A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents
by
James D. Richardson
Part 4 out of 7
the ports of Denmark, I have thought it for the interest of the United
States that a consul be appointed to reside at Copenhagen. I therefore
nominate Hans Rudolph Saaby, a Danish subject and merchant of
Copenhagen, to be consul for the United States of America at the port
of Copenhagen and for such other places within the allegiance of His
Danish Majesty as shall be nearer to the said port than to the residence
of any other consul or vice-consul of the United States within the same
allegiance.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _March 7, 1792_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate_:
I submit to your consideration the report of the Secretary of State,
which accompanies this, stating the reasons for extending the
negotiation proposed at Madrid to the subject of commerce, and
explaining, under the form of instructions to the commissioners lately
appointed to that Court, the principles on which commercial arrangements
with Spain might, if desired on her part, be acceded to on ours; and
I have to request your decision whether you will advise and consent to
the extension of the powers of the commissioners as proposed, and to
the ratification of a treaty which shall conform to those instructions
should they enter into such a one with that Court.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
MARCH 7, 1792.
The Secretary of State having understood from communications with the
commissioners of His Catholic Majesty, subsequent to that which he
reported to the President on the 22d of December last, that though they
considered the navigation of the Mississippi as the principal object
of negotiation between the two countries, yet it was expected by their
Court that the conferences would extend to all the matters which were
under negotiation on the former occasion with Mr. Gardoqui, and
particularly to some arrangements of commerce, is of opinion that to
renew the conferences on this subject also, since they desire it, will
be but friendly and respectful, and can lead to nothing without our
own consent, and that to refuse it might obstruct the settlement of
the questions of navigation and boundary; and therefore reports to
the President of the United States the following observations and
instructions to the commissioners of the United States appointed to
negotiate with the Court of Spain a treaty or convention relative to
the navigation of the Mississippi, which observations and instructions
he is of opinion should be laid before the Senate of the United States,
and their decision be desired whether they will advise and consent that
a treaty be entered into by the commissioners of the United States with
Spain conformably thereto.
After stating to our commissioners the foundation of our rights to
navigate the Mississippi and to hold our southern boundary at the
thirty-first degree of latitude, and that each of these is to be a
sine qua non, it is proposed to add as follows:
On the former conferences on the navigation of the Mississippi, Spain
chose to blend with it the subject of commerce, and accordingly
specific propositions thereon passed between the negotiators. Her
object then was to obtain our renunciation of the navigation and to
hold out commercial arrangements perhaps as a lure to us. Perhaps,
however, she might then, and may now, really set a value on commercial
arrangements with us, and may receive them as a consideration for
accommodating us in the navigation, or may wish for them to have the
appearance of receiving a consideration. Commercial arrangements, if
acceptable in themselves, will not be the less so if coupled with
those relating to navigation and boundary. We have only to take care
that they be acceptable in themselves.
There are two principles which may be proposed as the basis of a
commercial treaty: First, that of exchanging the privileges of native
citizens, or, second, those of the most favored nation.
First. With the nations holding important possessions in America we
are ready to exchange the rights of native citizens, provided they
be extended through the whole possessions of both parties; but the
propositions of Spain made on the former occasion (a copy of which
accompanies this) were that we should give their merchants, vessels,
and productions the privileges of native merchants, vessels, and
productions through the whole of our possessions, and they give the
same to ours only in Spain and the Canaries. This is inadmissible,
because unequal; and as we believe that Spain is not ripe for an
equal exchange on this basis, we avoid proposing it.
Second. Though treaties which merely exchange the rights of the most
favored nations are not without all inconvenience, yet they have their
conveniences also. It is an important one that they leave each party
free to make what internal regulations they please, and to give what
preferences they find expedient to native merchants, vessels, and
productions; and as we already have treaties on this basis with
France, Holland, Sweden, and Prussia, the two former of which are
perpetual, it will be but small additional embarrassment to extend it
to Spain. On the contrary, we are sensible it is right to place that
nation on the most favored footing, whether we have a treaty with them
or not, and it can do us no harm to secure by treaty a reciprocation
of the right.
Of the four treaties before mentioned, either the French or the
Prussian might be taken as a model; but it would be useless to
propose the Prussian, because we have already supposed that Spain
would never consent to those articles which give to each party
access to all the dominions of the other; and without this equivalent
we would not agree to tie our own hands so materially in war as would
be done by the twenty-third article, which renounces the right of
fitting out privateers or of capturing merchant vessels. The French
treaty, therefore, is proposed as the model. In this, however, the
following changes are to be made:
We should be admitted to all the dominions of Spain to which any
other foreign nation is or may be admitted.
Article 5, being an exemption from a particular duty in France,
will of course be omitted as inapplicable to Spain.
Article 8 to be omitted as unnecessary with Morocco, and
inefficacious and little honorable with any of the Barbary powers;
but it may furnish occasion to sound Spain on the project of a
convention of the powers at war with the Barbary States to keep
up by rotation a constant cruise of a given force on their coasts
till they shall be compelled to renounce forever and against all
nations their predatory practices. Perhaps the infidelities of the
Algerines to their treaty of peace with Spain, though the latter
does not choose to break openly, may induce her to subsidize _us_
to cruise against them with a given force.
Articles 9 and 10, concerning fisheries, to be omitted as
inapplicable.
Article 11. The first paragraph of this article respecting the
droit d'aubaine to be omitted, that law being supposed peculiar
to France.
Article 17, giving asylum in the ports of either to the armed vessels
of the other with the prizes taken from the enemies of that other,
must be qualified as it is in the nineteenth article of the Prussian
treaty, as the stipulation in the latter part of the article that
"no shelter or refuge shall be given in the ports of the one to such
as shall have made prize on the subjects of the other of the parties"
would forbid us, in case of a war between France and Spain, to give
shelter in our ports to prizes made by the latter on the former,
while the first part of the article would oblige us to shelter those
made by the former on the latter--a very dangerous covenant, and which
ought never to be repeated in any other instance.
Article 29. Consuls should be received at all the ports at which the
vessels of either party may be received.
Article 30, concerning free ports in Europe and America, free ports in
the Spanish possessions in America, and particularly at The Havannah,
are more to be desired than expected. It can therefore only be
recommended to the best endeavors of the commissioners to obtain them.
It will be something to obtain for our vessels, flour, etc., admission
to those ports during their pleasure. In like manner, if they could be
prevailed on to reestablish our right of cutting logwood in the Bay of
Campeachy on the footing on which it stood before the treaty of 1763,
it would be desirable and not endanger to us any contest with the
English, who by the revolution treaty are restrained to the
southeastern parts of Yucatan.
Article 31. The _act_ of ratification on our part may require a
twelvemonth from the date of the treaty, as the Senate meets regularly
but once a year; and to return it to Madrid for _exchange_ may require
four months more.
The treaty must not exceed ---- years' duration, except the clauses
relating to boundary and the navigation of the Mississippi, which must
be perpetual and final. Indeed, these two subjects had better be in a
separate instrument.
There might have been mentioned a third species of arrangement--that
of making special agreements on every special subject of commerce,
and of settling a tariff of duty to be paid on each side on every
particular article; but this would require in our commissioners a
very minute knowledge of our commerce, as it is impossible to foresee
every proposition of this kind which might be brought into discussion
and to prepare them for it by information and instruction from hence.
Our commerce, too, is as yet rather in a course of experiment, and
the channels in which it will ultimately flow are not sufficiently
known to enable us to provide for it by special agreement; nor
have the exigencies of our new Government as yet so far developed
themselves as that we can know to what degree we may or must have
recourse to commerce for the purposes of revenue. No common
consideration, therefore, ought to induce us as yet to arrangements
of this kind. Perhaps nothing should do it with any nation short
of the privileges of natives in all their possessions, foreign and
domestic.
It were to be wished, indeed, that some positively favorable
stipulations respecting our grain, flour, and fish could be obtained,
even on our giving reciprocal advantages to some of the commodities
of Spain, say her wines and brandies; but,
First. If we quit the ground of the _most favored nation_ as to
certain articles for our convenience, Spain may insist on doing
the same for other articles for her convenience, and thus our
commissioners will get themselves on the ground of _a treaty of
detail_, for which they will not be prepared.
Second. If we grant favor to the wines and brandies of Spain, then
Portugal and France will demand the same; and in order to create an
equivalent Portugal may lay a duty on our fish and grain, and France
a prohibition on our whale oils, the removal of which will be proposed
as an equivalent.
Thus much, however, as to grain and flour may be attempted. There has
not long since been a considerable duty laid on them in Spain. This
was while a treaty on the subject of commerce was pending between us
and Spain, as that Court considers the matter. It is not generally
thought right to change the state of things pending a treaty
concerning them. On this consideration and on the motive of
cultivating our friendship, perhaps the commissioners may induce them
to restore this commodity to the footing on which it was on opening
the conferences with Mr. Gardoqui, on the 26th day of July, 1785. If
Spain says, "Do the same by your tonnage on our vessels," the answer
may be that "Our foreign tonnage affects Spain very little and other
nations very much; whereas the duty on flour in Spain affects us very
much and other nations very little; consequently there would be no
equality in reciprocal relinquishment, as there had been none in the
reciprocal innovation; and Spain, by insisting on this, would in fact
only be aiding the interests of her rival nations, to whom we should
be forced to extend the same indulgence." At the time of opening the
conferences, too, we had as yet not erected any system, our Government
itself being not yet erected. Innovation then was unavoidable on our
part, if it be innovation to establish a system. We did it on fair and
general ground, on ground favorable to Spain; but they had a system,
and therefore innovation was avoidable on their part.
THOMAS JEFFERSON.
ARTICLES PROPOSED BY DON DIEGO GARDOQUI TO BE INSERTED IN THE TREATY
WITH THE UNITED STATES.
First. That all commercial regulations affecting each other shall be
founded in perfect reciprocity. Spanish merchants shall enjoy all the
commercial privileges of native merchants in the United States, and
American merchants shall enjoy all the commercial privileges of native
merchants in the Kingdom of Spain and in the Canaries and other islands
belonging to and adjacent thereto. The same privileges shall extend to
their respective vessels and merchandise consisting of the manufactures
and products of their respective countries.
Second. Each party may establish consuls in the countries of the other
(excepting such provinces in Spain into which none have heretofore been
admitted, viz, Bilboa and Guipusca), with such powers and privileges as
shall be ascertained by a particular convention.
Third. That the bona fide manufactures and productions of the United
States (tobacco only excepted, which shall continue under its present
regulation) may be imported in American or Spanish vessels into any
parts of His Majesty's European dominions and islands aforesaid in like
manner as if they were the productions of Spain, and, on the other hand,
that the bona fide manufactures and productions of His Majesty's
dominions may be imported into the United States in Spanish or American
vessels in like manner as if they were the manufactures and productions
of the said States. And further, that all such duties and imposts as may
mutually be thought necessary to lay on them by either party shall be
ascertained and regulated on principles of exact reciprocity by a
tariff, to be formed by a convention for that purpose, to be negotiated
and made within _one_ year after the exchange of the ratification of
this treaty; and in the meantime that no other duties or imposts shall
be exacted from each other's merchants and ships than such as may be
payable by natives in like cases.
Fourth. That inasmuch as the United States, from not having mines of
gold and silver, may often want supplies of specie for a circulating
medium, His Catholic Majesty, as a proof of his good will, agrees to
order the masts and timber which may from time to time be wanted for his
royal navy to be purchased and paid for in specie in the United States,
provided the said masts and timber shall be of equal quality and when
brought to Spain shall not cost more than the like may there be had for
from other countries.
Fifth. It is agreed that the articles commonly inserted in other
treaties of commerce for mutual and reciprocal convenience shall be
inserted in this, and that this treaty and every article and stipulation
therein shall continue in full force for ----- years, to be computed
from the day of the date hereof.
UNITED STATES, _March 9, 1792_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I now lay before you a general account rendered by the bankers of the
United States at Amsterdam of the payments they had made between the
1st of July, 1790 and 1791, from the fund deposited in their hands for
the purposes of the act providing the means of intercourse between the
United States and foreign nations, and of the balance remaining in their
hands, together with a letter from the Secretary of State on the
subject.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _March 20, 1792_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
The several acts which have been passed relatively to the military
establishment of the United States and the protection of the
frontiers do not appear to have made provision for more than one
brigadier-general. It is incumbent upon me to observe that, with a view
merely to the organization of the troops designated by those acts,
a greater number of officers of that grade would, in my opinion, be
conducive to the good of the public service. But an increase of the
number becomes still more desirable in reference to a different
organization which is contemplated, pursuant to the authority vested
in me for that purpose, and which, besides other advantages expected
from it, is recommended by considerations of economy. I therefore
request that you will be pleased to take this subject into your early
consideration and to adopt such measures thereon as you shall judge
proper.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _March 23, 1792_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate_:
At the conferences which Colonel Pickering had with the Five Nations at
the Painted Post the last year ideas were then held out of introducing
among them some of the primary principles of civilization, in
consequence of which, as well as more firmly to attach them to the
interests of the United States, they have been invited to the seat of
the General Government.
As the representation now here is respectable for its character and
influence, it is of some importance that the chiefs should be well
satisfied of the entire good faith and liberality of the United States.
In managing the affairs of the Indian tribes generally it appears proper
to teach them to expect annual presents, conditioned on the evidence of
their attachment to the interests of the United States. The situation of
the Five Nations and the present crisis of affairs would seem to render
the extension of this measure to them highly judicious. I therefore
request the advice of the Senate whether an article shall be stipulated
with the Five Nations to the following purport, to wit:
The United States, in order to promote the happiness of the Five Nations
of Indians, will cause to be expended annually the amount of $1,500 in
purchasing for them clothing, domestic animals, and implements of
husbandry, and for encouraging useful artificers to reside in their
villages,
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
APRIL 13, 1792.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I have thought it proper to lay before you a communication of the 11th
instant from the minister plenipotentiary of Great Britain to the
Secretary of State, relative to the commerce of the two countries,
together with their explanatory correspondence and the Secretary of
State's letter to me on the subject,
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _April 16, 1792_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I lay before you a copy of a letter from the judges of the circuit court
of the United States held for the New York district, and of their
opinion and agreement respecting the "Act to provide for the settlement
of the claims of widows and orphans barred by the limitations heretofore
established, and to regulate the claims to invalid pensions."
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _April 21, 1792_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I lay before you the copy of a letter which I have received from
the judges of the circuit court of the United States held for the
Pennsylvania district relatively to the "Act to provide for the
settlement of the claims of widows and orphans barred by the limitations
heretofore established, and to regulate the claims to invalid pensions."
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _May 8, 1792_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate_:
If the President of the United States should conclude a convention or
treaty with the Government of Algiers for the ransom of the thirteen
Americans in captivity there for a sum not exceeding $40,000, all
expenses included, will the Senate approve the same? Or is there any,
and what, greater or lesser sum which they would fix on as the limit
beyond which they would not approve the ransom?
If the President of the United States should conclude a treaty with the
Government of Algiers for the establishment of peace with them, at an
expense not exceeding $25,000, paid at the signature, and a like sum to
be paid annually afterwards during the continuance of the treaty, would
the Senate approve the same? Or are there any greater or lesser sums
which they would fix on as the limits beyond which they would not
approve of such treaty?
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
VETO MESSAGE.
UNITED STATES, _April 5, 1792_.
_Gentlemen of the House of Representatives_:
I have maturely considered the act passed by the two Houses entitled
"An act for an apportionment of Representatives among the several States
according to the first enumeration," and I return it to your House,
wherein it originated, with the following objections:
First. The Constitution has prescribed that Representatives shall be
apportioned among the several States according to their respective
numbers, and there is no one proportion or divisor which, applied to the
respective numbers of the States, will yield the number and allotment of
Representatives proposed by the bill.
Second. The Constitution has also provided that the number of
Representatives shall not exceed 1 for every 30,000, which restriction
is by the context and by fair and obvious construction to be applied to
the separate and respective numbers of the States; and the bill has
allotted to eight of the States more than 1 for every 30,000.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
PROCLAMATION.
[From Sparks's Washington, Vol. X, p. 532.]
Whereas certain violent and unwarrantable proceedings have lately taken
place tending to obstruct the operation of the laws of the United States
for raising a revenue upon spirits distilled within the same, enacted
pursuant to express authority delegated in the Constitution of the
United States, which proceedings are subversive of good order, contrary
to the duty that every citizen owes to his country and to the laws, and
of a nature dangerous to the very being of a government; and
Whereas such proceedings are the more unwarrantable by reason of the
moderation which has been heretofore shown on the part of the Government
and of the disposition which has been manifested by the Legislature (who
alone have authority to suspend the operation of laws) to obviate causes
of objection and to render the laws as acceptable as possible; and
Whereas it is the particular duty of the Executive "to take care that
the laws be faithfully executed," and not only that duty but the
permanent interests and happiness of the people require that every legal
and necessary step should be pursued as well to prevent such violent and
unwarrantable proceedings as to bring to justice the infractors of the
laws and secure obedience thereto:
Now, therefore, I, George Washington, President of the United States, do
by these presents most earnestly admonish and exhort all persons whom it
may concern to refrain and desist from all unlawful combinations and
proceedings whatsoever having for object or tending to obstruct the
operation of the laws aforesaid, inasmuch as all lawful ways and means
will be strictly put in execution for bringing to justice the infractors
thereof and securing obedience thereto.
And I do moreover charge and require all courts, magistrates, and
officers whom it may concern, according to the duties of their several
offices, to exert the powers in them respectively vested by law for the
purposes aforesaid, hereby also enjoining and requiring all persons
whomsoever, as they tender the welfare of their country, the just and
due authority of Government, and the preservation of the public peace,
to be aiding and assisting therein according to law.
In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United States to be
affixed to these presents, and signed the same with my hand.
[SEAL.]
Done this 15th of September, A.D. 1792, and of the Independence of the
United States the seventeenth.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
FOURTH ANNUAL ADDRESS.
UNITED STATES, _November 6, 1792_.
_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
It is some abatement of the satisfaction with which I meet you on the
present occasion that, in felicitating you on a continuance of the
national prosperity generally, I am not able to add to it information
that the Indian hostilities which have for some time past distressed our
Northwestern frontier have terminated.
You will, I am persuaded, learn with no less concern than I
communicate it that reiterated endeavors toward effecting a pacification
have hitherto issued only in new and outrageous proofs of persevering
hostility on the part of the tribes with whom we are in contest.
An earnest desire to procure tranquillity to the frontier, to stop the
further effusion of blood, to arrest the progress of expense, to forward
the prevalent wish of the nation for peace has led to strenuous efforts
through various channels to accomplish these desirable purposes; in
making which efforts I consulted less my own anticipations of the event,
or the scruples which some considerations were calculated to inspire,
than the wish to find the object attainable, or if not attainable,
to ascertain unequivocally that such is the case.
A detail of the measures which have been pursued and of their
consequences, which will be laid before you, while it will confirm to
you the want of success thus far, will, I trust, evince that means as
proper and as efficacious as could have been devised have been employed.
The issue of some of them, indeed, is still depending, but a favorable
one, though not to be despaired of, is not promised by anything that has
yet happened.
In the course of the attempts which have been made some valuable
citizens have fallen victims to their zeal for the public service. A
sanction commonly respected even among savages has been found in this
instance insufficient to protect from massacre the emissaries of peace.
It will, I presume, be duly considered whether the occasion does not
call for an exercise of liberality toward the families of the deceased.
It must add to your concern to be informed that, besides the
continuation of hostile appearances among the tribes north of the Ohio,
some threatening symptoms have of late been revived among some of those
south of it.
A part of the Cherokees, known by the name of Chickamaugas, inhabiting
five villages on the Tennessee River, have long been in the practice of
committing depredations on the neighboring settlements.
It was hoped that the treaty of Holston, made with the Cherokee Nation
in July, 1791, would have prevented a repetition of such depredations;
but the event has not answered this hope. The Chickamaugas, aided
by some banditti of another tribe in their vicinity, have recently
perpetrated wanton and unprovoked hostilities upon the citizens of the
United States in that quarter. The information which has been received
on this subject will be laid before you. Hitherto defensive precautions
only have been strictly enjoined and observed.
It is not understood that any breach of treaty or aggression whatsoever
on the part of the United States or their citizens is even alleged as a
pretext for the spirit of hostility in this quarter.
I have reason to believe that every practicable exertion has been made
(pursuant to the provision by law for that purpose) to be prepared for
the alternative of a prosecution of the war in the event of a failure of
pacific overtures. A large proportion of the troops authorized to be
raised have been recruited, though the number is still incomplete, and
pains have been taken to discipline and put them in condition for the
particular kind of service to be performed. A delay of operations
(besides being dictated by the measures which were pursuing toward a
pacific termination of the war) has been in itself deemed preferable to
immature efforts. A statement from the proper department with regard
to the number of troops raised, and some other points which have been
suggested, will afford more precise information as a guide to the
legislative consultations, and among other things will enable Congress
to judge whether some additional stimulus to the recruiting service may
not be advisable.
In looking forward to the future expense of the operations which may be
found inevitable I derive consolation from the information I receive
that the product of the revenues for the present year is likely to
supersede the necessity of additional burthens on the community for the
service of the ensuing year. This, however, will be better ascertained
in the course of the session, and it is proper to add that the
information alluded to proceeds upon the supposition of no material
extension of the spirit of hostility.
I can not dismiss the subject of Indian affairs without again
recommending to your consideration the expediency of more adequate
provision for giving energy to the laws throughout our interior frontier
and for restraining the commission of outrages upon the Indians, without
which all pacific plans must prove nugatory. To enable, by competent
rewards, the employment of qualified and trusty persons to reside among
them as agents would also contribute to the preservation of peace and
good neighborhood. If in addition to these expedients an eligible plan
could be devised for promoting civilization among the friendly tribes
and for carrying on trade with them upon a scale equal to their wants
and under regulations calculated to protect them from imposition and
extortion, its influence in cementing their interest with ours could
not but be considerable.
The prosperous state of our revenue has been intimated. This would be
still more the case were it not for the impediments which in some places
continue to embarrass the collection of the duties on spirits distilled
within the United States. These impediments have lessened and are
lessening in local extent, and, as applied to the community at large,
the contentment with the law appears to be progressive.
But symptoms of increased opposition having lately manifested themselves
in certain quarters, I judged a special interposition on my part proper
and advisable, and under this impression have issued a proclamation
warning against all unlawful combinations and proceedings having for
their object or tending to obstruct the operation of the law in
question, and announcing that all lawful ways and means would be
strictly put in execution for bringing to justice the infractors
thereof and securing obedience thereto.
Measures have also been taken for the prosecution of offenders, and
Congress may be assured that nothing within constitutional and legal
limits which may depend upon me shall be wanting to assert and maintain
the just authority of the laws. In fulfilling this trust I shall count
entirely upon the full cooperation of the other departments of the
Government and upon the zealous support of all good citizens.
I can not forbear to bring again into the view of the Legislature the
subject of a revision of the judiciary system. A representation from the
judges of the Supreme Court, which will be laid before you, points out
some of the inconveniences that are experienced. In the course of the
execution of the laws considerations arise out of the structure of that
system which in some cases tend to relax their efficacy. As connected
with this subject, provisions to facilitate the taking of bail upon
processes out of the courts of the United States and a supplementary
definition of offenses against the Constitution and laws of the Union
and of the punishment for such offenses will, it is presumed, be found
worthy of particular attention.
Observations on the value of peace with other nations are unnecessary.
It would be wise, however, by timely provisions to guard against those
acts of our own citizens which might tend to disturb it, and to put
ourselves in a condition to give that satisfaction to foreign nations
which we may sometimes have occasion to require from them. I
particularly recommend to your consideration the means of preventing
those aggressions by our citizens on the territory of other nations, and
other infractions of the law of nations, which, furnishing just subject
of complaint, might endanger our peace with them; and, in general, the
maintenance of a friendly intercourse with foreign powers will be
presented to your attention by the expiration of the law for that
purpose, which takes place, if not renewed, at the close of the present
session.
In execution of the authority given by the Legislature measures have
been taken for engaging some artists from abroad to aid in the
establishment of our mint. Others have been employed at home. Provision
has been made of the requisite buildings, and these are now putting into
proper condition for the purposes of the establishment. There has also
been a small beginning in the coinage of half dimes, the want of small
coins in circulation calling the first attention to them.
The regulation of foreign coins in correspondency with the principles
of our national coinage, as being essential to their due operation
and to order in our money concerns, will, I doubt not, be resumed and
completed.
It is represented that some provisions in the law which establishes
the post-office operate, in experiment, against the transmission of
newspapers to distant parts of the country. Should this, upon due
inquiry, be found to be the fact, a full conviction of the importance of
facilitating the circulation of political intelligence and information
will, I doubt not, lead to the application of a remedy.
The adoption of a constitution for the State of Kentucky has been
notified to me. The Legislature will share with me in the satisfaction
which arises from an event interesting to the happiness of the part of
the nation to which it relates and conducive to the general order.
It is proper likewise to inform you that since my last communication
on the subject, and in further execution of the acts severally making
provision for the public debt and for the reduction thereof, three new
loans have been effected, each for 3,000,000 florins--one at Antwerp, at
the annual interest of 4-1/2 per cent, with an allowance of 4 per cent
in lieu of all charges, and the other two at Amsterdam, at the annual
interest of 4 per cent, with an allowance of 5-1/2 per cent in one case
and of 5 per cent in the other in lieu of all charges. The rates of
these loans and the circumstances under which they have been made are
confirmations of the high state of our credit abroad.
Among the objects to which these funds have been directed to be applied,
the payment of the debts due to certain foreign officers, according to
the provision made during the last session, has been embraced.
_Gentlemen of the House of Representatives_:
I entertain a strong hope that the state of the national finances is
now sufficiently matured to enable you to enter upon a systematic and
effectual arrangement for the regular redemption and discharge of the
public debt, according to the right which has been reserved to the
Government. No measure can be more desirable, whet her viewed with an
eye to its intrinsic importance or to the general sentiment and wish
of the nation.
Provision is likewise requisite for the reimbursement of the loan which
has been made of the Bank of the United States, pursuant to the eleventh
section of the act by which it is incorporated. In fulfilling the public
stipulations in this particular it is expected a valuable saving will
be made.
Appropriations for the current service of the ensuing year and for such
extraordinaries as may require provision will demand, and I doubt not
will engage, your early attention.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I content myself with recalling your attention generally to such
objects, not particularized in my present, as have been suggested
in my former communications to you.
Various temporary laws will expire during the present session. Among
these, that which regulates trade and intercourse with the Indian tribes
will merit particular notice.
The results of your common deliberations hitherto will, I trust, be
productive of solid and durable advantages to our constituents, such
as, by conciliating more and more their ultimate suffrage, will tend
to strengthen and confirm their attachment to that Constitution of
Government upon which, under Divine Providence, materially depend their
union, their safety, and their happiness.
Still further to promote and secure these inestimable ends there is
nothing which can have a more powerful tendency than the careful
cultivation of harmony, combined with a due regard to stability,
in the public councils.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
ADDRESS OF THE SENATE TO GEORGE WASHINGTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES.
The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES:
Accept, sir, our grateful acknowledgments for your address at the
opening of the present session. We participate with you in the
satisfaction arising from the continuance of the general prosperity of
the nation, but it is not without the most sincere concern that we are
informed that the reiterated efforts which have been made to establish
peace with the hostile Indians have hitherto failed to accomplish that
desired object. Hoping that the measures still depending may prove more
successful than those which have preceded them, we shall nevertheless
concur in every necessary preparation for the alternative, and should
the Indians on either side of the Ohio persist in their hostilities,
fidelity to the Union, as well as affection for our fellow-citizens on
the frontiers, will insure our decided cooperation in every measure
which shall be deemed requisite for their protection and safety.
At the same time that we avow the obligation of the Government to afford
its protection to every part of the Union, we can not refrain from
expressing our regret that even a small portion of our fellow-citizens
in any quarter of it should have combined to oppose the operation of the
law for the collection of duties on spirits distilled within the United
States, a law repeatedly sanctioned by the authority of the nation, and
at this juncture materially connected with the safety and protection of
those who oppose it. Should the means already adopted fail in securing
obedience to this law, such further measures as may be thought necessary
to carry the same into complete operation can not fail to receive the
approbation of the Legislature and the support of every patriotic
citizen.
It yields us particular pleasure to learn that the productiveness of the
revenue of the present year will probably supersede the necessity of any
additional tax for the service of the next.
The organization of the government of the State of Kentucky being an
event peculiarly interesting to a part of our fellow-citizens and
conducive to the general order, affords us particular satisfaction.
We are happy to learn that the high state of our credit abroad has been
evinced by the terms on which the new loans have been negotiated.
In the course of the session we shall proceed to take into consideration
the several objects which you have been pleased to recommend to our
attention, and keeping in view the importance of union and stability in
the public councils, we shall labor to render our decisions conducive to
the safety and happiness of our country.
We repeat with pleasure our assurances of confidence in your
Administration and our ardent wish that your unabated zeal for the
public good may be rewarded by the durable prosperity of the nation,
and every ingredient of personal happiness.
JOHN LANGDON,
_President pro tempore_.
NOVEMBER 9, 1792.
REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT.
I derive much pleasure, gentlemen, from your very satisfactory address.
The renewed assurances of your confidence in my Administration and the
expression of your wish for my personal happiness claim and receive
my particular acknowledgments. In my future endeavor for the public
welfare, to which my duty may call me, I shall not cease to count
upon the firm, enlightened, and patriotic support of the Senate.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
NOVEMBER 9, 1792.
ADDRESS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO GEORGE WASHINGTON, PRESIDENT
OF THE UNITED STATES.
SIR: The House of Representatives, who always feel a satisfaction
in meeting you, are much concerned that the occasion for mutual
felicitation afforded by the circumstances favorable to the national
prosperity should be abated by a continuance of the hostile spirit of
many of the Indian tribes, and particularly that the reiterated efforts
for effecting a general pacification with them should have issued in
new proofs of their persevering enmity and the barbarous sacrifice of
citizens who, as the messengers of peace, were distinguishing themselves
by their zeal for the public service. In our deliberations on this
important department of our affairs we shall be disposed to pursue every
measure that may be dictated by the sincerest desire, on one hand, of
cultivating peace and manifesting by every practicable regulation our
benevolent regard for the welfare of those misguided people, and by the
duty we feel, on the other, to provide effectually for the safety and
protection of our fellow-citizens.
While with regret we learn that symptoms of opposition to the law
imposing duties on spirits distilled within the United States have
manifested themselves, we reflect with consolation that they are
confined to a small portion of our fellow-citizens. It is not more
essential to the preservation of true liberty that a government should
be always ready to listen to the representations of its constituents and
to accommodate its measures to the sentiments and wishes of every part
of them, as far as will consist with the good of the whole, than it is
that the just authority of the laws should be steadfastly maintained.
Under this impression every department of the Government and all good
citizens must approve the measures you have taken and the purpose you
have formed to execute this part of your trust with firmness and energy;
and be assured, sir, of every constitutional aid and cooperation which
may become requisite on our part. And we hope that, while the progress
of contentment under the law in question is as obvious as it is
rational, no particular part of the community may be permitted to
withdraw from the general burthens of the country by a conduct as
irreconcilable to national justice as it is inconsistent with public
decency.
The productive state of the public revenue and the confirmation of the
credit of the United States abroad, evinced by the loans at Antwerp
and Amsterdam, are communications the more gratifying as they enforce
the obligation to enter on systematic and effectual arrangements for
discharging the public debt as fast as the conditions of it will permit,
and we take pleasure in the opportunity to assure you of our entire
concurrence in the opinion that no measure can be more desirable,
whether viewed with an eye to the urgent wish of the community or the
intrinsic importance of promoting so happy a change in our situation.
The adoption of a constitution for the State of Kentucky is an event
on which we join in all the satisfaction you have expressed. It may be
considered as particularly interesting since, besides the immediate
benefits resulting from it, it is another auspicious demonstration of
the facility and success with which an enlightened people is capable of
providing, by free and deliberate plans of government, for their own
safety and happiness.
The operation of the law establishing the post-office, as it relates
to the transmission of newspapers, will merit our particular inquiry
and attention, the circulation of political intelligence through these
vehicles being justly reckoned among the surest means of preventing
the degeneracy of a free government, as well as of recommending every
salutary public measure to the confidence and cooperation of all
virtuous citizens.
The several other matters which you have communicated and
recommended will in their order receive the attention due to them,
and our discussions will in all cases, we trust, be guided by a proper
respect for harmony and stability in the public councils and a desire
to conciliate more and more the attachment of our constituents to the
Constitution, by measures accommodated to the true ends for which it
was established.
NOVEMBER 10, 1792.
REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT.
GENTLEMEN: It gives me pleasure to express to you the satisfaction
which your address affords me. I feel, as I ought, the approbation you
manifest of the measures I have taken and the purpose I have formed to
maintain, pursuant to the trust reposed in me by the Constitution, the
respect which is due to the laws, and the assurance which you at the
same time give me of every constitutional aid and cooperation that may
become requisite on your part.
This is a new proof of that enlightened solicitude for the establishment
and confirmation of public order which, embracing a zealous regard for
the principles of true liberty, has guided the deliberations of the
House of Representatives, a perseverance in which can alone secure,
under the divine blessing, the real and permanent felicity of our
common country.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
NOVEMBER 12, 1792.
SPECIAL MESSAGES.
UNITED STATES, _November 7, 1792_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
In pursuance of the law, I now lay before you a statement of the
administration of the funds appropriated to certain foreign purposes,
together with a letter from the Secretary of State explaining the same.
I also lay before you a copy of a letter and representation from the
Chief Justice and associate judges of the Supreme Court of the United
States, stating the difficulties and inconveniences which attend the
discharge of their duties according to the present judiciary system.
A copy of a letter from the judges attending the circuit court of the
United States for the North Carolina district in June last, containing
their observations on an act, passed during the last session of
Congress, entitled "An act to provide for the settlement of the claims
of widows and orphans barred by the limitations heretofore established,
and to regulate the claims to invalid pensions;" and
A copy of the constitution formed for the State of Kentucky.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _November 9, 1792_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I now lay before you a letter from the Secretary of State, covering
the copy of one from the governor of Virginia, with the several papers
therein referred to, on the subject of the boundary between that State
and the territory of the United States south of the Ohio. It will remain
with the Legislature to take such measures as it shall think best for
settling the said boundary with that State, and at the same time, if it
thinks proper, for extending the settlement to the State of Kentucky,
between which and the same territory the boundary is as yet
undetermined.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _November 22, 1792_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I send you herewith the abstract of a supplementary arrangement which
has been made by me, pursuant to the acts of the 3d day of March, 1791,
and the 8th day of May, 1792, for raising a revenue upon foreign and
domestic distilled spirits, in respect to the subdivisions and officers
which have appeared to me necessary and to the allowances for their
respective services to the supervisors, inspectors, and other officers
of inspection, together with the estimates of the amount of
compensations and charges.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _December 6, 1792_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
The several measures which have been pursued to induce the hostile
Indian tribes north of the Ohio to enter into a conference or treaty
with the United States at which all causes of difference might be fully
understood and justly and amicably arranged have already been submitted
to both Houses of Congress.
The papers herewith sent will inform you of the result.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _December 7, 1792_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I lay before you two letters, with their inclosures, from the governor
of the Southwestern territory, and an extract of a letter to him from
the Department of War.
These and a letter of the 9th of October last, which has been already
communicated to you, from the same Department to the governor, will shew
in what manner the first section of the act of the last session which
provides for calling out the militia for the repelling of Indian
invasions has been executed. It remains to be considered by Congress
whether in the present situation of the United States it be advisable or
not to pursue any further or other measures than those which have been
already adopted. The nature of the subject does of itself call for your
immediate attention to it, and I must add that upon the result of your
deliberations the future conduct of the Executive will on this occasion
materially depend.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _January 23, 1793_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
Since my last communication to you on the subject of the revenue on
distilled spirits it has been found necessary, on experience, to revise
and amend the arrangements relative thereto in regard to certain surveys
and the officers thereof in the district of North Carolina, which I have
done accordingly in the manner following:
First. The several counties of the said district originally and
heretofore contained within the first, second, and third surveys have
been allotted into and are now contained in two surveys, one of which
(to be hereafter denominated the first) comprehends the town of
Wilmington and the counties of Onslow, New Hanover, Brunswick,
Robertson, Sampson, Craven, Jones, Lenox, Glascow, Johnston, and Wayne,
and the other of which (to be hereafter denominated the second)
comprehends the counties of Kurrituck, Camden, Pasquotank, Perquimans,
Chowan, Gates, Hartford, Tyrrel, Bertie, Carteret, Hyde, Beaufort,
and Pitt.
Secondly. The several counties of the said district originally and
heretofore contained within the fifth survey of the district aforesaid
has been allotted into and is contained in two surveys, one of which
(to be hereafter denominated the third) comprehends the counties of
Mecklenburg, Rowan, Iredell, Montgomery, Guilford, Rockingham, Stokes,
and Surrey, and the other of which (to be hereafter denominated the
fifth) comprehends the counties of Lincoln, Rutherford, Burke, Buncombe,
and Wilkes.
Thirdly. The duties of the inspector of the revenue in and for the
third survey as constituted above is to be performed for the present
by the supervisor.
Fourthly. The compensations of the inspector of the revenue for the
first survey as above constituted are to be a salary of $250 per annum
and commissions and other emoluments similar to those heretofore allowed
to the inspector of the late first survey as it was originally
constituted.
Fifthly. The compensations of the inspector of the revenue for the
second survey as above constituted are to be a salary of $100 per annum
and the commissions and other emoluments heretofore allowed to the
inspector of the late third survey as it was originally constituted.
Sixthly. The compensations of the inspector of the revenue for the fifth
survey as above constituted are to be a salary of $120 per annum and the
commissions and other emoluments similar to those heretofore allowed to
the inspector of the late fifth survey as it was originally constituted.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _January 25, 1793_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I lay before you an official statement of the expenditure to the year
1792 from the sum of $10,000, granted to defray the contingent expenses
of Government by an act passed on the 26th of March, 1790.
Also an abstract of a supplementary arrangement made in the district of
North Carolina in regard to certain surveys to facilitate the execution
of the law laying a duty on distilled spirits.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _February 13, 1793_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate_:
I lay before you for your consideration and advice a treaty of peace
and friendship made and concluded on the 27th day of September, 1792,
by Brigadier-General Rufus Putnam, in behalf of the United States, with
the Wabash and Illinois tribes of Indians, and also the proceedings
attending the said treaty, the explanation of the fourth article
thereof, and a map explanatory of the reservation to the French
inhabitants and the general claim of the said Indians.
In connection with this subject I also lay before the Senate the copy of
a paper which has been delivered by a man by the name of John Baptiste
Mayee, who has accompanied the Wabash Indians at present in this city.
It will appear by the certificate of Brigadier-General Putnam that the
Wabash Indians disclaimed the validity of the said paper, excepting a
certain tract upon the Wabash, as mentioned in the proceedings.
The instructions to Brigadier-General Putnam of the 22d of May, together
with a letter to him of the 7th of August, 1792, were laid before the
Senate on the 7th of November, 1792.
After the Senate shall have considered this treaty, I request that they
would give me their advice whether the same shall be ratified and
confirmed; and if to be ratified and confirmed, whether it would not be
proper, in order to prevent any misconception hereafter of the fourth
article, to guard in the ratification the exclusive preemption of the
United States to the lands of the said Indians.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _February 18, 1793_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I now lay before you a report and plat of the territory of the United
States on the Potomac as given in by the commissioners of that
territory, together with a letter from the Secretary of State which
accompanied them. These papers, being original, are to be again
deposited with the records of the Department of State after having
answered the purpose of your information.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _February 19, 1793_.
_Gentlemen of the House of Representatives_:
It has been agreed on the part of the United States that a treaty or
conference shall be held at the ensuing season with the hostile Indians
northwest of the Ohio, in order to remove, if possible, all causes of
difference and to establish a solid peace with them.
As the estimates heretofore presented to the House for the current year
did not contemplate this object, it will be proper that an express
provision be made by law as well for the general expenses of the treaty
as to establish the compensation to be allowed the commissioners who
shall be appointed for the purpose.
I shall therefore direct the Secretary of War to lay before you an
estimate of the expenses which may probably attend this measure.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _February 27, 1793_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I lay before you a copy of an exemplification of an act of the
legislature of New York ceding to the United States the jurisdiction of
certain lands on Montauk Point for the purpose mentioned in said act,
and the copy of a letter from the governor of New York to the Secretary
of State, which accompanied said exemplification.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _February 28, 1793_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate_:
I was led by a consideration of the qualifications of William Patterson,
of New Jersey, to nominate him an associate justice of the Supreme Court
of the United States. It has since occurred that he was a member of the
Senate when the law creating that office was passed, and that the time
for which he was elected is not yet expired. I think it my duty,
therefore, to declare that I deem the nomination to have been null
by the Constitution.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
PROCLAMATIONS.
[From Freneau's National Gazette of December 15, 1792.]
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
Whereas I have received authentic information that certain lawless and
wicked persons of the western frontier in the State of Georgia did
lately invade, burn, and destroy a town belonging to the Cherokee
Nation, although in amity with the United States, and put to death
several Indians of that nation; and
Whereas such outrageous conduct not only violates the rights of
humanity, but also endangers the public peace, and it highly becomes the
honor and good faith of the United States to pursue all legal means for
the punishment of those atrocious offenders:
I have therefore thought fit to issue this my proclamation, hereby
exhorting all the citizens of the United States and requiring all the
officers thereof, according to their respective stations, to use their
utmost endeavors to apprehend and bring those offenders to justice.
And I do moreover offer a reward of $500 for each and every of the
above-named persons who shall be so apprehended and brought to justice
and shall be proved to have assumed or exercised any command or
authority among the perpetrators of the crimes aforesaid at the time
of committing the same.
In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United States to be
affixed to these presents, and signed the same with my hand.
[SEAL.]
Done at the city of Philadelphia, the 12th day of December, A.D. 1792,
and of the Independence of the United States the seventeenth.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
By the President:
THOMAS JEFFERSON.
[From Annuals of Congress, Second Congress, 666.]
MARCH 1, 1793.
_The President of the United States to the President of the Senate_:
Certain matters touching the public good requiring that the Senate
shall be convened on Monday, the 4th instant, I have desired their
attendance, as I do yours, by these presents, at the Senate Chamber, in
Philadelphia, on that day, then and there to receive and deliberate
on such communications as shall be made to you on my part.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
SECOND INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
IN THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, PA.
Fellow-citizens: I am again called upon by the voice of my country to
execute the functions of its Chief Magistrate. When the occasion proper
for it shall arrive, I shall endeavor to express the high sense I
entertain of this distinguished honor, and of the confidence which has
been reposed in me by the people of united America.
Previous to the execution of any official act of the President the
Constitution requires an oath of office. This oath I am now about
to take, and in your presence: That if it shall be found during my
administration of the Government I have in any instance violated
willingly or knowingly the injunctions thereof, I may (besides incurring
constitutional punishment) be subject to the upbraidings of all who are
now witnesses of the present solemn ceremony.
MARCH 4, 1793.
FIFTH ANNUAL ADDRESS.
PHILADELPHIA, _December 3, 1793_.
_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
Since the commencement of the term for which I have been again
called into office no fit occasion has arisen for expressing to my
fellow-citizens at large the deep and respectful sense which I feel of
the renewed testimony of public approbation. While on the one hand it
awakened my gratitude for all those instances of affectionate partiality
with which I have been honored by my country, on the other it could
not prevent an earnest wish for that retirement from which no private
consideration should ever have torn me. But influenced by the belief
that my conduct would be estimated according to its real motives, and
that the people, and the authorities derived from them, would support
exertions having nothing personal for their object, I have obeyed the
suffrage which commanded me to resume the Executive power; and I humbly
implore that Being on whose will the fate of nations depends to crown
with success our mutual endeavors for the general happiness.
As soon as the war in Europe had embraced those powers with whom the
United States have the most extensive relations there was reason to
apprehend that our intercourse with them might be interrupted and our
disposition for peace drawn into question by the suspicions too often
entertained by belligerent nations. It seemed, therefore, to be my duty
to admonish our citizens of the consequences of a contraband trade and
of hostile acts to any of the parties, and to obtain by a declaration of
the existing legal state of things an easier admission of our right to
the immunities belonging to our situation. Under these impressions the
proclamation which will be laid before you was issued.
In this posture of affairs, both new and delicate, I resolved to adopt
general rules which should conform to the treaties and assert the
privileges of the United States. These were reduced into a system, which
will be communicated to you. Although I have not thought myself at
liberty to forbid the sale of the prizes permitted by our treaty of
commerce with France to be brought into our ports, I have not refused to
cause them to be restored when they were taken within the protection of
our territory, or by vessels commissioned or equipped in a warlike form
within the limits of the United States.
It rests with the wisdom of Congress to correct, improve, or enforce
this plan of procedure; and it will probably be found expedient to
extend the legal code and the jurisdiction of the courts of the United
States to many cases which, though dependent on principles already
recognized, demand some further provisions.
Where individuals shall, within the United States, array themselves
in hostility against any of the powers at war, or enter upon military
expeditions or enterprises within the jurisdiction of the United States,
or usurp and exercise judicial authority within the United States, or
where the penalties on violations of the law of nations may have been
indistinctly marked, or are inadequate--these offenses can not receive
too early and close an attention, and require prompt and decisive
remedies.
Whatsoever those remedies may be, they will be well administered by
the judiciary, who possess a long-established course of investigation,
effectual process, and officers in the habit of executing it.
In like manner, as several of the courts have doubted, under particular
circumstances, their power to liberate the vessels of a nation at peace,
and even of a citizen of the United States, although seized under a
false color of being hostile property, and have denied their power to
liberate certain captures within the protection of our territory, it
would seem proper to regulate their jurisdiction in these points. But if
the Executive is to be the resort in either of the two last-mentioned
cases, it is hoped that he will be authorized by law to have facts
ascertained by the courts when for his own information he shall
request it.
I can not recommend to your notice measures for the fulfillment of our
duties to the rest of the world without again pressing upon you the
necessity of placing ourselves in a condition of complete defense and of
exacting from them the fulfillment of their duties toward us. The United
States ought not to indulge a persuasion that, contrary to the order of
human events, they will forever keep at a distance those painful appeals
to arms with which the history of every other nation abounds. There is
a rank due to the United States among nations which will be withheld,
if not absolutely lost, by the reputation of weakness. If we desire to
avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace,
one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must
be known that we are at all times ready for war. The documents which
will be presented to you will shew the amount and kinds of arms and
military stores now in our magazines and arsenals; and yet an addition
even to these supplies can not with prudence be neglected, as it would
leave nothing to the uncertainty of procuring of warlike apparatus in
the moment of public danger.
Nor can such arrangements, with such objects, be exposed to the censure
or jealousy of the warmest friends of republican government. They are
incapable of abuse in the hands of the militia, who ought to possess
a pride in being the depository of the force of the Republic, and may
be trained to a degree of energy equal to every military exigency of
the United States. But it is an inquiry which can not be too solemnly
pursued, whether the act "more effectually to provide for the national
defense by establishing an uniform militia throughout the United States"
has organized them so as to produce their full effect; whether your own
experience in the several States has not detected some imperfections in
the scheme, and whether a material feature in an improvement of it ought
not to be to afford an opportunity for the study of those branches of
the military art which can scarcely ever be attained by practice alone.
The connection of the United States with Europe has become extremely
interesting. The occurrences which relate to it and have passed under
the knowledge of the Executive will be exhibited to Congress in a
subsequent communication.
When we contemplate the war on our frontiers, it may be truly affirmed
that every reasonable effort has been made to adjust the causes of
dissension with the Indians north of the Ohio. The instructions given
to the commissioners evince a moderation and equity proceeding from a
sincere love of peace, and a liberality having no restriction but the
essential interests and dignity of the United States. The attempt,
however, of an amicable negotiation having been frustrated, the troops
have marched to act offensively. Although the proposed treaty did not
arrest the progress of military preparation, it is doubtful how far the
advance of the season, before good faith justified active movements,
may retard them during the remainder of the year. From the papers and
intelligence which relate to this important subject you will determine
whether the deficiency in the number of troops granted by law shall be
compensated by succors of militia, or additional encouragements shall
be proposed to recruits.
An anxiety has been also demonstrated by the Executive for peace with
the Creeks and the Cherokees. The former have been relieved with corn
and with clothing, and offensive measures against them prohibited
during the recess of Congress. To satisfy the complaints of the latter,
prosecutions have been instituted for the violences committed upon them.
But the papers which will be delivered to you disclose the critical
footing on which we stand in regard to both those tribes, and it is
with Congress to pronounce what shall be done.
After they shall have provided for the present emergency, it will merit
their most serious labors to render tranquillity with the savages
permanent by creating ties of interest. Next to a rigorous execution of
justice on the violators of peace, the establishment of commerce with
the Indian nations in behalf of the United States is most likely to
conciliate their attachment. But it ought to be conducted without fraud,
without extortion, with constant and plentiful supplies, with a ready
market for the commodities of the Indians and a stated price for what
they give in payment and receive in exchange. Individuals will not
pursue such a traffic unless they be allured by the hope of profit; but
it will be enough for the United States to be reimbursed only. Should
this recommendation accord with the opinion of Congress, they will
recollect that it can not be accomplished by any means yet in the hands
of the Executive.
_Gentlemen of the House of Representatives_:
The commissioners charged with the settlement of accounts between the
United States and individual States concluded their important functions
within the time limited by law, and the balances struck in their report,
which will be laid before Congress, have been placed on the books of
the Treasury.
On the 1st day of June last an installment of 1,000,000 florins became
payable on the loans of the United States in Holland. This was adjusted
by a prolongation of the period of reimbursement in nature of a new loan
at an interest of 5 per cent for the term of ten years, and the expenses
of this operation were a commission of 3 per cent.
The first installment of the loan of $2,000,000 from the Bank of the
United States has been paid, as was directed by law. For the second it
is necessary that provision should be made.
No pecuniary consideration is more urgent than the regular redemption
and discharge of the public debt. On none can delay be more injurious
or an economy of time more valuable.
The productiveness of the public revenues hitherto has continued to
equal the anticipations which were formed of it, but it is not expected
to prove commensurate with all the objects which have been suggested.
Some auxiliary provisions will therefore, it is presumed, be requisite,
and it is hoped that these may be made consistently with a due regard to
the convenience of our citizens, who can not but be sensible of the true
wisdom of encountering a small present addition to their contributions
to obviate a future accumulation of burthens.
But here I can not forbear to recommend a repeal of the tax on the
transportation of public prints. There is no resource so firm for the
Government of the United States as the affections of the people, guided
by an enlightened policy; and to this primary good nothing can conduce
more than a faithful representation of public proceedings, diffused
without restraint throughout the United States.
An estimate of the appropriations necessary for the current service of
the ensuing year and a statement of a purchase of arms and military
stores made during the recess will be presented to Congress.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
The several subjects to which I have now referred open a wide range to
your deliberations and involve some of the choicest interests of our
common country. Permit me to bring to your remembrance the magnitude
of your task. Without an unprejudiced coolness the welfare of the
Government may be hazarded; without harmony as far as consists with
freedom of sentiment its dignity may be lost. But as the legislative
proceedings of the United States will never, I trust, be reproached
for the want of temper or of candor, so shall not the public happiness
languish from the want of my strenuous and warmest cooperation.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
ADDRESS OF THE SENATE TO GEORGE WASHINGTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES.
The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES:
Accept, sir, the thanks of the Senate for your speech delivered to both
Houses of Congress at the opening of the session. Your reelection to
the Chief Magistracy of the United States gives us sincere pleasure.
We consider it as an event every way propitious to the happiness of
our country, and your compliance with the call as a fresh instance of
the patriotism which has so repeatedly led you to sacrifice private
inclination to the public good. In the unanimity which a second time
marks this important national act we trace with particular satisfaction,
besides the distinguished tribute paid to the virtues and abilities
which it recognizes, another proof of that just discernment and
constancy of sentiments and views which have hitherto characterized
the citizens of the United States.
As the European powers with whom the United States have the most
extensive relations were involved in war, in which we had taken no part,
it seemed necessary that the disposition of the nation for peace should
be promulgated to the world, as well for the purpose of admonishing our
citizens of the consequences of a contraband trade and of acts hostile
to any of the belligerent parties as to obtain by a declaration of the
existing legal state of things an easier admission of our right to the
immunities of our situation. We therefore contemplate with pleasure the
proclamation by you issued, and give it our hearty approbation. We deem
it a measure well timed and wise, manifesting a watchful solicitude for
the welfare of the nation and calculated to promote it.
The several important matters presented to our consideration will, in
the course of the session, engage all the attention to which they are
respectively entitled, and as the public happiness will be the sole
guide of our deliberations, we are perfectly assured of receiving your
strenuous and most zealous cooperation.
JOHN ADAMS,
_Vice-President of the United States and President of the Senate_.
DECEMBER 9, 1793.
REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT.
GENTLEMEN: The pleasure expressed by the Senate on my reelection to the
station which I fill commands my sincere and warmest acknowledgments. If
this be an event which promises the smallest addition to the happiness
of our country, as it is my duty so shall it be my study to realize the
expectation.
The decided approbation which the proclamation now receives from your
House, by completing the proofs that this measure is considered as
manifesting a vigilant attention to the welfare of the United States,
brings with it a peculiar gratification to my mind.
The other important subjects which have been communicated to you will,
I am confident, receive a due discussion, and the result will, I trust,
prove fortunate to the United States.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
DECEMBER 10, 1793.
ADDRESS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO GEORGE WASHINGTON, PRESIDENT
OF THE UNITED STATES.
SIR: The Representatives of the people of the United States, in meeting
you for the first time since you have been again called by an unanimous
suffrage to your present station, find an occasion which they embrace
with no less sincerity than promptitude for expressing to you their
congratulations on so distinguished a testimony of public approbation,
and their entire confidence in the purity and patriotism of the motives
which have produced this obedience to the voice of your country. It
is to virtues which have commanded long and universal reverence and
services from which have flowed great and lasting benefits that the
tribute of praise may be paid without the reproach of flattery, and it
is from the same sources that the fairest anticipations may be derived
in favor of the public happiness.
The United States having taken no part in the war which had embraced
in Europe the powers with whom they have the most extensive relations,
the maintenance of peace was justly to be regarded as one of the most
important duties of the Magistrate charged with the faithful execution
of the laws. We accordingly witness with approbation and pleasure
the vigilance with which you have guarded against an interruption of
that blessing by your proclamation admonishing our citizens of the
consequences of illicit or hostile acts toward the belligerent parties,
and promoting by a declaration of the existing legal state of things
an easier admission of our right to the immunities belonging to our
situation.
The connection of the United States with Europe has evidently become
extremely interesting. The communications which remain to be exhibited
to us will no doubt assist in giving us a fuller view of the subject and
in guiding our deliberations to such results as may comport with the
rights and true interests of our country.
We learn with deep regret that the measures, dictated by love of peace,
for obtaining an amicable termination of the afflicting war on our
frontiers have been frustrated, and that a resort to offensive measures
should have again become necessary. As the latter, however, must be
rendered more satisfactory in proportion to the solicitude for peace
manifested by the former, it is to be hoped they will be pursued under
the better auspices on that account, and be finally crowned with more
happy success.
In relation to the particular tribes of Indians against whom offensive
measures have been prohibited, as well as on all the other important
subjects which you have presented to our view, we shall bestow the
attention which they claim. We can not, however, refrain at this time
from particularly expressing our concurrence in your anxiety for the
regular discharge of the public debts as fast as circumstances and
events will permit and in the policy of removing any impediments
that may be found in the way of a faithful representation of public
proceedings throughout the United States, being persuaded with you
that on no subject more than the former can delay be more injurious or
an economy of time more valuable, and that with respect to the latter
no resource is so firm for the Government of the United States as the
affections of the people, guided by an enlightened policy.
Throughout our deliberations we shall endeavor to cherish every
sentiment which may contribute to render them conducive to the dignity
as well as to the welfare of the United States; and we join with you in
imploring that Being on whose will the fate of nations depends to crown
with success our mutual endeavors.
DECEMBER 6, 1793.
REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT.
GENTLEMEN: I shall not affect to conceal the cordial satisfaction which
I derive from the address of the House of Representatives. Whatsoever
those services may be which you have sanctioned by your favor, it is
a sufficient reward that they have been accepted as they were meant.
For the fulfillment of your anticipations of the future I can give
no other assurance than that the motives which you approve shall
continue unchanged.
It is truly gratifying to me to learn that the proclamation has been
considered as a seasonable guard against the interruption of the public
peace. Nor can I doubt that the subjects which I have recommended to
your attention as depending on legislative provisions will receive a
discussion suited to their importance. With every reason, then, it may
be expected that your deliberations, under the divine blessing, will
be matured to the honor and happiness of the United States.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
DECEMBER 7, 1793.
SPECIAL MESSAGES.
UNITED STATES, _December 5, 1793_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
As the present situation of the several nations of Europe, and
especially of those with which the United States have important
relations, can not but render the state of things between them and us
matter of interesting inquiry to the Legislature, and may indeed give
rise to deliberations to which they alone are competent, I have thought
it my duty to communicate to them certain correspondences which have
taken place.
The representative and executive bodies of France have manifested
generally a friendly attachment to this country; have given advantages
to our commerce and navigation, and have made overtures for placing
these advantages on permanent ground. A decree, however, of the National
Assembly subjecting vessels laden with provisions to be carried into
their ports and making enemy goods lawful prize in the vessel of a
friend, contrary to our treaty, though revoked at one time as to the
United States, has been since extended to their vessels also, as has
been recently stated to us. Representations on this subject will be
immediately given in charge to our minister there, and the result
shall be communicated to the Legislature.
It is with extreme concern I have to inform you that the proceedings
of the person whom they have unfortunately appointed their minister
plenipotentiary here have breathed nothing of the friendly spirit of
the nation which sent him. Their tendency, on the contrary, has been to
involve us in war abroad and discord and anarchy at home. So far as his
acts or those of his agents have threatened our immediate commitment in
the war, or flagrant insult to the authority of the laws, their effect
has been counteracted by the ordinary cognizance of the laws and by an
exertion of the powers confided to me. Where their danger was not
imminent they have been borne with from sentiments of regard to his
nation, from a sense of their friendship toward us, from a conviction
that they would not suffer us to remain long exposed to the action of a
person who has so little respected our mutual dispositions, and, I will
add, from a reliance on the firmness of my fellow-citizens in their
principles of peace and order. In the meantime I have respected and
pursued the stipulations of our treaties according to what I judged
their true sense, and have withheld no act of friendship which their
affairs have called for from us, and which justice to others left us
free to perform. I have gone farther. Rather than employ force for the
restitution of certain vessels which I deemed the United States bound to
restore, I thought it more advisable to satisfy the parties by avowing
it to be my opinion that if restitution were not made it would be
incumbent on the United States to make compensation. The papers now
communicated will more particularly apprise you of these transactions.
The vexations and spoliation understood to have been committed on
our vessels and commerce by the cruisers and officers of some of the
belligerent powers appear to require attention. The proofs of these,
however, not having been brought forward, the descriptions of citizens
supposed to have suffered were notified that, on furnishing them to the
Executive, due measures would be taken to obtain redress of the past and
more effectual provisions against the future. Should such documents be
furnished, proper representations will be made thereon, with a just
reliance on a redress proportioned to the exigency of the case.
The British Government having undertaken, by orders to the commanders
of their armed vessels, to restrain generally our commerce in corn and
other provisions to their own ports and those of their friends, the
instructions now communicated were immediately forwarded to our minister
at that Court. In the meantime some discussions on the subject took
place between him and them. These are also laid before you, and I may
expect to learn the result of his special instructions in time to make
it known to the Legislature during their present session.
Very early after the arrival of a British minister here mutual
explanations on the inexecution of the treaty of peace were entered into
with that minister. These are now laid before you for your information.
On the subjects of mutual interest between this country and Spain
negotiations and conferences are now depending. The public good
requiring that the present state of these should be made known to the
Legislature _in confidence only_, they shall be the subject of a
separate and subsequent communication.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _December 16, 1793_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
The situation of affairs in Europe in the course of the year 1790
having rendered it possible that a moment might arrive favorable for
the arrangement of our unsettled matters with Spain, it was thought
proper to prepare our representative at that Court to avail us of it.
A confidential person was therefore dispatched to be the bearer of
instructions to him, and to supply, by verbal communications, any
additional information of which he might find himself in need. The
Government of France was at the same time applied to for its aid and
influence in this negotiation. Events, however, took a turn which did
not present the occasion hoped for.
About the close of the ensuing year I was informed through the
representatives of Spain here that their Government would be willing
to renew at Madrid the former conferences on these subjects. Though the
transfer of scene was not what would have been desired, yet I did not
think it important enough to reject the proposition, and therefore,
with the advice and consent of the Senate, I appointed commissioners
plenipotentiary for negotiating and concluding a treaty with that
country on the several subjects of boundary, navigation, and commerce,
and gave them the instructions now communicated. Before these
negotiations, however, could be got into train the new troubles which
had arisen in Europe had produced new combinations among the powers
there, the effects of which are but too visible in the proceedings
now laid before you.
In the meantime some other points of discussion had arisen with that
country, to wit, the restitution of property escaping into the
territories of each other, the mutual exchange of fugitives from
justice, and, above all the mutual interferences with the Indians lying
between us. I had the best reason to believe that the hostilities
threatened and exercised by the Southern Indians on our border were
excited by the agents of that Government. Representations were thereon
directed to be made by our commissioners to the Spanish Government, and
a proposal to cultivate with good faith the peace of each other with
those people. In the meantime corresponding suspicions were entertained,
or pretended to be entertained, on their part of like hostile
excitements by our agents to disturb their peace with the same nations.
These were brought forward by the representatives of Spain here in a
style which could not fail to produce attention. A claim of patronage
and protection of those Indians was asserted; a mediation between them
and us by that sovereign assumed; their boundaries with us made a
subject of his interference, and at length, at the very moment when
these savages were committing daily inroads upon our frontier, we were
informed by them that "the continuation of the peace, good harmony, and
perfect friendship of the two nations was very problematical for the
future, unless the United States should take more convenient measures
and of greater energy than those adopted for a long time past."
If their previous correspondence had worn the appearance of a desire to
urge on a disagreement, this last declaration left no room to evade it,
since it could not be conceived we would submit to the scalping knife
and tomahawk of the savage without any resistance. I thought it time,
therefore, to know if these were the views of their sovereign, and
dispatched a special messenger with instructions to our commissioners,
which are among the papers now communicated. Their last letter gives us
reason to expect very shortly to know the result. I must add that the
Spanish representatives here, perceiving that their last communication
had made considerable impression, endeavored to abate this by some
subsequent professions, which, being also among the communications
to the Legislature, they will be able to form their own conclusions.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _December 16, 1793_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I lay before you a report of the Secretary of State on the measures
which have been taken on behalf of the United States for the purpose of
obtaining a recognition of our treaty with Morocco and for the ransom of
our citizens and establishment of peace with Algiers.
While it is proper our citizens should know that subjects which so
much concern their interest and their feelings have duly engaged the
attention of their Legislature and Executive, it would still be improper
that some particulars of this communication should be made known.
The confidential conversation stated in one of the last letters sent
herewith is one of these. Both justice and policy require that the
source of that information should remain secret. So a knowledge of
the sums meant to have been given for peace and ransom might have a
disadvantageous influence on future proceedings for the same objects.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _December 23, 1793_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
Since the communications which were made to you on the affairs of the
United States with Spain and on the truce between Portugal and Algiers
some other papers have been received, which, making a part of the same
subjects, are now communicated for your information.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _December 30, 1793_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I lay before you, for your consideration, a letter from the Secretary
of State, informing me of certain impediments which have arisen to the
coinage of the precious metals at the Mint, as also a letter from the
same officer relative to certain advances of money which have been made
on public account. Should you think proper to sanction what has been
done, or be of opinion that anything more shall be done in the same way,
you will judge whether there are not circumstances which would render
secrecy expedient.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _January 7, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
Experience has shewn that it would be useful to have an officer
particularly charged, under the direction of the Department of War,
with the duties of receiving, safe-keeping, and distributing the public
supplies in all cases in which the laws and the course of service do not
devolve them upon other officers, and also with that of superintending
in all cases the issues in detail of supplies, with power for that
purpose to bring to account all persons intrusted to make such issues
in relation thereto.
An establishment of this nature, by securing a regular and punctual
accountability for the issues of public supplies, would be a great guard
against abuse, would tend to insure their due application and to give
public satisfaction on that point.
I therefore recommend to the consideration of Congress the expediency of
an establishment of this nature, under such regulations as shall appear
to them advisable,
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _January 20, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
Having already laid before you a letter of the 16th of August, 1793,
from the Secretary of State to our minister at Paris, stating the
conduct and urging the recall of the minister plenipotentiary of the
Republic of France, I now communicate to you that his conduct has been
unequivocally disapproved, and that the strongest assurances have been
given that his recall should be expedited without delay.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _January 21, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
It is with satisfaction I announce to you that the alterations which
have been made by law in the original plan for raising a duty on spirits
distilled within the United States, and on stills, cooperating with
better information, have had a considerable influence in obviating the
difficulties which have embarrassed that branch of the public revenue.
But the obstacles which have been experienced, though lessened, are not
yet entirely surmounted, and it would seem that some further legislative
provisions may usefully be superadded, which leads me to recall the
attention of Congress to the subject. Among the matters which may demand
regulation is the effect, in point of organization, produced by the
separation of Kentucky from the State of Virginia, and the situation
with regard to the law of the territories northwest and southwest of
the Ohio.
The laws respecting light-house establishments require, as a condition
of their permanent maintenance at the expense of the United States, a
complete cession of soil and jurisdiction. The cessions of different
States having been qualified with a reservation of the right of serving
legal process within the ceded jurisdiction are understood to be
inconclusive as annexing a qualification not consonant with the terms of
the law. I present this circumstance to the view of Congress, that they
may judge whether any alteration ought to be made.
As it appears to be conformable with the intention of the "ordinance for
the government of the territory of the United States northwest of the
river Ohio," although it is not expressly directed that the laws of that
territory should be laid before Congress, I now transmit to you a copy
of such as have been passed from July to December, 1792, inclusive.
being the last which have been received by the Secretary of State.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _January 30, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
Communications have been made to Congress during the present session
with the intention of affording a full view of the posture of affairs
on the Southwestern frontiers. By the information which has lately been
laid before Congress it appeared that the difficulties with the Creeks
had been amicably and happily terminated; but it will be perceived with
regret by the papers herewith transmitted that the tranquillity has,
unfortunately, been of short duration, owing to the murder of several
friendly Indians by some lawless white men.
The condition of things in that quarter requires the serious and
immediate consideration of Congress, and the adoption of such wise and
vigorous laws as will be competent to the preservation of the national
character and of the peace made under the authority of the United States
with the several Indian tribes. Experience demonstrates that the
existing legal provisions are entirely inadequate to those great
objects.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _February 7, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I transmit to you an act and three ordinances passed by the government
of the territory of the United States south of the river Ohio on the
13th and 21st of March and the 7th of May, 1793, and also certain
letters from the minister plenipotentiary of the French Republic to
the Secretary of State, inclosing dispatches from the general and
extraordinary commission of Guadaloupe.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _February 19, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
I lay before you the copy of a letter which I have received from the
Chief Justice and associate justices of the Supreme Court of the United
States, and, at their desire, the representation mentioned in the said
letter, pointing out certain defects in the judiciary system.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, _February 24, 1794_.
_Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
The extracts which I now lay before you, from a letter of our minister
at London, are supplementary to some of my past communications, and will
appear to be of a confidential nature.
I also transmit to you copies of a letter from the Secretary of State
to the minister plenipotentiary of His Britannic Majesty, and of the
answer thereto, upon the subject of the treaty between the United States
and Great Britain, together with the copy of a letter from Messrs.
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