OTF DOLLAR PER ANNUM INVARIABLY IN ADVANCE. TOWANDA : Itjirsbao morning, December 17, 1857, PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE. ftiiov Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives : In obedience to the command of the Consti- lias now become my duty " to give to Congress infotraation of the State of the Union, sod recommend to their consideration such erasures" as I judge to be " necessary and ex pedient-" But first above all, onr thanks are due to Almighty God for the numerous benefits which He has bestowed upon this people ; and our united prayers ought to ascend to Him that He would continue to bless our great Republic in time to come as he has blessed it in time past. Since the adjounimeut, our constituents have enjoyed an unusual degree of health. The earth has yielded her fruits abundantly, and has bountifully rewarded the toil of the hus bandman. Our great staples have demanded high prices, aud, up till within a brief period, our manufacturing, mineral, and mechanical oc cupations have largely partaken of the general prosperity We have possessed all the ele ments ot material wealth in rich abundance, and yet, notwithstanding all these advanta ges, our country in its monetary interests, is a: the present uiomeut iu a deplorable condi tion lu the midst of unsurpassed plenty in all the productions of agriculture and in ail the elements of national wealth, we find our manufactures suspended, our public works re tarded, our private enterprises of different kinds abandoned, and thousands of useful la borers throwu out of employment and redueed to want The revenue of the Government, which is chiefly derived from duties on imports from abroad, has been greatly reduced, whilst the appropriations made by Congress at its hist session for the current fiscal year are very large in amount. Under these circumstances a loan may be required before the close of your present ses s.ou ; but this, although deeply to lie regret ted, would prove to be only a slight misfor tune when compared with the suffering and d stress prevailing among the people, With tiiis the Govercmeiit cannot tail deeply to jvmpathize, though it may be without the power to extend relief. It is our duty to iuqnire what has produced Mch unfortunate results, and whether their re currence can be prevented ? Iu all former re vuisioaa the blame might have fairly attribu ted to a variety of cooperating causes ; but sot so upon the present occasion. It is appa rent that our existing misfortunes have pro ceeded solely from our extravagant and vicious •vs'ern of papier currency arid bank credits, ex citing the people to wild speculations and gambling in stocks. These revulsions must c:ntuue to recur at successive intervals so long £ j the amount of the p>aper currency and the bank loans and discounts of the country shall be left to the discretion of fourteen hundred •.rrespior.-ible liankiug institutions, which from the very law of their nature will consult tne interest of their stockholders rather than the Dublic welfare. Tne frarners of the Constitution, when they stive to Congress the power "to coin money ar.-i to regulate the value thereof," and pro hibited the States from coining money, einiting b s of credit, or making anything but gold and silver coiu a tender in payments of debts, ♦apposed they had protected the people against the evils of au excessive and irredeemable pa per currency. They are not responsible for the existing anomaly that a Government en dewed with the -orereign attribute of coining •nonev and regulating the value thereof should have no power to preveut others from driving t* s coin out of the country and filling up the c.j-.nei- of circulation with paper which duob as cotton, ircu au.l w 'lien fa brics —would not uniy have acquired almost exclusive po-se>-ion of jt: e home market, but would have created for themselves a foreign market throughout the world. Deplorable, however, as may cur present financial condition, we may yet iudulge iu bright hopes for the future. No other nation has ever existed which cos.d haw endured such violent expansions and contractions of paper credits without lasting injury ; yet tiie buoyancy of youth, the energ.es of our (>oja latioD, and the spirit which uever quads before difficulties, wilt enable os scon to recover from our present financial embarrassment, and u;..y even occasion us to speedily to torget tae les son which they have taught. In tiie ra autime it is the duty of the Gov ernment. by all prosier means within its power, to aid-in alleviating the sufferings of the pco pie occasioned by the suspension of the banks, ami to provide against a recurrence of the same calamity. Unfortunately, a; either as pect of the case, it cau do but little. Thanks to the independent Treasury, the Government has not suspended payment, as it was compell ed to do by the failure of the banks in 1e37. It will continue to discharge its iiab.lilies to the people in gold av.d silver. Its disburse ments in coin will pass into circulation, and materially assist iu restoring a sound currency From its high credit should we be cotripebtd to make a temporary loaa. it can be effected on advantageous teruvs. Tuis however, sha.!, if possible, be avoided ; bat, if not. *llOO the amount shall be limited to the lowest prac I tieabic sum I fTave, therefore, determined that whi.st nc ' useful Government Tchs already ia prqpre *'•11 be re* wort?. t** tT*dy PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY AT TOWANDA, BRADFORD COUNTY, PA., BY E. O'MEARA GOODRICH. " REXARDLESS OF DENUNCIATION FROM ANT QUARTER." commenced, will be postponed, if this can be done without injury to the country. Those necessary for its defence shall proceed us though there had beeu no ciisis in our mone tary affairs. But the federal government cannot do much to provide against a recurrence of existing evils. Even if insurmountable constitutional objections did not exist against the creation of a National Bank, this would furnish no ade quate preventive security. The history of the last Bunk of the United States abundantly proves the truth of this assertion. Such a bank could not, if it would, regulate the issues and credits of fourteen hundred State banks in such a manner as to prevent the ruinous ex pansions and contractions iu our currency which afflicted the country throughout the ex istence of the late batik, or secure us against future suspensions. In 1825 an effort was made by tlie Bunk of England to curtail the issues of the country banks under the most fa vorable circumstances. Tiie paper currency had been expanded to a ruinous extent, and tlie Bank put forth ail its power to contract it in order to reduce prices and restore the equilibrium of the foreign exchanges. It ac cordingly commenced a system of curtailment of its loans and issues, in the vain hope that the joint stock and private banks of the king dom would be compelled to follow its exam ple. It found, however, that as it contracted they expanded, and at the end cf the process, to employ the language of a very high official authority, " whatever reduction of the paper circulation was effected by the Bank of Eng land (in 1525) was more than made up by the issues of the country bank-." Baca Bank of the United States would not, if it could, restrain the issue and loans of the State Banks, because its duty as a regu lator of the currency must often be in direct conflict with the immediate interest of its stock holders. If we expect one agent to restrain or control another their interests must, at least in some degree, be antagonistic. But the di rectors of a Bank of the United States would fee! the same interest and the same inclination with the directors of the State Banks to ex pand the currency, to accommodate tfieir fa vorites and friends with loans, and to declare large dividends. Such has been our experi ence iu regard to the la-t Bank. After all, we must mainly rely upon the pa triotism and wisdom of the States for the pre vention and redress of the evil. If they will afford us a real spiecie Imsis for our circulation, bv increasing the denomination of hank-notes, fi:-t to twenty, and afterwards to fifty dollars; if they will require that the banks shall at all times keep on hand at least one dollar of gold and silver for every three dollars of their cir culation an i clejHi-its ; and if they will provide, by a self-executing enactment, which nothing can arrest, that the moment they suspend they shall go into liquidation, I believe that such provisions, with a weekly publication by each buik of a statement of it- condition, wouid go far to secure u- against future suspiensious of specie {lavmeuts. Congress, in inr opinion. possess the power to pass a uniform bankrupt iaw applicable to a'.i banking institutions throughout tiie United States, a;ni I strongly recommend its exercise This would make it the irreversible organic law of each hauk's existence, that a suspen>ioti of specie payments shad produce its civil death. The instinct of M. It-preservation would then compel it io perform its duties in such a man ner as to escape the penaltv and deserve its life. The existence of banks and the circulation of bank paper are so identified with tiie habits c; our people, that they cannot at this day be -11 Ideidy alio'.isiied without mocli immediate injury to th- country. If we could co..tine theiu to their appropriate sphere, and prevent them from a be. ui-teri sg to the spirit of wi.d and rtrUrss speculation by extraragaul loons and issues, they might be continued with aI- ru. itage to tiie public*. I>ut this I say, after Ion? ar.l much reflec tion : if experience shall prove it to be imjios siblc to enjoy the facilities which well regain ed banks m gut afford, without at the same t me suffering the calamities which tiie execs e- of the banks have hitherto indicted upon the country, it would then be far tiie se>• coast of Arr-'-a, sweeping around from the Rio Hondo to the port and harbor of San Juan de Nicaragua, together with the adjacent Bay Islands, ex cept the comparatively small portion of this between the Sui ston and Capie Honduras. Ac cording to their construction, the treaty does no more than simply prohibit them from ex tending their possessions in Central America beyond the present limits. It is not too much to assert, that, in the United States the trea ty had been considered susceptible of sucli a construction, it would never have been nego tiated under authority of the President, nor would it have received the approbation of the Senate. The universal conviction in the Uni ted States was, that when our Government consented to violate its tradition and lime honored policy, ami to stipnlate with a foreign Gorerinent never to occupiy or acquire territo ry in the Centra! American porlion of our own Continent, the consideration for this sac rifice was that Great Britain should, in this respect at least, be placed in the same position with ourselves. Whilst we have no right to doubt the sincerity of the British Government iu their construction of the treaty, it is at the same time my deliberate conviction that this construction is in opposition both to its letter and its spirit. Under the late Administrations negotiations were instituted between the two Governments lor the purpose, if possible, ol removing these difficulties ; and a treaty having this laudable object in view was signed at London on the 17th of October, 1850, and was submitted by the President to the Senate, on the following 10th of Deember. Whether tiiis treaty either in its original or amended form, would hare i accomplished the object intended without giv ing birth to new and embarrassing comp lica ! tions between the two Governments, may pier haps be well questioned. Certain it is, howev ' er, it was rendered much less objectionable by | the different amendments made to it. by the ; Senate. Tiie treaty, as amended, was ratified I by me on the 12th of March, 1857, aud was j transmitted to London for ratification by the j British Government. That Government ex presses its willingness to concur in all the ; amendments made ly the Senate with the sin j gle exception of the clause relating to Rnatan ; and the other islands in the Bay of Honduras, J The article in the original treaty, as submitted [ to the Senate, after reciting that these islands I and their inhabitants " having been by a Con : veiition bearing date the 27th of August. 1856 , between her Brituuie Majesty and the R--pm!>- ' lie of Honduras, constituted and declared a ! free territory under the sovereignty of the said Republic of Honduras," stipulated that " the j two contracting parlies do hereby mutually ; engage to recognize and re-pc t in ail future : time tne independence and rights of tiie said ' free territory as a part of the Republic of Ilon j duras.*' Upon an examination of this convention be tween Great Britian and Honduras of the 27th ( of August, 1x56,l x 56, it was found that, whilst ue- I daring ti:? Bay Islands to l>e " a free t rrito i ry mui r the sovereignty of tiie IF public of Honduras." it deprived the Ilepuhlie of rights w.tiiout wiiich its sovereignty over them could u them for their protection— thus ieaving the n open to invasion from any pi trier : and, finally, it prorive-I, *' that Shi very s'nail not at any time hereafter be jier inittcd to exist tlicrein *' Had Honduras ratified this Convention, he won id have ratified tne establishment of a Sta'e substantia.iy iadepeadeat within her owu limits, and a State at aii times subject to Brit ish influence and control. Moreover, had the United Stales ratified the treaty with Great Britlan iu its original form, we should have been bound " to recognize and reijieet in aii fu ture time * these stipulations to the prejudice of Honduras. Being in direct opposition to the spirit and meaning of the Clayton ar.! B .!- wer treaty as understood in tiie United Stats. tiie Senate rejected the entire clause, and sul> rutted in its stead a simple recognition of tiie sovereign ngnt or lion-turns to luese is! .mis in the following language ; The two co i tracting parties do hereby rantnaFfy engage to recognize and re-p-ct the islands of Ru.itari. B>>naco, Utiia. 13 ir' irvtta. Helena a i Mo rat, situate irr tine liar of Honduras, an i rff the coa>t of the llcpu hie of Hon. a "us, as un der the sovereignty and as part of tiie said Re public of Handnras." Great Dntaii rejected to this amendment, assigning as its only rer.sou, that the rat fi--a tions of the Convettioa of the 27;h of August, ISofi lietween in r and Honduras. had not been " exchanged, owing to 'lie hesitation of that Oovermnenv" Had this been done. i is it.i ted " II.-r Majesty's Government wcniid have had little d'fficoliT in agreeing to the m*>i fii- cation proposed by the Senate, fh!c'i then woo d hare had in effect the same siguifitjation as the original wording." Whether th : s would hare been the effect ; whether t?;e mere e r canisiance of the exchange of the ratification* ot the British Convent on with ilondt:nt< pri or in point of t;e?e to the ratification of oir treatr w.tii Great Br tian wooid "in eff c:," hare had "the same signification as the origr'n si wording," and the* tiare have nullified tie amendment of the Senate, may we.i i>e doa-t --ed. It is, )ierhaps, r'ortaaate that tbequestiosi has never arisen. The British Government. immediately 3fter rejecting the treaty as amended, proposed to enter into a new treaty with the United States similar in a!! respects to the treaty which they had jost refused !o ratify, if the United States woaid consent to add to the Senate's ciear and nneqtiaf recognition of the sovereignty of Ilcti daras aver the Bay Is'ards, (be fo'iowing con ditional ssipaiattoo : Whenever acd so sooc as the Republic of Hoatterai shall a&vo coq "irded t A rsCfed tres*y G-*at B**t ian by which Great Briilan shall have ceded and the republic of Honduras shall have ac cepted, the said Islands, subject to the pirovi sions and conditions contained in such treaty.' - This proposition was, of course, rejected. After the Senate had refuesd to recognize the British Convention with Honduras of the 27 th of August, 1856, with full knowledge of it. contents, it was impossible for me, uecessarily ignorant ol " the provisions and conditions," which might lie contained in a future conven tion between the same parties, to sanctio them in advance. The fact is that when two nations like Great Britian ami the United States, mutually desi rous, as they are, and, I trust may be, of main taining the most friendly relations with each other, have unfortunately concluded a treaty which they understand in sense directly oppo site, the wisest course is to abrogate such a treaty by mutual consent, and to commence anew. Had this been done promptly, all d fa culties in Central America would most proba bly ere this have been adjusted to the satisfac tion of loth piarties. The time spent in dis cussing the meaning of the Clayton and Bul wer treaty would have betn devoted to this praiseworthy purpose, and the task would have been the more easily accomplished because the interest of the two countries in Central Amer ica is identical, being confined to securing safe transits over all the routes across the Isthmcs. Whilst entertaining these sentiments, I shall nevertheless not refuse to contribute to any reasonable adjustment of the Central Ameri can questions which is not practically inconsis tent with the American interpretation of the treaty. Overtures for this purpose have been recently made by the British Government in a friendly spirit, which I cordially reciprocate ; bnt whether this renewed effort will result in success I am not yet prepared to express an opiinioii. A brief period will determine. With France our ancient relations of friend ship still continue to exist. The French Gov ernment have, in several recent instances, which need not be enumerated, evinced a spur it of good w ill and kindness toward- our coun try which I heartily reciprocate. It is, not withstanding, much to be regretted that two nations, whose productions are of such a char acter as to invite tlie most extensive exchanges and freest commercial intercourse, should con tinue to enforce ancient and abso'.ete restric tions of trade against each other. Uur coin imrcial treaty with Frai.ce is in this respect an exceptiou from our treatiis with ail other commercial nations It jealously levies ds criminating duties both on tonnge and on arti ticies, the growth, produce, or manufacture cf the one country, when arriving in vessels be longing to the other. More tisan forty years *go, on the 3d of March, 1317. Congress passed an act offering to all nations to admit their vessels laden with their national producrioas into the ports of the United ri'atcs upon the same terms with our own vessels provided they would recipro cate to us similar advantages. Tii s act couGn ed the i ciprocity to the prouo. tio:.s of the res pective foreign nations who might enter iato tlie proposed arrangement with the United states. Tne act of May 24, ls2s, ren.ov.a tins restriction, and off re J a similar reciproci ty to ail such vessels without reference to the orig'n of their cargoes. Ujkmi these prin c p'es, oir commercia! treaties and arrang-.*- m-nts have been founded, except with France : and let Us hope that tn.s exception may cot long ixi-t Our relations with Russia remain, a? lliey have ever been, o;i the most friendly footing. The present Emperor, as wed as his predeces sors. have never tailed, when the occasion of fered, to manifest their good wiil to our coun try ; and their friendship has always ben highly aporeciated by the Government and the people of the Unite 1 States With all other European Governments, ex cept that of Spain, our relations are ap-. i..e fal as we could desire. I n-gret to ay t:. t no progress whatever has been ma 1", stuce the adjournment of Congress, towards tie eettk ment of any of the numerous cla ms of our citi zens against the Spanish Gov.ri.incut. B— sides, the outrage Committed ou ur fig by the Spanish war-fr gate r.x on t.e luga s.as off Cuba, iu M irch. 1355. by firing into the mail !estner El Dradc, and detaining a> i searching her, remains una. k lowiedged nr. i unreureesed. Tie general tone and vniper of the Span;a Government tow- gjj that of the United States :.re much to be regretted Our present Envoy ex 5 r >rl:nary an i niiri -:-r pien"{otentiary to Madrid has a-ked to be re eu i-a ; and it is now my purpose to send out a r.w Minister to Spain. with special instruc tions on ail yutiaw pending between the two Gover ments, and with a determination to have them speedily and amicably adjusted, if th -be bie. Iu the re mrim?. wh'devsr our Minister urge? the jus: claims of cur citi zens oa the notice of the Spnu:>li Govern nent he i siet with the objection that Congr- s- hav.. never rue. !c the appropriation reconimende . bv President P- uc in h\ ann ul message of Pr ceinber. 134 7. " to be paid to the rijc. Government for the purpose of d str.buti< n among the claimants iu the AmV.al case. r A similar r comtnen Iwt'oi v> r de by my immediate predecessor jn his Message or I> • cemVr. 1353 ; and entirely concoring w h both in the opinion that tii s indemnity js :-! ly due under tire treaty w.th Spain of o:'o iw r 27. 1795, I earnestly reecra ;er i such tu appropriation to t*e favorable consideration of Congress. A treaty of fnendsliip and coomer-'e was conci'ided at Con*tatHiaopfe on the lUt'i o* , lbo6. be; wee . the Unt:d i:a;-:s | and Persia, the rati Boat : ? requisite ; " In which these'the two Governments will at the expiration of twelve years from the date of the said Con vention, treat an i. aby concerning the tamo hy means of suitable persons appoiuted fo conduct such i egotiations." These twelve years expired on July 3, 180G, but long'refore that period it was ascertained that important changes in the treaty were necessary ; aid several fruitless attempts were made bv the Commissioners of the United States to effect | those changes. Another effort was about to ! be made for the same purpose by nnr Corrmis -1 sioner ; in conjunction with the Ministers of ! England and France, but this was suspended | by the occurrence of hostilities iu the Canton , River between Great Britian and the Chinese Empire. These hostilities have necessarily in terrupted the trade of all nations with Can ton, which is now in a si. te of blockade, nr.d have occasioned a serious loss of life ami pro perty. Meanwhile the insurrection within the empire against the existing imperial dynasty stiil continues, and it is difficult to anticipate the result. Under these circumstances, I have deemed it advisable to appoint a distinguished citizen ,of Pennsylvania Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to proceed to China, i and to avail himself of any opportunities which may offer to effect changes in the existing trea ty favorable to American commerce. He left the United States for the place of bis destina tion in July last in the war steamer Mivnestta. Special Ministers have nKo l*en appointed by the Government of Great Britain and Ernee. I Whiist our Minister has been instructed to occupy a neutral in reference to the existing hostil.iies at Canton, he will cordially cooperate with the British and French Minis ters in ail peaceful measures to secure bv trea ty stipulations, tho-e concessions to commerce which the nations of the worid have a right to expect, arid which China cannot long be per , niittc- the great high way between the Atlantic and Pacific, over which a large port.on of the commerce of the world is ues ; lined to pa The United States nre core deeply interested than any other nation in p-e --servinz the freed"na and security of all the communications acros tiiis Isthmus It is our duty therefore, to take care that they shall not be interrupted either by invasions from oar own county or by wars between the indepen dent States of Centra! America Under otir treaty with New Grenada of the 12th Decem ber, I>4<), we are bound to guarrauiee the neutrality of the isthmus of Panama, through which tic Panama railroad passes, "as well as the rights •f sovereignty and property which New Grenada Ins and poises**; over the said . Territory.Tnis obligation is founded upon equivalents graaU-d by the treaty to the governmc it at.d people cf the United States. Under tiiesc circumstances, I recoiritr.cnd to Congress the {rasscje of an act authoring the Preside: t i: cav of necessity, to emph-y the land and naval forces cf the United d'.ates to carry into effect tL s guarrautee of neutrality ari pro'e.-tion. I jsi-o recommend similar legislation for the security of aoj other rente across the Isthmus in whichnay acquire an iutercst by treaty. W.th the iude)dent Republics on this C):.fiuent It Is !w?ta our duty a..i uur interest ;to cultivate the most friendly relation;.— 4V* can never fee! ind.ffrent to their fite, a-d must ilwarv rejoice in their prosperity. Ur : fjr-utii'cy for iltem and frus.onrexample and ar>.ct :—v ■ i j*t of ibe.r iiiiutiicv in coo s ~u-:nee of the iaw less expeditions which Lav; I. -vn fitted cut aga :,st SJOI:- of them within the limits of our < our,try. Nothing is bctt-r ! calculated to retari our character as a nation, ,th .n the toleration of such enterprises in vio ; i ti ... of the* la v of n .lion*. it is one of the fir-t and h _hest duties cf ' an/ !nd-pt-:.de:it State, fa its relation; witio the members of th? urea! fa*ni*v of nation*. to \ restrain it.- from acts of hostile azrrc-- -ioa ag.iiii-t tlsrir ctizria or sljeets. Th * ( uio-t eu.ii.ent wr : -.r on p*..b.iu law do act hoitate ?.• -ie un ice such Lcntiiv acts cs rob 'f-y *. 1 murder. W. ak a:. l t "e stat?. like \h~t? of C*r | tral Am re v. may no? fee! t:CEjs**o- able t | assert and ..te their rights. T.ne ca-■ . won i be f - afferent if exp:-*i.tio:.a ware st • on foot within our own territories to m-A* ' priv-.'e war agu"r.-t a powerful tntion. If -uch exped.t were fitted on? frxn nbroa 1 *ga'r.? n. ~ '■ cf mt own c iintrv, to • turn dow • '? cite* n irder *nl Vn- 4er :i --j ].H : n 'he hert; •'* 1 el Stat 4 * *0 r>rc*eeii f:ou t'icu<"o ! agn:n* a p. t-ou o r State wth w iO*e we s~-> | at T ie prrseot act of Arr : ' 2ISIS. ;; but i.ttic mors ther, a cc.ie.Ui pr.ex : *t.' - Hw;. U.. i-r this act. *1 Pros lent is esn*wtr**l to e cpior ;z --. ar.d na'a* fcr*:e a A tine " for t'.e p-> pose of nrgv?*:* z the curry ng on of ar.v q v -j J emed! unn r f* "n '* • •~d !trI r r*Jon of the UaS-ed I ru rorara ?i-sf