VOLUME 56. NEW SERIES. PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE. o Fellow citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives : Our deep and heaft-felt gratitude is due to that Almighty Power which has bestowed up on us such varied and numerous blessings throughout the past year. The general health of the country has been excellent; our harvests have been unusually plentiful, and prosperity #mile9 thraughout the land. Indeed, notwith standing our demerit?, we have much reasm to ibelievelrom tbe past events in our history, that we have enjoyed the special protection ot Di rine Providence ever since our origin as a na tion. We bave been exposed t ? many threate ning and aiarming ditficulties ir. our progress ; but on each successive occasion the 'impending cloud has been dissipated at tbe moment it ap peared ready to burst upon our head, and the danger to our institutions has passed away. — May we ever be under the divine guidance and protection ! Whilst it is the duty ot the President "Irom time to time to give to Congress information ot the state of the Union," I shall noPreler in de tail to the recent sad and bloody occurrences at Harper's Ferry. Still, it is propti to observe that these events, however bad and cruel in themselves, derive their chief importance from the apprehension that they are but symptoms of an incurable disease in the public mind, which may break out in still more dangerous outrages and terminate at last in an open war by the North to abolish slavery in the South. Whilst, for myself, I entertain no such apprehension, they ought to aflbrd a solemn warning to us all to oeware of the approach of danger. Our U nion is a stake of such inestimable value as to demand our constant and watchful vigilance lor its preservation. In this view let me implore my country men, North and South, to cultivate the ancient feelings oi mutuil forbearance and good-will towards each other, and strive to a!- lav the demon spirit of sectional hatred and strife now alive in the lanJ. This advice pro ceeds from the heart of an old public function ary whose service commenced in the last gene ration, among the wise and conservative states men of that day, now nearly all passed away, and whose first and dearest earthly wish is to leave his country tranquil, prosperous, uc.teJ, and powerful. We ought to reflect that_in this age, and es pecially in this country there is an incessant flux and reflux of public opinion. Questions which in their day assumed a most threatning aspect, have now neaily gone from the mem ory of men. They are "volcanoes burnt out, and on the lava and ashes and squalid scoriae of old eruptions grow the peaceful olive, the chee- 1 ring v ; ne, and the sustaining corn." Such, in mv opinion, will prove to be the fate of the present sectional excitement, should those who wisely seek to apply the remedy, coniinuo al ways to confine tbeir efforts within the pale of the Constitution. If this course be pursued, the existing agitation on the subject of domestic slavery, like everything human, will have its day and give place toother and less threatning controversies. Puohc opinio.i in this c matry is all powerful; when it reaches a dangerous ex cess upon any question, trie good sense ct the people will furnish the corrective and bring it back within safe limits. Still, to hasten this auspicious result, at the present crisis, we ought to remember that every rational creature must be presumed to intend the natural consequences of his own teachings. Those who announce abstract doctrines subversive of tbe Constitution and the Union, must not be surprised should j their heated partisans advance one step further and attempt by violence to carry these doc trines into practical ellect. In tins view of the subject it never ought to be forgotten, that, however great may have been the political ad vantages resulting from *he Union to every portion of our common country, these would all prove to be as nothing should the time ever arrive when they cannot be enjoyed without se rious danger to the personal safety of the peo ple of fifteen members of the confederacy. II the peace ot the domestic fireside throughout .these States should ever be invaded—if the pothers of families within this extensive region the uld not be able to retire to rest at night with ■awt suffering dreadful apprehensions of what rmay b mani festly just m themselves, and so well calculated to promote peace and harmony among the States. It is a striking proof of the sense of justice which is inherent in "our people, that the property in slaves has never been disturbed to my knowledge, in any of the Territories. — Even throughout the late troubles in Kansas, there has not been any attempt, as I am credi bly informed, to interfere, in a single instance, with tbe right of the master. Had any sgch at tempt been made, the judiciary would doubtless have afforded an adequate remedy. Should they fail to do ibis hereafter, it wiil then be time enough to strengthen their hands by fur ther legislation. Had it been decided that ei ther Congress or tbe territorial pos sess the power to annul or impair the right to property in slaves, the evil would be intolera ble. In the latter event, th- re would be a struggle for a majority of the members of the legislature at each successive election, and the sacred rights of property held under the Fede ral Constitution would depend lor the time be ing on the result. The agitation would thus be rendered incessant whilst the territorial con dition remained, and its baneful influence , would keep alive a dangerous excitement a meng the people of the several States. Thus has the status of a Territory, during the intermediate period from its first settlement un til it shall become a state, been irrevocably fix ed by the final decision of the Supreme Court. Fortuuate has this been for the prosperity of the Territories as well as the tranquility of the , States. Now, emigrants from the North and the South, the East and the West, will meet in the Territories on a common platform, having brought with them that species of property best adapted, in their own opinion, to promote their welfare. From natural causes the slavery question will in each case soon virtually settle itsell : and before the Territory is prepared for admission as a State into the Union, this de cision, one way or the other, will have been a foregone conclusion. Meanwhile the settle ment ot the new Territory will proceed with out serious interruption, and its progress and prosperity will not be endangered or retarded by violent political struggles. When in the progress of events the inhabi tants of any Territory shall have reached the number required to form a S'ate, will then proee-d, in a regular manner, and in the exer cise of the rights of popular sovereignty, to form a constitution preparatory to admission into the Union. After this has been done, to employ the language of the Kansas and Nebraska act, "they shall be received into tile Union with or without slayeiv, as their constitution may pre scribe at ths time of their admission," This ! sound principle has happily been recognised, in ' some form or other, by an almost unanimous i vote of both houses of the last Congress. Ail lawful means at my command bave been j employed and shall continue to be employed to \ execute the laws against '.he African slave-trade j After a most careful and rigorous examination of our coasts, and a thorough investigation of the subject, we have not been able to discover that any slaves have been imported into the United States except the cirgo by the Wander er, numbering between three and four hundred. Those engaged in this unlawful enterprise have been rigorously prosecuted ; but n it with as much success as their crimes have deserved. A number oi them are bhli under prosecu tion. Our history proves that the Father of the Republic, in advance of all other nations, con ; demned the African slave-trade. It was, not withstanding, deemed expedient by tbe frarners of the Constitution to deprive Congress of the power to prohibit "the migration or importation of such persons as any of the States now ■ exis ting shall tiiink propet not to admit" ptior tc : the year one thousand eight bundled and ei n hl * It will be seen that this restriction on the! power of Congress was confined to such States only as might think proper to admit the impor tation of slaves. It did not extend to other States or to the trade carried on abroad. Ac cordingly, we find that so early as the 22d of March, 1791, Congress passed an act imposing ; severe penalties and punishments upon citizens and residents of the United States who should engage in this trade between foreign nations, j The provisions ot this act were extended and j enforced by the act of 10th May, ISOO. ! Again: The States themselves bad a cb-ar right to wave the constitutional privilege in tended for their benefit, and to prohiuit, by , their own laws, this trade at any time they thought proper, previous to IS OS. Several of them exercised this right before that period, ; and among them some containing the greatest number of slaves. This gave to Congress the immediate'power to act in regard to ail such ; States, because they themselves had removed the constitutional! barrier. Congress accor dingly passed an act on the 2Sth February, ISO 3, "to prevent the importation of certain persons into certain Slates where, by the laws thereof, their admission is prohibited." In this manner the importation oi African slaves into j the United States was, to a great extent, pro hibited some years in advanced ISOB. As the year 180S approached, Congress de termined not to suffer this trade to exist even to: a single day after they bad tbe power to a boiish it. On the 2d of March, 1807. they passed an act to take effect "from and after tbe Ist day of January, 1808," prohibiting the im portation ot African slaves into the United States. This was followed by subsequent acts of a similar character, to which I need not spe cially refer. Such were the principles and such the practice of our ancestor more than fifty years ago in regard to the African slave trade. It did not occur to the revered patriots who had been delegates to the convention, and af terwards became members of Congress, that in passing these laws they had violated {the Con stitution which they had framed with so much BEDFORD, PA., FRIDAY MORNING, JANUARY C, 1860. i care and deliberation. They supposed that to j prohibit Congress, in express terms, from exer cising a specified power before an appointed day necessa r iiy involved the right to exercise this j power alter that day had arrived. If this were not the case, the framers of the ! Constitution had expended much labor in vain. Had they imagined that Congress would possess ;no power to prohibit the trade either before or after 1808, tiiey would not have taken so much ■ care to protect the States against the exercise of j this power before that period. Nay more, they would not bave attached such vast importance to this provision as to have excluded it from the possibility of future repeal or amendment, to which other poilions of tin Constitntiou were ex;) ,-d. It would then have been wholly un necessary to engraft oil the fifth article of til* Constitution, prescribing the mou* ot its own ; future amendment, tbe proviso, '-that no amend j merit which may be made prior to the year one [thousand eight hundred and eight, shall in any i manner affect" the provision in the Constitu j (ion securing to the States the right to admit the | importation of African slaves previous to that i pei iod. According to the adverse construction, the ; clause itself, on which so much care and riiscus | sion had been employed by the members of the i convention, was ar. absolute nnliity from the ! beginning, and all that has since been done i under it a mere usurpation, i It was well and wise to confer this power lon Congress, because, had it been left to Slates, j its efficient exercise would have been impossi ble. In that event any one State could have i effectual!) continued the trade not only lor • ail tbe other slave States, though never so i much against their will. And why f Because ; African slaves, when once brought within the ! limits of any one State, in accordance with its : laws, cannot practically be excluded from any ! other Slate where slavery exists. And even it ail the State* bad separately passed laws pro | bibiting the importation si slaves, these laws j would have failed of effect for want ot a navel ' force to capture tbe slavers and to guard the : coasts. Such a force no Slate can employ in time of peace without the consent of Congress. 'These acts of Congress, it is believe ), have, ; with very rate and insignificant exceptions, accomplished their purpose. For a period of more than half a century there has been no i perceptible addition to tbe number of oi.r do ; mesne slaves. During this period tfiesr ad vancement in civilization has tar surpassed that |of any other portion of the African race. The j light and the blessings ot Christianity have been | extended to them, and both their moral and j phvsical condition has been greatly improved. Reopen the trade, and it would be ciiiicnit ; to determine whether the effect would be more i | deleterious on the interests ot Ihe master or on j those of the native-born slave. Of the evils to ! the master, the one most to be dreaded would ! be the introduction ot wild, heathen,and jgno | rant barbarians among the sober, orderly, and [quiet slaves, whos- 1 ancestors bave been oa the • soil for several generations. This might tend to barbarize, demoralize, and exasperate the whole mass, and produce most deplorable coa stqences. The effect upon the existing slave would, if j possible, be still more deplorable. At presenti he is treated with kindness and humanity. He j is well fo.!, well clo'.hed, an i not overworked, i • His condition n incomparably better than that j lof tlie coolie* which modern nations of high 1 civilization have employed as a substitute for j African slaves. Both the philanthropy an J the j self-interest of the master have combined to j produce this humane result. But let this trade jbe reopened, and what will be the effect The same, to* considerable extent, as on a neigh- island,—the only spot now on earth where the African slave-trade is openly tolera ted : ami this in defiance of solemn treaties with a power abundantly able a' any moment ito enforce their execution. There the master ; intent upon prese.it gain, extorts from the stave as much labor as his physical powers are capa ble of enduring—knowing that, when death comes to his relief, his place can be supplied at a price leduced to the lowest point by the competition of rival African slave-traders.— Should this ever be the case in our country — [ j which Ido not deem possible— the present [useful character ot the domestic institution, ! wherein those too old and too young to work | are provided for with care and humanity, and ' j those capable of labor are not overtasked, would j undergo an unfojtun te change. The feeling ; or reciprocal dependence and attachment wliich ; now exists between mister and slave would he : converted into mutual distrust and hostility. But we are obliged as a Christian and m-.-ral • nation io consider what wouid tie the effect i : upon unhappy Africa itself .if ivesaould reopen j the slave-trade. This would give the trade an j impulse and extension which it has never had even in its palmist days. The numerous vic tims required to supply it would convert the whole slave coast into a perfect Pandemonium, for which this country would be held responsi ble in the eyes both of God and man. Its pet ty tribes would then be constantly engaged in j predatory wars against each other for the pur pose of seizing slaves to snpply tbe American market. All hopes of African civilization would thus be ended. On the other hand, when a market for Afri can slaves shall no longer be furnished in Cuba, and thus all the world be closed against this trade, we may then indulge a reasonable hope for the gradual improvement of Africa. The chief motive of war among the tribes will cease whenever there is no longer any demand for slaves. The resources of that fertile but miserable country might then be developed by the hand of indusry and afford subjects for legitimate foreign and domestic commerce. In this manoer Christianity and civilization may gradualty penetrate the existing gloom. The wisdom of the course pursued by this Government towards ChiDa has been vindica ted by the event. Whilst we susfained a ueu- , Freedom of T&cngiit and Opinion. trai position in the war waged by Ureal Britain and Franc* against the Chinese empire, our late minister, in obedience to liis instructions, judiciously co-operated with the ministers of these powers in all peacelu] measures to secure ■ by treaty the just concessions aeinanded by the j interests of ibreign commerce. The result is ; that satisfactory treaties have been concluded with China by.the respective ministers ot the United States, Groat Britain, France, and Rus sia. Our "treaty, or general convention of peace, amity, and commerce," with that empire was concluded at Tientsin on the ISth June, 1853, and was ratified by the President, by and with the advice and consent ol the Senate, on the 2i*t December following. On ti : h December. 1858, John E. Ward, a distinguished citizen ol Georgia, was duly commissioned as envoy extraordinary and | minister plenipotentiary to China. He left i the United S'ates for the place of his destina | lion on the sti> ot February, 1559, hearing with him the ratified copy of his treat)', and ! arrived at Shanghai on the 23th Mav. From i tiience he proceeded to Peking on the lfilh j June, but lie did not arrive in that city until [ the 27th July. According to the terms of the i treaty the ratifications were to be exchanged .on or betor: the 13th Jun j , 1859. This was rendered impassible by reasons an 1 events be ; vond Ins control, not necessary to detail ; but still it is due to the Chinese authorities of i Shanghai to state that they always assured him no advantage should be taken of the delay, and j this pledge has heen faithfully redeemed. On the arrival of Mr. Ward at Peking he, requested an auuience ol the Emperor to pre set his letter of credence. This he did not j obtain, in consequence of his very proper refu- i to submit to tie humiliating ceremonies re ! quired by the etiquette of this strange . people in apprcaicli'-a their sovereign. .Nevertheless ; the interviews on this question were conduc ted in the n >st friendly spirit and with ail due tegard to his personal feelings and the honor ol h's country. When a presentation to his Majesty was found to beimpossible, the letter of credence lr<*m the President was received with peculiar honors by Kweiliang, "the Emperor's prime minister and the second man in the em pire to the Emperor himself." The ratifications j of the treaty were afterwards, on the lfith of Augu- t, exchanged in proper form at Pei-tsang. ' As the exchange did not take place until after the day described by the treaty, it is deemed proper, Wore its publication, again to submit it to the Senate. It is but simple justice to the Chinese authori ties to observe, that, throughout the whole transaction, they appear to have acted in good ; fiith and a friendly spirit towards the United States. luisfti ue that this has been done.after their own peculiar fashiou ; but we ought to regard with a lenient eye the ancient customs of an empire dating back for thousands of years, so far as this may be consistent with our own | national honor. The conduct of our minister ; oo the occasion has received ray entire appro- • bat ion. la order to carry out the spirit of this treaty, and fa give it full effect, it became necessary to conclude two supplemental conventions— the on -tor the adjustment and satisfaction of i the claims of our citizens, and the other to fix j the tn;a on imports and exports, and to reg- j ulite the transit duties and trade of our mer chants with China. This duty was satisfactori ly performed by our lit.' minister, ihese c.n- j vent ions bear date at Shanghai on the Bth No- j vender 1358. Having been considered in the light of binding agreements subsidiary to the! principal treat)* and to be carried into execu- : lion without delay, they do not provide for any ■ formal ratification or exchange of latitications ! by the contraction parties. This was nat dee med necessary by the Chinese, who are already • proceeding in g id laitii to satisfy the claims of our citizens, and, it is hoped, to carry out the other provisions of the conventions. Stiil I thouht it was proper to submit them to the j Senate, by which they were ratified on the 3d March, 1859. The ratified copies, however, did not reah Shanghai until after the departure of our minister t• ~ Peking, and tiiese conven- J tions coul.l not, therefore, be exchanged at the same time with the principal treaty. No doubt is entertained that they will be minted and exchanged by the Chinese government, should this be thought advisable ; but, under the circumstances presented, 1 shall consider them binding engagements trorr. their date on both : parties, and cause them to be publisried as such ' for the information and guidance ot our mer chants trading with the Chinese empire. It allords me much satisfaction to inform you that all our difiicullies with the republic oi ; Paraguay have been satisfactorily a sjusteJ. ii , happily did not become necessary to employ the force (or this purpose which Congress had placed at my command, under their joint resolu tion of 2d June, ISSB. On the contrary, the President of that republic, in a friendly spirit, acceded to thejust and reasonable demands ot the Government of the Uni'td States. Our commissioner arrived at Assumption, the capi tal ol the republic, on the 25th of January, 1859, and left it on the 17th of February, having in three weeks ably and successfully accomplished all the objects ;of his mission.— The treaties which he has concluded will be immediately submitted to the Senate. In the view that the employment of ether than peaceful means might become necessary to obtain "just satisfaction" from Paraguay, a strong naval force was concentrated in the waters of the La Plata to await contingencies, whilst our commissioner ascended the rivers to Assumption. The Navy Department is enti tled to great credit for the promptness, efficien cy and economy with which this expedition was fitted out and conducted. It consisted of nineteen armed vessels, great and small, car rying 200 guns and 2,500 men, all under the command of the veteran and gallant Shubrick. The entire expenses of the expedition have been defrayed out of the ordinary appropria- lions for the naval service, except the sum o' $289,009, applied to the purchase of seven o! the steamers, constituting a part of if, under the authority of the naval appropriation act ol the 3d March last. It is believed that these stea mers are worth more than their cost, and they are all now usefully and actively employed in • thp naval service. The appearance of so large a farce, fitted out in such a prompt manner, in lite far distant waters ot the La Plata, and the admirable con duct oi the officers and men employed in it, have had a happy, effect in favor of our coon try [throughout ali that remote portion of the world. Our relations with the great empires of France and Russia, as well as with ail other Governments o the continent of Europe, un less we may except that of Spain, happily con tinue to be of the most friendly character. • In my last annual message I presented a statement of the unsatisfactory condition of our relations with Spain ; and i regret to say that this lias not maleiiallv improved. A'llhout special reference to other claims, even the "Cuban claims," the payment of which has been ably urged by our ministers, and in winch more than a hundred of our citizens are direct ly interested, remain unsatisfied, notwithstan ding both their justice and their amount ($l2B 63b 54) had been recognised and ascertained by the Spanish government itself. I again recommend that an appropriation h* made "to be paid to the Spanish government for the purpose of distribution among the claim ants in the Amistad case." In common with two of my predecessors, I entertain no doubt tiiat this is required by our treaty with Spain of the 27th October, 1795. The failure to dis charge this obligation has been employed by the cabinet ot .Madrid as a reason against the settlement of our claims. I need not repeat the arguments which I ur ged in my ln-t annual message in favor of the acquisition of Cuba by lair purchase. .My o pitwous on that measure remain unchanged. I therefore, again invite the serious attention of Congress to tbis important subject. Without a recognition of this policy on their part, it wiil be almost impossible to institute negotiations with any reasonable prospect of success. Until a recent period there was good reason to believe that I should be able to announce to you on the present occasion that our difficulties with Great Britain, arising out of the Clayton and Bulwer treaty, bail been finally adjusted in a manner alike honorable and satisfactory to both parties. D%om causes, however, which the British government had not anticipated, they have not yet completed treaty arrangements with the republics of Honduras and .Nicaragua, io pursuance of the understanding between the two governments. It is, nevertheless, confi dently expected that this good work wiil ere long be accomplished. Whilst indulging the hope that no other sub ject remained which could disturb the good un derstanding between the countries, the question arising out of the adverse claims ol the parties to the Lland of San Juan, under the Oregon treaty of the Istli of June, 1546, suddenly as sumed a threatning prominence. In order to prevent unfortunate collisions on that reinite frontier, the late Secretary of State, on the 17th July, 15.).), addressed a note to Mr. Cra.npton, then British mini.-ter at Washington, commu nicating to him a copy ol the instructions which he [.Mr. Maicy] had given, on the 14th July, to Gov. Stevens, ot Washington Territory, hav ing a special reJ'ereuce loan "apprehended con flict between our citizens and the British sub jects on the Island oi Sao Juan." To prevent this, the governor was instructed " that the of ficers of the Territory should abstain from all acts on the disputed grounds which are calcula ted to provoke any contlicts, so far as it can be done without implying the concession to the authorities of Great Britain.of an exclusive right over the premises. The title ought to be settled before either party should attempt to ex clude the other by force, or exercise complete and exclusive sovereign fights within the fairly disputed limits." , la acknowledging (lie receipt on the next day of Air. Marcy's note, the British minister expressed his entire concurrence "in the pro priety of the course recommended to the gover nor of Washington Territory by your [Mr. Marcy's] instructions to that officer," and sta ting that he had "lost no time in transmitting a copy of that document to the governor-general of British North America," and had "earne f :- ly recommended to his Excellency to take such treasures as to him may appear best calcuiaud to secure, on the part of the British local au thorities and the inhabitants of the neighborhood ol the line in question, the exercise of the same spirit of forbearance which is inculcated by you [.Mr. Marcy] on the authorities ana citizens of the United States." Thus matters remained upon the faith of this arrangement until the 9th July last, when Gen. Harney paid a visit to the Island. He found upon it twenty-five America# residents with tiieir families, and also an establishment of the Hudson's Bay Company for the purpose of rai sing sheep. A short time before hi< arrival one ot these residents had shot an animal belonging to the company, whilst trespassing upon bis premises, lor which, however, he offered to pay twice its value; hilt that was refused. Soon al ter "the chief factor ot the company at Victoria, Mr. Dalles, son-in-law of Governor Douglas, came to the Island in the British sloop-of war Satellite, and threatened to take "this American (Mr. Cutler) by force to .Victoria, to answer for the trespass he had committed. The Ameri can seized his ritle and told Mr. Dalles if any such attempt was made he would kill him o'> the spot. The affair then ended." Under these circumstances, the Amer^ 3ll settlers presented a petition to the Ge.wral, "through the United States inspector ol customs, Air. Ilubbs, to place a force upou the<'and to protect them from the ludiaus as ?li as the oppressive interference of the authorities of the \VIS:,E; HL'Jzbew, as§3. Hudson Hay company at Victoria with their rights as American citizens." The General im mediately responded to this petition, and order ed Caf>tain George E. Pickett, 9th infantry, '•to establish his company on Bt-llevue, or San- Juan island, on some suitable position near the harbor at tl|i- southeastern extremity." This order was.promptly obeyed, and a military post was established at the place designated. The (orce was afterwards increased, so that by the last return the whole number of troops then on the island amounted in the aggiegate to 691 men. Whilst I do not deem it proppr on the pres ent occas:o:> to go further into the subject and discuss the weight which ought to be attached to the statements of the British colonial author ities, the accuracy of the*informa tion on which the gallant General acted, it was due to him that I should thus present his own reasons tor issuing the order to Captain Pickett. From these it is quite clear his object was to prevent the British authorities on Van couver's island from exercising jurisdiction over American residents en the Island of San Juan, as well as to protect them against the incursions of the Indians. Much excitement prevailed for some time throughout that region, and serious danger cf j collision between the parties was apprehended. The Biitish had a large naval fjree in the vi cinity: and it is but an act of simple justice la the admiral on that station to state that he wise ly ami discreetly forbore to commit any hostile act, but determined to refer the whole affair to his government and awa t tlmir instructions. This aspect ol the matter, in my opinion, de manded serious attention. It would have been a great calamity for both nations had they been precipitated into acts of hostility not on the question of title to the island, but merely con cerning what should be its condition during the intervening period whilst the two governments might be employed in settling the question to which of them it belongs. For tnis reason Lieutenant General Scott was despatched on the 17th September last to Washington Territoiy* to take tmmediate command of the United States farces on the Pacific coast should he deem this necessary. The main object of his mission waa to carry out the spirit of the precautionary ar rangements between ths late Secretary of State and the British minister, and thus to preserve the peace and prevent collision between the British and American authorities pending tho negotiations oetween the two governments. Entertaining no doubt of the validity of our title, I need scarcely add that, in any event, Ameri can citizens were to be placed on a footing at least as favorable as that of British subjects, it be ing understood that Captain Pickett's company should remain on the island. It is proper to cb ser*riidt considering the distance from the scene df actio"#,' and in ignorance of what might have transpired on the spot before the General's arnval, it was necessary to leave much to his discretion, and I am happy to state the event has proven that this discretion could not have been intrusted to more competent hands. Gen. Scott has recently returned from his mission, having successfully accomplished its objects, and there is no longer any good reason to apprehend a collision between the forces of the two coun tries during the pendency of the existing nego tiations. I regret to inform you that there has been no improvement in the affairs of Mexico since my last annual message, and I a:n again obliged to ask the earnest attention of Congress to the unhappy condition of that republic. The constituent Congress of Mexico, which adjourned on the 17th February, 1857, adopted a constitution and provided for a popular elec tion. This took place in the following July, [1857.] and General Comonfort was chosen President, almost without opposition. At the same election a new Congress was chosen, whose first session commenced o:i the 16th of Septem ber, [1857.] By the constitution of 1857 the presidential term was to begin on the Ist of December, [1857.] and continue for four years. On that day General Coinonfort appeared belor& the assembled Congress in the City of Mexico, took the oath to support the new constitution, and was duly inaugurated as President. Within a month afterwards he had been driven from the capital, and a military rebellion bad assign ed the supreme power of the republic to Gener al Zuioaga. The constitution provided that i* the absence of the President ins ctlice sho"d devolve upon the Chief" Justice of the Sup'-me Court, and, Gen. Comonfort having J< t the country, tins functionary, General JuarA pro ceeded to form, at Guanajuato, a cons'tut ioaai government. Before this was officiary known, however, at the capital, the govern r-ot of Zulo acra had been recognized by the er if e diplomat ic corps, including the minister of the United Suites, as the u'e facto government of .Mexico, file constitutional President, - evertheless,main tained his position with Jiri JFSS anil was soon established with his c? J| net at "Vera Cruz. Meanwhile, the governr-*nt>of Zuioaga was ear nestly resisted in mam paitsot the republic, and even in the capful, a portion of the arrrv having pronounced Jgainst it, its functions weie declared terminated, and an assembly of citi zens was invited'or the choice of a new Presi dent. Thisas-nibly elected General Miratnon, hut that oflit.' repudiated the plan under which he was chr'-n, and Zuioaga was thus restored to his pr. 'ious position. He assumed it, how ever, o'J to withdraw from it, and Miramon, ha vim- become, by his appointment, "President Subs'' ,u, ">" codtinues, with that title, at tho t ie3 d ol the insurgent parly. In my last annual message 1 communicated ;o Congress the circumstances under which the late Minister of the United States suspended his otneial relations with the central government, and withdrew Irom the country. It was impt sible to maintain friendly intercourse with a government, like that at the capital, under whose usurped authority wrongs were constant ly committed, but never redressed. Had this been an established government, with its pow- VOL. 3, NO. *23.