PRESIDENESNEBSAGE.
Fellow Ci!izPsig of Pic Senate
mu! ()jibe House of/RfOreeenfatires :
The Constitution requires that theyreeident
shell, froth time to time, nut only recommend
to the consideration of Congreia su c h m eueuree
OS he may judge necessory isWespedient, but
also that - he shall give infortiation toahem of
:he state - of the' L t uien, To . de this fully in-
.slues ex.position dull matters in the actual
conditiao of the country, domestic or foreign
wnich essentially concern tha general welfare.
'While performing his constitutional duty in
this respect. the Presideet dues not speak
merely to express personal conviatiens, but as
the. executive ruin ister of the OovernMent, 'en
abled by his position, sad called upon by his
official obligation's, to emu with an • impartial
intereste of the whole - , and of every
part, of the United States,
_ oo
Of the 4ondition of the irlTrriestic interests of
the Union, its agriculuire, wines , iaannfac
tures, navigation, and &ailments, it is necess
ary only to say that the internal prosperity of
-the country, its continuous awl steady advance
ment in wealth aid population, and in private
Ai well as public well-being, attests the wisdom
of oar institutions, andthe predominant spirit
of intelligence and patriotism, which, notwitto
.atanding ocenslooal irregularity of opinion or'
action resulting from popular freedom, has
distinguiShed and eharacterixed the people - of
America.
• In the brie fluter val between the term loation
of the last. and the commencement of the pres
ent session of Congress, the public mind luta
been occupied with the care of selecting, for
another constitutional term, the President and
Vice President of the United ,States.
The determination of the persons, who are
• of right; contingently, to preside over the ad
ministration of the government, fa, under our
evstern, committed to the States of the people.
V. appeal to them, by their voice pronounced
in the form of law, to call whomsoever they
will to the high post of Chief Nligistrate,
And thus it isahat as the senators represent
the respective States of the Union, and
. the
• members of the House of 'Rep[ esentatives the
several constituencies of each State, so the
President re presents the aggregate popula
tion of the Lulled States, Their election of
him is the explicit and Solemn act of the sole
sovereign 'authority of the Union.
. It is impossible to misa pprehend the great
principles which, by their recent political se
ti on, the peoplo•of the United States haveaa,uc•
tiered and announced.
They have asserted the constitutional
qUality of each and all-the-States - of - the Union
. As States 3 they linen affirmed the constitte
Lionel equality of , each awl all of the citizens
of the United States ruiedtizene, whatever their
religiOn," wherever there birth, or their resie
deuce ; they have tnantalned the inviolability
of
. the constitetional rights of the different
sections of the Union; and they have pro-
claimed their devoted and utialteruble Wen:li
me:it to the Union and to the constitution, as
objects or interest superior to all objects of lo
cal or sectional controversy, as the safeguard
of the rightsufuli, as. the spirit and essence
f the liberty, peace, and greatness of the lie
puhlie.
. In doing this, they have, at the game time,
empliatieally cundetuntid the idea of organie
ing in. these United Stetes mere geograpical
peaks; of marshullingiu hostile array towards
each other the different parts of the country,
North or South, East or 'West. • •
Schemes of this. nature. fraught with ineal
-----culable-eatieehietenend' which - theec Asiderato -
sense of the people' has rejected, could have
countenance in. no part of the country, had
tkiev not heel) disguised by suggestion's ;Anus.
able in appeararipe o neting. open, excited
state 'of the public plizid; induced by causes
temporary in their character, told it is hoped
" transient in their influence..•
Perfect liberty of association for political
objects, and the.widestseope of discussion; are
the reoeived and ordinary cuuditious of goy
eminent' in our' country. Our institutions
framed in the spirit Of confidnifee iii t - hu intelli
gence and the integrity' of the people, do not
forbid citizens either individually or associated
• together, to attack by writting, speech, or any
methods short uf_physical . force, the Constitto
tion and the very socistence of - the Union.--
Under the shelter, of this great liberty, and
protected by the lawariud usages of the gov.
e •entent they "wail, associations have . been
teraied, in some of the Statesi, of individuals,
who, pretending to seek only to prevent the
si;read of the institution of slavery into the
present or fattive inchoate States of the Union,
-are really inflamed with (Wire to change' the
domestic institutions of the existing Suites.—
To accomplish their übjects ' they. dedicate
themselves to the odiCus laskor depreointing
the government organization which stands in
their way, and of oaluinnintilos, with indiscrim
,inate invective, not only citizens of particular
--State s r with w hese-lisweal-L-e-y-tind-fittrlts-butat I l t -nicl+•--eatarld is heel-the-a
Farictiye geographical line, was aegnieseed in
others of their felleweitiZens throughout the
rather titan approved by the States of the Un
country, who do not participate With them in
It. Atom( on the statute book. however,
their Ds:melte upon the CouStitation, • framed ' lose,
And adopted by our fathers, and claiming for I for a number of 'soars ; and the people of the
respective States acquiesced in the re-enact.
the privileges it has secured.. and the . blesisiegs
ntent of the privaiple as applied to the State
it has conferred, the steady support and grate
of 'fexas ; and it was proposed to acquiesce
(ul reverence of their children. They seek an • i
its further applicatioe to the territory acquired
object which they will know to be a revolts
in
aware that ;by the United States from Meeitne But this
tionary one. They ary l
the proposition was "successfully resisted by the
the change in the relative condition of
represeinatives from the northern States, who,
white and black races: in the aleveholding
regardless of the statue line, insisted upon up
States, which they would promote, is beyond
their lawful authority ; that to them is a foreign plying restriction to the new territory generally,
they are citizens object ; that it cannot be effected by any
.whether lying north or south of it, thereby re
eaceful instrumentalit of pealing it as a legislative compromise, and, on
teem, and the States of which
the part of the North, persistently violating
theirs ; that for
I the compact, it' compact there wits.
the only path to its nocomplishmein thiough
Earning cities, and ravaged fields,„and ele Thereupou this enactment ceased to have
binding virtue in any :cause, whether as respects
iu Bred populations, and all there Is most terrible ;
the North or the South ; and so in effect it
foreign, complicated with civil and servile I
I wile treated on the occasion of' the admission
file
and that the first step in the attempt is
the fercible disruption of a country einhra-
; of the State of California, and the organization
clan in its In . CM 1105000 a degree of liberty, ,of the 'Territories of New Mexico, Utah and
and alt amount of individual and public' pros- I'V"shing't"n
f.erity, to whirl[ there is no parallel in history, Such was the state of this question, when
and substituting in its place hostile govern- ; the time arrived for the organization of the
Territories of Keels:is and Nebraska. In the
"gents driven at once and inevitably into mut
tialdevestation awl fratricidal carnage, trans- progress of constitutional inquiry and reflec•
forming the now peaceful and felicitous broth- "'it it had now at length come to be seen
erhocel into a vast permanent came of armed ) clearly that Congress does not possess consti.
men the rival monarchies .
of Europe and
1 tutionol power to impoee restrictio n s of this
Asia, , character upon any present or future state of
knowing that such, and such only, arts the Union. In a long series of decisions, on
the fullest. argument. and after the most delib
the means awl the consequences of their
and purposes, they endeavor to prepari,•_th,‘ orate consideration, the Supreme court of the
peopl of the. United States fur civil wa by Uniied. tetotes had finally determi lied this point,
e r
doing every thing, in their power to depris'e n every thrm under which the question could
arise, whether as affecting public or-private
t'ie Constitution and the laws of mural ttth•
critv., and to undermine the fabric of the ri'4lltS—in questions of the public domain, of
Soft by appeals to passion and sectional pry j- religion, of navigation, and oi servitude.
to..ice, by indeetrinatitt‘r people with strip- The eeveral States of the Union aro, by
repeal hatred, and by educating them to stand feree of th e Constitution, co eqetil in domestic
fare to-face as enemies, rather than shoulder legislative power. Congress cannot change a
to sl:oulder as friends. law of domestic relation in the State of -Maine;
It is by the agency of Fuel anwarrantah'e inu more can it in the State of Missouri. Any
inte-ferenee, foreign and domestic, that ti e• statue which proposes to do this is a mere nul
minds of raanv otherwise rood citizens, ; it takes away no light.; it confers none.—
been so intlatised into the passionate condeen- If it Ntr:rtin_s on the statue-book iinrepealed, it
riaton of the domestic institutiene of remains there (tidy us a monument of error,
southern States, as at length to pass i ns .. ll ,ib- and a beacou of warning to the legislator and
ly to almost equally . passionate hostility to- :;tatesman. To repeal it. will be only to remove
wards their fellow-cinzens of those Stne n; arid imperfection from the statutes, without affect
thus final; to fall inio te4nperarY ing, 'either in the sense of permission or of
with the mowed and active ene l of t h e prohibition, the action of the States, or of their
Coustitutioa. Ardently attached to ?alerts in citizens.
the abstract, they do not stop i causlcier Still, when the nominal restriction of this
practically how the objects they woeld attain olture, already a dead letter in law, was in
can be accomplished, nor to reflect that,
even terms repealed by the last Congress, in a clause
if the evil neseas grea t es t h ey drew i t, they - - =`, , :of the net orgatti'zing the Territories of Kan.
bays no remedy to -apply, and that It, can be sas and Nebraska, that repaid was made tho
Duly aggravated by their violence and uncoo- " ca; `" of a wide-spread and dangerous aZi"
etit:ltianal Action,
A :volition., which is one ofthe' most difficult ' It was alleged that' die original enactment
of all the problems of social institution, puli- 'being a compact of p t lettial morel oblige
s _ .
ticsaThmionty rag's!ettestneitslop, flies's - sesta ties. its - retkuu co - eaten • all odious bresch or
-1
with un reanOni lig iritesipesittiee of s4oegettl.d feat). _
heignitge. Extreines Isegetlextrosts: ]cadent , - Aii act of eitrigresii, while it remains nnre-,
ittnek fromthe North finds ita inevitillike conse- pealed; more Mipecially if it' he toustitsitionally
quenee in the growth of it spirit etangry deft. ; valid iii the judgment Of those public fuetion
. :ince. at the buutlt. Thus in- the pro( ess of ! nries whose duty it is to pronounce on that
events we had "reaehed t h at consu mmation I point, is undoubtedly binding on the con
witioli the 'voice of the people has now so point- I, seietiee, of each good citizen of the Republic.
1 sslly rebuked of the attempt, ufi portion of the I Out, in what sense can it be asserted that the
States by a sectional organization and move- I enactment in question was invested with per
govertuneet 1 petulty and entitled to the respect or a solemn merit., to usurp the eoutrol of the
;of the United States.; : compact? Between whom Was the compact?
I I eunfidently believe that the great body of iNo distinct contending powers of the govern
those, who inconsiderately took this fatal step went, no separate sections of the Union, treat
ere siueerelYiettaelsed to the Constitution and pig as such, entered into the treaty stipulations
I, the Union. They would, upon deliberation, lon the subject.
4 shrink with unaffected horror from any con- I It was a mere clause of an act of Congress,
1 , seisms act of disuiden or civil war. But they and like any other controverted nintter of leg
nowhere, itlistion s resteived- its final shape-and-was pass
-
prime entered into-afah which lends
unless it he to civil war and disunion, and ed by compromise of the conflicting opinions
iwhich has no other possible outlet, They or sentiments of the members of Congress.—
have proceeded thus far in that direction in But if it had moral authority over men's con• consequence of the successive styes of their 1 sciences, to whom did this authority attach ?:---
progress having censisted of a series of semi- ; Not -to those of the North who had repeatedly
dery issues, each of wideb profess to be eon= l , -- refused to confitm it by extension, and who
Hued within constitutional and peaceful limits, ! had zealously striven to establish other and
i incompatible regulations upon the Hub itset.---
but which attempted indirectly what few men
; And if, as it thus-appears, the supposed coin
were willing to do directly, that is, to act ag
gressively against the constitutional. rights of f pact had no obligatory force as to the North;
nearly one-half of the thirty-ose States. - 1 of course it could not have hod any as to the
in the hang - series of acts of indirect ageles; 1 South, for all such compacts muse be mutual
Ilion, the first was the tortuous agitation, by and of reciprocal obligation.
citizens of the northern States, in Congress and 1 It has nut unfrequently happened that law
out of it, of thequestion of nesro emaucipation I givers, with undue estimation of the value of
in the southern States, - I the law they give s or in the view of imparting
The second itep in 'this path of evil consis. It o i t peculiar strength, make it perpetual in
-tad of acts of the people of the northern States, -1 terms ;,---but they can not thus bind the con
and s tn several instances of their governments, science, the judgment, and the will of those
aimed to facilitate the escape of persona held who may succeed them, invested with similar
to service - in the southern States, and to , pre• responsibilities, and clothed with equal author
vent their extradition .when reclaimed aecar• sty. More careful investigation may prove the
ding to law and in virtue of express . provisions law to be unsound in principle. Experience
of the Constitution'. Tu promote this object, mac show it imperfect in detail and impracti
legislative enactments and other means were cable in execution. And thee both reason
adopted to take away or defeat rights. which 'amid right combine not merely to justify, but
the Constitution solemnly guarantied. In or. I require its repeal. - . .
der
_to nullify the then existing act of Congress The Constitution, supreme as it is over all
concerning the extradition of fugitives front the departments of the government, legislative,
serviee t laws were enacted in many States, tor. executive, and judicial, is open to ainendinent
bidding their officers under the severest pen, by its very terms ; and Congress or the States
alties, to participate in the execution of any tufty in their discretion. propose amendments
act of Congress whatever.
__. f to it, solemn compact though it' in truth is his
In this way that system of harmonious co-op.
oration between the authorities of the United
States and of the several States, for the main
tenance of their coniroon institutions, which
existed in the early years of the Republic, was
destroys?; conflicts ofjurisdietion came to he
Srequentf-and Congress found itself-compelled,
for the support of the Constitution, and the vin
-1 dieatiou of its power, to authorize the appoint
ment of new officers charged with the exec to
Mon of its acts, as, if they and the officers of
the States were the ministers, respectively of
foreign governments in a state ,of mutual hos
tility, rather than feliuw magistrates of a cum
, mon country, peacefully subsiding under the
I protontion of one well-oonstituted Union.--
j Elms here, also, aggression was followed by re
melon; and the attaelts upon the Constitution
at this point did but serve to raise up new bar
j tiers for its defence and security.
! The third stage of this unhappy sectional
ckoitroversy was in connection with the organ
-1 ization of territorial governments, and the ad
mission of new States into the Union. When
lit was proposed to admit the State of Maine,
by separation of territory from that of Massa
! chusetts, and the State of Missouri, fJrnied-ofa
portion of the tern tory ceded by France to
1-the. United--States in Congress
' objected to the admission' of - the latter, unless
with conditions suited, to . partict.lar views of
public policy. The imposition of smolt a con
, dition was suecossfully resisted. But ut the
I the same period, the question was presented
1 of imposing restrictions upon the residue of
the territory . ceded by ' France. That ques
tion was, for the time, disposed of by the - adop.
tion of a geographical line of limitation.
In this connexion it should not - be forgotten
t that France, of her own accord, resolved, fur
I considerations of the most far-sighted sagacity,
to cede Louisiana to the United States, and
that accession was Accepted by the United
States, the latter expressly engaged that "the
inhabitants of the ceded territory shall be in
corporatedin the Union of the United States.
and admitted as woo as possible, according to
the principles of the Federal Constitution, to
1 the enjoyment of all the rights, advantages
and - immunities of -citizens, of the United
Suites i and in the meantime they shall ,be
maintained and protected in the flee enjoy
mett of their liberty, property, and the religion
which they profess"—that is to say, while it
remains itt a territorial condition its inhabitants
are maintained and protected le the fr.:e en
joyment of their liberty and property with a
1 right then to pass into the condition of States
on a footing of perfect equality with the origi
nal States.
i Ph n o " •
tweet, the Sovereign Statea of the 'Union: In
the present instance, a political enactment,
which had ceased to have legal power or author'
ity of any kind, was repealed, The position
assumed, that Congress has no moral right to
enact such repeal, was strange enough, and
singularly so in view oleos fitet'that the argu
ment came from those who openly refused
obedience to existing laws of the land, having
the. same popular designation and quality as
compromise acts ; nay, more, who unequivo
cally disregard and condemned the most ob
ligati:l.y injunctions of the Constitution itself,
and sought, by every means within their reach,
to deprive a portion of their fellow citizens of
the equal enjoyment of those rights and privi
leges guarantied alike to all the .fundatnen
.:.
tal compact of our Union.
This argument against the repeal of the
statute line in question was accompanied by
another of congenial character, and equally
with the former destitute of foundatioa-iii rea
son and truth. It was imputed that the meas.
ore originated in the conception of extending
the limits of slave labor beyond those previous •
lv assigned to it, and that such was its natural
as well as intended effect ; and these baseless
assumptions were made in the northern States,
the grmind of unceasing assault upon constitu
tional right.
The repeal in terms of a statute, which was
already obsolete, and also null for unconstitu
tionality, could have no influence to obstruct
or to promote the propagation of conflicting
views of political or social institutions, When
the act recognizing the Territories of Kansas
and Nehrarka wits passed. the inherent effect
upon that portiOn of the public domain thus
opened to legal settlement was to admit set
tlers from La the States of the Union alike,
each with his convictions of public oolicv and.
private intlivest,,Akere to found in their d*isere
lion. subject to - such limitAtions as the Consti
tution and acts of Congress might prescribe.
new States, hureafteeto be admitted jai) the
union.
- lr. was a free field. open alike to all, wheth
er the statute lint, or assutueti restriction were
repealed or not. That m epeal did not open n
free . competition or the diverse opioious and
domestic institutions a field which, without
such repeal, would have been closed against
them : it found that field of competition already
opened, in fact and in law. -All the repeld did
was to relieve the statute-book of an objection
able
_enactment, unconstitutional in effect, and
injurious in terms to a largo portion of the
States.
Is it the fact, that. in all_ the unsettled re
gions of the United States, if emigration he
`u' rocone re,pec se , wit lout
legal prohibitions, on either side, slave-labor
will spontaneously go everywhere, in, prefer
ence to free labor? h it the fact that the
peculiar domestic institutions of the southern
States possess relatively su mach of vigor that,
wheresoover an avenue i s freely open to all the
world, thor will penetrate to the exelusion of
those et the northern Stites. Is it the fact
that the tomer enjoy . , compared with lie lut
ter, such irresistible superior vitality, indepen•
,dent ut climate, soil. ;ma other accidental cir
cums:ances, as to Le able to produce the 'stip
po4ed result, in spite of the assumed mural and
natural obstacles to its accomplishment, and
.
the more numerous population of the northern I - (1 . +4 were most con-4mant with-the principle of
States ? I popular soNereignty which underlies our goy-
The argument of these who advocate the en- eminent. It could not have 1 gislated other
act cent of new laws of restriction, and eon- wise without doing'violence to another great
deem the repeal of old ones, in effect avers that principle of our institutions, the im nrescripti
their particular views of government have no bin right of equality o! the several States.
self extending or self-sustaining power of their We perceive, also, that sectional interests
own, and will go nowhere unless forced by act and party passions, have been the great he.
of Congress. And it' Congress do but pause pediment to the salutary operation of the or
for a moment in the policy of stern coercion, (rattle principles adopted, and the chief cause of
if it venture to try the experiment of leaving ... the suecessive disturbances in Kansas. The
men to judge for themselves what institufWi.. assumptton that, because in the organization
will best suit them : if it Ito not strained up to j of the Territories of Nebraska and Kansas;
perpetual legislative exertion on this point ; if Congress abstained front imposing restraints
Congress proceed thus to act in the very upon them to which certain other Territories
spirit of liberty it is at once charged with aim- had been subject, theretbre disorders occurred
lug to extend slave labor into all the new Ter- in the latter Territory, is emphatically contra.
ritories of the United States. dieted by the fact that none have occurred in
Of course, these imputations on the inten- the former. Those disorders were not .the
tions of Congress in this respect, conceived as consequence, in Kansas, of the freedom of self.
they•were in pr e judice, and disseminated in government conceded to that Territory by
passion, are utterly destitute of any justifica- Congress, but of unjust interference on the
tton in the nature of things, -and ,contrary to part of persons not inhabitants of the Territory.
all the fundamental doctrines and principles Such interference, wherever it has exhibited
of civil liberty and selfgovernment, itself, by acts of insurrectionary character, or
of obstruction to processes of taw, has been
While therefore, in general, the people of,
the northern States have never,-at any time, repe;led or sit ppressed, by a!I the means which
arrogated for the federal government the pow- the Constitution and the laws place in the
or to interfere direotly with the domestic eon- hands of the Executive.
dition of persons in the southern States, but In those parts of the U. Statrs, where, by
on the contrary have disavowed all such in- re-is nof the inflamed state of the public mind,
tentions, and have shrunk from conspicuous false rumors and misrepresentations have the
affiliation with those few who pursue their greatest currency, it has been assumed that it
fanatical objects avowedly through the con- j was the duty of the Executive not only to sop
tompluted means of revolutionary change of press insurrectionary movements in Kansas,
the government, and with acceptance of the but also to see to the regularity of local elec.
necessary consequences—a _civil and--servile'tions.____ltmeerls little•argument to show that
wa—yet many cid - fens have suffered them. the !'resident has no such power, All Erov
solveE to be drawn into one evanescent politi- : ernment in the U. SWIM; rests .substantiatly
cal issue of agitation after another, appertain. , upon popular election. The freedom of eleo
ing to the same set of opinions. and w hi c h , lions is liable to be irnpairedby the intrusion
subsided as rapidly as they arose when it of unlawful votes. n the eiclusion of lawful
came to be seen, as it uniformly did, that they ones, by improp 4 r influence:. by violence, or
were incompatible with the contracts of the by fraud. But the people cf the IT, Slates are
Constitution and the existence of the Union. themselves the albsufficient guardians of their
Thus, when the acts of sortie of the States to own rights, and to suppose that they will not
nullify the existing extradition jaw imposed remedy, in due season, any such incidents of
upon Congress the duty of passing a new one,
the country was_invited by askatore_to_ • P
into party organization for its repeal ; bnt
that agitation speedily' ceased by `roagon .of ,
'the impracticability of itsebject. So, when
the statute restriction uppn the institutions
of new States, by a • geographical, line, had
been repealed, the country wits' urged to. de
mand its 'restoration, and that - project - also
died almost with itA*rth. Then followed
the cry of alarm fpm the North against im
puted southern encroaehments which cry
sprang in reality from the spiri t of revolution
ary attack On the domestic institutions of the
South, and, after a troubled existence of a few
months, has been rebuked by the voice of a
patriotic people.
Of this last agitation, one lamentable fea
ture was, that it was carried on at the imme
diate expense of the peace and happiness of
the -people-ef-the-Terri tory of -Kan-s:ts. That
was made the battle-field,-not no much of op
posing factions or interests within itself, as of
the conflicting passions of the whole people of
the United States. Revolutionary disorder
• • • • eid_its_origin in projects of inter
vention, deliberately arranged by certain
members of that Congress, which enacted the
law for the organization of the Territory.—
Aml when propagandist colonization of Kan
sas had thus baen undertaken in one section
of the Union, for the !4ystenintic promotion of
its peculiar views of policy, there ensued, as
a matter of course, a counter-action with appo
site views, in other sections of the Union,
In consequence of these and other incidents
many acts of disorder, it is undeniable, have
been perpetrated. in Kansas, to the occasional
interruption, rather thin the permanent sus
pension. of regular government. -Aggressive
and most reprehensible incursions into the
Territory were mid ?.rtaken, both in the North
'and the South, and entered it on its northern
border by the way of lowa, as well as on the
eastern by the way of Missouri ; and there
has existed within it a state of insurrection
against the constituted authorities not without
countenance . from inconsiderate persons in
each of the great sections of the Union. But
the difficulties in that have been extravagant
ly exan , ,evated - for purposes of polities& agita
tion elsewhere. The number and gravity of
the nets of violence have been magnified part.
ly by statements entirely untrue, and partly
by. reiterated accounts of the salne rumors or
facts. Thus the Territory has been se:tmingly
filled with extreme violence, whet , the whole
amount of such acts has not been greater than
what occasionally passes bellire us in single
cities to the regret. of all_ good citizens, hut
without Lein; regarded as of general or per
manent political consequence.
Imputed irregularities in,the elections had
in Kansas, • like occasional irregularities of
the same description in the States, were be
yond the sphere of action of the Executive.--
liut of actual violence or of organ
ized obstruction of law, pertinaciously renew
ed from time to time, have been met as they
occurred, by such means as were available,
and as the circumstances required ; and
nothing of this character now refrains to affect
the general peace of the Union. The attempt
of a part of the inhabitants of the Territory
to erect a revolutionary government, though
sedulously encouraged and supplied with 'pe
cuniary 'aid from active agents of disorder in
some of, the States, has completely failed.—
Bo , lies of armed men, foreign to the 'Territory,
have Keen prevented from entering or com
pelled to leave it. Predatory bands, enraged
In acts of rapine, under cover of the existing
political disturbances, have been arrested or
dispersed. And every well disposed person
is now enabled once mon) to devot e himself'
in peace to the pursuits of prosperous indus
try, for the prosecution of wleieli he undertook
to participate in the settlement 31 the Terri
tory,
It affords mo unmingled satisfaction thus
to announce the peaceful condition of things
in Knn.as, espemally, considering the means
to which it was necessary to have recourse for
the attainment of the end, namely the employ
ment of a. part of the military force of the
United State:). The - withdrawal of that force
ft ow its proper duty of defending the country
again•zt foreign foes or -the sava.2,es of the
ft wider, fn employ it for the suppression of
domestic insurrection, is, when the- exigency
occurs, a matter of the most earnest so lieitude.
On this oNasion of imperative necessity it has
been done with the I),,st results, and my snt
isfactien in the attainment of such results by
sueh means is greatly enhanced Sly the con
sideration, that, through the wisdom and en
ergy of the present Executive of Kansas, and
the prudence, firmness mot vigilance of the ,
military officers on duty there, tranquility has
b.!eti restored without one drop of . blood hay
lug beep shed in its accomplishment by the
foyers of the United States.
The restoration of comparative tranquility
in that Territor • furnishes the means of_oh-
serving calmly, and appreciating at their
just value, the events which occurred there.
and the discussions of which the government
of the Territory has been subject.
We perceive that controversy concerning
its future dootestie institutions was inevitable:
that no human pruience, no form of legi,la
tion, nu wisdom on the part of Congress,
could have prevented this.
It is idle to suppose that the particular pro-
visions of their organic law were tho cause of
agitation. Those provisions were but the oc
casion. or the pretext of nn agitation, which
was inherent in the nature of things. Con
greAs legislated upon the subject in such terms
civil freedom, is to suppose them to have cea- then is fonn convenient and salutary. Te e
:•, •• b_e_e_apable of self-government. :The syste* of granting an honor:11,1e discter to_
President of the U. States has cot power to faithful seamen on the expirati on of' tl e perir d
interpose in elections - to see to-theirs --freedoniesof their enlistment,sand-pet mit-ling-them
to canvass their votes, or to pass upon theii le-. enlist after a leave ofabsence of a feu - A:nomho,
gality in the Territories any more than iii the ' without cessation of pay, is highly beneficial
States, If he had such power the government rin its influence. The apprentice 'system' re
/night he republican in forin, but it would boa I cently adopted is evidently destined to ineor
monarchyin fact; and if he had undertaken to porate into the service a large number of our
exercise it in the .case of Kansas, he would countrymen hitherto so difficult to procure.—
have been justly subject to the charge of usur- Several hundred American boys are now
,on a
pation, and of violation of the 'dearest rights of . three years' cruise in our national vessels, and
the people of the United States. • will return well trained seamen. In the ord.-
nance department there is a decided and grad
' Unwise laws, equally with irregularities at
elections, are, in periods of great excitement, fying indication of progress creditable to it
the occasional incidents of even the freest and and to the country. The suggestions of the
hest political institutions. But all experience Secretary of the Navy. in regard to further im
demonstrates that in a country like ours, where' provement in that branch of the .service, I
the right of self constitution exists in the coin- i commend toyour favorable action.
pletest form, the attempt to remedy unwise i The new frigates ordered by Congress ere -
legislation by reeort to revolution, is totally out t now afloat, and two of them in active service.
They are superior models of naval architecture,
of place 4 inasmuch as existing, legal institu
:ions afford more prompt and efficacious means and with their formidable battery add largely
for the redress of wrong. to public strength and security.
I confidently trust that now, when the peace- I concur. in the views expressed by the Sec- -
ftd condition of Kansas affords opportunity for rettiry of the Department in favor of_ a_still
celin reflection and wise legislation, either the fUrther increase of our naval force.
legislative Assembly of the Territory, or Con- The report of the Secretary of the Interior
gress, will see that no act shall remain on its j presents facts and views in relation to internal
statute-book violative of the provisions of the • affairs over *hid) the superviiiion 'of his de-
Constitution, or subversive of the great objects partment extends, of much interest and, im
tor which that was ordained and established, portance. •
and will take all other necessary steps to as- I The aggregate sales of the public lands, du
sure to its inhabitants the enjoyment, withoia col ring the last fiscal year. amount to 9,227,878'
obstruction or abridgment, of all the constitu- acres ; for which has been received the snm
dotal rights, privileges, and immunities of cit- lof $8,821,414. During the same period there
izens of the U. States, as contemplated by the have been located, wi'h military scrip a n d
organic Pawofthe l'erritorv. Full information land-warrants, and for other purposes; 30,100..
in relation to recent events in this Territory 1230 acres, thus making a total aggregate of
will he found in the doeuments communicated , 39,328,108 acres. On the 30th of September
herewith from the Departments of State &War. last, surveys had been made of 16,873,699
I refer you to the report of the Secretary of 1 acres; a large portion of which is ready fur
the Treasury for particular information concern-'1 market.'
ing the financial condition of the Government,l The .suggestions in this report in regard to
and the various branches of the public, service the complication and progressive expansion of
connected with the Treasury Department. the business of the different bureaux of the
During the last fiscal year the receipts from department ; to the pension system ;to the
customs were, for the first time, more than 64 colonization of Indian tribes, and the recent
dol lars, awl from all sources, $73,918,- I mendetions in relation to variousirnprovements
131 ; whirl) the balance on hand up to the Ist in the District of Columbia, are especially
of July, 1855, made the total resources of the commended to your consideration. •
year to amount to $92.850,117. The expert- The report of the Pestnatt.ster General pre
enures, including $3,000,000 in execution of 1 seats fully the condition of that department
the treaty with Mexico, and exeludimg sums{ of the, Government. Its expenditures for the
paid on -account of the public debt, amounted j last fiscal year. were $10,407,868 ; and its
ro $60.17:2.401 ; 'and, including
. the latter, to', gross receipts s7,62o,Bol—making an excess
$72.948.792, the payment on this account hav-i of expenditure over receipts of $2.78;,046.
ing amounted to $l-.2,776,390. The deficiency of this department is thus
$744,000 greater than for theyear ending June
On the 4th of March, 1853, the amount of 11
the public debt we's-569,1 4 9,037._ _'ritere_witsi 30. 1853. Of this deficiency. 'ik330.00 is to.
a subseqiient increase of $2.750,000 for the
debt of-Texas—untidir a total of $71,879,937.
Of this the sum of $45.525,319, including pre
'num. has beendischarged. reducing the debt to
30,737,1.29; all which in igh ehe paid within a
year without embarrassing the public service,
but being not yet due. and only redeemable nt
the option of the holder. cannot be pressed to
payment by the Government.
On examining the expenditeres of the last
five years. it will be seen that the average.. de
deeting payments on account of the public debt,
and ten luilhcus paid by treaty to Mexiect. hav
been but ahem $48.000,000. It is believed
that, under an economical administration of the
government, the average expenditure for the
ensiiiiig five years will bet exceed that sum,
II tileAr4 extraordinary occasion for its increase
should occur. The acts granting bounty
lands will soon have beim executed, while the
extension of our frontier settlements will cause
continued demand fir lands and augnierited
receipts, probably, from that Broome. These
considerations will justify a reduction of the
revet.ne from eustotils, sons not to exceed 48
or *50.000.000. ,1 think the exigency for smelt
reduction is imperative, and again urge it upon
the consideration of Congress.
The amount of reduction, as well as the
manner of effecting it, are- questions of great
and general interest; it being essential' to in.
dustriel enterprise and 'the public prosperity,
as well as the dictate of obvious justice, that
the' burden of taxation be made to rest as e
qually as pol-sible upon all classes, and all
sections and interests of the country.
I have heretofore recostunetided to your eon;
siderarien the revision of , the revenue laws,
prepared ander the diFetlian of the Secretary
of the Treasury, and also• legislaticin upon some
special toe -stems affectinz the business of that
more especially the eitactinen t
of a law to punish the abstractien of official
books or papers from the files of the govern
ment, and requiring all such books and pa
pers and all other public property to be
turned over by the out. going Officer to his
successor ; of a law respiring disbursing
officers to deposit° all public money in the
vaults of the treasurror in other ,legal de
positories, where the same are conveniently
accessible • and a law to extend existing_
penal provisions to all persouS,who may be
come possessed of public money by deposite
or otherwise, and who shall refuse or neg
lect, on due demand, to pay the same into
the treasury. 1 invite your attention anew
to each of these objects.
The army, during the past year, has been
so constantly employed 'against hostile In
dians in various quarters, that it can scarce
ly• be said, with propriety •of language, to
be a peace establishment. Its duties have
been satisfactorily performed, and we have
reason to expect, as a result of the year's
operas ions, greater security to the frontier
inhabitants than has been hitherto enjoyed.
Extensive combinations among the -hostile
Indians of the Territories of Washington
and Oregon, at one time threatened the
devastation of the newly formed settlements
of that remote portion of the country.—
From recent information, we are permitted
to hope that the energetic and successful
operations conducted there will prevent
such coro_binations • in future, and Reuse to
those Territories an opportunity to make
steady progress in the development of their
agricultural arid mineral resources.
Legislation has been recommended by me
previous occasions to cure defects in the
.sisting organization, and to increase the
fheiency of the army, and further observa
tion has but served to confirm me in the
iews then expressed, and to enforce on my
mind the conviction that such measures are
not only proper but necessary.
I have, in addition, to invite the atteti
lion of Congress to a change of policy in the
distribution of troops, and to the necessity
of providing a more rapid increase' of the
military armament. Fur details of these
nd other subjects relating to the army, I
refer to the report of the Secretary of War.
The, condition of the navy is not merely
, atisfaztury, but exhibits the most gratifying
-videteres of increased vigor. - As it is com
paratively small, it is more important that it
hould be efficient in the character of its oth
ers, in the zeal and discipline- of its men, in
he reliability of its ordnance, and itt the ca
pacity of its ships. In all these various qual•
itics the racy leis made great progress within
the last few years The execution of the law
of Congress. of February 28, 1855, "to pro
mote the effielency of the navy," has been at
tended by the most advantageous results.--
be law fur" prorating discipline =Oil the
be attributed to the• additional compensation,
allowed postmasters by thooet t.f Congres of
June 22, 1854. Theomail fatillties in every
part of the country, have been very nataeh iu•
creased in that period. and the - large addition
oUrailroad service, amountirg to 7903,'
has added largely to the cost of transportation.
The inconsi(lerable augmentation of the in—
come of the Post Office Department under the.
roduced rates of- postage, and its increasing
expenditures, must, for the present, make it
dependent to some extent. upon the treasury
for Support. The recommendatit , Nns of the.
Postmaster General, in relation to the aboli
tion of the franking, privile:4e, and his_view3
on the ebtablislunent of mail stcamship lines,'
deserve thevoinsideration of Congress. I also•
call the special attention of Congress to the
statement of the Po.itninster General respect—
ing the sums now I aid for the trans', ortation
of mails -to the Panama Railroad ComptliV,
and commend to their early- and l a vocable,
consideration the suggestiwo: of that officer in
relation to new contracts ler ni.iil tr. asporta.
tioa upon that route, and of-a , ui . .toz. the Te—
huantepec. and Nicaragua tls,.
The United 'States continue in th , ! rnov
ment of athicable relations ‘ttli all foreign
powers.
When my last annual mesFne was trnns
mitted to Congress,/two sulieet., isfeoun (ever
ay, "one relating to the 'enlistment of soldiers
in this country, for foreigo service, ?lad the oth
er to Cestral America, threatened n+ , disturb
good understanding between thetn . ted its.
0111 Great Britain. Of the progress and tor
ou'siation of the former quust:oo• ou were in
formed at the time ; and the other is now :rt•
the way of satisfactory adjustment:.
The (qect of the convention betw9on the.
United-States and (great Britain of tikehtli
of April, 3850, was to. secure, for the- benefit
of all nations, the neutrality and the amomon"
use of any transit way, or interocennio com
munication, across the isthmus of linama,,
which might be opened within the limits'or
Central America. The pretension subsequent
ly asserted by Great Britain to dominion or
control over territories,. in or near two of the
routes, those of Nicaragua and Honduras,
were deemed by the United States, not niere
-I.y incompatihte with tLe main object of the
treaty, but oppressed even to its express stip-,
u attons,--Oec sivo.---6>f—eontrolus
-
point has been! removed 6 , y an additional -
treaty, which am nainistes at Lonaim has,
concluded, and which will he immediately
submitted to the Senate for its consideration..
Should the proposed - supplemental arrann.'"e
ment be concurred in by alt the parties to be-,
afrected by it, the objects eontemphited by tilt:-
original convention will have been fully at
tained.
The treaty between the Urriteil States and .
Great Britain of the. sth of June,lBs4, which
went into effective operation in 1855, put an
end to causes of irritation between the twv
countries, by securing to the United States the
right of fishery on the coast of the British
North American provinces, with advantages
equal to those enjoyed by British subjects.
Besides the signal benefits of this treaty to a,
large class of our citizens engaged in a pur
suit connected to no inconsiderable degree
with our national prosperity and strength, it
has had a favorable effect upon other interests
in the provision it made for reciprocal free
dom of trade between the United States and
the British provinces in America.
The exports of domestic articles to those
provinc. s during the last year amounted to
more t an twenty-two m► ►on ( 0 ars, excee'-
ing those of the preceding year by nearly
seven million dollars ; and the imports there
from during the same period amounted to
more then twenty-one million—an increase of
six million upon those of the previous year.
The improved condition of this branch of
our commerce is mainly attributable to the-
above-mentioned treaty.
Provision was made in the first article of
that treaty for a commission to designate the
mouths of rivers to which the common right
of fishery, on the coast of the United States
and the British provinces, was not to extend.
This commission his been employed a part of
two seasons, but without much progress in
accomplishing the object for which it was in
stituted. in consequence of a serious difference
of opinion between the commissioners, not
only as to the precise point where the rivers
terminate, but in many instances as to what
constitutes a river. These difficulties. how
ever, may be overcome by resort to the umpir
age provided for by the treaty.
The efforts perseveringly proseruted since
the commencement of my a dministration to
relieve our trade to the Baltic from the exar.•,- ,
tion of Sound dues by Denmark have not yet
been attended with suecess. Other g;)vern
'neut.: have-also sought to obtain a like relief
to their commerce, and Denmark ‘77l!+ thus in
duced to propose an arrange ter.; to all the
European powers int oiest ed in the ;
and the manfferirrwhich her proposition was
received, warranting her to believe that a bat-
E