A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents, Volume
by
James D. Richardson
Part 5 out of 6
[The same message was sent to the Senate.]
WASHINGTON, _February 16, 1852_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:
I transmit to Congress a letter addressed to the Secretary of State by
the commissioner of the United States under the convention with Brazil,
setting forth the obstacles which have impeded the conclusion of the
business of that commission.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _February 16, 1852_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I herewith communicate to the Senate, for its consideration with a view
to ratification, a treaty of commerce and navigation concluded by the
minister resident of the United States at Constantinople with the charge
d'affaires of the Shah of Persia at the same place. The treaty is in
the Persian and French languages, but is accompanied by an English
translation. A copy of the correspondence between the Department of
State and the legation of the United States at Constantinople on the
subject is also herewith communicated.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _February 18, 1852_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives requesting
the official correspondence respecting an alleged misunderstanding
between Captain Long, of the Navy of the United States, and Louis
Kossuth, I transmit reports from the Secretaries of State and of the
Navy and the papers which accompanied them.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _March 1, 1852_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:
In compliance with the provisions of the act of Congress of the 11th
August, 1848, I transmit to that body the copy of a dispatch from the
commissioner _ad interim_ of the United States at Canton, together with
the copy of certain rules and regulations for masters, officers, and
seamen of vessels of the United States of America at the free ports of
China, which accompanied said dispatch, and which are submitted for the
revision of Congress.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _March 4, 1852_.
_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
17th ultimo, I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the Navy
and a report from the Solicitor of the Treasury Department in relation
to the accounts of Prosper M. Wetmore, late navy agent in the city of
New York.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _March 4, 1852_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:
I transmit to Congress a letter addressed to me by the governor of the
Territory of Minnesota, with the statements to which it refers, of the
disbursements up to the 1st of January last of the money appropriated by
the act approved June 11, 1850, for the erection of public buildings in
that Territory.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _March 4, 1852_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:
I transmit to Congress a dispatch addressed to the Secretary of State
by the minister of the United States at Mexico, and the papers therein
referred to, relative to the cemetery which has been constructed in the
neighborhood of that city as a place of sepulture for the remains of the
officers and soldiers of the United States who died or were killed in
that vicinity during the late war, and for such citizens of the United
States as may hereafter die there. A copy of the report of the agent who
was sent for the purpose of superintending the work is also herewith
transmitted. It will be seen that a sum of $2,500 or $3,000, in addition
to the amount appropriated by the act of Congress approved September 28,
1850, is represented to be necessary to carry the objects of that
appropriation into full effect. I accordingly recommend that provision
therefor may be made.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _March 25, 1852_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
As a further answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of
the 5th of January last, requesting information in regard to a circular
of Her Britannic Majesty's secretary of state for colonial affairs in
respect to the encouragement of the emigration of colored laborers from
the United States to the British West India islands, I transmit another
dispatch addressed to the Department of State by the minister of the
United States at London.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _March 26, 1852_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:
At the close of the commission to adjudicate upon the claims of citizens
of the United States under the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo I directed a
list to be made of papers which had been presented to that commission,
and, pursuant to the act of Congress approved 3d March, 1849, the papers
themselves to be carefully arranged and deposited for safe-keeping in
the Department of State. I deemed all this necessary as well for the
interest of the claimants as to secure the Government against fraudulent
claims which might be preferred hereafter. A few days since I was
surprised to learn that some of these papers had been fraudulently
abstracted by one of the claimants, and upon the case being made known
to me by the Secretary of State I referred it to the Attorney-General
for the purpose of ascertaining what punishment could be inflicted upon
the person who had been guilty of this offense.
I now communicate to you his opinion and that of the attorney of the
United States for this District, by which you will perceive that it
is doubtful whether there be any law for punishing the very grave
offense of fraudulently abstracting or mutilating the papers and public
documents in the several Departments of this Government. It appears to
me that the protection of the public records and papers requires that
such acts should be made penal and a suitable punishment inflicted upon
the offender, and I therefore bring the subject to your consideration,
to enable you to act upon it should you concur with me in this opinion.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _March 26, 1852_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of
the 18th instant, I transmit a copy of the correspondence with John P.
Gaines, governor of the Territory of Oregon, relative to the seat of
government of said Territory.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _March 29, 1852_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 24th instant,
relating to the extension of the Capitol, I have the honor to submit
herewith a report from the Secretary of the Interior, which furnishes,
it is believed, the required information.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON CITY, _March 29, 1852_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I have the resolution of your honorable body adopted in executive
session March 24, 1852, by which I am requested to return to the Senate
the resolution advising and consenting to the appointment of George C.
Laurason as collector of the customs for the district of New Orleans,
provided a commission had not been issued to him, and in reply thereto
I would respectfully state that prior to the receipt of said resolution
I had signed the commission to Mr. Laurason and transmitted it to the
Secretary of the Treasury, to whom your resolution was immediately
referred; and I have the honor now to transmit his reply, by which
it will be seen that the commission, after having been duly executed,
was sent to the First Comptroller, where it still remains. I suppose,
according to the doctrine laid down in the case of Marbury _v._ Madison
(1 Cranch R., 137), the appointment must be deemed complete, and nothing
short of the removal of Mr. Laurason can enable me again to submit his
nomination to the consideration of the Senate; but as the commission has
not been technically issued to Mr. Laurason, I deem it most respectful
to comply with your request by returning the copy of the resolution
which notified me that the Senate advised and consented to his
appointment.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON CITY, _April 6, 1852_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
In compliance with the resolution of the House of the 31st ultimo,
I have the honor herewith to transmit a report from the Secretary
of War, accompanied by the original manuscript report of Captain
Thomas J. Crane, dated February 3, 1844, on the best mode of improving
the navigation of the Ohio River at the Falls of Louisville, together
with the original maps accompanying the same.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _April 8, 1852_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I herewith transmit to the Senate, in reply to their resolution of the
4th ultimo, a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying
papers.[20]
MILLARD FILLMORE.
[Footnote 20: Relating to the relations between the United States and
Japan.]
WASHINGTON, _April 19, 1852_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:
I invite the attention of Congress to the state of affairs in the
Territory of Oregon, growing out of a conflict of opinion among the
authorities of that Territory in regard to a proper construction of the
acts of Congress approved the 14th August, 1848, and 11th June, 1850,
the former entitled "An act to establish a Territorial government of
Oregon," and the latter entitled "An act to make further appropriations
for public buildings in the Territories of Minnesota and Oregon." In
order to enable Congress to understand the controversy and apply such
remedy with a view to adjust it as may be deemed expedient, I transmit--
1. An act of the legislative assembly of that Territory, passed February
1, 1851, entitled "An act to provide for the selection of places for the
location and erection of public buildings of the Territory of Oregon."
2. Governor Gaines's message to the legislative assembly of the 3d
February, 1851.
3. The opinion of the Attorney-General of the United States of 23d
April, in regard to the act of the legislative assembly of the 1st
February, 1851.
4. The opinion of the supreme court of Oregon, pronounced on the 9th
December, 1851.
5. A letter of Judge Pratt of the 15th December, 1851, dissenting from
that opinion.
6. Governor Gaines's letter to the President of the 1st January, 1852.
7. Report of the Attorney-General of the United States on that letter,
dated 22d March, 1852.
If it should be the sense of Congress that the seat of government
of Oregon has not already been established by the local authorities
pursuant to the law of the United States for the organization of that
Territory, or, if so established, should be deemed objectionable, in
order to appease the strife upon the subject which seems to have arisen
in that Territory I recommend that the seat of government be either
permanently or temporarily ordained by act of Congress, and that that
body should in the same manner express its approval or disapproval
of such laws as may have been enacted in the Territory at the place
alleged to be its seat of government, and which may be so enacted
until intelligence of the decision of Congress shall reach there.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _May 1, 1852_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit to the Senate, for their consideration and advice with regard
to its ratification, a convention between the United States and the Free
and Hanseatic Republics of Hamburg, Bremen, and Lubeck, signed in this
city by their respective plenipotentiaries on the 30th day of April,
A.D. 1852, for the mutual extension of the jurisdiction of consuls. A
copy of a note from the special plenipotentiary of Hamburg, Bremen, and
Lubeck accompanies the convention.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _May 5, 1852_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
On the 3d of March, 1849, a general convention of peace, amity,
commerce, and navigation between the United States and the Republic of
Guatemala, by Elijah Hise, the charge d'affaires of the United States
to that Republic, on the part of this Government, and by Senor Don Jose
Mariano Rodriguez, minister for foreign affairs, on the part of the
Government of Guatemala. This convention was approved by the Senate
on the 24th of September, 1850, and by a resolution of the 27th of
that month that body authorized the ratification of this Government
to be exchanged for the ratification of the Government of Guatemala at
any time prior to the 1st of April, 1851. I accordingly ratified the
convention on the 14th of November, 1850, but there was then no person
in this country authorized to effect the exchange of ratifications on
the part of the Guatemalan Government, and the United States had no
diplomatic representative there. When, however, in the summer of 1851,
Mr. J. Bozman Kerr proceeded to Nicaragua as the charge d'affaires of
the United States, he was empowered and instructed, when he should have
concluded the business, which it was presumed would not have detained
him long, in Nicaragua, to repair to Guatemala and effect the exchange
on the part of this Government. Circumstances, however, have hitherto
prevented him from accomplishing this object. Meanwhile Senor Don Felipe
Molina has been received as charge d'affaires of Guatemala here, and has
been empowered to effect the exchange on the part of that Government.
I accordingly recommend that the Senate authorize a further extension
of the period for exchanging the ratifications, in order that the
convention may go into operation. It is presumed that if this
recommendation should be adopted a few weeks from the date of the
decision of the Senate upon the subject would be necessary to complete
the preparations for carrying it into effect.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _May 29, 1852_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
The resolution of the Senate of the 6th instant, requesting the "papers
and proofs on file in any of the Executive Departments touching the
claim of Samuel A. Belden & Co., of Brownsville, Tex., against the
Mexican Government for injuries inflicted upon said Belden & Co., as
alleged by them in violation of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo," was
referred to the heads of those Departments, and the documents herewith
transmitted have been reported to me from the Department of State
as comprising all on the files of that Department called for by the
resolution, with the exception of those of a diplomatic character. As
the claim referred to is a subject of negotiation with the Mexican
Government, it is not deemed expedient at this juncture to make public
the documents which have been reserved. According to the reports of
the Secretary of the Treasury, of the Secretary of the Interior,
of the Secretary of War, of the Secretary of the Navy, and of the
Postmaster-General, there are no papers in their respective Departments
relative to the claim of Messrs. Belden & Co.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _June 1, 1852_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I communicate to the Senate herewith, for its constitutional action
thereon, eighteen treaties negotiated with Indian tribes in California,
as described in the accompanying letter of the Secretary of the
Interior, dated the 22d ultimo, with a copy of the report of the
superintendent of Indian affairs for the State of California and other
correspondence in relation thereto.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _June 11, 1852_.
_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 and the Sultan
of Borneo, signed at Bruni on the 23d of June, 1850. A copy of two
dispatches to this department from Mr. Balestier, who concluded the
convention on the part of this Government, one dated the 22d of April
and the other the 24th June, 1851, is also transmitted for the
information of the Senate. As the period limited for the exchange of the
ratifications, which is to be effected at Bruni, will expire on the 23d
instant, I recommend that if the Senate should approve the convention
authority may be given to perform that ceremony within a year from that
date. The instrument would have been submitted to the Senate in season
for the ratification to be exchanged within the stipulated time had not
Mr. Balestier's arrival with it in the United States been unavoidably
delayed.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _June 11, 1852_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
I transmit to Congress a report from the Secretary of State, on the
subject of the disorders on the Rio Grande frontier, and recommend the
legislation which it suggests, in order that the duties and obligations
of this Government occasioned thereby may be more effectually discharged
and the peace and security of the inhabitants of the United States in
that quarter more efficiently maintained.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _June 14, 1852_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
I transmit herewith, for your consideration, a report from the
Secretary of State, accompanied by a communication from His Excellency
Senor Don A. Calderon de la Barca, envoy extraordinary and minister
plenipotentiary of Her Catholic Majesty, claiming indemnity for those
Spanish subjects in New Orleans who sustained injury from the unlawful
violence of the mob in that city consequent upon hearing the news of the
execution of those persons who unlawfully invaded Cuba in August, 1851.
My own views of the national liability upon this subject were expressed
in the note of the Secretary of State to Mr. Calderon of the 13th
November, 1851, and I do not understand that Her Catholic Majesty's
minister controverts the correctness of the position there taken. He,
however, insists that the thirteenth article of the treaty of 1795
promises indemnity for such injuries sustained within one year after
the commencement of war between the two nations, and although he admits
this is not within the letter of the treaty, yet he conceives that, as
between two friendly nations, it is within the spirit of it.
This view of the case is at his request submitted for your
consideration, but whether you may deem it correct or not, there is,
perhaps, one ground upon which this indemnity, which can not be large in
amount, may be granted without establishing a dangerous precedent, and
the granting of which would commend itself to the generous feelings
of the entire country, and that is this: The Queen of Spain, with a
magnanimity worthy of all commendation, in a case where we had no legal
right to solicit the favor, granted a free pardon to all the persons who
had so unjustifiably invaded her dominions and murdered her subjects in
Cuba, in violation of her own laws as well as those of the United States
and the public law of nations. Such an act of mercy, which restored many
misguided and unfortunate youth of this country to their parents and
friends, seems to me to merit some corresponding act of magnanimity
and generosity on the part of the Government of this country, and I
think that there can be none more appropriate than to grant an indemnity
to those Spanish subjects who were resident among us and who suffered
by the violence of the mob, not on account of any fault which they
themselves had committed, but because they were the subjects of the
Queen of Spain. Such an act would tend to confirm that friendship which
has so long existed between the two nations and to perpetuate it as a
blessing to both, and I therefore recommend it to your favorable
consideration.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _June 22, 1852_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State, with the
accompanying documents,[21] in compliance with the Senate's resolution
of the 29th of April last.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
[Footnote 21: Correspondence of the American charge at Vienna on the
subject of the apprehension and imprisonment by the Austrian authorities
of Rev. Charles L. Brace, an American citizen.]
WASHINGTON, _June 22, 1852_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
ratification, a convention for the mutual delivery of criminals
fugitives from justice in certain cases between the United States on
the one part and Prussia and other States of the Germanic Confederation
on the other part, signed in this city on the 16th instant.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _June 23, 1852_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State, with the
accompanying documents,[22] in compliance with the Senate's resolution
of the 3d instant.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
[Footnote 22: Correspondence relative to the withdrawal of Mr. Huelsemann,
charge d'affaires from Austria to the United States.]
WASHINGTON, _June 26, 1852_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit and commend to the consideration of the Senate a report from
the Secretary of State, touching the convention between the United
States and the Mexican Republic for the mutual extradition of fugitives
from justice in certain cases, which convention I submitted to the
Senate soon after I entered upon the office of President of the United
States.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
_Washington, June 26, 1852_.
The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES:
It was understood that at the close of the Administration of your
predecessor an extradition treaty was concluded in this city between the
United States and the Mexican Republic, which, however, was submitted to
the Senate by yourself, but before I entered upon my present office.
It is presumed that as the treaty has not been returned to this
Department the Senate has made no decision in regard to it.
The necessity for a compact upon that subject between the two
Governments, whose territories, being conterminous, afford great
facilities for wrongdoers in the one to screen themselves from
punishment by seeking refuge in the other, would at all times be
obvious, but at the present juncture may be considered as urgent.
I would consequently suggest that the attention of the Senate be
respectfully invited to the matter, in order that if the treaty before
them should be deemed objectionable another, embodying such amendments
as may be supposed to be necessary, may be proposed to the Mexican
Government.
Respectfully submitted,
DANL. WEBSTER.
WASHINGTON, _June 26, 1852_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I have received and taken into respectful consideration the resolution
of the Senate of yesterday, adopted in executive session, requesting
information in regard to supposed negotiations between the United States
and Great Britain and between the United States and the Republics of
Nicaragua and Costa Rica, respectively. Any information which may be in
the possession of the Executive on these subjects shall in due time be
laid before the Senate, but it is apprehended that it would not comport
with the public interests to communicate it under existing
circumstances.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _June 26, 1852_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I have received the resolution of the Senate of the 11th instant, passed
in executive session, making inquiry respecting supposed propositions
of the King of the Sandwich Islands to convey the sovereignty of those
islands to the United States and requesting all official information in
my possession touching the subject.
This request has been taken into the most respectful consideration, but
the conclusion at which I have arrived is that the public interest would
not be promoted, but, on the contrary, might under circumstances of
possible occurrence, be seriously endangered if it were now to be
complied with.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON CITY, _July 1, 1852_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
On the 26th ultimo I received a resolution of the Senate, passed in
executive session, in the following words:
_Resolved,_ That the President of the United States be requested to
inform the Senate, if not in his opinion incompatible with the public
interest, whether any convention or compact has been entered into on the
part of the United States and the Government of Great Britain whereby
the two Governments jointly recommend or advise the Republics of Costa
Rica and Nicaragua, or either of those Republics, and the Mosquito
Indians, inhabiting the Mosquito Coast, in Central America, on matters
affecting their several and respective boundaries, or whereby any
recommendation or advice is given to either of said Republics or said
Indians respecting the territorial rights thereafter to be enjoyed or
observed by them respectively, or in any other manner affecting or
regulating the relations hereafter to be maintained between said
Republics themselves, or either of them, and the said Indians concerning
their territorial boundaries or other matters thereto appertaining. And
if there be any such convention or compact, then that the President be
requested to communicate the same, or a copy thereof, to the Senate, and
to inform the Senate whether the same was made at the request or
invitation of either of said Republics or of said Indians, or with their
privity, approbation, or consent. And that the President be further
requested to communicate to the Senate copies of all correspondence
between the Executive and Great Britain, or with either of said
Republics of Central America, touching said convention, and of all
documents connected therewith. And if such convention or compact has
been made, that the President be further requested to inform the Senate
whether the same has been formally communicated to the respective
Governments of Nicaragua and Costa Rica and the Mosquito Indians on the
part of the Governments of Great Britain and the United States, and in
what form such communications have been made to them, and that he lay
before the Senate copies of any instructions that have been given to the
representatives or agents of the United States at Nicaragua and Costa
Rica touching such convention and the matters therein contained, with
copies of like instructions to any naval officer of the United States
relating to or in any manner concerning the said convention or its
communication to said Republics or said Indians.
On the same day I returned the following answer to that resolution:
I have received and taken into respectful consideration the resolution
of the Senate of yesterday, adopted in executive session, requesting
information in regard to supposed negotiations between the United States
and Great Britain and between the United States and the Republics of
Nicaragua and Costa Rica, respectively. Any information which may be in
the possession of the Executive on these subjects shall in due time be
laid before the Senate, but it is apprehended that it would not comport
with the public interests to communicate it under existing
circumstances.
Great was my surprise to observe this morning in one of the public
journals a statement of what purports to be a proposition, jointly
signed by Her Britannic Majesty's minister here and the Secretary of
State, for the adjustment of certain claims to territory between
Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and the Mosquito Indians. I have caused immediate
inquiry to be made into the origin of this highly improper publication,
and shall omit no proper or legal means for bringing it to light.
Whether it shall turn out to have been caused by unfaithfulness or
breach of duty in any officer of this Government, high or low, or by
a violation of diplomatic confidence, the appropriate remedy will be
immediately applied, as being due not only to this Government, but to
other governments. And I hold this communication to be especially proper
to be made immediately by me to the Senate, after what has transpired
on this subject, that the Senate may be perfectly assured that no
information asked by it has been withheld and at the same time permitted
to be published to the world.
This publication can not be considered otherwise than as a breach of
official duty by some officer of the Government or a gross violation of
the confidence necessary always to be reposed in the representatives of
other nations. An occurrence of this kind can not but weaken the faith
so desirable to be preserved between different governments and to injure
the negotiations now pending, and it merits the severest reprobation.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON CITY, _July 2, 1852_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I herewith transmit, for the advice and consent of the Senate, a treaty
recently negotiated with the Chickasaw Nation of Indians.
The nature and objects of the treaty are fully explained by the report
of Mr. Harper, who negotiated it in behalf of the United States.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _July 2, 1852_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
By an act of Congress approved on the 10th day of February, 1852, an
appropriation of $6,000 was made for the relief of _American citizens_
then lately imprisoned and pardoned by the Queen of Spain, intended
to provide for the return of such of the Cuban prisoners as were
citizens of the United States who had been transported to Spain and
there pardoned by the Spanish Government. It will be observed that no
provision was made for such foreigners or aliens as were engaged in the
Cuban expedition, and who had shared the fate of American citizens, for
whose relief the said act was intended to provide. I now transmit a
report from the First Comptroller, with accompanying papers, from which
it will be perceived that fifteen foreigners were connected with that
expedition, who were also pardoned by the Queen of Spain, and have been
transported to the United States under a contract made with our consul,
at an expense of $1,013.34, for the payment of which no provision
has been made by law. The consul having evidently acted with good
intentions, the claim is submitted for the consideration of Congress.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _July 13, 1852_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives requesting
information relative to the policy of the Government in regard to the
island of Cuba, I transmit a report from the Department of State and
the documents by which it was accompanied.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
_Washington City, July 26, 1852_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
In obedience to your resolution adopted in executive session June 11,
1852, I have the honor herewith to communicate a report[23] from the
Secretary of the Interior, containing the information called for by that
resolution.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
[Footnote 23: Relating to the boundary line between the United States
and Mexico.]
WASHINGTON, _July 27, 1852_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 19th instant,
requesting the correspondence between the Government of the United
States and that of the Mexican Republic respecting a right of way
across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, I transmit a report from the
Department of State and the documents by which it was accompanied.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _July 29, 1852_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 27th instant,
I transmit the copy of the notes[24] of Mr. Luis de la Rosa and Mr.
J.M. Gonzales de la Vega, which it requests.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
[Footnote 24: Upon the subject of the American and Mexican boundary
commission.]
WASHINGTON, _July 31, 1852_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I communicate to the Senate herewith, for its constitutional action
thereon, nineteen treaties negotiated by commissioners on the part of
the United States with various tribes of Indians in the Territory of
Oregon, accompanied by a letter to me from the Secretary of the Interior
and certain documents having reference thereto.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _August 2, 1852_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 23d ultimo, requesting
information in regard to the fisheries on the coasts of the British
possessions in North America, I transmit a report from the Acting
Secretary of State and the documents by which it was accompanied.
Commodore M.C. Perry, with the United States steam frigate _Mississippi_
under his command, has been dispatched to that quarter for the purpose
of protecting the rights of American fishermen under the convention of
1818.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _August 9, 1852_.
_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
I transmit a report from the Acting Secretary of State and the documents
by which it was accompanied, in answer to a resolution of the House of
Representatives of the 22d ultimo, on the subject of the fisheries, and
state for the information of that House that the United States steam
frigate _Mississippi_ has been dispatched to the fishing grounds on the
coasts of the British possessions in North America for the purpose of
protecting the rights of American fishermen under the convention between
the United States and Great Britain of the 20th of October, 1818.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _August 10, 1852_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit a copy of the certificate of the exchange of the
ratifications of the general convention of peace, amity, commerce, and
navigation between the United States and the Republic of San Salvador,
signed at Leon, in Nicaragua, on the 2d of January, 1850. It will be
seen that the exchange was not effected until the 2d of June last, but
that it was stipulated that the convention was not to be binding upon
either of the parties thereto until the Senate of the United States
should have duly sanctioned the exchange.
The Senate by its resolution of the 27th of September, 1850, authorized
the exchange to take place at any time prior to the 1st of April, 1851.
Mr. Kerr, the charge d'affaires of the United States to Nicaragua,
however, who was authorized to make the exchange on the part of this
Government, was unavoidably detained in that Republic, in consequence of
which the exchange could not be effected within the period referred to.
The expediency of sanctioning the exchange which has been made by
Mr. Kerr, and of authorizing the convention to go into effect, is
accordingly submitted to the consideration of the Senate.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _August 12, 1852_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
In answer to the resolution of the Senate dated the 20th ultimo,
requesting information in regard to controversies between the consul of
the United States at Acapulco and the Mexican authorities, I transmit
a report from the Secretary of State and the documents by which it was
accompanied.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _August 13, 1852_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit a report from the Secretary of State upon the subject of the
relations between the United States and the Republics of Nicaragua and
Costa Rica, in Central America, which has been delayed longer than I
desired in consequence of the ill health of the Secretary of State.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _August 14, 1852_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I have received a resolution from your honorable body of the 6th
instant, appearing to have been adopted in open legislative session,
requesting me "to inform the Senate, if not incompatible with the public
interests, whether any propositions have been made by the King of the
Sandwich Islands to transfer the sovereignty of these islands to the
United States, and to communicate to the Senate all the official
information on that subject in my possession;" in reply to which I have
to state that on or about the 12th day of June last I received a similar
resolution from the Senate adopted in executive or secret session, to
which I returned an answer stating that in my opinion a communication of
the information requested at that juncture would not comport with the
public interest. Nothing has since transpired to change my views on that
subject, and I therefore feel constrained again to decline giving the
information asked.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _August 21, 1852_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 9th instant, requesting
information touching the Lobos Islands, I transmit a report from the
Secretary of State and the documents by which it was accompanied. The
instructions to the squadron of the United States called for by the
resolution will be communicated on an early future occasion.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _August 27, 1852_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 14th ultimo, requesting
a copy of the correspondence of Mr. R.M. Walsh while he was employed
as a special agent of this Government in the island of St. Domingo,
I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the documents by
which it was accompanied.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _August 27, 1852_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit a further report from the Secretary of State relative to the
Lobos Islands. This report is accompanied by a copy of the orders of the
Navy Department to Commodore McCauley, requested by the resolution of
the Senate of the 9th instant.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _August 27, 1852_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
As it is not deemed advisable that the instruction to Mr. R.M. Walsh,[25]
a copy of which is herewith transmitted, should be published at this
time, I communicate it confidentially to the Senate in executive
session.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
[Footnote 25: Special agent of the United States in the island of St.
Domingo.]
WASHINGTON, _August 27, 1852_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
ratification, a supplementary convention relative to commerce and
navigation between the United States and the Netherlands, signed
in this city on the 26th instant.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _August 27, 1852_.
_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 and Belgium for
regulating the right of inheriting and acquiring property, signed in
this city on the 25th instant.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON, _August 31, 1852_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 21st instant,
requesting information in respect to foreign postal arrangements, and
especially cheap ocean postage, I transmit a report of the Secretary
of State and the documents by which it was accompanied.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
EXECUTIVE ORDERS.
WASHINGTON CITY,
_May 17, 1852_.
The SECRETARY OF WAR.
MY DEAR SIR: I have just issued an authority to Hugh Maxwell, collector
at New York, under the eighth section of the act of April 20, 1818,
to arrest any unlawful expedition that may be attempted to be fitted
out within his district, and I have given him power to call upon
any military and naval officers that may be there to aid him in the
execution of this duty; and I will thank you to issue the necessary
instructions to the proper military officer in that district.
I am, your obedient servant,
MILLARD FILLMORE.
WASHINGTON CITY,
_Tuesday, June 29, 1852--12.30 o'clock p.m._
SIR:[26] The tolling bells announce the death of the Hon. Henry Clay.
Though this event has been long anticipated, yet the painful bereavement
could never be fully realized. I am sure all hearts are too sad at this
moment to attend to business, and I therefore respectfully suggest that
your Department be closed for the remainder of the day.
I have the honor to be, your obedient servant,
MILLARD FILLMORE.
[Footnote 26: Addressed to the heads of the several Executive
Departments.]
WASHINGTON, _September 13, 1852_.
General Jos. G. TOTTEN.
SIR: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your favor of the 11th instant
and to say that I shall be pleased if you will cause the necessary
surveys, projects, and estimates for determining the best means of
affording the cities of Washington and Georgetown an unfailing and
abundant supply of good and wholesome water to be made as soon as
possible.
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
MILLARD FILLMORE.
[From the Daily National Intelligencer, October 26, 1852.]
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
_Washington, Monday Morning, October 25, 1852_.
The ACTING SECRETARY OF STATE and the SECRETARIES OF THE TREASURY,
INTERIOR, WAR, NAVY, the ATTORNEY-GENERAL and POSTMASTER-GENERAL.
GENTLEMEN: The painful intelligence received yesterday enforces upon me
the sad duty of announcing to the Executive Departments the death of the
Secretary of State. Daniel Webster died at Marshfield, in Massachusetts,
on Sunday, the 24th of October, between 2 and 3 o'clock in the morning.
Whilst this irreparable loss brings its natural sorrow to every American
heart and will be heard far beyond our borders with mournful respect
wherever civilization has nurtured men who find in transcendent
intellect and faithful, patriotic service a theme for praise, it
will visit with still more poignant emotion his colleagues in the
Administration, with whom his relations have been so intimate and
so cordial.
The fame of our illustrious statesman belongs to his country, the
admiration of it to the world. The record of his wisdom will inform
future generations not less than its utterance has enlightened the
present. He has bequeathed to posterity the richest fruits of the
experience and judgment of a great mind conversant with the greatest
national concerns. In these his memory will endure as long as our
country shall continue to be the home and guardian of freemen.
The people will share with the Executive Departments in the common
grief which bewails his departure from amongst us.
In the expression of individual regret at this afflicting event the
Executive Departments of the Government will be careful to manifest
every observance of honor which custom has established as appropriate
to the memory of one so eminent as a public functionary and so
distinguished as a citizen.
The Acting Secretary of State will communicate this sad intelligence to
the diplomatic corps near this Government and, through our ministers
abroad, to foreign governments.
The members of the Cabinet are requested, as a further testimony of
respect for the deceased, to wear the usual badges of mourning for
thirty days.
I am, gentlemen, your obedient servant,
MILLARD FILLMORE.
THIRD ANNUAL MESSAGE.
WASHINGTON, _December 6, 1852_.
_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
The brief space which has elapsed since the close of your last session
has been marked by no extraordinary political event. The quadrennial
election of Chief Magistrate has passed off with less than the usual
excitement. However individuals and parties may have been disappointed
in the result, it is, nevertheless, a subject of national congratulation
that the choice has been effected by the independent suffrages of a free
people, undisturbed by those influences which in other countries have
too often affected the purity of popular elections.
Our grateful thanks are due to an all-merciful Providence, not only
for staying the pestilence which in different forms has desolated some
of our cities, but for crowning the labors of the husbandman with an
abundant harvest and the nation generally with the blessings of peace
and prosperity.
Within a few weeks the public mind has been deeply affected by the
death of Daniel Webster, filling at his decease the office of Secretary
of State. His associates in the executive government have sincerely
sympathized with his family and the public generally on this mournful
occasion. His commanding talents, his great political and professional
eminence, his well-tried patriotism, and his long and faithful services
in the most important public trusts have caused his death to be lamented
throughout the country and have earned for him a lasting place in our
history.
In the course of the last summer considerable anxiety was caused for
a short time by an official intimation from the Government of Great
Britain that orders had been given for the protection of the fisheries
upon the coasts of the British Provinces in North America against the
alleged encroachments of the fishing vessels of the United States and
France. The shortness of this notice and the season of the year seemed
to make it a matter of urgent importance. It was at first apprehended
that an increased naval force had been ordered to the fishing grounds
to carry into effect the British interpretation of those provisions in
the convention of 1818 in reference to the true intent of which the two
Governments differ. It was soon discovered that such was not the design
of Great Britain, and satisfactory explanations of the real objects of
the measure have been given both here and in London.
The unadjusted difference, however, between the two Governments as to
the interpretation of the first article of the convention of 1818 is
still a matter of importance. American fishing vessels, within nine or
ten years, have been excluded from waters to which they had free access
for twenty-five years after the negotiation of the treaty. In 1845 this
exclusion was relaxed so far as concerns the Bay of Fundy, but the just
and liberal intention of the home Government, in compliance with what
we think the true construction of the convention, to open all the
other outer bays to our fishermen was abandoned in consequence of the
opposition of the colonies. Notwithstanding this, the United States
have, since the Bay of Fundy was reopened to our fishermen in 1845,
pursued the most liberal course toward the colonial fishing interests.
By the revenue law of 1846 the duties on colonial fish entering our
ports were very greatly reduced, and by the warehousing act it is
allowed to be entered in bond without payment of duty. In this way
colonial fish has acquired the monopoly of the export trade in our
market and is entering to some extent into the home consumption. These
facts were among those which increased the sensibility of our fishing
interest at the movement in question.
These circumstances and the incidents above alluded to have led me to
think the moment favorable for a reconsideration of the entire subject
of the fisheries on the coasts of the British Provinces, with a view to
place them upon a more liberal footing of reciprocal privilege. A
willingness to meet us in some arrangement of this kind is understood to
exist on the part of Great Britain, with a desire on her part to include
in one comprehensive settlement as well this subject as the commercial
intercourse between the United States and the British Provinces. I have
thought that, whatever arrangements may be made on these two subjects,
it is expedient that they should be embraced in separate conventions.
The illness and death of the late Secretary of State prevented the
commencement of the contemplated negotiation. Pains have been taken to
collect the information required for the details of such an arrangement.
The subject is attended with considerable difficulty. If it is found
practicable to come to an agreement mutually acceptable to the two
parties, conventions may be concluded in the course of the present
winter. The control of Congress over all the provisions of such an
arrangement affecting the revenue will of course be reserved.
The affairs of Cuba formed a prominent topic in my last annual message.
They remain in an uneasy condition, and a feeling of alarm and
irritation on the part of the Cuban authorities appears to exist. This
feeling has interfered with the regular commercial intercourse between
the United States and the island and led to some acts of which we have
a right to complain. But the Captain-General of Cuba is clothed with no
power to treat with foreign governments, nor is he in any degree under
the control of the Spanish minister at Washington. Any communication
which he may hold with an agent of a foreign power is informal and
matter of courtesy. Anxious to put an end to the existing inconveniences
(which seemed to rest on a misconception), I directed the newly
appointed minister to Mexico to visit Havana on his way to Vera Cruz.
He was respectfully received by the Captain-General, who conferred with
him freely on the recent occurrences, but no permanent arrangement was
effected.
In the meantime the refusal of the Captain-General to allow passengers
and the mail to be landed in certain cases, for a reason which does not
furnish, in the opinion of this Government, even a good presumptive
ground for such prohibition, has been made the subject of a serious
remonstrance at Madrid, and I have no reason to doubt that due respect
will be paid by the Government of Her Catholic Majesty to the
representations which our minister has been instructed to make on the
subject.
It is but justice to the Captain-General to add that his conduct toward
the steamers employed to carry the mails of the United States to Havana
has, with the exceptions above alluded to, been marked with kindness and
liberality, and indicates no general purpose of interfering with the
commercial correspondence and intercourse between the island and this
country.
Early in the present year official notes were received from the
ministers of France and England inviting the Government of the United
States to become a party with Great Britain and France to a tripartite
convention, in virtue of which the three powers should severally and
collectively disclaim now and for the future all intention to obtain
possession of the island of Cuba, and should bind themselves to
discountenance all attempts to that effect on the part of any power or
individual whatever. This invitation has been respectfully declined, for
reasons which it would occupy too much space in this communication to
state in detail, but which led me to think that the proposed measure
would be of doubtful constitutionality, impolitic, and unavailing. I
have, however, in common with several of my predecessors, directed the
ministers of France and England to be assured that the United States
entertain no designs against Cuba, but that, on the contrary, I should
regard its incorporation into the Union at the present time as fraught
with serious peril.
Were this island comparatively destitute of inhabitants or occupied by a
kindred race, I should regard it, if voluntarily ceded by Spain, as a
most desirable acquisition. But under existing circumstances I should
look upon its incorporation into our Union as a very hazardous measure.
It would bring into the Confederacy a population of a different national
stock, speaking a different language, and not likely to harmonize with
the other members. It would probably affect in a prejudicial manner the
industrial interests of the South, and it might revive those conflicts
of opinion between the different sections of the country which lately
shook the Union to its center, and which have been so happily
compromised.
The rejection by the Mexican Congress of the convention which had been
concluded between that Republic and the United States for the protection
of a transit way across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and of the interests
of those citizens of the United States who had become proprietors of
the rights which Mexico had conferred on one of her own citizens in
regard to that transit has thrown a serious obstacle in the way of the
attainment of a very desirable national object. I am still willing to
hope that the differences on the subject which exist, or may hereafter
arise, between the Governments will be amicably adjusted. This subject,
however, has already engaged the attention of the Senate of the United
States, and requires no further comment in this communication.
The settlement of the question respecting the port of San Juan de
Nicaragua and of the controversy between the Republics of Costa Rica and
Nicaragua in regard to their boundaries was considered indispensable to
the commencement of the ship canal between the two oceans, which was the
subject of the convention between the United States and Great Britain
of the 19th of April, 1850. Accordingly, a proposition for the same
purposes, addressed to the two Governments in that quarter and to the
Mosquito Indians, was agreed to in April last by the Secretary of State
and the minister of Her Britannic Majesty. Besides the wish to aid in
reconciling the differences of the two Republics, I engaged in the
negotiation from a desire to place the great work of a ship canal
between the two oceans under one jurisdiction and to establish the
important port of San Juan de Nicaragua under the government of a
civilized power. The proposition in question was assented to by Costa
Rica and the Mosquito Indians. It has not proved equally acceptable
to Nicaragua, but it is to be hoped that the further negotiations on
the subject which are in train will be carried on in that spirit of
conciliation and compromise which ought always to prevail on such
occasions, and that they will lead to a satisfactory result.
I have the satisfaction to inform you that the executive government of
Venezuela has acknowledged some claims of citizens of the United States
which have for many years past been urged by our charge d'affaires at
Caracas. It is hoped that the same sense of justice will actuate the
Congress of that Republic in providing the means for their payment.
The recent revolution in Buenos Ayres and the Confederated States having
opened the prospect of an improved state of things in that quarter, the
Governments of Great Britain and France determined to negotiate with the
chief of the new confederacy for the free access of their commerce to
the extensive countries watered by the tributaries of the La Plata; and
they gave a friendly notice of this purpose to the United States, that
we might, if we thought proper, pursue the same course. In compliance
with this invitation, our minister at Rio Janeiro and our charge
d'affaires at Buenos Ayres have been fully authorized to conclude
treaties with the newly organized confederation or the States composing
it. The delays which have taken place in the formation of the new
government have as yet prevented the execution of those instructions,
but there is every reason to hope that these vast countries will be
eventually opened to our commerce.
A treaty of commerce has been concluded between the United States and
the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, which will be laid before the Senate.
Should this convention go into operation, it will open to the commercial
enterprise of our citizens a country of great extent and unsurpassed in
natural resources, but from which foreign nations have hitherto been
almost wholly excluded.
The correspondence of the late Secretary of State with the Peruvian
charge d'affaires relative to the Lobos Islands was communicated to
Congress toward the close of the last session. Since that time, on
further investigation of the subject, the doubts which had been
entertained of the title of Peru to those islands have been removed,
and I have deemed it just that the temporary wrong which had been
unintentionally done her from want of information should be repaired
by an unreserved acknowledgment of her sovereignty.
I have the satisfaction to inform you that the course pursued by Peru
has been creditable to the liberality of her Government. Before it was
known by her that her title would be acknowledged at Washington, her
minister of foreign affairs had authorized our charge d'affaires at Lima
to announce to the American vessels which had gone to the Lobos for
guano that the Peruvian Government was willing to freight them on its
own account. This intention has been carried into effect by the Peruvian
minister here by an arrangement which is believed to be advantageous to
the parties in interest.
Our settlements on the shores of the Pacific have already given a great
extension, and in some respects a new direction, to our commerce in that
ocean. A direct and rapidly increasing intercourse has sprung up with
eastern Asia. The waters of the Northern Pacific, even into the Arctic
Sea, have of late years been frequented by our whalemen. The application
of steam to the general purposes of navigation is becoming daily more
common, and makes it desirable to obtain fuel and other necessary
supplies at convenient points on the route between Asia and our Pacific
shores. Our unfortunate countrymen who from time to time suffer
shipwreck on the coasts of the eastern seas are entitled to protection.
Besides these specific objects, the general prosperity of our States on
the Pacific requires that an attempt should be made to open the opposite
regions of Asia to a mutually beneficial intercourse. It is obvious that
this attempt could be made by no power to so great advantage as by
the United States, whose constitutional system excludes every idea of
distant colonial dependencies. I have accordingly been led to order an
appropriate naval force to Japan, under the command of a discreet and
intelligent officer of the highest rank known to our service. He is
instructed to endeavor to obtain from the Government of that country
some relaxation of the inhospitable and antisocial system which it has
pursued for about two centuries. He has been directed particularly to
remonstrate in the strongest language against the cruel treatment to
which our shipwrecked mariners have often been subjected and to insist
that they shall be treated with humanity. He is instructed, however,
at the same time, to give that Government the amplest assurances that
the objects of the United States are such, and such only, as I have
indicated, and that the expedition is friendly and peaceful.
Notwithstanding the jealousy with which the Governments of eastern
Asia regard all overtures from foreigners, I am not without hopes of a
beneficial result of the expedition. Should it be crowned with success,
the advantages will not be confined to the United States, but, as in the
case of China, will be equally enjoyed by all the other maritime powers.
I have much satisfaction in stating that in all the steps preparatory to
this expedition the Government of the United States has been materially
aided by the good offices of the King of the Netherlands, the only
European power having any commercial relations with Japan.
In passing from this survey of our foreign relations, I invite the
attention of Congress to the condition of that Department of the
Government to which this branch of the public business is intrusted. Our
intercourse with foreign powers has of late years greatly increased,
both in consequence of our own growth and the introduction of many new
states into the family of nations. In this way the Department of State
has become overburdened. It has by the recent establishment of the
Department of the Interior been relieved of some portion of the domestic
business. If the residue of the business of that kind--such as the
distribution of Congressional documents, the keeping, publishing, and
distribution of the laws of the United States, the execution of the
copyright law, the subject of reprieves and pardons, and some other
subjects relating to interior administration--should be transferred from
the Department of State, it would unquestionably be for the benefit of
the public service. I would also suggest that the building appropriated
to the State Department is not fireproof; that there is reason to think
there are defects in its construction, and that the archives of the
Government in charge of the Department, with the precious collections of
the manuscript papers of Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton, Madison, and
Monroe, are exposed to destruction by fire. A similar remark may be made
of the buildings appropriated to the War and Navy Departments.
The condition of the Treasury is exhibited in the annual report from
that Department.
The cash receipts into the Treasury for the fiscal year ending the
30th June last, exclusive of trust funds, were $49,728,386.89, and
the expenditures for the same period, likewise exclusive of trust
funds, were $46,007,896.20, of which $9,455,815.83 was on account
of the principal and interest of the public debt, including the last
installment of the indemnity to Mexico under the treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo, leaving a balance of $14,632,136.37 in the Treasury on the
1st day of July last. Since this latter period further purchases
of the principal of the public debt have been made to the extent of
$2,456,547.49, and the surplus in the Treasury will continue to be
applied to that object whenever the stock can be procured within the
limits as to price authorized by law.
The value of foreign merchandise imported during the last fiscal year
was $207,240,101, and the value of domestic productions exported was
$149,861,911, besides $17,204,026 of foreign merchandise exported,
making the aggregate of the entire exports $167,065,937. Exclusive of
the above, there was exported $42,507,285 in specie, and imported from
foreign ports $5,262,643.
In my first annual message to Congress I called your attention to what
seemed to me some defects in the present tariff, and recommended such
modifications as in my judgment were best adapted to remedy its evils
and promote the prosperity of the country. Nothing has since occurred
to change my views on this important question.
Without repeating the arguments contained in my former message in favor
of discriminating protective duties, I deem it my duty to call your
attention to one or two other considerations affecting this subject.
The first is the effect of large importations of foreign goods upon
our currency. Most of the gold of California, as fast as it is coined,
finds its way directly to Europe in payment for goods purchased.
In the second place, as our manufacturing establishments are broken
down by competition with foreigners, the capital invested in them is
lost, thousands of honest and industrious citizens are thrown out of
employment, and the farmer, to that extent, is deprived of a home market
for the sale of his surplus produce. In the third place, the destruction
of our manufactures leaves the foreigner without competition in our
market, and he consequently raises the price of the article sent here
for sale, as is now seen in the increased cost of iron imported from
England. The prosperity and wealth of every nation must depend upon its
productive industry. The farmer is stimulated to exertion by finding a
ready market for his surplus products, and benefited by being able to
exchange them without loss of time or expense of transportation for the
manufactures which his comfort or convenience requires. This is always
done to the best advantage where a portion of the community in which
he lives is engaged in other pursuits. But most manufactures require
an amount of capital and a practical skill which can not be commanded
unless they be protected for a time from ruinous competition from
abroad. Hence the necessity of laying those duties upon imported goods
which the Constitution authorizes for revenue in such a manner as to
protect and encourage the labor of our own citizens. Duties, however,
should not be fixed at a rate so high as to exclude the foreign article,
but should be so graduated as to enable the domestic manufacturer
fairly to compete with the foreigner in our own markets, and by this
competition to reduce the price of the manufactured article to the
consumer to the lowest rate at which it can be produced. This policy
would place the mechanic by the side of the farmer, create a mutual
interchange of their respective commodities, and thus stimulate the
industry of the whole country and render us independent of foreign
nations for the supplies required by the habits or necessities of
the people.
Another question, wholly independent of protection, presents itself,
and that is, whether the duties levied should be upon the value of
the article at the place of shipment, or, where it is practicable,
a specific duty, graduated according to quantity, as ascertained by
weight or measure. All our duties are at present _ad valorem_. A
certain percentage is levied on the price of the goods at the port
of shipment in a foreign country. Most commercial nations have found it
indispensable, for the purpose of preventing fraud and perjury, to make
the duties specific whenever the article is of such a uniform value in
weight or measure as to justify such a duty. Legislation should never
encourage dishonesty or crime. It is impossible that the revenue
officers at the port where the goods are entered and the duties paid
should know with certainty what they cost in the foreign country. Yet
the law requires that they should levy the duty according to such cost.
They are therefore compelled to resort to very unsatisfactory evidence
to ascertain what that cost was. They take the invoice of the importer,
attested by his oath, as the best evidence of which the nature of the
case admits. But everyone must see that the invoice may be fabricated
and the oath by which it is supported false, by reason of which the
dishonest importer pays a part only of the duties which are paid by the
honest one, and thus indirectly receives from the Treasury of the United
States a reward for his fraud and perjury. The reports of the Secretary
of the Treasury heretofore made on this subject show conclusively that
these frauds have been practiced to a great extent. The tendency is to
destroy that high moral character for which our merchants have long been
distinguished, to defraud the Government of its revenue, to break down
the honest importer by a dishonest competition, and, finally, to
transfer the business of importation to foreign and irresponsible
agents, to the great detriment of our own citizens. I therefore again
most earnestly recommend the adoption of specific duties wherever it
is practicable, or a home valuation, to prevent these frauds.
I would also again call your attention to the fact that the present
tariff in some cases imposes a higher duty upon the raw material
imported than upon the article manufactured from it, the consequence of
which is that the duty operates to the encouragement of the foreigner
and the discouragement of our own citizens.
For full and detailed information in regard to the general condition
of our Indian affairs, I respectfully refer you to the report of the
Secretary of the Interior and the accompanying documents.
The Senate not having thought proper to ratify the treaties which have
been negotiated with the tribes of Indians in California and Oregon, our
relations with them have been left in a very unsatisfactory condition.
In other parts of our territory particular districts of country have
been set apart for the exclusive occupation of the Indians, and their
right to the lands within those limits has been acknowledged and
respected. But in California and Oregon there has been no recognition by
the Government of the exclusive right of the Indians to any part of the
country. They are therefore mere tenants at sufferance, and liable to be
driven from place to place at the pleasure of the whites.
The treaties which have been rejected proposed to remedy this evil
by allotting to the different tribes districts of country suitable
to their habits of life and sufficient for their support. This provision,
more than any other, it is believed, led to their rejection; and as
no substitute for it has been adopted by Congress, it has not been
deemed advisable to attempt to enter into new treaties of a permanent
character, although no effort has been spared by temporary arrangements
to preserve friendly relations with them.
If it be the desire of Congress to remove them from the country
altogether, or to assign to them particular districts more remote from
the settlements of the whites, it will be proper to set apart by law the
territory which they are to occupy and to provide the means necessary
for removing them to it. Justice alike to our own citizens and to the
Indians requires the prompt action of Congress on this subject.
The amendments proposed by the Senate to the treaties which were
negotiated with the Sioux Indians of Minnesota have been submitted to
the tribes who were parties to them, and have received their assent.
A large tract of valuable territory has thus been opened for settlement
and cultivation, and all danger of collision with these powerful and
warlike bands has been happily removed.
The removal of the remnant of the tribe of Seminole Indians from Florida
has long been a cherished object of the Government, and it is one to
which my attention has been steadily directed. Admonished by past
experience of the difficulty and cost of the attempt to remove them
by military force, resort has been had to conciliatory measures.
By the invitation of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, several of
the principal chiefs recently visited Washington, and whilst here
acknowledged in writing the obligation of their tribe to remove with
the least possible delay. Late advices from the special agent of the
Government represent that they adhere to their promise, and that a
council of their people has been called to make their preliminary
arrangements. A general emigration may therefore be confidently
expected at an early day.
The report from the General Land Office shows increased activity in
its operations. The survey of the northern boundary of Iowa has been
completed with unexampled dispatch. Within the last year 9,522,953
acres of public land have been surveyed and 8,032,463 acres brought
into market.
Acres.
In the last fiscal year there were sold.............. 1,553,071
Located with bounty-land warrants.................... 3,201,314
Located with other certificates...................... 115,682
---------
Making a total of.................................... 4,870,067
In addition there were--
Reported under swamp-land grants..................... 5,219,188
For internal improvements, railroads, etc............ 3,025,920
---------
Making an aggregate of............................... 13,115,175
Being an increase of the amount sold and located under land warrants of
569,220 acres over the previous year.
The whole amount thus sold, located under land warrants, reported under
swamp-land grants, and selected for internal improvements exceeds that
of the previous year by 3,342,372 acres; and the sales would without
doubt have been much larger but for the extensive reservations for
railroads in Missouri, Mississippi, and Alabama.
Acres.
For the quarter ending 30th September, 1852, there
were sold..... 243,255
Located with bounty-land warrants..................... 1,387,116
Located with other certificates....................... 15,649
Reported under swamp-land grants...................... 2,485,233
---------
Making an aggregate for the quarter of................ 4,131,253
Much the larger portion of the labor of arranging and classifying the
returns of the last census has been finished, and it will now devolve
upon Congress to make the necessary provision for the publication of
the results in such form as shall be deemed best. The apportionment
of representation on the basis of the new census has been made by the
Secretary of the Interior in conformity with the provisions of law
relating to that subject, and the recent elections have been made in
accordance with it.
I commend to your favorable regard the suggestion contained in the
report of the Secretary of the Interior that provision be made by law
for the publication and distribution, periodically, of an analytical
digest of all the patents which have been or may hereafter be granted
for useful inventions and discoveries, with such descriptions and
illustrations as may be necessary to present an intelligible view of
their nature and operation. The cost of such publication could easily
be defrayed out of the patent fund, and I am persuaded that it could be
applied to no object more acceptable to inventors and beneficial to the
public at large.
An appropriation of $100,000 having been made at the last session for
the purchase of a suitable site and for the erection, furnishing, and
fitting up of an asylum for the insane of the District of Columbia and
of the Army and Navy of the United States, the proper measures have been
adopted to carry this beneficent purpose into effect.
By the latest advices from the Mexican boundary commission it appears
that the survey of the river Gila from its confluence with the Colorado
to its supposed intersection with the western line of New Mexico has
been completed. The survey of the Rio Grande has also been finished from
the point agreed on by the commissioners as "the point where it strikes
the southern boundary of New Mexico" to a point 135 miles below Eagle
Pass, which is about two-thirds of the distance along the course of the
river to its mouth.
The appropriation which was made at the last session of Congress for the
continuation of the survey is subject to the following proviso:
_Provided_, That no part of this appropriation shall be used or
expended until it shall be made satisfactorily to appear to the
President of the United States that the southern boundary of New
Mexico is not established by the commissioner and surveyor of the
United States farther north of the town called "Paso" than the same
is laid down in Disturnell's map, which is added to the treaty.
My attention was drawn to this subject by a report from the Department
of the Interior, which reviewed all the facts of the case and submitted
for my decision the question whether under existing circumstances any
part, of the appropriation could be lawfully used or expended for the
further prosecution of the work. After a careful consideration of the
subject I came to the conclusion that it could not, and so informed
the head of that Department. Orders were immediately issued by him to
the commissioner and surveyor to make no further requisitions on the
Department, as they could not be paid, and to discontinue all operations
on the southern line of New Mexico. But as the Department had no exact
information as to the amount of provisions and money which remained
unexpended in the hands of the commissioner and surveyor, it was left
discretionary with them to continue the survey down the Rio Grande as
far as the means at their disposal would enable them or at once to
disband the commission. A special messenger has since arrived from the
officer in charge of the survey on the river with information that the
funds subject to his control were exhausted and that the officers and
others employed in the service were destitute alike of the means of
prosecuting the work and of returning to their homes.
The object of the proviso was doubtless to arrest the survey of the
southern and western lines of New Mexico, in regard to which different
opinions have been expressed; for it is hardly to be supposed that there
could be any objection to that part of the line which extends along the
channel of the Rio Grande. But the terms of the law are so broad as to
forbid the use of any part of the money for the prosecution of the work,
or even for the payment to the officers and agents of the arrearages of
pay which are justly due to them.
I earnestly invite your prompt attention to this subject, and recommend
a modification of the terms of the proviso, so as to enable the
Department to use as much of the appropriation as will be necessary
to discharge the existing obligations of the Government and to complete
the survey of the Rio Grande to its mouth.
It will also be proper to make further provision by law for the
fulfillment of our treaty with Mexico for running and marking the
residue of the boundary line between the two countries.
Permit me to invite your particular attention to the interests of the
District of Columbia, which are confided by the Constitution to your
peculiar care.
Among the measures which seem to me of the greatest importance to its
prosperity are the introduction of a copious supply of water into the
city of Washington and the construction of suitable bridges across the
Potomac to replace those which were destroyed by high water in the early
part of the present year.
At the last session of Congress an appropriation was made to defray
the cost of the surveys necessary for determining the best means of
affording an unfailing supply of good and wholesome water. Some progress
has been made in the survey, and as soon as it is completed the result
will be laid before you.
Further appropriations will also be necessary for grading and paving the
streets and avenues and inclosing and embellishing the public grounds
within the city of Washington.
I commend all these objects, together with the charitable institutions
of the District, to your favorable regard.
Every effort has been made to protect our frontier and that of the
adjoining Mexican States from the incursions of the Indian tribes.
Of about 11,000 men of which the Army is composed, nearly 8,000 are
employed in the defense of the newly acquired territory (including
Texas) and of emigrants proceeding thereto. I am gratified to say that
these efforts have been unusually successful. With the exception of some
partial outbreaks in California and Oregon and occasional depredations
on a portion of the Rio Grande, owing, it is believed, to the disturbed
state of that border region, the inroads of the Indians have been
effectually restrained.
Experience has shown, however, that whenever the two races are brought
into contact collisions will inevitably occur. To prevent these
collisions the United States have generally set apart portions of
their territory for the exclusive occupation of the Indian tribes. A
difficulty occurs, however, in the application of this policy to Texas.
By the terms of the compact by which that State was admitted into the
Union she retained the ownership of all the vacant lands within her
limits. The government of that State, it is understood, has assigned no
portion of her territory to the Indians, but as fast as her settlements
advance lays it off into counties and proceeds to survey and sell it.
This policy manifestly tends not only to alarm and irritate the Indians,
but to compel them to resort to plunder for subsistence. It also
deprives this Government of that influence and control over them without
which no durable peace can ever exist between them and the whites. I
trust, therefore, that a due regard for her own interests, apart from
considerations of humanity and justice, will induce that State to assign
a small portion of her vast domain for the provisional occupancy of the
small remnants of tribes within her borders, subject, of course, to her
ownership and eventual jurisdiction. If she should fail to do this, the
fulfillment of our treaty stipulations with Mexico and our duty to the
Indians themselves will, it is feared, become a subject of serious
embarrassment to the Government. It is hoped, however, that a timely
and just provision by Texas may avert this evil.
No appropriations for fortifications were made at the two last sessions
of Congress. The cause of this omission is probably to be found in a
growing belief that the system of fortifications adopted in 1816, and
heretofore acted on, requires revision.
The subject certainly deserves full and careful investigation, but
it should not be delayed longer than can be avoided. In the meantime
there are certain works which have been commenced, some of them nearly
completed, designed to protect our principal seaports from Boston to New
Orleans and a few other important points. In regard to the necessity for
these works, it is believed that little difference of opinion exists
among military men. I therefore recommend that the appropriations
necessary to prosecute them be made.
I invite your attention to the remarks on this subject and on others
connected with his Department contained in the accompanying report of
the Secretary of War.
Measures have been taken to carry into effect the law of the last
session making provision for the improvement of certain rivers and
harbors, and it is believed that the arrangements made for that purpose
will combine efficiency with economy. Owing chiefly to the advanced
season when the act was passed, little has yet been done in regard
to many of the works beyond making the necessary preparations. With
respect to a few of the improvements, the sums already appropriated
will suffice to complete them; but most of them will require additional
appropriations. I trust that these appropriations will be made, and
that this wise and beneficent policy, so auspiciously resumed, will be
continued. Great care should be taken, however, to commence no work
which is not of sufficient importance to the commerce of the country
to be viewed as national in its character. But works which have been
commenced should not be discontinued until completed, as otherwise the
sums expended will in most cases be lost.
The report from the Navy Department will inform you of the prosperous
condition of the branch of the public service committed to its charge.
It presents to your consideration many topics and suggestions of which
I ask your approval. It exhibits an unusual degree of activity in the
operations of the Department during the past year. The preparations for
the Japan expedition, to which I have already alluded; the arrangements
made for the exploration and survey of the China Seas, the Northern
Pacific, and Behrings Straits; the incipient measures taken toward a
reconnaissance of the continent of Africa eastward of Liberia; the
preparation for an early examination of the tributaries of the river La
Plata, which a recent decree of the provisional chief of the Argentine
Confederation has opened to navigation--all these enterprises and the
means by which they are proposed to be accomplished have commanded my
full approbation, and I have no doubt will be productive of most useful
results.
Two officers of the Navy were heretofore instructed to explore the whole
extent of the Amazon River from the confines of Peru to its mouth. The
return of one of them has placed in the possession of the Government an
interesting and valuable account of the character and resources of a
country abounding in the materials of commerce, and which if opened to
the industry of the world will prove an inexhaustible fund of wealth.
The report of this exploration will be communicated to you as soon as
it is completed.
Among other subjects offered to your notice by the Secretary of the
Navy, I select for special commendation, in view of its connection
with the interests of the Navy, the plan submitted by him for the
establishment of a permanent corps of seamen and the suggestions he
has presented for the reorganization of the Naval Academy.
In reference to the first of these, I take occasion to say that I think
it will greatly improve the efficiency of the service, and that I regard
it as still more entitled to favor for the salutary influence it must
exert upon the naval discipline, now greatly disturbed by the increasing
spirit of insubordination resulting from our present system. The plan
proposed for the organization of the seamen furnishes a judicious
substitute for the law of September, 1850, abolishing corporal
punishment, and satisfactorily sustains the policy of that act under
conditions well adapted to maintain the authority of command and the
order and security of our ships. It is believed that any change which
proposes permanently to dispense with this mode of punishment should be
preceded by a system of enlistment which shall supply the Navy with
seamen of the most meritorious class, whose good deportment and pride
of character may preclude all occasion for a resort to penalties of a
harsh or degrading nature. The safety of a ship and her crew is often
dependent upon immediate obedience to a command, and the authority to
enforce it must be equally ready. The arrest of a refractory seaman
in such moments not only deprives the ship of indispensable aid, but
imposes a necessity for double service on others, whose fidelity to
their duties may be relied upon in such an emergency. The exposure to
this increased and arduous labor since the passage of the act of 1850
has already had, to a most observable and injurious extent, the effect
of preventing the enlistment of the best seamen in the Navy. The plan
now suggested is designed to promote a condition of service in which
this objection will no longer exist. The details of this plan may be
established in great part, if not altogether, by the Executive under the
authority of existing laws, but I have thought it proper, in accordance
with the suggestion of the Secretary of the Navy, to submit it to your
approval.
The establishment of a corps of apprentices for the Navy, or boys to
be enlisted until they become of age, and to be employed under such
regulations as the Navy Department may devise, as proposed in the
report, I cordially approve and commend to your consideration; and
I also concur in the suggestion that this system for the early training
of seamen may be most usefully ingrafted upon the service of our merchant
marine.
The other proposition of the report to which I have referred--the
reorganization of the Naval Academy--I recommend to your attention as a
project worthy of your encouragement and support. The valuable services
already rendered by this institution entitle it to the continuance of
your fostering care.
Your attention is respectfully called to the report of the
Postmaster-General for the detailed operation of his Department during
the last fiscal year, from which it will be seen that the receipts from
postages for that time were less by $1,431,696 than for the preceding
fiscal year, being a decrease of about 23 per cent.
This diminution is attributable to the reduction in the rates of postage
made by the act of March 3, 1851, which reduction took effect at the
commencement of the last fiscal year.
Although in its operation during the last year the act referred to
has not fulfilled the predictions of its friends by increasing the
correspondence of the country in proportion to the reduction of postage,
I should, nevertheless, question the policy of returning to higher
rates. Experience warrants the expectation that as the community becomes
accustomed to cheap postage correspondence will increase. It is believed
that from this cause and from the rapid growth of the country in
population and business the receipts of the Department must ultimately
exceed its expenses, and that the country may safely rely upon the
continuance of the present cheap rate of postage.
In former messages I have, among other things, respectfully recommended
to the consideration of Congress the propriety and necessity of further
legislation for the protection and punishment of foreign consuls
residing in the United States; to revive, with certain modifications,
the act of 10th March, 1838, to restrain unlawful military expeditions
against the inhabitants of conterminous states or territories; for the
preservation and protection from mutilation or theft of the papers,
records, and archives of the nation; for authorizing the surplus revenue
to be applied to the payment of the public debt in advance of the time
when it will become due; for the establishment of land offices for the
sale of the public lands in California and the Territory of Oregon;
for the construction of a road from the Mississippi Valley to the
Pacific Ocean; for the establishment of a bureau of agriculture for the
promotion of that interest, perhaps the most important in the country;
for the prevention of frauds upon the Government in applications for
pensions and bounty lands; for the establishment of a uniform fee bill,
prescribing a specific compensation for every service required of
clerks, district attorneys, and marshals; for authorizing an additional
regiment of mounted men for the defense of our frontiers against the
Indians and for fulfilling our treaty stipulations with Mexico to defend
her citizens against the Indians "with equal diligence and energy as our
own;" for determining the relative rank between the naval and civil
officers in our public ships and between the officers of the Army
and Navy in the various grades of each; for reorganizing the naval
establishment by fixing the number of officers in each grade, and
providing for a retired list upon reduced pay of those unfit for active
duty; for prescribing and regulating punishments in the Navy; for the
appointment of a commission to revise the public statutes of the United
States by arranging them in order, supplying deficiencies, correcting
incongruities, simplifying their language, and reporting them to
Congress for its final action; and for the establishment of a commission
to adjudicate and settle private claims against the United States. I am
not aware, however, that any of these subjects have been finally acted
upon by Congress. Without repeating the reasons for legislation on these
subjects which have been assigned in former messages, I respectfully
recommend them again to your favorable consideration.
I think it due to the several Executive Departments of this Government
to bear testimony to the efficiency and integrity with which they are
conducted. With all the careful superintendence which it is possible for
the heads of those Departments to exercise, still the due administration
and guardianship of the public money must very much depend on the
vigilance, intelligence, and fidelity of the subordinate officers and
clerks, and especially on those intrusted with the settlement and
adjustment of claims and accounts. I am gratified to believe that they
have generally performed their duties faithfully and well. They are
appointed to guard the approaches to the public Treasury, and they
occupy positions that expose them to all the temptations and seductions
which the cupidity of peculators and fraudulent claimants can prompt
them to employ. It will be but a wise precaution to protect the
Government against that source of mischief and corruption, as far as it
can be done, by the enactment of all proper legal penalties. The laws
in this respect are supposed to be defective, and I therefore deem it
my duty to call your attention to the subject and to recommend that
provision be made by law for the punishment not only of those who shall
accept bribes, but also of those who shall either promise, give, or
offer to give to any of those officers or clerks a bribe or reward
touching or relating to any matter of their official action or duty.
It has been the uniform policy of this Government, from its foundation
to the present day, to abstain from all interference in the domestic
affairs of other nations. The consequence has been that while the
nations of Europe have been engaged in desolating wars our country has
pursued its peaceful course to unexampled prosperity and happiness. The
wars in which we have been compelled to engage in defense of the rights
and honor of the country have been, fortunately, of short duration.
During the terrific contest of nation against nation which succeeded
the French Revolution we were enabled by the wisdom and firmness of
President Washington to maintain our neutrality. While other nations
were drawn into this wide-sweeping whirlpool, we sat quiet and unmoved
upon our own shores. While the flower of their numerous armies was
wasted by disease or perished by hundreds of thousands upon the
battlefield, the youth of this favored land were permitted to enjoy the
blessings of peace beneath the paternal roof. While the States of Europe
incurred enormous debts, under the burden of which their subjects still
groan, and which must absorb no small part of the product of the honest
industry of those countries for generations to come, the United States
have once been enabled to exhibit the proud spectacle of a nation free
from public debt, and if permitted to pursue our prosperous way for a
few years longer in peace we may do the same again.
But it is now said by some that this policy must be changed. Europe is
no longer separated from us by a voyage of months, but steam navigation
has brought her within a few days' sail of our shores. We see more of
her movements and take a deeper interest in her controversies. Although
no one proposes that we should join the fraternity of potentates who
have for ages lavished the blood and treasure of their subjects in
maintaining "the balance of power," yet it is said that we ought to
interfere between contending sovereigns and their subjects for the
purpose of overthrowing the monarchies of Europe and establishing
in their place republican institutions. It is alleged that we have
heretofore pursued a different course from a sense of our weakness, but
that now our conscious strength dictates a change of policy, and that it
is consequently our duty to mingle in these contests and aid those who
are struggling for liberty.
This is a most seductive but dangerous appeal to the generous sympathies
of freemen. Enjoying, as we do, the blessings of a free Government,
there is no man who has an American heart that would not rejoice to see
these blessings extended to all other nations. We can not witness the
struggle between the oppressed and his oppressor anywhere without the
deepest sympathy for the former and the most anxious desire for his
triumph. Nevertheless, is it prudent or is it wise to involve ourselves
in these foreign wars? Is it indeed true that we have heretofore
refrained from doing so merely from the degrading motive of a conscious
weakness? For the honor of the patriots who have gone before us, I can
not admit it. Men of the Revolution, who drew the sword against the
oppressions of the mother country and pledged to Heaven "their lives,
their fortunes, and their sacred honor" to maintain their freedom, could
never have been actuated by so unworthy a motive. They knew no weakness
or fear where right or duty pointed the way, and it is a libel upon
their fair fame for us, while we enjoy the blessings for which they so
nobly fought and bled, to insinuate it. The truth is that the course
which they pursued was dictated by a stern sense of international
justice, by a statesmanlike prudence and a far-seeing wisdom, looking
not merely to the present necessities but to the permanent safety and
interest of the country. They knew that the world is governed less by
sympathy than by reason and force; that it was not possible for this
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