VOL. 49. AMERICAN'VQhUNTEEII. PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY JIORNIN<* BY JOHN B. BRATTON. T E II M S Sunscnn'TtON. —One Dollar and Fifty Cents; paid fn advance; Two Dollars if paid within the your; sod Two Dollars and-Fifty Cents, if npt paid'within the year. These terms will bo rigidly adhered to in every instance. No subscription discontinued until. jJI arrearages are paid unless at the option of the Editor, • ’ ' ./\i)VßimPK>rßSTS—Accompanied by theoAsn, and not exceeding, ono square,, will bo inserted three tiilics for One Dollar, and twenty-five cents for each’ additional insertion. ' Those of a greater length in proportion. Joii-Phintixg- —Such ns Hand-bills, Postijig-bills, Pamphlets, Blanks, Labels, Ac. Ao., executed with Accuracy apd at tlio ahortes -notice. .PRESIDENT'S-.MESSAGE. J'ellow- Citizens of. the Senate and House of Rcnresentatives f •Since your lastannual assembling another year of health and . bountiful harvests has passed ; and While it has not pleased the Al mighty to bless us with-a return of peace,"we can but press on guided by the- best light He pics us, trusting that inllisbwn good time wise way all will .yet he well. .■ .. The correspondence touching foreign affairs, which has taken place during the.last year, is herewith submitted, in virtual compliance vviili a request to ■ that effect'made by the Ihaise : of Representatives near the close of. the last session of Congress. . Foreign Relations, If the condition of our relations with other nations is less gratifying than it has usually licen at former periods, it is certainly more <iitisfiicto.ry than a nation so unhappily dis-. triicted as ■. e are, might reasonably have ap prehended. ... , In the,month of June last, there were some grounds to expect that the maritime'powers, which at the beginning of our.domestic dim cullies, so unwisely and .unnecessarily, as we think, recognized the. insurgents ajliolligor citl, would soon recede from that position,, which has proved only leas injurious to them selves.'than to our own. country. But the .temporary reverses, which afterwards bofel the hatiunal arms and which were exaggera ted by our,owudisloyal-citizens abroad, have, hitherto delayed'that act of simple justice,— flic civil war, which lias so radically changed fur the moment the occupations and habits' (ifihc.American'peoplo,. hast-' necessarily dis turbed the social'Condition, and’affected very deeply the, prosperity of the -nations with ■which -.we have carried on h commerce that j lies bi'on steadily increasing throughout a i periou of half a centuryi It. lias,, at the same time,-excited political viuhit p;i and apprehensions,"which-have-pro ,. i.ee.l a profound agitation throughout the . /yktt.-«.,,l wiii'tii:- •In. this nnusaal-'.agitatioif »e liii e fin-Uorno from ■ taking part in. any ■ ioittrov i-rny he.twoeh. lorcign state’s atid he ti.-eoR parties or Iberians’in such Stat.es, Wit have attempted no ’propngd,miisin anti m-kmnvloilg.i.Hl no'revolution. But .we have, I left to every natioti the exclusive conduct and iminagumcnt of itsuw.ii affairs. . . Onr struggle has been’of-course cdntem p I kited by Im-eign nations withreli'i-onco-less I" its own merits thnn to its supposed and. often . exaggerated effects and consequences resulting to those nations, themselves. Ke\- iirtlioless, com pi itin t on the part of this gov ernment, oven if it wore j ust, would certainly ho unwise.-. . The treaty with Great Britain for the sup pression of the slave trade,has been put into operation with a good prospect of complete success. It is an occasion of special pleasure to acknowledge that, the execution of it on the part of Her Majesty’s Government has been marked with a jealous respect for the .authority'df the United States, and the rights of their,loyal’and moral citizens. ... The convention wi^h.Hanover for the abo lition of the Siadt Dues, has been carried into full client under the act of Congress for that purpose. A blockade of throe thousand miles of sen const con hi not lie established and a igofmisly enforce 1 in a season of great oompieroial ac tivity I.ko the p-esont,' without c.anmitliug occasional mistakes and inflicting uninten tional injuries upon foreign.nations.anil their subjects.' A oiv.il' war, occurring in a eonri- I' y- where foreigners reside and carrying on t adc under, treaty ,stipulations, is noucssari-' ly fruittul of complaints of tiio violation of ■ Ucatral rights.- All such enllissinns tend to excite misapprehensions, and possibly to pro duce mutual reclamations betwesn nations which lime a common interest in preserving peace and friendship. In eleai-eases, ofthesc kinds, I have, as-far as possible, heard aiid redressed complaints which have boon'pre sented by friendly powers. •Ihero is still, however,, a large and aug moutiug number of doubtful cases upon which ic ,uovermnont..is - unable to agree with the governments whose protection is'demanded iv tin? claimants. There arc,, moreover many cases in winch the United States or their cit izens suffer wrongs from the naval or military authorities of foreign nations, which the gov ernments of these States are not atoneo pre inn! f". 'i 01 ' 1 ' 0 * 3 ', 1 I ‘ av «. proposed to some 10 . lol £ n States, time interested, mutual cunyeiitions to examine and adjust such oom , This proposition has been made os ‘ y Gl '. oatßl 'itain, to Franco, to Spain, i hall 1 U - SB,I V . In , cnob ■ n«wo it has been Kimllj received, but has notyetbeon formal in!m’ 1 ’ 1 ®' 1, 1 de . e ‘" U n, y dut y to'rooom'- 7'," appropriation in behalf of the own i,wl!t ii’ 0 < .T,' VO S !an IjarkAdmiral P. Tord vontkii i, W [| IC 1 veBsel was - in M, *y 18G1 - P>’«- for™ <f y r, llo com mander of the blockading wlf, Glllu ' les| on from leaving that port tu ' '! C ? r '7 l ’’ notwithstanding a similar priv- !° l l beGjro boon granted to an cnnJ 11 !! ° d ' lo etcd the Secretary of State to riin.i t l, °,P ft r ei 'B in the case to bo commit ni en t<> tiio proper Committees, nn l ,. ICi P* onR have been made to me by ,'ee Americana of African descent to cul "'! 1C ' 1 em 'grntion, with a view to snob i, , ullll, ' lltIl)n ns was contemplated in recent mid i Goll Kress. Other parties, at homo otii , I(lad —smno from interested motives, c-. 8 ! 3 P atl '‘«tio considerations, and still oth li'uvo" 1 v enco(l G y pliilanthropic sentiments, (|,,, n similhr measures; while,-an ioim li ' lul ! d > Be voral of tlie Spanish Atiior fieodh r f' d '° have protested against I lie te rrito'n e s SUob oobjn * os to their respective Is mm.° r tlleso c 'rcnmstanco3l liayo declined cut « “""y colony to any State with-- 'iiinu ' alu '"S:.tho consent of its govorri reivu’ai I ' R " n S r «finient on its p-u-t to re ridn» J’roteet sudi emigrants in all tiio Pnio , IC i° mon - And I have at the same "''thin il! , to . tbo kov ‘‘ral States situated to nomit! 'i ■ ro P u;s or liaving colonies tlierd, JiUiJ ,i 11 ” "■ Jth them, subject to the advice “ Mwdul ol the Seuiitf, to favor the vol untary emigration of persona of that class to their respective territories, upon conditions, which shall be equal, just and humane. Liberia and llriyti are as yet the only countries to which colonists of African de scent from hero could go with certainty of being received and adopted as citizens, and I regret to say that such persons ns contemplate > colonization donotseeni so willing to migrate to those countries as to some others, nor so . willing as I-think their interest demands. I believe, however, the opinion among them in 'this respect is improving, and that ore long there will .be an augmented.and considerable might'ion to both these countries from the United States. The now commercial treaty between the . United States and the Sultan,of Turkey has* been carried into execution. A commercial ‘and consular treaty has been negotiated sub-, jeot to the Senate’s consent with Liberia, iind a similar negotiation is now pending with the RepubUo'rif Ilayti. A-considerable im provement of the national 'commerce is ex pected to result from these measures. Our relations with Great Britain, Franco, Spain, Portugal, Russia, Prussia, Denmark, Sweden,- Austria, the Netherlands, Italy, Roino. and the other European States, remain undisturbed;. A T ory favorable, relations also continue to be maintained vyith Turkey, Mo rocco, China and Japan. • During the last year there has not only, been ho change of our previous relations with | the independent States ot oiir.own continent, but-more'friendly sentiments than have here tofore existed arc believed to bo entertained by those neighbors, whose safety arid progress arc so. intimately connected with our own. This statement especially applies to Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Honduras, Peru and Chili. , ■ The Commissioh-iinderthe Convention with the Republic hf Now Grenada closed its sess ion without having .audited and passed upon* all the claims which were submitted to it.-..A proposition is pending to revive the. Conven-, turn, that itmay. beablo to'do more complete justice.. . The joint 'commission between the United States and the Republic of Costa Rica, has completed ■ its ,labors. arid submitted its re port.; I Itttve favitred the ; project for connecting .(ho United States with Europe by uu. Atlan tic telegraph,- and a similar project to, extend the telegraph from San Francisco to Connect by. a I’ic'fic telegraph with the lino .'which is being extended across the Russian Empire, The Territories of the U. S. ' The territories of the United States, with unimportant, exceptions, 'have remained.un d slat-bed by the-oivij war, and they are ex ihiting such evidence of. prosperity as justi fies an expectation that-smiie of them..will soon be in, a condition, to be.organized, as Stales,'and be .Constitutionally admitted -into the Federal Union. The immense mineral resources of some of these tori-iturlds uuglit to Ini developed as rapidly as possible.- -Every s ep in djiat divee.i-m '-,v..uhl havq a tendency. ih unpriiva Ilia r.cvomte.s of I ho-Government ■a .d 4'tothi-di the burdens of the people.’ ft (sovonlty ul your serious 'consideration wheth er some cviiaordit-.ai-y measures' to' promote ilttif cud e..und; be adopted. , ’.- . ’ldle m"ans which suggests itself as. most .likely to ho etieeiive i.s a scientific exploration of the mitioral-regions in .those territories, with a v'ew to tlm publication of itsTostlt at •home and in foreign tint if os—a result which cannot lai.t to he auspicious. The C.vrye/wy Question. The condition of (ho finances’will , claim your -most diligent consideration. " Tho vast expenditures incident to) the military and naval operations'required fur the suppression of tho rebellion, have hitherto boon met with 'a promptitude and certainty unusual in sim ilar. circumstances,-.and the public credit has been fully maintained. ' .- Tiio oniftinuaiiflo of the war,'however, and the increased disbursements made.necessary by the augmented forces.now in the field, do : iiiand your best "redactions ns'to. the' best nniiles of providing the necessary revenue, .without injury,to busincst,and with the least possible bunion upon labor. ■ T ie suspension of specie p'aymont .by the banks, soon after the commencement of your lust session made large issues of . United Suites note ■ unavoidable. In no other way .could the. | ayai.cnt of the troops,, and’the sat isfaction of other j ust demands be so econom ically, or so well provided for. Tlie. judicious legislation .of. Congress se curing the rceeivability nf those notes for hums and'internal duties, and making them a legal tender for other debts, has made them a universal eurrenhy, and has satisfied, par tially, at least, and for the time,'tiio long felt want of a uniform circulating medium, say ing thereby to the people, immense sums, in discounts and exchanges. 1 A return to specie payments, howoyer, at the earliest period compatible with duo re gard to all the interests concerned, should ever b 6 kept in view-. Fluctuations in tho value of ourronoy are always injurious, and to reduce these fluctuations to tho lowest possible point will always bo a leading pur pose in wiso legislation. Convertibility— prompt and certain convertibility into obin is generally acknowledged to bo the best and surest-safeguard against them, and it is ex tremely doubtful whether , a circulation of United States notes, payable in coin, and suf ficiently largo for tho wants of tho people, can bo permanently, usefully, and safely maintained. Is there then any other mode in which tho necessary provision for the pub lic wants can bo made, rnd tho great ad van-, tage.s of a safe and uniform ourronoy se cured ? I know of none which promises .snob cer tain results, and is, at the same time, so un objectional, as tho organization of banking associations, under a general act of Congress, well guarded in its provisions. To snob as- sociations tho Government might furnish cir culating notes on the security .of United States bonds, those notes prepared under the supervision of proper officers, being uniform in appearance and security, and convertible always into coin, would at once protect labor against tho evils of a vicious currency, and facilitate commerce by cheap and safe ex changes. A moderate reservation from tlie interest on tlie bonds would compensate the United States for tho preparation and distri bution df tho notes and a general supervision of the system, and would lighten tho burden of that' part of tho public debt employed as securities. Tho public credit, moreover, would bo greatly improved, and the negooi ation of now loans greatly facilitated by° tho steady market demand forGovormnont bonds, which the adaption of ■ tho proposed system would create. It is an additional recommendation of tho measure, of comidorablo weight in my judg ment, that it would reconcile, ns far as possi ble, all existing interests, by the opportunity offered to existing institutions, to reorganize under tiio net, substituting only the secured uniform nation circulation.' for the local and various circulation 'secured and unsecured, now issued by them. > The Finance.!. The receipts into the Treasury, from till sources, including loans and the balance from the preceding year, for the fiscal year ending on the,3oth of Juno, 18112, were $583,885,- 247 00—of which sum 830,050.370 02 wore derived from customs, 81,705,331 73 from tho direct tax. From public lauds, §152,203 77; from miscellaneous .sources, §031.787 0-b; from loans in all forma, §529,002,405 50. §2,287,005 HO, was the bal- The remainder, nnco from bust year The .disbursements during the same period wore—• For Congressional, Executive and Judicial purposes, For foreign intercourse, For miscellaneous expenses, . including the mints, loans, post-office deficiencies, eol . lection of revenue end oth er like charges, For ospen.es under the Into-, ’ rior'Departmonf, 3.-102.085 53 Under the War'Department, 301,305,-107 3,0 Under the Navy Department, ■ 42,074,509 09 For int’gt on the public deh'f,P 13,199,32-1 45 For payment of- the'public. , «, ■ debt,'including-the .roim- ; . hursemont of thc.tninpura--'- ry loan and redemption, •; 90.09,0,902 01) Making an aggregate of • §571),8-l 1,703.20 And leaving a balance .in the Treasury on the Ist day of July 1802,.0f’&[3,04i!,541>.51. , It should ho observed that the suin'of SOu,- 096,922 Oil expended fur.the'reimbursements and rodeniptiiin of the' public debt being in cluded ajsii in the loans made,-may ho-prop erly deducted both from the receipts atid ex penditures, leaving -the actual receipts fur the year, fr-1.H7.788 324 Sl7, anil the expendi tures f-174,7-14,788.10. O.lior information on the subject of lli-a finances tylll.be (oniul-in I lie report, of tiro Secretary of the Treasury, to whose -state-, incuts and views 1 invite year' most candid and ctiasidciate attention. ■ The reports of. the Secretary of War ami of the Navy ate herewith.transmitted. These reports, though lengthy, rive-scarcely m/.-tro Than brief abstracts of (lie very niuiieruiis and extensive transactions, and operations, conducted through, these; Departments. Nor could I give a summary of them here upon nny.priheiplo which would admit i.fit being much shorter than the reports themselves, .1 therefore content myself with lay lug the re ports before you-and asking youi- attention to them. It gives me, pleasure to, report a"decided improvement in the liniuic'n! eoiidit.oVi of the- Post-office Depart merit. As compared with several preceding years, the receipts'for the fiscal year'lB(sl, amounted to §8,349;2%,41), which omlirwced-revenue troiu all the-Stales of Lite Union for Ihreo-qnufters of l-mit years. Notwithstanding the cessation-of revenue from the so culler! sece l ing Etatos during the. lust fiscal year, the in.ire use of tho oorres r-miletiee of tho loyal States hits'been -sufii linit to produ'em tv revchiu! during same ymr, ol §8,33'.).820,90, being nttiy Soil,ooo less titan., was duri’ved fr'ml all tho Btifc«of the Union during the'previous year. The expenditures' .show a tlil.l.m-rc favorable result.. The amount expended in 1811, was §13,606,705,- 41. For the, last year the amount has been' reduced tc si I. !25,3!)4 13, shuwinga decrease of- about §3.481 SOU in the expenditures as ..bomptVod' with tho preceding year, and .about.§3.7so,ooo'as compared with lito fiscal year 4861). ...,'. The. deficiency in tho Department for the previous year ' was , §4.777,966,98. For the last fiscal year it was reduced to §2,112,814, 57. 'These (avm-ahb results tire in part ow ing to tho cessation of nm'il service in the in snrj-octiomiry Slates, and in'part-to a care ful review of. at I tfie expenditures in that De partment on the interist of economy, -Tho effi ciency of tho postal service, it is believed, has also been much improved. This P. M. General lias also opened a cor respondence-. through the Department ■o! State-with foreign governments proposing a convention of postal representatives, for-the purpose of simplif, ing the rates of foreign postage, and to expedite, the foreign mails. This proposition, equally important’to our adopted citizens and to the commercialinter ests. of this Country,-has been lavorabltry en tertained - and'agreed to by all, tho govern ments from whom replies have been received. I ask tho attention of Congressmen to tho suggestion of the Postmaster General, in .his report, rosneoting (lie further legislation-,re quired, inUtis 1 opinion, for tho benefit of the postal service. , The Public hands. Tlie-Secretary of the Interior fepni-ls as follows in regard to tlie public lands; The public .lands have, -ceased to lie n 'source, .of. revenue. From the Ist of -inly. 180-1; to tho 30th of Sop'emhoi-, 1802, the en tire casli receipts from the sale of lands were & 137,-170,26 —a sum much less than the ex penses of our land system during tho same period. The Homestead law, which will take effect on tho first of January next, offers such in-' duuements In settlers-that sales for cash can not ha oxf-euted to an extent to meet tlje expenses of the General Band Office, and tho cost of surveying and bringing (he land into market. Th.o discrepancy between tho sum hero stated as arising from the sales of tho public lands- and- tiio sunn derived from tiio, same source as reported (rom the Treasury Department, arises, as. I under stand, from the fact that Hie periods of time,' though apparently wore not really coincident at the beginning point—the Treasury report including a considerable sum now wliioli had provimisly boon reported from tlie Interior, Biifiioioiitly large to greatly overreach the sum derived from tho throe months now reported upon by tho Secretary of tiio Interior, and not by the Secretary of the Treasury. The Indian Tribes. The Indian tribes upon onr frontiers have,- during the past year, manifested a spirit of insubordination, and at several points have engaged in open hostilities against the white settlements in their vicinity. Tiio tribes oc cupying tho Indian country smith of Kansas renounced their allegiance to tho United States, and entered into treaties with the in surgents. Those who remained loyal to the United States wore driven from the Coun try. , , „ Tho Chief of the Cliorokees has visited this city for tho purpose of restoring tho for mer relations of the tribo with tho United States. He alleges that they wore constrain ed by a superior force to enter into treaties with the insurgents, and that the United States neglected to furnish tlie protection which their treaty stipulations required. In tlie month of August Inst, tho Sioux In dians in Minnesota attacked tho settlements in their vicinty with extreme ferocity, killing “OUR COUNTRY—MAY IT ALWAYS BE RIGHT—BUT RIGHT OR WRONG OUR COUNTRY.' *■ CARLISLE, Pxi,, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11,1861 $5,939^009.29 1.339.710,35 11,'129,771 50 anil improving tlie'lllinois fiver, is‘preso:rf.ed in lire report of. Col. W.ebstor to tho Soor.otary of.W.tiri lind now. trnnsmitted'to Congress. I rcsijoctfnlly.ftiiknttoritiorito.it..': Ayncnlluraf, To carry orifc-the provision of. tho act. of .Congress-of the 15th of May last, I Have caused the Department of..A"rioultur<r of the Dili led' Staten to bo organised. Tire Commis sioner'infirmis lire that, witlrnr a- period of a few months,'that department! has established i\h ■ extensive 'system.of correspondence and exchanges, both afhome and, abroad, which promises to cfTerti hig-hly-boneliuiul results in •the dovdlopmortl of correct .knWledgo of re cent improvements in agricultural, in tiro in troduction of-, new prodnutsvuiid in tire col lection ; cf- the ligricultiuo ctadslics of the dilTeverit Stales. , ! Also, that it. wilV-qo'.'.u to dui tribftte largely, sjod.i, : cereal’s, plants and cut tings, and Iras already published aitd.liberal ly. dill'll sod:' nr itch .valuable, information,. in, nn 'tiuipatiori of a more elaborate report, which will .in dire time bo furnished, embracing sonic valuable tests.in chemical science now in .progress in tiro laboratory.' ■ Tiro creation of this Department was for the .more imiheiliuto hobcUfc ui'a largo class of our m.) h st. valuable citizens, iiml I.trust that (he liberal basis upon which ic h.as boen'organiz c.t will not only, meet your approbation, but that it will realize, at no distant <lay all the fondest anticipations -.(# its in oat sanguine friends and become Uio soaro’o of advantage 16 all our people. Slavery and Emancipation, On Hie £23'day .of September last, a pro clamation-was isHuod by the Executive, a co py ol which is herewith submitted, lii ae u.irdarico with tfio purpose, expressed in the second paragraph of that paper, "I now, res pect l.u))y 'recall your attention to what may he called .“ o.mvp jnsatiem' emancipation." A nation may he said to consist .of its ter ritory, its! people,and its laws,. The territory is the only part which is of certain durabili ty. “ Ono ’ generation passoth and another emnelli, ijut tlio. partli-auidclh forever.” It is of tlie first importance to duly consider and estimate this.cvcr enduring fact. That portion of-tho,oaf.th’s-surfaeo, which is owned and inhabited by the'.people, of the United States, isnvcll adapted to ho the hpino of one national famUy-and it is'not-well adapted for two or more. Its vast extent and. its variety of-climate and productions are' of advantage in lliis ago for one people. Whatever they might have been in'former ages; steam, tele graphs and inventions have brought those to ho an 'advantageous' combination for One united people. '.ln the, inaugural' address, I briefly pointed out the total inadequacy of disunion as a remedy for the differences be- tween the people of the two sections., " I- did so in language-which.l.cannot improve, and which, therefore, X hog leave to repeat: ; “ One. section pfbur country bclioros slaw cry is fight and ought to ho extended, while tli’o other belieye's,it is wrong niid'ought hot bo extended.''-'This is the only, substantial dispute. The fugitive slave clause of the Constitution and the law for the suppression of the foreign slave trade, are each as well enforced perhaps, as any laws,can over, bo in a community where the'.moral sense of the people imperfectly supports tlio law itself. The great body of the people,.abide by tlio dry legal obligation in both oases, and a few break over in each. This. I think, cannot bo perfectly cured, and it would'bo worse in both cases after the separation'of the sections limn before, The lor.eign.-slavo trade, now ini perfectly su ppressod,would ho ultimately re vived without resttiotion in ono.soction, while fugitive slaves, now only partially surrender ed'!’would not ho surrendered at all by the other. Physically speaking, wo cannot separate. Wo cannot remove our respective , sections from each other, nor build impassable walls between them. A husband and wife may bo divorced and got out of the presence and be yond the reach of each other, but the differ ent parts of our country cannot do this. They cannot but remain face to face, and in tercourse, either amicable or hostile, must continue between them. It is possible, then, to make that intercourse move advantageous or more satisfactory after separation than be fore ? Oan aliens hiako treaties easier, than friends can make laws ? Can treaties be more faithfully enforced between aliens than laws can among friends? Suppose you go to war-you cannot tight always, andl whom after much loss on both sides, and. no gain on cither, you cease fighting, the identical old question nnjta terms of intercom so aio aS aM.ori ) is n no o “iue, straight or crooked, suita ble for a national boundary upon which to dhido Trace through from east to west, upon the lino between the free and the slave country, and wo shall find a little more than a third of its length are rivers, easy to bo crossed and populated or soon to bo populat- indiscriminately men, women and children. /I'liia attack was wholly unexpected, and therefore no moans of defence had boon pro vidod. It is estimated that nirt less than eight hundred persons were hilled hy the In dians, and a largo amount of property wain destroyed. How this outbreak was induced is not definitely .known, and suspiui' ms which .'may'bo u'njuafncod not be stated.’■ Information was received by -the Indian Borean, • from ,different source's, about the, , timohostilit.ioswerocommenocd, that-ii sinuil .tanepus’ attack 'was. to ho, male upon' the white settlements, by nit the Indian tribes bps tween the Mississippi river and the, .Hooky MounUtins. The State of; .Minnesota has. suffered great injury from.'ihi-; Indian war.. A largo pni tion. of her territory has been da-- populated and a severe loss- has been sustain ed by the deetruotioirof property. Tho petit pie of that. Slate manifest, much .anxiety for the removal of the tribes beyond theTunits-of the State as a guarantee against future hostile ties. The' Commissioner of Indian Affairs •will furnish full details. ■ I submit fur your . ospfeiul-consideration whether our Indian system -blu II not be i;c- . mudollr-d. .Many wise and. good, men have, impressed me with the belief th.it-this dan be ■profitably done. ■ ■■ ‘ l’ac I fie 'Railroads', vtv I submit a.statement .of the proceedings of the Commissioners, which shows the.pi-ogress that has been jnado 'in .(lie enterprise' of. Cun-' slriieting the I’acifia railroad ; and ..this sug gests the, earliest .completion of tins road band also the favorable act,inn of Congress-upon l tie projects now pending before them "for 'en larging the capacities of" tho groat canals in New York.and, Illinois, aa being of vital arid rapidly .increasing,'importance to the whole nation, and especially,to the vast interior' region hereafter- to hd-notiodd at some great er. length. .1 purpose -bavin.)!; prepared and lin’d before yjm', : ai an , early day, -some inter esting -and valuable statistical .information upon tins subject. ,-. The military and commercial importance of enlarging the Illinoisjand Michigan Canal, ed, thickly upon both sides, while nearly all its .remainin'); length are merely surveyor’s Hues, over which people, may walk back and forth, ■ without any .consciousness of their presence.' .No part of this line can bo made any-more difficult to pass hy writing it down on paper or parchment as a national bound a- ■Xhe fact of separation, if it combe, .gives up on the part of tlio seceding section, the fugi | tivo slave clause, along .vitli all other consti tutional obligations upon the sections socod .ed .from, • "while I should expect no treaty stipulation would ever bo made to take its place."", But'there is another difficulty. The great interior, region bounded cast by the Al leghenies, north by, the British, dominions, ■west,-by the Bosky Mountains, and south bv the lino along .which.the culture of corn and cottdn nioets, and which includes part of Vir gimaf.part of Tennessee, ■' all. of ’Kentucky, Oiiib, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, KantSas, lowa, Minnesota, and the Territories ofDacotah, Nebraska and pav't-of ■Colorado, already .. has about ten millions of people,..and will have iifty millions .within fifty, years, if not- prevented, by any political fotly .or mistake 1 . It contains more than, oiiov third of the country owned by the United StatM, ccrtaiiily more t-liaii one million of square .miles. One '•half as; populous "as Mussilu'huSetts already ' is, it : would -have .more than seventy-live million's of people! A glume at the .may shuivs. that, territorially speaking, it is the great body of the republic'. Tho'otlicr.parts are but marginal.b irders to 1 this maginiioicut region' sloping west from ■the - Kooky. Mountains to the .-Pacific, being the deepest’and also the ricbeat.in undevel oped resources, ' . In flip- productions of provisions, grain, grasses, and all which .proceed front them, this great interior region is naturally one of the most impmtant in.llia world.- Ascertain from the statistics the small- proportion, of this region which has just been brought into cultivation, and also tlio largo' and rapidly increasing amount of its products, and wo shall be overwhelmed -withtlie-magnitude of the prospect presented. Aijd.this.region lias m seat coast—touches, no ocean anywhere.- As part of one .'nation its people, now finil, and may forever find, their way to Europe by iS T ow York, to South America and Afi;iea by New 'York, to South America and Africa by'New Orleans, and to -Asia by S.in Ui-an .cisoo ; hut separate oiir common country -i-ito two nations, as designed by. the.present rebellion,‘and-very many of tills'groat inte rior region is thereby out off from some. One' or mure of the outlets, net-only by a physical' harrier but by -embarrassing mid onerous trade regulations.-' And this is tnio whenev er advantage or boundary, lino.may be fixed. I‘iac'o it between .the 1 now .free and slave country', or .'place it silutli -of Kentucky or north of Ohio, and’ still.the truth remains, that none south'of it Caii trade to any port or place' north of it, expect upon .terms'dictated - , by a Government foreign to. Thom. These outlets; Hast'; ,IVfiat,■ and South, aye-indispen sable to the well being of'the people inhabit ing aiid to inhabit this vast interior region. , Which of tho-.thi-ec may be;the best is no proper question ; all-are better than, oituoiv and all of right'belong to that people and; to their,successors forever., Ti;uo'to'themselves, they will not ask'whore a lino of separation shall bo, but will vie, rather that there shall ho no such line. Nor are the, marginal rc rogions loss'interested; in tlio cdmmunieation fo mid through ''thorn to the groat outside world. They, too, and-each of them mus have access to this Egypt of the West, with out paying foil for. the crossing of any nation al boundary.. ■Amendments to the Constitution Projiaset and Considered at Lcnr/th Our national strife springs not -from our permanent past, not from the land wo inhab it. not from,our national homestead. There is no possible severing of this, hut would multiply-. mid not mitigate evils among us. luall its adaptation and aptitudes, it demands union aiid .abhors fact, it would ore long foroo reunion, however much of blood and treasure the s'eparalio i might have oust. Our strife per ains to ourselves, to the passing generation of mon f and it can. ■without convulsion ho crushed forever with the passing of one generation. In this view 1 recommend the adoption of the following resolution’ and. articles, amendatory .to the Constitution of the United States : .-. Resolved, By the Senate and house of Rep-' rosoiitatives of the -United States of America in Congress assembled,' two-thirds, of both Ileuses concurring, that the following articles. ho proposed to the legislatures dr conventions of several States as amendments to the con stitution of the United States, all or .any of widen articles when ratified by three-fourths of the said legislatures or eon volitions, to bo valid as part of. or parts of said. Constitution, viz. Article.—Every State, wherein slavery now exists, which shall abolish Hie.same.therein, at any time or times before the first day of January, in tlio year of onr Cord duo thou sand nine hundred, shall receivecom.penso.trun li'om. the United States as follows to wit. The President of tho United Ejlatcs .shall deliver to every each State, bouda of tlio Uni ted Slates, hearing interest at the rate of— for each slave shown to have been therein, by the eighth' census of this United States, said bonds to be delivered to such States by in- stalmonts, or in one parcel at the completion of the abolishment, accordingly as ,tli.o same shall have boon gradual, or at onetime with in such.. Stata, and interest shall, begin to run upon any such bonds only from the prop er time of its delivery as aforesaid; Any State having received bonds as aforesaid, and aftorvyards re-introducing or tolerating sla very. therein, shall refund to the United States the. bonds so received, or the value thereof, and all interest paid thereon. . ' Article—All slaves win shall have enjoyed actual freedom by the chances of the war at any time before the end of the rebellion, shall bo forever free, but all owners of such who shall not have boon disloyal shall bo compoij: eatod for them at the ralno rates as is provi ded for States adopting tho abolishment o slavery, hut in such a way that no slave shall ho twice accounted for. . Article—Congress may appropriate money and otherwise provide for Colonizing free col ored persons, with their own eminent, at any place or places,^'without tho United States. . I bo"- indulgence to discuss those proposed, articles at some length. Without shivery, rebellion would never have existed; without slavery it could not continue Among tho friends of tho Union there is great diversity of sentiment and of policy in regard to, slavery and tho African race amongst uSi Some would perpetrate slavery ; some would abolish it suddenly, and without compensation ; soino would remove the freed people from us, and some would retain them with us ; and there are yet other minor diversities. -Because of these diversities, wo waste much strength in struggles among our- selves. , By mutuul concession, we should harmon ize and not together. This would ho compro mise, but it would bo ooiuprotniso among the friends, not with the enemies of the Union.— Those articles arc intcndol to embody apian of such mutual concessions. - If the plan shall be adopted, it 5,3 assumed that .emanci pation would follow, at least in several of the .States. ■■ ■ ; . As to the first article the main points are : first, —thooniauoipation ; secondly, the length of lime for .consummating it,, thirty-seven, years ; and thirdly, the Compensation., , The emancipation will lib unsatisfactory to the advocates of'perpetual .slavery, but the length of time should greatoiy mitigate their dissatisfaction.. The time'spares both races from tji'o evils of sudden derangement, in faeffrom the necessity of any derangement, ■while most of those whose liberal course of thought will 'bo disturbed by the measure will have passed away before its consumma tion! •' .They will-novcr see it. ■ Another, class will bail the prospect of emancipation, but will deprecate the length pf time. They will feel- that it gives' too lit tle t-.i the now living slaves. Bat it really gives them, much. It saves them from the vagrant destitution ,• which must largely at tend immediate, emancipation iirioealitfcs vi'licro tlieir .numbers are very great, and it gives inspiring- assurance that their posterity .'shall, be free, forever, .The plan leaves it to 1 pitch;State; choosing to-act'under it, tu-abol- ish slaverynow, or at tboebd of the century -or at any -intpvouiiliato time, or by.degfclis, .extending over the whole or any part of (he period,‘and i t obliges no. two -Slates, to.pro ceed alike. ‘ It aJsij provides f.ir compensation .arid gen erally, the mode of malting it. This,' it weald seem-, mast further mitigate the dissatisfac tion of' those who favor perpetual slavery, ami especially of these who are to receive the ■compensation. Doubt loss some of those who are to pay, and not to • receive, will ■ object: yet the pleasure is both just-and economical. In-a certain sense,; the liberation"of sieves, is .the destruction of property. Property ac quired by dcscentor by purchase.is flic same infany other property. ,It is on loss true'for I'm ving been often said, that the popple of the youth are nut move responsible for the origi nal introduction of this property than are the people of the North, aiul when it is remem bered how unhesitatingly wo all use cotton nnd.sugar, and ahare the profit in dealing in :thom it ,may not be’quito' safe to say,-that the South has been, more responsible than the North lor its continuance. If then, for ,a common object this property is to bo sacrific ed, it is not just that it he done at a common charge? And if with less money, or money more, easily paid, wp .can preserve tjie bene fits of the Uuio.iv by this means belter than we can by the .war alone, j is. it,not.also . eco- nomical to do it ? Dot-us consider it then Lot us ascertain the sum wo have, expend ed' in the wav siuco 1 tlmcompeusated omauoi patloriwas proposed last March, and consider whether, 1 if that measure had been promptly, accoptedby eyon.some oftheshive States the same sum would not have; doneUnora to close the war' than,lias been otherwise done. /■ If so, tlio moss tiro:-would save money and in tij.-it view, would bo a prudent and econom ical measure. Certainly it is not so easy to pay something as.it is to pay .nothing, but.it is easier to pay a large sum tlian.it is. to pay a larger one, acid'-it is easier to'pay any smir j when- wo are able', than it is to pay it before, we are able. The "war, requires -largo sums, and requires them at once. -, . The aggregate sum necessary.for compen sation of course wouhl.be large, but.it-would require no ready-cash, her the bonds even any faster than the cmancipatioiupfogrosses. This might not and probably would nut close 1 before the end of the thirty-seven years. At .that time we shall probably have a hundred millions of, people to share the burden in stead of thirty-one millions as-now. And' not only so, but the increase of our popula tion may bo expected, to continue for. a long time alter that period as .rapidly as before, because our territory will not have become full. ,1 do. not state this .inconsiderately.— At-tbo same ratio of increase which we have maintained 6a an average from onr first na tional census in 1790 until that,of 1860, we, Should in 1090 have a population.of 103,201,■ 415, and why may wo not continue that ra tio far beyond Unit period-? Our! abundant room, pur broad national homestead)' is oiir '-ample resource., Wore our territory as lim ited as are the British Isles, very certainly our population oonldnot expand as stated.— .Instead ot receiving, the foreigu born as-now, ■wo should bo compelled to send part of the native born away. But saeli is not our con dition. We’bava'2,9(s3,ooo square miles.— Europe lias 3,800,00.0, with a population av- eraging.-73J persons to .'.the square mile.— Why may not our country at. sumo:time av erage as’-many.? . Is it less fertile? HaVil mure waste surface, by mountains,-rivers, ikoa, -deserts or other causes ? Is it inferior i Europe in any natural advantage ? If then wo are at some time to bo as populous as Europe—bow soon ? As to when this may be, we mayjudgo by. the past and present. As to when it will bo, if ever, depends much on whether we maintain the Union. Several of our States ■ are above- the • average of Eu rope—73J to the square mile.. Massaohn- aits has 157, UUude island 133, Connection 99, Now York and New Jersey eaeb SO.— Also, the two other groat States of Ponnsyl- viinin ami Ohio nve nut far below, tlio former having 63, and the latter 59. The States already above tlio European average, except Now York, liavu increased in as rapid n ratio binco 'passing that paint ais oyer before, while no one of them is equal to some other parts ol our country in natural capacity for sus taining n dense population., .Taking the ia< tin in tlio aggregate and wo find the popula tion and ratio of increase (or the several deconial periods to be as (oilews;. 1700— 072,50!). 1800 5,305,937 ; 35.02 par vent or increase. 1810 7,23i151-l; 30.15 per cent, ratio of increase, WSO-rMWO.fSI } 33.31 1830 —12,300,020 ; 33.30 “ “ “ IS-J 0—17,000,15.1; 32.07 “ *■ “ 1850 —23,131,070 ; 35,87 “ “ “ ■ 1800—31,133,700 ; 35.58 “ “ “ This shows an average doeenial increase of 34.00 .per cent, in population through the seventy years, Irom our first to our last cen sus yet taken. It is seen that the ratio of increase at no one of tlio seven periods is either 2 per cent, below or 2 per cent, above the average, thus shewing how indexible, and consequently bow reliable the law of increase in our case Assuming that it will continue it gives the following results: 1870, 42,393,341; 1880, 50.987,210;'1800, 76,077,892 ; 1900, 103,208,415 1910, 138,- 918,520; 1920, 170,924,435 ; 1930, 251,030,- 914. These figures show that our country may bo ns populous as Europe now is. At some point between 1920 and 193,0, say about 1925, our territory at 73J persous to the square mile being pf the capacity to contain 217,- 180,000, we will reach this if wo do not, our selves relinquish the chances by the folly and evils of, disunion, or by long and ex hausting wars springing from the only.great olomout of national discord among us. .. While it cannot bo foreseen exactly how much one huge example of secession, breed ing lesser ones, indefinitely would retard pop ulation, civilization and prosperity, no 6110 can doubt that the extent of it would bo very great and injurious. . . Tlie proposed emancipation would shorten the. war, perpetuate peace, insure this in crease of population, and proportionately tho wealth of the country. With these we should pay all the-emancipation would cost, togeth-, tir with our other debt, easier than we should pay our other debt without it. ■ If we had al lowed - our old national'debt to run at six per cent, per annum simple interest from tho cud . of the 'revolutionary strfiggle until to-day, without paying anything on principal or in terest, each.’man Of ,us would owe less upon’ that del,it now than-.each man owed upon it . then.’ , ~ ‘ ■This is because our incfe-iseof. inch through the whole period,has been greater than six, .percent., and has'run faster than the inter- 1 , cst upon the debt. Thus time alone relieves 1 , the debfor natio.iv so long as its population in-,- creases faster, than unpaid interests, accumu late upon its debts. . This fact-would bo.no excuse for delaying the payment of what is justly due, bb't it shows tlie great,importance'of time in this great advantage of the poli cy by which we shall .not'’have to pay until wo number one hunlretf millions, by what, a ' •dflfereut policy we would .have--to .pay now, wlieii we number but tliirty-onc millions. - . Tu a-word, it shows that a dollar will bo much harder to-pay for the'war than will be a dollar for. emancipation -.on - the ’ proposed plan. , Aud {Boh the latter will oosfnO blond; ’ no precious, lives. It will be a saving of both. . ; : ' 1 As to the second I think it would ( ,be impracticable to .return to bondage tho’ class of persons therein contemplated. Sumo of them, doubtless, in the proper sense, be-, •long to loyal owners, and hence provision l is made in this.article for compensating such. The third article, relates, to the.luturo of,, the freed. people. It, does hot oblige but . ■ merely authorizes 1 Congress to aid in coloni zing such as may consent.. . This-ouglit not to be regarJed as objection able oil the one hand or on tho other, in. as much-as it conies to nothing unless by the mutual consent of, the;people to he. deported, and the American, voters through their rep resentatives in Cungros. I capnot make it bettor kno.wn than it al ready is'that I strongly favor colonization, . and yet I wish to say there is an objection ■ urged against free colored persoris remaining , in tho Country which is largely imaginary, it not sometimes malicious. . ’ j It is insisted that their .presence would in jure arid, displace white labor and white la , borers. If there ever could be a proper tiirio for .more catch arguments, that time is surp ly not now. In times like the present .men should utter • notidiig for which they' I .would not willingly I he responsible through time lin'd eternity. j I sit true thnt.thp colored people can displace any more white labor by lioiug free'than by • remaining slaves ?. If they stay in their, old-' places,' they jostle no white-laborers. If they leave their old places, they leave them open to white laborers. Logically there is noifli- . or more nor loss of it. Emancipation even Without deportation would, probably enhance tho wages of white. 1 labor, and very surely . would not reduce it. Thus the customary . amount of ■ labor would sti.l,l have to bo per- , 'formed, ‘ ' ", The freed.people would surely not do.morp than their old proportion of it, and veryprob aidy for a, timp would do less, leaving an in creased part to white laborers; bringing their labor into greater demand, and consequently enhancing the wages nf.it; With deportation avon'to a-limiled extent; enhanced wages to, white labor is mathematically certain. 'La bor is like any other commodity in the mar ket; increase the demand for it, and you in crease the. price of it. lledaco.the supply of black, labor, by colonizing the black laborer cut of the country,and by precisely sumach you increase the-defraud fur aha-wages of white labor. But it is dreaded that the freed-people wilt is warm forth and cover the whole land. Arc not they .already,in- the laud? Will libera tion make them any more numerous?— Equally distributed among the whites of the whole country, and chore would bo but onp. colored iuan to seven whites. ■ Could the one in any way greatly disturb the seven ? . ! ■ Tbpro are many communities how having more than one free colored person-to seven whites, and this without any apparent con sciousness of evil from it. The District of Columbia and the States of Maryland ami Delaware are all in this condition. The Dis trict baa mure than- one free colored to six whites, and yet in its frequent petitions to Congress; I believe it has never presented the presence of free e.hired people as o.oe-of its grievances. . >■ ■' , ; - ; ’But why should cranncipahJtion south send freed people north ? .People of any color sel dom run' unless there be something to ruii. from. Heretofore, ehsiavod pcdplp, to some extent, have fled north from bondage, and now, perliaps, from both bondage and desti tution: but if gradual emancipation, and de portation be adopted, they will have neither to flee frem. , , .Their,in stars will giyothora wages at least, until new laborers can be procured, and the freed men Iptum will gladly give their labor fortho wages until now. homes can be pro cured fer them in congenial climates, and with .people of their own blood and race.. The proposition can ho trusted on the mu :ual interests involved, and in any evoot.enn wt the North decide for itself whether to re- ceive them? •Again,.as praotioeproves more tl.faa theory, in any ease has there been any irruption of colored people northward because of theahnl isbmontof slavery in this District last spring! What I have said of the proportion of free colored persona to the whites, in the District, is from the census of <lB6O, having no i oCov once to the persons called contrabands, or those made free by the act of Congress abol ishing slavery here. The plan consisting of these articles is re commended, not. but that a restoration of the N atiunul authority would be accepted without its adoption, nor will the wav nor proceedings under the proclamation of September 22d, 1802, he stayed because of the recommenda- tion of this plan. Its timely adoption, I, doubt not, would bring restoration, and there by stay both. And, notwithstanding this plan, the recommendation that Congress pro vide by law for compensating any State which may adopt emancipation before this, plan shall have been acted upon, is hereby (CuiieluJed un Pjurth Page.) $O. 27
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