the admission of Santo Domingo as a Territory of the Union. It was not
a question of my seeking, but was a proposition from the people of Santo
Domingo, and which I entertained. I believe now, as I did then, that
it was for the best interest of this country, for the people of Santo
Domingo, and all concerned that the proposition should be received
favorably. It was, however, rejected constitutionally, and therefore
the subject was never brought up again by me.
In future, while I hold my present office, the subject of acquisition of
territory must have the support of the people before I will recommend
any proposition looking to such acquisition. I say here, however, that
I do not share in the apprehension held by many as to the danger of
governments becoming weakened and destroyed by reason of their extension
of territory. Commerce, education, and rapid transit of thought and
matter by telegraph and steam have changed all this. Rather do I believe
that our Great Maker is preparing the world, in His own good time, to
become one nation, speaking one language, and when armies and navies
will be no longer required.
My efforts in the future will be directed to the restoration of good
feeling between the different sections of our common country; to the
restoration of our currency to a fixed value as compared with the
world's standard of values--gold--and, if possible, to a par with it;
to the construction of cheap routes of transit throughout the land, to
the end that the products of all may find a market and leave a living
remuneration to the producer; to the maintenance of friendly relations
with all our neighbors and with distant nations; to the reestablishment
of our commerce and share in the carrying trade upon the ocean; to the
encouragement of such manufacturing industries as can be economically
pursued in this country, to the end that the exports of home products
and industries may pay for our imports--the only sure method of
returning to and permanently maintaining a specie basis; to the
elevation of labor; and, by a humane course, to bring the aborigines of
the country under the benign influences of education and civilization.
It is either this or war of extermination. Wars of extermination,
engaged in by people pursuing commerce and all industrial pursuits,
are expensive even against the weakest people, and are demoralizing
and wicked. Our superiority of strength and advantages of civilization
should make us lenient toward the Indian. The wrong inflicted upon him
should be taken into account and the balance placed to his credit. The
moral view of the question should be considered and the question asked,
Can not the Indian be made a useful and productive member of society by
proper teaching and treatment? If the effort is made in good faith, we
will stand better before the civilized nations of the earth and in our
own consciences for having made it.
All these things are not to be accomplished by one individual, but they
will receive my support and such recommendations to Congress as will in
my judgment best serve to carry them into effect. I beg your support and
encouragement.
It has been, and is, my earnest desire to correct abuses that have grown
up in the civil service of the country. To secure this reformation rules
regulating methods of appointment and promotions were established and
have been tried. My efforts for such reformation shall be continued to
the best of my judgment. The spirit of the rules adopted will be
maintained.
I acknowledge before this assemblage, representing, as it does, every
section of our country, the obligation I am under to my countrymen for
the great honor they have conferred on me by returning me to the highest
office within their gift, and the further obligation resting on me to
render to them the best services within my power. This I promise,
looking forward with the greatest anxiety to the day when I shall be
released from responsibilities that at times are almost overwhelming,
and from which I have scarcely had a respite since the eventful firing
upon Fort Sumter, in April, 1861, to the present day. My services were
then tendered and accepted under the first call for troops growing out
of that event.
I did not ask for place or position, and was entirely without influence
or the acquaintance of persons of influence, but was resolved to perform
my part in a struggle threatening the very existence of the nation.
I performed a conscientious duty, without asking promotion or command,
and without a revengeful feeling toward any section or individual.
Notwithstanding this, throughout the war, and from my candidacy for my
present office in 1868 to the close of the last Presidential campaign,
I have been the subject of abuse and slander scarcely ever equaled in
political history, which to-day I feel that I can afford to disregard
in view of your verdict, which I gratefully accept as my vindication.
MARCH 4, 1873.
PROCLAMATIONS.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas, under the pretense that William P. Kellogg, the present
executive of Louisiana, and the officers associated with him in the
State administration were not duly elected, certain turbulent and
disorderly persons have combined together with force and arms to resist
the laws and constituted authorities of said State; and
Whereas it has been duly certified by the proper local authorities and
judicially determined by the inferior and supreme courts of said State
that said officers are entitled to hold their offices, respectively, and
execute and discharge the functions thereof; and
Whereas Congress, at its late session, upon a due consideration of the
subject, tacitly recognized the said executive and his associates, then
as now in office, by refusing to take any action with respect thereto;
and
Whereas it is provided in the Constitution of the United States that the
United States shall protect every State in this Union, on application of
the legislature, or of the executive when the legislature can not be
convened, against domestic violence; and
Whereas it is provided in the laws of the United States that in all
cases of insurrection in any State or of obstruction to the laws
thereof it shall be lawful for the President of the United States, on
application of the legislature of such State, or of the executive when
the legislature can not be convened, to call forth the militia of any
other State or States, or to employ such part of the land and naval
forces as shall be judged necessary, for the purpose of suppressing
such insurrection or causing the laws to be duly executed; and
Whereas the legislature of said State is not now in session, and can not
be convened in time to meet the present emergency, and the executive of
said State, under section 4 of Article IV of the Constitution of the
United States and the laws passed in pursuance thereof, has therefore
made application to me for such part of the military force of the United
States as may be necessary and adequate to protect said State and the
citizens thereof against domestic violence and to enforce the due
execution of the laws; and
Whereas it is required that whenever it may be necessary, in the
judgment of the President, to use the military force for the purpose
aforesaid, he shall forthwith, by proclamation, command such insurgents
to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective homes within a
limited time:
Now, therefore, I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States,
do hereby make proclamation and command said turbulent and disorderly
persons to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes
within twenty days from this date, and hereafter to submit themselves to
the laws and constituted authorities of said State; and I invoke the aid
and cooperation of all good citizens thereof to uphold law and preserve
the public peace.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.
[SEAL.]
Done at the city of Washington, this 22d day of May, A.D. 1873, and of
the Independence of the United States the ninety-seventh.
U.S. GRANT.
By the President:
J.C. BANCROFT DAVIS,
_Acting Secretary of State_.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas by the thirty-third article of a treaty concluded at Washington
on the 8th day of May, 1871, between the United States and Her Britannic
Majesty it was provided that--
Articles XVIII to XXV, inclusive, and Article XXX of this treaty shall
take effect as soon as the laws required to carry them into operation
shall have been passed by the Imperial Parliament of Great Britain,
by the parliament of Canada, and by the legislature of Prince Edwards
Island on the one hand, and by the Congress of the United States on
the other.
And whereas by the first section of an act entitled "An act to carry
into effect the provisions of the treaty between the United States and
Great Britain signed in the city of Washington the 8th day of May, 1871,
relating to the fisheries," it is provided--
That whenever the President of the United States shall receive
satisfactory evidence that the Imperial Parliament of Great Britain, the
parliament of Canada, and the legislature of Prince Edwards Island have
passed laws on their part to give full effect to the provisions of the
treaty between the United States and Great Britain signed at the city
of Washington on the 8th day of May, 1871, as contained in articles
eighteenth to twenty-fifth, inclusive, and article thirtieth of said
treaty, he is hereby authorized to issue his proclamation declaring that
he has such evidence.
And whereas the Secretary of State of the United States and Her
Britannic Majesty's envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary at
Washington have recorded in a protocol a conference held by them at the
Department of State, in Washington, on the 7th day of June, 1873, in the
following language:
PROTOCOL OF A CONFERENCE HELD AT WASHINGTON ON THE 7TH DAY OF JUNE, 1873.
Whereas it is provided by Article XXXIII of the treaty between Her
Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
and the United States of America signed at Washington on the 8th of
May, 1871, as follows:
"Article XXXIII.
"The foregoing Articles XVIII to XXV, inclusive, and Article XXX of this
treaty shall take effect as soon as the laws required to carry them into
operation shall have been passed by the Imperial Parliament of Great
Britain, by the parliament of Canada, and by the legislature of Prince
Edwards Island on the one hand, and by the Congress of the United States
on the other. Such assent having been given, the said articles shall
remain in force for the period of ten years from the date at which they
may come into operation, and, further, until the expiration of two years
after either of the high contracting parties shall have given notice
to the other of its wish to terminate the same; each of the high
contracting parties being at liberty to give such notice to the other at
the end of the said period of ten years or at any time afterwards;" and
Whereas, in accordance with the stipulations of the above-recited
article, an act was passed by the Imperial Parliament of Great Britain
in the thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth years of the reign of Queen
Victoria, intituled "An act to carry into effect a treaty between Her
Majesty and the United States of America;" and
Whereas an act was passed by the senate and house of commons of Canada
in the fifth session of the first parliament held in the thirty-fifth
year of Her Majesty's reign and assented to in Her Majesty's name by
the Governor-General on the 14th day of June, 1872, intituled "An act
relating to the treaty of Washington, 1871;" and
Whereas an act was passed by the legislature of Prince Edwards Island
and assented to by the lieutenant-governor of that colony on the 29th
day of June, 1872, intituled "An act relating to the treaty of
Washington, 1871;" and
Whereas an act was passed by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, and approved on the
1st day of March, 1873, by the President of the United States, intituled
"An act to carry into effect the provisions of the treaty between the
United States and Great Britain signed in the city of Washington the
8th day of May, 1871, relating to fisheries:"
The undersigned, Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State of the United
States, and the Right Hon. Sir Edward Thornton, one of Her Majesty's
most honorable privy council, knight commander of the most honorable
Order of the Bath, Her Britannic Majesty's envoy extraordinary and
minister plenipotentiary to the United States of America, duly
authorized for this purpose by their respective Governments, having
met together at Washington, and having found that the laws required
to carry the Articles XVIII to XXV, inclusive, and Article XXX of
the treaty aforesaid into operation have been passed by the Imperial
Parliament of Great Britain, by the parliament of Canada, and by the
legislature of Prince Edwards Island on the one part, and by the
Congress of the United States on the other, hereby declare that
Articles XVIII to XXV, inclusive, and Article XXX of the treaty
between Her Britannic Majesty and the United States of America of
the 8th of May, 1871, will take effect on the 1st day of July next.
In witness whereof the undersigned have signed this protocol and have
hereunto affixed their seals.
Done in duplicate at Washington, this 7th day of June, 1873.
[SEAL.] (Signed) HAMILTON FISH.
[SEAL.] (Signed) EDWD. THORNTON.
Now, therefore, I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States of
America, in pursuance of the premises, do hereby declare that I have
received satisfactory evidence that the Imperial Parliament of Great
Britain, the parliament of Canada, and the legislature of Prince Edwards
Island have passed laws on their part to give full effect to the
provisions of the said treaty as contained in articles eighteenth to
twenty-fifth, inclusive, and article thirtieth of said treaty.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.
[SEAL.]
Done at the city of Washington, this 1st day of July, A.D. 1873, and of
the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-seventh.
U.S. GRANT.
By the President:
HAMILTON FISH,
_Secretary of State_.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas by the act of Congress approved March 3, 1871, providing for a
national celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the
independence of the United States by the holding of an International
Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine in
the city of Philadelphia in the year 1876, it is provided as follows:
That whenever the President shall be informed by the governor of the
State of Pennsylvania that provision has been made for the erection of
suitable buildings for the purpose, and for the exclusive control by
the commission herein provided for of the proposed exhibition, the
President shall, through the Department of State, make proclamation of
the same, setting forth the time at which the exhibition will open and
the place at which it will be held; and he shall communicate to the
diplomatic representatives of all nations copies of the same, together
with such regulations as may be adopted by the commissioners, for
publication in their respective countries.
And whereas his excellency the governor of the said State of
Pennsylvania did, on the 24th day of June, 1873, inform me that
provision has been made for the erection of said buildings and for the
exclusive control by the commission provided for in the said act of the
proposed exhibition; and
Whereas the president of the United States Centennial Commission has
officially informed me of the dates fixed for the opening and closing of
the said exhibition and the place at which it is to be held:
Now, therefore, be it known that I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the
United States, in conformity with the provisions of the act of Congress
aforesaid, do hereby declare and proclaim that there will be held at the
city of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, an International
Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine, to
be opened on the 19th day of April, A.D. 1876, and to be closed on the
19th day of October, in the same year.
And in the interest of peace, civilization, and domestic and
international friendship and intercourse, I commend the celebration and
exhibition to the people of the United States, and in behalf of this
Government and people I cordially commend them to all nations who may be
pleased to take part therein.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.
[SEAL.]
Done at the city of Washington, this 3d day of July, 1873, and of the
Independence of the United States the ninety-seventh.
U.S. GRANT.
By the President:
HAMILTON FISH,
_Secretary of State_.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas satisfactory evidence was given me on the 13th day of September
current by the Marquis de Noailles, envoy extraordinary and minister
plenipotentiary from the French Republic, that on and after the 1st day
of October next merchandise imported into France in vessels of the
United States, from whatever country, will be subject to no other duties
or imposts than those which shall be collected upon merchandise imported
into France from countries of its origin or from any other country in
French vessels:
Now, therefore, I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States
of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by law, do hereby
declare and proclaim that on and after the 1st day of October next,
so long as merchandise imported into France in vessels of the United
States, whether from the countries of its origin or from other
countries, shall be admitted into the ports of France on the terms
aforesaid, the discriminating duties heretofore levied upon merchandise
imported into the United States in French vessels, either from the
countries of its origin or from any other country, shall be and are
discontinued and abolished.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this 22d day of September, A.D. 1873,
and of the Independence of the United States of America the
ninety-eighth.
[SEAL.]
U.S. GRANT.
By the President:
J.C. BANCROFT DAVIS,
_Acting Secretary of State_.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
The approaching close of another year brings with it the occasion for
renewed thanksgiving and acknowledgment to the Almighty Ruler of the
Universe for the unnumbered mercies which He has bestowed upon us.
Abundant harvests have been among the rewards of industry. With local
exceptions, health has been among the many blessings enjoyed.
Tranquillity at home and peace with other nations have prevailed.
Frugal industry is regaining its merited recognition and its merited
rewards.
Gradually but, under the providence of God, surely, as we trust, the
nation is recovering from the lingering results of a dreadful civil
strife.
For these and all the other mercies vouchsafed it becomes us as a
people to return heartfelt and grateful acknowledgments, and with our
thanksgiving for blessings we may unite prayers for the cessation of
local and temporary sufferings.
I therefore recommend that on Thursday, the 27th day of November next,
the people meet in their respective places of worship to make their
acknowledgments to Almighty God for His bounties and His protection,
and to offer to Him prayers for their continuance.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.
[SEAL.]
Done at the city of Washington, this 14th day of October, A.D. 1873, and
of the Independence of the United States the ninety-eighth.
U.S. GRANT.
By the President:
HAMILTON FISH,
_Secretary of State_.
EXECUTIVE ORDERS.
WASHINGTON, _March 14, 1873_.
In consequence of the peculiar and confidential relations which from
the nature of the service must exist and be maintained between the
Department of State and its clerks, rules 2,3, and 4 of the rules and
regulations for the civil service promulgated by the President 19th of
December, 1871, as amended by the Executive order 16th of April, 1872,
shall in their application to that Department be modified as follows,
namely:
Vacancies occurring in any grade of consulates or clerkships in the
Department may be filled either by transfer from some other grade or
service--clerical, consular, or diplomatic--under the Department of
State, or by the appointment of some person who has previously served
under the Department of State to its satisfaction, or by the appointment
of some person who has made application to the Secretary of State, with
proper certificates of character, responsibility, and capacity, in the
manner provided for applications for consulates of which the lawful
annual compensation is more than $1,000 and less than $3,000, and who
has on examination been found qualified for the position.
U.S. GRANT.
[From the New-York Daily Tribune, May 10, 1873.]
WASHINGTON, _May 9, 1873_.
The President announces with deep regret the death of the Hon. Salmon
P. Chase, Chief Justice of the United States, who closed a life of long
public service, in the city of New York, on the 7th instant, having
filled the offices of Senator of the United States, governor of Ohio,
Secretary of the Treasury, and crowning a long career in the exalted
position of Chief Justice of the United States. The President directs
that the public offices in Washington be closed on Saturday, the 10th
instant, the day of his funeral, and that they be draped in mourning for
the period of thirty days, and that the flags be displayed at half-mast
on the public buildings and forts and on the national vessels on the day
of the funeral, in honor of the memory of the illustrious dead.
By order of the President:
HAMILTON FISH, _Secretary of State_.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, D.C., May 21, 1873_.
SIR:[75] The President directs me to say that the several Departments of
the Government will be closed on the 30th instant, in order to enable
the employees of the Government to participate, in connection with the
Grand Army of the Republic, in the decoration of the graves of the
soldiers who fell during the rebellion.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
O.E. BABCOCK,
_Secretary_.
[Footnote 75: Addressed to the heads of the Executive Departments, etc.]
WASHINGTON, _August 5, 1873_.
The Civil Service Commission, at its session at Washington which
terminated June 4, 1873, recommended certain further rules to be
prescribed by the President for the government of the civil service of
the United States. These rules as herewith published are approved, and
their provisions will be enforced as rapidly as the proper arrangements
can be made.
U.S. GRANT.
By the President:
HAMILTON FISH,
_Secretary of State_.
FURTHER RULES FOR PROMOTING THE EFFICIENCY OF THE CIVIL SERVICE OF THE
UNITED STATES.
_Rule 1_.--It being essential to the public welfare to maintain in the
Executive the exercise of the power of nomination and appointment vested
by the Constitution, and thereby to secure that measure of independence
and separate responsibility which is contemplated by that instrument;
and it being needful, in making such nominations and appointments, that
the appointing power should obtain and in the proper Department preserve
the evidence of fitness in reference to which all such nominations and
appointments should be made: Therefore recommendations concerning any
nomination or appointment to office or place in the civil service can
not be considered unless made in writing, signed by the person making
them, setting forth the character of the person recommended and his
qualifications for the office in reference to which the recommendation
is made; nor, when the recommendation is by a person holding an office
or station in or under the Government of the United States, can such
written recommendation, except when made in response to a written
request by the officer making the appointment, or in the discharge of an
official duty imposed by the Constitution or the laws, be considered as
entitled to any greater weight than if made by such person as a private
individual. But this rule shall not apply to recommendations made by
officers as to their own subordinates.
_Rule 2_.--While it is not the purpose of the rules and regulations
prescribed for the government of the civil service either to restrict
the power of removal or to extend the tenure of service, such power
will not be exercised arbitrarily, and therefore applications must
not be entertained by any authority having the duty of nomination or
appointment for the removal of any person in the civil service, nor will
any person be removed for the mere purpose of making a place for any
other person.
_Rule 3_.--To prevent any misapprehension in the public mind in regard
to the functions of the members of the Civil Service Commission and of
the members of any board of examiners, it is declared not to be any part
of the duty or authority of any such member to act upon, take part in,
or in any way entertain any recommendation, application, or question
concerning appointments or removals in respect of the civil service,
otherwise than in the strict discharge of their respective duties as
prescribed by the rules and regulations; and for the same purpose it is
further declared that the functions of the members of said Commission as
to the matters aforesaid extend only to the question of the proper rules
and regulations to be made and to supervising their application, and
that the functions of the examiners as to said matters extend only to
preparing for, conducting, rating, and making reports concerning
examinations required to be made under such rules and regulations.
_Rule 4_.--The grouping heretofore made for the Executive Departments at
Washington is hereby modified by striking out the words "female clerks,
copyists, and counters, at $900 a year," these places being below the
grade of clerkships of class 1; and all applicants for such positions
shall be examined in (1) penmanship, (2) copying, (3) elements of
English grammar, chiefly orthography, and (4) fundamental rules of
arithmetic, except that mere counters may be examined only in the
fundamental rules of arithmetic and as to their facility in counting
money; and those found competent by such examination shall be reported
in the order of their excellence as eligible for appointment, and
selections may be made by the appointing power, at discretion, from the
list of those so reported, being at liberty to give preference to such
as may be justly regarded as having the highest claims to public
consideration by reason of loss of support or of property occasioned by
the death or disability of any person in the defense of the Union in war
or in other public service of the Government. And in the notices of the
examination of females to fill vacancies among those last mentioned it
shall be stated as follows: "That from among all those who shall pass a
satisfactory examination the head of the Department will be at liberty
to select such persons for the vacancies as may be justly regarded as
having the highest claims to public consideration."
_Rule 5_.--The notices to appear at any examinations other than those
referred to in the fourth rule of this series, so far as practicable and
necessary to prevent misapprehension, shall advise female applicants to
whom they may be sent of any limitation which the law or the necessities
of the public service impose upon such applicants entering the vacancies
for which the examinations are to take place.
_Rule 6_.--That it shall be the duty of the respective boards of
examiners, on the written request of heads of Departments, to hold
examinations in anticipation of vacancies, as well as to fill vacancies,
and to prepare lists showing the results of competition, so that when
any such vacancy may happen there shall be those thus shown to be
eligible to nomination or appointment, from whom the proper selection
shall be made according to the provisions of the rules and regulations
relating to competitive examination; and examinations upon like request
shall be held in reference to vacancies to be filled under the fourth
rule of this series.
_Rule 7._--Applicants for appointment as cashiers of collectors of
customs, cashiers of assistant treasurers, cashiers of postmasters,
superintendents of money-order divisions in post-offices, and other
custodians of large sums of public money for whose fidelity another
officer has given official bonds may be appointed at discretion; but
this rule shall not apply to any appointment to a position grouped below
the grade of assistant teller.
_Rule 8_.--In cases of defalcation or embezzlement of public money, or
other emergency calling for immediate action, where the public service
would be materially injured unless the vacancy is promptly filled
without resorting to the methods of selection and appointment prescribed
by the rules and regulations, or when a vacancy happens at a place
remote and difficult of access and the methods prescribed for filling
it can not be applied without causing delay injurious to the public
service, the appointment may be made at discretion; but this rule shall
not apply to any place which is provided to be filled under the rules of
competitive examination.
_Rule 9_.--For the purpose of bringing the examinations for the civil
service as near to the residences of those desiring to be examined as
the appropriation at the command of the President will warrant, and for
the further purpose of facilitating as far as practicable the making of
selections for such service equably from the several portions of the
Union, while at the same time preserving the principle of promoting
merit as tested by fair competition, it is provided as follows:
(1) That the several States and Territories are grouped into five
divisions, to be designated as civil-service districts, the said
districts to be numbered consecutively from one to five, as follows:
I. The first district embraces the States of Maine, New Hampshire,
Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York; and the
examinations therein shall be held alternately at the city of New York
and the city of Boston, but first at the city of New York.
II. The second district embraces the States of New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and the
District of Columbia; and the examinations therein shall be held at
Washington.
III. The third district embraces the States of Ohio, Michigan,
Indiana, Wisconsin, and Kentucky; and the examinations therein shall be
held alternately at Cincinnati and Detroit, but first at Cincinnati.
IV. The fourth district embraces the States of Illinois, Missouri,
Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, California, and Oregon, and
also all the Territories except New Mexico and the District of Columbia;
and the examinations therein shall be held at St. Louis.
V. The fifth district embraces the States of South Carolina, Georgia,
Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, and
Tennessee, together with the Territory of New Mexico; and the
examinations therein shall be held alternately at the city of Savannah
and the city of Memphis, but first at the city of Savannah.
(2) That in each of said districts examinations for admission to the
civil service at Washington shall be conducted as hereinafter provided;
and those whose residence is within any such district at the time of
filing the application for examination shall be regarded as belonging to
such district in reference both to competition and to appointments; and
each district shall be treated as a sphere of competition, and those so
residing therein, wherever examined, shall be regarded as competing only
with each other; but a person residing in any district may be allowed or
notified to be examined in any other district.
(3) All applications for examination for service at Washington must be
addressed to the head of the Department at that city which the applicant
desires to enter, and be in conformity to the previous rules and
regulations so far as the same are not modified by this series; and
every such application must be dated, must give the town or municipality
as well as the State or Territory where the applicant has his legal
residence, and also his post-office address.
(4) Each of the heads of Departments will cause to be kept in permanent
form a register of all such applicants for his Department, to be called
a "Register of applicants," and will cause such applications to be
preserved on file for convenient reference.
(5) The provisions of the former rules and regulations in reference to
the examining boards in the Departments and in the other local offices
in the various cities, so far as consistent herewith, are continued
until otherwise ordered.
(6) The President will employ or designate a suitable person to be chief
examiner, whose duty it will be, subject to the supervision of the Civil
Service Commission, to promote uniformity in preparing for, conducting,
reporting, and grading the examinations by said boards at Washington,
and to prepare for, attend, supervise, and report the examinations
herein provided to be held elsewhere than at Washington.
(7) The several heads of Departments must also cause to be made in
permanent form and to be preserved a "Record of persons eligible for
appointment," arranging under separate headings those resident in each
separate district, wherein shall be entered the names of the persons who
have been examined within twelve months now last past, and who are still
eligible to nomination or appointment; and to such record must from time
to time be added the names of those persons who shall hereafter pass an
examination which shall show them to be so eligible for nomination or
appointment. And such "Record of persons eligible for appointment" shall
be so kept and the names therein be so classified that all those whose
residences appearing as aforesaid to be in the same districts shall be
tabulated together, so as to show their relative excellence in each said
district, except that the names of all those examined under the fourth
rule of this series shall be separately entered upon the "Record of
persons eligible for appointment" for each Department, so as to show
where they reside.
(8) That the officer having the power of making nomination or
appointment may resort for that purpose to those so entered in the
"Record of persons eligible for appointment" as residing in either of
said civil-service districts; but (except in respect of those examined
under said rule 4) the method of competition heretofore provided must be
regarded as applying among those so registered as residing in any such
district, and as requiring the nomination and appointment to be made
from some one of the three persons graded as the highest on some one of
said five several arrangements of persons so eligible.
(9) At a reasonable time before any examination is to take place each
head of Department will furnish the chief examiner with a list of those
to be examined, and ten days before any examination is to take place in
any said district, elsewhere than at Washington, notice shall be sent by
mail by such chief examiner to all such applicants residing or allowed
to be examined in such district, stating the time and place of such
examination and the other matters of which the rules and regulations
require notice to be given.
(10) For the purpose of the examinations last mentioned the said chief
examiner shall receive from the several heads of Departments at
Washington and from the head of any local office which may request to
have any examinations made of persons for said offices the names of
those who are to be examined at any place outside of Washington, and
shall make a list of the same, showing the date of the filing of each
application, which he shall produce at the place of examination; and the
examination shall be held of all those on such list who shall duly
appear and submit thereto, provided the number be not so great, in the
opinion of the examining board, as to render the examination of the
whole impracticable, in which event only a reasonable number, to be
selected in the order of the date of the filing of their applications,
need be examined.
(11) For each place outside of Washington where such examination is to
be held the President will designate persons, to be, when practicable,
suitable officers of the United States, who, together with such chief
examiner, or some substituted departmental examiner from Washington to
be sent in his place when such chief examiner can not attend, shall
constitute the board for such examination; and by said persons, or a
majority thereof, of whom such chief examiner or said substitute shall
be one, such examinations shall be held and certified in a uniform
manner; and the time occupied by each person examined shall be noted on
the examination papers. The questions to be put to those examined as
applicants through the request of either head of Department or head of
local office shall be such as may be provided and as might be put if all
such examinations were, or were to be, conducted under the rules and
regulations by the examining boards of any such Department in Washington
or by any such local board.
(12) The chief examiner or his substitute shall make reports to each
Department and local office separately in respect of all such persons
as either said head of Department or of a local office requested to be
examined, and said reports, respectively, shall be accompanied by the
examination papers of those so separately reported; and the board of
examiners in each Department or local office shall make up and state the
excellence of each person so reported as examined, and such excellence,
being not below the minimum grade of 70 per cent, shall be duly entered
in the "Record of persons eligible for appointment" in the proper
district or local office.
(13) The district examinations herein provided for shall be held
not more than twice in any one year in the same district, except
in Washington, where an examination may be held in respect of each
Department as frequently as the head of such Department, subject to the
approval of the President, may direct; and all persons so examined in
Washington, wherever they may reside, shall be entered on the "Record
of persons eligible for appointment" equally as if examined elsewhere.
(14) Whenever the entry of the name of any person has been on the
"Record of persons eligible for appointment" during eighteen consecutive
months, such entry shall be marked "Time expired," and such name shall
not again be placed thereon except as the result of another examination.
(15) Persons who may be required to be examined for any custom-house,
post-office, or other local office or place of service other than
Washington may be notified by the head of such office to appear and be
examined at any examination provided for under this rule; and the result
of such examination shall be reported by the chief examiner or his
substitute to the proper examining board for such office or place, or to
the head of the local office; and such board shall enter the name, with
the proper indication of the grade of excellence, among those who are to
compete at any such place or office, and from whom selection, on the
basis of competition, shall be made.
(16) But where the result of any examination aforesaid shall show the
excellence of any such applicant to be below the minimum grade of 70 per
cent (on the basis of l00 as perfect), the only entry thereof to be made
in registers of the Department or of local office shall be of the words
"Not eligible," which shall be written against the name of such person
in the register of applicants; and such applicant shall not be again
examined for any Department or office within six months of the date of
the former examination.
(17) The provisions of this rule do not apply to examinations
for promotion, nor do they apply to the State Department, in which
examinations will be conducted under the provisions of the Executive
order of March 14, 1873.
(18) Subject to the other provisions of this rule, the times of holding
the examinations herein provided for in the first, third, fourth, and
fifth districts, respectively, shall be fixed by the chief examiner
after consultation with the heads of Departments at Washington. One
examination, however, shall be held in each of the last-mentioned
districts prior to the 1st day of November next, and the chief examiner
shall on or before that date make a report in writing to the Civil
Service Commission, setting forth generally the facts in regard to the
examinations referred to in this rule and appropriate suggestions for
increasing their usefulness.
_Rule 10_.--So many of the persons employed by the President under the
ninth section of the act of March 3, 1871, as are referred to in the
opinion of the Attorney-General of the date of August 31, 1871, under
the name of the Civil Service Commission, and are still in such
employment, together with the successors of those who have resigned,
and their successors, shall hereafter be regarded as composing and shall
be designated as "The Civil Service Commission;" and the use of the
designation "Advisory Board," as referring to such persons, will be
hereafter discontinued.
GENERAL ORDERS, No. 102.
WAR DEPARTMENT,
ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
_Washington, October 10, 1873_.
The President of the United States commands it to be made known that all
soldiers who have deserted their colors, and who shall, on or before the
1st day of January, 1874, surrender themselves at any military station,
shall receive a full pardon, only forfeiting the pay and allowances due
them at the time of desertion, and shall be restored to duty without
trial or punishment on condition that they faithfully serve through the
term of their enlistment.
By order of the Secretary of War:
E.D. TOWNSEND,
_Adjutant-General_.
FIFTH ANNUAL MESSAGE.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 1, 1873_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
The year that has passed since the submission of my last message to
Congress has, especially during the latter part of it, been an eventful
one to the country. In the midst of great national prosperity a
financial crisis has occurred that has brought low fortunes of gigantic
proportions; political partisanship has almost ceased to exist,
especially in the agricultural regions; and, finally, the capture upon
the high seas of a vessel bearing our flag has for a time threatened the
most serious consequences, and has agitated the public mind from one end
of the country to the other. But this, happily, now is in the course of
satisfactory adjustment, honorable to both nations concerned.
The relations of the United States, however, with most of the other
powers continue to be friendly and cordial. With France, Germany,
Russia, Italy, and the minor European powers; with Brazil and most of
the South American Republics, and with Japan, nothing has occurred
during the year to demand special notice. The correspondence between the
Department of State and various diplomatic representatives in or from
those countries is transmitted herewith.
In executing the will of Congress, as expressed in its joint resolution
of the 14th of February last, and in accordance with the provisions of
the resolution, a number of "practical artisans," of "scientific men,"
and of "honorary commissioners" were authorized to attend the exposition
at Vienna as commissioners on the part of the United States. It is
believed that we have obtained the object which Congress had in view
when it passed the joint resolution--"in order to enable the people of
the United States to participate in the advantages of the International
Exhibition of the Products of Agriculture, Manufactures, and the Fine
Arts to be held at Vienna." I take pleasure in adding that the American
exhibitors have received a gratifying number of diplomas and of medals.
During the exposition a conference was held at Vienna for the purpose of
consultation on the systems prevailing in different countries for the
protection of inventions. I authorized a representative from the Patent
Office to be present at Vienna at the time when this conference was to
take place, in order to aid as far as he might in securing any possible
additional protection to American inventors in Europe. The report of
this agent will be laid before Congress.
It is my pleasant duty to announce to Congress that the Emperor
of China, on attaining his majority, received the diplomatic
representatives of the Western powers in person. An account of these
ceremonies and of the interesting discussions which preceded them will
be found in the documents transmitted herewith. The accompanying papers
show that some advance, although slight, has been made during the past
year toward the suppression of the infamous Chinese cooly trade. I
recommend Congress to inquire whether additional legislation be not
needed on this subject.
The money awarded to the United States by the tribunal of arbitration at
Geneva was paid by Her Majesty's Government a few days in advance of the
time when it would have become payable according to the terms of the
treaty. In compliance with the provisions of the act of March 3, 1873,
it was at once paid into the Treasury, and used to redeem, so far as it
might, the public debt of the United States; and the amount so redeemed
was invested in a 5 per cent registered bond of the United States for
$15,500,000, which is now held by the Secretary of State, subject to the
future disposition of Congress.
I renew my recommendation, made at the opening of the last session of
Congress, that a commission be created for the purpose of auditing and
determining the amounts of the several "direct losses growing out of
the destruction of vessels and their cargoes" by the _Alabama_, the
_Florida_, or the _Shenandoah_ after leaving Melbourne, for which
the sufferers have received no equivalent or compensation, and of
ascertaining the names of the persons entitled to receive compensation
for the same, making the computations upon the basis indicated by the
tribunal of arbitration at Geneva; and that payment of such losses be
authorized to an extent not to exceed the awards of the tribunal at
Geneva.
By an act approved on the 14th day of February last Congress made
provision for completing, jointly with an officer or commissioner
to be named by Her Britannic Majesty, the determination of so much
of the boundary line between the territory of the United States
and the possessions of Great Britain as was left uncompleted by the
commissioners appointed under the act of Congress of August 11, 1856.
Under the provisions of this act the northwest water boundary of the
United States has been determined and marked in accordance with the
award of the Emperor of Germany. A protocol and a copy of the map upon
which the line was thus marked are contained in the papers submitted
herewith.
I also transmit a copy of the report of the commissioner for marking the
northern boundary between the United States and the British possessions
west of the Lake of the Woods, of the operations of the commission
during the past season. Surveys have been made to a point 497 miles west
of the Lake of the Woods, leaving about 350 miles to be surveyed, the
field work of which can be completed during the next season.
The mixed commission organized under the provisions of the treaty of
Washington for settling and determining the claims of citizens of either
power against the other arising out of acts committed against their
persons or property during the period between April 13, 1861, and April
9, 1865, made its final award on the 25th day of September last. It was
awarded that the Government of the United States should pay to the
Government of Her Britannic Majesty, within twelve months from the date
of the award, the sum of $1,929,819 in gold. The commission disallowed
or dismissed all other claims of British subjects against the United
States. The amount of the claims presented by the British Government,
but disallowed or dismissed, is understood to be about $93,000,000. It
also disallowed all the claims of citizens of the United States against
Great Britain which were referred to it.
I recommend the early passage of an act appropriating the amount
necessary to pay this award against the United States.
I have caused to be communicated to the Government of the King of Italy
the thanks of this Government for the eminent services rendered by
Count Corti as the third commissioner on this commission. With dignity,
learning, and impartiality he discharged duties requiring great labor
and constant patience, to the satisfaction, I believe, of both
Governments. I recommend legislation to create a special court, to
consist of three judges, who shall be empowered to hear and determine
all claims of aliens upon the United States arising out of acts
committed against their persons or property during the insurrection.
The recent reference under the treaty of Washington was confined to
claims of British subjects arising during the period named in the
treaty; but it is understood that there are other British claims of a
similar nature, arising after the 9th of April, 1865, and it is known
that other claims of a like nature are advanced by citizens or subjects
of other powers. It is desirable to have these claims also examined and
disposed of.
Official information being received from the Dutch Government of a state
of war between the King of the Netherlands and the Sultan of Acheen, the
officers of the United States who were near the seat of the war were
instructed to observe an impartial neutrality. It is believed that they
have done so.
The joint commission under the convention with Mexico of 1868, having
again been legally prolonged, has resumed its business, which, it
is hoped, may be brought to an early conclusion. The distinguished
representative of Her Britannic Majesty at Washington has kindly
consented, with the approval of his Government, to assume the arduous
and responsible duties of umpire in this commission, and to lend the
weight of his character and name to such decisions as may not receive
the acquiescence of both the arbitrators appointed by the respective
Governments.
The commissioners appointed pursuant to the authority of Congress to
examine into the nature and extent of the forays by trespassers from
that country upon the herds of Texas have made a report, which will be
submitted for your consideration.
The Venezuelan Government has been apprised of the sense of Congress in
regard to the awards of the joint commission under the convention of
25th April, 1866, as expressed in the act of the 25th of February last.
It is apprehended that that Government does not realize the character of
its obligations under that convention. As there is reason to believe,
however, that its hesitancy in recognizing them springs, in part at
least, from real difficulty in discharging them in connection with its
obligations to other governments, the expediency of further forbearance
on our part is believed to be worthy of your consideration.
The Ottoman Government and that of Egypt have latterly shown a
disposition to relieve foreign consuls of the judicial powers which
heretofore they have exercised in the Turkish dominions, by organizing
other tribunals. As Congress, however, has by law provided for the
discharge of judicial functions by consuls of the United States in that
quarter under the treaty of 1830, I have not felt at liberty formally
to accept the proposed change without the assent of Congress, whose
decision upon the subject at as early a period as may be convenient is
earnestly requested.
I transmit herewith, for the consideration and determination of
Congress, an application of the Republic of Santo Domingo to this
Government to exercise a protectorate over that Republic.
Since the adjournment of Congress the following treaties with foreign
powers have been proclaimed: A naturalization convention with Denmark; a
convention with Mexico for renewing the Claims Commission; a convention
of friendship, commerce, and extradition with the Orange Free State, and
a naturalization convention with Ecuador.
I renew the recommendation made in my message of December, 1870, that
Congress authorize the Postmaster-General to issue all commissions to
officials appointed through his Department.
I invite the earnest attention of Congress to the existing laws of the
United States respecting expatriation and the election of nationality
by individuals. Many citizens of the United States reside permanently
abroad with their families. Under the provisions of the act approved
February 10, 1855, the children of such persons are to be deemed and
taken to be citizens of the United States, but the rights of citizenship
are not to descend to persons whose fathers never resided in the United
States.
It thus happens that persons who have never resided within the United
States have been enabled to put forward a pretension to the protection
of the United States against the claim to military service of the
government under whose protection they were born and have been reared.
In some cases even naturalized citizens of the United States have
returned to the land of their birth, with intent to remain there, and
their children, the issue of a marriage contracted there after their
return, and who have never been in the United States, have laid claim to
our protection when the lapse of many years had imposed upon them the
duty of military service to the only government which had ever known
them personally.
Until the year 1868 it was left, embarrassed by conflicting opinions of
courts and of jurists, to determine how far the doctrine of perpetual
allegiance derived from our former colonial relations with Great Britain
was applicable to American citizens. Congress then wisely swept these
doubts away by enacting that--
Any declaration, instruction, opinion, order, or decision of any officer
of this Government which denies, restricts, impairs, or questions the
right of expatriation is inconsistent with the fundamental principles of
this Government.
But Congress did not indicate in that statute, nor has it since done so,
what acts are to be deemed to work expatriation. For my own guidance
in determining such questions I required (under the provisions of the
Constitution) the opinion in writing of the principal officer in each
of the Executive Departments upon certain questions relating to this
subject. The result satisfies me that further legislation has become
necessary. I therefore commend the subject to the careful consideration
of Congress, and I transmit herewith copies of the several opinions of
the principal officers of the Executive Departments, together with other
correspondence and pertinent information on the same subject.
The United States, who led the way in the overthrow of the feudal
doctrine of perpetual allegiance, are among the last to indicate how
their own citizens may elect another nationality. The papers submitted
herewith indicate what is necessary to place us on a par with other
leading nations in liberality of legislation on this international
question. We have already in our treaties assented to the principles
which would need to be embodied in laws intended to accomplish such
results. We have agreed that citizens of the United States may cease to
be citizens and may voluntarily render allegiance to other powers. We
have agreed that residence in a foreign land without intent to return,
shall of itself work expatriation. We have agreed in some instances upon
the length of time necessary for such continued residence to work a
presumption of such intent. I invite Congress now to mark out and define
when and how expatriation can be accomplished; to regulate by law the
condition of American women marrying foreigners; to fix the status of
children born in a foreign country of American parents residing more or
less permanently abroad, and to make rules for determining such other
kindred points as may seem best to Congress.
In compliance with the request of Congress, I transmitted to the
American minister at Madrid, with instructions to present it to the
Spanish Government, the joint resolution approved on the 3d of March
last, tendering to the people of Spain, in the name and on the behalf of
the American people, the congratulations of Congress upon the efforts to
consolidate in Spain the principles of universal liberty in a republican
form of government.
The existence of this new Republic was inaugurated by striking the
fetters from the slaves in Porto Rico. This beneficent measure was
followed by the release of several thousand persons illegally held as
slaves in Cuba. Next, the Captain-General of that colony was deprived of
the power to set aside the orders of his superiors at Madrid, which had
pertained to the office since 1825. The sequestered estates of American
citizens, which had been the cause of long and fruitless correspondence,
were ordered to be restored to their owners. All these liberal steps
were taken in the face of a violent opposition directed by the
reactionary slaveholders of Havana, who are vainly striving to stay the
march of ideas which has terminated slavery in Christendom, Cuba only
excepted. Unhappily, however, this baneful influence has thus far
succeeded in defeating the efforts of all liberal-minded men in Spain to
abolish slavery in Cuba, and in preventing the promised reform in that
island. The struggle for political supremacy continues there.
The proslavery and aristocratic party in Cuba is gradually arraigning
itself in more and more open hostility and defiance of the home
government, while it still maintains a political connection with the
Republic in the peninsula; and although usurping and defying the
authority of the home government whenever such usurpation or defiance
tends in the direction of oppression or of the maintenance of abuses,
it is still a power in Madrid, and is recognized by the Government.
Thus an element more dangerous to continued colonial relations between
Cuba and Spain than that which inspired the insurrection at Yara--an
element opposed to granting any relief from misrule and abuse, with
no aspirations after freedom, commanding no sympathies in generous
breasts, aiming to rivet still stronger the shackles of slavery and
oppression--has seized many of the emblems of power in Cuba, and,
under professions of loyalty to the mother country, is exhausting the
resources of the island, and is doing acts which are at variance with
those principles of justice, of liberality, and of right which give
nobility of character to a republic. In the interests of humanity,
of civilization, and of progress, it is to be hoped that this evil
influence may be soon averted.
The steamer _Virginius_ was on the 26th day of September, 1870, duly
registered at the port of New York as a part of the commercial marine
of the United States. On the 4th of October, 1870, having received the
certificate of her register in the usual legal form, she sailed from
the port of New York and has not since been within the territorial
jurisdiction of the United States. On the 31st day of October last,
while sailing under the flag of the United States on the high seas, she
was forcibly seized by the Spanish gunboat _Tornado_, and was carried
into the port of Santiago de Cuba, where fifty-three of her passengers
and crew were inhumanly, and, so far at least as relates to those who
were citizens of the United States, without due process of law, put to
death.
It is a well-established principle, asserted by the United States from
the beginning of their national independence, recognized by Great
Britain and other maritime powers, and stated by the Senate in a
resolution passed unanimously on the 16th of June, 1858, that--
American vessels on the high seas in time of peace, bearing the
American flag, remain under the jurisdiction of the country to which
they belong, and therefore any visitation, molestation, or detention
of such vessel by force, or by the exhibition of force, on the part
of a foreign power is in derogation of the sovereignty of the United
States.
In accordance with this principle, the restoration of the _Virginius_
and the surrender of the survivors of her passengers and crew, and a due
reparation to the flag, and the punishment of the authorities who had
been guilty of the illegal acts of violence, were demanded. The Spanish
Government has recognized the justice of the demand, and has arranged
for the immediate delivery of the vessel, and for the surrender of the
survivors of the passengers and crew, and for a salute to the flag, and
for proceedings looking to the punishment of those who may be proved to
have been guilty of illegal acts of violence toward citizens of the
United States, and also toward indemnifying those who may be shown to be
entitled to indemnity. A copy of a protocol of a conference between the
Secretary of State and the Spanish minister, in which the terms of this
arrangement were agreed to, is transmitted herewith.
The correspondence on this subject with the legation of the United
States in Madrid was conducted in cipher and by cable, and needs the
verification of the actual text of the correspondence. It has seemed
to me to be due to the importance of the case not to submit this
correspondence until the accurate text can be received by mail. It is
expected shortly, and will be submitted when received.
In taking leave of this subject for the present I wish to renew the
expression of my conviction that the existence of African slavery in
Cuba is a principal cause of the lamentable condition of the island.
I do not doubt that Congress shares with me the hope that it will
soon be made to disappear, and that peace and prosperity may follow
its abolition.
The embargoing of American estates in Cuba, cruelty to American citizens
detected in no act of hostility to the Spanish Government, the murdering
of prisoners taken with arms in their hands, and, finally, the capture
upon the high seas of a vessel sailing under the United States flag
and bearing a United States registry have culminated in an outburst
of indignation that has seemed for a time to threaten war. Pending
negotiations between the United States and the Government of Spain on
the subject of this capture, I have authorized the Secretary of the
Navy to put our Navy on a war footing, to the extent, at least, of the
entire annual appropriation for that branch of the service, trusting
to Congress and the public opinion of the American people to justify
my action.
Assuming from the action of the last Congress in appointing a Committee
on Privileges and Elections to prepare and report to this Congress a
constitutional amendment to provide a better method of electing the
President and Vice-President of the United States, and also from the
necessity of such an amendment, that there will be submitted to the
State legislatures for ratification such an improvement in our
Constitution, I suggest two others for your consideration:
First. To authorize the Executive to approve of so much of any measure
passing the two Houses of Congress as his judgment may dictate, without
approving the whole, the disapproved portion or portions to be subjected
to the same rules as now, to wit, to be referred back to the House in
which the measure or measures originated, and, if passed by a two-thirds
vote of the two Houses, then to become a law without the approval of the
President. I would add to this a provision that there should be no
legislation by Congress during the last twenty-four hours of its
sitting, except upon vetoes, in order to give the Executive an
opportunity to examine and approve or disapprove bills understandingly.
Second. To provide by amendment that when an extra session of Congress
is convened by Executive proclamation legislation during the continuance
of such extra session shall be confined to such subjects as the
Executive may bring before it from time to time in writing.
The advantages to be gained by these two amendments are too obvious for
me to comment upon them. One session in each year is provided for by the
Constitution, in which there are no restrictions as to the subjects of
legislation by Congress. If more are required, it is always in the power
of Congress, during their term of office, to provide for sessions at any
time. The first of these amendments would protect the public against the
many abuses and waste of public moneys which creep into appropriation
bills and other important measures passing during the expiring hours of
Congress, to which otherwise due consideration can not be given.
TREASURY DEPARTMENT.
The receipts of the Government from all sources for the last fiscal
year were $333,738,204, and expenditures on all accounts $290,345,245,
thus showing an excess of receipts over expenditures of $43,392,959.
But it is not probable that this favorable exhibit will be shown for the
present fiscal year. Indeed, it is very doubtful whether, except with
great economy on the part of Congress in making appropriations and the
same economy in administering the various Departments of Government,
the revenues will not fall short of meeting actual expenses, including
interest on the public debt.
I commend to Congress such economy, and point out two sources where it
seems to me it might commence, to wit, in the appropriations for public
buildings in the many cities where work has not yet been commenced; in
the appropriations for river and harbor improvement in those localities
where the improvements are of but little benefit to general commerce,
and for fortifications.
There is a still more fruitful source of expenditure, which I will point
out later in this message. I refer to the easy method of manufacturing
claims for losses incurred in suppressing the late rebellion.
I would not be understood here as opposing the erection of good,
substantial, and even ornamental buildings by the Government wherever
such buildings are needed. In fact, I approve of the Government owning
its own buildings in all sections of the country, and hope the day is
not far distant when it will not only possess them, but will erect
in the capital suitable residences for all persons who now receive
commutation for quarters or rent at Government expense, and for the
Cabinet, thus setting an example to the States which may induce them to
erect buildings for their Senators. But I would have this work conducted
at a time when the revenues of the country would abundantly justify it.
The revenues have materially fallen off for the first five months of
the present fiscal year from what they were expected to produce, owing
to the general panic now prevailing, which commenced about the middle
of September last. The full effect of this disaster, if it should not
prove a "blessing in disguise," is yet to be demonstrated. In either
event it is your duty to heed the lesson and to provide by wise and
well-considered legislation, as far as it lies in your power, against
its recurrence, and to take advantage of all benefits that may have
accrued.
My own judgment is that, however much individuals may have suffered, one
long step has been taken toward specie payments; that we can never have
permanent prosperity until a specie basis is reached; and that a specie
basis can not be reached and maintained until our exports, exclusive
of gold, pay for our imports, interest due abroad, and other specie
obligations, or so nearly so as to leave an appreciable accumulation
of the precious metals in the country from the products of our mines.
The development of the mines of precious metals during the past year and
the prospective development of them for years to come are gratifying in
their results. Could but one-half of the gold extracted from the mines
be retained at home, our advance toward specie payments would be rapid.
To increase our exports sufficient currency is required to keep all the
industries of the country employed. Without this national as well as
individual bankruptcy must ensue. Undue inflation, on the other hand,
while it might give temporary relief, would only lead to inflation
of prices, the impossibility of competing in our own markets for the
products of home skill and labor, and repeated renewals of present
experiences. Elasticity to our circulating medium, therefore, and just
enough of it to transact the legitimate business of the country and to
keep all industries employed, is what is most to be desired. The exact
medium is specie, the recognized medium of exchange the world over. That
obtained, we shall have a currency of an exact degree of elasticity.
If there be too much of it for the legitimate purposes of trade and
commerce, it will flow out of the country. If too little, the reverse
will result. To hold what we have and to appreciate our currency to that
standard is the problem deserving of the most serious consideration of
Congress.
The experience of the present panic has proven that the currency of the
country, based, as it is, upon the credit of the country, is the best
that has ever been devised. Usually in times of such trials currency
has become worthless, or so much depreciated in value as to inflate the
values of all the necessaries of life as compared with the currency.
Everyone holding it has been anxious to dispose of it on any terms.
Now we witness the reverse. Holders of currency hoard it as they did
gold in former experiences of a like nature.
It is patent to the most casual observer that much more currency, or
money, is required to transact the legitimate trade of the country
during the fall and winter months, when the vast crops are being
removed, than during the balance of the year. With our present system
the amount in the country remains the same throughout the entire year,
resulting in an accumulation of all the surplus capital of the country
in a few centers when not employed in the moving of crops, tempted
there by the offer of interest on call loans. Interest being paid,
this surplus capital must earn this interest paid with a profit. Being
subject to "call," it can not be loaned, only in part at best, to the
merchant or manufacturer for a fixed term. Hence, no matter how much
currency there might be in the country, it would be absorbed, prices
keeping pace with the volume, and panics, stringency, and disasters
would ever be recurring with the autumn. Elasticity in our monetary
system, therefore, is the object to be attained first, and next to that,
as far as possible, a prevention of the use of other people's money in
stock and other species of speculation. To prevent the latter it seems
to me that one great step would be taken by prohibiting the national
banks from paying interest on deposits, by requiring them to hold their
reserves in their own vaults, and by forcing them into resumption,
though it would only be in legal-tender notes. For this purpose I would
suggest the establishment of clearing houses for your consideration.
To secure the former many plans have been suggested, most, if not all,
of which look to me more like inflation on the one hand, or compelling
the Government, on the other, to pay interest, without corresponding
benefits, upon the surplus funds of the country during the seasons when
otherwise unemployed.
I submit for your consideration whether this difficulty might not be
overcome by authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to issue at any
time to national banks of issue any amount of their own notes below
a fixed percentage of their issue (say 40 per cent), upon the banks'
depositing with the Treasurer of the United States an amount of
Government bonds equal to the amount of notes demanded, the banks to
forfeit to the Government, say, 4 per cent of the interest accruing on
the bonds so pledged during the time they remain with the Treasurer
as security for the increased circulation, the bonds so pledged to be
redeemable by the banks at their pleasure, either in whole or in part,
by returning their own bills for cancellation to an amount equal
to the face of the bonds withdrawn. I would further suggest for your
consideration the propriety of authorizing national banks to diminish
their standing issue at pleasure, by returning for cancellation their
own bills and withdrawing so many United States bonds as are pledged
for the bills returned.
In view of the great actual contraction that has taken place in the
currency and the comparative contraction continuously going on, due
to the increase of population, increase of manufactories and all the
industries, I do not believe there is too much of it now for the dullest
period of the year. Indeed, if clearing houses should be established,
thus forcing redemption, it is a question for your consideration whether
banking should not be made free, retaining all the safeguards now
required to secure bill holders. In any modification of the present
laws regulating national banks, as a further step toward preparing
for resumption of specie payments, I invite your attention to a
consideration of the propriety of exacting from them the retention as a
part of their reserve either the whole or a part of the gold interest
accruing upon the bonds pledged as security for their issue. I have not
reflected enough on the bearing this might have in producing a scarcity
of coin with which to pay duties on imports to give it my positive
recommendation. But your attention is invited to the subject.
During the last four years the currency has been contracted, directly,
by the withdrawal of 3 per cent certificates, compound-interest notes,
and "seven-thirty" bonds outstanding on the 4th of March, 1869, all of
which took the place of legal-tenders in the bank reserves to the extent
of $63,000,000.
During the same period there has been a much larger comparative
contraction of the currency. The population of the country has largely
increased. More than 25,000 miles of railroad have been built, requiring
the active use of capital to operate them. Millions of acres of land
have been opened to cultivation, requiring capital to move the products.
Manufactories have multiplied beyond all precedent in the same period
of time, requiring capital weekly for the payment of wages and for
the purchase of material; and probably the largest of all comparative
contraction arises from the organizing of free labor in the South. Now
every laborer there receives his wages, and, for want of savings banks,
the greater part of such wages is carried in the pocket or hoarded until
required for use.
These suggestions are thrown out for your consideration, without any
recommendation that they shall be adopted literally, but hoping that
the best method may be arrived at to secure such an elasticity of the
currency as will keep employed all the industries of the country and
prevent such an inflation as will put off indefinitely the resumption
of specie payments, an object so devoutly to be wished for by all,
and by none more earnestly than the class of people most directly
interested--those who "earn their bread by the sweat of their brow."
The decisions of Congress on this subject will have the hearty support
of the Executive.
In previous messages I have called attention to the decline in American
shipbuilding and recommended such legislation as would secure to us our
proportion of the carrying trade. Stimulated by high rates and abundance
of freight, the progress for the last year in shipbuilding has been very
satisfactory. There has been an increase of about 3 per cent in the
amount transported in American vessels over the amount of last year.
With the reduced cost of material which has taken place, it may
reasonably be hoped that this progress will be maintained, and even
increased. However, as we pay about $80,000,000 per annum to foreign
vessels for the transportation to a market of our surplus products, thus
increasing the balance of trade against us to this amount, the subject
is one worthy of your serious consideration.
"Cheap transportation" is a subject that has attracted the attention of
both producers and consumers for the past few years, and has contributed
to, if it has not been the direct cause of, the recent panic and
stringency.
As Congress, at its last session, appointed a special committee to
investigate this whole subject during the vacation and report at this
session, I have nothing to recommend until their report is read.
There is one work, however, of a national character, in which the
greater portion of the East and the West, the North and the South, are
equally interested, to which I will invite your attention.
The State of New York has a canal connecting Lake Erie with tide water
on the Hudson River. The State of Illinois has a similar work connecting
Lake Michigan with navigable water on the Illinois River, thus making
water communication inland between the East and the West and South.
These great artificial water courses are the property of the States
through which they pass, and pay toll to those States. Would it not be
wise statesmanship to pledge these States that if they will open these
canals for the passage of large vessels the General Government will look
after and keep in navigable condition the great public highways with
which they connect, to wit, the Overslaugh on the Hudson, the St. Clair
Flats, and the Illinois and Mississippi rivers? This would be a national
work; one of great value to the producers of the West and South in
giving them cheap transportation for their produce to the seaboard and
a market, and to the consumers in the East in giving them cheaper food,
particularly of those articles of food which do not find a foreign
market, and the prices of which, therefore, are not regulated by foreign
demands. The advantages of such a work are too obvious for argument.
I submit the subject to you, therefore, without further comment.
In attempting to regain our lost commerce and carrying trade I have
heretofore called attention to the States south of us offering a field
where much might be accomplished. To further this object I suggest
that a small appropriation be made, accompanied with authority for the
Secretary of the Navy to fit out a naval vessel to ascend the Amazon
River to the mouth of the Madeira; thence to explore that river and its
tributaries into Bolivia, and to report to Congress at its next session,
or as soon as practicable, the accessibility of the country by water,
its resources, and the population so reached. Such an exploration would
cost but little; it can do no harm, and may result in establishing a
trade of value to both nations.
In further connection with the Treasury Department I would recommend
a revision and codification of the tariff laws and the opening of more
mints for coming money, with authority to coin for such nations as may
apply.
WAR DEPARTMENT.
The attention of Congress is invited to the recommendations contained
in the report of the Secretary of War herewith accompanying.
The apparent great cost of supporting the Army is fully explained by
this report, and I hope will receive your attention.
While inviting your general attention to all the recommendations made by
the Secretary of War, there are two which I would especially invite you
to consider: First, the importance of preparing for war in time of peace
by providing proper armament for our seacoast defenses. Proper armament
is of vastly more importance than fortifications. The latter can be
supplied very speedily for temporary purposes when needed; the former
can not. The second is the necessity of reopening promotion in the staff
corps of the Army. Particularly is this necessity felt in the Medical,
Pay, and Ordnance departments.
At this time it is necessary to employ "contract surgeons" to supply the
necessary medical attendance required by the Army.
With the present force of the Pay Department it is now difficult to make
the payments to troops provided for by law. Long delays in payments are
productive of desertions and other demoralization, and the law prohibits
the payment of troops by other than regular army paymasters.
There are now sixteen vacancies in the Ordnance Department, thus leaving
that branch of the service without sufficient officers to conduct the
business of the different arsenals on a large scale if ever required.
NAVY DEPARTMENT.
During the past year our Navy has been depleted by the sale of some
vessels no longer fit for naval service and by the condemnation of
others not yet disposed of. This, however, has been more than
compensated for by the repair of six of the old wooden ships and by the
building of eight new sloops of war, authorized by the last Congress.
The building of these latter has occurred at a doubly fortunate time.
They are about being completed at a time when they may possibly be much
needed, and the work upon them has not only given direct employment
to thousands of men, but has no doubt been the means of keeping open
establishments for other work at a time of great financial distress.
Since the commencement of the last month, however, the distressing
occurrences which have taken place in the waters of the Caribbean Sea,
almost on our very seaboard, while they illustrate most forcibly the
necessity always existing that a nation situated like ours should
maintain in a state of possible efficiency a navy adequate to its
responsibilities, has at the same time demanded that all the effective
force we really have shall be put in immediate readiness for warlike
service. This has been and is being done promptly and effectively, and
I am assured that all the available ships and every authorized man of
the American Navy will be ready for whatever action is required for
the safety of our citizens or the maintenance of our honor. This, of
course, will require the expenditure in a short time of some of the
appropriations which were calculated to extend through the fiscal year,
but Congress will, I doubt not, understand and appreciate the emergency,
and will provide adequately not only for the present preparation, but
for the future maintenance of our naval force. The Secretary of the Navy
has during the past year been quietly putting some of our most effective
monitors in condition for service, and thus the exigency finds us in a
much better condition for work than we could possibly have been without
his action.
POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT.
A complete exhibit is presented in the accompanying report of the
Postmaster-General of the operations of the Post-Office Department
during the year. The ordinary postal revenues for the fiscal year ended
June 30, 1873, amounted to $22,996,741.57, and the expenditures of
all kinds to $29,084,945.67. The increase of revenues over 1872 was
$1,081,315.20, and the increase of expenditures $2,426,753.36.
Independent of the payments made from special appropriations for mail
steamship lines, the amount drawn from the General Treasury to meet
deficiencies was $5,265,475. The constant and rapid extension of our
postal service, particularly upon railways, and the improved facilities
for the collection, transmission, distribution, and delivery of the
mails which are constantly being provided account for the increased
expenditures of this popular branch of the public service.
The total number of post-offices in operation on June 30, 1873, was
33,244, a net increase of 1,381 over the number reported the preceding
year. The number of Presidential offices was 1,363, an increase of 163
during the year. The total length of railroad mail routes at the close
of the year was 63,457 miles, an increase of 5,546 miles over the year
1872. Fifty-nine railway post-office lines were in operation June 30,
1873, extending over 14,866 miles of railroad routes and performing an
aggregate service of 34,925 miles daily.
The number of letters exchanged with foreign countries was 27,459,185,
an increase of 3,096,685 over the previous year, and the postage thereon
amounted to $2,021,310.86. The total weight of correspondence exchanged
in the mails with European countries exceeded 912 tens, an increase of
92 tons over the previous year. The total cost of the United States
ocean steamship service, including $725,000 paid from special
appropriations to subsidized lines of mail steamers, was $1,047,271.35.
New or additional postal conventions have been concluded with Sweden,
Norway, Belgium, Germany, Canada, Newfoundland, and Japan, reducing
postage rates on correspondence exchanged with those countries; and
further efforts have been made to conclude a satisfactory postal
convention with France, but without success.
I invite the favorable consideration of Congress to the suggestions
and recommendations of the Postmaster-General for an extension of the
free-delivery system in all cities having a population of not less than
10,000; for the prepayment of postage on newspapers and other printed
matter of the second class; for a uniform postage and limit of weight on
miscellaneous matter; for adjusting the compensation of all postmasters
not appointed by the President, by the old method of commissions on the
actual receipts of the office, instead of the present mode of fixing
the salary in advance upon special returns; and especially do I urge
favorable action by Congress on the important recommendations of the
Postmaster-General for the establishment of United States postal savings
depositories.
Your attention is also again called to a consideration of the question
of postal telegraphs and the arguments adduced in support thereof, in
the hope that you may take such action in connection therewith as in
your judgment will most contribute to the best interests of the country.
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.
Affairs in Utah require your early and special attention. The Supreme
Court of the United States, in the case of Clinton _vs_. Englebrecht,
decided that the United States marshal of that Territory could not
lawfully summon jurors for the district courts; and those courts hold
that the Territorial marshal can not lawfully perform that duty, because
he is elected by the legislative assembly, and not appointed as provided
for in the act organizing the Territory. All proceedings at law are
practically abolished by these decisions, and there have been but few or
no jury trials in the district courts of that Territory since the last
session of Congress. Property is left without protection by the courts,
and crimes go unpunished. To prevent anarchy there it is absolutely
necessary that Congress provide the courts with some mode of obtaining
jurors, and I recommend legislation to that end, and also that the
probate courts of the Territory, now assuming to issue writs of
injunction and _habeas corpus_ and to try criminal cases and questions
as to land titles, be denied all jurisdiction not possessed ordinarily
by courts of that description.
I have become impressed with the belief that the act approved March 2,
1867, entitled "An act to establish a uniform system of bankruptcy
throughout the United States," is productive of more evil than good at
this time. Many considerations might be urged for its total repeal, but,
if this is not considered advisable, I think it will not be seriously
questioned that those portions of said act providing for what is called
involuntary bankruptcy operate to increase the financial embarrassments
of the country. Careful and prudent men very often become involved in
debt in the transaction of their business, and though they may possess
ample property, if it could be made available for that purpose, to meet
all their liabilities, yet, on account of the extraordinary scarcity
of money, they may be unable to meet all their pecuniary obligations
as they become due, in consequence of which they are liable to be
prostrated in their business by proceedings in bankruptcy at the
instance of unrelenting creditors. People are now so easily alarmed as
to monetary matters that the mere filing of a petition in bankruptcy
by an unfriendly creditor will necessarily embarrass, and oftentimes
accomplish the financial ruin, of a responsible business man. Those who
otherwise might make lawful and just arrangements to relieve themselves
from difficulties produced by the present stringency in money are
prevented by their constant exposure to attack and disappointment by
proceedings against them in bankruptcy, and, besides, the law is made
use of in many cases by obdurate creditors to frighten or force debtors
into a compliance with their wishes and into acts of injustice to other
creditors and to themselves. I recommend that so much of said act as
provides for involuntary bankruptcy on account of the suspension of
payment be repealed.
Your careful attention is invited to the subject of claims against the
Government and to the facilities afforded by existing laws for their
prosecution. Each of the Departments of State, Treasury, and War has
demands for many millions of dollars upon its files, and they are
rapidly accumulating. To these may be added those now pending before
Congress, the Court of Claims, and the Southern Claims Commission,
making in the aggregate an immense sum. Most of these grow out of the
rebellion, and are intended to indemnify persons on both sides for
their losses during the war; and not a few of them are fabricated and
supported by false testimony. Projects are on foot, it is believed, to
induce Congress to provide for new classes of claims, and to revive old
ones through the repeal or modification of the statute of limitations,
by which they are now barred. I presume these schemes, if proposed, will
be received with little favor by Congress, and I recommend that persons
having claims against the United States cognizable by any tribunal or
Department thereof be required to present them at an early day, and that
legislation be directed as far as practicable to the defeat of unfounded
and unjust demands upon the Government; and I would suggest, as a means
of preventing fraud, that witnesses be called upon to appear in person
to testify before those tribunals having said claims before them for
adjudication. Probably the largest saving to the National Treasury can
be secured by timely legislation on these subjects of any of the
economic measures that will be proposed.
You will be advised of the operations of the Department of Justice by
the report of the Attorney-General, and I invite your attention to the
amendments of existing laws suggested by him, with the view of reducing
the expenses of that Department.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR.
The policy inaugurated toward the Indians at the beginning of the
last Administration has been steadily pursued, and, I believe, with
beneficial results. It will be continued with only such modifications
as time and experience may demonstrate as necessary.
With the encroachment of civilization upon the Indian reservations and
hunting grounds, disturbances have taken place between the Indians and
whites during the past year, and probably will continue to do so until
each race appreciates that the other has rights which must be respected.
The policy has been to collect the Indians as rapidly as possible on
reservations, and as far as practicable within what is known as the
Indian Territory, and to teach them the arts of civilization and
self-support. Where found off their reservations, and endangering the
peace and safety of the whites, they have been punished, and will
continue to be for like offenses.
The Indian Territory south of Kansas and west of Arkansas is sufficient
in area and agricultural resources to support all the Indians east of
the Rocky Mountains. In time, no doubt, all of them, except a few who
may elect to make their homes among white people, will be collected
there. As a preparatory step for this consummation, I am now satisfied
that a Territorial form of government should be given them, which will
secure the treaty rights of the original settlers and protect their
homesteads from alienation for a period of twenty years.
The operations of the Patent Office are growing to such a magnitude and
the accumulation of material is becoming so great that the necessity of
more room is becoming more obvious day by day. I respectfully invite
your attention to the reports of the Secretary of the Interior and
Commissioner of Patents on this subject.
The business of the General Land Office exhibits a material increase
in all its branches during the last fiscal year. During that time
there were disposed of out of the public lands 13,030,606 acres, being
an amount greater by 1,165,631 acres than was disposed of during the
preceding year. Of the amount disposed of, 1,626,266 acres were sold for
cash, 214,940 acres were located with military land warrants, 3,793,612
acres were taken for homesteads, 653,446 acres were located with
agricultural-college scrip, 6,083,536 acres were certified by railroads,
76,576 acres were granted to wagon roads, 238,548 acres were approved
to States as swamp lands, 138,681 acres were certified for agricultural
colleges, common schools, universities, and seminaries, 190,775 acres
were approved to States for internal improvements, and 14,222 acres
were located with Indian scrip. The cash receipts during the same time
were $3,408,515.50, being $190,415.50 in excess of the receipts of the
previous year. During the year 30,488,132 acres of public land were
surveyed, an increase over the amount surveyed the previous year of
1,037,193 acres, and, added to the area previously surveyed, aggregates
616,554,895 acres which have been surveyed, leaving 1,218,443,505 acres
of the public land still unsurveyed.
The increased and steadily increasing facilities for reaching our
unoccupied public domain and for the transportation of surplus products
enlarge the available field for desirable homestead locations, thus
stimulating settlement and extending year by year in a gradually
increasing ratio the area of occupation and cultivation.
The expressed desire of the representatives of a large colony of
citizens of Russia to emigrate to this country, as is understood, with
the consent of their Government, if certain concessions can be made to
enable them to settle in a compact colony, is of great interest, as
going to show the light in which our institutions are regarded by an
industrious, intelligent, and wealthy people, desirous of enjoying civil
and religious liberty; and the acquisition of so large an immigration of
citizens of a superior class would without doubt be of substantial
benefit to the country. I invite attention to the suggestion of the
Secretary of the Interior in this behalf.
There was paid during the last fiscal year for pensions, including the
expense of disbursement, $29,185,289.62, being an amount less by
$984,050.98 than was expended for the same purpose the preceding year.
Although this statement of expenditures would indicate a material
reduction in amount compared with the preceding year, it is believed
that the changes in the pension laws at the last session of Congress
will absorb that amount the current year. At the close of the last
fiscal year there were on the pension rolls 99,804 invalid military
pensioners and 112,088 widows, orphans, and dependent relatives of
deceased soldiers, making a total of that class of 211,892; 18,266
survivors of the War of 1812 and 5,053 widows of soldiers of that war
pensioned under the act of Congress of February 14, 1871, making a total
of that class of 23,319; 1,430 invalid navy pensioners and 1,770 widows,
orphans, and dependent relatives of deceased officers, sailors, and
marines of the Navy, making a total of navy pensioners of 3,200, and
a grand total of pensioners of all classes of 238,411, showing a net
increase during the last fiscal year of 6,182. During the last year the
names of 16,405 pensioners were added to the rolls, and 10,223 names
were dropped therefrom for various causes.
The system adopted for the detection of frauds against the Government in
the matter of pensions has been productive of satisfactory results, but
legislation is needed to provide, if possible, against the perpetration
of such frauds in future.
The evidently increasing interest in the cause of education is a most
encouraging feature in the general progress and prosperity of the
country, and the Bureau of Education is earnest in its efforts to give
proper direction to the new appliances and increased facilities which
are being offered to aid the educators of the country in their great
work.
The Ninth Census has been completed, the report thereof published
and distributed, and the working force of the Bureau disbanded. The
Secretary of the Interior renews his recommendation for a census to be
taken in 1875, to which subject the attention of Congress is invited.
The original suggestion in that behalf has met with the general approval
of the country; and even if it be not deemed advisable at present to
provide for a regular quinquennial census, a census taken in 1875,
the report of which could be completed and published before the one
hundredth anniversary of our national independence, would be especially
interesting and valuable, as showing the progress of the country during
the first century of our national existence. It is believed, however,
that a regular census every five years would be of substantial benefit
to the country, inasmuch as our growth hitherto has been so rapid that
the results of the decennial census are necessarily unreliable as a
basis of estimates for the latter years of a decennial period.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.
Under the very efficient management of the governor and the board of
public works of this District the city of Washington is rapidly assuming
the appearance of a capital of which the nation may well be proud.
From being a most unsightly place three years ago, disagreeable to
pass through in summer in consequence of the dust arising from unpaved
streets, and almost impassable in the winter from the mud, it is now one
of the most sightly cities in the country, and can boast of being the
best paved.
The work has been done systematically, the plans, grades, location of
sewers, water and gas mains being determined upon before the work was
commenced, thus securing permanency when completed. I question whether
so much has ever been accomplished before in any American city for the
same expenditures. The Government having large reservations in the
city, and the nation at large having an interest in their capital,
I recommend a liberal policy toward the District of Columbia, and that
the Government should bear its just share of the expense of these
improvements. Every citizen visiting the capital feels a pride in its
growing beauty, and that he too is part owner in the investments made
here.
I would suggest to Congress the propriety of promoting the establishment
in this District of an institution of learning, or university of the
highest class, by the donation of lands. There is no place better suited
for such an institution than the national capital. There is no other
place in which every citizen is so directly interested.
CIVIL-SERVICE REFORM.
In three successive messages to Congress I have called attention to the
subject of "civil-service reform."
Action has been taken so far as to authorize the appointment of a board
to devise rules governing methods of making appointments and promotions,
but there never has been any action making these rules, or any rules,
binding, or even entitled to observance, where persons desire the
appointment of a friend or the removal of an official who may be
disagreeable to them.
To have any rules effective they must have the acquiescence of Congress
as well as of the Executive. I commend, therefore, the subject to your
attention, and suggest that a special committee of Congress might confer
with the Civil-Service Board during the present session for the purpose
of devising such rules as can be maintained, and which will secure the
services of honest and capable officials, and which will also protect
them in a degree of independence while in office.
Proper rules will protect Congress, as well as the Executive, from much
needless persecution, and will prove of great value to the public at
large.
I would recommend for your favorable consideration the passage of an
enabling act for the admission of Colorado as a State in the Union.
It possesses all the elements of a prosperous State, agricultural and
mineral, and, I believe, has a population now to justify such admission.
In connection with this I would also recommend the encouragement of a
canal for purposes of irrigation from the eastern slope of the Rocky
Mountains to the Missouri River. As a rule I am opposed to further
donations of public lands for internal improvements owned and controlled
by private corporations, but in this instance I would make an exception.
Between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains there is an arid belt
of public land from 300 to 500 miles in width, perfectly valueless for
the occupation of man, for the want of sufficient rain to secure the
growth of any product. An irrigating canal would make productive a belt
as wide as the supply of water could be made to spread over across this
entire country, and would secure a cordon of settlements connecting the
present population of the mountain and mining regions with that of the
older States. All the land reclaimed would be clear gain. If alternate
sections are retained by the Government, I would suggest that the
retained sections be thrown open to entry under the homestead laws,
or sold to actual settlers for a very low price.
I renew my previous recommendation to Congress for general amnesty. The
number engaged in the late rebellion yet laboring under disabilities is
very small, but enough to keep up a constant irritation. No possible
danger can accrue to the Government by restoring them to eligibility to
hold office.
I suggest for your consideration the enactment of a law to better secure
the civil rights which freedom should secure, but has not effectually
secured, to the enfranchised slave.
U.S. GRANT.
SPECIAL MESSAGES.
WASHINGTON, _December 2, 1873_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
I herewith transmit to Congress a report, dated the 2d instant, with
accompanying papers,[76] received from the Secretary of State, in
compliance with the requirements of the sixteenth and eighteenth
sections of the act entitled "An act to regulate the diplomatic and
consular systems of the United States," approved August 18, 1856.
U.S. GRANT.
[Footnote 76: Report of fees collected, etc., by consular officers of the
United States for 1872, list of consular officers and their official
residences, and tariff of consular fees.]
WASHINGTON, _January 5, 1874_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit, for the consideration of the Senate with a view to
ratification, a convention for the surrender of criminals between the
United States of America and the Republic of Honduras, which was signed
at Comayagua on the 4th day of June, 1873.
U.S. GRANT.
WASHINGTON, _January 5, 1874_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
In my annual message of December last I gave reason to expect that when
the full and accurate text of the correspondence relating to the steamer
_Virginius_, which had been telegraphed in cipher, should be received
the papers concerning the capture of the vessel, the execution of a part
of its passengers and crew, and the restoration of the ship and the
survivors would be transmitted to Congress.
In compliance with the expectations then held out, I now transmit the
papers and correspondence on that subject.
On the 26th day of September, 1870, the _Virginius_ was registered in
the custom-house at New York as the property of a citizen of the United
States, he having first made oath, as required by law, that he was "the
true and only owner of the said vessel, and that there was no subject or
citizen of any foreign prince or state, directly or indirectly, by way
of trust, confidence, or otherwise, interested therein."
Having complied with the requisites of the statute in that behalf, she
cleared in the usual way for the port of Curaçoa, and on or about the
4th day of October, 1870, sailed for that port. It is not disputed that
she made the voyage according to her clearance, nor that from that day
to this she has not returned within the territorial jurisdiction of the
United States. It is also understood that she preserved her American
papers, and that when within foreign ports she made the practice of
putting forth a claim to American nationality, which was recognized by
the authorities at such ports.
When, therefore, she left the port of Kingston, in October last, under
the flag of the United States, she would appear to have had, as against
all powers except the United States, the right to fly that flag and to
claim its protection, as enjoyed by all regularly documented vessels
registered as part of our commercial marine.
No state of war existed conferring upon a maritime power the right to
molest and detain upon the high seas a documented vessel, and it can not
be pretended that the _Virginius_ had placed herself without the pale of
all law by acts of piracy against the human race.
If her papers were irregular or fraudulent, the offense was one against
the laws of the United States, justiciable only in their tribunals.
When, therefore, it became known that the _Virginius_ had been captured
on the high seas by a Spanish man-of-war; that the American flag had
been hauled down by the captors; that the vessel had been carried to a
Spanish port, and that Spanish tribunals were taking jurisdiction over
the persons of those found on her, and exercising that jurisdiction upon
American citizens, not only in violation of the rules of international
law, but in contravention of the provisions of the treaty of 1795,
I directed a demand to be made upon Spain for the restoration of the
vessel and for the return of the survivors to the protection of the
United States, for a salute to the flag, and for the punishment of the
offending parties.
The principles upon which these demands rested could not be seriously
questioned, but it was suggested by the Spanish Government that there
were grave doubts whether the _Virginius_ was entitled to the character
given her by her papers, and that therefore it might be proper for the
United States, after the surrender of the vessel and the survivors, to
dispense with the salute to the flag, should such fact be established to
their satisfaction.
This seemed to be reasonable and just. I therefore assented to it, on
the assurance that Spain would then declare that no insult to the flag
of the United States had been intended.
I also authorized an agreement to be made that should it be shown to the
satisfaction of this Government that the _Virginius_ was improperly
bearing the flag proceedings should be instituted in our courts for the
punishment of the offense committed against the United States. On her
part Spain undertook to proceed against those who had offended the
sovereignty of the United States, or who had violated their treaty
rights.
The surrender of the vessel and the survivors to the jurisdiction of the
tribunals of the United States was an admission of the principles upon
which our demands had been founded. I therefore had no hesitation in
agreeing to the arrangement finally made between the two Governments--an
arrangement which was moderate and just, and calculated to cement the
good relations which have so long existed between Spain and the United
States.
Under this agreement the _Virginius_, with the American flag flying, was
delivered to the Navy of the United States at Bahia Honda, in the island
of Cuba, on the 16th ultimo. She was then in an unseaworthy condition.
In the passage to New York she encountered one of the most tempestuous
of our winter storms. At the risk of their lives the officers and crew
placed in charge of her attempted to keep her afloat. Their efforts were
unavailing, and she sank off Cape Fear. The prisoners who survived the
massacres were surrendered at Santiago de Cuba on the 18th ultimo, and
reached the port of New York in safety.
The evidence submitted on the part of Spain to establish the fact that
the _Virginius_ at the time of her capture was improperly bearing the
flag of the United States is transmitted herewith, together with the
opinion of the Attorney-General thereon and a copy of the note of the
Spanish minister, expressing on behalf of his Government a disclaimer
of an intent of indignity to the flag of the United States.
U.S. GRANT.
WASHINGTON, _January 5, 1874_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit, for the consideration of the Senate with a view to
ratification, a convention between the United States of America and the
Republic of Salvador, which was signed at San Salvador on the 12th of
May last, stipulating for an extension of the period for exchanging the
ratifications of the treaty of amity, commerce, and consular privileges
concluded between the two countries on the 6th December, 1870.
U.S. GRANT.
WASHINGTON, _January 5, 1874_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit, for the consideration of the Senate with a view to
ratification, a convention between the United States of America and
the Republic of Salvador, which was signed at San Salvador on the
12th of May last, for an extension of the period for exchanging the
ratifications of the treaty for the extradition of criminals concluded
between the two countries on the 23d of May, 1870.
U.S. GRANT.
WASHINGTON, _January 6, 1874_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit to the Senate an "agreement," signed at Lima on the 5th of
June last by Mr. Francis Thomas, envoy extraordinary and minister
plenipotentiary of the United States, and Mr. José de la Riva Aguero,
minister for foreign affairs of Peru, providing for an extension of the
time for the exchange of the ratifications of the treaty of friendship,
commerce, and navigation and the treaty of extradition between the
United States and Peru of the 6th and 12th of September, 1870,
respectively. The limit of the proposed extension is to be nine months
from the time when the Senate of the United States may approve thereof.
The expediency of this approval is consequently submitted to the
consideration of the Senate. The instruments themselves were approved by
that body on the 31st of March, 1871, and they were ratified by me in
order that our ratifications might be ready for exchange for those of
Peru. The omission of the latter seasonably to perform that act is
understood to have been occasioned solely by the delay in the meeting
of the Congress of that Republic, whose sanction, pursuant to its
constitution, was necessary.
U.S. GRANT.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, January 7, 1874_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
In reply to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 15th
of last December, requesting a revision of the estimates for the
expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1875, I
have the honor to transmit herewith amended estimates and replies from
the several Departments.
U.S. GRANT.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 8, 1874_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
In compliance with the act of Congress approved March 3, 1873, entitled
"An act to authorize inquiries into the causes of steam-boiler
explosions," I directed the Secretaries of the Treasury and Navy
Departments to create a commission to conduct the experiments and
collect the information contemplated by the act. Such a commission was
created, and I have the honor to submit herewith a report of the result
of their labors to the present time.
U.S. GRANT.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 13, 1874_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
Since nominating the Hon. Caleb Gushing for Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court of the United States information has reached me which induces me
to withdraw him from nomination as the highest judicial officer of the
Government, and I do therefore hereby withdraw said nomination.
U.S. GRANT.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 19, 1874_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
In reply to the resolution of the Senate of the 8th instant, requesting
information "relative to any unauthorized occupation or invasion of or
encroachment upon the Indian Territory, so called, by individuals or
bodies of men, in violation of treaty stipulations," I have the honor to
submit herewith the reply of the Secretary of the Interior, to whom the
resolution was referred.
U.S. GRANT.
WASHINGTON, _January 27, 1874_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit, for the consideration of the Senate with a view to its
ratification, a protocol relative to a claim on the Government of Chile
in the case of the ship _Good Return_.
U.S. GRANT.
WASHINGTON, _February 6, 1874_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to their
resolution of the 16th ultimo, a report from the Secretary of State,
with accompanying papers.[77]
U.S. GRANT.
[Footnote 77: Correspondence relative to the refusal of the United States
consul at Cadiz, Spain, to certify invoices of wine shipped from that
port, etc.]
WASHINGTON, _February 6, 1874_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
I transmit herewith a copy of a communication, dated the 22d ultimo,
received from the governor of the State of New York, in which it is
announced that, in accordance with the invitation of Congress as
expressed in the act approved July 2, 1864, that State now presents for
acceptance a bronze statue of George Clinton, deceased, one of its
distinguished citizens.
U.S. GRANT.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, February 9, 1874_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
I have the honor to transmit herewith the report of the Secretary of the
Department of the Interior, to whom was referred the resolution of the
House of Representatives of January 7, requesting "a statement of the
extent and nature of the contracts, purchases, and expenditures for the
Indian service made since July 1, 1873, setting forth which, if any,
of them were made or entered into without conference with the Board
of Indian Commissioners appointed by the President, and the extent and
description of contracts and vouchers objected to by said board, stating
to what extent payments have been made thereon against their
remonstrance."
U.S. GRANT.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, February 10, 1874_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
I have the honor to transmit herewith reports from the Secretaries of
the War Department and Department of the Interior, to whom were referred
the resolutions of the House of Representatives of the 7th of January
last, requesting "copies of all the correspondence between the different
Departments of the Government and the peace commissioners during the war
with the Modoc Indians in southern Oregon and northern California during
the years 1872 and 1873; also copies of all the correspondence with and
orders issued to the military authorities engaged in said war up to the
period of the removal of said Modoc Indians from the States of Oregon
and California."
U.S. GRANT.
WASHINGTON, _February 17, 1874_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of State and
accompanying papers.[78]
U.S. GRANT.
[Footnote 78: Report of John M. Thacher, United States delegate to the
International Patent Congress held at Vienna in August, 1873, and
exhibits.]
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 19, 1874_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
I have the honor to transmit herewith a memorial upon the "cultivation
of timber and the preservation of forests," and a draft of a joint
resolution prepared by the American Association for the Advancement of
Science, together with a communication from the Commissioner of the
General Land Office upon the same subject.
U.S. GRANT.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, February 25, 1874_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
I have the honor herewith to submit the report of the Centennial
Commissioners, and to add a word in the way of recommendation.
There have now been international expositions held by three of the great
powers of Europe. It seems fitting that the one hundredth anniversary of
our independence should be marked by an event that will display to the
world the growth and progress of a nation devoted to freedom and to the
pursuit of fame, fortune, and honors by the lowest citizen as well as
the highest. A failure in this enterprise would be deplorable. Success
can be assured by arousing public opinion to the importance of the
occasion.
To secure this end, in my judgment, Congressional legislation is
necessary to make the exposition both national and international.
The benefits to be derived from a successful international exposition
are manifold. It will necessarily be accompanied by expenses beyond the
receipts from the exposition itself, but they will be compensated for
many fold by the commingling of people from all sections of our own
country; by bringing together the people of different nationalities; by
bringing into juxtaposition, for ready examination, our own and foreign
skill and progress in manufactures, agriculture, art, science, and
civilization.
The selection of the site for the exposition seems to me appropriate,
from the fact that one hundred years before the date fixed for the
exposition the Declaration of Independence, which launched us into the
galaxy of nations as an independent people, emanated from the same spot.
We have much in our varied climate, soil, mineral products, and skill of
which advantage can be taken by other nationalities to their profit.
In return they will bring to our shores works of their skill and
familiarize our people with them, to the mutual advantage of all
parties.
Let us have a complete success in our Centennial Exposition or suppress
it in its infancy, acknowledging our inability to give it the
international character to which our self-esteem aspires.
U.S. GRANT.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, D.C., March 4, 1874_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
I have the honor to transmit herewith replies from the several
Departments, in answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives
of the 16th of January last, requesting a list of all expenses incurred
by the various Departments for transportation of any matter which before
the abolition of the franking privilege was carried in the mails.
U.S. GRANT.
WASHINGTON, _March 20, 1874_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit herewith, for the consideration of the Senate and with a view
to its ratification, a convention concluded between the United States
and Belgium on the 19th March, 1874, concerning extradition.
U.S. GRANT.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 23, 1874_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
I have the honor to transmit herewith the report of the board of
commissioners on the irrigation of the San Joaquin, Tulare, and
Sacramento valleys, of the State of California, and also the original
maps accompanying said report.
U.S. GRANT.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, April 18, 1874_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
Herewith I transmit the report of the Civil Service Commission
authorized by the act of Congress of March 3, 1871, and invite your
special attention thereto.
If sustained by Congress, I have no doubt the rules can, after the
experience gained, be so improved and enforced as to still more
materially benefit the public service and relieve the Executive, members
of Congress, and the heads of Departments from influences prejudicial to
good administration.
The rules, as they have heretofore been enforced, have resulted
beneficially, as is shown by the opinions of the members of the Cabinet
and their subordinates in the Departments, and in that opinion I concur;
but rules applicable to officers who are to be appointed by and with the
advice and consent of the Senate are in great measure impracticable,
except in so far as they may be sustained by the action of that body.
This must necessarily remain so unless the direct sanction of the Senate
is given to the rules.
I advise for the present only such appropriation as may be adequate to
continue the work in its present form, and would leave to the future
to determine whether the direct sanction of Congress should be given
to rules that may, perhaps, be devised for regulating the method of
selection of appointees, or a portion of them, who need to be confirmed
by the Senate.
The same amount appropriated last year would be adequate for the coming
year, but I think the public interest would be promoted by authority
in the Executive for allowing a small compensation for special service
performed beyond usual office hours, under the act of 1871, to persons
already in the service of the Government.
U.S. GRANT.
WASHINGTON, _April 21, 1874_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
I transmit herewith to the Senate and House of Representatives a
communication from the Secretary of State and the report by which it is
accompanied, upon Samoan or Navigators Islands.
U.S. GRANT.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, April 23, 1874_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
I transmit herewith the papers called for by the resolution of the House
of Representatives of the 20th instant, requesting all correspondence by
telegraph or otherwise between the persons claiming to be governor of
Arkansas and myself relating to the troubles in that State, together
with copies of any order or directions given by me or under my direction
to the military officer in charge of the garrison or in command of the
United States troops at Little Rock.
U.S. GRANT.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, April 28, 1874_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
I have the honor to transmit herewith additional correspondence received
since my communication of the 23d instant, in reply to the resolution of
the House of Representatives of the 20th instant, requesting copies of
correspondence between persons claiming to be governor of Arkansas and
myself relating to troubles in that State.
U.S. GRANT.