Washington, _January 3, 1831_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:
I communicate to Congress the papers relating to the recent arrangement
with Great Britain with respect to the trade between her colonial
possessions and the United States, to which reference was made in my
message at the opening of the present session.
It will appear from those documents that owing to the omission in the
act of the 29th of May last of a clause expressly restricting
importations into the British colonies in American vessels to the
productions of the United States, to the amendment engrafted upon that
act in the House Of Representatives, providing that when the trade with
the West India colonies should be opened the commercial intercourse of
the United States with all other parts of the British dominions or
possessions should be left on a footing not less favorable to the United
States than it now is, and to the act not specifying the terms upon
which British vessels coming from the northern colonies should be
admitted to entry into the ports of the United States, an apprehension
was entertained by the Government of Great Britain that under the
contemplated arrangement claims might be set up on our part inconsistent
with the propositions submitted by our minister and with the terms to
which she was willing to agree, and that this circumstance led to
explanations between Mr. McLane and the Earl of Aberdeen respecting the
intentions of Congress and the true construction to be given to the act
referred to.
To the interpretation given by them to that act I did not hesitate to
agree. It was quite clear that in adopting the amendment referred to
Congress could not have intended to preclude future alterations in the
existing intercourse between the United States and other parts of the
British dominions; and the supposition that the omission to restrict in
terms the importations to the productions of the country to which the
vessels respectively belong was intentional was precluded by the
propositions previously made by this Government to that of Great
Britain, and which were before Congress at the time of the passage of
the act; by the principles which govern the maritime legislation of the
two countries and by the provisions of the existing commercial treaty
between them.
Actuated by this view of the subject, and convinced that it was in
accordance with the real intentions of Congress, I felt it my duty to
give effect to the arrangement by issuing the required proclamation, of
which a copy is likewise herewith communicated.