States on the other, hereby declare that
Articles XVIII to XXV, inclusive, and Article XXX of the treaty
between Her Britannic Majesty and the United States of America of
the 8th of May, 1871, will take effect on the 1st day of July next.
In witness whereof the undersigned have signed this protocol and have
hereunto affixed their seals.
Done in duplicate at Washington, this 7th day of June, 1873.
[SEAL.] (Signed) HAMILTON FISH.
[SEAL.] (Signed) EDWD. THORNTON.
Now, therefore, I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States of
America, in pursuance of the premises, do hereby declare that I have
received satisfactory evidence that the Imperial Parliament of Great
Britain, the parliament of Canada, and the legislature of Prince Edwards
Island have passed laws on their part to give full effect to the
provisions of the said treaty as contained in articles eighteenth to
twenty-fifth, inclusive, and article thirtieth of said treaty.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.
[SEAL.]
Done at the city of Washington, this 1st day of July, A.D. 1873, and of
the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-seventh.
U.S. GRANT.
By the President:
HAMILTON FISH,
_Secretary of State_.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas by the act of Congress approved March 3, 1871, providing for a
national celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the
independence of the United States by the holding of an International
Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine in
the city of Philadelphia in the year 1876, it is provided as follows:
That whenever the President shall be informed by the governor of the
State of Pennsylvania that provision has been made for the erection of
suitable buildings for the purpose, and for the exclusive control by
the commission herein provided for of the proposed exhibition, the
President shall, through the Department of State, make proclamation of
the same, setting forth the time at which the exhibition will open and
the place at which it will be held; and he shall communicate to the
diplomatic representatives of all nations copies of the same, together
with such regulations as may be adopted by the commissioners, for
publication in their respective countries.
And whereas his excellency the governor of the said State of
Pennsylvania did, on the 24th day of June, 1873, inform me that
provision has been made for the erection of said buildings and for the
exclusive control by the commission provided for in the said act of the
proposed exhibition; and
Whereas the president of the United States Centennial Commission has
officially informed me of the dates fixed for the opening and closing of
the said exhibition and the place at which it is to be held:
Now, therefore, be it known that I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the
United States, in conformity with the provisions of the act of Congress
aforesaid, do hereby declare and proclaim that there will be held at the
city of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, an International
Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine, to
be opened on the 19th day of April, A.D. 1876, and to be closed on the
19th day of October, in the same year.
And in the interest of peace, civilization, and domestic and
international friendship and intercourse, I commend the celebration and
exhibition to the people of the United States, and in behalf of this
Government and people I cordially commend them to all nations who may be
pleased to take part therein.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.
[SEAL.]
Done at the city of Washington, this 3d day of July, 1873, and of the
Independence of the United States the ninety-seventh.
U.S. GRANT.
By the President:
HAMILTON FISH,
_Secretary of State_.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas satisfactory evidence was given me on the 13th day of September
current by the Marquis de Noailles, envoy extraordinary and minister
plenipotentiary from the French Republic, that on and after the 1st day
of October next merchandise imported into France in vessels of the
United States, from whatever country, will be subject to no other duties
or imposts than those which shall be collected upon merchandise imported
into France from countries of its origin or from any other country in
French vessels:
Now, therefore, I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States
of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by law, do hereby
declare and proclaim that on and after the 1st day of October next,
so long as merchandise imported into France in vessels of the United
States, whether from the countries of its origin or from other
countries, shall be admitted into the ports of France on the terms
aforesaid, the discriminating duties heretofore levied upon merchandise
imported into the United States in French vessels, either from the
countries of its origin or from any other country, shall be and are
discontinued and abolished.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this 22d day of September, A.D. 1873,
and of the Independence of the United States of America the
ninety-eighth.
[SEAL.]
U.S. GRANT.
By the President:
J.C. BANCROFT DAVIS,
_Acting Secretary of State_.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
The approaching close of another year brings with it the occasion for
renewed thanksgiving and acknowledgment to the Almighty Ruler of the
Universe for the unnumbered mercies which He has bestowed upon us.
Abundant harvests have been among the rewards of industry. With local
exceptions, health has been among the many blessings enjoyed.
Tranquillity at home and peace with other nations have prevailed.
Frugal industry is regaining its merited recognition and its merited
rewards.
Gradually but, under the providence of God, surely, as we trust, the
nation is recovering from the lingering results of a dreadful civil
strife.
For these and all the other mercies vouchsafed it becomes us as a
people to return heartfelt and grateful acknowledgments, and with our
thanksgiving for blessings we may unite prayers for the cessation of
local and temporary sufferings.
I therefore recommend that on Thursday, the 27th day of November next,
the people meet in their respective places of worship to make their
acknowledgments to Almighty God for His bounties and His protection,
and to offer to Him prayers for their continuance.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.
[SEAL.]
Done at the city of Washington, this 14th day of October, A.D. 1873, and
of the Independence of the United States the ninety-eighth.
U.S. GRANT.
By the President:
HAMILTON FISH,
_Secretary of State_.
EXECUTIVE ORDERS.
WASHINGTON, _March 14, 1873_.
In consequence of the peculiar and confidential relations which from
the nature of the service must exist and be maintained between the
Department of State and its clerks, rules 2,3, and 4 of the rules and
regulations for the civil service promulgated by the President 19th of
December, 1871, as amended by the Executive order 16th of April, 1872,
shall in their application to that Department be modified as follows,
namely:
Vacancies occurring in any grade of consulates or clerkships in the
Department may be filled either by transfer from some other grade or
service--clerical, consular, or diplomatic--under the Department of
State, or by the appointment of some person who has previously served
under the Department of State to its satisfaction, or by the appointment
of some person who has made application to the Secretary of State, with
proper certificates of character, responsibility, and capacity, in the
manner provided for applications for consulates of which the lawful
annual compensation is more than $1,000 and less than $3,000, and who
has on examination been found qualified for the position.
U.S. GRANT.
[From the New-York Daily Tribune, May 10, 1873.]
WASHINGTON, _May 9, 1873_.
The President announces with deep regret the death of the Hon. Salmon
P. Chase, Chief Justice of the United States, who closed a life of long
public service, in the city of New York, on the 7th instant, having
filled the offices of Senator of the United States, governor of Ohio,
Secretary of the Treasury, and crowning a long career in the exalted
position of Chief Justice of the United States. The President directs
that the public offices in Washington be closed on Saturday, the 10th
instant, the day of his funeral, and that they be draped in mourning for
the period of thirty days, and that the flags be displayed at half-mast
on the public buildings and forts and on the national vessels on the day
of the funeral, in honor of the memory of the illustrious dead.
By order of the President:
HAMILTON FISH, _Secretary of State_.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, D.C., May 21, 1873_.
SIR:[75] The President directs me to say that the several Departments of
the Government will be closed on the 30th instant, in order to enable
the employees of the Government to participate, in connection with the
Grand Army of the Republic, in the decoration of the graves of the
soldiers who fell during the rebellion.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
O.E. BABCOCK,
_Secretary_.
[Footnote 75: Addressed to the heads of the Executive Departments, etc.]
WASHINGTON, _August 5, 1873_.
The Civil Service Commission, at its session at Washington which
terminated June 4, 1873, recommended certain further rules to be
prescribed by the President for the government of the civil service of
the United States. These rules as herewith published are approved, and
their provisions will be enforced as rapidly as the proper arrangements
can be made.
U.S. GRANT.
By the President:
HAMILTON FISH,
_Secretary of State_.
FURTHER RULES FOR PROMOTING THE EFFICIENCY OF THE CIVIL SERVICE OF THE
UNITED STATES.
_Rule 1_.--It being essential to the public welfare to maintain in the
Executive the exercise of the power of nomination and appointment vested
by the Constitution, and thereby to secure that measure of independence
and separate responsibility which is contemplated by that instrument;
and it being needful, in making such nominations and appointments, that
the appointing power should obtain and in the proper Department preserve
the evidence of fitness in reference to which all such nominations and
appointments should be made: Therefore recommendations concerning any
nomination or appointment to office or place in the civil service can
not be considered unless made in writing, signed by the person making
them, setting forth the character of the person recommended and his
qualifications for the office in reference to which the recommendation
is made; nor, when the recommendation is by a person holding an office
or station in or under the Government of the United States, can such
written recommendation, except when made in response to a written
request by the officer making the appointment, or in the discharge of an
official duty imposed by the Constitution or the laws, be considered as
entitled to any greater weight than if made by such person as a private
individual. But this rule shall not apply to recommendations made by
officers as to their own subordinates.
_Rule 2_.--While it is not the purpose of the rules and regulations
prescribed for the government of the civil service either to restrict
the power of removal or to extend the tenure of service, such power
will not be exercised arbitrarily, and therefore applications must
not be entertained by any authority having the duty of nomination or
appointment for the removal of any person in the civil service, nor will
any person be removed for the mere purpose of making a place for any
other person.
_Rule 3_.--To prevent any misapprehension in the public mind in regard
to the functions of the members of the Civil Service Commission and of
the members of any board of examiners, it is declared not to be any part
of the duty or authority of any such member to act upon, take part in,
or in any way entertain any recommendation, application, or question
concerning appointments or removals in respect of the civil service,
otherwise than in the strict discharge of their respective duties as
prescribed by the rules and regulations; and for the same purpose it is
further declared that the functions of the members of said Commission as
to the matters aforesaid extend only to the question of the proper rules
and regulations to be made and to supervising their application, and
that the functions of the examiners as to said matters extend only to
preparing for, conducting, rating, and making reports concerning
examinations required to be made under such rules and regulations.
_Rule 4_.--The grouping heretofore made for the Executive Departments at
Washington is hereby modified by striking out the words "female clerks,
copyists, and counters, at $900 a year," these places being below the
grade of clerkships of class 1; and all applicants for such positions
shall be examined in (1) penmanship, (2) copying, (3) elements of
English grammar, chiefly orthography, and (4) fundamental rules of
arithmetic, except that mere counters may be examined only in the
fundamental rules of arithmetic and as to their facility in counting
money; and those found competent by such examination shall be reported
in the order of their excellence as eligible for appointment, and
selections may be made by the appointing power, at discretion, from the
list of those so reported, being at liberty to give preference to such
as may be justly regarded as having the highest claims to public
consideration by reason of loss of support or of property occasioned by
the death or disability of any person in the defense of the Union in war
or in other public service of the Government. And in the notices of the
examination of females to fill vacancies among those last mentioned it
shall be stated as follows: "That from among all those who shall pass a
satisfactory examination the head of the Department will be at liberty
to select such persons for the vacancies as may be justly regarded as
having the highest claims to public consideration."
_Rule 5_.--The notices to appear at any examinations other than those
referred to in the fourth rule of this series, so far as practicable and
necessary to prevent misapprehension, shall advise female applicants to
whom they may be sent of any limitation which the law or the necessities
of the public service impose upon such applicants entering the vacancies
for which the examinations are to take place.
_Rule 6_.--That it shall be the duty of the respective boards of
examiners, on the written request of heads of Departments, to hold
examinations in anticipation of vacancies, as well as to fill vacancies,
and to prepare lists showing the results of competition, so that when
any such vacancy may happen there shall be those thus shown to be
eligible to nomination or appointment, from whom the proper selection
shall be made according to the provisions of the rules and regulations
relating to competitive examination; and examinations upon like request
shall be held in reference to vacancies to be filled under the fourth
rule of this series.
_Rule 7._--Applicants for appointment as cashiers of collectors of
customs, cashiers of assistant treasurers, cashiers of postmasters,
superintendents of money-order divisions in post-offices, and other
custodians of large sums of public money for whose fidelity another
officer has given official bonds may be appointed at discretion; but
this rule shall not apply to any appointment to a position grouped below
the grade of assistant teller.
_Rule 8_.--In cases of defalcation or embezzlement of public money, or
other emergency calling for immediate action, where the public service
would be materially injured unless the vacancy is promptly filled
without resorting to the methods of selection and appointment prescribed
by the rules and regulations, or when a vacancy happens at a place
remote and difficult of access and the methods prescribed for filling
it can not be applied without causing delay injurious to the public
service, the appointment may be made at discretion; but this rule shall
not apply to any place which is provided to be filled under the rules of
competitive examination.
_Rule 9_.--For the purpose of bringing the examinations for the civil
service as near to the residences of those desiring to be examined as
the appropriation at the command of the President will warrant, and for
the further purpose of facilitating as far as practicable the making of
selections for such service equably from the several portions of the
Union, while at the same time preserving the principle of promoting
merit as tested by fair competition, it is provided as follows:
(1) That the several States and Territories are grouped into five
divisions, to be designated as civil-service districts, the said
districts to be numbered consecutively from one to five, as follows:
I. The first district embraces the States of Maine, New Hampshire,
Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York; and the
examinations therein shall be held alternately at the city of New York
and the city of Boston, but first at the city of New York.
II. The second district embraces the States of New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and the
District of Columbia; and the examinations therein shall be held at
Washington.
III. The third district embraces the States of Ohio, Michigan,
Indiana, Wisconsin, and Kentucky; and the examinations therein shall be
held alternately at Cincinnati and Detroit, but first at Cincinnati.
IV. The fourth district embraces the States of Illinois, Missouri,
Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, California, and Oregon, and
also all the Territories except New Mexico and the District of Columbia;
and the examinations therein shall be held at St. Louis.
V. The fifth district embraces the States of South Carolina, Georgia,
Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, and
Tennessee, together with the Territory of New Mexico; and the
examinations therein shall be held alternately at the city of Savannah
and the city of Memphis, but first at the city of Savannah.
(2) That in each of said districts examinations for admission to the
civil service at Washington shall be conducted as hereinafter provided;
and those whose residence is within any such district at the time of
filing the application for examination shall be regarded as belonging to
such district in reference both to competition and to appointments; and
each district shall be treated as a sphere of competition, and those so
residing therein, wherever examined, shall be regarded as competing only
with each other; but a person residing in any district may be allowed or
notified to be examined in any other district.
(3) All applications for examination for service at Washington must be
addressed to the head of the Department at that city which the applicant
desires to enter, and be in conformity to the previous rules and
regulations so far as the same are not modified by this series; and
every such application must be dated, must give the town or municipality
as well as the State or Territory where the applicant has his legal
residence, and also his post-office address.
(4) Each of the heads of Departments will cause to be kept in permanent
form a register of all such applicants for his Department, to be called
a "Register of applicants," and will cause such applications to be
preserved on file for convenient reference.
(5) The provisions of the former rules and regulations in reference to
the examining boards in the Departments and in the other local offices
in the various cities, so far as consistent herewith, are continued
until otherwise ordered.
(6) The President will employ or designate a suitable person to be chief
examiner, whose duty it will be, subject to the supervision of the Civil
Service Commission, to promote uniformity in preparing for, conducting,
reporting, and grading the examinations by said boards at Washington,
and to prepare for, attend, supervise, and report the examinations
herein provided to be held elsewhere than at Washington.
(7) The several heads of Departments must also cause to be made in
permanent form and to be preserved a "Record of persons eligible for
appointment," arranging under separate headings those resident in each
separate district, wherein shall be entered the names of the persons who
have been examined within twelve months now last past, and who are still
eligible to nomination or appointment; and to such record must from time
to time be added the names of those persons who shall hereafter pass an
examination which shall show them to be so eligible for nomination or
appointment. And such "Record of persons eligible for appointment" shall
be so kept and the names therein be so classified that all those whose
residences appearing as aforesaid to be in the same districts shall be
tabulated together, so as to show their relative excellence in each said
district, except that the names of all those examined under the fourth
rule of this series shall be separately entered upon the "Record of
persons eligible for appointment" for each Department, so as to show
where they reside.
(8) That the officer having the power of making nomination or
appointment may resort for that purpose to those so entered in the
"Record of persons eligible for appointment" as residing in either of
said civil-service districts; but (except in respect of those examined
under said rule 4) the method of competition heretofore provided must be
regarded as applying among those so registered as residing in any such
district, and as requiring the nomination and appointment to be made
from some one of the three persons graded as the highest on some one of
said five several arrangements of persons so eligible.
(9) At a reasonable time before any examination is to take place each
head of Department will furnish the chief examiner with a list of those
to be examined, and ten days before any examination is to take place in
any said district, elsewhere than at Washington, notice shall be sent by
mail by such chief examiner to all such applicants residing or allowed
to be examined in such district, stating the time and place of such
examination and the other matters of which the rules and regulations
require notice to be given.
(10) For the purpose of the examinations last mentioned the said chief
examiner shall receive from the several heads of Departments at
Washington and from the head of any local office which may request to
have any examinations made of persons for said offices the names of
those who are to be examined at any place outside of Washington, and
shall make a list of the same, showing the date of the filing of each
application, which he shall produce at the place of examination; and the
examination shall be held of all those on such list who shall duly
appear and submit thereto, provided the number be not so great, in the
opinion of the examining board, as to render the examination of the
whole impracticable, in which event only a reasonable number, to be
selected in the order of the date of the filing of their applications,
need be examined.
(11) For each place outside of Washington where such examination is to
be held the President will designate persons, to be, when practicable,
suitable officers of the United States, who, together with such chief
examiner, or some substituted departmental examiner from Washington to
be sent in his place when such chief examiner can not attend, shall
constitute the board for such examination; and by said persons, or a
majority thereof, of whom such chief examiner or said substitute shall
be one, such examinations shall be held and certified in a uniform
manner; and the time occupied by each person examined shall be noted on
the examination papers. The questions to be put to those examined as
applicants through the request of either head of Department or head of
local office shall be such as may be provided and as might be put if all
such examinations were, or were to be, conducted under the rules and
regulations by the examining boards of any such Department in Washington
or by any such local board.
(12) The chief examiner or his substitute shall make reports to each
Department and local office separately in respect of all such persons
as either said head of Department or of a local office requested to be
examined, and said reports, respectively, shall be accompanied by the
examination papers of those so separately reported; and the board of
examiners in each Department or local office shall make up and state the
excellence of each person so reported as examined, and such excellence,
being not below the minimum grade of 70 per cent, shall be duly entered
in the "Record of persons eligible for appointment" in the proper
district or local office.
(13) The district examinations herein provided for shall be held
not more than twice in any one year in the same district, except
in Washington, where an examination may be held in respect of each
Department as frequently as the head of such Department, subject to the
approval of the President, may direct; and all persons so examined in
Washington, wherever they may reside, shall be entered on the "Record
of persons eligible for appointment" equally as if examined elsewhere.
(14) Whenever the entry of the name of any person has been on the
"Record of persons eligible for appointment" during eighteen consecutive
months, such entry shall be marked "Time expired," and such name shall
not again be placed thereon except as the result of another examination.
(15) Persons who may be required to be examined for any custom-house,
post-office, or other local office or place of service other than
Washington may be notified by the head of such office to appear and be
examined at any examination provided for under this rule; and the result
of such examination shall be reported by the chief examiner or his
substitute to the proper examining board for such office or place, or to
the head of the local office; and such board shall enter the name, with
the proper indication of the grade of excellence, among those who are to
compete at any such place or office, and from whom selection, on the
basis of competition, shall be made.
(16) But where the result of any examination aforesaid shall show the
excellence of any such applicant to be below the minimum grade of 70 per
cent (on the basis of l00 as perfect), the only entry thereof to be made
in registers of the Department or of local office shall be of the words
"Not eligible," which shall be written against the name of such person
in the register of applicants; and such applicant shall not be again
examined for any Department or office within six months of the date of
the former examination.
(17) The provisions of this rule do not apply to examinations
for promotion, nor do they apply to the State Department, in which
examinations will be conducted under the provisions of the Executive
order of March 14, 1873.
(18) Subject to the other provisions of this rule, the times of holding
the examinations herein provided for in the first, third, fourth, and
fifth districts, respectively, shall be fixed by the chief examiner
after consultation with the heads of Departments at Washington. One
examination, however, shall be held in each of the last-mentioned
districts prior to the 1st day of November next, and the chief examiner
shall on or before that date make a report in writing to the Civil
Service Commission, setting forth generally the facts in regard to the
examinations referred to in this rule and appropriate suggestions for
increasing their usefulness.
_Rule 10_.--So many of the persons employed by the President under the
ninth section of the act of March 3, 1871, as are referred to in the
opinion of the Attorney-General of the date of August 31, 1871, under
the name of the Civil Service Commission, and are still in such
employment, together with the successors of those who have resigned,
and their successors, shall hereafter be regarded as composing and shall
be designated as "The Civil Service Commission;" and the use of the
designation "Advisory Board," as referring to such persons, will be
hereafter discontinued.
GENERAL ORDERS, No. 102.
WAR DEPARTMENT,
ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
_Washington, October 10, 1873_.
The President of the United States commands it to be made known that all
soldiers who have deserted their colors, and who shall, on or before the
1st day of January, 1874, surrender themselves at any military station,
shall receive a full pardon, only forfeiting the pay and allowances due
them at the time of desertion, and shall be restored to duty without
trial or punishment on condition that they faithfully serve through the
term of their enlistment.
By order of the Secretary of War:
E.D. TOWNSEND,
_Adjutant-General_.
FIFTH ANNUAL MESSAGE.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 1, 1873_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
The year that has passed since the submission of my last message to
Congress has, especially during the latter part of it, been an eventful
one to the country. In the midst of great national prosperity a
financial crisis has occurred that has brought low fortunes of gigantic
proportions; political partisanship has almost ceased to exist,
especially in the agricultural regions; and, finally, the capture upon
the high seas of a vessel bearing our flag has for a time threatened the
most serious consequences, and has agitated the public mind from one end
of the country to the other. But this, happily, now is in the course of
satisfactory adjustment, honorable to both nations concerned.
The relations of the United States, however, with most of the other
powers continue to be friendly and cordial. With France, Germany,
Russia, Italy, and the minor European powers; with Brazil and most of
the South American Republics, and with Japan, nothing has occurred
during the year to demand special notice. The correspondence between the
Department of State and various diplomatic representatives in or from
those countries is transmitted herewith.
In executing the will of Congress, as expressed in its joint resolution
of the 14th of February last, and in accordance with the provisions of
the resolution, a number of "practical artisans," of "scientific men,"
and of "honorary commissioners" were authorized to attend the exposition
at Vienna as commissioners on the part of the United States. It is
believed that we have obtained the object which Congress had in view
when it passed the joint resolution--"in order to enable the people of
the United States to participate in the advantages of the International
Exhibition of the Products of Agriculture, Manufactures, and the Fine
Arts to be held at Vienna." I take pleasure in adding that the American
exhibitors have received a gratifying number of diplomas and of medals.
During the exposition a conference was held at Vienna for the purpose of
consultation on the systems prevailing in different countries for the
protection of inventions. I authorized a representative from the Patent
Office to be present at Vienna at the time when this conference was to
take place, in order to aid as far as he might in securing any possible
additional protection to American inventors in Europe. The report of
this agent will be laid before Congress.
It is my pleasant duty to announce to Congress that the Emperor
of China, on attaining his majority, received the diplomatic
representatives of the Western powers in person. An account of these
ceremonies and of the interesting discussions which preceded them will
be found in the documents transmitted herewith. The accompanying papers
show that some advance, although slight, has been made during the past
year toward the suppression of the infamous Chinese cooly trade. I
recommend Congress to inquire whether additional legislation be not
needed on this subject.
The money awarded to the United States by the tribunal of arbitration at
Geneva was paid by Her Majesty's Government a few days in advance of the
time when it would have become payable according to the terms of the
treaty. In compliance with the provisions of the act of March 3, 1873,
it was at once paid into the Treasury, and used to redeem, so far as it
might, the public debt of the United States; and the amount so redeemed
was invested in a 5 per cent registered bond of the United States for
$15,500,000, which is now held by the Secretary of State, subject to the
future disposition of Congress.
I renew my recommendation, made at the opening of the last session of
Congress, that a commission be created for the purpose of auditing and
determining the amounts of the several "direct losses growing out of
the destruction of vessels and their cargoes" by the _Alabama_, the
_Florida_, or the _Shenandoah_ after leaving Melbourne, for which
the sufferers have received no equivalent or compensation, and of
ascertaining the names of the persons entitled to receive compensation
for the same, making the computations upon the basis indicated by the
tribunal of arbitration at Geneva; and that payment of such losses be
authorized to an extent not to exceed the awards of the tribunal at
Geneva.
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