WASHINGTON, _November 14, 1820_.
_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
In communicating to you a just view of public affairs at the
commencement of your present labors, I do it with great satisfaction,
because, taking all circumstances into consideration which claim
attention, I see much cause to rejoice in the felicity of our situation.
In making this remark I do not wish to be understood to imply that
an unvaried prosperity is to be seen in every interest of this great
community. In the progress of a nation inhabiting a territory of such
vast extent and great variety of climate, every portion of which is
engaged in foreign commerce and liable to be affected in some degree
by the changes which occur in the condition and regulations of foreign
countries, it would be strange if the produce of our soil and the
industry and enterprise of our fellow-citizens received at all times
and in every quarter an uniform and equal encouragement. This would be
more than we would have a right to expect under circumstances the most
favorable. Pressures on certain interests, it is admitted, have been
felt; but allowing to these their greatest extent, they detract but
little from the force of the remarks already made. In forming a just
estimate of our present situation it is proper to look at the whole in
the outline as well as in the detail. A free, virtuous, and enlightened
people know well the great principles and causes on which their
happiness depends, and even those who suffer most occasionally in their
transitory concerns find great relief under their sufferings from the
blessings which they otherwise enjoy and in the consoling and animating
hope which they administer. From whence do these pressures come? Not
from a government which is founded by, administered for, and supported
by the people. We trace them to the peculiar character of the epoch
in which we live, and to the extraordinary occurrences which have
signalized it. The convulsions with which several of the powers of
Europe have been shaken and the long and destructive wars in which
all were engaged, with their sudden transition to a state of peace,
presenting in the first instance unusual encouragement to our commerce
and withdrawing it in the second even within its wonted limit, could not
fail to be sensibly felt here. The station, too, which we had to support
through this long conflict, compelled as we were finally to become
a party to it with a principal power, and to make great exertions,
suffer heavy losses, and to contract considerable debts, disturbing
the ordinary course of affairs by augmenting to a vast amount the
circulating medium, and thereby elevating at one time the price of
every article above a just standard and depressing it at another below
it, had likewise its due effect.
It is manifest that the pressures of which we complain have proceeded
in a great measure from these causes. When, then, we take into view
the prosperous and happy condition of our country in all the great
circumstances which constitute the felicity of a nation--every
individual in the full enjoyment of all his rights, the Union blessed
with plenty and rapidly rising to greatness under a National Government
which operates with complete effect in every part without being felt
in any except by the ample protection which it affords, and under
State governments which perform their equal share, according to
a wise distribution of power between them, in promoting the public
happiness--it is impossible to behold so gratifying, so glorious a
spectacle without being penetrated with the most profound and grateful
acknowledgments to the Supreme Author of All Good for such manifold and
inestimable blessings. Deeply impressed with these sentiments, I can not
regard the pressures to which I have adverted otherwise than in the
light of mild and instructive admonitions, warning us of dangers to
be shunned in future, teaching us lessons of economy corresponding
with the simplicity and purity of our institutions and best adapted
to their support, evincing the connection and dependence which the
various parts of our happy Union have on each other, thereby augmenting
daily our social incorporation and adding by its strong ties new strength
and vigor to the political; opening a wider range, and with new
encouragement, to the industry and enterprise of our fellow-citizens at
home and abroad, and more especially by the multiplied proofs which it
has accumulated of the great perfection of our most excellent system of
government, the powerful instrument in the hands of our All-merciful
Creator in securing to us these blessings.
Happy as our situation is, it does not exempt us from solicitude and
care for the future. On the contrary, as the blessings which we enjoy
are great, proportionably great should be our vigilance, zeal, and
activity to preserve them. Foreign wars may again expose us to new
wrongs, which would impose on us new duties for which we ought to be
prepared. The state of Europe is unsettled, and how long peace may
be preserved is altogether uncertain; in addition to which we have
interests of our own to adjust which will require particular attention.
A correct view of our relations with each power will enable you to form
a just idea of existing difficulties, and of the measures of precaution
best adapted to them.
Respecting our relations with Spain nothing explicit can now be
communicated. On the adjournment of Congress in May last the minister
plenipotentiary of the United States at Madrid was instructed to inform
the Government of Spain that if His Catholic Majesty should then ratify
the treaty this Government would accept the ratification so far as
to submit to the decision of the Senate the question whether such
ratification should be received in exchange for that of the United
States heretofore given. By letters from the minister of the United
States to the Secretary of State it appears that a communication in
conformity with his instructions had been made to the Government of
Spain, and that the Cortes had the subject under consideration. The
result of the deliberations of that body, which is daily expected,
will be made known to Congress as soon as it is received. The friendly
sentiment which was expressed on the part of the United States in the
message of the 9th of May last is still entertained for Spain. Among
the causes of regret, however, which are inseparable from the delay
attending this transaction it is proper to state that satisfactory
information has been received that measures have been recently adopted
by designing persons to convert certain parts of the Province of East
Florida into depots for the reception of foreign goods, from whence
to smuggle them into the United States. By opening a port within the
limits of Florida, immediately on our boundary where there was no
settlement, the object could not be misunderstood. An early accommodation
of differences will, it is hoped, prevent all such fraudulent and
pernicious practices, and place the relations of the two countries
on a very amicable and permanent basis.
The commercial relations between the United States and the British
colonies in the West Indies and on this continent have undergone no
change, the British Government still preferring to leave that commerce
under the restriction heretofore imposed on it on each side. It is
satisfactory to recollect that the restraints resorted to by the United
States were defensive only, intended to prevent a monopoly under British
regulations in favor of Great Britain, as it likewise is to know that
the experiment is advancing in a spirit of amity between the parties.
The question depending between the United States and Great Britain
respecting the construction of the first article of the treaty of Ghent
has been referred by both Governments to the decision of the Emperor of
Russia, who has accepted the umpirage.
An attempt has been made with the Government of France to regulate by
treaty the commerce between the two countries on the principle of
reciprocity and equality. By the last communication from the minister
plenipotentiary of the United States at Paris, to whom full power had
been given, we learn that the negotiation had been commenced there; but
serious difficulties having occurred, the French Government had resolved
to transfer it to the United States, for which purpose the minister
plenipotentiary of France had been ordered to repair to this city, and
whose arrival might soon be expected. It is hoped that this important
interest may be arranged on just conditions and in a manner equally
satisfactory to both parties. It is submitted to Congress to decide,
until such arrangement is made, how far it may be proper, on the
principle of the act of the last session which augmented the tonnage
duty on French vessels, to adopt other measures for carrying more
completely into effect the policy of that act.
The act referred to, which imposed new tonnage on French vessels, having
been in force from and after the 1st day of July, it has happened that
several vessels of that nation which had been dispatched from France
before its existence was known have entered the ports of the United
States, and been subject to its operation, without that previous notice
which the general spirit of our laws gives to individuals in similar
cases. The object of that law having been merely to countervail the
inequalities which existed to the disadvantage of the United States
in their commercial intercourse with France, it is submitted also to
the consideration of Congress whether, in the spirit of amity and
conciliation which it is no less the inclination than the policy of the
United States to preserve in their intercourse with other powers, it may
not be proper to extend relief to the individuals interested in those
cases by exempting from the operation of the law all those vessels which
have entered our ports without having had the means of previously
knowing the existence of the additional duty.
The contest between Spain and the colonies, according to the most
authentic information, is maintained by the latter with improved
success. The unfortunate divisions which were known to exist some time
since at Buenos Ayres it is understood still prevail. In no part of
South America has Spain made any impression on the colonies, while in
many parts, and particularly in Venezuela and New Grenada, the colonies
have gained strength and acquired reputation, both for the management
of the war in which they have been successful and for the order of the
internal administration. The late change in the Government of Spain,
by the reestablishment of the constitution of 1812, is an event which
promises to be favorable to the revolution. Under the authority of the
Cortes the Congress of Angostura was invited to open a negotiation
for the settlement of differences between the parties, to which it
was replied that they would willingly open the negotiation provided
the acknowledgment of their independence was made its basis, but not
otherwise. Of further proceedings between them we are uninformed. No
facts are known to this Government to warrant the belief that any of
the powers of Europe will take part in the contest, whence it may be
inferred, considering all circumstances which must have weight in
producing the result, that an adjustment will finally take place on
the basis proposed by the colonies. To promote that result by friendly
counsels with other powers, including Spain herself, has been the
uniform policy of this Government.
In looking to the internal concerns of our country you will, I am
persuaded, derive much satisfaction from a view of the several objects
to which, in the discharge of your official duties, your attention will
be drawn. Among these none holds a more important place than the public
revenue, from the direct operation of the power by which it is raised on
the people, and by its influence in giving effect to every other power
of the Government. The revenue depends on the resources of the country,
and the facility by which the amount required is raised is a strong
proof of the extent of the resources and of the efficiency of the
Government. A few prominent facts will place this great interest in a
just light before you. On the 30th of September, 1815, the funded and
floating debt of the United States was estimated at $119,635,558. If to
this sum be added the amount of 5 per cent stock subscribed to the Bank
of the United States, the amount of Mississippi stock and of the stock
which was issued subsequently to that date, the balances ascertained to
be due to certain States for military services and to individuals for
supplies furnished and services rendered during the late war, the public
debt may be estimated as amounting at that date, and as afterwards
liquidated, to $158,713,049. On the 30th of September, 1820, it amounted
to $91,993,883, having been reduced in that interval by payments
$66,879,165. During this term the expenses of the Government of the
United States were likewise defrayed in every branch of the civil,
military, and naval establishments; the public edifices in this city
have been rebuilt with considerable additions; extensive fortifications
have been commenced, and are in a train of execution; permanent arsenals
and magazines have been erected in various parts of the Union; our Navy
has been considerably augmented, and the ordnance, munitions of war, and
stores of the Army and Navy, which were much exhausted during the war,
have been replenished.
By the discharge of so large a proportion of the public debt and the
execution of such extensive and important operations in so short a
time a just estimate may be formed of the great extent of our national
resources. The demonstration is the more complete and gratifying when it
is recollected that the direct tax and excise were repealed soon after
the termination of the late war, and that the revenue applied to these
purposes has been derived almost wholly from other sources.
The receipts into the Treasury from every source to the 30th of
September last have amounted to $16,794,107.66, whilst the public
expenditures to the same period amounted to $16,871,534.72, leaving in
the Treasury on that day a sum estimated at $1,950,000. For the probable
receipts of the following year I refer you to the statement which will
be transmitted from the Treasury.
The sum of $3,000,000 authorized to be raised by loan by an act of the
last session of Congress has been obtained upon terms advantageous to
the Government, indicating not only an increased confidence in the faith
of the nation, but the existence of a large amount of capital seeking
that mode of investment at a rate of interest not exceeding 5 per cent
per annum.
It is proper to add that there is now due to the Treasury for the sale
of public lands $22,996,545. In bringing this subject to view I consider
it my duty to submit to Congress whether it may not be advisable to
extend to the purchasers of these lands, in consideration of the
unfavorable change which has occurred since the sales, a reasonable
indulgence. It is known that the purchases were made when the price
of every article had risen to its greatest height, and that the
installments are becoming due at a period of great depression. It
is presumed that some plan may be devised by the wisdom of Congress,
compatible with the public interest, which would afford great relief
to these purchasers.
Considerable progress has been made during the present season in
examining the coast and its various bays and other inlets, in the
collection of materials, and in the construction of fortifications for
the defense of the Union at several of the positions at which it has
been decided to erect such works. At Mobile Point and Dauphin Island,
and at the Rigolets, leading to Lake Pontchartrain, materials to
a considerable amount have been collected, and all the necessary
preparations made for the commencement of the works. At Old Point
Comfort, at the mouth of James River, and at the Rip-Rap, on the
opposite shore in the Chesapeake Bay, materials to a vast amount have
been collected; and at the Old Point some progress has been made in the
construction of the fortification, which is on a very extensive scale.
The work at Fort Washington, on this river, will be completed early in
the next spring, and that on the Pea Patch, in the Delaware, in the
course of the next season. Fort Diamond, at the Narrows, in the harbor
of New York, will be finished this year. The works at Boston, New York,
Baltimore, Norfolk, Charleston, and Niagara have been in part repaired,
and the coast of North Carolina, extending south to Cape Fear, has been
examined, as have likewise other parts of the coast eastward of Boston.
Great exertions have been made to push forward these works with the
utmost dispatch possible; but when their extent is considered, with the
important purposes for which they are intended--the defense of the whole
coast, and, in consequence, of the whole interior--and that they are to
last for ages, it will be manifest that a well-digested plan, founded on
military principles, connecting the whole together, combining security
with economy, could not be prepared without repeated examinations
of the most exposed and difficult parts, and that it would also take
considerable time to collect the materials at the several points where
they would be required. From all the light that has been shed on this
subject I am satisfied that every favorable anticipation which has
been formed of this great undertaking will be verified, and that when
completed it will afford very great if not complete protection to our
Atlantic frontier in the event of another war--a protection sufficient
to counterbalance in a single campaign with an enemy powerful at sea the
expense of all these works, without taking into the estimate the saving
of the lives of so many of our citizens, the protection of our towns
and other property, or the tendency of such works to prevent war.
Our military positions have been maintained at Belle Point, on the
Arkansas, at Council Bluffs, on the Missouri, at St. Peters, on the
Mississippi, and at Green Bay, on the upper Lakes. Commodious barracks
have already been erected at most of these posts, with such works as
were necessary for their defense. Progress has also been made in opening
communications between them and in raising supplies at each for the
support of the troops by their own labor, particularly those most
remote.
With the Indians peace has been preserved and a progress made in
carrying into effect the act of Congress making an appropriation for
their civilization, with the prospect of favorable results. As connected
equally with both these objects, our trade with those tribes is thought
to merit the attention of Congress. In their original state game
is their sustenance and war their occupation, and if they find no
employment from civilized powers they destroy each other. Left to
themselves their extirpation is inevitable. By a judicious regulation of
our trade with them we supply their wants, administer to their comforts,
and gradually, as the game retires, draw them to us. By maintaining
posts far in the interior we acquire a more thorough and direct control
over them, without which it is confidently believed that a complete
change in their manners can never be accomplished. By such posts, aided
by a proper regulation of our trade with them and a judicious civil
administration over them, to be provided for by law, we shall, it is
presumed, be enabled not only to protect our own settlements from their
savage incursions and preserve peace among the several tribes, but
accomplish also the great purpose of their civilization.
Considerable progress has also been made in the construction of ships of
war, some of which have been launched in the course of the present year.
Our peace with the powers on the coast of Barbary has been preserved,
but we owe it altogether to the presence of our squadron in the
Mediterranean. It has been found equally necessary to employ some of
our vessels for the protection of our commerce in the Indian Sea, the
Pacific, and along the Atlantic coast. The interests which we have
depending in those quarters, which have been much improved of late, are
of great extent and of high importance to the nation as well as to the
parties concerned, and would undoubtedly suffer if such protection was
not extended to them. In execution of the law of the last session for
the suppression of the slave trade some of our public ships have also
been employed on the coast of Africa, where several captures have
already been made of vessels engaged in that disgraceful traffic.