VOLUME 53. NEW SERIES. THE BEDFORD GAZETTE is PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY MORNING BY .MEYERS & BENFORD, At the following terms, to wits 51.50 per annum, CASH, in advance. $2.00 " " if paid within the year. $2.50 " " if not paid within the year. [jyXo Mi'Jscription taken for less Than six months. QgrNo paper discontinued until all arrearages are paid, unless at the option of the publishers. It has :>een decided by the United States Courts, tha' the stoppage of a newspaper without the payment ' ar rearages, is prima facie evidence ot fraud and .s a criminal oflence. CCF*The com ts have derided that persons are ac countable for the subscription price of newspapers, if they take them from the post office, whethertbe y subscribe for them, or not. FtUotr Citizens of the -Senate ami House of Repre sentatives: When we compare the condition of the coun try at the present day with what it was on>- vear ago, at the meeting of Congress, we have much reason for gratitude to that Almighty Providence, which has never failed to inter pose for our relief, at the most critical periods of our history One year ago, the sectional strife bet ween the North and the South on the dangerous subject of slavery, had again become so intense as to threaten the peace and perpetu ity of the confederacy. The application for the admission of Kansas as a State into the Union, fostered this unhappy agitation, and brought the whole subject once more oefore Congress, ii was the desire of every patriot that such measures of legislation might be adopted, as would remove the excitement from the States, and confine it to the Territory where it legiti mately b> longed. Much has been done, fam happy to say, towards the accomplishment of this object during the last session of Congress. The Supreme Court of the United Stales had previously decided, that all American citizens have ari equal right to take into the Territories, whatever is held as pioperty under the laws of any ol the States, and to hold such property there under the guardianship of the federal con stitution, so long as the territorial constitution shall remain. This is now a well-established position, and the proceedings of the last session were alone wanting to give it practical effect. The prin ciple has been recognised, in some form or other, by an almost unanimous vote of both houses of Congress, that a Territory has aright to come into the Union either as a free or slave State, according to the will of a majority of its peo ple. The just equality of ail the States has thus been vindicated, and a truitful source of dan gerous dissension aironn them ha red. Whilst such has been the beneficial tendency of your legislative proceedings outside of Kan-. sas, their influence has nowhere been so happy as within that Territory itself. Left to manage and control its own affairs in its own way, with out the pressure of external influence, the revo lutionary Topeka organization and all resistance to the territorial government established by Congiess, have been finally abandoned. As a natural consequence, that fine Territory now appears to be tranquil and prosperous, and is attracting increased thousands of immigrants to make it their happy home. The past unfortunate experience of Kansas, has enforced the lesson so often already taught, that resistance to lawful authority, under our form of government, cannot fail in "the end to prove disastrous to its authors. Had the peo ple of that Territory yielded obedience to the laws enacted by their legislature, it would at the piesent moment have contained a large ad ditional population of industrious and enterpri sing citizens, who have been deterred from en tering its borders by the existence of civil strife and organized rebellion. It was the resistance to rightful authority and the persevering attempts to establish a revolu tionary government under the Topeka constitu tion, which caused the people of Kansas to commit the grave error ol refusing to vote for delegates to the convention to frame a constitu tion, under a law not denied to he fair and just in its provisions. This refusal to vote has been the prolific source of all the evils which have followed. In their hostility to the territorial government, they disregarded the principle, ab solutely essentia! to the working of our form of government, that a majority of those who vote not the majority vvho may remain at home. from whatever cause—must decide the result of an election. For this reason, seeking to take advantage of their own error, they denied the authority of the convention thus elected to frame a constitution. The convention, notwithstanding, proceeded to adopt a constitution unexceptiouable in its general features, and providing for tfie submis sion of the slavery question to a voteot the peo ple, which, in my opinion, they were bound to do, under the Kansas and Nebraska act. This was the all-imj>ortant question which had alone convulsed the Territory; and yet the opponents of the lavful government, persisting in their first error, refrained from exercising their right to vote, and preferred that slavery should con tinue, rather than surrender their revolutionary Topeka organization. A wiser and better spirit seemed to prevail before the first Monday of January last, when an election was held under the constitution. A majority of the people then voted for a gover nor and other State officers, for a member of Congress, and members of the State legislature. This election was warmly contested by the two political parties in Kansas, and a greater vote was polled than at any previous election. A large majority of the members of the legislature elect belonged to that party which had previ ously refused to vote. The anti-slavery party were thus placed in the ascendant, and the po litical power of the State was in their own hands. Had Congress admitted Kansas into the Union under the Lecompton constitution, the legislature might, at its very first session, With my deep convictions of duty, I could have pursued no other course. It is true, that, as an individual, I had expressed an opinion, both before and during the session of the con vention, in favor of submitting the remaining clauses of the constitution, as well as that con cerning slavery, to the p-ople. But, acting in an official character, neither myself nor any human authority had the power to rejndge tile proceedings of the convention, and declare the constitution which it had framed to be a nullity. To have done this would have been a violation of the Kansas and Nebraska act, which left the people of the Territory "perfectly free to form and regulate their domestic institutions in their own wav, subject only to the constitution ofthe United States." It would equally have viola ted the great piinciple of popular sovereignty, at the foundation of our institutions, to depiive the people ofthe power, if they thought proper to exercise it, of confiding to delegates elected by themselves the trust of framing the constitu tion, without requiring them to subject their constitution to the trouble, expense, and delay of a second election. It would have been in opposition to many precedents in our history, commencing in the v ry best age of the repub lic, of the admission ol Territories as States in to the Union, without a previous vote of the people approving their constitution. It is to be lamented that a question so insig nificant when viewed in its practical effects on the people of Kansas, whether decided one way or the other, should have kindled such a flame o/ .-.tieinent throughout the r.uintrv . reflection may prove to Be a lesson ot wisdom and of warning for our future guidance. I'rac tically consideied, the question is simply whether the people ol that Territory should first come into the Union and then change any provision in their constitution not agreeable to themselves, or accomplish the very same object !>v remaining out of the Union and framing an other constitution in accoidance with their will 1 In either case, the result would be pre cisely the same. The only difference in point ot fact is, that the object would have been much sooner attained, and the pacification of Kansas more speedily effected, had it been ad mitted as a State during the last session of Con gress. My recommendation, however, for the im mediate admission of Kansas, failed to meet the approbation ol Congress. They deemed it wi ser to adopt a different measure for the set'.le- have submitted the question to a vote of the people, whether they would or would not have a convention to amend their constitution either on the slavery or any other question, and have adopted all necessary means tor giving speedy e(]'ect to the will of the majority. Thus the Kansas question would have been immediately and finally settled. Under these circumstances, I submitted to Congress the constitution thus framed, with all the officers already elected necessary to pui the State government into operation, accompanied by a strong recommendation in lavor ol the ad mission of Kansas as a State. In the course of my long public life I have never performed any official act which, in the retrospect, has aflor ded me more heart-felt satisfaction. Its admis sion could have inflicted no possible injury on any human being, whilst it would, within a bri"f period, have restored peace to Kansis an.l harmony to the Union. In that event, the .sla very question would ere this have been finally settled, according to the legally-expressed will! of a majority of the voters, and popular sover- : eignty would thus have been vindicated in a constitutional manner. ment of the question. For my own part, I should have been willing to yield my assent to j almost any constitutional measure to accom- ; plish this object. I, therefore, cordially acqui esced in what has been called the English Com- | promise, and approved the "Act for the adinis- | sion of the State of Kansas into the Union" up- j on the terms therein prescribed. Under the ordinance which accompanied the j Lecompton constitution, the people of Kansas had claimed double the quantity of public lands ' for the support of common schools, which had : ever been previously granted to any State upon entering into the Union; and also the alternate ; sections of land for twelve miles on each side; of two railroads, proposed to he constructed from the northern to the southern boundary, and j from the eastern to the western boundary ol the 1 State. Congress, deeming these claims univa- I '• nable, provided, by the act of May 4, lbhS, to which 1 have just referred, for the admission of the State on an equal looting with the origi- i nal States, but "upon the fundamental condi tion precedent" that a majority of the people j thereof, at an election to be held for that pur pose, should, in place of the very large grants j of public lands which they had demanded un der the ordinance, accept such grants as had been made to Minnesota and other new States. Under this act, should a majority reject the pro position oflered them, "it shall be deemed and j held that the people of Kansas do not desire ad- ; mission into the Union with said constitution ! under the conditions set forth in said proposi- : tion." In that event, the act authorizes the! people of the Territory to elect delegates to . form a constitution and State government for themselves, "whenever, and not before, it is ascertained by a census, duly and legally taken, that the population of said Territory equals cr exceeds the ratio ot representation required for a member of the House of Representatives of the Congress ot the United Stafps." The dele- , gates thus assembled "shall first determine by a vote whether it is the wish of the people ol the proposed State to be admitted into the Union at that time and, if so, shall proceed to form a constitution, and take all necessary steps for the establishment of a Stale government in con formity with the federal -institution." After this const it utiuft shall hav'e been formed, Con gress, can ving out the principles of popular sovereignty and non-intervention, have left "the mode and manner of its approval or rati fication by the people of the proposed State" ha BEDFORD, PA., FRIDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 17,1858. be "prescribed by law," and they "shall then be admitted into the Union a a State under such constitution thus fairly and legally made, with or without slavery, as said constitution : may prescribe." An election was held throughout Kansas, in pursuance of the provisions of this act, on the j second day ol August last, and it resulted in the ! iejection, by a large majority, of the proposition submitted to the people by Congress. This be ing case, they are now authorized to form ! another constitution, preparatory to admission ' into the Union, but not until their number, as j ascertained by a census, shall equal or exceed I the ratio required to elect a member to the | House of Representatives. It is not probable, in the present state o' the : case, that a third constitution can be lawfully ! framed and presented to Congress by Kansas, be/ore its population shall have reached the designated number. .Nor is it to be presumed that, after their sad experience in resisting the territorial laws, they will attempt to adopt a constitution in express violation of the provis ions of an act of Congress. During the session of 1856, much of the tim- of Congivs was oc cupied on the question of admitting Kansas un der the Topeka constitution. Again, nearly the whole-of the last session was devoted to the question of its admission under the Le compton constitution. Surely it is not untea- ! sonable to require the people of Kansas to wait, before making a tbiid attempt, until the num ber ol their inhabitants shall amount to ninety three thousand four hundred and twenty. Du ring this brie! period the harmony of the State,, as well as tile great business interests of the countrv, demand that the people of the Union shall not for a third time be convulsed by an other agitation on the Kansas question. By waiting for a short time, and acting in obedi ence to law, Kansas will glide into the Union without the slightest impediment. This excellent provision, which Congress has apjdied to Kansas, ought to be extended and rendered applicable to all Territories which may hereafter seek admission into the Union. Whilst Congress possesses the undott ted power of admitting a new State into the Union, however small may be the number of its inhabi tants, yet this power ought not, in my opinion, to be exercised before the population shall a mount to tlie ratio required by tbe act for the admission of Kansas. Had this been previously the rule, the country would have escaped all the evils and misfortunes to which it has been exposed by the Kansas question. Of course, it would be unjust to give this rule a retrospective application,and exclude a State which, acting upon tbe past practice of the tion, elected its legislature and other officers, and is now prepared to enter the Union. The rule ought to be adopted, whether we consider its bearing on '.lie peo[*j-uf the Territo ries oi upon the people of the existing States. Many of the serious dissensions which have prevailed in Congress and throughout the coun try, would have been avoided, had this rule been established at an eailser period of the govern ment. Immediately upon the formation of a now Territory, people trom different States and from foreign countries rush into it, for the laudable purpose of improving their condition. Their first duly to themselves is to open and < uitivate farms, to construct roads, to establish schools, to erect places of religious worship, and to de vote their energies generally to reclaim the wilderness and to lay the foundations of a flourishing and prosperous commonwealth. If, in this inripent condition, with a population of a few thousand, they should premiturely enter the Union, they are oppressed hv the burden of State taxation, and the means necessary lor the improvement of the Tenitory and the ad vancement of Iheir own interests, are thus di verted to very different purposes. The fedeial government has ever been a liberal parent to tiie Territories, arid a generous contributor to the useful enterprises of (he early j settlers. It has paid Ihe expenses of their governments and legislative assemblies out of lhe common treasury, and thus relieved them : from a heavy charge. Under thesecircumstan- \ ces, nothing can be better calculated to retard their material progress, than to divert them from their useful employments *by prematurely exciting angry po 1 iti cal contests among them selves, for the benefit of aspiring leaders. It is surely no hardship for embryo governors, sena- j tors, and nembers of Congress, to wait until t he number of inhabitants shall equal those of a single congressional district. They surely ought not b • permitted to rush into the Union, with a population less than one-half of seveia! of the large counties in the interior of some of the States. This was the condition of Kansas; when it made application to he admitted under ; the Topeka constitution. Besides, it requires some time to render the mass of a population j collected in a new Territory, at all homogerie- 1 ous. and to unite them on anything like a fixed policy. Esiahlish the rule, and tall will look forward to it and govern themselves accordingly. But justice to the people of the several States requires that this rule should be established by j Congress. Each State is entitled to two sena tors and at least one repi esentative in Congress. , Should the people of the States fail to elect a I Vice President, the power devolves upon the Senate to select this officer from the two high est candidates on the list. In case of the death of the President, the Vice President thus eltc i ted by the Seriate, becomes President of the j United States. On all questions of legislation, ■ the senators from the smalleet States of the ; Union have an equal vote with those from the | largest. The same may be said in regard to l the ratification of treaties, and of Executive appointments. All this has worked admirably ! in practice, and whilst it conforms in principle with the character of a government instituted !by sovereign States, I presume no American ! citizen would desire the slightest change in the ; arrangement. Still, is jt not unjust and une- Freedom of Thought and Opinion. qtial to the existing States to invest some forty or fifty thousand people collected in a Territory with the attributes of sovereignty, aud place them on an equal footing with Virginia and New York in the senate of the United States'? FoC these reasons, I earnestly recommend the passage of a general act, which shall pro vide that upon the application of a territorial legislature, declaring their belief that the Territory contains a number of inhabitants which, if in a Statp, would entitle them to elect a member of Congress, it shall be the duty of the President to cause a census ol the inhabi tants to be taken, and if found sufficient, then by thy terms of this act to authorize them to proceed "in their own way" to frame a State constitution preparatory to admission into the Union. I also recommend that an appropria tion may be made, to enable the President to take a census of the people of Kansas. The present condition ol the Territory of Utah, when contrasted with what it was one year ago, is a subject for congratulation. It was then in a state of open rebellion, and cost what it might, the character of the government required, that this rebellion should be suppressed and the Mormons compelled to yield obedience to tin constitution and the laws. In order to accomplish this object, as I informed you in rnv last annual message, I aopoin-ed a new governor instead of Brighatn Young, and other federal officers to take the place of those who, consulting their personal salety, had found it necessary to withdraw from the Territory. To protect these civil officers, and to aid them, as passe comi/iitus , in the execution of the laws in thecase of'need, I ordered a detachment of the army toaccompanv them to Utah. The necessity for adopting these measures is now demonstrated. On tli" 15th of September, IS">7, Governor Young issued tils proclamation, in the style of an in Op*n lent sovereign, announcing his pur pose to resist by force of arms the entry of the United States troops in our own Territory, to "hold themselves in readiness to march at a moment's notice to repel any and all such inva i >ns, and established martial law from its date throughout the Territory. These proved to he no idle threats. Forts Bridger and Supply were vacated and burnt down by the Mormons, to deprive our troops of a shelter after their long fatiguing march. Orders were issued by Daniel H. HMD, styling himself "Lieuten ant General. Xauvoo Legion," to stampede the animals of the United States troops on their march, to set fire to their trains, to burn the grass and the whole country before them anil on their (links, to keep them from sleeping bv l l ' 4t - l .'L KUr l ri^-, -- n d! fords of rivers, &.C., &.C., &c. These orders were promptly and effectually obeyed. On the 4th October, 1807, the Mor mons captured and burned on Green River, three of our supply trains, consisting of seventy five wagons loaded with provisions and tents for thearmv. and carried away several hundred animals. This diminshed the supply of provis ions so mateisally that General Johnston was obliged to ieduce the ration, and even with this precaution, there was only sufficient left to sub sist the troops until the first of June. Our little army behaved admirably in their encampment at Fort Bridger, under these try ing privations. In the midst of the mountains, in a dreary, unsettled, and inhospitable region, more than a thousand miles from home, they passed the severe and inclement winter v\ it fl out a murmur. They looked forward with con fidence for relief from their country in due sea son, arid in this they were not disappointed. The Secretary of War employed all bis ener gi-s to forward them the necessary supplies, and in muster anil send such a military force to Utah vs would render resistance on the part of the Mormons hopeless, arid thus terminate the war without the effusion of blood. In his efforts he was etfii iently sustained by Congiess. They granted appropriations sufficient to cover the deficiency thus necessarily created, and also provided for raiding two regiments of volunteers, "for the purpose of quelling disturbances in the Territory of Utah, for the protection] of supply and emigrant trains, and the suppression of Indi an hostilities on the frontiers." Happily, there was no occasion to call these regiments into service. If there had been, I shonld have felt serious embairassment in selecting them, so great was the number of our brave and patri otic citizen* anxious to serve their country in tins distant and apparently dangerous expedition. Thus it has ever been, and thus may it ever be ! The wisdom and economy of sending suffi cient reinforcements to Utah are established not only by the event, but in the opinion of those who, from their position and opportuni ties, are the most capable of forming a correct judgment. General Johnston, the comman der of the forces, in addressing the Secretary of War from Fort Bridger, under date of October 17, lSf>7, expresses the opinion that "unless a large force is sent here, from the nature of the country, a protracted war on their [lhe Mor mon*'] part is inevitable." This he considered necessary, to terminate the war "speedily 3nd more economically than if attempted by iusutii cient means." In the mean time, it was my anxious desire that the Mormons should yield obedience to the constitution and the laws, without rendering it necessary to resort to military force. lo aid in accomplishing this object, I deemed it advisable in April last, to despatch two distin guished citizens of the United States, Messrs. Powell and McCulloch, to Utah. They bore with them a proclamation addressed by myself to the inhabitants of Ulah, dated on the sixth day of that month, warning them of their true condition, and how hopeless it was on their part to persist in rebellion against the United Slates, and offering all those who should sub mit to the laws a lull pardon for their past sedi tions acd treasons. At the same time, I assu red those who should persist iu rebellion against the United States, that they must expect no further lenity, but look to be rigorously dealt with according to their deserts. The instruc tions to these agents, as well as a copy ol the proclamation, and their reports, are herewith submitted. Tt will lie seen hv their report, of the 3d of July last, that they have fully confir med the opinion expressed by General John ton in the previous October, as to the necessity of sending reinforcements to Utah. In this they state, (hat they "are firmly impressed with the belief (hat the presence of the army here and the large additional force that hal been ordered to this Territory, were the chief induce ments that caused the Mormons to abandon the id-a of resisting the authoiity of the United States. A less decisive policy would probably have resulted in a long, bloody, and expensive war." These gentlemen conducted themselves to my entire salisfaction, and rendered useful services in executing the humane intentions of the government. It also affords me satisfaction to stale, that Governor Cummin? has performed his duty in an able and conciliatory manner, {and with the happiest effect. I cannot, in this connexion, refrain from mentioning the valuable services of Col. Thomas L. Kane, who. from motives of pure benevolence, and without any official character or pecuniary compensation, visited Utah during the last inclement winter, for the purpose of contributing to the pacification of of the Territory. I am happy to inform you, that the governor and other civil officers of Utah, are now perfor ming their appropriate funcl ions without resis tance. The authority of the constitution an.l the laws has been fully restored, and peace prevails throughout the Territory. A port ion of the troops sent to Utah are now encamped in Cedar valley, forty-four miles southwest of Salt Lake City : and the remainder have been ordered to Oregon to suppress Indi an hostilities. The march of the army to Salt Lake City, through the Indian Territory, has had a power ful effect in restraining the hostile feelings a gainst tlie United States, which existed among the Indians in that region, and securing emi grants to the Far West against their depreda tions. This will aiso be the means of establish ing military posts anil promoting settlements a long the route. I recommend that the benefits of our land laws and pre-emption system be extended to the people of Utah, by the establishment of a land office in that Territory. I have nrracion lr\ tuxnit ralj)AW.ji— You were informed by tbe last annual mes sage, that our minister had been instructed to occupy a neutral position in the hostilities con ducted by Great Britain and France against Canton. He was, however, at the same time, directed to co-operate cordially with the British and French ministers, in all peaceful measuies to secure by treaty those just concessions to foreign commerce, which the nations of the world had a right to demand. It was impossi ble for me to proceed further than this, on my own authority, without usurping the war-ma king power, which, under the constitution, be longs exclusively to Congress. Besides, alter a careful examination ot the nature and extent of our grievances, I did not believe they were of such a pressing and aggravated character, as would have justified Congress in declaring war against the Chinese empire, without first making another earnest at tempt to adjust them by peaceful negotiations. I was the more inclined to this opinion, because of the severe chastisement which ha 1 then but recently been inflicted upon the Chinese by our squadron, in the capture and destruction ot the Barrier forts, to avenge an alleged insult to our flag. The event has proved the wisdom of our neu trality. Our minister lias executed his instruc tions with eminent skill and ability. In con junction with the Russian plenipotentiary, he has peacefully, but effectually, co-operated with the English and French plenipotentiaries; and each of the four powers has concluded a separate treaty with China, of a highly satis factory character. The treaty concluded by our own plenipotentiary will immediately be submitted to the Senate. I am happv to announce that, through the en- ; eigetic yet conciliatory efforts of our consul general in Japan, a new treaty has been con- j eluded, with that empire, which may he ex- J p-cted materially to augment our trade and in- j terconrse in that quarter, ami remove from our j countrvmen the disabilities which have hereto- j lore been imposed upon the exercise of their religion. The treaty shall be submitted to the Senate for approval without delay. It is my earnest desire that every misunder standing with the governmeat of Great Britain, should be amicably and speedily adjusted. It has been the misfortune of both countries,almost ever since the period ef the revolution to have j been annoyed bv a succession of irritating and j dangerous questions, threatening their friendly relaTions. This has partially prevented the full development of those feelings of mutual friendship between the people of the two coun tries, so natural in themselves and so con ducive to their common interest. Any serious , interruption of lhe commerce between lhe \ ai led States an 1 Great Britain would be equally injurious to both. In fact, no two nations have ever existed on the face of the earth which could do each other so much or so much harm. Entertaining these sentiments I am gratified to inform you, that the long-pending controver sy between the two governments, in relation to the question of visitation and search, has been amicably adjusted. The claim on the part of Great Britain forcibly to visit American vessels on the high seas m the time of peace, could not be sustained under the law ol nations, and it has been overruled by Iter own most eminent jurists. The question was recently brought to WHOLK \ruili:il 2838. an issue, by the repeated acts of tlie British ciuisers, in boarding and searching our mer chant vessels on the Gulf of Mexico an 1 adjacent seas. These acts were the more injurious and annoying, a* these waters are traversed by a large portion of the commerce and navigation of the United States, and their Iree and unre stricted use is essentia! to the security of the coast wise trade between different States of the Union. Such vexatious interruptions could nt tail 11 excite the feelings of the country, and to require the interposition of the govern ment. Remonstrances were addressed to the British government against these violations of our rights and sovereignty, and a naval force was at the same tune ordered to the Cuban wa ters, with directions "to protect all vessels of the United States on the high seas, from search or detention by the vessels-of-war of any ether nation." These measures received the unqual ified and even enthusiastic approbation of the American people. Most fortunately, however, no collision took place, and the Biitish govern ment promptly avowed its recognition of the , principles ot international law upon this sub ject, as laid down by the government of the U nited Slates, in the note of the Secretary of State to the British minister at Washington, of Api il 10, ISfiF, which secure the vessels ol the United States upon the high seas from visita tion or search in time of peace, under any cir cumstances u hatever. The claim has been a bandoned in a manner reflecting honor on the British government, and evincing a just regard for the law of nations, and cannot fail to strenghten the amicable relations between the two countries. The British governm*nt at the same time proposed to the United States that some mode j should be adopted, by mutual arrangement be tween the two countries, of a character which may be effective without being offensive, for ver ifying the nationality of the vessels suspected on good grounds of carrying false colors. Thev have also invited the United States to take the initiative and propose measures for this pur pose. Whilst declining to assume so grave a responsibility, the Secretary of State has infor med the British government that we are ready fo receive any proposals which-lhey may feel disposed to offer, having this object in view, and to consider them in an amicable spirit. A strong opinion is, howewr, expressed that the occa sional abuse of the flag of any nation, is an e vil far less to deprecated than would be the establishment of any regulations which might be incompatible with the freedom of the seas. This government has yet received no comomni- AT' ir\- - pnV-jiisf to cairy out tneir sugges tion and I am inclined to belipve, that no plan which can be devised, will be free irom grave embarrassments. Still, I shall form no decided opinion on the subject uniill I shall have care fully and in the best spirit examined any pro posals which they may think proper to make. J am truly sorry I cannot also inform you that the complications between Great Britain and the United States, arising out of the Clay ton and Bnlvver treaty of April, 1830, have been finally adjusted. At the commencement of your last session, 1 had reason to hope that, emancipating them selves from further unavailing discussions, the two governments would proceed to settle the Central American qnestionsin a practical man ner alike honorable and satisfactory this hope I have not yet abandoned. In my last annual message I stated that overtures had been made by the Britisli government for this purpose, in a fiiendly spirit, which I cordial ly reciprocated. Their proposal was to with draw these questions from direct negotiation be tween the two governments : but to accomplish the same object, by a negotiation between the British government and each of the Central A merican republics whose territorial interests are immediately involved. The settlement was to he made in accordance with the general tenor of the interpretation placed upon the Clavton and Buiwer treaty by the United States, with certain modifications. As negotiations are still pending upon this ba<is it would not be proper for me now to communicate their present condition. A final settlement of these questions is greatly to be desired, as this would wipe out the last re maining subject of dispute betweea the two countries. Willi Spain our relations remain in an unsat isfactory condition. In my message ol Decem ber last, I informed you that our envoy extraor dinary and minister plenipotentiary to Madrid had asked lor his recall , and it was my pur pose to send a new minister to that couit, with special instructions on all questions pending be tween the two governments, and with a deter mination to have them speedily and amicably adjusted, if that were possible. This purpose has been hitherto defeated by causes which 1 need not enumerate. Spanish officials, under the direct control of the captain-general of Cuba have insulted our na ional Hag an i in repeated instances have from time to time inflicted injuries on the persons and property of our citizens. These have given birth to numerous claims against the Spanish government the merits of which have been ably discussed for a series of years by our succesive diplomatic representatives. Notwithstanding', this we have not arrived at a practical result in any single instance, unless we may except the case ofthe Black Warrior under the late admin istration, and thai presented an outrage of such a character as would have justified an immediate resort to war. All our attempts to obtain re dress have been baffled and defeated. The fre quent and oft-recurring changes in the Spanish ministry have been employed as reasons for de lay. We have been compelled to wait again ; and again, until the new minister shall have j had time to investigate the justice of our de | mands. Even what have been denominated "the Cu i ban claims," in which more than a hundred of our citizens are directly interested have fur i nished no exception. These claims were lor VOL 2, NO. 20.
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