I
The repot of the Secretary of the inte
rior, *hich accompanies this communica
tion, will present a condensed statement of
the operations of that important depart
ment of the Government.
It will be seen that the cash sales of the
public lands exceed those of the proceed
ing year, and that there is reason to anti
cipate a still further increrse, notwith
standing the large donations which have
been made to Siang of the States, and the
liberal grants to individuals as a reward
for military services. This fact furnishes
very gratifying evidence of the growing
wealth and prosperity of our country.
Suitable measures have been adopted
for commencing the survey of the public
lands in California and Oregon. Survey
ing parties have been organized, and some
progress has been made in establishing the
principal base and meridian linos. But
further legislation and additional appro
priations will be necessary before the prop
er subdivisions can be made, and the gen
eral land system extended over those re
mote parts of our territory.
On the 3d of March last an act was
passed providing for the appointment of
three commissioners to settle private land
claims in California. Three persons were
immediately appointed, all of whom, how
ever, declined accepting the office, in con
sequence of the inadequacy of the compen
sation. Others were promptly selected,
who, for the same reason, also declined;
and it was not until late in the season that
the services of suitable persons could be
secured. A majority of the commissioners
convened, in this city, on the 10th Septem
ber last when• detailed instructions wore
given to them in regard to their duties.—
Their first meeting for the transaction of
business will be held in San Francisco on
the Bth day of the present month.
I have thought it proper to refer to
these facts, not only to explain the causes
of the delay iu filling the commission, but
to call your attention to the propriety of
increasing the compensation of the com
missioners. The office is one of great la
bor and responsibility, and the compensa
tion should be such as to command men
of a high order of talents and the most un
questionable integrity.
The proper disposal of the mineral lands
of California is a subject surrounded by
great difficulties. In my last annual Hies
sage I recommended the survey and sale
of them in small parcels, under such re
strictions as would effectually guard against
monopoly and speculation. But upon fur
ther information, and in deference to the
opinions of persons familiar with the sub
ject, I am inclined to change that recom
mendation, and to advise that they be per
mitten to remain, as at present, a common
field, open to the enterprise and industry of
all our citizens, until further experience
shall have developed the best policy to be
ultimately adopted in regard to them. It
is safer to suffer the inconveniences that
now exist, for a short period, than, by pre
mature legislation, to fasten on the coun
try a system founded in error, which may
place the whole subject beyond the future
control of Congress.
The agricultural lands should, however,
be surveyed and brought into market with
as little delay as possble, that the titles
may become settled, and the inhabitants
stimulated to make permamont improve
ments, and enter on the ordinary pursuits
of life. To effect these objects it is desira
ble that the necessary provision be made
by law for the establishment of land offices
in California and Oregon, and for the effi
cient prosecution of the surveys at an ear
ly day.
Some difficulties have occurred in or
ganizing the Territorial governments of
New Mexico and Utah; and, when more ac
curate information shall e obtained of
the causes, a further communication will
be made on that subject.
In my last annual communication to
Congress I recommended the establish
ment of an agricultural bureau, and I take
this occasion again to invoke your favora
ble consideration of the subject.
Agriculture may justly be regarded as
the great interest of our people. Four
fifths of our active population aro employ
ed in the cultivation of the soil, and the
rapid expansion of our settlements over
new territory is daily adding to the num
ber of those engaged in that vocation.
Justice and sound policy, therefore, alike
require that thq government should use
all the means authorized by the constitu
tion to promote the interests and welfare
of that important class of our fellow citi
zens. And yet it is a singular fact that,
whilst the manufacturing and commercial
interests have engaged the attention of
Congress during a large portion of every
session, and our statutes abound in provi
sions for their protection and encourage
ment, little has yet been done directly for
the advancement of agriculture. It is
time that this reproach to our legislation
should be removed; and I sincerely hope
that the present Congress will not close
their labors without adopting efficient
means to supply the omissions of those who
have preceded them„ _
AtiAgricultural Bureau, charged with
tho duty of collecting and disseminating
correct information as to the best modes
,of cultivation, and of the most effectual
means of preserving and restoring the fer
tility of the soil, and of procuring and dis
tributing seeds and plants and other veg
etable productions, with instructions in rt
gard to the soil, climate, and treatment
best adapted to their growth, could not
fail to be, in the language of Washington,
in his last annual message to Congress, a
"very cheap instrument of immense na
tional benefit."
Regarding the act of Congress approved
28th September, 1850, granting bounty
lands to persons who had been engaged in
the military services of the country, as a
great measure of national justice and mu
nificence, an anxious desire has been felt,
by the officers entrusted with its immedi
ate exception, to give prompt effect to its
provisioffs. All the means within their
control were, therefore, brought into re
quisition to expedite the adjudication of
claims, and I am gratified to be able to
state that near one hundred thousand ap
plications have been considered, and about
seventy thousand warrants issed within the
short space of nine months. If adequate
provision be made by law to carry into ef
fect the recommendations of the Depart
ment, it is confidently expected that, be
fore the close of the next fiscal year, all
who are entitled to the benefits of the act
will have received their warrants.
The Secretary of the Interior has sug
gested in his report various amendments of
Ole laws relating to pensions and bounty
lands, for the purpose of more effectually
guarding against abuses and frauds on the
Government, to all of which I invite your
particular attention.
The largo accessions to our indian pop
ulation consequent upon the acquisition of
New Mexico and California, and the ex
tension of our settlements into Utah and
Oregon, have given increased in
terest and importance to our relations with
the aboriginal race.
No material change has taken place
within the last year in the condition and
prospects of the Indian tribes who reside
in the Northwestern territory and west of
the Mississippi river. We aro at peace
with all of them; and it will be a source of
pleasure to you to learn that they are
gradually advancing in civilization and the
pursuits of social life.
Along the Mexican frontier, and in Cal
ifornia, and in Oregon, there have been
occasional manifestations of unfriendly
feeling, and some depredations committed.
I am satisfied, however, that they resulted
more from the destitute and starving con
dition of the Indians than from any settled
hostility toward the whites. As the set
tlements of our citizens progress towards
them, the game upon which they mainly
rely for subsistence is driven off or de
stroyed, and the only alternative left to
them is starvation or plunder. It becomes
us to consider, in view of this condition of
things, whether justice and humanity, as
well as an enlightened economy, do not
require that, instead of seeking to punish
them for offences which are the result of
our own policy towards them, we should
not provide for their immediate wants and
encourage them to engage in agriculture,
and to rely on their labor, instead of the
chase, for the means of support.
Various important treaties have been
negotiated with different tribes during the
year, by which their title to large and val
uable tracts of country has been extin
guished, all of which will, at the proper
time, be submitted to the Senate for rati
fication.
The joint commission under the treaty of
Guadalupe Hidalgo has been actively en
gaged in running and marking the bounda
ry line between the United States and
Mexico. It was stated in the last annual
report of the Secretary of the Interior,
that the initial point on the Pacific and the
point of junction of the Gila with the Col
orado river had been determined, and the
intervening line, about one hundred and
fifty miles in length, run and marked by
temporary monuments. Since that time a
monument ofmarble has been erected at the
initial point, and permanent landmarks of
iron have been placed at suitable distances
along the line.
The initial point on the Rio Grande has
also been fixed by the commissioners at
latitude 32 deg. 22 min., and at the date
of the last communication the survey of the
Ilino had been made thence westward about
ono hundred and fifty miles to the neigh
borhood of the copper mines.
The commission on our part was at first
organized on a scale which experience
proved to be unwieldy, and attended with
unnecessary expense. Orders have, there
fore, been issued for the reduction of the
number of persons employed within the
smallest limits, consistent with the safety
of those engaged in the service, and the
prompt and efficient execution of their im
portant duties.
Returns have been received from all the
officers in taking the census in the States
and territories, except California. The
superintendent employed to make the e
numeration in that State has not yet made
his full report, from causes, as he alleges,
beyond his control. This failure is much
to be regretted, as it has prevented the
Secretary of the Interior from making the
decennial apportionment of representatives
among the States, as required by the act
approved May 23, 1850. It is hoped,
however, that the returns will soon be re
ceived, and no time will then be lost in
making the necessary apportionment, and
in transmitting the certificates required by
law.
The Superintendent of the Seventh Cen
sus is diligently employed, under the di
rection of the Secretary of the Interior,
in classifying and arranging, in tabular
form, all the statistical information derived
from the returns of the marshals, and it is
believed that when the work shall be com
pleted
it will exhibit a more perfect view
of the population, wealth, occupations, and
social condition of a great country, than
has over been presented to the world.—
The value of such a work, as the basis of
enlightened legislation, can hardly be
over-estimated; and I earnestly hope that
Congress will lose no time in making the
appropriations necessary to complete the
clasifications, and to publish the results in
a style worthy of the subject and of our
national character.
The want of a uniform fee bill, preseri-
bing the compensation to be allowed dis
trict attorneys, clerks, marshals and com
missioners in civil and criminal cases, is the
cause of much vexation, injustice, and
complaint. I would recommend a tho
rough revision of the laws on the whole
subject, and the adoption of a tariff of fees
which, as far as practicable, should be uni
form, and prescribe a specific ,compensation
for every service which the officer may be
required to perform. This subject will be,
fully presented in the report of the Seep
tary of the Interior,
In my last annual message I gave brief
ly my reasons for believing that you pos
sessed the constitutional power to improve
the harbors of our great lakes and seacoast,
and the navigation of our principal rivers,
and recommended that appropriations
should be made for completing such works
as had already been commenced, and for
commencing such others as might seem to
the wisdom of Congress to be of public and
general importance. Without repeating
the reasons then urged, I deem it my duty
again to call your attention to this impor
tant subject. The works on many of the
harbors were left in an unffnished state,
and consequently exposed to the aetion of
the elements, which is fast destroying
them. Great numbers of lives and vast
amounts of property are annually lost for
want of safe and convenient harbors on the
lakes. None but those who have been ex
posed to that dangerous navigation can ful
ly appreciate the importance of this sub
ject. The whole northwest appeals to you
for relief, and I trust their appeal will re
ceive due consideration at your hands.
The same is in a measure true in regard
to some of the harbors and inlets on the
seacoast. _ _
The unobstructed navigation of our large
livers is of equal importance. Our settle
ments are now extending to the sources of
the great rivers which empty into, and
form a part of the Mississippi, and the val
ue of the public lands in those regions
would be greatly enhanced by freeing the
navigation of those waters forom obstruc
tions. In view therefore, of this great in
terest, I deem it my duty again to urge
upon Congress to make such appropriations
for those improvements as they may deem
necessary.
The survey of the Delty of the Missis
sippi, with a view to the prevention of the
overflows that have proven so disastrous to
that region of country, have been nearly
completed, and the reports thereof are
now in course of preparation, and will
shortly be laid before you.
The protection of our southwestern fron
tier, and of the adjacent Mexican States,
against the Indian tribes within our border,
has claimed my earnest and constant atten
tion. Congress having failed, at the last
session, to adopt my recommendation that
an additional regiment of mounted men
specially adapted to that service should be
raised, all that remained to be done was
to make the best use of the meths at my
disposal. Accordingly, all the troops
adapted to that service that could properly
be spared from other quarters have been
concentrated on that frontier, and officers
of high reputation selected to command
them. A new arrangement of the milita
ry posts has also been made, whereby the
troops are brought nearer to the Mexican
frontier and to the tribes they are intended
to overawe.
Sufficient time has not yet elapsed to
realize all the benefits that are expected
to result from these arrangements, but I
have every reason to hope that they will
effectually check their marauding expedi
tions. The nature of the country, which
furnishes little for the support of an army
and abounds in places of refuge and con
cealment, is remarkably well adapted to
this predatory warfare; and we can scarce
ly hope that any military force, combined
with the greatest vigilance, can entirely
suppress it.
By the treaty of Guadalupa Hidalgo we
aro bound to protect the territory of Mexico
against the incursions of the tribes within
our border "with equal diligence and ener
gy" as if the same were made within our
territory or against our citizens. I have
endeavored to comply, as far as possible,
with this provision of the treaty. Orders
have been given to the officers comman
ding on that frontier to consider the Mexi
can territory and its inhabitants as equal
ly with our own entitled to their protec
tion; and to make all their plans and ar
rangements with a view to the attainment
of this object. Instructions have also
been given to the Indian commissioner and
agents among these tribes, in all treaties,
to make the clauses designed for the pro
tection of our citizens apply also to those
of Mexico. I have no reason to doubt
that these instructions have been fully car
ried inty effect: Nevertheless, it is proba
ble that, in spite of all our efforts, some of
the neighboring States of Mexico may have
suffered, as our own have, from depreda
tions by the Indians.
To the difficulties of defending our own
territory, as above mentioned, are superad
ded, in defending that of Alnico, those
that arise from its remoteness,from the fact
that we have no right to station our troops
within her limits, and that there is no effi
cient 'Military force on the Mexican side
to cooperate with our own. So long as
this shall continue to be the case, the
number and activity of our troops will
rather increase than diminish the evil, as
the Indians will naturallyturn towards that
country where they encounter the least
resistance. Yot these troops aro necessa
ry to subdue them, and to compel them to
make and observe treaties. Until this
have been done, neither country will
enjoy any security from their attacks.
The Indians in California, who had pre
viously appeared of a peaceable character,
and disposed to cultivate the friendship of
the whites, have recently committed sever
al acts of hostility. As a large portion of
the reinforcements sent to the Mexican
frontier were drawn from the Pacific, the
millitary force now stationed there is con
sidered entirely inadequate to its defence.
It cannot be increased, however, without
an increase of the army; and I again re
commend that measure as indispensable to
the protection of the frontier.
I invite your attention to the sugges
tions on this subject, and on others con
nected with his Department, in the report
of the Secretary of War.
The appropriations for the support of
the army during the current fiscal year en
ding 30th June next, were reduced far be
low the estimate submitted by the Depart
ment. The consequence of this reduction
is a considerable deficiency, to which I in
vite your early attention.
The expenditures of that Department,
for the year ending 30th June last, were
$9,060,268 58. The estimates for the
year commencing first July next and end
ing June 30, 1853, are $7,898,775 83;
showing a reduction of $1,161,492 75.
The Board of Commissioners, to whom
the management of the affairs of the Mili
tary Asylum created by the • act of 3d
March last was entrusted, have selected a
site for the establishment of an Asylum in
the vicinity of this city, which has been ap
proved by me, subject to the production of
a satisfactory title.
The report of the Secretary of the Na
vy will exhibit the condition of the public
service under the supervision of that De
partment. Our naval force afloat during
the present year has been actively and
usefully employed in giving protection to
our widely-extended and increasing com
merce and interests in the various quarters
of the globe, and our flag has everywhere
afforded the security and received the re
spect inspired by the justice and liberality
of our intercourse, and the dignity and
power of the nation.
The expedition commanded by Lieuten
ant De Haven, despatched in search of the
British commander, Sir John Franklin,
and his companions in the Arctic Seas, re
turned to New York in the month of Octo
ber, after having undergone great peril
and suffering from an unknown and danger
ous navigation and rigors of a northern
climate, without any satisfactory informa
tion of the objects of their search, but
with new contributions to science and na
vigation from the unfrequented polar re
gions. The officers and men of the expe
dition, having been all volunteers for this
service, and having so conducted it as to
meet the entire approbation of the Govern
ment, it is suggested, as an act of grace
and generosity, that the same allowance of
ext* pay and emoluments be extended to
them that were made to the officers and
men of like rating in the late exploring ex
pedition to the South Seas.
I earnestly recommend to your atten
tion the.necessity of reorganizing the Na
val Establishment, apportioning and fixing
the number of officers in each grade, pro
viding some mode of promotion to the
higher grades of the navy, having refer
once to merit and capacity, rather than
seniority or date of entry into the service,
and for retiring from the effective list up
on reduced pay those who may be incom
petent to the performance of active duty.
As a measure of economy as well as of effi
ciency in this arm of the service, the pro
vision last mentioned is eminently worthy
of your consideration.
The determination of the questions of
relative rank between the sea officers and
civil officers of the navy, and between offi
cers of the army and navy, in the various
grades of each, will also merit your atten
tion. The failure to provide any substi
tute, when corporal punishment was abol
ished for offences in the navy,has occasioned
the convening of numerous courts-martial
upon the arrival of vessels in port, and is
believed to have had an injurious effect up
on the discipline and efficiency of the ser
vice. To moderate punishment from one
grade to another is among the humane re
forms of the age; but to abolish one of
severity, which applied so generally to of
fences on shipboard, and provide nothing
in its stead, is to suppose a progress of
improvement in every individual among
seamen which is not assumed by the Le
gislature in respect to any other class of
men. It is hoped that Congress, in the
ample opportunity afforded by the present
session, will thoroughly investigate this
important subject, and establish such
modes of determining guilt, and such gra
dations of punishment as are consistent
with humanity and the personal rights of
individuals, and at the same time shall en
, sure the most energetic and efficient per
formance of duty and the suppression of
Grime in our ships of war.
The stone dock in the navy yard at
New York, which was ton years in process
of construction, has been so far finished as
to be surrendered up to the authorities of
the yard. The dry deck at Philadelphia
is reported as completed, and is expected
soon to be tested and delivered, over to the
agents of the Government. That at Ports
mouth, Now Hampshire, is also nearly
ready for delivery; and a contract has
been concluded, agreeably to the act of
Congress at its last session, for a floating
sectional dock on the Bay of San Francis
co. I invite your attention to the recom
mendation of the Department touching the
establishment of a navy yard in conjunc
tion with thjs dock on the Paoifie. Such
a station is highly necessary to the conve
nience and effectiveness of our fleet in that
ocean, which must be expected to increase
with the growth of commerce, and the
rapid extention of our whale fisheries over
its waters.
Tho Naval Academy at Annapolis, un-
der a revised and improved system of rogu•
Wiens npw affords opportunities of educa
tion and instruction to the pupils quite
equal, it is believed, for professional im
provement, to those enjoyed by the cadets
in the Military Academy. • A large class
of acting midshipmen was received at the
commencement of the last academic term,
and a practice ship has been attached to
the institution, to afford the amplest means
for regular instruction in seamanship, as
well us for cruises during the vacations of
three or four montki iu each year.
The advantages of science in nautical
affairs have rarely been more strikingly il
lustrated than in the fact stated in the re
port of the Navy Department,that,by means
of the wind and current charts, projected
and prepared by Lieutenant Maury, the
Superintendent of the Naval Observatory,
the passage from the Atlantic to the Pa
cific ports of our country has been shor
tened by about forty days.
The estimates for the support of the Na
vy and Marino Corps the ensuing fiscal
year will be found to be $5,856,472 19,
the estimates for the current year being
$5,900,621.
The estimates for special objects under
the control of this Department amount to
$2,684,220 89, against $2,210,980 for
the present year, the increase being occa
sioned by the additional mail service ou
the Pacific coast and the construction of
the dock in California, authorized at the
last session of Congress, and some slight
additions under the head of improvements
and repairs in navy yards, buildings and
machinery.
I deem it of much importance to a just
economy, and a correct understanding of
naval expenditures, that there should be
an entire separation of the appropriations
for the support of the naval service proper
from those for permanent improvements at
navy yards and stations, and from ocean
steam-mail service, and other special ob
jects assigned to the supervision of this De
partment.
The report of the Postmaster General,
herewith communicated, presents an inter
esting view of the progress, operations, and
condition of his Department.
At the close of the last fiscal year, the
length of mail routs within the United
States was 190,290 miles. ' the annual
transportation thereon 53,272,252 miles;
and the annual cost of such transportation
$3,421,754.
The length of the foreign mail route is
estimated at 18,349 miles; and the annual
transportation thereon at 615,206 miles.
The annual cost of this service is $1,472,-
187, of which $448,937 is paid by the
Post Office Department, and $1,023,250 is
paid through the Navy Department.
The annual transposition 'within the
United States (excluding the service in
California and Oregon, which is now, for
the first time, re ported and embraced in
the tabular statements of the Department)
exceeds that of the preceding year 6,162,
855 miles, at an breased cost of $547,-
110.
The whole number of post offices in the
United States, on the 30th day of June
last, was 19,796. There were 1,698 post
offices established, and 256 discontinued
during the year.
The gross revenues of the Department
for the fiscal year, including the appropri
ations for the franked matter of Congress,
of the Departments, and officers of Gov
ernment, and excluding the foreign post
ages, collected for and payable to, the
British post office, amounted to $6,727,-
865 78.
The expenditures for the same period
(excluding $20,509 49, paid under an
award of the Auditor, iu pursuance of a
resolution of the last Congress,' for snail
service on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers
in 1832 and 1833, and the amount paid to
the British post office for foreign postagos
collected for and payable to that office)
amounted to 6,024,566 79; leaving a bal
ance of revenue over the proper expendi
tures of the year of $703,299 99.
The receipts for postages during the
year (excluding the foreign postagcs col
lected for and payable to the British post
office) amounted to $6,345,747 21, being
an increase of $997,620 79, or 18.65-100
per cent. over the like receipts for the pre
ceding year.
The reduction of postage, under the act
of March last, did not take effect until the
commencement of the present fiscal year.
The accounts for the first quarter, under
the operation of the reduced rates, will
not bo settled before January next; and
no reliable estimate of the receipts for this
present year can yet be made. It is be
lieved, however, that they will fall short
of those of the last year. Tho surplus
of the revenues now on hand is, however,
so largo that no further appiopriation from
the treesury,in aid of the revenues of the
Department, is required for the current
fiscal year; but an additional appropriation
for the year ending June 30, 1853, will
probably be found necessary when the re
ceipts of the first two quarters of the fiscal
year are fully ascertained.
In his last annual report tho Postmaster
General recommended a reduction of post
age to rates which he deemed as low as
could be prudently adopted, unless Con
gress was prepared to appropriate from the
treasury, for the support of the Depart
ment, a sum more than equivalent to the
mail services performed by it for the Gov
ernment. The recommendations of the
postmaster General, in respect to letter
postage, except on letters from and to
California and Oregon, wore substantially
adopted by the last Congress. Ho now re
commends adherence to the present letter
rates, and advises against a further reduc
tion until justified by the revenue of the
Department.
He also recommends that the rates of
postage off prißted matter be so revised as
to render them more simple, and more uni
furin in their operation upon all elassbi3 of
printed matter. I submit the recommeu
-1 (Wiens of the report to your favorable
I consideration.
The public statutes of the United States
have now been accumulatinng for more
than sixty years, and, interspersed with
private acts, are scattered through nu
morons volumes, and, from the cost of the
'whole, have become almost inaccessible to
the great mass of the community. They
also exhibit much of the incongruity and
imperfect:en of hasty legislation. Ai it
seems to be generally conceded that there
is no “common law" of the United States
to supply the defects of their legislation,
it is chest important that that legislation
should be as perfect as possible, defining
every power intended to he conferred, eve
ry crime intended to be made punishable,
and prescribing the punishment to be in
flicted. Iu addition to some particular
cases spoken of snore at length, the whole
criminal code is now lamentably defective.
Some offences are imperfectly described,
and others are entirely omitted; so that
flagrant crimes may be committed with im
punity. The scale of punishment is not in
all cases graduated according to the de
gree and nature of the offence, and is of
ten rendered more unequal by the differ
ent modes of imprisonment, or ponitonitary
confinement, in the different States.
Many laws of a permanent character have
been introduced into appropriation bills, and
it is often difficult to determine whether the
particular clause expires with the temporary
act of which it is a part, or continues in
force. It has also frequently happened that
enactments and provisions of law have been
introduced into bills, with the title or general
subject of which they have little or no con
nexiun or relation. In this mode of legisla
tion so many enactments have been heaped
upon each other, and often with but little
consideration, that, in many instances, it is
difficult to search out and determine what is
the law.
The Government of the United States is
emphatically a government of written laws.
The statutes should, therefore, as far as prac
ticable, not only be made accessible to all,
but be expressed in language so plain and
simple as to be understood by all, and ar
ranged in such method as to give perspicuity
to every subject. Many of the States have
revised their public acts with great and man
ifest benefit; and I recommend that provision
be made by law for the 'appointment of a
commissioner to revise the public statutes of
the United States, arranging them in order,
supplying deficiencies, correcting incongrui
ties, simplifying their language, and report
ing them to Congress for its action.
An act of Congress approved 30th Septem
ber, 1800, contained a provision for the ex
tension of the Capitol, according to such plan
as might be approved by the President, and
appropriated ono hUndred thousand dollars
to be expended under his direction by such
architect as he should appoint to execute the
same. On examining the various plans
which had been submitted by different ar
chitects, in pursuance of an advertisement
by a committee of the Senate, no one was
found to be entirely satisfactory, and it was
therefore deemed advisable to combine and
adopt the advantages of several.
The great objects to be accomplisphed was
to make such an addition as would afford
ample and convenient halls for the delibera
tions of the two Houses of Congress, with
sufficient accommodations for speotOors,
and suitable apartments for the committees
and officers of the two branches of the Leg
islature. It was also desirable not to mar
the harmony and beauty of the present struc
ture, which, as a specimen of architecture,
ie so universally admired. Keeping these
objects in view, I conchided to make the ad
dition by wings, detached from the present
building, yet connected with it by corridors.
This mode of enlargement will leave the pre-
Sent Capitol uninjured, and afford great ad
vantages for ventilation and the admission
of light, and will enable the Work to progress
without interrupting the deliberations.of Con.:
gress. To carry this plan itlto effect I have
appointed an experienced and competent ar
chitect. The corner-stone was laid on the
4th day of July last, with suitable ceremo
nies, since which time the work has advan
ced with commendable rapidity, and the
foundations of both wings are now nearly
cuipplete.
I again commend to your favorable regard
the interests of the District of Columbia, and
deem it only necessary to remind you, that
although its inhabitants have no voice in
the choice of representatives in Congress,
they are not the less entitled to a just and
liberal consideration in 'your legislation.—
My opinions on this subject were more fully
expressed in my last annual communication.
Other subjects were brought to the atten
tion of Congress in my last annual message,
to which I would respectfully refer. But
there was one of more than ordinary interest
to which I again invite your special attention.
I allude to the recommendation for the ap
pointment of a commission to settle private
claims against the United States. Justice to
individuals as well as to the Government in
peratively demands that some mote conveni
ent and expeditious mode than an appeal to'
COngress should be adopted.
It is deeply' to be regretted that in several
instances officers of the Government, in at
tempting to execute tho law for the return,
of fugitives from labor, have been openly re
sisted, and their efforts ftustrated'and defeat
ed by lawless and violent mobs; that in one
case such resistance resulted in the death of
an estimable citizen, and 'in others serious
injury ensued to those officers and to indi
viduals who were using their endeavors to
sustain the laws. Prosecutions have been
instituted against the alleged offenders, so
far as they could be identified, and are still
pending. I have regarded it as my duty, in
there cases, to give all aid legally in my
poWer to the enforcement of tho laws, and
I shall continue to do so wherever and when
ever their execution may be resisted.
The act of Congress for the return of fu
gitives from labor is one reqnkedand deman
ded by the express words of the Constitu
tion.
The Constitution declares, "That no per- .
' sonheld to service or labor in one State, um.
der the laws thereof, escaping into another,
shall, in consequence of any law or regula
'•tion therein, be discharged from such stir•
vico or labor, but shall be delivered up 011
claim of the party to whom such Service or
labor may be due.' This constittltional pro
vision is equally obligatory upon the legis•
the Executive ; and Judicial Depart