I have sworn upon the Altar of God, eternal lioBtlllty to every form oV Tyranny over the Mind of Man." Thomas Jefferson. MINTED AND, PUBLISHED BY II. WEBB. Volume TLV. BIjOOMSBURG, COLUMBIA COUNTY, FA. SATITRBAY, DECEMBER 19, 1840. Number 34. SKSS2332 OFFICE OF THE DEMOCRAT, Oprosrrx St. Paul's Chuucii, Main-st. gBBwretiwsig TERMS : The COLUMBIA DEMOCIi.1T 'will be published every Saturday morning, at TIVO DOLLARS per annum, payable half yearly in advance, or Two Dollars Fifty Cents, if not paid toithin tlx year. JSTo subscription will betaken for a shorter ncnod than six months; nor any discon tinuanec permitted, until all arrearages are discharged. ADVERTISEMENTS not exceeding a square will-be- conspicuously inserted at One Dollar Jor thejirst three insertions, and Twcnti'Jive cents for every siibse quent nscrtlon. IcyA liberal discount viade to those who advertise by the year. LETTERS addressed on business, must be post paid. From the President of the United Slate, to the two Houses of Cougress, at the commencement of Second Session of the Twenty-Sixth Congress. Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives: Our devout gratitudo is due to the Su preme Ueing for having graciously contin ued to our beloved country, through tho vi cissitude ol another year, tho invaluable blessings of health, plenty, and peace. Seldom hai this favored land been so gen erally exomptcd from the ravages of disease, or the labor of tho husbandman more amply tewarded; and never'beforo have our rela tions with other countries been placed on a more favorable basis than that which they so happily occupy at this critical conjecture in the affairs of the world. A rigid and perscveting abstinence front all interference with domestic aud political relations of oth er States, alike due to tho genius and dis tinctive character of our Government and to the principles bv which it is directed; a faithful obsorvanco, in the management of our foreign relations, of the practice of speaking plainly, dealing justly, and requir ing truth aud justice in return, as the best conservatives of the poace of nations; a strict impartiality in our manifestations ol friend ship, in the commercial privileges we con cede, and those we require Irom others: these, acompanied by a disposition as prompt to maintain, m emergency, our own right as we are from principle averse- to the inva sion of those of others, have given to our country and Government a standing in the preat family ol nations, ol which we have just cause to bo proud, and the advantages of which are experienced by our citizens throughout evory portion ol the earlh to which their enterprising and adventurous spirit may carry them. Few, if any, re main insensible to the value of our friend ship, or ignorant of the terms on which it can be acquired, and by which it can alone bo preseived. A series of questions of long standing, difficult in their adjustment, and important in their consequences, in which tho rights of our citizens and tho honor of tho coun try were deeply involved, have, in the course of a few years, (the most of them during the successful administration of my immedialu predecessor,) been brought to a satisfactory conclusion; and the most impor tant of those remaining are, I am happy to believe, in a fair way of being speedily and satisfactorily adjusted. With all tho Powers of tho world our re lations are those of honorable peace. Since your adjournment, nothing serious has oc curred to interrupt or threaten this desira ble harmony. If clouds have loweied above the other hemisphere, they have not cast their portentous shadows upon our happy shores. Bound by no entangling alliances, yet linked by a common nature and interest with the other nations of mankind, our as pirations are for the preservation of peace, in whoso solid and civilizing triumphs all may participate with a gunorous emulation. Yu'l it behooves us to bo prepared for any event, and to be always really to maintain those just and enlightened principles of na' tional intercourse, for which this Govern ment lias ever contended. In the shock of contending empires, it is only by assuming a resolute bearing, and clothing themselves with defensive armor, that neutral nations can maintain their independent riglits. Tho excitements which grew out of the the tenitorial controversy between tho Uni ted States and Great Britain having in a great measure subsided, it is hoped that a fayorablu period is approaching for its final settlement, lloth Governments must now be convinced of the dangers with which tho question is fraught; and it must be their de sire, as it is their interest, that this perpet ual cause of irritation should ba removed as speedily as practicable. In my last an nual message you wore informed that the proposition for a commission of exploration and survoy promised by Great Britain had been received, and that a counterproject, in cluding also a provision lor tho certain and final adjustment of limits in dispute, was then bclorc the uritish Government for its consideration. The answer of that Gov mcnt, accompanied by additional proposi tions of its own, was received, through its minister here, since your separation. These were promptly considered; such as were deemed correct in principle, and consistent with a due regard to the just rights of the United States and of the State of Maine, concurred in; and tho reasons for d.ssentine irom ino resinuc,-wiii) nn auuittonat sugges tion on our part, communicated by the Sec retary ol btate to M r. v ox. 1 hat minister. not feeling himself sufficiently instructed upon some of tho points raised in tho dis cussion, felt it to be his dutv to refer tho matter to hi own Government for its fur-! thcr decision. Having now been for some time under its advisement, a speedy answer may be conudentlv expected. From the character of tho points still in difference, and the undoubted disposition of both par ties to tiring the matter to an early conclu sion, 1 look with entire confidence to a prompt and satisfactory termination to tho negotiation. Threo commissioners were appointed shortly after the adjournment of Congress, under the act of the last session providing for the exploration and survey of the line whicV. separates the states m Maine and New Hampshire fiom the British Prov inces; tliey have beon actively employed until their-progress's was interrupted by the inclemency of the season, and will -resume their labors as soon is practicable in the en suing year. It is understood that their respective ex animations will throw new light upon the subject in controversy, and serve to remove any erroneous impressions which oiay have been made elsewhere prejudicial to the rights of the United States. It was, among other reasons, with a view of preventing the embarrassments which, in our peculiar system ol government, impede aud compli cato negotiations involving the territorial rights of a State, that I thought it my duly, as you have been informed on a previous occasion, to propose to the British Govern menl. through its minister at Washington- that early steps should be taken to adjust the points ol diliercnce on the line of boun dary from the entrance of Lako Superior to the most northwestern point of the Lake of tho Woods, by the arbitration pf a friendly Power, in conformity with the seventh article of the treaty of Ghent. No answerlias yet been returner) by the British Government to this proposition. With Austria, France, Prussia, Russia, and tho remaining Powers of Europe, I am happy to inform you our relations continue to bo of the most friendly character. With Belgium, a treaty of commerce and naviga tion, based upon liberal principles of recip rocity and equality, was concluded in March last, and, having been ratified by tho Belgi an Government, will bo duly laid before the Senate. It is a subject of congratulation that it provides lor the satisfactory adjust ment of a long-standing question of contro versy; thus removing the only obstacle which couid obstruct the friendly and mutu ally advantageous intercourse between the two nations. A messenger has been des patched with the Hanoverian treaty to Ber lin, where, according to stipulation, the rat ifications arc to be exchanged. I am happy to announce to you that, after many delays aud difficulties, a treaty of coinmorco and navigation, between the United States and Portugal, was concluded and signed at Lis bon, on the 2Gth of August last, by the plen ipotentiaries of the two Governments. Its stipulations arc founded upon those princi ples of mutual liberality and advantage which the United States have always sought to make the basis of their intercourse with foreign Powers, and it is hoped they will tend to foster and strengthen tho com mercial intercourse of the two countries. Under tho approbation of the last session uf Congress,, au agent has been sent-io Ger many, for the purpose of promoting the in terests of our tobacco-trade. Tho commissioners appointed tinder the convention for the adjustment of claims of citizens of the United Slates upon Mexico havirjg met and organized at Washington, in August last, the papers in the possession of the Government, relating to those claims were communicated to the Board. The claims not embraced by that convention arc now the subject of negotiation between the two Governments, through the medium of our minister at Mexico. Nothing has occurred to distuib the har mony of our relations with the different Governments of South America. I regret, however, to be obliged to inform you that the claims of our citizens upon the late Re public of Columbia have not yet been satis- fied by the separata Governments into which it has been resolved. The charged affairs of Brazil having ex pressed the intention of his Government not to prolong the treaty ol 1828. it will cease to be obligatory upon cither party on the I2lh day ol December, 1841, when the ex tensive commercial intercourse between the United States and that vast empire will no longer be regulated bv express stipulations. It affords me pleasure to communicate to you that the Government of Chili has enter ed into an agreement to indemnify the clai mants in the case of the Macedonian, for American property seized in 1810; and to add, that information has also been ieceivcd whiclrjuslifics the" hope tif an narly adjust ment of the remaining claims upon that Go vernment. The commissioners appointed in pursu ance of the convention between the United Slates and Texas, for marking the bounda ry between them, have, according to tho last rr.puit received from our commissioner, surveyed nun established tho whole- extent ol the boundary north along the western bank of the Sabine river, from its entrance into the Gulf of Mexico to the thirty-second decree of north latitude. The commission adjourned on the 10th of June last, to rets eemblo on the 1st of November, for the purpose uf establishing accurately the inter section of the thirty-second degree of lati tude with the western bank ot tho balune, and meridian line thence to Red river. It js presumed that the work will be concluded in the present season The present sound condition of their ft nances, und the success with which embar rassments in regard to them, at times appa rcnlly insurtnountnble.have been overcome are matters upon which the people and Go vernment of the United States may well congratulate thcmsolvits. An overflowing treasury, howe-er it may ba regarded as au evidence of public prosperty,is seldom con ducivc to the permanent welfare of any pco ple;and expeuence has demonstrated its in compatibility with the (allilary action of po litical institutions like tioac uf tho United States, Our safest re'.ianen for financial efficiency and independence has, on the contrary, been found to consist in ample re souices unencumbered with debt, aud, in this respect, the Federal Government occu pies a singularly fortunate and truly t eiivia ble position. 1 " ' "' 1 ' When I entered upon the discharge of ray official duties in March, 1837. the act fo distribution ol the surplus revenue was in course of rapid execution. Nearly twenty eight millions of dollars of the publ c mo neys, were, in pursuance of its provisions deposited with the States 'in tho months January, April, and July, of that year. May there occurred a general suspension o specie payments by the banks, including, with very few exceptions, those in which the public moneys wcro deposited, and upon whoso fidelity the Government had unfortu nately niado itself dependent for the reven lies which had been collected Irom the pen pie, and were indispensable to the public service. 1 his su; pension, and tho excess os in banking and commerce out of which it arose, and which were greatly aggravated by its concurrence, marie, to a great extent unavailable the principal part of the public money then on hand; uispemled the collec tion of many millions accruing on merchants bonds;and greatly reduced the revenue aris ing from customs and the public lands. These effects have continued to operate, in various degrees, to the present period; -and in addition to the decrease in the revenuo thus produced, two and a half millions of duties have been relinquished by two bien nial reductions under the act of 1833, and probably as much more upon tho importation of iron for railroads, by special legislation. Whilst such has been our condition for the last four years in rolation to revenue, we have, during the same period, been subject ed to an unavoidable continuace of large extraordinary expenses necessarily growing out of past transactions, and which could not he immediately arrested without great prejudice to the public interest. Of these, the charge upon the Treasury, in conse quence uf the Cherokee treaty alone, with out adverting to others arising out of Indian treaties, has already exceeded five millions of dollars; that forthe prosecution of mea sures for the removal of the Sem'molo Indi ans, which were found in progress, has been nearly fourteen millinns;and the public buil dings have required the unusual sum of nearly three millions. It affords me, however great pleasure to be able to say that, from the commencement of this period to the present day, every de mand upon the Government, at home or a broad, has. been promptly met. This has been dune, not only without creating a per manent debt, or a resort to additional taxa tion in any form, but in the midst of a stea dily pregressive reduction of existing bur dens upon tho people, leaviug still a consid erable balance of avaiUble funds which will remain in the Treasury at the end of tho year. Tho small amount of Treasury notes, not exceeding four and a half millions of dollars, still' outstanding, and less by twenty three millions than the United States have in deposite with the Slates is. composed of such only as are not yot due, oi have not been presented for payment. They may be redeemed out of the accruing revenue, if tho expenditures do not exceed the amount within which they mar, n is thought, be ept without prejudice to the public interest and thv icvciiue shall prove to be as large as may justly be anticipated. Among the rellcctions arisine from the contemplation of theso circuetanccs, one, not the least gratifying, is the consciousness that the uovernment had the resolution aud ability to adhere, in every "emergency, to the sacred obligations of law; to execute all its contracts according to the requirements of the constitution: aud thus to present. when most needed; a iallvinsr-noint bv which the business of tho whole country might he brought hack to a sale and unva rying standard a result vitally important as well to the interests as to the morals of the people. There can surely now bo no difference of opinion in regard to the incal culable evils that would bavo arisen if the Government, at that critical moment, had suffered itself to be deterred from upholding tho only true standard ol value, cither by the pressuro of adverse circumstances or the virulence of unmerited denunciation. The manner in which the people sustained the performance of this duly was highly honorable to their lortttude and patriotism. It cannot fail to stimulate their agents to ad here, under all circumstances, to the lino of dutv; and to satisfy them of the safety with which a course really right, and demanded by a financial crisis, may, in a community like ours, be pursued, however apparently severe its immediate operation. 1 he policy of the Federal Government, in extinguishing as rapidly as possible, the natioual debt, and, subsequently, in resist mg every temptation to create a new one, deserves to he regarded in the same favora ble light. Among the many objections to a national debt, the certain tendency of pub lic securities to concentrate ultimately in tho coffers of foreign stockholders, is one which is every day gaining strength. Already have the resources ol many ot tho Slates, and the luture industry ot their citizens, been indefinitey mortgaged to tho subjects of European Governments, to the amount of twelve millions annually, to pay the con statu accruing interest on borrowed money a sum exceeding halt the ordinary reve nue of the whole United Stales. The pre text which this relation affords to foreigners to scrutinize the management of our domes tic affairs, if not actually to intermeddle with them, presents a subject for earnest atten tion, not to say of serious alarm. Fortu nately, thel-ederal Government, with the exception of an obligation entered into in behalf of tho District of Columbia, which" must soon be discharged, is wholly exempt Irom any such embarrassment. It is also as is believed, the only Government which, having Uilly and faithfully paid all its cred itors, has also relieved itself entirely from debt. To maintain a distinction so desira ble, and so honorable to our natioual cha racter, should be au object of earnest solici tude. Never should a free people, if it be possble to avoid it, expose themselves to the necessity of having to treat of the peace, the honor, or the safety of the Republic, with the Governments of foreign creditors, who however well disposed they may be to cul tivate with us in general friendly relations, are nevertheless, by the law of their own condition, made hostile to tho success and permanency of political institutions lil eours. Another objection, scarcely less formidable to the commencement of a new debt, is its inevitable tendency to increase in magnitude and to foster nrtional extravagance. He has been an unprofitable observer of events, who needs at this day to be admon ished of tho difficulties which a Govern ment, habitually dependent on loans to sus tain its ordinary expenditures, has to en counter in resisting tho influences constant ly exerted in favor of additional loans; by capitalists, who enrich themselves by Go vernment securities for amounts much ex ceeding the money thoy actually advance a prolific source of individual aggrandize ment in all borrowing countries; by stock holders; who seek their gains in the rise and fall of public stocks; and by the selfish importunities of applicants for appropria tions for works avowedly for theaccommo- dation of the public, but the real objects of which are, too frequently, the advancement of private interests. Tho known necessity which so many of the States will bo under i to impose taxes for the payment of the in terest on their debts, furnishes an addirional and very cogent reason why the Federal Government should refrain from creating a national debt, by which tho people would be exposed to double taxation for a similar object. We possess within ourselves am ple resources for every emergency; and we aiay be quite sure that our citizens; in no future exigency will be unwilling to supply the .Government with all the means asked for the defence of the country. In time of peace there can, at all events, bo no justifi cation for the creation of a permanent debt by the Federal Government. Its limited range of constitutional duties may certainly under such circttraoiances, be performed without such a resort. It has, it is seen been avoided dining four years of greater fiscal difficulties than have oxisted in a sim ilar period since the adoption of tho consti tution, and ono also remarkable for the oc currence of extraordinary causes of expendi tures. But to accomplish so desirablo an object, two things are indispensable : first, that the action of tho Federal Governmet be kept within the boundaries prescribed by its foun ders; and, secondly, that all appropriations lor oujecis aumuieu to be constitutional, and the expenditure of them also, be subjected to a standard of rigid but well-considered and practical economy. The first depend chiefly or. the people themselves, the opin ions they form of the true conslructien of tho constitution, and the confidence they repose in the political sentiments of those they select as their representatives in tho Federal Legislature; the second rests upon ine uuemy wun wnicn their more lmmeui- ate representatives, and other public func tionaries, discharge the trusts committed to them. 1 he duty of economizing the ex penses of tho public service is admitted on all hands; yet there are few subjects upon wnicn mere exists a wiuer diilerence of o pinion than is constantly manifested in re gard to the fidility with which that duty is dischaiged. Neither diversity of sentiment, nor even mutual recriminations, upon' a point in respect to which the yuilic mind is so jusuy sensitive, can well tie entirety avoided; and least so at periods of great po litical excitement. An intelligent people, however, seldom fail to strive, in the cad, at correct cbnclusions in such a matter. Practical economy in the management of public affairs can have no adverse influence to contend with more poweuful than a largo surplus revenue; and the unusually large appropriations for 1837 may, without doubt, independently of the extraordinary requisi tions for tlip public service growing out of the state of Indian reation, bo, in no incon siderable degree, traced to this source. Tho sudden and rapid distribution of ttio largo surplus then in the Treasury, and tho equally sudden and unprecedently severe revulsion in the commerce and business of the country, pointing with unerring certain ty to a great and prfltracted reduction of tho revenue, strengthened" the proprioty of the earliest practicable reduction of the public expenditures. But, to change a system operation upon so large a surface, and applicable to such numerous and diversified intorests and ob jects, was more than tho work of a day. The attention of every department of the Government was immediately, and in good faith, directed to that end; and has been so continued to tho present 'liomenl. The es timates and appropriations for tie year 1838 (tho first over which I had any control)'wora somewhat diminished. Tho expenditures of 1830 were reduced six millions of dol lars. Those of 1840, exclusive of dis bursements for public debt and trust claims, will probably not exceed twenty-two and a half millions; being between two and threa millions less than those of 1837. Nor has it been found necessary, in order to produco this result, to resort to tho power conferred by Congrcss.of postponing certain classes of the public works, except by deferring ex penditures for n short period upon a limited portion of them; and which postponement terminated some time since, at thn moment the Treasury Department, by further re ceipts from the indebted banks, became ful ly assured of its ability to meet them with out prejudice to the public service in other respects. Causes arc in operation which will, it is believed, justify a still furthor re duction, without injury to any important national interest. Tho expenses of sus taining the troops employed in Florida have been gradually and greatly reduced, through the persevering efforts ef the War Depart ment; and a rcasonablo hope may bu entor lained that the necessity for military opera tions in that quarter wjU soon cease. Thn removal of the Indians from within our set tled borders is nearly completed. The pen sion list, one of the heaviest chargos upon the Treasury, is rapidly diminishing bv death. The most costly of our public buildidgs are either finished, or nearly so; and we may, I think, safely promise our selves a continued exemption- from border difficulties. Tho available balance in the Treasnry on the 1st of January next is estimated at ono million and a half of dollars. This sum, with tho expected receipts from all sourcei V
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