Si m Hull 11 11 ^ffiP "Daii iirc,"' >ai(l :i -;i!)lo ora,tor, ad- dressing his bretliero, "Two roads tro' dis "^orld. Pe one am a broad and nar- row road (lat leads to puerditioHj^d^ie Oder a narrow and broad road dat Ijeads to Ke.>ti-ucb*t.)n." '^If dat am de ca^^e," said one .Ql^^liis hearers, "dis culiud iiadiwidual tatiesto dtf woods." ■I II 1 ilKagajjW l-».t i .r « 1 1 nm» jmu — na /* Ax Irishman, some time ago, wv^^ committed to tJio i>onitentiary and for •iji^ misdemeanor sentenced to work on I f.;£|ip'tre^d mftll for a month . He observed at'thQ expiration of his task, "what a grea|{jtlale of botheration and fatague it would have saveU us poor ccaythurs, if iptheyhaflbut invint^ it to go by stam^i lik? aii other wather mills." 'A/' - A- ».. —The following ordQr'^verh't^rM^'eTlUeratun, is '#-D»Jd to have l>eea received by au undertaker t?6in. an afflicted Tfidovrer: — "Sur; — Mywi'.ia ied and waais to be burrie' • y>' ■ miWHM BIBWiW* o :.-.^^?i.', '■ ■'■' ^iiat^issatifaawyft^^ ■ •^^Ilt^fiWftWiHPWBpWRras^- ■ J FOR USE ONLY IN THE NORTH CAROLINA COLLECTION IHiS IITU HAS BEEN MICROFILMED UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL ■PlIIIPI 00032690687 \ Form No. A '368 ■■^'^. X f *>;<>"' ^1 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN: CONTAINING THE INAUGURAL ADDRESSES, TOGETHER WITH THE FIRST ANNUAL ADDRESSES AND MESSAGES OF ALL THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES, FROM 1789 TO 1845; TOGETHER WITH THEIR FAREWELL ADDRESSES, AND ILLUSTRATED WITH THE PORTRAIT OF EACH OF THE PRESIDENTS. TO WHICH IS ANNEXED THE DKCLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE AND CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES, WITH THE AMENDMENTS AND SIGNERS' NAMES. ALSO, THE CONSTITUTIONS OF MANY OF THE MOST IMPORTANT STATES II? THE U N I n/ BY JONATHAN FRENCH. PHILADELPHIA: PUBLISHED BY W. A. LEAKY. 1846. [Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 18 11, by D. RicHAnosoji, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of liie United Slates in and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.] Printed by John H. Gihon, 113 Chesnut street. CONTENTS. c& ?76,9t Page Declaration of Independence, - - 5 Washington's Inaugural Address, - 10 Washington's First Annual Address, - - 14 Washington's Farewell Address, - - 17 Adams' Inaugural Address, - - - 34 Adams' First Annual Message, - - - 40 Jefferson's Inaugural Address, - - - 40 Jefferson's First Annual Mess.ige, - - 52 Madison's Inaugural Address, '^ - - - 61 Madison's First" Annual Message, - - 64 Monroe's Inaugural Address, - . - 69 Monroe's First Annual Message, - . 79 J. Q. Aaams' Inaugural Address, - - - 91 J. Q. Adams' First Annual Message, - . 99 Jackson's Inaugural Address, - - _ 124 Jackson's First Annual Message, - - 127 Jackson's Farewell Address, - _ _ 155 "Van Buren's Inaugural Address, - - 173 Van Buren's First Annual Message, - . 188 Harrison's Inaugural Address, - - _ 220 Tyler's Address, - - - _ . 242 Tyler's First Message, - - - _ 247 Polk's Inaugural Address, - - _ _ 263 Constitution of the United States, (Appendix.) 5 Constitution of Massachusetts, - - - 21 Constitution of New York, - - - - 57 Constitution of New Jersey, - - - 74 Constitution of Pennsylvania, - - - 95 Constitution of Virginia, - - . 112 Constitution of South Carolina, - - _ 127 Constitution of Ohio, - - - . 142 Constitution of Kentucky, - - - . I6O THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume, among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights ; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deri- ving their just powers from the consent of the governed; and that, whenever any form of government becomes de- structive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundations on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seemmost likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments, long established, should not be changed for light and transient causes; and, accordingly, all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right them- selves by abolishing the forms to which they are accus- tomed. But, when a long train of abuses and usurpa- tions, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a de- sign to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of the colonies, and such 1* 6 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the pre- sent king of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having, in direct object, the establish- ment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world: He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of imme- diate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operations till his assent should be obtained; and, when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them. He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would re- linquish the right of representation in the legislature; a right inestimable to them, and formidable to tyrants only. He has called together legislative bodies at places un- usual, uncomfortable, and distant from the repository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness, his invasions on the rights of the people. He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, to cause others to beelected; whereby the legislative pow- ers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the peo- ple at large for their exercise ; the state remaining, in the mean time, exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within. He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose, obstructing the laws of naturali- zation of foreigners, refusing to pass others to encourage their migration thither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands. He has obstructed the administration of justice, by re- fusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers. He has made jud2:es dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. - • 1 He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance. DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 7 He has kept among us in time of peace, standing ar- mies, without the consent of our legislatures. He has affected to render the military independent of, and superior to, the civil power. He has combined, with others, to subject us to a juris- diction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws ; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation. For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us. For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabi- tants of these states. For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world. For imposing taxes on us without our consent. For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefit of trial by jury. For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pre- tended offences : For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrament for introducing the same absolute rule into these colonies : For taking away our charters, abolishing our most va- luable laws, and altering, fundamentally, the forms of our governments : For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection, and waging war against us. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. He is, at this time, transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun, with circumstances of cru- elty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation. He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the high seas, to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands 8 THK TRUE REPUBLICAN. He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our fron- tiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions. In every stage of these oppressions, we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms. Our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them, from time to time, of the attempts by their legislature, to extend an unwar- rantable jurisdiction over us. AVe have reminded ihem of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and mag- nanimity, and we have conjured them, by the ties of our common kindred, to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and corres- pondence. They, too, have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, ac- quiesce in the necessity which denounces our separation, and hold them as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace, friends. We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare that these United Colonies are, andof riffht ouffht to be, free and independent States; that they are absolv- ed from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved; and that, as free and independent States, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which in- dependent States may of right do. And, for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 9 The foregoing declaration, was, by order of Congress engrossed, and signed by the following members: JOHN HANCOCK. New Hampshire. JOSIAH BaRTLETT, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton. Massachusetts Bay. Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerrv. Rhode Island. Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery. Connecticut, Roger Sherjian, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott. New York. William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris. New Jersey. Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark. Pennsy Ivania. Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross. Delaware. C^sar Rodney, George Read, Thomas M'Kean. Maryland. Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll, of Carrollton. Virginia. George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr. Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton. North Carolina. William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn. South Carolina Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr. Thomas Lynch, Jr. Arthur Middleton. ' Georgia. Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton. 10 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. WASHINGTON'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS, April 30, 1789. Fellow -Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives : Among the vicissitudes incident to life, no event could have filled me with greater anxieties than that of which the notification was transmitted by your order, and re- ceived on the 14th day of the present month. On the one hand, I was summoned by my country, whose voice I can never hear but with veneration and love, from a retreat which I had chosen with the fondest predilection, and, in my flattering hopes, with an immutable decision, as the asylum of my declining years, a retreat which was ren- dered every day more necessary as well as more dear to me by the addition of habit to inclination, and of frequent interruptions in my health, to the gradual waste committed on it by time. On the ether hand, the magnitude and difficulty of the trust to which the voice of my country called me, being sufficient to awaken in the wisest and most experienced of her citizens a distrustful scrutiny into his qualifications, could not but overwhelm with de- spondence, one, who, inheriting inferior endowments from nature, and unpractised in the duties of civil administra- tion, ought to be peculiarly conscious of his own defi- ciences. In this conflict of emotions, all that I dare aver is, that it has been my faithful study to collect my duty from a just appreci-ition of every circumstance by which it might be efl'ected. All I dare hope is, that if in execu- ting this task I have been too much swayed by a grateful remembrance of former instances, or by an affectionate sensibility to this transcendent proof of the confidence of my fellow-citizens, and have thence too little consulted my incapacity as well as disinclination for the weighty and untried cares before me, my error will be palliated by the motives which misled me, and its consequences be judged by my country with some share ot the partiality with which they originated. ; Washington's inaugural address. 11 Such being the impressions under which I have, in obe- dience to the public summons, repaired to the present station, it would be peculiarly improper to omit, in this first official act, my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe — who presides in the councils of nations — and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that his benediction may con- secrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States a government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes, and may enable every instrumeni employed in its administration to execute with success the functions allotted to his charo^e. In tendering- this ho- mage to the great Author of every public and private good, I assure myself that it expresses your sentiments not less than my own, nor those of my fellow-citizens at large, less than either. No people can be bound to acknow- ledge and adore the invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men, more than the people of the United States^ Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency; and in the impor- tant revolution just accomplished in tlie system of their united government, the tranquil deliberations and voluntary consent of so many distinct communities, from which the event has resulted, cannot be compared with the means by which most governments have been established, with- out some return of pious gratitude, along with an humble anticipation of the future blessings which the past seems to presage. These reflections, arising out of the present crisis, have forced themselves too strongly on my mind to be suppressed. You will join with me, I trust, in think- ing that there are none under the influence of which the proceedings of a new and free government can more auspiciously commence. By the article establishing the executive department, it is made the duty of the President "to recommend to your consideration such measures as he shall judge ne- cessary and expedient." The circumstances under which I now meet you will acquit me from entering into that subject farther than to refer to the great constitutional charter under which you are assembled, and which, in -% 13 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. defining your powers, designates the objects to which your attention is to be given. It will be more consistent with those circumstances, and far more congenial with the feelings which actuate me, to substitute, in place of a recommendation of particular measures, the tribute that is due to the talents, the rectitude, and the patriotism which adorn the characters selected to devise and adopt them. In these honorable qualifications I behold the surest pledges that, as on one side, no local prejudices or attachments, no separate views nor party animosities, will misdirectthe comprehensive and equal eye which ought to watch over this great assemblage of communities and interests: so, on another, that the foundations of our national policy will be laid in the pure and immutable principles of private morality ; and the pre-eminence of free government be exemplified by all the attributes which can win the affec- tions of its citizens, and command the respect of the world. I dwell on this prospect with every satisfaction which an ardent love for my country can inspire, since there is no truth more thorouo-hlv established than that there exists in the economy and course of nature an in- dissoluble union between virtue and happiness, between duty and advantage; between the genuine maxims of an honest and magnanimous policy and the solid rewards of public prosperity and felicity ; since we ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained, and since the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the republican model of government, are justly considered as deeply,perhapsasfinally staked on the experiment intrusted to the hands of the American people. Besides the ordinary objects submittejd to your care, it will remain with your judgment to decide how far an ex- ercise of the occasional power delegated by the fifth arti- cle of the constitution is rendered expedient at the pre- sent juncture by the nature of the objections which have been urged against the system, or by the degree of in- quietude which has given birth to them. Instead of un- dertaking particular recommendations on this subject, in which 1 could be guided by no lights derived from offi- Washington's inaugural address. 13 cial opportunities, I shall again give way to my entire confidence in your discernment and pursuit of the public good ; for I assure myself that while you carefully avoid every alteration which might endanger the benefits of a united and effective government, or which ought to await the future lessons of experience, a rev^erence for the cha- racteristic rights of freemen, and a regard for the pub- lic harmony, will sufficiently influence your deliberations on the question how far the former can be more impreg- nably fortified, or the latter be safely and advantageously promoted. To the preceding observations I have one to add, which will be most properly addressed to the House of Repre- sentatives. It concerns myself, and will therefore be as brief as possible. When I was first honored with a call into the service of my country, then on the eve of an ar- duous struggle for its liberties, the light in which I con- templated my duty required that I should renounce every pecuniary compensation. From this resohition I have in no instance departed ; and being still under the impres- sions which produced it, I must decline, as inapplicable to myself, any share in the personal emoluments which may be indispensably included in a permanent provision for the executive department, and must accordingly pray that the pecuniary estimates for the station in which I am placed, may, during my continuance in it, be limited to such actual expenditures as the public good may be thought to require. Having thus imparted to you my sentiments as they have been awakened by the occasion which brings us together, I shall take my present leave, but not without resorting once more to the benign Parent of the human race, in humble supplication that, since he has been pleased to favor the American people with opportunities for deliberating in perfect tranquillity and dispositions for deciding with unparalleledunanimityona form of govern- ment for the security of their union and the advancement of their happiness, so his divine blessing may be equally conspicuous in the enlarged views, the temperate consul- tations, and the wise measures on which the success of this government must depend. 2 14 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. WASHINGTON'S FIRST ANNUAL ADDRESS, January 8, 1790. Felloiv-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatii:es: I embrace with great satisfaction the opportunity which now presents itself of congratulating you on the present favorable prospects of our public affairs. The recent ac- cession of the important state of North Carolina to the constitution of the United States, (of which official in- formation has been received,) the rising credit and re- spectability of our country, the general and increasing good will towards the government of the Union, and the concord, peace, and plenty, with which we are blessed, are circumstances auspicious, in an eminent degree, to our national prosperity. In resuming your consultations for the general good, you cannot but derive encouragement from the reflection that the measures of the last session have been as satisfac- tory to your constituents, as the novelty and difficulty of the work allowed you to hope. Still further to realize their expectations, and to secure the blessings which a gracious Providence has placed within our reach, will, in the course of the present important session, call for the cool and deliberate exertion of your patriotism, firmness, and wisdom. Among the many interesting objects which will engage your attention, that of providing for the common defence will merit particular regard. To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace. A free people ought not only to be armed, but disci- plined ; to which end a uniform and well-digested plan is requisite : and their safety and interest require that they should promote such manufactures as tend to render them independent of others for essential, particularly military supplies. The proper establishment of the troops which may be deemed indispensable, will be entitled to mature conside- ration. In the arrangements which may be made re- .specting it, it will bs of importance to conciliate the com- Washington's first annual address. 15 forlable support of the officers and soldiers, with a due regard to economy. There was reason to hope that the pacific measures adopted with regard to certain hostile tribes of Indians would have relieved the inhabitants of our southern and western frontiers from their depredations ; but you will perceive from the information contained in the papers which I shall direct to be laid before you, (comprehend- inof a communication from the commonwealth of Vir- ginia,) that we ought to be prepared to afford protection to those parts of the Union, and, if necessary, to punish aggressors. The interests of the United States require that our in- tercourse with other nations should be facilitated by such provisions as will enable me to fulfil my duty in that re- spect, in the manner which circumstances may render most conducive to the public good, and, to this end, that the compensations to be made to the persons who may be employed should, according to the nature of their appointments, be defined by law ; and a competent fund designated for defraying the expenses incident to the con- duct of our foreign affairs. Various considerations also render it expedient that the terms on which foreigners may be admitted to the rights of citizens, should be speedily ascertained by a uniform rule of naturalization. Uniformity in the currency, weights and measures of the United States, is an object of great importance, and will, I am persuaded, be duly attended to. The advancement of agriculture, commerce and manu- factures, by all proper means, will not, I trust, need re- commendation ; but I cannot forbear intimating to you the expediency of giving effectual encouragement, as well to the introduction of new and useful inventions from abroad, as to the exertions of skill and genius in produ- cinor them at home ; and of facilitatinor the intercourse between the distant parts of our country by a due atten- tion to the post office and post roads. Nor am I less persuaded that you will agree with me in opinion, that there is nothing which can better deserve your patronage than the promotion of science and litera- 16 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. ture. Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness. In one in which the measures of go- vernment receive their impressions so immediately from the sense of the community as in ours, it is proportiona- bly essential. To the security of a free constitution it contributes in various ways : by convincing those who are intrusted with the public administration, that every valuable end of government is best answered by the en- lightened confidence of the people ; and by teaching the people themselves to know and to value their own rights; to discern and provide against invasions of them ; to dis- tinguish between oppression and the necessary exercise of lawful authority ; between burdens proceeding from a disregard to their convenience, and those resulting from the inevitable exigencies of society; to discriminate the spirit of liberty from that of licentiousness, cherishing the first, avoiding the last, and uniting a speedy but tern perate vigilance against encroachments, with an inviola ble respect to the laws. Whether this desirable object will be best promoted by affording aids to seminaries of learning already establish ed ; by the institution of a national university ; or by any other expedients, will be well worthy of a place in the de- liberations of the legislature. Gentlemen of the House of Representatives : I saw with peculiar pleasure, at the close of the last session, the resolution entered into by you, expressive of your opinion that an adequate provision for the support of the public credit, is a matter of high importance to the national honor and prosperity. In this sentiment I en- tirely concur. And, to a perfect confidence in your best endeavors to devise such a provision as will be truly con- sistent with the end, I add an equal reliance on the cheer- ful co-operation of the other branch of the legislature. It would be superfluous to specify inducements to a mea- sure in which the character and permanent interest of the United States are so obviously and so deeply concerned, and which has received so explicit a sanction from your declaration. VVASIIIXGTOX'S FAREWELL ADDRESS. 17 Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Represent aiives : I have directed the proper officers to lay before you, respectively, such papers and estimates as regard the af- fairs particularly recommended to your consideration, and necessary to convey to you that information of the state of the Union which it is my duty to afford. The welfare of our country is the great object to which our cares and efforts ought to be directed. And I shall derive great satisfaction from a co-operation with you, in the pleasing, though arduous task of insuring to our fel- •ow-citizens the blessings which they have a right to ex- pect from a free, efficient, and equal government. WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS, SEPTEMBER 17, 1796. Friends and Fellow-Citizens: The period for a new election of a citizen to adminis- ter the executive government of the United States being not far distant, and the time actually arrived when your thoughts must be employed in designating the person who is to be clothed with that important trust, it appears to me proper, especially as it may conduce to a more dis- tinct expression of the public voice that I should now apprize you of the resolution I have formed, to decline beinor considered anions the number of those out of whom the choice is to be made. I beg you at the same time to do me the justice to be assured, that this resolution has not been taken without a strict regard to all the considerations appertaining to the relation which binds a dutiful citizen to his country ; and that in withdrawing the tender of service, which silence in my situation might imply, I am influenced by no di- minution of zeal for your future interest ; no deficiency of grateful respect for your past kindness; but am sup- 2* 18 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. ported by a full conviction that the step is compatible with both. The acceptance of, and continuance hitherto in the office to which your suffrages have twice called me, have been a uniform sacrifice of inclination to the opinion of duty, and to a deference for what appeared to be your desire. I constantly hoped that it would have been much earlier in my power, consistently with motives which I was not at liberty to disregard, to return to that retire- ment from which I had been rehictantly drawn. The strength of my inclination to do this, previous to the last election, had even led to the preparation of an address to declare it to you ; but mature reflection on the then per- plexed and critical posture of affairs vvdlli foreign nations, and the unanimous advice of persons entitled to my con- fidence, impelled me to abandon the idea. I rejoice that the state of your concerns, external, as well as internal, no longer renders the pursuit of inclination incompatible with the sentiment of duty or propriety; and am per- suaded, whatever partiality may be retained for my ser- vices, that in the present circumstances of our country you will not disapprove of my determination to retire. The impressions with which I first undertook the ar- duous trust, were explained on the proper occasion. In the discharge of this trust, I will only say that I have, with good intentions, contributed towards the organiza- tion and administration of the government the best exer- tions of which a very fallible judgment was capable. Not unconscious, in the outset, of the inferiority of my quali- fications, experience in my own eyes, perhaps still more in the eyes of others, has strengthened the motives to dif- fidence of myself; and, every day the increasing weight of years admonishes me more and more, that the shade of retirement is as necessary to me as it will be welcome. Satisfied that if any circumstances have given peculiar value to my services, they were temporary, I have the consolation to believe, that while choice and prudence invite me to quit the political scene, patriotism does not forbid it. In lookinor forward to the moment which is to termi- nate the career of my political life, my feelings do not Washington's farewell address. 19 permit me to suspend the deep acknowledgment c-l" that debt oi" gratitude which I owe to my beloved country for the many honors it has conferred upon me ; still more for the steadfast contidence with w^liich it has supported me ; and for the opportunities 1 have thence enjoyed of mani^ Testing my inviolable attachment, by services faithful and persevering, though in usefulness unequal to my zeal. If benefits have resulted to our country from these ser- vices, let it always be remembered to your praise, and as instructive example in our annals, that under circum- stances in which the passions, agitated in every direction, were liable to mislead — amidst appearances sometimes dubious — vicissitudes of fortunes often discouraging — in situations in which not unfrequently want of success has countenanced the spirit of criticism — the constancy of your support was the essential prop of the efforts, and a guarantee of the plans by which they were effected. Pro- foundly penetrated vnih this idea, I shall carry it with me to my grave, as a strong incitement to unceasing wishes, that Heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens of its beneficence — that your union and brotherly affection may be perpetual — that the free constitution which is the work of your hands may be sacredly maintained — that its administration in every department may be stamped with wisdom and virtue— that, in fine, the happiness of the people of these states, under the auspices of liberty, may be made complete, by so careful a preservation, and so prudent a use of this blessing as will acquire to them the glory of recommending it to the applause, the affection, and adoption of every nation which is yet a stranger to it. Here, perhaps, I ought to stop. But a solicitude for your welfare, which cannot end but with my life, and the apprehension of danger, natural to that solicitude, urge me, on an occasion like the present, to offer to your so- lemn contemplation, and to recommend to your frequent review, some sentiments, which are the result of much reflection, of no inconsiderable observation, and which appear to me all-important to the permanency of your fe- licity as a people. These will be offered to you with the more freedom, as you can only see in them the disni- terested warnings of a parting friend, who can possibly 20 THE TRUE RKPUELICAX. have no personal motive to bias his coimseL Nor can 1 forget, as an encourairement to it, your indulgent recep- tion of my sentiments on a former and not dissimilar occasion. Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every liga- ment of our hearts, no recommendation of mine is neces- sary to fortify or confirm the attachment. The unity of government, which constitutes you one people, is also now dear to you. It is justly so; for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence; the support of your tranquillity at home ; your peace abroad ; of your safety ; of your prosperity ; of that very liberty which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee, that from different causes and from different quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices em- ployed, to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth ; as this is the point in your political fortress against which the batteries of internal and external enemies will be most constantly and actively (though often covertly and insidiously) directed ; it is of infinite moment, that you should properly estimate the immense value of your national union to your collective and individual happi- ness; that you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immoveable attachment to it; accustoming yourselves to think and to speak of it as a palladium of your political safety and prosperity ; watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety; discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can in any event be abandoned; and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link toge ther the various parts. For this you have every inducement of sympathy and interest. Citizens by birth or choice, of a common country, that country has a right to concentrate your af- fections. The name of American, which belongs to you in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local discriminations. With slight shades of difference you have the same religion, manners, habits, and political principle. You have, in a common cause, fought and WASIIINGTOiV's FAREWELL ADDRI'SS. 21 triumphed together; the independence and liberty you possess, are the work of joint councils and joint eftorts — of common dangers, sufferings, and success. But these considerations, however powerfully they ad- dress themselves to your sensibility, are greatly outweigh- ed by those which apply more immediately to your interest. Here every portion of our country finds the most com- manding motives for carefidly guarding and preserving the union of the whole. The north, in an unrestrained intercourse with the south, protected by the equal laws of a common govern- ment, finds in the productions of the latter, great addi- tional resources of maritime and commercial enterprise, and precious materials of manufacturing industry. The southf in the same intercourse, benefitting by the same agency of the north, sees its agriculture grow and its commerce expand. Turning partly into its own channels the seamen of the ??or//z, it finds its particular navigation invigorated — and while it contributes in different ways to nourish and increase the general mass of the national na- vigation, it looks forward to the protection of a maritime strength, to which itself is unequally adapted. The east, in like intercourse with the west, already finds in the pro- gressive improvement of interior communications by land and water, will more and more find a valuable vent for the commodities which it brings from abroad, or manu- factures at home. The icest, derives from the cast sup- plies requisite to its growth and comfort — and what is perhaps of still greater consequence, it must of necessity owe the secure enjoyment of indispensable outlets for its own productions, to the weight, influence, and the future maritime strength of the Atlantic side of the Union, di- rected by an indissoluble community of interest as one nation. Any other tenure by which the ivest can hold this essential advantage, whether derived from its own separate strength, or from an apostate and unnatural con- nection with any foreign power, must be intrinsically precarious. While, then, every part of our country thus feels an immediate and particular interest in union, all the parts combined cannot fail to find in the united mass of means 22 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. and efforts, j^eater strength, greater resource, proper • tionably greater security from external danger, a less frequent interruption of their peace by foreign nations; and what is of inestimable value, they must derive from union an exemption from those broils and wars between themselves, which so frequendy afflict neighboring coun- tries, not tied together by the same government, which their own rivalships alone would be sufficient to produce ; but w'hich opposite foreign alliances, attachments, and intrigues, would stimulate and embitter. Hence, like- wise, they will avoid the necessity of those overgrown military establishments, which under any form of govern- ment are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty. In this sense it is, that your union ought to be considered as a main prop of your liberty, and that the love of the one ought to endear you to the preservation of the other. These considerations speak a persuasive language to every reflecting and virtuous mind, and exhibit the con- tinuance of the union as a primary object of patriotic desire. Is there a doubt whether a common government can embrace so large a sphere ? Let experience solve it. To listen to mere speculation in such a case were ciimi- nal. We are authorized to hope that a proper organiza- tion of the whole, with the auxiliary agency of govern- ments for the respective subdivisions, will afford a happy issue of the experiment. It is well worth a fair and full experiment. With such powerful and obvious motives to union, affecting all parts of our country, while experience shall not have demonstrated its impracticability, there will always be reason to distrust the patriotism of those who in any quarter may endeavor to weaken its bands. In contemplating the causes which may disturb our imion, it occurs as matter of serious concern that any ground should have been furnished for characterizing parties, by geographical discriminations — Northern and Southern; Mlantic and Western; whence designing men may endeavor to excite a belief that there is a real difference of local interests and views. r»ne of the expe- dients of party to acquire influence within particular districts, is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other Washington's farewell address. 23 districts. You cannot shield yourselves too much against the jealousies and heart-burnings which spring from these misrepresentations ; they tend to render alien to each other those who ought to be bound together by fraternal affection. The inhabitants of our western country have lately had a useful lesson on this head. They have seen in the negociation by the executive, and in the unanimous ratification by the senate of the treaty with Spain, and in the universal satisfaction at that event throughout the United States, a decisive proof how unfounded were the suspicions propagated among them of a policy in the general government, and in the Atlantic states, unfriend- ly to their interests in regard to the Mississippi. They have been witnesses to the formation of two treaties, that with Great Britain, and that with Spain, which secure to them every thing they could desire, in respect to our for- eign relations, toward confirming their prosperity. Will it not be their wisdom to rely for the preservation of these advantages on the union by which they were procured? Will they not henceforth be deaf to those advisers, if such there are, who would sever them from their brethren, and connect them with aliens ? To the efiicacy and permanency of your union, a government for the whole is indispensable. No alliances, however strict between the parts, can be an adequate substitute ; they must inevitably experience the infrac- tions and interruptions which alliances in all times have experienced. Sensible of this momentous truth, you have improved upon your first essay, by the adoption of a constitution of government better calculated than you.'' former for an intimate union, and for the eflficacious management of your common concern. This govern- ment, the offspring of your own choice, uninfluenced ana unawed ; adopted upon full investigation and mature de- liberation ; completely free in its principles; in the dj>. tribution of its powers, uniting security with energy, and containing within itself provision for its own amend- ment, has a just claim to your confidence and your support. Respect for its authority, compliance with its laws, acquiescence in its measures, are duties enjoined by the fundamental maxims of true liberty. The basis of 24 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN* our politicLil system is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government. But the constitution which at any time exists, until changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people, is sa- credly obligatory upon all. The very idea of the power and the right of the people to establish government, pre- supposes the duty of every individual to obey the esta- blished government. All obstructions to the execution of the laws, all combinations and associations, under whatever plausible character, with the real design to direct, control, coun- teract, or awe the regular deliberations and action of the constituted authorities, are destnictive of this funda- mental principle, and of fatal tendency. They sen^e to organize faction ; to give it an artificial and extraordinary force ; to put in the place of the delegated will of the nation, the will of party, often a small, but artful and en- terprising minority of the community ; and according to the alternate triumphs of difTerent parties, to make the j)ublic administration .the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent ai^l wholesome plans, digested by common counsels, and modified by mutual interests. However combinations or associations of the above description may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines by which cunning, ambitious, and un- principled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people, and to usurp for themselves the reins of government; destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion. Towards the preservation of your government, and the permanency of your present happy state, it is requisite not only that you steadily discountenance irregular oppo- sition to its acknowledged authority, but also that you resist with care the spirit of innovation upon its princi- ples, however specious the pretext. One method of assault may be to effect in the forms of the constitution alterations whicli will impair the energy of the system, and thus to undermine what cannot be directly over- hrown. In all the changes to which you may be invited. Washington's farewell address. 25 remember that time and habit are at least as necessary to fix the true character of governments, as of other human institutions; that experience is the surest standard by which to test the real tendency of the existing constitu- tions of a country ; that facility in changes, upon the credit of mere hypothesis and opinion, exposes to per- petual change, from the endless variety of hypothesis and opinion ; and remember especially, that from the efficient management of your common interests, in a country so extensive as ours, a government of as much vigor as is consistent with the perfect security of liberty, is indis- pensable. Liberty itself will find in such a government, with powers properly distributed and adjusted, its surest guardian. It is, indeeed, little else than a name, where the government is too feeble to withstand the enterprises of falition, to confine each member of society within the limits prescribed by the laws, and to maintain all in the secure and tranquil enjoyment of the rights of person and property. I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the state, with particular reference to the founding of them upon geographical discriminations. Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you, in the most solemn manner, against the baneful effects of the spirit of party generally. This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our na^ ture, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all orovernments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but in those of the popular form it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy. The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened bv the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissention, which in different ages and countries has per- petrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The distu'ders and miseries which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek secu- rity and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and, sooner or later, the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns 26 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation on the ruins of the public liberty. Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind, (which nevertheless ought not to be entirely out of sight,) the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it. It serves always to distract the public councils, and enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the com- munity with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms; kin- dles the animosity of one part against another; foments occasional riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and conniption, which find a facilitated access to the government itself, through the channels of party passion. Thus the policy and will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another. There is an opinion that parties in free countries are useful checks upon the administration of the government, and serve to keep alive the spirit of liberty. This, within certain limits, is probably true ; and in governments of a monarchial cast, patriotism may look with indulgence, if not with favor, upon the spirit of party. But in those of popular character, in governments purely elective, it is a spirit not to be encouraged. From the natural ten- dency, it is certain there will always be enough of that spirit for ever}' salutary purpose ; and there being constant danger of excess, the effort ought to be, by force of public opinion, to mitigate and assuage it. 'A. fire not to be quenched, it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame, lest, instead of warming, it should consume. It is important, likewise, that the habits of thinking, in a free country, should inspire caution in those intrust- ed with its administration, to confine themselves within their respective constitutional spheres; avoiding, in the exercise of the powers of one department, to encroach upon another. The spirit of encroachment tends to con- solidate the powers of all the departments in one, and thus to create, whatever the form of government, a real despotism. A just estimate of that love of power, and proneness to abuse it, which predominate in the human Washington's farewell address. 27 heart, is sufficient to satisfy us of the truth of this posi- tion. The necessity of reciprocal checks in the exercise of political power, by dividing and distributing into dif- ferent depositories, and constituting each the guardian of the public weal against invasions of the other, has been evinced by experiments, ancient and modern; some of them in our country, and under our own eyes. To pre- serve them must bo as necessary as to institute them. If, in the opinion of the people, the distribution or modifica- tion of the constitutional powers be, in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way in which the constitution designates. But let there be no change by usurpation; for thrugh this, in one instance, may be the instrument of good, it is the customary wea- pon by which free governments are destroyed. The pre- cedent must always gready overbalance, in permanent evil, any partial or transient benefit which the use can at any time yield. Of all the dispositions and habits whicli lead to politi- cal prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great piU lars of human happiness — these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connection with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked, where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice ? And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained v/ithout religion. Whatever may be conceded to tlie influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclu- sion of religious principles. It is substantially true that virtue or morality is a ne- cessary spring of popular government. The rule indeed extends with more or less force to every species of free government. Who that is a sincere friend to it can look with indiflference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric ? 28 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. Promote, then, as an object of primary importance institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential thatpublic opinion should be enlightened. As a very important source of strength and security, cherisli public credit. One method of preserving it, is to use it as sparingly as possible, avoiding occasions of expense by cultivating peace, but remembering, also, that timely disbursements to prepare for danger, frequently prevent much greater disbursements to repel it; avoiding likewise the accumulation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of expense, but by vigorous exertions in time of peace to discharge the debts which unavoidable wors have occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon pos- terity the burdens which we ourselves ought to bear. The execution of these maxims belongs to your representa- tives ; but it is necessary that public opinion should co- operate. To facilitate to them the performance of their duty, it is essential that you should practically bear in mind, that towards the payment of debts there must be revenue ; that to have revenue there must be taxes ; that no taxes can be devised which are not more or less incon- venient and unpleasant ; that the intrinsic embarrassment, inseparable from the selection of the proper objects, (which is always a choice of difficulties,) ought to be a decisive motive for a candid construction of the conduct of the government in making it, and for a spirit of acqui- escence in the measures for obtaining revenue which the public exigencies may at any time dictate. Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all ; religion and mo- rality enjoin this conduct; and can it be that good policy does not equally enjoin it ? It will be worthy of a free, enlightened, and at no distant period, a great nation, to give to mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a people always guided by an exalted justice and be- nevolence. Who can doubt but that in the course of time and things the fruits of such a plan would richly re- pay any temporary advantages which might be lost by a steady adherence to it? Can it be that Providence has Washington's farewell address. 29 connected the permanent felicity of a nation with its virtue? The experiment, at least, is recommended by every sentiment which ennobles human nature. Alas ! it is rendered impossible bv its vices ! In the execution of such a plan, nothing is more essential than that permanent, inveterate antipathies against particular nations, and passionate attachment for others, should be excluded; and that in the pla-ce of them, just and amicable feelings towards uU should be cultivated. The nation which indulges towards another an habitual hatred, or an habitual fondness, is in some deorree, a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest. Antipathy in one nntioii against another, disposes each more readily to offer insult and injury, to lay hold of slight causes of umbrage, and to be haughty and intractable when accidental or trifling occcasions of dispute occur. Hence frequent collisions, obstinate, envenomed, and bloody contests. The nation, prompted by ill will and resentment, sometimes impels to war the government, contrary to the best calculations of policy. The govern- ment sometimes participates in the national propensity, and adopts through passion what reason would reject; at other times it makes thn animosity of the nation sub- servient to the projects of hostility, instigated by pride, ambition, and other sinister and pernicious motives. The peace often, sometimes, perhaps, the liberty of na- tions has been the victim. So, likewise, a passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the favorite nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest in cases where no real common interest exists, and infusing into one the enmities of the other, betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels and the wars of the latter, without adequate inducements or justification. It leads, also, to concessions to the favorite nation of privileges denied to others, which are apt doubly to injure the nation making the concessions, by unnecessarily partinof with what oug-ht to have been re- tained, and by exciting jealousy, ill will and a dispo- 3* 30 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. sition to retaliate in the parties from whom equal privi- leges are withheld ; and it gives to ambitious, corrupt, or deluded citizens, (who devote themselves to the favorite nation,) facility to betray or sacrifice the interests of their own country without odium, sometimes even with popu- larity; gilding with the appearances of a virtuous sense of obligation to a commendable deference for public opi- nion, or a laudable zeal for public good, the base or fool- lish compliances of ambition, corruption, or infatuation. As avenues to foreign influence, in innumerable ways, such attachments are particularly alarming to the truly enlightened and independent patriot. How many oppor- tunities do they afford to tamper with domestic factions, to practise the art of seduction, to mislead public opinion, to influence or awe the public councils ! Such an at- tachment of a small or weak, towards a great and power- ful nation, dooms the former to be the satellite of the latter. Ao-ainst the insidious wiles of foreio-n influence (I conjure you to believe me, fellow-citizens) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake, since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government. But that jealousy, to be useful, must be impartial, else it be- comes the instrument of the very influence to be avoided, instead of a defence against it. Excessive partiality for one foreio-n nation, and excessive dislike for another, cause those whom they actuate to see danger only on one side, and serve to veil and even second the arts of influ- ence on the other. Real patriots, who may resist the intrigues of the favorite, are liable to become suspected and odious ; while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and confidence of the people to surrender their interests. The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is, in extending our commercial relations to have with them as little political connection as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop. Europe has a set of primary interests, which to us have none, or a very remote relation. Hence, she must be engaged in frequent controversies, the causes of which Washington's tare well address. 31 are essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence, there- fore, it must be unwiso in us to implicate ourselves by artificial ties, in the ordinary vicissitude of her politics, or the ordinary combinations and collisions of her friend- ships or enmities. Our detached and distant situation invites and enables us to pursue a different course. If we remain one peo- ple, under an efTicient government, the period is not far off when we may defy material injury from external annoyance; when we may take such an attitude as will cause the neutrality we may at any time resolve upon, to be scrupulously respected ; when belligerent nations, under the impossibility of making acquisitions upon us, will not lightly hazard the giving us provocation; when we may choose peace or war, as our interest, guided by justice, shall counsel. Why forego the advantages of so peculiar a situation ? Why quit our own to stand upon foreign ground ? Why, by interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, interest, humor or ca- price? It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alli- ances with any portion of the foreign world ; so far I mean, as we are now at liberty to do it ; for let me not be un- derstood as capable of patronizing infidelity to existing engagements. I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best policy. I repeat, therefore, let those engagements be observed in their genuine sense. But in my opinion, it is unnecessary, and would be unwise to extend them. Taking care always to keep ourselves, by suitable establishments, on a respectable defensive posture, we may safely trust to temporary alliances for extraordinary emergencies. Harmony, and a liberal intercourse with all nations, are recommended by policy, humanity, and interest. But even our commercial policy should hold an equal and impartial hand ; neither seeking nor granting exclu- sive favors or preferences ; consulting the natural course of things; diffusing and diversifying by gentle means the 32 THE TRUK REPUBLICAN. Stream of commerce, but forcing nothing; establishing with powers so disposed, in order to give trade a stable course, to define the rights of our merchants, and to enable the government to support them, conventional rules of intercourse, the best that present circumstances and natural opinion will permit, but temporary, and liable to be, from time to time, abandoned or varied, as experience and circumstances shall dictate; constantly keeping in view that it is folly in one nation to look for disinterested favors from another; that it must pay with a portion of its independence for whatever it may accept under that character; that by such acceptance, it may place itself in the condition of having given equivalents for nominal favors, and yet of being reproached with ingratitude for not giving more. There can be no greater error than to expect or calculate upon real favors from nation to nation. It is an illusion which experience must cure, which a just pride ought to discard. In offering to yoii, my countrymen, these counsels of an old affectionate friend, I dare not hope they will make the strong and lasting impression I could wish — that they will control the usual current of the passions, or prevent our nation from runninor the course which has hitherto marked the destiny of nations. But if I may even flatter myself that they may be productive of some partial bene- fit, some occasional good; that they may now and then recur to moderate the fury of party spirit; to warn against the mischiefs of foreign intrigue; to guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism; this hope will be a full recompense for the solicitude for your welHire by which they have been dictated. How far in the discharge of my official duties I have been guided by the principles which have been delinea- ted, the public records and oiher evidences of my conduct must witness to you and to the world. To myself, the assurance of my own conscience is, that I have at least believed myself to be guided by them. In relation to the still subsisting war in Europe, my proclamation of the 22d of April, 1793, is the mdex to my plan. Sanctioned by your approving voice, and by that of your representatives in both houses of Congress, Washington's farewell address. 33 the spirit of that measure has continually governed me, uninfluenced by any attempts to deter or divertme from it. After deliberate examination, with the aids of the best licrhts I could obtain, I was well satisfied that our coun- try, under all the circumstances of the case, had a right to take, and was bound in duty and interest to take, a neutral position. Having taken it, I determined, as far as should depend upon me, to maintain it with modera- tion, perseverance and firmness. The considerations which respect the right to hold this conduct, it is not necessary on this occasion to de- tail. I will only observe, that according to my under- standing of the matter, that right, so far from being de- nied by any of the belligerent powers, has been virtually admitted by all. The duty of holding a neutral conduct may be inferred, without any thing more, from the obligation which justice and humanity impose on every nation, in cases in which it is free to act, to maintain inviolate the relations of peace and amity towards other nations. The inducements of interest for observing that con- duct, will best be referred to your own reflections and experience. With me, a predominant motive has been to endeavor to gain time to our country, to settle and mature its yet recent institutions, and to progress, without inter- ruption, to that degree of strength and constancy, which is necessary to give it, humanely speaking, the command of its own fortune. Though in reviewing the incidents of my administra- tion, I am unconscious of intentional error; I am ne- vertheless too sensible of my defects not to think it pro- bable that I may have committed many errors. What- ever they may be, I fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or mitigate the evils to which they may tend. I shall also carry with me the hope that my country will never cease to view them with indulgence; and that, after forty-five years of my life dedicated to its service, with an upright zeal, the faults of incompetent abilities will be consiorned to oblivion, as mvself must soon be to the mansions of rest. 34 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. Relying on its kindness in this as in other things, and actuated by that fervent love towards it, which is so natu- ral to a man who views in it the native soil of himself and his progenitors for several generations ; I anticipate, with pleasing expectation, that retreat, in which I promise myself to realize, without alloy, the sweet enjoyment of partaking in the midst of my fellow-citizens, the benign influence of good laws, under a free government; the ever favorite object of my heart, and the happy reward, as I trust, of our mutual cares, labors and dano-ers. ADAMS' INAUGURAL ADDRESS, March 4, 1797. When it was first perceived, in early times, that no middle course for America remained, between unlimited submission to a foreign legislature, and a total indepen- dence of its claims, men of reflection were less apprehen- sive of danger from the formidable power of fleets and armies they must determine to resist, than from those contests and dissensions which would certainly arise con- cerning the forms of government to be instituted over the whole and over the parts of this extensive country. Rely- ing, however, on the purity of their intentions, the justice of their cause, and the integrity and intelligence of the people, under an overruling Providence which had so sig- nally protected this country from the first, the represen- tatives of this nation, then consisting of little more than half its present number, not only broke to pieces the chains which were forging, and the rod of iron that was lifted up, but frankly cut asunder the ties which had bound them, and launched into an ocean of uncertainty. The zeal and ardor of the people, during the revolu- tionary war, supplying the place of government, com- manded a degree of order, sufficient at least for the tem- porary preservation of society. The confederation which ADAMs' INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 35 was early felt to be necessary was prepared from the mo- dels of the Batavian and Helvetic confederacies : the only examples which remain, with any detail and precision in history, and certainly the only ones which the people at large had ever considered. But, reflecting on the striking difference in so many particulars, between this country and those, where a courier may go from the seat of go- vernment to the frontier in a single day, it was then cer- tainly foreseen by some who assisted in Congress at the formation of it, that it could not be durable. Negligence of its regulations, inattention to its recom- mendations, if not disobedience to its authority, not only in individuals, but in states, soon appeared with their mel- ancholy consequences; universal languor; jealousies and rivalries of states ; decline of navigation and commerce ; discouragement of necessary manufactures; universal fall in the value of lands and their produce ; contempt of public and private faith ; loss of consideration and credit with foreign nations ; and, at length, in discontents, ani- mosities, combinations, partial conventions, and insurrec- tion, threatening some great national calamity. In this dangerous crisis, the people of America were not abandoned by their usual good sense, presence of mind, resolution, or integrity. Measures were pursued to concert a plan to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the com- mon defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty. The public disquisitions, dis- cussions and deliberations, issued in the present happy constitution of government. Employed in the service of my country abroad during the whole course of these transactions, I first saw the constitution of the United States in a foreign country. Irritated by no literary altercation, animated by no public debate, heated by no party animosity, I read it with great satisfaction, as a result of good heads, prompted by good hearts; as an experiment better adapted to the genius, character, situation, and relations of this nation and country, than any which had ever been proposed or sug- gested. In its general principles and great outlines, it ^ 36 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. was conformable to such a system of government as I had ever most esteemed, and some states, my own native state in particular, had contributed to establish. Claim- ing a right of suffrage, in common with my fellow-citi- zens, in the adoption or rejection of a constitution which was to rule me and my posterity, as well as them and theirs, I did not hesitate to express my approbation of it, on all occasions, in public and in private. It was not then, nor has been since, any objection to it, in my mind, that the executive and senate w-ere not more permanent. Nor have I ever entertained a thought of promoting any alteration in it, but such as the people themselves, in the course of their experience, should see and feel to be ne- cessary or expedient, and by their Representatives in Con- gress and the state legislatures, according to the consti- tution itself, adopt and ordain. Returning to the bosom of my country, after a painful separation from it for ten years, I had the honor to be elected to a station under the new order of thing's, and I have repeatedly laid myself under the most serious obli- gations to support the constitution. The operation of it has equalled the most sanguine expectations of its friends; and, from an habitual attention to it, satisfaction in its administration, and delight in its effects upon the peace, order, prosperity, and happiness of the nation, I have ac- quired an habitual attachment to it and veneration for it. What other form of government, indeed, can so well deserve our esteem and love ? There may be little solidity in an ancient idea, that congregations of men into cities and nations are the most pleasing objects in the sight of superior intelligencies : but this is very certain, that, to a benevolent human mind, there can be no spectacle presented by any nation more pleasing, more noble, majestic, or august, than an as- sembly like that which has so often been seen in this and the other chamber of Congress, of a government, in which the executive aulhority, as well as that of all the branches of the legislature, are exercised by citizens se- lected, at regular periods, by their neighbors, to make and execute laws for the general good. Can any thing ADAMs' INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 3/ essential, any thing more than mere ornament and deco- ration, be added to this by robes and diamonds ? Can authority be more amiable and respectable, when it de- scends from accidents, or institutions established in re- mote antiquitv, than when it springs freshfrom the hearts and judgments of an honest and enlightened people ? For it is the people only that are represented: it is their power and majesty that is reflected, and only for their o-ood in every legitimate government, under whatever form' it mav appear. The existence of such a govern- ment as ours, for anv length of time, is a full proot ot a general dissemination of knowledge and virtue through- out the whole bodv of the people. And what object or consideration more pleasing than this, can be presented to the human mind ? If national pride is ever justihable, or excusable, it is when it springs, not trom power or riches, grandeur or glory, but from conviction ot national innocence, information and benevolence. In the midst of these pleasing ideas, we should be un- faithful to ourselves, if we should ever lose sight oi the dano-er to our liberties, if any thing partial or extraneous shoSld infect the purity of our free, fair, virtuous, and in- dependent elections. If an election is to be determined bv a majority of a single vote, and that can be procured by a partv, through artifice or corruption, the government may be the choice of a party, for its own ends, not of the nation for the national good. If that-sohtary sufirage can be obtained by foreign nations by flattery or menaces, by fraud or violence, by terror, intrigue, or venality, the o-overnment may not be the choice of the American peo- ple, but of foreign nations. It may be foreign nations who govern us, and not we, the people, who govern our- selves. And candid men will acknowledge, that in such cases, choice would have little advantage to boast of, over lot or chance. Such is the amiable and interesting system ot govern- ment (and such are some of the abuses to which it may be exposed) which the people of America have exhibited to the admiration and anxiety of the wise and virtuous of all nations for eight years, under the administration ot a citizen, who, by a long course of great actions, regulated 4 3S THE TRUE REPUDLICAiV. by prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude, conduct- ing a people, inspired with the same virtues, and anima- ted with the same ardent patriotism and love of liberty, to independence and peace, to increasing wealth and un- exampled prosperity, has merited the gratitude of his fel- low-citizens, commanded the highest praises of foreign nations, and secured immortal glory with posterity. In that retirement whicli is his voluntary choice, may he long live to enjoy the delicious recollection of his ser- vices, the gratitude of mankind, the happy fruits of them to himself and the world, which are daily increasing, and that splendid prospect of the future fortunes of this coun- try which is opening from year to year. His name may be still a rampart, and the knowledge that he lives, a bul- "wark against all open or secret enemies of his country's peace. This example has been recommended to the imi- tation of his successors by both houses of Congress, and by the voice of the legislatures and the people throughout the nation. On this subject it might become me better to be silent, or to speak with difhdence ; but, as something may be ex- pected, the occasion, I hope, will be admitted as an apo- logy, if I venture to say. That, If a preference, upon principle, of a free republican government, formed upon long and serious reflection, after a diligent and impartial inquiry after truth ; if an attach- ment to the constitution of the United States, and a con- scientious determination to support it, until it shall be al- tered by the judgments and wishes of the people, express- ed in the mode prescribed in it ; if a respectful attention to the constitutions of the individual states, and a con- stant caution and delicacy towards the state governments; if an equal and impartial regard to the rights, interest, honor, and happiness of all the states in the Union, with- out preference or regard to a northern or southern, an eastern or western position, tlieir various political opi- nions on unessential points, or their personal attachments; if a love of virtuous men of all parties and denomina- tions ; if a love of science and letters, and a wish to pa- tronize every rational effort to encourage schools, col- leges, universities, academies, and every institution for pro- &DAMS' IXArOURAL ADBBF.SS. 39 B-aatm.. knowledge, viru.e, and religion, among all classes tf°U people, no't only for their bemgn mfluence on d^ehapoiness of life in all its stages and classes and of Society ?n all its forms, InU as the only means of preserv- iuff our constitution from its natural enemies, the sp nt of' ophistry, the spirit of party, th. .sp,rU of ."tn^>e ih. profli'-'acy of corruption, and the pestilence of f"";ign m tluence which is the angel of destruction to elecuve go- V rnmenu: if a l-e of equal latvs, "f JUSUce atx! hu- manitv in the intorior actoimstraUon ; tf »" 'J t''"^" uunrove a7 su^it of the several eommunications made to her govern- ment, in pursuance of the authorities vested by Congress in the executive, is contained in the correspondence of our minister at Paris now laid before you. By some of the other belligerents, although professing just and amicable dispositions, injuries materially affect- ing our commerce have not been duly controlled or re- pressed. In these cases, the interpositions deemed proper on our part have not been omitted. But it well deserves the consideration of the legislature, how far both the safe- ty and honor of the American flag may be consulted, by adequate provision against that ce bisive prostitution of it by individuals, unworthy of the I nerican name, which has so much favored the real or pretended suspicions, un- der which the honest commerce of their fellow-citizens has suffered. In relation to the powers on the coast of Barbary, no- thing has occurred which is not of a nature rather to in- spire confidence than distrust, as to the continuance of the existing amity. With our Indian neighbors, the just and benevolent system continued towards them, has alsc preserved peace, and is more and more advancing habits favorable to their civilization and happiness. From a statement which will be made by the Secretary cf War, it will be seen that the fortifications on our mari- time frontier are in many of the ports completed, aflbrding the defence which was contemplated; and that a further time will be required to render complete the works in the harbor of New York, and in some other places. By the enlargement of the works, and the employment of a great- er number of hands at the public armories, the supply of small arms, of an improving quality, appears to be annu- ally increasing at a rate that, with those made on private contract, may be expected to go far towards providing for the public exigency. The act of Congress providing for the equipment of our vessels of war having been fully carried into execu- tion, I refer to the statement of the Secretary of the Navy for the information which may be proper on that eubjeet. To that statement is added a view of the trans- fers of appropriations, authorized by the act of the ses- 68 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN'. sion preceding the last, and of the grounds on whicli the transfers were made. Whatever may be the course of your deliberations on the subject of our military establishments, I should fail in my duty in not recommending to your serious atten- tion the importance of giving to our militia, the great bulwark of our security and resource of our power, an organization the best adapted to eventual situations, for which the United States ought to be prepared. The sums which had been previously accumulated in the treasury, to^jether with the receipts during the year ending on the 30lh of Septeinbar last, (and amounting to more than nine millions of dollars,) have enabled us to fulfil all our engagements, and to defray the current ex- penses of government, without recurring to any loan. But the insecurity of our commerce, and the consequent dimi- nution of the public revenue, will probably produce a de- ficiency in the receipts of the ensuing year, for which, and for other details, I refer to the statements which will be transmitted from the treasury. Iti the state which has been presented of our affairs with the great parties to a disastrous and protracted war, carried on in a mode equally injurious and unjust to the United States as a neutral nation, the wisdom of the na- tional legislature will be again summoned to the impor- tant decision on the alternatives before them. That these will be met in a spirit worthy the councils of a nation conscious both of its rectitude and of its rights, and careful as well of its honor, as of its peace, I have aii en- tire confidence. And that the result will be stamped by a unanimity becoming the occasion, and be supported by every portion of our citizens, with a patriotism enlight- ened and invigorated by experience, ought as little to be doubted. In the midst of the wrongs and vexations experienced from external causes, there is much room for congratula- tion on the prosperity and happiness flowing from our sit- uation at home. The blessing of health has ne\er been more universal. The fruits of the seasons, thouo-h in particular articles and districts short of their usual redun- dancy, are more than sufficient for our wants and our com- MOXROli's INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 69 forts. The face of our country every where presents the evidence of laudable enterprise, of extensive capital, and of durable improvement. In the cultivation of the mate- rials, and the extension of useful manufactures, more es- pecially in the general application to household fabrics, we behold a rapid diminution of our dependence on foreign supplies. Nor is it unworthy of reflection, that this re- volution in our pursuits and habits is in no slight degree a consequence of those impolitic and arbitrary edicts, by which the contending nations, in endeavoring each of them to obstruct our trade with the other, have so far abridged our means of procuring the productions and manirfactures, of which our own are now taking the place. Recollecting always, that, for every advantage which may contribute to distinguish our lot from that to which others are doomed by the unhappy spirit of the times, we are indebted to that Divine Providence whose goodness has been so remarkably extended to this rising nation, it oecomes us to cherish a devout gratitude, and to implore from the same Omnipotent Source a blessing on the con- sultations and measures about to be undertaken for the welfare of our beloved country. MONROE'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS, March 5, 1817. I SHOULD be destitute of feeling if I was not deeply af- fected by the strong proof which my fellow-citizens have given me of their confidence, in calling me to the high office, whose functions I am about to assume. As the expression of their good opinion of my conduct in the public service, I derive fitom it a gratification, which those who are conscious of having done all that they could do to merit it, can alone feel. My sensibility is increased by a just estimate of the importance of the trust, and of the nature and extent of its duties ; with the proper discharge of which the highest interests of a great and iree people 70 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. are intimately connectetl. Conscious of my own deficiency, 1 cannot enter on these duties without great anxiety for the result. From a just responsibility I will never shrink ; cal- culating with confidence, that in my best efforts to promote the public welfare, my motives will always be duly appre- ciated, and my conduct be viewed with that candor and indulgence which I have experienced in other stations. In commencing the duties of the chief executive office, it has been the practice of the distinguished men who have gone before me, to explain the principles which would govern them in their respective administrations. In fol- lowing their venerated example, my attention is naturally drawn to the greatcauses which have contributed, in a prin- cipal degree, to produce the present happy condition of the United States. They will best explain the nature of our duties, and shed much light on the policy which ought to be pursued in future. From the commencement of our revolution to the pre- sent day, almost forty years have elapsed, and from the establishment of this constitution, twenty-eight. Through this whole term, the government has been what may em- phatically be called, self-government; and what has been the effect ? To whatever object we turn our attention, ■whether it relates to our foreign or domestic concerns, we find abundant cause to felicitate ourselves in the excellence of our institutions. During a period fraught with difficul- ties, and marked by very extraordinary events, the United States have flourished beyond example. Their citizens, individually, have been happy, and the nation prosperous. Under this constitution our commerce has been wisely regulated with foreign nations, and between the slates ; new states have been admitted into our Union ; our terri- tory has been enlarged by fair and honorable treaty, and with great advantage to the original states ; the states re- spectively protected by the national government, under a mild paternal system, against foreign dangers, and enjoy- ing within tlieir separate spheres, by a wise partition of power, a just proportion of the sovereignty, have improv- ed their police, extended their setdements, and attained a strength and maturity which are the best proofs of whole- some laws well administered. And if we look to the Monroe's inaugitral address. 71 coiulilioii of iiulividuals, what a proud spectacle does it exhibit I On whom has oppression fallen in any quarter of our Union? Who has been deprived of any right of person or property ? Who restrained from offering his vows, in tlie mode which he prefers, to the Divine Author of his being? It is well k*novvn that all these blessings have been enjoyed in their fullest extent; and I add, with peculiar satisfaction, that tJiere has been no example of a capital punishment being inflicted on any one for the crime of high treason. Some who might admit the competency of our govern- ment to these beneficent duties, might doubt it in trials which put to the test its strength and efficiency as a mem- ber of the great community of nations. Here, too, ex- perience has afforded us the most satisfactory proof in its favor. Just as this constitution was put into action, sev- eral of the principal states of Europe had become much agitated, and some of them seriously convulsed. Destruc- tive wars ensued, which have of late only been termina- ted. In the course of these conflicts, the United States received great injury from several of the parties. It was their interest to stand aloof from the contest, to demand justice from the party committing the injury, and to cul- tivate by a fair and honorable conduct, the friendship of all. War became at length inevitable, and the result has shown that our government is equal to that, the greatest of trials under the most unfavorable circumstances. Of the virtue of the people, and of the heroic exploits of the army, the navy, and the militia, I need not speak. Such, then, is the happy government under which we live ; a government adequate to every purpose for which the social compact is formed ; a government elective in all its branches, under which every citizen may, by his merit, obtain the highest trust recognized by the con- stitution ; which contains within it no cause of discord ; none to put at variance one portion of the community with another ; a government which protects every citizen in the full enjoyment of his rights, and is able to protect the nation against injustice from foreign powers. Other considerations of the highest importance admo- nish us to cherish our union, and to cling to the govern^ 72 THE TRUE REFVBLICAN. ment which supports it. Fortunate as we are in our po- litical institutions, we have not been less so in other cir cumstances on which our prosperity and happiness essen tially depend. Situated within the temperate zone, and extending throuo;h many degrees of latitude along the Atlantic, the United States enjoy all the varieties of cli- mate, and every production incident to that portion of the globe. Penetrating, internally, to the great lakes, and be- yond the resources of the great rivers which communicate through our whole interior, no country was ever happier with respect to its domain. Blessed too with a fertile soil, our produce has always been very abundant, leaving even in years the least favorable, a surplus for the wants of our fellow-men in other countries. Such is our peculiar felicity, that there is not a part of our Union that is not particularly interested in preserving it. The great agri- cultural interest of our nation prospers under its protec- tion. Local interests are not less fostered by it. Our fellow-citizens of the north, engaged in navigation, find great encouragement in being made the favored carriers of the vast productions of the other portions of the Uni- ted States, while the inhabitants of these are amply re- compensed, in their turn, by the nursery for seamen and naval force, thus formed and reared up for the support of our common rights. Our manufacturers find a generous encouragement by the policy which patronizes domestic industry ; and the surplus of our produce, a steady and pro- fitable market by local wants in less favored parts at home. Such, then, being the highly favored condition of our country, it is the interest of every citizen to maintain it. What are the dangers which menace us? If any exist, they ought to be ascertained and guarded against. In explaining my sentiments on this subject, it may be asked, what raised us to the present happy state ? How did we accomplish the revolution ? How remedy the defects of the first instrument of our Union, by infusing into the national government sufficient power for national purposes, without impairing the just rights of the states, or affecting those of individuals? How sustain and pass with glory through the late war? The government has been in the hands of the people. To the moxroe'.s i.vafoural address. 73 people, therefore, nnd to the faithful and ahle depositaries of their trust, is the credit due. Had the people of the United States been educated in different principles, had they been less intelligent, less independent, or less virtu- ous, can it be believed that we should have maintained the same steady and consistent career, or been blessed with the same success ? While then the constituent body retains its present sound and healthful state, every thing will be safe. They will choose competent and faithful represen- tatives for every department. It is only when the people become ignorant and corrupt, when they degenerate into a populace, that they are incapable of exercising the sove- reignty. Usurpation is then an easy attainment, and an usurper soon found. The people themselves become the willing instruments of their own debasement and ruin. Let us then look to the great cause, and endeavor to pre- serve it in full force. Let us by all wise and constitu- tional measures, promote intelligence among the people, as the best means of preserving our liberties. Dangers from abroad are not less deserving of atten- tion. Experiencing the fortune of other nations, the United States may again be involved in war, and it may in that event be the object of the adverse party to over- set our government, to break our union, and demolish us as a nation. Our distance from Europe, and the just, moderate, and pacific policy of our government may form some security against these dangers, but they ought to be anticipated and guarded against. Many of our citizens are engaged in commerce and navigation, and all of them are in a certain degree dependent on their prosperous state. Many are engaged in the fisheries. These inte- rests are exposed to invasion in the wars between other powers, and we should disregard the faithful admonitions of experience if we did not expect it. We must support our rights, or lose our character, and with it, perhaps, our liberties. A people M^ho fail to do it, can scarcely be said to hold a place among independent nations. National honor is national property of the highest value. Tlie sentiment in the mind of every citizen, is national strength. It ought therefore to be cherished. To secure us against these dangers, our coast and * 7 ? i THE TRUE RLrrELICAN- inland frontiers should be fortified, our army and navy regulated upon just principles as to the force of each, be kept in perfect order, and our militia be placed on tlie best practicable footing. To put our extensive coast in such a state of defence as to secure our cities and inte- rior from invasion, will be attended with expense, but the work^when finished will be permanent, and it is fair to presume that a single campaign of invasion, by a naval force, suoerior to our own, aided bv a few thousand land troops, would expose us to a greater expense, without takins^ into the estimate the loss of property and distress of our citizens, than would be sufficient for this great work. Our land and naval forces should be moderate, but adequate to the necessary purposes. The former to garrison and preserve our fortifications, and to meet the first invasions of a foreign foe; and while constitutintj the elements of a greater force, to preserve the science, as v/ell as all the necessary im.olements of war, in a state to be brought into activity in the event of war. The lat- ter, retained within the limits proper in state of peace, micrht aid m maintaining the neutrality of the United Slates with dignity, in the wars of other powers, and in saving the property of their citizens from spoliation. In time of war, with the enlargement of which the great na- val resources of the country render it susceptible, and which should be duly fostered in time of peace, it would contri- bute essentially, both as an auxiliary of defence and as a powerful engine of annoyance, to diminish the calamities of war, and to bring the war to a speedy and honorable termination. But it ought always to be held prominently in view, that the safety of these states, and of every thing dear to a free people, must depend in an eminent degree on the militia. Invasions may be made too formidable to be re- sisted by any land and naval force, which it would com- port, either with the principles of our government, or the circumstances of the IJnited States to maintain. In such cases, recourse must be had to the great body of the peo- ple, and in a manner to produce the best efiTect. It is of the highest importance, therefore, that they be so orga- nized and trained as to be prepared for any emergency. moxrok's ixaugural address. 75 The arrangement sliould be such as to put at the com- mand of tlie g-overnment the ardent patriotism and youth- ful vigor of the country. If formed on equal and just principles, it cannot be oppressive. It is the crisis which makes tlie pressure, and not tlie laws which provide a re- medy for it. This arrangement should be formed, too, in time of peace, to be the better prepared for war. With such an organization of such a people, the United States have noihino- to dread from foreicvn invasion. At its ap- proach, an overwhelming force of gallant men might al- ways be put in motion. Other interests of high importance Vi'ill claim attention ; among which, the improvement of our country by roads and canals, proceeding always with a constitutional sanc- tion, holds a distinguished place. By thus facilitating the intercourse between the states, we shall add much to the convenience and comfort of our fellow-citizens, much to the ornament of the country, and what is of greater importance, we shall shorten distances, and by making each part more accessible to and dependent on the other, we shall bind the union more closely together. Nature has done so much for us by intersecting ihe country with so many great rivers, bays, and lakes, approaching from distant points so near to each other, that the inducement to complete the work seems to be peculiarly strong. A more interesting spectacle was perhaps never seen than is exhibited within the limits of the United States — a ter- ritory so vast, and advantageously situated, containing ob- jects so grand, so useful, so happily connected in all their parts. Our. manufactures will, likewise, require the systematic and fostering care of the government. Possessing, as we do, all the raw materials, the fruit of our OM-n soil and industry, we ought not to depend in the degree we have done, on supplies from other countries. While we are thus dependent, the sudden event of war, unsought and unexpected, cannot fail to plunge us into the most serious difficulties. It is important, too, that the capital which nourishes our manufactures should be domestic, as its in- fluence in that case, instead of exhausting, as it may do in foreign hands, would be felt advantageously on agri- 76 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. culture, and every other branch of industry. Equally im portant is it to provide at home a market for oar raw ma- terials, as by extending the competition, it will enhance tlie price, and protect the cultivator against the casualties incident to foreign markets. With the Indian tribes it is our duty to cultivate friendly relations, and to act with kindness and liberality in all our transactions. Etjually proper is it to persevere in our ef- forts to extend to them the advantages of civilization. The great amount of our revenue, and the flourishing state of the treasury are a full proof of the competency of the national resources for any emergency, as they are of the willingness of our fellow-citizens to bear the burdens which the public necessities require. The vast amount of vacant lands, the value of which daily augments, forms an additional resource of great extent and duration. These resources, besides accomplishing every other ne- cessary purpose, puts it completely in the power of th6 United States to discharge the national debt at an early period. Peace is the best time for improvement and pre- parations of every kind: it is in peace that our commerce flourishes most, that taxes are most easily paid, and that the revenue is most productive. The executive is charged, officially, in the departments under it, with the disbursement of the public money, and is responsible for the faithful application of it to the pur- poses for which it is raised. The legislature is the watch- ful guardian over the public purse. It is its duty to see that the disbursement has been honestly made. To meet the requisite responsibility, every facility should be afford- ed to the executive, to enable it to bring the public agents intrusted with the public money, strictly and promptly to account. Nothing should be presumed against them : but if, with the requisite facilities, the public money is suffered to lie long and uselessly in their hands, they will not be the only defaulters, nor will the demoralizing ef- fect be confined to them. It will evince a relaxation and want of tone in the administration, which will be felt by the whole community. I shall do all that I can to secure economy and fidelity in this important branch of the administration, and I doubt not that the legislature will monrol'ss IXAL'GURAL audkkss. 77 perform its duly with equal zeal. A thorough examina- tion should be regularly made, and I will promote it. It IS particularly s;ratitying to me to enter on the dis- charo-e of these duties at a time when the Lmied btates are blessed with peace. It is a state most consistent wita their prosperity and happiness. It will be my smcere desire to preserve it, so iar as depends on the executive, on just principle with all nations, claiming nothing unrea- sonable of anv, and rendering to each what is its due. Equally (rratifvino- is it to witness the increased harmo- ny of opinion which pervades our Union. Discord does not belon2^;:- nresent I have brouglit it into view for the purpose oi commmiicaUng my sentiments on a very important cir- cum"areconnected with it, with that freedom and can- drwhich a regard for the public interest and a proper «uch a system of improvement. Taking into view uie trust wHh which I am now honored, it .vould be .mproper, Ifel^-h t h s passed, that this discussion ^hou d be re- V iv^d with an uncertainty of my opmton respecting the 88 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. right. Disregarding early impressions, I have bestowet on the subject all ihe deli!)eration which its great impor tance, and a just sense of my duty, required, ahd the re- sult is a settled conviction in my mind that Congress do not possess the right. It is not contained in any of the specified powers granted to Congress, nor can I consider it incidental to, or a necessary mean, viewed on the most liberal scale, for carrying into effect any of the powers which are specifically granted. In communicating this result, I cannot resist the obligation which I feel, to sug- gest to Congress the propriety of recommending to the states an adoption of an amendment to the constitution, which shall give to Congress? the right in question. In cases of doubtful construction, especially of such vital interest, it comports with the nature and origin of our re- publican institutions, and will contribute much to pre- serve them, to apply to our constituents for an explicit grant of the power. We may confidently rely, that if it appears to their satisfaction that the power is necessary, it will be granted. In this case, I am happy to observe, that experience has afforded the most ample proof of its utility, and that the benign spirit of conciliation and harmony, which now manifests itself throughout our Union, promises to such a recommendation the most prompt and favorable result. I think proper to suggest, also, in case this measure is adopted, that it be recommended to the states to include in the amendment sought, a right in Congress to insti- tute, likewise, seminaries of learning, for the all-impor- tant purpose of diffusing knowledge among our fellow- citizens throughout the United States. Our manufactures will require the continued atten- tion of Congress. The capital employed in them is con- siderable, and the knowledge required in the machinery and fabric of all the most useful manufactures is of ofreat value. Their preservation, which depends on due en- couragement, is connected with the high interests of the nation. Although the progress of the public buildings has been as favorable as circumstances have permitted, it is to be regretted the capitol is not yet in a state to receive you. Monroe's first annual message. 89 There is good cause to presume that the two wings, the Duly parts as yet commenced, will be prepared for that purpose tlie next session. The time seems now to have arrived, when this subject may be deemed worthy of the attention of Congress, on a scale adequate to national purposes. The completion of the middle building will be necessary to the convenient accommodation of Con- o'ress, of the committees, and various officers belonsfinof ... O O to it. It is evident lliat the other public buildings are altogether insufficient for the accommodation of the seve- ral executive departments ; some of whom are much crowded, and even subject to the necessity of obtaining it in private buildings, at some distance from the head of the department, and with inconvenience to the manage- ment of the public business. Most nations have taken an interest and a pride in the improvement and ornament of their metropolis, and none were more conspicuous in that respect than the ancient republics. The policy which dictated the establishment of a permanent resi- dence for the national government, and the spirit in which it was commenced and has been prosecuted, show that such improvement was thought worthy the attention of this nation. Its central position, between the northern and southern extremes of our Union, and its approach to the west, at the head of a great navigable river, which interlocks with the western waters, prove the wisdom of the councils which established it. Nothing appears to be more reasonable and proper, than that convenient accommodation should be provided, on a well-digested plan, for the heads of the several de- partments, and for the attorney-general; and it is believed that the public ground in the city, applied to these objects, will be found amply sufficient. I submit this subject to the consideration of Congress, that such pro- vision may be made in it, as to them may seem proper. In contemplating the happy situation of the United States, our attention is drawn, with peculiar interest, to the surviving officers and soldiers of our revolutionary army, who so eminently contributed, by their services, to lay its foundation. Most of those very meritorious citi- zens have paid the debt of nature and gone to repose. It 8*= 90 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. IS believed, that among the survivors there are some not provided for by existing laws, who are reduced to indi- gence, and even to real distress. These men have a claim on the gratitude of their country, and it will do honor to their country to provide for them. The lapse of a few years more, and the opportunity will be forever lost ; indeed, so long already has been the interval, that the number to be benefitted by any provision which may be made, will not be o;reat. It appearing in a satisfactory manner that the revenue arising from imposts and tonnage, and from the sale of public lands, will be fully adequate to the support of the civil government, of the present military and naval esta- blishments, including the annual augmentation of the lat- ter to the extent provided for, to the payment of the in- terests on the public debt, and to the extinguishment of it at the times authorized, without the aid of the internal taxes, I consider it my duty to recommend to Congress their repeal. To impose taxes when the public exigen- cies require them, is an obligation of the most sacred character, especially with a free people. The faithful fulfil- ment of it is among the highest proofs of their virtue and ca- pacity for self-government. To dispense with taxes, when it may be done with perfect safety, is equally the duty of their representatives. In this instance, we have the satis- faction to know that they are imposed when the demand was imperious, and have been sustained with exemplary fidelity. I have to add, that however gratifying it may be to me, regarding the prosperous and happy condition of our country, to recommend the repeal of these taxes at this time, I shall, nevertheless, be attentive to events, and should any future emergency occur, be not less prompt to suggest such measures and burdens as may the» b^ requisite and proper. V J. Q. ADAMs' INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 91 J. Q. ADAMS' INAUGURAL ADDRESS, March 4, 1825. In compliance with a usage coeval with the existence of our federal constitution, and sanctioned by the exam- ple of my predecessors in the career upon which I am about to enter, I appear, my fellow-cili^ens, in your pre- sence, and in that of Heaven, to bind myself, by the so- lemnities of a religious obligation, to the faithful perform- ance of the duties allotted to me, in the station to which I have been called. In unfolding to my countrymen the principles by which I shall be governed in the fulfilment of those duties, my first resort will be to that constitution, which I shall swear, to the best of my ability, to preserve, protect, and defend. That revered instrument enumerates the powers and prescribes the duties of the executive magis- trate ; and, in its first words, declares the purposes to which these, and the whole action of the government, in- stituted by it, should be invariably and sacredly devoted — to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to the people of this Union, in their successive generations. Since the adoption of this social compact, one of these generations have passed away. It is the work of our forefathers. Administered by some of the most eminent men who contributed to its formation, through a most eventful period in the annals of the world, and through all the vicissitudes of peace and war, incidental to the condition of associated man, it has not disappointed the hopes and aspirations of those illustrious benefactors of their age and nation. It has promoted the lasting welfare of that country, so dear to us all ; it has, to an extent far beyond the ordinary lot of humanity, secured the freedom and happiness of this people. We now re- ceive it as a precious inheritance from those to whom we are indebted for its establishment, doubly bound by the examples they have left us, and by the blessings which 92 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. we have enjoyed, as the fruit of their labors, to transmit the same, unimpaired, to the succeeding generations. In the compass of thirty-six years, since this great na- tional covenant was instituted, a body of laws enacted under its authority, and in conformity with its provisions, has unfolded its powers, and carried into practical opera- tion its eifsctive energies. Subordinate departments have distributed the executive functions in their various rela- tions to foreign affairs, to the revenue and expenditures, and to the military force of the Union by land and sea. A co-ordinate department of the judiciary has expou.iCled the constitution and the laws; settling, in harmonious co- incidence with the legislative will, numerous weighty questions of construction which the imperfection of hu- man language had rendered unavoidable. The year of jubilee, since the first formation of our Union has just elapsed ; that of the declaration of independence is at hand. The consummation of both was effected by this constitu- tion. Since that period, a population of four millions has multiplied to twelve. A territory, bounded by the Mis- sissippi, has been extended from sea to sea. New states have been admitted to the Union, in numbers nearly equal to those of the first confederation. Treaties of peace, amity, and commerce, have been concluded with the prin- cipal dominions of the earth. The people of other na- tions, inhabitants of regions acquired, not by conquestbut by compact, have been united with us in the participation of our rights and duties, of our burdens and blessings. The forest has fallen by the axe of our woodsman; the soil has been made to teem by the tillage of our far- mers ; our commerce has whitened every ocean. The dominion of man over physical nature has been extended by the invention of our artists. Liberty and law have marched hand in hand. All the purposes of human asso- ciation have been accomplished as effectively as under any other government on the globe ; and at a cost, little exceeding, in a whole generation, the expenditures of other nations in a single year. Such is the unexaggerated picture of our condition under a constitution founded upon the republican princi- ple of equal rights. To admit that this picture has its J Q. ADAMS* INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 93 shades, is but to say that it is still the condition of men upon earth. From evil, physical, moral and political, it is not our claim to be exempt. We have sufl'ered some- times Dy the visitation of Heaven, through disease ; often by the wrongs and injustices of other nations, even to the extremities of war; and lastly, by dissettsions among our- selves — dissensions, perhaps, inseparable from the enjoy- ment of freedom, but which have more than once appeared to threaten the dissolution of the Union, and, with it, the overthrow of all the enjoyments of our present lot, and all our earthly hopes of the future. The causes of these dissensions have been various, founded upon differences of speculation in the theory of republican government ; upon conflicting views of policy, in our relations with foreign nations ; upon jealousies of partial and sectional interests, aggravated by prejudices and prepossessions, which strangers to each other are ever apt to entertain. It is a source of gratification and of encouragement to me, to observe that the great result of this experiment upon the theory of human rights has, at the close of that generation by which it was formed, been crowned with success equal to the most sanguine expectations of its founders. Union, justice, tranquillity, the common de- fence, the general welfare, and the blessings of liberty, all have been promoted by the government under which we have lived. Standing at this point of time ; looking back to that generation which has gone by, and forward to that which is advancing, we may at once indulge in grateful exultation and in cheering hope. From the experience of the past, we derive instructive lessons for the future. Of the two great political parties which have divided the opinions and feelings of our country, the candid and the just will now admit that both have contributed splendid talents, spotless integrity, ardent patriotism and disinte- rested sacrifices, to the formation and administration of this government; and that both have required a liberal indul- gence for a portion of human infirmity and error. The revolutionary wars of Europe, commencing precisely at the moment when the government of the United States first went into operation under this constitution, excited a collision of sentiments and of sympathies, which kin- 94 THE TRUE REPUDLIC.W. died all the passioiis, and embittered the conflict of par- ties till the nation was involved in war, and the Union was shaken to its centre. This time of trial embraced a period of five-and-twenty years, durin;^ which the policy of the Union, in its relations with Europe, constituted the principal basis of our political divisions, and the most arduous part of the action of our federal government. With the catastrophe in which the wars of the French revolution terminated, and our own subsequent peace wirh Great Britain, this baneful weed of party strife was uprooted. From that time, no ditTerence of principle, conn9cted either with the theory of government, or with our intercourse with foreign nations has existed, or been called forth in force sufficient to sustain a continued com- bination of parties, or give more than wholesome anima- tion to public sentiment or legislative debate. Our po- litical creed is, without a dissenting voice that can be heard, that the will of the people is the source, and the happiness of the people the end, of all legitimate govern- ment upon earth. That the best security for the benefi- cence, and the best guaranty against the abuse of power, consists in the freedom, the purity, and the frequency of popular elections. That the general government of the Union, and the separate governments of the states, are all sovereignties of legitimated powers ; fellow-servants of the same masters, uncontrolled within their respective spheres, uncontrollable by encroachments upon each other. That the firmest security of peace is the pre- paration during peace of the defences of war. That a rigorous economy, and accountability of public expendi- tures, should guard against the aggravation, and alleviate, when possible, the burden of taxation. That the military should be kept in strict subordination to the civil power. That the freedom of the press and of religious opinion should be inviolate. That the policy of our country is peace, and the ark of our salvation, union, are articles of faith upon which we are all agreed. If there have been those who doubted whether a confederated represen- tative democracy were a government competent to the wise and orderly management of the common concerns of a mighty nation, those doubts have been dispelled. If J. Q. ADAMS IXAUGURx\L ADDRESS. 95 there have been projects of partial confederacies to be erected upon the ruins of the Union, they have been scat- tered to the winds. If there have been dano-erous at- tachments to one foreign nation, and antipathies against another, they have been extinguished. Ten years of peace, at home and abroad, have assuaged the animosities of political contention, and blended into harmony the most discordant elements of public opinion. There still re- mains one effort of magnanimity, one sacrifice of prejudice and passion, to be made by the individuals throughout the nation, who have heretofore followed the standard of po- litical party. It is that of discarding every remnant of rancor against each other ; of embracing as countrymen and friends ; and of yielding to talents and virtue alone, that confidence which, in times of contention for principle, was bestowed only upon those who bore the badge of par- ty communion. The collisions of party spirit, which originate in specu- lative opinions, or in different views of administrative poli- cy, are in their nature transitory. Those which are found- ed on geographical divisions, adverse interests of soil, cli- mate, and modes of domestic life, are more permanent, and therefore perhaps more dangerous. It is this which gives inestimable value to the character of our crovern- ment, at once federal and national. It holds out to us a perpetual admonition to preserve alike, and with equal anxiety, the rights of each individual state in its own government, and the rights of the whole nation in that of the Union. Whatever is of domestic concealment, un- connected with the other members of the Union, or with foreign lands, belongs exclusively to the administration of the state governments. Whatsoever directly involves the rights and interests of the federative fraternity, or of for- eign powers, is of the resort of this general government. The duties of both are obvious in the general principle, though sometimes perplexed with difficulties in the detail. To respect the rights of the state governments is the in- violable dutv of that of the Union; the o-overnment of every state will feel its own obligation to respect and pre- serve the rights of the whole. The prejudices every where too commonly entertained against distant strangers are 06 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. worn away, ant! the jealousies of jarring interests are al layed by the composition and functions of the great na tional councils annually assembled from all quarters of the Union at this place. Here the distinguished men from every section of our country, while meeting to deliberate upon the great interests of those by whom they are depu- ted, learn to estimate the talents, and do justice to the virtues of each other. The harmony of the nation is promoted, and the whole Union is knit together' by the sentiments of mutual respect, the habits of social inter- course, and the ties of personal friendship, formed be- tween the representatives of its several parts, in the per- formance of their service at this metropolis. Passing from this general review of the purposes and injunctions of the federal constitution, and their results, as indicating the first traces of the path of duty in the dis- charge of my public trust, I turn to the administration of my immediate predecessor, as the second. It has passed away in a period of profound peace : how much to the satisfaction of our country, and to the honor of our coun- try's name, is known to you all. The great features of its policy, in general concurrence wilh the will of the le- gislature, have been — to cherish peace while preparing for defensive war; to yield exact justice to other nations, and maintain the rights of our own ; to cherish the prin- ciples of freedom and of equal rights, wherever they were proclaimed; to discharge with all possible promptitude the national debt ; to reduce within the narrowest limits of efficiency the militar}" force; to improve the organization and discipline of the army; to provide and sustain a school of military science ; to extend equal protection to all the great interests of the nation ; to promote the civili- zation of the Indian tribes ; and to proceed in the great system of internal improvements within the limits of the constitutional power of the Union. Under the pledge of these promises, made by that eminent citizen, at the time of his first induction to this office, in his career of eight years, the internal taxes have been repealed ; sixty mil- lions of the public debt have been discharged; provision has been made for the comfort and relief of the aofed and indigent among the surviving warriors of the revolution; J. Q. ADAMS INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 97 the regular armed force has been reduced, and its consti- tution revised and perfected ; the accountability for the expenditures of public moneys has been made more effec- tive; the Floridas have been peaceably acquired, and our boundary has been extended to the Pacific ocean ; the in- dependence of the southern nations of this hemisphere has been recognized, and recommended by example and by counsel to the potentates of Europe progress has been made in the defence of the country by fortifications, and the increase of the navy — towards the effectual suppres- sion of the African traffic in slaves — in alluring the abori- ginal hunters of our land to the cultivation of the soil and of the mind — in exploring the interior regions of the Union, and in preparing, by scientific researches and sur- veys, for the further application of our national resources to the internal improvement of our country. In this brief outline of the promise and performance of my immediate predecessor, the line of duty for his suc- cessor is clearly delineated. To pursue to their consum- mation those purposes of improvement in our common condition, instituted or recommended by him, will embrace the whole sphere of my obligations. To tlie topic of in- ternal improvement, emphatically urged by him at his in- auguration, I recur with peculiar satisfaction. It is that from which I am convinced that the unborn millions of our posterity, who are in future ages to people this conti- nent, will derive their most fervent gratitude to the found- ers of the Union ; that in which the beneficent action of Its government will be most deeply felt and acknowledged. The magnificence and splendor of their public works are among the imperishable glories of the ancient republics. The roads and aqueducts of Rome have been the admira- tion of all after-ages, and have survived thousands of years, after all her conquests have been swallowed up in despo- tism, or become the spoil of barbarians. Some diversity of opinion has prevailed with regard to the powers of Congress for legislation upon objects of this nature. The most respectful deference is due to doubts, originating in pure patriotism, and sustained by venerated authority. But nearly twenty years have passed since the construc- tion of the first national road was commenced. The au- 9 98 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. thority for its construction was then unquestioned. To how many thousands of our countrvmen has it proved a benefit ? To vv'hat single individual has it ever proved an injury? Repeated, liberal and candid discussions in the legislature have conciliated the sentiments, and approxi- mated the opinions of enlightened minds, upon the question of constitutional power. I cannot but hope that, by the same process of friendly, patient, and persevering delibe- ration, all constitutional objections will ultimately be re- moved. The extent and limitation of the powers of the general government, in relation to this transcendently im- portant interest, will be settled and acknowledged to the common satisfaction of all ; and every speculative scruple will be solved by a practical public blessing. Fellow-citizens, you are acquainted with the peculiar circumstances of the recent elections, which have result- ed in affording me the opportunity of addressing you at this time. You have heard the exposition of the princi- ples which will direct me in the fulfilment of the liigh and solemn trust imposed upon me in this station. Less possessed of your confidence in advance than any of my predecessors, I am deeply conscious of the prospect that I shall stand, more and oftener, in need of your indul- gence. Intentions, upright and pure ; a heart devoted to the welfare of our country, and the unceasing applica- tion of the faculties allotted to me to her service, are all the pledges that I can give to the faithful performance of the arduous duties I am to undertake. To the 2"uidance of the legislative councils ; to the assistance of the exe- cutive and subordinate departments ; to the friendly co- operation of the respective state governments; to the can- did and liberal support of the people, so far as it may be deserved by honest industry and zeal, I shall look for whatever success may attend my public service : and knowing that, except the Lord keep the city, the watch- man waketh but in vain, with fervent supplications for his favor, to his overruling providence I commit, with hum- ble but fearless confidence, my own fate and the future destinies of my country. J. Q. ADAMS FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 99 J. Q. ADAMS' FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE, December 6, 1825 To the Senate, and House of Representatives of the United States: In taking a general survey of the concerns of our be- loved country, with reference to subjects interesting to the common welfare, the first sentiment which impresses itself upon the mind, is of gratitude to the Omnipotent Disposer of all good, for the continuance of the signal blessings of his providence, and especially for that health, which, to an unusual extent, has prevailed within our bor- ders ; and for that abundance which, in the vicissitudes of the seasons, has been scattered with profusion over our land. Nor ought we less to ascribe to Him the glory, that we are permitted to enjoy the bounties of his hand in peace and tranquillity — in peace with all the other nations of the earth, in tranquillity among ourselves. There has, indeed, rarely been a period in the history of civilized man, in which the general condition of the Christian na- tions has been marked so extensively by peace and pros- perity. -^ Europe, with a few partial and unhappy exceptions, has enjoyed ten years of peace, during which all her go- vernments, whatever the theory of their constitutions may have been, are successively taught to feel that the end of their institutions is the happiness of the people, and that the exercise of power among men can be justified only by the blessings it confers upon those over whom it is extended. During the same period, our intercourse with all those nations has been pacific and friendly; it so continues. Since the close of your late session, no material varia- tion has occurred in our relations with any one of them. In the commercial and navio-ation system of Great Britain, important changes of municipal regulations have recently been sanctioned by the acts of parliament, the efi'ect of which upon the interests of other nations, and particular- ly upon ours, has not yet been fully developed. In the 100 , THE TRUE REPUBLICAN', recent renewal of the diplomatic missions, on both sides, between the two governments, assurances have been given and received of the continuance and increase of the mutual confidence and cordiality by which the adjust- ment of many points of difference has already been effect- ed, and which affords the surest pledge for the ultimate satisfactory adjustment of those which still remain open, or may hereafter arise. The policy of the United States, in their commercial intercourse with other nations, has always been of the most liberal character. In the mutual exchange of their respective productions, they have abstained altogether from prohibitions ; they have interdicted themselves the power of laying taxes upon exports, and whenever they have favored their own shipping, by special preferences or exclusive privileges in their own ports, it has been only with a view to countervail similar favors and exclu- sions granted by the nations with whom we have been engaged in traflic, to their own people or shipping, and to the disadvantage of ours. Immediately after the close of the last war, a proposal was fairly made by the act of Con- gress of the 3d March, 1815, to all maratime nations, to lay aside the system of retaliating restrictions and exclu- sions, and to place the shipping of both parties to the common trade on a footing of equality in respect to the duties of tonnage and impost. This offer was partially and successively accepted by Great Britain, Sweden, the Netherlands, the Hanseatic cities, Prussia, Sardinia, the Duke of Oldenburg, and Russia. It was also adopted, under certain modifications, in our late commercial con- vention with France. And by the act of Congress of the 8th ot January, 1824, it has received a new confirmation with all the nations who had acceded to it, and has been offered again to all those who are or may hereafter be will- ing to abide in reciprocity by it. But all these regula- tions, whether established by treaty or by municipal enactments, are still subject to one important restriction. The removal of discriminating: duties of tonnaore and impost, is limited to articles of the growth, produce, or manufacture of the country to which the vessel belongs, or to such articles as are most universally shipped from J. 0,- ADAMs' FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 101 her ports. It will deserve the serious consideration of Congress, v/hether even this remnant of restriction may not be safely abandoned, and whether the general tender of equal competition, made in the act of 8th January, 1824, may not be extended to include ail articles of mer- chandise not prohibited, of what country soever they may be the produce or manufacture. Propositions to this effect have already been made to us by more than one Eu- ropean government, and it is probable that if once esta- blished by legislation or compact with any distinguished maratime state, it would recommend itselt\ by the experi- ence of its advantages, to the general accession of all. The convention of commerce and navigation between the United States and France, concluded on the 24th of June, 1822, was, in the understanding and intent of both parties, as appears upon its face, only a temporary ar- rano-ement of the points of difference between them of the most immediate and pressing urgency. It was limit- ed, in the first instance, to two years from the first of October, 1822, but with a proviso, that it should further continue in force till the conclusion of a general and de- finitive treaty of commerce, unless terminated by a notice six months in advance, of either of the parties to the other. Its operation, so far as it extended, has been mu- tually advantageous ; and it still continues in force, by common consent. But it left unadjusted several objects of great interest to the citizens and subjects of both coun- tries, and particularly a mass of claims, to considerable amount, of citizens of the United States upon the govern- ment of France, of indemnity for property taken or de- stroyed, under circumstances of the most aggravated and outrageous character. In the long period during which continued and earnest appeals have been made to the equity and magnanimity of France, in behalf of those claims, their justice has not been, as it could not be, de- nied. It was hoped that the accession of a new sovereign to the throne, would have afforded a favorable opportu- nity for presenting them to the consideration of his go- vernment. They have been presented and urged, hither- to, without effect. The repeated and earnest representa- tions of our minister at the court of France, remains as 9* 102 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. yet even without an answer. Were the demands of na- tions upon the justice oi each other susceptible of adju- dication by the decision of an impartial tribunal, those to whom I now refer would long since have been settled, and adequate indemnity would have been obtained. There are large amounts of similar claims upon the Nether- lands, Naples, and Denmark. For those upon Spain, prior to 1819, indemnity was, after many years of patient forbearance, obtained, and those of Sweden have been lately compromised by a private settlement, in which the claimants themselves have acquiesced. The governments of Denmark and of Naples have been recently reminded of those yet existing against them ; nor will any of them be forgotten while a hope may be indulged of obtaining iustice, by the means within the constitutional power of the executive, and without resorting to those means of self-redress, which, as well as the time, circumstances, and occasion, which may require them, are within the exclusive competency of the legislature. It is with great satisfaction that I am enabled to bear witness to the liberal spirit with which the republic of Colombia has made satisfaction for well-established claims of a similar character. And anions: the documents now communicated to Congress, will be distinguished a treaty of commerce and navigation with that republic, the rati fications of which have been exchanored since the last re cess of the legislature. The negotiation of similar trea- ties with all the independent South American states, has been contemplated, and may yet be accomplished. The basis of them all, as proposed by the United States, has been laid in two principles; the one, of entire and un- qualified reciprocity ; the other, the mutual obligation of the parties to place each other permanently on the footing of the most favored nation. These principles are, indeed, indispensible to the etfectual emancipation of the Ameri- can hemisphere from the thraldom of colonizing monopo- lies and exclusions — an event rapidly realizing in the pro- gress of human affairs, and which the resistance still op- posed in certain parts of Europe to the acknowledgment of the Southern American republics as independent states, will, it is believed, contribute more effectually to J. Q. ADAMs' FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 103 accomplish. The lime has been, and that not remote when some of these states might, in their anxious desire to obtain a nominal recognition, have accepted of a nomi- nal independence, clogged with burdensome conditions, and exclusive commercial privileges, granted to the nation from which they have separated, to the disadvantage of all others. They now are all aware that such conces- sions to any European nation would be incompatible with that independence which they have declared and main- tained. Among the measures which have been suggested to them by the new relations with one another, resulting from the recent changes in their condition, is that of as- sembling at the Isthmus of Panama, a Congress, at which each of them should be represented, to deliberate upon objects important to the welfare of all. The republics of Colombia, of Mexico, and of Central America, have already deputed plenipotentiaries to such a meeting, and they have invited the United States to be also represented there by their ministers. The invitation has been accept- ed, and ministers on the part of the United States will be commissioned to attend at those deliberations, and to take part in them, so far as it may be compatible with that neutrality from which it is neither our intention nor the desire of the American states that we should depart. The commissioners under the seventh article of the treaty of Ghent have so nearly completed their arduous labors, that, by the report recently received from the agent on the part of the United States, there is reason to ex- pect that the commission will be closed at their next ses- sion, appointed for the 22d of May, of the ensuing year. The other commission appointed to ascertain the in- demnities due for slaves carried away from the United States, after the close of the late war, have met with some difficulty which has delayed their progress in the inquiry. A reference has been made to the British government on the subject, which, it may be hoped, will trnd to hasten the decision of the commissioners, or serve as a substi- tute for it. Among the powers specifically granted to Congress by the constitution, are those of establishing uniform law 104 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States ; and for providing for organizing, arming, and dis- ciplining the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States. The magnitude and complexity of the interests affected by legislation upon these subjects, may account for the fact, that long and often as both of them have occupied the attention, and animated the debates of Congress, no systems have yet been devised for fulfilling, to the satis- faction of the community, the duties prescribed by these grants of power. To conciliate the clai.ii of the indi- vidual citizen to the enjoyment of personal liberty, with the effective obligation of private contracts, is the difHcult problem to be solved by a law of bankruptcy. These are objects of the deepest interest to society ; affecting all that is precious in the existence of multitudes of persons, many of them in the classes essentially dependent and helpless; of the age requiring nurture, and of the sex en- titled to protection from the free agency of the parent and the husband. The organization of the militia is yet more indispensable to the liberties of the country. It is only by an effective militia that we can at once enjoy the re- pose of peace, and bid defiance to foreign aggression ; it is by the militia that we are constituted on armed nation, standing in perpetual panoply of defence, in the presence of all the other nations of the earth. To this end, it would be necessary, if possible, so to shape its organiza- tion, as to give it a more united and active energy. There are laws for establishing a uniform miliiia throughout the United States, and for arming and equipping its whole body. But it is a body of dislocated members, without the vigor of unity, and having little of uniformity but the name. To infuse into this most important institution the power of which it is susceptible, and to make it available for the defence of the Union, at the shortest notice, and at the smallest expense possible of time, of life, and of treasure, are among the beneiits to be expected from the persevering deliberations of Congress. Among the unequivocal indications of our national pros- perity, is the flourishing state of our finances. The reve- nues of the present year, from all their principal sources, J Q. ADaMsj' first annual MESSAGE. 105 will exceed the anticipations of the last. The balance in the treasury on the first of January last, was a little short of two millions of dollars, exclusive of two millions and a half, being a moiety of the loan of five millions, authorized by the act of the 26th May, 1824. The re- ceipts into the treasury from thefirstof January to the 30th of September, exclusive of the other moiety of the same loan, are estimated at sixteen millions five hundred thou- sand dollars; and it is expected that those of the current quarter will exceed five millions of dollars; forming an aggregate of receipts of nearly twenty-two millions, inde- pendent of the loan. The expenditures of the year will not exceed that sum more than two millions. By those expenditures, nearly eight millions of the principal of the public debt have been discharged. More than a million and a half has been devoted to the debt of gratitude to the warriors of the revolution ; a nearly equal sum to the construction of fortifications and the acquisition of ordnance, and other permanent preparations of national defence ; half a million to the gradual increase of the navy ; an equal sum for purchases of territory from the Indians, and payment of annuities to them; and upwards of a miljion for objects of internal improvement, autho- rized by special acts of the last Congress. If we add to these, four millions of dollars for payment of interestupon the public debt, there remains a sum of about seven mil- lions, which have defrayed the whole expense of the ad- ministration of government, in its legislative, executive, and judiciary departments, including the support of the military and naval establishments, and all the occasional contingencies of a government co-extensive with the Union. The amount of duties secured on merchandise import- ed, since the commencement of the year, is about twenty- five millions and a half; and that which will accrue during the current quarter, is estimated at five millions and a half; from these thirty-one millions, deducting the drawbacks, estimated at less than seven millions, a sum exceeding twenty-four millions will constitute the revenue of the year, and will exceed the whole expenditures of the year. The entire amount of the public debt remaining due on 106 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. ibe first of January next, will be short of eiglily-one mil- iioiid of dollars. Bv an act of Congress on the 3d of March last, a loan of twelve millions of dollars was authorized at four and a half per cent., or aa exchange of stock to that amount, of four and a half per cent., for a stock of six per cent., to create a fund for extinguishing an equal amount of the public debt, bearing an interest of six per cent., redeema- ble in 1826. An account of the measures taken to give effect to this act will be laid before you by the Secretary of the Treasury. As the object which it had in view has been but partially accomplished, it will be for the consi- deration of Congress, whether the power with which it clothed the executive should not be renewed at an early day of the present session, and under what modifications. The act of Congress of the 3d of March last, directing the Secretary of the Treasury to subscribe, in the name and for the use of the United States, for one thousand five hundred shares of the capital stock of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal company, has been executed by the ac- tual subscription for the amount specified ; and such other measures have been adopted by that officer, under the act, as the fulfilment of its intentions requires. The latest accounts received of this important undertaking, au- thorize the belief that it is in successful progress. The payments into the treasury from proceeds of the sales of the public lands, during the present year, were estimated at one million of dollars. Tiie actual receipts of the first two quarters have fallen very little short of that sum: it is not expected that the second half of the year will be equally productive; but the income of the year, from that source, may now be safely estimated at a million and a half. The a°"'' f^™"''''' consideraiionf Be^ h h t>'e' t" "'■ "" '''""'• ^^ ^"-P-'ding to those fruit nf I "f "/"'<=<' recognized and satisfied, it is the infn , 1 r"","*^ P""°"<= ''"'' cl'ivalrous darii <., wh ch nfu ed life and confidence into our infant navy, Ind con t buted as much as any exploit in its history, t;eleva"e our national character. Public gralitudef therefore ''■2lu'\''f "P"" it; and the Led sh;ul no be our'Sa'^ttt "^^ ''"'''- '"'-'« - ^ -i-'- - I now commend you, fellow-citizens, to the euidance Sovi ":t'L :ii' ""'' ' '"" ''"■''"■■' "" •- --s providence tor the maintenance of our free institutions • malr' "\ ?""^ ^application, that whal ^r r'rs il 17^7 III''' T'^n '" '^^^'^^^^"^^ ^^^ arduous du- les Which have devolved on me, will find a remedy in the harmony and wisdom of your counsels. ^ 156 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. JACKSON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS. Fellow Citizens : Being- about to retire finally from public life, I beg- leavo to offer you my grateful thanks for the many proofs of kindness and confidence which I have received at your hands. It has been my fortune, in the discharge of public duties, civil and military, frequently to have found myself in difficult and trying situations, where prompt decision and energetic action were necessary, and where the inte- rests of the country required that high responsibilities should be fearlessly encountered ; and it is with the deep- est emotions of o-ratitude that I acknowledo-s the continued and unbroken confidence with which you have sustained me in every trial. My public life has been a long one, and I cannot hope that it has at all times been free from errors. But I have the consolation of knowinof that if mistakes have been committed, they have not seriously injured the country I so anxiously endeavored to serve ; and at the moment when I surrender my last public trust, 1 leave this great people prosperous and happy; in the full enjoyment of liberty and peace ; and honored and respected by every nation of the world. If my humble efforts have, in aiiy degree, contributed to preserve to vou these blessings, I have been more than rewarded by the honor you have heaped upon me ; and, above all, by the generous confidence with which you have supported me in every peril, and with which you have continued to animate and cheer my path to the closing hour of my political life. The time has now come, when advanced aore and a broken frame warn me to re- tire from public concerns ; but the recollection of the many favors you have bestowed upon me is engraven upon my heart, and I have felt that I could not part from your service without making this public acknowledgment of the gratitude I owe you. And if I use the occasion to offer to you the counsels of age and experience, you will, I trust, receive them with the same indulgent kindness which you have so often extended to me ; and will, at least, Jackson's farewell address. 157 see in them an earnest desire to perpetuate, in this favor- ed land, the blessings of liberty and equal laws. We have now lived almost fifty years under the consti- tution framed by the sages and patriots of tlie revolution. The conflicts in which the nations of Europe were en- gaged during a great part of this period ; the spirit in which they waged war with each other; and our intimate commercial connections with every part of the civilized world, rendered it a time of much difliculty for the go- vernment of the United States. We have had our sea- sons of peace and of war, with all the evils which precede or follow a state of hostility with powerful nations. We encountered these trials with our constitution yet in its infancy, and under the disadvantages which a new and untried government must always feel when it is called to put forth its whole strength, without the lights of expe- rience to guide it, or the weight of precedent to justify its measures. But we have passed triumphantly through all these diflficulties. Our constitution is no longer a doubtful experiment; and at the end of nearly half a century, we find that it has preserved unimpaired the liberties of the people, secured the rights of property, and that our coun- try has improved, and is flourishing beyond any former example in the history of nations. In our domestic concerns, there is every thing to en- courage us; and if you are true to yourselves, nothing can impede your march to the highest point of national prosperity. The states which had so long been retarded in their improvement, by the Indian tribes residing in the midst of them, are at length relieved from the evil; and this unhappy race — the original dwellers in our land — are now placed in a situation where we may well hope that they will sbare in the blessings of civilization, and be saved from that degradation and destruction to which they were rapidly hastening while they remained in the states ; and while the safety and comfort of our own citizens have been greatly promoted by their removal, the philan- thropist will rejoice that the remnant of that ill-fated race has been at length placed beyond the reach of injury or oppression, and that the paternal care of the general 11 158 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. government "will hereafter watch over them and protect them. If we turn to our relations with foreign powers, we find our condition equally gratifying. Actuated by the sincere desire to do justice to every nation, and to pre- serve the blessing of peace, our intercourse with them has been conducted on the part of this government in the spirit of frankness, and I take pleasure in saying that it has generally been met in a corresponding temper. Difficulties of old standing have been surmounted by friendly discussion and the mutual desire to be just; and the claims of our citizens, which had been long withheld, have at length been acknowledged and adjusted, and satis- factory arrangements made for their final payment ; and with a limited, and, 1 trust, a temporary exception, our relations with every foreign power are now of the most friendly character, our commerce continually expanding, and our flag respected in every quarter of the world. These cheering and grateful prospects, and these mul- tiplied favors, we owe, under Providence, to the adoption of the federal constitution. It is no longer a question whether this great country can remain happily united, and flourish under our present form of government. Expe- rience, the unerring test of all human undertakings, has shown the wisdom and foresight of those who framed it ; and has proved, that in the union of these states there is a sure foundation for the brightest hopes of freedom, and for the happiness of the people. At every hazard, and by every sacrifice, this union must be preserved. The necessity of watching with jealous anxiety for the preservation of the union, was earnestly pressed upon his fellow-citizens by the father of his country, in liis fare- \vell address. He has there told us, that " while expe- rience shall not have demonstrated its impracticability, there will always be reason to distrust the patriotism of those who, in any quarter, may endeavor to weaken its bonds;" and he has cautioned us in the strongest terms against the formation of parties, on geographical discri- minations, as one of the means which might disturb our union, and to which designing men would be likely to resort. Jackson's farewell address. 150 The lessons contained in this invaluable legacy of Washington to his countrymen, should be cherished in the heart of every citizen to the latest generation ; and, perhaps, at no period of lime could they be more usefully remembered than at the present mom.ent. For when we look upon the scenes that are passing around us, and dwell upon the pages of his parting address, his paternal counsels would seem to be not merely the offspring of wisdom and foresight, but the voice of prophecy foretell- ing events, and warning us of tJie evil lo come. Forty years have passed since this imperishable document was given to his countrymen. The federal constitution was then regarded by him as an experiment, and he so speaks of it in his address ; but an experiment upon the success of which the best hopes of his country depended, and we all know that he was prepared to lav down his life, if necessary, to secure to it a full and fair trial. The trial has been made. It has succeeded beyond the proudest hopes of those who framed it. Every quarter of this widely extended nation has felt its blessings, and shared in the general prosperity produced by its adoption. But amid this general prosperity and splendid success, the dangers of which he warned us are becoming every day more evident, and the signs of evil are sufhciendy appa- rent to awaken the deepest anxiety in the bosom of the patriot. We behold systematic efforts publicly made to sow the seeds of discord between different parts of the United States, and to place party divisions directly upon geographical distinctions ; to excite the soufh against the north, and the 7iorfh against the south, and to force into the controversy the most delicate and excited topics upon which it is impossible that a large portion of the Union can ever speak without strong emotions. Appeals, too, are constandy made to sectional interests, in order to in- fluence the election of the chief magistrate, as if it were desired that he should favor a particular quarter of the country, instead of fulfilling the duties of his station with impartial justice to all ; and the possible dissolution of the Union has at length become an ordinary and familiar subject of discussion. Has the warning voice of Wash- mgton been forgotten? or have designs already been 160 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. formed to sever the Union ? Let it not be supposed that T impute to all of those who have taken an active part in these unwise and unprolitable discussions a want of patri- otism or of public virtue. The honorable feehng of state pride and local attachments, find a place in the bosoms of the most enlightened and pure. But while such men are conscious of iheir own integrity and honesty of pur- pose, they ought never to forget that the citizens of other states are their political brethren ; and that, however mis- taken they may be in their views, the great body of them are equally honest and upright with themselves. Mutual suspicions and reproaches may in time create mutual hostility, and artful and designing men will always be found, who are ready to foment these fatal divisions, and to inflame the natural jealousies of different sections of the country. The history of the world is full of such examples, and especially the history of republics. What have you to gain by division and dissention ? Delude not yourselves with the belief that a breach once made may be afterwards repaired. If the Union is once severed, the line of separation will grow wider and wider, and the controversies which are now debated and settled in the halls of legislation, will then be tried in fields of battle, and be determined by the sword. Neither should you deceive yourselves with the hope, that the first line of separation would be the permanent one, and that no- thing but harmony and concord would be found in the new associations, formed upon the dissolution of this Union. Local interests would still be found there, and unchastened ambition. And if the recollection of com- mon dangers, in which the people of these United States stood side by side against the common foe ; the memory of victories won by their united valor ; the prosperity and happiness they have enjoyed under the present constitu- tion ; the proud name they bear as citizens of this great republic; if these recollections and proofs of common interest are not strong enouo;h to bind us together as one people, what tie will hold this Union dissevered? The first line of separation would not last for a single genera- tion ; new fragments would be tornotT: new leaders would spring up ; and this great and glorious republic would soon Jackson's farewell address. 161 be broken into a multitude of petty states ; armed for mutual aggressions ; loaded with taxes to pay armies and leaders ; seeking aid against each other from foreign pow- ers ; insulted and trampled upon by the nations of Eu- rope, until harassed with conflicts, and humbled and de- based in spirit, they would be ready to submit to the absolute dominion of any military adventurer, and to sur- render their liberty for the sake of repose. It is impossi- ble to look on the consequences that would inevitably follow the destruction of this government, and not feel indignant when we hear cold calculations about the value of the Union, and have so constantly before us a line of conduct so well calculated to weaken its ties. There is too much at stake to allow pride or passion to influence your decision. Never for a moment believe that the great body of the citizens of any state or states can deliberately intend to do wrong. They may, under the influence of temporary excitement or misguided opi- nions, commit mistakes ; they may be misled for a time by the suororestions of self-interest ; but in a community so enlightened and patriotic as the people of the United States, arofument will soon make them sensible of their errors ; and when convinced, they will be ready to repair them. If the)'' have no higher or better motives to govern them, they will at least perceive that their own interest requires them to be just to others as they hope to receive justice at their hands. But in order to maintain the Union unimpaired, it is absolutely necessary that the laws passed by the constitu- ted authorities should be faithfully executed in every part of the country, and that every good citizen should, at all times, stand ready to put down, with the combined force of the nation, every attempt at unlawful resistance, under whatever pretext it may be made, or whatever shape it may assume. Unconstitutional or oppressive laws may no doubt be passed by Congress, either from erroneous views or the want of due consideration ; if they are within reach of judicial authority, the remedy is easy and peace- ful ; and if, from the character of the law, it is an abuse of power not within the control of the judiciary, then free discussion and calm appeals to reason and to the justice 14* 162 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. of the people, will not fail to redress the wrong. But until the law shall be declared void by the courts, or re- pealed by Congress, no individual or combination of indi- viduals, can be justified in forcibly resisting its execution. It is impossible that any government can continue to ex- ist upon any other principles. It would cease to be a government, and be unworthy of the name, if it had not the power to enforce the execution of its own laws within its own sphere of action. It is true that cases may be imagined disclosing such a settled purpose of usurpation and oppression, on the part of the government, as would justify an appeal to arms. These, however, are extreme cases, which we have no reason to apprehend in a government where the power is in the hands of a patriotic people; and no citizen who loves his country, would in any case whatever resort to forcible resistance, unless lie clearly saw that the time had come when a freeman should prefer death to submission ; for if such a strugrorle is once beirun, and the citizens of one section of the country, arrayed in arms against those of another, in doubtful conflict, let the battle result as it may, there will be an end of the Union, and with it an end of the hopes of freedom. The victory of the injured would not secure to them the blessings of liberty ; it would avenge their wrongs, but they would themselves share in the common ruin. But the constitution cannot be maintained, nor the Union preserved, in opposition to public feeling, by the mere exertion of the coercive powers confided to the general government. The foundations must be laid in the affections of the people ; in the security it gives to life, liberty, character, and property, in every quarter of the country ; and in the fraternal attachments which the citizens of the several states bear to one another, as mem- bers of one political family, mutually contributing to pro- mote the happiness of each other. Hence the citizens of every state should studiously avoid every thing calculated to wound the sensibility or offend the just pride of the people of otlier states ; and they should frown upon any proceedings within their own borders likely to disturb the tranquillity of their political brethren in other portions of JACKSON S FAREWELL ADDRESS. 1G3 llie Union. Tn a country so extensive as the United States, and with pursuits so varied, the internal regula- tions of the several states must frequently differ from one another in important particulars ; and this difference is un- avoidably increased by the varying principles upon which the American colonies were originally planted ; princi- ples which had taken deep root in their social relations before the revolution, and therefore, of necessity, influen- cing their policy since they became free and independent states. But each state has the unquestionable right to regulate its own internal concerns according to its own pleasure; and while it does not interfere with the rights of the people of other states, or the rights of the Union, every slate must be the sole judge of that measure proper to secure the safety of its citizens and promote their happiness ; and all efforts on the part of the people of other states to cast odium upon their institutions, and all measures calculated to disturb their rights of property, or to put in jeopardy their peace and internal tranquillity, are in direct opposition to the spirit in which the Union was formed, and must endanger its safety. Motives of philanthropy may be assigned for this unwarrantable in- terference; and weak men may persuade themselves for a moment that they are laboring in the cause of humanity, and asserting the rights of the human race; but every one, upon sober reflection, will see that nothing but mis- chief can come from these improper assaults upon the feel- inors and riorhts of others. Rest assured, that the men found busy in this work of discord are not worthy of your confidence, and deserve your strongest reprobation. In the legislation of Congress, also, and in every mea- sure of the general government, justice to every portion of the United States should be faithfully observed. No free government can stand without virtue in the people, and a lofty spirit of patriotism; and if the sordid feelings of mere selfishness shall usurp the place which ought to be filled by public spirit, the legislation of Congress will soon be converted into a scramble for personal and sec- tional advantao^es. Under our free institutions the citi- zens in every quarter of our country are capable of attam- Ing a high degree of prosperity and happiness, without 164 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. seeking to profit themselves at the expense of others; and every such attempt must in the end fail to succeed, for the people in every part of the United States are too en- lightened not to understand their own rights and interests, and to detect and defeat every effort to gain undue advan- tages over them ; and when such designs are discovered it naturally provokes resentments which cannot be always allayed. Justice, full and ample justice, to every portion of the United States, should be the ruling principle of every freeman, and should guide the deliberations of every public body, whether it be state or national. It is well known that there have always been those among us who wish to enlarge the powers of the general government ; and experience would seem to indicate that there is a tendency on the part of this government to overstep the boundaries marked out for it by the consti- tution. Its legitimate authority is abundantly sutBcient for all the purposes for which it is created ; and its pow- ers being expressly enumerated, there can be no justifica- tion for claiming any thing beyond them. Every attempt to exercise power beyond these limits should be promptly and firmly opposed. For one evil example will lead to other measures still more mischievous ; and if the prin- ciple of constructive powers, or supposed advantages, or temporary circumstances, shall ever be permitted to jus' tify the assumption of a power not given by the constitu- tion, the general government will before long absorb all the powers of legislation, and you will have in effect, but one consolidated orovernment. From the extent of our coun- try, its diversified interests, different pursuits, and diffe- rent habits, it is too obvious for argument that a single consolidated government would be wholly inadequate to watch over and protect its interests ; and every friend of our free institutions should be always prepared to main- tain unimpaired and in full vigor the rights and sove- reignty of the states, and to confine the action of the general government strictly to the sphere of its appropri ate duties. There is, perhaps, no one of the powers conferred on the federal government so liable to abuse as the taxing power. The most productive and convenient sources of JACKSON 3 FAREWELL ADDRESS. 165 revenue were necessarily given to it, that it might perform the important duties imposed upon it; and the taxes which it lays upon commerce being concealed from the real payer in the price of the article, they do not so rea- dily attract the attention of the people as smaller sums demanded from them directly by the tax-gatherer. But the tax imposed on goods, enhances by so much the price of the commodity to the consumer; and as many of these duties are imposed on articles of necessity which aje daily used by the great body of the people, the money raised by these imposts is drawn from their pockets. Con- gress has no right under the constitution to take money from the people unless it is required to execute some one of the sj>ecific powers intrusted to the government : and if they raise more than is necessary for such purposes, it is an abuse of the power of taxation, and unjust and oppressive. It may indeed happen that the revenue will sometimes exceed the amount anticipated when the taxes were laid. When, however, this is ascertained, it is easy to reduce them ; and, in such a case, it is unques- tionably the duty of the government to reduce them, for no circumstances can justify it in assuming a power not given to it by the constitution, nor in taking away the money of the people when it is not needed for the legiti- mate wants of the government. Plain as these principles appear to be, you will find that there is a constant effort to induce the ffeneral ofo- vernment to go beyond the limits of its taxing power, and to impose unnecessary burdens upon the people. Many powerful interests are continually at work to procure heavy duties on commerce, and to swell the revenue beyond the real necessities of the public service ; and the country has already felt the injurious effects of their combined in- fluence. They succeeded in obtaining a tariff of duties bearing most oppressively on the agricultural and laboring classes of society, and producing a revenue that could not be usefully employed within the range of the powers conferred upon Congress; and, in order to fasten upon the people this unjust and unequal system of taxation, extravagant schemes of internal improvement were got up, in various quarters, to squander the money and to pur- 166 THK TRUE REPUBLICAN*. chase support. Thus, one unconstitutional measure was intended to be upheld by another, and the abuse of the power of taxation was to be maintained by usurping the power of expending the money in internal improvements. You cannot have forgotten the severe and doubtful strug- gle through which we passed, when the executive depart- ment of the government, by its veto, endeavored to arrest this prodigal scheme of injustice, and to bring back the legislation of Congress to the boundaries prescribed by the conslilulion. The good sense and practical judgment of the people, when the subject was brought before them, sustained the course of the executive ; and this plan of unconstitutional expenditure for the purposes of corrupt influence is, I trust, finally overthrown. The result of this decision has been felt in the rapid extinguishment of the public debt, and the large accumu- lation of a surplus in the treasury, notwithstanding the tariff was reduced, and is now far below the amount ori- ginally contemplated by its advocates. But, rely upon it, the design to collect an extravagant revenue, and to bur- den you with taxes beyond the economical wants of the government is not yet abandoned. The various interests which have combined together to impose a heavy tariff, and to produce an overflowing treasury, are too strong, and have too much at stake, to surrender the contest. The corporations and wealthy individuals who are en- sacred in larcfe manufacturinof establishments, desire a hio^h tariff to increase their gains. Designing politicians will support it to conciliate their favor, and to obtain the means of profuse expenditure, for the purpose of purcha- sing influence in other quarters ; and since the people have decided that the federal government cannot be per- mitted to employ its income in internal improvements, efforts will be made to seduce and mislead the citizens of the several states by holding out to them the deceitful prospect of benefits to be derived from a surplus revenue collected by the general government, and annually divi- ded among the states. k.\\\ if encouraged by these falla- cious hopes, the states should disregard the principles of economy which ought to characterize every republican government, and should indulge in lavish expenditures Jackson's farewell address. I67 exceeding their resources, they will, before Ion., find themselves oppressed with debts which they are unable o pay and tlie temptation will become irresistible to sup.' Do no »?' '"'"^' '" T'^" 'oob'-»asurpU,s distribution. Do not a low yourselves, my fsilow-citizens, to be mis- e1tTs""r't°'- T''' '"''''' government cannot c"l- lect asm plus for such purposes, without violatincr the pnnciples of the constitution, and assuming powers wh ch l.ave not been granted. It is, moreover, a vstem of in justice, and, ,f persisted in, will inevitably 'lead to cor- up ma ana must end in ru.n. The surplus revenie wi ] be drawn from the pockets of the people-from th Jir mer, the mec!,anic, and the laboring ilasses of socie ^• t who wdl receive it when distributed amon. tlie s'L vhere u ,s to be disposed of by leading polit'icians who It will certainly not be returned to those who paid it to It. fhere is but one safe rule, and that is, to confine the general government rigidly within the sphere of ts appropriate duties. It has no power to raise a revenue Oi impose taxes, e.xcept for the purposes enun.erated i'l vant:"it shriVr'r "',"^ 'T"'"^ '' '""'"' '^ e.vceed 1 e 'e V ants. It should be forthwith reduced, and the burdens of the people so far lightened. -Juruens oi tween''Hi'r'"n '''" ™"''''^'' ''^'''^' ^ave taken place be- tween different interests in the United Stales, and the poUcy pursued since the adaption of our present form of government, we find nothing that has produced Tuch th:'.:;;;: ;" ri "" '^°"'-^^''' '^^i-^'--' >" ->''ion to tne currency. The constitution of the United Staie^ „„ questionably intended to secure the peol a ci c .lat nci medium of gold and silver. But the^s ablisireu of f national bank by Congress, with the privilecre of i nil^ paper money receivable in the payment of the°public due"' states upon the same subject, drove from general circula- pa;ert itrpt"' '"'^' ^"^^"^>-' ^"' ^"^^"'"-'^ °- "f suus 01 business, whose attention had not been particu- 168 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. larly drawn to the subject, to foresee all the consequences of a currency exclusively of paper : and we ought not, on that account, to be surprised at the facility with which laws were obtained to carry into effect the paper system. Honest, and even enlightened men are sometimes misled by the specious and plausible statements of the designing. But experience has now proved the mischiefs and dangers of a paper currency, and it rests with you to determine whether the proper remedy shall be applied. The paper system being founded on public confidence, and having of itself no intrinsic value, it is liable to great and sudden fluctuations ; thereby rendering pro- perty insecure, and the wages of labor unsteady and uncertain. The corporations which create the paper money cannot be relied upon to keep the circulating medium uniform in amount. In times of prosperity, when confidence is high, they are tempted, by the pros- pect of gain, or by the influence of those who hope to profit by it, to extend their issues of paper beyond the bounds of discretion and the reasonable demands of business. And when these issues have been pushed on, from day to day, until public confidence is at length shaken, then a reaction takes place, and they immedi- ately withdraw the credits they have given ; suddenly curtail their issues ; and produce an unexpected and ruinous contraction of the circulating medium, which is felt by the whole community. The banks, by this means, save themselves, and the mischievous consequences of their imprudence or cupidity are visited upon the public. Nor does the evil stop here. These ebbs and flows in the currency, and these indiscreet extensions of credit, naturally engender a spirit of speculation injurious to the habits and character of the people. We have already seen its efiects in the wild spirit of speculation in the public lands, and various kinds of stocks, which within tiie last year or two, seized upon such a multitude of our citizens, and threatened to pervade all classes of society, and to withdraw their attention from the sober pursuits of honest industry. It is not by encouraging this spirit that we shall best preserve public virtue, and promote the true interests of our country. But if your currency Jackson's farewell address. 169 coiiLiiiucs as exclusively paper as it now is, it will foster this eager desire to amass wealth without labor ; it will Jiiultiply the number of dependents on bank accommo- dations and bank favors ; the temptations to obtain money at any sacrifice will become stronger and stronger, and inevitably lead to corruption, which will find its way into your public councils, and destroy, at no distant day, the purity of your government. Some of the evils which arise from this system of paper, press with peculiar hard- ship upon the class of society least able to bear it. A portion of this currency frequently becomes depreciated or worthless, and all of it is easily counterfeited, in such a manner as to require peculiar skill and much experience to distinofuish the counterfeit from the genuine notes. These frauds are most generally perpetrated in the smaller notes, which are used in the daily transactions of ordinary business ; and the losses occasioned by them are commonly thrown upon the laboring classes of society, vvhose situation and pursuits put it out of their power to guard themselves from these impositions, and whose daily wages are necessary for their subsistence. It is the duty of every government so to reo-ulate its currency, as to protect this numerous class as far as practicable from the impositions of avarice and fraud. It is more espe- cially the duty of the United States, where the govern- ment is emphatically the government of the people, and where this respectable portion of our citizens are so proudly distinguished from the laboring classes of all other nations, by their independent spirit, their love of liberty, their iutelligence, and their high tone of moral character. Their industry in peace, is the source of our wealth ; and their bravery in war, has covered us with glory , and the government of the United States will but ill discharge its duties, if it leaves them a prey to such dishonest impositions. Yet it is evident that their interests cannot be effectually protected, unless silver and gold are restored to circulation. These views alone, of the paper currency, are sufficient to call for immediate reform ; but there is another consi- deration which should still more strongly press it upon your attention. 15 170 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. Recent events have proved that the paper money sys- tem of this country, may be used as an engine to under- mine your free institutions ; and that those who desire to engross all power in the hands of the few, and to govern by corruption or force, are aware of its power, and pre- pared to employ it. Your banks now furnish your only circulating medium, and money is plenty or scarce, ac- cording to the quantity of notes issued by them. While they have capitals not greatly disproportioned to each other, they are competitors in business, and no one of them can exercise dominion over the rest; and although, in the present state of the currency, these banks may and do operate injuriously upon the habits of business, the pecuniary concerns, and the moral tone of society; yet, from their number and dispersed situation, they can- not combine for the purposes of political influence ; and whatever may be the dispositions of some of them, their power of michief must necessarily be confined to a narrow space, and felt only in their "immediate neigh- borhood. But when the charter for the Bank of the United States was obtained from Congress, it perfected the schemes of the paper system, and gave its advocates the position they have struggled to obtain, from the com- mencement of the federal government down to the pre- sent hour. The immense capital, the peculiar privileges bestowed upon it, enabled it to exercise despotic sway- over the other banks in every part of the country. From its superior strength, it could seriously injure, if not de- stroy the business of any one of them which might incur its resentment: and it openly claimed for itself the power of regulating the currency throughout the United States. In other words, it asserted (and undoubtedly possessed) the power to make money plenty or scarce, at its pleasure, at any time, and in any quarter of the Union by con- trolling the issues of other banks, and permitting an expansion, or compelling a general contraction, of the circulatinor medium, accordincj to its own will. The other banking institutions were sensible of its strength, and they soon generally became its obedient instruments, ready at all times, to execute its mandates j and with the Jackson's farewell address. 171 banks necessarily went also that numerous class of per- sons in our commercial cities, who depend altogether on bank credits for their solvency and means of business; and who are, therefore, obliged, for their own safety, to jDropitiate the favor of the money power by distinguished zeal and devotion in its service. The result of the ill- advised legislation which established this great monopoly was to concentrate the whole moneyed power of the Union, with its boundless means of corruption, and its numerous dependents, under the direction and command of one acknowledged head ; thus organizing this particu- lar interest as one body, and securing to it unity and concert of action throuorhout the United States, and ena- bling it to bring forward, upon any occasion, its entire and undivided strength to support or defeat any measure of the government. In the hands of this formidable power, thus perfectly organized, was also placed unlimited dominion over the amount of the circulating medium, giving it the power to regulate the value of property and the fruit of labor in every quarter of the Union; and to bestow prosperity, or bring ruin upon any city or section of the country, as might best comport with its own inte- rest or policy. We are not left to conjecture how the moneyed power, thus organized, and with such a weapon in its hands, would be likely to use it. The distress and alarm which pervaded and agitated the whole country, when the Bank of the United States waged war upon the people, in order to compel them to submit to its demands, cannot yet be forgotten. The ruthless and unsparing temper with which whole cities and communities were oppressed, individu- als impoverished and ruined, and a scene of cheerful prosperity suddenly changed into one of gloom and despondency, ought to be indelibly impressed oil the memory of the people of the United States, If such was its power in a time of peace, what would it not have been in a season of war, with an enemy at your doors ? No nation but the freemen of the United States could have come out victorious from such a contest; yet, if you had not conquered, the government would have passed from the hands of the many to the hands of the few; 172 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. and this organized money power, from its secret con clave, would have dictated the choice of your highest officers, and compelled you to make peace or war, as best suited their own wishes. The forms of your govern- ment might, for a time, have remained ; but its living spirit would have departed from it. The distress and sufferings inflicted on the people by the bank, are some of the fruits of that system of policy which is continually striving to enlarge tlie authority of the federal government beyond the limits fixed by the constitution. The powers enumerated in that instru- ment do not confer on Congress the right to establish such a corporation as the Bank of the United States ; and the evil consequences which followed may warn us of the danger of departing from the true rule of con- struction, and of permitting tempo7'ary circumstances, or the hope of better promoting the public welfare, to influ- ence in any degree our decision upon the extent of the authority of tlie general government. Let us abide by the constitution as it is written, or amend it in the con- stitutional mode if it is found defective. The severe lessons of experience will, T doubt not, be sufficient to prevent Congress from again chartering such a monopoly, even if the constitution did not pre- sent an insuperable objection to it. But you must re- member, rny fellow-citizens, that eternal vigilance by the people is the price of liberty ; and that you must pay the price if you wish to secure the blessing. It behoves you, therefore, to be watchful in your states, as well as in the federal government. The power which the mo- neyed interest can exercise, when concentrated under a single head and with our present system of currency, was sufficiently demonstrated in the struggle made by the Unit&d States Bank. Defeated in the general govern- ment, the same class of intriguers and politicians will now resort to the states, and endeavor to obtain there the same organization, which they failed to perpetuate in the Union ; and with specious and deceitful plans of pub- lic advantages, and state interests, and state pride, they will endeavor to establish, in the (iifferent states, one moneyed institution with overgrown capital, and exclu- Jackson's farewell address. 177 ciated tocrether in one political body, who enjoyed so mucli freedom and happiness as the people of these United States. You have no longer any cause to fear danger from abroad ; your strength and power are well known throughout the civilized world, as well as the high and gallant bearing of your sons. It is from within, among yourselves, from cupidity, from corruption, from disap- pointed ambition, and inordinate thirst for power, that factions will be formed and liberty endangered. It is against such designs, whatever disguise the actors may assume, that you have especially to guard yourselves. You have the highest of human trusts committed to your care. Providence has showered on this favored land blessings without number, and has chosen you, as the guardians of freedom, to preserve it for the benefit of the human race. May He, who holds in his hands the desti- nies of nations, make you worthy of the favors he has bestowed, and enable you, with pur'e hearts, and pure hands, and sleepless vigilance, to guard and defend to the end of time the great charge he has committed to your keeping. My own race is nearly run ; advanced age and failing health warn me that before long I must pass beyond the reach of human events, and cease to feel the vicissitudes of human affairs. I thank God that my life has been spent in a land of liberty, and that he has given me a heart to love my country with the affection of a son. And filled with gratitude for your constant and unwavering kindness, I bid you a last and affectionate farewell. 178 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN VAN BUREN'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS, March 4, 1837. Fellom- Citizens : The practice of all my predecessors imposes on me an obligation I cheerfully fulfil, to accompany the first and solemn act of my public trust with an avowal of the prin- ciples that will guide me in performing it, and an expres- sion of my feelings on assuming a charge so responsible and vast. In imitating their example, I tread in the foot- steps of illustrious men, whose superiors it is our liappi- ness to believe are not found on the executive calendar of any country. Among them we recognize the earliest and firmest pillars of the republic ; those by whom our na- tional independence was first declared ; him who, above all others, contributed to establish it on the field of battle; and those whose expanded intellect and patriotism con- structed, improved and perfected the inestimable institu- tions under wliich we live. If such men, in the position I now occupy, felt themselves overwhelmed by a sense of gratitude for this, the highest of all marks of their country's confidence, and by a consciousness of their in- ability adequately to discharge the duties of an office so difficult and exalted, how much more must these conside- rations afiect one, who can rely on no such claim for fa- vor or forbearance. Unlike all who have preceded me, the revolution that gave us existence as one people, was achieved at the period of my birth ; and whilst I contem- plate, with grateful reverence, that memorable event, I feel that I belonsf to a later asre, and that I niav not ex- pect my countrymen to weigh ray actions with the same kind and partial hand. So sensibly, fellow-citizens, do these circumstances press themselves upon me, that I should not dare to en- ter upon my path of duty, did I not look for the gene- rous aid of those who will be associated with me in the various and co-ordinate branches of the government ; did I not repose with unwavering reliance on the patriotism, the intelligence and the kindness of a people who nevei VAN BUREn's inaugural ADDRESS. 181 lesson ; that an implicit and undevialing adherence to the principles on which we set out can carry us prosper- ously onward through all the conflicts of circumstances, and the vicissitudes inseparable from the lapse of years. The success that has thus attended our great experi- ment, is, in itself, sufficient cause for gratitude, on ac- count of the happiness it has actually conferred, and the example it has unanswerably given. But to me, my fel- low-citizens, looking forward to the far distant future, with ardent prayers and confiding hopes, this retrospect presents a ground for still deeper delight. It impresses on my mind a firm belief that the perpetuity of our in- stitutions depends upon themselves; that, if we maintain the principles on which they were established, they are des- tined to confer their benefits on countless generations yet to come; and that America will present to every friend of mankind the cheering proof, that a popular government, wisely formed, is wanting in no element of endurance or strength. Fifty years ago its rapid failure was predicted. Latent and uncontrollable causes of dissolution were sup- posed to exist, even by the wise and good ; and not only did unfriendly or speculative theorists anticipate for us the fate of past republics, but the fear of many an honest patriot overbalanced his sanguine hopes. Look back on these forebodings, not hastily, but reluctantly made, and see how, in every instance, they have completely failed. An imperfect experience, during the struggles of the re- volution, was supposed to warrant a belief that the peo- ple would not bear the taxation requisite to the discharge of an immense public debt already incurred, and to de- fray the necessary expenses of government. The cost of two wars has been paid, not only without a murmur, but with unequalled alacrity. No one is now left to doubt that every burden will be cheerfully borne that may be ne- cessary to sustain our civil institutions, or guard our ho- nor or our welfare. Indeed, all experience has shown that the willingness of the people to contribute to these ends, in cases of emergency, has uniformly outrun the confidence of their representatives. In the early stages of the new government, when all felt the imposing influence, as they recognized the une- 16 182 THE TRUE REPUELICAN'. quailed services of the first President, it was a common sentiment, that the ffreat weigrht of his character coUid alone bind the discordant materials of our government to- gether, and save u? from the violence of contending fac- tions. Since his death, nearly forty years are gone. Party exasperation has been often carried to its liighest point; the virtue and fortitude of the people have some- times been greatly tried; yet our system, purified and en- hanced in value by all it has encountered, still preserves its spirit of free and fearless discussion, blended with un- impaired fraternal feeling. The capacity of the people for self-government, and their willingness from a high sense of duty, and without those exhibitions of coercive power so generally employ- ed in other countries, to submit to all needful restraints and exactions of the municipal law, have also been favor- ably exemplified in the history of the American states. Occasionally it is true, the ardor of public sentiment, out- running the regular process of the judicial tribunals, or seekinfT to reach cases not denounced as' criminal by the existing law, has displayed itself in a manner calculated to give pain to the friends of free government, and to en- courage the hopes of those who wish for its overthrow. These occurrences, however, have been less frequent in our country than any other of equal population on the globe ; and with the diffusion of intelligence, it may well be hoped that they will constantly diminish in frequency and violence. The generous patriotism and sound com- mon sense of the great mass of our fellow-citizens, will assuredly, in time, produce this result; for as every as- sumption of illegal power not only wounds the majest}' of the law, but furnishes a pretext for abridging the liber- ties of the people, the latter have the most direct and per- manent interest in preserving the great landmarks of so- cial order, and maintaining, on all occasions, the inviola- bility of those constitutional and !egal provisions which they themselves have made. In a supposed unfitness of our institutions for those hostile emergencies which no country can always avoid, their friends found a fruitful source of apprehension, VAX Bl'KiKK & INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 133 their enemies of hope. While they forsavv less prompt- ness of action than in governments difl'erently formed, they overlooked the far more important considerations, that with us war could never be the result of individual or irresponsible will, but must be a measure of redress for injuries sustained, voluntarily resorted to by those who were to bear the necessary sacrifice, who would conse- quently feel an individual interest in the contest, and whose energy would be commensurate with the difficul- ties to be encountered. Actual events have proved their error : the last war, far from impairing, gave new confi- dence to our government ; and amid recent apprehensions of a similar conflict, we saw that the energies of our country would not be wanting in ample season to vindi- cate its rights. We may not possess, as we should not desire to possess, tdie extended and ever ready military organization of other nations ; we may occasionally suf- fer in the outset for the want of it, but, among ourselves, all doubt upon this great point has ceased, while a salu- tary experience will prevent a contrary opinion from in- viting aggression from abroad. Certain danger was foretold from the extension of our territory, the multiplication of states, and the increase of population. Our system was supposed to be adapted on- ly to boundaries comparatively narrow. These have been widened beyond conjecture ; the members of our confed- eracy are already doubled ; and the numbers of our peo- ple are incredibly augmented. The alleged causes of danger have long surpassed anticipation, but none of the consequences have followed. The power and influence of the republic have risen to a height obvious to all man- kind ; respect for its authority was not more apparent at its ancient than it is at its present limits; new and inex- haustible sources of general prosperity have heen opened; the effects of distance have been averted by the inventive genius of our people, developed and fostered by the spirit of our institutions ; and the large variety and amount of interests, productions, and pursuits, have strengthened the chain of mutual dependence, and formed a circle of mutual benefits, too apparent ever to be overlooked. 184 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. Ill justly balancing the powers of the federal and state authorities, difficulties nearly insurmountable arose at the outset, and subsequent collisions were deemed inevitable. Amid these, it was scarcely believed possible that a scheme of government so complex in construction, could remain uninjured. From time to time, embarrassments have certainly occurred ; but how just is the confidence of future safety imparted by the knowledge that each in succession has been happily removed. Overlooking par- tial and temporary evils as inseparable from the practical operation of all human institutions, and looking only to the general result, every patriot has reason to be satisfied. While the federal government has successfully performed its appropriate functions in relation to foreign affairs, and concerns evidently national, that of every state has re- markably improved in protecting and developing local interests and individual welfare ; and if the vibrations of authority have occasionally tended too much towards one or other, it is unquestion^ably certain that the ultimate operation of the entire system has been to strengthen all the existing institutions, and to elevate our whole country in prosperity and renown. The last, perhaps the greatest, of the prominent sources of discord and disaster supposed to lurk in our political condition, was the institution of domestic slavery. Our forefathers were deeply impressed with the delicacy of this subject, and they treated it with a forbearance so evidently wise, that, in spite of every sinister foreboding, it never, until the present period, disturbed the tranquillity of our common country. Such a result is sufficient evidence of the justice and the patriotism of their course ; it is evident not to be mistaken, that an adherence to it can prevent all embarrassment from this, as well as every other anticipated cause of difficulty or danger. Have not recent events made it obvious to the slightest reflec- tion, that the least deviation from this spirit of forbearance is injurious to every interest, that of humanity included? Amidst the violence of excited passions, this generous and fraternal feelino^ has been sometimes disres-arded ; and standing as I now do before my countrymen, in this high place of honor and trust, I cannot refrain from anxiously invoking my fellow-citizens never to be deaf to its die- VAN BUREn's inaugural ADDRESS. 185 tales. Perceiving, before ray election, the deep interest this subject was beginning to excite, I believed it a so- lemn duty fully to make known my sentiments in regard to it; and now, when every motive for misrepresentation has passed away, I trust that they will be candidly weigh- ed and understood. At least they will be my standard of conduct in the path before me. I then declared that, if the desire of those of my countrymen who were favorable to my election was gratified, "I must go into the presi- dential chair the inilexible and uncompromising opponent of every attempt, on the part of Congress, to abolish sla- very in the District of Columbia, against the wishes of the slaveliolding states ; and also with a determination equally decided to resist the slightest interference with it in the states where it exists." I submitted also to my fel- low-citizens, with fulness and frankness, the reasons which led me to this determination. The result authorizes me to believe that they have been approved, and are confided in by a majority of the people of the United States, in- cluding those whom they most immediately afTect. It now only remains to add, that no bill conflicting with these views can ever receive my constitutional sanction. These opinions have been adopted in the firm belief that they are in accordance with the spirit that actuated the venerated fathers of the republic, and that succeeding ex- perience has proved them to be humane, patriotic, expe- dient, honorable and just. If the agitation of this subject was intended to reach the stability of our institutious, enough has occurred to show that it has signally failed; and that in this, as in every other instance, the apprehen- sions of the timid and the hopes of the wicked for the destruction of our government, are again destined to be disappointed. Here and there, indeed, scenes of dan- gerous excitement have occurred; terrifying instances of local violence have been witnessed ; and a reckless disre- gard of the consequences of their conduct has exposed individuals to popular indignation ; but neither masses of the people nor sections of country have swerved from their devotion to the bond of union, and the principles it has made sacred. It will be ever thus. Such attempts at agitation may periodically return, but with each the IG* 186 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. object will be better understood. That predominating affection for our political system which prevails through- out our territorial limits; that calm and enlightened judg- ment which ultimately governs our people as one vast body, will always be at hand to resist and control every effort, foreign or domestic, which aims or would lead to overthrow our institutions. What can be more gratifying than such a retrospect as this? We look back on obstacles avoided and dangers overcome; on expectations more than realized, and pros- perity perfectly secured. To the hopes of the hostile, the fears of the timid, and the doubts of the anxious, actual experience has given the conclusive reply. We have seen time gradually dispel every unfavorable fore- boding, and our constitution surmount every adverse cir- cumstance, dreaded at tlie outset as beyond control. Pre- sent excitement will, at all times, magnify present dangers ; but true philosophy must teach us that none more threat- ening than the past can remain to be overcome ; and we ought, for we have just reason, to entertain an abiding confidence in the stability of our institutions, and an entire conviction that if administered in the true form, character and spirit in which they were established, they are abundantly adequate to preserve to us and our children the rich blessings already derived from them ; to make our beloved land, for a thousand generations, that chosen spot where happiness springs from a perfect equality of politi- cal rights. For myself, therefore, I desire to declare, that the prin- ciple that will govern me in the high duty to which my country calls me, is a strict adherence to the letter and spirit of the constitution, as it was designed by those who framed it. Looking back to it as a sacred instrument, carefully and not easily framed ; remembering that it was throughout a work of concession and compromise, view- ing it as limited to national objects ; regarding A as leav- ing to the people and the states all power not explicitly parted with, I shall endeavor to preserve, protect and de- fend it, by anxiously referring to its provisions for direc- tion in every action. To matters of domestic concern- ment which it has entrusted to the federal government, VAN buren's inaugural address. 187 and to such as relate to our intercourse with foreicrn na- tions, I shall zealously devote myself; beyond those lim- its 1 shall never pass. To enter, on this occasion, into a further or more mi- nute exposition of my views on the various questions of domestic policy, would be as obtrusive as it is probably unexpected. Before the suffrages of my countrymen were conferred upon me, I submitted to them, with great pre- ^ision, my opinions on all tlie most prominent of these subjects. Those opinions I shall endeavor to carry out with the utmost ability. Our course of foreign policy has been so uniform and intelligible, as to constitute a rule of executive conduct v>^hich leaves little to my discretion, unless, indeed,! were willing to run counter to the lights of experience, and the known opinions of my constituents. We sedulously cultivate the friendship of all nations, as the condition most compatible with our welfare, and the principles of our government. We decline alliances, as adverse to our peace. We desire commercial relations on equal terms, being ever willing to give a fair equivalent for advantages received. We endeavor to conduct our intercourse with openness and sincerity ; promptly avowing our objects, and seeking to establish that mutual frankness which is as beneficial in the dealing's of nations as of men. We have no disposition, and we disclaim all right to meddle in disputes whether internal or foreign, that may molest other countries ; regarding them in their actual state, as social communities, and preserving a strict neutrality in all their controversies. Well knowing the tried valor of our people, and our exhaustless resources, we neither an- ticipate nor fear any designed aggression ; and in the con- sciousness of our own just conduct, we feel a security that we shall never be called upon to exert our determination, never to permit an invasion of our rights, without punish- ment or redress. In approaching, then, in the presence of my assembled countrymen, to make the solemn promise that yet remains, and to pledge myself that I will faithfully execute the of- ^ce I am about to fill, I bring with me a settled purpose to maintain the institutions of my country, which, I trust, will atone for the errors I commit. 188 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. m receiving from the people the sacred trust twice con- fided to my illustrious predecessor, and which he has dis- charged so faithfully and so well, I know thati cannot ex- pect to perform the arduous task with equal ability and success. But, united as I have been in his counsels, a daily witness of his exclusive and unsurpassed devotion to his country's welfare, agreeing with him in sentiments which his countrymen have warmly supported, and per- mitted to partake largely of his confidence, I may hope that somewhat of the same cheering approbation will be found to attend upon my path. For him, I but express, with my own, the wishes of all, that he may yet long live to enjoy the brilliant evening of his well-spent life, and for myself, consci(3us of but one desire, faithfully to serve my country, I throw myself, without fear, on its justice and kindness. Beyond that, I only look to tlie gracious protection of that Divine Being whose strengthening sup- port I humbly solicit, and whom I fervently pray to look down upon us all. May it be among the dispensations of his providence to bless our beloved country with honors and with length of days ; may her ways be ways of plea- santness, and all her paths be peace. VAN BUREN'S FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE, December 4, 1837. 7^0 the Senate, and House of Represent atives : We have reason to renew the expression of our devou* gratitude to the Giver of all good for his benign protec- tion. Our country presents on every side the evidences of that continued favor under whose auspices it has gradually risen from a few feeble and dependent colo- nies to a prosperous and powerful confederacy. We are blessed with domestic tranquillity and all the elements of national prosperity. The pestilence which, invading for time some flourishinof portions of the Union, interrupted VAN BUREN's first ANNUAL MESSAGE. 189 the general prevalence of unusual health, has happily been limited in extent, and arrested in its fatal career. The industry and prudence of our citizens are gradually relieving them from the pecuniary embarrassments un- der which portions of them have labored ; judicious le- gislation, and the natural and boundless resources of the country, have afforded wise and timely aid to private enterprise ; and the activity always characteristic of our people has already in a great degree resumed its usual and profitable channels. The condition of our foreign relations has not mate- rially changed, since the last annual message of my pre- decessor. We remain in peace with all nations ; and no efforts on my part, consistent with the preservation of our rights and the honor of our country, shall be spared to maintain a position so consonant to our institutions. We have faithfully sustained the foreign policy with which the United States, under the guidance of their first President, took their stand in the family of nations— that of regula- ting their intercourse with other powers by the approved principles of private life; asking and according equal rights and equal privileges; rendering and demanding justice in all cases ; advancing their own and discussin? the pretensions of others, with candor, directness and sin° centy ; appealing at all times to reason, but never yield- ing to force, nor seeking to acquire any thing for them- selves by its exercise. A rigid adherence to this policy has left this govern-, ment with scarcely a claim upon its justice, for injuries arising from acts committed by its authority. The most imposing and perplexing of 'those of the United States upon foreign governments for aggressions upon our citi- zens, were disposed of by my predecessor. Independent- ly of the benefits conferred upon our citizens by restorino- to the mercantile community so many millions of which they had been wrongfully divested, a great service was also rendered to his country by the satisfactory adjustment of so many ancient and irritating subjects of contention ; and it reflects no ordinary credit on his successful ad- ministration of public affairs, that this great object was accomplished without compromising on any occasion, either the honor or the peace of the nation. 190 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. With European powers, no new subjects of difllculty have arisen ; and those which were under discussion, al- though not terminated, do not present a more unfavorable aspect for the future preservation of that good understand- ing which it has ever been our desire to cultivate. Of pending questions, the most important is that which exists with the government of Great Britain, in respect to our north-eastern boundary. It is with unfeigned regret that the people of the United States must look back upon the abortive efforts made by the executive, for a period of more than half a century, to determine, what no nation should suffer long to remain in dispute, the true line which divides its possessions from those of other powers. The nature of the setdement on the borders of the United States, and of the neighboring territory, was for a season such, that this perhaps was not indispensable to a faith- ful performance of the duties of the federal government. Time has, however, changed this state of things ; and has brought about a condition of affairs, in which the true interests of both countries imperatively require that this question should be put at rest. It is not to be dis- guised, that with full confidence, often expressed, in the desire of the British government to terminate it, we are apparendy as far from its adjustment as we were at the time of signing the treaty of peace in 1783. The sole result of long-pending negotiations, and a perplexing ar- bitration, appears to be a conviction, on its part, tliat a conventional line must be adopted, from the impossibility of ascertaining the true one according to the description contained in that treaty. AVithout coinciding in this opi- nion, which is not thought to be well founded, my pre- decessor gave the strongest proof of the earnest desire of the United States to terminate satisfactorily this dispute, by proposing the substitution of a conventional line, if the consent of the states interested in the question could be obtained. To this proposition, no answer has yet been received. The attention of the British government, however, has been earnestly invited to the subject, and its reply cannot, I am confident, be much longer delayed. The general relations between Great Britain and the United States are VAN BUREn's first ANNUAL MESSAGE. 191 of the most friendly character, and I am well satisfied of the sincere disposition of that government to maintain them upon their present footing. This disposition has also, I am persuaded, become more general with the peo- ple of England than at any previous period. It is scarcely necessary to say to you, liow cordially it is reciprocated by the government and the people of the United States. The conviction which must be common to all, of the injurious consequences that result from keeping open this irritating question, and the certainty that its final settlement cannot be much longer deferred, will, I trust, lead to an early and satisfactory adjustment. At your last session I laid before you the recent communications between the two governments and between this ffovern- ment and that of the stale of Maine, in whose solicitude, concerning a subject in which she has so deep an inte- rest, every portion of the Union participates. The feelings produced by a temporary interruption of those harmonious relations between France and the United States, which are due as well to the recollections of for- mer times as to a correct appreciation of existing inte- rests, have been happily succeeded by a cordial dispo- sition on both sides to cultivate an active friendship in their future intercourse. The opinion, undoubtedly cor- rect, and steadily entertained by us, that the commercial relations at present existing between the two countries, are susceptible of great and reciprocally beneficial im- provements, is obviously gaining ground in France ; and I am assured of the disposition of that government t^ favor the accomplishment of such an object. This dispo sition shall be met in a proper spirit on our part. The few and comparatively unimportant questions that re- main to be adjusted between us, can, I have no doubt, be settled with entire satisfaction, and without difficulty. Between Russia and the United States, sentiments of good-will continue to be mutually cherished. Our mi- nister recently accredited to that court, has been received M^ith a frankness and cordiality, and with evidences of respect for his country, which leaves us no room to doubt the preservation in future of those amicable and liberal relations wliich have so long and so uninterruptedly ex 192 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. isted between the two countries. On the few subject* under discussion between us, an early and just decision is confidently anticipated. A correspondence has been opened with the govern- ment of Austria, for the establishment of diplomatic rela- tions, in conformity with the wishes of Congress, as in- dicated by an appropriation act of the session of 1837, and arrangements made for the purpose, which will be duly carried into effect. With Austria and Prussia, and with the states of the German empire, now composing with the latter the Com- mercial League, our political relations are of the most friendly character, while our commercial intercourse is gra- dually extending, with benefit to all who are engaged in it. Civil war yet rages in Spain, producing intense- suffer- ing to its own people, and to other nations inconvenience and regret. Our citizens who have claims upon that country wdl be prejudiced for a time by the condition of its treasury, the inevitable consequence of long-continued and exhausting internal wars. The last instalment of the interest of the debt due under the convention with the queen of Spain has not been paid; and similar fadures may be expected to happen until a portion of the resources of her kingdom can be devoted to the extinguishment of its foreign debt. Having received satisfactory evidence that discrimina- ting tonnage duties were charged upon vessels of the Uni- ted States in the ports of Portugal, a proclamation was issued on the 11th day of October last, in compliance with tlie act of May 25th, 1832, declaring that fact, and the duties on foreign tonnage, which were levied upon Portuguese vessels in the United States, previously to the passage of that act, are accordingly revived. The act of July 4th, 1836, suspending the discrimina- ting duties upon the produce of Portugal imported into this country in Portuguese vessels, was passed, upon the application of that government, through its representa- tives here, under the belief that no similar discrimination existed in Portugal to the prejudice of the United States. I regret to state that such duties are now exacted in that VAxV buren's first annual message. 193 country, upon the cargoes of American vessels ; and as the act referred to, vests no discretion in the Executive, it is for Congress to determine upon the expediency of fur- ther legislation upon the subject. Against these discri- minations, affecting tlie vessels of this country and their cargoes, seasonable remonstrance was made, and notice was given to the Portuguese government, that unless they should be discontinued, the adoption of countervailin'o- measures or. the part of the United States would become necessary; but the reply of that government received at the department of state through our charge d'alTaires at Lisbon, in the month of September last, Afforded no ground to hope for the abandonment of a system, so little in harmony with the treatment sliown to the vessels of Portugal and their cargoes, in the ports of this country, and so contrary to the expectations we had a rio-ht to entertain. ° With Holland, Sweden, Denmark, Naples, and Bel- gium, a friendly intercourse has been uninterruptedly maintained. With the government of the Ottoman Porte, and its dependencies on the coast of the Mediterranean, peace and good-will are carefully cultivated, and liave been fos- tered by such good offices as the relative distance and the condition of those countries would permit. Our commerce with Greece is carried on under the laws of the two governments, reciprocally beneficial to the navigating interests of both ; and I have reason to look forward to the adoption of other measures which wdl be more extensively and permanently advantageous. Copies of the treaties concluded with the govern'ments of Siam and Muscat are transmitted for the'^in formation of Congress, the ratifications having been received, and the treaties made public, since the close of the last an- nual session. Already have we reason to congratulate ourselves on the prospect of considerable commercial benefit ; and we have, besides, received from the Sultan of xMuscat, prompt evidence of his desire to cultivate the most friendly feelings, by liberal acts towards one of our vessels, bestowed in a manner so striking as to require on our part a grateful acknowledgment. 17 194 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. Our commerce with the island of Cuba and Porto Rico, still labors under heavy restriction, the continuance of which is a subject of regret. The only effect of an adherence lo them will be to benefit the navigation of other coun- tries, at the expense both of the United States and Spain. The independent nations of this continent have, ever since they emerged from the colonial state, experienced severe trials in their progress to the permanent establish- ment of liberal political institutions. Their unsettled condition not only interrupts their own advances to pros- perity, but has often seriously injured the otlier powers of the world. The claims of our citizens upon Peru, Chili, Brazil, the Argentine Republic, the governments formed out of the republics of Colombia and Mexico, are still pending, although many of them have been pre- sented for examinations more than twenty years. New Grenada, Venezuela, and Ecuador, have recently formed a convention for the purpose of ascertaining and adjusting the claims upon the republic of Colombia, from which it is earnestly hoped our citizens will, ere long, receive full compensation for the injuries originally inflicted upon them, and for the delay in affording it. An advantageous treaty of commerce has been concluded by the United States with the Peru-Bolivian Confedera- tion, which wants only the ratification of that government. The progress of a subsequent negotiation for the settle- ment of claims upon Peru, has been unfavorably affected by the war between that power and Chili, and the Argen- tine Republic ; and the same event is likely to produce delays in the settlement of our demands on those powers. The aoforavatinof circumstances connected with our DO O claims upon Mexico, and a variety of events touching the honor and integrity of our government, led my pre- decessor to make, at the second session of the last Con- gress, a special recommendation of the course to be pur- sued to obtain a speedy and final satisfaction of the injuries complained of by this government and by our citizens. He recommended a final demand of redress with a contingent authority to the Executive to make reprisals, if that demand should be made in vain. From the proceed- ings of Congress on that recommendation, it appeared that the opinion of both branches of the legislature coin- VAN BUREN S FIRST ANNUAL xMESSAGE. 195 cided with that of the Executive, that any mode of re- dress known to the law of nations might justifiably be used. It was obvious, too, that Congress believed, with the President, that another demand should be made, in order to give undeniable and satisfactory proof of our desire to avoid extremities with a neighboring power ; but that there was an indisposition to vest a discretionary authori- ty in the Executive to take redress, should it unfortunate- ly be either denied or unreasonably delayed by the Mexi- can government. So soon as the necessary documents were prepared, af- ter entering upon the duties of my othce, a special mes- senger was sent to Mexico, to make a final demand of re- dress, with the documents required by the provisions of our treaty. The demand was made on the 20th of July last. The reply, which bears date the 29th of the same month, contains assurances of a desire, on the part of that government, to give a prompt and explicit answer re- specting each of the complaints, but that the examination of them would necessarily be deliberate ; that in this ex- amination it would be guided by the principles of public law and the obligation of treaties ; that nothing should be left undone that might lead to the most equitable adjust- ment of our demands ; and that its determination, in re- spect to each case, should be communicated through the Mexican minister here. Since that time, an envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary has been accredited to this government by that of the Mexican republic. He brought with him assurances of a sincere desire that the pending differences between the two governments should be terminated in a manner satisfactory to both. He was received with re- ciprocal assurances, and a hope was entertained that his mission would lead to a speedy, satisfactory, and final ad- justment of all existing subjects of complaint. A sin- cere believer in the wisdom of the pacific policy by which the United States have always been governed in their intercourse with foreign nations, it was my particular desire, from the proximity of the Mexican republic, and well known occurrences on our frontier, to be instrumen- tal in obviating all existing difficulties with that govern- ment, and in restoring to the intercourse between the two 196 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. republics, that liberal and friendly character by wliich they should always be distinguished. I regret, therefore, the more deeply, to have found in the recent comniunica tions of that government, so little reason to hope that any efforts of mine for tiie accomplishment of those desirable objects would be successful. Although the larger number, and many of them aggra- vated cases of personal wrongs have been now for years before the JMexican orovernment, and some of the causes of national complaint, and those of the most offensive cha- racter, admitted of immediate, simple and satisfactory re- plies, it is only within a few days past that any specific communication in answer to our last demand, made five months ago, has been received from the Mexican minister. By the report of the secretary of state, herewith presented, and the accompanying documents, it will be seen, that for not one of our public complaints has satisfaction been given or offered ; that but one of the causes of personal wrong has been favorably considered ; and that but four cases of both descriptions, out of all those formally pre- sented, and earnestly pressed, have as yet been decided upon by the Mexican government. Not perceiving in what manner any of the powers given to the Executive alone, could be further usefully em- ployed in bringing this unfortunate controversy to a satis- factory termination, the subject was, by my predecessor, referred to Congress, as one calling for its interposition. In accordance with the clearly understood wishes of the legislature, another and formal demand for satisfaction has been made upon the Mexican government, with what suc- cess the documents now communicated will show. On a careful and deliberate examination of their contents, and considering the spirit manifested by the Mexican govern- ment, it has become my painful duty to return the sub- ject, as it now stands, to (Congress, to whom it belongs to decide upon the time, the mode, and the measures of redress. Whatever may be your decision, it shall be faithfully executed, confident that it will be characterized by that moderation and justice which will, I trust, under all circumstances, govern the councils of our country. The balance in the treasury on the first day of January, 1837, was forty-five millions nine hundred and sixty -eight VAN BUREn's first ANNUAL MESSAGE. 197 thousand five hundred and twenty-diree dollars. The receipts during the present year from all sources, inclu- ding the amount of treasury notes issued, are estimated at twenty-three millions four hundred and ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and eighty-one dollars, constitu- ting an affg-reo-ate of sixty-nine millions four hundred and sixty-eight thousand five hundred and four dollars. Of this amount, about thirty-five millions two hundred and eighty-one thousand three hundred and sixty-one dollars will have been expended, at the end of the year, on appro- priations made by Congress ; and the residue, amounting to thirty-four millions one hundred and eighty-seven thou- sand one hundred and forty-three dollars, will be the nominal balance in the treasury on the first of January next. But of that sum, only one million eighty-five thousand four hundred and ninety-eight dollars is considered as imme- diately available for, and applicable to, public purposes. Those portions of it which will be for some time una- vailable, consist chiefly of sums deposited with the states, and due from the former deposit banks. The details upon this subject will be found in the annual report of the secretary of the treasury. The amount of treasury notes which it will be necessary to issue during the year on account of those funds being unavailable, will, it is supposed, not exceed four and a half millions. It seemed proper in the condition of the country, to have the esti- mates on all subjects made as low as practicable, without prejudice to any great public measures. The departments were, therefore, desired to prepare their estimates accord- ingly ; and I am happy to find that they have been able to graduate them on so economical a scale. In the great and often unexpected fluctuations to which the revenue is subjected, it is not possible to com- pute the receipts beforehand with great certainty ; but should they not differ essentially from present anticipa- tions, and should the appropriations not much exceed the estimates, no difficulty seems likely to happen in defray- ing the current expenses with promptitude and fidelity. Notwithstanding the orreat embarrassments which have recently occurred in commercial affairs, and the liberal indulgence which, in consequence of those embarrass- 17* 198 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. ments, has been extended to both the merchants and the banks, it is gratifying- to be able to anticipate that the treasury notes, which have been issued during the present year will be redeemed, and that the resources of the trea- sury, without any resort to loans or increased taxes, will prove ample for defraying all charges imposed on it du- ring 1838. The report of the secretary of the treasury will afford you a more minute exposition of all matters connected with the administration of the finances during the current year ; a ))eriod which, for the amount of public moneys disbursed and deposited with the states, as well as the financial ditficulties encountered and overcome, has few parallels in our history. Your attention was, at the last session, invited to the necessity of additional legislative provisions in respect to the collection, safe-keeping, and transfer of the public money. No law havinor been then matured, and not un- derstanding the proceedings of Congress as intended to be final, it becomes my duty again to bring the subject to your notice. On that occasion, three modes of performing this branch of the public service were presented for conside- ration. These were, the creation of a national bank ; the revival, with modifications, of the deposit sysiem esta- blished by the act of the 23d June, 1836, permitting the use of the public moneys by the banks ; and the discon- tinuance of the use of such institutions for the purposes referred to, with suitable provisions for their accomplish- ment through the agency of public officers. Considering the opinions of both houses of Congress on the two first propositions as expressed in the negative, in which I en- tirely concur, it is unnecessary for me again to recur to them. In respect to the last, you have had an opportunity, since your adjournment, not only to test still further the expedi- ency of the measure, by the continued practical operation of such parts of it as are now in force, but also to discover — what should ever be sought for and regarded with the utmost deference — the opinions and wishes of the people. The national will is the supreme law of the republic, and on all subjects within the limits of its constitutional VAN BUREN S FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 199 powers, should be faithfully obeyed by the public servant. Since the measure in question was submitted to your con- sideration, most of you have enjoyed the advantage of personal communication with your constituents. For one state only has an election been held for the federal go- vernment ; but the early day at which it took place, de- prives the measure under consideration of much of the support it might otherwise have derived from the result. Local elections for state officers have, however, been held in several of the states, at which the expediency of the plan proposed by the executive has been more or less dis- cussed. You will, I am confident, yield to their results the respect due to every expression of the public voice. Desiring, however, to arrive at truth and a just view of the subject in all its bearings, you will at the same time remember, that questions of far deeper and more imm.e- diate local interest than the fiscal plans of the national treasury were involved in those elections. Above all, we cannot overlook the striking fact, that there were, at the time, in those states, more than one hundred and sixty millions of bank capital, of which large portions were subject to actual forfeiture — other large portions upheld only by special and limited legislative indulgencies — and most of it, if not all, to a greater or less extent, dependent for a continuance of its corporate existence upon the will of the state legislatures to be then chosen. Apprised of this circumstance, you will judge whether it is not most probable that the peculiar condi- tion of that vast interest in these respects, the extent to which it has been spread through all the ramifications of society, its direct connection with the then pending elec- tions, and the feelings it was calculated to infuse into the canvass, have not exercised a far greater influence over the result than any which could possibly have been produced by a conflict of opinion in respect to a ques- tion in the administration of the general government, more remote and far less important in its bearing upon that interest. I have found no reason to change my own opinion as to the expediency of adopting the system proposed, being per- fectly satisfied that there will be neither stability nor safe- 200 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. ty, either in the fiscal affairs of the government, or in the pecuniary transactions of individuals and corporations^ so long as a connection exists between them, which, like the past, offers such strong inducements to make them the subjects of political agitation. Indeed, I am more than ever convinced of the dangers to which the free and unbiassed exercise of political opinion — the only sure foundation and safeguard of republican government — would be exposed by any further increase of the already overgrown influence of corporate authorities — I cannot, therefore, consistent!" with my views of duty, advise a renewal of a connection which circumstances have dis- solved. The discontinuance of the use of state banks for fiscal purposes ought not to be regarded as a measure of hosti- lity towards these institutions. Banks properly establish- ed and conducted, are highly useful to the business of the country, and doubtless will continue to exist in the states so long as they conform to their laws, and are found to be safe and beneficial. How they should be created, what privileges they should enjoy, under what responsi- bilities they should act, and to what restrictions they should be subject, are questions which, as I observed on a previous occasion, belong to the states to decide. Upon their rights, or the exercise of them, the general govern- ment can have no motive to encroach. Its duty toward them is well performed, when it refrains from legislating for their special benefit, because such legislation would violate the spirit of the constitution, and be unjust to other interests ; when it takes no steps to impair their useful- ness, but so manages its own affairs as to make it the interest of those institutions to strengthen and improve their condition for the security and welfare of the com- munity at large. They have no right to insist on a connection with the federal government, nor on the use of the public money for their own benefit. The object of the measure under consideration is, to avoid for the future a compulsory connection of this kind. It proposes to place the general government, in regard to the essential points of the collection, safe-keeping and transfer of the public money, in a situation which shall VAN BUREn's first ANNUAL MESSAGE. 201 relieve it from all dependence on the will of irresponsible individuals or corporations; to withdraw those moneys from the uses of private trade, and confine them to agents constitutionally selected and controlled by Jaw ; to abstain from improper interference with the industry of the peo- ple, and withhold inducements to improvident dealings on the part of indivichials ; to give stability to the con- cerns of the treasury ; to preserve the measures of the government from the unavoidable reproaches that flow from such a connection, and the hanks themselves A'om the injurious effects of a supposed participation in the political conflicts of the day, from which they will other- wise find it diflicult to escape. These are my views upon this important subject ; form- ed after careful reflection, and widi no desire but to arrive at what is most likely to promote the public interest, 'i'liey are now, as they were before, submitted with an unfeigned deference for the opinions of others. It was hardly to be hoped that changes so important, on a sub- ject so interesting, could be made without producing a serious diversity of opinion ; but so long as those con- flicting views are kept above the influence of individual or local interests ; so long as they pursue only the gene- ral good, and are discussed with moderation and candor, such diversity is a benefit, not an injury. If a majority of Congress see the public welfare in a different light'; and more especially if they should be satisfied that°the measure proposed would not be acceptable to the people ; I shall look to their wisdom to substitute such as may be more conducive to the one, and more satisfactory to the other. In any event, they may confidenUy rely on my hearty co-operation to the fullest extent which my views of the constitution and my sense of duty will permit. It is obviously important to this branch of the public service, and to the business and quiet of the country, that the whole subject should in some way be settled and regu- lated by law ; and, if possible, at your present session. Besides the plan above referred to, I am not aware that any one has been suggested, except that of keeping the public money in the state banks, in special deposit. This plan is, to some extent, in accordance with the practice 202 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. of the government, and which, except, perhaps during the operation of the late deposit act, has always been allowed, even during the existence of a national bank, to make a temporary use of the state banks, in particular places, for the safe-keeping of portions of the revenue. This discretionary power might be continued, if Con- gress deem it detirable, whatever general system maybe adopted. So long as the connection is voluntary, we need perhaps anticipate few of those difficulties, and little of that dependence on the banks, which must attend every such connection when compulsory in its nature, and when so arranged as to make the banks a fixed part of the machinery of government. It is undoubtedly in the pow- er of Congress so to regulate and guard it as to prevent, the public money from being applied to the use, or inter- mingled with the affairs, of individuals. Thus arranged, although it would not give to the government that control over its own funds which 1 desire to secure to it by the plan I have proposed, it would, it must be admitted, in a great degree, accomplish one of the objects which has recommended that plan to my judgment — the sepa- ration of the fiscal concerns of the government from those of individuals or corporations. With these observations, I recommend the whole mat- ter to your dispassionate reflection ; confidendy hoping that some conclusion may be reached by your delibera- tions, which, on the one hand, shall give stability to the fiscal operations of the government, and be consistent, on the other, with the genius of our institutions, and with the interests and wishes of the great mass of our con- stituents. It was my hope that nothing would occur to make ne- cessary, on this occasion, any allusion to the late national bank. There are circumstances, however, connected with the present state of its affairs, that bear so directly on the character of the government and the welfare of the citizen, that I should not feel myself excused in neglect- intr to notice them. Tlie charier which terminated its banking privileges on the fourth of March, 1836, con- tinued its corporate powers two years more, for the Bole purpose of closing its affairs, with authority " to VAN BC/RKn's first ANNUAL MESSAGE. 203 use the corporate name, style and capacity, for the pur pose of suits, for a final settlement and liquidation of the atiairs and acts of the corporation, and for the sale and disposition of their estate, real, personal and mixed, but for no other purpose or in any other manner whatsoever." Just before the banking privileges cea.ed, its effects were transferred by the bank to a new srate institution, then recently incorporated, in trust, for the discharge of its debts and ihe settlement of its affairs. With this trustee, by authority of Congress, an adjust- ment was subsequently made of the large interest which the government had in the stock of the institution. The manner m which a trust unexpectedly created upon the act granting the charter, and involving such areat public interests, has been execnterl wnnl,! I i ' ^'""''^ P^^^^^ , ^ t;xecn[cu, would, under any circum- stance, be a fit subject of inquiry ; but much more does it deserve your attention when it embraces the redemption of obligations to which the authority and credit of the United States have given value. The two years allowed ?nL? V^ '' f '"'^' ^' '' ''-'^^ "nderstood that the trustee has not redeemed and cancelled the outstandina notes of the oank, but has re-issued, and is continually re": issuing, since the 3d of March, 18?6. the notes which have been received by it to a vast amount. According to its own official statement, so late as the hrst of October last, nineteen months after the bankincr privileges given by the charter had expired, it had under its control uncancelled notes of the late bank of the United states to the amount of twenty-seven millions five hun- dred and s.xty-one thousand eight hundred and sixty-six dollars, of which six millions one hundred and seventy- five thousand eight hundred and sixtv-one dollars were in actual circulation, one million four' hundred and sixty- eight thousan.l six hundred and twenty seven dollars at state bank agencies, and three millions two thousand three hundred and mnety dollars in transitu: thus showino- that upwards of ten millions and a half of the notes of the old bank were then still kept outstandino-. The impropriety of this procedure is obvious ; it beincr the duty of the trustee to cancel and not to put forth the notes of an institution, whose concerns it had undertaken 204 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. to wind up. If the trustee has a right to re-issue tnese notes now, I can see no reason why he may not continue to do so after the expiration of the two years. As no one could have anticipated a course so extraordinary, the pro- hibitory clause of the charter above quoted was not accom- panied by any penahy or other special provision for en- forcing it; nor have we any general law for the prevention of similar acts in future. But it is not in this view of the subject alone that your interposition is required. The United States, in setding with the trustee for their stock, have withdrawn their funds from their former direct liability to the creditors of the old bank, yet notes of the institution continue to be sent forth in its name, and apparently upon the authority of the United States. The tr.msactions connected with the employment of the bills of the old bank are of vast extent ; and should they result unfortunately, the interests of individuals may be deeply compromised. Without un- dertaking to decide how far, or in what form, if any, the trustee could be made liable for notes which contain no obligation on his part ; or the old bank, for such as are put in circulation after the expiration of its charter, and without its authority ; or the government for indemnity in case of loss, the question still presses itself upon your consideration, whether it is consistent with the duty and good faith on the part of the government, to witness this proceeding without a single effort to arrest it. The report of the Commissioner of the General Land Office, which will be laid before you by the secretary of the treasur)^ will sliow how the affairs of that office have been conducted for the past year. The disposition of the public lands is one of the most important trusts confided to congress. The practicability of retaining the title and control of such extensive domains in the general govern- ment, and at the same time admitting the territories em- bracing them into the federal union, as co-equal with the original states, was seriously doubted by many of our wisest statesmen. All feared that they would become a scource of discord, and many carried their apprehen- sions so far as to see in them the seeds of a future dissolution of the confederacy. But happily our expe- VAN BURKN's first A^'NUAL MESSAGE. 205 rience has already been sufficient to quiet, in a great de- gree, all such apprehensions. The position, at one time assumed — that the cdmission of new states into the Union on the same footing with the original states, was incom- patible with a right of soil in the United States, and ope- rated as a surrender thereof, notwithstanding the terms of the compacts by which their admission was designed to be regulated — has been wisely abandoned. Whether in the new or the old states, all now agree that the right of soil to tlie public lands remains in the federal government, and that these lands constitute a com- mon properly, to be disposed of for the common benefit of al'. the states, old and new. Acquiescence in this just principle by the people of the new states has naturally promoted a disposition to adopt the most liberal policy in the sale of the public iands. A policy which should be limited to the mere object of selling the lands for the greatest possible sum of money, without regard to higher considerations, finds but Cew advocates. On the contrary it is generally conceded, that while the mode of dispo- sition adopted by the government, should always be a prudent one, yet its leading object ought to be the early setdement, and cultivation of the lands sold ; and that it should discountenance, if it cannot prevent, the accumu- lation of large tracts in the same hands, which must ne- cessarily retard the growth of the new states, or entail upon them a dependent territory and its attendant evils. A question embracing such important interests, and so well calculated to enlist the feelings of the people in every quarter of the Union, has very naturally given rise to numerous plans for the improvement of the existing sys- tem. The distinctive features of the policy that has hitherto prevailed, are, to dispose of the public lands at moderate prices, thus enabling a greater number to enter into competition for their purchase, and accomplishing a double object of promoting their rapid settlement by the purchasers, and at the same time increasing the receipts of the treasury ; to sell for cash, thereby preventing the disturbing influence of a large mass of private citizens indebted to the government which they have a voice in IS 206 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. controlling ; to bring them into market no faster than good lands are supposed to be wanted for improvements, there- by preventing the accumulation of large tracts in few hands ; and to apply the proceeds of the sales to the general purposes of the government; thus diminishing the amount to be raised from the people of the states by taxation, and giving each state its portion of the benefits to be derived from this common fund in a manner the most quiet, and at the same time, perhaps the most equi- table that can be devised. These provisions, with occasional enactments in be- half of special interests deemed entitled to the favor of government, have in their execution, produced results as beneficial upon the whole as could reasonably be expected in a matter so vast, so complicated, and so exciting. Up- wards of seventy millions of acres have been sold, the great- er part of which is believed to have been purchased for actual settlement. The population of the new states and territories created out of the public domain, in- creased between 1800 and 1830, from less than sixty thousand, to upwards of two millions three hundred thousand souls, constituting, at the latter period, about one fifth of the whole people of the United States. The in- crease since cannot be accurately known, but the whole may now be safely estimated at over three and a half millions of souls ; composing nine states, the representa- tives of which constitute above one third of the Senate, and over one sixth of the House of the Representatives of the United States. Thus has been formed a body of free and independent landholders, with a rapidity unequalled in the history of mankind ; and this great result has been produced with- out leaving any thing for future adjustment between the government and its citizens. The system under which so much has been accomplished cannot be intrinsically bad, and with occasional modifications, to correct abuses, and adapt it to changes of circumstances, may, I think, be safely trusted for the future. There is, in the management of such extensive interests, much virtue in stability ; and although great and obvious improvements should not be declined, changes should never be made VAN BUREN S FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 207 without the fullest examination, and the clearest demon- stration of their practical utility. In the history of the past, we have an assurance that this safe rule of action will not be departed from in rela- tion to the public lands ;' nor is it believed that any ne- cessity exists for interfering with the fundamental princi- ples of the system, or that the public mind, even in the new states, is desirous of any radical alterations. On the contrary, the general disposition appears to be, to make such modifications and additions only as will more ef- fectually carry out the original policy of filling our new states and territories with an industrious and independent population. The modification most perseveringly pressed upon Con- gress, which has occupied so much of its time for years past, and will probably do so for a long time to come, if not sooner satisfactorily adjusted, is a reduction in the cost of such portions of the public lands as are ascertained to be unsaleable at the rate now established by law, and a graduation, according to their relative value, of the prices at which they may hereafter be sold. It is worthy of consideration whether justice may not be done to every interest in this matter, and a vexed question set at rest, perhaps forever, by a reasonable compromise of conflict- ing opinions. Hitherto, after being offered at public sale, lands have been disposed of at one uniform price, whatever difference there might be in their intrinsic value. The leading considerations urged in favor of the mea- sure referred to, are, that in almost all the land districts, and particularly in those in which the lands have been long surveyed and exposed to sale, there are still remain- ing numerous and large tracts of every gradation of value, from the government price downward; that these lands will not be purchased at the government price, so long as better can be conveniently obtained for the same amount ; that there are large tracts which even the improvements of the adjacent lands will never raise to that price; and that the present uniform price, combined with their irre- gular value, operates to prevent a desirable compactness of settlement in the new states, and to retard the full de- 208 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN'. velopement of that wise policy on which our land system is founded, to the injury not only of the several states where the lands lie, ut of the United States as a whole. The remedy proposed has been a reduction in prices according to tiie length of time the lands have been in tlie market, without reference to any other circumstances. The certainty that the efiiux of time would not always in such cases, and perhaps not even generally, furnish a true criterion of value ; and the probability that persons resid- ing in the vicinity, as the period for the reduction of prices approached, would postpone purchases they would other- wise make, for the purpose of availing themselves of the lower price, with other considerations of a similar cha- racter, have hitherto been successfully urged to defeat the graduation upon time. May not all reasonable desires upon this subject be sa- tisfied without encountering any of these objections ? All will concede the abstract principle, that the price of the public lands should be proportioned to their relative value, so far as that can be accomplished without departing from the rule heretofore observed, requiring fixed prices in cases of private entries. The difficulty of the subject seems to lie in the mode of ascertaining what that value is. Would not the safest plan be that which has been adopted by many of the states as to the basis of taxation — an actual valuation of lands and classifications of them into different rates ? Would it not be practicable and expedient to cause the relative value of the public lands in the old districts, which have been for a certain length of time in market, to be appraised and classed into two or more rates below the present minimum price, by the oflicers now employed in this branch of the public service, or in any other mode deemed preferable, and to make those prices permanent, if upon the coming in of the report they shall prove sa- tisfactory to Congress? Cannot all the objects of gradu- ation be accomplished in this way, and the objections which have hitherto been urged against it, avoided? It would seem to me that such a step, v/ith a restriction of the sales to limited quantities, and for actual improvement, would be free from all just exceptions. VAN BUREn's first ANNUAL MESSAGE. 209 By the fuU exposition of the vakie of the lands thus furnished and extensively promulgated, persons living at a distance would be informed of their true condition, and enabled to enter into competition with those residing in the vicinity ; the means of acquiring an independent home would be brought within the reach of many who are unable to purchase at present prices ; the population of the new states would be more compact, and large tracts would be sold which would otherwise remain on hand ; not only would the land be brought within the means of a large number of purchasers, but many persons possessed of greater means would be content to settle on a larger quantity of the poorer lands, rather than emigrate farther west in pursuit of a smaller quantity of better lands. Such a measure v/ould also seem to be more consistent with the policy of the existing laws — that of converting the public domain into cultivated farms owned by their occupants. Tliat policy is not best promoted by sending emigration up the almost interminable streams of the west, to occupy in groups the best spots of land, leaving im- mense wastes behind them, and enlarging the frontier be- yond the means of the government to afford it adequate protection; but in encouraging it to occupy, with reasona- ble denseness, the territory over which it advances, and find its best defence in the compact front wliich it presents to the Indian tribes. Many of you will bring to the con- sideration of the subject the advantage of local knowledge and greater experience, and all will be desirous of making an early and final disposition of every disturb- ing question in regard to this important interest. If these suggestions shall in any degree contribute to the accom- plishment of so important a result, it will afford me sincere satisfaction. In some sections of the country most of the public lands have been sold, and the registers and receivers have little to do. It is a subject worthy of inquiry whether, in many cases, two or more districts may not be consoli- dated, and the number of persons employed in this busi- ness considerably reduced. Indeed, the time will come, when it will be the true policy of the general government *410 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. as to some of the states, to transfer to them, for a reasona- ble equivalent, all the refuse and unsold lands, and to withdraw the machinery of the federal land offices alto- gether. All who take a comprehensive view of our fede- ral system, and believe that one of its greatest excellen- cies consists in interfering as little as possible with the internal concerns of the states, look forward with great interest to this result. A modification of the existing laws in respect to the prices of the public lands, might also have a favorable in- fluence on the legislation of Congress, in relation to another branch of the subject. Many who have not the ability to buy at present prices, settle on those lands, with the hope of acquiring from their cultivation the means of purchasing under pre-emption laws, from time to time passed by Congress. For this encroachment on the rights of the United States, they excuse themselves under the plea of their own necessities ; the fact that they dispossess nobody, and only enter upon the waste domain ; that they give additional value to the public bands in their vicinity, and their intention ultimately to pay the govern- ment price. So much weight has from time to time been attached to these considerations, that Congress have passed laws giving actual settlers on the public lands a right of pre-emption to the tracts occupied by them, at the mini- mum price. These laws have in all instances been retrospective in iheir operations ; but in a few years after their passage, crowds of new setders have been found on the public lands, for similar reasons, and under like expectations, who have been indulged with the same privilege. This course of legislation tends to impair public respect for the laws of the country. Either the laws to prevent intrusion upon the public lands should be executed, or, if that should be impracticable or inexpedient, they should be modified or repealed. If the public lands are to be con- sidered as open to be occupied by any, they should, by law, be thrown open to all. That which is intended, in all instances, to be legalized, should at once be made legal, that those who are dis- posed to conform to the laws, may enjoy at least equal .,..'-. VAX EUREN S FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 21 . privileges with those who are not. But it is not believed to be the disposition of Congress to open the public lands to occupancy without regular entries and payment of the government price, as such a course must tend to worse evils than the credit system, which it was found necessary to abolish. It would seem, therefore, to be the part of wisdom and sound policy to remove, as far as practicable, the causes which produce intrusions upon the public lands, and then take efficient steps to prevent them in future. Would any single measure be so effective in removing all plausible grounds for these intrusions as the graduation of price al- ready suggested ? A short period of industry and econo- my in any part of our country would enable the poorest citizen to accumulate the means to buy him a home at the lowest prices, and leave him without apology for settling on lands not his own. If he did not, under such circum- stances, he would enlist no sympathy in his favor ; and the laws would be readily executed without doing violence to public opinion. A large portion of our citizens have seated themselves on the public lands, without authority, since the passage of the last pre-emption law, and now ask the enactment of another, to enable them to retain the lands occupied, upon payment of the minimum government price. They ask that which has been repeatedly granted before. If the future may be judged of by the past, little harm can be done to the interests of the treasury by yielding to their request. Upon a critical examination, it is found that the lands sold at the public sales since the introduction of cash payments in 1820, have produced, on an average, the nett of only six cents an acre more thdn the minimum government price. There is no reason to suppose that future sales will be more productive. The government, therefore, has no adequate pecuniary interest to induce it to drive those people from the lands they occupy, for the purpose of selling them to others. Entertaining these views, I recommend the passage of a pre-emption law for their benefit, in connection with the preparatory steps towards the graduation of the price of the public lands, and fartlier and more effectiial pro- 213 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. visions to prevent intrusions hereafter. Indulgence to those who have settled on these lauds with expectations that past legislation would be made a rule for the future, and at the same time removing the most plausible ground on which intrusions are excused, and adopting more effi- cient means to prevent them hereafter, appears to me the most judicious disposition which can be made of this dif- ficult subject. The limitations and restrictions to guard against abuses in the execution of the pre-emption law, will necessarily attract the attention of Congress : but under no circum- stances is it considered expedient to authorize floating claims in any shape. They have been heretofore, and doubtless would be hereafter, most prolific sources of fraud and oppression, and instead of operating to confer the favor of the government on industrious settlers, are often used only to minister to a spirit of cupidity at the expense of the most meritorious of that class. The accompanying report of the secretary of war will bring to your view the state of the army, and all the va- rious subjects confided to the superintendence of that officer. The principal part of the army has been concentrated in Florida, with a view and in the expectation of bring- ing the war in that territory to a speedy close. The ne- cessity of stripping the posts on the maritime and inland frontiers, of their entire garrisons, for the purpose of as- sembling in the field an army of less than four thousand men, would seem to indicate the necessity of increasing our regular forces ; and the superior efficiency as well as greatly diminished expense of that description of troops, recommend this measure as one of economy, as well as of expediency. I refer to the report for the reasons which have induced the secretary of war to urge the re-organiza- tion and enlargement of the staff" of the army, and of the ordnance corps, in which I fully concur. It is not, however, compatible with the interest of the people to maintain, in time of peace, a regular force ade- quate to the defence of our extensive frontiers. In pe- riods of danger and alarm, we must rely principally upon a well-organized militia; and some general arrangement VAN BUREn's first ANNUAL MESSAGE. 213 that will render this description of force more efficient, has long been a subject of anxious solicitude. It was re- commended to the iirst Congress by General Washington, and has since been frequently brought to your notice, and recently its importance strongly urged by my immediate predecessor. The provision in the constitution that renders it neces- sary to adopt a uniform system of organization for the militia throughout the United States, presents an insur- mountable obstacle to an efficient arrangement by the classification heretofore proposed, and I invite your atten- tion to the plan which will be submitted by the secretary of war, for the organization of the volunteer corps, and the instruction of militia officers, as more simple and prac- ticable, if not equally advantageous, as a general arrange- ment of the whole militia of the United States. A moderate increase of the corps both of military and topographical engineers, has been more than once recom- mended by my predecessor, and my conviction of the pro- priety, not to say necessity of the measure, in order to enable them to perform the various and important duties imposed upon them, induces me to repeat the recommen- dation. The Military Academy continues to answer all the pur- poses of its establishment, and not only furnishes well- educated officers of the army, but serves to diffuse through- out the mass of our citizens, individuals possessed of mi- litary knowledge, and the scientific attainments of civil and military engineerinoc. At present, the cadet is bound, with the consent of his parents or guardians, to remain in service five years from the period of his enlistment, unless sooner discharged, thus exacting only one year's service in the army after his education is completed. This does not appear to me sufficient. Government ought to com- mand for a longer period the services of those who are educated at the public expense; and I recommend that the time of enlistment be extended to seven years, and the terms of the enofaofement strictly enforced. The creation of a national foundry for cannon, to be common to the service of the army and navy of the Uni- ted States, has been heretofore recommended, and ap- 214 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN, pears to be required in order to place our ordnance on an equal footing with that of other countries, and to enable that branch of the service to control the prices of those articles, and graduate the supplies to the wants of the government, as well as to regulate their quality and insure their uniformity. The same reasons induce me to recommend the erec- tion of a manufactory of gunpowder, to be under the di- rection of the ordnance ofhce. The establishment of a manufactory of small arms west of the Alleghany moun- tains, upon the plan proposed by the secretary of war, will contribute to extend throughout that country the im- provements which exist in establishments of a similar description in the Atlantic states, and tend to a much more economical distribution of the armament required in the western portion of our Union. The system of removing the Indians west of the Mis- sissippi, commenced by Mr. Jefferson, in 1804, has been steadily persevered in by every succeeding President, and may be considered the settled policy of the country. Un- connected at first with any well-defined system for their improvement, the inducements held out to the Indians were confined to the greater abundance of game to be found in the west ; but when the beneficial effects of their re- moval were made apparent, a more philanthropic and en- lightened policy was adopted, in purchasing their lands east of the Mississippi. Jiiberal prices were given, and provisions inserted in all the treaties with them for the application of the funds they received in exchange, to such purposes as were best calculated to promote their present welfare, and advance their future civilization. These measures have been attended thus far with the happiest results. It will been seen, by referring to the report of the com- missioner of Indian affairs, that the most sanguine expec- tations of the friends and promoters of this system have been realized. The Choctaws, Cherokees, and other tribes that first emigrated beyond the Mississippi, have, for the most part, abandoned the hunter state and be- come cultivators of the soil. The improvement of their condition has been rapi^i, and it is believed that VAN BUREN's first ANNUAL MESSAGE. 215 they are now fitted to enjoy the advantages of a simple form of government, which has been submitted to them and received their sanction ; and I cannot too strongly urge this subject upon the attention of Congress. Stipulations have been made with all the Indian tribes to remove them beyond the Mississippi, except with the band of the Wyandotts, the Six Nations, in New York, tlie Menomonees, Mandans, and Stockbridges, in Wis- consin, and Miamies, in Indiana. With all but the Menomonees, it is expected that arrangements for their emigration will be completed the present year. The resistance which has been opposed to their removal by some tribes, even after treaties had been made with them to that effect, has arisen from various causes, operating differently on each of them. In most instances they have been instigated to resist- ance by persons to whom the trade with them and the acquisition of their annuities were important ; and in some by the personal influence of interested chiefs.— These obstacles must be overcome ; for the government cannot relinquish the execution of this policy with out sacrificing important interests, and abandoning the tribes remaining east of the Mississippi to certain destruc- tion. The decrease in numbers of the tribes within the limits of the states and territories has been most rapid. If they be removed, they can be protected from those associa- tions and evil practices which exert so pernicious and destructive an influence over their destinies. They can be induced to labor, and to acquire property, and its ac- quisition will inspire them with a feeling of independence. Their minds can be cultivated, and they can be taught the value of Salutary and uniform laws, and be made sensible of the blessings of free government, and capable of enjoy- ing its advantages. In the possession of property, knowledge, and a good government, free to give what direction they please to their labor, and sharers in the legislation by which their persons and the profits of their industry are to be protect- ed and secured, they will have an ever present convic- tion of the importance of union, of peace among 216 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. themselves, and of the preservation of amicable relations with us. The interests of the United States would also be greatly promoted by freeing the relations between the general and state governments, from what has proved a most em- barrassing incumbrance, by a satisfactory adjustment of conflicting titles to lands, caused by the occupation of the Indians, and by causing the resources of the whole coun- try to be developed by the power of the state and general governments, and improved by the enterprise of a white population. Intimately connected with this subject is the obligation of the government to fulfil its treaty stipulations, and to protect the Indians thus assembled " at their new resi- dence from all interruptions and disturbances from any other tribes or nations of Indians, or from any other per- son or persons whatsoever," and the equally solemn ob- ligation to guard from Indian hostilities its own border settlements stretching alonor a line of more than one thou- sand miles. To enable the government to redeem their pledge to the Indians, and to afford adequate protection to its own citizens, will require the continual presence of a considerable regular force on tlie frontiers, and the estab- lishment of a chain of permanent posts. Examinations of the country are now making, with a view to decide on the most suitable points for the erection of fort- resses and other works of defence, the results of which will be presented to you by the secretary of war at an early day, together with a plan for the eflectual protec- tion of friendly Indians, and the permanent defence of the frontier states. By the report of the secretary of the navy, herewith communicated, it appears that unremitted exertions have been made at the different navy-yards, to carry into effect all authorized measures for the extension and employ- ment of our naval force. The launching and prepa- ration of the ship of the line Pennsylvania, and the complete repairs of the ships of the line Ohio, Delaware, and Columbus, may be noticed, as forming a respectable addition to this important arm of our national defence. Our commerce and navigation have received increased VAN BUREN's first ANNUAL MESSAGE. 217 aid and protection during- the present year. Our squad- rons in the Pacific and on the Brazilian station have been much increased, and that in the Mediterranean, although small, is adequate to the present wants of our com- merce in that sea. Additions have been made to our squadron on the West India station, where the large force under Commodore Dallas has been most actively and efficiently employed in protecting our commerce, in preventing the importation of slaves, and in co-operating with the officers of the army in carrying on the war in Florida. The satisfactory condition of our naval force abroad, leaves at our disposal the means of conveniently provid- ing for a home squadron, for the protection of commerce upon our extensive coast. The amount of appropriations required for such a squadron will be found in the general estimates for the naval service, for the year 1838. The naval officers engaged upon our coast survey, have rendered important service to our navigation. The discovery of a new channel into the harbor of New York, through which our largest ships may pass without danger, must afford important commercial advantages to that harbor, and add greatly to its value as a naval station. The accurate survey of Georges' shoals, off the coast of Massachusetts, lately completed, will render compara- tively safe, a navigation hitherto considered dangerous. Considerable additions have been made to the number of captains, commanders, lieutenants, surgeons and assist- ant surgeons in the navy. These additions were ren- dered necessary, by the increased number of vessels put in commission, to answer the exigencies of our growino- commerce. Your attention is respectfully invited to the various suggestions of the secretary, for the improvement of the naval service. The report of the postmaster-general exhibits the pro- gress and condition of the mail service. The operations of the post-office department, constitutes one of the most active elements of our national prosperity, and it is gratifying to observe with what vigor they arc con- ducted. The mail routes of the United States cover an 19 218 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. extent of about one hundred and forty-t\ro thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven miles, having been increased about thirty-seven thousand one hundred and three miles, within the last two years. The annual mail transportation on these routes is about ?6, 228, 962 miles, having been increased about 10,359,- 476 miles within the same period. The number of post- offices has also been increased from 10,770, to 12,099, very few of which receive the mails less than once a week, and a large portion of them daily. Contractors and post-masters in general are represented as attend- ing to their duties with most commendable zeal and fidelity. The revenue of the department within the year ending on the 30th of June last, was $4,137,066 59 ; and its lia- bilities accruing within the sam€ time, were $3,380,847 75. The increase of revenue over that of the preceding year, was $708,166 41. For many interesting details, I refer you to the report of the postmaster-general, with the accompanying paper. Your particular attention is invited to the necessity of pro- viding a more safe and convenient building for the accom- modation of the department. I lay before Congress copies of reports, submitted in pursuance of a call made by me upon the heads of depart- ments, for such suggestions as their experience might enable them to make, as to what further legislative pro- visions may be advantageously adopted to secure the faithful application of public money to the objects for which they are appropriated ; to prevent their misapplication or embezzlement by those intrusted with the expenditure of them ; and generally to increase the security of the government against losses in their disbursement. It is needless to dilate on the importance of providing such new safeguards as are within the power of legislation to promote these ends ; and I have little to add to the recommendations submitted in the accompanying papers. By law, the terms of service of our most important collecting and disbursing officers in the civil departments, are limited to four years, and when re-appointed, their VAN BUREX'S FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 219 bonds are required to be renewed. The safety of tlie public is much increased by this feature of the law, and there can be no doubt that its application to all officers intrusted with the collection or disbursement of the pub- lic money, whatever may be the tenure of their offices, would be equally beneticial. 1 therefore recommend, in addition to such of the suggestions presented by the heads of department as you may think useful, a general provi- sion that all officers of the army or navy, or in the civil department, intrusted with the receipt or payment of the public money, and whose term of service is either un- limited or for a longer time than four years, be required to give bonds, with good and sufficient securities, at the expiration of every such period. A change in the period of terminating the fiscal year, from the tirst of October to the first of April, has been frequently recommended, and appears to be desirable. The distressing casualties in steamboats, which have so frequently happened, during the year, seem to evince the necessity of attempting to prevent them by means of severe provisions connected with their custom-house papers. This subject was submitted to the attention of Congress by the secretary of the treasury, in his last annual report, and will be again noticed at the present session, with additional details. It will doubtless receive that early and careful consideration which its pressing importance appears to require. Your attention has heretofore been frequently called to the afiairs of the District of Columbia, and I should not again ask it, did not their entire dependence on Con- gress give them a constant claim upon its notice. Sepa- rated by the constitution from the rest of the Union, limited in extent, and aided by no legislature of its own, it would seem to be a spot where a wise and uniform sys- tem of local government might have been easily adopted. This district, however, unfortunately, has been left to linsrer behind the rest of the Union ; its codes, civil and criminal, are not only very defective, but full of obsolete or inconvenient provisions; being formed of portions of two states, discrepancies in the laws prevail in different parts of the territory, small as it is ; and although it wa.3 220 THE TRUE REPUBLICAN. selected as the seat of the general government, the site of" its public editices, the depository of its archives, and the residence of officers intrusted with large amounts of public property, and the management of public business, yet it has never been subjected to, or received, that spe- cial and comprehensive legislation which these circum stances peculiarly demand. I am well aware of the various subjects of greater magnitude and immediate interest, that press themselves on the consideration of Congress ; but I believe there is no one that appeals more directly to its justice, than a liberal and even generous attention to the. interests of tlie District of Columbia, and a thorough and careful revi- sion of its h»cal government. HARRISON'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS, March 4 1841. Fellow- Citizens : Called from a retirement which I had supposed was to continue for the residue of my life, to fill the Chief Ex- ecutive office of this great and free nation, I appear before you, to take the oaths which the Constitution prescribes, as a necessary qualification for the performance of its du- ties. And in obedience to a custom coeval with our go- vernment and what I believe to be your expectations, I proceed to present to you a summary of the principles which will govern me in the discharge of the duties which I shall be called upon to perform. It was the remark of a Roman Consul, in an early pe- riod of that celebrated republic, that a most striking con- trast was observable in the conduct of candidates for of- fices of power and trust, before and after obtaining tliem — they seldom carrying out, in the latter case, the pledges and promises made in the former. However much the world may have improved, in many respects, in the lapse Harrison's inaugural address. 221 of upvvards of two thousand years since the remark was made by tlie virtuous and indignant Roman, I fear that a strict examination of the annals of some of the modern elective governments, would deveiope similar instances oi violated confidence. Although the fiat of the people has ^one forth oro claiming me the Chief Magistrate of this^lorious Union, oth.ng upon their part remaining to be done, it mav be l7r , f V''''''''^ T^ ^^''^ '^ ^^^P "P the deUrsion under wluch they may be supposed to have acted in rela- liou to my principles and opinions ; and perliaps there may be some in this assembly who have come here either prepared to condemn those I shall now deliver, or, ap- proving diem, to doubt the sincerity with which the,' are dl^pel their fears. The oudine of princinles to -o-overn and measures to be adopted, by an Admini'stration not y.^ begun, wil soon be exchanged for immutable history, and ed wi hl'p' ' ''' f onerated by my countrymen, or^class- ed with the mass of those who promised that they mi Nantucket 5 AVorcester five Cumberland .... one Lincoln one Berkshire two 2. The Senate shall be the first branch of the legisla- ture : and the senators shall be chosen in the following manner, viz : There shall be a meeting on the first Mon- day in April, annually forever, of the inhabitants of each town in the several counties of this commonwealth ; to be called by the selectmen, and warned in due course of law, at least seven days before the first Monday in April, for the purpose of electing persons to be senators and counsellors. And at such meetings every male inhabitant, of twenty-one years of age and upwards, having a free- hold estate within the commonwealth of the annual in- come of three pounds, or any estate of the value of sixty pounds, shall have a right to give in his vote for the sen- ators for the district of which he is an inhabitant. And to remove all doubts conccrnino: the word " inhabitant" in CO.XSTITUTION OF MASSACHUSETTS. 31 this Constitution, every person shall be considered as an inhabitant (for the purpose of electing and being elected into any office or place within this state) in that town, district, or plantation, where hedwelleth or hath his home. The selectmen of the several towns shall preside at such meetings impartially ; and shall receive the votes of all the inhabitants of such towns, present and qualified to vote foi senators ; and shall sort and count them in open town meet ing, and in presence of the town clerk, who shall make a fan record, in presence of the selectmen, and in open town meeting, of the name of every person voted for, and of the number of votes against his name ; and a fair copy of this record shall be attested by the selectmen and the town clerk, and shall be sealed up, directed to the secretary of the commonwealth for the time being, with a superscrip- tion, expressing the purports of the contents thereof, and delivered by the town clerk of such town to the sheriff of the county in which such town lies, thirty days at least before the last Wednesday in May, annually ; or it siiall be delivered into the secretary's office seventeen days at least before the said last Wednesday in May ; and the sheriff of each county shall deliver all such certi- ficates by him received into the secretary's office, seven- teen days before the said last Wednesday in May. And the inhabitants of plantations unincorporated, (qualified as this Constitution provides,) who are or shall be empowered and required to assess taxes upon them- selves, toward the support of government, shall have the same privilege of voting for counsellors and senators m the plantations where they reside, as town inhabitants have in their respective towns; and the plantation meet- ino-s for that purpose shall be held annually on the same first Monday in April, at such place in the plantations re- spectively as the assessors thereof shall direct ; which as- sessors shall have like authority for notifying the electors, collecting and returning the votes, as the selectmen and town clerks have in their several towns, by this Constitu- tion ; and all other persons, living in places unincorpora- ted, (qualified as aforesaid,) who shall be assessed to the support of government by the assessors of an adjacent town,shallhave the privilege of giving in their votes for 32 CONSTITUTION OF MASSACHUSETTS. counsellors and senators in the town where they shall be assessed, and be nolified of the place of meeting, by the selectmen of the town where they shall be assessed, for that purpose^ accordingly. 3. And that there may be a due convention of senators on the last Wednesday in May annually, the Governor and five of the councd, for the time being, shall, as soon as may be, examine the returned copies of such records ; and, fourteen days before the said day, he shall issue his summons to such persons as shall appear to be chosen by the majority of votes, to attend on that day and take their seats accordingly : provided, nevertheless, that, for the first year, the said returned copies shall be examined by the president and five of the council of the former Consti- tution of government : and the said president shall, in like manner, issue his summons to the persons so elected, that they may take their seats as aforesaid. 4. The Senate shall be the final judge of the elections, returns, and qualifications of their own members, as pointed out in the Constitution ; and shall, on the said last Wednesday in May, annually, determine and declare who are elected by each district, to be senators, by a ma- jority of votes : and in case there shall not appear to be the full number of senators returned, elected by a majori- ty of votes for any district, the deficiency shall be sup- plied in the following manner, viz. : Tlie members of the House of Representatives, and such senators as shall be de- clared elected, shall take the names of such persons as shall be found to have the highest number of votes in such district, and not elected, amounting to twice the number of senators wanting, if there be so many voted for; and out of these shall elect, by ballot, a number of senators sufficient to fill up the vacancies in such district ; and in this manner all such vacancies shall be filled in every dis- trict of the commonwealth : and, in like manner, all va- cancies in the Senate, arising by death, removal out of the state, or otherwise, shall be supplied as soon as may be after such vacancies shall happen : — 5. Provided, nevertheless, that no person shall be ca- pable of being elected a senator, who is not seized in his own right of a freehold within this commonwealth of the CONSTITUTION OF MASSACHUSETTS. 33 value of three hundred pounds at least, or possessed of per- sonal estate to the value of six hundred pounds at least, or of both to the amount of the same sum ; and who has not been an inhabitant of this comnionwealthfor the space of five years immediately preceding his election ; and at the time of his election he shall be an inhabitant in the district for which he shall be chosen. 6. The Senate shall have power to adjourn themselves, provided such adjournments do not exceed two days at a time. 7. The Senate shall choose its own president, appoint its own officers, and determine its own rules of proceedings. 8. The Senate shall be a court with full authority to hear and determine all impeachments made by the House of Representatives, against any officer or officers of the commonwealth, for misconduct, and maladministration in their offices. I3ut, previous to the trial of every impeach- ment, the m.embers of the Senate shall respectively be sworn, truly and impartially to try and determine the charge in question, according to evidence. Their judgment, however, shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold or enjoy any place of honor, trust, or profit, under this commonwealth : but the party so convicted shall be, nevertheless, liable to im- peachment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according to the laws of the land. 9. Not less than sixteen members of the Senate shall constitute a quorum for doing business. CHAPTER I. Section 3. — House of Representatives. Article I. There shall be, in the legislature of this commonwealth, a representation of the people, annually elected, and founded upon the principle of equality. 2. And in order to provide for a representation of the citizens of this commonwealth, founded on the principles of equality, every corporate town containing one hundred and fifty ratable polls may elect one representative ; eve- ry corporate town containing three hundred and seventy- 34 CONSTITUTION OF MASSACHUSETTS. five ratable polls may elect two representatives : every corporate town containing six hundred ratable polls, may elect three representatives ; and proceeding in that man- ner, making two hundred and twenty-five ratable polls the mean increasing number for every additional repre- sentative : Provided, nevertheless, that each town now incorpora- ted, not having one hundred and fifty ratable polls, may elect one representative. But no place shall hereafter be incorporated with the privilege of electing a representa- tive, unless there are, within the same, one hundred and fifty ratable polls. And the House of Representatives shall have power, from time to time, to impose fines upon such towns as shall neo-lect to choose and return members to the same, agreeably to this Constitution. The expenses of travelling to the general assembly, and returning home, once in every session, and no more, shall be paid by the government, out of the public trea- sury, to every member who shall attend as seasonably as he can, in the judgment of the House, and does not de- part without leave, 3. Every member of the House of Representatives shall be chosen by written votes ; and for one year at least next preceding his election shall have been an inhabitant of, and have been seized in his own right of a freehold of the value of one hundred pounds within the town he shall be chosen to represent, or any ratable estate, to the value of two hundred pounds ; and he sliall cease to represent the said town immediately on his ceasing to be qualified as aforesaid. 4. Every male person (being twenty-one years of age, and resident of any particular town in this commonwealth, for the space of one year next preceding) having a free- hold estate within the same town, of the annual income of three pounds, or any estate of the value of sixty pounds, shall have a right to vote in the choice of a representa- tive, or representatives for the said town. 5. The members of the House of Representatives shall be chosen annually, in the month of May, ten days, at least, before the last Wednesday of that month. CONSTITUTION OF MASSACHUSETTS. 35 6. The House of Representatives shall be the grand in- quest of this commonwealth; and all impeachments, made by them, shall be heard and tried by the Senate. 7. All money bills shall originate in the House of Re- presentatives : but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as on other bills. 8. The House of Representatives shall have power to adjourn themselves ; provided such adjournment shall not exceed two days at a time. 9. Not less than sixty members of the House of Repre- sentatives shall constitute a quorum for doing business. 10. The House of Representatives shall be the judge of the returns, elections, and qualifications of its own mem- bers, as pointed out in the constitution ; shall choose their own speaker ; appoint their own officers, and settle their rules and orders of proceeding in their own house. They shall have authority to punish, by imprisonment, every person (not a member) who shall be gudty of disrespect to the House, by any disorderly or contemptuous beha- vior in its presence ; or who, in the town where the gen- eral court is sitting, shall threaten harm to the body or estate of any of its members, for anything said or done in the House ; or who shall assault any of them therefor; or who shall assault or arrest any witness or other person, ordered to attend the House in his way in going or re- turning ; or who shall rescue any person arrested by the order of the House. And no member of the House of Representatives shall be arrested or held to bail on mesne process, during his going into, returning from, or his attending the general as- sembly 11. The Senate have the same powers in the like cases ; and the Governor and Council shall have the same authority to punish in like cases : provided, that no im- ^prisonment, on the warrant or order of the Governcr, Council, Senate, or House of Representatives, for either of the above described offences, be for a term exceeding thirty days. And the Senate and House of Representatives may try and determine all cases where their rights and privileges 36 CONSTITUTION OF MASSACHUSETTS. are concerned, and which, by the Constitution, they have authority to try and determine, by committees of their own members, or in such other way as they may respec- tively think best. CHAPTER 11. Section 1. — Executive Power. Governor. Article 1. There shall be a supreme executive magis- trate, who shall be styled the Governor of the Common- wealth of Massachusetts ; and whose title shall be, His Excellency. 2. The Governor shall be chosen annually: and no per- son shall be eligible to this office, unless at the time of his election he shall have been an inhabitant of this com- monwealth for seven years next preceding ; and unless he shall, at the same time, be seized, in his own right, of a freehold within the commonwealth of the value of one thousand pounds ; and unless he shall declare him- self to be of the Christian religion. 3. Those persons who shall be qualified to vote for senators and representatives, within the several towns of this commonwealth, shall, at a meeting to be called for that purpose, on the first Monday of April, annually, give in their votes for a Governor to the selectmen, who shall preside at such meetings ; and the town clerk, in the pre- sence, and with the assistance of the selectmen, shall, in open town meeting, sort and count the votes, and form a list of the persons voted for, with the number of votes for each person, against his name : and shall make a fair record of the same in the town books, and a public decla- ration thereof in the said meeting ; and shall, in the pre- sence of the inhabitants, seal up copies of the said lists, attested by him and the selectmen, and transmit the same to the sheriff of the county, thirty days at least before the last Wednesday in May : and the sheriff shall transmit the same to the secretary's office seventeen days at least before the said last Wednesday in May ; or the selectmen COXSTITUTIOX OF MASSACHUSETTS. 37 may cause returns of the same to be made to the office of the secretary of the commonwealth, seventeen days at least before the said day ; and the secretary shall lay the same before the Senate and House of Repre- sentatives on the last Wednesday in May, to be by them examined: and in case of an election by a majority of all the votes returned, the choice shall be by them declared and published. But if no person shall have a majority of votes, the House of Representatives shall, by ballot, elect two out of four persons, who had the highest num- ber of votes, if so many shall have been voted for: but, if otherwise, out of the number voted for; and make return to the Senate of the persons so elected ; on which the Senate shall, by ballot, elect one who shall be declared Governor. 4. The Governor shall have authority from time to time, at his discretion, to assemble and call together the counsellors of this commonwealth for the time being ; and the Governor, with the said counsellors, or five of them at least, shall, and may from time to time, hold and keep a council, for the ordering and directing the affairs of the commonwealth, agreeably to the Constitution and laws of the land. 5. The Governor, with the advice of council, shall have full power and authority, during the session of the general court, to adjourn or prorogue the same, to any time the two Houses shall desire ; and to dissolve the same on the day next preceding the last Wednesday in May, and in the recess of the said court to prorogue ihe same, from time to time, not exceeding ninety days in any one recess : and to call it together sooner than the time to •which it may be adjourned or prorogued, if the welfare of the commonwealth shall require the same. And in case of any infectious distemper prevailing in the place where the said court is next, at any time, to convene, or any cause happening, whereby danger may arise to the health or lives of the members from their attendance, he may direct the session to be held at some other of the most convenient places within the State. And the Governor shall dissolve the said general court on the day next preceding the last Wednesday in May 4 38 CONSTITUTION OF MASSACHUSETTS. 6. In cases of disagreement between the two Houses with regard to the necessity, expediency, or time of ad- journment, or prorogation, the Governor, with advice of the council, shall have a right to adjourn or prorogue the general court, not exceeding ninety days, as he shall de- termine, and the public good shall require. 7. The Governor of this commonwealth, for the time being, shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy, and of all the military forces of the State, by sea and land ; and shall have full power, by himself, or by any commander, or other officer or officers, from time to time, to train, instruct, exercise, and govern the militia and navy ; and, for tlie special defence and safety of the com- monwealth, to assemble in martial array, and put in war- like posture, the inhabitants thereof; and to lead and conduct them, and with them to encounter, repel, resist, expel, and pursue, by force of arms, as well by sea as by land, within or without the limits of this commonwealth ; and also to kill, slay, and destroy, if necessary, and con- quer, by all fitting ways, enterprises, and means whatso- ever, all and every such person or persons, as shall at any time hereafter, in a hostile manner, attempt or enter- prise the destruction, invasion, detriment, or annoyance of this commonwealth; and to use and exercise over the army and navy, and over the militia in actual service, the law martial, in time of war or invasion, and also in time of rebellion, (declared by the legislature to exist,) as oc- casion shall necessarily require ; and to take and surprise, by all ways and means whatsoever, all and every such person or persons (with their ships, arms, ammunition, and goods) as shall, in a hostile manner, invade, or at- tempt the invading, conquering, or annoying this com- monwealth : and that the Governor be intrusted with all these and other powers incident to the offices of captain- general, and commander-in-chief, and admiral, to be ex- ercised agreeably to the rules and regulations of the Con- stitution, and the laws of the land, and not otherwise. Provided, that the said Governor shall not, at any time hereafter, by virtue of any power by this Constitution granted, or hereafter to be granted to him by ihe legisla- ture, transport any of the inhabitants of this common CONSTITUTION OF MASSACHUSETTS. 39 wealth, or oblige them to march out of the limits of the same, without their free and voluntary consent, or the consent of the general court ; except so far as may be ne- cessary to march or transport them by land or water, for the defence of such part of the State, to which they can- not conveniently have access. 8. The power of pardoning offences, except such as persons may be convicted of before die Senate by an im- peachment of the House, shall be in the Governor, by and with the advice of council; but no charter of pardon, granted by the Governor, with advice of the council, be- fore conviction, shall avail the party pleading the same, notwithstanding any general or particular expressions contained therein, descriptive of the offence or offences intended to be pardoned. 9. All judicial officers, the attorney-general, the soli- citor-general, all sheriffs, coroners, and registers of pro- bate, shall be nominated and appointed by the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the council ; and every such nomination shall be made by the Governor, and made at least seven days prior to sucii appointment. 10. The captains and subalterns of the militia shall be elected by the written votes of the train band and alarm list of their respective companies, of twenty-one years of age and npwards. The field officers of regiments shall be elected by the written votes of the captains and sub- alterns of their respective regiments. The brigadiers shall be elected, in like manner, by the field officers of their respective brigades. And such officers, so elected, shall be commissioned by the Governor, who shall deter- mine their rank. The legislature shall, by standing laws, direct the time and manner of convening the electors, and of collectinof votes, and of certifvinsf to the Governor the officers elected. The major-generals shall be appointed, by the Senate and House of Representatives, each having a negative upon the other; and be commissioned by the Governor. And if the electors of brigadiers, field officers, captains, or subalterns, shall neo-lect or refuse to make such elec- lions, after being duly notified according to the laws of the time being", then the Governor with advice of council shall appoint suitable persons to fill such offices 40 CONSTITUTION OF MASSACHUSETTS. And no officer, duly commissioned to command in the militia, shall be removed from his office, but by the ad- dress of both Houses to the Governor, or by fair trial in court-martial, pursuant to the laws of the commonwealth for tlie time being. The commanding officers of regiments shall appoint their adjutants and quarter-masters ; the brigadiers their brigade-majors; and the major-generals their aids; and the Governor shall appoint the adjutant-general. The Governor, with advice of council, shall appoint all officers of the continental army, whom (by the confedera- tion of the United States) it is provided that this com- monwealth shall appoint, as also all officers of forts and garrisons. The divisions of the militia into brigades, regiments, and companies, made in pursuance of the militia laws now in force, shall be considered as the proper divisions of the militia of this commonwealth, until the same shall be altered in pursuance of some future law. 11. No moneys shall be issued out of the treasury of this commonwealth, and be disposed of (except such sums as may be appropriated for the redemption of bills of credit or treasurer's notes, or for the payment of inte- rest arising thereon) but by warrant, under the hand of the Governor for the time being, with the advice and consent of the council, for the necessary defence and support of the commonwealth, and for the protection and preserva- tion of the inhabitants thereof, agreeably to the act and resolves of the general court. 12. All public boards, the commissary-general, all su- perintending officers of public magazines and stores, be- longing to this commonwealth, and all commanding offi- cers of forts and garrisons within the same, shall, once in every three months, officially, and without requisition, and at other times, when required by the Governor, deli- ver to him an account of all goods, stores, provisions, ammunition, cannon, with their appendages, and small arms, with their accoutrements, and of all other public property whatever, under their care respectively ; distin- guishing the quantity, number, quality, and kind of each, as particular as may be ; together with the condition of CONSTITUTION OF MASSACHUSETTS. 41 such forts and garrisons. And the said commanding of- ficer shall exhibit to the Governor, when required by him, true and exact plans of such forts, and of the land and sea, harbor or harbors, adjacent. And the said boards and all public officers shall com- municate to the Governor, as soon as may be, after re- ceiving- the same, all despatches and intelligence of a pub- lic nature, which shall be directed to them respectively. 13. As the public good requires that the Governor should not be under the influence of any of the members of the (Teneral court, bv a dependence on them for his support! that he should''in all cases act with freedom for the benefit of the public : that he should not have his at- tention necessarily diverted from that object, to his pri- vate concerns ; and that he should maintain the dignity of the commonwealth, in the character of its chief magis- trate—it is necessary tliat he should have an honorable stated salary, of a fixed and permanent value, amply suf- ficient for those purposes, and established by standing laws ; and it shall be among the first acts of the general court, after the commencement of this Constitution, to es- tablish such salary by law accordingly. Permanent and honorable salaries shall also be esta- blished by law for the justices of the supreme judicial court. ^ , , . - And if it shall be found that any of the salaries afore- said, so established, are insufiicient, they shall, from time to time, be enlarged, as the general court shall judge proper. , CHAPTEU II.— Section 2. Lieutenant- Governor. Article 1. There shall be annually elected a Lieutenant- Governor of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, whoso title shall be. His Honour; and who shall be qualified, in point of religion, property, and residence in the com- monwealth, in the same manner with the Governor ; and the day and manner of his election, and the qualifications of the electors, shall be the same as are required iii the 4* 4^ CONSTITUTION OF MASSACHUSETTS. election of a Governor. The return of the votes for this officer, and the declaration of his election, shall be in the same manner : and if no one person shall be found to have a majority of all the votes returned, the vacancy shall be filled by the Senate and House of Representatives, in the same manner as the Governor is to be elected, in case no one person shall have a majority of the votes of the peo- ple, to be Governor. 2. The Governor, and, in his absence, the Lieutenant- Governor, sliall be the president of the council ; but shall have no vote in council ; and the Lieutenant-Governor shall always be a member of the council, except when the chair of the Governor shall be vacant. 3. Whenever the chair of the Governor shall be vacant by reason of his death, or absence from the common- wealth, or otherwise, the Lieutenant-Governor for the time being shall, during such vacancy, perform all the duties incumbent upon the Governor, and shall have and exercise all the power and authorities which, by this Con- stitution, the Governor is vested with, when personally present. CHAPTER n.— Section 3. Council, and the manner of settling Elections by the Legislature. Article 1. There shall be a council for advising the Governor in the Executive part of the Government, to consist of nine persons, besides the Lieutenant-Governor, whom the Governor, for the time being, shall have full power and authority from time to time, at his discifetion, to assemble and call together: and the Governor, with the said counsellors, or five of them at least, shall and may, from time to time, hold and keep a council, for the order- inof and directingr the affairs of the commonwealth, accord- ing to the laws of the land. 2. Nine counsellors shall be annually chosen from among the persons returned from the counsellors and senators, on the last Wednesday in May, by the joint ballot of the senators and representatives, assembled in COXSTITUTION OF MASSACHUSETTS. 43 one room : and in case there shall not be found, upon the first choice, the whole number of nine persons, who will accept a seat in the council, the deficiency shall be made up by the electors aforesaid, from among the people at large ; and the number of senators left shall constitute the Senate for the year. The seats for the persons thus elected from the Senate, and accepting the trust, shall be vacated in the Senate. 3. The counsellors, in the civil arrangements of the commonwealth, shall have rank next after the Lieutenant- Governor. 4. Not more than two counsellors shall be chosen out of any one district of this commonwealth. 5. The resolutions and advice of the council shall be recorded in a register ; and signed by the members pre- sent: and this record may be called for at any time by either house of the legislature ; and any member of the council may insert his opinion, contrary to the resolution of the majority. 6. Whenever the office of Governor and Lieutenant- Governor shall be vacant, by reason of death, absence, or otherwise, then the council, or the major part of them, shall, during such vacancy, have full power and authority to do and to execute all and every such acts, matters, and things, as the Governor or Lieutenant-Governor might or could, by virtue of this Constitution, do or execute, if they or either of them were personally present. 7. x4nd whereas the elections appointed to be made by this Constitution, on the last Wednesday in May annual- ly, by the two Houses of the legislature, may not be com- pleted on that day, the said elections may be adjourned from day to day until the same shall be completed. And the order of election shall be as follows : the vacancies in the Senate, if any, shall first be filled up ; the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor shall then be elected, provided there shall be no choice of them by the people ; and after- wards the two Houses shall proceed to the election of the council. 44 CONSTITUTION OF MASSACHUSETTS. CHAPTER II.— Section 4. Secretary, Treasurer, Commissary, Sj^c. Article 1. The secretary, treasurer, and receiver-gene- ral, and the commissary-general, notaries public, and na- val officers, shall be chosen annually, by joint ballot of the senators and representatives, in one room ; and that the citizens of this commonwealth may be assured, from time to time, that the moneys remaining in the public treasury upon the settlement and liquidation of the public accounts, are their property, no man shall be eligible aa treasurer and receiver-general more than five years suc- cessively. 2. The records of the commonwealth shall be kept in the office of the secretary, who may appoint his deputies, for whose conduct he shall be accountable ; and he shall attend the Governor and council, the Senate and House of Representatives, in person, or by his deputies, as they shall respectively require. CHAPTER HI. Judiciary Power, Article 1. The tenure that all commission officers shall, by law, have in their offices, shall be expressed in their respective commissions ; all judicial officers, duly appoint- ed, commissioned, and sworn, shall hold their offices during good behaviour ; excepting such concerning whom there is different provision made in this Constitution: Pro- vided, nevertheless, the C4overnor, with consent of the council, may remove them upon the address of both Houses of the legislature. 2. Each branch of the legislature, as well as the Go- vernor and council, shall have authority to require the opinions of the justices of the supreme judicial court, up- on important questions of law, and upon solemn occa- sions. 3. In order that the people may not suffer from the long continuance in place of any justice of the peace, who CONSTITUTION OF MASSACHUSETTS. 45 shall fail of discharging the important duties of his office with ability or fidelity, all commissions of justices of the peace shall expire and become void in the term of seven years from their respective dates ; and upon the expira- tion of any commission, the same may, if necessary, be renewed, or another person appointed, as shall most con- duce to the well-being of the commonwealth. 4. The judges of probates of wills, and for granting letters of administration, shall hold their courts at such place or places, on fixed days, as the convenience of the people may require : and the legislature shall, from time to time hereafter, appoint such times and places : until which appointments, the said courts shall be holden at the times and places which the respective judges shall di- rect. 5. All the causes of marriage, divorce, and alimony, and all appeals from the judges of probate, shall be heard and determined by the Governor and council, until the legislature shall, by law, make other provisions. CHAPTER IV. Delegates to Congress. The Delegates of this commonwealth to the Congress of the United States shall, some time in the month of June annually, be elected by joint ballot of the Senate and House of Representatives, assembled together in one room ; to serve in Congress for one year, to commence on the first Monday in November the next ensuing. They shall have commission under the hand of the Go- vernor, and the great seal of the commonwealth ; but may be recalled at any time within the year, and others chosen and commissioned in the same manner, in their stead, 46 CONSTITUTION OF MASSACHUSETTS. CHAPTER V. To the University at Cambridge^ and Encouragement of Literature, ^-c. Section 1. — The University. Article 1. Whereas our wise and pious ancestors, so early as the year one thousand six hundred and thirty-six, laid the foundation of Harvard college, in which univer- sity many persons of ^reat eminence have, by the bless- ing of God, been initiated into those arts and sciences which qualified them for public employments both in church and state: and whereas the encouragement of arts and sciences, and all good literature, tends to the honor of God, the advantage of the Christian religion, and the great benefit of this and the other United States of America, it is declared that the president and fellows of Harvard college in their corporate capa- city, and their successors in that capacity, their offi- cers and servants, shall have, hold, use, exercise, and en- joy, all the powers, authorities, rights, liberties, privileges, immunities, and franchises, which they now have, or are entitled to have, hold, use, exercise, and enjoy: and the same are hereby ratified and confirmed unto them, the said president, and fellows of Harvard college, and to their successors, and to their officers and servants, respective- ly% for ever. 2. And whereas there have been, at sundry times, by divers persons, gifts, grants, devises of houses, lands, tenements, goods, chattels, legacies, and conveyances, heretofore made, either to Harvard college, in Cambridge, in New England, or to the president and fellows of Har- vard college, or to the said college, by some other descrip- tion, under several charges successively — it is declared, that all the said gifts, grants, devises, legacies, and con- veyances, are hereby for ever confirmed unto the presi- dent and fellows of Harvard college, and to their successors in the capacity aforesaid, according to the true intent and meaning of the donor or donors, grantor and grantors, de- visor or devisors. CONSTITUTIOxN OF MASSACHUSETTS. 47 3. And whereas, by an act of the general court of the colony of Massachusetts Bay, passed in the year one thousand six hundred and forty-two, the Governor, and de- puty-Governor, for the time being, and all the magistrates of that jurisdiction, were, with the president and a num- ber of the clergy in the said act described, constituted the overseers of Harvard college : and it being necessary in this new constitution of government, to ascertain who shall be deemed successors to the said Governor, deputy- Governor,and magistrates, it is declared that the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Council, and Senate of this common- wealth, are and sliall be deemed their successors : who, with the president of Harvard college, for the time being, together with the ministers of the congregational churches in the towns of Cambridge, Watertow^n, Charlestown, Boston, Roxbury, and Dorchester, mentioned in the said act, shall be, and hereby are, vested with all the powers and authority belonging, or in any way appertaining to the overseers of Harvard college : provided, that nothing herein shad be construed to prevent the legislature of this commonwealth from making such alterations in the go- vernment of the said university as shall be conducive tt? its advantage, and the interest of the republic of letters in as full a manner as might have been done by the legis lature of the late province of the Massachusetts Bay. CHAPTER V. Section 2. — The Encouragement of Literature. Wisdom and knowledge, as well as virtue, diffused gen- erally among the body of the people, being necessary for the preservation of their rights and liberties, and as these depend on spreading the opportunities and advantages of education in the various parts of the country, and among the different orders of the people, it shall be the duty of the legislatures and magistrates, in all future periods of this commonwealth, to cherish the interest of literature and the sciences, and all seminaries of them : especially the university at Cambridge, public schools, and grammar schools in the towns ; to encourage private societies and 48 CONSTITUTION OF MASSACHUSETTS. public institutions, by rewards and immunities for the promotion of agriculture, arts, sciences, commerce, trades, manufactures, and a natural history of the country ; to countenance and inculcate the principles of humanity and general benevolence, public and private (?harity, industry and frugality, honesty and punctuality in their dealings : sincerity, good humor, and all social affections and gene- rous sentiments among the people. CHAPTER VI. Oafhs and subscripfrons ,- incompatihility of^ and exclusion from, offices ; pecuniary qualifications i commissions ^ writs; confirma- tion of laws ,• habeas corpus ,• the enacting style ; continuance of officers ,• provision for a future revisal of the Constitution, ^~c. Article 1. Any person chosen Governor, or Lieute- nant-Governor, counsellors, senator, or representative, and accepting the trust, shall, before he proceed to execute the duties of his place or office, take, make, and sub- scribe the following declaration, viz. : *'I, A. B., do declare that I believe the Christian reli- gion, and have a firm persuasion of its truth; and that I am seized and possessed, in my own right, of the property required by the Constitution, as one qualification for the office or place to which I am elected." And the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, and counsel- lors, shall make and subscribe the said declaration in the presence of the two Houses of Assembly ; and the sena- tors and representatives first elected under this Constitu- tion, before the president and five of the council of the former Constitution ; and, for ever afterwards, before the Governor and council for the time being. And every person chosen to either of the places or offices aforesaid, as also any person appointed or com- missioned to any judicial, executive, military, or other office, under the government, shall, before he enter on the discharge of the business of his place or office, take and subscribe the following declaration and oaths, er affirma- tions, viz. : CONSTITUTION OF MASSACHUSETTS. 49 *' I, A. B., do truly and sincerely acknowledge, pro- fess, testify, and declare, that the commonwealth of Massachusetts is, and of right ought to he, a free, sovereign, and independent state ; and I do swear that I will bear true faidi and allegiance to the said com- monwealth, and I will defend the same against trai- torous conspiracies, and all hostile attempts whatso- ever : and that I do renounce and ahjure all allegi- ance, subjection, and obedience to the king^ queen^ or government of Great Britain, as the case may he^ and every foreign power whatsoever: and that no foreign prince, person, prelate, state, or potentate, hath, or ought to have, any jurisdiction, superiority, pre-eminence, autliority, dispensing or other power, in any matter, civil, ecclesiastical, or spiritual, with- in this commonwealth, except the authority and power which is or may be vested by their constitu- ents in the Conjrress of the United States: And I do further testify and declare, that no man or body of men hath or can have any right to absolve or dis- charofe me from the obligation of this oath, declara- tion, or affirmation ; and that I do make this acknow- ledgment, profession, testimony, declaration, denial renunciation, and abjuration heartily and truly, ac cording to the common meaning and acceptation of the foregoing v/ords, without any equivocation, men- tal evasion, or secret reservation whatsoever. So help me God. *'I, A. B., do solemnly swear and affirm, that I will faithfuU}^ and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent on me as , accord- ing to the best of my abilities and understanding, agreeably to the rules and regulations of the Consti- tution, and the laws of this commonwealth. So help me God.''' Provided always, that when any person chosen or ap- pointed as aforesaid shall be of the denomination of the people called Quakers, and shall decline taking the said oaths, he shall make his affirmation, in the foregoing form, and subscribe the same, omitting the words, "/ ^o swear,^' ^'and abjure,'^ '^ oath,^^ ''and abjuration,'' in »5 50 CON'STITUTIOX OF MASSACHUSETTS. the first oath ; and in the second oath, the words " swear and," and in each of them the words " so help me God ;" subjoining instead thereof, " 7'his I do under the pains and penalties of perjury " And in the said oaths or affirmations shall be taken and subscribed by the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, and counsellors, before the president of the Senate, in the pre- sence of two Houses of x4.ssembly : and by the senators and representatives first elected under this Constitution, before the president and five of the council of die former Constitution ; and, for ever afterwards, before the Gover- nor and Council for the time being ; and by the residue of the officers aforesaid, before such persons as, from time to time, shall be prescribed by the legislature. 2. No Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, or judge of the supreme judicial court, shall hold any office or place under the authority of this commonwealth, except such as by this Constitution they are admitted to hold, saving that the judges of the said court may hold the offices of jus- tices of the peace throughout the State ; nor shall they hold any other place or office, or receive any pension or salary, from any other State, or Government, or power whatever. No person shall be capable of holding or exercising, at the same time, more than one of the following offices within this State, viz. : judge of probate, sheriff, register of probate, or register of deeds : and never more than any two offices, which are to be held by appointment of the Governor, or the Governor and council, or the Senate, or the House of Representatives, or by election of the people of the State at large, or of the peo- ple of any county, (military officer and the office of jus- tice of the peace excepted,) shall be held by one person. No person holding the office of judge of the supreme judi- cial court, secretary , attorney-general, solicitor-general, treasurer, or receiver-general, judge of probate, commissa ry-general, president, professor, or instructor of Harvard college, sherilT, clerk of the House of Representatives, re- gister of probate, register of deeds, clerk of the supreme ju- dicial court, clerk of the inferior court of common pleas, or officer of the customs, (including in this description naval COXSTITUTIO.N OF MASSACHUSETTS. 51 ofTicers,) shall at the same time have a seat in the Senate or House of Representatives ; but, their being chosen or appointed to, and accepting the same, shall operate as a re- signation of their seat in the Senate or House of Represen- tatives ; and the places so vacated shall be filled up. And the same rule shall take place in case any judge of the said supreme judicial court, or judge of probate, shall accept a seat in council, or any counsellor shall ac- cept of eitfier of those offices or places. And no person shall ever be admitted to hold a seat in the legislature, or any office of trust or importance under the government of this commonwealih, who shall, in the due course of law, have been convicted of bribery or cor- ruption in obtaining an election or appointment. 3. In all cases where sums of money are mentioned in tliis Constitution, the value thereof, shall be computed in silver, at six shillings and eight pence per ounce ; and it shall be in the power of the legislature from time to time, to increase such qualifications, as to property, of the per- sons to be elected into offices, as the circumstances of the commonwealth shall require. 4. AH commissions shall be in the name of the com- monwealth of Massachusetts; signed by the Governor, and attested by the secretary or his deputy, and have the great seal of the commonwealth affixed thereto. 5. All writs issuing out of the clerk's office in any of the courts of law, shall be in the name of the common- wealth of Massachusetts ; they shall be under the seal of the court from whence they issue ; they shall bear test of the first justice of the court to which they shall be returnable, (who is nota party,) and be sign- ed by the clerk of such court. 6. All the laws which have heretofore been adopted, used, and approved of in the province, colony, or State of Massachusetts Bay, and usually practised on in the courts of law, shall still remain and be in full force, until :^ltered or repealed by the legislature : such parts only excepted as are repugnant to the rights and liberties con- tained in this Constitution. 7. The privilege and benefit of the writ of habeas cor- pus shall be enjoyed in this commonwealth in the most 52 CONSTITUTION OF MASSACHUSETTS. free, easy, cheap, expeditious, and ample manner ; and shall not be suspended by the legislature, except upon the most urgent and pressing occasions, and for a limited time, not exceeding- twelve months. 8. The enacting style, in making and passing all acts, statutes, and laws, shall be, " Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, in general court assem- bled, and by the authority of the sameJ'^ 9. To the end there may be no failure of justice, or dano-er arise to the commonwealth, from a change of the form of government, all officers, civil and military, hold- ing commissions under the government and people of Massachusetts Bay in New England, and all other officers of said government and people, at the time this Con- stitution shall take effect, shall have, hold, use, exerci-se, and enjoy, all the powers and authority to them granted or committed, until other persons shall be appointed in their stead ; and all courts of law shall proceed in the ex- ecution of the business of their respective departments : and all the executive and legislative officers, bodies, and powers, shall continue in full force in the enjoyment and exercise of all their trusts, employment, and authority, until the general court, and the supreme and executive officers, under this Constitution, are designated and in- vested \vith their respective trusts, powers, and authority. 10. In order more effectually to adhere to the princi- ples of the Constitution, and correct those violations which by any means may be made therein, as well as to form such alterations as from experience shall be found necessary, the general court which shall be in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-five, shall issue precepts to the selectmen of the several towns, and to the assessors of the unincorporated plantations, di- recting them to convene the qualified voters of their re- spective towns and plantations, for the purpose of collect- ing their sentiments on the necessity of expediency of revising the Constitution, in order to amendments. And if it shall appear, by the returns made, that two- thirds of the qualified voters throughout the State, who shall assemble and vote in consequence of the said pre- cepts, are in favor of such revision or amendment, the CONSTITUTION OF MASSACHUSETTS. 53 general court shall issue precepts, or direct them to be issued from the secretary's office, to the several towns, lo elect delegates to meet in Convention, for the purpose af(»resaid. The said delegates to be chosen in the same manner and proportion, as their representatives in the second branch of the legislature are by this Constitution to be 11. This form of Government shall be enrolled on parchment, and deposited in the secretary's office, and be a part of the laws of the land : and printed copies thereof shall be prefixed to the book containing the laws ot this commonwealth, in all future editions of the said laws. JAMES BOWDOIN, President. Attest, Samuel Barret, Secretary. AMENDMENTS. Article 1. If any bill or resolve shall be objected to, and not approved of by the Governor ; and if the general court shall adjourn within five days after the same shall have been laid before the Governor for his approbation, and thereby prevent his returning it, with his objections, as provided by the Constitution ; such bill or resolve shall not become a law, nor have force as such. Art. 2. The general court shall have full power and au- thority to erect or constitute municipal or city govern- ments in any corporate town or towns, in this common- wealth, and to grant to the inhabitants thereof such powers, privUeges, and immunities, not repugnant to the Constitution, as°the general court shall deem necessary or expedient, for the regulation and Government thereof, and to prescribe the manner of calling and holding public meetin(rs of the inhabitants in wards, or otherwise, for the election of officers, under the Constitution, and the manner of returning the votes given at such meetings : provided, that no such Government shall be erected or constituted in anv town not containing twelve thousand inhabitants nor unh^ss it be with the consent, and on the applicalion of a majority of the inhabitants of such town, present and votin.fr"' thereon, pursuant to a vote at a meet- 54 CONSTITUTION OF MASSACHUSETTS. ing- duly warned and holden for that purpose : and pro- vided, also, that all by-laws, made by such municipal or city government, shall be subject, at all times, to be an- nulled by the general court. Art. 3. Every male citizen of twenty -one years of age, and upwards, (excepting paupers and persons under guardianship,) who shall have resided within the com- monwealih one year, and within the town or district in, which he may claim a right to vote, six calendar months next preceding any election of Governor, Lieutenant- Governor, senators, representatives, and who shall have paid, by himself or his parent, master or guardian, any state or county tax, which shall, within two years next preceding such election, have been assessed upon him, in any town or district of this commonwealth : and also every citizen, who shall be by law exempt from taxation, and who shall be in all other respects qualified as above mentioned, shall have a rig:ht to vote in such election of Governor, and Lieutenant-Governor, senators, and repre- sentatives ; and no other person shall be entitled to a vote in such election. Art. 4. Notaries public shall be appointed by the Go- vernor, in the same manner as judicial officers are ap- pointed, and shall hold their offices during seven years, unless sooner removed by the Governor, with the con- sent of the council, and upon the address of both Houses of the leo^islature. In case the office of secretary or treasurer of the common- wealth shall become vacant from any cause, during the re- cess of the general court, the Governor, with the consent of the council shall nominate and appoint, under such regula- tions as may be prescribed by law, a competent and suitable person to such vacant office, who shall hold tlie same until a successor shall be appointed by the general court. Whenever the exigencies of the commonwealth shall require the appointment of a commissary-general, he shall be nominated, appointed, and commissioned, in such manner as the legislature may, by law, prescribe. All officers commissioned to command in the militia, may be removed from office in such manner as the legis- lature may, by law, prescribe. CONSTITUTION OF MASSACHUSETTS. 55 Art. 5. In the election of captains and subalterns of the militia, all the members of their respective companies, as well as those under, as those above the age of tv/enly-one years, shall have a right to vote. Art. 6. Instead of the oath of allegiance, prescribed by the Constitution, the following oath shall be taken and subscribed by every person chosen or appointed to any office, civil or military, under the government of this com- monwealth, before he shall enter upon the duties of his office, to wit ; " I, A. B., do solemnly swear, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the commonwealth of Massachu- setts, and wiU support the Constitution thereof. So help me God." Provided, that when any person shall be of the denomi- nation called Quakers, and shall decline taking said oath, he shall make his affirmation in the foregoing form, omitting the word " swear," and inserting, instead there- of, the word " affirm," and omitting the words " so help me God," and subjoining, instead thereof, the words " this I do under the pains and penalties of perjury." Art. 7. No oath, declaration, or subscription, except- ing the oath prescribed in the preceding article, and the oadi of office, shall be required of the Governor, I^ieute- nant-Governor, counsellors, senators, or representatives, to qualify them to perform the duties of their respective offices. Art. 8. No judge of any court of this commonwealth, (except the court of sessions,) and no person holding any office under the authority of the United States, (post mas- ters excepted,) shall, at 'the same time, hold the office of Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, or counsellor, or have a seat in the Senate or House of Representatives of this commonwealth ; and no judge of any court in this com- monwealth, (except the court of sessions,) nor the attor ney-general, solicitor-general, county attorney, clerk of any court, sheriff, treasurer, and receiver-general, registei of* probate, nor register of deeds, shall continue to hold liis said office after being elected a member of the Con- gress of the United States, and accepting that trust ; but the acceptance of such trust, by any of the officers afore- 56 CONSTITUTION OF MASSACHUSETTS. said, shall be deemed and taken to be a resignation of his said office; and judges of the courts of common pleas shall hold no other office, under the government of this commonwealth, the office of the justice of the peace and militia officers excepted. Art. 9. If at any time hereafter, any specific and particu- lar amendment, or amendments to the Constitution be proposed in the general court, and agreed to by a majori- ty of the senators, and two-thirds of the members of the House of Representatives present and voting thereon, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be entered on the journals of the two Houses, with the yeas and nays taken thereon, and referred to the general court then next to be chosen, and shall be published ; and if in the general court then next chosen, as aforesaid, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be agreed to by a ma- jority of the senators and two-thirds of the members of the House of Representatives present and voting thereon ; then it shall be the duty of the general court to submit such proposed amendment or amendments to the people ; and if they shall be approved and ratified by a majority of the qualified voters voting thereon, at meetings legally warned and holden for that purpose, they shall become part of the Constitution of this commonwealth. Resolved, That the above recited articles of amendment, shall be enrolled on parchment, and deposited in the secretary's office, as a part of the Constitution and funda- mental laws of this commonwealth, and published in im- mediate connexion therewith, in all future editions of the laws of this commonwealth, printed by public autho rity. And in order that the said amendments may be promulgated and made known to the people of this com- monwealth, without delay, it is further ResolvecU That his excellency, the Governor, be, and he hereby is authorized and requested to issue his procla- mation, reciting the articles aforesaid ; announcing that the same have been duly adopted and ratified by the peo- ple of this commonwealth, and become apart of the Con- stitution thereof; and requiring all magistrates, officers, civil and military, and all the citizens of this common- wealth, to take notice thereof, and govern themselves ac- cordingly." GONSTITUTIOxV OF NEW YORK. 57 Now, therefore, T, John Brooks, Governor of the com- monwealth of Massachusetts, by virtue of the authority to me given by the resolution last above written, do issue this my proclamation, and I do hereby announce, that the several articles aforesaid hav« been duly ratified and adopted by tlie people of this commonwealth, and have b oecrefanes >A>iuEL S. Gardiner, S CONSTITUTION OF NEW JERSEY. V/e the people of the State of New Jersey, grateful to Almighty God for the civil and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Hira for a blessing upon our endeavors to secure and CONSTITUTION OF NEW JERSEY. 75 transmit the same unimpaired to succeeding generations, do ordain and establish this Constitution. Article 1. Rights and Privileges. 1. All men are by nature free and independent, and have certain natural and unalienable rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, ac- quiring, possessing, and protecting property, and of pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness. 2. All political power is inherent in the people. Government is instituted for the protection, security and benefit of the people, and they have the right, at all times to alter or reform the same, whenever the public good may require it. 3. No person shall be deprived of the inestimable privilege of worshipping Almighty God in a manner agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience, nor under any pretence, whatever, be compelled to attend an)'" place of worship contrary to his faith and judgment; nor shall any person be obliged to pay tithes, taxes, or other rates for building or repairing any church or churches, place or places of worship, or for the main- tainance of any minister or ministry, contrary to what he believes to be right, or has deliberately and voluntari- ly engaged to perform. 4. There shall be no establishment of one religious sect in preference to another. No religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust; and no person shall be denied the enjoyment of any civil right merely on account of his religious principles. 5. Every person may freely speak, write, and pub- lish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right. No law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or of the press. In all prosecutions or indictments for libel, the truth may be given in evidence to the jury ; and if it shall ap- pear to the jury that the matter charged as libellous is true, and was published with good motives, and for jus- 76 CONSTITUTION OF NEW JERSEY. tifiable ends, the party shall be acquitted ; and the jury- shall have the right to determine the law and the fact. 6. The right of the people to be secure in their per- sons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated ; and no warrant shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the papers and things to be seized. 7. The right of trial by jury, shall remain inviolate ; but the Legislature may authorize the trial of civil suits, when the matter in dispute does not exceed fifty dollars, by a jury of six men. 8. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury; to be informed of the nature and cause of the ac- cusation ; to be confronted with the witnesses against him ; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel in his defence. 1). No person shall be held to answer foi* a criminal offence, unless on the presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases of impeachment, or in cases cognizable by justices of the peace, or arising in the army or navy, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger. 10. No person shall, after acquittal, be tried for tlie same offence. All persons shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties, except for capital offences, when the proof is evident or presumption great. . 11. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless in case of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it. 12. The military shall be in strict subordination to the civil power. 13. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, except in a manner prescribed by law. 14. Treason against the State, shall consist only in levying war against it, or in adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be con- CONSTITUTION OF NEW JERSEY. 77 victed of treason, unless on the testimony of two witness- es to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. 15. Excessive bail shall not be required, excessive fines shall not be imposed, and cruel and unusual pun- ishments shall not be intlicted. 16. Private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation ; but land may be taken for public highways as heretofore, until the Legislature shall direct compensation to be made. 17. No person shall be imprisoned for debt in any action, or on any judgment founded upon contract, unless in cases of fraud ; nor shall any person be imprisoned for a militia fine, in time of peace. 18. The people have the right freely to assemble together, to consult for the common good, to make known their opinions to their representatives, and to peti- tion for redress of grievances. 19. This enumeration of rights and privileges shall not be construed to impair or deny others retained by the people. Article 2. Bight of Suffrage. 1. Every white male citizen of the United States, of the age of twenty-one years, who shall have been a resi- dent of this Stale one year, and of the county in which he claims his vote five months next before the election, shall be entitled to vote for all officers that now are, or hereafter may be elective by the people ; provided, that no person in the military, naval, or marine service of the United States shall be considered a resident in this State, by being stationed in any garrison, barrack, or military or naval place or station within this State ; and no pauper, idiot, insane person, or person convicted of a crime which now excludes him from being a witness, unless pardoned or restored by law to the right of suffrage, shall enjoy the right of an elector. 2. The Legislature may pass laws to deprive persons of the right of suffrage, who shall be convicted of bribery at elections. 7* 78 constitution of new jersey. Article 3. Distribution of the Powers of Government. 1. The powers of the government shall be divided into three distinct departments, — the Legislative, Execu- tive, and Judicial ; and no person or persons belonging to, or constituting one of these departments, sliall exer- cise any of the powers properly belonging to either of the others, except as herein expressly provided. Article 4. Legislative. Sec. I. — 1. The legislative power shall be vested in a Senate and General Assembly. 2. No person shall be a member of the Senate, who shall not have attained the age of thirty years, and have been a citizen and inhabitant of the State for four years, and of the county for which he shall be chosen one year, next before his election ; and no person shall be a mem- ber of the General Assembly, who shall not have attained the age of twenty-one years, and have been a citizen and inhabitant of the State for two years, and of the county for which he shall be chosen one year, next before his election ; provided, that no person shall be eligible as a member of either house of the Legislature, who shall not be entitled to the right of suffrage. 3. Members of the Senate and General Assembly shall be elected yearly, and every year, on the second Tuesday of October ; and the two houses shall meet seperately on the second Tuesday in January next, after the said day of election, at which time of meeting, the legislative year shall commence ; but the time of holding such election may be altered by the Legislature. Sec. II. — I. The Senate shall be composed of one senator from each county in the state, elected by the legal voters of the counties, respectively, for three years. 2. As soon as the Senate shall meet, after the first election to be held in pursuance of this Constitution, they shall be divided, as equally as may be, into three classes. The seats of the senators of the first class shall be vaca- ted at the expiration of the first year; of the second CONSTITUTION OF NEW JERSEY. 79 class, at the expiration of the second year ; and of the third class, at the expiration of the third year ; so that one class may be elected every year ; and if vacancies happen, by resignation or otherwise, the persons elect- ed to supply such vacancies, shall be elected for the unexpired terms only. Sec. Ill — 1. The General Assembly shall be composed of members annually elected by the legal voters of the counties, respectively, who shall be apportioned among the said counties, as nearly as may be, according to the luimber of their inhabitants. The present apportionment shall continue until the next census of the tjnited States shall have been taken, and an apportionment of members of the General Assembly shall be made by the Legisla- ture, at its first session after the next and every subse- quent enumeration or census, and when made, shall remain unaltered until another enumeration shall have been taken ; provided, that each county shall at all times be entitled to one member; and the whole num- ber of members shall never exceed sixty. Sec. IV. — 1. Each house shall direct writs of election for supplying vacancies, occasioned by death, resignation, or otherwise ; but if vacancies occur during the recess of the Legislature, the writs may be issued by the Govern- or, under such regulations as may be prescribed by law. 2. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, re- turns, and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do busi- ness ; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under such penal- ties as each house may provide. 3. Each house shall choose its own officers, deter- mine the rules of its proceeding, punish its members for disorderly behaviour, and, with the concurrence of two- thirds, may expel a member. 4. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to time publish the same; and the yeas and nays of the members of either house, on any ques- tion, shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journal. 80 CONSTITUTION OF NEW JERSEY. 5. Neither house, during the session of the Legisla- ture, shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two houses shall be sitting. 6. All bills and joint resolutions shall be read three times in each house, before the final passage thereof; and no bill or joint resolution shall pass, unless there be a majority of all the members of each body personally preseut, and agreeing thereto ; and the yeas and nays of members voting on such final passage shall be entered on the journal. 7. iMembers of the Senate and General Assembly shall receive a compensation for their services, to be as- certained by law, and paid out of the Treasury of the State ; which compensation shall not exceed the sum of three dollars per day, for the period of forty days from the commencement of the session ; and shall not exceed the sum of one dollar and fifty cents per day for the re- mainder of the session. When convened in extra ses- sion by the Governor, they shall receive such sum as shall be fixed for the first forty days of the ordinary session. They shall also receive the sum of one dollar for every ten miles they shall travel, in going to and re- turning from their place of meeting, on the most usual route. The president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Assembly, shall, in virtue of their offices, receive an additional compensation, equal to one third of their per diem allowance as members. 8. Members of the Senate and of the General Assem- bly, shall, in all cases except treason, felony, and breach of peace, be privileged from arrest during their attend- ance at the sitiing of their respective houses, and in going to and returning from the same : and for any speech or debate, in either house, they shall not be questioned in any other place. Sec. V. — 1. No member of the Senate or General Assembly shall, during the time for whicli he was elect- ed, be nominated or appointed by the Governor, or by the Legislature in joint meeting, to any civil office under the authority of this State which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased, durinfif such time. CONSTITUTION OF NEW JERSEY. 81 2. If any member of the Senate or General Assembly shall be electee! to represent this State in the Senate or House of Representatives of the United States, and shall accept thereof, or shall accept of any office or appoint- ment under the government of the United States, his seat in the Legislature of this Stale shall thereby be vacated. 3. No justice of the Supreme Court, nor judge of any other court, sheriff, justice of the peace, nor any person or persons possessed of any office of profit under the government of this State, shall be entitled to a seat either in the Senate or in the General Assembly ; but, on beino- elected and taking his seat, his office shall be considered vacant; and no person holding any office of profit under the government of the United States shall be entitled to a seat in either house. Sec. VI. — 1. All bills for raising revenue shall origi- nate in the House of Assembly ; but the Senate may pro- pose or concur with amendments, as on other bills. 2. No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but for appropriations made by law. 3. The credit of the State shall not be directly or in- directly loaned in any case. 4. The Legislature shall not, in any manner, create any debt or debts, liability or liabilities, of the State, which shall singly, or in the aggregate with any previous debts or liabilities, at any time exceed one hundred thou- sand dollars, except for purposes of war, or to repel invasion, or to suppress insurrection, unless the same shall be authorized by a law for some single object or work, to be distinctly specified therein : which law shall provide the ways and means, exclusive of loans, to pay the interest of such debt or liability as it falls due, and also, to pay and discharge the principal of such debt or liability within thirty-five years from the time of the con- tracting thereof, and shall be irrepealable until such debt or liability, and the interest thereon, are fully paid and discharged ; and no such law shall take effect until it shall, at a general election, have been submitted to the people, and have received the sanction of a majority of all the votes cast for and against it at such election ; and all money to be raised by the authority of such law shall be 82 CONSTITUTION OF NEW JERSEV. applied only to the specific object stated therein, and to the payment of the debt thereby created. This section shall not be construed to refer to any money that has been, or may be deposited with this State, by the govern- ment of the United States. Sec. VII. — 1. No divorce shall be granted by the Legislature. 2. No lottery shall be authorized by this State ; and no tickets in any lottery not authorized by a law of this State, shall be bought or sold within the State. 3. The Legislature shall not pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of con- tracts, or depriving a party of any remedy for enforcing a contract, which existed when tiie contract was made. 4. To avoid improper influences which may result from intermixino in one and the same act, such things as have no proper relation to each other, every law shall embrace but one object, and that shall be expressed in the title. 5. The laws of this state shall begin in the following style : " Be it enacted by the Senate and General As- sembly of the State of New Jersey." 6. The fund for the support of free schools, and all money, stock, and other property, which may hereafter be appropriated for that purpose, or received into the treasury under the provision of any law heretofore passed to augment the said fund, shall be securely invested, and remain a perpetual fund ; and the income thereof, except so much as it may be judged expedient to apply to an increase of the capital, shall be annually appropriated to the support of public schools, for the equal benefit of all the people of the State ; and it shall not be competent for the Legislature to borrow, appropriate, or use the said fund, or any part thereof, for any other purpose, un- der any pretence whatever. 7. No private or special law shall be passed, authori- zing the sale of any lands belonging in whole or in part to a minor or minors, or other persons who may at the time be under any legal disability to act for themselves. 8. The assent of three-fifths of the members elected to each house shall be requisite to the passage of every law for granting, continuing, altering, amending, or re- CONSTITUTION OF NEW JERSEY. 83 nevving charters for batiks, or money corporations ; and all such charters shall be limited to a term not exceeding twenty years. 9. Individuals, or private corporations shall not bo authorized to take private property for public use, with- out just compensation first made to the owners. 10. The Legislature may vest in the Circuit Courts, or Courts of Common Pleas, within the several counties of this State, Chancery powers, so far as relates to the foreclosure of mortgages, and sale of mortgaged premises. Sec. VIII. — 1. Members of the Legislature shall, be- fore they enter on the duties of their respective offices, take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation : «' I do solemnly swear, (or affirm, as the case may be,) that I will support the constitution of the United States, and the constitution of the State of New Jersey, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of senator (or mem- ber of the General Assembly, as the case may be,) ac- cording to the best of my ability." And members elect of the Senate or General Assembly, are hereby empowered to administer to each other the said oath or affirmation. Article 5* Executive. 1. The executive power shall be vested in a Governor. 2. The Governor shall be elected by the legal voters of the State. The person having the highest number of votes shall be the Governor ; but if two or more shall be equal, and highest in votes, one of them shall be chosen Governor by the votes of the majority of the members of both houses in joint meeting. Contested elections for the office of Governor shall be determined in such man- ner as the Legislature shall direct by law. When a Governor is to be elected by the people, such election shall be held at the time when, and at the places where the people shall respectively vote for members of the Legislature. 3. The Governor shall hold his office for three years, to commence on the third Tuesday of January next en- suing the election for Governor by the people, and to end 84 CONSTITUTION OF NEW JERSEV. on the Monday preceding the third Tuesday of January, three years thereafter ; and he shall be incapable of hold- ing that office for three years next after his term of ser- vice shall have expired ; and no appointment or nomina- tion to office shall be made by the Governor during the last week of his said term. 4. The Governor shall be not less than thirty years of age, and shall have been for twenty years, at least, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of this State seven years next before his election, unless he shall have been absent during that time, on the public business of the United States, or of this Slate. 5. The Governor shall, at stated times, receive for his services a compensation which shall be neither increased nor diminished during the period for which he shall have been elected. 6. He shall be the commander-in-chief of all the military and naval forces of the State ; he shall have power to convene the Legislature, whenever, in his opinion, pub- lic necessity requires it; he shall communicate, by mes- sage, to the Legislature at the opening of each session, and at such other times as he may deem necessary, the condition of the State, and recommend such measures as he may deem expedient ; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and grant, under the great seal of the State, commissions to all such officers as shall be re- quired to be commissioned. 7. Every bill which shall have passed both houses, shall be presented to the Governor : if he approve, he shall sign it, but if not, he shall return it, with his ob- jections, to the house in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and proceed to re-consider it ; if, after such re-considera- tion, a majority of the whole number of that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other liouse, by whom it shall likewise be re-considered, and if approved of by a majority of the whole number of that house, it shall become a law ; but in neither house shall the vote be taken on the same day on which the bill shall be returned to it : and in all such cases the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas CONSTITUTION OF NEW JERSEY. 85 and nays, and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the Governor, within five days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Legislature, by their adjournment, prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law. 8. No member of Congress, or person holding an of- fice under the United States, or this State, shall exercise the office of Governor ; and in case the Governor, or per- son administering the government, shall accept any of- fice under the United States, or this State, his office of Governor shall thereupon be vacant. 9. The Governor, or person administering the govern- ment, shall have power to suspend the collection of fines and forfeitures, and to grant reprieves, to extend until the expiration of a time not exceeding ninety days after con- viction ; but this power shall not extend to cases of im- peachment. 10. The Governor, or person administering the government, the Chancellor, and the six judges of the Court of Errors and Appeals, or a major part of them, of whom the Governor, or person administering the gov- ernment shall be one, may remit fines and forfeitures, and grant pardons after conviction, in all cases except impeachment. 11. The Governor, and all other civil officers under this State shall be liable to impeachment for misdemean- or in office, during their continuance in office, and for two years thereafter. 12. In case of the death, resignation, or removal from office of the Governor, the powers, duties, and emolu- ments of the office shall devolve upon the President of the Senate ; and in case of his death, resignation, or re- moval, then upon the Speaker of the House of Assem- bly, for the time being, until another Governor shall be elected and qualified ; but in such case, another Governor shall be chosen at the next election for members of the State Legislature, unless death, resignation, or removal shall occur within thirty days immediately preceding such 8 86 CONSTITUTION OF NEW JERSEY. next election, in which case a Governor shall be cjiosen at the second succeeding election for members of the Legislature. When a vacancy happens, during the re- cess of the Legislature, in any office which is to be fiUea by the Governor and Senate, or by the Legislature in joint meeting, the Governor shall fill such vacancy, and the commission shall expire at the end of the next ses- sion of the Legislature, unless a successor shall he sooner appointed : when a vacancy hapj)ens in the oftice of clerk or surrogate of any county, the Governor shall till such vacancy, and the commission shall expire when a suc- cessor is elected and qualified. 13. In case of the impeachment of the Governor, his absence from the State, or inability to discharge the du- ties of his office, the powers, duties, and emoluments of the office shall devolve upon the President of the Senate; and in case of his death, resignation, or removal, then upon the Speaker of the House of Assembly for the time being, until the Governor, absent or impeached, shall re- turn or be acquitted, or until the disqualification or inabili- ty shall cease, or until a new Governor be elected and qualified. 14. In case of a vacancy in the office of Governor, from any other cause than those herein enumerated, or in case of the death of the Governor elect, before he is qualified into office, the powers, duties, and emoluments of the office shall devolve upon the President of the Senate, or Speaker of the House of Assembly, as above provided for, until anew Governor be elected and qualified. Article VI. Judiciary. Sec. I. — ] . The judicial power shall be vested in a Court of Errors and Appeals, in the last resort in all causes, as heretofore ; a Court for the trial of Impeach- ments ; a Court of Chancery; a Prerogative Court ; a Su- preme Court ; Circuit Courts, and such inferior Courts as now exist, and as may be hereafter ordained and estab- lished by law ; which inferior Courts the Legislature may alter or abolish, as the public good shall require. Sec. II. — 1. The Court of Errors and Appeals shall CONSTITUTIOX OF NEW JERSEY. 87 consist of the Chance'lor, the justice of the Supreme Court, and six judges, or a major part of them ; which judges are to be appointed for six years. 2. Immediately after the Court shall first assemble, the six judges shall arrange themselves in such manner that the sea^t of one of th-m shall be vacated every year, in order that thereafter one judge may be annually ap- pointed. 3. Siich of the six judges as shall attend the Court shall receive, respectively, a per diem compensation, to be provided by law. 4. The Secretary of State shall be the clerk of this Court. 5. When an appeal from an order or decree shall be heard, the Chancellor shall inform the Court, in writing, of the reasons for his order or decree ; but he shall not sit as a member, or have a voice in the hearing or final sentence. 6. When a writ of error shall be brought, no justice who has given a judicial opinion in the cause, in favor of or against any error complained of, shall sit as a mem- ber, or have a voice on the hearing, or for its affirmance or reversal ; but the reasons for such opinion shall be assigned to the court in writing. Sec. III. — 1. The House of Assembly shall have the sole power of impeaching, by a vote of a majority of all the members ; and all impeachments shall be tried by the Senate : the members, when sitting for that purpose, to be on oath or affirmation " truly and impartially to try and determine the charge in question according to evi- dence :" and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members of the Se- nate. 2. Any judicial officer impeached shall be suspended from exercising his office until his acquittal. 3. Judgment, in cases of impeachment shall not ex- tend farther than to removal from office and to disquali- fication to hold and enjoy any office of honor, profit, or trust under this State; but the party convicted shall never- theless be liable to indictment, trial, and punishment, according to law. 4. The Secretary of State shall be the clerk of this Court. 88 CONSTITUTION OF NEW JERSEY. Sec. IV. — 1. The Court of Chancery shall consist of a Chancellor. 2. The Chancellor shall be the ordinary, or surrogate general, and judge of the Prerogative Court, 3. All persons aggrieved by any order, sentence, or decree of the Orphans' Court may appeal from the same, or from any part thereof, to the Prerogative Court ; but such order, sentence, or decree shall not be removed into the Supreme Court, or Circuit Court, if the subject matter thereof be within the jurisdiction of the Orphans' Court. 4. The Secretary of State shall be the register of the Prerogative Court, and shall perform the duties required of him by law in that respect. Sec. V. — 1. The Supreme Court shall consist of a chief justice and four associate justices. The number of associate justices may be increased or decreased by law, but shall never be less than two. 2. The Circuit Courts shall be held in every county of this State, by one or more of the justices of the Su- preme Court, or a judge appointed for that purpose ; and shall in all cases within the county, except in those of a criminal nature, have common law jurisdiction concur- rent with the Supreme Court; and any final judgment of a Circuit Court may be docketed in the Supreme Court, and shall operate as a judgment obtained in the Supreme Court, from the time of such docketing. 3. Final judgments in any Circuit Court may be brought, by writ of error, into the Supreme Court, or directly into the Court of Errors and Appeals. Sec VI. — 1. There shall be no more than five judges of the inferior Court of Common Pleas in each of the ■counties in this State after the terms of the judges of said court now in office shall terminate. One judge for each county shall be appointed every year, and no more, ex- cept to fill vacancies, which shall be for the unexpired term only. 2. The commissions for the first appointments of judges of said Court shall bear date and take effect on the first day of April next; and all subsequent commissions forjudges of said Court shall bear date and take effect on the first day of April in every successive year, except CONSTITUTIOxX OF NEW JERSEY. 89 commissions to fill vacancies, which shall bear date and take effect when issaed. Sec.VII. — 1. There maybe elected underthis Consti- tution two, an(3 not more than five, justices of the peace in each of the townships of the several counties of this state, and in each of the wards, in cities that may vote in wards. When a township or ward contains two thou- sand inhabitants, or less, it may have two justices ; when it contains more than two thousand inhabitants, and not more than four thousand, it may have four justices ; and when it contains more than four thousand inhabi- tants, it may have five justices ; provided, that whenever any township, not voting in wards, contains more than seven thousand inhabitants, such township may have an additional justice for each additional three thousand in- habitants above four thousand. 2. The population of the townships in the several counties of the State and of the several wards shall be ascertained by the last preceding census of the United States, until the Legislature shall provide by law some other mode of ascertaining it. Article VII. Appointing Power and Tenure of Office. Sec. I. — Militia Officers. — 1. The Legislature shall provide by law for enrolling, organizing, and arming the militia. 2. Captains, subalterns, and non-commissioned officers shall be elected by the members of their respective com- panies. 3. Field officers of regiments, independent battallions, and squadrons shall be elected by the commissioned offi- cers of their respective regiments, battallions, or squadrons. 4. Brigadier grenerals shall be elected by the field offi- cers of their respective brigades. 5. Major generals shall be nominated .by the Govern- or, and appointed by him, with the advice and consent of the Senate. 6. The Legislature shall provide by law, the time and manner of electing militia officers, and of certifying their elections to the Governor, who shall grant their commis- si 90 CONSTITUTION OF NEW JERSEV. sions and determine their rank, when not determined by law : and no commissioned officer shall be removed from office but by the sentence a court martial, pursuant to law. 7. In case the electors of subalterns, captains, or field officers, should refuse or neglect to make such elections^ the Governor ^hall have power to appoint such officers, and to fill all vacancies caused by such refusal or neglect, 8. Brigade inspectors shall be chosen by the field offi- cers of their respective brigades. 9. The Governor shall appoint the adjutant general, quarter master general, and all other militia officers whose appointment is not otherwise provided for in this Constitution. 10. Major generals, brigadier generals, and command- ing officers of regiments, independent battallions, and squadrons shall appoint the staff officers of their divisions, brigades, regiments, independent battallions, and squad- rons, respectively. Sec. II. — Civil Officers. — 1. Justices of the Su- preme Court, Chancellor, and judges of the Court of Errors and Appeals, shall be nominated by the Governor, and appointed by him, with the advice and consent of the Senate. — The justices of the Supreme Court and Chancellor shall hold their offices for the term of seven years ; shall, at stated times, receive for their services a compensation, which shall not be diminished during the term of their appointments ; and they shall hold no other office under the government of this State, or of the United States. 2. Judges of the Courts of Common Pleas shall be ap- pointed by the Senate and General Assembly, in joint meeting. They shall hold their offices for five years ; but when appointed to fill vacancies, they shall hold for the unexpired term only. 3. The State Treasurer and the keeper and inspectors of the State prison shall be appointed by the Senate and General Assembly, in joint meeting. They shall hold their offices for one year, and until their successors shall be qualified into office. 4. The Attorney General, prosecutors of the Pleas, CONSTITUTION OF NEW JERSEY. 91 clerk of the Supreme Court, clerk of the Court of Chan- cery, and Secretary of State, shall be nominated by the Governor, and appointed by him, with the advice and con- sent of the Senate. They shall hold their offices for five years. 5. The law reporter shall be appointed by the justices of the Supreme Court, or a majority of them ; and the chancery reporter shall be appointed by the Chancellor. 'J'hey shall hold their othces for live years. 6. Clerks and surrogates of counties shall be elected by, the people of their respective counties, at the annual elections for members of the General Assembly, they shall hold their offices for tive years. 7. Sheriffs and coroners shall be elected annually, by the people of their respective counties, at the annual elections for members of the General Assembly. — They may be re-elected until they shall have served three years, but no longer ; after which, three years must elapse before they can be again capable of serving. 8. Justices of the peace shall be elected, by ballot, at the annual meetings of the townships in the several counties of the State, and of the wards in cities that may vote in wards, in such manner, and under such regula- tions as may be hereafter provided by law. They shall be commissioned for the county, and their commissions shall bear date, and take effect on the first day of May next after their election. They shall hold their offices for five years -, — but when elected to fill vacancies, they shall hold for the unexpired term only ; provided, that the commission of any justice of the peace shall become vacant upon his ceasing to reside in the township in which he Avas elected. The first election for justices of the peace shall take place at the next annual town meet- ings of the townships of the several counties of the State, and of the wards in cities that may vote in wards. 9. All other officers, whose appointments are not otherwise provided for by law, shall be nominated by the Governor, and appointed by him, with the advice and consent of the Senate ; and shall hold their offices for the time prescribed by law. 10. All civil officers elected, or appointed pursuant to 92 CONSTITUTION OF NEW JERSEY. the provisions of this Constitution shall be commissioned by the Governor. 11. The term of office of all officers elected or ap- pointed pursuant to the provisions of this Constitution, except when herein otherwise directed, shall commence on the day of the date of their respective commissions ; but no commission for any office shall bear date prior to the expiration of the term of the incumbent of said office. Article VIII. General Provision. 1. The Secretary of State shall be ex-officio an audi- tor of the accounts of the Treasurer, and, as such, it shall be his duty to assist the Legislature in the annual ex- amination and setdement of said accounts, until otherwise provided by law. 2. The seal of the State shall be kept by the Governor, or person administering the government, and used by him officially, and shall be called the Great Seal of the State of New Jersey. 3. All grants and commissions shall be in the name and by the authority of the State of New Jersey, sealed with the great seal, signed by the Governor or person administering the government, and countersigned by the Secretary of State, and shall run thus : " The State of New Jersey to , greeting." All writs shall be in the name of the State ; and all indictments shall con- clude in the following manner, viz.: " against the peace of this State, the government and dignity of tlie same." 4. This Constitution shall take effect and go into operation on the second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-four. Article IX. ^7nendments. 1. Any specific amendment or amendments to the Constitution may be proposed in the Senate or General Assembly, and if the same shall be agreed to by a ma- jority of the members elected to each of the two houses, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be enter- ed on their journals, with tlie yeas and nays taken there- CONSTITUTION OF NEW JERSEY. 93 on, and referred to the Legislature then next to be chosen, and shall be published, for three months previous to making such choice, in at least one newspaper of each county, if any be published therein ; and if in the Legis- lature next chosen, as aforesaid, such proposed amend- ment or amendments, or any of them, shall be agreed to by a majority of all the members elected to each house, then it shall be the duty of the Legislature to submit such proposed amendment or amendments, or such of them as may have been agreed to as aforesaid, by the two Legislatures to the people, in such manner and at such time, at least four months after the adjournment of the Legislature as the Legislature shall prescribe : and if the people, at a special election to be held for that purpose only, shall approve and ratify such amendment or amend- ments, or any of them, by a majority of the electors qualified to vote for members of the Legislature voting thereon, such amendment or amendments, so approved and ratified, shall become part of the Constitution ; pro- vided, that if more than one amendment be submitted, they shall be submitted in such manner and form that the people may vote for or against each amendment sepa- rately and distincdy ; but no amendment or amendments shall be submitted to the people by the Legislature often- er than once in five years. Article X. Schechtle. That no inconvenience may arise from the change in the Constitution of this State, and in order to carry the same into complete operation, it is hereby declared and ordained, that — I. The common law and statute laws now in force, not repugnant to this Constitution, shall remain in force until they expire by their own limitation, or be altered or repealed by the Legislature ; and all writs, actions, causes of action, prosecutions, contracts, claims, and rights of individuals, and of bodies corporate, and of the State, and all charters of incorporation shall continue, and all indictments which shall have been found, or which may hereafter be found, for any crime or offence 94 CONSTITUTION OF NEW JERSEY. committed before the adoption of this Constitution, may- be proceeded upon as if no change had taken place. The several courts of law and equity, except as herein otherwise provided, shall continue with the like powers and jurisdiction as if this Constitution had not been adopted. 2. All officers now filling any office or appointment, shall continue in the exercise of the duties thereof, ac- cording to their respective commissions or appointments, unless, by this Constitution it is otherwise directed. 3. The present Governor, Chancellor, and Ordinary or Surrogate General, and Treasurer, shall continue in office until successors elected or appointed under this Constitution shall be sworn into office. 4. In case of the death, resignation, or disability of the present Governor, the person who may be Vice Pre- sident of Council at the time of the adoption of this con- stitution shall continue in office, and administer the government, until a Governor shall have been elected and sworn or affirmed into office under this Constitu- tion. 5. The present Governor, or in case of his death, or inability to act, the Vice President of Council, together with the present members of the Legislative Council and Secretary of State shall constitute a board of State can- vassers, in the manner now provided by law, for the purpose of ascertaining and declaring the result of the next ensuing election for Governor, members of the House of Representatives, and electors of President and Vice President. 6. The returns of the votes for Governor, at the said next ensuing election shall be transmitted to the Secre- tary of State, the votes counted, and the election de- clared, in the manner now provided by law in the case of the election of electors of President and Vice President. 7. The election of clerks and surrogates in those counties where the term of office of the present incum- bents shall expire previous to the general elecUon of eighteen hundred and forty-five, shall be held at the general election next ensuing the adoption of this Con- CONSTITUTION OF NEW JERSEY. 95 stitution ; the result of which election shall be ascertain- ed in the manner now provided by law for the election of sheriffs. 8. The elections for the year eighteen hundred and forty-four shall take place as now provided by law. 9. It shall be the duty of the Governor to fill all va- cancies in office happening between the adoption of this Constitution and the first session of the Senate, and not otherwise provided for; and the commissions shall expire at the end of the first session of the Senate, or when successors shall be elected, or appointed and qualified. 10. The restriction of the pay of members of the Legislature, after forty days from the commencement of the session, shall not be applied to the first Legislature convened under this Constitution. 11. Clerks of counties shall be clerks of the inferior Courts of Common Pleas and Quarter-Sessions of the several counties, and perform the duties, and be subject to the regulations, now required of them by law, until otherwise ordained by the Legislature. 12. The Legislature shall pass all laws necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this Constitution. Done in convention at the State House, in Trenton, on the twenty-ninth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the sixty- eighth. ALEXANDER WURTS, President of the Convention, William Patterson, Secretary. Th. J. Saunders, Assistant Secretary. CONSTITUTION OF PENNSYLVANIA. Article 1. Sec. 1. The legislative power of this commonwealth shall be vested in a general Assembly, which shall con- sist in a Senate, and House of Representatives. 90 COxNSTITUTIOJf OP PENNSYLVANIA. 2. The representatives shall be chosen annually, by the citizens of the city of Philadelphia, and of each county respectively, on the second Tuesday of October. 3. No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained the age of twenty-one years, and have been a citizen and inhabitant of the State three years next pre- ceding his election, and the last year thereof an inhabitant of the district in and for which he shall be chosen a re- presentative, unless he shall have been absent on the pub- lic business of the United States or of this State. 4. Within three years after the first meeting of the general Assembly, and within every subsequent term of seven years, an enumeration of the taxable inhabi- tants shall be made in such manner as shall be di- rected by law. The number of representatives shall at the several periods of making such enumeration, be fixed by the legislature, and apportioned among the city of Philadelphia and the several counties, according to the number of taxable inhabitants in each : and shall never be less than sixty nor greater than one hundred. Each county shall have at least one representative, but no county hereafter erected shall be entitled to a separate re- presentation until a sufficient number of taxable inhabi- tants shall be contained within it, to entitle them to one representative, agreeably to the ratio which shall then be established. 5. The senators shall be chosen for three years by the citizens of Philadelphia and of the several counties, at the same time, in the same manner, andat the same places where they shall vote for representatives. 6. The number of senators shall, at the several periods of making the enumeration before mentioned, be fixed by the legislature, and apportioned among the districts form- ed as hereinafter directed, according to the number of taxable inhabitants in each ; and shall never be less than one-fourth, nor greater than one-third, of the number of re- presentatives. 7. The senators shall be chosen in districts, to be so form- ed by the legislature ; but no district shall be so formed as to entitle it to elect more than two senators, unless the num- ber of taxable inhabitants in any city or county shall, at CONSTITUTION OF PENNSYLVANIA. 97 any time, be such as to entitle it to elect more than two, but no city or county shall be entitled to elect more than four senators; when a district shall be composed of two or more counties, they shall be adjoining; neither the city of Philadelphia nor any county shall be divided in forming a district, 8. No person shall be a senator who shall not have at- tained the age of twenty-five years, and have been a citi- zen and inhabitant of the State four years next before his election, and the last year thereof an inhabitant of the dis- trict for which he shall be chosen, unless he shall have been absent on the public business of the United States or of this State; and no person elected as aforesaid shall hold said office after he shall have removed from such district. 9. The senators who may be elected at the first gene- ral election after the adoption of the amendments to the Constitution, shall be divided by lot into three classes. The seats of the senators of the first class shall be vaca- ted at the expiration of the first year; of the second class at the expiration of the second year ; and of the third class at the expiration of the third year; so that thereafter one-third of the whole number of senators may be chosen every year. The senators elected before the amendments to the Constitution shall be adopted shall hold their offices during the terms for which they shall respectively have been elected. 10. The general Assembly shall meet on the first Tuesday of January, in every year, unless sooner con- vened by the governor. 11. Each House shall choose its speaker and other officers; and the Senate shall also choose a speaker pro tern. pore, when the speaker shall exercise the office of Governor. 12. Each House shall judge of the qualifications of its members. Contested elections shall be determined by a committee to be selected, formed and regulated in such manner as shall be directed by law. A majority of each House shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized bv law to compel the attendance of absent 9 98 CONSTITUTION OF PENNSYLVANIA. members, in sucli manner and under such penalties as may be provided. 13. Each House may determine the rules of its pro- ceedings, punish its members for disorderly beliavior, and with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member, but not a second time for the same cause ; and shall have all other powers necessary for a branch of the legislature of a free State. 14. The legislature shall not have power to enact laws annulling the contract of marriage in any case where, by law, the courts of tliis commonwealth are, or hereafter may be, empowered to decree a divorce. 15. Each House shall keep a journal of its proceed- ings, and publish them weekly, except such parts as may require secrecy: and the yeas and nays of the mem- bers on any question shall, at the desire of any two of them, be entered on the journals. 16. The doors of each House and of committees of the whole shall be open, unless when the business shall be such as ought to be kept secret. 17. Neither House shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting. 18. The senators and representatives shall receive a compensation for their services to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury of the commonwealth. They shall in all cases, except treason, felony, and breach or surety of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective Houses, and in ffoino;- to and returnino; from the same. And for any speech or debate in either House, they shall not be ques- tioned in any other place. 19. No senator or representative shall, during the time for which he shall have been elected, be appointed to any civil office under this commonwealth which shall have been created, or the emoluments of which shall have been increased during such time ; and no member of Congress or other person holding any office, (except of attorney at law and in the militia) under the United States or this commonwealth, shall be a member of either House du- ring his continuance in Congress or in office. CONSTITUTION OF PENNSYLVANIA. 99 20. When vacancies happen in either House, the speaker shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies. 21. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives, but the Senate may propose amendments as in other bills. 22. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence of appropriations made by law. 23. Every bill which shall have passed both Houses shall be presented to the Governor. If he approve, he shall sign it, but if he shall not approve, he shall return it with his objections to the House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at large upon their journals, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such recon- sideration, two-thirds of that House shall agree to pass the bill,itshallbesent with the objections to the other House, by which likewise it shall be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of that House, it shall bealaw. But in such cases the votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the persons voting for or against the bill shall be entered on the journals of each House re- spectiv-ely. If any bill shall not be returned by the Go- vernor within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, it shall be a law in like manner as if he had sio-ned it, unless the general As- sembly, by their adjournment, prevented its return, in which case it shall be a law, unless sent back within three days after their next meeting. 24. Every order, resolution or vote, to which the con- currence of both Houses may be necessary (except on a question of adjournment) shall be presented to the Go- vernor, and before it shall take eifect, be approved by him, or being disapproved, shall be repassed by two- thirds of both Houses according to the rules and limita- tions prescribed in case of a bill. 25. No corporate body shall be hereafter created, re- newed or extended with banking or discounting privi- leges, without six months' previous public notice of the intended application for the same in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. Nor shall any charter for the pur- poses aforesaid, be granted for a longer period than twen- ty years, and every such charter shall contain a clause re- 100 CONSTITUTION OF PENiVSYLYANIA. serving to the legislature the power to alter, revoke or annul the same, whenever in their opinion it may be in- jurious to the citizens of the eommonwealth, in such man- ner, however, that no injustice shall be done to the cor- porators. No law hereafter enacted, shall create, renew, or extend the charter of more than one corporation. Article 2. Sec. 1. The supreme executive power of this com- monwealth shall be vested in a Governor. 2. The Governor shall be chosen on the second Tues- day of October, by the citizens of the commonwealth, at the places where they shall respectively vote for repre- sentatives. The returns of every election for Governor shall be sealed up and transmitted to the seat of govern- ment, directed to the speaker of the Senate, who shall open and publish them in the presence of the members of both Houses of the legislature. The person having the hiorhest number of votes shall be Governor. But if two or more shall be equal and highest in votes, one of them shall be chosen Governor by the joint vote of the mem- bers of both Houses. Contested elections shall be de- termined by a committee to be selected from both Houses of the legislature, and formed and regulated in such man- ner as shall be directed by law. 3. The Governor shall hold his office during three years from the third Tuesday of January next ensuing his election, and shall not be capable of holding it longer than six in any term of nine years. 4. He shall be at least thirty years of age, and have been a citizen and an inhabitant of this State seven years next before his election ; unless he shall have been ab- sent on the public business of the United States, or of this State. 5. No member of Congress or person holding any of- fice under the United States, or this State, shall exercise the office of Governor. 6. The Governor shall at stated times receive for his services a compensation, whicli shall be neither increased nor diminished during the period for which he shall have been elected. CONSTITUTION OF PENNSYLVANIA. ]01 7. He sliall be commander-in-chief of the Army and Navy of this commonwealth, and of the militia, except when they shall be called into the actual service of the United States. 8. He shall appoint a secretary of the commonwealth during pleasure, and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint all judicial ofhcers of courts of record, unless otherwise provided for in this Constitution. He sliall have power to fill all va- cancies that may happen in such judicial offices during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session : Provided, that in actino" on executive nominations the Senate shall sit with open doors, and in confirming or rejecting the nominations of the Governor, the vote shall be taken by yeas and nays. 9. He shall have power to remit fines and forfeitures, and grant reprieves and pardons, except in cases of im- peachment. 10. He may require information in writing, from the officers in the executive department, on any subject re- lating to the duties of their respective offices. 11. He shall, from time to time, give to the general Assembly information of the state of the commonwealth, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge expedient. 12. He may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the general Assembly ; and in case of disagreement between the two Houses, with respect to the time of adjournment, adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper, not exceeding four months. 13. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully exe- cuted. 14. In case of the death or resignation of the Gover nor, or his removal from office, the speaker of the Senate shall exercise the office of Governor, until another Gover- nor shall be duly qualified ; but in such case another Gover- nor shall be chosen at the next annual election of repre- sentatives, unless such death, resignation, or removal, shall occur within three calendar months immediately pre- cedinor such next annual election, in which case a Governor 9* 102 CONSTITUTION OF PENNSYLVANIA. shall be chosen at the second succeeding annual election of representatives. And if the trial of a contested elec- tion shall continue longer than until tlie third Monday of January next ensuing the election of Governor, the Go- vernor of the last year, or the speaker of the Senate who may be in the exercise of the executive authority, sliall continue therein until the determination of such contested election, and until a Governor shall be duly qualified as aforesaid. 15. The secretary of the commonwealth shall keep a fair register of all the official acts and proceedings of the Governor, and shall, when required, lay the same and all papers, minutes and vouchers relative thereto, before either branch of the legislature, and shall perform such other duties as shall be enjoined him by law. Article 3. Sec. 1. In elections by the citizens, every white free- man of the age of twenty-one years, having resided in this State one year, and in the election district where he offers to vote, ten days immediately preceding such elec- tion, and within two years paid a State or county tax, which shall have been assessed at least ten days before the election, shall enjoy the rights of an elector. But a citizen of the United States, who had previously been a qualified voter of this State, and removed therefrom and returned, and who shall have resided in the election dis- trict, and paid taxes as aforesaid, shall be entitled to vote, after residing in the State six months : Provided, that white freemen, citizens of the United States, between the ages of twenty-one and twenty-two years, and having re- sided in the State one year, and in the election district ten days as aforesaid, shall be entitled to vote, although they shall not have paid taxes. 2. All elections shall be by ballot, except those by per- sons in their representative capacities, who shall vote viva voce. 3. Electors shall in all cases, except treason, felony, and breach of surety of the peace, be privileged from ar- rest during their attendance on elections, and in going to and returning from them. constitution of pennsylvania. 103 Article 4. Sec. 1. The House of Representatives shall have the sole power of impeaching. 2. All impeachments shall be tried by the Senate : when sitting for that purpose, the senators shall be upon oath or affirmation. No person shall be convicted, with- out the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present. 3. The Governor, and all other civil officers under this commonwealth, shall be liable to impeachment for any misdemeanor in office ; but judgment, in such cases, shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust, or pro- fit, under this commonwealth : the party, whether con- victed or acquitted, shall, nevertheless, be liable to in- dictment, trial, judgment and punishment, according to law. Article 5. Sec. 1. The judicial power of this commonwealth shall be vested in a supreme court, in courts of oyer and terminer and general jail delivery, in a court of common pleas, orphans' court, register's court, and a court of quarter sessions of the peace, for each county; in jus- tices of the peace, and in such other courts as the legisla- ture may, from time to time establish. 2. The judges of the supreme court, of the several courts of common pleas, and of such other courts of re- cord as are or shall be established by law, shall be nomina- ted by the Governor, and by and with the consent of the Senate appointed and commissioned by him. The judges of the supreme court shall hold their offices for the term of fifteen years, if they shall so long behave themselves well. The president judges of the several courts of common pleas, and of such other courts of record as are or shall be established by law, and all other judges required to be learned in the law, shall hold their offices for the term of ten years, if they shall so long behave themselves well. The associate'judges of the courts of common pleas shall hold their offices for the term of five years, if they shall so long behave themselves well. But for any reasonable cause, whi<;h shall not be suflicient 104 COXSTITUTIOX OF PENXSYLVANI A. grouiifl of impeachment, the Governor may remove any of them on the address of two-thirds of each branch of the les^islature. The judges of the supreme court, and the presidents of the several courts of common pleas, shall at stated times receive for their services an adequate compensation to be fixed by law, which shall not be di- minished during; their continuance in office ; but they shall receive no fees or perquisites of office, nor hold any other office of profit under this commonwealth. 3. Until otherwise directed by law, the courts of com- mon pleas shall continue as at present established. Not more than five counties shall at any time be included in one judicial district organized for said courts. 4. The jurisdiction of the supreme court shall extend over the State ; and the judges thereof shall, by virtue of their offices, be justices of oyer and terminer and general jail delivery, in the several counties. 5. The judges of the court of common pleas, in each county, shall, by virtue of their offices, be justices of oyer and terminer and general jail delivery, for the trial of capital and other offenders therein ; any two of said judges, the president being one, shall be a quorum; but they shall not hold a court of oyer and terminer, or jail delivery, in any county, when the judges of the supreme court, or any of them shall be sitting in the same county. The party accused, as well as the commonwealth, may, under such regulations as shall be prescribed by law, re- move the indictment and proceedings, or a transcript thereof, into the supreme court. 6. The supreme court, and the several courts of com- mon pleas, shall, beside the powers heretofore usually exercised by them, have the powers of a court of chance- ry, so far as relates to the perpetuating of testimony, the obtaining of evidence from places not within the State, and the care of the persons and estates of those who are lion compotes mentis. And the legislature shall vest in the said courts such other powers to grant relief in equity, as shall be found necessary ; and may, from time to time, enlarge or diminish those powers or vest them in such other courts as they shall judge proper, for the due ad ministration of justice. CONSTITUTION OF PENNSYLVANIA. i05 7. The judges of tiie court of common pleas of each county, any two of whom shall be a quorum, shall com- pose the court of quarter sessions of the peace, and or- phans' court thereof; and the register of wills, together with the said judges, or any two of them, shall compose tlie register's court of each county. 8. The judges of the courts of common pleas shall, within their respective counties, have like powers with the judges of the supreme court, to issue writs of certio- rari to the justices of the peace, and to cause their pro- ceedings to be brought before them, and the like right and justice to be done. 9. The president of the court in each circuit within such circuit, and the judges of the court of common pleas within their respective counties, shall be justices of the peace, so far as relates to criminal matters. 10. A register's office, for the probate of wills and granting letters of administration, and an office for there- cording of deeds, shall he kept in each county. 11. The style of all process shall be " The Common- wealth of Pennsylvania." All prosecutions shall be car- ried on in the name and by the authority of the common- wealth of Pennsylvania, and conclude, " against the peace and dignity of the same." Article 6. Sec. 1. Sheriffs and coroners shall, at the times and places of election of representatives, be chosen by the citizens of each county. One person shall be chosen for each office, who shall be commissioned by the Governor. They shall hold their offices for three years, if they shall so long behave themselves well, and until a successor be duly qualified ; but no person shall be twice chosen or appointed sheriff in any term of six years. Vacancies in either of the said offices shall be filled by an appointment, to be made by the Governor, to continue until the next general election, and until a successor shall be chosen and qualified as aforesaid. 2. The freemen of this commonwealth shall be armed, organized, and disciplined for its defence, when and in such manner as may be directed by law. Those who 106 CONSTITUTION OF PENNSYLVANIA. conscientiously scruple to bear arms, shall not be com- pelled to do so, but shall pay an equivalent for persona] service. 3. Prothonotaries of the supreme court shall be ap pointed by the said court for the term of three years, if they so long behave themselves well. Prothonotaries and clerks of the several other courts, recorders of deeds, and registers of wills, shall at the times and places of election of representatives, be elected by the qualified electors of each county, or the districts over which the jurisdiction of said courts extends, and shall be commis- sioned by tlie governor. They shall hold their offices for three years, if they shall so long behave themselves well, and until their successors shall be duly qualified. The legislature shall provide by law the number of per- sons in each county who shall hold said offices, and how many and which of said offices shall be held by one per- son. Vacancies in any of the said ofhces shall be filled by appointments to be made by the Governor, to con- tinue until the next general election, and until successors shall be elected and qualified as aforesaid. 4. Prothonotaries, clerks of the peace and orphans' courts, recorders of deeds, registers of wills, and sheriffs, shall keep their offices in the county town of the county in which they, respectively, shall be officers, unless when the Governor shall, for special reasons, dispense therewith, for any term not exceeding five years after the county shall have been erected. 5. All commissions shall be in the name and by the authority of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and be sealed with the state seal, and signed by the Governor. 6. A state treasurer shall be elected annually, by joint vote of both branches of the leo-islature. a 7. Justices of the peace or aldermen, shall be elected in the several wards, boroughs and townships, at the time of the election of constables by the qualified voters thereof, in such number as shall be directed by law, and shall be commissioned by the Governor for a term of five years. But no township, ward or borough, shall elect more than two justices of the peace or aldermen without the consent CONSTITUTION OF PENNSYLVANIA. 107 of a majority of the qualified electors within such town- ship, ward or borough. 8. All officers whose election or appointment is not provided for in this constitution, shall be elected or ap- pointed as shall be directed by law. No person shall be appointed to any office within any county who shall not have been a citizen and an inhabitant therein one year next before his appointment, if the county shall have been so long erected; but if it shall not have been so long erected, then within the limits of the county or counties out of which it shall have been taken. No member of Congress from this state, or any person holding or exer- cising any office or appointment of trust or profit under the United States, shall at the same time hold or exercise any office in this State, to which a salary is, or fees or perquisites are, by law, annexed ; and the legislature may by lav/ declare what state offices are incompatible. No member of the Senate or of the House of Representatives shall be appointed by the Governor to any office during the term for which he shall have been elected. 9. All officers for a term of years shall hold their offices for the terms respectively specified, only on the condition that they so long behave themselves well ; and shall be removed on conviction of misbehaviour in office or of any infamous crime. 10. Any person who shall, after the adoption of the amendments proposed by this Convention to the Consti- tution, fight a duel, or send a challenge for that purpose, or be aider or abettor in fighting a duel, shall be deprived of the right of holding any office of honor or profit in this State, and shall be punished otherwise in such man- ner as is, or may be prescribed by law ; but tlie executive may remit the said off'ence and all its disqualifications. Article 7. Sec. 1. The legislature shall, as soon as conveniently may be, provide, by law, for the establishment of schools throughout the State, in such manner that the poor may be taugnt gratis. 2. The arts and sciences shall be promoted in one or more seminaries of learning. 108 CONSTITUTION OF PENNSYLVANIA. 3. The rights, privileges, immunities and estates of religious societies and corporate bodies, shall remain as if the Constitution of this State had not been altered or amended. 4. The legislature shall not invest any corporate body or individual with the privilege of taking private property for public use, without requiring such corporation or in- dividual to make compensation to the owners of said pro- perty, or give adequate security therefor, before such pro- perty shall be taken. Article 8. Members of the general Assembly and all officers, ex- ecutive and judicial, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support the Constitution of this commonwealth, and to perform the duties of their respective offices with fidelity. Article 9. That the general, great and essential principles of liberty and free government tnay he recognized and unalterably established, we declare: 1. That all men are born equally free and independent, and have certain inherent and indefeasible rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property and reputation, and of pursuing their own happiness. 2. That all power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and in- stituted for their peace, safety, and happiness : For the advancement of those ends, they have, at all times, an unalienable and indefeasible right to alter, reform, or abolish their government, in such manner as they may think proper. 3. That all men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences ; that no man can, of right, be com- pelled to attend, erect, or support any place of worship, or to maintain any ministry against his consent; that no human authority can, in any case whatever, control o» interfere with the rights of conscience ; and that no pre- CONSTITUTION OF PENNSYLVANIA. 109 ference shall ever be given, by law, to any religious establishments or modes of worship. 4. That no person who acknowledges the being of a God and a future stale of rewards and punishments, shall, on account of his religious sentiments, be disqualified to hold any office or place of trust or profit under this com- monwealth. 5. That elections shall be free and equal. 6. That trial by jury shall be as heretofore, and the right thereof remain inviolate. 7. That the printing presses shall be free to every per- son who undertakes to examine the proceedings of the legislature or any branch of government : and no law shall ever be made to restrain the right thereof. The free communication of thoughts and opinions is one of the invaluable rights of man ; and every citizen may freely speak, write and print on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty. In prosecutions for the publication of papers, investigating the official conduct of officers, or men in a public capacity, or where the matter published is proper for public information, the truth there- of may be given in evidence; and, in all indictments for libels, the jury shall have a right to determine the law and the facts, under the direction of the court, as in other cases. 8. That the people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers and possessions, from unreasonable searches and seizures ; and that no warrant to search any place, or to seize any person or things, shall issue with- out describing them as nearly as may be, nor without probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation. 9. That in all criminal prosecutions, the accused hath a rio-ht to be heard by himself and his counsel, to demand the nature and cause of the accusation agamst hmi, to meet the witnesses face to face, to have compulsory pro- cess for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and in prosecu- tions by indictment or information, a speedy trial by an impartial jury of the vicinage: that he cannot be compel- led to give evidence against himself, nor can he be de- prived of his life, liberty or property, unless by the judg- ment of his peers or the law of the land. 10 110 CONSTITUTION OF PENXSYLVANIA, 10. That no person shall, for any indictable offence, be proceeded against criminally by information ; except in cases arisinof in the land or naval forces, or in the militia when in actual service in time of war or public danger; or by leave of the court for oppression and misdemeanor in olHce. No person shall for the same offence be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb ; nor shall any man's pro- perty be taken, or applied to public use, without the consent of his representatives, and without just compensation be- ing made. 11. That all courts shall be open, and every man for an injury done him in his lands, goods, person or repu- tation, shall have remedy by the due course of law, and right and justice administered without sale, denial or de- lay. Suits may be brought against the commonwealth in such manner, m such courts, and in such cases, as the legislature may, by law, direct. 12. That no power of suspending laws shall be exer- cised, unless by the legislature, or its authority. 13. That excessive bail shall not be required, nor ex- cessive fines imposed, nor cruel punishments inflicted. 14. That all prisoners shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, unless for capital offences, when the proof is evident or presumption great: and the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it. 15. That no commission of oyer and terminer or jail delivery shall be issued. 16. That the person of a debtor, where there is not strong presumption of fraud, shall not be continued in prison after delivering up his estate for the benefit of his creditors in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. 17. That no ex post facto law, nor any law impairing contracts, shall be made. 18. That no person shall be attainted of treason or felo- ny by the legislature. 19. That no attainder shall work corruption of blood ; nor, except during the life of the offender, forfeiture of estate to the commonwealth : that the estates of such per- sons as shall destroy their own lives, shall descend or CONSTITUTION OF PENNSYLVANIA. m vest as in case of natural death ; and if any person shall be killed by casualty, there shall be no forfeiture by reason thereof. 20. That the citizens have a right, in a peaceful man- ner, to assemble together for their common good, and to apply to those invested with the powers of government for redress of grievances, or other proper purposes, by petition, redress, or remonstrance. 21. That the riofht of the citizens to bear arms, in de- fence of themselves and the Slate, shall not be questioned. 22. That no standing army shall, in time of peace, be kept up, without the consent of the legislature ; and the military shall, in all cases, and at all times, be in strict subordination to the civil power. 23. That no soldier shall, in time of peace, be quarter- ed in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. 24. That the legislature shall not grant any title of no- bility or hereditary distinction, nor create any office the appointment to which shall be for a longer term than du- rinor orood behaviour. 25. That emigration from the State shall not be pro- hibited. 26. To guard against transgressions of the high pow- ers which we have delegated, we declare, that every thing in this article is excepted out of the general powers of government, and shall forever remain inviolate. Article 10. Any amendment or amendments to this Constitution may be proposed in the Senate or House of Representatives, and if the same shall be agreed to by a majority of the members elected to each house, such proposed amend- ment or amendments shall be entered on their journals, with the yeas and nays taken thereon, and the secretary of the commonwealth shall cause the same to be publish- ed three months before the next election, in at least one newspaper in every county in which a newspaper shall be published ; and if in the legislature next afterwards chosen, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be agreed to by a majority of the members elected to 112 C0A'STITLT10-\ OF VIRGI.MA. each Hoi^se, the secretary of the commonweahh shall cause the eame again to be published in manner aforesaid, and such proposed amendment or amendments shall be submitted to the people in such manner and at such time, at least three months after being so agreed to by the two Houses, as the legislature shall prescribe ; and if the peo- ple shall approve and ratify such amendment or amend- ments by a majority of the qualiiied voters of this State votinof thereon, such amendment or amendments shall become a part of the Constitution, but no amendment or amendments shall be submitted to the people oftener than once in five years : Provided, that if more than one amendment be submitted, they shall be submitted in such manner and form, that the people may vote for or against each amendment separately and distinctly. CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA. Bill of Rights. A Declaration of Rights made hy the Representatives of the good People of Virginia, assetnbled in full and free Convention ; which rights do pertain to them, and their Posterity,, as the ba- sis and foundation of Government. Unanimously adopted, June \2th, 1776. 1. That all men are by nature equally free and inde- pendent, and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity ; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining hap- piness and safety. 2. That all power is vested in, and consequently de- rived from, the people ; that magistrates are their trustees and servants, and at all times amenable to them. 3. That government is, or ought to be, instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security of the peo- ])le, nation, or community : of all the various modes and CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA. ] |3 forms of government, lliat is best, which is capable of pro- ducing the greatest degree of liappiness and safety, and is most eflectually secured against the danger of maladminis- tration ; and that, when any government shall be found inadequate or contrary to these purposes, a majority of the community hath an indubitable, unalienable, and inde- feasible right to reform, alter, or abolish it, in such manner as shall be judged most conducive to the public weal. 4. That no man, or set of men, are entitled to excki sive or separate emoluments or privileges from the com- munity, but in consideration of public services; M'hich not being descendible, neither ought the oflices of ma- gistrate, legislator, or judge to be hereditary. 5. That the legislative and executive powers of the State should be separate and distinct from the judiciary ; and that the members of the two first may be restrained from oppression, by feeling and participating the burthens of the people, tliey should, at fixed periods, be reduced to a private station, return into that body from whi(;h they were originally taken, and the vacancies be supplied by frequent, certain, and regular elections, in wliich all, or any part of tlie former members, to be again eligible, or ineligible, as the laws shall direct. 6. That elections of members to serve as representa- tives of the people, in Assembly, ought to be free ; and that all men having sufficient evidence of permanent com- mon interest witli, and attachment to, the community, ha«e the right of suffrage, and cannotbe taxed or deprived of their property for public uses, without their own con- sent, or that of their representatives so elected, nor bound by any law to which they have not, in like manner as- sented, for the public good. 7. That all power of suspending laws, or the execu- tion of laws, by any authority, without consent of the re- presentatives of the people, is injurious to their rights, and ought not to be exercised. 8. That, in all capital or criminal prosecutions, a man hath a right to demand the cause and nature of his accu- sation, to be confronted with the accusers and witnesses, to call for evidence in his favor, and to a speedy trial by an impartial jury of his vicinage, without whose unani- 10* 114 CONSTITUTION OF VIRGIXIA. mous consent he cannot be found guilty; nor can he be com- pelled to give evidence against himself; that no man be deprived of his liberty except by the law of the land, or the judgment of his peers. 9. That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punish- ments inflicted. 10. That general warrants, whereby an officer or mes- senger may be commanded to search suspected places •without evidence of a fact committed, or to seize any per- son or persons not named, or whose offence is not par- -ticularly described and supported by evidence, are griev- ous and oppressive, and ought not to be granted. 11. That, in controversies respecting property, and in suits between man and man, the ancient trial by jury is preferable to any other, and ought to be held sacred. 12. That the freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained but by despotic governments. 1 3. That a well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defence of a free State ; that standing armies, in time of peace, should be avoided, as dangerous to liberty ; and that, in all cases, the military should be under strict subor- dination to, and governed by, the civil power. 14. That the people have a right to uniform govern- ment; and, therefore, that no government separate from, or independent of, the government of Jlr^inla, ought to be erected or established within the limits thereof. 15. That no free orovernment, or the blessings of liber- ty, can be preserved to any people, but by a firm adhe- rence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue, and by frequent recurrence to fundamental princi- ples. 16. That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and therefore all men are equally entitled to the free ex- ercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience, and that it is the mutual duty of all to practise Christian forbearance, love, and charity towards each other. CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA. WQ AN AMENDED CONSTITUTION, OR FORM OF GOVERNMENT FOR VIRGINIA. ADOPTED JANUARY 14tii, 1830. Article 1. The Declaration of Rights made on the 12th June, 1776, by the representatives of the good people of Virginia, assembled in full and free convention, which pertained to them and their posterity, as the basis and foundation of government; requiring in the opinion of this Convention no amendment, shall be prefixed to this Constitution, and have the same relation thereto as it had to the former Constitution of this commonwealth. Article 2. The legislative, executive, and judiciary departments shall be separate and distinct, so that neither exercise the powers properly belonging to either of the others ; nor shall any person exercise the powers of more than one of them at the same time, except that the justices of the county courts shall be eligible to either House of Assembly. Article 3. 1. The legislature shall be formed of two distinct branches, which together shall be a complete legislature, and shall be called the general Assembly of Virginia. 2. One of these shall be called the House of Delegates, and shall consist of one hundred and thirty-four members, to be chosen, annually, for and by the several counties, cities, towns, and boroughs, of the commonwealth: whereof thirty-one delegates shall be chosen for and by the twenty-six counties lying west of the Alleghany mountains : twenty-five, for and by the fourteen coun- ties lying between the Alleghany and Blue Ridge of mountains ; forty-two, for and by the twenty-nine counties lying east of the Blue Ridge of mountains and above tide- water, and thirty-six, for and by the counties, cities, towns, and boroughs lying upon tide-water, that is to say: Of the twenty-six counties lying west of the Alleghany, 116 CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA. the counties of Harrison, Montgomery, Monongalia, Ohio, and Washington, shall each elect two delegates; and the counties of Brooke, Cabell, Grayson, Greenbrier, Giles, Kanawha, Lee, Lewis, J.ogan, Mason, Monroe, Nicho- las, Pocahontas, Preston, Randolph, Russell, Scott, Taze- well, Tyler, Wood, and Wythe, shall each elect one delegate. Of the fourteen counties lying between the Alleghany and Blue Ridge, the counties of Frederick and Shenandoah, shall each elect three deleo-ates; the counties of Augusta, Berkely, Botetourt, Hampshire, Jefferson, Rockingham, and Rockbridge, shall each elect two dele- gates ; and the counties of Alleghany, Bath, Hardy, Mor- gan, and Pendleton, shall each elect one delegate. Of the twenty-nine counties lying east of the Blue Ridge and above tide-water, the county of Loudoun shall elect three delegates ; the counties of Albemarle, Bedford, Brunswick, Buckingham, Campbell, Culpe})per, Fauquier, Franklin, Halifax, Mecklenburg, and Pittsylvania, shall each elect twc delegates ; and the counties of Amelia, Amherst, Charlotte, Cumberland, Dinwiddle, Fluvanna, Goochland, Henry, Louisa, Lunenburg, Madison, Nelson, Nottoway, Orange, Patrick, Powhatan, and Prince Edward, shall each elect one delegate. And of the counties, cities, towns, and boroughs lying on tide- water, the counties of Accomack and Norfolk, shall each elect two delegates ; the counties of Caroline, Chesterfield, Essex, Fairfax, Greenesville, Gloucester, Hanover, Henrico, Isle of Wight, King and Queen, King William, King George, Nansemond, ^orth- umberland, Northampton, Princess Anne, Prince George, Prince William, Southampton, Spottsylvania, Stafford, Sussex, Surry, and Westmoreland, and the city of Rich- mond, the borough of Norfolk, and the town of Peters- burg, shall each elect one delegate ; the counties of Lancaster and Richmond shall together elect one dele- gate ; the counties of Matthews and Middlesex shall to- gether elect one delegate ; the counties of Elizabeth City and Warwick shall together elect one delegate ; the coun ties of James City and York, and the city of Williams burg, shall together elect one delegate ; and the counties of New Kent and Charles City shall together elect one delegate. CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA. 117 3. The other liouse of the general Assembly shall be railed the Senate, and shall consist of thirty-two mem- bers, of whom thirteen shall be chosen for and by the counties lying west of the Blue Ridge of mountains, and nineteen for and by the counties, cities, towns, and bo- roughs lying east thereof; and for the election of whom, the counties, cities, towns, and boroughs shall be divided into thirty-two districts, as hereinafter provided. Each county of the respective districts, at the time of the first election of its delecrate or delegates under this Constitu- tion, shall vote for one senator ; and the sheriffs or other officers holding the election for each county, city, town, or borough, within five days at farthest after the last county, city, town, or borough election in the district, shall meet at some convenient place, and from the polls so taken in their respective counties, cities, towns, or bo- roughs, return as a senator the person who shall have the greatest number of votes in the whole district. To keep up this assembly by rotation, the districts shall be equal- ly divided into four classes, and numbered by lot. At the end of one year after the first general election, the eight members oJected by the first division shall be dis- placed, and the vacancies thereby occasioned, supplied from such class or division by new election in the man- ner aforesaid. This rotation shall be applied to each di- vision according to its number, and continued in due or- der annually. And for the election of senators, the counties of Brooke, Ohio, and Tyler, shall form one dis- trict: the counties of Monongalia, Preston, and Randolph, shall form another district; the counties of Harrison, Lewis, and Wood, shall form another district : the coun- ties of Kanawha, Mason, Cabell, Logan, and Nicholas shall form another district : the counties of Greenbrier, Monroe, Giles, and Montgomery, shall form another district: the counties of Tazewell, Wythe, and Grayson, shall form another district: the counties of Washington, Russell, Scott, and Lee, shall form another district ; the counties of Berkeley, Morgan, and Hampshire, shall form another district: the counties of Frederick and Jef- ferson shall form another district ; the counties of She- 118 CONSTITUTIO.N Or VIRGIMA. nandoah and Hardy shall foriTi another district : the coun- ties of Rockinorham and Pendleton shall ibrm another district: the counties of Augusta and Rockbridge shall form another district: the counties of Alleghany, Bath, Pocahontas, and Botetourt, shall form another district: the counties of Loudoun and Fairfax shall form another district: the counties' of Fauquier and Prince William shall form another district : the counties of Stafford, Kintr George, Westmoreland, Richmond, Lancaster, and North- umberland, shall form another district: the counties of Culpeper, Madison, and Orange, shall form another dis- trict: the counties of Albemarle, Nelson, and Amherst, shall form another district: the counties of Fluvanna, Goocliland, Louisa, and Hanover, shall form another dis- trict: the counties of Spoltsyivania, Caroline, and Essex, shall form another district: the counties of Kins^ and Queen, King William, Glouceiter, Matthews, and Mid- dlesex, shall form another district : the counties of Acco- mack, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, and War- wick, and the city of Williamsburg, shall form ano- ther district: the counties of Charles City, James City, New Kent, and Henrico, and the city of Richmond, shall form another district : the counties of Bedford and Frank- lin shall form another district : the counties of Bucking- ham, Campbell, and Cumberland, shall form another district: the counties of Patrick, Henry, and Pittsylva- nia, shall form another district: the counties of Halifax, and Mecklenburg shall form another district : the coun- ties of Charlotte, Lunenburg, Nottoway, and Prince Ed- ward, shall form another district : the counties of Amelia, Powhattan, and Chesterfield, and the town of Petersburg, shall form another district: the counties of Brunswick, Dinwiddle, and Greenesville, shall form another district: the counties of the Isle of Wight, Prince George, South- ampton, Surry, and Sussex, shall form another district: and the counties of Norfolk, Nansemond, and Princess Anne, and the borough of Norfolk, shall form another district. 4. It shall he the duty of the legislature, to re-apportion, once in ten years, to wit: in the year 1841, and every ten years thereafter, the representation of the counties, cities, towns, and boroughs^, of this coramonwealih, in CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA. 119 both of the legislative bodies : Provided, however, that the number of delegates from the aforesaid o-reat districts, and the number of senators from the aforesaid two great divisions, respectively, shall neither be increased nor di- minished by such re-apportionment. And when a new county shall hereafter be created, or any city, town, or borough, not now entitled to separate representation in the House of Delegates, shall have so increased in popu- lation as to be entitled, in the opinion of the general As- sembly, to such representation, it shall be the duty of the general Asse-mbly to make provision by law for securing to the people of sucli new county, or such city, town, or borough, an adequate representation. And if the object cannot otherwise be eifected, it shall be compc^tent to the general Assembly to re-apportion the whole representa- tion of the great district containing such new county, or such city, town, or borough, within its limits ; which re- apportionment shall continue in force till the next regular decennial re-apportionment. 5. The general Assembly, after the year 1841, and at intervals thereafter of not less than ten years", shall have authority, two-thirds of each House concurring, to make re-apportionments of delegates and senators, throughout the commonwealth, so that the number of delegates shall not at any time exceed 150, nor of senators 36. 6. The whole number of members to which the State may at any time be entitled in the House of Representa- tives of the United States, shall be apportioned as nearly as may be, amongst tlie several counties, cities, bo- roughs, and towns of the State, according to their respec- tive numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of persons, including those bound to ser- vice for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifihs of all other persons. 7. Any person may be elected a senator who shall have attained to the age of thirty years, and shall be actually a resident and freeholder v/ithin the district, qualified by virtue of his freehold to vote for members of the general Assembly according to this Constitution. And any per- son may be elected a member of the House of Delegates, who shall have attained the age of tweni3'--five years, and 120 COiVSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA. shall be actually a resident and freeholder within the county, city, town, borough, or election district, qualified by virtue of his freehold to vote for members of the gene- ral Assembly according to this Constitution : Provided, that all persons holding lucrative offices, and ministers of the gospel, and priests of every denomination, shall be inca- pable of being elected members of either House of As- sembly. 8. The members of the Assembly shall receive for their services a compensation to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the public treasury : but no law increas- ing the compensation of the members shall take effect un- til the end of the next annual session after such law shall have been enacted. And no senator or delegate shall, during the term for which he shall have been elected, be appointed to any civil office of profit under the common- wealth, which shall have been created, or the emoluments of which shall have been increased, during such term, except such offices as may be filled by elections by the people. 9. The creneral Assembly shall meet once or oftener every year. Neither House, during the session of the legislature, shall, without the consent of the other, ad- journ for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting. A majority of each House shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and shall be authorized to compel the at- tendance of absent members, in such manner and under such penalties as each House may provide. And each House shall choose its own speaker, appoint its own officers, settle its own rules of proceeding, and di- rect writs of election for supplying intermediate vacancies. But if vacancies shall occur by death or resignation, du- ring the recess of the general Assembly, such writs may be issued by the Governor, under such regulations as may be prescribed by law. Each House shall judge of the election, qualification, and returns of its members ; may punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member, but not a second time for the same offence. CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA. 12 1 10. All laws shall originate in the House of Delegates, to be approved or rejected by the Senate, or to be amended with the consent of the House of Delegates. 11. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not in any case be suspended. The legislature shall not pass any bill of attainder ; or any ex post facto law ; or any law impairing the obligation of contracts ; or any law vx^hereby private property shall be taken for public uses, without just compensation : or any law abridging the freedom of speech or of the press. No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever; nor shall any man be en- forced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, or otherwise suffer, on account of his religious opinions or belief; but all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and the same shall in no wise affect, diminish or enlarge their civil capacities. And the legislature shall not prescribe any religious test whatever ; nor confer any peculiar privileges or advantages on any one sect or de- nomination ; nor pass any law requiring or authorizing any religious society, or the people of any district within tills commonwealth, to levy on themselves or others any tax for the erection or repair of any house for public wor- ship, or for the support of any church or ministry ; but it shall be left free to every person to select his religious instructor, and make for his support such private contract as he shall please. 12. The legislature may provide by law that no per- son shall be capable of holding or being elected to any post of profit, trust, or emolument, civil or military, le- gislative, executive, or judicial, under the government of this commonwealth, who shall hereafter tight a duel, or send or accept a challenge to fight a duel, the probable issue of which may be the death of the challenger or challenged, or who shall be a second to either party, or shall in any manner aid or assist in such duel, or shall be knowingly the bearer of such challenge or acceptance ; but no person shall be so disqualified by reason of his ha- ving heretofore fought such duel, or sent or accepted such challenge, or been a second in such dud, or bearer of such challenge or acceptance. ]22 CONSTITUTION OF VIRGimA. 13. The Governor, the judj^es of the court of appeals and superior courts, and all others offending against thc- State, either by maladministration, corruption, neglect oi duty, or any other high crime or misdemeanor, shall be impeachable by the House of Delegates ; such impeach- ment to be prosecuted before the Senate, which shall have the sole power to try all impeacliments. When sitting for that purpose, the Senate shall be on oath or affirma- tion: and no person shall be convicted without tlie con- currence of two-thirds of the members present. Judg- ment, in cases of impeachment, shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualihcation to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the commonwoalih ; but the party convicted shall neverthe- less be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment according to law. 14. Every white male citizen of the commonwealth, resident therein, aged twenty-one years and upwards, be- ing qualified to exercise the right of suffrage according to the former Constitution and laws ; and every such citizen, being possessed, or whose tenant for years, at will or at sufferance, is possessed, of an estate or freehold in land of the value of twenty-five dollars, and so assessed to be if any assessment thereof be required by law ; and every such citizen, being possessed as tenant in common, joint tenant or partner, of an interest in or share of land, and having an estate of freehold therein, such interest or share being of the value of twenty-five dollars, and so as- sessed to be if any assessment thereof be required bylaw; and every such citizen being entitled to a reversion or vested remainder in fee, expectant on an estate for life or lives, in land of the value of fifty dollars, and so assessed to be if any assessment thereof be required by law ; (each and every such citizen, unless his title shall have come to him by descent, devise, marriage, or marriage settlement, having been so possessed or entitled for six months;) and every such citizen, who shall own and be himself in actual occupation of a lease-hold estate, with the evidence of title recorded two months before he shall offer to vote, of a term originally not less than five years, of the annu- al value or rent of twenty dollars ; and every such citi- CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA. 123 zen, who for twelve months next preceding has been a housekeeper and head of a family within the county, city, town, borough, or election district where he may ofler to vote, and shall have been assessed with a part of the re- venue of the commonwealth within the preceding year, and actually paid the same — and no other persons — shall be qualified to vote for members of the general Assembly, in the county, city, town, or borough, respectively, wherein such land shall lie, or such housekeeper and head of a family shall live. And in case of two or more ten- ants in common, joint tenants, or parceners, in posses- sion, reversion, or remainder, having interest in land, the value whereof shall be insufficient to entitle them all to vote, they shall together have as many votes as the value of the land shall entitle them to ; and the legislature shall by law provide the mode in which their vote or votes shall in such case be given : Provided, nevertlieless, that the right of suffrage shall not be exercised by any person of unsound mind, or who shall be a pauper, or a non-com- missioned officer, soldier, seaman, or marine, in the ser- vice of the United States, or by any person convicted of any infamous offence. 15. In all elections in this commonwealth to any office or place of trust, honor, or profit, the votes shall be given openly, or viva voce, and not by ballot. Article 4. 1. The chief executive power of this commonwealth shall be vested in a Governor, to be elected by the joint vote of the two Houses of the general Assembly. He shall hold his office during the term of three years, *o commence on the first day of January next succeeding his election, or on such other day as may from time to time be prescribed by law ; and he shall be ineligible to that office for three years next after his term of service shall have expired. 2. No person shall be eligible to the office of Gover- nor, unless he shall have attained the age of thirty years, shall be a native citizen of the United States, or shall have been a citizen thereof at the adoption of the federal 124 COXSTITLTION Of VlilGJXIA. ConstitiUioii, and shall have been a citizen of this com- monwealth for live years next preceding- his election. 3. The Governor shall receive for his services a com- pensation to be fixed by law, which shall be neither in- creased nor diminished during his continuance in office. 4. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully execu- ted, shall communicate to the legislature, at every session, the condition of the commonwealth, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he may deem expe- dient. He shall be commander-in-chief of the land and naval forces of the State. He shall have power to em- body the militia, when, in his opinion, the public safety shall require it; to convene the legislature, on application of a majority of the members of the House of Deleg-ates, or when, in his opinion, the interest of the commonwealth may require it; to grant reprieves and pardons, except where the prosecution shall have been carried on by the House of Delegates, or the law shall otherwise particularly direct; to conduct, either in person or in such manner as shall be prescribed by law, all intercourse with other and foreign states ; and during the recess of the legislature, to fill, pro te7npore, all vacancies in those offices, which it may be the duty of the legislature to fill permanently : Pro- vided, that his appointments to such vacancies shall be by commissions to expire at the end of the next succeed- ing session of the general Assembly. 5. There shall be a Council of State, to consist of three members, any one or more of whom may act. They shall be elected by joint vote of both Houses of the gene- ral Assembly, and remain in office three years. But of those first elected, one, to be designated by lot, shall re- main in office one year only, and one other, to be desig- nated in like manner, shall remain in office for two years only. Vacancies occurring by expiration of the term of service, or otherwise, shall be supplied by elections made in like manner. The Governor shall, before he exer- cises any discretionary power conferred on him by the Constitution and laws, require the advice of the Council of State, which advice shall be registered in books kept for that purpose, signed by the members present and con- senting thereto, and laid before the general Assembly CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA. 125 when called for by them. The council shall appoint their own clerk, who shall take an oath to keep secret such matters as he shall be ordered by the board to conceal. The senior counsellor shall be Lieutenant-Governor, and in case of the death, resignation, inability, or absence of the Governor from the seat of government, shall act as Governor. 6. The manner of appointing militia officers shall be provided for by law ; but no officer below the rank of a brigadier-general shall be appointed by the general As- sembly. 7. Commissions and grants shall run in the name of the commonwealth of Virginia, and bear teste by the Go- vernor, with the seal of the commonwealth annexed. Article 5. 1. The judicial power, shall be vested in a supreme court of appeals, in such superior courts as the legislature may from time to time ordain and establish, and the judges thereof, in the county courts, and in justices of the peace. The legislature may also vest such jurisdic- tion as shall be deemed necessary in corporation courts ; and in the magistrates who may belong to the corporate body. The jurisdiction of these tribunals, and of the judges thereof, shall be regulated by law. The judges of the supreme court of appeals and of the superior courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior, or until removed in the manner prescribed in this Constitu- tion ; and shall, at the same time, hold no other office, appointment, or public trust ; and the acceptance thereof by either of them shall vacate his judicial office. 2. No law abolishing any court shall be construed to deprive a judge thereof of his office, unless two-thirds of the members of each House present concur in the passing thereof; but the legislature may assign other judicial du- ties to the indoles of courts abolished bv anv law enacted by less than two-thirds of the members of each House present. 3. The present judges of the supreme court of appeals, of the general court, and of the supreme courts of chance- n* 126 CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA. ry, shall remain in office unlit the termination of the ses- sion of the first Ie