(£l)c Lancaster Jintdligcnccr.
VOL. XLIX.
Cancastcr 2ntelltgmm\
PUBLISHED EVERT TUESDAY MORNING.
BY E. W. HUTTER.
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THE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Fellotc-ciiiznts of the Senate
and of the House of Rc/iresen/a/ie-s :
Under the benignant Providence of Almighty
God, the representatives of the States and of the
people are again brought together to deliberate
for the public good. The gratitude of the nation
to the sovereign Arbiter of all human events
should be commensurate with the boundless
blessings which,we enjoy.
Peace, plenty, and contentment reign through
out our borders, and our beloved couutry pre
sents a sublime moral spectacle to the world.
The troubled and unsettled condition of somfe
of the principal European powers has had a nee
essary tendency to check and embarrass trade,
and to depress prices throughout all commercial
nations; but notwithstanding these causes, the
United States, with their abundant products, have
felt their effects less severely than any other
country, and all our great interests are still pros
perous and successful.
In reviewing the great events of the past year,
and contrasting the“ugituted and disturbed state
of other countries with our own tranquil and
happy condition, we may congratulate ourselves
that we are the most favored people on .the lace
of the earth. While the people of other coun
tries are struggling to establish tree institutions,
under which man may govern himself, we are in
the uetuul enjoyment of them —a rich inheritance
from our fathers. While enlightened nations of
Europe are convulsed and distracted by civil war
or intestine strife, we settle all our political con
troversies by the peaceful exercise ot the rights
of l'reemeu at the ballot-box. The great republi
can maxim so deeply engraven, on the hearts ot
our people, that, the will of the majority, consti
tutionally expressed, shall prevail, is our sure
information on the subject. His report to the
safeguard against force and violence. It is a
subject of just pride, that our fame and character
us a nutiou continue rapidly to advance in the es
timation of the civilized world. To our wise ami
ree institutions it is to be attributed, that while
other nations have achieved glory at the price ol
the .suffering, distress, and impuverisliuiet of
their people, we have won our honorable posi
tion in the midsL of an uninterrupted prosperity,
and of an increasing individual comfort and hap
piness. lam happy to inform you that our relu
-1 joils with all nations arc friendly' and pacific. —
Advantageous treaties of commerce have been
concluded within the last four years with New
Grenada, Tent, the Two Sicilies, Belgium, Han
over, Oldenburg, and Mecklenburg-Sclnveriii.—
Pursuing our example, the restrietivessystein ol
Great Britain, our principafflbreigu customer, has
been relaxed; a moro liberal commercial policy
has been adopted by other enlightened nations,
aud our trade has been greatly enlarged aud ex
tended. Our country stands higher in the re*
spect-of the world than at any former period.—
To continue to occupy this proud position, it is
only necessary .to preserve peace, aud faithfully
adhere to the great and fundamental principle of
our foreign policy, of non-interference in the do
mestic concerns of other nations. We recognise
in all nations the rights which we enjoy ourselves,
to change and reform their political institutions,
according to their own will and pleasure. Hence
we do not look behind exisiting governments,
capable of maintaing their own authority. We
recognise all such actual governments, not only
from the dictates of true policy, but from a sacred
regard for the independence of nations.
While this is our settled policy, it does not fol
low that we cun ever be indifferent spectators oi
tlie progress of liberal principles. The govern
ment and people ot the United States hailed with
enthusiasm and delight the establishment ot the
French republic, as we now hail-the efforts in,
progress to make the States oi Germany in u con
federation, similar in many respects to our own
federal Uuion. If the great and enlightened
German States, occupying, us they do, a central
and commanding position in Europe, shall suc
ceed. in establishing such a confederated govern
ment, securing at the same time to the citizens ol
each State, local governments adapted to the pe
culiar condition of each, with unrestricted trade
and intercourse with each other:, it will be an
important era in the history of human events. —
"Whilst it will consolidate and strengthen the
power of Germany, it must essentially promote
the cause of peace, commerce, civilization, and
constitutional liberty throughout the world.
With all the governments on thiscontinent our
relations,- it is believed, are now on a more
friendly and satisfactory footing than they have
over been at any former period.
Since the exchange of ratifications of the treaty
of peace with Mexico, our intercourse with the
government of that republic has been of the
moat friendly character. The Envoy Extraordi
nary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United
States to Mexico has been received and accred
ited \ aud a diplomatic representative from Mex
ico of similar rank has been received and accred
ited by this government. The amicable relations
between tlie two countries which had been sus
pended have been happily restored, and are des
tined, I trust, to be long preserved. Tlie two
republics, both situated on this continent, and
with coterminous territories, have every motive
of sympathy and of iuterest to bind them togeth
er iu perpetual amity.
This gratifying condition of our ioreign rela
tions renders it unnecessary for me to call your
attention more specifically to them.
It has been my constant aim and desire to cul
tivate peace and commerce with all nations. —
Tranquility at home, and peaceful relations
abroad, constitute the true permanent policy of
our country. War, the scourge of nations, some
times becomes inevitable, but is always to be
avoided when it can be done consistently with
the rights and honor of the nation.
One of the most important results of the war
into which we were recently forced with a
neighboring nation, is the demonstration it has
afforded of the military strength of our country.
Before the late war with Mexico, Europenn and
other foreign Powers entertaiued imperfect uiul
erroneous views of our physipal strength as a
nation, and of our ability to prosecute war, and
especially a war waged out of our own country.
They saw that our standing army on the peace
establishment did uot exceed leu thousand men.
Accustomed themselves to inaintaiu iu peace
large standing armies for the protection of thrones
against their own subjects, as well as against for
eign enemies, they had not conceived that it
was possible lor a nation without such an army,
well disciplined and of long service, to wage
war successfully.. They held in low repute our
militia, aud were far from regarding them as an
effective force, uuless it might be for temporary
defensive operations when invaded 011 our own
soil. The events of the late war with Mexico
have not only undeceived them, but have re
moved erroneous impressions which prevailed
to some extent even among a portion oi our own
countrymen. That war lias demonstrated, that
upon the breaking out of hostilities not anticipa
ted, and for which no previous preparation hud
been made, u volunteer army of citizen soldiers
equal to veteran troops, and iu numbers equal to
auy emergency, cun m a short period be brought
into the field. Unlike wliut would have occur
red in any other country, wo were under no no ■
cesaity of resorting to draughts or conscriptions.
On the'eontrary, such was the numbor of volun
teers who patriotically tendered their services,
that the chief difficulty was in making selections
and determining who should be disappointed
and compelled to remain at hoine. Onr citizen
soldiers are unlike those drawn from the popula
tion of any other country. They are composed
indiscriminately of all professions aud pursuits :
of farmers, lawyers, physicians, merchants, man
ufacturers, mechanics and laborers ; And this, not
only among the officers, but the private soldiers
in the ranks. Our citizen soldiers;are .unlike
those of any other country' in other . respects.—.
They are armed, and have been accustomed from
their youth up to handle and use fire-arms: and
a large proportion of them, especially in the
western and more newly settled Stales are ex
pert inarks-men. They are men who have a re
putation to maintain at home by their good con
duct in the field. They are intelligent, and there
is an individuality of character which is found in
the ranks of no other army lu battle, each pri
vate man, as well as every officer, figjtts not only
for his country, but for glory and; distinction
among his fellow-citizens when he shall return
to civil life.
’he war with Mexico has demonstrated not only
the ability of the government to organize a numer
ous army upon a sudden call, but also to' provide
it with all the munitions and necessary supplies
with despatch, convenience, and ease, and to direct
its operations with efficiency. The strength of our
institutions has not only been displayed in the valor
and skill of our troops engaged in active service in
the field, but in the organization of those executive
branches which were charged with the general di-
rection and conduct of the war. While too great
praise cannot be bestowed upon the officers and
men who fought our battles, it would be unjust to
withhold from those officers necessarily stationed at
home, who where charged with the duty of furn
ishing the army, in proper time, and at proper
places, with all the munitions of war and other sup
plies so necessary to make it efficient, the com men
dation to which they are entitled. The credit due
to this class of our officers is the greater, when it
is considered that no army in ancient or modern
times was ever better appointed or provided than
our army in Mexico. Operating in an enemy's
country, removed two thousand miles from the seat
of the federal government, its different corps spread
over a vast extent of territory, hundreds and even
thousands of miles apart Jrom each other, nothing
short ol the untiring vigilence and extraordinary
energy of these officers could have enabled them
to provide the army at all points, and in proper
season, with all that was 'required lor the most
efficient service.
The war with Mexico bus demonstrated not
only the ability of the government to organize a
numerous army upon a sudden call, but also to
provide it with all the munitions and necessary
supplies with despatch, convenience, and ease,
and to direct its operations with efficiency. The
strength ol our institutions has not only been
displayed in the valor mid skill of our troops en
gaged in active service in llie field,'but in tin*
•organization of those executive branches which
were charged with the general direction and
conduct of the war. While too great praise can
not be bestowed upon the officers and men wliu
fought our battles, it would be unjust to withhold
from those officers necessarily stationed at home,
who were charged with the duty of furnishing.,
the army, in proper time, and at proper places,
with all the munitions of war and other supplies
so necessary to make it efficient, the commenda
tion to which they are entitled. The credit due
to this class of mir officers is the greater, when
it is considered that no army in ancient and mo
dern times was ever better appointed or provi
ded titan our army in Mexico. Operating in an
enemy’s country, removed two thousand miles
from llie seat of the federal government, its dif
ferent corps spread over a vast extent of territo
ry, hundreds and even thousands of miles apart
from each other, nothing short nf the untiring
vigilance and extraordinary energy of these offi
cers could have enabled them to provide the ai-
niy at all points, aiul in proper seasun, with all
that was required tor the must efficient service.
It is but an act of justice to declare, that tin;
officers in charge of thu several executive bu
reaus, all under the immed’ate eye and super
vision of the Secretary of War, performed their
respective duties with ability, energy, aud effic
iency. They have reaped less of the glory of
the war, not having been personally exposed to
its perils^nbattle, than their companions inarms ;
but without the forecast, efficient aid, aud co-op
eration, those in the field would n6t have been
provided with the ample means they possessed
of achieving for themselves and their country
the unlading honors which they have won lor
both.
When all these facts are considered, it may
cease to be a matter of so much amazement ü
broad how it happened that our noble army in
Mexico, regulars and volunteers, were victori
ous upon every battle-field, however fearful the
odds against them.
The war with Mexico has thus fully develop
ed the capacity of republican governments to
prosecute successfully a just and necessary f«*r-
;n war with all the vigor usually attributed to
more arbitrary forms of government. It lias
been usual for writers on public law to impute
to republics a want of that unity, concentration
of purpose, aud vigor of execution, which are
generally admitted to belong to the mouarchial
and aristocratic forms; and this feature of popu
lar government has been supposed to display it
self more particularly in .the conduct of a war
carried on in an enemy’s territory. . The war
with Great Britain, in 181*2, was to a great ex
tent confined within our own limits, and shed
but little light on this subject. :But the war
which we have just closed by an honorable
peace, evinces beyond all doubt that a popular
representative government is equal toanyein
ergency which is likely to arise in the affairs of
a nation.
The wav with Mexico has developed most
strikingly and conspicuously another feature in
our institutions. It is, that without cost to-the
government or danger to our liberties, we have
m the bosom of our society of freemen, avail
able in a just and necessary war, virtually a
standing army of two millions of armed citizen
soldiers, such as fought the battles'of Mexico.
But our military strength does liotconsist alone,
in our capacity for extended and successful ope
rations on land. The navy is an important arm
of the national delence. If the services of the
navy were uot so brilliant as those of the army
in the late war with Mexico, it was because i
they had no euemy to meet on their own elc
! ment. While the army had opportunity of per
j forming more conspicuous service, the navy
largely participated in the conduct of the war.
Both branches of the service performed their
whole duty to the country. For the able and
gallant services of the officers and men of the
navy —acting independently as well ns in co-op
eration with our troops —in the conquest of the
Californias, the capture of Vera iCruz, and the
seizure and occupation ol other and important
positions oil Gulf and Pacific coasts, the highest
praise is due. Their vigilance, energy, and skill
rendered the most effective service in excluding
munitions of war aud other supplies from the
enemy, while they secured u safe entrance fir
abundant supplies for our own army. Our ex
tended commerce was nowhere interrupted; and
for this immunity from the evils ot war, the
country is indebted to the navy. ,
High praise is dne to the officers of the sev'
al executive bureaus, navy yards, aiul stations
connected with the service, all under the inline- j
diate direction of the Secretary of the Navy, h li
the industry, foresight and euergy with which
everything was directed and furnished to give
eflicieuey to that branch of .the; service. The
same vigilance existed in directing the opera
tions of the navy, as of the army. There was
concert of actiou aud of purpose between the
heads of the two urnis of the service. By the
orders which were from lime to time issued, our
vessels of war on the Pacific and the Gulf oi
Mexico were stationed in proper time ami in
proper positions to co-operate efficiently with
tho army. By this means their combined power
was brought to bear Buccesslnlly Son the enemy.
The great results which have beeu developed
and brought to light by this war,! will he ot im
measurable importance iu the future progress of
our country. They will tend; powerfully to
preserve us from foreign collisions, and ena
ble us to pursue uninterruptedly our cherished
policy of “ peace with nil milium, ontnugling
alliances with none.”
Occupying, us wo do, a more ymmmnding >
sitiou among nations tliun at any formal' period,
our duties auil our responsibilities to ourselves
aed to posterity are correspondingly incroased.
This will be the more obvious when wo consid
er the vast additions which have been recently
made to our territorial possessions, ,uml their
great importance and value. r
Within less than four years the annexation ol
i Texas to the Union has been consummated; all-
I conflicting title to the Oregon Territory, south oi
« COUNTRY IS THE MOST PROSPEROUS, WHERE LABOR COMMANDS THE GREATEST REWARD.”— Buchanan.
CITY OF LANCASTER, TUESDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 12, 1848.
the forty-ninth degree of north latitude, being all
that was insisted on by any of my predecessors,
has been adjusted; and New Mexico and Upper
California have been acquired by treaty. The
area of these several Territories, according to a
report carefully prepared by the Commissioner ol
the General Land Office from the most authentic
information in his possession, and.wliich is here
with transmitted, contains one million, one Imn-
Ired and ninety-three thousand and sixty-one
square miles, or seven hundred and sixty-throe
million live hundred and fifty-nine thousand and
Pbrty acres; while the area of tlw remaining
twenty-nine States, and the territory not yet or
ganized into States east of the Rocky Mountains,
contains two million iilty-nine thonsaud five hun
dred and thirteen square miles, or thirteen hun
dred and eighteen million one hundred and
twenty-six thousand and fifty-eight acres. These
estimates show that the territories recently ac
quit ed, and over which our exclusive jurisdiction
and dominion have been extended, constitute
a country more than half as large as till that
which was held by the United States before
.their acquisition. If Oregon be excluded from
the estimate, there will still remain within the
limits of Texas, New Mexico and California,
eight hundred and fifty-one thousand five hun
dred and ninety-eight square miles, or five hun
dred and forty-five million, twelve thousand sev
en hundred and twenty acres, being an addition
equal to more than one-third of all the territory
owned by the United States before their acqui
sition, and, including Oregon,nearly as great an
extent of territory as the whole ol Europe, Rus
sia only excepted. The Mississippi,so lately the
frontier of our country, is now only its centre. —
With the addition of the late acquisitions, the
United States are now estimated to be ueariy as
large as the whole of Europe. It is - estimated
by the superintendent ot the coast survey, in the
accompanying report that the extent of the sea
coast of Texas on the Gulf of Mexico is upwards
of four huudred miles ; of the coast ot Upper
California, on the Pacific, of niue huudrpd and
seventy miles; and of Oregon, including, the
Straits of Fuca, of six hundred and fifty miles ;
making the whole extent of sea-coast on the Pa
cific one thousand six hundred and twenty miles,
and the whole extent 6u both the Pacific and the
Gulf of Mexico two thousand and twenty miles.
The length of the coast on the Atlantic from the
northern limits of the United States, around the
Capes of Florida to the S&bine, on the eastern
boundary of Texas, is estimated to be three thou
sand oue hundred miles; so that the addition of
seacoast, including Oregon, is an addition of one
thousand three hundred and seventy miles; be
ing nearly equal to one half of the extent ot
coast which we possessed before these acquisi
tions. We base now three great maratime
fronts—on the Atlantic, the Gulf oh Mexico, and
the Pacific—making in the whole an extent 5 ol
seacoast exceeding five thousand miles. This is
the extent of the seacoust of the United States,
not including bays, sounds, and small irregulari
ties of the main shore, audof the sea islands. If
these be included, the length of the shore line of
coast, as estimated by the superintendent of llie
coast survey, in his report, would be thirty-three
thousand and sixty-three miles.
It would be difficult tofcalculate the value of
These immense additions to onr territorial pos
sessions. Texas, lying contiguous to the western
boundary of Louisiana, embracing within its
limits u part qf the navigable tributary waters of
the Mississippi, and an extensive sen-coast.could
not long have remained in the hands of a foreign
power without endangering the peace of our
southwestern frontier. Iler products in the vi
cinity of the tributaries of llie Mississippi must
have sought a market through these streams,
running into and through our territory ; and the
danger of irritation and collision of interests be
weeu Texas as a foreign Slate and ourselves,
would have been imminent, weile the embarrass
ments in the commercial intercourse between
them must have been constant ami unavoidable.
Had Texas fallen into the hands, or under the
luence and control ot a strong maritime or
military foreign power, as she might have done,
these dangers would have been still greater. —
They have been avoided by her voluntary and
peaceful annexation to the United States. Texas
from her position, was a natural and almost in
dispensable part of our territories. Fortunately
she has been restored to our country, and now
constitutes one of the Slates of our confederacy,
“ upon an equal footing with the original States.
The salubrity of climate, the fertility of soil, pe
culiarly adapted to the production, of some of
our most valuable staple commodities, and her
commercial advantages, must soon make her
one of our'mo st populous States.
New Mexico, though situated in the interior,
and without a soucuust, is known to contain
much fertile laud, to abound m rich mines of
the precious metals, and to be capable ot sus
laining a large population. From its position, it
is the intermediate and connecting territory be
tween our settlements and our possessions in
Texas, and those on the Pacific coast-
Upper California, irrespective of the vast min
eral wealth recently developed there, holds at
this day, in point of value ami importance to the
Union, the same relation that Louisiana did, when
that tine territory was acquired from Fiance for
ty-five years ago. Extending, nearly ten degrees
of latitude along the Pacific, and embracing the
only safe and commodious harbors on that coast
for many hundred miles, with a temperate cli
mate, and an extensive interior of fertile lands,
it is scarcely possible to estimate its wealth un
til it shall be brought under the government of
our laws, and its resources fully developed.—
From its position, it must command the rich com
merce of Cliipa, of Asia, of the islands of the Pa
cific, of Western Mexico, ofCentral America, the
South American States, and of the Russian pos
sessions bordering on that ocean. A great' em
porium will doubtless speedily arise on the Cal
ifornia coast, which may be destined to viva lin
importance New Orleans itself. The depot of
the vast commerce which must exist on' the Pa
cific will probably be at some point on the bay
of San Francisco, aud will occupy the same relu-
tion to the whole western coast of that ocean, as
Ne%v Orleans does to the valley of the Mississippi
and the gull of Mexico. to this depot our nu
merous whale ships will resort with their car
goes, to trade, refit, and obtain supplies. This
of itself will largely contribute to build up a city,
which would soon become the centre of a great
aud rapidly increasing commerce. ; Situated on
a safe harbor, sufficiently capacious for all the na
vies as well as the marine of the world, aud con
venient to excellent timber for ship-building,
owned by the United States, it mu3t becolne our
great western naval depot.
It was known that mines of the precious met-
als existed to a considerable extent in California
at the time of its acquisition. Recent discover
ies render it probable that these mines are more
extensive and valuable than was anticipated.—
The accounts of the abundance of gold in tin
territory are of such an extraordinary cliaracte
as would scarcely command belief were they n<
corroborated by the authentic reports of officei
in the public, service, who have visited the mil
end district, and derived the facts which the
detail from personal observation. Reluctant to
credit the reports in general circulation as to the
quantity of gold, the officer commanding our tor*
ees in California visited the mineral district in
July last, for the purpose of obtaining accurate
War Department of the result of his 'examination
and the facta obtained on the spot, is herewith
laid before Congress. When he-visited the coun
try, there were about four thousand persons en
gaged in collecting gold. There is every l'fcnson
to belive that the umnlfer of persons so employ
ed lms since been augmented. The explorations
already made warrant the belief that the supply
is very large, and that gold i.s- found at various
places in an extensive district of country.
Information received from officers of the navy
and other sources, though not so full and minute,-
confirm the accounts of the cominumler of our
military force in California. It appears, ulso,
from these reports, that mines of quicksilver are
found in the vicinity of the gold region. One ot
diem is now beingworked, and is believed tube
among the most productive in the world.
The effects produced by the discovery of these
rich mineral depositee, aud the success which has
attended the labors of those who have resorted to
them, have produced a surprising change in the
state of affairs iir California.. Labor commands
a most oxhorbitant price, and all other pursuits
but that of searching for the precious metals arc
abandoned. Nearly the whole'ot the male pop
ulation of the country have gone to the gold dis
trict. Ships arriving on the coast nve deserted
by their crews, and their voyages suspended for
want of sailors.. Our commanding officer there
entertains apprehensions that soldiers cannot be
kept in the public service without a large in
crease of pay. Desertions in his command have
become frequent, and he recommends that those
who shall withstand the strong temptation, and
remain faithful should be rewarded. .
This abundance of gold, and the all engros
sing pursuit of it, have already caused in Cali
fornia an unprecedented rise in the price of the
necessaries of life.
That we may the more speedily and fully
avail ourselves of the undeveloped wealth of
these mines, it is deemed of vast importance
that a branch of the mint of the United States
he authorized to be established, at your present
session, in California. Among other signal ad
vantages which would result from such an es
tablishment, would be that of raising the gold to
its par value in that Territory. A.branch mint
of the United States at the great commercial'de
pot (in the west coast, would convert into our
own coin not only the gold derived from our own
rich mines, but also the bullion and specie which
our commerce may bring from the whole west
coast of Central and South America. The west
coast of America and the adjacent interior em
brace the richest and best mines of Mexico, New
Grenada, Central America, Chili, and Peru.—
The bullion and specie drawn from these coun-
tries, and especially from those of Western Mex
ico and Peru, .to an amount in value of many
millions of dollars, are now annually diverted
and carried by the ships of Great Britain to her
own ports, to be recoined or U9ed to sustain her
National Bank, and thus contribute to increase
her ability to command so much of the commerce
of the world. If a branch mint be established
at the great commercial point upon that coast,
a vast amount of bullion and specie would flow
thither to be recoined, and pass thence to New
Orleans, New York, and other Atlantic cities.—
The amount of our constitutional currency at
home would be greatly increased, while its cir
culation abroad would be promoted. It is well
known to our merchants trading to China and
the west coast of America, that great inconve
nience and loss are experienced from the fact
that our coins are not current at their par value
in those countries,
The powers of Europe, far removed from the
west coast of America by the Atlantic ocean
which intervenes, and by a tedious and danger
ous navigation around the southern cape of the
continent of America, can never successfully
compete with the United States in the rich and
extensive commerce which is opened to us at so
much less cost by the acquisition of California.
The vast importance and commercial advan
tages of California have-heretofore remained un
developed by the government of the country of
which it constituted a part. Now that this fine
province is a part of our country, all the States
of the Union, some more immediately and di
rectly than others, are deeply interested in the
speedy development of its wealth and resourqes.
No section of the country is more interested," or
will be more benefited, than the commercial,
navigating, -end manufacturing interests of the
eastern States. Our planting and farming inter
ests in every part of the Union will
benefited by it. As our commerce and naviga
tion are "enlarged and extended, our exports of
agricultural products and of manufactures will
be increased; and in the new markets thus open
ed, they cannot fail to command remunerating
and profitable prices.
cThe acquisition of California and New Mexi
co, the settlement of the Oregon boundary, and
the annexation of Texas extending to the Rio
Grande, are results which, combined, are of
greater consequence, and will add more to t lie
strength and wealth of the nation, than any
which have preceded them since the adoption of
the constitution. j ?
Bat to effect these great results, not only Cali-; ‘
fornia, but New Mexico, must be brought under J
the control of regularly organized governments. ’
Tln£fexisting condition of California, and of that j
part of New Mexico lying west of the Rid Gran
de, and within the limits of Texas, imperiously
demand that Congress should, at its present ses
sion, organize territorial governments over them.
Upon the exchange of ratifications of the treaty
of peace with Mexico on the thirtieth of May j
last, the temporary governments which had been I
established over New Mexico and California by ,
our military and naval commanders, by virtue
of the rights of war, ceased to derive any oblig-1
atory force from that source of authority; and |
having been ceded to the United States, all gov
ernment and control over them under the
authority of Mexico had ceased to exist. Im
pressed with the necessity of establishing terri
orial governments over them, I recommended
the subject to the favorable consideration of Con
gress in my message communicating the ratified
treaty of peace, on the sixth of July last, and
invoked their action at that session. Congress
adjourned without making any provision for their ,
government. The inhabitants, by the transfei :
of their-country, had become entitled to the!
benefits of our laws and constitution, and yet j
were left without any regularly organized gov
ernment. Since that time, the -very limited
power possessed by the Executive has been ex
ercised to preserve and protect them from The
inevitable consequences of a state of anarchy.
The only government which remained was that
established by the military authority during the
war. Regarding this to be a Je facto govern
ment, and that by the presumed .consent of the
inhabitants it might be continued temporarily,
they were advised to conform and submit to it
for the short intervening period before Congress
would again assemble and could legislate on the
subject. The views entertained by the Execu
tive on this point are contained in a communi
cation of the Secretary of State.dated the seventh
of October last,which was forwarded for publica
tion to California and New Mexico, a copy of
which is herewith transmitted.
The small military force of the regular army,
which was serving within the limits of the ac
quired territories at the close of the war, was re
tained in them, and additional forces have been
ordered there for the protection of the inhabi
tants, and to preserve and secure the rights and
interests of the United States.
No revenue has been called nor could be col
lected at the ports in California, because Con
gress- failed to authorise the establishment of
Custom houses, or the appointment of offices for
that purpose.
The Secretary of the Treasury, by a circular
letter addressed to the collectors of customs, on
the 7th of October last, a copy of which is here
with transmitted, exercised all the power with
which he was vested by the law.
In pursuance of the act of the 14th of August
last, extending the benefit of our post office laws
to the people of California, the Postmaster Gen
eral lias appointed two agents, who have pro
ceeded, the one to California, and the other to
Oregon, with authority to make the necessary
arrangements for carrying its provisions into ef
fect.
The monthly line of steamers from Pauami to
Astoria has been required to “ atop ami deliver
and take mails at San Diego, and San Francisco.”
These mail steamers, connected by the isthmus
of Panama with the line of mail steamers on the
Atlantic between New York aad Chagres, will
establish a regular communication with Califor-
Ii is our solemn duty to provide, with the least
practicable delay, for New Mexico and Calilornia,
regularly organized territorial governments. The
causeß of the failure to do this at last session of
Congress are well known, and deeply to be regret
ted. With the opening prospects of increased pro
sperity and national greatness which-ihe acquisition
which these rich and extensive territorial posses
sions affords, how irrational it would be to forego
or to reject these advantages, by the agitation of a
domestic question which is coeval with the exist’
ence of our government itself, and to endanger by
internal strifes, geographical divisions, and heated
contests for political power, or for any other cause,
the harmony of the glorious Union oi our confede..
atari States ; that Union which binds us togetheras
one people, and which for sixty years has been our
shield ami protection against every danger. In the
eyes of the world and ot posterity, how. trivial aud
insignificant will bo nil our internal divisions
and struggles- compared with the preservation ol
this Union of the States in all its vigor and with all
its countless blessings 1 No patriot would foment
and excite geographical and sectional divisions.—
No lover ol hia country would deliberately calcu
late the value of the Union. Future generations
would look in amazement upon the folly ol such a
course. Other nations at the present day would,
look uponß with astonishment, and such of them
as desire to maintain and perpetuate thrones
and monarchical or aristocratical principles, will
view it with exultation and delight, because in it
they will see the elemenis of faction, which they
hope must ultimately overturn our system. Ours
is the great example of a prosperous and free self
governed republic, commanding the admiration and
the imitation of all the lovers of freedom through
out the world. How solemn, therefore, is iheduty,
how impressive the call upon us and upon all parts
of our country, to cultivate a patriotic spirit ol har
mony, of good fellowship, of compJotnise and mu
tual concession, in the administration of the incom
parable system of government formed by our fath
ers in the midst of almost insuperable difficulties,
and transmitted to us. with the injunction that we
should enjoy its blessings and hand it down unim
paired .to those who may come after us!
In view of the high and responsible duties winch
we owe to o'nrselves and to mankind, I trust you
may be able, at your present session, to approach
the adjustment of the only domestic question which
seriously threatens, or probably can ever threaten,
to disturb the hatmony and successful pperntion of
our system.
'The immensely valuable possessions ol New
Mexico and California are already inhabited bv a
considerable population. Attracted by their great
fertility,’their mineral wealth, their commercial ad
vantages and the salubrity of t he climate, emigrants
from the older States, in great numbers, arc al
ready preparing to seek new homes in these invit
ing regions.
Shall the dissimilarity of the domestic institu
tions in the different States prevent us from pro
viding for them suitable governments? These in
stitutions existed at the adoption of the constitu
tion, bur the obstacles which they interposed were
overcome by the . spirit of compromise which is
now invoked. In a conflict of opinions or ot in
terests, real or imaginary, between different sep
rions of" our country, neither can justly demand all
which it might desire to obtain. Each, in the true
spirit of our institutions, shall concede something
to the other.
Our gallant forces in the Mexican War. by
whose patriotism and unparalleled deeds of arms
we obtained these posessions as an indemnity for
our just demands against Mexico, were composed
of citizens who belonged to no one State or section
of the Union. They were men from slaveholding
and non-slavehoding States.from the North and the
South, from the East and the West. They were
all companions*in-arms and tellow-citizens ol the
9ame common cause. When prosecuting that war
they were brethren and friends, and shared alike
with each other common toils, dangers, and sufter
ings. Now, when their work is ended, when peace
is and they return again to their homes,
put off their habiliments ol war, lake their places
in society, and resume their pursuits in civil life,
surely a spirit of harmony and concession, and of
equal regard for the rights of all and of all sections
of the Union ought to prevail in providing govern
ments for the acquired territories —the fruits of
their common service. The whole people ol the
United States and of every State contributed to de
fray the expenses of that war; and it would not be
just for any one section to exclude another from all
participation in the acquired territory. This would
not be in consonance with the just system of gov
ernment which the framers of the constitution
adopted.
The question is believed to be rather abstract
than practical, whether slavery can or would exist
in any portion of the acquired territory, even it it
were left to the'option of the slaveholding States
themselves. From the nature of the climate and
productions, in much the larger portion of it, it is
certain it could never exist; and in ihe remainder
the probabilities are it would not. But however
ihismaybe, the question, involving as it does a
principle of equality of rights of the several States
as equal co-partners in the confederacy, should not
be disregarded.
In organizing governments over these Territories
no duty imposed on Congress by ibe constitution
requires that they should legislate on the subject of
slavery, while their power to do so is not only seri
ously questioned, but denied by many of the sound
est expounders ot that instrument. Whether Con
gress shall legislate or not, the people of the ac
quired territories. when fwsemhipi! in convention to
lorni Slate constitutions, will possess the sole and
exclusive power to determine for themselves whe
ther slavery shall or shall not exist within their lim
its. If Congress shall abstain from interfering with
the question, the people of these Territories will be
left free to adjust it as they may think proper when
they apply for admission ag States into the Union.
No enactment of Congress could restrain the peo
ple of any ol the sovereign States ol the Union
from determining the character of their own domes
tic institutions as they niyy deem wise and proper.
Any and all the States possess this right, and Con
gress cannot deprive them ol it. Ihe people of
Georgia might, tl they chose, so alter their consti
tution as to abolish slavery within us limits: and
the people of Vermont might so alter their consti
tution as to admit slavery within its limits. Both
States would possess the right: though as all know
it is not probable that either would exert it.
It is fortunate for the peace and harmony ol the
Union thafthis question is.in its nature temporary,
and can only continue for the brief period which
will intervene before California and New Mexico
may be admitted as States into the Union. From
the tide of population now flowing into them, it is
highly probable that this will soon occur.
Considering the several States, and the citi
zens of the several Slates as equals, and enti
tled to equal rights under the constitution, if this
were an original question, it might well'be in
sisted on that the principle of non-interference
is the true doctrine, and that Congress could not,
in' the absence of any express grant of power, in
terfere with their relative lights. Upon a great
emergency, however, and under .menacing dan
gers to the Union, the Missouri compromise line
in respect to slavery was adopted. The same
line was extended further west in the acquisi
tion of Texas. After an acquiescence of nearly
thirty years in the' principle of compromise re
cognised and established by these acts, and to
avoid the danger to the Union which might fol
low if it were not disregarded, I have heretofore
expressed.the opinion that that line of comprom
ise should be extended on a parallel of thirty-six
decrees thirty minutes from the western boun
dary of Texas, where it now terminates, to the
Pacific ocean. This is the middle ground of
compromise, upon which the different sections of
the Union may meet, as they have heretofore
met. If this be done, it is confidently believed
a large majority of the people of every section
of the country, however widely their abstract o
pinions on the subject of slavery may differ,
would cheerfully and patriotically acquiesce in
it, and peace and harmony would again fill our
borders.
The restriction north of the line was only yiel
ded to in the case of Missouri and Texas upon
a principle of compromise, made necessary for
the sake of preserving the harmony, and possi
bly the existence of the Union.
It was upon these considerations that at the
close of your last session, I gave my sanction to
the principle of the Missouri compromise line, by
approving and signing the bill to establish “the
Territorial government of Oregon.” From a
sincere desire to preserve the harmony of the
Union, and in deference for the acts of my pre
decessors, I felt constrained to yield my acqui
escence to the extent to which they had gone in
compromising this delicate and dangerous ques
tion. But if Congress shall now reverse the de
cision by which the Missouri'compromise was
effected, and shall propose to extend the restric
tion over the whole territory, south as well as
north of the parallel of thirty-six degrees.thirty
minutes, it will cease to be a compromise, and
must be regarded as an original question.
If Congress, instead of observing the course
of non-interference, leaving the adoption of their
own domestic institutions to the people who in
habit these Territories ; or if, instead of extend
ing the Missouri compromise hue to the Pacific,
shall prefer to submit the legal and constitutional
questions which may arise to the decision of the
judicial tribunals, as was proposed in a bill that
passed the Senate at your last session, an adjust
ment may be effected in this made.
If the whole subject be referred to the judiciary,
all parts of the Union should cheerfully acqui
esce in the final decision of the tribunal created
by the constitution for the settlement of all ques
tions which may arise under the constitution,
treaties, and laws of the United States.
Congress is earnestly invoked, for the sake of
the Union, its harmony, and our continued pros
perity as a nation, to adjust this, the only danger
ous question which lies In our path—if not in
some one of the modes suggested, in some other
which may bo satisfactory.
In anticipation of the establishment of regular
governments over the acquired territories, a
joint commission of officers of the army and navy
has been ordered to proceed to the coast of Cal
ifornia and Oregan, for the purpose of making re
connoissances and a feport as to the proper sites
for the erection of fortifications and other defen
sive works on land, and for suitable situations for
| naval stations. The information which maybe
expected from a scientific and skilful examina
tion of the whole face of the coast will be emi
nently useful to Congress, when they come to
consider the propriety of making appropriations
for these great national objects. Proper defen
ces on land .will be necessary for the security and
protection of our possessions : and the establish
ment of navy yards, and a dock for the repair
and construction of vessels, will - be important
to onr navy and commercial marine. Without
such yards, vessels, whether of the navy or in
the merchant service, requiring repair, must, at
great expense, come round Cape Horn to one of
onr Atlantic yards for that purpose. With such
establishments vessels, it is believed, may be
built or repaired as cheaply in California as up
on the Atlantic coast. They would give employ
ment to many, of our enterprising ship-builders
and mechanics, and greatly facilitate and en
large our commerce in the Pacific.
As it is ascertained that mines of gold, silver,
copper, and quicksilver exist in New Mexico
and California, and that nearly all the lands
where they are found belong to the United States,
it is deemed important to the public interests
that provision be made for a geological and min
eralogical examination of those regions. Meas
ures should be adopted to preserve the > mineral
lands, especially such as contain the ’precious
metals, for the use of the United States; or if
brought into market, to separate them from the
farming lands, and dispose of them in such man
ner as to secure a large return of money to the
treasury, and at the same time lead to the de
velopment of their wealth by individual proprie
tors and purchasers. To do this, it will be ne
cessary to provide for an immediate survey and
location of. the lots. If Congress should deem
it proper to disposo of the mineral lands, they
should be sold in small quantities, and at a fix
ed minimum price.
I recommend that surveyor generals’ offices
be authorized to be established in New Mexico
and California, and provision made for survey
ing and bringing the public lands Into market at
the earliest practicable period. In disposing of
these lands, I,recommend that the right of pre
emption be secured, and liberal grants made to
the early emigrants who have settled or may
settle upon them.
It will be important to extend onr revenue
laws over these Territories, and especially over
California, at an early period. There is already
a considerable commerce with California ; and
until ports of entry shall be established and col
lectors appointed, no revenue can be received.
If these and other necessary and proper meas
ures be adopted for the development of thp
wraith and resources'of New Mexico and Cali
fornia, and regular Territorial governments-be
established over them, such will probably be the
rapid enlargement of our commerce and naviga
tion, and such the addition to the national wealth,
that the present generation may live to witness
the controlling commercial and monetary power
of the world transferred from London and other
European emporiums to the city of New York.
The apprehensions which were entertained by
some of our statesmen, in the earlier periods of the
government, that our system was incapable of ope
rating with sufficient energy andsuccess over large
ly extended territorial limits, and that il‘ this were
attempted, it would fall to pieces by its own weak
ness, have been dissipated by our experience. By
the division of power between the £iates ; und feder
al government, the latter is iound to operate with
as much energy in the extreme as in the centre. It
is as efficient m the remotest of the thirty Stales
which now compose the Union, as it was in the
thirteen States which formed our constitution. In
deed, it may well be doubted, whether, if our pres
ent population had been confined within the limits
of the original thirteen States, the tendencies to
centrali/aiion and consolidation would not have
iK-fii such as m nave < uuioariieU upon me essenuai
reserved rights of the .States, and thus to have
made the lederalgovernment a widely
practically, from what it is in theory, and was in
tended to be by its framers. .So far Irotn entertain
ing apprehensions ul the safety ol our system by
the extension of our territory, the belief is confi
dently entertained that each uew&tate gives strength
and an additional guaranty for the preservation of
the Union itself.
111 pursuance of the provisions ol the thirteenth
article of the treaty of peace, friendship, hunts, and
settlement, with the republic of Mexico, and of the
act of July the twenty-ninth, 18-18, claims of our
citizens whicli had been “already liquidated and
decided against the Mexican republic,” amounting,
with the interest thereon, to two million .twenty
three thousand eight hundred and thirty,-two dol
' lars and fifty-one cents, have been liquidated and
! paid. There remain to be paid to these claims,
seventy-four thousand one hundred and ninety-two
dollars and twenty-six cents.
Cmii'H-:. at its last session having made no pro
vision lor executing the fifteenth article ot the trea
ty, by which the United .States assume to make
satislnciion for the “unliquidated claims’' of our
citizens against Mexico, to “bn amount not exceed
ing three and a quarter millions of dollars, ’’ the
subject is again recommended to your favorable
consideration.
The exchange of ratifications of the treaty
with Mexico took place on the thirtieth of May,
1848. Within one year from that time, the
commissioner and surveyor which each govern,
meut stipulates to appoint, are required to mee
“at the port of San Diego, and proceed to run
and mark the said boundary in its whole course
to the mouth of the Rio Bravo del Norte.” It
will be seen from this provision, that the period
within which a;commissioner and surveyor of
; the respective governments are to meet at San
i will expire on the thirtieth of May, 1549.
Congress, at the close of its last session, made
an appropriation for “ the expense of running
and marking "the boundary line” between the
two countries, but did not fix the amount of sala
ry which should be paid to the commissioner
and surveyor to be appointed on the part of the
United States. It is desirable that the amount
of compensation wh*ich they shall receive should
be prescribed by law, and not left, as at present,
to Executive discretion.
Measures 'were adopted at the earliest practi
cable period'to organized the •* Territorial gov
ernment of Oregon,” as authorized by the act of
the fourteenth of August last. The governor and
marshal' of the Territory, accompanied by a
small military escort, left the frontier of Missou
ri in September last, and took the southern route,
by the way of Santa Fe and the river Gila, to
California, with the intention of proceeding
thence in one of our vessels of war to their des
tinotion.. The governor was fully advised of
the great importance of his early arrival in the
country, and it is confidently believed he may
reach Oregon in the latter part of the present
month, or early in the next. The other officers
for the Territory have proceeded by sea.
The Secretary of the Treasury will present as
required by law, the estimate of the receipts and
expenditures for the next fiscal year. The expen
ditures as estimated lor that year are thiriy-tliree
millions one hundred and fifty-two dollars aiidsrv
enty-three rents, including three million seven hun
dred and ninety-nine thousand one hundred and
two dollars and eighteen cents lor the interest on
the public debt, and three millions five hundred
and toriy thousand dollars lor the principal and in
terest duo. to Mexico on the thirtieth of May. 1850;
leaving the sum of twenty-five million eight hun
dred and seventy-four thousand and fifty dollars
and thirty-five cents which it is believed, will be
ample for the ordinary peace expenditures.
The operations ol the tariff act of 1846 have been
such during the past year as fully to meet the pub
lic expectation, and to confirm the opinion hereto
fore expressed of the wisdom of the change in our
revenue system which was effected by it. The re
ceipts under it into the treasury for the first fiscal
year after its enactment exceeded by the sum of
five million forty-four thousand four hundred and
three dollars and nine cents the amount collected
during the last fiscal year under the tariff act of
1842, ending the thirtieth of June. 1846. The
tal revenue realized from.the commencement ol fts
operation, on the Ist of December, 1846, until the
close of the last quarter, on the thirtieth of Sep
tember last, being twenty-two mouths, was fifty
six million Bix hundred and fifty-four thousand five
hundred and sixty-throe dollars and seventy.nine
cents— being a much larger sum than was ever be
fore received from duties during any equal period
under the the tariff nets of 1824, 1828, 1832, and
1842. Whilst by the repeal of highly protective
and prohibitory duties the revenue has been in
creased, the taxes on the people have been dimin
ished. They have been relieved from the heavy
amounts with which they were burdened under lor
mer lows in the form ol increased prices or boim*
ties paid to favored classes and pursuits.
Tne predictions which were made, that the tarin
act of 18-16 would reduce the amount pi revenue
below that collected under the act of 1842, and
1 would prostrate the business and destroy the pros
ipetiiy of thecountry, have not been verified, with
an increased ami increasing revenue, the finances
are in a highly flourishing condition.' Agriculture,
commerce, and navigation, are prosperous; the
prices-ofmanufactured fabrics, and ofother products
are much less injuriously affected than was to have
been anticipated, from the unprecedented revul
sions, which, during the last and the present year,
have overwhelmed the industry and paralyzed the
credit and commerce of so many great and enlight
ened nations ol Europe. . .
Severe commercial revulsions abroad have always
heretofore operated to depress, and often to affect
disastrously, almost every branch of American in-
The temporary depression of a portion ol
our manufacturing interests is the effect of foreign
causes, and is far less severe than has prevailed on
all former similar occasions.
It is behoved that, looking to the great aggre
gate of all our interests, the whole country was
never more prosperous than at the present peri
od, and never more rapidly advancing in wealth
and population. Neither- the foreign war in
which we have been involved, nor the loans
which have absorbed so large a portion of our
capital, nor the commercial . in Great
Britain in 1847, nor the paralysis of credit and
commerce throughout Europe in IS4S, have af
fected injuriously to any considerable extent any
of the great interests of the country, or arrested
our onward march to greatness, wealth and pow
er.
Had the disturbances in Europe not occurred,
our commerce would undoubtedly have been still
more extended, and would have added still more
to the national wealth and public prosperity.—
But notwithstanding these disturbances, the op
erations of the revenue system established by the
tariff act of 1846 have been so generally benefi-
cial to the government and the business of the
eountry, that no change in its provisions is de
manded by a wise public policy, and none is re-
commended.
The operations of the constitutional treasury
established by the act of the 6th of August, 1846,
in the receipt, custody, and.disbursement of the
public money, have continued to be successful.
Under this svstem the public finances have been
carried through a foreign war, involving the ne
cessity of loans and extraordinary expenditures,
and requiring distant transfers & disbursements,
without embarrassment, and no loss has occurr-
ed of any of tin*, public money deposited unde
its provisions. Whilst it has proved *to be safe'
and useful to the government, its effects have
been- most beneficial upon the business of the
country. It has tended powerfully to,secure an
exemption from that inflation and fluctuation of
the paper currency, so injurious to domestic in
dustry, and rendering so uncertain, the rewards
of labor, and mis believed has largely contribut
ed to preset ve the whole country from a serious
commercial revulsion, such as often occurred un.
der the bank deposite system.
In the year 1847 there was a revulsion in the bu
siness of Great Britain of great extent and intens
ity, whicli was followed by failures in that kingdom
unprecedented in number and amount of losses. —
This is believed to be the first instance when such
disastrous bankruptcies, occuring in a country with
which we have such extensive commerce, produc-
ed little or no injurious effect upon our trade or
currency. We remained but little affected in our
money market, and our business and industry were
still prosperous and progressive.
During the present year, nearly the whole con
tinent of Europe has been convulsed by civil war
and revolutions, attended by numerous bankrupt
cies, by an unprecedented fall in their public sectf
riliesand an almost universal paralysis of commerce
and industry; and yet, although our trade and the
prices of our products must have been somewhat
unfavorably affected by these causes, we have es-
raped a revulsion, our money market is compara
tively easy, and public and private credit have.ad
vanced and improved.
It is eonlidenuy believed that we have been
sav.-d from their effect by the salutary operation
uof the conslitutioual treasury. It is certain, that .
if* the twenty-four millions of specie imported into
the country during Ihc fiscal year ending on the
dOth of June, 18-17, had gone into the banks, as
to a great extent it must have would, in
the absence of this system, have been made the
basis of augmented hank paper issues, prpbably to
an amount not less than sixty or seventy millions
of dollars, producing as an inevitable consequence of
an inflated currency, extravagant prices for a time,
and wild speculation, which must have been fol
lowed, on the reflux to Europe, the succeeding
year, of so much of that specie, by the prostration
of the business of the country, the suspension ot
the banks, and most extensive bankruptcies. Oc
curring, as this would have done, at a. period
when the country was engaged in a foreign war ;
when considerable loans of specie was required for
disbursements, and when, the banks, the fiscal
agents; of the government, and the depositories of
its money, were suspended, the public credit must
have sunk, and many millions of dollars, as was
the case during the war of 1812, must have been
sacrificed in discounts upon loans, and upon the
depreciated paper currency which the government
would ha'vc been compelled to use.
Under the operations of the constitutional trea
sury, not a dollar h.as been lost by the depreciation
of the currency. The loans required to prosecute
the war with Mexico werq negotiated by the Se
cretary of the Treasury above par, realizing a
| large premium to the government. The restrain
j jng effect of the system upon the tendencies to ex
j cessivc paper issues by banks has saved the gov
! eminent from heavy losses, and thousands of our
| business men from bankruptcy and ruin. The
: wisdom of the system has been tested, by the cx
’ perience of the last two years ; and it is the dictate *
of sound policy that it should remain undisturbed.
The modifications in some of tha details of this
, measure, involving none of its essential principles,
, heretofore recommended, arc again presented for
your favorable consideration.
Nothing can retard the onward progress of our
country, and prevent us from assuming and main*
taining the first rank among nations, but a disre
gard of the experience of the past, and a recur
rence to an unwise public policy. We have just
closed a foreign war by an honorable peace—a war
rendered necessary and unavoidable in vindication
of.- the national rights and* honor. The present
condition of the country is similar in some res
■ pects to that which existed immediately after the
close of the war with Great Britain in 1815, and
i the occasion is deemed tO'be a proper on© to take
, a rctrospeet of the measures of public policy which
; followed that war. There was aUthat period of
our history a departure from our earlier policy.—
The enlargement of the powers of the federal
government by construction, which obtained, was
not warranted by any just interpretation of the
constitution. A few years after the close of that
war, a series of measures was adopted which,
united and combined, constituted what was termed
by their authors and advocates the American
system.”
The introduction ul the new policy was for a
time favored in’ the condition ot the country; by
the heavy debt which had been contracted du
ring the war; by the depression of the public
credit; by the deranged state of the finances and
the currency ; and by the commercial and pecuni
ary embarrasment which extensively prevailed.—
These were not the only causes which led to its
establishment. The events-of .the war with Great
Britain, and the embarrasments which had at
tended its prosecution, had left on the minds of
many of our statesmen the impression that our
government was not strong enough, and that to
wield its resources successfully in great emergen
cies, and especially in war, more power should be
concentrated in its. hands. This increased power
they did not seek to obtain by the legitimate and
prescribed mode—an amendment ol the constitu
tion-bin by construction. They saw govern
ments in the old world based upon different or
ders of society, and so constituted as to throw the
whole power nr nations into the hands of a few,
who tnxed and controlled the many without rea
nonsibility or restraint. In that arrangement they
conceived tin* strength of nations in war consisted.
There was also something fascinating in the ease,
luxury, uml display of the higher orders, who
drew'their wealth from the toil ot the laboring
millions. The authors of the system drew their
ideas of political economy from what they had
witnessed in Europe, and particularly in Great
Britain. They had viewed the enormous wealth
concentrated in few hands, and had seen the
splendor of the overgrown establishments of an
'‘(Concluded on the fourth page:)
NO. 46.