THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES THE CAP1TOJ. A COMPILATION MESSAGES AND PAPERS PRESIDENTS 1789-1897 PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY OF CONGRESS JAMES D. RICHARDSON A REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE STATE OF TENNESSEE VOLUME WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1896 College Library J" Resolution Authorizing the Compilation JOINT COMMITTEE ON PRINTING, UNITED STATES SENATE, Washing-ton, D. C., August 20, 1894.. Hon. JAMES D. RICHARDSON, House of Representatives. SIR: I am directed by Senator GORMAN, the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Printing, to transmit to you the accompanying resolution, adopted by the Joint Committee this day and entered upon its journal. Very respectfully, F. M. Cox, Clerk Joint Committee on Printing. Whereas Congress has passed the following resolution, to wit: Resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring, That there be printed and bound in cloth six thousand copies of the complete compilation of all the annual, special, and veto messages, proclamations, and inaugural addresses of the Presidents of the United States from 1789 to 1894,* inclusive, two thousand copies for the use of the Senate and four thousand copies for the use of the House. The work shall be performed under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing: Therefore, resolved by the Joint Committee on Printing, That Hon. JAMES D. RICHARDSON be, and he is hereby, authorized and requested to take charge of the work contemplated in said resolution, and prepare, compile, and edit same. He is given full power and discretion to do this work for and on behalf of this Committee. * Extended by resolution to March 3; 1897. Ill 870306 Prefatory Note In compliance with the authorization of the Joint Committee on Printing, I have undertaken this compilation. The messages of the several Presidents of the United States annual, veto, and special are among the most interesting, instructive, and val- uable contributions to the public literature of our Republic. They dis- cuss from the loftiest standpoint nearly all the great questions of national policy and many subjects of minor interest which have engaged the atten- tion of the people from the beginning of our history, and so constitute important and often vital links in their progressive development. The proclamations, also, contain matter and sentiment no less elevating, inter- esting, and important. They inspire to the highest and most exalted degree the patriotic fervor and love of country in the hearts of the people. It is believed that legislators and other public men, students of our national history, and many others will hail with satisfaction the com- pilation and publication of these messages and proclamations in such compact form as will render them easily accessible and of ready refer- ence. The work can not fail to be exceedingly convenient and useful to all who have occasion to consult these documents. The Government has never heretofore authorized a like publication. In executing the commission with which I have been charged I have sought to bring together in the several volumes of the series all Presi- dential proclamations, addresses, messages, and communications to Con- gress excepting those nominating persons to office and those which simply transmit treaties, and reports of heads of Departments which con- tain no recommendation from the Executive. The utmost effort has been made to render the compilation accurate and exhaustive. Although not required by the terms of the resolution authorizing the compilation, it has been deemed wise and wholly consistent with its pur- pose to incorporate in the first volume authentic copies of the Declaration v VI Messages and Papers of the Presidents of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution of the United States, together with steel engravings of the Capitol, the Executive Mansion, and of the historical painting the "Signing of the Declaration of Independence. ' ' Steel portraits of the Presidents will be inserted each in its appropriate place. The compilation has not been brought even to its present stage with- out much lalx>r and close application, and the end is far from view; but if it shall prove satisfactory to Congress and the country, I will feel com- pensated for my time and effort. JAMES D. RICHARDSON. WASHINGTON, D. C., February 22 , 1896. Contents of Volume I Page. RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE COMPILATION in PREFATORY NOTE v-vi DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 1-6 ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION 7-18 THE CONSTITUTION 19-38 GEORGE WASHINGTON (FiRSTTERM), 1789-1793 PORTRAIT 40 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 41 PROCEEDINGS INITIATORY TO THE FIRST PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION. . 42-51 FIRST INAUGURAL ADDRESS 51-54 ADDRESS OF THE SENATE IN REPLY 54-55 REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT 55 ADDRESS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN REPLY 56-57 REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT 57 SPECIAL MESSAGES 57-63 PROCLAMATION 64 FIRST ANNUAL ADDRESS 65-67 ADDRESS OF THE SENATE IN REPLY 67-68 REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT. 6S ADDRESS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN REPLY 69-70 REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT 70 SPECIAL MESSAGES 70-80 PROCLAMATIONS 80-81 SECOND ANNUAL ADDRESS 81-84 ADDRESS OF THE SENATE IN REPLY 84-85 REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT 85 ADDRESS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN REPLY 85-87 REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT 87 SPECIAL MESSAGES 87-99 PROCLAMATIONS 100-103 THIRD ANNUAL ADDRESS 103-108 ADDRESS OF THE SENATE IN REPLY 108-109 REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT 109 ADDRESS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN REPLY 109-110 REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT no SPECIAL MESSAGES 110-123 VETO MESSAGE 124 PROCLAMATION 124-125 vir Viii Messages and Papers of the Presidents Page. FOURTH ANNUAL ADDRESS 125-1 29 ADDRESS OF THE SENATE IN REPLY 130 REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT 131 ADDRESS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN REPLY 131-132 REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT 132 SPECIAL MESSAGES 133-137 PROCLAMATIONS 137-138 GEORGE WASHINGTON (SECOND TERM), 1793-1797 SECOND INAUGURAL ADDRESS 138 FIFTH ANNUAL ADDRESS 138-142 ADDRESS OF THE SENATE IN REPLY 142-143 REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT 143 ADDRESS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN REPLY 144-145 REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT 145 SPECIAL MESSAGES 145-156 PROCLAMATIONS 156-162 SIXTH ANNUAL ADDRESS 162-168 ADDRESS OF THE SENATE IN REPLY 168-169 REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT 169-170 ADDRESS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN REPLY 170-171 REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT 171-172 SPECIAL MESSAGES 172-179 PROCLAMATIONS 179-181 SEVENTH ANNUAL ADDRESS 182-186 ADDRESS OF THE SENATE IN REPLY 186-187 REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT 187 ADDRESS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN REPLY 187-188 REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT : 188-189 SPECIAL MESSAGES 189-198 EIGHTH ANNUAL ADDRESS 199-204 ADDRESS OF THE SENATE IN REPLY 204-206 REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT 207 ADDRESS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN REPLY 207-209 REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT 209-210 SPECIAL MESSAGES .' 210-21 1 VETO MESSAGE 211-212 PROCLAMATION .' 212 FAREWELL ADDRESS 213-224 JOHN ADAMS, 1797-1801 PORTRAIT 226 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 227 INAUGURAL ADDRESS 228-232 PROCLAMATION 232-233 SPECIAL SESSION MESSAGE 233-239 ADDRESS OF THE SENATE IN REPLY 239-242 REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT 242 ADDRESS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN REPLY 242-244 REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT 244-245 SPECIAL MESSAGES 245-248 PROCLAMATION 249 Contents of Volume I IX Page. FIRST ANNUAL ADDRESS : 250-254 ADDRESS OF THE SENATE IN REPLY 254-256 REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT 256 ADDRESS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN REPLY 257-258 REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT 258 SPECIAL MESSAGES 259-268 PROCLAMATIONS 268-271 SECOND ANNUAL ADDRESS 271-275 ADDRESS OF THE SENATE IN REPLY 275-277 REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT 277 ADDRESS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN REPLY 277-279 REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT 280 SPECIAL MESSAGES 280-284 PROCLAMATIONS 284-289 THIRD ANNUAL ADDRESS 289-292 ADDRESS OF THE SENATE IN REPLY 292-293 REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT 293 ADDRESS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN REPLY 293-296 REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT 296-297 SPECIAL MESSAGES 297-302 PROCLAMATIONS 302-305 FOURTH ANNUAL ADDRESS 305-308 ADDRESS OF THE SENATE IN REPLY 308-309 REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT 309-310 ADDRESS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN REPLY 310-312 REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT 312-313 SPECIAL MESSAGES 313-315 PROCLAMATION 316 THOMAS JEFFERSON (PiRST TERM), 1801-1805 PORTRAIT 318 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 319-320 NOTIFICATION OF ELECTION 320 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT ELECT (fixing time and place for taking oath of office) 321 FIRST INAUGURAL ADDRESS 321-324 PROCLAMATION ; 324-325 NOTIFICATION TO CONGRESS OF DISCONTINUANCE OF ADDRESSES 325 FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE 326-332 SPECIAL MESSAGES 332-342 SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE 342-346 SPECIAL MESSAGES 346-357 PROCLAMATION 357 THIRD ANNUAL MESSAGE 357-362 SPECIAL MESSAGES 362-368 PROCLAMATION 369 FOURTH ANNUAL MESSAGE . 369-373 SPECIAL MESSAGES 373-378 X Messages and Papers of the Presidents THOMAS JEFFERSON (SECOND TERM), 1805-1809 Page. SECOND I XAUGURAI. ADDRESS 378-382 FIFTH AXXTAI. MESSAGE 382-388 SPECIAL MESSAGES 388-402 PROCLAMATIONS 402-405 SIXTH ANNUAL MESSAGE 405-410 SPECIAL MESSAGES 41 1-421 PROCLAMATIONS 422-425 SEVENTH ANNUAL MESSAGE 425-430 SPECIAL MESSAGES 430-450 PROCLAMATION 450-451 EIGHTH ANNUAL MESSAGE 45 1-456 SPECIAL MESSAGES 457-461 PROCLAMATION 461 JAMES MADISON (FiRsrTERM), 1809-1813 PORTRAIT 464 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 465 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT ELECT (fixing time and place for taking oath of office) 466 FIRST INAUGURAL ADDRESS 466-468 SPECIAL SESSION MESSAGE 468-471 SPECIAL MESSAGES 471-472 PROCLAMATIONS 472-473 FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE - 473-477 SPECIAL MESSAGES 477-480 PROCLAMATIONS 480-482 SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE < 482-487 SPECIAL MESSAGES 487-489 VETO MESSAGES 489-490 PROCLAMATION 491 THIRD ANNUAL MESSAGE 491-496 SPECIAL MESSAGES 496-5 10 VETO MESSAGE 511 PROCLAMATIONS 512-514 FOURTH ANNUAL MESSAGE 514-521 SPECIAL MESSAGES 5 2I ~5 2 3 VETO MESSAGE 523 JAMES MADISON (SECOND TERM), 1813-1817 SECOND INAUGURAL ADDRESS 524-526 SPECIAL SESSION MESSAGE 526-530 SPECIAL MESSAGES 53-53 2 PROCLAMATION 532-533 FIFTH ANNUAL MESSAGE 534-54 SPECIAL MESSAGES 540-543 PROCLAMATIONS 543-546 Contents of Volume I xi Page. SPECIAL MESSAGE (notification that meeting place for Congress had provided ) ............................................................ 546 SIXTH ANNUAL MESSAGE .............................................. 547-55 1 SPECIAL MESSAGES ................................... , ................ 551-555 VETO MESSAGE ....................................................... 555-557 PROCLAMATIONS ....................................................... 558-562 SEVENTH ANNUAL MESSAGE ............... ............................ 562-569 SPECIAL MESSAGES .................................................... 569-572 PROCLAMATIONS ....................................................... 572-573 EIGHTH ANNUAL MESSAGE ............................................ 573-580 SPECIAL MESSAGES ............................... . ................... 580-584 VETO MESSAGE ........................................................ 584-585 PROCLAMATION ........................................................ 586 ERRATA ............................................................... 587 Illustrations Page. UNITED STATES CAPITOL Frontispiece. EXECUTIVE MANSION n SIGNING OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 2 GEORGE WASHINGTON 40 JOHN ADAMS 226 THOMAS JEFFERSON 318 JAMES MADISON 464 xm Declaration of Independence - t July 4, 1776 Declaration of Independence IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776. T\ & ^4 e unanimous Itatxnrttai *f % tf n rt " ni ^ !tate$0f Jraerira, 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, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happi- ness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design 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 these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over NOTE. The words " Declaration of Independence " do not appear on the original. 4 Messages and Papers of the Presidents 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 immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation 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 relinquish 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 unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. He has dissolved en Represtative 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 be elected; whereby the Legis- lative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People 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 endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refus- ing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands. He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for estab- lishing Judiciary powers. He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their sub- stance. He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures. He has affected to render the Military 7 independent of and superior to the Civil power. He has com- bined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our consti- tution, 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 punish- ment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants 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 benefits of Trial by Jury: For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences: For abolishing the free System Declaration of Independence 5 of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies: For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Gov- ernments: For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring them- selves 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 compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circum- stances of Cruelty & 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. He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, 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 only answered .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 attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settle- ment here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our con- nections and correspondence They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends. , therefore, the Representatives of the tmitetf States Xrf , in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly pub- Messages and Papers of the Presidents lish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be ^JCRt and Uttdjepjettdettt States; that they are Absolved 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 Com- merce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent 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. JOSIAH BARTLETT W M WHIPPLE SAM L ADAMS JOHN ADAMS ROB T TREAT PAINE ELBRIDGE GERRY STEP. HOPKINS WILLIAM ELLERY ROGER SHERMAN SAM 511 * HUNTINGTON W M WILLIAMS OLIVER WOLCOTT MATTHEW THORNTON W M FLOYD PHIL. LIVINGSTON FRAN S LEWIS LEWIS MORRIS RICH D STOCKTON JN WITHERSPOON FRA S HOPKINSON JOHN HART ABRA CLARK ROB T MORRIS BENJAMIN RUSH BENJ A FRANKLIN JOHN MORTON GEO CLYMER JA S SMITH. JOHN HANCOCK GEO. TAYLOR JAMES WILSON GEO. Ross C^SSAR RODNEY GEO READ THO M:KEAN SAMUEL CHASE W M PACA THO S STONE CHARLES CARROLL of Carrollton GEORGE WYTHE RICHARD HENRY LEE. TH JEFFERSON BENJ A HARRISON THO S NELSON jr. FRANCIS LIGHTFOOT LEE CARTER BRAXTON W M HOOPER JOSEPH HEWES, JOHN PENN EDWARD RUTLEDGE. THO S HEYWARD Jun r THOMAS LYNCH Jun r ARTHUR MIDDLETON BUTTON GWINNETT LYMAN HALL GEO WALTON. Articles of Confederation Articles of Confederation ^0 all to Ittftom these Presents shall come, we the undersigned Dele- gates of the States affixed to our Names send greeting. Whereas the Delegates of the United States of America in Congress assembled did on the fifteenth day of November in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy seven, and in the Second Year of the Inde- pendence of America agree to certain articles of Confederation and per- petual Union between the States of Newhampshire, Massachusetts-bay, Rhodeisland and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North-Carolina, South- Carolina and Georgia in the Words following, viz. "Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the states of Newhamp- shire, Massachusetts-bay, Rhodeisland and Providence Plantations, Con- necticut, New- York, New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North-Carolina, South-Carolina and Georgia. Article I. The Stile of this confederacy shall be " The United States of America." Article II. Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom and independ- ence, and every Power, Jurisdiction and right, which is not by this confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled. Article III. The said states hereby severally enter into a firm league of friendship with each other, for their common defence, the security of their Liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to assist each other, against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretence whatsoever. NOTE. The original is indorsed: Act of Confederation of The United States of America. 9 10 Messages and Papers of the Presidents Article IV. The better to secure and perpetuate mutual friendship and intercourse among the people of the different states in this union, the free inhabitants of each of these states, paupers, vagabonds and fugi- tives from Justice excepted, shall be entitled to all privileges and immu- nities of free citizens in the several states; and the people of each state shall have free ingress and regress to and from any other state, and shall enjoy therein all the privileges of trade and commerce, subject to the same duties, impositions and restrictions as the inhabitants thereof respectively, provided that such restriction shall not extend so far as to prevent the removal of property imported into any state, to any other state of which the Owner is an inhabitant; provided also that no impo- sition, duties or restriction shall be laid by any state, on the property of the united states, or either of them. If any Person guilty of, or charged with treason, felony, or other high misdemeanor in any state, shall flee from Justice, and be found in any of the united states, he shall upon demand of the Governor or executive power, of the state from which he fled, be delivered up and removed to the state having jurisdiction of his offence. Full faith and credit shall be given in each of these states to the records, acts and judicial proceedings of the courts and magistrates of every other state. Article V. For the more convenient management of the general inter- ests of the united states, delegates shall be annually appointed in such manner as the legislature of each state shall direct, to meet in Congress on the first Monday in November, in every year, with a power reserved to each state, to recal its delegates, or any of them, at any time within the year, and to send others in their stead, for the remainder of the Year. No state shall be represented in Congress by less than two, nor by more than seven Members; and no person shall be capable of being a delegate for more than three years in any term of six years; nor shall any person, being a delegate, be capable of holding any office under the united states, for which he, or another for his benefit receives any salary, fees or emolument of any kind. Each state shall maintain its own delegates in a meeting of the states, and while they act as members of the committee of the states. In determining questions in the united states, in Congress assembled, each state shall have one vote. Articles of Confederation II Freedom of speech and debate in Congress shall not be impeached or questioned in any Court, or place out of Congress, and the members of congress shall be protected in their persons from arrests and imprison- ments, during the time of their going to and from, and attendance on congress, except for treason, felony, or breach of the peace. Article VI. No state without the Consent of the united states in congress assembled, shall send any embassy to, or receive any embassy from, or enter into any conferrence, agreement, alliance or treaty with any King prince or state; nor shall any person holding any office of profit or trust under the united states, or any of them, accept of any present, emolument, office or title of any kind whatever from any king, prince or foreign state; nor shall the united states in congress assem- bled, or any of them, grant any title of nobility. No two or more states shall enter into any treaty, confederation or alliance whatever between them, without the consent of the united states in congress assembled, specifying accurately the purposes for which the same is to be entered into, and how long it shall continue. No state shall lay any imposts or duties, which may interfere with any stipulations in treaties, entered into by the united states in congress assembled, with any king, prince or state, in pursuance of any treaties already proposed by congress, to the courts of France and Spain. No vessels of war shall be kept up in time of peace by any state, except such number only, as shall be deemed necessary by the united states in congress assembled, for the defence of such state, or its trade; nor shall any body of forces be kept up by any state, in time of peace, except such number only, as in the judgment of the united states, in congress assembled, shall be deemed requisite to garrison the forts necessary for the defence of such state; but every state shall always keep up a well regulated and disciplined militia, sufficiently armed and accoutred, and shall provide and constantly have ready for use, in public stores, a due number of field pieces and tents, and a proper quantity of arms, ammu- nition and camp equipage. No state shall engage in any war without the consent of the united states in congress assembled, unless such state be actually invaded by enemies, or shall have received certain advice of a resolution being formed by some nation of Indians to invade such state, and the danger is so imminent as not to admit of a delay, till the united states in con- gress assembled can be consulted: nor shall any state grant commis- 12 Messages and Papers of the Presidents sions to any ships or vessels of war, nor letters of marque or reprisal, except it be after a declaration of war by the united states in congress assembled, and then only against the kingdom or state and the subjects thereof, against which war has been so declared, and under such regula- tions as shall be established by the united states in congress assembled, unless such state be infested by pirates, in which case vessels of war may be fitted out for that occasion, and kept so long as the danger shall continue, or until the united states in congress assembled shall deter- mine otherwise. Article VII. When land-forces are raised by any state for the common defence, all officers of or under the rank of colonel, shall be appointed by the legislature of each state respectively by whom such forces shall be raised, or in such manner as such state shall direct, and all vacancies shall be filled up by the state which first made the appointment. Article VIII. All charges of war, and all other expences that shall be incurred for the common defence or general welfare, and allowed by the united states in congress assembled, shall be defrayed out of a com- mon treasury, which shall be supplied by the several states, in proportion to the value of all land within each state, granted to or surveyed for any Person, as such land and the buildings and improvements thereon shall be estimated according to such mode as the united states in congress assembled, shall from time to time direct and appoint. The taxes for paying that proportion shall be laid and levied by the authority and direction of the legislatures of the several states within the time agreed upon by the united states in congress assembled. Article IX. The united states in congress assembled, shall have the sole and exclusive right and power of determining on peace and war, except in the cases mentioned in the sixth article of sending and receiving ambassadors entering into treaties and alliances, provided that no treaty of commerce shall be made whereby the legislative power of the respective states shall be restrained from imposing such imposts and duties on foreigners, as their own people are subjected to, or from prohibiting the exportation or importation of any species of goods or commodities whatsoever of establishing rules for deciding in all cases, what captures on land or water shall be legal, and in what manner prizes taken by land or naval forces in the service of the united states shall be divided or appropriated. of granting letters of marque and reprisal in times of peace appointing courts for the trial of piracies Articles of Confederation 13 and felonies committed on the high seas and establishing courts for receiving and determining finally appeals in all cases of captures, pro- vided that no member of congress shall be appointed a judge of any of the said courts. The united states in congress assembled shall also be the last resort on appeal in all disputes and differences now subsisting or that hereafter may arise between two or more states concerning boundary, jurisdiction or any other cause whatever; which authority shall always be exercised in the manner following. Whenever the legislative or executive authority or lawful agent of any state in controversy with another shall present a petition to congress, stating the matter in question and praying for a hearing, notice thereof shall be given by order of congress to the legis- lative or executive authority of the other state in controversy, and a day assigned for the appearance of the parties by their lawful agents, who shall then be directed to appoint by joint consent, commissioners or judges to constitute a court for hearing and determining the matter in question: but if they cannot agree, congress shall name three persons out of each of the united states, and from the list of such persons each party shall alternately strike out one, the petitioners beginning, until the number shall be reduced to thirteen; and from that number not less than seven, nor more than nine names as congress shall direct, shall in the presence of congress be drawn out by lot, and the persons whose names shall be so drawn or any five of them, shall be commissioners or judges, to hear and finally determine the controversy, so always as a major part of the judges who shall hear the cause shall agree in the determination: and if either party shall neglect to attend at the day appointed, without shewing reasons, which congress shall judge sufficient, or being present shall refuse to strike, the congress shall proceed to nominate three persons out of each state, and the secretary of congress shall strike in behalf of such party absent or refusing; and the judgment and sentence of the court to be appointed, in the manner before prescribed, shall be final and conclusive; and if any of the parties shall refuse to submit to the authority of such court, or to appear or defend their claim or cause, the court shall nevertheless proceed to pronounce sentence, or judgment, which shall in like manner be final and decisive, the judgment or sentence and other proceedings being in either case transmitted to congress, and lodged among the acts of congress for the securitj 7 of the parties concerned: provided that every commissioner, before he sits in judgment, shall take an oath to be administred by one of the judges of 14 Messages and Papers of the Presidents the supreme or superior court of the state, where the cause shall be tried, "well and truly to hear and determine the matter in question, according to the best of his judgment, without favour, affection or hope of reward:" provided also that no state shall be deprived of territory for the benefit of the united states. All controversies concerning the private right of soil claimed under different grants of two or more states, whose jurisdictions as they may respect such lands, and the states which passed such grants are adjusted, the said grants or either of them being at the same time claimed to have originated antecedent to such settlement of jurisdiction, shall on the petition of either party to the congress of the united states, be finally determined as near as may be in the same manner as is before prescribed for deciding disputes respecting territorial jurisdiction between different states. The united states in congress assembled shall also have the sole and exclusive right and power of regulating the alloy and value of coin struck by their own authority, or by that of the respective states fixing the standard of weights and measures throughout the united states. regu- lating the trade and managing all affairs with the Indians, not members of any of the states, provided that the legislative right of any state within its own limits be not infringed or violated establishing and regulating post-offices from one state to another, throughout all the united states, and exacting such postage on the papers passing thro' the same as may be requisite to defray the expences of the said office appointing all officers of the land forces, in the service of the united states, excepting regimental officers. appointing all the officers of the naval forces, and commissioning all officers whatever in the service of the united states making rules for the government and regulation of the said land and naval forces, and directing their operations. The united states in congress assembled shall have authority to appoint a committee, to sit in the recess of congress, to be denominated "A Committee of the States," and to consist of one delegate from each state; and to appoint such other committees and civil officers as may be necessary for managing the general affairs of the united states under their direction to appoint one of their number to preside, provided that no person be allowed to serve in the office of president more than one year in any term of three years; to ascertain the necessary sums of Money to be raised for the service of the united states, and to appro- priate and apply the same for defraying the public expences to borrow Articles of Confederation 15 money, or emit bills on the credit of the united states, transmitting every half year to the respective states an account of the sums of money so borrowed or emitted, to build and equip a navy to agree upon the number of land forces, and to make requisitions from each state for its quota, in proportion to the number of white inhabitants in such state; which requisition shall be binding, and thereupon the legislature of each state shall appoint the regimental officers, raise the men and cloath, arm and equip them in a soldier like manner, at the expence of the united states, and the officers and men so cloathed, armed and equipped shall march to the place appointed, and within the time agreed on by the united states in congress assembled: But if the united states in congress assembled shall, on consideration of circumstances judge proper that any state should not raise men, or should raise a smaller number than its quota, and that any other state should raise a greater number of men than the quota thereof, such extra number shall be raised, officered, cloathed, armed and equipped in the same manner as the quota of such state, unless the legislature of such state shall judge that such extra number cannot be safely spared out of the same, in which case they shall raise officer, cloath, arm and equip as many of such extra num- ber as they judge can be safely spared. And the officers and men so cloathed, armed and equipped, shall march to the place appointed, and within the time agreed on by the united states in congress assembled. The united states in congress assembled shall never engage in a war, nor grant letters of marque and reprisal in time of peace, nor enter into any treaties or alliances, nor coin money, nor regulate the value thereof, nor ascertain the sums and expences necessary for the defence and welfare of the united states, or any of them, nor emit bills, nor borrow money on the credit of the united states, nor appropriate money, nor agree upon the number of vessels of war, to be built or purchased, or the number of land or sea forces to be raised, nor appoint a commander in chief of the army or navy, unless nine states assent to the same: nor shall a question on any other point, except for adjourning from day to day be determined, unless by the votes of a majority of the united states in congress assembled. The congress of the united states shall have power to adjourn to any time within the year, and to any place within the united states, so that no period of adjournment be for a longer duration than the space of six Months, and shall publish the Journal of their proceedings monthly, except such parts thereof relating to treaties, alliances or military 1 6 Messages and Papers of the Presidents operations, as in their judgment require secresy; and the yeas and nays of the delegates of each state on any question shall be entered on the Journal, when it is desired by any delegate; and the delegates of a state, or any of them, at his or their request shall be furnished with a tran- script of the said Journal, except such parts as are above excepted, to lay before the legislatures of the several states. Article X. The committee of the states, or any nine of them, shall be authorised to execute, in the recess of congress, such of the powers of congress as the united states in congress assembled, by the consent of nine states, shall from time to time think expedient to vest them with; provided that no power be delegated to the said committee, for the exercise of which, by the articles of confederation, the voice of nine states in the congress of the united states assembled is requisite. Article XI. Canada acceding to this confederation, and joining in the measures of the united states, shall be admitted into, and entitled to all the advantages of this union: but no other colony shall be admitted into the same, unless such admission be agreed to by nine states. Article XII. All bills of credit emitted, monies borrowed and debts contracted by, or under the authority of congress, before the assembling of the united states, in pursuance of the present confederation, shall be deemed and considered as a charge against the united states, for payment and satisfaction whereof the said united states, and the public faith are hereby solemnly pledged. Article XIII. Every state shall abide by the determinations of the united states in congress assembled, on all questions which by this con- federation are submitted to them. And the Articles of this confederation shall be inviolably observed by every state, and the union shall be per- petual; nor shall any alteration at any time hereafter be made in any of them; unless such alteration be agreed to in a congress of the united states, and be aftenvards confirmed by the legislatures of every state. ^tttd WihtKKZS it hath pleased the Great Governor of the World to incline the hearts of the legislatures we respectively represent in con- gress, to approve of, and to authorize us to ratify the said articles of confederation and perpetual union. ^noiU J$K that we the under-signed delegates, by virtue of the power and authority to us given for that pur- pose, do by these presents, in the name and in behalf of our respective constituents, fully and entirely ratify and confirm each and every of the said articles of confederation and perpetual union, and all and singular the matters and things therein contained: And we do further solemnly Articles of Confederation 17 plight and engage the faith of our respective constituents, that they shall abide by the determinations of the united states in congress assembled, on all questions, which by the said confederation are submitted to them. And that the articles thereof shall be inviolably observed by the states we repectively represent, and that the union shall be perpetual. In Wit- ness whereof we have hereunto set our hands in Congress. Done at Philadelphia in the state of Pennsylvania the ninth Day of July in the Year of our lyord one Thousand seven Hundred and Seventy-eight, and in the third year of the independence of America. JOSIAH BARTLETT JOHN WENTWORTH Jun r August 8 th 1778 JOHN HANCOCK SAMUEL ADAMS ELBRIDGE GERRY FRANCIS DANA JAMES LOVELL SAMUEL HOLTEN WILLIAM ELLERY HENRY MARCHAN? JOHN COLLINS ROGER SHERMAN SAMUEL HUNTINGTON OLIVER WOLCOTT TITUS HOSMER ANDREW ADAMS On the part & behalf of the State of New Hampshire On the part and behalf of The State of Massachusetts Bay >On the part and behalf of the State of Rhode- Island and Providence Plantations on the part and behalf of the State of Connecticut JAS DUANE FRA S LEWIS W M DUER. Gouv MORRIS JNO WlTHERSPOON NATH 1 * SCUDDER ROB T MORRIS DANIEL ROBERDEAU JON A BAYARD SMITH. WILLIAM CLINGAN JOSEPH REED 22 d July 1778 M P VOL i 2 On the Part and Behalf of the State of New York \ On the Part and in Behalf of the State J of New Jersey. Nov r 26, 1778. On the part and behalf of the State of Pennsylvania i8 Messages and Papers of the Presidents THO M:KEAN Feby 12 1779 JOHN DICKINSON May 5 th 1779 NICHOLAS VAN DYKE, JOHN HANSON March i 1781 DANIEL CARROLL d RICHARD HENRY LEE JOHN BANISTER THOMAS ADAMS JN HARVIE FRANCIS LIGHTFOOT LEE JOHN PENN July 2i st 1778 CORN S HARNETT JN WILLIAMS HENRY LAURENS. WILLIAM HENRY DRAYTON JN MATHEWS RICH D HUTSON. THO S HEYWARD Jun r JN WALTON 24 th July 1778 EDW D TELFAIR. EDW D LANGWORTHY. On the part & behalf of the State of Delaware on the part and behalf of the State of Maryland On the Part and Behalf of the State of Virginia the part and Behalf of the State of N Carolina On the part & behalf of the State of South-Carolina On the part & behalf of the State of Georgia The Constitution The Constitution W$i& tfe ^0pl of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, pro- vide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. Section, i. All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. Section. 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the the Electors in each State shall have A Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature. No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen. Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by NOTE. The words "The Constitution " do not appear on the original. 21 22 Messages and Papers of the Presidents Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Repre- sentative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode- Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New- York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Vir- ginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three. When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies. The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment. Section. 3. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote. Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expi- ration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year; and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies. No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen. The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided. The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States. The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the , i& tried. President of the United States A the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present. The Constitution 23 Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law. Section. 4. The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day. S.ection. 5. Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; 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 Penalties as each House may provide. Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member. Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judg- ment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal. Neither House, during the Session of Congress, 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. Section. 6. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compen- sation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session 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. No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he w r as elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall 24 Messages and Papers of the Presidents have been encreased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office. Section. 7. All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amend- ments as on other Bills. Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have origi- nated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and pro- ceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsid- ered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas 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 President within ten Days (Sun- days 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 Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law. Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill. Section. 8. The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the com- mon Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States; To borrow Money on the credit of the United States; To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes; To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States; The Constitution 25 To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures; To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States; To establish Post Offices and post Roads; To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries; To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court; To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations; To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water; To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years; To provide and maintain a Navy; To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces; To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions; To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress; To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Gov- ernment of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock- Yards, and other needful Buildings; And To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof. Section. 9. The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be 26 Messages and Papers of the Presidents prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hun- dred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person. 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. No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed. No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken. No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State. No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Reve- nue to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another. No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time. No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State. Section. 10. No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confed- eration; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Pay- ment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility. the No State shall, without the Consent of A Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing it's inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be the subject to the Revision and Controul of A Congress. No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Ton- nage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agree- ment or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay. The Constitution 27 . II. Section, i. The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Sena- tors and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Con- gress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector. The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Gov- ernment of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; A quorum for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President. The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States. 28 Messages and Papers of the Presidents No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States. In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accord- ingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected. The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Com- pensation, which shall neither be encreased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them. Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation: " I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." Section. 2. The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment. He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments. The Constitution 29 The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session. Section. 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress Informa- tion of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commis- sion all the Officers of the United States. Section. 4. The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors. m. Section, i . The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office. Section. 2. The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority; to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls; to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction; to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Part} 7 ; to Controversies between two or more States; between a State and Citizens of another State; between Citizens of different States, between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects. In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Con- suls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and 30 Messages and Papers of the Presidents Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make. The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed. Section. 3. Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court. The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfei- ture except during the Life of the Person attainted. . IV. Section, i. Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof. Section. 2. The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime. No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regu- lation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due. Section. 3. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress. The Constitution 31 The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State. Section. 4. The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence. Jttrticlje. V. The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of it's equal Suffrage in the Senate. ^tijcXjc. VI. All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adop- tion of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation. This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding. The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by 32 Messages and Papers of the Presidents Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States. 9VvtfcTi VTT A k I I k I k . V 11. The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same. The Word, "the," being inter- lined between the seventh and eighth Lines of the first Page, The Word "Thirty" being partly written on an Erazure in the fifteenth Line of the first Page, The Words "is tried" being interlined between the thirty second and thirty third Lines of the first Page and the Word "the" being interlined between the forty third and forty fourth Lines of the second Page. Attest WILLIAM JACKSON Secretary in Convention by the Unanimous Con- sent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the Independance of the United States of America the Twelfth f^tX witttjess whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names, New Hampshire Massachusetts Connecticut New York New Jersey Pensylvania GO WASHINGTON Presid' and deputy from Virginia f JOHN LANGDON t l NICHOLAS GILMAN J j NATHANIEL GORHAM IRUFUS KING |W M SAM L JOHNSON (ROGER SHERMAN ALEXANDER HAMILTON WIL: LIVINGSTON DAVID BREARLEY. W M PATERSON. JONA: DAYTON B FRANKLIN THOMAS MIFFLIN ROB T MORRIS GEO. CLYMER THO S FlTzSlMONS JARED INGERSOLL JAMES WILSON Gouv MORRIS The Constitution 33 Delaware Maryland Virginia North Carolina South Carolina Georgia GEO: READ GUNNING BEDFORD jun JOHN DICKINSON RICHARD BASSETT JACO: BROOM ( JAMES M C HENRY I DAN OF S T THO S JENIFER I DAN L CARROLL | JOHN BLAIR (JAMES MADISON Jr. fW M BLOUNT \ RICH D DOBBS SPAIGHT. ( Hu WILLIAMSON J. RUTLEDGE CHARLES COTESWORTH PINCKNEY CHARLES PINCKNEY PIERCE BUTLER. r WILLIAM FEW \ABR BALDWIN Monday September iy th 1787. Present The States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, M r Hamilton from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. That the preceeding Constitution be laid before the United States in Congress assembled, and that it is the Opinion of this Convention, that it should afterwards be submitted to a Convention of Delegates, chosen in each State by the People thereof, under the Recommendation of its Legislature, for their Assent and Ratification; and that each Con- vention assenting to, and ratifying the Same, should give Notice thereof to the United States in Congress assembled. M P voi< i 3 34 Messages and Papers of the Presidents Resolved, That it is the Opinion of this Convention, that as soon as the Conventions of nine States shall have ratified this Constitution, the United States in Congress assembled should fix a Day on which Electors should be appointed by the States which shall have ratified the same, and a Day on which the Electors should assemble to vote for the Presi- dent, and the Time and Place for commencing Proceedings under this Constitution. That after such Publication the Electors should be ap- pointed, and the Senators and Representatives elected: That the Elect- ors should meet on the Day fixed for the Election of the President, and should transmit their Votes certified, signed, sealed and directed, as the Constitution requires, to the Secretary of the United States in Congress assembled, that the Senators and Representatives should convene at the Time and Place assigned; that the Senators should appoint a President of the Senate, for the sole Purpose of receiving, opening and counting the Votes for President; and, that after he shall be chosen, the Congress, together with the President, should, without Delay, proceed to execute this Constitution. By the Unanimous Order of the Convention G9 WASHINGTON Presid' W. JACKSON Secretary. Articles in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by . the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth Article of the original Constitution. L] Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. [&*ttjcle II.] A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Anns, shall not be infringed. The Constitution 35 III. No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. [&*tijcU IV.] The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be vio- lated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. [Jurtijclje V.] No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. [&*ticZje VL] In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; 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 for his defence. [&vticU VIL] In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United St?.tes, than according to the rules of the common law. 36 Messages and Papers of the Presidents VIIL] Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. [Article IX.] The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. [&*tlcle X.] The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. [&*ticle XL] The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State. [Juliet* XII.] The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice- President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the per- son voted for as Vice- President,, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice- President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate; The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representa- tives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted ; The person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those The Constitution 37 voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose imme- diately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or mem- bers from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice- President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President. The person having the great- est number of votes as Vice- President, shall be the Vice- President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice- President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States. ^ticlje XIII. Section i. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a pun- ishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their juris- diction. Section. 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appro- priate legislation. Jurtijclje XIV. Section i. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the 38 Messages and Papers of the Presidents right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legis- lature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State. Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Con- gress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an exec- utive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability. Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, author- ized b} r law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion-, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void. Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. JucticXe XV. Section i . The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation George Washington" April SO, 1789, to March 4, 1797 39 George Washington GEORGE WASHINGTON was born at Bridges Creek, on the Potomac River, in Westmoreland County, Va. , on the 22d day of February (or nth, old style), 1732. Augustine Washington, his father, was a son of Lawrence Washington, who came to Virginia from England in 1657, and settled at Bridges Creek. Augustine Washington died in 1743, leaving several children, George being the eldest by his second wife, Mary Ball. At the early age of 19 years he was appointed adjutant- general of one of the districts of Virginia, with the rank of major. In November, 1753, he was sent by Lieutenant- Govern or Dinwiddie, of Vir- ginia, to visit the French army in the Ohio Valley on important business. War followed, and in 1754 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant- colonel, and engaged in the war. In 1755 he acted as aid-de-camp to General Braddock. Soon after this he was appointed by the legislature commander in chief of all the forces of the Colony, and for three years devoted himself to recruiting and organizing troops for her defense. In 1758 he commanded a successful expedition to Fort Du Quesne. He then left the Army, and was married to Mrs. Martha Custis, a widow lady of Virginia. For sixteen years he resided at Mount Vernon, occasionally acting as a magistrate or as a member of the legislature. He was a dele- gate to the Williamsburg convention, August, 1773, which resolved that taxation and representation were inseparable. In 1774116 was sent to the Continental Congress as a delegate from Virginia. The following year he was unanimously chosen commander in chief, and assumed the com- mand of the Continental Army July 2, 1775. He commanded the armies throughout the War for Independence. At the close he resigned his commission, December 23, 1783, and retired to private life. He was a delegate to, and president of, the National Convention which met in Philadelphia, Pa., in May, 1787, and adopted a new Constitution, that greatly increased the power of the Federal Government. He was unani- mously elected the first President of the United States, and was inaugu-- rated on the 3oth of April, 1789, in New York City, and at the end of his first term was unanimously reelected. He retired March 4, 1797, having declined a third term. In September, 1796, he issued his Fare- well Address to the people. July 3,. 1798, he was again appointed to the command of the armies of the United States, with the rank of lieutenant-general. He was a Freemason, and served as master of his lodge. He died at Mount Vernon, Va., after a short illness, December M- ! 799 an d was buried there. 42 Messages and Papers of the Presidents PROCEEDINGS INITIATORY TO THE FIRST PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION. [From the Washington Papers (Executive Proceedings, vol. 17), Department of State.] Charles Thomson, esq., Secretary of the late Congress, being appointed by the Senate of the United States to carry to General Washington the official information of his unanimous election to the office of President of the United States of America, arrived at Mount Vernon on the i4th day of April, A. D. 1789, when he communicated to General Washing- ton the purport of his mission in the following words : SIR: The President of the Senate chosen for the special purpose, having opened and counted the votes of the electors in presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, I was honored with the commands of the Senate to wait upon Your Excellency with the information of your being elected to the office of President of the United States of America. This commission was intrusted to me on account of my having been long in the confidence of the late Congress, and charged with the duties of one of the principal civil departments of Government. I have now, sir, to inform you that the proofs you have given of your patriotism, and of your readiness to sacrifice domestic ease and private enjoyments to preserve the happiness of your country, did not permit the two Houses to harbor a doubt of your undertaking this great and impor- tant office, to which you are called, not only by the unanimous vote of the electors, but by the voice of America. I have it, therefore, in command to accompany you to New York, where the Senate and House of Representatives are convened for the dispatch of public business. To which General Washington replied : SIR: I have been accustomed to pay so much respect to the opinion of my fellow-citizens that the knowledge of their having given their unan- imous suffrages in my favor scarcely leaves me the alternative for an option. I can not, I believe, give a greater evidence of my sensibility of the honor which they have done me than by accepting the appointment. I am so much affected by this fresh proof of my country's esteem and confidence that silence can best explain my gratitude. While I realize the arduous nature of the task which is imposed upon me, and feel my own inability to perform it, I wish, however, that there may not be reason for regretting the choice, for, indeed, all I can promise is only to accomplish that which can be done by an honest zeal. Upon considering how long time some of the gentlemen of both Houses of Congress have been at New York, how anxiously desirous they must George Washington 43 be to proceed to business, and how deeply the public mind appears to be impressed with-the necessity of doing it speedily, I can not find myself at liberty to delay my journey. I shall therefore be in readiness to set out the day after to-morrow, and shall be happy in the pleasure of your company, for you will permit me to say that it is a peculiar gratification to have received the communication from you. OFFICIAL INFORMATION OF THE ELECTION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, APRIL 6, 1789. Be it known that the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, being convened in the city and State of New York, this 6th day of April, A. D. 1789, the underwritten, appointed President of the Senate for the sole purpose of receiving, opening, and counting the votes of the electors, did, in the presence of the said Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and count all the votes of the electors for a President and Vice- President, by which it appears that His Excellency George Washington, esq. , was unanimously elected, agree- ably to the Constitution, to the office of President of the said United States of America. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal. JOHN LANGDON. MOUNT VERNON, April 14, 1789. To the Honorable JOHN LANGDON, President pro tempore of the Senate of the United States. SIR: I had the honor to receive your official communication, by the hand of Mr. Secretary Thomson, about i o'clock this day. Having concluded to obey the important and flattering call of my country, and having been impressed with an idea of the expediency of my being with Congress at as early a period as possible, I propose to commence -my journey on Thursday morning, which will be the day after to-morrow. I have the honor to be, with sentiments of esteem, sir, your most obedient servant, G9 WASHINGTON. RESOLVE OF THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES RESPECTING MR. OSGOOD'S PREPARING HIS HOUSE FOR THE RECEPTION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, /;/ Senate, April 75, // D> I 7 8 9- G9 WASHINGTON. George Washington 65 FIRST ANNUAL ADDRESS. UNITED STATES, January 8, 1790. Fellow- Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives: 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 accession of the important State of North Carolina to the Constitution of the United States (of which official infor- mation has been received), the rising credit and respectability of our country, the general and increasing good will toward 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 can not but derive encouragement from the reflection that the measures of the last session have been as satisfactory 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 hi 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 defense 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 disciplined; to which end a uniform and well-digested plan is requisite ; and their safety and interest require that they should promote such manufactories as tend to render them independent of others for essential, particularly military, supplies. The proper establishment of the troops which may be deemed indis- pensable will be entitled to mature consideration. In the arrangements which may be made respecting it it will be of importance to conciliate the comfortable 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 (comprehending a communication from the Commonwealth of Virginia) 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 intercourse with M P vox, i 5 66 Messages and Papers of the Presidents other nations should be facilitated by such provisions as will enable me to fulfill my duty in that respect 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 conduct 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 manufactures by all proper means will not, I trust, need recommendation; but I can not forbear intimating to you the expediency of giving effectual encourage- ment as well to the introduction of new and useful inventions from abroad as to the exertions of skill and genius in producing them at home, and of facilitating the intercourse between the distant parts of our country by a due attention 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 pro- motion of science and literature. Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness. In one in which the measures of gov- ernment receive their impressions so immediately from the sense of the community as in ours it is proportionably 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 enlightened 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 distin- guish between oppression and -the necessary exercise of lawful authority; between burthens 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 temperate vigilance against encroachments, with an inviolable respect to the laws. Whether this desirable object will be best promoted by affording aids to seminaries of learning already established, by the institution of a national university, or by any other expedients will be well worth) 7 of a place in the deliberations 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 ade- George Washington 67 quate provision for the support of the public credit is a matter of high importance to the national honor and prosperity. In this sentiment I entirely concur ; and to a perfect confidence in your best endeavors to devise such a provision as will be truly consistent with the end I add an equal reliance on the cheerful cooperation of the other branch of the Legislature. It would be superfluous to specify inducements to a meas- ure in which the character and permanent interests of the United States are so obviously and so deeply concerned, and which has received so explicit a sanction from your declaration. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: I have directed the proper officers to lay before you, respectively, such papers and estimates as regard the affairs 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 cooperation with you in the pleasing though arduous task of insuring to our fellow-citizens the blessings which they have a right to expect from a free, efficient, and equal government. G9 WASHINGTON. ADDRESS OF THE SENATE TO GEORGE WASHINGTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. SIR: We, the Senate of the United States, return you our thanks for your speech delivered to both Houses of Congress. The accession of the State of North Carolina to the Constitution of the United States gives us much pleasure, and we offer you our congratulations on that event, which at the same time adds strength to our Union and affords a proof that the more the Constitution has been considered the more the good- ness of it has appeared. The information which we have received, that the measures of the last session have been as satisfactory to our constitu- ents as we had reason to expect from the difficulty of the work in which we were engaged, will afford us much consolation and encouragement in resuming our deliberations in the present session for the public good, and every exertion on our part shall be made to realize and secure to our country those blessings which a gracious Providence has placed within her reach. We are persuaded that one of the most effectual means of preserving peace is to be prepared for war, and our attention shall be directed to the objects of common defense and to the adoption of such plans as shall appear the most likely to prevent our dependence on other 68 Messages and Papers of the Presidents countries tor essential supplies. In the arrangements to be made respect- ing the establishment of such troops as may be deemed indispensable we shall with pleasure provide for the comfortable support of the officers and soldiers, with a due regard to economy. We regret that the pacific measures adopted by Government with regard to certain hostile tribes of Indians have not been attended with the beneficial effects toward the inhabitants of our Southern and Western frontiers which we had reason to hope; and we shall cheerfully cooperate in providing the most effectual means for their protection, and, if necessary, for the punishment of aggressors. The uniformity of the currency and of weights and meas- ures, the introduction of new and useful inventions from abroad and the exertions of skill and genius in producing them at home, the facili- tating the communication between the distant parts of our country by means of the post-office and post-roads, a provision for the support of the Department of Foreign Affairs, and a uniform rule of naturalization, by which foreigners may be admitted to the rights of citizens, are objects which shall receive such early attention as their respective importance requires. Literature and science are essential to the preservation of a free constitution; the measures of Government should therefore be cal- culated to strengthen the confidence that is due to that important truth. Agriculture, commerce, and manufactures, forming the basis of the wealth and strength of our confederated Republic, must be the frequent subject of our deliberation, and shall be advanced by all proper means in our power. Public credit being an object of great importance, we shall cheerfully cooperate in all proper measures for its support. Proper attention shall be given to such papers and estimates as you may be pleased to lay before us. Our cares and efforts shall be directed to the welfare of our country, and we have the most perfect dependence upon your cooperating with us on all occasions in such measures as wall insure to our fellow-citizens the blessings which they have a right to expect from a free, efficient, and equal government. JANUARY n, 1790. REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT. GENTLEMEN: I thank you for your address, and for the assurances which it contains of attention to the several matters suggested by me to your consideration. Relying on the continuance of your exertions for the public good, I anticipate for our country the salutary effects of upright and prudent counsels. G9 WASHINGTON. JANUARY 14, 1790. George Washington 69 ADDRESS OP THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO GEORGE WASHINGTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. SIR: The Representatives of the people of the United States have taken into consideration your speech to both Houses of Congress at the opening of the present session. We reciprocate your congratulations on the accession of the State of North Carolina, an event which, while it is a testimony of the increasing good will toward the Government of the Union, can not fail to give additional dignity and strength to the American Republic, already rising in the estimation of the world in national character and respectability. The information that our measures of the last session have not proved dissatisfactory to our constituents affords us much encouragement at this juncture, when we are resuming the arduous task of legislating for so extensive an empire. Nothing can be more gratifying to the Representatives of a free people than the reflection that their labors are rewarded by the approbation of their fellow-citizens. Under this impression we shall make every exer- tion to realize their expectations, and to secure to them those blessings which Providence has placed within their reach. Still prompted by the same desire to promote their interests which then actuated us, we shall in the present session diligently and anxiously pursue those measures which shall appear to us conducive to that end. We concur with you in the sentiment that agriculture, commerce, and manufactures are entitled to legislative protection, and that the promo- tion of science and literature will contribute to the security of a free Government; in the progress of our deliberations we shall not lose sight of objects so worthy of our regard. The various and weighty matters which you have judged necessary to recommend to our attention appear to us essential to the tranquillity and welfare of the Union, and claim our early and most serious consideration. We shall proceed without delay to bestow on them that calm discussion which their importance requires. We regret that the pacific arrangements pursued with regard to certain hostile tribes of Indians have not been attended with that success which we had reason to expect from them. We shall not hesitate to concur in such further measures as may best obviate any ill effects which might be apprehended from the failure of those negotiations. Your approbation of the vote of this House at the last session respect- ing the provision for the public creditors is very acceptable to us. The proper mode of carrying that resolution into effect, being a subject in which the future character and happiness of these States are deeply involved, will be among the first to deserve our attention. The prosperity of the United States is the primary object of all our deliberations, and we cherish the reflection that every measure which we yo Messages and Papers of the Presidents may adopt for its advancement will not only receive your cheerful con- currence, but will at the same time derive from your cooperation addi- tional efficacy, in insuring to our fellow-citizens the blessings of a free, efficient, and equal government. JANUARY 12, 1790. REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT. GENTLEMEN: I receive with pleasure the assurances you give me that you will diligently and anxiously pursue such measures as shall appear to you conducive to the interest of your constituents, and that an early and serious consideration will be given to the various and weighty matters recommended by me to your attention. I have full confidence that your deliberations will continue to be directed by an enlightened and virtuous zeal for the happiness of our country. G9 WASHINGTON. JANUARY 14, 1790. SPECIAL MESSAGES. UNITED STATES, January 11, 1790. Gentlemen of the Senate: Having advised with you upon the terms of a treaty to be offered to the Creek Nation of Indians, I think it proper you should be informed of the result of that business previous to its coming before you in your legislative capacity. I have therefore directed the Secretary for the Department of War to lay before you my instructions to the commis- sioners and their report in consequence thereof. The apparently critical state of the Southern frontier will render it expedient for me to communicate to both Houses of Congress, with other papers, the whole of the transactions relative to the Creeks, in order that they may be enabled to form a judgment of the measures which the case may require. G9 WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, January 71, 1790. Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: I have directed Mr. Lear, my private secretary, to lay before you a copy of the adoption and ratification of the Constitution of the United States by the State of North Carolina, together with a copy of a letter from His Excellency Samuel Johnston, president of the convention of said State, to the President of the United States. George Washington 71 The originals of the papers which are herewith transmitted to you will be lodged in the office of the Secretary of State. GO WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, January 12, 1790. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: I lay before you a statement of the Southwestern frontiers and of the Indian Department, which have been submitted to me by the Secretary for the Department of War. I conceive that an unreserved but confidential communication of all the papers relative to the recent negotiations with some of the Southern tribes of Indians is indispensably requisite for the information of Con- gress. I am persuaded that they will effectually prevent either transcripts or publications of all such circumstances as might be injurious to the public interests. G9 WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, January 21, 1790. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: The Secretary for the Department of War has submitted to me certain principles to serve as a plan for the general arrangement of the militia of the United States. Conceiving the subject to be of the highest importance to the welfare of our country and liable to be placed in various points of view, I have directed him to lay the plan before Congress for their information, in order that they may make such use thereof as they may judge proper. G9 WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, Jan uary 25, 1790. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: I have received from His Excellency John E. Howard, governor of the State of Maryland, an act of the legislature of Maryland to ratify certain articles in addition to and amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress to the legislatures of the several States, and have directed my secretary to lay a copy of the same before you, together with the copy of a letter, accompanying the above act, from his excellency the governor of Maryland to the President of the United States. The originals will be deposited in the office of the Secretary of State. G9 WASHINGTON. 72 Messages and Pagers of the Presidents UNITED STATES, January 28, 1790. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives : I have directed my secretary to lay before you the copy of an act of the legislature of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations entitled "An act for calling a convention to take into consideration the Constitution proposed for the United States, passed on the iyth day of September, A. D. 1787, by the General Convention held at Philadelphia," together with the copy of a letter, accompanying said act, from His Excellency John Collins, governor of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, to the President of the United States. The originals of the foregoing act and letter will be deposited in the office of the Secretary of State. G9 WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, February i, 1790. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: I have received from His Excellency Alexander Martin, governor of the State of North Carolina, an act of the general assembly of that State entitled "An act for the purpose of ceding to the United States of America certain western lands therein described," and have directed my secretary to lay a copy of the same before you, together with a copy of a letter, accompanying said act, from His Excellency Governor Martin to the President of the United States. The originals of the foregoing act and letter will be deposited in the office of the Secretary of State. GO WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, February 9, 1790. Gentlemen of the Senate: You will perceive from the papers herewith delivered, and which are enumerated in the annexed list, that a difference subsists between Great Britain and the United States relative to the boundary line between our eastern and their territories. A plan for deciding this difference was laid before the late Congress, and whether that or some other plan of a like kind would not now be eligible is submitted to your consideration. In my opinion, it is desirable that all questions between this and other nations be speedily and amicably settled, and in this instance I think it advisable to postpone any negotiations on the subject until I shall be informed of the result of your deliberations and receive your advice as to the propositions most proper to be offered on the part of the United States. As I am taking measures for learning the intentions of Great Britain respecting the further detention of our posts, etc. , I am the more solicit- George Washington 73 otis that the business now submitted to you may be prepared for negotia- tion as soon as the other important affairs which engage your attention will permit. G9 WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, February 15, 1790. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: I have directed my secretary to lay before you the copy of a vote of the legislature of the State of New Hampshire, to accept the articles proposed in addition to and amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, except the second article. At the same time will be delivered to you the copy of a letter from his excellency the president of the State of New Hampshire to the President of the United States. The originals of the above-mentioned vote and letter will be lodged in the office of the Secretary of State. GO WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, February 18, 1790. Gentlemen of the Senate: By the mail of last evening I received a letter from His Excellency John Hancock, governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, inclos- ing a resolve of the senate and house of representatives of that Common- wealth and sundry documents relative to the eastern boundary of the United States. I have directed a copy of the letter and resolve to be laid before you. The documents which accompanied them being but copies of some of the papers which were delivered to you with my communication of the 9th of this month, I have thought it unnecessary to lay them before you at this time. They will be deposited in the office of the Secretary of State, together with the originals of the above-mentioned letters and resolve. G9 WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, March <, 1790. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: I have received from His Excellency Joshua Clayton, president of the State of Delaware, the articles proposed by Congress to the legislatures of the several States as amendments to the Constitution of the United States, which articles were transmitted to him for the consideration of the legislature of Delaware, and are now returned with the following resolutions annexed to them, viz: The general assembly of Delaware having taken into their consideration the above 74 Messages and Papers of the Presidents amendments, proposed by Congress to the respective legislatures of the several States, Resolved, That the first article be postponed; Resolved, That the general assembly do agree to the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth articles, and we do hereby assent to, ratify, and confirm the same as part of the Constitution of the United States. In testimony whereof we have caused the great seal of the State to be hereunto affixed this aSth day of January, A. D. 1790, and in the fourteenth year of the inde- pendence of the Delaware State. Signed by order of council. GEORGE MITCHELL, Speaker. Signed by order of the house of assembly. JEHU DAVIS, Speaker. I have directed a copy of the letter which accompanied the said articles, from His Excellency Joshua Clayton to the President of the United States, to be laid before you. The before-mentioned articles and the original of the letter will be lodged in the office of the Secretary of State. G9 WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, March 16, 1790. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: I have directed my secretary to lay before you the copy of an act and the form of ratification of certain articles of amendment to the Constitu- tion of the United States by the legislature of the State of Pennsylvania, together with the copy of a letter which accompanied the said act, from the speaker of the house of assembly of Pennsylvania to the President of the United States. The originals of the above will be lodged in the office of the Secretary of State. G9 WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, April i, 1790. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: I have directed my private secretary to lay before you a copy of the adoption by the legislature of South Carolina of the articles proposed by Congress to the legislatures of the several States as amendments to the Constitution of the United States, together with the copy of a letter from the governor of the State of South Carolina to the President of the United States, which have lately come to my hands. The originals of the foregoing will be lodged in the office of the Secretary of State. G9 WASHINGTON. George Washington 75 UNITED STATES, April 5, 1790. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: I have directed my private secretary to lay before you copies of three acts of the legislature of the State of New York, which have been trans- mitted to me by the governor thereof, viz: ' 'An act declaring it to be the duty of the sheriffs of the several counties within this State to receive and safe keep such prisoners as shall be committed under the authority of the United States." ' 'An act for vesting in the United States of America the light-house and the lands thereunto belonging at Sandy Hook." ' 'An act ratifying certain articles in addition to and amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress. ' ' A copy of a letter accompanying said acts, from the governor of the State of New York to the President of the United States, will at the same time be laid before you, and the originals be deposited in the office of the Secretary of State. G9 WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, May 31, 1790. Gentlemen of the Senate: Mr. de Poiery served in the American Army for several of the last years of the late war as secretary to Major- General the Marquis de Lafayette, and might probably at that time have obtained the commis- sion of captain from Congress upon application to that body. At present he is an officer in the French national guards, and solicits a brevet com- mission from the United States of America. I am authorized to add, that while the compliance will involve no expense on our part, it will be particularly grateful to that friend of America, the Marquis de Lafayette. I therefore nominate M. de Poiery to be a captain by brevet. G9 WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, June i, 1790. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: Having received official information of the accession of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations to the Constitution of the United States, I take the earliest opportunity of communicating the same to you, with my congratulations on this happy event, which unites under the General Government all the States which were originally confeder- ated, and have directed my secretary to lay before you a copy of the letter from the president of the convention of the State of Rhode Island to the President of the United States. G9 WASHINGTON. 76 Messages and Papers of the Presidents UNITED STATES, June H, 1790. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: I have directed my secretary to lay before you a copy of the ratification of the amendments to the Constitution of the United States by the State of North Carolina, together with an extract from a letter, accompanying said ratification, from the governor of the State of North Carolina to the President of the United States. G9 WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, Junei6, 1790. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: The ratification of the Constitution of the United States of America by the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was received by me last night, together with a letter to the President of the United States from the president of the convention. I have directed my secretary to lay before you a copy of each. G9 WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, June 30, 1790. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: An act of the legislature of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, for ratifying certain articles as amendments to the Consti- tution of the United States, was yesterday put into my hands, and I have directed my secretary to lay a copy of the same before you. G9 WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, August 4, 1790. Gentlemen of the Senate: In consequence of the general principles agreed to by the Senate in August, 1789, the adjustment of the terms of a treaty is far advanced between the United States and the chiefs of the Creek Indians, now in this city, in behalf of themselves and the whole Creek Nation. In preparing the articles of this treaty the present arrangements of the trade with the Creeks have caused much embarrassment. It seems to be well ascertained that the said trade is almost exclusively in the hands of a company of British merchants, who by agreement make their impor- tations of goods from England into the Spanish ports. As the trade of the Indians is a main mean of their political manage- ment, it is therefore obvious that the United States can not possess any Security for the performance of treaties with the Creeks while their trade is liable to l)e interrupted or withheld at the caprice of two foreign powers. George Washington 77 Hence it becomes an object of real importance to form new channels for the commerce of the Creeks through the United States. But this operation will require time, as the present arrangements can not be suddenly broken without the greatest violation of faith and morals. It therefore appears to be important to form a secret article of a treaty similar to the one which accompanies this message. If the Senate should require any further explanation, the Secretary of War will attend them for that purpose. G9 WASHINGTON. The President of the United States states the following question for the consideration and advice of the Senate: If it should be found essen- tial to a treaty for the firm establishment of peace with the Creek Nation of Indians that an article to the following effect should be inserted therein, will such an article be proper? viz : SECRET ARTICLE. The commerce necessary for the Creek Nation shall be carried on through the ports and by the citizens of the United States if substantial and effectual arrangements shall be made for that purpose by the United States on or before the ist day of August, 1792. In the meantime the said commerce may be carried on through its present channels and according to its present regulations. And whereas the trade of the said Creek Nation is now carried on wholly or principally through the territories of Spain, and obstructions thereto may happen by war or prohibitions of the Spanish Government, it is therefore agreed between the said parties that in the event of any such obstructions happening it shall be lawful for such persons as shall designate to introduce into and transport through the territories of the United States to the country of the said Creek Nation any quantity of goods, wares, and merchandise not exceeding in value in any one year $60,000, and that free from any duties or imposi- tions whatsoever, but subject to such regulations for guarding against abuse as the United States shall judge necessary, which privilege shall continue as long as such obstruction shall continue. GO WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, August 6, 1790. Gentlemen of the Senate: Considering the circumstances which prevented the late commissioners from concluding a peace with the Creek Nation of Indians, it appeared to me most prudent that all subsequent measures for disposing them to a treaty should in the first instance be informal. I informed you on the 4th instant that the adjustment of the terms of a treaty with their chiefs, now here, was far advanced. Such further 78 Messages and Papers of the Presidents progress has since been made that I think measures may at present be taken for conducting and concluding that business in form. It there fore becomes necessary that a proper person be appointed and authorized to treat with these chiefs and to conclude a treaty with them. For this purpose I nominate to you Henry Kiiox. G9 WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, August 6, 1790. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: I have directed my secretary to lay before you a copy of an exemplified copy of a law to ratify on the part of the State of New Jersey certain amendments to the Constitution of the United States, together with a copy of a letter, which accompanied said ratification, from Hon. Elisha Lawrence, esq., vice-president of the State of New Jersey, to the Presi- dent of the United States. G9 WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, August 7, 1790. Gentlemen of the Senate: I lay before you a treaty between the United States and the chiefs of the Creek Nation, now in this city, in behalf of themselves and the whole Creek Nation, subject to the ratification of the President of the United States with the advice and consent of the Senate. While I flatter myself that this treaty will be productive of present peace and prosperity to our Southern frontier, it is to be expected that it will also in its consequences be the means of firmly attaching the Creeks and the neighboring tribes to the interests of the United States. At the same time it is to be hoped that it will afford solid grounds of satisfaction to the State of Georgia, as it contains a regular, full, and definitive relinquishment on the part of the Creek Nation of the Oconee land in the utmost extent in which it has been claimed by that State, and thus extinguishes the principal cause of those hostilities from which it has more than once experienced such severe calamities. But although the most valuable of the disputed land is included, yet there is a certain claim of Georgia, arising out of the treaty made by that State at Galphinston in November, 1785, of land to the eastward of a new temporary line from the forks of the Oconee and Oakmulgee in a southwest direction to the St. Marys River, which tract of land the Creeks in this city absolutely refuse to yield. This land is reported to be generally barren, sunken, and unfit for cultivation, except in some instances on the margin of the rivers, on which by improvement rice might be cultivated, its chief value depend- ing on the timber fit for the building of ships, with which it is repre- sented as abounding. George Washington 79 While it is thus circumstanced on the one hand, it is stated by the Creeks on the other to be of the highest importance to them as consti- tuting some of their most valuable winter hunting ground. I have directed the commissioner to whom the charge of adjusting this treaty has been committed to lay before you such papers and documents and to communicate to you such information relatively to it as you may require. G9 WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, August IT, 1790. Gentlemen of the Senate: Although the treaty with the Creeks may be regarded as the main foundation of the future peace and prosperity of the Southwestern frontier of the United States, yet in order fully to effect so desirable an object the treaties which have been entered into with the other tribes in that quarter must be faithfully performed on our parts. During the last year I laid before the Senate a particular statement of the case of the Cherokees. By a reference to that paper it will appear that the United States formed^, treaty with the Cherokees in November, 1 785 ; that the said Cherokees thereby placed themselves under the pro- tection of the United States and had a boundary assigned them ; that the white people settled on the frontiers had openly violated the said boundary by intruding on the Indian lands ; that the United States in Congress assembled did, on the ist day of September, 1788, issue their proclamation forbidding all such unwarrantable intrusions, and enjoined all those who had settled upon the hunting grounds of the Cherokees to depart with their families and effects without loss of time, as they would answer their disobedience to the injunctions and prohibitions expressed at their peril. But information has been received that notwithstanding the said treaty and proclamation upward of 500 families have settled on the Cherokee lands exclusively of those settled between the fork of French Broad and Holstein rivers, mentioned in the said treaty. As the obstructions to a proper conduct on this matter have been removed since it was mentioned to the Senate on the 22d of August, 1789, by the accession of North Carolina to the present Union and the cessions of the land in question, I shall conceive myself bound to exert the powers intrusted to me by the Constitution in order to carry into faithful execution the treaty of Hopewell, unless it shall be thought proper to attempt to arrange a new boundary with the Cherokees, embracing the settlements, and compensating the Cherokees for the cessions they shall make on the occasion. On this point, therefore, I state the following questions and request the advice of the Senate thereon : First. Is it the judgment of the Senate that overtures shall be made to the Cherokees to arrange a new boundary so as to embrace the 8o Messages and Papers of the Presidents settlements made by the white people since the treaty of Hope well, in November, 1785? Second. If so, shall compensation to the amount of - - dollars annually, or of - dollars in gross, be made to the Cherokees for the land they shall relinquish, holding the occupiers of the land account- able to the United States for its value? Third. Shall the United States stipulate solemnly to guarantee the new boundary which may be arranged? GO WASHINGTON. PROCLAMATIONS. [From the Gazette of the United States (New York), September 15, 1790, in the Library of Congress.] BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas a treaty of peace and friendship between the United States and the Creek Nation was made and concluded on the yth day of the present month of August; and Whereas I have, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, in due form ratified the said treaty: Now, therefore, to the end that the same may be observed and per- formed with good faith on the part of the United States, I have ordered the said treaty to be herewith published; and I do hereby enjoin and 'require all officers of the United States, civil and military, and all other citizens and inhabitants thereof, faithfully to observe and fulfill the same. Given under my hand and the seal of the United States, in the city of New York, the i4th day of August, A. D. 1790, and in the [SEAL.] fifteenth year of the Sovereignty and Independence of the United States. GO WASHINGTON. By the President: TH: JEFFERSON. [From Miscellaneous Letters, Department of State, vol. 3.] BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas it hath at this time become peculiarly necessary to warn the citizens of the United States against a violation of the treaties made at Hopewell, on the Keowee, on the 28th day of November, 1785, and on the 3d and roth days of January, 1786, between the United States and the Cherokee, Choctaw, and Chickasaw nations of Indians, and to enforce George Washington 81 an act entitled "An act to regulate trade and intercourse with the Indian tribes, ' ' copies of which treaties and act are hereunto annexed, I have therefore thought fit to require, and I do by these presents require, all officers of the United States, as well civil as military, and all other citi- zens and inhabitants thereof, to govern themselves according to the trea- ties and act aforesaid, as they will answer the contrary at their peril. Given under my hand and the seal of the United States, in the city of New York, the 26th day of August, A. D. 1790, and in the [SEAI,.] fifteenth year of the Sovereignty and Independence of the United States. G9 WASHINGTON. By the President: TH: JEFFERSON. SECOND ANNUAL ADDRESS. UNITED STATES, December 8, 1790. Fellow- Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives: In meeting you again I feel much satisfaction in being able to repeat my congratulations on the favorable prospects which continue to distin- guish our public affairs. The abundant fruits of another year have blessed our country with plenty and with the means of a flourishing commerce. The progress of public credit is witnessed by a considerable rise of American stock abroad as well as at home, and the revenues allotted for this and other national purposes have been productive beyond the calculations by which they were regulated. This latter circumstance is the more pleasing, as it is not only a proof of the fertility of our resources, but as it assures us of a further increase of the national respectability and credit, and, let me add, as it bears an honorable testi- mony to the patriotism and integrity of the mercantile and marine part of our citizens. The punctuality of the former in discharging their engagements has been exemplary. In conformity to the powers vested in me by acts of the last session, a loan of 3,000,000 florins, toward which some provisional measures had previously taken place, has been completed in Holland. As well the celerity with which it has been filled as the nature of the terms (considering the more than ordinary demand for borrowing created by the situation of Europe) give a reasonable hope that the further execu- tion of. those powers may proceed with advantage and success. The Secretary of the Treasury has my directions to communicate such further particulars as may be requisite for more precise information. Since your last sessions I have received communications by which it appears that the district of Kentucky, at present a part of Virginia, has M P voi. i6 82 Messages and Papers of the Presidents concurred in certain propositions contained in a law of that State, in consequence of which the district is to become a distinct member of the Union, in case the requisite sanction of Congress be added. For this sanction application is now made. I shall cause the papers on this very important transaction to be laid before you. The liberality and harmony with which it has been conducted will be found to do great honor to both the parties, and the sentiments of warm attachment to the Union and its present Government expressed by our fellow-citizens of Kentucky can not fail to add an affectionate concern for their particular welfare to the great national impressions under which you will decide on the case submitted to you. It has been heretofore known to Congress that frequent incursions have been made on our frontier settlements by certain banditti of Indians from the northwest side of the Ohio. These, with some of the tribes dwelling on and near the Wabash, have of late been particularly active in their depredations, and being emboldened by the impunity of their crimes and aided by such parts of the neighboring tribes as could be seduced to join in their hostilities or afford them a retreat for their prisoners and plunder, they have, instead of listening to the humane invitations and overtures made on the part of the United States, renewed their violences with fresh alacrity and greater effect. The lives of a number of valuable citizens have thus been sacrificed, and some of them under circumstances peculiarly shocking, whilst others have been carried into a deplorable captivity. These aggravated provocations rendered it essential to the safety of the Western settlements that the aggressors should be made sensible that the Government of the Union is not less capable of punishing their crimes than it is disposed to respect their rights and reward their attachments. As this object could not be effected by defensive measures, it became necessary to put in force the act which empowers the President to call out the militia for the protection of the frontiers, and I have accord- ingly authorized an expedition in which the regular troops in that quar- ter are combined with such drafts of militia as were deemed sufficient. The event of the measure is yet unknown to me. The Secretary of War is directed to lay before you a statement of the information on which it is founded, as well as an estimate of the expense with which it will be attended. The disturbed situation of Europe, and particularly the critical posture of the great maritime powers, whilst it ought to make us the more thankful for the general peace and security enjoyed by the United States, reminds us at the same time of the circumspection with which it becomes us to preserve these blessings. It requires also that we should not over- look the tendency of a war, and even of preparations for a war, among the nations most concerned in active commerce with this country to abridge the means, and thereby at least enhance the price, of transport- George Washington 83 ing its valuable productions to their proper markets. I recommend it to your serious reflections how far and in what mode it may be expedient to guard against embarrassments from these contingencies by such encouragements to our own navigation as will render our commerce and agriculture less dependent on foreign bottoms, which may fail us in the very moments most interesting to both of these great objects. Our fish- eries and the transportation of our own produce offer us abundant means for guarding ourselves against this evil. Your attention seems to be not less due to that particular branch of our trade which belongs to the Mediterranean. So many circumstances unite in rendering the present state of it distressful to us that you will not think any deliberations misemployed which may lead to its relief and protection. The laws you have already passed for the establishment of a judiciary system have opened the doors of justice to all descriptions of persons. You will consider in your wisdom whether improvements in that system may yet be made, and particularly whether an uniform process of execu- tion on sentences issuing from the Federal courts be not desirable through all the States. The patronage of our commerce, of our merchants and seamen, has called for the appointment of consuls in foreign countries. It seems expedient to regulate by law the exercise of that jurisdiction and those functions which are permitted them, either by express convention or by a friendly indulgence, in the places of their residence. The consular convention, too, with His Most Christian Majesty has stipulated in certain cases the aid of the national authority to his consuls established here. Some legislative provision is requisite to carry these stipulations into full effect. The establishment of the militia, of a mint, of standards of weights and measures, of the post-office and post-roads are subjects which I presume you will resume of course, and which are abundantly urged by their own importance. Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: The sufficiency of the revenues you have established for the objects to which they are appropriated leaves no doubt that the residuary provisions will be commensurate to the other objects for which the public faith stands now pledged. Allow me, moreover, to hope that it will be a favorite policy with you, not merely to secure a payment of the interest of the debt funded, but as far and as fast as the growing resources of the country will permit to exonerate it of the principal itself. The appro- priation you have made of the Western land explains your dispositions on this subject, and I am persuaded that the sooner that valuable fund can be made to contribute, along with other means, to the actual reduction of the public debt the more salutary will the measure be to every public interest, as well as the more satisfactory to our constituents. 84 Messages and Papers of the Presidents Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: In pursuing the various and weighty business of the present session I indulge the fullest persuasion that your consultations will be equally marked with wisdom and animated by the love of your country. In whatever belongs to my duty you shall have all the cooperation which an undiminished zeal for its welfare can inspire. It will *be happy for us both, and our best reward, if, by a successful administration of our respective trusts, we can make the established Government more and more instrumental in promoting the good of our fellow-citizens, and more and more the object of their attachment and confidence. G9 WASHINGTON. ADDRESS OF THE SENATE TO GEORGE WASHINGTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. The PRESIDENT OP THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We receive, sir, with particular satisfaction the communications con- tained in your speech, which confirm to us the progressive state of the public credit and afford at the same time a new proof of the solidity of the foundation on which it rests; and we cheerfully join in the acknowl- edgment which is due to the probity and patriotism of the mercantile and marine part of our fellow-citizens, whose enlightened attachment to the principles of good government is not less conspicuous in this than it has been in other important respects. In confidence that every constitutional preliminary has been observed, we assure you of our disposition to concur in giving the requisite sanc- tion to the admission of Kentucky as a distinct member of the Union; in doing which we shall anticipate the happy effects to be expected from the sentiments of attachment toward the Union and its present Govern- ment which have been expressed by the patriotic inhabitants of that district. While we regret that the continuance and increase of the hostilities and depredations which have distressed our Northwestern frontiers should have rendered offensive measures necessary, we feel an entire confidence in the sufficiency of the motives which have produced them and in the wisdom of the dispositions which have been concerted in pursuance of the powers vested in you, and \vhatever may have been the event, we shall cheerfully concur in the provisions which the expedition that has been undertaken may require on the part of the Legislature, and in any other which the future peace and safety of our frontier settlements may call for. The critical posture of the European powers will engage a due portion of our attention, and we shall be ready to adopt any measures which a prudent circumspection may suggest for the preservation of the blessings George Washington 85 of peace. The navigation and the fisheries of the United States are objects too interesting not to inspire a disposition to promote them by all the means which shall appear to us consistent with their natural progress and permanent prosperity. Impressed with the importance of a free intercourse with the Mediter- ranean, we shall not think any deliberations misemployed which may conduce to the adoption of proper measures for removing the impedi- ments that obstruct it. The improvement of the judiciary system and the other important objects to which you have pointed our attention will not fail to engage the consideration they respectively merit. In the course of our deliberations upon every subject we shall rely upon that cooperation which an undiminished zeal and incessant anxiety for the public welfare on your part so thoroughly insure; and as it is our anxious desire so it shall be our constant endeavor to render the established Government more and more instrumental in promoting the good of our fellow-citizens, and more and more the object of their attach- ment and confidence. DECEMBER 10, 1790. REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT. GENTLEMEN: These assurances of favorable attention to the subjects I have recommended and of entire confidence in my views make the impression on me which I ought to feel. I thank you for them both, and shall continue to rely much for the success of all our measures for the public good on the aid they will receive from the wisdom and integ- rity of your councils. GP WASHINGTON. DECEMBER 13, 1790. ADDRESS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO GEORGE WASHINGTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. SIR: The Representatives of the people of the United States have taken into consideration your address to the two Houses at the opening of the present session of Congress. We share in the satisfaction inspired by the prospects which continue to be so auspicious to our public affairs. The blessings resulting from the smiles of Heaven on our agriculture, the rise of public credit, with the further advantages promised by it, and the fertility of resources which are found so little burdensome to the community, fully authorize our mutual congratulations on the present occasion. Nor can we learn with- out an additional gratification that the energy of the laws for providing adequate revenues have been so honorably seconded by those classes of citizens whose patriotism and probity were more immediately concerned. 86 Messages and Papers of the Presidents The success of the loan opened in Holland, under the disadvantages of the present moment, is the more important, as it not only denotes the confidence already placed in the United States, but as the effect of a judicious application of that aid will still further illustrate the solidity of the foundation on which the public credit rests. The preparatory steps taken by the State of Virginia, in concert with the district of Kentucky, toward the erection of the latter into a distinct member of the Union exhibit a liberality mutually honorable to the parties. We shall bestow on this important subject the favorable consid- eration which it merits, and, with the national policy which ought to govern our decision, shall not fail to mingle the affectionate sentiments \vhich are awakened by those expressed on behalf of our fellow-citizens of Kentucky. Whilst we regret the necessity which has produced offensive hostili- ties against some of the Indian tribes northwest of the Ohio, we sympa- thize too much with our Western brethren not to behold with approbation the watchfulness and vigor which have been exerted by the executive authority for their protection, and which we trust will make the aggres- sors sensible that it is their interest to merit by a peaceable behavior the friendship and humanity which the United States are always ready to extend to them. The encouragement of our own navigation has at all times appeared to us highly important. The point of view under which you have recom- mended it to us is strongly enforced by the actual state of things in Europe. It will be incumbent on us to consider in what mode our com- merce and agriculture can be best relieved from an injurious dependence on the navigation of other nations, which the frequency of their wars renders a too precarious resource for conveying the productions of our country to market. The present state of our trade to the Mediterranean seems not less to demand, and will accordingly receive, the attention which you have recommended. Having already concurred in establishing a judiciary system which opens the doors of justice to all, without distinction of persons, it will be our disposition to incorporate every improvement which experience may suggest. And we shall consider in particular how far the uniformity which in other cases is found convenient in the administration of the General Government through all the States may be introduced into the forms and rules of executing sentences issuing from the Federal courts. The proper regulation of the jurisdiction and functions which may be exercised by consuls of the United States in foreign countries, with the provisions stipulated to those of His Most Christian Majesty established here, are subjects of too much consequence to the public interest and honor not to partake of our deliberations. We shall renew our attention to the establishment of the militia and George Washington 87 the other subjects unfinished at the last session, and shall proceed in them with all the dispatch which the magnitude of all and the difficulty of some of them will allow. Nothing has given us more satisfaction than to find that the revenues heretofore established have proved adequate to the purposes to which they were allotted. In extending the provision to the residuary objects it will be equally our care to secure sufficiency and punctuality in the payments due from the Treasury of the United States. We shall also never lose sight of the policy of diminishing the public debt as fast as the increase of the public resources will permit, and are particularly sensible of the many considerations which press a resort to the auxiliary resource furnished by the public lands. In pursuing every branch of the weighty business of the present ses- sion it will be our constant study to direct our deliberations to the public welfare. Whatever our success may be, we can at least answer for the fervent love of our country, which ought to animate our endeavors. In your cooperation we are sure of a resource which fortifies our hopes that the fruits of the established Government will justify the confidence which has been placed in it, and recommend it more and more to the affection and attachment of our fellow-citizens. DECEMBER n, 1790. REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT. GENTLEMEN: The sentiments expressed in your address are entitled to my particular acknowledgment. Having no object but the good of our country, this testimony of appro- bation and confidence from its immediate Representatives must be among my best rewards, as the support of your enlightened patriotism has been among my greatest encouragements. Being persuaded that you will continue to be actuated by the same auspicious principle, I look forward to the happiest consequences from your deliberations during the present session. G9 WASHINGTON. DECEMBER 13, 1790. SPECIAL MESSAGES. UNITED STATES, December 23, 1790. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: It appearing by the report of the secretary of the government north- west of the Ohio that there are certain cases respecting grants of land within that territory which require the interference of the Legislature of 88 Messages and Papers of the Presidents the United States, I have directed a copy of said report and the papers therein referred to to be laid before you, together with a copy of the report of the Secretary of State upon the same subject. G9 WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, December 30, 1790. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: I lay before you a report of the Secretary of State on the subject of the citizens of the United States in captivity at Algiers, that you may provide on their behalf what to you shall seem most expedient. G9 WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, January j, Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: I lay before you a copy of an exemplified copy of an act passed by the legislature of the State of New Jersey for vesting in the United States of America the jurisdiction of a lot of land at Sandy Hook, in the county of Monmouth, and a copy of a letter which accompanied said act, from the governor of the State of New Jersey to the President of the United States G9 WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, January 17, 1791. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: I lay before you an official statement of the appropriation of $10,000, granted to defray the contingent expenses of Government by an act of the 26th March, 1790. A copy of two resolutions of the legislature of Virginia, and a petition of sundry officers and assignees of officers and soldiers of the Virginia line on continental establishment, on the subject of bounty lands allotted to them on the northwest side of the Ohio; and A copy of an act of the legislature of Maryland to empower the wardens of the port of Baltimore to levy and collect the duty therein mentioned. G9 WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, January 77, 1791. Gentlemen of the Senate: I lay before you a letter from His Most Christian Majesty, addressed to the President and Members of Congress of the United States of America. G9 WASHINGTON. George Washington 89 To our very dear friends and allies, the President and Members of the General Con- gress of the United States of North America. VERY DEAR GREAT FRIENDS AND ALLIES : We have received the letter by which you inform us of the new mark of confidence that you have shown to Mr. Jefferson, and which puts a period to his appointment of minister plenipotentiary at our Court. The manner in which he conducted during his residence with us has merited our esteem and entire approbation, and it is with pleasure that we now give him this testimony of it. It is with the most sincere pleasure that we embrace this opportunity of renewing these assurances of regard and friendship which we feel for the United States in general and for each of them in particular. Under their influence we pray God that He will keep you, very dear friends and allies, under His holy and beneficent protection. Done at Paris this nth September, 1790. Your good friend and ally, LOUIS. MONTMORIN. [SEAL.] The UNITED STATES OF NORTH AMERICA. UNITED STATES, January 19, 1791. Gentlemen of the Senate: I lay before you a representation of the charge d'affaires of France, made by order of his Court, on the acts of Congress of the 2oth of July, 1789 and 1790, imposing an extra tonnage on foreign vessels, not except- ing those of that country, together with the report of the Secretary of State thereon, and I recommend the same to your consideration, that I may be enabled to give to it such answer as may best comport with the justice and the interests of the United States. G9 WASHINGTON. DOCUMENTS. JANUARY 18, 1791. The Secretary of State having received from the charg d'affaires of France a note on the tonnage payable by French vessels in the ports of the United States, has had the same under his consideration, and thereupon makes the following report to the President of the United States : The charge d'affaires of France, by a note of the i3th of December, represents, by order of his Court, that they consider so much of the acts of Congress of July 20, 1789 and 1790, as imposes an extraordinary tonnage on foreign vessels without excepting those of France, to be in contravention of the fifth article of the treaty of amity and commerce between the two nations ; that this would have authorized on their part a proportional modification in the favors granted to the American naviga- tion, but that his Sovereign had thought it more conformable to his principles of friendship and attachment to the United States to order him to make representations thereon, and to ask in favor of French vessels a modification of the acts which impose an extraordinary tonnage on foreign vessels. The Secretary of State, in giving in this paper to the President of the United States, thinks it his duty to accompany it with the following observations: The third and fourth articles of the treaty of amity and commerce between France and the United States subject the vessels of each nation to pay in the ports of the other only such duties as are paid by the most favored nation, and give them 90 Messages and Papers of the Presidents reciprocally all the privileges and exemptions in navigation and commerce which are given by either to the most favored nations. Had the contracting parties stopped here, they would have been free to raise or lower their tonnage as they should find it expedient, only taking care to keep the other on the footing of the most favored nation. The question, then, is whether the fifth article cited in the note is anything more than an application of the principle comprised in the third and fourth to a particular object, or whether it is an additional stipulation of something not so comprised. I. That it is merely an application of a principle comprised in the preceding articles is declared by the express words of the article, to wit: "Dans V exemption ci-dessus est nommement compris," etc., "in the above exemption is particularly comprised, the imposition of 100 sols per ton established in France on foreign vessels." Here, then, is at once an express declaration that the exemption from the duty of loo sols is comprised in the third and fourth articles ; that is to say, it was one of the exemptions enjoyed by the most favored nations, and as such extended to us by those articles. If the exemption spoken of in this first member of the fifth article was comprised in the third and fourth articles, as is expressly declared, then the reservation by France out of that exemption (which makes the second member of the same article) was also comprised ; that is to say, if the whole was comprised, the part was comprised. And if this reservation of France in the second member was comprised in the third and fourth articles, then the counter reservation by the United States (which constitutes the third and last member of the same article) was also comprised, because it is but a corresponding portion of a similar whole on our part, which had been comprised by the same terms with theirs. In short, the whole article relates to a particular duty of 100 sols, laid by some antecedent law of France on the vessels of foreign nations, relinquished as to the most favored, and consequently to us. It is not a new and additional stipulation, then, but a declared application of the stipulations comprised in the preceding articles to a particular case by way of greater caution. The doctrine laid down generally in the third and fourth articles, and exemplified specially in the fifth, amounts to this: "The vessels of the most favored nations coming from foreign ports are exempted from the duty of 100 sols; therefore you are exempted from it by the third and fourth articles. The vessels of the most favored nations coming coastwise pay that duty; therefore you are to pay it by the third and fourth articles. We shall not think it unfriendly in you to lay a like duty on coasters, because it will be no more than we have done ourselves. You are free also to lay that or any other duty on vessels coming from foreign ports, provided they apply to all other nations, even the most favored. We are free to do the same under the same restriction. Our exempting you from a duty which the most favored nations do not pay does not exempt you from one which they do pay." In this view, it is evident -that the fifth article neither enlarges nor abridges the stipulations of the third and fourth. The effect of the treaty would have been precisely the same had it been omitted altogether; consequently it may be truly said that the reservation by the United States in this article is completely useless. And it may be added with equal truth that the equivalent reservation by France is completely useless, as well as her previous abandonment of the same duty, and, in short, the whole article. Each party, then, remains free to raise or lower its tonnage, provided the change operates on all nations, even the most favored. Without undertaking to affirm, we may obviously conjecture that this article has been inserted on the part of the United States from an overcaution to guard, nom- mement, by name, against a particular aggrievance, which they thought they could never be too well secured against ; and that has happened which generally hap- pens doubts have been produced by the too great number of words used to prevent doubt. George Washington 9! II. The Court of France, however, understands this article as intended to intro- duce something to which the preceding articles had not reached, and not merely as an application of them to a particular case. Their opinion seems to be founded on the general rule in the construction of instruments, to leave no words merely useless for which any rational meaning can be found. They say that the reservation by the United States of a right to lay a duty equivalent to that of the 100 sols, reserved by France, would have been completely useless if they were left free by the preceding articles to lay a tonnage to any extent whatever ; consequently, that the reservation of a part proves a relinquishment of the residue. If some meaning, and such a one, is to be given to the last member of the article, some meaning, and a similar one, must be given to the corresponding member. If the reservation by the United States of a right to lay an equivalent duty implies a relinquishment of their right to lay any other, the reservation by France of a right to continue the specified duty to which it is an equivalent must imply a relinquishment of the right on her part to lay or continue any other. Equivalent reservations by both must imply equivalent restrictions on both. The exact reciprocity stipulated in the preceding articles, and which pervades every part of the treaty, insures a counter right to each party for every right ceded to the other. Let it be further considered that the duty called tonnage in the United States is in lieu of the duties for anchorage, for the support of buoys, beacons, and light-houses, to guide the mariner into harbor and along the coast, which are provided and supported at the expense of the United States, and for fees to measurers, weighers, gaugers, etc., who are paid by the United States, for which articles, among many others (light-house money excepted), duties are paid by us in the ports of France under their specific names. That Government has hitherto thought these duties consistent with the treaty, and consequently the same duties under a general instead of specific names, with us, must be equally consistent with it. It is not the name, but the thing, which is essential. If we have renounced the right to lay any port duties, they must be understood to have equally renounced that of either laying new or continuing the old. If we ought to refund the port duties received from their vessels since the date of the act of Congress, they should refund the port duties they have received from our vessels since the date of the treaty, for nothing short of this is the reciprocity of the treaty. If this construction be adopted, then each party has forever renounced the right of laying any duties on the vessels of the other coming from any foreign port, or more than 100 sols on those coming coastwise. Could this relinquishment be confined to the two contracting parties alone, the United States would be the gainers, for it is well known that a much greater number of American than of French vessels are employed in the commerce between the two countries; but the exemption once conceded by the one nation to the other becomes immediately the property of all others who are on the footing of the most favored nations. It is true that those others would be obliged to yield the same compensation, that is to say, to receive our vessels duty free. Whether we should gain or lose in the exchange of the measure with them is not easy to say. Another consequence of this construction will be that the vessels of the most favored nations paying no duties will be on a better footing than those of natives which pay a moderate duty; consequently either the duty on these also must be given up or they will be supplanted by foreign vessels in our own ports. The resource, then, of duty on vessels for the purposes either of revenue or regula- tion will be forever lost to both. It is hardly conceivable that either party looking forward to all these consequences would see their interest in them. III. But if France persists in claiming this exemption, what is to be done? The claim, indeed, is couched in mild and friendly terms; but the idea leaks out that a refusal would authorize them to modify proportionally the favors granted by the 92 Messages and Papers of the Presidents same article to our navigation. Perhaps they may do what we should feel much more severely, they may turn their eyes to the favors granted us by their arrets of December 29, 1 787, and December 7, 1 788, which hang on their will alone, unconnected with the treaty. Those arrets, among other advantages, admit our whale oils to the exclusion of that of all other foreigners. And this monopoly procures a vent for seven-twelfths of the produce of that fishery, which experience has taught us could find no other market. Near two-thirds of the produce of our cod fisheries, too, have lately found a free vent in the colonies of France. This, indeed, has been an irreg- ularity growing out of the anarchy reigning in those colonies. Yet the demands of the colonists, even of the Government party among them ( if an auxiliary dis- position can be excited by some marks of friendship and distinction on our part), may perhaps produce a constitutional concession to them to procure their provisions at the cheapest market ; that is to say, at ours. Considering the value of the interests we have at stake and considering the small- ness of difference between foreign and native tonnage on French vessels alone, it might perhaps be thought advisable to make the sacrifice asked, and especially if it can be so done as to give no title to other the most favored nations to claim it. If the act should put French vessels on the footing of those of natives, and declare it to be in consideration of the favors granted us by the arrets of December 29, 1787, and December 7, 1788 (and perhaps this would satisfy them), no nation could then demand the same favor without offering an equivalent compensation. It might strengthen, too, the tenure by which those arrets are held, which must be precarious so long as they are gratuitous. It is desirable in many instances to exchange mutual advantages by legislative acts rather than by treaty, because the former, though understood to be in consideration of each other, and therefore greatly respected, yet when they become too incon- venient can be dropped at the will of either party; whereas stipulations by treaty are forever irrevocable but by joint consent, let a change of circumstances render them ever so burdensome. On the whole, if it be the opinion that the first construction is to be insisted on as ours, in opposition to the second urged by the Court of France, and that no relaxation is to be admitted, an answer shall be given to that Court defending that construction, and explaining in as friendly terms as possible the difficulties opposed to the exemp- tion they claim. 2. If it be the opinion that it is advantageous for us to close with France in her interpretation of a reciprocal and perpetual exemption from tonnage, a repeal of so much of the tonnage law will be the answer. 3. If it be thought better to waive rigorous and nice discussions of right and to make the modification an act of friendship and of compensation for favors received, the passage of such a bill will then be the answer. TH: JEFFERSON. [Translation.] L. G. Otto to the Secretary of State. PHILADELPHIA, December fj, 1790. SIR: During the long stay you made in France you had opportunities of being satisfied of the favorable dispositions of His Majesty to render permanent the ties that united the two nations and to give stability to the treaties of alliance and of commerce which form the basis of this union. These treaties were so well main- tained by the Congress formed under the ancient Confederation that they thought it their duty to interpose their authority whenever any laws made by individual States appeared to infringe their stipulations, and particularly in 1785, when the States of New Hampshire and of Massachusetts had imposed an extraordinary tonnage on George Washington 93 foreign vessels without exempting those of the French nation. The reflections that I have the honor to address to you in the subjoined note being founded on the same principles, I flatter myself that they will merit on the part of the Government of the United States the most serious attention. I am, with respect, etc., L. G. OTTO. [Translation.] L. G. Otto to the Secretary of State. PHH.ADEI.PHIA, December /j, 1790. NOTE. The underwritten, charge" d'affaires of France, has received the express order of his Court to represent to the United States that the act passed by Congress the 2oth July, 1789, and renewed the 2oth July of the present year, which imposes an extraordinary tonnage on foreign vessels without excepting French vessels, is directly contrary to the spirit and to the object of the treaty of commerce which unites the two nations, and of which His Majesty has not only scrupulously observed the tenor, but of which he has extended the advantages by many regulations very favorable to the commerce and navigation of the United States. By the fifth article of this treaty the citizens of these States are declared exempt from the tonnage duty imposed in France on foreign vessels, and they are not subject to that duty but in the coasting business. Congress has reserved the privilege of establishing a duty equivalent to this last, a stipulation founded on the state in which matters were in America at the time of the signature of the treaty. There did not exist at that epoch any duty on tonnage in the United States. It is evident that it was the nonexistence of this duty and the motive of a perfect reciprocity stipulated in the preamble of the treaty that had determined the King to grant the exemption contained in the article fifth; and a proof that Congress had no intention to contravene this reciprocity is that it only reserves a privilege of estab- lishing on the coasting business a duty equivalent to that which is levied in France. This reservation would have been completely useless if by the words of the treaty Congress thought themselves at liberty to lay any tonnage they should think proper on French vessels. The undersigned has the honor to observe that this contravention of the fifth article of the treaty of commerce might have authorized His Majesty to modify proportionately the favors granted by the same article to the American navigation ; but the King, always faithful to the principles of friendship and attachment to the United States, and desirous of strengthening more and more the ties which subsist so happily between the French nation and these States, thinks it more conformable to these views to order the undersigned to make representations on this subject, and to ask in favor of French vessels a modification of the act which imposes an extra- ordinary tonnage on foreign vessels. His Majesty does not doubt but that the United States will acknowledge the justice of this claim, and will be disposed to restore things to the footing on which they were at the signature of the treaty of the 6th February, 1778. L. G. OTTO. [Translation.] L. G. Otto to the Secretary of State. NEW YORK, January 8, 1791. His Excellency M. JEFFERSON, Secretary of State. SIR : I have the honor herewith to send you a letter from the King to Congress, and one which M. de Montmorin has written to yourself. You will find therein the 94 Messages and Papers of the Presidents sincere sentiments with which you have inspired our Government, and the regret of the minister in not having a more near relation of correspondence with you. In these every person who has had the advantage of knowing you in France participates. At the same time, it gives me pain, sir, to be obliged to announce to you that the complaints of our merchants on the subject of the tonnage duty increase, and that they have excited not only the attention of the King but that of several depart- ments of the Kingdom. I have received new orders to request of the United States a decision on this matter and to solicit in favor of the aggrieved merchants the restitution of the duties which have already been paid. I earnestly beg of you, sir, not to lose sight of an object which, as I have already had the honor to tell you verbally, is of the greatest importance for cementing the future commercial con- nections between the two nations. In more particularly examining this question you will perhaps find that motives of convenience are as powerful as those of justice to engage the United States to give to His Majesty the satisfaction which he requires. At least twice as many American vessels enter the ports of France as do those of France the ports of America. The exemption of the tonnage of duty, then, is evidently less advanta- geous for the French than for the navigators of the United States. Be this as it may, I can assure you, sir, that the delay of a decision in this respect by augmenting the just complaints of the French merchants will only augment the difficulties. I therefore beg of you to enable me before the sailing of the packet, which will take place toward the last of this month, to give to my Court a satisfactory answer. I have the honor to be, etc., L. G. OTTO. UNITED STATES, Ja n uary 24., 1791. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: I lay before you a statement relative to the frontiers of the United States, which has been submitted to me by the Secretary for the Depart- ment of War. I rely upon your wisdom to make such arrangements as may be essen- tial for the preservation of good order and the effectual protection of the frontiers. G9 WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, January 24., 1791. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: In execution of the powers with which Congress were pleased to invest me by their act entitled "An act for establishing the temporary and permanent seat of Government of the United States, ' ' and on mature consideration of the advantages and disadvantages of the several posi- tions within the limits prescribed by the said act, I have by a proclama- tion bearing date this day (a copy of which is herewith transmitted) directed commissioners, appointed in pursuance of the act, to survey and limit a part of the territory of 10 miles square on both sides of the river Potomac, so as to comprehend Georgetown, in Maryland, and extend to the Eastern Branch. George Washington 95 I have not by this first act given to the said territory the whole extent of which it is susceptible in the direction of the river, because I thought it important that Congress should have an opportunity of con- sidering whether by an amendatory law they would authorize the location of the residue at the lower end of the present, so as to comprehend the Eastern Branch itself and some of the country on its lower side, in the State of Maryland, and the town of Alexandria, in Virginia. If, however, they are of opinion that the Federal territory should be bounded by the water edge of the Eastern Branch, the location of the residue will be to be made at the upper end of what is now directed. I have thought best to await a survey of the territory before it is decided on what particular spot on the northeastern side of the river the public buildings shall be erected. G9 WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, January 26, 1791. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: I lay before you the copy of a letter from the President of the National Assembly of France to the President of the United States, and of a decree of that Assembly, which was transmitted with the above-mentioned letter. GO WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, January 27, 1791. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: In order that you may be fully informed of the situation of the fron- tiers and the prospect of hostility in that quarter, I lay before you the intelligence of some recent depredations, received since my message to you upon this subject of the 24th instant. G9 WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, February 9, 1791. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: I have received from the governor of Vermont authentic documents, expressing the consent of the legislatures of New York and of the Terri- tory of Vermont that the said Territory shall be admitted to be a distinct member of our Union; and a memorial of Nathaniel Chipman and L,ewis R. Morris, commissioners from the said Territory, praying the consent of Congress to that admission, by the name and style of the State of Vermont, copies of which I now lay before Congress, with whom the Constitution has vested the object of these proceedings. G9 WASHINGTON. 96 Messages and Papers of the Presidents UNITED STATES, February 14., Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: Soon after I was called to the administration of the Government I found it important to come to an understanding with the Court of London on several points interesting to the United States, and particularly to know whether they were disposed to enter into arrangements by mutual consent which might fix the commerce between the two nations on prin- ciples of reciprocal advantage. For this purpose I authorized informal conferences with their ministers, and from these I do not infer any dispo- sition on their part to enter into any arrangements merely commercial. I have thought it proper to give you this information, as it might at some time have influence on matters under your consideration. GP WASHINGTON. - UNITED STATES, February 14., Gentlemen of the Senate: Conceiving that in the possible event of a refusal of justice on the part of Great Britain we should stand less committed should it be made to a private rather than to a public person, I employed Mr. Gouverneur Morris, who was on the spot, and without giving him any definite char- acter, to enter informally into the conferences before mentioned. For your more particular information I lay before you the instructions I gave him and those parts of his communications wherein the British ministers appear either in conversation or by letter. These are two letters from the Duke of Leeds to Mr. Morris, and three letters of Mr. Morris giving an account of two conferences with the Duke of Leeds and one with him and Mr. Pitt. The sum of these is that they declare without scruple they do not mean to fulfill what remains of the treaty of peace to be fulfilled on their part (by which we are to understand the delivery of the posts and payment for property carried off) till perform- ance on our part, and compensation where the delay has rendered the performance now impracticable; that on the subject of a treaty of com- merce they avoided direct answers, so as to satisfy Mr. Morris they did not mean to enter into one unless it could be extended to a treaty of alliance offensive and defensive, or unless in the event of a rupture with Spain. As to the sending a minister here, they made excuses at the first con- ference, seemed disposed to it in the second, and in the last express an intention of so doing. Their views being thus sufficiently ascertained, I have directed Mr. Morris to discontinue his communications with them. G9 WASHINGTON. George Washington 97 UNITED STATES, February 18, Gentlemen of the Senate: The aspect of affairs in Europe during the last summer, and especially between Spain and England, gave reason to expect a favorable occasion for pressing to accommodation the unsettled matters between them and us. Mr. Carmichael, our charge d'affaires at Madrid, having been long absent from his country, great changes having taken place in our circum- stances and sentiments during that interval, it was thought expedient to send some person, in a private character, fully acquainted with the present state of things here, to be the bearer of written and confidential instructions to him, and at the same time to possess him in full and frequent conversations of all those details of facts and topics of argument which could not be conveyed in writing, but which would be necessary to enable him to meet the reasonings of that Court with advantage. Colonel David Humphreys was therefore sent for these purposes. An additional motive for this confidential mission arose in the same quarter. The Court of Lisbon had on several occasions made the most amicable advances for cultivating friendship and intercourse with the United States. The exchange of a diplomatic character had been inform- ally, but repeatedly, suggested on their part. It was our interest to meet this nation in its friendly dispositions and to concur in the exchange proposed. But my wish was at the same time that the character to be exchanged should be of the lowest and most economical grade. To this it was known that certain rules of long standing at that Court would pro- duce obstacles. Colonel Humphreys was charged with dispatches to the prime minister of Portugal and with instructions to endeavor to arrange this to our views. It happened, however, that previous to his arrival at Lisbon the Queen had appointed a minister' resident to the United States. This embarrassment seems to have rendered the difficulty completely insurmountable. The minister of that Court in his conferences with Colonel Humphreys, professing every wish to accommodate, yet expresses his regrets that circumstances do not permit them to concur in the grade of charge d'affaires, a grade of little privilege or respectability by the rules of their Court and held in so low estimation with them that no proper character would accept it to go abroad. In a letter to the Sec- retary of State he expresses the same sentiments, and announces the appointment on their part of a minister resident to the United States, and the pleasure with which the Queen will receive one from us at her Court. A copy of his letter, and also of Colonel Humphreys' s giving the details of this transaction, will be delivered to you. On consideration of all circumstances I have determined to accede to the desire of the Court of Lisbon in the article of grade. I am aware that the consequences will not end here, and that this is not the only instance in which a like change may be pressed. But should it be necessary M P VOL i 7 98 Messages and Papers of the Presidents to yield elsewhere also, I shall think it a less evil than, to disgust a government so friendly and so interesting to us as that of Portugal. I do not mean that the change of grade shall render the mission more expensive. I have therefore nominated David Humphreys minister resident from the United States to Her Most Faithful Majesty the Queen of Portugal. GO WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, February 22, Gentlemen of the Senate: I will proceed to take measures for the ransom of our citizens in captivity at Algiers, in conformity with your resolution of advice of the ist instant, so soon as the moneys necessary shall be appropriated by the Legislature and shall be in readiness. The recognition of our treaty with the new Emperor of Morocco requires also previous appropriation and provision. The importance of this last to the liberty and property of our citizens induces me to urge it on your earliest attention. G9 WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, February 23, 1791. Gentlemen of the Senate: Information having been received from Thomas Auldjo, who was appointed vice-consul of the United States at Cowes, in Great Britain, that his commission has not been recognized by that Government because it is a port at which no foreign consul has yet been received, and that it has been intimated to him that his appointment to the port of Poole and parts nearer to that than to the residence of any other consul of the United States would be recognized and his residence at Cowes not noticed, I have therefore thought it expedient to nominate Thomas Auldjo to be vice-consul for the United States at the port of Poole, in Great Britain, and such parts within the allegiance of His Britannic Majesty as shall be nearer thereto than to the residence of any other consul or vice-consul of the United States within the same allegiance. I also nominate James Yard, of Pennsylvania, to be consul for the United States in the island of Santa Cruz and such other parts within the allegiance of His Danish Majesty as shall be nearer thereto than to the residence of any other consul or vice-consul of the United States within the same allegiance. G9 WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, March 4, 17 9r. Gentlemen of the Senate : The act for the admission of the State of Vermont into this Union having fixed on this as the day of its admission, it was thought that this would also be the first day on which any officer of the Union might George Washington 99 legally perform any act of authority relating to that State. I therefore required your attendance to receive nominations of the several officers necessary to put the Federal Government into motion in that State.* For this purpose I nominate Nathaniel Chipman to be judge of the dis- trict of Vermont; Stephen Jacobs to be attorney for the United States in the district of Vermont; Lewis R. Morris to be marshal of the district of Vermont, and Stephen Keyes to be collector of the port of Allburgh, in the State of Vermont. Qp WASHINGTON> UNITED STATES, March 4., 1791. Gentlemen of the Senate: Pursuant to the powers vested in me by the act entitled ' ' An act repealing after the last day of June next the duties heretofore laid upon distilled spirits imported from abroad and laying others in their stead, and also upon spirits distilled within the United States, and for appro- priating the same," I have thought fit to divide the United States into the following districts, namely: The district of New Hampshire, to consist of the State of New Hamp- shire; the district of Massachusetts, to consist of the State of Massachu- setts; the district of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, to consist of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations; the district of Connecticut, to consist of the State of Connecticut; the district of Ver- mont, to consist of the State of Vermont; the district of New York, to consist of the State of New York; the district of New Jersey, to consist of the State of New Jersey; the district of Pennsylvania, to consist of the State of Pennsylvania; the district of Delaware, to consist of the State of Delaware; the district of Maryland, to consist of the State of Maryland; the district of Virginia, to consist of the State of Virginia; the district of North Carolina, to consist of the State of North Carolina; the district of South Carolina, to consist of the State of South Carolina; and the dis- trict of Georgia, to consist of the State of Georgia. And I hereby nominate as supervisors of the said districts, respectively, the following persons, viz: For the district of New Hampshire, Joshua Wentworth; for the dis- trict of Massachusetts, Nathaniel Gorham; for the district of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, John S. Dexter; for the district of Connecticut, John Chester; for the district of Vermont, Noah Smith; for the district of New York, William S. Smith; for the district of New Jersey, Aaron Dunham; for the district of Pennsylvania, George Clymer; for the district of Delaware, Henry L,atimer; for the district of Maryland, George Gale; for the district of Virginia, Edward Carrington; for the district of North Carolina, William Polk; for the district of South Caro- lina, Daniel Stevens; for the district of Georgia, John Mathews. G9 WASHINGTON. *For proclamation convening Senate in extraordinary session see p. 587. zoo Messages and Papers of the Presidents PROCLAMATIONS. [From a broadside in the archives of the Department of State.] BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas the general assembly of the State of Maryland, by an act passed on the 23d day of December, A. D. 1788, intituled "An act to cede to Congress a district of 10 miles square in this State for the seat of the Government of the United States, ' ' did enact that the Representatives of the said State in the House of Representatives of the Congress of the United States, appointed to assemble at New York on the first Wednes- day of March then next ensuing, should be, and they were thereby, authorized and required on the behalf of the said State to cede to the Congress of the United States any district in the said State not exceeding 10 miles square which the Congress might fix upon and accept for the seat of Government of the United States; And the general assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia, by an act passed on the 3d day of December, 1789, and intituled "An act for the cession of 10 miles square, or any lesser quantity, of territory within this State to the United States in Congress assembled, for the permanent seat of the General Government," did enact that a tract of country not exceeding 10 miles square, or any lesser quantity, to be located within the limits of the said State, and in any part thereof, as Congress might by law direct, should be, and the same was thereby, forever ceded and relin- quished to the Congress and Government of the United States, in full and absolute right and exclusive jurisdiction, as well of soil as of per- sons residing or to reside thereon, pursuant to the tenor and effect of the eighth section of the first article of the Constitution of Government of the United States; And the Congress of the United States, by their act passed the i6th day of July, 1790, and intituled "An act for establishing the temporary and permanent seat of the Government of the United States," authorized the President of the United States to appoint three commissioners to survey under his direction and by proper metes and bounds to limit a district of territory, not exceeding 10 miles square, on the river Potomac, at some place between the mouths of the Eastern Branch and Connogo- cheque, which district, so to be located and limited, was accepted by the said act of Congress as the district for the permanent seat of the Gov- ernment of the United States: Now, therefore, in pursuance of the powers to me confided, and after duly examining and weighing the advantages and disadvantages of the several situations within the limits aforesaid, I do hereby declare and make known that the location of one part of the said district of 10 miles square shall be found by running four lines of experiment in the George Washington 101 i following manner, that is to say: Running from the court-house of Alex- andria, in Virginia, due southwest half a mile, and thence a due south- east course till it shall strike Hunting Creek, to fix the beginning of the said four lines of experiment. Then beginning the first of the said four lines of experiment at the point on Hunting Creek where the said southeast course shall have struck the same, and running the said first line due northwest 10 miles; thence the second line into Maryland due northeast 10 miles; thence the third line due southeast 10 miles, and thence the fourth line due south- west 10 miles to the beginning on Hunting Creek. And the said four lines of experiment being so run, I do hereby declare and make known that all that part within the said four lines of -experiment which shall be within the State of Maryland and above the Eastern Branch, and all that part within the same four lines of experi- ment which shall be within the Commonwealth of Virginia and above a line to be run from the point of land forming the upper cape of the mouth of the Eastern Branch due southwest, and no more, is now fixed upon and directed to be surveyed, defined, limited, and located for a part of the said district accepted by the said act of Congress for the permanent seat of the Government of the United States (hereby expressly reserv- ing the direction of the survey and location of the remaining part of the said district to be made hereafter contiguous to such part or parts of the present location as is or shall be agreeable to law). And I do accordingly direct the said commissioners, appointed agree- ably to the tenor of the said act, to proceed forthwith to run the said lines of experiment, and the same being run, to survey and by proper metes and bounds to define and limit the part within the same which is hereinbefore directed for immediate location and acceptance, and thereof to make due report to me under their hands and seals. In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United States to be affixed to these presents and signed the same with my hand: r -i Done at the city of Philadelphia, the 24th day of January, A. D. 1791, and of the Independence of the United States the fifteenth. Gp WASHINGTON. By the President: TH: JEFFERSON. [From, a broadside in the archives of the Deportment of State.] BY THE; PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas it hath been represented to me that James O' Fallen is levy- ing an armed force in that part of the State of Virginia which is called Kentucky, disturbs the public peace, and sets at defiance the treaties of the United States with the Indian tribes, the act of Congress intituled IO2 Messages and Papers of the Presidents "An act to regulate trade and intercourse with the Indian tribes," and my proclamations of the i4th and 26th days of August last founded thereon; and it is niy earnest desire that those who have incautiously associated themselves with the said James O' Fallen may be warned of their danger, i have therefore thought fit to publish this proclamation, hereby declaring that all persons violating the treaties and act aforesaid shall be prosecuted with the utmost rigor of the law. And I do, moreover, require all officers of the United States whom it may concern to use their best exertions to bring to justice any persons offending in the premises. In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United States to be affixed to these presents and signed the same with my hand, p n Done at the city of Philadelphia, the igth day of March, A. D. 1791, and of the Independence of the United States the fifteenth. G o WASHINGTON. By the President: TH: JEFFERSON. [From the Washington Papers (Executive Proceedings), vol. 20, p. 191.] BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas by a proclamation bearing date the 24th day of January of this present year, and in pursuance of certain acts of the States of Mary- land and Virginia and of the Congress of the United States, therein mentioned, certain lines of experiment were directed to be run in the neighborhood of Georgetown, in Maryland, for the purpose of determin- ing the location of a part of the territory of 10 miles square for the per- manent seat of the Government of the United States, ?nd a certain part was directed to be located within the said lines of experiment on both sides of the Potomac and above the limit of the Eastern Branch pre- scribed by the said act of Congress; And Congress by an amendatory act passed on the 3d day of the present month of March have given further authority to the President of the United States ' ' to make any part of the territory below the said limit and above the mouth of Hunting Creek a part of the said district, so as to include a convenient part of the Eastern Branch and of the lands lying on the lower side thereof, and also the town of Alexandria' ' : Now, therefore, for the purpose of amending and completing the loca- tion of the whole of the said territory of 10 miles square in conformity with the said amendatory act of Congress, I do hereby declare and make known that the whole of the said territory shall be located and included within the four lines following, that is to say: Beginning at Jones's Point, being the upper cape of Hunting Creek, in Virginia, and at an angle in the outset of 45 degrees west of the north, George Washington 103 and running in a direct line 10 miles for the first line ; then beginning again at the same Jones's Point and running another direct line at a right angle with the first across the Potomac 10 miles for the second line; then from the termination of the said first and second lines run- ning two other direct lines of 10 miles each, the one crossing the Eastern Branch aforesaid and the other the Potomac, and meeting each other in a point. And I do accordingly direct the commissioners named under the authority of the said first-mentioned act of Congress to proceed forth- with to have the said four lines run, and by proper metes and bounds defined and limited, and thereof to make due report under their hands and seals; and the territory so to be located, defined, and limited shall be the whole territory accepted by the said acts of Congress as the district for the permanent seat of the Government of the United States. In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United States to be affixed to these presents and signed the same with my hand. r- -] Done af Georgetown aforesaid, the 3oth day of March, A. D. 1791, and of the Independence of the United States the fifteenth. GO WASHINGTON. THIRD ANNUAL ADDRESS. UNITED STATES, October 25, // 1796. Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: I transmit herewith the copy of a letter, dated the igth of December last, from Governor Blount to the Secretary of War, stating the avowed and daring designs of certain persons to take possession of the lands belonging to the Cherokees, and which the United States have by treaty solemnly guaranteed to that nation. The injustice of such intrusions and the mischievous consequences which must necessarily result there- from demand that effectual provision be made to prevent them. G9 WASHINGTON. 192 Messages and Papers of the Presidents UNITED STATES, February 75, 1796. Gentlemen of the Senate: Herewith I transmit, for your consideration and advice, a treaty of peace and amity, concluded on the 5th day of last September by Joseph Donaldson, jr., on the part of the United States, with the Dey of Algiers, for himself, his Divan, and his subjects. The instructions and other necessary papers relative to this negotia- tion are also sent herewith, for the information of the Senate. G9 WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, February 26, 1796. Gentlemen of the Senate: I send herewith the treaty concluded on the 2jth of October last between the United States and Spain by their respective plenipoten- tiaries. The communications to the Senate referred to in my message of the 1 6th of December, 1793, contain the instructions to the commissioners of the United States, Messrs. Carmichael and Short, and various details relative to the negotiations with Spain. Herewith I transmit copies of the documents authorizing Mr. Pinckney, the envoy extraordinary from the United States to the Court of Spain, to conclude the negotiation agreeably to the original instructions above mentioned, and to adjust the claims of the United States for the spoliations committed by the armed vessels of His Catholic Majesty on the commerce of our citizens. The numerous papers exhibiting the progress of the negotiation under the conduct of Mr. Pinckney, being in the French and Spanish lan- guages, will be communicated to the Senate as soon as the translations which appear necessary shall be completed. G9 WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, March i, 1796. Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: The treaty of amity, commerce, and navigation concluded between the United States of America and His Britannic Majesty having been duly ratified, and the ratifications having been exchanged at London on the 28th day of October, 1795, I have directed the same to be pro- mulgated, and herewith transmit a copy thereof for the information of Congress. G9 WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, March 8, 1796. Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: I send herewith, for the information of Congress, the treaty concluded between the United States and the Dey and Regency of Algiers. G WASHINGTON. George Washington 193 UNITED STATES, March 15, 1796. Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: By the ninth section of the act entitled ' 'An act to provide a naval armament' ' it is enacted ' ' that if a peace shall take place between the United States and the Regency of Algiers, that no further proceedings be had under this act." The peace which is here contemplated having taken place, it is incum- bent upon the Executive to suspend all orders respecting the building of the frigates, procuring materials for them, or preparing materials already obtained, which may be done without intrenching upon contracts or agree- ments made and entered into before this event. But inasmuch as the loss which the public would incur might be consid- erable from dissipation of workmen, from certain works or operations being suddenly dropped or left unfinished, and from the derangement in the whole system consequent upon an immediate suspension of all proceedings under it, I have therefore thought advisable, before taking such a step, to submit the subject to the Senate and House of Representa- tives, that such measures may be adopted in the premises as may best comport with the public interest. GP WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, March 25, 1796. Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: I send herewith, for your information, the translation of a letter from the minister plenipotentiary of the French Republic to the Secretary of State, announcing the peace made by the Republic with the Kings of Prussia and Spain, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, and the Landgrave of Hesse Cassel, and that the republican constitution decreed by the National Convention had been accepted by the people of France and was in operation. I also send you a copy of the answer given by my direc- tion to this communication from the French minister. My sentiments therein expressed I am persuaded will harmonize with yours and with those of all my fellow-citizens. G9 WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, March 29, 1796. Gentlemen of the House of Representatives. : I send herewith a copy of the treaty of friendship, limits, and navi- gation, concluded on the 2yth of October last, between the United States and His Catholic Majesty. This treaty has been ratified by me agreeably to the Constitution, and the ratification has been dispatched for Spain, where it will doubtless be immediately ratified by His Catholic Majesty. M P voi, i 13 194 Messages and Papers of the Presidents This early communication of the treaty with Spain has become neces- sary because it is stipulated in the third article that commissioners for running the boundary line between the territory of the United States and the Spanish colonies of East and West Florida shall meet at the Natchez before the expiration of six months from the ratification; and as that period will undoubtedly arrive before the next meeting of Congress, the House will see the necessity of making provision in their present session for the object here mentioned. It wi-ll also be necessary to provide for the expense to be incurred in executing the twenty-first article of the treaty, to enable our fellow-citizens to obtain with as little delay as possible compensation for the losses they have sustained by the capture of their vessels and cargoes by the subjects of His Catholic Majesty during the late war between France and Spain. Estimates of the moneys necessary to be provided for the purposes of this and several other treaties with foreign nations and the Indian tribes will be laid before you by the proper Department. G9 WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, March jo, 1796. To the Ho2ise of Representatives of the United States: With the utmost attention I have considered your resolution of the 24th instant, requesting me to lay before your House a copy of the instructions to the minister of the United States who negotiated the treaty with the King of Great Britain, together with the correspondence and other docu- ments, relative to that treaty, excepting such of the said papers as any existing negotiation may render improper to be disclosed. In deliberating upon this subject it was impossible for me to lose sight of the principle which some have avowed in its discussion, or to avoid extending my views to the consequences which must flow from the admission of that principle. I trust that no part of my conduct has ever indicated a disposition to withhold any information which the Constitution has enjoined upon the President as a duty to give, or which could be required of him by either House of Congress as a right; and with truth I affirm that it has been, as it will continue to be while I have the honor to preside in the Gov- ernment, my constant endeavor to harmonize with the other branches thereof so far as the trust delegated to me by the people of the United States and my sense of the obligation it imposes to ' ' preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution ' ' will permit. The nature of foreign negotiations requires caution, and their success must often depend on secrecy; and even when brought to a conclusion a full disclosure of all the measures, demands, or eventual concessions which may have been proposed or contemplated would be extremely impolitic; for this might have a pernicious influence on future negotria- George Washington 195 tions, or produce immediate inconveniences, perhaps danger and mischief, in relation to other powers. The necessity of such caution and secrecy was one cogent reason for vesting the power of making treaties in the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate, the principle on which that body was formed confining it to a small number of members. To admit, then, a right in the House of Representatives to demand and to have as a matter of course all the papers respecting a negotiation with a foreign power would be to establish a dangerous precedent. It does not occur that the inspection of the papers asked for can be relative to any purpose under the cognizance of the House of Repre- sentatives, except that of an impeachment, which the resolution has not expressed. I repeat that I have no disposition to withhold any infor- mation which the duty of my station will permit or the public good shall require to be disclosed; and, in fact, all the papers affecting the negotiation with Great Britain were laid before the Senate when the treaty itself was communicated for their consideration and advice. The course which the debate has taken on the resolution of the House leads to some observations on the mode of making treaties under the Constitution of the United States. Having been a member of the General Convention, and knowing the principles on which the Constitution was formed, I have ever entertained but one opinion on this subject; and from the first establishment of the Government to this moment my conduct has exemplified that opinion that the power of making treaties is exclusively vested in the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur; and that every treaty so made and promul- gated thenceforward became the law of the land. It is thus that the treaty-making power has been understood by foreign nations, and in all the treaties made with them we have declared and they have believed that, when ratified by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate, they became obligatory. In this construction of the Constitution every House of Representatives has heretofore acquiesced, and until the pres- ent time not a doubt or suspicion has appeared, to my knowledge, that this construction was not the true one. Nay, they have more than acqui- esced; for till now, without controverting the obligation of such treaties, they have made all the requisite provisions for carrying them into effect. There is also reason to believe that this construction agrees with the opinions entertained by the State conventions when they were deliber- ating on the Constitution, especially by those who objected to it because there was not required in commercial treaties the consent of two-thirds of the whole number of the members of the Senate instead of two-thirds of the Senators present, and because in treaties respecting territorial and certain other rights and claims the concurrence of three-fourths of the whole number of the members of both Houses, respectively, was not made necessary. 196 Messages and Papers of the Presidents It is a fact declared by the General Convention and universally under- stood that the Constitution of the United States was the result of a spirit of amity and mutual concession; and it is well known that under this influence the smaller States were admitted to an equal representation in the Senate with the larger States, and that this branch of the Govern- ment was invested with great powers, for on the equal participation of those powers the sovereignty and political safety of the smaller States were deemed essentially to depend. If other proofs than these and the plain letter of the Constitution itself be necessary to ascertain the point under consideration, they may be found in the journals of the General Convention, which I have deposited in the office of the Department of State. In those journals it will appear that a proposition was made "that no treaty should be binding on the United States which was not ratified by a law," and that the proposition was explicitly rejected. As, therefore, it is perfectly clear to my understanding that the assent of the House of Representatives is not necessary to the validity of a treaty; as the treaty with Great Britain exhibits in itself all the objects requiring legislative provision, and on these the papers called for can throw no light, and as it is essential -to the due administration of the Government that the boundaries fixed by the Constitution between the different departments should be preserved, a just regard to the Consti- tution and to the duty of my office, under all the circumstances of this case, forbids a compliance with your request. G9 WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, March j/, 1796. Gentlemen of the Senate: The treaty of amity, commerce, and navigation between the United States and Great Britain requiring that commissioners should be appointed to fix certain boundaries between the territories of the contracting par- ties, and to ascertain the losses and damages represented to have been sustained by their respective citizens and subjects, as set forth in the fifth, sixth, and seventh articles of the treaty, in order to carry those articles into execution I nominate as commissioners on the part of the United States: For the purpose mentioned in the fifth article, Henry Knox, of Massa- chusetts; For the purpose mentioned in the sixth article, Thomas Fitzsimons, of Pennsylvania, and James Innes, of Virginia; and For the purposes mentioned in the seventh article, Christopher Gore, of Massachusetts, and William Pinckney, of Maryland. GP WASHINGTON. George Washington 197 UNITED STATES, April efore observed , that endeavors have been employed to foster and estab- John Adams 239 lish a division between the Government and people of the United States. To investigate the causes which have encouraged this attempt is not neces- sary; but to repel, by decided and united councils, insinuations so derog- atory to the honor and aggressions so dangerous to the Constitution, union, and even independence of the nation is an indispensable duty. It must not be permitted to be doubted whether the people of the United States will support the Government established by their volun- tary consent and appointed by their free choice, or whether, by surren- dering themselves to the direction of foreign and domestic factions, in opposition to their own Government, they will forfeit the honorable sta- tion they have hitherto maintained. For myself, having never been indifferent to what concerned the inter- ests of my country, devoted the best part of my life to obtain and support its independence, and constantly witnessed the patriotism, fidelity, and perseverance of my fellow-citizens on the most trying occasions, it is not for me to hesitate or abandon a cause in which my heart has been so long engaged. Convinced that the conduct of the Government has been just and impartial to foreign nations, that those internal regulations which have been established by law for the preservation of peace are in their nature proper, and that they have been fairly executed, nothing will ever be done by me to impair the national engagements, to innovate upon prin- ciples which have been so deliberately and uprightly established, or to surrender in any manner the rights of the Government. To enable me to maintain this declaration I rely, under God, with entire confidence on the firm and enlightened support of the National Legislature and upon the virtue and patriotism of my fellow-citizens. JOHN ADAMS. ADDRESS OF THE SENATE TO JOHN ADAMS, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. SIR: The Senate of the United States request you to accept their acknowledgments for the comprehensive and interesting detail you have given in your speech to both Houses of Congress on the existing state of the Union. While we regret the necessity of the present meeting of the Legisla- ture, we wish to express our entire approbation of your conduct in con- vening it on this momentous occasion. The superintendence of our national faith, honor, and dignity being in a great measure constitutionally deposited with the Executive, we observe with singular satisfaction the vigilance, firmness, and prompti- tude exhibited by you in this critical state of our public affairs, and from thence derive an evidence and pledge of the rectitude and integrity of your Administration. And we are sensible it is an object of primary 240 Messages and Papers of the Presidents importance that each branch of the Government should adopt a language and system of conduct which shall be cool, just, and dispassionate, but firm, explicit, and decided. We are equally desirous with you to preserve peace and friendship with all nations, and are happy to be informed that neither the honor nor interests of the United States forbid advances for securing those desirable objects by amicable negotiation with the French Republic. This method of adjusting national differences is not only the most mild, but the most rational and humane, and with governments disposed to be just can seldom fail of success when fairly, candidly, and sincerely used. If we have committed errors and can be made sensible of them, we agree with you in opinion that we ought to correct them, and compensate the injuries which may have been consequent thereon; and we trust the French Republic will be actuated by the same just and benevolent prin- ciples of national policy. We do therefore most sincerely approve of your determination to pro- mote and accelerate an accommodation of our existing differences with that Republic by negotiation, on terms compatible with the rights, duties, interests, and honor of our nation. And you may rest assured of our most cordial cooperation so far as it may become necessary in this pursuit. Peace and harmony with all nations is our sincere wish; but such being the lot of humanity that nations will not always reciprocate peaceable dispositions, it is our firm belief that effectual measures of defense will tend to inspire that national self-respect and confidence at home which is the unfailing source of respectability abroad, to check aggression and prevent war. While we are endeavoring to adjust our differences with the French Republic by amicable negotiation, the progress of the war in Europe, the depredations on our commerce, the personal injuries to our citizens, and the general complexion of affairs prove to us your vigilant care in recommending to our attention effectual measures of defense. Those which you recommend, whether they, relate to external defense by permitting our citizens to arm for the purpose of repelling aggressions on their commercial rights, and by providing sea convoys, or to inter- nal defense by increasing the establishments of artillery and cavalry, by forming a provisional army, by revising the militia laws, and fortifying more completely our ports and harbors, will meet our consideration under the influence of the same just regard for the security, interest, and honor of our country which dictated your recommendation. Practices so unnatural and iniquitous as those you state, of our own citizens converting their property and personal exertions into the means of annoying our trade and injuring their fellow-citizens, deserve legal severity commensurate with their turpitude. Although the Senate believe that the prosperity and happiness of our country does not depend on general and extensive political connections John Adams 241 with European nations, yet we can never lose sight of the propriety as well as necessity of enabling the Executive, by sufficient and liberal sup- plies, to maintain and even extend our foreign intercourse as exigencies may require, reposing full confidence in the Executive, in whom the Constitution has placed the powers of negotiation. We learn with sincere concern that attempts are in operation to alienate the affections of our fellow-citizens from their Government. Attempts so wicked, wherever they exist, can not fail to excite our utmost abhor- rence. A government chosen by the people for their own safety and happiness, and calculated to secure both, can not lose their affections so long as its administration pursues the principles upon which it was erected; and your resolution to observe a conduct just and impartial to all nations, a sacred regard to our national engagements, and not to impair the rights of our Government, contains principles which can not fail to secure to your Administration the support of the National Legislature to render abortive every attempt to excite dangerous jealousies among us, and to convince the world that our Government and your adminis- tration of it can not be separated from the affectionate support of every good citizen. And the Senate can not suffer the present occasion to pass without thus publicly and solemnly expressing their attachment to the Constitution and Government of their country; and as they hold them- selves responsible to their constituents, their consciences, and their God, it is their determination by all their exertions to repel every attempt to alienate the affections of the people from the Government, so highly inju- rious to the honor, safety, and independence of the United States. We are happy, since our sentiments on the subject are in perfect unison with yours, in this public manner to declare that we believe the conduct of the Government has been just and impartial to foreign nations, and that those internal regulations which have been established for the preser- vation of peace are in their nature proper and have been fairly executed. And we are equally happy in possessing an entire confidence in your abilities and exertions in your station to maintain untarnished the honor, preserve the peace, and support the independence of our country, to acquire and establish which, in connection with your fellow-citizens, has been the virtuous effort of a principal part of your life. To aid you in these arduous and honorable exertions, as it is our duty so it shall be our faithful endeavor ; and we flatter ourselves, sir, that the proceedings of the present session of Congress will manifest to the world that although the United States love peace, they will be independ- ent; that they are sincere in their declarations to be just to the French and all other nations, and expect the same in return. If a sense of justice, a love of moderation and peace, shall influence their councils, which we sincerely hope we shall have just grounds to expect, peace and amity between the United States and all nations will be preserved. M P voi, i 1 6 242 Messages and Papers of the Presidents But if we are so unfortunate as to experience injuries from any for- eign power, and the ordinary methods by which differences are amica- bly adjusted between nations shall be rejected, the determination "not to surrender in any manner the rights of the Government," being so inseparably connected with the dignity, interest, and independence of our country, shall by us be steadily and inviolably supported. TH: JEFFERSON, Vice- President of the United States and President of the Senate. MAY 23, 1797. REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT. Mr. Vice- President and Gentlemen of the Senate: It would be an affectation in me to dissemble the pleasure I feel on receiving this kind address. My long experience of the wisdom, fortitude, and patriotism of the Sen- ate of the United States enhances in my estimation the value of those obliging expressions of your approbation of my conduct, which are a generous reward for the past and an affecting encouragement to constancy and perseverance in future. Our sentiments appear to be so entirely in unison that I can not but believe them to be the rational result of the understandings and the nat- ural feelings of the hearts of Americans in general on contemplating the present state of the nation. While such principles and affections prevail they will form an indis- soluble bond of union and a sure pledge that our country has no essen- tial injury to apprehend from any portentous appearances abroad. In a humble reliance on Divine Providence we may rest assured that while we reiterate with sincerity our endeavors to accommodate all our differ- ences with France, the independence of our country can not be diminished, its dignity degraded, or its glory tarnished by any nation or combination of nations, whether friends or enemies. JOHN ADAMS. MAY 24, 1797. ADDRESS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO JOHN ADAMS, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. SIR : The interesting details of those events which have rendered the convention of Congress at this time indispensable (communicated in your speech to both Houses) has excited in us the strongest emotions. Whilst we regret the occasion, we can not omit to testify our approbation of the measure, and pledge ourselves that no considerations of private inconven- ience shall prevent on our part a faithful discharge of the duties to which we are called. John Adams 243 We have constantly hoped that the nations of Europe, whilst desolated by foreign wars or convulsed by intestine divisions, would have left the United States to enjoy that peace and tranquillity to which the impartial conduct of our Government has entitled us, and it is now with extreme regret we find the measures of the French Republic tending to endanger a situation so desirable and interesting to our country. Upon this occasion we feel it our duty to express in the most explicit manner the sensations which the present crisis has excited, and to assure you of our zealous cooperation in those measures which may appear nec- essary for our security or peace. Although it is the earnest wish of our hearts that peace may be main- tained with the French Republic and with all the world, yet we never will surrender those rights which belong to us as a nation; and whilst we view with satisfaction the wisdom, dignity, and moderation which have marked the measures of the Supreme Executive of our country in his attempt to remove by candid explanations the complaints and jealousies of France, we feel the full force of that indignity which has been offered our country in the rejection of its minister. No attempts to wound our rights as a sovereign State will escape the notice of our constituents. They will be felt with indignation and repelled with that decision which shall convince the world that we are not a degraded people ; that we can never submit to the demands of a foreign power without examination and without discussion. Knowing as we do the confidence reposed by the people of the United States in their Government, we cannot hesitate in expressing our indig- nation at any sentiments tending to derogate from that confidence. Such sentiments, wherever entertained, serve to evince an imperfect knowl- edge of the opinions of our constituents. An attempt to separate the people of the United States from their Government is an attempt to sep- arate them from themselves; and although foreigners who know not the genius of our country may have conceived the project, and foreign emissaries may attempt the execution, yet the united efforts of our fellow- citizens will convince the world of its impracticability. Sensibly as we feel the wound which has been inflicted by the trans- actions disclosed in your communications, yet we think with you that neither the honor nor the interest of the United States forbid tjiie repeti- tion of advances for preserving peace; we therefore receive with the utmost satisfaction your information that a fresh attempt at negotiation will be instituted, and we cherish the hope that a mutual spirit of con- ciliation, and a disposition on the part of France to compensate for any injuries which may have been committed upon our neutral rights, and on the part of the United States to place France on grounds similar to those of other countries in their relation and connection with us (if any inequali- ties shall te found to exist), will produce an accommodation compatible with the engagements, rights, duties, and honor of the United States. 244 Messages and Papers of the Presidents Fully, however, impressed with the uncertainty of the result, we shall prepare to meet with fortitude any unfavorable events which may occur, and to extricate ourselves from their consequences with all the skill we possess and all the efforts in our power. Believing with you that the conduct of the Government has been just and impartial to foreign nations, that the laws for the preservation of peace have been proper, and that they have been fairly executed, the Representatives of the people do not hesitate to declare that they will give their most cordial support to the execution of principles so deliberately and uprightly established. The many interesting subjects which you have recommended to our consideration, and which are so strongly enforced by this momentous occasion, will receive every attention which their importance demands, and we trust that, by the decided and explicit conduct which will govern our deliberations, every insinuation will be repelled which is derogatory to the honor and independence of our country. Permit us in offering this address to express our satisfaction at your promotion to the first office in the Government and our entire confidence that the preeminent talents and patriotism which have placed you in this distinguished situation will enable you to discharge its various duties with satisfaction to yourself and advantage to our common country. JUNE 2, 1797. REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT. Mr. Speaker and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: I receive with great satisfaction your candid approbation of the con- vention of Congress, and thank you for your assurances that the inter- esting subjects recommended to your consideration shall receive the attention which their importance demands, and that your cooperation may be expected in those measures which may appear necessary for our security or peace. The declarations of the Representatives of this nation of their satisfac- tion at my promotion to the first office in this Government and of their confidence in my sincere endeavors to discharge the various duties of it with advantage to our common country have excited my most grateful sensibility. I pray you, gentlemen, to believe and to communicate such assurance to our constituents that no event which I can foresee to be attainable by any exertions in the discharge of my duties can afford me so much cor- dial satisfaction as to conduct a negotiation with the French Republic to a removal of prejudices, a correction of errors, a dissipation of umbrages, an accommodation of all differences, and a restoration of harmony and affection to the mutual satisfaction of both nations. And whenever the John Adams 245 legitimate organs of intercourse shall be restored and the real sentiments of the two Governments can be candidly communicated to each other, although strongly impressed with the necessity of collecting ourselves into a manly posture of defense, I nevertheless entertain an encouraging confidence that a mutual spirit of conciliation, a disposition to compensate injuries and accommodate each other in all our relations and connections, will produce an agreement to a treaty consistent with the engagements, rights, duties., and honor of both nations. JOHN ADAMS. JUNE 3, 1797- SPECIAL MESSAGES. UNITED STATES, May 26, 1797. Gentlemen of the Senate: I lay before you, for your consideration and advice, a treaty of perpetual peace and friendship between the United States of America and the Bey and subjects of Tripoli, of Barbary, concluded at Tripoli on the 4th day of November, 1796. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, May 31, 1797. Gentlemen of the Senate: I nominate General Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, of South Carolina, Francis Dana, chief justice of the State of Massachusetts, and General John Marshall, of Virginia, to be jointly and severally envoys extraordi- nary and ministers plenipotentiary to the French Republic. After mature deliberation on the critical situation of our relations with France, which have long engaged my most serious attention, I have determined on these nominations of persons to negotiate with the French Republic to dissipate umbrages, to remove prejudices, to rectify errors, and adjust all differences by a treat}' between the two powers. It is in the present critical and singular circumstances of great impor- tance to engage the confidence of the great portions of the Union in the characters employed and the measures which may be adopted. I have therefore thought it expedient to nominate persons of talents and integ- rity, long known and intrusted in the three great divisions of the Union, and at the same time, to provide against the cases of death, absence, indis- position, or other impediment, to invest any one or more of them with full powers. JOHN ADAMS. 246 Messages and Papers of the Presidents UNITED STATES, June 12, 1797. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: I have received information from the commissioner appointed on the part of the United States, pursuant to the third article of our treaty with Spain, that the running and marking of the boundary line between the colonies of East and West Florida and the territory of the United States have been delayed by the officers of His Catholic Majesty, and that they have declared their intention to maintain his jurisdiction, and to suspend the withdrawing his troops from the military posts they occupy within the territory of the United States until the two Governments shall, by negotiation, have settled the meaning of the second article respecting the withdrawing of the troops, garrisons, or settlements of either party in the territory of the other that is, whether, when the Spanish garri- sons withdraw, they are to leave the works standing or to demolish them and until, by an additional article to the treaty, the real property of the inhabitants shall be secured, and, likewise, until the Spanish officers are sure the Indians will be pacific. The two first questions, if to be determined by negotiation, might be made subjects of discussion for years, and as no limitation of time can be prescribed to the other, a certainty in the opinion of the Spanish officers that the Indians will be pacific, it will be impossible to suffer it to remain an obstacle to the fulfillment of the treaty on the part of Spain. To remove the first difficulty, I have determined to leave it to the discretion of the officers of His Catholic Majesty when they withdraw his troops from the forts within the territory of the United States, either to leave the works standing or to demolish them ; and to remove the second I shall cause an assurance to be published and to be particularly communicated to the minister of His Catholic Majesty and to the gov- ernor of Louisiana that the settlers or occupants of the lands in question shall not be disturbed in their possessions by the troops of the United States, but, on the contrary, that they shall be protected in all their lawful claims; and to prevent or remove every doubt on this point it merits the consideration of Congress whether it will not be expedient immediately to pass a law giving positive assurances to those inhabitants who, by fair and regular grants or by occupancy, have obtained legal titles or equi- table claims to lands in that country' prior to the final ratification of the treaty between the United States and Spain on the 25th of April, 1796. This country is rendered peculiarly valuable by its inhabitants, who are represented to amount to nearly 4,000, generally well affected and much attached to the United States, and zealous for the establishment of a government under their authority. I therefore recommend to your consideration the expediency of erecting a government in the district of the Natchez similar to that established for the territory northwest of the river Ohio, but with certain modifica- John Adams 247 tions relative to titles or claims of land, whether of individuals or com- panies, or to claims of jurisdiction of any individual State. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, June 22, 1797. Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: Immediately after I had received your resolution of the loth of June, requesting a report respecting the depredations committed on the com- merce of the United States since the ist of October, 1796, specifying the name of the vessel taken, where bound to or from, species of lading, the value (when it can be ascertained) of the vessel and cargo taken, and by what power captured, particularizing those which have been actually condemned, together with the proper documents to ascertain the same, I directed a collection to be made of all such information as should be found in the possession of the Government; in consequence of which the Sec- retary of State has made the report and the collection of documents which accompany this message, and are now laid before the House of Repre- sentatives in compliance with their desire. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, June 23, 1797. Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: The Dey of Algiers has manifested a predilection for American-built vessels, and in consequence has desired that two vessels might be con- structed and equipped as cruisers according to the choice and taste of Captain O'Brien. The cost of two such vessels built with live oak and cedar, and coppered, with guns and all other equipments complete, is estimated at $45,000. The expense of navigating them to Algiers may perhaps be compensated by the freight of the stores with which they may be loaded on account of our stipulations by treaty with the Dey. A compliance with the Dey's request appears to me to be of serious importance. He will repay the whole expense of building and equipping the two vessels, and as he has advanced the price of our peace with Tripoli, and become pledged for that of Tunis, the United States seem to be under peculiar obligations to provide this accommodation, and I trust that Congress will authorize the advance of money necessary for that purpose. It also appears to be of importance to place at Algiers a person as consul in whose integrity and ability much confidence may be placed, to whom a considerable latitude of discretion should be allowed, for the interest of the United States in relation to their commerce. That country 248 Messages and Papers of the Presidents is so remote as to render it impracticable for the consul to ask and receive instructions in sudden emergencies. He may sometimes find it necessary to make instant engagements for money or its equivalent, to prevent greater expenses or more serious evils. We can hardly hope to escape occasions of discontent proceeding from the Regency or arising from the misconduct or even the misfortunes of our commercial vessels navigat- ing in the Mediterranean Sea, and unless the causes of discontent are speedily removed the resentment of the Regency may be exerted with precipitation on our defenseless citizens and their property, and thus occasion a tenfold expense to the United States. For these reasons it appears to me to be expedient to vest the consul at Algiers with a degree of discretionary power which can be requisite in no other situation; and to encourage a person deserving the public confidence to accept so expensive and responsible a situation, it appears indispensable to allow him a handsome salary. I should confer on such a consul a superin- tending power over the consulates for the States of Tunis and Tripoli, especially in respect to pecuniary engagements, which should not be made without his approbation. While the present salary of $2,000 a year appears adequate to the consulates of Tunis and Tripoli, twice that sum probably will be requisite for Algiers. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, July j, 1797. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: The whole of the intelligence which has for some time past been received from abroad, the correspondences between this Government and the ministers of the belligerent powers residing here, and the advices from the officers of the United States, civil and military, upon the frontiers all conspire to shew in a very strong light the critical situation of our country. That Congress might be enabled to form a more perfect judg- ment of it and of the measures necessary to be taken, I have directed the proper officers to prepare such collections of extracts from the public correspondences as might afford the clearest information. The reports made to me from the Secretary of State and the Secretary of War, with a collection of documents from each of them, are now communicated to both Houses of Congress. I have desired that the message, reports, and documents may be considered as confidential merely that the members of both Houses of Congress may be apprised of their contents before they should be made public. As soon as the two Houses shall have heard them, I shall submit to their discretion the publication of the whole, or any such parts of them as they shall judge necessary or expedient for the public good. JOHN ADAMS. John Adams 249 PROCLAMATION. BY JOHN ADAMS, THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas an act of the Congress of the United States was passed on the gth day of February, 1793, entitled "An act regulating foreign coins, and for other purposes," in which it was enacted "that foreign gold and silver coins shall pass current as money within the United States and be a legal tender for the payment of all debts and demands ' ' at the several and respective rates therein stated; and that "at the expiration of three years next ensuing the time when the coinage of gold and silver agreeably to the act intituled "An act establishing a mint and regulating the coins of the United States ' ' shall commence at the Mint of the United States (which time shall be announced by the proclamation of the President of the United States), all foreign gold coins and all foreign silver coins, except Spanish milled dollars and parts of such dollars, shall cease to be a legal tender as aforesaid: Now, therefore, I, the said John Adams, President of the United States, hereby proclaim, announce, and give notice to all whom it may concern that, agreeably to the act last above mentioned, the coinage of silver at the Mint of the United States commenced on the 15th day of October, 1794, and the coinage of gold on the 3ist day of July, 1795; and that consequently, in conformity to the act first above mentioned, all foreign silver coins, except Spanish milled dollars and parts of such dollars, will cease to pass current as money within the United States and to be a legal tender for the payment of any debts or demands after the 1 5th day of October next, and all foreign gold coins will cease to pass current as money within the United States and to be a legal tender as aforesaid for the payment of any debts or demands after the 3ist day of July, which will be A. D. 1798. In testimony whereof "I have caused the seal of the United States to be affixed to these presents, and signed the same with my hand. [SEAL.] Done at Philadelphia, the 22d day of July, A. D. 1797, and of the Independence of the United States the twenty-second. JOHN ADAMS. By the President: TIMOTHY PICKERING, Secretary of State. 250 Messages and Papers of the Presidents FIRST ANNUAL ADDRESS. UNITED STATES, November 22, Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: I was for some time apprehensive that it would be necessary, on account of the contagious sickness which afflicted the city of Philadelphia, to con- vene the National Legislature at some other place. This measure it was desirable to avoid, because it would occasion much public inconvenience and a considerable public expense and add to the calamities of the inhab- itants of this city, whose sufferings must have excited the sympathy of all their fellow-citizens. Therefore, after taking measures to ascertain the state and decline of the sickness, I postponed my determination, hav- ing hopes, now happily realized, that, without hazard to the lives or health of the members, Congress might assemble at this place, where it was next by law to meet. I submit, however, to your consideration whether a power to postpone the meeting of Congress, without passing the time fixed by the Constitution upon such occasions, would not be a useful amendment to the law of 1794. Although I can not yet congratulate you on the reestablishment of peace in Europe and the restoration of security to the persons and prop- erties of our citizens from injustice and violence at sea, we have, never- theless, abundant cause of gratitude to the source of benevolence and influence for interior tranquillity and personal security, for propitious seasons, prosperous agriculture, productive fisheries, and general improve- ments, and, above all, for a rational spirit of civil and religious liberty and a calm but steady determination to support our sovereignty, as well as our moral and our religious principles, against all open and secret attacks. Our envoys extraordinary to the French Republic embarked one in July, the other early in August to join their colleague in Holland. I have received intelligence of the arrival of both of them in Holland, from whence they all proceeded on their journeys to Paris within a few days of the igth of September. Whatever may be the result of this mis- sion, I trust that nothing will have been omitted on my part to conduct the negotiation to a successful conclusion, on such equitable terms as may be compatible wdth the safety, honor, and interest of the United States. Nothing, in the meantime, will contribute so much to the preservation of peace and the attainment of justice as a manifestation of that energy and unanimity of which on many former occasions the people of the United States have given such memorable proofs, and the exertion of those resources for national defense which a beneficent Providence has kindly placed within their power. It may be confidently asserted that nothing has occurred since the John Adams 251 adjournment of Congress which renders inexpedient those precautionary measures recommended by me to the consideration of the two Houses at the opening of your late extraordinary session. If that system was then prudent, it is more so now, as increasing depredations strengthen the reasons for its adoption. Indeed, whatever may be the issue of the negotiation with France, and whether the war in Europe is or is not to continue, I hold it most cer- tain that permanent tranquillity and order will not soon be obtained. The state of society has so long been disturbed, the sense of moral and religious obligations so much weakened, public faith and national honor have been so impaired, respect to treaties has been so diminished, and the law of nations has lost so much of its force, while pride, ambition, avarice, and violence have been so long unrestrained, there remains no reasonable ground on which to raise an expectation that a commerce without protection or defense will not be plundered. The commerce of the United States is essential, if not to their exist- ence, at least to their comfort, their growth, prosperity, and happiness. The genius, character, and habits of the people are highly commercial. Their cities have been formed and exist upon commerce. Our agricul- ture, fisheries, arts, and manufactures are connected with and depend upon it. In short, commerce has made this country what it is, and it can not be destroyed or neglected without involving the people in poverty and distress. Great numbers are directly and solely supported by navigation. The faith of society is pledged for the preservation of the rights of com- mercial and seafaring no less than of the other citizens. Under this view of our affairs, I should hold myself guilty of a neglect of duty if I forbore to recommend that we should make every exertion to protect our com- merce and to place our country in a suitable posture of defense as the only sure means of preserving both. I have entertained an expectation that it would have been in my power at the opening of this session to have communicated to you the agreeable information of the due execution of our treaty with His Catholic Majesty respecting the withdrawing of his troops from our territory and the demarcation of the line of limits, but by the latest authentic intelli- gence Spanish garrisons were still continued within our country', and the running of the boundary line had not been commenced. These cir- cumstances are the more to be regretted as they can not fail to affect the Indians in a manner injurious to the United States. Still, however, indulging the hope that the answers which have been given will remove the objections offered by the Spanish officers to the immediate execution of the treaty, I have judged it proper that we should continue in readi- ness to receive the posts and to run the line of limits. Further informa- tion on this subject will be communicated in the course of the session. In connection with this unpleasant state of things on our western frontier it is proper for me to mention the attempts of foreign agents to 252 Messages and Papers of the Presidents alienate the affections of the Indian nations and to excite them to actual hostilities against the United States. Great activity has been exerted by those persons who have insinuated themselves among the Indian tribes residing within the territory of the United States to influence them to transfer their affections and force to a foreign nation, to form them into a confederacy, and prepare them for war against the United States. Although measures have been taken to counteract these infractions of our rights, to prevent Indian hostilities, and to preserve entire their attach- ment to the United States, it is my duty to observe that to give a better effect to these measures and to obviate the consequences of a repetition of such practices a law providing adequate punishment for such offenses may be necessary. The commissioners appointed under the fifth article of the treaty of amity, commerce, and navigation between the United States and Great Britain to ascertain the river which was truly intended under the name of the river St. Croix mentioned in the treaty of peace, met at Passama- quoddy Bay in October, 1796, and viewed the mouths of the rivers in question and the adjacent shores and islands, and, being of opinion that actual sumeys of both rivers to their sources were necessary, gave to the agents of the two nations instructions for that purpose, and adjourned to meet at Boston in August. They met, but the surveys requiring more time than had been supposed, and not being then completed, the com- missioners again adjourned, to meet at Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, in June next, when we may expect a final examination and decision. The commissioners appointed in pursuance of the sixth article of the treaty met at Philadelphia in May last to examine the claims of British subjects for debts contracted before the peace and still remaining due to them from citizens or inhabitants of the United States. Various causes have hitherto prevented any determinations, but the business is now resumed, and doubtless will be prosecuted without interruption. Several decisions on the claims of citizens of the United States for losses and damages sustained by reason of irregular and illegal captures or condemnations of their vessels or other property have been made by the commissioners in London comformably to the seventh article of the treaty. The sums awarded by the commissioners have been paid by the British Government. A considerable number of other claims, where costs and damages, and not captured property, were the only objects in question, have been decided by arbitration, and the sums awarded to the citizens of the United States have also been paid. The commissioners appointed agreeably to the twenty-first article of our treaty with Spain met at Philadelphia in the summer past to exam- ine and decide on the claims of our citizens for losses they have sus- tained in consequence of their vessels and cargoes having been taken by the subjects of His Catholic Majesty during the late war between John Adams 253 Spain and France. Their sittings have been interrupted, but are now resumed. The United States being obligated to make compensation for the losses and damages sustained by British subjects, upon the award of the com- missioners acting under the sixth article of the treaty with Great Britain, and for the losses and damages sustained by British subjects by reason of the capture of their vessels and merchandise taken within the limits and jurisdiction of the United States and brought into their ports, or taken by vessels originally armed in ports of the United States, upon the awards of the commissioners acting under the seventh article of the same treaty, it is necessary that provision be made for fulfilling these obligations. The numerous captures of American vessels by the cruisers of the French Republic and of some by those of Spain have occasioned consid- erable expenses in making and supporting the claims of our citizens before their tribunals. The sums required for this purpose have in divers instances been disbursed by the consuls of the United States. By means of the same captures great numbers of our seamen have been thrown ashore in foreign countries, destitute of all means of subsist- ence, and the sick in particular have been exposed to grievous sufferings. The consuls have in these cases also advanced moneys for their relief. For these advances they reasonably expect reimbursements from the United States. The consular act relative to seamen requires revision and amendment. The provisions for their support in foreign countries and for their return are found to be inadequate and ineffectual. Another provision seems nec- essary to be added to the consular act. Some foreign vessels have been discovered sailing under the flag of the United States and with forged papers. It seldom happens that the consuls can detect this deception, because they have no authority to demand an inspection of the registers and sea letters. Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: It is my duty to recommend to your serious consideration those objects which by the Constitution are placed particularly within your sphere the national debts and taxes. Since the decay of the feudal system, by which the public defense was provided for chiefly at the expense of individuals, the system of loans has been introduced, and as no nation can raise within the year by taxes sufficient sums for its defense and military operations in time of war, the sums loaned and debts contracted have necessarily become the sub- jects of what have been called funding systems. The consequences arising from the continual accumulation of public debts in other countries ought to admonish us to be careful to prevent their growth in our own. The national defense must be provided for as well as the support of 2 54 Messages and Papers of the Presidents Government; but both should be accomplished as much as possible by immediate taxes, and as little as possible by loans. The estimates for the service of the ensuing year will by my direction be laid before you. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: We are met together at a most interesting period. The situations of the principal powers of Europe are singular and portentous. Connected with some by treaties and with all by commerce, no important event there can be indifferent to us. Such circumstances call with peculiar importunity not less for a disposition to unite in all those measures on which the honor, safety, and prosperity of our country depend than for all the exertions of wisdom and firmness. In all such measures you may rely on my zealous and hearty concur- rence. JOHN ADAMS. ADDRESS OF THE SENATE TO JOHN ADAMS, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. SIR: The communications you thought proper to make in your speech to both Houses of Congress on the opening of their present session afford additional proofs of the attention, integrity, and firmness which have always marked your official character. We can not but approve of the measures you had taken to ascertain the state and decline of the contagious sickness which has so latel} 7 afflicted the city of Philadelphia, and the pleasing circumstance that Con- gress is now assembled at that place without hazard to the health of its members evinces the propriety of your having postponed a determination to convene the National Legislature at another place. We shall take into consideration the law of 1794 on this subject, and will readily concur in any amendment which may be deemed expedient. It would have given us much pleasure to have received your congratu- lations on the reestablishment of peace in Europe and the restoration of security to the persons and property of our citizens from injustice and vio- lence at sea; but though these events, so desirable to our country and the world, have not taken place, yet we have abundant cause of gratitude to the Great Disposer of Human Events for interior tranquillity and personal security, for propitious seasons, prosperous agriculture, productive fish- eries, and general improvement, and, above all, for a rational spirit of civil and religious liberty and a calm but steady determination to support our sovereignty against all open and secret attacks. We learn with satisfaction that our envoys extraordinary to the French John Adams 255 Republic had safely arrived in Europe and were proceeding to the scene of negotiation, and whatever may be the result of the mission, we are perfectly satisfied that nothing on your part has been omitted which could in any way conduce to a successful conclusion of the negotiation upon terms compatible with the safety, honor, and interest of the United States; and we are fully convinced that in the meantime a manifestation of that unanimity and energy of which the people of the United States have given such memorable proofs and a proper exertion of those resources of national defense which we possess will essentially contribute to the preservation of peace and the attainment of justice. We think, sir, with you that the commerce of the United States is essen- tial to the growth, comfort, and prosperity of our country, and that the faith of society is pledged for the preservation of the rights of commercial and seafaring no less than of other citizens. And even if our negotia- tion with France should terminate favorably and the war in Europe cease, yet the state of society which unhappily prevails in so great a portion of the world and the experience of past times under better circumstances unite in warning us that a commerce so extensive and which holds out so many temptations to lawless plunderers can never be safe without protection; and we hold ourselves obliged by every tie of duty which binds us to our constituents to promote and concur in such measures of marine defense as may convince our merchants and seamen that their rights are not sacrificed nor their injuries forgotten. We regret that, notwithstanding the clear and explicit terms of the treaty between the United States and His Catholic Majesty, the Spanish garrisons are not yet withdrawn from our territory nor the running of the boundary line commenced. The United States have been faithful in the performance of their obligations to Spain, and had reason to expect a compliance equally prompt on the part of that power. We still, how- ever, indulge the hope that the convincing answers which have been given to the objections stated by the Spanish officers to the immediate execution of the treaty will have their proper effect, and that this treaty, so mutually beneficial to the contracting parties, will be finally observed with good faith. We therefore entirely approve of your determination to continue in readiness to receive the posts and to run the line of parti- tion between our territory and that of the King of Spain. Attempts to alienate the affections of the Indians, to form them into a confederacy, and to excite them to actual hostility against the United States, whether made by foreign agents or by others, are so injurious to our interests at large and so inhuman with respect to our citizens inhab- iting the adjacent territory as to deserve the most exemplary punishment, and we will cheerfully afford our aid in framing a law which may pre- scribe a punishment adequate to the commission of crimes so heinous. The several objects you have pointed out to the attention of the Legislature, whether they regard our internal or external relations, shall 256 Messages and Papers of the Presidents receive from us that consideration which they merit, and we will readily concur in all such measures as may be necessary either to enable us to fulfill our engagements at home or to cause ourselves to be respected abroad; and at this portentous period, when the powers of Europe \vith whom we are connected by treaty or commerce are in so critical a situa- tion, and when the conduct of some of those powers toward the United States is so hostile and menacing, the several branches of the Govern- ment are, in our opinion, called upon with peculiar importunity to unite, and by union not only to devise and carry into effect those measures on which the safety and prosperity of our country depend, but also to unde- ceive those nations who, regarding us as a weak and divided people, have pursued systems of aggression inconsistent with a state of peace between independent nations. And, sir, we beg leave to assure you that we derive a singular consolation from the reflection that at such a time the executive part of our Government has been committed to your hands, for in your integrity, talents, and firmness we place the most entire confidence. JACOB READ, 'President of the Senate pro tempore. NOVEMBER 27, 1797. REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT. UNITED STATES, November 28, 1797. Gentlemen of the Senate: I thank you for this address. When, after the most laborious investigation and serious reflection, without partial considerations or personal motives, measures have been adopted or recommended, I can receive no higher testimony of their rectitude than the approbation of an assembly so independent, patriotic, and enlightened as the Senate of the United States. Nothing has afforded me more entire satisfaction than the coincidence of your judgment with mine in the opinion of the essential importance of our commerce and the absolute necessity of a maritime defense. What is it that has drawn to Europe the superfluous riches of the three other quarters of the globe but a marine? What is it that has drained the wealth of Europe itself into the coffers of two or three of its principal commercial powers but a marine ? The world has furnished no example of a flourishing commerce with- out a maritime protection, and a moderate knowledge of man and his history will convince anyone that no such prodigy ever can arise. A mercantile marine and a military marine must grow up together ; one can not long exist without the other. JOHN ADAMS. John Adams 257 ADDRESS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO JOHN ADAMS, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. SIR: While our sympathy is excited by the recent sufferings of the citizens of Philadelphia, we participate in the satisfaction which you are pleased to express that the duration of the late calamity was so limited as to render unnecessary the expense and inconvenience that would have been incident to the convention of Congress in another place; and we shall readily attend to every useful amendment of the law which contem- plates the event of contagious sickness at the seat of Government. In lamenting the increase of the injuries offered to the persons and property of our citizens at sea we gratefully acknowledge the contin- uance of interior tranquillity and the attendant blessings of which you remind us as alleviations of these fatal effects of injustice and violence. Whatever may be the result of the mission to the French Republic, your early and uniform attachment to the interest of our country, your important services in the struggle for its independence, and your unceas- ing exertions for its welfare afford no room to doubt of the sincerity of your efforts to conduct the negotiation to a successful conclusion on such terms as may be compatible with the safety, honor, and interest of the United States. We have also a firm reliance upon the energy and una- nimity of the people of these States in the assertion of their rights, and on their determination to exert upon all proper occasions their ample resources in providing for the national defense. The importance of commerce and its beneficial influence upon agricul- ture, arts, and manufactures have been verified in the growth and pros- perity of our country. It is essentially connected with the other great interests of the community; they must flourish and decline together; and while the extension of our navigation and trade naturally excites the jealousy and tempts the avarice of other nations, we are firmly per- suaded that the numerous and deserving class of citizens engaged in these pursuits and dependent on them for their subsistence has a strong and indisputable claim to our support and protection. The delay of the Spanish officers to fulfill the treaty existing with His Catholic Majesty is a source of deep regret. We learn, however, with satisfaction that you still indulge hopes of removing the objections which have been made to its execution, and that you have continued in readi- ness to receive the posts. Disposed to perform with fidelity our national engagements, nothing shall be wanting on our part to obtain the same justice from others which we exercise toward them. Our abhorrence can not be too strongly expressed of the intrigues of foreign agents to alienate the affections of the Indians and to rouse them to acts of hostility against the United States. No means in our power should be omitted of providing for the suppression of such cruel practices and for the adequate punishment of their atrocious authors. M P voi, i 17 258 Messages and Papers of the Presidents Upon the other interesting subjects noticed in your address we shall bestow the requisite attention. To preserve inviolable the public faith by providing for the due execution of our treaties, to indemnify those who may have just claims to retribution upon the United States for expenses incurred in defending the property and relieving the neces- sities of our unfortunate fellow-citizens, to guard against evasions of the laws intended to secure advantages to the navigation of our own vessels, and especially to prevent by all possible means an unnecessary accumu- lation of the public debt, are duties which we shall endeavor to keep in view and discharge with assiduity. We regard with great anxiety the singular and portentous situation of the principal powers of Europe. It were devoutly to be wished that the United States, remote from this seat of war and discord, unambitious of conquests, respecting the rights of other nations, and desirous merely to avail themselves of their natural resources, might be permitted to behold the scenes which desolate that quarter of the globe with only those sym- pathetic emotions which are natural to the lovers of peace and friends of the human race. But we are led by events to associate with these feel- ings a sense of the dangers which menace our security and peace. We rely upon your assurances of a zealous and hearty concurrence in such measures as may be necessary to avert these dangers, and nothing on our part shall be wanting to repel them which the honor, safety, and pros- perity of our country may require. NOVEMBER 28, 1797. REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT. UNITED STATES, November 29, 1797. Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: I receive this address from the House of Representatives of the United States with peculiar pleasure. Your approbation of the meeting of Congress in this city and of those other measures of the Executive authority of Government communicated in my address to both Houses at the opening of the session afford me great satisfaction, as the strongest desire of my heart is to give satisfac- tion to the people and their Representatives by a faithful discharge of my duty. The confidence you express in the sincerity of my endeavors and in the unanimity of the people does me much honor and gives me great joy. I rejoice in that harmony which appears in the sentiments of all the branches of the Government on the importance of our commerce and our obligations to defend it, as well as in all the other subjects recommended to your consideration, and sincerely congratulate you and our fellow- citizens at large on this appearance, so auspicious to the honor, interest, and happiness of the nation. John Adams 259 SPECIAL MESSAGES. UNITED STATES, December 6, 1797. Gentlemen of the Senate: Isaac Smith, esq., who was appointed, with the advice and consent of the Senate, to hold a treaty with the Seneca Nation of Indians, to super- intend the purchase of a parcel of their land under a right of preemption derived from the State of Massachusetts, and situated within the State of New York, having declined that service, Jeremiah Wadsworth, esq., was appointed during your recess to hold a treaty, which has terminated in a deed of bargain and sale, herewith submitted to your consideration. It being represented to me that the immediate investment in bank stock of the moneys which are to be the consideration of this deed might be attended with considerable loss to the Indians by raising the market price of that article, it is suggested whether it would not be expedient that the ratification should be made conclusive and binding on the par- ties only after the President shall be satisfied that the investment of the moneys has been made conformably to the intention of the treaty. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, December ij, 1797. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: I lay before you the copy of a letter from the judges of the Supreme Court of the United States, representing the inconvenience arising from altering the time of holding the circuit court for the State of Delaware from April to June, and desiring that the existing law may be altered by restoring the spring session of the circuit court in Delaware to the 2jth of April JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, December jo, 1797. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: In compliance with the desire of the two Houses of Congress, expressed in their resolution of the 2d of March, 1797, that some speedy and effectual means might be adopted of obtaining information from the States of Con- necticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, Ten- nessee, and South Carolina whether the}' have ratified the amendment proposed by Congress to the Constitution concerning the suability of States, and if they have, to obtain proper evidences, measures have been taken and information and evidences obtained the particulars of which will appear in the report from the Secretary of State made by my direc- tion on the 28th day of this month, and now presented to the two Houses for their consideration. JQHN ADAMS 26o Messages and Papers of the Presidents UNITED STATES, January 5, 1798. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: The Secretary for the Department of War on the 3Oth day of Decem- ber last made a representation to me of the situation of affairs in his office, which I now transmit to the Senate and House of Representatives, and recommend to their consideration and decision. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, January 8, 1798. Gentlemen of the Senate: The situation of affairs between some of the citizens of the United States and the Cherokee Indians has evinced the propriety of holding a treaty with that nation to extinguish by purchase their right to certain parcels of land and to adjust and settle other points relative to the safety and conveniency of our citizens. With this view I nominate Fisher Ames, of Dedham, in the State of Massachusetts; Bushrod Washington, of Rich- mond, in the State of Virginia, and Alfred Moore, of North Carolina, to be commissioners of the United States with full powers to hold confer- ences and conclude a treaty with the Cherokee Nation of Indians for the purposes before mentioned. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, January 8, 1798. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: I have now an opportunity of transmitting to Congress a report of the Secretary of State, with a copy of an act of the legislature of the State of Kentucky consenting to the ratification of the amendment of the Con- stitution of the United States proposed by Congress in their resolution of the 2d day of December, 1793, relative to the suability of States. This amendment, having been adopted by three-fourths of the several States, may now be declared to be a part of the Constitution of the United JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, January 17, 1798. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: The situation of affairs between the United States and the Cherokee Indians having evinced the expediency of a treaty with that nation for the promotion of justice to them, as well as of the interests and conven- ience of our citizens, I have nominated and, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appointed commissioners to hold conferences and conclude a treaty as early as the season of the year and the convenience of the parties will admit. John Adams 261 As we know very well by experience such negotiations can not be car- ried on without considerable expenses, I recommend to your consider- ation the propriety of making an appropriation at this time for defraying such as may be necessary for holding and concluding a treaty. That you may form your judgments with greater facility, I shall direct the proper officer to lay before you an estimate of such articles and expenses as may be thought indispensable. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, January 18, 1798. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: A representation has been made to me by the judge of the Pennsylva- nia district of the United States of certain inconveniences and disagreeable circumstances which have occurred in the execution of the law passed on the 28th day of May, 1796, entitled "An act for the relief of persons imprisoned for debt," as well as of certain doubts which have been raised concerning its construction. This representation, together with a report of the Attorney- General on the same subject, I now transmit to Congress for their consideration, that if any amendments or explanations of that law should be thought advisable they may be adopted. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, January 23, 1798. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: At the commencement of this session of Congress I proposed in the course of it to communicate to both Houses further information concern- ing the situation of our affairs in the territories of the United States situ- ated on the Mississippi River and in its neighborhood; our intercourse with the Indian nations; our relations with the Spanish Government, and the conduct of their officers and agents. This information will be found in a report of the Secretary of State and the documents attending it, which I now present to the Senate and House of Representatives. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, February 2, 1798. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: I have received from our minister in London two acts of the Parliament of Great Britain, one passed on the 4th of July, 1797, entitled "An act for carrying into execution the treaty of amity, commerce, and naviga- tion concluded between His Majesty and the United States of America," the other passed on the igth day of July, 1797, entitled "An act for 262 Messages and Papers of the Presidents regulating the trade to be carried on with the British possessions in India by the ships of nations in amity with His Majesty." These acts have such connections with the commercial and political interests of the United States that it is proper they should be communicated to Congress. I have accordingly transmitted copies of them with this message. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, February 5, 1798. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: I have received a letter from His Excellency Charles Pinckney, esq. , governor of the State of South Carolina, dated the 226. of October, 1797, inclosing a number of depositions of witnesses to several captures and outrages committed within and near the limits of the United States by a French privateer belonging to Cape Francois, or Monte Christo, called the Vertitiide or Fortitude, and commanded by a person of the name of Jordan or Jourdain, and particularly upon an English merchant ship named the Oracabissa, which he first plundered and then burned, with the rest of her cargo, of great value, within the territory of the United States, in the harbor of Charleston, on the i7th day of October last, copies of which letter and depositions, and also of several other depositions relative to the same subject, received from the collector of Charleston, are here- with communicated. Whenever the channels of diplomatical communication between the United States and France shall be opened, I shall demand satisfaction for the insult and reparation for the injury. I have transmitted these papers to Congress not so much for the pur- pose of communicating an account of so daring a violation of the territory of the United States as to shew the propriety and necessity of enabling the Executive authority of Government to take measures for protecting the citizens of the United States and such foreigners as have a right to enjoy their peace and the protection of their laws within their limits in that as well as some other harbors which are equally exposed. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, February 12, 1798. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: In obedience to the law, I now present to both Houses of Congress my annual account of expenditures from the contingent fund during the year 1797, by which it appears that on the ist day of January last there remained in the Treasury a balance of $15,494.24 subject to future dis- positions of Government. JOHN ADAMS. John Adams 263 UNITED STATES, February 18, 1798. Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: In the report of the Secretary of State and the documents herewith transmitted will be found such information as is in our possession of the losses recovered by the citizens of the United States under the treaty made with Great Britain, which are now presented to the House of Rep- resentatives in compliance with their request in their resolution of the ist of this month. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, February 20, 1798. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: In obedience to the law of the United States of the 3d of March, 1797, entitled "An act authorizing an expenditure and making an appropria- tion for the prosecution of the claims of certain citizens of the United States for property captured by the belligerent powers," I submit to Congress the account exhibited to me by the Secretary of State with his report of the ijtli of this month. JOHN ADAMS UNITED STATES, February 21, 1798. Gentlemen of the Senate: Having received the original treaty concluded between the United States and the Government of Tunis, I lay it before the Senate of the United States whether they advise and consent to its ratification. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, February 23, 1798. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: The inclosed memorial from the commissioners appointed under an act of the United States entitled ' ' An act for establishing the temporary and permanent seat of the Government of the United States," representing the situation and circumstances of the city of Washington, I take this opportunity to present to both Houses of the Legislature and recommend to their consideration. Alexander White, esq., one of those commis- sioners, is now in this city, and will be able to give to Congress, or any of their committees, any explanation or further information which the subject may require. JOHN ADAMS . UNITED STATES, March 5, 1798. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: The first dispatches from our envoys extraordinary since their arrival at Paris were received at the Secretary of State's office at a late hour last 264 Messages and Papers of the Presidents evening. They are all in a character which will require some days to be deciphered, except the last, which is dated the 8th of January, 1798. The contents of this letter are of so much importance to be immediately made known to Congress and to the public, especially to the mercantile part of our fellow-citizens, that I have thought it my duty to communi- cate them to both Houses without loss of time. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, March 12, 1798. Gentlemen of the Senate: Insinuations having been repeatedly made in the name of the Court of Sweden of an inclination to renew the connection between the United States and that power, I sent, in the recess of the Senate, to our minister at Berlin a full power to negotiate that business, with such alterations as might be agreeable to both parties; but as that commission, if not renewed with the advice and consent of the Senate, will expire with the present session of Congress, I now nominate John Quincy Adams to be a com- missioner with full powers to negotiate a treaty of amity and commerce with His Majesty the King of Sweden. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, March 19, 1798. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: The dispatches from the envoys extraordinary of the United States to the French Republic, which were mentioned in my message to both Houses of Congress of the 5th instant, have been examined and maturely considered. While I feel a satisfaction in informing you that their exertions for the adjustment of the differences between the two nations have been sincere and unremitted, it is incumbent on me to declare that I perceive no ground of expectation that the objects of their mission can be accomplished on terms compatible with the safety, the honor, or the essential interests of the nation. This result can not with justice be attributed to any want of moderation on the part of this Government, or to any indisposition to forego second- ary interests for the preservation of peace. Knowing it to be my duty, and believing it to be your wish, as well as that of the great body of the people, to avoid by all reasonable concessions any participation in the contentions of Europe, the powers vested in our envoys were commen- surate with a liberal and pacific policy and that high confidence which might justly be reposed in the abilities, patriotism, and integrity of the characters to whom the negotiation was committed. After a careful review of the whole subject, with the aid of all the information I have received, I can discern nothing which could have insured or contributed to success that has been omitted on my part, and nothing further which John Adams 265 can be attempted consistently with maxims for which our country has contended at every hazard, and which constitute the basis of our national sovereignty. Under these circumstances I can not forbear to reiterate the recom- mendations which have been formerly made, and to exhort you to adopt with promptitude, decision, and unanimity such measures as the ample resources of the country afford for the protection of our seafaring and commercial citizens, for the defense of any exposed portions of our terri- tory, for replenishing our arsenals, establishing foundries and military manufactures, and to provide such efficient revenue as will be necessary to defray extraordinary expenses and supply the deficiencies which may be occasioned by depredations on our commerce. The present state of things is so essentially different from that in which instructions were given to the collectors to restrain vessels of the United States from sailing in an armed condition that the principle on which those orders were issued has ceased to exist. I therefore deem it proper to inform Congress that I no longer conceive myself justifiable in continuing them, unless in particular cases where there may be reason- able ground of suspicion that such vessels are intended to be employed contrary to law. In all your proceedings it will be important to manifest a zeal, vigor, and concert in defense of the national rights proportioned to the danger with which they are threatened. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, April j, 1798. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: In compliance with the request of the House of Representatives ex- pressed in their resolution of the 26. of this month, I transmit to both Houses those instructions to and dispatches from the envoys extraordi- nary of the United States to the French Republic which were mentioned in my message of the igth of March last, omitting only some names and a few expressions descriptive of the persons. I request that they may be considered in confidence until the members of Congress are fully possessed of their contents and shall have had opportunity to deliberate on the consequences of their publication, after which time I submit them to your wisdom. JOHN" ADAA/TS UNITED STATES, April 12, 1798. Gentlemen of the Senate: A treaty with the Mohawk Nation of Indians has by accident lain long neglected. It was executed under the authority of the Honorable Isaac Smith, a commissioner of the United States. I now submit it to the Senate for their consideration. JOHN ADAMS 2 66 Messages and Papers of the Presidents UNITED STATES, May j, 1798. Gentlemen of the Senate: His Excellency John Jay, esq. , governor of New York, has informed me that the Oneida tribe of Indians have proposed to sell a part of their land to the said State, and that the legislature at their late session author- ized the purchase, and to accomplish this object the governor has desired that a commissioner may be appointed to hold a treaty with the Oneida trite of Indians, at which the agents of the State of New York may agree with them on the terms of the purchase. I therefore nominate Joseph Hopkinson, esq., of Pennsylvania, to be the commissioner to hold a treaty with the said Oneida tribe of Indians for the purpose above mentioned. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, June 21, 1798. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: While I congratulate you on the arrival of General Marshall, one of our late envoys extraordinary to the French Republic, at a place of safety, where he is justly held in honor, I think it my duty to communicate to you a letter received by him from Mr. Gerry, the only one of the three who has not received his conge. This letter, together with another from the minister of foreign relations to him of the 3d of April, and his answer of the 4th, will shew the situation in which he remains his intentions and prospects. I presume that before this time he has received fresh instructions (a copy of which accompanies this message) to consent to no loans, and therefore the negotiation may be considered at an end. I will never send another minister to France without assurances that he will be received, respected, and honored as the representative of a great, free, powerful, and independent nation. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, June 27, 1798. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: I have received a letter from His Excellency Thomas Mifflin, gov- ernor of Pennsylvania, inclosing some documents which I judge it my duty to lay before Congress without loss of time. As my opinion coincides entirely with that of his excellency the gov- ernor, I recommend the subject to the consideration of both Houses of Congress, whose authority alone appears to me adequate to the occasion. JOHN ADAMS. John Adams 267 UNITED STATES, July 2, Gentlemen of the Senate: I nominate George Washington, of Mount Vernon, to be Lieutenant- General and Commander in Chief of all the armies raised or to be raised in the United States. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, July sj, 1798. Gentlemen of the Senate: A resolution of both Houses of Congress authorizing an adjournment on Monday, the i6th of this month, has been laid before me. Sensible of the severity of the service in so long a session, it is with great reluctance that I find myself obliged to offer any consideration which may operate against the inclinations of the members; but certain measures of Execu- tive authority which will require the consideration of the Senate, and which can not be matured, in all probability, before Monday or Tues- day, oblige me to request of the Senate that they would continue their session until Wednesday or Thursday. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, July 77, 1798. Gentlemen of the Senate: Believing that the letter received this morning from General Washing- ton will give high satisfaction to the Senate, I transmit them a copy of it, and congratulate them and the public on this great event the General's acceptance of his appointment as L,ieutenant-General and Commander in Chief of the Army. JOHN ADAMS. MOUNT VERNON, July fj, 1798. JOHN ADAMS, President of the United Stales. DEAR SIR: I had the honor, on the evening of the nth instant, to receive from the hands of the Secretary of War your favor of the 7th, announcing that you had, with the advice and consent of the Senate, appointed me "Lieutenant-General and Commander in Chief of all the armies raised or to be raised for the service of the United States." I can not express how greatly affected I am at this new proof of public confidence and the highly flattering manner in which you have been pleased to make the com- munication. At the same time I must not conceal from you my earnest wish that the choice had fallen upon a man less declined in year? and better qualified to encounter the usual vicissitudes of war. You know, sir, what calculation I had made relative to the probable course of events on my retiring from office, and the determination I had consoled myself with of closing the remnant of my days in my present peaceful abode. You will therefore be at no loss to conceive and appreciate the sensations I must have experienced to bring my mind to any conclusion that would pledge me, at so late a period of life, to leave scenes I sincerely love to enter upon the boundless field of public action, incessant trouble, and high responsibility. 268 Messages and Papers of the Presidents It was not possible for me to remain ignorant of or indifferent to recent transac- tions. The conduct of the Directory of France toward our country, their insidious hostility to its Government, their various practices to withdraw the affections of the people from it, the evident tendency of their acts and those of their agents to coun- tenance and invigorate opposition, their disregard of solemn treaties and the laws of nations, their war upon our defenseless commerce, their treatment of our ministers of peace, and their demands amounting to tribute could not fail to excite in me cor- responding sentiments with those my countrymen have so generally expressed in their affectionate addresses to you. Believe me, sir, no one can more cordially approve of the wise and prudent measures of your Administration. They ought to inspire universal confidence, and will no doubt, combined with the state of things, call from Congress such laws and means as will enable you to meet the full force and extent of the crisis. Satisfied, therefore, that you have sincerely wished and endeavored to avert war, and exhausted to the last drop the cup of reconciliation, we can with pure hearts appeal to Heaven for the justice of our cause, and may confidently trust the final result to that kind Providence who has heretofore and so often signally favored the people of these United States. Thinking in this manner, and feeling how incumbent it is upon every person, of every description, to contribute at all times to his country's welfare, and especially in a moment like the present, when everything we hold dear and sacred is so seriously threatened, I have finally determined to accept the commission of Commander in Chief of the armies of the United States, with the reserve only that I shall not be called into the field until the Army is in a situation to require my presence or it becomes indispensable by the urgency of circumstances. In making this reservation I beg it to be understood that I do not mean to with- hold any assistance to arrange and organize the Army which you may think I can afford. I take the liberty also to mention that I must decline having my acceptance considered as drawing after it any immediate charge upon the public, or that I can receive any emoluments annexed to the appointment before entering into a situation to incur expense. The Secretary of War being anxious to return to the seat of Government, I have detained him no longer than was necessary to a full communication upon the several points he had in charge. With very great respect and consideration, I have the honor to be, dear sir, your most obedient and humble servant, GO WASHINGTON. PROCLAMATIONS. BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. As the safety and prosperity of nations ultimately and essentially depend on the protection and the blessing of Almighty God, and the national acknowledgment of this truth is not only an indispensable duty which the people owe to Him, but a duty whose natural influence is favorable to the promotion of that morality and piety without which social happiness can not exist nor the blessings of a free government be John Adams 269 enjoyed; and as this duty, at all times incumbent, is so especially in sea- sons of difficulty or of danger, when existing or threatening calamities, the just judgments of God against prevalent iniquity, are a loud call to repentance and reformation; and as the United States of America are at present placed in a hazardous and afflictive situation by the unfriendly disposition, conduct, and demands of a foreign power, evinced by repeated refusals to receive our messengers of reconciliation and peace, by depre- dations on our commerce, and the infliction of injuries on very many of our fellow-citizens while engaged in their lawful business on the seas under these considerations it has appeared to me that the duty of implor- ing the mercy and benediction of Heaven on our country demands at this time a special attention from its inhabitants. I have therefore thought fit to recommend, and I do hereby recom- mend, that Wednesday, the gth day of May next, be observed throughout the United States as a day of solemn humiliation, fasting, and prayer; that the citizens of these States, abstaining on that day from their cus- tomary worldly occupations, offer their devout addresses to the Father of Mercies agreeably to those forms or methods which they have severally adopted as the most suitable and becoming; that all religious congrega- tions do, with the deepest humility, acknowledge before God the manifold sins and transgressions with which we are justly chargeable as individ- uals and as a nation, beseeching Him at the same time, of His infinite grace, through the Redeemer of the World, freely to remit all our offenses, and to incline us by His Holy Spirit to that sincere repentance and reformation which may afford us reason to hope for his inestimable favor and heavenly benediction; that it be made the subject of particular and earnest supplication that our country may be protected from all the dangers which threaten it; that our civil and religious privileges may be preserved inviolate and perpetuated to the latest generations; that our public councils and magistrates may be especially enlightened and directed at this critical period; that the American people may be united in those bonds of amity and mutual confidence and inspired with that vigor and fortitude by which they have in times past been so highly distinguished and by which they have obtained such invaluable advan- tages; that the health of the inhabitants of our land may be preserved, and their agriculture, commerce, fisheries, arts, and manufactures be blessed and prospered; that the principles of genuine piety and sound morality may influence the minds and govern the lives of every descrip- tion of our citizens, and that the blessings of peace, freedom, and pure religion may be speedily extended to all the nations of the earth. And finally, I recommend that on the said day the duties of humili- ation and prayer be accompanied by fervent thanksgiving to the Bestower of Every Good Gift, not only for His having hitherto protected and pre- served the people of these United States in the independent enjoyment of their religious and civil freedom, but also for having prospered them 270 Messages and Papers of the Presidents in a wonderful progress of population, and for conferring on them many and great favors conducive to the happiness and prosperity of a nation. Given under my hand and the seal of the United States of America, at Philadelphia, this 23d day of March, A. D. 1798, and of the EAL -J Independence of the said States the twenty-second. JOHN ADAMS. By the President: TIMOTHY PICKERING, Secretary of State. [From C. K. Adams's Works of John Adams, Vol. IX, p. 170.] PROCLAMATION. JULY 13, 1798. The citizen Joseph Philippe Letombe having heretofore produced to the President of the United States his commission as consul-general of the French Republic within the United States of America, and another commission as consul of the French Republic at Philadelphia; and, in like manner, the citizen Rosier having produced his commission as vice- consul of the French Republic at New York; and the citizen Arcambal having produced his commission as vice-consul of the French Republic at Newport; and citizen Theodore Charles Mozard having produced his commission as consul of the French Republic within the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island; and the President of the United States having thereupon granted an exequatur to each of the French citizens above named, recognizing them in their respective consular offices above mentioned, and declaring them respectively free to exercise and enjoy such functions, powers, and privileges as are allowed to a consul-general, consuls, and vice-consuls of the French Republic by their treaties, conventions, and laws in that case made and provided; and the Congress of the United States, by their act passed the 7th day of July, 1798, having declared "that the United States are of right freed and exonerated from the stipulations of the treaties and of the consular convention heretofore concluded between the United States and France, and that the same shall not henceforth be regarded as legally obligatory on the Government or citizens of the United States, ' ' and by a former act, passed the i3th day of May, 1798, the Congress of the United States having "suspended the commercial intercourse between the United States and France and the dependencies thereof," which commercial intercourse was the direct and chief object of the consular establishment; and Whereas actual hostilities have long been practiced on the commerce of the United States by the cruisers of the French Republic under the orders of its Government, which orders that Government refuses to revoke or relax ; and hence it has become improper any longer to allow the consul-general, consuls, and vice-consuls of the French Republic John Adams 271 above named, or any of its consular persons or agents heretofore admitted in these United States, any longer to exercise their consular functions: These are therefore to declare that I do no longer recognize the said citizen lyetombe as consul-general or consul, nor the said citizens Rosier and Arcambal as vice-consuls, nor the said citizen Mozard as consul of the French Republic in any part of these United States, nor permit them or any other consular persons or agents of the French Republic heretofore admitted in the United States to exercise their functions as such; and I do hereby wholly revoke the exequaturs heretofore given to them respectively, and do declare them absolutely null and void from this day forward. In testimony whereof, etc. JOHN ADAMS. SECOND ANNUAL ADDRESS. UNITED STATES, December 8, 1798. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: While with reverence and resignation we contemplate the dispensations of Divine Providence in the alarming and destructive pestilence with which several of our cities and towns have been visited, there is cause for grati- tude and mutual congratulations that the malady has disappeared and that we are again permitted to assemble in safety at the seat of Govern- ment for the discharge of our important duties. But when we reflect that this fatal disorder has within a few years made repeated ravages in some of our principal seaports, and with increased malignancy, and when we consider the magnitude of the evils arising from the interruption of pub- lic and private business, whereby the national interests are deeply affected, I think it my duty to invite the Legislature of the Union to examine the expediency of establishing suitable regulations in aid of the health laws of the respective States; for these being formed on the idea that con- tagious sickness may be communicated through the channels of commerce, there seems to be a necessity that Congress, who alone can regulate trade, should frame a system which, while it may tend to preserve the general health, may be compatible with the interests of commerce and the safety of the revenue. While we think on this calamity and sympathize with the immediate sufferers, we have abundant reason to present to the Supreme Being our annual oblations of gratitude for a liberal participation in the ordinary blessings of His providence. To the usual subjects of gratitude I can not omit to add one of the first importance to our well-being and safety; I mean that spirit which has arisen in our country against the menaces and aggression of a foreign nation. A manly sense of national honor, dignity, 272 Messages and Papers of the Presidents and independence has appeared which, if encouraged and invigorated by every branch of the Government, will enable us to view undismayed the enterprises of any foreign power and become the sure foundation of national prosperity and glory. The course of the transactions in relation to the United States and France which have come to my knowledge during your recess will be made the subject of a future communication. That communication will con- firm the ultimate failure of the measures which have been taken by the Government of the United States toward an amicable adjustment of dif- ferences with that power. You will at the same time perceive that the French Government appears solicitous to impress the opinion that it is averse to a rupture with this country, and that it has in a qualified man- ner declared itself willing to receive a minister from the United States for the purpose of restoring a good understanding. It is unfortunate for professions of this kind that they should be expressed in terms which may countenance the inadmissible pretension of a right to prescribe the qualifications which a minister from the United States should possess, and that while France is asserting the existence of a disposition on her part to conciliate with sincerity the differences which have arisen, the sincerity of a like disposition oh the part of the United States, of which so many demonstrative proofs have been given, should even be indirectly questioned. It is also worthy of observation that the decree of the Directory alleged to be intended to restrain the depredations of French cruisers on our commerce has not given, and can not give, any relief. It enjoins them to conform to all the laws of France relative to cruising and prizes, while these laws are themselves the sources of the depredations of which we have so long, so justly, and so fruitlessly complained. The law of France enacted in January last, which subjects to capture and condemnation neutral vessels and their cargoes if any portion of the latter are of British fabric or produce, although the entire property belong to neutrals, instead of being rescinded has lately received a confirma- tion by the failure of a proposition for its repeal. While this law, which is an unequivocal act of war on the commerce of the nations it attacks, continues in force those nations can see in the French Government only a power regardless of their essential rights, of their independence and sovereignty; and if they possess the means they can reconcile nothing with their interest and honor but a firm resistance. Hitherto, therefore, nothing is discoverable in the conduct of France which ought to change or relax our measures of defense. On the con- trary, to extend and invigorate them is our true policy. We have no reason to regret that these measures have been thus far adopted and pursued, and in proportion as we enlarge our view of the portentous and incalculable situation of Europe we shall discover new and cogent motives for the full development of our energies and resources. But in demonstrating by our conduct that we do not fear war in the John Adams 273 necessary protection of our rights and honor we shall give no room to infer that we abandon the desire of peace. An efficient preparation for war can alone insure peace. It is peace that we have uniformly and perseveringly cultivated, and harmony between us and France may be restored at her option. But to send another minister without more determinate assurances that he would be received would be an act of humiliation to which the United States Ought not to submit. It must therefore be left with France (if she is indeed desirous of accommoda- tion) to take the requisite steps. The United States will steadily observe the maxims by which they have hitherto been governed. They will respect the sacred rights of embassy; and with a sincere disposition on the part of France to desist from hostility, to make reparation for the injuries heretofore inflicted on our commerce, and to do justice in future, there will be no obstacle to the restoration of a friendly intercourse. In making to you this declaration I give a pledge to France and the world that the Executive authority of this country still adheres to the humane and pacific policy which has invariably governed its proceedings, in conformity with the wishes of the other branches of the Government and of the people of the United States. But considering the late mani- festations of her policy toward foreign nations, I deem it a duty deliber- ately and solemnly to declare my opinion that whether we negotiate with her or not, vigorous preparations for war will be alike indispensable.. These alone will give to us an equal treaty and insure its observance. Among the measures of preparation which appear expedient, I take the liberty to recall your attention to the naval establishment. The beneficial effects of the small naval armament provided under the acts of the last session are known and acknowledged. Perhaps no country ever expe- rienced more sudden and remarkable advantages from any measure of policy than we have derived from the arming for our maritime protection and defense. We ought without loss of time to lay the foundation for an increase of our Navy to a size sufficient to guard our coast and protect our trade. Such a naval force as it is doubtless in the power of the United States to create and maintain would also afford to them the best means of general defense by facilitating the safe transportation of troops and stores to every part of our extensive coast. To accomplish this impor- tant object, a prudent foresight requires that systematical measures be adopted for procuring at all times the requisite timber and other supplies. In what manner this shall be done I leave to your consideration. I will now advert, gentlemen, to some matters of less moment, but proper to be communicated to the National Legislature. After the Spanish garrisons had evacuated the posts they occupied at the Natchez and Walnut Hills the commissioner of the United States commenced his observations to ascertain the point near the Mississippi which terminated the northernmost part of the thirty-first degree of north latitude. From thence he proceeded to run the boundary line between M P voiv i 18 274 Messages and Papers of the Presidents the United States and Spain. He was afterwards joined by the Spanish commissioner, when the work of the former was confirmed, and they pro- ceeded together to the demarcation of the line. Recent information ren- ders it probable that the Southern Indians, either instigated to oppose the demarcation or jealous of the consequences of suffering white people to nm a line over lands to which the Indian title had not been extinguished, have ere this time stopped the progress of the commissioners; and con- sidering the mischiefs which may result from continuing the demarcation in opposition to the will of the Indian tribes, the great expense attending it, and that the boundaries which the commissioners have actually estab- lished probably extend at least as far as the Indian title has been extin- guished, it will perhaps become expedient and necessary to suspend further proceedings by recalling our commissioner. The commissioners appointed in pursuance of the fifth article of the treaty of amity, commerce, and navigation between the United States and His Britannic Majesty to determine what river was truly intended under the name of the river St. Croix mentioned in the treaty of peace, and forming a part of the boundary therein described, have finally decided that question. On the 25th of October they made their declaration that a river called Scoodiac, which falls into Passamaquoddy Bay at its north- western quarter, was the true St. Croix intended in the treaty of peace, as far as its great fork, where one of its streams comes from the westward and the other from the northward, and that the latter stream is the con- tinuation of the St. Croix to its source. This decision, it is understood, will preclude all contention among individual claimants, as it seems that the Scoodiac and its northern branch bound the grants of land which have been made by the respective adjoining Governments. A subordi- nate question, however, it has been suggested, still remains to be deter- mined. Between the mouth of the St. Croix as now settled and what is usually called the Bay of Fundy lie a number of valuable islands. The commissioners have not continued the boundary line through any channel of these islands, and unless the bay of Passamaquoddy be a part of the Bay of Fundy this further adjustment of boundary will be necessary. But it is apprehended that this will not be a matter of any difficulty. Such progress has been made in the examination and decision of cases of captures and condemnations of American vessels which were the sub- ject of the seventh article of the treaty of amity, commerce, and naviga- tion between the United States and Great Britain that it is supposed the commissioners will be able to bring their business to a conclusion in August of the ensuing year. The commissioners acting under the twenty-fifth article of the treaty between the United States and Spain have adjusted most of the claims of our citizens for losses sustained in consequence of their vessels and car- goes having been taken by the subjects of His Catholic Majesty during the late war between France and Spain. John Adams 275 Various circumstances have concurred to delay the execution of the law for augmenting the military establishment, among these the desire of obtaining the fullest information to direct the best selection of officers. As this object will now be speedily accomplished, it is expected that the raising and organizing of the troops will proceed without obstacle and with effect. Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: I have directed an estimate of the appropriations which will be neces- sary for the service of the ensuing year to be laid before you, accom- panied with a view of the public receipts and expenditures to a recent period. It will afford you satisfaction to infer the great extent and solidity of the public resources from the prosperous state of the finances, notwithstanding the unexampled embarrassments which have attended commerce. When you reflect on the conspicuous examples of patriot- ism and liberality which have been exhibited by our mercantile fellow- citizens, and how great a proportion of the public resources depends on their enterprise, you will naturally consider whether their convenience can not be promoted and reconciled with the security of the revenue by a revision of the system by which the collection is at present regulated. During your recess measures have been steadily pursued for effecting the valuations and returns directed by the act of the last session, prelim- inary to the assessment and collection of a direct tax. No other delays or obstacles have been experienced except such as were expected to arise from the great extent of our country and the magnitude and novelty of the operation, and enough has been accomplished to assure a fulfill- ment of the views of the Legislature. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: I can not close this address without once more adverting to our polit- ical situation and inculcating the essential importance of uniting in the maintenance of our dearest interests; and I trust that by the temper and wisdom of your proceedings and by a harmony of measures we shall secure to our country that weight and respect to which it is so justly entitled. fc ^ JOHN ADAMS . ADDRESS OF THE SENATE TO JOHN ADAMS, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. The PRESIDENT OP THE UNITED STATES. SIR: The Senate of the United States join you in thanks to Almighty God for the removal of the late afflicting dispensations of His providence and for the patriotic spirit and general prosperity of our country. Sympa- thy for the sufferings of our fellow-citizens from disease and the impor- tant interests of the Union demand of the National Legislature a ready 276 Messages and Papers of the Presidents cooperation with the State governments in the use of such means as seem best calculated to prevent the return of this fatal calamity. Although we have sincerely wished that an adjustment of our differ- ences with the Republic of France might be effected on safe and honor- able terms, yet the information you have given us of the ultimate failure of the negotiation has not surprised us. In the general conduct of that Republic we have seen a design of universal influence incompatible with the self-government and destructive of the independence of other States. In its conduct toward these United States we have seen a plan of hostility pursued with unremitted constancy, equally disregarding the obligations of treaties and the rights of individuals. We have seen two embassies, formed for the purpose of mutual explanations and clothed with the most extensive and liberal powers, dismissed without recognition and even without a hearing. The Government of France has not only refused to repeal but has recently enjoined the observance of its former edict respecting merchandise of British fabric or produce the property of neu- trals, by which the interruption of our lawful commerce and the spolia- tion of the property of our citizens have again received a public sanction. These facts indicate no change of system or disposition; they speak a more intelligible language than professions of solicitude to avoid a rup- ture, however ardently made. But if, after the repeated proofs we have given of a sincere desire for peace, these professions should be accompa- nied by insinuations implicating the integrity with which it has been pursued; if, neglecting and passing by the constitutional and authorized agents of the Government, they are made through the medium of indi- viduals without public character or authority, and, above all, if they carry with them a claim to prescribe the political qualifications of the minister of the United States to be employed in the negotiation, they are not enti- tled to attention or consideration, but ought to be regarded as designed to separate the people from their Government and to bring about by intrigue that which open force could not effect. We are of opinion with you, sir, that there has nothing yet been dis- covered in the conduct of France which can justify a relaxation of the means of defense adopted during the last session of Congress, the happy result of which is so strongly and generally marked. If the force by sea and land which the existing laws authorize should be judged inadequate to the public defense, we will perform the indispensable duty of bringing fonvard such other acts as will effectually call forth the resources and force of our country. A steady adherence to this wise and manly policy, a proper direction of the noble spirit of patriotism which has arisen in our country, and which ought to be cherished and invigorated by every branch of the Government, will secure our liberty and independence against all open and secret attacks. We enter on the business of the present session with an anxious solici- John Adams 277 tude for the public good, and shall bestow that consideration on the several objects pointed out in your communication which they respec- tively merit. Your long and important services, your talents and firmness, so often displayed in the most trying times and most critical situations, afford a sure pledge of a zealous cooperation in every measure necessary to secure us justice and respect. JOHN LAURANCE, President of the Senate pro tempore. DECEMBER n, 1798. REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT. DECEMBER 12, 1798. To the Senate of the United States. GENTLEMEN: I thank you for this address, so conformable to the spirit of our Constitution and the established character of the Senate of the United States for wisdom, honor, and virtue. I have seen no real evidence of any change of system or disposition in the French Republic toward the United States. Although the officious interference of individuals without public character or authority is not entitled to any credit, yet it deserves to be considered whether that temer- ity and impertinence of individuals affecting to interfere in public affairs between France and the United States, whether by their secret corre- spondence or otherwise, and intended to impose upon the people and separate them from their Government, ought not to be inquired into and corrected. I thank you, gentlemen, for your assurances that you will bestow that consideration on the several objects pointed out in my communication which they respectively merit. If I have participated in that understanding, sincerity, and constancy which have been displayed by my fellow-citizens and countrymen in the most trying times and critical situations, and fulfilled my duties to them, I am happy. The testimony of the Senate of the United States in my favor is an high and honorable reward, which receives, as it merits, my grateful acknowledgments. My zealous cooperation in measures neces- sary to secure us justice and consideration may be always depended on. JOHN ADAMS. ADDRESS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO JOHN ADAMS, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. JOHN ADAMS, President of the United States. SIR : The House of Representatives unite with you in deploring the effects of the desolating malady by which the seat of Government and 278 Messages and Papers of the Presidents other parts of our country have recently teen visited. In calling our attention to the fatality of its repeated ravages and inviting us to consider the expediency of exercising our constitutional powers in aid of the health laws of the respective States, your recommendation is sanctioned by the dictates of humanity and liberal policy. On this interesting sub- ject we feel the necessity of adopting every wise expedient for preventing a calamity so distressing to individual sufferers and so prejudicial to our national commerce. That our finances are in a prosperous state notwithstanding the com- mercial derangements resulting from this calamity and from external embarrassments is a satisfactory manifestation of the great extent and solidity of the public resources. Connected with this situation of our fiscal concerns, the assurance that the legal provisions for obtaining revenue by direct taxation will fulfill the views of the Legislature is peculiarly acceptable. Desirous as we are that all causes of hostility may be removed by the amicable adjustment of national differences, we learn with satisfaction that in pursuance of our treaties with Spain and with Great Britain advances have been made for definitively settling the controversies rela- tive to the southern and northeastern limits of the United States. With similar sentiments have we received your information that the proceed- ings under commissions authorized by the same treaties afford to a respect- able portion of our citizens the prospect of a final decision on their claims for maritime injuries committed by subjects of those powers. It would be the theme of mutual felicitation were we assured of expe- riencing similar moderation and justice from the French Republic, between which and the United States differences have unhappily arisen; but this is denied us by the ultimate failure of the measures which have been taken by this Government toward an amicable adjustment of those differ- ences and by the various inadmissible pretensions 011 the part of that nation. The continuing in force the decree of January last, to which you have more particularly pointed our attention, ought of itself to be consid- ered as demonstrative of the real intentions of the French Government. That decree proclaims a predatory warfare against the unquestionable rights of neutral commerce which with our means of defense our inter- est and our honor command us to repel. It therefore now becomes the United States to be as determined in resistance as they have been patient in suffering and condescending in negotiation. While those who direct the affairs of France persist in the enforcement of decrees so hostile to our essential rights, their conduct forbids us to confide in any of their professions of amity. As, therefore, the conduct of France hitherto exhibits nothing which ought to change or relax our measures of defense, the policy of extending and invigorating those measures demands our sedulous attention. The John Adams 279 sudden and remarkable advantages which this country- has experienced from a small naval armament sufficiently prove the utility of its estabr lishment. As it respects the guarding of our coast, the protection of our trade, and the facility of safely transporting the means of territorial defense to every part of our maritime frontier, an adequate naval force must be considered as an important object of national policy. Nor do we hesitate to adopt the opinion that, whether negotiations with France are resumed or not, vigorous preparations for war will be alike indispen- sable. In this conjuncture of affairs, while with you we recognize our abun- dant cause of gratitude to the Supreme Disposer of Events for the ordi- nary blessings of Providence, we regard as of high national importance the manifestation in our country of a magnanimous spirit of resistance to foreign domination. This spirit merits to be cherished and invigorated by every branch of Government as the estimable pledge of national pros- perity and glory. Disdaining a reliance on foreign protection, wanting no foreign guar- anty of our liberties, resolving to maintain our national independence against every attempt to despoil us of this inestimable treasure, we con- fide under Providence in the patriotism and energies of the people of these United States for defeating the hostile enterprises of any foreign power. To adopt with prudent foresight such systematical measures as may be expedient for calling forth those energies wherever the national exi- gencies may require, whether on the ocean or on our own territory, and to reconcile with the proper security of revenue the convenience of mercan- tile enterprise, on which so great a proportion of the public resources depends, are objects of moment which shall be duly regarded in the course of our deliberations. Fully as we accord with you in the opinion that the United States ought not to submit to the humiliation of sending another minister to France without previous assurances sufficiently determinate that he will be duly accredited, we have heard with cordial approbation the declara- tion of your purpose steadily to observe those maxims of humane and pacific policy by which the United States have hitherto been governed. While it is left with France to take the requisite steps for accommoda- tion, it is worthy the Chief Magistrate of a free people to make known to the world that justice on the part of France will annihilate every obstacle to the restoration of a friendly intercourse, and that the Executive authority of this country will respect the sacred rights of embassy. At the same time, the wisdom and decision which have characterized your past Administration assure us that no illusory professions will seduce you into any abandonment of the rights which belong to the United States as a free and independent nation. DECEMBER 13, 1798. 280 Messages and Papers of the Presidents REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT. DECEMBER 14, 1798. To the House of Representatives of the United States of America. GENTLEMEN : My sincere acknowledgments are due to the House of Representatives of the United States for this excellent address so conso- nant to the character of representatives of a great and free people. The judgment and feelings of a nation, I believe, were never more truly expressed by their representatives than those of our constituents by your decided declaration that with our means of defense our interest and honor command us to repel a predatory warfare against the unquestionable rights of neutral commerce; that it becomes the United States to be as determined in resistance as they have been patient in suffering and con- descending in negotiation; that while those who direct the affairs of France persist in the enforcement of decrees so hostile to our essential rights their conduct forbids us to confide in any of their professions of amity; that an adequate naval force must be considered as an important object of national policy, and that, whether negotiations with France are resumed or not, vigorous preparations for war will be alike indispensable. The generous disdain you so coolly and deliberately express of a reli- ance on foreign protection, wanting no foreign guaranty of our liberties, resolving to maintain our national independence against every attempt to despoil us of this inestimable treasure, will meet the full approbation of every sound understanding and exulting applauses from the heart of every faithful American. I thank you, gentlemen, for your candid approbation of my sentiments on the subject of negotiation and for the declaration of your opinion that the policy of extending and invigorating our measures of defense and the adoption with prudent foresight of such systematical measures as may be expedient for calling forth the energies of our country wherever the national exigencies may require, whether on the ocean or on our own territory, will demand your sedulous attention. At the same time, I take the liberty to assure you it shall be my vigilant endeavor that no illusory professions shall seduce me into any abandon- ment of the rights which belong to the United States as a free and inde- pendent nation. JOHN ADAMS. SPECIAL MESSAGES. JANUARY 8, 1799. Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: In compliance with your desire expressed in your resolution of the 2d of this month, I lay before you an extract of a letter from George C. Moreton, acting consul of the United States at The Havannah, dated the John Adams 281 1 3th of November, 1798, to the Secretary of State, with a copy of a letter from him to I,. Tresevant and William Timmons, esquires, with their answer. Although your request extends no further than such information as has been -received, yet it may be a satisfaction to you to know that as soon as this intelligence was communicated to me circular orders were given by my direction to all the commanders of our vessels of war, a copy of which is also herewith transmitted. I also directed this intelligence and these orders to be communicated to His Britannic Majesty's envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to the United States and to our minister plenipotentiary to the Court of Great Britain, with instruc- tions to him to make the proper representation to that Government upon this subject. It is but justice to say that this is the first instance of misbehavior of any of the British officers toward our vessels of war that has come to my knowledge. According to all the representations that I have seen, the flag of the United States and their officers and men have been treated by the civil and military authority of the British nation in Nova Scotia, the West India islands, and on the ocean with uniform civility, polite- ness, and friendship. I have no doubt that this first instance of miscon- duct will be readily corrected. JOHN ADAMS. JANUARY 15, 1799. Gentlemen e neither wise nor safe to relax our measures of defense or to lessen any of our preparations to repel aggression. Our inquiries and attention shall be carefully directed to the various other important subjects which you have recommended to our consider- ation, and from our experience of your past Administration we anticipate with the highest confidence your strenuous cooperation in all measures which have a tendency to promote and extend our national interests and happiness. SAMUEL LIVERMORE, President of the Senate pro tcmpore. DECEMBER 9, 1799. REPI/Y OF THE; PRESIDENT. UNITED STATES, December 70, Gentlemen of the Senate: I thank you for this address. I wish you all possible success and sat- isfaction in your deliberations on the means which have a tendency to promote and extend our national interests and happiness, and I assure you that in all your measures directed to those great objects you may at all times rely with the highest confidence on my cordial cooperation. The praise of the Senate, so judiciously conferred on the promptitude and zeal of the troops called to suppress the insurrection, as it falls from so high authority, must make a deep impression, both as a terror to the disobedient and an encouragement of such as do well. JOHN ADAMS. ADDRESS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO JOHN ADAMS, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. SIR: While the House of Representatives contemplate the flattering prospects of abundance from the labors of the people by land and by sea, the prosperity of our extended commerce notwithstanding the interrup- tions occasioned by the belligerent state of a great part of the world, the 294 Messages and Papers of the. Presidents return of health, industry, and trade to those cities which have lately been afflicted with disease, and the various and inestimable advantages, civil and religious, which, secured under our happy frame of Government, are continued to us unimpaired, we can not fail to offer up to a benevolent Deity our sincere thanks for these the merciful dispensations of His pro- tecting providence. That any portion of the people of America should permit themselves, amid such numerous blessings, to be seduced by the arts and misrepresen- tations of designing men into an open resistance of a law of the United States can not be heard without deep and serious regret. Under a Con- stitution where the public burthens can only be imposed by the people themselves for their own benefit and to promote their own objects, a hope might well have been indulged that the general interest would have been too well understood and the general welfare too highly prized to have produced in any of our citizens a disposition to hazard so much felicity by the criminal effort of a part to oppose with lawless violence the will of the whole. While we lament that depravity which could produce a defiance of the civil authority and render indispensable the aid of the military force of the nation, real consolation is to be derived from the promptness and fidelity with which that aid was afforded. That zealous and active cooperation with the judicial power of the volunteers and militia called into service, which has restored order and submission to the laws, is a pleasing evidence of the attachment of our fellow-citizens to their own free Government, and of the truly patriotic alacrity with which they will support it. To give due effect to the civil administration of Government and to insure a just execution of the laws are objects of such real magnitude as to secure a proper attention to your recommendation of a revision and amendment of the judiciary system. Highly approving as we do the pacific and humane policy which has been invariably professed and sincerely pursued by the Executive authority of the United States, a policy which our best interests enjoined, and of which honor has permitted the observance, we consider as the most unequiv- ocal proof of your inflexible perseverance in the same well-chosen system your preparation to meet the first indications on the part of the French Republic of a disposition to accommodate the existing differences between the two countries by a nomination of ministers, on certain conditions which the honor of our country unquestionably dictated, and which its moderation had certainly given it a right to prescribe. When the assur- ances thus required of the French Government, previous to the departure of our envoys, had been given through their minister of foreign relations, the direction that they should proceed on their mission was on your part a completion of the measure, and manifests the sincerity with which it was commenced. We offer up our fervent prayers to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe for the success of their embassy, and that it may be pro- John Adams 395 ductive of peace and happiness to our common country. The uniform tenor of your conduct through a life useful to your fellow-citizens and honorable to yourself gives a sure pledge of the sincerity with which the avowed objects of the negotiation will be pursued 'on your part, and we earnestly pray that similar dispositions may be displayed on the part of France. The differences which unfortunately subsist between the two nations can not fail in that event to be happily terminated. To produce this end, to all so desirable, firmness, moderation, and union at home constitute, we are persuaded, the surest means. The character of the gentlemen you have deputed, and still more the character of the Gov- ernment which deputes them, are safe pledges to their country that nothing incompatible with its honor or interest, nothing inconsistent with our obligations of good faith or friendship to any other nation, will be stipulated. We learn with pleasure that our citizens, with their property, trading to those ports of St. Domingo with which commercial intercourse has been renewed have been duly respected, and that privateering from those ports has ceased. With- you we sincerely regret that the execution of the sixth article of the treaty of amity, commerce, and navigation with Great Britain, an arti- cle produced by a mutual spirit of amity and justice, should have been unavoidably interrupted. We doubt not that the same spirit of amity and the same sense of justice in which it originated will lead to satisfactory explanations, and we hear with approbation that our minister at London will be immediately instructed to obtain them. While the engagements which America has contracted by her treaty with Great Britain ought to be fulfilled with that scrupulous punctuality and good faith to which our Government has ever so tenaciously adhered, yet no motive exists to induce, and every principle forbids us to adopt, a construction which might extend them beyond the instrument by which they are created. We cherish the hope that the Government of Great Britain will disclaim such extension, and by cordially uniting with that of the United States for the removal of all difficulties will soon enable the boards appointed under the sixth and seventh articles of our treaty with that nation to proceed and bring the business committed to them respectively to a satis- factory conclusion. The buildings for the accommodation of Congress and of the President and for the public offices of the Government at its permanent seat being in such a state as to admit of a removal to that District by the time pre- scribed by the act of Congress, no obstacle, it is presumed, will exist to a compliance with the law. With you, sir, we deem the present period critical and momentous. The important changes which are occurring, the new and great events which are every hour preparing in the political world, the spirit of war which is prevalent in almost every nation with whose affairs the interests 296 Messages and Papers of Ike Presidents of the United States have any connection, demonstrate how unsafe and precarious would be our situation should we neglect the means of main- taining our just rights. Respecting, as we have ever done, the rights of others, America estimates too correctly the value of her own and has received evidence too complete that they are only to be preserved by her own vigilance ever to permit herself to be seduced by a love of ease or by other considerations into that deadly disregard of the means of self- defense which could only result from a carelessness as criminal as it would be fatal concerning the future destinies of our growing Republic. The result of the mission to France is indeed, sir, uncertain. It depends not on America alone. The most pacific temper will not always insure peace. We should therefore exhibit a system of conduct as indiscreet as it would be new in the history of the world if we considered the nego- tiation happily terminated because we have attempted to commence it, and peace restored because we wish its restoration. But, sir, however this mission may terminate, a steady perseverance in a system of national defense commensurate with our resources and the situation of our coun- try is an obvious dictate of duty. Experience, the parent of wisdom and the great instructor of nations, has established the truth of your position, that, remotely as we are placed from the belligerent nations and desirous as we are, by doing justice to all, to avoid offense to any, yet nothing short of the power of repelling aggressions will secure to our country a rational prospect of escaping the calamities of war or national degradation. In the progress of the session we shall take into our serious considera- tion the various and important matters recommended to our attention. A life devoted to the service of your country, talents and integrity which have so justly acquired and so long retained the confidence and affection of your fellow-citizens, attest the sincerity of your declaration that it is your anxious desire so to execute the trust reposed in you as to render the people of the United States prosperous and happy. DECEMBER 9, 1799. REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT. UNITED STATES, December 10, 1799. Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: This very respectful address from the Representatives of the people of the United States, at their first assembly after a fresh election, under the strong impression of the public opinion and national sense, at this inter- esting and singular crisis of our public affairs, has excited my sensibility and receives my sincere and grateful acknowledgments. As long as we can maintain with harmony and affection the honor of our country' consistently with its peace, externally and internally, while that is attainable, or in war when that becomes necessary, assert its real John Adams 297 independence and sovereignty, and support the constitutional energies and dignity of its Government, we may be perfectly sure, under the smiles of Divine Providence, that we shall effectually promote and extend our national interest and happiness. The applause of the Senate and House of Representatives, so justly bestowed upon the volunteers and militia for their zealous and active cooperation with the judicial power, which has restored order and sub- mission to the laws, as it comes with peculiar weight and propriety from the Legislature, can not fail to have an extensive and permanent effect for the support of Government upon all those ingenuous minds who receive delight from the approving and animating voice of their country. JOHN ADAMvS. SPECIAL MESSAGES. UNITED STATES, December 5, 1799. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: I transmit to Congress certain documents which have relation to the communications made on Tuesday, on the subjects of the insurrection in Pennsylvania, the renewal of commerce with St. Domingo, and the mis- sion to the French Republic. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, December 6, 1799. Gentlemen of the Senate: I lay before you, for your consideration, a treaty of amity and com- merce between the United States and the King of Prussia, signed by their ministers on the nth of July last. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, December 19, 1799. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: The letter herewith transmitted will inform you that it has pleased Divine Providence to remove from this life our excellent fellow-citizen, George Washington, by the purity of his character and a long series of services to his country rendered illustrious through the world. It remains for an affectionate and grateful people, in whose hearts he can never die, to pay suitable honors to his memory. JOHN ADAMS. MOUNT VERNON, December 75, 7799. The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. SIR: It is with inexpressible grief that I have to announce to you the death of the great and good General Washington. He died last evening between 10 and II 298 Messages and Papers of the Presidents o'clock, after a short illness of about twenty hours. His disorder was an inflam- matory sore throat, which proceeded from a cold of which he made but little com- plaint on Friday. On Saturday morning about 3 o'clock he became ill. Dr. Craik attended him in the morning, and Dr. Dick, of Alexandria, and Dr. Brown, of Port Tobacco, were soon after called in. Every medical assistance was offered, but with- out the desired effect. His last scene corresponded with the whole tenor of his life; not a groan nor a complaint escaped him in extreme distress. With perfect resig- nation and in full possession of his reason, he closed his well-spent life. I have the honor to be, with the highest respect, sir, your most obedient and very humble servant, TOBIAS LEAR. The Senate, having resolved to wait on the President of the United States "to condole with him on the distressing event of the death of General George Washington," proceeded to the house of the President, when the President of the Senate, in their name, presented the address which had previously been agreed to, as follows: The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Senate of the United States respectfully take leave, sir, to express to you their deep regret for the loss their country sustains in the death of General George Washington. This event, so distressing to all our fellow-citizens, must be peculiarly heavy to you, who have long been associated with him in deeds of patri- otism. Permit us, sir, to mingle our tears with yours. On this occasion it is manly to weep. To lose such a man at such a crisis is no common calamity to the world. Our country mourns her father. The Almighty Disposer of Human Events has taken from us our greatest benefactor and ornament. It becomes us to submit with reverence to Him who mak- eth darkness His pavilion. With patriotic pride we review the life of our Washington and com- pare him with those of other countries who have been preeminent in fame. Ancient and modern names are diminished before him. Great- ness and guilt have too often been allied, but his fame is whiter than it is brilliant. The destroyers of nations stood abashed at the majesty of his virtue. It reproved the intemperance of their ambition and dark- ened the splendor of victory. The scene is closed, and we are no longer anxious lest misfortune should sully his glory. He has traveled on to the end of his journey and carried with him an increasing weight of honor. He has deposited it safely, where misfortune can not tarnish it, where malice can not blast it. Favored of Heaven, he departed with- out exhibiting the weakness of humanity. Magnanimous in death, the darkness of the grave could not obscure his brightness. Such was the man whom we deplore. Thanks to God, his glory is consummated. Washington yet lives on earth in his spotless example; his spirit is in Heaven. Let his countrymen consecrate the memory of the heroic general, the John Adams 299 patriotic statesman, and the virtuous sage. I/et them teach their children never to forget that the fruit of his labors and his example are their inheritance. SAMUEL UVERMORE, President of the Senate pro tempore. DECEMBER 23, 1799. To which the President replied as follows: UNITED STATES, December 23, 1799. Gentlemen of the Senate: I receive with the most respectful and affectionate sentiments in this impressive address the obliging expressions of your regard for the loss our country has sustained in the death of her most esteemed, beloved, and admired citizen. In the multitude of my thoughts and recollections on this melancholy event you will permit me only to say that I have seen him in the days of adversity, in some of the scenes of his deepest distress and most trying perplexities; I have also attended him in his highest elevation and most prosperous felicity, with uniform admiration of his wisdom, moderation, and constancy. Among all our original associates in that memorable league of the con- tinent in 1774, which first expressed the sovereign will of a free nation in America, he was the only one remaining in the General Government. Although with a constitution more enfeebled than his at an age when he thought it necessary to prepare for retirement, I feel myself alone bereaved of my last brother; yet I derive a strong consolation from the unanimous disposition which appears in all ages and classes to mingle their sorrows with mine on this common calamity to the world. The life of our Washington can not suffer by comparison with those of other countries who have been most celebrated and exalted by fame. The attributes and decorations of royalty could have only served to eclipse the majesty of those virtues which made him, from being a modest citizen, a more resplendent luminary. Misfortune, had he lived, could hereafter have sullied his glory only with those superficial minds who, believing that characters and actions are marked by success alone, rarely deserve to enjoy it. Malice could never blast his honor, and envy made him a singular exception to her universal rule. For himself, he had lived enough to life and to glory. For his fellow-citizens, if their prayers could have been answered, he would have been immortal. For me, his departure is at a most unfortu- nate moment. Trusting, however, in the wise and righteous dominion of Providence over the passions of men and the results of their councils and actions, as well as over their lives, nothing remains for me but humble resignation. 300 Messages and Papers of the Presidents His example is now complete, and it will teach wisdom and virtue to magistrates, citizens, and men, not only in the present age, but in future generations as long as our history shall be read. If a Trajan found a Pliny, a Marcus Aurelius can never want biographers, eulogists, or his- torians. JOHN ADAMS. The House of Representatives having resolved unanimously to wait on the President of the United States ' ' in condolence of this national calam- ity," the Speaker, attended by the House, withdrew to the'house of the President, when the Speaker addressed the President as follows: SIR: The House of Representatives, penetrated with a sense of the irreparable loss sustained by the nation in the death of that great and good man, the illustrious and beloved Washington, wait on you, sir, to express their condolence on this melancholy and distressing event. To which the President replied as follows: UNITED STATES December 19, 1799. Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: I receive with great respect and affection the condolence of the House of Representatives on the melancholy and affecting event in the death of the most illustrious and beloved personage which this country ever produced. I sympathize with you, with the nation, and with good men through the world in this irreparable loss sustained by us all. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, December 31, 1799. Gentlemen of the Senate: I nominate Timothy Pickering, Secretary of State; Oliver Wolcott, Secretary of the Treasury, and Samuel Sitgreaves, esq. , of Pennsylvania, to be commissioners to adjust and determine, with commissioners appointed under the legislative authority of the State of Georgia, all interfering claims of the United States and that State to territories situate west of the river Chatahouchee, north of the thirty-first degree of north latitude, and south of the cession made to the United States by South Carolina; and also to receive any proposals for the relinquishment or cession of the whole or any part of the other territory claimed by the State of Georgia, and out of the ordinary jurisdiction thereof, according to the law of the United States of the yth of April, 1798. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, January 8, 1800. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: . In compliance with the request in one of the resolutions of Congress of the 2ist of December last, I transmitted a copy of these resolutions, by John Adams 301 my secretary, Mr. Shaw, to Mrs. Washington, assuring her of the pro- found respect Congress will ever bear to her person and character, of their condolence in the late afflicting dispensation of Providence, and entreating her assent to the interment of the remains of General George Washington in the manner expressed in the first resolution. As the sentiments of that virtuous lady, not less beloved by this nation than she is at present greatly afflicted, can never be so well expressed as in her own words, I transmit to Congress her original letter. It would be an attempt of too much delicacy to make any comments upon it, but there can be no doubt that the nation at large, as well as all the branches of the Government, will be highly gratified by any arrangement which may diminish the sacrifice she makes of her individual feelings. JOHN ADAMS. MOUNT VERNON, December jf, 7799. The PRESIDENT OP THE UNITED STATES. SIR: While I feel with keenest anguish the late dispensation of Divine Providence, I can not be insensible to the mournful tributes of respect and veneration which are paid to the memory of my dear deceased husband; and as his best services and most anxious wishes were always devoted to the welfare and happiness of his country, to know that they were truly appreciated and gratefully remembered affords no incon- siderable consolation. Taught by the great example which I have so long had before me never to oppose my private wishes to the public will, I must consent to the request made by Congress, which you have had the goodness to transmit to me; and in doing this I need not, I can not, say what a sacrifice of individual feeling I make to a sense of public duty. With grateful acknowledgments and unfeigned thanks for the personal respect and evidences of condolence expressed by Congress and yourself, I remain, very respect- fully, sir, your most obedient, humble servant, MARTHA WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, January ij, 1800. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: A report made to me on the 5th of this month by the Secretary of War contains various matters in which the honor and safety of the nation are deeply interested. I transmit it, therefore, to Congress and recommend it to their serious consideration. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, January //, 1800. Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: As the inclosed letter from a member of your House received by me in the night of Saturday, the nth instant, relates to the privileges of the House, which, in my opinion, ought to be inquired into in the House itself, if anywhere, I have thought proper to submit the whole letter and 302 Messages and Papers of the Presidents its tendencies to your consideration without any other comments on its matter or style; but as 110 gross impropriety of conduct on the part of persons holding commissions in the Army or Navy of the United States ought to pass without due animadversion, I have directed the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy to investigate the conduct com- plained of and to report to me without delay such a statement of facts as will enable me to decide on the course which duty and justice shall appear to prescribe. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, Jan uary 23, 1800. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives : I transmit to Congress for the information of the members a report of the Secretary of State of the gth instant, a letter from Matthew Clarkson, esq., to him of the 2d, and a list of the claims adjusted by the commis- sioners under the twenty-first article of our treaty with Spain. JOHN ADAMS. * UNITED STATES, February 14, 1800. Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: I transmit herewith a copy of the laws enacted by the governor and judges of the Mississippi Territory, for the inspection of Congress. There being but this one copy, I must request the House, when they have made the requisite examination, to send it to the Senate. JOHN ADAMS. PROCLAMATIONS. [From C. K. Adams's Works of John Adams, Vol. IX, p. 177.] PROCLAMATION. MAY 9, 1800. Whereas by an act of Congress of the United States passed the 2yth day of February last, entitled "An act 'further to suspend the commercial intercourse between the United States and France and the dependencies thereof, ' ' it is enacted that at any time after the passing of the said act it shall be lawful for the President of the United States, by his order, to remit and discontinue for the time being, whenever he shall deem it expedient and for the interest of the United States, all or any of the restraints and prohibitions imposed by the said act in respect to the territories of the French Republic, or to any island, port, or place belonging to the said Republic with which, in his opinion, a commercial John Adams 303 intercourse may be safely renewed, and to make proclamation thereof accordingly; and it is also thereby further enacted that the whole of the island of Hispaniola shall, for the purposes of the said act, be considered as a dependence of the French Republic; and Whereas the circumstances of certain ports and places of the said island not comprised in the proclamation of the 26th day of June, 1799, are such that I deem it expedient and for the interest of the United States to remit and discontinue the restraints and prohibitions imposed by the said act in respect to those ports and places in order that a com- mercial intercourse with the same may be renewed: Therefore I, John Adams, President of the United States, by virtue of the powers vested in me as aforesaid, do hereby remit and discontinue the restraints and prohibitions imposed by the act aforesaid in respect to all the ports and places in the said island of Hispaniola from Monte Christi on the north, round by the eastern end thereof as far as the port of Jacmel on the south, inclusively. And it shall henceforth be lawful for vessels of the United States to enter and trade at any of the said ports and places, provided it be done with the consent of the Government of St. Domingo. And for this purpose it is hereby required that such vessels first enter the port of Cape Francois or Port Republicain, in the said island, and there obtain the passports of the said Government, which shall also be signed by the consul-general or consul of the United States residing at Cape Francois or Port Republicain, permitting such vessel to go thence to the other ports and places of the said island hereinbefore mentioned and described. Of all which the collectors of the customs and all other officers and citizens of the United States are to take due notice and govern themselves. In testimony, etc. JOHN ADAMS. [From Annals of Congress, Seventh Congress, second session, 1552.] PROCLAMATION. BY JOHN ADAMS, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Whereas the late wicked and treasonable insurrection against the just authority of the United States of sundry persons in the counties of North- ampton, Montgomery, and Bucks, in the State of Pennsylvania, in the year 1799, having been speedily suppressed without any of the calamities usually attending rebellion; whereupon peace, order, and submission to the laws of the United States were restored in the aforesaid counties, and the ignorant, misguided, and misinformed in the counties have returned to a proper sense of their duty, whereby it is become unnecessary for the public good that any future prosecutions should be commenced or car- ried on against any person or persons by reason of their being concerned in the said insurrection: 304 Messages and Papers of the Presidents Wherefore be it known that I, John Adams, President of the United States of America, have granted, and by these presents do grant, a full, free, and absolute pardon to all and every person or persons concerned in the said insurrection, excepting as hereinafter excepted, of all treasons, misprisions of treason, felonies, misdemeanors, and other crimes by them respectively done or committed against the United States in either of the said counties before the i2th day of March, in the year 1799, excepting and excluding therefrom every person who now standeth indicted or. con- victed of any treason, misprisioii of treason, or other offense against the United States, whereby remedying and releasing unto all persons, except as before excepted, all pains and penalties incurred, or supposed to be incurred, for or on account of the premises. Given under my hand and the seal of the United States of America, at the city of Philadelphia, this 2ist day of May, A. D. 1800, EA.i<.j anc i o f tj le independence of the said States the twenty-fourth. JOHN ADAMS. BY JOHN ADAMS, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas by an act of the Congress of the United States passed on the ayth day of February last, entitled "An act further to suspend the commercial intercourse between the United States and France and the dependencies thereof," it is enacted "that at any time after the pass- ing of the said act it shall be lawful for the President of the United States, by his order, to remit and discontinue for the time being, when- ever he shall deem it expedient and for the interest of the United States, all or any of the restraints and prohibitions imposed by the said act in respect to the territories of the French Repubh'c, or to any island, port, or place belonging to the said Republic with which, in his opinion, a commercial intercourse may be safely renewed, and to make proclama- tion thereof accordingly; " and it is also thereby further enacted that the whole of the island of Hispaniola shall, for the purposes of the said act, be considered as a dependence of the French Republic; and Whereas the circumstances of the said island are such that, in my opinion, a commercial intercourse may safely be renewed with every part thereof, under the limitations and restrictions hereinafter mentioned: Therefore I, John Adams, President of the United States, by virtue of the powers vested in me as aforesaid, do hereby remit and discontinue the restraints and prohibitions imposed by the act aforesaid in respect to every part of the said island, so that it shall be lawful for vessels of the United States to trade at any of the ports and places thereof, pro- vided it be done with the consent of the Government of St. Domingo; and for this purpose it is hereby required that such vessels first clear John Adams 305 for and enter the port of Cape Francais or Port Republicain, in the said island, and there obtain the passports of the said Government, which shall also be signed by the consul-general of the United States, or their consul residing at Cape Franyais, or their consul residing at Port Repub- licain, permitting such vessels to go thence to the other ports and places of the said island. Of all which the collectors of the customs and all other officers and citizens of the United States are to take due notice and govern themselves accordingly. Given under my hand and the seal of the United States of America, at the city of Washington, this 6th day of September, A. D. [SEAL.] 1800, and of the Independence of the said States the twenty- fifth. JOHN ADAMS. By the President: J. MARSHALL, Secretary of State. FOURTH ANNUAL ADDRESS. UNITED STATES, November 22, 1800. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: Immediately after the adjournment of Congress at their last session in Philadelphia I gave directions, in compliance with the laws, for the removal of the public offices, records, and property. These directions have been executed, and the public officers have since resided and con- ducted the ordinary business of the Government in this place. I congratulate the people of the United States on the assembling of Congress at the permanent seat of their Government, and I congratu- late you, gentlemen, on the prospect of a residence not to be changed. Although there is cause to apprehend that accommodations are not now so complete as might be wished, yet there is great reason to believe that this inconvenience will cease with the present session. It would be unbecoming the representatives of this nation to assemble for the first time in this solemn temple without looking up to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe and imploring His blessing. May this territory be the residence of virtue and happiness ! In this city may that piety and virtue, that wisdom and magnanimity, that con- stancy and self-government, which adorned the great character whose name it bears be forever held in veneration! Here and throughout our country may simple manners, pure morals, and true religion flourish forever! It is with you, gentlemen, to consider whether the local powers over the District of Columbia vested by the Constitution in the Congress of M P voi, i 20 306 Messages and Papers of the Presidents the United States shall be immediately exercised. If in your opinion this important trust ought now to be executed, you can not fail while performing it to take into view the future probable situation of the terri- tory for the happiness of which you are about to provide. You will consider it as the capital of a great nation advancing with unexampled rapidity in arts, in commerce, in wealth, and in population, and possess- ing within itself those energies and resources which, if not thrown away or lamentably misdirected, will secure to it a long course of prosperity and self-government. In compliance with a law of the last session of Congress, the officers and soldiers of the temporary army have been discharged. It affords real pleasure to recollect the honorable testimony they gave of the patri- otic motives which brought them into the service of their country, by the readiness and regularity with which they returned to the station of private citizens. It is in every point of view of such primary importance to carry the laws into prompt and faithful execution, and to render that part of the administration of justice which the Constitution and laws devolve on the Federal courts as convenient to the people as may consist with their present circumstances, that I can not omit once more to recommend to your serious consideration the judiciary system of the United States. No subject is more interesting than this to the public happiness, and to none can those improvements which may have been suggested by expe- rience be more beneficially applied. A treaty of amity and commerce with the King of Prussia has been concluded and ratified. The ratifications have been exchanged, and I have directed the treaty to be promulgated by proclamation. The difficulties which suspended the execution of the sixth article of our treaty of amity, commerce, and navigation with Great Britain have not yet been removed. The negotiation on this subject is still depending. As it must be for the interest and honor of both nations to adjust this difference with good faith, I indulge confidently the expectation that the sincere endeavors of the Government of the United States to bring it to an amicable termination will not be disappointed. The envoys extraordinary and ministers plenipotentiary from the United States to France were received by the First Consul with the respect due to their character, and three persons with equal powers were appointed to treat with them. Although at the date of the last official intelligence the negotiation had not terminated, yet it is to be hoped that our efforts to effect an accommodation will at length meet with a success proportioned to the sincerity with which they have been so often repeated. While our best endeavors for the preservation of harmony with all nations will continue to be used, the experience of the world and our own experience admonish us of the insecurity of trusting too confidently to their success. We can not, without committing a dangerous impru- John Adams 307 dence, abandon those measures of .self -protection which are adapted to our situation and to which, notwithstanding our pacific policy, the violence and injustice of others may again compel us to resort While our vast extent of seacoast, the commercial and agricultural habits of our people, the great capital they will continue to trust on the ocean, suggest the system of defense which will be most beneficial to ourselves, our distance from Europe and our resources for maritime strength will enable us to employ it with effect. Seasonable and systematic arrangements, so far as our resources will justify, for a navy adapted to defensive war, and which may in case of necessity be quickly brought into use, seem to be as much recommended by a wise and true economy as by a just regard for our future tranquillity, for the safety of our shores, and for the pro- tection of our property committed to the ocean. The present Navy of the United States, called suddenly into existence by a great national exigency, has raised us in our own esteem, and by the protection afforded to our commerce has effected to the extent of our expectations the objects for which it was created. In connection with a navy ought to be contemplated the fortification of some of our principal seaports and harbors. A variety of considera- tions, which will readily suggest themselves, urge an attention to this measure of precaution. To give security to our principal ports consid- erable sums have already been expended, but the works remain incomplete. It is for Congress to determine whether additional appropriations shall be made in order to render competent to the intended purposes the forti- fications which have been commenced. The manufacture of arms within the United States still invites the attention of the National Legislature. At a considerable expense to the public this manufacture has been brought to such a state of maturity as, with continued encouragement, will supersede the necessity of future importations from foreign countries. Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: I shall direct the estimates of the appropriations necessary for the ensuing year, together with an account of the public revenue and expend- iture to a late period, to be laid before you. I observe with much satis- faction that the product of the revenue during the present year has been more considerable than during any former equal period. This result affords conclusive evidence of the great resources of this country and of the wisdom and efficiency of the measures which have been adopted by Congress for the protection of commerce and preservation of public credit. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: As one of the grand community of nations, our attention is irresistibly drawn to the important scenes which surround us. If they have exhib- ited an uncommon portion of calamity, it is the province of humanity to 308 Messages and Papers of the Presidents deplore and of wisdom to avoid the causes which may have produced it. If, turning our eyes homeward, we find reason to rejoice at the prospect which presents itself; if we perceive the interior of our country prosperous, free, and happy; if all enjoy in safety, under the protection of laws emanating only from the general will, the fruits of their own labor, we ought to fortify and cling to those institutions which have been the source of such real felicity and resist with unabating perseverance the progress of those dangerous innovations which may diminish their influence. To your patriotism, gentlemen, has been confided the honorable duty of guarding the public interests; and while the past is to your country a sure pledge that it will be faithfully discharged, permit me to assure you that your labors to promote the general happiness will receive from me the most zealous cooperation. JOHN ADAMS. ADDRESS OF THE SENATE TO JOHN ADAMS, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. SIR: Impressed with the important truth that the hearts of rulers and people are in the hand of the Almighty, the Senate of the United States most cordially join in your invocations for appropriate blessings upon the Government and people of this Union. We meet you, sir, and the other branch of the National legislature in the city which is honored by the name of our late hero and sage, the illustrious Washington, with sensations and emotions which exceed our power of description. While we congratulate ourselves on the convention of the Legislature at the permanent seat of Government, and ardently hope that permanence and stability may be communicated as well to the Government itself as to its seat, our minds are irresistibly led to deplore the death of him who bore so honorable and efficient a part in the establishment of both. Great indeed would have been our gratification if his sum of earthly happiness had been completed by seeing the Government thus peaceably convened at this place; but we derive consolation from a belief that the moment in which we were destined to experience the loss we deplore was fixed by that Being whose counsels can not err, and from a hope that since in this seat of Government, which bears his name, his earthly remains will be deposited, the members of Congress, and all who inhabit the city, with these memorials before them, will retain his virtues in lively recollection, and make his patriotism, morals, and piety models for imitation. And permit us to add, sir, that it is not among the least of our consolations that you, who have been his companion and friend from the dawning of our national existence, and trained in the same school of exertion to effect John Adams 309 our independence, are still preserved by a gracious Providence in health and activity to exercise the functions of Chief Magistrate. The question whether the local powers over the District of Columbia, vested by the Constitution in the Congress of the United States, shall be immediately exercised is of great importance, and in deliberating upon it we shall naturally be led to weigh the attending circumstances and every probable consequence of the measures which may be proposed. The several subjects for legislative consideration contained in your speech to both Houses of Congress shall receive from the Senate all the attention which they can give, when contemplating those objects, both in respect to their national importance and the additional weight that is given them by your recommendation. We deprecate with you, sir, all spirit of innovation from whatever quarter it may arise, which may impair the sacred bond that connects the different parts of this Empire, and we trust that, under the protection of Divine Providence the wisdom and virtue of the citizens of the United States will deliver our national compact unimpaired to a grateful pos- terity. From past experience it is impossible for the Senate of the United States to doubt of your zealous cooperation with the Legislature in every effort to promote the general happiness and tranquillity of the Union. Accept, sir, our warmest wishes for your health and happiness. JOHN E. HOWARD, President of the Senate pro tempore. NOVEMBER 25, 1800. REPLY OP THE PRESIDENT. CITY OP WASHINGTON, November 26, 1800. Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Senate: For this excellent address, so respectful to the memory of my illus- trious predecessor, which I receive from the Senate of the United States at this time and in this place with peculiar satisfaction, I pray you to accept of my unfeigned acknowledgments. With you I ardently hope that permanence and stability will be communicated as well to the Gov- ernment itself as to its beautiful and commodious seat. With you I deplore the death of that hero and sage who bore so honorable and efficient a part in the establishment of both. Great indeed would have been my gratification if his sum of earthly happiness had been completed by seeing the Government thus peaceably convened at this place, himself at its head; but while we submit to the decisions of Heaven, whose councils are inscrutable to us, we can not but hope that the members of Congreas, the officers of Government, and all who inhabit the city or the country will retain his virtues in lively recollection and make his patriotism, morals, and piety models for imitation. 310 Messages and Papers of the Presidents I thank you, gentlemen, for your assurance that the several subjects for legislative consideration recommended in my communication to both Houses shall receive from the Senate a deliberate and candid attention. With you, gentlemen, I sincerely deprecate all spirit of innovation which may weaken the sacred bond that connects the different parts of this nation and Government, and with you I trust that under the protec- tion of Divine Providence the wisdom and virtue of our citizens will deliver our national compact unimpaired to a free, prosperous, happy, and grateful posterity. To this end it is my fervent prayer that in this city the foundations of wisdom may be always opened and the streams of elo- quence forever flow. Here may the youth of this extensive country forever look up without disappointment, not only to the monuments and memorials of the dead, but to the examples of the living, in the members of Congress and officers of Government, for finished models of all those virtues, graces, talents, and accomplishments which constitute the dignity of human nature and lay the only foundation for the prosperity or dura- tion of empires. JOHN ADAMS. ADDRESS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO JOHN ADAMS, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES- JOHN ADAMS, President of the United States. SIR: The House of Representatives have received with great respect the communication which you have been pleased to make to the two Houses of Congress at the commencement of the present session. The final establishment of the seat of National Government, which has now taken place, within the District of Columbia is an event of no small importance in the political transactions of our country, and we cordially unite our wishes with yours that this Territory may be the residence of happiness and virtue. Nor can we on this occasion omit to express a hope that the spirit which animated the great founder of this city may descend to future gen- erations, and that the wisdom, magnanimity, and steadiness which marked the events of his public life may be imitated in all succeeding ages. A consideration of those powers which have been vested in Congress over the District of Columbia will not escape our attention, nor shall we forget that in exercising these powers a regard must be had to those events which will necessarily attend the capital of America. The cheerfulness and regularity with which the officers and soldiers of the temporary army have returned to the condition of private citizens is a testimony clear and conclusive of the purity of those motives which induced them to engage in the public service, and will remain a proof on all future occasions that an army of soldiers drawn from the citizens of our country deserve our confidence and respect. John Adams 31! No subject can be more important than that of the judiciary, which you have again recommended to our consideration, and it shall receive our early and deliberate attention. The Constitution ^of the United States having confided the manage- ment of our foreign negotiations to the control of the Executive power, we cheerfully submit to its decisions on this important subject; and in respect to the negotiations now pending with France, we sincerely hope that the final result may prove as fortunate to our country as the most ardent mind can wish. So long as a predatory war is carried on against our commerce we should sacrifice the interests and disappoint the expectations of our con- stituents should we for a moment relax that system of maritime defense which has resulted in such beneficial effects. At this period it is confi- dently believed that few persons can be found within the United States who do not admit that a navy, well organized, must constitute the natural and efficient defense of this country against all foreign hostility. The progress which has been made in the manufacture of arms leaves no doubt that the public patronage has already placed this country beyond all necessary dependence on foreign markets for an article so indispensa- ble for defense, and gives us assurances that, under the encouragement which Government will continue to extend to this important object, we shall soon rival foreign countries not only in the number but in the qual- ity of arms completed from our own manufactories. Few events could have been more pleasing to our constituents than that great and rapid increase of revenue which has arisen from perma- nent taxes. Whilst this event explains the great and increasing resources of our country, it carries along with it a proof which can not be resisted that those measures of maritime defense which were calculated to meet our enemy upon the ocean, and which have produced such extensive protec- tion to our commerce, were founded in wisdom and policy. The mind must, in our opinion, be insensible to the plainest truths which can not discern the elevated ground on which this policy has placed our country. That national spirit which alone could vindicate our common rights has been roused, and those latent energies which had not been fully known were unfolded and brought into view, and our fellow-citizens were pre- pared to meet every event which national honor or national security could render necessary. Nor have its effects been much less important in other respects. Whilst many of the nations of the earth have been impoverished and depopulated by internal commotions and national contests, our internal peace has not been materially impaired; our commerce has extended, under the protection of our infant Navy, to every part of the globe; wealth has flowed without intermission into our seaports, and the labors of the husbandman have been rewarded by a ready market for the pro- ductions of the soil. 312 Messages and Papers of the Presidents Be assured, sir, that the various and important subjects recommended to our consideration shall receive our early and deliberate attention; and, confident of your cooperation in every measure which may be calculated to promote the general interest, we shall endeavor on our part to testify by our industry and dispatch the zeal and sincerity with which we regard the public good. NOVEMBER 26, 1800. REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT. WASHINGTON, November 27, 1800. Mr. Speaker and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: Compelled by the habits of a long life, as well as by all the principles of society and government which I could ever understand and believe, to consider the great body of the people as the source of all legitimate authority no less than of all efficient power, it is impossible for me to receive this address from the immediate Representatives of the American people at this time and in this place without emotions which it would lie improper to express if any language could convey them. May the spirit which animated the great founder of this city descend to future generations, and may the wisdom, magnanimity, and steadiness which marked the events of his public life be imitated in all succeed- ing ages. I thank you, gentlemen, for your assurance that the judiciary system shall receive your deliberate attention. With you, gentlemen, I sincerely hope that the final result of the negotiations now pending with France may prove as fortunate to our country as they have been commenced with sincerity and prosecuted with deliberation and caution. With you I cordially agree that so long as a predatory war is carried on against our commerce we should sacri- fice the interests and disappoint the expectations of our constituents should we for a moment relax that system of maritime defense which has resulted in such beneficial effects. With you I confidently believe that few persons can be found within the United States who do not admit that a navy, well organized, must constitute the natural and effi- cient defense of this country against all foreign hostility. Those who recollect the distress and danger to this country in former periods from the want of arms must exult in the assurance from their Representatives that we shall soon rival foreign countries not only in the number but in the quality of arms completed from our own manufactories. With you, gentlemen, I fully agree that the great increase of revenue is a proof that the measures of maritime defense were founded in wisdom. This policy has raised us in the esteem of foreign nations. That national spirit and those latent energies which had not been and are not yet fully known to any were not entirely forgotten by those who had lived long John Adams 313 enough to see in former times their operation and some of their effects. Our fellow-citizens were undoubtedly prepared to meet every event which national honor or national security could render necessary. These, it is to be hoped, are secured at the cheapest and easiest rate; if not, they will be secured at more expense. I thank you, gentlemen, for your assurance that the various subjects recommended to your consideration shall receive your deliberate atten- tion. No further evidence is wanting to convince me of the zeal and sincerity with which the House of Representatives regard the public good. I pray you, gentlemen, to accept of my best wishes for your health and happiness. JOHN ADAMS. SPECIAL MESSAGES. UNITED STATES, December 75, 1800. Gentlemen of the Senate: I transmit to the Senate, for their consideration and decision, a conven- tion, both in English and French, between the United States of America and the French Republic, signed at Paris on the 3oth day of September last by the respective plenipotentiaries of the two powers. I also trans- mit to the Senate three manuscript volumes containing the journal of our envoys. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, January 7, 1801. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: I transmit to both Houses of Congress, for their information and con- sideration, copies of laws enacted by the governor and judges of the Mis- sissippi Territory from the 3oth of June until the 3ist of Deceml^er, A. D. 1799. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, January if, 1801. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: I have received from Elias Boudinot, esq., Director of the Mint of the United States, a report of the 2d of January, representing the state of it, together with an abstract of the coins stnick at the Mint from the ist of January to the 3ist of December, 1800; an abstract of the expenditures of the Mint from the ist of January to the 3ist of Decemlx?r, inclusive; a statement of gain on copper coined at the Mint from the ist of January 314 Messages and Papers of the Presidents to the 3ist of December, 1800, and a certificate from Joseph Richardson, assayer of the Mint, ascertaining the value of Spanish milled doubloons in proportion to the gold coins of the United States to be no more than 84 cents and & parts of a cent for i pennyweight, or 28 grains and |^fff parts of a grain to one dollar. These papers I transmit to Congress for their consideration. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, Ja nuary 21, 1801. Gentlemen of the Senate: In compliance with your request, signified in your resolution of the 2oth day of this month, I transmit you a report made to me by the Sec- retary of State on the same day, a letter of our late envoys to him of the 4th of October last, an extract of a letter from our minister plenipoten- tiary in London to him of the 22d of November last, and an extract of another letter from the minister to the Secretary of the 3ist of October last. The reasoning in the letter of our late envoys to France is so fully supported by the writers on the law of nations, particularly by Vattel, as well as by his great masters, Grotius and Puffendorf , that nothing is left to be desired to settle the point that if there be a collision between two treaties made with two different powers the more ancient has the advantage, for no engagement contrary to it can be entered into in the treaty afterwards made; and if this last be found in any case incompat- ible with the more ancient one its execution is considered as impossible, because the person promising had not the power of acting contrary to his antecedent engagement. Although our right is very clear to negotiate treaties according to our own ideas of right and justice, honor and good faith, yet it must always be a satisfaction to know that the judgment of other nations with whom we have connection coincides with ours, and that we have no reason to apprehend that any disagreeable questions and discus- sions are likely to arise. The letters from Mr. King will therefore be read by the Senate with particular satisfaction. The inconveniences to public officers and the mischiefs to the public arising from the publication of the dispatches of ministers abroad are so numerous and so obvious that I request of the Senate that these papers, especially the letters from Mr. King, be considered in close confidence. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, January jo, 1801. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: I transmit to Congress for their consideration a letter from William Thornton, Alexander White, and William Cranch, esquires, commis- sioners of the city of Washington, with a representation of the affairs of John Adams 315 the city made by them to the President of the United States, dated 28th of January, 1801, accompanied with a series of documents marked from A to H, inclusively. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, February 16, 1801. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: I wish to know the pleasure of Congress and request their direction concerning the disposition of the property of the United States now in my possession; whether I shall deliver it into the hands of the heads of Departments, or of the commissioners of the city of Washington, or of a committee of Congress, or to any other persons Congress may appoint, to be delivered into the hands of my successor, or whether I shall present it myself to the President of the United States on the 4th of March next. Any of these modes will be agreeable to me. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, February 20, 1801. Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: I transmit to Congress a report received this morning from Elias Boudinot, esq. , Director of the Mint, dated February 13, 1801, which will require the attention and decision of Congress before the close of the session. JOHN ADAMS. UNITED STATES, March 2, 1801. Gentlemen of the Senate: I have considered the advice and consent of the Senate to the ratifica- tion of the convention with France under certain conditions. Although it would have been more conformable to my own judgment and inclination to have agreed to that instrument unconditionally, yet as in this point I found I had the misfortune to differ in opinion from so high a constitu- tional authority as the Senate, I judged it more consistent with the honor and interest of the United States to ratify it under the conditions pre- scribed than not at all. I accordingly nominated Mr. Bayard minister plenipotentiary to the French Republic, that he might proceed without delay to Paris to negotiate the exchange of ratifications; but as that gen- tleman has declined his appointment, for reasons equally applicable to every other person suitable for the service, I shall take no further meas- ures relative to this business, and leave the convention, with all the docu- ments, in the Office of State, that my successor may proceed with them according to his wisdom. JOHN ADAMS. 3i 6 Messages and Papers of the Presidents PROCLAMATION. JANUARY 30, 1801. To the Senators of the United States, respectively. SIR: It appearing to me proper and necessary for the public service that the Senate of the United States should be convened on Wednesday, the 4th of March next, you are desired to attend in the Chamber of the Senate on that day, at 10 o'clock in the forenoon, to receive and act upon any communications which the President of the United States may then lay before you touching their interests, and to do and consider all other things which may be proper and necessary for the public service for the Senate to do and consider. JOHN ADAMS, President of the United States. 317 Thomas Jefferson THOMAS JEFFERSON was born at Shadwell, Albemarle County, Va., on April 2 (old style), 1743. He was the oldest son of Peter Jefferson, who died in 1757. After attending private schools, he entered William and Mary College in 1760. In 1767 began the practice of the law. In 1769 was chosen to represent his county in the Virginia house of bur- gesses, a station he continued to fill up to the period of the Revolution. He married Mrs. Martha Skelton in 1772, she being a daughter of John Wales, an eminent lawyer of Virginia. On March 12, 1773, was chosen a member of the first committee of correspondence established by the Colonial legislature. Was elected a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1775; was placed on the Committee of Five to prepare the Declaration of Independence, and at the request of that committee he drafted the Declaration, which, with slight amendments, was adopted July 4, 1776. Resigned his seat in Congress and occupied one in the Virginia legisla- ture in October, 1776. Was elected governor of Virginia by the legis- lature on June i, 1779, to succeed Patrick Henry. Retired to private life at the end of his term as governor, but was the same year elected again to the legislature. Was appointed commissioner with others to negotiate treaties with France in 1776, but declined. In 1782 he was appointed by Congress minister plenipotentiary to act with others in Europe in negotiating a treaty of peace with Great Britain. Was again elected a Delegate to Congress in 1783, and as a member of that body he advocated and had adopted the dollar as the unit and the present system of coins and decimals. In May, 1784, was appointed minister plenipo- tentiary to Europe to assist John Adams and Benjamin Franklin in nego- tiating treaties of commerce. In March, 1785, was appointed by Congress minister at the French Court to succeed Dr. Franklin, and remained in France until September, 1789. On his arrival at Norfolk, November 23, 1789, received a letter from Washington offering him the appointment of Secretary of State in his Cabinet. ' Accepted and became the first Secre- tary of State under the Constitution. December 31, 1793, resigned his place in the Cabinet and retired to private life at his home. In 1796 was brought forward by his friends as a candidate for President, but Mr. Adams, receiving the highest number of votes, was elected President, and Jefferson became Vice- President for four years from March 4, 1797. In 1800 was again voted for by his party for President. He and Mr. Burr received an equal number of electoral votes, and under the Constitution 3'9 320 Messages and Papers of the Presidents the House of Representatives was called upon to elect. Mr. Jefferson was chosen on the thirty-sixth ballot. Was reelected in 1804, and retired finally from public life March 4, 1809. He died on the 4th day of July, 1826, and was buried at Moiiticello, Va. NOTIFICATION OF ELECTION. Mr. Pinckney, from the committee instructed on the i8th instant to wait on the President elect to notify him of his election, reported that the committee had, according to order, performed that service, and addressed the President elect in the following words, to wit : v J \~^ The committee beg leave to express their wishes for the prosperity of your Administration and their sincere desire that it may promote your own happiness and the welfare of our country. To which the President elect was pleased to make the following reply : I receive, gentlemen, with profound thankfulness this testimony of confidence from the great representative council of our nation. It fills up the measure of that grateful satisfaction which had already been derived from the suffrages of my fellow-citizens themselves, designating me as one of those to whom they were willing to commit this charge, the most important of all others to them. In deciding between the candi- dates whom their equal vote presented to your choice, I am sensible that age has been respected rather than more active and useful qualifications. I know the difficulties of the station to which I am called, and feel and acknowledge my incompetence to them. But whatsoever of under- standing, whatsoever of diligence, whatsoever of justice or of affectionate concern for the happiness of man, it has pleased Providence to place within the compass of my faculties shall be called forth for the discharge of the duties confided to me, and for procuring to my fellow-citizens all the benefits which our Constitution has placed under the guardianship of the General Government. Guided by the wisdom and patriotism of those to whom it belongs to express the legislative will of the nation, I will give to that will a faithful execution. I pray you, gentlemen, to convey to the honorable body from which you are deputed the homage of my humble acknowledgments and the sentiments of zeal and fidelity by which I shall endeavor to merit these proofs of confidence from the nation and its Representatives; and accept yourselves my particular thanks for the obliging terms in which you have been pleased to communicate their will. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 20, 1801. Thomas Jefferson 321 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT ELECT. The President laid before the Senate a letter from the President elect of the United States, which was read, as follows: WASHINGTON, March 2, 1801. The PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE OF THE SENATE. SIR: I beg leave through you to inform the honorable the Senate of the United States that I propose to take the oath which the Constitution prescribes to the President of the United States before he enters on the execution of his office on Wednesday, the 4th instant, at 12 o'clock, in the Senate Chamber. I have the honor to be, with the greatest respect, sir, your most obedi- ent and most humble servant, TH: JEFFERSON. (The same letter was sent to the House of Representatives. ) FIRST INAUGURAL ADDRESS. AT WASHINGTON, D. C. Friends and Fellow- Citizens: Called upon to undertake the duties of the first executive office of our country, I avail myself of the presence of that portion of my fellow-citi- zens which is here assembled to express my grateful thanks for the favor with which they have been pleased to look toward me, to declare a sin- cere consciousness that the task is above my talents, and that I approach it with those anxious and awful presentiments which the greatness of the charge and the weakness of my powers so justly inspire. A rising nation, spread over a wide and fruitful land, traversing all the seas with the rich productions of their industry, engaged in commerce with nations who feel power and forget right, advancing rapidly to destinies beyond the reach of mortal eye when I contemplate these transcendent objects, and see the honor, the happiness, and the hopes of this beloved country committed to the issue and the auspices of this day, I shrink from the contemplation, and humble myself before the magnitude of the undertaking. Utterly, indeed, should I despair did not the presence of many whom I here see remind me that in the other high authorities provided by our Consti- tution I shall find resources of wisdom, of virtue, and of zeal on which to rely under all difficulties. To you, then, gentlemen, who are charged with the sovereign functions of legislation, and to those associated with you, I look with encouragement for that guidance and support which may M P voi, i 21 322 Messages and Papers of the Presidents enable us to steer with safety the vessel in which we are all embarked amidst the conflicting elements of a troubled world. During the contest of opinion through which we have passed the ani- mation of discussions and of exertions has sometimes worn an aspect which might impose on strangers unused to think freely and to speak and to write what they think; but this being now decided by the voice of the nation, announced according to the rules of the Constitution, all will, of course, arrange themselves under the will of the law, 'and unite in com- mon efforts for the common good. All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression. Let us, then, fellow-citizens, unite with one heart and one mind. Let us restore to social intercourse that harmony and affec- tion without which liberty and even life itself are but dreary things. And let us reflect that, having banished from our land that religious intolerance under which mankind so long bled and suffered, we have yet gained little if we countenance a political intolerance as despotic, as wicked, and capable of as bitter and bloody persecutions. During the throes and convulsions of the ancient world, during the agonizing spasms of infuriated man, seeking through blood and slaughter his long- lost lib- erty, it was not wonderful that the agitation of the billows should reach even this distant and peaceful shore; that this should be more felt and feared by some and less by others, and should divide opinions as to measures of safety. But every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle. We have called by different names brethren of the same principle. We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists. If there be any among us who would wish to dissolve this Union or to change its republican form, let them stand undisturbed as monuments of the safety with which error of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it. I know, indeed, that .some honest men fear that a repub- lican government can not be strong, that this Government is not strong enough; but would the honest patriot, in the full tide of successful experiment, abandon a government which has so far kept us free and firm on the theoretic and visionary fear that this Government, the world's best hope, may by possibility want energy to preserve itself? I trust not. I believe this, on the contrary, the strongest Government on earth. I believe it the only one where every man, at the call of the law, would fly to the standard of the law, and would meet invasions of the public order as his own personal concern. Sometimes it is said that man can not be trusted with the government of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others ? Or have we found angels in the forms of kings to govern him ? Let history answer this question. Let us, then, with courage and confidence pursue our own Federal Republican principles, our attachment to union and representative Thomas Jefferson 323 government. Kindly separated by nature and a wide ocean from the exterminating havoc of one quarter of the globe ; too high-minded to endure the degradations of the others ; possessing a chosen country, with room enough for our descendants to the thousandth and thousandth gen- eration; entertaining a due sense of our equal right to the use of our own faculties, to the acquisitions of our own industry, to honor and confidence from our fellow-citizens, resulting not from birth, but from our actions and their sense of them; enlightened by a benign religion, professed, indeed, and practiced in various forms, yet all of them inculcating honesty, truth, temperance, gratitude, and the love of man ; acknowledging and adoring an overruling Providence, which by all its dispensations proves that it delights in the happiness of man here and his greater happiness hereafter with all these blessings, what more is necessary to make us a happy and a prosperous people? Still one thing more, fellow-citi/ens a wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government, and this is necessary to close the circle of our felicities. About to enter, fellow-citizens, on the exercise of duties which com- prehend everything dear and valuable to you, it is proper you should understand what I deem the essential principles of our Government, and consequently those which ought to shape its Administration. I will compress them within the narrowest compass they will bear, stating the general principle, but not all its limitations. Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political; peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none; the support of the State governments in all their rights, as the most competent administrations for our domestic concerns and the surest bulwarks against antirepublican tendencies; the preservation of the General Government in its whole constitutional vigor, as the sheet anchor of our peace at home and safety abroad; a jealous care of the right of election by the people a mild and safe corrective of abuses which are lopped by the sword of revolution where peaceable remedies are unprovided; absolute acquiescence in the decisions of the majority, the vital principle of republics, from which is no appeal but to force, the vital principle and immediate parent of despotism; a well-dis- ciplined militia, our best reliance in peace and for the first moments of war, till regulars may relieve them; the supremacy of the civil over the military authority; economy in the public expense, that labor may be lightly burthened; the honest payment of our debts and sacred preserva- tion of the public faith; encouragement of agriculture, and of commerce as its handmaid; the diffusion of information and arraignment of all abuses at the bar of the public reason; freedom of religion; freedom of the press, and freedom of person under the protection of the habeas corpus, 324 Messages and Papers of the Presidents and trial by juries impartially selected. These principles form the bright constellation which has gone before us and guided our steps through an age of revolution and reformation. The wisdom of our sages and blood of our heroes have been devoted to their attainment. They should be the creed of our political faith, the text of civic instruction, the touchstone by which to try the sendees of those we trust; and should we wander from them in moments of error or of alarm, let us hasten to retrace our steps and to regain the road which alone leads to peace, liberty, and safety. I repair, then, fellow-citizens, to the post you have assigned me. With experience enough in subordinate offices to have seen the difficulties of this the greatest of all, I have learnt to expect that it will rarely fall to the lot of imperfect man to retire from this station with the reputation and the favor which bring him into it. Without pretensions to that high confidence you reposed in our first and greatest revolutionary character, whose preeminent services had entitled him to the first place in his coun- try's love and destined for him the fairest page in the volume of faithful history, I ask so much confidence only as may give firmness and effect to the legal administration of your affairs. I shall often go wrong through defect of judgment. When right, I shall often be thought wrong by those whose positions will not command a view of the whole ground. I ask your indulgence for my own errors, which will never be intentional, and your support against the errors of others, who may condemn what they would not if seen in all its parts. The approbation implied by your suffrage is a great consolation to me for the past, and my future solicitude will be to retain the good opinion of those who have bestowed it in advance, to conciliate that of others by doing them all the good in my power, and to be instrumental to the happiness and freedom of all. Relying, then, on the patronage of your good will, I advance with obedience to the work, ready to retire from it whenever you become sen- sible how much better choice it is in your power to make. And may that Infinite Power which rules the destinies of the universe lead our councils to what is best, and give them a favorable issue for your peace and prosperity. MARCH 4, 1801. PROCLAMATION. [From the National Intelligencer, March 13, 1801.] BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. Whereas by the first article of the terms and conditions declared by the President of the United States on the xyth day. of October, 1791, for regulating the materials and manner of buildings and improvements Thomas Jefferson on the lots in the city of Washington, it is provided "that the outer and party walls of all houses in the said city shall be built of brick or stone; " and by the third article of the same terms and conditions it is declared ' ' that the wall of no house shall be higher than 40 feet to the roof in any part of the city, nor shall any be lower than 35 feet in any of the avenues; " and Whereas the above-recited articles were found to impede the settlement in the city of mechanics and others whose circumstances did not admit of erecting houses authorized by the said regulations, for which cause the President of the United States, by a writing under his hand, bearing date the 25th day of June, 1796, suspended the operation of the said articles until the first Monday of December, 1800, and the beneficial effects aris- ing from such suspension having been experienced, it is deemed proper to revive the same: Wherefore I, Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States, do declare that the operation of the first and third articles above recited shall be, and the same is hereby, suspended until the ist day of January, 1802, and that all the houses which shall be erected in the said city of Washington previous to the said ist day of January, 1802, conformable in other respects to the regulations aforesaid, shall be considered as law- fully erected, except that no wooden house shall be erected within 24 feet of any brick or stone house. Given under my hand this nth day of March, 1801. TH: JEFFERSON. In communicating his first message to Congress, President Jefferson addressed the following letter to the presiding officer of each branch of the National Legislature: DECEMBER 8, 1801. The Honorable the PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE. SIR: The circumstances under which we find ourselves at this place rendering inconvenient the mode heretofore practiced of making by per- sonal address the first communications between the legislative and execu- tive branches, I have adopted that by message, as used on all subsequent occasions through the session. In doing this I have had principal regard to the convenience of the Legislature, to the economy of their time, to their relief from the embarrassment of immediate answers on subjects not yet fully before them, and to the benefits thence resulting to the public affairs. Trusting that a procedure founded in these motives will meet their approbation, I beg leave through you, sir, to communicate the inclosed message, with the documents accompanying it, to the honorable the Senate, and pray you to accept for yourself and them the homage of my high respect and consideration. TH: JEFFERSON. 326 Messages and Papers of the Presidents FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. DECEMBER 8, 1801. Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives: It is a circumstance of sincere gratification to me that on meeting the great council of our nation I am able to announce to them on grounds of reasonable certainty that the wars and troubles which have for so many years afflicted our sister nations have at length come to an end, and that the communications of peace and commerce are once more opening among them. Whilst we devoutly return thanks to the beneficent Being who has been pleased to breathe into them the spirit of conciliation and forgive- ness, we are bound with peculiar gratitude to be thankful to Him that our own peace has been preserved through so perilous a .season, and our- selves permitted quietly to cultivate the earth and to practice and improve those arts which tend to increase our comforts. The assurances, indeed, of friendly disposition received from all the powers with whom we have principal relations had inspired a confidence that our peace with them would not have been disturbed. But a cessation of irregularities which had affected the commerce of neutral nations and of the irritations and injuries produced by them can not but add to this confidence, and strength- ens at the same time the hope that wrongs committed on unoffending friends under a pressure of circumstances will now be reviewed with can- dor, and will be considered as founding just claims of retribution for the past and new assurance for the future. Among our Indian neighbors also a spirit of peace and friendship generally prevails, and I am happy to inform you that the continued efforts to introduce among them the implements and the practice of hus- bandry and of the household arts have not been without success; that they are becoming more and more sensible of the superiority of this dependence for clothing and subsistence over the precarious resources of hunting and fishing, and already we are able to announce that instead of that constant diminution of their numbers produced by their wars and their wants, some of them begin to experience an increase of population. To this state of general peace with which we have been blessed, one only exception exists. Tripoli, the least considerable of the Barbary States, had come forward with demands unfounded either in right or in compact, and had permitted itself to denounce war on our failure to com- ply before a given day. The style of the demand admitted but one answer. I sent a small squadron of frigates into the Mediterranean, with assurances to that power of our sincere desire to remain in peace, but with orders to protect our commerce against the threatened attack. The measure was seasonable and salutary. The Bey had already declared war. His cruisers were out. Two had arrived at Gibraltar. Thomas Jefferson 327 Our commerce in the Mediterranean was blockaded and that of the Atlantic in peril. The arrival of our squadron dispelled the danger. One of the Tripolitaii cruisers having fallen in with and engaged the small schooner Enterprise, commanded by Lieutenant Sterret, which had gone as a tender to our larger vessels, was captured, after a heavy slaugh- ter of her men, without the loss of a single one on our part. The bravery exhibited by our citizens on that element will, I trust, be a testimony to the world that it is not the want of that virtue which makes us seek their peace, but a conscientious desire to direct the energies of our nation to the multiplication of the human race, and not to its destruction. Unauthorized by the Constitution, without the sanction of Congress, to go beyond the line of defense, the vessel, being disabled froin committing further hostil- ities, was liberated with its crew. The Legislature will doubtless consider whether, by authorizing measures of offense also, they will place our force on an equal footing with that of its adversaries. I communicate all material information on this subject, that in the exercise of this impor- tant function confided by the Constitution to the Legislature exclusively their judgment may fonn itself on a knowledge and consideration of every circumstance of weight. I wish I could say that our situation with all the other Barbary States was entirely satisfactory. Discovering that some delays had taken place in the performance of certain articles stipulated by us, I thought it my duty, by immediate measures for fulfilling them, to vindicate to ourselves the right of considering the effect of departure from stipulation on their side. From the papers which will be laid before you you will be enabled to judge whether our treaties are regarded by them as fixing at all the measure of their demands or as guarding from the exercise of force our vessels within their power, and to consider how far it will be safe and expedient to leave our affairs with them in their present posture. I lay before you the result of the census lately taken of our inhabitants, to a conformity with which we are now to reduce the ensuing ratio of representation and taxation. You will perceive that the increase of num- bers during the last ten years, proceeding in geometrical ratio, promises a duplication in little more than twenty-two years. We contemplate this rapid growth and the prospect it holds up to us, not with a view to the injuries it may enable us to do others in some future day, but to the settlement of the extensive country still remaining vacant within our limits to the multiplication of men susceptible of happiness, educated in the love of order, habituated to self-government, and valuing its bless- ings above all price. Other circumstances, combined with the increase of numbers, have produced an augmentation of revenue arising from consumption in a ratio far beyond that of population alone; and though the changes in foreign relations now taking place so desirably for the whole world may for a season affect this branch of revenue, yet weighing all probabilities of 328 Messages and Papers of the Presidents expense as well as of income, there is reasonable ground of confidence that we may now safely dispense with all the internal taxes, comprehend- ing excise, stamps, auctions, licenses, carriages, and refined sugars, to which the postage on newspapers may be added to facilitate the progress of information, and that the remaining sources of revenue will be sufficient to provide for the support of Government, to pay the interest of the pub- lic debts, and to discharge the principals within shorter periods than the laws or the general expectation had contemplated. War, indeed, and untoward events may change this prospect of things and call for expenses which the imposts could not meet; but sound principles will not justify our taxing the industry of our fellow-citizens to accumulate treasure for wars to happen we know not when, and which might not, perhaps, happen but from the temptations offered by that treasure. These views, however, of reducing our burthens are formed on the expectation that a sensible 'and at the same time a salutary reduction may take place in our habitual expenditures. For this purpose those of the civil Government, the Army, and Navy will need revisal. When we consider that this Government is charged with the external and mutual relations only of these States; that the States themselves have principal care of our persons, our property, and our reputation, con- stituting the great field of human concerns, we may well doubt whether our organization is not too complicated, too expensive; whether offices and officers have not been multiplied unnecessarily and sometimes inju- riously to the service they were meant to promote. I will cause to be laid before you an essay toward a statement of those who, under public employment of various kinds, draw money from the Treasury or from our citizens. Time has not permitted a perfect enumeration, the ram- ifications of office being too multiplied and remote to be completely traced in a first trial. Among those who are dependent on Executive discretion I have begun the reduction of what was deemed unnecessary. The expenses of diplomatic agency have been considerably diminished. The inspectors of internal revenue who were found to obstruct the ac- countability of the institution have been discontinued. Several agencies created by Executive authority, on salaries fixed by that also, have been suppressed, and should suggest the expediency of regulating that power by law, so as to subject its exercises to legislative inspection and sanc- tion. Other reformations of the same kind will be pursued with that caution which is requisite in removing useless things, not to injure what is retained. But the great mass of public offices is established by law, and therefore by law alone can be abolished. Should the Legislature think it expedient to pass this roll in review and try all its parts by the test of public utility, they may be assured of every aid and light which Execu- tive information can yield. Considering the general tendency to multiply offices and dependencies and to increase expense to the ultimate term of burthen which the citizen can bear, it behooves us to avail ourselves of Thomas Jefferson 329 every occasion which presents itself for taking off the surcharge, that it never may be seen here that after leaving to labor the smallest portion of its earnings on which it can subsist, Government shall itself consume the whole residue of what it was instituted to guard. In our care, too, of the public contributions intrusted to our direction it would be prudent to multiply barriers against their dissipation by appropriating specific sums to every specific purpose susceptible of defi- nition ; by disallowing all applications of money varying from the appro- priation in object or transcending it in amount; by reducing the undefined field of contingencies and thereby circumscribing discretionary powers over money, and by bringing back to a single department all accounta- bilities for money, where the examinations may be prompt, efficacious, and uniform. An account of the receipts and expenditures of the last year, as pre- pared by the Secretary of the Treasury, will, as usual, IDC laid before you. The success which has attended the late sales of the public lands shews that with attention they may be made an important source of receipt. Among the payments those made in discharge of the principal and interest of the national debt will shew that the public faith has been exactly maintained. To these will be added an estimate of appropriations neces- sary for the ensuing year. This last will, of course, be affected by such modifications of the system of expense as you shall think proper to adopt. A statement has been formed by the Secretary of War, on mature consideration, of all the posts and stations where garrisons will be expe- dient and of the number of men requisite for each garrison. The whole amount is considerably short of the present military establishment. For the surplus no particular use can be pointed out. For defense against invasion their number is as nothing, nor is it conceived needful or safe that a standing army should be kept up in time of peace for that purpose. Uncertain as we must ever be of the particular point in our circumference where an enemy may choose to invade us, the only force which can be ready at every point and competent to oppose them is the body of neigh- boring citizens as formed into a militia. On these, collected from the parts most convenient in numbers proportioned to the invading force, it is best to rely not only to meet the first attack, but if it threatens to be permanent to maintain the defense until regulars may be engaged to relieve them. These considerations render it important that we should at every session continue to amend the defects which from time to time shew themselves in the laws for regulating the militia until they are sufficiently perfect. Nor should we now or at any time separate until we can say we have done everything for the militia which we could do were an enemy at our door. The provision of military stores on hand will be laid before you. that you may judge of the additions still requisite. With respect to the extent to which our naval preparations should be 330 Messages and Papers of the Presidents carried some difference of opinion may be expected to appear, but just attention to the circumstances of every part of the Union will doubtless reconcile all. A small force will probably continue to be wanted for actual sen-ice in the Mediterranean. Whatever annual sum beyond that you may think proper to appropriate to naval preparations would perhaps be better employed in providing those articles which may be kept without waste or consumption, and be in readiness when any exigence calls them into use. Progress has been made, as will appear by papers now com- municated, in providing materials for 74-gun ships as directed by law. How far the authority given by the Legislature for procuring and establishing sites for naval purposes has been perfectly understood and pursued in the execution admits of some doubt. A statement of the expenses already incurred on that subject is now laid before you. I have in certain cases suspended or slackened these expenditures, that the Legislature might determine whether so many yards are necessary as have been contemplated. The works at this place are among those permitted to go on, and five of the seven frigates directed to be laid up have been brought and laid up here, where, besides the safety of their position, they are under the eye of the Executive Administration, as well as of its agents, and where yourselves also will be guided by your own view in the legislative provisions respecting them which may from time to time be necessary. They are preserved in such condition, as well the vessels as whatever belongs to them, as to be at all times ready for sea on a short warning. Two others are yet to be laid up so soon as they shall have received the repairs requisite to put them also into sound condition. As a superintending officer will be necessary at each yard, his duties and emoluments, hitherto fixed by the Executive, will be a more proper sub- ject for legislation. A communication will also be made of our progress in the execution of the law respecting the vessels directed to be sold. The fortifications of our harbors, more or less advanced, present con- siderations of great difficulty. While some of them are on a scale suffi- ciently proportioned to the advantages of their position, to the efficacy of their protection, and the importance of the points within it, others are so extensive, will cost so much in their first erection, so much in their maintenance, and require such a force to garrison them as to make it questionable what is best now to be done. A statement of those com- menced or projected, of the expenses already incurred, and estimates of their future cost, as far as can be foreseen, shall be laid before you, that you may be enabled to judge whether any alteration is necessary in the laws respecting this subject. Agriculture, manufactures, commerce, and navigation, the four pillars of our prosperity, are then most thriving when left most free to individual enterprise. Protection from casual embarrassments, however, may sometimes be seasonably interposed. If in the course of your observa- tions or inquiries they should appear to need any aid within the limits of Thomas Jefferson 331 our constitutional powers, your sense of their importance is a sufficient assurance they will occupy your attention. We can not, indeed, but all feel an anxious solicitude for the difficulties under which our carrying trade will soon be placed. How far it can be relieved, otherwise than by time, is a subject of important consideration. The judiciary system of the United States, and especially that portion of it recently erected, will of course present itself to the contemplation of Congress, and, that they may IDC able to judge of the proportion which the institution bears to the business it has to perform, I have caused to be procured from the several States and now lay l)efore Congress an exact statement of all the causes decided since the first establishment of the courts, and of those which were depending when additional courts and judges were brought in to their aid. And while on the judiciary organization it will be worthy your con- sideration whether the protection of the inestimable institution of juries has been extended to all the cases involving the security of our persons and property. Their impartial selection also being essential to their value, we ought further to consider whether that is sufficiently secured in those States where they are named by a marshal depending on Executive will or designated by the court or by officers dependent on them. I can not omit recommending a revisal of the laws on the subject of naturalization. Considering the ordinary chances of human life, a denial of citizenship under a residence of fourteen years is a denial to a great proportion of those who ask it, and controls a policy pursued from their first settlement by many of these States, and still believed of consequence to their prosperity; and shall we refuse to the unhappy fugitives from dis- tress that hospitality which the savages of the wilderness extended to our fathers arriving in this land? Shall oppressed humanity find no asylum on this globe? The Constitution indeed has wisely provided that for admission to certain offices of important trust a residence shall be required sufficient to develop character and design. But might not the general character and capabilities of a citizen be safely communicated to every- one manifesting a bona fide purpose of embarking his life and fortunes permanently with us, with restrictions, perhaps, to guard, against the fraudulent usurpation of our flag, an abuse which brings so much embarrassment and loss on the genuine citizen and so much danger to the nation of being involved in war that no endeavor should be spared to detect and suppress it ? These, fellow-citizens, are the matters respecting the state of the nation which I have thought of importance to be submitted to your con- sideration at this time. Some others of less moment or not yet ready for communication will be the subject of separate messages. I am happy in this opportunity of committing the arduous affairs of our Government to the collected wisdom of the Union. Nothing shall be wanting on my part to inform as far as in my power the legislative judgment, nor to 332 Messages and Papers of the Presidents carry that judgment into faithful execution. The prudence and temper- ance of your discussions will promote within your own walls that concil- iation which so much befriends rational conclusion, and by its example will encourage among our constituents that progress of opinion which is tending to unite them in object and in will. That all should be satisfied with any one order of things is not to be expected; but I indulge the pleasing persuasion that the great body of our citizens will cordially con- cur in honest and disinterested efforts which have for their object to pre- serve the General and State Governments in their constitutional form and equilibrium; to maintain peace abroad, and order and obedience to the laws at home; to establish principles and practices of administration favorable to the security of liberty and property, and to reduce expenses to what is necessary' for the useful purposes of Government. TH: JEFFERSON. SPECIAL MESSAGES. DECEMBER n, 1801. Gentlemen of the Senate: Early in the last month I received the ratification by the First Consul of France of the convention between the United States and that nation. His ratification not being pure and simple in the ordinary form, I have thought it my duty, in order to avoid all misconception, to ask a second advice and consent of the Senate before I give it the last sanction by pro- claiming it to be a law of the land. TH: JEFFERSON. DECEMBER 22, 1801. Gentlemen of the Senate: The States of Georgia and Tennessee being peculiarly interested in our carrying into execution the two acts passed by Congress on the igth of February', 1799 (chapter 115), and I3th May, 1800 (chapter 62), com- missioners were appointed early in summer and other measures taken for the purpose. The objects of these laws requiring meetings with the Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, and Creeks, the inclosed instructions were prepared for the proceedings with the three first nations. Our appli- cations to the Cherokees failed altogether. Those to the Chickasaws produced the treaty now laid before you for your advice and consent, whereby we obtained permission to open a road of communication with the Mississippi Territory. The commissioners are probably at this time in conference with the Choctaws. Further information having been wanting when these instructions were formed to enable us to prepare Thomas Jefferson those respecting the Creeks, the commissioners were directed to proceed with the others. We have now reason to believe the conferences with the Creeks can not take place till the spring. The journals and letters of the commissioners relating to the subject of the treaty now inclosed accompany it. TH: JEFFERSON. DECEMBER 22, 1801. Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: I now inclose sundry documents supplementary to those communicated to you with my message at the commencement of the session. Two others of considerable importance the one relating to our transactions with the Barbary Powers, the other presenting a view of the offices of the Govern- ment shall be communicated as soon as they can t>e completed. TH: JEFFERSON. DECEMBER 23, 1801. Gentlemen 'of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: Another return of the census of the State of Maryland is just received from the marshal of that State, which he desires may be substituted as more correct than the one first returned by him and communicated by me to Congress. This new return, with his letter, is now laid before you. TH: JEFFERSON. JANUARY n, 1802. Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives. I now communicate to you a memorial of the commissioners of the city of Washington, together with a letter of later date, which, with their me- morial of January 28, 1801, will possess the Legislature fully of the state of the public interests and of those of the city of Washington confided to them. The moneys now due, and soon to become due, to the State of Maryland on the loan guaranteed by the United States call for an early attention. The lots in the city which are chargeable with the payment of these moneys are deemed not only equal to the indemnification of the public, but to insure a considerable surplus to the city to be employed for its improvement, provided they are offered for sale only in sufficient numbers to meet the existing demand. But the act of 1796 requires that they shall be positively sold in such numbers as shall be necessary for the punctual payment of the loans. Nine thousand dollars of interest are lately become due, $3,000 quarter yearly will continue to become due, and $50,000, an additional loan, are reimbursable on the ist day of November next. These sums would require sales so far beyond the 334 Messages and Papers of the Presidents actual demand of the market that it is apprehended that the whole prop- erty may be thereby sacrificed, the public security destroyed, and the residuary interest of the city entirely lost. Under these circumstances I have thought it my duty tefore I proceed to direct a rigorous execution of the law to submit the subject to the consideration of the Legislature. Whether the public interest will be better secured in the end and that of the city saved by offering sales commensurate only to the demand at market, and advancing from the Treasury in the first instance what these may prove deficient, to be replaced by subsequent sales, rests for the determination of the Legislature. If indulgence for the funds can be ad- mitted, they will probably form a resource of great and permanent value; and their embarrassments have been produced only by overstrained exertions to provide accommodations for the Government of the Union TH: JEFFERSON. JANUARY 12, 1802. Gentlemen of the Senate: I now communicate to you a letter from the Secretary of State inclos- ing an estimate of the expenses which appear at present necessary for carrying into effect the convention between the United States of America and the French Republic, which has been prepared at the request of the House of Representatives. TH: JEFFERSON. JANUARY 27, 1802. Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: I lay before you the accounts of our Indian trading houses, as rendered up to the ist day of January, 1801, with a report of the Secretary of War thereon, explaining the effects and the situation of that commerce and the reasons in favor of its further extension. But it is believed that the act authorizing this trade expired so long ago as the 3d of March, 1799. Its revival, therefore, as well as its extension, is submitted to the consid- eration of the Legislature. The act regulating trade and intercourse with the Indian tribes will also expire on the 3d day of March next. While on the subject of its continuance it will be worthy the consideration of the Legislature whether the provisions of the law inflicting on Indians, in certain cases, the punish- ment of death by hanging might not permit its commutation into death by military execution, the form of the punishment in the former way being peculiarly repugnant to their ideas and increasing the obstacles to the surrender of the criminal. These people are becoming very sensible of the baneful effects produced on their morals, their health, and existence by the abuse of ardent spirits, Thomas Jefferson 335 and some of them earnestly desire a prohibition of that article from being carried among them. The' Legislature will consider whether the effec- tuating that desire would not be in the spirit of benevolence and liberal- ity which they have hitherto practiced toward these our neighbors, and which has had so happy an effect toward conciliating their friendship. It has been found, too, in experience that the same abuse gives frequent rise to incidents tending much to commit our peace with the Indians. It is now become necessary to run and mark the boundaries between them and us in various parts. The law last mentioned has authorized this to be done, but no existing appropriation meets the expense. Certain papers explanatory of the grounds of this communication are herewith inclosed. TH: JKFFKRSON. FEBRUARYS, 1802. Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: I now lay before you 1. A return of ordnance, arms, and military stores the property of the United States. 2. Returns of muskets and bayonets fabricated at the armories of the United States at Springfield and Harpers Ferry, and of the expenditures at those places ; and 3. An estimate of expenditures which may be necessary for fortifica- tions and barracks for the present year. Besides the permanent magazines established at Springfield, West Point, and Harpers Ferry, it is thought one should be established in some point convenient for the States of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Such a point will, probably be found near the border of the Carolinas, and some small provision by the legislature preparatory to the establishment will be necessary for the present year. We find the United States in possession of certain iron mines and works in the county of Berkeley and State of Virginia, purchased, as is presum- able, on the idea of establishing works for the fabrication of cannon and other military articles by the public. Whether this method of sup- plying what may be wanted will be most advisable or that of purchasing at market where competition brings everything to its proper level of price and quality is for the Legislature to decide, and if the latter alternative be preferred, it will rest for their further consideration in what way the subjects of this purchase may be best employed or disposed of. The Attorney-General's opinion on the subject of the title accompanies this. There are in various parts of the United States small parcels of land which have been purchased at different times for cantonments and other military purposes. Several of them are in situations not likely to be accommodated to future purposes, ^he loss of the records prevents a 336 Messages and Papers of the Presidents detailed statement of these until they can be supplied by inquiry. In the meantime, one of them, containing 88 acres, in the county of Essex, in New Jersey, purchased in 1799 and sold the following year to Cornelius Vermule and Andrew Codmas, though its price has been received, can not be conveyed without authority from the Legislature. I inclose herewith a letter from the Secretary of War on the subject of the islands in the lakes and rivers of our northern boundary, and of cer- tain lands in the neighborhood of some of our military posts, on which it may be expedient for the Legislature to make some provisions. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 16, 1802. Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: I now transmit a statement of the expenses incurred by the United States in their transactions with the Barbary Powers, and a roll of the persons having office or employment under the United States, as was proposed in my messages of December 7 and 22. Neither is as perfect as could have been wished, and the latter not so much so as further time and inquiry may enable us to make it. The great volume of these communications and the delay it would produce to make out a second copy will, I trust, be deemed a sufficient reason for sending one of them to the one House, and the other to the other, with a request that they may be interchanged for mutual infor- mation rather than to subject both to further delay. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 18, 1802. Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: In a message of the 2d instant I inclosed a letter from the Secretary of War on the subject of certain lands in the neighborhood of our mili- tary posts on which it might be expedient for the Legislature to make some provisions. A letter recently received from the governor of Indi- ana presents some further views of the extent to which such provision may be needed. I therefore now transmit it for the information of Congress. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 24, 1802. Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: I communicate to both Houses of Congress a report of the Secretary of the Treasury on the subject of our marine hospitals, which appear to require legislative attention. As connected with the same subject, I also inclose information respect- Thomas Jefferson 337 ing the situation of our seamen and boatmen frequenting the port of New Orleans and suffering there from sickness and the want of accommoda- tion. There is good reason to believe their numbers greater than stated in these papers. When we consider how great a proportion of the terri- tory of the United States must communicate with that port singly, and how rapidly that territory is increasing its population and productions, it may perhaps be thought reasonable to make hospital provisions there of a different order from those at foreign ports generally. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 25, 1802. Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: No occasion having arisen since the last account rendered by my pred- ecessor of making use of any part of the moneys heretofore granted to defray the contingent charges of the Government, I now transmit to Congress an official statement thereof to the 3ist day of December last, when the whole unexpended balance, amounting to $20,911.80, was car- ried to the credit of the surplus fund, as provided for by law, and this account consequently becomes finally closed. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 26, 1802. Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: Some statements have been lately received of the causes decided or depending in the courts of the Union in certain States, supplementary or corrective of those from which was formed the general statement accom- panying my message at the opening of the session. I therefore commu- nicate them to Congress, with a report of the Secretary of State noting their effect on the former statement and correcting certain errors in it which arose partly from inexactitude in some of the returns and partly in analyzing, adding, and transcribing them while hurried in preparing the other voluminous papers accompanying that message. TH: JEFFERSON. MARCH i, 1802. Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: I transmit for the information of Congress letters recently received from our consuls at Gibraltar and Algiers, presenting the latest view of the state of our affairs with the Barbary Powers. The sums due to the Government of Algiers are now fully paid up, and of the gratuity which had been promised to that of Tunis, and was in a course of preparation, a small portion only remains still to be finished and delivered. TH: JEFFERSON. M P VOL I 22 338 Messages and Papers of the Presidents MARCH 9, 1802. Gentlemen of the Senate: The governor of New York has desired that, in addition to the negotia- tions with certain Indians already authorized under the superintendence of John Taylor, further negotiations should be held with the Oneidas and other members of the Confederacy of the Six Nations for the purchase of lands in and for the State of New York, which they are willing to sell, as explained in the letter from the Secretary of War herewith sent. I have therefore thought it better to name a commissioner to superintend the negotiations specified with the Six Nations generally, or with any of them. I do accordingly nominate John Taylor, of New York, to be commis- sioner for the .United States, to hold a convention or conventions between the State of New York and the Confederacy of the Six Nations of Indi- ans, or any of the nations composing it. This nomination, if advised and consented to by the Senate, will com- prehend and supersede that of February i of the same John Taylor so far as it respected the Seneca Indians. TH: JEFFERSON. MARCH 10, 1802. Gentlemen of the Senate: I now submit for the ratification of the Senate a treaty entered into by the commissioners of the United States with the Choctaw Nation of Indians, and I transmit therewith so much of the instructions to the com- missioners as related to the Choctaw r s, with the minutes of their proceed- ings and the letter accompanying them. TH: JEFFERSON. MARCH 29, 1802. Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: The Secretary of State, charged with the civil affairs of the several Ter- ritories of the United States, has received from the marshal of Colum- bia a statement of the condition, unavoidably distressing, of the persons committed to his custody on civil or criminal process and the urgency for some legislative provisions for their relief. There are other important cases wherein the laws of the adjoining States under which the Territory is placed, though adapted to the purposes of those States, are insufficient for those of the Territory from the dissimilar or defective organization of its authorities. The letter and statement of the marshal and the dis- quieting state of the Territory generally are now submitted to the wisdom and consideration of the Legislature. TH: JEFFERSON. Thomas Jefferson 339 MARCH 29, 1802. Gentlemen of the Senate: The commissioners who were appointed to carry into execution the sixth article of the treaty of amity, commerce, and navigation between the United States and His Britannic Majesty having differed in opinion as to the objects of that article and discontinued their proceedings, the Executive of the United States took early measures, by instructions to our minister at the British Court, to negotiate explanations of that article. This mode of resolving the difficulty, however, proved unacceptable to the British Government, which chose rather to avoid all further discus- sion and expense under that article by fixing at a given sum the amount for which the United States should be held responsible under it. Mr. King was consequently authorized to meet this proposition, and a settle- ment in this way has been effected by a convention entered into with the British Government, and now communicated for your advice and consent, together with the instructions and correspondence relating to it. The greater part of these papers being originals, the return of them is re- quested at the convenience of the Senate. TH: JEFFERSON. MARCH 30, 1802. Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: The Secretary of War has prepared an estimate of expenditures for the Army of the United States during the year 1802, conformably to the act fixing the military peace establishment, which estimate, with his letter accompanying and explaining it, I now transmit to both Houses of Congress. TH: JEFFERSON. MARCH 31, 1802. Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: According to the desire expressed in your resolution of the 23d instant, I now transmit a report of the Secretary of State, with the letters it refers to, shewing the proceedings which have taken place under the resolution of Congress of the i6th of April, 1800. The term prescribed for the exe- cution of the resolution having elapsed before the person appointed had sat out on the service, I did not deem it justifiable to commence a course of expenditure after the expiration of the resolution authorizing it. The correspondence which has taken place, having regard to dates, will place this subject properly under the view of the House of Representatives. TH: JEFFERSON. 340 Messages and Papers of the Presidents APRIL 8, 1802. Gentlemen of the Senate: In order to satisfy as far as it is in my power the desire expressed in your resolution of the 6th instant, I now transmit you a letter from John Read, agent for the United States before the board of commissioners under the sixth article of the treaty with Great Britain, to the Attorney- General, bearing date the 25th of April, 1801, in which he gives a sum- mary view of the proceedings of those commissioners and of the principles established or insisted on by a majority of them. Supposing it might be practicable for us to settle by negotiation with Great Britain the principles which ought to govern the decisions under the treaty, I caused instructions to be given to Mr. Read to analyze the claims before the board of commissioners, to class them under the prin- ciples on which they respectively depended, and to state the sum depending on each principle or the amount of each description of debt. The object of this was that we might know what principles were most important for us to contend for and what others might be conceded without much injury. He performed this duty, and gave in such a statement during the last summer, but the chief clerk of the Secretary of State's office being absent on account of sickness, and the only person acquainted with the arrangement of the papers of the office, this particular document can not at this time be found. Having, however, been myself in possession of it a few days after its receipt, I then transcribed from it for my own use the recapitulation of x the amount of each description of debt. A copy of this transcript I shall .subjoin hereto, with assurances that it is substantially correct, and with the hope that it will give a view of the subject sufficiently precise to fulfill the wishes of the Senate. To save them the delay of waiting till a copy of the agent's letter could be made, I send the original, with the request that it may be returned at the con- venience of the Senate. TH: JEFFERSON. APRIL 15, 1802. Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: I now transmit the papers desired in your resolution of the 6th instant. Those respecting the Berceaii will sufficiently explain themselves. The officer charged with her repairs states in his letter, received August 27, 1801, that he had been led by circumstances, which he explains, to go considerably beyond his orders. In questions between nations, who have no common umpire but reason, something must often be yielded of mutual opinion to enable them to meet in a common point. The allowance which had been proposed to the officers of that vessel being represented as too small for their daily necessities, and still more so as the means of paying before their departure debts contracted with our Thomas Jefferson 341 citizens for subsistence, it was requested on their behalf that the daily pay of each might be the measure of their allowance. This being solicited and reimbursement assumed by the agent of their nation, I deemed that the indulgence would have a propitious effect in the moment of returning friendship. The sum of $870.83 was accordingly furnished them for the five months of past captivity and a proportional allowance authorized until their embarkation. TH: JEFFERSON. APRIL 20, 1802. Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: I transmit you a report from the Secretary of State, with the information desired by the House of Representatives, of the 8th of January, relative to certain spoliations and other proceedings therein referred to. TH: JEFFERSON. APRIL, 26, 1802. Gentlemen of the Senate and of the Hoiise of Representatives: In pursuance of the act entitled "An act supplemental to the act entitled 'An act for an amicable settlement of limits with the State of Georgia, and authorizing the establishment of a government in the Mis- sissippi Territory,' " James Madison, Secretary of State, Albert Gallatin, Secretary of the Treasury, and Levi Lincoln, Attorney- General of the United States, were appointed commissioners to settle by compromise with the commissioners appointed by the State of Georgia the claims and cession to which the said act has relation. Articles of agreement and cession have accordingly been entered into and signed by the said commissioners of the United States and of Georgia, which, as they leave a right to Congress to act upon them legislatively at any time within six months after their date, I have thought it my duty immediately to communicate to the Legislature. TH: JEFFERSON. APRIL 27, 1802. Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: The commissioners who were appointed to carry into execution the sixth article of the treaty of amity, commerce, and navigation between the United States and Great Britain having differed in their construction of that article, and separated in consequence of that difference, the Presi- dent of the United States took immediate measures for obtaining conven- tional explanations of that article for the government of the commissioners. Finding, however, great difficulties opposed to a settlement in that way, 342 Messages and Papers of the Presidents he authorized our minister at the Court of London to meet a proposition that the United States by the payment of a fixed sum should discharge themselves from their responsibility for such debts as can not be recovered from the individual debtors. A convention has accordingly been signed, fixing the sum to be paid at ,600,000 in three equal and annual install- ments, which has been ratified by me with the advice and consent of the Senate. I now transmit copies thereof to both Houses of Congress, trusting that in the free exercise of the authority which the Constitution has given them on the subject of public expenditures they will deem it for the public interest to appropriate the sums necessary for carrying this con- vention into execution. TH: JEFFERSON. SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. DECEMBER 15, 1802. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: When \ve assemble together, fellow-citizens, to consider the state of our beloved country, our just attentions are first drawn to those pleasing circumstances which mark the goodness of that Being from whose favor they flow and the large measure of thankfulness we owe for His bounty. Another year has come around ; and finds us still blessed with peace and friendship abroad; law, order, and religion at home; good affection and harmony with our Indian neighbors; our burthens lightened, yet our income sufficient for the public wants, and the produce of the year great beyond example. These, fellow-citizens, are the circumstances under which we meet, and we remark with special satisfaction those which under the smiles of Providence result from the skill, industry, and order of our citizens, managing their own affairs in their own way and for their own use, unembarrassed by too much regulation, unoppressed by fiscal exactions. On the restoration of peace in Europe that portion of the general car- rying trade which had fallen to our share during the war was abridged by the returning competition of the belligerent powers. This was to be expected, and was just. But in addition we find in some parts of Europe monopolizing discriminations, which in the form of duties tend effectu- ally to prohibit the carrying thither our own produce in our own vessels. From existing amities and a spirit of justice it is hoped that friendly discussion will produce a fair and adequate reciprocity. But should false calculations of interest defeat our hope, it rests with the Legislature to decide whether they will meet inequalities abroad with countervailing inequalities at home, or provide for the evil in any other way. Thomas Jefferson 343 It is with satisfaction I lay before you an act of the British Parliament anticipating this subject so far as to authorize a mutual abolition of the duties and countervailing duties permitted under the treaty of 1794. It shows on their part a spirit of justice and friendly accommodation which it is our duty and our interest to cultivate with all nations. Whether this would produce a due equality in the navigation between the two coun- tries is a subject for your consideration. Another circumstance which claims attention as directly affecting the very source of our navigation is the defect or the evasion of the law pro- viding for the return of seamen, and particularly of those belonging to vessels sold abroad. Numbers of them, discharged in foreign ports, have been thrown on the hands of our consuls, who, to rescue them from the dangers into which their distresses might plunge them and save them to their country, have found it necessary in some cases to return them at the public charge. The cession of the Spanish Province of Louisiana to France, which took place in the course of the late war, will, if carried into effect, make a change in the aspect of our foreign relations which will doubtless have just weight in any deliberations of the Legislature connected with that subject. There was reason not long since to apprehend that the warfare in which we were engaged with Tripoli might be taken up by some other of the Barbary Powers. A reenforcement, therefore, was immediately ordered to the vessels already there. Subsequent information, however, has removed these apprehensions for the present. To secure our commerce in that sea with the smallest force competent, we have supposed it best to watch strictly the harbor of Tripoli. Still, however, the shallowness of their coast and the want of smaller vessels on our part has permitted some cruisers to escape unobserved, and to one of these an American vessel unfortunately fell a prey. The captain, one American seaman, and two others of color remain prisoners with them unless exchanged under an agreement formerly made with the Bashaw, to whom, on the faith of that, some of his captive subjects had been restored. The convention with the State of Georgia has been ratified by their legislature, and a repurchase from the Creeks has been consequently made of a part of the Talasscee country. In this purchase has been also com- prehended a part of the lands within the fork of Oconee and Oakmulgee rivers. The particulars of the contract will be laid before Congress so soon as they shall be in a state for communication. In order to remove every ground of difference possible with our Indian neighbors, I have proceeded in the work of settling with them and mark- ing the boundaries between us. That with the Choctaw Nation is fixed in one part and will be through the whole within a short time. The country to which their title had been extinguished before the Revolution is sufficient to receive a very respectable population, which Congress will 344 Messages and Papers of the Presidents probably see the expediency of encouraging so soon as the limits shall be declared. We are to view this position as an outpost of the United States, surrounded by strong neighbors and distant from its support; and how far that monopoly which prevents population should here be guarded against and actual habitation made a condition of the continuance of title will be for your consideration. A prompt settlement, too, of all existing rights and claims within this territory presents itself as a preliminary operation. In that part of the Indiana Territory which includes Vincennes the lines settled with the neighboring tribes fix the extinction of their title at a breadth of 24 leagues from east to west and about the same length par- allel with and including the Wabash. They have also ceded a tract of 4 miles square, including the salt springs near the mouth of that river. In the Department of Finance it is with pleasure I inform you that the receipts of external duties for the last twelve months have exceeded those of any former year, and that the ratio of increase has been also greater than usual. This has enabled us to answer all the regular exigencies of Government, to pay from the Treasury within one year upward of $8,000,000, principal and interest, of the public debt, exclusive of upward of one million paid by the sale of bank stock, and making in the whole a reduction of nearly five millions and a half of principal, and to have now in the Treasury $4,500,000, which are in a course of application to the further discharge of debt and current demands. Experience, too, so far, authorizes us to believe, if no extraordinary event supervenes, and the expenses which will be actually incurred shall not be greater than were contemplated by Congress at their last session, that we shall not be disappointed in the expectations then formed. But nevertheless, as the effect of peace on the amount of duties is not yet fully ascertained, it is the more necessary to practice every useful economy and to incur no expense which may be avoided without prejudice. The collection of the internal taxes having been completed in some of the States, the officers employed in it are of course out of commission. In others they will be so shortly. But in a few, where the arrangements for the direct tax had been retarded, it will be some time before the system is closed. It has not yet been thought necessary to employ the agent authorized by an act of the last session for transacting business in Europe relative to debts and loans. Nor have we used the power con- fided by the same act of prolonging the foreign debt by reloans, and of redeeming instead thereof an equal sum of the domestic debt. Should, however, the difficulties of remittance on so large a scale render it neces- sary at any time, the power shall be executed and the money thus unem- ployed abroad shall, in conformity with that law, be faithfully applied here in an equivalent extinction of domestic debt. When effects so sal- utary result from the plans you have already sanctioned; when merely by avoiding false objects of expense we are able, without a direct tax, with- Thomas Jefferson 345 out internal taxes, and without borrowing to make large and effectual payments toward the discharge of our public debt and the emancipation of our posterity from that mortal canker, it is an encouragement, fellow- citizens, of the highest order to proceed as we have begun in substituting economy for taxation, and in pursuing what is useful for a nation placed as we are, rather than what is practiced by others under different circum- stances. And whensoever we are destined to meet events which shall call forth all the energies of our countrymen, we have the firmest reliance on those energies and the comfort of leaving for calls like these the extraordinary resources of loans and internal taxes. In the meantime, by payments of the principal of our debt, we are liberating annually portions of the external taxes and forming from them a growing fund still further to lessen the necessity of recurring to extraordinary resources. The usual account of receipts and expenditures for the last year, with an estimate of the expenses of the ensuing one, will be laid before you by the Secretary of the Treasury. No change being deemed necessary in our military establishment, an estimate of its expenses for the ensuing year on its present footing, as also of the sums to be employed in fortifications and other objects within that department, has been prepared by the Secretary of War, and will make a part of the general estimates which will be presented you. Considering that our regular troops are employed for local purposes, and that the militia is our general reliance for great and sudden emer- gencies, you will doubtless think this institution worthy of a review, and give it those improvements of which you find it susceptible. Estimates for the Naval Department, prepared by the Secretary of the Navy, for another year will in like manner be communicated with the general estimates. A small force in the Mediterranean will still be neces- sary to restrain the Tripoline cruisers, and the uncertain tenure of peace with some other of the Barbary Powers may eventually require that force to be augmented. The necessity of procuring some smaller vessels for that service will raise the estimate, but the difference in their maintenance will soon make it a measure of economy. Presuming it will be deemed expedient to expend annually a conven- ient sum toward providing the naval defense which our situation may require, I can not but recommend that the first appropriations for that purpose may go to the saving what we already possess. No cares, no attentions, can preserve vessels from rapid decay which lie in water and exposed to the sun. These decays require great and constant repairs, and will consume, if continued, a great portion of the moneys destined to naval purposes. To avoid this waste of our resources it is proposed to add to our navy-yard here a dock within which our present vessels may be laid up dry and under cover from the sun. Under these circumstances experience proves that works of wood will remain scarcely at all affected by time. The great abundance of running water which this situation 346 Messages and Papers of the Presidents possesses, at heights far above the level of the tide, if employed as is prac- ticed for lock navigation, furnishes the means for raising and laying up our vessels on a dry and sheltered bed. And should the measure be found useful here, similar depositories for laying up as well as for building and repairing vessels may hereafter be undertaken at other navy-yards offering the same means. The plans and estimates of the work, prepared by a person of skill and experience, will be presented to you without delay, and from this it will be seen that scarcely more than has been the cost of one vessel is necessary to save the whole, and that the annual sum to be employed toward its completion may be adapted to the views of the Leg- islature as to naval expenditure. To cultivate peace and maintain commerce and navigation in all their lawful enterprises; to foster our fisheries as nurseries of navigation and for the nurture of man, and protect the manufactures adapted to our cir- cumstances; to preserve the faith of the nation by an exact discharge of its debts and contracts, expend the public money with the same care and economy w r e would practice with our own, and impose on our citizens no unnecessary burthens; to keep in all things within the pale of our consti- tutional powers, and cherish the federal union as the only rock of safety these, -fellow-citizens, are the landmarks by which we are to guide our- selves in all our proceedings. By continuing to make these the rule of our action we shall endear to our countrymen the true principles of their Constitution and promote an union of sentiment and of action equally auspicious to their happiness and .safety. On my part, you may count on a cordial concurrence in every measure for the public good and on all the information I possess which may enable you to discharge to advan- tage the high functions with which } r ou are invested by your country. TH: JEFFERSON. SPECIAL MESSAGES. DECEMBER 22, 1802. Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: I now transmit a report from the Secretary of State with the informa- tion requested in your resolution of the iyth instant. In making this communication I deem it proper to observe that I was led by the regard due to the rights and interests of the United States and to the just sensibility of the portion of our fellow-citizens more imme- diately affected by the irregular proceeding at New Orleans to lose not a moment in causing every step to be taken which the occasion claimed from me, being equally aware of the obligation to maintain in all cases the rights of the nation and to employ for that purpose those just and honorable means which belong to the character of the United States. TH: JEFFERSON. Thomas Jefferson 347 DECEMBER 23, 1802. Gentlemen of the House of Representatives. In pursuance of the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 3d of May last, desiring a statement of expenditures from January i, 1797, by the Quartermaster- General and the navy agents, for the contingen- cies of the naval and military establishments and the navy contracts for timber and stores, I now transmit such statements from the offices of the Secretaries of the Treasury, War, and Navy, where alone these expend- itures are entered. TH: JEFFERSON. DECEMBER 27, 1802. Gentlemen of the Senate: I lay before you a treaty, which has been agreed to by commissioners duly authorized on the part of the United States and the Creek Nation of Indians, for the extinguishment of the native title to lands in the Talassee County, and others between the forks of Oconee and Oakmulgee rivers, in Georgia, in pursuance of the convention with that State, together with the documents explanatory thereof; and it is submitted to your determination whether you will advise and consent to the ratifica- tion thereof. TH: JEFFERSON. DECEMBER 27, 1802. Gentlemen of the Senate: I lay before you a treaty, which has been concluded between the State of New York and the Oneida Indians, for the purchase of lands within that State. One other, between the same State and the Seneca Indians, for the purchase of other lands within the same State. One other, between certain individuals styled the Holland Company with the Senecas, for the exchange of certain lands in the same State. And one other, between Oliver Phelps, a citizen of the United States, and the Senecas, for the exchange of lands in the same State; with sundry explanatory papers, all of them conducted under the superintendence of a' commissioner on the part of the United States, who reports that they have been adjusted with the fair and free consent and understanding of the parties. It is therefore submitted to your determination whether you will advise and consent to their respective ratifications. TH: JEFFERSON. DECEMBER 27, 1802. Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: In my message of the i5th instant I mentioned that plans and esti- mates of a dry dock for the preservation of our ships of war, prepared by 348 Messages and Papers of the Presidents a person of skill and experience, should be laid before you without delay. These are now transmitted, the report and estimates by duplicates; but the plans being single only, I must request an intercommunication of them between the Houses and their return when they shall no longer be wanting for their consideration. TH: JEFFERSON. DECEMBER 30, 1802. Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: In addition to the information accompanying my message of the 22d instant, I now transmit the copy of a letter on the same subject, recently received. TH: JEFFERSON. WASHINGTON, December 30, 1802. The SPEAKER OP THE HOUSE OP REPRESENTATIVES. SIR: Although an informal communication to the public of the sub- stance of the inclosed letter may be proper for quieting the public mind, yet I refer to the consideration of the House of Representatives whether the publication of it in form might not give dissatisfaction to the writer and tend to discourage the freedom and confidence of communications between the agents of the two Governments. Accept assurances of my high consideration and respect. TH: JEFFERSON. NATCHEZ, November 25, 1802. The Honorable the SECRETARY OF STATE, Washington. SIR: I have the honor to inclose you an original copy of a communication (together with a translation thereof) which I this morning received from the governor-general of the Province of Louisiana in answer to my letters of the 28th ultimo. I am, sir, with respect and esteem, your humble servant, WILLIAM C. C. CLAIBORNE. [Translation.] NEW ORLEANS, November 75, 1802. His Excellency WILLIAM C. C. CLAIBORNE. MOST EXCELLENT SIR: I received a few days past your excellency's esteemed letter of the 28th ultimo, in which your excellency, referring to the twenty-second article of the treaty of friendship, navigation, and limits agreed upon between the King, my master, and the United States of America, has been pleased to inquire, after transcribing the literal text of said article (which you find so explicit as not to require any comment nor to admit of dubious construction), if His Majesty has been pleased to designate any other position on the banks of the Mississippi, and where that is, if his royal pleasure does not continue the permission stipulated by the said treaty which entitled the citizens of the United States to deposit their merchandise and effects in the port of New Orleans; and you request at the same time that, as the Thomas Jefferson 349 affair is so interesting to the commerce of the United States and to the welfare of its citizens, I may do you the favor to send you an answer as early as possible. I can now assure your excellency that His Catholic Majesty has not hitherto issued any order for suspending the deposit, and consequently has not designated any other position on the banks of the Mississippi for that purpose. But I must inform you, in answer to your inquiry, that the intendant of these provinces (who in the affairs of his own department is independent of the general Government), at the same time that, in conformity with the royal commands (the peace in Europe having been published since the 4th of May last), he suspended the commerce of neutrals, also thought proper to suspend the tacit prolongation which continued, and to put a stop to the infinite abuses which resulted from the deposit, contrary to the interest of the State and of the commerce of these colonies, in consequence of the experience he acquired of the frauds which have been committed and which it has been endeavored to excuse under the pretext of ignorance, as is manifested by the number of causes which now await the determination of His Majesty, as soon as they can be brought to his royal knowledge, besides many others which have been dropt because the individuals have absconded who introduced their properties into the deposit and did not extract them, thus defrauding the royal interests. It might appear on the first view that particular cases like these ought not to operate against a general privilege granted by a solemn treaty, and it is an incon- testable principle that the happiness of nations consists in a great measure in main- taining a good harmony and correspondence with their neighbors by respecting their rights, by supporting their own, without being deficient in what is required by humanity and civil intercourse; but it is also indubitable that for a treaty, although solemn, to be entirely valid it ought not to contain any defect; and if it be perni- cious and of an injurious tendency, although it has been effectuated with good faith but without a knowledge of its bad consequence, it will be necessary to undo it, because treaties ought to be viewed like other acts of public will, in which more attention ought to be paid to the intention than to the words in which they are expressed; and thus it will not appear so repugnant that the term of three years fixed by the twenty-second article being completed without the King's having granted a prolongation, the intendancy should not, after putting a stop to the commerce of neutrals, take upon itself the responsibility of continuing that favor without the express mandate of the King, a circumstance equally indispensable for designating another place on the banks of the Mississippi. From the foregoing I trust that you will infer that as it is the duty of the intendant, who conducts the business of his ministry with a perfect independence of the Gov- ernment, to have informed the King of what he has done in fulfillment of what has been expressly stipulated, it is to be hoped that His Majesty will take the measures which are convenient to give effect to the deposit, either in this capital, if he should not find it prejudicial to the interests of Spain, or in the place on the banks of the Mississippi which it may be his royal pleasure to designate; as it ought to be con- fided that the justice and generosity of the King will not refuse to afford to the American citizens all the advantages they can desire, a measure which does not depend upon discretion, nor can an individual chief take it upon himself. Besides these principles on which the regulation of the intendant is founded, I ought at the same time to inform you that I myself opposed on my part, as far as I reasonably could, the measure of suspending the deposit, until the reasons adduced by the intendant brought it to my view; that as all events can not be prevented, and as with time and different circumstances various others occur which can not be foreseen, a just and rational interpretation is always necessary. Notwithstanding the fore- going, the result of my own reflections, I immediately consulted on the occasion with my captain-general, whose answer, which can not be long delayed, will dissipate every doubt that may be raised concerning the steps which are to be taken. By all 350 Messages and Papers of the Presidents niraiis vour excellency may live in the firm persuasion that as there has subsisted, and does subsist, the most perfect and constant good harmony between the King, my master, and the United States of America, I will spare no pains to preserve it by all the means in my power, being assured of a reciprocity of equal good offices in observing the treaty with good faith, ever keeping it in view that the felicity and glory of nations are deeply concerned in the advantages of a wise and prudently conducted commerce. I have the honor to assure your excellency of the respect and high consideration which I profess for you; and I pray the Most High to preserve your life many years. I kiss your excellency's hands. Your most affectionate servant, MANUEL DE SALCEDO. JANUARY 5, 1803. Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: Agreeably to the request of the House of Representatives, I now trans- mit a statement of the militia of those States from which any returns have been made to the War Office. They are, as you will perceive, but a small proportion of the whole. I send you also the copy of a circular letter written some time since for the purpose of obtaining returns from all the States. Should any others in consequence of this be made during the session of Congress, they shall be immediately communicated. TH: JEFFERSON. JANUARY 7, 1803. Gentlemen of the Senate: I submit for your approbation and consent a convention entered into with the Choctaw Nation of Indians for ascertaining and marking the limits of the territory ceded to our nation while under its former govern- ment, and lying between the Tombigbee and Mobile rivers on the east and the Chickasawhay River on the west. We are now engaged in ascertaining and marking in like manner the limits of the former cessions of the Choctaws from the river Yaxoo to our southern boundary, which will be the subject of another convention, and we expect to obtain from the same nation a new cession of lands of con- siderable extent between the Tombigbee and Alabama rivers. These several tracts of country will compose that portion of the Mis- sissippi Territory which, so soon as certain individual claims are arranged, the United States will be free to sell and settle immediately. TH: JEFFERSON JANUARY n, 1803. Gentlemen of the Senate: The cession of the Spanish Province of Louisiana to France, and per- haps of the Floridas, and the late suspension of our right of deposit at New Orleans are events of primary interest to the United States. On Thomas Jefferson 351 both occasions such measures were promptly taken as were thought most likely amicably to remove the present and to prevent future causes of inquietude. The objects of these measures were to obtain the territory on the left bank of the Mississippi and eastward of that, if practicable, on conditions to which the proper authorities of our country would agree, or at least to prevent any changes which might lessen the secure exercise of our rights. While my confidence in our minister plenipotentiary at Paris is entire and undiminished, I still think that these objects might be promoted by joining with him a person sent from hence directly, carrying with him the feelings and sentiments of the nation excited on the late occurrence, impressed by full communications of all the views we enter- tain on this interesting subject, and thus prepared to meet and to improve to an useful result the counter propositions of the other contracting party, whatsoever form their interests may give to them, and to secure to us the ultimate accomplishment of our object. I therefore nominate Robert R. Livingston to be minister plenipoten- tiary and James Monroe to be minister extraordinary and plenipotentiary, with full powers to both jointly, or to either on the death of the other, to enter into a treaty or convention with the First Consul of France for the purpose of enlarging and more effectually securing our rights and interests in the river Mississippi and in the Territories eastward thereof. But as the possession of these provinces is still in Spain, and the course of events may retard or prevent the cession to France being carried into effect, to secure our object it will be expedient to address equal powers to the Government of Spain also, to be used only in the event of its being necessary. I therefore nominate Charles Pinckney to be minister plenipotentiary, and James Monroe, of Virginia, to be minister extraordinary and plenipo- tentiary, with full powers to both jointly, or to either on the death of the other, to enter into a treaty or convention with His Catholic Majesty for the purpose of enlarging and more effectually securing our rights and interests in the river Mississippi and in the Territories eastward thereof. TH: JEFFERSON. JANUARY n, 1803. Gentlemen of the Senate: The spoliations and irregularities committed on our commerce during the late war by subjects of Spain or by others deemed within her respon- sibility having called for attention, instructions were accordingly given to our minister at Madrid to urge our right to just indemnifications, and to propose a convention for adjusting them. The Spanish Government listened to our proposition with an honorable readiness and agreed to a convention, which I now submit for your advice and consent. It does not go to the satisfaction of all our claims, but the express reservation of 352 Messages and Papers of the Presidents our right to press the validity of the residue has been made the ground of further instructions to our minister on the subject of an additional article, which it is to be hoped will not be without effect. . TH: JEFFERSON. JANUARY 18, 1803. Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: As the continuance of the act for establishing trading houses with the Indian tribes will be under the consideration of the Legislature at its present session, I think it my duty to communicate the views which have guided me in the execution of that act, in order that you may decide on the policy of continuing it in the present or any other form, or discon- tinue it altogether if that shall, on the whole, seem most for the public good. The Indian tribes residing within the limits of the United States have for a considerable time been growing more and more uneasy at the con- stant diminution of the territory they occupy, although effected by their own voluntary sales, and the policy has long been gaining strength with them of refusing absolutely all further sale on any conditions, insomuch that at this time it hazards their friendship and excites dangerous jeal- ousies and perturbations in their minds to make any overture for the purchase of the smallest portions of their land. A very few tribes only are not yet obstinately in these dispositions. In order peaceably to coun- teract this policy of theirs and to provide an extension of territory which the rapid increase of our numbers will call for, two measures are deemed expedient. First. To encourage them to abandon hunting, to apply to the raising stock, to agriculture, and domestic manufacture, and thereby prove to themselves that less land and labor will maintain them in this better than in their former mode of living. The extensive forests neces- sary in the hunting life will then become useless, and they will see advan- tage in exchanging them for the means of improving their farms and of increasing their domestic comforts. Secondly. To multiply trading houses among them, and place within their reach those things which will contribute more to their domestic comfort than the possession of extensive but uncultivated wilds. Experience and reflection will develop to them the wisdom of exchanging what they can spare and we want for what we can spare and they want. In leading them thus to agriculture, to manu- factures, and civilization; in bringing together their and our sentiments, and in preparing them ultimately to participate in the benefits of our Government, I trust and believe we are acting for their greatest good. At these trading houses we have pursued the principles of the act of Con- gress which directs that the commerce shall be carried on liberally, and requires only that the capital stock shall not be diminished. We conse- quently undersell private traders, foreign and domestic, drive them from Thomas Jefferson 353 the competition, and thus, with the good will of the Indians, rid ourselves of a description of men who are constantly endeavoring to excite in the Indian mind suspicions, fears, and irritations toward us. A letter now inclosed shows the effect of our competition on the operations of the traders, while the Indians, perceiving the advantage of purchasing from us, are soliciting generally our establishment of trading houses among them. In one quarter this is particularly interesting. The Legislature, reflecting on the late occurrences on the Mississippi, must be sensible how desirable it is to possess a respectable breadth of country on that river, from our southern limit to the Illinois, at least, so that we may pre- sent as firm a front on that as on our eastern border. We possess what is below the Yazoo, and can probably acquire a certain breadth from the Illinois and Wabash to the Ohio; but between the Ohio and Yazoo the country all belongs to the Chickasaws, the most friendly tribe within our limits, but the most decided against the alienation of lands. The portion of their country most important for us is exactly that which they do not inhabit. Their settlements are not on the Mississippi, but in the interior country. They have lately shown a desire to become agricultural, and this leads to the desire of buying implements and comforts. In the strengthening and gratifying of these wants I see the only prospect of planting on the Mississippi itself the means of its own safety. Duty has required me to submit these views to the judgment of the Legislature, but as their disclosure might embarrass and defeat their effect, they are committed to the special confidence of the two Houses. While the extension of the public commerce among the Indian tribes may deprive of that source of profit such of our citizens as are engaged in it, it might be worthy the attention of Congress in their care of indi- vidual as well as of the general interest to point in another direction the enterprise of these citizens, as profitably for themselves and more usefully for the public. The river Missouri and the Indians inhabiting it are not as well known as is rendered desirable by their connection with the Mississippi, and consequently with us. It is, however, under- stood that the country on that river is inhabited by numerous tribes, who furnish great supplies of furs and peltry to the trade of another nation, carried on in a high latitude through an infinite number of port- ages and lakes shut up by ice through a long season. The commerce on that line could bear no competition with that of the Missouri, traversing a moderate climate, offering, according to the best accounts, a continued navigation from its source, and possibly with a single portage from the Western Ocean, and finding to the Atlantic a choice of channels through the Illinois or Wabash, the Lakes and Hudson, through the Ohio and Sus- quehanna, or Potomac or James rivers, and through the Tennessee and Savannah rivers. An intelligent officer, with ten or twelve chosen men, fit for the enterprise and willing to undertake it, taken from our posts where they may be spared without inconvenience, might explore the M P voi, i 23 354 Messages and Papers of the Presidents whole line, even to the Western Ocean, have conferences with the natives on the subject of commercial intercourse, get admission among them for our traders as others are admitted, agree on convenient deposits for an interchange of articles, and return with the information acquired in the course of two summers. Their arms and accouterments, some instruments of observation, and light and cheap presents for the Indians would be all the apparatus they could carry, and with an expectation of a soldier's portion of land on their return would constitute the whole expense. Their pay would be going on whether here or there. While other civilized nations have encountered great expense to enlarge the boundaries of knowledge by undertaking voyages of discovery, and for other literary purposes, in various parts and directions, our nation seems to owe to the same object, as well as to its own interests, to explore this the only line of easy communication across the continent, and so directly traversing our own part of it. The interests of commerce place the prin- cipal object within the constitutional powers and care of Congress, and that it should incidentally advance the geographical knowledge of our own continent can not but be an additional gratification. The nation claiming the territory, regarding this as a literary pursuit, which it is in the habit of permitting within its dominions, would not be disposed to view it with jealousy, even if the expiring state of its interests there did not render it a matter of indifference. The appropriation of $2,500 " for the purpose of extending the external commerce of the United States, ' ' while understood and considered by the Executive as giving the legis- lative sanction, would cover the undertaking from notice and prevent the obstructions which interested individuals might otherwise previously prepare in its way. TH: JEFFERSON. JANUARY 18, 1803. Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: I inclose a report of the Secretary of War, stating the trading houses established in the Indian territories, the progress which has been made in the course of the last year in settling and marking boundaries with the different tribes, the purchases of lands recently made from them, and the prospect of further progress in marking boundaries and in new extin- guishments of title in the year to come, for which some appropriations of money will be wanting. To this I have to add that when the Indians ceded to us the salt springs on the Wabash they expressed a hope that we would so employ them as to enable them to procure there the necessary supplies of salt. Indeed, it would be the most proper and acceptable form in which the annuity could be paid which we propose to give them for the cession. These springs might at the same time be rendered eminently serviceable to our Thomas Jefferson 355 Western inhabitants by using them as the means of counteracting the monopolies of supplies of salt and of reducing the price in that country to a just level. For these purposes a small appropriation would be neces- sary to meet the first expenses, after which they should support them- selves and repay those advances. These springs are said to possess the advantage of being accompanied with a bed of coal. TH: JEFFERSON. JANUARY 19, 1803. Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: I now, lay before Congress the annual account of the fund established for defraying the contingent charges of Government. A single article of $1,440, paid for bringing home 72 seamen discharged in foreign ports from vessels sold abroad, is the only expenditure from that fund, leaving an unexpended balance of $18,560 in the Treasury. TH: JEFFERSON. JANUARY 24, 1803. Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: I transmit a report by the superintendent of the city of Washington on the affairs of the city committed to his care. By this you will per- ceive that the resales of lots prescribed by an act of the last session of Congress did not produce a sufficiency to pay the debt to Maryland to which they are appropriated, and as it was evident that the sums neces- sary for the interest and installments due to that State could not be produced by a sale of the other public lots without an unwarrantable sacrifice of the property, the deficiencies were of necessity drawn from the Treasury of the United States. The office of the surveyor for the city, created during the former estab- lishment, being of indispensable necessity, it has been continued, and to that of the superintendent, substituted instead of the board of commis- sioners at the last session of Congress, no salary was annexed by law. These offices being permanent, I have supposed it more agreeable to principle that their salaries should be fixed by the Legislature, and there- fore have assigned them none. Their services to be compensated are from the ist day of June last. The marshal of the District of Columbia has, as directed by law, caused a jail to be built in the city of Washington. I inclose his statements of the expenses already incurred and of what remains to be finished. The portion actually completed has rendered the situation of the persons con- fined much more comfortable and secure than it has been heretofore. TH: JEFFERSON. 356 Messages and Papers of the Presidents FEBRUARY 3, 1803. Gentlemen of the House of Representatives: The inclosed letter and affidavits exhibiting matter of complaint against John Pickering, district judge of New Hampshire, which is not within Executive cognizance, I transmit them to the House of Representatives, to whom the Constitution has confided a power of instituting proceedings of redress, if they shall be of opinion that the case calls for them. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 14, 1803. Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: In obedience to the ordinance for the government of the Territories of the United States requiring that the laws adopted by the governor and judges thereof shall be reported to Congress from time to time, I now transmit those which have been adopted in the Indiana Territory from January, 1801, to February, 1802, as forwarded to the office of the Secre- tary of State. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 21, 1803. Gentlemen of the Senate: The Tuscarora Indians, having an interest in some lands within the State of North Carolina, asked the superintendence of the Government of the United States over a treaty to be held between them and the State of North Carolina respecting these lands. William Richardson Davie was appointed a commissioner for this purpose, and a treaty was con- cluded under his superintendence. This, with his letter on the subject, is now laid before the Senate for their advice and consent whether it shall be ratified. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 23, 1803. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: I lay before you a report of the Secretary of State on the case of the Danish brigantine Hcnrick, taken by a French privateer in 1799, retaken by an armed vessel of the United States, carried into a British island, and there adjudged to be neutral, but under allowance of such salvage and costs as absorbed nearly the whole amount of sales of the vessel and cargo. Indemnification for these losses occasioned by our officers is now claimed by the sufferers, supported by the representations of their Gov- ernment. I have no doubt the Legislature will give to the subject that just attention and consideration which it is useful as well as honorable TTiomas Jefferson 357 to practice in our transactions with other nations, and particularly with one which has observed toward us the most friendly treatment and regard. TH: JEFFERSON. PROCLAMATION. [From the National Intelligencer, July 18, 1803.] BY THE PRESIDENT OP THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas great and weighty matters claiming the consideration of the Congress of the United States form an extraordinary occasion for con- vening them, I do by these presents appoint Monday, the iyth day of October next, for their meeting at the city of Washington, hereby requiring their respective Senators and Representatives then and there to assemble in Congress, in order to receive such communications as may then be made to them and to consult and determine on such measures as in their wisdom may be deemed meet for the welfare of the United States. In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United States to be hereunto affixed, and signed the same with my hand. [SEAL.] Done at the city of Washington, the i6th day of July, A. D. 1803, and in the twenty-eighth year of the Independence of the United States TH: JEFFERSON. By the President: JAMES MADISON, Secretary. THIRD ANNUAL MESSAGE. OCTOBER 17, 1803. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: In calling you together, fellow-citizens, at an earlier day than was contemplated by the act of the last session of Congress, I have not been insensible to the personal inconveniences necessarily resulting from an unexpected change in your arrangements. But matters of great public concernment have rendered this call necessary, and the interests you feel in these will supersede in your minds all private considerations. 358 Messages and Papers of the Presidents Congress -witnessed at their late session the extraordinary agitation produced in the public mind by the suspension of our right of deposit at the port of New Orleans, no assignment of another place having been made according to treaty. They were sensible that the continuance of that privation would be more injurious to our nation than any conse- quences which could flow from any mode of redress, but reposing just confidence in the good faith of the Government whose officer had com- mitted the wrong, friendly and reasonable representations were resorted to, and the right of deposit was restored. Previous, however, to this period we had not been unaware of the dan- ger to which our peace would be perpetually exposed whilst so important a key to the commerce of the Western country remained under foreign power. Difficulties, too, were presenting themselves as to the naviga- tion of other streams which, arising within our territories, pass through those adjacent. Propositions had therefore been authorized for obtain- ing on fair conditions the sovereignty of New Orleans and of other pos- sessions in that quarter interesting to our quiet to such extent as was deemed practicable, and the provisional appropriation of $2,000,000 to be applied and accounted for by the President of the United States, intended as part of the price, was considered as conveying the sanction of Congress to the acquisition proposed. The enlightened Government of France saw with just discernment the importance to both nations of such liberal arrangements as might best and permanently promote the peace, friendship, and interests of both, and the property and sovereignty of all Louisiana which had been restored to them have on certain con- ditions been transferred to the United States by instruments bearing date the 3oth of April last. When these shall have received the consti- tutional sanction of the Senate, they will without delay be communicated to the Representatives also for the exercise of their functions as to those conditions which are within the powers vested by the Constitution in Congress. Whilst the property and sovereignty of the Mississippi and its waters secure an independent outlet for the produce of the Western States and an uncontrolled navigation through their whole course, free from collision with other powers and the dangers to our peace from that source, the fertility of the country, its climate and extent, promise in due season important aids to our Treasury, an ample provision for our posterity, and a wide spread for the blessings of freedom and equal laws. With the wisdom of Congress it will rest to take those ulterior meas- ures which may be necessary for the immediate occupation and temporary government of the country; for its incorporation into our Union; for rendering the change of government a blessing to our newly adopted brethren; for securing to them the rights of conscience and of property; for confirming to the Indian inhabitants their occupancy and self-govern- ment, establishing friendly and commercial relations with them, and for Thomas Jefferson 359 ascertaining the geography of the country acquired. Such materials, for your information, relative to its affairs in general as the short space of time has permitted me to collect will be laid before you when the subject shall be in a state for your consideration. Another important acquisition of territory has also been made since the last session of Congress. The friendly tribe of Kaskaskia Indians, with which we have never had a difference, reduced by the wars and wants of savage life to a few individuals unable to defend themselves against the neighboring tribes, has transferred its country to the United States, reserving only for its members what is sufficient to maintain them in an agricultural way. The considerations stipulated are that we shall extend to them our patronage and protection and give them certain annual aids in money, in implements of agriculture, and other articles of their choice. This country, among the most fertile within our limits, extending along the Mississippi from the mouth of the Illinois to and up the Ohio, though not so necessary as a barrier since the acquisition of the other bank, may yet be well worthy of being laid open to immediate settlement, as its inhabitants may descend with rapidity in support of the lower country should future circumstances expose that to foreign enterprise. As the stipulations in this treaty also involve matters within the competence of both Houses only, it will be laid before Congress as soon as the Senate shall have advised its ratification. With many of the other Indian tribes improvements in agriculture and household manufacture are advancing, and with all our peace and friend- ship are established on grounds much firmer than heretofore. The meas- ure adopted of establishing trading houses among them and of furnishing them necessaries in exchange for their commodities at such moderate prices as leave no gain, but cover us from loss, has the most conciliatory and useful effect on them, and is that which will best secure their peace and good will. The small vessels authorized by Congress with a view to the Mediter- ranean service have been sent into that sea, and will be able more effec- tually to confine the Tripoline cruisers within their harbors and supersede the necessity of convoy to our commerce in that quarter. They will sen- sibly lessen the expenses of that service the ensuing year. A further knowledge of the ground in the northeastern and north- western angles of the United States has evinced that the boundaries established by the treaty of Paris between the British territories and ours in those parts were too imperfectly described to be susceptible of execu- tion. It has therefore been thought worthy of attention for preserving and cherishing the harmony and useful intercourse subsisting between the two nations to remove by timely arrangements what unfavorable inci- dents might otherwise render a ground of future misunderstanding. A convention has therefore been entered into which provides for a practi- cable demarcatiou of those limits to the satisfaction of both parties. 360 Messages and Papers of the Presidents An account of the receipts and expenditures of the year ending the 3oth of September last, with the estimates for the service of the ensuing year, will be laid before you by the Secretary of the Treasury so soon as the receipts of the last quarter shall be returned from the more distant States. It is already ascertained that the amount paid into the Treasury for that year has been between $11,000,000 and $12,000,000, and that the revenue accrued during the same term exceeds the sum counted on as sufficient for our current expenses and to extinguish the public debt within the period heretofore proposed. The amount of debt paid for the same year is about $3,100,000, exclu- sive of interest, and making, with the payment of the preceding year, a discharge of more than $8,500,000 of the principal of that debt, besides the accruing interest; and there remain in the Treasury nearly $6,000,000. Of these, $880,000 have been reserved for payment of the first installment due under the British convention of January 8, 1802, and two millions are what have been before mentioned as placed by Congress under the power and accountability of the President toward the price of New Or- leans and other territories acquired, which, remaining untouched, are still applicable to that object and go in diminution of the sum to be funded for it. Should the acquisition of Louisiana be constitutionally confirmed and carried into effect, a sum of nearly $13,000,000 will then be added to our public debt, most of which is payable after fifteen years, before which term the present existing debts will all be discharged by the established operation of the sinking fund. When we contemplate the ordinary annual augmentation of impost from increasing population and wealth, the augmentation of the same revenue by its extension to the new acqui- sition, and the economies which may still be introduced into our pub- lic expenditures, I can not but hope that Congress in reviewing their resources will find means to meet the intermediate interest of this addi- tional debt without recurring to new taxes, and applying to this object only the ordinary progression of our revenue. Its extraordinary increase in times of foreign war will be the proper and sufficient fund for any measures of safety or precaution which that state of things may render necessary in our neutral position. Remittances for the installments of our foreign debt having been found practicable without loss, it has not been thought expedient to use the power given by a former act of Congress of continuing them by reloans, and of redeeming instead thereof equal sums of domestic debt, although no difficulty was found in obtaining that accommodation. The sum of $50,000 appropriated by Congress for providing gunboats remains unexpended. The favorable and peaceable turn of affairs on the Mississippi rendered an immediate execution of that law unnecessary, and time was desirable in order that the institution of that branch of our force might begin on models the most approved by experience. The Thomas Jefferson 361 same issue of events dispensed with a resort to the appropriation of $1,500,000, contemplated for purposes which were effected by happier means. We have seen with sincere concern the flames of war lighted up again in Europe, and nations with which we have the most friendly and useful relations engaged in mutual destruction. While we regret the miseries in which we see others involved, let us bow with gratitude to that kind Providence which, inspiring with wisdom and moderation our late legis- lative councils w r hile placed under the urgency of the greatest wrongs, guarded us from hastily entering into the sanguinary contest and left us only to look on and to pity its ravages. These will be heaviest on those immediately engaged. Yet the nations pursuing peace will not be ex- empt from all evil. In the course of this conflict let it be our endeavor, as it is our interest and desire, to cultivate the friendship of the bellig- erent nations by every act of justice and of innocent kindness; to receive their armed vessels with hospitality from the distresses of the sea, but to administer the means of annoyance to none; to establish in our harbors such a police as may maintain law and order; to restrain our citizens from embarking individually in a war in which their country takes no part; to punish severely those persons, citizen or alien, who shall usurp the cover of our flag for vessels not entitled to it, infecting thereby with suspicion those of real Americans and committing us into controver- sies for the redress of wrongs not our own; to exact from every nation the observance toward our vessels and citizens of those principles and practices which all civilized people acknowledge; to merit the character of a just nation, and maintain that of an independent one, preferring every consequence to insult and habitual wrong. Congress will consider whether the existing laws enable us efficaciously to maintain this course with our citizens in all places and with others while within the limits of our jurisdiction, and will give them the new modifications necessary for these objects. Some contraventions of right have already taken place, both within our jurisdictional limits and on the high seas. The friendly disposition of the Governments from whose agents they have proceeded, as well as their wisdom and regard for justice, leave us in reasonable expec- tation that they will be rectified and prevented in future, and that no act will be countenanced by them which threatens to disturb our friendly intercourse. Separated by a wide ocean from the nations of Europe and from the political interests which entangle them together, with pro- ductions and wants which render our commerce and friendship useful to them and theirs to us, it can not be the interest of any to assail us, nor ours to disturb them. We should be most unwise, indeed, were we to cast away the singular blessings of the position in which nature has placed us, the opportunity she has endowed us with of pursuing, at a distance from foreign contentions, the paths of industry, peace, and happiness, of cultivating general friendship, and of bringing collisions 362 Messages and Papers of the Presidents of interest to the umpirage of reason rather than of force. How desir- able, then, must it be in a Government like ours to see its citizens adopt individually the views, the interests, and the conduct which their country should pursue, divesting themselves of those passions and partialities which tend to lessen useful friendships and to embarrass and embroil us in the calamitous scenes of Europe. Confident, fellow-citizens, that you will duly estimate the importance of neutral dispositions toward the observance of neutral conduct, that you will be sensible how much it is our duty to look on the bloody arena .spread before us with commisera- tion indeed, but with no other wish than to see it closed, I am persuaded you will cordially cherish these dispositions in all discussions among yourselves and in all communications with your constituents; and I anticipate with satisfaction the measures of wisdom which the great inter- ests now committed to you will give you an opportunity of providing, and myself that of approving and of carrying into execution with the fidelity I owe to my country. TH: JEFFERSON. SPECIAL MESSAGES. OCTOBER 17, 1803. Gentlemen of the Senate: In my message of this day to both Houses of Congress I explained the circumstances which had led to the conclusion of conventions with France for the cession of the Province of Louisiana to the United States. Those conventions are now laid before you with such communications relating to them as may assist in deciding whether you will advise and consent to their ratification. The ratification of the First Consul of France is in the hands of his charge d'affaires here, to be exchanged for that of the United States whensoever, before the 3oth instant, it shall be in readiness. TH: JEFFERSON. OCTOBER 21, 1803. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: In my communication to you of the iyth instant I informed you that conventions had been entered into with the Government of France for the cession of Louisiana to the United States. These, with the advice and consent of the Senate, having now been ratified and my ratifica- tion exchanged for that of the First Consul of France in due form, they are communicated to you for consideration in your legislative capacity. You will observe that some important conditions can not be carried into Thomas Jefferson 363 execution but with the aid of the Legislature, and that time presses a decision on them without delay. The ulterior provisions, also suggested in the same communication, for the occupation and government of the country will call for early atten- tion. Such information relative to its government as time and distance have permitted me to obtain will be ready to be laid before you within a few days; but as permanent arrangements for this object may require time and deliberation, it is for your consideration whether you will not forthwith make such temporary provisions for the preservation in the meanwhile of order and tranquillity in the country as the case may require. TH: JEFFERSON. OCTOBER 24, 1803. To the Senate of the United States: I lay before you the convention signed on the i2th day of May last between the United States and Great Britain for settling their boundaries in the northeastern and northwestern parts of the United States, which was mentioned in my general message of the lyth instant, together with such papers relating thereto as may enable you to determine whether you will advise and consent to its ratification. TH: JEFFERSON. OCTOBER 31, 1803. To the Senate of the United States of America: I now lay before you the treaty mentioned in my general message at the opening of the session as having been concluded with the Kaskaskia Indians for the transfer of their country to us under certain reservations and conditions. Progress having been made in the demarcation of Indian boundaries, I am now able to communicate to you a treaty with the Delawares, Shawa- nese, Potawatamies, Miamis, Eel-rivers, Weeas, Kickapoos, Piankeshaws, and Kaskaskias, establishing the boundaries of the territory around St. Vincennes. Also a supplementary treaty with the Eel-rivers, Wyandots, Pianke- shaws, Kaskaskias, and Kickapoos, in confirmation of the fourth article of the preceding treaty. Also a treaty with the Choctaws, describing and establishing our demarcation of boundaries with them. Which several treaties are accompanied by the papers relating to them, and are now submitted to the Senate for consideration whether they will advise and consent to their ratification. TH: JEFFERSON. 364 Messages and Papers of the Presidents NOVEMBER 4, 1803. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: By the copy now communicated of a letter from Captain Bainbridge, of the Philadelphia frigate, to our consul at Gibraltar, you will learn that an act of hostility has been committed on a merchant vessel of the United States by an armed ship of the Emperor of Morocco. This conduct on the part of that power is without cause and without explanation. It is fortunate that Captain Bainbridge fell in with and took the capturing vessel and her prize, and I have the satisfaction to inform you that about the date of this transaction such a force would be arriving in the neigh- borhood of Gibraltar, both from the east and from the west, as leaves less to be feared for our commerce from the suddenness of the aggression. On the 4th of September the Constitution frigate, Captain Preble, with Mr. L,ear on board, was within two days' sail of Gibraltar, where the Philadelphia would then be arrived with her prize, and such explanations would probably be instituted as the state of things required, and as might perhaps arrest the progress of hostilities. In the meanwhile it is for Congress to consider the provisional author- ities which may be necessary to restrain the depredations of this power should they be continued. TH: JEFFERSON. NOVEMBER 14, 1803. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I now communicate a digest of the information I have received relative to Louisiana, which may be useful to the Legislature in providing for the government of the country. A translation of the most important laws in force in that province, now in press, shall be the subject of a supple- mentary communication, with such further and material information as may yet come to hand. TH: JEFFERSON. NOVEMBER 24, 1803. To the House of Representatives of the United States: In conformity with the desire expressed in the resolution of the House of Representatives of the I5th instant, I now lay before them copies of such documents as are in possession of the Executive relative to the arrest and confinement of Zachariah Cox by officers in the service of the United States in the year 1798. From the nature of the transaction some documents relative to it might have been expected from the War Office; but if any ever existed there they were probably lost when the office and its papers were consumed by fire. TH: JEFFERSON. Thomas Jefferson 365 NOVEMBER 25, 1803. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: The treaty with the Kaskaskia Indians being ratified with the advice and consent of the Senate, it is now laid before both Houses in their legislative capacity. It will inform them of the obligations which the United States thereby contract, and particularly that of taking the tribe under their future protection, and that the ceded country is submitted to their immediate possession and disposal. TH: JEFFERSON. NOVEMBER 29, 1803. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I now communicate an appendix to the information heretofore given on the subject of Louisiana. You will be sensible, from the face of these papers, as well as of those to which they are a sequel, that they are not and could not be official, but are furnished by different individuals as the result of the best inquiries they had been able to make, and now given as received from them, only digested under heads to prevent repe- titions. TH: JEFFERSON. DECEMBER 5, 1803. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I have the satisfaction to inform you that the act of hostility men- tioned in my message of the 4th of November to have been committed by a cruiser of the Emperor of Morocco on a vessel of the United States has been disavowed by the Emperor. All differences in consequence thereof have been amicably adjusted, and the treaty of 1786 between this country and that has been recognized and confirmed by the Em- peror, each party restoring to the other what had been detained or taken. I inclose the Emperor's orders given on this occasion. The conduct of our officers generally who have had a part in these transactions has merited entire approbation. The temperate and correct course pursued by our consul, Mr. Simp- son, the promptitude and energy of Commodore Preble, the efficacious cooperation of Captains Rodgers and Campbell, of the returning squad- ron, the proper decision of Captain Bainbridge that a vessel which had committed an open hostility was of right to be detained for inquiry and consideration, and the general zeal of the other officers and men are honorable facts which I make known with pleasure. And to these I add what was indeed transacted in another quarter the gallant enterprise of Captain Rodgers in destroying on the coast of Tripoli a corvette of that power of 22 guns. 366 Messages and Papers of the Presidents I recommend to the consideration of Congress a just indemnification for the interest acquired by the captors of the Mishouda and Mirboha, yielded by them for the public accommodation. TH: JEFFERSON. DECEMBER 5, 1803. To the Senate of the United States: In compliance with the desire of the Senate expressed in their resolu- tion of the 22d of November, on the impressment of seamen in the sendee of the United States by the agents of foreign nations, I now lay before the Senate a letter from the Secretary of State with a specification of the cases of which information has been received. TH: JEFFERSON. DECEMBER 21, 1803. To the Senate of the United States: On the nth of January last I laid before the Senate, for their consid- eration and advice, a convention with Spain on the subject of indemnities for spoliations on our commerce committed by her subjects during the late war, which convention is still before the Senate. As this instru- ment did not embrace French seizures and condemnations of our vessels in the ports of Spain, for which we deemed the latter power responsible, our minister at that Court was instructed to press for an additional article, comprehending that branch of wrongs. I now communicate what has since passed on that subject. The Senate will judge whether the pros- pect it offers will justify a longer suspension of that portion of indem- nities conceded by Spain should she now take no advantage of the lapse of the period for ratification. As the settlement of the boundaries of Louisiana will call for new negotiations on our receiving possession of that Province, the claims not obtained by the convention now before the Senate may be incorporated into those discussions. TH: JEFFERSON. DECEMBER 31, 1803. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I now lay before Congress the annual account of the fund established for defraying the contingent charges of Government. No occasion hav- ing arisen for making use of any part of it in the present year, the balance of $18,560 unexpended at the end of the last year remains now in the Treasury. TH: JEFFERSON. Thomas Jefferson 367 JANUARY 16, 1804. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: In execution of the act of the present session of Congress for taking possession of Louisiana, as ceded to us by France, and for the temporary government thereof, Governor Claiborne, of the Mississippi Territory, and General Wilkinson were appointed commissioners to receive posses- sion. They proceeded with such regular troops as had been assembled at Fort Adams from the nearest posts and with some militia of the Mis- sissippi Territory to New Orleans. To be prepared for anything unex- pected which might arise out of the transaction, a respectable body of militia was ordered to be in readiness in the States of Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and a part of those of Tennessee was moved on to the Natchez. No occasion, however, arose for their services. Our commis- sioners, on their arrival at New Orleans, found the Province already delivered by the commissioners of Spain to that of France, who delivered it over to them on the 2oth day of December, as appears by their declara- tory act accompanying this. Governor Claiborne, being duly invested with the powers heretofore exercised by the governor and intendant of Louisiana, assumed the government on the same day, and for the maintenance of law and order immediately issued the proclamation and address now communicated. On this important acquisition, so favorable to the immediate interests of our Western citizens, so auspicious to the peace and security of the nation in general, which adds to our country territories so extensive and fertile and to our citizens new brethren to partake of the blessings of freedom and self-government, I offer to Congress and our country my sincere congratulations. TH: JEFFERSON. JANUARY 24, 1804. Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: I communicate for your information a letter just received from Gov- ernor Claiborne, which may throw light on the subject of the government of Louisiana, under contemplation of the Legislature. The paper being original, a return is asked. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 16, 1804. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: Information having been received some time ago that the public lands in the neighborhood of Detroit required particular attention, the agent appointed to transact business with the Indians in that quarter was 368 Messages and Papers of the Presidents instructed to inquire into and report the situation of the titles and occu- pation of the lands, private and public, in the neighboring settlements. His report is now communicated, that the Legislature may judge how far its interposition is necessary to quiet the legal titles, confirm the equitable, to remove the past and prevent future intrusions which have neither law nor justice for the basis. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 22, 1804. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I communicate to Congress, for their information, a report of the sur- veyor of the public buildings at Washington, stating what has been done under the act of the last session concerning the city of Washington on the Capitol and other public buildings, and the highway between them. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 29, 1804. To the Senate and Hotcse of Representatives of the United States: I communicate, for the information of Congress, a letter stating certain fraudulent practices for monopolizing lands in Louisiana, which may per- haps require legislative provisions. TH: JEFFERSON. MARCH 20, 1804. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I communicate to Congress a letter received from Captain Bainbridge, commander of the Philadelphia frigate, informing us of the wreck of that vessel on the coast of Tripoli, and that himself, his officers and men, had fallen into the hands of the Tripolitans. This accident renders it expedient to increase our force and enlarge our expenses in the Medi- terranean beyond what the last appropriation for the naval service con- templated. I recommend, therefore, to the consideration of Congress such an addition to that appropriation as they may think the exigency requires. TH: JEFFERSON. MARCH 22, 1804. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I lay before Congress the last returns of the militia of the United States. Their incompleteness is much to be regretted, and its remedy may at some future time be a subject worthy the attention of Congress. TH: JEFFERSON. Thomas Jefferson 369 PROCLAMATION. [From Annals of Congress, Eighth Congress, second session, 1234.] To all whom these presents shall come: Whereas by an act of Congress authority has been given to the Presi- dent of the United States, whenever he shall deem it expedient, to erect the shores, waters, and inlets of the bay and river of Mobile, and of the other rivers, creeks, inlets, and bays emptying into the Gulf of Mexico east of the said river Mobile and west thereof to the Pascagoula, inclu- sive, into a separate district for the collection of duties on imports and tonnage; and to establish such place within the same as he shall deem it expedient to be the port of entry and delivery for such district; and to designate such other places within the same district, not exceeding two, to be ports of delivery only: Now know ye that I, Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States, do hereby decide that all the above-mentioned shores, waters, inlets, creeks, and rivers lying within the boundaries of the United States shall constitute and form a separate district, to be denominated "the district of Mobile;" and do also designate Fort Stoddert, within the district aforesaid, to be the port of entry and delivery for the said district. Given under my hand this 2oth day of May, 1804. TH: JEFFERSON. FOURTH ANNUAL MESSAGE. NOVEMBER 8, 1804. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: To a people, fellow-citizens, who sincerely desire the happiness and prosperity of other nations; to those who justly calculate that their own well-being is advanced by that of the nations with which they have intercourse, it will be a satisfaction to observe that the war which was lighted up in Europe a little before our last meeting has not yet extended its flames to other nations, nor been marked by the calamities which sometimes stain the footsteps of war. The irregularities, too, on the ocean, which generally harass the commerce of neutral nations, have, in distant parts, disturbed ours less than on former occasions; but in the American seas they have been greater from peculiar causes, and even within our harbors and jurisdiction infringements on the authority of the laws have been committed which have called for serious attention. M P voi, i 24 370 Messages and Papers of the Presidents The friendly conduct of the Governments from whose officers and sub- jects these acts have proceeded, in other respects and in places more under their observation and control, gives us confidence that our repre- sentations on this subject will have been properly regarded. While noticing the irregularities committed on the ocean by others, those on our own part should not be omitted nor left unprovided for. Complaints have been received that persons residing w r ithin the United States have taken on themselves to arm merchant vessels and to force a commerce into certain ports and countries in defiance of the laws of those countries. That individuals should undertake to wage private war, inde- pendently of the authority of their country, can not be permitted in a well-ordered society. Its tendency to produce aggression on the laws and rights of other nations and to endanger the peace of our own is so obvious that I doubt not you will adopt measures for restraining it effec- tually in future. Soon after the passage of the act of the last session authorizing the establishment of a district and port of entry on the waters of the Mobile we learnt that its object was misunderstood on the part of Spain. Candid explanations were immediately given and assurances that, reserving our claims in that quarter as a subject of discussion and arrangement with Spain, no act was meditated in the meantime inconsistent with the peace and friendship existing between the two nations, and that conformably to these intentions would be the execution of the law. That Government had, however, thought proper to suspend the ratification of the conven- tion of 1802; but the explanations which would reach them soon after, and still more the confirmation of them by the tenor of the instrument establishing the port and district, may reasonably be expected to replace them in the dispositions and views of the whole subject which originally dictated the convention. I have the satisfaction to inform you that the objections which had been urged by that Government against the validity of our title to the country of Louisiana have been withdrawn, its exact limits, however, remaining still to be settled between us; and to this is to be added that, having prepared and delivered the stock created in execution of the con- vention of Paris of April 30, 1803, in consideration of the cession of that country, we have received from the Government of France an acknowl- edgment, in due form, of the fulfillment of that stipulation. With the nations of Europe in general our friendship and intercourse are undisturbed, and from the Governments of the belligerent powers especially we continue to receive those friendly manifestations which are justly due to an ionest neutrality and to such good offices consistent with that as we have opportunities of rendering. The activity and success of the small force employed in the Mediterra- nean in the early part of the present year, the reenforcements sent into that sea, and the energy of the officers having command in the several Thomas Jefferson 371 vessels will, I trust, by the sufferings of war, reduce the barbarians of Tripoli to the desire of peace on proper terms. Great injury, however, ensues to ourselves, as well as to others interested, from the distance to which prizes must be brought for adjudication and from the impractica- bility of bringing hither such as are not seaworthy. The Bey of Tunis having made requisitions unauthorized by our treaty, their rejection has produced from him some expressions of discontent. But to those who expect us to calculate whether a compliance with unjust demands will not cost us less than a war we must leave as a question of calculation for them also whether to retire from unjust demands will not cost them less than a war. We can do to each other very sensible injuries by war, but the mutual advantages of peace make that the best interest of both. Peace and intercourse with the other powers on the same coast con- tinue on the footing on which they are established by treaty. In pursuance of the act providing for the temporary government of Ixmi- siana, the necessary officers for the Territory of Orleans were appointed in due time to commence the exercise of their functions on the ist day of October. The distance, however, of some of them and indispensable previous arrangements may have retarded its commencement in some of its parts. The form of government thus provided having been consid- ered but as temporary, and open to such future improvements as further information of the circumstances of our brethren there might suggest, it will of course be subject to your consideration. In the district of Louisiana it has been thought best to adopt the division into subordinate districts which had been established under its former government. These being five in number, a commanding officer has been appointed to each, according to the provisions of the law, and so soon as they can be at their stations that district will also be in its due state of organization. In the meantime their places are supplied by the officers before commanding there. And the functions of the governor and judges of Indiana having commenced, the government, we presume, is proceeding in its new form. The lead mines in that district offer so rich a supply of that metal as to merit attention. The report now com- municated will inform you of their state and of the necessity of imme- diate inquiry into their occupation and titles. With the Indian tribes established within our newly acquired limits, I have deemed it necessary to open conferences for the purpose of estab- lishing a good understanding and neighborly relations between us. So far as we have yet learned, we have reason to believe that their disposi- tions are generally favorable and friendly; and with these dispositions on their part, we have in our own hands means which can not fail us for pre- serving their peace and friendship. By pursuing an uniform course of justice toward them, by aiding them in all the improvements which may better their condition, and especially by establishing a commerce on terms 372 Messages and Papers of the Presidents which shall be advantageous to them and only not losing to us, and so regulated as that no incendiaries of our own or any other nation may be permitted to disturb the natural effects of our just and friendly offices, we may render ourselves so necessary to their comfort and prosperity that the protection of our citizens from their disorderly members will become their interest and their voluntary care. Instead, therefore, of an augmentation of military force proportioned to our extension of fron- tier, I propose a moderate enlargement of the capital employed in that commerce as a more effectual, economical, and humane instrument for preserving peace and good neighborhood with them. On this side the Mississippi an important relinquishment of native title has been received from the Delawares. That tribe, desiring to extin- guish in their people the spirit of hunting and to convert superfluous lands into the means of improving what they retain, has ceded to us all the country between the Wabash and Ohio south of and including the road from the rapids toward Vincennes, for which they are to receive annuities in animals and implements for agriculture and in other neces- saries. This acquisition is important, not only for its extent and fertility, but as fronting 300 miles on the Ohio, and near half that on the Wabash. The produce of the settled country descending those rivers will no longer pass in review of the Indian frontier but in a small portion, and, with the cession heretofore made by the Kaskaskias, nearly consolidates our possessions north of the Ohio, in a very respectable breadth from L,ake Erie to the Mississippi. The Piankeshaws having some claim to the coun- try ceded by the Delawares, it has been thought best to quiet that by fair purchase also. So soon as the treaties on this subject shall have received their constitutional sanctions they shall be laid before both Houses. The act of Congress of February 28, 1803, for building and employing a number of gunboats, is now in a course of execution to the extent there provided for. The obstacle to naval enterprise which vessels of this construction offer for our seaport towns, their utility toward supporting within our waters the authority of the laws, the promptness with which they will be manned by the seamen and militia of the place in the moment they are wanting, the facility of their assembling from different parts of the coast to any point where they are required in greater force than ordinary, the economy of their maintenance and preservation from decay when not in actual service, and the competence of our finances to this defensive provision without any new burthen are considerations which will have due weight with Congress in deciding on the expediency of adding to their number from year to year, as experience shall test their utility, until all our important harbors, by these and auxiliary means, shall be secured against insult and opposition to the laws. No circumstance has arisen since your last session which calls for any augmentation of our regular military force. Should any improvement occur in the militia system, that will be always seasonable. Thomas Jefferson 373 Accounts of the receipts and expenditures of the last year, with esti- mates for the ensuing one, will as usual be laid before you. The state of our finances continues to fulfill our expectations. Eleven millions and a half of dollars, received in the course of the year ending the 3oth of September last, have enabled us, after meeting all the ordi- nary expenses of the year, to pay upward of $3,600,000 of the public debt, exclusive of interest. This payment, with those of the two preced- ing years, has extinguished upward of twelve millions of the principal and a greater sum of interest within that period, and by a proportionate diminution of interest renders already sensible the effect of the growing sum yearly applicable to the discharge of the principal. It is also ascertained that the revenue accrued during the last year exceeds that of the preceding, and the probable receipts of the ensuing year may safely be relied on as sufficient, with the sum already in the Treasury, to meet all the current demands of the year, to discharge up- ward of three millions and a half of the engagements incurred under the British and French conventions, and to advance in the further redemption of the funded debt as rapidly as had been contemplated. These, fellow- citizens, are the principal matters which I have thought it necessary at this time to communicate for your consideration and attention. Some others will be laid before you in the course of the session ; but in the dis- charge of the great duties confided to you by our country you will take a broader view of the field of legislation. Whether the great interests of agriculture, manufactures, commerce, or navigation can within the pale of your constitutional powers be aided in any of their relations; whether laws are provided in all cases where they are wanting; whether those provided are exactly what they should be; whether any abuses take place in their administration, or in that of the public revenues; whether the organization of the public agents or of the public force is perfect in all its parts; in fine, whether anything can be done to advance the general good, are questions within the limits of your functions which will neces- sarily occupy your attention. In these and all other matters which you in your wisdom may propose for the good of our country you may count with assurance on my hearty cooperation and faithful execution. TH: JEFFERSON. SPECIAL MESSAGES. NOVEMBER 15, 1804. To the Senate of the United States: I now lay before you a treaty, entered into on the i8th day of August of the present year, between the United States on one part and the Dela- ware Indians on the other, for the extinguishment of their title to a tract of country between the Ohio and Wabash rivers. 374 Messages and Papers of the Presidents And another of the 2yth day of the same month, between the United States and the Piankeshaws, for a confirmation of the same by the latter, together with a letter from Governor Harrison 011 the same subject; which treaties are submitted for your advice and consent. TH: JEFFERSON. NOVEMBER 15, 1804. To the House of Representatives of the United States: Agreeably to your resolution of the gth instant, I now lay before you a statement of the circumstances attending the destruction of the frigate Philadelphia, with the names of the officers and the number of men em- ployed on the occasion, to which I have to add that Lieutenant Decatur was thereupon advanced to be a captain in the Navy of the United States. TH: JEFFERSON. NOVEMBER 30, 1804. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I now lay before you copies of the treaties concluded with the Dela- ware and Piankeshaw Indians for the extinguishment of their title to the lands therein described, and I recommend to the consideration of Congress the making provision by law for carrying them into execution. TH: JEFFERSON. DECEMBER 13, 1804. To the Senate of the United States: I present for your advice a treaty entered into on behalf of the United States with the Creek Indians for the extinguishment of their right in certain lands in the forks of Oconee and Okmulgee rivers, within the State of Georgia. For the purpose of enabling you to form a satisfac- tory judgment on the subject, it is accompanied with the instructions of 1802, April 12, to James Wilkinson, Benjamin Hawkins, and Andrew Pickens, commissioners; those of 1803, May 5, to James Wilkinson, Ben- jamin Hawkins, and Robert Anderson, commissioners, and those of 1804, April 2, to Benjamin Hawkins, sole commissioner. The negotiations for obtaining the whole of the lands between the Oconee and Okmulgee have now been continued through three successive seasons under the original instructions and others supplementary to them given from time to time, as circumstances required, and the unity of the negotiation has been pre- served not only by the subject, but by continuing Colonel Hawkins always one of the commissioners, and latterly the sole one. The extent of the cession to be obtained being uncertain, the limitation of price was what should be thought reasonable according to the usual rate of compensation. The commissioner has been induced to go beyond this limit probably by Thomas Jefferson 375 the just attentions due to the strong interest which the State of Georgia feels in making this particular acquisition, and by a despair of procuring it on more reasonable terms from a tribe which is one of those most fixed in the policy of holding fast their lands. To this may be added that if, by an alteration in the first article, instead of giving them stock which may be passed into other hands and render them the prey of speculators, an annuity shall be paid them in this case, as has hitherto been practiced in all similar cases, the price of these lands will become a pledge and guaranty for our future peace with this important tribe, and eventually an indemnity for the breach of it. On the whole, I rest with entire satisfaction on the wisdom and counsel of those whose sanctions the Constitution has rendered necessary to the final validity of this act. TH: JEFFERSON. DECEMBER 31, 1804. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: The inclosed letter, written from Malta by Richard O'Brien, our late consul at Algiers, giving some details of transactions before Tripoli, is communicated for the information of Congress. TH: JEFFERSON. DECEMBER 31, 1804. To the Senate of the United States: Most of the Indians residing within our northern boundary on this side of the Mississippi receiving from us annual aids in money and nec- essaries, it was a subject of complaint with the Sacs that they received nothing and were connected with us by no treaty. As they owned the country in the neighborhood of our settlements of Kaskaskia and St. Louis, it was thought expedient to engage their friendship, and Governor Harrison was accordingly instructed in June last to propose to them an annuity of $500 or $600, stipulating in return an adequate cession of territory and an exact definition of boundaries. The Sacs and Foxes acting generally as one nation, and coming forward together, he found it necessary to add an annuity for the latter tribe also, enlarging proportion- ably the cession of territory, which was accordingly done by the treaty now communicated, of November the 3d, with those two tribes. This cession, giving us a perfect title to such a breadth of country on the eastern side of the Mississippi, with a command of the Ouiscousiu, strengthens our means of retaining exclusive commerce with the Indians on the western side of the Mississippi a right indispensable to the policy of governing those Indians by commerce rather than by arms. The treaty is now submitted to the Senate for their advice and consent. TH: JEFFERSON. 376 Messages and Papers of the Presidents JANUARY 31, 1805. To the House of Representatives of the United States: In compliance with the desire of the House of Representatives, ex- pressed in their resolution of yesterday, I have to inform them that by a letter of the 3oth of May last from the Secretary of War to Samuel Hammond, a member of the House, it was proposed to him to accept a commission of colonel-commandant for the district of Louisiana when the new government there should commence. By a letter of the 3oth of June he signified a willingness to accept, but still more definitively by one of October 26, a copy of which is therefore now communicated. A commission had been made out for him bearing date the ist day of October last, and forwarded before the receipt of his letter of October 26. No later communication has been received from him, nor is anything later known of his movements. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY i, 1805. To the House of Representatives of the United States: For some weeks past I have had reason to expect by every mail from New Orleans information which would have fully met the views of the House of Representatives, expressed in their resolution of December 3 1 , on the subject of a post-road from the city of Washington to New Orleans; but this being not yet received, I think it my duty \vithout fur- ther delay to communicate to the House the information I possess, how- ever imperfect. Isaac Briggs, one of the surveyors-general of the United States, being about to return in July last to his station at Natchez, and apprised of the anxiety existing to have a practicable road explored for fonvarding the mail to New Orleans without crossing the mountains, offered his serv- ices voluntarily to return by the route contemplated, taking as he should go such observations of longitude and latitude as would enable him to delineate it exactly, and by protraction to show of what shortenings it would admit. The offer was accepted and he was furnished with an accu- rate sextant for his observations. The route proposed was from Wash- ington by Fredericksburg, Cartersville, Lower Sauratown, Salisbury, Franklin Court-House in Georgia, Tuckabachee, Fort Stoddert, and the mouth of Pearl River to New Orleans. It is believed he followed this route generally, deviating at times only for special purposes, and return- ing again into it. His letters, herewith communicated, will shew his opinion to have been, after completing his journey, that the practicable distance between Washington and New Orleans will be a little over 1,000 miles. He expected to forward his map and special report within one week from the date of his last letter, but a letter of December 10, from another person, informs me he had been unwell, but would forward them within a Thomas Jefferson 377 week from that time. So soon as they shall l)e received they shall be communicated to the House of Representatives. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 5, 1805. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: The Secretary of State has lately received a note from the. Danish charge d'affaires, claiming, in the name of his Government, restitution in the case of the brig Henrich, communicated to Congress at a former ses- sion, in which note were transmitted sundry documents chiefly relating to the value and neutral character of the vessel, and to the question whether the judicial proceedings were instituted and conducted without the concur- rence of the captain of the Henrich. As these documents appear to form a necessary appendage to those already before Congress, and throw addi- tional light on the subject, I transmit copies of them herewith. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 13, 1805. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: In the message to Congress at the opening of the present, session I informed them that treaties had been entered into with the Delaware and Piankeshaw Indians for the purchase of their right to certain lands on the Ohio. I have since received another, entered into with the Sacs and Foxes, for a portion of country on both sides of the river Missis- sippi. These treaties, having been advised and consented to by the Sen- ate, have accordingly been ratified, but as they involve conditions which require legislative provision, they are now submitted to both branches for consideration. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 20, 1805. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I communicate, for the information of Congress, a letter of September 1 8 from Commodore Preble, giving a detailed account of the transactions of the vessels under his command from July the gth to the loth of Sep- tember last past. The energy and judgment displayed by this excellent officer through the whole course of the service lately confided to him and the zeal and valor of his officers and men in the several enterprises executed by them can not fail to give high satisfaction to Congress and their country, of whom they have deserved well. TH: JEFFERSON. 378 Messages and Papers of the Presidents FEBRUARY 28, 1805. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I now lay before Congress a statement of the militia of the United States, according to the returns last received from the several States. It will be perceived that some of these are not of recent dates, and that from the States of Maryland, Delaware, and Tennessee no returns are stated. As far as appears from our records, none were ever rendered from either of these States. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 28, 1805. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I now render to Congress the account of the fund established by the act of May i, 1802, for defraying the contingent charges of Government. No occasion having arisen for making use of any part of the balance of $18,560 unexpended on the 3ist day of December, 1803, when the last account was rendered by message, that balance has been carried to the credit of the surplus fund. TH: JEFFERSON. SECOND INAUGURAL ADDRESS. Proceeding, fellow-citizens, to that qualification which the Constitution requires before my entrance on the charge again conferred on me, it is my duty to express the deep sense I entertain of this new proof of confi- dence from my fellow-citizens at large, and the zeal with which it inspires me so to conduct myself as may best satisfy their just expectations. On taking this station on a former occasion I declared the principles on which I believed it my duty to administer the affairs of our Common- wealth. My conscience tells me I have on every occasion acted up to that declaration according to its obvious import and to the understand- ing of every candid mind. In the transaction of your foreign affairs we have endeavored to culti- vate the friendship of all nations, and especially of those with which we have the most important relations. We have done them justice on all occasions, favored where favor was lawful, and cherished mutual interests and intercourse on fair and equal terms. We are firmly convinced, and we act on that conviction, that with nations as with individuals our inter- ests soundly calculated will ever be found inseparable from our moral duties, and history bears witness to the fact that a just nation is trusted on its word when recourse is had to armaments and wars to bridle others. At home, fellow-citizens, you best know whether we have done well Thomas Jefferson 379 or ill. The suppression of unnecessary offices, of useless establishments and expenses, enabled us to discontinue our internal taxes. These, cov- ering our land with officers and opening our doors to their intrusions, had already begun that process of domiciliary vexation which once entered is scarcely to be restrained from reaching successively every article of property and produce. If among these taxes some minor ones fell which had not been inconvenient, it was because their amount would not have paid the officers who collected them, and because, if they had any merit, the State authorities might adopt them instead of others less approved. The remaining revenue on the consumption of foreign articles is paid chiefly by those who can afford to add foreign luxuries to domestic comforts, being collected on our seaboard and frontiers only, and, incorpo- rated with the transactions of our mercantile citizens, it may be the pleas- ure and the pride of an American to ask, What farmer, what mechanic, what laborer ever sees a taxgatherer of the United States? These con- tributions enable us to support the current expenses of the Government, to fulfill contracts with foreign nations, to extinguish the native right of soil within our limits, to extend those limits, and to apply such a surplus to our public debts as places at a short day their final redemption, and that redemption once effected the revenue thereby liberated may, by a just repartition of it among the States and a corresponding amendment of the Constitution, be applied in time of peace to rivers, canals, roads, arts, manufactures, education, and other great objects within each State. In time of war, if injustice by ourselves or others must sometimes produce war, increased as the same revenue will be by increased population and consumption, and aided by other resources reserved for that crisis, it may meet within the year all the expenses of the year without encroaching on the rights of future generations by burthening them with the debts of the past. War will then be but a suspension of useful works, and a return to a state of peace a return to the progress of improvement. I have said, fellow -citizens, that the income reserved had enabled us to extend our limits, but that extension may possibly pay for itself before we are called on, and in the meantime may keep down the accruing interest; in all events, it will replace the advances we shall have made. I know that the acquisition of Louisiana has been disapproved by some from a candid apprehension that the enlargement of our territory would endanger its union. But who can limit the extent to which the federa- tive principle may operate effectively? The larger our association the less will it be shaken by local passions; and in any view is it not better that the opposite bank of the Mississippi should be settled by our own brethren and children than by strangers of another family ? With which should we be most likely to live in harmony and friendly intercourse? In matters of religion I have considered that its free exercise is placed by the Constitution independent of the powers of the General Govern- ment. I have therefore undertaken on no occasion to prescribe the 380 Messages and Papers of the Presidents religious exercises suited to it, but have left them, as the Constitution found them, under the direction and discipline of the church or state authorities acknowledged by the several religious societies. The aboriginal inhabitants of these countries I have regarded with the commiseration their history inspires. Endowed with the faculties and the rights of men, breathing an ardent love of liberty and independence, and occupying a country which left them no desire but to be undisturbed, the stream of overflowing population from other regions directed itself on these shores; without power to divert or habits to contend against it, they have been overwhelmed by the. current or driven before it; now reduced within limits too narrow for the hunter's state, humanity enjoins us to teach them agriculture and the domestic arts; to encourage them to that industry which alone can enable them to maintain their place in existence and to prepare them in time for that state of society which to bodily comforts adds the improvement of the mind and morals. We have therefore liberally furnished them with the implements of hus- bandry and household use; we have placed among them instructors in the arts of first necessity, and they are covered with the aegis of the law against aggressors from among ourselves. But the endeavors to enlighten them on the fate which awaits their present course of life, to induce them to exercise their reason, follow its dictates, and change their pursuits with the change of circumstances have powerful obstacles to encounter; they are combated by the habits of their bodies, prejudices of their minds, ignorance, pride, and the influ- ence of interested and crafty individuals among them who feel themselves something in the present order of things and fear to become nothing in any other. These persons inculcate a sanctimonious reverence for the customs of their ancestors; that whatsoever they did must be done through all time; that reason is a false guide, and to advance under its counsel in their physical, moral, or political condition is perilous innova- tion; that their duty is to remain as their Creator made them, ignorance being safety and knowledge full of danger; in short, my friends, among them also is seen the action and counteraction of good sense and of bigotry; they too have their antiphilosophists who find an interest in keeping things in their present state, who dread reformation, and exert all their faculties to maintain the ascendency of habit 'over the duty of improving our reason and obeying its mandates. In giving these outlines I do not mean, fellow-citizens, to arrogate to myself the merit of the measures. That is due, in the first place, to the reflecting character of our citizens at large, who, by the weight of public opinion, influence and strengthen the public measures. It is due to the sound discretion with which they select from among themselves those to whom they confide the legislative duties. It is due to the zeal and wis- dom of the characters thus selected, who lay the foundations of public happiness in wholesome laws, the execution of which alone remains for Thomas Jefferson 381 others, and it is due to the able and faithful auxiliaries, whose patriotism has associated them with me in the executive functions. During this course of administration, and in order to disturb it, the artillery of the press has been leveled against us, charged with whatsoever its licentiousness could devise or dare. These abuses of an institution so important to freedom and science are deeply to be regretted, inasmuch as they tend to lessen its usefulness and to sap its safety. They might, indeed, have been corrected by the wholesome punishments reserved to and provided by the laws of the several States against falsehood and defa- mation, but public duties more urgent press on the time of public servants, and the offenders have therefore been left to find their punishment in the public indignation. Nor was it uninteresting to the world that an experiment should be fairly and fully made, whether freedom of discussion, unaided by power, is not sufficient for the propagation and protection of truth whether a government conducting itself in the true spirit of its constitution, with zeal and purity, and doing no act which it would be unwilling the whole world should witness, can be written down by falsehood and defamation. The experiment has been tried; you have witnessed the scene; our fellow-citizens looked on, cool and collected; they saw the latent source from which these outrages proceeded; they gathered around their public functionaries, and when the Constitution called them to the decision by suffrage, they pronounced their verdict, honorable to those who had served them and consolatory to the friend of man who believes that he may be trusted with the control of his own affairs. No inference is here intended that the laws provided by the States against false and defamatory publications should not be enforced; he who has time renders a service to public morals and public tranquillity in reforming these abuses by the salutary coercions of the law; but the experiment is noted to prove that, since truth and reason have main- tained their ground against false opinions in league with false facts, the press, confined to truth, needs no other legal restraint; the public judg- ment will correct false reasonings and opinions on a full hearing of all parties; and no other definite line can be drawn between the inestimable liberty of the press and its demoralizing licentiousness. If there be still improprieties which this rule would not restrain, its supplement must be sought in the censorship of public opinion. Contemplating the union of sentiment now manifested so generally as auguring harmony and happiness to our future course, I offer to our country sincere congratulations. With those, too, not yet rallied to the same point the disposition to do so is gaining strength; facts are pierc- ing through the veil drawn over them, and our doubting brethren will at length see that the mass of their fellow-citizens with whom they can not yet resolve to act as to principles and measures, think as they think and desire what they desire ; that our wish as well as theirs is that the public 382 Messages and Papers of the Presidents efforts may be directed honestly to the public good, that peace be culti- vated, civil and religious liberty unassailed, law and order preserved, equality of rights maintained, and that state of property, equal or unequal, which results to every man from his own industry or that of his father's. When satisfied of these views it is not in human nature that they should not approve and support them. In the meantime let us cherish them with patient affection, let us do them justice, and more than justice, in all competitions of interest, and we need not doubt that truth, reason, and their own interests will at length prevail, will gather them into the fold of their country, and will complete that entire union of opinion which gives to a nation the blessing of harmony and the benefit of all its strength. I shall now enter on the duties to which my fellow-citizens have again called me, and shall proceed in the spirit of those principles which they have approved. I fear not that any motives of interest may lead me astray; I am sensible of no passion which could seduce me knowingly from the path of justice, but the weaknesses of human nature and the limits of my own understanding will produce errors of judgment some- times injurious to your interests. I shall need, therefore, all the indul- gence which I have heretofore experienced from my constituents; the want of it will certainly not lessen with increasing years. I shall need, too, the favor of that Being in whose hands we are, who led our fathers, as Israel of old, from their native land and planted them in a country flowing with all the necessaries and comforts of life; who has covered our infancy with His providence and our riper years with His wisdom and power, and to whose goodness I ask you to join in supplications with me that He will so enlighten the minds of your servants, guide their councils, and prosper their measures that whatsoever they do shall result in your good, and shall secure to you the peace, friendship, and approbation of all nations. MARCH 4, 1805. FIFTH ANNUAL MESSAGE. DECEMBER 3, 1805. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: At a moment when the nations of Europe are in commotion and arming against each other, and when those with whom we have principal inter- course are engaged in the general contest, and when the countenance of some of them toward our peaceable country threatens that even that may not be unaffected by what is passing on the general theater, a meeting of the representatives of the nation in both Houses of Congress has become Thomas Jefferson 383 more than usually desirable. Coming from every section of our county they bring with them the sentiments and the information of the whole, and will be enabled to give a direction to the public affairs which the will and the wisdom of the whole will approve and support. In taking a view of the state of our country we in the first place notice the late affliction of two of our cities under the fatal fever which in latter times has occasionally visited our shores. Providence in His goodness gave it an early termination on this occasion and lessened the number of victims which have usually fallen before it. In the course of the several visitations by this disease it has appeared that it is strictly local, incident to cities and on the tide waters only, incommunicable in the country either by persons under the disease or by goods carried from diseased places; that its access is with the autumn and it dis- appears with the early frosts. These restrictions within narrow limits of time and space give security even to our maritime cities during three- fourths of the year, and to the country always. Although from these facts it appears unnecessary, yet to satisfy the fears of foreign nations and cautions on their part not to be complained of in a danger whose limits are yet unknown to them I have strictly enjoined on the officers at the head of the customs to certify with exact truth for every vessel sail- ing for a foreign port the state of health respecting this fever which prevails at the place from which she sails. Under every motive from character and duty to certify the truth, I have no doubt they have faith- fully executed this injunction. Much real injury has, however, been sustained from a propensity to identify with this endemic and to call by the same name fevers of very different kinds, which have been known at all times and in all countries, and never have been placed among those deemed contagious. As we advance in our knowledge of this disease, as facts develop the source from which individuals receive it, the State authorities charged with the care of the public health, and Congress with that of the general commerce, will become able to regulate with effect their respective functions in these departments. The burthen of quaran- tines is felt at home as well as abroad; their efficacy merits examination. Although the health laws of the States should be found to need no pres- ent revisal by Congress, yet commerce claims that their attention be ever awake to them. Since our last meeting the aspect of our foreign relations has consider- ably changed. Our coasts have been infested and our harbors watched by private armed vessels, some of them without commissions, some with illegal commissions, others with those of legal form, but committing piratical acts beyond the authority of their commissions. They have captured in the very entrance of our harbors, as well as on the high seas, not only the vessels of our friends coming to trade with us, but our own also. They have carried them off under pretense of legal adjudication, but not daring to approach a court of justice, they have plundered and 384 Messages and Papers of the Presidents sunk them by the way or in obscure places where no evidence could arise against them, maltreated the crews, and abandoned them in boats in the open sea or on desert shores without food or covering. These enormities appearing to be unreached by any control of their sovereigns, I found it necessary to equip a force to cruise within our own seas, to arrest all vessels of these descriptions found hovering on our coasts within the limits of the Gulf Stream and to bring the offenders in for trial as pirates. The same system of hovering on our coasts and harbors under color of seeking enemies has been also carried on by public armed ships to the great annoyance and oppression of our commerce. New principles, too, have been interpolated into the law of nations, founded neither in justice nor the usage or acknowledgment of nations. According to these a bel- ligerent takes to itself a commerce with its own enemy which it denies to a neutral on the ground of its aiding that enemy in the war; but reason revolts at such an inconsistency, and the neutral having equal right with the belligerent to decide the question, the interests of our constituents and the duty of maintaining the authority of reason, the only umpire between just nations, impose on us the obligation of providing an effectual and determined opposition to a doctrine so inj urious to the rights of peaceable nations. Indeed, the confidence we ought to have in the justice of others still countenances the hope that a sounder view of those rights will of itself induce from every belligerent a more correct observance of them. With Spain our negotiations for a settlement of differences have not had a satisfactory issue. Spoliations during a former war, for which she had formally acknowledged herself responsible, have been refused to be compensated but on conditions affecting other claims in no wise con- nected with them. Yet the same practices are renewed in the present war and are already of great amount. On the Mobile, our commerce passing through that river continues to be obstructed by arbitrary duties and vexatious searches. Propositions for adjusting amicably the bound- aries of Louisiana have not been acceded to. While, however, the right is unsettled, we have avoided changing the state of things by taking new posts or strengthening ourselves in the disputed territories, in the hope that the other power would not by a contrary conduct oblige us to meet their example and endanger conflicts of authority the issue of which may not be easily controlled. But in this hope we have now reason to lessen our confidence. Inroads have been recently made into the Terri- tories of Orleans and the Mississippi, our citizens have been seized and their property plundered in the very parts of the former which had been actually delivered up by Spain, and this by the regular officers and soldiers of that Government. I have therefore found it necessary at length to give orders to our troops on that frontier to be in readiness to protect our citizens, and to repel by arms any similar aggressions in future. Other details necessary for your full information of the state of Thomas Jefferson 385 things between this country and that shall lie the subject of another communication . In reviewing these injuries from some of the belligerent powers the moderation, the firmness, and the wisdom of the Legislature will all be called into action. We ought still to hope that time and a more correct estimate of interest as well as of character will produce the justice we are bound to expect. But should any nation deceive itself by false calcu- lations, and disappoint that expectation, we must join in the unprofitable contest of trying which party can do the other the most harm. Some of these injuries may perhaps admit a peaceable remedy. Where that is com- petent it is always the most desirable. But some of them are of a nature to be met by force only, and all of them may lead to it. I can not, therefore, but recommend such preparations as circumstances call for. The first object is to place our seaport towns out of the danger of insult. Measures have been already taken for furnishing them with heavy can- non for the service of such land batteries as may make a part of their defense against armed vessels approaching them. In aid of these it is desirable we should have a competent number of gunboats, and' the number, to be competent, must be considerable. If immediately begun, they may be in readiness for service at the opening of the next season. Whether it will be necessary to augment our land forces will be decided by occurrences probably in the course of your session. In the meantime you will consider whether it would not be expedient for a state of peace as well as of war so to organize or class the militia as would enable us on any sudden emergency to call for the services of the younger portions, unencumbered with the old and those having families. Upward of 300,000 able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 26 years, which the last census shews we may now count within our limits, will furnish a com- petent number for offense or defense in any point where they may be wanted, and will give time for raising regular forces after the necessity of them shall become certain ; and the reducing to the early period of life all its active service can not but be desirable to our younger citizens of the present as well as future times, inasmuch as it engages to them in more advanced age a quiet and undisturbed repose in the bosom of their families. I can not, then, but earnestly recommend to your early considera- tion the expediency of so modifying our militia system as, by a separation of the more active part from that which is less so, we may draw from it when necessary an efficient corps fit for real and active service, and to be called to it in regular rotation. Considerable provision has been made under former authorities from Congress of materials for the construction of ships of war of 74 guns. These materials are on hand subject to the further will of the Legislature. An immediate prohibition of the exportation of arms and ammunition is also submitted to your determination. Turning from these unpleasant views of violence and wrong, I con- M P voi, i 25 386 Messages and Papers of the Presidents gratulate you on the liberation of our fellow-citizens who were stranded on the coast of Tripoli and made prisoners of war. In a government bottomed on the will of all the life and liberty of every individual citizen become interesting to all. In the treaty, therefore, which has concluded our warfare with that State an article for the ransom of our citizens has been agreed to. An operation by land by a small band of our country- men and others, engaged for the occasion in conjunction with the troops of the. ex-Bashaw of that country, gallantly conducted by our late consul, Eaton, and their successful enterprise on the city of Derne, contributed doubtless to the impression which produced peace, and the conclusion of this prevented opportunities of which the officers and men of our squad- ron destined for Tripoli would have availed themselves to emulate the acts of valor exhibited by their brethren in the attack of the last year. Reflecting with high satisfaction on the distinguished bravery displayed whenever occasions permitted in the late Mediterranean service, I think it would be an useful encouragement as well as a just reward to make an opening for some present promotion by enlarging our peace establishment of captains and lieutenants. With Tunis some misunderstandings have arisen not yet sufficiently explained, but friendly discussions with their ambassador recently arrived and a mutual disposition to do whatever is just and reasonable can not fail of dissipating these, so that we may consider our peace on that coast, generally, to be on as sound a footing as it has been at any preceding time. Still, it will not be expedient to withdraw immediately the w r hole of our force from that sea. The law providing for a naval peace establishment fixes the number of frigates which shall be kept in constant service in time of peace, and prescribes that they shall be manned by not more than two-thirds of their complement of seamen and ordinary seamen. Whether a frigate may be trusted to two- thirds only of her proper complement of men must depend on the nature of the service on which she is ordered; that may sometimes, for her safety as well as to insure her object, require her fullest complement. In adverting to this subject Congress will perhaps consider whether the best limitation on the Executive discretion in this case would not be by the number of seamen which may be employed in the whole service rather than by the number of the vessels. Occasions oftener arise for the employment of small than of large vessels, and it would lessen risk as well as expense to be authorized to employ them of preference. The limitation suggested by the number of seamen would admit a selection of vessels best adapted to the service. Our Indian neighbors are advancing, many of them with spirit, and others beginning to engage in the pursuits of agriculture and household manufacture. They are becoming sensible that the earth yields subsist- ence with less labor and more certainty than the forest, and find it their interest from time to time to dispose of parts of their surplus and waste Thomas Jefferson 387 lands for the means of improving those they occupy and of subsisting their families while they are preparing their farms. Since your last ses- sion the Northern tribes have sold to us the lands between the Connecticut Reserve and the former Indian boundary and those on the Ohio from the same boundary to the rapids and for a considerable depth inland. The Chickasaws and Cherokees have sold us the country between and adja- cent to the two districts of Tennessee, and the Creeks the residue of their lands in the fork of Ocmulgee up to the Ulcofauhatche. The three former purchases are important, inasmuch as they consolidate disjoined parts of our settled country and render their intercourse secure; and the second particularly so, as, with the small point on the river which we expect is by this time ceded by the Piankeshaws, it completes our pos- session of the whole of both banks of the Ohio from its source to near its mouth, and the navigation of that river is thereby rendered forever safe to our citizens settled and settling on its extensive waters. The pur- chase from the Creeks, too, has been for some time particularly interesting to the State of Georgia. The several treaties which have been mentioned will be submitted to both Houses of Congress for the exercise of their respective functions. Deputations now on their way to the seat of Government from various nations of Indians inhabiting the Missouri and other parts beyond the Mississippi come charged with assurances of their satisfaction with the new relations in which they are placed with us, of their dispositions to cultivate our peace and friendship, and their desire to enter into com- mercial intercourse with us. A state of our progress in exploring the principal rivers of that country, and of the information respecting them hitherto obtained, will be communicated so soon as we shall receive some further relations which we have reason shortly to expect. The receipts at the Treasury during the year ending on the 3oth day of September last have exceeded the sum of $13,000,000, which, with not quite five millions in the Treasury at the beginning of the year, have enabled us after meeting other demands to pay nearly two millions of the debt contracted under the British treaty and convention, upward of four millions of principal of the public debt, and four millions of interest. These payments, with those which had been made in three years and a half preceding, have extinguished of the funded debt nearly eighteen millions of principal. Congress by their act of November 10, 1803, authorized us to borrow $1,750,000 toward meeting the claims of our citizens assumed by the convention with France. We have not, however, made use of this authority, because the sum of four millions and a half, which remained in the Treasury on the same 3Oth day of September last, with the receipts which we may calculate on for the ensuing year, besides paying the annual sum of $8,000,000 appropriated to the funded debt and meeting all the current demands which may be expected, will ena- ble us to pay the whole sum of $3,750,000 assumed by the French 388 Messages and Papers of the Presidents convention and still leave us a surplus of nearly $1,000,000 at our free disposal. Should you concur in the provisions of arms and armed vessels recommended by the circumstances of the times, this surplus will furnish the means of doing so. On this first occasion of addressing Congress since, by the choice of my constituents, I have entered on a second term of administration, I embrace the opportunity to give this public assurance that I will exert my best endeavors to administer faithfully the executive department, and will zealously cooperate with you in every measure which may tend to secure the liberty, property, and personal safety of our fellow-citizens, and to consolidate the republican forms and principles of our Government. In the course of your session you shall receive all the aid which I can give for the dispatch of public business, and all the information neces- sary for your deliberations, of which the interests of our own country and the confidence reposed in us by others will admit a communication. TH: JEFFERSON. SPECIAL MESSAGES. DECEMBER 6, 1805. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: The depredations which had been committed on the commerce of the United States during a preceding war by persons under the authority of Spain are sufficiently known to all. These made it a duty to require from that Government indemnifications for our injured citizens. A convention was accordingly entered into between the minister of the United States at Madrid and the minister of that Government for for- eign affairs, by which it was agreed that spoliations committed by Span- ish subjects and carried into ports of Spain should be paid for by that nation, and that those committed by French subjects and carried into Spanish ports should remain for further discussion. Before this conven- tion was returned to Spain with our ratification the transfer of Louisiana by France to the United States took place, an event as unexpected as dis- agreeable to Spain. From that moment she seemed to change her con- duct and dispositions toward us. It was first manifested by her protest against the right of France to alienate Louisiana to us, which, however, was soon retracted and the right confirmed. Then high offense was manifested at the act of Congress establishing a collection district on the Mobile, although by an authentic declaration immediately made it was expressly confined to our acknowledged limits; and she now refused to ratify the convention signed by her own minister under the eye of his Sovereign unless we would consent to alterations of its terms which Thomas Jefferson 389 would have affected our claims against her for the spoliations by French subjects carried into Spanish ports. To obtain justice as well as to restore friendship I thought a special mission advisable, and accordingly appointed James Monroe minister extraordinary and plenipotentiary to repair to Madrid, and in conjunc- tion with our minister resident there to endeavor to procure a ratification of the former convention and to come to an understanding with Spain as to the boundaries of Louisiana. It appeared at once that her policy was to reserve herself for events, and in the meantime to keep our differ- ences in an undetermined state. This will be evident from the papers now communicated to you. After nearly five months of fruitless endeavor to bring them to some definite and satisfactory result, our ministers ended the conferences without having been able to obtain indemnity for spolia- tions of any description or any satisfaction as to the boundaries of I/>ui- siana, other than a declaration that we had no rights eastward of the Iberville, and that our line to the west was one which would have left us but a string of land on that bank of the river Mississippi. Our injured citizens were thus left without any prospect of retribution from the wrongdoer, and as to boundary each party was to take its own course. That which they have chosen to pursue will appear from the documents now communicated. They authorize the inference that it is their inten- tion to advance on our possessions until they shall be repressed by an opposing force. Considering that Congress alone is constitutionally invested with the power of changing our condition from peace to war, I have thought it my duty to await their authority for using force in any degree which could be avoided. I have barely instructed the officers stationed in the neighborhood of the aggressions to protect our citizens from violence, to patrol within the borders actualty delivered to us, and not to go out of them but when necessary to repel an inroad or to rescue a citizen or his property; and the Spanish officers remaining at New Orleans are required to depart without further delay. It ought to be noted here that since the late change in the state of affairs in Europe Spain has ordered her cruisers and courts to respect our treaty with her. The conduct of France and the part she may take in the misunder- standings between the United States and Spain are too important to be unconsidered. She was prompt and decided in her declarations that our demands on Sprain for French spoliations carried into Spanish ports were included in the settlement between the United States and France. She took at once the ground that she had acquired no right from Spain, and had meant to deliver us none eastward of the Iberville, her silence as to the western boundary leaving us to infer her opinion might be against Spain in that quarter. Whatever direction she might mean to give to these differences, it does not appear that she has contemplated their pro- ceeding to actual rupture, or that at the" date of our last advices from Paris her Government had any suspicion of the hostile attitude Spain had 39 Messages and Papers of the Presidents taken here; on the contrary, we have reason to believe that she was dis- posed to effect a settlement on a plan analogous to what our ministers had proposed, and so comprehensive as to remove as far as possible the grounds of future collision and controversy on the eastern as well as. western side of the Mississippi. The present crisis in Europe is favorable for pressing such a settle- ment, and not a moment should be lost in availing ourselves of it. Should it pass unimproved, our situation would become much more diffi- cult. Formal war is not necessary it is not probable it will follow; but the protection of our citizens, the spirit and honor of our country require that force should be interposed to a certain degree It will probably con- tribute to advance the object of peace. But the course to be pursued will require the command of means which it belongs to Congress exclusively to yield or to deny. To them I com- municate every fact material for their information and the documents necessary to enable them to judge for themselves. To their wisdom, then, I look for the course I am to pursue, and will pursue with sincere zeal that which they shall approve. TH: JEFFERSON. DECEMBER u, 1805. To the Senate of the United States: I now lay before the Senate the several treaties and conventions follow- ing, which have been entered into on the part of the United States since their last session: 1 . A treaty of peace and amity between the United States of America and the Bashaw, Bey, and subjects of Tripoli, in Barbary. 2. A treaty between the United States and the Wyandot, Ottawa, Chippewa, Munsee, and Delaware, Shawnee, and Potawatamie nations of Indians. 3. A treaty between the United States and the agents of the Connect- icut Land Companies on one part and the Wyandot, Ottawa, Chippewa, Munsee, and Delaware, Shawnee, and Potawatamie nations of Indians. 4. A treaty between the United States and the Delawares, Potawata- mies, Miamis, Eel-rivers, and Weeas. 5. A treaty between the United States and the Chickasaw Nation of Indians. 6. A treaty between the United States of America and the Cherokee Indians. 7. A convention between the United States and the Creek Nation of Indians; with the several documents necessary for their explanation. The Senate having dissented to the ratification of the treaty with the Creeks submitted to them at their last session, which gave a sum of $200,000 for the country thereby conveyed, it is proper now to observe Thomas Jefferson 391 that instead of that sum, which was equivalent to a perpetual annuity of $12,000, the present purchase gives them an annuity of $12,000 for eight years only and of $11,000 for ten years more, the payments of which would be effected by a present sum of $130,000 placed at an annual interest of 6 per cent. If from this sum we deduct the reasonable value of the road ceded through the whole length of their country from Ocmul- gee toward New Orleans, a road of indispensable necessity to us, the present convention will be found to give little more than the half of the sum which was formerly proposed to be given. This difference is thought sufficient to justify the presenting this subject a second time to the Senate. On these several treaties I have to request that the Senate will advise whether I shall ratify them or not. TH: JEFFERSON. DECEMBER 23, 1805. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: The governor and presiding judge of the Territory of Michigan have made a report to me of the state of that Territory, several matters in which being within the reach of the legislative authority only, I lay the report before Congress. TH: JEFFERSON. DECEMBER 31, 1805. To the House of Representatives of the United States: I now communicate to the House of Representatives all the informa- tion which the executive offices furnish on the subject of their resolution of the 23d instant respecting the States indebted to the United States. TH: JEFFERSON. JANUARY 10, 1806. To the Senate of the United States: In compliance with the request of the Senate expressed in their reso- lution of December 27, 1 now lay before them such documents and papers (there being no other information in my possession) as relate to com- plaints by the Government of France against the commerce carried on by the citizens of the United States to the French island of St. Domingo. TH: JEFFERSON. , JANUARY 13, 1806. To the Senate of the United States: According to the request of the Senate of December 30, 1 now lay before them the correspondence of the naval commanders Barren and Rodgers and of Mr. Eaton, late consul at Tunis, respecting the progress of the 392 Messages and Papers of the Presidents war with Tripoli, antecedent to the treaty with the Bey and Regency of Tripoli, and respecting the negotiations for the same, and the commission and instructions of Mr. Eaton, with such other correspondence in posses- sion of the offices as I suppose may be useful to the Senate in their delib- erations upon the said treaty. The instructions which were given to Mr. Lear, the consul-general at Algiers, respecting the negotiations for the said treaty accompanied the treaty and the message concerning the same, and are now with them in possession of the Senate. So much of these papers has been extracted and communicated to the House of Representatives as relates to the principles of the cooperation between the United States and Hamet Caramalli, which is the subject of a joint message to both Houses of Congress bearing equal date with the present, and as those now communicated to the Senate comprehend the whole of that matter, I request that they may be considered as compris- ing the documents stated in that message as accompanying it. Being jnostly originals or sole copies, a return of them is requested at the con- venience of the Senate. We have no letter from Mr. Lear respecting Tripoline affairs of later date than that of July 5, which was transmitted to the Senate with the treaty, nor, consequently, any later information what steps have been taken to carry into effect the stipulation for the delivery of the wife and children of the brother of the reigning Bashaw of Tripoli. TH: JEFFERSON. JANUARY 13, 1806. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I lay before Congress the application of Hamet Caramalli, elder brother of the reigning Bashaw of Tripoli, soliciting from the United States atten- tion to his services and sufferings in the late war against that State; and in order to possess them of the ground on which that application stands, the facts shall be stated according to the views and information of the Executive. During the war with Tripoli it was suggested that Hamet Caramalli, elder brother of the reigning Bashaw, and driven by him from his throne, meditated the recovery of his inheritance, and that a concert in action with us was desirable to him. We considered that concerted operations by those who have a common enemy were entirely justifiable, and might produce effects favorable to both without binding either to guarantee the objects of the other. But the distance of the scene, the difficulties of communication, and the uncertainty of our information inducing the less confidence in the measure, it was committed to our agents as one which might be resorted to if it promised to promote our success. Mr. Eaton, however (our late consul), on his return from the Medi- Thomas Jefferson 393 terranean, possessing personal knowledge of the scene and having con- fidence in the effect of a joint operation, we authorized Commodore Bar- ron, then proceeding with his squadron, to enter into an understanding with Hamet if he should deem it useful; and as it was represented that he would need some aids of arms and ammunition, and even of money, he was authorized to furnish them to a moderate extent, according to the prospect of utility to be expected from it. In order to avail him of the advantages of Mr. Eaton's knowledge of circumstances, an occasional employment was provided for the latter as an agent for the Navy in that sea. Our expectation was that an intercourse should be kept up between the ex-Bashaw and the commodore; that while the former moved on by land our squadron should proceed with equal pace, so as to arrive at their destination together and to attack the common enemy by land and sea at the same time. The instructions of June 6 to Commodore Barren shew that a cooperation only was intended, and by no means an union of our object with the fortune of the ex-Bashaw, and the commodore's letters of March 22 and May 19 prove that he had the most correct idea of our intentions. His verbal instructions, indeed, to Mr. Baton and Captain Hull, if the expressions are accurately committed to writing by those gentlemen, do not limit the extent of his cooperation as rigorously as he probably intended; but it is certain from the ex-Bashaw's letter of Jan- uary 3, written when he was proceeding to join Mr. Baton, and in which he says, "Your operations should be carried on by sea, mine by land," that he left the position in which he was with a proper idea of the nature of the cooperation. If Mr. Baton's subsequent convention should appear to bring fonvard other objects, his letter of April 29 and May i views this convention but as provisional, the second article, as he expressly states, guarding it against any ill effect; and his letter of June 30 con- firms this construction. In the event it was found that after placing the ex- Bashaw in posses- sion of Derne, one of the most important cities and provinces of the country, where he had resided himself as governor, he was totally unable to command any resources or to bear any part in cooperation with us. This hope was then at an end, and we certainly had never contemplated, nor were we prepared, to land an army of our own, or to raise, pay, or subsist an army of Arabs to march from Derne to Tripoli and to carry on a land war at such a distance from our resources. Our means and our authority were merely naval, and that such were the expectations of Hamet his letter of June 29 is an unequivocal acknowledgment. While, therefore, an impression from the capture of Derne might still operate at Tripoli, and an attack on that place from our squadron was daily ex- pected, Colonel L,ear thought it the best moment to listen to overtures of peace then made by the Bashaw. He did so, and while urging provisions for the United States he paid attention also to the interests of Hamet, but was able to effect nothing more than to engage the restitution of his 394 Messages and Papers of the Presidents family, and even the persevering in this demand suspended for some time the conclusion of the treaty. In operations at such a distance it becomes necessary to leave much to the discretion of the agents employed, but events may still turn up beyond the limits of that discretion. Unable in such a case to consult his Government, a zealous citizen will act as he believes that would direct him were it apprised of the circumstances, and will take on himself the responsibility. In all these cases the purity and patriotism of the motives should shield the agent from blame, and even secure a sanction where the error is not too injurious. Should it be thought by any that the verbal instructions said to have been given by Commodore Barren to Mr. Eaton amount to a stipulation that the United States should place Hamet Caramalli on the throne of Tripoli a stipulation so entirely unauthorized, so far beyond our views, and so onerous could not be sanctioned by our Government or should Hamet Caramalli, contrary to the evidence of his letters of January 3 and June 29, be thought to have left the position which he now seems to regret, under a mistaken expec- tation that we were at all events to place him on his throne, on an appeal to the liberality of the nation something equivalent to the replacing him in his former situation might be \vorthy its consideration. A nation by establishing a character of liberality and magnanimity gains in the friendship and respect of others more than the worth of mere money. This appeal is now made by Hamet Caramalli to the United States. The ground he has taken being different not only from our views but from those expressed by himself on fojmer occasions, Mr. Eaton was desired to state whether any verbal communications passed from him to Hamet which had varied what we saw in writing. His answer of December 5 is herewith transmitted, and has rendered it still more necessary that in presenting to the Legislature the application of Hamet I should present them at the same time an exact statement of the views and proceedings of the Executive through this whole business, that they may clearly understand the ground on which we are placed. It is accompanied by all the papers which bear any relation to the prin- ciples of the cooperation, and which can inform their judgment in decid- ing on the application of Hamet Caramalli. TH: JEFFERSON. JANUARY 15, 1806. To tJie Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I now render to Congress an account of the grant of $20,000 for the contingent charges of Government by an act making appropriations for the support of Government for the year 1805. Of that sum $1,987.50 have been necessarily applied to the support of the Territorial govern- Thomas Jefferson 395 ments of Michigan and Louisiana until an opportunity could occur of mak- ing a specific appropriation for that purpose. The balance of $18,012.50 remains in the Treasury. TH: JEFFERSON. JANUARY 17, 1806. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: In my message to both Houses of Congress at the opening of their present session I submitted to their attention, among other subjects, the oppression of our commerce and navigation by the irregular practices of armed vessels, public and private, and by the introduction of new prin- ciples derogatory of the rights of neutrals and unacknowledged by the usage of nations. The memorials of several bodies of merchants of the United States are now communicated, and will develop these principles and practices which are producing the most ruinous effects on our lawful commerce and navigation. The rights of a neutral to carry on commercial intercourse with every part of the dominions of a belligerent permitted by the laws of the coun- try (with the exception of blockaded ports and contraband of war) was believed to have been decided between Great Britain and the United States by the sentence of their commissioners mutually appointed to decide on that and other questions of difference between the two nations, and by the actual payment of the damages awarded by them against Great Britain for the infractions of that right. When, therefore, it was perceived that the same principle was revived with others more novel and extending the injury, instructions were given to the minister plenipoten- tiary of the United States at the Court of Ix>ndon, and remonstrances duly made by him on this subject, as will appear by documents trans- mitted herewith. These were followed by a partial and temporary sus- pension only, without any disavowal of the principle. He has therefore been instructed to urge this subject anew, to bring it more fully to the bar of reason, and to insist on rights too evident and too important to be surrendered. In the meantime the evil is proceeding under adjudica- tions founded on the principle which is denied. Under these circum- stances the subject presents itself for the consideration of Congress. On the impressment of our seamen our remonstrances have never been intermitted. A hope existed at one moment of an arrangement which might have been submitted to, but it soon passed away, and the practice, though relaxed at times in the distant seas, has been constantly pursued in those in our neighborhood. The grounds on which the reclamations on this subject have been urged will appear in an extract from instructions to our minister at London now communicated. TH: JEFFERSON. 396 Messages and Papers of the Presidents JANUARY 17, 1806. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: The inclosed letter from the minister plenipotentiary of the United States at the Court of London contains interesting information on the subjects of my other message of this date. It is sent separately and confidentially because its publication may discourage frank communica- tions between our ministers generally and the Governments with which they reside, and especially between the same ministers. TH: JEFFERSON. JANUARY 24, 1806. To the Senate of the United States: A convention has been entered into between the United States and the Cherokee Nation for the extinguishment of the rights of the latter, and of some unsettled claims in the country north of the river Tennes- see, therein described. This convention is now laid before the Senate for their advice and consent as to its ratification. TH: JEFFERSON, JANUARY 27, 1806. To the Senate of the United States: According to the desire of the Senate expressed in their resolution of the loth instant, I now communicate to them a report of the Secretary of State, with its documents, stating certain new principles attempted to be introduced on the subject of neutral rights, injurious to the rights and interests of the United States. These, with my message to both Houses of the i7th instant and the documents accompanying it, fulfill the desires of the Senate as far as it can be done by any information in my possession which is authentic and not publicly known. TH: JEFFERSON. JANUARY 29, 1806. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: Having received from sundry merchants at Baltimore a memorial on the same subject with those I communicated to Congress with my mes- sage of the 1 7th instant, I now communicate this also as a proper sequel to the former, and as making a part of the mass of evidence of the vio- lations of our rights on the ocean. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 3, 1806. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: A letter has been received from the governor of South Carolina cover- ing an act of the legislature of that State ceding to the United States Thomas Jefferson 397 various forts and fortifications and sites for the erection of forts in that State on the conditions therein expressed. This letter and the act it covered are now communicated to Congress. I am not informed whether the positions ceded are the best which can be taken for securing their respective objects. No doubt is entertained that the legislature deemed them such. The river of Beaufort, particu- larly, said to be accessible to ships of very large size and capable of yield- ing them a protection which they can not find elsewhere but very far to the north, is from these circumstances so interesting to the Union in gen- eral as to merit particular attention and inquiry as to the positions on it best calculated for health as well as safety. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 3, 1806. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: In the course of the last year the following treaties and conventions for the extinguishment of Indian title to lands within our limits were entered into on behalf of the United States: A treaty between the United States and the Wyandot, Ottawa, Chip- peway, Munsee and Delaware, Shawanee and Pottawatamy nations of Indians. A treaty between the United States and the agents of the Connecticut L,and Company on one part and the Wyandot and Ottawa, Chippeway, Munsey and Delaware, Shawanee and Pottawatamy nations of Indians. A treaty between the United States and the Delawares, Pottawatamies, Miamis, Eel-rivers, and Weas. A treaty between the United States and the Chickasaw Nation of Indians. Two treaties between the United States and the Cherokee Indians. A convention between the United States and the Creek Nation of Indians. The Senate having advised and consented to the ratification of these several treaties and conventions, I now lay them before both Houses of Congress for the exercise of their constitutional powers as to the means of fulfilling them. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 6, 1806. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: Since the date of my message of January 17 a letter of the 26th of November has been received from the minister plenipotentiary of the United States at London, covering one from the secretary for foreign affairs of that Government, which, being on the subject of that message, 398 Messages and Papers of the Presidents is now transmitted for the information of Congress. Although nothing forbids the substance of these letters from being communicated without reserve, yet so many ill effects proceed from the publications of cor- respondences between ministers remaining still in office that I can not but recommend that these letters be not permitted to be formally pub- lished. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 19, 1806. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: In pursuance of a measure proposed to Congress by a message of Jan- uary 1 8, 1803, and sanctioned by their approbation for carrying it into execution, Captain Meriwether Lewis, of the First Regiment of infantry, was appointed, with a party of men, to explore the river Missouri from its mouth to its source, and, crossing the highlands by the shortest port- age, to seek the best water communication thence to the Pacific Ocean; and lieutenant Clarke was appointed second in command. They were to enter into conference with the Indian nations on their route with a view to the establishment of commerce with them. They entered the Missouri May 14, 1804, and on the ist of November took up their winter quarters near the Mandan towns, 1,609 miles above the mouth of the river, in latitude 47 21' 47" north and longitude 99 24' 45" west from Greenwich. On the 8th of April, 1805, they proceeded up the river in pursuance of the objects prescribed to them. A letter of the preceding day, April 7th, from Captain Lewis is herewith communicated. During his stay among the Mandans he had been able to lay down the Missouri according to courses and distances taken on his passage up it, corrected by frequent observations of longitude and latitude, and to add to the actual survey of this portion of the river a general map of the country between the Mississippi and Pacific from the thirty-fourth to the fifty- fourth degree of latitude. These additions are from information col- lected from Indians with whom he had opportunities of communicating during his journey and residence with them. Copies of this map are now presented to both Houses of Congress. With these I communicate also a statistical view, procured and forwarded by him, of the Indian nations inhabiting the Territory of Louisiana and the countries adjacent to its northern and western borders, of their commerce, and of other interesting circumstances respecting them. In order to render the statement as complete as may be of the Indians inhabiting the country west of the Mississippi, I add Dr. Sibley's account of those residing in and adjacent to the Territory of Orleans. I communicate also, from the same person, an account of the Red River, according to the best information he had been able to collect. Having been disappointed, after considerable preparation, in the pur- Thomas Jefferson 399 pose of sending an exploring party up that river in the summer of 1804, it was thought best to employ the autumn of that year in procuring a knowledge of an interesting branch of the river called the Washita. This was undertaken under the direction of Mr. Dunbar, of Natchez, a citizen of distinguished science, who had aided and continues to aid us with his disinterested and valuable services in the prosecution of these enterprises. He ascended the river to the remarkable hot springs near it, in latitude 34 31' 4. 16", longitude 92 50' 45" west from Greenwich, taking its courses and distances, and correcting them by frequent celes- tial observations. Extracts from his observations and copies of his map of the river from its mouth to the hot spring's make part of the present communications. The examination of the Red River itself is but now commencing. TH: JEFFERSON. 5, 1806. To the Senate of the United States: According to the request of the Senate expressed in their resolution of 3d instant, I now transmit the extract of a letter from the Secretary of State to the minister plenipotentiary of the United States at Paris, the answer to that letter, and two letters from Henry Waddell, a citizen of the United States, relative to the interference of the said minister in the case of the ship New Jersey and to the principles alleged to have been laid down on that occasion. There are in -the office of the Department of State several printed doc- uments in this case by the agent of those interested in the ship, which are voluminous and in French. If these be within the scope of the request of the Senate, the printed copies can be sent in immediately, but if translations be necessary some considerable time will be requisite for their execution. On this subject any further desire which the Senate shall think proper to express shall be complied with. TH: JEFFERSON. MARCH 7, 1806. To the Senate of the United States: According to the request of the Senate of yesterday, I now transmit the five printed memorials of the agent for the ship New Jersey, in the one of which marked B, at the ninth page, will be found the letter relative to it from the minister plenipotentiary of the United States at Paris to the French minister of the treasury, supposed to be the one designated in the resolution. We have no information of this letter but through the channel of the party interested in the ship, nor any proof of it more authentic than that now communicated. TH: JEFFERSON. 400 Messages and Papers of the Presidents MARCH 19, 1806. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: It was reasonably expected that while the limits between the terri- tories of the United States and of Spain were unsettled neither party would have innovated on the existing state of their respective positions. Some time since, however, we learnt that the Spanish authorities were advancing into the disputed country to occupy new posts and make new settlements. Unwilling to take any measures which might preclude a peaceable accommodation of differences, the officers of the United States were ordered to confine themselves within the country on this side of the Sabine River which, by delivery of its principal post, Natchitoches, was understood to have been itself delivered up by Spain, and at the same time to permit no adverse post to be taken nor armed men to remain within it. In consequence of these orders the commanding officer of Natchitoches, learning that a party of Spanish troops had crossed the Sabiue River and were posting themselves on this side the Adais, sent a detachment of his force to require them to withdraw to the other side of the Sabine, which they accordingly did. I have thought it proper to communicate to Congress the letter detail- ing this incident, that they may fully understand the state of things in that quarter and be enabled to make such provision for its security as, in their wisdom, they shall deem sufficient. TH: JEFFERSON. APRIL ii, 1806. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I now lay before Congress a statement of the militia of the United States according to the returns last received from the several States and Territories. It will be perceived that some of these are not of recent dates, and that from the States of Maryland and Delaware no returns are stated. As far as appears from our records, none were ever rendered from either of these States. From the Territories of Orleans, Louisiana, and Michigan complete returns have not yet been received. TH: JEFFERSON. APRIL 14, 1806. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: During the blockade of Tripoli by the squadron of the United States a small cruiser, under the flag of Tunis, with two prizes, all of trifling value, attempted to enter Tripoli; was turned back, warned, and, attempting again to enter, was taken and detained as prize by the squadron. Her res- titution was claimed by the Bey of Tunis with a threat of war in terms so serious that on withdrawing from the blockade of Tripoli the command- Thomas Jefferson 401 ing officer of the .squadron thought it his duty to repair to Tunis with his squadron and to require a categorical declaration whether peace or war was intended. The Bey preferred explaining himself by an ambassador to the United States, who on his arrival renewed the request that the vessel and her prizes should be restored. It was deemed proper to give this proof of friendship to the Bey, and the ambassador was informed the vessels would be restored. Afterwards he made a requisition of naval stores to be sent to the Bey, in order to secure a peace for the term of three years, with a threat of war if refused. It has been refused, and the ambassador is about to depart without receding from his threat or demand. Under these circumstances, and considering that the several provisions of the act of March 25, 1804, will cease in consequence of the ratification of the treaty of peace with Tripoli, now advised and consented to by the Senate, I have thought it my duty to communicate these facts, in order that Congress may consider the expediency of continuing the same provi- sions for a limited time or making others equivalent. TH: JEFFERSON. APRIL 15, 1806. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: The Senate having advised and consented to the ratification of a treaty concluded with the Piankeshaw Indians for extinguishing their claim to the country between the Wabash and Kaskaskia cessions, it is now laid before both Houses for the exercise of their constitutional powers as to the means of fulfilling it on our part. TH: JEFFERSON. APRIL 17, 1806. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: The Senate having advised and consented to the ratification of a con- vention between the United States and the Cherokee Indians, concluded at Washington on the jth day of January last, for the cession of their right to the tract of country therein described, it is now laid before both Houses of Congress for the exercise of their constitutional powers toward the fulfillment thereof. TH: JEFFERSON. APRIL 18, 1806. To the Senate of the United States: In compliance with the request of the Senate of yesterday's date, I now communicate the entire correspondence between the ambassador of Tunis and the Secretary of State, from which the Senate will see that the first application by the ambassador for restitution of the vessels taken M P voi, i 26 402 Messages and Papers of the Presidents in violation of blockade having been yielded to, the only remaining cause of difference brought forward by him is the requisition of a present of naval stores to secure a peace for three years, after which the infer- ence is obvious that a renewal of the presents is to be expected to renew the prolongation of peace for another term. But this demand has been pressed in verbal conferences much more explicitly and pertinaciously than appears in the written correspondence. To save the delay of copy- ing, some originals are inclosed, with a request that they be returned. TH: JEFFERSON. 19, 1806. To the Senate of the United States: I nominate James Monroe, now minister plenipotentiary of the United States at the Court of London, and William Pinkney, of Maryland, to be commissioners plenipotentiary and extraordinary for settling all mat- ters of difference between the United States and the United Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland relative to wrongs committed between the parties on the high seas or other waters, and for establishing the princi- ples of navigation and commerce between them. James Houston, of Maryland, to be judge of the court of the United States for the district of Maryland. Willis W. Parker, of Virginia, to be collector of the district and in- spector of the revenue for the port of South Quay. TH: JEFFERSON. PROCLAMATIONS. [From Annals of Congress, Ninth Congress, second session, 685.] BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas satisfactory information has been received that Henry Whitby, commanding a British armed vessel called the Leander, did on the 25th day of the month of April last, within the w r aters and jurisdiction of the United States, and near to the entrance of the harbor of New York, by a cannon shot fired from the said vessel Leander, commit a murder on the body of John Pierce, a citizen of the United States, then pursuing his lawful vocation \vithin the same waters and jurisdiction of the United States and near to their shores; and that the said Henry Whitby can not at this tune be brought to justice by the ordinary process of law; and Whereas it does further appear that both before and after the said day Thomas Jefferson 403 sundry trespasses, wrongs, and unlawful interruptions and vexations on trading vessels coming to the United States, and within their waters and vicinity, were committed by the said armed vessel the Leander, her offi- cers and people; by one other armed vessel called the Cambrian, com- manded by John Nairne, her officers and people; and by one other armed vessel called the Driver, commanded by Slingsby Simpson, her officers and people; which vessels, being all of the same nation, were aiding and assisting each other in the trespasses, interruptions, and vexations afore- said: Now, therefore, to the end that the said Henry Whitby may be brought to justice and due punishment inflicted for the said murder, I do hereby especially enjoin and require all officers having authority, civil or mili- tary, and all other persons within the limits or jurisdiction of the United States, wheresoever the said Henry Whitby may be found, now or here- after, to apprehend and secure the said Henry Whitby, and him safely and diligently to deliver to the civil authority of the place, to be pro- ceeded against according to law. And I do hereby further require that the said armed vessel the Lean- der, with her officers and people, and the said armed vessels the Cambrian and Driver, their officers and people, immediately and without any delay depart from the harbors and waters of the United States. And I do forever interdict the entrance of all other vessels which shall be com- manded by the said Henry Whitby, John Nairne, and Slingsby Simpson, or either of them. And if the said vessels, or any of them, shall fail to depart as afore- said, or shall reenter the harbors or waters aforesaid, I do in that case forbid all intercourse with the said armed vessels the Leander, the Cam- brian, and the Driver, or with any of them, and the officers and crews thereof, and do prohibit all supplies and aid from being furnished them, or any of them. And I do declare and make known that if any person from or within the jurisdictional limits of the United States shall afford any aid to either of the said armed vessels contrary to the prohibition contained in this proclamation, either in repairing such vessel or in fur- nishing her, her officers or crew, with supplies of any kind or in any manner whatever; or if any pilot shall assist in navigating any of the said armed vessels, unless it be for the purpose of carrying them in the first instance beyond the limits and jurisdiction of the United States, such person or persons shall on conviction suffer all the pains and pen- alties by the laws provided for such offenses. And I do hereby enjoin and require all persons bearing office, civil or military, within the United States, and all others citizens or inhabitants thereof, or being within the same, with vigilance and promptitude to exert their respective authorities and to be aiding and assisting to the carrying this proclamation and every part thereof into full effect. 404 Messages and Papers of the Presidents In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United- States to be affixed to these presents, and signed the same with my hand, i- -i Given at the city of Washington, the 3d day of May, A. D. 1806, and of the Sovereignty and Independence of the United States the thirtieth. TH: JEFFERSON, By the President: JAMES MADISON, Secretary of State. [From Annals of Congress, Ninth Congress, second session, 686.] BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas information has been received that sundry persons, citizens of the United States or residents within the same, are conspiring and confederating together to begin and set on foot, provide, and prepare the means for a military expedition or enterprise against the dominions of Spain; that for this purpose they are fitting out and arming vessels in the western waters of the United States, collecting provisions, arms, military stores, and means; are deceiving and seducing honest and well- meaning citizens, under various pretenses, to engage in their criminal enterprises; are organizing, officering, and arming themselves for the same, contrary to the laws in such cases made and provided: I have therefore thought proper to issue this my proclamation, warn- ing and enjoining all faithful citizens who have been led without due knowledge or consideration to participate in the said unlawful enterprises to withdraw from the same without delay, and commanding all persons whatsoever engaged or concerned in the same to cease all further pro- ceedings therein, as they will answer the contrary at their peril and incur prosecution with all the rigors of the law. And I hereby enjoin and require all officers, civil and military, of the United States, or of any of the States or Territories, and especially all governors and other executive authorities, all judges, justices, and.other officers of the peace, all military officers of the Army or Navy of the United States, or officers of the militia, to be vigilant, each v.ithin his respective department and according to his functions, in searching out and bringing to condign punishment all persons engaged or concerned in such enterprise, in seizing and detaining, subject to the disposition of the law, all vessels, arms, military stores, or other means provided or providing for the same, and, in general, in pre- venting the carrying on such expedition or enterprise by all lawful means within their power; and I require all good and faithful citizens and others within the United States to be aiding and assisting herein, and especially in the discovery, apprehension, and bringing to justice of all such offend- Thomas Jefferson 405 ers, in preventing the execution of their unlawful designs, and in giving information against them to the proper authorities. In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United States to be affixed to these presents, and have signed the same with my hand. [SEAL.] Given at the city of Washington on the 2yth day of Novem- ber, 1806, and in the year of the Sovereignty of the United States the thirty-first. TH: JEFFERSON. By the President: JAMES MADISON, Secretary of State. SIXTH ANNUAL MESSAGE. DECEMBER 2, 1806. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled: It would have given me, fellow-citizens, great satisfaction to announce in the moment of your meeting that the difficulties in our foreign rela- tions existing at the time of your last separation had been amicably and justly terminated. I lost no time in taking those measures which were most likely to bring them to such a termination by special missions charged with such powers and instructions as in the event of failure could leave no imputation on either our moderation or forbearance. The delays which have since taken place in our negotiations with the British Government appear to have proceeded from causes which do not forbid the expectation that during the course of the session I may be enabled to lay before you their final issue. What will be that of the negotia- tions for settling our differences with Spain nothing which had taken place at the date of the last dispatches enables us to pronounce. On the western side of the Mississippi she advanced in considerable force, and took post at the settlement of Bayou Pierre, on the Red River. This village was originally settled by France, was held by her as long as she held Louisiana, and was delivered to Spain only as a part of Louisiana. Being small, insulated, and distant, it was not observed at the moment of redelivery to France and the United States that she continued a guard of half a dozen men which had been stationed there. A proposition, how- ever, having been lately made by our commander in chief to assume the Sabine River as a temporary line of separation between the troops of the two nations until the issue of our negotiations shall be known, this has been referred by the Spanish commandant to his superior, and in the meantime he has withdrawn his force to the western side of the Sabine 406 Messages and Papers of the Presidents River. The correspondence on this subject now communicated will exhibit more particularly the present state of things in that quarter. The nature of that country requires indispensably that an unusual proportion of the force employed there should be cavalry or mounted infantry. In order, therefore, that the commanding officer might be enabled to act with effect, I had authorized him to call on the governors of Orleans and Mississippi for a corps of 500 volunteer cavalry. The temporary arrangement he has proposed may perhaps render this unnec- essary; but I inform you with great pleasure of the promptitude with which the inhabitants of those Territories have tendered their services in defense of their country. It has done honor to themselves, entitled them to the confidence of their fellow-citizens in every part of the Union, and must strengthen the general determination to protect them efficaciously under all circumstances which may occur. Having received information that in another part of the United States a great number of private individuals were combining together, arming and organizing themselves contrary to law, to carry on a military expedi- tion against the territories of Spain, I thought it necessary, by procla- mation as well as by special orders, to take measures for preventing and suppressing this enterprise, for seizing the vessels, arms, and other means provided for it, and for arresting and bringing to justice its authors and abettors. It was due to that good faith which ought ever to be the rule of action in public as well as in private transactions, it was due to good order and regular government, that while the public force was acting strictly on the defensive and merely to protect our citizens from aggres- sion the criminal attempts of private individuals to decide for their country the question of peace or war by commencing active and unau- thorized hostilities should be promptly and efficaciously suppressed. * Whether it will be necessary to enlarge our regular force will depend on the result of our negotiations with .Spain; but as it is uncertain when that result will be known, the provisional measures requisite for that, and to meet any pressure intervening in that quarter, will be a subject for your early consideration. The possession of both banks of the Mississippi reducing to a single point the defense of that river, its waters, and the country adjacent, it becomes highly necessary to provide for that point a more adequate security. Some position above its mouth, commanding the passage of the river, should be rendered sufficiently strong to cover the armed ves- sels which may be stationed there for defense, and in conjunction with them to present an insuperable obstacle to any force attempting to pass. The approaches to the city of New Orleans from the eastern quarter also will require to be examined and more effectually guarded. For the internal support of the country the encouragement of a strong settlement on the western side of the Mississippi, within reach of New Orleans, will be worthy the consideration of the legislature. Thomas Jefferson 407 The gunboats authorized by an act of the last session are so advanced that they will be ready for service in the ensuing spring. Circumstances permitted us to allow the time necessary for their more solid construc- tion. As a much larger number will still be wanting to place our sea- port towns and waters in that state of defense to which we are competent and they entitled, a similar appropriation for a further provision for them is recommended for the ensuing year. A further appropriation will also be necessary for repairing fortifi- cations already established and the erection of such other works as may have real effect in obstructing the approach of an enemy to our seaport towns, or their remaining before them. In a country whose constitution is derived from the will of the people, directly expressed by their free suffrages; where the principal executive functionaries and those of the legislature are renewed by them at short periods; where under the character of jurors they exercise in person the greatest portion of the judiciary powers; where the laws are consequently so formed and administered as to bear with equal weight and favor on all, restraining no man in the pursuits of honest industry and securing to everyone the property which that acquires, it would not be supposed that any safeguards could be needed against insurrection or enterprise on the public peace or authority. The laws, however, aware that these should not be trusted to moral restraints only, have wisely provided pun- ishment for these crimes when committed. But would it not be salutary to give also the means of preventing their commission ? Where an enter- prise is meditated by private individuals against a foreign nation in amity with the United States, powers of prevention to a certain extent are given by the laws. Would they not be as reasonable and useful where the enterprise preparing is against the United States? While adverting to this branch of law it is proper to observe that in enterprises meditated against foreign nations the ordinary process of binding to the observance of the peace and good behavior, could it be extended to acts to be done out of the jurisdiction of the United States, would be effectual in some cases where the offender is able to keep out of sight every indication of his purpose which could draw on him the exercise of the powers now given by law. The States on the coast of Barbary seem generally disposed at present to respect our peace and friendship; with Tunis alone some uncertainty remains. Persuaded that it is our interest to maintain our peace with them on equal terms or not at all, I propose to send in due time a reen- forcement into the Mediterranean unless previous information shall shew it to be unnecessary. We continue to receive proofs of the growing attachment of our Indian neighbors and of their disposition to place all their interests under the patronage of the United States. These dispositions are inspired by their confidence in our justice and in the sincere concern we feel for their 408 Messages and Papers of the Presidents welfare; and as long as we discharge these high and honorable functions with the integrity and good faith which alone can entitle us to their continuance we may expect to reap the just reward in then: peace and friendship. The expedition of Messrs. Lewis and Clarke for exploring the river Missouri and the best communication from that to the Pacific Ocean has. had all the success which could have been expected. They have traced the Missouri nearly to its source, descended the Columbia to the Pacific Ocean, ascertained with accuracy the geography of that interesting com- munication across our continent, learnt the character of the country, of its commerce and inhabitants; and it is but justice to say that Messrs. Lewis and Clarke and their brave companions have by this arduous serv- ice deserved well of their country. The attempt to explore the Red River, under the direction of Mr. Free- man, though conducted with a zeal and prudence meriting entire appro- bation, has not been equally successful. After proceeding up it about 600 miles, nearly as far as the French settlements had extended while the country was in their possession, our geographers were obliged to return without completing their work. Very useful additions have also been made to our knowledge of the Mississippi by Lieutenant Pike, who has ascended it to its source, and whose journal and map, giving the details of his journey, will shortly be ready for communication to both Houses of Congress. Those of Messrs. Lewis, Clarke, and Freeman will require further time to be digested and prepared. These important surveys, in addition to those before pos- sessed, furnish materials for commencing an accurate map of the Missis- sippi and its western waters. Some principal rivers, however, remain still to be explored, toward which the authorization of Congress by mod- erate appropriations will be requisite. I congratulate you, fellow-citizens, on the approach of the period at which you may interpose your authority constitutionally to withdraw the citizens of the United States from all further participation in those violations of human rights which have been so long continued on the unoffending inhabitants of Africa, and which the morality, the reputa- tion, and the best interests of our country have long been eager to pro- scribe. Although no law you may pass can take prohibitory effect till the first day of the year 1808, yet the intervening period is not too long to prevent by timely notice expeditions which can not be completed before that day. The receipts at the Treasury during the year ending on the 3oth day of September last have amounted to near $15,000,000, which have enabled us, after meeting the current demands, to pay $2, 700,000 of the American claims in part of the price of Louisiana; to pay of the funded debt upward of three millions of principal and nearly four of interest, and, in addition, to reimburse in the course of the present month near two millions of 5^ Thomas Jefferson 409 per cent stock. These payments and reimbursements of the funded debt, with those which had been made in the four years and a half preceding, will at the close of the present year have extinguished upward of twenty- three millions of principal. The duties composing the Mediterranean fund will cease by law at the end of the present session. Considering, however, that they are levied chiefly on luxuries and that we have an impost on salt, a necessary of life, the free use of which otherwise is so important, I recommend to your consideration the suppression of the duties on salt and the continua- tion of the Mediterranean fund instead thereof for a short time, after which that also will become unnecessary for any purpose now within contemplation. When both of these branches of revenue shall in this way be relin- quished there will still ere long be an accumulation of moneys in the Treasury beyond the installments of public debt which we are permitted by contract to pay. They can not then, without a modification assented to by the public creditors, be applied to the extinguishment of this debt and the complete liberation of our revenues, the most desirable of all objects. Nor, if our peace continues, will they be wanting for any other existing purpose. The question therefore now comes forward, To what other objects shall these surpluses be appropriated, and the whole surplus of impost, after the entire discharge of the public debt, and during those intervals when the purposes of war shall not call for them? Shall we suppress the impost and give that advantage to foreign over domestic manufactures? On a few articles of more general and necessary use the suppression in due season will doubtless be right, but the great mass of the articles on which impost is paid are foreign luxuries, purchased by those only who are rich enough to afford themselves the use of them. Their patriotism would certainly prefer its continuance and application to the great purposes of the public education, roads, rivers, canals, and such other objects of public improvement as it may be thought proper to add to the constitutional enumeration of Federal powers. By these opera- tions new channels of communication will be opened between the States, the lines of . separation will disappear, their interests will be identified, and their union cemented by new and indissoluble ties. Education is here placed among the articles of public care, not that it would be pro- posed to take its ordinary branches out of the hands of private enter- prise, which manages so much better all the concerns to which it is equal, but a public institution can alone supply those sciences which though rarely called for are yet necessary to complete the circle, all the parts of which contribute to the improvement of the country and some of them to its preservation. The subject is now proposed for the consideration of Congress, because if approved by the time the State legislatures shall have deliberated on this extension of the Federal trusts, and the laws shall be passed and other arrangements made for their execution, the 4io Messages and Papers of the Presidents necessary funds will be on hand and without employment. I suppose an amendment to the Constitution, by consent of the States, necessary, because the objects now recommended are not among those enumerated in the Constitution, and to which it permits the public moneys to be applied. The present consideration of a national establishment for education particularly is rendered proper by this circumstance also, that if Congress, approving the proposition, shall yet think it more eligible to found it on a donation of lands, they have it now in their power to endow it with those which will be among the earliest to produce the necessary income. This foundation would have the advantage of being independent of war, which may suspend other improvements by requiring for its own purposes the resources destined for them. This, fellow-citizens, is the state of the public interests at the present moment and according to the information now possessed. But such is the situation of the nations of Europe and such, too, the predicament in which we stand with some of them that we can not rely with certainty on the present aspect of our affairs, that may change from moment to mo- ment during the course of your session or after you shall have separated. Our duty is, therefore, to act upon things as they are and to make a rea- sonable provision for whatever they may be. Were armies to be raised whenever a speck of war is visible in our horizon, we never should have been without them. Our resources would have been exhausted on dan- gers which have never happened, instead of being reserved for what is really to take place. A steady, perhaps a quickened, pace in preparations for the defense of our seaport towns and waters; an early settlement of the most exposed and vulnerable parts of our country; a militia so organ- ized that its effective portions can be called to any point in the Union, or volunteers instead of them to serve a sufficient time, are means which may always be ready, yet never preying on our resources until actually called into use. They will maintain the public interests while a more permanent force shall be in course of preparation. But much will depend on the promptitude with which these means can be brought into activity. If war be forced upon us, in spite of our long and vain appeals to the jus- tice of nations, rapid and vigorous movements in its outset will go far toward securing us in its course and issue, and toward throwing its bur- thens on those who render necessary the resort from reason to force. The result of our negotiations, or such incidents in their course as may enable us to infer their probable issue; such further movements also on our western frontiers as may shew whether war is to be pressed there while negotiation is protracted elsewhere, shall be communicated to you from time to time as they become known to me, with whatever other information I possess or may receive, which may aid your deliberations on the great national interests committed to your charge. TH: JEFFERSON. Thomas Jefferson 411 SPECIAL MESSAGES. DECEMBER 3, 1806. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I have the satisfaction to inform you that the negotiation depending between the United States and the Government of Great Britain is pro- ceeding in a spirit of friendship and accommodation which promises a result of mutual advantage. Delays, indeed, have taken place, occasioned by the long illness and subsequent death of the British minister charged with that duty. But the commissioners appointed by that Government to resume the negotiation have shewn every disposition to hasten its progress. It is, however, a work of time, as many arrangements are necessary to place our future harmony on stable grounds. In the mean- time we find by the communications of our plenipotentiaries that a tem- porary suspension of the act of the last session prohibiting certain importations would, as a mark of candid disposition on our part and of confidence in the temper and views with which they have been met, have a happy effect on its course. A step so friendly will afford further evi- dence that all our proceedings have flowed from views of justice and conciliation, and that we give them willingly that form which may best meet corresponding dispositions. Add to this that the same motives which produced the postponement of the act till the 1 5th of November last are in favor of its further sus- pension, and as we have reason to hope that it may soon yield to arrange- ments of mutual consent and convenience, justice seems to require that the same measure may be dealt out to the few cases which may fall within its short course as to all others preceding and following it. I can not, therefore, but recommend the suspension of this act for a reasonable time, on considerations of justice, amity, and the public interests. TH: JEFFERSON. DECEMBER 15, 1806. To the House of Representatives of the United States: I lay before Congress a report of the surveyor of the public buildings, stating the progress made on them during the last season and what is proposed for the ensuing one. I took every measure within my power for carrying into effect the request of the House of Representatives of the i yth of April last to cause the south wing of the Capitol to be prepared for their accommodation by the commencement of the present session. With great regret I found it was not to be accomplished. The quantity of freestone necessary, with the size and quality of many of the blocks, was represented as 412 Messages and Papers of the Presidents beyond what could be obtained from the quarries by any exertions which could be commanded. The other parts of the work, which might all have been completed in time, were necessarily retarded by the insuffi- cient progress of the stonework. TH: JEFFERSON. JANUARY 5, 1807. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I transmit to each House of Congress a copy of the laws of the Terri- tory of Michigan passed by the governor and judges of the Territory during the year 1805. TH: JEFFERSON. JANUARY 22, 1807. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: Agreeably to the request of the House of Representatives communi- cated in their resolution of the i6th instant, I proceed to state, under the reserve therein expressed, information received touching an illegal combi- nation of private individuals against the peace and safety of the Union, and a military expedition planned by them against the territories of a power in amity with the United States, with the measures I have pur- sued for suppressing the same. I had for some time been in the constant expectation of receiving such further information as would have enabled me to lay before the Legisla- ture the termination as well as the beginning and progress of this scene of depravity so far as it has been acted on the Ohio and its waters. From this the state of safety of the lower country might have been estimated on probable grounds, and the delay was indulged the rather because no circumstance had yet made it necessary to call in the aid of the legisla- tive functions. Information now recently communicated has brought us nearly to the period contemplated. The mass of what I have received in the course of these transactions is voluminous, but little has been given under the sanction of an oath so as to constitute formal and legal evi- dence. It is chiefly in the form of letters, often containing such a mix- ture of rumors, conjectures, and suspicions as renders it difficult to sift out the real facts and unadvisable to hazard more than general outlines, strengthened by concurrent information or the particular credibility of the relator. In this state of the evidence, delivered sometimes, too, under the restriction of private confidence, neither safety nor justice will permit the exposing names, except that of the principal actor, whose guilt is placed beyond question. Some time in the latter part of September I received intimations that designs were in agitation in the Western country unlawful and unfriendly to the peace of the Union, and that the prime mover in these was Aaron Thomas Jefferson 413 Burr, heretofore distinguished by the favor of his country. The grounds of these intimations being inconclusive, the objects uncertain, and the fidelity of that country known to be firm, the only measure taken was to urge the informants to use their best endeavors to get further insight into the designs and proceedings of the suspected persons and to communicate them to me. It was not till the latter part of October that the objects of the con- spiracy began to be perceived, but still so blended and involved in mystery that nothing distinct could be singled out for pursuit. In this state of uncertainty as to the crime contemplated, the acts done, and the legal course to be pursued, I thought it best to send to the scene where these things were principally in transaction a person in whose integrity, under- standing, and discretion entire confidence could be reposed, with instruc- tions to investigate the plots going on, to enter into conference (for which he had sufficient credentials) with the governors and all other officers, civil and military, and with their aid to do on the spot whatever should be necessary to discover the designs of the conspirators, arrest their means, bring their persons to punishment, and to call out the force of the coun- try to suppress any unlawful enterprise in which it should be found they were engaged. By this time it was known that many boats were under preparation, stores of provisions collecting, and an unusual number of suspicious characters in motion on the Ohio and its waters. Besides dispatching the confidential agent to that quarter, orders were, at the same time sent to the governors of the Orleans and Mississippi Territories and to the commanders of the land and naval forces there to be on their guard against surprise and in constant readiness to resist any enterprise which might be attempted on the vessels, posts, or other objects under their care; and on the 8th of November instructions were forwarded to Gen- eral Wilkinson to hasten an accommodation with the Spanish command- ant on the Sabine, and as soon as that was effected to fall back with his principal force to the hither bank of the Mississippi for the defense of the interesting points on that river. By a letter received from that officer on the 25th of November, but dated October 21, we learnt that a confidential agent of Aaron Burr had been deputed to him with commu- nications, partly written in cipher and partly oral, explaining his designs, exaggerating his resources, and making such offers of emolument and command to engage him and the army in his unlawful enterprise as he had flattered himself would be successful. The General, with the honor of a soldier and fidelity of a good citizen, immediately dispatched a trusty officer to me with information of what had passed, proceeding to establish such an understanding with the Spanish commandant on the Sabine as permitted him to withdraw his force across the Mississippi and to enter on measures for opposing the projected enterprise. The General's letter, which came to hand on the 25th of November, as has been mentioned, and some other information received a few days 414 Messages and Papers of the Presidents earlier, when brought together developed Burr's general designs, dif- ferent parts of which only had been revealed to different informants. It appeared that he contemplated two distinct objects, which might be carried on either jointly or separately, and either the one or the other first, as circumstances should direct. One of these was the severance of the Union of these States by the Alleghany Mountains; the other an attack on Mexico. A third object was provided, merely ostensible, to wit, the settlement of a pretended purchase of a tract of country on the Washita claimed by a Baron Bastrop. This was to serve as the pre- text for all his preparations, an allurement for such followers as really wished to acquire settlements in that country and a cover under which to retreat in the event of a final discomfiture of both branches of his real design. He found at once that the attachment of the Western country to the present Union was not to be shaken; that its dissolution could not be effected with the consent of its inhabitants, and that his resources were inadequate as yet to effect it by force. He took his course then at once, determined to seize on New Orleans, plunder the bank there, possess himself of the military and naval stores, and proceed on his expedition to Mexico, and to this object all his means and preparations were now directed. He collected from all the quarters where himself or his agents possessed influence all the ardent, restless, desperate, and disaffected per- sons who were ready for any enterprise analogous to their characters. He seduced good and well-meaning citizens, some by assurances that he possessed the confidence of the Government and was acting under its secret patronage, a pretense which procured some credit from the state of our differences with Spain, and others by offers of land in Bastrop' s claim on the Washita. This was the state of my information of his proceedings about the last of November, at which time, therefore, it was first possible to take spe- cific measures to meet them. The proclamation of November 27, two days after the receipt of General Wilkinson's information, was now issued. Orders were dispatched to every interesting point on the Ohio and Mississippi from Pittsburg to New Orleans for the employment of such force either of the regulars or of the militia and of such proceedings also of the civil authorities as might enable them to seize on all the boats and stores provided for the enterprise, to arrest the persons concerned, and to suppress effectually the further progress of the enterprise. A little Ijefore the receipt of these orders in the State of Ohio our confidential agent, who had been diligently employed in investigating the conspiracy, had acquired sufficient information to open himself to the governor of that State and apply for the immediate exertion of the authority and power of the State to crush the combination. Governor Tiffin and the legislature, with a promptitude, an energy, and patriotic zeal which enti- tle them to a distinguished place in the affection of their sister States, Thomas Jefferson 415 effected the seizure of all the boats, provisions, and other preparations within their reach, and thus gave a first blow, materially disabling the enterprise in its outset. In Kentucky a premature attempt to bring Burr to justice without sufficient evidence for his conviction had produced a popular impression in his favor and a general disbelief of his guilt. This gave him an unfor- tunate opportunity of hastening his equipments. The arrival of the proclamation and orders and the application and information of our con- fidential agent at length awakened the authorities of that State to the truth, and then produced the same promptitude and energy of which the neighboring State had set the example. Under an act of their legisla- ture of December 23 militia was instantly ordered to different important points, and measures taken for doing whatever could yet be done. Some boats (accounts vary from five to double or treble that number) and per- sons (differently estimated from 100 to 300) had in the meantime passed the Falls of Ohio to rendezvous at the mouth of Cumberland with others expected down that river. Not apprised till very late that any boats were building on Cumber- land, the effect of the proclamation had been trusted to for some time in the State of Tennessee; but on the igth of December similar communi- cations and instructions with those to the neighboring States were dis- patched by express to the governor and a general officer of the western division of the State, and on the 23d of December our confidential agent left Frankfort for Nashville to put into activity the means of that State also. But by information received yesterday I learn that on the 22d of December Mr. Burr descended the Cumberland with two boats merely of accommodation, carrying with him from that State no quota toward his unlawful enterprise. Whether after the arrival of the proclamation, of the orders, or of our agent any exertion which could be made by that State or the orders of the governor of Kentucky for calling out the militia at the mouth of Cumberland would be in time to arrest these boats and those from the Falls of Ohio is still doubtful. On the whole, the fugitives from the Ohio, with their associates from Cumberland or any other place in that quarter, can not threaten serious danger to the city of New Orleans. By the same express of December 19 orders were sent to the govern- ors of Orleans and Mississippi, supplementary to those which had been given on the 25th of November, to hold the militia of their Territories in readiness to cooperate for their defense \vith the regular troops and armed vessels then under command of General Wilkinson. Great alarm, indeed, was excited at New Orleans by the exaggerated accounts of Mr. Burr, disseminated through his emissaries, of the armies and navies he was to assemble there. General Wilkinson had arrived there himself on the 24th of November, and had immediately put into activity the resources of the place for the purpose of its defense, and on the loth of December 4i 6 Messages and Papers of the Presidents he was joined by his troops from the Sabine. Great zeal was shewn by the inhabitants generally, the merchants of the place readily agreeing to the most laudable exertions and sacrifices for manning the armed vessels with their seamen, and the other citizens manifesting unequivocal fidelity to the Union and a spirit of determined resistance to their expected as- sailants. Surmises have been hazarded that this enterprise is to receive aid from certain foreign powers; but these surmises are without proof or proba- bility. The wisdom of the measures sanctioned by Congress at its last session has placed us in the paths of peace and justice with the only powers with whom we had any differences, and nothing has happened since which makes it either their interest or ours to pursue another course. No change of measures has taken place on our part; none ought to take place at this time. With the one, friendly arrangement was then pro- posed, and the law deemed necessary on the failure of that was suspended to give time for a fair trial of the issue. With the same power friendly arrangement is now proceeding under good expectations, and the same law deemed necessary on failure of that is still suspended, to give time for a fair trial of the issue. With the other, negotiation was in like man- ner then preferred, and provisional measures only taken to meet the event of rupture. With the same power negotiation is still preferred, and provisional measures only are necessary to meet the event of rupture. While, therefore, we do not deflect in the slightest degree from the course we then assumed and are still pursuing with mutual consent to restore a good understanding, we are not to impute to them practices as irreconcil- able to interest as to good faith, and changing necessarily the relations of peace and justice between us to those of war. These surmises are there- fore to be imputed to the vauntings of the author of this enterprise to multiply his partisans by magnifying the belief of his prospects and support. By letters from General Wilkinson of the i4th and i8th of December, which came to hand two days after the date of the resolution of the House of Representatives that is to say, on the morning of the i8th instant I received the important affidavit a copy of which I now communicate, with extracts of so much of the letters as comes within the scope of the resolution. By these it will be seen that of three of the principal emis- saries of Mr. Burr whom the General had caused to be apprehended, one had been liberated by habeas corpus, and two others, being those particularly employed in the endeavor to corrupt the general and army of the United States, have been embarked by him for ports in the Atlan- tic States, probably on the consideration that an impartial trial could not be expected during the present agitations of New Orleans, and that that city was not as yet a safe place of confinement. As soon as these persons shall arrive they will be delivered to the custody of the law and left to such course of trial, both as to place and process, as its func- Thomas Jefferson 417 tionaries may direct. The presence of the highest judicial authorities, to be assembled at this place within a few days, the means of pursuing a sounder course of proceedings here than elsewhere, and the aid of the Executive means, should the judges have occasion to use them, render it equally desirable for the criminals as for the public that, being already removed from the place where they were first apprehended, the first reg- ular arrest should take place here, and the course of proceedings receive here its proper direction. TH: JEFFERSON. JANUARY 26, 1807. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I received from General Wilkinson on the 23d instant his affidavit charging Samuel Swartwout, Peter V. Ogden, and James Alexander with the crimes described in the affidavit a copy of which is now com- municated to both Houses of Congress. It was announced to me at the same time that Swartwout and Bollman, two of the persons apprehended by him, were arrived in this city in cus- tody each of a military officer. I immediately delivered to the attorney of the United States in this district the evidence received against them, with instructions to lay the same before the judges and apply for their process to bring the accused to justice, and put into his hands orders to the officers having them in custody to deliver them to the marshal on his application. TH: JEFFERSON. JANUARY 27, 1807. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I now render to Congress the account of the fund established for defraying the contingent expenses of Government for the year 1806. No occasion having arisen for making use of any part of the balance of $18,012.50, unexpended on the 3ist day of December, 1805, that balance remains in the Treasury. TH: JEFFERSON. JANUARY 28, 1807. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: By the letters of Captain Bissel, who commands at Fort Massac, and of Mr. Murrell, to General Jackson, of Tennessee, copies of which are. now communicated to Congress, it will be seen that Aaron Burr passed Fort Massac on the 3ist December with about ten boats, navigated by about six hands each, without any military appearance, and that three boats with ammunition were said to have been arrested by the militia at Ivouisville. M P voi, i 27 418 Messages and Papers of the Presidents As the guards of militia posted on various points of the Ohio will be able to prevent any further aids passing through that channel, should any be attempted, we may now estimate with tolerable certainty the means derived from the Ohio and its waters toward the accomplishment of the purposes of Mr. Burr. TH: JEFFERSON. JANUARY 31, 1807. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: In execution of the act of the last session of Congress entitled "An act to regulate the laying out and making a road from Cumberland, in the State of Maryland, to the State of Ohio," I appointed Thomas Moore, of Maryland; Joseph Kerr, of Ohio, and Eli Williams, of Mary- land, commissioners to lay out the said road, and to perform the other duties assigned to them by the act. The progress which they made in the execution of the work during the last season will appear in their report now communicated to Congress. On the receipt of it I took measures to obtain consent for making the road of the States of Penn- sylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, through which the commissioners pro- posed to lay it out. I have received acts of the legislatures of Maryland and Virginia giving the consent desired; that of Pennsylvania has the subject still under consideration, as is supposed. Until I receive full consent to a free choice of route through the whole distance I have thought it safest neither to accept nor reject finally the partial report of the commissioners. Some matters suggested in the report belong exclu- sively to the legislature. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 6, 1807. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I lay before Congress the laws for the government of Louisiana, passed by the governor and judges of the Indiana Territory at their session at Vincennes begun on the ist of October, 1804. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 6, 1807. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: The Government of France having examined into the claim of M. de Beaumarchais against the United States, and considering it as just and legal, has instructed its minister here to make representations on the subject to the Government of the United States. I now lay his memoir thereon before the Legislature, the only authority competent to a final decision on the same. TH: JEFFERSON. Thomas Jefferson 419 FEBRUARY 10, 1807. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I communicate, for the information of Congress, a letter from Cowles Mead, secretary of the Mississippi Territory, to the Secretary of War, by which it will be seen that Mr. Burr had reached that neighborhood on the 1 3th of January. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 10, 1807. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: In compliance with the request of the House of Representatives expressed in their resolution of the 5th instant, I proceed to give such information as is possessed of the effect of gunboats in the protection and defense of harbors, of the numbers thought necessary, and of the proposed distribution of them among the ports and harbors of the United States. Under present circumstances, and governed by the intentions of the L/egislature as manifested by their annual appropriations of money for the purposes of defense, it has been concluded to combine, first, land batteries furnished with heavy cannon and mortars, and established on all the points around the place favorable for preventing vessels from lying before it; second, movable artillery, which may be carried, as occasion may require, to points unprovided with fixed batteries; third, floating batteries, and fourth, gunboats which may oppose an enemy at his entrance and cooperate with the batteries for his expulsion. On this subject professional men were consulted as far as we had opportunity. General Wilkinson and the late General Gates gave their opinions in writing in favor of the system, as will be seen by their let- ters now communicated. The higher officers of the Navy gave the same opinions in separate conferences, as their presence at the seat of Govern- ment offered occasions of consulting them, and no difference of judgment appeared on the subject. Those of Commodore Barren and Captain Tingey, now here, are recently furnished in writing, and transmitted herewith to the Legislature. The efficacy of gunboats for the defense of harbors and of other smooth and inclosed waters may be estimated in part from that of galleys for- merly much used but less powerful, more costly in their construction and maintenance, and requiring more men. But the gunboat itself is believed to be in use with every modern maritime nation for the purposes of defense. In the Mediterranean, on which are several small powers whose system, like ours, is peace and defense, few harbors are without this article of protection. Our own experience there of the effect of gun- boats for harbor service is recent. Algiers is particularly known to have owed to a great provision of these vessels the safety of its city since the epoch of their construction. Before that it had been repeatedly insulted 420 Messages and Papers of the Presidents and injured. The effect of gunboats at present in the neighborhood of Gibraltar is well known, and how much they were used both in the attack and defense of that place during a former war. The extensive resort to them by the two greatest naval powers in the world on an enterprise of invasion not long since in prospect shew r s their confidence in their efficacy for the purposes for which they are suited. By the northern powers of Europe, whose seas are particularly adapted to them, they are still more used. The remarkable action between the Russian flotilla of gunboats and galleys and a Turkish fleet of ships of the line and frigates in the Liman Sea in 1788 will be readily recollected. The latter, commanded by their most celebrated admiral, were completely defeated, and several of their ships of the line destroyed. From the opinions given as to the number of gunboats necessary for some of the principal seaports, and from a view of all the towns and ports from Orleans to Maine, inclusive, entitled to protection in propor- tion to their situation and circumstances, it is concluded that to give them a due measure of protection in times of war about 200 gunboats will be requisite. According to first ideas the following would be their general distribu- tion, liable to be varied on more mature examination and as circumstances shall vary; that is to say: To the Mississippi and its neighboring waters, 40 gunboats. To Savannah and Charleston, and the harbors on each side from St. Marys to Currituck, 25. To the Chesapeake and its waters, 20. To Delaware Bay and River, 15. To New York, the Sound, and waters as far as Cape Cod, 50. To Boston and the harbors north of Cape Cod, 50. The flotillas assigned to these several stations might each be under the care of a particular commandant, and the vessels composing them would in ordinary be distributed among the harbors within the station in proportion to their importance. Of these boats a proper proportion would be of the larger size, such as those heretofore built, capable of navigating any seas and of reenforcing occasionally the strength of even the most distant ports when menaced with danger. The residue would be confined to their own or the neigh- boring harbors, would be smaller, less furnished for accommodation, and consequently less costly. Of the number supposed necessary, 73 are built or building, and the 127 still to be provided would cost from $500,000 to $600,000. Having regard to the convenience of the Treasury as well as to the resources for building, it has been thought that the one-half of these might be built in the present year and the other half the next. With the Legislature, however, it will rest to stop where we are, or at any further point, when they shall be of opinion that the number pro- vided shall be sufficient for the object. Thomas Jefferson 42 1 At times when Europe as well as the United States shall be at peace it would not be proposed that more than six or eight of these vessels should be kept afloat. When Europe is in war, treble that number might be necessary, to be distributed among those particular harbors which foreign vessels of war are in the habit of frequenting for the pur- pose of preserving order therein. But they would be manned in ordinary, with only their complement for navigation, relying on the seamen and militia of the port if called into action on any sudden emergency. It would be only when the United States should themselves be at war that the whole number would be brought into active service, and would be ready in the first moments of the war to cooperate with the other means for covering at once the line of our seaports. At all times those unem- ployed would be withdrawn into places not exposed to sudden enterprise, hauled up under sheds from the sun and weather, and kept in preserva- tion with little expense for repairs or maintenance. It must be superfluous to observe that this species of naval armament is proposed merely for defensive operation; that it can have but little effect toward protecting our commerce in the open seas, even on our own coast; and still less can it become an excitement to engage in offen- sive maritime war, toward which it would furnish no means. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY n, 1807. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I now lay before Congress a statement of the militia of the United States according to the latest returns received by the Department of War. From two of the States no returns have ever been received. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 19, 1807. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I transmit to Congress a letter from our ministers plenipotentiary at London, informing us that they have agreed with the British commission- ers to conclude a treaty on all the points which had formed the object of their negotiation, and on terms which they trusted we would approve. Also a letter from our minister plenipotentiary at Paris covering one to him from the minister of marine of that Government assuring him that the imperial decree lately passed was not to affect our commerce, which would still be governed by the rules of the treaty established between the two countries. Also a letter from Cowles Mead, secretary of the Mississippi Territory, acting as governor, informing us that Aaron Burr had surrendered himself to the civil authority of that Territory. TH: JEFFERSON. 422 Messages and Papers of the Presidents PROCLAMATIONS. BY THOMAS JEFFERSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. During the wars which for some time have unhappily prevailed among the powers of Europe the United States of America, firm in their prin- ciples of peace, have endeavored, by justice, by a regular discharge of all their national and social duties, and by every friendly office their situa- tion has admitted, to maintain with all the belligerents their accustomed relations of friendship, hospitality, and commercial intercourse. Taking no part in the questions which animate these powers against each other, nor permitting themselves to entertain a wish but for the restoration of general peace, they have observed with good faith the neutrality they assumed, and they believe that no instance of a departure from its duties can be justly imputed to them by any nation. A free use of their har- bors and waters, the means of refitting and of refreshment, of succor to their sick and suffering, have at all times and on equal principles been extended to all, and this, too, amidst a constant recurrence of acts of insubordination to the laws, of violence to the persons, and of trespasses on the property of our citizens committed by officers of one of the bellig- erent parties received among us. In truth, these abuses of the laws of hospitality have, with few exceptions, become habitual to the commanders of the British armed vessels hovering on our coasts and frequenting our harbors. They have been the subject of repeated representations to their Government. Assurances have been given that proper orders should restrain them within the limits of the rights and of the respect due to a friendly nation; but those orders and assurances have been without effect no instance of punishment for past wrongs has taken place. At length a deed transcending all we have hitherto seen or suffered brings the public sensibility to a serious crisis and our forbearance to a nec- essary pause. A frigate of the United States, trusting to a state of peace, and leaving her harbor on a distant service, has been surprised and attacked by a British vessel of superior force one of a squadron then lying in our waters and covering the transaction and has been disabled from service, with the loss of a number of men killed and wounded. This enormity was not only without provocation or justifiable cause, but was committed with the avowed purpose of taking by force from a ship of war of the United States a part of her crew; and that no circumstance might be wanting to mark its character, it had been previously ascer- tained that the seamen demanded were native citizens of the United States. Having effected her purpose, she returned to anchor with her Thomas Jefferson 423 squadron within our jurisdiction. Hospitality under such circumstances ceases to be a duty, and a continuance of it with such uncontrolled abuses would tend only, by multiplying injuries and irritations, to bring on a rupture between the two nations. This extreme resort is equally opposed to the interests of both, as it is to assurances of the most friendly dispositions on the part of the British Government, in the midst of which this outrage has been committed. In this light the subject can not but present itself to that Government and strengthen the motives to an hon- orable reparation of the wrong which has been done, and to that effectual control of its naval commanders which alone can justify the Government of the United States in the exercise of those hospitalities it is now con- strained to discontinue. In consideration of these circumstances and of the right of every nation to regulate its own police, to provide for its peace and for the safety of its citizens, and consequently to refuse the admission of armed vessels into its harbors or waters, either in such numbers or of such descriptions as are inconsistent with these or with the maintenance of the authority of the laws, I have thought proper, in pursuance of the authorities specially given by law, to issue this my proclamation, hereby requiring all armed vessels bearing commissions under the Government of Great Britain now within the harbors or waters of the United States immedi- ately and without any delay to depart from the same, and interdicting the entrance of all the said harbors and waters to the said armed vessels and to all others bearing commissions under the authority of the British Government. And if the said vessels, or any of them, shall fail to depart as afore- said, or if they or any others so interdicted shall hereafter enter the harbors or waters aforesaid, I do in that case forbid all intercourse with them, or any of them, their officers or crews, and do prohibit all supplies and aid from being furnished to them, or any of them. And I do declare and make known that if any person from or within the jurisdictional limits of the United States shall afford any aid to any such vessel contrary to the prohibition contained in this proclamation, either in repairing any such vessel or in furnishing her, her officers or crew, with supplies of any kind or in any manner whatsoever; or if any pilot shall assist in navigating any of the said armed vessels, unless it be for the purpose of carrying them in the first instance beyond the limits and jurisdiction of the United States, or unless it be in the case of a vessel forced by distress or charged with public dispatches, as hereinafter provided for, such person or persons shall on conviction suffer all the pains and penalties by the laws provided for such offenses. And I do hereby enjoin and require all persons bearing office, civil or military, within or under the authority of the United States, and all others citizens or inhabitants thereof, or being within the same, with vigilance and promptitude to exert their respective authorities and to 424 Messages and Papers of the Presidents be aiding and assisting to the carrying this proclamation and every part thereof into full effect. Provided, nevertheless, that if any such vessel shall be forced into the harbors or waters of the United States by distress, by the dangers of the sea, or by the pursuit of an enemy, or shall enter them charged with dis- patches or business from their Government, or shall be a public packet for the conveyance of letters and dispatches, the commanding officer, immediately reporting his vessel to the collector of the district, stating the object or causes of entering the said harbors or waters, and conform- ing himself to the regulations in that case prescribed under the authority of the laws, shall be allowed the benefit of such regulations respecting repairs, supplies, stay, intercourse, and departure as shall be permitted under the same authority. In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United States to be affixed to these presents, and signed the same. r -, Given at the city of Washington, the 2d day of July, A. D. 1807, and of the Sovereignty and Independence of the United States the thirty-first. TH: JEFFERSON. By the President: JAMES MADISON, Secretary of State. [From Annals of Congress, Tenth Congress, first session, vol. I, 9.] BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas great and weighty matters claiming the consideration of the Congress of the United States form an extraordinary occasion for conven- ing them, I do by these presents appoint Monday, the 26th day of October next, for their meeting at the city of Washington, hereby requiring the respective Senators and Representatives then and there to assemble in Congress, in order to receive such communications as may then be made to them, and to consult and determine on such measures as in their wis- dom may be deemed meet for the welfare of the United States. In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United States to be hereunto affixed, and signed the same with my hand. Done at the city of Washington, the 3oth day of July, A. D. 1807, and in the thirty -second year of the Independence of the United States. TH: JEFFERSON. By the President: JAMES MADISON, Secretary of State. Thomas Jefferson 425 [From the National Intelligencer, October 19, 1807.] BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas information has been received that a number of individuals who have deserted from the Army of the United States and sought shel- ter without the jurisdiction thereof have become sensible of their offense and are desirous of returning to their duty, a full pardon is hereby pro- claimed to each and all of such individuals as shall within four months from the date hereof surrender themselves to the commanding officer of any military post within the United States or the Territories thereof. In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United States to be affixed to these presents, and signed the same with my hand, i- -i Done at the city of Washington, the 15th day of October, A. D. 1807, and of the Independence of the United States of America the thirty -second. TH: JEFFERvSON. By the President: JAMES MADISON, Secretary of State. SEVENTH ANNUAL MESSAGE. OCTOBER 27, 1807. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: Circumstances, fellow-citizens, which seriously threatened the peace of our country have made it a duty to convene you at an earlier period than usual. The love of peace so much cherished in the bosoms of our citizens, which has so long guided the proceedings of their public coun- cils and induced forbearance under so many wrongs, may not insure our continuance in the quiet pursuits of industry. The many injuries and depredations committed on our commerce and navigation upon the high seas for years past, the successive innovations on those principles of pub- lic law which have been established by the reason and usage of nations as the rule of their intercourse and the umpire and security of their rights and peace, and all the circumstances which induced the extraordinary mission to London are already known to you. The instructions given to our ministers were framed in the sincerest spirit of amity and modera- tion. They accordingly proceeded, in conformity therewith, to propose arrangements which might embrace and settle all the points in difference between us, which might bring us to a mutual understanding on our neutral and national rights and provide for a commercial intercourse on 426 Messages and Papers of the Presidents conditions of some equality. After long and fruitless endeavors to effect the purposes of their mission and to obtain arrangements within the limits of their instructions, they concluded to sign such as could be obtained and to send them for consideration, candidly declaring to the other negotiators at the same time that they were acting against their instructions, and that their Government, therefore, could not be pledged for ratification. Some of the articles proposed might have been admitted on a principle of compromise, but others were too highly disadvantageous, and no sufficient provision was made against the principal source of the irritations and collisions which were constantly endangering the peace of the two nations. The question, therefore, whether a treaty should be accepted in that form could have admitted but of one decision, even had no declarations of the other party impaired our confidence in it. Still anxious not to close the door against friendly adjustment, new modifica- tions were framed and further concessions authorized than could before have been supposed necessary; and our ministers were instructed to resume their negotiations on these grounds. On this new reference to amicable discussion we were reposing in confidence, when on the 22d day of June last by a formal order from a British admiral the frigate Ches- apeake, leaving her port for a distant service, was attacked by one of those vessels which had been lying in our harbors under the indulgences of hospitality, was disabled from proceeding, had several of her crew killed and four taken away. On this outrage no commentaries are neces- sary. Its character has been pronounced by the indignant voice of our citizens with an emphasis and unanimity never exceeded. I immediately, by proclamation, interdicted our harbors and waters to all British armed vessels, forbade intercourse with them, and uncertain how far hostilities were intended, and the town of Norfolk, indeed, being threatened with immediate attack, a sufficient force was ordered for the protection of that place, and such other preparations commenced and pursued as the prospect rendered proper. An armed vessel of the United States was dispatched with instructions to our ministers at London to call on that Government for the satisfaction and security required by the outrage. A very short interval ought now to bring the answer, which shall be communicated to you as soon as received; then also, or as soon after as the public interests shall be found to admit, the unratified treaty and proceedings relative to it shall be made known to you. The aggression thus begun has been continued on the part of the British commanders by remaining within our waters in defiance of the authority of the country, by habitual violations of its jurisdiction, and at length by putting to death one of the persons whom they had forcibly taken from on board the Chesapeake. These aggravations necessarily lead to the policy either of never admitting an armed vessel into our har- bors or of maintaining in every harbor such an armed force as may constrain obedience to the laws and protect the lives and property of our Thomas Jefferson 427 citizens against their armed guests; but the expense of such a standing force and its inconsistence with our principles dispense with those cour- tesies which would necessarily call for it, and leave us equally free to exclude the navy, as we are the army, of a foreign power from entering our limits. To former violations of maritime rights another is now added of very extensive effect. The Government of that nation has issued an order interdicting all trade by neutrals between ports not in amity with them; and being now at war with nearly every nation on the Atlantic and Mediterranean seas, our vessels are required to sacrifice their cargoes at the first port they touch or to return home without the benefit of going to any other market. Under this new law of the ocean our trade on the Mediterranean has been swept away by seizures and condemnations, and that in other seas is threatened with the same fate. Our differences with Spain remain still unsettled, no measure having been taken on her part since my last communications to Congress to bring them to a close. But under a state of things which may favor recon- sideration they have been recently pressed, and an expectation is enter- tained that they may now soon be brought to an issue of some sort. With their subjects on our borders no new collisions have taken place nor seem immediately to be apprehended. To our former grounds of complaint has been added a very serious one, as you will see by the decree a copy of which is now communicated. Whether this decree, which professes to be conformable to that of the French Government of November 21, 1806, heretofore communicated to Congress, will also be conformed to that in its construction and application in relation to the United States had not been ascertained at the date of our last communi- cations. These, however, gave reason to expect such a conformity. With the other nations of Europe our harmony has been uninter- rupted, and commerce and friendly intercourse have been maintained on their usual footing. Our peace with the several states on the coast of Barbary appears as firm as at any former period and as likely to continue as that of any other nation. Among our Indian neighbors in the northwestern quarter some fermen- tation was observed soon after the late occurrences, threatening the con- tinuance of our peace. Messages were said to be interchanged and tokens to be passing, which usually denote a state of restlessness among them, and the character of the agitators pointed to the sources of excitement. Measures were immediately taken for providing against that danger; instructions were given to require explanations, and, with assurances of our continued friendship, to admonish the tribes to remain quiet at home, taking no part in quarrels not belonging to them. As far as we are }'et informed, the tribes in our vicinity, who are most advanced in the pur- suits of industry, are sincerely disposed to adhere to their friendship with 428 Messages and Papers of the Presidents us and to their peace with all others, while those more remote do not present appearances sufficiently quiet to justify the intermission of mili- tary precaution on our part. The great tribes on our southwestern quarter, much advanced beyond the others in agriculture and household arts, appear tranquil and identi- fying their views with ours in proportion to their advancement. With the whole of these people, in every quarter, I shall continue to inculcate peace and friendship with all their neighbors and perseverance in those occupations and pursuits which will best promote their own well-being. The appropriations of the last session for the defense of our seaport towns and harbors were made under expectation that a continuance of our peace would permit us to proceed in that work according to our con- venience. It has been thought better to apply the sums then given toward the defense of New York, Charleston, and New Orleans chiefly, as most open and most likely first to need protection, and to leave places less immediately in danger to the provisions of the present session. The gunboats, too, already provided have on a like principle been chiefly assigned to New York, New Orleans, and the Chesapeake. Whether our movable force on the water, so material in aid of the defensive works on the land, should be augmented in this or any other form is left to the wisdom of the Legislature. For the purpose of man- ning these vessels in sudden attacks on our harbors it is a matter for consideration whether the seamen of the United States may not justly be formed into a special militia, to be called on for tours of duty in de- fense of the harbors where they shall happen to be, the ordinary militia of the place furnishing that portion which may consist of landsmen. The moment our peace was threatened I deemed it indispensable to secure a greater provision of those articles of military stores with which our magazines were not sufficiently furnished. To have awaited a pre- vious and special sanction by law would have lost occasions which might not be retrieved. I did not hesitate, therefore, to authorize engage- ments for such supplements to our existing stock as would render it adequate to the emergencies threatening us, and I trust that the legis- lature, feeling the same anxiety for the safety of our country, so mate- rially advanced by this precaution, will approve, when done, what they would have seen so important to be done if then assembled. Expenses, also unprovided for, arose out of the necessity of calling all our gunboats into actual service for the defense of our harbors; of all which accounts will be laid before you. Whether a regular army is to be raised, and to what extent, must de- pend on the information so shortly expected. In the meantime I have called on the States for quotas of militia, to be in readiness for present defense, and have, moreover, encouraged the acceptance of volunteers; and I am happy to inform you that these have offered themselves with great alacrity in every part of the Union. They are ordered to be organ- Thomas Jefferson 429 ized and ready at a moment's warning to proceed on any service to which they may be called, and every preparation within the Executive powers has been made to insure us the benefit of early exertions. I informed Congress at their last session of the enterprises against the public peace which were believed to be in preparation by Aaron Burr and his associates, of the measures taken to defeat them and to bring the offenders to justice. Their enterprises were happily defeated by the patri- otic exertions of the militia whenever called into action, by the fidelity of the Army, and energy of the commander in chief in promptly arranging the difficulties presenting themselves on the Sabine, repairing to meet those arising on the Mississippi, and dissipating before their explosion plots engendering there. I shall think it my duty to lay before you the proceedings and the evidence publicly exhibited on the arraignment of the principal offenders before the circuit court of Virginia. You will be enabled to judge whether the defect was in the testimony, in the law, or in the administration of the law; and wherever it shall be found, the Legislature alone can apply or originate the remedy. The framers of our Constitution certainly supposed they had guarded as well their Govern- ment against destruction by treason as their citizens against oppression under pretense of it, and if these ends are not attained it is of impor- tance to inquire by what means more effectual they may be secured. The accounts of the receipts of revenue during the year ending on the 3oth day of September last being not yet made up, a correct state- ment will be hereafter transmitted from the Treasury. In the meantime, it is ascertained that the receipts have amounted to near $16,000,000, which, with the five millions and a half in the Treasury at the beginning of the year, have enabled us, after meeting the current demands and interest incurred, to pay more than four millions of the principal of our funded debt. These payments, with those of the preceding five and a half years, have extinguished of the funded debt $25,500,000, being the whole which could be paid or purchased within the limits of the law and of our contracts, and have left us in the Treasury $8,500,000. A portion of this sum may be considered as a commencement of accumulation of the surpluses of revenue which, after paying the installments of debt as they shall become payable, will remain without any specific object. It may partly, indeed, be applied toward completing the defense of the exposed points of our country, on such a scale as shall be adapted to our principles and circumstances. This object is doubtless among the first entitled to attention in such a state of our finances, and it is one which, whether we have peace or war, will provide security where it is due. Whether what shall remain of this, with the future surpluses, may be usefully applied to purposes already authorized or more usefully to others requiring new authorities, or how otherwise they shall be dis- posed of, are questions calling for the notice of Congress, unless, indeed, they shall be superseded by a change in our public relations now awaiting 430 Messages and Papers of the Presidents the determination of others. Whatever be that determination, it is a great consolation that it will become known at a moment when the supreme council of the nation is assembled at its post, and ready to give the aids of its wisdom and authority to whatever course the good of our country shall then call us to pursue. Matters of minor importance will be the subjects of future commu- nications, and nothing shall be wanting on my part which may give information or dispatch to the proceedings of the Legislature in the ex- ercise of their high duties, and at a moment so interesting to the public welfare. TH: JEFFERSON. SPECIAL MESSAGES. NOVEMBER n, 1807. To the Senate of the United States: Some time had elapsed after the receipt of the late treaty between the United States and Tripoli before the circumstance drew particular atten- tion that, although by the third article the wife and children of the ex-Bashaw were to be restored to him, this did not appear either to have been done or demanded; still, it was constantly expected that explana- tions on the subject would be received. None, however, having arrived when Mr. Davis went as consul to Tripoli, he was instructed to demand the execution of the article. He did so, but was answered by the exhi- bition of a declaration, signed by our negotiator the day after the sig- nature of the treaty, allowing four years for the restoration of the family. This declaration and the letter of Mr. Davis stating what passed on the occasion are now communicated to the Senate. On the receipt of this letter I caused the correspondence of Mr. Lear to be diligently reex- amined in order to ascertain whether there might have been a commu- nication of this paper made and overlooked or forgotten. None such, however, is found. There appears only in a journalized account of the transaction by Mr. Lear, under date of June 3, a passage intimating that he should be disposed to give time rather than suffer the business to be broken off and our countrymen left in slavery; and again, that on the return of the person who passed between himself and the Bashaw, and information that the Bashaw would require time for the delivery of the family, he consented, and went ashore to consummate the treaty. This was done the next day, and being forwarded to us as ultimately signed, and found to contain no allowance of time nor any intimation that there was any stipulation but what was in the public treaty, it was sup- posed that the Bashaw had, in fine, abandoned the proposition, and the instructions before mentioned were consequently given to Mr. Davis. Thomas Jefferson 431 An extract of so much of Mr. Lear's communication as relates to this circumstance is now transmitted to the Senate, the whole of the papers having been laid before them on a former occasion. How it has happened that the declaration of June 5 has never before come to our knowledge can not with certainty be said, but whether there has been a miscarriage of it or a failure of the ordinary attention and correctness of that officer in making his communications, I have thought it due to the Senate as well as to myself to explain to them the circumstances which have with- held from their knowledge, as they did from my own, a modification which, had it been placed in the public treaty, would have been relieved from the objections which candor and good faith can not but feel in its present form. As the restoration of the family has probably been effected, a just regard to the character of the United States will require that I make to the Bashaw a candid statement of facts, and that the sacrifices of his right to the peace and friendship of the two countries, by yielding finally to the demand of Mr. Davis, be met by proper acknowledgments and repara- tion on our part. TH: JEFFERSON. NOVEMBER 19, 1807. To the House of Representatives of the United States: According to the request expressed in your resolution of the i8th instant, I now transmit a copy of my proclamation interdicting our har- bors and waters to British armed vessels and forbidding intercourse with them, referred to in my message of the 27th of October last. TH: JEFFERSON. NOVEMBER 23, 1807. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: Agreeably to the assurance given in my message at the opening of the present session of Congress, I now lay before you a copy of the proceed- ings and of the evidence exhibited on the arraignment of Aaron Burr and others before the circuit court of the United States held in Virginia in the course of the present year, in as authentic form as their several parts have admitted. TH: JEFFERSON. NOVEMBER 23, 1807. To the Senate of the United States: Some circumstance, which can not now be ascertained, induced a belief that an act had passed at the last session of Congress for establish- ing a surveyor and inspector of revenue for the port of Stonington, in Connecticut, and commissions were signed appointing Jonathan Palmer, 432 Messages and Papers of the Presidents of Connecticut , to those offices. The error was discovered at the Treasury , and the commissions were retained; but not having been notified to me, I renewed the nomination in my message of the gth instant to the Senate. In order to correct the error, I have canceled the temporary commissions, and now revoke the nomination which I made of the said Jonathan Palmer to the Senate. TH: JEFFERSON. DECEMBER 2, 1807. To the Senate of the United States: In compliance with the request made in the resolution of the Senate of November 30, I must inform them that when the prosecutions against Aaron Burr and his associates were instituted I delivered to the Attorney- General all the evidence on the subject, formal and informal, which I had received, to be used by those employed in the prosecutions. On the receipt of the resolution of the Senate I referred it to the Attorney-Gen- eral, with a request that he would enable me to comply with it by putting into my hands such of the papers as might give information relative to the conduct of John "Smith, a Senator from the State of Ohio, as an alleged associate of Aaron Burr, and having this moment received from him the affidavit of Elias Glover, with an assurance that it is the only paper in his possession which is within the term of the request of the Senate, I now transmit it for their use. TH: JEFFERSON. DECEMBER 7, 1807. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: Having recently received from our late minister plenipotentiary at the Court of lyondon a duplicate of dispatches, the original of which has been sent by the Revenge schooner, not yet arrived, I hasten to lay them before both Houses of Congress. They contain the whole of what has passed between the two Governments on the subject of the outrage com- mitted by the British ship Leopard on the frigate Chesapeake. Congress will learn from these papers the present state of the discussion on that transaction, and that it is to be transferred to this place by the mission of a special minister. While this information will have its proper effect on their deliberations and proceedings respecting the relations between the two countries, they will be sensible that, the negotiation being still depending, it is proper for me to request that the communications may be considered as confi- dential. TH: JEFFERSON. Thomas Jefferson 433 DECEMBER 18, 1807. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United S fates: The communications now made, shewing the great and increasing dangers with which our vessels, our seamen, and merchandise are threat- ened on the high seas and elsewhere from the belligerent powers of Europe, and it being of the greatest importance to keep in safety these essential resources, I deem it my duty to recommend the subject to the consideration of Congress, who will doubtless perceive all the advantages which may be expected from an inhibition of the departure of our vessels from the ports of the United States. Their wisdom will also see the necessity of making every preparation for whatever events may grow out of the present crisis. TH: JEFFERSON. DECEMBER 30, 1807. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I communicate to Congress the inclosed letters from Governor Hull, respecting the Indians in the vicinity of Detroit residing within our lines. They contain information of the state of things in that quarter which will properly enter into their view in estimating the means to be provided for the defense of our country generally. TH: JEFFERSON. JANUARY 8, 1808. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I now render to Congress the account of the fund established for defraying the contingent expenses of Government for the year 1807. Of the sum of $18,012.50, which remained unexpended at the close of the year 1806, $8,731. 1 1 have been placed in the hands of the Attorney- General of the United States, to enable him to defray sundry expenses incident to the prosecution of Aaron Burr and his accomplices for trea- sons and misdemeanors alleged to have been committed by them, and the unexpended balance of $9,275.39 is now carried according to law to the credit of the surplus fund. TH: JEFFERSON. JANUARY 15, 1808. To the Senate of the United States: The posts of Detroit and Mackinac having been originally intended by the Governments which established and held them as mere depots for commerce with the Indians, very small cessions of land around them were obtained or asked from the native proprietors, and these posts de- pended for protection on the strength of their garrisons. The principles M P voi, 128 434 Messages and Papers of the Presidents of our Government leading us to the employment of such moderate gar- risons in time of peace as may merely take care of the post, and to a reliance on the neighboring militia for its support in the first moments of war, I have thought it would be important to obtain from the Indians such a cession in the neighborhood of these posts as might maintain a militia proportioned to this object; and I have particularly contemplated, with this view, the acquisition of the eastern moiety of the peninsula between lakes Michigan and Huron, comprehending the waters of the latter and of Detroit River, so soon as it could be effected with the per- fect good will of the natives. Governor Hull was therefore appointed a commissioner to treat with them on this subject, but was instructed to confine his propositions for the present to so much of the tract before described as lay south of Saguina Bay and round to the Connecticut Reserve, so as to consolidate the new with the present settled country. The result has been an acquisition of so much only of what would have been acceptable as extends from the neighborhood of Saguina Bay to the Miami of the Lakes, with a prospect of soon obtaining a breadth of 2 miles for a communication from the Miami to the Connecticut Reserve. The treaty for this purpose entered into with the Ottoways, Chippeways, Wyandots, and Pottawattamies at Detroit on the lyth of November last is now transmitted to the Senate, and I ask their advice and consent as to its ratification. I communicate herewith such papers as bear any material relation to the subject. TH: JEFFERSON. JANUARY 15, 1808. To the Senate of the United States: Although it is deemed very desirable that the United States should obtain from the native proprietors the whole left bank of the Mississippi to a certain breadth, yet to obliterate from the Indian mind an impres- sion deeply made in it that we are constantly forming designs on their lands I have thought it best where urged by no peculiar necessity to leave to themselves and to the pressure of their own convenience only to come forward with offers of sale to the United States. The Choctaws, being indebted to certain mercantile characters beyond what could be discharged by the ordinary proceeds of their huntings, and pressed for payment by those creditors, proposed at length to the United States to cede lands to the amount of their debts, and designated them in two different portions of their country. These designations not at all suiting us, their proposals were declined for that reason, and with an intimation that if their own convenience should ever dispose them to cede their lands on the Mississippi we should be willing to pur- chase. Still urged by their creditors, as well as by their own desire to be liberated from debt, they at length proposed to make a cession which Thomas Jefferson 435 should be to our convenience. James Robertson, of Tennessee, and Silas Dinsmore were thereupon appointed commissioners to treat with them on that subject, with instructions to purchase only 011 the Mississippi. On meeting their chiefs, however, it was found that such was the attachment of the nation to their lands on the Mississippi that their chiefs could not undertake to cede them; but they offered all their lands south of a line to be run from their and our boundary at the Omochita eastwardly to their boundary with the Creeks, on the ridge between the Tombigbee and Alabama, which would unite our possessions there from Natchez to Tombigbee. A treaty to this effect was accordingly signed at Pooshape- kanuk on the i6th of November, 1805; but this being against express instructions, and not according with the object then in view, I was disin- clined to its ratification, and therefore did not at the last session of Con- gress lay it before the Senate for their advice, but have suffered it to lie unacted on. Progressive difficulties, however, in our foreign relations have brought into view considerations other than those which then prevailed. It is now, perhaps, become as interesting to obtain footing for a strong settle- ment of militia along our southern frontier eastward of the Mississippi as on the west of that river, and more so than higher up the river itself. The consolidation of the Mississippi Territory and the establishing a bar- rier of separation between the Indians and our Southern neighbors are also important objects. The cession is supposed to contain about 5,000,000 acres, of which the greater part is said to be fit for cultivation, and no inconsiderable proportion of the first quality, on the various waters it in- cludes; and the Choctaws and their creditors are still anxious for the sale. I therefore now transmit the treaty for the consideration of the Senate, and I ask their advice and consent as to its ratification. I communicate at the same time such papers as bear any material relation to the subject, together with a map on which is sketched the northern limit of the ces- sion, rather to give a general idea than with any pretension to exactness, which our present knowledge of the country would not warrant. TH: JEFFERSON. JANUARY 20, 1808. To the House of Representatives of the United States: Some days previous to your resolutions of the i3th instant a court of inquiry had been instituted at the request of General Wilkinson, charged to make the inquiry into his conduct which the first resolution desires, and had commenced their proceedings. To the judge-advocate of that court the papers and information on that subject transmitted to me by the House of Representatives have been delivered, to be used according to the rules and powers of that court. The request of a communication of any information which may have 436 Messages and Papers of the Presidents been received at any time since the establishment of the present Gov- ernment touching combinations with foreign agents for dismembering the Union or the corrupt receipt of money by any officer of the United States from the agents of foreign governments can be complied with but in a partial degree. It is well understood that in the first or second year of the Presidency of General Washington information was given to him relating to certain combinations with the agents of a foreign government for the dismember- ment of the Union, which combinations had taken place before the estab- lishment of the present Federal Government. This information, however, is believed never to have been deposited in any public office, or left in that of the President's secretary, these having been duly examined, but to have been considered as personally confidential, and therefore retained among his private papers. A communication from the governor of Vir- ginia to President Washington is found in the office of the President's secretary, which, although not strictly within the terms of the request of the House of Representatives, is communicated, inasmuch as it may throw some light on the subjects of the correspondence of that time between certain foreign agents and citizens of the United States. In the first or second year of the Administration of President Adams Andrew Ellicott, then employed in designating, in conjunction with the Spanish authorities, the boundaries between the territories of the United States and Spain, under the treaty with that nation, communicated to the Executive of the United States papers and information respecting the subjects of the present inquiry, which were deposited in the Office of State. Copies of these are now transmitted to the House of Represent- atives, except of a single letter and a reference from the said Andrew Ellicott, which, being expressly desired to be kept secret, is therefore not communicated, but its contents can be obtained from himself in a more legal form, and directions have been given to summon him to ap- pear as a witness before the court of inquiry. A paper on "The Commerce of Louisiana," bearing date the :8th of April, 1798, is found in the Office of State, supposed to have been communicated by Mr. Daniel Clark, of New Orleans, then a subject of Spain, and now of the House of Representatives of the United States, stating certain commercial transactions of General Wilkinson in New Orleans. An extract from this is now communicated, because it contains facts which may have some bearing on the questions relating to him. The destruction of the War Office by fire in the close of 1800 involved all information it contained at that date. The papers already described therefore constitute the whole of the information on the subjects deposited in the public offices during the preceding Administrations, as far as has yet been found; but it can not be affirmed that there may be no other, because, the papers of the office being filed for the most part alphabetically, unless aided by the sugges- Thomas Jefferson 437 tion of any particular name which may have given such information, noth- ing short of a careful examination of the papers in the offices generally could authorize such an affirmation. About a twelvemonth after I came to the administration of the Gov- ernment Mr. Clark gave some verbal information to myself, as well as to the Secretary of State, relating to the same combinations for the dis- memberment of the Union. He was listened to freely, and he then delivered the letter of Governor Gayoso, addressed to himself, of which a copy is now communicated. After his return to New Orleans he for- warded to the Secretary of State other papers, with a request that after perusal they should be burnt. This, however, was not done, and he was so informed by the Secretary of State, and that they would be held subject to his orders. These papers have not yet been found in the office. A letter, therefore, has been addressed to the former chief clerk, who may perhaps give information respecting them. As far as our memories enable us to say, they related only to the combinations before spoken of, and not at all to the corrupt receipt of money by any officer of the United States; consequently they respected what was considered as a dead matter, known to the preceding Administrations, and offering nothing new to call for investigations, which those nearest the dates of the transactions had not thought proper to institute. In the course of the communications made to me on the subject of the conspiracy of Aaron Burr I sometimes received letters, some of them anonymous, some under names true or false, expressing suspicions and insinuations against General Wilkinson; but one only of them, and that anonymous, specified any particular fact, and that fact was one of those which had been already communicated to a former Administration. No other information within the purview of the request of the House is known to have been received by any department of the Government from the establishment of the present Federal Government. That which has been recently communicated to the House of Representatives, and by them to me, is the first direct testimony ever made known to me charg- ing General Wilkinson with the corrupt receipt of money, and the House of Representatives may be assured that the duties which this information devolves on me shall be exercised with rigorous impartiality. Should any want of power in the court to compel the rendering of testimony obstruct that full and impartial inquiry which alone can establish guilt or innocence and satisfy justice, the legislative authority only will be com- petent to the remedy. TH: JEFFERSON. JANUARY 30, 1808. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: The Choctaws, being indebted to their merchants beyond what could be discharged by the ordinary proceeds of their huntings, and pressed for 438 Messages and Papers of the Presidents payment, proposed to the United States to cede lands to the amount of their debts, and designated them in two different portions of their coun- try. These designations, not at all suiting us, were declined. Still urged by their creditors, as well as by their own desire to be liberated from debt , they at length proposed to make a cession which should be to our convenience. By a treaty signed at Pooshapuckanuck on the i6th of November, 1805, they accordingly ceded all their lands south of a line to be run from their and our boundary at the Omochita eastwardly to their boundary with the Creeks, on the ridge between the Tombigbee and Alabama, as is more particularly described in the treaty, containing about 5,000,000 acres, as is supposed, and uniting our possessions there from Adams to Washington County. The location contemplated in the instructions to the commissioners was on the Mississippi. That in the treaty being entirely different, I was at that time disinclined to its ratification, and I have suffered it to lie unacted on. But progressive difficulties in our foreign relations have brought into view considerations other than those which then prevailed. It is now, perhaps, as interesting to obtain footing for a strong settlement of militia along our southern frontier eastward of the Mississippi as on the west of that river, and more so than higher up the river itself. The consoli- dation of the Mississippi Territory and the establishment of a barrier of separation between the Indians and our Southern neighbors are also important objects; and the Choctaws and their creditors being still anx- ious that the sale should be made, I submitted the treaty to the Senate, who have advised and consented to its ratification. I therefore now lay it before both Houses of Congress for the exercise of their constitutional powers as to the means of fulfilling it. TH: JEFFERSON. JANUARY 30, 1808. To the House of Representatives of the United States: The posts of Detroit and Mackinac having been originally intended by the Governments which established and held them as mere depots for commerce with the Indians, very small cessions of land around them were obtained or asked from the native proprietors, and these posts depended for protection on the strength of their garrisons. The principles of our Government leading us to the employment of such moderate garrisons in time of peace as may merely take care of the post, and to a reliance on the neighboring militia for its support in the first moments of war, I have thought it would be important to obtain from the Indians such a cession in the neighborhood of these posts as might maintain a militia proportioned to this object; and I have particularly contemplated, with this view, the acquisition of the eastern moiety of the peninsula between the lakes Michigan, Huron, and Erie, extending it to the Connecticut Thomas Jefferson 439 Reserve so soon as it could be effected with the perfect good will of the natives. By a treaty concluded at Detroit on the iyth of November last with the Ottoways, Chippeways, Wyandots, and Pattawatimas so much of this country has been obtained as extends from about Saguina Bay southwardly to the Miami of the L,akes, supposed to contain upward of 5,000,000 acres, with a prospect of obtaining for the present a breadth of 2 miles for a communication from the Miami to the Connecticut Reserve. The Senate having advised and consented to the ratification of this treaty, I now lay it before both Houses of Congress for the exercise of their constitutional powers as to the means of fulfilling it. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 2, 1808. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: Having received an official communication of certain orders of the British Government against the maritime rights of neutrals, bearing date the nth of November, 1807, I transmit them to Congress, as a further proof of the increasing dangers to our navigation and commerce, which led to the provident measure of the act of the present session laying an embargo on our own vessels. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 4, 1808. To the House of Representatives of the United States: In my message of January 20 I stated that some papers forwarded by Mr. Daniel Clark, of New Orleans, to the Secretary of State in 1803 had not then been found in the Office of State, and that a letter had been addressed to the former chief clerk, in the hope that he might advise where they should be sought for. By indications received from him they are now found. Among them are two letters from the Baron de Carondelet to an officer serving under him at a separate post, in which his views of a dismemberment of our Union are expressed. Extracts of so much of these letters as are within the scope of the resolution of the House are now communicated. With these were found the letters written by Mr. Clark to the Secretary of State in 1803. A part of one only of these relates to this subject, and is extracted and inclosed for the information of the House. In no part of the papers communi- cated by Mr. Clark, which are voluminous and in different languages, nor in his letters, have we found any intimation of the corrupt receipt of money by any officer of the United States from any foreign agent. As to the combinations with foreign agents for dismembering the Union, these papers and letters offer nothing which was not probably known to 440 Messages and Papers of the Presidents my predecessors, or which could call anew for inquiries, which they had not thought necessary to institute, when the facts were recent and could be better proved. They probably believed it best to let pass into obliv- ion transactions which, however culpable, had commenced before this Government existed, and had been finally extinguished by the treaty of 1795- TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 9, 1808. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I communicate to Congress, for their information, a letter from the person acting in the absence of our consul at Naples, giving reason to believe, on the affidavit of a Captain Sheffield, of the American schooner Mary Ann, that the Dey of Algiers has commenced war against the United States. For this no just cause has been given on our part within my knowledge. We may daily expect more authentic and particular information on the subject from Mr. Lear, who was residing as our con- sul at Algiers. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 15, 1808. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I communicate for the information of Congress a letter from the consul of the United States at Malaga to the Secretary of State, covering one from Mr. Lear, our consul at Algiers, which gives information that the rupture threatened on the part of the Dey of Algiers has been amicably settled, and the vessels seized by him are liberated. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 19, 1808. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: The States of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia having by their several acts consented that the road from Cumberland to the State of Ohio, authorized by the act of Congress of the 29th of March, 1806, should pass through those States, and the report of the commissioners, communicated to Congress with my message of the 3ist January, 1807, having been duly considered, I have approved of the route therein pro- posed for the said road as far as Brownsville, with a single deviation, since located, which carries it through Uniontown. From thence the course to the Ohio and the point within the legal limits at which it shall strike that river is still to be decided. In form- ing this decision I shall pay material regard to the interests and wishes of the populous parts of the State of Ohio and to a future and convenient Thomas Jefferson 441 connection with the road which is to lead from the Indian boundary near Cincinnati by Vincennes to the Mississippi at St. Louis, under authority of the act of the 2ist April, 1806. In this way we may accomplish a continued and advantageous line -of communication from the seat of the General Government to St. Louis, passing through several very interest- ing points of the Western country. I have thought it advisable also to secure from obliteration the trace of the road so far as it has been approved, which has been executed at such considerable expense, by opening one-half of its breadth through its whole length. The report of the commissioners, herewith transmitted, will give par- ticular information of their proceedings under the act of the 29th March, 1806, since the date of my message of the 3ist January, 1807, and will enable Congress to adopt such further measures relative thereto as they may deem proper under existing circumstances. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 25, 1808. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: The dangers to our country arising from the contests of other nations and the urgency of making preparation for whatever events might affect our relations with them have been intimated in preceding messages to Congress. To secure ourselves by due precautions an augmentation of our military force, as well regular as of volunteer militia, seems to be expe- dient. The precise extent of that augmentation can not as yet be satis- factorily suggested, but that no time may be lost, and especially at a season deemed favorable to the object, I submit to the wisdom of the Legislature whether they will authorize a commencement of this precau- tionary work by a present provision for raising and organizing some additional force, reserving to themselves to decide its ultimate extent on such views of our situation as I may be enabled to present at a future day of the session. If an increase of force be now approved, I submit to their considera- tion the outlines of a plan proposed in the inclosed letter from the Secre- tary of War. I recommend also to the attention of Congress the term at which the act of April 18, 1806, concerning the militia, will expire, and the effect of that expiration. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 26, 1808. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I inclose, for the information of Congress, letters recently received from our ministers at Paris and London, communicating their representations 442 Messages and Papers of the Presidents against the late decrees and orders of France and Great Britain, heretofore transmitted to Congress. These documents will contribute to the infor- mation of Congress as to the dispositions of those powers and the probable course of their proceedings toward neutrals, and will doubtless have their due influence in adopting the measures of the Legislature to the actual crisis. Although nothing forbids the general matter of these letters from being spoken of without reserve, yet as the publication of papers of this descrip- tion would restrain injuriously the freedom of our foreign correspondence, they are communicated so far confidentially and with a request that after being read to the satisfaction of both Houses they may be returned. TH: JEFFERSON. MARCH i, 1808. To the Senate of the United States: In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of February 26, I now lay before them such memorials and petitions for the district of Detroit, and such other information as is in my possession, in relation to the con- duct of William Hull, governor of the Territory of Michigan, and Stanley Griswold, esq. , while acting as secretary of that Territory. TH: JEFFERSON. MARCH 2, 1808. To the Senate of the. United States: In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of November 30, 1807, I now transmit a report of the Secretary of State on the subject of im- pressments, as requested in that resolution. The great volume of the documents and the time necessary for the investigation will explain to the Senate the causes of the delay which has intervened. TH: JEFFERSON. MARCH 7, 1808. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: In the city of New Orleans and adjacent to it are sundry parcels of ground, some of them with buildings and other improvements on them, which it is my duty to present to the attention of the Legislature. The title to these grounds appears to have been retained in the former sov- ereigns of the Province of Louisiana as public fiduciaries and for the purposes of the Province. Some of them were used for the residence of the governor, for public offices, hospitals, barracks, magazines, fortifica- tions, levees, etc., others for the townhouse, schools, markets, landings, and other purposes of the city of New Orleans; some were held by reli- gious corporations or persons, others seem to have been reserved for future disposition. To these must be added a parcel called the Batture, which Thomas Jefferson 443 requires more particular description. It is understood to have been a shoal or elevation of the bottom of the river adjacent to the bank of the suburbs of St. Mary, produced by the successive depositions of mud dur- ing the annual inundations of the river, and covered with water only during those inundations. At all other seasons it has been used by the city immemorially to furnish earth for raising their streets and court- yards, for mortar, and other necessary purposes, and as a landing or quay for unlading firewood, lumber, and other articles brought by water. This having been lately claimed by a private individual, the city opposed the claim on a supposed legal title in itself; but it has been adjudged that the legal title was not in the city. It is, however, alleged that that title, originally in the former sovereigns, was never parted with by them, but was retained in them for the uses of the city and Province, and con- sequently has now passed over to the United States. Until this question can be decided under legislative authority, measures have been taken according to law to prevent any change in the state of things and to keep the grounds clear of intruders. The settlement of this title, the appropriation of the grounds and improvements formerly occupied for provincial purposes to the same or such other objects as may be better suited to present circumstances, the confirmation of the uses in other parcels to such bodies, corporate or private, as may of right or on other reasonable considerations expect them, are matters now submitted to the determination of the Legislature. The papers and plans now transmitted will give them such information on the subject as I possess, and being mostly originals, I must request that they may be communicated from the one to the other House, to answer the purposes of both. TH: JEFFERSON. MARCH 10, 1808. To the Senate of the United States: A purchase having lately been made from the Cherokee Indians of a tract of land 6 miles square at the mouth of the Chickamogga, on the Tennessee, I now lay the treaty and papers relating to it before the Sen- ate, with an explanation of the views which have led to it. It was represented that there was within that tract a great abundance of iron ore of excellent quality, with a stream and fall of water suitable for iron works; that the Cherokees were anxious to have works estab- lished there, in the hope of having a better supply of those implements of household and agriculture of which they have learned the use and neces- sity, but on the condition that they should be under the authority and control of the United States. As such an establishment would occasion a considerable and certain demand for corn and other provisions and necessaries, it seemed probable 444 Messages and Papers of the Presidents that it would immediately draw around it a close settlement of the Cher- okees, would encourage them to enter on a regular life of agriculture, familiarize them with the practice and value of the arts, attach them to property, lead them of necessity and without delay to the establishment of laws and government, and thus make a great and important advance toward assimilating their condition to ours. At the same time it offers considerable accommodation to the Government by enabling it to obtain more conveniently than it now can the necessary supplies of cast and wrought iron for all the Indians south of the Tennessee, and for those also to whom St. Louis is a convenient deposit, and will benefit such of our own citizens likewise as shall be within its reach. Under these views the purchase has been made, with the consent and desire of the great body of the nation, although not without some dissenting members, as must be the case will all collections of men. But it is represented that the dissentients are few, and under the influence of one or two interested individuals. It is by no means proposed that these works should be conducted on account of the United States. It is understood that there are private individuals ready to erect them, subject to such reasonable rent as may secure a reimbursement to the United States, and to such other conditions as shall secure to the Indians their rights and tran- quillity. The instrument is now submitted to the Senate, with a request of their advice and consent as to its ratification. TH: JEFFERSON. MARCH 17, 1808. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I have heretofore communicated to Congress the decrees of the Gov- ernment of France of November 21, 1806, and of Spain of February 19, 1807, with the orders of the British Government of January and Novem- ber, 1807. I now transmit a decree of the Emperor of France of December 17, 1807, and a similar decree of the 3d of January last by His Catholic Majesty. Although the decree of France has not been received by official com- munication, yet the different channels of promulgation through which the public are possessed of it, with the formal testimony furnished by the Government of Spain in their decree, leave us without a doubt that such a one has been issued. These decrees and orders, taken together, want little of amounting to a declaration that every neutral vessel found on the high seas, whatsoever be her cargo and whatsoever foreign port be that of her departure or destination, shall be deemed lawful prize ; and they prove more and more the expediency of retaining our vessels, our seamen, and property within our own harbors until the dangers to which they are exposed can be removed or lessened. TH: JEFFERSON. Thomas Jefferson 445 MARCH 18, 1808. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: The scale on which the Military Academy at West Point was originally established is become too limited to furnish the number of well-instructed subjects in the different branches of artillery and engineering which the public service calls for. The want of such characters is already sensibly felt, and will be increased with the enlargement of our plans of military preparation. The chief engineer, having been instructed to consider the subject and to propose an augmentation which might render the estab- lishment commensurate with the present circumstances of our country, has made the report which I now transmit for the consideration of Con- gress. The idea suggested by him of removing the institution to this place is also worthy of attention. Besides the advantage of placing it under the immediate eye of the Government, it may render its benefits common to the Naval Department, and will furnish opportunities of selecting on better information the characters most qualified to fulfill the duties which the public service may call for. TH: JEFFERSON. MARCH 22, 1808. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: At the opening of the present session I informed the Legislature that the measures which had been taken with the Government of Great Britain for the settlement of our neutral and national rights and of the conditions of commercial intercourse with that nation had resulted in articles of a treaty which could not be acceded to on our part; that instructions had been consequently sent to our ministers there to resume the negotiations, and to endeavor to obtain certain alterations, and that this was interrupted by the transaction which took place between the frigates Leopard and Chesapeake. The call on that Government for rep- aration of this wrong produced, as Congress has been already informed, the mission of a special minister to this country, and the occasion is now arrived when the public interest permits and requires that the whole of these proceedings should be made known to you. I therefore now communicate the instructions given to our minister resident at London and his communications with that Government on the subject of the Chesapeake, with the correspondence which has taken place here between the Secretary of State and Mr. Rose, the special minister charged with the adjustment of that difference; the instructions to our ministers for the formation of a treaty; their correspondence with the British commissioners and with their own Government on that subject; the treaty itself and written declaration of the British commissioners accompanying it, and the instructions given by us for resuming the 446 Messages and Papers of the Presidents negotiation, with the proceedings and correspondence subsequent thereto. To these I have added a letter lately addressed to the Secretary of State from one of our late ministers, which, though not strictly written in an official character, I think it my duty to communicate, in order that his views of the proposed treaty and of its several articles may be fairly pre- sented and understood. Although I have heretofore and from time to time made such communi- cations to Congress as to keep them possessed of a general and just view of the proceedings and dispositions of the Government of France toward this country, yet in our present critical situation, when we find that no conduct on our part, however impartial and friendly, has been suffi- cient to insure from either belligerent a just respect for our rights, I am desirous that nothing shall be omitted on my part which may add to your information on this subject or contribute to the correctness of the views which should be formed. The papers which for these reasons I now lay before you embrace all the communications, official or verbal, from the French Government respecting the general relations between the two countries which have been transmitted through our minister there, or through any other accredited channel, since the last session of Congress, to which time all information of the same kind had from time to time been given them. Some of these papers have already been submitted to Congress, but it is thought better to offer them again in order that the chain of communications of which they make a part may be presented unbroken. When, on the 26th of February, I communicated to both Houses the letter of General Armstrong to M. Champagny, I desired it might not be published because of the tendency of that practice to restrain injuriously the freedom of our foreign correspondence. But perceiving that this cau- tion, proceeding purely from a regard to the public good, has furnished occasion for disseminating unfounded suspicions and insinuations, I am induced to believe that the good which will now result from its publica- tion, by confirming the confidence and union of our fellow-citizens, will more than countervail the ordinary objection to such publications. It is my wish, therefore, that it may be now published. TH: JEFFERSON. MARCH 22, 1808. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: In a separate message of this date I have communicated to Congress so much as may be made public of papers which give a full view of the present state of our relations with the two contending powers, France and England. Everyone must be sensible that in the details of instruc- tions for negotiating a treaty and in the correspondence and conferences respecting it matters will occur which interest sometimes and sometimes Thomas Jefferson 447 respect or other proper motives forbid to be made public. To recon- cile my duty in this particular with my desire of letting Congress know everything which can give them a full understanding of the subjects on which they are to act, I have suppressed in the documents of the other message the parts which ought not to be made public and have given them in the supplementary and confidential papers herewith inclosed, with such references as that they may be read in their original places as if still standing in them; and when these confidential papers shall have been read to the satisfaction of the House, I request their return, and that their contents may not be made public. TH: JEFFERSON. MARCH 25, 1808. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: In proceeding to carry into execution the act for fortifying our forts and harbors it is found that the sites most advantageous for their defense, and sometimes the only sites competent to that defense, are in some cases the property of minors incapable of giving a valid consent to their aliena- tion; in others belong to persons who may refuse altogether to alienate, or demand a compensation far beyond the liberal justice allowable in such cases. From these causes the defense of our seaboard, so necessary to be pressed during the present season, will in various parts be defeated unless a remedy can be applied. With a view to this I submit the case to the consideration of Congress, who, estimating its importance and reviewing the powers vested in them by the Constitution, combined with the amendment providing that private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation, will decide on the course most proper to be pursued. I am aware that as the consent of the legislature of the State to the purchase of the site may not in some instances have been previously obtained, exclusive legislation can not be exercised therein by Congress until that consent is given. But in the meantime it will be held under the same laws which protect the property of individuals and other prop- erty of the United States in the same State, and the legislatures at their next meetings will have opportunities of doing what will be so evidently called for by the particular interest of their own State. TH: JEFFERSON. MARCH 25, 1808. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I now lay before Congress a statement of the militia of the United States according to the latest returns received by the Department of War. From the State of Delaware alone no return has been made. TH: JEFFERSON. 448 Messages and Papers of the Presidents MARCH 25, 1808. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I transmit to both Houses of Congress a report from the surveyor of the public buildings of the progress made on them during the last session, of their present state, and of that of the funds appropriated to them. These have been much exceeded by the cost of the work done, a fact not known to me till the close of the season. The circumstances from which it arose are stated in the report of the surveyor. TH: JEFFERSON. MARCH 29, 1808. To the Senate of the United States: When the convention of the yth of January, 1806, was entered into with the Cherokees for the purchase of certain lands, it was believed by both parties that the eastern limit, when run in the direction therein prescribed, would have included all the waters of Elk River. On pro- ceeding to run that line, however, it was found to omit a considerable extent of those waters, on which were already settled about 200 families. The Cherokees readily consented, for a moderate compensation, that the line should be so run as to include all the waters of that river. Our com- missioners accordingly entered into an explanatory convention for that purpose, which I now lay before the Senate for consideration whether they will advise and consent to its ratification. A letter from one of the commissioners, now also inclosed, will more fully explain the circum- stances which led to it. Lieutenant Pike on his journey up the Mississippi in 1805-6, being at the village of the Sioux, between the rivers St. Croix and St. Peters, conceived that the position was favorable for a military and commercial post for the United States whenever it should be thought expedient to advance in that quarter. He therefore proposed to the chiefs a cession of lands for that purpose. Their desire of entering into connection with the United States and of getting a trading house established there induced a ready consent to the proposition, and they made, by articles of agree- ment now inclosed, a voluntary donation to the United States of two portions of land, the one of 9 miles square at the mouth of the St. Croix, the other from below the mouth of St. Peters up the Mississippi to St. Anthonys Falls, extending 9 miles in width on each side of the Mississippi. These portions of land are designated on the map now inclosed. Lieutenant Pike on his part made presents to the Indians to some amount. This convention, though dated the 23d of September, 1805, is but lately received, and although we have no immediate view of establishing a trading post at that place, I submit it to the Senate for the sanction of their advice and consent to its ratification, in order to give to our title a full validity on the part of the United States, when- Thomas Jefferson 449 ever it may be wanting, for the special purpose which constituted in the mind of the donors the sole consideration and inducement to the cession. TH: JEFFERSON. MARCH 30, 1808. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: Since my message of the 22d instant letters have been received from pur ministers at Paris and London, extracts from which, with a letter to General Armstrong from the French minister of foreign relations, and a letter from the British envoy residing here to the Secretary of State, I now communicate to Congress. They add to the materials for estimat- ing the dispositions of those Governments toward this country. The proceedings of both indicate designs of drawing us, if possible, into the vortex of their contests; but every new information confirms the prudence of guarding against these designs as it does of adhering to the precautionary system hitherto contemplated. TH: JEFFERSON. APRIL 2, 1808. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: Believing that the confidence and union of our fellow-citizens at the present crisis will be still further confirmed by the publication of the letter of Mr. Champagny to General Armstrong and that of Mr. Erskine to the Secretary of State, communicated with my message of the 3Oth ultimo, and therefore that it may be useful to except them from the con- fidential character of the other documents accompanying that message, I leave to the consideration of Congress the expediency of making them public. TH: JEFFERSON. APRII, 8, 1808. To the Senate of the United States: Agreeably to the request of the Senate in their resolution of yester- day, I have examined my papers and find no letter from Matthew Nimmo of the date of November 28, 1806, nor any other from him of any date but that of January 23, 1807, now transmitted, with all the papers in my possession which accompanied it. Nor do I find any letter from John Smith, of Ohio, bearing date at any time in the month of January, 1807. Having delivered to the Attorney- General all the papers respecting the conspiracy of Aaron Burr which came to my hands during or before his prosecution, I might suppose the letters above requested had been M P voiy i 29 450 Messages and Papers of the Presidents delivered to him; but I must add my belief that I never received such letters, and the ground of it. I am in the habit of noting daily in the list kept for that purpose the letters I receive daily by the names of the writers, and dates of time, and place, and this has been done with such exactness that I do not recollect ever to have detected a single omission. I have carefully examined that list from the ist of November, 1806, to the last of June, 1807, and I find no note within that period of the receipt of any letter from Matthew Nimmo but that now transmitted, nor of any one of the date of January, 1807, from John Smith, of Ohio. The letters noted as received from him within that period are dated at Washington, February 2, 2, 7, and 21, which I have examined, and find relating to subjects entirely foreign to the objects of the resolution of the 7th instant; and others, dated at Cincinnati, March 27, April 6, 13, and 17, which, not being now in my possession, I presume have related to Burr's conspiracy, and have been delivered to the Attorney -General. I recollect nothing of their particular contents. I must repeat, therefore, my firm belief that the letters of Nimmo of November 28, 1806, and of John Smith of January, 1807, never came to my hands, and that if such were written (and Nimmo's letter expressly mentions his of November 28), they have been intercepted or otherwise miscarried. TH: JEFFERSON. APRIL 22, 1808. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I transmit to both Houses of Congress a letter from the envoy of His Britannic Majesty at this place to the Secretary of State on the subject of certain British claims to lands in the Territory of Mississippi, relative to which several acts have been heretofore passed by the Legislature. TH: JEFFERSON. PROCLAMATION. BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas information has been received that sundry persons are com- bined or combining and confederating together on L,ake Champlain and the country thereto adjacent for the purposes of forming insurrections against the authority of the laws of the United States, for opposing the same and obstructing their execution, and that such combinations are 7"homas Jefferson 451 too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceed- ings or by the powers vested in the marshals by the laws of the United States: Now, therefore, to the end that the authority of the laws may be main- tained, and that those concerned, directly or indirectly, in any insurrec- tion or combination against the same may be duly warned, I have issued this my proclamation, hereby commanding such insurgents and all con- cerned in such combination instantly and without delay to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes. And I do hereby further require and command all officers having authority, civil or military, and all other persons, civil or military, who shall be found within the vici- nage of such insurrections or combinations to be aiding and assisting by all the means in their power, by force of arms or otherwise, to quell and subdue such insurrections or combinations, to seize upon all those therein concerned who .shall not instantly and without delay disperse and retire to their respective abodes, and to deliver them over to the civil authority of the place, to be proceeded against according to law. In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United States to be affixed to these presents, and signed the same with my hand. [SEAL.] Given at the city of Washington, the igth day of April, 1808, and in the year of the Sovereignty and Independence of the United States the thirty-second. TH: JEFFERSON. By the President : JAMES MADISON, Secretary of State. EIGHTH ANNUAL MESSAGE. NOVEMBER 8, 1808. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: It would have been a source, fellow-citizens, of much gratification if our last communications from Europe had enabled me to inform you that the belligerent nations, whose disregard of neutral rights has been so destructive to our commerce, had become awakened to the duty and true policy of revoking their unrighteous edicts. That no means might be omitted to produce this salutary effect, I lost no time in availing myself of the act authorizing a suspension, in whole or in part, of the sev- eral embargo laws. Our ministers at London and Paris were instructed to explain to the respective Governments there our disposition to exer- cise the authority in such manner as would withdraw the pretext on 452 Messages and Papers of the Presidents which the aggressions were originally founded and open the way for a renewal of that commercial intercourse which it was alleged on all sides had been reluctantly obstructed. As each of those Governments had pledged its readiness to concur in renouncing a measure which reached its adversary through the incontestable rights of neutrals only, and as the measure had been assumed by each as a retaliation for an asserted acquiescence in the aggressions of the other, it was reasonably expected that the occasion would have been seized by both for. evincing the sin- cerity of their professions, and for restoring to the commerce of the United States its legitimate freedom. The instructions to our ministers with respect to the different belligerents were necessarily modified with a reference to their different circumstances, and to the condition annexed by law to the Executive power of suspension, requiring a decree of security to our commerce which would not result from a repeal of the decrees of France. Instead of a pledge, therefore, of a suspension of the embargo as to her in case of such a repeal, it was presumed that a sufficient inducement might be found in other considerations, and par- ticularly in the change produced by a compliance with our just demands by one belligerent and a refusal by the other in the relations between the other and the United States. To Great Britain, whose power on the ocean is so ascendant, it was deemed not inconsistent with that condition to state Explicitly that on her rescinding her orders in relation to the United States their trade would be opened with her, and remain shut to her enemy in case of his failure to rescind his decrees also. From France no answer has been received, nor any indication that the requi- site change in her decrees is contemplated. The favorable reception of the proposition to Great Britain was the less to be doubted, as her orders of council had not only been referred for their vindication to an acqui- escence on the part of the United States no longer to be pretended, but as the arrangement proposed, whilst it resisted the illegal decrees of France, involved, moreover, substantially the precise advantages profess- edly aimed at by the British orders. The arrangement has nevertheless been rejected. This candid and liberal experiment having thus failed, and no other event having occurred on which a suspension of the embargo by the Executive was authorized, it necessarily remains in the extent originally given to it. We have the satisfaction, however, to reflect that in return for the privations imposed by the measure, and which our fellow-citizens in general have borne with patriotism, it has had the important effects of saving our mariners and our vast mercantile property, as well as of affording time for prosecuting the defensive and provisional measures called for by the occasion. It has demonstrated to foreign nations the moderation and firmness which govern our councils, and to our citizens the necessity of uniting in support of the laws and the rights of their country, and has thus long frustrated those usurpations and spoliations Thomas Jefferson 453 which, if resisted, involved war; if submitted to, sacrificed a vital prin- ciple of our national independence. Under a continuance of the belligerent measures which, in defiance of laws which consecrate the rights of neutrals, overspread the ocean with danger, it will rest with the wisdom of Congress to decide on the course best adapted to such a state of things; and bringing with them, as they do, from every part of the Union the sentiments of our constituents, my confidence is strengthened that in forming this decision they will, with an unerring regard to the essential rights and interests of the nation, weigh and compare the painful alternatives out of which a choice is to be made. Nor should I do justice to the virtues which on other occa- sions have marked the character of our fellow-citizens if I did not cherish an equal confidence that the alternative chosen, whatever it may be, will be maintained with all the fortitude and patriotism which the crisis ought to inspire. The documents containing the correspondences on the subject of the foreign edicts against our commerce, with the instructions given to our ministers at London and Paris, are now laid before you. The communications made to Congress at their last session explained the posture in which the close of the discussions relating to the attack by a British ship of war on the frigate Chesapeake left a subject on which the nation had manifested so honorable a sensibility. Every view of what had passed authorized a belief that immediate steps would be taken by the British Government for redressing a wrong which the more it was investigated appeared the more clearly to require what had not been provided for in the special mission. It is found that no steps have been taken for the purpose. On the contrary, it will be seen in the documents laid before you that the inadmissible preliminary which obstructed the adjustment is still adhered to, and, moreover, that it is now brought into connection with the distinct and irrelative case of the orders in council. The instructions which had been given to our minister at London with a view to facilitate, if necessary, the reparation claimed by the United States are included in the documents communicated. Our relations with the other powers of Europe have undergone no material changes since your last session. The important negotiations with Spain which had been alternately suspended and resumed neces- sarily experience a pause under the extraordinary and interesting crisis which distinguishes her internal situation. With the Barbary Powers we continue in harmony, with the exception of an unjustifiable proceeding of the Dey of Algiers toward our consul to that Regency. Its character and circumstances are now laid before you, and will enable you to decide how far it may, either now or hereafter, call for any measures not within the limits of the Executive authority. With our Indian neighbors the public peace has been steadily main- tained. Some instances of individual wrong have, as at other times, 454 Messages and Papers of the Presidents taken place, but in no wise implicating the will of the nation. Beyond the Mississippi the loways, the Sacs, and the Alabamas have delivered up for trial and punishment individuals from among themselves accused of murdering citizens of the United States. On this side of the Mississippi the Creeks are exerting themselves to arrest offenders of the same kind, and the Choctaws have manifested their readiness and desire for amicable and just arrangements respecting depredations committed by disorderly persons of their tribe. And, generally, from a conviction that we con- sider them as a part of ourselves, and cherish with sincerity their rights and interests, the attachment of the Indian tribes is gaining strength daily is extending from the nearer to the more remote, and will amply requite us for the justice and friendship practiced toward them. Hus- bandry and household manufacture are advancing among them more rap- idly with the Southern than Northeni tribes, from circumstances of soil and climate, and one of the two great divisions of the Cherokee Nation have now under consideration to solicit the citizenship of the United States, and to be identified with us in laws and government in such pro- gressive manner as we shall think best. In consequence of the appropriations of the last session of Congress for the security of our seaport towns and harbors, such works of defense have been erected as seemed to be called for by the situation of the sev- eral places, their relative importance, and the scale of expense indicated by the amount of the appropriation. These works will chiefly be finished in the course of the present season, except at New York and New Or- leans, where most was to be done; and although a great proportion of the last appropriation has been expended on the former place, yet some fur- ther views will be submitted to Congress for rendering its security entirely adequate against naval enterprise. A view of what has been done at the several places, and of w r hat is proposed to be done, shall be communicated as soon as the several reports are received. Of the gunboats authorized by the act of December last, it has been thought necessary to build only 103 in the present year. These, with those before possessed, are sufficient- for the harbors and waters most exposed, and the residue will require little time for their construction when it shall be deemed necessary. Under the act of the last session for raising an additional military force so many officers were immediately appointed as were necessary for carry - irg on the business of recruiting, and in proportion as it advanced others have been added. We have reason to believe their success has been sat- isfactory, although such returns have not yet been received as enable me to present you a statement of the numbers engaged. I have not thought it necessary in the course of the last season to call for any general detachments of militia or of volunteers under the laws passed for that purpose. For the ensuing season, however, they will be required to be in readiness should their service be wanted. Some small Thomas Jefferson 455 and special detachments have been necessary to maintain the laws of embargo on that portion of our northern frontier which offered peculiar facilities for evasion, but these were replaced as soon as it could be done by bodies of new recruits. By the aid of these and of the armed vessels called into service in other quarters the spirit of disobedience and abuse, which manifested itself early and with sensible effect while we were unprepared to meet it, has been considerably repressed. Considering the extraordinary character of the times in which we live, our attention should unremittingly be fixed on the safety of our country. For a people who are free, and who mean to remain so, a well organized and armed militia is their best security. It is therefore incumbent on us at every meeting to revise the condition of the militia, and to ask ourselves if it is prepared to repel a powerful enemy at every point of our territories exposed to invasion. Some of the States have paid a laudable attention to this object, but every degree of neglect is to be found among others. Congress alone having the power to produce an uniform state of preparation in this great organ of defense, the interests which they so deeply feel in their own and their country's security will present this as among the most important objects of their deliberation. Under the acts of March 1 1 and April 23 respecting arms, the diffi- culty of procuring them from abroad during the present situation and dispositions of Europe induced us to direct our whole efforts to the means of internal supply. The public factories have therefore been enlarged, additional machineries erected, and, in proportion as artificers can be found or forme'd, their effect, already more than doubled, may be in- creased so as to keep pace with the yearly increase of the militia. The annual sums appropriated by the latter act have been directed to the encouragement of private factories of arms, and contracts have been entered into with individual undertakers to nearly the amount of the first year's appropriation. The suspension of our foreign commerce, produced by the injustice of the belligerent powers, and the consequent losses and sacrifices of our citizens are subjects of just concern. The situation into which w r e have thus been forced has impelled us to apply a portion of our industry and capital to internal manufactures and improvements. The extent of this conversion is daily increasing, and little doubt remains that the estab- lishments formed and forming will, under the auspices of cheaper mate- rials and subsistence, the freedom of labor from taxation with us, and of protecting duties and prohibitions, become permanent. The com- merce with the Indians, too, within our own boundaries is likely to receive abundant aliment from the same internal source, and will secure to them peace and the progress of civilization, undisturbed by practices hostile to both. The accounts of the receipts and expenditures during the year ending the 30th of September last being not yet made up, a correct statement 456 Messages and Papers of the Presidents will hereafter be transmitted from the Treasury. In the meantime it is ascertained that the receipts have amounted to near $18,000,000, which, with the eight millions and a half in the Treasury at the begin- ning of the year, have enabled us, after meeting the current demands and interest incurred, to pay $2,300,000 of the principal of our funded debt, and left us in the Treasury on that day near $14,000,000. Of these, $5,350,000 will be necessary to pay what will be due on the ist day of January next, which will complete the reimbursement of the 8 per cent stock. These payments, with those made in the six years and a half preceding, will have extinguished $33,580,000 of the principal of the funded debt, being the whole which could be paid or purchased within the limits of the law and of our contracts, and the amount of principal thus discharged will have liberated the revenue from about $2,000,000 of interest and added that sum annually to the disposable surplus. The probable accumulation of the surpluses of revenue beyond what can be applied to the payment of the public debt whenever the freedom and safety of our commerce shall be restored merits the consideration of ..Con- gress. Shall it lie unproductive in the public vaults? Shall the reve- nue be reduced? Or shall it not rather be appropriated to the improve- ments of roads, canals, rivers, education, and other great foundations of prosperity and union under the powers which Congress may already pos- sess or such amendment of the Constitution as may be approved by the States? While uncertain of the course of things, the time may be advan- tageously employed in obtaining the powers necessary for a system of improvement, should that be thought best. Availing myself of this the last occasion which will occur of address- ing the two Houses of the Legislature at their meeting, I can not omit the expression of my sincere gratitude for the repeated proofs of confidence manifested to me by themselves and their predecessors since my call to the administration and the many indulgences experienced at their hands. The same grateful acknowledgments are due to my fellow-citizens gener- ally, whose support has been my great encouragement under all embar- rassments. In the transaction of their business I can not have escaped error. It is incident to our imperfect nature. But I may say with truth my errors have been of the understanding, not of intention, and that the advancement of their rights and interests has been the constant motive for every measure. On these considerations I solicit their indulgence. I/joking forward with anxiety to their future destinies, I trust that in their steady character, unshaken by difficulties, in their love of liberty, obedience to law, and support of the public authorities I see a sure guar- anty of the permanence of our Republic; and, retiring from the charge of their affairs, I carry with me the consolation of a firm persuasion that Heaven has in store for our beloved country long ages to come of pros- perity and happiness. TH: JEFFERSON. Thomas Jefferson 457 SPECIAL MESSAGES. NOVEMBER 8, 1808. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: The documents communicated with my public message of this day contain such portions of the correspondences therein referred to, of the ministers of the United States at Paris and London, as relate to the present state of affairs between those Governments and the United States, and as may be made public. I now communicate, confidentially, such supplementary portions of the same correspondences as I deem improper for publication, yet necessary to convey to Congress full information on a subject of their deliberations so interesting to our country. TH: JEFFERSON. NOVEMBER n, 1808. To the Senate of the United States: # * * * * * * The governor of the Mississippi Territory having thought it expedient to dissolve the general assembly of that Territory, according to the authority vested in him by the ordinance of July 13, 1787, and having declared it dissolved accordingly, some doubt was suggested whether that declaration effected the dissolution of the legislative council. On mature consideration and advice I approved of the proceeding of the governor. The house of representatives of the Territory, since chosen, have conse- quently nominated ten persons out of whom a legislative council should be appointed. I do accordingly nominate and, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint John Flood McGrew, Thomas Calvit, James L,ea, Alexander Montgomery, and Daniel Burnet, being five of the said ten persons, to serve as a legislative council for the said Ter- ritory, to continue in office five years, unless sooner removed according to law. TH: JEFFERSON. DECEMBER 13, 1808. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I now transmit to both Houses of Congress a report of the commis- sioners appointed under the act of March 29, 1806, concerning a road from Cumberland to Ohio, being a statement of the proceedings under the said act since their last report communicated to Congress, in order that Congress may be enabled to adopt such further measures as may be proper under existing circumstances. TH: JEFFERSON. 458 Messages and Papers of the Presidents DKCKMBKR 23, 1808. To the Senate of the Ihiited States: According to the request of the Senate in their resolution of Novem- ber 14, that copies should be laid before them of all the orders and decrees of the belligerent powers of Europe, passed since 1791, affecting the com- mercial rights of the United States, I now transmit them a report of the Secretary of State of such of them as have been attainable in the Depart- ment of State and are supposed to have entered into the views of the Senate. TH: JEFFERSON. DECEMBER 27, 1808. To the Senate of the United States: According to the request expressed by the Senate in their resolution of November 14, I now transmit a report of the Secretary of the Treasury and statement showing, as far as returns have been received from the collectors, the number of vessels which have departed from the United States with permission, and specifying the other particulars contemplated by that resolution. TH: JEFFERSON. DECEMBER 30, 1808. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: At the request of the governor, the senate, and house of representa- tives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, I communicate certain reso- lutions entered into by the said senate and house of representatives, and approved by the governor, on the 23d instant. It can not but be encour- aging to those whom the nation has placed in the direction of their affairs to see that their fellow-citizens will press forward in support of their country in proportion as it is threatened by the disorganizing conflicts of the other hemisphere. TH: JEFFERSON. DECEMBER 30, 1808. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I lay before the Legislature a letter from Governor Claiborne on the subject of a small tribe of Alabama Indians on the western side of the Mississippi, consisting of about a dozen families. Like other erratic tribes in that country, it is understood that they have hitherto moved from place to place according to their convenience, without appropriat- ing to themselves exclusively any particular territory; but having now become habituated to some of the occupations of civilized life, they wish for a fixed residence. I suppose it will be the interest of the United States to encourage the wandering tribes of that country to reduce them- Thomas Jefferson 459 selves to fixed habitations whenever they are so disposed. The estab- lishment of towns and growing attachments to them will furnish in some degree pledges of their peaceable and friendly conduct. The case of this particular tribe is now submitted to the consideration of Congress. TH: JEFFERSON. JANUARY 6, 1809. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I now lay before Congress a statement of the works of defense which it has been thought necessary to provide in the first instance for the secu- rity of our seaport towns and harbors, and of the progress toward their completion. Their extent has been adapted to the scale of the appropria- tion and to the circumstances of the several places. The works undertaken at New York are calculated to annoy and endanger any naval force which shall enter the harbor, and, still more, one which should attempt to lie before the city. To prevent altogether the entrance of large vessels, a line of blocks across the harbor has been contemplated, and would, as is believed, with the auxiliary means already provided, render that city safe against naval enterprise. The expense as well as the importance of the work renders it a subject proper for the special consideration of Congress. At New Orleans two separate systems of defense are necessary the one for the river, the other for the lake, which at present can give no aid to one another. The canal now leading from the lake, if continued into the river, would enable the armed vessels in both stations to unite, and to meet in conjunction an attack from either side. Half the aggregate force would then have the same effect as the whole, or the same force double the effect of what either can now have. It would also enable the vessels stationed in the lake when attacked by superior force to retire to a safer position in the river. The same considerations of expense and importance render this also a question for the special decision of Congress. TH: JEFFERSON. JANUARY 13, 1809. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I now render to Congress the account of the fund established for defray- ing the contingent expenses of Government for the year 1808. Of the $20,000 appropriated for that purpose, $2,oco were deposited in the hands of the Attorney-General of the United States to pay expenses incident to the prosecution of Aaron Burr and his accomplices for trea- son and misdemeanors alleged to have been committed by them; $990 were paid to the order of Governor Williams on the same account, and the balance of $17,010 remains in the Treasury unexpended. TH: JEFFERSON: 460 Messages and Papers of the Presidents JANUARY 17, 1809. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I communicate to Congress certain letters which passed between the British secretary of state, Mr. Canning, and Mr. Pinkney, our minister plenipotentiary at London. When the documents concerning the rela- tions between the United States and Great Britain were laid before Con- gress at the commencement of the session, the answer of Mr. Pinkney to the letter of Mr. Canning had not been received, and a communication of the latter alone would have accorded neither with propriety nor with the wishes of Mr. Pinkney. When that answer afterwards arrived it was considered that, as what had passed by conversation had been super- seded by the written and formal correspondence on the subject, the variance in the two statements of what had verbally passed was not of sufficient importance to be made the matter of a distinct and special communication. The letter of Mr. Canning, however, having lately appeared in print, unaccompanied by that of Mr. Pinkney in reply, and having a tendency to make impressions not warranted by the statements of Mr. Pinkney, it has become proper that the whole should be brought into public view. TH: JEFFERSON. JANUARY 24, 1809. To the Senate of the United States: According to the resolution of the Senate of the lyth instant, I now transmit them the information therein requested, respecting the execution of the act of Congress of February 21, 1806, appropriating $2,000,000 for defraying any extraordinary expenses attending the intercourse between the United States and foreign nations. TH: JEFFERSON. JANUARY 30, 1809. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I transmit to Congress a letter recently received from our minister at the Court of St. James, covering one to him from the British secretary of state, with his reply. These are communicated as forming a sequel to the correspondence which accompanied my message to both Houses of the i ytli instant. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 18, 1809. To the Senate of the United States: I submit a treaty, concluded at Brownstown, in the Territory of Mich- igan, between the United States and the Chippewas, Ottawas, Potawat- tamies, Wyandots, and Shawnees, on the 25th day of November last, Thomas Jefferson 461 whereby those tribes grant to the United States two roads, therein de- scribed, for the decision of the Senate whether they will advise and con- sent to the ratification of it. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 24, 1809. To the Senate of the United States: The Emperor of Russia has on several occasions indicated sentiments particularly friendly to the United States, and expressed a wish through different channels that a diplomatic intercourse should be established between the two countries. His high station and the relations of Rus- sia to the predominant powers of Europe must give him weight with them according to the vicissitudes of the war, and his influence in nego- tiations for peace may be of value to the United States should arrange- ments of any sort affecting them be contemplated by other powers in the present extraordinary state of the world; and under the constant possibility of sudden negotiations for peace I have thought that the friendly dispositions of such a power might be advantageously cherished by a mission which should manifest our willingness to -meet his good will. I accordingly commissioned in the month of August last William Short, formerly minister plenipotentiary of the United States at Madrid, to proceed as minister plenipotentiary to the Court of St. Petersburg, and he proceeded accordingly; and I now nominate him to the Senate for that appointment. TH: JEFFERSON. FEBRUARY 25, 1809. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I now lay before Congress a statement of the militia of the United States according to the latest returns received by the Department of War. TH: JEFFERSON. PROCLAMATION. [From Annals of Congress, Tenth Congress, second session, 462. f WASHINGTON, December jo, 1808. Tlie President of the United States to , Senator for the State of . Certain matters touching the public good requiring that the Senate should be convened on Saturday, the 4th day of March next, you are desired to attend at the Senate Chamber, in the city of Washington, on that day, then and there to deliberate on such communications as shall be made to you. TH: JEFFERSON. James Madison March 4, 18O9, to March 4, 1817 463 James Madison JAMES MADISON was born in Orange County, Va., on the i6th of March, 1751. He was the son of James Madison, the family being of English descent, and among the early settlers of Virginia. Was fitted for college by private tutors, and entered Princeton College in 1769, graduating in 1771; remained a year at college pursuing his studies. After this he returned to Virginia and began the practice of law. In 1776 was elected a member of the general assembly of Virginia, and in 1778 was appointed a member of the executive council. In the winter of 1779-80 was chosen a delegate to the Continental Congress, of which body he continued an active and prominent member till 1784. The legislature of Virginia appointed him in 1786 a delegate to a conven- tion at Annapolis, Md. , to devise a system of commercial regulations for all the States. Upon their recommendation a convention of delegates from all the States was held in Philadelphia in May, 1787. This Con- vention framed the Constitution of the United States, and of it Mr. Madison was a leading member. He was next a member of the conven- tion of his State which met to consider the new Constitution for the United States. Was a member of the House of Representatives in the First Congress, taking his seat in April, 1789, and continued to be a member of the House during both of Washington's terms as President. He married Mrs. Dolly Paine Todd, of Philadelphia, in 1794, she being the widow of a Pennsylvania lawyer. Her father was a Quaker, and had removed from Virginia to Philadelphia. Declined the office of Secre- tary of State, vacated by Jefferson, in 1793. He retired from Congress in 1797, and in 1798 accepted a seat in the Virginia assembly. In 1801 was appointed by President Jefferson Secretary of State, which office he held during the eight years of Jefferson's Administration. In 1808 was elected President, and was reelected in 1812. On March 4, 1817, he retired from public life, and passed the remainder of his days at Mont- pelier, in Orange County, Va. In 1829 was chosen a member of the State convention to revise the constitution of Virginia, and was also chosen president of an agricultural society in his county. He died on the 28th day of June, 1836, and was buried at his home. M P VOL 130 465 466 Messages and Papers of the Presidents LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT ELECT. The President of the Senate communicated the following ' letter from the President elect of the United States: CITY OF WASHINGTON, March 2, 1809. Hon. JOHN MILLEDGE, President pro tempore of the Senate. SIR: I beg leave through you to inform the honorable the Senate of the United States that I propose to take the oath which the Constitution prescribes to the President of the United States before he enters on the execution of his office on Saturday, the 4th instant, at 12 o'clock, in the Chamber of the House of Representatives. I have the honor to be, with the greatest respect, sir, your most obe- dient and most humble servant, JAMES MADISON. FIRST INAUGURAL ADDRESS. Unwilling to depart from examples of the most revered authority, I avail myself of the occasion now presented to express the profound impression made on me by the call of my country to the station to the duties of which I am about to pledge myself by the most solemn of sanctions. So distinguished a mark of confidence, proceeding from the deliberate and tranquil suffrage of a free and virtuous nation, would under any circumstances have commanded my gratitude and devotion, as well as filled me with an awful sense of the trust to be assumed. Under the various circumstances which give peculiar solemnity to the existing period, I feel that both the honor and the responsibility allotted to me are inexpressibly enhanced. The present situation of the world is indeed without a parallel, and that of our own country full of difficulties. The pressure of these, too, is the more severely felt because they have fallen upon us at a moment when the national prosperity being at a height not before attained, the contrast resulting from the change has been rendered the more striking. Under the benign influence of our republican institutions, and the main- tenance of peace with all nations whilst so many of them were engaged in bloody and wasteful wars, the fruits of a just policy were enjoyed in an unrivaled growth of our faculties and resources. Proofs of this were seen in the improvements of agriculture, in the successful enterprises of commerce, in the progress of manufactures and useful arts, in the in- crease of the public revenue and the use made of it in reducing the public James Madison 467 debt, and in the valuable works and establishments everywhere multi- plying over the face of our land. It is a precious reflection that the transition from this prosperous con- dition of our country to the scene which has for some time been distress- ing us is not chargeable on any unwarrantable views, nor, as I trust, on any involuntary errors in the public councils. Indulging no passions which trespass on the rights or the repose of other nations, it has been the true glory of the United States to cultivate peace by observing justice, and to entitle themselves to the respect of the nations at war by fulfilling their neutral obligations with the most scrupulous impartiality. If there be candor in the world, the truth of these assertions will not be ques- tioned; posterity at least will do justice to them. This unexceptionable course could not avail against the injustice and violence of the belligerent powers. In their rage against each other, or impelled by more direct motives, principles of retaliation have been intro- duced equally contrary to universal reason and acknowledged law. How long their arbitrary edicts will be continued in spite of the demon- strations that not even a pretext for them has been given by the United States, and of the fair and liberal attempt to induce a revocation of them, can not be anticipated. Assuring myself that under every vicissitude the determined spirit and united councils of the nation will be safeguards to its honor and its essential interests, I repair to the post assigned me with no other discouragement than what springs from my own inade- quacy to its high duties. If I do not sink under the weight of this deep conviction it is because I find some support in a consciousness of the purposes and a confidence in the principles which I bring with me into this arduous service. To cherish peace and friendly intercourse with all nations having cor- respondent dispositions; to maintain sincere neutrality toward belligerent nations; to prefer in all cases amicable discussion and reasonable accom- modation of differences to a decision of them by an appeal to arms; to exclude foreign intrigues and foreign partialities, so degrading to all countries and so baneful to free ones; to foster a spirit of independence too just to invade the rights of others, too proud to surrender our own, too liberal to indulge unworthy prejudices ourselves and too elevated not to look down upon them in others; to hold the union of the States as the basis of their peace and happiness; to support the Constitution, which is the cement of the Union, as well in its limitations as in its authorities; to respect the rights and authorities reserved to the States and to the people as equally incorporated with and essential to the success of the general system; to avoid the slightest interference with the rights of conscience or the functions of religion, so wisely exempted from civil jurisdiction; to preserve in their full energy the other salutary provisions in behalf of private and personal rights, and of the freedom of the press; to observe economy in public expenditures; to liberate the 468 Messages and Papers of the Presidents public resources by an honorable discharge of the public debts; to keep within the requisite limits a standing military force, always remembering that an armed and trained militia is the firmest bulwark of republics that without standing armies their liberty can never be in danger, nor with large ones safe; to promote by authorized means improvements friendly to agriculture, to manufactures, and to external as well as inter- nal commerce; to favor in like manner the advancement of science and the diffusion of information as the best aliment to true liberty; to carry on the benevolent plans which have been so meritoriously applied to the conversion of our aboriginal neighbors from the degradation and wretch- edness of savage life to a participation of the improvements of which the human mind and manners are susceptible in a civilized state as far as sentiments and intentions such as these can aid the fulfillment of my duty, they will be a resource which can not fail me. It is my good fortune, moreover, to have the path in which I am to tread lighted by examples of illustrious services successfully rendered in the most trying difficulties by those who have marched before me. Of those of my immediate predecessor it might least become me here to speak. I may, however, be pardoned for not suppressing the sympathy with which my heart is full in the rich reward he en joys in the benedic- tions of a beloved country, gratefully bestowed for exalted talents zeal- ously devoted through a long career to the advancement of its highest interest and happiness. But the source to which I look for the aids which alone can supply my deficiencies is in the well-tried intelligence and, virtue of my fellow-citi- zens, and in the counsels of those representing them in the other depart- ments associated in the care of the national interests. In these my confidence will under every difficulty be best placed, next to that which we have all been encouraged to feel in the guardianship and guidance of that Almighty Being whose power regulates the destiny of nations, whose blessings have been so conspicuously dispensed to this rising Republic, and to whom we are bound to address our devout gratitude for the past, as well as our fervent supplications and best hopes for the future. MARCH 4, 1809. SPECIAL SESSION MESSAGE. Fellow- Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: On this first occasion of meeting you it affords me much satisfaction to be able to communicate the commencement of a favorable change in our foreign relations, the critical state of which induced a session of Congress at this early period. In consequence of the provisions of the act interdicting commercial James Madison 469 intercourse with Great Britain and France, our ministers at London and Paris were without delay instructed to let it be understood by the French and British Governments that the authority vested in the Executive to renew commercial intercourse with their respective nations would be exercised in the case specified by that act. Soon after these instructions were dispatched it was found that the British Government, anticipating from early proceedings of Congress at their last session the state of our laws, which has had the effect of pla- cing the two belligerent powers on a footing of equal restrictions, and relying on the conciliatory disposition of the United States, had trans- mitted to their legation here provisional instructions not only to offer satisfaction for the attack on the frigate Chesapeake, and to make known the determination of His Britannic Majesty to send an envoy extraordi- nary with powers to conclude a treaty on all the points between the two countries, but, moreover, to signify his willingness in the meantime to withdraw his orders in council, in the persuasion that the intercourse with Great Britain would be renewed on the part of the United States. These steps of the British Government led to the correspondence and the proclamation now laid before you, by virtue of which the commerce between the two countries will be renewable after the loth day of June next. Whilst I take pleasure in doing justice to the councils of His Britannic Majesty, which, no longer adhering to the policy which made an aban- donment by France of her decrees a prerequisite to a revocation of the British orders, have substituted the amicable course which has issued thus happily, I can not do less than refer to the proposal heretofore made on the part of the United States, embracing a like restoration of the sus- pended commerce, as a proof of the spirit of accommodation which has at no time been intermitted, and to the result which now calls for our con- gratulations, as corroborating the principles by which the public councils have been guided during a period of the most trying embarrassments. The discontinuance of the British orders as they respect the United States having been thus arranged, a communication of the event has been forwarded in one of our public vessels to our minister plenipotentiary at Paris, with instructions to avail himself of the important addition thereby made to the considerations which press on the justice of the French Gov- ernment a revocation of its decrees or such a modification of them as that they shall cease to violate the neutral commerce of the United States. The revision of our commercial laws proper to adapt them to the arrangement which has taken place with Great Britain will doubtless engage the early attention of Congress. It will be worthy at the same time of their just and provident care to make such further alterations in the laws as will more especially protect and foster the several branches of manufacture which have been recently instituted or extended by the laudable exertions of our citizens. 470 Messages and Papers of the Presidents Under the existing aspect of our affairs I have thought it not incon- sistent with a just precaution to have the gunboats, with the exception of those at New Orleans, placed in a situation incurring no expense beyond that requisite for their preservation and conveniency for future service, and to have the crews of those at New Orleans reduced to the number required for their navigation and safety. I have thought also that our citizens detached in quotas of militia amounting to 100,000 under the act of March, 1808, might not improp- erly be relieved from the state in which they were held for immediate service. A discharge of them has been accordingly directed. The progress made in raising and organizing the additional military force, for which provision was made by the act of April, 1808, together with the disposition of the troops, will appear by a report which the Sec- retary of War is preparing, and which will be laid before you. Of the additional frigates required by an act of the last session to be fitted for actual service, two are in readiness, one nearly so, and the fourth is expected to be ready in the month of July. A report which the Secre- tary of the Navy is preparing on the subject, to be laid before Congress, will shew at the same time the progress made in officering and manning these ships. It will shew also the degree in which the provisions of the act relating to the other public armed ships have been carried into execution. It will rest with, the judgment of Congress to decide how far the change in our external prospects may authorize any modifications of the laws relating to the army and navy establishments. The works of defense for our seaport towns and harbors have pro- ceeded with .as much activity as the season of the year and other cir- cumstances would admit. It is necessary, however, to state that, the appropriations hitherto made being found to be deficient, a further pro- vision will claim the early consideration of Congress. The whole of the 8 per cent stock remaining due by the United States, amounting to $5,300,000, had been reimbursed on the last day of the year 1808; and on the ist day of April last the sum in the Treasur}' exceeded $9,500,000. This, together with the receipts of the current year on account of former revenue bonds, will probably be nearly if not altogether sufficient to defray the expenses of the year. But the suspen- sion of exports and the consequent decrease of importations during the last twelve months will necessarily cause a great diminution in the receipts of the year 1810. After that year, should our foreign relations be undis- turbed, the revenue will again be more than commensurate to all the expenditures. Aware of the inconveniences of a protracted session at the present season of the year, I forbear to call the attention of the Legislature to any matters not particularly urgent. It remains, therefore, only to assure you of the fidelity and alacrity with which I shall cooperate for the wel- James Madison 471 fare and happiness of our country, and to pray that it may experience a continuance of the divine blessings by which it has been so .signally favored. JAMES MADISON. MAY 23, 1809. SPECIAL MESSAGES. MAY 26, 1809. To the Senate of the United States: I now lay before Congress the report of the Secretary of War, shewing the progress made in carrying into effect the act of April, 1808, for rais- ing an additional military force, and the disposition of the troops. JAMES MADISON. JUNK 4, 1809. To the Senate of the United States: In compliance with the request of the legislature of Pennsylvania, I transmit to Congress a copy of certain of its proceedings, communicated for the purpose by the governor of that State. JAMES MADISON. JUNE 15, 1809. To the Senate of the United States: In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the i3th instant, I transmit extracts from letters from Mr. Pinkney to the Secretary of State, accompanied by letters and communications to him from the British secretary of state for the foreign department, all of which have been received here since the last session of Congress. To these documents are added a communication just made by Mr. Erskine to the Secretary of State, and his answer. JAMES MADISON. JUNE 20, 1809. To the Senate of the United States: In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the igth instant, I transmit such information as has been received respecting exiles from Cuba arrived or expected within the United States; also a letter from General Turreau connected with that subject. JAMES MADISON. JUNE 26, 1809. To the Senate of the United States: The considerations which led to the nomination of a minister plenipo- tentiary to Russia being strengthened by evidence since received of the 472 Messages and Papers of the Presidents earnest desire of the Emperor to establish a diplomatic intercourse between the two countries, and of a disposition in his councils favorable to the extension of a commerce mutually advantageous, as will be seen by the extracts from letters from General Armstrong and Consul Harris herewith confidentially communicated, I nominate John Quincy Adams, of Massa- chusetts, to be minister plenipotentiary of the United States to the Court of St. Petersburg. JAMES MADISON. PROCLAMATIONS. [From Annals of Congress, Eleventh Congress, part 2, 2060.] BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas it is provided by the eleventh section of the act of Congress entitled "An act to interdict the commercial intercourse between the United States and Great Britain and France and their dependencies, and for other purposes," that "in case either France or Great Britain shall so revoke or modify her edicts as that they shall cease to violate the neutral commerce of the United States ' ' the President is authorized to declare the same by proclamation, after which the trade suspended by the said act and by an act laying an embargo on all ships and vessels in the ports and harbors of the United States and the several acts supple- mentary thereto may be renewed with the nation so doing; and Whereas the Honorable David Montague Erskine, His Britannic Maj- esty's envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, has, by the order and in the name of his Sovereign, declared to this Government that the British orders in council of January and November, 1807, will have been withdrawn as respects the United States on the loth day of June next: Now, therefore, I, James Madison, President of the United States, do hereby proclaim that the orders in council aforesaid will have been with- drawn on the said loth day of June next, after which day the trade of the United States with Great Britain, as suspended by the act of Congress above mentioned and an act laying an embargo on all ships and vessels in the ports and harbors of the United States and the several acts supple- mentary thereto, may be renewed. Given under my hand and the seal of the United States at Washington, r -i the i Qth day of April, A.D. 1809, and of the Independence of the United States the thirty-third. JAMES MADISON. By the President: R. SMITH, Secretary of State, James Madison 473 [From Annals of Congress, Eleventh Congress, part 2, 2076.] BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas, in consequence of a communication from His Britannic Majesty's envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary declaring that the British orders of council of January and November, 1807, would have been withdrawn on the loth day of June last, and by virtue of authority given in such event by the eleventh section of the act of Con- gress entitled "An act to interdict the commercial intercourse between the United States and Great Britain and France and their dependencies, and for other purposes," I, James Madison, President of the United States, did issue my proclamation bearing date on the igth of April last, declaring that the orders in council aforesaid would have been so with- drawn on the said loth day of June, after which the trade suspended by certain acts of Congress might be renewed; and Whereas it is now officially made known to me that the said orders in council have not been withdrawn agreeably to the communication and declaration aforesaid: I do hereby proclaim the same, and, consequently, that the trade renew- able on the event of the said orders, being withdrawn, is to be considered as under the operation of the several acts by which such trade was sus- pended. Given under my hand and the seal of the United States at the city of r -i Washington, the 9th day of August, A. D. 1809, and of the Independence of the said United States the thirty-fourth. JAMES MADISON. By the President: R. SMITH, Secretary of State. FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. NOVEMBER 29, 1809. Fellow~ Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: At the period of our last meeting 1 had the satisfaction of communi- cating an adjustment with one of the principal belligerent nations, highly important in itself, and still more so as presaging a more extended accom- modation. It is with deep concern I am now to inform you that the favorable prospect has been overclouded by a refusal of the British Gov- ernment to abide by the act of its minister plenipotentiary, and by its 474 Messages and Papers of the Presidents ensuing policy toward the United States as seen through the communi- cations of the minister sent to replace him. Whatever pleas may be urged for a disavowal of engagements formed by diplomatic functionaries in cases where by the terms of the engage- ments a mutual ratification is reserved, or where notice at the time may have been given of a departure from instructions, or in extraordinary cases essentially violating the principles of equity, a disavowal could not have been apprehended" in a case where no such notice or violation existed, where no such ratification was reserved, and more especially where, as is now in proof, an engagement to be executed without any such ratification was contemplated by the instructions given, and where it had with good faith been carried into immediate execution on the part of the United States. These considerations not having restrained the British Government from disavowing the arrangement by virtue of which its orders in council were to be revoked, and the event authorizing the renewal of commercial inter- course having thus not taken place, it necessarily became a question of equal urgency and importance whether the act prohibiting that intercourse was not to be considered as remaining in legal force. This question being, after due deliberation, determined in the affirmative, a proclamation to that effect was issued. It could not but happen, however, that a return to this state of things from that which had followed an execution of the arrangement by the United States would involve difficulties. With a view to diminish these as much as possible, the instructions from the Secretary of the Treasury now laid before you were transmitted to the collectors of the several ports. If in permitting British vessels to depart without giv- ing bonds not to proceed to their own ports it should appear that the tenor of legal authority has not been strictly pursued, it is to be ascribed to the anxious desire which was felt that no individuals should be injured by so unforeseen an occurrence; and I rely on the regard of Congress for the equitable interests of our own citizens to adopt whatever further provisions may be found requisite for a general remission of penalties involuntarily incurred. The recall of the disavowed minister having been followed by the appointment of a successor, hopes were indulged that the new mission would contribute to alleviate the disappointment which had been pro- duced, and to remove the causes which had so long embarrassed the good understanding of the two nations. It could not be doubted that it would at least be charged with conciliatory explanations of the step which had been taken and with proposals to be substituted for the rejected arrange- ment. Reasonable and universal as this expectation was, it also has not been fulfilled. From the first official disclosures of the new minister it was found that he had received no authority to enter into explanations relative to either branch of the arrangement disavowed nor any authority to substitute proposals as to that branch which concerned the British James Madison 475 orders in council, and, finally, that his proposals with respect to the other branch, the attack on the frigate Chesapeake, were founded on a presump- tion repeatedly declared to be inadmissible by the United States, that the first step toward adjustment was due from them, the proposals at the same time omitting even a reference to the officer answerable for the murderous aggression, and asserting a claim not less contrary to the British laws and British practice than to the principles and obligations of the United States. The correspondence between the Department of State and this minister will show how unessentially the features presented in its commencement have been varied in its progress. It will show also that, forgetting the respect due to all governments, he did not refrain from imputations on this, which required that no further communications should be received from him. The necessity of this step will be made known to His Britan- nic Majesty through the minister plenipotentiary of the United States in London; and it would indicate a want of the confidence due to a Gov- ernment which .so well understands and exacts what becomes foreign ministers near it not to infer that the misconduct of its own representative will be viewed in the same light in which it has been regarded here. The British Government will learn at the same time that a ready attention will be given to communications through any channel which may be sub- stituted. It will be happy if the change in this respect should be accom- panied by a favorable revision of the unfriendly policy which has been so long pursued toward the United States. With France, the other belligerent, whose trespasses on our commercial rights have long been the subject of our just remonstrances, the posture of our relations does not correspond with the measures taken on the part of the United States to effect a favorable change. The result of the several communications made to her Government, in pursuance of the authorities vested by Congress in the Executive, is contained in the cor- respondence of our minister at Paris now laid before you. By some of the other belligerents, although professing just and amicable dispositions, injuries materially affecting our commerce have not been duly controlled or repressed. In these cases the interpositions deemed proper on our part have not been omitted. But it well deserves the con- sideration of the Legislature how far both the safety and the honor of the American flag may be consulted, by adequate provisions against that collusive prostitution of it by individuals unworthy of the American name which has so much favored the real or pretended suspicions under which the honest commerce of their fellow-citizens has suffered. In relation to the powers on the coast of Barbary, nothing has occurred which is not of a nature rather to inspire confidence than distrust as to the continuance of the existing amity. With our Indian neighbors, the just and benevolent system continued toward them has also preserved peace, and is more and more advancing habits favorable to their civilization and happiness. 476 Messages and Papers of the Presidents From a statement which will be made by the Secretary of War it will be seen that the fortifications on our maritime frontier are in many of the ports completed, affording the defense 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 greater number of hands at the public armories .the supply of small arms of an improving quality appears to be annually increasing at a rate that, with those made on private contract, may be expected to go far toward providing for the public exigency. The act of Congress providing for the equipment of our vessels of war having been fully carried into execution, I refer to the statement of the Secretary of the Navy for the information which may be proper on that subject. To that statement is added a view of the transfers of appropria- tions authorized by the act of the session preceding the last and of the grounds on which 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 attention 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, together with the receipts during the year ending on the 3oth of Sep- tember last (and amounting to more than $9,000,000), have enabled us to fulfill all our engagements and to defray the current expenses of Gov- ernment without recurring to any loan. But the insecurity of our com- merce and the consequent diminution of the public revenue will probably produce a deficiency 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. In 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 National Legislature will be again summoned to the important 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 an entire 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 enlightened 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 congratulation on the prosperity and hap- piness flowing from our situation at home. The blessing of health has never been more universal. The fruits of the seasons, though in par- James Madison 477 ticular articles and districts short of their usual redundancy, are more than sufficient for our wants and our comforts. The face of our coun- try everywhere presents the evidence of laudable enterprise, of extensive capital, and of durable improvement. In a cultivation of the materials and the extension of useful manufactures, more especially 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 revolution in our pursuits and habits is in no slight degree a conse- quence 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 manufactures 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 becomes us to cherish a devout gratitude, and to implore from the same omnipotent source a blessing on the consultations and measures about to be undertaken for the welfare of our beloved country. JAMES MADISON. SPECIAL MESSAGES. DECEMBER 12, 1809. To the House of Representatives of the United States: According to the request of the House of Representatives expressed in their resolution of the nth instant, I now lay before them a printed copy of a paper purporting to be a circular letter from Mr. Jackson to the British consuls in the United States, as received in a Gazette at the Department of State; and also a printed paper received in a letter from our minister in London, purporting to be a copy of a dispatch from Mr. Canning to Mr. Erskine of the 23d of January last. JAMES MADISON. DECEMBER 16, 1809. To the Senate of the United States: Agreeably to the request in the resolution of the i5th instant, I trans- mit a copy of the correspondence with the governor of Pennsylvania in the case of Gideon Olmstead. JAMES MADISON. 478 Messages and Papers of the Presidents DECEMBER 16, 1809. To the House of Representatives of the United States: Agreeably to the request expressed in the resolution of the i3th instant, I lay before the House extracts from the correspondence of the minister plenipotentiary of the United States at London. JAMES MADISON. DECEMBER 22, 1809. To the Senate of the United States: I lay before the Senate, for their consideration whether they will advise and consent to the ratification thereof, a treaty concluded on the 3oth September last with the Delaware, Potawattamie, Miami, and Eel- river Miami Indian tribes northwest of the Ohio; a separate article of the same date, with the said tribes, and a convention with the Weea tribe, con- cluded on the 26th October last; the whole being accompanied with the explanatory documents. JAMES MADISON. JANUARY 3, 1810. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: The act authorizing a detachment of 100,000 men from the militia will expire on the 3oth of March next. Its early revival is recommended, in order that timely steps may be taken for arrangements such as the act contemplated. Without interfering with the modifications rendered necessary by the defects or the inefficacy of the laws restrictive of commerce and naviga- tion, or with the policy of disallowing to foreign armed vessels the use of our waters, it falls within my duty to recommend also that, in addition to the precautionary measure authorized by that act and to the regular troops for completing the legal establishment of which enlistments are renewed, every necessary provision may be made for a volunteer force of 20,000 men, to be enlisted for a short period and held in a state of organi- zation and readiness for actual service at the shortest warning. I submit to the consideration of Congress, moreover, the expediency of such a classification and organization of the militia as will best insure prompt and successive aids from that source, adequate to emergencies which may call for them. It will rest with them also to determine how far further provision may be expedient for putting into actual service, if necessary, any part of the naval armament not now employed. At a period presenting features in the conduct of foreign powers toward the United States which impose on them the necessity of precautionary measures involving expense, it is a happy consideration that such is the James Madison 479 solid state of the public credit that reliance may be justly placed on any legal provision that may be made for resorting to it in a convenient form and to an adequate amount. JAMES MADISON. JANUARY 9, 1810. To the Senate of the United States: I lay before the Senate, for their consideration whether they will advise and consent to the ratification thereof, a treaty concluded on the 9th day of December last with the Kickapoo tribe of Indians, accompanied by explanations in an extract of a letter from the governor of the Indiana Territory. JAMES MADISON. JANUARY 15, 1810. To the Senate of the United States: I lay before the Senate, for their consideration whether they will advise and consent to the ratification thereof, a treaty concluded with the Great and Little Osage Indians on the loth day of November, 1808, and the 3ist day of August, 1809. JAMES MADISON. JANUARY 22, 1810. To the Senate of the United States: I transmit to the Senate a report of the Secretary of the Treasury, complying with their resolution of the 2yth of December, on the subject of disbursements in the intercourse with the Barbary Powers. JAMES MADISON. FEBRUARY 28, 1810. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I now lay before you copies of the treaties concluded with the Dela- ware, Pottawatamie, Miami, Eel River, and Wea tribes of Indians for the extinguishment of their title to the lands therein described, and I recommend to the consideration of Congress the making provision by law for carrying them into execution. JAMES MADISON. MARCH 15, 1810. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: A treaty having been entered into and duly ratified with the Kickapoo tribe of Indians for the extinguishment of their title to certain lands within the Indiana Territory, involving conditions- which require legisla- tive provision, I submit copies thereof to both branches for consideration. JAMES MADISON. 480 Messages and Papers of the Presidents MARCH 27, 1810. To the House of Representatives of the United States: In consequence of your resolution of the 26th instant, an inquiry has been made into the correspondence of our minister at the Court of Lon- don with the Department of State, from which it appears that no official communication has been received from him since his receipt of the letter of November 23 last from the Secretary of State. A letter of January 4, 1 8 10, has been received from that minister by Mr. Smith, but being stated to be private and unofficial, and involving, moreover, personal con- siderations of a delicate nature, a copy is considered as not within the purview of the call of the House. JAMES MADISON. PROCLAMATIONS. BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas the territory south of the Mississippi Territory and eastward of the river Mississippi, and extending to the river Perdido, of which pos- session was not delivered to the United States in pursuance of the treaty concluded at Paris on the 3oth April, 1803, has at all times, as is well known, been considered and claimed by them as being within the colony of Louisiana conveyed by the said treaty in the same extent that it had in the hands of Spain and that it had when France originally possessed it; and Whereas the acquiescence of the United States in the temporary con- tinuance of the said territory under the Spanish authority was not the result of any distrust of their title, as has been particularly evinced by the general tenor of their laws and by the distinction made in the appli- cation of those laws between that territory and foreign countries, but was occasioned by their conciliatory views and by a confidence in the justice of their cause and in the success of candid discussion and amica- ble negotiation with a just and friendly power; and Whereas a satisfactory adjustment, too long delaj^ed, without the fault of the United States, has for some time been entirely suspended by events over which they had no control; and Whereas a crisis has at length arrived subversive of the order of things under the Spanish authorities, whereby a failure of the United States to take the said territory into its possession may lead to events ultimately contravening the views of both parties, whilst in the meantime the tran- quillity and security of our adjoining territories are endangered and new facilities given to violations of our revenue and commercial laws and of those prohibiting the introduction of slaves; James Madison 481 Considering, moreover, that under these peculiar and imperative cir- cumstances a forbearance on the part of the United States to occupy the territory in question, and thereby guard against the confusions and con- tingencies which threaten it, might be construed into a dereliction of their title or an insensibility to the importance of the stake; considering that in the hands of the United States it will not cease to be a subject of fair and friendly negotiation and adjustment; considering, finally, that the acts of Congress, though contemplating a present possession by a foreign authority, have contemplated also an eventual possession of the said territory by the United States, and are accordingly so framed as in that case to extend in their operation to the same: Now be it known that I, James Madison, President of the United States of America, in pursuance of these weighty and urgent considerations, have deemed it right and requisite that possession should be taken of the said territory in the name and behalf of the United States. William C. C. Claiborne, governor of the Orleans Territory, of which the said Territory is to be taken as part, will accordingly proceed to execute the same and to exercise over the said Territory the authorities and functions legally apper- taining to his office; and the good people inhabiting the same are invited and enjoined to pay due respect to him in that character, to be obedient to the laws, to maintain order, to cherish harmony, and in every manner to conduct themselves as peaceable citizens, under full assurance that they will be protected in the enjoyment of their liberty, property, and religion. In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United States to be hereunto affixed, and signed the same with my hand. P -, Done at the city of Washington, the 2jth day of October, A. D. 1 8 10, and in the thirty-fifth year of the Independence of the said United States. JAMES MADISON. By the President: R. SMITH, Secretary of State. [From Annals of Congress, Eleventh Congress, third session, 1248.] BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas by the fourth section of the act of Congress passed on the ist day of May, 1810, entitled "An act concerning the commercial inter- course between the United States and Great Britain and France and their dependencies, and for other purposes," it is provided "that in case either Great Britain or France shall before the 3d day of March next so revoke or modify her edicts as that they shall cease to violate the neutral commerce of the United States, which fact the President of the United States shall declare by proclamation, and if the other nation shall not M P voi, i 31 482 Messages and Papers of the Presidents within three months thereafter so revoke or modify her edicts in like manner, then the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, and eighteenth sections of the act entitled 'An act to interdict the com- mercial intercourse between the United States and Great Britain and France and their dependencies, and for other purposes,' shall from and after the expiration of three months from the date of the proclamation aforesaid be revived and have full force and effect so far as relates to the dominions, colonies, and dependencies, and to the articles the growth, produce, or manufacture of the dominions, colonies, and dependencies, of the nation thus refusing or neglecting to revoke or modify her edicts in the manner aforesaid. And the restrictions imposed by this act shall, from the date of such proclamation cease and be discontinued in relation to the nation revoking or modifying her decrees in the manner aforesaid;" and Whereas it has been officially made known to this Government that the edicts of France violating the neutral commerce of the United States have been so revoked as to cease to have effect on the ist of the present month: Now, therefore, I, James Madison, President of the United States, do hereby proclaim that the said edicts of France have been so revoked as that they ceased on the said ist day of the present month to violate the neutral commerce of the United States, and that from the date of these presents all the restrictions imposed by the aforesaid act shall cease and be discontinued in relation to France and their dependencies. In testimon)^ whereof I have caused the seal of the United States to be hereunto affixed, and signed the same with my hand, at the [SEAL.] city of Washington, this 2d day of November, A. D. 1810, and of the Independence of the United States the thirty-fifth. JAMES MADISON. By the President: R. SMITH, Secretary of State. SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. WASHINGTON, December 5, 1810. Fellow- Citizens of the. Senate and of the House of Representatives: The embarrassments which have prevailed in our foreign relations, and so much employed the deliberations of Congress, make it a primary duty in meeting you to communicate whatever may have occurred in that branch of our national affairs. The act of the last session of Congress concerning the commercial in- tercourse between the United States and Great Britain and France and their dependencies having invited in a new form a termination of their James Madison 483 edicts against our neutral commerce, copies of the act were immediately forwarded to our ministers at London and Paris, with a view that its object might be within the early attention of the French and British Gov- ernments. By the communication received through our minister at Paris it ap- peared that a knowledge of the act by the French Government was fol- lowed by a declaration that the Berlin and Milan decrees were revoked, and would cease to have effect on the ist day of November ensuing. These being the only known edicts of France within the description of the act, and the revocation of them being such that they ceased at that date to violate our neutral commerce, the fact, as prescribed by law, was announced by a proclamation bearing date the 2d day of November. It would have well accorded with the conciliatory views indicated by this proceeding on the part of France to have extended them to all the grounds of just complaint which now remain unadjusted with the United States. It was particularly anticipated that, as a further evidence of just dispositions toward them, restoration would have been immediately made of the property of our citizens seized under a misapplication of the prin- ciple of reprisals combined with a misconstruction of a law of the United States. This expectation has not been fulfilled. From the British Government no communication on the subject of the act has been received. To a communication from our minister at Lon- don of a revocation by the French Government of its Berlin and Milan decrees it was answered that the British system would be relinquished as soon as the repeal of the French decrees should have actually taken effect and the commerce of neutral nations have been restored to the condition in which it stood previously to the promulgation of those decrees. This pledge, although it does not necessarily import, does not exclude the intention of relinquishing, along with the orders in council, the practice of those novel blockades which have a like effect of interrupting our neu- tral commerce, and this further justice to the United States is the rather to be looked for, inasmuch as the blockades in question, being not more contrary to the established law of nations than inconsistent with the rules of blockade formally recognized by Great Britain herself, could have no alleged basis other than the plea of retaliation alleged as the basis of the orders in council. Under the modification of the original orders of No- vember, 1807, into the orders of April, 1809, there is, indeed, scarcely a nominal distinction between the orders and the blockades. One of those illegitimate blockades, bearing date in May, 1806, having been expressly avowed to be still unrescinded, and to be in effect comprehended in the orders in council, was too distinctly brought within the purview of the act of Congress not to be comprehended in the explanation of the requisites to a compliance with it. The British Government was accordingly ap- prised by our minister near it that such was the light in which the sub- ject was to be regarded. 484 .*\fcssagcs and Papers of the Presidents On the other important subjects depending between the United States and that Government no progress has been made from which an early and satisf acton 1 result can be relied on. In this new posture of our relations with those powers the considera- tion of Congress will be properly turned to a removal of doubts which may occur in the exposition and of difficulties in the execution qf the act above cited. The commerce of the United States with the north of Europe, here- tofore much vexed by licentious cruisers, particularly under the Danish flag, has latterly been visited with fresh and extensive depredations. The measures pursued in behalf of our injured citizens not having obtained justice for them, a further and more formal interposition with the Danish Government is contemplated. The principles which have been main- tained by that Government in relation to neutral commerce, and the friendly professions of His Danish Majesty tow r ard the United States, are valuable pledges in favor of a successful issue. Among the events growing out of the state of the Spanish Monarchy, our attention was imperiously attracted to the change developing itself in that portion of West Florida which, though of right appertaining to the United States, had remained in the possession of Spain awaiting the result of negotiations for its actual delivery to them. The Spanish authority was subverted and a situation produced exposing the country to ulterior events which might essentially affect the rights and welfare of the Union. In such a conjuncture I did not delay the interposition required for the occupancy of the territory west of the river Perdido, to \vhich the title of the United States extends, and to which the laws pro- vided for the Territory of Orleans are applicable. With this view T , the proclamation of which a copy is laid before you was confided to the governor of that Territory to be carried into effect. The legality and necessity of the course pursued assure me of the favorable light in which it will present itself to the Legislature, and of the promptitude with which they will supply whatever provisions may be due to the essential rights and equitable interests of the people thus brought into the bosom of the American family. Our amity with the powers of Barbary, with the exception of a recent occurrence at Tunis, of which an explanation is just received, appears to have been uninterrupted and to have become more firmly established. With the Indian tribes also the peace and friendship of the United States are found to be so eligible that the general disposition to preserve both continues to gain strength. I feel particular satisfaction in remarking that an interior view of our country presents us with grateful proofs of its substantial and increasing prosperity. To a thriving agriculture and the improvements related to it is added a highly interesting extension of useful manufactures, the combined product of professional occupations and of household industry. James Madison 485 Such indeed is the experience of economy as well as of policy in these substitutes for supplies heretofore obtained by foreign commerce that in a national view the change is justly regarded as of itself more than a recompense for those privations and losses resulting from foreign injus- tice which furnished the general impulse required for its accomplishment. How far it may be expedient to guard the infancy of this improvement in the distribution of labor by regulations of the commercial tariff is a subject which can not fail to suggest itself to your patriotic reflections. It will rest with the consideration of Congress also whether a provi- dent as well as fair encouragement would not be given to our navigation by such regulations as would place it on a level of competition with for- eign vessels, particularly in transporting the important and bulky produc- tions of our own soil. The failure of equality and reciprocity in the existing regulations on this subject operates in our ports as a premium to foreign competitors, and the inconvenience must increase as these may be multiplied under more favorable circumstances by the more than coun- tervailing encouragements now given them by the laws of their respective countries. Whilst it is universally admitted that a well-instructed people alone can be permanently a free people, and whilst it is evident that the means of diffusing and improving useful knowledge form so small a proportion of the expenditures for national purposes, I can not presume it to be unsea- sonable to invite your attention to the advantages of superadding to the means of education provided by the several States a seminary of learning instituted by the National Legislature within the limits of their exclusive jurisdiction, the expense of which might be defrayed or reimbursed out of the vacant grounds which have accrued to the nation within those limits. Such an institution, though local in its legal character, would be uni- versal in its beneficial effects. By enlightening the opinions, by expand- ing the patriotism, and by assimilating the principles, the sentiments, and the manners of those who might resort to this temple of science, to be redistributed in due time through every part of the community, sources of jealousy and prejudice would be diminished, the features of national character would be multiplied, and greater extent given to social harmony. But, above all, a well-constituted seminary in the center of the nation is recommended by the consideration that the additional instruction emanating from it would contribute not less to strengthen the foundations than to adorn the structure of our free and happy system of government. Among the commercial abuses still committed under the American flag, and leaving in force my former reference to that subject, it appears that American citizens are instrumental in carrying on a traffic in en- slaved Africans, equally in violation of the laws of humanity and in defiance of those of their own country. The same just and benevolent 486 Messages and Papers of the Presidents motives which produced the interdiction in force against this criminal conduct will doubtless be felt by Congress in devising further means of suppressing the evil. In the midst of uncertainties necessarily connected with the great interests of the United States, prudence requires a continuance of our defensive and precautionary arrangement. The Secretary of War and Secretary of the Navy will submit the statements and estimates which may aid Congress in their ensuing provisions for the land and naval forces. The statements of the latter will include a view of the transfers pf appropriations in the naval expenditures and the grounds on w r hich they were made. The fortifications for the defense of our maritime frontier have been prosecuted according to the plan laid dow r n in 1808. The works, with some exceptions, are completed and furnished with ordnance. Those for the security of the city of New York, though far advanced toward com- pletion, will require a further time and appropriation. This is the case with a few others, either not completed or in need of repairs. The improvements in quality and quantity made in the manufacture of cannon and small arms, both at the public armories and private facto- ries, warrant additional confidence in the competency of these resources for supplying the public exigencies. These preparations for arming the militia having thus far provided for one of the objects contemplated by the power vested in Congress with respect to that great bulwark of the public safety, it is for their con- sideration whether further provisions are not requisite for the other contemplated objects of organization and discipline. To give to this great mass of physical and moral force the efficiency which it merits, and is capable of receiving, it is indispensable that they should be in- structed and practiced in the rules by which they are to be governed. Toward an accomplishment of this important work I recommend for the consideration of Congress the expediency of instituting a system which shall in the first instance call into the field at the public expense and for a given time certain portions of the commissioned and noncommissioned officers. The instruction and discipline thus acquired would gradually diffuse through the entire body of the militia that practical knowledge and promptitude for active service which are the great ends to be pur- sued. Experience has left no doubt either of the necessity or of the efficacy of competent military skill in those portions of an army in fitting it for the final duties which it may have to perform. The Corps of Engineers, with the Military Academy, are entitled to the early attention of Congress. The buildings at the seat fixed by law for the present Academy are so far in decay as not to afford the necessary accommodation. But a revision of the law is recommended, principally with a view to a more enlarged cultivation and diffusion of the advan- tages of such institutions, by providing professorships for all the necessary James Madison 487 branches of military instruction, and by the establishment of an addi- tional academy at the seat of Government or elsewhere. The means by which war, as well for defense as for offense, are now carried on render these schools of the more scientific operations an indispensable part of every adequate system. Even among nations whose large standing armies and frequent v/ars afford every other opportunity of instruction these establishments are found to be indispensable for the due attainment of the branches of military science which require a regular course of study and experiment. In a government happily without the other opportu- nities seminaries where the elementary principles of the art of war can be taught without actual war, and without the expense of extensive and standing armies, have the precious advantage of uniting an essential preparation against external danger with a scrupulous regard to internal safety. In no other way, probably, can a provision of equal efficacy for the public defense be made at so little expense or more consistently with the public liberty. The receipts into the Treasury during the year ending on the 3oth of September last (and amounting to more than $8,500,000) have exceeded the current expenses of the Government, including the interest on the public debt. For the purpose of reimbursing at the end of the year $3>75 O > OO f th e principal, a loan, as authorized by law, had been nego- tiated to that amount, but has since been reduced to $2,750,000, the re- duction being permitted by the state of the Treasury, in which there will be a balance remaining at the end of the year estimated at $2,000,000. For the probable receipts of the next year and other details I refer to statements which will be transmitted from the Treasury, and which will enable you to judge what further pro visions, may be necessary for the ensuing years. Reserving for future occasions in the course of the session whatever other communications may claim your attention, I close the present by expressing my reliance, under the blessing of Divine Providence, on the judgment and patriotism which will guide your measures at a period particularly calling for united councils and inflexible exertions for the welfare of our country, and by assuring you of the fidelity and alacrity with which my cooperation will be afforded. JAMES MADISON. SPECIAL MESSAGES. DECEMBER 12, 1810. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I lay before Congress, and recommend to their early attention, a report of the Secretary of State, from which it will be seen that a very considerable demand beyond the legal appropriations has been incurred 488 Messages and Papers of the Presidents for the support of seamen distressed by seizures, in different parts of Europe, of the vessels to which they belonged. JAMES MADISON. WASHINGTON, January 3, 1811. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I communicate to Congress, in confidence, a letter of the 2d of Decem- ber from Governor Folch, of West Florida, to the Secretary of State, and another of the same date from the same to John McKee. I communicate in like manner a letter from the British charge d'af- faires to the Secretary of State, with the answer of the latter. Although the letter can not have been written in consequence of any instruction from the British Government founded on the late order for taking pos- session of the portion of West Florida well known to be claimed by the United States; although no communication has ever been made by that Government to this of any stipulation with Spain contemplating an interposition which might so materially affect the United States, and although no call can have been made by Spain in the present instance for the fulfillment of any such subsisting engagement, yet the spirit and scope of the document, with the accredited source from which it proceeds, required that it should not be withheld from the consideration of Congress. Taking into view the tenor of these several communications, the pos- ture of things w r ith which they are connected, the intimate relation of the country adjoining the United States eastward of the river Perdido to their security and tranquillity, and the peculiar interest they other- wise have in its destiny, I recommend to the consideration of Congress the seasonableness of a declaration that the United States could not see without serious inquietude any part of a neighboring territory in which they have in different respects so deep and so just a concern pass from the hands of Spain into those of any other foreign power. I recommend to their consideration also the expediency of authoriz- ing the Executive to take temporary possession of any part or parts of the said Territory, in pursuance of arrangements which may be desired by the Spanish authorities, and for making provision for the government of the same during such possession. The wisdom of Congress will at the same time determine how far it may be expedient to provide for the event of a subversion of the Span- ish authorities within the Territory in question, and an apprehended occupancy thereof by any other foreign power. JAMES MADISON. JANUARY 10, 1811. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I communicate to Congress, in confidence, the translation of a letter from Louis de Onis to the captain-general of Caraccas. James Madison 489 The tendency of misrepresentations and suggestions which it may be inferred from this specimen enter into more important correspondences of the writer to promote in foreign councils at a critical period views adverse to the peace and to the best interests of our country renders the contents of the letter of sufficient moment to be made known to the Legislature. JAMES MADISON. JANUARY 30, 1811. , To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I transmit to Congress copies of a letter from the Secretary of the Treasury, accompanied by copies of the Laws, Treaties, and other Docu- ments Relative to the Public Lands, as collected and arranged pursuant to the act passed April 27, 1810. JAMES MADISON. JANUARY 31, 1811. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I lay before Congress a letter from the charge d'affaires of the United States at Paris to the Secretary of State, and another from the same to the French minister of foreign relations; also two letters from the agent of the American consul at Bordeaux to the Secretary of State. JAMES MADISON. FEBRUARY 16, 1811. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I now lay before Congress the treaty concluded on the loth of Novem- ber, 1808, on the part of the United States with the Great and Little Osage tribes of Indians, with a view to such legal provisions as may be deemed proper for fulfilling its stipulations. JAMES MADISON. VETO MESSAGES. FEBRUARY 21, 1811. To the House of Representatives of the United States: Having examined and considered the bill entitled "An act incorporat- ing the Protestant Episcopal Church in the town of Alexandria, in the 49 Messages and Papers of the Presidents District of Columbia," I now return the bill to the House of Represent- atives, in which it originated, with the following objections: Because the bill exceeds the rightful authority to which governments are limited by the essential distinction between civil and religious func- tions, and violates in particular the article of the Constitution of the United States which declares that "Congress shall make no law respect- ing a religious establishment. ' ' The bill enacts into and establishes by law sundry rules and proceedings relative purely to the organization and polity of the church incorporated, and comprehending even the election and removal of the minister of the same, so that no change could be made therein by the particular society or by the general church of which it is a member, and whose authority it recognizes. This particular church, therefore, would so far be a religious establishment by law, a legal force and sanction being given to certain articles in its constitution and administration. Nor can it be considered that the articles thus established are to be taken as the descriptive criteria only of the corpo- rate identity of the society, inasmuch as this identity must depend on other characteristics, as the regulations established are generally unes- sential and alterable according to the principles and canons by which churches of that denomination govern themselves, and as the injunc- tions and prohibitions contained in the regulations would be enforced by the penal -consequences applicable to a violation of them according to the local law. Because the bill vests in the said incorporated church an authority to provide for the support of the poor and the education of poor children of the same, an authority which, being altogether superfluous if the pro- vision is to be the result of pious charity, would be a precedent for giving to religious societies as such a legal agency in carrying into effect a pub- lic and civil duty. JAMES MADISON. FEBRUARY 28, 1811. To the Hoztse of Representatives of the United States: Having examined and considered the bill entitled "An act for the relief of Richard Tervin, William Coleman, Edwin Lewis, Samuel Minis, Joseph Wilson, and the Baptist Church at Salem Meeting House, in the Mississippi Territory," I now return the same to the House of Repre- sentatives, in which it originated, with the following objection: Because the bill in reserving a certain parcel of land of the United States for the use of said Baptist Church comprises a principle and prec- edent for the appropriation of funds of the United States for the use and support of religious societies, contrary to the article of the Constitution which declares that "Congress shall make no law respecting a religious establishment. ' ' JAMES MADISON. James Madison 491 PROCLAMATION. [From the National Intelligencer, July 25, 1811.] BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas great and weighty matters claiming the consideration of the Congress of the United States form an extraordinary occasion for conven- ing them, I do by these presents appoint Monday, the 4th day of Novem- ber next, for their meeting at the city of Washington, hereby requiring the respective Senators and Representatives then and there to assemble in Congress, in order to receive such communications as may then be made to them, and to consult and determine on such measures as in their wisdom may be deemed meet for the welfare of the United States. In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United States to be hereunto affixed, and signed the same with my hand, j- -, Done at the city of Washington, the 24th day of July, A. D. 1 8 1 1 , and of the Independence of the United States the thirty- sixth. JAMES MADISON. By the President: JAMES MONROE, Secretary of State. THIRD ANNUAL MESSAGE. WASHINGTON, November 5, 1811. Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: In calling you together sooner than a separation from your homes would otherwise have been required I yielded to considerations drawn from the posture of our foreign affairs, and in fixing the present for the time of your meeting regard was had to the probability of further devel- opments of the policy of the belligerent powers toward this country which might the more unite the national councils in the measures to be pursued. At the close of the last session of Congress it was hoped that the suc- cessive confirmations of the extinction of the French decrees, so far as .they violated our neutral commerce, would have induced the Govern- ment of Great Britain to repeal its orders in council, and thereby author- ize a removal of the existing obstructions to her commerce with the United States. Instead of this reasonable step toward satisfaction and friendship 492 Messages and Papers of the Presidents between the two nations, the orders were, at a moment when least to have been expected, put into more rigorous execution; and it was communicated through the British envoy just arrived that whilst the revocation of the edicts of France, as officially made known to the British Government, was denied to have taken place, it was an indispensable condition of the repeal of the British orders that commerce should be restored to a footing that would admit the productions and manufactures of Great Britain, when owned by neutrals, into markets shut against them by her enemy, the United States being given to understand that in the meantime a continuance of their nonimportation act would lead to measures of retaliation. At a later date it has indeed appeared that a communication to the British Government of fresh evidence of the repeal of the French decrees against our neutral trade was followed by an intimation that it had been transmitted to the British plenipotentiary here in order that it might re- ceive full consideration in the depending discussions. This communica- tion appears not to have been received; but the transmission of it hither, instead of founding on it an actual repeal of the orders or assurances that the repeal would ensue, will not permit us to rely on any effective change in the British cabinet. To be ready to meet with cordiality sat- isfactory proofs of such a change, and to proceed in the meantime in adapting our measures to the views which have been disclosed through that minister will best consult our whole duty. In the unfriendly spirit of those disclosures indemnity and redress for other wrongs have continued to be withheld, and our coasts and the mouths of our harbors have again witnessed scenes not less derogatory to the dearest of our national rights than vexatious to the regular course of our trade. Among the occurrences produced by the conduct of British ships of war hovering on our coasts was an encounter between one of them and the American frigate commanded by Captain Rodgers, rendered unavoid- able on the part of the latter by a fire commenced without cause by the former, whose commander is therefore alone chargeable with the blood unfortunately shed in maintaining the honor of the American flag. The proceedings of a court of inquiry requested by Captain Rodgers are com- municated, together with the correspondence relating to the occurrence, between the Secretary of State and His Britannic Majesty's envoy. To these are added the several correspondences which have passed on the subject of the British orders in council, and to both the correspondence relating to the Floridas, in which Congress will be made acquainted with the interposition which the Government of Great Britain has thought proper to make against the proceeding of the United States. The justice and fairness which have been evinced on the part of the United States toward France, both before and since the revocation of her decrees, authorized an expectation that her Government would have fol- James Madison 493 lowed up that measure by all such others as were due to our reasonable claims, as well as dictated by its amicable professions. No proof, how- ever, is yet given of an intention to repair the other wrongs done to the United States, and particularly to restore the great amount of American property seized and condemned under edicts which, though not affecting our neutral relations, and therefore not entering into questions between the United States and other belligerents, were nevertheless founded in such unjust principles that the reparation ought to have been prompt and ample. In addition to this and other demands of strict right on that nation, the United States have much reason to be dissatisfied with the rigorous and unexpected restrictions to which their trade with the French domin- ions has been subjected, and which, if not discontinued, will require at least corresponding restrictions on importations from France into the United States. On all those subjects our minister plenipotentiary lately sent to Paris has carried with him the necessary instructions, the result of which will be communicated to you, and, by ascertaining the ulterior policy of the French Government toward the United States, will enable you to adapt to it that of the United States toward France. Our other foreign relations remain without unfavorable changes. With Russia they are on the best footing of friendship. The ports of Sweden have afforded proofs of friendly dispositions toward our commerce in the councils of that nation also, and the information from our special min- ister to Denmark shews that the mission had been attended with valuable effects to our citizens, whose property had been so extensively violated and endangered by cruisers under the Danish flag. Under the ominous indications which commanded attention it became a duty to exert the means committed to the executive department in providing for the general security. The works of defense on our mari- time frontier have accordingly been prosecuted with an activity leaving little to be added for the completion of the most important ones, and, as particularly suited for cooperation in emergencies, a portion of the gun- boats have in particular harbors been ordered into use. The ships of war before in commission, with the addition of a frigate, have been chiefly employed as a cruising guard to the rights of our coast, and such a dis- position has been made of our land forces as was thought to promise the services most appropriate and important. In this disposition is included a force consisting of regulars and militia, embodied in the Indiana Terri- tory and marched toward our northwestern frontier. This measure was made requisite by several murders and depredations committed by Indians, but more especially by the menacing preparations and aspect of a com- bination of them on the Wabash, under the influence and direction of a fanatic of the Shawanese tribe. With these exceptions the Indian tribes retain their peaceable dispositions toward us, and their usual pursuits. 494 Messages and Papers of the Presidents I must now add that the period is arrived which claims from the leg- islative guardians of the national rights a system of more ample provi- sions for maintaining them. Notwithstanding the scrupulous justice, the protracted moderation, and the multiplied efforts on the part of the United States to substitute for the accumulating dangers to the peace of the two countries all the mutual advantages of reestablished friendship and confidence, we have seen that the British cabinet perseveres not only in withholding a remedy for other wrongs, so long and so loudly calling for it, but in the execution, brought home to the threshold of our terri- tory, of measures which under existing circumstances have the character as well as the effect of war on our lawful commerce. With this evidence of hostile inflexibility in trampling on rights which no independent nation can relinquish, Congress will feel the duty of put- ting the United States into an armor and an attitude demanded by the crisis, and corresponding with the national spirit and expectations. I recommend, accordingly, that adequate provision be made for filling the ranks and prolonging the enlistments of the regular troops; for an auxiliary force to be engaged for a more limited term; for the acceptance of volunteer corps, whose patriotic ardor may court a participation in urgent services; for detachments as they may be wanted of other por- tions of the militia, and for such a preparation of the great body as will proportion its usefulness to its intrinsic capacities. Nor can the occa- sion fail to remind you of the importance of those military seminaries which in every event will form a valuable and frugal part of our military establishment. The manufacture of cannon and small arms has proceeded \vith due success, and the stock and resources of all the necessary munitions are adequate to emergencies. It will not be inexpedient, however, for Con- gress to authorize an enlargement of them. Your attention will of course be drawn to such provisions on the sub- ject of our naval force as may be required for the services to which it may be best adapted. I submit to Congress the seasonableness also of an authority to augment the stock of such materials as are imperishable in their nature, or may not at once be attainable. In contemplating the scenes which distinguish this momentous epoch, and estimating their claims to our attention, it is impossible to overlook those developing themselves among the great communities which occupy the southern portion of our own hemisphere and extend into our neigh- borhood. An enlarged philanthropy and an enlightened forecast concur in imposing on the national councils an obligation to take a deep interest in their destinies, to cherish reciprocal sentiments of good will, to regard the progress of events, and not to be unprepared for whatever order of things may be ultimately established. Under another aspect of our situation the early attention of Congress will be due to the expediency of further guards against evasions and James Madison 495 infractions of our commercial laws. The practice of smuggling, which is odious everywhere, and particularly criminal in free governments, where, the laws being made by all for the good of all, a fraud is com- mitted on every individual as well as on the state, attains its utmost guilt when it blends with a pursuit of ignominious gain a treacherous subserv- iency, in the transgressors, to a foreign policy adverse to that of their own country. It is then that the virtuous indignation of the public should be enabled to manifest itself through the regular animadversions of the most competent laws. To secure greater respect to our mercantile flag, and to the honest interests which it covers, it is expedient also that it be made punishable in our citizens to accept licenses from foreign governments for a trade unlawfully interdicted by them to other American citizens, or to trade under false colors or papers of any sort. A prohibition is equally called for against the acceptance by our citizens of special licenses to be used in a trade with the United States, and against the admission into particular ports of the United States of vessels from foreign countries authorized to trade with particular ports only. Although other subjects will press more immediately on your delib- erations, a portion of them can not but be well bestowed on the just and sound policy of securing to our manufactures the success they have attained, and are still attaining, in some degree, under the impulse of causes not permanent, and to our navigation, the fair extent of which is at present abridged by the unequal regulations of foreign governments. Besides the reasonableness of saving our manufactures from sacrifices which a change of circumstances might bring on them, the national inter- est requires that, with respect to such articles at least as belong to our defense and our primary wants, w r e should not be left in unnecessary dependence on external supplies. And whilst foreign governments adhere to the existing discriminations in their ports against our navigation, and an equality or lesser discrimination is enjoyed by their navigation in our ports, the effect can not be mistaken, because it has been seriously felt by our shipping interests; and in proportion as this takes place the advan- tages of an independent conveyance of our products to foreign markets and of a growing body of mariners trained by their occupations for the sendee of their country in times of danger must be diminished. The receipts into the Treasury during the year ending on the 3oth of September last have exceeded $13,500,000, and have enabled us to defray the current expenses, including the interest on the public debt, and to reimburse more than $5,000,000 of the principal without recurring to the loan authorized by the act of the last session. The temporary loan obtained in the latter end of the year 1810 has also been reimbursed, and is not included in that amount. The decrease of revenue arising from the situation of our commerce, and 496 Messages and Papers of the Presidents the extraordinary expenses which have and may become necessary, must be taken into view in making commensurate provisions for the ensuing year; and I recommend to your consideration the propriety of insuring a sufficiency of annual revenue at least to defray the ordinary expenses of Government, and to pay the interest on the public debt, including that on new loans which may be authorized. I can not close this communication without expressing my deep sense of the crisis in which you are assembled, my confidence in a wise and honorable result to your deliberations, and assurances of the faithful zeal with which my cooperating duties will be discharged, invoking at the same time the blessing of Heaven on our beloved country and on all the means that may be employed in vindicating its rights and advancing its welfare. JAMES MADISON. SPECIAL MESSAGES. WASHINGTON, November ij, 1811. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I communicate to Congress copies of a correspondence between the envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of Great Britain and the Secretary of State relative to the aggression committed by a British ship of war on the United States frigate Chesapeake, by which it will be seen that that subject of difference between the two countries is termi- nated by an offer of reparation, which has been acceded to. JAMES MADISON. WASHINGTON, December 18, 1811. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I lay before Congress two letters received from Governor Harrison, of the Indiana Territory, reporting the particulars and the issue of the expe- dition under his command, of which notice was taken in my communica- tion of November 5. While it is deeply lamented that so many valuable lives have been lost in the action which took place on the yth ultimo, Congress will see with satisfaction the dauntless spirit and fortitude victoriously displayed by every description of the troops engaged, as well as the collected firmness which distinguished their commander on an occasion requiring the utmost exertions of valor and discipline. It may reasonably be expected that the good effects of this critical defeat and dispersion of a combination of savages, which appears to have been spreading to a greater extent, will be experienced not only in a ces- James Madison 497 sation of the murders and depredations committed on our frontier, but in the prevention of any hostile incursions othenvise to have been appre- hended. The families of those brave and patriotic citizens who have fallen in this severe conflict will doubtless engage the favorable attention of Con- JAMES MADISON. WASHINGTON, December 23, / reporting his capture and destruction of the British frigate the Java. The circumstances and the issue of this combat afford another example of the professional skill and heroic spirit which prevail in our naval service. The signal display of both by Captain Bainbridge, his officers and crew, commands the highest praise. This being a second instance in which the condition of the captured ship, by rendering it impossible to get her into port, has barred a con- templated reward of successful valor, I recommend to the consideration of Congress the equity and propriety of a general provision allowing in such cases, both past and future, a fair proportion of the value which would accrue to the captors on the safe arrival and sale of the prize. JAMES MADISON. FEBRUARY 24, 1813. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I lay before Congress copies of a proclamation of the British lieutenant- governor of the island of Bermuda, which has appeared under circum- stances leaving no doubt of its authenticity. It recites a British order in council of the 26th of October last, providing for the supply of the British West Indies and other colonial possessions by a trade under spe- cial licenses, and is accompanied by a circular instruction to the colonial governors which confines licensed importations from ports of the United States to the ports of the Eastern States exclusively. The Government of Great Britain had already introduced into her com- merce during war a system which, at once violating the rights of other nations and resting on a mass of forgery and perjury unknown to other times, was making an unfortunate progress in undermining those prin- ciples of morality and religion which are the best foundation of national happiness. The policy now proclaimed to the world introduces into her modes of warfare a system equally distinguished by the deformity of its features James Madison 523 and the depravity of its character, having for its object to dissolve the ties of allegiance and the sentiments of loyalty in the adversary nation, and to seduce and separate its component parts the one from the other. The general tendency of these demoralizing and disorganizing contriv- ances will be reprobated by the civilized and Christian world, and the insulting attempt on the virtue, the honor, the patriotism, and the fidel- ity of our brethren of the Eastern States will not fail to call forth all their indignation and resentment, and to attach more and more all the States to that happy Union and Constitution against which such insid- ious and malignant artifices are directed. The better to guard, nevertheless, against the effect of individual cupid- ity and treachery and to turn the corrupt projects of the enemy against himself, I recommend to the consideration of Congress the expediency of an effectual prohibition of any trade whatever by citizens or inhabit- ants of the United States under special licenses, whether relating to per- sons or ports, and in aid thereof a prohibition of all exportations from the United States in foreign bottoms, few of which are actually employed, whilst multiplying counterfeits of their flags and papers are covering and encouraging the navigation of the enemy. JAMES MADISON. MARCH 3, 1813. To the House of Representatives of the United States: Conformably to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 2yth of January last, I transmit "rolls of the persons having office or employment of a public nature under the United States. ' ' JAMES MADISON. VETO MESSAGE. NOVEMBER 5, 1812. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: The bill entitled "An act supplementary to the acts heretofore passed on the subject of an uniform rule of naturalization," which passed the two Houses at the last session of Congress, having appeared to me liable to abuse by aliens having no real purpose of effectuating a naturaliza- tion, and therefore not been signed, and having been presented at an hour too near the close of the session to be returned with objections for reconsideration, the bill failed to become a law. I also recommend that provision be now made in favor of aliens entitled to the contemplated benefit, under such regulations as will prevent advantage being taken of it for improper purposes. JAMES MADISON. 524 Messages and Papers of the Presidents SECOND INAUGURAL ADDRESS. About to add the solemnity of an oath to the obligations imposed by a second call to the station in which my country heretofore placed me, I find in the presence of this respectable assembly an opportunity of pub- licly repeating my profound sense of so distinguished a confidence and of the responsibility united with it. The impressions on me are strength- ened by such an evidence that my faithful endeavors to discharge my arduous duties have been favorably estimated, and by a consideration of the momentous period at which the trust has been renewed. From the weight and magnitude now belonging to it I should be compelled to shrink if I had less reliance on the support of an enlightened and gener- ous people, and felt less deeply a conviction that the war with a powerful nation, which forms so prominent a feature in our situation, is stamped with that justice which invites the smiles of Heaven on the means of conducting it to a successful termination. May we not cherish this sentiment without presumption when we re- flect on the characters by which this war is distinguished ? It was not declared on the part of the United States until it had been long made on them, in reality though not in name; until arguments and expostulations had been exhausted; until a positive declaration had been received that the wrongs provoking it would not be discontinued; nor until this last appeal could no longer be delayed without breaking down the spirit of the nation, destroying all confidence in itself and in its polit- ical institutions, and either perpetuating a state of disgraceful suffering or regaining by more costly sacrifices and more severe struggles our lost rank and respect among independent powers. On the issue of the war are staked our national sovereignty on the high seas and the security of an important class of citizens, whose occupations give the proper value to those of every other class. Not to contend for such a stake is to surrender our equality with other powers on the ele- ment common to all and to violate the sacred title which every member of the society has to its protection. I need not call into view the unlaw- fulness of the practice by which our mariners are forced at the will of every cruising officer from their own vessels into foreign ones, nor paint the outrages inseparable from it. The proofs are in the records of each successive Administration of our Government, and the cruel sufferings of that portion of the American people have found their way to every bosom not dead to the sympathies of human nature. As the war was just in its origin and necessary and noble in its objects, we can reflect with a proud satisfaction that in carrying it on no principle of justice or honor, no usage of civilized nations, no precept of courtesy or humanity, have been infringed. The war has been waged on our part James Madison 525 with scrupulous regard to all these obligations, and in a spirit of liberality which was never surpassed. How little has been the effect of this example on the conduct of the enemy ! They have retained as prisoners of war citizens of the United States not liable to be so considered under the usages of war. They have refused to consider as prisoners of war, and threatened to punish as traitors and deserters, persons emigrating without restraint to the United States, incorporated by naturalization into our political family, and fighting under the authority of their adopted country in open and honorable war for the maintenance of its rights and safety. Such is the avowed purpose of a Government which is in the practice of naturalizing by thousands citizens of other countries, and not only of permitting but compelling them to fight its battles against their native country. They have not, it is true, taken into their own hands the hatchet and the knife, devoted to indiscriminate massacre, but they have let loose the savages armed with these cruel instruments; have allured them into their service, and carried them to battle by their sides, eager to glut their sav- age thirst with the blood of the vanquished and to finish the work of torture and death on maimed and defenseless captives. And, what was never before seen/ British, commanders have extorted victory over the unconquerable valor of our troops by presenting to the sympathy of their chief captives awaiting massacre from their savage associates. And now we find them, in further contempt of the modes of honorable war- fare, supplying the place of a conquering force by attempts to disorganize our political society, to dismember our confederated Republic. Happily, like others, these will recoil on the authors; but they mark the degener- ate counsels from which they emanate, and if they did not belong to a series of unexampled inconsistencies might excite the greater wonder as proceeding from a Government which founded the very war in which it has been so long engaged on a charge against the disorganizing and insurrectional policy of its adversary. To render the justice of the war on our part the more conspicuous, the reluctance to commence it was followed by the earliest and strongest manifestations of a disposition to arrest its progress. The sword was scarcely out of the scabbard before the enemy was apprised of the reason- able terms on which it would be resheathed. Still more precise advances were repeated, and have been received in a spirit forbidding every reliance not placed on the military resources of the nation. These resources are amply sufficient to bring the war to an honorable issue. Our nation is in number more than half that of the British Isles. It is composed of a brave, a free, a virtuous, and an intelligent people. Our country abounds in the necessaries, the arts, and the comforts of life. A general prosperity is visible in the public countenance. The means em- ployed by the British cabinet to undermine it have recoiled on themselves; 526 Messages and Papers of the Presidents have given to our national faculties a more rapid development, and, draining or diverting the precious metals from British circulation and British vaults, have poured them into those of the United States. It is a propitious consideration that an unavoidable war should have found this seasonable facility for the contributions required to support it. When the public voice called for war, all knew, and still know, that without them it could not be carried on through the period which it might last, and the patriotism, the good sense, and the manly spirit of our fellow- citizens are pledges for the cheerfulness with which they will bear each his share of the common burden. To render the war short and its suc- cess sure, animated and systematic exertions alone are necessary, and the success of our arms now may long preserve our country from the neces- sity of another resort to them. Already have the gallant exploits of our naval heroes proved to the world our inherent capacity to maintain our rights 011 one element. If the reputation of our arms has been thrown under clouds on the other, presaging flashes of heroic enterprise assure us that nothing is wanting to correspondent triumphs there also but the discipline and habits which are in daily progress. MARCH 4, 1813. SPECIAL SESSION MESSAGE. WASHINGTON, May 25, 1813. Fellow- Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: At an early day after the close of the last session of Congress an offer was formally communicated from His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Russia of his mediation, as the common friend of the United States and Great Britain, for the purpose of facilitating a peace between them. The high character of the Emperor Alexander being a satisfactory pledge for the sincerity and impartiality of his offer, it was immediately accepted, and as a further proof of the disposition on the part of the United States to meet their adversary in honorable experiments for terminating the war it was determined to avoid intermediate delays incident to the distance of the parties by a definitive provision for the contemplated negotiation. Three of our eminent citizens were accordingly commissioned with the requisite powers to conclude a treaty of peace with persons clothed with like powers on the part of Great Britain. They are authorized also to enter into such conventional regulations of the commerce between the two countries as may be mutually advantageous. The two envoys who were in the United States at the time of their appointment have pro- ceeded to join their colleague already at St. Petersburg. The envoys have received another commission authorizing them to conclude with Russia a treaty of commerce with a view to strengthen the James Madison 527 amicable relations and improve the beneficial intercourse between the two countries. The issue of this friendly interposition of the Russian Emperor and this pacific manifestation on the part of the United States time only can decide. That the sentiments of Great Britain toward that Sovereign will have produced an acceptance of his offered mediation must be presumed. That no adequate motives exist to prefer a continuance, of war with the United States to the terms on which they are willing to close it is certain. The British cabinet also must be sensible that, with respect to the impor- tant question of impressment, on which the war so essentially turns, a search for or seizure of British persons or property on board neutral ves- sels on the high seas is not a belligerent right derived from the law of nations, and it is obvious that no visit or search or use of force for any purpose on board the vessels of one independent power on the high seas can in war or peace be sanctioned by the laws or authority of another power. It is equally obvious that, for the purpose of preserving to each State its seafaring members, by excluding them from the vessels of the other, the mode heretofore proposed by the United States and now enacted by them as an article of municipal policy, can not for a moment be com- pared with the mode practiced by Great Britain without a conviction of its title to preference, inasmuch as the latter leaves the discrimination between the mariners of the two nations to officers exposed by unavoid- able bias as well as by a defect of evidence to a wrong decision, under circumstances precluding for the most part the enforcement of control- ling penalties, and where a wrong decision, besides the irreparable viola- tion of the sacred rights of persons, might frustrate the plans and profits of entire voyages; whereas the mode assumed by the United States guards with studied fairness and efficacy against errors in such cases and avoids the effect of casual errors on the safety of navigation and the success of mercantile expeditions. If the reasonableness of expectations drawn from these considerations could guarantee their fulfillment a just peace would not be distant. But it becomes the wisdom of the National Legislature to keep in mind the true policy, or rather the indispensable obligation, of adapting its meas- ures to the supposition that the only course to that happy event is in the vigorous employment of the resources of war. And painful as the reflec- tion is, this duty is particularly enforced by the spirit and manner in which the war continues to be waged by the enemy, who, uninfluenced by the unvaried examples of humanity set them, are adding to the savage fury of it on one frontier a system of plunder and conflagration on the other, equally forbidden by respect for national character and by the es- tablished rules of civilized warfare. As an encouragement to persevering and invigorated exertions to bring the contest to a happy result, I have the satisfaction of being able to ap- peal to the auspicious progress of our arms both by laud and on the water. 528 Messages and Papers of the Presidents In continuation of the brilliant achievements of our infant Navy, a sig- nal triumph has been gained by Captain L,awrence and his companions in the Hornet sloop of war, which destroyed a British sloop of war with a celerity so unexampled and with a slaughter of the enemy so dispro- portionate to the loss in the Hornet as to claim for the conquerors the highest praise and the full recompense provided by Congress in pre- ceding cases. Our public ships of war in general, as well as the private armed vessels, have continued also their activity and success against the commerce of the enemy, and by their vigilance and address have greatly frustrated the efforts of the hostile squadrons distributed along our coasts to intercept them in returning into port and resuming their cruises. The augmentation of our naval force, as authorized at the last session of Congress, is in progress. On the Lakes our superiority is near at hand where it is not already established. The events of the campaign, so far as they are known to us, furnish matter of congratulation, and show that under a wise organization and efficient direction the Army is destined to a glory not less brilliant than that which already encircles the Navy. The attack and capture of York is in that quarter a presage of future and greater victories, while on the western frontier -the issue of the late siege of Fort Meigs leaves us noth- ing to regret but a single act of inconsiderate valor. The provisions last made for filling the ranks and enlarging the staff of the Army have had the best effects. It will be for the consideration of Congress whether other provisions depending on their authority may not still further improve the military establishment and the means of defense. The sudden death of the distinguished citizen who represented the United States in France, without any special arrangements by him for such a contingency, has left us without the expected sequel to his last communications, nor has the French Government taken any measures for bringing the depending negotiations to a conclusion through its rep- resentative in the United States. This failure adds to delays before so unreasonably spun out. A successor to our deceased minister has been appointed and is ready to proceed on his mission. The course which he will pursue in fulfilling it is that prescribed by a steady regard to the true interests of the United States, which equally avoids an abandon- ment of their just demands and a connection of their fortunes with the systems of other powers. The receipts in the Treasury from the ist of October to the 3ist day of March last, including the sums received on account of Treasury notes and of the loans authorized by the acts of the last and the preceding sessions of Congress, have amounted to $15,412,000. The expenditures during the same period amounted to $15,920,000, and left in the Treas- ury on the ist of April the sum of $1,857,000. The loan of $16,000,000, authorized by the act of the 8th of February last, has been contracted James Madison 529 for. Of that sum more than $1,000,000 had been paid into the Treas- ury prior to the ist of April, and formed a part of the receipts as above stated. The remainder of that loan, amounting to near $15,000,000, with the vsum of $5,000,000 authorized to be issued in Treasury notes, and the estimated receipts from the customs and the sales of public lands, amounting to $9,300,000, and making, in the whole, $29,300,000, to be received during the last nine months of the present year, will be neces- sary to meet the expenditures already authorized and the engagements contracted in relation to the public debt. These engagements amount during that period to $10,500,000, which, with near one million for the civil, miscellaneous, and diplomatic expenses, both foreign and domestic, and $17,800,000 for the military and naval expenditures, including the ships of war building and to be built, will leave a sum in the Treasury at the end of the present year equal to that on the ist of April last. A part of this sum may be considered as a resource for defraying any extraor- dinary expenses already authorized by law beyond the sums above esti- mated, and a further resource for any emergency may be found in the sum of $1,000,000, the loan of which to the United States has been authorized by the State of Pennsylvania, but which has not yet been brought into effect. This view of our finances, whilst it shows that due provision has been made for the expenses of the current year, shows at the same time, by the limited amount of the actual revenue and the dependence on loans, the necessity of providing more adequately for the future supplies of the Treasury. This can be best done by a well-digested system of internal revenue in aid of existing sources, which will have the effect both of abridging the amount of necessary loans and, on that account, as well as by placing the public credit on a more satisfactory basis, of improving the terms on which loans may be obtained. The loan of sixteen millions was not contracted for at a less interest than about 7^ per cent, and, although other causes may have had an agency, it can not be doubted that, with the advantage of a more extended and less precarious revenue, a lower rate of interest might have sufficed. A longer postponement of this advantage could not fail to have a still greater influence on future loans. In recommending to the National Legislature this resort to additional taxes I feel great satisfaction in the assurance that our constituents, who have already displayed so much zeal and firmness in the cause of their country, will cheerfully give any other proof of their patriotism which it calls for. Happily no people, with local and transitory excep- tions never to be wholly avoided, are more able than the people of the United States to spare for the public wants a portion of their private means, whether regard be had to the ordinary profits of industry or the ordinary price of subsistence in our country compared with those in any other. And in no case could stronger reasons be felt for yielding the M P voi, i 34 530 Messages and Papers of the Presidents requisite contributions. By rendering the public resources certain and commensurate to the public exigencies, the constituted authorities will be able to prosecute the war the more rapidly to its proper issue; every hostile hope founded on a calculated failure of our resources will be cut off, and by adding to the evidence of bravery and skill in combats on the ocean and the land, and alacrity in supplying the treasure neces- sary to give them their fullest effect, and demonstrating to the world the public energy which our political institutions combine, with the personal liberty distinguishing them, the best security will be provided against future enterprises on the rights or the peace of the nation. The contest in which the United States are engaged appeals for its support to every motive that can animate an uncorrupted and enlightened people to the love of country; to the pride of liberty; to an emulation of the glorious founders of their independence by a successful vindication of its violated attributes; to the gratitude and sympathy which demand security from the most degrading wrongs of a class of citizens who have proved themselves so worthy the protection of their country by their heroic zeal in its defense; and, finally, to the sacred obligation of trans- mitting entire to future generations that precious patrimony of national rights and independence which is held in trust by the present from the goodness of Divine Providence. Being aware of the inconveniences to which a protracted session at this season would be liable, I limit the present communication to objects of primary importance. In special messages which may ensue regard will be had to the same consideration. JAMES MADISON SPECIAL MESSAGES. MAY 29, 1813. To the Senate of the United States: The Swedish Government having repeatedly manifested a desire to interchange a public minister with the United States, and having lately appointed one with that view, and other considerations concurring to render it advisable at this period to make a correspondent appointment, I nominate Jonathan Russell, of Rhode Island, to be minister plenipoten- tiary of the United States to Sweden. JAMES MADISON. WASHINGTON, July 6, 1813. To the Senate of the United States: I have received from the committee appointed by the resolution of the Senate of the i4th day of June a copy of that resolution, which authorizes the committee to confer with the President on the subject of the nomina- tion made by him of a minister plenipotentiary to Sweden. James Madison 531 Conceiving it to be my duty to decline the proposed conference with the committee, and it being uncertain when it may be convenient to explain to the committee, and through them to the Senate, the grounds of my so doing, I think it proper to address the explanation directly to the Senate. Without entering into a general review of the relations in which the Constitution has placed the several departments of the Gov- ernment to each other, it will suffice to remark that the Executive and Senate, in the cases of appointments to office and of treaties, are to be considered as independent of and coordinate with each other. If they agree, the appointments or treaties are made; if the Senate disagree, they fail. If the Senate wish information previous to their final decision, the practice, 'keeping in view the constitutional relations of the Senate and the Executive, has been either to request the Executive to furnish it or to refer the subject to a committee of their body to communicate, either formally or informally, with the head of the proper department. The appointment of a committee of the Senate to confer immediately with the Executive himself appears to lose sight of the coordinate relation between the Executive and the Senate which the Constitution has established, and which ought therefore to be maintained. The relation between the Senate and House of Representatives, in whom legislative power is concurrently vested, is sufficiently analogous to illustrate that between the Executive and Senate in making appoint- ments and treaties. The two Houses are in like manner independent of and coordinate with each other, and the invariable practice of each in appointing, committees of conference and consultation is to commission them to confer not with the coordinate body itself, but with a committee of that body; and although both branches of the Legislature may be too numerous to hold conveniently a conference with committees, were they to be appointed by either to confer with the entire body of the other, it may be fairly presumed that if the whole number of either branch were not too large for the purpose the objection to such a conference, being against the principle as derogating from the coordinate relations of the two Houses, would retain all its force. I add only that I am entirely persuaded of the purity of the intentions of the Senate in the course they have pursued on this occasion, and with which my view of the subject makes it my duty not to accord, and that they will be cheerfully furnished with all the suitable information in possession of the Executive in any mode deemed consistent with the principles of the Constitution and the settled practice under it. JAMES MADISON. WASHINGTON, July 20, 1813. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: There being sufficient ground to infer that it is the purpose of the enemy to combine with the blockade of our ports special licenses to 532 Messages and Papers of the Presidents neutral vessels or to British vessels in neutral disguises, whereby they may draw from our country the precise kind and quantity of exports essential to their wants, whilst its general commerce remains obstructed, keeping in view also the insidious discrimination between the different ports of the United States; and as such a system, if not counteracted, will have the effect of diminishing very materially the pressure of the war on the enemy, and encouraging a perseverance in it, at the same time that it will leave the general commerce of the United States under all the pressure the enemy can impose, thus subjecting the whole to British regulation in subserviency to British monopoly, I recommend to the consideration of Congress the expediency of an immediate and effectual prohibition of exports limited to a convenient day in their next session, and removable in the meantime in the event of a cessation of the blockade of our ports. JAMES MADISON. PROCLAMATION. [From Niles's Weekly Register, vol. 4, p. 345.] A PROCLAMATION. Whereas the Congress of the United States, by a joint resolution of the two Houses, have signified a request that a day may be recommended to be observed by the people of the United States with religious solemnity as a day of public humiliation and prayer; and Whereas in times of public calamity such as that of the war brought on the United States by the injustice of a foreign government it is espe- cially becoming that the hearts of all should be touched with the same and the eyes of all be turned to that Almighty Power in whose hand are the welfare and the destiny of nations: I do therefore issue this my proclamation, recommending to all who shall be piously disposed to unite their hearts and voices in addressing at one and the same time their vows and adorations to the Great Parent and Sovereign of the Universe that they assemble on the second Thurs- day of September next in their respective religious congregations to ren- der Him thanks for the many blessings He has bestowed on the people of the United States; that He has blessed them with a land capable of yielding all the necessaries and requisites of human life, with ample means for convenient exchanges with foreign countries; that He has blessed the labors employed in its cultivation and improvement; that He is now bless- ing the exertions to extend and establish the arts and manufactures which will secure within ourselves supplies too important to remain dependent on the precarious policy or the peaceable dispositions of other nations, and particularly that He has blessed the United States with a political Constitution founded on the will and authority of the whole people and James Madison 533 guaranteeing to each individual security, not only of his person and his property, but of those sacred rights of conscience so essential to his present happiness and so dear to his future hopes; that with those ex- pressions of devout thankfulness be joined supplications to the same Almighty Power that He would look down with compassion on our in- firmities; that He would pardon our manifold transgressions and awaken and strengthen in all the wholesome purposes of repentance and amend- ment; that in this season of trial and calamity He would preside in a particular manner over our public councils and inspire all citizens with a love of their country and with those fraternal affections and that mutual confidence which have so happy a tendency to make us safe at home and respected abroad; and that as He was graciously pleased heretofore to smile on our struggles against the attempts of the Government of the Empire of which these States then made a part to wrest from them the rights and .privileges to which they were entitled in common with every other part and to raise them to the station of an independent and sov- ereign people, so He would now be pleased in like manner to bestow His blessing on our arms in resisting the hostile and persevering efforts of the same power to degrade us on the ocean, the common inheritance of all, from rights and immunities belonging and essential to the Amer- ican people as a coequal member of the great community of independent nations; and that, inspiring our enemies with moderation, with justice, and with that spirit of reasonable accommodation which our country has continued to manifest, we may be enabled to beat our swords into plow- shares and to enjoy in peace every man the fruits of his honest industry and the rewards of his lawful enterprise. If the public homage of a people can ever be worthy the favorable regard of the Holy and Omniscient Being to whom it is addressed, it must be that in which those who join in it are guided only by their free choice, by the impulse of their hearts and the dictates of their consciences; and such a spectacle must be interesting to all Christian nations as proving that religion, that gift of Heaven for the good of man, freed from all coer- cive edicts, from that unhallowed connection with the powers of this world which corrupts religion into an instrument or an usurper of the policy of the state, and making no appeal but to reason, to the heart, and to the conscience, can spread its benign influence everywhere and can attract to the divine altar those freewill offerings of humble suppli- cation, thanksgiving, and praise which alone can be acceptable to Him whom no hypocrisy can deceive and no forced sacrifices propitiate. Upon these principles and with these views the good people of the United States are invited, in conformity with the resolution aforesaid, to dedicate the day above named to the religious solemnities therein recom- mended. Given at Washington, this 23d day of July, A. D. 1813. [SEAI,.] JAMES MADISON. 534 Messages and Papers of the Presidents FIFTH ANNUAL MESSAGE. WASHINGTON, December 7, Fellow- Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: In meeting you at the present interesting conjuncture it would have been highly satisfactory if I could have communicated a favorable result to the mission charged with negotiations for restoring peace. It was a just expectation, from the respect due to the distinguished Sovereign who had invited them by his offer of mediation, from the readiness with which the invitation was accepted on the part of the United States, and from the pledge to be found in an act of their Legislature for the liberality which their plenipotentiaries won Id carry into the negotiations, that no time would be lost by the British Government in embracing the experi- ment for hastening a stop to the effusion of blood. A prompt and cordial acceptance of the mediation on that side was the less to be doubted, as it was of a nature not to submit rights or pretensions on either side to the decision of an umpire, but to afford merely an opportunity, honorable and desirable to both, for discussing and, if possible, adjusting them for the interest of both. The British cabinet, either mistaking our desire of peace for a dread of British power or misled by other fallacious calculations, has disap- pointed this reasonable anticipation. No communications from our en- voys having reached us, no information on the subject has been received from that source; but it is known that the mediation was declined in the first instance, and there is no evidence, notwithstanding the lapse of time, that a change of disposition in the British councils has taken place or is to be expected. Under such circumstances a nation proud of its rights and conscious of its strength has no choice but an exertion of the one in support of the other. To this determination the best encouragement is derived from the suc- cess with which it has pleased the Almighty to bless our arms both on the land- and on the water. Whilst proofs have been continued of the enterprise and skill of our cruisers, public and private, on the ocean, and a new trophy gained in the capture of a British by an American vessel of war, after an action giving celebrity to the name of the victorious commander, the great inland waters on which the enemy were also to be encountered have presented achievements of our naval arms as brilliant in their character as they have been important in their consequences. On Lake Erie, the squadron under command of Captain Perry having met the British squadron of superior force, a sanguinary conflict ended in the capture of the whole. The conduct of that officer, adroit as it was James Madison 535 daring, and which was so well seconded by his comrades, justly entitles them to the admiration and gratitude of their country, and will fill an early page in its naval annals with a victory never surpassed in luster, however much it may have been in magnitude. On L,ake Ontario the caution of the British commander, favored by contingencies, frustrated the efforts of the American commander to bring on a decisive action. Captain Chauncey was able, however, to establish an ascendency on that important theater, and to prove by the manner in which he effected everything possible that opportunities only were wanted for a more shining display of his own talents and the gallantry of those under his command. The success on L,ake Erie having opened -a passage to the territory of the enemy, the officer commanding the Northwestern army transferred the war thither, and rapidly pursuing the hostile troops, fleeing with their savage associates, forced a general action, which quickly terminated in the capture of the British and dispersion of the savage force. This result is signally honorable to Major-General Harrison, by whose military talents it was prepared; to Colonel Johnson and his mounted volunteers, whose impetuous onset gave a decisive blow to the ranks of the enemy, and to the spirit of the volunteer militia, equally brave and patriotic, who bore an interesting part in the scene; more especially to the chief magistrate of Kentucky, at the head of them, whose heroism signalized in the war which established the independence of his country, sought at an advanced age a share in hardships and battles for maintain- ing its rights and its safety. The effect of these successes has been to rescue the inhabitants of Michigan from their oppressions, aggravated by gross infractions of the capitulation which subjected them to a foreign power; to alienate the savages of numerous tribes from the enemy, by whom they were disap- pointed and abandoned, and to relieve an extensive region of country from a merciless warfare which desolated its frontiers and imposed on its citizens the most harassing services. In consequence of our naval superiority on Lake Ontario and the opportunity afforded by it for concentrating our forces by water, opera- tions which had been provisionally planned were set on foot against the possessions of the enemy on the St. Lawrence. Such, however, was the delay produced in the first instance by adverse weather of unusual vio- lence and continuance and such the circumstances attending the final movements of the army, that the prospect, at one time so favorable, was not realized. The cruelty of the enemy in enlisting the savages into a war with a nation desirous of mutual emulation in mitigating its calamities has not been confined to any one quarter. Wherever they could be turned against us no exertions to effect it have been spared. On our southwestern border the Creek tribes, who, yielding to our persevering endeavors, were 536 Messages and Papers of the Presidents gradually acquiring more civilized habits, became the unfortunate victims of seduction. A war in that quarter has been the consequence, infuri- ated by a bloody fanaticism recently propagated among them. It was necessary to crush such a war before it could spread among the contigu- ous tribes and before it could favor enterprises of the enemy into that vicinity. With this view a force was called into the service of the United States from the States of Georgia and Tennessee, which, with the nearest regular troops and other corps from the Mississippi Territory, might not only chastise the savages into present peace but make a lasting impres- sion on their fears. The progress of the expedition, as far as is yet known, corresponds with the martial zeal with which it was espoused, and the best hopes of a satisfactory issue are authorized by the complete success with which a well-planned enterprise was executed against a body of hostile savages by a detachment of the volunteer militia of Tennessee, under the gallant command of General Coffee, and by a still more important victory over a larger body of them, gained under the immediate command of Major- General Jackson, an officer equally distinguished for his patriotism and his military talents. The systematic perseverance of the enemy in courting the aid of the savages in all quarters had the natural effect of kindling their ordinary propensity to war into a passion, which, even among those best disposed toward the United States, was ready, if not employed on our side, to be turned against us. A departure from our protracted forbearance to accept the services tendered by them has thus been forced upon us. But in j'ielding to it the retaliation has been mitigated as much as possible, both in its extent and in its character, stopping far short of the example of the enemy, who owe the advantages they have occasionally gained in battle chiefly to the number of their savage associates, and who have not controlled them either from their usual practice of indiscriminate massacre on defenseless inhabitants or from scenes of carnage without a parallel on prisoners to the British arms, guarded by all the laws of humanity and of honorable war. For these enormities the enemy are equally responsible, whether with the power to prevent them they want the will or with the knowledge of a want of power they still avail them- selves of such instruments. In other respects the enemy are pursuing a course which threatens consequences most afflicting to humanity. A standing law of Great Britain naturalizes, as is well known, all aliens complying with conditions limited to a shorter period than those required by the United States, and naturalized subjects are in war em- ployed by her Government in common with native subjects. In a con- tiguous British Province regulations promulgated since the commence- ment of the war compel citizens of the United States being there under certain circumstances to bear arms, whilst of the native emigrants from James Madison 537 the United States, who compose much of the population of the Province, a number have actually borne arms against the United States within their limits, some of whom, after having done so, have become prisoners of war, and are now in our possession. The British commander in that Province, nevertheless, with the sanction, as appears, of his Government, thought proper to select from American prisoners of war and send to Great Britain for trial as criminals a number of individuals who had emigrated from the British dominions long prior to the state of war between the two nations, who had incorporated themselves into our political society in the modes recognized by the law and the practice of Great Britain, and who were made prisoners of war under the banners of their adopted country, fighting for its rights and its safety. The protection due to these citizens requiring an effectual interposi- tion in their behalf, a like number of British prisoners of war were put into confinement, with a notification that they would experience what- ever violence might be committed on the American prisoners of war sent to Great Britain. It was hoped that this necessary consequence of the step unadvisedly taken on the part of Great Britain would have led her Government to reflect on the inconsistencies of its conduct, and that a sympathy with the British, if not with the American, sufferers would have arrested the cruel career opened by its example. This was unhappily not the case. In violation both of consistency and of humanity, American officers and noncommissioned officers in double the number of the British soldiers confined here were ordered into close confinement, with formal notice that in the event of a retaliation for the death which might be inflicted on the prisoners of war sent to Great Britain for trial the officers so confined would be put to death also. It was notified at the same time that the commanders of the British fleets and armies on our coasts are instructed in the same event to proceed with a destructive severity against our towns and their inhabitants. That no doubt might be left with the enemy of our adherence to the retaliatory resort imposed on us, a correspondent number of British offi- cers, prisoners of war in our hands, were immediately put into close con- finement to abide the fate of those confined by the enemy, and the British Government has been apprised of the determination of this Government to retaliate any other proceedings against us contrary to the legitimate modes of warfare. It is as fortunate for the United States that they have it in their power to meet the enemy in this deplorable contest as it is honorable to them that they do not join in it but under the most imperious obligations, and with the humane purpose of effectuating a return to the established usages of war. The views of the French Government on the subjects which have been so long committed to negotiation have received no elucidation since the 538 Messages and Papers of the Presidents close of your late session. The minister plenipotentiary of the United States at Paris had not been enabled by proper opportunities to press the objects of his mission as prescribed by his instructions. The militia being always to be regarded as the great bulwark of de- fense and security for free states, and the Constitution having wisely committed to the national authority a use of that force as the best pro- vision against an unsafe military establishment, as well as a resource peculiarly adapted to a country having the extent and the exposure of the United States, I recommend to Congress a revision of the militia laws for the purpose of securing more effectually the services of all de- tachments called into the employment and placed under the Govern- ment of the United States. It will deserve the consideration of Congress also whether among other improvements in the militia laws justice does not require a regu- lation, under due precautions, for defraying the expense incident to the first assembling as well as the subsequent movements of detachments called into the national service. To give to our vessels of war, public and private, the requisite advan- tage in their cruises, it is of much importance that they should have, both for themselves and their prizes, the use of the ports and markets of friendly powers. With this view, I recommend to Congress the expe- diency of such legal provisions as may supply the defects or remove the doubts of the Executive authority, to allow to the cruisers of other powers at war with enemies of the United States such use of the Ameri- can ports as may correspond with the privileges allowed by such powers to American cruisers. During the year ending on the 3oth of September last the receipts into the Treasury have exceeded $37,500,000, of which near twenty-four mil- lions were the produce of loans. After meeting all demands for the pub- lic service there remained in the Treasury 011 that day near $7,000,000. Under the authority contained in the act of the 26. of August last for bor- rowing $7,500,000, that sum has been obtained on terms more favorable to the United States than those of the preceding loan made during the present year. Further sums to a considerable amount will be necessary to be obtained in the same way during the ensuing year, and from the increased capital of the country, from the fidelity with which the public engagements have been kept and the public credit maintained, it may be expected on good grounds that the necessary pecuniary supplies will not be wanting. The expenses of the current year, from the multiplied operations fall- ing within it, haye necessarily been extensive; but on a just estimate of the campaign in which the mass of them has been incurred the cost will not be found disproportionate to the advantages which have been gained. The campaign has, indeed, in its latter stages in one quarter been less favorable than was expected, but in addition to the importance James Madison 539 of our naval success the progress of the campaign has been filled with incidents highly honorable to the American arms. The attacks of the enemy on Craney Island, on Fort Meigs, on Sack- etts Harbor, and on Sandusky have been vigorously and successfully repulsed; nor have they in any case succeeded on either frontier excepting when directed against the peaceable dwellings of individuals or villages unprepared or undefended. On the other hand, the movements of the American Army have been followed by the reduction of York, and of Forts George, Erie, and Mai- den; by the recovery of Detroit and the extinction of the Indian war in the West, and by the occupancy or command of a large portion of Upper Canada. Battles have also been fought on the borders of the St. Law- rence, which, though not accomplishing their entire objects, reflect honor on the discipline and prowess of our soldiery, the best auguries of even- tual victory. In the same scale are to be placed the late successes in the South over one of the most powerful, which had become one of the most hostile also, of the Indian tribes. It would be improper to close this communication without expressing a thankfulness in which all ought to unite for the numerous blessings with which our beloved country continues to be favored; for the abun- dance which overspreads our land, and the prevailing health of its inhab- itants; for the preservation of our internal tranquillity, and the stability of our free institutions, and, above all, for the light of divine truth and the protection of every man's conscience in the enjoyment of it. And although among our blessings we can not number an exemption from the evils of war, yet these will never be regarded as the greatest of evils by the friends of liberty and of the rights of nations. Our country has before preferred them to the degraded condition which was the alternative when the sword was drawn in the cause which gave birth to our national inde- pendence, and none who contemplate the magnitude and feel the value of that glorious event will shrink from a struggle to maintain the high and happy ground on w r hich it placed the American people. With all good citizens the justice and necessity of resisting wrongs and usurpations no longer to be borne will sufficiently outweigh the privations and sacrifices inseparable from a state of war. But it is a reflection, moreover, peculiarly consoling, that, whilst wars are generally aggravated by their baneful effects on the internal improvements and permanent prosperity of the nations engaged in them, such is the favored situation of the United States that the calamities of the contest into which they have been compelled to enter are mitigated by improvements and advantages of which the contest itself is the source. If the war has increased the interruptions of our commerce, it has at the same time cherished and multiplied our manufactures so as to make us independent of all other countries for the more essential branches for which we ought to be dependent on none, and is even rapidly giving 540 Messages and Papers of the Presidents them an extent which will create additional staples in our future inter- course with foreign markets. If much treasure has been expended, no inconsiderable portion of it has been applied to objects durable in their value and necessary to our permanent safety. If the war has exposed us to increased spoliations on the ocean and to predatory incursions on the land, it has developed the national means of retaliating the former and of providing protection against the latter, demonstrating to all that every blow aimed at our maritime independence is an impulse accelerating the growth of our maritime power. By diffusing through the mass of the nation the elements of military discipline and instruction; by augmenting and distributing warlike prep- arations applicable to future use; by evincing the zeal and valor with which they will be employed and the cheerfulness with which every necessary burden will be borne, a greater respect for our rights and a longer duration of our future peace are promised than could be expected without these proofs of the national character and resources. The war has proved moreover that our free Government, like other free governments, though slow in its early movements, acquires in its progress a force proportioned to its freedom, and that the union of these States, the guardian of the freedom and safety of all and of each, is strengthened by every occasion that puts it to the test. In fine, the war, with all its vicissitudes, is illustrating the capacity and the destiny of the United States to be a great, a flourishing, and a powerful nation, worthy of the friendship which it is disposed to culti- vate with all others, and authorized by its own example to require from all an observance of the laws of justice and reciprocity. Beyond these their claims have never extended, and in contending for these we behold a subject for our congratulations in the daily testimonies of increasing harmony throughout the nation, and may humbly repose our trust in the smiles of Heaven on so righteous a cause. JAMES MADISON. SPECIAL MESSAGES. DECEMBER 9, 1813. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: The tendency of our commercial and navigation laws in their present state to favor the enemy and thereby prolong the war is more and more developed by experience. Supplies of the most essential kinds find their way not only to British ports and British armies at a distance, but the armies in our neighborhood with which our own are contending derive James Madison 541 from our ports and outlets a subsistence attainable with difficulty, if at all, from other sources. Even the fleets and troops infesting our coasts and waters are by like supplies accommodated and encouraged in their pred- atory and incursive warfare. Abuses having a like tendency take place in our import trade. British fabrics and products find their way into our ports under the name and from the ports of other countries, and often in British vessels disguised as neutrals by false colors and papers. To these abuses it may be added that illegal importations are openly made with advantage to the violators of the law, produced by under- valuations or other circumstances involved in the course of the judicial proceedings against them. It is found also that the practice of ransoming is a cover for collusive captures and a channel for intelligence advantageous to the enemy. To remedy as much as possible these evils, I recommend: That an effectual embargo on exports be immediately enacted. That all articles known to be derived, either not at all or in any imma- terial degree only, from the productions of any other country than Great Britain, and particularly the extensive articles made of wool and cotton materials, and ardent spirits made from the cane, be expressly and abso- lutely prohibited, from whatever port or place or in whatever vessels the same may be brought into the United States, and that all violations of the nonimportation act be subjected to adequate penalties. That among the proofs of the neutral and national character of foreign vessels it be required that the masters and supercargoes and three-fourths at least of the crews be citizens or subjects of the country under whose flag the vessels sail. That all persons concerned in collusive captures by the enemy or in ransoming vessels or their cargoes from the enemy be subjected to ade- quate penalties. To shorten as much as possible the duration of the war it is indispen- sable that the enemy should feel all the pressure that can be given to it, and the restraints having that tendency will be borne with the greater cheerfulness by all good citizens, as the restraints will affect those most who are most ready to sacrifice the interest of their country in pursuit of their own. JAMES MADISON. JANUARY 6, 1814. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I transmit, for the information of Congress, copies of a letter from the British secretary of state for foreign affairs to the Secretary of State, with the answer of the latter. In appreciating the accepted proposal of the Government of Great 542 Messages and Papers of the Presidents Britain for instituting negotiations for peace Congress will not fail to keep in mind that vigorous preparations for carrying on the war can in no respect impede the progress to a favorable result, whilst a relaxation of such preparations, should the wishes of the United States for a speedy restoration of the blessings of peace be disappointed, would necessarily have the most injurious consequences. JAMES MADISON. FEBRUARY 26, 1814. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: It has appeared that at the recovery of the Michigan Territory from the temporary possession of the enemy the inhabitants thereof were left in so destitute and distressed a condition as to require from the public stores certain supplies essential to their subsistence, which have been pro- longed under the same necessity which called for them. The deplorable situation of the savages thrown by the same event on the mercy and humanity of the American commander at Detroit drew from the same source the means of saving them from perishing by fam- ine, and in other places the appeals made by the wants and sufferings of that unhappy description of people have been equally imperious. The necessity imposed by the conduct of the enemy in relation to the savages of admitting their cooperation in some instances with our arms has also involved occasional expense in supplying their wants, and it is possible that a perseverance of the enemy in their cruel policy may render a further expense for the like purpose inevitable. On these subjects an estimate from the Department of War will be laid before Congress, and I recommend a suitable provision for them. JAMES MADISON. MARCH 31, 1814. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: Taking into view the mutual interests which the United States and the foreign nations in amity with them have in a liberal commercial intercourse, and the extensive changes favorable thereto which have recently taken place; taking into view also the important advantages which may otherwise result from adapting the state of our commercial laws to the circumstances now existing, I recommend to the considera- tion of Congress the expediency of authorizing, after a certain day, expor- tations, specie excepted, from the United States in vessels of the United States and in vessels owned and navigated by the subjects of powers at peace with them, and a repeal of so much of our laws as prohibits the importation of articles not the property of enemies, but produced or manufactured only within their dominions. James Madison 543 I recommend also, as a more effectual safeguard and encouragement to our growing manufactures, that the additional duties on imports which are to expire at the end of one year after a peace with Great Britain be prolonged to the end of two years after that event, and that, in favor of our moneyed institutions, the exportation of specie be prohibited through- out the same period. JAMES MADISON . PROCLAMATIONS. [From Niles's Weekly Register, vol. 6, p. 279.] BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas information has been received that a number of individuals who have deserted from the Army of the United States have become sensible of their offenses and are desirous of returning to their duty, a full pardon is hereby granted and proclaimed to each and all such individuals as shall within three months from the date hereof surrender themselves to the commanding officer of any military post within the United States or the Territories thereof. In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United States to be affixed to these presents, and signed the same with my hand. P -, Done at the city of Washington, the iyth day of June, A. D. 1814, and of the Independence of the United States the thirty - elghth ' JAMES MADISON. By the President: JAMES MONROE, Secretary of State. BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas it is manifest that the blockade which has been proclaimed by the enemy of the whole Atlantic coast of the United States, nearly 2,000 miles in extent, and abounding in ports, harbors, and navigable inlets, can not be carried into effect by any adequate force actually sta- tioned for the purpose, and it is rendered a matter of certainty and noto- riety by the multiplied and daily arrivals and departures of the public and private armed vessels of the United States and of other vessels that no such adequate force has been so stationed; and Whereas a blockade thus destitute of the character of a regular and legal blockade as defined and recognized by the established law of na- tions, whatever other purposes it may be made to answer, forms no lawful 544 Messages and Papers of the Presidents prohibition or obstacle to such neutral and friendly vessels as may choose to visit and trade with the United States; and Whereas it accords with the interest and the amicable views of the United States to favor and promote as far as may be the free and mu- tually beneficial commercial intercourse of all friendly nations disposed to engage therein, and with that view to afford to their vessels destined to the United States a more positive and satisfactory security against all interruptions, molestations, or vexations whatever from the cruisers of the United States: Now be it known that I, James Madison, President of the United States of America, do by this my proclamation strictly order and instruct all the public armed vessels of the United States and all private armed vessels commissioned as privateers or with letters of marque and reprisal not to interrupt, detain, or otherwise molest or vex any vessels whatever be- longing to neutral powers or the subjects or citizens thereof, which ves- sels shall be actually bound and proceeding to any port or place within the jurisdiction of the United States, but, on the contrary, to render to all such vessels all the aid and kind offices which they may need or require. Given under my hand and the seal of the United States at the city of Washington, the 2Qth day of June, A. D. 1814, and of the J Independence of the United States the thirty-eighth. By the President: JAMES MADISON. JAMES MONROE, Secretary of State. [From Annals of Congress, Thirteenth Congress, vol. 3, 9.] BY THE PRESIDENT OP THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas great and weighty matters claiming the consideration of the Congress of the United States form an extraordinary occasion for con- vening them, I do by these presents appoint Monday, the iQth day of September next, for their meeting at the city of Washington, hereby requiring the respective Senators and Representatives then and there to assemble in Congress, in order to receive such communications as may then be made to them and to consult and determine on such measures as in their wisdom may be deemed meet for the welfare of the United States. In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United States to be hereunto affixed, and signed the same with my hand. [SEAL 1 Done at the city of Washington, the 8th day of August, A. D. 1814, and of the Independence of the United States the thirty- JAMES MADISON. By the President: JAMES MONROE, Secretary of State. James Madison 545 [From-Niles's Weekly Register, vol. 7, p. 2.] BY THE; PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas the enemy by a sudden incursion have succeeded in invad- ing the capital of the nation, defended at the moment by troops less numerous than their own and almost entirely of the militia, during their possession of which, though for a single day only, they wantonly de- stroyed the public edifices, having no relation in their structure to oper- ations of war nor used at the time for military annoyance, some of these edifices being also costly monuments of taste and of the arts, and others depositories of the public archives, not only precious to the nation as the memorials of its origin and its early transactions, but interesting to all nations as contributions to the general stock of historical instruction and political science; and Whereas advantage has been taken of the loss of a fort more immedi- ately guarding the neighboring town of Alexandria to place the town within the range of a naval force too long and too much in the habit of abusing its superiority wherever it can be applied to require as the alternative of a general conflagration an undisturbed plunder of private property, which has been executed in a manner peculiarly distressing to the inhabitants, who had inconsiderately cast themselves upon the justice and generosity of the victor; and Whereas it now appears by a direct communication from the British commander on the American station to be his avowed purpose to employ the force under his direction ' ' in destroying and laying waste such towns and districts upon the coast as may be found assailable," adding to this declaration the insulting pretext that it is in retaliation for a wanton de- struction committed by the army of the United States in Upper Canada, when it is notorious that no destruction has been committed, which, not- withstanding the multiplied outrages previously committed by the enemy was not unauthorized, and promptly shown to be so, and that the United States have been as constant in their endeavors to reclaim the enemy from such outrages by the contrast of their own example as they have been ready to terminate on reasonable conditions the war itself; and Whereas these proceedings and declared purposes, which exhibit a deliberate disregard of the principles of humanity and the rules of civ- ilized warfare, and which must give to the existing war a character of extended devastation and barbarism at the very moment of negotiations for peace, invited by the enemy himself, leave no prospect of safety to anything within the reach of his predatory and incendiary operations but in manful and universal determination to chastise and expel the invader: Now, therefore, I, James Madison, President of the United States, do M P voi. 135 546 Messages and Papers of the Presidents issue this my proclamation, exhorting all the good people thereof to unite their hearts and hands in giving effect to the ample means pos- sessed for that purpose. I enjoin it on all officers, civil and military, to exert themselves in executing the duties with which they are respec- tively charged; and more especially I require the officers commanding the respective military districts to be vigilant and alert in providing for the defense thereof, for the more effectual accomplishment of which they are authorized to call to the defense of exposed and threatened places portions of the militia most convenient thereto, whether they be or be not parts of the quotas detached for the service of the United States under requisitions of the General Government. On an occasion which appeals so forcibly to the proud feelings and patriotic devotion of the American people none will forget what they owe to themselves, what they owe to their country and the high des- tinies which await it, what to the glory acquired by their fathers in establishing the independence which is now to be maintained by their sons with the augmented strength and resources with which time and Heaven had blessed them. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed to these presents. Done at the city of Washington, the ist day of September, 5EAL.] A D igi4) and of tne independence of the United States the thirty-ninth. JAMES MADISON. By the President: JAMES MONROE, Secretary of State. SPECIAL MESSAGE. WASHINGTON, September 17, 1814.. The PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. SIR: The destruction of the Capitol by the enemy having made it nec- essary that other accommodations should be provided for the meeting of Congress, chambers for the Senate and for the House of Representa- tives, with other requisite apartments, have been fitted up, under the direction of the superintendent of the city, in the public building here- tofore allotted for the post and other public offices. With this information, be pleased, sir, to accept assurances of my great respect and consideration. JAMES MADISON. James Madison 547 SIXTH ANNUAL MESSAGE. WASHINGTON, September 20, 1814.. Fellow- Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: Notwithstanding the early day which had been fixed for your session of the present year, I was induced to call you together still sooner, as well that any inadequacy in the existing provisions for the wants of the Treas- ury might be supplied as that no delay might happen in providing for the result of the negotiations on foot with Great Britain, whether it should require arrangements adapted to a return of peace or further and more effective provisions for prosecuting the war. That result is not yet known. If, on the one hand, the repeal of the orders in council and the general pacification in Europe, which withdrew the occasion on which impressments from American vessels were prac- ticed, suggest expectations that peace and amity may be reestablished, we are compelled, on the other hand, by the refusal of the British Govern- ment to accept the offered mediation of the Emperor of Russia, by the delays in giving effect to its own proposal of a direct negotiation, and, above all, by the principles and manner in which the war is now avow- edly carried on to infer that a spirit of hostility is indulged more violent than ever against the rights and prosperity of this country. This increased violence is best explained by the two important circum- stances that the great contest in Europe for an equilibrium guaranteeing all its States against the ambition of any has been closed without any check on the overbearing power of Great Britain on the ocean, and it has left in her hands disposable armaments, with which, forgetting the difficulties of a remote war with a free people, and yielding to the intoxi- cation of success, with the example of a great victim to it before her eyes, she cherishes hopes of still further aggrandizing a power already formidable in its abuses to the tranquillity of the civilized and commer- cial world. But whatever may have inspired the enemy with these more violent purposes, the public councils of a nation more able to maintain than it was to acquire its independence, and with a devotion to it rendered more ardent by the experience of its blessings, can never deliberate but on the means most effectual for defeating the extravagant views or unwarrant- able passions with which alone the war can now be pursued against us. In the events of the present campaign the enemy, with all his aug- mented means and wanton use of them, has little ground for exultation, unless he can feel it in the success of his recent enterprises against this metropolis and the neighboring town of Alexandria, from both of which his retreats were as precipitate as his attempts were bold and fortunate. In his other incursions on our Atlantic frontier his progress, often checked 548 Messages and Papers of the Presidents and chastised by the martial spirit of the neighboring citizens, has had more effect in distressing individuals and in dishonoring his arms than in promoting any object of legitimate warfare; and in the two instances mentioned, however deeply to be regretted on our part, he will find in his transient success, which interrupted for a moment only the ordinary public business at the seat of Government, no compensation for the loss of character with the world by his violations of private property and by his destruction of public edifices protected as monuments of the arts by the laws of civilized warfare. On our side we can appeal to a series of achievements which have given new luster to the American arms. Besides the brilliant incidents in the minor operations of the campaign, the splendid victories gained on the Canadian side of the Niagara by the American forces under Major- General Brown and Brigadiers Scott and Gaines have gained for these heroes and their emulating companions the most unfading laurels, and, having triumphantly tested the progressive discipline of the American soldiery, have taught the enemy that the longer he protracts his hostile efforts the more certain and decisive will be his final discomfiture. On our southern border victory has continued also to follow the American standard. The bold and skillful operations of Major- General Jackson, conducting troops drawn from the militia of the States least distant, particularly of Tennessee, have subdued the principal tribes of hostile savages, and, by establishing a peace with them, preceded by recent and exemplary chastisement, has best guarded against the mis- chief of their cooperation with the British enterprises which may be planned against that quarter of our country. Important tribes of Indians on our northwestern frontier have also acceded to stipulations which bind them to the interests of the United States and to consider our enemy as theirs also. In the recent attempt of the enemy on the city of Baltimore, defended by militia and volunteers, aided by a small body of regulars and seamen, he was received with a spirit which produced a rapid retreat to his ships, whilst a concurrent attack by a large fleet was successfully resisted by the steady and well-directed fire of the fort and batteries opposed to it. In another recent attack by a powerful force on our troops at Platts- burg, of which regulars made a part only, the enemy, after a perseverance for many hours, was finally compelled to seek safety in a hasty retreat, with our gallant bands pressing upon him. On the Lakes, so much contested throughout the war, the great exer- tions for the command made on our part have been well repaid. On Lake Ontario our squadron is now and has been for some time in a con- dition to confine that of the enemy to his own port, and to favor the operations of our land forces on that frontier. A part of the squadron on Lake Erie has been extended into Lake Huron, and has produced the advantage of displaying our command on James Madison 549 that lake also. One object of the expedition was the reduction of Macki- naw, which failed with the loss of a few brave men, among whom was an officer justly distinguished for his gallant exploits. The expedition, ably conducted by both the land and the naval commanders, was other- wise highly valuable in its effects. On Lake Champlain, where our superiority had for some time been undisputed, the British squadron lately came into action with the Ameri- can, commanded by Captain Macdonough. It issued in the capture of the whole of the enemy's ships. The best praise for this officer and his intrepid comrades is in the likeness of his triumph to the illustrious victory which immortalized another officer and established at a critical moment our command of another lake. On the ocean the pride of our naval arms had been amply supported. A second frigate has indeed fallen into the hands of the enemy, but the loss is hidden in the blaze of heroism with which she was defended. Captain Porter, who commanded her, and whose previous career had been distinguished by daring enterprise and by fertility of genius, main- tained a sanguinary contest against two ships, one of them superior to his own, and under other severe disadvantages, till humanity tore down the colors which valor had nailed to the mast. This officer and his brave comrades have added much to the rising glory of the American flag, and have merited all the effusions of gratitude which their country is ever ready to bestow on the champions of its rights and of its. safety. Two smaller vessels of war have also become prizes to the enemy, but by a superiority of force which sufficiently vindicates the reputation of their commanders, whilst two others, one commanded by Captain War- rington, the other by Captain Blakely, have captured British ships of the same class with a gallantry and good conduct which entitle them and their companions to a just share in the praise of their country. In spite of the naval force of the enemy accumulated on our coasts, our private cruisers also have not ceased to annoy his commerce and to bring their rich prizes into our ports, contributing thus, with other proofs, to demonstrate the incompetency and illegality of a blockade the procla- mation of which is made the pretext for vexing and discouraging the commerce of neutral powers with the United States. To meet the extended and diversified warfare adopted by the enemy, great bodies of militia have been taken into service for the public defense, and great expenses incurred. That the defense everywhere may be both more convenient and more economical, Congress will see the necessity of immediate measures for filling the ranks of the Regular Army and of enlarging the provision for special corps, mounted and unmounted, to be engaged for longer periods of service than are due from the militia. I earnestly renew, at the same time, a recommendation of such changes in the system of the militia as, by classing and disciplining for the most prompt and active service the portions most capable of it, will give to 550 Messages and Papers of the Presidents that great resource for the public safety all the requisite energy and efficiency. The moneys received into the Treasury during the nine months end- ing on the 3oth day of June last amounted to $32,000,000, of which near eleven millions were the proceeds of the public revenue and the remain- der derived from loans. The disbursements for public expenditures dur- ing the same period exceeded $34,000,000, and left in the Treasury on the ist day of July near $5,000,000. The demands during the remainder of the present year already authorized by Congress and the expenses inci- dent to an extension of the operations of the war will render it necessary that large sums should be provided to meet them. From this view of the national affairs Congress will be urged to take up without delay as well the subject of pecuniary supplies as that of military force, and on a scale commensurate with the extent and the character which the war has assumed. It is not to be disguised that the situation of our country calls for its greatest efforts. Our enemy is pow- erful in men and in money, on the land and on the water. Availing himself of fortuitous advantages, he is aiming with his undivided force a deadly blow at our growing prosperity, perhaps at our national exist- ence. He has avowed his purpose of trampling on the usages of civilized warfare, and given earnests of it in the plunder and wanton destruction of private property. In his pride of maritime dominion and in his thirst of commercial monopoly he strikes with peculiar animosity at the prog- ress of our navigation and of our manufactures. His barbarous policy has not even spared those monuments of the arts and models of taste with which our country had enriched and embellished its infant metropolis. From such an adversary hostility in its greatest force and in its worst forms may be looked for. The American people will face it with the undaunted spirit which in their revolutionary struggle defeated his un- righteous projects. His threats and his barbarities, instead of dismay, will kindle in every bosom an indignation not to be extinguished but in the disaster and expulsion of such cruel invaders. In providing the means necessary the National Legislature will not distrust the heroic and enlightened patriotism of its constituents. They will cheerfully and proudly bear every burden of every kind which the safety and honor of the nation demand. We have seen them everywhere paying their taxes, direct and indirect, with the greatest promptness and alacrity. We see them rushing with enthusiasm to the scenes where danger and duty call. In offering their blood they give the surest pledge that no other tribute will be withheld. Having forborne to declare war until to other aggressions had been added the capture of nearly a thousand American vessels and the impress- ment of thousands of American seafaring citizens, and until a final decla- ration had been made by the Government of Great Britain that her hostile orders against our commerce would not be revoked but on conditions as James Madison 551 impossible as unjust, whilst it was known that these orders would not otherwise cease but with a war which had lasted nearly twenty years, and which, according to appearances at that time, might last as many more; having manifested on every occasion and in every proper mode a sincere desire to arrest the effusion of blood and meet our enemy on the ground of justice and reconciliation, our beloved country, in still oppos- ing to his persevering hostility all its energies, with an undiminished disposition toward peace and friendship on honorable terms, must carry with it the good wishes of the impartial world and the best hopes of support from an omnipotent and kind Providence. JAMES MADISON. SPECIAL MESSAGES. SEPTEMBER 26, 1814. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I transmit to Congress, for their information, copies of a letter from Admiral Cochrane, commanding His Britannic Majesty's naval forces on the American station, to the Secretary of State, with his answer, and of a reply from Admiral Cochrane. JAMES MADISON. WASHINGTON, October 10, 1814. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I lay before Congress communications just received from the pleni- potentiaries of the United States charged with negotiating peace with Great Britain, showing the conditions on which alone that Government is willing to put an end to the war. The instructions to those plenipotentiaries, disclosing the grounds on which they were authorized to negotiate and conclude a treaty of peace, will be the subject of another communication. JAMES MADISON. WASHINGTON, October /j, 1814. To the Senate and House of Representatives of tfie United States: I now transmit to Congress copies of the instructions to the plenipo- tentiaries of the United States charged with negotiating a peace with Great Britain, as referred to in my message of the loth instant. JAMES MADISON. 552 Messages and Papers of the Presidents DECEMBER i, 1814. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I transmit, for the information of Congress, the communications last received from the ministers extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the United States at Ghent, explaining the course and actual state of their negotiations with the plenipotentiaries of Great Britain. JAMES MADISON. FEBRUARY 15, 1815. To the Senate of the United States: I have received from the American commissioners a treaty of peace and amity between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America, signed by those commissioners and by the commissioners of His Britannic Majesty at Ghent on the 24th of December, 1814. The termination of hostilities depends upon the time of the ratification of the treaty by both parties. I lose no time, therefore, in submitting the treaty to the Senate for their advice and approbation. I transmit also a letter from the American commissioners, which ac- companied the treaty. JAMES MADISON. WASHINGTON, February 18, 1815. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I lay before Congress copies of the treaty of peace and amity between the United States and His Britannic Majesty, which was signed by the commissioners of both parties at Ghent on the 24th of December, 1814, and the ratifications of which have been duly exchanged. While performing this act I congratulate you and our constituents upon an event which is highly honorable to the nation, and terminates with peculiar felicity a campaign signalized by the most brilliant suc- cesses. The late war, although reluctantly declared by Congress, had become a necessary resort to assert the rights and independence of the nation. It has been waged with a success which is the natural result of the wis- dom of the legislative councils, of the patriotism of the people, of the pub- lic spirit of the militia, and of the valor of the military and naval forces of the country. Peace, at all times a blessing, is peculiarly welcome, therefore, at a period when the causes for the war have ceased to operate, when the Government has demonstrated the efficiency of its powers of defense, and when the nation can review its conduct without regret and without reproach. I recommend to your care and beneficence the gallant men whose achievements in every department of the military service, on the land and James Madison 553 on the water, have so essentially contributed to the honor of the Ameri- can name and to the restoration of peace. The feelings of conscious patriotism and worth will animate such men under every change of fortune and pursuit, but their country performs a duty to itself when it bestows those testimonials of approbation and applause which are at once the reward and the incentive to great actions. The reduction of the public expenditures to the demands of a peace establishment will doubtless engage the immediate attention of Congress. There are, however, important considerations which forbid a sudden .and general revocation of the measures that have been produced by the war. Experience has taught us that neither the pacific dispositions of the American people nor the pacific character of their political institutions can altogether exempt them from that strife which appears beyond the ordinary lot of nations to be incident to the actual period of the world, and the same faithful monitor demonstrates that a certain degree of preparation for war is not only indispensable to avert disasters in the onset, but affords also the best security for the continuance of peace. The wisdom of Congress will therefore, I am confident, provide for the maintenance of an adequate regular force; for the gradual advancement of the naval establishment; for improving all the means of harbor de- fense; for adding discipline to the distinguished bravery of the militia, and for cultivating the military art in its essential branches, under the liberal patronage of Government. The resources of our country were at all times competent to the attain- ment of every national object, but they will now be enriched and invig- orated by the activity which peace will introduce into all the scenes of domestic enterprise and labor. The provision that has been made for the public creditors during the present session of Congress must have a decisive effect in the establishment of the public credit both at home and abroad. The reviving interests of commerce will claim the legislative attention at the earliest opportunity, and such regulations will, I trust, be seasonably devised as shall secure to the United States their just pro- portion of the navigation of the world. The most liberal policy toward other nations, if met by corresponding dispositions, will in this respect be found the most beneficial policy toward ourselves. But there is no subject that can enter with greater force and merit into the deliberations of Congress than a consideration of the means to preserve and promote the manufactures which have sprung into existence and attained an unparalleled maturity throughout the United States during the period of the European wars. This source of national independence and wealth I anxiously recommend, therefore, to the prompt and constant guardian- ship of Congress. The termination of the legislative sessions will soon separate you, fellow-citizens, from each other, and restore you to your constituents. I pray you to bear with you the expressions of my sanguine hope that 554 Messages and Papers of the Presidents the peace which has been just declared will not only be the foundation of the most friendly intercourse between the United States and Great Britain, but that it will also be productive of happiness and harmony in every section of our beloved country. The influence of your precepts and example must be everywhere powerful, and while we accord in grateful acknowledgments for the protection which Providence has bestowed upon us, let us never cease to inculcate obedience to the laws and fidelity to the Union as constituting the palladium of the national independence and prosperity. JAMES MADISON. WASHINGTON, February 22, To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I lay before Congress copies of two ratified treaties which were entered into on the part of the United States, one on the 22d day of July, 1814, with the several tribes of Indians called the Wyandots, Delawares, Shaw- anees, Senakas, and Miamies; the other on the 9th day of August, 1814, with the Creek Nation of Indians. It is referred to the consideration of Congress how far legislative pro- visions may be necessary for carrying any part of these stipulations into effect. JAMES MADISON. WASHINGTON, February 23, 1815. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: Congress will have seen by the communication from the consul-general of the United States at Algiers laid before them on the 1 7th of Novem- ber, 1812, the hostile proceedings of the Dey against that functionary. These have been followed by acts of more overt and direct warfare against the citizens of the United States trading in the Mediterranean, some of whom are still detained in captivity, notwithstanding the attempts which have been made to ransom them, and are treated with the rigor usual on the coast of Barbary. The considerations which rendered it unnecessary and unimportant to commence hostile operations on the part of the United States being now terminated by the peace with Great Britain, which opens the prospect of an active and valuable trade of their citizens within the range of the Algerine cruisers, I recommend to Congress the expediency of an act declaring the existence of a state of war between the United States and the Dey and Regency of Algiers, and of such provisions as may be requi- site for a vigorous prosecution of it to a successful issue. JAMES MADISON. James Madison 555 WASHINGTON, February 25, 1815. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: Peace having happily taken place between the United States and Great Britain, it is desirable to guard against incidents which during periods of war in Europe might tend to interrupt it, and it is believed in particu- lar that the navigation of American vessels exclusively by American sea- men, either natives or such as are already naturalized, would not only conduce to the attainment of that object, but also to increase the number of our seamen, and consequently to render our commerce and navigation independent of the service of foreigners who might be recalled by their governments under circumstances the most inconvenient to the United States. I recommend the subject, therefore, to the consideration of Con- gress, and in deciding upon it I am persuaded that they will sufficiently estimate the policy of manifesting to the world a desire on all occasions to cultivate harmony with other nations by any reasonable accommoda- tions which do not impair the enjoyment of any of the essential rights of a free and independent people. The example on the part of the Ameri- can Government will merit and may be expected to receive a reciprocal attention from all the friendly powers of Europe. JAMES MADISON. VETO MESSAGE. WASHINGTON, January 30, 1815. To the Senate of the United States: Having bestowed on the bill entitled "An act to incorporate the sub- scribers to the Bank of the United States of America ' ' that full consid- eration which is due to the great importance of the subject, and dictated by the respect which I feel for the two Houses of Congress, I am con- strained by a deep and solemn conviction that the bill ought not to be- come a law to return it to the Senate, in which it originated, with my objections to the same. Waiving the question of the constitutional authority of the Legisla- ture to establish an incorporated bank as being precluded in my judg- ment by repeated recognitions under varied circumstances of the validity of such an institution in acts of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the Government, accompanied by indications, in different modes, of a concurrence of the general will of the nation, the proposed bank does not appear to be calculated to answer the purposes of reviving the public credit, of providing a national medium of circulation, and of aiding the Treasury by facilitating the indispensable anticipations of the "revenue and by affording to the public more durable loans. i. The capital of the bank is to be compounded of specie, of public 556 Messages and Papers of the Presidents stock, and of Treasury notes convertible into stock, with a certain pro- portion of each of which every subscriber is to furnish himself. The amount of the stock to be subscribed will not, it is believed, be sufficient to produce in favor of the public credit any considerable or lasting elevation of the market price, whilst this may be occasionally de- pressed by the bank itself if it should carry into the market the allowed proportion of its capital consisting of public stock in order to procure specie, which it may find its account in procuring with some sacrifice on that part of its capital. Nor will any adequate advantage arise to the public credit from the subscription of Treasury notes. The actual issue of these notes nearly equals at present, and will soon exceed, the amount to be subscribed to the bank. The direct effect of this operation is simply to convert fifteen millions of Treasury notes into fifteen millions of 6 per cent stock, with the collateral effect of promoting an additional demand for Treasury notes beyond what might otherwise be negotiable. Public credit might indeed be expected to derive advantage from the establishment of a national bank, without regard to the formation of its capital, if the full aid and cooperation of the institution were secured to the Government during the war and during the period of its fiscal embar- rassments. But the bank proposed will be free from all legal obligation to cooperate with the public measures, and whatever might be the patri- otic disposition of its directors to contribute to the removal of those em- barrassments, and to invigorate the prosecution of the war, fidelity to the pecuniary and general interest of the institution according to their estimate of it might oblige them to decline a connection of their opera- tions with those of the National Treasury during the continuance of the war and the difficulties incident to it. Temporary sacrifices of interest, though overbalanced by the future and permanent profits of the charter, not being requirable of right in behalf of the public, might not be gratui- tously made, and the bank would reap the full benefit of the grant, whilst the public would lose the equivalent expected from it; for it must be kept in view that the sole inducement to such a grant on the part of the public would be the prospect of substantial aids to its pecuniary means at the present crisis and during the sequel of the war. It is evident that the stock of the bank will on the return of peace, if not sooner, rise in the market to a value which, if the bank were established in a period of peace, would authorize and obtain for the public a bonus to a very large amount. In lieu of such a bonus the Government is fairly entitled to and ought not to relinquish or risk the needful services of the bank under the pressing circumstances of war. 2. The bank as proposed to be constituted can not be relied on during the war to provide a circulating medium nor to furnish loans or antici- pations of the public revenue. Without a medium the taxes can not be collected, and in the absence James Madison 557 of specie the medium understood to be the best substitute is that of notes issued by a national bank. The proposed bank will commence and con- duct its operations under an obligation to pay its notes in specie, or be subject to the loss of its charter. Without such an obligation the notes of the bank, though not exchangeable for specie, yet resting on good pledges and performing the uses of specie in the payment of taxes and in other public transactions, would, as experience has ascertained, qualify the bank to supply at once a circulating medium and pecuniary aids to the Government. Under the fetters imposed by the bill it is manifest that during the actual state of things, and probably during the war, the period particularly requiring such a medium and such a resource for loans and advances to the Government, notes for which the bank would be compellable to give specie in exchange could not be kept in circulation. The most the bank could effect, and the most it could be expected to aim at, would be to keep the institution alive by limited and local transactions which, with the interest on the public stock in the bank, might yield a dividend sufficient for the purpose until a change from war to peace should enable it, by a flow of specie into its vaults and a removal of the external demand for it, to derive its contemplated emoluments from a safe and full extension of its operations. On the whole, when it is considered that the proposed establishment will enjoy a monopoly of the profits of a national bank for a period of twenty years; that the monopolized profits will be continually growing with the progress of the national population and wealth; that the nation will during the same period be dependent on the notes of the bank for that species of circulating medium whenever the precious metals may be wanted, and at all times for so much thereof as may be an eligible substi- tute for a specie medium, and that the extensive employment of the notes in the collection of the augmented taxes will, moreover, enable the bank greatly to extend its profitable issues of them without the expense of specie capital to support their circulation, it is as reasonable as it is requi- site that the Government, in return for these extraordinary concessions to the bank, should have a greater security for attaining the public objects of the institution than is presented in the bill, and particularly for every practicable accommodation, both in the temporary advances necessary to anticipate the taxes and in those more durable loans which are equally necessary to diminish the resort to taxes. In discharging this painful duty of stating objections to a measure which has undergone the deliberations and received the sanction of the two Houses of the National Legislature I console myself with the reflec- tion that if they have not the weight which I attach to them they can be constitutionally overruled, and with a confidence that in a contrary event the wisdom of Congress will hasten to substitute a more commensurate and certain provision for the public exigencies. JAMES MADISON. 558 Messages and Papers of the Presidents PROCLAMATIONS. BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. A PROCLAMATION. The two Houses of the National Legislature having by a joint resolu- tion expressed their desire that in the present time of public calamity and war a day may be recommended to be observed by the people of the United States as a day of public humiliation and fasting and of prayer to Almighty God for the safety and welfare of these States, His blessing on their arms, and a speedy restoration of peace, I have deemed it proper by this proclamation to recommend that Thursday, the i2th of January next, be set apart as a day on which all may have an opportunity of vol- untarily offering at the same time in their respective religious assem- blies their humble adoration to the Great Sovereign of the Universe, of confessing their sins and transgressions, and of strengthening their vows of repentance and amendment. They will be invited by the same solemn occasion to call to mind the distinguished favors conferred on the Amer- ican people in the general health which has been enjoyed, in the abun- dant fruits of the season, in the progress of the arts instrumental to their comfort, their prosperity, and their security, and in the victories which have so powerfully contributed to the defense and protection of our country, a devout thankfulness for all which ought to be mingled with their supplications to the Beneficent Parent of the Human Race that He would be graciously pleased to pardon all their offenses against Him; to support and animate them in the discharge of their respective duties; to continue to them the precious advantages flowing from political insti- tutions so auspicious to their safety against dangers from abroad, to their tranquillity at home, and to their liberties, civil and religious; and that He would in a special manner preside over the nation in its public coun- cils and constituted authorities, giving wisdom to its measures and success to its arms in maintaining its rights and in overcoming all hostile designs and attempts against it; and, finally, that by inspiring the enemy with dispositions favorable to a just and reasonable peace its blessings may be speedily and happily restored. Given at the city of Washington, the i6th day of November, 1814, and of the Independence of the United States the thirty-eighth. [SEAL.] JAMES MADISON. BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. Among the many evils produced by the wars which with little inter- mission have afflicted Europe and extended their ravages into other James Madison 559 quarters of the globe for a period exceeding twenty years, the dispersion of a considerable portion of the inhabitants of different countries in sor- row and in want has not been the least injurious to human happiness nor the least severe in the trial of human virtue. It had been long ascertained that many foreigners, flying from the dangers of their own home, and that some citizens, forgetful of their duty, had cooperated in forming an establishment on the island of Bar- rataria, near the mouth of the river Mississippi, for the purposes of a clandestine and lawless trade. The Government of the United States caused the establishment to be broken up and destroyed, and having obtained the means of designating the offenders of every description, it only remained to answer the demands of justice by inflicting an exem- plary punishment. But it has since been represented that the offenders have manifested a sincere penitence; that they have abandoned the prosecution of the worse cause for the support of the best, and particularly that they have ex- hibited in the defense of New Orleans unequivocal traits of courage and fidelity. Offenders who have refused to become the associates of the enemy in the war upon the most seducing terms of invitation and who have aided to repel his hostile invasion of the territory of the United States can no longer be considered as objects of punishment, but as ob- jects of a generous forgiveness. It has therefore been seen with great satisfaction that the general assembly of the State of Louisiana earnestly recommend those offenders to the benefit of a full pardon. And in compliance with that recommendation, as well as in considera- tion of all the other extraordinary circumstances of the case, I, James Madison, President of the United States of America, do issue this procla- mation, hereby granting, publishing, and declaring a free and full pardon of all offenses committed in violation of any act or acts of the Congress of the said United States touching the revenue, trade, and navigation thereof or touching the intercourse and commerce of the United States with foreign nations at any time before the 8th day of January, in the present year 1815, by any person or persons whomsoever being inhab- itants of New Orleans and the adjacent country or being inhabitants of the said island of Barrataria and the places adjacent: Provided, That every person claiming the benefit of this full pardon in order to entitle himself thereto shall produce a certificate in writing from the governor of the State of Louisiana stating that such person has aided in the defense of New Orleans and the adjacent country during the invasion thereof as aforesaid. And I do hereby further authorize and direct all suits, 'indictments, and prosecutions for fines, penalties, and forfeitures against any person or persons who shall be entitled to the benefit of this full pardon forth- with to be stayed, discontinued, and released; and all civil officers are 560 Messages and Papers of the Presidents hereby required, according to the duties of their respective stations, to carry this proclamation into immediate and faithful execution. Done at the city of Washington, the 6th day of February, in the year P -, 1815, and of the Independence of the United States the thirty- ninth. JAMES MADISON. By the President: JAMES MONROE, Acting as Secretary of State. [From Niles's Weekly Register, vol. 7, p. 397.] JAMES MADISON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. To all and singular to whom these presents shall come, greeting: Whereas a treaty of peace and amity between the United States of America and His Britannic Majesty was signed at Ghent on the 24th day of December, 1814, by the plenipotentiaries respectively appointed for that purpose; and the said treaty having been, by and with the ad- vice and consent of the Senate of the United States, duly accepted, ratified, and confirmed on the iyth day of February, 1815, and ratified copies thereof having been exchanged agreeably to the tenor of the said treaty, which is in the words following, to wit: [Here follows the treaty.] Now, therefore, to the end that the said treaty of peace and amity may be observed with good faith on the part of the United States, I, James Madison, President as aforesaid, have caused the premises to be made public; and I do hereby enjoin all persons bearing office, civil or military, within the United States and all others citizens or inhabitants thereof or being within the same faithfully to observe and fulfill the said treaty and every clause and article thereof. In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United States to be affixed to these presents, and signed the same with my hand. P -, Done at the city of Washington, this i8th day of February, A. D. 1815, and of the Sovereignty and Independence of the United States the thirty-ninth. JAMES MADISON. By the President: JAMES MONROE, Acting Secretary of State. BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. The Senate and House of Representatives of the United States have by a joint resolution signified their desire that a day may be recom- James Madison 561 mended to be observed by the people of the United States with religious solemnity as a day of thanksgiving and of devout acknowledgments to Almighty God for His great goodness manifested in restoring to them the blessing of peace. No people ought to feel greater obligations to celebrate the goodness of the Great Disposer of Events and of the Destiny of Nations than the people of the United States. His kind providence originally conducted them to one of the best portions of the dwelling place allotted for the great family of the human race. He protected and cherished them under all the difficulties and trials to which they were exposed in their early days. Under His fostering care their habits, their sentiments, and their pursuits prepared them for a transition in due time to a state of inde- pendence and self-government. In the arduous struggle by which it was attained they were distinguished by multiplied tokens of His benign interposition. During the interval which succeeded He reared them into the strength and endowed them with the resources which have ena- bled them to assert their national rights and to enhance their national character in another arduous conflict, which is now so happily termi- nated by a peace and reconciliation with those who have been our enemies. And to the same Divine Author of Every Good and Perfect Gift we are indebted for all those privileges and advantages, religious as well as civil, which are so richly enjoyed in this favored land. It is for blessings such as these, and more especially for the restoration of the blessing of peace, that I now recommend that the second Thursday in April next be set apart as a day on which the people of every reli- gious denomination may in their solemn assemblies unite their hearts and their voices in a freewill offering to their Heavenly Benefactor of their homage of thanksgiving and of their songs of praise. Given at the city of Washington on the 4th day of March, A. D. - -, 1815, and of the Independence of the United States the thirty- ninth. JAMES MADISON. BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas information has been received that sundry persons citizens of the United States or residents within the same, and especially within the State of Louisiana, are conspiring together to begin and set on foot, provide, and prepare the means for a military expedition or enterprise against the dominions of Spain, with which the United States are hap- pily at peace; that for this purpose they are collecting arms, military stores, provisions, vessels, and other means; are deceiving and seducing honest and well-meaning citizens to engage in their unlawful enterprises; M P voi, 136 562 Messages and Papers of the Presidents are organizing, officering, and arming themselves for the same contrary to the laws in such cases made and provided: I have therefore thought fit to issue this my proclamation, warning and enjoining all faithful citizens who have been led without due knowl- edge or consideration to participate in the said unlawful enterprises to withdraw from the same without delay, and commanding all persons whatsoever engaged or concerned in the same to cease all further proceed- ings therein, as they will answer the contrary at their peril. And I hereby enjoin and require all officers, civil and military, of the United States or of any of the States or Territories, all judges, justices, and other officers of the peace, all military officers of the Army or Navy of the United States, and officers of the militia, to be vigilant, each within his respective department and according to his functions, in searching out and bringing to punishment all persons engaged or concerned in such enterprises, in seizing and detaining, subject to the disposition of the law, all arms, military stores, vessels, or other means provided or provid- ing for the same, and, in general, in preventing the carrying on such expe- dition or enterprise by all the lawful means within their power. And I require all good and faithful citizens and others within the United States to be aiding and assisting herein, and especially in the discovery, appre- hension, and bringing to justice of all such offenders, in preventing the execution of their unlawful combinations or designs, and in giving infor- mation against them, to the proper authorities. In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United States of America to be affixed to these presents, and signed the same with my hand. [SEAL.] Done at the city of Washington, the ist day of September, A. D. 1815, and of the Independence of the said United States of America the fortieth. JAMES MADISON. SEVENTH ANNUAL MESSAGE. WASHINGTON, December 5, 1815. Fellow- Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: I have the satisfaction on our present meeting of being able to com- municate to you the successful termination of the war which had been commenced against the United States by the Regency of Algiers. The squadron in advance on that service, under Commodore Decatur, lost not a moment after its arrival in the Mediterranean in seeking the naval force of the enemy then cruising in that sea, and succeeded in captur- ing two of his ships, one of them the principal ship, commanded by the James Madison 563 Algerine admiral. The high character of the American commander was brilliantly sustained on the occasion which brought his own ship into close action with that of his adversary, as was the accustomed gallantry of all the officers and men actually engaged. Having prepared the way by this demonstration of American skill and prowess, he hastened to the port of Algiers, where peace was promptly yielded to his victorious force. In the terms stipulated the rights and honor of the United States were particularly consulted by a perpetual relinquishment on the part of the Dey of all pretensions to tribute from them. The impressions which have thus been made, strengthened as they will have been by subsequent transactions with the Regencies of Tunis and of Tripoli by the appear- ance of the larger force which followed under Commodore Bainbridge, the chief in command of the expedition, and by the judicious precaution- ary arrangements left by him in that quarter, afford a reasonable prospect of future security for the valuable portion, of our commerce which passes within reach of the Barbary cruisers. It is another source of satisfaction that the treaty of peace with Great Britain has been succeeded by a convention on the subject of commerce concluded by the plenipotentiaries of the two countries. In this result a disposition is manifested on the part of that nation corresponding with the disposition of the United States, which it may be hoped will be im- proved into liberal arrangements on other subjects on which the parties have mutual interests, or which might endanger their future harmony. Congress will decide on the expediency of promoting such a sequel by giving effect to the measure of confining the American navigation to American seamen a measure which, at the same time that it might have that conciliatory tendency, would have the further advantage of in- creasing the independence of our navigation and the resources for our maritime defense. In conformity with the articles in the treaty of Ghent relating to the Indians, as well as with a view to the tranquillity of our western and northwestern frontiers, measures were taken to establish an immediate peace with the several tribes who had been engaged in hostilities against the United States. Such of them as were invited to Detroit acceded readily to a renewal of the former treaties of friendship. Of the other tribes who were invited to a station on the Mississippi the greater num- ber have also accepted the peace offered to them. The residue, consist- ing of the more distant tribes or parts of tribes, remain to be brought over by further explanations, or by such other means as may be adapted to the dispositions they may finally disclose. The Indian tribes within and bordering on the southern frontier, whom a cruel war on their part had compelled us to chastise into peace, have latterly shown a restlessness which has called for preparatory meas- ures for repressing it, and for protecting the commissioners engaged in carrying the terms of the peace into execution. 564 Messages and Papers of the Presidents The execution of the act for fixing the military peace establishment has been attended with difficulties which even now can only be overcome by legislative aid. The selection of officers, the payment and discharge of the troops enlisted for the war, the payment of the retained troops and their reunion from detached and distant stations, the collection and security of the public property in the Quartermaster, Commissary, and Ordnance departments, and the constant medical assistance required in hospitals and garrisons rendered a complete execution of the act imprac- ticable on the ist of May, the period more immediately contemplated. As soon, however, as circumstances would permit, and as far as it has been practicable consistently with the public interests, the reduction of the Army has been accomplished; but the appropriations for its pay and for other branches of the military service having proved inadequate, the earliest attention to that subject will be necessary; and the expediency of continuing upon the peace establishment the staff officers who have hitherto been provisionally retained is also recommended to the consid- eration of Congress. In the performance of the Executive duty upon this occasion there has not been wanting a just sensibility to the merits of the American Army during the late war; but the obvious policy and design in fixing an efficient military peace establishment did not afford an opportunity to distinguish the aged and infirm on account of their past services nor the wounded and disabled on account of their present sufferings. The extent of the reduction, indeed, unavoidably involved the exclusion of many meritorious officers of every rank from the sendee of their country; and so equal as well as so numerous were the claims to attention that a decision by the standard of comparative merit could seldom be attained. Judged, however, in candor by a general standard of positive merit, the Army Register will, it is believed, do honor to the establishment, while the case of those officers whose names are not included in it devolves with the strongest interest upon the legislative authority for such pro- vision as shall be deemed the best calculated to give support and solace to the veteran and the invalid, to display the beneficence as well as the justice of the Government, and to inspire a martial zeal for the public service upon every future emergency. Although the embarrassments arising from the want of an uniform national currency have not been diminished since the adjournment of Congress, great satisfaction has been derived in contemplating the revival of the public credit and the efficiency of the public resources. The re- ceipts into the Treasury from the various branches of revenue during the nine months ending on the 3Oth of September last have been esti- mated at $ 1 2,500,000; the issues of Treasury notes of every denomination during the same period amounted to the sum of $14,000,000, and there was also obtained upon loan during the same period a sum of $9,000,000, of which the sum of $6,000,000 was subscribed in cash and the sum of James Madison 565 $3,000,000 in Treasury notes. With these means, added to the sum of $1,500,000, being the balance of money in the Treasury on the ist day of January, there has been paid between the ist of January and the ist of October on account of the appropriations of the preceding and of the present year (exclusively of the amount of the Treasury notes subscribed to the loan and of the amount redeemed in the payment of duties and taxes) the aggregate sum of $33,500,000, leaving a balance then in the Treasury estimated at the sum of $3,000,000. Independent, however, of the arrearages due for military services and supplies, it is presumed that a further sum of $5,000,000, including the interest on the public debt payable on the ist of January next, will be demanded at the Treas- ury to complete the expenditures of the present year, and for which the existing ways and means will sufficiently provide. The national debt, as it was ascertained on the ist of October last, amounted in the whole to the sum of $i 20,000,000, consisting of the unre- deemed balance of the debt contracted before the late war ($39,000,000), the amount of the funded debt contracted in consequence of the war ($64,000,000), and the amount of the unfunded and floating debt, includ- ing the various issues of Treasury notes, $i 7,000,000, which is in a gradual course of payment. There will probably be some addition to the public debt upon the liquidation of various claims which are depending, and a conciliatory disposition on the part of Congress may lead honorably and advantageously to an equitable arrangement of the militia expenses incurred by the several States without the previous sanction or authority of the Government of the United States; but when it is considered that the new as well as the old portion of the debt has been contracted in the assertion of the national rights and independence, and when' it is recol- lected that the public expenditures, not being exclusively bestowed upon subjects of a transient nature, will long be visible in the number and equipments of the American Navj r , in the military works for the defense of our harbors and our frontiers, and in the supplies of our arsenals and magazines the amount will bear a gratifying comparison with the objects which have been attained, as well as with the resources of the country. The arrangements of the finances with a view to the receipts and expend- itures of a permanent peace establishment will necessarily enter into the deliberations of Congress during the present session. It is true that the improved condition of the public revenue will not only afford the means of maintaining the faith of the Government with its creditors inviolate, and of prosecuting successfully the measures of the most liberal policy, but will also justify an immediate alleviation of the burdens imposed by the necessities of the war. It is, however, essential to every modification of the finances that the benefits of an uniform national currency should be restored to the community. The absence of the precious metals will, it is believed, be a temporary evil, but until they can again be rendered the general medium of exchange it devolves on the wisdom of Congress to 566 Messages and Papers of the Presidents provide a substitute which shall equally engage the confidence and accom- modate the wants of the citizens throughout the Union. If the operation of the State banks can not produce this result, the probable operation of a national bank will merit consideration; and if neither of these expedients be deemed effectual it may become necessary to ascertain the terms upon which the notes of the Government (no longer required as an instrument of credit) shall be issued upon motives of general policy as a common medium of circulation. Notwithstanding the security for future repose which the United States ought to find in their love of peace and their constant respect for the rights of other nations, the character of the times particularly incul- cates the lesson that, whether to prevent or repel danger, we ought not to be unprepared for it. This consideration will sufficiently recommend to Congress a liberal provision for the immediate extension and gradual completion of the works of defense, both fixed and floating, on our mar- itime frontier, and an adequate provision for guarding our inland frontier against dangers to which certain portions of it may continue to be ex- posed. As an improvement in our military establishment, it will deserve the consideration of Congress whether a corps of invalids might not be so organized and employed as at once to aid in the support of meritorious individuals excluded by age or infirmities from the existing establish- ment, and to procure to the public the benefit of their stationary services and of their exemplary discipline. I recommend also an enlargement of the Military Academy already established, and the establishment of others in other sections of the Union; and I can not press too much on the attention of Congress such a classification and organization of the militia as will most effectually render it the safeguard of a free state. If experience has shewn in the recent splendid achievements of militia the value of this resource for the public defense, it has shewn also the im- portance of that skill in the use of arms and that familiarity with the essential rules of discipline which can not be expected from the regula- tions now in force. With this subject is intimately connected the neces- sity of accommodating the laws in every respect to the great object of enabling the political authority of the Union to employ promptly and effectually the physical power of the Union in the cases designated by the Constitution. The signal services which have been rendered by our Navy and the capacities it has developed for successful cooperation in the national defense will give to that portion of the public force its full value in the eyes of Congress, at an epoch which calls for the constant vigilance of all governments. To preserve the ships now in a sound state, to com- plete those already contemplated, to provide amply the imperishable ma- terials for prompt augmentations, and to improve the existing arrange- ments into more advantageous establishments for the construction, the James Madison 567 repairs, and the security of vessels of war is dictated by the soundest policy. In adjusting the duties on imports to the object of revenue the influ- ence of the tariff on manufactures will necessarily present itself for con- sideration. However wise the theory may be which leaves to the sagacity and interest of individuals the application of their industry and resources, there are in this as in other cases exceptions to the general rule. Be- sides the condition which the theory itself implies of a reciprocal adop- tion by other nations, experience teaches that so many circumstances must concur in introducing and maturing manufacturing establishments, especially of the more complicated kinds, that a country may remain long without them, although sufficiently advanced and in some respects even peculiarly fitted for carrying them on with success. Under circumstances giving a powerful impulse to manufacturing industry it has made among us a progress and exhibited an efficiency which justify the belief that with a protection not more than is due to the enterprising citizens whose interests are now at stake it will become at an early day not only safe against occasional competitions from abroad, but a source of domestic wealth and even of external commerce. In selecting the branches more especially entitled to the public patronage a preference is obviously claimed by such as will relieve the United States from a dependence on foreign supplies, ever subject to casual failures, for articles necessary for the public defense or connected with the primary wants of individ- uals. It will be an additional recommendation of particular manufac- tures where the materials for them are extensively drawn from our agri- culture, and consequently impart and insure to that great fund of national prosperity and independence an encouragement which can not fail to be rewarded. Among the means of advancing the public interest the occasion is a proper one for recalling the attention of Congress to the great importance of establishing throughout our country the roads and canals which can best be executed under the national authority. No objects within the circle of political economy so richly repay the expense bestowed on them ; there are none the utility of which is more universally ascertained and acknowledged; none that do more honor to the governments whose wise and enlarged patriotism duly appreciates them. Nor is there any coun- try which presents a field where nature invites more the art of man to complete her own work for his accommodation and benefit. These considerations are strengthened, moreover, by the political effect of these facilities for intercommunication in bringing and binding more closely together the various parts of our extended confederacy. Whilst the States individually, with a laudable enterprise and emulation, avail them- selves of their local advantages by new roads, by navigable canals, and by improving the streams susceptible of navigation, the General Gov- ernment is the more urged to similar undertakings, requiring a national 568 Messages and Papers of the Presidents jurisdiction and national means, by the prospect of thus systematically completing so inestimable a work; and it is a happy reflection that any defect of constitutional authority which may be encountered can be sup- plied in a mode which the Constitution itself has providently pointed out. The present is a favorable season also for bringing again into view the establishment of a national seminary of learning within the District of Columbia, and with means drawn from the property therein, subject to the authority of the General Government. Such an institution claims the patronage of Congress as a monument of their solicitude for the advancement of knowledge, without which the blessings of liberty can not be fully enjoyed or long preserved; as a model instructive in the formation of other seminaries; as a nursery of enlightened preceptors, and as a central resort of youth and genius from every part of their country, diffusing on their return examples of those national feelings, those lib- eral sentiments, and those congenial manners which contribute cement to our Union and strength to the great political fabric of which that is the foundation. In closing this communication I ought not to repress a sensibility, in which you will unite, to the happy lot of our country and to the good- ness of a superintending Providence, to which we are indebted for it. Whilst other portions of mankind are laboring under the distresses of war or struggling with adversity in other forms, the United States are in the tranquil enjoyment of prosperous and honorable peace. In reviewing the scenes through which it has been attained we can rejoice in the proofs given that our political institutions, -founded in human rights and framed for their preservation, are equal to the severest trials of war, as well as adapted to the ordinary periods of repose. As fruits of this experience and of the reputation acquired by the American arms on the land and on the water, the nation finds itself possessed of a growing respect abroad and of a just confidence in itself, which are among the best pledges for its peaceful career. Under other aspects of our country the strongest fea- tures of its flourishing condition are seen in a population rapidly increas- ing on a territory as productive as it is extensive; in a general industry and fertile ingenuity which find their ample rewards, and in an afflu- ent revenue which admits a reduction of the public burdens without withdrawing the means of sustaining the public credit, of gradually dis- charging the public debt, of providing for the necessary defensive and pre- cautionary establishments, and of patronizing in every authorized mode undertakings conducive to the aggregate wealth and individual comfort of our citizens. It remains for the guardians of the public welfare to persevere in that justice and good will toward other nations which invite a return of these sentiments toward the United States; to cherish institutions which guar- antee their safety and their liberties, civil and religious; and to combine with a liberal system of foreign commerce an improvement of the national James Madison 569 advantages and a protection and extension of the independent resources of our highly favored and happy country. In all measures having such objects my faithful cooperation will be afforded. JAMES MADISON. SPECIAL MESSAGES. WASHINGTON, December 6, 1815. To the Senate of the United States: I lay before the Senate, for their consideration and advice as to a rati- fication, a treaty of peace with the Dey of Algiers concluded on the 3oth day of June, 1815, with a letter relating to the same from the American commissioners to the Secretary of State. JAMES MADISON. DECEMBER 6, 1815. To the Senate of the United States: I lay before the Senate, for their consideration and advice as to a rati- fication, a convention to regulate the commerce between the United States and Great Britain, signed by their respective plenipotentiaries on the 3d of July last, with letters relating to the same from the American plen- ipotentiaries to the Secretary of State, and also the declaration with which it is the intention of the British Government to accompany the exchange of the ratification of the convention. JAMES MADISON. WASHINGTON, December 6, 1815. To the Senate of the United States: I lay before the Senate, for their consideration and advice as to a rati- fication, treaties which have been concluded with the following Indian tribes, viz: laway tribe, Kickapoo tribe, Poutawatamie, Siouxs of the Lakes, Piankeshaw tribe, Siouxs of the River St. Peters, Great and Little Osage tribes, Yancton tribe, Mahas, Fox tribe, Teeton, Sac Nation, Kan- zas tribe, Chippewa, Ottawa, Potawatamie, Shawauoe, Wyandot, Miami, Delaware, and Seneca. I communicate also the letters from the commissioners on the part of the United States relating to their proceedings on those occasions. JAMES MADISON. WASHINGTON, December n, 1815. To the Senate of the United States: I transmit the original of the convention between the United States and Great Britain, as signed by their respective plenipotentiaries, on the 570 Messages and Papers of the Presidents 3d day of July last, a copy of which was laid before the Senate on the 5th instant. I transmit also a copy of the late treaty of peace with Algiers, as cer- tified by one of the commissioners of the United States, an office copy of which was laid before the Senate on the 5th instant, the original of the treaty not having been received. JAMES MADISON. DECEMBER 23, 1815. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I lay before Congress copies of a proclamation notifying the conven- tion concluded with Great Britain on the 3d day of July last, and that the same has been duly ratified; and I recommend to Congress such leg- islative provisions as the convention may call for on the part of the United States. JAMES MADISON. JANUARY 18, 1816. 73? the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: The accompanying extract from the occurrences at Fort Jackson in August, 1814, during the negotiation of a treaty with the Indians shows that the friendly Creeks, wishing to give to General Jackson, Benjamin Hawkins, and others a national mark of their gratitude and regard, conveyed to them, respectively, a donation of land, with a request that the grant might be duly confirmed by the Government of the United States. Taking into consideration the peculiar circumstances of the case, the expediency of indulging the Indians in wishes which they associated with the treaty signed by them, and that the case involves an inviting opportunity for bestowing on an officer who has rendered such illustrious services to his country a token of its sensibility to them, the inducement to which can not be diminished by the delicacy and disinterestedness of his proposal to transfer the benefit from himself, I recommend to Con- gress that provision be made for carrying into effect the wishes and request of the Indians as expressed by them. JAMES MADISON. FEBRUARY 6, 1816. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: It is represented that the lands in the Michigan Territory designated by law toward satisfying land bounties promised the soldiers of the late army are so covered with swamps and lakes, or otherwise unfit for cultivation, that a very inconsiderable proportion can be applied to the James Madison 571 intended grants. I recommend, therefore, that other lands be designated by Congress for the purpose of supplying the deficiency. JAMES MADISON. MARCH 5, 1816. To the Senate of the United States: In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 2d instant, they are informed that great losses having been sustained by citizens of the United States from unjust seizures and confiscations of their property by the late Government of Naples, it was deemed expedient that indem- nification should be claimed by a special mission for that purpose. The occasion may be proper, also, for securing the use and accommodations of the Neapolitan ports, which may at any time be needed by the public ships of the United States, and for obtaining relief for the American com- merce from the disadvantageous and unequal regulations now operating against it in that Kingdom. JAMES MADISON. MARCH 9, 1816. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I lay before Congress a statement of the militia of the United States according to the latest returns received by the Department of War. JAMES MADISON. APRIL n, 1816. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: With a view to the more convenient arrangement of the important and growing business connected with the grant of exclusive rights to invent- ors and authors, I recommend the establishment of a distinct office within the Department of State to be charged therewith, under a director with a salary adequate to his services, and with the privilege of franking com- munications by mail from and to the office. I recommend also that fur- ther restraints be imposed on the issue of patents to wrongful claimants, and further guards provided against fraudulent exactions of fees by per- sons possessed of patents. JAMES MADISON. APRIL 1 6, 1816. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I lay before Congress copies of a convention concluded between the United States and the Cherokee Indians on the 2d day of March last, as the same has been duly ratified and proclaimed; and I recommend that 572 Messages and Papers of the Presidents such provision be made by Congress as the stipulations therein contained may require. JAMES MADISON. APRIL 17, 1816. To the Senate of the United States: It being presumed that further information may have changed the views of the Senate relative to the importance and expediency of a mis- sion to Naples for the purpose of negotiating indemnities to our citizens for spoliations committed by the Neapolitan Government, I nominate William Pinkney, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to Russia, to be minister plenipotentiary to Naples, specially charged with that trust. JAMES MADISON. PROCLAMATIONS. BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas it has been represented that many uninformed or evil-disposed persons have taken possession of or made a settlement on the public lands of the United States which have not been previously sold, ceded, or leased by the United States, or the claim to which lands by such persons has not been previously recognized or confirmed by the United States, which possession or settlement is by the act of Congress passed on the 3d day of March, 1807, expressly prohibited; and Whereas the due execution of the said act of Congress, as well as the general interest, requires that such illegal practices should be promptly repressed: Now, therefore, I, James Madison, President of the United States, have thought proper to issue my proclamation commanding and strictly enjoining all persons who have unlawfully taken possession of or made any settlement on the public lands as aforesaid forthwith to remove therefrom; and I do hereby further command and enjoin the marshal, or officer acting as marshal, in any State or Territory where such possession shall have been taken or settlement made to remove, from and after the loth day of March, 1816, all or any of the said unlawful occupants; and to effect the said service I do hereby authorize the employment of such military force as may become necessary in pursuance of the provisions of the act of Congress aforesaid, warning the offenders, moreover, that they will be prosecuted in all such other ways as the law directs. James Madison 573 In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United States of America to be affixed to these presents, and signed the same with my hand. [SEAL.] Done at the city of Washington, the i2th day of December, A. D. 1815, and of the Independence of the said United States of America the fortieth. JAMES MADISON . By the President: JAMES MONROE, Secretary of State. [From Niles's Weekly Register, vol. 10, p. 208.] BY THE PRESIDENT OP THE UNITED STATES. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas by the act entitled ' 'An act granting bounties in land and extra pay to certain Canadian volunteers," passed the 5th March, 1816, it was enacted that the locations of the land warrants of the said volun- teers should ' ' be subject to such regulations as to priority of choice and manner of location as the President of the United States shall direct:" Wherefore I, James Madison, President of the United States, in con- formity with the provisions of the act before recited, do hereby make known that the land warrants of the said Canadian volunteers may be located agreeably to the said act at the land offices at Vincennes or Jeffer- sonville, in the Indiana Territory, on the first Monday in June next, with the registers of the said land offices; that the warrantees may, in person or by their attorneys or other legal representatives, in the presence of the register and receiver of the said land district, draw lots for the priority of location; and that should any of the warrants not appear for location on that day they may be located afterwards, according to their priority of presentation, the locations in the district of Vincennes to be made at Vincennes and the locations in the district of Jeffersonville to be made at Jeffersonville. Given under my hand the ist day of May, 1816. By the President: J AMES MADISON. JOSIAH MEIGS, Commissioner of the General Land Office. EIGHTH ANNUAL MESSAGE. DECEMBER 3, 1816. Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: In reviewing the present state of our country, our attention can not be withheld from the effect produced by peculiar seasons which have very 574 Messages and Papers of the Presidents generally impaired the annual gifts of the earth and threatened scarcity in particular districts. Such, however, is the variety of soils, of climates, and of products within our extensive limits that the aggregate resources for subsistence are more than sufficient for the aggregate wants. And as far as an economy of consumption, more than usual, may be necessary, our thankfulness is due to Providence for what is far more than a com- pensation, in the remarkable health which has distinguished the present year. Amidst the advantages which have succeeded the peace of Europe, and that of the United States with Great Britain, in a general invigoration of industry among us and in the extension of our commerce, the value of which is more and more disclosing itself to commercial nations, it is to be regretted that a depression is experienced by particular branches of our manufactures and by a portion of our navigation. As the first proceeds in an essential degree from an excess of imported merchandise, which carries a check in its own tendency, the cause in its present extent can not be of very long duration. The evil will not, however, be viewed by Congress without a recollection that manufacturing establishments, if suffered to sink too low or languish too long, may not revive after the causes shall have ceased, and that in the vicissitudes of human affairs situations may recur in which a dependence on foreign sources for indis- pensable supplies may be among the most serious embarrassments. The depressed state of our navigation is to be ascribed in a material degree to its exclusion from the colonial ports of the nation most exten- sively connected with us in commerce, and from the indirect operation of that exclusion. Previous to the late convention at London between the United States and Great Britain the relative state of the navigation laws of the two countries, growing out of the treaty of 1794, had given to the British navigation a material advantage over the American in the intercourse between the American ports and British ports in Europe. The conven- tion of London equalized the laws of the two countries relating to those ports, leaving the intercourse between our ports and the ports of the British colonies subject, as before, to the respective regulations of the parties. The British Government enforcing now regulations which pro- hibit a trade between its colonies and the United States in American ves- sels, whilst they permit a trade in British vessels, the American navigation loses accordingly, and the loss is augmented by the advantage which is given to the British competition over the American in the navigation between our ports and British ports in Europe by the circuitous voyages enjoyed by the one and not enjoyed by the other. The reasonableness of the rule of reciprocity applied to one branch of the commercial intercourse has been pressed on our part as equally ap- plicable to both branches; but it is ascertained that the British cabinet declines all negotiation on the subject, with a disavowal, however, of any James Madison 575 disposition to view in an unfriendly light whatever countervailing regu- lations the United States may oppose to the regulations of which they complain. The wisdom of the Legislature will decide on the course which, under these circumstances, is prescribed by a joint regard to the amicable relations between the two nations and to the just interests of the United States. I have the satisfaction to state, generally, that we remain in amity with foreign powers. An occurrence has indeed taken place in the Gulf of Mexico which, if sanctioned by the Spanish Government, may make an exception as to that power. According to the report of our naval commander on that station, one of our public armed vessels was attacked by an overpower- ing force under a Spanish commander, and the American flag, with the officers and crew, insulted in a manner calling for prompt reparation. This has been demanded. In the meantime a frigate and a smaller ves- sel of war have been ordered into that Gulf for the protection of our commerce. It would be improper to omit that the representative of His Catholic Majesty in the United States lost no time in giving the strongest assurances that no hostile order could have emanated from his Govern- ment, and that it will be as ready to do as to expect whatever the nature of the case and the friendly relations of the two countries shall be found to require. The posture of our affairs with Algiers at the present moment is not known. The Dey, drawing pretexts from circumstances for which the United States were not answerable, addressed a letter to this Government declaring the treaty last concluded with him to have been annulled by our violation of it, and presenting as the alternative war or a renewal of the former treaty, which stipulated, among other things, an annual tribute. The answer, with an explicit declaration that the United States preferred war to tribute, required his recognition and observance of the treaty last made, which abolishes tribute and the slavery of our captured citizens. The result of the answer has not been received. Should he renew his warfare on our commerce, we rely on the protection it will find in our naval force actually in the Mediterranean. With the other Barbary States our affairs have undergone no change. The Indian tribes within our limits appear also disposed to remain at peace. From several of them purchases of lands have been made par- ticularly favorable to the wishes and security of our frontier settlements, as well as to the general interests of the nation. In some instances the titles, though not supported by due proof, and clashing those of one tribe with the claims of another, have been extinguished by double purchases, the benevolent policy of the United States preferring the augmented expense to the hazard of doing injustice or to the enforcement of justice against a feeble and untutored people by means involving or threatening an effusion of blood. I am happy to add that the tranquillity which has 576 Messages and Papers of the Presidents been restored among the tribes themselves, as well as between them and our own population, will favor the resumption of the work of civilization which had made an encouraging progress among some tribes, and that the facility is increasing for extending that divided and individual own- ership, which exists now in movable property only, to the soil itself, and of thus establishing in the culture and improvement of it the true foundation for a transit from the habits of the savage to the arts and comforts of social life. As a subject of the highest importance to the national welfare, I must again earnestly recommend to the consideration of Congress a reorganiza- tion of the militia on a plan which will form it into classes according to the periods of life more or less adapted to military services. An efficient militia is authorized and contemplated by the Constitution and required by the spirit and safety of free government. The present organization of our militia is universally regarded as less efficient than it ought to be made, and no organization can be better calculated to give to it its due force than a classification which will assign the foremost place in the defense of the country to that portion of its citizens whose activity and animation best enable them to rally to its standard. Besides the con- sideration that a time of peace is the time when the change can be made with most convenience and equity, it will now be aided by the experi- ence of a recent war in which the militia bore so interesting a part. Congress will call to mind that no adequate provision has yet been made for the uniformity of weights and measures also contemplated by the Constitution. The great utility of a standard fixed in its nature and founded on the easy rule of decimal proportions is sufficiently obvi- ous. It led the Government at an early stage to preparatory steps for introducing it, and a completion of the work will be a just title to the public gratitude. The importance which I have attached to the establishment of a uni- versity within this District on a scale and for objects worthy of the Ameri- can nation induces me to renew my recommendation of it to the favorable consideration of Congress. And I particularly invite again their atten- tion to the expediency of exercising their existing powers, and, where necessary, of resorting to the prescribed mode of enlarging them, in order to effectuate a comprehensive system of roads and canals, such as will have the effect of drawing more closely together every part of our coun- try by promoting intercourse and improvements and by increasing the share of every part in the common stock of national prosperity. Occurrences having taken place which shew that the statutory provi- sions for the dispensation of criminal justice are deficient in relation both to places and to persons under the exclusive cognizance of the national authority, an amendment of the law embracing such cases will merit the earliest attention of the Legislature. It will be a seasonable occasion also for inquiring how far legislative interposition maybe further requi- James Madison 577 site in providing penalties for offenses designated in the Constitution or in the statutes, and to which either no penalties are annexed or none with sufficient certainty. And I submit to the wisdom of Congress whether a nlore enlarged revisal of the criminal code be not expedient for the purpose of mitigating in certain cases penalties which were adopted into it antecedent to experiment and examples which justify and recom- mend a more lenient policy. The United States, having been the first to abolish within the extent of their authority the transportation of the natives of Africa into slavery, by prohibiting the introduction of slaves and by punishing their citizens participating in the traffic, can not but be gratified at the progress made by concurrent efforts of other nations toward a general suppression of so great an evil. They must feel at the .same time the greater solicitude to give the fullest efficacy to their own regulations. With that view, the interposition of Congress appears to be required by the violations and evasions which it is suggested are chargeable on unworthy citizens who mingle in the slave trade under foreign flags and with foreign ports, and by collusive importations of slaves into the United States through adjoining ports and territories. I present the subject to Congress with a full assurance of their disposition to apply all the remedy which can be afforded by an amendment of the law. The regulations which were intended to guard against abuses of a kindred character in the trade between the several States ought also to be rendered more effectual for their humane object. To these recommendations I add, for th'e consideration of Congress, the expediency of a remodification of the judiciary establishment, and of an additional department in the executive branch of the Government. The first is called for by the accruing business which necessarily swells the duties of the Federal courts, and by the great and widening space within which justice is to be dispensed by them. The time seems to have arrived which claims for members of the Supreme Court a relief from itinerary fatigues, incompatible as well with the age which a por- tion of them will always have attained as with the researches and prep- arations which are due to their stations and to the juridical reputation of their country. And considerations equally cogent require a more con- venient organization of the subordinate tribunals, which may be accom- plished without an objectionable increase of the number or expense of the judges. The extent and variety of executive business also accumulating with the progress of our country and its growing population call for an addi- tional department, to be charged with duties now overburdening other departments and with such as have not been annexed to any department. The course of experience recommends, as another improvement in the executive establishment, that the provision for the station of Attorney- General, whose residence at the seat of Government, official connections M P vox, i 37 578 Messages and Papers of the Presidents with it, and the management of the public business before the judiciary preclude an extensive participation in professional emoluments, be made more adequate to his sen-ices and his relinquishments, and that, with a view to his reasonable accommodation and to a proper depository of his official opinions and proceedings, there be included in the provision the usual appurtenances to a public office. In directing the legislative attention to the state of the finances it is a subject of great gratification to find that even within the short period which has elapsed since the return of peace the revenue has far exceeded all the current demands upon the Treasury, and that under any prob- able diminution of its future annual products which the vicissitudes of commerce may occasion it will afford an ample fund for the effectual and early extinguishment of the public debt. It has been estimated that during the year 1816 the actual receipts of revenue at the Treasury, including the balance at the commencement of the year, and excluding the proceeds of loans and Treasury notes, will amount to about the sum of $47,000,000; that during the same year the actual payments at the Treasury, including the payment of the arrearages of the War Depart- ment as well as the payment of a considerable excess beyond the annual appropriations, will amount to about the sum of $38,000,000, and that consequently at the close of the year there will be a surplus in the Treas- ury of about the sum of $9,000,000. The operations of the Treasury continued to be obstructed by difficul- ties arising from the condition of the national currency, but they have nevertheless been effectual to a beneficial extent in the reduction of the public debt and the establishment of the public credit. The floating debt of Treasury notes and temporary loans will soon be entirely dis- charged. The aggregate of the funded debt, composed of debts incurred during the wars of 1776 and 1812, has been estimated with reference to the ist of January next at a sum not exceeding $i 10,000,000. The ordi- nary annual expenses of the Government for the maintenance of all its institutions, civil, military, and naval, have been estimated at a sum less than $20,000,000, and the permanent revenue to be derived from all the existing sources has been estimated at a sum of about $25,000,000. Upon this general view of the subject it is obvious that there is only wanting to the fiscal prosperity of the Government the restoration of an uniform medium of exchange. The resources and the faith of the nation, displayed in the system which Congress has established, insure respect and confidence both at home and abroad. The local accumulations of the revenue have already enabled the Treasury to meet the public engage- ments in the local currency of most of the States, and it is expected that the same cause will produce the same effect throughout the Union; but for the interests of the community at large, as well as for the purposes of the Treasury, it is essential that the nation should possess a currency of equal value, credit, and use wherever it may circulate. The Constitu- James Madison 579 tion has intrusted Congress exclusively with the power of creating and regulating a currency of that description, and the measures which were taken during the last session in execution of the power give every promise of success. The Bank of the United States has been organized under auspices the most favorable, and can not fail to be an important auxiliary to those measures. For a more enlarged view of the public finances, with a view of the measures pursued by the Treasury Department previous to the resigna- tion of the late Secretary, I transmit an extract from the last report of that officer. Congress will perceive in it ample proofs of the solid foun- dation on which the financial prosperity of the nation rests, and will do justice to the distinguished ability and successful exertions with which the duties of the Department were executed during a period remarkable for its difficulties and its peculiar perplexities. The period of my retiring from the public service being at little dis- tance, I shall find no occasion more proper than the present for express- ing to my fellow-citizens my deep sense of the continued confidence and kind support which I have received from them. My grateful recollection of these distinguished marks of their favorable regard can never cease, and with the consciousness that, if I have not served my country with greater ability, I have served it with a sincere devotion will accompany me as a source of unfailing gratification. Happily, I shall carry with me from the public theater other sources, which those who love their country most will best appreciate. I shall behold it blessed with tranquillity and prosperity at home and with peace and respect abroad. I can indulge the proud reflection that the Ameri- can people have reached in safety and success their fortieth year as an independent nation; that for nearly an entire generation they have had experience of their present Constitution, the offspring of their undis- turbed deliberations and of their free choice; that they have found it to bear the trials of adverse as well as prosperous circumstances; to contain in its combination of the federate and elective principles a reconcile- ment of public strength with individual liberty, of national power for the defense of national rights with a security against wars of injustice, of ambition, and of vainglory in the fundamental provision which sub- jects all questions of war to the will of the nation itself, which is to pay its costs and feel its calamities. Nor is it less a peculiar felicity of this Constitution, so dear to us all, that it is found to be capable, without los- ing its vital energies, of expanding itself over a spacious territory with the increase and expansion of the community for whose benefit it was established. And may I not be allowed to add to this gratifying spectacle that I shall read in the character of the American people, in their devotion to true liberty and to the Constitution which is its palladium, sure pre- sages that the destined career of my country will exhibit a Government 580 Messages and Papers of the Presidents pursuing the public good as its sole object, and regulating its means by the great principles consecrated in its charter and by those moral princi- ples to which they are so well allied; a Government which watches over the purity of elections, the freedom of speech and of the press, the trial by jury, and the equal interdict against encroachments and compacts between religion and the state; which maintains inviolably the maxims of public faith, the security of persons and property, and encourages in every authorized mode that general diffusion of knowledge which guar- antees to public liberty its permanency and to those who possess the blessing the true enjoyment of it; a Government which avoids intrusions on the internal repose of other nations, and repels them from its own; which does justice to all nations with a readiness equal to the firmness with which it requires justice from them; and which, whilst it refines its domestic code from every ingredient not congenial with the precepts of an enlightened age and the sentiments of a virtuous people, seeks by appeals to reason and by its liberal examples to infuse into the law which governs the civilized world a spirit which may diminish the frequency or circumscribe the calamities of war, and meliorate the social and benefi- cent relations of peace; a Government, in a word, whose conduct within and without may bespeak the most noble of all ambitions that of pro- moting peace on earth and good will to man. These contemplations, sweetening the remnant of my days, will ani- mate my prayers for the happiness of my beloved country, and a perpe- tuity of the institutions under which it is enjoyed. JAMES MADISON. SPECIAL MESSAGES. DECEMBER 6, 1816. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: The ninth section of the act passed at the last session of Congress ' ' to authorize the payment for property lost, captured, or destroyed by the enemy while in the military service of the United States, and for other purposes, ' ' having received a construction giving to it a scope of great and uncertain extent, I thought it proper that proceedings relative to claims under that part of the act should be suspended until Congress should have an opportunity of defining more precisely the cases contemplated by them. With that view I now recommend the subject to their con- sideration. They will have an opportunity at the .same time of consid- ering how far other provisions of the act may be rendered more clear and precise in their import. JAMES MADISON. James Madison 581 DECEMBER 10, 1816. To the Senate of the United States: I lay before the Senate, for their consideration and advice as to a rati- fication, treaties concluded with the several Indian tribes according to the following statement: A UST OF INDIAN TRIBES WITH WHOM TREATIES HAVE BEEN MADE SINCE THE LAST SESSION OF CONGRESS. Weas and Kickapoos tribes of Indians. Treaty concluded at Fort Harrison between Benjamin Parke and the chiefs and headmen of those tribes the 4th June, 1816. Ottawas, Chippcwas, and Pottowotomees. Treaty concluded at St. Louis between Governors Clarke, Edwards, and Colonel Choteau and the chiefs and headmen of those tribes on the 24th August, 1816. Winncbago tribes. Made by the same persons on part United States and the headmen of this tribe at St. Louis 3d June, 1816. Sacks of Rock River. Made by same at St. Louis i3th May, 1816. Siouxs composing three tribes, the Siotixs of the Leaf, the Siouxs of the Broad Leaf, and the Siouxs who Shoot on the Pine-tops. Made and concluded by the same at St. Louis ist June, 1816. Chickasaw tribe. Treaty made by General Jackson, David Merrewether, esq., and Jesse Franklin, esq., and the headmen of that nation at Chickasaw council house 2oth September, 1816. Cherokee tribe. Treaty made by General Jackson, David Merrewether, esq., and Jesse Franklin, esq., and the headmen of that nation at Turkey Town on the 4th October, 1816. Choctaw tribe. Treaty made by General John Coffee, John Rhea, and John McKee, esquires, and the headmen and warriors of that nation at the Choctaw trading house on the 24th of October, 1816. JAMES MADISON. DECEMBER 13, 1816. To the Senate of the United States: A treaty of commerce between the United States and the King of Sweden and Norway having been concluded and signed on the 4th day of September last by their plenipotentiaries, I lay the same before the Senate for their consideration and advice as to a ratification. JAMES MADISON. DECEMBER 21, 1816. To the House of Representatives of the United States: In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 6th instant, I transmit to them the proceedings of the commissioner appointed under the act ' ' to authorize the payment for property lost, captured, or destroyed by the enemy while in the military service of the United States, and for other purposes, ' ' as reported by the commissioner to the Department of War. JAMES MADISON. 582 Messages and Papers of the DECEMBER 26, 1816. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: '" It is found that the existing laws have not the efficacy necessary to prevent violations of the obligations of the United States as a nation at peace toward belligerent parties and other unlawful acts on the high seas by armed vessels equipped within the waters of the United States. With a view to maintain more effectually the respect due to the laws, to the character, and to the neutral and pacific relations of the United States, I recommend to the consideration of Congress the expediency of such further legislative provisions as may be requisite for detaining vessels actually equipped, or in a course of equipment, with a warlike force within the jurisdiction of the United States, or, as the case may.be, for obtaining from the owners or commanders of such vessels adequate securities against the abuse of- their armaments, with the exceptions in such provisions proper for the cases of merchant vessels furnished with the defensive armaments usual on distant and dangerous expe- ditions, and of a private commerce in military stores permitted by our laws, and which the law of nations does not require the United States to prohibit. JAMES MADISON. JANUARY 25, 1817. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I lay before Congress copies of ratified treaties between the United States and the following Indian tribes: First. The Wea and Kickapoo. Second. The united tribes of Ottawas, Chippawas, and Potowotomies residing on the Illinois and Melwakee rivers and their waters and on the southwestern parts of Lake Michigan. Third. That portion of the Winnebago tribe or nation residing on the Ouisconsin River. Fourth. The Sacs of Rock River and the adjacent country. Fifth. Eight bands of the Siouxs, composing the three tribes called the Siouxs of the Leaf, the Siouxs of the Broad Leaf, and the Siouxs who Shoot in the Pine Tops. Sixth. The Chickasaw tribe of Indians. Seventh. The Cherokee tribe of Indians. Eighth. The Chactaw tribe of Indians. Congress will take into consideration how far legislative provisions may be necessary for carrying into effect stipulations contained in the said treaties. JAMES MADISON. James Madison 583 JANUARY 31, 1817. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: The envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of His Most Christian Majesty having renewed, under special instructions from his Government, the claim of the representative of Baron de Beaumarchais for 1,000,000 livres, which were debited to him in the settlement of his accounts with the United States, I lay before Congress copies of the memoir on that subject addressed by the said envoy to the Secretary of State. Considering that the sum of which the million of livres in question made a part was a gratuitous grant from the French Government to the United States, and the declaration of that Government that that part of the grant was put into the hands of M. de Beaumarchais as its agent, not as the agent of the United States, and was duly accounted for by him to the French Government; considering also the concurring opinions of two Attorneys- General of the United States that the said debit was not legally sustainable in behalf of the United States, I recommend the case to the favorable attention of the Legislature, whose authority alone can finally decide on it. JAMES MADISON . FEBRUARY 3, 1817. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: The Government of Great Britain, induced by the posture of the rela- tions with the United States which succeeded the conclusion of the recent commercial convention, issued an order on the i7th day of August, 1815, discontinuing the discriminating duties payable in British ports on American vessels and their cargoes. It was not until the 22d of De- cember following that a corresponding discontinuance of discriminating duties on British vessels and their cargoes in American ports took effect under the authority vested in the Executive by the act of March, 1816. During the period between those two dates there was consequently a failure of reciprocity or equality in the existing regulations of the two countries. I recommend to the consideration of Congress the expediency of paying to the British Government the amount of the duties remitted during the period in question to citizens of the United States, subject to a deduction of the amount of whatever discriminating duties may have commenced in British ports after the signature of that convention and been collected previous to the i7th of August, 1815. J AM1-S MADISON. FEBRUARY 6, 1817. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the I 'niicd States: On comparing the fourth section of the act of Congress passed March 31, 1814, providing for the indemnification of certain claimants of public 584 Messages and Papers of the Presidents lands in the Mississippi Territory, with the article of agreement and cession between the United States and State of Georgia, bearing date April 30, 1802, it appears that the engagements entered into with the claimants interfere with the rights and interests secured to that State. I recommend to Congress that provision be made by law for payments to the State of Georgia equal to the amount of Mississippi stock which shall be paid into the Treasury until the stipulated sum of $1,250,000 shall be completed. JAMES MADISON. VETO MESSAGE. MARCH 3, 1817. To the House of Representatives of the United States: Having considered the bill this day presented to me entitled "An act to set apart and pledge certain funds for internal improvements," and which sets apart and pledges funds ' ' for constructing roads and canals, and improving the navigation of water courses, in order to facilitate, pro- mote, and give security to internal commerce among the several States, and to render more easy and less expensive the means and provisions for the common defense," I am constrained by the insuperable difficulty I feel in reconciling the bill with the Constitution of the United States to return it with that objection to the House of Representatives, in which it originated. The legislative powers vested in Congress are specified and enumerated in the eighth section of the first article of the Constitution, and it does not appear that the power proposed to be exercised by the bill is among the enumerated powers, or that it falls by any just interpretation within the power to make laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution those or other powers vested by the Constitution in the Government of the United States. ' ' The power to regulate commerce among the several States ' ' can not include a power to construct roads and canals, and to improve the navi- gation of water courses in order to facilitate, promote, and secure such a commerce without a latitude of construction departing from the ordinaiy import of the terms strengthened by the known inconveniences which doubtless led to the grant of this remedial power to Congress. To refer the power in question to the clause ' ' to provide for the com- mon defense and general welfare' ' would be contrary to the established and consistent rules of interpretation, as rendering the special and careful enumeration of powers which follow the clause nugatory and improper. James Madison 585 Such a view of the Constitution would have the effect of giving to Con- gress a general power of legislation instead of the defined and limited one hitherto understood to belong to them, the terms "common defense and general welfare" embracing every object and act within the purview of a legislative trust. It would have the effect of subjecting both the Con- stitution and laws of the several States in all cases not specifically ex- empted to be superseded by laws of Congress, it being expressly declared ' ' that the Constitution of the United States and laws made in pursuance thereof shall be the supreme law of the land, and the judges of every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding." Such a view of the Constitu- tion, finally, would have the effect of excluding the judicial authority of the United States from its participation in guarding the boundary be- tween the legislative powers of the General and the State Governments, inasmuch as questions relating to the general welfare, being questions of policy and expediency, are unsusceptible of judicial cognizance and decision. A restriction of the power ' ' to provide for the common defense and general welfare ' ' to cases which are to be provided for by the expendi- ture of money would still leave within the legislative power of Congress all the great and most important measures of Government, money being the ordinary and necessary means of carrying them into execution. If a general power to construct roads and canals, and to improve the navigation of water courses, with the train of powers incident thereto, be not possessed by Congress, the assent of the States in the mode provided in the bill can not confer the power. The only cases in which the con- sent and cession of particular States can extend the power of Congress are those specified and provided for in the Constitution. I am not unaware of the great importance of roads and canals and the improved navigation of water courses, and that a power in the National Legislature to provide for them might be exercised with signal advantage to the general prosperity. But seeing that such a power is not expressly given by the Constitution, and believing that it can not be deduced from any part of it without an inadmissible latitude of construction and a reliance on insufficient precedents; believing also that the permanent success of the Constitution depends on a definite partition of powers between the General and the State Governments, and that no adequate landmarks would be left by the constructive extension of the powers of Congress as proposed in the bill, I have no option but to withhold my signature from it, and to cherishing the hope that its beneficial objects may be attained by a resort for the necessary powers to the same wisdom and virtue in the nation which established the Constitution in its actual form and providently marked out in the instrument itself a safe and practicable mode of improving it as experience might suggest. JAMES MADISON. 586 Messages and Papers of the Presidents PROCLAMATION. [From Annals of Congress, Fourteenth Congress, second session, 218.] WASHINGTON, January i, i8ij. To the Senators of the United States, respectively. SIR: Objects interesting to the United States requiring that the Senate should be in session on the 4th of March next to receive such communi- cations as may be made to it on the part of the Executive, your attend- ance in the Senate Chamber in this city on that day is accordingly requested. JAMES MADISON. ERRATA. [These proclamations were not found in time for insertion in their proper places; see pp. 99 and 178.] PROCLAMATION. PHILADELPHIA, March i, The President of the United States to the President of the Senate: Certain matters touching the public good requiring that the Senate shall be convened on Friday, the 4th instant, I have desired their at- tendance, as I do yours, by these presents, at the Senate Chamber in Philadelphia on that day, then and there to receive and deliberate on such communications as shall be made to you on my part. G9 WASHINGTON. PROCLAMATION. UNITED STATES, March j, 1795. The President of the United States to , Senator for the State of : Certain matters touching the public good requiring that the Senate shall be convened on Monday, the 8th of June next, you are desired to attend the Senate Chamber in Philadelphia on that day, then and there to receive and deliberate on such communications as shall be made to you on my part. GO WASHINGTON. 587 UNIVER"' University of California I . ,fc* SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY ^FACILITY f 405 Hllgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388 JJeturnJhis material to the library K i te'Tw"^ 8t was borrowed. EMS LIBRAR College Library UCLA-College Library J81B96V.1